The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-02-27

ai an cement with l)T. LiWtoH 1Or lHe |
care of his wife.
Il wanted her to have the best of
care, - he said, land specified that
she should have constant attendance.
If one nurse was not enough | said to
have two. If two were not enough
get three or four, regardless of what
the cost was. -
Mr.. Clement s voice shook with emo
ton as he went on to tell of his visit |
to Mrs. Clement after receiving Miss |
Guyette's report. He corroborated the |
housekeeper s testimony and blamed |
himself severely for allowing his wife |
to- remain there on DR.. Lawto1 s prom |
Use to see that she was better taken |
care Of.
He told of can awful scratch across
her face and nose, the nose being
swollen
This was explained by Mrs, Clement,
who declared that an attendant had
pounded her over the face with a wet
towel. He declared that there was ev
cry evidence of brutal mistreatment.
Later Mrs. Clement was removed TO
Waterbury,
The witness claimed that personal
belongings of the patient, amounting
from $500 to $500 in value, had been
reported destroyed but that certain
! other property had been returned to
! him.
Judge Gibson was unable to shake
Mr.. Clements TESTIMONY but offered
the correspondence in evidence which
showed that the condition had been
fully reported to him and that DR.
hoH +o1 hot AIrC
ment be taken elsewhere.
The probable nub of all the Difficult
ty in the Retreat was indicated by
Charles Batchelder of Bethel who was
formerly q voluntary patient in the
institution. He declared that ali the
attendants in the Retreat were funda
mentally inefficient.
And no MAJ would live in place
like that for the salary paid, he said,
"and when the doctor s back Is
turned discipline is relaxed. | saw
two attendants assault a poor imbecilc
in the pen and reported the fact to
Or. Lawtoa who discharged them and
drove them off the reservation inside
Of two hours. >
What was the nature of this mis-
treatment, asked the chairman
They were chastizing him with
their fists. They had him down and
were treating him with unnecessary
brutality"
II would not send relative Of
mine to that institution because the
, supervisor was totally unfit for his po-
.ition. The attendants cheat steal
and lie to him and get away with it =
+ Did Mr.. Lawton give the ratients
: any supervision?' asked the chair
man.
5 . None, whatever. His time was de-
j voted TO the administration % the in
stitution
The witness said he had investigated
all the rooms underneath the wards in
which the dungeon was said to be
/ concealed and saw nothing Of the
kind.
| Mr.. Batchelder told of an occur
rcnce which indicated that male and
5 female attendants passed themselves
off as man and wife when as a matter
of fact thew were unmarried and vet
. were permitted to live together.
c He partly corrohorated the test
T monv o. Mrs GuiIford who made
. charpes AGAINST Night Watehman Hill
+ q man Of marked popularity, the Wit
t ness said.
Mr.. Ratchelder also told of a wom
Z an getting out of her room, climbing
y ont of a window and falling a lone
d distance without fatal result thouol
, her LEG was broken.
i This testimony was given with ~
cry evidence o. friendly feeling to
Y ward the institution, Dr. TAYLOR an,
9 DR.. Lawtol, but il was regarded as tn
Il most damaging that has SO far beer
presented
J. Judge James NJ. TYLER of the boar,
a Of trustees and DR.. Taylor of the med
ID zeal staff Of the Retreat were presen
a at the investigation.