Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-03-08
ATTENDANTS MADE (
PATIENT DANCE
Threw Water on Him o. Pound.
ed Him if He Objected-rea.
ture of Retreat Life.

montpelier. March "A sordid tai.
u IRE at the Brattleboro retreat In
when continuous abuse Of patients.
uIunkcn attendants, and lax super
vision by the officials played a prom
,heht part, was related ut to-day's
nearing before the legislative commit
zee investigating the retreat. nv John
- hogan OF Fair Haven, q former ps
tient at the institution. Other vii.
rcsses who tcstifed before the com
mittoe were Charles II. Congdon Of
Wallingford. DR.. Eugene A. stanley OF
the state Hospital for the Insane at
| waterbury. and Mrs. l. NJ Parker Of
Brattieboro. The testimony Of Wit
ncsses subpoenaed by the committee
! mas been practically completed and the
nearing was adjourned until next wed
hesday. when Attorney f. w. Gibson
| VIII commence the presentation Of the
retreats side of the matter.
| MI Hogan was committed to the
retreat on May q, 1914. for inebriety.
ard remained there with brief inter.
walls of absence for about q year. Dur.
rg the latter portion Of his stay, he
did some work and was rewarded with
special privileges. Conditions at the
institution. as outlined by the Witness,
were very bad.
/ He had seen patients abused ~ at
tondants so often that he lost track Of
these occurrences. On July 3, 1914.
an attendant, he testified. knocked
down patient who was annoying him
by talking. and kicked him in the ribs.
until he grew weary. An attendant
who mad been looking on. said. Let
me at him." and continued the perform
he nrufa A.
patient was thrust into a room from
which the witness did not see him
emerge >or a week.
i The attendants amused themselves
said Mr.. Hogan, by making q private
patient named Charles Atkinson dance
for them each morning. in the hail. and
IL he refused, they pummelled him or
threw glasses OF cold water in his face.
1t was n common practice to hold pa
TENTS hoed under water. II ne didn't
take his bath just an the attendant
throught he should. Hogan told Of be-
ing in room occupied by a patient
named Smith. a meat dealer Of Spring
field, Mass. when the latter was un-
dressing. An attendant named Ernest
UMara thought Smith was not hur-
| rying enough so he Knocked him down
and kicked him. Smith died within a
week. O'Mara is the attendant whom
Charles Ray. a witness at yesterdays
hearing. testihed was brutal to pa
tents
Hills, the night watchmaE. was drunk
seven nights in the week said the witsSess.
and he had seen DR.. Tracey Of the medical
stan appear in the wards intoxicated.
The attendants were also often drunk
Once an attendant distributed gallon NJ
whskey among four attendants md
two or three Of them became 20 tntoxi-
Gated that they were discharged. Attor-
ney Gibson here volunteered The infor-
nation that on one occasion the YetrOk
authorities had to summon the Bra&tle-
boro police to quiet some Of the attend
ants The witness also said that wien
alcohol was given to the attendants With
which to hattie patients. they would rub
the patient with water and drink the
alcohol.
properly care for the patients and th0O
were not enough accommodations % that
sometimes tight or ten patients had 70
sleep in hunks In the hall. The doctors
sometimes made daily trips through the
wards and at otler times a week would
elapse without visit from doctor. Ho-
gan had seen DR.. LAYTON in the ward only
once. The witness believed that Captain
Haigh. the supervisor. knew pretty we'll
how the attendants treated the patients
and could have Drevented rn,,rh ~ ~.
abuse If he had M deeiynd
The food wa. NOV aid ths v;A,..s and
once no had found th,r. =, -. cs~S
roache. In =. hat. NJ h..h vb;rE ~
about IN eat ~. atata n,t,..ss az -
receive M rnod fooA a. rrivaa. r.ts.r..
did. and were made to work - private
patients were not. He told Of Q psAiere
nm. cu, which al, tha rat,.,,s -. ~.
wors ~, -, a..,,, - ~ ."Lu,..
TENTS hod their v..I, w,th ~. -.
NJ Corsson 40 wom,n-r".s 80 -
comn,.int "a r,.Sa ~ ~. .s.s..-.
ceivcd NV hi. dam.hter ~ C-ssA a.
avn. v,hi,. -hs ,.os -. -. ,s...~t