Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-12-09
superintendent of Blackfoot
Institution Believes It Is
Due to Labor Demand and
Saloonless State.
While Apple Crop Was Loss
Because Early Freeze,
Other Produce Grown in
Abundance - Meets In
crease in High Cost of
Living.

Because Idaho is saioonless and the
opportunity to secure liquor IL being
minimized each year, the hereditary
effects or alcoholism, with its attend
ant poverty, mental distress, is drop
ping off. and insanity is less in the
opinion of w. f. Pike Of the Black
foot asylum, expressed in a communt-
cation to Governor Alexander showing
the progress made by that institution
during the past year and the crops
raised The attendance at the asylum
in the past IS months has decrea sed.
The report in part is as follows:
Governor Alexander-Dear Sir: Be-
lieving that you will be interested in
a report of how we Jared at this in
stitution during the season just past,
in an agricultural way, l APPEND here
to statement in some DEAN of our
s-outside activities. If it were not for
the fact. that production was speeded
up hard for the season 1t would not
be possible to get through the bien-
mum on the amount of our appro-
priation, due to the enormous Increase
in the cost of all supplies. Another
item that is helping us out Is the fact
that our population has decreased in
number from a maximum of 367 to
months. l believe this to be due
largely to the outside demand for la
Dor, which means prosperous times for
the laborer; prosperity in Its turn
means less mental distress. and less In
sanity therefore. / believe also that
as we get farther and farther away
from the saloon days of Idaho, the
hereditary effects of alcoholism. with
itS aff dan Mt toll OF
and ofttimes vicious associations.
will become more and more scarce, and
that the asylum and institution for the
feeble minded are certain to index the
improvement. l therefore do not look
for q great increase in the population
of our state asylums, for the next
few years. unless perchance the great
war shall have that effect by reason
Of the worry and financial strain it
Will cause
APPLE CROP FRozE.
One calamity overlook portion of
our crop. The unprecedented freeze
on Oct. Is, odestroyed our winter
apple crop that thousands of bushels
of apples were fit only for hog feed
and chicken feed. They We're not
ready to pick, hence we had no oppor
tunity to save them. OF the earlier
varieties, however, we used, stored, and
otherwise saved perhaps 5000 bushels.
The farm has produced 3400 bushels
Of wheat, 1900 bushels of oats, 5000
bushels of potatoes, and about 100 tons
of hay.
The orchard and garden, besides
Keeping the tables loaded all summer
and fall with fruit and vegetables,
have produced so well that we have
stored away for the winter, many tons
Of turnips, carrots, onions and beets.
we built a small drier to try out
during this season, and found it very
successful; however, just as soon as
we had about 1000 pounds of the
dried product put away, the freeze be-
fore mentioned, cut our supply entire
Nv off. With an ordinarily heavy APP
pIe crop, unchanged, the asylum orch
ard will make a good drier pay for it
self in a season through the amount of
fruit saved.
The farm supervisors cottage is
completed and has been occupied for
the last IA days. We built that with
our own labor and a very creditable
6-room house 1t is.
The superintendent's residence is
nearly completed but an unavoidable
delay or two in the arrival of some
of the plumbing. and heating material
threatens tc delay occupancy till
spring. Considering the labor and
freight situation we have had aston
ishingly good lur3. however, through
out the construction.
w. F. PIKE,
Superintendent.
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