Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-03-15
No Abuse Of Patients, Food Good
and Rooms Clean, the Wit
nesses Testify.

Montpelier. March 1.-THE legivIsf1vo
committee which Is Investigating ccndi.
lions ut the Bratt1eboru retreat com.
pleted tts hearing here. yesterday morn
Ing. and VIII leave Monday for Brattlc-
boro. wheve further testimony will DO
hoard. Dr.. S. 4. Lawton Superintendent
Of the institution. and or. II. W Taylor.
as well as other mSmhers OF the retreats
medical stan. are expected to testify next
week The witnesses at yesterdays hear
ing were: Miss Florence Mcdonald and
Miss DorottrY Gray, assistant supervisor
and nurse at tho retrrat: william r.
Haign. chief supervisor; and c. +. Hills.
night Waterman at the institution: Ernest
@. O'Mara Of Somerville. Masa-, former
attendant thsre. shd DR.. r n. Pclton
Of hichsord, one us the toard OF super.
visors CT the retreat.
OMara. Who is the attendant accused
by at least two former witnesses. Of
abusing patients. while an attendant At
the retreat, and who is alleged by John
Hogan OF Rutland to have assaulted a
patient who died shortly afterwards.
denied these charges He admitted that
he had trouble with the patient named
Smith. a meat dealer of Springfield, Mass,
! who died about a week or ten days after
! the incident. but said that he only graSped
| him by the wrists to restrain him. and
Counsel for the retreat have sought to
establish the fact that Smith had a
suicidal mania, but this statement is said
not to be supported by the institutions
record Of his case.
William T. Haigh, who has been the
head supervisor in charge Of the mems
part Of the retreat since 1906, denied FAIL
allegations Of abusive treatment of pa
tents by attendants. He stated that the
attendants were supervised as closely as
possible and Immediately discharged for
misconduct 1t developed, however. that
there was no school Of instruction for at
tendants and that the supervisor did not
confer with them regarding their work.
They were given verbal instructions when
employed. Haigh also denied the evidence
given by Joseph c. Jones, an attorney of
Rutland. who alleged that he was man
handled at the retreat. Haigh was for
mer officer Of the British army in India
and also connected with the Vermont Ma
tional Guard.
G. +. Hills. who has been a night
Waterman at the retreat for tho past
ten years. denied cmphaucally that he
had ever been intoxicated while on duty.
as testified by several witnesses. He also
denied that DIT Tracy of the retreat med
ical staff had ever returned with him from
a fishing trip in an intoxicated condition.
1
open the doors into the front wards Of the
womens department and stated that he
only went there when summoned by the
woman night watch to assist her in hand
ling IA violent patient. He denied ever
having knocked down a woman patient In
the manner described by Mrs. Guilford.
Dr.. r. NJ Pelton Of Richford, a member
of the State board Of supervisors Of the
retreat testified that when the super
visors visited the institution they did so
unannounced and followed no prescribed
route when inspecting the retreat. He
thought that the institution compared
vary favorably with others of it's class.
when 1t was considered that some Of the
buildings were old and the arrangements
therefore not as convenient as those in
some modern institutions. The witness
also stated that the supervisors conducted
a systematic investigation into the condi-
ton of all State patients. with view
to securing their discharge.
Miss Mcdonald and Miss Gray testified
that the attendants were uniformly kind
to the patients, that the food was plentiful
and of good quality and that the rooma
were always kept clean.