Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1922-12-21


baby with bad sores along neck and
hair.
In this poor house there was one
bath tub, not connected or used, and
two toilets, one of which was out of
commission.
General conditions are thus briefly
described: filth, disease, feeble-mind-
edness and sordidness surrounding
human beings who have been swept
into the rubbish heap of the county
poor farm"
And of the care taker, the report
said: "Was complaining of the way
the county court crowded people in
on her and of the inability to get
help, saying she was not able to do
it all herself and indeed she was
not"
And so the story gees in other
counties. OF course, there are excep-
tions to the rule, and the president
of at least one county court, Dorsey
| w. Cork of Harrison county, is OPP
posed to the proposed plan for the
consolidatin of county poor farms in
six district poor farms. Mr.. Cork,
/ in letter to the child welfare COM
mission, which was published IN
Clarbsburg newspaper, on the basis
| that the Harrison county farm is in
excellent shape and has unusual IA
cilities for caring for the INDECENT.
Attention may be called to the fact,
however, that the Harrison county
poor farm being the best in the third
congressional district, there is pos
sibility that it may be chosen for the
district farm, in case the plan of the
commission is approved by the legis-
| lature.
Emphasis is placed on the fact that
under the district farm plan, the
farms will be district and in no way,
state institutions, the control being
in the hands Of the board Of mana.
gers which is made up largely of To-
cal people.
Careful comparison of statistics OF
the poor farms of the various coun-
ties has convinced the members OF
the child welfare commission that the
plan they propose would provide the
most efficient method for the ade-
ouate care of the poor of the state
and thereby promote the welfare OF a
large percentage Of the children OF
West Virginia.
One of the larger poor farms OF the
state containing 1913 acres, the inves-
tigation shows, was bought for $ll5,-
600 and the improvements have cost
500 900. On this farm are rs per-
sons. included "a women. Eight out
of ten who report says, are feeble
minded. Twenty per cent are infect
ed with venereal disease. One IN
mate. an elderly woman, the report
saws. is insane and badly diseased,
part of her nose and cheek having
been eaten away She is violent pa
/ +;ant and has to be kept under lock
|
and key.
The superintendent of this farm
said that at least one-half the IN
mates had relatives who could care
for them if they wanted to. The av-
erage per capita cost at this lnstitu-
tion is estimated to be $500 per year
or between s2S and $50 a month.
At this institution, however, there
is a fine hot house filled with flowers
and vegetables, in charge OF a fiorist
with two h0pers. The products Oh
the farm in one season included lzo
tons of hay and $4,000 was cleared on
vegetables and flowers sold. These
renorts describe one OF the best and
one of the worst poor farms in west
Virginia.
Statistics compiled by the child
welfare commission show that the
moor farms of the entire state have
total 10,056 acres; the buildings
total of 848 rooms, housing 837 IN
mates with IT'S children. The total
value of the poor farms is estimated
to be $4,000.
The figures for the sixth congress
sional district which includes Kama
VIVA, Boone, Fayette, Raleigh, Green
brier and Pocahontas counties, are as
follows: acres, 944; rooms, 81; IN
mates, 141; children, "a; value
500, 000
Figures for other districts are as
follows:
First-acres, 1850; room 1853; in
mates, ITO; children, 20; vaiae, $2O5,-
800.
1 second-acres, 1858; rooms, 228;
inmates, 1856; children, 20; value Of
property, $286,5oo.
Third-acres, 1903; rooms, 119;
-. ~