Milford chronicle., 1931-01-16

uUuIN Vi IldidSGlS anu ohI"I lULCAAu7
ent are deserving Of BNbh& COM
mendatiOn for past aehid8 8eiRents,
and your confdenc i'll their efforts
to surmOunt the serious problem of
over population which they yet face
Notwithstanding a generQWs build
ing appropriation by the lastlLegis-
lature. During the lastiGye years
the patient population. of the ,hospi-
tai has increased % nnaF ggAptauntil
now it is filled to over-capacity, it
being necessary to coniine .as many
as eight patients in rooms built to
accommodate four. ...p.
| am informed that the cost of the
superintendent building program
for the next two years exceeds a
million dollars. That it will be pos
sible to finance this is extremely
questionable. However, at my sug-
gestiOn some months ago the board
authorized the preparation of plans
and specifications for the buildings
most needed, to cost 100000, and l
would respectfully urge your imme-
diate consideration of such re-
quest, in order that, should you ap-
prove the appropriation, the work
could, be advertised Immediately
thereafter, and started two weeks
later. Your early authorization of
some part of the hospitals building
program will benefit the unemploy-
ment situation existing in the up
per part of the State, as well as af-
ford the earliest relief possible in
the unfortunate housing condition
that now confrOnts the hospital au-
thOrities. '...
Construction OF State Buildings
do not believe any State in the
Unio mis- spending more per capita
for public buildings than Delaware,
and l think it is equally true that
10 other State awards as great a
percentage of its building contracts
to nonresident contractors as Del
aware. This condition ought TO be
changed and can best be changed
by statute, and | know the Della
ware School Foundation, particu-
larly. will welcome your assistance
to bring it about. rt.
Applicable to new schools and in |
stitutional buildings to be erected
hereafter by the State, l suggest
LEGISLATION requiring that all labor |
employed on such work, both skill |
ed and unskilled, except with the |
permission of the boards of manaS- |
crs of the departments and institu-
tiOns letting the work, shall be bona |
fide residents of Delaware for at |
least six months prior to the award |
of the contract. This being under |
stood to mean that the general con- |
tractors superintendent, timekeep- |
crs and clerks must be bona 'ide res
idents of the State and that the sub
contractors on the job, as well as |
the men they employ must be bona
fide residents of Delaware unless |
proof is presented that it is impOs-
sihle to secure the class Of work |
called for from any Delaware con-
Germ.
The cry will arise from non-resi-
dent contractors and their friends
that such procedure will result in
the work costing more, slightly, per-
haps; but | venture the assertion il
would also follow that there would
pc fewer defaulting contractors. and
l know the State does not want any
one TO Go its work fo- less Il an
cost
randyWine SanitariIn
rhis hospital for tubcrcalat white
patients is OvercrOwded and without
sufficient funds to operate it on d
plane the State should insist upon.
However, it is due the management
to inform you that they have done
good work with the means at hand
for which no little credit l.; due the
physician in charge who is capable,
industrious and recognized author
ity on the treatment and care of
tubercular patients. The sanitarium
is badly in need of improvements to
the present quarters; sun porches
and additional ward rooms will have
to be provided. hope you may have
the opportunity before adjOurninG to
visit and inspect this institution and
likewise the Edgewood Sanitarium
which is the most Immediately kept
public building l have ever entered.
Delaware Colony
1 consider this home one of the
most important institutions in the
State and one of the least appreci-
ated Judging from the lack of finan-
cial support it has had i'll the past.
This year in the recommendations of
the governors budget for the next
bicnnium, you will find | have been
more generous in the case of Della
ware Colony than any other institu-
ton. In my judgment the home has
a capable superintendent but lacks
the advantage of a medical expert
vcrsed in the care of mentally de-
fective patients. A somewhat radical
but one of great
benefit to the institution in my Opin-
ion, would be to place its manage
ment in the hands of the board oil
of the State Hospital, with
their superintendent, Dr. Tarumianz,
IS the executive superintendent The
nome itself is ideally located and
should be kept where it is.
Department OF Public Welfare
The knowledge l have gained of
welfare work in our State allows me
% suggest that in my opinion there
are few more important questions to j
le passed upon by this Legislature {
han that of deciding what the ad-
,antages would be of co-ordinating l
md consolidating the many institu- {
ions, commissions, and agencies en- {