Year: 1878

Ducking Female Patients.


The recent startling discovery
made by the officers of the Colum-
bus Insane Asylum, that some of the
female attendants have been in the
habit Of ducking in the most cruel
manner the unfortunate insane fe-
males under their charge, without
the knowledge of the physicians or
Superintendent, has naturally pro
dueed great excitement throughout
the State. In order that our read
ers may have the facts in the case,
we copy the following extract from
a statement published in the Co
lumbus Journal, by our former
tOwnsman, Col E. J. Blount, who
is one of the Directors of the
Asylum. He says:


On last Friday a week ago (Nov
1st) the first item of evidence that
such an inhuman practice was being
clandestinely carried on in the build
ing came to the ears Of the imme-
diate authorities of the institution.
The information came from one of
the attendantswh was discharged for
other cause, but who was angry at
her partner, and disclosed the whole
matter so far as she knew. And
each attendant or supervisor so ao-
cused was at once interviewed, one
by one, confronted with all the proof
possible, and as fast as proven guilty
were at once discharged. This has
been the work of Superintendent
Firestone, DR.. Tobey, and other imme-
diate and mediate officials ofthe insti-
tuition, until eight were discovered and
discharged, and the work is still going
on and will continue to go on until
every soul who in any way engaged
in or countenanced such inhuman
treatment, as fast as they shall be
discovered, will be discharged. Two
attendants have been found guilty
of participating in the work and
discharged within the last twenty
four hours.


The origin and supervising of this
diabolical work was a single woman,
a supervisor Of six wards. And she
taught the art to the rest The pub
lie will plainly see the difficulty in
the way Of the Superintendent or
the physicians in discovering this
work, when this supervisor and her.
assistants were sworn to secresy in
the matter, and when it is known
that it was done under the guise Ito
the Superintendent or physiciaus)
of bathing: That "AIrs. or Miss So
and So was objecting to being bath
ed-that is all. And that settled
it; for surely no man in the insti-
tuition has or could have the right
to enter the bathing room while the
attendants were claiming to be en-
gagged in this work. Another proof
of the difficulties in the way of de-
lection of this practice will be appar |
ent when I say that this work was
carried on (as is now proven) for
eight months under so thorough and
competent a Superintendent as DR..
Gundry was.


1t win be noticed that this work
of ducking for discipline was never
so far divulged as to have been
adopted in or known to the male
ward arrangements, at least nothing
of the kind has yet been discovered. |


However shocking such a discoye-
ry is to the community, it surely is
no more so than it was to the Su-
perintendent, the attending physi-
clans and the Trustees of the insti-
tution-not one of whom but trusts
the full efficiency of the present
Superintendency as it surely did !
that of DR.. Gundry, under each of
whom the practice was for months |
carried on without detection. I
would like to assure the friends Of !
inmates there that, so far as the
present Superintendent is concern !
ed, he has no superior In kindly /
treatment of the unfortunate and /
the sick, for and with whom he has
spent so many years of his life. To |
instance: Since his Superintend- !
ency Of the institution he has dis
charged some ten male attendants /
for striking and mistreatiug inmates. |


And now, Mr.. Editor, I have but |
one word more to say, and that is to |
publishers. If they have private /
grievances they wish to heal, or per
sonal spleen to crafty against any /
member of the management of this |
institution, I simply ask them to
satisfy that personal grievance or
spleen against the person Of the man,
and not attempt to assail his official .
acts, which may DO him, in fact, no /
injury, but which may cause much |
needless grief to thousands of sOr-
rowing hearts throughout this State. /