Monroe County, Wisconsin - Chapter 24: Insane Asylum and Home for the Poor, 1912

Chapter 24: Insane Asylum and Home for the Poor

The cariiiii;' lor the poor and insane oi' any eounty is a problem to whieh sliould be brought to bear level headed business ability in addition to the mere fact of providing for the needs of such unfortunates; that this department of municipal atfairs in this founty has been managed with business acumen having in view the best interests, not only of the poor and insane people, but the welfare of the community at large ; and a policy inaugurated Avhich accrues to the benefit of the taxpayers is very apparent. In 1871 the condition with regard to the support of the poor liad become so hard to handle without a central home or place where some of these people could be cared for, that the then eounty board was compelled to consider the purchase of a farm to be used as a home for the poor, and as has been stated in a former chapter the farm of David Cole of two hundred acres, situated in the town of Adrian, Avas purchased in that year for the sum of $5,000, but as the county grew older and the population more dense the natural increase of the burden of caring for the poor, so developed the fact that this farm was in a poor location, being quite a distance from the county seat, and the buildings were too small for the accommodation of those requiring assistance; the county board finally authorized the sale of the farm and purchased one lying just north of the city of Sparta and in the town of Sparta, a very advantageous location with a' beautiful building site, upon Avhich was erected in 1900 a large brick home for the poor with modern conveniences at a cost of about .$11,000. It l)ecame evident at this time, as the matter had been discussed eonsideral)ly before, that the mHul)er of insane with which this county was chargeable, ])eing cared for in otlier institutions including several county asylums, was rapidly increasing and the burden of expenses was growing quite rapidly; a committee had been previously appointed to investigate the subject of a county asylum and its report created quite a strong sentiment in the county that it would be advisable for this county, hnviiig the approval of the

Insane Asylujm And Home For Poor 241

State Board of Control, to build a county asylum for chronic insane. The proposal was made to change the poorhouse then erected, to an insane asylum, and to subsequently erect another home for the poor upon the same farm. After considerable agitation in which the two sides of the county were arrayed against each other the proposition finally was carried out and in 1902 another home for the poor was erected on another part of the farm near the asylum. The farm had been enlarged and improved since then by the purchase of an additional 120 acres of land and by the erection of a separate heating plant and also of a complete water works system Avhich Avas put in in 1907; this system consists of a steel tower ninety feet high with an eighteen foot tank on the top with a capacity of 50,000 gallons, standing on a solid concrete foundation, and from it run six-inch pipes for the asylum and for the poorhouse and and barns and out-buildings, and in connection with it is a power house having a large Gould pump of ten horse power and the AVestinghouse electric motor. The barns are all of the most modern construction and a herd of dairy cattle is maintained upon the farm which is kept in the highest state of cultivation and now produces a good income. Before the adoption of this system the county was compelled to pay $3 a week for the maintenance of each person charged to it in any of the institutions to which they were committed, but, of course, a portion of this was returned by the state ; almost from the very outset it became apparent that the establishing of a county asylum was a good business venture, for not only were the patients coming from this county gradually sent here, but patients from other counties are committed to this asylum for which the county receives the regular amount chargeable by the law for the maintenance of such patients. The income of the institution from the farm and from other sources has gradually increased, outside of the appropriation made by the county board, so that the receipts of the sale of produce from $79-1:. 71 in 1904 increased to $2,615.58 in 1911 and at the last report of the trustees for the year 1910-1911 made in November, 1911. it is shown that the permanent investment in and about the asylum is as fob lows: Farm, $23,000; buildings less 2%, $29,472.52; live stock, $5,715.50; tools and implements less 10%, $1,449.86; furniture and furnishings less 10%, $1,775.88; making a total of $61,415.76. The home for the poor is a comfortable brick building capable of housing thirty inmates; heated by steam and lighted by electricity, with modern conveniences, surely a home better fitted, by far, than the great mass of people of the county are al)le to afford; the asylum at the last report had a total population of forty-five nude and twenty-eight female patients. .Mr. F. J. ]Mooney, present superintendent, and his "svife the matron have conducted this institution very successfully for the last nine years, and under ]Mr. ^looney's management the farm has been brought to a high state of cultivation and is a model institution; some of the patients assist in carrying on the farm operations and it is considered a good thing to have them busily employed Avhen they are able, under the proper supervision. During the years of the existence of this institution for the insane the amount of the appropriation which the county board makes has gradually decreased from j|^5,000 to about $2,500 and l)elow is given a little list of the receipts and expenditures, beginning Avith 1902, showing simply the gross amounts.

Receipts - Balance of last i-eport, $1,431.47; earnings from state, $4,233.31 ; sales of produce, $548.25 ; collection from other sources, $575.01 ; balance in the poor fund for maintenance of the home for the poor, $1,434.41; making a total of $8,248.45; total expenditures, $6,850.90; leaving a balance on hand of $1,397.55. This report shows that tlie cost per capita of the innuites is $1.99i/:i a week.

Receipts - Balance on hand from last report, $1,397.55; earnings from the state, $4,587.05: collection for district attorney, $244 ; sales of produce, $599.28 ; maintenance of poor home,