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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 10, 1914)
The Omaha Sunday Bee PART TWO EDITOEIAL PAGES ONE TO TWELVE paut two SOCIETY PAGES ONE TO TWELVE. VOL. XLTLT NO. 47. OMAHA, SUNDAY MOHNING, MAY 10, 1914. Doug las County's Care for Its ndigent and Incompetent 61 -fiJ kWO HUNDRED and eighty aged, Infirm. crippled incompetent sick men and womon, aro well carod for at the Doug las county's poor farm and hospital. Clean rooms, excellent food and spa- clous, pleasing out-of-door surroundings charac terize the county's charltablo institution. Improvements brought into being principally b the labor of the inmates themselves under a new management' installed by the Board of County Commissioners have made DouglaB county's poor farm one of the best in the mlddlo west. Mr. and Mrs. Fred C. Rogers who were placed at the head of the poor farm by the county board last February, might bo said to have brought with them boxes of soap, barrels of water, carbolic acid by tho bucketful and paint unlimited. At any rate, the wholesomo materials appeared alinoat simultaneously with ,the new managers. Then a decision, reached as tho result of a consultation between the members of the board and the new superintendent, that it was for the best Interests of the able bodied Inmates to work, caused a gratifying change In tho institution, both inside and out. Now the poor farm 13 a place to which visitors may bo taken with tho assurance that they will go away praising this county for Its care of its helpless men and women. The Inmates themselves, says the superintendent, show themselves appreciative to a surprising de gree of efforts in their behalf. t A former mem ber of Jesse James' "gang" named Callahan, doe. the humble taskB assigned to him cheerfully. The strong man of the institution, who is able to lift weights totalling hundreds of pounds, but who Is r.ffllcted with epilepsy, regularly pushes a lawn mower over the county's beautiful grounds north of the Omaha Field club. A number of the men have regular tasks as signed to them to which they are adapted. One middle aged man, who has lost an arm, handle the garbage, a hook being fastened to the stump to enable him to carry pails. He isuite pleased to be able to "earn his salt" The women assist ir. the work Inside the big institution, the "seam- si ress" being, however, a man in the insane ward rather than a woman. More than forty men and a number of womon are doing labor, none from the tuberculosa or surgical wards, of course, being expected to work Work makes the inmates healthier and more cheer ful, tho poor farm employes say. The first work done was the, scrubbing of tno walls and floors of the big Institution with a dis infectant solution and the painting of tho walls with cold water paint. This has been completed ond the interior presents a dazzllngly clean ap pearance. The kitchens have been cleaned and painted and furniture and utensils scoured. Several now outbuildings have been constructed most of tho work being done with, the asslstanco of only one hired carpenter who directed the labor ot tho inmates. -The buildings include a new Icq house holding 350 tons, a chicken house, hog yard and feeding platform, which have been completed and an implement house under construction. The inmates have applied many gallons of paint to the outside of the buildings and fences, and are stlU at work. A large flock of hens Is kept and "Chicken Joe," who looks and talks queerly, takes excellent care of them. He also is a gardeneri An Incubator will be purchased to increaBo the profits of the chicken department. Making garden is one of tho moat obvious way? in which the Inmates may help themsalves and the county at the same time and a good sized plot U devoted to this purpose. Hogs now are killed at tho farm Instead of being sold and the county thus saves money. The keep ing of hogs and chickons Is profitable, becauiw quantities of table refuse are available for feed. Twonty-threo acres of tho county's ' farm are planted to alfalfa, seven to corn, four to potatoes, two and one-half to clover and nearly three acrou tc garden produce. This yoar tno farm work Is nearly all done by Inmates under direction of a skilled man. Tho county owns up-to-date farm machinery. The Board of County Commissioners has ex perienced some difficulty In connection with con tracts for supplies to the hospital and poor farm. I. learned that some contractors had been In tho habit W substituting articles "Just as good" for those on which bids had been made. Forms for contracts now in use make it necossary for con tractors to furnish figures on whatever brands or kinds of artlolos they Intend to furnish aud the contracts aro let on tho basis of the lowest prices. The county now is buying eggs and oleouiai gorlne In the open market, members of the board having found this method more advantageous than the former one of letting yearly contracts for those supplies. Practically no attempt Is made to fur nish real butter for tho inmates. Its high cost la tho winter months Is prohibitive nnd tho board members declare that they are unable to dolect a difference In taste between buttr and a substitute of good quality. One chango In the manugoment of the poor farm and hospital has been In tho personnel of tho commltteo of tho county board which hus thorn In charge. This year Henry McDonald, formor chairman of the board, Is at the head of the county hospital commltteo, the othor members bolni; Frank Best and Thomas O'Connor. Mr. McDonald succeeded Mr. Best as chairman of this committee. Dr. J. E. Summers, chief surgeon nt the count hospital, is In chnrgo of tho staff of internes and nurses. Ho was selected for this position ono year last January by tho county board, with tho object of introducing a more rigid system' of dis cipline than had previously existed. In this ho has been entirely successful. The board yester day created tho position of house physlolan and named Dr. Charles F. Moon, an iuterno, to fill it. Alex J. Young and Frank D. Ryder were selected ar student Internes for the following year. Changes have also been made in the staff of nuruou in tho county hospital, Miss Margarot Mi Grcovy, u graduato nurse of Wise Memorial hos pital, having been mado chief nurse. Physicians v ho work there doclaro that tho hospital will not suffer by comparison with many privately owned, hospitals. A training sqhopl is maintained theio and thcro Is a staff of fourteen nurses. The tuberculosis ward Is ono of the most Im portant and costly departments of the big Institu tion, and at tho samo tlmo ono of tho saddest. Bocauoo tho poor victims of tho whlto plaguo who j$o there aro usually In advanced stages of the dis ease, many times tho troatmcnt is merely palliative und not curative, Tho county does Its best for pDtientB in tho deportment, supplying them with newly laid eggs and other suitable food and ex-i pensive medicines. The tubcruclosl3 colony lives out of doors. Oa tho couth sldo of tho big hospital building the patlonts Uvo In an open dwelling enclosed by wire netting. Most of the patients In this ward are negroes. Economy as woll as efficiency is an aim toward which tho mnncgomont of the poor farm directs Us efforts. Although more than $600 has been spent for .materials for permanent improvements .during tho threo mouths Mr. Rogers has been iu chargo, total oxpenses havo been only 1200 mora thnn for tho corresponding period last year. Mr. Rogers has agreed with tho county commissioners that tho institution should not cost the county more than ;?50, 000 per year tor running expenses It the cost is kept within this figuro It will rosult In a saving? of from $10,000 to X 17,000 per year. A crltlcipm of tho county hospital mado by tho Ipst grand Jury wa3 that no proper account was Kept of supplios purchasod and used by tho various departments. To corroct this tho superintendents father, J. M. Rogors, has taken tho position oj steward and oach day checks every article pur chased and notoc to what department it goes. Mr. and Mrs. RogerB wero proprietors of a hotel for several years and Mr. Rogers has been con nected with successful business establishments since boyhood. Ho declares that In his opinion the management of an Important public institution is a man-sized Job, of which he may bo proud If h accomplishes it In satisfactory manner and visitors who obsorve the contentment shown by the help less dependents who live at the poor farm, working out of doors or in, lounging about In the inn, sit ttag in wheel chairs or lying in their beds accord ing to tho condition of their health, are disposed to agree with him.
