Show ago crimes TALE OF BRUTALITY rats eat the dead bodies of alie patients CHICAGO may 22 in the inquiry as to tho state of affairs in the cook county insane asylum today to day dr clevenger formerly a member of the medical staff there testified that it was impossible for a reputable practitioner tit ioner or attendant to stay there the most disreputable ones were the ones to stay because they devoted more time to intrigue the disreputable ones practiced a system of elimination of the better element by either physical violence or other means in said the doctor the physician who secured bodies at the asylum for dissection at the rush medical college told me the bodies were so covered with vermin that they had to be scoured before being placed on the dissecting table once in heard screams of pain and running from my office found two of the attendants standing over a patient who was bleeding profusely I 1 knew there was no use of any complaint as these attendants were supported by influence on the county board soon after they refused to obey my orders they secreted the bodies on which I 1 desired to hold a postmortem examination and could not get them for two or three days after they were buried I 1 published a statement and the following night one of the attendants abused me A few minutes later a shot was fired down stairs and the bullet crashed through the door and lodged in my book case soon after this the doctor resigned what is the matter with the institution ution now asked an attorney it 13 under the influence of bood it is in a bad place and on grounds there should be two new buildings one for male and one for female patients then the cauntay beard should be kicked out and the asylum put into the hands of a state commission dr clevenger told how boodler ism had prevented an investigation even the ministers of the gospel were afraid of the bood lers who occupied seats in their churches he said there had been repeated testimony that vermin abounded in the wards and dr kohler an assistant physician found maggots in the wounds of neglected patients in 1881 bedbugs would torture the patients under their straight jackets and rats would mutilate the bodies of those who died unattended during the night the male attendants were usually appointed by county commissioners for their fighting abilities at the polls at election time brawls drunkenness oaths incessant alarms pistol shooting immorality stealing etc exerted a very depressing influence upon the decent officials there and caused them to waste much of their energy in keeping out of rows the county boards financial reports were falsified and confused in a variety of ways and often the expression general expenses would cover a thousand dollars or more of unaccounted for bills everything was done to make an apparent showing of external cleanliness but the whitewashing white washing and the flowers and well kept lawn constituted the place but a whited sepulchre harpers bazar well my son your final examinations will soon be on do you think you will get your degree if the philosopher phil sopher who said that he is wisest who has discovered his own ignorance spoke the truth I 1 shall get a ph D and an LL D and numer our other degrees if he was wrong the degree ill get is zero |