132 



CHARITIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



investigation of settlements of both the sane and 

 the insane poor. 



The Legislature has also passed an act provid- 

 ing that " whenever a woman shall be committed 

 toany insane hospital or asylum the magistrate 

 committing her shall, unless she is accompanied 

 by her father, husband, brother, or son, desig- 

 nate a woman who shall be an attendant or one 

 of the attendants to accompany her to the hos- 

 pital or asylum of commitment." 



The new State Hospital for Epileptics, which 

 was opened nearly a year ago, has already more 

 than its complement of numbers; and the Legis- 

 lature has appropriated money for the erection 

 of a new building, which, when completed, will, 

 with the other buildings, enable the trustees to 

 provide for about 350 patients, and secure a bet- 

 ter classification of the inmates than can be ar- 

 ranged for at present. The Legislature has also 

 changed the age of commitment to this institu- 

 tion, so that, instead of providing for the care 

 and treatment of adults only, the hospital now 

 receives patients of fourteen years of age and 

 upward. 



The State Board of Charity has for two suc- 

 cessive years recommended that all dependent 

 children that is, those who become a public 

 charge because they are orphans or because their 

 parents are too poor to maintain them as well 

 as juvenile offenders and neglected children, 

 should be cared for, maintained, and controlled 

 by the State, irrespective of the question of their 

 local settlement. The effect of the law would 

 be to provide better care and treatment, on the 

 whole, for the children, and, while it would im- 

 pose an additional burden on the Commonwealth, 

 would relieve many of the small towns of con- 

 siderable expense. A bill embodying this recom- 

 mendation was recently presented to the Legis- 

 lature, and was favorably reported on by the 

 committee; but differences of opinion arose with 

 regard to the wording of certain clauses of the 

 bill, and the whole matter has been referred to 

 the next general court. 



The number of poor in State institutions, 1898, 

 was 1,278; in local almshouses, 3,796; in families, 

 435; total, 5,509. 



Of destitute children, State charges in fami- 

 lies, there were 1,728; town charges in institu- 

 tions, 584; town charges in families, 439; total, 

 2,751. 



The number of deaf in institutions is 313; 

 blind, 251. 



In hospitals and asylums, according to the 

 latest available report, there are 6,969 inmates; 

 boarded out from hospitals, 106; in local alms- 

 houses, 1,214; town charges in families, 98; in 

 school for feeble-minded, 602; total, 8,989. In 

 addition to the above, there are 74 sane in- 

 mates of the Massachusetts Hospital for Epi- 

 leptics and 190 inmates of the Massachusetts 

 Hospital for Dipsomaniacs and Inebriates. 



Boston Insane Hospital has a nominal capacity 

 of 520 : daily average number. 480 ; Danvers Luna- 

 tic.Hospital: nominal capacity, 1,000; daily aver- 

 age number, 871; Hospital for Mental Diseases, 

 Brookline: nominal capacity, 25; Medfield Insane 



Hospital: nominal capacity, ; Northampton 



Lunatic Hospital: nominal capacity, 550; daily 

 average number, 544: Receptacle for the Insane, 

 Ipswich: nominal capacity, - ; State Alms- 

 house, Tewksbury: nominal capacity, 1,300; daily 

 average number, 1,292; Taunton Lunatic Hos- 

 pital: nominal capacity, : Westborough In- 

 sane Hospital : nominal capacity, 625 ; daily aver- 

 age number, 561; Worcester Insane Asylum: 

 nominal capacity, 400; daily average number, 



428; Worcester Insane Hospital: nominal ca- 

 pacity, 900; daily average number, 871. 



Boston City Hospital is a general hospital. 

 Total receipts, $374,000 ; total expenditures, $374,- 

 194; number of beds, 768; daily average number 

 of beds occupied, 676; number of in-patients, 

 11,634; number of out-patients, 22,712; cost per 

 in-patient per day, $1.40. 



The City Hospital, Worcester, is also a gen- 

 eral hospital. Total receipts, $72,727; total ex- 

 penditures, $64,229; number of beds, 140; daily 

 average number of beds occupied, 95; number of 

 in-patients, 2,218; number of out-patients, 2,205; 

 cost per in-patient per day, $1.55. 



Michigan. The sums expended by the State 

 in behalf of charitable institutions for the two 

 years ending June 30, 1898, were as follow: 

 Blind, $25,200; deaf and dumb, $91,635.69; insane, 

 $88,430.15; dependent children, $66,766.98; feeble- 

 minded, $75,503.20. 



TW T O laws have been enacted by the Legis- 

 lature of 1899 relating to charitable and cor- 

 rectional matters namely, one prohibiting non- 

 incorporated societies, associations, organiza- 

 tions, or persons from receiving, maintaining, or 

 placing out minor children in homes; and one 

 providing for State supervision of, and the report- 

 ing to the State Board of Corrections and Chari- 

 ties by all incorporated societies the whole or 

 a part of the business of which is to receive, 

 maintain, or place out minor children in homes. 



There is now pending in the Legislature a bill 

 providing for State care of defective dependent 

 children. The statistical information here given 

 is of the date of June 30, 1898, the close of the 

 last biennial period of Michigan: 



Poor in poorhouses number 6,065; destitute 

 children, at the State Public School, 159; under 

 control in homes, 1,304; total, 1,463; blind, in 

 Michigan School for the Blind, 109; deaf-mutes, 

 in Michigan School for Deaf, 398; feeble-minded 

 children, in Michigan Home for Feeble-minded 

 and Epileptic, 201. 



The number of insane in State asylums is 

 4,217; in county homes, 145; in jails, 13; in pri- 

 vate asylums, 226; total, 4,601. 



The insane asylums and hospitals include the 

 Asylum for Dangerous and Criminal Insane, 

 Ionia ; nominal capacity, 305 ; daily average num- 

 ber, 230* Asylum for the Insane, Kalamazoo: 

 nominal capacity, 1,254; daily average number, 

 1,244; Eastern Michigan Asylum, Pontiac: nomi- 

 nal capacity, 950; daily average number, 1,059; 

 Northern Michigan Asylum, Traverse City: nomi- 

 nal capacity, 1,000; daily average number, 994; 

 St. Joseph's Retreat, Dearborn: nominal ca- 

 pacity, : . 



Grace Hospital, Detroit, is a general hospital. 

 Total receipts, $36,232: total expenditures, $36,- 

 347; number of beds, 128; daily average number 

 of beds occupied, 56; number of in-patients, 975; 

 number of out-patients, 2,964; cost per in-patient 

 per day, $1.76. 



Minnesota. The sums expended by the State 

 in behalf of charitable institutions for" the year 

 ending July 31, 1899, were as follow: Blind. $21,- 

 300; deaf and dumb, $49,400: insane, $541,400; 

 dependent children, $37,581.75; for feeble-minded, 

 $105,000; for other asylums. $140.000; for crip- 

 pled and deformed children, $4.000. 



The most important legislation in the field of 

 charity enacted during the recent session of the 

 Legislature was the provision made for additional 

 care of the chronic insane. Two State asylums 

 were authorized, each to be located on a large 

 farm, each to have two buildings with a capacity 

 of at least 100 inmates, the cost of construction 



