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' J;;::;.-,,.; ;TB:oBlrOTATy:01la-;- ' DIVERSITY ' EDITION. FEBRUARY. 1924
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STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
BROUGHT UP TO STANDARD OF
STATE HOSPITAL IS SMALL CITY;
FOOD CONSUMPTION IS IMMENSE;
dcct imqtiti ITIHN5; OF ITS KIND
PATIENTS REALLY "MENTALLY ILL"
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folfl rARpionsiltiitUjr for thfriwel-,"
tit of anf jpltf ilih a population
lof JOOO is ru indent to demamt a
; mtn of inan&corial ability but
whrn a majority of thnt citizens
; are not. responsible, for thPir own
. anions ' this ( r&Hpo.nibility i.t in
creased and the ability to, govern
them must ,b greater in propor
tion. Such a reRponsibTIity rests
... upon Dr. II. E. Le Steiner, euper-
intendent of the Oregon State hos
pital for the insane with a present
total of 186? -inmates, .1167 of
' ' whom are men and 700 are wom
en. Incidentally, Dr. Steiner is
recognized as an authority in his
line of .work and his Insttution
' - one of the best, of its kind in the
- country. . '
- i: " In addition -sit Is. neeessary to
. . employ a- great : many " persons in
. nssUting in he work of the state
r-' hwpital..:ThereXil-iWTen."loe--
- tors and, morelhan! 200 ' nurses
1 and attendants. Some idea as to
.tfee amount of provisions used in
a year can be" gathered from the
following statistics:
Provisions used and purchased
" during 1923 amounted to $67.
7G5.65. There are 676 pounds of
" :. meat used daily .'.or 210.242
pounds a year. Seven barrels of
' flour are Used each day or 2555
in a year. .Eight hundred loaves
; of bread are baked daily, a total o!
292.000 loaves In. 12 months. In
' - addition to -the bread there' are
' ' ' baked 2000 ; biscuits a week or
156,000 a year; 700 doughnuts a
week or 36.40Q a year; 750 cook
; , ies' each week, a total of 39,000
' '" 1 tor the year; 120 plea each week,
.or 240 a year and 25 cakes per
week, or 1300 during the year.
Forty-two pans of ginger bread
are baked' each week, or 2i84
pans a year. Each day there are
Served 6219 meals, or. 2.269,935
' ' in a year. The laundry turns out
- 150.000 pieces of work each week
V-y1 ,or 7,800,000 a year.
' Whlia the institution la suppos
ed .by the atateit is not entirely
dependent, for the value of farm
- and orchard ; crops produced . in
. ... 1923 amounted to $104,929.
"j "In the eafly history of the hu
.4.1. man ra;o insanity was. not recog
. nixed.'? Dr. Steiner. replied to an
Inquiry a-to. - when special care
was given' insane persons. "In
; the days of Chris.t epilepsy " was
nxrt recoglilzed' as a disease but
was attributed to demoniacal pos
sessions." When 7 superstitution
v, ruled" the world the. Insane were
looked upn with a great deal of
reverence pf fear!-. The were
' supported to" be under the influ
enca of twiUhes,- these- witches
having the. abllltr to transform
themselves tota beasts or . to Tas
" sume any shape they, wished.!' ; ;
v "It 'is probable that Bethlehem,
or -Bedlam -.hosprtaV which was
established near London in 1247
wa$ the lirst. Institution -to care
- ; for: the Insane, t The treatment
iwas very cruel and. Inhuman: John
of .Codaestea,t qourt ; physician, to
Edward JI, about ; 1320. i used,
mag icrnecklace "for the ttreatment
of' . epilepsy. . In ,.-1402. patients
were permanently received in. the
old Bedlam asylum" from a -build
ing, .known. As . tha ..Stone . House,
Charing Crpss. In r the days . of
James" I the ' loafers about' town
and curiosity-seekers paid' a -few
- shillings to see the show at Betb
. . lehem. For 'a certain fee the
keepers would exhibit their pa
J yents for the r.musement of the
mob, calling -loudly -the eccentrlc-
t v it ies as they passed by the wicket
, ' gates In their foul smelling cells."
i A Dr. Steiner told at length how
a committee was appointed by the
House -of Commons In 1815 to in
vestigate various asylums. Drunk-
v enness and insanity among keep
er and superintendents and ' neg
lect by , the ? board i-of ' governors
were discovered. During: the late
70'$ ; chains 'i and dungeons were
discarded and the padded .chair
and. room. were beomtag' popular,
- 'Initha UnUd; States a period
of neglect was apparent until 1143
' when the Utlca. fctate hospital was
opened,, though. the first institu
tion designed exclusively for the
. care of the insane was opened at
' Williamsburg, i Virginia,- Jn 177?.
The era of.awakenlnj came slow-
- ly in America,''-, but -when it did
' - arrive Jt came as a popular wave
; r-i in the Tarioua, states and resulted
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in the establishment of tho insti
tution in nearly all the eastern
commonwealths as well as in what j
are now known as the central
states. About 1850 provisions
for the insane of the United States
began to be considered a state
duty and though many mistakes
were committed, the outcome of
the movement: was state care as
a policy, until today scientific care
is employed and local conditions
end Surroundings f the insane pa
tients are studied in order to as
certain th cause of the disease
and th best method of preventing
its development.
"Today when a patient arrives,
at our aospital he is immediately
taken to the receiving ward, given
a bath, placed n bed. temperature,
pulse and respiration taken and be
remains in bed from three days to
one week," Dr. Steiner continued,
speaking for the Oregon state hos
pital In particular. "'This is done
lor the purpo.se of establishing in
the mind of the patient that he is
among friends and that he is be
ing treated as any sick person.
Too frequency the sick man is
arrested by the sheriff placed in
jail and brought to the hospital
handcuffed end roped. Is it any
wonder then that the patient feels
that ho is looked upon as a crim
inal?" : ;r:
"During the first few days of
his residence in the receiving
ward" the - physician in charge
makes a. superficial examination
to determine the immediate needs
of the patient. A variety of tests
are given and all symptoms noted.
After the classification is made
the patient is then placed in a
ward in which patients of his type
reside; for example we have spe
cific wards for epileptics, feeble
minded, convalescents, criminals,
tubercular, mildly- deteriorated
and severely deteriorated cases,
senile, chronic sick and acutely
sick cases. The- acute sick ward?
of ihfirmataries are' equipped with
modern operating rooms and ma
jor J operations are performed
whenever necessary by the most
skillful surgeons of the city. Oc
cupational therapy is one of the
most satisfactory methods of
treatment; more than 50 per cent
of the patients are obliged to in
dulge in certain kinds of occupa
tion."
"Today, efter a diagnosis is
made, we are fairly certain as to
the subsequent courses of tho
psychosis. "A ; few years ago we
used to resist the removal of all
patient i Today Ve are so sure
Of our ground that we do not hes
itate to ask relatives to remove
certain patients who have recov
ered from their psychosis. In the
olden :'lys we rarely . ever vac
knowledged that a patient was
sent. to. the -. institution that was
not insane, .The number of par
tients paroled rom ihe institution
has been Increasing4 oVer period
of years because of our ; better
knowledge of the Insane and the
jn ore efficient treatment they... are
receiving: A. better day is dawnT
In g for f be mentally afflicted. Tho
future will find veryl little, "if ny,
distinction ' between the hospital
wbertf the physically afflictj?d..ajrej
treated and the hospital where the
mentally aTflicted are treated." 5
1 For the. cre; of the insane in
the early days -of-Oregon. Dr. Stei
ner furnished the following infor
mation: . '
"In the founding of any coun
try, one of the first and most dis
tressing problems to be met is the
care, of the Insane.. The follow
ing incident of the early history
of Oregon shows that she was no
exception to the rule. ' Oregon
-was comprised then of all the
present states - of Oregon, Wash
ington and Idaho and a part of
Montana. In 1808 an American
fur trader named Hunery was op
erating in the Rocky mountains.
One of his houses was attacked by
Indians who killed all the men but
one; Thld man escaped and wan
dered about for weeks until hts
reason became dethroned. He fell
In with Indians on the Snake riv
er' who for three years housed,
clothed and fed him in the same
manner as that in which they
Ihred. Compare this with what
look place in the New England
states at about the . same time
when poor insane women, known
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Oregon
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Glance at First
In every state are to be found
some men at least who work
consistently for the public good;
mi whovgWe.of their time and
energy to advance their state.
Oregon has some. sucn---men, aud
it happens one. of them occupjes
the governor's, jdiair, namely,
Walter M; T'ierce. J . ' - , 1 .
Governor Pie.ra has- been In
office little more than a year, but
a glance (at the record of his ad
ministration for that "period re
veals some ' real reforms in Ore
gon : economics.
Governor Piercs began his ad
ministration by persuading the
legislature that appropriations for
state purposes covering the pres
ent biennium could be reduced a
million dollars as. compared with
ths previous biennium. This was
done. ' The governor followed th's
up by insisting that all depart
ments economize to the greatest
possible extent. The result is
that all departments are operat
ing under the amounts appropriat
ed for them, 'notwithstanding the
million-dollar cut.
The governor also was mainly
as witches were,, burned at., the
stake before a clamoring public.'
"In 1810 John Jacob Astor sent
two expeditions to the Columbia
river. One cme on the ship
"Tonquin" and established itself
at the mouth of the river since
called Astoria. The other left St.
Louis in August, 1810, overland.
In 1811 it separated into two di
visions. The one headed by Don
ald McKenzie came upon the In
dians who were caring for the de
mented young man, who at times
was able to tell lucidly his story.
McKenzie took charge ot him and
after a perilous Journey arrived at
Astoria, Jan. 18, 1812. This man.
whose name wts' Archibald Pel
ton, was from Connecticut. These
men and others of .the Northwest
State IIosplUl
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Walter M. riorce,
PIERGE IS REFORMER
Year of Governor's Administration Shows Accomplishments
responsible for the legislature
passing the state income tax act
which was referreci.jQJh3,peoj)le
and passed by them. This is cal
culated to raise in excess of a
million dollars.
As a member of the state irri
gation and drainage securities
commission, the governor, with
the 'assistance of his colleagues,
has put reclamation in Oregon on
a sound financial basis, including
the elimination of exorbitant fees
and commissions.
As a member of the state tnx
commission the governor was in
strumental in increasing th as
sessments of public utility corpor
ations by approximately $41,00),
000 as compared with tho previ
ous year, a sum which was. appor
tioned dawn to an increase of ap
proximately $19,000,000. Me
instrumental in cutt'ng t'le s'.aie
tax rate from 8.85 mills to 7 13
mills.
On the combined social and eco
nomic side. Governor Piercs
asked for and received from the
state legislature stronger laws for
the enforcement of prohibition in
Fur company were the firs white
people to make permanent settle
ment in old Oregon."
"About 1834 Edward Moore, a
sailor, was found on the beach of
Puget Sound, living on mussels.
He was taken cre of for awhile
but after keepers of a hotel in
Seattle had exhausted their re
sources finally induced Dr. M. P.
Burns, of Steilacooni, to cure for
him. The next territorial legis
lature turned down a bill of ex
penses as it was larger than its
resources and the man was finally
shipped back to Boston, his home.
In recent years the government
has established a department of
the "V. S. Immigration Service."
which operates at every port of
entrance and attempts to prevent
Governor of "Oregon
Oregon. Also he asked tor and
received an act creating the of
fice, Qf. state market agent, a bu
reau for the benefit of the farm
ers in marketing and in protect
ing their interests otherwise.
Governor Pierca inaugurated a
move' to place the state peniten
tiary as nearly a; possible 0:1 a
self-sustaining basic. The appro
priation was reduced, hut the in
stitution is still operating with a
balance. 11 the flax crop Is
handled successfully, and there is
every prospect that it will be, it
is believed tiie prison administra
tion will be $50,000 to the good
from its operation the first year
under the Pierce administration.
Walter M. Pierce was born on
a farm near Morris, 111., Way 30.
1861. His early education was
very limited.' He attended a coun
try school a few months in the
year and for a short time at Mor
tis, Illinois, but he spent much of
his time working on his father's
ranch. He has always been a great
reader, however, and during the
few hours in the day when he was
i.ot labo'ri.tg on the ranch he was
the unloading of undesirables. "
'Oregon is fortunate in having
Raphael P. Bonhum as inspector
in charge of this department. The
United States law in 1013 was re
troactive for a period ofi only
three years nd the state was not
able to deport a person who had
arrived earlier even though; they
were not citizens and were most
undesirable. Last year Congress
amended the law increasing the
retroactive period to five years."
"In 1913 the Board of Control,
consisting of Governor West. Sec
retary of State Ben W. Olcott and
State Treasurer Kay discovered
thm Orgon had in her state hos
pital a whole department of Orien
tals and secured an appropriation
fiom the legislature to send them
to their homos. The 'Hig Six"
Chinese companies and the Con
suls of Japan and China wen? en
listed and alter r.ianv meetings
all agreed to wive each one $5 0,
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usually to be found readins any
books that was his good fortune
to obtain. ,
Early in life he came to Oregon
where he. worked on farms, finally
obtained his own. He was a school
superintendent,, studied law, later
attended the Northwestern Law
scnooi in cnicago and then prac
ticed in the city of Pendleton, Ore
Son. Ho later became one of the
largest cattle and wheat growers
in Oregon.1
Since 1898 he has been more or
less prominent in Oregon politics.
He was elected county school sup
erintendent, twice, twice to the
state senate, was once defeated
for 1". S. senatorship and once for
governor before his election as
governor ofOregon Nov. 2, 1922
He has been married twice. His
first wife was Clara R. Ttudio,
married in 1887 and who died in
1890. He married her sister,
Laura M. Rudio in 1893. He has
six children, one of them by the
former wife and five by his pres
ent wife.
His favorite sports are reading
history and horseback riding, if
reading history .is a sport.
Mexican, equivalent to $25 United
States coin, and transportation,
this being for the best interests of
all concerned. The average ex
pectancy of life for hospitalized
mental patients is 10 years. As
suming the cost of maintaining an
Oriental at $20 a. month, with a
rroper ward building at $40,000,
it is seen that a saving of $136.
000 wis made at an expense of
$4300. This sounds like Ponzi
finance but it is true. This has
been done without a special de
partment such as California,
Washington and most states main
tain." "Thre have been 'several hun
dred charges returned to their
own families and homes, of which
number at least 300 would have
bten permanent charges on Ore
gon at an expense of several hun
dred thousand dollars. Few peo
ple know of this indisputable fact.
After most careful investigations
""?' rr-.TTr Tf TPI'iii TT T"I mmm rrrr "TV' - 1 .
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deceiving Wan! Oregon State Hospital .
One of the difficult thii.es to
pet people who have blind chil
dren to understand ia the fact
that early education of tlw unfor
tunate. Is absolutely necessary to
insure. the success f their liv-s.
Some mothtrs and fathers eom
to think that the school is a sort
of a jail where children ome
placed are kept for years. This
i- not true relatives may visit,
pend present, cr tuke home the
children at any time they desire.
Week end trips by students o
their homes where the trip can be
made In the tlrse is very common.
Summer vacation offers many of
the other children the opportunity
to visit bome The schor;l n free,
and parents or suardi:-.us have tut
to pay transportation and buy
clothing.
Teachers of tho highest type
me in charse of the various de
partments and music in all
branches from tuning of organs
a tid nianos to the rendition of
w (if . . "
Xew Boys' Building-, State School for the Blind
opera is a feature of the training.
Not alone are trades and occupa
tions that will be of value taught,
but special care is given to con
duct and mannerisms.
A new boys' buildingrjust com.
pleted and occupied February 1 is
the latest in fire proof building
and was designed especially for
the accommodation of blind chil
dren. Every thing from an en
closed heating . system to play
porches and big airy sleeping
rooms is of the finest and most
careful workmanship.
An act of the legislative assem
bly of the state of Oregon, Intro
duced by Representative J. IL.
White of Polk county, entitled
"an act to aproprlate $4000 in
Void "coin for the educatioz. of the
blind of this state and to provide
for the same was approved , by
Governor, L." F.' Grover, October
24. 18721 Accordingly the Btate
board ' of school land commission
ers arranged to open a small
boarding (school with, one teacher.
Miss Nellie Simpson, and two
pupils. -The school was estab
lished in the home of William
Nesbit in Salem, February 26,
1873. The followit.g year the
number of pupils increased to
seven, and Rev. J. H. Babcock
was appointed the first superin
tendent. The school .was known
as the Oregon Institute for the
Blind. In 1883 the school was
moved to the Snowdoi. building
on Twelfth "street. The present
location on Church street was
first occupied in 1895. In the
last 50 years the enrollment has
increased from two toH7 and the
and earnest consideration, the
past several legislatures have been
beneficieently kind in their ap
propriations for the mental hospi
tals." "Our present imethods of care
of the Insane, compared with me
thods of the past generation, are
as different as day and night.
One can elaborate upon the hum
ane side of the improvements, but
the first bis improvement came
when the public insisted on com
mitted patients being transferred
to hospitals by trained hospital
attendants. This was strongly
opposed by sheriffs In 1905;
though today the strongest sup
porters of the law are the sheriffs
of the state. No woman is trans
ported without a lady attendant
from the stete hospital."
"The last legislature enacted a
law by which a person, who be
lieves himself to be a potential
insane subject can' appear before
the superintendent of the state
hospital, and presenting a signed
application for admission witness
ed by- a friend, who in addition to
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number of teachers from one to
six.. ,i. . .' .
The main object of the school
Is to furnish the blind and par
tially blind children of Oregon
with the best known facilities for
acquiring a thorough knowledge
of the academic branches usually
taught in the pubiic schools, and
to train them in remunerative
professions or trades' whereby
they may, after leavlr.g school, be
come wholly or at least partially
self-supporting. The state course
of study is ft (lowed as closely as
possible through the 1 0th grade.
As far as circumstances will per-
mlt the children teceive the treat- 4
Lient of public school pupils and
not that of "inmates of an Insti. ,
tution." . ,
In addition to their literary x
studies most of the pupils parti
cipate in the chorus work, and all
voices of promise are given indi
vidual attention. Special encour
agement ,1s 'given pupils to take
up instrumental music,, piano and
pipe organ Instruction being the
most prominet.t. Instruction is
also offered in the following lines
of.industry and handicraft: Piano
tuning, manual training,' broom
making, sewing, cooking, chair
caning, hammock making, bas
ketry, carpet weaving and house
work. One thousand dollars worth
of saleable articles was turned
out in the industrial department
during 1921 and 1922.
Children should . enter the
school at the age of six if pos
sible and should previously had
great amount ot home training.
New pupils . may begin at any
time during the school year, pre
ferably, however, at the beginning y
ot the school year In September, f
Only v children;. with insufficient L
vision' to attend, the public schools J
yromaoiy are , uuiuuieu. Appii-r
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cants muic not dc meniaiiy qexi
eient.v They must have ability to
receive? intellectual, physical: and
moral training, have willingne
to conform to all necessary rules,
possess good moral character ani
be free from all contagious au4
infectious diseases. . ;
( A superintendent, matron, , sit
teachers, one general supervisor j
of pupils and 10 regular employeaj
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ure ua uiB payroll wnicu prproxi-f
mates $1200 a month during the
school year. . The .legislative ap
propriation for maintenance . for
the present biennium is $40,527.
50, for repairs and replacements
$4740 and for buildings $35,000.
A new fireproof dormitory has
just been completed and is now
occupied.
a medical attendant', is present at
the time, be admitted to the hos
pital for treatment for a period ot :
30 days. Tith? period can be re
newed indefinitely upon mutual
agreement.
Things have reached the point
where nothing discourages a farm
er more than to pick up a panes
and see that the government is go
ing to do something for him.
Yates Center News.
Opinions may differ as to the
10 best books, but just now one
best, unquestionably, is the seed
catalog. Providence Journal.
England is much excited over
the rumor that the Labor party is
going to refuse to recognize King
George unless he shows his working-card
from the king's unions
Chicago Tribune.
A person must , be getting old
when he begins to think possibly I
there may be something in thei
gland theory. Toledo Blade. V
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