MARYLAND INSTITUTION FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE DEA.F AND DUME, FREDERICK, M A. « “ A. Reception Room. B. Principal’s Office. C. —Directors’ Room. D. Principal’s Dining Room. E. Library. F. —Officers’ Dining Room. O.—Pupils’ Dining Room. H.—Class Rooms. K.—Apparatus Room. PLAN OF MAIN FLOOR. li.— Officers’ Parlor. M.—Steward’s Office. K.—Housekeeper’s Boom O. Physician’s Office. P. Boys’ Study. QQ. —Pantries. RR.-Bath Rooms. SS.—Water Closets. TT.—Open Courts. r Report Public Charities, REFORM ATORIES, j3 RJ S O N S AND —OF THE— STATE OF MARYLAND, —BY— C. W. CHANCELLOR, M. D„ Secretary of the State Board of Health, —MADE TO— His Excellency, John Lee Carroll, Governor. JULY, 1877. FREDERICK, MD,: BAUGHMAN BROTHERS. 1877. CONTENTS PAGE. Gov Carroll’s Letter of Instruction, ------ 6 Members of the Maryland State Board of Health, - 7 Introductory Remarks, - -- -- -- - 9 The Insane, - -- -- -- -- - 11 Increase of Insanity among Negroes, ------ 14 Statistics of Insanity, - -- -- -- - 15 Almshouses Generally, --- ----- 16 Children in Almshouses and Jails, - -- -- - 17 District “Asylum Schools” for Children, 18 District or Union Almshouses, - -- -- -- 18 Plan of J. Crawford Neilson, Esq., Architect, 19 Plan suggested by Dr. J. S Conrad, ------ 20 Prisoners Generally, ---------22 Classification of Prisoners, - -- -- -- 24 Progress of Pauperism, - -- -- -- - 2 5 Increase of Mendicancy, -------- 26 Tramps and Tramping, - -- -- -- -27 How best to Deal with the Evil, ------ 30 CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. The Maryland Hospital for the Insane at Spring Grove, - - 31 The Mount Hope Retreat tor the Insane, 40 The Maryland Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, 48 The Maryland Institution for the Instruction of the Blind, - 57 Baltimore Institution for Colored Blind and Deaf Mutes, - - 60 4 CONTENTS. REFORMATORY INSTITUTIONS. St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys of the City of Baltimore. - 62 The House of Refuge near Baltimore, - - - - 68 The House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children, 11 STATE PRISONS. The Penitentiary, - -- -- -- -- *76 COUNTY INSTITUTIONS. Alleghany County Almshouse, ------- 82 “ “ Jail, 84 Anne Arundel County Almshouse, ------ 85 “ Jail 89 Baltimore City Almshouse, ------- 91 “ “ Jail, - -- -.--.-9f, Baltimore County Almshouse, 98 “ Jail, 102 Caroline County Almshouse, ------- 104 “ Jail, 106 Carroll County Almshouse, - -- -- -- ]oT ** “ Jail, 109 Cecil County Almshouse, - - - - - - - - 110 “ Jail, 112 Charles County Almshouse, 114 ,f “ Jail. ... - .... 115 Dorchester County Almshouse, 116 “ Jail, 118 Frederick County Almshouse, - - - - - - 119 “ *• Jail, 123 Harford County Almshouse, 124 Jail, 126 Howard u “ 121 Kent County Almshouse. - 128 “ “ Jail, ... 131 CONTENTS. 5 PAGE. COUNTY INSTITUTIONS—Continued. Montgomery County Almshouse, 132 “ “ Jail, 134 Prince George’s County Almshouse, 135 “ “ “ Jail, .... 137 Queen Anne’s County Almshouse, -138 “ “ “ Jail, 14() Somersett County Almshouse, 141 “ “ Jail, - • 142 St. Mary’s County Almshouse, 143 “ “ Jail, - - 146 Talbot County Almshouse, 149 “ Jail, 151 Washington County Almshouse, 152 ‘ “ Jail, 156 Wicomico County Almshouse, - - 157 “ “ Jail, 158 Worcester County Almshouse, .... 159 4 “ Jail, 161 Table Showing Whole Number of Inmates in Almshouses, - 162 Table Showing Whole Number of Indigent Insane in the State, 163 6 HOV. CARROLL'S LETTER OF INSTRUCTION. GOV. CARROLL’S LETTER OF INSTRUCTION. STATE OF MARYLAND, Executive Department, Annapolis, February 14, 1877. C. W Chancellor, M D., Secretary State Board of Health. Sir : You are hereby directed to vigit and inspect the prisons, almshouses and public hospitals in the various counties in this State, and report to the Governor at as early a day as practicable their sanitary condition, the treatment of the inmates, and particularly, the number of pauper insane who are confined at the expense of the counties, together with a statement of the character of the insanity and any other facts of interest that may lead to the improvement of their condition. I remain Your obedient servant, JOHN LEE CARROLL, Governor. MEMBERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF EALTH. 7 MEM BERS OF THE 'SMtt Utwft a$. O F MARYLAND. E. LLOYD HOWARD, M. D., ..... Baltimore City. C. W. CHANCELLOR, M. D , . . . “ „ .T. ROBERT WARD, M. D , .... Baltimore County CHARLES M ELLIS, M. D , . . Cecil County GEORGE E. PORTER, M. D., ..... Alleghany County OFFICERS 0? THE BOARD. E. LLOYD HOWARD • President. C. W. CHANCELLOR, .... Secretary 11 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. dition—hygienic, medical, and moral—believing that if the pub- lic attention is once fullyr directed to them it will result in much good. The combination of misery and sensual excesses, of igno- rance and filthiness, of want of feeling and propriety', are com- mon instances of the evils which too frequently' exist in public institutions, and which pressingly' call for legislative interfer- ence. It may be said that these places after all are but the abodes of persons of low degree, and that it is unsuitable to give them “a palace to dwell in.” Thus might those argue who look at the matter only with reference to physical considera- tions, and who cannot or will not view it in its moral bearings. Dean Swift has said, “There is not anything which contributes more to the reputation of a State, or to the honor of a Nation in general, than erecting and endowing proper edifices for those who labor under different kinds of distress.” There can be no doubt of the great truth expressed in these words, unless we are prepared to sustain the maxim of Malthas, “It is cheaper to buiy than to feed.” THE INSANE. When we consider the rapid advances made by the world in every branch of social improvement, we cannot too strongly stigmatize the manner in which the inmates of some of our pub- lic institutions are treated—especially the indigent insane—for whom it would seem there is not a single gleam of commisera- tion or charity to break the horrid gloom in which their lives are shrouded. It cannot be denied that the practice which prevails in many of the counties of herding the insane in jails or alms- houses, instead of sending them to a proper asylum, where their shattered minds would be brought nearer to the fountain of cure, is a crime against God, against society, and against indi- viduals; a shame to our civilization and a blot on our age. It is an evil well worthy the attention of the State, but it is feared that the custom which originally arose from the credulous belief that insane persons are possessed of a devil, is still too deeply' rooted in the human mind to be easily eradicated. In an admirable monograph on insanity and its treatment, Mr. Charles D. Robinson says with much force: “There is prob- ably no subject closely connected with our every'day' affairs, a- d 12 REPORT OF THE prominently presented for our consideration, so little understood as insanity. Hospitals for the treatment of bodily diseases, institutions for the education of our youth, and places for train- ing young men and women in mechanical and agricultural pur- suits, exist in great numbers throughout the land, and we are familiar with their every detail, and take a close interest in their success and perpetuation, but though the statistics tell us that there is at least one victim of insanity in each thousand of our population, and although we are all taxed to support an already large and rapidly increasing number of hospitals for the insane, built and maintained at great cost, and occupying beau- tiful and prominent sites along the great thoroughfares of the country, very few comparatively, even of our most intelligent people, have ever been inside of them or know anything about the more modern methods of dealing with this sad human in- firmity. It is a singular fact that to-day hundreds of thousands of people wTho are otherwise highly instructed and who are ac- quainted with the conditions of trade, literature, manufactures, politics and most of the current topics of the times, know almost nothing of the modern means of dealing with this enemy of the intellect. We devote our time and money in endeavors to find out and put to naught the storms which assail our commerce, the insidious destroyers of our crops, the climatic and other influences "which sap our physical health, and the thousand other obstacles to human enterprise, but in the treatment of insanity we trust to a few experts who have dropped to one side of the beaten path and have made the care of the human mind a life "work. It is surprising when we come to know of the great mass of intelligent people at this day who have only a general idea that our hospitals for the insane are merely repetitions of those dungeons of a thousand years ago with their grim array of dark and filthy cells, their dreadful apparatus of machinery and their theories not of curing their inmates and sending them forth again to their friends “clothed and in their right mind,” but of fulfilling the narrow mission which only looks to the re- moving of these unfortunate people from the view of the world, and is content with the result of mental death so far as this world is concerned.” It will bo seen from the statistics and tables accompanying this Report, that there arc now within the almshouses and jails SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 13 of our State over five hundred insane and idiotic people for whom there exists no proper provision, and who are utterly cast down and neglected, half fed and ghastly in their wretchedness. The impression produced by a visit to some of these “charitable institutions” is a counterpart of the picture of a mad house of the 18th century, in “Merrie England,” .as drawn by Dr. W. A. F. Brown in his essay on “ What asylums ivere and what they ought to be” in which he says: “The building is gloomy, placed in a low confined situation, every chink barred and grated—a perfect jail. As you enter,, the creak of bolts and clank of chains are scarcely distinguished amid the wild chorus of shrieks and sobs which issue from every department. The passages are narrow, dark, damp and exhale a noxious effluvia. The first common room you examine, measuring 12 x 7 feet, with a win- dow which does not open, is perhaps for females. Ten of these, with no other clothing than a rag around their waists, are chain- ed to a wall, loathsome and hideous, but when addressed evi- dently retaining some of the intelligence and much of the feeling which in other days ennobled their nature. In shame or in sorrow one of them perhaps utters a cry; a blow which brings blood to the temple and a tear from the eye, an additional chain, a gag, an indecent or contemptuous expression compels silence. If you ask where these unfortunate creatures sleep, you are led to a kennel eight feet square with an unglazed air hole eight inches in diameter. In this you are told five.persons sleep. The floor is covered and the walls bedaubed with filth and excre- ment ; no bedding but wet decayed straw, and the stench is so insupportable that you turn away and hasten from the scene.” It is not my purpose to dilate upon this theme of mingled shame, reproach and horror; but I feel called upon by the stern voice of duty to draw a faithful portraiture of what has come under my personal observation, in order that the subject may be impressed upon the public mind. It is impossible to imagine anything worse than the brutal degradation and cruelty to which the insane are subjected in some of the county almshou- ses, where they are chained in solitary wretchedness, breathing an atmosphere quite as obnoxious to human lungs as the water of a stagnant pool would be to the trout of a mountain stream. In one of these dens I found a wretched female maniac quite naked and filthy beyond all conception, crouched in a corner o 14 REPORT OF THE a dark foetid room without ventilation, where she was confined by day and by night with no other bed than the floor, which was literally covered with her own slimy and putrescent excre- tions, and emitted a most disgusting and sickening stench. This condition of affairs, which is by no means a fancy sketch, calls loudly for reform. Every insane person should have the benefit of every chance of recovery afforded by science or taught by experience. Charity requires it, Mercy demands it! For the insane there is written over the portals of the almshouses as over those of the infernal regions, “Whoever enters here leaves hope behind.” The statistics of asylums constructed and conducted upon the best principles, show a very large per eentage (75 o-o) of recov- eries in cases of recent occurrence, while those that are incura- ble are in an inverse ratio to the duration of the malady. Econ- omy and humanity alike suggest that the indigent insane should be afforded this chance and not be sent to an almshouse to become incurable and then kept there because they are incura- ble. Statistics also show that only seven per cent, of insane persons treated in almshouses recover. Dr. Edward Jarvis, in an article entitled “The Political Econ- omy of health,” says: “Under appropriate influences insanity is the most curable of grave diseases. If the persons who are attacked with this disorder are as promptly cared for as others when attacked with fever, dysentery, pneumonia, etc., 80 or 90 per cent, can be restored to health and usefulness. But if neg- lected, the disease tends rapidly to fix itself upon the brain and becomes more and more difficult to be removed. If allowed to remain one year the chance of restoration is materially dimin- ished. In two years the hope is reduced more than half; and after five years duration few are restored, and even then it is due to some unexpected turn of the disease rather than the result of healing remedies.” The increase of insanity has been very marked since our late civil war, especially among the negro race, as a consequence doubtless of their sudden emancipation with its attendant trials and cares. Unrestrained freedom has had the effect of multi- plying their desires and wants, but together with them it has also multiplied greatly their disappointments, and in very many instances the price of liberty to them has been the prison, the SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. IT vided for, the air is soon in a state that will not only seriously affect the health of those living in it, but of those adjacent thereto. No wonder that scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhus and typhoid fevers, and blood poisons of every description are always more or less prevalent in this State. These dread disorders are often, doubtless, generated and propogated by filthy and noi- some public institutions, and the soi’did man who locks up his pocket and votes against a tax to coi’rect the evil, cannot guai’d his own spacious and luxurious abode against the malady his own avarice has helped to originate. CHILDREN IN ALMSHOUSES AND JAILS. In most of the almshouses, and in some of the jails there were found children ranging in age from one month to fourteen years. It is indeed melancholy to contemplate these little ones growing up in such haunts, with every faculty as soon as developed blunted and tarnished by the moral atmosphere surrounding them. The very first position in which they are placed in life is analagous to that of a beggar. They are made to feel that they are receivers of alms, and they learn to consider it no shame. The first spark of honest pride, if ever kindled in their breasts, dies away within them. The first exercise of reason- ing power only leads them to discover that there are other means of getting through the world than by self-exertion, and they naturally become tame, spiritless and worthless creatures; or perhaps the constant association with abandoned and de- praved humanity may cause them to break through all re- straints and become pests to society. For its own protection, each county should foster and nurture its unfortunate little ones, and unless something effectual is done to save these children from sinking still deeper into ignorance and pollution, society will hereafter be burdened with a new woe. Aside from the dictates of Christianity and philanthropy, let us consider the future of these children from a political stand- point. According to our free institutions they will have the same amount of control over the destinies of the State as their more upright and intelligent fellow-citizens, and this power be- ing vouchsafed them, who shall say how long it will be before 18 REPORT OP THE their morbid impulses may lead them to deluge the State with tumult, conflagration and bloodshed. The importance of rescuing these desolate little creatures from the moral and physical degradation which surrounds them, and placing them where their minds will be constantly imbued with an enlightened Christianity cannot be over-estimated. I would therefore suggest that district “Asylum Schools” be provided, where these “innocents,” besides being fed and taken care of, can also receive a modicum of intellectual and moral train- ing. DISTRICT OR UNIOX ALMSHOUSES. In laying' before your Excellency the fearful condition of the almshouses of the State, it is not m}T design to reflect specially upon the “keepers” of those places; the fault is gen- erally in the system itself, of which they are the agents and executors. The remedy for the evil, therefore, is to be found in a complete change in this system. The perception of this need has hardly reached the general mind, and the means to he adopt- ed are scarcely more than guessed at. The problem is to estab- lish an enlightened and humane system with kindly treatment hut inviolable discipline, and with this view P would urge the superior advantages of District or Union Almshouses, which should also be workhouses, admitting of classification of in- mates, hospital treatment, industrial pursuits and economy in expense. Every inmate of the establishment capable of physi- cal exertion should be set at work, the habit of useful industry being in itself a saving means of grace. Every inmate should have air and light and sunshine, and the opportunity to culti- vate flowers, to earn the enjoyment of music and books. Each should be taught habits of cleanliness and order, self-respect and a worthy ambition. The influences which maintain morality in the moral, will go very far towards inducing morality in the immoral. Only an organized effort can effect this desirable re- form, and I would suggest that a number of adjacent counties, say three, four, or five, according to the number of their pauper population, unite in building and furnishing a district almshouse, where the aged, the sick, the idiotic, the lame, the halt and the- as > f a o PJ -T3 >■ 50 H £ W H PLAN OF UNION ALMSHOUSE-J. CRAWFORD NEILSON, ARCHITECT —First Floor. Male Department. SECRETARY OF TIIE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 19 blind could bo properly and comfortably cared for and at reduced expense. A ground plan and description of such a building has been fur- nished me by J. Crawford Neilson, Esq., a skillful architect of this city. Mr. Neilson describes as follows: ‘‘The plan shows the first floor of a building intended to ac- commodate about 250 persons. It will be three stories high, and while the divisions of the wings and of the superintendent’s building will be continued throughout the stories, the two upper floors of the central building will be each occupied by a corridor and eight rooms, giving sixteen rooms to be used for such in- mates as would not be well located in the large dormitories of sixteen beds each. There would be an iron stairway in each block. The heating should be by low steam. The boiler would be placed in a cellar under the middle of the front, and a large shaft, bounding on one side of the corridor, would help to venti- late the building, the ventilation, however, being principally effected by the same method which I employed so successfully at the Baltimore Academy of Music. The corridors and blocks are so arranged that in summer the aid admitted by open win- dows will sweep through the building. In winter light is largely admitted, but the rooms are all protected from drafts. The large room containing the oven, marked “Baker,” will also be used in connection with the large shed, as a laundry. The small auxiliary buildings ai‘e not shown on this plan, as their position would depend so much on the nature of the ground ; neither is there any indication of drainage for the same reason, and be- cause the use of conveniences depending upon the supply of water cannot be determined in advance of a knowledge of the site. This plan of building is susceptible of indefinite extension by either whole or half blocks on a continued corridor. In the use of the building the dining room would be occupied by the sexes alternately. In some situations the buildings might beset high above ground, over a cellar story to be used for workshops, In other places there might be only cellar enough for winter storage and for heating, and the shops built adjacent to the wings for men. Such a building as the one shown on this plan can be put up, where bricks can be obtained at a moderate price, for about $30,000, including the accessory buildings and fencing.” 20 REPORT OF THE In addition to the plan of Mr. Neilson there will be found on the opposite page a design for a Union Almshouse, furnished by Dr. J. S. Conrad, Superintendent of the Maryland Hospital for the Insane, who has had a large and varied experience in the management of public institutions. The plan submitted by I)r. Conrad is that of a centre or administration building, with one pavillion on each side for the different sexes. The buildings may be one, two or three stories, as required by the number to be accommodated. The ground floor of the centre building is a plain rectangular building, with four rooms on each flour and passage ways at right angles. The domestic service rooms to be in the basement, consisting of kitchen, pantry and dining room. The laundry and bakery to be in a small building in the roar of the centre. The ground plan of the wings is a pavilion eighty feet in length, each pavillion containing a ward 64 feet in length and 28 feet wide, having 12 feet pitch of ceiling, afford- ing cubic feet capacity of 896 feet for each bed. There is a door at each end of the ward; one leading into a day room and the other communicating with the centre building by a passage. On one side of the passage is an infirmary 16x11 feet, on the other side are water closets, bath and lift. A connecting corri- dor, 8 feet by 16 feet, joins the pavilion to the centre building. The corridor contains a bath-room and water closets on either side of the passage for the use of the centre building. The cor- ridor should extend above the roof of the buildings in the form of a tower, and built so substantially as to hold a large tank of 20,000 gallons of water for distribution throughout the house. The buildings may be heated by low pressure boilers, that do not require skilled labor in management, or by stoves. The ven- tilation system must be established in connection with the heat- ing apparatus that may be adopted. The pavilions can be built with basements under them, the ceiling of which should be at least six feet above the grade of the ground outside. These basements could be used for working rooms or other purposes. Each wing should have a court-yard in the rear, extending its entire length, and inclosed by a picket fence, where inmates may have fresh air exercise. In the rear of the court-yard an ample garden of eight or ten acres should be provided for the employ- ment of such inmate, male or female, as may be able to work. FLAN OF UNION ALMSHOUSE—SUGGESTED BY J. S. CONRAD, M. D. 21 SECRETARY OP THE STATE BOARD OP HEALTH. Such a garden would be worth more to the Institution than two hundred acres of land. The stable should be placed in rear of the laundry and bakery building, separated from it by a road passing between them, ac- cessible to both. The number of acres of land attached to the Institution should not exceed a third of the number of inmates which the building is designed to accommodate. The cost of buildings, on the plan suggested, made of brick, should not exceed $300 per bed, for a one-story pavilion alms- house, which would aggregate $15,000 for fifty inmates, allowing each one 900 cubic feet of space. A two-story pavilion and centre building, on the same plan and dimensions, with capacity of one hundred inmates, should not exceed $250 per bed, aggre- gating $25,000. A three-story almshouse of similar plans as above described, with capacity for 150 inmates, should not ex- ceed $200 per bed, aggregating $30,000. Should a more economical almshouse be desired, on the same plan as that submitted, it may be built by reducing the dimen- sions above given to smaller proportions, thus giving a lessWm- ber of cubic feet to each inmate. Thi-ee or more counties con- senting to build a Union or District Almshouse, on the plans pro- posed, can easily estimate the proportionate cost to each one. The cost of annual maintenance will be greatly reduced by such combination. The salary of but one superintendent, physician, and matron, is to be paid, instead of three or more of these offi- cers. The family of one superintendent is to be maintained. Three horses can do the work, otherwise requiring nine or more. A like reduction of expenses, in the same proportion, in all di- rections would be effected. The management of the combined interest could be secured satisfactorily to each county by the ap- pointment of trustees from each county represented. REPORT OF THE TIIE PRISONS OF MARYLAND. It is painful to consider that in such a State as Maryland the important subject of prison economy has been suffered to lag completely behind the improving influences of the age. Indi- viduals have labored zealously in the cause, and the Prisoners’ Aid Association has gathered information, and endeavored to concentrate public opinion upon it, but a great deal has yet to be done before the prisons of this State are placed on a footing at all answering to the advances which have been made in moral and political knowledge, or even as is demanded by a due sense of our own interests. An}' one who may entertain doubts as to the wretched condi- tion of many of the county jails would, I think, have these doubts removed by visiting some of these loathsome dungeons. The general condition and management of a large majority of them is very far below what it ought to be, and, with one or two exceptions, all are deficient in, or rather destitute of those necessary arrangements which are requisite to insure that im- prisonment, if it be not beneficial, shall at least be not deterior- ating. While there are jails in the State creditable in construc- tion and administration, there ai*e also many that are a reproach upon our civilization—“seminaries of crime where purity itself could not escape contamination.” In not a few of the jails the inmates were found herded to- gether, the sane and the insane, the young and the old, the un- tried prisoner, the convict serving out his sentence, and the witness charged with no crime whatever. Nor are the sexes always separated, but in many instances they were found ming- ling together with results alike revolting and disgraceful. It is a maxi m of the common law, that an accused person is to be held innocent until he be proved to be guilty. Such a maxim, carried out to its full extent, supposes that no punish- ment, not even personal restraint, is to be inflicted before trial. But, as society is constituted, we cannot suppose a state in which SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 23 all accused persons would voluntarily appear when called upon to abide the result of a judicial investigation,—such a perfec- tion of honest simplicity is inconsistent with the existence of crime, and therefore parties charged with offenses not bailable, must often be held in durance vile; but it is a gross abuse to subject the untried prisoner to intercourse -with the felon, or to regard or treat him as a convict until he is pronounced guilty by a court of justice. It is to be lamented that in some of the jails children under fifteen years of age were found exposed among hardened crimi- nals, and it is certainly very important that these irresponsible youths should be separated from individuals who have probably gone through the first part of their apprenticeship in crime, and are rising into life with seared hearts, and depraved and irre- claimable habits. Dr. Elisha Harris, corresponding secretary of the Prison As- sociation of New York, in his introduction to “The ‘Jukes,’ or a Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity,” says: “The criminal is a morbid product of the community, the family and the various circumstances of daily life in which his child- hood is spent, the departure downward from virtue to vice and crime is undoubtedly possible in the career of any youth, be- cause, the passions ungoverned, the will and conscience stupe- fied, perverted or even occasionally overcome by disease, as in epilepsey or in wrongly indulged appetites, may result in crimi- nal as well as all sorts of vicious acts. But the number of really healthy, vigorous and reasonably well born and wTell trained children who ever fall into a career of crime, is exceedingly small. Even the accidental fall of such persons admits of res- cue. The habitual criminal classes, spring almost exclusively from a different stock; their youthful days have been spent either in vicious indulgence or amidst the degrading and blight- ing surroundings of physical and social defilement, with only a flickering of the redeeming and saving influence of desire and hope for a virtuous and useful life.” The existing means by which crime is nourished, maintained and extended, are questions which interest every intelligent citi- zen. Not to want or blameless destitution is the first entrance upon the career of crime to be attifibuted. For honest poverty there need be no starvation, and if crime and poverty be often 24 REPORT OF THE united, it will probably be found that that poverty has been the result of misconduct, of dissipation and idleness, and the tempta- tion of turning an “easy” penny. When the false step is once taken, a thousand snares are spi‘ead around, into which the thoughtless and heedless soon become inextricably involved. It deserves to be considered that a large majority of the pris- oners found in the county jails were young negro men between twenty and thirty years of age, and generally indicted or con- victed for petty theft or common assault. No individuals are more exposed to crime than those who remain idle and ignorant in a civilized community; or, in other words, those individuals who whilst touched by the wants and desires of civilization, feel none of its restraining influences. We have arrived at a state of things in which an individual who is positively ignorant is in most respects excluded from the great sphere of civilization, and who is the more exposed to misery and more liable to be drawn into the snares of crime than others who are more firmly linked to society, and upon whom, therefore, shame has greater power. In what way, it may be asked, is this stream of crime to be restrained? Pro- vide the negro with moral, religious and primary instruction and with work, and then let charity be exercised with wariness and discretion. CLASSIFICATION OF PRISONERS An important feature in the economy of prisons is to enforce a complete classification of prisoners, which should extend to age, sex and degrees of criminality. If separation cannot be effected by location in distinct buildings, it should, at least, be accomplished by divisions in the same building. Prisons for convicted persons should be divided into six classes: The first for men who are sentenced to hard labor, solitary confinement, or lengthened imprisonment; the second class for females in the same condition. The next class of prisons may be called houses of correction. They should be provided for men sentenced to terms of imprisonment not exceeding twelve months; females committed for similar periods should be confined in a fourth class of prisons. Two other reformatory prisons, destined solely for convicted criminals under the age of eighteen, one REPORT. To the Honorable JOIIM LEE CARROLL, Governor of the State of Maryland. According to instructions received from you on the 14th day of February, 1877,1 have visited and inspected all the Alms- houses, Prisons, Reformatories and Public Institutions in the State; particularly, with reference to their sanitary condition, the treatment of the inmates, and the number of pauper insane who are confined therein at the public expense. In collecting and tabulating the statistics herewith transmit- ted, I am indebted for valuable assistance to Dr. J. S. Conrad, Superintendent of the Maryland State Insane Asylum, who has visited most of the various institutions in company with me, and has given special attention to the classification of the insane inmates. It is painful to report the shocking condition in which many of the public institutions were found, and it is difficult to con- ceive that anything worse ever existed in a civilized country. It needs not the battle-strife with its sequences of woe, nor the pestilence with its horrors, to afford a field of labor for the truly philanthropic. It is here in our midst, at our very doors, and the field is widest where we most boast of refinement, progress and reform. The boldest efforts of the imagination cannot ex- ceed the romance of real life. There are many who seem to possess souls full of yet who are alarmed at contemplating suffering humanity. It is repulsive to them in every shape. Such persons, instead of truly sympathizing with their fellow creatures, turn aside from their sufferings and shut their eyes to every distressing scene under the pi'etence that their exquisite feelings cannot bear the shock. The man who visits the abodes of misery, who is eye- May it please your Excellency: 10 REPORT OF THE witness to the sad scenes which many of our prisons and alms- houses exhibit, will exercise his active benevolence with far more effect than he, who, whilst assuming the name of philan- thropist, contents himself with listening to the narratives of distress and alleviating it out of the superfluity of his fortune. The best written tale is not that which most resembles the ordinary chain of events and circumstances; but that which by selecting and combining them conceals those inconsistencies and deficiencies which leave in real life our sense of sight unsatisfied. There is often more genuine benevolence in a personal visit to the poor, the prisoner, or the sick, than there is in any donation short of entire relief. The contentment of the poor depends, in a great measure, upon a combination of human sympathy with human aid, and when they enjoy this their pleasure maybe rendered more vari- ous and more salutary in its effects, by imbuing their minds with useful truths and more enlarged ideas of their position and interests. But so long as they possess neither the comforts of life nor intelligence, must necessarily continue more or less in a state of injurious depression. The fact that a mind full of piety and contentment yields a perpetual dividend of happiness, was strikingly illustrated in the case of an inmate of one of the almshouses visited. An old lady who had been left destitute was unwilling to live upon the bounty of her friends, and with the genuine independence of a strong mind resolved to avail herself of the public provision for the helpless poor. “The name of going to the almshouse had,” she said, “nothing terrifying or disgraceful to her, for she had been taught that conduct was the real standard of respectabil- ity.” She is now there with a heart full of thankfulness, patient, pious and uniformly cheerful. She instructs the young around her, encourages the old, and makes herself an agreeable com- panion to all by her varied knowledge and entertaining conver- sation. Her character reflects dignity on her station, and those who visit her come away with sentiments of respect and admi- ration for this voluntary resident of the almshouse, who feels in her heart that, In treating of the respective institutions visited, my endeavor shall be to make a full and faithful exposition of their real con- “Honor and shame from no condition rise.” SECRETARY' OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 15 almshouse and the insane asylum. Insanity, once almost un- known among negroes, has become so great and increasing an affliction in Virginia, that to relieve it the State some years ago constructed a negro insane asylum, the only one in the world, where over 300 of them are now cared for. This institution being overcrowded, the Legislature of the State has recently made a large appropriation to erect and equip another asylum for the negro insane, to be located south of the James River. From the following tables it will be seen that insanity is also on the increase in our State, and that already additional accom- modations are required, especially for the chronic or incurable insane, many of whom now languish in jails and almshouses. In carrying out such philanthropic schemes, fraught as greatly with blessings to him who gives as to those who receive, we should not lose sight of the truth that in State as well as in in- dividual charity, the gift is bare into which something of sym- pathy does not enter, and that the cold charity that shows its ostentation in cheerless piles of architecture, is not in accord- ance with the spirit of Him who first defined true alms-giving. TABLE I. Showing Insane, Idiotic, and Total Population of the State of Maryland for 1850, 1860 and 1870 : Year. Population. Insane. Idiotic. Ratio of Insane to Population. Ratio of Idiotic to Population. 1850 583,034 546 391 1 to 1,068 1 to 1,491 1800 687,034 560 305 1 to 1,227 1 to 2,252 1870 780,894 733 362 1 to 1.065 1 to 2,157 TABLE II. Private. Pauper Total. In State Insane Asylum 50 179 516 4 53 Unknown. 229 516 4 302 Unknown. “ Private Asylums “ Dwellings Total 249 Unknown 299 752 1,051 Number and Distribution of the Insane, May 1, 1877 16 REPORT OP THE ALMSHOUSES. An idea of the condition of many of our almshouses may bo derived from the language of Kiel, who wrote of the German asylums in 1803: “They are neither curative institutions nor such asylums for the incurable as humanity can tolerate. They are for the most part veritable dens, deficient in ventilation, in the facilities for recreation, in short they are wanting in all the physical and moral means necessary to the cure and comfort of the inmates.” In most of these places cleanliness is an unknown luxury, all is filth and misery and the most degrading, unrelieved suffering. The inmates, sane and insane, were found in many7 instances huddled together without discrimination of age, sex or condi- tion ; commingling in unrestrained licentiousness and with re- sults shocking to all sense of decency and humanity. Nothing can be more affecting than the thought that so many human beings, made in the image of God, but bent down under adver- sity or smitten by disease, should be left in such a wretched condition. It is a picture deeply calculated to arouse public at- tention. Victor Hugo never wrote of more dismal scenes, nor has anything more shocking been drawn by the masterly pen- cil of Dore. Has man so little respect for the jewel of reason, which makes him man, or so little love for his neighbor who has lost that treasure, that he cannot extend to him the hand of assistance and aid him in regaining it? The story of old Betsy7 Iligden fighting off the wolf from her door inch by inch, and finally running away to die in the fields in her great horror of the almshouse, is no myth of Dickens’ fancy. That human beings may have life and health to the full period of human existence, four factors are requisite—pure air, warmth, proper food and exercise of body and mind. A human being destroys or poisons the oxygen of nearly a gallon of air per minute, contaminates and renders unfit for use at least three times as much; and in any case, unless ventilation to that ex- tent and in proportion to the number of persons present be pvo- SECRETARY OF TIIE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 25 for boys, the other for girls, complete the classification. By this arrangement differences of crime are never confounded, the sexes are not confined under the same roof, and the young are not exposed to contamination from those more advanced in crime. Persons committed but not yet brought to trial should be placed in prisons of an order quite distinct from those above de- tailed, and these are again subdivided into two classes—one for persons to be brought before the courts for trial, the other for witnesses wTho are to be held, or for persons guilty of minor misdemeanors. These prisons need not be so distinct as those for convicted criminals, but in all cases the most rigorous sepa- ration of classes and sexes should be enforced. In my tour of inspection I have encountered so many great evils in the systems of various institutions, that I feel impelled to recommend the propriety of this State following in the lead of other Commonwealths and enacting a law providing for the appointment of an Inspector of Public Institutions. The duties of this official should be to visit twice or oftener in each year every charitable, reformatory or other institution in the State supported wTholly or in part by the public monies, to thoroughly inspect and examine them and report the result of his investigations to the Governor of the State. He should bo empowered to redress all grievances which may come under his observation, and should, with that object in view, have free access to the records of each institution. PROGRESS OF PAUPERISM. The welfare and happiness of every individual mainly depends on obedience to a law which is unalterably annexed to his state of being. He must rely upon the product of his own industry. He must live by the sweat of his brow. Nothing is so gener- ally dreaded as poverty, since it exposes a man to distresses that are but little pitied, and to the contempt of those who may have no natural endowments superior to his own. Every other diffi- culty or danger one can encounter with courage, because he knows that bravery is always admired, and that his success will meet with applause; but in poverty every virtue is generally REPORT OF THE obscured and no course of conduct will probably secure him from reproach. The man who can support with courage the “proud man’s contumely,” may shrink at the prospect of a pris- on ; and yet he who can cheerfully feed on the coarsest food may be unable to resist the importunate solicitations of hunger. Where this is the case, it would be cruel to punish too harshly the unhappy wretch who has yielded to such temptations— temptations that may be doubled by the multiplied distress of seeing a family ready to perish of hunger. In such cases jus- tice should be executed with less rigor, and the malefactor would often be restored to virtue by the hand of mercy stretched out to his relief. An increase of pauperism is a natural consequence of increase of population, but in our country it is beyond that ratio.' This is partly due to the fact that too often the unprincipled and worthless are supplied bv the charitable with means of exist- ence only to become a prey to their vicious inclinations and ap- petites. One of the circumstances that first arrests attention in our large cities, is the great prevalence of mendicancy. It is not, perhaps, the actual amount of misery existing among the men- dicant classes, great as that may be, which is most to be depre- ciated, but the falsehood, the trickery and fraud which become part of their profession, and spread by their example. Vice, under the garb of wretchedness, often appeals to our sympathies, and encouragement is frequently afforded to the one by the relief which is intended to bo administered to the other. To assume the semblance of misery, in all its most revolting varieties, is the business of the mendicant. His success depends upon the skill with which he exercises deception. A mass of tilth, nakedness and misery is constantly moving about, enter- ing every house, addressing itself to every eye and soliciting from every hand. Mendicancy has become too common almost to be disgraceful. It is not, in the estimation of these vagrants, disreputable to beg. nor to appear wretchedly clothed, nor to be without anv of the decencies of life. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. TRAMPS. There is a class of people now infesting the whole country called “Tramps,” with whom mendicancy is a regular and only means of subsistence. Tramps are to be met with in great numbers on all the coun- try roads, and are notorious for their thievish and dissolute hab- its. Unlike the ordinary mendicant, the tramp has no fixed habitation, and when darkness overtakes him on his journey, he begins to look about him at random for lodging or shelter, which he generally obtains on application at the first house that pre- sents itself. He prefers applying for this accommodation to the smaller class of farmers, because the larger landholder is un- willing to admit him, and only gives him the straw with which to make his bed in the barn or stable. The support of this class of paupers, therefore, falls principally upon the very person who is the least able of all others to afford it In giving relief or shelter to tramps, some persons are doubtless actuated b}r feel- ings of charity and commiseration, whilst not a few dare not refuse it, from a well grounded dread of incurring the vagrant’s resentment. Such vagabondism should engage the earnest at- tention of the Legislature, and the precedents of antiquity may furnish a solution of the problem. According to the laws of Solon and Draco, a conviction of willful poverty was punished by death. Plato, more gentle in his manners, would have them only banished. He calls them enemies of the State, and pronounces as a rule, that w’here there are great numbers of mendicants (tramps) fatal revolutions will happen; for as these people have nothing to lose they plan op- portunities to disturb the public repose. Among the Ancient Homans, whose universal object was the public prosperity, one of the principal occupations of their Censors was to keep a watch on the vagabonds; those who were condemned as incor- rigible sluggards were sent to the mines or made to labor on the public edifices. The Romans of that day did not consider the 28 REPORT OP THE dolce far niente as an occupation; they were convinced that their charities were ill-placed in bestowing them upon such men. Yet it was not inhumanity that prompted the ancients thus severely to chastise idleness; they were impelled to it by a strict equity, and it would be doing them injustice to suppose it was thus they treated those unfortunate poor whose indigence was occasioned by infirmities, by age or by unforseen or un- avoidable calamities. These were always protected and kindly cared for by the public authorities. Our modern “tramp” exhibits a state of circumstances in which both the folly of idleness as it affects the individual who is guilty of it, and the injustice of it as it regards the rest of the community are undeniable. It is folly, because the industrious portion of society, who are the most powerful, may think it proper to refuse alms which are drawn from the resour- ces of their own labor, and which the idle and dissolute can have no natural right to demand; and it is certainly unjust to claim from the hard earned stores which labor and economy have collected, even a modicum to ward off the consequences which attend on vice and indolence. The prosperity of each individual, and of the State, which is made up of individuals, is the result of the due observance of the conditions of industry imposed on us as part of our state of being; they serve, like gravitation in the mechanism of the Universe, as the foundation on which our welfare must depend for its stability. We are indebted to them for the wealth already accumulated and which must be preserved from crumbling into dust by the same labor and abstinence by which it has been gathered up for our use. Under no form of government, under no system of laws, can we dispense with an attention to these conditions. In propor- tion as individuals relax in their observance of them, their well- being and happiness must be ultimately diminished, and the prosperity and strength of the State be impaired. If the num- ber of individuals living without labor amounted to a large pro- portion of society, the result would be a general impoverish- ment, and if they continued to increase, general ruin. Nations may perish by other means than the sword of the conqueror : they may be extinguished by vice and defects which gradually corrode and undermine them, and which it requires great vigi- SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 29 lance and sagacity to detect, and great courage and resolution to eradicate and subdue. These defects may originate in laws which are mischievous in themselves; in the inculcation of mistaken principles of con- duct, in the misapplication of wealth, and in bad examples. Such causes and many others may combine to corrupt the popu- lation of a country; to encourage idleness and vice, and to be- tray the people into abandoning the course marked out for them by the laws of nature, which course no one is permitted to leave with impunity. It is evident that in the past decade of years a change has taken place in the habits of many of our people; their industry has abated; their love of independence is less conspicuous and their reluctance to receive relief from funds collected from the rest of the community is less marked. The signs of this change and its tendency to increase becomes daily more manifest, and the attention of the public and of the State should be fixed on these formidable appearances. “Tramping” is comparatively a recent institution ; it may be termed the aristocracy of beggary. The tramp is a professional vagrant who has his regular “beat” in the summer, and in the winter seeks refuge in the jails and almshouses; selecting with instinctive shrewdness those that are most comfortable and cleanly. His vagabond life is anything but the realization of that blissful period “when poverty shall be embraced by riches and bring forth love.” At one of our almshouses (Frederick county) upwards of eight thousand of these vagrants were fed and lodged between the 1st of October, 187<>, and the 1st of March, 1877. With this multitude of able-bodied men, fed in idleness at public or private expense, very naturally criminal offenses increase and the table of arrests will show a most alarming growth of crime. Pauperism, when it thus attacks a community, is a disease. It spreads rapidly and eats away all the habits of self-support and true manhood. The ventures and chances of begging soon become a kind of pleasure and excitement, and the vagrant spends, seeking for assistance, the time and ability which would give him an ample livelihood. I entirely concur with the views expressed by my colleague, Prof. E. Lloyd Howard, on this subject, in the “First Biennial 30 REPORT OP THE Report of the State Board of Health.” Dr. Howard says: “The only method of meeting this evil lies in the speedy estab- lishment of the House of Correction, and its being under com- petent and efficient management.” He regards the inaugura- tion of this institution as “the most important measure relative to the idle and vicious classes that has occupied the attention of the Legislature for many years.” This institution, now’ in pro- gress of construction, when completed, will doubtless do much to secure the safety of society through the reformation of the criminal. Here the vagabond, the delinquent, the petty thief, and the chronic drunkard, (that mischievous criminal of whom the State takes too little care,) would find a chance to start fair once more in the weighted race of life. MARYLAN D STATE HOS PITAL FOR THE INSANE MALE DEPARTMENT v/f,vKrf,Avm ggrcwn wmOTWBrctircntt mm TwiAyrni PLAN of 1st. FLOOR. SPRING GROVE J.C.XEILSON Archt. Scale l4sin=lft,. FEMALE DEPARTMENT SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 31 CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. THE MARYLAND HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE. At Spring Grove, near Catonsville, Md. Nothing can exceed the beauty and magnificence of the scen- ery from this hospital. The spectator who stands upon the facade may enjoy a prospect which is rarely to be met with, whilst he is fanned by the pure, gentle breeze of the Chesa- peake, and the sweet warblings of the feathered tribes greet his ear in mingled melody. Beneath him is a rich and fertile val- ley, dotted with handsome villas, and beyond this, upon the bosom of the bay, vessels of every description, bearing the en- signs of all nations, are seen gliding calmly along, while in the far distance a varied and most imposing prospect of high lands covered with forest trees is distinctly visible. The approach to the hospital is over a beautiful rustic bridge, by a well-shaded and gravelled road, which also affords a pleas- ant promenade for patients. The curtilage is extensive and the grounds immediately surrounding the building are laid out in grass plots, variegated with native and exotic plants, and at all times adorned with flowers running their course through the seasons. The general appearance and arrangement of this vast estab- lishment may be better understood from the accompanjdng plate and diagram, than from any description that can be furnished. The structure is of Maryland granite, three stories high, and consists of a centre building 90 feet front, with two wings ex- tending back 240 feet each, in echelon, so as not to present one solid building, uniform in all its parts, but an apparent collec- tion of houses, united together, yet diversified in appearance and varied in character, admitting of a thorough classifica- tion of the patients’. One of the wings is appropriated to the 32 REPORT OF THE use of the men and contains spacious halls, sitting rooms, par- lors, dining-rooms, single bed-rooms, associated dormitories, bath-rooms, water-closets, &c., &c. The other wing, of the same extent and similar construction, is for the female patients. In the centre building is contained the superintendent’s office, the clerk’s office, the apothecary’s office, the general parlor, the offi- cers’ dining-room and chambers, the library, the billiard-room, the chapel, and an amusement-room complete in all its arrange- ments, where weekly dances, concerts and theatrical perform- ances are held for the amusement and enjoyment of the pati- ents. The culinary arrangements are in the rear of the centre building, and embrace all the modern improved appliances for cooking by steam, &c. The laundry, which is operated by steam, and the heating apparatus, are in a separate building- located at some distance from the main building. The second and third floors, which in the wings are duplicates of the first floor, are reached by iron stairways that combine neatness, dur- ability and safety from fire. Throughout the building there are water-plugs and hose-pipes, so arranged that each floor can be flooded in a few moments in the event of fire. Attached to each wing are two large airing courts, where the patients can exer- cise without the possibility of escape ; there are also bowling- all 03-8, swings, gymnastic arrangements, &e. This hospital is intended to accommodate three hundred pa- tients, and as it is already nearly full to the extent of its capa- city, and there are still upwards of five hundred indigent insane languishing in the various almshouses of the State, additional accommodations are required commensurate with the magni- tude of the wants to be provided for, planned and arranged in accordance with modern views upon the management of the insane. It is important in the treatment of the insane, to group them into families graded by their mental condition, and for this purpose, it will soon become necessary for the State to erect other buildings in connection with this institution. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 33 HISTORY OF THE MARYLAND HOSPITAL. This institution was founded in the year 1798, by the State of Maryland granting the sum of $8,000 for the purpose of erecting a General Hospital. The Mayor and City Council as- sumed the trusteeship of the charity, and, together with several benevolent citizens, donated $18,000 to assist in the erection of the buildings. The corporation of Baltimore granted a lease of the property in 1808, to Drs. Smith and Mackenzie, who under- took to enlarge the building to meet the demands of the increas- ing population. These gentlemen induced the Legislature of 1811 to grant the sum of $18,000 for the purpose of increasing the capacity of the hospital, which was done, and the hospital received a large number of the wounded from the battle of North Point, in 1814. In 1816 an additional appropriation of $30,000, with the priv- ilege of raising by lottery $20,000 more, was granted. These gentlemen realized from this scheme $60,000, which they con- tributed to the building of the hospital, making the cost of the hospital, up to this period, $154,000. xVbout this time 40 luna- tics, and 150 patients suffering with general diseases were accommodated. J n 1828 the State of Maryland asserted its claim to the hospital, and it was duly turned over to the control of the State by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore. The Legislature then vested the control of the hospital in a corporation styled “The President and Visitors of the Maryland Hospital,” whose powers, however, were suspended until the expiration of the lease of Dr. John S. Mackenzie, the solo survivor of the lessees. The lease expired in 1834, when the management was assumed by the President and Visitors incorporated. The medical duties were performed by the voluntary attendance of Drs. Steuart, Cohen, Fisher, Mackenzie, Fonerdon and Sexton. Dr. Stokes was appointed Resident Physician in 1835, and served one year. Dr. Fisher was then elected to fill the vacancy and served ten 34 REPORT OF THE years. From 1834 to 1840 the number of lunatic patients had increased beyond the capacity of the accommodations. Accord- ingly the Legislature granted the sum of $30,000 for the pur- pose of extension. It was at the same time provided by the Act of the Legislature, that the hospital should be devoted ex- clusively to the treatment of lunatics. The entire cost of the hospital, up to this time, was $184,000. In 1846 Dr. Fonerdon was appointed Resident Physician, after the resignation of Dr. Fisher. Dr. Fonerdon served twenty-three years. Dr. A\rm. Fred’k Steuart was appointed Resident Physician in 1868—Dr. Fonerdon acting as Medical Superintendent. In 1847 a house was built for the Medical Superintendent at a cost of $10,000; also, a lot of three acres of land adjoining the hospital, was pur- chased at $6,000, making the total cost, up to date of 1847, $200,000. In 1852 an Act was passed by the General Assembly authoriz- ing the appointment of a Commission to select a site to build a new hospital. The following gentlemen were selected: Dr. R. S. Steuart, Benj. C. Howard, Richard Potts, AYashington Du- vall and Dr. C. Humphreys. The Commission selected the site known as “ Spring Grove,” near Catonsville, which they purchased for the sum of $14,000; of this sum, $12,340 were contributed by citizens of Baltimore, and in 1852 the Legislature appropriated $10,000 to complete the purchase money and begin the building. The Legislature of 1856 appropriated $15,000 to continue the building. In 1858 another appropriation of $25,000 was granted, in 1859 still an- other of $25,000, and in 1860 another of $100,000. Dr. Ilum- phreys having resigned, J. S. Berry was appointed by Governor Hicks to supply his place in the Commission. The Commissioners proceeded with the work, and at the be- ginning of the year 1861, had nearly completed the north wing; the centre building was also raised to the second floor, and the foundation of the south wing laid. The war of the States hav- ing been inaugurated, the progress of the building was arrested. In 1862 a new Commission was appointed by the Legislature, consisting of Messrs. J. S. Berry, Alexander Randall, Dr. John AYhitridge, J. Reese and A. G. AYaters. These gentlemen decided not to proceed with the building, as material and labor was very high. They, therefore, covered in all the exposed parts of the SECRETARY OF TI1E STATE R0AR1> OF HEALTH. 35 work, and employed watchmen to protect the premises, for which purpose a fifth appropriation of $10,000 was made. The construction of the building was thus delayed until 1864, when the Legislature made another appropriation of $175,000 to com- plete the building. By an Act of the General Assembly, ap- proved March 7th, 1868, Ch. 117, the Commissioners who had been removed by the Act of 1862, Ch. 234, approved March 10. were reinstated, and on the 22nd of April, 1868, they reorgan- ized with Dr. B. S. Steuart as President, under the title of “President and Board of Visitors of the Maryland Hospital.” In 1870 the President and Visitors were authorized to sell the old hospital property on Broadway and appropriate the proceeds to continue the building in course of construction at Spring- Grove. The old hospital property was purchased by the late Johns Hopkins, for the sum of $133,318.67. The Commissioners expended all the money in hand, and an- ticipating further appropriations from the Legislature, proceeded with the work, and so far completed the building that the pati- ents were transferred from the old hospital to Spring Grove in October, 1872. The debt incurred was $330,000, which the Leg- islature of 1872 provided for by appropriation. This sum, how- ever, was found to be insufficient, and in 1874 the President and Board of Visitors petitioned the Legislature for an additional appropriation of $53,153.08, to cover an existing deficiency to that amount. The patience of the Legislature being at last ex- hausted, the prayer was not granted, and the President and Visi- tors, in order to carry on the operations of the hospital, mort- gaged the property to the extent of $150,000. Tbe Legislature of 1876 passed an Act (Cbapt. 351) author- izing the Governor to aj>point a new Board of Managers, and appropriated the sum of $135,000 to relieve tbe existing mort- gage; and a further sum of $15,000 annually for two years, for tbe maintainance of tbe hospital. The Act further provides. (Section 9.) that “The Board of Managers shall provide accom- modations for at least two hundred and fifty pauper lunatics of the State, who may be sent to said hospital for curative treat- ment, which number shall be, from time to time, apportioned by them among the several counties and city of Baltimore, accord- ing to their respective population, as ascertained by the last preceding census.” REPORT OF THE Section XI.—“The Judges of the Circuit Court of the several counties, and the Criminal Court of Baltimore city, in accord- ance with the provisions of the Code, are hereby authorized to send, from time to time, to the said hospital, pauper lunatics of this State, to the number to which the respective counties and city of Baltimore shall respectively be entitled under the Ninth Section, aforegoing.” The new Board of Managers, consisting of C. W. Chancellor. M. D., President, Thos. R. Brown, M. D., Secretary, Ex-Gov. A. W. Bradford, lion. Barnes Compton, Hon. Henry D. Earnandis. John W. McCoy, Esq., Francis White, Esq., James McSherry, Esq., and L. W. Gunther, Esq., organized and assumed control of the institution on the 7th day of July, 187G. Immediately after organizing the Board elected Dr. J. S. Conrad Medical Su- perintendent, and Dr. R. G. B. Broome Assistant Physician. GENERAL MANAGER ENT. By the exercise of a judicious economy in the general man- agement of the institution, and aided by their accomplished Su- perintendent, the Board have been able to reduce the expenses of the institution nearly forty per cent. The number of pati- ents has more than doubled, and the records of the institution show a gratifying exhibit in the percentage of cured and the de- creased percentage of death, as compared with previous years. Out-door employments, cheerful society, the occasional pres- ence of friends—and even visitors—healthy recreations and amusements, the enjoyment of music and the dance, the care of a garden or the cultivation of flowers, have united in improving the health and happiness of the inmates. The female inmates are mostly employed in needle-work, or such other household avocations as are the most agreeable to them. The amount of needle-work done has fully supplied all the needs of the institu- tion in this particular, and keeping the patients thus employed has been found to create a quiet in the halls, as well as add greatly to their contentment and happiness. Every effort to beautify the halls and the rooms of the pati- ents by adorning them with flowers, birds, &c., is put in practice, and it is to be regretted that the means of the institution do not SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. admit of a more liberal .distribution of paintings, chromos or en- gravings upon its walls. There is a good library connected with the hospital. Whilst the Board have exercised a judicious economy in the general management of the institution, they have placed no restrictions upon an abundant supply of wholesome and nutri- cious food for the inmates; and the cuisine of the establishment has been pronounced to be £-equal to that of a first-class hotel." Indeed, the general appearance of the patients, the striking im- provement which takes place in many of them in a month or two after admission, and the almost entire absence of sickness, may be looked upon as so many indications that the diet and regimen furnished are conducive to the general health and comfort of the patients. By the same means, it is hoped, that they may be guarded from many forms of illness, arising from the lowered condition of the circulation and other functions which seem to belong to every variety of insanity. Whenever restraints may become necessary, the most simple means are selected. Undivided personal attention has been attended with the happiest consequences; but in so large an asy- lum, with many indigent insane, the means of mental control must always be limited, and instances of frantic behavior and ferocity are becoming far less frequent. The paroxysms of mania to which many of the patients are subject, are passed over with less outrage and difficulty, and if cases are yet seen which appear for a length of time to baffle all tranquilizing treatment, they chiefly, if not exclusively, occur in acute mania, the symptoms of which would be exasperated by severe coercion, or among those who, having been insane many years, have already been subjected to violent restraint. The average number of patients under restraint during the past year was but two per cent., which is a very gratifying ex- hibit. There can be no doubt of the fact, that with the insane as with the sane the more confidence bestowed the better. The patients in this hospital exhibit a degree of contentment and happiness seldom met with in similar institutions. The grouping together in families, graded by the mental faculties of a number of patients, cannot be too highly commended. Those who have been removed here from other institutions not possess- ing the requisite advantages for their treatment, are loud in ex- 38 REPORT OF THE pressing their gratitude at the change in their physical condi- tion, and some give evidences of a marked mental improvement. Whenever the mind of a patient admits of an advance to a “family” of a higher mental grade, the promotion is made, and is looked forward to and appreciated by the patient to an extent hardly credible. Few instances occur where it is necessary to return a patient to a lower grade; but on the contrary, the con- fidence shown by the promotion stimulates the patient to careful behavior, and is frequently followed by further advances, which gradually lead to and result in a perfect cure. It requires much experience to qualify the best mind for the duties of supervising an asylum for the insane. The Board of Managers of this hospital have been peculiarly fortunate in securing the services of officers not only experienced in their sev- eral duties, but distinguished for their intelligence, exemplary char- acters and their devotion to the important trusts confided to them. Table showing Whole Number of Patients. Pay Patients 52 City “ 89 County “ 90 Total 231 Table showing Whole Number of Inmates by Sexes. White Males 118 “ Females 102 Colored Males 6 “ Females 5 Total 231 Table showing the Number f rom Maryland. White Males 116 “ Females .... - 101 Colored Males 6 “ Females 5 Total 228 Table showing Number of Indigent Insane. White Males 91 “ Females 77 Colored Males 6 “ Females 5 Total 179 SECRETARY OP THE STATE BOARD OP HEALTH. 39 Table showing Duration of Insanity. Under 3 months ... 46 From 3 Months to 6 Months 35 •* 1 Year to 2 Years 54 44 2 Years to 3 “ 22 44 3 “ *4 4 “ - 17 44 4 “ 44 5 4 6 44 5 “ 44 6 44 9 6 4 4 44 7 “ 9 “ 7 “ “ 8 4 4 3 4 8 44 44 9 44 4 44 9 44 “ 10 4 4 .... 10 44 10 4 4 “11 44 3 •* 11 44 “ 12 44 1 it H l( X X X -O 1870 1871 1872 ss i! : : i U*- p H H d ' to O M 00 -J-1 to Male > -T Ct O Female.. Ci 4* —T L-O - H- tO MOW Total .... P H-* to *-* O Male g i w -* to M M Female.. E i> E : Total .... W D CO O bO &> -T a CO Male .... w ! w •i w ct w m Female.. t ! 2 | co i *- ►- w_ O O Q C o CO 4- Total ... ? 1 MARYLAND INSTITUTION FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF THE BLIND. PLAN OF PRINCIPAL FLOOR. A—Girls’ Sitting Room. B—Officers’ Pining Room. C—Boys’ Sitting Room. D—Sitting Room. E—Music Room. E—Sewing Room. G—Matron's Parlor. TT—Reception Room, SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 57 MARYLAND INSTITUTION FOB THE INSTRUCTION OF THE BLIND. The Maryland Institute for the Instruction of the Blind is located on the county side of Boundary avenue, between North and Calvert streets, Baltimore. The site is one of the most de- sirable and attractive of any around the city. The grounds contain about five acres and are handsomely laid out. The building is 140 feet front by 60 feet deep, with a back building 60 by 40 feet. It has four stories above the basement, includ- ing the mansard, and is capable of accommodating one hundred pupils. The building, which was completed in 1868, at a cost of $145,000, is constructed of native marble, and presents a hand- some and imposing appearance. The institution is as its title indicates, purely educational, and embraces three departments of instruction—academic, musical and technical. The academical department includes the studies usually pursued in our public schools. Much importance is attached to music, and the instruction in this branch is very thorough. The technical teaching is confined to trades best adapted to the blind, such as piano forte tuning, mattress, and broom making, chair caning, sewing, knitting and the use of the sewing machine. There are at present fifty pupils in the institution—twenty- four males and twenty-six females. Of this number forty-one are beneficiaries of the State, who are admitted for a term of from three to eight years, in the discretion of the Governor. The general hygiene of the institution is good; the building is well warmed and ventilated by a low pressure steam heating apparatus, which is placed in the basement of the main building. The cold air is conducted to the heating surfaces large wooden boxes, and after passing over the heating surfaces is admitted into the rooms and halls above by means of registers in the walls. With the present number of inmates the dormitories and class-rooms contain about 800 cubic feet to the occupant. The schools are so arranged that the classes are in session fifty REPORT OF THE minutes to the hour. The other ten minutes being spent by the pupils in the open air when the weather will permit. The cov- ered porches connected with each floor make this arrangement very effective. The dietary of the institution, while not extrav- agant, is liberal and the food is well prepared. The blind, and indeed all classes of defectives, require plenty of good, whole- some food. The water-closets are placed in the north-west and north-east corners of the main building, with the exception of those con- nected with the infirmaries, which are in the centre of the house; their construction is defective and should be altered. With an average of fifty inmates there have been but four deaths since the occupancy of this building in 1868. Three from natu- ral causes and one from accident. During this period of nine years few cases of sickness have occurred and no epidemic has prevailed. The vital force of the blind has been estimated as being twenty per cent, less than that of persons possessing all their faculties. The workshops for the male pupils are in the basement of the main building. This arrangement is objectionable and is regard- ed as temporary. 'Workshops have been opened at No. 130 North Howard street, where industrious blind mechanics may find employment at fair wages. Many are unable, from want of capital and business tact, to establish a business for them- selves, and, by reason of their defective sight, find it almost im- possible to obtain employment in shops with workmen who can see; hence the necessity for the workshops on Howard street. A graduate of this institution has never been known to solicit alms on the street. A suitable building should be erected in connection with the institution for shop purposes. A gymnasium is also much need- ed for the pupils in inclement weather. These matters have not escaped the notice of those in charge of the institution, but they have lacked the means to carry out their views. The water and gas used in the institution are supplied by the city water works and the Baltimore Gaslight Company. The cost of maintainance per capita per annum, is $291.42, which does not include repairs and improvements. There are nine teachers and officers, and nine other emploj’ees in the insti- tution, all under the superin'e idenee of Dr. F. D. Morrison. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 59 Name of Blindness. No. Causes of Blindness, No. 9 6 “ with Cataract 3 Consanguineus Marriage "Corneal Opacity 34 12 l Defects in Shape and Construction 3 K verted T.id from Scar Gunshot Wounds 3 3 Near Sighted, extreme 3 3 Measles i The present ages of patients are Neglect 2 Nerve Inflammation |Near Sighted 1 3 omitted, as they have no bearing upon Ophthalmia, at or after birth 9 3 disease or causes. Scarlet Fever Scrofula 2 Small Pox 2 Specific- 2 Sympathetic Inflammation 2 Typlius Fever 1 Unknown 1 1 Total 55 Total 55 * Corneal Opacity is produced by many different causes. f The large list of Congenital cases is probably due to the imperfect sources of information. Jit is to be regretted that there are not more cases of near sighted children receiving the benefits of the Institution and thereby retaining their sight for comparatively useful work in after life, as it is known that there are great numbers in the community still further impairing their defective vision by prolonged study. N, B.—A list such as the above is confessedly unadapted for strictly scientific purposes. TABLE SHOWING STATISTICS OK BLINDNESS. 60 REPORT OF THE INSTITUTION FOR COLORED BLIND AND DEAF MUTES. In the year 1872 an application was made to the General As- sembly, for an appropriation to establish a sepai*ate Institution for the Instruction of the Colored Blind and Deaf-Mutes in this State. The existing and well-founded prejudice against the reception and care of this class of children, in the institutions established for the use of white children, had prevented them from receiving that protection and attention to which they were justly entitled. It was clearly the duty of the State to make suitable provision for all thus afflicted; and the promptness with which the aid was given when asked, indicated that the public appreciated this cause, and was ready to furnish the desired relief. In view' of this existing necessity, it was deemed proper by the Directors of “The Maryland Institution for the Instruc- tion of the Blind,” and of “The Maryland Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb,” that they should inaugurate this movement; and they accordingly delegated three directors from each institution to organize the newr institution, and apply to the Legislature for the necessary aid. In response to this request, an appropriation of $10,000 was made for the year 1872, and of $10,000 for the year 1873, wrhich enabled the committee to purchase the desirable building No. 92 Broadwray, now occu- pied by the institution, and to obtain all the other necessary w orking materials. The School wras opened in the month of October, 1872, and the total number of pupils received during the first year, was 18, of wThom 8 were deaf-mutes, and 10 were blind. During the years 1874 and 1875, the number had in- creased to 31, which was the full capacity of the building, and it was found impossible to comfortably accommodate any more or wTant of room. This necessity for greater accommodation induced the directors to erect an additional building, during the past year, at a cost of about $6,000, which is in every respect admirably wrell adapted to the use intended. The work per- SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. formed is similar to that of the parent institutions for white children, and is with a special view to the future welfare and support of the inmates. In addition to the ordinary education given in the school- room, instruction is also furnished to those who are capable, in broom-making and other mechanical employments, from which some revenue is derived towards the support of the institution. The institution is under the charge of Dr. F. D. Morrison. ( Superintendent,) who has devoted much time and earnest atten- tion to the development of the purpose for which it Avas organ- ized. 62 REPORT OF THE REFORMATORY INSTITUTIONS. ST MARY’S INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS, Of the City of Baltimore. On the termination of the war in the year 1865, Most Rev. Archbishop Spalding saw the necessity of establishing a protec- torate for destitute boys who had been bereft of their parents by the late destructive war, He knew that an institution of that kind would be of the utmost importance, not only to the interest of humanity, but to the peace of society. How many boys are left unprovided for, by the death of parents? What would become of them if the hand of charity was not extended to them? It is a work of great charity to protect homeless children, who are not criminals, but in danger of being so, from the habits of reckless and intemperate parents; for such objects and purposes a corporation was formed April 9th, 1865, under the title of “St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, of the City of Baltimore,” which is controlled by a Board of twenty-four Di- rectors. Forty acres of land were at first rented from Mrs. Emily Mc- Tavish, at a cost of six hundred dollars per annum, on the Mai- den Choice Road, near Baltimore. The land was uncultivated and covered by an under-growth, springing from the stumps of trees formerly cut down. The prospect was by no means en- couraging, but on account of the site being excellent and of its easy access to the city, the trustees were induced to select this place for their protectorate. As soon as a part of the land had been cleared, a frame building was erected on it, two stories high. The first boy entered the institution October 3d, 1866; in a short time the number was increased to forty-five, all that the capacity of the temporary structure would admit. The 81. Mary’s, industrial 8skoal FOR BOYS OF THE CITY OF BALTIMORE. INCORPORATED, 1867. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 63 house was placed under the care of the Xaverian Brothers, who have devoted themselves faithfully to the discharge of their respective duties. The discipline is paternal, each boy is made to understand that the correction or admonition given is for his own good. The working of the institution proved satisfactory, and Mrs. Emily McTavish, hearing of the good that was effected by this noble work of charity, bequeathed one hundred acres of land to Martin John Spalding, for St. Mary’s Industrial School. The necessity of a new building became evident, as no more boys could be accommodated. The trustees in 1867 concluded to erect a building of hammered stone, one hundred and thirty- six feet front, sixty-six feet deep and five stories high. The work on the new building was pushed forward with great en- ergy under the superintendence of the Treasurer, in connection with, and under the advice of the Executive Committee, to whom he was to report at stated times. In little more than a year the building was completed, and the inmates transferred to it on the 15th day of August, 1868. The total cost of the building was $58,436. The entire cost and expenses to 1868 amounted to $81,436, which had been realized from the follow- ing sources: From the Archdiocese of Baltimore, $66,436; from the State of Maryland, $10,000; from the City Council of Balti- more, $5,000. The Board of Trustees had to incur considerable expense in the introduction of trades and mechanical branches; hut in this outlay they had in view’ the benefit that wrould accrue to the boys, even should it result in a loss to the institution. They are gradually gaining the experience necessary to the proper man- agement of such an immense institution, and a more perfect knowledge of their duties will crown their efforts with success. Under the former amended charter the judges and magistrates had no legal right to commit boys to the institution for offenses against the lavr; hence St. Mary’s Industrial School, for w’ant of legal authority, could not render to the State the services that it was originally intended it should, as a Reformatory Institution. Section 1, of the former charter, was repealed and re-enacted as follows: The Board of Trustees are hereby made and consti- tuted a body corpox-ate, by the name and style of “St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, of the City of Baltimore,” lor the objects and with the power and authority set foi'th in the origi- REPORT OF THE nal act of incorporation, hereinbefore referred to, and particu- larly to receive in charge such orphans and other destitute boys as may be committed to the charge of said body corporate, and to bind out such boys until they shall attain the age of twenty- one years; and any court or magistrate of this State shall have the power and authority, in the discretion of the judge of such court, or of such magistrate, to commit to the charge of said in- stitution, any destitute white boy, or any white boy convicted before such court or magistrate of any offence against any law' or laws of the State; provided that the parent or other guardian of said boy or boys shall request that they be committed to the St. Mary’s Industrial School; that in all such cases the Board of Managers shall have powder, in their discretion, to take into said institution wThite boys under sixteen years of age, as shall be taken up and committed as street beggars or vagrants, or shall be convicted of criminal offences. Section 3d was also repealed and re-enacted, so that the State should have three representatives in the Board of Trustees, as well as the city of Baltimore, appointed respectively by the Gov- ernor of the State and the Mayor of the city. Up to the present time the number of boys admitted is seven hundred. Of that number, some have become of age, some are hound out to farmers and some returned to their parents; the number of boys in the institution at present is twro hundred and eighty-six, at a cost of ninety dollars for each boy per annum. The boys are taught all the branches of a sound English edu- cation, their morals strictly guarded, and they are trained to industry by being employed during half their time in agricul- tural and mechanical occupations; the division of study and labor is regulated according to the seasons of the year by the Super- intendent, who repoi’ts regularly to the Executive Committee. Xo boy is apprenticed until he is competently instructed in the two above named departments, and his consent first obtained. Trades are useful as a means of training boys to habits of in- dustry; the practical knowledge acquired in the work-shop con- tributes to their prosperity, and usefulness in the active pur- suits of life. The work on the farm and in the garden is done by the boys, who are directed by a man capable of carrying on the work properly. The trustees have already witnessed the happy fruits SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 65 of their labors, in the training of the boys. The printing office and the shoe factory are now in charge of young men who have learned their trades in the institution. Boys engaged in mak- ing shoes by hand, are instructed by a competent shoemaker. Some are engaged .in carpentery, tailoring, baking, cooking, washing, mending, &c. There ai’e several of the boys who by their industry and ex- actitude deserve, from time to time, a sum of money for over- work, which is placed to their credit in the Savings Bank. This feature works admirably, and tends to stimulate them in their efforts to perform their duties in a zealous manner. The corporation has in contemplation the introduction of new branches of mechanical labor in its scheme of instruction, which will be of great benefit to its pupils, but which involve a con- siderable outlay of capital, in the construction of workshops and the purchase of necessary implements and material. The assurance, that it will suffer no loss from the support of boys legally committed to it, will enable its trustees to undertake these desirable improvements without hesitation or delay. The institution is at present burthened with a debt of $9,522.- 53, which greatly impairs its usefulness, and was largely incur- red through its failure to receive the benefits of the compensa- tion awarded to it, for its services to the city in 1875—the pay- ment of the appropriation then made having been enjoined by certain taxpayers, and the injunction sustained by the Court, on the technical ground, that the appropriation was in form of a gift, and not, as it was in fact, a payment for services rendered and expenses incurred. The object of the Reformatory is to impress on the mind of juvenile delinquents the evils arising from wicked associates; and to instruct them in the necessity of acquiring those virtues which would enlighten them in the duties they owe to God and society, that they may become sensible of the impropriety of their former conduct. An enlightened conscience, directed by moral training, is the best guide of human acts. Another grand object attained is that through the kinkness and care of the Brothers the institution has become a substitute for the family circle. St. Mary’s Industrial School does not bear the character of a REPORT OF THE penal institution. It is free from that servile fear which fre- quently dooms its victims to despair and crime. There are no prison walls, no fence to prevent egress; the boys appreciate their home and look upon it as a great blessing. The Visiting Committee of the State and City, year after year, have made favorable reports of the institution, always recommending it as highly deserving of the patronage of the State and City of Baltimore, and I fully concur in the following Report of the Grand Jury to the Judge of the Criminal Court of the City of Baltimore, made on January 8th, 1877: “The St. Mary’s Industrial School, another institution in which our city lias a large representation, and which therefore claims attention, was visited. And here system, warmth, health-producing and health sustaining influences were found. The inmates seem contented. The dormitories, arranged in large, open rooms, well ventilated, yet sufficiently warmed, presented a comfortable and cleanly ap- pearance, This and other humane and Reformatory Institutions in our midst, though little known to the public at large, go on year by year, under the provi- dence of God, doing their work of charity and general beneficence. The good achieved by tliem is immeasurable.’’ The trustees fully appreciate the great interest hitherto taken by the Legislature and City Council, in generously contributing to the success of the undertaking, and they will do well to con- tinue, their appropriations and thereby foster an institution whose reformatory services have been appreciated and com- mended by the officials both of the State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore. TABLE I. Exhibits the Number of Boys Employed. Shoe Factory *28 Printing Office 13 Tailor Shop 23 Garden and Farm 19 Bake House 4 Kitchen. 4 Dormitories * <> Bath Rooms and Halls 9 Dining Hall 5 Painiing and Whitewashing 2 F.ngine Rooms v Laundry 12 Hand Shoe Shop 25- Porters..... Infirmary j SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. TABLE TI. Shows the Number of Boys received in the Years 1875 and 187G; how CommittedAc., Ac. Number of boys present Dec. 31, 1875 196 Of which number there are yet present: Committed by Magistrates and Courts of Baltimore 120 Received otherwise 48 Returned to their parents on Ticket of Leave 3 Bound out 2 Released 1 Died 2 Of age 5 Left on their own accord 5 Taken home bv their parents 10 If G Number of boys received in 1876 : Committed by Magistrates 90 Committed by Criminal Court of Baltimore 3 Of which there are yet present.... 77 Returned to parents on Ticket of Leave 7 Released by Judges 4 Died 1 Left on their own accord 4 93 Received not committed 24 Whereof there are yet present 16 Taken Home 8 24 Now present: Boys committed 197 Boys not committed 64 261 TABLE III. Shows the Nativi.fi/ and Ages of the Bogs received in 187(7. Nativity : United States 114 Ireland 2 Wales 1 NT Auks : Seven ]o Right 7 Nine 10 Ten 7 Eleven 22 Twelve 12 Thirteen ] 5 Fourteen 10 Fifteen 7 Sixteen 5 Seventeen 1 Eighteen 5 117 REPORT OE THE THE HOUSE OF REFUGE, Near Baltimore. There is probably no institution in the State so faulty in con- struction and so illy adapted to the purposes for which it is used as the House of Refuge. The prison-like wall which surrounds it and the jail-like appearance of the building are far from being in accordance with an enlightened idea of a reformatory institution in the nineteenth century. Its whole surroundings, as well as its gloomy interior, cannot fail to be extremely objectionable to the visitor, and to impress the youthful inmates very unpleas- antly. Cold and cheerless brick floors, dungeon-like cells on gloomy corridors, are not, in this age, considered the best means of transforming wayward youth into useful citizens. When this institution is placed in comparison with either St. Mary’s Industrial School or the House of Reformation for Colored Children, it is found vastly inferior in its structural arrange- ments to either of them. As regards the jail-like wall which surrounds the building: this the managers allege is necessary, first, to prevent escapes, and, secondly, to hinder irregular and too frequent intercourse between the inmates and the outside world. This argument is fallacious. St. Mary’s Industrial School, just across the road, has no wall around it and yet out of three hundred and thirteen inmates received and remaining in the institution during 187G but nine escaped, less than three per cent, of the whole number. While here, out of four hundred and five inmates twenty-two have escaped during the same time, nearly six per cent, of the whole number of inmates. If this institution is too near the city let it be at once removed ; boys to be reformed should not be imprisoned. There are three or four associated dormitories in this institu- tion, but a very large majority of the boys are confined in iso- lated, gloomy cells, locked in, and in the event of a fire, escape would be almost impossible. The influence which these miserable apartments must have upon lads of tender years needs no comment. In addition SECRETARY OP THE STATE HOARD «»P HEALTH. to the bad influence, morally, of these cells, the brick or con- crete floors, and clammy, damp surroundings, arc calculated to have an injurious effect, physicall}’, by laying the foundation for rheumatism, pulmonary and other diseases. The discipline of the house is excellent, and the place is kept cleanly and in good order. The superintendent, Dr. Leas, de- serves much credit for the able manner in which he manages the establishment; no one could accomplish more than he has done under the circumstances. The boys are employed at shoe, broom, and basket making, and attend to the domestic duties of the house. The smaller ones are instructed in sewing, and manufacture all the clothing and linen used. All are instructed in the rudiments of education, and some in music. Their food is good and abundant. The privy arrangement is very bad ; it consists of open sheds, where the boy is compelled to expose himself, while obeying the call of nature, which tends, in a measure, to destroy a proper sense of delicacy, and cannot fail to be degrading and immoral in its influences. The bathing ar- rangements are also very defective The following statistics will prove interesting: TABLE 1. Showing the Number Received and Discharged, and the genera’ state of the Institution, for the gear ending December 31. 1876. In House December 31, 1875 2C0 Committed since ...-. 88 Leave of Absence—returned 21 Leave of Absence—returned voluntarily 4 Escaped, and returned voluntarily ,. <; Escaped, recaptured 12 Violated Parole of Honor—returned Voluntarily 2 Violated Parole of Honor—recaptured 2 Returned after being indentured 7 Returned voluntarily after l>eing indentured 4 5 Discharged ] 2 Allowed leave of absence 92 indentured 3 Violated Parole of Honor 0 Escaped 22 Rejected 7 Died 2 144 Remaining in House December 31, 1870 201 70 REPORT OF THE Of the 88 boys received in 1876, there were committed by the United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of Georgia. 2 ; by the Criminal Court of Baltimore City, 2; by the Justices of the Peace, 84. Of the above number, 2 were received from Baltimore County ; 1 from Harford ; 3 from Anne Arundel; 1 from Montgomery ; 1 from Howard; 1 from Allegany; 3 from Frederick, and 1 from Kent Counties. The whole number of minors received into the Refuge since its opening, December 5th, 1855, is 2,688. TABLE II. Showing the offences for which hoys were committed in 187G. Incorrigible conduct 62 Vagrancy , 8 Vicious conduct .. 5 Larceny v 10 Robbing U. S. Mail Robbery 1 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 71 HOUSE OF REFORMATION AND INSTRUCTION FOR COLORED CHILDREN. This institution, the first of the kind ever established, is lo- cated at Cheltenham, Prince George County, Md., on the line of the Baltimore and Potomac Eailroad. It has now been in suc- cessful operation four years, and the Board of Managers in their last annual report say that “They are happy to know that the institution is doing a good work in receiving, training and in- structing the colored children committed to their care.” The necessity of such an institution grew out of the vicissi- tudes which public events have occasioned in the last fifteen years. It could not be expected that the negro would emerge naked in mind from a condition of slavery and place himself either with regard to habits of industry or moral cultivation on a level with the more polished portion of society, without ex- ample and assistance; these have been wisely supplied by this institution where colored children are trained in habits of civ- ilization, and instead of being thrown friendless upon the world are after a certain time provided with suitable situations and put in the way of becoming useful citizens. The more culti- vated the intellects of these people become, the less will vicious excitements be necessary to them, and the less will their politi- cal rights be instruments of mischief. This truth is becoming generally admitted and its conviction must continue to force its way into the minds of all thinking men whatever their political views may be. This institution is conducted on what is known as the “Family System,” the principal feature of which is, that of dividing the inmates into families, thereby giving what is most desirable in a reformatory, perfect classification. The grounds have been laid out and the building designed with spe- cial reference to the requirements of this feature. They are of Romanesque design, built in a plain but substantial manner. The principal or administration building contains the officers’ room, reception room, store rooms, and superintendent’s apart- 72 REPORT OF TIIE ments in one wing, and in the other the dining room, chapel, bakery and laundry. They are all arranged with due regard to the conveniences and comfort of each department. The fam- ily buildings are located about two hundred feet from the ad- ministration building and the same distance from each other, fronting upon a spacious play ground. The basement story of each is fitted up with lavatory and hath rooms, a room for recreation in inclement weather, also work shops and store rooms. The principal floor has a school room 31x36 feet, a room for convalescents, and four lodges for isolated confinement. The second floor has two dormitories 31x36 feet each and the officers’ sleeping rooms; the latter so located as to enable the officer on duty to supervise the occupants of both dormitories. The en- tire buildings are so arranged as to admit of an abundance of light and a thorough system of ventilation has been applied to all the rooms, especially the school rooms and dormitories. Abundant and excellent hospital accommodations have re- cently been provided, which admit of the classification of the patients and a perfect segregation of those laboring under differ- ent diseases. The hospital is several hundred yards distant from the other buildings. All the buildings are supplied with pure spring water which is forced into a tank in the roof of the main building and from there distributed to the various apartments. The location of the departments is such as to give the superintendent full and ready supervision of the whole. The buildings, it will be seen, embrace the requisite provisions for security, employment, instruction and separation from con- taminating associations. The utmost economy has been con- sulted throughout, and the managers never forgetting that it was their first duty to advance the object committed to their care, have been careful at the same time neither to incur nor permit any expense which could be spared without detriment to the principal design. The buildings are substantial and plain, the furniture simple and cheap, and the arrangements for the conduct of the house are upon a scale as reduced as prac- ticable. The cost of the main building was $35,000, and the three family buildings were completed and furnished at a cost of $15,000 each The farm which was donated by a philanthropic citizen of Baltimore, contains about eight hundred acres a por- SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 73 tion of which is tilled by the inmates, and has yielded encour- agingly good crops. If the theory of this institution be perfectly understood, there is little danger that its practical effects will not force themselves into notice. The number of inmates have increased with a rapidity which threatens to be greatly disproportionate to the means for their support and instruction; there are now one hundred and eighty-six boys in the institution, and the man- agers say “a greater number cannot be conveniently accommo- dated in the present buildings.” There is also great need of out- houses, such as barns and stables, and of a large amount of fen- cing, but as the treasury is exhausted the Board of Managers will be forced to appeal to the State and to the city for further aid. The institution certainly deseiwes to enjoy a wider and more substantial recognition of its value and importance than it has yet received. That good effects have already flowed from it cannot be doubted ; and it is equally certain that the care and attention bestowed upon the inmates, together with some en- couragement to do well, will in the future save many who would otherwise—sooner or later—be immured in some prison and become worse than lost to society. It is to be hoped that the Legislature and City Council will evince the same liberal spirit towards this undertaking which has always characterized them when any worthy object has been presented for their support. The following tables are taken from the report of the efficient Superintendent General John W. Horn. Xamber Received and Discharged during year ending Nov. 30, 1876. In House at close of Year 167 Received 162 “ Boarders 3 Total 272 Indentured 34 Absent without leave 17 with “ 22 Discharged 3 “ to Parents 4 • Expiration of Sentence 1 Sent to Hospital 1 Died 4 Total 86 Remaining in House >* 186 74 RKPOliT OF THR By Whom Committed. Criminal Court for Baltimore City 14 Circuit Court for Howard County 4 !‘ •* Frederick “ 2 “ 4< Prince George’s County 1 “ Worcester County 3 “ “ Carroll 1 “ • ‘ Wicomico 1 ,l “ Anne Arundel Co. 1 “ “ Alleghan}r County 1 “ ‘ Talbot '• 1 “ “ Baltimore “ 1 U. S Circuit Court for District of Georgia 3 “ ‘‘ t- Louisiana 1 Justices of the Peace for Baltimore City 65 “ “ Washington County 3 “ “ “ Frederick ‘‘ 1 lt “ “ Anne Arundel “ 1 ,l “ “ Baltimore ‘‘ 1 Total 105 Offences for which Commuted. Incorrigible 31 Vagrancy 28 Larceny 23 Stealing 1 Burglary 4 Stealing from U. S. Mail 4 Assault with a Brick 1 Arson 1 Vicious Conduct 12 Supposed Ages when Received. 7 Years 2 8 • 1 9 “ 5 10 “ 11 11 “ 5 12 “ 15 13 11 12 14 “ 15 15 “ 14 16 “ 12 17 ‘ 9 18 “ 4 SmtETAKY of DIF. STATE BOAKH OF HEALTH. X itivity of Those Received. Baltimore City 40 Other parts of Maryland 44 Connecticut 1 Pennsylvania 3 Virginia 5 Kentucky 1 New York 2 Georgia 3 Louisiana 1 West Indies 2 Unknown 3 E( l n ca t ion cS 1 5 o> I s £ s H £ County Almshouse 2 2 4 6 1 7 11 Mount Hope Retreat 1 1 1 1 •2 Maryland Hospital 6 5 11 1 1 12 Total 8 8 16 6 3 9 25 SECRETARY OP THE STATE BOARD OP HEALTH. 89 ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY JAIL. This prison is located in the city of Annapolis, not far distant from the State House. It is a very old three-story brick build- ing. The first story is arranged in the ordinary way as a resi- dence in front for the jailor, with two cells in the rear for the confinement of prisoners; one of these cells however is not used for jail purposes, being totally unfit, but it is appropriated fox- storage purposes. Thex-e are four cells in each of the other fiooi-s warmed by stoves. The inside of the cells is sheathed with oak plank from one to two inches thick, and covei-ed with many coats of whitewash. The building is faulty in construc- tion and so insecure that it is found necessary in many instances to hopple the px-isoners, even those awaiting trial, to pi-event their escape. It has no conveniences, a bucket for pi-ivy use, a stone water pitcher, and a filthy blanket for each inmate com- prise the only articles of furnitui-e in the cells. The prisoners Avex*e found standing or sitting or lying on the flooi*. In the halls upon which the cells open there is gas and water supplied from the city works. There wei*e forty-four prisonei-s in cus- tody; thirty-eight awaiting trial, one colored for murder, three white for bui-glary, one colored for burglax-y—all the others for minor offences, principally illegal di-edging. Six of the forty-four had been convicted; one a white man for larceny, two negi-oes for shop-lifting and two for attempted rapes. They will be sent to the penitentiary to sex-ve out their l-espective sentences. Thei-e was only one female prisonei-, and she occupied a cell on the lower floor, entirely sepai-ated from the male prisoners above. In nearly all the cells overcrowding is apparent and the necessary amount of cubic space is not allowed to each pris- oner. Cell No. 5 on the second floor, with a dimension of 1,600 cubic feet contained twelve prisoners, being less than 140 cubic feet of air for each occupant. In the prisons of British India 600 cubic feet of space is l-equired by act of Parliament to be given evei-y prisonei-, but here, moving as we are in the midst of 90 REPORT OF THE the most advanced civilization the world has ever seen, the re- finements of cruelty are so frequently practiced in public institu- tions as almost to suppress the murmurings of right and justice. Another great evil in this and all the jails of the State is the promiscuous association of all classes. The State has an un- doubted right to punish the guilty but it has no right to con- taminate the innocent until proved guilty. “ If,” says a forcible writer on the subject, “you bring two evil disposed persons to- gether, especially those whose presence in prison points out crime as a prominent feature in their life, this criminality will have increased after the contact, because they as all other men good or bad will propel each other in that line which is charac- teristically their own. It is this baneful effect of intercourse which in penology is called contamination.” While the general appearance and condition of the prison did not impress me favorably, I must in justice to the officers in charge say, that the cells were as clean as surrounding circum- stances would admit of. No better arrangement for preserving cleanlines can be effected in the present building. A new struct- ure and the introduction of modern conveniences can alone accomplish the object. Prisoners are supplied from the table of the jailor at 50 cts. per day each. The total cost per annum to the county is $5,500. There is no employment and no system of prison discipline of any kind pursued. On page 91, line 27, for “were,” read was. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 91 BALTIMORE CITY. THE ALMSHOUSE. This institution, known as Bayview Asylum, is located about two miles from the city limits, upon a commanding eminence which overlooks the river and bay. There are thirty-seven acres of land belonging to the place most of which is cultivated in vegetables for the use of the house. The buildings are of brick, four stories high, with centre and two wings, the whole presenting a front of several hundred feet. The centre building is surmounted by a large rotunda rising fifty feet above the roof. The cost of the establishment is be- lieved to have been over a million of dollars. The total number in the house at the time of my visit was 819, of these 246 were insane. Notwithstanding the Grand Jury has several times called attention to the fact, the insane department continues to bo much overcrowded, the evil effects of which are too apparent to need demonstration. There are no facilities for separating patients laboring under the various forms of lunacy, consequent- ly the furious maniac, the timid dement, the crouching imbecile and the drivelling idiot are promiscuously huddled together. Indeed, the insane department is without conveniences, and illy adapted for the purpose for which it is used. The wards for the sick are comfortably furnished ; the bed- ding was clean, but the atmosphere was not free from offensive odors, showing that the system of ventilation is entirely defec live. There is an ample supply of water from the city works, but the bathing arrangements in the house are inadequate. The sick enjoy the care of the best medical knowledge, and surgical skill. The condition of the hospital wards were unexception- able. At the time of my visit the temperature of the weather was very mild and I could not therefore judge of the efficiency of the heating apparatus against which complaints have been made The dinner served to the male insane during my inspection was very meager, consisting almost entirely of boiled hominy. REPORT OP THE The only person found in charge of the refectory at this time was an insane inmate. The following articles of diet taken from “Table M,-’ in the last report of the Trustees, and which purports to show the quantity and average cost of articles purchased for the institu- tion from November 1st, 1875, to October 31st, 1876, will serve to demonstrate that an almost cruel economy is practiced in feeding the inmates. TABLE Showing Articles of Diet, with Cost of same, given in Report of 1876. Apples I bbls. $ 3 38 •$ 23 66 Arrow Root 15 lbs. 30 4 50 Butter 4,622 “ 26 1,201 72 Beans 248 bush. 1 54 381 92 Buckwheat . 150 lbs. 3f 5 62 Bacon—Shoulders 22,030 “ 9f 2,092 85 ‘ ‘ Hams 4,778 “ 16 764 48 Beef and Steak 17,572 “ 14$ 2,547 94 Crackers—Water 1,052 “ 8 84 16 “ Soda 356 “ 9 32 04 Cheese 262$ “ 13j 35 37 Corn Meal 225 “ 2 4 50 Coffee — Java 414 “ 301 126 27 “ Rio 7,622 “ 20j 1.562 51 “ Extract 1,279 “ 7 89 53 Cakes—Ginger 11 bbls. 6 06j 66 69 “ Asst. 4 “ 9 50 38 27 Flou r—Family 30 “ 9 40 282 00 “ Extra ... 1,356 lbs. 6 28 9,515 68 Hops 75 “ 28 21 00 Hominy 66 “ 1 68 110 88 Lard 2,089 “ 13| 287 23 Molasses 785J 28 219 94 Mackerel—No. 1 12 kitts. 2 85 34 20 “ No. 3 12 bbls. 11 62 139 44 Mutton 40,605 lbs. 71 2.910 02 Onions 1$ bbls. 3 62 5 43 Potatoes—Irish bush. 59 586 75 Pork—Salt 1,434 lbs. 10$ 150 57 Pepper 270 “ 22 59 40 Peas 184 bush. 1 59 292 56 Rice 8,714 lbs. 6f 577 29 Salt 144 bush. 70 100 80 “ Ground Alum 8 “ 40 3 20 Sugar—Brown 22,870 lbs. 81 2,029 71 “ White 2,501 “ lOf 268 85 Tea—Gunpowder 41 “ 1 19 48 79 “ Black 398 “ 364 144 60 ‘£ Imperial 344 “ 511 177 16 Vinegar 3I3J 26 81 51 \easf Powders 16 doz. 1 38 22 08 Total $27,030 32 Farm Produce 5,435 94 Total $32,466 26 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 93 Daily average of inmates 793 “ officers 12 Total 805 Average annual cost of feeding each consumer $40 33 “ daily “ “ “ “ II “ cost of each meal 3§ It will be seen from the foregoing that the per capita cost of each consumer is #42.63 annually, or about 11 cents per day. Now when it is considered that many articles in the list, such as apples, hams, Java coffee, assorted cakes, family flour, No. 1 mackerel, white sugar, gunpowder tea, &c., &c., are almost ex- clusively for the officers’ table, it will be found that the actual amount expended in maintaining these people is probably not more than 2} cents per meal, or seven cents j>er day, which is, obviously, not sufficient for the proper maintenance of any man, woman or child. It may be said to be reducing the nourish- ment of a human being down to “a single straw,” less in- viting than Col. Seller’s repast of “cold water and raw turnips.” The intelligent and humane medical officers of the institution call attention in their last annual report to the inadequate pro- vision for the insane inmates ; and for the further improvement of the condition of the insane they urge increased accommodation, either by reducing the number of insane patients under treat- ment, or by supplying additional space within doors. The city of Baltimore now has in various institutions 365 indi- gent insane, distributed as follows: in the city poor-house (Bay- view) 246; in the Maryland Hospital (Spring Grove) 89; in Mount Hope Retreat 30. In view of this fact, I would respect- fully suggest the importance, indeed the necessity of this city following the example of nearly all the large cities in this coun- try and in Europe, by erecting a hospital which shall supply remedial treatment, and be devoted exclusively to the reception of her own insane. Table Showing Whole Number of Inmates. White Males 340 “ Females 288 Colored Males 67 “ Females 101 Children (white 13, colored 10) 23 Total 819 94 REPORT OF THE Table Showing the Number under Medical Treatment. White Males 221 “ Females 210 Colored Males 44 “ Females 79 Children 10 Total ...583 Table Showing the Number and how Employed. Mechanic Department, Males 18 “ “ Females 24 Bakery “ Males 5 Engineer “ “ 14 Garden * •* 30 Laundry “ “ 2 *• “ Females 14 Miscellaneous ‘1 Males 30 “ “ Females 32 Total 169 Table Showing the Number of Insane. White Males ... 94 “ Females 116 Colored Males 13 “ Females 23 Total 246 Table Showing Forms of Insanity. Acute Mania 15 Chronic “ 78 Melancholia 3 Dementia 112 Imbecility I Epilepsy 23 Idiocy 14 Total 246 Table Showing Ages of Insane. Under 20 years 2i From 2o to 25 years 27 *• ‘25 “ •• 3o “ 33 3) “ “35 “ 28 35 “ “40 “ 23 “ 40 “ 45 “ 31 “ 45 “ ‘1 50 “ 20 “ 50 “ *• 55 “ 22 “ 55 “ “ 00 - ! 12 ■ ‘ 00 “ “ 05 “ 17 05 “ “ 70 “ 3 “ 70 “ “ rtU *• 1 1 ro “ “ 6b i Total 240 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 95 Taale Showing how long they have been Inmates. Under 3 months G From 3 months to 6 months 13 “6 “ 1 year 10 “ 1 year to 2 years 28 “ 2 years to 3 years 21 ti3 ,£ 4 “ 25 ‘•4 “5 “ !!.. 22 “ 5 “ 6 “ 12 “6 “7 “ 19 “7 “8 “ 13 “ 8 “9 “ 15 “ 9 “ 10 “ 16 “ 10 “11 “ 16 “ 11 “ 12 “ 28 14 “ 1 20 “ 1 Total 246 Whole Number of Indigent Insane from the City of Baltimore in the Different Institutions. White. Colored I Total Insane.... I Male 6 a a> Ph j Total'.... 1 | Male 1 1 | Female.. 1 j Total.... City Almshouse 94 116 210 13 23 36 246 Maryland Hospital 49 40 89 89 Mount Hope Retreat 13 11 30 30 Total 156 113 329 13 23 30 365 96 REPORT OF THE THE JAIL. This admirably planned building is located at the intersection of Madison and Buren streets, and immediately adjoining the Penitentiary. The building is of granite, substantial and secure. Its security and complete arrangements for ventilation especially commend it to favorable notice. The basement contains the heating apparatus, and is also used for the kitchen, bakery laundry, laveratory and bathing arrangements which are very complete. Most of the domestic work of the prison is done by the inmates in the basement, and the commingling of the sexes while thus engaged, has on several occasions resulted in evil conseqences. The floor above the basement is divided by a spa- cious hall which is known as the guard room. On either side of this hall are the cells, respectively, for male and female pris- oners. The cells open on iron corridors five tiers deep. Refer- ence to the accompanying ground plan and vertical section will give an accurate idea of the internal construction of the prison. Admirable water-closet arrangements exists in towers at the four corners of the building, which are readily approached from each corridor. The separation of the sexes in this part of the prison is absolute. The central or large tower contains neat and well furnished rooms for the accommodation of such pris- oners awaiting trial, as it may be deemed proper to separate from the general mass. Cleanliness prevailed throughout the prison, except in the cells of the upper corridors where the class of prisoners known as vagabonds and “bummers” is confined— these cells were not in a satisfactory condition; the lower cells were scrupulously clean and orderly, especially on the female side. All the cells occupied were furnished with comfortable beds and bedding. Considerable attention is paid to the jail yard, which is dotted over here and there with beds of luxuriant flowers. It is a matter of regret that the crowded condition of the prison prevents a strict adherence to what is known as the BALTIMORE CITY JAIL MADISON STREET H Gate keeper's room I Clerk's room J Warden's Residence K Hospital L Kitchen M Blacksmith's shop N Stable GROUND PLAN OF BALTIMORE CITY JAIL BUREN STREET A Guard room B Visitors'room C Officers'room D Corridors E Cells F Washrooms G Gallery SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 97 “separate system,” as an increase of moral corruption must re- sult from the congregation of two or more prisoners in a single cell. The prisoners associate in the rooms as well as in the corridors. The Board of Visitors should urge upon the proper authori- ties the great importance of constant employment for the in- mates; a large force could be profitably employed with happy results, both in the self support of the establishment, and in the physical and moral improvement of the inmates. Dr. J. W. Houck, the intelligent and efficient medical officer of the prison, calls attention to the importance of this measure, and states that it is “lamentable that so many lazy and worthless vagabonds should be maintained in idleness at the public expense.” At the close of the last fiscal year, October 31st, 1870, there were remaining in the jail 423 prisoners and during the twelve months of that year 12,354 prisoners were received ; of this number 8,789 were committed for drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Expenditures for the fiscal year $49,022.07. REPORT OF THE BALTIMORE COUNTY ALM8IIOUSE. The accommodation for inmates in this institution consists of a new and handsome stone building situated about four miles from the seat and half a mile from the main road, on a beautiful and commanding elevation which overlooks an exten- sive area of country. The land surrounding and belonging to the institution consists of about eighty acres, most of which is clear of wood and beautifully rolling. The approach is unin- viting in all respects, no attempt having been made to improve the bed of the road or to ornament it with trees. The grounds of charitable institutions should present such an appearance of neatness and order as to pi*oduce a cheerful and homelike feel- ing; pleasant surroundings have a tendency to elevate the moral status of the inmates, especially if all the details of the management are in keeping therewith. The building is three stories high with an attic partly finished and an ample basement one-half above the ground level. Its gi-eatest length is about 85 feet by 40 deep with a back building extending from the centre. A passage way ten feet wide di- vides it longitudinally; midway a flight of stairs leads to the second, third and fourth floors. The first floor is occupied by the Superintendent, his family and the resident physician; the second by females, white and colored, the white on one side of the passage and the colored on the other; the third floor is likewise occupied by females and is divided in the same manner. The fourth floor or attic is not entirely finished, but will, when ready, afford lodgings for about thirty inmates. At each end of the passage dividing the attic floor are two large water tanks for supplying water to the building. It is unfortunate that in the construction of the building, towers were not erected at some suitable point for the reception of these tanks, since, in their present position the water in them must become polluted by the exhalations of the inmates who may occupy the floor where they are now placed. SECRETARY OE THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 99 The back building is also three stories high with a basement, divided by a passage about six feet wide extending from the main building to the rear wall of the back building, having on each side rooms for inmates, and service rooms, such as water closets, bath and dining rooms. The stairway leading to the upper stories is in this passage and cuts off much of each hall floor. .This building is occupied by males only, bu,t the females are compelled to use the passage as a mode of egress, which arrangement is very objectionable, as it necessitates the com- mingling of sexes, and affords opportunity for immorality. Near the main building is a cottage which was occupied by the former owner of the property, but not in use at present. It would afford ample and comfortable accommodations for the officers, enabling the entire main building to be devoted to the use of the inmates, thereby effecting a complete separation of the sexes. In the rear of the main building and about one hundred yards distant is the pest house, also built of stone. About a quarter of a mile distant are the quarters of the colored males, consisting of a dilapidated old log house, one story high with a loft above, and containing four rooms, two on the lower floor and two above. The principal room on the ground floor is 16x18 feet with a 7 foot ceiling and is used as a sitting room; the adjoining room is occupied as a bed room and accommodates three old men. This room was very dirty, and contained no suitable furniture. The upper rooms were similar to those be- low. The house furnished shelter for eight colored men. The sanitary condition of all the departments indicated great carelessness and an utter disregard of the commonest laws of hygiene. The beds and bedding were very dirty, and the ticks, like those at the Alleghany County Almshouse, contained scarcely any straw. The male department was so overcrowded that the dining room, bath rooms and even the water closets were used for lodg- ing rooms. The beds were dirty, and behind some of them were accumulalations of old rags and other debris. The ticks were exceedingly untidy, the straw in some of them being so compressed that it scarcely made a mattress of two inches in thickness, and by long use had become so slippery that it could not be kept in place. Room No. 2 was 15 feet long by 14 feet 100 REPORT OF THE wide by 10 feet ceiling and contained five persons, giving only four hundred and twenty cubic feet of air to each occupant. Room No. 4 on the third floor containing seven old men, was 12x15x10 feet and was shockingly dirty in every respect. Room No. 6 on the third floor was occupied by three old men, one of whom was insane; he was cared for by one of his com- panions who showed the hand-cuffs and chains which he kept in a box under the bed ready for use whenever the insane man “was not good.” Room No. 2 on the second floor contained 9 beds very unclean, and so close together that it was barely pos- sible to get between them. In one dining room was found a sick man. In the third floor bath room was an upright box lined with zinc which is used as a shower bath for subduing the excitement of the insane. The basement is used principally for domestic purposes, and contains the kitchen, laundry, pantry, and heating apparatus. The cooking Avas going on at the time of my visit, and the cook who was an inmate, occupied the kitchen as a sleeping room, the bed standing in one corner. The food was plain and sub- stantial, but good, and in sufficient quantity. The registration of inmates was found to be better than at other almshouses, and some sj’stem existed in the manner of keeping the records, but yet not so perfect as should be found in all institutions of the kind. The register showed the escape of many insane persons Avith the date of their admittance and elopement. Of the number (six) Avhose names Avere taken, but one was ever heard of after- Avards; he was subsequently arrested and lodged in jail at Tow- sontown. The rates of deaths to the number treated annually could not be given; twelve deaths had occurred during the year. W hen the cost of this very handsome stone building is con- sidered, and its total unfitness for the purposes for Avhich it Avas built, one cannot fail to be impressed Avith the fact that it would have been much better for all concerned had the building com- mission sought the advice of some one acquainted with the re- quirements of such an institution. It is a great mistake to build large and stately almshouses, even if the arrangements for classification are carried out satisfactorily. It is a still greater mistake to divide the floors into small rooms Avhich intercept ventilation, diminish capacity and increase the labor necessary for keeping the house clean. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 101 Total Number of Inmates. White Males 66 '• Females 27 Colored Males 9 “ Females 14 Children 5 Total 121 Number of Insane Inmates. White Males 7 “ Females 8 Colored Males 1 “ Females 1 Total 17 Forms of Insanity. Dementia 9 Chronic Mania 5 Imbecility 2 Epilepsey 1 Total 17 Ages of Insane Inmates. From 20 to 25 years 1 25 “ 30 “ 3 “ 30 “ 35 '• 3 “ 35 u 40 ‘‘ 2 “ 45 “ 50 2 “ 50 “ 55 0 ‘ ‘ 65 •1 2 65 '• 70 “ I “ 70 •* 80 “ 1 Total 17 Length of Time in the Almshouse. Less than one year 1 Between 1 and 2 2 !‘ 2 “ 3 •* 1 “ 3 “ 4 “ 5 “ 4 “5 ‘‘ 1 • 5 ‘ G '• 2 “ 6 “ 7 “ 1 7 •1 H •< 0 <• * <• 9 1 9 “ 10 “ 2 Over 23 years 1 Total 17 102 REPORT OF THE Number of Indigent Insane from Baltimore County in Different Institutions. County Almshouse Maryland Hospital Total - Male.... White. —T CO Female.. ro a t— or Total.... Male... . Colored. ! Female . i Total ... i i 00 — *4 Total Insane ... BALTIMORE COUNTY JAIL. This prison is located at a convenient distance from the court- house, and is certainly one of the best constructed, best man- aged and cleanest jails in the State. It is of brick, two stories high, with basement, making three tiers of cells for prisoners. The first or basement tier contains four cells on each side of the central hall. This floor was occupied by colored prisoners, sev- enteen in number. It was crowded—four and five prisoners being confined in one cell. On this floor there is a large stove which heats the whole prison. The pump for forcing water throughout the building is also on this floor. One prisoner, Joseph Shipley, (colored,) aged 37 years, is insane; another, Perry Shadows, aged 25 years, (also colored,) is confined for in- sanity. The second tier is occupied by white male prisoners, of whom there were fourteen. There are eight cells opening on this corridor, all of which were occupied and found clean and comfortable. The third tier was occupied by seven men and five women ; the construction is the same in all respects as those below. One prisoner confined in this tier is an epileptic, and was imprisoned for assault. He is a fit subject for treatment in an insane asylum. The cells are 12 x 8 x 10 feet, with ceilings arched, plank floors, a window and a water-closet in each. They are ventilated by a register near the floor, and were in every par - ticular very clean. The walls had been recently whitewashed and the floors were well scrubbed. With but two exceptions— defects in construction—this is a model prison, and it is not SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 103 amiss to call attention to these defects, in order that they may be avoided by other counties which may have to build prisons in a very short time. It is a serious error, in a sanitary point of view, to place water-closets in the cells, where the best ventila- tion is necessarily imperfect, for however well the traps may be made, none have yet been invented which can completely cut off the return of noxious gases. A well covered bucket, with a little dry earth, is a preferable arrangement. Another error is the location of the ventilation register at the floor of the cell, without any systematic heat arrangement by which fresh air can be introduced and the foul air drawn off. In all other re- spects the plan of this prison is to be commended as one of the best now in the State. There were fifty-six prisoners confined at the time of my visit, three of whom were insane. 104 REPORT OF THE CAROLINE COUNTY ALMSHOUSE This place is a mockery of charity and a nursery of pollution. It is located five miles from Denton, the county seat of Caroline, on a farm of two hundred acres. The accommodations consist of a group of very old and dilapidated frame buildings. The largest of these is occupied by the white inmates, another by the colored inmates, and a third b}r an insane man and woman. The rooms of the white department were greatly crowded, prin- cipally with women and their children, most of wThom wTere “to the manner born.” One of these women is the mother of two children, and another of six, all said to have been begotten and born in the house. The sanitary condition of this department was far from satisfactory, foul smells being perceptible through- out the entire establishment. In the rear of this building stood an old frame shanty with a single room below and an attic room above. The lower room was occupied by an insane white man, dressed in a long, dirty gown. His long, unkempt hair hung in matted tresses about his neck and face, giving him the appear- ance of a veritable Mephistophiles. The loft above was occu- pied by an insane white woman extremely disgusting in appear- ance and habits, and of vicious bearing. She had borne one or more children in the almshouse. The mental faculties of these two miserable creatures were completely obliterated, and not the slightest attention w~as paid to their moral or physical con- dition. If the colored department should be compared to a filthy pig-stye, it would be an injustice to the latter. In one small room there were found four men, five women, two chil- dren, any quantity of cats and dogs, and other living things too numerous to mention. Of the five women one was a centena- rian, two were mothers with infants in their arms, and two were young girls aged respectively 14 and 16 years. One old man was sick, with scarcely the semblance of a bed on which to rest his aching bones. Another, though setting upright to par- take of the coarse and badly cooked dinner just served him, was SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 105 too weak to defend his scanty meal against the incursion of a dog that quickly gulped it down. Such an aggregation of hu- man misery is rarely seen, and a more disreputable place can scarcely be imagined. While the semi-civilized nations of the East shock the sensibilities of Christendom with their horrid rites until the civilized world is calling out in trumpet tones for their suppression, here in our own favored Christian land there are cruelties being practiced which if not suppressed will one day pile up the ruined altars of private and public peace, of health and safety, of honor and virtue. Well may we ex- claim. “Can such things be, And overcome us like a summer’s cloud, Without one special wonder.” Table Showing the Whole Number of Inmates. White Males 4 “ Females 8 Colored Males ? • ‘ Females 5 Children, white 8 “ colored 2 Total 34 Table Showing the Number of Insane. White Males ( “ Females 3 Colored Males '1 Females J Total 5 Table Showing Form of Insanity. Dementia 2 Chronic Mania I Imbecility 2 Total 5 Table Showing Ages of the Insane. 16 years , 2 40 “ 2 50 “ I Total 5 106 REPORT OP THE Number of Insane from Caroline, County in Different Institutions. White:. Colored. Total Insane.... 01 F emale.. Total 5 Female.. Total.... County Almshouse 1 3 4 1 1 5. Maryland Hospital 1 1 2 I 1 3 Total 2 4 6 2 2 8 THE JAIL. A two-story brick building very old. The tirst floor is occu- pied by the Sheriff and bis family; the second floor is petitioned off into four cells, which are cased on the inside with two inch oak plank. There were three prisoners, all colored men, in custody for petty offences. The cells were clean, but contained no furni- ture; blankets are furnished the prisoners and they sleep upon the floor. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 107 CARROLL COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. This almshouse, located about one mile from the town of Westminster, on a farm of about 180 acres, presents in its inte- rior and surroundings an air of thrift and good management. The accommodations consist of two brick buildings; the Super- intendent occupies a part of the main building which is two stories and an attic in height. The whole building was found to be in a highly commendable condition of cleanliness and Comfort. The three floors are divided by passages running at right angles; on each side of the longitudinal passages are well heated and ventilated rooms for the use of inmates. The floors were well kept and the walls had been recently whitewashed. The usual almshouse odor was altogether absent. One large room serves the double purpose of dining room and kitchen and was in keeping with the rest of the house. The inmates were at dinner when I made my visit, and were abundantly served with good and wholesome food, hot from the range; neatness was also manifested in the arrangement of the table. The building is well heated by means of hot water from a boiler in the cellar. A plentiful supply of pure spring water is forced by means of hand pumps into tanks under the roof, and from thence circulates through the building. Adjoining the spring is a remarkably neat dairy. There are no water closets or bath rooms for the convenience and comfort of the inmates; these should be supplied, and would cost but little. An old fashioned garden privy takes the place of the former, and is conveniently located only for those who are able to walk about at all seasons of the }'ear; while the whole management pre- sents the appearance of care for the inmates, and notwithstand- ing the excellent sanitary condition of this almshouse, the old staples in the floor, and the chains and anklets ready for appli- cation, seem shocking to the modern sense of civilization. In- deed one insane woman was found on a mattress and chained to the floor. At the Frederick Almshouse, out of 96 insane inmates four were similarly chained; at Washington county -two out of 29, and 108 REPORT OF THE here one out of 15, making a total of seven thus confined out of 140 insane inmates of almshouses. In contrast with this barba- rous system of treatment I would mention the fact that at Mount Hope Retreat there are over 300, and at the Maryland Hospital 240 insane patients and not one in chains. The experience of all who have devoted their attention to the treatment of the insane is opposed to this cruel custom, and it has been generally abolished throughout the world. Humanity demands that it should be interdicted in all almshouses and pris- ons of our State. The farm of this place is well s.toeke I with fine cattle, sheep, hogs and horses. The records of the inmates were found to be wholly defective ; this appears to be a general fault in all almshouses. Whole Number of Inmates. White Males 22 “ Females.. 20 Colored Males 3 “ Females 8 Total 62 Number of Insane Inmates. White Males 5 “ Females 9 Colored Males 0 “ Females 1 Total 15 Forms of Insanity. Dementia 10 Imbecility 2 Chronic Mania 2 Epilepsey 1 Total 15 Under 1 year 2 From 1 to 2 years 2 “ -2 “ 3 “ 1 “ 3 “ 4 “ 3 “ 4 “ 5 “ 1 “ 10 “ II “ 1 “ 11 “ 12 “ 2 “ 15 “ 16 “ 2 “ 19 “ 20 “ 1 Total 15 Length of Time in the Almshouse. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 109 Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Carroll County. County Almshouse Maryland Hospital Total 05 ►-* Oi Male'.... White. - to Female.. —T CO £ Total.... O o Male Colored. _ _ Female.. Total .... 00 CO in Total Insane.... CARROLL COUNTY JAIL. This is an old prison, but in no particular does it fall below the average county jails of the State. The front of the building is set apart for the residence of the Sheriff, and the rear or prison part contains a basement and two floors, with six cells on each. They all open on corridors which run around an enclosed space in the centre, extending from the basement to the roof of the building; each cell is 8x10x8 feet. The prison is heated by a large stove in the basement; the ventilation is tolerably good ; the peculiar prison odor was perceptible, but not so much so as in many other jails. The sanitary condition is as good as the construction of the building allows. It was comparatively clean and well kept; the prisoners, 13 in number, eleven males and two females, spoke in the highest terms of the kind treatment they receive. There is a bath room for the ac- commodation of prisoners in the rear. The privy conveniences consist of a water closet in a separate room, and buckets in the cells. There were thirteen prisoners confined at the time of my visit, eleven colored men and two colored females. The building is surrounded by a wall twenty-two feet high. A modern jail could be constructed hero at small expense and mostly from the material of the present one. 110 REPORT OF THE CECIL COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. The county of Cecil was visited on the 14th of May. The almshouse is located three and a-half miles from Elkton, near the village of Cherry Hill, on a avcII cultivated and productive farm of 176 acres. The main building is a substantial stone structure, that cost $7,000 ; this is occupied by the Superintend- ent and his family, and by white paupers exclusively, male and female. The kitchen, dining rooms, &c., are in the basement of this building. The second house, obliquely to the rear of the foregoing, is a large frame building, erected a few years since at a cost of $3,300; in this building there is a general mixing of colors, conditions and sexes. The first building was found in a satisfactory condition ; the latter was untidy and disorderly. In both buildings the departments for males and females are separated only by a narrow passage, and the evil result of the free communication between the sexes is manifested in the num- ber of illegitimate children born in the house. There are two instances in this almshouse in which the mother and children were born in bastardy under its roof. One, an idiotic white woman, 40 years of age, herself born in the almshouse, has given birth to six children in this institution ; another, a white woman, aged 35 years, insane, whose mother still resides in the house, has borne two children here ; and still another insane white woman is the mother of a half negro child, begotten and born in the institution. The aggregate number of inmates is eighty-eight, viz: 46 adult males; 31 adult females and eleven children. Of the in- mates seven are idiotic and twelve insane, though with three or four exceptions all the insane are harmless. It is due to the Superintendent and his wife, who are ener- getic and humane people, to say that the association which takes place between the sexes cannot well be avoided in the present ill arranged building; an effort at effectual separation or classification would be futile. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 111 The number of tramps fed and lodged in this institution the past winter is estimated to be four thousand, and it is said that much of the sexual immorality carried on in the house was planned and executed by these vagabonds; another reason why the repressing hand of the law should be mercilessly applied to them. The cost of maintaining the almshouse is $4,000 annually; and in addition to this there are about fifty out pensioners pro- vided for by the county, at an annual cost of $872. Whole Number of Inmates. White Males 35 “ Females 25 Colored Males 1 i “ Females 6 White Children 9 Colored “ 2 Total 88 Number of Insane. White Males 9 “ Females 5 Colored Males 0 •£ Females I Total 15 Ages of the Insane. From 12 to 13 years 1 “ 25 “ 30 “ 3 30 “ 35 “ 3 • 40 “‘45 4‘ 3 “ 50 “ 55 1 “ 65 70 “ 3 76 “ ' I Total. 15 Length of Time in Almshouse. Under three months 1 From one to two years I *• two “ three 1 “ three “ four ‘ 2 *• four “ five 41 2 44 twelve “ thirteen <4 2 “ fourteen to fifteen years 1 '• nineteen to twenty years 3 “ twenty-three to twenty-four years 1 “ fort} -four to forty -five years 1 Total 1§ 112 REPORT OF THE Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Cecil County in Different Institutions. White Colored. a> 03 C 0) a? Male. *03 a? 1 j Total Male o3 s 12 “ 3'» “ 35 “ II “ 35 ££ 40 ££ 8 “ 40 £l 45 £< 11 £‘ 45 £< 50 “ 8 “ 50 ££ 55 ££ 10 ££ 55 “ 60 “ 9 “ 60 “ 65 “ 8 “ 65 “ 70 ‘£ 2 “ 70 - 80 “ 5 Total 96 Lenqth of Time in the Almshouse. Under 1 year 14 From 1 to 2 years 10 2 “ 3 “ 5 “ 3 “ 4 “ 10 “ 4 “ 5 20 “ 5 “ 6 “ 12 “ 6 “ 7 “ 6 “ 7 “ 8 “ 4 “ 9 £* 10 ‘£ 1 •* 11 “ 12 “ I £- 12 “ 13 “ 3 “ 15 “ 16 “ 2 20 “ 21 “ 4 “ 24 “ 25 “ 2 30 £- 2 Total. 96 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 123 FREDERICK COUNTY JAIL. This prison has been recently built, and serves the purpose of a city and county jail. It has most of the modern improve- ments in prison construction except a well devised system of ventilation and water closets. The latter are very offensive, owing to the backing up of the sewage. The building is heated by hot water and was of comfortable temperature. The prison is two stories high, the cells opening on corridors 60 feet long by 14 feet wide, lighted by fourteen windows. There are six cells on each story 8x10x9 feet, all in an uncleanly condition. The prison odor was quite decided, and the general sanitary condition much neglected. Twenty-two prisoners were found in the jail, 13 white and 9 colored. Two colored children were permitted to remain in jail with their sister who was a prisoner. 124 REPORT OP THE HARFORD COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. The farm on which this almshouse is situated is located about a mile and a-half from Belair, the county seat, and contains about 300 acres, mostly cleared land. The principal building, recently constructed at a cost of 810,000, is of stone, two stories high with an attic and basement. It is a substantial structure, but not suitably arranged for the purposes of an almshouse. The first floor is bisected by a passage eight feet wide; on one side is a large sitting room, used exclusively as a day room; a smaller room on the same side is used as a dormitory for tramps; on the opposite side of the passage are four rooms used as sleep- ing apartments for inmates. The second floor is divided into nine small rooms about 9x14 feet which open upon the passage way leading to the first floor. The third floor is an attic unfin- ished and unoccupied. The general sanitary condition of the house was good, and the rooms and beds were found to be cleanly and in good order. No water closets or bath rooms are provided; the inmates use buckets which are removed daily. The basement is used for kitchen, pantry and laundry purposes. This building is occupied exclusively by the white population, male and female. The arrangement of the rooms is such as to preclude the possibility of preventing a promiscuous association of the sexes. The colored female department consists of a dilapidated, one story frame in the rear of the main building, which contains but one room, occupied by eight colored women and three children: a large stove and four rickety, untidy beds constitute all the furniture of the apartment. Of the eleven persons who occu- pied this room four were insane, and two occasionally very violent. The Superintendent pointed out where a considerable surface of the wall had recently been torn olf b}T one of these patients. The male colored department is also a small one-story frame building in the rear of the female department; one room em- braced the whole accommodation for seven colored men, one of SECRETARY OP THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 125 whom was confined to his bed by sickness. The bedding was very deficient and dirty. The Superintendent and his family reside in a frame dwelling situated about thirty feet from the main building and in the same enclosed yard. The grounds surrounding the building did not present an ap- pearance of neatness and taste. The cultivation of trees, shrub- bery and flowers would add greatly to the appearance and com- fort of the place. A large number of Tramps are fed and" lodged at this alms- house ; the Superintendent reported 45 in July, 187G; 51 in August; 70 in September; 192 in October; 295 in November; 339 in December; 107 in January, 1877; and 171 in February; making a totatl of 1,270 in eight months. White Males IT “ Females 8 Colored Males 13 ‘‘ Females....* 11 Colored Children 4 Total v 53 Whole Number of Inmates. Total Number of Insane. White Males 2 “ Females 4 Colored Males 2 “ Females 4 Total 12 Under *20 years 1 From 25 to 30 years 4 “ 30 *■ 35 “ 1 “ 35 “ 40 “ 2 “ 40 “ 45 ‘ 2 “ 60 “ 65 *‘ I “ 65 *‘ 70 ‘* I Total 12 Ages of the Insane. Form of Insanity. Acute Mania 1 Chronic Mania 5 Imbecility 3 Dementia 2 Idiocy I Total 12 126 REPORT OF THE Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Harford County in the Different Institutions. White. Colored Total Insane ... 0$ "3 3 i | Female.. jS o H Male 1 | Female. 1 Total.... County Almshouse 2 4 6 2 4 6 12 Mt Hope Retreat 1 1 1 Monteview 5 6 11 2 1 3 14 Maryland Hospital 4 2 6 6 Total 12 12 24 4 5 9 33 HARFORD COUNTY JAIL. This prison, located at Bolair, did not impress me favorably. It is in the style of the early jails; not adapted to present wants or to the use of the separate system. It is insecure for the cus- tody of prisoners, carelessly managed, defective in ventilation, and imperfect in light. The heavy, contaminated atmosphere, the contracted corridors, low ceilings, small windows, and utter absence of comforts or conveniences make it a very unfit place to confine human beings in. The front of the building, which is a two-story stone, is occupied by the Sheriff and his family; the entrance to the rear or prison part is by a passage through the Sheriffs apartments. The lower or basement floor is about three feet below the level of the ground, and contains four cells with brick floors. The second floor is reached by a narrow flight of stairs, there are four cells on this floor, dark and dun- geon like. In each cell there is a urinal, without trap of any kind, which discharges through a pipe that empties into a pit on the outer side of the jail. Fortunately there were only three persons confined in this prison, which is defective in all respects and should he replaced by a new structure more in accordance with modern requirements. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 127 HOWARD COUNTY. There is no almshodse in this county. HOWARD COUNTY JAIL. This prison is located at Ellicott City, the county seat of Howard, to the rear of the Court House, which stands upon an elevation overlooking the town. In no jail in the State is the general appearance and condition worse. At the date of my visit there were 15 prisoners in custody, five white males, nine colored males, and one colored female, none of whom had been tried. The female prisoner was con- fined in a cell with four negro men, an act of barbarity which needs no comment. There were no beds, not even a mattress of straw, in any of the cells; loathsome blankets, scattered in disorder about the floors, and a privy bucket, constituted the entire furniture. An unoccupied cell supplied the place of a water closet; in it there was a funnel-shaped sink into which the contents of the night buckets are emptied, and the stench, which permeated the en- tire prison was indescribably offensive. The sanitary condition of such an illy ventilated and neglected receptacle must neces- sarily bo very bad. The cells were greatly overcrowded, not affording over 115 cubic feet of space for each inmate. Several members of the Board of County Commissioners vis- ited the building with me, and as they are unquestionably gen- tlemen of intelligence and humane feelings, I should like to bestow some commendation upon the institution under their charge, but when I say that the prisoners are well-fed, T have exhausted my stock of praise. The Commissioners complain that the building is not only insecure, but that it is impossible to keep it in order, on account of its structural defects. I doubt if any remedy can be provided without an entire re- arrangement, while the overcrowded state would indicate that the sooner a new prison is provided by the county the better. 128 REPORT OE THE KENT COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. Kent County Almshouse is located on a farm of 400 acres of land, situated about three miles from Chestertown. The accommodations comprise a frame building, occupied by the Superintendent and his family; one old brick building in the rear, for white inmates; and one frame “quarter” for the colored. The buildings, as in most other cases, are not at all suited for the purposes of an almshouse, nor for the proper care of the inmates. It would be wise on the part of the county authorities to sell the whole place, and invest the proceeds in suitable buildings, located on a tract of land not exceeding fifty acres, which is quite as much as can be profitably worked by the inmates, or join their neighbors in erecting a district or union almshouse, for the accommodation of the poor of the respective counties. The principal building of this establishment is an old white- washed brick house two-stories in height, with an attic, finished for occupation. The rooms are separated from each other by a narrow passage. There are two rooms on each floor, one on each side of the passage, making six, including two in the attic. One room on the first floor contained four white females and a child four years of age, whose grand-mother is an inmate. The room was clean and comfortably furnished, with good beds and plain furniture. The next room opposite was of the same di- mensions, 20x15x8 feet, and contained three beds, occupied by white women and one infant born in the house. This room was also used as a dining room One of the inmates of this room was an idiotic deaf mute, and the mother of three illegitimate children, begotten and born in the almshouse. One room on the second floor (same dimensions as those below) was occupied by seven persons, four women and three children. One of the children was a very pret ty child of seven years, one an infant of seven months, born and begotten in the house. The grand- mother and mother of the infant occupied adjoining beds in this SECRETARY OF TETE STATE BOARD OF HE ALT El. 129 room, making another instance of three generations of‘ the same family in one house. In the attic was found a family of five persons, husband, wife and three children, two of whom are t wins, six months of age. This room was very dirty and poorly furnished. The buildiilg for the colored inmates is a one-story frame house with loft above. The lower floor was occupied by seven colored persons, two males and five females. Two beds were in the room; we were told that some of the inmates slept in the loft. One of the male inmates is an epileptic imbecile ; another aged colored woman was sick in the loft. Iler bed was dirty, and the room gloomy and devoid of comforts. The ad- joining room to the one on the lower floor contained three beds and a “box room” in the corner, used for an insane colored man. This “ box room” was a portion of the room partitioned off be- tween the chimney and the wall, with a kind of barred window opening toward the fire. The floor of this room was extremely dirty and out of order. Above was the loft, where five women and one boy slept. There was no dining room or other conve- niences. The entire colored accommodations were filthy, offen- sive and exhibited great neglect of the commonest decencies of life. There were no privy conveniences of any kind. The whole establishment was in a shocking condition. Table Showing the Whole JVumber of Inmates. White Males 7 “ Females 1.1 Colored VI ales 10 Females I'l Children, colored 9 Total 49 Tahir, Shotting the Number of Insane. White Males 0 *• Females 1 Colored Males 3 ‘ Females J Total. 5 130 REPORT OF THE Epileptic - I Chronic Mania I imbecility 3 Total . 5 Table Showing Form of Insanity. Table Showing Ages of the Insane. IO years 1 16 “ . 1 45 “ 1 60 “ I Total 5 Length of Time in the Almshouse. Under one year 1 Three years 1 Six “ .... ) Nine “ 1 Twelve ‘ ‘ 1 Total 5 Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Kent County in Liferent Institutions. White. Colored. Total Insane ... Male.... Female.. Total .... Male £ I o> £-4 Total .... 1 County Almshouse 1 1 3 1 4 5 Maryland Hospital 2 2 4 4 Ml Hope Retreat 1 1 1 Total 2 4 6 3 1 4 10 SECRETARY OP THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 131 KENT COUNTY JAIL. Kent County Jail is located in the Court House yard, and is built of brick two stories in height. The Sheriff resides on the first floor, the prison being on the second floor. Thi'ee cells constitute the prison capacity; each one is 15x12x10 feet in di- mensions, and so insecure as to require the use of chains in order to prevent the escape of prisoners. Three colored men were confined in cell No. 1, for different offences; each one had his feet fastened together by chain anklets. The cell was very dirty and full of vermin. Cell No. 2, same dimensions, contained no prisoners. Cell No. 6 contained six colored persons, all with chains on their feet to prevent escape. The prison is heated by stoves, and the privy conveniences consist of open buckets. 132 REPORT OP THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. This institution is located on a farm of 80 acres about two miles from the town of Rockville. The accommodations consist of a two-story and basement brick building. The bouse is not at all adapted to the purposes of an almshouse, besides being too small for the number of inmates. The first floor is occupied by the Superintendent’s family, and the second by white inmates, male and female. The rooms of this floor are large, clean and comfortable, and are heated by open fire-places; the bedding was ample and clean, and the inmates well cared for. The basement is used for colored inmates; it is divided into small rooms which were overcrowded, dirty and offensive; in many of them men and women were domiciled together, some of whom were confined to bed from sickness, and others insane and paralyzed. The floor of the kitchen and two small closets adjoining furnished sleeping room for quite a number of the inmates. Two white idiotic boys also slept on the kitchen floor, and the same accommodations were furnished any tramp who might happen to present a ticket for a night’s lodging. Indeed the basement was so completely crowded that every new arrival had to he accommodated on this floor. The sanitary condition of these basement rooms was very bad, and no regard is paid to the morality of the occupants, who live and sleep together re- gardless of sex. One of the colored men said that when any of their number died, the body laid in bed in the same room with the living until buried. An idiotic girl called Ann had had two children born and begotten at the house. A new and better arranged almshouse is greatly needed. Whole Number of Inmates. White Males 7 “ Females 2 Colored Males • 8 “ Females 7 “ Children 2 Total SECRETARY OF TIIE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. Number of Insane Inmates. White Males 3 “ Females 1 Colored Males 1 “ Females 2 Total 7 Forms of Insanity. Dementia 1 Imbecility 2 Chronic Mania 2 Epilepsey 1 Idiocy 1 Total 7 Ayes of the Insane. From 25 to 30 years 1 30 “ 35 “ 2 35 4 l “ 2 “ 4 ) “ 50 1 “ 50 •* 60 “ 1 Total 7 Length of Time in Almshouse. 1 hree years 2 Four “ 3 Five “ I Twenty “ 1 Total 7 Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Montgomery County in the Different Institutions. Whitk. Colored. Total Insane.... ■1 Female.. Total Male Female.. | Total.... 1 County Almshouse 3 1 4 1 2 3 7 .Maryland Hospital y 1 3 4 4 Monteview Hospital o 3 2 2 5 Total 7 4 11 3 2 5 13 134 REPORT OP THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY JAIL. This jail is a two-story building situated in the rear of the Court House. It has the appearance of having been built many years ago, in the days of comparative innocence, when jail- breaking and burglary were unknown arts; still it is strong and secure enough for the class of criminals who usually occupy cells within its walls. It is much stronger within than it ap- pears from without; the walls are well plaited with iron bars that cross each other at short distances. The jail was found very clean and in good order; the hall was newly whitewashed as well as the cells. There are three cells on the lower floor opening on a spacious hall in which a large stove heats the cells above as well as those below. On the second floor are six cells of various sizes, all ample, clean and recently whitewashed ; their average size is 14x14x10 feet, the floors are of stone, and the outer walls are protected by iron bars. The basement also has cells which are not in use. The yard in the rear is enclosed by a high brick wall, in the corner of which the sewage is disposed of. The outlet had become blocked, and it was necessarily offensive. The prisoners use buckets, the odors of which are very offensive. The number of prisoners confined at the time of my visit was 8, as follows: White males 2, colored males 5, col- ored females 1. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 135 PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. This almshouse is situated about eight miles from Marlboro’ and one mile Irom Forrestville on a farm of 100 acres of very poor land. There is a new brick building two stories high, and a one-story frame pavillion. The brick house is occupied by white inmates exclusively. Two rooms on the first floor are used by the Superintendent’s family ; one is reserved for the Trustees, and the remaining room is occupied by four white women and four children; one of the women is insane and was, at the time of my visit, confined to her bed from the effects of a recent abortion. The upper floor is divided by partitions into six small rooms, which were occupied by men and women with- out any adequate provision for the separation of the sexes. The colored inmates occupied the one-story pavillion, which was found quite clean, but destitute of furniture. The supply of water is obtained from a well in the yard and a spring near by. The grounds immediately around the building are entirely neglected, and present a desolate appearance. The brick build- ing cost about $7,000, and will accommodate 30 patients. One much more suitable for the purpose could have been built for a less sum, that would have provided for a complete separation of the sexes, which cannot be accomplished where the rooms are divided only by a narrow passage way. The building is heated by stoves, and no artificial ventilation is supplied. Whole Number of Inmates. White Males 3 “ Females 8 “ Children 5 Colored Males 3 • * Females 3 Colored Children j Total 23 136 REPORT OF THE Total Number of Insane. White Males 3 “ Females i 3 Colored Males I • ‘ Females 1 Total 8 t Form of Insanity. Mania I Chronic Mania I Imbecility 2 Paralytic Mania I Dementia 2 Idiocy 1 Total 8 Ages of the Insane. 20 years 1 22 “ 1 24 “ 1 30 “ 1 GO ‘£ l 66 *' 2 10 ££ 1 Total 8 Length of Time in the Almshouse. Under 1 year 1 From 1 to' 2 \ears i 3 “ 4 “ 1 5 £ 6 £- 3 ££ 6 “ 7 “ ( “ 7 a i£ i Total H Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Prince Georges County in Different Institutions White. Colored i cS 6 ci C 0) S 13 o> 3 a •3 S QJ e O County Almshouse 3 3 6 i 2 8 Mt Hope Retreat 5 1 6 i 1 7 County Jail 1 1 1 i 2 3 Maryland Hospital.. Total 9 4 13 2 3 5 18 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 137 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY JAIL. This is a brick building two stories high, surrounded by a ten toot plank wall. It is located near the Court House. The first floor is divided into four cells, two on each side of a passage; the floors are brick, and the ceilings arched with the same; the windows in each cell are two by six feet, grated outside. The building is heated by a furnace in the cellar; the register opens in the passage immediately opposite each cell door. The floors and walls were whitewashed and presented a cleanly appear- ance. The second floor contains six cells, smaller than those below but in other respects the same. The privy conveniences consist of open buckets. There were twelve prisoners, two white and nine colored males and one colored woman. Three of the number are insane; two committed for insanity and one colored man charged with assault. One is a colored woman and the other a white man. His mattress, bedding and clothing were saturated with urine and his cell was extremely offensive. As he arose from this filthy bed he shivered with cold. The colored woman was about 35 years old, and had been a prisoner about five weeks; her case seemed to be one of puerperal mania, but no history could be obtained. The white man is an Irish- man, aged about 45; he had been confined about six weeks; his form of insanity was acute mania with delusions. The general provision was very good. 138 REPORT OF THE QUEEN ANN’S COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. This almshouse is located about seven miles from Centreville. on a farm of 115 acres. The building is an old mansion house, built of imported brick, two stories high with a capacious attic. The Halls and rooms are very large with high ceilings. The first floor is occupied by the Superintendent and his family; the second floor and attic by the white, and the back building by the colored inmates. The basement is used for domestic pur- poses and contains the kitchen, dining room, pantry, &c. The inmates were in good health, only one being reported sick. An insane woman was chained to the floor in a room in the attic. In another room was a second chain fixed to the floor, used for a colored woman who occasionally becomes violent. The col- ored department is illy adapted for almshouse purposes, but the gun era 1 condition of the house with respect to cleanliness and order was satisfactory, and the inmates appeared to be well taken care of. In addition to the twenty-eight inmates, there are about fifty out pensioners, at an average annual cost of $35 per capita. Total Number of inmates. White Males 5 “ Females 11 Colored Males 5 li Females 1 Total 28 Number of Insane. White Males 2 11 Females 4 Colored Males 2 “ Females I Total 9 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 139 Forms of Insanity. Dementia 3 Imbecility 1 Chronic Mania 1 Epilepsey 3 Idiocy 1 Total 9 Ages of the Insane. 22 years - 2 33 “ 1 36 “ 2 40 “ 1 46 “ I 50 “ 2 Total 9 Length of Time, in Almshouse. Three years 1 Five “ ? Eight “ 1 Ten ‘ 1 Thirteen years 1 Sixteen •* 1 Twenty “ 1 Twenty-four years I Total 9 Whole Number of Indigent Insane from this County in Different Institutions. County Almshouse Maryland Hospital Total 1 1 at j co i-o Male... . White a> tO 4^ Female . - at os Total ... to to Male Colored. - - Female.. CO CO Total .... * U> CO Total Insane . 140 REPORT OF THE QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY JAIL. This jail is situated in the rear of the Court House; it is a brick building two stories high. The first floor is divided by a passage, on one side of which the Sheriff and his family reside; on the other are four cells for prisoners, two on each side of a narrow passage. The same arrangement of cells exists on the second floor and in the basement. Each cell is 12x14x10 feet, and heated by a stove, with no artificial ventilation or sewage conveniences; buckets are used in the cells. The prisoners are furnished with mattresses and blankets. The jail was found in good sanitary condition. There were six prisoners confined, four of whom were colored men, one white and one colored boy, the latter on the charge of murder. SECRETARY OP THE STATE BOARD OP HEALTH. 141 SOMERSET COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. This almshouse is situated about three miles from Princess Anne, on a farm of 200 acres. The accommodations consist of a main brick building two stories high, divided by a passage. The first floor is occupied by the Superintendent and his family, and the second by white inmates, male and female. The colored inmates occupy two small one-story frame buildings much dilapi- dated. The second floor of the main building contains three rooms 12x15 feet each, two of which are on one side of the passage and one on the other. One of these rooms was occupied bv two white women and one white man ; the adjoining room contained two persons, a female and an imbecile male. It is difficult to conceive why the sexes should thus have been mixed, unless to foster the usual almshouse immorality. The third room wa occupied by two females and two infants, one the child of white mother and colored father. Both children were begotten and born in the house, which should be a warning to those who manage the establishment to enforce a separation of the sexes. The house was in a fair condition of cleanliness, the beds and bedding neat and comfortable; and but for the violation of all sense of propriety and decency in allowing men and women to lodge together in the same rooms, when there was not even the excuse of necessity for so doing, my report of the white depart- ment would have been favorable throughout. The structural defects of the colored department are such as to render it unfit for use. The rooms were begrimed with dust, smoko and cobwebs, and altogether showed great want of care and attention; the beds were filthy, the sanitary condition bad, and the inmates thoroughly uncomfortable. There was but one insane inmate—a white male aged 40; he was an imbecile and had been in the house since boyhood. 142 REPORT OF THE Whole Number of Inmates. White Males 2 “ Females. 2 Colored Males 5 “ Females 5 “ Children 4 Total 18 Whole Number of Tndijent Insane from Somerset Count)/ in the Different Institutions. County Almshouse Maryland Hospital Montcview Hospital Total .... « « Male White. « CO Female.. C5 o Total “ Male Colored. Female.. - Total.... 1 -T —-T 1 Total Insane.... SOMERSET COUNTY JAIL. This jail is a square stone building two stories high, and divid- ed by a passage below and above. The first floor is occupied by the Keeper’s family; the second contains four cells each 15x15x12 feet, heated b}7 stoves ; there is no artificial ventilation except a window in each cell, and no privy conveniences ex- cepting buckets, which are emptied daily. The cells are lined within by two-inch oak boards. This prison, recently built, was considered very secure, but it has been found to be otherwise, Not long since a colored man and his wife made their escape from one of the cells by tearing off the batting and picking out a large stone alongside of the window, making an opening through which they both escaped. One cell contained eight colored and one white man; its odor was very offensive. An- other contained a man, wife and two children, colored. Four small dark cells or dungeons are constructed on the first floor, but are not used. SECRETARY OB' THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. ST. MARY’S COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. This almshouse is located on a farm of 200 acres, about four miles south-east of Leonardtown. The building is an old two- story brick house, flanked on the south side by a one-story frame, all in a dilapidated and ruinous condition. The internal arrangements are very bad. and owing to defec- tive drainage and dampness in the basement, the health of the inmates must necessarily be endangered. The first floor of the brick building has a passage-way and two rooms on either side of it; three of the rooms are occupied by the inmates, and an- other is set aside as a place to punish the inmates by close con- finement, but apparently it had not recently been used for such a purpose; indeed, it was being used as a store or lumber room. The upper story is occupied exclusively by the Superintendent and his family. The basement is rendered useless by its great dampness, being often tilled with water. The frame attachment is used for cooking and laundry purposes. Each room was vis- ited and examined. They were not very orderly, and the bed- ding was untidy. Of course the condition of the building will not admit of thorough cleanliness and order, but a great deal more might be done in that direction which would improve the condition of the house and add to the comfort of the inmates. Some of the inmates are aged and infirm and require a few comforts and a little care in order to make life endurable, but it is very clear that neither the one nor the other can be extended to them in their present miserable quarters. The Superintendent and his wife are unquestionably kind hearted, humane people, and possess more refinement of appear- ance and bearing than is usually found in persons occupying such positions. The inmates manifested contentment even in their gloomy abode, and spoke in terms of appreciation of the kindness extended to them. Happy is it for society when even in the haunts of wretched- ness there is found such a connection of good will; and most happy is he or she who can combine with an unpleasant official position the gratification which always accompanies warm hearted and enlightened benevolence. 144 RErORT OF THE It is to be hoped that the county authorities will take steps to provide better quarters, both for the comfort of the inmates, and to enable the introduction of better administration with the affairs of the household. There were only ten inmates in the house, all of whom were females, two white, six colored and two children, aged respect- ively four and two years. Two of the colored were found to be epileptic, viz : Sophia Rusten, aged 19, and Yernie Smallwood, aged 18 years. Both have been subject to convulsions from early life. The former has been an inmate of the almshouse from childhood, and occasionally has paroxysms of violent anger; the latter has only been an inmate for six or eight months; she has with her an infant two years old. Another young colored woman is blind from cataract, but is otherwise healthy. She could be relieved by proper surgical skill. One of the white women, Millie Thompson, sixty years of age, is an imbecile and has been an inmate of the almshouse for forty years. In addition to inmates of the almshouse the county supports one hundred and four out pensioners, at an average cost of about £20 per annum, or an aggregate of upwards of £2,000. The cost of maintaining the ten inmates in the almshouse, is in the aggregate, £2.216. ora per capita cost of £221 per annum, a sum greater than is required to maintain and treat patients in the most elegant and comfortable charitable institutions in the State. This large expenditure is partially attributable to the fact that the house has no general rules for its government, no dietaiy regulations, nor special duties for the inmates by which they could aid in supporting themselves. The farming opera- tions too are doubtless an incubus upon this, as they have been found to be upon other similar institutions visited. The Trus- tees would do well not only to rehabilitate, or make new their building, but also to reorganize and discipline its affairs. Table Showing the Whole Number of Inmates. White Males 0 “ Females 2 Colored Males 0 Females 6 Children, colored 2 Total 10 SECRETARY OP THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. Table Showing the Number of Insane. White Males 0 “ Females. 1 Colored Males 0 ‘ Females 2 Total 3 Form of Insanity. Imbecility 2 Epileptic 1 Total 3 Ages of the Insane. Eighteen years , 1 Nineteen 1 Sixty “ , 1 Total 3 Length of Time in the Almshouse. Under 1 year 1 15 years ...... 1 40 • 1 Total 3 Whole Number of Indigent Insane from St. Mary's County in the Different Institutions County Almshouse County .1 ail Monte view Hospital Total ' I ! Male ' 1 White. M • _ _ _ Feniale . 1 CO — Total.... 1 1 Male 1 Colored 02 to Female.. to iO Total.... w* — — CO Total Insane.... 146 REPORT OF THE ST. MARY’S COUNTY JAIL. This jail, completed last September at a cost of $2,500, was visited on the 27th of April and found, both in respect to material and workmanship, to be solid and secure. The build- ing is located in the Court House yard, at Leonard town, and presents a neat appearance externally. It is about 33 feet front, with a gable of 19 feet, slate roof, and stuccoed walls. The lower story, nine feet pitch, is built of stone; the upper story, eight feet height of ceiling, is of best quality brick laid in cement. The lower or ground floor has a passage way four feet wide, and a room 12x17 on either side. This entire floor is occupied by the jailor and his family. The upper floor, which is approached by a narrow flight of wooden steps from the hall below, is also bisected by a passage way, with windows at either extremity. On the North side of the passage is cell No. 1, which is 12x17 feet in dimensions, with three windows. On the South side there are two other cells; No. 2 is 8x12 feet, with one window looking to the East. No. 3 is 9x12 feet, and has two windows. The windows are all provided with secure gratings of small mesh placed on the inner side of the sash; the doors are solid wood, iron clad on the cell side, and provided with an opening 12 inches square at the top, which is guarded by stout iron bars. The walls of the cells are all securely cased with iron bars three inches wide and one inch thick, extending vertically from the lower story above the upper ceiling, which is also substan- tially secured. These lining bars are placed four inches apart, but the brick-work extends between them, and is flush with them on the inner surface; all is hidden from view by a coating of plaster. The cells were only reasonably clean, and not at all orderly ; clothing and bedding being scattered loosely around. There was an absence of jail odor. For privy arrangements the prisoners use buckets, which are placed in covered com- modes, and emptied at regular intervals, or whenever necessary.. There is no court yard connected with the jail, and prisoners are consequently closely and constantly confined in their cells. There were only six prisoners in custody—one white woman. On page 147, line 33, for “bigamy,” read forgery. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 147 insane, one colored girl for forgery, one white man charged with bigamy, one colored boy, imbecile, two colored men for petty offences. The white woman occupied cell No. 2; she is 34 •years of age and unmarried. For several months she has ex- hibited paroxysms of violence toward members of her immediate family, and finally a legal examination was had and she was committed to jail for common assault, where she has now been about three weeks. The woman is unmistabaly insane, and should be immediately placed in an asylum for proper care and treatment. Her mother, who is said to be a highly respectable old lady, was in the vil- lage seeking the release of her daughter from prison, but de- clared her inability to provide for her in a lunatic asylum; this unfortunate creature must yet languish in the cheerless cell of the county jail. Cell No. 2 was occupied by a genteel-looking white man, in- dicted and at the time undergoing trial for bigamy, which is said to be the first indictment ever found for this offence iii the county of St. Mary’s. In cell No. 1, in addition to the two negro men serving out sentence for minor offences, theie was confined a negro boy, Abram Briscoe, aged 17 years, not charged with any offence, but simply placed in durance vile “to take care of him.” Al- though weak minded, it is very evident he would not derive benefit from asylum treatment; he could be sufficiently well cared for in a poor house if there was a proper one to send him to; as he is healthy and strong, he should be required in a measure at least to earn his bread, instead of the county being taxed sixty cents per diem for his support. Certainly the jail is no place for persons entirely free from crime or even criminal intent. The criminal girl, Nellie Smith, about thirteen years of age, was sentenced in September last for bigamy, to four years im- prisonment, and is now ostensibly serving out the sentence in jail. She is not confined in a cell, but has the liberty of the house, and performs work for the jailor’s family. The necessity of committing such cases to jail strongly suggests the propriety of founding district poor houses and houses of industry com- bined, where this class of offenders could be confined, and at the same time required to do work for their own maintenance. At 148 REPORT OF THE the rate paid by the county, viz: sixty cents per day, for feed- ing prisoners, this girl will, exclusive oi clothing, cost the county in four years, the sum of 8876 without rendering any equivalent whatever. However desirable it may be to have such prisoners con- stantly employed, the propriety of giving them liberties not vouchsafed by the law, nor contemplated in the sentence, and using them to do the domestic work of the jailor, without the county receiving remuneration for the same, is very questionable. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEADTII. TALBOT COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. Located seven miles from Easton, on a farm of 300 acres. The buildings comprise a new frame dwelling, the residence of the Superintendent, distant about 200 yards from almshouse proper, which consists of an old brick structure two stories and attic in height, and a story and attic back building. The main building is occupied by the matron and the white inmates, and the back building is set apart exclusively for colored inmates. The sani- tary condition of the white department was entirely satisfactory; the floors, walls and beds were very cleanly, and the general good order gave evidence of care and attention upon the part of the matron ; all the inmates of this part of the house were com- fortably and neatly clad, presenting an appearance of comfort in pleasing contrast with the tattered and filthy condition of the inmates in a majority of the almshouses visited. The colored department was also in comparatively good con- dition, and the inmates were as well cared for as the space allot- ted for their accommodation would admit of, except one room which was noticeably filthy. The arrangement of both departments is defective in so far as maintaining a separation of the sexes is concerned, and conse- quently an increase of children begotten in the establishment has not been infrequent. In one room of the main building were found three generations—two illegitimate children begot- ten and born in the house, the mother also born in the house, and the aged grand-parents. Another room was occupied by four women and six children, three of the latter said to have been begotten and born in the house. In the colored depart- ment was found a negro woman with two children, both natives of the house. Sex mixing seems to be as common among the inmates of almshouses as amongst the lowest animals, hence the great increase of innocent paupers. The insane inmates of this almshouse are mostly harmless persons. One negro woman however appeared to be an excep- tion, and is said to grow violent at times. The privy conveni- 150 REPORT OF THE enees are inconvenient and wholly unsuited for inmates. The water supply is good. The rooms of the inmates are heated by stoves. Whole Number of Inmates. White Males 8 “ Females 1 Colored Males 8 “ Females 8 Children (2 colored) 13 Total 44 Whole Number of Insane. White Males 4 u Females , 2 Colored Males 3 “ Females 1 Total 10 Forms of Insanity. Dementia 3 Chronic Mania 2 Imbecility., ; : 2 Epilepsey .. 2 Paralytic 1 Total ... 10 Ayes of the Insane. 15 years. 1 22 “ 1 30 “ 1 40 “ 1 44 “ I 47 “ .. 1 50 “ 2 56 “ 1 60 “ 1 Total 10 Length of Time in the Almshouse. Under one year 1 One year 1 Three years 5 Fi« 3 1 Eight “ 1 Ten “ 1 Total 10 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 151 Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Talbot County in the Different Institutions. White. Colored. Total Insane.... Male Female.. Total Male Female.. Total.... County Almshouse 4 2 6 3 1 4 10 Maryland Hospital 2 3 5 5 Mt. Hope Retreat Total 6 5 11 3 1 4 15 TALBOT COUNTY JAIL. Talbot County Jail is an old building two stories high. The Sheriff occupies a portion of the lower floor. The construction of the prison is very bad in itself, and especially so in its rela- tions to the comforts of the Sheriff’s family. Prisoners must be conducted through the Sheriff's parlor to and from the cells which they occupy. The cells used are in the second story; there are others in the basement that are not used, except in an emergency. On the second floor there are three cells 16x16x10 feet in dimensions. One of these contained four white men awaiting trial, for violation of the oyster law. They wTere quite comfortably lodged, with mattresses on the floor; there were no chairs or other furniture. The cells are lined with heavy oak boards, and heated by grates. In one of the cells was found a colored woman committed for larceny. There is no artificial ventilation or privy conveniences. The whole number of pris- oners was seven at the time of my visit; four white males, two colored males and one colored female. 152 REPORT OF THE WASHINGTON COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. This institution, situated in the suburbs of Hagerstown, should be presented as a common nuisance. The establishment consists of two brick buildings, old, dilapidated and altogether unsuited for the purposes of an almshouse. The keeper occu- pies the principal part of the main building, and the only thing that looked like civilization about the premises was his apart- ments, and two rooms in the rear part of the building, occupied by two gentle, tidy old ladies, who with their own feeble hands arranged and kept clean their respective apartments, while all around them was cheerless and repulsive to a degree that can- not bo described. In this same building there are inmates of all ages, sexes and conditions, some insane, some idiotic, others weak minded and depraved. Separation of sexes is not provided for, nor does it seem to be cared for, and the results of such promiscuous association need not be enlarged on. But bad as was the condition of affairs in this building, that of the one on the opposite side of the road was found to be incomparably worse. The rooms were overcrowded, filthy and noisome to an incredible degree. The floors, the walls, the bedding all bore testimony of the neglected condition of this foul receptacle. The sexes occupied the same rooms, mingled together and co- habited as if poverty created no distinctions. Room Ho. 7 was occupied by five colored persons, two men, two women and one child. One of the women, though very young, was already over- shadowed by the primeval sorrow of her sex, doubtless the re- sult of almshouse immorality. One of the rooms on the second floor contained six feeble old men, two being ill and confined to their so-called beds, disgustingly filthy sacks, which looked as if they might once have been filled with straw. One of the occu- pants stated that when an inmate died, as had been the case only a few days before, the corpse was allowed to remain in the room where they all slept until buried. Another room was occupied by three colored women ; it was- SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 153 (.fork, dismal, and mephitic; indeed the entire establishment is imperfectly ventilated, utterly without sanitary regulations and destitute of the commonest conveniences of life. There are no water closet arrangements; the inmates use vessels in their rooms and then empty them in the adjoining fields. The whole atmosphere of the establishment is contaminated, and cannot fad, sooner or later, to endanger the sanitary condition of the neighborhood. Under the same roof of the building just described, but sepa- rated from other apartments by a partition, is what the keeper calls “the insane department.” As we entered there was pre- sented a scene of indescribable confusion and clamor. A num- ber of irrational, incoherent human beings, white and black, male and female indiscriminately mixed, some excited and vio- lent, some quiet and subdued, others weeping and wailing with- out intermission. One insane woman came rushing towards us with oaths and imprecations, brandishing a chunek of fire taken from the stove, and with which she said she intended to “drive the robbers from the house.” One of the female inmates, was confined in a separate room; she was very noisy and profane, and made determined efforts to obtain admittance into the room which was dark, filthy and offensive; the bedding was so worn and soiled as to be unfit for use. The adjoining room contained two females, one aged 06, a quiet dement, the other aged 35, a drivelling idiot. The offensive contents of an open night vessel which sat in the middle of the floor filled the room with noisome exhalations; the walls were stained and besmeared with filth. A small room opposite this was occupied by a young man, Wm. Barber, an epileptic, who was chained to the floor by one leg; he conversed rationally, and said he was chained for cursing a woman while suffering from the effects of an epileptic seizure. He earnestly begged to be released. Another room was occu- pied by a male patient 28 years of age, who was also chained to the floor. This patient was at one time in the Maryland Hos- pital, but was removed by his father, who is represented to be quite a wealthy man, on account of the alleged expense of keep- ing him in the hospital. On the second floor of this department one room contained five persons, sick and insane; the room was horridly dirty and offensive;, unemptied chamber pots were 20 154 REPORT OF THE noticed about the apartment, their contents polluting the air and filling the room with a sickening stench. Other rooms on this floor were in a like bad sanitary condition.. Surely nothing ever surpassed in horror and inhumanity a scene witnessed in this hovel of misery. Susan Huttman, an insane white woman, aged 20 years, was found in a condition of wretchedness too shocking to repeat, if it were not in the hope that when so sad a picture is presented it will arouse the public indignation to the extent, at least, of enforcing some reforma- tion. The civilization of the age and the humanities of our race demand it! "When the door of the room in which this poor demented creature was confined was unlocked and opened, the stench was so overpowering as to force me to retreat to the far side of the hall; a second effort to enter the room occasioned nausea even to vomiting, but being determined to see the condition of affairs within, effort after effort was made until the senses became suf- ficiently educated or accustomed to the loathsomeness of the place to permit me to enter. The only window to the room was closely planked up, so that neither light nor air was ad- mitted. By the aid of a wax taper a scene was revealed that would have been a reproach even upon the barbaric ages and institutions of the world. In one corner of this foetid den was crouched the form of a young woman almost in a state of nudity, and filthy beyond expression. No attempt induced her to talk or even reply to a question; her mind was completely over- shadowed by the gloom of dementia, most probably fixed and intensified by her wretched surroundings, which a very slight exercise of common sense and humanity might have entirely prevented. There was not an article of furniture in the room, not even the decayed-looking mattress and soiled blanket that were found in the other rooms of this establishment; the floor was the only couch for this unfortunate woman, and that was thick covered and slimy with her own excretions, in which she wallowed by day and by night. The reason assigned for keeping her in this dungeon, reaking with noxious exhalations was, that her filthy habits rendered her an unfit inmate for the hall, where the other patients were permitted to exercise. A greater object of pity and distress was surely never beheld ! SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 155 As in other parts of the house, there are no arrangements here for the separation of the sexes, from which omission the most deplorable consequences have resulted. Jennie Hays, an imbe- cile, was several months advanced in pregnancy; she had already borne two children, the last begotten in the almshouse. Many other disgusting scenes could be recited in connection with this abode of human wretchedness, filth and vice, but enough has been said already Surely the enlightened people of Washing- ton county will not endure this place much longer. White Males 57 “ Females 38 Colored Males 8 Females 7 Total 110 Whole Number of Inmates. Whole Number of Insane. White Males 14 Females ! 13 Colored Males 2 “ Females 0 Total 29 Norm of Insanity. Acute Mania 2 Chronic Mania 4 Imbecility 3 Dementia 17 Idiocy I Melancholia i Epilepsy 1 Total 29 A yes of the Insane. Under 20 years 1 From 20 to z5 years 3 “ 25 '• 30 “ 3 3j “ 40 “ 4 “ 40 •* 45 '• 3 *• 45 •* 50 “ 3 “ 50 “ 55 “ 3 55 ‘‘ 60 “ 3 “ 60 “ 65 3 “ 65 ‘ 70 ‘ 2 70 ‘ 80 i Total 29 156 REPORT OF THE Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Washington County in I) iff ere nt Inst it ut ion s. White. Colored O s si ai c f si s a S s> Total Male. £ E a> Total 1 3 o Eh County Almshouse 14 13 27 2 2 29 0 7 1 8 8 2 2 2 Total 21 16 37 2 0 2 39 WASHINGTON COUNTY JAIL. This jail is an old stone structure one story high with a base- ment, used for the heating apparatus, &c. The cells open into a large hall 60x12x15 feet. The walls showed the effect of age, and had been so frequently whitewashed that the lime was fall- ing off in flakes, presenting an irregular surface for the lodg- ment of dust and foul matter exhaled from the bodies of prison- ers. They need thorough scraping and whitewashing. A register in the hall furnished ample heat. In the centre of the hall roof are two round shafts for ventilation, which work well. The cells are 15x10x10 with arched roof, plank floor, a register, and a ventilator in the roof in addition to a window. The ven- tilation is excellent, both in the cells and hall. The privy ac- commodations were very inconvenient and defective, consisting only of a privy in the jail yard, accessible through a door in the rear of the hall which is kept locked except at stated times each day ; at other times the prisoners use buckets in their cells, which emit the odor of their contents. But for the excellent and simple ventilation of the interior this defective system would be likely to cause sickness. There is no provision for the sep- aration of the sexes except confinement in the cells. There are no bathing arrangements whatever. The number of prisoners at the time of my visit was 14, including a sprightly colored boy 13 years old, who should be removed to the House of Re- formation for Colored Children. The jail is surrounded by a stone Avail 20 feet high enclosing an airing court, which is inse- cure and consequently not used. A well in the jail yard sup- plies the water used. SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 157 WICOMICO COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. This almshouse is located about ten miles from Salisbury, on a farm of 172 acres. The building is a two.story frame house with finished attic and a one-story side building. The Superin- tendent resides in a portion of the main building, the remain- ing space being used for inmates. The appearance and sanitary condition of the establishment show general neglect and indifference. The rooms of the colored inmates were even in a worse condition than those of the whites. There .were only ten inmates, three of whom are insane. The water supply is from a well in the yard, and the rooms are heated by fireplaces. White Males 2 11 Females 1 Colored Males 4 “ Females 1 Colored Children 2 Total 10 Who'le Number of Inmates. Total Number of Insane. White Males 2 “ Females 1 Total 3 Ages of the Insane. 50 years I 55 ‘ “ 1 CO “ .... 1 Total 3 Forms of Insanity. Chronic Mania 1 Dementia 2 Total... 3 158 REPORT OF THE Length of Time in the Almshouse. 3 years ] 4 “ I 9 “ 1 Total 3 Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Wicomico County in the Diffi ren t Institutions. County Almshouse Maryland Hospital Mt Hope Retreat Total to Male.... White. to -- Female . CO Total.... Male o o r1 o so K °! F emale. - Total... Ut (C CO Total Insane ... WICOMICO COUNTY JAIL. This county has had no jail or court house buildings since its existence as a county, but a jail is now being built. The plan of the jail is excellent in all respects. It is two stories high and built of press brick. The first and second floors contain each four cells, which are arranged on each side of a passage ; a dark cell is also constructed at the rear of the passage on each floor. The whole building is heated by a furnace in the basement. There is no provision for artificial ventilation, an error in the completeness of the design and an unfortunate omission. The shape of the roof is such as to have afforded ready facility for the most admirable ventilation, and at no additional cost. An- other feature of this jail, which is objectionable in a sanitary point of view, is that the water closets open directly into each cell. In the basement are cells called dungeons, intended as places of punishment for unruly prisoners. The cost of this jail when completed will be $7000, a very reasonable expendi- ture for such a neat and substantial structure. SECRETARY OF THE STATE HOARD OF HEALTH. 159 WORCESTER COUNTY ALMSHOUSE. This almshouse is located about three miles and a-half from Snow Hill on a farm of from 400 to 500 acres. The buildings are a frame house and outbuildings occupied entirely by the Superintendent; a large brick building one story high, with finished attic for white, and a small frame one-story building for colored inmates. The brick building is peculiar in its con- struction, resembling an army hospital tent in shape. It was built in 1838 and is 75x40 feet. The first floor is divided by a long passage way paved with brick extending the whole length of the building, which is crossed in the centre by another ex- tending its width. The principal passage has four large rooms on each side opening upon it, some of which are occupied by inmates, and others used as lumber rooms. The sanitary con- dition of the occupied rooms was tolerably good, and presented more than an average of cleanliness. The beds and bedding were ample and in excellent order. The inmates were mostly aged persons of both sexes. One room was occupied by an aged man and his wife, also another man. a child, and an imbecile girl about 18 years old. The attic floor was not occupied; the Superintendent, in explanation of its demolished appearance, said “it had been occupied by a violent maniac who had recently been confined there, and during the time was chained to a post which supported the roof of the building.” The colored department consists of a small frame building in the rear of the brick. It has but one room and a loft. The room was 16 feet square and was occupied by four inmates. There was one old man about 65 years of age, blind from double cataract; a male imbecile about 25 years of age; an old woman of feeble mind, and a young girl about twenty years of age also blind. The sanitary condition of the colored inmates was very bad, and their care and comfort too much neglected. 160 REPORT OF THE Total Number of Inmates. White Males 3 “ Females 8 “ Children 2 Colored Males 2 ,f Females 3 Total 18 Number of Insane. White Males 1 “ Females . *. 1 Colored Males 1 “ Females 2 Total 5 Forms of Insanity. Dementia 1 Imbecility 4 Total 5 Ages of the Insane. 25 years 1 40 “ 2 50 “ 1 60 “ 1 Total 5 Length of Time in Almshouse. Nine years 1 Twelve “ 1 Sixteen “ 1 Twenty “ 2 Total 5 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALH. 161 Whole Number of Indigent Insane from Worcester County in Dif- ferent Institutions. County Almshouse Maryland Hospital Total CO — Male White to -- Female .. 05 to Total - - Male Colored. to tii Female.. CO - Total .... CO I 1 ot 1 Total Insane... WORCESTER COUNTY JAIL. This jail is located near the Court House, and is an old brick building. The first story is occupied by the keeper and his family. The second is divided into four cells, each of which is 15x15x10 feet. The floors are of plank and the ceilings of sheet iron. The walls are of brick with cross bars of iron forming a network. The cells have two windows each, but have no arti- ficial ventilation and no sewage conveniences. No beds are pro- vided for prisoners, but blankets are supplied. Five colored male prisoners were found in one cell, which was the only one occupied. REPORT <)E THE Consolidated Table Showing the Whole Number o f To mate* in the Almshouses of the State. White. Colored. Children Total Insane... 35 S <2 S <2 3 o H Cj "3 S <2 35 a c- 3 o H Anne Arundel County Baltimore City Baltimore County Caroline “ Carroll “ Cecil li Charles “ Dorchester “ Frederick “ Harford “ Kent “ Montgomery “• Prince George Queen Anne’s ‘‘ Somerset “ 5 340 66 4 22 35 2 4 92 17 7 7 3 5 2 3 288 27 8 29 25 3 7 62 8 13 2 8 11 2 2 7 38 1 8 8 628 93 12 51 60 5 11 154 25 20 9 11 16 4 2 15 95 3 11 7 67 9 7 3 11 6 40 13 10 8 3 5 5 2 101 14 5 8 6 1 6 28 11 10 7 3 1 5 6 8 7 1 3 9 168 23 12 11 17 1 12 68 24 20 15 6 12 10 6 16 15 5 5 23 5 10 11 2 4 9 2 6 4 2 13 2 2 - 17 819 121 34 62 88 8 23 222 53 49 26 23 28 18 10 1 44 110 10 18 Talbot Washington “ Wicomico “ W orcester “ 8 57 2 3 681 8 8 4 2 216 552 1233 239 455 95 1783 SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 163 Consolidated Table Showing the Whole Number of Indigent Into nr in the County Almshouses. Jails and Hospitals of the State. White. Colored. Total Insane... i Male I Female .. Total Male .... j Female . Total.... 19 15 34 1 1 35 Anne Arundel County 8 8 16 6 3 9 25 Baltimore City 156 173 329 13 •23 36 365 Baltimore County li 15 26 1 1 •2 28 1 1 2 3 2 4 6 •2 2 8 6 LI 17 1 i 18 Cecil “ 11 7 18 1 1 19 2 2 4 I l £ 1 6 7 1 1 8 Frederick “ 24 24 48 5 2 7 55 Harford “ 12 12 24 4 5 9 33 1 4 5 ‘2 2 Kent l' ...... 2 4 6 3 1 4 10 Montgomery “ 7 4 11 3 2 5 16 Prince George 9 4 13 2 3 5 18 Queen Anne’s “ 5 6 11 2 1 3 14 3 3 6 | 1 7 3 3 2 2 5 Talbot “ 6 5 11 3 1 4 15 Washington 4i 21 16 37 2 2 39 2 2 4 ] L 5 Worcester “ 4 2 6 1 2 3 9 Total :si3 330 643 50 54 104 747 h i ; F* o \ r t —ON THE— Public Charities, REFORMATORIES, Prisons and Almshouses, —OF THE— STATE OF MARYLAND, — BY— C. W. CHANCELLOR, M, D„ Secretary of the State Board of Health, —MADE TO— His Excellency, John Lee Carroll, Governor, JULY. 1877. FREDERICK. MD,: BAUGHMAN BROTHERS. 1877.