Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 July 1919 — THE HIGH LIGHTS ARE TURNED ON [ARTICLE]

THE HIGH LIGHTS ARE TURNED ON

REPUBLICAN ORGAN TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT STATE FINANCES. Wretched Condition at Several State Charitable and Other Institutions Described. Indianapolis, July 23. —In an even tempered and carefully prepared article the Indianapolis Star, organ of the Republican party in Indiana, lays bare the complete breakdown of the financial policy of the Goodrich administration, for which the party alone Is responsible. The Star, with amazing frankness goes on to tell of the deplorable condition of the state institutions and shows that under the circumstances a special session of the legilature is unavoidable. The Star says:, "Indiana’s state-maintained institutions, in not a few instances, a/re ®ot only ‘broke’ —they are threadbare. "Institution heads are no longer trying to keep up a front on an empty purse ; They are now freely

admitting that they have practiced every economy possible in the way of curbing maintenance costs, and as a result the 18 benevolent, corrective and penal institutions are so run down at the heel that it will take a huge sum to rehabilitate them. "Facts showing all too plainly the sad Impoverishment of the state institutions have been known for some time to officials at thq state house. It was this knowledge that actuated Governor Goodrich in deciding nearly four weeks ago to call a special session of the legislature to appropriate money for the tapidly-growing deficits. "Names of institutions in which the shortage of funds has been acutely felt were withheld yesterday, owing to a desire not to embarass the directing heads with inquiries from the relatives of wards, but it was admitted that at several of the institutions the enforced economy has reached even to table fare.” It is easy to imagine what the

Republican press and the GoodrichHays machine would be saying if these conditions had existed during the administration of Governor Marshall or Governor Ralston, both of which were severely criticised by Governor Goodrich during the campaign of 1916. The Star has aroused the Ire of the Republican machine by boldly printing the facts. Continuing its article regarding them, it says: “As an illustration of the drastic economies that are practiced in an effort to defeat the high cost of living, one of the institutions, whose inmates are children, has been forced to manufacture an improvised breakfast food. To take the place of rolled oats it has been found necessary at this institution to crush wheat in a cattle feedgrinding machine in order to obtain food for the morning meals. “Even butterine has virtually disappeared from the menus for the inmates of state institutions. Butter was on the prohibited list long ago. In some of the institutions, however, where the inmates are suffering from physical or mental ills, the superintendents have steadfastly refrained from substituting coarse foods for the more nourishing articles.” The conditions to which the unfortunate inmates must submit are referred to as follows by the Star: “The food (problem is not the most serious one that is facing the institutions. Stores of bedding, furniture and clothing for Inmates have not been replenished, as they should have been, for the last year or more. In one of the institutions it is known that all the blankets are on the verge of being delegated to the rag bag. New supplies can not be purchased because the "maintenance” revenue is so scant that it must be used for the bare necessities. Everything that can be

patched or repaired is being used. In this way the institutions are managing to "get by.” The superintendents see clearly that the day of reckoning moist come and that the institutions will have to be rehabilitated at a tremendous cost because of the present forced retrenchments. It is conceded that these wretched conditions might have been avoided If the Republicans under Goodrich and his organisation had followed the business-like policies of Governors Marshall and Ralston, who insisted on adequate appropriations for the Institutions. When the Democrats went out of office there was plenty of money in the state treasury. There is plenty of money now, but the desire of the Republicans to live up to their false representations of the campaign of 1916, led them Into making the mistakes which now will result in a special session of the legislature at a heavy and needless cost for the people.