County Facility Inspection and Condemnation of the Jail 1921

This report of a visitation of public facilities in Jefferson County by the Jefferson County Board of Charities was a fairly typical report for one of the 92 counties. There was one exception, the succinct description of the jail as "a blot upon our civilization." Having visited the jail in a high school field trip about 1966, I'd agree. Unfortunately, the pre-Civil War facility was only replaced in the last few years.

Thirty-First Annual Report of the Board of State Charities of Indiana For the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1920 To The Governor Fort Wayne Printing Company Contractors For Indiana State Printing And Binding Fort Wayne. Indiana

County Poor Asylum, Madison. Visited June 21, 1921. As usual, we found the patients well cared for physically, the building clean, and sanitary conditions good. The efficient superintendent and his wife should have as few handicaps as possible, and we recommend a hot water supply and two bath tubs, one for the superintendent's family and one for the women patients. We note with pleasure new windows throughout the building and a new floor and railing in the court.

County Jail, Madison. Our jail is a blot upon our civilization. We feel that the commissioners should employ a competent person to determine whether to build a modern jail or remodel the old building.

Dependent Children. We have assisted the Board of State Charities in finding real homes for our dependent and neglected children. A member of our board recently visited the Bartholomew County Orphans' Home, where are seven of our orphan children. They are in a large airy building, with an equipped playground and a garden that the children help cultivate. The matron is deeply interested in their welfare. Our colored orphans are cared for at an orphans' home in Indianapolis.

We have made all necessary arrangements to send to the School for Feeble-Minded Youth two young women at the county poor asylum, each of whom has given to the world a feeble-minded, illegitimate child. In a representative republic like ours, where heads, not brains, are counted, it is important that the civilization be of the highest character. We have spent thousands of dollars protecting our live stock against disease and teaching farmers how to raise pure bred cattle; yet we are permitting mental defectives to increase one and one-half times as fast as our normal population. When it is proposed to employ an all-time health officer and have our children examined regularly in the schools, in order to correct easily remedied defects that retard the child's development, a cry goes up against high taxes. May the time soon come when the public will insist upon sanitary homes, supervised playgrounds, swimming pools and community centers, and any social agency that will save the child from unsafe and adverse conditions that surround it.

(Signed) Mrs. EVA P. MeLELLAND, Chairman.
M. L. GUTHNECK, Secretary.