The Beatrice Daily Express

STATE SUFFERS LOSS

The state of Nebraska will suffer a distinct loss in the resignation of Dr. S. J. Stewart as head of the Institute for the Feeble Minded. During the years that he has been connected with that institution as its chief executive he has accomplished wonders in creating a new atmosphere of joy and cleanliness and health among the inmates. The material that he has had to work with has been scant and his supervision has been over unfortunates of the very lowest intelligence but he has made the best use of the physical equipment at his command, as well as the finances and he has brought real happiness to the wards of the state under his charge.

Dr. Stewart is a man of sympathetic heart and of the broadest and most vigorous mind. His relation to the inmates was that of a kind father and he looked after their physical welfare and their mental happiness with all the concern of a real parent. In this he was ably assisted by his wife, who is a perfect complement of the husband in her generous sympathy and maternal solicitude.

With the ability of a splendid personality, Dr. Stewart is also one of the leading physicians and surgeons of the state, and also one of its leading alienists. He is a man of the very highest ethical ideals and to better do his work has always been a deep and constant student of mental diseases and psychology.

His sole ambition was to serve his state and society at large with a whole-souled devotion and loyalty and to try to make some gain in salvaging to some measure of human usefulness the refractory material that he has among the population of the institution. It must be understood that his charges represent zero in the human equation and whatever progress he made toward making the individual inmates partly self-sustaining, or subject to some moral and mental discipline was so much gain.

He fought for appropriations to buy additional land to afford healthful employment in a gainful way for those inmates who could be subjected to discipline and work, but was refused by short-sighted legislators. In the years that he has labored at the institution he made it a model. Instead of the atmosphere of absolute hopelessness and joylessness that is characteristic of such places, he and his wife converted it into a real home with happiness and content, and physical cleanliness and well being the outstanding characteristics of building and inmates.

He and his wife are understanding persons animated by a great and urging sense of personal responsibility. He accomplished wonders in husbanding and making use of the funds at hand and in this way saved the state many dollars, besides creating certain values in institutional life that are beyond human computation.

His salary was only $280 a month, scarce that of a skilled laboring man and on the principle that the "servant is worthy of his hire," he consistently asked for a raise in salary, which, with short-sighted policy on the part of some responsible head, was refused and now he is going.

It will take a big man, mentally and spiritually to take his place. There are few men who will sacrifice as much to an ideal as he has during all these years and his successor, if of anywhere equal ability, must be an unusual man, ethically, to consent to take the responsibilities of such an institution at the salary paid the doctor.

This is one of the tragedies of institutional administration in a state where these conditions are surrounded by the exigencies of politics instead of sound, common business sense.