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No sooner were the advertisements for proposals for the heaviest work issued, than the price of materials and labor began to advance, and in the course of six months, ending with the end of July, 1853, during which month there was a general "strike" among mechanics and laborers, the rise varied, on different materials and different kinds of labor, from 12 to 50 per cent. That rise caused several of the lowest bidders to be released from their obligations to enter into contract, and the most important contract entered into to be annulled, and also occasioned the partial or tardy fulfilment of most of the other contracts. It then became necessary to prosecute the work by day labor, and though I am well satisfied it will prove not only more durable but more economical at the end of ten years than if it had been done chiefly by contract, it is, nevertheless, for the reasons now stated, costing just about 25 per cent. more than could have been anticipated when it was commenced, which is the general increase in the cost of building in this District that leading builders certify has taken place within the last fifteen months.

Recent movements among mechanics render a still further advance in materials and wages quite probable, but if the deficiency herewith reported should be removed by an appropriation, every endeavor will be made to limit the cost of the completion of the building, as now commenced, to the estimates, which, with an explanatory tracing, accompany this letter.

2. Propriety and convenience of the site.-For the principal information it is in my power to communicate under this head, I beg to refer you to the report upon this and other subjects, made to the Senate by your predecessor in December, 1852, a copy of which is herewith transmitted; and to add that the experience of the past year has entirely confirmed, so far as one season could, all that is stated in that report in favor of the location. I may also add that in May last most of the members of the association of medical superintendents of American institutions for the insane, then holding their annual meeting in Baltimore, visited this site and recorded their judgment as to whether it was a proper and convenient one, in the following resolution:

"Resolved, That the members of the association, after a careful visit and examination of the site of the United States hospital for the insane of the army and navy, and of the District of Columbia, have great satisfaction in being able to express their entire approval of the situation selected for the institution, and of the plans for the building which have been adopted by the government."

3. Cost of the site, &c.-For "what sums have been respectively paid for those sites," I again respectfully refer you to the third page of the accompanying printed report to the Senate, made upwards of a year ago, to which allusion has already been made.

4. As to whether the sums paid for the site "were or were not reasonable compared with the value or prices of land in the vicinity," I have to say that, in my judgment, the sums paid were very reasonable compared with the price and relative value, for the object in view, of lands in that immediate neighborhood, or in any other direction equally distant from Washington and within the district.

The principal purchase was for about $135 per acre, while I am

credibly informed that before the location of the hospital, $200 per acre were offered and refused for the farm that bounds it on the southwest, and for the farm on the other hand separated from it by the public road, $100 an acre was asked when the government purchased, and any less sum has been steadily refused; and I think no one who should carefully examine these three properties would hesitate to conclude that the hospital farm was worth much more than their average

value.

It will perhaps be considered conclusive upon this point if I add that Mr. Blagden, of whom the purchase was made, did not offer it to the government for this purpose, and considered he made a sacrifice in parting with his farm for the sum paid for it, and stood ready to take it back and restore the purchase money, at any time before the buildings were commenced.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
C. H. NICHOLS,
Superintendent.

Hon. ROBERT MCCLELLAND,

Secretary of the Interior.

Estimated cost of finishing the Hospital for the Insane of the District of Columbia, and of the army and navy, as now commenced.

At this date, a balance of the appropriation of August 31, 1852, of $30,445 65, remains unexpended.

The sections marked C, D, and E, on the accompanying tracing, are now enclosed, and the estimated cost of the interior materials and work yet to be furnished and done, and of furnishing, is $10,445 65, which leaves $20,000 towards the completion of sections A and B.

The foundations of sections A and B are laid, and the brown-stone facing of the sub-basement is cut, and a portion of it set.

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Deficit required to complete the hospital building as now commenced..

18,209

An estimated advance of 25 per cent. on $73,000, is.....
Or $41 more than the estimated deficit.

18,250

C. H. NICHOLS,

Superintendent.

WASHINGTON, February 18, 1854.

Report of the Secretary of the Interior, communicating, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate, information as to the steps taken to establish a Lunatic Asylum in the District of Columbia.

DECEMBER 30, 1852.-Ordered to lie on the table, and be printed.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

Washington, December 28, 1852.

SIR: In obedience to the resolution of the Senate, adopted on the 20th instant, requesting the Secretary of the Interior "to inform the Senate whether any steps have been taken to establish a Lunatic Asylum in this District; and if so, what has been done; particularly whether a site for the asylum has been purchased; and if so, where the same is to be located; the quantity of land purchased, and the price of such land; and whether the purchase is absolute or conditional; and what part of the price has been paid: also, how much of the appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars is expended, and for what purpose expended,"-I have the honor to report:

That shortly after the passage of the law authorizing the establishment of an asylum for the insane of the District of Columbia, and of the army and navy of the United States, my attention was directed towards the execution of the benevolent purposes of Congress. I was aware, not only from the general nature of the duty devolved on me, but from personal observation and experience, during an official connexion of fourteen years as a director of one of the largest and best conducted institutions of the kind in our country, of the importance of proceeding with great caution and circumspection in every measure relating to its organization.

My first step after consultation, with the President, was to seek the counsel of an able and experienced superintendent of an established asylum, in regard to the various clements which should enter into the calculation in selecting a suitable site. By him I was referred to the proceedings of " the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane," held at Philadelphia May 21, 1851, as containing twenty-six fundamental rules, expressive of the unanimous judgment of that enlightened body of men, on all the questions embraced by my inquiries.

Upon reference to these rules, (a copy of which accompanies this report,) I found that several important principles had been settled relative to the proper location of such institutions.

1st. That every hospital for the insane should be in the country, not within two miles of a large town, and accessible at all seasons.

2d. That no public institution should possess less than one hundred acres of land.

3d. That there should be an abundant supply of water convenient to the asylum.

4th. That a location should be selected which would admit of underground drainage, convenient pleasure-grounds, and an agreeable prospect.

Many important propositions were also announced by that association, in regard to the construction of such institutions-to one of which I deem it necessary at present more particularly to refer. I allude to the 4th rule, which is in the following words:

"No hospital for the insane should be built without the plan having been first submitted to some physician or physicians, who have had charge of a similar establishment, or are practically acquainted with all the details of their arrangements, and received his or their full approbation."

Having carefully considered these resolutions, the President and myself devoted several days to the examination of a number of sites which had been brought to our notice in the neighborhood of the city. We personally visited and examined almost every tract of land north and east of the city, from the vicinity of Georgetown to the Potomac river, east of the navy yard. Finding ourselves somewhat embarrassed in making a selection, and foreseeing the necessity of employing a suitable superintendent to take charge of the establishment from its commencement, we concluded that it was the wisest course to avail ourselves of the assistance of an experienced medical superintendent in the choice of a site, as well as in the arrangement and construction of the building.

After consultation, therefore, with persons well informed on the subject, the President determined to appoint Doctor Charles H. Nichols, a gentleman who was recommended to him as possessing every qualification, mental, moral, and physical, for the able and faithful discharge of the duties. To high scientific attainments Dr. Nichols united the advantages of a practical experience of twelve years as one of the physicians of the New York State Institution and Bloomingdale asylum. Having succeeded in obtaining the services of Dr. Nichols, he was requested to examine all the sites which had been suggested, and to report their respective advantages and disadvantages. I also invited

Miss D. L. Dix, a lady no less distinguished for high intellectual qualities than for her benevolence, and whose name is inseparably associated with this particular department of philanthropy, to give us the benefit of her advice and experience in the selection of the best location for the asylum. To this proposition she kindly acceded; and after a very minute examination, extending through a period of a fortnight, Dr. Nichols and herself concurred in recommending the farm of Mr. Thomas Blagden, situated about two and a half miles southeast of the Capitol, and about a mile east of the navy yard, as the most eligible site.

Neither the President nor myself had previously visited this farm; but at the suggestion of Dr. Nichols and Miss Dix, we examined it. carefully, and came to the conclusion that it was incomparably the best location. The tract of land embraced about one hundred and eightyfive acres, nearly one-half of which is in a high state of cultivation, and the remainder in timber. The situation is beautiful, commanding a fine view of the city of Washington, of Georgetown, Alexandria, and the circumjacent country for many miles. The surface of the ground is well adapted for an extensive range of buildings, and the woodland furnishes every convenience for pleasure-grounds. There are two copious and permanent springs on the tract, sufficiently near the proposed site for the buildings, and the facilities of access and for drainage are as good as could be desired. Believing that no place could be found embracing so many advantages, this tract of land has, with the sanction of the President, been bought for the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, which has been paid in full, and a conveyance of the title has been executed and delivered.

Another tract of eight acres, adjacent to the Blagden farm, and which was almost indispensable for the purposes of the asylum, has also been bought for the sum of two thousand dollars, which has likewise been paid, and the conveyance executed. This tract contains a comfortable frame house, and is otherwise well improved. The titles to both tracts have been carefully examined by the attorney for the District of Columbia and by the Attorney General of the United States, and approved by them.

The residue of the appropropriation, viz: $73,000, remains unexpended, though it is subject to a charge for the salary of the superintendent and other incidental expenses of a small amount.

I am satisfied, from my examination of the land, as well as from a comparison of its cost with the prices at which other lands were offered to the government, that the price paid is reasonable. The prices at which other tracts, of greatly inferior quality and less eligibly situated, were offered, ranged from one hundred to five hundred dollars per acre. As doubts were expressed by some persons as to the salubrity of the particular neighborhood of the selected site, great pains were taken to acquire full and correct information on that point; and from the testimony of several physicians, and others having the best opportunities of forming a correct and disinterested judgment, I think there can be no doubt that the locality selected is, in a remarkable degree, exempt from diseases which ordinarily arise from malaria.

The report of Dr. Nichols, and the accompanying certificates of four physicians who have practised in the immediate vicinity, and in the

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