"County Almshouses and Jails of Missouri" by William T. Cross and Charlotte B. Forrester

Published in 1912, this sad little book is the text of a speech given by Cross, the secretary of the Missouri State Board of Charities and Corrections, at the state Nurses' Association's annual meeting on Oct. 16, 1912.  It describes what Forrester saw throughout the state when she visited county jails and almshouses (which housed the poor) and includes a few badly reproduced photographs of their inhabitants.  Some of the places were praised but most were poorly run and the people housed there terribly mistreated, especially the mentally ill.  Women and children were not always separated from the men, and rapes were not unusual.  Cross's racism is also in evidence by his insistence that non-whites be kept away from whites.  What a sad and depressing time in history.  23 pages, copyright 1912.