The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-11-04
FIRST EDITIO N
HORRIBLE.
shocking scenes In the Rural Almshouses of
New YOrk-HOw Lunotics are Chained and
Poor pe0nle Starved,

shocking scenes In the Rural AImshOuses of
New York-How Lunatlcs are Chained and
Poor Peeple Starved.
Mr.. G. l. Brace the philanthrOpist, has written q
letter to the New York Times calling attention to the
horrible barbarites in the treatment of the insane
poor still existing in the country almshouses OF New
York State. He refers to the revelations made by
the committee appointed by the Legislature two
zone member of this Commission, Dr. Hoyt, in
one of his first visits to acountry almshousc dis
covered in close, filthy, dark CELL an insane pauper
woman, smeared with blood and flth who had just
given birth TO a child, whose father neither the
Keeper nor the woman knew.
'She had been cast in there as pauper lunatic,
left about without care among adult males, idiots,
and lunetlcs. and the result happened to be wit
messed by the Commissioner himself. Nor was this
the only instance. Repeatedly in these houses of
misery the Committee discovered that the poor, Wit
less women were corrupted or beguiled by the ruf-
fans or vagabonds, or felow-lunatcs ana IDIOTS
with whom they were left. y strange, abnormal,
hideous race-the offspring Of diocy and lunacy-
seems springing up as the fruit OF some OF our pau
per administration in rural districts.
"Among these abodes Of suffering the committee
found over two hundred lunattCs bound with ropes
and chains, as criminals might be treated often in
dark verminous cells, 1lthy to the last extreme.
number of them, even the women, naked, and all
in destutiOn, dirt, and misery dlcult to conceive.
Yet every one of these unhappy creatures under a
skilful system, such as that of our best asylums,
would have been assocating peacefully with others,
or have occupied their room, clothed in calm
'aThe most terriple instance OF the effect OF this
amshouse life detailed to the writer of this by DR..
Uoyt, Some sixty years since respectable woman,
with child of about 5 years of age, was suddenly
reduced to poverty, and sent by the authorities to
the amshouse in Cortland county. The almshouSe
life gradually degraded her womanhood, and she re-
mained there pauper. Her child grew up healthy
young woman, also pauper i'll habits. She gave
birth in the almshouse to illegtnate daughters.
These, again. grew up like their mother and grand
mother. In due time they had respectively two and
three children, also Legitimate. SO ingratned had
the wretched depraved, dependent life of the aims
house become in them, that wherever these women
or their children sent they turned up soon in
the poor Ihouse, and were either returned or went
back themselves to the Cortland County Almsh0uSe.
'FWhen the Commissioner visited TINS institution
he found all three OF these last generations pau
pers and prostitutes"
AS for the remedy of the dreadful state OF affairs,
Professor Dwight in his paper read before the Social
Science Association the other day proposed more
active inspection by committee authorized by the
Legislature; another proposition is that the poor
house be taken out of the hands of the local autho
rites and put under State control while Mr. Brace
proposes "the entire doing away with and eXtermi-
nation OF these houses OF sin and misery" The de-
tails Of his plan are as fonows:-
according to the statement OF DR.. Hoyt there are
some seven thousand persons in the rural amshouses
outside OF New York and Brooklyn. or these seven
thousand, over twelve hundred are children who
could be provided for in the orphan asylums Of the
State; another large number is made up of idiots,
insane, blind, deaf and dumb and otherwise diseased
persons, who could properly be maintained in the
various asylums OF the State. Still another con-
vagrants and 'revovers both men and women
who ought to be put in public workheuses to earn
their own living. After all these deductions there
would remain, according to Dr. Hoyts estimate only
some six hundred paupers who would be the legiti-
mate subject of the rural almshouses. These could
be then reasonably placed out in private families,
where they could be more healthfully and economi-
cay taken of than in any public institution. If
tives friends of these unfortunate persons would
be quite ready to take care OF them.