New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-02-23
CTRE FOR INEBRIATES.

CURE FOR INEBRLATES.
Shall drunkards be punished or cured7 Are
they best dealt with-for their own good
and that Of the community Mt large-when
sent to Jail, or to an lnebriate Asylum Is
drunkenness crime, or is it disease: Is the
rational ground on which to meet it that OF
punishment or curef TO the elucidation OF
the problem which these questions outline the
letter on our second page, giving the obserya-
tons of correspondent whom we sent to in
vestigato the workings Of the Binghamton
Asylum, forms u not unimportant contribution.
The boy who first develops the insatiaio
craving for drink is regarded as n criminal at
home is Liable to arrest and Imprisonment, and
is certain of dismissal from any religious body
of which he may be member. Now, what
are the facts in his cascY At Asylums like this,
they have made it their study, as other ply
sicians have done with consumption or deiorml-
ties 4; have had in their own care thousands OF
such patients, and cured them. Their state
ments are so simple that a child can compre-
bend them. " | claim for incbrlatcs," says DR..
Parrish, in his mastery analysis OF the mn
osophy of Intemperance, That they should
not be made exceptions to the ordinary rule,
"as it relates TO the entire class OF lnvalics.
" The common ills. such as rheumatism, govt,
" consumption. &c, are all traccable either 10
" direct hereditary faint or to the accident OF
" exposure, fatigue, &c. The same may be sald
" of intcmperancc." BY the hereditary taint,
he does not mean that the mere taste for alco-
bolic liquors is transmitted from generation to
generation, but that men are born lnhcuting
certain tempcraments which drive them to seek
relief in these stimulants They are born
"suffering from the effects of an organization
" which they did not create, and from infirmi
" ties which they did not knowingly promote"
"They come" says Maudesley, " into the
"world weighted with destiny against which
they have neither the will nor the power to
contend; they are step-children of nature,
and grOan under the worst of tyrannles-the
tyranny of a bad organizaton." The other
causes of exhaustion of nervous energy common
among us, and which are increasing every year,
he states Justly to be the intensity of American
social and business lfc-the forcing of child
rens brains, the inCcssant drain upon the SUI
preme nervous center in the rivalry and struggle
for money and power. Whenever, therefore,
from hereditary faint or this exhaustion OF ner-
vOus energy, the patient seeks relief In alcohol,
tho disease assumes definite form, the syInp-
Z toms of which are given by DR.. Davis. Chief
among these and most liable to miscOncephon
by the ignorant, is the diseased condition OF the
gastric and gangliOnic nerves, which constitutes
the morbid craving for renewed stimulant that
is rallied against AZ a temptation of the devil.
There would be quite rs much reason in call
ing the chlls in ague a work of Satan. DR..
Davis puts the case forcbly: eff the inebriate,
then, is the victim of positive disease, in
"duced by the action Of an allurlng and de-
ceptive physical agent, alcohol, Will any
"number of moral lessons addressed to his
4" intellect, or any amount of dcnunciatlOn
hurled at his degradation and his vices, cure
" or reform himf Or will his arrest, arraign-
"ment in police court, and extortiOn OF the
" few dollars he. has left as u fine, eradicate
4" the disease that is preying upon the most
"delicate part of his organizationT
The remedy urged by both science and hu-
manity is the establishment of asylums for the
inebrate where he can be subjected to med-
cal treatment, receive brOtherly encourage
ment, DO given employment suited to him,
and secured foOthold in the outer world
when fit to enter it again. Such asylums have
been established by the State or private enter
prise in New-YOrk Massachusetts, Pennsyl-
vania, Texas, Illinois, and California. 1t is not
essential that these establishments should be
large. The most successful. probably, are
those in which the number of patients is
30 limited that each is brought into direct
and constant contact with the superintendent,
and receives individual care and sympathy.
Indeed, the massing of any class of patients
together is always to be deprecated. No
power forces its way so rapidly AZ true
idea. Slavery is botted out, and intemper-
ance, we believe, will be the next stronghold
to disappearing before fanatical cutlery, but
the force of reason and science Before many
years the drunkard, instead of being legally
amenable to fines and imprisonment, will re-
ceiye the rational treatment awarded to the
insane. and be sent to an asylum.
For the statistics of the actual benefits con-
ferred by these asylums we refer our readers
to DR.. Parrisl's pamphlet of which we pub
lished an abstract on the 27th ult. The aver
age cured vary from 40 TO 63 per cent, an aver
age which will, of course, be largely increased
when the subject is comprehended in its true
relations by the patients and public.
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