Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-07-09
Vermont Insane ASYLUM.


fall, consisting of George A. Ballard and
Calvin Morrill, of the Senate and Hugh Henry,
G. W. Randall and L. s. Thompson of the
House, have made their report upon the
condi ton of affairs at tho Brattleboro Asy-
lum. The substance of the report is as
follows
! In 1884, Mrs. Anna Marsh, of Hinsdale,
N. H., by will bequeathed the sum of ten
thousand dollars in trust for the purpose of
founding Hospital for the insane in the
county of Windham, near Connecticut River.
In Nov, 1884, the Legislature passed an
act incorporating 6. The Vermont Asylum
for the Insane which act, in words, follow
ed very nearly the language of Mrs. Marsh g
will. This act is referred to and made
part of the report. In 1885, the State, by
the act of their Legislature, gave ten thou
sand dollars to be paid in five annual INSTALL
ments of two thousand dollars each. In
1886 the State granted an additional two
Thousand d,l ars. In 1887 tour thousand
dollars. In 1910 two annual installments Of
TWO Thousand dollars. In l843 three thou
sand dollars, making in all twenty-three
thousand dollars. We do not find since the
gift in 1913 by the State of three thousand
dollars, that any considerable donation has
been made to the institution by the State, or
by any corporation or by private individuals,
hence the present property of the institution
has grown from the fund OF thlrty-three
thousand dollars, received previous to 1874.
In 1865 the centre building and wings OF the
Institution were burned. They were imme-
dlately rebuilt, and again occupied in 1864.
Tue expense OF rebuilding was about forty
| don Of n
stitutlon, as reported by the Commissioner
or the Insane, N his Biennial Report OF
1872, swas S234,S70 10, including twelve
hundred acres Of land. The present value OF
the property, as estimated by Gov. Holbrook,
one of the Trustees, is $500 900 W. The
committee estimate it ut very considerable
| excess of that amount The interest OF the
state 10 this vast property is simply that by
| the acts of 1910 and 1913, if it ceases to be
an Insane Asylum, the State have lien upon
1t fJr The security OF the twenty-three thou
sand dollars heretofore invested. proper
~ is owned by private corporation, the
| Trustees of which are A. Reyes, N. b. w H.
llston, Frederick Holbrook and Daniel Kel-
iogg.
At the time of the first visit the number
of patients at the Asylum were four hundred
and eighty-fve. There were accommodations
really for only about three hundred patient9.
About seventy-6ve of the patients were, at
the time of the visit, confined in underground
apar tments which were damp, unwholesome,
and entirely unfit for occupation by human
beings. The whole Of the Asylum was 10
adequately warmed and ventilated.
I tIa IF nil
lures as at Northampton and Concord to
relieve the barrenness OF the walls. Also
the adornment of the grounds and their use
for outdoor exercise and amusement. The
meetings held in the chapel at Northampton
almost every evening are favorably noticed
and the introduction by the new Brattleboro
Superintendent, DR.. Draper, of something
like this is approved. These meetings con-
sst of readings and lectures, and nothing oil
the kind had ever been attempted under the
former Superintendents at Brattleboro.
The committee find that the punishmen,
known as bathing has been practiced in the
Asylum, and condemn with indignation the
iufiction of punishment, as such, upon the
unfortunate and responsible insane. The
Statute Of 1855, regulating the admission Of
patients should be repealed.
That statute provides that a medical exam
iner should be appointed by the Court o.
Chancery of Windham County, whose certif-
lcate of the insanity of any pers) IN proposed
for admission should be conclusive proof oil
the fact. Under this statute the court ap-
pointed Dr.. + ,ckweil, Sen, the superin ten
dent of the Asylum, medical examiner. Thi'
appointment opened the door for fraud OF
the part of some OF the officers of the insti
tuition.
For instance, j. A. Stockton, a person
confined as insane, was at Burlington brought
before Judge Plerpoint on a writ of habea.
corpus, and at that hearing William r ,ck
we'll, Jr, on behalf of the Asylum. produced
what purported to be the original certifcat.
of DR.. Rockwell, Sen. certifying to Stock.
tons insanity, which paper WAS dated, as Of
the date OF Stockton 8 admission as patient
and claimed through counsel, that the GER
tliicate under the statute of 55 was ban
10 further proceedings Judge Pierpoint sc
, held and recommitted Stockton without any
further examination as to his sanity or insan
itv Stockton, being a citizen of another
State, applied to the United States Court tol
relief which was afforded him and he Wa.
discharged DIR. w illiam Rockwell, Jr il
, his testimony before the committee, admitted
that he dated the certificate back; that il
was copy that the original was not in hi:
possession !; and that in fact he never to hi,
knowledge, had seen the original, and tina
this paper on which Stockton was recon-
United was made alter he (Stockton) hae
escaped from the Asylum.
The committee suggest law that NJ
? person resident in the State except such a.
shall be brought by virtue of the certlfcat
Of d Court OF Record. and under al, shall
be admitted as a patient, without the certlh
e cate Of two physicians, one OF whom shall b.
the PATIENTS family physician, and further
that sad certificate shall not be received
without the additional certificate of Justic,
i of he Peace, that the physicians signin,
such certificate are physicians in good anc
regular standing, and that medical ex
= .mlners be elected by the Legislature t.
examine all persons brought from other State
or admission as patients. They are satisfies
Q that persons have been admitted to SAT-
3 Asylum who we're not insane, who wer
admitted on the certificate Of single physi
cian hence the necessity of some Law
n guarding and protecting the rights of san
J., persons
4 They find that the food is sufficient il
quantity, and that it is we'll cooked an
served. While the modern Improvement
e have no. been adopted in the Vermont Asy
lum, it was found at the last visit June "a,
that extensive changes are being made. Tw
" additional wings are in process of erection
It each 35 go, one of which when completes
> will be three stories and the other fou
c stories high. These wings will give on
n hundred and twenty additional rooms 70
d patients, each room being 8 K 10, and min
'i ieet studdlng. Each room will be furnishe
Of with two fues for the reception of pure al
e and the expulsion of foul air, and it is pre-
posed to warm the entire buildings new an
old with steam, and ventilate them with tn
j. most modern of ventilating apparatus-th
u Fan W hen the new buildings are comp ted