Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-10-16
Tbe Insanity of Horace Greeley.

The forthcoming October nu,ilper Of
the hmericIn JsHraal Of InS1pitg viii
contain a full and valuable report of the
twenty-seventh annual meeting of the
Association of Medical Superintendents
of American Institutions for the Insane,
held i'm Baltimore In Nav last During
the progress of the sessions DR. ID. T.
Brown. of the BloOmingdale Asylum in
New York city, was called upon 10
speak concerning the rough treatment
which his Institution received at the
hands Of the New York Tribune. His
remarks furnish new information con-
cerning the insanity Of the late Horace
Greeley. and warn man that il is as
unseemly to mock at insanity as at death.
for all. from the highest to the lowest.
are liable to its coming. Dr. Brown
said:
Immediately upon the publication of
the principal slander0us editorial in the
New York Tti5upe. the governors of
the asylum appointed large committee
Of their number to make thorough eX-
animation into the alleged abuses of
management, and report the results to
the board A minute investigation was
made by seven gentlemen of the highest
character, and prominent in the com
nunity. both as business men and phil
sntbropists, This report denied the al
LEGATIONS and approved the management
of their officers a copy of this report
was sent TO various newspapers. one of
these being the New York 7ri5une.
which paper charged $500 for publish
ing the report in an inconspicuous type
and place.
Another incident in this connection
may possess more interest to YOU as IL
lustrating a truism often found in Insane
Hospital Reports, that insanity spares
no class of men nor any grade of intel
lect. But a few months after the on
slaught of the II i6une upon the i0stitu-
tion of which | have medical charge,
its great editor" Mr.. Horace Greeley,
became insane. and in a brief period the
managing editor" of the paper came to
consult me rs TO what should be done
for him. | recommended that he he
placed in the care of one of our col
leagues, DR. George Shoate, al whose
private institution the distinguished
Journalist and recent candidate for the
Presidency of the United States. died of
exhaustive acute mania.
I may add that Mr.. Greeley was not
the only editor of the Tribune who had
been under my professional care, and
that had il not been that the obligations
of professional confidence forbade,
could very readily have established
''cOunter-irritatiOn 10 the 7'rt5Hne's At
tack, which would have been amusing 10
the public if not edifying 10 scientific
readers.
The insanity of Horace Greeley and
the folly, either his own or those who
fattered him into its adoption, which
were its eliminating causes, have been
widely commented upon and are gener-
ally understood. IT cannot be otherwise
than grateful TO old admirers of Mr.
Greeley to believe that all his later er-
rOrs and inconsistencies were possible
only because the old mind was not in
him. 1t is sad TO think that the mind
was not in him. It is sad to
think that the mind which survived so
many trials and underwent 50 many dan
gers was shattered at last, but thus ii
was, and dementia is better than dis
grace. 1t was little remarkable that
the managers of the Tribune, having so
grossly maligned and illtreated DR..
Brown, of the BloOmingdale Asylum.
should be so soon obliged to fly to him
in an hour of extreme necessity What
better proof could be had Of the -iBsin-
cerity OF their attack than that he was
called upon to advise so soon as one Of
his profession could aid them. Dr.
Brown was justified by the verdict of an
investigating committee, but that was
only half as convincing TO the popular
mind as the experience of the Tribune
with the tabooed institution. II was
grand opportunity for DR.. Brown TO re-
al 4
the paper which had insulted him came,
bringing his chief, chattering lHnalic,
knocking at his gates for help and adj
visement This yindication is due 10
DR.. Brown, and It should be remembered
that though his institution was pro-
nounced a hot bed of fraud and ill-treat-
ment, it was directly to that Institution
that the accusers came when the fatal
condition fell among them.
But there is another item of interest
in the statement of DIR. Brown. 1t ap-
pears from il that even the shivering
tightening of insanity can acquire a
habit of striking. We are glad that the
doctor did not yield to what would have
been only a natural impulse, namely:
To hurl back facts to defend himself
against cruel accusations. We are only
indirectly interested in knowing that
'tMr. Greeley was not the only editor
of the Tribune" who has needed the care
of a professor in lunacy. We sympa-
thize with the afflicted and hope, almost
against hope, that the mental sky is now
fully cleared. AS in the case of Mr..
Greeley, so in the case of others who
have come under the treatment of DIR.
Brown, the public will have cause to
which to attribute actions for which no
reason can assign reasons.
One woman and two men blacknailed