Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-08-27
4 Sane Man in a Madhouse.

We publish, this morning, a remarkable
letter. Mr.. John Langley Plumbridge,
of Wellesley Lodge, Sutton, Surrey, En-.
gland, narrates in our columns the story
OF his Sutferings in the private madhouse
IN which he, sane man, was unjustly
immured.
He was sent to the first asylum when
in delicate health, not because he was IN
sane there was no pretense OF that, but
because he was thought to be in some
danger Of becoming insane! AS he most
truthfully says, this is precisely the best
way to precipitate over the precipice the
man who is anywhere near it's verge
That he lived through the days and nights
OF horror he describes without losing his
reason is pTGnlG tdcGe proof that he was
far removed from the danger of such
catastrophe when he was sent to place
far worse than any prison upon the GER
tltlCate Of two men who had never seen
him, without trial before Judge or Jury,
and without chance to speak a syllable
in his own defense. He was carried to
confinement by force. Once inside the
gloomy walls of the madhouse he was
subjected to a course of maltreatment he
describes in sickening detail His was
no exceptional case. "We must wear
'em out" said one of his brutal iailers,
g or there'd be no trade" Poor patients
are quickly discharged in order that they
may swell the lists of the cured which
each private madhOuse inserts in its adj
vertiSements. The rich are kept as long
as may be, for every day is SO much
clear gain to the owner of the asylum.
No attempt was made to cure Mr. Plum
bridge. Everything was done to break
him down. This statement is q prior
probable. There are few things that the
| average man will not do for money
| When such man has been brutalized
by the possession of such despotic power
as the keepeg of a madhouSe has over
| his so-called patients, the temptation to
| exercise absolute authority is well-nigh
irresistible, even if money cuts no figure
| 1t is true that doctors co-operated to
| keep Mr.. Plumbridge in duress, but he
makes self-interest explain this. He
| says that most of the doctors usually
consulted get regular commissions on the
| profits from the men they send to any asy-
lum. The one doctor of great repute who
gave partial opinion against Mr.. Plum
! bridges sanity (the one called DR.. NJ in
the statement is a specialist in insanity.
! He considers the majority Of persons as
more or less insane. Any one cOnversant
with his books will recognize this fact.
Now any doctor who is a specialist will
attribute almost all diseases to the work
ings of his pet malady. This is particu-
larly true in the case Of a mad doctor,
because the line which divides the sane
| and insane is so very vaguely defined
that mistakes are easy. After Mr. Plum
bridge was put into the asylum he was
made a ward in chanCery without being
allowed to lift his finger IN opposition.
His last chance of freedom seemed to be
thus taken away, for chancery wards
confined IN Warehouses are visited but
once year, and at a time that is well
known beforehand, so that the keepers
are able to prepare for the inspection by
driving their victims as nearly insane as
possible. Cut off from hope of relief
from others, Mr.. Plumbridge took his
fate into his own hands His fourth
attempt at escape was successful
He stayed some time with his brothers.
who were now perfectly convinced
of his sanity, but found that steps were
being taken to recapture him. He could
be legally discharged only on the certifi-
cate of his jailer. So he went to the
: Continent and came thence to this coun-
! try, where he travelled for some time
with twenty-One gentlemen. When they
learned from his lips that he was &C.
f cused of being insane, that he was q
lunatic ward in chancery, their astonish.
ment was great. They had not dreamed
; of such possibility at any moment OF
/ their intimate cOmpanionship with him
| They all signed a statement that they
were perfectly confident of his compe
tence to manage himself and his affairs
Mr.. Plumbrldge has been staying at
! Evanston for two or three weeks. He
; has written this letter not to get money
or notoriety, but to put his case before
! the world for the sake of drawing public
: attention to similar ones. He want:
y particularly to reach his friends in En-
. gland and the English public. Many mel
: are at this moment suffering the tor
ments from which he has happily es
! aped.-Cbicag0 Tribune.
e STRATHAM, n. H., boasts woman who
= in ono dav besides attending to her yari