The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1880-08-13
Is Insanity Rapidly Increasing a?

It is often asserted and very generally
believed that insanity has been greatly
on the increase. both in this country and
Europe during recent years. The strain
of modern life upon the nervous system
and its heavier demands upon all the fac
ultics are held responsible for growth
in the tendency to mental alteration
which is regarded as alarming. And un
questionably we hear much more about
insanity and the treatmrntof the insane
than we did II generation ago But it
must be remembered that only within n
generation have we begun to take es
pccial care of the insane, and until re
cent years no attempt has been made to
find out what proportion OF the popula
ton they form. Even now the statistic,
of insanity are very imperfect. We are
unable to say, for instance, with even Il
tolerabe degree of accuracy, how many
insane there are in the United Staes or
in the several states and we have no fig
ures which enable lis to give the proper
ton of cures effected even in the asy-
lums for the treatment of lunatcs IT.
those countries and communities. howev
er. where we are unable to compare the
number of the insane who have become
a public charge during successive de
cades. we do. indeed, find an an enor-
nous increase, which seems to Justify the
very common belief in the frghtfuI
growth of lunacy in Our time.
In England in 1859, with popula
tion of l9,6SG.70l, there were known
1877 insane and idiotic persons to each
100000 of the inhabitants, or one in cv
cry 535. In 1875 the number had in
creased to 27l in every 100000, or one
insane in the asylums nearly quadrupled
between 1880 and 1870, and also in
creased from 3l.6 in each 100000 OF
the population to 1908, or very nearly
three. .times In Paris alone the adms
sion to insane asylums increased more
than skiold between 1890 and 1876
while in the same time the population
was scarcely trebled In Massachusetts
the number of the insane in the asylum'
has increased IN 50 years from 80 tC
2.776, and the rate proportionately tc
the population has augmented more thau
eighteen times. The number of insan,
i'm the State at present who are not il
a>ylums is also estimated to be between
1000 and 1000
This certainly looks as if insanity wa,
on the increase ut an alarming rate, bu
Dr. Chmes +. Folsom, from whom W.
obtained these figures, gives reasons t'
show chat the increase is rather appar
ent than real His discussion of tn,
subject was in the form of a lecture t,
the graduating class of the IIarvar,
Medical School.
In the first place, the definition of in
sanity is much wider now than it used t.
he. Less than fifty years ago the capa
pability of repeating the multiplication
table was gravely propounded in an Eng
lish court ai n test of sanity IN case in
volving II large sum of money. This wa
ut time when Il lunatic was perso
to be chained like wild beast. Indeed
| until the beginning of this century tn
courts almost universally held that to b
executed from punishment on the groun
of insanity man must be deprived {
all memory and understanding, and II
more knows what he is doing than n
infant, brute, or wild beast Nowalay
Il very considerable proportion of the il
mates of an insane asylum are quiet an
orderly people, while some of them Il,
capable of degree of exact and logic
rea, ming which would not discredit
great proportion of the men and womC