Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1881-11-24

II
with their experience with hospitals and
legislatures they would have been very
dumb if they had not learned. 1t was
impossible to induce legislatures to fur
nish room for all the insane. As fast as
the insane hospitals were built there
enough We're patients from the poor
houses in the state to fill them. The fact
was the chronic insane were better oil
in the poor houses than in the state hos
pitfalls. More cures we effected there
than in the hospitals. More on the rec
ords There was less restraint and more
occupation in the poor houses. The
less restraint and more occupation
for this class the better. The large
hospitals can not care for particu-
lar cases. Physicians at state hospitals
could tell you the general condition of
wards but know little of particular eases.
In the poor houses the superintendent
has chance to study the different eases
from day to day TO experiment with
them and help them. He could get the
patient interested and then they would
60 to work. The State Board of Chari-
ties came to the conclusion three years
ago that the state could not care for the
insane. That they were better off in a
large majority of county hospitals and
poor houses. The Board had circulated
rules tor the government of these hos
pitfalls and poor houses They could
safely conclude that il was a settled pol
icy of the state not to build any more
hospitals. In fact it would have been
better if there was only one large hos
pital in the state From this time YOU
will have to provide for your own insane.
Ii they are provided for in proper
manner you will be helped by the state.
The one dollar and fifty cents which will
be received from the state will pay more
than half the expense of keeping them.
Then others could be received from
other counties if there was any surplus
room. The State Board would furnish
you with one hundred patients in ten
days if there was room in the county
and for these the county would receive
three dollars per week. The gentle
mans view was to enlarge the county
poor house so as to accommodate sixty
chronic insane. Five counties had been
placed on the list of those prepared to
care for their own insane at the last
meeting of the Board. The point which
he wished particularly to impress was
that Grant county in the future must
provide for its insane. The present
state of things were certainly not cred
table to the county but was the result
of misunderstanding on the part of
the state authorities but trusted they
would do something for this class of I'M
fortunates. Thanking the board for
their courtesy the speaker resumed his
seat.
Dr. Vivian thought it was hardly nee
essary TO say anything more than had
been said by his colleague. He had
| been a member of the State Board some
time and knew something of its work
ings. One great problem with which
! they had to deal was how To care for
the rapidly increasing number of the
1 insane in such manner as would allow
/ for their humane and comfortable treat
ment and not cripple the tax payer.
! The building of palaces for hospital pur-
poses, as the state had been doing in
the past, had cost the state $1,000 for
each patient that they accommodated, for
| the buildings alone. The question nov
was whether we should go on building
the same way at great expense and
where every inmate costs five dollars
per week for running expenses-it
amounts to that-shall we 90 on in this
way or shall we adopt a system that
will be easy for the tax payer and good
for the insane. 1t was "A question Of
dollars and cents, this caring for the in
sane in counties. The Board of Chair
ties had long ago come to the conclu-
sion that the worst thing YOU could do
with insane was to put them in large
numbers in one building. DIR. Sun was
! the best doctor in the world for mental
| diseases. More cures, rs stated by my
colleague, come from the poor houses
than from the large hospitals. Under
/ the new law of last winter counties
which will care for their insane may re-
ceive from the state one dollar and fifty
! cents per capita. This was offered as
an inducement for counties to put up
hospitals. We know the insane can
be cared for in smaller buildings
better and enjoy the ltfe they are
capable OF enjoying at an expense not
! to exceed $3.50 per capita. We know
they are happier. Ii Grant county cared
for It's own insane they would receive
$3.50 per week. II was not necessary
that buildings should be expensive If
! they are comfortable, well ventilated
and properly heated is all that is re-
CURED. They must do something, hui
mainly calls for it. The question now
is how to do it. The state has adopted
the idea of no more large asylums but
each county must take care of its own
insane. The change viii be an act of
| humanity to the insane themselves.
They can enjoy much more light on the
] moor farm than fln Cfata hngYtfTi Il
and they will be much better off.
Mr. Robbins was glad from the bot
! tom of his heart that there were men
outside of the county that sympathised
with the poor of the county. Yet there
were now nine poor creatures in the
/ Jail but short distance away, incarcer-
ated there, for no crime, while Charity
Boards occupy three palatial rooms at
the capitol. They could not hear the
wailings Of the poor creatures when
/ they were at the Madison depot waiting
to be returned To- the county under order
| of these boards. They should have
gone down and seen them then instead
of coming down here 10 say that they
had found out that they could only be
taken care of in the poor house. Is a
poor house the place to put poor crca-
ture of this kind into, in rich county
like Grant? If they could hear a poor
creature near my house. confined in a
barred room and the children asking
piteOusly, What is the matter with
mother?" they would think differently
Are we to be insulted by being told they
have learned that the insane can be
cared for in poor houses? We can take
forty acres of from the poor farm, put
up handsome building that the county
would be proud of and then tell these
poor creatures that they are our wards
Lay out the grounds in handsome
manner, make flower gardens for them,
so that their friends can visit them
there and not have to 20 to Madison aud
pay from five TO eight dollars for car
riage to tax them over to the state hos
pital. $40 30 had been paid out the
present yea Dy the state and not great
many in the hospitals either Yet they
send word to Grant county that they
must cut down their quota; that they
must be economical. Under the law
the board could not send one back to
Grant county. The county was not
prepared to receive them but the sccre-
tary of the Board of Charities had in
formed the state authorities that they
were. The gentleman had letter to
that effect.
DIR. Vivian-Will you read that letter
saving the state Board of Charities and