Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-04-05

s-sciacls On earth IS . mird 10 ruirs, and it
i misfortune that fhere are not a.yluuls for
: such persons Ilsre would b. il there
wsr- ,ss pe,jIr, sui more discrimination
May ptrsons are hustled into our Insane
as U1s s5Iely b,csuse they were oli, de
crepL or too lszy 70 work. l, c't.n occurs
That ior motives Of pscuniary gain intelligent
citizens have been consigred 10 a=y lums on
the testimony Of exptris who have teen hired
by interested parties. A few year. ago
gentleman of great intelligence, and con
nec!ed with one Of the New York papers,
had himself sdjudged insane by the experts
and the officials OF the institution.
Alter Two weeks incarceration, aud
learning all the methods Of the insli-
luton, his friends, who we're in The
secret, had him liberated by writ OF
haJeaS corpus, and his ex posture OF the facts
c-ealed much sensation snd indignation.
The lunaic ssylums of Massachusetts, are
now undergoing rigid investig s,ion, al the
Instance Of Gov. Butler, and it has been
shown that Instances have occurred in which
cdoF III ltDnls nave DtCA tuCdICtI diEtl ny
perjury aud fraud; and that they have lost
their reason by a sense OF wrong and the
effects OF confinement, mental depression,
b5d treatment, and association with raViHs
manisc.. 1t ia no doubt trl.e that insanity
is on the increase everywhere, and hence The
necessity Of more caution in the manage
meDt Of insane asylums. In Msssachu eits
insanity il increasing at the rate OF five per
cent. per annum, while only two per cent. Is
the ratio Of increase of population. Il is 10
trihutable 10 the ease which INDECENT
vsgabonds, through the influence Of heartless
frieEds and relatives, convert lunstic ssylums
into slmshouses for taking care Of the poor,
the aged and decrepit. The terms insanity
and lunacy are vague rather than explicit.
Lawmakers should investigate the matter.
Eccentricities are often pronounced insanity
by examining physicians. DR.. johnson could
not pass poet ca the street without touching
it, and picked up every orange peel he found.
Dean Swift, when in the full possession Of
his great faculties, was always getting down
on his all fours and playing horse, after the
manner Of children. History abounds in
instances Of the greatest intellecls the world
ever produced engaging in eccen'ricjties 70
silly and absurd that the medical experts
OF the present day would have declared
them insane. Men have been a6judged in
sane and inc ,rcerated for the simple habit
OF pulling the hair from their heads,
and yet the late brilliant and eloquent DR..
Munsey was miserable unless plucking the
Fl amen!s as fast az they grew UPON his
poor, prosecuted Uranium. Errors commit
ted in a spirit Of humanity can be excu ed
bat that charity which converts lunalil
a.yiums into poorhouses for taking care
OF The worlds poor kin, ia cruel to the really
dlsoIdered and delhroned intellects which,
with proper treatment, might be restored 10
sanity and usefulness. The Injustice of con-
faing such eccentric men as we have re-
fzrred 10, would have been monslrous, yet it
would have been possible by perjury and
fraud and even in honesty of purpose BY
continually exsggerating thsir peculiarities
and weaknesses and disparsgipg their brill |
liant talents aud mental vigor. Reform ia
needed in our lunatic asylums. The laws
should be amended so az 10 make 1t utterly |
impossible to thrust person OF eccentricilies,
but a sane mind, into the cell of a maniac, |
and to exclude those whose proper place is
at the poorhouse or in the families of the |
brutes who feed their poor kin at the ex-
penss of the public.