Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1885-10-01
of an Infrmary for the Men

! dacious."
The train was hauling up at the plat
form of the Lugville station.
"a few Gays later" continued the
lawyer, as we arose from our seats,
this far-seeing and public-spirited citi-
zen died. Fly the terms of his will, the
income of Sl,500,O00 in Governments,
Massachusetts skies, Boston and Al
bany stock, and sound first mortgages
on New England property, is devoted
to the Inirnary. under the direction of
thirteen trustees. How the trust has
been administered you will see for
yourself Ii few minutes"
We We're met at the door of the In
Urinary by pleasant-faced gentleman,
who spoke with German accent, and
introduced himself as the Assistant
Superintendent
Excuse me-" said he, politely, shut
which of you is the patient?'
ooh, neither" replied Merkle, with
laugh. 81 am the counsel for the board,
and this gentleman is merely visitor
who is Interested in the workings of the
nSt-.tution."
'Ah, / see," said the Assistant Super
intendent. ''Will you kindly walk this
way?'
We entered the Office, and he handed
me book and pen. please inscribe
your name," said he, lin the Visitors
| Book" ] did SO, and then turned to
speak to Merkle, but the lawyer had
disappeared.
"Our SYSTEM" said the Assistant
Superintendent, sis very simple. The
theory of the Institution is that the
habit of mendacity, which in many
cases becomes chronic. is moral dis
ease. like habitual inebriety, and that it
can generally be cured. We take the
liar who voluntarily submits himself to
our treatment, and for six months we
submit him to the forcing process.
| That is, we encourage him in lying,
surround him with liars, his equals and
! superiors in skill, and cram him with
falsehood until he is fairly saturated
by this time the reaction has set in, and
the patient is usually starved for the
truth. He is prepared to welcome the
second course of treatment. For the
next half Year the opposite method is
pursued. The satiated and disguised
liar is surrounded by truthful attend
| ants. encouraged to peruse veracious
| literature. and by force of lectures, ex-
ample and moral influence brought to
understand how much more creditable
it is to say the thing which is than the
thing which is not. Then we send him
back into the world and l must say
that cases of relapse are inirequent.'
Do you find no incurables?" l
asked.
Yes" said the Assistant Superin-
tendent, "once in while. But an in
durable liar is better off here in the in
Urinary than outside, and it is better
for the outside community to have him
here
Somebody came in, bringing new
patient. After sending for the Super
intendent, the Assistant invited me to
follow him. 81 will show you how our
patients live, and how they amuse
themselves" he said. 1--WE will 90
first, if you please, through the left
wing, where the saturating process may
be Observed
He led the way across hall into a
large room, comfortably furnished and
occupied by two dozen or more gentle
men, some reading, some writing, while
others sat or stood in groups enga ged
in animated talk. Indeed, had it not
been for the iron bars at the windows,
| might have fancicd myself in the
lOunging room Of respectable club.
My guide stopped to speak to an inmate
who was listlcssly turning the leaves of
a well-thumbed copy of Baron Nun
chausen, and left me standing near
enough to one of the groups to over
hear parts of the conversation.
'.My rod creaked and bent double"
stout, red-faced gentleman was say
inc, land the birch spun like teeto-
tum. l tell you if Pierre Chaveau
hadn't had the presence of mind to grip
the most convenient part of my trousers
with the boat hook, l should have been
dragged into the lake in two seconds
or less. Well, sir, we fought siNty-nine
minutes by actual time taking, and
when | had him in, and had got him
back to the hotel, he tipped the scale,
the speckled beauty did, at thirty-seven
pounds and eleven-sixteenths, whether
you believe it or not
Nonsense" said quiet little
gentleman who sat opposite. That is
impossible.
The first speaker looked flattered at
Nevertheless" he retorted, ''it's a
fact, on my honor as a sportsman. Why
do you say it's impossible?''
because" said the other, calmly,
it is an ascertained scientific fact, as
every true fisherman in this room knows
perfectly well, that there are no trout
in Mooselemagunticook weighing under
half hundred
Certainly not" put in a third
speaker. 1.-The bottom of the lake is
a seive-a sort of schistOse sieve forma-
tion-and all fish smaller than the fifty
Founders fall through"
"Why doesn't the water drop through,
too?n asked the stout patient in a tri-
umphant tone.
at used to-" replied the quiet
gentleman, gravely, until the Maine
Legislature passed an act prevent
ing it.
Ny guide rejoined me, and we went
on across the room. These sports
men liars" he said, .sare among the
mildest and most easily cured cases
that come here. We send them away
in from six to nine weeks time, with
the habit broken up, and pledged not to
fish or hunt any more. The man who
lies about the fish he has caught, or
about the intelligence of his red setter
dog. is often in all other respects
trustworthy citizen. Yet such cases
form nearly forty per cent. of all our
patients.
What are the most obstinate
cases?'
s.ITndoubtellv those which Won will