Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1888-05-25
rurvR WORK rs ENDED.


Connections In RelatIo N to the Insane |
"A Banquet and Speeches at the New |
Haven House.
The ninety seventh annual convention of
the Connecticut Medical society came to a
close yesterday afternoon, all feeling that
this session had been a most instructive and
interesting one.
The second days session opened in City
Hall in the morning. There was full at
tendance. DR.. knight of Hartford, the Sec
rotary, made his annual report His report
showed that during the year thirty-four new
members have been taken into the society.
Out of this number fourteen come from New
Haven county. During the year ten mem
bers have died, six of whom reached the age
of three score and ten, and good many have
removed from the State. At the close of
the secretary's report DIR. Francis R. Bacon,
of this city, arose and delivered his opening
address.
Dr. Bacon said that at the outset one could
not fail to be impressed with the brevity,
not to say the poverty of the laws of this
State in regard to the insane. In Connecti-
cut, for instance, any reputable physician"
certified to be such by any notary public or
justice of the peace, might certify his neigh
Dor into confinement as being insane. In
most of the States this dangerous power was
carefully limited and hedged about with pro-
visos, and certificate fraught with such
tremendous consequences must be made by at
least two graduated physicians. If it was true
as he believed it was, that this dangerous
power was but rarely abused to the detriment
of the citizens of Connecticut, it was because
IN this particular at least our lives were bet
ter than our laws. The public was shreWd
and quick to suspect misconduct in this bust
ness and for the dignity and convenience of
the profession the amendment should be
speedy. The reports of our State board of
charities brought to light large number
of paupers and alleged pauper insane hidden
in obscure almshouses in our rural districts
who were very certain not to be receiving
skillful care and who were very likely to
suffer from that inhumanity which springs
from ignorance and indifference. Decidedly,
we might conclude, three was urgent need in
the interests of humanity and Or
derly government for commission in
lunacy in Connecticut. If the accusation
of abuse in her courts of insanity pleas had
been brought against Connecticut it might
be repealed by quoting cases of pre-eminent
infamy from remoter States. We had not
yet seen in Connecticut the appearance of
that illogical ehimera of medical iurispru-
dence, "transitory frenzy" or "acute moral
insanity" nor had we yet heard the judge
charge the jury that the accused might have
uo0u Ol SOuuu Up 10 610 LuOt16uC OL his
aiming the deadly pistol, but an irresponsible
maniac when he pulled it, and to have re-
turned to sanity and to mental fit
ness for good citizenship while the
bullet was speeding to it's mark.
1t was to be regretted that neither the au-
thors or the experts of this form of insanity,
who had talked so glibly abolt it in the wit
ness stand, had never been able to draw any
clear diagnosis between it and uncontrolled
anger venting itself in vindictive violence.
This failure was unfortunate since not only
we're the appearances of the two conditions
indistinguishable to the unlearned observer,
but their existing causes were identical.
It was regarded as a matter of surprise,
ard as an Indication that the lawyer scarcely
does his duty by his client if he does not call
in the doctors to get him clear. Why call in
the doctors2 The answer generally was to
determine whether he presents the bodily
signs of insanity. We might here thank the
writer's upon mental pathology who, if they
had not added to our facts, gave US such
words as the ''somatic indicia" of insanity
A bumped head might now be called a
''cephalic traumatism." Regarding the
.'somatic indicia" one could not help being
struck in court with the significance of such
phenomena as materials for diagnosis.
Much insistence had been placed upon the
"fbrillar tremor" of the tongue and the devil
alton of that organ from right line when
protruded, and upon a tremor of the fingers
when extended, but surely every practitioner
knew these disorders were of the commonest
occurrence in persons whose Intellectual con-
dition could not for a moment be questioned.
To end the matter the most expert of alien
lists formed his opinion just as the unlearned
did, on the basis of common sense, by con-
sidering the acts of the patient. The symp-
toms of the somatic indicia might be present
in abundance and the subject might be of an
unclouded and active intellect. They might be
all absent and thesubject a dangerous lunatic
1t was beyond doubt that most OF the
frequent verdicts of not guilty were not ex-
pressions of judgment but the emotions of
juries. So long as our laws and our juries
continued as they were society would be ex-
posed to the demoralizing spectacle of justice
thwarted and crime shielded by the combined
efforts of INSCRIPTIONS lawyers and doctors
whose highest condemnation must be that
they are ignorant and unrefecting. In con-
clusion the important question presented it,
self: What should be done with prisoners ac-
quilted of erimea Was it too much to ask
that every person acquitted of homicide up
on the ground of insanity be declared perma-
nently insane and that he be for the term of
his life subjected to such humane but suf-
ficient restraint may be required to assure
his own safety and that of the public at Target
Such law would be a substantial advance
in the direction of justice and social safety.
A vote of thanks was extended to DIR. Ba-
con. The society decided to raise commit
tee to 90 before the next legislature and ad-
vocate a law as recommended in the address.
President Bacon appointed this committee as
follows: DR.. Lewis of Collinsville, DR..
Stearns of Hartford and DIR. Lindsey of New
Haven.
Resolutions of thanks were extended to the
retiring officers. The following papers were
also read: "Albumenaria," by George R.
Shepherd; ''Paraldehyde," by j. NJ. Kenis
ton; "Alcohol in Therapeutics, by E. F.
of ~ n
B. Newton of Stafford Springs; "Ciinical
Observation on Neuralgia" DIR. Eliot of New
Haven; Treatment of Urethral Structures by
Electrolysis," DR.. o. G. Smith of Hartford;
ga Case of Typhoid Fever" DR.. Segur R.
NJ Griswold of Putnam read dissertation
from the text, Genesis III, 16.
W. T. Brown made O report concerning his
attendance at the Massachusetts, meeting,
and DR.. Carmslt reported concerning the
proceedings Of the New York Medical asso-
citation convention.
The essayists for next year were announced
as follows: Hartford county, P. II. ingalls,;
New Haven county, G.. s. Rodman; Fairfield
county, Seth Hill; New London county, G.
II. Jennings; Litchfeld county, p. Knight;
Middlesex county, J. Frank Calef; Tolland
county, G. B. Newton; Windham county, E.
E. Gaylord.
AT the New Haven House.
Scores of men hurried across the Green
shortly after o'clock and crowded into the
doors of the New Haven House. Tommy"
Heath, the genial clerk had to be more genial
than ever to. care for all these men, The
tables in the dining room presented a
cheering look to the hungry men who
swarmed into the room. This was the an
nual banquet of the society. Sixty covers
were spread, and the walters had their hands
full to feed the hungry physicians. The
banquet was a splendid one, gotten up
in the usual high standard so characteristic
of Mine Host Moseley
Everybody was seated at $50, and the
members ate and ate for over an hour. The
table at the head of the room was occupied
by DR.. Carmalt, who acted as POSTMASTER,
and invited guests. The menu was as fol-
lows:
Little Neck Clans
Green Turtle Soup
Boiled Fresh Salmon Holandaise Sauce.
Sliced Cucumbers
Filet OF Beef with Mushrooms.
Queen Fritters
Spinach. Asparagus
Spring Lamb, Mint Sauce.
Sweetbreads, Larded.
Mashed Potatoes. Green Peas
Lobster Salad.