Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-08-01
RA1LRoADEn TO MrDp1rrows.

James Kerr, Once Employed Upon
 the s'Democrat,'' Confined in the In-
 sane Asylum at Middletown AL
 though Perfectly Sane.
 Below we give m abstract from Q 1ett..r to the Bridgeport Farmer, writter ,,,, Jamos Kerr an old newspaper mar oncs employed upon the DEMOCRAT. .wc ,,, o ilroaded to the Middletown ins, ~ a'.1r,n, ""J while under the influence of ,u;a 'e "sy i"n
 WARD~ SoIrru
 rsrn ~ G OR THE INSANE, !
 EDITOR FARMER: Or, tha 1u.y aath aI,h, ,1t hooy zie Kerr (my w'..e,) of s5 Broad street. orlogepole;;. 1onn, signed and swore to u comPla'u' n that was insane and indigent. (At tne time was employed in Bridge Post printing office.) Dr Robert Lauder, oi l92 Fairfield avenue, Bridgeport, en- Aorsed this complaint with an affidavit to the same effect. He is her physician. Armed with these affidavits they went be- fore Probate Judge Morris Beardsley, of Bridgeport, and secured an order commit ting me to the care of Lizzie Kerr and authorizing her to convey me to this asy lum. l was not taken to the court, nor permitted to testify myself or produce evi- dence inI my own behalf On Tuesday, the 2d inst the officer came to the County jail, (whsre, for reasons which will ap- pear later on, I had been locked up) and conveyed me to this insane asylum On the same day, before the officer came for l me received note from Lizzie Kerr ac- knowledging that was not insane, but 1 that was to be confined here to cure me of my drinking habits.
 So that have been railroaded into an American insane asylum, and robbed of my liberty without having had any chance to prove my sanity before the tribunal that, without ever having seen or heard me, pronounced me insane. I have asked Dr Noble, the physician in charge of this ward, what my especial delusion is, and his only explanation is that l am here to | sober up--that 1 am here as favor-and that he cannot see anything about me in- dicative of mental Arrangement. The evening was received here Dr Noble as- sured me that on my discharge . certificate stating that I had been confined here as an inebriate and not as 8 lunatic would be given to me. But the bald fact remaips that have beeH eomplainea against as a lunatio, certified by Lauder to be a lunatic,
 tried by Judge Beardsley as lunatic, and committed a lunatic, received at this insane asylum as lunatic, and entered
 upon it's records as lunatic. All my
 future life must lie nnder this fearful cloud i'll all my relations Gin business, in society, at home, in court,) wherever they
 may be with others. And any unscrupu-
 lous enemy could easily have me locked up again, with no trouble comparatively, by simply producing, as ppima faoie evidence of my lunacy, the records of the Connect cut hospital for the insane.
 The fact is I have been separated for years from my wife, Lizzie Kerr, and on
 the recent death of my father came east tp eettle some business Here I received
 from ono of my brothers, wealthy lawyer of Toronto, Ont, proposition to enter a
 Washingtonian homo or inebriate retreat
 for year, and be would stand the $500 or
 $500 expense for the treatment. To this l assented, for 1 admit I am 8 periodical
 "spreer," but it was not for one moment contemplated by him or myself that was to be confined ill an insane asylum. l. for one, say that an insane asylum is no place to treat periodical drunkard for alcoholism. The hospital was not built , and is not sustained for that purpose. An imposition was practised on the state and on the city of Bridgeport when I was
 snared into it. But then selectmen and r this quasi judicial kidnapping affair; all , am after is 8 public investigation in a
 proper court with a chance to give and ? produce evidence.
 Will you kiadly publish this letter as a matter of justice. Yours respectfully, - JAMES KERR A few days after the above letter was
 written Kerr was given his release by the
 asylum authorities and he asks the press
 of the state to give the widest publicity tc o the case He claims that there are other unfortunate victims confined in the Mid q!etoWn institution who are no more insane than he ia.
 Kerr is known to us personally, having
 been employed upon the DEMOCRAT as an V advertising solicitor ill October, 1884 - While here he exhibited no traits of insan t ity On the contrary he man o1 e ability and intelligence, but was addicted D to drink and his stay i'll Waterbury wal n short for that reason.