Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-09-21
COMMITTING TO INSANE AsYLuMs

At the National Conference of Chari-
ties in San Francisco on Wednesday, DIR.
Wilkins of this State, and long related to
our insane asylums officially, stated that
there is deplorable disposition among
our people to send those to the insane asy-
Eams who are only slightly deranged. He
expressed the belief that there are "many
old people in OUT asyl'nms who were sent
there simply because they caused little
inconvenience at hone." This is a humili-
ating and a remar'k 'kable statement, more
especially as 1t comes from gentleman
who by position is qualified to speak by
the card. The conclusion is inevitable,
then, that the examination of those
charged with insanity are, in many cases,
conducted with injustice, and are inva-
sions Of human liberty, which in this
country IS SO jealously guarded, as a rule.
Interest in the subject has been quickened
by The recent exposure of the trick by
which San Francisco husband managed
to have his wife twice committed to the
insane asylum, though the woman was in
full possession of her reason, and the
asylum officials were not long in ascertain
ing that there had been gross fraud in pro-
curing her commitment in both cases.
Our examining physicians, therefore, as
suming them all to be men of unquestioned
honor, and our Courts before which the
examinations are held, giving them credit
for undoubted honesty, are sometimes
duped and made cat's-paws for the
accomplishment of infamous ends; indeed
according to the report of DIR. Wilkins
speech, this happens "many times" We
have maintained that public examinations
of which notice has been given would go
far towards correcting or preventing any
evil in this matter. While it is supposed
that most of the examinations are made IN
open Court, or at least publicly, yet, as a
matter of fact, the publicity is not such
as it should be, as precaution against i'm
position.
When we considered the subject some
weeks ago, the suggestion was made that
there ought to be no commitment to an
insane asylum until notice had been served
on near relatives of the patient resident in
the county nor until after few days
public notice by publication, that an ex-
animation was about to be held in the case
of the person charged with insanity. We
have not yet noted any reason advanced to
justify a modification of the opinion that
such should be the law. At the Conference
referred to DR.. Vivian, of Minnesota,
favored publicity of examination, and de-
declared that in his State, where the in
sane are not treated as criminals, the pub
lie examination is the chief feature of the
system. DR.. c. B. Brown, of San Fran
cisco, however, spoke against public exam
ination. Unfortunately the San Francisco
press has not given even the substance of
the reasons advanced by either of these
physicians for the positions they occupy
The subject is one fraught with grave
interest, and ought to receive a good deal
more Of consideration in the public forum
than it has thus far had in California. If
for the next year and a quarter that pre-
cedes the assembling of the Legislature
the press of the State will carefully OBJ
serve the method of committing people to
the insane asylums; the character of the
testimony given in support of the charge !;
whether ordinary tests are applied to
establish its reliability, or discover its
weakness whether the physicians conduct
the examinations upon the line of the
charge made, by those who ask to have the
patient committed, even to the extent, in
some cases, of making themselves prose
cutors instead of inquisitors-if the press
will also look into the record of some past
commitments that were VIGOROUSLY un-
just, the Legislature will come up to the
Capitol sufficiently interested in the ques-
tion to apply any remedy that may be
needed.