Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-09
VICTIM OF A DRUG.
To Stop the Alcohol Habit He Resorts to
Bromide of Potassium.


Mr.. R. C. Daniels, a young man who came
here from Dayton, Ohio, about year ago,
secured position as electrician at the Metro
politan club. He was a hard drinker a. times,
it is said, and when SOLDERING up would use bro
mide of potassium to steady his nerves. Then
he stopped drinking and took to q liberal use
of the drug instead of liquor The habit grew
upon him with painful results At times he
became somewhat irrational. He boarded at
the house of Mrs. Graves, 703 d street south
east, but he became so sick that December 9th
he consented to go to the Garfield hospital
Upon his arrival at the hospital he made an
uncomplimentary remark about Dr. Hutton,
the resident physician. because the latter is u
Canadian. and refused to remain in the hos
pital. He returned home, but getting worse
consented again to go to the hospital. Last
Saturday telephone message was sent to the
police concerning the patient and requesting
that Daniels be placed in the police station.
The police hesitated, but when the doctor said
he was
WILLING TO CERTIFY THAT DANIELS WAS INSANE,
they decided to let the doctor remove him to
the station. Saturday afternoon the young
man was taken to the eighth precinct station
and locked up. The policemen were unable to
find any traces of insanity, and gave him a COM
Portable room on the second floor instead of
keeping him in one of the prison cells. Police
Surgeons Snyder and Klineschmidt examined
the patient and found him ''sane." He was
thereupOn discharged from custody. The pa
tent was accompanied to the hospital by Mr..
+. L. Newton, who from the reports made by
the hospital physicians. stated that he thought
the patient should be taken to place where he
could do no damage. When taken to the sta
ton the young man wept like a child, protest
ing that he was not insane, and therefore did
not want to be locked up in a cell where crimi-
mails are held. Friends of the young man are
denouncing DR.. Hutton for having him trans
ferred from the hospital to the police station.
DIR. HUTTON SAID:
''The day after he came here he attempted
to get away, but persuaded him to return to
his room and subsequently removed him to
another one to prevent his escaping. He was
very violent at times and continually pounding
his door and ringing his call-bell. He labored
under the delusion that his nurses were witches,
and that in the evening after dark he left his
room and went around the city. He refused
to take nOurishment and medicines. When
the nurses would answer the call he would tell
them that the people were trying to get
INTO his room. The day before he left
the hospital he made his escape from his room
and ran down the corridors into the front
grounds en- dishabille. He threatened to kill
one of the hospital orderlies. That afternoon
that we had no proper means for keeping
him, and asked her to take the response
bility of caring for him, but she refused.
then asked her to have Mr.. Newton come up
that night, and told her that if Daniels con-
tinued acting as he had, our only alternative
would be to turn him over to the police. To
that she made no objection, but asked me to
notify her. He continued pounding on his
door and endeavored to get away. Mr. New
ton telephoned me and | informed him that 1
would have to get the police to take care of
the patient. Daniels threatened to smash
everything in the hospital, and as did not
consider him fit to be trusted in the hospital
had him taken to the station in the ambulance.
Before he left we found a table-knife hidden in
his table drawer, which he stated heintended
to use in making his escape. Within short
time after he left telephoned Mr. Newton that
he had been sent to the station, and also mott
fed the sanitary officer"
IN BEHALF OF THE HOSPITAL,
it is claimed that if Mr.. Daniels was mentally
sound, as stated by the doctors who examined
him, his behavior while in hospital was dis
tinctly vicious. and totally incompatible with
the proper treatment of the other patients sur
rounding him, and requiring if the friends re-
fused to take care of him, his transference to
the only place where he could be restrained
The hospital doctor is bound to consider the
comfort and safety of all the inmates and can
not, therefore, retain any one who disturbs
them. The hospital is not a suitable place for
insane or unmanageable patients, and if this
patient became unmanageable the doctor in
charge of the hospital did the only thing posi-
bic under the circumstances, having first
warned his friends that he would be obliged to
turn him over to the police.
The young mans father, who is lieutenant Of
police in Dayton, has been notified of his sons
misfOrtunes