New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-05-20

sane. and causes which only make the latter lit
tia cross or peevish are liable 20 engender serious
cerebral crises in the former Add TO this the con-
sideratiou that asylum life resembles social life III
nothing, that il is artificial unnatural and there
fore in itself very trying TO unbalanced MINDS ana
IL will be readily understood that the most enght
ened management cannot make headway agaIhS'
the evils inherent IN the congregate system =,
The difficulties of the problem are great MT
Tetcbworth does not confidently advocate tho
boardng.out plan, as practised IN CuropO'
several reasons The most obvious OF IheSo "
the natural obi lection liable 20 be maze l" anS
such experiment by at least proporuoN "
sane people living in the neiShOorhoou' -
would be apt TO regard q proposition lof -
out insane people among them as httie ps,s
to the distribution Of dangerous crin'ha" " ~.
beasts. These spprehensions would De III '''o
rooin ororndlesS as European experience has
shown. but they could not any the more reAully
g. tnorod and ms most American asyIums are
orh,i. and managed more or less directly throuH"
,o,,tios Il &c difficult 70 see how the ooleouoh
=, ,o..,o could be surmounted by any other thah
,ho s,o,y process OF education. Probably the most
nroct,cal course would be 20 begin by tollo"lhB
the Alt Schcrbisch model; that is, put cehtrai
administrative building in the centre Vi Gun
siderable tract. and build around 1t suthGeht!
number of cottages, in which the pauen's nllEh''
no placed under the charge OF attendants Inns
nlan has the merit of removing some OF TIE most
eerious disadvantages OF the congregate system,
ond Of approximatng natural social conditions,
since the cottages could easily be made to re-
semble homes Mr.. Letchwork seems 10 be OF
opinion that this Is the best method Tor the
present and II is TO be hoped that IL may before
long be tried or sufficient scale to give ~
fair test Certainly the big aSyums will have
TO give place TO more scientific arrangements, or
the burden Of the chronic insane upon the puohc
revenue will become steadily heavier.
Mr. Lctchworth gives some instructive IN
formation rpCn a subject OF the first consequence
in the treatment Of the Insane; the
training of attendants, that is 10 say.
The modern treatment OF insanity demands COM
paratively high intelligence and especially
sclf-control only TO be installed by discipline,
in this class In Europe regular training schools
for them are becoming general In this country
n good beginning has been made by DR.. Macdonald
and some others but the absolute necessity OF
training for asylum attendants is as yet by no
means generally recognized. The first thing TO I'M
press upon the mind Of every such person Is th" nc
that the insane really sick. and that attend
ance upon them Is directly in the line OF nursing.
1t is the more necessary TO carry home TINS con-
viction because, as asylum superintendent
said TO Mr. Lctchworth. "a mailman can he the
most exasperating person upon earth when he wants
10 be-" There IRE not many illicrate people
perhaps who could continue 10 preserve absolute
patience and good temper under the crafty and
pitiless aggravations OF which the insane under
certain conditions are capable, and nothing
but the everpresent reflection that they are
really sick and helpless can support those who
have TO endure this kind OF annoyance. or course
it follows that attendants who have prepared
themselves for their work By systematic training
will demand higher wages than have oustomarily
been paid for such service. That however, is
fact TO be reckoned with, and II must be realized
that since the work is disagreenble and exception
ally trying IL ought 10 he paid for literally.
This and other interesting questions are considered
most intclligently by the author, who throws q
great deal OF new light, not indeed upon alcnlsn
itself which nc docs not touch, but upon the
internal treatment OF the insane. He makes IL
apparent finally, that while much has been done
already, the present trend is not in the right
direction and that unless the conGregnte system
is modified in important PARTICULARS IL may
eventually produce conditions but little better
than those which IL superseded less than a century
since.