The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-06-27
A STUDY IN LUNACY,
Who are the Sane, and Who the Insane?--
Various Authorities Disagree.
From the Atlanta Constitution.

From the Atlanta Constitution.
When is man insane?
We have tons of literature on the sub
ject from eminent specialists, and there
are numerous experts ready to pronounce
Judgment after fifteen minutes CONVEX
satiOn with a suspected man, but many
exceptional cases defy every recognized
test.
Shakespeare made a thrilling grouping
of insane subjects when he said that the
lunatic, the lover and the poet are of
imagination all compact. Without dis
cussing the suggested insanity of lovers
and poets, the fact that the imaginative
faculty is highly developed in lunatics is
worthy of all the consideration that can
be given to it.
But when does imagination overstep
its legitimate bounds and stamp its pos
SCISSOR as mentally, unbalanced? Men
have made themselves famous or notori-
GUS by their wild and extravagant flights
of fancy, and yet have never been classed
with the insane. On the other hand,
there are persons whose intense and ex-
aggerated style of speaking and writing
has directed suspicion against them from
every quarter.
The most remarkable modern instance
is that of George Francis Train. For
years Mr.. Train has generally been re-
garded as a lunatic. His flighty utter
ances. his fits of silence. his defiance of
the law. his fastS, his belief in Psyche
and numerous other eccentricitieS have
placed him under the ban. And vet, his
status Is uncertain. Courts have adj
judged him insane and they have also
pronounced him sane. He manages his
own affairs and makes money. His mad
ness, if it may be called such, has plen-
ty of method in it. Just at present there
is every reason to believe that Train will
finish his trip around the world inside Of
seventy days. To map out such jonr-
ney and make the business arrangements
for it would bother many perfectly
sane man. but this phenomenon sweeps
every obstacle aside without the slightest
difficulty.
But for his daring imagination this
man would have been looked up to as a
model capitalist and developer. He
sailed ships to India. He introduced
street cars in London and the telegraph
in Australia. He had more to do with
the building of the Union Pacific than
any other man. His investments have
all turned out well and he is rich.
Can such a man be insane? His speech
es and unconventional conduct have sent
him to jail in France, Ireland, England
and the United States. No one but an
anarchist or maniac could have made
such speeches. Once he spent year or
two without uttering a word. Then he
spent as long a time holding communi-
cation with no one but children. Finally
he found his PSYCHE and announced his
intention of living forever.
Clearly. this must be insanity. Still, a
doubt will edge its way TO the front.
People cannot help respecting the intel
lect of man who manages complicated
affairs, makes money and saves it, and
shows that his business judgment is OF
the highest order. 1t is fully as puzzling
as the Jekvll and HYDE mystery.
Here is a study in lunacy that has baf-
fled the experts. There is one good thing
about tit brings men TO the conclusion
that the border line between sanity and
insanity cannot be defined-it all de-
ponds upon our view. In the meantime
Mr.. Train holds his own and promises 70
beat the record as a globe trotter just as
he has distanced his competitors IN more
substantial feats of enterprise.