The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-12-10

r:;:: :: MI >.:i.t.:.
.ii.r :lf;;,;~ ",,r :,!ir:' j: to :;!c -
:. -" :. ,vIJlfiI AMI have ur:,.;r >nclI inquiry
.::si i:svc~;i CATION Il, /: cn:l,i III regard to
=, >ySt,.ti: u! management. The lnStitE-
i:...!l- Very full, "llA tHr appropriation
!. t;!i> year has been ila.ttHi with an III
..!:,c IN addition oi ;;boat So. .nnD from pay
l:t'IrI.is. Tie OUTLAY om this charity
:,lt,.i ,tcGuctiig the iilcrr... OF the State
,iui,t is aooiI; one-ll!th of our entire State
expenditure. The report a.. the >nperr-
den! shows .i3 white and -; cotorcd pa
Jient il tie institution anal i pcr capit;,
cNpci. .i;ti-c of thirty-sevrn cents Il
day.
but ;hc comparison with institutions
whose :;tic!itS are all white is unfair and
mi>lcad NJ. y glance ii II" acc"nnoda-
ton ana ci,!;iiinw, etc, ol The co!"red pal
ticnts shows that they do not cost any
thing like this amount and therefore the
white patients are costing much I.ore ger
capita than is shown in tie report. ] am
not prepared 10 say whether there IS room
for rctrcnchincnt or not in the ulana@c-
ment. but | am very positive Oh two
points:
I'D There aic people in the asylum
who ought Tot IL be there because they
can be moie economically supported
elsewhere: and %. y change should be
made i'll the law 50 as TO require each
county to support IL; own insane. There
are many re:lSons Tor this change which
| will enuuIcrate. The asylum has three
classes of patients;
"l) Those who are supported by the
State.
't2> Those who are partly supported by
the State
''(3) Those who pay for their own sup
port.
Again, its patients are divided into
"tl) Patients who arc insane but cura-
bic.
'.(2) Patients who are insane and incur
able.
"i3) Patients who are idiots.
''(i) Patients who are cpilcptic.
80 Patients who are inbeciie.
Lastly, into two general classes: Pa
tients who are dangerous and patients
who are harmless.
Society for its own protection, and for
the sake OF humanity must provide for
its unfortunates. There can nc no dis
pute about this. Pay patients whose
friends can watch after their welfare and
prov Illc iOi IL Dc !ciI Out VI liiS az
count. Pauper patients should under re-
straint when needed, receiv,: kind treat
ment, plain substantial food skilled medl-
cal attendance ana comfortable clothing.
Every taxpayer wants this much done.
Poor tax payers OF whom we have picn-
ought not to be expected to support p":l.
per lunatlcS III better style 'han i.i'.y
themselves are able to afford. - + nc
law as 1t now Is the power Of COMMITTING
patients TO the asylum rests With the
county commissioners who have large
latitude in some things and ~: wl:der
slrict regulations in others. The law IS TO
blame for some Of the extravaganza" and
abuses which are apparent PROBABLE
neglect OF duty or connivance On the
part OF these officers must eHp.:;;n the
others. Out Of 445 white lunalit:S in the
asylum, II are pay potieuts aiiC 23 pay III
part. The percentage OF r:,upyrs in this
institution is so large THAI So are forced
tC ask whether only the poor people So
crazy? The law provides that the luna
tics who nave pro- i.crt!' shall he support
ed out Of the incCu' eheretrom. / have
known Of Instar 5 IN which this has
been disreyardcd and not Only the in
come but the est; tc itself las been used
by relatives while the State was called on
many of the patients liz the asylum be-
long in this category, :rnh the county
commissioners whose duty it is 10 pre-
vent it have either been imposed upon W
have winked at the wr"ng 70 please some
friend, and curry favor with an intluen-
tIal voter. The law provides for punish
lncnt, il is true, but what is erybcdv'S
business is nobodv'S business. Few
people know anything about such law.
The asylum is at 4 distance the patient
enters it ard is soon forgotten. The
neighbors talk awhile and there's an
end
again, when time and treatment have
shown that Il pauper lunaiic is incurahie,
but harmless, needing nothing but lii
tie food and clothing why should the i'll
stitution be crowded TO its present over
flowing condition with such 4 class OF
patients when they can be as safely and
more cheaply cared for in the county
poor house? Many oil the inmates of the
asylum are Of the this class, and IL con-
sequence all of the negro men are III the
cheap temporary wooden building which
cannot bc well heated in very cold wealth
er, when there must necessarily be sur
tering among them. Now il each coun-
~ was requiered to support tie patients
lt,SenuS 20 the asylum, and the Ulli oi
cost submitted to public lnspccti, :
through the county press. and the Who'll,
matter Of commitment, support, etc,
came under the eyes Of the grand jury, /
feel sure that inm edate relief for the
existing plethora would follow, and the
cost to the people be greatly lessened.
All who ought to pay would be made to
pay, and instead of bundling of every
idiot and harmless imbecile to Colulm bia,
there would be careful calculation as to
whether they should not go to the county
poor house. The whole matter OF cost
would resolve itself into the question:
which is the cheapest and best: TO send
them to the one place or 10 the other, for
it should be left optional, and when tn"
matter IS brought square Y home To ea'.
community, the enlightened self interest
of its ct!zcuS Will solve it to its own sa:-
isfaction and each will pay tor what i
gets.
Another thing-~lnany the inmates
of the asylum who are harmless are
placed there by their Unnatural reiitl"cS
To yet rid Of the burden OF their care Mid