St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-16
The First Minnesota Regiment
Will Take a Junket to
New York.
Boyish Interference Saves a
Domestic From an Ath-
letic Suicide.
A Helpless Wife Searching
for a Husband Not Worth
Trouble.

The committee of the senate ap-
pointed to investigate the condition and
management of the state prison at Still
water might at the present time appro-
priately look into the question of the
necessity OF establishing state Grim
inal insane asylum at the insane inSti-
tutions of st. Peter, Rochesterand Fer
gus Falls. The patients are recruited
from the pauper, self-dependent and
criminal classes. This is manifestly I'M
lair and unjust to the people of the
state. Because person is unfortunate
enough to be bereft of reason, OF pos
SeSseS an hallucination upon some
theory sufficient to necessitate their
confinement in an insane asylum, that
is no reason that they should
be sent to the same institution
where the insane criminals are kept. 1t
is generally accepted by experts on in
sanity that the criminal insane are as q
rule vicious and degraded to degree,
and that the loss of reason is mainly
due TO leading vicious life. There are,
on the other hand. many reasons for in
sanity among the now criminal element.
OYerWOrk. sickness, hereditary taintS
and drink are some of the chief causes
of insanity. To place All insane Grim
nal in the same institution as the in
sane from respectable classes can only
be productive of great harm. Strange
to say, this is a matter which has always
been ignored by the board of correction
and charities, who seem to be pos
Sessed of the idea that their duty
to the public demands that they
should make demands upon each
legislature for the purpose of erecting
state institutions of the most costly kind
without using any Judgment as to the
purposes for which the money should be
spent. About 10 per cent of the in
mates of the state insane asylums are
offenders against the law, ranging from
murdererS to inebriateS. Many Of the
inmates of prisons are cunning enough
to assume a state of mental disorder,
and so escape the rig0rS of prison life
for the more pleasant surroundings OF
the insane asylumS.
An attempt is even now being made
by the friends Of Clifton Holden, the
Redwood Falls murderer, to save his
neck by setting up the plea Of insanity.
but, fortuna tely, the governor has APP
pointed three prominent medical men to
examine him and inquire into the state
of his mind. Even if he be insane, it
is not just that the relatives of respect
able insane patients should be punished
by the knowledge that one who is near
and dear to them is aSSociating daily
with murderer of the worst type.
1t has been rumored that q plea of
emotional insanity will be put forward
at the trial of the italian murderer of a
week ago, Radin0, which may have
weight with jury 1t would be a dis
tinct violation of the spirit of the law to
allow such cold-blooded murderer as
Radino to escape the hangman's moose,
and send him to one of the state insane
aSylumS. Humanity demands that an
insane criminal should not be kept in
prison, but justice to the people
at large equally demands that a
vicious. insane and degraded crimi-
nal should not associate with
the respectable but fortunate in
sane. The matter could be easily az
ranged by building separate institu-
ton at one of the state insane centerS
for the use of the criminal insane. The
same staff could look after them as they
attend to the other patients, and after
the expense of building had been COW
cred, the current expenses would in
crease but very little, for the transfer of
20G patients from the main present
buildings to new ward adjacent would
of necessity decrease the number of at
PENDANTS for the patients left