The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-05-20
THIRD DAYS SESSION.
Denver Selected for the Next Conference of
Charities and Correction.

Denver Selected for the Next Conference of
Charities and Correction.
One of the most unfortunate OF the depend
emit classes is the class which embraces idiots,
not the idiots whom our minds eye finds so
readily in our heated moments, but the poor
men and women whom nature overlooked in
distributing the germs of mental intelligence.
OF course, the charity conference considers
this class, and the early part of Saturday
mornings session was devoted to the subject.
DR.. w. B. Fish OF Lincoln, ILL.,,
Is the chairman of the proper
committee. and he had plan at his tongues
end for the custodiAl care OF adult idiots. lie
has charge of the Illinois school for imbeciles
"a self-supporting institution, consisting In
part of hve.hundred.acre farm cultivated by
inmates OF the school. He favors COLOMBIA
ton scheme of this kind. DR.. G.. II. knight of
Lakeville. Conn.,. aud Amos BOnsall, o director
of the Philadelphia house of refuge. spoke In
the same line. Mrs. sabel c. Burrows OF Boston
was interested in cultivatng the minds of these
uniortunates. Secretary Johnson found that
work among these children, always children's,
appeals ever to the sentiment, reason and
purse. Superintendent John q. Blake of the
Indiana reform school told of the progress of
the boys under his care, and brief speeches
were made by Mrs. GalloD of New York, Henry
Stone of the Massachusetts state board of
lunacy. William Weaver. superintendent of the
poor in Angelica, n. Y; DIR. p. q. 'Gllett, su-
perintendent of the deaf and dumb institute at
Jacksonville ILL.,, and others.
In the eleventh paper of the defective series
A. o. Wright of Madison divided the defective
classes into three bodies: Insanity and idoey.
crime and vice, and pauperism, the latter being.
he asserted, defect of the will. Blindness
aud deaf-mutism, he said. were defects of the
senses and not OF the mind. Men and women
were about equally afflicted with insanity from
causes which were the same or equivalent but
crime and pauperism were more likely in men
than in women there being about forty times
many men women in the prisons About
an equal number of each sex were born idiots.
The average age of criminals was about twenty
five years. while that of the majority OF pau
pers was over fifty. The question of educa-
ton. the speaker thought, did not have as
great an influence upon the detective classes as
was generally believed and he cited a number
of facts and statistics in support of this opin-
ion. He believed, however. that the time was
coming when by a combination of public aud
private effort the defective classes would be
greatly reduced. if not entirely Grad Gated.
DR.. \. g. Byers and DIR. Richard Gundry in
their time rendered great aid to the cause OF
charity and were prominently identified
with the body now in session. Since
the last conference they passed to
the great beyond, and a memorial service in
their honor was held a. the close OF yesterday
mornings session. The Rev. Fred II. Wines
OF Springfield, o., detailed the many virtues OF
the two men. Dr. Byers was well and favorably
known in this city.
Gen. Roeliff Brinkerhof OF Ohio was a CO.
worker for many years with DIR. Byers and
spoke feelingly of his deeds. Mr. Gilmore
added weight to this testimony. Mr.. Glenn of
Baltimore and Secretary johnson paid high
tributes to the character OF DIR. Gundry, and
A. o. Wright told how he had been ins,ru-
mental in having the restraints of the insane in
| Wisconsin abolished.