The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1891-06-17
A NOnsensical Veto.

During the session of the recent
legislature DE-, fowler, at the request
of DIR. Curwen, introduced a bill to
which no reasonable person could find
a reasonable objection, but which Gov.
ernor Pattison has chosen to veto.
The Commercial. Gdsette's Harrisburg
correspondent thus speaks of the mat.
ter in a recent letter to that paper:
The veto.mad governor ip vetoing
DR., Towler's bill "to make provision
for the prevention Of mental disor.
ders" displayed in full the egotism of
ignorance and the superior pride of
lack of information. In his disap.
proval of the measure the governor
said:
"The title Of this bill in no manner
indicates its contents. So far as they
are intended 10 permit the manage.
ment of state institutions to extend
their &C operation to all m~eritorious
cases, there is no occasion for this leg.
%islation so far as they are intended
to interfere with and disturb the or.
derby management of these instita.
tions, the bill is without justification.
In no event should the state hospitals,
exclusively under the control of the
state, be subject to any uses incon.
sistent with the purposes of their es.
Enlistment"
And all this was about q little bill
expressed in this brief space: "Be it
enacted, etc. That when any hospital
in this wealth may have a
house separate and distinct from the
main hospital building, persons suffer-
ing from those forms of nervous dis.
ease which threaten to 60 to mental
disorder, may be received and have
treatment appropriate to their condi.
ton, but in no case shall any money
appropriated by the legislature or
paid by the authorities of the counties
or townships, be applied to the sup.
port Of such house."
The bill was prepared by DR.. John
Curwen, the expert superintendent of
the Warren state insane asylum, who
as an expert in insanity none stand
higher. 1t was in the interest of the
Warren university and especially de-.
sired by its trustees and superintend.
ent. 1t was introduced by DR.. fowler
and pushed to final passage through
both houses at the request of DR.. Cur.
wen and his trustees. 1t had the
warm support of every physician in
the senate and house and passed both
houses without a negative vote. The
object of this bill is properly stated iu
its title. 1t is simply this, that per.
sons suffering from nervous disease
that if left unchecked would result in
insanity could be treated not in the
hospital and among the insane where
the association would be bad, mentally
speaking, but in a separate building,
and so be saved from real insanity.
DIR. Crrwen stated positively that
under the present law such persons
could not be received and treated in a
separate building; that the Warren
asylum had within its Enclosure p sep.
araie building especially adapted to
that purpose and without this act they
could not so use it. The bill was a
very worthy bill, it cost the state
nothing and should have been signed.
The governor assume that the bill
was the work of a ~greenhorn both in
law and insanity. Instead it is the
bill of an expert, asked for by one of
the best asylums in the state and in.
troduced and thereby Endorsed by a
physician of twenty-five years success.
full practice.