New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-12-11
INSANE AND POOR.
A HAPLESS MULTITUDE TO BE CARED FOR
BY THE STATE.
NEw-YoRK AND KINGS COUNTIES ALONE TO con-
rINUr THEIR LOCAL A.YLuMs-THE TRANS
FER ALREADY LARGELY NADIA

TINUE THEIR LOCAL A,ILUMs-THE TRANS
FER ALREADY LARGELY NADIA
LARGE GAIN FOR MANY COUNTIES.
rTRoM rHK REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRrnUrF.
Albany. Dec IO-The State has formally as
! slmed the care Of all its insane poor, with tne
exception Of those who are cared for by the
counties of Kings and New-Yorl. This announce
! ment was made here to-day by the members OF
the State Commission in Lunacy, DIR. Carlos f.
Macdonald, Goodwin Brown and Henry A. Reeves,
and they filed n certificate with the secretary
of State as members of a commission authorized
to make this important legal declaration when
they were satisfied that the State hospitals for
the nsape had sufficient accommodations for all
it's insane poor.
The fling OF the certificate Is the legal in
strument By which the State assumes the sup
port Of 7,4s4 public insane, now in its asylums;
of 700 insane yet in the county almshouses, ana
Of 200 insnne who according to precedent VIII
enter the asylums the coming fiscal year SUD-
sautaly, the State takes upon its broad shoulders
| the support of s,3s4 insane poor. Up to the
time the certificate was filed the sixty counties
| Of the State either supported their insane IN
the poorhouses or they paid certain rate per
week for the support of their insane In some
one Of the State hospitals. Now the State as
sumes the entire expense Of supporting the pub
! lie insane. except of those in Kings and New
| York counties. and they are no longer a county
charge The effect Of this in financial sense
is that the State the coming fiscal year. he
ginning October /, 1898, will pay Sl,300,O0O
| in support Of the public insane That, it is
estimated, will be the cost Of supporting the
insane in the State hospitals. The Sl,300,0O0
will be made a separate item in the State tax
levy, just as the tax for the support Of the
canals has been n separate rate for years, In
order that the people might understand precisely
what the canals cost yearly. 1t NAV possibly
occur TO some taxpayers that $l,300,oOO is
| large sum 10 pay for the State care OF The In
sane, but when they understand that the mixed
system Of State and county care of the insane
| costs Sl,7OO,OO0 yearly, they will see that the
exclusive State care plan is the most economical
| one for them. This coming reduction IN the
cost Of supporting the public insane of the State
| will be due 10 the superior economy of man
agement by State officials ard the concentration
| VI the insane in large asylums where tho cost
| Of administration is lcss. IL should be stated
that the State has expended over $500, 900 yearly
| in support of the State insane asylums for
good many years. The net increase therefore, in
| State taxation for the support of the State in
sane asylums is $500 900, and not 81 300 900, a.
| might be supposed
| ,ion OF thc cost Of maintaining the public insane
from Sl.70O, 900 to ST. 900 the best feature
in this reform of the management Of the interests
81 the most helpless class In the community.
| Miss Louisa Lee Schulcr and the other kind
hearted women OF the State Charities Aid Society
will rejoice To know that their long years of work in
nrousng the State 10 perception of the wretched
management Of the insane department Of the
| county poorhouses. a management which did not
give tho insane poor even the prctcnsc OF proper
medical treatment. sven II sufficient quantity
or quality of food has at last accomplished It's
aim. namely. the shutting up of the county insane
| poorhousc departments and the transfer Of their
| unfortunate inmates 10 the State hospitals. When
the State Charities Aid Society began it, agitation
three or four years ago. and exposed the barbarous
| treatment OF the insane poor in the county
asylnms, there were 2,2O0 patients of this class
IN these alleged "asyums' With hardly an
exception the county asylums were abominably
managed, and the insane poor lived in misery
In 1890, after a most energetic campaign by the
State Charities Aid Society, who were earnestly
supported by Governor Hill and by the State
Commission in Lunacy, the Legislature passed the
State Care act, directing that the insane poor
should be transferred from the county poorhouses
10 the State hospitals Under this act Messrs
Macdonald Brown and Reeves have been busily
engaged for year and half past in Transferring
the insane from the poorhOuscs to the State
hospitals, until now only 700 insane poor out OF
the 1900 remain in the county poorhouses. and
these 700 will be- In the State hospitals before
the beginning Of the fiscal year in October next.
The Legislature of 1890 also appropriated
SI54, 900 for tho enlargement OF the State nos
pitals, in order to accommodate the ?,2OO insane
Door who were coming 10 them from the county
-, h.,o h..n, pfln1u
the supervision Of Mcssrs. Macdonald. Brown and
Reeves in the construction of fine-ooliing two
story brick additions 70 the State hospital build
ings at Poughkecpsie, Utica Middetown and
Binghanton Accommodation has thus been pro-
yidcd for a largo proportion OF the 2,2oO insane
moor OF the county poorhouscs The 700 insane
who vet remain in the county poorhonscs OF
Erie. Oneida and Queens counties already have
rooms ready for them The 81. Lawrence Hos
pitaI will take 400 of these patients, the Hudson
River Hospital 800, the Utica Hospital so and
the Rochester Hospital l5O
A. already stated, one Of the cyccllencies OF
the State care system IL the economy OF manage
mcnt When the counties paid the bills the
trustees Of the State hospitals were not careful
to keep down the bills for the support of the
insane poor In their care. The state Commission
in Lunacy put a check to that by fixing maxi
mum price for the support of the insane poor. ana
this action has had the effect Of reducing the
Der capita cost of maintenance at the State hos
pitals thus lessening the bills Of the counties
for the support of their insane poor. The State
Care act thus has already saved large amount
Of money belonging to tho taxpayers of the State
In the table given below the per capita cost OF
maintenance ut the State hospitals for the years
1890 to 1892, inclusive, including the salaries
of the officers of these institutions, is stated:
Institutions. lS9O. loJl ioy- |
I'rica state Hosp - ~ OS W y
Hudson River Stat IIospal.....-.. D % D ~ oO9 |
MiddletOwn Strte Hospital o5 oOo ~
iuIao State IIosp't,l ..........." s1ss 4SSs az
Willard state IOsI - % 3Vf |
loSuita