New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-07
INSANE PERSONS IN NOVELS
MAKING AN INSPECTION OF llARl- l-lAND
BIRDS FLY THROUGH CRACKS IL THE WALLS
ALL TIIr PAVIIlONS CROWDED.

III Rus II1 IHKclbn 'IsN' ho ~ mn wanna
ALI. THE PAvIIIoNs CROWDED.
When the dingy boat OF the Department Of Charities
and Correction. Minnchannock. left the dizzy depart
ment pier Yesterday morning. she had on board ONLY
a few passenger but they not the kind Of paa-
senccrs She usually carries. They The members
Of the advisory committee appointed by Mayor Grant,
and having examined Eackwelr. and Ward ISLANDS
Insane asylums yesterday % the worst place oi
all. Hart, Isand
with tho exception OF cX MAYOR Franklin fh-o
who was absent in Chicago, thos~ who mad, the in
vestgation SATURDAY week ago were all pre- cli
Yesterday. Elbridgc T. Gerry. Edward r. Barker. Of
the Tax Department William Lummis. ia; school
Commissioners. and oscar straus. cA Minister - Inr
KEY were all there promptly IL hafpast O'Clock IN
the morning. With them went Henri H. Porter. oi
the Department OF Charlie, and Correction. IL" j.
not member # the committee. but lie acted a guild
and sat.tiian Mr.. Porter l. well known = all the
insane patients Of the city, AMI when the party On
tered the wards number Of them lose. and would not
o content until they Lad received tpu'h oi h' hand
Ur ut least a Kind nod.
Bad a. condiiion, were on BLACKWELL, aud Ward 3
islands the commissioners knew they would ind a
much worse state Of affairs on aris Island. and They
were prepared e. meet -Omc shochilg iSu'. hn' tc
reality was 30 much than anything which they
had cApccted that they tirfcl homcward Vito genuine
relief when their tour OF in'pcciion va, done -
repnl>ivc. nauscatng. were the eApccnc', IN ch'i
ward that there an instructive hc-t 'ti"n bci re
the commi. ,lOnci, cared 10 enter the neat one IL
was a trip into another world. -IaSe fantastic ana
dreadful world where existence seemed as u It had
became a wcid dream.
on one side of tic Island there lis the dead panpcs
II the city. I'm silent thousands and on The other Hi
are almost 900 mupcfs. al hopcc.,iy Insane
huddcd together I'm drove. unprotected against CON-
wind or rain breathing the contaminated AR 81 oV"'
crowded unvcntatcd barracks some br,'fns silently
.tttsilf "a
or singing cfaAlv all crowded torchc.. Thci" are
ten pavillons on lIart's Island altogether li'" ~
thc-e cannot BE- called building, They would b" 1T
hardly for stables They built I'm l-Go. f. serve
Only ~ temporary barracks for the soldiers who were
then being recruited - Old. - rotten, 80 utterly
unfit for dwelling places they. that the bird, can
enter Them through the gaping cracks In their walls ana
the visitors saw sparrow, living about IN the waid-
Here and there the shy showed through great seams
The ,tovcppe in one ward projected through Il hole
i'm the roof which 80 large that the sunlight
poured into the ward 81, from window The plumbing
arrangements were beyond description. iithy, nasty
and sckonng. The great stoves adding the frgi'ini
danger Of fire. gave insufficient heat and only con-
taminatcd what was, at The best, extremely i) air.
The only drinking water - rain wafer aad the washing
is done with salt water.
one ward was like another In al these respects, ana
tho five paviliOns only be called five plague "Ia
which will leave their dreadful Impression Oh the
visitors minds for time 10 come. BESIDES these
pavons there two two-siOi5 brick buildings, one
two story wooden building and two one story wooden
buildings. Then there are f"ur Shantl", at tHe Tid
of the island where the insane men are kept. inc
other places are occupied by women. only TWO
nidne> are supplied with electric Hight and steam
heat Che Others are all described above, but even
i'm the best one 81 them ALL the ovcrcrpwdiiig i "N
RENE and the beds are placed within three inches ~
each other. III Pavilion > there are 30 patients.
There + room for only 80. In the new paviIo' bue
r I-s7 there are JiO patients. Wilh rom FOR Only
400 Altogether there $50 insane on the Island,
200 being men. and there j. room for only loOo
The work Of the Commission IL not vet ended,
however Next saturday II viii - I-liP and then
II NAV decide 10 examine the insane asy inHis OF the
entire STATE, for tn, pnrp0.e Of comparison.