New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-04
CARE OF THE INSANE.
MANAGERS OF THE UTICA ASYLUM TAKE
ISSUE WITH THE STATE COM
MISSIONERS


THEY DENY MIsMANAGEMENT. AND '''''i"
CREDIT FOR GOOD ADMINISTRATION OF
THE TRUST COMMITTED TO
To the Editor of The Tribune
Sir: In an article published in your paper u Wv
9th inst headed Care of the Insane soiie s''i
ments made which are not true anu o'".'9 q"
half truths. more deceptive and hardy icSS s
ing The notes for the article were eVIuei'is -"
nIshed by the members of the Lunacy Cpiii"i'''-',
who are anxious to be referred to as r'1oli"o Va
high degree Nothing could be pleasanter Tor theih
than to have their praises sung IN u' '"o"s
Republican paper Of the state. ana II i " ~
for which they are always ready 10 iuii's, .,i
and music. We have no fault to find with 'heir
successful efforts at blowing their own noi .,
long as they do not do so at the expense Vi o''e'
mems regulations. ,
Commissioner Reeves is quoted as SAVING 'ha' W.
have found State Hospital superintendent leeI "s
numerous relatives. cousins. aunts ana hePheM'
at tables supplied by the state. From these ina
have c,t or maintenance. They "have also de-
c,ncd TO consent TO a largs number OF people at
tached 10 the hospitals having horses anu caiiiibH
at least at the States expense. faliuEe 10 Sp'N
ify where II anywhere this is going on serves 10
cast suspicion upon ALL and 1t Is an nninahY anu
undiscovered nsnuation. We have been familiar
with the Utica State Hospital for six or seven
wears and say, of our own KNOWLEDGE t''a'
the superintendent. DR.. G. Alder Bluiner, has never
boarded any persons but his wife ana childreh al
his table nor has any one kept horses In his barh
We have personally known Superintendent Pilgrim.
formerly at Willard and now at Poughkeepse, ana
Superintendent Wagner, of Binghamton, Tor az
many years, and they have committed no such
offence. We do not believe tina; DIS Andrews
Wise. Tacott. Kellogg or Howard are more hapi-
to criticism than the others. Why then should 80
eminent AN authority as Commissioner III LunaCy
offer such wholesale insnrati9ns knowing iu.'
we'll that they groundless? II Is, note ~
casting suspicion upon All the noo vide open
suspect that knowing these abuses ,ney ngs
lected to remedy them II the COMMISSIONS WEI Tnr
nish a bill OF particulars along with their com,
plant. The managers of the Utica state HospNa'
In the same article Commissioner Macdonald SAYS
the Commission i enforcing pScy That al was done
successfully at tea long before me State accord
ing to the interview, that patients should be som
PEELED to work At Utica the patients nave always
their health though the officers have sought always
to remember that insane persons are not cohyicis
interesting to compare the Commissioners views
to-day with those embodied in their hrst ahh"a'
!fsnorance Of this fact oha: the insane are
led to the belief that insane could regularly
perform manual labor without detrmen IN i laG.
claimed that the exhibitions of strength and en-.
ergy. which insane persons often dspay' ,hi ,bis
it may be said that many apparently, able-bodesd
patients are. by of their condition wholly
their WILLINGNESS even desire to engage in labor
o to their Sr and ossb DESTROY
the chance of their restoration to reason Sncn
sS essa nnd espesy in the ne Of
that calculated to repress their morbid energ4
assume that such cases are suffering, only from
@se Of Of e h D0dy
Again page 81 OF the same report:
only a few Of the insane can be trusted to
labor f. not the primary object to be sought in
institution for the insane although 1t becomes an
peS Hence It Should oy be to an
tent that w nl b DO 'ns Of mna labor
OF any Kind would be liable TO destroy all chances
institutions in this respect cannot be too strongly
condemned The labor there performed Is without
done by patients who not in a condition to
labor. Notwithstanding they may appear to be so
to the unskilled Observer.
Then again. In the secon annual report. page 145:
None Of the insane can be compelled to VOL
as a% he Sonved ons and compel them to
labor"
sions anti-obacco crusade the extravagant state
\ ment of the amount of money thus saved to the
received from seven of the eight State hospitals.
Ss shs foT this ITEM for
pita averages 81 toai expenditure Ior tne eignr
year per capita. instead Of total expenditure OF
$4,000. as alleged by Commissioner Macdonald
Moreover. this corrected estimate includes large
quantities Of tobacco for which the institutions
were reimbursed by attendants and patients.
The whole tenor Of the article Of November q Is
that Of a sur and insinuaton upon managers and
superintendent which fair degree Of self-respect
cannot permit 20 go unnoticed The Commission
Is Capitalization of power, and Is putting into
three mems hands more authority than was hnh-
erio intrusted to the several boards OF managers
If any manager, any superintendent or any board
proper to publish that fact but ia neither disn
is,d decent by generalization 10 indulge In whole
sale defamation The Tribune. sure would
be the last paper knowingly to grind any such
GEORGE BARNARD
CHARLES s. SYMONDS,
THOMAS F. BAKER,
GEORGE u. Dl'NHAM.
WILLIAM NJ GIBSON,
W. STUART WALCOTT,
p V ROGERS.
T.. STUART WILLIAMS,
JOHN ". MACLEAN.
Managers OF the Utica State Hospital.