St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-24

An official commission has recently
examined into the question of drunken
ness and its treatment in Great Britain,
says the Boston Traveller. Its inquiry
covered great range, and secured the
testimony and recommendations of
many physicians, police and prison Off
GERS, and others well qualified to discuss
the matter. The results of the commits
sions work have now been published in
Blue Book, ami are replete with inter
est. Sir Andrew Clark, for example,
expressed poor opinion of institutions
as at present conducted for the re-
clamation and cure of drunkards, and
thought it shame that England should
maintain them.
They were, he believed, especially
worthless for tine cure of women drunk
ards. The statement that from 80 to 35
per cent of the inmates we're cured was,
he thought inaccurate aud exaggerated.
physician, dealing with these cases just
as they happen to turn up. When the
vice has become habit it is difficult to
cure in men; 1t is all but impossible in
women. When taken early in hand
cures are Obtained in both sexes; but
even then the proportion in women is
painfully small"
The manager of one of these asylu ms
confirms this theory that women are
harder to cure than neil; perhaps be-
cause, he said, the man has more likeli-
hood of having an occupation to keep
his thought from the one subject than
a woman has.
Sir John Bridge gave police Justices
opinion on the subject OF the arrest OF
men for IntoXicaticn. 1t would, he said,
be positively wrong to summon to court
every man who gets drunk. "A man
may get drunk, | will not say without
blame, but III way that we would not
look upon as anything bad in itself"
AT present any one can bring such
eases as this before you if they chose?'
"Of habitual drunkenness - bad
drunkenness-no doubt they cam"
but in point of fact. 1t must res
with the police?'
1T must rest with the police, and
hey, think. should only do i'll III can,
my own opinion would be that they
should only do ton receiving such
sufficient information as to the real
habItual conduct of the mans drinking
as to make it proper for the superinten-
dent of police to take out summons
against that man."
ION the existence OF such notorlety in
each caSe?'
II do not think man should be sum-
moRed simply because he Is little
ToITERiNG IN HIS GAIT
as he walks along the streets, or any
thing of that sort: but where mans
habitual drunkenness has become real
evil to his family, or to the heIghbor-
hood. then they ought to do something
there.
I'm the case you put of a man being
drunk once or twice week, and going
home and beating his wife-that would
be an entirely different matter. L AIN
speaking of simple intoXication. lm
mediately man adds beating mis- wife
to it, it is a very different matter"
Another official view appears in the
testimony of Lieut.. Col. McHardy, the
Scottish prison commissioner. 'lt
would." he said, "be best for me to point
out that in Scotland the number of peo-
pie who have to be dealt with as Offend
ers for drunkenness is very enormous.
| think you will find that the proportion
of apprehensions in Scotland is very
much greater than IN England, for
crimes that are either pure drunkenness
or Immediately connected with drunken
ness. such as breaches of the peace"
''Jf course, you are not alludlhg,
when you say breaches OF the peace, to-
simple assaultS-aSSaults where there
IS bad blood and no drinking i'll the
question:"
II think they may be taken as synony-
nous with drunkenness; there are 1O5,-
N round tIpurpS ont of the whole
$50, 0O0 apprehenSionS. 1t is an enormous
proportion, you see."
1.-The 1901 covers every crime?'
tine 10000 covers every crime"
"LarcenieS and shoplifting, and ever
thing of that sort?"
Every crime, murder and everything
else. So that really drunkenness is the
great bulk of magisterial work and
prison work in Scotland"
On the subject of hereditary drunken
ness, Prof Clifford Adult. of Cam
bridge, said: 1.-The curious thing about
drunkenness is that it is SO generally
hereditary in that particular form as
drunkenness. With regard to klepto-
mania father
MIGHT BE 4 DIPSoMANIAC
and a child IN light be kleptomaniac.
| mean the malady might not appear in
the same form in that case. But
drunkenness generally comes in the
same form and manifestations; it ap-
pears not merely as general tendency
to insanity, but as special form of it. L
have been very much struck in practice
by the extraordinary drinking streak
which runs trough certains fam
where the members have not
had verv much association with