The Portland daily press., 1895-02-06
CARE OF THE INSANE.
What the States are Doing-The Supple
mental Cottages-Other Systems.

| The Estate Care Actn of New York,
which became law in 1890, provided
that "inexpensive, detached buildings of
moderate size shall be erected on the
grounds of the existing State insane
asylums of sufficient number to accom-
modate all the pauper insane now IN
the poorhouses and almshouses of the
State. with the exception of those in
New York, King and Monroe counties
The buildings shall each accommodate
| not less than ten nor more than $50
/ patients. an the cost Of buildings with
equipment, including heating, lighting,
ventilation, fixtures aud furniture, shall
not exceed $3.50 per CAPITA" In accord
ance with the provisions of this act eight
cottages were built at the Hudson River
Hospital in 1899.
/ They were occupied In 1853. Each cot
/ tage is two-story with accommodation
/ for thirty-six patients. They are con-
structed of brick the outer walls being
built hollow, SO as to do away with the
necessity Of framing, the partitions OF
| brick, the stairs of slate, the buildings
/ lighted with electricity, and heated by
steam. This hospital has 1850 patients.
At the Binghampton State Hospital
where there are nearly 1900 patients,
there was built in 1892 brick building
on the main hospital grounds to accom-
modate 112 women. The trustees say
"This bnilding was completed within
the appropriation of $3.50 per capita pro-
vided under the State Care Law, and its
wards, with their pictures, window
! eh n o handsome
niture are today the most comfortable
and homelike of any in the premises.
On farm belonging to the hospital
where there were already two cottages
occupied by patients frame bulidlng
was built for 80 women The trustees
say: "The frame cottage at the farm
was erected at a cost of less than S4ou
per capita, and is equally comfortable"
AT the Middleton State Homeopathic
HOSPITAL two small cottages were built
in 1891, In 1894 the trustees recommended
that a new building for males Tor l@2
patients) be built, to cost s75, 600, and
two cottage hospitals for women to cost
$25, 900.
Gen. Rodeff Brinkerhoff, one of the
foremost men in phiIanthropic work in
the State Of Ohio, says: There never
will be any more large Kirk bride
asylums built; the new asylums will be
built after the cottage system, of which
1
That asylum stands today the gloly OF
Ohio as to its system" "Out of twelve
or thirteen hundred people at Toledo
eight hundred meet toget her in common
dining room and it is as secure and quiet
as possi BILE. You would not know but
you were at hotel,nn A correspondent
of the Portland Transcript of Oct. 2G
1s93 gave an interesting account OF a
visit to this institution from which the
following is an extract: Instead OF
finding large area surrounded by a
high wall and iron gates, there was an
open lawn, acres in extent. frightened
here and there by beds of bright flowers.
Away up the neatly kept walks and
driyeWays | looked expecting to behold
a mammoth granite building like Jail,
but I saw collection of what appeared
to be two-story brick houses along an
avenue, small church. or chapel with
pretty stained glass windows, and an
other extensive building containing
kitchen and dining rooms. In thu cen
tire of this group Of buildings was the
largest structure of all, artistically de-
; signed, containing the office headquar-
} ters, parlors and reading rooms. The
houses had small piazza at the front en-
trance whose pillars were covered with
.. woodhi There were shade trees III
, abundance on either side of the main
, avenue, and the whole scene presented
stantial village.
.. There are torty-two of those cottages
having fl ON thirty eight to fifty inmates.
Each cottage has two attendants. One
of the cottages is occupied by inmates
who are at liberty to 60 in or out as they
desire"
| The superintendent of the Asylum
3 says in the tenth annual report for
1889: when we consider that since the
opening OF the institution thero have
been 2,G3S admissions, 2,72l of which
, were first admissions, and that the aver
age mum ber resident for five years past
has been ZIG, and that for more than
two and half years there has not been
an accident of any kind, and but four
suicides in all have occurred in the his
tory of the institution, one of which has
happened to a person having tie prlvl1-
ege of the grounds I feel that the con-
clusion is almost justified, paradoxIcal
as it may appear, that the course pur-
sued in allowing SO large liberty To
patients has had tendency to lessen
rather than increase the liability to Vlo-
lent acts"
In Michigan the plan of adding to eX-
isting institutions inexpensive detached
buildings seems fully esta hllshed. Inc
colony at Kalamazoo has been described
iu these columns. AT the asylum at
Traverse City there were at the last
renort $50 patients of whom over 400
we're in detached buildings. In 1888 a
cottage for $50 men and one for 81
women were built at cost respectively
of s2s, 500 and 81, $50, including heating,
lighting fire protection and furnishing.
These buildings are of stone. two-storied.
At the asylum at Pontiac two two
storied brick cottages were built i'll 1883,
each accommodating SO patients at an
expense of $50, 600 for both. The State
of Michigan has also provided, for the
erection of fourth asylum at New berry
upon tract of 400 acres OF land donated
to the State for that purpose. The act
of the legislature relating to this pro-
yides. "Tbat the entire cost of said
as1Jum. which shall be built on the COT
taee plan shall not exceed, when COM
plete!y finished, roads, fences and out
huildings the sum of seventy-five thOus-