New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-29
THE INCREASE or INSANITY.

=
Insanity is commonly said to be increasing in
frequency That is one of the symptoms. or per-
haps results. Of lattcr-day degeneration. The
vast progress made In science ana the arls, me
ACQUISITION of wealth. the accelerated rush OF in
dustry. the keen competition in almost every
walk Of lifc the ccasclcss quest for pleasure the
living Of three lives in the time Of one, are AL
we are told, making lis a race of ncurotics, and
enormously recruiting the army OF actual mad
men That the circumstances complained of do
exist is doubtless true though probably not to
The extent imagined. That the result Of them
Is any marked increase in the number of lunatics
l. decidedly open 10 question
Here for n witness. Is the report, just pub
lishcd. Of the Commissioners in Lunacy for Great
Britain 1t apparently shows II Is true. steady
increase in the actual number and in the pro
portion Of insane persons during the last quarter
of a century. In 1869 the ratio OF such was al
10 100000 Of population, and in 1874 II was
.,SS TO 100000. That is not. on the face OF IL,
a great Increase yet ii is large enough, IL real'
to excite serious concern. But Is 1t real! Few
who have studied the progress of pubic ana pri-
yatc care for the insane will say 1t Is In the iirst
place. the number Of old-age patients. in pro-
portion to the whole, has greatly Increased. Ihey
suffer not really from insanity. but merely from
senility Formerly not so many lived TO slcl
age or II they did. they were cared for by their
families at home. Now they are sent to asylums
and help TO swell the apparent roll OF the insane.
So too. In the next place, many other persons,
Young and old. who are suffering from mld
forms Of INSANITY. are now sent 10 asylllns VINO.
I'm earlier wears. would have been cared for pri-
yately This is due 10 the fact that asylums
have been so much improved that the public re-
gard them now not as prisons, but as pleasant
refugees for the afflicted. The patients are far
better off in them than they would be anywhere
else. The official census Of the asylums, there
sore shows an increase; but the census OF the
Insane not in such institutions shows a CORE
spending decrease. The total remains about sta
tonary
Such is the case in Great Britain, where the
conditions of life are in general as conducive to
mental alteration as they are here. Indeed, If
we are to Judge by the artificalitics Of social
life 6y the passion for pleasure. and by the pro
fuse appearance of 'decadent literature the
English are somewhat less sane than Americans.
Should such a scrutiny of the insane population
here be made its result would probably be rs
hopeful as that which we have quoted II not,
the unfavorable fact might well be due to cir
cumstances which really are not pertinent To the
case That is to say, there have been shipped
INTO this country in recent years thousands or
more or less insane foreigners, who are now
swc' ng the population of our asyluns. But
tlei essence does not prove insanity In America
70 % increasing. The legitimate inhabitants Of
the United States are not on the down grade OF
reason.