The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-06
Az ALIEN1sT on MR. nRYAN.

departure in journalism and campaign
ing. An eminent alienist Gan alienlst
is physician who pretends to know
when other people are crazy out never
knows when he is crazy himselD has
written long letter to the Times in
which he seeks TO establish the fact
that Mr.. Bryan is going insane.
When a medical expert gives his
scientific ex parte opinion on any sub
ject. there is always certain 70 be a
tumble Of big words conveying little
or no meaning, in fact such an oDin-
ion Is usually a perfect example of the
old saw that languages chief use is TO
conceal thought. Here are a few ex-
tracts from the opinion of this "emi-
nent alienist"
It has been with professional rather
than Political interest. therefore, that 1
have watched Mr.. Bryan in his imi-
tatlon and expansion of the campaign
method SO disastrous to his predeces-
sor MIR. Bryan has not a good
hereditary history. At least il is stated
on the best of authority that his father
was a man who would be called a re-
Lglous fanatic and crank. When, for
example, he was judge in southern Hi
noIs. ne was accustomed to get on ais
knees and pray fervently for divine
Suleance before rendering his decisions;
If they were reversed it was the iudg-
ment OF the Almighty.
Bryan's history is characterized by
that restlessness and "errabund" ten
dency which IS recognized as indicating
The insane faint. He was a lawyer
who neglected or never gained a prac-
lice, Jedrnalist of questionable sue
cess, a congressman, a politician, a pro-
iessl.inal orator and agitator, an apostle
Oh an economic theory without ever
having a training in economics. This
Is his story. and it furnishes sugges-
lions Of an Unbalanced mind-of such
minds as with less moral feeling make
men who start revolutions and commit
crimes You viii thus see that
IN Mr.. Bryan's history one finds a bad
hereditary history, a life Of restlessness
and mental vagabondage, an intense
oVermastering and growing egotism,
grandiose ideas that are almost, if not
quite, delusional: a morbid querulous-
ness and sensitiveness to criticism;
nXed IDEAS about gold and silver, classes
ana masses, etc, that are not reason
able or reasonably defended, but are
passionately affirmed and reiterated: A
confused and illogical mental state,
and an oratorical monomanla growing
stronger as his voice grows weaker
ali combined with a constant exaggera-
ton Of statement and sophistication Of
facts that cannot but strike one as
astonishing in a candidate who must
know that all he says is carefully
scrutiaized.
Mr.. Bryan. in my opinion, is develop
ing into what Italian alienists call d
political mattoid, or what German
writers would call paranoia reforma-
toria. In a recent treatise on this
subject tEntarlung und Genie, p. 203),
l find this striking paragraph: In
the histories of mattoids, we find that
strong characteristic is the tendency
To assume kind of apostleship. united
with an unshakable belief in sheir dec
isrations and services rendered. And
this belief in times of political agita-
ton often leads the mattoid into promi-
nent political roles. He often possesses
certain tricks of thought and express
sion which men of sense and honesty
viii not or cannot use, but which
catch quickly with the Masses
Surely this applies well to the sup
port Of my diagnosis. The evil
y
a political mattOid, or a paranoiac re-
former, or a cranky and unmanageable
politician, is, I believe, strongly mani
fest. and is worth the serious attention
Of the American people.
That is pretty sorry stuff for any one
who is not himself mattoid'' or suffer
ing with "paranoia" to put forth. but
it is truly amazing to find that many
physicians of reputed good standing
should endorse this crazy view of one
Of the soundest men in the country.
Then Or. Frederick Peterson, of New
York, says:
We must rid our minds of the idea
that Mr.. Bryan is ordinarily crazy. To
call him SO would be unkind and I'M
just. He isn't that. But l should like
10 examine him for a degenerate l
am strongly convinced that he would
be found possessing some of the stig-
mata of degeneracy. 1 say l am con-
WINGED Of this because it would be
impossible to tell without an examina-
uon- But whether there is
anatomical stigmata could be deter
mined only by examination. l am in
clined TO think they would be so dis
closed.
DR.. Henry Smith Williams says: las
have said, no alienist could commit
Mr. Bryan to an asylum. I don't think
he is yet paranoiac, from what I know
of him, but he may not be far from it.
There are symptoms that he is not
How generous not to want to commit
Mr. Bryan to an asylum.
Here is the opinion, the learned and
unbiased opinion. of another physician,
DR.. W B. Pritchard of New York:
differ entirely from the idea that
Bryan is a degenerate. / don't see
that there is any ground for such a be-
lief. and l think he is anything but de-
generate. / rather agree with Alien
list that there are no symptoms of
paranoia. like the application of
The term paranoiac 10 Bryan. 1t is the
right fit. exactly.
According to Century Dictionary.
paranoia is "a chronic form of insan-
Ity, developing in a ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
constitution, presenting systematized
decisions of more or less definite scope.
while IN other directions there may ap-
pear a fair amount of mental health -
The latter part of the definition hits
it exactly.
Here is the opinion of DR.. Lewis A.
Sayre, the eminent authority on club
feet and crooked legs
1 endorse all that has been said about
Bryan being man with an unhinged
mind. / fully believe he's a paranoaic,
and is deluded over the silver business.
l read in the papers this morning a
declaration by some one that he thinks
he is destined to succeed: believes him
self man of destiny. That's one of
his decisions. This silver business,
this howl about The downtrodden. and
all that sort of business, is the result
OF delusion, which destroys a mans
capacity to take a rational view of
things.