St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-04-04
HART IS SCEpTICAL
THOSE CHICAGO REPORTS ABOUT
INSANE PEOPLE REGARDED
WITH SUSPICION.
IF JENSEN'S STORY is TRUE
THERE HAS BEEN A MISTAKE, FOR
MINNESOTA ISN'T UNLOADING
INSANE.
OTHER STATEMENTS DOUBTED.
In the Alleged List of Lunatics Sent
From Iowa One Was a Profess
siOnaI Tramp.
IF JENSENS STORY is TRUE
STATEMENTS DOUBTED.

Chicago The telegram related that the Chi
cago detention hospital had just received an
insane patient in the person Of M. A. Jensen,
young man, whose chief evidence of insanity
was his unwillingness to rise either early or
late from the luxury of a boarding house bed.
Jensen related that he had been shipped to
Chicago from the Fergus Falls hospital for
the insane, that he was accompanied to st.
Paul by an attendant Of the hospital and
that he was denied the privilege of going to
his old home in Grant county. The Chicago
authorities were reported to be much annoyed
over Minnesota's action in the matter, espe-
cially as dozen insane people from Iowa had
been received in the Windy City few days
before.
Mr.. Hart said that an insane man wasn't
very good authority for any story; but that, if
he told fact, it was one founded on an &C.
cidental mistake at Fergus Falls. 1--WE never
send our insane people out of the state in
tentionally," continued the secretary, ''nor
do we care to receive the insane from other
states. Minnesota takes better care of it's in
| sane than any state in the Union. There is
not. in fact single other state that provides
a state institution for all of it's insane, as we
do here. New York is trying to rise to the
| NAAAA-oeo SeoAuoio, gnu AeS pcSSSu q law
that all it's insane citizens shall be cared for
by the state, but the law has not yet become
applicable to New York city OF Brooklyn
cover in Wisconsin, they put all their in
| sane people in public institutions, but the in
situations consist of two state hospitals and
thirty county asylums. county sends its in
sane to the state hospital for experimental
treatment. If the hospital finds that it can't
cure the patient, he goes back to the county
and Is placed in the county asylum which is
! intended for people whose wheels are wound
for all eternity.
Il received a letter from Nebraska the other
day that said the state had more crazy peo-
pie on hand than 1t could care for and that
every county jail and almshouse almost had
stray crank or two to look after. That's how
1T is pretty near everywhere outside of Min
nesota. A few insane patients go to the state
hospitals and the balance are cared for
badly as a general thing-in the county ials
and poorhouses. But in Minnesota the most
liberal provision is made for the insane. The
state will provide without exception for every
citizen that pretends to understand the cur
rency question. Not only that, but we have
a law, you know, that anybody who comes
into the state with the intention of becoming
permanent resident and then goes insane
with delight over the prospect is cared for
here and not returned to the benghted re-
gion that sent him forth.
81 don't think Chicago ought to make faces
| at our people in view of the fact, familiar to
| the board Of control of this city and familiar
| to the authorities all over the state, that Chi
| cago itself has been in the habit of sending
| every pauper that was found de trop right up
| the Northwest Dozens of 'em have been re-
| ceived in st. Paul. Not insane people, who
| didn't know whether not they grew on a
! tree, but intelligent persons whose only fault
| was that they looked to Cook county instead
| of ~ hef 1arp rad fOr hair raj
| ment and nutrition. Now, why isn't pauper
! as undesirable in commerce and society an
| insane man, and why should we adopt Chica-
| go's prodigal sons?
| "Of course, it's very possible that an oc-
| casional insane person is actually sent away
| from the state, but it will be found that
| there's some good reason for it, and it's
never because Minnesota wants to get rid
| of her charges. For example, 1t was only
| few weeks ago that my attention was called
| to young woman at St. Peter. She had
! been there fifteen months. But she had
| friends in Detroit Mich, who wanted to
| take care Of her, and she was very anxious
| to go to them. Well. we sent her back to
her old home but we weren't trying to I'M
1 load her upon Michigan.
Our state law, by the way, is often
rather hard upon some people, from the very
| fact that all citizens have equal rights in
| our asylums. Quite recently the guardian of
wealthy young man asked my advice as
| to his ward, who is insane. The young fell
| low travels about with private nurse or at
| tendant, and is ordinarily no more insane
| than political orator. But occasionally he
| loses all sembiance to sanity and then unless
| he's allowed to indulge his eccentricities. he
| complains that he is deprived of his liberty,
Thls brings up visions of habeas corpus
| suits and the like, but the guardian didn't
| want to send the young man to a state hos
ha Iad
| nurse there and special accommodations.
| Ihis couldn't be allowed even for the $50 or
$50 week that the guardian was willing to
/ pay. Whether insane over the loss of an
helress, hancee or Of a job on the street
clearing force, every citizen must be treated
alike. Yet in the hospitals at st. Peter
p9Sgsstsf sna Fergus Falls we n9w have
| at the rate of 200 year. came bacL toda1
from Faribault. The school for the feeble
ninded there has now 465 patients and an ad-
uitlon Will soon be completed that will con.
tai9 10y more But already there have bean
appncatlons received from relatives Of 170
people VINO are unable to make any estimate
~ o NIhinieys chances. In most states
scarcey any provision at all is made for tba
| feeble minded III 'ne
we nave as much right to complain as anv
state over cases where insane people from 9th.
ei states nave been thrown on our hands Phi
"ouldt like to say that there was in every
one OF these cases deliberate intention ~
sadie the patient upon Minnesota I ren,en.
her the Window Smasher," as she wos
called, Marie Kicks, or Sweeney She belongs
properly in Wisconsin, but she has been IN
all OF our hospitals and in two of them twice
Perhaps she isn't really insane, but they
seemed to have sent her here to GET rid q,
ner. Then, there was a half blind fellow sent
to st. Paul by Wisconsin county to have HIS
eyes treated here. The county paid for the
treatment at first, but after while the fellow
was sent to our state institution for the blind.
Not few folks whose sons and daughters
are feeble-m minded, and the parents realize It.
seem to come into Minnesota, Just so that the
exceptional children, that know less than their
parents, can be sent to our Faribault fflstitu-
ton. There isn't anything like 1t in the sur
rounding states.
"As to that story in the G o b telegram
about the dozen 1unatfes shipped to Chicago
recently from Iowa. / doubt the statement
very much. The original story in the Chicago
papers gave the name of man whom know
to be a professional tramp. He's scarcely in
sane at all, but he pretends to be when the
weather gets cold He has been in several of
our hospitals. Besides, the papers said that
each one of the dozen patients was dropped
from the every block or two as the train
entered Chicago. Now anybody who is ia
nliiiar with the Chicago railroads can guess
that was pure imagination"