The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-31

4 HOME FOR BPILBP9ICS
It Would Greatly Bene-
fit Two Glasses of
Unfortunates.
WHAT Mr.. STOKES BILL DOES.
Provides for a Farm Where They
Would Receive Special Medi-
cal and Hygienic Care.
WHAT MR.. STOKES BILL DOES.
snscfal to the Jersey city Nes;s.

Z LIN, Jan. 81. lS96.-Senate Dill
NO. sc. introduced by Senator Stokes upon
suggestion OF the commission appointed
by Governor Werts to Investigate the con-
ditlon of epileptics in this and other
States. probably will become a law, and
a colony for those afflicted with the mall
ady will shortly afterward be established.
There are now fully two thousand epi-
leptics in the State. and many Of. them
are W in asylums for the insane
and feeble-minded. where the cost of
their maintenance is large. In the State
Hospital near Trenton there are nearly a
hundred of these patients in various stages
OF the disease. In such institutions they
are likely to infict injury to themselves
ana also to their associates.
The Introduction to the measure offered
by Senator Stokes states that these I'M
f~ortunates. who are denied means of sup
port In competitive labor, could, with
proper buildings and land. in time support
themselves in colony or village life. 1t
states also, that as a large probability of
cure or alienation rests with special
hygienic and medical care, every consid-
Grafton of economy. philanthrophy. health,
and the spreading of the malady by re-
production. demands immediate provi-
sions.
The measure provides h the Cover
nor shall appoint six managers of the coll
ony and that not more than three shall be
of the same political party. The mama
gers will receive no pay. but will be vested
with W to appoint a superintendent
and necessary assistants. The measure
provides for an appropriation of SIS. 600 for
the colony during the first year, and that
no more patients than can be cared for
with this sum shall be admitted. 1t also
~stipulates that no children under five
years of age shall. be received in the
colony, and that preference must be
given to patients who are not already
provided for elsewhere.
The word epilepsy is from the Greek,
and signifies ssSeize upon" The malady is
a disease of the nervous system. char
acterized by ~convulsive seizures ac-
companed by loss of memory The at
lacks are often begun by a waving sensa-
ton OF t1ngllng and ~nulnbness. proceeding
from a distant part. and the conyulsions
begin when the wave reaches the head.
In other cases the victim becomes un-
conscious and has no commissions; others
have commissions after cerebral hemor-
rhages. As the fit approaches some of
the victims utter a loud Shrek, others run.
and some mutter certain words. Long
affection. with the disease results in
mental En;alns detei = or r death: i 40
Epilepsy Is caused Dy QlSeaS6 OF the
brain and spinal cord; a morbid condi-
ton OF the ear; heart disease and other
Affections. The attacks usually last from
five to twenty minutes, and while the vic
late.
When seized with a fit the victim ex-
periences a loss of sensation n usu-
ally falls; the eyes and face become DIS.
torted. and the c~ountenance sun a
red, purple or violet hue. During the
first part of the attack the patient
difficulty. Upon recovering the patient has
no recollection of what has occurred,
and frequently suffers from headache,
oxysms blu little can be done for the
relief of the patient, except to loosen
the collar to prevent choking and to in
teeth to prevent injury to the tongue.
The popular treatment for epilepsy is
the administering of tonics, the re-
nsoval of exciting causes, care against
violent exercise, and a regular diet. Dis
section has thrown no light on the path
ology of the generation and method of
development of the malady.
AT the State Hospital near this city
there are about as many women as men
afflicted with epilepsy, and nearly all of
them are useful about the institution.
fore one attack is followed by another.
and in other cases patients have been
prostratsd nearly a score of times II
awaken know nothing of them.
Frequently an epileptic of unusually
bright intellect will pause suddenly in
the midst of a conversation and after a
slight twitching of the arms and rolling
of the eyes win utter the epileptic cry
and fall upon the floor. Attendants and
other patients quickly place him upon
his back, tear open his shirt, and after
placing a pillow beneath his head, leave
the patient undisturbed until the con-
vulsion has passed, and then he will
rise to his feet unassisted but with a
clouded mind.
The epileptic cry produces a ~frightful
effect the first time it is heard. The
sound usually is similar to that given by
mufled Shrek. Patients in falling often
cut their heads, and to prevent this
many in the State Hospital continually
wear caps padded in the back. Occa-
sionally an epileptic victim will tumble
over without uttering a sound and will
arise again in an instant without having
the patients are i'll tempered, n in
many instances create considerable ex-
element among their denfented asso-
ciateS.
Should the measure now pending in
the Senate become a law, the colony
for epileptics woul soon be established,
and their removal from the State nos
pitfalls would not only give greatly need
ed room for the insane, but doubtless
classes of unfortunates. The first year
of the colony would be experimental,
and if the results were gratifying there
is but little doubt that the institution
would be enlarged so as to admit all
who applied.