Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1898-05-25
WISCONSIN InBEClLnS.
Burnett" Visits the New Insti-
tuition at Chippewa Falls.
THE CHILDREN sine ron aims

are. therefore. between 5000 and 1000
ouch persons in Wisconsin. In the state
institution. located two miles from
Chippewa Falls, are s4F of Item 1t
is expected hat in perhaps ten years
there will be 1000 inmates. 1t will
then be the largest institution in the
state. There are more criminals than
feeble-minded; and there are more in
sane. But the wicked repent Cor at
least serve out their terms); n Is per
cent. of the insane recover. but no n
whose brain cells are wasted, can eve
strike twelve"
THE bird with the broken pinion can
never soar again."
In hopes of an incident to enliven
this article l asked DR.. A. w. y'ilmarth,
the superintendent, If he had ever
known an inmate of such an institution
to rally, to achieve fame; to do the
world some great stroke.
He said he never had.
/ arrived at Chippewa Falls between
5 and 9 o'clock in the morning. Super
~intendent Wilmarth drove me to the in
stitution. Ii Is on a tract of 1,022 acres.
Why? First, to keep curious people at
a distance. second, TO afford room for
| farming. 1t is the one thii.s these un-
fortunates are best fitted for. The rule
is one acre to a patient. The grounds
| were formerly q pleasure resort. There
/, Is an observatory, up. which you may
| climb and get a. royal view. The in
stitutton tract is q little empire. One
side is two and one-quarter, miles long.
We all remember the contest of a num-
Der of cities to. secure this institution.
1 1T got so hot that Governor Upham
washed his hands of 1t, and the board
Of control were glad to throw 1t off on
Professor Henry, the agricultural school
man. He ruled for Chippewa Falls.
Some of the soil is sandy. You can
see it. 1t will make you smile, as 1t did
the rival cities. But it is noble potato
soil, and there are 400 acres that are
said to be very choice. The other day
twelve of the boys were dropping po-
tatoes under the convoy of the boss
farmer. They planted an acre an hour.
Forty acres are being planted in this
way.
Has Dissected 100 Brains.
The head of this institution is DR.. A.
w. Wilmarth. He is an expert from
Pennsylvania. He is a gentle, little
man with the students stoop, and at
tracts attention at the national on
ventions where enthusiasts in imbecii-
ity are wont to congregate. He was
Observation-Disclosures, studied medicine
In Albany and practiced for four and
one-half years with nervous diseases as
his speciality. He was for eight years
assistant superintendent at the Eiwyn,
Pa, institution. and for d year acting
head of that aggregation OF 1000 Inn
beetles. while Dr. Kerlin was In Eu-
rope. Then for Ave years he was sen
Tor assistant Of the NorristoWn, Pa,
insane asylum. with its 1000 patients.
His speciality is the pathology OF, i'd
iocy and he has written on "Heredity,'
but his great work sums up the dissec-
ton of 100 brains of idiots.
There is about an even number OF
males and females in the institution,
and they range all the way from 4years
to 40, though as a rule merciful death
cuts short the lives of these unfor-
Inmates of the lower grades between
the ages of 20 and %. You rarely see
an old idiot. Not until 1900 was any
attempt made to do anything for i'm
beetles, and that in France, In 1918, In
Hartford, Conn. a few were, gathered
together in the school for mutes. Or
ganized work, however, dates from
about 1S47, and now there are in the
United States twenty-one state insti-
tutions.
What Causes Idiocy9
Imbecelity may be traced to ID her.
edity, which prevents proper develop
ment of the brain; and t2) from dis
a.e0r n q Ntat FaxtaT eta ~ obilJraa
which destroys parts of the brain. lii
the latter it is a misfortune. not a
fault. Indeed. persons of fine organiza-
ton, over-worked and enfeebled, may
by marriage with other enfeebled tenn
peraments, become ancestors OF feeble
minded children; and accidents and
misfortunes lead. to the same result
but drink and vice. are too often the
cause. Over half the cases are from
hereditary causes-a terrific argument
for the shutting off Of the supply by
vigorous measures. At the Chippewa
Falls school are many relatives; three
sisters are n group. | saw two twir
brothers, with an enormou distance
between the eyes--which led DR.. viii.
marth to explode the theory that it al.
ways means large brain capacity. 81
don't be respondent If your eyes are
set neal together.
One woman in Pennsylvania has beer
the mother of seven feeble minded
children. The girls have all borne ille-
climates and all defective children. A
number of the females at Chippewa
Falls nave had equal misfortune, and
the economic value to the state of shut
ting these mothers away is obvious
The distinction between the feeble
minded and the insane is clear cut. II
Is a matter of ages. The feeble-minded
either by heredity or disease, were az
fected in the mind before 1t developed;
they have never acquired knowledge
The insane once had 1t and lost IT,. A
feeble-minded chile In the home Is
usually an unfortunate influence. II
most takes the mothers sympathy. to
the exclusion of the others. and casts a
depressing influence on the others.
The plant is on the cottage system,
There are two handsome buildings, one
for $50 males and zoe for $50 females
and a smaller cottage for eighty young
err children. The state has thus fat
spent SITS, 900. Each has a female ma.
iron, and as Or. Wilmarth has nct thus
far been bothered by political claims,
the staff are earnest, diligent workers
and cooperate tremendously under the
efficient superintendent. In the barn
are ten horses and thirty cows, and
there ] saw the older boys at work un-
der their attendants.
The superintendent, with his wife and
little SCI, has comfortable living quar-
tiers in one of the cottages, and while
the steward, Captain c.. K. Erwin oil
Tomah, lives in a house apart, the doc
tor must be at hand when needed al
night. There are four teachers in the
school department, and a kindergarten
and forty-two attendants. for it mus
be remembered that there are two
kinds of feeble-minded, the tractable
and the custodial. A great any are
helpless, one-third of the total number
requiring assistance. Some are paral-
yzed and unable to hear; others unable
to dress themselves or eat, or perform
the simplest function unaided. The sci
entific way in which DIR. Wilmarth is
initiating this work-for the institution
is but one year old--is Shown by TIE
importing of two trained teachers from
the Illinois institution for imbeciles-
Miss Collins, of twenty years expert
ence. and Miss Thompson, seven years.
In each custodial ward are thirty-six
Inmates, three attendants dividing the
twenty-four hours between them. The
unfortunates can be left alone.
Some are dangerous. / saw one at
tendant with a black eye and a patient
ditto. As a rule. however. the inmates
-