Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-12-29
County Asxlum.

papers OF the county, Wnicn we tnlnk
good thing to bring the matter fairly before
the people tor thorough ventilation. For
the last twelve years we have been some
what of crank on this subject. When
we first brought this matter before the
Board of Freeholders about twelve years
ago it met with so much opposition we
began to look ourself over and wondered
il we were becoming insane on the
matter Of County Insane Asylum. but as
time passes we find if we were insane then
we are having lots of company now, not
only in this county, but in Atlantic, Cum
berland, Mercer aud many other counties
of the state.
INSANITY appears to have been of rarer
occurrence in ancient than in later times
and il is also seldom met with among
primitive peoples of the present day. The
occupation of both men and women in
antiquity was not of character calculated
to excite cerebral disease even if the pre-
disposing causes had been present, II is,
however, a matter of doubt, whether insan-
ity can be induced without pathological
basis, the tendency being to the opinion
that it can not. The earliest references to
mental disease in antiquity are the mad
ness of Saul, the feigned madness of David,
and that of Ulysses, Immediately before the
Trojan war. Although several instances of
real or feignsd madness are mentioned by
the ancients. Their writings contain no
account of any institution devoted to the
care of the insane, nor any laws for their
protection. The first institution for the
insane was esta blished in the East. tits
SAID that one existed at Jerusalem in the
year 49l. In 1870 there were no the United
States 81 insane asylums. 3 of that number
being county asyiums-two in New York
and one in st. Louis, Mo.
In the year 1847 Trenton asylum was
opened with 653 inmates now, 1897, it
has 987, Morris Plains has 1909, and in
county ssylums in New Jersey 1915, maxi
ing total in New Jersey of 354l.
In spite of all we can do insanity is in
creasing, and as insanity increases the ex-
pense of keeping them increase. Then
when the burden of expense becomes heavy
to the counties they begin, as they should
do to see how is the best and cheapest way
to maintain them. Some counties cOnclud
ed several years ago to have their own
asylums We congratulate them for build
ing when they did. We notice in the Con-
stitation of Nov. Both, 1898, an article on
County Asylums signed "a Tax Payer"
He mentions in his article that if some of
the projectors had hearts as large proper
tionately as their bodies they would not
urge the county to save taxes off the unfor-
tunates.n In the Constitution of Dec. 7th,
an article signed Geo. G. Weatherby,"
defends his size and heart and thinks ii
"Tax Payer" has brain correspondingly
large to his heart and body and has inves
81 he aocifu hn en-
Gloucester county can save from $4,000 to
5000 yearly, and the poor unfortunate
inmates not be made to suffer in the least
by the change" In the Constitution Dec.
2lst, TAX Payer answers Geo. G. Wealth
erby." He says, Il intended 40 PERSONAL
ties; my only motiveis to do what is best for
the helpless, the only true light is to place
ourselves in the same position. Mr.. W.
says Gloucester county's insane can be
maintained in the county for from $4,000 to-
$4,000 less per year than at Trenton. How
can any person, with humanity at heart,
have a desire to keep fifty invallds on such
a paltry sum. Better study the Golden
Rule,n etc.
We want to say, Mr.. Carpenter, we know
by what we have seen of Mr.. Weatherby
that his heart is all right; his humanity
at heart we believe to be all right, and bis
figures on saving to the county is all right
maybe too low. But we are afraid 'Tax
Payer" does not understand his case when
he speaks of keeping fifty on such paltry
sum, SO I will endeavor to help him out.
At the present rate, to keep fifty patients
at Trenton Asylum costs the county
about So 25 each per week. Fifty patients
one week, $l62 SO; fifty patients. fifty-two
weeks, or one year, $S,4500 90
Now if we had County Asylum, with
the above fifty inmates, the State would
pay us So 90 per week for each patient, or
Tor fifty patients 500 per week, and for
fifty -ty7o weeks or one year SIS 200 90
Adding the above $3.50 90 kept at home
by having County Asylum, makes total
of $i3, $50 90 to run the County Asylum
without the tax payers paying any more
tax than they pay now. Not paltry sum
to keep fifty on Even if we take out of
that sum So $40, YOU have $4,000 left for
running the Asylum for one year,
As we have said above, we have been an
agitator of an asylum for Gloucester county
for about IL years. We have visited Tren-
ton asylum and Camden county asylum
as one of the committee on building
asylum, and we can speak in the highest
terms of the Camden county asylum, and
as Mr.. Weatherby says, if AJAX Payer"
will visit Camden county asylum without
prejudice, and will figure the cost, and
give the matter serious consideration as he
speaks about, we think he will say county
asylum too.
If we had been built IL years ago, when
the matter was first agitated, counting an
even fifty inmates all the time, we would
have kept in
Gloucester county, SOL 10000
Received from State, 62,400 90
Total $163, 800 90
This amount of money would nearly all
have been spent and kept in our county
instead of going out Of 1t. When we look
we'll to our own interents we look well to
our county's interest, and then to the State,
and SO on.
THOMAS C. DILKEs.
Mantua Dec. 9th '9S.
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OBITUARY.