Daily inter mountain., 1899-07-13
THE LARKIN HEARING.
AN EXPERT ON THE EFFECT OF
ALCOHOL TESTIFIES.

At Yesterdays hearing Of the Lar
kin case DR.. 1. d. Crothers, the superin-
tendent of the Walnut Lodge hospital for
inebriates at Hartford, Conn, was the
only witness. DR.. Crothers explained at
length the effect of alcohol on the brain
and nervous system and he believed that
Larkin was insane. He considered Lar
kins unsoundness Of mind to be of tho
gradual type which increased year by
year Some Of the experts testimony was
interesting. He said that where the in
dulgence in alcohol has been persisted in
for years, the substance and the struc-
ture of the brain becomes broken up or
deranSed. that is to say organic disorders
set IN. There may. be restoration of tho
brain power. That is some part of the
brain may become broken down, but an
other part may do it's work; wherever
there is organic trouble. there is mental
arrangement in some degree. Alcoholism
is a form of toxic insanity and it is dis.
tingushed by the periodic or continuous
use of alcohol. The continuous or per-
iodical use of alcohol to excess shows in
sanity of itself.
After considerable evidence of this ma
ture had been introduced, Attorney Corr
bett who was examining the witness in
| the interest of F. Aug. HeinZe, the ad-
mnistrato of the Lark.n estate, asked
! the witness:
| Assume it to be fact that for period
VI 10 years pIlOI W SOluS " III. w SAlo
hospital in 1894, Larkn had been addicted
to the constant and excessive use of Eq-
uor and adding to this the statement Of
his condition when he arrived at the hos
pital as given by DR.. Wells, what would
you say was Larkins mental condition?'
He was suffering from alcoholism-al-
coholic insanity"
! At the night session, DR.. Crothers said
that the condition of Larkin showed that
he had been of unsound mind for years
and that his condition had got worse as
the years passed by. He thought the im'
pairment of his mind commenced in 1891
and it went on down through the var
ious stages starting with alcoholism, then
deus.onal insanity and finally dementia
and death The case of Larkin, he said
presented a wonderfully exact picture or
the disease. There We're strong probabili-
ties that Larkin would be incapable OF
| transacting business in 1893. He might
be a BILE to do SO along accustomed or rOu-
tine lines. but not upon new and import
ant matters requiring concentration and
considerable thought. He did not think
that Lark.n in 1898 was capable of MAX
/ ing an important business deal under
! standngy so as to realize it's full import
DR.. Crothers, continued his testimony
a the morning hearing of the Larkln tes-
! timony He reiterated the opinion that
Lark.n's mental condition was such that
he could not transact mining deal ad-
vantageously to himself. "
| During the cross examina ton the doc
/ tor informed Attorney Harvey, one OF
E, the attorneys for the Butte & Boston
company that the institution of which he
was at the head was not Jag cure in
st;tution," but was devoted to the treat
ment Of nervous diseases. He said Lar.
kin suffered from alcoholic dementia anG
delusonal insanity, caused by excessive
drinking and the condition of his brain
| y NV
Ole poisoning. The expert then went into
a description of the awful effects of alcoh.
oil on the system and his discourse woulc
Ihave made glad the heart of Temperance
advocate. However, it seemed to have ne
perceptibe effect on the attorneys pres
ent. Just before Larkin's death he wa:
suffering from dementa. A man nigh
be suffering from alcoholic insanity. ant
one might engage him in conversation
and not notice his condition.