The morning news., 1899-05-11

drinking money Among those paid In
kind are fiumerous women VINO receive
premiums in the shape Of jewelry' trlnk-
cts. ribbons and The ike
Aside from their regular emp-oyiheht
;he friends enjoy almost unrestricted
liberty They may visit saloons, ana II
one announces his intention to travel the
landlord willingly helps pack his grip ano
sends him 20 the station with many gooa
wishes. The ticket seller, of course, fecog-
nizes his customer ana sells him etner
a worthless ticket that the ucket taker
confscates or keeps him waiting until
the train IS gone.
The saloon keeper follows similar mode
Of conduct. He has always one glass OF
beer. or wine or schnapps for a friend,
but no more. 1--WE just run out OF the
stuff and the next barrel won't be tap
ped til tomorrow" The whole popula-
ton works hand in hand to give the in
sane the Illusion of being entirely unre-
stricted. and these unhappy people stop
yearning for liberty because 1t seems al
ways at their elbow.
The result of this treatment, or absence
of treatment, is astonishing. An officer
of the state medical board told your COR
respondent that quite so per cent OF
friends" are cured, while all, almost
without exception, find relief and comfort
in Gheel Those that at home were raw
ing maniacs become harmless after two
or three weeks stay.
"The fact that we treat the insane like
reasonable beings impresses Itself upon
their sense of honor," continues the doc
tor. They make 1t a point TO behave,
and many give themselves up in the dan
gerous" district as soon as they feel an
attack coming on. After that Is over
they return TO their boarding house and
to their daily labors as cheerfully as ever,
and no one remarks upon their absence =
The tact of these peasants is, indeed,
wonderful. Even in conversation With your
correspondent they refused TO admit that
there was anything abnormal about the
mental condition of their charges. When
told that maniacs are generally regarded
with fear, they couldn't understand 1t.
why" they said, "all the friends car
ry Knives while axes, sledgehammers,
hoes, etc. are their every day too!s, and
yet the town annals have no record of
any act of violence committed by a
friend" in two centuries"
Occasionally" said the town pastor,
Rev Hoogstraeten, I'VE have violent
fellow, and then call IN the assistance of
the children. A neighbor of mine once
had a friend guest who insisted upon
smashing all the available crockery ev-
cry day or two. When persuasion failed
the woman gave him her baby to hold
the moment she saw an attack of frenzy
coming on. Mind your little sister well.
she said Don't break 1t, or God will
punish you 1t worked like charm,
and though since then hundreds of ba-
bes have been employed in the same fash
ion none ever got hurt.
A Sympathy Cure.
colder children are frequently used to
help mischievous friends by assisting them
in their crazy pranks and afterwards
receiving mock puishments for the trou-
BILE they have taken. That works upon
the lunatics feelings. and many have re-
formed for the children's sake.
Gheel has numerous lawn tennis and
bowling clubs. composed almost entirely
of lunatics Insane people perform every
Sunday of the year on the citys amateur
stage, and there are several good actors
and actresses among them A philhar-
monte society, the leader of which Is an
intermittent manac, gives most credita-
BILE concerts, and the male and female
choir of st. Dympna's Church is cele-
brated throughout the province for its
wonderful voices-all lunatics.
1t may not be amiss to emphasize in
conclusion that the methods now in vogue
are those adopted by the earliest set
tiers 500 and more years ago. While all
Europe was hunting insane people like
wild beasts-a practice legalzed in Eng
land by act of Parliament in 1873; while
Germany, in particular, treated her in
sane Kaiser, Rudolph, to irons, and Sc,
the public executioner and sworn tor
mentor to mount guard over him; while
thousands of victims Of melanchola and
hysteria were burned and fayed and brok.
en- on the wheel in all corners of the
world as witches and devil possessed
the last died in Madrid at the stake as
late as 1S26-the pious and good-hearted
peasants of Gheel adapted humanitarian
principles in dealing with their mentally
distressed brethren and sisters. The text
books do not record this, but ID is true
nevertheless.