Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-04-14
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For tho Times. Republican.

FOR tho l1meS-Republtcan.
Grinnell, April IL Recently there app
.peared in the Springfield, Mass, Re
publican an article on Iowa's insane
problem. Some of the state dailies
have republished it and it is we'll worth
looking over. 1t is written with a
strong bias in favor OF county as
against state care of the insane. Ma
7turally 1t severely criticises Forest C.
Ensign's article incorporated in the
board Of controls report. What shall
low reasoning even the editor of big
.mugwump daily can indulge In Isl
shown in the following extract from the
article. Referring to the state hos
pitfalls he asks: Have they checked
the growth of insanity? Motor instead
of the 100 patients at Mt. Pleasant in
July, 1851, there were 81 last July
while at the second asylum Nndepend-3
s(Clarjnda) We're S51. while q were in
the state prison, 1,li7 in county asylums
and $50 in private asylums-tlle total in
the state being then 1856. Moreover
while fourth asylum has been build-s
ing for more than five years at chero-
kee, and Will apparently be seven
whole years in building, the insane In
the other three have Increased from
o.a52 in 1894 TO 2.797 in 1899, or more
than 100 year, so that in 1902 when
the new asylum is ready. the mere In
crease will have been some 800, or more
than the new buildings can receive"
Not word referring to the growth
OF population In forty years. Not an
admission that Insanity for some rea-
son experts admittlng) is increasing
the world over, all out OF proportion to
the increase in population. To get in
management against state Institutions
these things are omitted. But there is
food for thought in what follows:
$50
We'll, then, have these hospitals In
creased recoveries? No figures on this
point are given; but unless the exper-l
fence OF Iowa is very unlike that OF
New England. New York. Pennsylvania.
and the larger western states reported
recoNerles have diminished since 1870
and are steadily diminishing.
Have they given employment and
the greatest practicable freedom to the
incurabie insane? The few figures
given BY Mr.. Ensign might lead us to
thing SO were they not so whimsically
anomalous in their showing. General
|sly speaking. it is the chronic and not
the durable insane who can be en-
ployed; and SO we should expect the.
asylums which show the most incur
ables to give the mos, employment.
But at Mt. Pleasant. with only little
more than half t475 out of 911) report
ed f.hr In mr. rc ri "A .1,
ing while al Clarlnda. with So per
cent OF the patients cfronics, only As
per cent are working. against 20 per
cent in the first named asylum. This
shows that the statistics are made up
differently at the two establishments.
AS to freedom, Mr.. Ensign reports
independence The crib bed seems to be
used rather frequently, while restraint
straps are applied occasionally. yet at
Clarinda, where only As per cent work
as against 40 per cent at independence,
little restraint is used. and nothing is
said of the abominable crib bed-long
since banished from all good hospitals
But II this down east editor could
visit our county asylums. generally
called poor houses he could add to
his percentages on "incurables.''
.chronics." etc. II he could get at our
county supervisors and find the real
objects OF the country mad house he
would then know We make little or no
pretense Of curing the insane in the
county. mad house. On the contrary we
let out the medical care OF these poor
unfortunates to the lowest bidder. The
writer has mentioned before in this col-
ann where the care Of thirty-seven In
sane PATIENTS in addition to all OF the
jail inmates for the time being, and all
medicine necessary, was contracted foi
the period Of one year for $120. And this
contract was awarded to IA new doc
tor, the other physicians not caring
to compete at these figures. This editor
should also know that we are not only
80 enocomical in the matter OF county
medical care OF the insane, hut that our
county supervisors also figure to the
fraction of cent what each meal costs
for our county insane ana that the
county which can make the best show
ing In low priced meals and medical
care 10 the banner county Of the state.
The local paper publishes such news
with big head lines: "See how much
less we doctor and keep alive our i'm
sane than you do In x county. The
writer has never had a conversation
with any county Official on this subject
LOT care Of the insane but what this
teopnonidAl fsaturA VS. mentioned by
SID 0hlclat 10 orr dio6rs1o In lows
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