The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-22

The recent case OF capt. LOUIS ostHeih
and the manner in which he met his death
in what is now believed to have been
temporary fit of insanity, during which
he shot himself, calls attention to some
startling statistics regarding the prevail
enc. of mania in the Philippines. as shown
by the records of the War Department.
These records show that from May l.
1898 to April /, 1900. there have been
eighty-three suicides in the armies of the
United States, nearly everyone due to in
sanity and most of them Of men who had
served in the Philippines. During the
same period nearly loco soldiers have
been shipped from their posts in our new
possessions to the Government Hospital
for the Insane in this city. OF these about
90 per cent have come from the Philip
pines. Since December ! last, there have
been twenty nine suicides there, ali due
TO insanity. Strange to say the rate OF
insanity and suicide continued normal
during the war with Spain, but during the
Philippine campaign it has been steadily
increasing until now General Otis reports
more suicides a week than deaths in ac-
ton. the figures showing an average of
three per week.
Up to date seven officers have bown
out their brains in efforts TO escape from
the decisions of insanity following the
effect upon them of the hardships and
climate of the Philippines. par ticu-
larly sad instance was the death OF Lieut..
Louis P. Weber, of the Forty-second In
fantry, L. S. A. Lieutenant Weber while
one of the youngest officers in the Army,
had served with distinction throughout
the campaign in Cuba and later enlisted
in one of the regiments equipped for ser
vice in the Philippines last snmmer. lie
landed in Manila on January ! last, and
two months later shot himself with his
revolver His mind had become unbal-
anced by the tortures of fever and ma
laria. Lieut. Col. John J. Brereton, OF
the Thirty third Infantry, a veteran in
Army service, killed himself in the same
manner.
In fact every branch Of the service
has contributed victims to the ravages of
the most appalling affiiction which can
visit humanity.
Mentally deranged," is General Otis
official comment on each OF these casual
ties, but the dispatches are silent upon
the tragic and pathetic history invo ved
in each. The case of Captain Ostheim
presents the frightful effects produced by
military life in the Philippines upoa the
minds of many, which are not always OBJ
liberated by return to temperate ell
mate and more tranquil conditions.
man in the prime of life, about to he
married to his affianced bride, is found
in his room in a Chicago hotel with bull
let hole in his forehead, and a pistol
lying near his hand. All the indications
point to suicide but how reconcile such
conclusion with the happy prospect be-
fore the deceased, a prospect which
seemed to offer him a haven of happiness
and peace after a long and hazardous mil
itary career? The only explanation and
the one now generally accepted is that in
a fit of temporary insanity, the result of
his Philippine campaign, he had destroyed |
his life
ITO one acquainted with the conditions
attendant upon the life of a soldier in the
Philippines" said a man recently returned
from that quarter, the baneful effects
which follow seem scarcely surprising. The
campaigning is done through incessant
rains, marching through jungles and
swamps in pursuit of the natives, who,
thoroughly Immune to the ill-effects of
their own climate, select the most IN
healthy localities as retreats. The food
supply of our troops is often curtailed and
of Indifferent quality; their clothing is in
sufficient, and, above all, the climate can
only be described as maddening to those
who are Obliged to go through with the
hardships of a campaign"
The number of suicides. as may be read
lily seen by an examination of the records
OF the War Department. furnish only a
slight indication of the actuS ravages OF
Insanity among our troops For every man
who has blown out his brains there are a
dozen who have gone mad and been saved
by their comrades before they could do
themselves bodily harm.
General Otis recently ordered a ship
ment of one thousand pairs of handouts
from Washington for use upon those
whom 1t is necessary to chain in order
that they may not do themselves or others
bodily injury.
Each transport running between this
country and the Philippines is equipped
with a padded cell. SO that the insane can
not harm themselves before they reach
their native land. The Sherman, which
recently arrived from the islands, brought
twenty-five maniac soldiers, the prevail
Ing form OF insanity among them being
melancholia
II. however. one wishes TO actually wit
upon so many OF our troops he must go to
st. Elizabeth's Asylum and contemplate
the physical and mental wrecks who are
received at frequent intervals at that In
stitution. Today there are $50 insane SOL
oiers at the Asylum. many of whom will
never recover the light Of reason.
II to the facts thus revealed is added
those brought TO light by the census of
Manila recently completed by the Health
Department the showing made by the Phil
lppines as a field for military or CONNER
cial action is certainly not tempting 10
those who reside in other and more tenn
perate regions. The census establishes a
death rate of something over 40 per cent.
The deaths In Manila officially reported
In the six months extending from July /
TO December 81 last year were 6,203. Ma
MIA is at present the seat of three cpl
demie diseases-bubonic plague. beri-beri,
and smallpox. The twenty-nine officers
and men OF the United States Army who
have committed suicide in the Philippines
since December /, 1899, 10 the present are
as follows:
A f. Bernard. private. Hospital Corps;
d. T. Bowman. lieutenant. Thirty
Volunteers: J. J. Brereton. lieutenant col
onel, Thirty third Volunteer Infantry;
George Briggs, private. First Wyoming
Volunteer Infantry; p. B. Craddock, pri-
vate, Fourth Cavalry; E. C. Crawford. pri
vate, Twenty third Infantry; George w.
Curtis. private, Eighteenth Infantry; F.
Dickelman, private, Hospital Corps Fred
A. Durham, hospital steward; w. Gregory,
private, Eleventh Volunteer Cavalry;
Charles Hiatt, sergeant, Fourth Cavalry:
NJ. A. Hills, corporal, Thirty-sixth Eolun-
teer Infantry; John C. Hudson. private,
Twenty third Infantry; ]. J. Kehoe, pri-
waite. Second Oregon Infantry; A. Keller
man. private. Fourth Infantry; George n.