The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1901-12-27
AT
MORRISPLAINS
Increased Percentage Of RecOv-
cries Reported.

Report Strongly and Wisely Urges
Erection ofNew Building for Crim-
inal Insane Present System Unjust
to Other Patients Me-
/ thod of Treatment Produces Grati-
flying Results.
The annual report of the New Jersey
State Hospital at Morris Plains, which
comprises the report Of the Board OF
Managers, the Medical Directors
report, the Pathologist's report and
the Warden's report have been sub
mitted to the Governor. The Mana
gers report recommends that new
hospital for the convict and criminal
insane be erected at some suitable lo-
cation not far from the State Prison.
This is recommendation that the
Chronicle heartily endorses. At pre-
sent convicts and criminals who be-
come insane in our prisons are placed
in our State hospitals along with the
insane who are free from crime. This
is an injustice to those. who, though
insane, are by no means destitute Of
natural sensibility 1T is nothing
short Of an outrage upon humanity
that our insane who are free from
criminal taint should be forced to aa.
sociate with criminals md convicts.
In most respects New Jersey is in the
front rank in the matter of caring for
its insane, but in this respect she
she is sadly lacking, and far behind
many of the other states But it Ii
not merely on the ground of Injustice
to our afflicted brothers that we re~
commend the Improvement. 1t ought
to be made as protection to society
Hospitals for the insane are not ana
should not be constructed. for the safe
keeping of convicts. Many conviots
have escaped from our hospitals and
some of them are still at large. These
are serious menace to the communiS
ty, some of them being murderers. It
is blot on the fair name of New
Jersey that such state of affairs
should exist. But we trust that IN
the near future it wiil be wiped out
by the construction Of building
which will combine prison and hospi-
tai requirements. suitable for the care
and treatment of insane criminals and
convicts.
The Medical Directors report shows
that the average of recoveries from
1881 to 1891 was 81 per cent. Of the
number admitted, from 1891 to 1901 IL
was 26 per cent. and for the present
year no less than S11s per cent. This
is a good showing, especially for the
present year.
The Medical Director accounts for
this progress by the advancement
made in hospital construction, tie
observance of better hygienic me-
thods, the employment of trained
nurses. the aid obtained from skilled
post mortem examination of sthe hui
man brain and the progress made in
the application of therapeutic mea-
sures. He, however, is not satisfied
to stop here, but manifests belief in
the possibility of still further advance
ment by recommending numerous inn
proyements; one is the erection of
building for contagious or infectious
disease, such as scarlet fever or small
pox, SO that the danger of injecting the
main building with its population
of about 14o0 patients may be reduced
to minimum another is the erection
of building for nurses and still an
other is for better equipment of the
| surgical department. of the institu-
tion. All of these are praiseworthy
recommendations and we trust they
will soon be complied with.