The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-11-17
DIR. william ID. Fletcher Discusses
Causes of Insanity and
Their Preventfves.
WOMEN STRIVE TOO HIGH
MANY LOSE THEIR MINDS BY DIS
APPOINTED AMBITION.
SO-CaIIed "Brain-workers" Not Spe-
ciaIIy Open to Attack-ReIig-
fous and Other Manias.

I'm the last half century" said DR.. Will
liam B. Fletcher to a Journal reporter.
there has been a decided increase I'm the
number Of insane persons I'm this country.
Fifty years ago we had about one insane
person in every 100. and now there IS
one in every 500. So far as statistics show
in Indiana, there are 1900 insane men and
$500 insane women. Now. you notice that
according TO this statement there are 500
more women OF unbalanced minds than
men. The reason for this. in my opinion.
is that women are grasping out and I'M
~dertaking tasks which they are incapable
Of accomplishing. A yOung woman may
have great ambition TO become an artist
or a literary woman or a musician, which
is very often the case, or she might not
aspire quite so high and wish TO make
herself q school teacher or something OF
this sort. At any rate, she works her
nervous system all Town in preparing her
self for work which she either lacks talent
for doing or is ~incapacitated for IT by not
having sufficient strength. The conse-
quence is that the disappointment makes
her decline into a melancholia, which in
time brings on insanity. Among women
who seek to be artisans the ~disappoint-
ment of not being able to reach the height
Of their ambition is the principal reason
why so many lose their minds
Then the modern methods OF education
are responsible for a great many cases
OF insanity among young women. They
crowd themselves 10 such an extent in
order to learn all they are required TO IN
the short line given them in the schools
that they neglect their digestion. their
nervous systems become deranged and In
a short time they are At subjects for treat
ment in an asylum
1T used TO be, years ago. that most OF
the women who came TO our asylums for
treatment were the wives Of farmers. The
reason to which this was attributed was
that the lives they led on the farms were
nothing more than drudgery. And then
these women were so isolated that they
seldom had the opportunity 20 mix in any
kind OF society. There was nothing but
hard work for them. with no particular
object in view. With a woman wherever
her ambition is thwarted disappointment
follows, and close on the heels OF this
comes melancholy.
INCIDENT WITH CHRISTIANITY.
Insanity. you know. was incident with
Christianity. Before that time an insane
person was not known. But, nevertheless.
IA NoLAA NC DA1AN NN0061
the symptoms Of epilepsy in a number OF
those old characters. And I will venture
TO say If Joan dare and John Bunyan had
lived to-day they certainly would not have
escaped the modern commission OF lunacy
experts. There are thousands Of remark
able persons noted in history who were
not regarded insane in their time. but who
would. if now gathered together. immense
ly swell the statistics Of l~unacy."
Does religious excitement cause many
persons to become insane?" DR.. Fletcher
was asked.
No.. Not as many as one would sup
pose. In Indiana hospital reports of years
ago a large number OF cases were regis
tered as being caused by Millerism. spirit
rapping, and so forth. but IL is interesting
to note at the present time these causes
are rarely referred TO. The probabilities
are that insanity which starts out in So
called religious excitement and manifests
itself in blasphemous rawlings or 10y abject
melancholy or despair shows mental weak
ness and p~re-existing disease. excited by
attention being strongly attracted 10 re-
ligious subjects. One writer has well said
that more mad people become religious
(using the word in its phenomenal scnse)
than religionists go mad. The so-called
crank is not a crank because nc is religious,
neither did relig.o on make him n crank.
"Heredity cuts quite a large figure in the
number Of insane persons. There are two
kinds Of hereditary insanity. The first is
due entirely TO mechanical causes. Just
as the shape OF the hand or foot. or the
expression about the face, can be traced
through whole generations Of a family. so
can the formation OF the skull You viii
find where this form OF insanity exists
the parents have not had well-formed
skulls. I mean by this that the construc-
ton Of the bones OF the skull is deficient.
Examination may show that the little holes
over each eye through which the small
blood vessels pass to furnish blood TO tho
brain are not Of one size. One may be
smaller than the other or one may be en-
tirely gone, as in one case which I knew
Of. When 1 was in Chicago not long ago
I examined over one hundred skulls and 7
found in all Of them that the blood was
equally distributed. which is of course es-
entail 10 nave a healthy condition OF the
brain. And you will also find this true
with the skulls Of animals; no matter how
many you examine you will find that the
openings for the distribution OF the blood
10 the brain are Of one size. Too much
blood causes at all times a congestion OF
the brain, while not enough causes a lack
Of nourishment to that part.
INSANITY CAUSED BY DRUGS.
Now. the other OF the two conditions
is called chemical causes. That is. the
blood is impoverished with narcotic poisons.
OF these poisons alcohol leads and opium
in its various stages plays quite a large
part. And the poisons which have been
introduced in the last twenty years are
chloral and cocaine. OF course the an ef-
fects Of these drugs which cause Insanity
in a parent will be inherited by the chill
dren and so this poisonous blood will so
from one generation 10 another. The blood
being in such condition as is natural from
these causes does not furnish the brain
with proper nourishment and consequently
the unfortunate goes insane
IN many instances / have known at
the Central Hospital here. where various
member OF a family have been inmates
OF that institution since its opening. the