The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-03-14
Especial Correspondence.)

Raleigh. N. c., March Z.
The way to visit a public institution,
II one be a reporter. is 10 go not on a
visiting day." but to drop in. By this
means there can be no preparation II
the place. and it is seen as it is. In this
manner a visit was paid to the Central
hospital for the insane near Raleigh.
Suffice it to say as to the extreme neat
Aess Of the place, within and without,
that it is as tidy IS a man-of-war n
that the only thing seen out of place,
or rather position. were five brooms put
Of six in a closet, which were standing
with the broom end down instead of the
handle end.
Near the entrance to the grounds
workmen are making a granolithic set
ting for a spring known for forty years
or more as the Cedar Spring" Over
IT will be a rustic house, with roof Of
thatch. Inc grounds are naturally
healthfuI and mary of the male paL.e..t,
were at work thereon, making brick
drains along macadam driveWays they
have built, raking the leaves from un-
der the carefully trimmed and shapeIy
Whlteoaks. which later will Civ a graft
Tying shade over scores of acres.
At the great portal of the main
building. has been placed a large slab
on white marble and deeply craven
thereon are these words. Dix Hill.
state Hospital" The site of the hos
p1tal was selected by Miss Dorothy
Dix. Of New York, whose life was de-
voted to the amelioration of the ondi-
lion OF the insane. All this is a perpet-
ual memorial Of her. and her sweet and
kindly face lOOks out from an oil por-
fralt which hangs in the visitors par
ior.
Superintendent James Mckee gave a
welcome to the writer in his usual
hearty fashion and said: ASK me any
questions and after we have finished
that part of the matter l will take YOU
anywhere" What follows now is what
DR.. Mckee said about the present
status of affairs.
w have had a hard winter. yet the
health or u patients is unusually
good. The deaths have been AN Ong
h aged and four of them we're OF pa
tlents who had been here more than a
quarter of a century. Our percentage
Of cures has continued very high, and
for the year is 81 per cent. We are very
proud of that record. The ate of NOR
tally has been high per cenI.-but
as I said this was among the old pa
tents. There are 432 patients.
The decided prOponderance of fenIa es
so~ntinuances. There are 252 of these
against Isl males. You ask me why
this great D~reDonderance. and l can
give you a prompt and accurate ans
wer- 1t is due to isolation, want of
early education and mental training
the intense strain of daily effort to Re
the bread winner, which line of duty
no many men are quitting; then too the
care OF children and all the host OF do
mestic duties. They tell the story
fhnn,-a1y-4- %LN-1 F@-a@lo $1,000. -
large a part of whom are the wives of
farmers. The farmer has company.
goes to town once a week anyway, is
with his bird man. while the wife looks
after scores of things daily vhile he is
at home. n when he is away has all
his duties to do. He has company. she
has none. There are male patients here
so v~agabondish that actually their peo-
pie. when there are intimations of send
ing them home. write us for Gods sake
to keep them and not send them home.
This year we have no special appro-
priation except $500 for floors. 7 will
show you presently how the floors laid
nearly fifty years, are splintering and
wearing. I tried to get yellow pine.
unbled. but couldn't get it last year
n can't get it now. so will Send after
sweet gum. This will be cut in strips
az by Ia inches 1t makes the most
beautiful floor imaginable. I saw one
At -. II AAdo " AAAaA
ast indefinitely.
You will recall the fact hat the
water for our cattle was all piped down
from Rocky branch. Well. we a
suit using that and give them water
from bored wells 134 feet in depth. The
branch water was polluted by all the
drainage of a village and by the sewer
age from the Agricultural and Mechari-
cal college. This change was one nj
the first things l made. We killed, you
will recall. 43 of our fine herd Of cnt-
tie. These had tuberculosis. We have
now organized a new herd. and have
As. It requires "A. We are buying new
COWS daily. all being rigidly inspected.
We are replacing the straight strains
Of Jersey. Holstein and Guernsey cattle
with Durham. Devon n grade Jer-
sew and Guernesy. Many OF the
strainght strains are weakened and
hence more liable to disease. Gen. Nor
ton. CT New York had to destroy a $780,
900 herd. Look at what we a to de-
strov and take the case at the Agricul-
tural and Mechanical college. We mn
with the kind OF cows we are now buy-
ing that when they go dry they make
fne beef animals.
'You ask we about what percentage
Of patients really ought not To be here
but should give place to mer1tor1ons
sases. I answer that 20 per cent. OF al
are imbeciles. epileptics. idiots or dot
ards. But we cannot get rid or tnem'
There is no law for it"
After this talk in DR. McKee's office
we went through the building. Inc
improvements are really r.
member once. some fifteen years aga.
going through the great building anu
eyervwhere was that i-definahle but
penetrating prison Ordor." or IL now