River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1903-04-02
INSANITY IN THE CITIES.
The Strain Upon People in business
Life, Fast Living and Bad Air
Killing Them.

Insanity in Chicago is on the in
crease, but only to the extent expect
ed by the increase in the city's popula-
ton and the changing of conditions
here, says the Chicago Tribune.
DR.. ID. r. Brewer, professor of men
tai and nervous diseases in Rush and
the Northwestern women's medical
college, and author of the textbook
on the subject of insanity, said: In
sanity thrives in urban communities.
Great cities are the hotbeds of de-
generacy. In New York the proper
ton of insane to the sane is one to
$40. In Chicago it is one to 400. The
rate is increasing in all great cities.
Briefly, the reason is that in this day
and age we are living too fast. Mod
ern conditions Of life are enfeebling.
We live in flats in which all atten-
ton is paid to heating, none at all to
ventilating. We come downtown in
street cars in which the air is worse
than that of the Black Hole of CAL
cutta. We bolt our meals, ruch from
one employment to another, take lit
tie or no time to sit down and pull
ourselves together. Naturally in every
great city the tendency is toward an in
crease of insanity Such is the case in
Chicago
"1nsanity increases in old and set
tied communities" said DR.. n. n.
Meyer. Chicago is reaching that
stage in its development where we will
reap some of the destructive effects
of modern civiliza ton. These effects
are not seen in new communities for
several reasons. First, it is not the
sick, the lame nor the halt who emil
CRATE. 1t is the young and vigorous.
Persons of sound minds and sound
bodies are not subject to insanity.
Then as pioneers they live in an out
door life, breathe plenty of fresh air,
have few of the vices which abound
in great city. and altogether are
those least liable to mental disorders.
The state of Minnesota, for instance,
is to-day representative community
of the pioneer class. and consequently
smaller proportion of insanity is
found there than in any other state
in the union Chicago has passed out
of the pioneer class and has reached
the second and third generation de-
scended from that sturdy race, and
consequently we may now expect an
increase in insanity. In every great
city that has fully passed the forma-
tive period the ratio of insanity is
about one to $40 of the population.
Insanity will continue in Chicago I'M
til we have reached that ratio"
In Chicago the method of having
person declared insane and sent to
an asylum is the same that it has been
for years. All the cases come before
the county judge. Judge Carter. There
are two modes of inquiring into a per-
sons sanity, either by a trial before
jury of six, or the judge can, if he
so elects, rule that the examination
shall be in chambers before the judge
and two experts in insanity, appointed
by himself. The latter method has
less publicity than the jury trial,
which, however, must be always re-
sorted to where there is a contest in
the case, and where there is some
ground for the belief that the persons
who bring the charge of insanity
might have some Interior motives in
sending the alleged insane person away
to an asylum.