The Minneapolis journal., 1903-12-24
BRITISH ] WAR
ON DRINK |! J. | ! ( EVIL
gATTEMPT no CHECK saIoNsTRoUs
AND GROWING EVIL.
Two State Homes successfully Care for,
\ Criminal and Insane Drunkards-
senliofficial Reformatories an Aid in
Reducing Crime and Street Violence.
=
Correspondence of the Chicago Daily

News.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. under the in
ebrfates acts (1S79-1900) has con-
vlnced the authorities of England and
Wales that about 70 per cent of habit
ual drunkards are durable. This work
has been SO successful from both the
lndlV1dual and the social point of view
that lfdn1aritafiansT and Apublicists- are
united in urging it's extension.
State Cares for Worst Cases.
There are thirty-one institutions in
England and Wales for the treatment
OF drunkenness. Two of these-one at
AYlesWorth for woman and the other
at Warwick, for men-gare under the
direct management of the state and
contain the worst cases-criminal
drunkards.. 10 per cent of whom. are
insane: TO per cent '.on the border
land and 20 per cent sane, but bad
OF these it has been found possible
thus far to cure only a very small per-
centage; but the lot of all Of them is.
greatly improved and society is rid of
thelr dangerous presence and their de-
moralizing example.
In SeniofficiaI Homes. 80
There are eight certified refor,na-
tories under private: management.
Ihey are at present treating nearly s 90
patients committed by the magistrates
for being drunk and disorderIv four
= y
don contributes more than half of
these cases and Lancashire about %,
per cent, so that only % per cent of
the cases is left to represent the rest
OF England and Wales.
Some of these inmates are criminals.
out the vast majority are simply
chronic drunkardS, who sometimes be-
come violent and who often brutaIly
treat their children. When a man or
woman In certified reformatory de-
Velops symptoms of mania or. becomes
unmanageable, he or she is transferred
10 warwick or Aylesworth and sub
jected to the sterner discipline of the.
state.
In the Voluntary Retreats.
Twenty-one private retreats COM
plete the number Of existing Ereforna-
tories. These receive voluntary in
mates-men and women weary Of the
horrors of alcohol and willing to be
forcibly protected from themselves.
They are now treating, about 500
patients and effecting large per-.
centage Of cures. DR.. Welsh Brenth-
waite, the inspector under the inebri-.
ates acts, says the work of the private
retreats is so eff1cacious and so
fraught with good to individuals, fani-
liess and the state. that their scope
should be broadeneal by law
+ At present the act of 1879 governs
consent of the habitual inebriate who
does not break the law shall be OBJ
tanned before he or she is committed
to retreat. DR.. Branthwaite advo-
Gates the abolition of this requirement
in order that the authorities may
prosecute an active campaign against
the form of drunkenness which is not
associated with overt acts of lawless-
ness.
Good Results. of the Work.
The inspector condemns short
periods of detention for drunkards as
,.:absolutely !. useless Respecting the
work of the state and certified Ie-
formatories he says: MANY of the
worst possible characters are now in
these institutions receiving. constant
care and attention. all living sober and,
many of them, industrious lives. We
are giving to such persons. an oppor-
tunity of recovery which has, been de-
MED them hitherto. and, which will
convert some of them into decent
members of society; into Wage-earners,
instead of burdens upon the sober sec
tion of the community.
We are relieving many. .hard-,work-
ing men and women of. untold misery,
and at the same time preventing the
exercise of an evil influence oyer still
greater number of young persons and
children. We are reducing crime
both now and for the future, and we
are lessening street violence and dis
order. l think it would be difficult
to find a more useful work, one which
more thoroly combines economic prin-
ciples with the dictates of science and
!, ~,