The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-08-08
STATE HOME
FOR INSANE
Magnitude Of the Institution at
Morris Plains. The Place
a Little City By Itself.
SOME INTERESTING DETAILS.

"A visitor to the Morris Plains Hos
pital gives his impressions in an article
in the Elizabeth Journal which is
well worth preservation for reference
A monument to the wisdom and
brotherly love Of the people OF New
Jersey. the State Hospital for the care
and scientific treatment of the insane
stands in one of the most picturesque
spots among the beautiful hills OF
Morris county, a majestic pile OF arch
itectural grandeur unsurpassed, II IN
deed, it be equaled by any institution
Of the kind in the world.
AS the visitor approaches the main
building along the half mile Of broad,
straight roadway, paralleled on either
side BY shady walks lined by beautiful
naples, the great granite buildings,
backed by the deep wild forest green
cry of the hills behind, form astriklng
picture. But, however extensive and
impressive this work Of man may De
deemed it is lost in the general con-
templation of the far-reachiug pano-
rama Of enhancing natural beauty
that meets the eye on every hand.
To gain a fair idea of the extent of
the buildings, the perfection Of detail
and the comprehensive arrangements
for the comfort Of the inmates, one
must enter; and once standing be-
meath the dome on the softly carpeted
floor Of the corridor outside the rallied
enclosure Of the medical director, and
on the threshold, as it were, of an
other world, amazement quickly fills
the mind.
AS we stood wondering at the peace
1 full silence of this home of mental
wrecks, Miss Barrett, a supervising
nurse, clad in snowy white, stepped
from a side room and with an express
sion of gracious interest learned our
errand and led the way to the office OF
DIR. Britton D. Evans. the medical
director, whose every movement was
marked by a cherry breeziness that
puts us Instantly at our ease. 1t was
hard to reconcile the picture of this
man with the merry blue eyes with
the popular idea Of the governing Off
cial of lunatic asylum Or. Evans
courteously extended to us every facil-
ity for a thorough inspection OF the
two great structures that, with the
adjoining outbuildings, form the asy-
lum.
Placing us in the care Of DR.. Peter
S. Mallon, his first assistant physician,
he started us on a journey that occu-
pied every moment of three and half
hours.
Before entering upon description
of that Journey, it may be well to give
few explanatory figures. The walls
of the buildings, four stories in height,
if placed in straight line would ex-
tend a full mile, and they are so solid
ly built that they will apparently
stand for centuries unless destroyed
by fire or some upheayal of nature.
Five thousand radiators and 5000
registers with 10000 feet, or about
eight miles, of iron pipe are required
to heat, light and supply with water
this immense plant.
The structure is built echelon, and
consists of forty-four wards, each about
1870 feet in length, consisting of main
corridor, with sleeping rooms on either
side and parlor and dining room con-
nected with each ward. The rooms
are so orientated that sunlight err
ters each one at some time during
the day. The windows of the rooms
are necessarily barred, but the bars
are arranged to correspond with the
frames of the sashes so that to the
causal observer no bars are visible.
The grounds, comprising about 1000
acres, are of exceptional natural
beauty, and the hand of man, under
the wise guidance of capable and
energetic board of managers, has cul-
tivated and further adorned them
with extensive lawns, wooded parks
and shaded walks, SO that they may
best serve the purpose for which they
are used, the restoration to health Of
minds and bodies wearied and worn
out with the strife and turmoil Of life
One hundred and tifty-two acres are
titled for farming purposes.
To feed the patients requires weekly
6.2OO pounds Of beef, $40 pounds Of
ham, !, 100 pounds of mutton, 900
pounds of fish, 1874 pounds of chicken,
75O dozen eggs, 900 pounds of butter,
81 barrels Of flour and 1920 loaves Of
bread.
For steam and heating purposes
$500 tons of buckwheat, stove and
chestnut coal are used during the year,
and 800 tons of gas coal in the manu-
facture OF Illuminating gas.