The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-10-26
CIRCULAR ROOMS.
They Bring Insanity to Those who
Must Abide Alone In Them.

They Bring Insanity to Those who
Must Abide Alone In Them.
The MiEOt Ledge light Is famed for
the number of men who have gone
crazy in it, and for that reason it is an
object Of interest to students Of mental
diseases. 1t is, as everybody knows,
piece of engineering Of the highest or
der, being in that respect only second
to the famous Eddystone light More
than year was consumed in getting
foundation for it, and so high are the
TIDES and so terrific the storms that the
entrance to the light is more than forty
feet above the water.
Then. one above the other, come the
five rooms occupied by the keepers and
used for storage purposes, and then the
watch room and finally the lantern.
The tower being circular and space
greatly in demand, naturally every
thing is made to conform, so that no
room shall be lost. Even the beds Oh
which the men sleep are curved, the
tables against the walls are circular
and the benches are half moon. Every
thing is round.
In this lighthouse there have been at
least five well marked cases Of insan-
ity and others in which madness has
been suspected, and the men relieved
from duty. Experts in mental diseases
who have made a study Of conditions
at the Minot Ledge light attribute the
unusual prevalence Of insanity there to
it's peculiar form Of structure. There
is no point, they say, on which the eye
may rest, so it travels round and round
in maddening whirl.
They therefore suggest that some
means be devised for filling the curves
and producing corners and angles. In
support of their theory they cite in
stances Of men who have lost their
mental balance during long confine-
ment in circular prisons, but have
quickly regained it on being transfer
red to an ordinary room Of corners and
angles.
Baron Trenck spent much of his time
in prison making marks and corners to
break the circularity Of his surround
ings and keep his reason from slipping
away on the whirl Of encircling walls.
Casanova, an Italian engineer who
was imprisoned in round tower. gives
mitch the same testimony. He says
he felt great mental relief on being
moved to an ordinary square room.
AS it is we'll nigh impossible to make
much change in the form Of the struc-
ture of the Minot Ledge lighthouse
the number of men in charge OF it mas
been increased to five, in order that
they may have frequent leaves from
duty and take turns in going ashore
for a visit to family and friends. This
system has resulted in decrease in
the number Of cases Of melancholia and
more serious mental disorders.
In fact, but for the frequent changes
made in the service by shifting men
from one station to another the num-
Der Of cases Of this sort everywhere
would be much greater than 1t is. In
some cases a man is kept in place
for only a few months and then sent
to some less isolated station for awhile.
To give the men something to think
Of other than their loneliness and to
occupy the long hours during which
they have nothing to do circulating
libraries Of fifty books each are pro-
yided. The books are carefully select
ed and changed every three months
when the inspector makes his visit.
In the collection are biography, his
tory, travel, fiction, poetry, Illustrated
magazines and in some cases neWspa-
pers; also medicine chests are provid-
ed for relief in cases Of sickness and
careful directions given for the use OF
their contents.
Despite the dangers and hardships
of lighthouse life there are many ap-
plicants for positions in them. When
ever a vacancy occurs in the service
there is always a number Of men to Sc
lect from. And yet the pay Is small.
In fact, the law provides that the av-
erage compensation given keepers shall
not exceed 5000 a year. Probably the
best paid keeper in the service is the
man at He'll Gate, who gets $1,000 a
year.-Chicago Chronicle.