The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-06-21
INSANITY ON INCREASE
Nearly 1000 New Cases During Year
in New York State.
Hospitals Badly Crowde '-Sta:o Charities
Association Opposed to Commits
sion in Lunacy.

Albany. y. 1.-THE number of insane
persons in New Fork State hospitals
and licensed private aSy!ums increased
nearly 1000 during the past year, &C
cordinS TO a report which has Just
been submitted to the State Commits
sion of Lunacy by the State Charities
Aid Association. While this increase
is smaller than that of the previous
year, still it is in excess of other years,
the total average yearly increase be-
ing 73S.
The total number of insane persons
in State hospitals and licensed. private
asylums on October /. 1901. was 26,S61,
an increase Of OPT over the previous
year. OF this total number, 25,019 pa
tents were in the fourteen State hos
pitfalls, not including Matteawan and
D%annemora. being So more than OIL
October /. 1908.
The system OF complete control.
both financial and administrative, Of
the State hospitals by the State Com
mission in LHnacy which has now
been in operation for two years and a
half" says the report. lis not, in u
opinion, the wisest method Of govern
ing these institutions. Of course. in so
short a time the effects Of the change
of system could not have made them
selves felt to any great extent. and the
extreme sensitiveness of public senti-
ment to any changes affecting the well
fare of the insane, resulting from the
agitation regarding the amendment Of
the insanity law. has doubtless excr-
cised q great restraining influence.
which cannot be expected to continue
indefinitely.
But while there has been no great
change in the State hospitals since the
amended law of 1902 went into effect,
this law opens the way for the en-
trance Of the abuses feared by the op-
nents of the change. To leave the well
fare Of so numerous and singularly
helpless a class Of dependents as the
insane entirely in the hands OF q COM
mission of. three. responsible only to
the Governor, certainly seems danger
GUS"
Recommendation is again made, as
in the report for 1908. for the estab-
lishment of q system Of boarding out
quiet insane patients in private fami-
lies, after the plan adopted in several
European countries.
Recommendation that improvement
be made in the methods Of ~depOrting
insane aliens, and that in the cases OF
such persons there be more co-opera-
ton between the State hospitals and
the United States Immigration author
tiles is an important feature of the re-
port. 1t Is asserted that the State
Charities Aid Association has found
that insane aliens deported by the
Government have not always reached
their homes as promptly as they
should, and sometimes not at all.
In one of the FIVE cases examined by
the association II. is shown that 1t was
two months after she was deported
from New York City before the friends
Of an insane Finnish girl found her In
q hospital in helsingfors. Finland.
where the steamship company sent
her. though failing to send her bag
gage or to notify her relatives. In an
other case, that of an Austrian girl. 1t
is shown that she was deported with
out proper clothing and without money.
her relatives being prevented by the
red tape Of the State Hospital from
providing the necessities. Their o1er
to send her over in care Of Il relative
was refused.
The insane population Of Manhattan
CNew lork City, when the census was
taken, was 7427, with 4 population OF
2,139,6S2. On Long Island there were
416S insane in a. population OF 1000
80.