The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-08-01

QUESTIONS on the character and
ticcs of John D. Rockefeller. says that
the late Senator Hanna expressed this
opinion of him: None mad. money
mad: sane in every other respect. but
money mad" Surprising that to be
true. and Senator Hanna. who knew
Mr.. Rockefeller as well as any man
could know so peculiar a combination
of mental qualities. was qualified tic
express an expert opinion is Miss Tar
ball and are thousands Of other critics
treating their money-mad fellow citi-
zen fairly?
It is q familiar fact that a man may
be mad-"as mad as a March here
on ore subject. and entirely sane in
every other respect OF
such patients are in lunatic asylunls.
ether hundreds whose mania is HARM
Men Of splendid natural gifts and
great scholastic attachments are
among the victims Of monomania. One
might carry on a long conversation,
covering q great variety of topics. with
an asylum inmate of this class: might
find him both entertaining and in
structive. and be convinced that q mis-
take had been made in subjecting him
to confinement. if the talk did not
happen to touch the one subject as to
which his intellect a been
Washington Post.
The above reminds us of a story, as
Senator Vance would say. 1t is a
story we heard the late Judge William
Moore, of EdentoE, tell on himself. He
vowed it was "a true bill" The scene
was at the lunatic asylum in Raleigh;
time, back in the seventies during a
session of the legislature of which Mr..
Moore was q member. DR.. GrissOm
time. Judge Moore was n Of the
members of the legislative committee
appointed to visit and inspect the in
stitution. He says when the commit
tee reached the asylum he remarked to
DR.. Grissom that he bad heard there
were men who were insane on only
one subject-monOmaniacs-and that
such men would converse nationally on
all other subjects; in fact, that a
stranger might talk with them and
never know that they were insane un-
less he happened to touch upon the
subject on which these men were in
sane. DR.. Grissom told him that it
was a fact; hat there were in the sew
lum over which he presided several
such patients. Judge Moore then
made the request of the superintendent
that he be allowed to find out for
himself the subjects OH which some of
the inmates were insane. DR.. GriSsOm
promised that in going through the
building he would give Judge Moore
the opportunity of conversing with
some Of these monomaniacs, without
having them pointed out as being such,
in order hat he might test his ability
in discovering on what subject they
were insane. AS the superintendent
and the members Of the legislative
committee were walking down a corri-
dor Of the building Judge Moore spied
a man Sitting on a stool just outside
the door of a cell. He stopped and
entered into conversation with the man.
He asked him his name, his age, what
family he had, his occupation before
coming to the asylum, and put a great
many other questions to him, all of
which were answered in a most intel
ligent amer. Finally Judge Moore
turned to DR.. Grissom, who was stand
ing by, and said, in an undertone, but
loud enough for the man to hear:
why, Doctor, I cannot find out on
what subject this mar is insane; l do
not believe the nan is crazy at ALL"
To the Judges surprise and discom-
future the nan made reply: ''You id
fool, ] am not crazy. I am one Of the
keepers" I"'
Yes men are sometimes mad on one
subject and sane on all others, and it
is often hard to find out what that
one subject is. Judge Moore said that
one attempt was enough for him. He
never afterward tried to discover the
subject on which any man had become
insane.