The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-06-16
The Soldiers Home.

u Ks So much has been said in criticism Of
the management of the Soldiers
4 Home for sending demented In
!: mates to the State Hospital at VIII
II liamsburg that 1t seems fair 10 raes
Al Times Dispatch to give the other SIDE
s. OF the story. Before any Confederate
4 veteran can be admitted to this insti-
tuition he must have the certificate OF
reputable physician tes,ifyins that the
ppl!cant as OF sound mind. and not IN
;lat,:tual drunkard, nor has he ever be.n
n inmate Of an insane asylum. IN
order to emphasize this prerequisite TO
admission, on every application blank the
certificate is printed In red letters. and
4 underneath in red letters Of larger
type is the statement. Insane persons
and habitual drunkards will moi be adj
y niitted under any circumsta ices. I ne
h reasons for this requirement are several,
and ought to be apparent. First OF all.
The Soldiers Home has no equipment for
e the care OF insane patients. II has hes
pital for the care OF the sick, and all
4 sick inmateA are given necessary med al
attention..and" professional nursing. But
there is no CONVENIENCE for The insane.
But that Is not all. Insane patients
would be not only expensive and trouble
some to the mana cement, but their pres
cnce would necessarily have most de-
pressing effect upon the other veterans,
and 1t would be a great injustice to those
~ mir IN ha rOmnSI1n6
to 1--we in an institution which hnrbored
lunatics, to see them walking about the
< premises In charge OF keepers to hear
Z their insane screams at all hours Of the
day and night, and to be compelled to
4 associate more or less with them. II the
Soldiers Home had OH tho premises
twenty-five or thirty insane patients, the
strong probability Is that half the sane
inmates would lose their reason.
This Is not an unusual provision for
charitable Institutions. For example, the
constitution OF the Richmond Male Or
phan Society provides that mo boy shall
Fl be received In the asylum who Is q con-
firmed invalid, or who is afflicted with
any contagious disease. or whose mind
Z 4 4
4 IS in any way impaired" This provision
: 81 made primarily for the protection Of
The boys themselves, Clearly. 1t would
not do to hive an insane boy in such an
institution.
3a The Times Dispatch has no means of
knowing whether or not all the inmates
Of the Soldiers Home sent to the VIII
l,amsburg Hospital were sufficiently In
H sane to Justify their commitment, But
~ no rca sonable man can question the Wis
dom OF the board In excluding from the
Soldiers Home persons who have lost
for an Insane asylum
while on the subject it may be worth
B While to remind the public that while
The State Of Virginia is paying $1,000 a
year for tho maintenance OF the Soldiers
Home, there is ground for the belief that
eventually the State will DO in great part.
\ il not wholly. reimbursed for the outlay.
The total cost OF the properly, building,
repairs, furniture, fixtures and mainte-
nance OF the Soldiers Home from the
date of opening to december 81, 1906 was
81 Sss7. $3.50, OF which the State contributed
II l5.7. sEl.C7. and Lee Camp and private In,
aiyiduals contributed slh9,sA2s. Dndel
contract between Lee Camp and the
I state Of Virginia, erabodied In an act ap,
proved March 8, 1882. IN consideration Of
!, ~ State appropriation from year 10, yea.
Of a.. 40. the entirs properly was convey,