Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1906-12-14
TRUSTEES WILL
ASK FOR S4QO,OOO

The commission of lunacy appointed
year ago is busy carrying ont its in
structions to investigate the various
insane asylums of the State, while the
State board of public charities is equ.
ally active in figuring on the appropri-
ations the legislature shall be asked to
make this year to the various charit-
able institutions of the State. DR.. j.
Nicholas Mitchell, secretary of the
State board of lunacy, was in Danville,
Sunday, December 2nd, and looked ov-
er the hospital for the insane On
Thursday he was followed by G.. W.
Ryan of Shamokin and p. G. Bolye of
Oil City, members of the State board
of public charities. who also closely
looked into the wants of the institu-
tion.
At meeting of the State board of
lunacy held in Philadelphia Saturday
DR.. ]. Nicholas Mitchell made re-.
port, which embraced what he discov-
cred in Danville and elsewhere. The
report in part reads as follows:
"The excess of patients dt Danvilte
is 335; at Norristown, 632 aud at Har-
risburg, 90. We have no money to care
for these patients, as the appropria-
tions were cut off by the governor. |
recommend that this commission ask
the legislature early in the session to
appropriate 5000, 900 for the purpose of
relieving conditions of the insane.
"In future buildings for the insane,
the wards should be built on the cot
tage plan. Patients should be placed
in small, airy buildings, scattered ov-
er the ground, iustead of being herd
ed in one large building.
"There are 1779 more insane patti
ents in the State hospitals than there
is room for. These patients are not
properly housed
81 do not mean, however, that the
| insane are not properly treated. With
the facilities at their command. the
various hospitals are doing good work
The emi.hysterical statements made
from time to time that the insane are
not properly treated, that they are com
PEELED to lie on bare floors, are not So
1T is true that patients sleep in the
corridors, but they sleep there on cots.
The only danger arising from these
over crowded conditions would be in
case of fire, when, with the corridors
crowded with the sleeping insane tisk
of great loss of life would be incurred.
"There is an increase this year of
7l3 patients, where III former years
the increase was only 500. The county
care of the insane has reached the linn
it, and today both the State and coun-
ty institutions are overfiowiug There
must be a remedy. The number of in
sane will increase every year, and we
must look to the future. -
The trustees of the hospital for the
insane here will ask for an appropria-
tion of some $400. 000 The appropria-
tion of SS5. 900 made by the last legis.
lature for temporary buildings, which
were never erected, will go back to the
State. To relieve overcrowding here
the trustees will ask that female in
firmary be erected and the building
serving as an infirmary on the male
side be greatly enlarged by the build
ing of an annex and by adding another
story.
Not only DR.. Mitchell but the two
members of the board of public char
tiles who followed HIM expressed them
selves as heartily in accord with the
plan to erect female inf rmary and
to enlarge the male infirmary. Their
recommendations to the Legislature
will be accordingly and it seems alto
gether probable that the trustees will
+ get all that they ask for.