Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1906-07-12
LEGISLATURE ADVOCATES
OPPENHEIMER TREATMENT
Special Committee of New York AS.
sembly Recommends Its Adoption
by the State For the Reclama-
ton of the Drunkard.


The relation of alcoholism to crime
received serious consideration by the
senate and assembly in the state Of
New York during the session Of the
present year, 1905, the result being the
appointment of n special committee by
the judiciary committee of the assem-
bly, TO investigate and report what they
considered to be the best methods of
dealing with the treatment of criminal
inebriates. The report of the commit.
tee will interest all classes.
About 80 per cent of the convictions
in the criminal courts of New York
state are for intoxication, the punish
ment in many cases being term In
prison, where the offenders are treated
as criminals. On the expiration of
their sentences they are sent back TO
the community with the stigma of
"convicts'' or Jail BIRDS to seek
livelihood as best they may.
This treatment of inehriates is inhu-
man from humanitarian point of
Wow anu all eHDIlllouS tA b. W TIE
state in the maintenance of jails and
penitentiaries as well as by the sup
port of offenders while imprisoned. II
has been recommended for several
years past in various official reports
that some action should be taken by
the state to better the condition of tht
criminal inebriate and that he should
be furnished with some means by
which he could, II he 50 wished, be.
come temperate and law abiding
citizen.
The special committee made n care
full and exhaustive investigation into
the various methods for the cure of al
coholism brought to their notice and
reported as follows, in part:
In Re Criminal Inebrates.
official report of the state commission
of prisons for 1903 states:
"The taxpayers of the state are an
nually subjected to large expense in the
arrest and rearrest of persons charged
with drunkenness, and much of the time
of our criminal courts is occupied in their
trial, and about one-half of the expense
of maintaining our j2ils and penitcn-
tfaries is caused by the maintenance of
this class of offenders during their term
of commitment. When Il man is intoN-
icated his reason is dethroned for the time
being. 1t is often necessary for the pre-
lection of the public that he be taken into
custody and receive treatment at the
hand, of the state. This offense drunk
enncssJ should not be treated strictly ar
a crime. Drunkenness has in it 40 ele-
nent of malice. The law should recognize
this distinction. The present practice OF
sending him TO the jail or to the penlten.
tiary brande a criminal to Consort
with thieves only degrades and discour-
ages him and at the same time infiict1
punishment nd privation upon his fam,
ilv. Some wiser method of dealing WITH
this offense should obtain.
Pursuant to the above recommen-
dations, the committee have carefully
considered the need of some action for
the relief of these dependent and de-
linauent classes and also variouc meth
ols Of treatment of persons scattering
from alcoholism. Recognizing that
many of these persons are suffering
from disease, some form of med
icll treatment should he given.
"n the Judgment of this committee
tte best treatment therefor is that of
the Oppenheimei Institute, as it is
strongly lndorsed and advocated hy
large numbers of physicians and bu3j-
ness and professional men of high
standing national rCpnte and unques
toned authority, the treatment Itself
being reported as prompt, effective and
free from certain objections Inherent
i'll other systems. y further reason
for the selection of this treatment H
It's especial adaptability to those
classes specified by the state commits
sion of prisons and the Charity O."
sanization society on account of it,
simplicity of operation, no residence at
an institute being required, and also
because of its easy administration ir
each city and county OF the state.
Furthermore, carefully compiled re-
ports show that the Oppenheimer In
stitute has already treated with
marked success Il considerable mum.
Der OF this lass of inebriates. many Of
them at the instance of courts and pro.
baton officers. both in New York state
and elsewhere"
The solution of the problem had IN
mind by the committee as being ut once
more economical, more scientific ana
more humane may be shown by sin