The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-25
INVESTIGATING THE CHARGES
Next Meeting Win Be Open to
 Public.
Witnesses, Though Insane, Testify Hm Quiet And Intelligent Manner And Seem to Under stand
 Everything.
BY WILL T. STEPHAN.

Investigating commission listened to- day to the testimony of insane persons who appeared before them. they won- dered how much belief should be given the evidence.
 Not that the testimony was sensa- tional or that 1t was given in q violenr manner. On the contrary. the wit nesses were quiet and as well behaved as those of any court and they spoke with intelligence. But they were ln- clIned to talk over much and the conn~ mission could not easily stop them when they had told what they Knew.
 The apparent mental power of soEn8 of them astonished the commissions but a quiet question from Judge May field, addressed to the delusion of th@ witness. could throw him off in mem tai tangent.
 The session today was again behind closed doors, Much of the testimony was upon the death of Richard Johnson and the charge previously made that his death was due to mistreatment by the nurses.
 It will be recalled that previous wit- nesses swore that Johnson had been so mishandled that he died of injuries to the stomach. The commission IS care fully going into the charge that the nurses while out of the presence of the doctors, mistreated and abused the oh- stinate patient. Charges of this char acter have been made against mead nurse McDuR of the Mems Departmene and head nurse Brooks of the WomaMS Department. The commission Is spauu- ing it's efforts towards reaching the truth or falstty of these charges The commission is also investigate ing the system of supervision main- l'tained by the hospital authorities. lk is the wish of the commission to as- certain how closely the doctors and au- rnoritiea keep in touch with the nurses and to ascertain if supervision is lax enough to commit the alleged cruelty There was before the Commtssicn to~ | day a former friend of Representative 1 Arnold, young man who. two years l ago, had brilliant prospects, but Who | today has only a narrow cell tn tns asylum. Two years ago this y2NnB man was brilliant student at the 1nl- varnlfxy of Alabama. From his marrow | little room, he can look through IFS barred windows and sea the uutyersity chapel, where he stood up ana feeeAFeN 1 hia diploma of graduation,
 Tour Wfftne2ses were exsmined tudAAs l two women and two men. Ths hofp1E | tai doctors were present today Tor ens | first time. With today's executive Ses@ l zion ended. the Commission VIII mees | Monday for a public hearing az tns Tuscaloosa County court house soa.9 | twenty-five witnesses have been sum | rnoned many of them from out or | town The Commission will leave | wednesday for Birmingham but VIII return to tuscaloosa the following ] week. ,.
 | Three remarkable women were tn1 | first three witnesses before the exee- l utive sessions of the commission wikn~ | in inc bospital walls. Each was inteA~ | lirent. gentle and refined, but insane 1 -hopelessly insane Fl. | Their names--but their names do no1 matter. There is no good 10 pe o2- l InDEE | names, not that they themselves w0u.1 l see inc publication and feel the huniil~ iatfon of being portrayed as the hops- lessly insane.
 tain for them has been rung down. Their world is within the gloomy walls of the hospital and they VIII know nc among their brothers and sisters oE the outer world. They know. within | their narrow world, sorrow and nap-
 niness. hope and gloom, for they are | sane except upon one subject
 And strange as 1t may seem, they know they are insane upon their par | ticular delusion.
 ticular subject-perhaps brain cell has given away" said one of the gen- | tie witnesses with quiet dignity. | know that 1t is a delusion but to my
 mind it is real. I can be made to su1-
 fer through that delusion, but upon
 every other subject my mind ls q0isa | as clear as yours"
 testifyinE before the commission in | private It was her view that the | nurses sometimes punished the patients | for obstinacy or perversfy-not Dy l blows or by violence, but by the more | refined cruelty of opposing the pa
 tient's single delusion. It was az l serted by these witnesses that if the
 nurses desired to punish a patient for obstinacy or some violation of the | rules. patient would be moved from 1 her quiet quarters in the peacsfuk
 ward to one of the violent wards where
 she needs must hear the maniacicat
 rawlings of her more unfortunate sia-
 ters.
 The hospital management. however,
 Ia prepared to show that patients ara
 only moved to the violent wards when
 they are violent.
 Nor did these patients have conn
 plaints to make of personal i'll treat
 ment. They spoke for others. they
 said. and for the improvements of some
 conditions which they thought should
 be improved
 Cultured Patient.
 A cultured woman on the witness
 stand. held chained the closest Atten-
 ton of each member of the comnlis-
 sion They leaned forward as she
 spoke to catch every word that fell
 from her lips and they found her tes-
 timony of absorbing interest-not that
 1t was sensational or bristling with
 terrible things. but because she whc
 gave 1t was a most remarkable woman
 She is an authoress of note. Four
 of her works have been published and
 they have been received with praise
 and commendation. The Lippincotts
 are her publishers.
 They have been pleased to bring oul
 the works of this brilliant woman
 mind. And now with her books In ths
 libraries. in the homes and in the boon
 sellers shelves. the mind that hal