The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-03-06
THIS MAN-ANIMAL.

nuts were bad Ohio State Journal.
THIS MAN-ANIMAL.
This animal we raj. man Is a
curious species. Here he is walking
In an upright fashion. made in the
image of his Maker, we are told,
perfeciing language. reasoning
about the nnknowable things above
him and beneath him, calling HIM
self enlightened He. meets his fel-
lows and communes with them; de
vises systems for his existence;
throws about him safeguards and
provides luxuries sucn as no other
arimal knows. And yet we fnd' him
today right here in TIE good state
o. Ohio. committing acts against his
helpless fellows in manncrb tiat
would put to shame the most brats
ish creature that goes upon four
feet. h% IoA
Just think of 1t! Four men in this
state indicted for cruelty to insane
people-cruelty that did not stop un-
Il. the poor. irrational victims were
dead, for the men are actually ac-
cused of beating the inmates Of the
Athens asylum TO death! Have YOU
ever heard of a more horrible. thing
, happening In savagery or among
the "lower" animals? We quote the
word lower for as a matter of
font tbo,o nop ba patbip,. lnu,ar a.,
the animal kingdom than man
who mistreats an insane person.
If there had been only one man
liDdicted, we could account for it on
the ground that the fellow had re-
verted to savagery, or to the brute
creation. But there would hardly be
four cases of reversion in one little
institution. We rlust, therefore,
TRY to account for 1t on some other
lgrounds.
1t can be accounted for only on the
ground that we are not so far re-
Imoved from the brute creation as
We imagine. Those four men who
are indicted for the heinous offense
were not, possibly, when they en-
tered the institution, SO very diff
ferent from the rest of us. They
lsought to earn their living in the
easiest possible manner, just as the
rest of MS do. They must have bad
lsome political influence to secure
the places. They, therefore, were
well known in their respective COM
lmunities, and had the endorsements
lot intelligent people who believed
they would make good attendants at
the asylum.
Those attendants probably entered
upon their employment, believing
they would do their duty. At first
there is little doubt, they were care.
fu! of the patients under them. II
may have been days an II days be-
fore they SO much as struck pa.
'tient with the open hand. Gradually
itbey became hardened One day
they struck poor. helpless fellow
with the fist. The next day, OF
the next week, they used clubs Fin.
ally they did not hesitate to pick ur
an iron bar and knock senseless the
Irrational creatures, or hold the
frail beings beneath the surface
the water of bath tub until life
became extinct. II all shows that
we may learn to stand almost any
sort of barbarity Doubtless. those
four indicted men actually laughed
] as they saw the squirming, suffer.
} Ing, tortured felix writhe In agony
laf the blows rained upon their naked
, backs.
And all of that in Ohio-not IN
: Abyssinia nor Thibet. The degraded
2 cruel monsters Who were guilty ol
such treatment were our fellows
not Tartars, nor Turks. We say
guilty, because 1t has been showr
that they were guilty. although theil
final trials have not as yet taker
place. The Investigations by the
. grand jury, showed them to he
guilty, altough it is now stated tha
there VIII be a tremendous effor'
on the part OF the higher officials
oe the institution to acqut them
Another evidence that we have no
progressed so far, when the heat
of the institution, a man OF SUPPOSED
intelligence, and the superintendent
and the managers of the place ar,
accused of now conspiring to preven
the conviction Of the four attend
ants, because conviction woult
not reflect credit upon the manage
,ment of tho asylum
A man has to be well BALANCED
mentally If he does not fly into /;
rage at the relation OF such atroc
tiles and demand the cremation O
The culprts. He has to be above tn,
average If he does not clamor TO
the blood of those four fehds, ant
all other of the fcnds connected
with the institution. He has to b.
a Christian, well founded in tn,
faith, If he can refrain from saying
by the eternal, II there had beel
any OF my loved ones so treated,
would have the life of those attend
ants, II 1t were the last act or m,
20 .s.<e, IL &