Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-11
Defends THE ASYLUM
Supt. White Explains Escape
of Insane Patients.
NO DANGER TO DISTRICT
Secretary of the Interior Approves
of Report.
FUGITIVES QUICKLY CAUGHT
Besides, Says Doctor, the Insane
Aren't More Dangerous Than
the Sane.
NO DANGER TO DISTRICT
QUICKLY CAUGHT

the Government Hospital for the Insane,
has submitted his report to the Secretary
of the Interior. on the escapes of in ane
patients from the insti ution. The re-
port Is regarded as satisfactory by the
officials of the department, who are salts
fed that DR.. VIII te is TAX 'ng all precau-
tions possible under the circumstances, and
unle further complaints are received the
matter will be dropped by the depart
ment.
DR.. White says in part:
Il have your letter of the Sd instant
containing letter from the Commission
ers of the District of Columbia transmit
ting a report made by the chief of p.l &c
on the matter of escaped patients from
this hospital, and calling for such report
from me as the fac>s seem to warrant.
In the fir t instance ! wish to call your
attention to the fact that Nd complaints
of any kind have been received in this
office, and inquiry develops the fact that
none have been received at the depart.
ment regarding pa ole or the lice les
granted patients. Secondly, the report
years beyond the time that l have been
connected with the HOSPITAL. and there
fore beyond the time about which l can
speak authoritatively.
Only Case Cited.
The only case cited in which pa
rolled patient committed a serious act OF
violence which occurred since / took
charge of the hospital. is the O'Brien
case O'Brien had been In the hospital
| about ten years, and during large part
of this time had been on parole. He had
| his parole when ] came to washington
and the act cited occurred shortly there
after.
"Since the OBricn case not singls
accident has occurred which upon investi'
cation by the constituted authorities has
resulted in any blame being attached te
| the hospital, and such acts of violence al
| have occurred have not been directed
against the public. but on the contrary
against the caretakers of the patient:
who have been the greatest sufferers.
| Notwithstanding all these facts. how
| ever. the hospital Is fully aware OF Its
! responsibilities in the premises, and
| there is no intention Of countenanc!ns ns
! rela alton Of those precautions whtch
| are reasonable and proper in caring for
| the peculiar class of persons committed
| to our care. 1t should not be forgotten
! in this connection that the population
! of the hospital has increased rapidly in
| recent years, SO that We now have
1850 patients-44s patients more than
were in the hospital at the time of the
/ O'Brien accident-Which, with our en-
ployes, aggregate population of ap-
| proximately 1890 persons. An occa-
| expected. but that fact does not OF
| course. make it any the less regret
! able when it does occur. nor do We feel
any the less keenly because OF 1t.
Regarding Actual Escapes.
"As regards the actual escapes from
! the hosp tai during the past year I ma,
OIL
non-residents of the District and prac
tically all of them, who were not re
| turned Immediately, left the District ane
have not returned thereto. II will b,
seen that this class of escapes offer
thereto re. no danger to the tizens o.
the District, particularly as further
study of the situation shows that large
proportion of them were convalescfng-
| II fact, We're practically well, in many
! instances only wait ng for the final set
| tlement cf their accounts with the de
partment before being discharged Sew
eral of these patients have been heard
| from since and our information has war.
ranted us in d.scharg ng them as re-
covered"
with the immense patient population
of the hospital-2 S51-the number OF
e.opements can hardly be considered as
excessive when conside alton is given to
the fac that an effort Is being made to
conduct the hospital upon the most mod
ern principles. which involve large
degree Of liberty.
From the above quotations it will be
seen that no case is granted city privi-
leges without a hearing before medical
staff This is an eX raordinary precau-
ton Most of The elopements are by
PATIENTS who have parole of the & ounds
This privilege Is granted on.y by senior
medical officers of many years expert
ence in the care of the insane.
Wanderers Not Dangerous.
"It is not s range that quite q number
Of Il Is latter class, considering that the
hospital Is only nominally inclosed and
has public highway going through its
center. should wander out. TIE patients
who do so wander out are not DANCE :
1us, as the records of the past years will
demonstrate.
THE belief that because person is
nsane lie g necessarily dangerous, Is, |
know popularity held. But il is simply
not so. l am almost tempted to say l..
no more true of tho insane as a class
Than II is OF the sane as a class. In
fact a considerable proportion of our
male patents are cared for in whole OF
n part by women nurses, and a number
lf the elopements during the past year
have been from those wards where WON
n nurses are employ ed.
1T is the desire of the hospital, based
upon its knowledge of the insane. to do
IS much as p,ss.b.e for their restoration
and failing in that. for their comfort
while they stay with us. While doin.
this, however. we have full appreciat or
# our responsibilities to the public anG
that public may be assured that MT oni.
re all usual precautions taken at this
hospital to protect 1t, but that
xtraol binary precautions are takel