The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-03-31
CRIMINAL INSANE.
Early Completion Of Far
view Hospital a Necessity
HALF MILLION APPROPRIATION.
Why it Should be Passed--Sep.
arate Asylum for Criminal In
sane Great Benefit to
All Concerned.

We are pleased to note the fact that
influential journals throughout the State
are opening their columns to arguments
in favor of the early completion of the
State Hospital for the Insane at Far
view and urging the Legislature to pass
the pending bill asking for funds to Wig
orously prosecute the work. The Phila-
delphia Inquirer recalls the fact that the
Legislature of 1905 provided for "the
selection of site and the erection of
State Hospital for the treatment and
care of the criminal insane" Commits
sioners purchased site at Farview,
Wayne county, adopted plans and pre-
pared to construct the building. They
were long ago halted for lack of funds.
A bill before the present Legislature
calls for $500, 900 for the prosecution of
the work. That bill should be passed.
1t is high time that more attention should
be given the necessary State institutions
and less to privately conducted charities
that were paid Sc, 800, 600 of the peoples
money by the Legislature of two years
ago.
There is plenty of evidence that this
institution is needed. Such hospitals
had the Endorsement of the National
Conference of Charities and Corrections
held in June, 1907, and the Pennsylva-
MIA delegation to that conference strong
ly recommended the establishment of
hospital in this State. The State of New
York maintains two such hospitals, one
at Matteawan and the other at Danne-
mora. These institutions at present con-
tain about 400 inmates. The States of
Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Mass
achusetts have each large and, carefully
conducted asylums for the criminal in
sane. OHIO has under contract buildings
for like purpose.
In gathering statistics from the court
records of the different counties of a
State bearing on the criminal insane a
person might be led to believe that they
are comparatively few in number. This,
however, is not the method to adopt to
ascertain the actual number incarcerated.
Most of the patients placed in hospitals
for criminal insane become insane while
serving sentence for some criminal Of
tense. The law in all the States having
asylums for criminal insane is eff any
person in confinement, under Indictment
for the crime of arson, murder, attempt
at murder, rape, attempt at rape or
highway robbery shall appear to be in
sane, the Judge of the circuit court in
which such indictment is pending shall
have power summarily to inquire into
the sanity of such person, and if ascer-
tanned to be insane they shall be trans
ferred to hospital for criminal insane"
Every superintendent of State asylum
is an earnest and enthusiastic advocate
of separate asylum for the criminal in
sane, as the presence of such inmates is
a perpetual dread in an ordinary asylum.
The recent escape of the three convict
maniacs from the Norrstown asylum,
after numbering their keeper, is strong
argument in favor of separate asylums
for criminal insane.
By the common consent of neurologists
there is no class of insane so amenable
to treatment or who profit so much by
proper custodial care and treatment as
the criminal insane.
The benefit done by the separate care
and treatment of criminal insane is two
fold. The patient himself receives
treatment peculiarly beneficial for him,
and the inmates of other institutions are
freed from their menacing presence.
Pennsylvania has always occupied the
first place in the science of medicine and
the proper care and treatment of the
mentally afflicted, and if it wishes to
continue holding that proud eminence it
should make the Farview Asylum the
greatest in this country.
At present there are over five hundred
criminal insane in the State of Pennsyl-
vania.