The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-08-06
LEGAL TREATMENT
 OF DRUNKENNESS
Shortcomings of Present Court Meth ods-InstanceS of Alcoholic RepeaterS- Farm Col
 CuieS Remedy.
By Bailey B. Burritt, Asst. Sec. State Carities Aid Association,

Cnies Remedy.
 By Bailey B. Burritt, Asst. Sec.
 State Carities Aid Association,
 New York City)
 Exclusive Service The Survey Press
 Bureau.)
 Inebriety is the source of many oi the most important problems of gov ernment. Recent figures show that 28.9 per cent of the male cases of in sanity in New York are due to eX- cessive use of alcohol. In PennsyI- vania fl per cent of the imbeciles owe their condition to intemperance 30 to 40 per cent Of epileptic cases have their origin in alcoholism. The report of the Board of Prison Com sioners of Massachusetts for 1908 states that 86,365 or 60 per cent of the total arrests were made for pub lie intoXication. Drunkenness as a cause of poverty is continually noticed in everyday life.
 In spite of the prominence of the problem, we have been content every where to adopt a laissez faire atti- tude. The improvidence of the habi- tual drunkard in proverbial. The improvidence of state, county, munich pal and town governing agencies is equally fact.
 The treatment of the problem in New York City is typical of the practice in nearly all the large cities In 1908, 37,391 were arrested for in- toxication. The magistrate of one court where the records were care fully indexed, discharged 1,402 of the cases appearing before him or 49.9 per cent. Of the remaining cases 2( per cent were committed to the work house. 2.8 per cent were put on pro- bation and the rest fined from one to ten dollars each. Two thirds ot those fined were committed for in- ability to pay the amount imposed.
 So far as fines are paid, they are usually met by the friends or rela- tives or those arraigned. They pay rather than suffer further disgrace The fine paid in this way is quite use- less so far as it affects the person fined.
 The use of the short sentence is even more ineffective. The man leaves the district prison or work house without money and in most cases without friends. He can secure shelter in a saloon and probably by performing, menial service for the bartender get a drink. This is the most natural thing for him to do. The alcoholic repeater is the natural result of tEe short sentence.
 The more acute cases are cared for in the public wards of the hospitals. In 1908, 11,000 or 12,000 cases were treated from two to five days. They are then set free having derived mo permanent benefit.
 The number of persons who appear again and again for drunkenness is alarming. In one case, man now sixty-one years of age has been in the workhouse sixty-two separate times. He has spent 3,163 days there at a total cost for maintenance alone of $1,S6S.53 Another case has been in bo Ixh h f,-&xy fn11,s f times, in the alcoholic wards of a city hospital thirty-one times, in the Municipal Lodging house twice, in the almshouse once and in two other hos pitals two times each. He has spent a total of 1,943 days in these various places at a total cost of S1, ,323.12. Still another case, man about 55 years of age has been in the workhouse, almshouse, or hospitals seventy-one times for a total of 5S84 days at a total cost of s2,492.37. In Utica, New York, one person has appeared before the police court at least 160 times for public intoXication.
 Although the charter of New York City calls for cumulative sentence for those who have been sent to the workhouse once Or more within the preceding two years, the provision is practically imperative through lack of adequate means of identification. Also in New York there is no law by which an habitual drunkard who does not become publicly obnoxious can be committed to any institution.
 There is substantial unanimity as to the general lines along which changes should be made. The finger print system of identification has thoroughly tried out and should be employed in each court after convic- ton. Magistrates could then adapt
 
 son.
 A graded series of remedies in need ed. First offenders should be releas- ed without their appearance in court. For the next grade of cases probation should be tried and fine imposed to be collected in instalments. More serious eases should be comitted to a farm colony. To carry out this plan involves extending greatly the princi- pie of probationary oversight of petty offenders. This principle is cornpara- lively recent m application but the results are so satisfactory that it has passed the experimental stage.
 Seven states provide for the com mitment of habitual drunkards on the petition of relatives accompanied by proper medical certification. When a man has completely lost his self con- tro1 and is a constant burden to his family, 1t should not benecessary for him to become so obnoxious to the community as to incur arrest for dis orderly conduct before he can be com mitted to an institution.
 Medical authorities are unanimous in their belief in the farm colony treatment. The prime necessities are: isolation from alcohol for con- tinuous period of time, abundance of light and fresh air, therapeutic baths and as much outdoor work as the pa tient is capable of physically. Not all cases of inebriety, however, can be treated alike. Physical differences due to the stage of the disease re- quire classification and diversified treatment. Incipient and advanced cases cannot be treated together.
 The advantage of such colonies are that large number of rounders would be taken from the streets, courts, pri- sons, warehouses, and hospitals. Many cases that are a constant menace to society would be removed. Families that are burdened by caring for fath- CTS and brothers who are habitually drunk would be relieved. But most important the individual would be iso- lated from alcohol and placed in a healthful environment and helped to lead a wholesome and partially self