The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-02-26
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 Drunkenness Is One of the Leading Causes of In- S sanity Institutional Care Important from = Standpoint of Economy Alone $

provide the accommodations and means for caring for those classes which have already passed under it's protecting wing: and not undertake anything new until this has been done. The natural course to follow under such conditions is that the inebriates should be provided for by the com munity, under supervision either by one of the existing State boards. or T new board to be appointed for this special purpose.
 Provision of kind has been made in Massachusetts in Iowa and in one or two other States, but the best thought out plan that has come under my eye is that developed by the New York State Charities Aid Association, which was incorporated in bill sub mitted to the Legislature in March, 1909. and which has just been again introduced in the Senate by Senator Grady. The advantages secured by this plan are very clearly set forth in publication No. 10S of the State Charl- ties Aid Association. entitled Treat ment of Public Intoxication and Inc briety. The bill provides. among other things. for release of first of- lenders, for probationary oversight and fine on installment. for a central bureau of records. for a graded series of remedies. for hospital and indus trial colony. for an indeterminate sen-
 
 drunkards voluntarily or upon appl ca- tion of friends relatives or hospital authorities, and for the removal of the "rounder.''
 All physicians. magistrates, represen- tatives of charitable organizations and others who are familiar with the con- ditions brought about by drunkenness, Under present conditions the friends and family of the drunkard are with out means of relief, and the poor, un- fortunate victim goes on from bad to worse. It is well known that the treatment of inebriety must cover a. 'ong period of time. The temporary detention of the alcoholic does not pro- duce any lasting effect and means simply return to the old habits with in a short time after his release.
 The most efficient treatment has been institutional. of which Dr. Alex ander Lambert says:
 Institutional treatment. by which the patient may be assured that he will be protected against himself and can not obtain any alcohol for a period of one or two years. where he can live out of doors and bring his body back into as healthy a. state as pos- sible. with a chance for the brain to recover from the poisoning, offers the surest means of cure.''
  ready means of relief to the unfortun- ate family and friends of the drunk ard. They are assured that he will be treated according to his needs, that lis physical health will be improved, the moral side of his nature built up, and his will-power strengthened. and consequently they will avoid the pit falls of the challatan and the quack.
 1t is to be hored that the introduc- tion of the bill which failed to become law last year will be followed by such an expression on the part of the community as will carry the necessary weight with members of the Legisla- ture to pass it. It is my conviction that if one such an institution could be established, say by the city of New York it would be followed by others in various parts of the State. and In those counties where the population is too small to support an institution of this character. one might be built large enough to receive patients from other smaller communities. In other words three or four counties with a limited population could unite in main- taining properly hospital and indus trial colony for inebriates. There is nothing new in this suggestion. inas- much as a similar division of financial burden is shared by counties in the of some penitentiaries of the State. By this plan one county erects penitentiary and receives prisoners from counties in the immed fate vicinity