The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-10-24
THE STREETS AND INSANITY.

There are daily running at large in Richmond
IL number of people Hharmlessly insane that
to say to anticipate the frivolous paragrapher,
people whose INSANITY is obvious and obtr1lslve,
evidenced BY actions which Instantly mark them
out from the crowd Of ordinary more-or-ess IN
sane people, These untortunates are permitted
to roam the streets to exhibit their eccentrcties,
and to excite the helpless compassion of the pub
lie. They are the prey of gamins. frequently the
fear of women and children. They mar the scene
of busy city with the evidence Of the wreckage
+ Of life irresponsible as they are they should
no more be permitted on the public thoronghfares
than if they were roously drunk.
indy dal-- af hfs-elass- are-eHle i9ift-
inaIly harmless is we'll evidenced by an occur
renee al Raleigh, North Carolina 'on last Satur-
dav. A circus parade was making progress over
one Of the principal streets. The street dhd side
walks were packed with spectators. At such
moment and in such a theatre of operations
one Of these harmless lunatcs suddenly expert
ehced a new snap Of some cord IN his brain. In
stantv The harmless lunatc became the danger
ously murderous maniac. Whipping out pis-
tol, he fired into the body of the crowd, fired
again aud again. tremendously no one was
! injured but this fact due more to the
strange providence that guards the lives OF the
/ helpless rather than to any reason naturally
averting tragedy The harmless unaic walk
/ ing abroad did his utmost to take life. With
the streets packed as they We're, it almost seems
that some benign power turned the bullets from
an almost inevitable course.
What happened TO the Raleigh lnnatic may
happen at any mom&nf TO any of those OF
| the same sort who daily walk the streets of Rich
mond and other cities. llarmlessness cease.
when insanity begins. Indeed sanity is ia a
broad sense little more than measure of re
slraint; insanity is scarcely more than yield
ing to the impulses that al times surge through
the sanest brain Dclusions apart lack of co
herency beside the mark the crazy man is the
man who cannot understand that the doing of the
thing which at the moment makes appeal is an
impossible thing His want of sanity consists
largely in his inability to appreciate his insanity
and that of his habits and desires. 1t is beyond
human power To say when these desires and i'm
pulses may exceed eecentrieity and embrace muir
der the acts of vicious crime.
On every consideration the ''harmlessly in
sane, person ought to be denied the Use of the
streets He Is not pretty object. He does
not tit in with the serious business of city. He
CONSTITUTES in his helpless. even harmless. atti-
tude reproach on the humanities of the govern
nient that permits him at large. Out of kind.
ness to the lunatic, or half-wtted person--but
more ont of proper caution for the safety of the
citizens, which municipality is supposed to
guard in every reasonable way--this pitifu class
should be restricted in It's public contacts Even
on financial consideration, ii would seem that
segregation of this sort of people is warranted
by the possibilities: When, with police force
and police authority city permits potentially
dangerous individual To walk It's streets. is it
moi liable in damages for the sudden and unex-
pected, but reasonably foreseen outbreak of MUIR
derous intent in such a person!
There is no such thing as a harmless insane
man. the gods alone know when and where the
danger lies, but that it exists no man not him
self insane can with show of reason DENY,