Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-08-11

The beds were placed close together
some touching each other. They were
placed head to the wal. ronnd ti1fe';
sides of the room. The windows could
be reached only by climbing between
and around the beds. Yet no beds
should have been there at all. 1t was
a room In which the women were sup
posed to spend the day-an oasis in the
dreary n barren asylum for their
recreation hours.
This ROOM the doctor continued,
opening the mex door, has n win
dow. 1t was designed for two beds. In
reality, there shout only be one bed
But it has six.
The problem of ventilating a small
room with one window and six beds and
a single door opening TO a corridor may
be imagined better than it can be
solved.
The mex room was crowded in the
same manner. SO were the rest of the
rooms and dormitories
Speaking of a proper insane hos
pital," DR.. King went on, comparisons
Ii regard to foor capacity, hygenic
conditions and the simple provision Of
those things absolutely necessary for
the patients are absolutely out of the
question. Yet IL is not a matter of one
portion of the building; these condi-
lions exist throughout its entirety.
I'm short, it is overcrowded to an
alarming extent. Every hit of space
we have is valuable; most of it is oc-
cupied by beds"
DR.. King pointed out a dining-room
in the won1en's ward. where there were
101 patients. Two sittings were made
necessary merely to give the inmate
of the ward their meals.
LAS a proper hospital for the aid,
cure and comfort of the insane the
doctor commented emphatically, as he
led the way to the male wards,
"this Institution Is nothing but a Joke
compared 90 other Institutions. Even
our store-roOm is taken up by patients.
We haven't a place to store our sup
plies.
Here We have an almshouse within
stones throw, a tuberculosis hospital
nc farther and a smallpox hospital, q
pest-house and a penitentiary.
IndiscrimIpatc Mixture.
1T is unkind and inhuman to expect
any benefits to arise from the treat
ment of this class of patients with such
an ndiscriminate mixture of charities
ali grouped together,
In the male wards cots are made up
at night in the corridor. This is not
necessary In the women's wards simply
because the ~sun-parlors are used as
dornlitories.
Snake HILL the doctor said, sis
Synonymous with pauperism and
crime.
You take a person we'll brought W.
living on a fairly comfortable salary.
Ills sister or mother become mentally
d~eranged. Why, the very name of
Snake Hill creates a feeling of revul-
sion"
do you think insanity is increas-
ing?" DR. King was asked.
wei, | have been here thirty years.
When | car here wer 10 inmates.
Now there are 700. What are we going
to do thirty years from nov If this goes
on?"
From my experience" DIR. George
w. King continued, and by reason of
the duties to be performed in institu-
tons of this character, l am more
SlAOu6lN ilipl CSSth Will lHt llCOlN6n-
fence and injury attending an over
crowded building for the insane.
1.-THE volume and scope of the work
increasing from year to year makes
necessary the erection of additional;
buildings. The population of the
county Is increasing and so are it's
insane.
Abundant provisions have been
made to meet this normal increase in
all the county institutions except
those for the care Of the insane.
Building Far Too Small.
THE present building was originally
constructed to contain less than 300
patients. There are now more than
Ydouple that number 1t has served we'll
the purpose OF time, but has now out
lived its usefulness.
"As a proper place to administer
scientific treatment for all kinds of
mental arrangement, I am sorry to say
1t is many years behind the time.
Every resource is exhausted to meet
the requirements Of our growing num-
Der of inmates. Apartments on the
ground floor which heretofore have
been ''sed as workshops. store rooms
and supply rooms have nc been con-
verted into sleeping rooms and adapt
ed for other Indispensable purposes.
This space Is being utilized for our
most urgent needs, thus interfering
with good classification and proper
superintendent.
''The congestion causes too many in
sane patients to be included in the
same apartment. Many of them sell
dom leave the wards and none of them
are in perfect health.
by the crowding of so many Il the
same apartment, all alienists agree, the
chances of recovery for the durable
cases is greatly lessened,
"UnIess relief comes TO our aide I
regret to say that we are bound to re-
ceive many patients who at their in
cipient stage by careful management
together with modern methods and
agencies might be made useful mem
bers of society, instead of spending the
remainder of their days In institutions
of this kind.
1t should not be forgotten that the
great majority of patients admitted to
this institution have been bread-win-
ners, and that the benevolence so gen
orally given to the sick and poor ought
to be as freely extended to those suffer
ing from intrmity of mind. Mary OF
these, with the proper care due them,
may be restored to health. And all o.
them may be improved to a certain ex-
tent