The Alaska citizen., 1911-03-20

persons have been committed as in sane only af,er a great amount Of deliheration on the part of the jury Their malady has ben SD slight that jurors have htsitated 10 sign a verdict committing th-.a 10 the sanitarmm. because they were con vinccd that few weeks rest might completely restore To them their mental balance. They have real ized also that confinement in an en- yir nment to which they were unaC- customed. with criminals for their associates and prison food their fare, might have tendency lo augment their ailment and turn them into maniacs.
 And. unfortunately, there are such cases to be chrouicled, and there will be until the criminal practice of confning the sick with the guilty is discontinued Take the case of young Mitchell. who was brought up
 
 only after much delibora,iou, as his malady had on no occasion taken d positive form. He is a young man unused to hardship, having oC- occupied only clerical positions. Brought to Fairbanks he is thrown into the federal jail amid surround ings loathsome 10 him, and the articles of food necessary to sick man are denied him because there is no appropriation therefor. From breeding on his condition he has become a very sick man. a lunatic. For the past week he has spoken but little and he has turned against his food IL is probable that by
 he time he reaches the sanitarium at Mount Tabor, if he ever does get that far he will be a raying maniac
 And who is to blame for this out rage against the laws of common decency and humanity being con tinued longer than necessary? The crime cannot be charged against the marshals office. because there has been no appropriation made where ! by special treatment can be given
 to the insane patients. The juries
 which commit the men do so always from humane motives. And a law has been passed which provides for lit house for the detention and proper treatment of these unfortu- mates
 The blame fer the present condi- l ion of the insane patients in the Fairbanks federal jail lies with l Governor Clark to a large eXtent Last June a bill was passed pro
 yiding an appropriation for detcn-
 ion hospitals al Fairbanks and at l Nome. It put the matter squarelI l up 10 the governor to get busy and
 see that bids were called for and 1 he work commenced. And what did i he do during the months that the 1 work could have been completed and i homes established for these unfor- ! tunates? Nothing. He didn't make 1 ! move
 1 In the beginning of October the
 matter was taken up by the Citizen l and inquiry was made at the mar
 shal's office as to whether there
 was to be anything done in the mat
 ter. Deputy Marshal Charles, who was in charge of the office at the time. said that his office had noth- 1 ing to do with the matter That the | government would act when it was 1 ready. He was shown where his | office did have something 10 do with l the matter as the bill passed put the calling for bids in the hands of he marshal. court and governor Governor Clark was then cOmmuni
 cated with and he answered that the bill was defective because no appropriation had been made for site. A free site was offered by the city, but the governor. probably busy at the time coming the plans for his Si0,000 government-donate l residence, did not think this would do, although a precedent had been set by the donation of every site in Fairbanks on which a government building stands.
 And another session of congress was allowed to come to a close without the appropriation being made. In the meantime Governor Clark is sending out literature to try and induce the belief that he has the interests of Alaskans at heart 1 The rawlings of the maniacs. whose minds have been shattered through their inhuman confinement, echo, however, a very different story.
 THE CONGRESSIONAL MACE.