Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1913-08-30

that at the Gheel in Belgium.
The system in vogue there con-
sists in no restraint but that
OF kindly surveillance except In dan
gerous cases. The colony is in VII
lage surrounding a church dedicated
to st. olympic, the patroness of the
insane.
The insane patients are not referred
to as mad Always they are the
SICK" the malades. They are boarded
il the homes of the inhabitants II or
der that they may enjoy the freedom
and intercourse of family life, the
benefit of which is one of the funda-
mental ideas of the system. Nearly
every house in the colony contains
one or two "malades"-more than two
not being allowed by the medical au-
thority in chief.
This fact makes a visit to Gheel
somewhat weird" says writer in the
Queen. "One constantly meets pa
tients and never knows whether one
is speaking to a sane person or not.
AS | was taken round by the wife OF a
nurse | was very probably taken for
the newest arrival in the colony.
Enjoy Perfect Freedom.
Among Gheers mentally afflicted
population are people from all parts
of Europe-England. France, Holland
and Belgium all send patients Eere.
My guide kept pointing out to
me a patient in the street, or house
where dwelt one or more Of the
malades.
"A woman standing here, a man
walking there, an old man with a
scythe returning from harvesting-all
were aliens, but all were enjoying
perfect freedom, walking about like
the rest of the world, working If they
liked, or resting If they liked. though
all were known and looked upon with
kindly commiseration as sick in mind
If not In body.
IN the railway station / noticed q
man walking up and down very i'm
patiently waiting for the booking OF
fee to open; he, too. like 80 many
others, was mot quite all there" ani
this was one of his daily customs.
believe a ticket of some kind
was given him. and he walked away
quite happy. as the patients in tall
queer colony are all known to tie In
habitants and their idiosyncracies II
dulged with a kindly tolerance az fss,
as possible
my guide, too, seemed quite auauses
when l expressed fear Of acciteafs
seeing that the station and lines, bon
Of the tram and railway, are opHn.
found out afterward that there hat
been up till then but four fatal acct
dents to the patients on the railway Al
Gheel, one of which was due to sud
den fit of suicidal mania. piaepti,
patients, by the way, seem to iznbrov,
here, and in twenty years, out of D,
fewer than 5000, only once had tber,
ever been an attempt on life. and ths.
not serious one.
TT must not, however, be thought
that the dangerous patients are a.
lowed perfect freedom at Gheel. o.
the contrary, these are kept under re
straint in the Hospice, where they ar
cared for by the kindly. sweet face,
Sisters of Charity. But confinement
il only resorted to in those case
where it is absolutely necessary.
THE history of the Belgian system
is interesting, as the treatment of tn,
insane in the manner sketched is pure
ly Belgian both in it's inception an,
its realization. 1t has been copied b.
other European nations, as well a
America, but England has held aloof
though Scotland tried it some year
ago. The colony has been In existenc