Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-09
RY DUKE MELLINGroN.

An interesting history of the steps
taken to insure proper care for the
Insane IN the State of New Jersey,
erd particularly in~Essex county, has
been prepared by DIR. Guy Payne,
nihdical superintendent of the Essex
County Hospital at Cedar Grove. In
order to prepare the history a vast
amount of digging through musty old
records was necessary and DR.. Payne
spent his odd time, of which he has
very little, by the way, for several
months, in compiling and preparing
the facts as to the care of insane by
Inc State and county.
s The history goes back to 1887, when
SscorGing to the data DR.. Payne OBJ
tanned in his long search, DIT. Lyndon
( q. Smith. of Newark, in an address
before the State Medical Society,
seailtd tie attention of the public,
especially the medical profession, to
Tlie needs of the insane and the neces-
sity Of providing a State asylum for
Hieir care and treatment.
But ID was not until ten years of
agitation On the part Of the public
ertd the medical profession that the
original act of the Legislature or
ghnizing the Trenton State asylum
was approved on February 20, 1S47.
sler many years thereafter insane
persons from all parts of the State
were sent to the institution.
Essex county first woke up to the
fact that an institution OF its own for
tic care of the insane was a neces-
sel,y OF August 3, 1870. when the COM
snittee of lunacy of the Board of
Chosen Freeholders reported that
a!;nr conference with the committee
e,n poor and aims of the city of New
srk that the overcrowded condition
OF the Trenton asylum and the excess
ever the quota Of Essex county then
IN that institution made prompt ac-
s.fiOn necessary.
II was recommended that suit
eDle house be rented and fitted up as
q county asylum. On October IL,
1870 the Board Of E'reeholders petit
toned the State Legislature to grant
To Essex county the right to build for
itself or in conjunction with other
counties a suitable asylum for the
insane. On February IL, 1871, an act
WIS introduced into the State Legis-
lature authorizing Essex county to
maintain an asylum of it's own and
relieving the county from further
payments toward the State asylum.
Up TO 1871 the Trenton asylum was
the only one in the State, the Morris
Plains asylum was in process of con-
sS+ruction but was far from compile
..eion. Essex county had at the Trenton
,institution ITO patients, some consid-
,erable number more than the quota
yallotted to it. The Trenton asylum
was so overcrowded that no more pa
.tients could be housed there and the
Essex county authorities, who had by
this time fully realized that the care
.pf the insane was a proper burden for
the county, were in a quandry.
The question of obtaining az mission
90 asylums in other States was dis
cassed and overtures made to the au-
thorities at Wards and Blackwelfs
islands, New York, and as far away
a. the State asylum of Vermont with
OUT any success.
IN January. 1872, the committee on
4tphacy, consisting Of David j. Can
Yield, William A. Freeman, William
Norman, Melancthon Smith and Will
fam CadTnus, reported that the exig-
encies of the situation called for inn
mediate relief, and on February 8,
1S72. they recommended to the board
flldt the property DOu1lueu Dy CdIH-
den and Bank streets and Paramount
avenue be leased and suitable pavil
Ions erected on the site for the tenn
porary care of the insane. On August
q, 1872. buildings which had cost
$4,000 to erect were opened to pa
dents with Major John Leonard as
s<varden and DR.. j. A. Cross as ply
eician. Fifteen patients were brought
from the Trenton asylum and nine
sfeen were transferred from the New
tslrk a]mshouse In 1873 the new asy-
Ium contained sixty patients and in
1874 additions costing $1,000 We're built.
For three years matters went along
slowly, with the Camden street insti-
tuition always crowded. In 1873 when
200 patients were at the Camden
street asylum it was decided TO push
the plans for building permanent
institution and the site in South Or
anrc avenue was finally selected in
1884
In June. 1881. DR. Charles Young
was appointed physician of the Cam
den street asylum, and in May. 1893,
the lunacy committee reported that
S33 patients We're in the asylum and
an addition to accommodate 100 more
patients was urged. The new asylum
on South Orange avenue up to this
time had cost $4,000 and was far
from completion and occupancy.
Two interesting things marked 1888
T., the asylum history. one was the
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