The weekly soliphone., 1915-01-08
MARS HUMAN WRECKS
IN INSANE AsYLUMS
Men From Trenches Rave in Tren-
ches.-Number Increases as
Fight IIengthens.

Paris, Jan. 4.-Mental wrecks Of
the war are filling the insane asy-
lums of France. AS the strain of the
| fighting in the trenches lengthens,
the unmber of lunatics increases.
Some are cured and go back, but
most of them remain, raving and
fighting phantoms.
Their are eighty insane asylums
in France. One of the most import
ant is the Drury asylum two miles
outside of Amiens. These grounds
are surrounded by a high brick wall,
which should make escape singularly
difficult A correspondent went out
there to see if it was true, as he had
| been told, that large numbe of of
ficers and men made insane by the
war are shut up there.
I'VE have about forty men under
treatment here said the director,
DR.. Rene Charon. But this is not
the only asylum in France, and these
days they are well supplied with
patients. Ours are mostly over
strained territorial soldiers who were
unable to stand the terrible life in
the trenches or who happened to be
in some particularly violent artil-
lery battle.
Almost all are fathers of fam
lilies, and worry over their wives and
children is one of the chief causes
of their madness. The best proof of
this is that in their lucid moments
they are continually asking for news
of their families
1--WE crossed the bare garden to-
ward a rectangular brick building
over which floated the flag of the
Red Cross" the correspondent
writes
Il am going to show you,' said
DR.. Charon, "a sergeant who is now
IIwell;-for, some of them can be cured
by rest and medical care. One gray,
foggy morning this sergeant was in a
trench with his men, who were doz-
ing. Suddenly he saw silhouetted
against the horizon rank of giants
wearing huge pointed helmets, and
marching slowly. Germans. His
hallucination grew more definite. His
eyes shone, he shook his men and
seized his gun.
Fire! l command you to fire!
Don't ye see they are boches?" he
cried, and the sleepy soldiers fired
into the midst of volly which
brought down four French sentinels
who were on patrol duty hundred
yards Off
'As the sargeant's case developed
he saw Germans everywhere. They
had great difficulty in getting control
of him.
"By this time we were before a
closed door. We rang, and an assist
ant led us into great gray hospital
room where some twenty men were
lying.
There, remarked my conductor.
we keep those who are both insane
and physically overstrained. They
rest in their beds
1--WE spoke to several of them.
Their eyes were sad, expressionless,
fixed, or else wandered lifelessly
here and there with foolish restless
ness.
"Ther was also fine blond young
fellow, 19 years old, law student
up to the time of the war.
:" This, said the doctor, smiling
at him, lis volunteer. Are you not,
my friend?'
"'Ah, no, monsieur the major.
You know have explained that to
you.'
Ellis voice was soft, almost femi-
nine. He was volunteer right
enough, but so great was his terror
that the fellow told everyone he had
been taken by force, and that they.
had tried to kill him.
"'You believe me, n@@
don't your he excleimed.
From now on said
we may look for nus,
Come back here in ana
and if the bull, i
| Io,oo tbox, ,ro,,11
all our patients
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