Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1915-05-21
VISIT TO BROWNSVILLE
STATE HOSPITAL
For Insane Colored Men and Women
"A Well Conducted Insti-
tuition.
EDUCATIONAL WORK DONE.
Occupation the Keynote Of Success at
This Hospital for COIored Insane
at Brownsville.

~
Baseball playing by the insane dem
onstrates the fact that il is game
that can be played by all sorts and
conditions of men, although the gen
eral belief is the sport is in every way
sane proposition.
However, the sight that first greet
ed the eyes of a representative of The
Capital upon a recent visit to the
CrownsvilleState Hospital for the col
ored insane, was portion of the in
mates on the diamond. engaged in
game OF ball,the opposing mines com
posed of occupants of two dormito-
ries. A crowd of on-lookers sat
around on the lawn watching the
game with seemingly as much en-
thusiasm and interest as the Naval
Academy fans on the bleechers.
These Brownsville fans were the
women from the insane hospital on
one portion of the ground,an the
| rest of the colored men who were not
the players. at another part of the
ground.
After greeting the Superintendent,
Dr. Robert P. Winterode, remark
abel man, of whom we shall speak
later, the first exclamation was I'VE
didn't know that crazy people could
play baseball! Is it the game or the
players that is erratic?" Now you
look over there. that must be Chick
Brown making home run. It's a way
Chick has. you know He has made
| several" The superintendent smiled
and said it was not Chick" and per-
haps the less said about him in this
story the better,as Annapolis has but
little liking for this inmate.
1t was Saturday afternoon, and re-
creation day at the Brownsville State
| Hospital. so that is why a baseball
| game was in progress this beautiful
MAY afternoon, and why everybody
was out Of doors enjoying the air and
the sunshine.
Now pease don't understand there
is no pure air and sunshine inside
the hospital. for II is really the best
ventilated sunniest place in the way
of a hospital you ever saw There
are windows everywhere, we looked
at them couldn't count them, so nu-
merous are they and thought of the
window washers who must begin on
Monday morning to clean windows
and keep it up all week for many
weeks, so clean and shining are the
windows
Indeed cleanliness is the keynote
of success in conducting this splendid
Brownsville Hospital We contrast
ed ii in its spick and span appearance
with the county aims house, and shud-
dered-for the almshouse reeking
with filth and vermin.
Entering the first of the group OF
three buildings, all new. and one OF
them incomplete. the whole overlook
ing a stretch of five hundred acrs
and costing some $4,000, we were
shown the administration ROOM the
front of which is set apart for tenn
porary quarters as Offices for the ply
sicians in charge. Everything about
the place is neat and tidy. The rugs
on the floor were woven by the pa
tients at the hospital. and all the
wicker scrap baskets and flower bas.
kets. for there were wild flowers anC
spring blossoms in abundance. were
made by the patients who gather the
willow and are taught the weaving
of basketry for both ornament and
use. The laundry baskets, hampers
ironing baskets are all made by thu
patients. and thse poor, dementet
colored people demonstrate thai
everybody can be useful, even the
human being without a normal minc
and brain.
| DR.. winterode says: Those YOU
can't occupy. YOU must amuse." ant
it along this idea that the hos
pital management is conducted. Every
effort is made to occupy everyone Of
the patients, but in some instances
this is impracticable. and it is neces.
sary TO amuse them
An item of interest known TO but
few is the work of these insane col.
ored people that took a prize recently
at an exhibit by the American Med.
ical and Psychological Association. SC
beautifully done is their weaving on
the loom, their basketry and crochet
ing, knitting, quiltmaking. etc. BY the
women and men as well
We were shown through the TEN.
porary dining-room, for later, when
completed, the dining-room will be
across the way in the third Of the
group. Rows of white porcelain Ia
bles. each bearing as a centre-piece a
pitcher Of beautiful wild flowers.-
stretch across a neatly whitewashed