Evening star., 1935-12-29
A Farm for Mind
Cultivation
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

q PoA hoAuCAAedAJ inquiry WHICH Ie6QlLcO
in a reform OF the laws governing such
matters. Later, when H. c. Wells wrote
Christina Alberta's Father" there was
another burst Of indignation followed by
reform. 1t would be impossible to state
how much or how little improvement
would have taken place without the pro-
duction of these works, but it Is certain
that today the treatment Of the men
tally afiicted Is on an entirely different
plane.
Probably nowhere in the world are
mental patients given superior treat
ment to that at st. Elizabeths Hos
pital, the asylum for the insane con-
Quoted by the Federal Government at
Washington. It Is one of the largest in
the world and in all respects model.
Students of the subject come from far
places to study the methods Of this in
stitution conducted by Uncle Sam.
1t is notable in the first place that st.
Elizabeth's is not officially called an in
sane asylum. That term has, in the pub
Lie mind, connotation Of stigma. 1t Is
usual to think of insane asylums as places
Of strait confinement verging on the
penal. st. Elizabeth's is called hos
pital and that is just what it is. To
be sure it is necessary to confine some
patients for their own protection and
that of other patients. but, in general.
the atmosphere of the place is far more
that of hospital.
The institution is located on high land
overlooking the Anacostia River, the site
commanding panorama Of the city OF
Washington. The large buildings are set
in farm and while the town of Ana
costa has grown to the boundaries, st.
Elizabeth's resembles a large country
estate rather than the insane asylum Of
popular imagination.
1t is a community in itself. Last year
the average number of patients under
treatment was 6,015 and the year before
it was 5,875. Most of the patients are
from the District of Columbia, but, as this
is a Federal establishment, persons con-
nected with the Federal service from
all over the country together with men
of the Army and Navy are found there.
During last year 3,056 of the patients
were white men, 884 Negro men, 1920
white women and 785 Negro women.
The great difference between such an
institution as st. Elizabeth's and the
old-fashioned insane asylum is that every
effort is made to cure the afflicted. In
the old days the object merely was to
confne the patient and most If not all
who entered such institutions had rea-
son to abandon hope at the portal. Last
year, for example, 244 patients were dis
charged.
st. Elizabeth's is a place Of great In.
duStry. The farm work is done in part
by the patients who are well enough %
be about and the output is impressive.
Besides a long list of kitchen vegetables
which supply the tables Of the institution,
the farm in typical year produces 265,-
900 gallons of milk, 10000 pounds Of
pork, 6,336 pounds of chickens, 14700
dozen eggs, 1000 tons of ensilage corn
and 1870 tons of alfalfa.
Then there is the indoor work in the
shops Shoes are made by the thou.
sands, mattresses, variety of clothing,
table and bed linen. towels and hun
dred other useful articles. These are
all used in the establishment.
DR.. William A. White, who is head OF
the establishment and one Of the most
noted pSychiatrists in the world, thinks
the farm should be more extensive.
There have been no additions to the land
held since 1891, and at that time st.
Elizabeth's had only 1000 patients, com.
pared with more than 5000 now. He
wants Congress to provide 5000 acres Of
additional farm land and has pointed
out to Congress that this should be done
at once or no open land will be available
because of the encroachment Of the city,
which already surrounds most Of the in
stitution. Delay would mean that ulti-
mately houses would have to be con-
demned and acquired at much greater
cost.
4 * X
A community of this size requires as
many facilities as would town Of the
same population. For instance, there Is
bakery which last year turned out $780,
900 loaves of bread and 3.275,000 rolls
in addition to variety of fancy pastry.
A milk -pasteurizing plant handles a
daily average Of 723 gallons. The ice
cream plants turn out SO gallons a day
and a big laundry functions.
The efficiency Of the fire department
which is maintained at st. Elizabeth's
is attested by the fact that the q fires
which started last year were so quickly
extinguished that total damage amounted
to only $l13. Were major conhagra-
ton to occur, the services Of the District
of Columbia Fire Department would be
available, but smaller fires are expertly
handled by the institutions own equip
ment. Fire drills and fire inspections
are frequent.
st. Elizabeth's has a library of some
81 900 volumes Part of the books are
medical works of principal use to the
staff Of doctors and nurses and part are
general in nature and are for the use OF
the patients. AS the patients have q
good deal of leisure, considerable read.
ing is done, about $500 books being in
use On an average.
The medical staff, in addition to the
regular work. keeps up constant study
Of it's duties and an afflliation is main
tanned with the American Psych1atr1c
Association. The study Of mental dis
eases, especially from the pSychiatric
point of view, is a relatively new branch
Of medical science and each year brings
new revelations. Also training school
for nurses is conducted at the institu-
ton. About 20 nurses especially trained
for the handling of mental patients are
graduated from this school each year.
An interesting system recently put into
operation at st. Elizabeth's is an occu-
pational index. An index card is made
out for each patient able to engage in
an occupation. Each charge nurse OBJ
tains from patients data on capabilities
for service. BY use of this system the
managers are able to make assignments
Of work to the best advantage.
To operate this huge establishment