Asylum for Drunkards

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 155, 29 October 1872, Page 7

Asylum for Drunkards

(From M ami! lan. ) At the time of our vsit to Binghampton, there were eighty patents, ail there, we bclieve, without exciptid, either voluntarily or at the instance of tiar friends. Tlu conifort, order, and harmo.y that pervaded the place were remarkable while the readiness with which the somewiat stringent regula--1 tions were obeyed were lot less so. Prayers, morning and evening, re read by the cha] - lain ; hymns admirab.nsung, music played, and the choir conductd by patients. The meals were taken in camion, and varied in no respect from those in all the hotels in America. There was a admirable library, billiards, smoking-room, and all the comforts of a club, while eajr individual’s room was for the time being hiso.vn, and decorate cl according to his taste am ianey. The most remarkable feature was tin absence of all appearance of being patienti,while the readiness with which they all c.mbincd to help each other was admirable. >ne of the ruh s is, “that no one goes hefond the grounds, which are very extensive, all he has by eight weeks’ sojourn and obedimoe shown to the superintendent his powerto restrain his appetite for drink,” then he has leave for certain days and hours. Ifhe comes back, as is sometimes the case, havng broken Ids pn - mise and got liquor, his leave is stopped ; and if he goes out in violace of this restriction, he is dismissed. W(Witnessed a touching instance of the inflnene brought to bear by one patient on anothel We heard one say, “ Come, along ; we hae got our leave to go to the town to-day ; let us be away.” The other replied, “ I vish to go ; but T doubt whether I can keep ut of the bar if I do.” “ Well.” was the ansrer, “ we will not, i go to town, but we will be df into the woods, 1

and be back to dinner /’ and they Were. During our stay the Literary Club held its weekly meeting, and presented a very remarkable scene. The president was a distinguished Southern officer, who at the battle of Dull’s Run commanded a battery that kept the Northern hosts in check for hoUrs : he discoursed of the institution, and what it has clone for himself anti others, in the somewhat florid style of American oratory, blit which was good evidence of the calibre of his intellect, and how greatly its preservation was to be desired. Another told us how he bad “ graduated ih drink in every country in the worldhow British beer and gin, the French absinthe, and eau de vie, Chinese samshoo, Mexican balque, Ac., had been swallowed wholesale by him in their respective countries. He also had fought in the tented field, and had passed through the bloody war which ended with the murder of Maximilian. Of such materials as these were the inmates composed, and it may he well imagined that reason and argument went far to rule such men ; but we had to ask them the question,— How far do you who go beyond the grounds and down to the town, refrain from drink. Their answer was, —Many break down, and there are recurring paroxysms of internal craving for drink, against which all arguments, all entreaties, are futile, and the most solemn promise as the idle wind. It is for such as these that the talented and cautious superintendent, Dr Dodge, asks for the power to turn the key on them. Such detentions need not be long; each recurring paroxysm will be shorter and less intense, while medicine and diet will aid in curtailing it. No such power, however, exists at Binghampton, except for committed cases ; and if a patient breaks out, the only resource is his dismissal. Here let us remark, that not one single j superintendent, even those who regard the | “ parole ’ system as the best, but asks for the | power to lock his patient’s door. As at Bingjhampton, so at Media, near Philadelphia, the patients belong to the upper and better middle classes. Like Binghampton, it is charmingly situated, and has for its superintendent one of the most instructed, experienced, and cautious of those physicians who have turned their attention to the subject in America. Dr Parrish, while giving the parole system every credit, declares his desire to be able to prevent the going out of bounds of those who are driven by the recurring craving for drink to break their most solemn vows. He says that the very fact that the patient knows that such a power exists will j in most instances suffice.