Who is insane? (Historical issues in mental health)

Excerpt from Who Is InsaneIn the year 1882 I was appointed the State Commissioner in Lunacy of New York by Gov. Alonzo B. Cornell. On assuming the duties of the office the Governor informed me there was a popular and growing belief that many inmates of the Asylums for the Insane were sane but have never had an opportunity to relate their grievances except to officers who gave little or no credence to the patients' statements. Therefore, he advised me to keep constantly in mind when visiting an Asylum the question, "Who is Insane?" In carrying out his instructions I became quite obsessed with these three words and hence the title of this Book.The insane of the State of New York, in custody, were at that time about 12,000 in number and were confined in State Asylums, in County Asylums, in Poor Houses and in private institutions. They were found in every condition hitherto known in the history of this unfortunate class from that of the pauper of the County Alms House, in filthy cells and stalls, shackled hands and feet, and fed like swine, to the kindly care, good food, clean, sanitary dormitories and freedom from cruel forms of restraint, of those in the palatial State Asylums.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.