the proposed scheme is perhaps the most elaborate which has thus far been advanced, and its inauguration will be looked for with interest. New Jersey, although meeting with reverses in her attempt to secure state care, is hopeful of success and has been conducting a good publicity campaign.

On a recent visit to the State Farm at Foxborough, I was much impressed by the work the alcoholic patients are doing. They certainly did not look like degenerates, but were a wholesome, hardy lot and showed that the work in the open air was of great benefit to them from a physical standpoint. They seemed bright and cheerful about their work and were uniformly courteous and pleasant in their demeanor. I was much surprised to see the results of their labor; they certainly are accomplishing great things, and the results of their hard work under pleasant conditions will mean a saving of thousands of dollars to the state of Massachusetts in future construction work of their whole state hospital plan. The 1910 report of this institution speaks for itself. The work listed here was actually accomplished by the inmates.

A two-story cement brick house is nearing completion. The first story will be used for housing fire apparatus; the second story will be utilized for a pharmacy or laboratory. All brick and construction material for this building was made at the hospital.

A two-room tool house, made of cement brick, has been constructed.

Extensive repairs have been made in the interior of the greenhouse. The board floors and old wooden troughs have been replaced by cement construction.

A new modern hennery, 40 feet in length, has been built. 356.2 square yards of granolithic walk has been laid.

634 linear feet of granolithic curb and gutter have been laid. 46.5 cubic yards of mortar wall, 24.6 cubic yards of concrete coping and 3,140 linear feet of dry stone wall have been constructed.

The veranda of the superintendent's house has been extended, and considerable of the roof reshingled.

Many necessary changes have been made in the pipe lines, resulting in a continuation of fuel economy.

New drains have been laid, and much needed and extensive grading has been done.

The retaining stone wall of the coal pocket has been heightened, materially increasing the capacity of the pocket.

The administration building has been partly reshingled.

The exterior of all wards and detached buildings has been painted. Ward A has been entirely redecorated. The barn, the superintendent's house, the green-house, wagon sheds and detached buildings have been painted.

The interior of Ward H has been partially repainted.

New hardwood floors have been laid, and worn-out steps replaced.

The silo, which was in a dilapidated condition, has been entirely relined.

The partial collapse of the dairy barn called for immediate and outside skilled labor; advantage was taken of this condition, and many improvements in the interior of the barn was made by our own labor. New flooring was laid, modern cow stanchions erected, and several large cement rooms constructed. These improvements have greatly changed the appearance of the barn, and have added to its utility.

The broom shop, crafts shop, mattress making and shoe repairing departments have been continued. This has furnished employment for the men during the winter months.

Particular mention is made of the cement industry, which was inaugurated at the hospital last year. Plain and fancy brick, blocks and cement sewer pipe have been made; these have been used for our repair and construction work. It is proposed to extend this department during the coming year.

It would be impossible in this paper to follow out the details of the proper procedure to get a State Farm for Alcoholics in Connecticut. The subject is a large one and should be thoroughly investigated. I have tried to show statistics of interest to you and to help procure your support in this work. I have copied freely from the reports of Massachusetts institutions, that state

having investigated the matter more in detail than any other in this country.

In closing, I would suggest that the president of this society receive power to appoint a committee to properly present this matter to the legislature of this state and to ask for the appointment of a commission to investigate this matter, said commission to serve without pay. Would also suggest that a statistician be employed if deemed advisable so that they get all possible data on the subject.

DISCUSSION.

DR. HENRY S. NOBLE (Middletown): Mr. President and Gentlemen of the State Society—I wholly agree with Dr. Barnes in the stress that he has laid upon the importance of this question of inebriety. It is a question that is increasing in importance every day, as inebriety is increasing every day. When we realize that mental disease among men is variously estimated as having been caused by intemperance in 30 to 45 per cent. of the cases; the increasing frequency of crime caused by intemperance; the expense to the public that this crime entails; the amount of poverty and of physical suffering and death caused by it, not only to the transgressors themselves, but also to those dependent upon them; the loss of productive labor to the state; and the possible defective heredity transmitted by drunkards to their offspring,—all these, and other far-reaching causes will be seen to call for the very gravest consideration. After a somewhat prolonged observation, I have come to the conclusion that the question of intemperance has never been treated with that intelligence which has distinguished our people in most other particulars. In everything else, we have profited by experience; but we seem to have learned nothing from the past in dealing with intemperance. The methods used for its suppression now are exactly the same as were in operation hundreds of years ago, though we know that they are imperfect; and it seems to me that, as a people desiring the good of the unfortunate, we cannot afford to practice methods that we know beforehand will be of no avail. I believe that a certain percentage of the younger class of inebriates can be cured, if taken in hand with right methods before selfrespect is lost. Young men are more sensitive to public opinion than are old and hardened drunkards.

Now the cure of inebriety is no simple or easy matter. I do not regard it as a cure when a man practises total abstinence for a period of three to six months, and then goes on a spree. I do not think that it is a cure when a man claims that the appetite has been removed, and that he no longer has the desire for liquor, because I believe that this

happens seldom, if ever. When it does, it is usually the result of some metamorphosis of the system or some serious illness or change. The cure of inebriety is a sort of moral reformation, which enables a man to withstand temptation, when he runs up against it. The methods that we have had in vogue heretofore have been the punitive; that is, the individual who has become intoxicated is hauled before the police court and is fined or sent to jail, only to repeat the vicious circle again. This method has been unsuccessful. We have tried it for years, and have made no progress in the cure of inebriety.

I do not think, either, that the proper place for inebriates is in the State Asylum for the Insane. An individual may have taken liquor for a sufficient length of time to have produced an alcoholic psychosis, and such patients are rightly and properly enough put in the State Asylum for the Insane; but where the individual is suffering from the acute effects of alcohol and is committed for a definite period, he is almost certain to repeat his offense on regaining his liberty. It is a question, also, how long such persons can properly and legally be kept in a public institution. The recent plan that is before us for consideration is that of a State Farm for Inebriates. A bill to establish such an institution was before the legislature at this session; and it failed before the Committee on Humane Institutions. I do not have unbounded faith in the success of a farm for inebriates, but I believe that it is the best scheme in sightbetter than anything that we had heretofore. For that reason, I would support it. The public should be protected by an institution of that kind from the inebriate, even if he offers but little, if any prospect, of being cured.

This bill that was before the legislature provided that two per cent. of the fees paid for liquor licenses be paid into the state treasury. This was to be kept there until twelve thousand dollars had accumulated, and then the institution was to be organized. I, for one, am sorry that this bill did not receive the sanction of the legislature, but, that being the case, we shall have to go for two years more, and then try it again.

DR. THOMAS DAVISON CROTHERS (Hartford) : Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen-It is a very curious fact that this is the third time that this identical question has come up before the State Society. In 1829, Dr. Eli Todd, the Superintendent of the Retreat, brought up the matter, and asked that the State Society appoint someone in each county to assist him in formulating a report on the advisability of establishing an institution for the cure of drunkards in the state. Whatever that committee did, Dr. Todd wrote the report, which was presented before the State Medical Society in 1830. That report, in its length and breadth, is one of the advanced studies of medical literature on this subject that we have in this country. It marked an epoch from which the medical men

date the great struggle of escaping from the moral side and taking up the scientific side of the subject. The state legislature at that time received this report very much as it has this year. It was tabled, and nothing more was heard of it.

Two years afterward, an assistant in the Retreat, Dr. Woodbridge, went to Worcester and made a report to the Massachusetts legislature, advising the same thing; and that report was tabled likewise.

In 1872, the second attempt was made. Drs. Russell, Hawley, and Cummings were made a committee to report on this matter. I do not know who presented the resolution to the State Society declaring the advisability of having statistics as to the prevalence of intemperance in the state and its control and regulation fixed. These three men were appointed on the committee; and the same thing, practically, occurred this time. One physician from each county and from each town was set apart to assist in gathering statistics for a report. In 1874 they presented the report; and that, too, was a very classic piece of work. It showed the necessity for such an institution in a remarkable way, and gave a great variety of statistics. The next year it was brought up before the legislature with the endorsement of the State Society; and with it was offered a plan for a reformatory which was incorporated under the name of the Connecticut Reformatory for Inebriates. Drs. Russell, Hawley, and Cummings continued as the committee in charge. An organization was effected; and during that same year, one of the most remarkable laws was passed and put on the statute book. This law gave power for persons to be received into such an institution without the formality of legal proceedings, the patients actually committing themselves. This law has several times been tested, and has proved to be constitutional. In 1873 and 1874, the matter came up before the state legislature for an appropriation. The Society had frequent papers on the subject presented, and the same questions and the same points were discussed; and an effort was made to organize an institution in the state. That was the occasion for my coming here, but the effort fell through. There was not public spirit enough in the State Society, or in the state, to carry it out. In fact, we were opposed by the philanthropists and people.

Now the subject is coming up again; and I hope that you will follow it up and continue the work done in the '70's and '80's, because the need is getting greater. It is, in fact, a question of preventive medicine, just as much as to clean a sewer or to correct a water supply. These men are here, and have to be cared for. We must pay the bills. It is not a question of sentiment, but one of facts; and when you recognize the facts, there will be no question about it. Would it not be well to present a resolution that the State Society appoint a committee to take up the subject again, and to bring the matter before the legislature in the