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THE IUIOTIC ASIU 1NBEC1LK.We have had occasion before to allude to the good work which is being accomplished by the Kansas State Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth, fl.' M. Greene, the superintendent of the institution, has recently issued a small pamphlet designed to give in* formation to the press and the public as to the working of kindred institu* tions in the country. There is considerable ignorance of the( particular aims and object of the asylum, which the publication of this little work will be calculated to dispel.The number of idiotic persons of all ages in the State on March 1,1881, as returned to the State Board of Agriculture by the several county clerks, is 167. Of this number, 48 are not above fifteen years of age, and are therefore eligible on that account to admittance to this asylum. The close correspondence of these figures to the number of applicants would indicate that almost the entire number thus entitled to enter had applied, but for the fact that of the 53 applicants, but 14 were known to the report, leaving 39 to be added to the number ot applicants— maEing a total of 92. It would, therefore, probably be below the fact to place the number of children within the State, who are eligible on account of age, to admittance to the asylum at 100. Later statistics will doubtless show this statement to be correct.Since the opening of the asylum, September 1st, 1881, there have been 53 applicants. Of these 27 have been accepted; 7 rejected on account of over age; 8 on account of Epilepsy; 5 for other causes; and there are 6 not delt; eided. Ot these accepted applications, nineteen have been admitted and five discharged by order of the Board, on account of Epilepsy, insanity, and utter incapacity of improvement, leaving 14 now in the asylum. These 14 inmates come from eleven counties of the State.Eight accepted applicants are yet to enter, and the remaining six cases accepted are yet to be acted upon.It was deemed advisable to restrict the number of pupils to twenty-five, as a careful survey will convince anyone acquainted with the requirements of an institution of this character, that that number small as it seems, will test the extreme capacity of the building in several departments. Probably by the time of the next session of the Legislature, more than the present number of pupils will be pressing for admittance. It may beseemed strange that so large a per centage of the applicants were rejected; and in order to explain this properly, Mr. Green calls attention to the purpose of the asylum as expressed in the law creating it. Section 9 of the act delt; clares that “The objectjof thisjinstitu-tion is to train and educate those received, so as to render them more comfortable, happy, and better fitted to care for and support themselves; to this end the Trustee shall provide such agricultural and mechanical training as they are capable of receiving, and as the facilities furnished by the State will allow, including shops, and employment of teacners ot trades.”Mr. Greene in the inception of the work has had many difficulties to overcome. Appropriations and buildings have been circumscribed, and he has been compelled to adapt the wants of the State to bis limitation in these respects. He has however very success' fully demonstrated both the need and the possibility of meeting the requirements of such an institution, and every humane person will hope that he may have placed at his command by the next Legislature the means necessaay to inaugurate larger facilities for meeting the needs of a hitherto neglected class, and so placing the State fully abreast of the spirit of our day in this branch of benevolent effort.apmtse\ifiBufiahalosca:wiheviterpasaprwidebyseifoihi:teirafrlt;biofm:enco00naso;boancoto:tuonelgiUEthanthatycth
Newspaper Details
Lawrence Western Home Journal
Lawrence, Kansas, US
Thu, Jul 13, 1882
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Shannon H.
USA 28 Oct 2024
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