Lincoln County leader., October 10, 1913, Image 6

11
LEVY TAXES ON "INSIGNIA"1
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English Government Makes Charge
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The, Village; gate
THE most remarkable insane col
ony In the world Is probably
that at the Gheel In Belgium.
The system in vogue there con
sists In no restraint but that
of kindly surveillance except in dan
gerous cases. The colony is in a vil
lage surrounding a church dedicated
to St. Dymphe, the patroness of the
Insane.
The insane patients are not referred
to as mad. Always they are "the
sick," the maladeB. They are boarded
in the homes of tho inhabitants it or
der that they may enjoy the freedom
and Intercourse of family life, the
benefit of which is one of the funda
mental ideas of the system. Nearly
every house In the colony contains
one or two "malades" more than two
not being allowed by the medical au
thority in chief.
"This fact makes a visit to Qheel
somewhat weird," says a writer in the
Queen. "One constantly meets pa
tients and never knows whether one
Is speaking to a sane person or not
As I was taken round by the wife of a
nurse I was very probably taken for
the newest arrival in the colony.
Enjoy Perfect Freedom.
"Among Gheel's mentally afflicted
population are people from all parts
of Europe England, France, Holland
and Belgium all send patients here.
My guide kept pointing out to
me a patient In the street, or a house
where dwelt one or more of the
malades.
"A woman standing here, a man
walking there, an old man with a
scythe returning from harvesting all
were aliens, but all were enjoying
perfect freedom, walking about like
the rest of the world, working if they
liked, or resting if they liked, though
all were known and looked upon with
kindly commiseration as sick In mind
If not In body.
"In the railway station I noticed a
man walking up and down very Im
patiently waiting for the booking of
fice to open; he, too, like so many
others, was "not quite all there," and
this was one of his dally customs. I
believe a ticket of some kind
was given him, and he walked away
quite happy, as the patients In this
queer colony are all known to the in
habitants and their idlosyncracles In
dulged with a kindly tolerance as far
as possible
"My guide, too, seemed quite amused
when I expressed a foar of accidents,
seeing that the station and lines, both
of the tram and railway, are open. I
found out afterward that there had
been up till then but four fatal acci
dents to the patients on the railway at
Gheel, one of which was due to a sud
den fit of suicidal mania. Epileptic
patients, by the way, seem to improve
here, and in twenty years, out of no
fewer than 3,000, only once had there
ever been an attempt on life, and that
not a serious one.
"It must not, however, be thought,
that the dangerous patients are al
lowed perfect freedom at Gheel. On
the contrary, these are kept under re
straint In the Hospice, where they are
cared for by the kindly, sweet faced
Sisters of Charity. But confinement
Is only resorted to In those cases
Where it Is absolutely necessary.
"The history of the Belgian system
Is Interesting, as the treatment of the
Insane In the manner sketched is pure
ly Belgian both in its inception and
Its realisation. It has been copied by
other European nations, as well as
America, but England has held aloof,
though Scotland tried it some years
ago. The colony has been in existence
at Gheel as such since the beginning
of the last century, though legend
places its origin very early indeed.
"It has been visited by all the gTeat
mental specialists of Europe, who
have, of course, found fault with it
but have, nevertheless, often taken
hints from It. It consisted, at my visit,
of about 2,000 maladies, out of which
number an average of about sixty
only were sequestrated, the rest enjoy
ing perfect liberty, as I have stated
above.
How System Originated.
"The system originated at first In a
question of cost. 'We are not rich
enough to build the big establishment!
you have in England,' the medical
director told me. The second and
most Important one was the desire
for a more humane treatment of the
'sick in mind,' as they hold that shut
ting them up only irritate them and
increases the malady. It is calculat
ed that each lunatic costs us In Eng
land 175. Gheel the cost varies
from 300 francs to 2,000 francs per
annum ($60 to $400), the sum paid
depending on the position of the fam
ily of the alienated.
"The colony Is under the direction
of a medical director. Under him are
six specialists, who live In separate
houses, but are not allowed any pri
vate practice.
"The medical director Inspects the
colony at least once a year. The
members of the permanent committee,
in two series, each pay a visit once a
year. The doctor in charge of the
section's visits the incurables at least
once a month, while those who show
any signs of cure are visited once a
week.
"In addition there are seven gardes,
wno must visit all the patients oi
their section at least twice a month.
while two others charged with the
nyaropatnic service, and another garde
complete the service of surveillance
In addition to this, if necessary, other
visits are paid, the incurables being
visited in all about 450 times a vear.
those who give any sign of recovery
oeing seen more often than this. Dally
reports to the director and mnetlnirs
at his house to receive instructions
keep him courant with everything
and every one in the colony. Amuse
ments are arranged for the patients in
the winter.
"As the results of the system, It
may be of interest to mention that the
death rate has averaged about four per
cent, during the past few years, while
In England and Wales the rate has
been seven per cent, for the past ten
years. With regard to recoveries, In
Gheel these have been 19 per cent, at
least since 1889, while in the two
countries above mentioned ten per
cent, I understand, has been the
average." -
A Boast.
"Yes, I once proposed to a girl in s
cab."
"And did she reject you?"
"No, she was so grateful that Bhe
wanted to pay the driver."
One' for Him.
"I see that some doctor says love Is
a disease."
"Well, she said with a sigh, "It's
never likely to become epldemlo on
your account"
Few and Unpleasant.
"I want you to understand that I
am a man of few words."
"Yes, but consider the kind of words
they are."
Tor me use of Armorial Bear
ings and Things Like That
If you wish to escape the clutches of
the law be very careful what you
wear In the way of Jewelry, what you
use on your notepaper, or what you
place in the way of decorations on
your furniture, plate, carriage, or even
In your books, says an English paper.
Very unfortunate was the experi
ence of a London doctor who received
a ring from a grateful patient One
day a London county council officer
called to inquire if the doctor had ta
ken out a license for his motor car
and noticed that the doctor was wear
ing the ring in question witha pebble,
on which there was a design a garter
encircling a hand.
"That's a crest," said the officer,
and a few days later the doctor was
summoned for using armorial bearings
without a license.
Since then many people have been
summoned for wearing rings on which
designs were cut and for using note
paper bearing arms.
What are "armorial bearings?"
They are defined as follows by.the
government authorities:
The term "armorial bearings" means
and includes any armorial bearings,
crest or ensign, by whatever name the
same shall be called, and whether
such armorial bearings, crest or ensign
shall be registered in the College of
Arms or not
The cost for armorial bearings on
vehicles is $10 a year, but the cost for
use on anything apart from vehicles
la $5.
One may possess goods marked
with armorial bearings, but may not
use them. One point has not yet been
settled whether a person who buys
old china, silver, furniture and so on,
having armorial bearings upon them,
is liable to pay the license. .
Everything depends upon whether
the person owning the goods uses
them or merely keeps them as curios.
Soldiers Debt-Proof.
Although Tommy Atkins Is an hon
orable person, and is not in the habit
of repudiating hie Just debts to civili
ans, still he is not compelled to dis
charge them if they amount to less
than a certain sum. This Is because
by British military law he cannot be
sued for any debt or damages under
$150 in value. Accordingly, if Private
Atkins can persuade a confiding trades
man or stock broker, or perhaps an ac
commodating financier, to give him
credit up to $145 there is no legal ma
chinery that will recover the money. It
cannot be stopped from his pay or de
ducted from his pension.
In order to protect civilians from
possible loss by "giving tick" to sol
diers, a system Is in force of "crying
down credit" Whenever a regiment
arrives in a fresh station the com
manding officer has to issue a public
proclamation to the effect that any
body who permits the troops to run up
bills will do so at his own risk.
When the Red Cross Relieved.
It is possible that none of the many
countries whose representatives form
the International Red Cross has broad
ened the work after the manner of the
American National Red Cross. .From
the organization of the body In 1881
the late Miss Clara Barton was presi
dent until her recent death and soon
after her election began to urge that
Its sphere of usefulness, its mission of
mercy might be broadened by giving
relief In all great calamities. This
principle became cardinal with the
body and the reports show that more
than $2,000,000 has been spent for
such relief, the most notable Instances
being the Michigan fires of 1881;
Florida yellow fever, 1888; Johnstown
flood, 1889; Russian famine, 1891-2;
South Carolina tidal wave, 1893; Ar
menian massacres,' 1896; Spanish
American war, 1898; Galveston tidal
wave, 1900; Mont Pelee eruption,
1902, with many other lesser energies
making for the relief of suffering.
Perfection In Men.
"Any sort of man Is worth having
except the sort they call 'an ideal hus
band.' For perfection is a most per
nickety thing to live with. ' Give me a
man with some lop-sldedness about
him, and not a sort of wallpaper-pattern
person, all parted down the mid
dle, and with both sides matching to
a hair. Give me a man that's fit to
drive a woman crazy with the way he
goes on; his coat all rucked across
the back, the tops of his boots out
side his trousers, and his waistcoat
telling all the world that he's had an
egg for breakfast. That kind of a
man Is an everlasting refreshment to
a woman. There's an unexpectedness
about the poor, benighted thing that
keeps up her Interest in him. . He Is
always to be continued In our next,
so to speak, and you can generally
count on him to provide you with
some new excitement whenever things
threaten to get dull." Punch and
Judy, by Edwin Pugh.
Dally Thought.
Only by knowledge of that which Is
not thyself, shall thyself be learned.
Owen Meredith.
lWS
? 'Z 1 "
TP?
art
ESTES PARK Is not only the won
derland of Colorado, but It can
not be surpassed in mountain
grandeur by any other district in
the world. It stands unique and alone
In Its scenic majesty. It has a setting
of marvelous beauty. Throughout the
summer It is a garden of wild flowers
a veritable blaze of color that
charms and fascinates the eye. And
because of the variety of altitude and
temperature, a single species may
bloom all summer, disappearing here
today, perhaps, but simultaneously ap
pear yonder where the season is not
so far advanced. The columbine, the
state flower of Colorado, Is one of
these.
Where Acres of Flowers Bloom.
These flowers are of every conceiv
able size, color and variety; sometimes
acres upon acres in solid banks of col
or, at other times in huge, bright and
many-colored meadow carpets. In the
region above tlmberllne. as if to re
lieve the bleak aspect, are found some
of the flower-lovers treasures, the
blossoms of brightest hue. Mariposa
lilies bloom In millions. The dainty
blue-fringed gentian, is found In the
glacier meadows. Among the thousand
other varieties blooming every season
In the park are the wild red rose, but
tercup, marigold, lupine, orchid, aster,
anemone, sulphur flower, purple loco
weed, blue beard tongue, gray moun
tain sage, pink shooting star, monks
hood, monkey flower, wild tiger lily,
Iris, penstemon, stonecrop, cone flower,
valerian, crane's bill, larkspur, Indian
paint brush, violet and wild pansles.
Through the summer months may be
found also in profusion the wild straw
berries, smaller than their cultivated
brothers, but of much finer flavor:
A ride up Wind river trail through
the sunshot woodland of whispering
aspens, In the cool of a .summer morn
ing, is a rich experience to the true
lover of nature and one which he will
never forget. The dimensions of this
new park and game preserve are 42
miles eaBt and west by 24 miles north
and south. This region has 24 miles
of the continental divide and all of the
Mummy range; and It touches the
Rabbit Ear and Medicine Bow ranges.
In It are a score of snow-piled peaks
and upward of 50 glacier lakes.
Long's peak, king of the Rockies, is
the. central and most commanding
point In this mountain world. It stands
14,271 feet above the tides and Is more
than 100 feet higher than Pike's peak.
It has been rather fancifully named
the "American Matterhorn," and when
we consider that one side Is actually
Inaccessible, perhaps It Is worth the
comparison, for the Matterhorn has
been ascended on all sides, though Its
easiest line of ascent Is harder to con
quer than Is the ordinary route of
Long's peak.
The pathway winds upward through
evergreen groves, mixed with aspen at
the lower levels, past babbling brook
and noisy waterfall, until tlmberllne,
with Its battered, wind-blown trees Is
r
mi
FALL3
reached. Shortly after all tree growth
ceases and still steadily climbing up
ward, the edge of Boulder Field Is
reached. N
Boulder Field is well named. It Is a
dreary, forbidding expanse of great
slabs of granite some as much as 30
to 40 teei In length with boulders,
great oud small, heaped between.
Across this Jumble lies the way there
is no road and progress Is simply
a series of Jumps from two to four
feet.
Situated at the far end Is the Key
Hole, a great cleft in the wall of the
mountain, through which one must
pass in order to climb the peak from
the west side. The east face is Inac
cessible, as It is an enormous wall of
granite, 2,000 feet high.
. Peaks 3,000 Feet High.
Through and beyond the Key Hole
one looks down upon a grand amphi
theater formed by nature. Chasm
lake, which is on one side of Long's
peak, at an altitude of 11,100 feet, has
a s-tting wild as those of any lake In
the world. It is a rocky rent between
three granite peaks, and 3,000 feet of
broken walls anl precipices tower
l.cve it. The cliffs and crags above
the lake have flung down wreckage
and strewn its shores in fierce confu
sion. Here and there this wreckage !s
cemented together with winter's drift
ed snow. Miniature lceburgs float in
the lake all summer. Here and there
are mossy spaces, scattered alpine
flowers, some beds of sedge, and an
occasional flock of white ptarmigan to
soften a little the fierce wildness of this
mountain world.
Three miles from Chasm lake are
glaciers older than the Pyramids, yet
always exposed to the sun. They In
clude Hallet, Andrews, Tyndall,
Sprague, Black and others. Hallet gla
cier is the largest and probably the
best known and is easiest of access
The altitude of the lake is 11,100 feet,
while the glacier, only three miles
away, has an elevation of 14,500 feet
It is on the side of Mummy mountain,
a huge mass of Ice nearly two miles
long .and 1,000 feet high. Usually It is
seen at Its best In August, as It takes
nearly all summer for the melting of
the previous winter's snow from the
surface and crevasses.
Glaciers, huge moraines, polished
granite floors and a score of glacier
lakes are but a few of the many rec
ords of the last glacial epoch. The
moraines are Immense mounds and
ridges of rock and debris deposited by
glaciers that moved throne
centuries ago. Mill's moraine, extend
ing east rrom Long s peak and the
moraine in Morlne nark ATA turn rt trin
principal ones.
It is between Hallott and Mil's gla
ciers that the famous tea r..i.,. ....
situated diamond walled and ceiled.i
uaBuing ana glinting. Here the frost;
king reigns sunreme. Thia nannii.
form of ice formation cannot be foundi
at less than 13,000 feet, and In no other
piace in the world. '