=Importance of Early Diagnosis of Insanity.--=In insanities, even when of hereditary origin, there is much hope in certain cases of greatly benefiting the individual, though a permanent cure, or at least the establishment of procreative fitness may be impossible. It is extremely important that the public realize how much can be done through early examination and advice in such mental afflictions. Most of the insane who recover usually do so within a few months of their first alienation, hence the importance of losing no time in detecting the condition and securing early treatment. It is now well known that many cases of chronic insanity may be measurably improved under the care of a psychiatrist by systematic re-education, especially in industrial lines. But how little of this may be expected at the hands of the untrained custodians who "feed" the inmates of our county almshouses, to which in many states the chronic insane are entrusted, is obvious. =All Insane Should Be Passed Upon by Competent Psychiatrists.--=The atrocious system of turning the chronic insane over to county poorhouses manned by supervisors whose chief qualification for the position has not infrequently been the lowness of their bid for boarding and caring for the inmates, can not be too strongly condemned. Incredible as it may seem, in some states the court can on its own judgment send patients directly to these institutions without first submitting them to the study of expert physicians in the state hospital for the insane. The viciousness of such procedure is evident when one realizes that often careful scrutiny on the part of the very best experts, extending over a considerable period of time, is required before the true condition of the patient can be determined. Recently a psychiatrist of high standing, who was gathering data on county asylums for a national organization, informed the writer that beyond the shadow of a doubt he had come across case after case in county asylums which would have been curable under proper treatment. Here again the responsibility in last analysis must rest upon us as citizens, for it is largely through our intelligent demands as voters that conditions will be improved and competent experts be put in charge of county asylums as well as of the state hospitals for the acutely insane.