The Delinquent (Vol. IV, No. 3, March 1914)Various
Science
The Delinquent (Vol. IV, No. 3, March 1914)
Various
Prisons -- Periodicals
Another point of view deserving of strong emphasis is one directly the
opposite of that usually held. We know well that alcohol is responsible
for many conditions which are daily called upon to treat, but we do
not give due consideration to the fact that the alcohol or drug habit
had its beginning in an effort to relieve pain due to sickness, or to
obtain solace after unsuccessful attempts to obtain or keep a job, when
handicapped by some disease, recognized or not. Disease, alcoholism and
crime are very closely interwoven.
Especial efforts are made at our institution to detect pulmonary
tuberculosis in its early stages. Whenever possible, such cases are
transferred to institutions devoted to the care of such patients,
the aid of the courts being invoked in many cases to overcome the
legal obstacles. If it is necessary for us to retain the tuberculosis
patients, we place them under the best possible hygienic conditions.
We point with pride to our out-of-door cottage tents, where the three
essentials for cure are at hand--fresh air, rest and good food.
The House of Correction has a well deserved reputation for its success
in the management of drug and alcoholic cases. But no “cure” such as
is employed in most institutions is made use of here. The treatment
is essentially educational. The offending drug is withdrawn, and the
patient convinced that he can get along without it. Then, upon his
release, it is entirely “up to him,” so to speak, as to whether he
returns to the habit or not.
This is in no sense intended to underestimate the psycho-therapeutic
treatment where it is indicated. However, we do desire to point out
the absurdity of psycho-therapeutic treatment in cases suffering with
a definite physical ailment where a careful and complete physical
examination by competent men is most essential.
We have each week the following clinics:
Three Surgical Clinics,
One Medical Clinic,
One Nervous and Mental Clinic,
Two Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Clinics,
One Skin Genito Urinary Clinic,
One Gynecological Clinic,
Two Dental Clinics.
In addition to the above, the health of two thousand inmates and the
sanitation and food are cared for.
A SCENE FROM “THE MAN INSIDE.”
[This scene gives in special detail Mr. Roland Molineaux’s attitude
toward the present-day treatment of the delinquent. “The Man
Inside,” written by Mr. Molineaux and presented by Mr. Belasco, had
a successful run in New York early in the winter. The following
scene was the original, which was somewhat altered because of the
exigencies of the stage.]
Act II, Scene 16.
Object: Gordon pleads for a better system of justice.
Jim Poor (to Travesty): What shall I do now, sir?
Travesty (to Jim Poor): Gordon has asked me to postpone this case.
Jim Poor: Postpone it! What reason has he got?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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