homes, and they do not see the wisdom of providing such luxuries for criminals at the expense of groaning tax-payers.

The second class of local officers whose opposition will have to be met is a large one, and is increasing. When a new jail is to be built, they place themselves in the hands of an ambitious architect. They propose to erect a jail which will be a "credit to the county," and incidentally a monument to themselves; for their respective names and official positions will be deeply and conspicuously gråven upon the corner-stone. They know that prisoners huddled together, without outdoor exercise, must be given special facilities for fresh air, cleanliness, the disposition of sewage, etc. They have some idea of the desirability of restricting the association of prisoners. The real needs fall in happily with their inclination; and the architect, with a fee in view proportionate to the cost of the building, helps matters along by suggesting this and that improvement and addition. Above all, the new jail must be an imposing piece of architecture as seen from the outside. It is here that boards of State Charities and other general officers having an advisory supervision over the erection of jails must bear their share of the blame. In the desire to encourage the building of jails in which due provision may be made. for the physical and moral welfare of prisoners, we are prone to encourage the installation of an excessive amount of apparatus, often at an extravagant cost.

Jails constructed by either class of local officers are likely to fall under practically the same conditions after a little use. Those which are primitive in arrangement are gloomy, damp, filthy, and filled with noisome odors, while the prisoners are in promiscuous association. These conditions might be much improved by a vigorous and intelligent administration, but that is not to be had.

On the other hand, the jails which are equipped with all the latest devices of sanitary science run a rapid course of degeneration, and soon reach a condition little, if any, better than that of those devoid of such equipment. Recklessness and ignorance on the part of prisoners and jailers, and a disinclination to attend to the details of work which are necessary in the proper use of sanitary or safety appliances, play havoc with the achievements of science. Heating equipment quickly gets out of repair, and remains so permanently. Ventilating apparatus becomes choked so as to be useless, or the contrivances for regulating the air currents are ignored or are broken

and never replaced. Drain-pipes are clogged, and continue for months, sometimes for years, unopened. Water-pipes become leaky, and the water is shut off pending repairs which may never be made. Flush tanks in closets get "out of fix"; and the closets go unflushed, though not unused. Reservoir tanks in the attics are allowed to get dry and leaky, and are never used again. Bath-rooms are abandoned because the water-heaters burn out and repairs are not made, or because the drain-pipes are closed and nobody takes enough interest to clear them out. Sewer gas fills the building, and no one knows what it is or has the interest to look into the cause. Systems of lever-locks, by which the jailer may lock or unlock any cell from outside the prisoners' cage, fail to operate, with the result that the cells. are left always open. Food elevators refuse to run; and the boys are brought down and turned in with the men, to save carrying food upstairs, or perhaps the women are brought into one tier of cells in the men's department, in hearing, if not in sight of the men, for the same reason. The complex and costly contrivances designed to facilitate the proper administration of the jail thus contribute, under actual conditions of operation, to defeat that purpose. Many a jail have I inspected in which expensive and complicated equipment has thus contributed directly to the creation of intolerable conditions. Without such equipment, prisoners and officers know that what is done they must do themselves; and the duties, being simple, require little intelligence or skill. With the equipment, too much reliance is placed upon machinery, and not enough upon brain and brawn.

We may venture the hope that in time to come our jail systems may be so changed that officers in charge will be selected because of personal fitness and experience. Until then we must compromise with our wishes, and build our jails to fit existing conditions. By careful observation we must determine to what extent improved sanitary and safety devices may be successfully introduced. We shall find it necessary to sacrifice ingenuity and delicacy to strength and simplicity. It will be found better to have a few conveniences which are appreciated and easily managed than many with consequent neglect. We must build with a view to durability and solidity. If a malicious prisoner sees nothing which, by its apparent weakness, invites destruction, his destructive tendencies will be discouraged The careless or reckless prisoner will then no longer be a source of endless expense for repairs. Escapes, which are constantly made

possible by reason of the weakness of what are meant to be improved appliances for health or comfort, will be greatly reduced in frequency.

With the ignorant or indolent officer in mind, let us make the number of different duties placed upon the jailer as small as possible; and those which are essential let us so magnify, by our methods of construction, that they cannot be neglected without results immediate and disastrous. There are many competent and conscientious men in charge of jails, but their tenure of office in the greater part of the country is short. Their successors may be incompetent or indifferent to duty. Like a chain, a governmental system is no stronger than its weakest part. While searching and hoping always for competency, we must prepare for incompetency. Let us so contrive in our jail building that, in his search for the easiest way of performing his work, the jailer will find the right way.

IV.

Epilepsy.

COLONY CARE OF THE EPILEPTIC.

BY H. C. RUTTER, M.D.,

MANAGER OF HOSPITAL FOR EPILEPTICS, GALLIPOLIS, OHIO.

The Ohio Hospital for Epileptics at Gallipolis, Ohio, is the pioneer institution of its kind in the United States. A brief history of what it has accomplished, with a word as to its future hopes, will be of greater interest than any personal opinions or theories I could present.

The problem of providing proper accommodations for epileptics of all classes, especially for those with unsound or defective minds, has engrossed the attention of persons interested in nervous and mental diseases for many years. In Ohio, as far back as 1879, a bill for the establishment of a separate institution for their accommodation and treatment almost became a law, passing one branch of the legislature. Not, however, until 1890 was a law enacted providing for the establishment of a hospital for epileptics and epileptic insane. All epileptics resident in Ohio are eligible for admission to this institution up to the measure of its capacity, each county being entitled to a number proportionate to its population. No discrimination is made on account of mental condition, age, or sex.

The buildings, as originally planned, consisted of stone cottages, having a capacity of 50 beds each, located symmetrically about a group of executive buildings and connected by tunnels with a central power-house, which was to furnish heat and light for all, and a central kitchen and bakery, flanked by two congregate dining-rooms, one for each sex. The whole group, with estimated accommodations for 1,000 patients, was planned so compactly as to cover scarcely more than 25 acres, leaving the balance of 100 acres of the

original tract for ornamentation and gardens. The wisdom of this plan was seriously questioned; and subsequent experience and events have led to an entire modification of it, so far as practicable. Of the original 36 buildings, only 13 have been built as designed. The location and design of 6 others, now nearly completed, have been materially changed. 125 additional acres of land have been purchased, and a cottage for the insane constructed half a mile from the original group. Other buildings are to be much farther away, their location depending upon the purchase of land, which may or may not adjoin the tract now owned by the State.

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The hospital was opened for the reception of patients Nov. 30, 1893; 6 more cottages have since been erected; and, when the buildings now in course of construction are completed, which will be on the 1st of January next, accommodations will have been made for 900 patients. There will then be 11 residence cottages, with from 50 to 76 beds each; 1 laundry cottage, with 75 resident patients; 1 cottage for the insane, with a capacity of 200; I schoolhouse; 1 industrial building, containing 8 large, well-lighted, and well-ventilated rooms, accommodating 25 patients each in any of the manualindustries commonly followed; I kitchen and bakery building; 1 ice machine and cold storage building, with a capacity of 18 tons daily; 2 large congregate dining-rooms; and 1 boiler, power, and electric-light building. The next buildings proposed consist of a group suitable for a dairy and a residence for patients with agricultural tastes, which will be located wherever land can be purchased best adapted for the purpose; hospitals, one for each sex; shops of various kinds for ordinary industries; a chapel; an amusement hall and executive building; and such other structures as may be required for a complete colony. The cost of the buildings, up to the time when those under way shall have been completed, will be $455,000.

The first patients were received Nov. 30, 1893, at which time provision had been made for 250 males. Sept. 1, 1894, cottages for 200 females were opened, and immediately occupied. One year thereafter 2 new cottages, with a capacity of 76 each, one for males and one for females, were opened. For the first few months the difficulties of management were so great, owing in part to the limited facilities for classification, as to be most discouraging. The enormous task will be recognized of harmonizing so many dis