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New State Asylum For Idiots, Third Annual Report Of The Trustees

Creator: n/a
Date: February 1, 1854
Source: Steve Taylor Collection

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The legislation of last winter was an extension of an acknowledged principle of State charity to a class very generally regarded as beyond the reach of any practical philanthropy; to turn this current of a confirmed public opinion it is of vital importance that the institution should be so situated as not only to challenge public attention, but also where the good results anticipated in its establishment could be seen and tested by the public at large, and especially by those who were to provide the means for its support and continuance; this could be only accomplished in the immediate vicinity of the capitol.

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It has been the avowed policy of the trustees and friends of the asylum from the outset, based upon the unfortunate experience of some other State institutions of a kindred character, not to build up a large central institution in the State; but that the extension of this charity, to meet the increasing demands of the public, should be by the establishment of new institutions in other parts of the State, so that this, which at the outset might be the State asylum for idiots, would in time become a sectional one. Here, then, in its first office, it could best give the Legislators of the State, by its yearly manifestations of results, more enlarged views of the expediency and duty of providing the means of education for every idiot in the State.

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I have reflected much upon a consideration suggested by one of your number, and with an increasing view of its importance -- I refer to a certain outward conspicuousness that should attract the attention of the casual passer-by, thus suggesting inquiry and thought upon the subject.

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The new institution should be very accessible, not only with reference to the public thoroughfares of the State, over which the pupils are to be brought and visited, but also in relation to the city from which all its daily supplies are to come, and with which that easy communication may be held, very necessary for the convenience of so large a family of teachers, attendants, and servants, as will always be connected with the asylum. This convenience and facility for procuring the daily and other supplies of a large institution is of more importance than it may seem at first thought, for a slight difference in this respect will produce a very wide one in the current expenses of such an establishment.

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To these advantages of proximity to the city should be added the facilities it affords for accustoming the older and more advanced pupils to the common sights and opportunities for instruction and amusement the city presents. Their education is commenced and carried on very much through the medium of the eye.

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I need not speak of the absolute necessity for a copious supply of pure water, of undoubted healthiness in the site, and that the surroundings should be of a very pleasing character. These are the common wants of all public institutions for kindred purposes. We need, in addition, as a physical training is the basis of all our educational labors, the special requisites of opportunities for exercise in the open air, by ample grounds and accessibility to pleasant walks.

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As to the building itself, it should be commodious, thoroughly provided with the means of ventilation, warming, and drainage. It should be built of such materials as to furnish security against fire, and supplied with tanks of water and ample staircases for any such emergency. The heating apparatus should be beyond the control of the pupils. It should be provided with abundant conveniences for bathing. We need a series of small schoolrooms rather than large single rooms. We need separate suites of rooms for the different sexes, and for the different grades of each sex. All these wants, and numerous others of a minor character, I think, are well provided for in the plan which has been submitted to you by your architect, and which has met your approval. In addition, it seems desirable, so far as compatible with a reasonable expenditure of the State's money, that attention should be paid to a pleasing exterior. This is desirable, not merely for the impression it will make upon the pupils and the friends of the pupils, but for its effect upon the public mind. The class of idiots for whom it is designed, has been so long borne down by degrading associations, whether in the family or in the public alms-house, that nothing short of superior accommodations furnished by those engaged in their elevation in the scale of being, will restore them to their legitimate position in the public estimation, as objects of pity and not of disgust. It must be seen that we have all have confidence in the success of our measures for their relief, by the respect we show them in planning the necessary appliances to secure that end. The history of the modern efforts in behalf of the insane, furnishes a worthy example for our imitation, and reflects great credit upon the judgment of the pioneers in that cause.

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Having thus expressed my views in relation to matters pertaining to our proposed new buildings, I have only to remark in conclusion, that I been sustained and encouraged in my labors by the evidence on your part of a deep conviction of the public need of such an institution as our own, and by your constant cooperation of carrying out its designs.

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