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COMMITTEE
CONNECTICUT  MEDICAL SOCIETY,
                                v
RESPECTING
AN ASYLUM FOR INEBRIATES,
WITH
THE  RESOLUTIONS OF THE  SOCIETY,
ADOPTED
AT THEIR ANNUAL MEETING,
MAY, 1830.
     NEW HAVEN:
PRINTED BY HEZEKIAH HOWE.

         1830. 
 
The Committee appointed by  the  Connecticut Medi-
  cal Society, to inquire whether  it is expedient and
  practicable to establish an institution for the refor-
  mation of intemperate  persons,  having attended to
  the duty assigned them, submit the following

                   REPORT.

  The propriety of making any provision for inebriates
might well be questioned, if intemperance  was not a
misfortune as well as a crime—if the lover of strong
drink, who scatters desolation over the fair prospects of
his household, was not himself the victim of wretchedness
from which he would gladly escape.  The members of
this society need not be told, that intemperance is com-
monly associated with disease of body or mind—and al-
though the disease is aggravated, and probably  occa-
sioned by vicious habits, those  very habits are adhered
to, because they are thought to yield momentary relief
from  suffering.  We believe there are few drunkards
who would not, in their hours of sobriety, wish to be re-
claimed—few, who would not wish to regain that rank
in society, from which, by their vicious conduct, they
have been so deeply degraded.   But, however ardently
they may desire their own  reformation, they  have not
the moral courage and the needful resolution to effect
it.  Their disease excites  no  sympathy; their suffer-
ings call forth no  pity  from others;  their consciences
and their friends reproach them; their good resolutions
fail them, and their promises of reformation are made
only to be broken.
   Under these circumstances,  it becomes us to inquire
whether  the evil is not of so much  importance as to de-
mand the corrective aid of government, and the untir-
ing efforts of benevolent  individuals  to effect its re-
moval.
   Civilians assure us that ignorance and vice are the
only formidable enemies of our republic.  Observation
assures us, that  intemperance is  the great avenue to 
2
these sources of national calamity ;  that the child is
rarely brought up in ignorance, unless one or the other
of its parents is intemperate ;  and that few persons are
convicted of grosser crimes till they have become in-
temperate themselves.  It unfortunately happens, from
the facility with which ardent spirits may be procured,
and the latitude which every  one assumes for the gov-
ernment of his own actions, that intemperance has be-
come not only a source of national danger, but emphat-
ically a national vice.  It is moreover an evil whose
contaminating influence extends from house to house,
and from one individual to another, till it has corrupt-
ed the whole population of a neighborhood, and ruined
those who  should  have been its ornaments.  It often
happens too, that inebriates are possessed of uncommon
vivacity and fascinating address, which render them in-
teresting—and  in  proportion as they are interesting,
dangerous associates.  One individual of this charac-
ter has been often known to seduce an extensive circle
of unsuspecting companions  into habits of intemper-
ance, from which it is difficult, if not impossible, to re-
claim them.  We profess not to be able to estimate the
extent of the evil which such an individual may entail
upon his country—our object being to determine how
such calamities may be avoided. By the existing laws
of the state, if a person is guilty of intemperance, he
may be sent to a work-house for punishment.  There
he  is looked upon as a criminal—his associates are
criminals, some of them guilty of heinous offences—and
instead  of  being reclaimed, he is usually made worse.
Being associated with companions who have lost all self-
respect, and all regard for the opinions of others, he is
by their companionship prepared for the commission of
gross crimes, and consequently returns a more danger-
ous member of the  community.
  This  is no picture of imaginary evil, but a statement
which every day's observation  proves to be literally
true.  Whenever an attempt has been made to effect a
reformation of an intemperate person through the agen-
cy of legal penalties, he has become more degraded
and more desperate.  Tn consequence of these difficul- 
:i
ties, few efforts are made to reform the drunkard ; and
of these, but a very small proportion are crowned with
success.   The  institution of  Temperance  Societies,
which have produced a most desirable change in  the
opinions and practice of others, has not served, and in-
deed was not designed, to brighten the faint prospect of
his  restoration.  Neglected by  those societies, and
shunned by those who are  most ardently engaged in
promoting the cause of temperance, he chooses for his
companions those who have already entered upon  the
same unfortunate career with himself, and pledges a
faithful adherence to them and their practices.  There
never was a time when  greater or more successful ef-
forts were made to prevent the extension of this vice,
and we are compelled to believe, there never was  so
faint a prospect of the  drunkard's forsaking his com-
panions or his cup, or when efforts directed to his pre-
servation  were more imperiously demanded.  If any
one is disposed to question the correctness of these ob-
servations, we  would request him to examine the  re-
cords of our criminal courts, and he will find that the ex-
penditures for public prosecutions have  been greatly
augmented, and that convictions for crimes  of almost
every grade have become more numerous than at any
former period.
  The question then recurs, shall inebriates be permit-
ted to pursue their unhappy career, without an effort
to restrain and correct them ? or shall they be subject-
ed to such penal discipline as has been proved positive-
ly injurious to its subjects, and ultimately detrimental
to society ?  Whenever these inquiries have been di-
rected to  intelligent, public spirited and benevolent
men, an unqualified  negative answer has been return-
ed.   The  existing practice of our state is alike impoli-
tic  and cruel, and we proceed to point out a more ju-
dicious course,  confidently believing it entitled to indi-
vidual and legislative patronage.
  Before  attempting to  eradicate  any disease,  we
should endeavor to investigate its character,  to inquire
into its nature and tendency,  and ascertain as far as
practicable, the impediments which exist to its removal. 
1
 This course we shall attempt to follow, on the present
 occasion.  The use of intoxicating liquor is at first re-
 sorted to, for the temporary but pleasurable excitation
 which it produces.  This excitement is  soon followed
 by feelings of lassitude and dejection, which are  some-
 times sufficiently  distressing to  deter  the  subject of
 them from a second exposure to their influence.  If
 not, the excitement is  again sought for—the conse-
 quent  lassitude and dejection are again  experienced,
 and the practice  is reiterated, till  at length  ardent
 spirits are considered the only refuge from the irksome
 feelings which  they have created.
   In this manner, the practice of intemperance is usu-
 ally commenced, and it is continued but a short time,
 before the  energies of the constitution are impaired,
 and the system becomes  diseased.  Under these cir-
 cumstances, our efforts to reclaim the inebriate will be
 of doubtful utility; we  may urge upon him the most
 powerful arguments in favor of abstinence, and  the
 most earnest dissuasives from intemperance; but  our
 arguments will be in vain.  We may  appeal  to past
 experience, to present wretchedness, and to future de-
 gradation ;  but our appeal will not reach the  con-
 science, or check the wayward career of him for whom
 it was intended.  Nor does  the  influence of those ex-
 cellent  societies which  have been established for the
 purpose of preserving what may well be termed  the
 ark of our  country's  safety—the  temperate habits
 of the rising generation, extend to the dwelling of him
 who is already intemperate.  The reformation of such
 a person cannot be  expected, unless he is restrained
 from the use of intoxicating liquors till his health is
 restored, his  morals are improved, and his  principles
 so established, as to induce him ever afterwards  to re-
ject their use.  From these considerations,  it appears
 that no measures  calculated to check the career of the
 intemperate,  will be efficient, till we have an Institu-
 tion, furnished with whatever  is necessary for their
 maintainance and  employment.
  Where they shall be subjected to salutary discipline,
 and needful restraint. 
5
  Where they shall have no access to intoxicating
liquors.
  Where they shall be  constantly and usefully em-
ployed.
  Where they shall not be contaminated by evil asso-
ciates, and where they shall have no opportunity of ex-
erting an unfavorable influence upon others.
  Where they shall receive  whatever medical aid is
necessary to restore their debilitated constitutions—to
relieve the sufferings occasioned  by past habits of  in-
temperance, and to eradicate the strong but artificial
propensity, which they may have acquired for indul-
gence in the use of inebriating drink.
  Where they shall  receive the benefit of moral pre-
cepts, correct  examples,  and such  instruction as will
induce them  permanently to  abandon their former
vicious courses, and prepare them for the performance
of those long neglected duties, which they owe to others
and to themselves.
  Where, in short, by an enlightened system of physi-
cal and moral treatment, they may be reformed; and
whence, if reformed, they may be  restored, welcome
guests of their families, and useful members of society.
  In  estimating the  benefits which would result from
such  an establishment, we ought  candidly to examine
the evils  which it is intended to correct, and to com-
pare the expense which must be incurred, with the ad-
vantages which will result from  its successful opera-
tion.
  Intemperance is the great avenue to pauperism and
crime.
  The State  of Connecticut  annually pays  twenty
thousand dollars, and  the several towns in the State
unquestionably pay ten thousand  dollars more, for the
prosecution of offenders, whose crimes may be traced
to intemperance.
  The State also pays from five to ten thousand dollars
a year for the support  of paupers, and  the several
towns pay not less than thirty thousand dollars for a
similar object.  The amount paid for the maintenance
of insane  persons  in this State,  cannot be less than 
(i
twenty thousand dollars annually, one third of which,
according to official documents, which have been pub-
lished in New York and Philadelphia, is occasioned by
indulgence  in the use  of intoxicating liquors.  Our
citizens are, therefore, annually required to pay 70,000
dollars for the relief of those misfortunes, and the sup-
pression  of those crimes, which are occasioned by in-
temperance.   No one who has carefully watched the
progress of the inebriate from respectability to dishonor,
to pauperism and crime, can for a moment doubt, but
it would be essentially diminished by the contemplated
institution.
  The amount  annually paid  for ardent spirits,  the
time devoted to revelry, and the languor and idleness
which follow in the train of dissipation, constitute  im-
portant items of expense, which we leave for others to
calculate.  By this convention no such estimate will be
required: but if each member will form an opinion
from  his own personal observation,  and state what
might be annually saved, within the range  of his pro-
fessional practice, by removing drunkards from  the
haunts of dissipation to a  quiet, well regulated estab-
lishment, where they should be made to earn their live-
lihood, he would furnish us with arguments which can
neither be gainsaid nor refuted.
  But the institution which we recommend will save
what  is more valuable than money; it will rescue ma-
ny individuals from  destruction—many families from
destitution—and wipe a foul  blot from the fair fame
and good character of our State.  Nay more, it  will be
an honor to that State, and with those other excellent
charities which have been  established for the restora-
tion of health and reason, for the instruction of mutes,
and for the suppression of "wickedness and vice," it
will continue  to diffuse blessings  over our land, long
after its founders shall have slept in the dust.
  This committee would gladly present to the medical
society some calculations relative to the expense of the
proposed establishment—but, it is thought better to re-
fer the subject, without observation, to the  decision of
its patrons.   We believe that land sufficient  for culti- 
7
vation, and buildings for the accommodation of at least
one hundred persons, may be procured for twelve thou-
sand dollars,  and that those charitable citizens  of our
State who have always been active in the cause of be-
nevolence,  will pay one half of that sum.   We may
then look with confidence to the legislature, for what-
ever else is necessary to complete this noble work.
  We need say nothing  respecting  the domestic  ar-
rangements of the  institution, except, that it must be
entirely devoted to  the cause of industry and temper-
ance.  Much of its  success will depend upon the char-
acter of the person  to whose charge it is entrusted.  In
him must be  found  a combination of rare and excellent
qualities, which will secure  the affection as well as the
respect, of those  who are to be reformed by his exer-
tions.  He must, himself, be a pattern of industry and
temperance,  in   order to induce  others to  practice
temperance,  and  to pursue industriously whatever they
may be required to perform.  In him, dignity must be
combined  with  cheerfulness—energy  with mildness,
and firmness with forbearance.  His moral character,
and his moral precepts must be of that elevated stand-
ard, which will secure the confidence of the public, as
well as the respect  of those  who are  committed to his
charge.
  With such a  superintendent, the institution would
support itself. With such a guide, an unfortunate class
of our fellow men,  who at present earn  nothing, enjoy
nothing, and hope for nothing, would be led from their
wayward career  into the paths of rectitude and virtue.
  To such a plan it would hardly be reasonable to ex-
pect opposition—and  yet opposition  should not excite
the least surprize,  since every scheme of benevolence,
whether designed for  the mitigation of suffering, or the
extension of happiness, has, in the onset, been regarded
as visionary,  rejected as useless,  or denounced as an
unauthorized encroachment upon the established  cus-
toms of the world.  From physicians, however, who are
in the habit of forming their opinions after mature de-
liberation, it  will be sure to receive that  degree of favor
to which it is entitled.  The only  serious objection to 
8
the success of such a scheme, is that it will require a
slight modification of existing laws.  Instead of send-
ing a drunkard to a work-house  for punishment,  we
would have him sent to an asylum for reformation; and
instead of thirty days' confinement, we would require
him to devote at least a year to the great and impor-
tant work of reformation.
  In the course of that time, he should be taught to
live without ardent spirits; to live in habits of indus-
try ; to  earn at least his  own  livelihood;  and in the
course of that time also, he should learn that he is un-
der obligations  of duty to himself—to his  family—to
his country, and to his God.
  By  the revised statutes  of the State  of New York,
we are happy to learn that regulations similar to those
which we would wish to see introduced into this State,
have already been established.  By those statutes it is
ordained that if a person is convicted by a magistrate
of intemperance, he is bound over to preserve order
and abstain from  criminal indulgences for  one year;
and in case of default of sureties, he shall be commit-
ted to jail.  With the exception of the last clause, we
would gladly see the same law enforced  in  this State;
but we would have every person, when convicted of in-
temperance,  unless  he can find  satisfactory sureties
for his good  conduct and  sobriety, sent to  an institu-
tion, furnished with  whatever is necessary to promote
his entire and  permanent reformation.  All which is
respectfully submitted.
             ELI TODD,               1
             MASON F. COGSWELL,
             SAMUEL B. WOODWARD, ^Committee.
             GEORGE SUMNER,
             HORATIO GRIDLEY,      J 
9
  The foregoing report having been read, was accepted
by the convention, and the following resolutions were
adopted.
  1. Resolved, That in the opinion of this convention,
it is expedient to establish in this State, an asylum for
the reformation of Inebriates.
  2. Resolced, That  Docts. Knight, Simons, and H.
Woodward, be a committee to present this subject to
the consideration of the Legislature, and obtain an act
of Incorporation.
  3. Resolved, That a  central committee  of three
members, be appointed for the purpose of forming an
association and procuring funds  for the establishment
of such an asylum—and  that said committee  be re-
quested to report their proceedings to the next conven-
tion of this Society.
  4. Resolved, That there be a committee of two from
each county, to cooperate with the central committee,
in the prosecution of this object.
  In  accordance with the foregoing resolutions,  Drs.
Eli Todd, S. B. Woodward, and Geo. Sumner, were
appointed a central committee, and the following gen-
tlemen were appointed a committee of correspondence.
       Horatio Gridley, I Hartford.
       Witt. S. PlERSON,  )
       Wm. Tully,     ) New Hayen
       Isaac Jennings, ^
       N. S. Perkins, ) -xT   T   j
       i^r   t»        } New London.
       Wm. Robinson, )
       Samuel Simons,  > Fairficld
       John  Goulding, ^
       Darius Hutchins, J Windhani
       Josiaii Fuller,    ^
       LlTHER TlCKNOR,)LitchfieW
       Norman Bill,    ^
       Samuel Carter,? Middlesex>
       Thomas Miner,   )
       Eleazer Hrvr,     )  Tolland.
       Frederick Morgan, )