p. 7 | The Increase of Insanity

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 7, 1906

The Increase of Insanity

MUCH has been said of late years regarding the increase of insanity, statistical evidence showing that the proportion of the population afflicted by this malady is in most civilized lands rapidly increasing in size. Some recent figures published by the Philadelphia North American show that since 1892 the proportion of insane has risen in this country from one to every 543 inhabitants, to one to every 420. In the State of New York the proportion is one to every 299 inhabitants. In England and Wales there is one insane person to every 288 of the people, while ten years ago there was but one to every 324.

It is evident that this rate of increase could not continue a great while longer before the burden of caring for the insane would become almost unsupportable, and, if the increase should continue indefinitely, the time would of course be reached when there would not be enough people of sound mind to care for the vast number of the mentally unbalanced, and civilization could be preserved only by heroic and merciless measures to lessen the number of such dependents. This world's future, apart from the soon coming of the Lord, would not present a hopeful picture.