350 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



not have to look far for the cause. It is not want of money, but 

 want of opportunity and the must-be-so-because-it-always-has-been- 

 so attitude which limits her horizon." 



The statement is varied in many other forms: "Two-thirds of the 

 inmates of our lunatic asylums are farmers' wives"; "Statistics posi- 

 tively show that the largest group in our insane asylums are far- 

 mers' wives." A popular lecturer at our Chautauquan assemblies 

 repeated the same thing over and over again during the past sum- 

 mer. The above statements have been made during the year by 

 two of the best known American women of letters, probably with- 

 out their ever thinking for a moment that they are without any 

 foundation. The latest statement comes from Kansas and reads: 

 "The majority of the inmates of the insane asylums of the Western 

 States are farmers' wives." 



The statistics from none of our states give any ground at all, for 

 such statements. A recent report of the Pennsylvania State Board 

 of Charities assigns isolation, as the cause of insanity in three 

 cases only, out of a total of 1,8G6 patients admitted into the State 

 asylums that year. 



In the year above named, there were in the insane asylums of 

 Pennsylvania, the following jversons, viz.: 



- Single men, 2,963 



Married men, 1,434 



Single women, 2,078 



Married women, 1,653 



Total, 8,128 



There were admitted during the year, to all the insane asylums of 

 the State, the following: 



Total males admitted, 1,060 



Farmers, 139 



Laborers, 257 



Merchants, 27 



Miners, 61 



No occupation, 59 



Total females admitted, 806 



Daughters of farmers, 28 



Wives of farmers, 32 



Widows of farmers, 6 



Total women from farms, 66 



Daughters of merchants, 23 



Wives of merchants, 25 



Widows of merchants, 13 



Total women from merchants' homes,. . 61 



Total wives of laborers admited, 69 



