The subject of this paper might be called "Employment as a means of treating and caring for the insane and other defectives" the colony being the means of finding agreeable and profitable work for the inmates.
To many of you a description of what is meant by the "colony treatment" is needed to fully understand the subject.
As the expression is used in this paper, and as it is generally understood, it means the erection of buildings some distance from the central hospital plant and placing farm working patients there, to be under the control and management of the hospital officers.
FIRST BUILDING AT THE COLONY
Without discussing the origin of the idea, and with no reference to Gheel, it is sufficient to say it was begun in Germany in the sixties, and that it has slowly found its way into other countries.
THE COLONY BUILDINGS
Such a colony was established in connection with the Morganton Hospital three years ago, or rather it was ready for occupancy about that time. It took several years of talk to get the idea adopted, and as many more to get the colony built. The plan of conducting it by the hospital authorities was largely experimental, and was made to suit the people of Western North Carolina, but it is, after all, a modification of the original German conception.
The first building was for 30 men with rooms for a man and his family, the man to have general supervision of the place and the wife to cook and do the household work. Afterwards a small cottage was built for the manager and his family, and his rooms were used for patients and later still another building was erected so that now 75 patients can be accommodated. It would have been much better to have limited the rooms to 30 as first intended. No single colony plant for the insane should much exceed that number. As many colonies as are needed may be had if land is sufficient, the number depending on the size of the hospital, as only a certain proportion of patients, about 25 per cent., can thus be cared for, or at the outside 40 per cent.