DR. WHITE SAYS ALL OF US HARBOR "DISGUSTING, PRIMITIVE INSTINCTS"
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On January 29, 1923, Dr. William A. White*, Superintendent of St. Elizabeths Hospital**, said everyone's mind harbors "disgusting...vicious primitive instincts" which may even include murder.
Dr. White, speaking to members of the clergy at a meeting of the Pastor's Federation, also said that "these urges are held in check by the exercise of the will and by the person's better inclinations." The pastoral meeting took place at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church*** here in the nation's capital.
The Doctor emphasizes that our brains are "in constant conflict between the primitive instincts and our personalities."
*William Alanson White (1870-1937) was born in Brooklyn, NY & earned his M.D. at Long Island College Hospital, 1891. WAW was a neurologist & psychiatrist. He became Supt. of the Government Hospital for the Insane in 1903.
**St. Elizabeths Hospital (Government Hospital for the Insane) was founded in 1852 as the 1st federally operated psychiatric hospital in the United States. It is located at 1100 Alabama Ave, S.E. in Washington, D.C.
***NY Avenue Presbyterian Church is located at 1313 NY Ave NW, Washington, D.C. was pastored by Phineas Gurley, President Lincoln's spiritual adviser & where AL worshipped.
SOURCES
"St. Elizabeths Hospital/Government Hospital for the Insane," Facebook, www.facebook.com/
"Vicious, Primitive Instincts Harbored by All, Says Alienist^," The Evening Star, January 29, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/^According to Merriam-Webster, the word 'alienist' derives from French 'alieniste'--a doctor who treats mental illness, in other words alienist is an earlier term for psychiatrist.
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