Charles B. Towns
Encyclopedia
Charles B. Towns was an expert on alcoholism
and drug addiction who helped draft drug control legislation in the United States
during the early 20th century.
in the year 1862 on a small farm. In his youth he worked as a farm hand; he later moved into railroading and eventually sold life insurance at which he was successful. He then moved to New York and between 1901–1904 he had a partnership in a brokerage firm that failed. It was at this time he was approached by a mysterious unnamed individual who claimed that he had a cure for drug addictions such as heroin, opium and alcoholism. The mysterious individual suggested to Towns they could make a lot of money from it.
In spite of Towns' own doctor stating the cure was ridiculous, Towns set out to find addicted people by placing ads for "drug fiends" who wanted to be cured. Towns by this time had read all the known literature on drug addiction and alcoholism. By this trial and error approach Towns refined his cure. Towns' reputation spread in the criminal underworld and he treated addicted gangsters. He involved Dr. Alexander Lambert in his venture. Dr. Lambert was a professor at Cornell University Medical College, who as a physician to President Theodore Roosevelt
informed various people in government about the Towns-Lambert cure. Towns was eventually sent by the US government to China to assist with the recovery of some of the 160 million drug addicts in the country. By 1908 while in China, Towns claimed to have cured thousands by his methods. Between the years 1910 and 1920 he aided in the drafting of the Boylan Bill and the Harrison Act.
Towns claimed a 90% success rate from his cure based on the reasoning that those people he never heard from again had been cured.Towns' reputation by the 1920s had greatly diminished in the medical community as his claims regarding his cure became more exaggerated. The Towns-Lambert cure bordered on quackery.
Lambert eventually broke off his association with Towns Hospital. Towns was making claims that his cure was guaranteed to work for any compulsive behavior, from morphinism to nicotinism to caffeinism, to kleptomania and bedwetting. Lambert realized that the percentage of those deemed to be cured needed to be greatly reduced since he had observed that a number of people over the years kept returning for cure after cure. During the 1920s a large part of the hospital revenues was from repeat business.
, Atropa belladonna, also called deadly nightshade
. The effects of belladonna include delirium, hallucinations, light sensitivity, confusion, and dry mouth. The second ingredient in the mixture was another deliriant, Hyoscyamus niger, also known as henbane
, hog's bean, or insane root. It contained two alkaloids, hyoscyamine
and hyoscine. The third major ingredient was the dried bark or berries of Xanthoxylum Americanum, or prickly ash
, added to help with diarrhea and intestinal cramps. The dosage given was determined by the physiologic reaction of each patient. When the face became flushed, the throat dry, and the eyes dilated, the amount of the mixture was reduced or stopped.
The mixture was given every hour, day and night, for nearly 50 hours. The end of the treatment was marked by the abundance of stools
and then castor oil
was given to the patient as a further purgative.
The treatment was also described as 'puke and purge'.
Every 12 hours the patient was given CC (Compound Cathartic) pills and Blue Mass. These were 19th century medications of varying composition. Blue Mass included mercury, and was prescribed for a cornucopia of ailments.
When a patient was admitted to the hospital while intoxicated or at the end of a spree, the first thing that was done was to put the patient to sleep. The only medication given prior to the hypnotic was the four CC pills. The hypnotic Lambert found best contained chloral hydrate
and morphine
along with one or two grams of paraldehyde
. If the patient went to sleep easily on this hypnotic it was safe to wake him every hour for his belladonna regimen. Dr Lambert believed it was important to administer a small amount of strychnine
every four hours.
The week following the treatment a diet of a special tonic and simple and easy to digest meals would relax the patient.
At this time the Chief of Staff was Dr. William Duncan Silkworth
. Silkworth had lost all his savings in the market collapse and he had come to Towns to help alcoholics.
It was during the period from 1910 to the 1930s that Towns encouraged corporations and big institutions to help alcoholics while they were still on the job.
, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous
(AA), was admitted to Towns Hospital four times between 1933 and 1934. On his fourth and last stay he showed signs of delirium tremens
and was treated with the Belladonna Cure. He had his "Hot Flash" spiritual awakening while undergoing this treatment, either on his second or third night, depending on the source. When he was released from Towns Hospital after a seven day stay, he never drank again.
Wilson's description of his experience: "All at once I found myself crying out, "If there is a God, let Him show himself! I am ready to do anything, anything! Suddenly the room lit up with a great white light. I was caught up in an ecstasy which there are no words to describe. It seemed to me in my mind's eye, that I was on a mountain and that a wind not of air but of spirit was blowing. And then it burst upon me that I was a free man. Slowly the ecstasy subsided. I lay there on the bed, but now for a time I was in another world, a new world of consciousness... and I thought to myself, "So this is the God of the preachers!" A great peace stole over me."
Towns was a supporter and creditor of Alcoholics Anonymous
, lending Wilson $2500 {$38000 in 2008 dollar values) to enable him to write what became the "The Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous. He later told the AA story to a writer who had it published in Liberty Magazine
which led to the sale of several hundred Big Books. He also offered Wilson, who had been unemployed for several years, a job as a lay therapist, which Wilson declined.
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and drug addiction who helped draft drug control legislation in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the early 20th century.
Biography
Charles B. Towns was born in GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
in the year 1862 on a small farm. In his youth he worked as a farm hand; he later moved into railroading and eventually sold life insurance at which he was successful. He then moved to New York and between 1901–1904 he had a partnership in a brokerage firm that failed. It was at this time he was approached by a mysterious unnamed individual who claimed that he had a cure for drug addictions such as heroin, opium and alcoholism. The mysterious individual suggested to Towns they could make a lot of money from it.
In spite of Towns' own doctor stating the cure was ridiculous, Towns set out to find addicted people by placing ads for "drug fiends" who wanted to be cured. Towns by this time had read all the known literature on drug addiction and alcoholism. By this trial and error approach Towns refined his cure. Towns' reputation spread in the criminal underworld and he treated addicted gangsters. He involved Dr. Alexander Lambert in his venture. Dr. Lambert was a professor at Cornell University Medical College, who as a physician to President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
informed various people in government about the Towns-Lambert cure. Towns was eventually sent by the US government to China to assist with the recovery of some of the 160 million drug addicts in the country. By 1908 while in China, Towns claimed to have cured thousands by his methods. Between the years 1910 and 1920 he aided in the drafting of the Boylan Bill and the Harrison Act.
Towns claimed a 90% success rate from his cure based on the reasoning that those people he never heard from again had been cured.Towns' reputation by the 1920s had greatly diminished in the medical community as his claims regarding his cure became more exaggerated. The Towns-Lambert cure bordered on quackery.
Lambert eventually broke off his association with Towns Hospital. Towns was making claims that his cure was guaranteed to work for any compulsive behavior, from morphinism to nicotinism to caffeinism, to kleptomania and bedwetting. Lambert realized that the percentage of those deemed to be cured needed to be greatly reduced since he had observed that a number of people over the years kept returning for cure after cure. During the 1920s a large part of the hospital revenues was from repeat business.
The Belladonna Cure
The formula for Towns-Lambert cure was the deliriantDeliriant
The deliriants are a special class of acetylcholine-inhibitor hallucinogen. The term was introduced by David F. Duncan and Robert S...
, Atropa belladonna, also called deadly nightshade
Deadly nightshade
Atropa belladonna or Atropa bella-donna, commonly known as Belladonna, Devil's Berries, Death Cherries or Deadly Nightshade, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. The foliage and berries are extremely toxic, containing tropane...
. The effects of belladonna include delirium, hallucinations, light sensitivity, confusion, and dry mouth. The second ingredient in the mixture was another deliriant, Hyoscyamus niger, also known as henbane
Henbane
Henbane , also known as stinking nightshade or black henbane, is a plant of the family Solanaceae that originated in Eurasia, though it is now globally distributed.-Toxicity and historical usage:...
, hog's bean, or insane root. It contained two alkaloids, hyoscyamine
Hyoscyamine
Hyoscyamine is a tropane alkaloid. It is a secondary metabolite found in certain plants of the Solanaceae family, including henbane , mandrake , jimsonweed , tomato and deadly nightshade...
and hyoscine. The third major ingredient was the dried bark or berries of Xanthoxylum Americanum, or prickly ash
Prickly ash
Prickly ash may refer to:* Aralia spinosa* Zanthoxylum, from which Sichuan pepper comes from...
, added to help with diarrhea and intestinal cramps. The dosage given was determined by the physiologic reaction of each patient. When the face became flushed, the throat dry, and the eyes dilated, the amount of the mixture was reduced or stopped.
The mixture was given every hour, day and night, for nearly 50 hours. The end of the treatment was marked by the abundance of stools
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
and then castor oil
Castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean . Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is and its density is 961 kg/m3...
was given to the patient as a further purgative.
The treatment was also described as 'puke and purge'.
Every 12 hours the patient was given CC (Compound Cathartic) pills and Blue Mass. These were 19th century medications of varying composition. Blue Mass included mercury, and was prescribed for a cornucopia of ailments.
When a patient was admitted to the hospital while intoxicated or at the end of a spree, the first thing that was done was to put the patient to sleep. The only medication given prior to the hypnotic was the four CC pills. The hypnotic Lambert found best contained chloral hydrate
Chloral hydrate
Chloral hydrate is a sedative and hypnotic drug as well as a chemical reagent and precursor. The name chloral hydrate indicates that it is formed from chloral by the addition of one molecule of water. Its chemical formula is C2H3Cl3O2....
and morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
along with one or two grams of paraldehyde
Paraldehyde
Paraldehyde is the cyclic trimer of acetaldehyde molecules. Formally, it is a derivative of 1,3,5-trioxane. The corresponding tetramer is metaldehyde. A colourless liquid, it is sparingly soluble in water and highly soluble in alcohol. Paraldehyde slowly oxidizes in air, turning brown and producing...
. If the patient went to sleep easily on this hypnotic it was safe to wake him every hour for his belladonna regimen. Dr Lambert believed it was important to administer a small amount of strychnine
Strychnine
Strychnine is a highly toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion...
every four hours.
The week following the treatment a diet of a special tonic and simple and easy to digest meals would relax the patient.
Towns Hospital
Charles B. Towns Hospital was located at 293 Central Park West in Manhattan. Towns started the hospital in 1901, and the roaring twenties and the increase in alcoholism made it successful. However, after the stock market crash of 1929 admissions to the hospital had significantly declined. The hospital aimed at drying out the well-to-do patient. It was an expensive detoxification facility and one was not admitted unless the fee was paid in advance or a backer guaranteed to pay the fee which in those days was $200 to $350 for a five day stay.At this time the Chief of Staff was Dr. William Duncan Silkworth
William Duncan Silkworth
William Duncan Silkworth, M.D., was an American medical doctor and specialist in the treatment of alcoholism. He was Director of the Charles B...
. Silkworth had lost all his savings in the market collapse and he had come to Towns to help alcoholics.
Literature
Towns wrote three important books on alcoholism. These were Habits That Handicap in 1915, which was given a review in the New York Times, Reclaiming the Drinker in 1931, and Alcohol and Drug Sickness in 1934. Historical newspaper accounts and reviews of Towns are readily available by conducting a search on the New York Times using the name Charles B. Towns (subscription required).Corporations
It was Towns' belief that lack of occupation was the destroyer of men; helping the alcoholic was useless if the man had no job to which he could return. He promoted the idea of educational plans to enlighten people on the hazards of drinking along with the idea that society was to blame for the problem of alcohol hence society needed to take responsibility for those who lost control of their drinking.It was during the period from 1910 to the 1930s that Towns encouraged corporations and big institutions to help alcoholics while they were still on the job.
Alcoholics Anonymous
Bill WilsonBill W.
William Griffith Wilson , also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous , an international mutual aid fellowship with over two million members belonging to 100,800 groups of alcoholics helping other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety...
, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
(AA), was admitted to Towns Hospital four times between 1933 and 1934. On his fourth and last stay he showed signs of delirium tremens
Delirium tremens
Delirium tremens is an acute episode of delirium that is usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol, first described in 1813...
and was treated with the Belladonna Cure. He had his "Hot Flash" spiritual awakening while undergoing this treatment, either on his second or third night, depending on the source. When he was released from Towns Hospital after a seven day stay, he never drank again.
Wilson's description of his experience: "All at once I found myself crying out, "If there is a God, let Him show himself! I am ready to do anything, anything! Suddenly the room lit up with a great white light. I was caught up in an ecstasy which there are no words to describe. It seemed to me in my mind's eye, that I was on a mountain and that a wind not of air but of spirit was blowing. And then it burst upon me that I was a free man. Slowly the ecstasy subsided. I lay there on the bed, but now for a time I was in another world, a new world of consciousness... and I thought to myself, "So this is the God of the preachers!" A great peace stole over me."
Towns was a supporter and creditor of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
, lending Wilson $2500 {$38000 in 2008 dollar values) to enable him to write what became the "The Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous. He later told the AA story to a writer who had it published in Liberty Magazine
Liberty Magazine
Liberty is a magazine published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church that covers issues involving separation of church and state, and current events in politics...
which led to the sale of several hundred Big Books. He also offered Wilson, who had been unemployed for several years, a job as a lay therapist, which Wilson declined.
Sources
- Alcoholics Anonymous. Pass it On The Story of Bill Wilson and How The A.A. Message Reached the World, New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1984
- Cheevers, Susan. My Name is Bill, Simon & Schuster, 2004
- Pittman, Bill. AA: the Way it Began, Glenn Abbey Books, 1988