The record-union., 1897-08-04
WDE-AWAKE COMMISSION.
REGULATIONS FOR THE STATE
HOSPITALS.
Superintendent Now Held to
Strict Account-O1d Abuses
Corrected.

The State Commission on Lunacy is
taking active measures to insure the
enforcement of the new law respecting
the States insane
A few days ago the attention Of the
commission was called to an alleged
case of rank abuse in Fresno County,
and without delay a communication
was sent to the Sheriff, and another to
the District Attorney, requesting them
TO make immediate investigation into
the matter, and if necessary, have the
alleged insane person committed to one
of the several asylums of the State.
RESPECTING PAY PATIENTS"
The Secretary of the commission,
John r Carrere, is forwarding the fol-
lowing circular letter to the Boards of
Supervisors and to the District Attor-
neys of the several counties in the
State:
Dear Sir: The State Commission
in Lunacy asked the Acknowledgement
for his construction of that portion of
Section 3, Article Ill. of the insanity
law that provides that if the commit
ment be made to a State hospital, the
order shall be accompanied by writ
ten statement Of the Judge as to the
financial condition of the insane person,
ana VI the DcISOI legally liable LOT his
maintenance as far as can be ascer-
tanned.
In reply the Attorney General has
sent the following opinion to this Office
and has suggested that the commission
should call the attention of your honor
and the other Superior Judges of the
State to the Importance of a strict COM
plance with the above provision.
have the honor to herewith transmit
you a copy of the Attorney Generals
opinion:
The manifest purpose of this pro-
vision is put the State Lunacy Com
mission and the Superintendent or per-
son in charge of the State hospital to
which said person is committed in full
possession of such knowledge as the
Superior Judge making the commit
ment may have of the financial status
of the person committed. From the
statement thus required the Superin-
tendent or other person in charge of
the hospital can determine whether or
not the person committed is one of the
class which he is bound to receive as a
ard of the State or whether he is to
be received only upon the terms and
conditions prescribed by Section 8, Ar
ticle III, of the insanity law for the ad-
mission of insane persons who are res
idents of the State, other than poor and
INDECENT insane persons (Stats. 1897, |
300
The same section which requires
the Superior Judge to accompany his
order of commitment with the state
ment in question, also provides that
the Superintendent or person in charge
of any State hospital for the care and
treatment of the insane may refuse to
receive any person upon any order if
the papers required to be presented
shall not comply with the provisions of
this section, or if, in his judgment, such |
person is not insane within the mean !
ing of this statute, or if received, such |
person may be discharged by the COM
mission. Estates. 1897, 327)
I am therefore Of the opinion that |
unless the commitment is accompanied |
by the required statement of the finan- |
cial status of the person committed |
such person should not be received by |
the Superintendent or other person in
charge of the State hospital to which he
is committed. "
CONTINGENT FUNDS
Heretofore the officials of the several
asylums in the State have had undis-
puted charge of the contingent funds of
their institutions, and many times have
had considerable difficulty in spending
the money. Every dollar that comes in
from pay patients goes into the con-
tingent fund, and the amount received
by each asylum per year from that
source alone will foot up in the neigh
borhood of $4,000.
But the new lunacy law has changed
all that, and now every dollar of the
{o,- 9TH frJY11
spent by the superintendent of any of
the institutions must be approved by
the State Commission or it don't go.
Accordingly, there has been trouble in
the asylums. Bills of furniture have
been run up to be paid for out of the
contingent fund. and many of these
have been disallowed by the commits
sion. There remained but one thing for
the Superintendent to do, and they did
il as gracefully as possible: The arti-
cles purchased were sent back.
One item in one of the bills reads:
For 100 cigars used during the visit of
commission. 81"
Word went back the next day: You
pay for all extras and luxuries," and
with it went a copy of the following
resolution adopted by the Board of
Examiners March l. 1895, and resur
rected and enforced by the Lunacy
Commission for just such cases as the
one alluded to:
Resolved, That the supplies and pro-
visions furnished by the State to the
officers and employees of State institu-
tons are the supplies and provisions
purchased on contract for the inmates
of such institutions, and no bills for
any other supplies and provisions will
be allowed by the board
The commission in a recent letter to
one of the hospital Superintendent,
quoted the above resolution and disal-
lowed a number of articles, such as i'm
ported macaroni, sardines, chow
chow, etc, and further added that lin
the case of chow chow and macaroni
they were further disallowed for the
reason that it is the desire of the COM
mission. whenever possible, to allow the
purchase only of California or Ameri-
can-made goods
EXCHANGE OF COMMODITIES.
one of the reforms being introduced