Evening star., 1926-02-16
JUDGING OF LUNACy.
CASES HERE HIT.
Three Sanity Experts Score
fury Trial at Monday Eve
ming Club Meeting.

Three noted lunacy authorities, DR..
William A. White, DR.. d. Percy
Hickling and Dr. Loren B. 7. Johnson,
last night convinced the members of
the Monday Evening Club at Their
meeting in the Grace Dodge Hotel
that the local custom of charging Il
man with being insane and trying
him by jury in open court rs cruel,
stupid and senselesS." 1t appeared TO
be the sense Of the club that 1t would
do everything in its power to help
obtain improved lunacy legislation
for the District.
DR.. White told the club members
that Commissioner Frederick A. Fen
ming is an expert on lunacy leglsla-
ton and that 1t is now a most oppor-
tune time to seek reforms along this
line. He suggested that the present
30-day commitment to st. Elizabeth
be made a permanent commitment,
without adjudication, providing 1t is
agreeable to the lunatic and his rela-
lives.
Don't Want to Be Exposed.
II know" said DR.. White, that SO
out of 100 District patients at st.
Elizabeth do not want to have their
troubles exposed before a jury OF l.
men. They would prefer that the
final writ. They do not want their
constitutional rights rammed down
their throatS."
At the outset of his talk DR.. White
urged that people at st. Elizabeth are
simply mentally sick people who nave
bright chances for getting well. lie
said the old days when a man had to
go raving through the streets before
he was considered in need of mental
roo 1ty1Na Q y-o ma a
mental disease, just as tuberculosis,
should be treated in its early stages II
1t IS to be promptly arrested.
Judge Milton StraSburger presided
at the meeting last night, and he said
that in his experience he had found
that wherever the physicians dis
agreed over the insanity of a person
being tried in the Equity Court
the jury was inclined to give the per
son the benefit of the doubt. He de-
clared the present law is not salts
factory.
DR.. White voiced the belief that
there is little, if any. grounds for the
public fear that unless there are lots
Of safeguards thrown around the pro-
cedure some one may be ''railroaded
10 the insane asylum for Interior mo-
tives.' He believed this was not pos
sible IN a public institution, but ad-
mitted that in private institutions it
might be possible they would keep
a good customer" longer than nee
eSSary.
Adds to Mental Strain.
DIR. Hickllng drew from his rich eX
perience with lunacy cases in the Dis
trict dating back to 1887 and recalled
that at one time the police stations
of the city were filed with lunatics
lie said that the present jury pro-
cedure adds TO the mental strain of
the patients and sets them back
great deal. To ridicule the posSibil-
ity Of a sane man or woman being
committed to an insane asylum for ul-
terror motives, DR.. Hickling rectted
the some half dozen or eight persons
who would have to be bribed before
this could be accomplished.
DR.. Johnson, dealing with specific
cases which had come to his attention.
said that he had found juries take
"fiendish delight in setting insane
persons free and that in many in
stances these people have gone right
out and done something which has
convinced society they should be in
an institution.