Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-02
Wilbur PROPOSES
NEW [UNACY
Modified Rules Are. Held Vital
to Future of st.
EIizabeth's.

Pressing need for complete revision
Of the lunacy laws of the District and
for a 1,6o0-bed extension to relieve
present congestion and provide for the
future are the outstanding features re-
lating to st. Elizabeth's Hospital en-
bodied today in the annual report OF
Secretary of the Interior Wilbur, under
whose jurisdiction this institution comes
Every effort should be made to
secure modification of the present laws
governing admissions to st. Elizabeth's
Hospital" says DR.. William A. White,
superintendent Of the hospital, in a
statement quoted in Secretary Wilbur's
report to Congress.
DR.. White outlines the bill sent to
Congress for this purpose in 1927 by the
Secretary of the Interior. The purpose
OF the proposed measure was to afford
every facility to the mentally ailing to
submit voluntarily to treatment, and
when compulsory detention is unavoid-
able to make the Intervention Of the
law as unobtrusive as possible.
New Bill Prepared.
One of the provisions Of the bill is
that insane taken into custody by the
police or other officials shall not be
subjected to trials as are criminals, but
may be held in the hospital and treated,
and not tried except upon their re-
quests or that Of their relatives, guar
dams or friends"
New ideas have arisen since the orig
inal proposal, Dr.. White explains, one
being that provision should be made
for emergency commitment. He says
a committee, appointed by the District
Commissioners, Is preparing the draft
Of a new measure on this subject for
submission to Congress.
1.-The most important single need of
the hospital is additional BEDS" says
Secretary Wilbur's report. THE hos
pital is not only in very crowded con-
dition, but the population is increasing
very rapidly, the lowest estimate being
that it is overcrowded by more than
500 patients.
More Beds Needed.
"To relieve the situation it has been
planned to provide for 1,600-bed ex-
tension to the hospital, of which the
medical and surgical building (now
under constr1ction) constitutes the first
200 beds. Included in the estimates
for the coming year Is an item for the
addition of TAO beds, which will COM
prise a receiving building for men, q
receiving building for women, and a
necessary additions to the power, heat
and lighting plant"
There were 4,331 patients in the hos
pital June so, 1929 the report states.
The total number treated during the
past fiscal year was 4,S99, and the total
number of discharged, including deaths,
was 568. The daily average population
was 4,202, an increase of 1873 over the
preceding year. One hundred patients
were discharged as recovered, lit as
improved and % as not insane, while
rs uninproved patients were discharged.
The number of new admissions during
the year was 661, of whom 513 were
men and 148 women.
Patients Improving.
The total number of employees June
30 last was 1928, an increase of 81 over
the year before.
Among the medical developments of
the year the following are listed: Con-
tinuation of the successful treatment of
paresis by malarial incubation, i'm
proving the condition of chronic
patients in the back wards, Inaugural
ton, with the cooperation of Johns
Hopkins University, ora treatment for
carcinoma by. new method which
seems To show eEaCcIrarinR results.