Evening star., 1948-01-23
Washington Is Called
eader Of Scientific
Attack on Alcoholism
By George Kennedy

Washington Is IN the forefront OF
American cities in the present-day
scientific attack on alcoholism as
disease, Mrs. Marty Mann of New
York, executive director of the Ma
tional Committee for Education on
Alcoholism, said today.
Mrs. Mann is in Washington to
speak tonight at an institute on
alcoholism" sponsored by the Dis
trict committee of her organization
of which Judge Walter Casey OF
Municipal Court Is chairman. The
institute will be held at 8:15 pm. in
the District Medical Society Audi
torium at 1718 M street NV, and
is open to the public.
Mrs. Mann said it was significant
that the Medical Society had offered
it's auditorium.
when we started this movement
three years ago." she said, I'VE had
difficulty in getting doctors to serve
on our committees. They are be-
coming aware now that alcoholism
is within the scope of medicine-in
the modern sense of that term
which is much broader than pre-
scribing drugs or surgery"
Suffered From Alcoholism. O
Mrs. Mann is the young woman
Gin appearance, at any rate) who be-
came famous as the most attractive
and most intelligent woman with an
alcoholic background. A business
executive with at $25,000 a year
income, her career was interrupted
by occasional forced disqualification
for alcoholism in the psychopathie
ward of New York's Bellevue Hos
pital. She. stopped drinking and
became one of the leaders in spread
ing the scientific information or
alcoholism developed at Yale Uni
versity by Doctors Howard w. Hag-
gard and E. M. Jellinek.
There are Committees for Educa-
ton on Alcoholism in 80 cities today
she said, and she puts Washington
right at the head Of the progress
list except for New Haven and
Hartford, Conn, where the whole
movement started.
h The first reason she gave for this
was the interest Washington news
papers have shown in the problem
and their support of the program
Keeps Scrap Books.
II have scrap books Of clippings
Of newspaper articles on alcoholism
from al the cities where we have
committees" she said, "and thu
Washington section is much largel
than the rest"
Another reason she advanced wa!
the Hebert Act, which taxes liquol
and beer licenses to the extent o.
SIS, 900 a year for establishment o.
alcoholic clinics. First funds under
the bill become available mex
month. Opening Of full time clinic:
is expected before the middle of tht
year.
Washington's part time clinic
which operates three evenings
week at the old Force School or
Massachusetts, avenue, she said, wa.
one of the first in the country ane
was started as a result of the move.
ment which stemmed from Yale
The District committee has an Office
at 1713 M street N. w. Republit
O95S), where interested persons car
get scientific information on alco.
holism and its treatment.
| And, she added, Washington Al.
coholics Anonymous organization il
one of the best of such groups II
the Nation.
Other speakers tonight at the in
stitute will be DR.. Robert H. Felix
chief of mental hygiene in th'
United States Public Health Serv.
ice; Representative Miller, Repub'
lican, of Nebraska whose Distric
Subcommittee favorably reported
the Hebert Act in the House. DR.
Oscar Hunter will be chairman.