Evening star., 1951-10-04
Attacks
u. ). Treatment
OF Mentally III
Assembled Doctors
Hear Victims Called
Our Forgotten People
By Wallace {. CIoyton


More than $500 District area
physicians were back at work to-
day, after a three-day recess for
the District Medical Society's 22d
annual scientific assembly.
The assembly, which attracted
the largest registration in history.
ended last night with joint BAN
quet at the Hotel Statler' of ply
sicians and members Of the Dis
trict Bar Association.
District Court Judge Luther w.
Youngdahl. in his first speech
since he was sworn in Monday,
told the guests that "one of the
most important moral questions
facing us today is the treatment of
the mentally ILL.,"
No Lobby to Turn to.
These are the forgotten people
OF America" he said. "They have
no lobby group to represent them
in the legislative halls"
Judge Youngdahl said the men,
tai hospital is still considered
Just the nut house" in most
States"
1T is the only major American
institution unchanged since aboli-
tion OF its counterpart-slavery,"
he said.
Tracing his own experience
while Governor of Minnesota, a
post he resigned to accept the
District judgeship. he said he abol-
ished by executive order the use
of mechanical restraints in the
States mental hospitals.
He suggested other States adopt
measures similar to Minnesota's
Mental Health Policy Act, which
emphasized that mo shame or
stigma should be attached to
mental illness"
Cuts Across All Lines.
1.-THE treatment Of the mentally
Ill cuts across political, geo.
graphical and nationality lines"
he said.
I'VE must build for the mentally
i'll houses of hope instead of hab-
itations of the living dead"
Certificates of meritorious serv-
ice to the community were pre-
sented by the society to DR.. Edgar
P. Copeland and DR.. A. Magruder
Macdonald.
DR.. Copeland, a veteran pedi-
african who has served for many
years as staff physician at Chill
dren's Hospital, helped draw up
the Districts Healing Arts Act.
He is now chairman of the hos
pitfalls medical staff.
DR.. Macdonald, a former presi-
dent Of the society, has been Dis
trict coroner since 1884.
DR.. Wall Is HonOred.
DR.. Joseph S. Wall, who has Just
resigned as chairman of the Chill
dren's Hospital medical staff after
more than so years of service at
the hospital, also was honored.
Society officials unveiled a large
portrait of him, which will hang
in the society's Offices.
At the final scientific session,
doctors were cautioned not to
prescribe today's wonder drug"
Iantibiotics too freely.
DR.. Edmund R. McCluskey, pro-
Ifessor of pediatrics at the Uni
|versity of Pittsburgh Medical
School, said use of the anti
biotics, when they are not needed,
might delay the cure of disease
they do not affect. He recon-
mended extensive laboratory tests
in cases where a patients condi-
ton fails to improve in the first
few days after administration Of
any of the drugs.
Optimistic ON Cancer.
At George Washington Uni
versity Medical Society luncheon,
DR.. Godfrey Hadfield. professor Of
pathology at the Royal College of
Surgeons, London, predicted that
we are in sight of success" in a
search to find an agent which will
kill human cancer cells while leav-
ing normal cells undamaged.
He said this cancer-killing agent
might be virus deadly only to the
cancer cells. or a chemical agent
which would be structurally re-
arranged to be effective against
the malignant cells.
Dr.. Hadfield pointed out that
chemical compounds have already
been developed which are effective
against cancer cells in animals.
And, he said, there have been
laboratory experiments showing
the sleeping sickness virus kills