Evening star., 1951-10-03
County Orders
Probe in Jai|inq
Of Mentally III
Patients Are Held
Before Being Sent
To State Hospitals

10 Stute Hospitals
County Manager Irving G. Nc.
Nayr was under orders of the
Montgomery County Council to.
day to investigate the practice o1
putting mentally i'll patients ir
jail until they can be committed
to State institutions.
The order for the investigation
was approved on the motion of
Mrs. Stella B. Werner, who said
the number of mentally i'll per-
sons depending upon public in
stitutions for treatment and care
is increasing each month.
Mrs. Werner said she visited the
Montgomery County Jail at Rock
vile Monday and saw two women
mental patients mixed in with
criminals. One of the women, she
said, has a mental condition that
is definitely durable and that is
not being helped at all by the jail
atmosphere.
Finds Personnel Lacking.
Mrs. Kathryn Lawler, another
council member, said she also has
visited the jail recently and was
convinced it does not have the
personnel to give mental patients
the attention they need, even for
O short time.
Mrs. Lawler said Mr.. McNayr
has tried to get private institu-
tionS in the county to care for
mental patients while they await
commitment. but they have re-
fused.
Councilman Lathrop Smith, in
seconding the motion, suggested
that facilities be created in one
Of the local hospitals.
"These hospitals get funds from
the county" he asserted, "and
if it is necessary, we can give them
more funds"
Mrs. Lawler said another prob
lem that Mr.. McNayr should look
into is the practice of putting
chronic alcoholics in jail with
out any treatment.
They are i'll people, too," she
stated.
Liquor Profits Reported.
The council also received a re-
port from the Department of
Liquor Control. listing net profits
for the months of July and August
at $118,472,52.
Profits from sale of liquor at the
county's dispenseries increased 6
per cent over the same two months
of 1850, and beer profits increased
38 per cent. the department re-
ported.
The council named Mrs. Sumner
Wood of Seneca to a one-year
term on the Commission for Medi-
cal Care and reappointed Douglas
West. 1540 East-West highway,
Silver Spring. and Herbert N.
Eaton, 3 East Inverness drive,
Chevy Chase to one-year terms.
Medical Care Commission.
In the same resolution, the
council approved appointment of
the following representatives to
serve on the medical care commits
sion:
Ray G. Bergstrofn. Silver Spring
Hospital Association: E. B. Wilson,
jr., Montgomery General Hos
pital; Arthur G. Lambert. Sub
urban Hospital: DR.. John F.
Brownsberger, Washington Sani-
tarium: DR.. Austin B. Rohrbaugh,
jr, DR.. John o. Robben and DR..
William A. Linthicum. Montgom-
cry County Medical Society;
DR.. William Welsh. Montgomery
County Welfare Board. and DR..
Henry P. Laughlin. county Men
tai, Hygiene Clinic.
Appointment of Francis Joseph
Colt. "a. of 6610 Eastern avenue
NV, as private on the county
police force also was approved.
Mr.. Colt will begin serving Octo-
ber IS at $4,000 a year.
The council appeared to be
taken by surprise when County
Attorney David Macdonald stated
his opinion that a new building
code drawn up by the Maryland
National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission will be county
wide in effect.
Goes into Effect Nov. /.
The new performance-type code,
which goes into effect November
l. was drawn up by the commits
sion to serve only where it has
jurisdiction-the suburban areas
of Prince Georges and Montgom-
cry counties. Hearings on the
new code last spring were held
only in the suburban areas of the
two counties.
A new law introduced by
the Montgomery delegation and
passed by the 1851 General AS
sembly however, transfers the
building inspection functions of
the park and planning COM
missicn to the county. And as he
reads it, Mr.. Macdonald said, the
law also transfers all existing
building codes from the commits
sion to the county, including the
new code.
Mr.. Macdonald said he believes
furthe, hearings should be held