The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1961-04-21
SENATOR
SAM erwin
SAYS -

WASHINGTON - The Subcom-
mlttee on Constitutional Rights re-
Gently heard expert testimony on
the constitutional rights of the
mentally ill. The hearings demon
strated that our hopes were well
founded that new light would be
cast upon problem that has be-
come one of the most neglected
areas of the law. My observation as
Chairman of this Subcommittee is
that after study has been made of
the testimony of eminent psych;a-
trists, attorneys, and mental hos
pial superintendent, it is altogeth
er possible that an enlighte. ravi-
sion of the statutes governing the
mentally ill may be made. Senator
Alexander Wiley, a member of the
subcommittee, aptly stated at the
opening of the hearings: "The in
vestigation pertains directly to the
rights of tremendous segment of
he population. This indeed is the
first time that the Congress Of the
United States has undertaken to
look into the legal aspects of men,
tai illness" The hearings brought
forth statistics showing that cover
100000 people are committed to
mental institutions each vea,". anl
that cover one-half of the hospital
beds of the entire country are de-
voted to the care of the mentally
ILL.,"
LEGISLATION SUMMARY -
President Kennedy and the Con-
gress have accomplished much dur
ing the first eleven weeks of the
new Administration. The early part
of Congress was concerned with the
election of leadership, the filling
of committee vacancies, and the
disposition of rules procedure. Fol
lowing this the Senate has passed
the Depressed Areas bill, the Tenn
porary Unemployment Benefits
act, Sugar Act Extension, the Feed
Grains Program, the DECD Treat
ty ratification, the Reorganization
Act, and the Federal Judgeship bill.
All of thes bills have gone to the
President except the Federal
Judgeships measure which at the
date of this writing has been re-
ported by the House Committee for
consideration by the House, and
the Depressed Areas bill which is
in a Senate-House conference to
iron out differences in the Senate
and House versions of the bill. The
Congress has thus far enacted four
of the 16 measures for which the
President has asked priority action.
Five other bills have been passed
in one or the other halls of Con-
gress.
WASHINGTON - Secretary of
Labor Arthur Goldberg says that
the greatest problem confronting
American labor is that of ''men
fearful of being thrown out of work
by constantly improving machines.
agree that this is the most SER
ious domestic problem this nation
faces in the immediate and foresee-
able future. Industry after indus
try faces the necessity of automat-
ing its factories and assembly lines
to compete in new age. The so
ciety in which we live demands
rapidly improved standards of liv-
ing and automation is one of the
keys to this progress. No one would
urge that we halt progress and
cease improvement in theological
development for the sake of jobs,
but at the same time we must rec
ognize that there are tremendous
human problems involved in this
Second Industrial Revolution.
Changes occur and jobs are wiped
out. The men who lose their pobs
must learn new skills and this
takes training and time. Manage
ment must accept this fact just as
labor must realize that automation
means higher standards of living
for workers. 1t will require the ut
most understanding and coopera-
ton by both labor and management
to resolve this problem.
MAN IN SPACE - Moscow re-
ports that Major Gagarin has be-
come the first human to orbit the
earth demonstrate the tremendous
psychological and propaganda eff
feet this adventure has had upon
the world. These propaganda eff
fects probably outweigh the mill
tary potentiality of the event. 1t is
we'll to remember that since Sput-