TH IF IS THE LAW THE INSANITY PROBLEM The growing incidence ol In sanity, and grossly Inadequate public mental hospital facilities is one of North Carolina's toughest social problems. Caught in the middle of this almost intolerable situation are the Clerks of Su perior Court in the State's 100 counties. The clerks have been saddled by law with the unevi able task o i committing to State Institutions persons suffering from serious mental disorders and whose financial condition will not permit private care. ' When a clerk is called upon to order a mentally-ill person com mitted to a public institution, it is on very rare occasion that he can complete thb admission with in a desirable length of v'me. Why? All beds are full, theie are usually long waiting lists, and fa cilities for mental patients in county jails do not exist. The big gest problem now is with senile people, those whose minds have slipped because of advanced age. Do Not Understand Friends and relations of the mental sufferer usually do not un derstand why his fcase cannot be handled with dispatch. Here is the usual sequence of events in an insanity case, stem ming from the point when the family has endured the pitiful sit uation as long as it can: They visit the clerk. He must, under law, determine by discrete conference and inquiry (1) that the designated individual is in fact mentally sick, <2) that there are no private funds from which carte could be provided, (3) that BE CARE FREE BE CAR FREE . . . lake it Easy lake a greyhound Just ik back and relax ? it's so quick, easf fad convenient . so low in cost for example: NORTHBOUND Buses Leave: 5:47 am. .. .2;20 pm 6:43 pa 10:0? am 4:55 pm 9:25 pm CHAPEL HILI. ...$4.75 GASTONIA .25 CHABLOTTE .75 BALKXOH > I 4.75 BOSTON, MASS. *17.60 SOUTHBOUND Buses Leave: Scl7 am 1:06 pan 6:13 pm 10:43 am 3tl5 pm S:00 pas ATLANTA, OA. 4. . SS.9S SPARTANBURG, 8. C. 11.10 juxsn, s. c. $4.ss GAFFNEY, S. C. .60 JACKSONVILLE, FLA. S9.10 Plus U. S. Tax ' UNION BUS STATION W. King St. ; Phone: 27 GREYHOUND A Weekly Seiles ?>1 Articles By Charles w. Daniel (or tbe North Carolina . Bar Association the family (or petitioner) actual ly wants the patient committed, and, (4) the clerk must actually see the patient in person. Next comes the painful question of "when shall the committment take place?" Usually, the family or friends, at the end of their pa tience, request immediate trans fer. This being almost always im possible, the cterk must advise that, If he accepts custody of the patient, there is only one place of temporary confinement: the, coun ty Jail. Many petitioners, under standably, take offense at the suggestion of confining a loved one in the common Jail. Their an swer is usually "no," Their alter native, continued tolerance of a tortuous home circumstance. Their reaction, dispair. Constitutional Provision The North Carolina Constitu tion says that the General As sembly may provide care for the Insane who are without means to care for themselves. This means that the State has no outright duty to take in such unfortunates. But it has attempted to do so un der compulsion of Christian prin ciples. Our law provides that "any per son" may request of the clerk committment on sworn affidavit for a mentally defective person. The clerk may have the lunacy of such person determined by a jury of 12, after he has served notice of the request on the supposed mental defective or insane indi vidual. Lunacy may also be deter mined by a 30-day observation period in a State institution. A guardian (or trustee) must be appointed for such person. If he Is adjudged incompetent, he may appeal to the next term of Su perior Court held in the county. His appeal must be heard ahead of all other cases. This somewhat stringent, care ful procedure is Intended to pre vent the "railroading" of compe tent persons. How To Got Out A person, adjudged incompe tent and confined to a State insti tution, who regains his faculties, may reclaim his normal social position and his freedom by peti tion to the clerk of court and a finding by a six-man jury that he is again competent. If the finding of this jury goes against him, he may appeal to the Su perior Court and have his case heard anew by a full Jury. The law, of course, attempts to protect the rights of persons ad: judged insane. For example, no divorce action may be brought against an in sane person, even though the case be considered hopeless, for a period of five years after an adjudication of Incompetence. Even then the law requires the spouse seeking the divorce to pro vide adequately for the insane mate. Another safeguard for mental inconjpetents is found in the "lu nacy docket" kept by the clerk of court. A Will purportedly made by a person wnile his name is on the lunacy docket has no effect. Further, If property, belonging to one whose name is on the lunacy docket, is sold during that time, the attorney checking the title to such property must be very care ful to see that the sale is authori zed and conducted according to the protective law In such cases. Otherwise, the buyer may later lose the property. This, of course, Is as it should be. The rights and property of a person unable to manage his- own affairs must be guarded with vigilance. Ifental incompetence is also a ground fot- annulment X?f marri age in North Carolina. This is true because the law generally requires that the obligations of matrimony be voluntarily assum Now take this ?W. P.^i. tL 1 "? rw~? waw.rt.ft* U, of ?(7?u lares key letters check **ch one key totted ? ?^^S^o UrPJ5^" l*?* *rt U *?>?? tke Poll Reports Public Approves Way Police Forces Handle lobs By Kenneth Fink. Director Princeton Research Serrice ' ! PRINCETON, N. J. ? Rank and file citizens across the U. S. ] A. approve of the way their iocal j police force is handling its Job. j This was the finding of a na tionwide United States Poll sur vey just completed. Seventy-three out of tevery 100 adults questioned in the survey personally told staff reporters that they approved of the way1 their local police force is hand ling, its job. Those who said this i outnumbered by a margin of bet- i ter than 3 to 1 those who express- ; ed disapproval. [ Highlighting today's survey fe- ! suits are the following findings: 1. Residents of the nation's big gest cities ? those with 100,000 or more people ? were found to be somewhat more critical of the work of their local police force than were their smaller ? town neighbors. In these big cities ? places likte New York City, Chicago, St. | Louis, Boston, Philadelphia, Pitts burg, New Orleans, Los Angeles, ! San Francisco, Baltimore, De troit, Atlanta, and Cleveland ? ? about one in three (32 percent) i say they disapprove of the work of their local police forcte. But even in the nation's biggest cities, those who approve out- i number those who. disapprove by a margin of nearly 2 to 1. 2. Greatest degree of satisfac tion with their police . force is found among the nation's Tural' residents, where those who ap prove of their local police force outnumber those who disapprove by a margin of better than 4 to 1. 3. And people in communities I with populations btetween 2,500 and 100,000, approve of the work of their local police force by a margin of better than 3 to 1. The need for more police, the j need for more foot police, better handling of traffic and traffic ^enforcement, more police at night and the halting of Juvenile delin quency were the principal sugges tions offered by ? ?'.izens across the nation for Improving the work of their local police force. Taking the police out of poli tics, raising policte pay, the need | for more oatrol cars, better train ing for their local police, better I Softest felt you ever felt . . TW MADKON $10 * nuirii i SSlfj KITTEN FINISH I ? '\ C--4 ; ?'? *? >* A? rich M King Midas ? i? the rkhww o# texture > * *: J y.'j Nr.-.;? 'v ;.*v- <1.- \??fc^-jCyfiK ? IN ?>.,'* .? -???' ?. J of theee Kitten-Finish Resfstd* ? (he hat with comfort on the Imfah niwl ttyNng and luvurfotw appear ance en to awttlifa. You'U do wed In ? hnndootne .. n. .f rinieti L- ? L . . fl ? _ i nf jy| ?WW nllwi i*rn HWi nil Ujf HfRVWi WARREN GARDNER'S 175 Wwt Merin All, - Goitonkx. H. C. ' ~ handling of parking, and being more courteous and friendly were suggestions that receiyed fewer mentions. The Herald presents the reports of the United States Poll exclu sively in this area. . ' ' i Hugh M. Tompkins Gets Af Promotion Hugh M. Tompkins, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. K. Pinkard, has been promoted to the rank of Airman First Class, according to an nouncement by Major Edward Lauder, USAF commander in charge of the 6601st Support Squadron, North East Air Com mand. Airman Tompkins will receive ids discharge after four years of stervice in April 1955. He received his basic tra.ning at Lackland AFB, Texas, 'idled six months at the University of Alabama, was stationed in Tacoma, Wash ington, and has seen duty in Can ada for the past year. In the service, Airman Tomp kins does office work. His ad dress: 6601st Support Squadron North East Air Command, APO 86?. New York. N. Y. Purchases of Grade "A" milk by North Carolina distributors to i a Jed 345,036,338 pounds for the first six t months of 1954 ? 12.8 per cent above purchases during the comparable period last year. . . | Sgt. Don Sheppard Returning To U. S. KOREA ? ? Army Sgt. Doiyild G. Sheppard, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Sheppard. Route 1, G rover, I N. C., is- a member of the 3d In Ifantry Division, which is leaving Korea for the U. S. The- "Rock of the Marne" divi-' sion is scheduled to be assigned to Fort Benning, Ga. Sheppard, a rifleman with the 15th Regiment's Company I, en- j tered the Army in January 1953 j and arrived in Korea the follow- i Ing July. Bridges Completes Infantry School LAbD AIR FORCE BASE, ALASKA ? Pfc. Robert E. Brid ges, whose wife, Nell, lives at 4010 Donna ave., Charlotte, N. C., j was recently graduated from the 4th Infantry Regiment Leader- j ship School at Ladd Air Force : Base, Alaska, Bridges, in Alaska since Janu ary, has since returned to his reg ular duties as a machince gunner in Company D of the regiment's 1st Battalion. Before entering the Army in May 1953, he worked for the Gen eral Motors Corp,, in Charlotte. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Bridges, live on Route 3, Kings Mountain. 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