1372 
have elapsed since I had typhoid fever been even one 
cane of the disease anywhere where I have mingled 
with people. My husband is an invalid and not able 
to support me. I am able to support myself and 
him, too, were I not barred from, doing the things I 
am most competent to do. 
Of course I am forbidden to handle any food to be 
used by others, and I seem to be barred from almost 
everything because the State Health Department 
advises that 1 tell my story before accepting employ¬ 
ment where I would mingle with others, and then, 
of course, I would be refused. If you can suggest 
anything I might do I shall greatly appreciate it 
VICTIM. 
It. N.-Y.—Here is a case which should appeal to 
all sympathetic people. The facts here stall'd are, 
we believe, capable of proof. There would probably 
be no chance of obtaining legal damages, for it would 
no doubt be held that the State is justified in taking 
extreme measures to prevent the spread of disease. 
The situation of such a “carrier” of disease is full 
of pathos. Here is a woman ready and anxious to 
work. She is competent, and can give faithful and 
efficient service, yet she feels that she must go 
through life almost like the leper—with society call¬ 
ing unclean! unclean! when she applies for work. 
What can she do? We think this question is large 
enough to submit to our readers for discussion. 
Care of the Insane in New York 
IIE present laws of New York State with regard 
to the care of the insane place them first under 
the jurisdiction of the health officer of the munici¬ 
pality in which they reside. It is the duty of local 
health officers to see that any insane or alleged 
insane within their jurisdiction are properly cared 
for. either at home, by their families or a “com¬ 
mittee of the person and estate,” or in a State hos¬ 
pital or a properly licensed institution for the care 
of the insane. A mentally afflicted person may be 
treated in his home by any physician that he or his 
family wish to place him under the care of, but, if 
his insanity is of such nature as to render him dan¬ 
gerous to the lives or property of himself or others, 
his family must provide a suitable place for his con¬ 
finement and maintain him there in a manner that 
shall be approved by the health officer and be in 
accordance with the rules of the State Hospital 
Commission. A mentally disordered person who ap¬ 
preciates his condition may apply, too, to a State 
hospital or a properly licensed institution for the 
care of the insane for admission as a voluntary pa¬ 
tient. In such case, he is not formally committed 
to the institution and cannot be detained there 
against his will. 
If any .member of the family of a person believed 
to be mentally irresponsible desires that steps shall 
be taken to have his condition ascertained and 
proper care instituted, he should apply to his local 
health officer and ask for an examination. This ex¬ 
amination will be conducted by a “commission in 
lunacy,” composed of two duly qualified physicians, 
one of whom may be the health officer himself. The 
health officer appoints this commission under or¬ 
dinary circumstances, though the appointment may 
be made by the county judge of the county in which 
the alleged insane person lives. The family may 
ask for the appointment of any qualified physician 
they desire upon this commission, but only phy¬ 
sicians who are qualified to serve as “examiners in 
lunacy” may be appointed. It is not necessary that 
they shall be residents of the county. 
The medical examiners visit the alleged insane 
person in his home, or elsewhere, talk with him and 
satisfy themselves from his conduct and conversa¬ 
tion as to his mental condition. They also talk with 
other members of the family and, perhaps, with 
neighbors, if they wish further evidence as to the 
afflicted person’s condition than he discloses him¬ 
self. It is the duty of this commission to ascertain, 
not’ only whether a person is mentally unbalanced 
but whether his mental disorder is of such nature as 
to make it desirable that he shall be confined in an 
institution. Not all who display some mental aber¬ 
ration are proper subjects for custody, and the com¬ 
mission will not recommend commitment to a State 
hospital or private asylum unless it believes this to 
be the proper measure to be taken in the case. 
The medical examiners do not in any case com¬ 
mit the patient to an institution. This is done by 
the proper magistrate; in rural counties, the county 
judge. If the medical examiners recommend that 
the patient be committed, it is the duty of the health 
officer to see that the proper papers are submitted 
to the court These papers will include the medical 
examiners’ report and an application for the pa¬ 
tient’s commitment 'to an institution made by some 
Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
member of the patient’s family, or a person with 
whom he resides, or one of the poor officials of the 
town or county; in most cases by a member of the 
family who appreciates the patient’s condition and 
wishes him properly cared for. 
The alleged insane person must be given written 
notice that an application for his commitment will 
be made to the judge and the date and hour of that 
application specified. This will give him, or any of 
his friends, an opportunity to appear before the 
judge on that date and contest the application. The 
judge may order a further hearing, or summon other 
witnesses, if he desires, and he is expected to satisfy 
himself from all the evidence presented that the 
alleged insane person is a proper person for State 
or institutional care before committing him. All 
this sounds somewhat complicated, but the procedure 
is really sufficiently simple in cases of necessary 
commitment, though it would be found to interpose 
decided obstacles to any unwarranted procedure in 
such cases. Not only must the friends of a patient 
be satisfied as to the need for State care, but sev¬ 
eral competent and wholly disinterested parties must 
also be convinced of this. Much will depend upon 
the health officer; lie is the first in charge and sub¬ 
sequent, procedures will be under his direction, until 
the court is reached. The whole procedure, in cases 
where no contest is made, will occupy about three 
days, though the health officer may secure imme¬ 
diate admittance of a dangerously insane person to 
Storing Squashes in Racks. Fig. 590. 
a State hospital and confinement there for a period 
not to exceed 10 days if, in his judgment, such im¬ 
mediate care is necessary. After such an emergency 
commitment the full and regular order of procedure 
must be gone through with if the patient is to be 
detained. 
I*oor and indigent persons, meaning those who 
have not sufficient property to pay for their care and 
the support of those dependent upon them, are cared 
for in the State hospitals at State expense. Those 
who have property enough to pay for their care with¬ 
out depriving their dependents of support, are re¬ 
quired to pay a moderate weekly charge to the 
State. 
The rights of an alleged insane person, under the 
present New York State laws, seem to be sufficiently 
well guarded to make it practically impossible to 
secure unjust or improper confinement to an institu¬ 
tion. Commitment is easily secured in cases that are 
obviously in need of restraint, but there are a con¬ 
siderable number of disinterested people who would 
stand in the way of any improper proceedings, and 
further, no one in a State hospital will be kept 
there a day after the officials of that institution be¬ 
come satisfied that he is not a proper subject for 
confinement. 
No one should hesitate to bring a case of appar¬ 
ent insanity to the attention of his local health 
officer. It is the business then of that health offi¬ 
cer to institute any further proceedings that are 
needed, and such need should be left to his judgment, 
rather than assumed by the family or friends. Most 
health officers are sensible and competent, and those 
that are not will find other officials between them 
and the asylum. m. b. d. 
Corn For Fuel or Food 
HE question of using corn for fuel has come up 
again this year stronger than ever. The low 
price of corn and the immense crop now being har¬ 
vested invite a comparison between grain and coal 
as fuel. Secretary Wallace of the Agricultural De¬ 
partment is reported as saying that ear corn at 20 
November 20, 1921 
cents a bushel is equal in fuel value to a fair grade 
of soft coal at $10 a ton. In some parts of the West 
the coal is usually of a low grade, while it sells at 
high prices. There are actually conditions under 
which it will pay both farmers and people in coun¬ 
try towns to buy ear corn in place of coal. In 
times past much corn has been used ror fuel, mostly 
on the farm. It was said that in Argentina consid¬ 
erable corn is burned, not entirely wi the farm, but 
in power plants, and it seems likely that this year 
considerable of the ear grain will actually be 
burned in the West. The following table is given to 
show the comparative fuel values of ear corn and 
coal: 
Corn at 10 cents a bushel equals coal at $5.00 per ton 
(Ann at 11 cents a bushel equals coal at 5 50 per ton 
Corn at 12 cents a bushel equals coal at 0.00 per ton 
Corn at 13 cents a bushel equals coal at 0.50 per ton 
Corn at 14 cents a bushel equals coal at 7.00 per ton 
Corn at 15 cents a bushel equals coal at 7 50 per ton 
Corn at 16 cents a bushel equals coal at 8.00 per ton 
Corn at 17 cents a bushel equals coal at 8 50 per ton 
Corn at 18 cents a bushel eqtia's coal at 0.00 per ton 
Corn at 10 cents a bushel equals coal at 0.50 per ton 
Corn at 20 cents a bushel equals coal at 10.00 per ton 
It seems like a savage sort of industrial calamity 
when the people in one part of the world are starving 
and unable to obtain food of any kind, while in an¬ 
other locality this life-sustaining grain must be used 
as fuel. It is true that many foreign people, and 
also many people in our own country, will not eat 
cornmeal if they can possibly avoid it. A few years 
ago, when food was scarce in New York City, a great 
crowd of men and women marched to the City Hall 
and demanded food for themselves and their chil¬ 
dren. They were told there was a good supply of 
rice, cornmeal and beans which would be given them. 
They scorned such food, and said it was the food of 
Chinamen and slaves, which they would not eat. As 
we looked at that crowd of men and women refus¬ 
ing to eat food of this sort, strange thoughts came 
into mind, for we had just eaten our favorite din¬ 
ner of baked beans, brown bread and rice pudding. 
M hen properly cooked and eaten, cornmeal is one of 
the best of foods. The pioneers who made this coun¬ 
try used corn almost exclusively as a grain. Even 
when wheat came to be a considerable crop, much of 
it was sold, while the workers lived on rye and corn- 
meal. Milk and molasses with the “rye and Indian” 
gave a balanced ration with an abundance of vita- 
mines. Most people in this world would be far bet¬ 
ter off for a return to cornmeal in their diet. 
A New Law for Trepassing Stock 
On page 1348 I wrote you my opinion concerning the 
law relative to damages caused by stray horses, cattle, 
sheep, etc.. The case which prompted me to write has 
just been settled by a jury. The readers of The R. 
N.-Y. may be interested in the verdict as being “no 
cause for action.” The verdict in this case cannot be 
too much praised, since the damage could not be sub¬ 
stantiated. But the total expense suffered by either 
party since the action was started is simply startling, 
and will take a good slice of these two men’s season’s 
hard work. However, I am inclined to believe that 
had a damage been awarded and a precedent, estab¬ 
lished the whole country would soon be ablaze with 
some such lawsuits. The verdict is a lesson in itself, 
as it proves that the best way to settle such disputes 
is by applying the Golden Rule. If the plaintiff had 
listened to its teachings he would have saved himself 
not only a good deal of time and cash, but also the hay 
he fed the 85 sheep for nearly three weeks. 
However, I feel strengthened in my opinion that the 
statute giving the plaintiff the right to seize the stock is 
all around too drastic, and perhaps becomes more so. as 
is evident in the case of valuable stock such as dairy 
cows of high breeding. There is no need for such ac¬ 
tion (in our New York State) in order to recover a 
perfectly well established damage, as the days of cattle 
droves pasturing along the highways are a thing of the 
past. It is merely a question of stock, your own or 
.vour neighbor’s, finding a weak point in the line fence, 
and you don’t have to go to any great trouble to find 
who owns it. Such accidents are unfortunately a daily 
occurrence through the Summer and probably cause 
more bad feeling between neighbors than all the other 
reasons put together. 
Now if some of your readers will please come tip and 
offer some suggestions to amend the present law. or 
have a new one made. I think with the help of The R. 
N.-Y. this question should lie solved to the satisfaction 
of all concerned for some years to come. To make it 
stronger and more effective, provision should be made 
that such law be thoroughly posted in all district schools, 
town clerk’s office and postoffices. u grbgoire. 
R N.-Y.—We want sensible suggestions for an 
• amendment to the present law. A change of 
some sort is needed, and we want, to know what 
farmers and stock-men want before offering any 
amendment. We think this a better course to pursue 
than to demand an amendment without consulting 
the parties who are most interested. 
Prosperity ruins most men if they have come ihrough 
their first 30 years without it. When a man must dig 
in and fight, for every foot of advance he keeps in good 
condition at least. When he is no longer compelled to 
do it and thus stops he puts on fat—morally and physi¬ 
cally. 
