The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-10-28
- w. BROWN EWING, M. D.
Der of the Juvenile Court Clinic


Der of the Juvenile Court Clinic.
! 1t is a we'll known fact thai like pro-
duces like. This is recognized by breed
ers of fine stock. 1t is recognized as
! a demonstrated fact that bodily char
acteristics and traits of parents are re-
produced If their children. In this
manner epilepsy, insanity or alcoholism
are copied in the child. and defective
mentality is perpetuated.
In children, take the little degen-
crates, as some of t:lem are, and they
should not be punished. Little ire
sponsibles should not be punished. but
should be sent to an institution 10 de-
velop those who are deficient in brain
There is no school of that kind here. We
want a school of that kind where they
can be educated and made SELF sustain
ing, and not make ii necessary for
the state TO support them 1T Provo or
the penitentiary, where ultimately they
will drift
Bodily marks of degeneracy are not
always present, but when they are It
shows itself in 1nalformat;ons OF the
skull. defective facial angle, abnormal
positions AMI growth of teeth, abnor-
malities in both hard and soft palates,
and abnormal shapes of The ear.
These are some of the Bodily marks
Of the degenerate in distinction from
the idiot, which anyone may recognize.
.,a Idiocy and Imbecility.
There is a general distinction between
idiocy and imbecility. The idiot is
born with a defective brain. The brain
of the imbecile receives some shock in
early infancy and fails to develop nor
mally. The line between the two is
often very faint and in6istinct.
The mental stigma of The degenerate
is failure in school work Or. il might
be said, The brain of II or 14-year-
old child has not developed more than
the brain of a child 5 or years.
In an imbecile there might be q no
ouliar aptitude for some certain thing.
Sometimes that thing is music. Again
Ii is mathematics Coupled with this
phase is usually a particular ioaptituda
for any other thing. You will be able
TO find some imbeciies that are re.fily
great musicians or lightning calcium
tors Thatis all tfieS know. they dan
not be taught to read or write blind
Tom the famous negro pianist who
made many wonderfully successful con-
cert tours was an example of his tyne.
He was what is termed a medium
grade" imbecile-
= Three. Distinct Classes.
sThe term -inbecility'' is used almost
anonymously with that term "fdiocy."
1t -is,showever, divided into three dis
tirlct classes. There is no very clear
line of .demarcation between the
classes. as they shade so gradually inco|
each other.
The first grade tc be considered is the
low grade imbecile." This class Is
practically i6iotic. They have the low
ect grade OF brain tissue and are capa-
bic of the least amount of education In
them an institution has a less chance
to make useful citizens. and can only
act practically as a custodian.
The next grade to be considered is
termed the medium grade This
grade is the next higher in brain capa-
city. being slightly better than the low
grade. They are USUALLY distinguished
by the laity as feeble minded"
They are capable of consi0era BILE edu-
cation, mainly along lines of manual
la Dor, such as carpentering. farming. or
other muscular work. They must work !
under the constant supervision of : a
normal person. The normal person or
supervisor must do all the brain work. I;
while the deficient one docs all the /
muscular work under his direction.
Most Dangerous Type. IS
The high grade" imbeciles are he
most dangerous for the reason that !
they 2>N.Dot suspected OF being mental
IL dc fent until their perverted men,