Connecticut western news., 1908-08-27
CANAAN, CONN. THURSDAY. AUGUST 27, 1908.

the interests of prevention we must in- huence public sentiment and legislation for the sake of morality and permanent good.
 In effect, according to the statute, we are all wards of the State, under a csr- tain age. However bright mentally or strong physically, we can neither make will, convey property, nor marry, ex- cept through the agency and written consent of parent or guardian. With out the sad consent the registrar who issues a certificate of marriage to a minor is subjected to heavy penalty. Now, if the State enacts such laws for the protection of its normal citizens, what shall hinder its placing the age limit of the feeble-minded at that unat- taiuable period for them, which is com monly called years of discretion? use the term, Predetermined, in its broadest sense. Under that head will come the epileptic, incorrigible or moral imbecile, and the insane, as we'll as the idiot and imbecile of the ordinary type.
 am well aware that this suggestion carried out would strike blow directly at the poot of what is called the law of individual right. but I claim that the mentally unfit have no individual right to reproduce themselves. Being mentally unfit, we cannot expect the moral side of the case to appeal to any one of them. We cannot instill into the feeble minded any sense of responsibility for bringing either legitimate or an illegitimate child into the world. They are and must remain illegitimate parents of illegiti- mate children from first to last That which they will not, cannot, do for them selves the law of the land must do for them. The sane, normal, everyday peo- pie of this country must have chance.
 That which advocate could never be come what is called a federal law. Per- haps never is strong word, but at the least calculation, 1t would take years to bring it about, and we cannot afford to wait. With an annual increase of over two thousand of the feeble minded alone, we absolutely cannot afford to wait. But let each state enact it's own law.
 We move slowly in conservative Con- necticut, but we have hadupou the statute books the past three years law which prohibits the intermarrying or living to- rarhnr huc chor, 1r and woman either of whom is an epi leptic, imbecile or feeble minded whci the woman is under 45 years Of q@n. Violation of the statute is punishable b. three years imprisonment. Any person who i'll any way aids or assists such marriage is subject to 5000 fine or three years imprisonment or both.
 A physical or mental imperfection is, i'll the popular mind, greater affliction than a moral one. The statement that we are all sinners. we accept pretty pas sively. The statement that we are feeblt in mind, because of that, or feeble in will, even in the least degree, we should re sent to a man. When we can prove, a. we have, that a certain definite per cent of the histories of children received into the institutions for the feeble minded show epilepsy as cause or complica- tion, and that hitherto we have placed no legal obstacle ill the way of repeating these conditions, our way is clear in this direction at least.
 Morally every citizen is responsible for the legal increase of imbecility in his own community. Morally he is re sponsible for the increase of illegitimate imbecility in his own community Every man is his brothers keeper to this ex- tent. In the face of the terrible increase of this class by what we may call known methods every one of us must strike a blow for prevention. At least let us wipe out the strain of legalizing the pro. duction of idiocy, imbecility, insanity and crime'