New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-11-03

a. meet searching criticism for a day or
,oo then to be heard of no more.
Having sought out Or. George NJ. Par
Nv chief of the clinic for nervous ana
-,ontal diseases at st. Vincent's Hospital,
New York City, The Tribune is able to
Give its readers the ripened views OF
non who for the last five years mas
hor5,ed cases in the Tombs in the same
..o, that he has conducted a clinic, and
Nose constructive criticisms are, there
D.. NJ great value at such a time as
,b,s Dr. Parker has also recently been
made one Of the board Of managers OF
-. new state Hospital for Misdemean-
ants.
Numerous half digested projects are
ling brought forward with view to the
.,;,,inatio1 or segregation Of those who
.bow dangerous anti-social tendencies.
tn. ,svman recognizes the existence OF
,.rgs class of Unbalanced beings VINO
nav at any moment become an active
rsril 10 the community.
What are we going to do about 1t? The
problem is complex.
WORK OF NERVE SPECIALIST.
NJ parker's practice is entirely along
,hs line of nervous and mental diseases
,rd the work that he is doing with
criminals. as psychiatric examiner for the
pr,son Association Of New York, was first
=, all evolved in private practice. The
prison Association is the hub for all the
5Terent factors in the community that
have 10 do with the correctional problem
The Correctional Department, under Com
missioner whitney. co-operates with 1t IN
every way.
In the inspection of the mental cases at
The Tombs largely among the juvenile
dsllnouents. DR.. Parker has been init
msteIv associated with DR.. o. F. Lewis,
general secretary OF the Prison Associa-
ton Of New York, one of the best known
penologists in America, who has made
numerous special studies in the field OF
vagraney and crime.
When DIR. Parker was found by a rep
resentatiye Of The Tribune at his office.
No q West SD street, a few days ago,
he was asked almost In so many words
although perhaps not quite so bluntly;
What are we going to do about II?
DR.. Parker IS every inch a scientist-a
heorist who proves his theories before
he tries TO put them into practice.
He believes we have too many criminals
and that the two best ways in which to
rid ourselves of them are-frst, to stop
producing them, and, second, TO cure
rather than TO punish those we do pro-
tuee.
He points out in the interview below
that the pathologists have been able to
classify from o TO 40 per cent OF our
criminals. and are inclined to view that
accomplishment as a rather satisfying
Contribution to their work.
1T leaves only about 70 or 60 per cent
Unexplained" said DR.. Parker. 'The
problem of tackling this 70 or 60 per cent
Of criminals has been seen with consid-
erably more clearness than have any re-
tults."
During the early stages of mental
growth every child, according to DR..
Parker, is ant-social--rather a startling
statement, perhaps. He tells in this in
terylew Of the results of intensive
methods Of study as applied to the juve-
nile delinquent composing this large 60
per cent group.
An analysis Of a case in this group never
fails to show, ne says, that the anti-social
altitude to the outer world is a projec-
uon or development of a fundamental
ant-social relation to the parents.
IMPORTANCE OF CHILD STUDY.
He urges in most logical way the ex-
teme Importance of a continuation history
Of every child, as outlined by him in this
article, which should, he asserts with
great emphasis, be supplied by the De-
Artment Of Education.
Given history Of this kind" says DR..
Parker, lin the hands Of the proper re-
icrmatory man, and you have increased
DIS efficiency beyond measure and en-
sbled a percentage recovery to be obtained
among that. 90 per cent juvenile de'in-
0lent which would now be designated as
dream"
Urged by The Tribune to state i'm spe-
ahc terms just what he had In mind
W Parker first briefly told the story Of
lhe study Of the criminal Recent scien-
unc study had, he said, really begun with
nOmoroso Lombroso believed, briefly.
ulat the criminal was an atavism.
"0'ahsts attribute TO atavsm a large
"uuioer OF offences which lawyers attrib-
~ !" guilty dispositions Atavism Is de-
NV as recurrence or tendency to re-
VI 70 an ancestral type or TO any an
''s'ial deformity or disease after its dis
'ppeafance for one or more generations"
Az otner words" said Or. Parker,
"moroso was the first 10 undertake the
SN"e study Of the criminal. I.om-
VSVs theories have been punctured, but
oea that he had that the criminal
a. abnormal Is right
Ihen a group OF Frenchmen came
aOng who based their theories on degen-
suon. criminal was a degenerate.
S nae very extensive vogue for a
ing Tine, but the studies In heredity and
..Vi'gy and all that have Knocked the Sc
.'fies INTO pieces. While many crimi-
H are degenerates. not all are; neither
All degenerates criminals.
after that the German school began to
m'eiop very rapidly. Their studies have
been along the line OF tile mental
sNnoiogy Of the criminal, with this fun
ssnental basis-that that inside story is
zen mere In the story of disturbed mental
.sneuon Instead of as In the atavism
~eory Of Lombroso.
!. All this means" DIR. Parker continued
'aat the scientific work Of latter day
oeen Increasingly psychological, al.
.nOngh' of course. the contributions OF