The Calumet news., 1912-05-15

stiAHs
Heredity Plays Big Part.
There are children being cared for
in the various reformatary and bcnev-
olent institutions that are not prop
erly subjects for those institution. For
example. the Girls Industrial home AT
Adrinn is caring for at least hun
drcd girls who are feeble minded and
who i'm nay judgment. ought TO be
cared for In a cdstodiai institution
IA ther than In a refornatory. They
have not the capacity for reformation.
That is true in a large degree in the
Industrial School for Boys, ana 20
somewhat lesser degree in the schools
for the deaf and blind and the state
public school Society does not APP
preciate the gravity II the problem OF
caring for the mcntally deficient Nor
docs II appreciate the part that here
dity plays in the breeding o. defect
ives
In the state of New Jersey the in
stitution at Nineland for the care Of
;he feeble minded has made quite eH-
| hausiiVe inquiry into the ancestry of
he people who are its wards I'm 81
per cent Of the cases they are able to
trace the mental defect back TO a de-
fective. ancestor. The matter Of the
breeding OF aDimals has received a
great deal of attention, with the result
that the type of horses. cattle and
hops has greatly improved over that
of century ago.
II presume it is true everywhere as
it Is in New Jersey that a feeble
minded father and feeble minded
mother never beset anything but fee
ble-mindcd children. Where one of
the parents is feeble minded their
progeny may or may not be feeble
minded. but II is more than likely that
some Of the grandchildren will b. foe
blc-nlinded. There is i'm the institution
at Lapeer a feeble. minded mother with
her three feeblc-minded children, all
hegotten in 'wedlock Something has
been accomplished, but the woIc, Is
handicapped on account OF lack of
funds, but SO far as the inquiry has
gone the same state Of thin-s appears.
Detectives beget detectives
No Laws to Prevent Marriage.
"lt is from the ranks Of the morons
In large degree are recruited the
criminals paIpers, nc'er- dO-wells
prostitutes and other detectives who
are more or less a menace 10 society
In New Jersey and in Indiana laws
have bccn passed looking towards the
prevention OF permitting the mentally
deficient 10 breed their kind. Society
generally is little acquainted with til,
actual conditions. but everyone who
studies this subject even casually mus
be convinced that there is need foi
remedial legislation. These thousands
: of mental detectives in Michigan ought
10 be either cared for in custodial in
stitutions or the laws ought to ne 81
changed as to prevent the wholesal,
breeding Of mental defestiNes.
II have many striking examples oi
the influence on children and grand.
children OF feeble minded ancestors
Many of the inorons are in the public
schools. There is hardly a publi'
" school system is the state that doe
not have one or more. Some of thes'
have the faculty of memory developed
to reasonable degree. They are ab''
10 commit. They get on in the gradc'
Of the public schools. but they are in
capable of profiting by effective train
ing and education. Several cities, not
ably Detroit and Grand Rapids have
separate schools for the care of thes'
children. The hopeless thing about 1t y
that no matter how many and how ex'
cellent institutions are provided fol
their care. 1t can only be care it can.
not reach the stage of development
that leads to efficiency"