New-York tribune., 1912-04-21

~ N. course Of the last year great
deal Of thought has been expended
i upon the problem OF the feeole-
minded and insane in this country. AS
rsult of investigation and discussion
much fresh light has been thrown upon
tho causes of these defects and the need
for segregation of those capable OF repro
Aueinr their kind. Widespread interest
has been aroused in the problems in
volved one Of which is the utter impossi-
bIity of segregating the scores upon
scores OF thousands who ought TO be pre-
vented from adding to the numbers Of
mankind.
Fifteen thousand public school chill
6ren of New York City belong in institu-
tons for the feeble minded This, ac-
cording 10 a dispatch from Bethlehem,
Penn. is what Or. HenrysH Goddard, dl-
rector Ct research in the Vineland, y. j.
training school, asserted a few days ago
in an address before the conference of
the American Academy of Medicine at Le-
high University on the conservation of
children ITO contemplate these figures
IS to realize the enormity Of the dan
ger which faces society" he commented.
Then he added that out OF every hundred
school children three are feeble minded
and two Of these have inherited their
feeble-mindedness and will transmit it.
week ago az a conference al the Brook
lyn Institute DR.. Herbert c. Allen. of that
borough. said that the New York State in
shtutions were attempting 10 care for three
thousand more cases OF insanity than they
were supposed TO accommodate, and that
in order 10 do this they were obliged to
release for longer or shorter periods So
called harmlessly insane persons in order
that the manacs might be properly con-
trolled These releases from custody, he
declared I'm reality meDaced society be-
cause Of the frequency with which they re-
suited in the birth of children. large
percentage OF these children were likely ul-
tnately 10 become insane or burdens upon
the public purse for other reasons. The
number Of children born as the result Of
such home visits in this state he estimated
10 be one thousand year. He produced
charts Of Brooklyn families which had
been investigated IN support OF this asser-
ton.
One OF these charts was that OF a family
OF an insane man who had been committed
to Kings Park, but who had been per-
mitted 10 visit home I'm 1910 and 1911. al
though diagnosed as "incurably insane"
or his eight living children. not one is
normal physically and FIVE are subnormal
mentally Five Of them are in the city
Institutions, and a sixth. born as result OF
a visit to his home on parole, was hy-
drocephalic and died at the age OF five
months in a local institution. In another
case of the seven children Of an inmate Of
Kings Park. four are being cared for in
city institutions and three have been born
since he was first committed, In 1904 Since
that year ne has been at home al least
three times One insane woman has had
four children since she was first sent TO
the Kings County Insane Hospital, IN 1900,
all being illegltimate. The woman is not
now in the hospital She and her family
are being supported by charitable organi-
IatIons She is only thirty-nine years old
and may have other children.
4 SIG WAITING LIST.
New York State. with it's wealth and
population, is said to have larger equip
ment for the custodial care OF the insane
and feeble-mlnded than any other state, yet
lis Institutions are net now able TO ac-
eommodate those who should be domciled
In them. II Is stated that there are almost
two thousand epileptics and feeble-mnded
persons on the waiting list of custodial in
shtutions. The number Of feeble-minded
women Of child bearing age who should be
II the institution al Newark, n. v. where
persons NJ this description are called for,
IN addition to those already there. is ap-
Fortunately four hundred There is no
foom for them. The custodial accommo-
cations Of New Jersey. state which also
Tanks high IN its care of the epileptic and
lRe feeble-mlnded are insufficient.
Ono eStimate OF the number Of ieeb.e-
minded Of pronounced type in the United
states is 10000. Of whom only 1900 are
properly segregated Massachusetts Ohio,
indiana. Illinois, Minnesota. Iowa. Pennsyl-
Vania' New Jersey and New York have
special institutions for the feeble-mnded.
seventeen other states have made be-
ginning in the direction of segregation.
Where are those who are not segre-
ssted?' perhaps some one asks. Many are
IN slmshouses and many more living at
nome. The fact that sixteen thousand
teole-minded in the United states are In
simshouses does not necessarily mean that
they are segregated. They cannot be kept
m slmshouses arbitrarily, nor does the
iac' that they are there mean that they
are TO be classed among the aged and in
hfm and therefore no longer social mem
aces. Although in almshouses they are
dangerous
"heh the social workers want 10 stir
70 the animals let them so at the aims
houses.' DR. Goddard. when he made this
remark to a representative OF The Trib-
une' dld not mean 20 suggest that the IN
mates OF almshouses were animals. II fol-
lo"ed description OF visit he had just
udoe 10 a Pennsylvania slmshouse to test
"'e inmates for evidences Of feeble-mlnded-
.'esa This is what had preceded: THE
,'ehace OF the feeble-miDded and the inn
s'he IS illustrated IN the case Of an aims
ayuse m Chester Penn, where ] made
'esu There we're eight women in this in
H'Uuon, all Of whom would become