New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-26
II T Navel hoatorv Backed bv Rockefeller Humanity Will Be Clarified

hangs upon knowledge of mental char
acterstics? Is the girl victim OF he
reGity or environment? Is she feeble
minded? Or did she fall because Of i'll
health due to lack of vitality because Of
uncongenial home surroundings. because
of poorly compensated employment. or
lack of proper mental and manual train
ing. Neither the judge. the prisoner nor
society can afford to have mistakes made
in such a case.
Is II a question of feeble mindedness?
How shall the mental condition of a pris.
oner be determined? One Of the methods
which has been employed Is the so-caled
Binet test an examination based on
series of questions and assigned tasks de-
yjsed by a Frenchman named Binet. Its
object is to determine. by means OF the an
swers and the capacity TO accomplish the
tasks the mental age OF given child. AT
q session of the recent conference Of
Charities and Correction this test was de-
cried by one expert. while upheld by an
other each OF whom was attached TO an
institution for feeble-minded. A woman
teacher who was present said everybody
was laughing at her because she could
not pass the Binet test. When this test
was applied at the reformatory to 100
young women recently admitted. not one
tested normal, the average physical age
being twenty years. while the average
mental age indicated was only 1905 years
II is not believed that all Of these girls
were subnormal.
What is needed" Miss Davis said re-
Gently. "is set of tests that can he APP
piled with reasonable certainty on commit
ment the result OF which will be guide
To proper treatment OF each individual case
in the reforma tory; or, better still. set OF
tests capable Of application after convic-
ton as a guide TO the rational sentence 10
he imposed. For our own institution we
want also accurate knowledge as to the
proportion OF actual feeble mindedness in
its varying degrees, among those COM
mitted to our care
II is with this end in view that John
n Rockefeller and others have contrib
uted funds for the adjustment Of a
Ia laboratory in connection with the reform
atory and formed the Bureau Of Social
Hygiene 70 conduct the work This ou-
reau is made up Of John d. Rockefeller,
ir. Starr J. Murphy. Paul NJ. Warburg
and Miss Davis. the superintendent Of
the reformatory. IL has purchased the
ninety-three-acre farm on the northwest
ern slope Of the bowl owned by Eugene
Sanchez. for the home of the laboratory.
On the crest Of the hill, near the spot
where the trio stood watching the storm,
a building will be erected suf1cienty
large to accommodate fifty inmates. Each
woman as she is committed will go nrst
to the laboratory, where she can be
studied The laboratory staff will occupy
the Sanchez house. the one 10 which the
trio retreated when the storm came on.
The field Of investigation will he divided
into three parts-psychology sociology
and nervous pathology. From these three
points of view each inmate will be studied
bv staff of workers headed by experts
in each subject. In the psychological de-
partment her mental condition will be
tested. In the sociological her history
will be studied by field workers. who VIII
endeavor to learn the story Of her ances-
try and something about the environment
I'm which she has lived and worked. the
pa thologist Will diagnose her nervous con-
dition. From the picture Of heredity. en-
vironment and reaction in individuals
thus obtained il is hoped that sufficient
data will be secured on which TO base
some conclusions as 10 the extent GRIM
inality and immortality are due 10 hered-
itv and how much to environment II Is
hoped that from the material gathered
an accurate test may be worked out and
q method OF applying IT devised which
will reveal to the court at the time OK
passine Sentence the proper disposition 10
- ,,,a1a Of given
Observation at the Bedford Reformatory
has suggested that girls in different spheres
OF life. and perhaps OF different races.
NAV react differently TO a given test say
the Bnet. although all may be classified
as normal. II has been noted, for tnstan .,
that Jewish girls seem to have reaction
that differs from that Of girls OF other
races With view TO determining how
much foundation there may be for this
conclusion. tests OF groups OF different
classes Of girls and women OF similar ages
will be made Already tests have been
made in one OF the universities OF group
of college girls. Similar tests will he APP
piled to normal school, high school ana
working girls.
At the present time the young woman
at the Reformatory finds the kinds or &C.
cupation for which she is best fitted Nhen
che enters she starts At the middle point
and by her work and behavior she IS
Judged II she does her best and is capaols
she goes upward toward the honor cottage
and parole II she is quarrelsome ana Gis-
obedient she moves downward toward con-