New-York tribune., 1912-04-04
STERILIZATION HIS CURE
VaseCtomize and CoIonize, Says
Jersey School Head.
DANGER AMONG CHILDREN
Fifteen Thousand New York City
Pupils Are Feeble Minded,
Doctors Are Told.

Doctors Are Told.
! Bethlehem. Penn, April 3.--"Fifteen
thousand public school children Of New
| York city belong in institutions for the
| feeble-minded." declared Henry II. God
| dard, director of research I'm the Ninelard,
n. j., Training School for Backward Chill
dren, I'm an address before the American
! Academy Of Medicine conference on the
conservation OF children at Lehigh Unit
versty to-day
| TO the seven hundred or more doctors and
educators who listened to him DR.. Goddard
said that ito contemplate these figures Is
TO realize the enormity Of the danger that
faces society. To care for these children in
| Institutions is an enormous expense. To
permit them to grow mp without care ami
| become paupers and criminals will be a still
greater expense To build institutions TO
house fifteen thousand feeble-minded per-
sons would be an enormous expense. But
so also are jails, prisons, reformatories AMI
almshouses'
Dr Goddard's address was on ~'Sterili-
zaton and Segregation He said that out
of every hundred school children three are
| feeble minded, aud two of these have i'll
| herited their feeble-mindedness and VIII
| transmit IL. Dr. Goddard continued:
On the side Of colonization we have two
| things First. when these children are
| taken young and trained In carefully man
aged institutions they become a happy,
! contented, law-abiding group OF people VINO
| under direction can do a good deal of work
| which tends to lessen their cost OF main
! tenance. We have the strongest possible
argument for the segregation of these peo-
| pie, because, II they are thus segregated, IN
2 generation the number of them is re-,
duCed at least two-thirds The state could
well afford TO issue bonds for the building
of institutions TO care for these chiidren;c
! These bonds could then be easily paid OIL
In the future after the crime and pauperlsm
have been reduced through the stopping or
the production of feeble minded people
Sterilization Another Method.
There has. however. been proposed an
| other solution of this problem of the detec-
tive and that is sterilization. The method
that is advocated in these days Is Vasec
tony. 1t has none OF the objections that
castration had TO meet. II being simple
operation easily performed and with no
dangerous consequences.
To many persons it seems that we might
vasectomiZe people rather freely ana theh
they might be allowed 10 live out their llVeS
I'm the community without fear or produc-
ing more detectives for society to care for
AS usual in such cases, the theory Is gooo
but the application IS muCn Ilole ullllCuIt
In the first place, no feeble-minded person
can be allowed properly 10 IVe ms M
freely in the community The fact OF
sterilization would indeed save the ProDiein
of offspring but society could not AFFORD 70
endure the dangers which would result our
ing the life time of the one indivldual, so
that the same argument holds TOT MS pelnS
segregated I'm an institution for the feeble,
minded where he can be trained ana
brought up properly.
Sterilization does come in for some ad-
vantages; In the first place there are many ~
| their going TO an institution Tor 1eepie-
minded. The parents argue tnat they are
able to take care of them ana are WHITE
safe as long as these people are where
they are free to marry or to become par
cnts even out OF wedlock.
In such cases It might be very proper 20
say TO tho parents: IF you Will consent 10
have the operation OF sterilization per
! formed on your child. then you may keep
that child with YOU az long az you IKE,
We might even say u % smch Person ptdnersment w,ne
| and disposition that Il is reasonably safe
and has property I'm the family by whicn
ne can support WIFE, then II nlignt Ds ,'s
ailowable. indeed. one can see many ways
| in which the operation of sterilizauon,
wisely applied 10 individuals, might come
I'm to- help simplify this problem
Miaht Be Released Afterward.
EurfhpTmOre
have heen sent to the institution ana nave
| Lscn trained and brought up To pom.
| or efficiency might In many cases ledVe .,'0
institution and become fairly selt-supP,ort-
! ing outside. were IL not for the treinenuouS
da1re of Transmission OF their defect;
r. tbesc cases could be steriliZed while IN
the institution and then sent OUT as opp,Qir, p,il
tunity offered either TO their own laiilii.es IL.
~. 70 others who were willing TO look aiter
tbom and give them a living in return Tor
Tho work that they could do, then that
much OF the burden would De III 80 .lu,. ,ha
the state and room would pc maze H. III C"o
,netitution for children who need its care.
nav sum ND the whole thesis by saying
{, &C. not a nuestlon OF colonization or ster-
,,,za ,ion. but colonization ana sterlIlZauoh
ne the solution of this tremendous prooieiii'
l. IT. Van Syckle. superintendent OF
schools OF Springfield. Mass. delivered an
address on tho care OF feeble minded chill
dren by the public schools.
Bows OF this class, he said' II lett 10 theth-
selves. being unable TO sustain themselves
In competitive industry, drift into criminal
a., ord come on the state for support In
our penal institutions.
rro nravent the marriage OF feeble minded
Girls and TO shield them from temptations
TO which they are notorlously easy prey ;.
ob,,ousIv a duty, Prof. Van Syckle sald'
and this duty the state can perform moro
effectively and at less expense than tne
local community. Predetermined girls pe-
come a menace earlier than feeDle-mlhoeu
,oys but for many years both boys ana
girls of this class may with salety to
.ha,,solves and others, he taught In the
pubIic day schools, was his assertion
Thov should, however, be grouped In spe-
c,al classes. whero their characteristics