El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-06-11

American association for the
study of the feeble minded is now in
q session at the Michigan home for the
/ feeble minded at Lapeer. 1t will give
! consideration TO several newly de
/ veloped phases in the treatment Of
/ these unfortunates. The alarming in
/ crease in the spread Of feeble minded
/ ness and its relation to all manner OF
I crime, has demonstrated even 70 those
| outside of scientific circles the neceS-
/ sity of some different metnods OF deal
I ing with those who are in any way
mentally defective
Even so recently as decade ago,
many people believed that proper
training could develop a mentally al
| flfcted child to normal Intelligence, and
an increase in the training schoOls for
feeble minded children was to large
degree a solution Of the problem. Now
no less an authority than DR.. CHARLES
! Harrison Frazier, professor OF clinical
surgery of the University OF Pennsyl-
vania, comes out with the opinion that
| little if anything can be done by this
means to lessen the spread of the faint
/ to the race. To the physician, feeble
mindedness, imbecility, idiOcy and
amentia are terms designating per-
manent deficiency Of intelligence char
acteriZing certain individuals. 1t is a
state of mental defect from birth or
from an early age, due to incomplete
D
Of which the person affected is unable
to perform his proper duty as a mem
Der of society.
Is Inherited Defect.
According TO the best scientific au-
thority Of the day such a condition is
definitely inherited Most Of those who
are competent to judge from practical
experience with members Of defective
classes now agree that comparatively
little can be done to restore them to a
useful and independent life. Epilepsy
IS not yet thoroughly understood but
the cOncensus Of opinion points toward
the theory that this too is a defect of
the nervous system which is trans
mitted to the offspring. Both the prac-
teal worker and the scientist now
agree that something more drastic
must be done in the future to save the
race from the faint and the burden Of
these unfOTtunates. A careful esti-
mate derived from studies made within
the last two years indicates that there
IS now at large an average Of one men
tai defective to every $50 persons, and
one epileptic in each 1000.
The close relation between. feeble
mindedness and crime is just beginning
to be acknowledged DR.. Walter 7.
Fernald, Of the Massachusetts school
for the feeble minded, states that at
least p percent Of the inmates Of all /
penal institutions are mentally de-
IectlVe. After an examination of the
Lancaster IicformatOry, he pronounced
al least 50 percent of the girls men
tally defective.
Seek New Means.
Having recognized the fact that the
schools established in which specially
trained teachers and improved educa-
uOnal conditions fail to materially les
sen the number Of mental detectives, /
since these children when sent out into
the world are either returned or be-
come in some other way a burden to
the community, the students of mental
detectives are seeking some other
NJ NH.g- "a H-H
these unfortunates for each general ton. I
A number Of suggestions recently have
Deen put into circulation looking to-
ward this end
age Of legislation in every state where
by institutions for feeble minded chill
dren shall hold their inmates by legal
enactment as the insane are held.
w here the consent rests with the par
enrs, as in most states. their release
after an apparent Improvement often
IS secured against professional advice
A measure to be desired is the estab- I
ments In all prisons and rcfOrmatOrics
10 which all mental detectives coming
into the institution can De transferred /
Another helpful movement viii be the ,
conversion Of any public Institution no 1
longer needed for its present purpose J
into state institution for defective !
delinquents.
The most important matter OF all IN I
CeIectlyes rests in the proper care OF J
the feeble minded girls and women OF I
enid bearing age The care of the /
Feeble minded girl is much more essen
tai than that of the feeble minded boy
Many Feeble Minded Women.
Ihere are about 10000 feeble minded z
"CHlen IN TINS country, only about 12- /
uVV OF whom are now under institution
~. ~, care. II Is beginning. to be accepted /
tndL one OF the most important Tea
lures OF the campaign for lessCnfnC the
number OF mental detectives would he
TO lessen the number of defective chill
e eI porn into the world by placing de-
LecLlFe women OF child bearing age in :
special institutions. Institutions for
the feeble minded should cease to re-
celve girls under u years old. and bows
o. any age until after every feeble
minded girl Of child bearing age is pro-
Vlded for in each state. Tho feeble I
minded girl is but child as innocent 7
helpless and childlike as her normal
without protection to be ruthlessly
pursued by evil minded men.
Dancers in Freedom.
Inc result Of permitting feeble
m women to run at large is shown
IN report by Miss Elizabeth Kite. 4 {
social worker who investigated q de-
generate colony in Burlington county. /
New Jersey. One feeble minded wO- I
man mere Is known to have 2S2 des-
cendants. Miss Kite completed her re-
port and the line is going on indefi- .
nitely. Out of this number ia were
porn out of WedlOCk and 2O2 are dis
tnct deEenerates. Most of these are
or the moron" type-a type which is
DeLoW normal In everything except its
IepToducIlVe instincts, and in that re- /
5pecJ Is as oEerdevelOped as it is un-
der developed in other respects
An interesting study showing the (
hereditary probabilities Of the descend
ants is furnished in The Kallfka1
I ,amlly,, published last year by Dr.
Goddard. During the Revolutionary
war son Of one Of the most Dromi-
lent families in New jersey had rela-
lions with an unknown feeble minded
woman Afterward ne married n wo-
nan Of his own class and. as 4. result.
n this marriage. had descendants who
are numbered among the statesmen.
.uuSes and other prominent men of the
state But he had even greater num-
per OF descendants as a result OF his
Legitimate connection with the feeble
minded woman and these descendants
orm long line Of deEeneracv ending
n the Jails. almshOuses, reformatories
and other institutions. The girl who
suggested this genealogical research is