Middletown transcript., 1914-02-28
MENTAL DETECTIVES
An Interesting Paper Read on the
Proper Care Over Them
DIVIDE THEM INTO. GLASSES


This pap. was Haad before the New
Century Club on Tuesday, February
10th.
The recent principles of preventive
medicine, early, careful diagonia, and
quarantine, if applied to the mental de-
fective-quarantine not for forty days
but for ife-will prevent more misery,
pauperism, degeneracy and crime, and
do more for the upbuilding of our race
than any other measure within the
power of man. To those who have
studied the question carefully, whether
from the standpoint of the individual,
the family, the community, or the race
the present or future whether from
the standpoint of philanthropy or eco
nomy, the Importance of this question
cannot be overestimated, yet there is
no sin ;,le place in Delaware where a
mental defective may be placed for
care and training. If adequate provisions
were now made for the feeble-minded
children of the State, and for the care
and protection of all feeble-minded
women and girls the rate of feeble
mindedness would never increase. We
pay the bill now, not only for the main
tenances of the feeble-minded and their
ch ldren but for the crimes they perp-
citrate and the idleness and worse in
which they live. We put them in insti-
tutions now, but too often at the wrong
time and in the wrong place.
All mental detectives may be divided
into three classes, each a menace to
society because of the danger of pro-
ducing more of its kind: Glass A. the
high-grade defective may be made self
supporting under proper care but never
self-directing; Class B. can only be
governed and cared for and taught with
the object Of making them happy and
comfortable; Class C. the in beetle, re-
quiring merely custodial care.
All mental detectives would be de-
linquent in the very nature of the case,
did not some one exercise care over
them.
What is;to become of the defective
who has become delinquent? He must
be cared for in place provided for ir-
responsibles, not in Jail, prison, or
reformatory, nor should he be turned
loose on the streets, nor sent back to
the home or environment in which he
has already become a delinquent. The
most important step to be taken by the
State of Delaware is to establish a
training school for mental detectives.
In committing feeble-minded defec-
tives to the ordinary reformatory, the
state is sowing continuous crop of
habitual criminals and paupers. They
can not be taught the range of subjects
of the average mind. In methodical
work in which there is little initiative
required they are most successful.
They particularly fit into certain kinds
of agricultural and household work ant
may be paroled under careful guardian
ship and supervision. A typical case is
that of young girl under the care of
the Delaware Industrial School for
girls, committed at the age of thirteen
the father and brother were in the in
sane department at Farnhurst. When
she had been in the school three years,
at the age of sixteen, she tested about
the age of ten mentally. She was pa
rolled, did well for five months, returned
to the school for eight months, paroled
was out six months, returned, was in
school nine months; paroled, has been
out one year and two months, is earn
ing two and one-half dollars a week,
has saved twenty-one dollars in bank
and is well clothed. Our authority
ceases in a few months when she Is
twenty-one. 1t is not hard to see the
result of that discharge. Now if au-
thority and supervision could be given
that girl it would at least prevent her
from adding more links to the great
chain of mental detectives. The defec-
tives amid evil surroundings or under
the influence of INSCRIPTIONS people
are most dangerous; uuhesitatingly and
without knowing it, they become the
tool Of the vicious.
After careful diagnosis the child or
man or woman found to be feeble
minded, for his own sake, for the sake
of his family and the community (pres-
ent and future) should be set apart
= where he may associate with congeniaI
companions, working and playing all
their days, children to the end, but
happy harmless children, not dangerous
and degraded.
There are four hundred cases of
mental detectives recorded in the State
of Delaware-abo one hundred of
these are in Farnhurst and eleven at
Elwyn, the others are at large. How
long will the State allow this condition
to exist?