Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1914-09-18

The menace of the feeble
minded to our own and future
generations, through the seeming
ly impossible problem of segre-
cation, has only during the past
decade received the attention its
magnitude demands. This ques-
ton past generations have neg
lected, in the futile hope of its
elimination through the law of
the survival of the fttest."
Today, thanks to the Binet sys-
TEN of psychological test, supple
mented by the tests of Doctors
Huey, Healy, and others, we are
beginning to realize its grave
Importance. Applying these
tests to the children in our public
schools, experts tell us that at
least 2 percent are mentally de-
fective. New York City alone,
according to the estimate, has
$4,000 feeble-minded children in
the public schools.
Conservative authorities have
placed the number of feeble
minded persons in the United
States at 200, 900, and estimated
that this class constitutes one
fourth of the population of our
prisons and reformatories. The
present capacity of our institu-
tlons for the feeble minded is
about 20, 900; almshouses contain
about 16, 900, and there are in
the neighborhood of 5000 in in
stitutions for the insane. The
total number receiving public care
in the United States, according
to competent authorities, is about
67, 900, thus leaving, at low
estimate, 1873, 600 without institu-
tional advantages or control
Are these unfortunates on the
increase? The Royal Commits
sion of England came to the con-
clusion, after four years of study
of this problem, that they were
increasing at twice the rate of
general population. Careful in
yestigation has shown that at
least two-thirds of the feeble
minded children are of feeble
minded parents, or grandparents,
or both. DR.. Henry H. Goddard,
of New Jersey, does not believe
that any truly feeble minded
child was ever cured" :" and other
competent authorities agree with
him in saying that it is useless
to try to develop the latent ment-
ality of feeble-minded children,
because it does not exist"
What steps have been taken or
remedies proposed for a solution
of this problem that threatens
the very foundation of society?
Sterilization has long been advo-
Gated by many penologists and
alienists as the one certain pre-
ventive measure. Eight of our
States have passed laws provid-
ing for sterilization of certain
classes of detectives, but in only
one are they enforced. This
remedy can be only of restricted
service until public sentiment is
developed to sustain the execu-
ton of such laws perhaps in
two generations, or until some
thing better offers. Restrictive
marriage laws have demonstrated
that their influence can be only
partial, inasmuch as these defec-
tives reproduce their kind re-
gardless of marriage, and in far
greater number than normal peo-
pie, Segregation, that is prov
ing so practical and effective for
the insane, remains, in spite of
the magnitude of the undertak-
ing the one available solution.
We must not forget that thirty
years ago the segregation of the
insane seemed equally impossi-
BILE.
DIR. Hasting H. Hart, director
of the Department of Child Help
ing of the Russell Sage Founda-
ton, has for years been indefati-
gable in his efforts to find a
working program to meet the
problem of mental detectives.
He believes in legislation, to give
the State absolute control, as is
the case with the commitment of
the insane, if real results arc to
come from segregation of the