Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-03-28
to control his temper.

70 ContrOI his temper.
In 1910 he returned with his parents to
America. His first exploit here was to
away from boarding house in which he had
been placed under kindly supervision. For
some time he led the life Of vagabond, sleep
Ing in parks and Jout-houses. and getting his
food no one knew where He broke into house
In New Jersey and was sent to JAIL On his re-
lease he Joined "robber bands" He was finally
taken in hand by the Salvation Army, In New
York City, and was sent to halfbrother, a
landscape architect. in Minneapolis. who found
place for him as clerk; but one day he
struck his brothers wife because she would not
let him wear her husbands new coat He was
thereupon placed in private boarding house.
but soon enlisted in the navy. At the Norfolk
Training School he got along fairly we'll until
he began to steal-"but not" he affirmed.
before the others stole from me-"
Here he was court martialed several times
for INSTRUMENTATION. On the batteship Min.
nesota he alleges that he was constantly
teased and bullied by the sailors. On ship he
in disgrace most OF the time. His entire
income disappeared In fines. He talked freely
OF his 'scrapes" to the social worker, OF sailors
clubbing officers. OF his getting possession OF
money from drunken sailors. OF his attempt to
desert with another man at Vera Cruz. Finally
he knocked lad down because, as he says. che
stole from me-" contaminated and dis
honorably discharged in July, 1e13-after about
two and half years of service. The boys on
the battleship took UP collection and sent him
to his parents.
His record since bis return homo has been
one Of insoence disobedience, defiance, unem-
ployment and loafng. He belongs to that large
army Of borderland cases who not quite
feeblemnded yet palpably insane but
which make up the group OF "unstables" who
occupy the twilight zone between the distinctly
amented on the one hand, and the mentally
disordered on the other haud-a group Of moral
and mental interiors, sometimes manifestins
traits Of high grade moral imbecility and some
times presenting the aspects OF constitutional
inferiority or psychopathic constitution, or
masked or psychic epilepsy. These twilight
states between sanity and insanity and between
subnormality ii. e., feebemindedness) and
normalty cannot be diagnosticated by nero
schemes of intelligence tests.
incidentally 1t may be said that these types
OF abnormal individuals should be diagnosed
much earlier in their careers than is usually
mentary and secondary schools and be sub
jected to appropriate educational and physical
treatment.
In the second place, is the boy eugenically
unfit? Certainly he ought not to marry as long
as he remains induStrialy incompetent, as
long as his prospective OF life Is distorted, and
as long as he manifests pronounced emotional
instability and violent outbursts of temper
But is he unfit for eugenic procreation? We
are in no position to dogmatize about this
The ancestral history is largely negative In
respect to homeopathic faint. One paternal
aunt died OF tuberculosis, two paternal uncles
died OF heart disease. and maternal