Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-11-20
LOST
WANTED
FOUND
FIVE GENERATIONS SHOW
STARTLING RECORD OF
FAMILY DEGENERACY

Columbus. o.-iFfty eight blood rel
atives confined In penitentiaries. jails.
infirmaries. institutions for feeble
minded or Industrial schools, IL the
record Of an extensive family Of de-
generates traced out during the past
year by the Ohio juvenile research
| bureau. In announcing the results to-
| day. DIR. Thomas II. Haines. director Of
| the bureau, declared the family his
tory already discovered was the basis
for record comparable to that OF tho
notorious Jukes family. which has been
| familiar to sociologists for the past
forty years.
The Mengold family-this is the nc
titious name which has been chosen
for the newly traced clan OF degener-
ate men, women and children-lives
mainly in southeastern Ohio and low
er Ohio river counties OF West Wiz.
gina.
Five generations OF the family have
been charted. including AZ individuals.
Definite data which has been secured
on PSI Of these shows the following
condition OF degeneracy:
Sixty members OF the family have
court records: fifteen have been IN
jail: fourteen in the penttentiary: nlne
in the infirmary: nine In children1
homes: six in the workhoIse: two In
the girls Industrial home: two In the
institution for feeble minded. and one
in the boys industrial home.
Seventy-seven are immoral: seven.
ty-four criminal in varying degreo&
fifty-fiv feeble minded: twenty-thfSo
alcoholic: twelve public women: - m
tuhercular: six children adopted into
other homes: four subject to epnep-
tic fits: three insane and three tfsmpA
Crimes OF which they have been con-
victed include burglary, larceny. forg.
cry. destruction OF property nootleg-
i ging. operating or being inmates OK
! immoral houses. intoxication. riot. per-
jury. various degenerate forms Of as
sault. homicide. shooting to kill anil
! attempting to poison husband
| The mentality Of most Degenerate
members OF the family as determined
by the Binet test is that OF children
between s and IL years.
Most members are living at large:
marrying and producing large FAM
lilies. One man, whom the Juvenile
research investigators call Jasper. IS
| In the Ohio penitentiary for crime
against his daughters, one Of whom il
in the girls Industrial school at Dell
aware.
II was an iCCluenJli nOCtnS OIL tho
fact that several pers ms bearing the
Same name and later found to be rela
tives were charges OF the state that
led to the investigation which started
less than n year ago Starr Caiwal-
lader. recently resigned as member
Of the board OF administration which
has charge II all state penal and cor
rective institutions, made the discoy-
cry and urged the family survey.
Mrs. Mary Storer Kostir, OF Column
bus. n young psychological Investigate
or was assigned to the task and she
has spent most OF her time for the
past year on It. Her individual rec
ord of each member OF the lo-called
Mengold family recounts bestial crimes
and vices undreamed OF by most nor
NAL citizens. The survey will be con-
tlnued until traits OF additional Mem
Colds are accurately recorded, AMI an
estimate can be made Ut the cost TO
the states of maintaining sdsh Al abb
normal family.
John and Polly Mensold. progen-
itors of one of the wors- lines tf The
family. came originally from western
Pennsylvania. The others were ig-
norant mountaince-s.
The notorious Jukes family, TO
which DR. Haines compares his new
mapped family. contains total Of
1000 members, of whom so are re-
lated by blood. Since 1874. when its
tracing was start.d. recorl has oeen
made OF $50 paupers. 40 criminals.
with nearly all Of both classes fee
minded or insane The cost Of
prosecuting or caring for them is de-
clared to amount TO many millions of
dollars, mainly chargeable to New
York state, where lhs family originate
ed.