The Detroit times., 1915-03-12
|EuGEnICS
REPORT IS
STARTLING
twenty-five Per Cent
Of Insanity From
Three Causes
PRIVATE DISEASE
LEADS ALL REST
Alcohol and Drugs
Shown to Have
Dire Effect 4
~ CHARLES c. CONN.

No more convincing argument
against vice. liquor and drugs was
ever advanced inan that voiced in
this city last night by DIR. Albert
n. Barrett. chairman OF the state
ersenics commission. In his flrst
public report before the Kalamazoo
Academy Of Medicine and ofiicials
Of the Kalamazoo State hospital.
After two years OF careful investi-
cation. the eugenlcs commission
found that Is per cent Of all insanity
existing In Michigan today Is due
directly to syphilis. alcohol ana
drugs.
Forty-one per cent OF all insanity
existing In the state h due directly
OF Indirectly 70 these three causes
OF the three causes drugs form the
nost insiEnincsnt part Syphilis. ac-
cording To the findings Of the com
mission, lead all causes OF insanity
an1 alcohol b close second 70 this
1isoase.
The engenics commission was ap-
Dointe1 by the state legislature In
1917 and aimee that time has made q
caroeul study Of practically every
cesc a insanity existing In Mich
nm. N al. there are IN Michigan to-
day $4,000 insane patients The an
nnal cost to the stste for caring for
and treating these patients is sss.-
oo0.o0o.
Of this number approximately 5s.-
$40 have become insane either DR.
rectly or Indirectly because Of syph-
i1is. alcohol or drugs Dr. Barrett
estimates hat the eleminstion Of
tAeee three causes would diminish
ths Insanity Of future years nearly
50 pr cent,
night per cent Of al insane patients
n the state have become demented
s6Isly because or alcohol. according
q Or. Barrett
slightly more than II per cent
heve become insane because Of syph-
NJ and per cent because Of habit
10rmins drugs The three causes
esmblne to form the much greater
D<rcentase OF fortycne.
The doctors report sho~ed that
ais per cent Of male patients being
I treated I'm Michigan Institutions for
Ne Insane have syphilis. OF the
women patients 127 per cent have
the disease. while ISL per cent OF
Al insane patients have II.
Carrying the inrestigation further
the commission examined the mates
o. Al syphilitic patients wherever
\ this was possible. II was found that
I n 38.2 per cent OF the cases the
\ disease had been communicated to
The husband OF wives. Much OF her.
editnry insanity, he showed, Ia due
Z % hereditary syphilis.
Oae Of the most astounding reve.
lations contained In the report Il
The fact that the ratio OF insanity is
growing faster than the population
= Increasing. This Is true not only
n Michigan. the doctor said. but In
the country az large. At present
there are In Michigan ~ insane pa.
tients for each 10000 population.
This ratio he stated. compares "a,
vorabIy with the ratio existing In
adjacent states and is even lower
than that found in some of the east
ern states.
The doctor admitted that the only
direct method Of attack open 10 tn,
medical profession In combating In
sanity, IL against vice, drugs and
liquor.
He criticised the method employed
IN Michigan for handling the feeble
minded and infrm. Fifty per CEN
Of the boys who are today confines
70 rcformatories In the state ars
f<eble-minded. he stated. and shouit
BE- treated az such. Seventy-tvo De,
cent OF the girls confined in the re
eormstory n Adrian are either feeb
Ien,inded or abnormal. the commits
sioo's Investigation showed.
He spoke disparagingiy OF the lar
nv Of morals which exists In IN,
county poor houses OF the state. TIL,
4 greater percent OF the inmates o
these institutions. the commission
found. are feetle-minded. yet In
prnctice Of marrying or inmate
= order that they may no longer r,
main charges OF the county. Is con
mon. he stated. and this" he cor
dnued. despite the fact that N
keobIeminded man OF woman ca
knroma the No ronfs ~