Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-03-18
READER.
OUR MENTAL DETECTIVES

To the Editor Of Euenfng Ledger:
Sir-The Public Charities Association of
Pennsylvania has just completed unuuestion.
ably, most successful campaign in our city
and most certainly the public mind has been
firmly impressed with the need of com.
plete and proper methods of care for our feeble.
minded. With systematic precision the whole
field has been presented in the most conclusive
and convincing manner. Every citizen who
attended the exhibit, has not had to be trained
In n special course of psychology to understand
this most important of problems which con-
fronts r 1 every community. Every possible phase
of the work has been presented to the thinking
public, so that the public as q whole has been
able to grasp the subject
Our Juvenile courts have been wrestling hard
with this problem. And they have discovered
case after case of these mental detectives The
work among them has been most hopeless in.
deed Long since they have discovered that the
only method to handle these detectives property
was to place them in wellequipped institu-
tions.
Pennsylvania is most certainly far below the
scale in the care of these unfortunates and it
is most certainly inspiring to see this great
movement on foot The ultimate successful end
is certainly going to mean shrinkage in the
criminal records in the years to come.
There is one phase of the situation, however
that the association did not take up in its en-.
tirety. And that part of the situation was the
presenting of the full facts in regard to the
increasing number of mental detectives. True,
the mental detectives born of parents who are
also mentally deficient was pictured most
vividly, but that phase of the situation where
feeble-minded children born OF parents not
mentally defective, but otherwise physically dis
eased, was sadly neglected.
The noble movement to place these feeble
minded people in proper institutions is most
certainly needed, and there should be proper
appropriations from the State to bring about
this end. These buildings should be built, and
hundreds of employees should be hired to take
care of these people. This method will help
considerably to stop the increase in numbers of
these detectives. But is 1t not justice to the
Commonwealth to introduce legislative meas
ures whereby every possible increase of these
detectives shall be checked as far a possible?
If the public could realize the astounding
percentage of detectives who are born of mem
tally wellbalanced parents, who are otherwise
in certain diseased conditions, l feel certain
that 1t would also demand that more money be
expended for the purpose of checking at least
disease. which Is of the greatest under
lying causes for the production of feebleminded
offspring. 1t certainly would alleviate the ex-
pense of keeping more than child In these
proposed institutions In the future, Recently
IL has become necessary for walters to present
a certificate of a clean bill of health. That was
a mighty good movement Let have more
The medical profession in the majority today,
believe in the treating of the underlying cause
of a disease and also some of the symptoms
and pain to the patient. Apply this example to
the problem OF feebe.mindedness. Take care
of these people, but also put forth every possible
effort TO stop every source of increase.
oliver Wendell Holmes once said that when
he talked to a man he felt that he was talking
to three men, the man as he was known to the
world, the man as he was known TO himself and
the man as he knew him. Let have some
more efficient method whereby the public may
be educated in this clean bill of health business
There is question what the result would
rlean in regard not only to the increasing pop
ulation of mental detectives, but also TO the
moral and physical happiness of the laity
whole READER
Philadelphia, March 1s