Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-09-28

Of normal people The feeble-minded
case is not dangerous or intractablc;
on me contrary. he is usually likabie
ana willing, open to any form Of sue-
gcsiion. That Is what makes him a
danger In tho city
In simple environment the reeble-
minded get along, well enough Almost
every little country town has its Craze
Joe. Joe Is w"ak In the head but
harmless. Everybody knows him:
farmers give him odd jobs: hotel keen
erS let h!m wash dishes for a meal
Children may mock him occasionally
p"t IN general he gets the kindly con-
sldcration he needs. But let Cray Joe
come TO the city. with it's complex en-
vironIncnt, its fierce competition, It's
Inevitable ruthlcssncss. and he will
show UP in police court as sure az fate.
ono more criminal IS added to m.
social problem.
Cases such as these would be per-
fcctiy contcut"d in a farm colony. TN
der proper direction they could. nro-
dicc enough TO pay their way. Friends
and relatives could visit them. They
would be removed from an environment
too much :or them. from a game whose
rules ar" made for the normal man.
Unfortunately mental trouble in
criminals is not confined 10 feeble.
nundedncss Those who suffer from de-
ranSeinNIts and dcmcnti.L grated on
feeble miudcdncss. or whose minds are
not feeble. but dcrangcd will have to
De treated with more restraint The
farm colony or some similar measure
seems 10 be about the hest thiu., for
them too. but 1t viii have TO be "A farm
colony wiki fences.
Docs this mean doing awav with
prisons? II does not. II means simply
the separation OF The normal from the
abnormal among criminals. and Just
how many belong to each class. no ono
can say as yet, Only the second class
Is larger than we dreamed.
II should be stated with great clarity
! that the system o. psycho1athic ex-
aminations does not mean that il is
easier for an offender TO escape num-
iShmcnt. The insanity plea" has fallen
into disrcputc in this country because
IL has been used by men whom the pub
lie believed had no right to it, Whether
they had or not. the average criminal
from the slum district certainly never
used IL Not one police court case in
a thousand was ever examined by an
ahenist. Now that they are being so
examined. they arc not being turned
loose as result. They are being SEN
fenced 10 institutions instead OF prisons
They arc being treated for their real
trouble instead OF something else.
The practice OF psychopathic exami-
nation Is getting the Endorsement OF
some OF the abiest and most expert
cnccd men in the country who deal
with criminals and who have watched
II work. There IL nothing OF false sem
tmcntaliSm about it: il is as cold and
cmotionlcss and precise as science IT.
self II n criminal is normal il SAYS
So ana recommends that he be treated
accordingly. II he is abnormal, it SAYS
so, and That circumstance ought TO be
taken into account as we'll as any other.
There are plenty of normal criminals
men with good or even superior in
tclliScncc, who have no moral sense,
or have cast II aside as excess bag
gage. They are the ones that get into
the public eye. But look at the cases
reported on in blocks OF thousands in
court reports. look at the inmates OF
penitentiary when they are gathered
together, and you can see at glance
how many of them are men of good or
superior intelligence.
The laboratory idea does not sub
stitute the doctor for the judge 1t
puts the Judge in possession OF all the
facts Of the case through the doctor.
And the doctor has got to be exceed
inSly sure that he is right; there is no
doubt that his power and responsibility
in cases Of this sort IS immense. He
has got to know his science from the
alphabet to Shak csLearc. 1t IS the
newest Of the sciences, still taking it's
first steps. But when IT starts going
in earnest, IL is going to reorganize a
number of our most moss-grown insti-
tutions.