Evening star., 1916-09-30

en.ss whore they can i've comfortably,
in the case Of TIE fseoie-minded can
be made like any country colony OF
normal people. The feeble-mindsd oAss
10 not dangerous or fntra0table, on the
Ing, open 70 any form Of svggestion.
That 10 what makes him . danger In
the city.
IN . simple environment, the feeble.
minded get along we'll enough Almost
every little ooxn-
Most Every Town try town h.s its
Has It's Crazy Joe. n v..s IN xSs
head. but harmless. Everybody knows
him: farmers give him odd jobs: hotel
keepers let him wash dishes for . meal
children may mock him occasionally
but in general he gets the kindly ooo-
siderAtion he needs. But let Crazy Joe
como to the city. with its compiler en-
vironment. its fierce competition, tts In
evitable ruthlessness. and he viii show
up in police court as sure - fAtA oas
more criminal is added to the social
problem.
Cases such as these would be perfecA-
ly contented IN q farm colony. Under
proper direction they could produce
enough to pay their way. Friends and
relatives could visit them. They would
be removed from an environment too
much for them, from a game whose
rules are made for the normal man.
Unfortunately mental trouble In orim-
inals Is not confined to feeble-minded-
ness. Those who suffer from derangs-
ments and dementia grated on feeble
m1ndednesa, or whose mtn0N are not
feeble, but deranged. win have to be
colony or some similar measure seems
to be about the best thing for them,
too. but 1t will have to be farm colony
with fences.
prison.r Hsa 'n Il doe: ssn nes a0' L means sinae
ply the separation Of the normal from
the abnormal among criminals. ana Just
how many belong to each class no one
Is larger than we dreamed.
It should be stated with great clarity
that the system of psychopathic eXaxni-
nations does not mean that It is easier
for an offender to escape punishment
The insanity plea" has fallen into dis
repute in this country because II has
been used by men whom the public be-
they had or not, the average criminal
from the slum district certainly never
used 1t. Not one police court case In
a
alienist. Now that they are being SO
examined. they are not being turned
loose as a result. They are being sem
fenced to institutions instead Of prisons.
trouble instead of something else.
The practice OF psychopathic exami-
nation is getting the Endorsement Of
some Of the ablest
n.anoad prao;s. a. and most expert
enced men in the
Science Itself. country who deal
with criminals and who have watched
It work. These is nothing Of false sem
timentalism about It; it Is as cold ana
| emotionless and precise as science IT
self. If a criminal is normal 1t says
so. and recommends that he be treated
accordingly. II he Is abnormal. II says
so. and that circumstance ought to Do
taken into account as we'll as any other
There are plenty Of normal criminS.s ~
I-men with good or even superior IN
teiliEence, who have no moral sense
or have cast 1t aside as excess ba$-
rage, They are the ones that get INTO
the public eye. t But iooF Of thoussnds s ,nS % n
court reports. look at the inmates o
q penitentiary when they are gatnexeo
| together. and you can see az a eisnOSS sasSS
how many Of them are men OF gooo
| or superior intelligence
The laboratory Idea does not substi-
tute the doctor for the Judge. 1t puts
the Judge in possession OF nd,a an the fac.s Ins
tha doctor has got to be exceedingly
sure that he is right; there is no doubt
that his power and responsibility in
cases Of this sort is immense: Ae mas
rot to know his science from the alpha
Sst 70 Shakespeare It 10 the newest OF
the sciences, still taking Its first steps.
But when it starts going In earnest. II
ia going to reorganize number OF our
most moss-grown institutions.