The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-10-12
THE TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
APPROXIMATIONS BUREAU
By FREDERIC j. HAsKIN. Director,
Washington. ID. G.
THE MENACE OF MENTAL DE-
FECTTNES.

THE MENACE OF MENTAL DE-
FECTIVES.
Washington. D. c., Oct. 12.-Are
mental deficiency and delinquency on
the increase among the population of
this country and, if so, what can be
done to stop it? These are the ques-
tons which the government mas re-
Gently sought to answer by an invest1-
CATION of conditions now existing IN
certain representative localities
The Investigations in each case
were undertaken by the United states
ChiIdren's Bureau, which is especially
interested in the subject since It Is
one affecting so many children It's
first report was issued about two years
ago covering the situation in the Dis
trict of Columbia Now second IN
vestigation has just been completed on
mental detectives in a representative
eastern county.
The Chief Creator of Poverty.
This is one of the most illuminating.
and at the same time one of the most
painful, studies that has ever been
made by the government. 1t shows
that mental deficiency exists to an
alarming extent in the lower strata
of society, it shows that there is no
adequate provision for abating it, and
it shows that is chief creator of pow
erty.
Out of three hundred or more cases
{
| four or five detectives were found liv-
ing in well-to-dO homes
Parenthetically, it may be said that
the term, mental defective" includes
three groups-idiots, imbeciles and
morons According to the classified
ton adopted by the American Asso-
citation for the Study of the Feeble
minded, idiots are hose whose men
tai development does not exceed that
OF normal child of about two years;
I toll fxr
does not exceed that of a child of
about seven years. and morons are
those whose mental development does
not exceed that of a normal child of
twelve years. 1t is in the last class
that the greatest number of delin-
quents are found.
In conducting it's last investigation,
| however, the children's bureau did not
attempt to classify the various cases.
Its object was not to pass upon the
| mentality of deficient persons, but to
secure data in regard to the conditions
under which mental detectives lived.
Hence, the first act of Miss Emma
Lundberg, who was in charge of the
| investigation. was to secure the rec
| ords of the United States public health
service and those of other physicians
who had examined the mentality of
this county. Then Miss Lundberg be-
gan to inspect each case.
How Methods Were Followed.
! First she took up the cases of mem
tai detectives living at large in the
community. There were 1872 of these.
or this number, 80 were living in their
parental homes; 10 We're being cared
for by relatives or in foster homes; g
We're living in their own homes. and
II mad no permanent place of abode.
Inc coincidence of mental defect
ana low grade of environment was
| STRIKING, says Miss Lundberg in her
report. "Of the ninety-nine mental
detectives in their parental homes.
forty-three belonged to families hav-
| ing very small and irregular incomes
barely sufficient to maintain the fam
lily; while thirteen were in families
more or less dependent upon public or
private charity, making a total of
fIfty-siX dependent or ON the verge
of dependency. OF the remaining
forty-three only four or five were in
what might be called well to do famf-
lies. The majority of them were in
homes of Wage-earners who at the
time of the study were financially able
to provide for their defective chill
dren- In five of these cases, however,
there were abnormal home conditions,
due to the death of the mother to
alcoholism, insanity or low mentality
of parents"
The mental defective in the home
of family having a very small in
come is in a particularly unfortunate
of the family is also employed, and
| is compelled to leave him alone all
day. He is incompetent to take proper
care of himself, and is an intolerahle
| burden to the family. In most of the
cases investigated by Miss Lundberg.
| moreover, the parents were also either
alcoholic or of low-grade mentality.
Children of this class usually grow up
under the burden of huge police
| records.
Unfortunates Cared For.
Those cared for by relatives are
generally even worse off For exam
pie, the bureaus report cites the case
of 14-year-old boy who had a po-
lice record for delinquency. He was
| living with his ancient grandmother,
who kept cheap boarding house
His father was in the workhouse, and
his mother was said to be keeping a
disreputable house. The grandmother
considered the boy in the light of a
calamity and was anxious to get rid
of him as soon as possible.
Even if the mental defective is abs
to struggle on thru the environment
/ of his childhood and eventually shift
for himself, it is always a miserable
shift" Among those living in their
own homes, the bureau gives the fol
lowing case as typical instance: "a
mentally defective white woman, As
years of age, herself an illegitimate
child from a degenerate family, was
the mother of four children He1
husband was alcoholic. had a court
record and worked irregularly. The
home was neglected and overcrowd-
ed, and drunkenness and immortality
prevailed. The family was partially
dependent on charitable aid All OF
the children were slow and in
capable
The Neighborhood Defective.
Eleven mental detectives, one mar
and ten women, were discovered by
the bureau to be without homes of any
, kind. The man was a "neighborhoo6
idiot" who lived wherever he could
| obtain shelter and had fallen under