The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-19
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
Blu REAU
FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. Director.
Washington. d. @.
CRIME AND TAXES.

the work of the Chicago psychopathtc |
laboratory is the large number OF in |
sane and mentally defective persons
found in a typical American city. 1t
shows that numerous delinquent types |
which have been heretofore consid- |
cred sane are in reality the victims OF
specific, hereditary mental diseases,
and it strongly suggests that unidenti-
fled insanity and mental defect are
prevalent in other than criminal
classes.
AS DR.. Hickson points out, America
as nation, has a psychopathic
heredity. In colonial days the slums
of European cities were secured for
criminals to be deported to America.
Popular histories dwell upon the
sturdy pilgrims, the cavaliers and the
Huguenots, but say less of the ship
loads of thieves, prostitutes, murder
ers and children gathered from the
Sums. who were landed on these
shores. The failure of many Of these
criminal settlements shows that the
criminal then as now was unfit for
the battle of life. Yet enough sur
vived and bred to leave twentieth
century America a distressing problem
IN psychopathology. Undoubtedly. the
isolated masses of uniformly defective
population found in this country, as
for example in the southern noun
tains and the pine barrens of New
Jersey, where whole counties are
traced to these importations from the
cutters of Europe. Inbreeding is
popularity considered to be the cause
of these defective communities; but
modern science has shown that in
breeding tends to strengthen whatever
qualities are dominant, whether good
or bad. And there are isolated noun
tain communities in Kentucky which
produce children of uniform brilliance,
just as there are others in the Ale
gheny region that produce almost
nothing but detectives.
The importation of detectives from
Europe did not stop in modern times.
The leading continental countries are
twenty years ahead of us in the dag
nosis of criminal insanity. Germany,
for example, has had psychopathic
laboratories n connection with the
criminal courts for many years. And
1t is a matter of record that the scien-
lists in charge of these laboratories
have often recommended the sending
OF criminally insane cases to America.
At Ellis Island the immigrant is put
thru a simple mental test. but it does
not serve to identify the less outspoken
cases ofdementia praecox and psyche
pathic constitution, and these are the
cases that commit most crime. Judge
Olson was once asked by a visitor to
his court If it could be true that tho
mentally defective were passed by our
immigration inspection service. For
answer he showed the visitor In an
adjoining room feeble-minded Polish
woman and her six feeble-minded chill
dren, all of whom had been born
abroad.
Before the war the laboratory de
ported defective. delinquents who had
not been in the United States three
years.
Americas problem, then, is to check
this inflow of mentally defective pco-
ple-or rather, to prevent its resump-
ton after the war-and to identity
and isolate the mentally defective al
ready here, SO that they will not con-
tlnue to commit crime and propagate
their defects
The first is merely problem of the
proper inspection of immigrants.
Heretofore, the need has not been
realized. nor have the trained men
been available. But the national gov
eminent has had the whole problem
brought sharply to it's attention by
the execution of the draft law. There
is every probability that after the war
we will have a force of trained
psychiatrists in this country. and that
some of them will be used at Ellis
Island.
The isolation of the detectives now
at large in this country is a problem
for the cities and states, and one
cities are already attacking. The es-
Establishment of psychopathic iabora-
tories in charge of properly trained
men, like the one in Chicago, is the
first step. In the second place, judges
must have some knowledge of psy-
| chiatry. DIR. Hickson suggests that
every criminal judge should be COM
PEELED to take course in that sub
| ject.
The necessary complement of the
lob
chopathic cases may be permanently
| isolated; for it is useless to identify
| the chronic criminal and then let him
| loose upon society after short term
of confinement. He must be perma-
nently isolated, prevented from breed
| ing. and above all, he must be en-
abled to make his own living without
destroying life and property. so that
the taxpayer will be saved the enorn-
Gus sums which he now pays for
protection that does not protect.
The criminal defective lacks intel
! ligent initiative and responsibility. but
he IS not without energy. Under
proper restriction and direction he is
capable of useful work. This was
| thoroly demonstrated by Whitaker,
until recently superintendent of the
District OF Columbia reformatory at
| Occoquan, Va. With criminals OF all
| types, from chronic drunks to muir
derers. he established a great farm
and industrial colony, which paid for
its own upkeep, and maintained its
| inmates in the best of health. Further
more. it had neither locks, walls. nor
| guards.
| Doctor Hickson, in his report to
| Judge Olson, outlined a plan for a
model colony, which is substantially
similar to that at Occoquan. He
would have comfortable homes for the
| inmates, and would give them a
variety of work to do. He further
suggests that the colony be located
upon cheap. unimproved land. and that
when this has been improved, it be
| sold and the colony removed to
another wild tract. The detectives
| could thus be used to reclaim areas
of woodland and cut-over land, drain
swamps. and perhaps establish irri-
cation projects