Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-04-25

WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb. 2S.--En-
wv gineers are the most intelligent class
W of persons in the United States, ac-
cording to the intelligence ratings compiled
by the psychological division OF the Army
Medical corps, now for the first time made
public.
While the war was on these ratings were
guarded from the public eyes as zealously as
our diplomatic correspondence. But now that
the wal is over, and the psychological labor
atories at the training camps are being de-
modified, the Army Medical corps is willing
that it's method of testing intelligence should
be made public. 1t has automatically left
the newspaper profession off the list. so that
there is nothing to prevent it from being wide
ly published. Moreover, the standing of med
ical officers is actually not so bad. They come
third on the list First, are engineer officers;
second, army chaplains; third, medical Off,
GERS; fourth, Y. M. C. A secretaries; fifth,
civil engineers; sixth, accountants; seventh,
stenographers and typists; eighth, mechanical
craftsmen; ninth, dental officers, and tenth,
bookkeepers. Seventy-four occupations are
listed in ALL of which those of cobbler, tailor
and labOrer are shown to be the least lntelli-
gent.
The intelligence ratings of all these occu-
patiOnS were based on the results of intelli-
gence tests given to American soldiers. En-
gineers were placed at the head Of the list,
because engineers on an average showed a
higher degree of intelligence in the tests than
men of any other profession or occupation.
Because more laborers failed in the tests than
men of any other occupation, they were placed
at the bottom of the list. Occasionally, of
course, an engineer would manifest only aver
age intelligence, while laborer might show
a degree of intelligence far above the average
but taking them by occupational groups just
the opposite was true.
One reason the American army became so
efficient in so short a time was that the men
ii
their intelligence When the first draft &C.
Cured, the government, with the help of the
American Psychological association and the
psychological committee of the National Re
search Council, selected over two hundred
eminent psychologists and explained to them
that the classification of drafted men was
their job. They were to frame some sort of
system that would find mechanics, carpenters,
officers engineers, craftsmen and generals
and put them in the proper places. When
thousands of draftees began pouring into the
camps, there was not time, of course, to inter
view each individual, and discuss his particu-
lar attainments with him. Some were men
who had left responsible positions paying
high salaries; some we're illiterates. A sys-
tenn was needed to test the general intelli-
gence of these men-a test that would show
not their educational or social advantages,
but their natural inherent intelligence. For
it is not the educated man who makes the
best soldier, but the man who can think
quickest and most accurately.
1t is interesting to know, for example, that
some of the illiterates tested by the army
psychologists showed higher average of in
telligence than some men with large capac-
ity for knowledge who had come from our
leading American universities After much
consideration, test was finally prepared
or rather, two tests, for separate one to be
given to illiterates. The American Psyche
logical Association and the psychological.
committee OF the National Research Council
were the authors. The test for illiterates is
known as Beta" 1t consists of a number
Of instructions given entirely by pantomime
and demonstration. It's object is to test the
general intelligence of each illiterate through
the use of concrete picture material instead,
Of by the use of printed language. In case a.
man failed in this test he was then put
through an individual test, such as the
kes-Bridges Point Scale, the Stanford