Evening star., 1922-05-09
BLUE PLAINS SITE
MEETSOPPOS|T|ON
Society Agencies Delegates
0isapprove Feeble-Minded
Institution Location.

Delegates to the Council of Social
Agencies, at a meeting in the Raleigh
Hotel yesterday afternoon, voted as
individuals in disapproval of the To-
cation at Blue Plains. as proposed by
congressional conferees. of the home
for eDle-minded, and decided to
urge the social welfare organizations
represented in the council to continue
efforts to obtain "a suitable institu-
tion for the care and treatment of
the feeble-minded of the District of
Columbia, with abundant acreage"
Regret Confcrees' Action.
The delegates expressed regret at
the action taken by the Senate and
House cpnferees "over the protest of
the Commissioners of the District.
the board of charities. the board of
Shildren's guardians. the Monday
Evening Club and many social work.
ers who have long sought the eStab-
Ishment of colony for the feeble
minded of the District" in selecting
, the 2I5-acre tract now occupied by
the Home for the Aged and Infirm
and the Industrial Home School for
Colored Children at Blue Plains. D. c.,
as the location of the home for the
mentally deficient
Resolutions in this connection
pointed out that the House already
has approved the conferees' recon-
mendation, and that the Senate seems
about to approve the location" OPP
position to the contemplated site for
the home is based chiefly. the resolu-
tion asserts, upon the limited acre
age now available at Blue Plains for.
the proposed institution, thus bring
ing 1t into close proximity to the two
institutions already there. and cur
failing their future growth and de-
velopment."
State Figures Cited.
1t was cited that the federal census
report of 1919, covering institutions
for the feeble-minded and mentally
defective. shows that thirty-two
states with thirty-eight such insti--
= tuttons provide an average of upward
of one acre per capita.
Convection of the individual delegates
that the proposed location will fail
10 provide the isolation necessary for
this class of dependents and the class
ificatfon by differences in ages, sex,
color and in mental capacity, some
being teachable to a considerable ex-
tent and others being practically
idiotic" was affirmed. with the OBJ
servation that the Blue Plains site
will make it necessary to confine the
movements of the patients and their
training within the limited quarters.
notwithstanding the fact that many
Of them must remain within the
bounds of the institution for life.
20 Agencies Represented.
1t was accordingly voted to ac-
quaint the parent organizations of the
council with the action taken over
the protest of the Commissioners and
others and request that they continue
their plea for a suitable home for
these unfortunate citizens. The reso-
lutions were presented to the council
by the legislative committee, Walter
S. Ufford, chairman.
A total of twenty-five private and
four public agencies were represent
ed at the meeting yesterday. DIR.
John W. OGrady of the Catholic
charities spoke of the vagrancy prob
lem in Washington and declared that
little could be accomplished in solv-
ing the problem until the various
agencies dealing with homeless men