Salt Lake Telegram | 1921-04-25 | Page 7 | The Half-Wit Criminal

k The Half Half- Wit Half Criminal j ATRoCIouS A crimes committed commUted by defectives have started agitation in various states for better control of the weak minded One in every Americans is a defective according to Dr Martin Barr chief physician of the Pennsylvania training school f for r feeble minded children Dr Barr estimates that there are defectives in inthe the United States Only are confined d in st st. state te institutions About 1000 more are cared for fr in private asylums That leaves I r mental and moral defectives at large A good many of them are harmless But many are potential or actual criminals Police Commissioner Woods of New York has special on n the subject He says that thirty-five thirty out of every hundred criminals are out and out defectives de de de- Sixteen states do absolutely nothing to care for their defectives No state handles the subject efficiently In the average community community community it is nobody's business to keep an eye on ond d defectives They are allowed to run at large until picked up on a criminal charge New York City l leads ds in the attempt to provide pro pro- vide pro er care for defectives It 1 ig ye proper s. s has a special ij i i h S i ji i y J Jt 1 t L. L R L r lj t C J f 4 t S TH I hospital on Randalls Randall's island which looks after defectives culled from local schools Only a few years ago New Yorks York's defectives went to the regular schools and mingled with the normal children children children chil chil- dren exerting an unwholesome influence What's to be done w with th them Police Commissioner Woods of New York says The beginning of a movement to eliminate eliminate nate the defective from our midst should starIn start star t In the schools Examinations should be made mad e and children who are dull stupid and unpromising ing but as yet not criminals should be separated and nd treated If it is found that after kind and prolonged treatment the child cannot be nade nad e normal he should be put permanently in an in in- in In the same way it should be possible e to take and treat feeble minded adults many o of I whom turn to crime because they are t to tomake tomake o make a living in ordinary work The care and restriction of defectives is b is a recognized function of state legislatures res Th TIle The e ae problem is up to them