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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

CHILDREN’S BUREAU
JU LIA G. LA TH RO P, Chief

MENTAL DEFECTIVES
IN THE

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF LOCAL
CONDITIONS AND THE NEED FOR
CUSTODIAL CARE AND TRAINING

DEPENDENT, DEFECTIVE, AND DELINQUENT CLASSES
SERIES No. 2
Bureau Publication No. 13

•/

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1915

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CONTENTS.
T
• ' „
•
Letter of transmittal............ ................................................ ..

Page.
g

Introduction....................................................... . ............................................
Definition of ‘ ‘ mental defectives ” ............................ ................................... ; .............

»
^

T able showing distribution of mental defectives reported in the District of
Columbia, b y location, color, sex, and age.....................................................................
Sources of information and completeness of data.........................................................
Situation in the District of Colum bia................................................................ ...........

9_ H
12-14
15-19

15
15
15

Provision for mental d efe ctiv es............................................................ ......................._
Num ber of mental defectives..........................................................................................
Ages of mental defectives..................................................... ..............................................

Mental defectives in nonappropriate institutions............................ ....................... 16-18
Mental defectives attending public schools and at h om e.....................................

Need of uniform standard of exam ination......... ............................ ...................

Mental defectives needing institutional care............................................................. 18 19
Reasons for segregation and assumption b y the State of care of mental defectives. 20-22
Burden on the fam ily..........................................................................................
20
Danger to society............................ ........................................................................................
Possibility of training................................ ...................................
j .............................

20
20 21
22

E xten t of State provision for mental defectives................................................................

Handicap to school system ................... '. ................... ................. . ...............................

K ind of institution adapted to the care and treatment of mental defectives____24, 25
Economic aspect of the p roblem ............................................................._ ................... ........... 26-28
Investm ent in land, buildings, and equipm ent....... ................................................

Cost of maintenance.....................................
Econom y of adequate provision.......................................................................................

26-28
28

A P P E N D IX .
Classified instances of mental defectives in the District of Columbia for whom
institutional care is desirable................. ............................................................................... 29-39
Mental defect as a cause of dependency...................................................... ........ . . .

29-31

M entally defective women who are morally delinquent....................................... 31-33
33
Children too defective to attend school.................................... ...................................
Children in special schools too defective to benefit b y such training.............
M ental defectives whose families are unable to provide proper care............34,

34
35

Defective delinquents detrimental to the welfare of the com m unity............

Mental defectives who are also physically defective.......... ............................ ...... 36,

M entally defective women lik ely to become victim s of improper treatment.
Adults who m ight have profited b y institutional tr a in in g ................................

37, 38

Cases indicating defective stock........................................................* ............................

38,39

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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
U . S. D e p a r t m e n t

L abor,

Ch il d r e n 's B u r e a u ,
Washington M arch 1 8 , 1 9 1 5 .

Si r : I transmit herewith a report on the needs of feeble-minded

persons in the District of Columbia.
The fact that there is at present no special provision for this unfor
tunate class is a matter of concern to many public-spirited citizens of
the District. At the request of the Citizens' Committee on the Care
of the Feeble-minded, the Children’s Bureau undertook to secure a
list of known cases of mentally defective persons resident in the Dis
trict who for their own protection and that of the community were in
need of custodial care. The following report is based upon the
information thus gathered. Also at the request of the committee,
brief statements as to the problem of the feeble-minded in general
and public provision therefor have been added.
The report has been prepared by Miss Emma O. Lundberg, social
service expert of the bureau, with the assistance of Miss Katharine
F. Lenroot and Miss Nettie B. Browne.
Very respectfully,
„
_
J u l i a C. L a t h r o p , Chief.
Hon. W m . B. W ilson ,

Secretary o f Labor.

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MENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,
INTRODUCTION.

The following study of the extent of the problem of mental defec
tiveness in the District of Columbia was undertaken at the request
of a citizens’ committee. This committee of about 40 persons, organ
ized under the leadership of the Monday Evening Club, is composed
of representatives of various philanthropic and social agencies and
institutions of the District whose dealings with the problems of
the community have made them realize the urgent need for secur
ing an institution for the proper care and treatment of mental
defectives.
Reports of organizations and institutions of the District of Columbia
have repeatedly stated the necessity for proper custodial provision.
The District Board of Charities in its annual report for 1914 presents
the need as follows :
W e again urge the importance of providing proper facilities for the segregation and
care of the feeble-minded.

This is a question w hich is receiving active attention

throughout the entire country.

I t is now generally realized that the only effective

method of handling this problem is to provide permanent custodial care where this
class may be safely segregated from the com m unity and prevented from reproducing
their kind.

The District of Columbia has at present no provision w ithin its confines

for the care of this class.

A bout 100 are cared for under contract in institutions located

in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia, and a few older persons are cared for in
the hospital for the insane.

The Board of Children’s Guardians reports as follows:
Provision for the care of feeble-minded children remains in the same unsatisfactory
condition as a year ago and for many years preceding.

W h ile bills have been pend

ing in the Congress for several years intended to establish a training school in the
District of Columbia for feeble-minded children, none has been enacted.

T he need

of such an institution is especially urgent, as no training school for the care of feeble
minded colored children of this District is available elsewhere.

The superintendent of the Home for the Aged and Infirm, after
describing cases of inmates who are in the institution, not because
they are old but because of mental or physical infirmity, says:
Under these conditions can this institution be made all that the public intends it
shall be— all that the Board of Charities have constantly striven to make it— a home?
B u t relief from these anomalous conditions is obviously only to be found in the exe
cution of the board’s plan to have a separate institution for each distinct class of its
dependents.
7

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M EN TAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

The trustees of the National Training School for (Colored) Girls
reported to the Board of Charities:
The attention of Congress should be invited to the necessity of caring for feeble
minded colored girls.

In the past many such have been sent to this school because

of the lack of an appropriate institution to care for them .

M anifestly this is not the

place; no progress is made w ith them , and their presence is a decided drawback.

The superintendent of the same institution states in her report:
I would advise legislation providing for the care of feeble-minded colored girls,
whom we are reasonably sure, from direct knowledge of such cases, w ill become the
helpless mothers of successive illegitimate children.

The data gathered in regard to conditions in the District of Colum
bia furnish evidence bearing on the many phases of this problem—
the individual suffering and degeneration, the burden to families, the
handicap to the school system, and the danger to the whole com
munity resulting from the lack of proper provision for those suffering
from mental defect.
In view of the close relationship between mental defect and problems
of child welfare, the library of the Children’s Bureau is collecting
material pertaining to all phases of the subject of mental defect,
including reports of institutions. This material is at the service of
those interested in the care of mental defectives.
DEFINITION OF “ MENTAL DEFECTIVES.”

The term “ mental defect” implies congenital defect or defect
occurring in early life as contrasted with “ insanity,” implying a
diseased condition developed in later life. The term ‘ 1feeble-minded
ness is now largely used in the United States as a generic term
applied to all persons who because of mental defect are incapable of
normal development.
The generally accepted classification divides feeble-mindedness into
three grades: Idiots, the lowest type; imbeciles, the middle type;
morons, the highest grade. The American Association for the Study
of the Feeble-minded in 1910 adopted the following classification1 of
mental defectives:
“ Idiots—Those so deeply defective that their mental develop
ment does not exceed that of a normal child of about 2 years.
“ Imbeciles— Those whose development is higher than that of an
idiot, but does not exceed that of a normal child of about 7 years.
“ Morons Those whose mental development is above that of an
imbecile, but does not exceed that of a normal child of about 12
years.”

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1Journal of Psycho-Asthénies, Mareh and June, 1911, p. 134,

Table showing distribution o f mental defectives reported in District o f Columbia, by location, color, sex, and age.

Females.

7•
5
5

3
4

7
1

6
3

13
14

In other institutions.............................. - .............. 249 142 107

89
0

43
3

7
2

9
1

51
2
7
1

Colored.

Total.

White.

17fi
U
7

Q4
5
7

ii
Orphan Asylums (Washington, St. Joseph’s,
St. Vincent’s, National Colored Home)-----

11
i

3
4
i

Washington Asylum Hospital, Children’s
1

1
5

Not in institutions.................................................. 452 297 155

171

Boarded out by Board of Children’s GuarNot m school (6 to 15 years, inclusive, too

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24
139 107

94
32 .65

33 23
198 130
58 37

10
08
21

11
67
28

3
7

1
1

2
3

3
4

1
6

4
1

5
1
1

2
1

1
1

16
1

12
63
9

3
11
1

1
11

9
2

4
1

4
3

5 126

i
1

1
2

2
i

1
i
9

3
2
1

41 to 45 years.

6
1

ñfl
39

5?
Virginia Training School”(Falls Church). . . . . 39

I 46 years and
1
over.

37
25

Pennsylvania Training 'School for Feeble-

1 36 to 40 years.

16 229

I 31 to 35 years.

21 to 25 years.

1 26 to 30 years.

15 to 17 years.

I 18 to 20 years.

I 12 to 14 years.

6 to 8 years.

9 to 11 years.

In appropriate institutions.... ..............................

I Total.

Location.

Under 6 years.

46 years and
over.

[ 41 to 45 years.

1 36 to 40 years.

12 to 14 years.

1 15 to 17 years.

I 31 to 35 years.

9 to 11 years.

26 to -30 years.

6 to 8 years.

J 21 to 25 years.

Under 6 years.

Total............................................. ................ 798 534 264 305

1 18 to 20 years.

Total.

Males.

1
5

6
1

7
1

M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

88398o— 15------ 2

White.
Total.

Table showing distribution o f mental defectives reported in District o f Columbia, by location, color, sex, and age

Continued.

Colored.

Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-minded

Government Hospital for the Insane.............................

1
1

3
1

5
5

7
6
1

5 ~5~
2

10
9
1

5 :5

1
. i

A t home (under 6 and over 15 years).............................

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j 31 to 35 years.

136 to 40 years.

j 41 to 45 years.

34~ ~ r
2
11

~ r

3
1
79

?
1

1
7
4

9
1

7
39
12

6
2

3
1

2
~~2 ~

i
i

3 ~ iT

3
15

9
3
29

I 46 years and
|
over.

1 26 to 30 years.

1
1

Washington Asylum Hospital, Children’s Hospital,

Not in school (6 to 15 years, inclusive, too defective

Orphan Asylums~( Washington, St. Joseph’s, St. Vin-

Not in institutions.................................................................
_
„ ,
’ __ ^ ___________
Boarded out by Buaid of Cliilclxen s \jU8Tu19HS.. -- ----

In appropriate institutions.......... .........................................

In other institutions...............................................................

I 21 to 25 years.

131

j 18 to 20 years.

J 15 to 17 years.

J12 to 14 years.

6 to 8 years.

Total.

1 9 to 11 years.

46 years and
over.

JUnder 6 years.

j 41 to 45 years.

36 to 40 years.

26 to 30 years.

j 31 to 35 years.

18 to 20 years.

J_21 to 25 years.

15 to 17 years.

6 to 8 years.

9 to 11 years.

Under 6 years.

Total............................................................................

. 12 to 14 years.

Total.
133

Location.

13
1
3

1
3
5

11
2

M E N TA L DEFECTIVES I N THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,

Females.

Males.

M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THEs DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

The sex and race distribution, by age, is summarized in the follow
ing table:
Sex and race distribution, by age.

Sex.
Age.

Race.

White.

Colored.

Total.
Male.

Female.

White.

All ages__

798

438

360

534

6 to 8 .................
9 to 11................
12 to 14..............
15 to 17..............
18 to 20.............
21 to 25..............
26 to 30.........
31 to 35 _______
36 to 40...........
41 to 45.......
46 and over.........

20
47
77
128
109
98
80
46
50
44
33
66

10
24
50
79
66
53
39
27
21
26
21
22

10
23
27
49
43
45
41
19
29
18
12
44

15
36
61
96

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44
32
29
23
50

Colored.

Male.

Female.

Male.

264

305

229

133

131

11
16
32
46
38
36
14
21
19
10
16

9
19
41
62
39
33
24
19
13
15
15
16

6
17
20
34
24
27
20
13
16
10
8
34

1
5
9
17
27
20
15
8
8
11
6
6

4
6
7
15
19
18
21
6
13
8
4
10

Female.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND COMPLETENESS OF
DATA.

An effort was made to secure as complete an enumeration as possi
ble of the mental defectives of the District of Columbia who might
be assumed to be proper cases for institutional treatment. Valuable
assistance was given by' the teachers of public, parochial, and atypical
schools, the Board of Charities and the Board of Children’s Guardians
of the District, all the reformatory institutions for children, orphan
asylums, church societies, hospitals, social settlements, relief-giving
societies, physicians, pastors, and private individuals. About 200
cases were visited by an agent of the Children’s Bureau for verifica
tion and further data.
A total of 889 names were reported, but of this number 91 were
either duplicates or names regarding which the information was so
meager that the persons were not traceable, leaving a total of 798
individuals reported as being in need of institutional care. (See table,
pp. 9, 10.) It is of course necessary to assume that a large number
of the cases so reported would be found on further investigation not
to be proper cases for institutions; but* on the other hand it is selfevident that the enumeration does not include the total number of
those who would benefit by the right kind of institutional treatment.
Complete information obviously could not be secured in a survey
of this kind. It was impossible to make any test of mentality in
order to determine accurately the number of mental defectives in the
various reformatories and institutions for dependents, or to attempt
to determine the number of mentally defective children in the
schools except as this has already been done in connection with the
atypical schools. Accurate information in regard to individuals
neither in schools nor in institutions was still more difficult to obtain.
In order to determine conclusively the mental condition of an
individual it is necessary to consider his family history, general
environment, illness that may have resulted in retardation or perma
nent handicap, present physical condition, personal habits, conduct
and peculiarities, schooling, and employment record. The decision
as to the need for custodial care in a given case must be influenced
by social conditions, including the character of the home and the
ability of the family to provide the necessary training and safeguards.
The number of individuals requiring custodial care remains approxi
mately the same, although the personnel of the group varies with
constantly changing conditions.
12

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MENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

Authorities on mental diseases have estimated that the number of
mental defectives in a community usually approximates the number
of insane. On this basis the number in the District of Columbia
would he between 1,400 and 1,500. The percentage of mental
defectives needing custodial treatment, however, would not be so
large as among the insane. According to estimates based on findings
of various inquiries in the United States and in other countries, the
798 individuals reported during the course of this investigation as
mentally defective represent a very conservative proportion of the
total population of the District of Columbia. This enumeration was
made for the purpose of discovering the number of persons in need
of institutional treatment; and the number reported, allowing for
the margin of error in omission and inclusion, is probably a fair
representation of the number in the District who should have custo
dial care. (See table, pp: 9, 10.)
The data concerning children of ordinary school age— 6 to 15 years,
inclusive—are naturally more complete than for very young children
or adults. Those under 6 years would not come to public attention
except in cases in which family conditions are such that the care of
children who are mentally and physically defective becomes an
unbearable burden. The children of the ages of 6 to 15 years too
defective to attend school were difficult to locate for the same reasonAdults, especially adult men, unless they have become inmates of
penal or other institutions or have become a burden to their families,
would not naturally come to the attention of physicians and social
workers who contributed the. information contained in this report.
The situation in regard to mentally defective women of child-bearing
age is somewhat different, a larger proportion of adult females being
discovered on account of the public recognition of the danger of
this class.
There is a very striking increase in the number of feeble-minded
in the 9 to 11 age group, while the 12 to 14 age group is very much
larger than any preceding. This is explainable by the fact that it is
only after extended attempts at training that positive assertions in
regard to mental defect can be made. Experts on the subject
claim that it is difficult to determine the mental condition of a child
younger than 12 years. After the age of 14 years there is a steady
decline in the number of each age group, due to the lack of informa
tion concerning those not in school.
Data were secured concerning 534 white and 264 colored mental
defectives. The population o f the District of Columbia, according
to the census of 1910, is 331,069, of which 94,446 are colored. The
colored residents of the District thus comprise 28.5 per cent of the
total population and 33.1 per cent of the mental defectives concerning
whom information was secured. Information concerning colored

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M EN TAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

mental defectives is incomplete because there are no institutions for
them at present, therefore no waiting lists, and apparently there is
less familiarity with their condition. Attendance officers report dif
ficulty in enforcing the compulsory-education law because the colored
families move frequently and are often impossible to locate. The
table (pp. 9, 10) covering the enumeration of mental defectives in the
District brings out strikingly the lack of provision for any degree of
proper care for colored mental defectives.
Information vas obtained concerning 305 white males and 229
white females. The smaller number of females reported is probably
accounted for by the fact that mothers often keep their defective
daughters in the home, both because of the danger they may en
counter outside and because the girls can assist in the household
tasks. The boys can not be kept in so easily, thus coming to the
attention of neighbors and others.
It is comparatively easy to get information concerning the lower
grades of the mental defectives— the idiots and imbeciles. They are
in general placed in institutions so far as accommodation is provided.
The situation is different with regard to the high-grade mental defec
tives, the so-called morons. Their defectiveness does not generally
become known until they have committed some depredation or have
given evidence of moral delinquency.

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SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
PROVISION FOR MENTAL DEFECTIVES.

The District of Columbia has no institution for mental defectives.
Since 1902 Congress has made separate appropriations to the Board
of Children’s Guardians for the care of feeble-minded children under
their guardianship or referred to them. White children are main
tained in training schools at Vineland, N. J., Elwyn, Pa., and Falls
Church, Va. Colored children are boarded out in private homes.
NUMBER OF MENTAL DEFECTIVES.

Of the 798 discovered cases of mental defect, 428 are at large in
the community, 249 are inmates of institutions not especially designed
for the care of mental defectives, 97 are in training schools for the
feeble-minded outside of the District, 24 are boarded out in family
homes under the supervision of the Board of Children’s Guardians.
Fifty-four per cent of the total number listed are neither in institu
tions nor un der the supervision of public authorities. This percentage
would undoubtedly be higher if the enumeration of mental defectives
in the District were entirely accurate. Proper care is taken of only
12 per cent of the total number.
Among the mental defectives enumerated is a considerable num
ber reported as being epileptic also. No attempt has been made to
classify these, as the number is necessarily very incomplete and in
cludes only the epileptics primarily considered mentally defective.
Besides these there is a very important class of epileptics who are
normal between seizures, but who are none the less in need of custodial
treatment and an opportunity for training. The epileptic patients
of the Government Hospital for the Insane are not included in this
report, as the greater number of them are insane. The population
of the District of Columbia probably does not warrant the creation
of a separate institution for epileptics. Insane epileptics could be
cared for in a colony connected with the Government Hospital for
the Insane. It is necessary, however, to make proper custodial pro
vision for epileptics who are normal between seizures and those who
are mentally defective.
AGES OF MENTAL DEFECTIVES.

Of the 798 mental defectives enumerated in this report, 272 are
under the age of 15 years; 207 are between 15 and 20 years, inclusive;
253 are between 21 and 45 years, inclusive; and 66 are over 45 years.
A striking fact revealed is that the greater number of persons now

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M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

in institutions are older people rather than children of the ages
when training would be profitable. This is due to the character of
the institutions, the limited accommodations, and the necessarily
long residence. Only one-fourth of the children under 15 years of
age are in institutions, as compared with two-thirds of the mental
defectives of 21 years of age and over.
A comparison of the relative number of males and females over
and under the age of 20 years reported as mental defectives shows a
larger percentage of boys between 12 and 20 years (45 per cent of the
boys and 38 per cent of the girls), and a predominance, of women
over the age of 20 years (36 per cent of the men and 45 per cent of
the women). This may be due to the different kinds of delinquency
and the ages at which manifested. Of those enumerated, 207, or 26
per cent, are women between the ages of 15 and 45 years, the child
bearing period.
MENTAL DEFECTIVES IN NONAPPROPRIATE INSTITUTIONS.

Of the mental defectives in institutions not specially designed for
their care, 73 are inmates of reformative institutions, hospitals, and
homes for dependents, and 176 are in the Government Hospital for
the Insane, having been sent there for protection because there is no
other place for them. The Board of Children’s Guardians boards
out 24 colored children in private homes.
The presence of mental defectives in institutions not designed for
them is detrimental to their own welfare, since they can not be given
the training and mode of living their condition requires, and is a
grave disadvantage to others for whom the institutions are adapted.
As-to the colored children boarded out in family homes, it can hardly
be doubted that in the end a properly equipped institution would be
a safer and more economical method of caring for them.
Beyond question, the Government Hospital for the Insane should
not be compelled to care for the feeble-minded. Youthful mental
defectives needing training and custodial care are out of place in a
hospital. They are a burden upon it, and it is unfair to demand
from a hospital the facilities for industrial training needed for the
feeble-minded. The records of the Government Hospital for the Insane
show 176 inmates classed as “ idiots, imbeciles, and feeble-minded.”
The presence of feeble-minded persons, whether adults or children, in
the wards of the hospital often involves unnecessary suffering for
both the feeble-minded and the insane and in justice to either class
should not be permitted. Some of these people have lived in the
institution a lifetime, and the hospital has protected them and soci
ety; but no hospital for the insane should be asked to do this work.
One of the feeble-minded inmates is a woman now about 72 years
of age. She was first admitted to the institution in 1855, at the age

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M EN TAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

of 12 years, and, with the exception of a few years when her stay was
intermittent, has lived there constantly. This woman has been pro
vided with shelter and care and protected from helpless motherhood
that would have involved the community in unending expense. On
the other hand, she has been unnecessarily subjected to the restraint
and conditions surrounding the insane. Had she been from child
hood in an institution in which she could have received the training
and education her mental condition made possible, she would have
spent the years of her institutional life (almost 60) in useful occupa
tion that not only would have made her happier but would also have
yielded some return to society.
The records of the institution show a surprisingly large number of
young children. It is safe to assume that the circumstances in the
case of those patients were such that institutional care was an extreme
necessity. A mere statement of the ages at which many of the present
inmates were admitted shows what the home pressure must have
been. Nine of the inmates are now under 15 years of age, 2 of them
being 5 and 8 years of age, respectively; 24 of the present inmates
were admitted when they were under 15 years of age, 2 of them at
the age of 5, 2 at 6, and 4 at 9 years of age.
The advanced ages of a large number of the inmates, the length of
time they have been kept in the institution, and ages at commitment
indicate that the authorities feel the necessity for custodial care of
both males and females beyond the ages specified by some States.
Of the inmates at the time of the investigation classified as imbe
ciles, idiots, and feeble-minded, 42 per cent were over the age of 40
years; 40 of these are 41 to 50 years of age, 25 are 51 to 60 years
of age, 8 are 61 to 70 years, and 1 is 75 years of age.
Confinement in an institution apparently has proved to be neces
sary for the proper care of the mentally defective individual as well
as for the protection of society. Following are some instances of
extended confinement in the institution: A colored girl, classed as an
idiot, was admitted at the age of 6 years and has been an inmate
19 years. A white boy, an imbecile, was admitted at the age of 9,
20 years ago, and another boy of the same description, admitted at
the age of 12, has been in the institution 29 years. An imbecile
colored girl, admitted at the age of 12, has been cared for 41 years,
and 2 other imbecile colored girls, admitted when 14, have been
inmates 18 and 21 years. An imbecile white boy, admitted when 16,
has been an inmate 25 years; an imbecile white girl, admitted at 17,
for 32 years; and another imbecile white boy, admitted at 17, for 20
years. An imbecile white boy, 18 years of age when admitted, has
been in the institution 40 years. Three imbecile colored boys,
admitted when they were 19, have been in the institution 29, 13, and
12 years, respectively, and a white boy of the same age for 20 years.
88398°— 15—

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M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

A colored girl, 2 colored boys, and 2 white girls, all classed as imbe
ciles and admitted when they were 20, have been in the institution
14, 16, 20, 22, and 26 years, respectively.
MENTAL DEFECTIVES ATTENDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND AT HOME.

There are in the District several atypical schools. These schools
are designed to give special attention to children who are subnormal
or are backward for one reason or another. Many children are so
defective that they can not be cared for at all in this way, and many
now in the schools constitute a menace to the other pupils. One
hundred and thirty-nine children in the regular and atypical schools
were reported as being so defective mentally as to need institutional
care. Thirty-three others were found to be too defective to attend
school, and this number is undoubtedly too low, as these cases are
difficult to trace; 20 feeble-minded children under 6 were discovered,
many of them physically deformed; 181 persons over 15 were stay
ing at home, neither attending school nor, except in a few cases,
engaging in any form of remunerative labor or other occupation.
The condition of those not cared for in institutions is illustrated by
the cases cited at the end of this report.
NEED FOR UNIFORM STANDARD OF EXAMINATION.

In making this study no attempt has been made to discriminate
between various methods of determining mental status, but state
ments of physicians, teachers, and others having considerable contact
with the problem have been accepted. In determining who shall be
admitted to an institution for the feeble-minded, it is necessary that
there should be some standard method of ascertaining mental status.
The method of such determination is a matter that requires careful
consideration. It is necessary to decide whether there should be an
official examining board, as for the insane, or a commission on which
psychologists and physicians are represented, or some other method
of examination. There is now no recognized standard of determina
tion.
MENTAL DEFECTIVES NEEDING INSTITUTIONAL CARE.

This enumeration is not based upon a scientific study of the mental
and social conditions of the individuals reported as possible subjects
for an institution. In view of this fact, and because of ever-changing
family circumstances, it is impossible to specify the exact number to
be provided for. The following figures, however, for the purpose of
rough approximation, may be taken as indicative of the situation.
Of the 798 enumerated, it is plain that the 308 persons in the three
training schools, the Government Hospital for the Insane, the Home
for the Aged and Infirm, and boarded out by the Board of Children’s
Guardians are of a class which authorities recognize as needing the
care of special institutions. The training schools are overcrowded.

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M EN TAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

It is always a question whether accommodation can be secured for the
children from the District of Columbia, and there is no economy in
thus sending the children abroad for care. Sixty-two individuals were
reported as being mentally defective inmates of various reformatories
and philanthropic institutions. These institutions do not provide
the kind of environment and training adapted to mental defectives,
and the work for which they were intended is handicapped by the
presence of this class. It is possible that a scientific test of all the
inmates of these and other institutions would reveal a large number
which should be added to the fist of mental defectives. The 139
children in atypical and other schools reported as needing institutional
care have been under the observation of their teachers long enough
and have been tested sufficiently to make it probable that they
should be classed as proper institutional cases. To these should be
added 36 reported by teachers as former pupils. Over 100, mainly
children, were reported by physicians as living at home but being in
need of institutional care.
In making an estimate of the probable number to be provided for
in an institution designed for the care and treatment of mental
defectives, it must be borne in mind that besides the cases discovered
in this investigation there are a considerable number of individuals
in need of custodial treatment concerning whom no report has been
secured. It is also necessary to consider that some inmates of nonappropriate institutions, particularly persons of advanced age, properly
might be left where they now are, and that all of those designated
as needing custodial care would not be placed in an institution no
matter what the conditions of commitment might be. Although
many of those enumerated would no doubt be found to be properly
cared for in their own homes without detriment, a surprisingly large
number of parents who were visited expressed themselves as eager
to have custodial care provided for their children, either because the
burden was too great or for the sake of having the children properly
safeguarded. Many who had been successful in their efforts to pro
vide for mentally defective children were fearful of what would happen
when they were no longer able to do so.
It is necessary in making plans for the proposed institution to allow
for the fact that the number of inmates will increase as the institution
becomes better established and as the public becomes familiar with
its purposes and the value of its work to those cared for and to
society. It has been said that the presence in a community of any
specified type of defectives becomes apparent only when accommoda
tions are provided for the care of this particular class. Without
question this will be found to be the situation in the case of mental
defectives and particularly of epileptics. The presence of the insti
tution will reveal needs that do not now come to fight.

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REASONS FOR SEGREGATION AND ASSUMPTION BY THE
STATE OF CARE OF MENTAL DEFECTIVES.

The past few decades have witnessed a remarkable change in
public attitude toward mental defectives and progress in methods of
treatment. Instead of being regarded as an individual misfortune,
mental defect has come to be recognized as a destructive social force.
The idea is now generally accepted that custodial care should he
provided for mental defectives for their own safeguarding and for
the protection of society, and that they should be given whatever
training their mental condition makes possible.
The reasons for segregation of mental defectives and assumption
of their care by the public may be summarized as follows:
BURDEN ON THE FAMILY.

A very large number of mentally defective children and adults who
are so deficient that they are unable to earn their own living belong
in families on the border line of poverty, barely able to be self-sup
porting under normal conditions. Many of the mentally defective
are also seriously handicapped physically. A member of the family
unable to care for himself may consume the time of one who might
otherwise be a wage earner, and pauperization results from this
unnatural burden. A mentally defective child in a family demands
a large share of the energy of the mother and not only interferes with
the training of the other children but exercises a demoralizing influ
ence on the family life.
HANDICAP TO SCHOOL SYSTEM.

The presence of mentally defective children in regular and special
grades is a serious handicap to the training of the other children,
taking an undue proportion of the attention of the teacher and
resulting often in moral contamination. In the course of this
investigation numerous instances were encountered illustrating the
seriousness of this situation. Children who should be in atypical
schools and would profit by their training there are kept out by their
parents because of the presence in the schools of very defective
children.
DANGER TO SOCIETY.

The danger to society of the mentally defective woman of child
bearing age is easily demonstrated and generally recognized. A more
intensive study than has yet been made would be necessary in order
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MENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

to prove the comparative danger to society of the adult male who
is mentally defective, but it is apparent from recent writings on this
subject that the generally accepted idea of the proportionally slight
menace of the adult male is being challenged. Certainly the records
of penal institutions, juvenile courts, and jails provide testimony on
the danger of the antisocial instincts of mentally defective adolescents.
The connection between mental defect and delinquency has been
demonstrated through studies' made by reformatories and penal
institutions and courts handling juvenile offenders. It is generally
agreed that a considerable proportion of the inmates of penal institu
tions would be pronounced defective if examined by alienists. This
proportion increases very decidedly among old offenders, indicating
the danger to society of attempting reformation in the ordinary way
where the mental condition makes it impossible. The number of
mental defectives among recidivists emphasizes the need of discover
ing mental defect early in the careers of delinquents and segregating
them permanently for their own welfare and for the protection of
society.
Studies of the subject and experiments in custodial care have
proved the necessity of adopting measures looking toward the pre
vention of the propagation of mental defectives. Authorities agree
in their estimates that probably two-thirds of our mental defectives
are so through inheritance. The British Royal Commission on the
Care and Control of the Feeble-minded determined, as the result of
the evidence gathered, that feeble-mindedness is in a great number
of instances an inheritance, and that the prevention of parentage
by feeble-minded persons would tend largely to diminish the number
of such persons in the population. Dr. Walter E. Femald, superin
tendent of the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-minded, makes a
statement that from 60 to 80 per cent of the cases of feeble-minded
ness are of direct inheritance. Dr. Henry H. Goddard, of the Vineland (N. J.) Training School, found that one or both parents of 65
per cent of the children in the training school were actually feeble
minded.
Studies of family records have shown the results of transmission
of mental defect from one generation to another. Current news
items abound in details of atrocious crimes whose character indicates
that they were committed by persons mentally unsound and of
offenses against the law for which the perpetrators, because of their
mental condition, can not be held legally responsible. By means of
segregating mental defectives it is possible to cut off at the source a
large proportion of degeneracy, pauperism, and crime. It is through
prevention that the largest benefits will accrue.

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M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

POSSIBILITY OF TRAINING.

While it is impossible to supply missing mentality through any
course of training, many individuals who are deficient mentally may
be made useful to themselves and society if they can be trained under
proper conditions difficult to secure in the home or ordinary school.
They may be taught to care for themselves properly and to feel an
interest in sharing the work of the community. The training must
be largely manual, fitting them for work around the household,
farm, and shop. Farm colonies and industrial institutions have
proved that mental defectives in some cases may be made selfsupporting, a condition which not only relieves society of the burden
of their care but turns their energies from injurious and morbid
channels into useful and happy ones.

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EXTENT OF STATE PROVISION FOR MENTAL DEFECTIVES.

Thirty-four States have provided institutions for the care of mental
defectives, accommodating altogether approximately 25,000 persons.
The number of patients cared for by each State runs from less than
100 in five States, to more than 3,000 in New York and Pennsylvania
institutions. Ten States have between 1,000 and 2,000 inmates in
institutions for the mentally defective, and the remainder from 100 to
500. In going over reports of State institutions, we almost invariably
find the statement that the institutions are overcrowded and that
there is entirely inadequate provision made for the feeble-minded.
Ten States have provided for institutions designed entirely' for
women, or have recognized the necessity for segregation of women of
child-bearing age by the specific inclusion under the admission rules
of women through the age of 45 years. In many States where there
is no stated age limit, special attention is paid to women who because
of their mental defect are unsafe if left at large.
In over half of the States no age limitations for admission are
specified in the law relating to the institutions for mental defectives.
Following are the ages at which patients m aybe admitted in various
States: New Hampshire, males, 3 to 21; females, over 3 years;
Nebraska, over 5 years; Iowa, 5 to 46 years; Oklahoma, males, 5 to
16; females, over 5 years; Vermont, 5 to 21 years; Colorado, 5 to 20
years; Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wyoming, over 6 years;
Missouri, 6 to 45 years; Indiana, males, 6 to 16; females, 6 to 45
years; Montana, 6 to 21 years; Kentucky, 6 to 18 years; New Jersey
and Virginia, 12 to 45 years.
,
The Wyoming statutes relating to the care of the feeble-minded
and epileptic of the State give a comprehensive statement of the
generally accepted modern idea of the problem:
The object of said institution [home for the feeble-m inded and epileptics] sba.11 be
to provide b y all proper and feasible means, and intellectual, moral and physical
training of that unfortunate portion of the com m unity who have been born, or b y
disease, have become im becile or feeble-minded or epileptic, and b y a judicious and
w ell adapted course of training, management and treatment, to ameliorate their con
dition, and to develop as m uch as possible their intellectual faculties and physical
health, and reclaim them from their unhappy condition, and fit them as far as possible
for future usefulness in society.

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(Comp. Stat. of W yom ing, 1910, sec. 493.)
23

KIND OF INSTITUTION ADAPTED TO THE CARE AND
TREATMENT OF MENTAL DEFECTIVES.

The newer State institutions for mental defectives have followed
the colony plan of organization, combining a custodial department,
training school, industrial department, and farm. The institutions
built during the past 20 years have adopted the cottage or detached
type of construction, allowing for classification according to age, sex,
mental and physical condition, and grade of inmates. It is to be noted
that the larger States are now providing separate institutions for
epileptics, for children, and for adult women.
Owing to the relatively small population of the District of Colum
bia, it is out of the question to provide separate institutions for the
different types of mental defectives. Provision is needed for children
and adults, for those whom it is possible to train for some form of
useful work, and for those physically handicapped or so defective
mentally that they must have purely custodial care. Not only the
various grades of mental defectives, but certain epileptics need care
and protection. The institution should be large enough to provide
the necessary room for all these classes, allowing for proper separation
of white and colored, male and female. A large tract of land must
be provided in order to allow for necessary classification. Again, the
acreage should be large enough so that when future development is
necessary the District will have the land needed for expansion.
The buildings should be planned in such a way as to admit of
economical adaptation to future development and changing needs.
Costly construction is both unnecessary and undesirable. The great
diversity of needs of the various inmates—custodial care, mental and
moral training, farm work, and industrial occupations— calls for an
institution composed of many units, forming one central organization.
In an institution of this kind it is particularly essential to provide
work suitable for the able-bodied boys and men. This class is provided
for by the establishment of farm colonies as adjuncts to the training
schools and custodial departments. In establishing a farm colony
ample acreage, rather than land already prepared for cultivation, is
now held to be the most important consideration for its success.
Certain of the most progressive American institutions for feeble
minded are now successfully developing farm colonies on rough,
uncleared land. The work of clearing land, hewing timber, con
struction of necessary farm buildings, and all the labor involved in
preparing land for agricultural purposes, provides useful and remunera
tive occupation.
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M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

Among instances of farm colony development may be mentioned
the Templeton colony of the Massachusetts School for the Feeble
minded, Letchworth Village, in New York, and the farm colony con
nected with the Vineland (N. J.) Training School.
The Massachusetts School for the Feeble-minded is one of the
oldest institutions in the country, embodying in itself a history of
American methods of dealing with the feeble-minded. The school
at Waverley, with its adjunct, the farm colony at Templeton, is a
type of public institution that has accumulated valuable experience
in methods of providing training and employment for the various
types of inmates.
The Sixty-Sixth Annual Report of the Trustees of the Massachu
setts School for the Feeble-minded (1913) describes the institution
at Waverley as follows:
The plan of detached and separate departments greatly facilitates the proper classi
fication of our inmates according to age and mental and physical condition and helps
us to secure to each inmate the consideration of individual wants and needs so hard
to get in a large institution where the inmates are massed in one huge building.
A s we are now arranged, our inmates are classified as follows: A t the girls’ dormitory
are the girls of school grade; at the boys’ dormitory and the boys’ hom e are boys of
the school department; at the north building are the adult males of the lower grade,
the cases requiring much personal care and attention; at the west building are the
young and feeble boys and the females of the lower grade; at the girls’ home

are the adult females who are in good bodily health, many of them graduates of our
school department, and all of whom are em ployed in the various domestic depart
ments of the institution; at the farmhouse and the east building are the adult males
who are regularly employed in the farm work. In the hospital are the feeble girls
and those acutely ill. Thus we have divided our institution into 11 comparatively
small families, each with distinctive and peculiar needs, and all under the same
general management. This plan retains all the benefits of a small institution and
secures the manifest advantages of a large one.

The following is an extract from the Report of the British Royal
Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-minded (1904),1
giving the impression of the commissioners as to the situation in the
United States:
Our members [the com m issioners who visited the United States] were struck b y
the originality and directness of the methods adopted in several of these institutions
with a view to stimulating the activity of the perceptive powers of the inmates, and
also b y the freedom from cramping and unnecessary regulations which enabled the
managers to apply their minds to new experiments in education and organization.
T hey were also impressed with the large size of the American institutions, some of which
contained from 500 to 2,000 inmates. This seems to them to secure proper classi
fication, the general plan being that each institution contains three departments, and
it is perfectly easy to transfer an inmate from one to another. These departments are
the Custodial care for the lowest grade (i. e ., idiots), the school for the higher grade
children, and the Industrial for the higher grade adults. These departments are en
tirely separate and often at some little distance one from the other, though under the
same central management. Our members are of opinion that the large size of the insti
tution tends not only to better classification b u t to greater economy. T h ey also point
out that the provision for the feeble-minded in Am erica is on very economical lines.

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i Vol. VIH, p. 297.

ECONOMIC ASPECT OF THE PROBLEM.
INVESTMENT IN LAND, BUILDINGS, AND EQUIPMENT.

The investment in lands and buildings for State institutions for the
mentally defective varies greatly. Much of this variation, of course,
is due to the difference in the number of inmates provided for and
also to the difference in the price of land in the various localities.
A considerable part of this capital outlay represents investment in
farm lands and equipment, the returns from which help maintain
the institution, representing, therefore, an appropriation for part of
the maintenance covering a large number of years.
The State institutions of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, one of the
Massachusetts institutions (Wrentham State School), and one of the
New York institutions (Syracuse State Institution for Feeble
minded Children), have from 400 to 600 inmates.1 The investment
for buildings, grounds, and equipment in these institutions varies
from $351,000 in Kansas to $550,000 in Missouri. The investment
at Syracuse, however, ($462,784) does not'include equipment.
In the State Custodial Asylum for Feeble-minded Women, at
Newark, N. Y., there are 852 inmates, and the investment for build
ings, grounds, and equipment amounts to about $438,117.
The State institutions of California, Michigan, and Wisconsin and
the semiprivate institution at Elwyn, Pa., have each about 1,000
inmates. The value of buildings and grounds, including equipment
in all except the training school at Elwyn, ranges from $708,197 in
Michigan to $838,737 in Wisconsin.
Dr. Fernald, in his History of the Treatment of Feeble-minded,
says:
T h e experience of these institutions

has been that plain, substantial,

detached buildings can be provided for the custodial cases at an expense of not
over $400 per capita.

These detached departments are generally supplied with

sewerage, water supply, laundry, storeroom, and often heating facilities from a cen
tral plant, at relatively small expense compared w ith the cost of installation and
operation of a separate plant for each division.

COST OF MAINTENANCE.

The average annual per capita cost in 30 State institutions for
which figures were obtainable was $192. The cost in the various
institutions ranged from $97 to $300 a year for each inmate. How
ever, it must be recognized that, owing to the different methods of
bookkeeping, great allowance must be made in comparing costs.
1 Report of Bureau of Education on Statistics of Schools for the Feeble-minded, 1912-13.
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M E N T A L D E TEC TIV ES I N

T H E DISTR ICT CE C O L U M B IA .

The apparently low cost in many of the institutions is due to the
saving in cost of food by the use of the produce of farms operated
by the institutions— the work being done by adult inmates— and the
earnings from the sale of surplus farm products. Many institutions
also have industrial departments in which they manufacture much
of the necessary wearing apparel and house furnishings.
According to figures published by the Board of Charities of the
District of Columbia the per capita cost of maintenance of mental
defectives in the various institutions, including current expenditures
and salaries, is as follows:
Institution.
Government Hospital for the Insane........................................................
Home for the Aged and Infirm........................................................ "
National Training School for Girls................................... ........
National Training School for Boys.....................................................
Industrial Home School...................................................................
Bruen Home (rate to Board of Children’s Guardians)........... ........................
Pennsylvania Training School (rate to Board of Children’s Guardians)
Virginia Training School (rate to Board of Children’s Guardians)..
Training School at Vineland (rate to Board of Children’s Guardians)..

Per capita
cost.
• $240
153
286
233
188
120
250
250
250 to 300

There are 31 individuals reported in institutions providing tem
porary shelter mainly. It is fair to assume that the community
spends at least $200 a year for each of these persons, as many of them
are in hospitals where the cost greatly exceeds this. Figuring the
cost for the number of inmates in the various nonappropriate insti
tutions at the time of the investigation according to the above per
capita figures, the total cost for maintenance for a year would be
approximately $56,371. The Board of Children’s Guardians reports
expenditures for the year 1914 of $21,572.64 for the care of feeble
minded in the three training schools and those boarded out. The
total annual expense for the 370 mental defectives cared for in insti
tutions or under public supervision is therefore approximately
$77,943. This does not include the amount spent by private charity
nor the cost of training in the public schools. The annual per capita
cost of training in the atypical schools is given as $74.10 and in the
public schools as $32.62.
The present annual per capita expenditure for mental defectives
of the District o f Columbia boarded in institutions or under the
supervision of public authorities is approximately $211. More than
half of the number of defectives in institutions are inmates of the
Government Hospital for the Insane. These patients do not in
general need the care of expert physicians and the expensive type
of custodial buildings. The per capita cost of maintenance in this
and other nonappropriate institutions is undoubtedly higher than it
would be in an institution of the kind proposed. In considering per
capita cost of maintenance it is important to note that the $192
annual per capita quoted above as being the average for 30 insti-

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M E N TA L DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

tutions represents expenditures in institutions most of which are
located in northern States, where the rigors of the climate make the
expense for fuel and clothing greater than would be required in a
milder climate.
ECONOMY OF ADEQUATE PROVISION.

Investigations of mental defectives have proved conclusively that
the burden is increased indefinitely by the failure to prevent the
transmission of defects that are known to be heritable. It has
been found that mentally defective women are in a very large number
of cases the mothers of illegitimate children, and that these children
have to be cared for by the public because of mental defects or
antisocial instincts. The record of one family charted by the research
branch of the New Jersey Department of Charities and Corrections
illustrates the cost of lack of prevention. An imbecile woman
married a moron. They had 3 feeble-minded childreu, the records
of 2 of whom were not obtained. The third, frequently an inmate
of an almshouse, had 6 illegitimate children, of whom 4 died in
infancy. One of her feeble-minded daughters had 2 feeble-minded
children and another child who died in infancy. Her other daughter
had 10 feeble-minded children, 7 of whom were cared for in alms
houses or by State authorities, 2 of the others dying when very
young. In three generations this one imbecile woman had 17 feeble
minded progeny whose records were obtainable, 10 of whom were
cared for in almshouses at times but not permanently segregated.
Besides this immediate fine the family connections of this woman
include 259 feeble-minded persons in five generations, the majority
of whom were dependent on the public for maintenance. Many simi
lar instances are recorded by State investigating bodies and research
departments of institutions. The social economy that must result
from the prevention of transmission of defect can not be estimated
in figures, but it is hardly to be questioned that the investment would
result in savings compounded with each generation.
Quoting from an editorial in the Survey of March 2, 1912, “ The
greatest need of all is for more institutional care. When this has been
brought about in every State we shall witness a great gaol delivery
even more significant than that which has followed the discontinuance
of imprisonment for debt, or the abolition of the saloon, or the
introduction of the probation and parole system. Care for the
feeble-minded adequately for a generation and expenditures for
prisons, reformatories, police, fires, hospitals, and almshouses will
be enormously reduced, or, what is even better, expenditures for
such purposes will be accomplishing desirable tasks which we have
not yet had the courage to undertake. Biology and economics unite
in demanding that the strains of feeble-mindedness shall be eliminated
by the humane segregation of the mentally defective.

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APPENDIX.

CLASSIFIED INSTANCES OF MENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FOR W H O M INSTITUTIONAL
CARE IS DESIRABLE.

The following pages contain concrete illustrations of various phases
of the problem of mental defect. These hundred cases represent only
a few of the large number of children and adults for whom at present
no provision is made. No attempt has been made to present all the
information that might have been obtained in regard* to these cases.
Records of all of the 798 cases enumerated, as well as a large number
of others reported to the bureau since this report was prepared, are on
file in the Children’s Bureau.
The attempt was made to classify these instances according to the
nature of the problem involved, but it is obvious that there is much
overlapping. It will be found that each individual mentioned suffers
from many of these factors, not from one only. For example, the child
who is here classed as a delinquent is also found to be of defective
stock, the child of a morally delinquent mother, and too defective
to attend school, etc. This intertwining of bad conditions, evil
inheritances, weaknesses, and antisocial tendencies characterizes the
problem of mental defectives. All that society can do is to provide
the training and care that will save them from suffering from the
effects of their misfortune and from contributing to the cycle of defec
tiveness, dependency, and delinquency.
I. MENTAL DEFECT AS A CAUSE OF DEPENDENCY.
No! 59! F e m a l e ! ^ 1w h ite} Husband and Wlfe*
Married in 1907. The records of the Board of Children’s Guardians show that the man
was reported to them b y a judge as feeble-minded in 1898, at the age of 15. H e was
sent to the school for feeble-m inded at E lw yn , P a., bu t ran away after a month and
a half. Has been working irregularly since then.
The woman’s mother, who came from a wealthy fam ily, was epileptic and died in
an insane asylum . She left considerable money to the fam ily, but the father, a
gambler and swindler, soon squandered it. W h en the daughter was quite young a
physician, believing her epileptic, recommended that she be placed in an institution.
H is advice was not followed. T h e fam ily m oved to Washington in 1904. T h e girl
was sent to work in a laundry, b u t was too incompetent to be kept. She applied for
admission at the Y ou n g W om en ’s Christian H om e, as her father and stepmother
abused her. Becom ing intimate with a wild, immoral girl, she left the hom e and
went to live near the arsenal. She again applied for admission to the hom e, b u t
could not be kept there on account of her unclean condition. In, January, 1906, she
applied to the Board of Charities, and was sent to the Florence Crittenton Mission,
where she gave birth to a stillborn child.
After leaving the mission she worked as a chambermaid in a hotel and soon married
a mentally defective m an, also em ployed there. For the next few years the records
of the Associated Charities concerning this couple and their offspring are voluminous.
The man lost his place a few days before h e was married and was unable to support
his wife. Sometimes his mother would let the couple stay at her house, and some-

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M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

times they rented a room; but the woman screamed and cursed and used vulgar lan
guage to such a degree that no one could keep them very long. Their rent was paid
b y a church for a considerable tim e. In M ay, 1908, the woman left her husband,
and soon after she and her stepmother had him arrested for improper conduct.
In July she went back to her husband. Shortly afterwards she was sent to the
Washington A sylu m Hospital, where a child was born. She was sent to this hospital
for the purpose of observation to determine whether she could be com m itted to the
Government Hospital for the Insane. T h e doctor pronounced her an im becile or
high-grade idiot. Various persons have made affidavits to the effect that she is insane,
but she has not been committed to the hospital, and her husband does not' wish her
to go there.
The husband has occasionally obtained a job, bu t never keeps it long. H e has
obtained a good deal of money through a story of a sick wife and b a b y. A lm ost all
the charitable organizations of the city seem to have had dealings with the fam ily
at one tim e or another. The fam ily are constantly m oving on account of nonpaym ent
of rent, have almost no furniture, and live in a very shiftless manner.
Of the five living children, a boy 6J years old is with the m a n ’s mother and sister,
but not y e t in school; a girl 5J years old, m entally defective, is in Washington C ity
Orphan A sylu m ; a boy, 3J years old, and two girls, 2| and
years old, are with the
parents. None of the children appear bright, and the girl 2J years of age is far from
normal.
,
The man is now working in the railroad yards, b u t it is said he loses about one-third
of his time on account of hernia. Neighbors state that the woman beats the children.
She is away from home most of the day, and for several weeks past the m an has hired
a colored woman to stay with the children.
During the eight years this couple have been married six children have been born
to them and the woman is again pregnant.
No. 591. Male, 18, colored.
Father deserted fam ily, and the five children were taken in charge b y the Board
of Children’s Guardians 11 years ago. This boy was placed in a boarding home and
later placed on trial for indenture, bu t his m ind was so defective that he could not
do much. H e was sent to school, b u t at 10 years of age had not learned his let
ters. H e was finally placed in the children’s temporary home as feeble-m inded, but
escaped in July, 1914, and is now at large. H e has secondary syphilis.
The mother is said to be m entally defective. T he oldest sister was sent to the
reform school, where she stayed until she reached her majority and was discharged.
The second sister had an illegitimate child, and was dishonest and untruthful. A n
older brother was sent to the Industrial H om e School, and ran away eight times.
A younger brother was also placed in the Industrial H om e School.
No. 368.’ F e m a le fb J w h ite . } H usband and WlfeNo. 369. Male, 8, white, their son.
Both mentally defective, as is also their son, 8 years of age. A girl 6 years old isthought to be defective, although she attends the regular school. T he bo y is in an
atypical school. Their second child was stillborn, and they lost a b a b y in the summer
of 1914.
The Associated Charities has a long record of the fam ily; the m an is continually
losing his job and always trying to borrow; the fam ily is dirty and shiftless. T hey
live in the basement of an old house and have scarcely an y furniture. T h e m an has
been in the hospital a number of times. T h e wife has been in the Florence Crittenton Mission for temporary shelter. The husband was sent to the Washington
A sylu m Hospital about a year ago; his trouble proved to. be syphilis; he is now
being treated at an eye, ear, and throat hospital. The m an’s parents are respectable
people, and live fairly comfortably. T h ey have helped the m an somewhat, bu t are
unable to continue doing so.
No. 655. Female, 25, colored.
Orphaned at an early age. W as found living with a woman who had a workhouse
record and was unfit to have the care of a child, and was placed in the Washington
A sylu m Hospital for mental observation in 1902. I t was decided she was not a suit
able case for the epileptic ward of the Government Hospital for the Insane. W as
placed in temporary home for children; when she became of age in 1907 she was trans
ferred to the feeble-m inded list of the Board of Children’s Guardians.

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M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

No. 578. Female, 32, colored.
Has had three illegitimate children. W as living in one small room with her mother,
brother, and her three children, in an indescribably filthy condition. T he children
were committed to the Board of Children’s Guardians in 1910 and the father ordered
to p ay $4 a month for their care. The oldest boy, almost 15 years of age, has been
p ut on probation b y the juvenile court. H e and his brother, aged 13, were kept in a
boarding home un til December, 1912, when they were placed for indenture.
No. 20. Female, 21, white.
E pileptic and m entally defective. Her father was placed in an insane asylum not
long after he was married, bu t improved and was allowed to leave. Several children
were born in the fam ily during the tim e he w as'at large. H e is now in the asylum
again. A n Associated Charities agent acquainted w ith the fam ily states that the
mother and three children are also defective, and it is said the fam ily has received
help from almost every almsgiving church and society in the city. T he girl had
epileptic seizures u p to the age of 14, when th ey ceased. Her left arm is paralyzed.
She ‘ ‘ runs around” with an im becile man who lives in the neighborhood.
No. 25. Male, 36, white.
Is able to work, bu t is a “ dope fien d ” as well as m entally defective, and has been
at the H om e for the Aged and Infirm for a year; is lik ely to remain there for life.

II. MENTALLY DEFECTIVE WOMEN WHO ARE MORALLY DELINQUENT.
No. 461. Female, 33, white.
This woman has been known to charity organizations since 1903, when she was
admitted to the hospital, where her baby was b o m . She was the widow of a man
said to have been feeble-m inded and who had died of tuberculosis a year or two pre
viously. B y him she had had three children, all of them now dead. She admits
she has led the life of a prostitute.
This woman has been in the Florence Crittenton Mission and in the Washington
A sylum Hospital several times. W h ile at the hospital in 1910, being treated for
syphilis, she m et a man who was being treated for tuberculosis, and when she told
him of her condition he agreed to marry her and take care of her. H e was a man
with a jail and workhouse record, an habitual drunkard w ith vile habits, and had
had tuberculosis for several years.
T h ey were married in March, 1910. Three months later she applied at the office
of the Associated Charities for assistance; she was terribly bruised from beatings b y
the drunken husband. T h e y have had two children; one died at birth, the other is
a ward of the Board of Children’s Guardians. Numerous attempts have been made
to place the woman in the Government Hospital for the Insane, where she was once
sent to await trial for insanity. Physicians testified that she was an im becile, with
the •mentality of a child of about 6 or 7 years, although she is now 33; that she was
unable to care for herself, and that she should be permanently segregated for her own
sake and the protection of society.
T h e woman of aims she has had nine children; all except one have died from neg
lect. Her husband is now in the tuberculosis hospital. T he woman has been in the
tuberculosis hospital for treatment, bu t refused to remain.
No. 102. Fem ale, 21, white.
Has two illegitimate children, 3 and 2 years old, respectively. W as sentenced to
360 days for nonsupport of child; youngest child a ward of the Board of Children’s
Guardians; older child adopted out from the foundling asylum. W om an was recently
arrested for being dressed in m an ’s clothing; she is now m jail awaiting sentence.
No. 76. Female, 19, white.
A t Florence Crittenton Mission with baby 1 month old. Has another child 2
years old, now cared for b y her mother. Both are illegitimate.

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M E N TA L DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
No. 75. Female, 26, white.

No home. Has illegitimate child 14 months old, born at Florence Crittenton Mis
sion; another illegitimate child, a boy of 5 years, is at St. Joseph’s Orphan A sylum .
H e is not normal.
No. 106. Fem ale, 30, white.
E pileptic. W as in Florence Crittenton Mission three years.
years old; boarded out.
'
N o . 643. Fem ale, 18, colored.

Has one child 2£

Has “ falling spells,” probably epilepsy. H ad an illegitimate child w hich died
about a year ago. W as married the, past summer.
No. 249. Fem ale, 19, white.
Has no parents.

Has illegitimate child 8 months old; is in service and is keeping

child.
No. 64. Fem ale, 35, white.
Now at Florence Crittenton Mission w ith 4-months-old baby, b u t th e y can not
keep her long. Habits unclean. Has a child 2 years old living w ith her sister m
Virginia. Comes from a good fam ily. Her sister has a m entally defective boy.
N o. 582! Fem ale, 33, colored.
Has had two illegitimate children, last one born June 2, 1913. A n older child is
in an institution in N ew Y ork City. Younger child is in charge of the Board of
Children’s Guardians.
No. 586. Fem ale, 2 8 ,-colored.
Is badly crippled. Haß had three illegitimate children; the first one is dead; the
second one’s whereabouts unknown. Her brother-in-law is reported to be the iatfier
of the third child, born in 1911; she is now at the Hom e for the Aged and Infirm.
No. 189. Fem ale, 22, white.
B adly in need of institutional care. A child, colored, was born in 1909 in Flor
ence Crittenton Mission and is now boarded out b y Board of Children’s Guardians
with colored fam ily. W om an now working in Bruen Hom e.
N o. 140. Female, 27, white.
Mother died when girl was a ba by. Has kept house for men since she was a small
girl
L ived w ith her brother in Langdon and there had a child b y him in 1911.
T h ey were threatened with arrest and came to W ashington, where her brother com
mitted suicide soon after.
No. 676. Fem ale, 35, white.
Crippled.

Two illegitimate children are being cared for b y her brother and sister.
No. 787. Fem ale, 30, white.

Paralytic and crippled. W as pronounced feeble-m inded b y a physician, taken
charge of b y Board of Children’s Guardians in 1896, and boarded out. In 1905, had
an illegitimate child whose father she claimed was the man in the fam ily keeping
her. This m an agreed to support both, b u t has since died. W om an now again
being boarded out b y Board of Children’s Guardians.
No. 649. Fem ale, 21, colored.
Epileptic. Girl’s mother had 15 or 18 children.
have had illegitimate children.

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T his girl and a younger sister

M EN TAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

No. 137. Female, 26, white.
Has had three illegitimate children, tw o of them now dead.
and has the third child w ith her.

W om an is in service

No. 237. Female, 24, white.
Han had two illegitimate children.

Her mother is thought to be m entally defective.

No. 639. Female, 28, colored.
V ery defective m entally. Has had three illegitimate children and is soon to have
a fourth. Lives with a man said to have a wife and children in the city. The three
children are boarded out b y the Board of Children’s Guardians.
No. 799. Fem ale, 35, white.
Taken into a fam ily from the foundling asylum when quite young; afterwards sent
to Industrial Hom e School. W h en about 16 years of age was sent to the Bruen Hom e
and later gave birth to child which died soon afterwards. L ived at the Bruen Hom e
for several years as a helper. Appears idiotic. W as married during the past winter.

m . CHILDREN TOO DEFECTIVE TO ATTEND SCHOOL.
No. 93. Male, 11, white
No. 94. Male, 13, white |Brothers.
H ave been in public school and are now in parochial school, bu t the principal says
it is impossible for them to learn. There are nine children in the fam ily; all but
these two appear normal. T h e fam ily have almost no furniture and the house is very
dirty. T h e children seen b y the visitor were dirty and ragged.
No. 479. Female, 10, white.
Attended a parochial school, bu t was so defective she could not be allowed to be
with the other children; would eat food from the garbage pails in preference to her
own lunch. Has recently been sent to the Government Hospital for the Insane.
No. 16. Female, 7, white.
Mongolian type of feeble-m inded. V ery defective; badly in need of institutional
care.
No. 371. Female, 16, white.
N ot now in school.
to attendance officer.

Her behavior has caused neighbors to report case frequently
T h e mother is also defective, and the father a “ dope fie n d .”
No. 534. Male, 15, colored.

Has been in Government Hospital for the Insane; can not read; can count and
make change. D id good work in chair caning and basketry when in an atypical
school; now working as an errand boy in a grocery store.
No. 181. Male, 12, white.
W as removed from Virginia Training School in July, 1914.
needs care; is a nuisance in the neighborhood.

Is an epileptic and

No. 285. Male, 16, white.
Paralyzed on left side. Never attended school; does not know the alphabet; sells
papers; lives with an aunt.
No. 541. Female, 9, colored.
Too defective m entally to go to school; the mother, a widow, is a day worker and
has to em ploy some one to care for the child while she is away.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

IV . C H IL D R E N IN S P E C IA L S C H O O L S T O O D E F E C T IV E T O B E N E F IT B Y
S U C H T R A IN IN G .
No. 539. Female, 14, colored.
In an atypical school; has no idea of what has been taught when the lesson is over.
A sister also defective.
No. 375. Female, 16, white.
H as attended an atypical school, bu t can not learn.
No. 572. Female, 7, colored.
M ental condition so bad she could not profit b y attendance at an atypical school.
No. 565. Female, 12, colored.
Goes to atypical school when older sister can take her, bu t m entally incapable of
benefiting b y school attendance; physically defective also.
No. 222. Male, 8, white.
A n atypical-school teacher says she is unable to teach the boy anything.
No. 219. Female, 14, white.
Im becile. Can not talk; grins when asked questions. W as kept in first grade of
regular school six years and then sent to an atypical school at the age of 13. D id not
know how to go u p or down stairs when she came to the atypical school, bu t has now
been taught to p u t u p one foot after the other.
No. 9. Female, 14, white.
E pileptic and feeble-m inded: _ Has been in an atypical school only a couple of
weeks. Uses bad language and is lik ely to demoralize the other children.
No. 228. Male, 14, white.
Teacher in atypical school reported that she felt she had been unable to instruct
him during the three years he had been in the school.
No. 338. Female, 13, white.
Plainly an institutional case. A t the age of 7, when she entered the atypical
school, she could not get u p or down without assistance. I t took three months to
get her fingers exercised so she could hold a pencil. Can now understand and answer
questions fairly well. Has a brother who is very defective.
No. 153. Male, 18, white.
Is about five years old m entally, although as large as a m an; attends atypical school.
V . M E N T A L D E F E C T IV E S W H O S E F A M IL IE S A R E U N A B L E T O P R O V ID E
P R O P E R C A R E.
No. 23. Male, 18, white.
This bo y and his brother, 16 years of age, also very defective, belong to a fam ily of
seven children, four of whom are living. Tw o older brothers are working. This boy
attended an atypical school for three years b u t could not learn and had a bad influence
over the other boys. Can do errands, b u t can do no work for w hich he could be paid.
H is mother thinks she can see some im provem ent in his condition. The 16-year old
bo y has never been to school. T h e two boys are a great care to their mother, who
would be glad of a place to p u t them where th ey could b e cared for and taught. The
fam ily is unable to pay full tuition, b u t could pay something. T h e y are in moderate
circumstances and have a neat home. T h e boys hang around the public school. T hey
are often annoyed b y the other children and are a menace to the neighborhood, b u t
the mother says she can not keep them in the house all the tim e.

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M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

No. 488. Male, 17, white.
W as unable to progress further than the fourth grade in school; has not been to school
for three years; can not keep a position; has one brother at the Virginia Training School;
two other brothers are normal. T h e fam ily are in comfortable circumstances, but the
mother worries constantly for fear of what he m ay do as a result of his uncontrollable
temper. H is parents would like to put him in an institution.
No. 427. Male, 9, white.
Appears perfectly normal for about two weeks each month, then gradually goes to
ieces and frequently goes away from home for two or three days; when found claims
e has eaten bread and m ilk taken from doorsteps and has slept in vestibules. Mother
would like to put him in an institution. H e has an aunt who is m entally defective—
No. 64.
N o. 754. Male, 10, colored.

Can not stand or walk and his speech is lim ited to the words “ bread ” and “ water,”
and a sound that is understood to be his sister’s nam e; can not feed him self; sits in a
chair and works his arms and legs spasmodically and laughs; has just been returned
from Washington A sylu m Hospital, as nothing could be done for him there; mother is
a widow and works out; she has two other children.
N o. 317. Male, 25, white.
Has never been able to attend school; mother spent one winter trying to teach him
his alphabet, b u t he does not know it now; does not do anything; parents are unable
to pay for institutional care, although th ey could p ay part; he is too old for existing
institutions. The mother is breaking down under the long strain, and the doctor has
said the son must b e put somewhere. H e has one sister who is normal.
N o. 741. Male, 38, colored.
Can not talk, b u t can feed him self; he can chop wood, b u t is not com petent to go
on errands. H e is boarded and cared for b y his brother.
N o. 194. Male, 34, white.

V ery m uch in need of institutional care; can not talk or be made to learn anything;
not in school.
No. 647. Male, 6, colored
N o. 648. M ale, 6, colored
Both boys are unable to walk or talk; fam ily very poor.
No. 412. Fem ale, 11, white.
W as in second grade of regular school; sent to atypical school, b u t has recently been
excluded from school b y the board of health. N o teacher w ill keep her because of
her bad habits. The mother is a “ dope fien d.”
N o. 82. Male, 15, white.
N o t in school; should be in an institution; father is said to be m entally defective.
N o. 425. Male, 20, white.
Harmless, b u t very defective m entally; helps at home and takes care of the b a b y ;
needs institutional care.
N o. 774. Female, 8, colored.
M entally incapable of ever attending school; could probably be taught to do hand
work; father is sickly and partially incapacitated for work; mother takes in washing.
There are nine other children.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

VI. DEFECTIVE DELINQUENTS DETRIMENTAL TO THE WELFARE OF
THE COMMUNITY.
No. 348. Male, 10, white.
Has been exam ined and declared to be in need of institutional care.
before the juvenile court for stealing.

H as been

N o. 30. Female, 18, white.
Mother is dead; there are nine children; older sister is in charge of hom e. This
girl is a good housekeeper and has a sweet disposition, bu t has bad influence over the
other children of the fam ily. A great problem to the father.
No. 303. Male, 14, white.
Orphan. Unable to study, bu t works well under direction; was boarded out with a
fam ily for two or three months, bu t was returned to an asylum in bad condition; a
great detriment to other children, who also worry him into a very nervous condition.
N o. 88. Fem ale, 8, white.
Attends an atypical school. W as assaulted when 7 years of age and is in constant
danger owing .to her mental condition.
N o. 505. M ale, 14, white.
Has attended an atypical school. This boy and a brother three years younger have
been in the Industrial H om e School; have also been before the juvenile court for
stealing. B oy has been in Children’s Hospital three times. The fam ily has been
helped for years b y public relief agencies. There apparently is insanity in the fam ily.
The father has been in hospital for observation, but a physician declared he was not
insane; he is an habitual drunkard; has been in the workhouse; his father is said to
have been insane at the tim e of his death, and a brother is insane at times. There are
five children in the fam ily; the baby is said to be abnormal.
N o. 300. Male, 25, white.
N ever learned to read or write. Has served sentence for larceny and has viciously
assaulted his mother.
No. 97. Male, 20, white.
Feeble-m inded and very immoral and has evil tendencies.
work at the age of 16. Now working.

W as doing fourth-grade

No. 358. Male, 19, white.
This boy was recently sent to the Hom e for the Aged and I nfirm because he would
not work and was considered an undesirable person to have at large. H e left after
having been there 11 days and now is wandering the streets. The fam ily does not
know where he is. The father deserted the fam ily three years ago; the mother is
em ployed in a factory. There are four children; the oldest girl is in the Industrial
Hom e School; the second girl is in the Pennsylvania Training School; and a boy is in
the National Training School.

VH. MENTAL DEFECTIVES WHO ARE ALSO PHYSICALLY DEFECTIVE.
No. 547. Male, 23, colored.
Epileptic. Unable to learn; some of the best physicians in W ashington and B alti
more have failed to improve his physical condition; has to be attended like a baby
at times.
No. 312. Male, 16, white.
E pileptic. Declared to be in a state of m ental deterioration and in need of special
institutional care.

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M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

N o. 627. Female, 10, colored.
Is blind and can not talk, b u t understands what is said to her; can not feed her
self or care for herself in anyw ay; has been boarded out b y the Board of Children’s
Guardians since she was a year and a half old.
No. 622. Male, 15, colored.
N o father; mother works out b y the day, and brother, 13 years old, is often kept
out of school to care for h im ; sometimes neighbors h elp ; partially paralyzed, b u t can
walk and understands what is said to h im . Does not dress himself and does not talk;
has idiotic expression; the home seems comfortable; no other children.
N o. 665. Fem ale, 11, colored.
B adly crippled; uses crutches; never attended school.
No. 149. M ale, 13, white.
No. 150. Male, 13, w h i t e ./rwms>
In an atypical school; these boys seem to have no control of their lim bs; they reel
down the steps as if they were drunk; they are brought to school in a wagon; another
brother slightly defective.
No. 781. Fem ale, 18, white.
Unable to walk or control her lim bs; has been two years in hospital; was sent to
the H om e for the Aged and Infirm three years ago.
No. 791. Fem ale, 12, w hite.
Very defective p hysically; can not make any intelligible signs nor indicate her
wants; is kept out of doors in an invalid chair during the d ay ; parents able to pro
vid e for her w hile th ey live.

V m . MENTALLY DEFECTIVE WOMEN LIKELY TO BECOME VICTIMS OF
IMPROPER TREATMENT.
No. 143. Fem ale, 20, white.
Has attended an atypical school and learned to write her name, b u t was withdrawn
b y her parents because girls in the school who were older and less defective taught
her undesirable things and m en spoke to her on the street; now staying at home.
No. 3. Fem ale, 17, white.
Has been in an atypical school, b u t can not go and come alone; she has given the
worker in charge of a playground a great deal of trouble; grown m en would hang
around the playground and cause_ annoyance u ntil the worker would be compelled
to take the girl hom e; her mother is dead.
No. 470. Female, 16, white.
Has been brought before the juvenile court for bad behavior on the street; she had
an Italian arrested, claiming he was the father of her child.
No. 790. Fem ale, 16, white.
This girl lives w ith her sister, bu t the latter can not restrain her and is unwilling to
keep her; she was found in the company of a man in Baltimore b y a deaconess and
sent to Sibley Memorial Hospital, where she remained three months, b u t was dis
missed from there, as she was not a hospital patient; the sister has since applied for
readmission for her, bu t was refused.
No. 460. Fem ale, 23, w hite.
The mother is dead; father a drunkard; she lived w ith married sister until turned
out because of her behavior and influence; would call men in from the street to intro
duce them to her nieces; she was sent b y the Board of Charities to Florence Crittenton Mission— for lack of a better place— after she had been arrested, having applied
for admission to a rooming house after m idnight.

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M ENTAL DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
No. 238. Female, 17, white.

Has attended an atypical school, bu t was removed b y parents because there was but
one other girl in the school and because sh e learned bad language from the boys; she
has a violent temper; her mother would be glad to p ut her in an institution, as she is
fearful of what m ay happen to her; the fam ily could pay something for her care.
No. 65. Fem ale, 21, white.
Has been too defective to attend school; unable to go about alone; parents are able
to care for her at present, bu t are constantly worried for fear of what m ay happen to her.
N o . 70. Female, 16, white.
T h e mother thinks it unwise for her to attend the atypical school, as she believes it
unsafe for her to go to and from school alone. Girl has been in Pennsylvania Train
ing School, bu t parents insisted on having her brought hom e. T h ey would be willing
to put her in an institution if there were one near enough for them to visit her.

IX. ADULTS WHO MIGHT HAVE PROFITED BY INSTITUTIONAL
TRAINING.
N o. 685. Male, 20, colored.
Has never been in school; should be in an institution; works about the house; can
sweep and dust; can not go about alone; can do errands, if not sent for more than one
thing at a tim e; fam ily in moderate circumstances.
No. 587. Male, 16, colored.
E pileptic and m entally defective; never advanced beyond the first grade in public
school; was a normal child un til 7 years of age, when he had scarlet fever; is now in
Government Hospital for the Insane in ward w ith 25 or 30 others; helps clean the
ward sometimes, b u t would be able to do other work if it could be provided; is very
much dissatisfied w ith his surroundings and begs to be brought home.
No. 269. Male, 21, white.
E pileptic. H is condition was caused b y an attack of spinal meningitis at the age
of 9 months. H e is melancholy, as he realizes that he is not normal. A n institution
where he could be taught an occupation and be em ployed would be a great benefit.
F am ily would be glad to put the boy in an institution if there were one nearby. H e
is a constant worry to his mother.

X. CASES INDICATING DEFECTIVE STOCK.
N o. 715. Fem ale, 5, colored.
In Government Hospital for the Insane. Father has been under observation at
W ashington A sylu m Hospital. Grandfather in Government Hospital for the Insane
since 1891. Great-aunt (on father’ s side) died in the Government Hospital for the
Insane in 1898.
N o. 373. Male, 40, white.
Painter. H as epilepsy. Reported to be of low moral character. W ife tubercular.
A son of 10 has shown signs of feeble-mindedness. A daughter of 8 has very bad
habits.
No. 789. Male, 11, white.
Father died in insane asylum. The boy has been recommended for the Vineland
Training School b y his physician.
N o. 389. Fem ale, 16, white.
In an atypical school.
sister.

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H er mother said to be defective, as is also the mother’s

M E N TA L DEFECTIVES IN TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

N o. 361. Fem ale, 18, white.
In Virginia Training School. Mother is in Government Hospital for the Insane
(feeble-m inded); brother and sister in Industrial H om e Training School.
No. 310. Male, 10, white.
In Pennsylvania Training School, sent b y Board of Children’s ^Guardians.
(case 311) now in Government Hospital for the Insane (feeble-m inded).

Mother

No. 90. Male, 28, white.
Unable to work on account of mental condition; has a sister in the Government
Hospital for the Insane.
N o. 426. Male, 14, white.
Attends atypical school; knows almost nothing.
is also considered defective.

H as a defective brother.

Mother

IE'

'
•+ 1-Brother and sister.
No. 124. Fem ale, 10, w h ite /
tvt°

Parents both defective; 5 children, all considered defective. Parents w ill not
allow them to attend atypical school, and teachers in the regular schools w ill not keep
them.

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Full text of Mental Defectives in the District of Columbia : A Brief Description of Local Conditions and the Need for Custodial Care and Training, Dependent, Defective, and Delinquent Classes Series No. 2, Bureau Publication No. 13

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