FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1911. AN URGENT SOCIAL PROBLEM.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1983, 13 February 1914, Page 6

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1911. AN URGENT SOCIAL PROBLEM.

The report on the prevaicßce oi fceblc-mindedncss in Australasia which has been presented'to the Medical Congress now sitting in Auckland, is not' one to be passud over lightly. ' The evil is undoubtedly „ very serious one, and the report makes no .attempt to exaggerate the ■gravity of the position'. The facts of the case and the- suggested remedies arc stated with a studied-moderation, which, in a matter of this, kind, is far more convincing.'than the extravagant asscrtions_ and impracticable proposals of which we hava been hearing a good deal too much lately.It must bo admitted that New Zealand has lagged behind in the matter of making provision for the care and education of the weak-minded-section of the population, and it i$ time that we followed the example that has been -set in Britain. America, and Some other nations in dt\al ■ ing with this extremely difficult problem, An important step forward was made in England last year by the passing of the Mental Deficiency Bill, the object of which is to place mentally defective persons under proper control. It provides for the establishment of a Board of Commissioners whose duty it will be to exercise a general supervision over the feeble-minded, and to inspect homes and , institutions established for their care. It.is estimated that the new law will bring abpnt .20,000 people under the control of the Commission. The problem of.the nieiiKlly unfit has not been altogether, igriqred in New Zealand, for a special school, has been established for the training of boys of feeble mind, and the establishment of a similar institution for girls is unck-i' consideration. In addition to this, the Magistrates have been empowered under the Industrial Schools Act to extend from time to time the period of,-control over young persons adjudged to be morally degenerate, or in other ways from the point of view of the public interest, to ta allowed to take care of themselves. These precautions, however inackouafa they may be, at least show that the Government recognises its responsibility in tho matter, and ■ onint the way to more extensive and effective measures for coping with the evil.

The recommendations of the Committee of the Medical Association seem to be on the whole reasonable and within the range of practical politics. It is suggested that ti» Government should provide:

(1) Day schools in lsi-ge centres to cafe for all children reasonably suspected of mental defects. These will eliminate thil« dren wrongly classed as such, and qualify them for lorther education through, tjio ordinary channels. (2) Residential schools for children of the same doubtful class from scattered districts and for children definitely judged to bo mentally defective. (3) In connection with the residential schools, to some extent, and probably also in separate country localities, residential colonies with separation ot the sexes lor the permanent cure of the.feeble-minded on attaining aduH as?, when not of so low. a grado as to call for confining'in. such institution'?, as idiot nsylmns,

If these proposals arc to be successlully carried out the scheme will have to bo administered with judgment, tact, and sympathy. Extreme care will have to be taken to discriminate between mere dullness or retarded mental development, and actual intellectual deficiency. This prettu. tinn would apply more, especially to the proposed schools for , "suspects," Parents would naturally resent beinj* compelled to send any of their children to such an institution unless it was made clear beyond all tlaueS that they were suffering from something more serious than exceptional backwardness; and if the interpretation of the tci'in "mental defect" n made too comprehensive it would almost certainly causa a reaction, which would give a serious set-back to this mueh-neecletl movement for improving the intellectual vigour and general efficiency of thn nation. It is undoubtedly unfortunate, as the Committee paints out, that-the

discussion of the care and control of defectives should be mixed up with certain repulsive methods of social surgery. Such extreme measures "'the Committee regards as for the most part wholly unnecessary and undesirable. Control is usually a quite sufficient safeguard," In liny ease, public opinion will not tolerate any drastic schemes for the elimination of the unfit. A distinguished scientist has placed on record the opinion that- "it is one thing to discourage in everjr feasible way—compatible- with rational social sentiment— the breeding of weaklings by weaklings; it is another thing to look a fellow-ereatui'c in the eyes and say 'You must die.' " He goes on to say that "the- biologist distrusts social surgery because of his ignorance; the sociologist rejects it . because the thought of. it makes the foundations of Society tremble, and because the social ideal of good citizens is wicit than the ideal of good physique; anfl the practical man will not hear of it because he knows that it is not in us to practise it." On the other hand, it has to be bdriro in mind that the feeble-minded section of the community tends to increase and multiply at a rate that is causing considerable* uneasiness to those who arein a position to speak with authority on tho subject, and the time has fully eome for placing more effective checks on the growth of this unfortunate clasii. They must, of course, be treated with kindness and consideration, but it is folly to allow them to bring down the average mental and physical standard of the . nation. In the January number of tho Ilibbert Journal, Dii. Schiller states that the birth-rate statistics indicate that Society is recruiting _ itself from among its worst constituents, "and if it is remembered further that onequarter- of the existing population normally produces more than onehalf of the next generation, it is evidont'tlmt if this more prolific qua»* ter be inferior in quality, great changes in the value and composition of a- society may occur with startling "siipidity." 'It is facts liku these which constitute .the racial problem with which Governments, scientists, and social reformers are now grappling; and them is a consensus of opinion that it is the plain duty of the State to take action to restrict) as far as possible and practicable, the opportunities for pronounced mental degenerates to reproduce their kind._ The only satisfactory way of doing this is to place them under effective control, and this is necessary, both for their own sakes and for the sako of 'the community as a whole..