It is difficult for the expert to draw the line between these two classes, and parents and teachers are loth to admit that the morons are defective. This problem can best be solved by the establishment of special classes in the public schools for all who lag more than one year behind. If for no other reason, the normal children should be relieved of the drag of these backward pupils. The special classes will become the clearing houses. The training should be largely manual and industrial and as practical as possible. As the number of classes in any school district increases, the classification will sift out those who are merely backward and a little coaching and special attention will return them to the grades. The others—the morons—will remain and as long as they are not dangerous to society (sexually or otherwise) they may live at home and attend the special classes. As they grow older they will be transferred to proper custodial institutions. In the city districts, where there are many classes, this will occur between twelve and sixteen years of age. In the country districts it will occur earlier.
These institutions will be the training schools and will form the center for the training and care of the other two groups, i. e., the imbeciles and idiots. Branching out from the training schools should be colonies (unless the parent institution is on a very large tract of ground, which is most advisable). These colonies, or groups of comparatively small buildings, should be of two classes. For the imbeciles, simple buildings costing from two to four hundred dollars per inmate. The units might well be one hundred. A unit providing four dormitories, bath house, dining-halls, employees' buildings, pump house, water tank, sewage disposal, laundry, stables and farm buildings can be built within the above figures providing the buildings are of simple construction and one story. This has been done at Vineland by having the larger imbecile and moron boys make the cement blocks of which the buildings are constructed.
For the idiots the construction can be much the same. Larger porches facing the south and more toilet fixtures will be necessary, and so add a little to the cost.
The colony should be located on rough uncleared land—preferable forestry land. Here these unskilled fellows find happy and useful occupation, waste humanity taking waste land and thus not only contributing toward their own support, but also making over land that would otherwise be useless.
One reason for building inexpensive buildings is that having cleared a large tract—say 1,000 acres—the workers can be moved to another waste tract and by brushing, clearing of rocks, draining and what not, increase its value sufficiently to keep on moving indefinitely.
Many of these boy-men make excellent farmers, dairymen, swineherds and poultry raisers under proper direction, and in the winter they can work in the tailor, paint, carpenter, mattress and mat shops.
Nor need this be confined to the males alone. The girl-women raise poultry, small fruits and vegetables very successfully. They pickle and can the products of the land, and in winter do knitting, netting and sewing of all kinds.
No manufacturer of to-day has let the product of his plant go to waste as society has wasted the energies of this by-product of humanity. And the feeble-minded are happy when they have occupation suited to their needs. If one will but see them when they are set at occupations within their comprehension and ability, he will quickly understand the joy they get out of congenial work.
Colonies such as Mr. Johnstone describes will take care of the able-bodied feeble-minded; other institutions will provide for the very young and the aged; finally, there will always be many of these defectives who can best be "segregated" in their own homes; whose relatives have means and inclination to care for them, and sufficient feeling of responsibility to see that the interests of society are protected. If there is any doubt on this last point, the state should itself assume charge, or should sterilize the defective individuals; but it is not likely that sterilization will need to be used to any large extent in the solution of this problem. In general it may be said that feeble-mindedness is the greatest single dysgenic problem facing the country, that it can be effectively solved by segregation, and that it presents no great difficulty save the initial one of arousing the public to its importance.