138 



The Journal of Heredity 



the consequences of their acts, these 

 people go on unmolested until they 

 commit some deed which is followed 

 by disaster and suffering. Does not 

 all this prove that we have not the 

 remedy in law? 



"I believe we have it in scientific 

 study and investigation, in psy- 

 chopathic hospitals and dispensaries 

 properly supported by government and 

 community, both financially and mor- 

 ally, and by proper rules and regulations 

 of society which will protect the 

 community." 



In addition to training schools and 

 custodial institutions, the specific meas- 

 ures which Dr. Briggs advocates are: 



1. That license to practice medicine 

 be granted only to those who shall 

 have passed an examination in psy- 

 chiatry. 



2. That all physicians be required 

 to report to the state Department of 

 Mental Diseases, confidentially, every 

 known or doubtful case of mental 

 defect or dangerous form of mental 

 disease. 



3. That "if after receiving the report 

 of any particular case the Department 

 of Mental Diseases believes that the 

 said case is not receiving proper care 

 and treatment, it may make such 

 recommendations to the attending 

 physician or other persons in interest 

 as the welfare and safety of the person 

 afflicted and of the public may require." 



4. That the distinction between 

 medical and legal insanity be abolished 

 in chronic cases, if not in all cases. 



5. That when a recidivist comes up 

 in court, the Department of Mental 

 Diseases shall be notified and shall 

 cause the defendant to be examined 

 and a report on his mental condition 

 filed to he used as evidence. "This 

 would in no way interfere with the 

 rights of the individual to employ 

 experts, V)ut it would tend to settle all 

 questions so far as the state is con- 

 cerned and prevent the deplorable 

 condition which now exists in so many 

 cases where our medical men are 



apparently pitted against each other 

 and are held up to ridicule." 



Certainly something should be done 

 with the class of ofTender who comes 

 into court time after time. It was 

 found in 1918 that of 11,495 persons 

 committed to Massachusetts penal 

 institutions during the year, 6,733 or 

 58.5% were repeaters. "It further 

 appears from the same tabulation that 

 they averaged 6.8 former commit- 

 ments each. In the 21 county jails and 

 houses of correction 5,727 of the 9,719 

 inmates entering these county institu- 

 tions during 1918 were known to have 

 served time before, and the number of 

 sentences served by these repeaters 

 totalled 40,288. The records of these 

 repeaters in county jails showed that 

 25 or more previous commitments was 

 not uncommon, while some institu- 

 tions housed men with as many as 100 

 terms of confinement against them." 



Such a record shows clearly that the 

 present machinery — judicial machinery 

 — for dealing with such individuals is 

 inefhcient if not useless. One can 

 hardly help agreeing with the author 

 that the effort to treat mentally dis- 

 eased persons by sentencing them to a 

 term in jail is an anachronism, and a 

 dangerous one. 



Whether the reforms proposed by 

 Dr. Briggs would go far toward solving 

 the problem is open to question. The 

 constant appearance in court of emi- 

 nent medical specialists, doubtless sin- 

 cere, testifying on opposite sides of a 

 case makes the layman have less confi- 

 dence in the omniscience and infalli- 

 bility of psychiatrists than Dr. Briggs' 

 recommendations suggest. But un- 

 questionably much could be gained by 

 greater activity of competent psychia- 

 trists; much could be gained by changes 

 in the Public educational system; 

 much could be gained from the better 

 education of parents. Perhaps still 

 more is to be expected from changes in 

 the birth-rate of dif1"erent parts of the 

 population. — Paul Popenok, Coachella 

 California. 



