The Nassau Survey 



109 



criticism. It may l^e easy to find a 

 feeble-minded man, for instance, who 

 has never given any trouble to the 

 police or county authorities; but what 

 will his children be? To take the 

 behavior of an individual as the most 

 important criterion of his social worth 

 may frequently lead to dangerous re- 

 sults. 



In a brief review it is not possible to 

 do justice to the abundant data con- 

 tained in the 125 pages of Dr. RosanofE's 

 report. Only the more salient conclu- 

 sions can be suggested. 



In the course of the survey 1,592 

 mentally abnormal cases were brought 

 to light — a percentage of 1.72 for the 

 county. This is recognized as being 

 below the true figures. There was an 

 excess of Negroes among these; but 

 apart from them the native-born whites 

 contributed relatively more defectives 

 than the foreign-born. 



"It is probable," Dr. Rosanoff ex- 

 plains, "that wherever in this country 

 old settled communities live in a rural 

 or semi-rural environment, as in Nassau 

 county, conditions prevail which tend 

 to result in the segregation of certain 

 contrasted mental traits in branches 

 in each family; many of the more able 

 and enterprising members of families 

 are attracted to the cultural and in- 

 dustrial centers, failing to find full 

 scope of opportunity in local affairs; 

 those who remain behind thus include 

 a larger proportion of the mentally 

 inferior than is characteristic of the 

 family as a whole; in the course of 

 generations the contrast is further 

 accentuated by the intermarriage of 

 more or less inferior members of differ- 

 ent branches of the same family, or by 

 the union of members of equally in- 

 ferior branches of unrelated families, 

 on the general principle of like mating 

 with like. Thus there are probably 

 many American families consisting, 

 like the now famous 'Kallikak' family, 

 of 'good' and 'bad' branches; and 

 among the most defective old native 

 families discovered in the course of 

 the survey are some bearing names 

 which are also borne by others noted 

 for culture and achievement." 



An important finding is that the 



abnormal part of the population shows a 

 greater tendency to remain single or to 

 divorce and separate. It appears to Dr. 

 Rosanoff that there is no ground for 

 apprehension of any increase of mental 

 disorders, so far as the birth rate is 

 concerned. But there are abundant 

 figures which point in the opposite 

 direction, and few eugenists will venture 

 to give Dr. Rosanoff's finding in this 

 respect a widespread application at 

 present. 



To study the influence of heredity was 

 not a primary part of the plan; yet the 

 material furnishes, in Dr. Rosanoff's 

 opinion, "an addition to the already 

 ample evidence showing that in the 

 causation of mental disorders heredity 

 appears as a highly important factor." 



Of the 1,592 abnormal cases found, 

 41.6% are or have been in institutions. 

 It is judged that 59.4% require tem- 

 porary or permanent institutional treat- 

 ment; 29.5% require other treatment 

 (private custody, medical care, etc.) ; 

 and 12.1% require no treatment. Many 

 of the persons in custody are in insti- 

 tutions wholly unsuited to their needs. 



It would seem conservative on the 

 part of the state in Dr. Rosanoff's 

 opinion to double its institutional pro- 

 visions on the strength of this finding 

 without the slightest danger of such 

 increased provision ever proving to be in 

 excess of the needs. 



"The types of institution for which 

 there is particularly urgent need are: 

 (1) schools and colonies for the feeble- 

 minded; (2) separate institutions for 

 defective delinquents with provision for 

 classification by sex, age, and perhaps 

 susceptibility to reform; (3) industrial 

 colonies for inebriates, vagrants, etc.; 

 either separate institutions for epileptics 

 or special wards for them in state hos- 

 pitals or in schools or colonies for the 

 feebleminded." 



The inadequate attention paid to 

 mental differences in children as well as 

 adults is commented upon; more special 

 classes are said to be required. 



PROPOSED REGISTRATION EXPLAINED 



"The registration of mental disorders 

 has been many times proposed, but no 

 effective and practical method of pro- 



