58 THE KALLIKAK FAMILY 



reasonable and sensible things in those homes, which 

 fact, of itself, pointed toward feeble-mindedness. 



The foregoing are figures based on actual test examina- 

 tions as to mental capacity. If we accept the estimates 

 of the mental condition of the inmates made by the 

 superintendents of reformatories and penal institutions, 

 we get sometimes a vastly higher percentage ; e.g. the 

 Superintendent of the Elmira Reformatory estimates f 

 that at least 40 per cent of his inmates are mental 

 defectives. 



Indeed, it would not be surprising if careful examina- 

 tion of the inmates of these institutions should show 

 that even 50 per cent of them are distinctly feeble- 

 minded. 



In regard to prostitutes, we have no reliable figures. 

 The groups of delinquent girls to which we have al- 

 ready referred included among the numbers several 

 that were already known as prostitutes. A simple 

 observation of persons who are leading this sort of life 

 will satisfy any one who is familiar with feeble-minded- 

 ness that a large percentage of them actually are de- 

 fective mentally. So we have, as is claimed, partly 

 from statistical studies and partly from careful obser- 

 vation, abundant evidence of the truth of our claim that 

 criminality is often made out of feeble-mindedness. 



