104 THE KALLIKAK FAMILY 



mindedness came into this family from other sources 

 in two generations at least, yet nevertheless these 

 sources were other feeble-minded persons. When we 

 conclude that had the nameless girl been segregated in 

 an institution, this defective family would not have 

 existed, we of course do not mean that one single act of 

 precaution, in that case, would have solved the prob- 

 lem, but we mean that all such cases, male and female, 

 must be taken care of, before their propagation will 

 cease. The instant we grasp this thought, we realize 

 that we are facing a problem that presents two great 

 difficulties ; in the first place the difficulty of knowing 

 who are the feeble-minded people ; and, secondly, 

 the difficulty of taking care of them when they are 

 known. 



A large proportion of those who are considered feeble- 

 minded in this study are persons who would not be 

 recognized as such by the untrained observer. They 

 are not the imbeciles nor idiots who plainly show in 

 their countenances the extent of their mental defect. 

 They are people whom the community has tolerated and 

 helped to support, at the same time that it has deplored 

 their vices and their inefficiency. They are people who 

 have won the pity rather than the blame of their neigh- 

 bors, but no one has seemed to suspect the real cause 



