202 THEODORE RUSSELL ROBIE 



inferior individuals, because many of these are the result of unions between 

 an average person and a feeble minded person, which usually results in 

 feeble minded or borderline progeny. 



A large proportion of illegitimate children are born by mentally deficient 

 mothers, and it may also be stated that a relatively large proportion of 

 fathers of illegitimate children would be found to be inferior individuals if 

 reliable data could be secured on this question. We would therefore de- 

 crease in great measure the extent of this problem of illegitimacy if all feeble 

 minded persons were sterilized and thereby prevented from procreating. It 

 follows quite naturally that the problem of prostitution would be consider- 

 ably decreased, since a greater proportion of prostitutes are mentally inferior 

 and many are definitely feeble minded — so that by decreasing the whole 

 number of mentally deficient persons we would naturally decrease this 

 problem of prostitution proportionately. 



It is believed that the need for selectively sterilizing the entire group of 

 herditary mental defectives will be readily conceded by all students of race 

 culture. But quite apart from this group which includes 50 to 65 per cent 

 of feeble minded, it would also be conducive to racial improvement to steri- 

 lize even those feeble minded who do not necessarily fall in the hereditary 

 group. Ample justification for this is found in the fact that regardless of 

 our theories of heredity, mental defectives tend to maintain inferior homes 

 in inferior environments, and they quite generally rear their children in an 

 inferior manner. This is readily understandable, for they do not possess the 

 requisite knowledge necessary to train children along normal lines. The 

 rearing of children into normal adults is a much neglected art, and able 

 parenthood is the most important profession on earth, requiring a store of 

 knowledge which is possessed by few parents of even average intelligence, 

 and certainly we can never expect feeble minded persons to acquire sufficient 

 knowledge to carry out child rearing properly. In this sphere it must be 

 remembered that the faultily reared children of each generation make up 

 the greater proportion of the insane, criminals, prostitutes, paupers, and 

 social misfits of the next generation. An authority on this subject, a super- 

 intendent of one of the many larger state institutions for mental defectives, 

 stated the matter very well when he said, "I have yet to see the mentally 

 defective girl or boy for whom parenthood can be recommended." 



Any single medico-physiological measure which possesses a sufficient ap- 

 peal to induce over 50 per cent of the states of the union to adopt statutes 

 permitting its use, must be a valuable asset to humanity. If not, it would 

 appear that the legislatures of over half our states do not have sufficient 

 judgment to care for the common welfare, for laws permitting selective 

 sterilization are available in 27 states at the present time. 



