60 



Our investigations brought to light the fact that eighteen members of 

 tbis family have been at some time of their lives inmates of public insti- 

 tutions in Indiana. Our information as to tbe length of time five of these 

 were on public support is incomplete : it was before our present registra- 

 tion of institution inmates was begun. Concerning the other thirteen, 

 however, we have accurate data. To date they bave spent a total of 203 

 veal's, 5 montbs in public institutions. 



Eleven have been in county poor asylums 44 years. 3 months : 7 have 

 been in orphans' homes 40 years, 7 months ; 8 have been in the School for 

 Feeble-Minded Youth 110 years. 11 months; one has been in the Indiana 

 Girls' School 7 years. 8 months. If their maintenance has averaged but 

 •S125 a year, the total cost has already amounted to more than $25,000. 

 This is not all. There are now five young women of this family in the 

 School for Feeble-Minded Youth at Fort Wayne. Their ages are 22, 23, 

 24, 28 and 32 years, an average of 25.8 years. At the annual average per 

 capita cost of maintenance in that institution last year ($140.68) these 

 Ave young women cost the State $700.00 a year. 



I ask this question : What are we going to do about it? It is one 

 of our problems. 



A legislative commission in New Jersey has recently made a report 

 after a thorough investigation of the problem of mental defectiveness. 

 Other commissions in New York. Massachusetts, and elsewhere have been, 

 or are. engaged in this work. Is it not time that Indiana should wake up 

 and have a commission to study the problem of mental defectiveness? What 

 is the condition? What are the needs? How shall they be met? What is 

 the wisest plan to follow? What are we going to do to save ourselves this 

 continually increasing population of mental defectiveness, that is shown 

 by this chart and could be shown by a hundred others, to be growing up 

 in the State of Indiana without our knowledge, without our thought, with- 

 out our effort to prevent it? The question comes to us : What will we 

 do about it? 



