CHAPTER VI. OCCUPATIONS OF THE COUNTY H. 
MENTAL DEFECTIVES 
It has long: been recog'nized that many of the feeble- 
minded can be made self-supporting in a relatively simple en- 
vironment if properly trained for the things which they can 
best do. This is being done for a small number of these un- 
fortunates in some of our institutions. The boys are taught 
farming under supervision and simple trades, while the girls 
learn various tasks under the direction of a domestic science 
teacher. Thus they earn their keep, whereas if turned loose 
on the world they would quite likely become dependents. 
Very little is being done in the way of educating the 
mental defective to earn his own living. Our laws compel 
him to attend the public schools until he is 14 or 16 years 
old, where he is put thru the same tasks as are the normal 
children. He remains in the same grade for 2 or 3 semesters 
or until the teacher is tired and ready to push him onto the 
next instructor. As a result he ends in the fourth or fifth 
grade with nothing in his head to show for the long years of 
wasted time, the wasted time of the teacher and of the other 
pupils. All has gone into one ear and out at the other. He 
is turned loose with no training and along with his brothers 
and sisters goes into unskilled labor — ^maybe. Sometimes a 
life-long profession of idleness begins immediately. If he is 
lucky enough to reside some distance from town, he will 
probably '‘get by'' as a farm tenant, the kind that moves 
every year. 
In County H., out of 704 mental defectives, 447 are above 
14 years of age. These are classified according to their diag- 
nosis and occupation in Table XII. Of these, 65 are still in 
school and are eliminated from the following discussion, leav- 
ing 382. None of those remaining have received any special 
training for their work but are doing whatever they have 
drifted into. There are 94 engaged in unskilled labor and 
odd jobs, while only 4 are doing work that might be classed 
as a trade— a seamstress, barber, and 2 carpenters. 
Of the 382, 97 have no occupation. Of these, 9 are idiots 
and cannot be expected to work ; 5 of the 14 imbeciles cannot 
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