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regarding the growth of this class of patients, and the cursory review of some of the leading points pertaining to it, should be considered as given in the spirit of fairness and moderation. Other facts and arguments germane to this subject might be dwelt upon with profit, but the number of valuable papers on the programme to follow, renders it imperative for me to terminate this part of my paper, unfinished as it is, and direct your attention to another class of public charges, whose care and guidance will form an interesting chapter in the future history of the State's beneficient undertakings.

CARE OF FEMALE MISDEMEANANTS.

BY EDWIN A. Down, M.D.,

HARTFORD,

To the student of sociology, or even to the quasi-indifferent individual whose attention is attracted to questions relating to the care of the three D's; viz., the dependent, defective and delinquent classes-there must occur the thought that we are in the midst of an era when prophylaxis in the treatment of the criminal is as important as the same process in the practice of medicine.

Data gathered through observation and inquiry prove incontestably that true reform can be accomplished more completely and satisfactorily by methods directed to crime in its incipiency, than can be attained by concentration of effort in the form of sporadic moral cyclones in the path of the habitual criminal or recidivist.

How to meet and counteract the evil tendencies of the younger misdemeanants and prevent their becoming a menace to our civilization, has been met in most of our sister States in the establishment of reformatories and industrial schools which have passed beyond the stage of places of detention merely; and by education, instruction in domestic science and other self-supporting occupations, in addition to a full-rounded moral and physical development, succeed, in many instances, in fitting young women for the position and responsibilities of true womanhood.

While it is desirable that institutions exhibiting these features should exist in Connecticut for both sexes, it is especially urgent that some provision be made for females, particularly the younger class of misdemeanants. During the last session of the Legislature, the State

Board of Charities presented a bill for the establishment of a reformatory for females. Through the co-operation of prominent persons interested in philanthropic work, the bill passed the committee; but, owing to the unusual draught upon the treasury for the new building at Middletown and additions to the State Prison, the bill did not become a law.

One section of the bill provides that: "Such reformatory is intended for all females above the age of sixteen years who shall be convicted of any offence which, under the laws of this State, might be punished by imprisonment in jail." And jail it has been up to the present time. No place or opportunity is offered for the young offender to receive the moral support and encouragement so essential in reclaiming her from the forces claiming her for destruction.

There is an art in shaping public sentiment which ist capricious to say the least. Why is it that well-meaning individuals will contribute liberally toward the care and reformation of an individual thousands of miles away, and maintain a placid indifference to the baneful effects of moral decomposition occurring in their own community, and possibly within a stone's cast of their own neighborhood? To such persons genuine "philoplism," or love of a community, is merely an empty phase; to them the parable of the good Samaritan is limited in its application, aud" The Vision of Sir Launfal" is worth the reading for its literary merits only.

Let me anticipate what some one here may ask, by stating that the Industrial School for Girls at Middletown is not a State institution. The school is owned and controlled by a corporation which elects its own officers and attends to the general regulation of its affairs. Like all private institutions it willingly receives cases committed to its care by the State when vacancies will permit, but this does not constitute it a State institu

tion; and the limited number that could be accommodated would not vitiate the conclusion reached regarding the desirability of having a similar school under the control of the State.

The scheme as entertained by the State Board after many years investigation and oversight in this line of work, includes the construction of a suitable building or buildings at moderate cost, in which utility shall be the chief requisite; such buildings to be located sufficiently remote from the city or other populous center where a large tract of land can be obtained at moderate cost; thus securing necessary isolation, and providing for future contingencies in the line of extension and the pursuit of industrial employment such as market gardening, horticulture, the cultivation of small fruits, besides other light and profitable employment which, being turned to account, will serve to place the institution on a nearly self-supporting basis. The educational side I will refer to later on.

The advantages of such a home are two-fold.-yes, manifold. Not only do we forestall the propagation of the unfit in a large measure, but we remove a too common spectacle from our police courts with its inevitable draft upon the taxpayer. Besides providing a shelter where moral support will be rendered and every right impulse nurtured, the beneficiary will be removed from degrading and disintegrating influences, and have ample opportunity for reflection and the formation of habits and resolutions which cannot be otherwise than uplifting.

Let us start out with one proposition generally accepted, which maintains that the primary office of a reformatory of the class we have been discussing, is the custody, discipline and education of the younger misdemeanants: young women in a salvable condition whose offences have been clandestine chiefly, and who would abandon the practices into which they have been forced

or led by older offenders, were some honorable employment assured them. Attempts toward the obliteration of this social evil have been conspicuous for their failures; and while society is at present constituted, commendable efforts in the direction of such suppression without institutional oversight will result in a demonstration to the promoters that they have been in pursuit of a chimera. This paper is not intended for a thesis on prostitution; but the few lines introduced seemed necessary in order to show that we need a reformatory which reforms, and not simply a convenient domicile for the bawd who, after remaining for a variable time returns to her former practices, without manifesting any desire toward reformation, save by the usual promise closely related to the profound avowal of the inebriate, when he declares with some approach to earnestness, "I'll never touch another drop."

In these days when knowledge is widespread, the public is ever on the alert to know just what the facts are in a given case in order to insure a correct judgement in the matter. Given these conditions we, as physicians, will not be opening the door to an indictment for heresy if we attempt to show that, from the psycho-physiological point of view we have an element more potent than intelligence to control before genuine reform can can be brought about, and that such governance can be best attained by fostering and augmenting such mental capacities as may be present at the time of commitment. Το restate a well-known fact, desire or appetite antedates intelligence; is more deeply rooted, and often exhibits a normal or increased vigor when intellect has become inoperative.

Hence with the imbecile, or the condition closely related to imbecility to which the terms "weak" and "not a strong character" are often applied, we have to adopt other means than addressing the intellect only.

Sequestration, and discipline first; then education in

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