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mental condition and rendering them more manageable at home
would, in certain cases, obviate the need for institutional treatment.
There are many mental defectives under supervision in West
Ham who would certainly benefit by attendance at such Centres,
and a number of those cases whose parents are anxious for them
to be placed in an institution, only press for this in order that the
defective may receive some kind of training.
Colony Accommodation.
It becomes increasingly difficult each year to secure vacancies
requiring institutional treatment and care. And owing to the
lack of available accommodation it is now almost impossible to
place fresh cases. Urgent cases come to my notice, in which
prompt action is necessary both in the interest of the individual
and the community, and no vacancies in suitable institutions are
available, resulting, in the case of criminal defectives, of the continued
remand to prison, which, though most undesirable, is unavoidable.
It is particularly difficult to obtain beds in appropriate institutions
for low grade and troublesome cases, the Managers of
Colonies quite naturally refusing to admit defectives who need
extra attention.
The question of providing a Colony of 750 beds at Ockenden
is still being urged, but progress is very slow.
Marriage and Sterilization of Mental Defectives.
Much publicity to the questions of marriage and sterilization
of mental defectives has recently been given by the Press. Of
course, there can be no two opinions regarding the importance of
not allowing defectives to become parents, and legislation is urgently
needed to prevent these persons marrying. This would
not entirely prevent mental defectives from procreating children,
and it is here that the supporters of sterilization step in. There
are some who believe in the lethal chamber as being the best
method of dealing with defectives, others in complete incarceration.
Something can be said in favour of all of these methods of
ridding Society of the undesirable mental defective, but it is difficult
to form an opinion as to which is the most effective.
It would perhaps appear that at the present time sterilization
is the most discussed method of controlling' the incidence of mental
defect, but it must be remembered that this would not obviate the
need for colony care and training for large numbers of defectives.
So far as the low grade cases (idiots and imbeciles) are concerned,
the need for institutional care is most obvious. In the case of the
merely feeble-minded, while some are able to earn their own living
and manage their own affairs, a large percentage are incapable of
doing so, and require life-long care and protection.
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