Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/80

 64 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

Montana, and Washington the blind, the deaf and dumb, and the feeble-minded are all educated in separate departments of the same institutions.' The remaining sixteen states have one or more independent institutions for this class.'

Usually two departments, the one educational, the other cus- todial, are organized. Admission is usually limited to children of school age. 3 After the course of instruction has been com- pleted, the board of trustees may discharge the person or may retain him in the custodial department of the institution. Usually none are excluded because of a special kind of mental deficiency. New York, however, has special institutions for unteachable idiots and epileptics, and so excludes them from the school for the feeble-minded. Massachusetts has also made special provision for epileptics, and likewise excludes them from the institution for feeble-minded youth. In Washington only those capable of instruction are admitted.

As with the blind and the deaf-mutes, some states educate all the feeble-minded free of charge, regardless of their ability to pay, while others educate only the indigent at public expense.*

idiotic, and feeble-minded children may be sent to the Pennsylvania Training School for the Feeble-minded, the expense not to exceed Si, 600 in any one year, and no county being entitled to send more than two such indigents at one time. New Hamp- shire (l, ch. 86) makes an annual appropriation of Sl.ooo for the education of the indigent feeble-minded of the state. Vermont (682) makes a similar appropriation of $2,000. Rhode Island (ch. 85) makes provision for the education of imbeciles, as well as of the blind, in institutions within or without the state.

We have been unable to find whether any imbecile youths are really educated in accordance with these provisions.

■3437-3446; 2300-2307; 1997-2011. Each of the three departments of the Minnesota school has its own superintendent.

'The sixteen states are California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Of these (see Report of the N. C. C. C, 1897, p, 290) New York has three institutions, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey two each In addition to this Dr. Powell reports North Dakota as caring for forty-five feeble minded persons in the hospital for the insane at Jamestown.

'In a few states the ages are limited as follows : California (Act of 1885), Iowa (2714), and Nebraska (3080), from five to eighteen; Kentucky (617), from six to eighteen; Michigan (20, Act of June 2, 1893), from six to Iwenty-one ; Kansas (6175), and Ohio (671), under fifteen ; Indiana (2834), under sixteen ; and Pennsylvania (19, p. 707), under twenty.


 * In the following states all are maintained and educated at state expense, the