over the least fit. It is significant that insanity is apparently most prevalent in the nationalities who were among the earliest immigrants to this country and contributed the sturdiest of their people. It may therefore be that an explanation of these dis. crepancies is that conditions of American life are conducive to an increase in insanity. In the foregoing pages national tendencies and changes of environment have been discussed only in their relation to insanity. The probable effect of these factors upon feeble-mindedness and kindred mental defects among the immigrants is not dealt with in the census report. As the data pertaining to the feeble-minded are not comprehensive, nor even representative, a statistical presentation of the subject would be of doubtful value and any attempted deductions might well be misleading. SUMMARY. The situation with respect to insanity among immigrants, as indicated by the data and authorities upon which this report is based, may be summarized as follows: Although the immigration of mentally unsound aliens is prohibited by law, and although many mentally diseased or defective aliens are turned back at the ports of entry, there are in the United States many thousands of insane or feeble-minded persons of foreign birth. It appears that insanity is relatively more prevalent among the foreign-born than among the native-born, and relatively more prevalent among certain immigrant races or nationalities than among others. In general, the nationalities furthest advanced in civilization show, in the United States, a higher proportion of insane than do the more backward races. For the high ratio of insanity among the foreign-born, several causes have been assigned, and while it is difficult to determine the values of the various factors it is probably true that racial traits or tendencies have a more or less important influence. A further cause of mental disease is probably to be found in the total change in climate, occupation, and habits of life which the majority of immigrants experience after arrival in the United States. The provisions of the immigration law of 1907 for the exclusion of mentally unsound persons are seemingly complete and comprehensive, while the enforcement of such provisions is doubtless as satisfactory as can be expected in view of conditions under which arriving immigrants must be inspected. a a See Vol. II, p. 732. TABLE 1. Number of cases treated and total days' treatment furnished, by 2. Number and per cent of total cases treated and number and per 3. Foreign-born races represented by 200 or more cases. 4. Foreign-born races receiving in the aggregate more than 3,000 5. Number of cases treated and days' treatment furnished, by sex 6. Sex of cases treated, by general nativity and race. 258 258,259 260 260 260, 261 262 7. Years foreign-born patients have been in the United States, by 263 8. Per cent of foreign-born patients in the United States each specified 264 9. Races with at least one-half of the patients less than five years in 264 10. Races with at least one-half of the patients twenty years or more 265 11. Per cent of foreign-born patients in the United States less than 265 12. Races with at least one-tenth of the patients less than one year in 266 13. Races with at least one-fourth of the patients less than two years 266 14. Races with at least one-third of the patients less than three years 266 15. Number and per cent of cases treated for each specified cause. 267 268 269 18. Number of cases treated for each specified cause, by general nativity 270-272 19. Number of persons treated for each specified cause, by general 273 20. Per cent of persons treated for each specified cause, by general 274 21. Races showing alcoholism as cause of treatment in at least one-fourth of the cases.. 275 22. Principal cause of treatment and per cent of patients treated, by 275 23. Comparison of immigrants of the first and second generations, with 276-278 24. Number and per cent of patients treated for certain diseases who 279 279 280-284 27. Number of patients who had been in the United States less than 28. Number of cases treated, by sex, age groups, and general nativity 29. Per cent of patients within each specified age group, by general 285 286-288 289 |