The alien as a public charge : with particular reference to the insane. A paper read before the New York State Conference of Charities and Correction, Syracuse, N.Y., Nov. 20, 1912.

  • Waldman, Morris D. (Morris David), 1879-1963.
Date:
[1912]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The alien as a public charge : with particular reference to the insane. A paper read before the New York State Conference of Charities and Correction, Syracuse, N.Y., Nov. 20, 1912. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    Now, as to the main subject under consideration, the Alien Insane as Public Charges. This paper will not concern itself with the Federal immigration laws affecting the admission, ex- clusion and deportation of alien insane, nor with the State laws and policies relating to the removal of the dependent alien insane. Recent agitation by the State Hospitals Commission against the alleged disproportionate increase of foreign-born insane in our State hospitals, crystallized in a statistical study and the appointment by Governor Dix of a special Commission to in- vestigate the subject, coupled with the fact that this is the ]STew York State Conference, makes it peculiarly appropriate that the subject shall be confined to a consideration of the foreign-born insane in New York State hospitals. The terms alien and foreign-born should be clearly distinguished at the outset. The former includes those only who have not been naturalized, whereas, the latter includes many who are citizens. Inasmuch as naturalization has little or no relation to dependency, and fur- thermore, as the Commission's statistics deal with all foreign- born, I am compelled to deal with foreign-born, regardless as to whether they are aliens or citizens. The report of the State Hospitals Commission is embodied in a special bulletin published in April, 1913. It is an indictment against the foreign-born, containing some twenty counts. Thesj can be classified into three general charges: 1st. That immigration is responsible for an alarmingly large- increase in the number of foreign-born insane in State hospitals. 2d. That the increase is due chiefly to the recent immigration (Eastern and Southern European). 3d. That this increase is inflicting a tremendously heavy bur- den upon the State. I. Taking up the first allegation.— The Commission's statistician complains that The number of foreign-born insane in the State hospitals is steadily increasing. This statement is true, to be sure, but it is only half the truth; the other half is that The number of native-born instate in the State hospitals is increasing in greater proportion, which fact he has omitted to mention. Let us analyze his own figures. They show that in January, 1904, the percentage of foreign-born in our State civil hospitals was 46.2; in 1909, five years later. 42.9 per cent.; in 1912, eight years later, a further reduction to 41.9 per cent., thus showing a steadv decrease. (See chart A.)