For adolescence brings new passions that need either control or prohibition.
I want my reader's imagination to dwell for a moment on these four thousand defectives that leave our special schools every five years; I want them to ask themselves what becomes of these children, and to remember that what holds good with London's special schools, holds good with regard to all other special schools our country over.
These young people grow into manhood and womanhood without the possibility of growing in wisdom or skill.

Few, very few of them, have the slightest chance of becoming self-reliant or self-supporting; ultimately they form a not inconsiderable proportion of the hopeless.
Philanthropic societies receive some of them, workhouses receive others, but these institutions have not, nor do they wish to have, any power of permanent detention, the cost would be too great.

Sooner or later the greater part of them become a costly burden upon the community, and an eyesore to humanity.

Many of them live nomadic lives, and make occasional use of workhouses and similar institutions when the weather is bad, after which they return to their uncontrolled existence.
Feeble-minded and defective women return again and again to the maternity wards to deposit other burdens upon the ratepayers and to add to the number of their kind.
But the nation has begun to realise this costly absurdity of leaving this army of irresponsibles in possession of uncontrolled liberty.

The Royal Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-minded, after sitting for four years, has made its report.