During the past fiscal year studies of mental hygiene have been conducted by the Public Health Service under the direction of Surg. W. L. Treadway, who was assigned to this duty Oct. 1, 1922. Through the courtesy of Prof. M. J. Rosenau, of the department of preventive medicine and hygiene, Harvard University Medical School, office space was provided at Harvard.
The demand for scientific information regarding means for the controlling and lessening of mental disease is urgent. In 1880 there were 40,942 persons in the United States under care in public institutions because of mental disease; in 1920 the number had increased to 232,680. The rate increase was from 81.6 per 100,000 in 1880 to 220 per 100,000 in 1920, thus almost six times as many people were under care in public institutions in 1920 and the rate per 100,000 of the population had nearly trebled.
In approaching a program