Part 2

Among the conditions of parents which are capable of influencing the characteristics of children must be included the changes which their organism undergoes by reason of advancing age.

I propose to study the effects of age on the physical and moral characters of the children. My researches have extended to numerous criminals and insane persons, as well as to scholars of the public schools and other normal persons affected or not with special diseases.

Of my studies on criminals, the result is: that the children of young parents are found in large numbers guilty of offences against property; and this is natural. The first impulse to that is not due to wickedness, which impels them to inflict harm on others, but to love of pleasure, of revel, of idleness--all features of youth, during which period the passions are very active, and no restraint present with which to repress and subjugate them.

Swindlers alone are exceptions to this rule, but swindling is a crime of riper years, according to the dictum of Quetelet.

Among crimes of personal violence, I have found a numerical superiority in the children of aged parents. Assassins, homicides, those who show the completest absence of sentiments of affection and often delusions of persecution more or less pronounced, gave a proportion of children of aged parents far greater than that furnished by all the other categories of delinquents; the proportion is as high for fathers as for mothers of advanced age.

Here, too, we note a certain correlation between the state of discontent, of suspicion, of frigid egoism, which the decline of physical energy tends to arouse in the old, and the absence of affectionate sentiment and a tendency to delusions of persecution which are usual in murderers. Among the insane, moral idiocy in particular, and the degenerative forms in general, appeared more frequently in children of aged parents.

As to schoolboys, I have noticed that the minimum of good conduct and the maximum of better developed intelligence coincides with the possession of youth by both parents.

The age of complete development corresponds to a maximum of good conduct and a minimum of bad conduct, and retains a large proportion of intelligent children.

In the period of decline of both parents, good conduct of children is observed in a smaller proportion than in the preceding period, and high intelligence in a very small proportion.

Among biological qualities I have made observations on longevity; among persons of 70 and 80 whom I have examined there is a large proportion of parents who themselves enjoyed remarkably long lives, which proves the transmissibility from father to son of powers of resistance against the stresses of life.

Among physical qualities I have made note of the fact that from alcoholic or aged parents were descended children in whom degenerative physical characteristics were most frequently apparent, recalling some features of an inferior human type, such as exaggeration of the frontal sinuses, the torus occipitalis, ears with the Darwinian tubercles prominent, the forehead receding, etc. At the same time the ascendants of those who presented typical and anomalous characters, due to morbid influences of various kinds and following on faulty development of the foetus, such as cretinism, congenital goître, nasal deflections, strabismus, plagio-cephaly, hydrocephaly, dental malformation, etc., showed a large number of alcoholics and epileptics.

The explanation of the pernicious consequences to the psycho-physical characters of the children of parents too young or too advanced in age does not present much difficulty.

At the younger period the organism is still in process of formation; the incomplete development of the skeleton, as of all the other organs, continually absorbs a mass of plastic materials necessary to the formation of offspring. So we may consider that the faults of children born of too young parents are due to an incomplete development because of the insufficiency of plastic material.

We must, on the other hand, seek in the conditions which accompany old age for the reason why it has a disastrous influence on the vitality of the germinal elements of the parents and predisposes the descendants to various forms of physical and moral degeneracy.

During this period we have in the tissues, instead of a development and renewal of protoplasm, the tendency to an accumulation of fat; and in the whole organism, chiefly in the tissues of the arterial system, we find the tendency to a deposit in their structure of an amorphous substance which converts the supple elastic canals into rigid tubes; and from this a general slowing up of the organic functions (circulation, oxidation, secretion) results; the blood, not reaching the degree of elaboration which it possessed before, acquires a greater acidity, and cannot by the ordinary excretory channels so quickly get rid of the catabolic products with which it is charged.

By reason of these conditions the organism of older people undergoes a sort of slow and gradual intoxication, which, at the same time as it shows itself in the individual by the gradual languishing of all his functions, influences in a disastrous manner the germs which develop within him, and predisposes them to become beings condemned to degeneracy.

Consequently this cause of degeneracy enters the general category of intoxications.

GENETICS AND EUGENICS.

(Abstract.)

By R. C. Punnett,

_Professor of Biology, Cambridge_.

To the student of genetics, man, like any other animal, is material for working out the manner in which characters, whether physical or mental, are transmitted from one generation to the next. Viewed in this way he must be regarded as unpromising, not only from the small size of his families, the time consumed in their production, and the long period of immaturity, but also because full experimental control is here out of the question. For these reasons man is of interest to the student of genetics, chiefly in so far as he presents problems in heredity which are rarely to be found in other species, and can only be studied at present in man himself. The aim of the Eugenist, on the other hand, is to control human mating in order to obtain the largest proportion of individuals he considers best fitted to the form of society which he affects. It is evident that to do this effectually he must have precise knowledge of the manner in which transmission of characters occurs, and more especially of those with which he particularly wishes to deal. Precise knowledge is at present available in man for relatively few characters; and those characters, such as eye-colour, and certain somewhat rare deformities, are not the kind on which the Eugenist lays great stress. The one instance of eugenic importance that could be brought under immediate control is that of feeble-mindedness. Speaking generally, the available evidence suggests that it is a case of simple Mendelian inheritance. Occasional exceptions occur, but there is every reason to expect that a policy of strict segregation would rapidly bring about the elimination of this character.

There is reason to suppose that many human qualities are more complicated in their transmission, and it is probable that certain phenomena now being studied in plants and animals will throw definite light upon man. Though characters are frequently transmitted on the Mendelian scheme quite independently of one another, there are cases known in which they are linked up more or less completely in the germ cells with the determinant of a particular sex. Sex-limited inheritance of this nature has been carefully worked out in particular cases in Lepidoptera and poultry. As yet there is much to be learnt in this direction, and further progress may be expected to lead eventually to a precise knowledge of the mode of transmission of many human defects, such as colour-blindness and hæmophilia. It is not unlikely that a similar mode of transmission will be found to hold good for many human characters usually classed as normal.

Another set of phenomena which will probably be found of importance in the heredity of man are those included under the terms "coupling" and "repulsion." Characters, each exhibiting simple Mendelian segregation, may become linked together more or less completely in the process of heredity, or the reverse may occur. Our knowledge of these phenomena is at present almost completely confined to cases in plants, but evidence is beginning to be obtained for their occurrence in animals. It is not unlikely that they will be found to play a considerable part in human heredity. For one of the most noticeable things about man is the frequency with which children resemble one or other parent to the seemingly almost complete exclusion of the other. In view of the mongrelisation of the human race, the frequency of these cases is very remarkable, and can hardly fail to suggest that some sort of coupling between characters plays a large part in human heredity.

Except in very few cases, our knowledge of heredity in man is at present far too slight and too uncertain to base legislation upon. On the other hand, experience derived from plants and animals has shewn that problems of considerable complexity can be unravelled by the experimental method, and the characters concerned brought under control. Though the direct method is hardly feasible in man, much may yet be learnt by collecting accurate pedigrees and comparing them with standard cases worked out in other animals. But it must be clearly recognised that the collection of such pedigrees is an arduous undertaking demanding high critical ability, and only to be carried out satisfactorily by those who have been trained in and are alive to the trend of genetic research.

Section II.

Practical Eugenics.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS UPON "EDUCATION BEFORE PROCREATION."

(Abstract.)

By Adolphe Pinard,

_Professor at the Faculty; Member of the Academy of Medicine of Paris._

Sir Francis Galton has entitled Eugenics the new science having for its object the study of the causes subject to social control which can improve or impair the racial qualities of future generations, whether physical or mental.

Eugenics, thus defined, is nothing else but "Education before Procreation," which has been studied in France for a number of years, and which constitutes the first part of child-culture, "a science having for its object the search for information relative to the reproduction, preservation, and improvement of the human species"([1]).

[Footnote 1: v. De la Puériculture in Revue Scientifique, 1897.]

The Congress ought then to have for its object to work for the investigation of the conditions necessary to secure a favourable procreation. Now, it appears that the word "Eugenics," from the etymological point of view, does not characterise either explicitly or sufficiently the proposed object, while the word "Eugénique," of [Greek: gennaô], at once recalls to the mind the idea of a favourable procreation([2]).

[Footnote 2: Besides, the word "Eugenics" recalls in France a chemical term: eugenic-acid.]

It is part of the duty of our first principal sitting to lay down a rule upon this point.

Certainly, biological, sociological, and historical researches, laws and social customs regarded in their relations with the science of Eugenics, are necessary and will undoubtedly result in extremely interesting data, but from now it is above all things urgent to establish and proclaim eugenic principles.

Researches relating to physiological heredity and pathological heredity ought to be pursued without interruption, but it is necessary to make known as soon as possible to the masses of the people the individual conditions, fully understood, which alone permit a favourable and healthy procreation. In a word, it is necessary, by every means and as soon as possible, to organise a great movement in order to show to the greatest number of human beings the absolute necessity for a conscientious, _i.e._, an enlightened procreation. We must bravely approach the civilising of _the reproductive instinct_, which alone has remained in a barbarous state amongst all the so-called civilised nations from the earliest times.

Then only, when societies have fulfilled this duty, will they have the right to investigate what they ought and can effect against those for whom future offspring would be recognised as fatally disastrous.

Finally, it is fully understood that researches relating to selection in the human species must be pursued in a parallel manner, as is now done with such fruitful results for animals and vegetables in Genetics, and in throwing light upon the constantly increasing conquests of this other science.

PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION OF EUGENIC ACTION.

(Abstract.)

By Dr. Louis Querton,

_Professor at the University of Brussels._

Now that many studies on the physiology and hygiene of reproduction of man have been made, and many investigations on degeneration have been conducted, we may face the problem of the betterment of the race, from a practical standpoint.

If the eugenic action cannot yet strive directly against hereditary transmission of anomalies, it can fight successfully against the causes of degeneration which act during the development of the individual.

Physical and social environment influences these causes, which, on account of their growing complexity, create more and more obstacles to the normal evolution of the individual, while at the same time they force him to acquire greater and more varied aptitudes.

To thwart the prejudicial action of the environment on the development of the individual, the systematic organization of this development seems to be of first importance.

The control of the development of the children, at the different phases of their evolution, is strictly necessary to assure the education of the individual and to check the degeneration of the race.

The control is already established for certain classes of children, and during limited periods of their development. Nurslings, school children, and labourers can already, sometimes compulsorily, be submitted to control.

But the insufficiency of the actual organization is very evident, and the results are, from the eugenic standpoint, unsatisfactory.

In order to be really effective and to contribute to the improvement of the individual and to the betterment of the race, the control of the development should, as far as possible, be exerted over all children, and it should last during the whole period of their evolution. This control should be compulsory, as well as education; it should be exercised by an institution, the frequentation of which, as well as that of school, might be forced upon all children whose development is not submitted to an effective control in their homes. Private initiative should create such institutions everywhere, and thus prepare legislative interference.

These methodically organized eugenic institutions should, in the future, be the development of the administrative institutions, which actually establish the civil state of individuals. They would tend to facilitate the education of individuals and public bodies; at the same time they would assure the strict application of the laws concerning the protection and education of childhood.

They would collect the documents necessary to the scientific knowledge of the facts of heredity, and would supply precise information concerning the effective work of different social institutions on transformation of the race.

MARRIAGE LAWS AND CUSTOMS.

(Abstract.)

By C. B. Davenport,

_Director, Eugenics Record Office, U.S.A._

Of the various laws limiting freedom of marriage three are of biological import. First, the limitation of relationship between the mates; second, the limitations in mental capacity of the mates; and third, limitations of race.

For the first there is a biological justification in so far as cousin marriages are apt to bring in from both sides of the house the same defect. For the second the justification is partial; but there is equal reason for forbidding the marriage of normal persons both of whom have mentally defective parents or other close relatives. The denial of marriage between races has this justification, that most other races have not, through selection, attained the social status of the Caucasian. In such cases the socially inadequate should be sterilized or segregated in other races as well as in the Caucasian.

EUGENIC SELECTION AND THE ORIGIN OF DEFECTS.

(Abstract.)

By Frédéric Houssay,

_Professor of Science, University of Paris._

Eugenics, which is a social application of biological science, cannot yet be judged by its results; it must be judged by its tendencies. To determine these, we must adjust them to principles generally admitted.

And inasmuch as it advocates practical rules and seeks to check the propagation of the unfit, by isolation or sterilization (voluntary or enforced), it is an artificial selection.

Its justification lies in the fact that, without intervention, the descendants of defectives or degenerates would, in a few generations, eliminate themselves by early death of children or by natural sterility. This would produce a natural selection which Eugenics simply proposes to anticipate by social economy.

It seems that, by applying Darwinian principles, the group of defectives, considered at a given moment, could be rapidly extinguished. But this group is continually reinforced by fresh degeneration of healthy stocks which become tainted.

Hence the need to keep our eye on the re-formation of the group as well as its elimination, and to keep in touch with Lamarckian principles. The study of the origin and hereditary conservation of defects points already as essential factors, to alcoholism, syphilis, and more generally every chronic ailment and diathesis, among which gout must be put in a leading position. Everything which will tend to restrain the action of these factors is of capital importance from our present point of view, whether it occurs in the ranks of rich or poor.

The questions, thus, which Eugenics seeks to answer would be on this view reduced to questions of hygiene and morals.

So that the different biological principles, which sometimes seem in mutual opposition, would become convergent, and would find in Eugenics a ready reconciliation and a field of useful co-operation.

PRELIMINARY REPORT TO THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL EUGENICS CONGRESS,

Of the Committee of the Eugenics Section of the American Breeders' Association to Study and Report on the Best Practical Means for Cutting Off the Defective Germ Plasm in the Human Population.

(Abstract.)

By Bleecker Van Wagenen, _Chairman_.

1. Brief history of the American Breeders' Association, the Eugenics Section and the Committee on Elimination of Defective Germ Plasm.

2. Concise statement of the problem before the Committee and reasons for the investigation.

3. History of legislation in the United States authorising or requiring the sterilization of certain classes of criminals, defectives and degenerates who are under the control of the State in institutions. Digest of the laws now in force. (This may be given as a lantern slide with greater effect.)

Legal views concerning the constitutionality of these laws.

4. Investigations of vasectomy in Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts and elsewhere, with detailed reports of some typical cases. (With lantern slides.)

5. Reports of sterilization of females, both of normal and abnormal mentality, with a number of typical cases showing after-effects. (With lantern slides.)

6. Some observations in thremmatology suggesting important questions concerning the practical effectiveness of sterilization as a eugenic measure.

7. Technical description of several kinds of sterilizing operations as now performed. Vasectomy, ovariotomy and salpingectomy (with and without complete excision), castration.

8. Reports of several cases of persons, male and female, who having been completely sterilized for a time, recovered the power of procreation and actually did procreate thereafter.

9. State of public opinion regarding sterilization in the United States at the present time. Letters from Governors of States, views of Social Workers and Institution people. Conflicting views of Roman Catholics (as such). Digest of arguments set forth in a long controversy carried on in the American Ecclesiastical Review, chiefly in Latin.

10. Brief report of other data collected by the Committee and programme for future work, with a call for co-operation in securing further data pertinent to this inquiry.

EUGENICS AND THE NEW SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS.

(Abstract.)

By Samuel George Smith.

The new social consciousness is indicated; first, by the larger powers and duties assumed by the State: second, by the new sense of social solidarity affecting persons and groups of persons within the State. The exclusion from parenthood of such wards of the State as the feeble-minded, the insane, and the pauper has gone beyond debate; and for all that are legally excluded from parenthood, custodial care is required. There is need to develop a new ethical sense of the individual in regard to his own relations to the social group. We have not yet sufficient facts to establish a definite relation between physical fitness and social efficiency. This is the place for caution.

Questions of maternity among the poor: (_a_) Hard labour must be forbidden to the expectant mother; (_b_) she must have nourishing food; (_c_) surroundings must be wholesome. The economic problem is solved in the increased vitality and consequent earning power of the coming generation.

Problem of the parenthood of the better classes: just as important and more difficult. The question is not only vital and economic; it is also ethical.

The ignorance of parents and the defects of children. The State has invaded the home, and has set standards, both physical and moral, for the family. It is the duty of the State to secure the proper physical environment for the home. It is a municipal problem. It is a problem of public health. The whole movement looks to the triumph of a vital democracy, which is more important than either political or industrial democracy.

Relations of alcoholism to neurasthenia, of tuberculosis to feeble-mindedness, of bad social and labour conditions to both, indicate cross sections in the problem. Vices of the rich in most countries are greater than the vices of the poor. A vital democracy cannot be based upon physical tests and material comfort. Its deepest foundations are psychical and ethical.

PRACTICABLE EUGENICS IN EDUCATION.

(Abstract.)

By Dr. F. C. S. Schiller.

The danger to mankind arising from the preservation of the unfit under social conditions. The self-destructiveness of civilization. Its superiority dependent on the transmission of accumulated knowledge by education. The danger of failure in educational systems. Is the education of the rich necessarily a failure? The middle classes as providers of ability to man the professions; but the price they have to pay at present is too often racial extinction. The draining of ability from the lower classes.

The existing educational system and its potential value for eugenics. Its unintellectual character. The liberal endowment of a "liberal education." Commercialism and the scholarship system. The athletic system, the play instincts and moral training. Both systems are Darwinian and appeal to British character.

Suggested improvements: (1) in the athletic system; "fitness," not a merely physical ideal; (2) in the scholarship system; "liberal education" to be conceived as intrinsically useful, and not merely a game with intrinsically useless subjects.

Should scholarships be restricted to the needy? The educational dangers of this policy. The eugenical value of the existing system.