WISCONSIN "EUGENICS LAW" NOT REPEALED 



ACCORDING to a widely circu- 

 lated report the so-called Wis- 

 consin "Eugenics Law" has been 

 repealed. As a matter of fact, this 

 does not appear to be the case, al- 

 though it is questionable whether 

 keeping the law on the statute books 

 has any great eugenic value. After 

 considerable debate by the Wisconsin 

 Legislature the old law was extended 

 if not strengthened by adding a clause 

 requiring women to file an affidavit 

 that they are free from social diseases 

 before a license to marry will be 

 issued. 



The original law was passed in 1914 

 and required "A medical examination 

 of all male persons making applica- 

 tion to marry." Later the courts 

 ruled that it was not the intention of 

 the Legislature to require the Was- 

 serman test as part of the examination. 

 This had the efifect of further reduc- 

 ing the already limited usefulness oi 

 the measure. 



It is greatly to be deplored that 

 such legislation should be connected 

 in name with eugenics. The limited 

 provisions of the law in the first 

 place, and the way it has been admin- 

 istered show that it has little eugenic 

 value. Perhaps the history of this 

 law points a moral : that much research 



and a vast amount of education in the 

 elementary principles of biological in- 

 heritance must come before sound legal 

 action is possible and would receive 

 the necessary pul)lic support. In a 

 eugenically enlightened community 

 with the importance of heredity prop- 

 erly appreciated, and the fact of the 

 inheritance of many weaknesses both 

 mental and physical generally realized, 

 the right kind of pre-marriage exam- 

 ination would be of no small value. 

 Laitil there is wide public appreciation 

 of these facts it is impossible that 

 many peo])le would have the biological 

 background to place the proper inter- 

 pretation on the results of such an ex- 

 amination. The only effects that it 

 has today are most certainly dys- 

 genic. Serious-minded people, who 

 appreciate their responsibility to future 

 generations, are undoubtedly often de- 

 terred from marriage by such an 

 examination, and for no sound bio- 

 logical reason. On the other hand, 

 those who lack the mental capacity 

 to realize the consequences of their 

 acts are not led by it to forego mar- 

 riage. Such a law must be backed 

 by educated public opinion if its en- 

 forcement is to be either intelligent 

 or effective. 



The Mathematics of Life 



Mathematik und Biologie, by so past, of a study that enjoyed some 

 Martin Schips. Mathematical and popularity, namely, phyllotaxy. The 



Physical Library. Volume 42. Pp. 

 52; 16 figures. Price, 19 cents. Leip- 

 zig, Verlag von B. G. Tuebner. 1922. 



This little booklet is not, as one 

 might expect, a discussion oi biometry, 

 but rather an account of some of the 

 mathematical relations existing within 

 an individual living organism. The sym- 

 metry of organisms finds one of its 

 most complicated illustrations in the 



size-relations of an organism are also 

 discussed under the head of morph- 

 ology. The second part of the book is 

 given u]) to anatomy and physiology. 

 It considers such problems as the 

 mechanics of bones, muscles, and 

 blood vessels, and ends with a discus- 

 sion of Weber's Law. While all these 

 subjects are more or less familiar to 

 the student, it is worth while to have 



arrangement of leaves on the stem of them brought together and correlated; 

 a i)lant. acc(jrding to formulas which and the formulas which the book con- 

 can be worked out definitely, and lains will also be found convenient 

 formed the basis, a score of vears or for reference. — P. P. 



184 



