342 



The Journal of Heredity 



present enquiry that we should know 

 whether these quahties, which cannot 

 be produced by education, are trans- 

 mitted by inheritance. So far as this 

 question relates to genius it has been 

 the subject of a number of researches, 

 of which Francis Galton's "Hereditary 

 Genius" is a familiar example. I kit so 

 far as it relates to all the mental quali- 

 ties — good and bad, string and weak — 

 I know of but one careful and extensive 

 investigation, that contained in Dr. 

 Frederick Adams Woods's "Mental and 

 Moral Heredity in Royalty." 



FVom an elaborate study of the royal 

 families of Europe during four cen- 

 turies. Dr. Woods reaches the conclu- 

 sion that mental and moral differences 

 are almost entirely due to the influence 

 of heredity, and that they are but 

 slightly affected by environment. Dr. 

 Woods's investigation is. so far as I 

 am aware, the first in which the influ- 

 ences of heredity and of environment 

 in man have been separated and mea- 

 sured. Of great interest from the poli- 

 tical and social standpoint is the cor- 

 relation between mental and moral 

 qualities, which Dr. \\' oods's figures re- 

 vealed. Averages show that persons 

 strong in mental qualities are usually 

 strong- in moral qualities as well. 



IMPORTANCE OF LEADERSHIP 



To these facts about the hereditary 

 quality of mental and moral traits an- 

 other must be added if a full apprecia- 

 tion of then" force is to be reached. 

 Throughout all human society there is 

 a strong tendency for like to mate with 

 like — the rich with the rich, the success- 

 ful with the successful, the poor with 

 the poor, the intelligent with the in- 

 telligent. This tendency exerts a pow- 

 erful cumulative influence, which is 



constantly widening the gulf which 

 separates mediocrity from talent ; and 

 the lapse of time is, therefore, making, 

 talented families more talented, and 

 forcing others further and further be- 

 low the line of mediocrity. It appears, 

 then, that mankind is not breeding to- 

 wards an average, but towards two 

 extremes. 



I pass finally to what history teaches 

 us of the importance of greatness in the 

 individual. The question resolves it- 

 self actually into a choice between a 

 qualitative and a quantitative theory of 

 causation in human achievement. 



To whatever phase of human devel- 

 opment we turn, history fails to furn- 

 ish a single instance in which an ac- 

 complished step in human progress can 

 be referred, ultimately, to .any cause 

 other than the quality of greatness in 

 the individual. It is this quality which 

 has given the world all that has en- 

 nobled man's character, elevated his 

 culture, and extended his mastery over 

 the material elements of life. It is to 

 the genius of a few hundred individ- 

 uals among the thousands of millions 

 who have lived, that we owe all the in- 

 spiration of religion, philosophy, music, 

 art, and literature ; all the benefactions 

 of science, discovery, and invention. 



We appear to be at the threshold of 

 an era in which the last shred of au- 

 thority is to be stripped from wisdom 

 and talent, in which the destiny of the 

 world is finally to be committed to the 

 ])lind (iod of Xunil)ers. If biologv can 

 enforce a teaching by which this catas- 

 trophy may be averted, the interest of 

 humanity demands that the effort 

 should be made before the hour of its 

 possibilities has vanished. 



Assistant Secretary Ousley Tells Need For Still More Food Production 



Declaring that "this situation and the 

 fact that 2,000,000 men in France 

 hardly could be demobilized in time to 

 restore normal farm labor conditions 

 for the next year's planting and cul- 

 tivation," Clarence Ousley, Assistant 



Secretary of Agriculture, in an address 

 before the New York Humanitarian 

 Society, said that city peo])lc must help 

 the farmers in even larger numbers in 

 1919 to insure adequate harvests of 

 f(K^d crops. 



