loO Till' JoL'K.NAi. oi" 1 li;ki:i)iTv 



Mcndclian character may still carr\- together the complementary elements 



some of the elements of the character, that will cause an undesirable character 



There arc no pure strains in the himian to come into expression. 

 species, and any union may bring 



A Warning to Eugenists 



Condemnation of haste in "eugenic" legislation is voiced by the State Charities 

 Commission of Illinois in its fourth annual report. The commission says: 



' ■ We do not favor the enactment into laws of the principles which the eugenist 

 has promulgated. They arc worthy of ]jublic thought and consideration. But 

 whatc\"er of merit they contain, to be effective, must be accepted voluntarily by 

 an enlightened and quickened ]3ublic conscience, and not forced upon it by statutory 

 enactment. Much more can be accomplished in this field by the dissemination of 

 clearly demonstrated facts than by attempt to impose by law upon the public 

 poorly understood or wholly misunderstood principles of hiunan conduct and life. 



"Many eugenists are going to extremes. They arc responsible for the ridicule 

 into which a serious subject has been plunged. The science of eugenics is a dignified, 

 deej) and serious study of the tremendous ]Droblems of human life. It is entitled to 

 res])cct and to respectful consideration. The ])opular conception, formed through 

 fli]j]jant reference to eugenic marriages, eugenic babes, eugenic dramatic produc- 

 tions and eugenic novels, has resulted in its falling into more or less disrepute. 



"The pioneers in the science have advanced ideas which are worthy of the most 

 careful thought, whether we believe in them or not. Any movement whose object 

 is to improve the race, elevate the standard of mentality and make life better and 

 nobler, should not be prostituted as this science has been." 



The Wisconsin Marriage Law 



The weekly Report of the United States Public Health Service (Vol. 29, No. 37, 

 Washington, D. C, Sept. 11, 1914) publishes the opinion of the chief justice of the 

 Wisconsin supreme court, u]jholding the so-called "eugenic marriage law" and also 

 the dissenting opinion rendered by two of the members of the court. The law, 

 which has been in force since the beginning of this year, and provides for a medical 

 examination of "all male jjersons making application for license to marry," was 

 attacked as unconstitutional, and the court of first trial upheld the attack. In the 

 suj^reme court "the case really turned on the question whether or not the language 

 of the law required the api^licati(jn of the Wassermann test. . . . The majority 

 of the court held that the legislature did not intend to require the W^assermann 

 test." The statute as thus interpreted would appear to be even more useless than 

 its opponents have from the start declared it to be. 



