Thk Editor: Constructive Eugenics 



461 



of clothing. If non-eugenic unions 

 should become as infrequent for a 

 dozen years as golf trousers have been 

 for that time, the eugenists could point 

 to a golden era." 



It is, then, evident that the goal of 

 the eugenist is capable of attainment. 

 "How can this be done? Or, to put it 

 more concretely, how can unfortunate 

 unions be effectively tabooed, as incest 

 is tabooed?" 



"All fruitful agitation for change 

 must confine its aspirations within 

 discreet limits. It must enlist senti- 

 ment, if it can, rather than reason; and 

 the great compelling sentiment is fear. 

 . Further, fear must be brought 

 home. Some men are able to fear and 

 worry for the far generations of man- 

 kind, but not many of us can get up 

 much excitement over the fate of even 

 our great grandchildren. Fear must 

 be brought home, I say; and to the in- 

 dividual." Dr. Keller therefore urges 

 that the knowledge of the laws of 

 heredity be made widespread, and that 

 physicians in particular be more active 

 in making known the noxious action of 

 some of the " counterselective factors" 

 that are injuring the race. 



Dr. Aldrich also expresses the prob- 

 lem in a concrete way. "How far is 

 it possible," he asks, "for a body of 

 thoughtful men, with an earnest con- 

 viction of the value of their eugenic 

 teaching, to influence the formation and 

 growth of a public opinion powerful 

 enough to encourage parenthood of the 

 fit and discourage parenthood of the 

 unfit?" He would not belittle the 

 difficulties of the task; but neither 

 would he have them appear more in- 

 surmountable than they really are. 



"When we consider the few years 

 since the beginning of any systematic 

 and wide-spread eugenic effort, and the 

 difficulties in the way, the striking fact 

 is that so much has already been 

 achieved. . . . I do not think that 

 any observer of American life will 

 disagree with me when I say that there 

 is already a marked tendency among 

 the young men and young women of 

 this country to look more carefully than 

 they used to do to the physical and 

 mental fitness of those whom they 

 choose as their husbands or wives." 



Dr. Wolcott emphasizes the need of 

 "the conservation of desirable germ 

 plasm by preventing the loss of man- 

 hood due to war, by enlarging individual 

 opportunity, and educating the public 

 to the desirability of more care in the 

 selection of mates. Increased individ- 

 ual opportunity may be secured by 

 subsidizing the fit, by a higher scale of 

 wages, by a decrease in the cost of 

 living, and by the removal of social 

 hindrances to marriage such as the 

 increasing demands of professional and 

 business life. The methods of pro- 

 cedure last outlined again carry us over 

 into the field of cuthenics, which we 

 have seen from so many points of view 

 lying close to that of eugenics." 



ALLIANCE WITH EUTHENICS. 



Dr. Jordan, too, points out in a 

 vigorous way the tremendous reversal 

 of natural selection which is caused by 

 war. He suggests the endowment of 

 parentage, but believes the scheme 

 must be safeguarded with many checks 

 and qualifications. He looks to the 

 church as a potent factor in the educa- 

 tional compaign to create the eugenic 

 conscience which he hopes to see the 

 public acquire. 



Dr. Webber, recognizing the need for 

 encouraging parentage among the 

 superior, also recognizes the need for 

 better standards or methods of judging 

 ability early in life. As an aid to the 

 development of the race he urges "the 

 great importance of establishing an 

 adequate system of human registration 

 similar to that used in the registration 

 of pure bred stock. 



"Such a human registration would 

 serve many useful functions. First and 

 primarily, it would stimulate pride in 

 family and the desire on the part of any 

 individual whose ancestors were in the 

 register to measure up to or surpass that 

 standard. I believe that family pride 

 is the most potent influence in restrain- 

 ing the individual from error, and in 

 stimulating him to greater effort. 



"Such a register would include only 

 good and superior individuals, as medi- 

 ocre or poor grade individuals would 

 never seek to be included in such a 

 pedigree record. 



"Once started I believe such a regis- 



