Constitutional Vigor in Ancestry of Thomas A. Edison 415 
live the same life. This he has done 
with the result that the great inventor 
finds himself today, at the age of sixty- 
five, in sound health; with the wonderful 
record that he has been sick just four 
times in sixty-five years; he has had 
three or four headaches, and two or 
three winters ago he had a slight cold, 
the first in ten years. He has also had 
an attack of so-called middle-ear disease, 
from which he recovered in two or three 
weeks. This was in 1908, since which 
time he has been very well and hard at 
work. 
“ Naturally everyone will ask, what is 
this marvelous routine that has made 
possible this wonderful record? In the 
first place the routine is not marvelous 
at all; it is stmply common sense, which, 
if followed by more of us, would obviate 
nearly all our illnesses and make it 
possible for us to reach the ages at- 
tained by Mr. Edison’s ancestors, and 
to enjoy as good health as does the great 
inventor himself.” 
FALLACIOUS REASONING 
Unfortunately for the interviewer’s 
conclusion (which appears to be Edi- 
son’s own) there is abundant evidence 
to prove that long life is due largely to 
heredity. -The fact that an ascetic 
dietary is in this case associated with 
long life by no means proves that it 
causes long life. 
“Tf Thomas A. Edison should live 
to be a nonagenarian or centenarian 
as he intimates he will through this 
methodical mode of a restricted diet, 
would it be a fair scientific deduction 
to attribute his longevity to the heredi- 
tary factor, or to his ascetic dietary?” 
Mr. Barton asks. To this Dr. 
replied as follows: 
“Both heredity and environment are 
undoubtedly factors in producing lon- 
gevity. My researches indicate that 
the possibility of long life depends 
primarily upon the possession of a good 
constitution (which is an inheritable 
characteristic); and secondarily upon 
good habits of living (which are not 
inheritable). 
“The case cited by you, of Edison’s 
ancestors, is obviously one in which 
heredity is involved; for you have here 
a man living to 102 years of age, having 
a son who died at 103, and seven 
grandsons who all lived to be over 90. 
“It is inconceivable to me that a 
system of diet could possibly be the 
cause of so extraordinary a result. 
It is more reasonable to suppose that a 
tendency to longevity existed in the 
family, and that the good habits of 
life permitted it to come into expres- 
sion. In this connection it is interesting 
to know that a hereditary tendency to 
longevity appears in many families in 
spite of the prevalence of most unhy- 
gienic conditions. 
“The case of the Italian nobleman, 
Lodovico Cornaro, who lived to be 98 
after having been given up by his physi- 
cians at 40, is interesting but by no 
means conclusive, because nothing is 
said about his ancestors. It is true 
that he attributed his long life to his 
system of diet; but in most of the cases 
I have investigated where the excellent 
habits of life were supposed to be the 
cause of the longevity, I have found 
that the individuals came of long-lived 
stock.”’ 
Bell 
Banns Law Proposed in Georgia 
The desirability of a good banns law, 
as an aid to sexual selection, has been 
pointed out in this Journal. By -pre- 
venting hasty and ill-considered marri- 
ages, it would probably tend to better 
matings from a eugenics point of view. 
The following news item from the 
daily press is of interest in this con- 
nection: 
“Atlanta, Aug. 20.—A strict measure 
intended to curtail immorality and the 
divorce evil by preventing hasty marri- 
ages probably will be passed by the 
present session of the legislature. 
“The bill provides five days must 
elapse from the time a marriage license 
is taken out before a ceremony can be 
performed; that there must be at least 
two competent witnesses; that the issue 
of a license must be published, and 
sworn statements must be made as to 
age and previous marriage.’’ 
