282 



The Journal of Heredity 



Another matter of vital importance is 

 to know to what extent valuable intel- 

 lectual and moral traits are correlated 

 with valualjle physical traits. If the 

 production of intelligence is encouraged, 

 will that also encourage the production 

 of sound children, or the reverse, as 

 some who do not understand eugenics 

 pretend? Again, Alexander Graham 

 Bell has been advising that much weight 

 be placed on family longevity in the 

 choice of a mate; will or will not long- 

 lix'cd people be found to be above the 

 average of the population in mental 

 ability? 



These are questions which must be 

 answered fully, and on which there is 

 now very little light. As I have pointed 

 out, this family is not characterized by 

 extreme mental development. It seems 

 to be about the average in this respect. 

 In the matter of physical development, 

 some of the family histories make 

 record of the fact that the men were 

 large and well proportioned, the most 

 striking record being that of a man, his 

 brother, and two sons, who together 

 measured 25 feet. On the other hand, 

 sex'cral members of the family are known 

 to have been smaller than the average. 

 In these cases, however, the small 

 stature can be traced to a parent who 

 did not belong to the family. The 

 extent of my study is too small to 

 carry much weight, but the figures in 

 regard to maturity and longevity are 

 suggestive. 



In the general population of the 

 United States, at the ]:)resent time, 

 about 80% reach maturity (21 years). 

 In an earlier period, the percentage 

 who did so is known to be considerablN' 

 smaller, but I am unable to present any 

 figures that would be of value for direct 

 comparison. I think the conclusion is 

 justified, however, that the child mor- 

 tality in this genealogy is not above the 

 average; I am of the o])inion that it 

 would be found, on ])roper investiga- 

 tion, to be somewhat below the average. 



It is well known that low infant 

 mortality, and longevity, are correlated, 

 both being due to the inheritance of a 

 sound constitution. It is therefore to 

 be expected that the family should show 

 a large jjroportion of long-lix'c-d members. 



The greater number of long-hved males 

 among the office-holders than among 

 those who are known to have followed 

 other careers is interesting but not con- 

 clusive. Most ])ositions of pubHc ser\-- 

 ice favor kjng life, because they do not 

 entail any particular exposure or risk. 

 Further, the office-holders are a doubl\- 

 selected lot: first, because one is usuall\- 

 not elected to office under 30 years of 

 age, and the weaker memljers of the 

 family by that time may have died; and 

 second, because only men of strong 

 vitality and endurance would take many 

 of these offices, which meant work with- 

 out pay outside of the individual's 

 regular employment. But even allow- 

 ing for these factors, there is indication 

 (as one would a priori expect) that 

 longevity is correlated with sujoerior 

 mentality and morality. 



In sum, this family is marked by a 

 tendency on the ])art of the males, and 

 to a less extent the females, to choose 

 occupations that are of the nature of 

 public service. It is also marked by a 

 good average of physical soundness, 

 intelligence, and economic efficienex", 

 with no great deviations from the aver- 

 age. It seems in some degree to meet 

 the standard of "civic worth" on which 

 Galton laid stress as an element of 

 eugenics. 



A TASK FOR GENEALOGISTS 



One of the greatest difficulties which 

 eugenics faces is that of deciding which 

 l)art of the ]:)opulation is the valuable 

 part whose increas(> should be encour- 

 aged at the ex]jense of others. Thj 

 general tendency is to make financial 

 success the criterion, but this is not free 

 from objection. Its great merit is that 

 it is an easy test to apply; but it can be 

 argued that financial success depends as 

 much on opportunity as on ability; and 

 that it sometimes re])resents cunning 

 and selfishness, rather than constructive, 

 altruistic traits. Without neeessarih' 

 admitting the truth of these oluections, 

 one must recogni/.e that the financial 

 criterion is not jxTfect. It seems pos- 

 sible that genealogists, if they had the 

 needs of eugenics in mind, might be able 

 to supi)lement this criterion with others. 

 If manv families, or even considerable 



