EVOLUTION THE MASTER-KEY 



Can the whole survive the deterioration of its 

 parts ? 



This, of course, is too large a question to be 

 more than merely adumbrated here; but I may 

 be permitted to note a recent instance which 

 would have roused Spencer s ire. It being thought 

 that the urchins who attend the state schools of 

 London are too prone to indulgence in cigarette- 

 smoking, the metropolitan authorities determined 

 that the evil must be checked. To this end med 

 ical aid was invoked, and pamphlets were pre 

 pared, stating the evil effects of tobacco upon the 

 growing child. Thousands of copies were printed 1 

 and distributed. But to whom? Can it be be 

 lieved that the distribution was not to the parents, 

 but to the naughty little boys themselves ? Never 

 yet have I heard of any instance that demon 

 strates so clearly as this the utter imbecility into 

 which the principles of collectivism are leading 

 us. One tries to picture the father sitting at home, 

 to whom enters Tommy, aged ten, bearing a pam 

 phlet. Presumably, Tommy, being at bottom a 

 good boy, and wiser in his generation than we are, 

 hands the pamphlet to his father, who returns it 

 with the remark, &quot;Well, of course, it s none of 

 my business; you must decide for yourself.&quot; 

 Plainly no father can be expected to pay his edu 

 cation rate and attend to his child s habits himself; 

 that would not be getting his money s worth. 



1 I am not quite certain how far these proposals have actu 

 ally been carried into effect. 



246 



