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interferring with natural selection. Newsholme, who is the great- 

 est student of this whole subject, at least from a statistical point 

 of view, says the high rate of infant mortality brings about 

 conditions which make for national degeneracy and infirmity, 

 and I believe firmly that this is true. Those who plead that 

 our preventive efforts are interfering with the natural selection 

 of the individual are pleading virtually for the retention of what 

 are the most unfortunate social conditions. They are pleading 

 that the woman shall continue to work in factories to the end 

 of her pregnancy. They are pleading for continuance of the in- 

 tolerable social conditions. I think we can look forward, even if 

 this Association meets only a part of its expectations of what it 

 is going to accomplish in this country, to a great future of use- 

 fulness, both of direct and indirect benefit. 



Let me urge upon you the importance of studying the exhibit. 

 I have not myself had the opportunity to do so yet, but I know 

 that that exhibit has been brought together with great sacrifice 

 of time and thought and energy on the part especially of the 

 Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Price, Secretary of the State 

 Board of Health. We are particularly indebted to Dr. Scheres- 

 chewsky of the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, who 

 has been of invaluable assistance in helping us to get together 

 this exhibit. We are also indebted to Dr. Wilbur, head of the 

 Vital Statistics Department, Bureau of the Census, and to many 

 others, who have been so good as to send exhibits. No such 

 exhibit has ever been brought together before. It will be, I 

 think, the most distinctive and instructive feature of this meet- 

 ing, and I believe it will be an example to those who are engaged 

 in similar movements elsewhere and that they will recognize this 

 feature as their strongest means of reaching efficiently the general 

 public. 



