3o6 FOOT-NOTES TO EVOLUTION. 



tendency so marked in the case of 'Cracker' and the 

 ' Pike ' here. ' Movin' on.' There is scarcely a day that 

 the wagons are not to be seen in our streets; cur dogs; 

 tow-headed children. They camp outside the city, and 

 then beg. Two families as I write have come by, mov- 

 ing from north to south, and from east to west, 'hunt- 

 ing work,' and yet we can give work to a thousand men 

 on our gas trenches. 



" Next, note the general unchastity that character- 

 izes this class. The prostitution and illegitimacy are 

 large; the tendency shows itself in incests and relations 

 lower than the animals go. This is due to the depra- 

 vation of Nature, to crowded conditions, to absence of 

 decencies and cleanliness. It is an animal reversion 

 which can be paralleled in lower animals. The physical 

 depravity is followed by physical weakness. Out of this 

 come the frequent deaths, the stillborn children, and 

 the general incapacity to endure hard work or bad cli- 

 mate. They can not work hard, and break down early. 

 They then appear in the county asylum, the city hospi- 

 tal, and the township trustee's office. 



" Third, note the force of heredity. Each child tends 

 to the same life, reverts when taken out. 



" And, lastly, note the influence of the great factor, 

 public relief. Since 1840 relief has been given to them. 

 At that time we find that 'old E. Huggins' applied to 

 have his wife Barthemia sent to the poorhouse. A pre- 

 mium was then paid for idleness and wandering. The 

 amount paid by the township for public relief varies, 

 rising as high as $90,000 in 1876, sinking in 1878 to 

 $7,000, and ranging with the different trustees from 

 $7,000 to $22,000 per year. Of this amount, fully three 

 fourths has gone to this class. Public relief, then, is 

 chargeable in a large degree with the perpetuation of 

 this stock. The township trustee is practically unlim- 



