HUMAN CONSERVATION 335 



changes, there were in England, as recently as 1819, 

 233 crimes punishable by death according to law. 



One needs only to recall the days of the Spanish 

 Inquisition or of the Salem witchcraft persecution to 

 realize what fearful blunders human judgment is 

 capable of, but it is unlikely that the world will ever 

 see another great religious inquisition, or that in ap- 

 plying to man the newly found laws of heredity there 

 will ever be undertaken an equally deplorable eugenic 

 inquisition. 



It is quite apparent, finally, that although great 

 caution and broadness of vision must be exercised in 

 bringing about the fulfillment of the highest eugenic 

 ideals, nevertheless in this direction lies the future 

 path of human achievement. 



8. EUGENICS, NOT "BLUEGENICS" 



Eugenics has been called the "dismal science" by ro- 

 mantic people who chafe under the restrictions of 

 common sense, and by conscientious individuals who 

 are depressed by the appalling hereditary blunders 

 made by mankind, but, as a matter of fact, eugenics 

 presents the brightest hope for the future of humanity. 

 Some of the unattractiveness of the eugenical program 

 lies in the fact that it calls for results in the distant 

 future in which there can be little or no personal par- 

 ticipation, and often at the expense of present day 

 comforts. It is a lofty ideal of altruism and patriot- 

 ism, and in the words of Major Leonard Darwin, "an 

 ideal to be followed like a flag in battle without thought 

 of personal gain" 



