INTRODUCTION. 33 



laws many excellent parents, who are strong of 

 body and sound of mind, have very inferior chil- 

 dren; while thousands through ignorance or wil- 

 ful outrage of nature's laws give to their off- 

 spring an inheritance that makes vice and crime 

 natural and virtue a thing to be acquired. 



Thestudv_of Jieredity lies at the foundation 

 of^alTTeforrn. More and more does it become 



apparent to students of sociology that these laws The True Basis 

 must be practically applied before the problems of ^ Refofm ' 

 intemperance, vice and crime can be solved and 

 a high moral standard for the masses attained. 

 Frances Willard once said, "If man is to over- 

 come the evils of intemperance, children must be 

 better born." 



If it is possible to mold or even influence the 

 physical, mental and moral character of a child 

 before it sees the light of day, then this molding 

 should be done in such a way as to give to its 

 nature the most desirable qualities possible. If 

 education is a factor in brain building and 

 mental development, then education should be- 

 gin when the brain is forming. If environ- 

 ment molds character, then the environ- Prenatal versos 

 ments that obtain during the formative period Training, 

 of a life are the most potential for good or 

 evil. If the principles of virtue and morality 

 can be instilled into a nature and made a part 

 of its conscious will, then the earlier the instilla- 

 tion is begun the more completely will these prin- 

 ciples control the life. If vicious and criminal 

 tendencies can be produced by evil impressions 



made upon the mature mind and established brain 

 centers, how much more determinate must be such 



