200 



THE TREND OF THE RACE 



gent ancestry. The relatively high death rate among the infants 

 of this class is a secondary result of the mental inferiority of their 

 parents. Natural selection tends to eliminate this class of indi- 

 viduals not so much through taking a greater toll from the adults 

 but through the high death rate of their offspring. We have 

 already remarked upon the high infant mortality of such stocks as 

 the Jukes and Kallikaks. Ashby remarks in his volume on Infant 

 Mortality, in speaking of efforts to reduce the infant death rate in 

 New York, "The unanimous verdict of the doctors, who have 

 made the observations, are that neither the surroundings of the 

 infant, nor the exact character of the milk obtained, were as 

 important factors in the health of the infant as the intelligent 

 character of the mother. . . . Ignorance and lack of intelligence 

 are thus two of the great evils which we have to contend against, 

 and mothers do not generally appreciate the extent upon which 

 infant life depends on the adoption of simple hygienic precau- 

 tions." Those who are slum dwellers through low intelligence 

 and natural shiftlessness have a high infant mortality. In so far 

 as unfavorable conditions for infant welfare are the result of the 

 inborn inferiority of parents, — -and no one can deny that they are 

 frequently so to a considerable degree, — to that extent natural 

 selection tends to eliminate the stock. 



In this connection it would be of interest to consider the selec- 

 tive effect of alcohol. Alcoholism in the parents is associated with 

 infant mortality. Dr. Sullivan has compiled the following data: 



Drunken Mothers, 21. 

 Sober Mothers, 28. . . . 



No. of children 



125 



138 



No. of children 

 died in 2 yrs 



69 



33 



Percentage of 

 dead children 



239 



Much more data could be adduced to the same effect, but we 

 shall refer the reader to other sources for fuller information. It is 

 generally recognized that the victims of alcoholism are to a large 

 extent individuals of neuropathic inheritance. Alcohol picks out 



