26 THE RELATIVE STRENGTH OF 



Here again we see that drink has practically no 

 influence on general health and intelligence of boys 

 and girls, and the little influence it has is in favour 

 of the children of drinking parents, they are healthier 

 and more intelligent. These results are certainly 

 startling and rather upset one's preconceived ideas, 

 but it is perhaps a consolation that to the obvious 

 and visible miseries of the children arising from 

 drink, lowered intelligence and physique are not 

 added. 



But before asserting that intemperance of the 

 parents has practically no effect on the physique 

 and intelligence of the children, there is a point 

 to be considered which I mentioned in the first part 

 of this paper. What is the status of the drinking 

 workman ? Is the drinker on an average the abler 

 man and of finer physique ? If so, his children should 

 show greater ability and better physique than the 

 children of the non-drinking parent, and further, 

 if the abler workman get higher wages, and thus 

 notwithstanding drink, the food at home has been 

 of better quality, we should expect his children to 

 be better developed physically than those of the 

 non-drinker. 



As before the only estimate we have at present 

 of the intelligence and physique of a workman is the 

 wage he earns. A high wage on an average will 

 mean a stronger and more efficient workman. We 

 want to discover therefore whether drink and good 

 wage go together to any large extent. If they do, 

 then drinking fathers should have stronger and more 

 intelligent children than non-drinking fathers. But 



