42 A REPLY TO CRITICISMS 



movement? Or, shall he on the other hand attempt to 

 study it for himself, with no initial bias? Here in a nut- 

 shell is the fundamental division between the two attitudes : 



(i) All use of alcohol will lead pro tanto to defective 

 children. Its abuse is due to opportunity and to defect of 

 moral influence. 



(ii) The abuse of alcohol is one of the stigmata ot 

 degeneracy. It is not the cause of degeneracy but its 

 product. As the production of degeneracy — whether in 

 the form of mental defect, epilepsy or insanity — is checked, 

 to that extent the abuse of alcohol will be checked. 



The acceptance of one attitude involves the demand for 

 the cessation of all import, manufacture or sale of alcoholic 

 drinks. The acceptance of the other demands the cessation 

 of parentage on the part of the epileptic, the insane and the 

 mentally defective. 



It is for the Eugenist to consider the evidence for either 

 policy, uninfluenced by rhetoric and by invective, and then 

 to act in accordance with his decision. The two policies are 

 not in my opinion compatible, for the evidence upon which 

 (ii) is based shows that the practical sequence to the 

 acceptance of (i), i. e. absolute prohibition, would not pro- 

 duce any permanent racial effect. 



