MESSAGE TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF EUGENICS 



LEONARD DARWIN 



Sussex, England 



I hope that I may be allowed to send this message wishing every success 

 to the International Congress of Eugenics now assembled at New York. 

 I am tempted to do this because of the great honour conferred on me, and 

 the pleasure given to me, by my appointment as one of the two honorary 

 Presidents of the Congress. I most sincerely wish I could be present to 

 take my place beside my colleague, Dr. Fairfield Osborn, whose unbounded 

 hospitality in New York and on the banks of your beautiful Hudson River, 

 when he was acting President of the Congress of 1922, have left an indelible 

 impression on my mind. A journey to America is, however, unfortunately 

 out of the question in my case. Though I must not now allude to all the 

 memories vividly recalled by this reference to that pleasant gathering, per- 

 haps I may be allowed to mention one particular incident. At a tea given 

 by Dr. Davenport and Dr. Laughlin in the charming grounds surround- 

 ing their Eugenics Record Office, at the very close of that Congress, I was 

 asked by the other visitors to undertake the onerous task of thanking all 

 our hosts for the kindnesses we had received on innumerable occasions. 

 What I then said I do not remember, but I am certain that what I was 

 feeling was that every Englishman always returns to his own country after a 

 visit to the United States with the feeling that he will never be able to repay 

 the debt he has incurred on account of the hospitality received, much as he 

 would like to be able to do so. Luckily for us, everything was done in such a 

 generous and open-hearted manner as to make the recollection of this debt 

 to be a pleasure rather than a burden. But please be assured — and here I 

 am also speaking from personal experience of a visit to your country 

 more than half a century ago — that all the kindnesses we have received 

 remain bright and untarnished in our memories. 



I want also to congratulate all those who have been working so hard at 

 the preparation for this Congress, not only that their preliminary labours 

 are now over, but on the success of their efforts — for I know that they will 

 be successful. Some may be asking themselves whether all their efforts 

 have been worth while; but if so, may I say that the experiences gained 

 at the two last international congresses make me feel certain that your 



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