890 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVII. No. 440. 



that, as struggle is modified by altruism, 

 the unfit of every description are preserved 

 to the detriment of the race as a whole, and 

 that some humane solution of the difficulty 

 must be sought. The burden of the state 

 is becoming such that the causes of degen- 

 eracy must be in large part removed. The 

 very fact that state and society are assum- 

 ing the care of the unfortunate shows the 

 growth of altruism and a recognition of 

 the solidarity of society. The dependent, 

 defective and delinqiient classes are begin- 

 ning to receive attention and study com- 

 mensurate with the importance of their 

 effect upon the welfare of the whole social 

 fabric. Since all degeneracy is due to 

 heredity or environment, state and society 

 can reach and to some extent regulate the 

 causes. 



Since the struggle in human society is 

 bound to be lessened, and race degenera- 

 tion will stirely follow unless degenerate 

 tendencies are eliminated, what is the 

 aspect of the problem ? Society will . no 

 longer allow the unfortunate to perish. The 

 answer seems to me plain and simple. 

 Dickens in his marvelous study of social 

 problems emphasized with terrible vivid- 

 ness the evils of society from neglected 

 children when these should become grown 

 and trained in vice, and hence powerful 'for 

 harm. The work of improving the lower 

 strata of society must begin with children. 

 Educate the normal children of the poor, 

 teach them some trade and start them right 

 in life. Educate all who under right in- 

 fluence and training can become useful 

 citizens. Remove waifs from imwholesome 

 surroundings, or, rather, improve the sur- 

 roundings. But in the name of humanity 

 place all those who by nature must become 

 hopeless paupers, imbeciles, all who by na- 

 ture will become hopeless criminals, under 

 permanent custodial care. Teach them 

 some simple occupation and make them in 



part self-supporting. Segregate the sexes, 

 that such unfortunates and society may be 

 spared the fatal gift of degenerate off- 

 spring. This will do more to regenerate 

 society than use-inheritance and all reme- 

 dies proposed, except the great moral evo- 

 lution of the race as a whole which I be- 

 lieve is going on. 



Growth of Great Cities: Elmer L. Coe- 

 THELL, New York city. 

 At the annual meeting of the associa- 

 tion held at Springfield, Mass., in 1895, the 

 author offered a paper with a similar title. 

 The present paper gives the necessary 

 summary of the former, and extends the 

 curves of the diagram of growth and the 

 data generally to include the census of 

 1900. 



The growth of the eight cities under 

 consideration is shown by a curve, the basis 

 of which is the following : the periods from 

 the earliest obtainable data to 1900 are 

 measured from the ordinate, and the popu- 

 lation of each census is measured from the 

 abscissa. 



It has been the aim of the author to show 

 in the case of each city its metropolitan 

 population ; not simply that included with- 

 in its political limits, but, in the case of 

 London and Berlin, Greater London and 

 Greater Berlin are also given. 



The author gives a tahle of populations 

 in addition to the curves of the diagram, 

 to show the data for his latest extension 

 of the curve of growth. 



