PARASITISM AND ITS COST TO SOCIETY 399 



feeble-minded girl. She had a feeble-minded son, who had 480 

 descendants. Of these 33 were sexually immoral, 24 confirmed 

 drunkards, 3 epileptics, and 143 feeble-minded. The man who 

 started this terrible line of immorality and feeble-mindedness 



(N> 



Q-rlililEOQ 0®(^ 



T 



Martin 



n] 



(N) 



t 



Died 

 in infancy 



(M®®®®^® 



mB) 



WM 



QM 



wUg) 



EI 



Part of the two lines of descendants of Martin Kallikak. Squares represent 

 males ; circles, females. A^, normal ; F, feeble-minded. 



later married a normal Quaker girl. From this couple a line of 496 

 descendants was traced, with no cases of feeble-mindedness. The 

 evidence and the moral speak for themselves ! 



Parasitism and its Cost to Society. — Hundreds of bad families 

 such as those described exist to-day, spreading disease, immorality, 

 and crime to all parts of this country. The cost to society of such 

 families is very severe. Just as certain animals or plants become 

 parasitic on other plants or animals, these families have become 

 parasitic on society. They not only do harm to others by corrupt- 

 ing, by stealing, and by spreading disease, but they are actually 

 protected and cared for by the state out of public money. It is 

 estimated that between 25% and 50% of all prisoners in penal in- 

 stitutions are feeble-minded. Largely for them the poorhouse and 

 the asylum exist. They take from society, but they give nothing 

 in return. They are true parasites. 



