Ii8 



TROPICAL DISEA SES 



EUGENICS. 



Any attempt to improve the racial qualities, mental and physical, 

 of the future generations will, without doubt, equip them better 

 for the struggle for existence, including therein the fight against 

 disease. In order to bring about an improvement two factors are 

 open for consideration — viz., the parents and the child. 



With regard to the parents, eugenics attempts to combat such 

 racial poisons as are represented by alcohol and such social diseases 

 as are indicated by syphilis, gonorrhoea, and tuberculosis. 



In regard to alcohol, when taken in large quantities and for long 

 periods it is said to act upon the germ cells, leading to the produc- 

 tion of children possessing a lower resistance against disease. Un- 

 fortunately, as we shall see later, alcoholism is common among the 

 natives of many tropical regions, and has already produced marked 

 racial effects. 



Alcoholism in the mother is a more serious matter than alcoholism 

 in the father, because in the former the embryo is produced by 

 alcohol-poisoned germ cells, while during intra-uterine life its grow- 

 ing cells are being constantly alcoholized, and finally the child, after 

 birth, is either fed upon an alcoholic mother's milk or, as is more 

 frequently the case, is reared by such hand-feeding as an alcoholic 

 mother may give it. 



As hand-feeding in the tropics requires the greatest care, it is not 

 surprising that when reared by an alcoholic mother the child usually 

 acquires disease at an early stage of its life-history, and often helps 

 to swell the infant mortality rate. 



Alcoholism is a great social question, and can only be combated 

 by a sociological movement such as to-day is taking place in England 

 and other Temperate Zone countries. 



With regard to the so-called social diseases, every medical practi- 

 tioner is conversant with syphilis and gonorrhoea, and all that is 

 necessary is to invite attention to Sir Malcolm Morris's summary of 

 the Recommendations of the Royal Commission on Venereal 

 Disease, which include facilities for diagnosis and treatment, diffu- 

 sion of knowledge with regard to the diseases, and the collection of 

 statistics. It is particularly to be noted that they conclude that 

 at the present time any system of compulsory personal notification 

 would fail to secure the advantages claimed. The Commission 

 considered that undeclared venereal disease should be a ground for 

 the annulment of a marriage. They further considered that 

 advertisements of patent medicines should be prohibited, and 

 apparently they were in favour of making it penal for unqualified 

 persons to treat venereal diseases. Venereal disease is at the present 

 time exceedingly common in all parts of the tropics, and undoubtedly 

 is leading to racial degeneration, and we strongly advocate that 

 some preventive scheme should be inaugurated in all tropical 

 countries. At the same time, we desire to record our disapproval 

 of attempts to combat these evils by the registration and general 



