Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-12-14

FROM the New York Sun.
The Institute of Heredity. society for i'm
proving the human breed after the methods so
successfully pursued on stock farms. has lasted
long enough to hold it's second annual conven-
ton in New York.
Great as this city is, however and diversified
as are the interests. tastes and crOtchets of its
vast population. the Institute has not vet been
able to get together as large audiences here as
it had last year in Boston, where it was organ
lied. Yet if the quality of the human stock i'm
the United States could be as much improved
as the breed of our horses cattle and sheen.
has been during the last quarter of a century.
how great would be the gain of the republic. of
the world.
To accomplish this most desirable result. ac-
cOrding to Mr.. Loring Moody the learned Bos-
tonian who founded the Institute of Heredity.
all we have to do is to exercise the same care in
raising children that stock-breedcr does in
raising thoroughbred horses ''People who are
born with theft and murder in the blood" he
said In the convention on Wednesday, Twill
steal and Kill" OF course those who inherit
only virtuOus tendencies will do nothing that is
not VirtuOus.
Accordingly Mr.. Warren Chase. of California.
argued that the law should regulate marriages
to prevent ill-sorted matrimonial unions. If
why should it not oversee engagements? That
was the question Mr. Chase put to his small but
serious audience. To show the necessity for
this state regulation. he instanced the case of
the marriage OF man who smoked and chewed
tobacco to woman who smoked and took snuff
''Their child reshed tobacco as much as ord-
nary children do candy" according to Mr.. Chase
" The very barn-yard fowls" said Mr. Brown
who spoke afterward. ''have more thought given
to them, because they can be sold, than the boys
and girls. who can't be sold for money!
But neither Mr.. Chase nor any one of the
speakers, so far as we can learn pointed out
the precise way in which the state should regu-
late engagements OF marriage. Mr.. Stephen
Pearl Andrews however, we believe advocates
the appointment of discreet and expert COM
mission to attend to the whole business. Still,
even he does not tell us the exact methods
which should be adopted by the commission,
whose duties would. of course, be exceedingly
difficult. delicate, and complicated. Love and
affection are the cause of most marriage en-
gagements, and the tender passion as we all
know, is very unruly. 1t Oftentimes defies pru-
dence, laughs at wisdom, spurns advice. and re-
slsts all interference. We therefore fear that
MI. Andrews expert commission for investi-
eating engagements would suffer personal viO-
lence at the hands Of the enamOred if if under
took to perform its task thoroughly and con-
scientiously
MI. LOrng Moody. however, has another
plan Tor bringing about the right sort of en-
SaeenientS He has set up q school where bows
and girls are taught how to select their mates.
HOW lar he has succeeded we have not heard:
out the experience of the past does not give ms
much reason to hope that his words of wisdom
VIII De greatly needed by his pupils when they
come to actually falling in love.
Inc TACT Is, there are insuperable obstacles
10 the success of any plan which can be devised
LOT managing human society like a stock farm.
In the first place. where shall YOU find vnmr
thoroughbred human stock? How shall Won
determine whether it is Thoroughbred or
mongrel? Where are the established theories
upon which you can safely proceed?
Questions something like these were asked in
the convention on Wednesday by Dr. William
ID. Atkinson. though we are sorry to saw his
manner OF address was not polite. "How can
body of ignOramuses, asked the doctor, 'who
are possessed of the cheek of inspiration try
10 settle points on which doctors aud scientific
men are not yet able to agree?" DiscOurteous
ana contemptuOus as his language was, how
ever the Institute Of Heredity will be wise il it
pays need to what he said. ana devotes itself to
an exhaustive study of the subject before it
again ventures to promulgate plan for i'm
proving the human breed
inis much Is settled, however. Fools are
not likely to have wise sons, and sOts and liber
tlnes, incurable weaklings and moral castaways
Granks, and scOundrels are not tit to be h1s.
bands and fathers