Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-01-04
followed if we hope to preserve the

IoiloWed II we nope TO preserve the
physical standard Of man"
DR.. Schooler said in part: 81 agree
with all the essayist has said. The
subject is most important one. and
Our advancement in this direction de-
ponds most largely on the medical pro-
fession. 1t has never done its duty in
this regard for the reason that any
movement of this kind is unpopular
with the masses. True it has taken
up the work by fits and starts, but no
systematic movement among the or
ganized branches of the profession has
ever been attempted. / ahl one who
believes however, we are growing more
and more to select our life partners in
diligently and that natural selection
IS slowly being superseded among all
the more intelligent classes. There is
seldom a marriage among these which
has not been accompanied by deep
thought on the part of both the con-
tracing parties as to their physical
fitness for each other. They do this
quietly and without ostentation, so that
we know nothing about it. What we
should do is to encourage and popu-'
larize this mode of thought and thus
make legal regulation possible. There
~ Ao Saih-sdyi uS tudl 9ue human race
has degenerated. While bending our
energies to intellectual development,
we have overlooked the physical devel-
opment. The Aborigines who depend
ed for existence on physical prowess,
mated with view to securing the
strongest possible offspring. But in
this day and age this necessity has
ceased to exist, and it is the intellectu-
nj "a ch axx,I Su1, nh, %,.s,, I, Ia =.
for this reason our race is physically
degenerating." s
Question Has Two Sides.
DR.. Hornibrook said: "Like all ques-
tions, this possesses two sides. 1t is
serious quetion, after all, whether our
great mother, Nature, having implant-
ed certain intincts in the breast of
man, was wiser than man. There is a
question in my mind whether we
should unqualiaedly condemn what is
known as natural SELECTION The
French nation has worked along this
line for over century, and yet the
nation continues to degenerate physi-
cally, and the only change we see is in
the decreased number of births. 1t is
still the lower class which furnishes
the mass of the population. The nat
ural Selectlon, II seems TO me, is its
own safeguard. Is it not fact that
the vicious seek the vicious, the intel
lectual seek the intellectual? Is it not
q fact the thief seeks the thief, the
prostitute seeks the lewd? No criminal
aspires to the hand of pure woman,
and on the other hand such a woman
would spurn proposal of marriage
from the criminal. True there are ex-
ception, but this is undoubtedly the
prevailing rule. To my mind It is a
case of the survival Of the fttest, and
the good will in the end predominant.
All will concede we are progressing in
intellectually, and am Of the. opinion
that this means natural selection may
in the end be followed as safe guide.
The two other topics for the evening
session, Criminal Abortion" and s'Sur-
gerry in Relation to Persons OF Adj
vanced Age" were omitted from the
program for the reason that Drs. Ward
of Kansas City, and Wilkinson, of Lin
coin, were not in attendance.
Following the foregoing program the
physicians enjoyed a banquet at Our
Circle hall, given by the Polk county
medical society.