Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-05-08
CHLOROFORMING INcIR,prrs
N Saii into the Seas of the
advanced CfvfIizatiop

| Inc civilization Of today has moi bo.r,
| siouhu TO that razor-tdged keenness WIZ,
| .Ne painless putting To their final sleen a,
| ilcurabies would be justified" said a III
hho"h Washington alienist to A Star r.
| porter today.
| but IL does not follow that the ci,.iIi-
Zatlon of 1000 Years hence may no, IA
| sUch mat the power of the state over ,b,.
| lNes and property of its citizens will .x-
" 'hat extent Will take two recent
instances as basis for my remarks
PHst' the passage of bin by the leg
lsiature of Minnesota, which probihlts TO
marriage of imbeciles and persons atti;c,ao,
WIZ one or two other mental ana -;
cal diseases of serious nature Tho -,
pose OF such bill is open to discIsSiar
ana certain of its features are uor,b,-
srohg commentator. but its practical
workings are nullifed because sIicb Con-
pes may cross the border into anotb ar
STATE ana be legally married. To become
an effective measure of protection tbe ~,
would have to be universal in the resnaa
tive states. 7Pe'-
The progeny Of single couple of de-
generates and paupers have been trac,d
ID thelr various ramifications through se,
eral generations, and out of over 600 a.
sSehuantS ID per cent have become paup.rs
i1I ives, convlcts, murderers, persons of
hi-fepute and charges upon the prhiic i'm
one form or another male and female
alike. Students of this interesting social
question have made other compilafions or
degenerate families with equally a,,,b.,,,s-
and startling results.
The power of the state to Ieeislate f,r
the protection of the majority against the
acts OF the minority is undisputed and is
eNempll1ed in many ways notably in ar
resting law breakers and coufuing tb.n,
IN prisons, the control and restraint of
Gnatics, and the Selling and isolation of
smallpox patients. In the advanced civjli-
cation of future centuries this mower viii
nave been greatly extended and will no
uoupt place an iron-bound restriction upon
the marriage of persons in undesirabla
mental and physical condition with Tho Oh
Ject OF the benefit OF mankind In gen.
The second instance is the humane die
position of fncurables. 1t is called to NV
mlnd by the case of a woman in Beu.,-u,,
Hospltai In New York. who has been bed
RIDDEN from paralysis for forty years.
Inc woman Is practically dead and
mas been SO from the beginning of her
anliction. for We cannot truthfully ana
accurately say during her life. Her brain
Is alive, but her body and nervous svs
tenn are substantially dead In the al
Vanced civilization of which I speak such
a subject would probably be chloroformed
or otherwise humanely disposed of In the
same light of humanita rian motives ubtnt
Is manifested today in the shooting Of
horse with broken leg to put il ONT Of
its misery @ VI
''Of course in this centur,, .,,ol -
would properly be considered barbarons
ana murderouS, and so IL would he b,,t
I,oO years hence incurables of this tyne
may be looked upon in the light of The
injured morse of today. A horses broken
reg may be set. but it would cost more
'.lI ana money than the horse is worth
when sound. and stif-legged horse is
yaiueless. but he would live IL cared for.
II is the same with the human body when
II becomes worthless by reason of disease
The advanced civilizationists would reason
that life within such body would hear
relative value to that of the horse OF
today.
While / will admit that the second
proposition may be considered radical and
inhuman, the first is one which commands
the attention of the advanced deep think
ers of today. L believe that the time is
not far distant when some real and con-
certed attempt will be made to prevent the
of degeneracy pauperism. dis
ease and crime by striking at the very root
Of the evil either by the isolation OF or tbe
prevention or control of the marriage of
such persons.
How or the manner in which n is IN
De accomplished is the problem which will
have to be solved"