The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-25
TO HELP SOCIETY
STATE SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY TO
BE ORGANIZED DEC. is.
THE SCOPE OF ITS WORK.
TO BE ON LINES RECOMMENDED
ny TRI-sTATE MEDICAL SOCIETY.

Meeting to BE Held in AtIanta-Mem-
bership to Be Drawn Chiefly, 1t Is
Expected, From Medical, Legal,
Ministerial and Educational Pro-
fessions-Those That Will Attend
Meeting Mast Notify Either DIR. j.
Lavyton HERS of Savannah or DIR.
r.. r.. Kline of Atlanta-SOme of the
Papers to Be Read at Initial Meet
ing.
A state sociological society will be or
eanized in Atlanta about Dec. Is.
While the inception of the movement
for such an organization is due to the
members of the medical profession, be-
ing the direct outgrowth of the report
Of the sociological committee of the
Tri-state Medical Society embracing
Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, and
delivered at the last meeting of that
society in Nashville, Oct. 9, the mem
bership will not be limited to members
of that profession: all persons inter
ested in sociological questions are eligi-
BILE for membership, though it is
thought that the great majority of the
members will be secured among the
medical, legal, ministerial and educa-
tional professions.
1t is expected and hoped that the
meeting for organization will be large
ly attended. Those that expect to be
present at this, the first meeting, are
requested to furnish their names and
addresses to either DR.. ]. Lawton HERS
of Savannah, or to DR.. R. r. Kline of
Atlanta
The following are some of the papers
that will be read before, the initial
meeting:
Uniformity of Law in Different
States on All Sociological Questions
Marriage, Divorce. Child Labor, Etc"
Disease. Its Cause and Prevention
Consumption, Insanity, Alcoholism,
Degeneracy, ETC."
Consumption: Its Relation to the
General Public"
Education: Its Imperfections and
Improvement"
THE Criminal: His Development,
Control, Etc"
Some idea of the lines upon which
the proposed society will devote its ef-
forts may be gathered from the follow
ing recommendations made by the COM
mittee of the Tri-State Medical So
ciety:
THAT this society respectfully re-
quest the state legislatures of Ala
banna, Georgia and Tennessee to select
three members from the House of Rep
resentatives and two from the Senate
of each state, to act as a committee on
uniform legislation, whose duty it shall
be to secure as far as possible uniform
laws on such questions as are of COM
mon interest to each state, especially
laws relating to marriage, divorce, pre-
vention of crime, regulation of child
labor, age of consent, prevention of dis
ease, etc.
said committee to meet at the Cap
itol consecutively in each state during
session of Legislature to consider the
question of uniform laws and hear from
organizations and any parties interest
ed in such laws.
1--WE recommend that an effort be
made to secure enactment of such laws
as will prevent the marriage of habit
ual criminals, the insane, the chronic
alcoholic, these suffering with tuber-
culosis, and the epileptic.
while we recognize the difficulties
that will be encountered in the en-
forcement of such laws, we feel that
some steps should be taken to lessen
the propagation of crime and disease
or at least not give it the sanction and
license OF the state.
1.-THE time has come when the COM
monwealth should at least not be a
party to the development of the crlm-
inal and sanction transmission of seri-
Gus diseased degenerative conditions
of the human race. We, as a state
permit the propagation and develop
ment of the criminal and then punish
him for being such. We permit the
propagation and development of the
insane and diseased in the name OF
liberty, forgetting or ignoring the
fact that the offspring of such have
rights and liberties that should not be
ignored. The offspring of the crimi-
nal, the insane, the alcoholic and The
degenerate are born into the world
with the marks of crime and degen-
Grafton indelibly impressed upon them.
Some are born into a bondage worse
even than slavery itself, in this coun-
try of freedom where it is said that all
men are born equal. In order that we
may enjoy freedom and liberty and be
porn equal, our parents, grandparents
and great-grandparents must be free
and equal not bound and fettered by
the iron chain of crime, vice and dis
ease. If men and women by hereditary
transmission and voluntary acts of
their own become criminals and degen-
crates, then they have no moral right
TO propagate crime and disease and
the state has no moral right to license
them to do so.
we also recommed that laws be
formulated and presented at the next
meeting of this society for discussion
on the rendering of habitual criminals
ana he who commits rape, sterile by
humane surgical methods; also on indie
terminate sentences in cases of commit
ment of crime. We suggest that in all
medlco-legal questions involving sanity
or insanity, the judge presiding shall
appoint, with due provision for COM
pensation, three competent physicians
residing within his jurisdiction to ex-
anime the accused, whose verdict shall
be final as to mental responsibility of
person in question.
In order to secure just and proper
legislation on the subject of child-la-
Dor we suggest that the cotton manu-
lacturing interests of each state be re-
quested to appoint a delegate or COM
IQltteeman from each state 10 work in