New-York tribune., 1908-05-17
Ir. Gompers further said
CHANGING HUMAN NATURE.

A favoritc idea Of certain philosophers and
imaginative writer's is about TO be realized in
Southern California, if press dispatches have
accurately represented the programme of DR.
Leone LandOne, Who we are assured "bas
studied sociology ell over the world and who
has just purchased a lovely rural estate near
Los Angeles. where he plans to experiment with
human beings as Luther Burbank has done with
plants. The meagre reports thus f3r at hand
leave much in ohScurity. and arouse a s,ls-
picion that either the much travelled sociologist
or else his chroncler does not know whereof he
speaks. Or. Landonc is quoted as saving that
his methods are parallel to Burbanks: but how
they can be We arc unable to fancy. The plant
wizard operates under the guidance of the De
Nries mutation theory; roughly speaking, nc
does nothing more than TO raise enormous
number of plants of given variety and to
lect therefrom for crossing the few peculiar
growtbs whose characteristics he desires to
phasize. Thus, in order to produce a certain
cUrious berry more than twenty million vines
We're thrown away. Now. if DR.. I.andone is to
emulate Nh Burbank he will have to open
boarding house about twice large and pop
ulous New York City. and he must wait
aeon or two for the desired results
But the next sentence in the report clearly
ref11tes the alleged parallesm between Burbank
and Landonesm. for the human nature labora-
tory is reputedly going to start operations with
twelve children. The mystery of the new pro-
ess deepens read that the socologist hopes
TO reconstruct brain cells. AS no sane man will
try 30 remodel anything whose structure he does
not understand at least roughly. the natural in
ference from this report is that Or. Landone has
discovered the makeup of brain cells. This is
startling. inasmuch as all prominent physioio-
gists and psychologists freely admit that the
sum total of scientific research to date has not
proved fraction as much about the finer struct-
ure and functional behavior of brain cells as
Mr.. Percval Lowell has demonstrated about
Martian canals.
But DR.. Landone's epoch making discovery and
his unrevealed laboratory methods do not inter
est US much as does his Interior prrpos9.
The socologist evidently wants to transform
human nature. This is the arch mystery. Why
should human nature he revised? And. If it has
to be, why go off into the country to do tt.
trick: If there is fact on which psycholo-
giss. biologists. sociologists and political reform
ers thoroughly agreed. it is that the apparent
defects of human nature really due to a
badly ordered environment Theoretically. the
grooves of life would be well creased if the eIa-
ments whipped into obedience so as to
supply all present human wants and prevent all
evil impulses or If human wants and impulses
we're so toned down that no man could find fault
with things they are. But California
genius will never bring about either of these
happy conditions. He is not trying to make men
fit the real world. nor yet to make the real
world fit men. lie is planning to raise children
among the artiicalties Of seoucstcre;,
strangely managed California garden. He may
develop mathematical prodigy, contortionist |
a strong man, boy who can wigge his ears and
a girl without day dreams: but will these labora-
tory creatures be altogether happy, and will
they be able TO live anywhere else than on the |
Landone farm: Whatever miracles the sociolo- |
gist who has studied on Staten Island in Nova |
Zembla and in Tibet may work, shall still |
believe that human nature, in its Worldwide IN |
relenting efforts to prevent disease. oppression
and poverty in all their forms is working out It's |
own salvation In the best way.