The Washington herald., 1908-01-30

Interesting reports and addresses were
the features Of the sessions of the AHeri-
can Breeders Association yesterday. The
principal address was made by DR.. Alex
ander Graham Bell. His subject was
''Eugenics," and his able delivery Of il
was the feature Of the afternoon meeting.
Mr. Jouett Shouse. OF Lexington, by.
discussed "The Improvement Of the
American thoroughbred horse" at the
morning session. He severely criticised
the action Of Gcy. Hughes. OF New York
for his crusade against racing. Mr..
shouse said such a movement was a mis-
take
II racing is destroyed by law" he con
tinued, "a will strike a death blow not
only to the further Improvement Of the
race horse but also TO the breeding OF
saddle and harness horses as WE'LL
The Evils of Gambling.
IN concluding his remarks. he said.
The evils Of gambling ought TO be sup
pressed as far as possible. but these evils
are Of much less magnitude than the
evil effects which viii follow the destruc-
ton Of racing"
Or. Bell handled the delicate subject
with which he was intrusted in a mas
terful way, and conservauvely showed
how the human race may be improved.
He said: THE proper study Of man
kind is man. The question that most
concerns us Is; Can the principles en-
ployed in improving animals and plants
be applied to the improvement Of man?
They cannot. except to a limited ex-
tent. Improvement depends upon the
intelligence Of the individual. for we
can never accomplish mans improve
ment by forcible means. We must use
persuasive methods, and depend on edu.
cation. Dissemination Of knowledge is
needed"
Referring to the increase Of defective
individuals, he said:
The results of consanguineous mar
risges is a subject which needs further
investigation Attempts to prevent in
feriOr human beings viii not increase
the production of superior beings.
Whenever we propose to interfere with
the liberty OF marriage. We tread upon
dangerous ground Preventing mar
riages does not prevent offspring
NingIing Of the Races.
In closing his address DIR. Bel said.
In this country We see the grand spec
tacle Of new people evolved from the
mingling OF our American people with
clements from all parts of the world. II
would appear to be a wise move on the
part OF Congress 10 take some action
which would lessen the amount Of unde-
sirable elements. IN other words. intelli-
gently limit foreign immigration.
A full report Of the committee Of engi-
neers was read By Prof. ". n HAYS,
secretary OF the association
This report was prepared by DR.. David
Starr Jordan. president Of the Leland
Stanford University, and was submitted
10 DIT. Bel, who approved 1t before pre-
sentati0n.
Among the other papers was one on
The origin Of the modern horse and his
relationship 10 the Arabian" by Robert
y. SeweI, Of Oyster Bay. y. Y Mr.
Sewell declared the horse originated in
America and passed thence to Asia At
ter tracing the prehistoric pr0genitor Of
the horse, the speaker said the modern
animal had resulted from two classes
nTst he Northern. or -bl00ded horse
Of Europe. and. secondly from the South
ern, or Libyan horse.
An interesting report was submitted By
II. K DeyeTeuX. Of Cleveland. Ohio on
Breeding Thoroughbred Horses" He
said the United States government, unlike
most OF the governments of the world,
does not aid breeders. and there is no in
teTest so much abused In this country as
the breeding horsemen.
A paper describing the resistant char
acter in plants was read by H. L. Bolley,
OF Fargo, y. Oak.
The Evening Session.
At the evening session. which was pre-
sided over by DIT. H. J. Weber. Of Cor
nell University, Andrew Boss of Mime
sofa. read a paper on Circuit Breeding
with Shorthorn Cattle" Charles G. Pat
ten presented a report on breeding hardi-
ness in trees. and T. T. Hunt submitted a
paper on breeding forage crops.
To-day's session will be taken up with
the reading Of reports. chiefly concerning
subjects Of plant life. At ? o'clock the
members will assemble al the National
Rifles Armory. where the meeting is be-
ing held. and go 10 the White House in
a body. where they VIII be received by
the President
In the afternoon. a joint meeting viii
be held with the American Carnation
Society Beginning at o'clock, the final
session viii take place in the National
Rifles Armory. II. J Weber. of Ithaca.