The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-03-10
MARRIAGE AS AN EXPERIMENT.

1 MARRIAGE AS AN EXPERIMENT..
I From the standpoint of biology and
eugenics, marriage is a scientific ex-
/ pertinent whose results are tested by
/ the character of its offspring. So We
are told by Charles B. Davenport, of
! the Carnegie Institution of Washing
ton, in his book on "Heredity in Rela-
ton to Eusenics' Mr. Davenport is
stating this as a fact, and is not Civ
ing it his approval That marriage
should still be only an experiment in
breeding, while the breeding of many
animals and plants has been reduced
to science. he considers ground for
reproach. The human product is GER
tainly superior TO that of poultry;
and We may now predict with preci-
sion the characters of the offspring
of a particular pair of pedigreed fowls,
SO, Mr.. Davenport thinks, may it
sometime be with human beings. AS
we now know how to make almost
any desired combination of the char
acters of guinea-pigs, chickens, wheats
and cottons. SO. he ventures to hope,
we may one day do with man. He
goes on to say:
At present, matings, even among
cultured people, seem to be made at
haphazard Nevertheless there in
hsonie evidence of crude selection in
| peoples of all stations. Even sayages
nave strong sense of personal beau
ty, and a selection Of marriage mates
/ is Influenced by this fact, as Darwin
/ has shown. 1t is indeed, for the pur-
pose Of adding to their personal at
! Effectiveness that savage women or
men tattoo their skin. bind up various
! parts of the body, including the
feet, and insert ornaments into lips,
nose and ears.-Among civilized people
personal beauty still plays part in
bselectlye mating. Even selec-
ton on the ground of social position
and wealth has a rough eugenic value,
since success means the presence of
certain effective traits in the stock.
The general idea of marrying health,
wealth and wisdom is rough eugenic
ideal. curious antipathy is that of
lred-haired persons of opposite sex for
each other. Among thousands of mat
4 lngs that | have considered | have
4 found only two cases where both hus-
band and wife were red-headed, and |
am assured by red-haired persons that
i the antipathy exists. If, as is some
times alleged, red hair is frequently
associated with condition of nery-
Gus irritability this is eugenic an
i tipathy
In SO far as young men and wo-
men are left free to select their own
marriage mates the widest possible
i acquaintance with different sorts Of
people to increase the amplitude of
selection, is evidently desirable This
is the great argument for coeduca-
ton OF the sexes, both at school and
college, that they may increase the
range of their experience with people
and gain more discrimination in Sc
lection The custom that prevails in
America and England of free selec-
ton OF mates makes the more neces-
sary the proper instruction of young
, people in the principles OF eugenical
| matings.
. The theory of independent unit
, characters has an important bearing
upon our classifications of human
beings and shows how essentially
: vague and even false in conception
these classifications are. A large part
: of the time and expense of maintain
ing the courts is due to this antiuuat
5 ed classification, with its tacit as
/ sumption that each class stands as a
i type of men. Note the extended dis
! cussions in courts as to wheth
3 er a belongs to the white race
). or 10 the black race, or whether is
feebleminded or not Usually the,
avoid, as IL by intention, the funda
I mental question OF definition. and il
experts be called in to give defini
! ton the situation is rendered onl,
worse. Thus one expert will define a
e feeble minded person as one incapable
+ of protecting his life against the ordi
E nary hazards of civilization, but this is
very vague. and the test is constantly
changing. For a person may be quick
witted enough to avoid being run ovel
by horse and carriage, but not ouicl
u enough TO escape an automobile
s Every attempt to classify persons in
d TO limited number of mental cate
l. gories ends unsatisfactory.
n The facts seem to be rather tina
Y no person possesses all Of the thous
v ands of unit traits that are possible
Ii and that are known In the species
. Some of these traits we are better OF
. without. but the lack of others is ;