The daily sentinel., 1913-08-05
TAKES ISSUE
W|THDR.HUNTER
Old Saying About Minister'S Son is
False, Says Grand junction Pas
tor-Statemcnts ON Heredi-
taTy influences Are At
tackled; Interesting
Statistics.
Grand Junction. Colo.

Gfanu junction. 1OlO.,
August 4, 1913.
Walter Walker, Editor Daily Sentinel,
Grand Junction, Colo.
Dear Sir:-I wish to nail an old
falsehood again, given currency and
sanction by DR.. Paul S. Hunter, whose
fulniuations you reviewed in the is
sue OF The Sentinel of the End in
slant. l do not undertake to present
brief for eugenics; neither do
attempt to answer DR.. Hunters eX-
ceedingly broad assertions regarding
the relation of genius and degener-
acy; but | do intend to challenge the
statement of the doctor that ''the old
joke about the minister's son is
founded on history
OF course, everyone knows that the
"old joke" is that preachers boys
are bad; they never amount to any
thing This assertion has been made
so often that many people tperhaps
most of them) believe it to be true.
All one need do is to review the
facts in the case and he will see that
what ought to be falsehood in the
ory is also a falsehood in fact.
1t may be that DIR. Hunter got his
impression concerning ministers
tIlluIGn lIOlll Il ldntlo NHdllOht < anu
son of Erasmus Darwin and cousin OF
the great Charles Darwin, who in
1879 wrote a book on hereditary ge-
MUS in which he made this sweeping
statement: THE divines as whole
have not had any appreciable influ-
ence in founding the governing fam
lilies of England or in producing our
Judges, statesmen, commanders, men
gafanEn and
artists" He probably did not take as
much stock in the showing made by
the French skeptic, Monsieur De Con-
dolic, who some time ago submitted
figures to prove his assertion that
the sons of the clergy during 200
years have actually surpassed in their
contributions to the roll of eminent
scientists the similar contributions of
any other class of families.
There lies before me a long and
impressive list of ministers sons and
daughters who have distinguished
themselves in the worlds work.
Space will permit me to use but a
small fraction of these names. Among
many preachers sons who were emf
nent scientists We're Agassiz and
Samuel f. b. Morse, the inventor OF
the electric telegraph. Among the
historians are Hallam, whose son was
TIE subject of Tennyson's I'm Memoir
ium," Bancroft, Froude, Macaulay
and Woodrow Wilson. The philoso-
pliers include Hobbies and Emerson
The sons of the manse have made
heavy contributions TO literature
among them being Tennyson, Thack-
cray, Kingsley, Ben Johnson, Oliver
Wendell Holmes, James Russell Low
ell and a hundred others. They nave
furnished us such great journalists
as Boynton, Archibald Forbes anC
William T. Stead. Prominent law
yers who were the sons of clergy'
men are Chief Justice Lord Ellenbor'
ough of England, and Justices OF tht
United States Supreme Court Field
Brewer and Hughes. Ministers fam
lilies have given the world Henry
Clay, Edward Everett, Sir William
Harcourt, Belfour and Presidents Ar
thur, Cleveland and Wilson, besides
John Quincy Adams, grandson
The names of Cecil Rhodes, the EN-
| pire builder; Cyrus Field, the organ
| iger: John Hancock and Samue
Chase, signers of the Declaration OF
/ Independence-all add luster to the
names of ministers families. OF the
hundreds of great preachers that th'
parsonage has bred we note only Hen
nv Ward Beecher. Jonathan Edwards
IF. w. Farrar. Charles Spurgeon, Johr
! Wesley, Lyman Abbott, Swedenborg
Maurice, Emerson and LiShtfoot. The
manse also gave the world the illus
trious names of Sir Christopher Wren
the architect of st. Paul's, London
Sir Joshua Reynolds in art, and Lore
| Nelson, the hero of Trafalgar. If We
add, out of many, the names OF Mrs
! Trollope, Jane Taylor, Charlotte
Bronte, Jane Austen, Caroline Corn
wallis. Amelia Barr, Elizabeth Stew
art Phelps and Harriet Beechel
Stowe as daughters of the parsonage
surely no one will contend that non
/ or has been subtracted.
But. even this imposing list does
not begin to tell the story, or to ad
eauately suggest the strength of the
contribution which the children o.
ministers have furnished mankind
The following figures are perfectly
startling in their revelation.
A few years ago Canon Weldon Of
/ Westminster abbey carefully exam
] ined the So volumes of the "Diction
lary of (British) National Biography
with the view of ascertaining th'
facts regarding the special services
rendered the nation by the children
of lawyers, physicians and ministers