Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-08-29
ARE YOU EUGEN|ST
OR A EUTHEN|ST?
Parents Health or Baby's En-
virOnment ?4The Question
Raises Bitter War.
SWAT FLY AND PREVENT
ALL BABY ILLS, SAYS ONE
Nothing Doing Till Papa and
Mama Are Sound" De-
clares the Other.
), Star Bureau.
metropolitan National Bank Bldg.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20.

. WASHINGTON, Aug. 20.
Are you for eugenics or euthenics?
There's a big row on between the
disciples of these two schools.
The eugenists say that the big
Test asset in a childs life is the
health and mental and moral condi-
ton of its parents.
The euthenists admit this has
something to do with it. but main
tain that the care of children has a
lot more to do with the virility of
the race than the mere matter of
parentage and heredity.
Which Is it. heredty or environ
ment?
The eugenist says that the infiu-
ence of heredity upon the child is
four or five times as important as its
environment
Most of the infant deaths are due
to the fact that their parents were
weak. diseased or physically unfit to
be parents, say the eugenists.
Ninety per cent. Of all children are
well-born, say the euthenists, and
the great proportion of them die be-
cause they are neglected or improper
ly cared for in early childhood.
Cholera Infantum Also a Factor.
. Nearly $4,000 children under two
years die in the United States every
wear from cholera infantum. Here
the euthenists score heavily. Most
of these children. they say. are pois-
oned by houseflieS. and certainly the
health and pedigrees of their parents
have nothing to do with this. XIII
the flies. say the euthenists, and
these $4,000 children will not get
cholera infantum and will have a
chance to live and become men and
women.
But. say the eugenists. 80 per cent.
of infant mortality is due to single
inherited loathsome disease. And
even if you killed the flies, many of
the children who then wouldn't die
of cholera infantum, would still be
diseased from birth and die at an
early age from that disease.
In the medical Journals and medical
societies there's a merry war being
waged over the controversy.
Here's a fair sample of the way the
medicos are talking and writing on
the subject. taken from the current
number of a psychological-m medical
journal:
Orthosomatics Gets an Inning.
in the final analysis the problem
of race conservation involves not only
race preservation, but a two-fold
process of human orthogenesis; first.
a process of physical orthogenesis. or
orthosomatics, by which / refer to any
process through which malfunction-
ing physical organs may be made to
function Alright, or by means of which
healthy organs may be continued at
normal functioning, so that the physi-
cal organism may develop to its mexi-
NAL protential; apd, secondly, proc
ess of mental orthogenesis, or ortho-
phrenics, by which I refer to any
process. mental or physical, of right
ing any malfunctioning mental power,
so that the mind may realize Its high
est developmental possibilities"
Now that that little matter has been
cleared up, it is interesting, If some
what startling. to learn what the two
schools say is the matter with the
race and what they want to do
about it.
Even if children are well-born, say
the euthenists they are likely to die
of neglect or Improper care as those
of bad parentage. Most infants, they
continue, die of preventable digestive
disorders, caused by bad feeding, bad
food, food infected, particularly by the
tousefy or by injurious drugs or bev-
erages, and of preventable respiratory
diseases caused mainly by bad air and
dirt That is, in palmer words. most
babies die OF ignorance, carelessness,
neglect, filth, vice and poverty. Re-
move these causes. say the euthen-
lists, and there will be little infant