Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-07-06

We believe in warning the young against
the scourges that punish the sins of youth
that we have dismissed as youthful follies.'
We believe that men should as early as the
years of going away to college acquaint their
sons with those dangers and in most i'm
pressive manner. woman whom I well know
took double means to this end. Before her
eldest son left his home she had earnest
talk with him. She told him Of the dignity of
parenthood, the duty of preparing for that
honor clean bodies and minds and souls. She
said to him:
The dearest moment of my life will be
when child of yours is placed in my arms
and l see it is perfect. But If you descend to
wallow in filth l shall think of you with the
disgust with which l regard a swine"
This solemn duty done, she arranged during
his first week in college, and before the IN
sdous spell of temptation could beset him.
for his visit to the Massachusetts Hospital
Under guidance of conscientious physician,
friend, she insisted that he spend day there
seeing all the horrors Of the results Of wrong
living. He looked upon Drunkenness and de-
generacy. He saw the dying. He witnessed
major operations; saw men and women sunken
to the lowest depths of depravity. Evidently
the lesson a vital one, for when, two
years later, the time came for his younger
brother to go to college and the mother pre-
pared for him the same plan the elder brother
begged off for the younger
Don't make him go through that" he
pleaded. He is so imaginative"
Very WE'LL" responded the mother eff you
will promise to take him in hand"
81 SHALL" promised the elder brother, and
there is evidence that he has kept his word.
While I think this duty of acquainting the
young with the terrors that Turk in wrong
paths is necessary, do not believe in antici-
pating by one hour the question in the mind
of youth. AS we'll tear open the leaves of a
but to hasten the blooming of a rose. Vigi-
Law &c b,,+ oy1ri
osity is deplorable
Make the stock better" is our watchword
BY informing ourselves we can go far in this
direction, and knowledge has ever been power
These are some principles of eugenics which
should become a part of the common stock OF
knowledge.
The feeble-minded are increasing several
times as fast as the normal
Babies inherit both the defects and excel
lences of their parents, mental and physical.
There is no case recorded of a normal child
being born of predetermined parents.
II is becoming a matter of common knowl-
edge that one-ifth of the blind lose their eye
sight because of infection at birth.
Our institutions being filled with the
blind, with neurasthenics, paralytics and men,
tai detectives.
One hundred thousand babies die each year
because of the transmssible diseases of their
parents.
The laws of inheritance are not the only
agents in the rearing of fine children Condi'
tions of environment promote impair the
production of perfect offspring Those condi.
tons should be known to all persons of the
age of parenthood.
The greatest cause of infant mortality is the
fact that children are born without a sufficient
biological capital" to meet the demands of
life. They quickly succumb in the struggle
for existence, filling graves or public instltu-
lions.