The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1914-03-05
SOME DOLLHOUSE
OBSERVATIONS
This Writer also Takes Excep-
ton to TIE Heredity Idea, and
Gives Some Good Reasons for
His Views, Based on Facts.
Good Words

lie
at the same time less said, in the past
few years on the subject of heredity
than anything we know of-unless
we consider the subject of criminol-
ogy.
Let man commit murder, and. if
ne has the necessary funds, his at
torneys will try to prove that once
upon time third cousin of his
first wife's mother had tooth pull
ed. and the language she used when
said operation was taking place was
something awful. No one but
crazy person could nave been guilty
of such expressions. The lawyers
prepare the hypothetical question,
the wise alienist strikes pose for
the photographers, smiles and SOL
EMMY delivers his expert CD opin-
ion In that one good old stock word
heredity;" and the amusing part of
it is, as our lamented friend p. T.
Barnum would say: The people
fall for it"
Did you, gentle reader, ever hear
of young man, or, for that matter,
woman either, who was guilty of
a capital crime whose parents had
done the same thing before them?
We can call to mind none in our ex-
perience. AS rule they come from
the homes of highly respected and
good law abiding people, but unfor-
tunately had drifted away from
home environments. We venture
to say-and this is not expert opin-
ion, just the observations of one who
has come in contact with all kinds
and conditions of people, in his young
and somewhat eventful career-that
ninety per cent. of the people use
the word "heredity" when they mean
environment"
We often hear the expression:
He's natural-born criminal"
That may be right, but the writer is
going to be radical and say that ev-
erybOdy is natural born criminal.
We read the Bible in our young
days and still have some faith in
what it says. Take child of any
family on earth, throw him out in
the world on his own resources,
without any moral training whatever,
and in time-short at that-you will
have about as cute little crimi-
nal as you want to find. The simple
reason is that he follows the natural
tendencies of humanity. No doubt
you have seen bubbling spring
with water In it as clear as a crystal.
Take glass, fill it with this water
and then put few drops of ink into
it and the result is that the clear
water is spoiled, but throw that glass
of inky water into the spring and
gradually that good water will tri-
umph over the bad and reclaim it's
own. Just 80 with humanity. but 1t
is environment and not heredity.
Take the child of feeble minded,
but otherwise healthy parents, and
let him grow UP among such home
surroundings, which naturally fol-
low, where he sees and hears moth
ing but the actions, and converse
tons of such people, and he is bound
to grow up mental wreck. If you
take the same child away from his
parents, place him among healthy,
moral, intelligent people with good
surroundings and he will become as
rational and well-behaved as the
average human being. This state
ment is not hearsay, for we have
seen it demonstrated. Is this result
heredity or environment? 1t does
not take an expert to answer, GER
tai1ly environment"
There are great many men here
who had never been arrested until
they really ought to have known
better, and of course the expert will
ask: How is 1t to be accounted for?
AS we said before, the natural ten
dency of mankind is to the bad. Let
any young man get away from good
moral surroundings before he learns
to take life seriously and II he is
thrown in bad surroundings he will
soon forget all the good he ever
knew. Environment again.
In some states they are trying to
pass law to sterilize prisoners on
the strength of Hered1ty." Non
sense! The minute you start doing
that you may as well throw all your
reform methods away. and go back to
the days of the Spanish Inquisition.
You may starve, beat, bulldoze.
shave the head, put in stripes. and all
but murder the man and be might
forget it when his time expires, but
the moment you use the knife on
him. you drive him out with hatred
and malice in his heart. You have
taken away that one CLEAN of hope