El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-11-19

cussed without gloves Wednes-
day afternoon at the meeting Of
the literature and current events de-
partment of the Womatl's club Eugen-
les and heredity, in relation to delin-
( quency among children, was presented
by Mrs. Mary Stillwell, brigadier az
the Salvation army. Mrs. Hal E. Chris
tie talked on the purpose of eugenics
Mrs Henry Clay Greer discussed he
redity in relation to eugenics. The
three discussions were received with
tho greatest interest by the club
WCmen. Mrs. StillWeQ talked about
juvenile immortality, which she attrib-
Uted in the majority of cases to the
children not having been rightly born
Even in wedlock," she said, too many
children are porn, not of love, but of
lust, and they inherit immoral tenden-
cies." She spoke Of the duty of moth
ers to present the truths of nature to
( their children in the right way SO that
childrens first knowledge and impress
sicns should be clean and wholesome.
So wing that too often the mothers were
either too busy or too dense to teach
these truths to their children in the
right way. Consequently the children
learn perverted and smutty versions
from their playmates or older children
and are led to immortality and grow
up with the wrong idea. As the idea
of eugenicS can only be ACCOMPLISHED
universally by the creation of strong
public sentiment in its favor and Mrs
StfllWeu asserted that this Law in fha
children with the right clean ideas
toward life, so that when they come
to marry, they will be better able to
make their selection Of a life partner
Mrs. Stillwell closed her talk with
plea for the women to take it upon
themselves to be interested in girls,
and each one to try to take upon her
self the task of guarding some girl
Salvation Army Ready to Help.
THE Salvation army is ready to go
to the very depths to try to do rescue
work, but you can do better work by
stemming the down -streaIp tide at its
source" she said. Mrs Stillwell also
made a plea that women would make
it easier for an erring woman to re-
turn to good living and little harder
for a man who has seen living evilly
10 come back. She said that society
had made it so easy for the man to
return to good grace again. regardless
Of his fault and so hard for the wo-
man, who too often was more sinned
against than SHINING, to regain her lost
plane.
At the close Of Mrs. StiIlwelTs talk,
Mrs. W S. Valentine asked her opinion
Of the curfew law, which the Civic I'M
provement league is trying to have ere
ated for FL PasO. Mrs. Stillweu eX-
pressed herself strongly in favor of it.
Allowing children too much liberty to
tc on the streets late at night is too
often the beginning Of juvenile delin-
qUency" she said. The curfew law is
au excellent remedy"
Mrs. Hal Z. Christie presented the
study of eugenics. "Eugenics is the
study of the agencies that may impair
or improve the race to come" she
said Our duty toward future genera
lions is something we need to consider.
We cannot perhaps attain an ideal con-
diton, but we ought to be able at
least to prevent the pOpulating of our
country with the offspring Of drug
fiends, inebriates and criminal degen-
crates. These classes of people an
nually cost the nation thousands Of
dollars maintaining institutions and
1ails. This is the price We pay for al
lowing this class to perpetuate itself"
She spoke of the result of the last
few years of agitation in favor OF
eugenics in the enaction Of laws re-
curing health certificates before the
issuance of marriage licenses.
These laws and eugenics generally
have been very much ridiculed in the
comic papers," she said, but only the
unfit or unclean could have any OBJ
lection to such laws" In comparison
to the human race, she commented
upon the care that any animal or bird
raiser took in the breeding Of his stock,
selecting only the most perfect speci-
mems.
A Repronch to the Nation.
Mrs. Henry Clay Greer, in talking
OF heredity in relation to eugenics,
said: TT is a reprOach to our intelli-
gence as a nation to have 100000 in
sane, feeble-minded, epileptic people in
slate institutions, hundreds of thou
sands of prisoners in our jaiIs and
penitentiaries and an equally large
number Of paupers, in this condition
because mentally Incompetent when
the majority of these are the offspring
OF mentally deficient diseased or Grim
1nslly degenerate parents The cost
to the nation annually for crimes and
prisoners is over $500 600 OOO This
condition could be greatly relieved If
these undesirables, mentally physically
and morally, were not permitted to
have children.
THE breeding Of animals birds and
plants has been reduced to a science so
that only the best results may be OBJ
tanned The human race is the ONLY
exception and surely the perpetuation
OF the best class Of the human race is
matter Of more importance than birds
or animals" Mrs. Greer discussed the I
transmission Of hereditary traits to a
considerable extent
Open Discussion Follows.
oIIoWlng her paper there was an
oIen discussion Of the subjects pre-
scented by the three speakers in which |
the members generally took part. Il
me meeting was presided over by
Mrs W. L. Foxworth, chairman of the !
, oepartInent. MIS- J. G. McGrady, the !
secretary, read the minutes Of the last |
meeting. Mrs. Carl Lee Smith an
nCuneed the meeting Of the art depart !
ment next week, and invited the mem
bers OF the other departments of the
club to attend. Mrs FoxyvortI1 remind |
Cd the club members that the program
OF original work was only two months !
OIL and urged them to begin to prepare
W w *. 1or this event. At the beginning |
or the afternoons program Mrs Fl n
Bowles sang The Flower Sing, from |
s,I Faust and THE Flower Rain" by |
Spider, with Edwin c. Knickmever |
p pay her accompaniment At the |
close OF the program a Detition vas /
pi esented that Is being circulated by |
the women OF the city petftioning the /
mayor mayor and city. council to pass ordi- |
"a n yes. that viii prevent the erection /
stockyards, packing plants or fac /
tories connected with this Industry
WI the city limits The petition !
was, was signed by the majority Of the club
,r- me Ladies Aid society of Calvary
houston Square Baptist church viii
heId christmas bazar at 3OS Texas 1