Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-01-12
.EUGEN|CS IS DEEP STUDY
AYERS DR.. f. Y. WILCOX
BY DR.. E. v. WILCOX.
Agent in charge of the federal {

agent IN charge Of the federal eX-
pertinent station.
EugeniCs is said to be the science
Ct breeding a superior human race.
Nietszche, Shaw and other wise
men" have heralded the transcendent
Story Of the coming "superman," BIZ
Clogists have asserted that the hu-
man race is 10 be improved" by APP
plying the principles Of herC.Iity
which are used in breeding plants and
animals. Each writer seems to out
90 all before him in extravagant as
SertiOns as to what can be accomp-
lished.
Just how are the principles Of plant
breeding TO be applied to man? The
plant breeder grows perhaps 100000
plants OF certain variety. He then
selects one or two and destroys the
re6t. II this method were applied 10
man, who would dec,'e which pair
should be chosen to perpetuate the
race, while the rest were destroyed
or sterilized?
Breeders OF plants and animals try
TO exaggetate one character while ig
noring the rest. Should men be Sc
lected for size, or brain. or morals?
These characters are not necessarily
associated. What is gained in one
direction is lost in another
1t is unquestionabIy worth while to
study herclity in man. At present,
however, the Science Of engenics" is
merely a prospectus of what may
sometime become a science. The
only thing so far determined about
heredity in man is the basis for the
inheritance of eye-color. This could
hardly serve as foundation of a meth
cd for improving the human race.
The utterly irresponsible claims of
many writers as to the immediate
practical applicability of the prfn-
ciples of heredity in breeding SUI
perior race of men have naturally
led to a flat denial of all these ride
ulous assertions. As. DR.. Woodruff
says: in every way it is viewed, any
suggestion towards compelling the
young to marry except as their in.
sinets direct, is unnatural, unscienti-
fie and absurd" -.
1t can not be too emphatically sta
ted that absolutely nothing is known
which could serve as guide in
breeding superior race of man. Not
single earmark is known by which
any hereditary character could be
surmised In persons about to become,
parents. once took the trouble to-
look up the parentage of 1000 of the
worlds famous artists, musicians and
poets. In only one out of every five
cases lid the parents have any of
the traits which made their children
famous When men like Buck. Cho-
pin, Dyorak, F1otow, HANDEL, Haydn,
List, Mendelssohn. Moskowski, Schu-
bert, Tchaikovsky. Verdi, Wagner,
Weber, Valesqaez, Murilio, Goya,
gelo are. born of merchants. butchers,
farmers, soldiers, doctors and Wallets,
and of farmers daughters, chamber
maids and women of no special bent
who shall say what butcher aE.l what
chamber maid shall be chosen as pros
pective eugenic parents of future
great artist or musician? Statistics
were recently collected on 10000
children, about one-half of whom
were from parents who were drunk
ards or moderate consumers of alco-
hol, while the rest were from parents
who were total abstainers. The
children of drinkers and drunkards
made a. little better showing physical
ly and mentally than those from alb
staining parents This does not by
any means show that the use of alco-
hol by parents tenHs to improve the
quality of their children. Ii merely