Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-06-29

another expression of a prevailing
purpose to establish in the school a
dumping ground for the discharge of
duties and offices that should be re-
stricted TO the home. Besides. We
must not forget that mental enlight-
eminent, as such is altogether made
quate 10 affoEd the moral check
sought for by our hygienists. Sex
instruction does not necessarily bring
bout self-restraint 1t bestoWs light,
but il does not impart power. And II
is precisely an increase of moral po-
tency that is essentially called ror.
We should, therefore. teach the chill
dren that morality not so much as
hygiene, is the absolute essential for
a chaste and happy marriage. We
should teach them the commandments
of God, rather than the physiology of
sex, and emphasize morals more than
hygiene. What instruction is to be
given to boys and girls should be
given in the home and by the church.
"A hoy leaving home for the first
time, for college or business, should
be warned plainly by his father of
the dangers that beset him. And
young girl, beginning to go into soci-
ETY. for the first time, should be told
by her watchful mother of the charms
of modesty, and what types of young
men she should avoid.
4 have no patience with those who
would entrust to immature young
men and women employed as public
school teachers the task of instruct
ing growing boys and girls in sex
matters-thus starting their thoughts
wandering in dubious channels, when
they should be given to baseball, Ten
mis- and other healthful sports and
recreations.
. Ii -
co-education may be timely. l believe
this should be avoided where pos
sible, and men teachers provided for
boys and women teachers for girls
after the age of puberty has been
passed.
Eugenics.
This paper would not be complete
unless it contained a reference to our
latest panacea-eugenics I have no
desire to enlist in the army of fad
dists who have undertaken to supply
biological remedies for the social ills
of mankind, and who blame heredity
for all our ills. We are told that il
only the UNIT could be prevented
from having children there would
be no weaklings or criminals in the
race and the millennium would soon
Dt ItIEs we Siluulu, lHeTtlOIel pre-
vent the unfit from propagating
themselves and their kind, and de-
velop our laws until we ELIMINATE such
people from our population As it is.
our jails and our asylums are over
crowded, our criminals and our in
sane are increasing faster than the
population, etc.
L believe that any direct legsla-
tive interference with the freedom
of marriage is not only totally I'M
necessary, but would be a much
greater source of danger to morals
and to the well-being of humanity
than the mere temporary evils it
seems to cure.
THE most we should attempt to do
at the present time is to prevent per-
sons known to have tuberculosis and
other infectious diseases from marry
ing. But this can be accomplished
better by moral education and per-
suasion from the physician than by
enforced laboratory tests like the
Wasserman, prescribed by legislation.
Statistics show US that while with
our modern methods We are saving
more babies than formerly. we have
not vet succeeded in lengthening the
effective life very much; that while
the expectancy of life under the age
OF fiVe-years is eleven years longer than
II was genera ton ago, and life con-
tlnues in its expectancy to be higher
up to the age of forty, above that it
is lower than il used to be. To quote
a German cynical philosopher In
spite of our best efforts, eugenics in
Guided, life continues to be. at best. a
dangerous thing, and very few of us
get out of il alive.