The Washington herald., 1916-01-03

scters, and upon the plea of inherited
traits excused and condoned weak.
nesses. lack OF force and other quail.
ties of which We are not proud and foI
which we seek to place the blame, moi
in our inherent selves. but to our here
dity.
The subject of herIdity Is occupyins
the attention Of all thoushtfui people &c
remarkable degree at the present time
and in the light of our rapidly increas
ing knowledge Is slowly but surely being
shorn of its former horrors. SO emf
nent an authority as Luther Burbank
tells US that "Heredity is not the dark
spectre which some people have thought
merciless and Interchangeable. the cmbodi-
ment Of fate itself" Indeed, were such
actually the case, there could be no evo
iution, no progress. consequently nc
happiness; we would then be like dumb
driven cattle. for what would be the
use. after all was said and done. oi
being "a hero i'm the strife?''
The scientific axiom that we are tht
product of our heredity and environ.
ment is certainly being borne out by the
facts, except that scientists are nov
writing environment with q big e, for II
is being shown each day more and more
that as the twig is bent so will the
bough ao~, despite the origin of the
NiCcs IN Otncf NoFuS. lndt our surround
ings, the influences with which we come
in daily, hourly contact. the ''atmos-
phere" we breathe. In short, our inviron.
ment is far more powerful in maxim
and moulding US than Is our past.
Every family Is supposed to have its
black sheep and its skeleton in the
closet, but the searchlights of modern
science are being thrown along tho en-.
tire line, and very often the black sheer
becomes pure white and the skeleton
disappears from the closet because here
ditary forces play a smaller part In our
evolution than was at one time thought
and the new life embodied in the child
is unhampered by the acquired habits
and characteristics. but is almost in
finitely responsive to its environment. A
child that is unnana geable under the
parental roof Is always SO in conse-
quence of alien qualities for which he is
In no way to blame. but the fact must
be recognized and properly acted upon.
One often hears a parent. apropos of an
unruly child. exclaim: Il can't under
stand where John gets it from, his
father Is kind ard thoughtful and he
certainly doesn't take his disposition
from my farnily!' He need not, anC
most frequently does not, get Il from
either side of the house: II is purely hi.
own and he has the right to demand
every consideration from his parents
When such a child Is placed in NOR,
congenisl surroundings, his moral de
velopment Is frequently very rapid ant
very satisfactory, and the converse oi
this is true, too, for the juvenile crimina
Is often recruited from the ranks Of un.
ruly members of highly respectable fam
lilies who have simply failed in under
standing the child's needs. Instead oi
being sent to the woods to camp out o.
doors and taught that Gods in hi
heaven-slrs right with the world" he Il
placed in reformatory among older ant
more experienced companions. Wha
must inevitably happen since mora
qualities form and grow to even a great
er extent than physical characters un
der the influence of environment?