Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1921-09-28
DARWIN WOULD CONF|NE
UNFIT AND SAVE RACE
British Scientist Urges That
Detectives be Segregated;
Moral Campaign Needed.
New York Tribune.

NtN ipTk lflDutlts
A campaign to encourage large fam
flies among those physically ane NOR
ally sound. and state action TO prevent
an increased birth rate among the
criminal and pauper classes. were adj
vocated with equal emphasis by Ma
jor Leonard Darwin. son of Charles
Darwin. the evolutionist. at the con-
gress OF eugenists at the Museum OF
Natural History.
The United States Darwin said,
held the welfare of the race in its
keeping, and upon its action in re-
gard to race betterment hung the fate
of civilized races.
He pointed out, however, that there
were between three and four hundred
thousand detectives in the United
States who were likely TO pass their
defects on to their children.
IF the interests of posterity are no;
to be grossly neglected. no feeble
minded person should be allowed TO be-
come a parent" he said. Moreover
those who have studied this problem
are agreed, / think, that the right
method to adopt is segregation, by
which is meant confinement in COM
fort, the sexes being kept apart. We
all hate interfering with liberty, but
let ii be remembered that liberty ne
cessitates equality and that as equality
is impossible with the feebleminded
they can never have true liberty"
The tendency of the better classes OF
the community the educated and well
TO do, to have small families, was de-
precated as tending toward race de-
terioration.
What is necessary" he said. st tc
make it widely and deeply felt that II
is both immoral and unpatriotic for
couples sound in mind and body to un-
duly limit the size of their families
No doubt difficulties will be expert
enced in deciding to what extent the
duty Of parenthood is imposed in indi-
vidual cases. The main difficulty will
however. be to get this duty strongly
felt by the mass of the people. Fol
success in this endeavor would, an
convinced. have a much greater effecf
on the size of families than common
sense alone would indicate.
Failure is, however, certain il tbs
problem is not attacked with religious
zeal. There ought to be great mora
campaign against the selfish regard 70
personal comfort and social advance
ment. for these aims must be in
measures sacrificed on the a:.ar of fam
lily life il racial progress is TO be in
| sured.
I'VE should recognize that we Shout
best serve our country by bringin
healthy and intelligent children int
the world, provided we can give ther
a sound education and fair start i
life, and all of US should be ready {
make some sacrifice of social positio
in order to obey our country's call /
this respect. The nation that wins
this moral campaign will have gon
halfway toward gaining an all roun
racial victory"
Segregation of the grossly unfit wa
not sufficient according to Major DaI
win, to insure society against the dar
gers of large families among I'll
masses of criminals. paupers, drunk
ards, wastrels and "work-shy." I
reduce the fertility of this large elias
would be far more beneficial than
! deal with the comparatively sma
numbers of the actually unfit, he sal
Jail sentences of increasing lengt
for habitual criminals were the be-
practical method. he said. With ever
offense the sentence should be length
ened and when it had been establisht
that the individual was untitled
: carry on a jail-free life his sentent
: should be made permanent, theret
Kidding society of the danger of of
spring from such stock.
: The children of criminals. he sal
were ten times as likely to be Grim
nails themselves as the children of Law
abiding citizens.