The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-18


would indicate that other spga s11
lists are in favor of them. Ma,
Leonard Darwin, who is leader q,
the eugenics movement in EngIan5
married a cousin. And so did bis
father, the great Charles Darwin
Are Late Marriages BeStl
Another question which is sHu
subject to much contradictory IA
bate among the best eugenfcs AN.
thorities is that of delayed mar.
riages. Some believe that If tbs
parents are not young, the chiIdroH
are apt to be inferior. On the otb
er hand, others cite evidence n
show that when the father is owe,
so at the birth of a child. the cbiI5
has from 5 to 10 times the chanea
of being distinguished that An.
other child would have whose tatb.
er was 40 or under.
Casper L. Redfeld, in studviny
the breeding of horses, cows ana
hens" says one prominent eugen.
list, has come to the conclusion
that the race-winning colts are tbs
progeny of mature horses that bavs
by long practice attained higb
speed before the colts were born
Fischer's statistics of human being,
seem to show that, other things he
ing equal, the children of Older
parents 'exemplify in a striking
way the inheritance of ACQUIRED
characters He claims that the
probability of being eminent, when
born from father over 80, is 5 10
10 times that when born from a
father of 40 or less
Even the hitherto accepted the
DRY that acquired characteristics
cannot be inherited is now cbal-
lenged by several modern biologists
who quote recent remarkable ex-
periments which seem to prove m
questionably that acquired charac-
teristics can be transmitted to Of
spring.
Wrong View of Eugenics,
All agree, however, upon the
hopeIessness OF attempting to reg
ulate human mating by Legislation.
and deplOre the popular miscoH-
ceptiOn of eugenics which credits
that science with design to abol-
ish romance and to introduce cat
tIe-breeding principles into the do
nestle affairs of human families"
On the contrary, love marriages are
highly favored by the eugenists.
Marriages for money and other ad-
vantages they denounce. as tending
toward the deterioration of the
race, but love marriages are ar
ranged by nature, and nature is
eugenist herself
Nature has provided men with
some Unborn attractions, repulsiOns,
sympathies and antipathies, which
operate for the biological welfare
of the race" explains one eugen-
list. ut is we'll known, for in
stance, that red-headed persons dis
like one another and seldom marry
persons of their own complexion.
1t is also noticeable that tall men
choose short mates, and
stout men prefer slender ones"
In spite of some disagreement
among the authorities. the knowl
edge of the inheritance of physical
traits is now sufficiently precise,
according to DR.. Davenport, that il
may be applied practically TO cases
Of doubtful parentage. Already"
he says, "the eugenics record Office
has been asked to answer certain
questions about the inheritance OF
traits in a case of a claimant who
that he was the son Of
a wealthy man who died without
heirs. AS lawyers get more used
to the idea of utilizing the advances
Of knowledge for evidence. It IS
probable that eugenicaI knowledge
will be more and more called upon.
THE transmission of special
characteristics which develop into
talent and genius" DR.. Davenport
further explained. els now hslns
studied by 200 field workers con
nected with the eugenics Laboratory
at Cold Springs harbOr. This lab
oratory. by the way, is connected
with the Carnegie Institution az
Much interesting light
is being shed by this research on
he manner in which musical, 1T
erary or artistic talent is handed
DOWN from generation to genera
ion"
You cannot make any eugenist
believe, of course, that 4 genius or
any great man could spring from
poor ancestry even Abraham
lincoln. Recent Investigations OF
MS lineage, indeed, they assert
ends to show that, in spite Of the
of his own father, ne
'eally came OF splendid line.