years, when every inmate (there were between three and four hundred) was
born before the Civil War--during the time of the great anti-slavery
agitation, which did so much to educate the moral sense of the people.
"I was again in charge of the same institution _when every inmate was
born during, or soon after the war, when the mothers were reading,
talking and dreaming of battles, and of husbands, fathers or brothers
who had gone to the war_.
"_I found as great a difference in the character of those inmates born
before and after the Civil War as exists between a civilized and a
savage nation._
"_Those under my care the second time were much more difficult to
control, more quarrelsome and defiant, less willing to work or study.
The crimes for which they were sentenced were as different as their
characters._
"It was not uncommon for them to be sentenced for breaking and entering
with deadly weapons.
"This difference was not confined to inmates of reform schools, but it
was manifest throughout all classes.
"After the war crimes increased rapidly. In Boston garroting was common,
and was only checked by Judge Russell sentencing all such subjects to
the full extent of the law.
"Before the close of the Civil War the State Prison at Charlestown,
under Mr. Gideon Haynes, was, according to Dr. D. C. Wines, D. D., the
model prison of the United States. Since that time it has been almost
impossible to maintain proper discipline, owing, no doubt, to the more
desperate character of the inmates.
"Let us try to trace these effects back to their causes, and prove, if
possible, that whatsoever a man (or nation) soweth, that shall it also
reap."
But there are other ways in which war militates against the noblest
motherhood. Camp life is a school for vice and prostitution. In Camp
Chickamauga, which is a sample of them all, during the war with Spain on
account of Cuba, the amount and baseness of the prostitution by the
soldiers, with both black and white women, exceeded description. In a
single day forty-one cases of specific disease applied to the physicians
at the hospitals for treatment. These things were not reported in the
daily papers; they were too vile. The place was a hot-bed of vice,
rather than a school of virtue and patriotism. In all European armies it
is the same. In times of peace, soldiers from the highest to the lowest
in rank, insist that facility shall be allowed them for the
gratification of their passional natures. The officers, not being
permitted to marry unless they or their wives have a certain income,
keep their mistresses, and not a female servant near a camp is safe. The
immoral influences here generated spread throughout society, lower the
standard of morals among both men and women in private life, and
jeopardize the interests of children born or unborn, morally and
intellectually, as well as physically.
But there is another view. "Great standing armies," says the Czar of
Russia, in his note to the Powers, "_are transforming the armed power of
our day into a crushing burden which the people have more and more
difficulty in bearing_."
That is to say, the tax imposed upon the individuals of any nation to
support its army pauperizes or keeps on the verge of poverty a large
portion of the race. It is war, far more than any other cause, which has
created the burden of taxation. In some European countries almost every
man carries a soldier or sailor on his back, that is, he must labor not
only to support himself and family, but a soldier or sailor who devotes
his life to a murderous profession. Is this not a grievous burden which
cripples or paralyzes his life and reacts on his offspring?
Now, the poverty caused by this burden is a serious obstacle to the
production and training of the young, and especially is this the case in
the more populous countries--France, Spain and Italy are examples. These
lands were once the most powerful in Europe; they are so no longer. They
gloried in war, and spent immense sums of money upon their armies and
burdened the people with taxes which should have been reserved for the
use of fathers and mothers in educating and providing for the needs of
their offspring. War has crushed out the best life of these countries,
and other nations which follow in the same path will in the end come to
a similar fate. They may hold out a long time, but not forever. "The
mills of Gods grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small."
It is because war is an enemy to the highest motherhood that women
should array themselves against it. It is one of the greatest foes to
the development and welfare of the children they love so well. Women
should insist that all governments should settle their differences by
peaceful rather than by warlike means. The industrial age may have its
difficulties, but they are not insurmountable. In it the fathers and
mothers may have the time and the means to study and learn how to
improve the race through a wiser parentage. I believe that thoughtful
women, when they come to see the evils of war in their true light, as
they have seen the evils of prostitution and intemperance, will be its
greatest foes.
_Cases of Prenatal Influences._
Alfred Russell Wallace gives in _Nature_ a few cases of prenatal
influences sent him by his correspondents. The first experience is from
a mother residing in Australia. She writes:
"I can trace in the character of my first child, a girl now twenty-two
years of age, a special aptitude for sewing, economical contriving and
cutting out, which came to me as a new experience when living in the
country among new surroundings, and strict economy being necessary, I
began to try to sew for the coming baby and myself. I also trace her
great love of history to my study of Froude during that period. Her
other tastes for art and literature are distinctly hereditary.
"In the case of my second child, also a daughter, I having interested
myself prior to her birth in literary pursuits, the result has been a
much acuter form of intelligence, which at six years old enabled her to
read and enjoy the ballads which Tennyson was then giving to the world,
and which at the age of barely twenty years allowed her to take her
degree as B. A. of the Sydney University.
"Before the third child, a boy, was born, the current of our lives had
changed a little. Visits to my own family and a change of residence to a
distant colony, which involved a long journey, as well as the work
incidental to such changes, together with the care of my two older
children, absorbed all my time and thoughts, and left little or no
leisure for studious pursuits. My occupations were more mechanical than
at any other time previous. This boy does not inherit the studious
tastes of his sisters at all. He is intelligent and possesses most of
the qualifications which will probably conduce to success in life, but
he prefers any kind of out-door work or handicraft to study. Had I been
as alive then as I am now to the importance of these theories, I should
have endeavored to guard against this possibility; as it is, I always
feel that it is, perhaps, my fault that one of the greatest pleasures of
life has been debarred to him.
"But I must not weary you by so many personal details, and I trust you
will not suspect me of vanity in thus bringing my own children under
your notice. Suffice it to say that in every instance I can, and do,
constantly trace what others might term coincidences, but which appear
to me nothing but cause and effect in their several developments."
Mr. Wallace then gives extracts from other correspondents as follows:
Mrs. B---- says: "I can trace, nay, have traced (in secret amusement
often), something in every child of mine. Before the birth of my eldest
girl I took to ornithology, for work and amusement, and did a great deal
in taxidermy, too. At the age of three years I found this youngster
taking such insects and little animals as she could find, and puzzling
me with hard questions as to what was inside of them. Later on she used
to be seen with a small knife, working and dissecting cleverly and with
much care and skill at their _insides_. One day she brought me the
tiniest heart of the tiniest lizard you can imagine, so small that I had
to examine it through a glass, though she saw it without any artificial
aid. By some means she got a young wallaby, and made an apron with a
pocket inside which she used to call her 'pouch.' This study of natural
history is still of interest to her, though she lacks time and
opportunities. Still, she always does a little dissecting if she gets a
chance."
ANOTHER CASE.--"I never noticed anything about P---- for some years.
Three months before he was born a friend, whom I will call Smith, was
badly hurt, and was brought to my house to be nursed. I turned out the
nursery and he lay there for three months. I nursed him until I could do
so no longer, and then took lodgings in town for my confinement. Now
after all these years I have discovered how this surgical nursing has
left its mark. The boy is in his element when he can be of use in cases
of accident, etc. He said to me quite lately: 'How I wish you had made a
surgeon of me!' Then all at once it flashed in upon me, but, alas! it
was too late to remedy the mistake.
"Before the birth of the third child I passed ten of the happiest months
of my life. We had a nice house, one side of which was covered with
cloth of gold roses and bougainvillea, a garden with plenty of flowers,
and a vineyard. Here we lived an idyllic life, and did nothing but fish,
catch butterflies and paint them. At least my husband painted them after
I had caught them and mixed his colors. At the end of this time L----
was born. This child excels in artistic talent of many kinds; nothing
comes amiss to her, and she draws remarkably well. She is of a bright
gay disposition, finding much happiness in life, even though not always
placed in the most fortunate surroundings.
"Before the birth of my next child, N----, a daughter, I had a bad time.
My husband fell ill of fever, and I had to nurse him without help or
assistance of any kind. We had also losses by floods. I don't know how I
got through that year, but I had no time for reading. N---- is the most
prudent, economical girl I know. She is a splendid housekeeper and a
good cook, and will work till she drops; has no taste for reading, but
seems to gain knowledge by suction." Such cases are so numerous that
they should be collected and scientifically studied.
_Luxury and Parentage._
In all ages of luxury, fine ladies try to avoid maternity. They detest
it in theory only, for women are controlled by the instinct of the race.
In the circles of which we are speaking, the instincts of the race for
children have vanished. Life has lost its serious meaning.
Responsibility of any kind is a mere nuisance, and the idea of bringing
up a new life, with all its bonds and its charm, is as repellant as the
idea of a new bonnet is enticing. For such women the world has no use.
Beautiful, in the great sense, they are not. Incapable, in any great
way, of either loving or being loved, they are at best the painted
bubbles on the stream of life. Such women will always be far inferior as
mothers, and less capable of bringing into the world noble offspring
than those women in the humble walks of life who live naturally, who
love the family ties and are fond of the young.
Great mothers must have a certain sort of hardihood which comes from a
wise physical culture, not necessarily an artificial one,--a life in the
open air, and the avoidance of all social dissipation.
_Degeneracy of the Breasts and Motherhood._
A sign of degeneracy is pointed out by Hegar, who appeals to young men
on behalf of posterity to choose for wives women with well-developed
breasts; he quotes statistics to prove inability to nurse a child a sign
of degeneracy which produces degeneracy in the offspring. Among other
facts he points out that in a district of his knowledge, which supplies
a large number of wet nurses to the city, the percentage of men
incapable of military service amounts to 30 per cent., while in the
neighboring districts, where the mothers remain at home with their
families, it is only 18 per cent. He remarks upon the surprising number
of deformed nipples encountered in the hospitals. Fehling mentions
"hollow nipples" as occurring in 6.7 of his obstetric cases. He warns
mothers not to allow the clothing to constrict the growing breasts of
their daughters, and urges general hygiene as the best method to develop
them.
In this connection the question may be asked, Is it possible for women
with defective breasts to become mothers of a virile race of men and
strong women. In most cases it is not. A defect in this part of their
nature is evidence of a weakened constitution. It may be said, that the
breasts do not always develop before marriage and parentage. This is
true, and if the health is robust, and the constitution and ancestry
good, the mother will, in most cases, be able to nurse her child. If it
is known in advance that such cannot be the case, and it may generally
be known, then the responsibilities of motherhood should be undertaken
with the greater precaution. In modern times we have far better means of
bringing up children by hand than formerly. Still, a mother able to
nurse her own children should always be preferred.
_Location of Birth._
In Manchester, England, in 1892, 37,674 boys out of every 100,000 died
before they reached their fifth year. In healthy districts only 17,314
out of 100,000 died. About the same condition prevails in other places.
The lesson it teaches us is, that we should choose a healthy region in
which to live if we would rear the healthiest offspring.
_Evolution._
This word means progress and progress implies improvement, without which
there could be no evolution; but improvement of the human race will not
be further possible unless the marriage relation is regarded from a
higher stand-point than that of sexual indulgence.
The practical superiority of man over animals consists in his knowledge
of the _aim_ of his conduct. Animals exercise the reproductive function
instinctively at particular seasons, but man knowingly always; and thus,
unless the latter subordinates his passion to reason he is worse than a
brute, as he knows himself to be such.
The difference between the chaste marriage of affection and the unchaste
marriage of passion, is analogous to that between education and
instruction, as explained by Elder Evans of the Shaker Community.
Instruction imparts knowledge, such as is associated in Eastern lore
with the sexual passion, but education embraces the whole disposition,
which is rendered more beautiful and spiritual through a marriage of
chastity, and as thus affected is transmitted to the offspring, who
exhibit the disposition of their parents at the time of conception.
Sexual excess not only tends to produce offspring of a weakly
constitution, but it interferes with the organic growth of the parents.
It is as wasteful as burning a candle at both ends at the same time.
Parents should bear in mind that the mental plan on which their children
shall begin life, depends on the desire by which they are governed when
they beget their offspring; and as desire depends on disposition, they
should aim at requiring harmony of character and conduct.
If we think less of ourselves and more of the race to which we belong,
we shall have a better chance of improving both ourselves and the race
as represented in our offspring.
We are all members of a great organism, which is constituted by the
whole of human kind, past, present and future, and it is our duty to act
in such a manner that the whole shall be benefited by our conduct; which
it cannot be if we are careless as to our own disposition or as to the
character of our offspring.
Our Aryan ancestors were conscious of their duty towards the race, and
probably to this fact was largely due the high physical development the
white race attained. Only by acting in their spirit can we hope to
maintain the race at its high level or prevent its deterioration and
decay.
The important influence which the gratification of the sexual impulse
has had over the development of the aesthetic side of Nature has been
often insisted on; and there is no reason why its gratification should
not be attended also with the development of the highest mental
qualities, if these are made use of in the formation and exercise of the
marriage relations between the sexes.--C. STANILAND WAKE.
_Too Little Fatherhood._
The modern child is threatened not with too much mother but with too
little father, and this danger is heightened by the sudden release of
womanhood from the ban of conventionality and of the domineering power
of physical force. Let her not too readily accept as complimentary to
herself the church's adoration of Mary. Woman is made of no purer stuff
than man, her companion, man her father. She cannot transmit from her
own veins or her companion's veins any purer life stuff, any finer
impulse to her daughter than she does to her son. We need more fathers
in the home, more men teachers in our public schools; and if our homes
and schools are not organized so as to evoke and direct this masculine
investment, then let them be reorganized. It is not true that mothers
are peculiarly the divinely appointed teachers of children, that to them
is especially entrusted the intellectual or spiritual destinies of the
young. That argument is based upon the analogies of the past; it is a
reversion to primitive conditions, an illustration of the law of
atavism, like the return to six fingers and toes in some people, or the
restoration in others of the muscle that can move the ear. The highest
reaches of evolution point to a double responsibility and a double
potency. In the interest of the child, then, let us lift him out of a
mother rule into a father and mother rule. Let the home be girdled with
masculine order and justice as well as with feminine love and
tenderness. Let there be strength as well as tenderness. Let there be in
it mind as well as heart, vigor as well as sympathy. All these are
spiritual children which cannot be born except in the bi-sexual
realm.--REV. JENKIN LLOYD JONES.
_The Flat-Head Indians and Heredity._
Amongst the round-head tribes woman holds a higher position, whereas
amongst the flat-heads she is a mere drudge. In by-gone days it was
common to see a tired-looking woman walking behind her husband carrying
a heavy load, while he walked on before with nothing.
Again, the round-heads have a remarkable mythology, while the others
have a poor affair.
Mr. Dean has informed me that the flat-head, which would be an acquired
character, is never transmitted to offspring--another argument against
the Lamarchian theory, that acquired characters are transmitted.
That whatever injures the physical or intellectual health of parents
tends to degrade their offspring has long been evident. I think we have
a good race illustration of this in the effects of flattening and
deforming the skulls of children among the Flat-Head Indians, who for
centuries followed this precedent. Information has been furnished me by
special request by Mr. James Dean, of Victoria, B. C., bearing on this
point. He writes:
"Among the children the mortality seems to be greater with the tribes
which flatten the heads of their children than in those who do not. I
have long noticed that there is a very marked intellectual difference
between them."
The Hidery tribes of Northern British Columbia and Southern Alaska, who
never flattened their heads, have long been famous for their works of
art, such as elaborate carvings in wood and stone.
_Suggestion as an Aid in the Training of Children._
Within a few years an old subject, that of hypnotism, formerly called
mesmerism, has received new attention under the name of suggestion, or,
in medical language, "suggestive therapeutics." It was used in a rude
way by Mesmer in the cure of disease. Later it was employed much more
effectively by Braid and others for the same purpose, and especially for
the prevention of pain in surgical operations. Want of space forbids our
going into any extended historical detail as to its application for
these purposes, but a few points will be considered, which bear on the
subject.