Produced by K.D. Thornton, Jason Isbell, Keith Edkins and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's note: A few typographical errors have been corrected: they
are listed at the end of the text.
[Illustration: Eugenics Hath Its Own Reward]
The Eugenic Marriage
A Personal Guide to the
New Science of Better
Living and Better Babies
By W. GRANT HAGUE, M.D.
College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia University), New York; Member
of County Medical Society, and of the American Medical Association
In Four Volumes
VOLUME I
New York
THE REVIEW OF REVIEWS COMPANY
1916
Copyright, 1913, by W. GRANT HAGUE
Copyright, 1914, by W. GRANT HAGUE
* * * * *
[i]
INDEX OF THE FOUR VOLUMES
NOTE--The Roman numerals I, II, III and IV indicate the volume; the Arabic
figures 1, 2, 3, etc., indicate the page number.
Accidents and emergencies, IV, 629.
Accouchement Beds, how to prepare, I, 65.
Acne, IV, 576.
Adenoids, IV, 519; how to tell when child has, IV, 520; treatment of, IV,
521.
Adentitis, acute, IV, 558; causes of, IV, 558; symptoms of, IV, 558;
treatment of, IV, 558.
Advice to young wives, III, 357.
After-birth, expulsion of, I, 101.
After-pains, I, 103.
Age at which to marry, III, 331.
Albumen water, II, 245.
Alcohol, in patent medicines, III, 455.
Alcoholic drunkenness, I, 44; Dr. Branthwaite on, I, 45; Dr. Sullivan on,
I, 44.
Amenorrhea, causes, II, 192; absence of menstruation, II, 191; treatment
of, II, 192.
Anemia, severe, IV, 567; simple, IV, 565; treatment of various forms, IV,
567.
Anesthetics, new, IV, 654; use of in confinements, I, 112.
Angina, IV, 508.
Anti-meningitis, serum, IV, 656.
Aperient waters, abuse of in constipation, III, 326.
Appendicitis, IV, 546; treatment of, IV, 546.
Appetite, loss of, II, 287; poor, II, 286; treatment for loss of, II, 288.
Arrest of hemorrhage, IV, 635.
Artificial Food, II, 249; formulæ for, II, 253; mistakes in preparing, II,
267.
Aseptic surgery, IV, 653.
Baby, amusing the, II, 217; bathing the, II, 213; care of eyes, II, 215;
care of genital organs, II, 216; care of mouth and teeth, II, 215; care of
newly-born, II, 210; care of skin, II, 216; clothing of, II, 214;
constipation in bottle-fed, II, 309; food for first year, II, 261; fresh
air for, II, 232; how it gets nourishment in womb, II, 183; how long it
should sleep, II, 236; how to weigh, II, 220; hygiene and development of,
II, 209; intervals of feeding, II, 225; night-clothes of, II, 215;
overfeeding the, II, 224; proper way to lay in bed, II, 235; what to
prepare for the coming, II, 209; why it cries, II, 237.
Baby's comforter, II, 241.
Bacteria, what happens if we inhale, III, 410.
Barley gruel, II, 244.
Barley water, II, 244, 256.
[ii]
Bath, bran, IV, 591; cold, for reducing fever, IV, 590; cold sponge or
shower, IV, 592; during pregnancy, I, 76; hot air or vapor, IV, 591; hot,
IV, 591; mustard, IV, 590; tepid, IV, 592; various kinds of, IV, 590.
Bathing, the baby, II, 213.
Bed, proper way to lay baby in, II, 235.
Bed-wetting, IV, 580.
Beef juice, II, 262.
Beef or meat pulp, II, 244.
Bichloride of mercury solution, IV, 627.
Binder, how to apply, I, 66.
Birth, management of, I, 99.
Birth-chamber, the, I, 61.
Birth marks, I, 128.
Bites, dog, IV, 638.
Blackheads, IV, 576.
Blood, children suffering from poor, IV, 566; poor, IV, 565.
Boils, IV, 559.
Boracic Acid, solution of, IV, 626.
Bottle-feeding, method of, II, 256; what a mother should know about, II,
264.
Bowels, daily movement necessary, II, 307; how to wash out, IV, 586;
importance of clean, II, 306.
Boy, building of, II, 139; chancre, the, II, 145; gonorrhea or "clap," II,
142; sex-hygiene for, II, 139; social evil, II, 141; sources of immorality,
II, 141; syphilis or "pox," II, 144.
Brain, complications of in syphilis, II, 146.
Bran, as a food, II, 292; bath, IV, 591; muffins, recipe for, II, 311.
Branthwaite, Dr., on alcoholic drunkenness, I, 45.
Bread, II, 273.
Breasts, care of when weaning, I, 125; colostrum in, I, 108; how long
should baby stay at, II, 225; putting baby to after labor, I, 108.
Bronchitis, IV, 511; chronic, IV, 515; diet for, IV, 513; drugs in, IV,
514; external applications for, IV, 514; inhalations for, IV, 513; in older
children, IV, 512; symptoms of in infants, IV, 512; treatment of IV, 512.
Broncho-Pneumonia, acute, IV, 516; symptoms of, IV, 516; how to tell when
child has, IV, 517; treatment of child with, IV, 517.
Bruise, or contusion, IV, 633.
Burbank, Luther, on education, I, 24.
Burning Clothing, how to extinguish, IV, 641.
Burns, and scalds, IV, 641.
Calomel, II, 297; how to take, II, 297.
Cancer, in women, III, 442; what every woman should know about, III, 442.
Carron oil, solution of, IV, 627.
Castor oil, II, 295; how to give dose of, II, 296.
Catarrh, acute nasal, IV, 500; symptoms of, IV, 500.
Catarrh powders, III, 458.
Cathartics, calomel, II, 295; castor oil, II, 295; citrate of magnesia, II,
298; how to give children, II, 295.
Cereals, II, 273.
Chancre, the, II, 145.
Change of life, conduct during, III, 446; the menopause, III, 443; symptoms
of, III, 444.
Cheerful wife and mother, III, 400.
Chicken broth, II, 244.
[iii]
Chicken-pox, IV, 606; symptoms of, IV, 607.
Child, the delicate, II, 281; diet of sick, II, 279; most helpless living
thing, II, 279; rate of growth of, II, 221; sick, should be in bed, II,
277; washing mouth and eyes after birth, I, 102.
Child-Birth, I, 61; fear of, I, 111.
Children, acute intestinal diseases of, IV, 529; constipation in, II, 303;
hysterical, II, 293; rheumatism in, IV, 569; temperature in, II, 217; with
whom milk does not agree, IV, 535.
Cholera infantum, IV, 540.
Chlorosis, IV, 566; symptoms of, IV, 566.
Chronic Nasal catarrh, IV, 503; treatment of, IV, 504.
Circumcision, should it be advised, II, 169.
Citrate of magnesia, II, 295; how to take, II, 298.
Clap, or gonorrhea, II, 142.
Clothing, baby's, II, 214.
Coddled egg, II, 245.
Cold-pack, IV, 589.
Colds, catching, IV, 497.
Colic, IV, 544; symptoms of, IV, 545; treatment of, IV, 545.
Colitis, chronic, IV, 538.
Colon, irrigation of, IV, 587.
Colostrum, uses of, I, 108.
Condensed milk feeding, II, 227; objections to, II, 257.
Confinement, choice of physician, I, 69; convalescing after, I, 131;
domestic problem following first, I, 131; how to calculate date of, I, 66;
how to prepare bed for, I, 65; lacerations during, I, 116; how long woman
should stay in bed after, I, 114; position and arrangement of bed for, I,
64; preparations for, I, 61; selection of a nurse, I, 70; use of
anesthetics in, I, 112; what to provide for, I, 62.
Confinement chamber, presence of friends in, I, 113; presence of relatives
in, I, 113.
Constipation, II, 315; abuse of cathartics and aperient waters, II, 326;
always harmful, II, 321; chief cause of, II, 315; cost of, II, 317;
diseases of women and, II, 320; during pregnancy, I, 84; in bottle-fed
infants, II, 309; in breast-fed infants, II, 308; in girls between 16 and
20, II, 321; in children over two years old, II, 309; in infants and
children, II, 303; lack of bulk in food, II, 326; lack of exercise and, II,
325; lack of water, II, 325; negligence of, II, 324; pregnancy and, II,
321; significance of, II, 305; social exigencies and, II, 319; treatment
of, II, 323; treatment of obstinate, II, 311.
Consumption cure, III, 461.
Consumptives, information for and those living with, III, 421.
Contagious diseases, IV, 599; conduct and dress of nurse for, IV, 600;
convalescence after, IV, 603; rules to be observed in treatment, IV, 599;
what isolation means, IV, 600.
Contusion, or bruise, IV, 633.
Convulsions, IV, 577; treatment of child with, IV, 579.
Cord, cutting, the, I, 102; dressing the, II, 210.
Cough, treatment of, IV, 505; nervous or persistent, IV, 504.
[iv]
Cream, for constipation in infants, II, 309.
Croup, false, IV, 506; treatment of false, IV, 507; spasmodic, IV, 507;
treatment of spasmodic, IV, 507.
Deaf and dumb, I, 37.
Detention, symptoms of, II, 219; treatment of, II, 219.
Desserts, II, 273.
Diarrhoea, inflammatory, IV, 535; summer, IV, 539; symptoms of summer, IV,
540; treatment of inflammatory, IV, 537; treatment of summer, IV, 541.
Diet, of nursing mother, I, 121; of the pregnant woman, I, 77; of sick
child, II, 279; for constipated child, II, 310; older children, II, 271.
Dinner, the first after labor, I, 109.
Diphtheria, IV, 610; symptoms of, IV, 611; treatment of, IV, 613.
Disease, how we catch, III, 409; tendency to, III, 416; vice and, I, 4; of
womb, ovaries or fallopian tubes, II, 199.
Disinfecting, Clothing and linen, IV, 601; mouth and nose, IV, 602; sick
chamber, IV, 604.
Dislocations, IV, 640.
Dog-bites, IV, 638.
Douche, how to give after labor, I, 108; the use of when pregnant, I, 76.
Draw-sheet, the, I, 65.
Dried bread, II, 245.
Dusting and cleaning, II, 391.
Dysentery, cause of, IV, 535; symptoms of, IV, 536.
Dysmenorrhea, II, 193.
Ear, foreign bodies in, IV, 631; inflammation of, IV, 556; method of
removing foreign bodies, IV, 632; treatment of inflammation, IV, 556.
Earache, IV, 555.
Ears, do not box, IV, 554; do not pick, IV, 554; let them alone, IV, 554.
Eczema, IV, 562; of the face, IV, 563; rubrum, IV, 563.
Education, and the educator, I, 29; eugenics and, I, 4; Dr. C. W. Saleeby
on, I, 22; Dr. Helen C. Putnam on, I, 27; Havelock Ellis on, I, 33; Herbert
Spencer on, I, 35; Luther Burbank on, I, 24; Wm. D. Lewis on, I, 25; true
province of, I, 35; what place sex hygiene will find in, II, 162; Ella
Wheeler Wilcox on, I, 22.
Educational systems, difficulty in devising, I, 27; inadequate, I, 22.
Efficiency, requisites of, III, 346.
Egg, coddled, II, 245; white of, II, 262.
Ellis, Havelock, on Education, I, 33.
Emergencies and accidents, IV, 629.
Enema, High, IV, 588; hot, 586.
Enteritis, cause of, IV, 535; symptoms of, IV, 536.
Entero-colitis, IV, 535.
Enuresis, IV, 580.
Environment, I, 3.
Eruptions of the skin, II, 145.
Establishing toilet habits, II, 240.
Eugenic clubs, mother's, I, 54.
Eugenic idea, the, I, 9.
Eugenic principle, I, 10.
Eugenics, I, 12; definition of, I, 12; education and, I, 21; and history,
I, 5; husband and, I, 19; marriage and, I, 11; motherhood and, I, 16; [v]
parenthood and, I, 15; the unfit and, I, 37; what every mother should know
about, I, 47.
Exercise enough for husband, III, 347; lack of and constipation, III, 347.
Eye, foreign bodies in, IV, 630; method of removing foreign bodies from,
IV, 631.
Fake medical treatment, for venereal diseases, II, 167.
Father and the boy, II, 163.
Fault-finding, III, 350.
Feeble-minded, the, I, 37; Dr. John Punton on, I, 42; Dr. Max Schlapp on,
I, 39; segregation and treatment of, I, 42.
Feeding, artificial, II, 249; artificial from birth to twelfth month, II,
254; the delicate child condition which will justify artificial, II, 266;
during second year formulæ for artificial, II, 253; how to prepare milk
mixtures, II, 259; intervals of, II, 225; overfeeding, II, 223; regularity
of, II, 227; what a mother should know about, II, 264; why regularity is
important, II, 228.
Felon, run-around, or whitlow, IV, 640; treatment of, IV, 641.
Female, beginning of, disease, III, 434; chief cause of diseases, III, 436;
diseases are avoidable, III, 439; generative organs, II, 178; weakness
cures, III, 470; what woman with disease should do, III, 441.
Fermentation, of the stomach, II, 304.
Fertility, conditions which affect women, II, 196.
Fever, cold packs for, IV, 589; cold sponging for reducing, IV, 589; ice
cap for reducing, IV, 589; methods of reducing, IV, 589.
Finger, biting the nails, IV, 585.
Fit, the, only shall be born, I, 10.
Fits, IV, 577.
Fly, dangerous house, IV, 645; to kill, IV, 648.
Fomentations, hot, IV, 593.
Food, allowable during first year, II, 261; bran as a, II, 292; formulæ for
baby, II, 243.
Foodstuffs, IV, 647.
Foreign bodies, in nose, IV, 632; in throat, IV, 633.
Formative period, the, III, 339.
Fraudulent testimonials, III, 467.
Friends, choosing your, III, 367; your husband's, III, 363.
Fruits, II, 273.
Garbage, IV, 647.
Gastric indigestion, acute, IV, 527; treatment of, IV, 527.
Gastro duodenitis, IV, 547.
Generative organs, female, II, 178.
Genital organs, care of, II, 26.
Girl, what a mother should tell her little, II, 173.
Glands, swollen, IV, 558; treatment of swollen, IV, 558.
Gleet, II, 143
Gonorrhea, symptoms of in a man, II, 142; wife infected with, II, 147.
Good health, requirements of, II, 316.
Government investigation of patent medicines, IV, 486.
[vi]
Habits, of delicate child, II, 285.
Hair, falls out in syphilis, II, 146.
Headache, IV, 585; during pregnancy, I, 83; remedies, III, 457; treatment
of, IV, 585.
Heartburn, during pregnancy, I, 84.
Hemorrhage, arrest of, IV, 635; nasal, IV, 522.
Heredity, I, 3; and eugenics, I, 16; function of education, I, 32.
Hiccough, IV, 523.
High School, system fallacious, I, 29.
Hives, IV, 559; cause of, IV, 559; treatment of, IV, 559.
Home, good housekeeper, III, 389; owning a, III, 400; the ideal, III, 393;
what makes the, III, 394.
Honeymoon, the, III, 335; marital relations during, III, 336.
Hot pack, IV, 589.
Housefly, dangerous, IV, 645.
Housekeeper, what constitutes an efficient, III, 390.
Husband, and home, III, 404; is he to blame, II, 151; the, and eugenics, I,
19.
Hysterics, and children, II, 293; treatment of, II, 294.
Ice-cap, for reducing fever, IV, 589.
Ileo-colitis, chronic, IV, 538; treatment of, IV, 539.
Imperial Granum, II, 245.
Incontinence, IV, 580.
Indigestion, acute gastric, IV, 527; acute intestinal, IV, 532; symptoms of
acute intestinal, IV, 532; treatment of acute gastric, IV, 527; treatment
of acute intestinal, IV, 533.
Infants, constipation in bottle-fed, II, 309; jaundice in, IV, 547;
mortality of, I, 2; records of, II, 222.
Infection, direct, IV, 499.
Infectious diseases, IV, 599.
Inflammatory diarrhea, IV, 535.
Influenza, IV, 608; symptoms of, IV, 608; treatment of, IV, 609.
Injections, oil, II, 312.
Insane, care of, I, 43.
Insomnia, during pregnancy, I, 86.
Interior organs, complications of in syphilis, II, 146.
Intermittent fever, IV, 571.
Intestinal diseases of children, IV, 529.
Intestinal Indigestion, acute, IV, 532; symptoms of acute, IV, 532;
treatment of, IV, 533.
Intestinal worms, IV, 548.
Jaundice, catarrhal, IV, 547; in infants, IV, 546; in older children, IV,
547.
Junket, II, 244.
Kelly pad, the, I, 65.
Knowledge, two ways of gaining, III, 377.
Labor, after-pains, I, 103; beginning of, I, 95; clothing during, I, 95;
conduct during second stage of, I, 96; conduct immediately following, I,
103; douching after, I, 107; first breakfast after, I, 105; first dinner
after, I, 109; first lunch after, I, 109; first stage of, I, 96; importance
of emptying bladder after, I, 106; the Lochia, or discharge after, I, 104;
management of, I, 93; putting baby to breast after, I, 108; second stage
of, I, 96.
Lacerations during confinement, I, 116.
[vii]
La Grippe, IV, 608; treatment of, IV, 609.
Laryngitis, acute catarrhal, IV, 506; treatment of, IV, 507.
Leucorrhea, cause of sterility, II, 201; in girls, II, 190.
Lewis, Wm. D., on education, I, 25.
Life and insurance, III, 400.
Lithia water, III, 458.
Lochia, or discharge after labor, I, 104.
Lunch, the first after labor, I, 109.
Malaria, intermittent fever, IV, 571; serum for, IV, 656; treatment of, IV,
571.
Malformation, II, 201.
Man, building a, II, 151.
Marital relations, when they are painful, III, 337; when they should be
suspended, III, 337.
Marriage, and motherhood, I, 2; best age for, III, 331; certificate and
vice, I, 15; certificate, utility of, I, 13; evils of early, III, 333;
failures in, I, 2.
Mastitis, in infancy, IV, 553; in young girls, IV, 554.
Masturbation, or self-abuse, II, 157.
Meats, medical essentials of good, III, 393; preparation and selection of,
III, 390.
Measles, IV, 616; complications in, IV, 618; Koplik's spots in, IV, 617;
rules of department of health, IV, 619; symptoms of, IV, 616; treatment of,
IV, 618.
Medical, letter brokers, III, 482; reliable advice, III, 486.
Medicine chest, contents of family, IV, 629.
Medicine concern run by women, III, 475.
Menstruation, II, 187; irregular, II, 187; painful, II, 193; should not be
accompanied with pain, II, 189; symptoms of, II, 189; treatment for
painful, II, 194; why it occurs every 28 days, II, 180.
Milk, children with whom it does not agree, IV, 535; difference between
human and cows, II, 252; mixture, how to prepare, II, 259; peptonized, II,
262.
Mind, training the, III, 360.
Miscarriage, II, 202; after treatment of, II, 205; causes of, II, 203;
course and symptoms of, II, 204; what to do when threatened with, II, 204;
tendency to, II, 206; womb displacement in, II, 198.
Mosquitoes, regarding, IV, 572; rules of Department of Health, IV, 574.
Mother, the cheerful, III, 400; education of the, II, 277; existence of the
average, III, 437; what she should know about eugenics, I, 47; what she
should tell her little girl, II, 173; what she should tell her daughter,
II, 173.
Motherhood, eugenics and, I, 16; function of, I, 17; preparing for, II,
187.
Mothers, eugenic clubs, I, 54; girls must not become, II, 184.
Moths, IV, 648.
Mouth, how to disinfect, IV, 601; sore, IV, 523; treatment for ulcers in,
IV, 525; treatment of sore, IV, 524.
Mucous patches, and ulcers, II, 145.
Mumps, IV, 605; symptoms of, IV, 605.
Mustard bath, IV, 590.
Mustard paste, how to make, IV, 593.
[viii]
Mustard pack, how to prepare and use, IV, 594.
Mutton Broth, II, 244.
Napkins, sanitary, I, 66.
Nasal discharge, chronic, IV, 502.
Nausea, during pregnancy, I, 80.
Nettle-rash, IV, 559; cause of, IV, 559; treatment of, IV, 559.
Night losses, or "wet dreams," II, 158.
Nightmare or night terrors, IV, 583; treatment of, IV, 581.
Nipples, care of, I, 121; cracked, I, 122; tender, I, 122; treatment of
cracked, I, 122; what mother should know about bottle and, II, 264.
Normal salt, solution of, IV, 627.
Nose, chronic discharge of, IV, 503; complications of in syphilis, II, 146;
foreign bodies in, IV, 632.
Nose-bleeds, IV, 522.
Nosophobia, or the dread of disease, III, 380.
Nursery maid, qualifications of, I, 129.
Nursing mothers, I, 121; diet of, I, 121; mastitis in, I, 122; nervous, I,
126.
Oatmeal water, for constipation in infants, II, 309.
Oat-water, II, 244.
Obstetrical outfits, ready to purchase, I, 63.
Oil injections, II, 312.
Oiled silk, IV, 594; what it is and why it is used, IV, 594.
Orange juice, II, 262; for constipation in infants, II, 309.
Organs, transplanting from dead to living, IV, 655.
Otitis, acute, IV, 556.
Ovaries, disease of, II, 199; function of, II, 179.
Overeating, II, 289; III, 327; symptoms of, II, 290.
Overfeeding the baby, II, 223.
Parents, and the Boy, II, 153; a word to, II, 161; eugenics and, I, 15.
Parotitis, epidemic, IV, 605.
Patent Medicines, and education, III, 493; and eugenics, III, 494; and the
newspaper, III, 484; conspiracy against freedom of press, III, 483; dangers
of, III, 489; fraudulent testimonials, III, 467; intoxicating effects of,
III, 453; government investigation of, III, 486; pure food and drug act,
III, 452, 490.
Patent Medicine Evil, III, 451, 489; and the duty of mothers III, 489; what
mothers should know about the, III, 451.
People, two kinds of, III, 363.
Peptonized milk, II, 262.
Physicians, what they are doing, IV, 649.
Pimples, IV, 576.
Pneumonia, IV, 516.
Poultices, IV, 593.
Pox, or syphilis, II, 144.
Precautions to be observed, IV, 647.
Pregnancy, avoidance of drugs during, I, 90; clothing during, I, 77;
constipation during, I, 84; headache during, I, 83; heartburn during, I,
84; hygiene of, I, 75; insomnia during, I, 86; minor ailments of, I, 76;
morning nausea, I, 80; sexual intercourse during, I, 76; social side of, I,
79; undue nervousness during, I, 82; vagaries of, I, 90; vaginal discharge,
I, 88; varicose veins, cramps and neuralgia during, I, 85.
[ix]
Pregnant, few ailing women become, III, 435; conduct of woman, I, 75; diet
of woman, I, 77; mental state of woman, I, 78; when woman should first call
upon physician, I, 68.
Prickly Heat, IV, 560; treatment of, IV, 560.
Principle, differences of, III, 344.
Privy Vaults, IV, 647.
Procreative Function, abuse of, II, 153; III, 440.
Procreative Power, period of, II, 155.
Puberty, age of, II, 179; period of in the female, II, 178.
Pulse, rate in children and adults, II, 221.
Punton, Dr. John, on feeble-minded, I, 42.
Pure Food and Drug Act, III, 452, 490.
Putnam, Dr. Helen C., on education, I, 27.
Quacks, how they dispose of confidential letters, III, 481.
Quarrel, the first, III, 349.
Quinsy, IV, 523.
Race Culture, I, II.
Radium, IV, 652.
Rashes, of childhood, IV, 574; other, IV, 575; treatment of, IV, 576.
Records, Infant, II, 222.
Rectal Irrigations, to reduce fever, IV, 590.
Reproductive Organs, changes in, II, 178; function of the, II, 179.
Resolves, making, III, 371.
Rest and recreation, III, 398.
Rest and sleep, III, 347.
Rheumatism, in children, IV, 569; treatment of acute attack, IV, 570;
treatment of tendency to, IV, 570.
Rhinitis, chronic, IV, 503.
Rice water, II, 244.
Ringworm, of the scalp, IV, 561.
Rubbers, practice of wearing needs consideration, IV, 498.
Run-around, or felon, IV, 640; treatment of, IV, 641.
Rupture, IV, 551.
Saleeby, Dr. C.W., on education, I, 22.
Sanitary napkins, how to prepare, I, 66.
Santonin, for worms, IV, 549.
Scalds and burns, IV, 641.
Scalp, ringworm of, IV, 561; wounds of, IV, 640.
Scarlet Fever, IV, 620; complications in, IV, 621; eruptions, IV, 621;
measures to prevent spread of, IV, 621; treatment of, IV, 622.
Scarlatina, IV, 620.
Scientific Dressing, III, 427.
Schlapp, Dr. Max, on the feeble-minded, I, 39.
Self-abuse or Masturbation, II, 155.
Self-culture, young wife's incentive to, III, 379.
Serum, Anti-meningitis, IV, 656; for malaria, IV, 656.
Sexual excesses, II, 159; treatment of, II, 160.
Sexual intercourse, during pregnancy, I, 76.
Shock, the condition of, IV, 637.
Sitz bath, during pregnancy, I, 87.
"606," IV, 655.
Skin, care of, II, 216; care of in contagious diseases, IV, 602; eruptions
of, II, 145.
Sleeplessness, causes of, IV, 583; treatment of, IV, 583.
Social Evil, what parents should know about, II, 161.
Solutions, normal salt, IV, 627; various, IV, 626.
Soothing syrup, III, 458.
Sore Mouth, IV, 523; treatment of, IV, 524.
[x]
Sore throat, IV, 508.
Sowing wild oats, II, 167.
Spasms, IV, 577.
Spencer, Herbert, on education, I, 35.
Spermatozoa, functions of the, II, 181; the male, or papa egg, II, 181.
Sprains, IV, 639.
Sprue, IV, 525; treatment of, IV, 525.
Stables, IV, 646.
Sterility, II, 195; causes of, in women, II, 198.
Sterilizing, food for day's feeding, II, 260.
Stomach, diseases of, IV, 527; fermentation of, II, 304; function of the,
II, 304.
Stomach bitters, alcohol in, III, 455.
Stomatitis, IV, 523.
Story, Dr. Thomas A., on education, I, 26.
Study habit, the, III, 374.
Sullivan, Dr., on alcoholic drunkenness, I, 44.
Success, attainment of, III, 345; formula of, III, 373.
Summer Diarrhea, IV, 539; symptoms of, IV, 540; treatment of, IV, 541.
Summer diseases of intestines, IV, 529.
Surgery, aseptic, IV, 653.
Syphilis, or the "pox," II, 144.
Tape worms, IV, 551.
Teeth, care of the, II, 219; how they come, II, 218.
Temperature, in children, II, 217.
Thiersch's solution, IV, 627.
Thought, bad habits of, III, 360; what is a, III, 359.
Thread worm, IV, 549.
Throat, foreign bodies in, IV, 633; sore, IV, 508.
Thrush, IV, 525; treatment of, IV, 525.
Thumb-sucking, IV, 585.
Tonsilitis: Angina, "sore throat," IV, 508; treatment of acute, IV, 510.
Transplanting organs of dead to living, IV, 655.
Tuberculosis, best treatment for, III, 418; facts about, III, 414.
Turpentine stupe, the, IV, 594.
Typhoid, how to keep from spreading, IV, 625; how to prevent getting, IV,
624; symptoms of, IV, 623; vaccine in, IV, 654.
Ulcers, in mouth, IV, 525; mucous patches and, II, 144.
Vacant lots, IV, 647.
Vaccination, method of, II, 299; symptoms of successful, II, 299; time for,
II, 299; treatment, II, 300.
Vaccine in typhoid fever, IV, 654.
Vapor bath, IV, 591.
Varicella, IV, 606.
Varicose veins, during pregnancy, I, 85.
Vegetables, II, 272.
Venereal Diseases, fake medical treatment for, II, 167; ten million victims
of, I, 11.
Vomiting, of children between feedings, II, 226; significance of after
feeding, II, 230.
Washing dishes, III, 391.
Water, drink plenty of, III, 429.
Weaning, I, 123; care of breasts when, I, 125; menstruation and, I, 124;
methods of, I, 123; rapid, when it is necessary, I, 124; when to start, I,
124.
Wedding night, its medical aspect, III, 334.
What to eat and wear in hot weather, III, 426.
When delays are dangerous, III, 423.
Whey, II, 244.
Whitlow, or felon, IV, 640.
[xi]
Whooping Cough, IV, 613; symptoms of, IV, 614; treatment of, IV, 615.
Wife, her part, III, 353; the cheerful, III, 400; the indifferent, III,
401; what she owes to herself, III, 357.
Wifehood, first weeks and months of, III, 336.
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler, on education, I, 23.
Womb, function of, II, 180; how baby gets nourishment in, II, 183; how held
in place, II, 189.
Women, ailing, are inefficient, III, 434; diseases of, III, 433; who don't
want children, III, 439; medicine concern run by, III, 475; most popular,
III, 365; use of patent medicines in diseases, III, 473.
Work, must be interesting, III, 351.
Working for something, III, 395.
Worms, intestinal, IV, 548; round, IV, 548; symptoms of tape, IV, 551;
symptoms of thread, IV, 549; tape, IV, 551; thread, IV, 549; treatment of
round, IV, 549.
Worry, freedom from, III, 348.
Wound, cleaning a, IV, 637; closing and dressing a, IV, 637; removal of
foreign bodies from, IV, 636.
Wounds, IV, 634; of the scalp, IV, 640.
X-Ray, treatment and diagnosis, IV, 652.
* * * * *
VOLUME I
* * * * *
[xv]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EUGENICS. RACE CULTURE
CHAPTER I
CONDITIONS WHICH HAVE EVOLVED THE SCIENCE OF EUGENICS
Infant mortality--Marriage and
motherhood--Heredity--Environment--Education--Disease and
vice--History--Summary ... PAGE 1
CHAPTER II
THE EUGENIC IDEA
The value of human life--The eugenic principle--"The fit only shall
live"--Eugenics and marriage--The venereal diseases--The utility of
marriage certificates--The marriage certificates and vice--Eugenics and
parenthood--The principle of heredity--Eugenics and motherhood--Eugenics
and the husband ... PAGE 9
CHAPTER III
EUGENICS AND EDUCATION
The present educational system is inadequate--Opinions of Dr. C.W. Saleeby,
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Luther Burbank, William D. Lewis, Elizabeth Atwood,
Dr. Thomas A. Story, William C. White, Dr. Helen C. Putnam--Difficulty in
devising a satisfactory educational system--Education an important
function--The function of the high school--The high school system
fallacious--The true function of education ... PAGE 21
CHAPTER IV
EUGENICS AND THE UNFIT
The deaf and dumb--The feeble-minded--A New York magistrate's
report--Report of the Children's Society--The segregation and treatment of
the feeble-minded--What the care of the insane costs--The
alcoholic--Drunkenness ... PAGE 37
CHAPTER V
WHAT EVERY MOTHER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT EUGENICS
PAGE 47
[xvi]
CHILD-BIRTH
CHAPTER VI
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CONFINEMENT
The birth chamber--What to provide for a confinement--Ready to purchase
obstetrical outfits--Position and arrangement of the bed--How to properly
prepare the accouchement bed--The Kelly pad--The advantages of the Kelly
pad--Should a binder be used--Sanitary napkins--How to calculate the
probable date of the confinement--Obstetrical table--When should a pregnant
woman first call upon her physician--Regarding the choice of a
physician--How to know the right kind of a physician for a confinement--The
selection of a nurse--The difference between a trained and a maternity
nurse--Duties of a confinement nurse--The requisites of a good confinement
nurse--The personal rights of a confinement nurse--Criticizing and
gossiping about physicians ... PAGE 61
CHAPTER VII
THE HYGIENE OF PREGNANCY
Daily conduct of the pregnant woman--Instructions regarding household
work--Instructions regarding washing and sweeping--Instructions regarding
exercise--Instructions regarding passive exercise--Instructions regarding
toilet privileges--Instructions regarding bathing--Instructions regarding
sexual intercourse--Clothing during pregnancy--Diet of pregnant
women--Alcoholic drinks during pregnancy--The mental state of the pregnant
woman--The social side of pregnancy--Minor ailments of pregnancy--Morning
nausea, or sickness--Treatment of morning nausea, or sickness--Nausea
occurring at the end of pregnancy--Undue nervousness during pregnancy--The
100% baby--Headache--Acidity of the stomach, or
heartburn--Constipation--Varicose veins, cramps,
neuralgias--Insomnia--Treatment of insomnia--Ptyalism, or excessive flow of
saliva--Vaginal discharge, or leucorrhea--Importance of testing urine
during pregnancy--Attention to nipples and breasts--The vagaries of
pregnancy--Contact with infectious diseases--Avoidance of drugs--The danger
signals of pregnancy ... PAGE 75
CHAPTER VIII
THE MANAGEMENT OF LABOR
When to send for the physician in confinement cases--The preparation of the
patient--The beginning of labor--The first pains--The meaning of the term
"labor"--Length of the first stage of labor--What the first stage of [xvii]
labor means--What the second stage of labor means--Length of the second
stage--Duration of the first confinement--Duration of subsequent
confinements--Conduct of patient during second stage of labor--What a labor
pain means--How a willful woman can prolong labor--Management of actual
birth of child--Position of woman during birth of child--Duty of nurse
immediately following birth of child--Expulsion of after-birth--How to
expel after-birth--Cutting the cord--Washing the baby's eyes immediately
after birth--What to do with baby immediately after birth--Conduct
immediately after labor--After pains--Rest and quiet after labor--Position
of patient after labor--The Lochia--The events of the following day--The
first breakfast after confinement--The importance of emptying the bladder
after labor--How to effect a movement of the bowels after
labor--Instructing the nurse in details--Douching after labor--How to give
a douche--"Colostrum," its uses--Advantages of putting baby to breast early
after labor--The first lunch--The first dinner--Diet after third day ...
PAGE 93
CHAPTER IX
CONFINEMENT INCIDENTS
Regarding the dread and fear of childbirth--The woman who dreads
childbirth--Regarding the use of anesthetics in confinements--The presence
of friends and relatives in the confinement chamber--How long should a
woman stay in bed after confinement--Why do physicians permit women to get
out of bed before the womb is back in its proper place?--Lacerations, their
meaning, and their significance--The advantage of an examination six weeks
after the confinement--The physician who does not tell all of the truth ...
PAGE 111
CHAPTER X
NURSING MOTHERS
The diet of nursing mothers--Care of the nipples--Cracked nipples--Tender
nipples--Mastitis in nursing mothers--Inflammation of the breasts--When
should a child be weaned?--Method of weaning--Nursing while
menstruating--Care of breasts while weaning child--Nervous nursing
mothers--Birthmarks--Qualifications of a nursery maid ... PAGE 121
CHAPTER XI
CONVALESCING AFTER CONFINEMENT
The second critical period in the young wife's life--The domestic problem
following the first confinement ... PAGE 131
* * * * *
[xix]
INTRODUCTION
Despite the fact that much has been written during the past two or three
years with reference to Eugenics, it is quite evident to any one interested
in the subject that the average intelligent individual knows very little
about it so far as its scope and intent are concerned. This is not to be
wondered at, for the subject has not been presented to the ordinary reader
in a form that would tend to encourage inquiry or honest investigation. The
critic and the wit have deliberately misinterpreted its principles, and
have almost succeeded in masking its supreme function in the garb of folly.
The writer has yet to meet a conscientious mother who fails to evince a
reasonable degree of enthusiastic interest in eugenics when properly
informed of its fundamental principles.
The eugenic ideal is a worthy race--a race of men and women physically and
mentally capable of self-support. The eugenist, therefore, demands that
every child born shall be a worthy child--a child born of healthy, selected
parents.
No one can successfully assail the ethics of this appeal. It is morally a
just contention to strive for a healthy race. It is also an economic
necessity as we shall see.
The history of the world informs us that there have been many civilizations
which, in some respects, equalled our own. These races of people have all
achieved a certain success, and have then passed entirely out of existence.
Why? _And are we destined to extinction in the same way?_ We know that the
cause of the decline and ultimate extinction of all past civilizations was
due primarily to the moral decadence of their people. Disease and vice
gradually sapped their vitality, and their continuance was impossible. [xx]
It would seem to be the destiny of a race to achieve material prosperity at
the expense of its morality. When conditions render possible the fulfilment
of every human desire, the race exhausts its vitality in a surfeitment of
caprice. The animal instincts predominate, and the potential vigor of the
people is exhausted in contributing to its own amusement. Each succeeding
civilization has reached this epochal period, and has fallen, victim of the
rapacity of stronger and younger invading antagonists, _themselves to
succumb to the same insidious process_.
The present civilization has reached this epochal--this transition--period.
In one hundred years from now we shall either have accomplished what no
previous civilization accomplished, or we shall have ceased to exist as a
race. Our success depends on the response of the people to the eugenic
appeal. Few appreciate the responsibility involved.
It is not necessary, however, to combat or deplore the evils of the past.
Civilization has failed in the task of race-maintenance; it failed,
however, in ignorance. We cannot plead the same excuse. We are face to face
with conditions that we must solve quickly or our destiny will be decreed
before we apply the remedy.
A function of the eugenist is to gather and attest statistics, and to
establish conclusions based on these statistics. It has been conclusively
demonstrated that, if the race continues to progress as it exists now--that
is, if conditions remain the same, and our standard of enlightenment, so
far as racial evolution is concerned, does not prompt us to adopt new
constructive measures--_every second child born in this country, in fifty
years, will be unfit; and, in one hundred years, the American race will
have ceased to exist_. We mean by this that every second child born will be
born to die in infancy, or, if it lives, will be incapable of self-support
during its life, because either of mental degeneracy or physical
inefficiency. This appalling situation immediately becomes a problem of
civilization. No state can exist under these conditions. If these
statistics are reliable--and we know they are true and capable of
verification by any individual who will go to the trouble of [xxi]
investigating them--it is self-evident that a radical change must
immediately be instituted to obviate the logical consequences that must
follow as a sequence. The eugenic demand, that "every child born shall be a
worthy child," is, therefore, the solution of the problem.
This does not imply, however, that the eugenist must solve the elementary
problem of how the state will ensure its own salvation by guaranteeing
worthy children. Worthy children can come only from fit and worthy (clean
and healthy) parents. It becomes the imperative function of the state--the
function on which the very life of the state depends--to see that every
applicant for marriage is possessed of the qualities that will ensure
healthy, worthy children. We must, therefore, sooner or later devise a
system of scientific regulation of marriage, and it is at this point we
stumble against the problem that has prompted the ebullitions of the wit
and the sarcasm of the critic. A casual reference to the science
immediately suggests to the layman an impossible or quixotic system of
marriage by force. Even the word "eugenics" is associated in the minds of
many otherwise estimable old ladies, and others who should know better,
with a species of malodorous free love, and their hands go up in holy
horror at the intimation of a scientific regulation of this ancient
function.
Unfortunately, the popular mind has received the impression that this
incident constitutes the sum total of the eugenic idea, while the truth is
that the eugenist is only slightly concerned with its modus operandi. This
feature has been so magnified by widely published disingenuous discussion
that it has assumed the aspect of a test problem, a judgment on which shall
decide the utility of the science itself. Should this decision be
unfavorable, it would seem, according to its exponents, that it would not
be worth while promulgating the doctrines of the science beyond this point.
It is as though we were asked to deny ourselves the inspiration and
pleasure of a trip abroad because the morning of the day on which the ship
sailed happened to be cloudy.
It is certainly no part of the function of the eugenist to uproot [xxii]
instinct, or to trample into the dust age-long rights, though the instinct
is simply the product of an established habit, based on an erroneous
hypothesis, and the so-called rights simply acquired privileges, because
the intelligence that would have builded differently was not awakened.
Eugenic necessity will render imperative the state's solution of this
fundamental problem, for the reason that civilization will be driven to
demand its just inheritance--the right to exist. The eugenist will not be
compelled to open the door; it will be opened for him. We can afford,
therefore, to wait with supreme confidence, because the good sense of the
people will not always submit to the tactics of the jester when it needs a
saviour.
The eugenist does not seek to interfere with the liberties of the rising
generation: a boy may choose whom he will; the girl may select the one who
appeals to her most, and they may enjoy all the vested rights and romance
that custom has decreed the lover; but, when they resolve to marry, _the
state must decide their qualifications for parenthood_. This must be the
crucial test of the future. The life of the state depends on it. The
continuance of the race must be the supreme object of all future
constructive legislation. We must recognize that "life is the only wealth,"
and that every other criterion of an advanced civilization must measure its
success according to its wealth in worthy parenthood.
The eugenist does not even dictate what the test for parenthood shall be.
Common sense, however, suggests that it will assume some form that will
eliminate those physically or mentally diseased. He believes that, when the
people are sufficiently educated to appreciate the object in view, they
will devise a system that will meet with universal approval.
Eugenics concerns itself with problems on which the destiny of the race
depends. It must not, therefore, be limited to questions relative to mating
and breeding. Every factor that contributes to the well-being and uplifting
of the race, every subject that bespeaks physical or mental regeneration,
that aids moral and social righteousness and salvation, and promises a
greater social happiness and contentment, has a eugenic [xxiii]
significance. So long as there exists an unsupported mother or a suffering
child; so long as we rely on hospitals and prisons, penitentiaries and the
police, to minister to the correction and regeneration of the unfit and
degenerate; so long as we tolerate grafting politicians and deprive the
poor of breathing spaces, sanitary appliances, and a hygienic environment;
so long as war and pestilence deprive posterity of the best of the race for
parenthood; so long as we emphasize rescue rather than prevention, so long
must the eugenist strive unceasingly to preach his propaganda of race
regeneration.
The scope of eugenics is too far-reaching in its beneficent purpose to be
fettered by the querulous triflings of the ancient or intellectual prude;
nor should it be belittled by the superficial insight of the habitual
scoffer. It is not a fantasy nor an idle dream. It is not even an
inspiration. The destiny of the race has brought us face to face with
conditions unparalleled in the history of this civilization, and the very
existence of the race itself may be wholly dependent on the foresight of
the minds that have made the science of eugenics possible.
A brief consideration of the conditions that actually exist, with which we
are face to face, and which certainly justify the existence of a science
whose function it should be to demand serious investigation of methods of
race regeneration, may help the reader to an intelligent and practical
understanding of the tremendous importance of the subject.
It has been already remarked that, at the present rate of decrease, the
birth-rate will be reduced to zero within a century. If the birth-rates in
England, Germany, and France should continue to decrease as they have since
1880, there would be no children born, one hundred years hence, in these
countries. While we do not assert, and probably none of us believes that
either or all of these nations will actually be out of existence in a
hundred years--unquestionably because we feel, at least we hope, that our
methods will be so changed in that time that the necessary modification
will ensure a continuance of the race, nevertheless, the fact remains that
_the inevitable result of continuing along present lines will be [xxiv]
that, within the period of one hundred years, these peoples will cease to
perpetuate themselves_.
It is not necessary to enquire closely into the various causes for this
unparalleled situation. The falling birth-rate in itself is not the prime
cause. Even admitting that there are enough babies born, too many of them
are born only to die in infancy. We need no further proof of the urgent
need for conscientious inquiry, call it by what name you please. The
science of common sense is all-sufficient. The seemingly intelligent
individual who can only find material for ribaldry in this connection is a
more serious buffoon than he imagines. It is apparent that our methods are
wrong. Any constructive effort to correct them is commendable. When it is
stated that 20 per cent. of the American women are unable to bear children,
and that 25 per cent. of all the others are unwilling to assume the burden
and responsibility of motherhood, we partly realize the gravity of the
case.
On the other hand, statistics show that the majority of men have acquired
disease before they marry, and that a very large percentage of these men
convey contagion to their wives. This condition, to a very large extent,
accounts for the inefficiency of women as mothers. It is responsible for at
least 75 per cent. of the sterility that exists. The effect of this
deplorable condition is directly responsible, also, for the ill health that
afflicts women and that renders necessary the daily operations of a serious
nature that are conducted in every hospital in every city in the civilized
world. As a result of the dissemination of this poison, children are born
blind, or are born to die, or, if they live, they are compelled to carry
all through their helpless lives the stigma of disease and degeneration. It
would surely seem that the individual to whom God has given intelligence
and a conscience cannot think of these, the saddest facts in human
experience, without resentment and humility. _Surely the time has arrived
when every boy should know, from his earliest youth, that there is here on
earth an actual punishment for vicious living as frightful as any that the
mind of man can conceive._ [Page xxv]
When we inquire into the cause of this trend toward race degeneracy, we
find that poverty and the inability of the workingman to support large
families, luxurious living, and the life of ease and amusement on the part
of the women of wealth; the fact that an increasingly large number of women
have entered professions that prevent motherhood, and that the number of
apartment-houses where children are not wanted are on the increase, all
play their part. In this age of intense living, it is not to be wondered at
that many shrink from the responsibility of rearing children, and the same
conditions that contribute to this decadent ideal intensifies sex-hunger,
and it is this dominating passion that tolerates and makes possible the
most frightful crime of the age--infanticide. Greece and Rome paved the way
for their ultimate annihilation when their beautiful women ceased to bear
children and their men sought the companionship of courtesans.
Baby contests have demonstrated that only one child in ten was found to be
good enough to justify a second examination. In a test examination in the
public schools, only eight in five thousand were competent to qualify in
all the tests. One of these eight was a Chinese boy and another an
American-born son of a native Greek. Of the twenty million school-children
in the United States, not less than 75 per cent. need immediate attention
for physical defects.
While man has been assiduously improving everything else, he has neglected
to better his own condition. Every animal that man has taken from its
native haunts and domesticated, he has efficiently improved. He has even
produced more marvelous results by the application of the same principles
to the vegetable kingdom. In his haste to civilize himself, however, he has
failed to apply the principles that are essential to self-preservation. It
is regrettable, also, to know that, while the government has spent many
thousands of dollars in sending out literature to the farmers, instructing
them how to raise profitable crops and to breed prize horses and pigs,
absolutely none of the public money has been used in instructing American
mothers how to raise healthy children. [Page xxvi]
A distinguished insurance expert has proved that there was an increase of
nearly 100 per cent. in the mortality from degenerative diseases in the
United States between 1880 and 1909. The growing prevalence of these
diseases indicates a falling-off in the vitality of the race. It means that
the diseases of old age are invading the younger ranks.
The Life Extension Institute, of New York City, in its recent report,
states that "forty of every hundred men and women employed in the Wall
Street district require medical attention; twenty of the forty need it
immediately, and ten of the forty must have it to avert serious results."
There are from one-quarter to three-quarters of a million of preventable
deaths every years in this country. That number of individuals could have
been saved with proper care and attention to health in the early stages of
disease, or before it gained a start. Practically all the diseases that
carry business men off prematurely are curable in the early stages.
Of the percentage of Wall Street men who need medical attention
immediately, most have kidney or heart disease. The others are victims of
typical unhygienic habits, such as fast, gluttonous eating, neglect of
exercise, too much tobacco and liquor, and bad posturing in the office. The
business man considers these trifles, but they count heavily.
Business efficiency is greatly increased, first, by selecting men
physically fit for work, and, second, by keeping them in that condition.
There is a tremendous waste from inefficiency constantly going on, due to
impaired health. Wall Street has an astonishing corps of neurasthenics.
We need a broader interpretation of the term Eugenics, so that we may gain
a more sympathetic and tolerant audience. The remedy does not lie in an
academic discussion of these problems; to continue the debate behind closed
doors will not lead anywhere: the public must be educated to a just
appreciation of existing conditions and the remedy must be the product of
effort on its part.
Any condition that fundamentally means race deterioration must be [xxvii]
rendered intolerable. The prevalant dancing craze is an anti-eugenic
institution, as is the popularity of the delicatessen store. No sane person
can regard with complacency the vicious environment in which the future
mothers of the race "tango" their time, their morals, and their vitality
away. We do not assume to pass judgment on the merits of the dance; we do,
however, emphatically condemn the surroundings.
The moving-picture shows, vaudeville entertainments, dancing carnivals, the
ease of travel, the laxity of laws, the opportunities for promiscuous
interviews, all tend to give youth a false impression of the reality of
life and to make the path of the degenerate easy and attractive.
The history of civilization is, curiously enough, the story of masculine
brutality, self-indulgence, and vice. The history of the world also proves
that woman's sphere has been to submit patiently and silently to injustice
and imposition. _Practical eugenics is the first worthy effort in the
history of all time to hold men and women responsible for their mode of
living._ It is a mighty problem. There is no greater nor more difficult one
to be solved. It has taken eons to bring men to the point of questioning
their right to do as they please; it will take time to compel them to
realize their disgrace and acknowledge their duty. When we consider that
there are eighty thousand women condemned to professional moral degradation
in the City of London, and that every so-called civilized city on the globe
contributes its pro rata share to this army of potential mothers, we begin
to appreciate the vastness of the task.
Eugenics has already accomplished what no other movement has ever
accomplished: it has created the spirit that gave birth to the thought of
men's responsibility, and it has taught us that the female of the race has
rights. We can now speak without fear; the light is no longer hidden.
Women must realize, however, that they have contributed, and continue to
contribute, to race degeneracy. We hear and read much about the double
standard of morals. As long as woman are willing to marry their daughters
to reformed rakes, providing they have money and social position, [xxviii]
so long shall we have a double standard. So long as young society women go
into hysterics over pedigreed dogs and horses and then marry men reeking in
filthy unfitness for parenthood, mothers cannot expect any other standard
of morals. So long as one marriage in twelve ends in divorce, the ethics of
the female need enlightenment. We shall not get another standard of morals
until women themselves demand it and insist on it. If they lend themselves
to breaking down the conspiracy of silence, the women may solve the
marriage problem by refusing to marry rakes.
We need a more liberal construction of the intent of eugenics in order to
clarify the obtuse minds so that its propaganda of education may be easily
and justly comprehended.
There is no field for speculation in the analysis of right living. It
conforms to the law of cause and effect. It is positively concrete in
substance. A recital of the life history of Jonathan Edwards, in comparison
with that of the celebrated "Jukes" family, emphasises this assumption with
a degree of positiveness that is tragic in its significance.
Jonathan Edwards was born in England in Queen Elizabeth's time. He was a
clergyman and he lived an upright life. So did his wife. His son came to
the United States, to Hartford, Connecticut, and became an honorable
merchant. His son, in turn, also became a merchant, upright and honored.
His son, again, became a minister, and so honored was he that Harvard
University conferred two degrees on him on the same day; one in the morning
and one in the afternoon. This learned man again had a son, and he became a
minister. Jonathan Edwards was his name.
Now let us see, in 1900, what this one family, started by a man in England
who lived an upright life and gave that heritage to his children, produced:
1,394 descendants of this man have been traced and identified; 295 were
college graduates; 13 were college presidents; 65 were professors; 60 were
physicians; 108 were clergymen; 101 were lawyers; 30 were judges; 1 was
Vice-President of the United States; 75 were Army and Navy officers; [xxix]
60 were prominent authors; 16 were railroad and steamship presidents; and
in the entire record not one has been convicted of a crime.
Twelve hundred descendants have been traced from the one man who founded
the "Jukes" family. This record covers a period of seventy-five years; out
of these, 310 were professional paupers, who spent an aggregate of two
thousand three hundred years in poorhouses; 50 were evil women; 7 were
murderers; 60 were habitual thieves; and 130 were common criminals.
It has been estimated that this one family was an economic loss to the
state, measured in terms of potential usefulness wasted; costs of
prosecution; expenses of maintenance in jails, hospitals and asylums; and
of private loss through thefts, and robberies, of $1,300,000 in
seventy-five years, or more than $1,000 for each member of the family.
_It would seem to be worth while to be well born, after all._
In order to succeed in the regeneration of the race, we must believe that
race regeneration is possible, and, that it is worth while. We must preach
its principles as we would a religion. The power of knowledge is a mighty
lever. We are living in a period of transition, but we are nearer the
future than the past.
We are told by the average individual that it will be impossible to arouse
the public to an intelligent appreciation of the scope of race
regeneration. When the writer conceived the happy phrase, "Better Babies,"
a few years ago, he builded better than he knew. It has become the slogan
of splendid achievement already, and there are a multitude of signs and
tokens that the propaganda is established on a sure foundation.
If the annihilation of all past civilizations was due to the refusal of its
members to breed for posterity, may we not reasonably assume that we have,
according to our statistics, reached the same crisis? If this is logical
reasoning, and every factor warrants this conclusion, have we not reached
the time when the perpetuation of the race is the most serious question of
our times? Is it not a problem for the enthusiastic and immediate [xxx]
support of every statesman, politician, teacher, and preacher alike? Can
any question be of more importance? What will our marvelous material
splendor avail if the race is destined to immediate extinction?
We need the assistance of every intelligent citizen, we need most, the
awakening impulse of the mothers of the race. We who are alive are
responsible for environment and nurture, and we must believe that the
purpose to be achieved is of supreme importance. Every mother, through the
power of knowledge, may become a practical eugenist. It is to aid her in an
intelligent appreciation of the practical intent of the science that this
work is presented.
W. GRANT HAGUE, M.D.
New York City.
* * * * *
[1]
THE EUGENIC MARRIAGE
CHAPTER I
"Nations are gathered out of nurseries."
CHARLES KINGSLEY.
"To be a good animal is the first requisite to success in life, and to
be a nation of good animals is the first condition of national
prosperity."
HERBERT SPENCER.
CONDITIONS WHICH HAVE EVOLVED THE SCIENCE OF EUGENICS
INFANT MORTALITY--MARRIAGE AND
MOTHERHOOD--HEREDITY--ENVIRONMENT--EDUCATION--DISEASE AND
VICE--HISTORY--SUMMARY.
There has been evinced during recent years a desire to know something more
definite about the science of eugenics.
Eugenics, simply defined, means "better babies." It is the art of being
well born. It implies consideration of everything that has to do with the
well-being of the race: motherhood, marriage, heredity, environment,
disease, hygiene, sanitation, vice, education, culture,--in short,
everything upon which the health of the people depends. If we contribute
the maximum of health to those living, it is reasonable to assume that the
future generation will profit thereby, and "better babies" will be a direct
consequence.
We are frequently told that we must take the world as we find it. This has
been aptly termed, "the motto of the impotent and cowardly." "Life is what
we make it," is the more satisfying assertion of the optimist, and most [2]
of us seem to be trying to make existence more tolerable and more happy. It
is encouraging to know that intelligent men and women to-day seek an
opportunity to devote serious consideration to the betterment of the race,
while yet the pursuit of wealth and pleasure are enticing and strenuous
occupations.
It would be superfluous in a book of this character to enter into any
lengthy explanation as to how the science of eugenics proposes to work out
its problems. We hope only to excite the interest of mothers in the
subject, and to instruct them in its rudiments and principles.
It will be of distinct advantage, however, first to briefly consider the
conditions,--which are known to all of us,--which have led up to the
present status of the subject.
INFANT MORTALITY.--No elaborate argument is necessary to prove that the
present infant mortality, in every civilized country, is too high. It is
conceded by every authority interested in the subject, no matter what
explanation he offers, or what system he advances as a solution of the
problem.
MARRIAGE AND MOTHERHOOD.--Every intelligent person knows that most young
girls enter into the marriage relationship without a real understanding of
its true meaning, or even a serious thought regarding its duties or its
responsibilities. We know that their home training in domestic science is
generally not adequate, and that their educational equipment is
inefficient. We also know that economic necessity has deprived them of the
tutelage essential to social progress and physical health, and has endowed
them with temperamental characteristics undesirable in the mothers of the
race. Maternity is thrust upon these physically and mentally immature young
wives, and they assume the principal rôle in a relationship that is onerous
and exacting. We know that the duties of wife and mother require an
intelligence which is rendered efficient only by maturity and experience.
We know that many, if not most, young wives acquire habits which undermine
their health and their morals unwittingly, and we also know that the
product of this inefficiency results in the decadence and the [3]
degeneration of the race.
HEREDITY.--Much remains inexplicable at the present time regarding this
intensely interesting department of science. We do know, however, that its
truths are being investigated and tabulated. Our present knowledge of its
principles has demonstrated the existence of laws from which we can
ethically deduce explanations of conditions which were, in the past, not
amenable to any classification. These relate to individual and racial
characteristics. We are beginning to learn that we can modify these
characteristics by proper selection, by environment, and by education. This
process will, to an eminent degree, redound to the permanent advantage of
mankind. We may reasonably aspire to a system of race-culture which will
eliminate the undesirable or unfit, and conserve all effort in the
propagation of the desirable or fit. This is a consummation to be desired,
and if by any system of eugenics the promise of the future is realized it
is deserving of the intelligent interest and the active coöperation of
every aspiring mother.
ENVIRONMENT.--By environment we mean the provision of suitable surroundings
in its largest sense. A child to be fit and efficient must be born of
selected parentage, the home surroundings must be desirable, the
educational possibilities must be advantageous, the sanitary and hygienic
conditions must be suitable, opportunities for physical and spiritual
culture must be provided, and the State must ensure justice and the right
to achieve success. We know that--generally speaking--these conditions do
not exist. We know that the dregs of the human species--the blind, the
deaf-mute, the degenerate, the imbecile, the epileptic, the criminal
even,--are better protected by organized charity and by the State than are
the deserving fit and healthy. We know that in the slums thousands of
desirable children waste their vitality in the battle for existence, and we
know that, though philanthropy and governmental supervision and protection
are afforded the deaf, the dumb, the blind and degenerate child, no helping
hand is held out to save the healthy and efficient child, who must pay in
disease and inefficiency the price of his normality in degrading toil, [4]
in factory and pit, where child labor is tolerated. We need the awakening
which is the promise of the eugenist, that these wrongs will be righted,
not by the statesmanship which believes that empires are founded and
maintained by the power of material might, but by a process which will
ennoble selected motherhood and give to every child born its due and its
right.
EDUCATION.--The present system of education is one of the great reflections
on the intelligence of the human race. One of the greatest of contemporary
writers has characterized it as "a curse to modern childhood and a menace
to the future." Even the humblest of us--who would willingly believe the
system efficient, who have no desire to invite criticism as to our
opinion--are forced to acknowledge that there is something wrong with the
educational system now in vogue. The writer is disposed to believe,
however, that the fault is not wholly one of art. The conditions with which
education has to contend are essentially hypothetical. It may be that the
laws of heredity and psychology, when fixed, will evolve, at least, a more
rational and a more ethical hypothesis. So far as eugenics is concerned
with education, its limitation is defined and fixed. If the innate ability
is not possessed by the child, no system of instruction, and no art of
pedagogy, will ever draw it out. When the proper material is supplied by an
adequate system of race culture, science may probably supply the requisite
complementary data which will ensure an educational system that will really
educate.
DISEASE AND VICE.--The eugenic idea is more directly concerned with disease
which tends to deteriorate the racial type. The average parent has no means
of adequately estimating the significance of this type of disease. It has
been estimated that one-half of the total effort of one-third of the race
is expended in combating conditions against which no successful effort is
possible. Think what this means. The struggle of life is a real struggle,
even with success as an incentive and as a possible reward. It becomes a
tragedy when we think of the wasted years, the hopeless prayers and the
anguish of those who fight the battle which is predestined to end in [5]
apparent failure. We are disposed to doubt the justice of the Omnipotent
Mind who created us and left us seemingly alone--derelicts in the eddies of
eternity.
This is but a finite fault, however. The truth is that the scheme of the
universe is unalterable, we are but part of the whole and must share in the
evolution of the process. An apparent failure is not necessarily a
discreditable one. Most lives are failures, if appraised by human estimate.
Take for example the life of a young wife who marries a man with disease in
his blood. She begins her wedded life with certain commendable ideals. She
is young, enthusiastic, ambitious, strong, and she inherently possesses the
right to aspire to become an efficient home-maker and a good mother. She
gives birth to a child, conceived in love, and during her travail she
beseeches her Creator to help her and to help her baby, as all women do at
such a time. Her baby is born blind and it is a weak and puny mite. The
mother recovers slowly, but she is never the same vigorous and ambitious
woman. Later her strength fades away, her enthusiasm falters, the home is
blighted and seems a desecrated spot. The baby is a constant worry, it is
always sick, it needs expensive care and it exhausts the physical remnant
of its mother's health. It finally dies and is laid away, not forgotten,
but a sad, sad memory. The ailing and dispirited mother is informed that
she must submit to an operation if she desires to regain her health, if not
to save her life. She returns from the hospital--not a woman--a blighted
thing, an unsexed substitute for what once was a happy, sunny, healthy,
innocent girl.
This is not an overdrawn tale,--it is a true story, a common, every-day
story. Who was to blame? Why were her prayers not heard? Why, indeed? One
might as well ask why seemingly splendid civilizations decayed into
forgotten dust, or why empires rotted away. The answer is the same.
HISTORY.--From the eugenists' standpoint history is prolific only in
negation. A correct interpretation of its pages teaches us that it has not
taught the lesson of the "survival of the fittest," but rather the survival
of the strongest. That the strongest is not always the "fittest" needs [6]
no commentary. That the fit should survive is the genetic law of nature,
and it has been strictly obeyed by biology and humanity when these sciences
have adhered to, and have been under the jurisdiction of the natural law.
When religious schisms swayed the world, the stronger party, in material
strength or in actual numbers, massacred the weaker, which was frequently
the fitter from the standpoint of desirability as progenitors of the race.
Thus posterity was deprived of what probably was the representative,
potential strength of generations.
At a later date religious schism changed her _modus operandi_ but
accomplished the same pernicious purpose, as the following shows:
"Whenever a man or woman was possessed of a gentle nature that fitted him
or her to deeds of charity, to meditation, to literature or to art, the
social condition of the time was such that they had no refuge elsewhere
than in the bosom of the Church. But the Church chose to preach and exact
celibacy, and the consequence was that these gentle natures had no
continuance, and thus, by a policy, was brutalized the breed of our
forefathers."
When religion was not the dominating power, mankind was ruled by militant
tyrants. The non-elect were slaves,--uneducated, uncivilized, debased and
diseased. The elect were licentious and indolent. Neither class practised
any domestic virtues, or respected the institution of motherhood. The
process of the selection of the fittest for survival for the purpose of
parentage, and for the consummation of the evolutionary gradation, through
which the human race is apparently destined to pass, was again in abeyance
for a series of generations.
In our own times, the fate of nations and the destiny of their people would
seem to depend upon the size of the fighting force and the efficiency of
the ships we build; our ability to dicker and barter, to gain a
questionable commercial supremacy, and the loquaciousness of our
politicians. This, at least, is the criterion upon which the modern
statesman estimates the quality of present-day civilization. He is not [7]
apparently interested in the story of the ages. The progress of God's
supernal scheme through æons of bigotry and darkness neither suggests nor
inspires in him a loftier constructive analysis. He is content to leave the
destiny of nations to tons of material, tons of men and tons of talk.
Nowhere do we find any reference to the quality of the blood-stream of the
people. Nor does it seem to have been discovered by those who wield
authority, that the glory of a nation depends upon its brains, not its
bulk; nor do they apprehend that the greatness of a people is not in its
past history, but in its ever-existing motherhood; and that its battles, in
the future, must be fought, not on battlefields, but in its nurseries. When
we judge our national worth and wealth by the quality of our maternal
material, and estimate our greatness and our glory by the record of our
infant mortality, we will have carved an enduring niche in the celestial
scheme that will be unchangeable and for all time.
There are in Britain to-day over a million and a quarter females of
marriageable age in excess of the number of marriageable males. A war
between Britain and Germany would unquestionably be the bloodiest war in
all history, and it probably would be the last one, because it would only
end in the dominance of one power over all the others. If we concern
ourselves only with Britain--from the eugenic standpoint--who would dare
compute the ratio of marriageable females over the males after the war was
over? The consequence of such a war on posterity would be tragic. It would
mean the annihilation of the fittest for fatherhood for generations. Only
the unfit would be left from which to begin a new breed.
The multitude of females who would necessarily be left unable to
participate in the highest function of womanhood would have to be
self-supporting. The economic problem would, therefore, have a far-reaching
influence and even if solved adequately as an economic problem, it could
never be solved satisfactorily as a sociological, or as a problem in
eugenics.
Infant mortality is too high. Apart from the statistical proof which [8]
shows it, we may rightly construe as further proof of it, the widespread
effort being made in every civilized country in the world to ameliorate the
condition.
The laws and ethics of marriage are inadequate. Its true purpose is
frustrated and racial and individual injustice and imperfection are the
products of existing conditions.
Motherhood, in its every aspect is not, and has not in the past, been
elevated to the plane which a true estimate of its supreme importance to
the race justifies.
Heredity as a scientific principle is undeveloped, and because of
maladministration in past generations, the present generation is
endeavoring to do the work, the fruits of which it should be enjoying.
Environment in its highest sense is impossible because of inadequate laws,
imperfect hygienic and sanitary knowledge, incomplete education, vice and
disease.
If there was not some supremely important, cardinal error somewhere, it is
reasonable to suppose that in one or other of the departments of human
effort we would have reached the summit of idealism. The State, as an
institution, would have evolved a perfection which would enable it to exist
as an independent mechanism, complete and ideal in all its ramifications.
We have had no such state, however. The highest type of empire has been
ludicrously dependent upon the minor exigencies of individual human
existence.
Science would have evolved the superman, but history, as we have seen, has
persistently deprived science of the material wherewith to contribute him.
The institution of marriage would have been a fixed and an inviolable
guarantee of the happiness of the home, but human wisdom has erred and the
solution is as yet apparently undiscovered.
Investigation into every field of human effort shows that the ultimate aim
in view, if any, was something other than the welfare of the race, as a
race or as individuals.
* * * * *
[9]