one who is the natural mendicant, the one who would (eel decidedly uncomfortable if he had a nickel ahead. This class of people, who revel in poverty and beget a numerous progeny, should be controlled as thoroughly as the dis eased and the criminals. Imbeciles, confirmed epileptics and drunkards, those who have been insane more than once, habitual criminals and paupers should all be denied the right of procreation. In preventing those not qualified to marry, it should be remembered that if it prove a hard ship to a few who would undoubtedly have a strong desire to do so, the greatest good to the greatest number must always be considered. The child takes his life from his parents; it is his heritage, his estate; he cannot pass it over to someone else; he can only lay it down when the angel of death comes to bear it away. The responsibility of such a condition is to be exceeded by one only, and that of the one who brought it into being. While the consent of the parties is universally deemed necessary to make the contract of marriage legal, this seems to be the only safeguard one has to protect him from serious con sequences, the law cannot redress or remedy. ( )f course, there are plenty of laws for all the incidents arising from the relationship. There are also laws sufficient to protect your life and property, but none to protect you from a fate that may be worse than the loss of either or both." "If we are to be left perfectly free to follow out the impulse of passion, or the ambitious promptings to attain wealth or social position through the matrimonial gate, regardless of physical consequences, then I can see no relief for the great majority of our people, but perpetual ill-health and misery. Our schools, pulpits and periodicals might enlighten our boys and girls, but will they do it? And would it do any particular good if they did? I imagine the same physical misalliances would be formed as heretofore. Social misalliances are sometimes made, but the parties to them always know they are breaking the unwritten law of social ethics. It may seem hard to some not to be allowed to traverse the road the spirit of love and poetry direct; but when a social law is such a perfect barrier, why should not a carefully framed statute, calculated to bestow constantly increasing blessings, he made and executed?" "As an embodiment of an idea, which can be changed as experience may dictate, I would suggest that the state (or, better, the nation) appoint a medical staff of three experts for every county in the state, to examine all boys and girls at the age of from twelve to fifteen, relative to their physical condition and family history, and a record be kept of all applicants. I would have three distinct classes. Class A — Those being physically and mentally sound, of good habits, and having no history of any heredi tary disease (not mentioned in this paper as prohibitory to marriage), for at least three preceding generations. Class H — Same qualifications as in C'lass A, but family history to descend to grandparents only. Class С must necessarily be applied to all those not included in Classes A and B. Certificates for Classes Л and H should be granted by the medical examiners. No one should be allowed to marry outside of the class to which he or she belongs, and those having certificates should be required, when about to marry, to make an affidavit that they are free from all communicable diseases and are temperate in
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their habits. This would tend to make Classes A and В constantly stronger and better, and a growing desire to be so. Class C, at first, would greatly predominate, but a few generations would suffice to make it the smallest. In those possessing hereditary taints, and deprived of the privilege of mating with the healthy, nature soon solves the problem by eliminating them."
These suggestions are not new, but they have not hitherto been received with any favor, nor with any tolerance outside the ranks of physicians, old maids, and bachelor statesmen. The moral argument is a strong one, — stronger than the social one put by Dr. Kulison, — what right have diseased human beings to beget children to suffer and be unhappy? It is hard on the State to tolerate this, but it is harder still on the innocent and helpless offspring. If it is urged that it would be tyrannical in the State to prohibit marriages on the score of this danger, the sufficient answer in morals would seem to be that it is wickedly selfish in such persons to marry. But, after all, the practical answer seems to be that the regulation proposed would do no good. It is futile to legislate against the sexual passion. (We are quite serious in saying that it would be much more merciful and practicable to prevent procreation between unhealthy or criminal parties by surgical methods than to deny marriages to them.) Persons forbidden to marry would nevertheless come together, and the world would be filled with unhappy and criminal classes to whose present misery the taint of illegitimacy would be added. In addition, it must be clear that, unless the proposed remedy should become national, it would be ineffective, for the pro hibited classes could emigrate to some other State where there was no similar prohibition, and there contract valid marriages, just as is now done in the evasion of the prohibitory provision in divorce laws. It will require a very long period of education to bring society up to the high plane of Dr. Kulison's scheme. His scheme is ideally right. All men ought to be virtuous, healthy and unselfish. It would not be difficult to prohibit marriage of con firmed criminals, for the existence of the objectionable condition would be easily ascertainable of record; but questions of insanity, drunkenness, disease, and danger of heredity could be pronounced upon only by a council or tribunal of physicians, which would be as little likely to agree as any imaginable body of men. Diagnosis and medical science are too uncer tain and fallible to encourage the community to in trust a few physicians with this arbitrary and tre mendous power. It is bad enough at present when a man may be dragged from his home and imprisoned in an insane asylum, temporarily at least, upon a certificate of two doctors, and it will be a kmg clay before these professional powers will be extended.
