HE WANTS BABIES AND A DESERT ISLAND By GENE COHN COHNN N NEA EA Service Writer NEW NEW- NEWYORK Y YORK RK Feb 24 Wanted Wanted ba babies ies and a a desert Island for foi forthe forthe the greatest e experiment in perfect race production since ancient Athens Athens Athens Ath Ath- ens f I ITo T To su such h an ture there turo there stands ready John Lang- Lang Daviee don eminent young British scientist St. St Johns John's college Oxford fellow of the Royal ROal Anthropological institute and author of The New Age of Faith and other works on biology and evolution I Endowment of such an experiment experiment experiment ment would be the greatest gift a millionaire could make to society I Langdon Davies declares I You ask what is the greatest contribution t the rich could make to science and life well life well and here I the young scientist smiled he could perhaps buy up an odd as assortment assortment assortment as- as of babies I 1 would want them to be of ot all heredities be because because be- be cause caURe one Of my chief objects would be beto to rear them in rear a to order environment and to show how little heredity has to do with it it But bickering over heredity and environment environment environment I is incidental the incidental the chief hope is to build up a race that will willbe willbe be able to survive and be around all-around men Langdon-Davies Langdon Is skeptical about mans man's chances for survival under present customs ire Ife has no patience with those why cry for perfect and other plans for bringing bringing bring bring- ing about a higher standard of hu humans humans hu- hu mans Even if it worked of what avail would it be he asks to bring this fine array of humans into a world as it now exists The scientist makes his appeal direct to man Man must create an environment fit for advancement or be sunk While his attitude Is good humored humored humored hu hu- hu- hu mored and his conclusions are amusingly phrased Langdon Davies announces solemn and Davies LangdOn startling ver vet Our plo problem lem In wildest form Is to consider how society civilization I the human race can avoid the disaster disaster disaster dis dis- dis- dis aster that will befall them if they prove unfit in the tho struggle for ex existence existence ex- ex he asserts POSSIBILITY IS REAL The possibility of such disaster Is real We Ve have merely to comprehend comprehend comprehend compre compre- hend the real meaning of evolution and then look upon the extent to which human nature has tampered with the rules by which successful animals have achieved their success success suc suc- cess coos In iTt the struggle for existence One of the first fallacies Is the theold theold theold old saw about yOU cant can't get away from rom human nature nature H Human man nature na na- na- na ture ure ure does change a as surely as man eats or sleeps Here we meet the old clash be between between between be- be tween heredity and environment as we look into what brings about the change And here we shall stop and look ook for tor a moment at the ancient Athenians as contrasted with our our- selves selve THE COMPLETE MAN Athenian idealism created a complete complete com corn man He was athlete magistrate magistrate magis magis- philosopher soldier councilor the the round all man the complete manNow manNow manNow man Now this man came carve caf under the Influence of a fixed set of ideals You could grade him according to I the extent to which he expressed these ideals He could be be a complete complete com corn man because he was sheltered from the ill effects of want business business business busi busi- ness and trade leaving him to cultivate cultivate vate his mind and soul Furthermore Furthermore Furthermore Further Further- more his domain was geographically geographical geographical- lly l- l ly and intellectually restricted In other words the environment made him possible And If the same Bame conditions could be created again again- which of course the they hu hu human man nature would take on spiritual qualities of the age of ot Pericles Wh Why J Just st because the raw material ma- ma teral of l humans Is the same In Dayton Tenn the New York Bowery Bow- Bow I ery cry and Athens The man from any anyone one of these places had at birth the capacity to become an ancient Greek but his birthplace Is not not I ancient Greece S SPECIALIZATION P E C I A L IZAT I 0 NAs N. N I As for ourselves our environment environment environment environ environ- ment has taken on new form The boundaries of knowledge are beyond I any on one mans man's mental ment l vision Human Human Human Hu Hu- man nature has utterly changed We e are no longer complete men but specialized men Yet the Idea re remains remains remains re- re mains among men that somehow Intellectual and physical perfection can be attained in a modern cit city Individuals still set standards which they hope to live up to but these dreams leave out the reality of changed conditions Man Ian 1 the meddler must change his social milieu Man lan can make himself In whatever whatever whatever what what- ever Image he likes like's by choosing an environment which calls forth that Image mage The stern fact 19 is that there Is but one chance of avoiding the supreme su supreme su- su preme danger to the human race rac the ho danger of not being able to conquer conquer conquer con con- quer the difficulties 0 of environment and tailing falling In the struggle for tor survival sur sur- vival al It It I is 18 not by controlling the livIng living liv- liv Ing ng being but controlling the world into which he is born that the ho scientific statesman of the tho fu future future future fu- fu ture will avoid th the rocks