Ogden Evening Standard | 1911-12-30 | Page 2 | To Regulate Marriage

TO REGULATE MARRIAGES. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture W. TV. Hays has a new plan for making better, stronger men and women. Addressing the American Amer-ican Breeder's Association, he proposed the classification of all human beings, both as to mental aptitude and genetic efficiency lie is in favor of the rule of the survival of the fittest. He would have the genetically efficient produce large families and the less efficient effi-cient restricted to small families. He would classify the people as to fitness by giving to them class or group numbers and he claims this would serve to join genealogies into one numerical system so that all relationships could be traced. Each person would have a numbe; or percentage that could be avoraged so as to give the family values of each person. "Modern science and charity work against the law of the survival sur-vival of the fittest," he declared, "by keeping alive many persons who inherit weaknesses, such as feeblc-mindedness or insanity. By paying attention to genetic cfficicncj', a race may make itself stronger for the economic contests among the races of the world. "The proposed plan would divide people into classes, but the classification would be beneficial because it would be based on racial efficiency. The wholesome consideration of genetic facts would lead to less divorce, greater temperance and better morals. Raising the average efficiency of the human race probably would also increase in-crease the number of geniuses and leaders." The ambition, we presume, of a man or woman would be to gatn a higher classification by correct living and that ambition would work the wonders predicted by Mr. Hays. The assistant secretary of agriculture ag-riculture might attempt arbitrary classification, but he would need a regiment pf soldiers in each community to enforce his rule and break up courtships in conflict with the new order of things. The first step of a practical nature that might be attempted in the direction of avoiding mismarriages is the requiring of a physical examination and a certificate of health from those who apply lor marriage certificates.