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Show DR. JORDAN "RILED." Wo have a note from Presidout David Starr Jordan of Lelnnd Stanford University, Uni-versity, finding fault with an editorial squib in Tho Tribune on tho contrariety con-trariety of his position on tho subject of eugenics. Dr. Jordan waspishly says: "T am surprised that a reputablo papor liko The Tribune should print a wanton falsehood liko tho enclosed clipping." And he proceeds to say: "As the mat-tor mat-tor of eugenics is of some importance to me, 1 cncloso a statement covering this question from a little book on the principles of eugenics called 'Tho Heredity of Eichard Rowe and published pub-lished by mo last year." The statement state-ment referred to is as follows: At the best, the mating of man has rarely advanced beyond the second stage the choice of the' best available, and In more than half tho caoes, even In civilized civ-ilized countries, more propinquity la the main determining factor. It is evident that the human race- Is quite aa plastic as the horso or Bheon. and that if mating could be carried toward to-ward definite ends, even for a few generations, gene-rations, there might bo startling reauits. It would be easy In a few generations under competent control to standardize strength, beauty, endurance or virtue But there seems to bo no pofiHlhillty that any group of scientific men could ever be called on to exorclae such control con-trol Moreover those best worth while would never submit to It. Thf best of men and women will always choo8e"tholr ZVfAnJJr ,.thRmnfi,v. The artificial breeding of the superman, If such a thlntr can be conceived as a practical matter fpr tho state to undertake, would defoat ts own ends. It would breed out of existence ex-istence thft two most Important factors tho race baa won. so far aa mating Is concerned. These aro love and Inftla-tlve. Inftla-tlve. Tho superman produced by 0fflci.1I eugenics would not takft his fate into his own hands, and his descendants would not know the meaning of love. Hero we hae a good example of the denial in general and tho admission in particular. It appears from this statement state-ment that Dr. Jordan imagines certain things might occur if tho human race could bo bred as horses or phcep. All that, however, is pure speculation, and no one knows but that the human race would loso more than it could pos-sibJ- gain by pursuing such a bestial plan. Ho assume that, it would bo easy in a few generations to achiovo certain results. Thero is, however, no proof of this, nnd tho speculation can never bo tested because, as Dr. Jordan admits in this vory extract, "thoso best worth while would never submit lo it." It is singular that Dr. Jordan does not see tho contradiction which is plain as botwoon his promise and his conclusion con-clusion in the very extract which he sends us as accurately defining his position, po-sition, and which in fact conforms closel' td tho editorial paragraph in Tho Tribune. .If Tho Tribune Mod about it, then Dr. Jordan also lies about it. It is impossible for us to seo how a question ques-tion of this kind, which involves merely an imaginative proposition, admittedly admitted-ly impossible of practical tost, can bo of importance to Dr. Jordan, to any por. son, or to the human raco in gen-oral. gen-oral. There have been in tho past, aB Dr. Jordan well knows, various offorts to standardize (or Burbankize) tho human hu-man race, but in tho long run those efforts come to nothing and no people has ever obtained any special advantage ad-vantage therofrom. Wo Eiiggest that Dr. Jordan might profitably confine his efforts to tho investigation of fish roo, and let tho human raco alone. |