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Show WOULD RID WORLD OF DEGENERATES OF SOCIETY i - NEW YORK, June 21. There Is no reason why society should not relieve itself of the burden of mental and physical degenerates in two or three generations. So says Alexander Johnson, secretary of the National Conference of Charities Chari-ties and Corrections. This can be accomplished very easily, Mr. Johnson told the School of Philanthropy yesterday, simply by segregating these individuals. "They should be educated to the fullest extent possible," he said, "and It Is astonishing what can be done with a feeble-minded child if it is caught young. They should be taken Into the care of the mother State from childhood until death, anf thereby the State will be serving not only its own best interests, but those of the defective de-fective individuals. "I don't like paternalism In government, govern-ment, but we can't have too much maternalism." Although Mr. Johnson believes in eliminating bad stock, he thinks that the idea of heredity has been greatly overworked and that environment is a matter of Infinitely more importance. "I would rather be born In the worst alum, of the worst parents that ever were." he said, "and be removed to Kat It-factory environment at birth, than be born under the best possible conditions condi-tions and then be removed to a bad environment, "Heredity is a powerful factor, and we need never be surprised at anything It does. Yet this influence is slight compared with that of environment, and much that passes as heredity Is really the result of environment." Mr. Johnson expressed the opinion that Guiteau and probably Czolgosz were defectives and ought to have been sent to Insane asylums Instead of being executed. |