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Show a It Is True That Drinkers ; aite Inferior Children H I In an article In the January Amerl- H I can Magazine entitled "Is It True?" H f appears tlio startling mid convincing H I, results of Karl Pcnrgon's Investlga- Itlon of the families of drunkards and ffctota era made In tlio (Inlton Iab-t Iab-t ora ory for Eugenics, at tlio Unlver 8lt' cf I.0111I011. BBM , Tlio author sayB that ho was al- M I a)3 taught that drunken parents H ait to produce Imperfect children. H ) K .ns a surprise to him; probably H t f( nitl be to most readers to llnd H the following results. H -First, putting all ages together, ! ,j they found tlint the average height H I or the children whoso parents drank PPJ j vb 47.9 inches, and of non-drinking H parents 47 ft Inches. Tlio averago PB ' weight of the former was 55.0 lbs. H and the latter r.3,8 lbs. H "Hut tie children whose parents H drank averaged 0.8 years old, whllo H the children or sober parents nver- H aged 9.4 years. Making nllownnce H for this correction by strict niotho- H mntlcal means, the conclusion was H that the drinking or parents had no H or their children. The old maxim of H Intimate household hygiene, Drink H Ing'stuuts one's children, was Bhown &H to bo devoid or foundation as far as H material or this tnvcstlgtlon was PPJ H "Second, as to th0 child's general H health. Hero tlio chlldron wcro dl- H vided Into four categories; tlio heal- H thy, the delicate, tlio epileptic and H phthisical, and those who died young H "Surveying this (able, It Is really V hard to Bay whethor tlio connection P ( lies between parental drinking and H Rood health or bnd health on the H part or tlio children Clearly thcro Is no significant association either way "Third, concerning intelligence. Of all things that wo have boon accustomed accus-tomed to assumo as likely, one of tho formerls that parental drinking weak ens children's wits. "Hut It was distinctly untrue of tbeso English school children; so very untrue. In fact, that thcro Is a slight balance tho other way. Tho returns how that thcro wcro born to drinking fathers 34 percent of defective de-fective sons and 30 per cent of do-fectlvo do-fectlvo daughters; to drinking moth' ers 40 per cent of dorectivo eons and 24 per cent of defective sons and 31 per cent of defective daughters; to sober mothers, 39 per cent of defective defec-tive sons and 30 per cent of defect-lvo defect-lvo daughters. "Fourth, regarding eyesight. Tho children wero examined for normal vision, short and far sight, and three varieties of astigmatism. Fnthcrs, mothers, sons and daughters wcro all considered separately. I omit tho tables ta-bles to save spaco; but their summary sum-mary shows two remarkablo racts: "I. Tho larger proportion of normal norm-al eyes Is found among tho children of drinking parents. "2. Tho larger proportion of hy-pcrmetropla, hy-pcrmetropla, myopia, mixed and my-opicastlgmatlsm, my-opicastlgmatlsm, Is round among the children or sober parents, "Analysis or tho tnblcs themselves reveals no correlation between parental par-ental drinking and bad eyesight in the child. If unythlng.lt 1b tho other way; the children or drinking parents par-ents have tho better eyesight. "Prof. Pearson sums up tho result of tho investigation by saying that no marked relation of any kind has boen found between Intelligence, physlquo, or disease ot the offspring and parental alcoholism In any of tho categories Investigated.' Finality In a matter of this kind, is an affair of many years and much research, but as far as tho lnreaUgatlon has gone It Is dependable; and Professor Pearson, Who Invariably speaks with tho roverent caution of a true man of science, goes so far ug to say thft nothing In sight at present scorns likely to modify it. "It la a startling conclusion, especially espe-cially to those trained, as I was, to believe otherwise. To some It may bo unwolcomo and shocking. It may raako upon them the painful Impression Impres-sion ot an attempt to whittle down tho seriousness of the problem of drink. "But trutb, If one Is but willing to trust It, Is never found unfriendly to a good causo. If Prof. Pearson's conclusions nro proven beyond question tho cause of reform will not bo weakened, but strengthened. Tho moral burden or responsibility for this national evil will be Increased, not lightened. Seen by this now light tho problem will no doubt show many aspectsot difference from our present pres-ent apprehension of It, but all its seriousness and all Its insistency will still bo there; nay, In fact they will bo redoubled." m m |