THE NEW BELGIAN EUGENICS

OFFICE.

Dr. Govaerts writes further that the Belgian Eugenics Society feels that Under date of June 4, 1922, Dr. A. this new eugenics office, with its offiGovaerts, Secretary of the Société cial governmental support and acting Belge d'Eugénique, and who spent eight in coöperation with the Solvay Instimonths, from September, 1921, to May, tute for social studies, opens up a 1922, studying the organization of eu- great and promising field for eugenical genics in the United States, writes activity in Belgium. He very grathat efforts to establish a governmen- ciously states that Belgian eugenicists tal eugenics office in Belgium have been are deeply indebted to the Eugenics successful. The new office will be lo- Record Office for the service rendered cated in the Institute Solvay in Brus- in aiding the Belgian Society to essels and will be supported by the gov-tablish its new office. Dr. Govaerts' ernment. It has been decided to pro- enterprise has the best wishes of vide regular courses of lectures in eu- American eugenicists. genics in the State School of Social Service. This school is an organization which prepares its students to undertake actual social service in connection with societies and institutions devoted to charity, the protection of children, and other welfare activities. Professionally, the students of this school will, in the future, be trained, not only as visiting nurses and social workers, but also as eugenical field Dr. Chester L. Carlisle of the U. S. workers. Dr. Govaerts will organize and give the courses of lectures in eu- Public Health Service is in charge of genics. In general, the courses will the Neuro-Psychiatric work of the U. S. Veterans' Bureau comprising the be modeled after the instruction provided for the annual Training Corps of states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Michithe Eugenics Record Office. Closest gan, with headquarters in Chicago. Dr. F. L. Hoffman, member of the contact will be maintained between

NOTES AND NEWS.

Miss Jean Weidensall has been appointed to a Research Assistantship in Clinical Medicine at the Cincinnati General Hospital.

Dr. C. C. Nutting is in the Fiji Islands on a scientific expedition from which he expects to return to Iowa City about the middle of September.

the Belgian and the American organ- Executive Committee of the Eugenics Research Association and formerly izations.

In Dr. Govaerts' first course of week-connected with the Prudential Life ly lectures, the following subjects will Insurance Company, is now Dean of be treated: Meaning of Eugenics; Laws Advanced Department of the Babson of Heredity in Plants, Animals and Institute, Wellesley Hills, MassachuMan; Selective Matings; The Relation setts. between Natality and Mortality and the National Welfare; The Technique of Eugenics: The Field Worker's Interviews and Questionnaires, Charting Family Pedigrees, Tracing the Descent and Recombination of Human Traits in Actual Pedigrees, Mental and Physical Measurements in Man.

A letter from Professor J. Moldovan, director Institutul de Igienă si Igienă Socială of the Universitatea din Cluj (Kolozsvar), Rumania, states that a section of eugenics has been established at the Institute. The Institute would be glad for publications germane to its work.

VOL. VII.

AUGUST, 1922

INHERITED MATHEMATICAL

ABILITY.

NO. 8

the calculus. One of his sons is most proficient in mathematics. III 9 held high rank in mathematics and could add three columns of figures as rapidly as they were put on the board. Her daughter has a special interest in mathematics. III 11, best student in a class of seventy; especially fond of mathematics; has a daughter who took the mathematics prize and heads her class in high school. (E.

The accompanying chart gives the pedigree of a Scotch-Irish family with special capacity in mathematics, though not of the creative order. II 3, an Irish immigrant who worked as farm-hand and later became a painter, was always working at arithmetical calculations, also algebra and geometry. He often worked with his wife until midnight over some mathe- | R. O., A. 4562-14.)

matical problem, until eighty-one years of age. His mother and two brothers are said to have been markedly mathematical.

DOCTOR BELL: EUGENICIST.

Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, who died at Beinn Bhreagh, on August second, was for several years chairGeneration III. Five out of ten man of the Board of Scientific Direcare markedly mathematical. III 1 had the facility of a lightning cal- tors of the Eugenics Record Office, beculator. III 4 taught mathematics ginning with its foundation. He was before marriage and has tutored in an early supporter of eugenical field it since. Two of her surviving three work. At his Volta Bureau he mainchildren are excellent in mathemat-tained a Genealogical Record Office. ics; thus IV 10 is specializing in the He was honorary president of the subject at Cornell. III 6 is a clergy- Second International Congress of Euman who was especially proficient and genics. In his death eugenics suffers interested in mathematics including a severe loss.

INABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH.

The United States Bureau of the Census has recently announced the results of its analysis of the Census of January 1, 1920, in reference to inability to speak English. According to this announcement, of the foreignborn white population of the United States ten years of age and over, 1,488,948 persons or 11 per cent. of the total were reported as unable to speak English. In 1910 the same investigation found 2,953,011 foreign-born white persons ten years of age and over or 22.8 per cent. of the total who were returned as unable to speak English. Two factors seem to have contributed largely to this great decrease during the decade. First, the number of non-English-speaking immigrants who arrived during the decade was much smaller than during the preceding decade. Second, the great majority of immigrants of the decade ending 1920 arrived prior to August 1, 1914, and consequently many of them had time to learn English before the census of 1920.

the percentage ranged from 4 per cent. to 14 per cent.

Linguistic assimilation widens the range of personal acquaintance and consequently of mate-selection, and thus is an important factor in racial fortunes.

THE RIGHT TO MARRY.

or

The Department of Health of the State of New Jersey, through its Bureau of Venereal Disease Control, has issued a pamphlet entitled “The Right to Marry." It is of interest to eugenicists for many reasons. First, social hygiene is a special form of health attention which, like every other special hygiene, affects individual efficiency. Just how much the personal reaction to special hygiene depends upon hereditary background, and how much upon environmental conditions, has yet to be determined. But social hygiene makes a special appeal to eugenics because it affects not only the individual personally; it is a great factor in injuring destroying the reproductive capacities of certain strains. It is thus a The percentage unable to speak matter of great eugenical concern. English, among the foreign-born | Further, individuals who, so far as constitutions are white population ten years of age and over, in these states was as follows concerned, may be potential parents Texas, 51.7 per cent.; New Mexico, 49.4 of splendid children, may on the other per cent.; Arizona, 51.9 per cent. In hand, because of venereal infection of no other state was the percentage so one or the other parent, produce inhigh as 20 per cent., and in only two fected and malformed children, and other states, West Virginia with 18.3 may thus destroy not only individual per cent. and Florida with 18.8 per cent., efficiency but blood strains or herediwas it higher than 14 per cent. The tary traits which are rightly the possmallest percentages were found in the session of the race. following states: South Carolina, 1.8 per cent., Georgia, 1.8 per cent., Ken-bulletin, does well to set forth a typtucky, 2.2 per cent., North Carolina 2.7 per cent., District of Columbia, 2.8 per cent., Washington, 3.2 per cent.. Oregon, 3.3 per cent., Tennessee, 3.3 per cent., Montana, 3.4 per cent., Virginia, 3.7 per cent. In all other states

their hereditary

The State of New Jersey, in its

ical and classical story of the feebleminded Kallikak family and also to describe the ravages of venereal infection and how the latter may be prevented and treated. On the front page of the pamphlet appears the