seventeen of
whom were criminals. Still further investigation developed the
following facts:--

Within seventy-five years, a family of 1200 persons have sprung from
five sisters, several of whom were illegitimate, and three of whom were
known to be unchaste, and who married men whose father was an idle,
thriftless hunter, a hard drinker, and licentious.

Of this family, the history of but 709 was traced. Of these, the facts
set forth in the following incomplete summary were found to be true:--

Paupers, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Years of pauperism, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
Criminals, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Years of infamy, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
Thieves, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Murderers, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Prostitutes and adulteresses, . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Illegitimate children, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
No. of persons contaminated by syphilitic disease, . 480
Cost to the State in various ways, . . . . . $1,308,000

Without doubt a complete summary would make this showing still more
appalling, since of the 709 whose histories were traced, it was in many
instances impossible to determine whether the individuals were guilty
of crime or unchastity or not, even where there were grounds for
suspicion. Such cases were not included in the summary.

No amount of argument on this question could be so conclusive as are
these simple facts concerning the "Juke" family. It is certainly high
time that our legislators began to awaken to this subject, and consider
whether it would be an unprofitable experiment to make some attempt
to prevent the multiplication of criminals in this manner. We are not
prepared to offer a plan for securing such an end; but it is very clearly
important that something should be done in this direction.

It is an established physiological fact that the character of offspring
is influenced by the mental as well as the physical conditions of the
parents at the moment of the performance of the generative act. In view
of this fact, how many parents can regard the precocious--or even
mature--manifestations of sexual depravity in their children without
painful smitings of conscience at seeing the legitimate results of
their own sensuality? By debasing the reproductive function to an act
of selfish animal indulgence, they imprinted upon their children