rge of long standing that
genealogy is a subject of no use, a fad of a privileged class. They do
not need to be told that such a charge is untrue. But genealogy can be
made a much more useful science than it now is, and it will be at the
same time more interesting to its followers, if it is no longer looked
upon as an end in itself, nor solely as a minister to family pride. We
hope to see it regarded as a handmaid of evolution, just as are the
other sciences; we hope to see it linked with the great biological
movement of the present day, for the betterment of mankind.

So much for the science as a whole. What can the individual do? Nothing
better than to broaden his outlook so that he may view his family not as
an exclusive entity, centered in a name, dependent on some illustrious
man or men of the past; but rather as an integral part of the great
fabric of human life, its warp and woof continuous from the dawn of
creation and criss-crossed at each generation. When he gets this vision,
he will desire to make his family tree as full as possible, to include
his collaterals, to note every trait which he can find on record, to
preserve the photographs and measurements of his own contemporaries, and
to take pleasure in feeling that the history of his family is a
contribution to human knowledge, as well as to the pride of the family.

If the individual genealogist does this, the science of genealogy will
become a useful servant of the whole race, and its influence, not
confined to a few, will be felt by all, as a positive, dynamic force
helping them to lead more worthy lives in the short span allotted to
them, and helping them to leave more worthy posterity to carry on the
names they bore and the sacred thread of immortality, of which they were
for a time the custodians.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE EUGENIC ASPECT OF SOME SPECIFIC REFORMS

Nearly every law and custom of a country has an influence direct or
remote on eugenics. The eugenic progress to be expected if laws and
customs are gradually but steadily modified in appropriate ways, is
vastly greater and more practicable than is any possible gain which
could be made at present through schemes for the direct control of
"eugenic marriages."

In this present chapter, we try to point out some of the eugenic aspects
of certain features of American society. It must not be supposed that we
have any legislative panaceas to offer, or that the suggestions we make
are necessar