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About The Evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1936)
, Noted Biologist and Philosopher Advocates Isolation of Selected Youths for a Period of Twenty-Five Years for Intensive Study FOR 'THE NEW CITY TUE MUST single out the chil dren who are endowed with high potentialities and develop them as completely as possible. In this manner we could give to the Nation a nonhereditary aristocracy. Such children may be found in all classes of society, although distin guished men" appear more fre quently in distinguished families than in others- Dr. Alexis Carrel. By Carol Bird THAT the hour hu struck (or civiliza tion to produce human elite, to be developed and modeled by science, la the belief ol Dr. Alexia Carrel, one of the most distinguished scientists of our time, surgeon, biologist, philosopher, winner ol the Nobel Prlte In 1013 and the NordhofT-Jung Cancer Prlte In 1031. Dr. Carrel, who has spent a lifetime in the study of human life, outlines this .ilklng luca ot the need for producing u Higher type ol men In his recent book. Man. the Unknown." This no'ed n.'lentlst. member of the Rockefeller In stitute, feels that we do not "apprehend man m a whole." and that we must "rescue the Individual from the state of Intellectual, moral and physiological atrophy oroughl about by modern con ditions ot life " Human beings produced by Indus trial civilization are weakened, chiefly by the "atrophy ot adaptive functions, by the habits of modern life," accord ing to Dr. Cnrrel, and It Is because of this dcgenerstlve process that a new type of superior human being must be clcveloiied He thinks that we are now In a crltlrnl period ot human develop ment, that the very foundations of our present civilisation are threatened. Re minding us that "the rnco Is to the swift and the ba'tle to. the strong," he sug gests ways of developing virile, healthy and romplnte people, "In spite of the Immense sums ol money expended 'on the education ot children and young people of the United States, the Intellectual elite does not seem to have increased,'' said Dr. Car rel, pointing oul the necessity for and outlining his vision of a superior race. "Modern civilisation seems to be In capable ot producing people endowed with Imagination;- Intelligence and cour age," he continued. "Since the natural conditions of existence have been de stroyed by modern civilisation, the science ot man Is becoming the most necessary of all sciences. Man must turn his attention to. himself. What Is the good of Inoreaslng the comfort, the luxury, the beauty, the size and the complexities of our civilisation. If our weakness prevents us from guiding It to our best advantage? n i (hn if I II c a BEFORE AND NOW AN INDIVIDUAL'S survival was formerly 'wholly due to his adap tive capacity. Modern civilization, with the help of hygiene, comfort, good food, soft living, hospitals, physicians and nurses, has kept alive many human beings of poor quality. These weaklings and their descend ants contribute in a large measure to the enfeeblement of the white races. Dr. Alexis Carrel. "The development of complete humnn beings must be tho aim of our efforts. It Is only with such especially devel oped Individuals that a real civilization can be constructed. "There Is, for example, a class of men who. although as disharmonious as the criminal and the Insane, are Indispens able to modern society. They are the men of genius. Humanity has never iialncd anything from the efforts ot the crowd." rR. CARREL then touched on the fnllocy of the democratic principle that all men are born equal. Ho said: "Human beings are equal. Individ uals are not. The feeble-minded and tho man of genius should not be equal before tho law. The standardization of men by the democratic Ideal has already determined the predominance of the weak. Everywhere the weak are pre ferred to the strong. They are aided ind protected, often admired. "Like the Invalid, the criminal and he Insane, they attract the sympathy )l the public. Artists and men of iclence supply the country with beauty, health and wealth. They live and die in poverty. Robbers and gangsters enjoy orosperlty and peace. "An Individual's survival was formerly wholly due to his adaptive capacity. Modern civilization, with the help of hygiene, comfort, good food, soft living, hospitals, physicians and nurses, has kept alive many human beings ot poor quality. These weaklings and their de scendants contribute. In a large meas ure, to the enfeeblement ot the white races." Outlining his vision ot a superior race and how it can be brought about, Dr. Carrel said: "A choice must be made among the multitude of civilized human beings. Natural selection has not played Its part for a long while. Many Inferior Individuals have been conserved through the efforts ot hygiene and medicine. "But we cannot prevent the reproduc tion of the weak when they are neither Insane nor criminal. Or destroy sickly or defective children as we do the weak lings In a litter of puppies. The only way to obviate the disastrous predom inance of the weak Is to develop the itrong. "Our efforts to render normal the unfit are evidently useless. We should, then, turn our attention toward pro moting the optimum growth of tho fit. By making the strong still stronger, we could effectively help the weak, tor the herd always profits by the Ideas and In ventions of the elite. Instead ot level ing organic and mental Inequalities, we should amplify them and construct greater men." Tills seeming miracle of building up of superior people, in stead of attempting, as we hove done In the past, to drag them down to the level of the weaklings, the incompetents, the de fectives could be accom plished, according to the celebrated scientist, thus: "We must single out the children who arc en dowed with high poten tialities and develop them as completely as possible. In this manner we could give to the Nation a non hereditary aristocracy. Such children may be found in all classes ot society, although distin guished men appear more frequently in distin guished families than In others. The descendants of the founders of Ameri can civilization may stiU possess the ancestral qualities. These .qualities are generally hidden under tho cloak of degeneration. But this degeneration Is often superficial. It comes chiefly from education. Idleness, lack of responsibil ity and moral discipline. "The sons of very rich men, like those ot criminals, should be removed while still Infants from their natural sur roundings. Thus separated from their family, they could manifest their hered itary strength. In the aristocratic fam ilies of Europe there are also Individuals ot great vitality "The Issue of the Crusaders is by no means extinct. The laws of genetics In dicate the probability that the legend ary audaci'y and love ot adventure can appear again In tho lineage of the feu dal lords. It Is possible also that the offspring ot the great criminals who have Imagination, courage and Judg ment, of the heroes of the French or Russian Revolution, of the hlgh-handed business men who live among us, might be excellent building stones tor an en terprising minority. "As we know, criminality Is not hereditary It not united with feeble mindedness or other mental or cerebral defects. High potentialities are rarely encountered In the sons ot honest, In telligent, hard-working men who have had til luck In their careers, who have tailed In business or have muddled along all their lives In interior positions. Or among peasants living on the same spot for centuries. However, from such people sometimes spring artists, poets, adventurers, saints." rHILE Dr. Carrel reminds us that strength and boldness sometimes suddenly appear in families where they have never before been observed, he also adds: "Nevertheless, one should not expect to find among peasants and prole tarians many subjects endowed with great developmental possibilities. Today most of the members ot the proletarian class owe their situation to the heredi tary weakness of their organs and their mind. "Likewise, the peasants have re mained attached to the soil since the Middle Ages, because they possess the courage, judgment, physical resistance and lack of imagination and daring which render them apt tor this type of life. These unknown farmers, anony mous soldiers, passionate lovers ot the soil, the backbone ot the European nations, were, despite their great quali ties, ot a weaker organic and psycho logical constitution than the medieval barons who conquered the land and defended It against all invaders." Eugenics as one means for perpetua tion ot the strong was named by Dr. Carrel. He said: "A great race must propagate Its best elements. However, in the most highly civilized nations re production Is decreasing and yields in ferior products, Women voluntarily deteriorate through alcohol and tobacco. They subject themselves to dangerous dietary regimens In order to obtain a conventional slenderness ot their figure "Besides, they refuse to bear children Such a detection Is due to their educa tion, to the progress ot feminism, to the growth ot short-sighted selfishness. It also comes from economic conditions, nervous unbalance, instability ot mar riage and fear ot the burden imposed upon parents by the weakness or pre cocious corruption of children. "We must facilitate the union of the oest elements ot the race through edu cation and certain economic advantages The progress of the strong depends on Dr. Alexis Carrel, noted scientist, declares that despite the large sums of money spent for education in the United States, the educational elite docs not seem to increase the conditions ot their development and the possibility left to parents ot transmitting to their offspring the qualities which they have acquired In the course of their existence. "The tree practice of eugenics could lead not only to the development ot stronger Individuals but also of strains endowed with more endurance, intelli gence and courage. These strains' should constitute an aristocracy from which great men would probably ap pear." Still another revolutionary and bril liant plan was then outlined by Dr. Carrel for the development of "engi neers," men who would "understand the mechanisms of the body and soul ot the individual and of his relations with the cosmic and social world." These men would "master anatomy, physi ology, biological chemistry,' psychology, metapsychlcs, pathology, medicine and also have a thorough acquaintance with genetics, nutrition, morals, soci ology, economics" and so on. They would supply the leaders and educators of the young in the new epoch, "the new city," with the information neces sary for the development ot superior men. They would live more or lea like "monks of the great contemplative orders." "Can any individual master all then sciences which I. have named?" re peated Dr. Carrel. "It seems that such an accomplishment is not Impossible. In about twenty-five years of uninter rupted study one could learn them. "At the age of SO those who had submitted themselves to this discipline could effectively direct the construction of the human being and of a civiliza tion based on his true nature. ' Indeed, the few gifted Individuals who dedicate themselves to this work will have to renounce the common modes of exist ence." HERE Dr. Carrel's delightful irony tinged his theme, his Uttle stab at the banality of the modern man's way of life occurred. He said: "Those who renounce the common modes of life will not be able to play golf and bridge, to go to cinemas, to listen to radios, to make speeches at banquets, to serve on committees, m attend meetings of sclentino societies, political conventions and academies, or to cross the ocean and take part in International congresses. "They must live like the monks ol the great contemplative orders, and not like university professors, and still less like business men. In the course ot the history of all great nations many have sacrificed themselves for the salvation of the community. Why should not some individuals sacrifice their Uvea to acquire the science indispensable to the making ot man and ot his environ ment?" Co,w. PAGE THREE
