There is a heritage for children worse, perhaps, than criminality, feeble-mindedness or a tendency to alcoholic excess. I refer to venereal diseases. Painful or otherwise the subject must be discussed in this connection sooner or later. Like alcoholism, this disease contributes to its own elimination, its victims do not survive many generations. It is impossible to obtain statistics reasonably complete of the depredations wrought by these diseases. Professor Fournier regards them as social danger (1) By the individual damage inflicted, (2) The damage inflicted on the family, (3) The hereditary consequences, especially the infant mortality which is terrible, (4) The race deterioration and depopulation entailed. Public opinion is ripe for Eugenic treatment of this subject for one good reason, namely that every other remedy has either failed after trial or is in the nature of things incapable of adequate enforcement. State regulation of vice, with its corollary, State examination of women, is nowadays opposed by medical authorities because of the illusory security from infection which it implies, and is bitterly resented by all reformers as an intolerable tyranny applicable only to a single sex. If I have emphasised the evils which are the heritage of so large a number of our children, it must never be forgotten that great as is the proportion of the unfit, we have not yet reached the stage when there are more unfit than fit. The heritage of evil represents the need for Eugenics in its negative aspect. We are perfectly well aware of the characteristics which we desire to eliminate, and this is of very great importance, not only because of the active harm which a decadent type represents in our civilisation, but there is the further consideration that ninety-nine per cent of the reformative effort of our legislative and social crusades, and of the philanthropic side of our religious life, is concentrated on this appalling problem. The release of much of this effort would tend towards enlightening the nation in other directions. It is not at all wonderful that we should recognise our national agreement about the types we would gladly eliminate while we disagree very widely about the types we would most value. This arises largely from the fact that our attention for many years has been riveted on "the submerged tenth," on "degeneracy" on "the criminal classes" and on the various other descriptions of the undesirable. What a little share in our organised study of man has the best type had. We have fed the unfit and left the healthy unheeded. Actually while we have been discussing the problem of improvement we have seen the destruction and disappearance through war, disease and poverty of representatives of types which stood in no need of improvement but only of perpetuating. But in the main if we do not agree as to the most desirable heritage a child should have there is very much common ground between us all.