INFERIOR RACES.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 121, 25 February 1926, Page 2

INFERIOR RACES.

THE NOTORIOUS JUKES FAMILY. Heredity V. Environment. In. an article on “ Inferior Races,” in. making a point showing the part heredity plays in the human race as opposed to environment, the Franklin Times referred to the notorious “ Jukes ” case. In the year 1577, officials of the municipality of New York, struck by the amount of pauper relief that had to. be afforded to persons of the uncommon name of Juke, decided to have a thorough investigation made. They traced the clan back to one Juke, born in New York in 1720. He was an idle and worthless vagabond and was notorious while alive for his shiftlessness. Juke had two sons. These married in succession five sisters, members of a degenerate family. By 1877 there had been six generations of descendants of Jukes,, numbering, about ,1200 persons, of every grade of idleness, viciousness, pauperism, idiocy, insanity and criminality. Of them, 310 were professional paupers, kept in

almshouses for 2300 years 440 were physical wrecks, chiefly from drunkenness ; 180 were convicted criminals ; 60 were thieves, 7 were murderers ; and half, the female members were prostitutes. Only 20 of the clan learned a trade, 10 of. them, while in prison. The total ascertained, cost of this family to the State by 1877 was 1,250,000 dollars ; or, to put it into our money, £250,000. By the year 1915., the ninth, generation had been reached, and the descendants, living and dead, numbered 2520. The cost to the State had nowrisen to 2,300,000 dollars. The amount of trouble still in front of America by Mr. Juke’s descendants is incalculable, for in 1915. there were “ approximately 600 living feebleminded and epileptic Jukes, of whom only three are in custody. The rest are free to reproduce their kind.” We have said, enough, to show how careful we should he in. the selection of people w.e permit to settle in New Zealand. We must close the door sternly, not merely in the faces of our coloured, races, but of the sallowskinned South Europeans, the Greeks, the Soush: Italians,, the Sicilians and | the Portuguese, all people of 10-w j mentality arifl 1 - morality!" v To these must be added the Russians. We can safely admit moderate numbers of. the Nordic peoples. The Norwegians, the Danes and the Dutch will be assimilated without injuring the race. 1 And' of course the French, to whom Western Europe owes as j much of its civilisation as to us. In these little islands the general j population, is perhaps the purest Brit--1 ish stock in the world—purer than in London. Let us make every effort to preserve its purity. The agitation originated by the Times has resulted in the formation of the White New Zealand Leag-ue, which we trust to see extending- its branches and its membership till it is powerful enough to force the Government to see that our heritage and the purity of our race is not endangered by the admission of members of inferior | races.