hanges produced by it are
permanent, and the prospects of completely eradicating it are
correspondingly small. On the other hand, the child who survives
hereditary syphilis has probably an enormous resistance to the disease,
which in a measure compensates for the hold which it has on him.
Treatment in hereditary syphilis becomes an extremely difficult problem
because it must in many cases be carried out during infancy, and for
that reason the cooeperation of the patient cannot be secured. By
treating the mother, we now know that we can accomplish a great deal for
the unborn child. Once the child is born, its salvation will depend on
unremitting care and labor. If it is skilfully treated and kept at the
breast, it is estimated that it has even as high as ninety chances in
one hundred of surviving to a useful life. Salvarsan can be given to
even very small babies, and mercury also is employed with excellent
results. Persistence and skill are essential, and for that reason, if
possible, hereditary syphilis in active form in later childhood should
have the advantage of occasional or prolonged treatment in special
hospitals or sanitariums where the child could go to school while he is
being built up and cared for. This is not like trying to salvage
wreckage. Many syphilitic children are brilliant, and if treated before
they are crippled by the disease, give every sign of capacity and great
usefulness to the world. Welander, who was one of the greatest of
European experts on syphilis, has left himself an enduring monument in
the form of the so-called Welander homes, which have been established by
cities like Copenhagen, Berlin, and Vienna to provide for such children
the combined benefits of the school and the hospital. We cannot be too
prompt in adopting similar provision for such cases in this country.
There can be little excuse, eugenic or otherwise, for not doing the
utmost that modern medical science is capable of for their benefit.

Chapter XI

The Transmission and Hygiene of Syphilis

The problem of the control of syphilis as a contagious disease is the
least appreciated and the most important one in the whole field. It
should be the key to our whole attitude toward the disease, and once
given its rightful place in our minds, will revolutionize our situation
with regard to it. For that reason, while some repetition of what has
gone before may be unavoidable, it will be worth while to gather in one
chapter th