," a journal devoted to attacking the social evil, has
been discontinued and replaced by bulletins of the American
Social Hygiene Association, 105 West 40th Street, New York City.

Sec. 9. _The Fourth Problem for Sex-education: Illegitimacy_

[Sidenote: Society condemns illegitimacy.]

Most awful of all the results of the sexual mistakes of men and women
are the unmarried mothers and their illegitimate children. Of course, I
know that there are well-meaning people who argue that motherhood is
the supreme fact and that the formality of a marriage ceremony is
merely a medievalism in our laws and customs; but the inexorable truth
remains that our modern social system is centered around the home which
is strictly regulated by church and state and public opinion.[7]
Whatever may be the philosophical rights and wrongs of individual
freedom in sexual relationship, the facts of practical life are that an
overwhelming majority of the most intelligent people are united in
support of our established laws and customs demanding legitimacy of
motherhood and birthright. As a result of this age-old stand for
legitimacy, illegitimate mothers and children do not have a square deal
at the bar of public opinion. Everybody knows that the vast majority of
illegitimate children do not have a fair chance in the world's work.
Professor Cattell, in _Science_, March, 1914, points out that since
illegitimates occur one in every twenty-five births in the United
States, and since they are on the whole equal to other children in
mentality, there ought to be forty of them among the thousand leading
men of science designated in the directory of the "American Men of
Science;" but none are known. The conclusion must be that illegitimate
children do not have an equal chance at education which leads to
prominence in science. But it is not simply a matter of limited
education, for in every way the fate of most illegitimate children is
usually pitiful. Only now and then one born under a lucky star is
adopted and educated by large-minded foster parents who recognize that
the illegitimate is not responsible for having come into this world
under conditions opposed to the best interests of society.

[Sidenote: Ignorance the cause.]

It seems to be generally accepted that in the vast majority of cases,
unmarried mothers and illegitimate children are due to ignorance of the
women. Women who are professionally immoral do not bear many
children.[8] In