Courtship and Marriage Customs of the Turks and Greeks.-Among the Turks the parents of the contracting parties take the initiative in finding a mate for their offspring, and each family investigates the character and financial standing of the other. The wedding ceremony consists of the consummation and fulfilment of the contract. Among the educated Greeks there is a movement in the direction of young people's doing their own courting, and the dowry is often omitted. Marriage is more safeguarded and the element of bargaining is more important among the majority of Greeks than among the educated class.—Clarence R. Johnson, Journal of Applied Sociology, X (September-October, 1925), 54–62. (III, 6.) P. E. M. Climatic Influence in Some Ancient Mediterranean Religions.-The somewhat scanty mean rainfall of the Mediterranean lands, broken only by the prolonged rainy seasons in the high mountains and by occasional thunderstorms on their slopes during the summer drought, is reflected in the rain functions of Zeus, Jupiter, Jove, Jehovah, and place gods replaced by Zeus in the course of Greek expansion, and in the mountain and hill sanctuaries of these deities.-Ellen Churchill Semple, Scottish Geographic Magazine, XLI (July and September, 1925), 214–21, 257-65. (III, 6.) P. B. B. IV. CONFLICT AND ACCOMMODATION GROUPS A Light unto the Jew.-The American Jew, in his abject adhesion to American ways, has nourished the conditions he deplores. The Menorah, stimulating creative work among the Jews, points the way out.-Waldo Frank, New Republic, XLV (December 23, 1925), 135–36. (IV, 2.) P. E. M. V. COMMUNITIES AND TERRITORIAL GROUPS The Distribution of Population in the Amazon Valley.-The very wealth and ease of exploitation of natural resources seems to have hindered settlement of the Amazon Valley. Elevations above flood-level but close to navigable streams, climatic fluctuations, market fluctuations in rubber prices, methods of extraction of latex, production of foodstuffs, and ease of land ownership enter into the making of settlements and their permanence.-W. L. Schurz, Geographical Review, XV (April, 1925), 206–36. (V, 4.) P. B. B. VI. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS Personality Deviations and Their Relation to the Home.-The home has a tremendous power in a child's life, both destructive and constructive. We must therefore bend our energies toward giving parents every opportunity for normal, unwarped development, in order that they may be the splendid factors for good that they should be in the lives of their children.-Sybil Foster, Mental Hygiene, IX (October, 1925), 735-42. (VI, 1.) E. R. R. What Social Workers Should Demand of Education. The study of biology is advocated to give teachers and pupils scientific orientation and an appreciation of the need of the body for "a balanced normal development." The school, with the co-operation of the family rather than remedial agencies, must correct the ignorance resulting from exaggeration of the desirability of great material possessions.Ellen Torelle Nagles, Education, XLV (April, 1925), 472–82. (VI, 3.) P. B. B. Trends of Social Work in the United States.-The National Conference of Social Work has provided a channel for co-operative thinking, and has aided in broadening the field, standardizing technique, formulating aims, and organizing theories, attitudes, and sentiments into movements characterized by institutions and legislation. The emphasis has shifted from relief to prevention, to construction, and the five main trends of interest are institutional, child, family, health, and economic problems.-Ella L. C. Vollstedt, Journal of Applied Sociology, X (September-October, 1925), 25-40. (VI, 6.) P.E. M. Public Morals and the Newspapers.-Daily exaggeration of the vulgar and criminal aspects of society always appears on the first page of the newspaper. What is being asked is that they receive no more than their proportionate attention. One paper is already reducing the prominence given lawlessness, but on account of possible financial difficulties few others are following. The whole issue is that lawlessness should not be magnified, much less glorified. If the editors want to, they can work out a new method of evaluating and reporting the news.-Paul Hutchinson, Methodist Review, XLII (January-February, 1926), 66–74. (VI, 6.) P. T.D. VII. SOCIAL SCIENCE AND THE SOCIAL PROCESS A Policy of Adaptation.-That of the coal situation to meet the present needs and demands. Gradual changes can be brought about without any revolutionary scrapping of the present order. The most practical policy is not necessarily that of aiming at the maximum theoretical efficiency, but it may be better to put up with a somewhat lower efficiency if thereby existing engines and plants can be made use of. This would avoid the extremely high capital costs of the more ambitious schemes.-C. H. Desch, Sociological Review, XVIII (January, 1926), 17-21. (VII, 1.) P. T.D. An Engineer's Suggestion. In regard to the present coal situation, the writer visualizes the super-power station of the future as being one that will supply industrial gas in bulk, electricity in bulk, at high pressure for power and at low pressure for electrolysis, and electric furnaces and the by-products that are available from coal, including smokeless fuel. This implies a policy of regional planning for the provision of facilities to induce the gathering of industries requiring electricity and heat-energy in bulk in suitable locations around such super-power stations.-E. K. Scott, Sociological Review, XVIII (January, 1926), 22–27. (VII, 1.) P. T.D. The Planning of a New Coal Field in East Kent.-A plan is here set in motion for securing efficient coal exploitation without its old attendant evils of dirt, discomfort, and discontent. The natural beauties of the district are to be preserved from indiscriminate building and consequent spoliation. The towns are to be developed harmoniously, and to be under one ownership. Although this project is mainly economical, education, public service, social institutions, etc., will doubtless be taken into consideration after the plan is a little more mature.-P. Abercrombie, Sociological Review, XVIII (January, 1926), 35-40. (VII, 1.) P. T.D. Las universidades con màs de 4,000 estudiantes.-In 1913 there were thirtyone universities in the world having each a student population of over 4,000. This had increased to sixty-nine such universities in 1924. Of these, thirty-six were located in North America, as compared with thirteen so located in 1913. Europe had twenty-nine such universities in 1924, as compared with seventeen in 1913. Large universities are growing most rapidly in the United States. Of the eleven largest universities in the world, all except one (University of Paris) are located in the United States. These point to and prove the enormous cultural development which has taken place in the United States during the last decade. Several maps are included to show the specific territorial distribution of the universities.-Enrique Sparn, Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Miscelanea No. 12. (Pamphlet) Cordoba, Argentina, 1925. (VII, 2.) "The Stimulus-Error."-The stimulus-error may be considered as the fallacy of supposing that we see what we look at rather than what we see. Owing to the stimulus-error we confuse with the business of living, the business of making a living. It is hard to know or to tell the truth because of this error. One is confused always by misdirected attention to a stimulus which is but an adventitious object, some partial aspect to which one bears reluctant witness.-Maud A. Merrill, Journal of Delinquency, IX (September, 1925), 170-77. (VII, 2.) E. R. R. An Experiment in Teaching Philosophy to the Whittier State Schoolboys.— Some elementary ideas in ethics and morality were taught to a class of boys (orphans and those who came into conflict with the law) of about fifteen years of age. The capacity of the boys was fully equal to the instruction, and it was not without interest for them.-Kate Gordon, Journal of Delinquency, IX (September, 1925), 161-69. (VII, 2.) E. R. R. The Religion of the Undergraduate. The normal undergraduate has a religion postulated on faith in the existence of a God, and which consists principally in a Christian code of ethics. Interest in religion comes with maturity, and the normal, care-free youth leading an intellectually hand-to-mouth existence does not stop to meditate on religious things.-Paul Whitcomb Williams, Nineteenth Century, XCVIII (September, 1925), 409–14. (VIII, 2.) P. E. M. The Social Implications of Prayer.-The very factors of prayer-the worshiper, the deity, and the objects and persons mentioned-have social implications, as do the ways in which prayer can be effective. Prayer can be a token of attachment to a given social group, it can influence the circumstances and state of mind of the suppliant directly; it can influence others indirectly, and is an instrument of social control, while God is a confidant and leader. Prayer is not necessarily antisocial, nor does it always express a shrinking from reality, for it represents organization of experience.-Abraham Cronbach, Reprint from Hebrew Union College Jubilee Volume, Cincinnati, 1925. (VII, 2.) P.E. M. Adult Education.-There is a growing tendency for adults to continue their education while earning a living. Adult education has the advantage of voluntary school attendance by students with practical experience, resulting in benefit to instructors as well as to students. Its success will depend upon its freedom from suspicion of uplift.-New Republic, XLV (November 25, 1925), 7-8. (VII, 2.) P.E. M. What Makes a First-Page Story?—The first-page story is the story of a personal fight between well-identified antagonists which involves the element of suspense. This explains why the press appears wilfully destructive, why it fails in the creation of intelligent public opinion, and why the newspaper's dominating interest seems to be in sex and crime.-Charles Merz, New Republic, XLV (December 30, 1925), 156-58. (VII, 3.) P. E. M. The Crisis in India.-India is in the midst of a tremendous crisis. The revolt is not against the British alone, but it is a general revolt against anything and everything, both internal and external, that stands in the way of progress. The British feel this general revolt the most because they are the worst impediment in the path of the progress of India. Sooner or later an armed conflict is inevitable. The awakening of India is of such a fundamental nature that none need long despair of India's taking her rightful place among the independent republics of the world. Basanta Koomar Roy, Open Court, XL (January, 1926), 14-32. (VII, 4.) P.T.D. Religion in India's Political Psychology.-Sculpture, painting, music, literature art as a whole-philosophy, education have all existed in India of the past chiefly as they have served the ends of religion. The other phases of life have been comparatively undeveloped. Religion enters into all three of the serious obstacles with which the nationalistic leaders have to contend. They are the apathy of the masses toward political change, lack of coherence of action among the Indians, and lastly the Hindu Moslem antipathy.-W. N. Brown, Asia, XXVI (February, 1926), 149-53. (VII, 4.) P. T.D. The Cultural or Psychological Theory of Society.-The psychological theory of human society is that society is the behavior process which arises from living together. It is a process in which the psychic elements of impulse, habit, feeling, and ideation, and their social expressions in communication, imitation, suggestion, sympathy, and other types of mental interaction function as the vital constituent elements. Charles A. Ellwood, Journal of Applied Sociology, X (September-October, 1925), 10-16. (VII, 4.) P.E. M. VIII. SOCIAL PATHOLOGY: PERSONAL AND SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION The People of Moronia.-The real victims of the tragedies which occur in the life of morons are the children. Many are the remedies which have been suggested; none, perhaps, is adequate. Certainly none has been adequately tried. In the meantime they multiply. Their children die like flies from epidemics, but pass the germs on to our children before they go. Their children see us in automobiles and steal them from us. They all gladly flock toward any frivolity or indecency which we commercialize. In the final tragedy, who are the villains and who are the victims they or we?-Eleanor Rowland Wembridge, American Mercury, VII (January, 1926), 1-7. (VIII, i.) E. R. R. English Poor-Relief Methods through Foreign Eyes. It is costly and unfair to place children in institutions rather than in good homes. Administration by honorary officials is inefficient and lacks continuity. Relief should be given before the individual becomes destitute, and the treatment of all the poor on a par is wasteful and unjust.-Edith Sellers, Nineteenth Century, XCVIII (November, 1925), 679-88. (VIII, 1; VI, 6.) P.E. M. The Rising Tide of Crime.-The great increase of crime in the United States may be explained by the increasing desire for luxury, the failure to bring criminals to justice, and the profitableness of organized crime. To decrease crime it should be made unprofitable and hazardous, and the acquisition of firearms and the theft of motor cars made more difficult.-Lawrence Veiller, World's Work, LI (December, 1925), 133-43. (VIII, 1.) P. E. M. A Résumé of Research Work at Letchworth Village. The research department at Letchworth Village has developed a classification of mental defectives which is widely used. Work done on the personality of the defective is in part responsible for the interest shown today throughout this country in the personality of the defective as an important factor in his adaptation; an interest that is making for a more intelligent understanding and a more successful handling of the problems of social and economic adaptation of the mental defective.—Howard W. Potter, Mental Hygiene, IX (October, 1925), 772–82. (VIII, 1; IX, 2.) E. R. R. The Case for the Mentally Retarded. Both the public and school officials care less about educating the mentally handicapped than they do blind, deaf, or crippled children. This situation is due in part to the fact that the feebleminded elicit less sympathy than do other classes, and in part to doubts as to whether they are worth educating. The argument that they are destined to become delinquents is false, as the grade of mental deficiency found in special classes forms but a small proportion of delinquents. Most of them can be educated to be law-abiding, selfsupporting citizens. If this end is to be accomplished the child must enter the special class at the beginning of his school career, and instruction must extend beyond the school to the home. Birth control should be taught in order to prevent increase in the numbers of the feebleminded.-Charles Scott Berry, Mental Hygiene, IX (October, 1925), 725-34. (VIII, 1; VII, 2.) E. R. R. Syphilis in the Etiology of Mental Deficiency.-A review of 15,392 cases of mental defect which were given the Wasserman test showed positive reactions in 7.3 per cent, as compared with positive reactions in 5.3 per cent of 25,576 nondefective children similarly tested. An analysis of positive cases at the Wrentham State School showed that only 1.7 per cent of the total number tested could be considered as due to congenital syphilis uncomplicated by other major factors. These facts tend to revise our estimate of syphilis as a cause of mental deficiency Civilization and Population.-The decline of the birth-rate is due to voluntary restriction, and the concomitant decline of the two vital rates is civilization's means of population control. Differences of race, religion, climate, or geography have a less direct significance than differences in the mode and standard of life. Differences in the rates of classes are temporary.-R. M. MacIver, New Republic, XLV (December 2, 1925), 37–39. (VIII, 2.) P.E. M. The Present Tendencies of Population in Great Britain with Respect to Quantity and Quality.-Great variations in numbers occur at certain times without any apparent cause, and quality appears related to quantity, the birth of eminent men being associated with a high birth-rate. These variations may be explained by race physiology rather than by birth control.-John Brownlee, Eugenics Review, XVII (July, 1925), 73-75. (VIII, 2.) P. E. M. When the World Will Starve.-The many plans of increasing food supply are only ways of staving off the climax foreseen by Malthus. Ultimately the world must face birth control-or pestilence and war.-Vilhjalmur Stefansson, World's Work, L (October, 1925), 639–44. (VIII, 2.) P. E. M. The Distribution of Population in China: Economic and Political Significance.-China must have a changed social philosophy regarding offspring if the overcrowding in the richest regions is to be permanently relieved by either land reclamation or industrialization. Such relief measures depend on political stability and favorable relations with Russia regarding Manchuria.-Percy M. Roxby, Geographical Review, XV (January, 1925), 1-24. (VIII, 2; V, 4.) P. B. B. The Average Sex Life of American Women.-Masturbation seems to be a normal sex experience among women, starting as early as five years of age, with the greatest number at eight; to secure pleasure (easily discontinued) and relief from tension (difficult to break off) being the general reasons given.-R. L. Dickinson and H. H. Pierson, Journal of the American Medical Association, LXXXV (October 10, 1925), 1113–17. (VIII, 3, 5.) P. B. B. Venereal Diseases and the Family.-Social work in the venereal-disease field calls for sanity and common sense-the avoidance of the spectacular and the bizarre. In many respects the social hygiene campaign stands where the tuberculosis campaign stood some ten or fifteen years ago. In tuberculosis work we now accept as routine, procedures which were looked upon as doubtful or dangerous when they were first proposed. So it is with our efforts to bring venereal disease out into the open and rob it of the terrors that go with secrecy and ignorance. The social worker has the opportunity-the responsibility-of spreading the gospel of truth, of sane thinking, and of sympathetic treatment.-A. J. Lanza, Journal of Social Hygiene, XI (October, 1925), 396–402. (VIII, 3.) E. R. R. The Rôle of the Nurse in the Social Hygiene Movement.-The whole object of the sex-education movement should not be to get a certain number of facts, but to develop character by the best possible use of these facts. The schools of nursing should see to it that their students are not only acquainted with the facts of social hygiene, but that they are imbued with high ideals of sex so that their own lives may be examples and their advice may lead others to a higher plane of living. -Claribel A. Wheeler, Journal of Social Hygiene, XI (October, 1925), 402-6. (VIII, 3.) E. R. R. The Organization of Antiprostitutional Work in the Czechoslovak Republic. -Antiprostitutional work in the Czechoslovak Republic is very insufficient as yet, but it has a promising beginning. In 1923 a law was passed abolishing all police |