NOTE: The late Dr. Spitzka, along with other authorities quoted as being opposed to the marriage of the unfit, was concerned with the diseased offspring which almost invariably result from such marriages. Except in the case of gonorrhoea, which can be transmitted to the marriage partner, he did not object to the union itself, provided the latter remained childless. He would have recommended the use of contraceptives, as the solution of the problem, had he not been prohibited by the law from doing so.
_HEREDITARY SYPHILIS IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT CLINICAL STUDIES. Pamphlet. Borden S. Veeder, M.D., St. Louis, Mo. From the American Journal of the Medical Sciences, October, 1916. No. 4, Vol. CXII. P. 522._
In the present state of our knowledge we can summarize the evidence as pointing to the view that in hereditary syphilis the mother is always infected, although very frequently the infection is latent and that true germinal infection does not occur.
SYPHILIS AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM. No accurate figures are available as to the incidence of hereditary syphilis. The disease is not reportable, and even if it were it is doubtful if the records obtained in this way would be of any value, as the condition is frequently overlooked, and when recognized would be concealed in many cases because of the stigmata attached. With improved methods of diagnosis we are beginning to learn that it is far more common than previously thought, as many conditions in which the etiology was obscure have been found to be the result of a syphilitic infection. Hospital statistics are of little value in this connection. In St. Louis we have been particularly interested in hereditary syphilis, and have admitted many cases to the Children’s Hospital for study which would normally have been cared for in the out-patient clinic, and hence the proportion of syphilis to the total number of admissions is relatively high. We have seen between 300 and 350 children with an hereditary infection in three and a half years and have undoubtedly failed to recognize a number of cases. We have also found many cases of latent syphilis by testing the apparently healthy children of syphilitic families. What is more important is the number of obscure clinical conditions which have been found to be syphilitic in origin.