Letter, H.F. Perkins to the Advisory Board of the Eugenics Survey: a machine readable edition H.F. Perkins Creation of machine-readable version: Nancy Gallagher Additional scanning and OCR: Ben Schacher Conversion to TEI.2-conformant markup: Mary Margaret Welch Additional markup by: Hope Greenberg, Shane Barney ca. 6 kilobytes University of VermontBurlington, Vermont USA

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July/2000 Letter, H.F. Perkins to the Advisory Board of the Eugenics Survey <author>H.F. Perkins</author> <editor/> </titleStmt> <editionStmt> <p/> </editionStmt> <publicationStmt><publisher/><pubPlace/><date>January 4, 1929</date></publicationStmt> <notesStmt> <note/> </notesStmt> </biblFull> </sourceDesc> </fileDesc><encodingDesc> <projectDesc> <p>Prepared for the University of Vermont Electronic Text Archive.</p> </projectDesc> <editorialDecl> <p>Scanner: Visioneer 6100 (36 bit, 600x1200). Text OCR by Visioneer. </p> <p>Quote marks retained as data. All "M" and "N" dashes converted to two hyphens or one hyphen, respectively. All unambiguous end-of-line hyphens have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line. Some text realigned to left for purposes of readability, at discretion of editors.</p> </editorialDecl> </encodingDesc><profileDesc> <creation> <date>January 4, 1929</date> </creation> <textClass> <keywords scheme="#"> <term>WE'LL LET NANCY DETERMINE THESE</term> </keywords> </textClass> </profileDesc></teiHeader> <text> <front> <div1> <bibl> <title level="u">Letter, H.F. Perkins to the Advisory Board of the Eugenics Survey January 4, 1929 Paul Amos Moody papers, T. J. Allen file, Box #181, University of Vermont Archives Permission required for reproduction. University of Vermont, Archives.
EUGENICS SURVEY OF VERMONT UNDER AUSPICES OF DEPARTMENT OP ZOOLOGY UNIVERSITY OP VERMONT DIRECTOR, H.F. PERKINS INVESTIGATOR, MARTHA M. WADMAN SECRETARY, ANNA ROME
January 4, 1929 TO THE ADVISORY BOARD OF THE EUGENICS SURVEY Dear Dr. Allen:

At one of our earlier meetings the Advisory board passed a vote committing itself to the forwarding of legislation to legalize sterilization for eugenical purposes, under certain careful restrictions. In accordance therewith, efforts were made to bring about the passage of a bill at the last session of the legislature. It would be natural to expect another effort during the coming session, but I am not sure that it would be wise for the Eugenics Survey to be officially active in this matter just now. I desire your advice and instructions.

The Eugenics Survey is already functioning as a unit of the Vermont Commission on Country Life and I am not only director of the Eugenics Survey but also secretary of the Vermont Commission, assistant director of its comprehensive survey and executive secretary of its Committee on Human Factors.

The Vermont Commission is in the position of needing active support from every quarter. It is important that nothing should be allowed to arouse suspicion among any important group, economic, social, political or religious. In order to secure as complete cooperation as possible it may be better for the Eugenics Survey to avoid antagonizing some people who have strong convictions on the sterilization question. This would not hamper any of you, but perhaps I had better keep out of it. I feel however that, in view of the above mentioned vote of the Advisory Committee, I require your permission to refrain for the present from carrying out your instructions on this one matter.

Satisfactory progress is being made in the study of key families and their heritable traits in rural areas. Rather formidable looking charts of two family pedigrees have been made, representing six or seven generations in a Sandgate family and a Lincoln and Bristol family. So far as possible the mental and economic status of the individuals is being ascertained and rated.

One of the two girls in the office has resigned. The other, Anna Rome, has been tried out in the field as assistant investigator and has done well although her work as office secretary has been her only training.

I should appreciate your advice on the enclosed form in re the sterilization law activity.

Please accept very hearty good wishes for nineteen twenty‐nine.

Faithfully your friend, [Harry F. Perkins] DIRECTOR HFP: ARR Inc.

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