"To the parents of these children I would say: You have brought children into the world to be only a curse to society. They are unruly, passionate, quarrelsome, and vicious. Their influence upon others is corrupting. They bear the stamp of the father's character, of his base passions. His hasty, violent temper is reflected in them. These parents should long ago have removed to the country, thus separating themselves and children from the society of those whom they could not benefit, but would only harm. Steady industry upon a farm would have proved a blessing to these children, and constant employment, as their strength could bear, would have given them less opportunity to corrupt their own bodies by self-abuse, and would have prevented them from instructing a large number in this hellish practice. Labor is a great blessing to all children, especially to that class whose minds are naturally inclined to vice and depravity. 2T 402.2"
"Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."
Both passages discuss the idea of parents' character influencing their children. Matthew 7:17 uses the analogy of a tree bearing fruit, while the EGW passage speaks of children bearing the 'stamp' of their father's character and passions. The connection is thematic, dealing with the transmission of character traits from parents to children.