The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-10-13
Past and Present.

There is a good deal of harmless
prattle about the superior health, the
strength and the wisdom of our great
ndsfathers and great-grandmothers.
1t is common thing to hear old people
who ought to have better sense, talking
about the good old times and the higher
mental and physical ability of those who
lived long ago. While we have great
respect for the old folks, living and
dead, we must not shut our eyes to the
reality. The truth is that people live
longer now than ever they did. The
medical profession knows more now
than ever it did; and we could put into
the field to day bigger army of cen
tenarians than our grandfathers could in
the good old days when they were
young.
Moreover, old people now are much
more vigorous than the old people OF
times past. Our people are growing
larger and stronger. 1t is not so very
many years since the American woman
was slight, delicate creature; now she
is tall and portly. The numbers Of sing
ularly tall and we'll. proportioned young
men and women to be seen in the streets
of New York to-day astonish the old
fellows who remember the boys and
girls of forty and fifty years ago. Some
persons imagine that this increase in
size is confined to the children of our
foi eign-born citizens; but this is great
mistake, for the increase growth is gen.
eral. Certainly the mixture. of races
may have something to do with it, but,
whatever may be the cause, it is fact
plainly to be seen by any observer.
The greatest known feats of physical
strength and endurance are recorded to
the credit of the young men of this age
and, indeed, it is hardly too much to as
sert that the greatest runners, the great.
est walkers, the greatest jumpers, the
greatest swimmers, the greatest oars
men, the greatest weight-lifters, the
greatest gymnasts, the greatest boxers,
the greatest fence1s and the heaviest
men that ever lived are among the
living to-day. There seems to be
universal increase in the growth of hui
manity. The height, the chest meas sure-
ment and the weight of the soldiers Of
the immense armies of Europe of the
present time are at least as great as
they were among the picked men of the
much smaller European srmies of fifty
years past, clearly showing that the
average man of to-day is as big and as
strong Us the picked man of long ago.
The fact stares us in the face that the
grown-up sons and daughters of the
old people of this country are, as
rule, bigger and stronger than their
fathers and mothers were. An ordinary
sized Elglishman finds considerable
difficulty IN squeezing himself into the
armor OF one of the Norman conquer
ors Of his country; but what could one
of our Western farmers do with it?
Certainly he could pick it up and look
at it, but this is all.
We have great respect for the mem
oily of our grandfathers aud greatgrand-
fathers, as we'll as for our grandmUth-
ers and great-grandmothers, but we
cannot afford to delude ourselves with
ideas and notions that fact and figures
set aside. People are inclined to over
estimate the measure OF wisdom and
ability of the grand old fellows of days
gone by. 1t is an amiable fault, but
still fault; because the truth is not so.
-Neip York SIM