The Progress. [volume] (White Earth, Minn.) 1886-1889, 1889-07-13
EFFECT OF CITY LIFE.
The General Physical Deterioration OF
Town Populations. Is


The General Physical Deterioration Of
Town Populations.
II is generally recognized that the
effect OF town life upon the physique
is not beneficial. and rs the population
OF boroughs has now exceeded that Of
the country, the fact becomes one
worthy of our attention. The great
and rapid increase Of large towns at.
the present time adds to the impol-
tance Of the subject and deepens lis
gravity. Of old there were but few.
large towns. in our mod I'm sense Of 4
large" town; but Lugol, the great
French authority on ..scrofi d. Z nated
how the population Of Paris sdeteriol-
ated, and how scrofuious were the
third generations Of persons who came
in from the country perfectly healthy.
Other observers have noticed the bal
effect Of town life elsewhere. And The
recent researches Of Mi. james;
Camille have demonstrated III. rarity
OF pnre-bred Cockney of lie fourth
generation. OF old The b ron lived
in his castle. while the popultce liv,ul
around in villages OF limited sizs.. ,r
men OF all conditions of life the one
thing to be coveted above all other,
was physical proWess. For work. for
war, for games. which were largely
mimic war, bodily strength was essen
tial. No courage. no skill. could Of.
fec:ually compensate for tho want
Of thews and sinews. Work, war.
sports. reyels, all, too. wcl.,. conducted
in the open air. Bat civil z;.tiun
brought about changes profoundly liz
d 'encinS the life Of the individual.
The development of commerce. en-.
tailed The growth OF. towns. and then it
was found that in the new struggle for
existence The battle went rather. 10 Tie
man man with the active brain tl,;,,. to tlle
man with MASSIVE frame work. The
active brain becnme now the ono
great thing to be coveted. rather thar
physical prowess. The tendency Of
town populations is to ,lwin,le, and
this dWindling Is seen markedly iii
the feeble digestive capacity Of town
jewellers. They can not ent the pas
try, the piecrust the cakes, whicl,
form SO large a sportiono 1T the dietary
OF their country cousins. If tley a.
tempt these articles Of food tl,rv give
themselves the stomacll-acl,e. C,nse-
.quently they live on such food MS
they can digest without suffer no--
bread, aud fish, and meat; above all
the last-the sapid. tasty flesh Of ami
mails, which sits lightly on III.
. stonl ach and gives an acceptable feel
ing OF safety. so pleasant to nxpuri.
ence The town-lweller. in his selcc-
ton OF food. is guided by his feelings;
ne avoids what is repugn:tnt to him.
Such selection is natural and INTEL
=ligible. but it is fraught with danger
all the same. Pulmonary ph'hisis
and Bright's disease seem Dame Nat
ure's means of wedding out degen.r-
ating town dwellcrs. Tie Offspring
OF urban residents are another race
from their cousins who remain in tho
country. The latter are large-Ii,nbed.
stalWart, fail. haired Anglo-Danes.
~
while their urban cousins are small or.
slighter. darker beings, Of an earlier
and lowlier ethnic form. and resenp-
bling. the Celto-Iberian race. And
amid this general reyerslon We can
recognize adistinct Ever-revorsion 8
the early primitive uric acid formation
.ot the bird and reptile A recognition
Of these facts must lead TO such Is ii
fleatio'ls Of the food customs of town.
JEWELLERS rs are Indicated. The spread
OF teatotalisin AMI vegetarlallisn, tolls
OF . dark cropping in the right ,lirea,c.-
ton in blind obedience is tie law *of
MISREPRESENTATION. There must ais, !.
follow some mod iticst ionof the existi,,g
system OF education, for it is by tile
.mperfectly-nourished town child that
the weight Of the burden of education
is most acutelv felt. ts,sns,nnry OF a
s,G71I2r hU III. Tl.yLo, - -