Omaha daily bee., 1897-05-16

! gressed and enabled race after another
| TO become dominant consisted very largely
| OF the building up of a more and more elab-
crate series of connections between the CEN
| ters of special sense. So we find that even
/ the lowest mammals have cerebrum pro-
| portionately larger in comparison with the
| optic and olfactory lobes, fer example, than
| the cerebrum of any reptile. And with each
successive geological age, the bigger and big
| ger brain means really a growing cerebrum.
| Finally, in modern man, this cerebrum has
| come to oveishadow all other portions of the
| brain combined. Man cannot see, or hear or
| smell as well as many lower animals, but
| he can coordinate his impressions into more
| elaborate ideas than any other animal can
| create; hence all other creatures are at his
mercy.
CAUCASIAN SUPREMACY.
Thousands of years ago man gained this
supremacy, and ceased to have any com
petitor except his fellow man. But not all
races OF his species have come ahead at the
| same rate; so, as everyone knows, there Is
today wide gap between the intellectual
status OF, let us say, the European and the
native Australian, and this intellectual gan
is explained, as is also well known by cOrre-
spending difference in average brain weight
OF the two races. The biggest Drained race
OF men seems to outmatch the smaller
Drained race as surely as the mammal out
matched the reptile.
AS general statement, this admits OF
no question, and II carries with It, to most
| Of us, a feeling of satisfied egotsm, for
every one Is aware that the Caucasian race
Is large Drained race. As the case stands
today, we most emphatlcaly feel that I'VE
are the people," and II Is gratifying to ba
told that our brains Justify the cOncet. But
now comes disturbing thought, for while
the Caucasian brain lis undoubtedly a large
one, II Is rumored that there is larger one
among contemporary races. According to sta
tistics that seem reliable, the average weight
OF the Japanese brain Ia greater than that
OF any other race Does this mean that the
japanese are the people of the future? Is
the scepter OF authority destined to be
grasped by hand guided by brain larger
than that of the Caucasian? II history Is TO
repeat itself as 1t has repeated Itself a mil
lion times over In the course OF racial evOu-
ion, such would seem to be the outlook, IL
II be really true that the japanese has tho
largest brain In the world today. The big
brain has won at every stage of the worlds
history, and there is no apparent reason
why II should not continue to win in the
future.
For long time the white race has been
physically dominant, and in material civil
ization. as exemplifed in factories machinery
and engines Of war. II for centuries has
brooked no equal. But meantime a race
which we have considered inferior, over thero
In the orient has not been idle Whatever
the cause, II seems to have performed the .
/, all essential feat OF building the biggest
brain record. and western nations may
well look TO their laurels else II may pres
emily appear that. for the final result. this
Is larger feat than the building OF the
swiftest locomotive, the strongest warshp
and the most colossal fortune. II is no ac-
edent that the japanese have shown sud-
denly capacity to keep step with our west
ern civilization. The big brain tells the
story.