The Washington times., 1901-07-23
Civilization and Degenerncy.

In a recent book on THE Problems of
Evolution" Mr.. F. W. Headiey dis
cusses the conditions of Chinese civil
zation. and the facts which he brings
out are full of interest for students of
social and political progress. 1t must
have occurred to all such students that
with the corrupt government and the
utter neglect of all sanitary and medi-
cal science which exist in China, il is
strange that the Mongolian is not phys
ically a degenerate. On the contrary.
he holds his own in any country. in
competition with any. race, where phys
ical strength is required. and he is by
no means deficient in mental astute-
ness
This is explained by Mr.. Headley on
the theory that it is a case of the sur
vival of the fittest. For centuries
China was shut off from all competition
with outside nations. and her popula-
tion became overcrowded and for the
most pa-t very poor The. result was
that only the exceptionally strong sur
vived. and gradually race of men able
TO endure life in any conditions of filth
and discomfort was evolved because
the weakly and diseased specimens died
in infancy. The conditions were not
sufficiently unfavorable to kill the
strongest infants, and thus, by a slow
process of wedding, an abnormally
strong race was made. A similar pro-
cess of selection. though more artificial
and less thorough, went on in the
course of the slave trade, and probably
accounts for the fact that the negro of
the South has so easily adapted himself
to his environment 1t is said to be the
only case on record of an essentially
tropical race being transplanted to a
temperate climate and thriving there.
The explanation is likely to lie In the
fact that in the horrors of the Middle
Passage only the strong and enduring
survived, and thus little or no weak
stock was left to mix with the stronger
1t appears. therefore. that in the long
run unsanitary conditions may actually
result in the upbuilding of a strong
race of people; that the absolute lack
of hospitals and sanitary precautions
does not do country any harm,
speaking broadly. The question will
inevitably be asked, IF this be so, why
need we trouble ourselves about such
things? What is the use OF civilization
If ii only preserves the unfit and weak
ems the race"
There is sense in this view. but, like
other apparently plausible arguments.
it is based on a half-trut The right
sort of civilization will not weaken any
people The trouble is that many civil
ized peoples have only reached a half
way point They rescue the weak from
death, but little pains is taken to rre-
serve the strong, and keep the balance
even in that way. Manifestly, if The
healthy are first to wear out their
strength in keeping the diseased from
death. and are then to mate with these.
the result VIII be a gradual sapping of
the strength of the race, unless scme
counter action can be taken TO pre-
vent il.
But there are such counteracting in
fluences. In the first place, it by no
means follows that because a man is
physically weak he is of no use to his
people. The Spartans killed off their
sickly infants; they developed a race of
warriors and brave men. but where is
their art and literature? For that we
must look to the Athenian, who pur-
sued gentlcr policy. Suppose from
the beginning the human race had pur-
sued the stern course of killing all un-
healthy children at the age of five