The times., 1901-05-25

dict the general truth that warlikc ma
tions have usually been the strongest
not only during one or two generations,
but for all time. But the contradiction
is only apparent In the first place.
when the people Of a region like Switz-
erland or the Scottish Highlands are
imbued with warlike spirit generated
by the necessity of defending their
homes. practically every man is a fight
er, and thus all the descendants of each
man inherit strength and courage.
! Moreover. the strength of warlike peo-
pies is only permanent when the war
waged is not so disastrous as to destroy
the lighting men faster than they can
be recruited. The system of conscrip-
ton in France, and the exhausting wars
of the Republic and the First Empire,
as President Jordan shows, have taken
the best men of the country to be killed,
leaving only those home who were not
fit for fighting.
| Another cause Of race degeneracy the
writer finds in the development and
continuance of feudaI aristocracies, and
| he explains the superiority of the An
! glo-Saxon over the Continental on this
! ground. In England the law of primo
geniture has constantly driven younger
! sons into the ranks of the people
| through poverty. The aristocrat was
| originally the bravest, strongest, and
most intelligent of his kind; he gained
his power by that With dim percep-
tion Of the laws of selection, All at
tempt was made to confine power and
wealth to a privileged class which
should intermarry. only among them
selves. On the Continent this was done
by inherited rank solely, with the re-
suit that the aristocracy of France con-
stantly grew poorer through the di-
vision Of estates among many children,
and were obliged to augment their in
sufficient incomes by taxing the COM
mon people, which reduced the latter
to the lowest level, perhaps, that
human beings in any civilized country
have been in the last two hundred
years. In the meantime the aristOcrat
did nothing to retain his superiority; he
was content to live in ease and luxury
if he could, and in dignified idleness if
he could not be comfortable. This does
not tend to develop strength, virility, or
resourcefulness.
In England, on the contrary. the eld-
est son, on whom the administering of
large estates and the government Of the
country largely devolved, retained to a
great extent the qualities which dis
tinguished his feudal ancestor; while
the younger sons, becoming merged in
the populace, strengthened it and gave
it spirit and dignity, thus forcing the
aristocraey to put forth some effort 10
hold its own.
These disinherited ones emigrated to
the colonies: they or their descendants !
founded the American r public and |
President Jordan makes the pointblank |
statement that in all Anglo-American /
families there is as much royal blood |
as much inheritance of the Plantagen- !
cts, of William and of Alfred-as there |
is in the royal families of Europe, and /
a little thought will show the reason
ableness of this. The fact that inheri /
tance comes through younger sons does |
not destroy its force; and while the An
glo-American has not kept track of his |
ancestry, and has mixed his blood to /
some extent with that of later colonists
from Europe, the royal family of Eng
land is anything but pure English. To
go no further back than Queen Victoria,
her children are all half German, and
the present Prince of Wales is half
Danish. and only one-fourth as English I
as his royal grandmother, who was her
!
millions Of Americans who have as
much English royal blood in them as
Queen Victoria had Nature takes no
account of laws. Whatever genuine
good there was in an inheritance from
William the Conqueror went alike into
those Of his descendants who came to
the throne and those who did not. If
anything, ii was probably better pre-
served among those who fought,
worked, struggled, and won places for
themselves through sheer determination
and energy than among those who
came into a place ready made and had
nothing to do but to I'LL it, II is matter
OF history that the iUegitimate sons of
royal houses have won considerably
more than proportionate share of
power. wealth, and honor in most coun-
tries, often displacing the rightful heiTs
to the throne, and William the Con-
quercr himself was fairly good exam
pie Of the fact that the law of heredity
Is not affected by artificial distinctions.
All this goes TO prove that country
in which there IS selected aristocracy
Is weak or strong in proportion 70 its
to the natural laws Of Sc
lection: and that If the law Of the sur
vival of the fittest is to have its way,
and benefit the people at large. due
care must be taken not to interfere
with fl by preserving the unfit and con-
demning the rightful survivors. To this
end it is desirable to give all possible
to worthy members of any
class III society; 10 encourage, in every
way strength, intelligence, and integ-
rity. In case Of war those who are left
at home, though physically less perfect,
will not then be degenerates. The
struggle for existence should not be al
lowed to become so severe as to weaken
the laboring classes by
their full development. This
Is done by what are called death-deaI-
ng trades, which require the strongest
workmen and kill them off in few ]
years; by child labor. and the enforced {
labor Of women, which stunts and
weakens the laboring class; by immor-
lIitV. and hV that extreme p0VprtV Z