The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-14
En- glish Physical Deterioration.

bookkeeping.
English Physical Deterioration.
Using as q text Lord RosEBERYs re-
mark at Liverpool, that = it is no use
having an Empire without an Imperial
race, Mr.. GEORGE F. SHEE presents in the
Nineteenth Century review a great mass
of facts and statistics to demonstrate
that the physical condition Of the Eng
fish people is bad and is and has been
for some time past deteriorating, and
to emphasize the urgent need of a remedy
Of national training" modelled after
the German system OF military training
now 80 generally adopted by the Con-
tinental nations.
The great reduction in the death rate
during the last generation, due to the
advancement in sanitary science and
hygiene, so =" often quoted by superficial
observers as sign Of improvement in
national health and vigor,' has, in fact,
been accompanied, Mr.. ShEE shows, by
really ominous deterioration in ply
sique. More than II per cent. OF the
population Of England is now urban, with
the consequence that the healthy out
door recreations which invigorated the
country-bred race Of the past are largely
replaced by the unnatural and, in part,
vicious pleasures afforded to the tired
worker in our big cities" In Germany
this urban percentage is only SO per cent
and in France only rs per cent.
The injurious effect of this urban life on
the English people Is suggested by the
that in Manchester, in 1899,
out OF about IL 900 men presenting them
selves for military service, 5000 had to
be rejected, and Of the accepted, only
1 900 could be put into the regular army,
the remainder being placed in the militia.
During three years afterward, only %
per cent. of those voluntarily Offering
for enlistment could be ac-
cepted, though they must have regarded
as peculiarly fit. During the
last five years in Berlin, a crowded city
likewise, 50 per cent. OF recruits were
found fit for service; in agricultural East
Prussia as many as so per cent, and in
Germany, on the average, the percentage
was 90.
In England there are no general an
statistics like those in
countries, where the adoption
Of universal military service has COM
PEELED the authorities to make complete
statistical tables Of the physique Of re-
cruits called on for such service but the
reports of the army inspection and medi-
cal bureaus indicate that the physique
Of the men enlisted is growing more and
more unsatisfactory; that the recruits &C
cepted are smaller. lighter and narrower
In 1s45 the standard OF height
was feet 8 inches. In 1872 it was 1 inch
less, in 1883 1t was inches less, and in
1901 permission was given to enlist men
as low as 5 feet, the lowest record in tho
history Of the British Army. In ls45,
out Of 1000, only los were under feet .
inches; in 1887, the proportionate number
had risen to 52s, and in 1900 to 565. In
1888 the chest measurement was reduced
from "a to IS inches, yet in 1898 the pro-
portion Of men serving in the army with
q measurement under SO inches was %
per 1000, as against only IT in 1889. In
1871, out OF 1000 recruits accepted. $50 4
only 100 pounds, but in 1900
the proportionate number was SOL.
In our army, we will explain here, the
minimum Of height for infantry and coast
artillery is fixed at feet inches and Of
weight l2O pounds; for cavalry and field
artillery the minimum standard Of height |
8 S feet inches, but no minimum weight |
9 prescribed, though the maximum is
liked at l85 pounds.
That the British Army falls far behind
he German in health and stamina is
'hown by the circumstance that the con-
'tantly non-efective through sickness
ire 460s British to 1915 German, and the |
ieath rate per 100 is COS British to "a
herman. The percentage OF deaths
lmong the British troops in the South |
african war Was nearly double that Of
he German in the war with France, in
pite OF the enormous advance in medical
reatment in the interval.
1t Is significant that during the period
While the English physique has been
leteriorating, that Of Germany, where
military service has been
ongest in force. has been steadily i'm
rowing. In Germany tho percentage
4 reflections of recruits. though the
tandard remained the same. dimin-
shed from A7 in 1878 to 49, In 1887;
he ratio of admissions to hospital fell
rom 900 a rar ono in 1891 IN AGO In ,ono |
nd the ratio OF mortality from Al to "a.
n France also there has been an OBJ
ervable improvement in physique since
hs, adoption Of the universal military
ervice. In Austria, which adopted
he system In 1850, the number OF re-
ruits rejected as unfit had diminished
moe then from al per 1000 to io7 In 1888.
ince Italy adopted the same system in