Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-04
THE ENGLISH PHYSIQUE.
British Government Wants Informa-
ton on It's sdbjects.

I1OA OA 10 0AA9jSVtSs
From the London Spectator.
The inquiry which Ne government 10
about to address to the chiefs of the medi-
cal profession as to the physique of the
English people Is not only justifiable, but
| most WISE Two immense changes are
passing over our population. and 1t is neces-
sary to ascertain in definite and, for the
time. final way what the. effect of those
changes upon the health Of the population
really is. The people resrapidly quitting
the country for the towns 1t is not merely
that the great cities are growing till-to
take only one instance-it Is becoming q
serious difficulty to supply them with good
water, but the minor towns are growing
till in other countries they would be 40
counted cities. Whereas, said the Earl Of
Meath in the lords debate of Monday, "fn
1851 the urban population of England and
Wales was $4,000, out of q total popula-
ton of 1892, 600, or 80 per cent, in 1891 it
was 25.OOO,G 600 out of q total population of
32,OOOoOO or n per cent" That Is an
enormous change in the condition of Brit
fsh life and it involves by a sort OF neces-
sity other changes, the full effect Of which
1t is needful for a wise community to know.
Then there is a second change which has
passed over the people, and which, for good
or evil, must, one would think, affect the
national health We have ordered every
boy and girl during nine years of the grow
Ing time to go to school-that is to sit quiet
for hours to bend over desks and to use
their minds instead Of their hands and feet
That the effect upon the intelligence of the
new generation is. on tho whole, most bene-
fetal we should be the last to deny; indeed,
we only wish that the period of education
could be heightened by two years; but do
we know anything with certainty of its
effect upon heall--. Many observers declare
that 1t is not all good; that even when the
schools are perfectly ventilated the confne-
ment is too great and is in part the cause
of the neurotic tendency, the craving for
momentary excitement, which, they say,
marks the younger generation of the towns.
We certainly do not notice that effect or
that tendency among the children of the
well-to-do; but then they leave home a lit
tie later, they perfectly fed. and they
obtain when out of doors the equivalent of
are as healthy little animals as could we'll
be wished for, with, moreover, none of
the cares which at that period begin to
press upon those who have to earn their
living.
The effect of sitting for six hours. the
effect of years of reading upon a race
whose forefathers could not read and the
effect of mental development upon the ILL
fed are all effects with material and di-
rect bearing upon health and have been far
too carelessly studied. We do not feel at all
sure that they are wholly beneficial, and
trust that they will Je most carefully ex-
amined, for if the decision is that they are
partly injurious the remedy is in our own
hands. 1t Is only at this period Of their
lives that we have full control of the
masses of children, and it should be utilized
to the utmost to promote the welfare of
their bodies as well Of their minds.