Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-01-11
LONGER LIFE FOR US.
Physical Future of Americans
Painted In Bright Colors.
NO DANGER FROM RACE SUICIDE.

| DIR. McGee Explains why Long Lived
Types Bear Fewer Children Yam
KEGS of Tomorrow to be Taller,
stronger, More Intellectual and
More decentralization.
DR. w. ]. MCGEE, director of the ST.
| Louis museum, strongly opposed the
theory that the United States is in
| any danger from race suicide at the
| meeting of the Association For the Ad
vancement of Science, which was con-
| tinued ut Columbia university in New
York the other day, says the New York
sun.
DIR. MCGEE took the position in the
course of n discussion before the an
| thropolOgical section. He held that the
reason the United States was in no
| danger from race suicide was that the
number of offspring of any type varied
inversely with the length of life of the
type. He pointed rs examples to the
eagle which lives Il hundred years and
has only few eggs. and to the shad.
which lives only Il short time. but has
millions of eggs. Americans. he said,
were increasing their average length
of life, and so their offspring was de
creasing. \ hundred years ago, he
said, the average was twenty-five
years. while now it is twenty-nine.
DR. MCGEE held that not only were
Americans becoming longer lived, but
that their period of effectiveness was
being increased. as shown by tie num-
Der of influential men in the United
States who were over seventy.
the question of heredity. and all the
other subjects came up incidentally.
The American of tomorrow, he said,
would he taller. stronger more intel
lectual and more humanitarian than
the American of today. This increase
of strength. he said. would be due to
the blending of types which has made
the American of today what he is.
DR.. MCGEE denied that there was in
the American any tendency toward any
particular type or that any type such
as the blond or brunette was gradual !
" disappearing. Variability of height |
complexion and character was what
Dr. McGee expected TO he character
istic Of the future American.
Just as the composite American has |
been formed. so he thought that when |
the tide of immigration turned toward |
South America Il composite type would |
be built up there which would be like |
the present North American. DR.. Me |
Gee, in speaking of heredity, pointed /
out how a yellow streak" such as Il |
tendency II crime or disease. was !
gradually dying out and said dat an !
thropology clearly showed that the |
world was growing better.
John ID. Rockefeller was pointed out |
as the typical American because he |
was the ''incarnats)n of concentrated |
effort IF Nh Rockefeller had been
an anthropologist." said DR.. McGee, |
The would have been n great one" The !
scientist he'd that while the keenness
of the struggle for existence was in
creasing il was not doing 50 any faster
than was the power to struggle.
In discussing Dr. McGce's paper the
Rev. DR.. II. G. HOycy OF Newburyport,
Mass, said that Aaron Burr was Il vic
tim of heredity. He pointed to the fact
that Burr was the only one of iona
than Edwards seventy-fve grandchil-
dren who had turned out badly and
said that this was due to the fact that
Burr's great-grandmother was, though
q brilliant, an erratic woman.
With the modern man was compared
the man found in Nebraska. Concern
ing him DR.. H. b. Ward said:
The limb bones are massive and
large, indicating stature of six feet.
and uncommonly rough. indicating 4
people who were very muscular, par
ticularly in the lower extremities. The
strikingly large protuberances support
this view. The crania are low browed,
with heavy protruding supercillary
ridges and receding foreheads which
lack frontal eminence. In life these
people had fiat heads. prOtruding mus
cles, large chins and heavy brows,
shading eyes deep set and close to-
gether.
Several bones were deeply gnawed
by rodents. one or more appear TO have
been hacked or scraped 10y some flint
blade and couple are interesting
One of these is bro
ken ulna which had knit together with
out surgical aid. and the other is case
of exostosis between two lumbar YER
tebrae which have become co-ossified.
4 stellate fracture of the skull near
the temple tells of a tragedy. and the
roughened surface beneath and around
the fracture indicates the subsequent
abscess and Il lingering
DEATH
American Apples For Europe.
Europe may dencunce our meats and