The San Francisco call., 1910-08-21

known hope Is being given the bless
Ing OF the prosperity and better living
But from the standpoint OF America the
problem IS different. Whether or not
the ultimate American whose blood is
half south European and that of kin
dred races will be an inferior man to
the same product IL the blood of the
typical American of today had been
maintained, is the vital question.
Hero the man OF science comes for
ward to reassure the fearful. We are
told that the matter OF race and hered-
ity IN man is not subject to the sam5
influences as In the lower animals. that
man is more a creature OF environment.
1t takes many generations, for in
stance. to affect the strain OF the Jer-
sey cow when unmixeJ with other
strains. The sole province OF the COW,
however. Is TO eat and furnish the fam
lily with milk She takes no thought
and makes no effort to improve her
condition.
But II a peasant boy from Roumania
or an Irish lad from the old sod are
each transplanted early to America. tho
man resulting Is IN each case vastly
different from the parent
The environment proves to have much
moro to do with the making OF that
man than had the element OF birth.
Two men may be twins and grow up
they are 90 and will look so nearly
alike that their friends may make tho
mistake OF calling one by the name OF
the other.
Then one goes west and become a
stage driver and the other enters tina
ministry. In 10 years the resemblance
Is entirely gone. The environment OF
each has made OF him different man.
The people OF southern Europe have
within than Of
Greeks OF today are descendants OF tbs
race that at one time acquired a greater
degree OF culture than any race before
or since. The blood OF the Italians
coursed in the veins OF the Romans
when they were the conquerors. of the
world. The latent talent OF the Poles
develops now and again an artist, a
writer. musician that sets the world
agog. AS matter OF fact all these
races have gone into the making Of the
Englishman of today. There is a
strong strain OF the Roman in the man
OF Ireland. The Jews have been great
in all nations. The un1tness OF the
south European today is more due to
circumstances than blood.
Again the historian comes forward
to reassure the timorous. He states
that the dominant races OF all times
have been those that have resulted
from the mixture OF people Races have
advanced Just in proportion to the In
terchange of blood The fnterchangs
develops vitality. versatility, capacity.
1t has made the American people OF
today the most effective people in the
world There is a law of heredity
which stipulates that the traits of the
stronger OF intermixed races shall
dominate and ultimately crowd the
traits of weakness out OF existence.
This law will eliminate the inferior OF
the immigrants in the end Yet these
immigrants are not ordinarily inferior.
They are men of strength and charac-
ter, or they would not 5s able to throw
Off the handicap OF their original en-
vironment and get to America. The
obstacles that they surmount in doing
this are stupendous. 1t is but the
select strong individuals that do It.
The people coming to America are the
selected fttest of all the countries
from which they come. They will be
yet stronger in the generations that
are to come. They may be half Slavic,
but they will still be the best men that
the world has produced. The men OF
the lofty brows say these things are
true. They have looked in the book
and juggled the nth" power figures. In
fact, they have the dope and we have
but to take it from them, reassurs
ourselves and cease worrying for that
unappreciated posterity which has never
done anything for m