Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-10-01
Mental Capacity Of Savages


---ors Altred q Mayer IN Popular bctence monthy--
HrD HE DIFFERENCE between the savage and the
i civilized man IL not Of mental capacity,
but rather OF the objects upon which that ca
pacity IL exerted. one may display as much inten-
in tracking a kangaroo through the bush as
In solving a problem In algebra The trouble witb
the savage r. that he IL slave 70 his imagine
ton He lives in a world OF ancient customs, omens'
and portents. TO which he Is slave; and his knowl-
edge IL concerned largely with these. differing from
ours in kind. rather than In breadth and depth
The FGjans Of today are more orderly and sober
than and quite contented as any people CT
European ancestry and iteracy s in FIJI than
in Massachusetts You safer even fifteen years
ago in any part Of Fiji, although your host knew
how tasted. than you could be in the streets OF
civilized city. is clear that in disposition the
F1jians arc not unlike ourselves, and only in their
ime-honored customs they barbarous. Indeed
the lowest human beings not in the far-off wld5
OF Africa. Australia New Guinea. but among the
degenerates Of our great cities. Nor are there
any characteristics OF the savage be he ever so low
which not retained in apprecable degree by
the most cultured among
Yet In important respect the savage Of today
appears to differ from civilized Civilized races
are progressive and their systems Of thought and life
are changing but the prefers to remain fixed
In the culture OF n long-past age, which, conserved
by the Inertia OF custom and sanctfied by religion
holds him helpless In its memorable grasp 1magina-
ton rules the world. and the world to the is
dominated by a nightmare Of tradition
Even with every effort OF progress engenders
a counterecting force In the community Whether
the race be savage civilized depends chiefly upon
the nature Ct the customs that handed down
patterns upon which TO mold life and thought The
more ancient the triumph Of the conservatives the
more primitive the culture which is conserved, and
the more likely II IL to be crude and barbarous.
Among all races religion is the most potent power
to maintain tradition and for the savage religion
enters into every act and thought Yet II probable
that no savage has been under the dominion
OF world OF omens and portents than Louis XII
and even today the breaking OF a mirror. or the
ar viii aatn
threshold remains Of significance to many OF us. All
matters OF sentiment and creduty closely wrapped
up In this ENHANCEMENT OF superstition It IL to
divorce ourselves from the idea that moving machines
have life and disposition.
The savage may know nothing OF our classics
and little of that which call science yet go with
him into the deep woods and his knowledge Of the
uses OF every plant and tree and rock around him
and his acquaintance with the habits of the animals
are subject for constant wonder to his civilizei
companion. In other words. his knowledge differs
from ours In kind rather than in breadth or depth
His children are carefully and aboriousy trained in
the arts Of and the chase. and above all in the
complex ceremonial Of the manners Of the tribe and
few among us excel in memory the priests OF old
Samoa who could sing OF the ancestors Of Maletoa
missing never name among the hundreds back to
the far-om god Savea, whence this kindly race came
down.
zone may display much intelligence in tracking
kangaroo through the Australian as in solving
problem in algebra, and among IL is often
our factories are often gifted the leaders
OF abstract thought within our universities In fact
the moro we know of any class race Of men the
deeper our sympathy the less antagonism, and
the higher respect for their endeavors When we
say cannot understand the Japanese we signify
that have not taken the trouble study their
tradition
ut Is a common belief that the savage II more
cruel than We and indeed commonly think of him
as enraged and of ourselves I'm passive mood. Child
ike ha Ia
as inexcusable the destruction Louvain or the
firing OF sepoys from the guns. but are they moro
shocking than the ynching burning of negroes at
the stake. events common in America that even
the sensational newspapers regard them as subjects
of minor interest?
Clearly despite our mighty institutions Of free
dom. efficient systems OF public education and thu
devotion of thousands of leaders ideals of high
est culture, there remain among us. Mere
centuries OF civilization combat the of the brute
Within each and every OF us. suppressed perhaps
but always seeking 70 stalk FORTH there Turk the dark
lusts OF the animal, the haunting spirit our gorilla
ancestry. The foundations OF our whole temple of
culture sunken deep In the mlre of barbarism
IL is this fundamental fact which deceives us into the
of own will suffice to civillze the savage
True they learn to simulate the manners ana
customs OF their masters. but the imitation a hol-
low counterfeit. Indicative enlightenment
than is the good behavior OF Gagged convics guaranty
or observation-disclosures. To achieve civilization a race
must conquer itself each individual master the
savage within him. Cultured has never yet CIV
ilized primitive race Under our domination the
savage dies. or becomes parasite peon."