The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1917-02-22
VIGOR HAS DECLINED
ASSERTS ADM F|SKE,
YOUNG MEN HAVE NO SERIOUS
PURPOSE THESE DAYS. BUT
WOMEN HAVE IMPROVED.

"OMcN HAVE ANE NOSID
The nation has become effemin-
ate. George Washington would not
know US, and Gen Grant would be
shocked to see the differencein man.
ner and carriage between the young
men of today and the young men
that marched behind him fifty years
ago. Uncle Sam, who typifes our ma
ton, has become effeminate, too. In
the family of nations he has been
growing less like a big herman than
a perfect lady; less an Uncle Sam
than an Aunt Elizabeth.
I'VE have yielded to the pleasures
of the senses and of the appetites,t to
the pleasures of soft beds, beautiful
houses and gently rolling automo.
biles; to physical Incidence, sweet
music. silk stockings and kid gloves:
to fashionable society. golf and
French novels; in aword, to luxury"
This vigorous indictment of the
young men of America was present.
ed by Rear Admiral Bradley A Fiske
at a dinner given by members of the
Lotus club of New York to Major
General Leonard Wood. The charge
has come from time to time from no
less exalted sources and perhaps the
most striking thing about it is its
similarity to the accusation Of effem-
macy and decadence brought against
the men of France before August.
1914.
How France has answered it we
know. And | am one of those who
believe that the men of the United
States would rally to the call of a
just war with the same valor. Yet
Prof Thos D Wood. director of ply
sical training in Columbia university,
told me that there is much in our
national life to justify the Fiske in
dictment.
The aims of American life for
the last fifty years have been peace,
security, comfort, pleasure" DR.
Wood told me in his Office in Teach
ers' College. There is a spirit
among certain groups of our young
men-and among our young women,
too-of living without serious pur-
pose, merely to be amused. l
doubt" the professor added, smil-
ing hopefully, if George Washing
ton and Gen Grant would be quite so
much impressed with the deteriora-
ton of American youth as Admiral
Fiske seems to fear. Perhaps the
admiral generalized a little too much
from his observation of special
groups. After all, the class which can
buy softly rolling automobiles. kid
gloves, silk stockings. &c. is limited in
number. If the deterioration were a
deterioration of wealth alone We
need not be particularly concerned
about it.
But in time of war the strength
of this nation must be drawn from
the country. And it is the country
which has deteriorated since the civil
war. There are no statistics relating
to the physical vigor of the young
men of the sixties as compared with
the young men of today. My opir-
ion is that while our individual ath-
letic performances of thelast decade
have exceeded all feats of which we
have any authentic record in human
history, the physical average is lower
than it was fifty years ago.
Among our young women, on
the contrary, the physical average
has risen. and think we must credit
the example of the college girl and
her ideals of outdoor life With this
improvement"
why have the young men of ru-
raj America declined in vigor?" l
asked DR. Wood.
Before | answer that question"
replied the physical director of &c.