The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-01-27

equatorial countries is bad for the
white man. No white man should go
to such a country unless he is assured
of ample vacations in more northerly
lands. He should be especially care
full about accepting work in tropical
countries which exposes him much to
the sun.
But while parts of the tropics are
probably uninha bitable to the white
man, and while continuous life there
may be dangerous for him, there are
various mitigating conditions to be
considered. The actinic ray may de-
stroy the nervous system, if the ex-
posure is long enough, but in small
doses it is evidently a stimulus. Every
one who has taken a winter vacation
trip to the tropics is aware of this
peculiar stimulating effect. A sense
OF delightful physical well-being is
experienced by almost anyone on first
going to the tropics, and a short visit
there is almost always beneficial to
the health. suppose, then. that
man owned coeoanut plantation
somewhere in the West Indies which
required his attention only five or six
months in the year, and enabled him
to go to New England for the summer
and fall. Such a life might be far
healthier than one all of which was
spent in the variable climate of the
middle Atlantic states.
Then again there are tropical lands
which have mountains that reach lit
orally out of the tropics by reason of
their great elevations. And there are
other tropical lands, especially islands,
which are SO tempered by sea breezes
that their climates are not really
tropical at all.
Hawaii is an excellent example Of
this latter class. The island is just
within the tropics, in the first place,
,,,k7 to I1xr vxyir de In
ond. It's temperature varies between
SIS and IS degrees. There is now a
fourth generation of white Americans
in Hawaii. and this generation is not
only healthy, but has produced a
number of men of very exceptional
Grafton in Hawaii are among the star
athletes of Yale and Harvard.
Mr.. Ford believes that these young
men, who seem decidedly to have
gained rather than lost in strength
and stamina by being born in the
the white man may adjust himself to
tropical climates when they are not
too severe.
Mr.. Ford firmly believes that the
actinic ray is a large factor in the eff
feet which the tropics have on the
man with light skin. He also be-
lieves that this light ray, up to GER
tain point, is a valuable stimulus. He
says with regard to himself for exam
pie, that he can do much more work
in Hawaii than in the United States,
and that he needs only five hours
sleep out of every twenty-four there,
while in this country he requires, or
at least takes, a great deal more.
The reason that negroes, Polynes-
ians and other peoples native to trepi-
cal countries are not affected adverse
ly by the actinic ray is that the dark
color nf their skins nofYfra fyoS ifQ af.
feet. Now the young Hawiian ath-
letes of Anglo-Saxon blood, who have
spent so much of their time riding the
surf, with their skins exposed to the
have suffered thereby. And it is no.
ticeable that all of them are tanned to
a very dark hue-darker indeed, than
the native Polynesians In other
words, provided he can endure the mi
tia1 exposure to the sun, the white
by acquiring the dark skin of the
native. The English man in India
seeks to survive by wearing a pifh
helmet and staying in the shade as
much as possible. The American in
Hawaii has reversed the process by
going right out into the sunlight and
adjusting himself to ii.
OF course this latter process would
not be possible in a country like India
WIRE exposure 10 the sun usually re-
suits in death by sunstroke. But it
suggests that in many of the more
healthful tropical countries the white
man may adjust himself to his en-
vironment, not only without damage,
but with positive benefit. The whole
subject is one upon which nothing
positive can be said, and of which a
careful scientific study should be made.
Mr.. Ford believes that a study of the
fourth generation of Americans in
Hawaii should now be made. Mean
time, any American who contemplates
going to a tropical country to live
should realize that he faces a radical
change OF environment. and one which
can safely be made only with full
knowledge Of its conditions.