Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-01-27
Frederic Haskin's Letter
WHITE MAN IN THE TROPICS

tiuuol cAYUSuIS 70 INC ulu8.vtOict
or actinic ray il unnatural to him,
just Is continual exposure to the
X-rAy is intolerable to any human
being. II is interesting to note that
many men who have worked with
the X-ray without adequate protec-
ton have been thereby rendered
sterile.
Whether the effect is due wholly
or even mainly to the actinic ray or
not, it has been pretty well estab-
lished by experience that contin-
uous life in equatorial countries is
bad for the white man. No white
man should 60 to such q country
unless he is assured Of ample va
cations in more northerly lands.
He should be especially careful
about accepting work in tropical
countries which exposes him much
to the sun.
But while parts of the tropics are
probably uninhabitable to the white
man. and while continuous life
there may be dangerous for him,
there are various mitigating condi-
tons to be considered. The actinic
ray may destroy the nervous sys-
TEN, II the exposure is long enough,
but in small doses it is evidently a
stimulus. Everyone who has taken
q winter vacation trip to the tropics
is aware Of this peculiar sttmulat-
ing effect A sense Of delightful
physical we'll being is experienced
by almost anyone on first going to
the tropics, and a short visit there
is always beneficial to the health.
Suppose, then, that an man owned
a cocoanut plantation somewhere
in the West Indies which required
his attention only five or six
mouths in the year, and enabled
him to 60 to New England for the
summer and fall. Such 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 literally 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, and it is cooled by winds in
! the second. Its temperature varies
between IS and IS degrees. There
i is now . fourth generation Of white
j Americans in Hawaii. and this gen.
erationis not only healthy, but has
produced a number of men of very
exceptional physique. American
boys of this generation 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 tropics, illustrate method
by which the white man may ad-
just himself to tropical climates
when they are not too severe.
Mr.. Ford firmly believes that the
actinic ray is a large factor in the
effect which the tropics have on the
man with a light skim He also be-
lieves that this light ray, up to a
certain point, is valuable slim
illus. He says with regard to him
Iaself for example, that he can dc
much more work in Hawaii than in
the United States, and that he
needs only five hours sleep out OF
every "a there, while in this coun-
try he requires, or at least takes, a
great deal more.
The reason that negroes, Poly
nesians and other peoples native to
tropical countries are not affected
adversely by the actinic ray is that
the dark color of their skins neu-
tralizes its effect. Now the young
Hawaiian athletes of Anglo-Saxor
blood, who have spent SO much Of
their time riding the surf, with
their skins exposed to the full &C.
ton Of the sun, seem not TO have
suffered thereby. And it is notice.
able that all of them are tanned tc
a very dark hue-darker indeed
than the native Polynesians. II
other words, provided he can en-.
dure the initial exposure to tn,
sun, the white man may protect
himself in the tropics by acquiring
the dark skin of the native. The
Englishman in India seeks to sur.
vive by wearing a pith helmet anG
staying in the shade as much a!
possible. The American in Hawai-
has reversed the process by going
right out into the sunlight and ad
justing himself to it.
Il OF course this latter process.
would not be possible in a coun
try like India where exposure t.
the sun usually results in death b,
sunstroke. But it. suggests that il
many of the more-healthful trOpica
countries the white man may adtus
; himself to his environment, no
Ionly without damage, but with pos
tive benefit. The whole subject |,
one upon which nothing positive
can be said, and of which a care
full scientific study should be made
J Mr.. Ford believes that a study o
the fourth generation of American.
J in Hawaii should now be made
Meantime, any American who con
templates going to tropical coun
try to live should realize that h
J faces a radical change Of environ
ment, and one which can safely b,
made only with q full knowledg,
LOT its conditions.