Imperial Valley press., 1920-06-30
WHAT'S WRONG WITH AMERICA?

The professor of biology said he had something to say
about and in America that ought to be printed
in the newspapers That sounded reasonable the face of
it, as biology is the science of life itself The reporter
cooked his and asked the professor please to fire
Symmetry said the professor lis the thing that greatly
DISTINGUISHES all plant and animal life That means every
thing growing has balance about it. A dog has
four legs two side in pairs of the same size and
shape He has head in front, balanced by tail behind
Every think how dog would look or what an impractical
animal he would be- with short legs side and long
ones other with head and tail both at end?
"Trees have branches growing around the trunk
regular plan Branches growing at the level from the
ground about the same SIZE no accident has hap
pened to the tree
Normal built the way, too. If one eye
twice big the other that would be abnormal IT
grew out of the back instead of on the side
posite the other that would be abnormal There
like these, but they in hospitas-or dime mus
whats true of outside parts of inside parts also
Take the liver and the lungs. We couldn't live without
either But if the body all to liver there wouldn't be
for any lungs; the body would die.
But what's that go to do with American" asked the
reporter I'VE aren't all growing arms at the back or run
ming particular we? The story would be to
good to keep.
The professor laughed He said he didn't mean it just
that way. But he did something like that. 1t was
society that lopsided, all the people in it taken
together, not the individuals.
Society like body any other living thing, and
might get similar diseases. Our society made of
lot of people doing different kinds of things as body
made of cells doing different things. When too many
cells got to doing thing-too many liver cells say
that made disease Or when of the cells got acting
theory of cancer he said is that there is nothing
with the cells themselves that make the growths.
It's only that they to growing out of relation to the
the body their hook Perhaps they too
healthy. But far the disease is concerned it all
comes to the thng-the patient dies.
"Now in America many people, perhaps too eff
cen people, have got to making without notion
the rest. Their fortunes keep growing like
growths and dragging the of the body and breaking
into It's unhealthy and abnormal. There are
lot of things people supposed to do besides get rich
There should be money-makers. But there should be
teachers, and painters, and sailors, soldiers miners and
farmers all we'll taken of and developed along
their line unless are willing grow into kind of two
headed calf OF a country.
This lop-sidednesS of whole nations isn't it's only
our particular form of it that's In Athens before
Christ people got thinking much about art and liter
and certain kinds of refinement that they let
thing else go-farmng, manufacture, moneymaklng, re-
gion breeding individual health And Greece went under
"In Rome fighting the Finally there
more soldiers than there food to feed them. And
starve-he army itself starved and became dscontented
and an easy victim to other much less specialized
armies
'In Germany itself it wasn't the army that collapsed it
the of the country the producing part that the
army had outgrOWn."
That's alright said the reporter "but what you
going do about it? God something
Of and animals, and individual humans.
But when you those humans organized into nation
they have got to look out for Themselves"
That's Just it, said the professor they have got to look
out for themselves Their intelligence has got to function,
as kind Of regulator Nature produced mans brain for
intelligence she produced his lungs for breathing
Some Of have got stop and think, and think hard
And then said the reporter we've got to get the
ator attached. If we don't God help u.s."
God helps those who help themselves quoted the pro-
fessor. And that ended the argument.
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