The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-07-03
Frederick Haskin's Letter
QUEST FOR TYPICAL AMERIcA Az.

~
nally Is in relation to the eys.ss.
head Of the male. and it is ALSO ~
ceptibiy above that indicated X
aer stature. As the size Of ths
head means a corresponding s..s
OF brain. We have here q hiehlv -
vorable condition. The form al -.
head In the old American stoet
differs widely. according to parens.
age.
"A much greater proere,. j,
Americanization' is shown by ths
face. This has lost the promin4ncs
OF the cheek bones and that Of thc
angles OF the lower jaw, and in the
well nourished approaches a char.
acteristfc straight-sided, rather
high oval. The nose is variants
with tendency to convex (aouiline,
in males. and concaye-convex in f.
males. The hands, feet, mouth
ears are not large. but also not
small" wv
Heredlty Still in Evidence
In declaring that there ia M
American type of either man or
woman as yet, still there is an an.
preach to such q type In physiox-
nomy, stature. built, Fermentation
ana In other directions, DR.. Hrd-
Hcka said that heredity is still most
in evidence, but is no longer abso-
lutte.
The old Americans are to. An
important degree still the English.
Scotch or Dutch of their ancestry"
said the doctor, but in part they
are already something new, COM
mon. acquired in this land-they
are American. Were it possible for
this stock to breed exclusively
among themselves for several
more centuries, they, according to
all indications, would produce as
distinct a national type as have the
various older European nations.
But intermarriage with more re-
cent elements Of the population is
SO common that no hope can be en-
tertained for any rapid progress IN
this direction. Form of head, that
was supposed once to show rapid
changes, was found under the new
environment to be one of the most
persistent of characteristics,
Another prevalent notion that
finds no support in the results of
these investigations is that of any
physical difference between the old
Americans of the northeast, the
Yankees, and those of the south.
There is no difference of any i'm
portance. The people of the south
are not darker. the Yankees are not
taller. The only regional differ
ence in the old American stock are
such as are due to different ances-
try. English, Scotch, Hugenot, etc.
But the whole strain shows . plain
tendency towards darkening of HAIR
/ and diminution of blondness."
| The long government investiga-
ton to determine whether there is
such thing as the typical Ameri-
can did not take into consideration
! those people who are to be regard
ed as the only true Americans
the Indians, or Amerinds, as they
are sometimes designated. Here a
type may be found. for the essential
characteristics of the Indian are
| uniform. Above the average
height, with tendency to over
weight after middle age, the Indi-
ans are almost invariably of red or
copper-olored complexion, with
straight black hair, brown eyes.
high cheekbones and rather broad
faces. No one would ever look
upon a pure-bloeded Indian and
have doubts as to what he was.
As the melting pot of the white
race, however, it is not to be ex-
pected that America will develop a
decided type of men and women
who may be readily identified as
Americans from their physical
characteristics. 1t is not surpris-
ing that it required eight years OF
research to find 100 individuals
whose parents, grandparents and
great-grandparents had been born
in this country.
But there is one characteristic
other than physical which many
Europeans insist is distinctvel,
n-boastfulness. They say
that we use superlatives only in
everything We say about ourselves
and our country and our individual
and natural accomplishments. The,
even intimate that We have no'
been at all modest in discussions as
to who won the World war.