The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-07-17

there is a dearth of those who carry on the unskiIled work, especially the outdoor work. The scarcity is hay ing its consequences. Machinery for road building, trench digging, weight lifting is being improved and more generally used. Methods are sought which eliminate manual labor. Pro- found changes will come in a few years, if the flow of foreign workers is maintained in quantity no more than now.
 The strongest advocates of linita- tion Of immigration were Americans who felt that the foreign flood was corning faster than American chan nels could receive it, Today the su- perior force against immigration is probably organized labor, which be- lieves that the foreign workman keeps wages down. The contrary may prove to be the case. Wages. that is to say. standards of living, may be maintained rather by the en- terprise of those who carry on work. America is a new country. Much needs to be done. Unlimited hands may be employed in the doing. It does not follow that with the same methods, prosperity will be greater among twenty million individuals. than among a hundred and twenty million.
 Prosperity Is measured by the whole number of people divided into the total quantity of production. The division is far from even. But when the pile of wealth is vast, there will be more for each and all. Per haps immigrants should be admitted. but under restrictive methods which will guarantee quality, The United States does not wish to receive an un- due proportion or the feeble minded, and the incompetent of the old world.
 Dr. Ellsworth Huntington mas been studying the distribution of human ability in Europe. His material of study Is the $500 persons born since 1,6o0, eminent enough to be men tioned in the Encyclopedia Britannica He concludes that climatic, more than national considerations govern abil- ity. The countries which contain the ablest men, have the lowest death rate. He puts weather first in aoil- ity production.
 Dr. Huntington confirms the theor- ies advanced by Arbuckle and others. Tropical countries cannot produce the highest civilization. Neither can arc tic countries, Men baked in ovens. or frozen in icebergs, cannot do the best work Food Is a factor.
 Make food too plentiful among primitive men. and they will not de- velop- Life is too easy. There is no incentive to effort. This is true to- day. There are groups in Mexico and the Southern states, who will work just enough to gain the simple things required over and above what nature provides without human eff fort This done they will work no more
 The writer recently met a British
  Africa, going back after a vacation at home. He said. '"The natives where work, think that we Europeans are touched. They say. Everything grows. There is game plenty Why work, struggle. go to so much trou- ble? It Is sometimes so hot in East Africa said this manufacturer, that alJ We are dripping with sweat constant ly and the least effort Is fatiguing."
 New England has an ideal climate for the production of ability. It is not too hot, and not too cold. There is diversity in climate and scenery which developes imagination This wonderful land should make men of exceptional ability, for centuries to come. This opens another question '; In Greece, the climate is perhaps the same, but great men are not produc- ed in such numbers as of old. Why Is this?
 It's a long story. The answer isn't fully known. There must be correct social conditions. The times must be favorable to men Of unique capac- ities, and there must be a large num- Der of men of considera ble ability That is to say, there must be the - Wright Brothers, with the genius necessary to perfect the airplane Then there must be mechanics and other workers with skill enough to build, operate and maintain the in vention.
 What has happened in Russia. Has the destruction of ability in that co11n- try been vast enough to threaten its future? Russia was operated indus tria1ly, on the ability of foreigners They were driven out. Russians of genius were killed, died of pestiIence or famine, or were eXiled. How many remain? The problem is most interesting It is the measure of how long it will be before Russia can become a progressive state. Russia may come back in twenty years or so, and may ultimately go to the head ot Europe. That's a long time ahead