Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-09-09
THEY GROW BIG OUT WEST

washington, Sept. s.-Is the Justly
elaborated climate OF California
breeding a race CT giants on inc
Pacific constr The scientists on inc
ch,Idrcn's Bureau in washington
think that II Is, although win true
scientinc caution they qualify tnc'r
opinion with = ~"perbapn' AZ any
rate. II IL certainly true that, & for
age. the school children OF Cahfornia
ars considerably taller hea'i"r
,han tho u Of school children the
country over; and tho experts IN
WA .hington can find no better ex-
nlanation of the phenomenon than tha'
of favorable climate.
The discovery that California chn-
dren. and there n nothing IN INV
reoord To Indicate that the same wouio
mol, ha true of children OF Oregon anc
washington. are physically superior
IN American children as q whoie, wa
Tho most notable revelation made II
The study OF schooI children durint
the "Children's Year" as the yea
1918 was called. In that twelve
months some 1000, 900 American
school children, six years old ans
under. were weighed and measures
under the supervision OF n Chh
aren's Bureau. No study OF human
growth on such a scale had ever De
fore been conducted In this country
The records have now unoergoi
analysis by the government s'ats'i
clans and their conclusions are o
great practical interest.
The t~abulations show that Can
fornia children are two-fiftns OF a
inch taller and three-quarters OF
pound heavier than children OF IN
Sauna ago the country over. Thes
quantities by themselves seem srlai
but as averages they arc large. The
are 30 arg that It IL probable ina
an observant traveller, going directi
into California from the East, coui
with his own eyes notice that IN
Pacific Coast children are bigger ina
those in the rest Of the country.
American Bred Are Largest
Callfornia's showing IL the nor
remarkable because Of the large pei
centage Of Italians among the scho'
children weighed and measured tner
The Italians, these statistics demon
strate. are below the general statu'
and weight IRA children
Scandinavian parents in the Unit
states are considerably. and those
German ~parentage somewhat aoo'
the national averages in weight ar
height; yet the percentage OF chi
dren Of these stalwart nationalities
r exceedingly low in California. Il
A with no racial reasons for lar
, stature in C~alifornia-on the co
trary, with an adequate racial reas'
to account for stature lower tia
average-the California childr
4 nevertheless proved 70 be as mu
bigger and heavier than the Amerfc'
= average as are the children Of pu
a Scandinavian blood.
II is evident therefore that, so I
a as the children are concerned, Ca
fornia IL breeding a ~ OF people
n large as the Swedes, N~orwegians, a.
Danes. The scientists 90 not attern
TO account absolutely for this fa'
They suggest favorable climate as
possible cause They also suggest a
other reason which ma commel
itself even more strongly to :
biologist-namely. the principle
n selection in the parents. The hum
y stock Of California Is a pioneer sto'
70 The pioneer is a person OF super
courage and Initiative. It is reasc
Is able TO connect courage and Initial.
Id with rugged health and health W
te ~Lsuperior physique. Thus the pare
ID stock of California may be regal
B. ed as physically select.
Iowa furnished an interesting stJ
Id for the scientists IN that the perez
r age of native parents in that state Y
II higher than in any district studied.
m than 20 per cent of the children
amined had foreign-born parents.
New York City 1t was just the
verse, less than 90 per cent of
children examined having native p
ents. The Iowa children were sigh
F. above n national average in heil
h, and slightly below It in weight. y
York children averaged Il
half an inch shorter than aver
American children of the same az
d The New York children were weigl
8 in their underelothing. and so
scientists have made no attempt
compare their weights with those
other children. On the average, y
York children are nearly an inch sh'
a er than those OF California.
= Whatever satisfaction the cities
p America may take in their low de
rates as compared with the rural de
rate, 1t is shown by this study :
the country Is more favorable I
an the city TO the growth OF a child. Ri
l children measured in 1918 avera
Iat one-quarter OF an inch taller
'ur nearly one-quarter Of q pound he
Ter than city children.
Colored children averaged sho
-