Evening star., 1923-01-01

What is 100 per cent American?
Attorney General Daugherty proposes
New Year resolution for every man
anu woman, to the effect that he or
she will ''resolve TO be 100 per cent
American" during the coming year.
And to be such he will dedicate him
self to the strict observance of the
laws of his country, and will obey
them in letter and spirit - all of
them. even though there be some
that, in his individual opinion. hurt"
4 x 4
But is that all? That is being only
a so per cent American. 1t is like
the character who "believes in God"
Of whom ii was said he was no
better than a devil, for the devils
also believe anu tremble.' Some
Americans never break a law, just
because they are colCrleSS and mega
tIve-and dead"
4 x x
| wish it were possible to depict
two characters: An average Ameri-
can of today and an ideal 100 per
cent American. What a contrast! 1t
shocks US TO tear aside the veil and
see the composite of the actual Amer
ican-ignorant, selfish. criminal. de-
cadent-physically as well as morally.
Ignorant: There are only two or
three countries n the civilized world
where there is so large a percentage
| OF illiterates as in the United States,
and that shameful fact is in spite
of our boasted free schools and diff
| fused public press. The negative
Daugherty American ignores that
and violates no law in his smugness.
Selfish: The average American does
| not know that he has neighbor. as
his forefathers did. The spirit of
neighbor love, of good fellow ship, be-
cause one belongs to d community. is
almost forgotten We are divided
into churches and lodges and posts
and clans, and when the road to
Jericho happens to have hoId-up,
and the victim does not give the high
sign of our order, do we not, too often.
pass by on the other side and let the
Associated Charities look after the
case? We are busy" and have no
| time to investigate.
Criminal: The United States popu-
lation Is the most criminal people in
the civilized world, with the most
lax prosecution of crime. and it's
criminal record is growing worse
! not better. ] refer especially to
| crimes of violence. In 1915 the ratio
/ or murders was 81 per 100000 popu-
| lation; in 1921 ii was SO. That is an
| increase of 14.S per cent in murders
alone in the last six years Other
| crimes have kept pace. if not outrun
| old-fashioned murder. The crimes of
! narcotics and the crimes of Illicit
! hquor- making and drinking and the
| general tendency to. pick and choose
a ch hal h.. C,I,c n /.
! what houted are rapidly bringing a spirit
OF laWlesSneSs which is most serious
| menace To the very government itself
and all the institutions of law and
order. Outiawry in mask and out
1 IaWry in the open mark the year 1922
| as they had not marked any year be-
! fore in the history of the repubIic.
| american mob maSsacres horrify the
I world. Attorney General Dauehertv
! himseif points to this condition an I
appeals TO 100 per cent American
! ism to stem the tide. The negative.
! the hoater who goes with the cur
I rent and simply refrains from rowing
! ahead, never stemmed a tide since
! -Noah nood, yet he would qualify as
| a DauSherty 100 per cent American n -
Decadent: The American family is
/ physically the most decadent i'm the
| world-with the exception of one or
/ TWO other nationalities-and is COM
| hitting race suicide faster than the
( d -
! terba lance; and the family spirit. in
i the last decade, has almost vanished
| from too many of our homes The
! motion picture entertainment has
taken the place of the former in
nuence of light reading melodrana
has become the ideal of human con-
| duct, and parental respect has been
Supplanted by self-sufficency of the
| children The result is tendency to-
ward fiabbiness, both mental and
! spiritual.
Physically decadent: In the draft OF
young men for the Army. at our en-
trance into the world war, quarter
of them were found SO defective il
physique that they were unfit tC
march or stand in a trench and carry
rife. They were detectives in limI
or organ, AS a result of bad heritag,
and bad living The percentage o,
100 per cent physically fit men ant
women in this the best country ant
best climate in the world is astonish
ingIy low.
Since the nineteenth century began
science-hygiene and sanitation-has
added eighteen years to the longevit.
of Americans. but that only mocks Us
with our previous defects. which
science has only begun to discover
and overcome. DR.. Eugene Lyman
Fisk. medical director of the Life EX-
tension Institute. tells US that there
is no reason in biology why man shouIC
not attain an average life of 100 years
instead of the present average of 56-
and in many cases he might i've TO pt
$50 or even 200 years old. He pre-
diets that within the next century
American longevity will be near l0'
wears average He comments:
| "At the present time the human