39° 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



From Holland. 



and Connecticut to determine the nature of the illness and if due to 

 causes existing prior to landing. Chief among the contagious diseases 

 were measles, chicken-pox, diphtheria and scarlet fever. The quaran- 

 tinable diseases, cholera, leprosy, bubonic plague, smallpox, typhus and 

 yellow fever are removed at the New York Quarantine Station before 

 the vessels are docked. 



Statistics such as these inevitably suggest a brief consideration of 

 the different sources of immigration and their relative desirability from 

 the medical standpoint. In general it may be said that the best class is 

 drawn from northern and western Europe, and the poorest from the 

 Mediterranean countries and western Asia. Among the worst are the 

 Greeks, South Italians and the Syrians, who emigrate in large numbers. 

 The Greeks offer a sad contrast to their ancient progenitors, as poor 

 physical development is the rule among those who reach Ellis Island, 

 and they have above their share of other defects. 



The old question of the desirability of the Hebrew must be settled on 

 other grounds than those of physical fitness alone, although even here 

 the medical evidence is decidedly against him, as Dr. McLaughlin^ has 

 shown that the proportion of defectives to total landed is greatest 

 among the Syrians, 1 in 29, and next greatest among Hebrews, 1 in 42. 

 Contrary to popular belief, the Jewish race is far from a pure stock, and 

 has been colored by various and repeated admixtures with other bloods. 

 Hence Jews of different nationalities differ considerably in their physical 

 status and aptitude for American institutions, and for amalgamation 



^ McLaughlin, The Popular Science Monthly, Vol. 62, p. 234. 



