42 VITALITY AND EFFICIENCY WITH RESTRICTED DIET. 



(2) They should he responsible, cooperating, and truthful men, for in a 

 study continuing over a period of 3 or 4 months and involving the 

 strictest fidelity to general plan, especially in regard to dietetic habits, 

 the whole success of the venture would, in the last analysis, depend 

 upon absolute veracity. 



(3) They should be volunteers, for men assigned to such a research 

 would not enter into it whole-heartedly. For this reason soldiers de- 

 tailed for such duty, even those belonging to a medical ward, would 

 not be likely to give the cooperation we desired. For many physio- 

 logical studies prisoners or other institutional inmates would prove 

 ideal subjects, but would not be suitable in this case, if the service 

 were compulsory; if prisoners volunteered in response to such rewards 

 as an abatement of sentence, their use would then be justifiable. 



(4) The subjects should not consider themselves obligated to volunteer, 

 or if they felt they were forced into a test of this character, they could 

 not cooperate to the extent that the investigations demanded. 



(5) They should be willing to undergo a certain amount of privation and 

 discomfort, for there would be more or less restriction as to the usual 

 habits, dietetic customs, social environment, etc. 



(6) They should preferably be living under community conditions, such 

 as dormitory life, with regularity of daily routine. This would assist 

 materially in the dietetic control and the collection of urine and feces 

 required in the daily routine. 



(7) They should be willing to serve as subjects for several months, since 

 the time, labor, and money investment for each man would increase 

 as the research progressed and his loss as a subject be more serious if 

 his individual observations were incomplete. 



(8) They should have a unity of interest. — In military phraseology, the 

 "squad " system was emphasized. The personal influence was made a 

 feature of the entire research, with the idea that each man would not 

 only perform his own part in the observations successfully, but that 

 his moral support would render material assistance to each of his asso- 

 ciates. 



(9) The subjects should be as varied in type as practicable. — While not 

 all types of physical and intellectual activity could be studied in the 

 research, yet since the average man is more or less intellectual, and 

 possesses a fair degree of physical development, it was desirable to 

 select as nearly as possible a group equally divided between those 

 who paid special attention to physical development and those whose 

 activities were more exclusively intellectual. 



FINAL SELECTION OF MEN. 



The finding of men who should have all of these qualifications re- 

 quired careful consideration of various possibilities. After a period of 

 several months, it was finally decided that a group of students could 

 best be chosen from the International Young Men's Christian Asso- 



