WHITE RACE IN THE TROPICS — WARD 567 



than the Ang:lo-Saxon. Those whose diet is light and simple fare 

 better than tliose who are hearty eaters and much of whose food is 

 meat. Excessive indul»;ence in stronfj alcoholic bevera<;es is always 

 injurious and danj^orous. The En«;lishman who indulfjjes freely in 

 his brandy and soda in the hot Tropics is likely sooner to fall a victim 

 to disease than is the Italian who drinks only lij^ht wines. Indoor 

 occupations which keep people out of the sun are far more favorable 

 than labor outdoors. ShopktH?pers and clerks have, other thinfjs be- 

 ing equal, a better chaiice of keeping fit and well than do white 

 policemen, or soldiers, or railway employees. Life in the Tropics, 

 away from home associations and traditions and standards, is ex- 

 tremely likely to lead to the excessive use of intoxicating liquor, to 

 lowered moral tone, to sexual indulgence, to a distaste for ajid avoid- 

 ance of reasonable physical exercise; to an incorrect and poorly 

 balanced diet. These, and other conditions, combine to make a 

 normal, healthy life very difficult for most men from northern lati- 

 tudes whose business takes them to the Tropics, and keeps them there 

 for any considerable length ol" time. It is, of course, true that most of 

 these handicaps to sane and healthy living can be overcome, but to 

 overcome them takes more strength of will and moral backbone than 

 many persons possess, and they remain as contributory controls in 

 the general question of acclimatization. Dr. B. C. Crowell has 

 pointed out that " the e(|uilibrium of the white man's nervous system 

 and his energy and initiative are disturbed by contact with impassive 

 and at times stupid colored natives, by the tendency to the abuse of 

 stimulants, and by the general lowering of the moral tone." 



There is another factor in this great complex which one of my 

 European colleagues has aptly termed " the climate of loneliness." 

 It is psychological in its nature. It is found in every part of the 

 world. The more socially inclined any individual is, the more signif- 

 icant is the role of " the climate of loneliness " in his case. It must 

 not be lost sight of. It must not be confused with the ordinary 

 climatic factors. It should be given weight — and sometimes tragically 

 significant weight — as a contributing element in any discussion of the 

 problem of acclimatization. How often has " the climate of loneli- 

 ness " been the fundamental cause of the wreck — physical, mental, and 

 moral — of the lives of young men and young women, whose breaking 

 down, whose ill-health, and even whose deaths, were attributed to the 

 tropical climate alone I " The climate of loneliness " is hard enough 

 to bear at its best, in the climates to which one is accustomed at home. 

 But it is in the deadening monotony of the steaming Tropics, far 

 from home, that the real suffering which is caused by " the climate of 

 loneliness " is experienced. 



As compared with the death rates in colder latitudes, tropical statis- 

 tics of mortality average high. These death rates, however, represent 



