Passing of the Great Race 



95 



popular journal. A large picture of 

 Alexander Dumas appeared on one of 

 the same pages — amusing coincidence. 

 The writer of the review is an author 

 of childrens' plays, literary essays, 

 etc. He tells all who may wish to 

 read that: "As for skull measurements 

 the told-fashioned phrenologists dealt 

 at least with Love, Ambition, Memory 

 and other human c[ualities." 



It appears from a review of re- 

 views of this singularly provocative 

 work, "The Passing of the Great Race," 

 that the distinctly unfavorable criti- 

 cisms were all published in other than 

 scientific journals. Those in scientific 

 journals were on the whole reasonably 

 commendatory, though they did not 

 regard it as a strictly scientific work. 

 Favorable reviews appeared in the Nczv 

 York Times and also in the Tribune, 

 January 13th, 1917; Nation, April 19th, 

 1917; Nature (London), August 23rd, 

 1917; the Yale Revieic, April, 1917; 

 GcograpJiical Bulletin, Philadelphia, 

 July, 191 7; the American Historical 

 Rcviezv, July, 1917, was not unfriendly. 

 "His endeavor to interpret history in 

 terms of race is a legitimate and allur- 

 ing enterprise, even if he goes rather 

 far in claiming originality for the 

 idea." "The book contains much solid 

 scientific and historical truth." The 

 Nczv York Sun, April 7th. 1918, gave 

 a very favorable review. "Get the book 

 and read it ; it's worth while." The 

 British Medical Journal, August 18th, 

 1917, said : "While not prepared to 

 go all the way with the author into 

 the debatable region of practical 

 eugenics, we can commend his treatise 

 to serious students." 



In closing this too brief review, 

 which is really more of an objective 

 analysis of a book's reception, it is in- 

 teresting to summarize the matter. 

 Nearly all the reviews published in 

 scientific journals or in the leading 

 newspapers were either favorable or 

 moderately favorable. The distinctly 

 unfavorable were either important 

 British reviews, which were apparently 

 actuated by war-emotion, or were pub- 

 lished in American newspapers and 



magazines and signed by persons of 

 non-Nordic race. 



Thinking upon all this has suggest- 

 ed to the present reviewer the follow- 

 ing idea : Animosity against any pre- 

 tentions of superiority on the part of 

 members of one race over members of 

 another merely on the ground of race is 

 bound to bring about special and instan- 

 taneous resentment in nearly every in- 

 stance. This is because a peculiar re- 

 action takes place which is itself of 

 evolutionary origin and of survival 

 value, and has been a distinctly human 

 trait ever since the species Homo 

 sapiens began to differentiate from the 

 other anthropoids. Men have evolved 

 in group formation and men will re- 

 sent an injury to the group, or fight 

 for the group where they would not 

 move a muscle on their own account. 

 This principle is so strong that we 

 often witness it as a sort of profession- 

 al esprit de corps. This makes it almost 

 impossible to have a cold-blooded dis- 

 cussion of racial cjuestions, or an ob- 

 jective classification of temperamental 

 matters on which humanity in general 

 will agree. It is too much a question 

 of norms, too much a question of ulti- 

 mate values. 



This, however, does not prevent a 

 good deal of reasonably accurate 

 classification and tabulation of racial 

 psychological differences. We may not 

 be able to get agreement as to whether 

 pure science or pure song be of the 

 l^etter worth, but it is possible to map 

 geographically the origin of both 

 science and song ; and up to date a 

 good deal has been done in the way 

 of mapping racially the origin of 

 science, both pure and applied, includ- 

 ing administration faculties, success in 

 business, war, and government. So 

 far, the weights all fall tremendously 

 to the credit of the Nordic race. 



There can be no question that the 

 Nordic race is and has been a superior 

 one. Whether it is passing or not is 

 a question. Perhaps future researches 

 may make it possible to forecast 

 these racial and historical problems. — 

 Frederick Adams Woods. 



