America's Fighting Stocks 



439 



each one of which should be able to 

 play some part in the great war. 

 These six stocks are the Indian, 

 the Negro, the Jew/ the Alpine, the 

 Mediterranean and the Nordic. Each 

 of these stocks is distinctly different 

 from the others both in temperament 

 and ]3hysique. A careful considera- 

 tion of this fact would insure the 

 utilization of every stock where it would 

 be of the most value. 



From the standpoint of either fight- 

 ing men or agriculturists,, the Amer- 

 ican Indian will probably never be 

 very effective. Pure blooded Indians 

 are now extremely rare. Officially 

 there are 265,000 Indians in the United 

 States at the present time, but of that 

 number it is said that less than 100,000 

 have enough native blood in them to 

 be called true Indian'^, while many 

 have little or no Indian blood, although 

 classed for various reasons with some 

 Indian tribe. 



As a member of a large unit of his 

 own race, the Indian would be of little 

 value, due to his temperamental pecu- 

 liarities. In the early nineties 3,000 

 Indians were enlisted as regular soldiers, 

 but the attempt proved a flat failure. 

 and the Indians finally had to be 

 released. 



But in spite of the disappointing 

 result in that case, the Indian has 

 often been invaluable for work which 

 is suited to his mental makeup, such 

 as reconnoitering, scouting, or the 

 making of a sudden foray. Under 

 such conditions he is brave enough, but 

 he is not amenable to discipline and 

 the terrible trench warfare would soon 

 wear him out, while tuberculosis would 

 decim.ate this exceptionally .susceptible 

 race. 



There were many Indians with Persh- 

 ing's troops on the Mexican border, 

 and they distinguished themselves there 

 in ntimerous ways. Although entirely 

 unmindful of subordination they proved 

 themselves invaluable if allowed to do 

 their work in their own way, and were 

 used only for scouting purposes. It 

 seems probable that they could be made 

 use of in the present crisis, guarding the 

 Mexican border, and thus releasing men 

 more competent for work in Europe. 



Thus, they would not be taken far 

 away from their homes, and could be 

 returned there at any time necessary. 



VALUE OF NEGRO TROOPS 



Negro soldiers have distinguished 

 themselves on several occasions, and 

 those that secure places in the ranks 

 nearly always prove satisfactory. There 

 were 178,975 Negroes in the Civil War 

 on both sides, and although they were 

 not extensively in action, they per- 

 formed very creditably. Along the 

 Mexican border, the work of the 

 colored troops is well known, and 

 their famous rescue of the Rough 

 Riders at San Juan Hill is another 

 example of their gallant bravery. 



Heretofore Negro troops have been 

 officered almost entirely by whites, 

 but a training camp has been estab- 

 lished at Fort Des Moines where sub- 

 altern commissions will be given to the 

 best of the 1,200 Negroes who are now 

 in training. The deportment of the 

 men at the camp has been admirable, 

 and has drawn favorable comment 

 from many sources. There may be 

 some difficulty in locating training 

 quarters for the Negro troops where 

 there will be no danger of conflict with 

 the whites of the vicinity. 



Enrollment of a large force of Negro 

 soldiers is made difficult by the physical 

 defects of the Negro race. Prominent 

 among these is tuberculosis, a white 

 man's disease to which the Negro is 

 particularly susceptible here, out of 

 his element and in what is biologically 

 a white man's country. 



A still more serious problem from a 

 eugenist's point of view is presented 

 by syphilis, which was made ground for 

 exclusion from the National Army. 

 It cannot yet be told with certainty 

 just what effect this provision will 

 have. A member of this association 

 writes from Georgia : 



"I am. a member of the Board of 

 Examiners here, and have been im- 

 pressed with the greater number of 

 rejections among the Negroes, and 

 especially for syphilis and heart dis- 

 ease. Of course we physicians know 

 how prevalent syphilis is among them, 

 but I was not prepared to expect so 



1 Historically, the Jew is a blend of Mediterranean-amd'Alpine. 



