those at the bottom of the layers of society. 

 There is degradation in all great cities, but 

 the great cities are not the whole of France; 

 they are not even typical of the life of France. 

 It is claimed that the decadence is deep- 

 seated, not individual. It is said that the 

 birth-rate is steadily falling ; that the aver- 

 age stature of men is lower by two inches 

 at least than it was a century ago ; that the 

 physical force is less among the peasants at 

 their homes. Legoyt tells us that "it will 

 take long periods of peace and plenty before 

 France can recover the tall statures mowed 

 down in the wars of the republic and the 

 first empire." What is the cause of all thisP 

 Intemperence, vice, misdirected education, 

 bureaucracy, and the rush toward ready- 

 made careers ? These may be symptoms. 

 They are not causes. They are signs of in- 

 herited deficienciesin the people themselves. 

 Edmond Demolins asks in that clever vol- 

 ume of his : " In what constitutes the supe- 

 riority of the Anglo-Saxon ? " Before we 

 answer this let us inquire in what consti- 

 tutes the inferiority of the Latin races? If 

 we admit this inferiority exists in any de- 



The 



Human 



Harvest 



[47] 



