HORIZON LINES 



X. THE FITTEST TO SURVIVE 



The survival of the fittest does not mean the sur- 

 vival of the best from the human point of view. The 

 lower orders of humanity are better fitted to survive 

 than the higher orders — hardier, more prolific, hav- 

 ing a fuller measure of life. The cultivated plants 

 — wheat, corn, rye, barley, oats — are less fitted to 

 survive than what we call weeds. The latter can 

 shift for themselves, but the former cannot. 



We lament the decay of the native Anglo-Saxon 

 stock in this country, and the increase of the races 

 from southern Europe and from the Orient. They 

 stand our pitiless sunlight better than do the de- 

 scendants of our Puritan ancestors. From our point 

 of view this rule of natural selection will not result 

 in a superior race, but in an inferior; not in better 

 men, but in better animals. Character and intellect 

 win in those fields where character and intellect 

 tell, but where muscle and brawn and vitality tell 

 more they fail. 



The Japanese have great power of survival; ^hey_ 

 are hardy- prolific , anH pushing The Germans also 

 have great survival power, gr eater than the French; 

 t hey are m ore prolific, more materialistic, nearer 

 t he brutes: they are not hanrlirapped wjt,h roiir-h- 

 soul They are morally hlind, but intellectually 

 cley^Tj. Their moral blindness and insensibility have 

 resulted in their downfall. Great Britain leads the 



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