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CHAPTER XXVI 



Physical Degeneration of the People — Means of 

 Uplifting Them 



IT would be unjust to the British people if, in writing 

 on a subject so momentous to their well-being, w^e 

 failed to dwell on that aspect of it which is so intimately 

 connected wdth, and interwoven in, the very fibres of 

 their physical lives. 



For a good many years past the "Physical Degenera- 

 tion of the British People " has been a subject of wide- 

 spread public interest. Royal Commissions have been 

 appointed to inquire into the matter; public speakers 

 and writers galore have dwelt forcibly on the lamentable 

 decadence of the people's physical strength ; while all the 

 evidence afforded by the reports of official investigations 

 conclusively proves that this decadence is practically 

 universal among the masses ; that the damage has been 

 done; the evil wrought; and that the curse clings to a 

 large section of the British people with the same fearful 

 tenacity as the deadly folds of the great constrictor ser- 

 pent cling to his prey. 



Space forbids a lengthy disquisition on the subject, 

 but room must be found for a couple of the latest refer- 

 ences to it. 



The Daily Express of August lo, 1907, has the follow- 

 ing, which is here given in extenso. 



