The Blood of the Nation 



the nation is impoverished. That this 

 is the case the Germans in Germany 

 are usually not willing to admit. On 

 the other hand, those competent to 

 judge the German-American find no 

 type of men in the Old World his 

 mental or physical superior. 



The tendency of emigration, whether 

 to cities or to other countries, is to 

 weaken the rural population. An illus- 

 tration of the results of checking this 

 form of selection is seen in the Bava- 

 rian town of Oberammergau. This little 

 village, with a population not exceeding 

 fifteen hundred, has a surprisingly large 

 number of men possessing talent, men- 

 tal and physical qualities far above the 

 average even in Germany. The cause 

 of this lies in the Passion Play, for 

 which for nearly three centuries Ober- 

 ammergau has been noted. The best 

 intellects and the noblest talents that 

 arise in the town find full scope for 



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