Are V7e a Declining Race ? 



" To me it seems a vital matter for us to 

 enquire, what is the meaning of that disastrous 

 proportion between the five and the two. Does 

 it mean that the class which necessarily supplies 

 the bulk of the ranks of our Army consists of this 

 large proportion of men physically unfit ? 



" If so, what are the causes of this fatal condi- 

 tion of things, and are they remediable ? 



" It will be convenient first to record the im- 

 mediate causes which seem to produce the 

 greater number of cases of physical break- 

 down. 



" Unquestionably heart weaknesses, pneumonia 

 troubles, and rheumatism with its sequelae, 

 supply a large number. . . . Numbers of 

 them have been unable to digest their food, on 

 account of bad teeth. Bad teeth are also a fre- 

 quent cause of rejection. . . . 



" We have to remember that the young man 

 of 1 6 to 1 8 is what he is because of the training 

 through which he has passed during his infancy. 

 Therefore it is to the condition of the women 

 and children that we must look if we have regard 

 to the future of our land. . . . 



" The question with which I am here dealing 

 is one about which it is vital for us to know the 

 truth. We cannot get at it without searching 

 investigation. . . . From whom are we to 

 get it ? 



" Is it or is it not true that the whole labour- 

 ing population of the land are at present living 

 under conditions which make it impossible that 

 they should rear the next generation to be 

 sufficiently virile to supply more than two out 



