16 THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 
THURSDAY, MAY 3rd, 1900. 
President Thos. W. Reynolds, M. D., in the chair. 
Minutes of the last regular.and of the subsequent special meet- 
ings were read and confirmed. 
Dr. James Russell then read an instructive and thoughtful paper 
on the subject ‘‘Is the Anglo-Saxon Race Degenerating ?” 
The subjeet was one, the doctor thought, that would bear inves- 
tigation if for nothing else than to discover what our racial assets 
were and whether or not there may be an extravagant waste of brain 
energy which was leading on to mental bankruptcy. The great 
cosmic forces in operation, as exhibited in the intense intellectuality 
of the age, manifested in the fierce struggle for national supremacy, 
the competition among great powers in opening up and taking pos- 
session of the waste places of the earth, the subjugation of the weak 
by the strong, the formation of great corporations and trusts in 
place of individualism, the intense struggle for wealth and power, the 
wide diffusion among the masses, the wealth of discovery and inven- 
tion, the wonderful provision for the weak and degenerate classes as 
evidencing the altruistic spirit of the age, all these symbolized as 
never before in the world’s history, the mighty expansion of brain 
power. It was not to be wondered at, that the great masses of the 
people were unprepared for such an upheaval, and that a large num- 
ber of the more weakly endowed mentally would swell the ranks of 
the dependent and degenerate classes. 
Continuing the paper dealt with race evolution, referring specially 
to the progress of the Anglo-Saxon race from the barbarism of 2,000 
years ago to the civilization of to-day, the greatest the world has ever 
known. The lessons of history taught that all the nations of history 
of which we have any authentic record began to crumble and decay 
at the very time they reached the zenith of their power and glory, 
and further, that a proud imperialistic spirit and lust of empire were 
the immediate forerunners of national dissolution. It was significant 
to note that there was manifest to-day a growing imperialistic idea in 
every branch of the Anglo-Saxon race. It was to be hoped that the 
imperialistic spirit of to-day, chastened and purified by the experience 
of the past, would prove the harbinger of peace among the nations 
of the earth. After referring to the causes which led to the decline 
