224 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIII. No. 1103 



of health. He resents restraint in any 

 form. A self-worshiper, neither the good 

 of the majority nor the will of the major- 

 ity claims his allegiance. He is apt to fail 

 his country in both peace and war. He has 

 lost the "herd spirit." His patriotism has 

 withered and vanished under the blighting 

 influence of love of self and of personal 

 ease. To what extent would those afflicted 

 with all, or a part, of the weaknesses of this 

 product of our civilization contribute to na- 

 tional defense and to upbuilding the moral, 

 the civic or the physical fitness of the race ? 



To this selfish, lawless spirit of the ultra- 

 individualist which in whole or in part pre- 

 vails among so many of our people, we may 

 reasonably charge our excessive murder 

 and suicide rate, and our indifference to 

 the increasing waste of life from prevent- 

 able accidents and disease. 



It is possible that the report of the broad 

 investigation proposed would induce the 

 American people to place a higher value 

 on human life. 



TIME-SAVING MANIA 



As a contributing cause to nerve strain 

 and physical deterioration, our time-sav- 

 ing mania must not be overlooked. Those 

 afflicted with this modern malady avoid 

 walking and every physical movement that 

 is not strictly necessary. The hurry habit 

 is so firmly fastened upon us that it has 

 changed the poise and even the manners of 

 a vast number of people. 



Thus the habit has grown upon us to ex- 

 press ourselves in brief, incisive terms. 

 Abruptness enters into our personal inter- 

 course with relatives and friends. Old- 

 time politeness and kindly consideration 

 for the dignity and sensibilities of others 

 in our public and business contact is sadly 

 lacking in many of us. The traits of calm- 

 ness and deliberation seem to be deserting 

 us and in their place we have the impera- 



tive demand for hurried councils and quick 

 judgments. 



Our every need, our every sense must be 

 served quickly or impatience and often 

 rudeness follows. Much irritableness and 

 bad temper are the natural consequences 

 of such a life. 



These and other habits of self-indulgence 

 are affecting the mental poise and stability 

 of the "strenuous" class, and largely ac- 

 count for the so-called "high nervous ten- 

 sion" under which they live. This is a 

 serious form of life strain, and it is by no 

 means confined to the business or well-to-do 

 class. 



This strain is bound to react sooner or 

 later on the heart, arteries and kidneys, and 

 especially upon the nervous system, adding 

 to our already large family of neurasthen- 

 ics. To what extent can we depend upon 

 this particular element of our substandard 

 citizens for the defense of the nation and 

 the upbuilding of the race? 



DISUSE OF LIMBS AND MUSCLES 



The decline in physical activity has had 

 an important bearing upon national vital- 

 ity. We have millions of people, mostly 

 bred from generations of outdoor or mus- 

 cularly active ancestors, who are now work- 

 ing in offices, stores and the industries 

 where little or no physical exertion or even 

 concentration of mind is required. 



It is no longer the rich who ride in 

 "shayses." The wage-earner is whisked to 

 and from work by electricity or gasoline. 

 Instead of fabricating his output by phys- 

 ical toil, he fashions it by the simple proc- 

 ess of feeding, watching, or adjusting a 

 machine. A vast number of people in the 

 rural sections, as well as in our cities, are 

 earning their living with little or no mus- 

 cular effort. This is a glorious advance 

 over old methods, but there is the penalty. 

 This change produces a constantly inereas- 



