182 FISHBERG 



that it is composed of a group of peoples each of which has no 

 special claim to exceptional racial purity ; notwithstanding that, 

 no matter how pure each of these races may claim to be, still a 

 mixture of all of them can not be considered as representing a 

 pure type, — the resulting curve of stature, is as smooth as could 

 be expected of the purest of races. ^ One more point is to be 

 considered of significance : The course of this curve is almost 

 identical with that for the Jews, seen on diagram 3, with one 

 exception, — is situated about two centimeters to the right, thus 

 showing that the Christians of Eastern Europe are on the aver- 

 age about two centimeters taller than the Jews. The apex points 

 at 164 cm., while the one for the Jews points at 162 cm. Con- 

 sidering the conditions of poverty and privation under which the 

 Jews in Eastern Europe are laboring, the indoor occupations in 

 which they are generally employed, and the absence of agri- 

 cultural laborers among them, we are not surprised at the 

 shortage of about one inch of stature they display, when com- 

 pared with their non-Jewish neighbors, who are generally under 

 better economic and social conditions, working mostly outdoors, 

 etc. The similarity of stature of the Jews with that of non-Jews 

 of Eastern Europe of which we have already spoken before, is 

 yet more apparent when we consider them not en masse, but in 

 groups according to the country they inhabit. This we will do 

 later. 



As a further test we have combined the 3,209 Jews with the 

 6,708 Gentiles and of both sets of figures constructed a curve 

 which is shown on figure 3. This curve again shows no double 

 apex, no significant elevations or indentations in its course, thus 

 again proving that the smooth course of the curve representing 

 the stature of the Jews can not be considered a proof of their 

 racial purity. It is evident that no amount of foreign blood 

 coming from the races of Eastern Europe, among whom the 

 Jews have lived, would have shown itself in a study of the sed- 

 ation of their stature. 



The reason for this condition is evident : The difference in the 

 type of stature of the Jews and Gentiles in Eastern Europe is 



y The slight indentation at the height of 162 cm. can be ascribed to chance. 



