242 J. C. MERRIAM EARTH SCIENCES, BACKGROUND OF HISTORY 



of great continental and climatic changes and of vast intercontinental 

 migrations of plants and animals. The history of European and Asiatic 

 races is of like order. The relation between Africans and Caucasians or 

 Africans and Mongolians is dependent on similar conditions reaching 

 into remoter periods and still more difficult of interpretation. 



The Balkans represent the fanlt-line of Europe^ because this is a 

 region of overlapping races and subraces, conditioned in their history 

 by extraordinarily complicated migrations determined and directed in 

 part by physical features and climatic changes. Although the Balkans 

 present a problem of the greatest difficulty in the racial and political 

 sense, they place before us a study simple of aspect and significance com- 

 pared with the larger race questions which we have now to encounter in 

 world government, the difficulties of which we shall not improbably see 

 in larger measure as the centuries pass. 



Shall we in attempting to solve these incalculably complicated ques- 

 tions look only at the present balance of trade, the dominance of particu- 

 lar political parties, the present grouping of social elements, or the present 

 military strength of the nations involved; or shall we, realizing the vast- 

 ness and the complexity of the difficulty, bring to the light every element 

 concerned, scrutinizing with especial care those factors which seem to 

 be fundamental and more clearly of permanent significance. Unless the 

 larger or broader view is taken, I feel that we shall fall short of the in- 

 terpretation of humanity needed, in order to fit the nations of the world 

 together into one great unity in which each people supplements the needs 

 of the others, and thus gives to every group, as well as to every individual, 

 that freedom to develop its own peculiar talent and grow into that fullest 

 usefulness which we assume to be the natural right of all. 



The question of race just described is only one phase of the historical 

 problem, in which the background represented by the field now occupied 

 mainly by earth sciences becomes of real significance. 



In passing I may only mention two other examples illustrating the 

 relation of historical data from earth sciences to affairs of life of today. 

 I believe I am correct in stating that earthquakes are by most persons 

 considered as extraordinary happenings, without relation to the normal 

 order of events with which we have acquaintance. The geologist, however, 

 recognizes them as the natural corollary of crustal movements. Eegard- 

 ing continuance of such movements, he must believe that the only basis 

 for considering that crustal activities have ceased is to assume some 

 extraordinary intervention definitely holding back forces which if un- 

 fettered would result in further crustal disturbance and in earthquakes. 

 Such disturbances have affected the earth since the beginning of our 



