142 THE NEXT GENERATION 



those who did not smoke gained more in height and weight 

 and girth of chest than those who smoked. 



Remember that these Yale students were still in the grow- 

 ing time of life. Recall the facts of the last chapter ; then 

 imagine what it means to have a young and growing heart 

 attacked over and over again, day in and day out, for weeks 

 and months and years, by a poison that does its worst work 

 with the heart itself. 1 



In 191 o Dr. Meylan studied the same subject with students 

 in Columbia University, and among his final conclusions he 

 made the two following statements : 



1. "All scientists are agreed that the use of tobacco by 

 adolescents is injurious ; parents, teachers, and physicians 

 should strive earnestly to warn youths against its use." 



2. "It has been shown conclusively by this study that the 

 use of tobacco by college students is closely associated with 

 idleness, lack of ambition, lack of application, and low 

 scholarship." 



Various ignorant people are ready to protest against this 

 conclusion about the students. We must therefore let them 

 choose for themselves between two horns of the dilemma. I 

 give them. Either the smoker is naturally stupid and we 

 should pity not blame him when he ranks low in his class, 

 or he is naturally bright but by his own hand has dulled 

 his brain with nicotine and made it impossible for that brain 

 to do its best work in the classroom. Perhaps the latter case 

 needs more pity than the former. 



Thus far this chapter says nothing about grown men who 



smoke, because all agree that it is the adolescent person who 



suffers most. Let a man begin to smoke after he is twenty-five, 



and as a rule he will do himself less harm than if he began in 



1 For full particulars see " Town and City,'' chap, xviii. 



