The New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 1918. PHYSICAL DETERIORATION

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10064, 31 August 1918, Page 6

The New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 1918. PHYSICAL DETERIORATION

I s the manhood of New Zealand deteriorating? This is a question raised by the startling figures published in the "Times" recently, giving the proportion of men rejected as unfit for military service. Recently the Minister for Public Health declared that it was regrettable that a young country like New Zealand should produce so many physically deficient young men. No doubt New Zealand compares favourably with other parts of the Empire in respect to its standards of health and physique, but there is something very disquieting in the fact that well over 50 per cent, of the men called up in the ballots have been rejected as unfit. This may mean that the military standard is a high one rather than that tho stamina of the average New Zealander is low, hut there can be no disguising the fact that the percentage of unfit is very much higher than was to be expected. New Zealand is a. young nation, where conditions are more favourable to health and strength than they are in older lands, where crowded cities and the factory system have created a population of physical weeds. Here the hours of labour are shorter, the standard of living higher, and the environment better. In height and physique the New Zealander has nothing to fear from comparison with the population of the British Isles. But the figures following show a lamentable state of affairs, and reveal the fact that all is not so well with the national health and stamina as wo have been in the habit of supposing.

From July Ist. 1917. till the conclusion of the First Dmsioa ballot? 30 404 were examined, and or r.nu» number 14.278 were accepted, and toMGwere clawed CS « I>, tnat is men permanently urft for active service beyond the seas, but service of some nature in Zealand, and men permanently unfit for active or homo service. Ihe following are the principal reasons for the recruits beinK reiected:— Disabilities with, regard to height, 171 Insufficient chest measurement, 262. Insufficient weicht. 20. Defects in arms and IeKS, J 574. Chest troubles. 958. Debility. 652. Defective vision. 1631. Circulatory troubles (including the heart). 5126. Hernia. 994. ~ Digestive troubles. 453. Diseases of the ear. 599. General diseases. 5144.

Heart troubles, it will be noticed," figure mo3t largely after "general diseases." The number given is 5126, which means that over one-sixth of the total number examined were afflicted with heart complaint and defective circulation. Under the heading "Chest troubles," the number given is 958. "Digestive troubles" account for tho rejection of 453 balloted men. So that, out of the 30,404 men examined, no fewer than 6337 wero rejected for serious defects in the vital organswell over one-fifth of the whole. This is a lamentable state of affairs. Tho war has proved trie capacity of the modern man to undergo incredible hardships and perform feats of human endurance. Tho bravery of the modern soldter. drawn from civil life, has been astonishing. Yet it ia clear that modern civilisation is accountable for a vast amount of physical deterioration and mental degeneracy. Modern life ia lived at a pace which, kills. Tho

many inventions that spring up every day, altering She condition!) of life suddenly, make a demand on tho nervous system which results in the weakening of the human machine. The haste and noise inseparable from city life and the struggle for existence beget disease and degeneracy. Cities like London and Paris cannot exist on their own stock. They are constantly being replenished bv the life-blood of tho provinces. While tho evil of large cities has not grown to any great extent in this Dominion the tendency of the people to congregate in the towns is too pronounced to augur well for the health and happiness of New Zealand. There is no reason why towns of moderate size, equipped with all the advantages of city life, should not exist throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand, the people of which could be employed in the healthy work of food production. In such centres tho stress and strain of the modern city would be absent, but all the amenities of social life could exist side by side with rural surroundings' and agricultural pursuits. "Health is the first wealth," said Emerson, and it is clear that our greatest national asset is in danger. To ensure a sound body for a sound mind should be the foremost work of New Zealand's legislators and educators. Hygieno and physical culture should bo the very basis of the national education system. The boy and girl who has been taught how to get and how to keep physically fit has been given a lesson of the utmost value, and one that will stand the future citizen in good stead throughout life. It ( is clear that in the national stock-taking that mast be made on tho advent of peace, the health of the people must be one of the problems to be tackled with all the science and wisdom at oar disposal.