FOREIGN BLOOD AND "RACE PURITY" SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY PUBLISHED QUARTERLY Vol 11 FOREIGN BLOOD AND "RACE PURITY" During last year (1922) a book by Charles W. Gould, ap- peared which aroused some interest in scientific circles. The author's contention was that if America is to progress, not degenerate, she must not be content with merely restricting immigration but must resolutely bar out all foreigners from her shores. This book was mainly a reiteration of oft repeated arguments of a certain class of scientists, who ever since the days of Herbert Spencer have seemed to regard the cause of "keeping the white race pure" as the most vital thing to con- sider in preserving civilization. We have no thought of engaging in the discussion of their favorite, though important topic pro or con, but desire to place before our readers, as food for thought, some remarks which the editor of the Boston Herald made in reviewing this book, in its issue of November 30, 1922, as follows: There have undoubtedly been cases in which so-called race-mingling" has proved advantageous to race progress. The most frequently-quoted example is that of the Normans EDITORIALS 179 who overran Europe, "becoming English, Irish, Scottish and Italians: "Everywhere," says Prof. E. A. Freeman, "they gradually lost themselves among the peoples whom they con- quered; they adopted the language and the national feelings of the lands in which they settled, but at the same time they often modified and often strengthened the national usages and national life of the various nations in which they were merged." The Portuguese and the Dutch, according to Prof. Earl Finch, "have been intermingling for several centuries in farther India to the advantage of both races," and the same authority points to the race coalition in South America be- tween Portuguese and inhabitants of the Azores and the na- tive Gayanazes and Carijos as having resulted in "a race remarkable for moral development, intellectual power, strength, beauty and courage." Only the other day speakers at the independence celebration in Rio de Janeiro claimed credit for the results of Brazil's lack of race prejudice under a regime which freely permits intermarriages of Portuguese, negroes and Indians. There is a plain limit, of course, to the application of these cases, and no ethnologist or eugenist would use them in defense of the mergers which produce "mongrel races." On the other hand a too rigid insistence on race purity, carried to the extent of keeping each people rigidly to itself, lands us in the absurd. Some of the most distinguished men of modern times have illustrated what is known as the "race complex." In America Poe, Whitman, Lowell, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Lafeadio Hearn and Edison were all of "mixed" descent; the like can also be said of Rosetti, Lewis, Millais and Disraeli in England, of Saint-Beuve, Dumas, Taine, De Maistre, Monta- lembert, in France, or Kant in Germany, of Larmontov and Von Visin in Russia. Pushkin,the famous poet,was across of Russian and Abyssinian negro; Dumas of French and negro; Victor Hugo of Lorraine-German and Breton; Zola of Italian, Greek and French; Ibsen of German, Scotch and Norwegian; Swinburne of Danish, French and English; Browning of West-Saxon, British, Creole and German; Tennyson of Danish, French and English; Thomas Hardy of English, Jersey- 180 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY French and Irish; Olive Schreiner of German, English and Jewish. And these are only a few samples out of many. Grand indeed is the cause of race purity and of the preser- vation of the superior races. But if we could have excluded such names from the record of human achievement would the game have been worth the candle? **************** The End ********* Entered as second class matter at the post office, Dover, Maine, by John Francis Sprague, Editor and Publisher. Terms: For all numbers issued during the year, including an in- dex and all special issues, $2.00. Single copies of current volume, 50 cents. Bound volumes, $2.50. Postage prepaid on all items, except bound volumes west of Mississippi River. This publication will be mailed to subscribers until ordered dis- continued. OUR MESSAGE TO YOU FIRST TEACH THE BOY AND GIRL TO KNOW AND LOVE THEIR OWN TOWN, COUNTY AND STATE AND YOU HAVE GONE A LONG WAY TOWARD TEACHING THEM TO KNOW AND LOVE THEIR COUNTRY, ************** The Androscoggin Historical Society is working on a project to get the Sprague's Journal online (1911-1926). This publication was a often quoted by the also extinct publication, Downeast Ancestry printed 1976-1986+? And because the former Journal has past into the public domain, we plan to bring it to you a "bit & bite" at a time. Some of the titles listed below may have been reprinted. If you are interested may want to check with Picton Press of Camden Maine and/or Heritage Books Inc of Bowie, MD to see what format they might be for sale. Or if you a good typist or have a scanner that works, we could use some help. Index to John Francis Sprague's Journal of Maine History 1913-1926 Index to Maine Historical & Genealogical Recorder 1884-1894 Table of Contents of The Bangor Historical Magazine 1885- (under Construction) * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * * The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.