THE VARYING CAPACITY OF RACES Examples of Man's Varying Capacity.—The part played by a country in business depends on the character of the people far more than on their number or the natural resources. India has about forty times as many inhabitants as Canada and the natural resources, especially those depending on plants, are probably greater, but India's foreign commerce is only about one and one-half times that of Canada. In other words, in this respect one person in Canada is nearly thirty times as important as one in India. In internal business the ratio is probably about the same.
Compare the islands shown in the following table. The main resources of all depend largely on vegetation and on the sea. New Guinea, because of its abundant rain and high temperature at all seasons, probably has the greatest possibilities, but is closely rivaled by Formosa and Hawaii; next comes New Zealand with much smaller possibilities because of a winter when plants grow but little; then Cyprus hampered by dry summers, and finally cool Iceland, where the possibilities are meager. The approximate part played by the aver age inhabitant of each island in foreign commerce and probably in busi ness of all kinds appears in the first column of the table. While no exact data as to the relative possibilities of production are available, a study of the soil and climate leads to the rough estimate in the second column. The order of the islands in the two columns is quite different.
New Guinea and Formosa are extremely rich, but their people are relatively dull, inert, and poorly trained. Hence they pro duce little except their own monotonous food and scanty clothing.? The native Hawaiians appear to be somewhat more capable and ener getic than the New Guineans, but this does not explain the fact that in spite of Hawaii's smaller resources, the international commerce per person is eighty times as great as in New Guinea. The explanation' lies largely in the fact that over 20,000 Americans, as well as many Japanese and other fairly energetic races, now live in Hawaii. The Americans who are descended from the old missionary families, and the best of the business men who have come more recently to Hawaii form a group of remarkably able people. The New Zealanders likewise are of fine English stock; their climate with its almost ideal temperature and fairly numerous but not severe storms is one of the best for man. But the
climate does not favor such a rich growth of vegetation as in the three islands nearer the equator, and the vast distance of New Zealand from other progressive regions is a serious handicap. Thus in view of its smaller possibilities the actual achievements of New Zealand rival or perhaps surpass those of Hawaii. Cyprus, on the contrary, falls much below what might be expected in view of its agricultural possi bilities and its position near Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its people are not efficient.
Iceland presents an extraordinary example of the importance of inheritance compared with resources. Iceland is so cold that almost I no grain is raised; valuable minerals are almost lacking; and the people depend upon three somewhat primitive industries, cattle raising, fishing, and especially sheep raising. Yet the relative importance of the average Icelander in the world's business is half as great as that of the New Zealander. This suggests that in view of the small resources of his island, the Icelander works more efficiently than either the New Zealander or the Hawaiian. The explanation of the high Icelandic standard probably lies partly in the fact that the climate stimulates health and activity, but probably more in racial inheritance. Iceland, far more than any other region in this list, was settled by emigrants who were largely picked from the best people of a country and have not since been mixed with others of less ability. Many of the Icelandic settlers belonged to the most able Norwegian families a thousand or more years ago. Those families were leaders because they had ability. Their descendants today, like those of the missionaries in Hawaii and of the religious colonies of early New Zealand, are extremely com petent people, able to make the most of the available resources, and to carry on a relatively large and profitable business in a place where people of less ability would starve, or degenerate. If the Icelanders had no greater ability than the New Guineans, the amount of business might be no greater than in New Guinea. Instead of producing great men, like the sculptor Thorwaldsen, in larger numbers in proportion to the population than almost any other country, they might never have been heard from.