Page:The Negro a menace to American civilization.djvu/121



of all kinds are, through natural laws, invariably affected by their environments. Man forms no exception to this, — indeed, in the case of man, I am strongly inclined to believe he is more susceptible to what may influence or affect him in his surroundings than any other organized being or class of beings. This is due, in the highest races, to the sensitiveness, plasticity and moral composition of his organization. As we descend through the scale, through the lower races, this becomes less and less evident, being the least observable in those races, such as the negro race, most nearly related to the anthropoids or apes. Negroes are, of course, affected more or less by the environment in which they live, but more by the climatic conditions than they are by reactionary effects on their organizations due to the presence of peoples more highly civilized than themselves. A race without morals has it in its power but to mimic the qualifications and progress of the higher race, just as parrots mimic the human voice; they know neither the meaning of the words they utter, nor are they in any way mentally improved through the accomplishment. These condi- (105)