Grandpa Was No Runt

Are Americans getting bigger? Not much, reports the U.S. Army, which has )een measuring them for uniforms for a long, long time. Last week Dr. F. E. Randall, who works for the Quartermaster General, compared the sizes of large groups of U.S. soldiers in the Civil War and World Wars I & II. There was no startling difference.

Civil War "separatees" averaged 67.40 in. tall and 141.38 Ibs. In World War I, the averages went up to 67.72 in. and 144.67 Ibs. In World War II, there was a further increase, to 68.43 in. and 154.78 Ibs. Dr. Randall believes that these slight gains might have a number of explanations. In the Civil War, for instance, the Union Army had a large proportion of teenagers.

Foreign immigration is not keeping the U.S. average down. According to the Army, the "old Americans" (all four grandparents native-born) are a hair's-breadth shorter and 1.5 Ibs. lighter than sons of immigrant parents.

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