Abstract
THE work of the Section commenced on Thursday, September 12, by Mr. Francis Galton, F.R.S., reading a paper on the advisability of assigning marks for bodily efficiency in the examinations of candidates for the public services. In the recent report of H. M. Civil Service Commissioners, they state that, a scheme of competition for physical qualifications having been brought before the notice of the War Office, it was not accepted, on the ground that the authorities were “completely satisfied with the physique of the young men who came to them through our examinations.” The marks, as at present, of the candidaies whose places lie near the dividing line between success and failure, run pretty evenly; therefore it is contended that the State would obtain better servants if such moderate marks were allowed for physical qualifications as to insure the selection of the most efficient in body from among those who are nearly on a par intellectually.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
The Anthropological Papers at the British Association. Nature 40, 631–634 (1889). https://doi.org/10.1038/040631a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/040631a0