The morning call., 1890-06-08
A Reply to Arguments Used in an Art
Gle ON Land nrds and Children.

Reply to Arguments Used in An Arti-
Gle on Landlords and Children.
F%HE arguments used by "Margery" in
XXX last SUNDAYS CALL, taking the
oy2gS other side OF the question of
renting houses to families with chill
dren, are the same that landlords
and landladies, who, wishing to get the
greatest return Tor their outlay OF capital
with the least expenditure for repairs, and
therefore objecting to children as tenants,
have adopted since time immem0rlal.
But to a woman who has children some
portions of the argument are laughable. For
instance: children do not always have
hands covered with molasses, as Il ldlcious
mother does not consider that article
healthy one for regular diet, and, as she
generally has some little furniture, which
would be i'll as much danger OF destruction
as the walls and WOODWORK OF a rented
house.
Knives, too, are not considered the most
suitable playthipgs for children, therefore
very few possess them, and whitfield wood
work is no more beautiful to the eyes OF
woman with children than to those OF
quiet single lady.
The cost of a screw for doorknob is not
much, and the screw is as liable to become
loosened in the hands of an adult as in those
of child. The swinging on the front gate
is such a pleasure TO child that 1t seems
n humanitarian ought not to object, espe-
cially as children have SO little place to
play in, either at home or at school or on
the streets, owing to the patslmonlousness
of many landlords and city governments.
"MaTgery' says for the men who expect
to have families TO save up and buy their
houses beforehand, and have the pleasures
of the fumes Of paregoric and crying babies
to themselves.
Now it is not easy for young men to save
UP much money before marriage. for they
are either living at home, giving some OF
their earnings to their parents, dressing
neatly and spending some little money
among their young friends OF both sexes, or
they are paying their board at some hotel.
Then, too, with strikes and enforced idle
ness there is not great deal of Saving"
money left. Therefore many young man
who attempted to buy his house before mar
rlage would become confirmed old bach
elor and would not marry at ALL
Then, too, the ornament condition of the
people with children is not par egoric and
crying babies; those are only incid ents.
Some men even love their children, strange
as ii may seem, and one young fellow says
that he would rather play with his toddling
boy than go to the opera.
OF course there are some exceptions to
the adyisablity of renting flats to people
with children if an invalid or a very aged
person occupied the other portion, or, to
make it more liberal, even quiet lady
who writes.
"Margery" forgets that she was once
child herself, and unless very great eXcep-
ton, had all the faults of an ordinary child,
and unless her parents owned their own
house, some one else's roof sheltered her,
: and people put up with her crying and noisy
mirth, for the girls can beat the boys ten to
one when they try, and evidently treated
her very we'll as she has lived through it and
been able to buy house of her own.
1T is not the wish of most Americans to
depend on foreign emigrants for their in
crease of population. They would like a
few native sous and daughters of their own.
"Margery" writes too sweetly and has
too pretty name to be the author of that
soured little communication, In which there
is not one word of tenderness for the inno-
cent children whom she no doubt often
idealizes in her newspaper articles.
The prosperity of a nation is judged by
its natural increase of population, not by
immigration. The most immoral country in
the world reports the iewest children ac-
cording to her population.
There is one thing "Margery" has forgot
ten, there never has or will be any properly
brought up children, except those brought
up by theory by people who never had any,
or those who never expect to have any, for
old maids children and bachelors wives
are the only superlatively perfect beings the
world will ever see. There always were
children and there always will be. so
Margery must make tne pest Oh II. Even
St Paul said when he was child that he
both spoke and acted as a child. And Solo
mon says, There is time to laugh. time
to dance, a time to sing and time to play"
and our Savior says, .'Suffer little children
to come unto me, for such is the kingdom
of heaven" "Whosoever giveth cup of
cold water to one Of these little ones in my
name, doeth it unto me-" UNLESS ye be-
come as little child. We cannot enter the
kingdom Of heaven" The advice given in
recent New York paper to a young man
who inquired what he should do to escape
the noise of his sisters babyAi n whose
house he was living, was ''get Married and
learn to love children" Would it be too
much to suggest that others should do like
wise? A. X. c.