Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1890-12-04
WoMAN.s INFLUENCE.
It Will be Much Greater In tho Future Than
It Is at Present.

It Will be Much Greater In the Future Than
It Is at Present.
1t is we'll known that females are
largely in excess of males in our exist
ing population, and this fact, if it were
necessary and permanent one, would
tend to weaken the selective agency OF
women, as it undoubtedly does now.
But there is good reason to believe that
1t will not be permanent feature of
our population. The births always give
a larger proportion of males than fe-
males, varying from 81 to per cent.
But boys die so much more rapidly than
girls that when we include all under
the age of five the numbers are nearly
equal. For the next five years the NOR
tality is nearly the same in both sexes;
then that of females dependencies up
to 80 years of age, then up to 60 that of
men is the larger, while for the rest OF
life female mortality is again greatest.
The general result is that at the age of
most frequent marriage-from 90 to 35-
females are between and 9 per cent
In excess of males. But during the
ages from to 35 we find wonderful
excess of male de aths from two prevent
able causes-''accident' and violence"
For the year 1888 the deaths from these
causes in England and Wales were as
follows: Males Is to 35 years,) 4,15s;
females, Is to 35 years. 1,1OO
Here we have an excess of male over
female deaths in one year of 3,05S, all
between the ages of five and thirty-fve,
very large portion of which is no doubt
due to the greater risks run by men and
boys in various industrial occupations.
In state of society in which the bulk
of the population were engaged in indus
trial work it is quite certain that almost
all these deaths would be prevented, and
thus bring the male population more
nearly to an equality with the female.
But there are also many unhealthy en-
Payments in which men are exclusively
engaged, such as the grinders of Shelf
field, the white lead manufacturers, and
many others, and many more men have
their lives shortened by labor in unven-
tilated workshops, to say nothing of the
loss of life in war. When the lives of
all its citizens are accounted of equal
value to the community no one will be
allowed to suffer from such preventable
causes as these, and this will still further
reduce the mortality of men as compated
with that of women. On the whole,
then, it seems highly probable that in
the society of the future the superior
numbers of males at birth will be main
tanned throughout life, or, at all events,
during what may be termed the mar
riageable period. This will greatly in
crease the influence of women in the inn
provement of the race. Being a minor
ity, they will be more sought after and
will have real choice in marriage,
which is rarely the case now. This &C
tual minority being further increased
by those who, from the various causes
already referred to, abstain from mar
riage. will cause considerable numbers
of men to remain permanently unmar-
ried, and as these will consist very
largely, if not almost wholly, of those
who are the least perfectly developed
either mentally or physically, the con-
slant advance of the race in every good
quality will be insured. "A. R. Wallace,
inc Fortnightly Review,