Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-03-26
SOCIAL SINS and SBhNS.
DYING
BY LILLE HARRIS.
Copyright, 1897
VIIT.-'tS MATERNITY DYING
OUT?"


OUT?"
is maternity dying out? That is one
of the great problems of the day. Are
we going to sink to the level OF France
in the decadence of our population!
Statistics emphatically say that there
is no fear of any such i'll Detailing us.
Year in, year out, it is proved by figures
that we are multiplying and increasing
considerably, SO much so that am sure
poor Nautilus must turn in his grave
and wonder what is going to happen.
| have been told, however, that stalls
tics can be made to prove anything,
and l do not think that the statement
is far wrong. What you prove in one
way by figures can be successfully con-
tradicted by your opponent, also by
figures But what l am going to speak
about in this article is the growing dis
inclination that there is in the upper,
middle and professional classes to in
dulge in maternity. am going TO
SPEAK dDOuL IL do lieohNiJ eAN e~S
fully as I can, as l should not like TO
write anything that might bring
blush of shame to the cheek OF the
average girl of sixteen, and | can assure
the most punctilious parent that there
will be nothing in this article likely
to shock the most carefully brought up
H. ~, tton
age grand daughter would never be en-
barrassed-she knows too much. We'll,
the fact is that our population depends
entirely upon the exertlons OF the Work
ing classes-the poorer the man, the
larger the family. Your agricultural
laborer, earning 1Ss week, has ten or
! twelve children. Your barrister, earn
| ing $1,000 year, has two.
! AN UNFORTUNATE CURATE,
| starving with his poor little refined,
we'll educated and ladylike wife, mas
nine or ten growing boys and girls, TO
be educated on perhaps &120 year.
Your sensible, clever, matter-of-1act
doctor, earning $4,000 or $1,000, has
one. A wretched clerk starving on 25s
| a week, has a baby every year. The
| modern Sir Tompkins de Midas, with
100000 a year, has, perhaps, one-pos-
sibly none l am not going to explain
why this should be, or by what in
scrutable decree of Providence this is
effected-buJt the fact remains that it
is so. Look around you, my dear
readers: you will find every word that
T have written true. Is maternity dy-
ing out amongst us women? FRANKLY
speaking, think that it is. Life now
adays is so fast, competition is so keen,
existence is so artificial, that we seem
10 he impregnated with artificiality
and fastness. We seem to have lost all
that was lovely, and gentle, and mod
est, and sweet, and pure. Of course,
am talking about us modern women,
and women of education. We marry,
because marriage brings with III thdt
most necessary appendage for enjoy
home, and a provision against want
and hard work, in return for giving us
our maiden f. edom. We want rest,
ease. and a fine house, and late din
ners, and plenty of enjoyment. we
want to entertain. We want to be pop
ular: and if we want to entertain and
be popular
BABIES ARE A FRIGHTFUL null
SANCE-
both before they arrive and afterwards.
So time passes. The little unwelcome
stranger arrives, and during the time
of our illness and convalescence we
actually feel certain affection and
commiseration for it. We really like
the little thing, and then as we get
stronger the small lump of young hu-
manity is transferred into the nursery.
It is so inconvenient to have it sleep
ing in ones room, you know. 1t wakes
one I'D and "cries." And actually, per-
haps. the mother has to warm the milk
for. of course, no respectable, well-con-
Quoted society woman ever thinks OF
having her baby brought up on any
thing but the bottle. So when they
return to health the maternal love
fades away, and so Mr.. or Miss Baby
is sent up into the nursery and LETT to
the tender mercies of the nurse, and is
taught lying, and deceit, and every
thing else that is obnoxious. OF course
we mothers do not know anything
about this. On our Eat home" days
BABY Is HANDSOMELY DRESSED.
OF course, we see to the dress, as it is
so important. That is something to
look at. Its spiritual condition is an
other thing. That can be left to the
nurse. And as for its physical state
we'll. if he or she is so wretched as to
have illness we can get a nurse. We
can close up that quarter of the house,
and we can enjoy ourselves downstairs,
or at Brighton, or in the country. At
| ter all, we cannot be expected to nurse
our own children What is the use of