The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-27


Of drunkenness, but it demonstrates to
US that the suppression of alcoholism IS
hot what will restore French natality.
Rather the contrary
Ill Examination of Measures Pro-
posed for Diminishing Mortality-As the
question of the population of France has
been more especially discussed by the
doctors, 1t has done great service as a
vaulting board for medical theories. Doc
tors are very ready to reason as If they
could dispose of human life at their will.
II Is very hard to keep a man from dy-
ing. The most skilIful doctors have not
reached that point; but it is very easy
to have man born and is within the
reach of the latest made young prac-
tltloner. 1t is very doubtful whether the
proposed measures will be efficacious or
practical See how much trouble we
nave had, after a century of experiments
IN realizing the benefit Of vaccination
the only nearly infallible remedy we
have against disease. Surely a country
ought to guard Itself as much as posi-
bic against sickness and death, and should
do everything that will conduce to that
end, as we do all that is possible to cure
a man i'll with pneumonia or any other
disease. But we should not delude our
selves with illusions, and we have to
confess that the efficacy of the measures
which we take to satisfy our conscience
is very doubtful. The failures of hygiene
are almost as numerous as those Of med
icine.
Mortality has not increased In France
1t Is rather less there than in other
countries in the same latitude, and even
less than that of some of the countries
situated farther north. So we can hardly
hope to diminish 1t very much
The effect of mortality on the whole is,
moreover, not to diminish natality, but
rather to favor 1t. The death of an
adult leaves some position vacant. and
makes room for the institution of a new
household and the birth of other chill
dren. So when rich old man dies, the
money he leaves helps set up his chill
dren in life; and when poor old man
dles, a burden is taken away from mis-
descendants, who had to support him
and VINO can now marry and have chill
cren. Some of the parallelsms in the
movements Of population which statis-
tlclans have observed may be explained
mus. we might compare a human So
clety to tank so arranged as to be al
ways full of water. 1t has a supplv nine
(natality and immigration which opens
and operates only when the discharge
pipe mortality and emigration Is also
open; or to forest of definite extent
In which, when a clearing is opened. a
new growth appears in the cleared space
unless some cause exists to prevent 1t.
which cause 1t will be the forester's bus
mess 10 md and remove. He would not
think, however, of stopping the cutting
OF the old trees, for that would be to
prevent the essential condition of the
new groWth's getting a headWay Tho
law OF all living societies, in forests and
IN nations, is the perpetual renewal of
the stock
~. Of Measures That VIII Be Eff
fect1ve--The evil must be fought in its
causes. These causes are detestable fam.
ny customs, dictated by pecuniary con-
slderatlons. These being the things tc
ne reformed, and money being the cause
OF them, the beginning should be made
with money. We have a right to de,
mand energetic measures, severe If nee.
essary, against the evil that is eating
france Those which we shall ask for
mere are only equitable. They shall fully
respect individual liberty, and in some
cases augment it. Their purpose is to
teach the French people who do not
know II the Immense wrong their mis-
taken selfiShness IS inf1icting upon tha
country. They aim especially to modify
customs, and to invoke for reasonable
numerous families the profound respect
ana protection that are due them. And
they seek to harmonic general with
practical interests, a thing TO which the
present laws have precisely the contrary
effect
1t Is Just as much every mans duty
10 contribute to the perpetuity Of his
country as it is to defend 1t. This is y
moral truth which the French have for.
gotten and it will have to be incuIcated
IN them The case is beyond the reach
of the most eloquent sermons. and will
have to be met, If the mass of men are
to be convinced, Ivy palpable facts that
viii touch all personally This leads to
the principle, which seems, moreover
sen-evident that the fact of bringing nm
a child should be considered a form of
tax payment. The payment of tax is
in fact, the imposition OF a pec1lniarv
sacrifice for the profit of the whole ma
tlon. This is what the father accepts
who rears a child.
A family, to be acquitted Of the tax
should rear at least three children. #
takes two children to fill the place Of
the parents, and there should be a third
III ADDITION, for one in three families
on an average, will have no children
Hence the family which does not rear
three children will fail of imposing sufti
Client sacrifices upon itself for the future
OF the nation It is free to do this but
should pay damages for 1t. He on the
ether hand, who rear5 more than three
chhoren imposes supplementary burdens
upon himself, for which he should he
Ieconapensed every time occasion offers
Inc principle Of a reduction of taxes
proportional to the number Of children
was applied in June, 1885, at the instance
OF the Alliance Rationale, by the city
OIL Lyons It has been adopted.
very tfnidly at first, and then
little more broadly. by the Min
lister OF finance But 1t would be easv
ana even necessary, to go cOnsidera bly,
further in this direction
10 accomplish this reduction without
the treasury losing anything, it Is only
necessary to charge the less prolific fam
lies with one-fffth additional tax. The
Topographic condition of France is. in
fact, so deplorable that families of more
than three children form only one-sixtfi
part OF the whole number, or are 2122 z10
out of 2,127, o23; hence, in order to clear
fully from liability for taxes these two
million families, it Is enough to charge
the other ten million families with supple
montary taxes of 20 per cent-a thing
that is entirely practicable. 1t may. how
ever, seem more exDedient to scale the
supplementary fmDost. so that It shall
fall in inverse proportion to the number
of children. Thus, let bachelors more
than thirty years old pay so per cent;
households without children, Al per cent;
families with one child, so per cent; fani
lies with two children, 10 per cent: fami
Hes with three children the present tax
without addition; while families with
more than three children should be
wholly exempt. A simple calculation will
show that the treasury would gain by
such an adjustment. 1t oud lose 9, 122-
219 contributors of taxes, and would gain,
against these, 245e, 112- Furthermore fam
lilies with more than four children are
usually poor and hardly, able to pay even
light assessments. while those we pro-
pose to tax supplementary are mostly
wealthy, whence the tax against them
would be generally productive.
These scalings and exemptions might
be applied to all the various kinds Of direct
taxes, so that the state would say. in