New-York tribune., 1900-12-09
DEPOPULATION IN FRANCE.
A nENEwAL. oF rRorosALs ro. cnEcK rr. |

A RENEWAL OF PROPOSALS TO. CHECK 1T
Paris correspondence Of The London Telegraph
The revival Of the old proposal for the taxation
Of bachelors and spinsteTs in France, with the
addition of plan for the assessment OF married
couples, who. after five years Of welded hte
have no children is giving rise To much discus
son both serious and facetious. The carcatur-
lists are already busy with the matter, and SHOW
gery elderly matrons trying 10 obfuscate the tax
collectors as to the ages of faded unmarried
daughters well the wa to fifty. ON the other
tand, some reflective persons see great things
n the bill. which laid on the table of the
Senate last week by NJ. Plot who represents the
Cote d'Or in the upper house. NJ. P1ot Is ami
mated by the patriotic desire TO check the de-
population of France. which has of late years
assumed alarming proportions.
To provide a remedy for this state Of affairs
E Plot has brought in the following draft bill,
which ne wants to be made law on and after
January /. 1901. First clause: Unmarried per
sens Of both sexes who are thirty years Of age
and upward will be subjected to tax equal TO
the fifteenth part Of the amount Of the four di-
rect imposts paid by them Persons married for
five years at least will pay a twentieth part of
the amount Of direct taxes for which they are
assessed if they have no offspring and they will
continue to pay this tax until the birth Of
child. The second clause provides for the open
ing Of credit of 2OWOOOO francs 10 enable the
Minister of the Interior to reward prolific par
ents, and NJ. Plot also clearly sets forth the
manner in which the claims for such remunera-
tion to be obtained and examined. The
money he points out should be distributed
nUally to the fathers, or. in the event of the
>teathS OF these. 10 the mothers, who have more
shan four children living.
The Senator is dreadfully in earnest about his
III. and he is net afraid of facetious or acrimo-
nious criticism. He will defend his bantIing with
all the energy and elOquence at his command.
His argument practically is that protection
should be domestic well political If Nj.
Meline and his school show themselves to be
ardent apostles for the careful protection of the
seed scattered by the peasant the soil of
Franc which is to produce the bread that is the
etaff Of life for citizens, why should the Govern
Eent and Parliament hesitate to help and 10 en-
courage the fathers of children who will add TO
the strength Of the nation For this reason the
patriotic Senator has prepared his bill which
Rrithmetically considered means that a bachelor
or spinster paying, say. an average of EI2
annually by way of contributions directes" or
direct taxes on real and personal property doors
windows, and SO on, would have to stand an ad-
Ctiona imp5it Of 20 francs. or the fifteenth part
Of the 500 francs for which ne or she is assessed
IN the case of married persons without children
and paying direct taxes to the amount of 400
francs. or fl6 the increase would he 20 frames
NJ Plot, by the way is not to be considered as
animated with fierce intentions toward un,nar-
ried persons or To those who, legally c3nluined
in wedloCk, have children.
According to a recent writer. who has pub
ished some statistics on the subject, the birth
rate in France has been steadily decreasing for a
century. on the other hand the populations of
Russia, Germany, England and several other
nations are rapidly increasing. II was true that
at some periods the population of France showed
a small increase; but. the writer points out
Ii was due TO immigration. and not to any rise