The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-15
"RAcE SUICIDES" OTHER SIDE

'Paterfamilias" in North American
Review.
1t used to be said that it did not cost
the contrary it was an investment.
Such a proposition can no longer be
maintained. Every baby costs a great
deal of money. Each baby
cramps little all that have come be-
fore it, with the result that the mother
and father are soon obliged to sacrifice
themselves almost entirely on the fam
lily altar. They must give up their
comforts and pleasures; the mother
must give up often even the necessities
of life and take up it's worst burdens
in order that the. children shall not
suffer.
1t makes me sick to look at friends
of mine who ten years ago were young
and happy and are now prematurely old
and wan and sad. The young fellow
who used to have the elastic step and
the bright laugh is now gaunt and dys-
peptic and has Populistic views of life.
His wife who was such a pretty girl.
whom we all liked so well, who played
and sang so nicely and was the charm
of any social gathering, now looks like
her look is haunted; she betrays every
evidence of being drained mentally,
physically and spiritually to minister
to four or five youngsters who must
have 1.-The best of things and who are
lucky to get enough to make a decent
appearance.
1 presume that am as fond father
as ever lived. l have four children;
and if any of them were not welcome
when they came. not one of them would
be spared on any account. 1t happens
that we are able to care for four, not
quite in the style in which two could
have been maintained, but to all in
tents and purposes quite well enough
for them and sufficiently well for us to
maintain our social position, which is
very dear to us, though to some such
a. statement may seem folly. If a time
should come when we had to give up
our present style of living (Which,
practically, means our friends, since
in that event we would not and could
not continue present relations with
them, l would consider it perhaps the
most serious day of my life. So far as
can be judged at present the only
thing that might threaten such an
event would be the appearance say of
couple of more children. 1 presume
there are those who will think that
this is an ignoble statement, but it
is not only true, but it is true of about
every family of which I have any per-
sonal acquaintance, except in those
rather numerous instances where there
are no children at all. Nothing is sad
der to me than a large family except
one with no children at all.
do not like to compare the Presi-
dents expressions in his letters with
the brutal sayings of Napoleon about
the necessity of French women breed
ing soldiers, but there is altogether
too much of a resemblance to suit me.
I have for the President the greatest
respect and cannot believe
that he wants to see the population of
this nation grow simply because it
will give us military. strength. The
fact is that we need better citizens
not more of them; and until there has
been some way provided by which
every child born into this world has
as good a chance as it ought to have
in the race for success l shall con-
tinue to hold to the opinion that the
fewer there are in the family the bet
ter. President Roosevelt has a large
family, but he has always had album
dant means to care for them. If he
could know the sufferings of poor
women 1 do not believe he would en-
courage poor men to increase their
families.