The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1904-04-14
ARGUMENT AGAINST LARGE FAMILIES


Chancellor L, Benjamin Andrews, of the Nebras
ka State University, lecturing to the medical stud
ents said yesterday that 10 children were too many
in one family especially where the parents are poor
He believes in limited families and asserts that il
is better to bring up small number of children and
give them all enough than to rear multitudmous
fomily ON half rations
There is no doubt that Dr. Andrews voices the do.
nestle philosophy of good many American fam.
lies and there is reason to his argument SAYS
the Bulletin An extra child or two makes a great
deal of difference in the economic arrangements of
city family and very large proportion of the pop
ulation of the country is now grouped in cities. So
cal philosophers most of whom are part of the urban
population usually think only of conditions as they
exist in the large towns They are aware that work
ing man or clerk, receiving limited wage, can pro-
vide for certain number of mouths and no more and
these philosophers reason with Dr. Andrews that it
folly for the workngman clerk to bring into the
world more children than he can support.
On farm few children more or less makes lit
tie difference in the years expense All the food they
can eat is produced on the land there is hardly any
outlay for Clothes and the children by doing chores
earn their board and lodging In the cities children
are rather in the way when out of school, and the
anxiety of parents is to keep them out of mischief
but farm there is plenty of work to be DONE and
every pair of childish hands is valuable machine
Race suicide, !" therefore, is phenomenon Of the
cities and is of the many Fastening ills that come
when wealth accumulates and men decay City life
in the long run produces radical deterioations
Families die out in the city after few generations
Luxury and strenuous labor destroy the nerves and
bring about sooner or later sterity and barrenness
How few city families can count more than three or
four generations from the last farmer in the family
The old families, as well as the large families, are
rural. The aristocracy and gentry of the old coun
tries-the families, that is, that count the largest
hneage-are country folk, such as the Defeating
foxhunting tory squres of England. The popula-
ion of cities kept up by accessons from the farms
City life has tendency to undermine the old-fash-
oned notions of the duty and beauty Of having large
families of healthy sons and daughters The urban
Carnea does not boast of her progeny her jewels
Children nowadays in the cities are regarded as
pinchbeck jewelry at the best Mothers are not dis
posed to spend their lives savishy in toing for their
young ones. Why, they reason, should they rear a
pack Of ngraes who will take all seryieesc and sac
rfces their just due without saying thanks. and
will marry and go away when they are just at an
age to be of use to their PARENTS This argument is
strong in the cities where there are 10 roOfrees and
where the patriarchal system of society does not
flourish. In the country the sons may bring their
wives home and take the burden of the farm and the
household from the parental shoulders, but in the
cltes as the son never pays the parents hotel bills
the parents do not acknowledge that they are under
any obligations to posterity.