The Columbus weekly dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 1902-1905, 1905-05-03
-EA FOR No CHILDREN
5ung Wife's Reason For Not
Having a Family.
Las BEEN MARRIED FIVE YEARS

Pre-id. mt Roosevelt. |. on Du-
ties OF Motherhoodl1,. ares on
spring Would Dest sfaI Use-
fuIness Of Herself, "a and and
Make Them Lo-
I'VE believe ordo Id lildren
would be Dc Ro, to ouE illness
as member Ben lety, do from
the happfho, oCr ma bid
thus doe @ef chiIdless u Jun
up in the Independent tha Iasons
why Have No Family. de- u fore
word the editor of that m,,r Ee says
that the author and her nd are
not infrequent contributor the In
dependent under their own 5. atures.
The publication of the IS be was
brought about by Presidentasko eveIt's
recent lecture to the women of Amer
lea on the duties and rewards of moth
erhood, when he advocated raising
large family. As to the justification Of
the writer in following out her theories
the editor of the magazine says she is
one OF the most useful and able of the
Of social service, and her husband is
equally useful in his field.
This young wife begins her state
ment of the situation by saying:
My husband and | are young, well
in mind and body, comfortably situat-
ed financially, love each other devoted-
" and are fond Of children. Yet after
five years of married life we have no
family and have no present intention
of ever having any The principal aim
of our lives as well as our standard
Of human value is social usefulness. |
My husband is even more opposed to |
our having children than l am and is
more firmly convinced that it would /
be in every way the wrong thing for /
us TO do.
with no lack of admirers. l made /
one mistake in becoming engaged at /
eighteen to man to whom | was at
tracted by his strong emphasis on hui
man development and the Importance
of constant growth. He was enthusi-
asa1c, high minded, five years my sen
iof with poetic temperament and
boundless faith in his future. He I'M
dertook to direct my reading and to
develop my mind. After a time how
ever, it became clear to me that his
idea Of my development was that |
should become as nearly as possible
copy OF himself.
Meanwhile l had left teaching for
work. which carried me
from the small town where / had been
raised to Chicago There / climbed
from a reporter to an editor and final
ly to magazine position, with con-
genial work and a good salary Liv-
ing in a great city, soon became con-
scious of the many social problems
that distress our present civilization
'Then came the man. He appeared
on my horizon as a special writer. on
q subject of which he was master, for .
the magazine of which / was one of
the editors His work / had followed |
FOR some time, but the man was rev
citation. He was gentle and strong !
free and pure in mind and life. His
was a genuine free nature. He wanted
liberty for others as well as for him
self He delighted in unconventional I
IDEAS and habits of life and was as
fearless an analyst of existing condi-
ions and customs as myself.
I'VE We're friends at once-comrades. :
was utterly happy as our friendship
opened into love. My love was condi-
Toned upon my respect not only for 4
lin, but for myself Our relations :
must always be such that neither would
uffer any dimlnution of freedom or
opportunity for development. OF chill :
lren we spoke. but decided to wait ;
Until we felt the desire for them
When. after marriage, this couple be
,an definitely to consider parenthood z
hey found that with such responsible :
ties the wife would have to give up
er employment, which would cut ia
alf the joint income as well as de- 4
troy her social usefulness. The hus- :
and would have to more than double s
is income, putting all his energies into
money making to the exclusion of So Z
ial work
Then, besides, there was no telling
that kind of children they might have 6
We might she says, raise a son z
Ike Tolstoi's, who would go into the )
rmy, or a daughter who would de
ght IN giving pink teas"
The personal reason, too, was an i'm Z
ortant one to the wife, who loved life
nd health and feared ito risk such
recious possessions"
Besides. the wife says. being thus cut =
z from her independent income. she =
-ould have as q favor a liberty she
ow enjoys as a right. q
How General TrenoT Was Warmed