Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-03-24
PLEA FOR NO CHILDREN
Young Wife's Reason For Not
 Having a Family.
HAs BEEN MARRIED FIVE YEARS

Literary Wage Earrer In Answering President Roosevclt's Views on Du-
 ties of Motherhood Declares Om- spring Would Destroy Social Use- fulncss of Herself and Husband and f Make Them Lower.
 We believe that to have children would be detrimental to our usefulness as members of society, detract from the happiness of our marriage and make us lower, not nobler, people,"
 Thus does "A Childless Wife" sum up in the Independent the reasons "Why Have No Family" In a fore word the editor of that magazine says that the author and her husband are not infrequent contributors to the h. dependent under their own signatures. The publication of the article was brought about by President Roosevelt's recent lecture to the women of Amer lea on the duties and rewards of moth- erhood, when he advocated raising a 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 younger women of America in her field of social service, and her husband is r equally useful in his field. -. ..-
 This young wife begins her state- ment of the situation by saying:
 My husband and I are young, well in mind and body, comfortably situat- ed financially, love each other devoted ly 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 I am and is more firmly convinced that it would be in every way tie wrong thing for us to do.
 With no lack of admirers, made one mistake in becoming engaged at eighteen to man to whom l was at tracted by his strong emphasis on hu- man development and the importance of constant growth. He was enthusi- astic, high minded, five years my sen for. with poetic temperament and boundless faith in his future. He un- dertook to direct my reading and to develop my mind After time. how ever, it became clear to me that his idea of my development was that I should become as nearly as possible copy of himself.
 Meanwhile I had left teaching for newspaper work. which carried me. from the small town wt,re had been raised to Chicago. There I climbed from reporter to an editor and final ly to magazine position. with con- genial work and a good salary. Liv- ing fin a great city. soon became con sclous of the many social pEoblems that distress our present civilization.
 "Then came the man. He appeared on my horizon as a special writer, on subject of which he was master, for the magazine of which I was one of the editors. His work I had followed for some time, but the man was rev elation. He was gentle and strong. free and pure fin mind and life. His was a genuine free nature. He wanted liberty for others as we'll as for him self. He delighted in unconventional ideas and habits of life and was as fearless an analyst of existing condi- tions and customs as myself.
 I've were friends at once-comrades. I was utterly happy as our friendship ripened into love. My love was condi- toned upon my respect not only for him, but for myself. Our relations must always be such that neither would suffer any diminution of freedom or opportunity for development. Of chil- dren we spoke. but decided to wait until we felt the desire for them"
 When. after marriage. this couple be- gan definitely to consider parenthood they found that with such responsibil- ities the wife would have to give up her employment, which would cut in half the joint income as well as de- stroy her social usefulness. The hus- band would have to more than double his income. putting all his energies into money making to the exclusion of so- cial work.
 Then. besides. there was no telling what kind of children they might have. We might" she says. raise son like Tolstoi's, who would go into the army. or a daughter who would de- light in giving pink teas"
 The personal reason. too. was an inl- portant one to the wife. who loved life and health and feared "to risk such precious possessions"
 Besides the wife says. being thus cut of from her independent income. she would have as a favor a liberty she now enjoys as right.