The San Francisco call., 1907-02-24


kingdom of Heaven"
The utterance attributed to
the Master seems TO be the only unas-
sailable offer OF d welcome TO the lisp
ing little ones of humankind-and it
seems TO be the only authority not
quoted in the book OF Lydia Kingsmill
Commander, dealing with the problem
OF race suicide.
Mrs. Communicable is really the
wife OF Rev. Herbert \. Casson. that
relation to exist as long as they love
each other-7las decided views upon
the marriage question Having taken
husband without changing her own
name IL was TO have been expected
that's she would and herself qualified
60 treat Of the problem Of the dimin-
ishing birth rate. Unconventional mar
risges are conducive to deep thought
upon the theories of reproduction.
The woman writer with the disputa-
tive prerogative of her sex, was fortu-
nate IN finding a virile. active mind in
opposition to her views against which
to direct her arguments, and she gives
hG book its nrst thrill of Importance
by dedicating It as "a sincere study OF
e grave social problem" TO Theodore
Roosevelt, who first aroused the ma
ton 70 the danger OF race suicide"
Upon the strength OF such a dedication
the volume might become a political
textbook IN the hands of the Presi-
dents enemies II the Roosevelt plea
for more babies were not q personal
opinion rather than a political policy.
Mrs. Commander has written with the
tdea that the President was not fully
informed upon the social and other
considerations affecting the multipli-
cation OF the race, and she has set
about the digging, out OF facts and
theories enough TO engage his thought
Cor e lifetime TO the exclusion Of every
other problem Of public welfare She
encyclopedias, histories, PHILOSOPHERS,
sermons and newspaper editorials cov-
er1ng the range from ancient Rome to
today in New York, and from the bar
barities OF child murder to the mere
disinclination Of the social butterfly to
burden herself with an unweIcome
baby. The authorities quoted I'LL fifty
pages of an appendix with Nautilus and
Robert Hunter as the favorites.
The book is called The American
Idea" The idea consists of the average
American family desiring to limit its
children to two-a boy and a girl. 1t
seems TO be a delicate subject. but Mrs
Commander has observed the conven-
tiops. and. for the most part, the pages
Of ct volume can be turned without
tohsS. Near the end Of her work she
says that the book is not written to
Offer a social panacea, but to call at
tention TO a social problem which will
press for recognition within the next
few decades" She expects to find the
solution or the problem in working
woInanhood "a readjustment OF social
arrangements so that women may work
without foregoing motherhood. And
this because the race must look to the
woman employed in professions, bust
ness or active labor for its perpetua-
tlon.
Her point OF view gives Mrs. Com
nander an excellent opportunity to ar
raign the idle class" OF wemen. the
occupants of fats and apartment
houses who have no children and care
Tor none. She says: The idle woman
IS leading an unnatural life, her in
stincts fail. she degenerates mentally.
physically and morally and produces
either no children or worthless ones"
She quotes a physician who practices
among the idle and luxurious as saying
that their one ambition is pleasure
and show" and another physician in the
same practice as saying that they
live lazy. overfed lives and have
nothing TO think OF but their intrigues"
There are numberless such quota
4ions In the chapter on Social Mother
hood" that would seem to be a tre-
1nendous breach Of professional ethics
on the part of the physician, but with
out exposing the sources OF her in
formation Mrs. Commander, all through
experiences and opinions OF DIR.
A. and DR.. B. and q "promi-
nent physician" in this. that and
the other district of New York. She
has used the family doctor almost en-
firely in making up the chapter upon
Must Women Suffer-? and that suffer
ing and the woman's right TO choose
sfe made arguments In favor OF limit
a. the visits OF the stork-
The Price OF Motherhood" is the
most appealing part of the book. The
author has used her friends. her ac-
ousfntances; II might almost be
thought that she has interviewed, first
hand, every mother Of children she
has met In the streets. And for the
most part Il is an unlovely picture
bad enough in the maternal feeling of
regret that children should come and
cry and bother, to make one feel that
after all the birth in the manger was
unfortunate and destined to lose the
glory of its influence upon all of
humanity. Children are shown to be
an interference. a cause for sacrifice;
but here and there in the indiscriminate
interviews is a rebuke out Of the past,
the opinion of the mother Of ten
aRainst the opinion of her grand
daughter, to whom two infants are too
many.
On the sociological side Of the ques-
ton the author does not agree with
President Roosevelt that large families
will save the race. She declares that
the higher standard Of American living
makes quality, not quantity, In babies
desirable; that two are enough; that
the Norkingman now wants the best
the 4 rket affords sn his full dinner
paii.r arnusements. clothes, furniture, q
piano and a watch and chain. These
things and big families do not go to-
gethers She points out the trend to
this end in the dismal failures OF the
prophecies of Ben Franklin and others
OF 100, ,oO0, 600 population for the United
States in 1900. Besides falling short