The independent., 1907-04-11
APRIL II, 1907.

an early marriage and large family.
When. as so often IN these days OF an
ti-child labor laws and protractea
schooling. the additional child is drag
on the social advancement OF the ram
lily, that child is not likely to be born.
With the wiping out of sharp class
lines inherited standards OF living lose
their grip. Wants and tastes once con-
fined to the social elite spread resist
lessiy downward and infect the masses
Tidal waves of imitation carry the
craving for luxuries, hitherto looked
upon as the prerogative of the rich
among millions of people OF limited
means, and these. in their endeavor 10
crafty their newly awakened wants,
learn to economize in offspring. The
little stranger trenches on raiment,
ric-a-brac, upholstery, travel, enter
tainment Here the decencies, there
the comforts, yonder the refinements
and vanities of life compete with the
possible child and bar 1T from exist
ence.
Another factor is the emancipation Of
women. Every child taxes the fathers
purse. but the mothers body. re-
puted inferiority of women, as in the
Orient or eastern Europe, degrades her
to q passive instrument of man, sub
ordinates her entirely to wifely func-
, tions. so that her birth pangs do not
count. The great movement that has
burst the fetters on Womans mind ana
opened 10 her so many professional AND
Industrial careers raises her value ana
weight in the marriage partnership and
cauaes the heavy physiological and per-
sonal cost of excessive maternity to
be more considered by husband as wei
as by wife. When the size Of the fam
,Iy Is determined from the mans view
point alone the controlling coilsldera-
tion is pecuniary; and hence Malthus
drew his pessimistic conclusion to de-
feat itself by stimulating the growth
OF numbers until poverty again relgns.
But when spouseS come to the woman
point of view the pain -and-Worry cost
Of enlarging the family remains q bar
even when the money cost heeds no
longer be considered.
Not All Heaven-Sent.
Something, too, must be SAID Oh ine
decay of religious beliefs. Parents who
trust in Providence" and hold with
Luther that God makes children ana
He will provide for them are rare
nowadays More and more the age
chimes in with Matthew Arnold when
he says
"a mans children are not. really sent
any more than the pictures upon his
wall or the horses in his stable are
sent; and to bring Leople into the
world when one cannot afford to keep
them and oneself decently and not too
nrecariousIy - Ia - by nc
means an accomplishment of the di-
vine will or a fulhlment OF natures
simplest laws, but is contrary
to reason and the will of Cod
Piety moreover promoted parentaSe
70 tnt n (
mother and drudge The struggle o.
woman to realize an individuality has
Obliged her to rebel against her biblical
status and to spurn the counsel of sub
mission to the curse of Eve; so that
the progress of unbelef is not without
a bearing on the decline of the birth
rate.
Powerful as arc the motives arrayet
against supcrfecundity, they operate
only in so far as they are coupled VIII
foresight and self-contro In the mod
ern world parents may not rid them
selves Of the unwelcome child, so tna
it is only by being foreseen and antici
pated that the ever more acutely fel
burden OF that child can limit the siz'
Of the family. Every influence. there
fore. that cnlightens or enthrones rna
son over impulse helps to break III
sceptre of Eshtar the cruel goddess tina
mas so unspeakably tormented mankind
In this direction work the universal in
struction, cheap press, free Libraries
and voluntary associations that are ir
radiating the social deers. Moreover
industrialism, with its enormous pres
sure and harsh penalties, is compeliiE,
the ignorant the careless and the ami
NAL to think; so that, in fact, the pin
cipal features Of the life of today ar
acconpiices in the restriction of fe
cundity.
What now, arc the effects of reduc
Ing the size Of the average family
some of the Effects.
one effect IL that diffusion OF econ
omic wellboing which registers itsel
and wider diffusion OF ownership
Striking. indeed. Is the contrast in con
dition between the prudent Frenc
peasantry ANA the reckless mining o
factory towns ~ central Europe or tn
spawning rural communities IN liussi