New-York tribune., 1909-06-14
BIRTH RATES AND DEATH RATES.

The somewhat startling records Of decline in
the Prussian birth rate appear 10 give add-
tional confirmation 10 the theory that there Is
some systematic correspondence between the
movements OF birth rates and Of death rates, in
stead Of the contrast which some might expect.
1t might. indeed, naturally be supposed that at
least some of the conditions which promote the
physical welbeing OF the people and thus lower
the death rate would tend toward an increase,
or at least maintenance, Of the birth rate and
that on the other hand, some Of the conditions
of physical and other deterioration which result
in a decreased birth rate would lessen The te-
nacity Of: life and increase the death rate. The
general testimony Of the world and the very
marked special testimony of several Of its fore
most countries and most Of its great cities is.
however to the contrary. The rule seems To be
that where the birth rate is high the death ~ate
also is high, and that where sanitary science
and efficient administration lower the death rate
there is a corresponding decline Of the birth
rate.
This has long been notably the case In France
where probably more than in any other country
of the world the resources Of civilization have
been effectively employed for decreasing the in
fantile death rate TO e minimum, and where the
birth rate has a. the same time so declined as
TO provoke some persons 10 talk rashly of the
"deCadence" of the race. In England the death
rate has been greatly diminished and there has
arisen much complaint of the decline Of the
birth rate. Here in New York the processes are
not SO marked, yet with the gratifying dimnu-
tion of the death rate which has been effected
IN recent years there is said to have occurred
some decline of the birth rate, at least in that
part of the population which is of native an
cestry- In the great cities of the United King
dom there is an impressive parallel between the
two rates. Thus, in London and Bradford the
low death rates Of 14.G and 14S are accom-
panied by the low birth rates of 25.G and 90,
while In Liverpool the higher death rates of
10 and III are accompanied by the higher
birth rates of Bis and 300. So may con-
trast Edinburgh with death rate and birth
rate of 162 and 21.7 with Glasgow with 1875
and 2S.3 respectively. The same rule holds good
elsewhere. Alexandria and Cairo have the ap-
palIng death rates of 351 and 37.s, and CORE
spondingy the high birth rates of 37.7 and 42.G
while Amsterdam and Hamburg have the lower
death rates of 1874 and 14.S and also the lower
birth rates OF 25.5 and 2J2. If the contrast
between these two pairs Of cities should be ac
counted for by the differences in climate and
race. the two northern cities of Stockholm and
st. Petersburg may be taken as affordlng a very
fair and therefore convincing, comparison be-
cause Of their similarity in natural conditions
Stockholm has both rates low, 1879 and 245, re-
PAT and 3o.4. Similar examples might be null
tiplied almost indefinitely. And now come the
vital statistics of the chief part of the German
Empire with striking testimony to the> same
effect.
The death rate In Prussia in 1907 was the
lowest on record, and was the birth rate
That fact might perhaps be regarded rs acci-
dental or as due to some special and temporary
circumstances we're 1t not shown to be merely
q ~ a uhi bac II,
operation for years. Thus in 1904 the birth
rate was 3504; in 1905 it fell to 3377 In 1903
there was slight recovery to "a. and In 1907
there was further fall to only SO % In the
city OF Berlin in the last named year it was only
:4-59. and in every province of the kingdom ex-
cepting five, in the extreme east and west the
birth rate was much below the average In the
whole empire the years increase of population
due TO the excess of births over deaths was prob