The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1911-04-30

| ne Is FOR woman Suffrage, but with
Provso-FuIl Rights For One Who
Does Her Full Duty, but For Others
Also Guilty of Racial Crime.
ParpnthOod raised to the fourth pow
er is the burden of Colonel ROosevelts
utterance under the head of Race
Decadence' in the Outlook.
The colonel asserts that where there
are one. two or even three children to
a marriage it is nevertheless q sterile
marriage. But four children let a man
and wife out of the class that he alb
hOrs. He also believes in letting the
woman who wishes to vote do so, but
still her primal and most essential duty
is motherhood.
Says the colonel: Il believe in n
full equality of rights If women wish
to vote. | favor it although | do not
| think It anything like rs important for
them or for the state as are many 9th
or things that they can and should do).
| but the extent of my reverence for
and belief in woman who does her
| duty measures also my contempt for
! the woman who Shirks her primal and
most essential duty The man who
! either is Responsible for or acQuicScrs
! in storujty in marriage is oven more
Contemptible than the woman.
Man Equally to Blame.
| "EyactIy MS the measure Of our re
! gard for the soldier who does his full
| duty in battle is the measure of our
! Sc0rn for the coward who fees, so the
measure Of our respect for the true
wife and mother is the measure of our
scorn and C0ntemptuOus adherence
| for the wife who refuses to be moth
| err
| Race suicide, the colonel says, is as
much the fault of the man rs Of the
woman, and they must go through
great mental cleansing and come to
their senses" before they reach the I'M
Outstanding that there is no other hap
| piness comparable to that Of having a
| large supply of children to make the
home happy-and do the errands. A
large family is also useful. although
the colonel does not say so, in constant
" reminding you of the high cost of
living.
Still, if you cannot afford eight or
ten youngsters the colonel implies you
are eligible to the parent class with
four. and unless you attain this aver
age you are helping to put this great
and glorious country on the tobOggan.
1.-THE race cannot go ahead, it cannot
keep its numbers even" Roosevelt
prophesies, unless the average man
and woman who are married and who
are capable of having children have
a family Of four
The Curse eE sterili+v
"The American stock is being cursed
with the curse of sterility," the colo
mel continues. The guilty and the in
nocent alike are informed that sterili-
ty is due to codness. to selfishness.
to love of ease to shrinking from
risk, to an utter and pitiful failure in
sense Of perspective and in power Of
weighing that which makes the high
est joy and to a roofing out of the
sense into improper channels.
But the native born man is not
forced to bow alone under this denun-
citation. The immigrant also gets
blast. Roosevelt finds the new citizen
is following the example he sees set
before him
1.-THE same racial crime the colonel
says, sis spreading rapidly among the
sons and daughters Of immigrants.
immigrants Too.
"If it were confined to Americans Of
old stock while it would be matter
of shame to us of the old stock. we
could at least feel that the traditions
and principles and purposes of the
founders Of the republic would find
their believers and opponents among
their descendants by adoption. and in
such case I for one would heartily
throw my fate with the men Of alien
stock who were true to old American
principles rather than with the men
of the old American stock who were
traitors to the old American princi
pies. But the children of the immi-
grants show the same wilIful sterility
as the people of the old stock.
Are Americans really content that
this land Of promise. this land of the
future, this Astounding and vigorous
nation, shall become decrepit in what
ought to be the flower Of its early