Arizona republican., 1912-09-09
The Constantly Lowering Birth Rate of That Coun- try Is a Source of Grow ing National Alarm; In vestigation Started
FOR THE CAUSE
 AND THE REMEDY
Fathers Are to Be Taught That the Raising of 'Chil- dren Is a Duty That They Owe to the State as We'll as to Themselves

1 PARIS. Sept. S-The French govA ernment is considering serious meas ures for combating the decline in the national birth rate, which last year i showed a falling off of 32,869 births 1 as compared with 1910. The minister of finance has appointed a commits sion to investigate the causes of the decline and to suggest remedies NJ. | KIotz himself will preside and among the members will be B. Ribot, M. l Cochery, NJ Bienvenu Martin and M. 1 CaillauX.
 In emphasizing the importance of 1 immediate action if France is to maintain her position in the world, M. 1 Jacques Bertillon, the eminent sta tistican and brother of the inventor of the finger print system of identi- i ficatiOn. points out that, whereas a l century ago 27 per cent of the popu- i Iation of the Great European Powers were French, today the proportion is only II per cent. Formerly French was the most widely spoken language, l today it is the mother tongue of only 4. .O0O, ,OOO as compared with 100000 1 GOO who speak German and 130,000,000 who speak English.
 l As for remedies. M. Bertillon in- sists that Frenchmen must be taught | to regard a child as a burden which | it's father supports for the benefit of the whole community. In order that a family should pay what it owes to 1 the state, he says, it should consist ] of at least three children, two to fill the places of the parents when they 1 die. the third to fill the gaps caused l by those who die before reaching l adult age. In order to promote this end NJ Bertillon proposes reduction of taxation upon fathers of three or more living children, in proportion to the number of living offspring-a system already adopted in Prussia, Saxony. Servia, Norway, Sweden and parts of Switzerland. The laws of
 succession should be modified and
 formalities of marriage simplified.
 Mothers of large families should be
 assisted in various ways, and especial
 provision should be made for widows
 left with children. Finally M Ber-
 tillon suggests that among the hum
 bier classes of public servants those
 candidates for employment by the
 state who have children should be
 considered as eligible in proportion to
 the size of their families.
 French agriculturists. so sorely
 tried by the prolonged drought of last
 year. are now visited by another
 plague in the shape of severe epi-
 demic of foot-andmouth disease,
 which made it's appearance in the de-
 partment of the Saone and Loire. and is assuming alarming proportions. | of a
 of 400,0 900 are reported to be already
 infected The strictest precautions
 are being taken to prevent the furth- CT spread of the disease, which al
 ready affects the districts of Charo-
 lais. Louhans, Autun, Macon and
 Chalons Markets have been closed in many places and the transport of
 animals from the infected zones
 strictly prohibited.
 The tribes of Israel when they fled
 from Egypt made mistake in think [. ing they crossed the Red Sea, ac-
 cording to Professor Raphael Blanch-
 ard, of the French Academy of Medl- , cine They did not even cross the
 Gulf of Suez. he says, but simply the
 bitter lakes which cover the axis of
 the isthmus subsequently, pierced by NJ de Lesseps. The watersA of those
 lakes are frequently as red as blood
 which led the Hebrews into the be-
 lief that it was the Red Sea. The
 intensity of the rednesS is in exact
 proportion to the degree of salinity.
 The color is not due to the presence
 of any chemical substance dissolved
 in the water, but to myriads of little
 red worms.
 The general decadence of dictlon and the proposal to form a special
 class for it's teaching at the Con-
 servatoire has raised a storm of con-
 troversy among the eminent authori-
 ties on the drama in theory and prac- , tice Jules Truffier. of the Comedie 1 Franchise says that diction is an
 aristocratic art, all the rest being ac- t cessories to it; and it is disappearing, : because no one will take the pains to ! acquire it The celebrated tragedian , Mounet- -Sully is not so pess1mlstic. , and is of opinion that such a class would lead to excellent results. Jules
 Claretie. dramatic author, critic and x manager: is sceptical; long experl-
 ence has destroyed all his illusions Sarah Bernhardt. as usual. is clear
 and emphatic. She says: If class , be started for diction there is no req son why one should not also be start-
 cd for nronuncia tiOn delivery. de-