Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1915-10-29
PRoHleIrIve TARIEF ON eAeIEs


Prof Joseph f. johnson, dean Of the school of com
merce and finance of New York University created a
sensation by telling New York legislative committee
he had the taxing he would married men
higher than bachelors
He would do this he says, of discouraging
matrimony and therefore lowering the birth Prof
johnson ardent advocate of suiside He re
asserts the doctrine annunoated by Nautilus century
ago to the effect that the human tends to multiply
it reduced to poverty and misery when with lower
birth rate it might live in comfort and happiness
high Dirt rate, says Prof Johnson, is direct in
centye to war The prolific nations demand their place
in the sun" and wars that kill the surplus
population until the birth rate again brings over
production of children and the process TO he
gone through an over again So to prevent poverty and
war he would put deterrent tax on matrimony.
The professor doesn't want to stop all the marrying.
lie would let the rich marry and have all the children
they wanted to. But he would impose heavy enough
tax TO bar e poor and he would require all married
couples to prove to some public authority that they were
able to take proper care of children if they them,
Now to certain extent this theory is good. It is un-
fortunate for society that rule the rich and inteli-
gent have few children the and ignorant have
many BY rights the rich should have the most chill
dren because they best support them and because
numerous progency performs the useful economic func-
ton breaking up big The large families Of
the extremely poor responsible not only for the pow
ery and struggles their parents but for many of our
big social and economic problems There's no virtue in
mere prohcness. It would be better for everybody if
the poorest and most ignorant parents had the smallest
families.
AT the same time this is a matter in which it's inn
possible TO lay down and fast rules. Many poor
struggling father and mother far better fitted to rear
children for he state than their wealthy neighbors Tax
paying ability isn't the only criterion. Physical health
GOOD mentally and sound morals OF reasonibiU
to the community and an ingrained desire bring VI
their children in the fear God and the respect of mar
are infinitely more important than any monetary stand
ard And the proof Of in the fact that most o..
our great and useful men have born in fam
lilies benjamin Franklin, it viii be recalled was tho
youngest of seventeen cAildren Prof Johnsons race
suicide tax would have barred him from the world alonf
with many another noble American.
TO get back to Malthus-that economist was probably
wrong about it, anyway Henry George long pointed
our the faacy OF the Malthusan doctrine that increase
Of populations means necessarily increase Of poverty
That may have been true in primitive days, when there
certain area and so more people less for each to
eat But the age Of machinery and Of scientific utliza
tion OF the forces Of nature has changed all that
with our present facilities for The manufacture and ex
change of commodities there advantage in large
communities They make cooperation in wealthpro
ducion easier And 1t seems evident. Henry George
argued that contemporary world reveals the creates
per capita prosperity in the thicky settled coun
tros and the most hicky setted parts Of countries
That is TO say however large families people may hav
and however fast the population may grow, the coun
try's wealth is likely to outstrp the human increase
And we can hardly imagine country with the resource
Of modern civilization unable to support itself comfort
ably
But why are the large families so poor? That, o
course is question distributing the total output o
the community And that it the big thing for society a
whole 10 take in hand
The family doesn't owe it TO the state not to becom
large; the state owes it family make it possbl
have children without giving HOSTAGES 10 fortune
without being forced bring them up undernourishec
uAae-educated and llprepared for life
II isn't revealing any diplomatic secret to remark th'
IL Is Germany That has converted this nation from pac
am 10 preparedness and every German victory EuroI