The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-17
BIRTH RATE ALSO FALLS

Tt has been Salu, lflueeu, IHdl we Hecu not be greatly concerned, inasmuch as we have an extraordinarily favorable mor- tality rate; and it is true that our death rate has been greatly reduced within 30 years thanks to our gratifying economic development, our improved manner Of ltv- ing and especially our splendid sanitary measures. Thirty years ago the death rate was 26 to 1000 of the population. To- day it is only 14-which means that there die today 7O0,0OO fewer persons annually than would die if we still had the death rate of 1886.
 But we must face the regrettable fact that while the death rate has further di- unfinished during the past 13 or IA years. the birth rate has fallen still more rap ! idly. The death rate has decreased A, 1 but the birth rate has fallen ITS, or 70 l per cent more rapidly than the mortality ! figures"
 I Irrespective of what the outcome of l the war may be, Germans see in their great Slav neighbor a menace which not even victory will remove, for Russia, with ] a population about twice that of Ger many, has yearly excess of births over deaths of more than 17 per cent, against ] slightly more than 12 per cent for Ger many.
 ! Russia still has death rate of 2 per I cent. Germany's death rate has been reduced from o6S per cent in the COS to l l as low as it can be brought. German
 sociologists realize that the Russian death rate is bound to be reduced rapidly They point to the anti-alcohol regulations and 1 the better system of grain distribution l as two factors that are bound to make 1 themselves felt shortly, and, as showing | the possibility of progress along other. 1 sociological lines, they point out that l the number of illiterates in the Russian l army sank from GOA in 1903 to 35.7 per l cent in 1911
 1 Another factor is the possibility that | the emigration from Russia, which was very large before the war. may to great extent stop after the war. Germany S emigration has been of negligible pro- 1 portions for more than a decade.
 l Still another consideration is discussed | ir an article in current magazine. un- der the title, "The Wars Influence on the Will to Propagate. The author says:
 DON'T WANT CHILDREN
 Several months ago I heard for the first time from the lips of a working woman the statement that no mother could longer accept with clear conscience | the responsibility of bearing children.
 Better no child than to bring children into the world for the fearful fate of becoming food for powder Since that 1 time I have heard the same expression | from the mouths of women and also of men Of the most different classes. Every where & deep repugnance to beget chill dren. It is, therefore to be feared that the war threatens to add a new. earnest and very effective motive to those that TOW work to limit the number of births.
 Further complicating the subject, is the 1 fact that there will be a great excess of women over men after the war Before 1 the war the excess of females over males wcs 900, 900, in round numbers. Owing. 1 however, to the greater longevity of the females, the great bulk of the excess consisted of women more than 50. that is. l beyond the collaborating age. The ex- l cess of women of fruitful age, however, l will be increased by approximately the l number of men killed in the war. remov- 1 ing hundreds of thousands of women from consideration as possible mothers
 A steadily increasing number of sup porters is being found for the idea of | encouraging large families by grants of l money for each child. and by grad l uated reduction of taxes.
 l Much attention is also being paid to l mea sures to combat infant mortality and 1 the spread of sex diseases. Here how ever the sociologists find themselves face l to face with a difficult problem. The 1 Prussian government has just refused as- | sent to a movement to compel the re- l porting of such diseases. oasing its re- | fusal on the assertion that such law would lead to concealment and conse- l qLently would make conditions worse. l Proposals to permit a limited polygamy,
 such as prevailed after the 30 years war. have been gravely discussed. but in prac- tically every instance rejected