The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-03-11
BY THO Countess of Warwick.
Copyright. 1917, by the International
News GCrfitsn

Should the poor have large families ?
Are the parents of eight, ten or even
dozen children 10 be classed among
the improvacnt or hailed as patriots ?
The question is constantly raised.
'Improvident creatures" said an ac-
qualntance Of mine az we passed her
gardeners cottage and saw mum Der
Of small children. lie earns twenty
four shillngs week. he has eight
children and his wife Is evpccting
another. He is a good gardener. but
he can hardly make two ends meet
What are you 10 do with such cases ?"
Il only see two remedies" | replied
Il should give him a larger cottage
and little more money every week"
She stared at me and was silent for
few moments. II never looked at
+ in that light she said at last.
Poor woman. she had two children
of her own, boys both; today she has
but one and war may claim the other
before the end. | believe that gar
dener has three boys in the service,
bat there are five or six childrer still
mt home. It is only a small instance,
but If the working classes were to lis
ten 10 the superior folk who preach
the doctrines of Nautilus. what would
have become Of the empire aid what
would have happened to the workers.
themselves?
To begin with. the doctrines OF NAL
thus arc false He foresaw a popula-
ton Increasing so rapidly that the
earth could not produce Il su'hci enCy
of food. today we know that the earth
could keep twice its present population
IN comfort II all our resources were
but directed to preservation inste. OF
destruction and If there were oaly a
reasonable fair division OF the fruits
of labor.
In the second place---it is tho first
place in reality--we arc bound 10 have
suHicient faith on Providence that
placed as on this planet to believ, that
our coming here is not merely for
tuitous.
Admonition to All.
/ Re fruitful and multiply arl re-
! p}enish the earth and suhdne It," was
not as / understand it, a command or
admonition addressed solely to the
Jews 1t applies with equal force to
all the pioneers OF civilization AMI to-
day the white men of the Wectern
hemisphere bear the worlds burdens,
The yellow and black races have not
yet challenged their hegemony. nor
do | believe that the latter ever Will.
or the Chinese and Japanese | am
not sure, II challenged, we shall be
forced to fight. There Will be no state
boundaries in those days, J believe
the United States of America ana Eu-
rope will pool their forces.
But where are our members to come
from II, in the long years between now
and the season Of menace. the inlquity
and faulty OF strife has not davned
both hemispheres?
The wealthy classes OF Europe and
America who lack the smallest excuse
for restricted families. would appear
deliberately to have shirked their d dty.
If the poor were to follow the ex-
ample of the rich II is safe to say that
. in the course OF a single generation
the white mans burden would crush
him The rich woman Ia afraid or
unwilling to suffer pains and d's"om-
fort. the poor woman treats mother
hood in quite different way Her
looks. her health and her. strength
may pay the price, but she has pride
in her children and will sacrifice her
self for them. We women who live In
easy circumstances have never done
justice to our poorer sisters for the de-
votion to duty that alone allows the