The Washington herald., 1917-01-28
FAvoRs DECREASE OF BIRTHS.
Writer Argues for Smaller Families
Among Educated Glasses.

Writer Argues for Smaller FAMILIES
|. Among Educated Glasses.
Editor. The Washington Herald From
paragraph in your paper / received
The impression that you view with dis
favor the tendency toward smaller fam
iiies among the educated classes. Col
iege graduates form only / per cent OF
the nation Why not help SO per cent
OF the nation to become college grad
uates instead of encoura ging / percent
to increase in number at the sacrifice OF
quality?
IL the average man brought up only
as many children as he could afford to
send through college, would not the col
lege graduates be many times as numer-
ousE How many parents would send
their children to college, If they only
could afford 1t? They can not afford 1t,
because they did not get more educa-
ton before they rushed into matrimony.
or because they have more children than
they can afford to send to college. The
small percentage of college graduates. is
not due to the unwillingness to have
more children, on the part of the grad
uates, but the lack of preparation for
the responsibility of parenthood on the
part OF SO per cent of the people
You know population is Always on the
increase, while land not only does not
: increase, but surplus land is steadily
decreasing. You know that in ten years
from now all public land in the United
states Will be taken by nomesteaders.
You know that flood taxes place in the
United states annually and that the de-
mand for timber will increase as popu-
lation increases and as civilization ad-
vances.
You know no human energy can create
land. No knowledge of science can pro-
! duce an unlimited quantity out of a lin
ited area You know l0o,o0o.0Oo meat
animal are slaughtered annually in the
United States, and to keep one animal
alive one year, it required eleven acres
| of pasture. The war is killing many
! college nen. Let US stop the war rather
( than encourage births
! Instead of raising the birth rate, let
US cut down the death rate. You know
| in any war more people die through dis
ease than from wounds. You know
drinking parents lose 50 per cent of their
babes. Street accidents kill rs, 900 people
/ in the United States annually.
II the entire worlds population should
| cease TO increase for a hundred years,
there would be no serious consequence.
! II the entire worlds crops should fail
for one single year. how many millions
OF people would perish? You know the
price of land in terIns of human lives
/ In an attempt to acquire land or retain
ii, the belligerents have sacrificed 5000 900
| CT their best and strongest manhood in
killed or wounded. You know the price
| of land in money in addition to human
lives: 5000, 100000 so far.
| II all coal mines of the world should
| become exhausted next year il would
not be the greatest calamity, for a sub
stitute could be found. II all forests
should be wiped out by a series of forest
| fires or a plague of insect pests, the
mountains could be reforestated. If dis
ease should kill 80 per cent OF our meat
animals, our live stock could be greatly
| increased eventually. Even II half of
| the human race should perish through
! disease, the earths population will be
| normal in due time. But II all surplus
land be as densely occupied as Belgium,
| there is no remedy for it; absolutely
| none.
| BY accusing the educated of a low
birth rate, you unconsciously encourage
| births among the rest, and a high birth
| rate has been keeping the lower classes
poor and miserable. an the interest OF
/ mankind, I beg that you will reconsider
this important matter.
WILLIAM W. CHUNG.
Editor The Washington Herald: Who
is opposed to an increase of salary for
/ farmers
! who received s. per busheI for their
potatoes instead of so cents, and 100 per
cent more for their wheat than formerly
! Is IT the employees who have increased
| the wages and salaries of their employees
| throughout the whole United States? Oh
| no, dear reader, il Is neither of these
but certain men in Congress who arc
unalterably opposed to any increase in
salary for the civil service employees
under any circumstances, as shown by
the excuses set up ever since Congress
! increased its own salaries and those OF
! the higher officials such as we will not
have time to do anything for the clerks
| this session" which excuse has been
used each year. Now they have taken UT
| the threatened deficit as an excuse which
/ submit, is wholly unjust In view OF
| the fact that living expenses have in.
creased over 100 per cent, thus reducing
! the buying value of the dollars to fifty
cents. Further, It is not Just that the
civil service employees should bear Sc
large portion of the burden of a deficit
even though they were receiving larger
| salaries
| Some members of Congress now sci
! forth as an excuse that many Of the
government clerks are getting too much
salary, matter easily adjusted as such
, clerks could be denoted to lower grade
but a careful investigation would show
that there are but few cases where in
efficient clarks are receiving the higher
| salaries.
With all employees outside the govern
mcnt repeatedly increasing salaries in
recognition of the high cost of living, the
excuses set up are illogical, and we must
! conclude that the members of Congress
who make these excuses are determined
that this great government with its vast
resources shall not pay the employees who
do its work a salary commensurate with
their service, or even q living wage.
! TAXPAYER.