The Washington times., 1918-04-15

| over ana over gam i was asked 10
tell II there Is any truth"-Americans
invariably put Il that way-in reports
! that the birth rate in Germany Is being
increased by government orders carried
out with entire disregard OF conventional
morality. Stories to that effect have
been widely circulated here, md. Many
Americans believe them. Many moro
half believe them.
In Germany I heard similar stories
about France. They were lies-or. more
precisely. legends-and 30, In my opinion.
are the stories about Germany. Four
years and a half lived there. quitting
German soil only In January. 1914
Neither in the papers nor In conversa-
ton with Germans Of all classes did I
run upon anything calculated to support
the legends. As a considerable propor-
ton Of the Germans l was in contact
with dstested the German imperial gov
srnment and delighted to bring all man
ner Of accusations against II, ! feel that
silence on this point was very significant
No such official onslaught on morals
could b accomplished without the
knowledge Of Germans in general. Know
ing that eact, II fact It were. they would
be In q mood to proclaim IL far and
wide.
German Stage Net Chsnxed.
Then, too. hear that Americans
read q German tirade against the
shameless nudItiss" permitted on the
stage in wartime and stories that
Germany encourages lax morality by
allowing women to call themselves
Frau instead OF Fraulein whenever
such tricksry would save them from
disgrace. As for the shameless nudi-
ties" ! think the TRADE must have
proceeded from some German prude, |
for tho German stage OF wartime 10
not different in this respect from the |
German stage OF peacetime.
But the measures taken to legiti- |
mize the children OF irregular unions |
are real While am not certain that
the German government has actually |
sanctioned the substitution. Of Frau
for Fraulein in such instances, there
was talk Of II. Some Germans ap-
proved the plan as a way OF benefit
ing the children. That the evil had
somewhat increased during the war
was admitted. But no one looked
upon II as q device for encouraging
lax relations. They were deplored by
public sentiment as heartily as before
the war.
Meanwhile the government has been
taking steps to make marriage Q
great deal easier than II was. Couples
VIM lOI"oiJ hilO"cu Tcu thpo ~
stand between them and an official
recognition OF their union. see the red
tape greatly cut down. They can now
marry. And in cAses where class dis |
tinctions formerly prevented mar
riage, the war has put a new face on
the situation.
An army officer, say, has for years
been the head of an unsanctioned fam /
lily, the mother of his children belong. /
ing to q class inferior to his own. Be |
fore the war, marriage would have en- |
tailed his social ruin. Today he can
risk II. Aware that he may be killed. |
he desires to bestow his name upon |
his children and social consequences
no longer weigh with him as they /
did.
Nobody pretsnds that. looked at in
the large, morality in Germany has
been benefited by the war. German
wives are not necessarily more cir
cumspeet because their husbands have
gone to the front Hunger Is not
necessarily preventive OF evil doing
for hire. But failed to observe In
warning Germany the outward proof
that vice had increased, nor did I hear
that II had. What shocked me was
not that particular type OF moral de-
cline-it may have been there, and
pretty serious. too, without my know
Ing it-but rather a grave and very
general decline in German honesty.
The lying! The cheating! The steal
ing!
In their lasting effect on character,