The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-08-24
COLLEGE GRADUATES
FAIL TO BOOST CENSUS
Marry Late ia Life and Become
Parents Of Comparatively
Few Children

tN'tb NHto' -. 10 THU SHlClue IN
creasins among college graduates
Manrhe Kicker Of the United States
PuDl'c Heath Service says that il is.
ana quotes statistics. Some college
presidents are inclined to doubt tho
conclusions drawn by the health Ser
wee iilioial and think his figures give
q wrong impression. Others say that
from lack of statistics of their own.
they arc not prepared to discuss the
subject. They admit that Mr.. Kicker
ngures are startling and that they
pre- 3ent a disquieting view OF the fut.
ure
addressing the recent convention of
The National Educational Association
III Des Monies, Ia, Mr. Kicker was
quoted as follows; Investigation by
the federal public health service over
PERIOD OF years indicates that the
progeny Of one thousand graduates
from such institutions as Harvard
fale, Princeton Vassar and Smith
VIII not exceed atty in 100 wears from
now lie proceeded to compare the
results OF a similar canvass among ILL
tefale foreigners and said II indicated
mat N like period the original
thousand won be multiplied at least
q hundred times.
Frederick L. Allen. secretary of the
harvard University Corporation pro.
ouced some figures of his own from the
Harvard records. He said:
Mr.. Rlcker's assertion would seem
az iirst reading to give the impression
4 mat college students have on the aver.
age less than one child apiece. This
As not so among Harvard graduates
az any rate. Among the classes tho
1921 ~ At Harvard, the last ten classes
tWhpse statistics are available and may
pc considered fairly complete. the ave-
rage number of men per class was
lrse' "a ~hom l3o married and had
~ children, an average of 2.06
children per married graduate. or /. IS
children per capita for the whole
c'ass, The Yale figures for the same
period are similar The birthrate a.
mong Harvard graduates declined
during tie past half century TIE
decline however, was less sharp in
inc class between 1870 and 1890 than
II had been previously and situa.
ton which is idssquiet'ng at best.
seems to be showing a gradual tend.
cncy TO f,gEt itse,f'
No figures on the subject are avail.
able from Wellesley College but
President Ellen s. Pendleton gives #
as her impression that as far as tho
/ alumnae OF Wellesley are concerned
the number OF marriages and the
number OF children per marriage have
5 increase rather than decreased as the
years have gone ~ Some twenty or
: more years ago said Miss pendleton
The Association OF Collegiate Alum.
y ma gathered quite elaborate statistics
; comparing the health number Of mar.
riaees ana number OF children per
marriage of college lwomen with
SIMILAR statistics ofstheir sisters who
did not 50 to college or their cousins
I nearest their age These statistics
showed that there was very slight
ldilierence between the two classes
but such difference as there was. was
; Ill favor Of the College bred women.
ana as have said while we have no
recent figures my impression IL that
there are moro MARI ages and more
. children pei marriage in these later
! years
No one denies that college women
marry later IN life than non college
women and consequently any Stats.
4 tics that are made up on the basis OF
(; women not more tnsn five years out
OF college would give an entirely
wrong impression ! suspect that the
same thing would he true OF college
men
An article for the Smith Alumnae
Quarterly and based Oh The Quin.
queanial Catalogue of 1915 is Altered
as the latest available information
regarding the graduates OF Smith Col.
lose and their children. This gave the
average number Of children for each
OF the total number of alumnae 1882.
with the class OF 1915 omitted as go.
, The average of children for each
marriage in the classes numbered 70
, TO 50 was 2l0 This decreased with
later classes unti the average for each
, marriage from 1879 up to 1915 was
only l34. The compiler Florence
Homer Snow of The class of 1904
suggests that ii the figures seem small
arguments for the deIence include the
facts that the youngest classes are
TIE largest, and that many college
women marry late so that the figures
regarding them are not available un
Ill they have been many years out
of college.