The New York herald., 1921-09-04

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are entering the lists to defend
themselves against the oft reiter-
ated but perennially fresh charges of race
suicide in their ranks. Representatives of
several of the largest and most famous Of
the Eastern colleges, both mems and wom-
ems institutions, producing statistics of
marriage and birth rates among their grad
lates in the endeavor to refute the recent
statement attributed to Maurice Kicker Of
the United States Public Health Service that
race suicide is increasing among college
graduates.
laration uttered not long since by Massa-
chusetts sociologist that the whole upper
stratum of society is dying out through race
suicide; that graduates of women's colleges
produce on the average less than one-third
enough children to resupply their part of
the population, and that professional and
business classes in general produce far less
than the requisite three children per child
bearing woman necessary to maintain their
numbers without increase.
College Women Give Figures
To Refute the Assertion
In the face of such serious charges 1t is
not surprising that college graduates in gen.
eral and women graduates In particular
for they are more6requently called upon to
defend themselves in such cases-seek to
prove in rebuttal that the higher education
of the individual and the continuance of the
race are not incompatible They are pro-
ducing figures to prove that the birth rate in
the college and professional groups, while
small in comparison with the high rate of
the general population, is not by any means
alarmngly small and that Furthermore
numbers alone are not the only considera-
ton in race continuance. Standards of
ouality-better health. lower mortality
higher grade of intelligence-are of equal
Importance. since race development and
progress are fully as desirable as race con-
unuance.
Frederick L. Allen. secretary of the Har-
ward University Corporation, gives statistics
for the ten classes at Harvard from 1881 to
1890 which may be considered as fairly COM
class was 24S, of whom 1s3 married and
had 372 children. This was an average of
sos children per married graduate or 1.55
children per capita for the whole class. Yale
figures for classes graduated during the
same period of time are found to be similar.
These two universities are typical of the
Eastern institutions, and 1t is probable that
a survey of other mems colleges for the
+alx- H.
same results.
these figures statistics compiled for the first
ten classes graduated from Smith. which is
the largest of the women's colleges. In
these ten classes, from 1879 to 1885, there
were $40 graduates of whom 15S had mar
ried up to 1908. the date to which the figures
were tabulated. These 15S had in the year
1903 a total of 315 children, almost exactly
two children to each married graduate
Smith College Statistics Include
The Average Small Classes, Too
other Smith figures compiled by the
AIumnae QncrterIy for the classes from 1879
to 1914 inclusive. covering 5,962 alumna
show that the average or children for each
marriage was 1.34. 1t is pointed out that
although this percentage may seem small 1t
Is based upon an average which includes
the very small classes Of the earlier years
of the college. which have the most complete
figures available, well as the later classes,
which are much larger. which have many
members still unmarried and for which
statistical data are very incomplete.
In connection with these official Smith
figures some unofficial figures roughly com
piled from class records at alunne reunions
this last June may be of interest as showing
present tendencies. 1t is the opinion among
many representatives of the women's col
leges that many more college women marry
now than in the early days of college trained
women, when sharp line of demarcation
was drawn between marriage and career.