Pueblo chieftain., 1922-01-10
By FREDERIC J. HAsKIN

Warrington. D. c.. Jan. THE
most prolific people in the United
States. when they are classified ac-
cording to occupation, arc foreman
The wives of these men bear on an
average %.s children per wife and each
! OF them has on an average OF 50 chill
dren now living.
These interesting figures on the
proliferation of mine foremen have
just been issued by the Bureau of
Census ~ . part OF long tabulation
to occupation. It Ia a most interesting
tAbulation and . somewhat bew1lder-
Ing one in . way. 1t upeets our pre-
conceived notions a. to what kinda OF
people have the most children and
why. It also sheds some light on that
much discussed question a. to wheth-
er the native population OF the United
States Is maintaining itself or slowly
dying out and leaving the country to
tho immigrants.
But before We proceed to general
ixations. lot US note some OF the as
tonishinE figures which the Census
Bureau has brought out. Next to mine
foremen. we find that tho most pro-
lifio occupational class IN tho United
States 10 that of foremen and over
seers on steam and electric railroads.
Tho wife Of . traction foreman bears
on an average <c children OF which
IS survive. This average mortality
of less than one-half child per
family Is especially crcditablo to tho
transportation business.
Foremen and overseers of all kinds
seem to have lot OF children and
they seem to have good luck in rails
ing them. Perhaps this is not sur
prising. A foremen or overseer Is
apt to be a workman of more than
iy,fa11fDAnCA vs-hn q vnYk cd Ms
way up. and who receives a good in
come. Naturally. having lived on day
wages for \ long time, his standard OF
living will not be a. high a. that CT
lawyer or doctor. He will not spend
as much on luxuries. and so will be
moro inclined to raise children.
THE JANITOR'S FAMILY
SO much for the foreman The
next most prolific occupational class
we find to be that of janitors and
sections. The janitors' wives average
Al children per wife, and no less than
"a of these children on an average
survive to cry at night. steal milk
bottles and put dead cats In the dumb
waiter. Why's many an apartment
dweller has doubtless asked before
should janitors be so philoprogeni-
tive? OF course, they get rent and
heat free and they have the whole
basement for the kids to play around
in. But It is surely surprising to find
that in the whole United States. only
these two kinds of foreman. janitors
and sections and ono other class sue
coed in begetting an average % four
or moro children per family. H. all
of the other occupational classes list
ed. the average number Of children
born Is less than four, and In none
of them Is the average number of
children living as much as four. Tho
trn With htq sp1i1tn z
babes, has the largest average family
| in the country. For the registration
area of the United States the average
| number of children born per mother
| was 3.3, and the average number of
children living per mother was 20.
What We have always heard about
| the birth rate is that the population
is dying to the top" by which 1t is
meant that people of wealth and peo-
! pie in the professions have small
| families, while the laborers and very
| poor people generally have large
| families. We are usually told that
| the average woman must raise three
| children In order to keep up the popu-
lation and increase 1t a little. II this
| is true. the population OF the country
| as a whole Is Just barely being main
| tanned by tho people in it. and the in
| crease is due wholly to immigration.
| This study shows onco moro that the
problem Of restricting and regulating
immigration is tho real population
problem in the United States-and one
which seems nowhere near solution.
The surprising thing in this tabula-
tion Is that II fails to discover any
class which is highly prolific. and re-
veals, for instance, that road workers
and clergymen run neck and. neck
race in the production of children,
while garbage men and scavengers
have on an average only 7-1o of
ehild more per family than lawyers.
justices. and Judges.