Evening star., 1938-10-06
BY WALLACE r. DEUEL.,

BY WALLACE r. DEUEL.,
Chicago Daily News Foreign Correspondent.
BERLIN, Oct. 6-The white peo-
piles of the earth are dying out.
In general, birth rates in the
United States, the white portions of
the British Empire and Europe have
been falling steadily ever since about
1900.
Already so few babies are being
born in America, the white British
dominions and most of Northern and
Western Europe that the populations
of these countries either actually have
begun to shrink or will do so within
10 or 20 years. Unless the fall in
the birth rates in other white coun-
tries is stopped their populations, too,
will begin to shrink within a gener-
alton.
This threat of decline Of the
white races of the west has been con-
cealed-death rates have fallen faster
than birth rates and total populations,
therefore, have continued to increase.
Live Longer Now.
But these increases are only due to
the fact that people are living longer.
The white races are aging. And too
few babies are being born to take
the places of the older people when
they die
This is already the case Of the
United States, England and Wales,
Australia, France, Belgium, Sweden.
Norway, Denmark, Switzerland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Ger
many, including Austria.
The Germanic peoples, who domi-
nate in most of these countries, are
dying out the fastest Of all the white
races-except now in Germany. The
SlaVs and LatinS are faced with the
same darger, but it is less imminent.
The Slavic east Of Europe has an
average birth rate of one and one
half times as high as the average
in Northern and Western Europe, for
example.
In Holland, Ireland, Italy, Poland,
Portugal, the Balkans and Russia
more than enough babies are still
being born to maintain present popu-
lations. But the birth rates in these
countries. too, are steadily falling. ex-
cept for Italy. where a slight increase
has recently occurred. Within q gen.
Grafton these countries, too, viii begin
to show deficits in their national led
gers Of life and death unless the de-
clines in their birth rates are checked.
Yellow Races Flourish.
Among countries for which statistics
are available. only the yellow peoples
seem to be fiourishing biologically.
Japan has only one-half the pcpu-
lation that Germany does without
Austria, but twice as many babies
were born in Japan in year as were
in the Reich before the Nazi revolu-
ton, and the excess of births over
deaths was four times as great. Even
Korea, with population less than
one-third that Of Germany before
anschluss, had a greater excess of
births over deaths than the Reicn
did in 1888.
As a result Of the decline Of the
western peoples biological vitality
during the last generation, shifts al
ready have taken place in the balance
Of population power all over tne world
and among the white races themselves.
If present tendencies continue these
shifts will become more and more i'm
portant with the passage of time and
will cause more and more profound
changes in the balance of political
power and therefore in the character
Of civilization itself.
Nazis Reverse Trend.
Both Germany and Austria suffered
the worst decline in birth rates Of all
the countries of Europe I'D to the
Nazi revolution, and the decline in
Austria continued up to the anschluss
with the Reich mis- year. Immediate
ly upon seizing power in the Reich,
however, the Nazis launched a gigantic
campaign against this national sui
eide" as they called 1t, and they
have now extended their campaign to
Austria.
The real, basic causes of changes
in birth rates are part of the mys-
terry of life itself, and scientists are
slow to be positive that they can ex-
plain them. But since the Nazi revo-
luton something certainly has hap
pened to the German. people which