Sprague: Education and Race Suicide 



159 



age, of whom 186 or 81 per cent, have 

 already married. 



It would seem safe to eonclude that 

 about 15 per cent, of native women in 

 our general American society do not 

 marry during the child bearing period. 

 Deducting 15 per cent, from the 

 seventy-eight possible wives leaves sixty- 

 six probable wives. Now among the 

 native wives of Massachusetts 20 per 

 cent, do not produce children, and 

 deducting these thirteen childless ones 

 from the sixt}'-six probable wives leaves 

 fifty-three probable, married, child- 

 bearing women, whose duty it is to 

 reproduce the original 200 individuals 

 with which we began this study, or an 

 average of 3.7 children for every married 

 woman who demonstrates any ability 

 to bear offspring. 



According to these probabilities, every 

 married woman bearing children must 

 bring three to maturity, or to a mar- 

 riageable age, in order to prevent the 

 race from actually declining in niimbers. 



Under the present practices this would 

 seem to be the minimum, because no ac- 

 count has been taken of those who are 

 not marriageable on account of insanity 

 and other incapacitating troubles. 



THE SCHOOLS AND RACE SUICIDE. 



The causes of race suicide in some 

 parts of America are ' ' numberless as the 

 sands on the seashore," but I will 

 discuss at length only the relation of 

 higher education to it. 



Too small a birth rate leads to race 

 extinction, and too great a birth rate 

 is the next greatest folly, since it may 

 precipitate not only a domestic but a 

 world problem. The great German 

 birth rate is the natural force behind 

 the present war. Too large a family 

 is liable to cripple and stunt the higher 

 life of both parents and children, and 

 too small a one leads to lack of virility 

 in both individuals and race. 



The attitude of the schools towards 

 the interests of the race merely reflects 

 the general ideals and feelings of society 

 and the immediate managers of these 

 institutions should not be held unduly 

 responsible for the failure of the schools 

 and colleges in the past to prepare the 



new generations for their living needs 

 and racial responsibilities. 



Until recently the high schools of 

 the whole country turned their backs 

 on the family and failed to recognize 

 the vital interests of this most funda- 

 mental institution ; they tried to prepare 

 our children for college, for the parlor, 

 club and travel, but did not recognize 

 the demands of the workshoj), kitchen 

 and nursery where the greater part of 

 the average parent's time and energy 

 must be spent. First in reform came 

 the introduction into education of office 

 work, and finally will come the prepara- 

 tion for the revitalized home life and 

 race survival. 



The former old public school ideals 

 of the white collar, the white dress and 

 helpless hands have sent thousands of 

 boys into hopeless bachelor jobs and 

 just as many girls into sterile school 

 teaching and other nice, clean occupa- 

 tions where their blood might dry out 

 of the race. 



The former lack of opportunity in 

 America for universal, efficient, voca- 

 tional education has filled our roads 

 with tramps, our prisons with young 

 men, our brothels with young women, 

 and the poorhouses with the aged of 

 both sexes. These things, however, are 

 changing in the public schools all over 

 the land, and the common cry is to 

 bring the school system down to the 

 needs of actual life, earning power and 

 efficiency in shop and home. 



Home making and child rearing is 

 the greatest job of life and calls for 

 every resource of brain, hand and heart; 

 anything which detracts from their 

 normal development is an evil, because 

 nothing can substitute for them in 

 importance. 



THE women's COLLEGES. 



The classical college education for 

 women without any doubt develops a 

 high tvpe of character and independence 

 in the graduates as individuals, and 

 such a training might be desirable for 

 all girls that can afford it, if certain 

 vital interests of the race and its future 

 were taken into account. The stand- 

 ards of the home, school and office are 

 all elevated when college graduates 



