Hankins: The Declining Birth Rate 



363 



least subordinated to the rearing of off- 

 spring ; in which the period following the 

 cessation of reproduction is the longest 

 possible; and in which finally the off- 

 spring themselves find pleasure in caring 

 for parents in their old age. 



PRINCIPLES ARE APPLIED. 



These principles are in harmony with 

 the progress of the family in recent times. 

 There is a tendency among the upper 

 classes to postpone marriage ; the number 

 of children is smaller, but not so small 

 as yet, except in France, as to endanger 

 the life of the race ; a larger proportion of 

 them are reared to maturity, they receive 

 much greater individual attention, are 

 better educated and given a better start 

 in life; parents live longer and have a 

 larger proportion of their lives freed 

 from the care of children than formerly ; 

 and finally aged parents are more solic- 

 itously safeguarded than ever before. 

 Here again we find that a decline in the 

 birth-rate is in harmony with a higher 

 type of family. But here also we must 

 note that there is a conflict between 

 some ends and others. The funda- 

 mental purpose of the family as a social 

 institution is the perpetuation of the 

 species ; it is this which makes the family 

 so profoundly important ; it is this which 

 accounts for the extraordinary care with 

 which society at all stages has safe- 

 guarded it by numerous restrictions and 

 requirements. When therefore the 

 pleasure-seeking of parents, or their 

 welfare in any other regard, which is the 

 third purpose of the family, comes to 

 dominate the racial responsibility which 

 is its first purpose, then it is no longer in 

 harmony with the conditions which a 

 permanent society is bound to enforce. 



Space does not permit a statement of 

 the extent of the decline in the birth- 

 rate. It is generally known that every 

 Western nation is experiencing a de- 

 crease in its birth-rate. It is also a 

 matter of common knowledge that this 

 phenomenon is disturbing the balance 

 of power and raismg questions of the 

 greatest political and military signifi- 

 cance. 



When it comes to the causes of this 

 decline there is less unanimity. This is 

 one of the subjects in the explanation of 

 which causes stated often prove merely 



a presentation of the personal biases of 

 their propounders. Only the more im- 

 portant can be noted here. 



It is commonly thought that an im- 

 portant factor in the decline of the birth- 

 rate is the postponement of marriage. 

 The statisticians of a decade or more ago 

 were accustomed to show a close correla- 

 tion between the marriage rate and the 

 birth-rate. The marriage rate varied 

 either directly or indirectly as did 

 economic conditions, and the births 

 followed a similar course a year or two 

 later. But now this connection is being 

 seriously disturbed. In France there 

 has been a very slight decrease in the 

 proportion of persons under 2(1 who are 

 married; but this has been more than 

 offset by an increase in the proportion of 

 those of ages 20 to 30 who are married. 

 Indeed in Europe generally the propor- 

 tion of persons under 30 who are married 

 is increasing except in England and 

 Scotland. Moreover on the whole marri- 

 ages take place earlier in France than in 

 England, Germany, or America. Nor 

 is this all, for a larger proportion of the 

 French population is married than in any 

 of these other countries. Thus the 

 birth-rate in France has continued to 

 fall in spite of those very conditions 

 which should have sustained it or even 

 caused it to increase. 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 



In the United States, contrary to 

 popular opinion, marriages are not only 

 more numerous but are contracted at 

 earlier ages than they were 20 to 25 

 years ago. Thus when comparison is 

 made of the censuses of 1890, 1900, and 

 1910, it is found that the proportion of 

 the population classed as single has 

 steadily diminished and the proportion 

 of married has steadily increased. 

 Moreover this is true of both sexes. 

 When a study is made of conjugal con- 

 dition by all classes one is astonished to 

 find that a larger proportion of young 

 men of age groups 15-19, 20-24, and 

 25-34 were married in 1910 than in 1890 

 or 1900; and that a larger proportion of 

 young women of ages 15-19 and 20-24 

 were married in 1910 than formerly. 

 One is therefore forced to the conclusion 

 that if we view the population of the 

 United States as a whole marriage is 



