POPULATION PROBLEMS 217 



in some parts of America it is down to 2*7 ; among 

 college-bred Americans it is less then 2. Less than 2 

 seems too few. The proportion of births in England 

 per 1,000 married men under fifty-five is represented by 

 the following figures : — Upper and middle class, 119 ; 

 skilled workmen, 153 ; unskilled workmen, 213. 



We are not arguing here in support of any thesis. 

 We have not the facts fully before us. We merely 

 indicate that there are two sides to the question. It 

 may be that the period after a terrible war is a time 

 for recuperating and not for further reduction of the 

 papulation. Moreover^ not marrying at all, or not 

 marrying till late, or not having a family seems on the 

 average a very regrettable policy, both biologically 

 and ethically. But it is quite another thing to say 

 that the decline of the birth-rate within limits of safety 

 is altogether a bad sign. The following considerations 

 on the other side must be kept in view. 



The diminished birth-rate may tend to improve the 

 health of children and mothers. It may tend to sub- 

 stitute quality for quantity. It may make life less 

 anxious, more secure, and with greater possibilities of 

 fineness. Associated with birth-control, it makes earlier 

 marriages more feasible. The control of the birth- 

 rate makes for the independence of women and increases 

 their opportunities of self-development. If the decline 

 of the birth-rate proceeds more or less uniformly it will 

 work against war, which is partly due to expansive 

 population, and if war still persists, a restriction of 



