92 HEREDITY AND SOCIETY 



human nature to be learned from having assisted in the 

 nursing of children suffering from a long series of 

 infantile diseases and ailments than can be extracted 

 from all the volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica. 

 But no doubt these subjects will be dealt with more 

 fully in any ensuing edition. Thus does one genera- 

 tion wilfully neglect the education and upbringing of 

 the next ! 



There is unfortunately, owing to economic causes, a 

 large section of our industrial population in which the 

 married women are forced to become wage-earners. 

 This is a state of affairs which should never be regarded 

 with equanimity in a civilized community ; it is difficult 

 to find any compensating advantages in a social con- 

 dition which creates such dire consequences from the 

 point of view of the race. 



As soon as the married woman becomes a wage- 

 earner, the birth-rate drops disastrously or the infant 

 mortality runs up. Milk depots for babies deprived of 

 their natural nourishment are started, creches where the 

 hapless children can be deposited for the day are sub- 

 sidized by philanthropic persons, the infant classes of 

 the schools are crowded with tiny mites who are 

 deprived of their parents' care for the best part of 

 their waking hours. While the mothers are working 

 in the factories in order to earn what are often 

 insufficient wages, regiments of officials and other 

 devoted persons are paid voluntarily or perforce by 

 the community to render all sorts of services to the 

 unfortunate offspring, thus bereft of their natural pro- 

 tector. The wages earned by the parent probably 



