120 THE TREND OF THE RACE 
number of individuals in this group forms a rough indication of 
the declining birth rate. This decline is indicated by the following 
table compiled by Professor Willcox,! giving the number of chil- 
dren under five years of age for every 1,000 women between the 
ages of 16 and 44: 
Decreasing Proportion of Children in the United States 
Number of Children under 5 
Date per 1,000 Women 
16-44 Years of Age 
SOO: Ghai rate eae ade eine at ot 976 
TST caw g ences eae waa 976 
ES 20 arachgaa aa nea fences 928 
S305 cide be one aoe Hames 877 
TOAO dca eee edd ou ot ina he ani 835 
POGOe as aerate shania Seen 699 
ESOC gi disas woahctnne co oetiat wma, eae 714 
5 S)7 Ko Re a ae a eR 649 
i hole) 0 ee eae oe ie ee a eee eee 635 
TSO nites boa ee 554 
TQOO+ nexeseeus dew are se sue Nes 541 
LOLO sia vice scen eka ane 508 
It has been calculated by Professor Willcox that if this rate of 
diminution continues for a century and a half there will be no 
more children produced. The proportion of children here indi- 
cated would naturally be affected by foreign immigration which 
consists largely of adults. This would tend to decrease the 
relative proportion of children, but the large number of foreign 
women among these immigrants who are of child-bearing age, 
would tend in a few years to make the number of children in- 
crease. In other words, if foreign immigration were checked the 
proportion of children might not after all be greatly reduced, if 
at all. 
During the past few centuries, and especially in the 19th cen- 
1 Pubs. Am. Stat. Ass. 15, 1-15, 1916 
