8 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



by the spectre of a dwindling birth-rate, while for the 



Australian countries the condition is a new one. Race 



suicide is no longer a French phenomenon; it is 



universal. 



Table II 



Showing the Decrease of Birth-bates per 1000 Popu- 

 lation IN Various Countries in Ten Years 



COUNTEY 



South Australia . 

 Victoria .... 

 New South Wales 

 Queensland . . 

 West Australia . 

 New Zealand . . 

 Tasmania . . . 



Italy 



England .... 

 Hungary. . . . 

 Portugal .... 

 Scotland .... 

 Sweden .... 

 German Empire . 

 Belgium .... 

 France .... 

 Austria .... 

 Ireland .... 



1900 



Whether we should regard the fact of a dwindling 

 birth-rate pessimistically, as Mr. Roosevelt does, or 

 optimistically, as Mr. H. G. WeUs " does, is too big 

 a question for discussion here. It may be that, as 

 Major Charles E. Woodruff and other scientists con- 



