SHALL FAMILIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 211, 7 September 1927, Page 9

SHALL FAMILIES.

IQt JHE BEST CHILDREN.

BBOIPLINE OF NUMBERS.

MEDICAL MAN'S OPINION.

According to the cablegrams the Booth frofcawr of social science at Liverpool GaheiHy rather surprised the delegates to *ti recent-conference at Geneva on the fwtkn ©1 world population- when he W4 then that education should bo disewgedby tioee countries that desired *H|k«r birth rate, because the more ■ttffigeet the parents became the Mailer vera their contributions to the «xt generation. Ito* inquiries made in Auckland it ■«•, ttat the professor was merely fejjpjjfjrhat is known to most people who *w» ttvdied the question. Apparently ytodency to limit the number of the *tring hardly exists among the poorer «itoe eophieticated strata of society. "ft » the poorer and less educated gW ttit to-day have the largest "■jBJM," said a medical man this morn■i*>»"Star" reporter, "and one canJ**«t hie eyea to the fact that their •■pPi is not the best type from a "W*»l point of view. Where The Best Axe Found. I don't think that the children of JWMjSq favour control are the best, "■ay be that owing to having more and and better conditions theee children are, on the 2Jff» °f a good physique, but the does nofc eeem to be the ground for the really de*"J*«!ti«n. In my opinion, the best ;S*;*re to be found among people J , family is reasonably large, .?.•■•».the general conditions are SrJkL?* 1 'comfortable. . Given a ■Tiw* , *' lere " no 11 *! poverty, ay*? People are in tolerably comforty**?Bm«taneeß, the large family will to produce a good type £2a?". e that comes the corners rubbed off — inevitably the case where there of children—seems to be to forming a finer type SSr***" conditi °ne in the families jg?**to two or three children. " In there is more chance of SfW* o : being what we call 'spoiled, , rough and tumble of the Of course I don't mean I Jltol * results where the family ■. I*at the children cannot be 0 ' *° an manner, «"••■■ 'fc-fcp? Mtually suffer want; I mean family where the conditiona of ™ too pinched. "Control is Bed." K W***** *•* f or the women and bad MSS"* Ifc " a deploraWe fact .:i^,'^^ > /-P r «sent pleasurs-loving age I fravf* loathing of

maternity. It may be that this is a symptom in a decadent people, but that it does exist there can be no doubt; medical men know it only too welL

"The unfortunate thing is that control takes place among the well-educated and healthy, who are really just the people one would expect to provide a good class of children for the community. On the other hand, my experience has been that the unfit never practiee control, and have numerous MnMran of a flmw that is not desirable.

"There is no doubt that control is a serious thing for the civilised world. There has been a serious decline in the birth rate all over the civilised' world, as far as my reading goes. What the reason is one cannot say, but probably people are to-day too fond of pleasure, and wish to avoid their responsibilities. If the decline goes on there is only one end to the people who* adopt that attitude to life. I believe it was the attitude of the Greeks and the R""w"3 in their days of decadence.

"Speaking generally I think it may be taken as a fact that the people who practise control are those who think too much of pleasure. There is no doubt from a medical point of view that control is inimical. Cases are quite common where it has been practised for a certain length of time, and then when the natural desire for offspring becomes paramount, it is found that it is too late. Nature seems to resent being interfered with."