DAY BY DAY

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17704, 7 May 1929, Page 6

DAY BY DAY

The fall in the British birthrate is a matter for congratulation. Fall In There was a time when tho such a fall would have reBlrthrate. presented a national peril, but now it indicates a national benefit. The hard fact is that Britain cannot support its present population. That is one reason why the birthrate is falling. Another reason is that machinery, though providing more employment for its own manufacture, is reducing employment in other industries. Machinery, moreover, oftentimes made in Britain, is being used in other countries to compete with British industries. The defence of Britain and of the Empire would be imperilled by the lower birthrate were it not for the fact that machinery has invaded tho defence line, and is making every soldier a more efficient fighter. The lessons of the war have multiplied the manpower of the nations. Before the war the statesmen had to think only in terms of millions of men; now they have to think in terms of millions of man-power and horse-power.