| Show xue TUE MODERN CRIME OF lange LARGE FAMILIES it is time public attention was called to the ques quei question tion of large families tb there e re can bo be no do mistaking the pre prevailing valli ng sentiment in our populous cities in re ference feren ceto to these encumbrances when modern people marry it is not often with the hope and expectation of bri bring g ing up large families of healthy boy boys and nod aids to swell the population and increase the pride of the state your fashionable lady dreads maternity M as involving auble y pain toll and seif self f denia levils to be kept at as great a distance as possible the husband makes his bis calculations upon financial grounds ground groundland sand and perhaps also upon con of his cifes comfort the thought of having to provide food attention clothing and education for a large family is enough to make rny ady mali mari pause before he be ventures upon matrimony two or three or at most four children are regarded as aa about the extreme limit which can be afforded by way of offspring and every addition to that number is esteemed in the light of a domestic calamity the eight of a dozen or more children in one house hold is a rarity the unhappy and prolific parents are looked upon as with perhaps a mixture of pity and contempt their trials and sufferings in bringing up the tribe creditably providing them with wholesome food and respectable clothing and educating them so as to fit occupy decent positions la in society may be the subject of gossip among lebs lees favored or more fortunate mothers but v very ery little real sympathy is extended to them inthe in the arduous batt leof life to many indeed they doubtless appear appeal in the light of something like criminals and if owing to the severe strain imposed upon them in the effort to accomplish com their task and at the same time keep up appearances and pay their way honestly they sink into a premature grave the verdict of a highly civilized society Is practically practical y served them right there can be no hesitation in saying that this state of things ought not so to be children are the heritage of the lord nord 11 the fruit of the womb is his delight halpy is the man that has his quiver full of them Parents who beget and bring up large families of healthy children make the state a debtor tb them large families iu in a healthy state of society ars ans ar i the home of virtue they are the germ sud aud source of national strength and as soon as they begin to be depreciated in public estimation as soon as the possession of a large family is looked upon as a lasource source of weakness and affliction to a man inno just so soon may the word ichabod be written over the portals of that state or city there may be a fictitious glare of wealth excitement population pleasure but the real pride and glory are ate departed the evil so BO far as the crowded cities of this cont cout continent luent are concerned equally at least with those of the old world is an admitted one and it is patent tb that thal at means meana are not taken to prevent a natural and healthy increase of offspring means which ought not to be to eo t o much as hinted at except for the purpose of stigmatising stigma them as they deserve there is too much reason to believe that many persons ab stain from marrying because of the dreaded expenses and labor of bringing up large families ramil famil leb lep and no doubt a great stimulus is hereby given to evils of a social character which need not be further particularized evils which are peculiarly characteristic of highly refined and aud civilized communities it is high time therefore that public at should be directed to this subject and that all legitimate means should bo be taken to create or at least favor a counteracting sentiment before the cankerous blight has attacked that bulwark of morality and social order the marriage institution itself every aftem attempt pt to invade the ohe sanctities and responsibilities of home life or the marriage tie will we are con uon convinced vinced for some bome time to come edme at least be restated to the utmost by the good sense and wholesome prejudices of the american people as a whole but if it should become a general thing for respectable married people to look upon a quiver children in the light of sorrow and a crime instead of a polde pride and blessing it if it shall ever come to pass that christian women from motives which will not bear tho the ecru scrutiny tiny of the alloise all ail wire wise pray to be spared from the burden of child bearing and anti child training if these poisonous sentiments should spread from the centres bentres of social refinement over the country at large then upholders of the marriage relation ook louk out the next step of the assault will be against marriage the citadel of purity and the home affections and some of the darkest eras of human experience followed by the lurid flames names of retribution will lepant themselves in history there 19 is 19 one practical suggestion tending towards the strengthening of a healthier tone of public feeling in reference to this question of large families which I 1 do not remember to nave have met ith at any rate in the form in which I 1 propose it but which I 1 cannot help thinking is deserving of some consider atlon if our statesmen and politicians can afford the time in these days of party conflict to entertain any questions of bf a really practical and bu humanitarian character unquestionably the great burden and anxiety of large families fall most frequently upon the mother it is difficult for persons portions of moderate means and large families to procure domestic help and the luxury of good boarding Is far beyond reach why then should not the state as an interested party provide boarding schools both preparatory pr e and otherwise at wh which ic h C children hildren can be educated und taken care of at a cost to the parents of very little it if any more than would suffice for the expense of their board at home it if such schools existed under proper management and parents could feel that in sending their children there they were placing them under kind treatment such as would secure at once otice their and mental progress and were not sacrificing their own honorable and proper pride many would no doubt gladly avail them themselves belvea of such an opportunity and the dread of large families would to multitudes be taken away I 1 do not intend on this occasion to do more than merely make this suggestion in the hope that it may set some wiser people than myself thinking there are many reasons why the state should take this matter in hand and I 1 can think of no do sound reason to urge it difficulties would of course be encountered but where are they not met with the ques que quasion sion ion lon is Is the evil under discussion to be af attacked tacked in a practical manner and how bow ought the having of a large family to be regarded as a social crime or as nature stamps stamp lit kit it an honor has the state an interest iii in the welfare of its citizens and the proper p e r training of its youth edward T bromfield in bew new york citizen oth men zen A paris letter records the demolition of a noted resort called the flying louse the last of its kind in paris vagabonds cfall of all nil sorts found an asylum bere here four bous was the price of a lodging in a large room a straw mattress a large tub in the center for ablutions and the air ain to dry with but neither chair table nor towel some fragments of lookingglass were stuck on the walls but which could not gloss the human form divine the beds beda were in rows and fastened to the walls the were received from 9 p m to 2 a in after that one more sous was charged at IQ 10 a in the hotel must be cleared sixty parsons were received a night i |
