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1925
23
families, and must be attributed to the invention of more effective
means of prevention'— together with active propaganda. One
of the causes is indirectly an economic one.
What appears to happen is something of this kind. People
in this country are bent upon maintaining and improving their
standard of living. If a married man's income is stationary
or does not materially increase, in his struggle to maintain his
standard of living, he may decide to have fewer children. If his
income increases, or his expenses fall, he may decide to have more
children and thus remain at the old standard of living, or to have the
same number of children and rise to a rather higher standard.
When faced with these alternatives, men in general tend to regulate
their families so as to maintain or improve their standard of living.
Another factor quite as potent is the improved status of
women, which has been one of the chief characteristics of recent
social evolution. Women have become better educated and more
independent; their position has in every respect become more
dignified. A new generation of women has sprung up—fitter,
healthier and more normal in every way, but though the modern
woman may be particularly fitted to be the mother of healthy
children, she has acquired many varied interests in life and refuses
to be bound down to the narrow confines of domestic life. There
can be little doubt that the increasing dignity of women in society
is a factor leading to the acceptance of the principle of family
limitation.
I cannot understand the anxiety of the Edmonton authority
to obtain this power. It is unnecessary as far as one part of the
population is concerned, and useless as far as a large proportion of
the remainder is concerned. As stated in a previous paragraph,
propaganda in the interests of birth control has been going on,
and the knowledge through voluntary birth control clinics and
publications ,is within the reach of those who wish to utilise the
knowledge. Those who have religious scruples will not use
contraceptives.
But, we have besides, those people who will not or cannot
exercise any control over themselves or their actions. This lowest
social class includes not only the mentally defective, but the
improvident, the incapable, and the cast-off from other grades of
scciety. It contains a large proportion of those who are inferior
in vigour and in many of the desirable physical, mental and moral
qualities. They exercise no self-control and it is amongst them that