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Title: The Elements of Child-protection Author: Sigmund Engel Translator: Eden Paul Release Date: January 29, 2019 [EBook #58787] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ELEMENTS OF CHILD-PROTECTION *** Produced by Turgut Dincer, John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been placed at the end of the book. The change noted in the ERRATUM has been applied to the etext. Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book. ELEMENTS OF CHILD-PROTECTION THE ELEMENTS OF CHILD-PROTECTION BY SIGMUND ENGEL DOCTOR OF LAWS AND OF POLITICS; OFFICIAL GUARDIAN AND ADVOCATE IN BUDA-PESTH TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY DR. EDEN PAUL NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1912 Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh PREFACE During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the importance of child-protection gained a far wider recognition. The nineteenth century has been well named “The Century of the Child.” But there are reasons no less cogent for describing this century as “The Century of Socialism,” or “The Century of Darwinism.” The intimate interdependence of child-protection with Socialism and with Darwinism must on no account be overlooked. It was my own assurance of this twofold interdependence which led me to undertake the study of the whole system of child-protection from the joint outlook of Socialism and of Darwinism. This book is an investigation of all the problems involved by child-protection from the standpoints of the modern socialist movement and of modern social science. My work makes no attempt to be either a “Philosophy of Child-Protection” or a “Handbook of Child-Protection.” For this reason it contains no definitions, it gives no history of child-protection, and attempts no detailed description of the institutions which exist for the purpose of child-protection in the various countries of the civilised world. In view of the almost incalculable bulk of the materials available in this field of study, I have been forced to content myself with a brief indication of my opinions in the various departments, without endeavouring to go into details. Obviously, therefore, those in need of detailed information will not find it in this book. My aim has rather been to effect a lucid presentation of all the problems of child-protection, than to attempt myself to supply the solution of all these problems. If I have been successful in formulating the main problems of my subject, and if at the same time my discussions and the data I have supplied, enable the reader to draw his own conclusions in each case, my aim has been adequately fulfilled. [Pg v] [vi] CONTENTS PAGE Preface v GENERAL PART CHAPTER I CERTAIN POPULATION PROBLEMS Child-Protection and the Population Question—Fertility of the Lower Classes—The Tendency of Evolution 1 CHAPTER II STATISTICAL PROBLEMS OF POPULATION Miscarriages, Premature Births, and Still-Births—Mortality—The Productive Age and the Unproductive Age—Classification of the Population according to Age—The Excess of Women—Marriage—Illegitimate Sexual Relations 11 CHAPTER III CHILD MORTALITY Statistical Data—Certain Contributory Causes—The Chief Causes of Infant Mortality—The Great Number of Children—Child Mortality in the Towns—The Effect of Housing Conditions—The Effect of Age—Time of Birth, Seasons, and Meteorological Conditions 17 CHAPTER IV THE QUALITY OF THE POPULATION; ARTIFICIAL SELECTION (EUGENICS) AND EDUCATION Natural Selection and Artificial Selection—The Interests of the Future Generation—Inheritance and Education—Nature of Education—Character of the Child—Limits of Educability—The Aim of Education—Good Example—Confidence and Love—Reward and Punishment—Education by the Parents—Education in different Social Classes—Parents, School, Environment—The Tendency of Evolution 25 CHAPTER V PROS AND CONS OF CHILD-PROTECTION Introductory—Objections to Child-Protection—Objections to the Care of Foundlings—Darwinism versus Poor-Relief—Darwinism versus Child-Protection—The Right View—Socialism versus Poor-Relief—Socialism versus Child-Protection—The Right View 42 CHAPTER VI THE EXECUTIVE INSTRUMENTS OF CHILD-PROTECTION Introductory—Local Governing Bodies—The Community at large—The Central Government—A Unified System of Laws for Child-Protection—A Centralised Authority for Child-Protection— Private and Official Activities—The Medical Profession—Women 58 SPECIAL PART A.—Department of Civil Law and Individual Rights CHAPTER I MARRIAGE AND PARENTAL AUTHORITY Introductory—Parental Authority and Marriage—History of Marriage—Child-Protection and the Family—Maternal Authority—Fiduciary Character of Parental Authority—The Elementary Principles of State Interference with Parental Authority (the State as “Over-Parent”) 71 CHAPTER II MARRIAGE AND HEREDITY Heredity in General—Inheritance of Diseases—Individual Diseases—The Age of the Parents—The Marriage of Near Kin—Disease in the Parents from the Legal Standpoint—Divorce—Marriage- Prohibitions in Past Times—Proposed Reforms—Objections—The Right View—How to Effect Reforms—The Tendency of Evolution 77 CHAPTER III THE PROTECTION OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN [vii] [viii] The Legal Position of the Illegitimate Child—Reasons for these Legal Disabilities—Advantages and Disadvantages of Illegitimate Birth—Abortion, Premature Birth, Still-Birth—Childbirth in Unmarried Mothers—Causes of the Great Mortality of Illegitimate Children—Criminality in the Illegitimate—Illegitimacy and Prostitution—Occupation in Relation to Illegitimacy—The Different Classes of the Illegitimate—Illegitimacy and Child-Protection—The Tendency of Evolution—A Radical Reform 90 CHAPTER IV LIMITED POWERS OF MINORS, AND GUARDIANSHIP Limited Powers of Minors—The Tendency of Evolution—Nature of Guardianship—Guardianship of Poor Children—Guardianship of Illegitimate Children—The Defects of Individual Guardianship —Nature of Official and Institutional Guardianship—Advantages of Official and Institutional Guardianship—Objections to Collective and Institutional Guardianship—These Objections Answered—The Tendency of Evolution—Certain Civil Laws which are of Importance in Relation to Child-Protection 106 B.—Department of Local Administrative Activity CHAPTER I CHILD-PROTECTION BEFORE, DURING, AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER BIRTH Introductory—Before Birth—During Birth—After Birth—The Insurance of Motherhood—The Tendency of Evolution 118 CHAPTER II INFANT-LIFE PROTECTION Introductory—Advantages of the Natural Feeding of Infants—History of Artificial Feeding— Causes of the Failure to Suckle—Wet-Nurses—Cow’s Milk—Other Methods of Artificial Feeding—Institutional Care of Infants—The Crèche—Proposed Reforms—Radical Solution of the Problem 125 CHAPTER III THE CARE OF FOUNDLINGS, WET-NURSING, AND BABY-FARMING Terminology—History of the Care of Foundlings—The Latin System and the Germanic System— Some Modern Methods for the Care of Foundlings—Foundling Hospitals, Wet-Nursing, and Baby Farms—Institutional Care versus Family Care—Supervision of Family Care—Subsidiary Aims of the Care of Foundlings—The Tendency of Evolution 141 CHAPTER IV WOMEN’S LABOUR AND CHILD-LABOUR History of Child Labour—Diffusion of Child Labour—The Causes of Child Labour—Women’s Labour—The Consequences of Child Labour—The Consequences of Women’s Labour— Regulation of Child Labour—Regulation of Women’s Labour—Reform of Apprenticeship— Enforcement of such Regulations—Objections to the Protective Regulation of the Labour of Women and Children—These Objections Answered—Radical Solution of the Problem—The Tendency of Evolution 155 CHAPTER V THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AGAINST DISEASE Introductory—The Health of Proletarian Children—Causes of the Movement for the Protection of Proletarian Children—Institutions—Country Holiday Funds and Open-air Schools—Proposed Reforms—Need for Enlightenment—The Tendency of Evolution 178 CHAPTER VI THE PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Importance of the Public Elementary School—Methods of Instruction—The General Obligation of School Attendance—The Purpose of the Elementary School—Instruction versus Education— Moral Instruction—General Culture—Individuality—Beauty—Knowledge—Science—Home- Work—The Exclusion of certain Children—Rewards and Punishments—The Constitutional Element—Parents and the School—Sexual Education—Religious and Moral Instruction— Physical Education—Manual Training—Preparatory Schools—Supervised Playgrounds for Children (Kinderhorte)—Increasing Importance of the Public Elementary School—Feeding of School Children—Care of Young Persons after they Leave School—The Tendency of Evolution 185 C.—Department of Criminal Law CHAPTER I CRIMINALITY IN YOUTH [ix] [x] Introductory—The Causes of Criminality in Youth—The Classical Criminal Law—Gradual Transformation of the Classical Criminal Law—Special Legislation dealing with Youthful Criminals—Proposals bearing on the Question of Criminal Responsibility at Different Ages— The Defects of our Present Penal Methods—The Question of the Capacity for Understanding the Punishable Character of Criminal Offences—The School—The Reprimand—Flogging—The Conditional Sentence—The Indeterminate Sentence—Should Punishment be rendered more Severe?—The Coercive Reformatory Education of Youthful Criminals—Institutional Education versus Family Education—Testing Reform—The Radical Solution of the Problem 217 CHAPTER II PENAL METHODS Conditions of To-day—Proposed Reforms—Penal Methods in the United States of America 243 CHAPTER III PROSTITUTION The Causes of Prostitution—Prostitution and Child-Protection 249 CHAPTER IV PUNISHABLE OFFENCES AGAINST CHILDREN The Two Groups—Infanticide—Abortion—The Protection of Feminine Chastity—Maltreatment of Children—Suggested Reforms 254 Index 271 [xi] ERRATUM Page 65, line 6, for “wet-nurses” read “midwives.” GENERAL PART CHAPTER I CERTAIN POPULATION PROBLEMS Child-Protection and the Population Question.—In the struggle for existence among the nations, that nation is the victor which consists of the greatest number of individuals best endowed with bodily, mental, and moral health. No national entity can resist the attacks of others if its numerical strength is comparatively small. If a contest takes place between two nations whose numerical strength is approximately equal, the healthier of the two will gain the victory. Even in prehistoric times a minimal degree of Child-Protection was indispensable to tribal existence. To rear children diminished, indeed, the quantity of wealth available to maintain the life of the parents, and consequently rendered even more difficult than before the struggle with the hostile forces of nature. None the less, it was absolutely essential to rear a minimal number of children. A sufficient number of boys must be reared to maintain the ranks of the warriors needed for the protection of the tribe against the attacks of its neighbours; and since tribal wars were unceasing, the number requisite to replace those who fell in battle was considerable; girls also must be reared in numbers sufficient to be the mothers of the required number of warriors. But it was against the tribal interest that more children than these should come into the world; and it was desirable that superfluous infants should perish. The most important factors in human evolution are the quantity and the quality of individual human beings. Until quite recently it is only upon quantity of population that any stress has been laid: the quality of the population has been ignored; being either taken for granted, or regarded as dependent upon chance conditions. The problems of population were not recognised as quantitative and qualitative, but were believed to be quantitative merely. Both Socialism and Child-Protection have intimate associations alike with the quantitative and with the qualitative problems of population. Both Socialism and Child-Protection exert a powerful influence upon the quantity and the quality of human beings; and conversely these latter react no less powerfully upon Socialism and Child-Protection. The leading aim of Child-Protection is to prevent the death of children before they attain an age at which they become competent to contribute directly to the welfare of society. The next most important aim of Child-Protection is to ensure that the individual whose life has been preserved shall not become useless or dangerous to society. These leading aims may be pithily summarised in the following terms: “the prevention of a high mortality-rate,” and “the prevention of a high criminality-rate.” The main factor of a high mortality-rate is excessive mortality in childhood; and the main factor of a high criminality-rate is excessive criminality in childhood. (The rate of mortality affects the quantitative element, and the rate of criminality affects the qualitative element, of the race.) In the course of human racial history certain sentiments make their appearance (parental love, altruism, and humanism), in consequence of which, even among nations to which the fear of a declining population is no longer [Pg 1] [2] [3] [4] known, actions endangering the health or the life of children come to be regarded as immoral and punishable; these sentiments subsequently constitute the main foundations of Child-Protection. But a recognition of the expediency of Child-Protection, and a desire to increase the population, have also at all times exercised a very great influence upon the degree to which methods of Child-Protection have been adopted and enforced. In any community in which an increase in numbers would involve over-population, an individual has, ceteris paribus, less value than in a community in which no such risk has to be considered; for this reason, in the latter community, more stress will be laid upon Child- Protection than in the former community. The following examples will show that this reasoning is sound. As a result of the wide acceptance of the “mercantile theory” of political economy, inasmuch as this theory laid much stress upon the importance of an increase in population, the care of foundlings came to receive much more attention, even in Protestant countries. Moreover, though it is an indisputable fact that the fierce attack made by Malthus, in his widely celebrated work on The Principles of Population, upon the Foundling Hospitals of his day, was directed especially against the fact that these institutions received children quite unconditionally, yet it is also perfectly true that Malthus’s views regarding Foundling Hospitals harmonise perfectly with his ideas as to the possibilities and dangers of over-population. Although some authors maintain that the connection we have pointed out obtains only among comparatively uncivilised peoples, and that as civilisation progresses, sentiment alone is decisive in forming our views in the matter of Child-Protection, those who advance such a contention may be referred to the example of modern France. The following conception is dominant in France. It is sad but true that the number of births hardly shows any excess over the number of deaths—nay, that in certain years the births are fewer than the deaths; hence it happens that the population of the other states of Europe increases much more rapidly than the population of France. It is essential that something should be done to counteract this difference, by which the position of France as one of the great Powers of Europe may ultimately be endangered. Since all the laws and regulations which have been instituted with a view to increasing the birth-rate have remained fruitless, some new method must be found of bringing about a more marked excess of births over deaths. Since excessive mortality among children is the principal cause of a high death-rate, the State and the community must take all the steps in their power to reduce child mortality to a minimum. Fertility of the Lower Classes.—In the civilised countries of twentieth-century Europe, the mean birth-rate is about thirty; that is, for every thousand inhabitants, there are thirty births each year; France is far below this mean, with a birth-rate of twenty-one, and Russia far above, with a birth-rate of about forty-nine. In the country districts, fertility and the birth-rate are greater than in the towns. Transient variations in the birth-rate depend upon various disturbing factors, such as war, civil disorders, and rise in the prices of the necessaries of life. The lower the type of life, the greater is the insecurity of existence; and it is necessary that this should be counterbalanced by greater vigour of the forces of reproduction, and a consequent increase in the number of the offspring. Thus differences between the different species have a great influence upon the procreativeness of these species, so that there is a direct causal connection between the quality of a species and the number of the individuals of which it is made up. But it remains in dispute whether the rise (or fall) in the quantity, directly gives rise to a decline (or increase) in the quality; whether, within the limits of an individual species, the quantitative differences between the individuals making up that species are of importance; whether, within the limits of a single species, the individual members are more fertile in proportion as they stand at a lower level in development; and, finally, whether the fertility of the individuals of any species diminishes as the species advances in its evolution. As regards the fertility of the human species, the decisive influences are not physiological, but social. The view that higher brain development or prolonged intellectual activity restricts fertility has been rightly contested. Undoubtedly, powerful intellectual activity tends to inhibit the sexual impulse, but this is no less true of great physical exertions. The causes of the high birth-rate among the lower classes of the population are the following:— (a) Members of the proletariat have to marry earlier in life than those belonging to the middle and the upper classes. (b) A smaller proportion of the proletariat suffers from venereal infection. (c) Owing to the overcrowded condition of their dwellings, those belonging to the poorer classes find it far more difficult to observe “prudential restraint.” (d) The poor make less use than the well-to-do of positive methods for the prevention of conception. (e) To those belonging to the poorer classes, to have children is often economically advantageous. A child can help in the work of the household, and can early engage in some occupation enabling it to contribute towards the expenses. On the other hand, in the case of the comparatively well-to-do, a large family involves the risk of a depression in the standard of life. (f) Women of the middle and upper classes are far more afraid than working-class women of pregnancy and childbirth. They actually suffer more from these eventualities, because their sheltered life makes them weaker and more susceptible; in many cases also they shirk motherhood because they think that pregnancy will interfere with their “social duties.” An excessive number of conceptions, pregnancies, and deliveries is harmful, not merely from the outlook of the domestic economist, but also from that of the political economist. If the aim of the State is to secure a population which is not merely numerous, but also of good quality, care must be taken that the number of conceptions, pregnancies, and deliveries shall not be unduly great; for when the number of births is exceedingly large, it is very likely that the number of [5] [6] [7] those to attain maturity will actually be less than if the birth-rate had been lower. We have to take into consideration, not only the difference between the birth-rate and the death-rate, but also the important matter of the actual number of births and deaths. Although in any two cases the terminal results may be identical, it is a matter of grave economic moment how the figures are comprised by which these identical results are attained. If, to effect a certain increase in population, a comparatively large number of births and deaths has been requisite, there has been an enormous waste of time, energy, and wealth. The large families of the proletariat provide a greater supply of labour, and this leads to a fall in wages. Because wages are lower, there results, in turn, an increase in the birth-rate. The great number of conceptions among the proletariat interferes with the effective working of selective forces—an evil which every unprejudiced thinker must deplore, and must endeavour to remedy to the utmost of his ability. The most important means available for this purpose are: first, a rise in wages, and, secondly, the use by the proletariat of positive methods to restrict or prevent procreation. Parents should procreate so many children only as they are in a position to maintain and educate in a suitable manner; it is obvious, therefore, that working-class families should be comparatively small. Yet to-day we see the exact opposite. Only among the well-to-do and the more intelligent sections of the population do we find that these principles are carried into effect. The tragic consequence is that the more prosperous and the comparatively intelligent procreate very few children, the very reverse of what is desirable. Rich people are in a position to have many children, and have but few; working-class parents, on the other hand, ought to have but few children, and they have a great many. If the weekly wage-earners were more prosperous and more intelligent, they would be in a position to have more children, but they would, in fact, have fewer in that case. The Tendency of Evolution.—During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, a decline in the birth-rate set in in every civilised country in Europe, notwithstanding the fact that in all these countries the proletariat constitutes an ever- increasing proportion of the total population. The probable causes of this decline are: first, women’s dread of pregnancy, of childbirth, and of rearing children, and, secondly, pelvic contraction(?). The death-rate is harder to control than the birth-rate. For the birth-rate is influenced to a far greater extent by factors which are under individual control; whereas, in the case of the death-rate, great natural forces are the chief determinants. Death comes to every one, whether his parents and other relatives desire it or not, but those only are born whose parents desire it. In this matter of the population problem, well-considered action will be directed where a result may be obtained with comparative ease. By this it is not meant to imply that the campaign against excessive mortality is to be altogether neglected; but rather that the campaign against an excessively high birth-rate demands more attention than it has hitherto received. The tendency of evolution to-day is to effect a decline in the birth-rate. In the future far more attention will be paid, than has been paid in the past, to the demand of social hygiene that potential parents shall be careful to procreate healthy children only. On the other hand, the knowledge that will enable parents to prevent undesired conceptions will become more and more widely diffused. In times to come, an ever-increasing proportion of pregnancies will be deliberately willed. The decline in the birth-rate will necessarily result in a decline in the death-rate, and more especially in a decline in the death-rate of infants and children. Ultimately, we shall see a decline, not merely in the birth-rate and the death-rate, but also in the difference between the total number of the births and of the deaths. It is beyond dispute that these figures are tending to become less variable and more constant than they were in former times. CHAPTER II STATISTICAL PROBLEMS OF POPULATION Miscarriages, Premature Births, and Still-Births.—The statistical data regarding miscarriages, premature births, and still-births are somewhat untrustworthy. There is no general agreement as to the precise signification of these terms among the medical practitioners, coroners, and registrars of any one country—not to speak of differences in these matters in different countries; and this difficulty applies above all to the matter of still-births. In some countries, children dying during the act of birth or within a few hours after birth are regarded as born alive, but in others as still-born. When we are comparing the birth-rate and the death-rate in different countries, these causes of error must not be forgotten. In the twentieth century, in the civilised countries of Europe, the premature births vary between 5 and 9 per cent., and the still-births between 3 and 4 per cent., of all births. For every 100 still-born girls there are approximately 130 still-born boys. Among the lower classes of the population, still-births are more frequent than among the upper classes. Within the same class, such births are more frequent among those living in unfavourable conditions than among those more favourably situated; and in manufacturing towns they are more frequent than in agricultural districts. The proportion is affected by the age of the mother, and still-births are at a minimum among mothers at ages from 20 to 25 [8] [9] [10] [11] years. In the course of time, notwithstanding the gigantic development of manufacturing industry, and in spite of the more accurate registration of still-births, the proportion of such births has diminished; the principal reason for this is the advance in medical science. Mortality.—In the civilised countries of Europe the death-rate in the twentieth century varies between 15 and 32 per mille. Among the chief causes of transient variations in the death-rate are: war, civil disorders, and rise in prices. A rise in the price of the necessaries of life affects the lower classes of the population more especially, but its influence upon the general death-rate is trifling. Death-rate varies in accordance with occupation. The lower classes have a higher death-rate than the upper; the weekly wage-earners have a higher death-rate than the rest of the population; and mortality is greater in the towns than it is in the country. Of late years, there has been a gradual decline in the death-rate, the decline in the towns being proportionately greater than the decline in the country districts; in this case also the decline must be attributed mainly to the advance in medical science. The Productive Age and the Unproductive Age.—The distinction of the productive age from the unproductive age is a matter of great importance. The former extends from the age of 15 to the age of 65; the latter, the unproductive age, comprises the years before the age of 15 and those after the age of 65. Certain other classifications of the population, such as the distinction of those of an age for school-attendance from those at other ages (those of the former age comprising about one-sixth of the population), and the distinction between youthful and adult criminals, are of no interest in relation to our special inquiry. Classification of the Population according to Age.—In the civilised countries of modern Europe, persons at ages of 0 to 10 comprise about 24 per cent. of the population; those at ages 10 to 20 comprise about 20 per cent.; and those at ages 20 to 30 comprise about 16 per cent. of the population. Those under the age of 15 years comprise about 30 per cent. of the population, each year of life corresponding to from 2 to 3 per cent.; infants (those under 1 year) making up 3 per cent., and each year of life after that only a little more than 2 per cent. At all ages under 15 the boys are more numerous than the girls. The age-pyramid of the population has a form which depends upon the birth-rate. When the birth-rate is higher, or the excess of births over deaths greater, the base of the pyramid is comparatively wide. Thus, in the majority of the civilised states of Europe, about 30 per cent. of the population consists of those under 15 years of age; but in France, where the birth-rate is exceptionally low, those under 15 years of age comprise a much smaller proportion of the total population. In the country districts, the age-class of the children and the age-class of the old both contain proportionately larger numbers than the same age-classes in the towns. In the large towns and the manufacturing districts, there is an especially large proportion of persons of about 20 years of age. There are three reasons for this: first, the birth-rate is higher in the country districts; secondly, there is a drift from the country to the towns of persons of an age to earn a living; and, thirdly, a proportion of those who have grown old in the towns find their way back to the country. The Excess of Women.—All the civilised countries of twentieth-century Europe contain more women than men. For every 1000 males there are invariably more than 1000 females. The excess of females is not usually greater than 5 per cent. Only in certain uncivilised countries of Europe do we find no excess of females. Whether we compare the total female population with the total male population, or compare only males and females of a marriageable age, the result is the same; the females are always in excess. Even in those countries in which women are comparatively less numerous, we still find an excess of women of a marriageable age. This excess of women depends upon the following causes:—In civilised countries more boys are born than girls. The average excess of male births over females is 106:100. (In the case of illegitimate children, the excess of male births is not so great as in the case of legitimate children.) But in males the death-rate is much higher than it is in females. Especially high is the death-rate among male infants (in the first year of life), and among males during the ages at which they are competent to earn a livelihood. The reason given for the higher mortality of male infants is that their powers of resistance are inferior to those of female infants; during the productive years of life the death-rate of males is higher because, on the one hand, they have a far greater mortality than women from diseases of occupation, and, on the other hand, during this period of life males suffer far more than females from the effects of alcoholism, of criminality, and of various other factors exercising an unfavourable influence upon their death-rate. Thus the excess of women is closely associated with that peculiarity of the modern system of production in virtue of which far more men than women are engaged in the work of production. This is obvious from the consideration that the death-rate of wage-earning women is higher than that of other women, and from the consideration that in great towns the ratio between the death-rates of the respective sexes is very different from what it is in the country districts. The excess of women is one of the causes of the failure of so many women to marry, of the birth of so many illegitimate children, of the wide diffusion of prostitution, &c. But it would be quite erroneous to attribute these various phenomena of our sexual life exclusively to the prevalent excess of women. If in any country we desire to diminish the excess of women, it is necessary not merely to lessen the emigration of males, but also to diminish the death-rate of male children. This may be effected by reducing infant and child mortality in general, for measures that accomplish this reduction will lower the death-rate of boys to a greater extent than the death- rate of girls; for the higher the death-rate the greater the effect we can produce by measures effecting its diminution. Hence child-protection, the principal means for the diminution of infant and child mortality, is not only an important part of our campaign against the excessive mortality of male children, but will tend to redress the existing numerical inequality [12] [13] [14] between the sexes, and thus to ameliorate the conditions of our social life. The regulation of the birth of boys and girls (the determination of sex) would be an important means for the restoration of a proper numerical balance between the sexes, and would therefore be of value, not merely to interested individuals, but also to society at large. Unfortunately, contemporary science is not even in a position to ascertain the sex of the infant before birth; and still less are we in possession of such a knowledge of the determinants of sex as might enable us to procreate boys or girls at will. Should the astounding advance in medical science eventuate in the solution of this problem, it will then be in our power to restore the proper numerical balance of the sexes. Marriage.—In the civilised countries of modern Europe the number of marriages per 1000 inhabitants of all ages is from 6 to 8; whilst for every 1000 inhabitants of a marriageable age the annual marriage rate is 50. Of 1000 men over 15 years of age from 400 to 700 are married, whilst of 1000 women over 15 years of age from 440 to 640 are married. A high marriage-rate is not per se either a favourable or an unfavourable manifestation; it is dependent upon economic conditions, and transient variations in the marriage-rate arise from the favourable or unfavourable economic conditions of the year in which these variations occur. In consequence of the enormous development of the manufacturing industries, there has been a great increase in the numbers of those engaged in these industries; a large proportion of farm servants has been transformed into wage- earners of the towns. Since men of this latter class commonly marry young, whereas a comparatively small proportion of farm-servants marries, an increase in the marriage-rate has been noticeable during the latter half of the nineteenth century. But since the beginning of the present century a decline in the marriage-rate has become perceptible, and the causes of this decline are more difficult to ascertain. During the nineteenth century the divorce-rate underwent a continuous increase. The divorce-rate is higher in towns than in the country, and higher in thickly populated than in thinly populated countries. Illegitimate Sexual Relations.—Except as regards the birth of illegitimate children, the only statistical data available regarding illegitimate sexual relations are those which have been obtained by private inquiries. The following are the most important statistics bearing on this question. The annual number of illegitimate births in Europe exceeds 600,000. In most European countries the illegitimate births constitute from 8 to 9 per cent. of the total births, and in every large country in Europe the illegitimate number several millions. From privately collected statistics we learn that in all civilised countries the great majority of unmarried mothers belong to the working classes and to the class of domestic servants; in many countries more than 80 per cent. of unmarried mothers may be thus classified. If from the number of illegitimate children we wish to deduce the probable number of unmarried mothers, we have always to bear in mind the fact that an unmarried mother commonly has one child only, whilst married women have on the average from three to four children. We learn from private statistics that of the fathers of illegitimate children not more than about 45 per cent. belong to the proletariat. The relationship between the number of illegitimate births, on the one hand, and the number of legitimate births and the number of marriages, on the other, is, on one view, the following. The greater the number of marriages, the smaller will be the number of illegitimate births; the greater the average age at marriage, the greater also will be the number of illegitimate births. It is, indeed, extremely probable that a high marriage-rate leads to a low illegitimate birth-rate, and conversely; but we are not justified in regarding such a causal sequence as unquestionable. Variations in the marriage- rate and in the illegitimate birth-rate may be the joint consequences of other common factors. CHAPTER III CHILD MORTALITY Statistical Data.—The statistics relating to child mortality are in an exceptionally well-developed state, and no unprejudiced student of sociology can afford to ignore them. The literature of child mortality contains a number of extremely important and thoroughly trustworthy works; the reason for this may be that, in comparison with other difficult problems of population, the study of questions of child mortality is easier, because various disturbing influences which complicate adult death-rates have no bearing upon child mortality. Even simpler is the question of infant mortality.[1] In computations dealing with this matter it is not necessary to make use of the figures of the general census, for the calculations are based simply upon the recorded births and deaths. The calendar year in which the birth took place does not come directly into the question at all. What we record is the rate per thousand at which, in or during a particular year, say 1909, infants have died before attaining the end of the first year of their life; some of these will have been born in the year 1909, others, of course, in the year 1908. Nearly 30 per cent. of all deaths are infant deaths; about 10 per cent. of all deaths are those of children of ages one to five years; about 50 per cent. of all deaths are those of children from birth to fifteen years. The least dangerous section of human life is between the ages of ten and fifteen years. Child mortality, extremely heavy during the year of infancy, diminishes greatly after the completion of the first year, and diminishes enormously after the completion of the fifth year. In the civilised countries of Europe, at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, of [15] [16] [17] [18] every 1000 infants, from 100 to 300 die, on the average, every year. The attainable minimum of infant mortality, under conditions practically realisable to-day, may be regarded as about 70 per 1000. In families in which exceptionally favourable conditions prevail, the infant mortality rate is even lower than the figure just stated; in the families of the higher aristocracy and among the royal houses it is as low as one-half, and even as low as one-third, of this “practicable minimum” of 70 per 1000. Since the middle of the eighteenth century there has, in nearly all the countries of Europe, been a decline in infant mortality, in the case alike of boys and of girls; this fall in the infantile death-rate is greater than the fall in the general death-rate. Although the data available justify this general statement, it is necessary to point out that authentic statistical data bearing on the question exist only in the case of small and isolated areas, such as individual towns; national registration of such particulars is of much more recent date than the middle of the eighteenth century. Certain Contributory Causes.—The influence upon infant mortality of certain causes commonly regarded as important is in fact small. Statistical data prove beyond dispute that local and climatic factors exercise no direct influence at all upon the infantile death-rate; such influence as these factors do exercise is an indirect one, operating through the effect which climate and locality may have upon social conditions. The same qualification applies to the influence of race and of religion upon infant mortality. There are differences in the infantile death-rates as between Teutons and Slavs, and as between Christians and Jews; but these differences are in no way directly dependent upon the differences in race or in religion, and they must be ascribed to the differences in social conditions. Fertility is well known to exert a decisive influence upon infant mortality; but variations in fertility are not the direct effect of any differences in race or creed; they are a consequence of the varying social conditions in which those of the respective races or creeds actually live. Thus it is only in certain social conditions that Slavs are more fertile than Teutons, and Jews more fertile than Christians. The constitution of the parents exercises a considerable influence upon infant mortality; but the parental constitution must be regarded as largely dependent upon the social environment in which the parents themselves have grown to maturity. The Chief Causes of Infant Mortality.—Among the commonly enumerated conditions affecting infant mortality the following are conspicuous: the proportion of infants reared by artificial feeding instead of being suckled; work for wages by the mothers of infants; the general intelligence of the lower classes of the population, and their knowledge of the care and management of infants; the general state of the public health, including such conditions as the degree to which the general population is enabled to avail itself of the medical knowledge of our time (in all the countries claiming to be “civilised,” bald official statistics prove beyond dispute that a large proportion of the children dying before attaining the age of one year die without having ever received any medical treatment whatever); the number of illegitimate births, &c. But all these conditions are in essence nothing more than social conditions. Thus we are practically justified in saying that the determining factors of infant mortality are social conditions and nothing else. With striking unanimity, those who have made a special study of this question formulate the conclusions summarised in the following paragraph. The infantile death-rate is higher among the lower classes than it is among the upper. Within the limits of those making up what are termed “the lower classes,” the infantile death-rate is higher in proportion as the social conditions are unfavourable. The figure attained by the infantile death-rate depends above all upon the social circumstances and the earning capacity of the parents. Inasmuch as an infant does not possess the faculty of spontaneous change of place or of other spontaneous activity, since it is unable even to express its needs in an intelligible manner, its fate depends upon the soil in which it grows—its very life depends upon its environment. Such, from the social standpoint, is the essential characteristic of the age of infancy. The infant born of well-to-do parents has better chances of life than the infant born of poor parents, for the former lives in more favourable circumstances, and receives in every respect a better upbringing. It is a demonstrable fact that most children that die succumb, not from inherited weakness, but owing to the errors and defects of their upbringing. The materials available in proof of this proposition are ample and incontrovertible. Whatever the place, the time, and the other conditions submitted to investigation, and whether the investigated materials be large or small, we are led invariably to the same conclusions. In the bourgeois (middle and upper) classes, only 8 per cent. of the children die during the first year of life, but among the proletariat the infantile death-rate is 30 per cent. Even more significant, if possible, are the following facts. The infantile death-rate is higher among illiterate wage-earners than it is among literate wage-earners; it is higher among casual labourers than it is amongst wage-earners permanently occupied. In the strata of the population above the manual workers, we find that the infantile death-rate is lower as we pass from strata in which social conditions are comparatively bad to strata in which they are comparatively good. The infantile death-rate and the income of the parents vary in inverse ratio. The differences in the infantile death-rate as we pass from the poorer quarters of our towns to the richer quarters tell always the same tale. The Great Number of Children.—The chief cause of high infant mortality and of high child mortality among the lower strata of the population is the great size of their families. The number of conceptions, pregnancies, and births varies directly as the infantile death-rate. If out of a certain limited income more children have to be maintained, the share of each in the commodities purchasable out of that income necessarily diminishes. The income of the manual worker is so small that, even if his family is quite a small one, it is exceedingly difficult for him to provide out of that income what he and his wife and children need for the satisfaction of elementary vital needs. With every additional child comes a further limitation of supplies for each individual member of the family. Not only does this have a directly unfavourable influence upon health, inasmuch as each child receives a smaller share of dwelling-room, food, &c. In addition, as more and more children are born, the worth of the individual child in the eyes of the parents diminishes. The mother’s health is apt to suffer from the rapid succession of conceptions, pregnancies, and deliveries. For [19] [20] [21] various reasons this is disadvantageous to the children. A woman thus affected will subsequently bring more weakly children into the world; the mother whose health is poor is unable to give as much time and pains to the rearing of her children as she would if she were well and strong; many women whose health has been broken by unduly frequent pregnancies die during a subsequent pregnancy or delivery. But may it not be that the relationship between a large number of births and a high infantile death-rate is the reverse of that which we have suggested? Is it not possible that the great mortality among children may be the cause of an increase in the number of conceptions, pregnancies, and births? It is true that certain purely psychological factors may contribute to such a causal sequence. To a certain degree a high infantile death-rate has such an effect. For if a woman gives birth to a diseased or a still-born child, or if one of her children dies, the parents are more likely than would otherwise be the case to desire to have another child, and the wife will be more ready to undertake the troubles of another pregnancy and the risks of another delivery. The most important means for the diminution of child mortality is to improve the conditions of working-class life. It is indisputable that the more prosperous members of the working class have fewer children on the average than those who are not so well off; that in any region in which an improvement has taken place in the conditions of working-class life a fall in the birth-rate has ensued; that the poorer the condition of any stratum of the proletariat, the larger is the average family. An increase in the average working-class income will lead to a proportionately greater decline in the death-rate of infants and young children. For this increase in income will operate in two ways: in the first place, if the number of children remain the same, the rise in income will ensure for each child a larger share of the necessaries of life; and, in the second place, with the rise in income the size of the average family will diminish, and this will reduce the child mortality. Inasmuch as the height of the infantile death-rate depends mainly upon the great infant mortality among the lower strata of the population, every effort at reform in this direction must begin at the lower end of the social scale. Child Mortality in the Towns.—A connection appears to exist between density of population and the death-rate: if the other conditions remain unchanged, the death-rate increases pari passu with increasing density of population. The question whether in the towns child mortality is higher than in the country districts has not yet been decisively answered; and it is equally uncertain whether from the hygienic standpoint the existing rural conditions are better than the urban. It appears probable that child mortality is higher in the towns than in the country districts; it is more doubtful, however, if the same can be said of infant mortality. The statistical data available on this question must be subjected to a stringent critical examination. The infant mortality which truly belongs to the towns appears smaller than it really is, for the reason that a proportion of the infants born in the towns are placed in the care of foster-parents living in the country, and some of these die in the country. It is equally true that many people from the country die in hospitals and other institutions in the towns; but this applies much more to adults than to children. The proletariat constitutes a large majority of the inhabitants of the urban districts; the proportion of artificially reared children is greater than in the country, the housing condi...