THE PROBLEM OF THE FAMILY
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Mr. Mackenzie asks the question, " How far is the decline in the birthrate voluntary ? " Surely the decline is entirely voluntary just as the higher rate was voluntary in the nineteenth century. It springs from fundamental causes of which the two chief are : The increased cost of the higher standard of living and the impossibility of getting adequate domestic help in the home. There are many other contri- buting factors, for example, increased taxation, insecurity of capital invested in undertakings such as railways, coal mines, shipping, and the universal suspicion that the future may spring further surprises such as we ex- perienced in August, 1925 ; the refusal of potential parents to be tied to the house by small children for whom they cannot afford to engage help ; the extraordinary development of the owner-driven car and the corresponding increase in travel and sport ; the con- tinual temptation to spend money on refinements in the house, on amusements and pleasure. The progress that has followed on discoveries during the past 100 years has been so rapid that society has not yet had time to adapt itself to continually changing conditions. The coming of the motor- driven vehicle alone would be enough to revolutionize our outlook. A new era in history is opening out, a wonderful future full of possibilities at which one can only make faint guesses.
It is not correct to infer that because there are no children in a home therefore children are not wanted. It is a period of change and much unrest and the average man shrinks from assuming responsibilities that paternity may entail. We are passing through a peculiar phase in our world history. When mankind has had time to get accustomed to the tremendous changes that are taking place, when suspicion yields to greater confidence, then man's inherent instinct to continue his family and preserve the race will have greater scope.—I am, Sir, &c., A. R. T. Ginaox. Carolina, Watawala, Ceylon.
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