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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1911)
, THE , OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY' MORNING, MAY 21,-1911 rwjy- Parents and Children of 5. a" Too Small t ramil ' ' , " i .. - i.' , . 'v i, i-' aaai T WEIGHS somewhere around eight or nine. pounds "and i ;tW,, A Jjp jW, '". d There u onW one of it. When it rets if jjold enough t6 think about itself j it f rob ably '' impertinent heel! on the. face of great and.f patient Mother Earth' and imagine it is: too s; good to have any f competitors. .Vj.: , , .'; there were ''a dozen pf it, if there were 'j? only a couple pfsit, it would probably be ; . slammed down so hard on that wholesome -old earth, and slammed so of ten ,l that, like r v Antaeus of old, it would, rise ub cured of ; every weakness,. .But, being "simply a solo, it " , is liable to'nevrr suffer anything worse thafi applause until tfs too old to be remedied. The only childthere is its picture as very scientifically and statistically set forth by the famous Professor triedjung, of the So ciety of Internal Medicine, in d Peat a tries,, who has been studying ustrian only, children for y ears , to learn whether being solos is good for them. It isn't. ' ' American authorities are inclined to agree ' with him. They would indorse his view com- t M II I . 1- rmittA - fl y Vi WJ. "- 1 JrfXI (fill .1 ' LUI I Ul. " II ' XT'. ll x . lVl. . - y t, . . . . .-my j a , , ':..:' . i. III II k JT . XT W ILf 1 I .i fVl.lli III 111 II I f I fcw ' . . .. k . ... .0 M . i pletely but for one 'factor, which gives the only child in an American family an infinitely better chance of being a credit to us'. , That factor is the American mother. Her maternal affection is just as intense, just as prone to spoil her offspring, as the mother love that works so indulgently, and so harmfully,-abroad. But her brains are her child's salvation. The tiny human chip off the American block stands a better chance of eothing off scot -free from the numerous bogeymen Professor Friedjunz sees lying in wait for him than the only child in any other land. - Green ;v i Tbse-ajfdn Her r-ytter r In ft iipy -111 1 1 f : r Y'" ft - - niUly elf-centred, yet alwayi healthy and ian. had attained a peculiarly clear and refined dlacernment. Llk him, though In a wholly different field, William Randolph Heartt, heir to untold millions, decided to carve out a career for himaelf. The same faculty, in a totally different field, has been conspicuous In the character and fcjilua of Hetty Green, irhose vnerrlns; perspicacity In finance had Its orlrlns rn her earliest childhood and In her upbringing amid the responsibilities' of trade. .. . Self-reliance, when the tralninr has been careful and the ortflfal character la a strong one, never seems to fall In the child who has been reared largely alone. No more well-polsed type Is known In thU country than that of mothers like Mrs. Orover Cleveland and, tnHhe extreme .of, wealth,-EdUh. ICtngdon Gould... AnJ V mention just two examples f great Ulent that hare not suffered by reason of lack of ' home playmates, GeraUllne Farrar eeems to have won all the advanUges of an only child, with none or the unhappy handicaps, as haa also "Blllle" BUrBu't the American child has better fortune than any ethers, however well born those others may be. -The deductlone of Professor Friedjung," said Dr. Edwin E. Graham, profeasor of chlldren'a diseases at 'give In' to a brother or a sister; it doesn't have its edges smoothed down by contact with other children. That is decidedly bad. ' "rhile the blrh rate in families of native-bora Americans Is markedly less than among the foreign ele ment, the infant mortality there Is much higher than among the Americans. The result, so far aa the only child may go, brln? the two daises more closely together than the statistlca show. Among the better classes of Amerlos the morUllty of infants ia practi cally nil, because Infant mortality la dependent almost directly on social status, the money to take care of the baby and procure prompt medical attention. "Nearly all such deaths are of the preventable kind. Properly clothed. feds and housed, babies don't die. "The only child, whether it lack brothers and sisters from one cause or another, la not only apt to be neu rotic, nervous and apprehensive, but It is hypersensitive. Its lessons are always too. hard: It Is always getting the. rough side of things; and both parents are too prone to agree with it. The child may have the best qualities, and yet be deprived through overindulgence of the op portunities for their development. Above all else, the f"T"IHlll small famllv ia a ritatlnQtlvelv national nhaaa 1 in the United States. In other, countries the only child may juat happen no doubt with all the natural and aoclai cauaes operating witit inu tridual families which tend to limit childbirth here. But this country displays a distinct tendency toward the small family: a fact appreciated ever since Colonel Roosevelt, while he was president. Inveighed against race . suicide, and now statistically demonstrated In the census bureau's special report for the immigration commission. s Of course, the resources of the census were enor mously beyond those at the comlland of Doctor Fried Jung, Id Vienna, where he put the social and medical microscope on Just 100 only children. The small-family Study here took In the whole state of Rhode Island, the city of Cleveland, O.; the city of Minneapolis, twenty eight large rural communities in Ohio and twenty-one . In Minnesota. - Briefly, the average white woman whose parents were Americans has only one child in 6.J years; while v the woman of foreign parentage has one every 1.3 years. American white women of American parentage who have ' been married from ten to twenty year snow precisely the same number of children in Cleveland and Minne apolis, 3.4 children the census bureau, In Its statistics, being able to split a child up better than old King Sole- . men ever 'did. In all Rhode Island the figures are prac tically the same. 21 But In' rural Ohio and Minnesota . the average rises by just 1, the number above the cities being 8.4. The percentage of women who bear no chil dren at all is much higher among the native white women of native parentage than it is among the whltea of foreign parentage-; and It is higher among the whltea of foreign parentage 'in the second generation than It is in the first As for negroes, the startling (act appears that from 19 to 23 per cent of the -married women remain childless. . . TENDENCY TO LIMITATION The compilation of the census bureau was 'made with no special attention to the number of couples having a neru aiauaiics only Being -uscmDiea. v hlch number of whit woman In Rhode Island who have only two children 68.7 per cent CUT- III . ' l v" v A ifMffwfsNt ' ? k . ie ' ' 4 WV A v! IF' vf f"? i ft I -sa' 5'i '"Ja l? iv "" I saVJaa "n lisi SalsaTJ tr j. A M -AiH- 4 vh h Isfc m II i xa ft I SaVJaVJaVJaVJaVJaVJaVJaVJaVJsa r a X t Srv S-W '; i; jT a V " ' ' f fl There is, however, one remarkable characteristic of only children: they usually manifest unusual mental power, which Is accompanied by a pronounced tendency to waywardness. Substitute self-will for, waywardness, ansj unii r hm attributes lornmonly betiWe' tft t ih foundation of gealtie. ' - .-...,.' .v..-. The trouble Is that stingy parentage must always take chances. The number of children actually born to any one couple does not seem to make any difference In the Individual child who happens to be reared as a solo. One . of triplets standa as great a chance of being spoiled. If his two contemporaries should die, as it he had been the one child porn In the family. ' It is quite possible that the odious Nero might have - been a decent citizen, if not another Augustus, had he been compelled to take the hard knocks incident ta a brood of boys, who might have let him dinow how it .hurt. to be a ralld imitation of a Christian martyr. As It was, he did not have, apparently, any feeling of com passion or sympathy when his unlicked cub character was allowed full swing; and yet he gave Indications of genius which, although they never amounted to much, were of a piece with what the world has too often been Inclined to associate the erratlo nature of superior en--dowment. ' The high percentage of exceptional, mental force that seems to be so often manifested in only children is evi denced In o, type such aa Owen Wlster, whose art is belngi recognised as owing no little of Its excellence to th peoutlarly original bent of his mind, as thotirh the thoughts, continually evolved from a Viewpoint defl- Sfts. 1fetrref ?v?brr the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, "are In the main- correct, and they are so recognised and acted on by the medical profession generally. "If the only child be young. It ts very liable to be polled, whether the parents be rich or poor: the kind of spoiling may be different, but the result is the same. It is perfectly natural for us to wish to grant the requests our children make, and If there be hut one. its deslree are much more likely to be rratlfled. It never has to t conditions surrounding the only child are likely to make it selfish. ' : . , .' ; 'Th typical American family haa tw or three thU drin, not one only, and that among the well-to-do. Yet the only child Is much more likely te occur among the rich. With the saving care-such a single offspring re ceives under conditions oX large wealth, the result $ likely to. be a higher percentage of only children there than among the very poor. . " "The trouble with all children nowadays la that tM much Js done for thenuv There are too many parties . there is too much entertaining, too much effort to amuse. The children are not allowed to develop normally and naturally. What should be-done is. allow them to grow as a plant grows, surrounded by normal conditions, with plenty of fresh air day and night, plenty of sunshine, and no excitements or amusements such as are liable to keep their nerves continually on edge. Children generally are how more nervous than they were twenty or thirty years ago, for two reasons: their parents are more nerv ous, for one thing; and, for another, the children arc reared amid environments which keep the. nervous eye tern under strain. So they suffer from narvous tenden cles, both Inherited and acquired. ' "Nevertheless,' continued Professor Graham. tha fir ures adduced by Doctor Frlsdjung will hardly apply ta the only child In the United States as they do abroad. The American , mother stands In the way of any4 sues wholesale deterioration. Leaving aside the very rleh. It Is a conspicuous fact that Americans of the middle classes, and even the poorer mothers who come to the hospitals, are very level headed. If the funds are not to be readily had for keeping the child at school, they will make all, necessary sacrifices; they will wear old clothes, so that the child may appear decently whUe securing the coveted education. r -. 'There can be no question that while sne s perhaps the most affectionate of mothers, the" American woman, whether her circumstances be moderate or wealthy, studies out what Is definitely best for the child. She endeavors to keep it in the open air. to provide food proper for the growing body, to Insist on strictly per sonal cleanliness and to assure an ample outing at the seashore or in the country. SPOILS IT KNOWINGLY , r The American mother ts by no means a' fool. She Is a clever woman. If she has an only child and spoils it she does so knowingly, not because she has been wholly . blinded by maternal love; she Is too Intelligent for that -There Is a good deal of spoiling done by fathers, who are likely to so safeguard an only child a to make a ooy a ninny ana tnen ie disappointed ana angry be cause, as he grows older, he won't play hard footbalL T v "Our growing national tendency to delay marriage undoubtedly restricts the period ef child bearing, and IB that manner Increase the proportion of only children' if the woman whose one child cornea to her late rather than early In life haa a normal child and her age need be no materlai factor lq. that regard It la likely to prove her highest happiness. If, however, it be abnormal or neurotic, its care may be a severe burden to her; and the circumstance that It Is the only child she has, of course, provokes the possibility that bar affection may spoil It "Yet still, the American mother la of the type that does not leod Itself to easily to her child's nervous ruin. A noteworthy factor, which comes into nlav tmonr thai families that are prosperous, la the boarding schooL, NoWg much mora than was done soma twenty years agov- doui gins ana coys arc Doing sent to uese sonooie; and It Is a good thing.' x , . "Take a-boy who la removed from the coddling at mosphere of his home. He leads, at once a life that la systematlsed, with certain houra for study, recitation and .' outside exercise. He Is compelled to decide and. act for himself where, under the conditions reviewed by Pro tessor Frledjung, he would run to his mother or father for advice and aldj , "I think," concluded Professor Graham, "that any such close study of the only child in distinctly American homes would show a smaller percentage of neurotics and spoiled' individuals than he has found. And the better showing may be credited to the American woman. At 19 -such a mother knows Infinitely more than her mothet ' did at the same age. She makes her studies aa ta her cfiild'a care before it is born; she acquires a knowledge of how to feed it afterward which may be regarded as superior; she has the discretion to seek medical aid when it is necessary, and she has the self-control to send her child away from her to school when she perceives that her mothering is no longer good for it." . . m Work Better titan All - jaastasjB aisaw SSBBt 4SsW ' M mm M SSaaVJaW SaVameav sav - ai n i ii; to i wo in en -i ; . - , single child, But the remarkabl 91 ail recoraea snows me lenaency to limit the 1 spring, and also the long Intervals during which the nira first c one. Two children may remain the oniv may fairly be regarded as the typical American family; but one child is a condition that tends to become more and more common. The cases studied by Professor Frledjung In Austria paralleled to a remarkable extent not merely the only child state tf affairs so far as It obtains In the United States, but also the moiety of the families here who, as the census has demonstrated, have but two children. These children, It was noted, come only one in 6.3 years: so that the first of them Is practically the only child, just aa were approximately GO per cent of Friedjung's sub jeets. whose ages ranged between 2 and 10 years. Prob ably a very numerous proportion of those second chil dren who came to native American mothers did not arrfre until eight or ten years had elapsed after the birth ef In first; and so they completely parallel the condi tions existing among Friedjung's subjects. - Out of his 100 children who had neither brother rior sfeter. he discovered only 13 who were completely normal. The group Included 48 boys and 65 girls, and 87 of them showed marked symptoms of nervous Instability. niiit. bir It clamed as severely neuropathic? Aa contrasted with families having numerous offspring, the showing I G hasn't tried it will be likely to disagreewith any woman who has ; and the womanwho has .won't be able to prove why slnt thinks as she does, because her whole , supply of human nature keeps agreeing' with the wuumu wiiw uasu W : pleasures of society more than she longs for , heaven; but if she .has them to the limit of her capacity, purgatory would be mild as a symbol of the penalty, she pays. -;Work honest brainwork may save her; and that is the antidote advised by the distinguished American specialist, Dr. Charles K. Mills. Give the American girl who is destined for society's in cessant diversions some healthy intellectual re--sources, and sne will not only stand the strain of pleasure better, but she will have tastes that can flrvA aa n leisure's sanest remedv. But the maioritT hold, and how happy of those who do get the saving education are the will she be? ' girls who are destined tor worjr, not' play. V Any woman who IVEN a wom an who -has all the lei sure and lux- o ury her natuBB can possibly crave, plus , all the - amusement . and .social diversion her twenty-four hours per day can possibly NEURASTHENIA, in Its scientific perfection, was found by Doctor Beraflnt to c prevail among American1 women of wealth and, refinement It Is worse in Washington than in New York., be cause Washington's acUvltlea are almost wholly social, while New York. In spite of Its tremendoua onrush of energy, mix business and pleasure so thoroughly that -people have less chance to suffer the monotony of con tlnual amusement Our very phase of neurasthenia la peculiar. The Latin races become so exhausted that they are limp with lassi tude; the pUre Saxons grow utterly e)ull and torpid;" the ' Italian specialist's opin ions; but he suggested that the safer thing to do would, be for us Americans to look after prevention rather than cure. ' "The f u n d a mental trouble that lies bacR of a good deal of American neurasthenia," exw-ned Doctor Mills, "is the lacl? of resource for genuine diversion on the part, of both men and women. It goes back to their early education. To those who have risen in this hew country to positions of large wealth It often happens that the original Intellectual resources are not suffi cient, and " people are compelled to turn to whatever pleasures their altered social- position may oner. Play ::'JL Mas?! If-; Americana are over-stimulated, as though they must keep going on faster and. faatar. The beet thing to da with A famous Italian specialist. Dr. Enrico Sera- appalling, for only ji ner cent of these children showed v fini. has been trying to find out whr women hav, env neuronathlo jvmptom. as against 87 per cent of tha ' VV i:"?t YT " J. , u -only" children. Out of those 87 neiousiystabieeWK: - Eerve! tet thorough studies in Europe, he dre 76 were the victtmsof chronic fear hd hysteria, , came to tha United States to seek the secret here. chnd?tfOTiSf Sr'aSSH adV ' v He has answered the fruestion. promptly. The unduly, it becomes a tirrW- rnoiweoddie and a menace ' Woman with all the diversion she wants has so much tt iSVirm4!S u n1 mnr yrs 8o that the Vmtl L !3win? cn,Tr,l4, t0 tt TT rrJT beginning to forget what it trwes to blnv-TMctor v -Pring, : . t .made the reminiscent 'remark. hra ha dlscusse My own Opinion la that In th m1nrltv f inataneea although, of course, not without exceptions the educa- , tlon of srtrla and young women Is not carried far enough before they are allowed to enter Into society and, some-. . times. t plunge . into social dlasipatlona. V "The private preparatory school that school which ; theoretioally is founded on the idea of carrying girls to the nolnt where thetr.ara nnallfip to enter colleaea like theee human comets la ta condemn them to such abso- v Bryn Mawr, Vassar and Welleslev Is the limit to which lute rest and alienee that they won't eyen think. a very large number of young women are allowed to go xnat may oa tne cure, aitnougn vt. b. weir Jaiteneu in meir eaucation ror their future, xne iaea onen seems, wona io do mat, unless tney are expectea to earn ineir owo villa ' Itrliia. toonmuc ed ark (foa tntv trove a detriment rather discussed tha Vlhan an advanuge. Above alL the addiUonal years re-. quired for the higher courses might prevent' them com tog out as It is called, at an early age, , ,. " "Who are the girls who go to women's colleges 7 A great number are daughters of, people in moderate elr-l oumstances; there are not so many daughters el tha vary) rich. While a fair percentage of the wealthier classes do have their girls educated at the beat eollegea for women, the student bodies of these Institutions Sra largely made up of those who expect to make their ewa living rather than to shine In society. . "We pay, on the side of the men, the penalty of a new and progressive nation. Every member of It has as good a right as another to get all the wealth and power he can. To do it lie concentrates bis efforts in certain' : channels, and he begins to do it so early In Ufa that he shackles bis faculties against any development beyond his direct business Interests. When the time comes when he might rest and enjoy himself, he f ten finds he cannot depart from the groove he has worn foe his activities. Men should have avocations as well, as vocations, and they should not be simply golf and bridge. ' ? ; , , "A man will be a failure in business who lets his avocation, fad or side Issue supplant his actual vocation; nevertheless, nearly every man can carry along with his direct calling something which has to it an iatel lectual bent.- ' .'.'v m v.r.:.i .'rf'v. "Women, like men, need intellectual resorts, a well as resources. They are stilt too often lacking, altnous f to an extent they ar supplied by such valuable educa tional factors as contemporary clubs." Doctor Mills cbuld not undertake to make the dls'tlne tlon between New York and Washington which Doctor Seraflnt haa dtttcerned. It aeemed to him that what may be gained In variety of interests In New York ia liable to be forfeited in the excess of social ecUvlty an. diversion. .:.,:?..'' - . , The idea that neurasthenia, especially In woman. said Doctor Mills, "la due to the monotony or lark of variety in their social life Is probably correct as far a it goes; but there ale other cauaes of rieurannrnta. u of hysteria and functional nervous disorders in general, among both woman and men.'' , Too much play, like too much work, seems 't ituVt JI1I an fiyerstlmulated soul: but if the c-fmioa la to I made, the woman with a career, and especially th Aw" lean Woman, stands a better chance of kpirg her and her balance by using her active brant n,. Intellectual lines than by pursuing fo'.ly as ! f!:s. tt landa hermit ntremb4th"Slck-ilat WH a 4 feeling her fluttering, useless pulse.
