SAYS BABIES BOOST TAXES
The Mills legislative committee which is studying taxation has discovered strange things in its two weeks' sojourn in New York City, but it brought forth a real surprise yesterday in the person of Prof. Joseph French Johnson of New York University, who disclosed himself as a disciple of the late Thomas Robert Malthus, proponent of the theory that there can never be a happy society because population tends to increase at a much faster rate than the old earth, working overtime, can provide food, raiment, and other things.
Discussing yesterday the income tax, Prof. Johnson, who appeared as chairman of the Merchant's Association committee on taxation, said he wanted to nail the frequently expressed opinion that the exemption accorded to the married man should be greater than that which the bachelor enjoys.
"Since you are talking about exemptions," he said, "I might add this: I would not exempt the married man. I would not give any preference to the married man over the bachelor. I do not believe it is a good thing to encourage matrimony by lowering taxation. On the contrary, I would discourage matrimony by making the married man pay a higher tax. I think we should not do anything to encourage matrimony and child-bearing."
"Surely you are not serious, are you, Professor?" inquired Senator Boylan.
"I certainly am serious. I should have to give you quite a disquisition to explain my conclusions, and I doubt if it would be practicable for you to consider the subject now. And you would have to surrender to public opinion anyhow. If you do put in force a new system of taxation you'll have to treat the married man easily. I am still a confirmed disciple of Malthus, and I believe that the awful war in Europe is being fought out because the human race has deliberately refused to see the lessons of his doctrines, which were taught a hundred years ago."
Prof. Johnson, who in addition to being professor of economics at New York University is also dean of the school of finance, explained after he had left the stand that he is not opposed to matrimony as an institution, nor as a refuge from loneliness for those who can afford it. He is himself a married man and has three children.
"I believe in the Malthusian theory," he said. "Just consider that man is the only animal whose natural increase is not regulated. We regulate the increase in the number of cats and dogs and other domestic animals, but we let human beings go on having children without any thought of the ability of society to take care of them. I think we should regulate marriage and especially child-bearing.
"In my opinion no married man ought to be allowed to have a child until he can convince some authority of his ability to provide properly for that child. We want all the increase we can get in the good elements of population, but we ought to keep down the 'riff-raff'—although you know as a matter of fact there is no human 'riff-raff'—yet we allow them to increase without any regulation. As for those who are able to take care of themselves, let them marry and have children. The more the merrier."
B. Selection (1) below is a bulletin received some hours after the news detailed in (2), which appeared in a morning paper. Combine the bulletin with the morning story.