It remains, then, for us to
determine by whom mothers and children in the modern and future State
are to be provided for.
The conditions of mothers are various, and we shall best approach the
problem by the consideration of different cases.
The simplest is that of the widowed mother who is without means. It is
only too common a case, and we have already seen certain causes which
contribute to the enormous number of widows in the community. Men do not
live as long as women, and men are older when they marry. These natural
causes of widowhood, as they may be called, are greatly aggravated by
the destructive influence of alcohol upon fatherhood, as will be shown
in the chapter dealing with alcohol and womanhood.
On the individualistic theory of the State, a theory so brutal and so
impracticable that no one consistently upholds it, the widow's
misfortune is her private affair, but does not really concern us. Her
husband should have provided for her. Indeed she should, and indeed we
should have seen that he did. But if he and we failed in our duty to
her, the consequences must be met. The hour is at hand when the State
will discover that children are its most precious possessions, more
precious as they grow scarcer, and efficient support will then be
forthcoming, as a matter of course, for the widowed mother and her
children. The feature which will distinguish this support from any past
or present provision will be that it recognizes the natural sanctity and
the natural economy of the relation between mother and children.
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