Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 1 · column 7 of 8 · from the scan, no model involved
Bigger Baby Crop
Seen Coming Up
NEW YORK, Nov. 16--A new baby boom appears to be in the offing in Rappahannock County. It will give an upward push to the birth rate, which has been sagging. locally and in other parts of the country, for a number of years.
The expectation of bigger baby crops in the near future is based upon the sharp increase in the number of marriages now taking place.
Ibe reports show that the marriage rate has been zooming in almost every area of the country. Nationally, in just the first six months of this year, the increase has boon more than 10 percent.
Marriages throughout the United Stales appear to be headed for a 1908 total of over two million, which would be the most since 1946. And more marriages, in the normal course of events, mean more babies.
The facts and figures are from the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
In Rappahannock County, as elsewhere, there is a direct relationship between the number of births in any one year and the number of marriages in that year. The ratio locally is approximately 3.10.
Ibe big increase in weddings in the local area has boosted the marriage rate to around 6.9 per 1,000 residents. This compares with 6.1 per 1,000 four years ago. 'Dial increase is expected to result in a rise in the next few years in the number of new babies, in proportion to the local ratio of births to marriages. Why the sudden jump in the number of marriages? The answer lies in the unusual number of young people who have reached marriageable age. 'Ibey are the product of the postwar period, when the birth rate was at an all-time high. In Rappahannock County, at the present time, there are some 579 young men and young
(Continue on page 6)
72.4%