Interview with the Charleston (SC) Gazette

Says Effort to Spread Ideas in Charleston Fairly Successful

By Wilma Dodson

Although the number of Charleston’s citizens attending the lectures of Mrs. Margaret Sanger, secretary for commission for federal legislation on birth control, were not as large as in a number of other cities, Mrs. Sanger feels that they "made up in quality what they lacked in quantity," she said when interviewed yesterday at the Daniel Boone hotel. The lecturer believes that her attempts to bring practical knowledge of birth control to the public have been fairly successful in Charleston and the outlying vicinity.

Mrs. Sanger gave a lecture at the Thomas Jefferson junior high school building Friday afternoon, one of a series of lectures she is giving throughout the United States in behalf of the commission for federal legislation for birth control. They keynote of Mrs. Sanger’s drive is to bring about the amending of federal laws to conform with state laws so that they will not interfere with the distribution of scientific information in the respective states.

Visits made to outlying mining towns near Charleston have shown that the persons in those districts as well as those living in the city are anxious for scientific knowledge concerning birth control. Mrs. Sanger has made plans to send literature to these persons and do all in her power to bring about the cooperation of county and city health officials in relieving the existing conditions.

The lack of laws adjusted so as to cover the needs of birth control, she said, has brought about many undesirable conditions throughout the United States. Women are being completely broken in health, she said, from too frequent child bearing. Fathers of such large families find themselves unable to bear the burden of support. Instead of being a privilege, as Mrs. Sanger believes parenthood should be, it becomes a curse. If proper information were within reach of the poorer classes their children might be fewer in number, worth more to society, and less of a burden. This information should not be shouted from the street corners or housetops but should be in the hands of well trained clinics and nurses.

Mrs. Sanger first became interested in the birth control movement upon her return from Holland where she spent one year as a student under eminent physicians. Mrs. Sanger opened a clinic in New York city in 1917, within ten days over 800 women of all classes sought instructions and information. This clinic was closed by the New York police. It was reopened in 1918. There are more than one hundred such clinics throughout the United States at this time.

Mrs. Sanger will be presented with a medal by Forty Business and Professional Women’s clubs in New York city this April. This medal is awarded to a woman who has achieved "the most in vision, integrity, and courage."

The lecturer’s latest book is entitled "My Fight for Birth Control."