The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-03-01
The Population of New Orleans.

The people of New Orleans seem much
chagrined at the diminution of population
exhibited by their recent census. The Leg
islature ordered an enumeration of the people
for the purpose ofapportioning the represen-
tation of the State The officers found but
$4,000 people in the city. The citizens
thought this fraud to cheat them out of a
representation in the Legislature. The City
Council was assembled, and the Mayor sent
a special message on the subject. A new
census was ordered to be Immediately taken
by agents of the city, which was 6one-but
the latter, after most thorough canvassing.
found only population of 1873 900. In 1853
the city contained 1853, 900 people. This last
census was taken in the height of the visit
ing season, when the city contained at least
10000 strangers, who appear TO have been
all enumerated; for we see that the St
Charles Hotel returns over goo inmates, and
some of the other hotels from 400 to Co.,
There has probably been decrease in FIVE
years gilmore than 10000 in the population
case in a city whose commerce is steadily
and legitimately increasing in amount from
year to year, may appear. strange to those
who do not know intimately the nature and
course of her trade. For years the whole
efforts of the business population have been
directed to provide labor saving processes
and increased facilities for the dispatch of
business, the result of which has been to en-
able few men to do what it required an
hundred men to do ten or fifteen years ago.
1t has tended to enormously centralize and
monopolize the business in few large
houses. One firm will now do with ease,
what would have been large business for
ten separate houses 10 or 20 years ago.
Under the /" List and Sample" system, q
house now makes sale of 1000 bales with
more dispatch and facility than it could
have sold so bales in 1886. Four or five
clerks in a back Office in an out of the way
street, with a third story loft for a sample
room, the rent OF which will not exceed
500 a year, will do the business of house
selling from two to three hundred thousand
bales of cotton, business of $4,000 o0C
to $l5, 100000 annually. The same is tn,
case with tobacco; and it is but little varied
in the sales of grain and -four and othel
important staples. They are generally landeC
upon the leyee and passed to the shipping
directly or through a few extensive cottor
presses and warehouses, with every facility
for storage-and the only labor required t.
effect the transit Of the immense cOmmerc'
of the city is that of a few hundred negroe
and about three thousand draymen. TIL,
million and a half bales of cotton that ar,
landed in New Orleans do not, probably
pay more to the rental of the city, nor EN-
ploy more labor than the shoe-making anC
some other inferior branches of mechanical
trades in the city. In no branches of hu
man industry, has so much been accom-
plished by the labor-saving inventions as il
the great channels of commerce; and the vas
increase of individua.capital has aided t
concentrate the control of the chief chan
nels of trade in a few houses in every grea
mart. The tendencies are the same every
where, and it will be found, in these days
that cities created solely by commerce, ma.
annually increase their imports and export
and still suffer decline in population an,
the value of real estate. Manufacturer
and artzans are the chief builders of mod
ern cities, and labor and not traffic must b
the basis of their growth.