The Portland daily press., 1873-03-24
Object Teaching in the Census Report.

sus report are SO suggestive that philosophi-
cal man who could not read might derive
from them no very inaccu ate idea OF the his
t, Try of the country, as well as OF its social
and industrial condition. Their nice adap-
tation to the purpose for which they are in
tended has almost the effect of poetry on the
mind See on the map showing the degree
Of illiteracy in different parts OF the country,
how the dark shading deepens as you ap-
proach the South. What damning blot
slavery has left, to be sure! Nor is the mark
ed absence of education in the South fully ac-
counted for by the existence there of the col
ored race, for in comparing this map with
another in the same volume, showing the den
ssity of the black population, we find that the
dark shading on the two is by no means COIN
cident. The spirit of the wicked old insttu-
ton cut off the poor whites, as well as tie
blacks, from education, hence the inky dark
ness of this cloud of shame that hangs over
the South. The cloud gradually lightens as
YOU approach the Ohio and Potomac, but its
shadow falls little across both rivers, after
Which, IL iaPioiy SsSoic UP NCW ILDSiduu
is reached, where it is only slight haze, COW
ing only little corner of Vermont and
Massachusetts,. and, wonderful to tell, not
square inch of Mainel This unspotted white
,ss Of Maine, as we find on reference to the
&C ,ompanying key, indicates that there is no
part Of the State in which even five per cent.
of the population is illiterate. There is not
another State in the Union in which there is
not at least one dark spot, and in most OF
them the shading in some part indicates from
eleven to forty per cent. OF illiterate persons.
Nor is this the only respect in which the APP
pearance OF Maine is singular. The purple
shading which shows the toleign population
covers less extended area than in any other
Northern State, and it is SO light even where
it is laid on in a narrow strip along the coast
as far as the Penobscot river, that it indicates
only from 2 to foreign inhabitants to the
square mile. This map shows in the most
striking manner the usefulness Of the new
method of conveying statistical information.
At glance it is seen where the grand GEN.
tiers of foreign population lie. Among these
the most notable is indicated by deep pur-
pie patch covering all Rhode Island and East
n Massachusetts,, except Cape Cod, extend
ing diagonally across central and western Gen.
necticut, the corner of New York where the
city is situated, and central New Jersey, until
it stops with the city of Philadelphia. In
the whole area there are more than twenty
foreign born inhabitants to the square mile.
Though almost all the Northern States have
some tinge Of foreign purple, there are no
more large spots like this, and the South, like
Maine, is almost without stain.
Pursuing the investigation, with special
reference to this State, it is found from the
map showing the density Of population, that
the Southern part of Maine-the only part
which can really be said to be settled-has
more than the average number Of people to
The square mile. The blue shading on all the
coast counties, and the greater part of the
second tier, indicates from 40 to 70 people to
the square mile. Out of New England there
is not State in the Union, except Indiana,
where so large part of the rural territory is
covered by this heavy shade. 1t should be
stinctly understood that we take no account
of The unsettled part of the State when we
make this statement. The great center of
population we find, naturally enough, to en-
brace almost exactly tie same crowded area
that was above referred to in connection with
the foreign population; and in reference to
the map indicating the wealth of the country
we find bright gold belt covering almost ex
actly the same narrow strip of territory
The inhabited part of Maine shows wealth
of $3.50 to $3.50 per capita, except little 4
spot around this city, where the deeper yell
low indicates that if the wealth were divided
equally among the people, each inhabitant
would have from $3.50 to $4,000. Our wealth,
as here indicated, is just about the same as
that of other rural populations in the Union.
All these facts and many hundreds of 9TH
ers could be obtained with much more precis-
iol by the study of the figures in this vol
ume, aud it might seem at first thought that
the maps are curious rather than valuable.
But they show at glance not only the rela-
the wealth, population and culture of differ
ent parts of the country, but they give hint
at the absolute facts in these particulars. The
information which it would require weeks Of
pltient study to acquire, is thus rendered
available through an hours amusement to
those who require only general knowledge
of the facts presented in 800 pages of census
returns. ,'