The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1877-11-08
POPULATION.
Eccess of Females ore,. Males.

ESceSS OF FcntUteS OCer IhUteS
There are political and social matters
of a very important nature which depend
upon the proportion of males to females
in the population. For many years the
general tendency has been toward an
excess of females; and, if the statistics of
the recent past are to be accepted as
key to the future, it is not unlikely that
by the time the population numbers
SO, 100000 there will be 100000 more
women than men. But in social or
economical questions it is even danger
GUS and fallacious to attempt to reduce
conclusions to a mathematical form.
Three elements may come into play, the
extent and force of which cannot be an
ticipated or estimated, and there is no
certainty whatever that the conditions
which produced known result in the
past will remain the same in kind and
degree, and produce the same result in
the future. The most that can be done
is to state the probabilities.
In the Atlantic and Gulf Southern
States there is a surplus of females of
167, ,220, of which about 81, 900 are negro
women. In the Western States the
white males exceed the white females,
but there are IL, ,906 more colored females
than colored males. The Northern At
lantic States have lao, ,283 more females
than men; Rhode Island, with its popu-
lation of about 22O, 900, giving an excess
of ., 900 females, or at the rate of per
cent. Much of this disparity has been
due to the war, and to an immigration
and migration. But even if there was
no war the increase of females would be
marked and decided. Migration from
the older settled States to the newer
peopled States accounts, to a consider
able extent, for the figures presented by
the former regarding the excess Of fe-
males; but the returns of the Western
States do not balance the loss of the
New England and Atlantic States. A
great drain on the vitality of those who
migrate is inevitable through change of
climate and the conditions of existence.
It has long ago been estimated that fully
one third of those who undertake pio-
neer work die in the first decade. The
census of 1880 will, it is thought, pre-
sent still further excess of males. But
besides what may be called peculiarly
American influences, which will become
of less force as the country grows older,
there are in the United States, as active
as in European countries, causes which
are most potent IL reducing the number
! of males.
The struggle for existence falls most
heavily upon the male population.
| There is a growing reluctance to mar
rage on account of the great and in
creasing expense which it entails. Hab-
its of life are engendered which sap the
healthy and vigorous growth of the
population. Year by year the female
portion must contribute, therefore, more
to their own support as the difficulty of
procuring husbands increases, and sim
ultaneously with this will be lower
ing of the political power, direct or In
direct, which they now exert. Numer-
ical increase of women tends toward a
decrease of their social and political
status. Even now, of the 19, 493, ,505
women in the country, from infancy up,
there ear 100000 who do needlework
of some kind or other; 373, ,332 who are
engaged in agricultural labor, 55, ,609
who are laundresses, $4,000 who are
teachers, and 967, ,354 who are domestic
servants; the remainder of the 1, ,636, 22S
over 18 years of age being engaged in
almost all classes of industry. Alto
gether there are 7,579,863 married
women.
As check upon the tendency to in
equality of numbers between the sexes
the best which can be recommended if
the formation of more domestic habits
among the women-that is to say, then
education in the broad sense, should bt
toward making them efficient house
keepers This would have the effect, a
not very remote time, of facilitating
marriage, and of consequently lessenine
the evils of rowing and artificial life
among the males. But this phase of the
subject can best be approached from an
other direction and would require sep
arate treatment