The Centre reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, 1878-02-21
TOWN VERSUS COUNTRY.
4 Comparative Growth OF Urban "nd h"r"


Comparative Growth OF Urban and haraI
Population.
.Scribusr's Monthly for January con-
tAins AN article on the comparative m
crease of urban aud rural population IA
the United States. bat Il only gives the
chief cities. leaving out the large town
and village population. The CincinnHti
commercial has tried 10 supply tins
omission in the case Of ten States, and
IL points Uut the following among the
Consequences Of excessive urban sro"lh'
l. Concentration of population.
2. Concentration of wealth.
5. Breaking down the great middle
class
A. The Increase Of the poor at very
much greater ratio than that Of the popu-
lation.
8. The increase Of the power Of re-
allied wealth.
q. Increase Of mortality and effemin-
acy.
!. Increase Of vice and crime.
\. PHYSICAL anj moral degeneracy.
. Increasing peril % free institutions.
Accurate statistics, carefully and hon
estly handled. are Indispensable 10 atuH
understanding Of our economical, social,
political, moral and educational relic
tons We have made a somewhat tedi-
ous scrutiny Of the State OF New York,
and separated the entire town pOpum
ton from that of the purely rural, and
find that the grand aggregate 10 have
been in 1870. >. 2.s2t, 9Si, against l,652,-
sl7 in 1850. We have now the follow
ing;
Total popoI.,ion. ....... 1 5s5.7so 6yf s94
Urban population .....-. = s34,gs6 l,d52 5li
Rural population. -.-...-. lsooh''o !'tle ~
Inc ease OF tai PopalaIlan .,.-.. J 10 SO
Iucrvase of urban populsl on .... LIE bos
Increase OF rural pupulAu u ...-.-.. ll4b"s
Increase Ivr cent. Total. 81, urban, II
rural ; .aar..E
A thorough analysis for the whole
State Of MASSACHUSETTS, gives rural in
crease during the two decades, OF but
seven per cent, against an urban IN
crease Of ninety two per cent. Were all
the town population OF PennsyiVania
gathered up, the ruul increase would br
iounl 10 have been about ten Per cent,
and the urban l90 per crnt In Illinois,
a comparatively new State that was
chiefly settled during the two decades,
We find thirteen cities and towns Of over
1000 people IN 1870 that can be COM
pared With 1850. The aggregates arr:
1870. 1850
state population. ..,..... > aa9 81 sil. .tlo
trban --.-.. s---.....-. Ats,4'o hlrf
Rural 2uyI,4lG 7-5.2s9
Incrrase of :, .te population ..... i,CsI, i2l
Increase OF urban population. .....,. 50, -.
lncrrAso of rural population ...,-.. l.SS,lAj
Rural, les per cent; city, 5i9 per eeu'
Were all the towns and villages Of the
State siltei cut, tine rural increase would
be found to have been much less than
lG6 per cent. Ohio is a fair average be-
tween the old aud the new States. After
scanning all the townships of Ohio, and
separating the village, town and city
population from the grand total of the
STATE. We have reached the following re-
suits:
Urban pop flA;iaa ....... l.uoo,uoo 49,, ,opo
Purely rural .. ... .-... l.655. .250 i.5lo, SO
Urhan tbcrrAsc. ...-..... 5k,Bt1 iirpcg c.
lIural Increase ........... l5t. .9aI ~ pVr q.
The aggregates for ten Of the princi-
pal northwestern States are ms follows:
isTo. IS5p.
Ten States ............ 21 s~s, ,7b7 lll92. .Oag
seventy cities .......... 5iti,g2i Alp, 1877
Cities deduct q d..... l3, si6,si2 pIa. Sl5
Increase % population. ...-,.--,. s,7ss, 5S5
lucrsA q nrbAn populAtioa ..,., ,,. :. .A6a. '6s
Increase OF rurI popuisiloa..- -.. a.s52. 40
Increase per cent total Popuiaiion, 81.
ciiy, lS7. rural, -.
These States are New York, Massa-
chuset,s, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois. Missouri, Wisconsin
aud Michigan. The great lesson from
these facts IN that efforts 20 prevent the
Increase Of vice and crime, and 10 miii-
gate the calamities of poverty in our
cities, should be increased in proportion
90 the increase ui concentration. The
philosophers and philanthrupists can
study the problem at their leisure. and
the more they study the more they will
find IL necessary - do in orler 10 coun-
teract the unfortunate results Of this
tendency OF population.
Reckless Competition.
A couple Of stationers living opposite
IN each other in a seaside resort on tho