The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-12-16
THE INTELLIGENCER.

WheritAq, W Va.
Battered at the PO,tofics at Wheeling, ". Va, a
ENlQld.class matter J
wHggLIYG, ", VA, DECEMBER 10, ISL
Golden weekdays and their Suggestions.
Golden weddings arc events Of such rare
occurrence even among fifty millions Of
people that the New York Times makes
special mention OF the fact that Mr. and
Mrs King David Pugh, Of Hancock county,
W, Va, will celebrate their golden wedding
on the 22d OF this month, Thirty-three
years is the average duration OF human life
aud the average duration Of welded life is
probably not over ten years, and therefore
il is an event indeed oiunuSual occurrence
when a married pair live to celebrate the
flitieth anniversary Of their wedding. Half
a century isequal to generation and a half
Of average human lie, and about five times
the average duration OF welded lie 1t
seems strange that Notwithstanding this
short average Of welded life the
population OF the world should
% steadily and largely increase
II we admit that the whole human
race started from one pair six thousand
years ago, and that fifteen hundred years
aiterward the whole race, except one single
family, was destroyed by the flood, then
we have TO account in the short space OF
four thousand five hundred years for the
present existence OF eleven hundred mil
lions Of human beings, Wemust take into
the account also the destinations Of the
race by wars, pestilenCe and famine, and
also keep in mind the fact that one half OF
all that are born into the world die under
1--WE years OF age.
Who shall solve the problem Of geomet-
rical progression involved in this increase
from one family to eleven hundred mill
ions Of people in $500 years. As Noah
and his wife, Shem and his wife, Ham and
his vile, JaphOth anil his wite-eight per-
sons in all-are to eleven hundred mill.
ions OF people in the period OF $500 years,
90 are eleven hundred millions to-what
number who shall tCll us;) in the same
period OF time in the future.
Tho question arises, will there be stand
ing room for posterity on tho earth's sur
face by that time. The habitablo land OF
the earth Is all Observation-Disclosures will be
no Columbus to discover new continent
and unless we all live like tho Chinese
pack ourselves like herrings in box-the
question arises how we--that is, the untor-
tunate people who arc to succeed us-arc to
get enough land per capita for a vegetable
garden,
Thereareonly Gltymillions ofsQuare miles
Of land in the world, all told, good, bad
and Indifferent, and scarcely moro than
half OF IL is tillable, and in some countries,
as in Japan, population has become so
dense rs to make the problem as to how
little food will subsSt human being one
Of great Importance. We are not in any
immediate danger in West Virginia as
yet for here we have only thirty-scven
persons TO tho square mile, while in Japan
they have two hundred and twenty-five.
But that great political economist, NAL
thus, asserts that all civilized countries
are either at the point, or more or less near
II, where rs much food Is produced from
the soil rs in any possible way can be oh.
tanned from 1t, and that even my increase
in It's producing capacity obtainablc by
chemistry can never DO in such proportion
rs tho yearly increase Of the population,
and thus wantand misery arc approaching
in I'LL civilized countries. Hence he
advocated either check on the increase Of
population or removal from Europe to
distant colonies OF It's surplus gain. lie
asserted that the normal tendency Of I'm.
checked population WIS to double itself
every twenty-five years, at which rate the
inhabitants Of every country wonld, in the
course Of five centuries, increase to above
a million times their present number,
which result, as regards western Europe,
would not allow the people even standing
room.
Thus We sec how it is, and how fortunate
tits iorthe world, that we have SO few golden
weddings to celebrate. II II were not for
the fact that half the human race die in in
fancy, and that the remainder are declmi.
mated by wars, pestilence and famine, It
would DO necessary to wind up the affairs
Of this terrestrial sphere in tho course Of
hundred years or two.