The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-08-30
CUR VOTING POPULATION.

NN1ANo
The latest bulletin issued iron
the census Office shows the popula
ton of each county in the United
States, classified as white anC
colored. and also the number o.
males Of voting age in each, IN 1880
The figures are interesting, and
especially those of Utah in connec'
hon with the coming election fol
delegate to Congress. From these
may be very nearly arrived at the
number of votes that should be cast
at the election. The male popula-
ton of voting age in the territory
on the day the enumeration was
made was 92,773, divided as
follows: Native, 1875; foreign,
1928; coIored, 695. EAs the "col-
ored" includes Chinese and Indians
as well as negroes, peBhaps not ever
one-fouIth Of them should be
counted as voters. The number Of
these has increased every little dur
ing the two years since the census
was taken. It is impossible to ar
rive at the correct lper centage of
the foreign population that is
naturalized AMI entitled to vote
We can only guess at figures, but
there is fair data to assist lin guess
ing. As is well known the great
desire among foreigners coming to
Utah is to become citizens. When
the courts are open applicants for
citizenship present themselves
almost daily, and at GER
tain seasons Of the year
ssnaturalizations" form a prominent
feature of the court business. Gen
orally speaking, very little time is
lost, especially by the very large
majority of immigrants that are
Brought here by the Mormon
Church. When the five years resi-
dence has expired, most of them
zGke out full citizenship papers. A
fair estimate of the foreign
born male voters in the terri
tory would place the number
at about 1900. During the
Two years and over that has elapsed
since the census was taken many
hundreds have been naturslized
and many others have come Of age
and become citizens through the
naturalization of their fathers. No
enc will say that the estimate OF
$4,000 foreign born male voters is
large for this territory. The native.
or American born population of
Utah has increased very little from
Immigration within the two years.
Merry as many American voters
have gone as have come, but the
native born voting strength has
nevertheless increased consider
ably during the time since the
enumeration. Any one at all &C
auainted with the community can
designate among those he knows
numbers OF young gentlemen who,
within two years, have crossed the
line legally dividing youth from
manhood. 1t is not out of the way
to say the native-born voters num-
Der to-day 10000, an increase Of !
1900 in two and a quarter years. /
These figures, if they are correct,
give a male voting population Of /
about 2S,850. If there are this num- |
Der of males ever q years Of age, |
there are certainly 1860 females
over that age, who can either vote
in their own right as native-born
citizens, or as the wives, :
widows or daughters" Of |
citizens. The voting population
of Utah, then, would be $1,000. The |
estimate, we are confident, is within
rather than over the facts, for a
larger percentage of the foreign
born population has been natural
lied than is allowed IN the figures
above. =