Daily Yellowstone journal., 1884-05-25
THE DRIFT TOWARD CITIES.


nlsh R0eA Tor Re0eetien.
brooklyn Union-Arxusl
No development Of modern civilixa.
ton Is more striking or significant than
the steady drift Of population from The
country to the cities. II Il not char
acteristic Of any one nation or race.
With 80 few exceptions that they only
establish the rule. it holds true Of the
civilized world.
A recent report by Consul Ryder, of
Copenhagen, calls attention TO this
feature Of the last Danish census. The
kingdom contains $3.50, 257 inhabitants,
which is an increase of $500 over the
previous census ten years before. By
far the largest proportional gain
was made in the capital, the popu-
lation of Copenhagen having grown
at the annual rate of 2.62 per cent.
during the last decade. The proviu.
cial towns throughout the country show
uniformly large gains, while the growth
of the rural districts was slower than
ever before, being only 6.l per cent.
for the ten years, as against 81 per
cent. in the first decade of the century.
The result of this movement from
country to town is seen in the much
smaller relative difference between the
population of the rural districts and
that of the cities than that which for
merly existed. In 1910 the population
o. the rural districts was nearly four
times that of all the cities. Now the
ratio is only that of y to l.
The relative growth of the urban
population in the United States has
been still more rapid. In 1900 less
than per cent. of the inhabitants
lived in the six cit es, and the proper
ton increased during the next forty
years only S.5 per cent. in the forty-four
cities that existed in 1910. But in the
succeeding forty wears this percentage
was nearly trebled, rising 1916 per cent.
in 1850, l6. in 1850, 900 in 1870, and
22.5 in 1850, when the number Of cities
had grown to 2S6. The census Of 1890
will almost certainly show that full
quarter of the inhabitants of the United
States live in its cities, against only
thirtieth of the whole population in
1880.
The change is even more striking
when the metropolis alone is considered.
In 1900 New York city had 40, 4s9 in.
habitants out of the 5S9,0 in the state
and the 5,3OS, 4S3 in the country. In
1880 it had 1,206, 299 inhabitants out of
$685., s7l in the state and 5O.l55, 1888 in
the country. In other words, at the
beginning of the century Now York
city contained only about one-tenth
the whole population of New York
state, and one eighty-seyenth part of
the population OF the whole country. In
1Ss6 It contained almost one-fourth
of all the people in the state, and
nearly one-fortieth Of all the people in
the country.
There is abundant food for reflection
in such figures and comparisons a.
these. They show how very different o
country is the nited States Of to-day,
with about oneiourth Of the people
living in cities, from the United States
Of President Washington's day. when
the half-dozen towns dignifed with the
name of cities had altogether but 1884,.
Az inhabitants, TO a rural population
almost thirty times as great. They in
dictate the gravity of the new problems
in government with which such mass
ing of population within city limits
confronts modern civilization.