Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1884-07-24
THE DRIFT TOWARD CITIES.

Brooklyn Unior-Argus.l

nish Food for Reflection.
brooklyn Unior-Argus.l
No development of modern ciyiliza.
ton is more striking or significant than
the steady drift of population from the
country to the cities, II is not char.
acteristic Of any one nation or race.
With so 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 l85, 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. TIE 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 % 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
of the rural districts was nearly four
times that of all the cities. Now the
ratio is only that o! :. to /.
The relative growth Of the urban
population in the United States has
been still more rapid. In 1900 less
than 4 per cent. of the inhabitants
lived in the six cites, 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 years this percentage
was nearly trebled. rising l2.5 per cent.
in 1850, III. in 1870, 900 in 1870, and
22.5 in 1850, when the number of cities
had grown TO $50. The census of 1890
will almost certainly show that full
quarter OF the inhabitants of the United
States live in its cities, against only q
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 5S9,05l in the state
and the 5,30S. 4s3 in the country. In
1850 it had l,206,2J9 inhabitants out of
5,0s2, ST. in the state and 80. 1856, 7S3 in
the country. In other words, at the
beginning of the century New York
city contained only about one-tenth
the whole population of New York
state, and one eighty-seventh part of
the population of the whole country. In
lssO 1t 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 az
these. They show how very different q
country is the nited States of to-day,
with about one-iourth of the people
living in cities, from the United States
Of President Washington's day, when
the half-dozen towns dignified with the
name of cities had altogether but 49,.
Az inhabitants, to rural population
almost thirty times rs 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.