Milford chronicle., 1885-04-03
THE WOMAN OF AMERICA.
Gen. Francis A. Walker Details the Pro-
portion OF sexes in this Country.

Gen. Francis A. Walker Details tho Pro-
portion OF sexes in this Country,
Gen. Francis A. Walker, the chief Of
the Census Bureau, who has been lee
turing before the Lowell Institute, took
for the subject OF his second lecture
"Women in the Census" He stated,
first, the proportions in which the sexes
were found. All over the world the
number Of males horn exceeds the num-
ber of females. In the United States
we find 1885 native white males under
five years of.age to 100 native white fe-
males. The proportion is a trifle larger
in favor of males for infants one year
old. The proportion in Massachusetts,
stands at 1922 to 100; in Oregon, 10l.7;
iu Georgia, 1856. in nearly all the
EuroptD ?untries the vitality of the
females - aver, is so great that they
finally preuominate in number over the
males, in spite of the OPP See condition
at birth. In the census -
we find the total native white populauTUn
to be 102 males to 100 females; the NOR
taiity among males, therefore, is greater
than that among females, but not much
greater. In the deaths from alcoholism
there are 8, 200 males to every 1000 fe-
males-the highest dispropOrtion; the
next highest is in suicides, 4 600 males
to 1000 females; in consumption the
figures show an opposite result, 600
males TO 1000 females. The addition
Of the colored population to this native
born population does not materially
alter these figures; the addition of all
the foreign population, however, adds
more males than females and brings the
figures to %, 5,5lS, 900 males to d, 637, 900
females-a proportion of 1885 to 100.
Almost all the Southern States have a
nearly equal number of each sex. In
Massachusetts, the females between
twenty and fifty years of age exceed
the males of the same age by about
A, 600. In seventy-eight cities the ex-
cess of females is 148, coo. That litter
acy prevails more among women is due,
probably, to the foreign population.
Woman contributes less to pauperism,
the proportion being 81, 600 to $4,000.
The ratio of prison inmates is 5,06S wO-
men to 81, 100 males. Women are in
excess among the insane, men in excess
amapg the idiotic blind and deaf mutes.
In occupation we cannot but rejoice at
the extension, ,ver fifty years ago, for
women who must earn tseir own liveli-
hood, but yet there is disliBe> ts-see in
this liability to celibaey or to lac.
home life and influence. The proper
tion of women who engage in occupa-
tions outside of the household is smaller
in the United States than in foreign
countries, but in no country is the pro-
portionate number engaged in superior
Industrial occupations equal to that in
this country. OF the 2,647 600 women
in occupations, sos 600 are engaged in
agriculture, most of them colored wo-
men in the Southern States; 632, 900 are
in manufactures, of whom about one
half are in New York, Massachusetts,
and Pennsylvania. In what special oc-
cupations are the women? Two hun
dred and eighty-tw two thousand are milli-
ners. ETC.; 50, 900 are tailors. OF the
forty-four occupations recorded as ''per-
sonal service, forty find women in
them. The 525 female surgeons of
1870 have increased to 2, ,473; the seven
lawyers to 70; the 65 clergymen to l65.
The number Of laundries has increased
from 81, 900 in 1870 to 122, 900, and OF
the latter 10S, 600 are kept by women.
This large increase shows a great light
ening Of the housewives labor.