Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-06-25
GREAT CITIES.
Their Growth and Progress I'm the Old
World and the New.

World and the New.
London stands easily at the head
of all modern cities, yet 1t has added
Eve times as much to its population
Turing the present century as it did
uring the previous one thousand
years. There is a difficulty about
stating the exact population of Lon
lon, because England's metropolis is
not a city in the ordinary sense, but
an aggregation of towns, an ever
spreading overgrown aggregate of
houses and streets, which is constant
invading new territory and cover
, it with buildings Thus the old
y of London has az the last census
nut so, $50 lnhaitants London, with
IN the registrar generals tables of
mortality, had 1914, 81 people; the
London School board distr ct had g.
1872, AL, people, while the London Of
the metropolitan and city police dis
tricts had 4, 764 312 inhabitants, near
ly as much as the state Of New York.
he latter figure may be taken as the
proper population Of London, regard
ed as g community. It's increase dur.
Fng the previous ten years was $50,
20, or at the rate of % per cent.
1t is easy to figure up what the
continuance of such rate of increase
would finally lead to- It would give
London at the next census nearly
y 600, 900 of inhabitants and at the
aext succeeding one 7,25O,000. OF
c0urs e, this rate of increase may not
be maintained, but that is a matter IN
which no one can speak with certain~
ty. When London had 2, 600, 900 in
nabltants everyone said that this
wonderful growth must soon stop
put since then London has been grow
ing faster than ever and with the
vigor Of a young western town. There
if anywhere, will be solved the prob
lem as to how many people can ex lst
IN one great city.
Paris, once well abreast of London
IN population, now takes second place
and will have to 90 down to third be-
fore many decades. It's population
at the last census was 2,269 900, it
having increased about $40, 900 during
the previous twenty years. It's rate
of increase is therefore comparatively
slow, and as the population of France
5 nearly stationary it must be slow in
the future.
New York is now the third of the
great cities of the world, leaving out
If consideration the cities of China, of
whose population there is no reliab Die
enumeration. The position of New
Z ork as the mart of vast continent
is une9ualed, but the narrowness of
Manhattan island and the inferior
facilities for rapid transit prior to the
era of the elevated railways have been
against It, Its population of 10000 900
at the last census should have grown
to 1,550, 900 at the next census, and to
1000, 900 at the succeeding one. If
the population of New York was
reckoned on the same basis as that of
London it would take in Brooklyn,
Jersey City, and a number of small
adjacent towns, with a population at
the last census of 2, $50, 900. The ag-
gregated community thus indicated is
growing at the rate OF 80 per cent
every ten years, SO that the total pop-
ulation gathered here at the next
census will be nearly 100000 and
at the following census nearly 4 000,z
900. The population of Brooklyn is
increasing more rapidly than that of
New York, its increase being at the
rate of so per cent between 1860 and
1870, an. 43 PEI cent between 1870 and
1880, against II and % per cent for
.he same decades in New York. Of
course if these relative rates of in-
crease should be maintained it would
only be a question of time when
Brooklyn would be the larger city of
5he two.
cities of the world that have a popula-
Cion of more than I, 100000 are Ber-
lin, l, 122, 600; Vienna, /, 103 900, and
ConstantinopIe, 1,075, 600. The capt.
tai of Russia has only SIS, 900, and the
other European capitals not already
Mentioned will fall much below that
Igure. No doubt St. Petersburg Will
before the next census have passed
the 100000 limit and become en-
tiled to rank as one Of the great cities
# the world.
OF cities which rank as second in
Gheir res pective countries the greatest
is Philadelphia, with $4,000 inhabi-
tants at the last census, and which
will probably reach 1, O6O, 600 at the
next enumeration. The United States
will then be the only country in the
world with two cities of more than
100000 inhabitants, ard by the sue
eeedlng census Brooklyn will be
-.dded to the list to form a third, and
Chicago also probably to form a
fourth. By that time, however, Mos
cow will have passed the 1000, 900
INIT and also Glasgow and possibly
liverpool.
At the last census there were in
Great Britain and Ireland twenty
seven cities and towns with upward of
100000 inhabitants, and increase of
even over the number at the
"9viouS census In the United
Gates there were at the last census
eighteen cities and towns with up
yard of 100, 900 inhabitants, an in
crease of four over the previous cen>
lis. No other country in Earope had
, many cities of that size as we can