The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1885-02-26

This IL certainly extraordinary, the
difference being, the true and the oalcll-
lated figures, In no instance In hall
century greater than ] per cent. But
with 1870 Mr.. Watson's calculation
ended. That year he was 6,2OO,9JO out
Of the way, and, in 1850, G,3Ol, 10Y. wrong.
lie had forgotten to allow for great
civil war. lie had forgotten also TO al
low for a new Influence, which General
Walker thinks. threatens to materially
affect the population OF this country
the circumference Of women at the East
nnd of men In the far West, the growth
orcellbacy, the procrastination OF mar
rage and the fewer children born to the
marriage. Some of the figures pre-
scented by General Walker on this sub
iect are startling. Out OF every thou
sand women who bore four children or
less, 400 were natives and DO foreigners;
out of every thousand who bore fve
children or more. IA were natives ana
72G foreigners. 1.-THE large majority of
the children horn yearly in Boston are
of foreign, chiefly Irish, parentage."
he saws; "and very nearly the
same result would follow an
Investigation In cities further West. In
the rural districts Of New England and
the older Middle States, II might be eN-
pected that the natural birth rate should
be small, for most ofthe energetic young
men 20 West or to the cities before mar
rying. still. when 1t is reported that IN
one New England town of little less
than 800 inhabitants, ,nly one marriage
had taken place in year, and that not n
child had been born during the same
twelye-month, II Is Il threat to the coun-
iry for the future" If this tendency to-
ward small families should continue,
and at the same time immigration pours
in, this country must become more and
more foreign in Its character, and the
American element of less Importance
each year. II is true the foreigners are
becoming naturaliZed and Amerlcanized,
but this naturalization can scarcely keep
pace with the immigration Of our native
population, which has reached, like
France. the stage that General Walker
predicts for II, of remaining at stand
still.
As n matter of fact, General Walkers
address, being delivered before Boston
audience, was devoted mainly to n con-
alteration of New England. Had he
turned his ewes toward the South, he
ing rs rapidly as 1t ever did, and this
without immigration. There was n
slight interruption of this natural In
crease by the war, but since then 1t has
returned to its natural state. A COM
parison of the New England and South
ern States in this respect will show a
startling difference in the number OF
children born annually and growing up.
Children under IA years of age in Mas
sachusetts constituted $50 per cent. OF
the entire population; in Vermont they
were 500. In the South, on the other
hand, 1872 pei cent of the population
in South Carolina, 42.s In Louisiana,
1875 in North Carolina, 42.l in Virginia,
were under years of age. Comparing
the birth rate of the South, West and
New England, General Walker will find
that there is no reason to believe that
the natives are increasing so much less
rapidly than the immigrants. While
this may be so Of some sections, 1t is
certainly not true Of the South.
The birth per 1000 population in the
different sections were, in 1880, AS fol-
lnWg.