Wichita eagle., 1888-05-06

Voting pop
Population. uldlion
Northern States. ...........47 72l ,S29 1886, $50
Southern States T. El2,SyI 1U2l, sos
Thus far the Times Democrat has kept
within the limits of sobriety, except that It
has made the serious mistake of confound-
Ing the voting popuiatlon-that is, males
twenty-one years Of age and over-with act
ual voters But when it comes TO explain
why there is one male over twenty-one years
70 every 352 persons IN the North
and only one to every 4 Sc in the South, and
one-third more persons Of the voting age
in each Northern Congressional district
than in the Southern districts Though its
figures are not correct, owing to the mis-
taken basis we have already noted, its solu-
ton is fairly groJesque. "Why is this2"
says the 1t1les-Denoera! Simply because
there is a much larger proportion Of chill
drea here. There has been a startling de-
crease Of the birth rate in the North of late
years, and particularly in New England,
whereas no where in the world is it higher
than this side OF the line. The simple ex-
planation is the great number Of children"
at the same time " this growth has the ef-
feet of making the vote relatively lighter in
proportion to the population"
In other words, according to the Times
Democrat, the annual Increment of the
South, so far as population is concerned, IS
mainly girls, who are no value as voters.
For some mysterious reason the women OF
the South produce largely their own kind,
while those of the North are annually bring
ing forth more of the other kind, SO each
year adds largely to the voters. To mako the
T,mes-Democrdt's solution consistent it's not
only necessary to concedc this extraordinary
lusas nature, or perversitv on the part OF
Southern mothers, but 1t must also be con-
ceded that i. takes a boy in the South longer
to reach g years of age than it does boy IN
the North. There is no other way Of ac-
accounting for the I:nses-Dsntoerat's state
meut that with large birth rate the South
will always grow faster than the North and
at tho same time always have q lighter vote.
Of course all this is rubbish Tho Times
Democrat, as we have said, has made a mis-
calculation all the way through, principally
by confounding the voting population OF the
census with the actual voters, or the males
over u who can't vote with those over y
who can. 1t makes no account, in singing
out " estern States for comparison, of the
vast food Of adult male foreign emigration
which had swep. into these Western States
for several years before the census was
UdheI anu cNCIy yea. diASl "i44OiA ID
not YET naturalizei. The number Of nom
voters among the foreigp-borE In the South
counts for littls. In the States enumerated
by the Times Democrat Alabama has but !, ,40S
foreigners out of total voting population Of
$50. SS4; Arkansas, GAS out Of $50, ,9T; Ken
lucky, 3O21T out of 376, ,222; and South Caro-
lima, $3.50 out of 204, ,783. Turn now to its four
Northern States. Michigan has l7G,088 for
eign males over 81 years out OF total Of
467, ,6s7; Wisconsin, lSe, 460 foreign males out
of $40 4s2 males over 21, or over 10000 moro
foreign-born than natives; Kansas 53, ,595 out
of 265, ia, and California III, ,374 out Of 212,-
$50 Minnesota, which is not included in
the list. has 1871 out of 2l3,4S5, or over
81. 600 more foreig ign-born adult males than
native adult males of the voting age. Ii
all these foreign borns voted there might
be some point to the Tinl>s-DenaocrGt's cal
oulations, but they do not On an average
not one-haIf of them vote. Of al those who
arrive within six years of given election
few get naturalized in time TO vote at 1T. In
1880 it is probable that few of those who had
arrived subsequent TO 1874 voted. In 1855
! comparatively few who arrived since 1852
will vote 4 foreigner must be here five
years before he can vote, and 1t IL usually
one or two years longer before he gets round
TO the suffrage