The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1889-08-03
POPULATION OF THE EARTH.
FIGURES WHICH INDICATE THE NUM-
BER THAT THE EARTH CAN PROVIDE
FOR WILL SoON BE REACHED.

FOR WILL Soon BE REACHED.
The following facts and figures are
CLEANED from the late writings of emf
nent political economists and statisti-
clans on subject upon which almost
no one has bestowed a thought: yet, it
is one in which all are at least remote
ly interested. The following extract
is from the writings of DR.. Wilford
Hall, Phi. D., of New York, and pub
lished in the Nicrocosm, Of which he
is editor, in 1888:
"The political economist and Stats
tician can not fail to look with inter-
est, mingled even with deep concern,
upon the problem of the present rapid
increase of the population of the earth,
and especially the United States.
What is to become of this country in
few generations, when, by manifest
destiny, they will fill the whole north
ern part of this country from the
Isthmus to Alaska so compactly that
by no stretch of the imagination can
we see how food sufficient can be pro-
duced for their sustenance? 1t is now
manifest by census figures that the
inhabitants of this country are doub-
ling in numbers in about every twenty
five years. There is, therefore, no
reasonable doubt that by A. D. 1900
the United States will contain one
hundred million people; in 1925 two
hundred million; in 1850 four hun
dred million; and by the close of the
coming century l 1,600,O00,000 inhabi-
tants, all of whom will have to be fed
and clothed and sheltered by the pro-
ducts of the tillable land of this coun-
try, since the people of other lands
will increase proportionally, prohibit
ing any reliance upon imports to help
sustain our dense population. But
these figures are only bagatelle COM
pared with those which another GEN.
tury and half will produce, and
whose formidable proportions are the
present source of alarm to the political
economist. A hundred and fifty years
more, or in less time from the present
writing than We are now from the
landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth
Rock, and the United States alone will
contain 1O2, 2,400,000,000 inhabitants,
or more than one hundred times the
present population of the entire earth
Consul General Raine, of Berlin, in
his annual report for 1885, asserts that
Great Britain doubles her population
in fifty-one years. Taking, then, the
present number of inhabitants, and
starting with 30,000,000, we have in
2O4 years 460,000,000 people-the is
land, having an area of 90,000 square
miles, will have 1888 people on each
and every square mile. The empire
Of Germany is doubling its population
every forty-seven years. If it contin-
ues to increase at this rate, there will
be in less than century from to-day
1S4, 100000 of people, which, on her
$4,000 square miles, is 86S persons to
the square mile; now she has 217 and
is crowded. In all Europe there is a
growing dissatisfaction among the
masses; hopeless poverty confronts
them. Governmental cost has gone
up so per cent. in ten years. Nation
al debts, mainly war debts, have doub-
led in fifteen years. At such rates a
crash must come in the near future.
From 1870 to 1880 Europe added
22,225, 900 souls to her populations.
In the same time aggregate taxations
increased over % per cent. Are we
authorized to expect more favorable
progress in the heather world? 1t
was stated at missionary meeting in
the East last winter, as an argument
to increased effort (and it was e strong
point, that Notwithstanding the vast
efforts and success that had been at
tanned by the churches in behalf of
missions, that there were 100000, 900
more heathens to-day that had never
heard of a Savior than at the begin
hing of this century. What is the
Interpretation of this?-Indianapolis