The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-05-13

civilized.
Decline in Indiana Farm Population.
The New York Erening Post analyses the
census figures and finds that the decline of
the rural population of the country is by
no means confined to New England. In
considerable sections of every state West
Virginia excepted). north of the southern
boundaries OF Virginia and Tennessee and
east of the Mississippi, and in the states
of Iowa and Minnesota west OF that river,
there are more or less extensive tracts
which have fewer inhabitants. outside of
the corporate limits of cities having in
1890 population OF 10000 or upwards,
than they had decade ago.
OF the lightweight counties in Ohio,
thirty-six outside of the cities have
lost population. Almost as large a
proportion OF the area of Indiana shows q
diminishing population. Says the Ere
ming Post, speaking OF this state:
OF the ninety-two counties, however,
twenty-seven have, outside of the cities, a
smaller population than in 1880. More
than four-fifths, or twenty-five of these
counties lie in the southern half of the
state and principally in its southeastern
corner, where only Hamilton county sep
arates them from the Ohio group of dimin-
ishing counties OF the eighteen Indiana
counties south of the fortieth parallel and
east of the eighty-sixth meridian,
thirteen have lost population in
the decade; and the eighteen taken to-
gether bave if their cities be excluded,
fifteen thousand less inhabitants than
when the tenth census was taken. For
some reason the majority of the Ohio
river counties, in both Ohio and Indiana,
show diminished population. Out OF
the twenty-seven counties of Ohio and In
diana living along the Ohio river thirteen
have decreased in rural population. A
similar, though less marked tendency,
manifests itself on the southern or Ken
lucky side of the river, in which, out
of twenty-One counties living opposite
Ohio or Indiana, ten have less population
than they had ten years ago. Twenty
seven out OF the ll9 counties Of Kentucky
are less populous than they were a decade
since.
We do not believe the rural population
of Indiana has declined as much indi-
Gated by the census reports. The state
has probably from 10000 to 200, 600 more
people than PORTER's political enumera-
tors were able to find. But. making all
due allowances for the inaccuracy of the
census OF this state, it is clear that there
has been a considerable falling off in
our rural population. There are not so
many farmers in Indiana as there were ten
years ago. Farming has not been profitable
in this state for a number of years. The
growth of "home markets" has not made
our agriculture prosperous. Indianapolis,
Evansville. Fort Wayne, Terre Haute,
South Bend, Anderson, Muncie, Kokomo,
Marion and other manufacturing centers
have shown handsome percentage of in
crease. But this has not helped the farm
ers to make both ends meet. They have
been emigrating to the far West, where,
ms rule, no better fortune awaited them, or
have been selling their farms, or letting the
sheriff take them and moving to the towns
and cities to try their hand at other pur-
suits. The boys, too. have been leaving
the farms-abandoning the most digniied
and honorable of avocations to seek their
livelihood in mills and factories-as labor
ers, mechanics, railway employees, clerks,
statesmen, etc. They have deserted the
farms principally because farming did
not pay.
There is much food for serious reflection
in the decline of our rural population.