Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-04-23
THE GROWTH OF TOWNS.
"ehee OF Tendency in This Direction
All Over the World

OF the population to
sate IN towns is feature of the
"Aicn we all recognize in a vague
out the evidence of its universally
"nu VI the extent to which it is carried
auceu oy Dr. Longstaff is positively
,>hihg- The same tendency is OBJ
served, he says, alike in old countries
WIN increasing populations like En-
stahu ana Germany, in stationary coun-
'iies ike France, in new and populous
ones like the United States. and in new
e'.ieo countries with small popula-
lions like the Australian colonies. Can
ada, and even such purely Agricultural
settlements as Manitoba.
In 1870 the population of Manitoba
was 12.22s and that of its capital. Win
nlpeg, 241. In 1856 the population of
the province had advanced to los. $40,
that of the capital to 90. 23s: that is to
say In sixteen years the latter rose
from one-siXtieth to one-ffth of the
whole Queensland New Zealand.
New South Wales and Victoria show
similar results In the case of Victoria.
Melbourne was found in 1881 to contain
one-thlrd of the population of the whole
colony. American towns are as proven
plal as mushrooms for rapid growth
In the thirty years between 1850 and
Iooo New York increased threefold. San
francisco skiold. Cleveland ninefold.
and Chicago sixteenfold.
Now, the total population of the
states has but little more than doubled
IN the same PERIOD; SO that the growth
OF the lows just mentioned, and cot
many others. represents an enormous
migration cityward. 1t is more sur
prlslng to lind that our own large towns
are little behind those of the United
States IN rapidity of growth. They
exhibit about the same increase in
nifty years as the American cities in
thlrty: that Is to say, taking sixteen
large towns, we find that they have in
creased during that time from two to
1ourteenfold. Middlesborough is an eX-
ceptlonal case; it has grown from vii
1age OF SOS inhabitants to a town with
90, OOO-an increase almost hundredfold.
which surpasses anything in America.
But perhaps the case of France is the
most striking of all, for there although
the population is almost stationary,
and in a majority of the towns the
deaths actually exceed the births. they
nevertheless continue to increase, of
course at the expense of the rural dis
tricts. In twenty-five years Paris in
creased 3S-2 per cent, Marseilles 44.2
per cent, Bordeaux AS per cent, and
so on. The great town is indeed. the
phenomenon of the age, having been
rendered possible by two things-the
railroad and the steamship, which
bring people together and then provide
them with food; and from the great
towns spring most of our latter-day
problems, social and political.
When we come to the largest of them
all, to London, the facts are appalling.
AT the census of 1881 the population
was 3,S16, 4S3, that is, more than the
whole of Scotland, half as much a Aus
tralia or Switzerland, and double Nor
way or Servia. The great growth has
been in this century. A census taken
in 1901 found the population 95S, 500:
during the next forty years 1.OOO,O 600
was added, but in the subsequent forty
years double that number 1t is not
quite easy to say what is meant by
London" The figures just given refer
to the London of the registrar-general's
bills of mortality-that is, the school
board district or the county of London.
But, as a matter of fact, the contin-
uouS line of bricks and mortar has
spread far beyond this area in almost
every direction. and there is no break
now between Kew in the west and IL
ford in the east, between TOttenham in
the north and Croydon in the south.
The vast area known as Greater Lon
dom is already one solid mass of hui
mainly in some directions, and will be-
fore very long be so in all. its pOpula-
ton in 1881 was 4.766,6 61, representing
an increase of SS1. O2O during the ten
then the rate of increase has certainly
not lessened, and at the present time
the population must be getting on to-
ward 100000.
One of the most interesting questions
is where all these people come from
Population increases in any place from
two causes-(a) excess of births over
deaths, Cb) immigration. We know the
details of (a) and can therefore get at
Cb) in this way: The total increase in
ten wears was SS1, 900 and the excess of
births over deaths 574. 3S5. which leaves
a balance of SOC. 635 to be accounted
for by immigration. This means that
over So 900 fresh people come to Lon
don from elsewhere every year. or be-
tween eighty and ninety day. Where
do they come from? The great major
ity from England and Wales.
Foreign and Irish immigrants are
about eoual-the last census found
some $4,000 of each IN London-but to-
gether they do not amount to one
seventh of the English-born. In all
proba bility the thing which brings most
of them up is domestic service Serv-
ants form pretty nearly the largest
class of any in London and five-siSths
of them. are women. Laborers and
artisans especially in the building
line) account for a good proportion of
the other immigrants.-St-J James Bud
get.
Their Taking Ways.
.sTI,, +r,,n,, has a purtV taking way