The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1895-05-25

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of
this march Is the directneSs of its westerly
progress In the full century it has not
varied half degree from due west di-
rection. or gone north or south of belt
about - miles broad Yet in this century
ii has moved across more than nine meri-
dams. or distance of 505 miles. west
ward. In comparison with the centre Of
population, we may note the centre of area,
which, excluding Alaska, is in the north
em part of Kansas
An arbitrary rule must be followed. of
course, in determining what is urban and
what is rural population The Census
Office ueats as urban all concentrated
bodies exceeding 5000 in number. On
that basis it finds that while in 1890 the
urban population was but l3l.4 AZ. and
the rural :. 49,, 742. century later the
former had increased To Is. 2S+ 3S5. while
the latter was ~ 337 S65 The proper
ti"n in 790 was ,. 81 whereas in $50
il had reached -. % In fact. in 1890
this country contained but six cities of more
than :, n00 people each. while century
later it had 443 The total population
had become sixteen times as great. hut the
urban population l39 times as great. The
North Atlantic States contain the greatest
proportion Of the urban element-5l 81
per cent Rhode Island leading of with
- So followed lev Massachusetts. with
90 9u, and New York. 80 ~.
In 1874 there were hut II cities of
more than ln0. 000 inhabitants each. In
iSS0 there were 20. and in 1890 there
were - These cities combined had 9.
7sS. $50 people. or l5.6 per cent. of the
whole population There were IL cities
AT the last census that exceeded 250. coo
each. Mr.. Gannett noted tha, within a
radius of fifteen miles of the CITY Hall of
New York, and tributary 10 thar city as
a metropolitan district is to London. live
three and a quarter millions of people or
enough To make it the second civ in size
upon the globe
SIR oF FAMILIES
The average size Of families has di-
minished from ). - persons in 1880 te
t. 93 in 1890. which Is over | n per cent.
The highest average Is in the Southern
States due primarily To the large pro-
PARTON Of eolored people among whom
the bithrate Is exceptionally great. But
the families of the whites in the South are
also larger than the average, aud even
equal tho-e Of the North Central States.
where the Germans Norweeian>. and
Swedes increase the average.
As to sexes the males at the last cen
sus numbered -. O671 $50, and the females
80 55t370 This i larger proportion
of males than in 1850 or in 1869. The
facts show. it i said tendency tu an
increase IN the proportion Of males, which
has exceeded that of females certainly
during the last forty YEAR. although the
tendency received setback durigs the
civil war, from which il Is naw recovering.
\ table shows that in Europe. while the
numbers 1t the two sexes are nearly equal,
the females are ia excess. the proportion
ranging from 30 - in the Netherlands To
~ l6 in the nited Kingdom and -. 10
in Norway. la our country the percent
aye II females ai the last census was IS. -.
and that ot males 81 p the excess of the
latter being ascribed to emigration. Ne
doubt emigration accounts. also. for some
"f the figures in European countries: vet.
IN Spain where there Is comparatively
little Of it, We lind but i90l males to
~ aG females, aDd IN Austria. where there
l. not excessive emigration Is ~ To- ~. j
%.
Of cour,e. the difference het weea cur
avn States in this matter Is great The
factories ga the ktlautie border attract
great numbers Of female operatives. while
The outdoor occupations of the West draw
many male, In Montana there are two
males To- one female and nearly a. great
a ratio IN Wyoming. TN the other hand.
in New Hampshire Massachusetts. Rhode
Island Connecticut. New York. New
Jersey Maryland Virginia. aud both
Carolina,. females are in excess. although
this excess i not great In the District
of Columbia they coastltute - "a per
cent and in Massachusetts. which stands
next 81 ~
INCREASE IN WHITE Port LAToN
OF our total Of ~, 90. 250 people At
the !ast census there were 7.470.0l0 Of
negro or mixed blood including mnlattos.
quadrpon,, and oetoroon> This Is a little
over Il per cent and it shows an increase
from q, $50, Ta3 in 1850 and from 1. S0a,
009 in lS70 Of eouyse the relative pro
portiou pf increase has been greater for the
whites The faulty character Of the cen
>u> of lST0 even aroused some question
a. to whether the eolored element was not
relatively losing with enormous rapidity
But Mr. Gannett shows that in the thirty
years preceding lS60 it increased Is per
cent aud in the next thirty years not
less than GS In Louisiana the colored
people are about one half the population;
in Mississippi and South Carolina nearly
three fiiths; in the coastwise States. from
Virginia ta Louisiana inclusive. over one
third each 1t is declared that there has
been perceptible southward movement
nf the e"lored race,
As Ia the Chinese their Immigration
began in 1854, and averaged about 4, 600
10 ). 000 for fifteen years, when it became
more rapid Agitation produced the Ex
clusion act Of 1882. with the result that.
while the census showed l04. l6S Chinese
here, that of $50 showed l06. l62. only
a very slight increase The Indians num-
bered 249. 2T3 in 1890, with 2l6, 700
living upon reservations, and more than a
third Of these were self-supporting and self
governing
OF our total population at the last cen
sus, 9,2I9, 547 were of foreign birth, and
53. 372. 703 of native birth. including the
,olored races. Then native whites num-
bered 10. S62, 023 1t is interesting TO
note that the changes have been compare
lively small in these proportions in the last
thirty yeaTs. The native ratio in 1860
was ST. 81, of which - 46 was white; the
foreign was l3. l6 In 1890 the native
ratio was s.. 23, with 73 u of it white.
and the foreign was l4T7 Prior to 1860
the native ratio was larger, being 90 32,
but the native white ratio is oiyen os only