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


important statistics from volummous census
reports To tabulate them draw brief les
sons from them. and make their story bv
artiul charts and diagrams. plain at a sin
gle glance Is most useful task Such a
task has been performed by Mir Henry
Gannett in hi~ book called The Building
of Nation, published by the Henry r.
Thomas Company. New York which pre-
>ents a remarkable collection of facts that
tell of the growth the present condition.
and the resources Of the nited States
Some of these facts may be wholly novel
to many readers while others become mon e
than ever impressive from the manner III
which they are grouped.
While our country has shaken off the
yoke Of England it, territory was limited
on the west by the Mississippi aud un the
south hy the 3l>t parallel practically the
northern boundary IF Florida. This area
was augmented in lS03 h, the Louisiana
purchase, fer Sl2 000 00d This gave
IL Ill 93l square miles. it We include
IN the reckoning the large REGION now con
>tituting the States If Oregon. Washing
ton. and Idaho. not part Of that pur-
chase. bu, acquired as a direct and imme-
date result nt il through occupation and
settlement Next. in lS2l. rame the
Florida purchase of -. 2GS square miles.
co>tine 81. 600 900, then in lSt5. the
annexation Of Texas 3Tj 239 square
mile>: in lSIS the Mexican eession of
5i5, 7S3 square miles, costing SIS. 600.
O00: in 1852. the liads,len purchase, al
the southern part If what are now Arizona
and New Mexico ij SO square miles,
costing SI0. 00O 00O in 1857. Alaska.
51o 00O square miles. costing s. 20n. 000.
Thus for abnut $50, 900 000 in money.
our domain grew from s3T. So square
miles in 1870 ta I, 60:i SSI square miles
iu S1n and fu.lty
GROWTH
Bur . most striking iact i, that a. the
pupulation. which was only !, 939. u in
l19O. had increased t. ~. 90 2J0 IN
june ! lSar and indeed including the
I%ople Of Alaska and the Indians na then
counted {" about ~. ud0 0On the densi-
~ ot population had grown far more than
the srea The latter Wa ia lS90 about
faaT aud half times that 1t century
beforr. and Vet the density of population,
IN ! $50 only l. - inhabitants per square
ni'le an the average had increased To = 81
PER ~iusre m,le in Saa even with the
yssi unteuanted regions nf Alaska to bring
down the average
But the comfortable gruwrh s,lll posi-
ble + .hoWp hy the fact thai while uur
country + neatly A. au,e A. N Europe it
l. excre'led in density IT p.puhtiou BY
eSery country e Eurnle excep, Russia
and NORWAY And the m,st popul0us
countries are from ten e. twenty tunes a.
thiekly settled
The land surface 1t the nit,-d State
ha- tive sy,sum, nf uplift the Appalachian
aud the Ccriilleran or Rocky, and with
the great stretch uf the country in bath
ati'Hde and longitude there + q wonderful
variety oG climate ~.,il, and vegetation
Nowhere, perhaps, have the ierc,,s # ma
inrr been exerel upon a more marvellous
sesle eFuding canons aud eorges forming
vast basalt plains. and changing trunk. 1T
trpes In amethyst opal. ehaleedonv. and
quart1 crystal The hos springs and gey
-srs i.E number and magnitude, completely
eshpse those or all the rs~t of the world
tosr,her Where Iceland has two or thrre
active gey>ers, petty bs COMPARISON. Vel
loNsione Park alone has hundreds There
ane thousands OF h"t spring- ~ome of them
covering AREA, 1t many acrye. and the
amoun, of boiling water ejeyted from tbe
earth ], almoei incredible
rENPERArsRE
The temperature Of the country ia the
East j. lairly uniform. considering the
range II latitude etc bni in the noun
tain region rf the Wesg there are great
e1cesss-s 4, Yuma near the mouth Of
the Solorad" river, the temperature in
summer often exceeds Is degree, aud
when it falls to l0d degrees people put on
their hannelS tm the other hand in
Montapa, minimum temperatures of minus
~ DEGREES have been repeatedly recorded;
although on the whole the climate of Mon
tsna j, exceptionally mild, considering its
latitude aud altitude Taking the whole
land together. 1T i one Of thr wettest
and one of the dives, rpuairies On the
globe, il j, one II the hottest aud one Of
the eoldest
The approximate area ot the public
lands, excluding Alaska, being reckoned
at | .lt0. 900 000 acres, we find that ND
10 June 30, 1897, s7;I. add 0Qa acres had
been alienated; ahou, lAu, O00. 000 in
homesteads, 124 900 900 in cash sales.
1 -, o00, 000 in railway land grants patent
ed, 20, 000 000 in swamp lands To States
/ 6l uO0, 000 in land bountieS for military
( service, etc. OF the 36I 000. 900 acres
I remaining. perhaps loo. 000. 900 must be
allowed for Indian reservations, and about
+ l03, 600 000 for grants To railroads not
T vet patented. Most of the lands not taken
up are mountainous or arid
China i the most populous country on
I the globe with 3G0 0l0, 000 to asa, 600
000 people, India i the next; then Rus
sia; while fourth comes our country. and
/ fifth is Germany. Our land has doubled
its population in the last thirty years. while
in the same period France has increased ,
per cent, and Great Britain and ireland
/ 29 per cent Maine and Vermont are prac-
tically not increasing, and Nevada has been
actually decreasing. In 1890 Virginia
was the most populous State in the Union,
with Pennsylvania second New York in
/ 1910 reached the second place and 1870
I the first place Virginia then being second.
In | $50 Pennsylvania pushedu 10 second
/ place again and has held it ever since.
In l790 the third place was occupied by
/ North Carolina: between 1910 and 1850
! it was held by Ohio; while in 1890 Illinois
secured IT, At that census New York
showed ). 997, Sa3 people; Pennsylvania,
). 25S, OH Illinois, J. .S26, 35l Ohio.
3.672,316 Missouri was fifth, with ;,
679.l
CENTRE OF POPULATION.
The centre of population in 1890 was
about % miles east of Baltimore in 1900,
about | 3 miles west of Baltimore; in 1910.
abont 40 miles northwest of Washington
/ in 1920. about IL miles north of Wood