Daily Kennebec journal., 1899-01-19
An OLD MAIDS CHART.
An Interesting Book Recently issued by the
Government.

The government has just published
m Old Maids Chart, which is expected
TO be of the greatest value to unmar-
ned women all over the country. 1t Us
q map, printed in colors, and shows az
a glance just in what localities bach
elors are thickest, and in what regions
spinsters are most dense per square
mile. The subject is worked out in this
graphic fashion to such fine point
that any unappropriated person of the
gentler sex may learn in a moment
exactly the matrimonial expectation,
reckoned on a percentage basis. which
she will secure by changing her resi-
dence to any given spot in the United
States, says the Boston Transcript.
In Massachusetts,. for example. thar@
are at the present time 224 ,336S piSh.lori
of 90 years and upwards, wa;.e the
number of spinsters in that state is
21S,070. Between the ages of 20 and "a
there are 91,Sl6 bachelors and 30, I49
maidens. Between 25 and 20 there are
$3.50 bachelors and 1929 sorsters.
Between 30 and "a there are 2S,033 bach
elors and 25,456 spinsters. Between ~
and A there are 24.S11 bachelors and
26470 madens. Between As ard 81
there are 1O.197 bachelors and 13.M'
spnsters. Between So and 64 there are
450i bachelors and 7409 maidens. From
65 years upward there are 3lt1 bacn-
elors and STA spinsters. 1t will be
observed from these figures th3, the
bachelors in Massachusetts Outauinber
the unmarried women by two-tanths
of Cne per cent.
Now i. appears from the Old Maids
Chart and the figures accompanying il
tnat leople generally have been great
ly mistaken in their notion that there
Is an enormous surplus of unmarried
women in this country. The truth is
that no such excess of spinsters exists.
II fact. it is quite the other way. the
Eachelors ournumbefing the maidens.
AT the present moment there are in the
United States 100000 more unattached q
males. than females similarly situated.
the exact figures being o,42',I6' bach
elors against 1924. .494 spinsters, of ages
from 20 years up. Thus IT is obvious
that if girls do not find husbands, ais
rot for lack of Il plentiful supply of
the article. What is required seeming
y is a general migration Of spinster;
from the North and East to the great
and growing West. in parts of which
taere are ten available mates for evely
ianguishing maid
From the last remark, however. it
must not be inferred that there is ac-
:ually an excess of unmarried women
in the Northern and Eastern states.
Even in those parts of the country
there are more bachelors than spin
sters 20 years old and upward. not
outstanding the theory TO the con
trdry SO widely accepted. No state in
the Unicn has as many maid
ems as bachelors-not even
Massachusetts. where the figures are
219255 spinsters against 226.OS5 bach
elors. Massachusetts is the banner
state for spinsters, the bachelors ou:-
numbering them by only two-tenths OF
one per cent Next comes Rhode
Island, where the excess of bachelors is
two per cent. The excess of bachelors
in the District of Columbia is eight
pen. cent, in North Carolina nine pc,
cent, in New Hampshire nine per cent,
in Connecticut 60 per cent. in Maine 81
per cent, and in Vermont "a per cent.
In Maryland the bachelor surplus is Is
per cent, in New Jersey it is - per
cent, in New York il is 26 per cent. and
in Virginia it is % per cent. All Of
these are low percentage states, so far
as the superiority of bachelors in point
of numbers is concerned.
A glance at the Old Maids Chart
shows some surprising facts about sur
plus bachelors in some parts of the
country. idaho takes the lead as a
desirabl place Of residence for women
who want husbands. that state having
1900 per cent. more bachelors than
spinsterS. The exact figures are 1851
single men against 1426 single women,
20 years old and upwards. Wyoming
Is a close second. with an excess of w.
per cent, the figures being 16.1S3 bach
elors against 1iS1 maidens. Arizona is
next with a surplus of a3l per cent,
the figures being 1863 against 1926.
Washington has an excess of III per
cent in bachelors, the figures being
so, ,531 against 9lSl. Nevada is good
fifth, with a surplus of 61S per cent. or
unattached males, the figures being
12,175 against 1927. 1t will be under
stood thar no widOwers are included in
any of these statements. nor yet any
divorced people. All of both sexes be-
low 20 years are left out.
With these figures in hand it ought
not to be hard for the average lonely
spns;er to hunt down a husband AMI
corner him. so to speak. She need not
he attractive: a woman does not need
many charms to secure a mate in 4
region like Idaho or Wyoming. where
there are ten bachelors for every avail
able maiden. A premium of 1000 per
cent. is practical assurance of matri-
money. Other places where the excess
of unmarried men is large are Cali
fornia with 3O1 per cent, Colorado with
4lS per cent, Florida with 122 per cent,
Kansas with 1873 per cent. Michigan
with Ill per cent. Minnesota with las
per cent. Missouri with SO per cent.
Nebraska with PA per cent, New
Mexico with 29O per cent. North Dakota
with 294 per cent. Oregon with 412 per
cert. Oklahoma With 4S5 per cent.
South Dakota with 2S2 per cent, Texas
with 2O4 per cent. Utah with 265 per
cent. and Montana With 7O9 per cent.
Now it will appear to the casual
reader, at the first glance. that these
figures are very extraordinary. They
make * seem as IL the total number of
males in the country was enormously
greater than the total number of fe-
males. But it must be remembered