The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-08-14


The population into large towns an(
cities goes on, and in continually in
creasing ratio. And this growth of oul
large towns and cities is not alone, mol
chleny, made up out of foreign emigra
ton, nor by local BIRTH but largely
also, by the inflow of the country borr
population, mainly young people, in al
their vigor and promise, into the cities
III search of occupation, education anG
the larger and more varied social activi-
Ties and opportunities of city life. This
United States census of 1890 made a
striking revelation of this growth OF
American city life, at the expense of
the country districts. No city of less
than eight thousand population is in
GUIDED in these census calculations. All
the rest Is counted as country Aud
yet 1t appears that in every New Eng
! land state except Rhode Island more
than one-half of all the towns lost in
population, instead of gaining, lost and
had less population in 1890 than they
had in 1880, though the populations Of
the states. as wholes, largely increased.
But that increase was wholly in the
growth of the cities of over eight thou
sand inhabitants, In this state of Con-
necticut, out Of our 1853 towns, seventy
nine, or three more than half, lost in
population from 1880 to 1890 Taking
New England as whole, the number of
towns that lost in population was six
ty-tWo per cent. of the whole. But this
movement is not confined to New Eng
land. 1t was still greater in New York.
| viz, sixty-nine and one-half per cent,
and even in Ohio it was fifty-eight per
| cent. and n Illinois fifty-four per cent.
| And the same state of things exists in
only slightly less degree in many 9TH
er states. In New Jersey and Pennsyl-
vania, and Indiana and Michigan, near
ly half of the towns lost in population
| fro the same period. In all the
most prosperous and progressive
states, especially the manufacturing
states, this movement is most marked;
and it is increasingly manifest all over
the country, south and west as well as
north and east.
And out of this great and widespread
movement is coming about this great
fact that the city population of this
country is rapidly outgrowing the coun-
try population. and will soon quite out
number it. and become the controlling
population of this nation. The first
census of the United States, taken in
1890, showed that at that time only
about three and one-half per cent. of
the population of the whole country
lived In the cities. New York city had
then only about thirty-three thousand
inhabitants, though Boston and Phila
al NJ, hoI plIt t1a
of 1890 showed that nearly thirty per
cent. of the present population of the
United States live in the cities, or about
ten times the proportion of city jewellers
to country dwellers that we had a CEN
fury ago. We now have more than
thirty cities of over one hundred thou
sand population each, and probably
more than one hundred cities greater
than New York. Boston or Philadelphia
We're one hundred years ago. That ex-
cellent statistician, the Rev. Dr. Josiah
Strong, has estimated that by the year
1920 the city population of this country
will exceed its country population by
more than ten million souls!- And a
city population, being compact, com
municable, sympathetic and energetic
Is therefore far more active and po-
tent social factor than the same number
of scattered country residents can be.
In all these things we therefore must
be blind not to foresee the swiftly com
ing political preponderance of our cities
over the country, as factors in our ma
tional life. AS the cities Of antiquity |
ruled the world in their day, SO will the |
cities of America inevitably rule this
nation in their day-that day whose |
gray dawn is already upon us.
And now, in the light of this imminent |
fact, the solemn truth breaks in upon |
our minds that If we would save our |
country in the next generation we must |
save our cities in this generation, The |
salvation of our cities is absolutely ne
cessary to the salvation of the whole
country. And another factor makes |
this work all the more necessary in
America. European city populations |
are to a great degree homogeneous, and |
made up of people of their own country.
Even that great Babel, London, With
more Irishmen in it than Dublin has,
more Scotchmen than Aberdeen, more
Jews than all Palestine and thousands
of foreigners from all the ends of the
earth. still has the vast mass of its !
millions born Englishmen, and large
of them born in London it.
self; and the like thing is true of all the
great cities Of Europe. But in our
American cities we have a very differ
ert state of things, Here we find the
most heterogeneous city populations
under the sun In several of our largest
American cities the number of people
who are either foreign born themselves,
~ whose parents were foreignborn, is
greater than the number of those of
American ancestry and rearing. And
the larger proportion of this foreign
population that stay in our cities comes
rom the lowest classes of Europe,
classes that never had any education
any property or any political rights In
heir own countries, and consequently
10 training whatever as to the duties
md responsibilities of good citizenship.
If course the Scotch Scandinavians
md some others are exceptions, but the
masses are as I have described them.
n their ignorance and illiteracy they
lever had any conception of the mean .
ng of patriotism in their own coun- .
ries, and why should they bother their
reads with such sublime sentimental |
SIN here. Their governments were
hngs to be hated, and why not this
me, too. They are utterly alien to, and
of, the gertius and spirit of