Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1900-06-06
OBJECTS OF THE CENSUS.
More Reasons Why SO Many Questions
VIII he Asked.

viii be Asked.
The objects Of the federal census
are of three kinds: To FURNISH a
basis tor the apportionment of Rep.
resentatives IN the lower house OF
Congress: 10 ascertain the growth OF
the United States ia numbers,
wealth, and industry. and to inves-
tigate the social organization and
institutions which determine the
growth OF population and wealth,
The first is a constitutional neeessi-
ty, the second a study oil facts, aud
the third a study OF causes
Probably no social institution is
so intimately connected with the
growth OF population as that Of mar.
riage. In Investigating marital con
ditions the law requires atout each
person statement whether he or
she is. single, married, widowed. or
divorced; ii married, how many
years the marriage has lasted, il u
mother, how many children she has
had, and how many OF these children
are now living
From the answers TO the questions
it is possible to determine the birth
rate, the proportion of women and
children To the whole population,
the duration and fruitfulness of
marriage So far as the power and
Importance OF nations are dependent
upon the size of the population, TO
that extent is the accurate determi
nation OF these questions matter OF
public necessity.
In the United States there would
seem to be little danger OF decline
in the population. But even when
we are sure that the population is
growing. it is still necessary to know
how it is growing, The millions OF
India are increasing, but it is by a
process OF many births and many
deaths. In good years millions are
born; in times OF famine millions die,
the population increasing because
a few more are boa than die 1t is
growth, but savage growth. There
is a more excellent kind of progress,
that resulting from the combination
Of a moderate blfthrate and Il small
death rate.
The marital statistics COLLECTED by
the census are In many respects very
interesting Thus, the extent and
power of the anti marital forces can
be estimated in way by. ascertain
ing the proportion Of people between
80 and 81 years Of age who have new
er been married Census statistics
show that that the proportion OF un-
married females between these ages
is greatest in the East, in North Car
DINA, Rhode Island, and Massachu
sets. for instance, while the proper
tion is smallest in the West, South
Dakota, Utah, and Oklahoma bring
ing up the rear in the order named.
Men, on the contrary, are lar more
likely to remain single In the West
than in the East. The proportion
of unmarried men between IS and
Cd is lowest in the Southern States.
e. g, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia.
and greatest in the block OF Western
States West of the Mississippi. In
Nevada 1872 per cent of the males
between 50 and GA have never been
married, Idaho coming next with
32.4 per cent, Montana next with
29.5 per cent, ete.
That marriage is still pre- eminent
ly the sphere OF women seems to be
indicated by the fact that more
women marry at earlier ages Thus,
only 81 per cent Of females Is years
of age and over are unmarried, while
among males OF the same ages the
proportion is 4 per cent. Taking
girls and boys between 15 and 20
years of age, it is found that one out
Of ten girls is married. while among
the boys the proportion falls to one
in two hundred. These were the pro
portions in 1890 Whether these
conditions have changed since then
is question that can only be an