The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1900-11-24

POPULATION OF LOUISIANA.

1
The Sunday Times-Democrat gives
the following lengthy editorial on
the growth of our State during the
last decade
The population returns of few
States ia more interesting, not only
locally, but to the whole country,
than those of Louisiana, for half
dozen problems of general interest
are presented here. We have, to
start with, a State almost equally
divided between the two races, black
and white. One census shows a
majority of white inhabitants, the
next a majority of negroes. Louis
lana affords, therefore, a better
chance of studying this racial move
ment of population during the last
ten years than any other State, for
here the whites and blacks have
come into direct competition in a
most marked manner. Elsewhere
in the South there are white and
black belts, where the labor is
almost exclusively black or white
respectively; but in Southern Louis.
lana, principally in the sugar dis
trict, the two races are side by side,
and there has been, in consequence,
contest that will solve the PROB
lem which race is better adapted for
this industry aud this section.
There has been, moreover, large
immigration both from the North
west and Europe, into the extreme
southern parishes of Louisiana, and
naturally much interest is felt in the
experience of these immigrants and
the settlement of the disputed prob.
lem, whether white labor is adapted
to the semi-tropical lands of Louis
lana, and can work with advantage
here. The impression has been very
strong that the white race was not
suited to hard work in the supposed
torrid heat of the tropics or semi
tropics, and that the negro is abso-
lutely necessary TO the agricultural
interests there; and this doctrine is
taught in great many biographies
and histories.
These are questions not of local,
but of general interest. There are
other local questions of moment to
us, the increase or decrease of GER
tain sections, the influence of levee
construction on the population of
the riparian parishes, the growth of
the railroad towns, and generally
the interior movement of popula-
ton.
1t has been very prosperous de-
cade for Louisiana, more prosper
GUS than the previous one. Be.
tween 1880 and 1890 the population |
of the State increased only 10 per
cent; in the last ten years it has
grown 1916 per cent. Thus, whiley
the rest of the Union showed a de- /
creased rate of growth as compared /
with the previous decade, Louisiana
is we'll above the average
and has grown faster than any other
Of the Southern States except Texas
and Florida.
Although the census figures pub
lished DO not cover the number of
whites and blacks, the returns are
sufficient to show that Louisiana is
again white State, with a very
large white majority, and that it is
growing steadily whittier. This is
evidenced in the fact that the white
parishes show a phenomenally large
Increase in population, while many
Of the negro parishes have actually
ost.
Nearly all parts of Louisiana
show an increase, but the greatest
Increase is 10 the southern and south
western districts. Only six parishes
20 backward, all of them IN the
corner of the State, in
he Fifth Congressional District. |
Three of the six are in the Tensas ,
evee district. Taking the four ,
parishes of the district, the returns
ire as follows: