Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1900-06-01
THE QUESTION OF The
CENSUS QUESTIONS.

The obiectsof the federal census
are of three kinds; To furnish a
basis for the appointment of Rep
resentatives in the lower house OF
Congress to ascertain the growth of
the United States in numbers, wealth
ana industry; and TO investigate
the social organizations and insti-
tutions which determine the growth
of population and wealth. The first
is a constitutional necessity, the
second a study of facts, and the
third study Of causes.
Probably no social alinstituteis is so in
timately connected with the growth
of population as that of marriage.
In investigating marital conditions
the law requires about each person
a statement whether he or she is
single, married, widowed, or divorc-
ed if married, how many years has
lasted if mother, how many chill
dren she has had, and how many of
these children is now living
From the answers to the questions
it is possible to determine the BIRTH
rate, the prevalence of marriage,
the proportion of women and child.
rem to the whole population, the
duration and fruitfulness of mar
riage. So far as the power and inn
portance of nations are dependent
upon the size of the population, to
that extent is the accurate determin-
alton of these questions matter of
public necessity.
In the United States there would
seem to be little danger of a decline
in the population. But even when
we are sure that the population is
rowing, it is still necessary to know
how it is growing The millions of
India are increasing, but it is by
process of many births and many
deaths. In good years millions are
born in times of famine millions
die, the population increasing be-
cause a few more are born than die
1t is growth, but savage growth.
There is more excellent kind of pro
gress, that resulting from the com
bination of a moderate birth rate
and small death rate.
The marital statistics collected by
census are in many respects very
interesting Thus, the extent and
power of the anti marital forces can
he estimated in a way by ascertaining
the proportion of people between 35
and So years of age who have never
been married. Census statistics
show that the proportion of unmar-
ried females between these ages is
greatest in the East, in North Caro-
lima, Rhode Island, and Massachu-
setts, for instance, while the proper
ton is smallest in the West, South
Dakota, Utah, and Oklahoma bring
ing up the rear in the order named.
Men, on the contrary, are far more
likely to remain single in the West
than in the East. The proportion of
unmarried men between 55 and g. is
lowest in the Southern States g. g.
Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia
and greatest in the block of West
ern States west of the Mississippi.
In Nevada 1872 per Ger of the males
between So and Ga have never been
married, Idaho coming next with
32.4 per cent, Montana with 29.5
per cent, etc.
That marriage isstill pree miDently
the sphere of women seems to be in.
dicated by the fact that more womer
marry than men, and they marry al
earlier ages. Thus, only 81 per CEN
of females Is years of age and ovei
are unmarried, while among males
of the same ages the proportion is A.
per cent. Taking girls and boys be
tween Is and 20 years of age, it Il
found that one out of every ten girl
is married, while among the boy
the proportion falls to one in tw'
hundred. These were the proper
tions in 1890. Whether these con
ditions have changed since then
a question that can only be answer
ed by the census of 1900.