Daily camera., 1901-01-14
AN ENGLISH ;. VIEW.
A London Journal Regarding Our
Late Census Returns.
Our Great Growth During the Las,
Decade Unsurpassed by That Of
Any Other NatiOn-SOme Com
plimsntary Remarks.

sionally they strike home upon the
imagination, and leave vivid impress
sion upon the mind No thoughtful
person can fail to realize something at
least of all that is signitied by the GEN.
sus returns of the United States. says
the London Telegraph. That mighty
nation has been numbered and it 10
found that her population now stands
at 76,250,000. In the short space Of
ten years there has been an increase
of nearly 13,250, 900. which 10 equivalent
to almost 81 per cent. for the decade,
or rather more than per cent. per
annum. When we remember that 200
years ago the population of the states
was under 300. .00O-or rather more than
the present population of Bradford
and that 100 years ago it was but lit
tie over 5,00O,0OO.. il will be seen with
what amazing rapidity the young giant
among the nations has built up his
strength. The first census was taken
| in 1890. From that year down to 1860
the increase per cent, per annum WAS
about $50.
From 1860 to 1870 it fell to 2.26: in
the next ten years il rose to 81; from
1880 to 1890 il dropped to 2.i9. and
now, as we have seen. it stands at al.
This is slight decrease in ratio. but
after all. the important fact is that
there are 100000 more people owning
allegiance to the American constitution
| than there were ten years ago. And
the growth OF population is the infal-
| leble test of national prosperity and
| advancement No nation has ever vet
risen TO greatness with dwindling
population. and probably none ever
WILL Declining numbers have been the
| invariable concomi'ant of national
Stagnation and decadence. The growth
| of the power of Great Britain. Germany
and Russia bears witness to the truth
of this sweeping generalization. and
there is nothing which gives French
publicisrs more serious grounds for
disquietude as to the future of their
country than the evidence of stagna-
| tion shown in their census returns.
| americans. therefore, NAV be well con
| tent with the progress they haEe made
IN the last decade These figures af
ford them ample reason for pride and
| iubilation. The only great power Of
| he present day which can vie with
| them in numbers is Russia. and in
wealth, in energy. in adaptability. in
| education and in that cunning indus
rial skill which is the foundation OF
material prosperity, they far outstrip
| the subjects of the ear.
| What the future has in store for the
| United States only the future can dis
| close but that il is something great.
| something vast and magnificent far be-
| yond anything hitherto witnessed in
| history. no one can doubt, and there
| are few Englishmen who do not well
come the prospect with hearty graf
| ification. owing to the community of
race. ideas and language which links
\ both the heart and brain of the United
| States with the heart and brain of
4 the British empire. Full details of this
| latest census have not yet been pub
! lished. and close analysis is at pres
ent impossible. Yet il is to be observed
that the increase of population has
taken place chiefly in the eastern
states In New York state alone the
numbers have risen by 1,250,000; Penn
sylvania and Illinois show similarly
striking results. AS in England the
urban and manufacturing centers grow
much more rapidly than the rural. No
one will be surprised to find that the
Indians are steadily dying out OF the
land. There are now but 1874. 900 de-
scendants of the red man. who once
roamed in undisturbed possession OF
the soil. But for the reservations on
which they drag out a forlorn and
hopeless existence, they would soon
become as extinct az the bison. Cvili-
zation has utterly failed to preserve
the red man. Whether it is civiliza-
tions fault is another matter. In part.
doubtless, it is; in part, and probably
in greater part, 1t 10 not.
There is no room for the nomad in
the modern scheme of life. He has re-
fused to adapt himself to altered con-
/ dHu SAOu6A VIC i0euit Ahoy OC
deplored, the law il inexorable. Prob
ably, however, the question which will
most interest the Americans is the rel
ative numbers of the white and colored
population. The theory used to be very
widely held that the colored races in
America increased faster than the
white. Statistics, however, prove that
the inference was not warranted by the
actual figures. In 1880 there were g.
100000 free colored people in the
states; in 1890 there were nearly T.
800, 900. The proportion in the former
year was about two in thirteen; in
the latter it was two in fifteen. What
it is at the present time the published
returns do not disclose, but hitherto,
except between 1910 and 1860, the white
American has increased rather more
rapidly than the colorsd. The racial
problem in the states is one Of such far
Preaching Importance that all will hope
the advantage will continue to rest
with the whites.