Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-08-09

office has just completed a careful
reckoning of the number of men in
the various states of the union who
are available matrimonially. 1t finds
that, in the aggregate, there are g.
726,779 bachelors of 20 years or over,
and makes record of the remarkable
fact that there are at present in the
United States 100000 more single
men than single women of that age
and above. The exact figures are A.
199,446 maidens, so that the latter
are in a minority of 1851 1893. In
other words, there are 1851, 1893 I'M
attached male who could not possibly
get wives unless they fell back upon
the widows or upon girls under 20.
Now, this is very surprising state
of affairs, in view of the belief which
has hitherto prevailed that there was
in this country a great surplus of
spinsters who could not possibly hope
to obtain husbands because of the
lack of an adequate supply. 1t is
proved by the census office figures
not only that this notion was incor-
rect, but that the surplus is actually
one of bachelors. Even, when all of
the widows and the girls down to II
there are not nearly enough of them
to go around.
New England has always been sup
posed to be overburdened with single
women, and vet the census reckoning
shows that there is not a state in
that group which has not more bach
elors than spinsters. Even Massa-
chusetts. long declared to be the
ol,o Ill
maid, has slight overplus of I'M
married men, me figures being 2S2,-
932 single males, against 277,711 fe-
males similarly situated. Maine has
COSTS bachelors, against 1890 spin
sters; New Hampshire 3S,713 bach
elors and 3O,554 spinsters; Rhode Is
land 41,645 bachelors and 39,405 spin
sters; and Connecticut 94,15S bach
elors, against 74,731 spinsters.
1t is clear from a glance at the
census figures. however. that the I'M
married women of the east ought to
migrate to the great growing west,
where the available supply of hus-
bands is relatively enormous. Just
think of California for example,
where there are 239,5O bachelors
and only sS.755 maidens of 20 and
upward, Why, it must be almost out
of the question for woman to escape
matrimony out there. But the OPP
portunity in Idaho is much more at
tractive, the single men numbering
1891 and the spinsters only 1856.
Montana is another state rich in
chances of marriage, its bachelors
numbering 55,45s, against 1850 spin
sters. Oregon has 6O,526 bachelors
and 1914 maidens, while Washing
ton claims 9O,O14. single men and TO-,
SIS single women. But the banner
state for bachelors is Wyoming
which has 2,347 spinsters, against
2O.9-i unmarried persons of the
sterner sex. 1t must be very diff
cult for woman to become an old
maid in Wyoming.
The excess of bachelors over spin
sters of 20 years and upward in Mas
sachusetts is nearly per cent. In
Rhode Island it is per cent. in Con-
necticut % per cent, in Maine 80 per
cent, in New Hampshire 90 per cent
and in Vermont 40 per cent. New
York shows % per cent. Pennsyl-
vania IS per cent, Ohio IS per cent
Indiana 60 per cent, and Illinois 6S
per cent. Kansas rises to an excess
in bachelors to los per cent, while
Missouri shows a surplus of ~ per
cent. Michigan has an excess of II
per cent of single men.
In explanation of the hugeness of
these percentages, it should be made
clear that the mass of the population
in each state is paired off by mar
riage evenly as between the sexes,
leaving over only comparatively
small fraction of single persons of
marriageable age. 1t is only this
fraction that is considered in the
present statement, and in most states
the male part of the fraction is much
in excess of the female part-hence1
the high percentages of bachelor sur
plus quoted. In the whole country
there are 6,726,779 bachelors, against
4,195,446 spinsters-an excess of 60
per cent of bachelors over the unmar-
ried women.
When the entire population of the
country is considered, it is shown by
the census figures that there are now
in the United States 100000 more
males than females. The excess in
1890 was only 1,560,047. This is very
interesting, particularly in view of
the fact that in the old world the con-
dition of affairs is quite different,
the females outnumbering the males.
In Europe there are 4s5 males to 81
females in every 1000 of the popula-
ton.
In this country the males outnum-
Der the females "a in every 1000, and
thus it is obvious that, if all of the
women do not get husbands, it is
not for lack of available material.
In Idaho there are 223 men for every
100 women. Montana has $50 men