Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1902-02-15
SMALL TOWNS SHOW GROWTH,
Census Figures of Decade COMPARED
with Those for One Previous.


Director OF the Census Merriam has
| given out a statement showing the
growth of the small towns of the United
States during the decade between 1890
and 1900, as compared with the previous
| decade. The statement is the result of
compilation and careful study of the CEN
sus figures by the experts of the bureau.
1t shows a general decrease in the num-
Der of perosns deserving the country dis
tricts for the big cities 1t also shows
| unparalleled prosperity in towns of 1000
or less population. Going into detail,
the statement declares that the country
districts west of the Mississippi have
lost more in population than between
1880 and 1890. Iowa, however, is an
exception. Illinois shows unusual
growth.
Following is the census directors state,
| ment:
The increase of population in tho
States east of the Mississippi was 1877
between 1880 and 1890 and 1872 between
1890 and 1900. In the same area the
increase in urban population, meaning
thereby all places of more than 1000
inhabitants, was 531 per cent between
1880 and 1890 and only 37.2 per cent
between 1890 and 1900 Both of these
statements could not be true unless the
population OF places having less than
1000 inhabitants had been growing more
rapidly in the last ten years than in the
preceding decade. Such is the fact. Be
tween 1880 and 1890 the population east
of the Mississippi and excluding places
| of more than 1000, increased 40 per
cent, but between 1890 and 1900 ST per
cent.
ITO throw further light upon this in
| creased prosperity of the small towns
| during the last ten years a study has
| been made by the census office of those
| counties which actually decreased in pop
| ulatiOn at either decade, making allow
| ance for changes in county boundaries.
| Counties of this class are predominantly
| agricultural and usually have lost
| through migration to more favored locali
| ties the natural increase of their pOpu-
| lation by excess of births over deaths.
Between 1890 and 1900 the counties
| east Of the Mississippi river which lost
population extended over an area of 3d.
| l2S square miles. The figures show that
| in this part of the country an area almost
| equal to that of New England lost pOpu
| latiOn between 1880 and 1890, but gained
| between 1890 and 1900. West of the
| Mississippi the changes were in the re-
| verse directiOn-that is, the area losing
| population was slightly larger between
| 1890 and 1900 than it was between 1880
| and 1S90-334 $50 square miles, as com
pared with 2O6, 59S square miles. But IN
| the country as whole the area of cOun-
ties losing population was over 10000
| square miles less in the last decade than
it was between 1880 and 1890
| Further analysis shows that Il gain of
| population in the last decade was re-
ported from every county of Minnesota
and North Dakota and every county but
| one of Iowa. In South Dakota, Nebras-
| ka and Kansas, on the contrary, there
were large areas, mostly in the western
| part and sparsely settled, for which
| decrease of population was reported. The
tide of migration in 1890 had pushed up
the slopes of the great plains farther
| than conditions warranted and in the
| last decade the wave has been receding,
| depicting these areas and filling up the
rural counties of such States as Iowa
and Illinois.
"In Iowa the per cent of area losing
population fell from q between 1880
| and 1890 to 1.G between 1890 and 1900.
In Illinois it fell from 2S.G to 40. In
other words, over about quarter OF
each State the population decreased be-
tween 1880 and 1890 only to increase in
| the last ten years"