The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-08-18

the number Of children under 10 years
OF age for the earlier eensuses.
Some of the conclusions reached may
be summarized as follows:
At the beginning Of the nineteenth
century the children under 10 years Of
age constituted third and at the end
less than one-fourth of the total popu-
lation The decrease in this proportion
began as early as the decade 1910 to
1920, and continued uninterruptedly,
though at varying rates, however, is not
enough to prove declining birth rate,
as the decrease in the proportion OF
children in the total population may in
dicate merely an increase in the average
duration of life and the consequent sur
yival OF a larger number OF adults.
But by taking the proportion of chill
dren to women Of child bearing age we
are able to get a more satisfactory index
Of the movement OF the birth rate Be-
tween 1860, the earliest decade for which
figures can be obtained. this proportion
increased. But since 1860 it has de-
creased without interruption. The de-
crease has been very unequal from de.
eade to decade, but if twenty year per-
iods are considered it has been very re.
gular.
In 1860 the number of children under
years of age to 1000 women Is to 40
years Of age was 634; in 1900 it was
/ 474 In other words, the proportion Of
children to potential mothers in 1900
was only three-fourths as large as in
1860. One il thus led to the conclusion
/ that there has been a persistent decline
| in the birth rate since 1860.
No attempt is made By the author Of
| the bulletin to determine the probable
causes of this decline An extended ar
gument by Gen. Francis A. Walker is
given. suggesting that it is largely due
to the influx of foreigners and the re-
sultant shock to the population instinct
LOT the natives.
There was an unusual decrease in the
proportion Of children between 1860 and
llST0, which must be attributed to the
ldirect results of the civil war. The in
lcrease in the South between 1870 anC
I1ss0 Is probably due both to the greai
humber OF omissions in the census OIL
l1s70 ANA the return of settled conditions
after tie war and reconstruction.
The States with an increase in thu
proportion OF children in the decade
1890 to 1870 include all the Atlantic
States except Maryland and Georgia, th'
District Of Columbia and also Alabama
Louisiana, Oklahoma and Nevada.
The two States with the largest pro
portion in 1900 were North Dakota anl
indian Territory; the two States witt
1.-THE smallest were District of Columbia
land Massachusetts. The proportion II
Massachusetts was one-half of the pro
norton in North Dakota. In other word
lin proportion to the number of women Q
lchiid bearing age. there were twice a
manv children in North Dakota as ther
were in Massachusetts.
In 1900, for the United States as
whole. the proportion Of children wa
Ionlv two-thirds as great in cities as j
the country districts In the North AT
llantic division, however, it was hardl
more than half as large IN the cities
, lin the country, while in the Far Yves
the difference is intermediate in amount
A comparison is made between th
proportion Of children born OF natiy
Imothers to 1000 native women OF chill
bearing age and the proportion Of chilC
rem born az foreign born mothers to 100
J FOREIGN born women OF child bearing az
: IN 1900 the former proportion was AZ
| the latter no, the difference indicatm
r the greater fecundity of foreign boz
women. The comparison also indicate
: that the total decrease IN fecundlty
! white women between 1890 and 100
WAS the result Of a decrease for natr
J white women, partly Offset by an i
crease for foreign born white women.
The decrease in the proportion
children born to native white women W
/ nA.h,,nl nhinAr IL eifies