Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1908-05-29
wh.u Will he H.r,l =. E,llf

Roughly estimated ut the present
time, there are 1900, OO0, 900 people in
the whole world. This looks like an
immense number. but all Of them may
be placed i'll II county or any state in
this Union which has 400 square miles.
That would make II. 151, 800, 600 feet,
and u little figuring will show that all
Of the people of the earth may stand in
such u space and each one would have
practically seven square feet in which
to move. If jammed together, rs when
listening to an out. Of-door speech. IA
third of this space would accommodate
them. Manifestly, the world is very fur
from being crowded as yet. But the
population is increasing at the rate of
10 per cent, or 100 to every 1000 in
every ten years, and the interesting
question is when will it be us full Us it
can hold? Evidently the time is "A long
way off, but ut the present rate of
growth it must inevitably come ut some
period in the future.
80 49, hia'' "NhFf
to keep down population which are not
now operating. Wars, which were
universal and continuous. were the
chief agent of defamation. In the
savage state whole tribes were often
cxterminated and the others kept thin
ned out to standstill: Then there
We're great peStilcnces, fumincs. plaques,
contagious diseases, floods, earthquakes
and other natural causes which combin-
ed to prevent increase if, they did not
often cause II d%iminution of population
during the urS of II century. For
the reasons the population Of the world
made little or no advance in Il thousand
years. But the conditions are different
now. Wars are much less frequent and
continue only for comparatively short
intervals. Science has practically alpol.
ishcd pcStilcncS, and the worst of the
disease scourgcS, such Us smallpox.
yellow fever. cholera and famincS uIc
relieved by outside contributions and
loss of life from floods is greatly re-.
~ l''f' VI ll'NN ma '
measures. Thus it comes about that
i'll spite of deaths from various causes
the people Of the world are increasing
M a regular ratio, which makes il
possible to calculate with REASONABLE,
accuracy just when old Mother Earth
will bc full up.
Those whose business it is to deal
with the statistics of the subject ant
are skilled i'll all its phases figure tina
the world will liz full when il has Loo
people To the square mile Of its lant
area. Thi, would allow less than NV,
thirds of AN acre to each person. ant
this small space would have to sific,
for all purposcs-agriculturc mining
roads, houses, parks. railways ant
factories. 1t is somewhat startling I,
learn that we are only 3i2 years from
the time il will bc necessary Ia han,
ont tn" standing room only sign. II
other words. the year 2250 will see
full world. AS the rich and pruluctiv,
will part fill up first, it may bc that thi
Mississippi valley in which we live ma,
bc chuck full before tho date set. 4
any rate, it is evident that the Unite,
States is going to he drcadfully crowded
before many more centuries rol
around.
When Indiana. with her 81, 80 quar-
miles of land area. gets her maximum
she will have b, $40, 600 people. ant
Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin
Kansas and other central western
states will I've populated in equal proper
tisns according to their territory
American Farmer.