The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-11-03
PRESS COMMENT
What the Newspapers Of Vermont
sDd Other States Are Saying
About Topics Of Interest to
Journal Headers.
VERMONT'S CENSUS.
(Randolph Herald.)

Wn1le we would nave been better
pleased had Vermont shown a larger
gain in population, we are not dsap-
pointed by the figures of the new CEN
sus. The State has made an increase
of 1885 during the past ten years.
This is almost exactly the same ac-
tual and relative increase as it made
during the preceding decade. The
growth is slow, even meagre, but is
in the right direction. Vermont is not
sliding backward.
There are some encouraging symp-
toms, promising a better showing ten
years hence. In the previous decade
a very heavy and general slump in the
rural towns, extending to nearly all
of them, was met and overcome by
the remarkable development of the
granite belt in Washington county, the
marble section about Rutland, and the
substantial growth of Burlington and
a few other large towns. But for
these factors, Vermont would have
shown falling off by the census of
1900. The recent enumeration shows,
of farming towns, as a rule, but it has
been perceptibly checked Though
the general trend is the wrong way,
it is not so pronounced in the aggre-
gate, nor does it apply throughout the
State. While ten years ago nearly
every purely farming town showed a
loss, more than a few of them this
year have held their own and even
gained Still better, it is appreciat-
ed that the change has come about
almost entirely during the last half Of
the decade. Farming has become
more profitable and more popular dur
ing this period than for probably 20
years preceding, with the result that
fewer people are leaving the farms and
more are going back to them. 1t is
fair to expect this to continue, and
even increase. AS agriculture i'm
proves its condition, it will afford a
better and more inviting outlook, and
people will turn to it.
The chief reason why our Vermont
farming population is less than for
merly is not that there are fewer
farms although this is a factor-but
because the farmers families and de-
pendents upon the farm, including
hired help male and female. are less
The native stock in Vermont is not
productive. as it was two generations
ago, aud this extends to the farms, as
well as the cities and villages. The
introduction of farm machinery, the
advent of the creamery and the sale of
whole milk have enabled the farmer
to get along with less help indoors and
outdoors. Until latterly, the high
scale of wages compared with the
profits of his business have discour-
aged the hiring of help, and tended
to limit the titled acreage The de-
sire of young men and women to live
in towns for the sake of the social and
other advantages has made dearth
in the farm supply.
These conditions are not at all pc
culiar TO Vermont. Almost every
State where agriculture is the chief
industry will show the same. In Mis-
population has increased but six per
cent, according to the new census.
But for the growth of st. Louis and
other large centers there would have
been a bad slump. In fact, almost
every State will have to depend on
its industrial centers for its increase
the farms will not show it. Being
without many such centers, and no
very large ones, Vermont is FORUM
ate in doing so we'll Barre, Burling-
ton, Rutland, Montpelier and some of
our thriving villages like Springfield,
Newport, Bellows Falls, Hardwick,
Winooski, Brattlebore, Bennington, st,
Johnsbury, Barton, Waterbury and
Mortified, it is true, saved us from ac-
tual loss, but had the ratio of loss in
the farming towns kept ON as in the
preceding decade, they could not have
done it. pc
Gnu. the new census is completed,
we shall not know whether Vermont
will lose one of its present Congress
men, and be reduced to single mem
Der of the House. If the total increase
in the Urion should be large, it might
happen, for we barely escaped it ten
years ago. 1t would be indeed hui
initiating if this could occur.
Under the new apportionment Or
ange county loses a State Senator,
which Chittenden county gains. This
is not because Orange county has fall
len off most in population, for other
counties have done worse, but be-
cause the margin left to its credit was
smaller than that of the others, and
the small actual loss, only 800, wiped
it out entirely. The collapse of the
copper mining industry in several of
the interior towns, combined with the
general trend of the agricultural pop
ulatiop-the latter, however, less
marked than in most other counties
puts old Orange a little to the bad"
1t is so near the line, however, that
it ought not to be impossible to re-
~ &c ,terl