The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-10-15
VERMONT IN THE CENSUS.
Some Comment by a Massachusetts
Newspaper.


Newspaper
The small population growth of YER
mont in the past 10 years has been con.
fined to the cities and large villages.
Against total increase of 1876 OF 38
per cent, the cities of Burlington, Rut-
land, Barre, Montpelier and st. Adams
gained 1855; and the villages OF St.
Johnsbury, Brottleboro, Bennington, Bel
lows Fails Winooski and Poultney
manned in order of size) gained 4,072 Z
making a total gain for all these places
OF 1850, or l5.S per cent. The great
majority of the towns lost ground
Addison county shows the most per-
sistent tendency to decline in population,
and this curiously enough comprises per-
haps the finest agricultural region Of
the state, stretching away as it does
over the comparatively level country
eastward from the lower end OF Lake
Champlain. No less than 10 of its %
towns show losses Of population in the
past decade On the other hand. the.
county showing the greatest growth in
the past 20 years is one of the toughest
or most mountainous Of the lot-Wash-
ington county, which has advanced from
29,606 in 1890 to 4l,702 IN 1910, not.
withstanding the loss OF some of its ter
ritory to Caledonia county between 1890
and 1900 The rise OF Barre and its
great quarrying industry explains much
of this county's growth Nearly all OF
the agricultural towns Of the county
have been losing population right along.
The four northern border counties OF
Grand Isle, Franklin, Orleans and Essex
have either lost ground or practically
stood still during the past 20 years.
They are tributary to the St. Lawrence
region and are industrially cut off from
that region to a large extent by the
tariff wall Coming, however, to the
southern end of the state, which is in
close touch with the great currents Of
commerce and industry flowing through
the eastern part Of the United States, We
find Windham and Bennington counties
about as stationary, though a little less
backward than the northern border coun.
ties But here is a very mountainous
region, with few valleys and those ex-
ceedingly narrow. While the industrial
or manufacturing villages OF Brattleboro
and Bellows Falls continue to grow, the
rest of Windham county continues to
lose ground. Seventeen OF the % towns
show population losses in the past 10
years, while only the two towns contain.
ing the villages mentioned make ma
terial gains. Stratton, a town where
the Wings held a great rally ADDRESSED
by Daniel Webster in 1910, has fallen
from 27l in 1900 to SO. Even the Con.
necticut valley agricultural town OF Put
ney has declined The towns up the
West river valley--fourishing agricul-
tural regions years ago-continue to
lose. So it is of Bennington county,
where only the town OF Bennington or
villages therein show any growth worth
In Windsor county, just
north of Windham, only the town of
Springfield shows material growth. Near
~ all of the others declined Cav
endish, which has good water power,
but which has suffered from the de-
cline in the carded wool manufacturing
industry.
The state as whole practically don.
bled its population between 1890 and
1900, and nearly doubled it again in the |
next 30 years. But since 1850 there has /
been little population gain II had 3l4,-
100 in 1850 and gained less than 1000 |
in the decade TO 1860. Under the high |
prices of the Civil war period, farming |
fourished and the state gained 1880 in |
that decade, but from 1870 to 1910 there
has been an advance only from 330,55l /
to 355,056 1t gained less than 1000 4
between 1870 and 1880, and less than |
200 in the next decade Compared with /
those l0-year periods, the last two make 1
a decidedly good exhibit. But it is not 4
what it should be, and not
what may fairly be expected Of the
coming 10 years under the influence OF
factors now at work. The swiugback
Of the westward agricultural drift lately
observable is Just beginning to reach that
state, under the influence OF high prices
Tor farm products. The waterpowers are \
likely to come into greater use through \
storage and electrical transmission, and n
The automobile and better roads must
more and more have the effect Of in
,reasing the number of those who seek
-est and recreation and quiet retirement
,mong the hills Of this most attractive
mountain state. Beyond this Vermont
,rs should look for advantage in the
owering of those tariff bars which turn
commerce north and south away from
he state, instead of letting it pursue
Is natural course through the state
and southeasterly between