The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1911-09-15
CITY AND COUNTRY
POPULATION.


commanding the attention of all.
The basic fact will be learned that
the principal cause of increased cost
of living is fact that there are too
many people in the cities to be fed
and too few in the country to pro-
duce the food.
:, :, The drift of population of the Unit
ed States from country to city is in
structively shown in a bulletin of the
census bureau giving statistics of
urban and rural population for 1910,
1900 and 1890. In looking over the
figures the thought is suggested that
the great growth of urban population
has had much to do with the advanc
ing prices of food products.
For continental United States the
population in 1910 was 81, 972, 266 Of
which 1873 per cent was urban and
53.7 rural. Ten years previously the
percentages we're 40.5 urban and 3d.
rural, while in 1890 the percentages
were sc. l urban and 63.9 rural. By
1920 urban population will be greater
than rural unless a change in the tide
takes place.
In the state of Washington urban
population in 1910 was Cos, $50 or 53
per cent of the total. In 1900 urban
was 40.8 per cent Of the total and in
1890 it was $50. The cities of this
state had a remarkable growth in the
last decade. Urban population in
creased 166 per cent and rural o4.7.
The growth in both was gratifying.
While we need in this state to en-
courage development of idle lands
and to increase home grown food pro-
duets, we find upon turning to the
statistics for the Atlantic coast states
that the proportion of urban popula-
tion is much higher in most of them
than it is IN Washington. A state
with commodious haIbors such as
Puget Sound affords is pretty sure to
have populous cities through which
passes the commerce of many states
and foreign countries.
In the New England states 1873 per
cent OF the population was urban Ill
1910; in the Middle Atlantic states,
1873. The state having the greatest
per cent Of urban population was
Rhode Island, where only 81 per cent
was rural. Massachusetts was not far
behind in this respect, for it had an
urban population of 1913 per cent,
while the per cent for Connecticut
was 1877.
1t is in the Southern, Middle and
Mountain states that the rural exceeds
the urban. Even in some of the
Middle states urban exceeds rural.
Taken as a whole, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin had
in 1910 rural population of 52.7 per
cent.
North Dakota and Mississippi had
the smallest mum Der of people living
in urban communities (places Of 2, 500
inhabitants or over. For the former
the urban was II per cent in 1900 and
for the latter ll.5.
In every state except Montana and
Wyoming urban population increased
more rapidly in the last decade than
rural. In no state was the increase
of urban population less than 10 per
cent. In six states 1T was more than
100 per cent and in ID other states it
was from 80 to 100 per cent.
There was no loss of rural popula-
ton between 1900 and 1910. The in
crease was 4, 94l, $780, or H. per cent.
The striking fact is that while the in
crease of rural was but Ill the in
crease of urban was 34.9 per cent, or
IL, OBS, BAL. City population grew
more than three times as fast as
country.
More mouths in cities to feed
naturally created stronger demand
for products of the farm and it is no
wonder that farmers have enjoyed a
long period of high prices. Seven
tenths Of the increase Of population
for the last decade was in urban
territory and three tenths in rural.