The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1912-12-05

whites of native parentage, SIS per
cent.
AS compared with rural population,
the urban shows a slightly larger pro-
portion of persons in the prime of life,
29.8 per cent, of urban and 26.5 per
cent. of rural being in the age groups
25 to "A years.
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
The census inou.s- as to school at
tendance was ni~s%sv as to whether
the person enumerated had attended
any kind of school at any time between
September /, 1909, and the date of
enumeration, April 15, 1910.
The total number of persons of
school age-that is, from to 20 years,
inclusive-is 1876, 1877. of whom 1902,
or SIT per cent, attended school. In
addition to these, 6,393 persons under
6 and 1885 of 81 and over, attended
school. For boys from 6 to 20 years,
inclusive, the percentage attending
school was Gil; for girls, 68.2. For
children from to ID years, inclusive,
the percentage attending school was
1872. The percentage of children of
this age among native whites of native
parentage was 903; among native
whites of foreign or mixed parentage,
SS4 among foreign-born whites 81;
and for the 1873 negro children aged 6
to ii, 907
There is little difference between
urban population and rural as regards
school attendance for children of this
age but of those from Is to 20 years,
1874 per cent. in rural communities, as
against 324 in urban, were reported as
attending school.
/ ILLITERACY.
The Census Bureau classifies as il
literate any person 10 years of age or
over who is unable to write, regard
less of ability to read.
There are 24,554 illiterates in the
State, representing Al per cent. of the
total population 10 years of age and
over, as compared with 81 per cent
in 1900. The percentage of illiteracy
! is 1871 among foreign-born whites, 2
among native whites, and s among ne
groes.
For the foreign-born whites the per-
centage of illiteracy is somewhat high
er in urban communities than in rural,
but for each of the other elements the
percentage of illiteracy is higher in
rural communities than in urban.
! For persons from 10 to 30 years of
age, inclusive, whose literacy depends
largely upon present school facilities
and school attendance, the percentage
of illiteracy (0.2) is comparatively low.
MARITAL CONDITION.
In the population Is years and over
/ 34.6 per cent of the males are single
and 27.4 per cent of the females. The
percentage married is SIS for males
and 59.2 for females, and the percent
age widowed ga and 1878 respectively.
The percentage OF those reported as
divorced, and o. respectively, are
: believed to be too small, because of
the probability that many divorced
persons class themselves as single or
widowed
That the percentage single is small
er for women than for men is due
/ largely to the fact that women marry
younger Thus, 9.5 per cent of the
females from Is to 10 years of age are
married, as compared with II per
cent of the males, and 46.7 per cent
of the females from 20 to "a years are
married, as compared with % per
cent. of the males. In the next age
group, 25 to "a years, the difference is
4 not so great the percentage being 1873
for females and 62.4 for males, while
in the age group 50 to "A the differ
ence practically disappears. That
there is a larger proportion of widows
than of widowers may indicate that
men more often remarry than womes,
but. since husbands are generally old
! err than their wives, the marriage re-
lationship is more often broken by
death of the husband than by death of
! the wife.
For the main elements of the popu
lation the percentage of married per
sons among those 10 years Of age and
over are as follows Foreign born
whites, 62 for males and 66.6 for fe-
males; native whites of native parent
age, 594 and SOB; native whites OF
foreign or mixed parentage, 1873 and
} 1879; negroes, 44,9 and 438
These percentages by no means in
dictate the relatives tendency of the
several classes as regards marriage.
! To determine that, the comparison
/ should be made by age periods, since
I the proportion married in any class
is determined largely by the proper
ton who have reached the marrying
age. Similarly, the proportion widow
ed depends largely on the proportion
past middle life. The percentage mar
ried for females is slightly higher in
rural than in urban communities.