Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1913-04-04

20 SShS AoLh IL " 81, COL pei CCuI
from 25 to A, and 1875 per cent As
years of age and over. The foreign
born white population comprises com
paratively few children, only 4.3 per
cent of this class being under Is years
of age while S3.6 per cent are 25
years of age n over. OF the native
whites of foreign or mixed p%arentage,
34.1 per cent are % and over; of the
native whites of native parentage,
37.6 per cent; and of the Indians, Ats
per cent. =
The urban population shows a
smaller proportion Of children than the
rural and a larger proportion of per-
sons in the prime of life. Migration
to the city explains this at least in
part. OF the urban population, 33.4
per cent are from 25 to A years of age
inclusive and of the rural population,
27.S per cent.
School Attendance.
The census inquiry as to school at
tendance was merely as to wether the
persons enumerated had attended any
kind of school at any time between
September 1, 1909, and the date Of
enumeration, April Is, 1910.
The total number of persons Of
school age-that is, from 6 to 20 years,
inclusive-is 1S3,979, of whom 122,642
or 66.7 per cent, attended school. In
addition to these, 1,790 children under
s, n 2,471 persons Fl and over at
tended school. For boys from 6 to 20
years, inclusive, the percentage at
tending school was 66.1; for girls, 67.2.
Tor chi!Iror fro~ G t0 ~ ora Il, o1,1-
sive, h percentage attending school
was 1873. The percentage for children
of this age among native whites of for
eign or mixed ~parentage was $84.6;
among native whites of native pa
rentage, Sal; among foreign born
whites, 1873; among negroes, S6.4; and
among Indians, 61.2. The percentage
of school attendance for children from
6 to IA is 97.2 in the urban population
and 1913 in the rural; for persons from
Is to 20, the percentages are A and
1913, respectively.
iliteracy.
The census bureau Classics as illit-
crate any persons 10 years of age or
over who is unable to write, regard
less of ability to read. There are 12,.
$50 illiterates in the state, represent
ing 30 per cent Of the total popula-
ton 10 years of age and over, as COM
pared with 5 per cen in 1900. The
per centage of illiteracy is 45.5 among
Indians, SIS among negroes, S among
foreign born whites, and "a among
native whites.
For all classes combined, the per-
centage of illiterates is 1.6 in urban
communities and 81 in the rural.
More than one-half of the rural litter
ates, however, are Indians. For each
of the native white classes the per-
centage of illiterates is the same in
the rural as in the urban population,
and for the foreign BORN whites it is
lower in the rural.
For persons from 10 to 20 years in
elusive, whose literacy depends large
ly upon present school facilities and
school attendance, the percentage of
illiteracy is very low, being only O.S.
Marital Condition.
In the population Is years of age
and over, 44.6 per cent of the males
are single and 1913 per cent of the
females. The percentage married is
5O.4 for males and SO for females, and
the percentage widowed SO and 6.6,
respectively. The percentage of those
reported as divorced, 0.6 both for
males and females, 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 so
much smaller for women than for
men is due partly to the excess Of
males in the total population, and to
the fact that women marry younger.
Thus 8 per cent of the females from
Is to 10 years of age are married, as
compared with o. per cent of the
males, and 1913 per cent of the fe-
males from 20 to "a years are mar
ried, as compared with 1876 per cent
of the males; in the age group, Is to
"a years, the percentages are S1.5 and
55.5, respectively; in the next age
group, 35 to A, the difference is less
marked, while in the age group As and
over the percentage married is higher
among the males. That there is a
larger proportion of widows than Of
widowers may indicate that men more
often remarry than women, but, since
husbands generally are older than
their wives, the marriage relationship
is broker more often by death of he
husband than by death of the wife.
For the main elements of the popu-
lation the percentages of married per-
sons among those is years of age and
over are as follows: Foreign born
whites, 62.3 for males and 75.4 for fe-
males; native whites of native parent
age, 4S.7 and 61.9, respectively; ma
tive whites of foreign or mixed pa
rentage, Alb and 55.S. negroes, 47.2
and So. Indians, 63.3 and $50.
Dwellings and Families.
The total number of dwellings in
South Dakota is 127,739, and the total
number of families 131,060, indicating
that in comparatively few cases does
more than one family occupy a dwell
ing. The average number of persons
per dwelling is 4.6 and the average
number per family, AS.
officials to comply with this has result
ed in an assessment in this state with
out a basis, the whole system being
hit and miss, with no definite stand
ard anywhere.