The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-05-19
GROWTH OF VERMONT CITIES AND
TOWNS.

!
The Barre Times discusses the census
| bureaus estimates of population in Yer
mont, which, curiously, do not include
| Brattleboro In the list of large towns.
| The figures for the so-called five largest
cities and towns are as follows: Burling-
ton q BAT, Rutland l4,4l7, Barre Il,706,
! Bennington $3.50, St. Johnsbury 1851.
We imagine that all Of these figures are
| too small. The Times speaks of the
piping town of Brattleboro," and thinks
| it would not be surprising If it is num-
bered among the 5000" class. For the
benefit of our contemporary we will say
that no town in the state has forged
ahead as rapidly as Brattleboro in the
past four years and all the indications
on which population figures are based
tend to show that Brattleboro's popula-
tion at the present time is between 1900
and 10000. We believe our home town
ranks fourth among the large communi-
ties of Vermont to-day, and in banking
business, postotfice receipts, etc, which
are something of an index to a towns
business, it is ahead of Barre, Benning-
ton and st. Johnsbury.-B Re-
former.
There is no doubt whatever that Brat
tleboro has been making considerable ad-
vance in population during recent years
and we are inclined to think that the
town is well along with st. Johnsbury
and Bennington at the present time.
However, there always is a tendency for
local estimators to set the figures too
high because, perhaps, of excess of en-
thusiasm, with the result that when the
actual count of noses is made the figures
are disappointing. Such enthusiasm, for
instance, seems to cause the Rutland
News to go contrariwise to the estimates
of the census bureau and to assert with
finality that Rutland "now leads and has
led for several years past, all other Yer
mont towns in the matter OF growth"
when, as matter of careful calculation
the census bureau gives Barre the great
est growth of the cities and large towns
in the period from the time of the last
census in 1910 to the present time. The
calculations in the census bureau give
the annual growth of Barre as 23l peo-
pie, as previously stated in this paper,
while the same calculations give Rutland
a growth of POT annually. There is not
much difference, to be sure, but inasmuch
as Rutland's population was somewhat
in excess of Barre's in 1910, mathemati-
cal computation would give Barre a per-
centage of growth somewhat more
marked than the actual figures would
indicate. We trust that the esteemed
contemporary is prepared TO give other
communities in Vermont a certain degree
of credit for progressiveism. while at
the same time it is exuberant over the
growth of its own community.
For our part, we are pleased that Rut-
land is doing so well as the estimate of
the census bureau shows; also that Brat
tleboro is feeling quite "big" over its
size. The positions taken by both the
contemporaries mentioned reveal that a
new spirit has come with the renewed
impetus to growth and that the number
of growing towns is increasing in such a
manner as to counterfeit the decline or
stagnation of many other communities.
Every bit is going TO help boost Yer
mont's figures of actual population in
1920, thing much to be desired.