Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1920-06-04
CENSUS FIGURES SHOW
ST. JUMP IN j. s. GROWTH
Indicate Final Population Total
Will be 100000 Less Than
Was Expected.
From The New York Evening Post.

the suspicion that the percentage Of our
national increase has considerably di-
m.ushed.
Have VIC dropped from II per cent
increase in total population from 1900 to
1910 TO bare Is per cent from 1910
e. lo203
from day to day for several weeks an
nounccmcnts OF the ''rough" or prelimi-
nary hand count of the number OF in
hahitautS IN random cities and towns
scattered all over the land have been
gwen out to the newspapers. These an
nouncements OF course possess much local
interest, but early publicity is of import
anc.' To the bureau III developing criticism
81 the accuracy OF the enumeration before
the tahulation proceeds further,
Already the customary protests are
accommodating IN Washington, since of
course it is considered the bureau s
fault il the absolute or percentage m
crease during the decade in number
of inhabitants Of 4 gwen city tails
short Of the rosy expectations OF It's
enthusiastic citizens. Great however.
Is the shock and Indignation If there
apprars "a slowing down IN increase,
or. worse still. an actual decrease IN
population
Manchester. Y II. for example, has
boon claiming 10000 population, and
points 70 new Industries and enlarged
old ones. but the ruthless census cn'im-
orator allows the city $50 the rough
court reports but IS 200. an increase OF
but l16 per cent compared with ~
during the previous decade. Manchester
j. crowded industrial centre, extremely
prosperous and greatly concerned over
housing what was supposed To be record
t,,ha fsTfan4e Nam
rhrstrr's chagrin is equallcd IN many
other cities and leads to more critical
examination Of the rough count an
nounccmcnts Of the Census Bureau. Is
the slowing down general and. i SO,
What is the causc2
RtTURNss SEEM REPRESENTATIVE.
Priar "a Nav / the bureau anro need
the population Of 676 cities and towns
ln 1920 for which comparable population
figure. We're available for 1910. From
Max 90 Mav II it gave out the popuia-
tIon &c 261 additional communities, an
aggregate OF Q37 Inspection Of these rough
count returns proves exceedingly inter
cstnr. Considering only the group Of an
ununccmcuts for Col cities and towns
issued between MAY and May II (slncc
the earlier announcements show the same
characteristics. it appears that these
communities varied IN size from hamlcts
of a few hundred Inhabitants tbut \
scant dozen to cities like Hartford
bridgeport. Seattle AMI Newark. lhlrty-
eight States were represented including
Maine, Texas, California ami we'll scat
tered intermediate commemorative. he
group seems singularly random and repre-
sentative.
The first impression conveyed by
r. ~ Ear 1000
in comparison with the 1910 popula-
ton is the remarkable persistence OF
declines in percentage Of increase. his,
Of course, might not indicate any decline
IN absolute increase. since the city which
increased It's inhabitants hy the same
number of persons from 1910 to 1920
as during the previous decade Of course
would show . decreased percentage ct
increase. The diminished increases,
however. arc 81 numerous and pronounced
as To arrest attention Out OF 2bl COM
munities, l6l show decreased percentage
a. increase in 1920, 80 that with few
exceptions, the Industrial cltioS and towns
represented seem 10 reflect . distinct
slowing down in growth.
All Of which is very surprising II
has been he common belief that the
unsettled war period. this era Of high
wages ana GAglttAilIittF AtftA Att SOS
numbers from the countryside and small
towns to the Industrial cities, which
20 the legend runs had grown beyond
precedent IN consequence. Il must be 50.
because the cities cannot house their
increasing numbers and the farmers cam
moi plant and harvest because 81 decreased
farm labor.
But CITY GRowTHs ARE DIMINISHED.
IL i, Il s-tlrN
ing Of ono city and town after another
IN agficultural and industrial States. In
the 26I group out Of 20 communities
announced tor Illinois, Is show dlnln-
iShed increase: Michigan, Is out OF %
PENNSYLVANIA 20 ont OF 40; New Jersey,
10 out OF IL California out OF Z; Georgia,
out Of 10. and similarly through the Inst.
Ii should be emphasized, without
furt hor delay, that these indications
may change radically IS additional
announcement appear-and the slow
ing down may give way 10 qulckening
but the communities referred TO are
decidedly representative. The presump-
ton is so strong, indeed. that they indl-
cate real 1920 condition that the IN
ouirv becomes definitely worth while
II the men and women have left the
farm to crowd into cities and towns,
naturally such stimulus shOulu nave
forced the urban population ahead 10
record breaking figures. Certainly the
bows and girls have left the country more
generally than ever before Yet the cities
actually show decreased increase.
What is the answer
With no more light than at present
l. available, there Is but ono answer.
The foreign born and some Of their
children have left the nIted States
both during the war and since the war
an numbers 50 great rs III large measure
To Offset the rural accessions. The
extent of this hegira has not been fully
realized. If this explanation is correct,
II makes clear also the reason for the
shortage Of labor which IS so acute IN all
activities and IN nearly all localities.
But what OF the nation?
IF the rural districts have been con-
tributing unduly 10 the cities and the
cities are showing reduced net increase,
what will the Federal census show our
national population to be IN 1920?
Is NATIONS GROWTH RETARDED?
The rough count Of Inhabitants from
the 26I cities and towns shows the
following aggregate population:
1900 ......,3 $40 1913
1910 A. 65S, 5S4
1920 ... 1875, 1877
These communities represent about
one-twentieth of the total population
of the United States. They increased
80 A per cent from 1900 to 1910 and
s6.l per cent from 1910 to 1920. This,
bovraxsar K mot a sufficiently sIlbStan-