Evening star., 1934-10-14

NOOAAbAAANA AOAAl AADk o6CsJ
never had dropped below 80 per cent.
In the year 1870 the rate had dropped
to 26.6.
AS every school child who has
studied history knows, the United
States has had tremendous growth
since 1910, when only 210 souls could
be counted in all the vast land. In
the first year the increase was 1000
per cent, or jump to 2,499 persons.
He Knows His Population.
DR.. Leon Truesdell, chief Of the
Bureau of Population Census, makes
no attempt to go behind the cold
facts as presented in his charts and
graphs. His work is counting Of peo-
pie and he takes his work seriously.
He can tell you, for instance, what
the average family is like in New
York or in Hoot Owl Hollow, Va.
He can tell you. approximately, how
many cows are owned by the average
family in Iowa and how many acres
Of corn are grown by the average
family in Illinois.
Dr. Truesdell will not discuss the
possibility Of new era of civiliZa-
tion-that is, for publication. He is
friendly little man with a hair
trigger brain. Facts and figures deal
ing with the future Of great Nation
roll as confidently of his tongue as
water over falls. 1t is not a picture
of rosy hues as painted by this modest,
unobtrusive little man with gray hair,
dark blue eyes behind highly polished
glasses on a rather aristocratic nose,
and high, prominent brow. His
answers flow methodically and with
practiced efficiency. He asks no time
out for thinking. All the picture is
etched in his mind, a mighty well of
statistical data, dry, perhaps, as writ
ten out by hundreds Of clerks, but liv-
ing, active, In the future progress and
prosperity Of nation.
Is America on the verge Of another
change in the cycle of civilization?
After the Age Of Science, what next?
Will America enter into an age of
greater scientific achievements by
mastering the cosmic ray, atomic
power, and even harnessing the suns
rays for industrial utilization?
Plenty Of Room.
Or, when the cycle changes, will
America begin a decline, leaning
toward the bottom of the wheel from
whence it came
These questions and many others
are prompted by the fact that we, as
a people, are to reach a saturation
point within 10 years.
Historians tell us that most wars are
started by this unhealthy condition
Of nations, but it always has been
through crowding of borders. Nations
have been forced to look for stretch
ing room. The United States will
never reach that state of affairs, DR..
Truesdell says. We have an ahund-
ance Of room. Our problem is to
be a lack Of population rather than
an excess. Will this condition bring
about greater war spirit in the minds
Of those nations who are overcrowded?
International relations are now none
too amicable with many of our neigh
bors because of our restrictive immi-
grafton quotas. Japan, for instance,
would like to have thousands Of her
sons and daughters tilling the rich
soils of the Pacific Coast. Uncle Sam
has shut the door in the face of Japan
so far as immigration Is concerned.
Government PowerIess.
What can be done to prevent this
decrease in population?
Nothing, under the present set-up
Of our Government.
Mussolini of Italy and Hitler Of Ger
many are using the mailed fist of die
tatorship to increase the populations
of their country. But would the Amer
ican people ever stand for the Govern
ment telling them when they should
have children? sAmerican principles
are diametrically opposed to any form
of dictatorship, even economically, but
even the most rabid radical never has
had the unmitigated gall to attempt
to interfere in any way with the do
mestic life of the people.
The Government is at present sit
ting in the saddle with an apparent
firm seat and tight grip on the
reins, telling industry and commerce
and capital what can and cannot be
done. This has been borne in rea-