Democratic Sentinel, Volume 13, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 May 1889 — The American People Forty Years from Now. [ARTICLE]

The American People Forty Years from Now.

Details of the census returns of 1880 are of interest. In round numbers, of the 50,000,000 people then in the country, 43,500,000 were natives and 6,500,000 were of foreign birth. But of the native born a very large proportion bad foreign parents from whose alien habits, language and affinities no great number had been emancipated. The white population in 1880 was -13,400,000 and the colored population, with the Chinese and Indians, was 6,(500,000. There were more males than females, the former numbering 25,518,820 and the latter 24,63(5,063. Dissimilarity of tastes, a failure of the right pair to meet and accidental causes account for the number of unmarried females. If all the men would take wives, as they ought to do, there would be left no woman without her lawful mate. These statistics jiossess a wonderful interest for what they disclose as to the future. If the rate of iucrease in population shall l>6 25 per cent, for the decade, instead of over 30 per cent., the United States a generation hence will surpass all civilized nations in the number of inhabitants. For the sake of convenience in computation, the population in 1800 may be taken at 64,000,000, and tno rate of increase 2| per cent, per annum or 25 per cent, in ten years. Tlie tables of population for the four succeeding enumerations will then stand as follows: Years. Increase. Population. 1890 64,000,000 1900 16,000,000 80,000,000 1910 20,000,000 100,000,000 1920 25,090,000 125,000,000 1930 31,259,000 150,250,000 Men now in middle age, or approaching middle age, will see that period. The boys of to-day will not then have become old men. Yet here, counting a period far within the limits of a human lifetime for those now engaged in active business persuits and in the toil of the day, will be a population equaled only by that of the Asiatic pagan races that swarm over a continent. The population of the greatest national subdivisions of the globe now is as follows: China, estimated 362,500,000 British India, estimated in part 252,500,000 Russia, including Siberia 104,000,000 United States, in 1880 50,000,000 United States, in 1890 64,000,000 Germany, in 1885 47,000,000 France, in 1886 38,200,000 Japan, in 1885 37,870,000 Austria-Hungary, in 1880 37,740,000 Great Britain, in 1884 35,250,000 Italy, in 1886 30,000,000 Turkey, estimated 25,000,000