| Show THE NEGRO LOSING GROUND An interesting census bulletin just issued Is that which is devoted to the showing of the white and colored population of the south seventeen states and the District of Columbia being included in the district The total population embraced in the count is 3875259 of which 10868205 are white 6976106 colored and 10883 Chinese Japanese and Indians Fifteensixteenths of the entire colored populstion of the United States are in these states so that for the purpose of ascertaining the percentage > percent-age of increase tho returns ot the group of states are adequate It has generally been supposed that the blacks were increasing much faster than the whites and politicians and sociologists have talked and written gloomily of the time in the near future when the whites would be the inferior raco numerically in the south and would finally be compelled to leave inasmuch as they could not submit to the rule of the blacks The census figures do not confirm this popular opinion on the contrary they show that the whites are increasing faster than the negroes There was an imperfect enumeration enumer-ation in 1870 a considerable percentage of the blacks escaping the enumerators Tho census of 1880 was more thorough as to the I negroes who therefore showed such an astonishing as-tonishing increase as to alarm the white peoplo whose increase had been normal Assuming that the count last year was as faithful regarding one race as the other the whites have reason to congratulate themselves that they are not likely to be outnumbered out-numbered by the colored people In 1880 the colored people in the District of Columbia Colum-bia and the seventeen states numbered 6142360 and in 1810 they had increased to only 6996166 the increase being at the rate of 1390 per cent On the other hand tho white population in these states increased in-creased from 13530408 in 1SSO to 16863205 or at the rate of 2467 per cent the increase in-crease being nearly twice as rapid as that of the blacks x The situation may be illustrated in another an-other way thus In1880 the proportion of whites to blacks was in tho relation of 100000 to 45397 while in 1890 it was as 100000 to 41475 In other words the colored col-ored race has not held its own against the whites notwithstanding the climate and conditions are of all those which the country coun-try affords the best suited to the development develop-ment of tho black race Tho bulletin presents a table showing the white and colored population at every census cen-sus year since 1790 when the number of colored to > J100000 white was 51358 Tho percentage of white increase was highest between 1870 and 1SSO when it amounted to 3789 and the lowest percentage of increase was during the war period decade from I860 to 1870 when it was only 1961 There has been an almost steady decline of the negro percentage of increase during the century The blacks increased faster than the whites only during three decades from 1800 to 1830 when the slave trade was at its height The highest percentage of increase of colored people during the past ten years was in South Carolina where it amounted to 6016 per ceut while tho white increase in that state was only 3982 per cent The white population of West Virginia Increased In-creased during the decade 9561 and the colored population but 439 per cent A brief study of these tables will coa vince one that there is little danger of black supremacy in the south notwithstanding the fears which some have expressed Tho negro power is steadily declining |
