80 Henry Gannett — Movements of our Poj^ulation. 



* 

 population of the country is confined almost entirely to the 

 Northern states, especially those on the Atlantic border. Indeed, 

 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and 

 New Jersey the urban element is in the majority, and in Rhode 

 Island more than three-fourths of the people live in its cities, 

 while, on the other hand, the proportion in North Carolina, Mis- 

 sissijDpi and Arkansas is but trifling, being less than 5 per cent 

 in each case. 



Now, if the urban element be subtracted from the total popu- 

 lation there is left what may be broadly characterized as the 

 rural element. Plate 6 shows by the total length of the bars 

 the population of the United States at each census, the shaded 

 portion of each bar representing the urban population at each 

 date, while the unshaded portion remaining represents the 

 rural population. This element, which in the early decades in- 

 creased nearly as rapidly as the total population, has in later 

 years increased much more slowly. Indeed, during the past ten 

 years its rate of increase was not much more than half that of 

 the total population ; while in several states there has been an 

 absolute loss of rural population during the past decade, and in 

 many others the gain has been much less than the average gain 

 of the country. 



The increase of urban population has been more rapid during 

 the past decade than at any previous time in the country's 

 history, having in ten years increased from 221 jDcr cent up to 

 29 per cent. This great increase has in the main taken the 

 form of additions to our larger cities, most of which have grown 

 enormously. 



The numerical increase in our urban population in the past 

 decade is 6,900,000, of which fully 3,000,000 consists of addi- 

 tions to the 28 cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants. Chicago's 

 half million in 1880 has become more than a million in 1890. 

 St. Paul, Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City and Denver have 

 doubled or tripled their population. Our greatest city. New 

 York, has apparently enjoyed a comparatively slow growth ; but 

 this is only apparent. New York's charter limits include less 

 than one-half of the people whose business and social interests 

 lie in that metropolis. The great majority of the people- who 

 sleep within an hour's ride of New York's city hall are to all in- 

 tents and purposes, except in name, citizens of New York ; but, 

 having their residence without its charter limits, they cannot be 

 enumerated as its citizens. A close estimate of the people thus 



