The Dawson News

THE DAWSON NEWS

THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES ADVANCE LAST YEAR IS LESS THAN THE AVERAGE FOR THE LAST FIVE.

Although the population of the United States is now at the high water mark of 114,311,000 people the advance over last year was less than the average for the last five years, according to the estimates of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the opinion is that the once rapid advance has now definitely slowed up.

That the regular increase in the population has not been due to immigration, but to the excess of births over deaths, is shown by figures covering the last sixteen years. In that period there were over 41,000,000 births and about 22,000,000 deaths, or an excess of 19,000,000 births. About 5,500,000 were added by immigration.

Both the birth and the death rates in the United States are falling, but the death rate is falling faster. Ten years ago the birth rate was 26.2 for each thousand persons, while today it is 23.3, a decrease of 11 per cent. At the same time the death rate has decreased from 13.4 per thousand to 11.7, a decrease of about 13 per cent.

In 1924 2,645,000 babies were born and 1,333,000 persons died, or one death was compensated by two births.

If the number of births and deaths remains stationary in 1925, as is very likely, ten babies will be born every two minutes and five persons will die in the same time.

Further studies by the bureau showed that employment has again shrunk to the pre-war level, and that there are now thirty-eight persons out of every 100 who earn a salary or wages. But children, women and others not working for money are almost as numerous as this class. Employers and men and women in business for themselves make up only 8½ per cent of the population, and the actual number is now less than it was in 1915. It is held that the growth of large corporations has kept down the number of independent business men.