Ages 0-4 5-9 10-19 20-29 30-49 50-69 70-
White -172 -9 -1 -9 -26 -48 -69
Coloured -109 2 26 62 22 57 -635

Here the mortality (per 10,000 Whites) has decreased slightly along the whole line; among the Blacks it has decreased at the ends, but has increased everywhere else—a result extremely significant. Similarly for Washington and Charleston. Once more, the statistics of hospitals, as the Johns Hopkins (Baltimore) and the Charity (New Orleans), show an average death rate of the Blacks nearly double that of the Whites, except in surgical cases. Here the general conditions are practically the same for both races, the duration of treatment averages the same, and the far greater mortality is virtually decisive for the far less vitality of the Negro race.

The very strongest corroboration of our contention is furnished by Surgeon-General O'Reilly in his recent report for the fiscal year, ending June 30, 1903. The death rates of White and Coloured soldiers were 144 and 241 per myriad, respectively, almost exactly in the ratio of three to five—a coloured excess of over 67 per cent. Here the life conditions were sensibly the same; the far higher vitality of the Caucasian appears in the boldest relief.

The question of increase, already discussed, is very intimately connected with the death rate, but equally so with the far less accurately known birth rate; in fact, the rate of growth in numbers is the difference of these two. Evidently, a very high death rate may consist with a rapid increase in numbers, if only the birth rate be high enough; on the other hand, even a high birth rate would bring about little increase, if the death rate should be inordinately high. No one seriously questions the great mortality among the Negroes; but their champions think and hope that this may be made good by extreme fertility. Let us see what this latter would have to be. Since the former is nearly 300 per myriad, in order to maintain the very low rate of growth of 100 per myriad, the latter would have to reach 400. Is this rate a fact? And, if so, is it likely to continue to be a fact? We shall summon all the evidence accessible, both direct and indirect. While nothing like minute exactness is at present attainable, the general purport of the testimony can not, it seems, be mistaken.

The birth and death rates for certain European countries, for the last decade, are as follows (per myriad):

England and W.ScotlandIrelandDenmarkNorwaySweden
Births301307230303304272
Deaths184188181177165164
Increase11711949126139108
AustriaHungaryGer. Emp.PrussiaNetherl'd.Belgium
Births372405362368327289
Deaths271303225221186192
Increase10110213714714197
FranceItalySwitzerland
Births222355277
Deaths216246190
Increase610987

In Eastern Europe, says Rubin, the birth rate varied from 450 to 470 for a century (1800 to 1900); but in Western Europe, since 1870, it fell from 342 to 313 (1900).

The determination of this rate in the United States cannot be made with certainty or confidence, owing to the imperfection of the data. Our census reports yield such results as these for the last decade, for the whole United States, according to the analyses of the census:

Average annual excess of births per myriad, 177; average annual number of deaths per myriad, 174; hence, average annual number of births per myriad, 351.

On this result we may perhaps rely so far as to say that the rate lies somewhere between 330 and 370.