BRITTLE PAPES - 
 HANDLE WITH CARE 
 
 A SOCIOLOGICAL 
 
 STUDY 
 
 OF 
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO 
 
 SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR 
 
 THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, IN 
 
 THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, 
 
 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWIN SMITH TODD 
 
 
 1904
 
 

 
 A SOCIOLOGICAL 
 
 STUDY 
 
 OF 
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO 
 
 SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR 
 
 THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, IN 
 
 THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, 
 
 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWIN SMITH TODD 
 
 1904
 
 SPRIHCFIELD PUBLISHING CO., 
 PRINTERS. SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART I. 
 The History of Clark County. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PREFACE 4 
 
 CHAPTER I. Physical Features 5 
 
 CHAPTER II. History Proper 
 
 1. Aboriginal Inhabitants 9 
 
 2. Present Inhabitants . 10 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Existing Elements, Organization and Conditions. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER I. Social Population 
 
 1. Artificial Features of the County 20 
 
 2. Artificial Features of the City 24 
 
 3. Social Composition 27 
 
 (a.) General Population 27 
 
 (b.) Age Classes 31 
 
 (c.) Population by Sex 32 
 
 (d.) Native and Foreign Born 33 
 
 Native and Foreign Born by Sex 34 
 
 Native White of Native Parents 35 
 
 Native White of Foreign Parents 36 
 
 Population and Place of Birth. 37 
 
 Birthplace of Foreign Born 38 
 
 Foreign Parentage 39 
 
 (e.) Population by color 41 
 
 Population by Color and Sex 43
 
 PAGE 
 
 4. Growth of Population by Genetic Aggregation .... 47 
 
 (a.) General 47 
 
 (b.) Birth Rate by Sex 5 
 
 (c.) Birth Rate by Color 5 
 
 (d.) Death Rates 53 
 
 (e.) Deaths by Age Classes 55 
 
 (f. ) Comparison of Birth and Death Rates 57 
 
 CHAPTER II. The Social Mind 
 
 1. The County 60 
 
 2. The City 65 
 
 CHAPTER III. Social Organization 
 
 1. The County 7 2 
 
 (a.) Marriages and Conjugal Condition 7 2 
 
 Divorce 74 
 
 (b.) Dwellings 76 
 
 (c.) Population by Occupation Groups 77 
 
 (d.) Males of Militia Age 78 
 
 (e.) Voting Population 78 
 
 2. Springfield 79 
 
 3. Private Associations 82 
 
 (a.) Cultural Associations 82 
 
 Religious Associations 83 
 
 (b.) Economic Associations 87 
 
 Labor Unions 88 
 
 (c.) Associations with a Moral Purpose 90 
 
 (d.) Political Associations 91 
 
 CHAPTER IV. The Social Welfare 
 
 1. Economic 94 
 
 2. Cultural 100 
 
 (a.) Illiteracy 104 
 
 3. Vitality Classes 104 
 
 4. Defective Classes 105 
 
 5. Morality and Sociality Classes 106 
 
 6. The Desocialized 109 
 
 7. Conclusion m
 
 PRE FAC E 
 
 The materials for the preparation of this study are few in 
 number and fragmentary. 
 
 For the subject matter of Part I, the writer has used the 
 following sources : "A Sketch of the City of Springfield," by the 
 town librarian, R. C. Woodward. It was published about thirty 
 years ago and is very short and fragmentary. "A History of 
 Clark County" ( 1880). This volume consists chiefly of biograph- 
 ical sketches. "The Centennial of Springfield," 1901. This vol- 
 ume, edited by Prof. B. F. Prince, is made up of reports and papers 
 given on the occasion of the celebration of the centenary of the 
 founding of Springfield. The chief sources of information have 
 been the files of the local newspapers dating back to 1820, and 
 personal interviews with leading citizens. 
 
 The material for Part II has been obtained from personal 
 observations, city and county records, and United States Census 
 Reports. 
 
 This particular county has been chosen as a subject for study 
 not only for its sake alone, but also because it is typical of the 
 whole Miami Valley ; and whatever may be said of existing physi- 
 cal and social conditions in Clark County may be as well applied 
 to the whole of the region drained by the Great and Little Miami 
 Rivers.
 
 PART I. HISTORY 
 
 CHAPTER 1. PHYSICAL FEATURES 
 
 The Miami Valley is situated in the southwestern part of 
 Ohio, and is formed "by the courses of the Great and Little Miami 
 Rivers ; the one to the west of the valley emptying into the Ohio 
 near the Indiana boundary line ; the other flowing into the Ohio at 
 Cincinnati. The valley includes the present cities of Cincinnati, 
 Hamilton, Dayton, Xenia, Springfield, Troy, Urbana and Belle- 
 fontaine. Clark County is situated in the northwestern portion of 
 this, one of the richest agricultural regions in the world. 
 
 The county is situated in latitude 39 deg., 50 min., N., and 
 longitude 6 deg. 45 min., W. (of Washington). The county is 
 twenty-nine miles long, east and west, and seventeen miles wide, 
 north and south, and contains 412 square miles. The northern 
 and western boundary lines are straight and regular, coinciding 
 with township and section lines ; the eastern boundary is a straight 
 line bearing several degrees east of north ; the southern boundary 
 is broken and irregular. 
 
 The geological history of Ohio reaches back to the lower 
 Silurian age. The western portion of the county is formed by 
 the blue limestone of the Cincinnati group. A very narrow strip 
 of Clinton rock separates the Cincinnati group from the Niagara 
 group, which occupies the greater part of the county. The 
 Niagara group belongs to the upper Silurian system and consists 
 mainly of limestone. This group is rich in fossiliferous remains. 
 
 The stone found in the region is called "Springfield Stone," 
 and is a rich magnesian-carbonate, containing approximately fifty 
 per cent, of carbonate of lime and forty per cent, of carbonate of 
 magnesia. The prevailing color is light drab; the drab stone is 
 almost all durable building stone. The Springfield lime is the 
 standard of excellence as a finishing lime in the Cincinnati market, 
 and finds its way as far as New Orleans. There are extensive 
 quarries and limekilns about Springfield. 
 
 For the most part the rocky floor of the county is covered 
 with deposits of drift often seventy-five to one hundred feet in 
 depth. The present surface of the county is quite irregular ; the
 
 6 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 highest land is in the eastern portion, and is from 1,025 to 1,050 
 feet above tide water; the lowest land is in the southwestern 
 portion, about 360 feet above tide water. 
 
 The great valleys of the rivers and creeks of the county are 
 evidences of once great streams. Almost all of the streams have 
 springs in the drift deposits ; they flow for awhile (many of them 
 through their whole extent) in the broad and shallow valleys 
 they have wrought in the surface accumulations of clay and gravel. 
 
 The present topography of the region is due to the erosive 
 agencies of these streams, some portions being worn and chiseled 
 to a great degree. The chief streams are Mad River, Donnels, 
 and Honey Creeks ; and the north and east branches of the little 
 Miami, the two forks uniting near the south central border of the 
 county to form the main stream. 
 
 Mad River enters the county near the center of the northern 
 boundary line, flows in a southwesterly direction and leaves the 
 county near the southwest corner. The borders of the upper 
 course of the stream are rendered swampy by accumulations of 
 vegetable matter. To this fact is due the permanence of the 
 stream. Near Springfield and to the southwest, the stream flows 
 through cliff limestone varying in height from forty to fifty feet ; 
 the present river, however, occupies only a very small portion of 
 the intervals between the cliffs for its channel, but uses most of it 
 for a flood plain in its higher stages. The stream varies in depth 
 from four to twenty feet. The permanence of the stream, together 
 with its rapid fall, renders it the most valuable mill stream in the 
 western part of the state. The tributaries of Mad River form a 
 network of streams over the greater part of the county. Two 
 of them, Donnels and Lagonda (Buck) Creeks, have also wrought 
 out picturesque valleys in the cliff limestone, the most pleasing 
 portion of which forms the entrance to Springfield's beautiful 
 Ferncliff Cemetery. 
 
 The branches of the Little Miami flow southward through the 
 eastern part of the county. With the exception of Mad River, 
 the streams of the county are at present uncertain in depth and 
 volume, on account of the cutting away of forest areas and espe- 
 cially to the great amount of artificial drainage. The streams 
 were formerly of much greater volume and were utilized for mill
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. " 
 
 purposes; but while the streams are small, the valleys are broad, 
 often being a mile and a half in breadth. 
 
 The drift formation is by far the most important geological 
 division of tHe county. The drift furnishes all of the various soils. 
 As a result of the first glacial epoch the floor of the county was 
 covered with a tough blue clay, which was finally converted into 
 soil. In the following epoch of subsidence, the materials of the 
 surface were assorted into beds of sand, clay, and gravel ; these 
 beds of clay, sand, and gravel form the most important soils of 
 the county ; the yellow clay is due to oxidation, and the sand and 
 gravel to the weathering of the clays. Some of the clay (Spring- 
 field clay) furnishes excellent material for bricks and tile. The 
 knolls and ridges are largely made up of sand and gravel ; while 
 the river valleys are made up of silt deposits and recent vegetable 
 accumulations, forming one of the richest agricultural regions in 
 the world. 
 
 As Prof. Orton says, "The soil of the county is a mine from 
 which vast stores of wealth have already been taken ; but in many 
 cases the soil has been so impoverished by the old-fashioned, un- 
 scientific farming that nature's yield is not so great as formerly ; 
 and there is a growing need of the enrichment of the soil by proper 
 fertilizers." In his study of the geology of the county in 1870, 
 Prof. Orton warned the people of the county of the need of en- 
 riching the soil, and pointed out the value of the waste material 
 from the limekilns, which were used only for road making. Even 
 now advantage is not taken of this material near at hand for the 
 enrichment of the soil. 
 
 The region was formerly covered with forests of beech, ma- 
 ple, oak, hickory, poplar, walnut, ash, elm, sycamore and buckeye. 
 According to the state statistics some ten thousand acres of forest 
 have been cut away during the last thirty years ; at present there 
 are about twenty-one thousand acres of woodland, or about eight 
 per cent, of the total area of the county. Probably not more than 
 twenty-five hundred acres are "waste" land, or less than one per 
 cent, of the total area of the county. 
 
 All grains are grown in abundance, but the rich valleys are 
 especially adapted to wheat and corn. The climate is like that of 
 all southern Ohio, exceedingly variable, and subject to frequent 
 and often severe changes.
 
 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 The mean annual temperature is about 55 deg., the extremes 
 varying from 20 deg. below to 96 deg. above zero, F. The annual 
 rainfall seems to be more variable than formerly, and is about 40 
 inches ; although the mean annual rainfall for the last six years has 
 only averaged 32 inches. 
 
 A region with such physical conditions of soil and climate 
 must produce a marked effect upon the health and habits of a 
 people who live under its influence, and such an environment has 
 undoubtedly influenced the physical and mental characteristics of 
 the people of the Miami Valley.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 
 
 CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL 
 
 Section 1. Aboriginal Inhabitants 
 
 Such a region as the Miami Valley, rich in forests filled with 
 bear, deer and other wild animals, and with streams abounding 
 in fish, must have attracted the attention of men from the earliest 
 times. The valley was the haunt of the mastodon and other 
 great animals of the glacial epoch, as is evidenced by the fre- 
 quent discoveries of their remains. Some have asserted that the 
 region was the residence of paleolithic man, but this is not as yet 
 an established fact. 
 
 Two explorations have been made during the past few years 
 by Professor Andrews of the Peabody Museum, and by Dr. 
 Thomas Wilson, of the Smithsonian Institute. Dr. Wilson sug- 
 gests further explorations before we affirm or deny the existence 
 of paleolithic man in this valley. He is of the opinion at present 
 that the immediate predecessors of the Indians were the only oc- 
 cupants of the territory in past times. 
 
 The Little Miami Valley is famous for the number of mounds, 
 formerly attributed to the workmanship of the "Mound Builders," 
 but now thought to be of Indian origin. The most famous of 
 these mounds is "Fort Ancient," about forty miles south of Spring- 
 field; Clark County contains forty-one such mounds. According 
 to late authorities, twenty-six of these are earth mounds, two are 
 village sites, eight are "Glacial Kame Burial Mounds," two are 
 religious works, two are circles, and one is a group stone grave. 
 
 According to one authority, with the exception of pieces of 
 pottery, carved shells, etc., there is no care evinced in the prepara- 
 tion of the graves, no evidence of ceremonies enacted, such as we 
 conclude were carried out when the mounds were constructed. 
 A simple excavation was made in the knoll and the bodies were 
 deposited therein, apparently without any wrapping. ("Ohio 
 Arch, and His. Soc. Proceedings, 1897.") 
 
 Two great families of Indians were represented in the valley. 
 The Algonquins, forming the chief portion of the population, 
 were represented by the Miamis and Shawnees, with a few
 
 iO A SOCIOLOGICAL STOt>Y OF 
 
 Delawarcs and Ottawas; the Iroquois stock was represented by 
 Wyandots and Mingoes. The Mad River Valley was the favorite 
 hunting ground of the Miamis and Shawnees. The latter are 
 described by a Smithsonian official as the "Beduins, almost the 
 Ishmaelites, of the North American Indians." The site of the 
 present Ferncliff cemetery in Springfield is said to have been a 
 sort of great botanical garden and medicinal laboratory for the 
 Indians. This tradition is based on the fact that such a remark- 
 able number of families and species of medicinal plants are rep- 
 resented in a place which could not have been the native habitat of 
 all. The "Ough Ohonda"' (Buck's Horn), or Lagonda tribe of 
 Indians, occupied the region about the cemetery as a favorite place 
 for hunting and fishing. Remnants of these tribes were found in 
 the county as late as 1830. 
 
 Qark County claims the honor of having been the birthplace 
 of the celebrated warrior Tecumseh, who belonged to the 
 totem of the Miraculous Panther (Ohio His. Soc. VII: 80). 
 Almost within sight of the city, General George Rogers Clark, 
 from whom the county takes its name, defeated Tecumseh and his 
 warriors at the battle of Piqua in 1781. From this battlefield 
 the Indians retreated northward along the base of the cliffs border- 
 ing on Mad River, finally entering Aberfelda ravine, and escaping 
 thence up the heights and to the northwest. 
 
 Section 2. Present Inhabitants 
 
 The riches of forest and stream in the Miami country early 
 attracted the attention of the white man. Tradition has it that 
 there was a French trading post near the old Indian- village of 
 Piqua, early in the eighteenth century. 
 
 Christopher Gist, an agent of the English and Virginia Land 
 Companies, passed among the Miamis in the county in 1751 and 
 there is a tradition that he gave Mad River its name. An old 
 hunter by the name of James Smith, of Kentucky, told Griffith 
 Foos, in 1810, that he had hunted buffalo and elk in the Mad 
 River country fifty years before. 
 
 In 1778 Simon Kenton was engaged in the business of steal- 
 ing horses from the Indians and was caught and taken to the 
 Indian village of Piqua and there condemned to death, but he was 
 spirited away from the Indians through the efforts of the notorious
 
 CLARK COUNTY, QHIO. 11 
 
 Simon Girty. In 1795 two men, Lowery and . Donnels, came 
 from Pennsylvania and engaged in packing provisions for the 
 army of General Wayne, and later were employed on a surveying 
 trip for the Federal Government. So pleased were they with the 
 Mad River Valley that they bought large tracts of land there. 
 
 In 1799 Simon Kenton led a small party from Kentucky 
 to the immediate vicinity of what is now Springfield and built a 
 fort and fourteen cabins. This settlement was soon abandoned 
 in favor of the better situation of Springfield. The founder of 
 the city proper was James Demint, who came in 1799, and in 
 1 80 1 persuaded a prominent surveyor from Cincinnati to lay off 
 a plat for the new town. The most prominent early arrival was 
 Griffith Foos, who came on a visit in 1801, and was persuaded to 
 remain. Mr. Foos is the founder of one of the city's most honored 
 families, and one that has helped to make Springfield famous as 
 a manufacturing center. Mr. Foos had a strong faith in the im- 
 mediate future of the village,, for he forthwith established a 
 tavern. 
 
 The many streams in the region, in the midst of broad and 
 fertile valleys, immediately suggested manufacturing as a means 
 of livelihood, and especially that sort of manufacturing directly 
 depending on agricultural pursuits. The first manufacturing es- 
 tablishment was a grist mill, celebrated in those days for its 
 great capacity five bushels of grain in twenty-four hours. The 
 town had a slow growth during these early years; in 1804 there 
 were only eleven houses, all built of rough hewn logs. The town 
 was without religious or educational influences of any kind until 
 1806, when a subscription school was established, and the Metho- 
 dist itinerant preacher made Springfield a portion of his circuit. 
 
 During the early period Tecumseh returned to Ohio and to 
 the Miami Valley, and in 1806 grave fears were had of an Indian 
 outbreak. A solemn council was held between the whites and the 
 Indians on a large hill just west of the present site of Springfield, 
 where Tarfee the Crane, chief of the Wyandots, and Tecumseh 
 were present. Tecumseh made an animated and fluent speech, 
 three hours in length, and after the speeches a treaty of peace was 
 arranged and ratified to the satisfaction of both parties. All fears 
 of the Indians now removed, the region began to feel the effects
 
 12 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 of the great westward movement toward Ohio and the Northwest 
 Territory. 
 
 The military reservations of the various states, which ceded 
 the Northwest Territory to the United States, were now being 
 opened up and claimed by settlers. There were two great streams 
 of immigration, the smaller one from New England and New 
 York, through the Mohawk valley and "Western Reserve;" the 
 other from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia by way of the 
 Susquehanna, Juniata, and the Ohio, or through the Potomac, 
 Cumberland, and Ohio valleys. The report of those who first 
 spied out the land soon attracted others, and the tiny stream of 
 immigration soon deepened into a mighty river. 
 
 Clark County is made up largely of the Symmes purchase of 
 1778 (it went back to the government in 1794). It also contains 
 a portion of the Virginia military district, and thus received far 
 more from the southern stream of immigration than from the 
 northerly or New England stream. This is shown by the fact 
 that the county as a unit of government is held to be of more im- 
 portance than the township, which is of more importance to the 
 New Englander. Whole neighborhoods from Virginia, Mary- 
 land and southwestern Pennsylvania came to the valley and took 
 up great tracts of land. The general route of travel seems to 
 have been from Pennsylvania or Maryland to Virginia and Ken- 
 tucky, and finally to Ohio. From a list of two hundred and fifty 
 names of heads of families compiled from the "Biographical His- 
 tory" of the county published in 1880, a table was drawn up 
 showing the native state of each of the chief pioneer settlers. 
 This table includes the majority of the earliest inhabitants of the 
 county and shows that more than half of the number (131) 
 came from Virginia, fifty-one from Pennsylvania and Maryland, 
 fourteen from New Jersey; and only one each from New York 
 and New England. The majority of the settlers from foreign 
 countries (twenty-one in all) came from England, with three 
 each from Ireland and Scotland, and four from Germany. In the 
 city of Springfield the proportions from each state are about 
 the same as for the county. 
 
 In the decade 1810-1820, Springfield assumed more of the 
 character of a manufacturing town, containing a large flour mill,
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 13 
 
 and a cotton mill. Until 1818 the county had been part of Greene 
 and Champaign Counties, but in that year the county was granted 
 a separate corporate existence, and Springfield became the county 
 seat. This was duly celebrated, by "burning tar barrels before 
 the village tavern and by drinking apple-toddy." 
 
 Although there were two church societies in the village in 
 1820, yet the morals of the village society were like those of every 
 other settlement in the West in those days. Every Saturday and 
 Sunday were holidays and the favorite sport was horse racing. 
 The tavern was the social center of the village; here the people 
 gathered to await the coming of the mail coach, or to gossip and 
 drink rum and whiskey. Sunday was spent chiefly in fishing, 
 hunting and visiting. The greatest event of those days was the 
 establishment of a county newspaper (in 1820) which has existed 
 under various names until the present day. The rural population 
 was permeated with men of a more austere religious type who 
 undoubtedly were a great force in molding the future of the 
 county's history. 
 
 Churches were few and far between, and means of communi- 
 cation few. Almost the only method of attending church, or 
 "going to town," was by horseback ; there were frequent occasions 
 for neighborhood gatherings at weddings, cabin raisings, quilt- 
 ings, funerals, log rollings, husking bees and harvests. 
 
 There was much more dependence on one another and more 
 co-operation probably than in later years. In those days Spring- 
 field was not a great market and many of the pioneers had to de- 
 pend on Cincinnati for staple supplies such as sugar and coffee. 
 As late as 1845 or 'S> tne farmers of a neighborhood would co- 
 operate in sending wagon teams to Cincinnati, eighty miles away, 
 under the leadership of one of their number, in order to obtain 
 needed commodities. No social barriers of any kind existed, if 
 one may except those of religion, and these extended no farther 
 than the church door ; religious ties did not prevent intermarriage 
 of members of different sects, nor prevent acts of neighborly co- 
 operation. 
 
 In 1827, the village of Springfield was incorporated as a town, 
 since it now possessed one thousand inhabitants. The Pioneer 
 in an issue of that year boasted that the town "now possesses 
 nearly one thousand inhabitants, a dozen or more small manu-
 
 14 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 factories, three taverns, four schools, two churches (Methodist 
 and Presbyterian) ; and finally, and best of all, a postoffice at 
 which twenty-four mails arrive weekly in elegant four-horse 
 coaches. One can now get the news from Washington only five 
 days behind time." This last was considered quite an advance 
 over former days when the mail came only once a week. Particu- 
 lar stress was laid by this paper on the coming of the mail coach, 
 for such occasions were almost gala days in the town. From that 
 time the progress of the county was rapid; there was a steady 
 increase in immigration. Many of the oldest- families of the 
 county came then. Springfield was favorably situated on the 
 route followed by immigrants. One road led from Cincinnati 
 through the town to the northwest; and another led from the 
 east to the west, intersecting the first at Springfield. The mails 
 from the east were transferred at Springfield to these other 
 routes to the north, south and southwest. 
 
 The population of the town now became somewhat more 
 heterogeneous, but the population of the townships was as yet al- 
 most entirely homogeneous. 
 
 The decade between 1830 and 1840 marks a distinct turning 
 point in the development of town and country. The cause of this 
 was the building of the old National Road. The building of this 
 road meant great things for Springfield. Heretofore it had two 
 strong rivals and competitors; one of them was Urbana (to the 
 north), at that time possessing a wide reputation, today a little 
 country town in the same dormant condition as are so many other 
 little towns in the Miami Valley; the other rival was to the 
 south Yellow Springs, famous then for the communistic experi- 
 ment made there by the disciples of Fourier, and by the great 
 work of Horace Mann in founding Antioch College. The con- 
 struction of the road enabled Springfield soon to outdistance these 
 places. The road was entirely completed as far as a point about 
 half a mile from the city's present western boundary, where the 
 construction on the part of the Federal Government ceased, except 
 for one or two bridges which were erected a few miles west of 
 the city. The National Road placed Springfield on the Nation's 
 great highway. A half dozen sleepy little villages in the county, 
 each containing very few more inhabitants than it then possessed, 
 still bear mute witness to the heyday of their youth when the
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. - 15 
 
 road was the chief highway of commerce and travel. In each 
 village may still be seen one or more old weatherbeaten structures, 
 neglected and often unused, generally of brick, sometimes of 
 
 frame, bearing in faded letters, "Hotel," "Tavern," or " 
 
 House." 
 
 Springfield was a natural stopping place for those persons 
 journeying from the southwest to Washington, or from the east 
 to the west, or southwest. The glories of the National Road 
 were enjoyed to the fullest extent by the citizens of the town. At 
 this point the mails for the Mississippi Valley left the "road" and 
 were distributed to various places. "Billy" Werden's hotel was 
 then the leading hostelry of the town, and in fact noted over all 
 western Ohio. The taverns were filled daily with great and small. 
 Traditions abound of the visits of Clay, Webster, "Old Tippe- 
 canoe," Jackson, Cass, and many others of the statesmen of those 
 early days. 
 
 Naturally many travelers stopped here permanently, attracted 
 by the fertility of the soil, or by the natural advantages for man- 
 ufacturing purposes. At this day one can scarcely realize the 
 vast amount of traffic on this great highway. A newspaper of 
 1836 date, for example, states that twelve hundred Conestoga 
 wagons, loaded with immigrants, passed through the town dur- 
 ing September and October of that year. 
 
 The newspapers of that period are a fair index of the pros- 
 perity of the time. The front pages were almost entirely given up 
 to advertisements, as many as fifty or sixty being on one page, 
 each with a crude illustration. Every merchant believed in adver- 
 tising, and the advertisements show the pushing, energetic char- 
 acter of the people. Even the undertaker's business was pushed. 
 One such "ad" set forth the merits of a certain undertaking estab- 
 lishment, illustrated by a picture of a grave under a willow tree, 
 and the following legend: "A convenient hearse always in readi- 
 ness. No pains spared to please customers." One interesting 
 feature of the social life of this period was "Muster-day," when 
 by state law each able-bodied man had to attend public drill. 
 These muster-days soon degenerated into occasions for a general 
 frolic and merry-making, and were discontinued during the early 
 forties.
 
 16 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 During the height of the prosperity of the National Road, 
 the town's population was almost doubled, its growth being nearly 
 four times greater than that of the county as a whole, and six 
 times greater than the rural population. 
 
 The year 1840 is noted in the county's annals for many 
 reasons. The West was the storm center of political excitement, 
 which became the occasion of immense assemblies of the people. 
 McMaster speaks of the great assembly in Dayton of over one 
 hundred thousand people ; and the truth of the assertion was veri- 
 fied to me by an old pioneer who was present at the meeting. 
 Springfield was a little storm center also, and the scene of monster 
 meetings. The same year also marks an era in the industrial 
 progress of the city. In that year, James Leffel (the inventor of 
 the water-wheel) set up tfie first foundry in the city, and the 
 Whitelys began the first of those inventions in reaping machinery 
 which have made their name famous the world over. 
 
 The glories of the National Road faded away during the 
 latter part of the forties through the coming of the railroads into 
 the region. The first one constructed was the Little Miami in 
 1842. During the decade the city had made more than twice 
 the rate of growth of the state at large, and in 1850 attained the 
 dignity of a city and was so incorporated in that year; during 
 the fifties nearly all those men whose names are now widely 
 known in the industrial world had begun to set up their small es- 
 tablishments, among them the most notable being those of Whitely, 
 Foos, Warder, Barnett, Rodgers, Mast, Leffel, and Thomas. 
 
 The city increased not only in population and in manufac- 
 turing, but also in education and religion. In 1845 tne Luther- 
 ans founded Wittenberg College, and in 1850 public free schools 
 were established in the city. The two churches in 1820 had 
 increased to sixty-three (in the county). The one Methodist 
 organization had increased to twenty-nine, and the one Presby- 
 terian to six. Aside from these the Christians or "New Lights," 
 the Catholics, the Congregationalists, the Baptists, Episcopalians, 
 Lutherans, and Universalists had organizations. One body of 
 Old Order Dunkards was established in the county, followed dur- 
 ing the decade by Dunkards and Mennonites. 
 
 The Civil War period found the city a flourishing manufac- 
 turing center situated in the midst of a rich agricultural com-
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 17 
 
 munity. At the first call for troops, the response was prompt 
 from county and city. Two companies responded within twenty- 
 four hours, and during the summer of 1861 one whole regiment 
 was formed in the county; during the whole war period many 
 more companies of other regiments were organized. General J. 
 Warren Keifer says that Clark County sent out approximately 
 two thousand two hundred and fifty men, or about one-tenth of 
 the total population. He further says, "At one time (1864) dur- 
 ing the Civil War, three-fourths of the men of the required age, 
 fit for duty, and above fifty per cent, of the voting population of 
 Clark County, were in the service of the United States." The 
 work of the women of the county was equal to the sacrifice of the 
 men. "A Soldiers' Aid Society" was formed in December, 1863. 
 The members were numbered by hundreds. They met in neigh- 
 borhood groups to sew for the families of soldiers who were off on 
 duty. Hundreds of articles were given by the Aid Society to the 
 Great Western Sanitary Fair at Cincinnati in December, 1863, 
 the value of which amounted to over $1,000. 
 
 The ladies of the Clark County Auxiliary to the Great West- 
 ern Sanitary Fair co-operated in collecting nearly $6,000 of the 
 $234,000 raised for the general fund, thereby winning the silken 
 banner awarded by the fair to the county making the largest do- 
 nation. "A room in a hotel was devoted to the work, where men 
 and women, young and old, chopped cabbage and packed pickles 
 and other food supplies in barrels and boxes and forwarded them 
 to the front." 
 
 Early in the war a Young Ladies' Sewing Society was 
 formed, which provided the soldiers with blankets and wearing 
 apparel. The President of the Aid Society says: "The work of 
 the women was arduous. The members of their families accepted 
 cold lunches at home, so that the women could render efficient 
 service in the aid rooms. Many women who could not be at 
 the aid rooms went to the homes of those who could go, and 
 cared for their children while the mothers were at the rooms at 
 work." In all portions of the county the work and sacrifice of 
 the women was the same. The work of the women during the 
 Civil War forms one of the most striking illustrations of unsel- 
 fish co-operation in our country's history; and it undoubtedly
 
 18 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 marks the beginning of the larger part taken by women in the 
 active social life of the country. 
 
 The Civil War period marks a change in the economic life 
 of the people, and also in the relative growth of the city and 
 rural districts. After the war the city assumed more and more 
 the character of a manufacturing center, and entered upon an 
 era of exceptionally great prosperity. While in the decade 1860- 
 1870 the state increased in population about fourteen per cent., 
 Springfield increased thirty per cent., Clark County thirty per 
 cent., and the rural population but seven per cent. This re- 
 markable growth of the city continued during the greater part of 
 the eighties. This "boom" was due to the fact that the city's 
 prosperity was bound up in one single establishment and one in- 
 dividual "The Reaper King" William N. Whitely. The 
 climax of this period of growth came in the early eighties just 
 succeeding the building of the great Whitely shops, the largest 
 establishment in the world for the manufacture of agricultural im- 
 plements. This prosperity was shown in various ways. The 
 town could now boast of a theater ; a public library was estab- 
 lished in 1872 ; a street car system was begun in 1870. if one could 
 call by the term "system" a car line a few blocks in length on a 
 single street, and operated by mule power; however, this line 
 has gradually extended and developed until at the present time 
 there is a network of electric lines over the whole city. 
 
 The end of the period of inflation came with the failure of 
 the Whitelys in the latter part of the eighties. A period of de- 
 pression set in. and continued until 1898, when a new era of pros- 
 perity and of a more normal and Healthy growth set in. The 
 depression had a noticeable effect upon the growth of population. 
 While from 1870 to 1880 the city's population had advanced sixty- 
 four per cent., between 1890 and 1900 the rate fell to nineteen 
 per cent. The renewed prosperity is attributable to the fact 
 that instead of one immense manufacturing establishment, on 
 which almost the entire population depended, there have grown 
 up scores and hundreds of smaller establishments, employing from 
 fifty to fifteen hundred men. A late census brings out the fact 
 that there are now over 300 manufacturing establishments in 
 the citv.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 19 
 
 In closing the historical portion of this study it may not be 
 amiss to mention some of the men distinguished in state or nation, 
 who have called Clark County their home. One might mention 
 Samuel Shellabarger, one of the prominent lawyers in the War 
 and Reconstruction periods ; Gen. Samson Mason ; Gen. J. War- 
 ren Keifer, ex- Speaker of the National House of Representatives 
 and Major-General in the Spanish War ; Rear Admiral Joseph N. 
 Miller, U. S. N. ; Gen. Frederic Funston ; Asa S. Bushnell, Gov- 
 ernor of Ohio for four years ; Judge William White, of the Su- 
 preme Court of Ohio; Gen. Chas. Anthony, Benjamin Warder, 
 John W. Bookwalter, manufacturer and writer, and A. N. Sum- 
 mers, Judge in the Ohio Supreme Court.
 
 20 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 PART II. EXISTING ELEMENTS, ORGANIZATION 
 AND CONDITIONS 
 
 CHAPTER I. SOCIAL POPULATION 
 
 Section 1. Artificial Features of the County 
 
 We have already spoken of the natural features of the 
 county; it remains only to speak of the artificial features of the 
 county and city as developed or modified by the population in the 
 hundred years or more of occupation. 
 
 As already pointed out, the Miami Valley is exceptionally 
 favored in materials for road making; and the people very soon 
 began to make use of these advantages. For many years the 
 roads were owned and operated by turnpike companies, and 
 a small fee was charged for their use. These companies always 
 kept the roads in the best of repair. About twenty years ago 
 the county bought up all the turnpikes and that portion of the 
 National Road within the county's borders and made them all 
 free of toll. The roads are now kept in repair by the annual 
 "working of the roads," which each rural resident does in order 
 to "work out" his taxes. Special road contractors repair the 
 county roads at other times under the supervision of the county 
 commissioners. Before the county took charge of the pikes, the 
 by-roads were usually poor and called mud roads; but such 
 roads are now generally graveled and well cared for by the 
 townships. The county is now traversed by excellent turnpikes 
 and roads, which render every portion of the county easily ac- 
 cessible to the markets of Springfield and other cities. These 
 roads have undoubtedly had a great part to play in the develop- 
 ment, not only of the material condition of the people of the 
 county, but also in the development of the social life of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 The farmers of the county generally have the advantage of 
 a nearby railway station. The Cincinnati division of the Pennsyl- 
 vania main line passes through the southeastern corner of the 
 county. A branch line runs from Xenia to Springfield. Spring- 
 field was placed on this branch road in the early days when road
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 21 
 
 promoters considered the prospects better for the growth of 
 Xenia than of Springfield. This same mistake was made by the 
 builders of the Erie Road, which runs from Urbana through the 
 county to the southwest, passing Springfield altogether. The road 
 now connects with the city by the Dayton, Springfield and Ur- 
 bana electric line. The Detroit Southern runs through the north- 
 western and the southeastern portions of the county, passing 
 through Springfield. The chief railroad of the county is the 
 Big Four, with its five divisions branching out from Springfield 
 to the east, west, north and southwest. Pike township in the 
 extreme northwestern part of the county is without a single rail- 
 road ; and only one corner of Pleasant township in the extreme 
 northeast is cut by a railroad. These two townships are the 
 ones which have lost most heavily in population in the last thirty 
 years. 
 
 During the last few years there has been a great boom in 
 the building of interurban electric lines. The first one built 
 was the Dayton, Springfield and Urbana, connecting Spring- 
 field with those cities; and, via Dayton, with Cincinnati on the 
 south, and Lima on the north. This same company now operates 
 a road from Springfield to Columbus ; and is extending the 
 Urbana line to Bellefontaine. Another company operates a line 
 from Springfield to Xenia. Still another will soon be completed 
 from Springfield to Troy and Sidney to the northwest. This 
 line will for the first time give the people of Pike township 
 access by rail to the city. 
 
 The county is divided into ten townships; the northern tier 
 of townships, beginning in the northwest corner, consists of 
 Pike, German, Moorefield, and Pleasant; the middle tier of 
 Bethel, Springfield and Harmony ; and the southern tier of Mad 
 River, Green and Madison. Most of the townships are almost 
 exclusively rural. There are numerous small villages in the 
 county; the largest are South Charleston in Madison township, 
 and New Carlisle in Bethel. 
 
 Of the 412 square miles in the county, more than 90 per 
 cent, is used for agricultural purposes ; and of this area devoted 
 to agriculture, 32 per cent, was cultivated in 1900. According 
 to the twelfth Federal census, there are 2,330 farms in the 
 county and the average size of the farms is a trifle more than
 
 22 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 103 acres 33 acres less than the average for the United States ; 
 this number is an increase of 280 since 1880. If we arrange 
 the farms in groups according to size, the mode falls in the 
 group containing from 10 to 50 acres. Twenty-six per cent, of 
 all the farms fall in this class. Not quite 10 per cent, contain 
 less than 10 acres each ; more than 59 per cent, contain less than 
 loo acres and less than 2 per cent, contain more than 500 acres. 
 Thus it is seen that the farms of Clark County are only of moderate 
 extent. 
 
 In 1900 there were 4,686 dwellings in the rural districts, 
 an increase of 13.5 per cent, over 1890. The farm houses in 
 general are in good condition, of medium size and well kept ; 
 the barns are commonly much larger than the houses, with many 
 adjacent outbuildings. The older barns are always situated 
 between the house and the highway. Most of the farms are 
 devoted to the culture of the chief cereals, corn and wheat. The 
 annual acreage for wheat has increased since 1890 from 32,000 to 
 41,000 acres, with an average of 36,000 acres for the decade. 
 A little more than one-sixth of the farm area of 1900 was in 
 wheat. The acreage for corn during the same period has varied 
 from 39,000 to 58,000 acres, with an annual average of 48,000 
 acres. About 24 per cent, of the farm area of 1900 was in corn. 
 During this period there has been an annual average yield of 
 578.000 bushels of wheat and 1,646,000 bushels of corn. This 
 would make an average yield per acre of 16.1 bushels of wheat 
 and 34.3 bushels of corn. 
 
 The annual average acreage of oats during this same period 
 was 6,000 acres, or a very little more than 2 per cent, of the 
 farm area. The average has been 180,000 bushels annually, or 
 30 bushels per acre. Some 25,000 acres are in meadow and 
 clover, or 10.4 per cent. The area devoted to the culture of 
 fruits is comparatively a small one. In 1890 only 2,200 acres 
 were in orchards less than one per cent, of the farm area. The 
 orchards of the county are much smaller and fewer in number 
 than thirty years ago. Many of the small farms, especially in 
 the western part of the county, are given over entirely to the pro- 
 duction of fruit and market truck. Much attention is given 
 in this same region to the raising of small fruits; in 1901, 600
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 23 
 
 acres were used in their culture. A market for them is found 
 in Springfield and Dayton. 
 
 It is impossible to give the amount of land used in the 
 production of vegetables, but the great amount given over to 
 the culture of vegetables for the city markets is shown by the 
 statement that in 1901 there were nearly 617,000 square feet 
 under glass alone, or nearly one-tenth of the area so used in the 
 State of Ohio. 
 
 The soil of some portions of the county is peculiarly adapted 
 to the cultivation of flowers and greenhouse products. One- 
 seventh of the total area used in Ohio for raising hothouse plants is 
 found in Clark County, and the sales of plants are larger than 
 for any other county in the state. More than 250 acres" are used 
 for flower and nursery products. The farm lands of the county 
 have been so rich that scarcely any attention has been paid until 
 recent years to the proper cultivation of the soil to insure a 
 return of foods necessary to plant growth, so that now much 
 of the land is impoverished. Until recent years no other fertilizer 
 was used save the refuse from the stable, but during the past ten 
 years there has been an increasing use of commercial fertilizer. 
 The amount so used has increased from 238,000 pounds in 1892 
 to 900,000 pounds in 1902. 
 
 In former years much more land was used for pasturing sheep 
 and cattle for market purposes. In 1850 there were raised 53,000 
 sheep and 19,000 cattle; in 1900 only 13,000 cattle and 19,000 
 sheep were pastured. 
 
 In 1875 nearly 43,000 acres were in pasture, while in 1900 
 only 27,000 acres were so used. The forest area is not large. In 
 1850 there were 37,350 acres of woodland; in 1900, 21,700 acres. 
 The proportions of the total farm area in pasture and woodland 
 in 1900 were 11.2 per cent, and 9 per cent, respectively. Very 
 little of the land can be considered waste land, and this is made up 
 chiefly of the cliffs along the creek banks near Springfield, and 
 the swampy borders of the northern course of Mad River. Only 
 about 2,500 acres (or barely one per cent.) of the farm area are 
 waste land.
 
 24 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 Section 2. Artifical Features of Springfield 
 
 Springfield is situated almost in the center of the county and 
 covers an area of about eight and one-half square miles. The city 
 was originally laid out in the valley of Buck Creek, but has now 
 spread out on the higher ground to the north and south. The city 
 has direct railway connections with the leading cities of the state 
 and the United States by means of the Pennsylvania, the Big 
 Four, the Detroit Southern, and the Erie. The railway accommo- 
 dations for passenger traffic are by no means commensurate with 
 the importance of the city as a railway center. Each road has a 
 separate station ; although the Big Four station is scarcely worth 
 the name, and the others are little better. 
 
 The 'private dwellings are of the sort one would expect to 
 find in a community composed largely of well-to-do mechanics, 
 most of whom are natives of the county or state. The number of 
 dwellings in 1900 was about 8,000, or one dwelling to every 4.7 
 persons in the city. This is an increase of 19.3 per cent, over 1890. 
 The number has been increased much more rapidly since 1900, 
 by the greater demand for men in the manufacturing establish- 
 ments. Judging from partial reports there are now (January, 
 1904) about 9.500 dwellings. 
 
 The business houses have developed rapidly during the last 
 three years, and the business portion of the town is taking on more 
 and more the character of the up-to-date city. The public build- 
 ings, with one exception, are good. The city building (and general 
 market house combined) is one of the finest and largest in Ohio. 
 The city prison has been a disgrace to the city, but this will soon 
 give place to a modern city prison and work-house now in process 
 of construction. The city now has a large and well kept park of 
 over 250 acres, donated by a citizen of the county several years 
 ago ; the city has spent thousands of dollars in beautifying it, until 
 it is now one of the finest in the state. 
 
 Springfield has always been exceptionally favored in its water 
 supply. The surrounding regions to the north and east contain 
 many large springs with an abundance of the purest water. In 
 1 88 1, the municipality began the construction of a water works 
 system which has already cost more than three quarters of a mil- 
 lion of dollars. There is a large pumping station near the eastern
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 25 
 
 border of the city which has a daily capacity of twelve million 
 gallons of water. Every portion of the city is thus supplied with 
 good water, although wells are used in many places. Sometimes 
 during the summer months creek water must also be used, but this 
 is now rendered absolutely pure by a filtering system in the region 
 of the water supply. The supply of water is generally equal to the 
 demand. An annual and very moderate rental is charged for the 
 use of the water. On the whole the system of public ownership 
 has been successful, although the water works department has not 
 been operated as economically as it would probably have been if 
 operated by a private corporation. There is a great waste of water 
 since there is no limit whatever to its use after the fee is paid. All 
 this might be obviated by the use of the meter system in charging 
 for the use of water. 
 
 As yet Springfield has not given much attention to the 
 artificial arrangement, or to the correct physical conditions for the 
 proper development of the city. Until 1890, little thought was 
 given to the problems of street making or street cleaning ; almost 
 all that was done was to place gravel or broken stone on the streets 
 and after a few months haul it away in the shape of mud. The 
 first attempt to pave a street was made about ten years ago ; since 
 that time all the principal streets have been paved or macadamized. 
 At first the paved streets were little better than the others because 
 of the lack of adequate means of cleaning them. In 1901, how- 
 ever, a system of street cleaning was adopted, patterned after Col. 
 Waring's plan in New York; this plan has been successful 
 and the paved streets at least are now kept in a very good 
 condition. 
 
 The city has never made any adequate provision for getting 
 rid of sewage and garbage; indeed, the city uses practically the 
 same methods used twenty or more years ago. A great deal of 
 garbage is still carted away by farmers living near the city; the 
 corporation itself employs only a few wagons for removing 
 garbage and street refuse, the number being entirely insufficient 
 for the needs of the people. Recently there has been some agi- 
 tation for better means of garbage disposal, but as yet nothing has 
 been accomplished. 
 
 The method for the disposal of sewage is even worse than 
 that for the disposal of garbage. The majority of the dwellings
 
 26 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 of the city still have the old-fashioned private vaults, a number of 
 which are too shallow and are poorly constructed. At the same 
 time wells are used as a source of water supply in many parts of 
 the city, although the city water is at hand. Buck Creek and 
 Mill Run are used chiefly in carrying off the sewage. Buck 
 Creek runs through the city from east to west, and Mill Run is (or 
 was) a little brook running diagonally through the city from the 
 southeastern boundary, and emptying into Buck Creek near the 
 center of the city. In 1870 the city walled over this brook and 
 made it the trunk sewer, although Mill Run is but a shallow 
 stream. Since that time sewers have been built at a great expense, 
 intended, however, to carry off storm water only, and not for the 
 disposal of sewage. The State Board of Health estimates that 
 from one-fifth to one-third of the population discharge sewage 
 either through public or private sewers into either -Mill Run or 
 Buck Creek. There are twelve miles of public sewers, all on the 
 combined plan, discharging into these streams through seventeen 
 outlets and draining one-third of the area of the corporation. Mill 
 Run flows through the most thickly built-up part of the city, where 
 it empties into Buck Creek. This little stream receives not only the 
 discharge of about 175 sewers, most of which were put in by pri- 
 vate parties on their own responsibility, but is also used for the 
 disposal of garbage and rubbish. Often the hollow places in the 
 bed of the stream become filled with putrefying masses of garbage 
 and sewage. Mill Run is never thoroughly cleansed except in 
 time of freshets. The storm sewers have been used largely and 
 illegally, even by the city itself, for carrying off the sewage from 
 closets and vaults. The condition of Buck Creek is dangerous, 
 and in many instances a fatal menace to the public health. The 
 creek has an average depth of only three or four feet, and even 
 less than this during the summer months, so that the current is 
 not strong enough to carry away all the refuse. The city health 
 officer reports that Mill Run sewer is in such a condition that no 
 freshet even could clean it out. The secretary of the State Board 
 of Health in a letter of December, 1903, scores the city on account 
 of these disgraceful conditions, and states that the present sys- 
 tem is a gross blunder. 
 
 There is urgent need of more modern methods in dealing with 
 the problem of sewage disposal. This need has been repeatedly
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 27 
 
 affirmed by the city health officer and by local physicians. The 
 city officials, last November, presented a plan for a new sewerage 
 system ; but the State Board of Health disapproved of the plan in 
 very strong terms and decided that the permanent discharge of 
 sewage into Mill Run should not be permitted, and its discharge 
 into Mad River should be allowed only upon the condition that 
 the city install purification works when deemed necessary by the 
 State Board of Health. The State Board therefore recommended 
 the erection of a filtering or disposal plant for the city's sewage. 
 This seems to be the only feasible plan, and will probably be 
 adopted. 
 
 The city is well lighted by gas and electricity furnished by 
 private companies. Natural gas has been used for fuel for ten 
 years or more. The gas is piped from Fairfield County some sixty 
 miles away. Artificial gas sells at one dollar per thousand feet 
 and the natural at twenty-five cents. 
 
 Considering this portion of our subject as a whole, we may 
 conclude that Springfield, like most other American cities in the 
 past, has devoted more attention to its immediate economic wel- 
 fare than to those conditions which make for the largest degree 
 of physical and moral health in the community. 
 
 Section 3. The Social Population 
 
 (a) GENERAL POPULATION 
 
 The total population today (January, 1904) is about 62,800; 
 the census of 1900 makes it 58,939. The population of the city is 
 at least 42,000 (census of 1900, 38.253). The rural population is 
 about 20.800 20,686 by the census of 1900. Aside from Spring- 
 field there are two towns in the county each having approxi- 
 mately 1,000 population: and there are four other incorporated 
 villages each having about two hundred inhabitants, and eleven 
 or twelve unincorporated villages with a total population of about 
 1,500. Since at least 1,000 people in Springfield township may 
 be classed as residents of the city, there were left in the county 
 according to the 1900 census about 15,400 persons who may be 
 classed as exclusively rural. In the whole county there are 152 
 persons to the square mile, and in the rural districts 51 per square
 
 28 
 
 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 mile. A glance at the population statistics for the past sev- 
 enty years shows that the growth of the city has been at 
 the expense of the country in a very noticeable degree. Es- 
 pecially since the Civil War has the process of what may be 
 conveniently termed social selection been going on. For example, 
 in 1830 but 8 per cent, of the county population was urban ; 28 
 per cent, in 1860; 39 per cent, in 1870; 61 per cent, in 1890; and 
 65 per cent, in 1900. Probably 67 per cent, of the people now 
 live in the city. In 1900 over seventy-five per cent, lived in the 
 city and villages. The same proportion holds good for all south- 
 ern Ohio. This is a much greater proportion than for the state 
 at large. Ohio in 1900 had 58.1 per cent, in incorporated places, 
 and the United States, 47.1 per cent. The following table shows 
 the proportions of urban and rural populations since 1830: 
 
 TABLE I. 
 General Population from 1830 to 1900. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Clark County. 
 
 Springfield. 
 
 Rural. 
 
 1830 .' 
 
 13,114 
 
 1,080 
 
 12,034 
 
 1840 
 
 16,882 
 
 2,062 
 
 14,820 
 
 1850 
 
 22,178 
 
 5,108 
 
 17,070 
 
 I860 
 
 25,300 
 
 7002 
 
 18 298 
 
 1870 
 
 32,070 
 
 12 652 
 
 19418 
 
 1880 
 
 41,948 
 
 20,732 
 
 21 216 
 
 1890 
 
 52277 
 
 31 895 
 
 20 382 
 
 1900 
 
 58939 
 
 38 253 
 
 20 686 
 
 *1904 
 
 62,800 
 
 42 000 
 
 20 800 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 * Estimated. 
 
 This process of social selection may also be seen in the rates 
 of increase of city and rural population. During the decade from
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 29 
 
 1840 to 1850 the city increased 152.8 per cent, and the rural pop- 
 ulation 15 per cent. By 1870 the city rate was 81 per cent, and 
 the rural only 6 per cent. The hard times of the past decade 
 lowered the city rate to 19.9 and the rural rate to 1.5 per cent. 
 The rural population underwent an absolute decrease from 1880 
 to 1890, due in part to the extension of the city boundary lines. 
 The city rate since 1900 has evidently been higher than before 
 1900, while the rural and village populations barely hold their 
 own. Since 1860 the city has increased over 400 per cent, and 
 the rural population but 12.5 per cent. As regards the total 
 increase of population in the county in the last decade, Clark 
 County holds the twenty-seventh place among the Ohio counties. 
 A study of the growth of the county by townships and vil- 
 lages throws further light on the nature and extent of the process 
 of social selection. The village of New Carlisle has increased a 
 little more than 16 per cent, since 1860, and has not held its own 
 since 1890. South Charleston has doubled its population since 
 1860, but has increased only 5.3 per cent, since 1890. Many of the 
 villages have not gained more than a half a dozen people since 1850. 
 This tendency has been especially noticeable since 1880. The 
 only township making over 10 per cent, increase since 1890 
 is Springfield; this can readily be accounted for in the fact 
 that there are in this city so many unincorporated suburbs. 
 Of the nine other townships, including all villages, there has been 
 an absolute decrease of over 350 persons or more than 2 per cent, 
 since 1890; the total loss since 1880 has been much greater than 
 since 1890, making a decrease of 2.4 per cent. The year 1880 
 seems then to mark the period of maximum rural population. 
 Leaving the two chief villages out of consideration, there has been 
 a decrease of nearly 5 per cent, since 1880. Three townships have 
 made but little gain in fifty years and these three are almost ex- 
 clusively rural, and at the same time the most conservative in 
 political and religious ideas. Since the building of so many in- 
 terurban electric lines there has been a very slight beginning of a 
 movement from the city to the country, but this movement is as 
 yet too slight to be studied statistically. These conditions are 
 fairly typical of the movement of the population in the whole of
 
 30 
 
 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 the Miami Valley. The following table shows the population of 
 the townships since 1850: 
 
 TABLE II. 
 Population of Clark County by Townships. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Bethel. 
 
 German. 
 
 Green. 
 
 Harmony. 
 
 Madison. 
 
 t." 
 
 B 
 > 
 
 5 
 
 o 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 Moorefield. 
 
 o 
 M 
 
 E 
 
 Pleasant. 
 
 Springfield. 
 
 1850 
 
 2,648 
 2,898 
 3,086 
 3,131 
 3,407 
 3,295 
 
 1,912 
 1,904 
 1,918 
 2,100 
 2,058 
 1,995 
 
 1,278 
 1,386 
 1,464 
 1,524 
 1,532 
 1,425 
 
 1,804 
 1,929 
 1,821 
 1,846 
 1,819 
 1,830 
 
 1,400 
 1,477 
 1,965 
 2,396 
 2,204 
 2,281 
 
 1,790 
 1,707 
 1,873 
 1,812 
 1,750 
 1,847 
 
 1,214 
 1,312 
 1,268 
 1,345 
 1,307 
 1,435 
 
 1,462 
 1,491 
 1,582 
 1,758 
 1,758 
 1,533 
 
 1,349 
 1,540 
 1,553 
 1,581 
 1,597 
 1,437 
 
 2,206 
 2,722 
 2,888 
 3,725 
 2,950 
 3,608 
 
 I860 
 
 1870 
 
 1880 
 
 1890 
 
 1900 
 
 
 The urban population of Clark County is 20 per cent, greater 
 than for the state at large. Springfield itself has not reaped the 
 benefits it should have reaped as a result of the decrease of the 
 rural population ; and has not held its relative place among the 
 cities of the country when ranked according to growth and pop- 
 ulation. In 1860 the city stood in the one hundredth place of the 
 cities of the country ranked according to population ; by 1890 it 
 had risen to ninety-fourth place ; but it fell again to one hundred 
 and fourth place in 1900. Every one of the eight largest cities 
 in Ohio, except Cincinnati, made a larger growth than Springfield 
 in the last decade. This can be accounted for in two ways: 
 first, great numbers of virtual citizens of the city live in the 
 unincorporated suburbs ; and secondly, the commercial and man- 
 ufacturing opportunities offered by other cities are larger be- 
 cause of the more favorable situation near some natural or 
 artificial waterway or other highway of commerce.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 31 
 
 (b) POPULATION BY AGE CLASSES. 
 
 It is impossible to make much use comparatively of census 
 material on population by age classes, since the census of 1900 
 refers to the cities alone, and former reports only to the county. 
 
 In 1900, 657 persons in Springfield were reported as being 
 under one year of age ; this is one and seven-tenths per cent, of 
 the total population and would mean a birth rate of only 17.2 
 per 1,000. This percentage is slightly in excess of that of the 
 United States. The males in this class outnumbered the females 
 by 31, and formed 52.2 per cent, of the total. The number of 
 males is only 2 greater than the number in 1890, and the females 
 were 51 fewer than in 1890; this would mean an excess of births 
 over deaths in 1890 of 22.2 per I,OQO. It is interesting to com- 
 pare these figures with the census figures for 1850 and 1860. In 
 1850 with a population of 22,178 (in the county) the number re- 
 ported under one year of age formed 2.9 per cent, of the popula- 
 tion, which would mean an excess of births over deaths of 29.1 
 per 1,000. In 1860 the number under one year made an excess 
 of births over deaths of 30 per 1,000. This age class decreased 
 nearly 7 per cent, from 1890. 
 
 There were 2,576 persons in 1900 reported between one and 
 five years of age, or 6.7 per cent, of the population. This is a 
 decrease of 7.4 per cent, since 1890; 51.5 per cent, of these were 
 males. 
 
 The next age class, between 5 and 10 years, included 9.5 per 
 cent, of the population. This percentage is nearer the proportions 
 of the same class in 1850 and 1860 than those of the two classes 
 above mentioned. The number in 1900 is an increase of 6 per 
 cent, over 1890. The next age class, from 10 to 20 years, in- 
 cluded 21.2 per cent, of the population. 
 
 In the whole county there were 18,502 persons between the 
 ages of 5 and 20 or 31.4 per cent, of the total population; 63.7 
 per cent, of these were urban. This element of the city population 
 comprises 30.7 per cent, of the total population, and only 49.7 per 
 cent, were males. This class increased 16.1 per cent, over 1890. 
 This element forms 32.5 per cent, of the rural population, 51.2 per 
 cent, of whom are males; it has declined 5 per cent, since 1890. 
 In the county this age class consists of native whites, foreign
 
 32 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 whites and colored, in the proportions 90.1, 0.9, and 9 per cent., 
 respectively. 
 
 Of the native whites 61 per cent, were urban and formed 
 87.7 per cent, of this age class in the city. The same class includes 
 78 per cent, of all the negroes in the county. Among the urban 
 negroes 50.9 per cent, were males. The negroes of this class 
 make up 30.7 per cent, of all the urban negroes. The native 
 white of native parents have increased 31.1 per cent, over 1890; 
 while the native whites of foreign parents have decreased 4 per 
 cent.: and the negroes have increased 15.1 per cent. 
 
 In 1900, 27.9 per cent, of the population of the city were in 
 the age class, 20 to 35 years ; it will be noted that this is almost 
 as many as those between the ages of 5 and 20, inclusive ; 50.5 per 
 cent, of these were males. In the next age class, from 35 to 45 
 years, were found 13 per cent, of the population. There was an 
 increase over 1890 of 17.4 per cent, in the 20-25 year class, and 
 of 30.8 per cent, in the 35 to 45 year class. 
 
 About one-sixth of the city population was between 45 and 
 65 years of age, an increase of 41.2 per cent, over 1890. About 
 4.1 per cent, of the population was over 65, of whom 47 per cent. 
 were males. 
 
 Considering the city population by age classes, we find that 
 the mode is in the age class 15 to 24 years, which class includes 
 more than one-fifth of all. 
 
 (c) POPULATION BY SEX. 
 
 In 1900, a little more than half (50.7 per cent.) of the popula- 
 tion was made up of males. This is only a trifle larger than the 
 proportion for Ohio, which was 50.6 per cent. ; and less than for 
 the country at large, which was 51.2 per cent. This proportion 
 has varied little in the county in the past fifty years with two 
 exceptions, 1850 and 1880, when the proportions of males were 
 51.96 and 51 per cent., respectively. In the city population, in 
 1900, the proportion was slightly smaller than for the county as 
 a whole, being 50.4 per cent. In 1890, however, the males were 
 in the minority, the proportion being 49.9 per cent. In the rural 
 districts, in 1900, the proportion of males was 51.1 per cent., and 
 51.3 per cent, in 1890. This seems rather surprising, as we would
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 33 
 
 look for more males in the city than in the country, considering 
 the character, age, and conjugal condition of the immigrant wage 
 earners in Springfield. The statement in the last Federal census 
 that each census shows a larger proportion of males does not hold 
 good for this county and city. A comparison with the chief 
 counties and cities in the Miami Valley shows that about the 
 same proportions hold good. 
 
 It is not possible to give many comparisons concerning the 
 relative increase of males and females. In the whole county 
 during the past fifty years there has been a relative increase of 
 males in three of the five decennial periods. From 1880 to 1890 
 the males increased 23.1 per cent, and the females 26.2 per cent.; 
 while during the last decade the males increased 13.8 per cent, 
 and the females 11.3 per cent. The relative increases are con- 
 trary to the tendency for the United States at large, where we find 
 20.9 per cent, and 21.1 per cent, increase, respectively. One 
 reason for the relative increase of males during the past decade 
 has been the renewed economic opportunities in the city. In 
 Springfield from 1890 to 1900 the males increased 21.4 per cent, 
 and the females 18.5 per cent. In the rural districts the increase 
 is 2 per cent, for males and 1.9 per cent, for females. 
 
 (d) NATIVE AND FOREIGN BORN. 
 
 By far the greater proportion of the county population is 
 native born. In 1900 the native born formed 93.3 per cent, of 
 the total population. This proportion has been a constantly in- 
 creasing one. In 1860 the native born formed 88.9 per cent, 
 of the population, and in 1880, 89.8 per cent. In 1900 63.5 per 
 cent, of the native born were urban. This proportion was only 
 59 per cent, in 1890, and less than 50 per cent, in 1880. 
 
 The city has also a very large percentage (90.1) of native 
 born. From 1870 to 1880 the city received its greatest influx of 
 foreign elements; but since that time the foreign element has 
 steadily decreased. The rural districts are practically all native 
 born; in 1900 there were fewer than 30 foreigners to each 1,000 
 native born. The increase of native born has been much greater 
 in the city than in^ the country ; in the city during the past 
 decade the increase of native born (24 per cent.) was 5 per cent.
 
 31 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 greater than the rate of growth of the total urban population ; 
 while in the rural districts the rate of increase (3 per cent.) was 
 twice as great as the rate for the total rural population. 
 
 The native born have also increased much faster than the 
 foreign born. (We treat the foreign born and the foreign whites 
 as essentially the same.) The absolute numbers of the foreign 
 born (3.920) in Clark County in 1900 were only about twice as 
 great as the number in 1850. Forty years ago the foreign born 
 were about equally divided between city and country; but since 
 that time the relative number in the city has been constantly 
 increasing until the present time, when 85 per cent, are urban. 
 The actual numbers, however, in both city and country have been 
 decreasing rapidly. In the city between 1870 and 1880 there 
 was an increase of 42.2 per cent., and between 1880 and 1890 
 an 8.2 per cent, increase ; while during the last decade there has 
 been a decrease of over 15 per cent. There has been no foreign 
 immigration to the rural districts in the last thirty years. By 
 1880 the foreign rural element had decreased 14.6 per cent. ; by 
 1890 the decrease was 25.4 per cent. ; and by 1900 there was a 
 further decrease of 31.1 per cent. 
 
 Native and Foreign Born By Sex. Fifty and seven-tenths 
 per cent, of the native born in the whole county in 1900 were 
 males, practically the same as the proportion in the whole coun- 
 try, and exactly the same as the proportion of all males in the 
 county. More than 60 per cent, of the males and females lived in 
 the city. In the city the proportion of males (50.6 per cent.) is 
 one per cent, greater than in 1890. This is owing, no doubt, to 
 the recovery of the city from the industrial depression of the period 
 between 1885 and 1895. In both city and rural districts the 
 males have increased more rapidly than the females. The in- 
 crease of urban males during the last census period was 26 per 
 cent, and the increase of females 22.1 per cent. In the rural dis- 
 tricts the increase of males is greater by 1.5 per cent, than that 
 of the females. 
 
 Among the foreign born in 1900, we find that 52.6 per cent, 
 in the whole county are males. The city contains 83.3 per cent, of 
 all the foreign males and 85.7 per cent, of tfi foreign females in 
 the county. This would indicate a greater disinclination on the
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 35 - 
 
 part of foreign born females to live in the >rural districts. In 
 the city 51.9 per cent, of the foreign born are males, a slight 
 decrease from the proportion in 1890. In the rural districts in 
 1900, the proportion of males was 56.5 per cent., a slight increase 
 over 1890. In the city during the last decade there has been a 
 decrease in the. numbers of both sexes, but the males decrease 
 by a greater percentage than the females. In the rural districts 
 the decrease of females has been greater than that of the males. 
 
 Native Whites of Native Parents. This element comprises 
 about two-thirds of the total county population and 71.2 per cent, 
 of all the native born. The native born in the county increased 
 1 6 per cent, during the last decade. This is 4 per cent, greater 
 than the increase of the total population. While more, than 63 per 
 cent, of all the native born in the county lived in the city in 1900, 
 but 56.6 per cent, of the native whites were urban; this is an 
 increase of 5 per cent, over 1890. There is a contrast be- 
 tween these proportions of native whites of native parents and 
 those of the negro and foreign born population. Urban life seems 
 to be relatively more attractive to the latter than to the former. 
 
 In the city in 1900 this element made up 58 per cent, of the 
 total urban population, and 63.4 per cent, of the native born. This 
 is an increase of 26.2 per cent, over 1890, and is 7 per cent, 
 greater than the increase of the general population, 2 per cent, 
 greater than the increase of the native born, 7 per cent, greater 
 than the increase of the. colored, and 7 per cent, greater than the 
 increase of the total white population. 
 
 In the rural districts, in 1900, this class made up 82.2 per 
 cent of the total rural population, and nearly 85 per cent, of the 
 native born. Here also this class made the largest per cent, 
 of increase (4.4 per cent.) of any population class. This is 1.4 
 per cent, greater than the increase of all native born, 0.8 per cent, 
 greater than for the white population, and more than twice the 
 rate of the total population. 
 
 The proportion of males (51 per cent.) in this class in the 
 county is practically the same as the proportion of the total popu- 
 lation. The percentage of urban males of this class was 56.7 per 
 cent. ; this is 5 per cent, greater than the proportion in 1890. The 
 proportion of urban females to all females of this class in the
 
 36 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 county was 56.8 per cent. ; this is 4 per cent, more than the propor- 
 tion in 1890. 
 
 The increase of males in the city over 1890 was 28.7 per cent., 
 nearly 4 per cent, greater than the increase of females. This 
 relatively greater increase of males has already been explained. 
 The males in the rural districts also increased faster than the 
 females, the rate being 5.5 for the males and 3 per cent, for the 
 females. 
 
 Native Whites of Foreign Parents. This element in 1900 
 made up about 18 per cent, of the total county population, about 
 the same proportion as in 1890. More than four-fifths of this 
 class live in the city, an increase of 3 per cent, over the proportion 
 in 1890. 
 
 In the city this element forms 22.3 per cent, of the popula- 
 tion. During the last decade it increased 19.1 per cent. In the 
 rural districts this element forms one-tenth of the rural popula- 
 tion. During the past decade this class declined nearly one per 
 cent, and is far from holding its own in growth with the other 
 native white element. 
 
 In both 1890 and 1900 the proportion of males in this class 
 in the county was the same, 49.3 per cent. Four-fifths of all 
 the males in the county are urban, while 81 per cent, of the females 
 are urban. The proportions for 1890 also indicate a relatively 
 greater inclination of females of this class for city life. 
 
 In the city there are fewer males than females of this ele- 
 ment. In 1890 the males of every other urban population class 
 except the foreign born were in the minority, but they became a 
 majority in 1900. Among the native whites of foreign parents, 
 however, the males formed a minority in 1900 also, 48.9 per cent. 
 This is a very slight increase over 1890. 
 
 In the rural districts in 1900 the males were in the majority, 
 50.7 per cent. This is a decrease from 1890, when the proportion 
 was 51.2 per cent. During the decade, however, the males de- 
 creased 2.4 per cent., while the females increased i.i per cent. 
 The disparity in numbers of the males and females in this class 
 may be accounted for by the fact that many males left the 
 city and county during the industrial depression early in the 
 decade. It seems to indicate also that there is a greater move-
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 37 
 
 ment of this element from the city than of the other class 
 of the native whites. 
 
 Population and Place of Birth. For convenience of compari- 
 son we shall speak of the city population only. Statistics are not 
 available for ascertaining the number in the rural districts who 
 were born in Ohio. Probably not more than one in ten persons 
 outside of the city was born outside of Ohio. In Springfield 
 the number of native born in 1900 was 34,942. More than four- 
 fifths were born in Ohio. This is equivalent to 73.5 per cent, 
 of the total population. The number born in Ohio increased 
 nearly 24 per cent, over the number in 1890. Of the native born 
 from other states, the Virginias and Kentucky furnished the 
 greatest number 2,000. One out of every 17 of the native born 
 came from one of these three states. There has been an increase 
 of 22 per cent, in the number from these states since 1890. 
 Pennsylvania and Maryland come next in order, with nearly 1,700, 
 or 5 per cent. The number from these states increased 19 per 
 cent, over 1890. New York and New England now, as formerly, 
 furnish very few of the population (only two per cent.). The 
 other Southern states aside from those mentioned furnished only 
 420 in 1900, or about 1.5 per cent. The states of Indiana and 
 Illinois furnished only 3.2 per cent. ; and the small remainder is 
 scattering. 
 
 If we divide the native born into classes we find the follow- 
 ing results: The native whites of native parents numbered 22,168 
 in 1900; of these 82.1 per cent, were born in Ohio. Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania furnished 6 per cent. ; Kentucky and the Virginias 
 3 per cent ; New York and New England 2.5 per cent. ; Indiana 
 and Illinois 3 per cent. Comparing this group with the total 
 native born, we find that it comprises 78 per cent, of all born in 
 Maryland and Pennsylvania, 71 per cent, of all born in Indiana 
 and Illinois, 35 per cent, of all born in 'Kentucky and the Vir- 
 ginias, and ii per cent, of all born in other Southern states. 
 
 In 1900 there were 8,259 native whites of foreign parents. 
 Nearly 90 per cent, of these were born in Ohio; 3 per cent, in 
 Pennsylvania and Maryland ; one per cent, in Kentucky and the 
 Virginias ; 3 per cent, in New York and New England ; 3 per cent, 
 in Illinois and Indiana; the remainder in various places.
 
 38 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 The negroes, 4.250 in number, made up 12.1 per cent. 
 of the native born; 58.9 per cent, of these were born in Ohio. 
 Nearly 42 per cent, therefore were from other states. The Vir- 
 ginias and Kentucky furnished 27.6 per cent., the other Southern 
 states 7.3 per cent. ; various places the remainder. 
 
 A comparison of the native born of Springfield with those 
 of other cities of the Miami Valley shows that the same pro- 
 portion prevails elsewhere. The cities of southwestern Ohio 
 have not been much affected by the later immigration from 
 Europe, while the cities of northern Ohio show a remarkable 
 increase of immigrants from other countries. On the other hand, 
 there seems to be a growing immigration of negroes from the 
 border states and the Carolinas. 
 
 Birthplace of Foreign Born Population. Unfortunately 
 there can be no comparison of city and country, since the Federal 
 census of 1870 and that of 1880 concern the county only; while 
 those of 1890 and 1900 concern the city only. 
 
 A study of the census material of these four census years, 
 however, shows the prevailing immigration during the last thirty 
 years. In 1870 nearly one-half of the foreign-born were Irish, 
 one-third German, and about one-sixth either English or Scotch. 
 By 1880 the Germans had increased relatively to the other nation- 
 alities. Since 1880 there has been a slight change in the char- 
 acter of the immigration. By 1900 the Germans outnumbered 
 the Irish, and the number from the United -Kingdom had declined. 
 In 1900 the Germans of foreign birth in the entire county num- 
 bered 1,600, only 12 per cent, more than in 1880; but they now 
 made up 40.6 per cent, of the foreign born element. Eighty-four 
 per cent, of them lived in the city. The Irish numbered 1,300, a 
 decrease of 30 per cent, from 1880. In 1900 they made up about 
 one-third of the foreign born ; 84.6 per cent, of them were urban. 
 The United Kingdom furnished some 500, with the great major- 
 ity in the city. About 3.5 per cent, were English Canadians; 
 2.5 per cent. French or Swiss ; 2 per cent. Italian ; and a little 
 more than one per cent, were from Russian Poland and Austro- 
 Hungary. 
 
 The foreign born element in Springfield is small, not quite 
 10 per cent, of the total urban population. The Germans lead 
 with 1,337 persons, or a little over 40 per cent, of all foreign born.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 39 
 
 They occupy the northwestern and northeastern portions of the 
 city. The Irish number about 1,100, or nearly one-third of all 
 the foreign born ; they occupy the eastern and southeastern por- 
 tions of the city. The English and Scotch elements are more than 
 12 per cent, of the foreign born; the Italians 2.3 per cent. (78 
 persons) ; the Canadian English 3.9 per cent.; the Russians and 
 Poles 1.7 per cent., or 56 in all. 
 
 The 600 foreign born in the rural districts, little more than 
 2 per cent, of the entire rural population, are chiefly Germans 
 and Irish; 42 per cent, being German and 32.5 per cent, being 
 Irish, 16.3 per cent. English, and the remainder scattering. 
 
 The character of the later foreign born element is made 
 clearer by reference to their ages. In 1900 nearly 43 per cent, of 
 the German element in the city was over 21 years of age; so also 
 was 38.6 per cent, of the Irish ; 36.2 per cent, of the English and 
 Scotch ; 44 per cent, of the Italians ; 52 per cent, of the Poles ; 
 50 per cent, of the Canadian English; and two-thirds of the 
 Hungarians. 
 
 There were only 102 aliens in Springfield in 1900 or an 
 average of about three to every 1,000 of the total population. 
 They were divided as follows: 21 Germans; 19 Irish; 17 English; 
 20 Italians; 4 Russians; 2 Greeks, and the remainder scattering. 
 
 Foreign Parentage. In Springfield, according to the last 
 Federal census, 31.1 per cent, of the entire population, or 11,900 
 in all, had either a foreign father or mother. Seventy-four per 
 cent, of these had both parents foreign ; 18 per cent, had a native 
 mother and foreign father and 8 per cent, had a native father 
 and foreign mother. Of those who had both parents born in 
 specified countries, 43 per cent, were German, 37.5 per cent. Irish, 
 about 8 per cent. English or Scotch, one per cent. Italian and 
 the remainder scattering. Those having native fathers and for- 
 eign mothers numbered 856. These foreign mothers came chiefly 
 from the United Kingdom or English Canada (41 per cent.) ; 27 
 per cent, each came from Germany and Ireland ; and the remain- 
 der were scattered among the Canadian French, Swedes, and 
 Swiss. The total of persons with foreign fathers and native 
 mothers is 157 per cent, greater than the total of the last class 
 mentioned. Of these foreign fathers 42.6 per cent, were German,
 
 40 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 27.7 per cent. Irish, 22.1 per cent. English or Scotch, and the 
 remainder scattering. 
 
 These facts bear out the statement to be made further on, 
 that amalgamation is going on much more rapidly among the 
 Germans than among the Irish. It is interesting also to note 
 that 13 Italians and 22 Hungarians were in the last class men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Those who had both parents from foreign countries, but 
 not from the same country, numbered 556. Of the fathers marry- 
 ing some person from another foreign country, 34.4 per cent, 
 were English, 25 per cent. Irish, 18 per cent. German, the remain- 
 der scattering. Of the mothers in specified countries who married 
 some one of another country, 45 per cent, were English, 20 per 
 cent. German, 22.6 per cent. Irish, and the remainder scattering. 
 
 The recent immigration has not greatly affected Clark County, 
 nor indeed the Miami Valley. Very few of the foreign born have 
 been in Springfield less than fifteen years. Only a trifle more than 
 one per cent, of the 3,311 foreign born in the city came during the 
 last census year ; only 2.3 per cent, have been here less than five 
 years and of these the males and females were almost equal 
 in numbers. Since 1890 only 131 males and 116 females (7.5 per 
 cent.) came to the city. Not quite ten per cent, more had been 
 here from 10 to 14 years; while 2,000 persons, 1,054 men 
 and 946 women, or more than 60 per cent, of the foreign born, 
 have been here more than twenty years. 
 
 From the consideration of the population thus far we may 
 draw the following conclusions : The county population, aside 
 from the city, is even yet very largely homogeneous. In the early 
 days great tracts of land were bought by three or four men in a 
 neighborhood ; and these tracts, often cut up into smaller ones, 
 are yet held by their descendants. In the majority of the town- 
 ships the greater number of people are more or less nearly 
 related by ties of kindred, and in many families this feeling of 
 common origin and kinship is kept alive by annual gatherings. 
 For example, Green township is largely made up of descendants 
 of four pioneer settlers ; and two of these "clans" have an organi- 
 zation and hold annual reunions. The population statistics seem 
 to affirm our judgment, made after personal investigation, that
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 41 
 
 before 1880 the county population was not much less homogeneous 
 than 50 years before. In 1880 one might have noticed the begin- 
 ning of the dispersion of the rural population to Springfield and 
 to other cities. Of the rural population due to genetic aggrega- 
 tion, groups in the eastern part of the county are largely made up 
 of descendants of immigrants from England or Virginia, with a 
 sprinkling of Scotch and Irish. Green township has in addition 
 many descendants of the Pennsylvania Dutch and Marylanders. 
 The north and west are largely peopled by descendants from 
 Pennsylvania and Virginia stocks ; and the southwestern portion 
 has many descendants of the Pennsylvania Dutch from Lan- 
 caster County, Pennsylvania. For the most part, family or 
 clan feeling never imposed any barrier to mixture of blood by 
 intermarriage, so that today the foundation stock is English, 
 with a liberal admixture of German, Irish, and Scotch blood. In 
 the rural districts the foreign immigration of the past 20 years 
 has had so little influence that the stock is about what it was 20 or 
 even 40 years ago. 1 The same admixture of ethnic elements 
 has been going on in the city ; although one element may be 
 more pronounced in one portion of the city than another. We 
 have already mentioned the Germans and the Irish in this 
 particular. The negroes are found in all parts of the city, but 
 more especially near the southern, eastern and northern bor- 
 ders. Of the social effects of these divisions we shall speak in 
 another place. 
 
 (e) POPULATION BY COLOR. 
 
 The discussion of population by color is limited to the whites 
 and negroes ; since in 1900, aside from these two races, there 
 were only three representatives of any other race and these 
 three were Chinese. 
 
 This portion of our study brings up the interesting and 
 important negro problem; in this and other portions of our 
 study, where we shall discuss the two races, constant reference 
 will be made to the special studies of negro communities pub- 
 lished by the National Labor Bureau. 
 
 In 1900 the white population of Clark County numbered 
 53,693, or 91.1 per cent, of the total population. There is a very 
 
 1 In this reference to racial mixture we refer of course to glottic race and not 
 to color.
 
 42 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 large negro population and one that is rapidly growing. In 1900 
 the negroes numbered 5,243, or 8.9 per cent, of the total popu- 
 lation. This proportion has been practically the same since 1870. 
 A safe estimate would be that there are now 56,800 whites and 
 6,000 negroes in the county. 
 
 Of the white population, 63.3 per cent, live in the city. The 
 proportion of the whites living in the city has increased very 
 rapidly. In 1860 scarcely more than 25 per cent, of the inhab- 
 itants were urban ; less than half were urban in 1880; and 59 per 
 cent, in 1890. The percentage of growth of urban whites has 
 been slightly less than for the population as a whole. 
 
 The white population of Springfield comprises 88.8 per cent., 
 and the colored population 11.2 per cent, of the entire popu- 
 lation. This proportion of negroes has been practically the same 
 since 1880. There are now probably 5,000 negroes in the city. 
 By far the greater proportion of negroes incline to city life, more 
 than four-fifths in the county being in Springfield. In 1870 
 about 60 per cent, lived in the city, in 1880 66 per cent., 
 and in 1900 81.1 per cent. 
 
 The 993 rural negroes make up but 4.8 per cent, of the total 
 rural population, and are unevenly divided among the townships 
 of the county. For some reason there are practically no negroes 
 west of a line drawn through the center of the county from 
 north to south. Nearly all of them are in Harmony, Madison, 
 and Green townships that is, in the eastern and southeastern 
 portions of the county. There can be no reason for this division 
 in the political complexion of the other parts of the county, 
 since the townships are mostly Republican. 
 
 The negro population of this county and city is quite large 
 in comparison with other counties in Ohio. Champaign and 
 Greene counties have large colonies of negroes. 1 About 22 per 
 cent, of Xenia's population is colored. This is the largest negro 
 population in any city of Ohio. Urbana in Champaign County 
 contains n.8 per cent, colored. Springfield thus ranks slightly 
 below Urbana in the proportion of negroes. The growth of the 
 negro population of these places has not been as great since 1870 
 
 1 The negroes of Greene County and Xenia have recently been studied under 
 the direction of the United States Labor Bureau, the report of which Is printed 
 in the bulletin for September, 1903.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 43 
 
 as the rate of growth in Clark County. Many are leaving those 
 counties and coming to Springfield. The reason for this is found 
 in the greater economic advantages of the city. It is rather singu- 
 lar that Dayton, southwest of Springfield, and nearer Xenia than 
 Springfield, has only 4 per cent, colored population. Columbus 
 has 6.5 per cent., and Cincinnati only 4 per cent, colored. 
 
 The increase of colored population in this county and city 
 has been somewhat greater than that of the whites ever since 1870 ; 
 in the rural districts, however, it has been decreasing much faster 
 than the white population. In 1860 there were only about 500 
 in the whole county, 56 per cent, of whom were in the city. Dur- 
 ing and immediately after the Civil War there was a great influx 
 of negro immigrants ; this was a part of the steady immigration of 
 negroes into Ohio during war times. Thus the 500 of 1860 had in- 
 creased to 2,056 in 1870; and the city's population of 276 in 
 1860 had increased to 1,227 m 1870. This city population of 1870 
 was nearly doubled by 1880, when the proportion of urban to 
 rural was nearly two to one. By 1890 the city population had 
 increased another 50 per cent., thus making the proportion of 
 urban to rural negroes about four to one. 
 
 The rural colored population is decreasing rapidly. Between 
 1870 and 1880 there was a gain of 47 per cent., but between 1880 
 and 1890 the number decreased 19.6 per cent., and during the 
 last decade 9.5 per cent. On the other hand, the white rural 
 population decreased 3.5 per cent, between 1880 and 1890 and 
 increased 2 per cent, in the last decade. 
 
 The great increase in colored population must be due almost 
 entirely to immigration, as will be seen more clearly by a com- 
 parison of birth and death rates. The immigration has been 
 chiefly from 'Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. 
 
 Population by Color and Sex, The proportion of white 
 males in the county in 1900 is practically the same as the pro- 
 portion of males in the total population. The proportion of white 
 males in the city was 50.5 per cent, of the city population. In 
 the rural population the proportion is greater by one and one-half 
 per cent, than the proportion of males in the total rural popula- 
 tion 51.9 per cent, for white males, and 50.4 per cent, for all 
 males. The proportion of white males in the city has increased 
 less than one per cent, over the 49.8 per cent, of 1890, while the
 
 44 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 proportion in the rural districts has increased at about the same 
 ratio. 
 
 In 1900, 62.4 per cent, of all the white males in the county 
 lived in the city ; this is an increase over 1890, when only 59 
 per cent, were urban. A larger relative proportion (63.9 per 
 cent.) of all white females in the county were urban, an increase 
 of about 2 per cent, over 1890. In the city the increase of white 
 males has been greater proportionately than the increase of white 
 females. Between 1890 and 1900 the white males increased 
 20.4 per cent. This is a slightly greater increase per cent, than 
 that for the whole population, due, no doubt, to the renewed 
 industrial activity in the city. The white females in the city in 
 the same period increased 18.9 per cent. Eighty-one and one- 
 half per cent, of all the colored males, and 80.8 per cent, of all the 
 colored females in the county in 1900 were urban. The pro- 
 portion of urban males has increased 5.5 per cent, since 1890, 
 and the proportion of females, 3.7 per cent. 
 
 The colored population of the city in 1900 consisted of 51.7 
 per cent, males and 50.3 per cent, females. In 1890, however, 
 the females were in the majority. In the rural districts the pro- 
 portion of males in 1900 was 50.8 per cent., one per cent, less 
 than in 1890. Since 1890 there has been a great immigration of 
 colored males into the county; for while the total population in- 
 creased 12 per cent., and the white population 12.7 per cent., the 
 colored males increased 16.1 per cent. On the other hand, the col- 
 ored females in the county increased but 5.4 per cent. 
 
 In the city the males increased 24.2 per cent, in the last 
 decade; a greater increase by 5 per cent, than that of all males 
 in the population. The colored females in the city increased 14.8 
 per cent., 4 per cent, less than the increase of all urban females. 
 
 The extent of the movement cityward in the colored popula- 
 tion may be seen in the relative decrease in the rural negro 
 population. In the last decade the general rural population in- 
 creased 1.5 per cent., the white male population 3.6 per cent., and 
 the white females 1.3 per cent., while the colored males decreased 
 1 1. 1 per cent., and the colored females decreased 7.5 per cent. 
 
 These figures show that the total population in the last decade 
 has increased by the relatively greater increase of males; and
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 
 
 45 
 
 that the increase of negro males is considerably greater than 
 that of the white males, while the increase of negro females is 
 much less than that of the white females. 
 
 A comparison of the relative numbers of males and females 
 with those found in the studies of the negroes of Farmville and 
 Sandy Springs is interesting. The Farmville study shows 1,053 
 females to every 1,000 males, and the Sandy Springs study shows 
 1,143 females to every 1,000 males. Our study of Clark County 
 shows that in 1890 there were in Springfield 1,005 females to 
 every 1,000 males, but in 1900 only 997.5 to each 1,000 males. 
 In the rural districts in 1900 there were 972 females to every 
 1,000 males. Our study bears testimony to the statement of the 
 author of the Sandy Springs study that one characteristic of 
 the race problem is the immigration of males and especially 
 of females to the city ; although we do not find the immigration 
 to the city so marked as in the above places. 
 
 TABLE III. 
 
 Population of the County by Sex, Color, and Nativity. 
 
 
 
 d 
 
 White. 
 
 Colored. 
 
 e 
 
 o 
 PQ 
 
 I 
 
 
 02 
 
 
 SP 
 
 
 Males. 
 
 
 73 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 00 
 
 Q) 
 
 "3 
 
 a 
 
 Female 
 
 Males. 
 
 <b 
 "3 
 
 a 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Native 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1850.... 
 
 11,525 
 
 10,653 
 
 11,369 
 
 10,486 
 
 156 
 
 167 
 
 19,222 
 
 1,956 
 
 I860.... 
 1870.... 
 1880.... 
 1890.... 
 
 12,832 
 16,201 
 21,414 
 26,359 
 
 12,468 
 15,869 
 20,534 
 25,918 
 
 12,573 
 
 12,235 
 
 259 
 
 233 
 
 22,429 
 28,514 
 37,679 
 47,658 
 
 2,871 
 3,556 
 4,269 
 4,619 
 
 
 
 
 
 24,020 
 
 23,612 
 
 2,335 
 
 2,307 
 
 1900.... 
 
 29,983 
 
 28,956 
 
 27,272 
 
 26,424 
 
 2,711 
 
 2,532 
 
 55,019 
 
 3,920
 
 46 
 
 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 TABLE IV. 
 Population of the City by Sex, Color, and Nativity. 
 
 
 Males. 
 
 I 
 
 Females. 
 
 White. 
 
 Colored. 
 
 g 
 
 o 
 
 "eS 
 
 Foreign Born. 
 
 f 
 
 ID 
 
 "a 
 
 S 
 
 Female. 
 
 & 
 "3 
 
 S 
 
 Female. 
 
 1850.... 
 I860.... 
 1870 
 
 2,602 
 3,431 
 
 2,476 
 3,571 
 
 3,295 
 
 2,371 
 3,431 
 
 107 
 136 
 
 105 
 140 
 
 
 
 
 
 10,483 
 17,646 
 28,160 
 34,942 
 
 2,169 
 3,084 
 3,725 
 3,311 
 
 1880 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1890.... 
 1900.... 
 
 15,899 
 19,306 
 
 15,996 
 18,947 
 
 14,125 
 17,017 
 
 14,218 
 16,903 
 
 1,770 
 2,209 
 
 1,779 
 2,044 
 
 TABLE V. 
 
 Relative Increase, by Percentages, of White and Negro Population in 
 Urban and Rural Districts Since 1860. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Springfield. 
 
 Rural. 
 
 1 
 i 
 
 >rt 
 0) 
 
 in 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 White. 
 
 Colored. 
 
 1860-1870 
 
 69.9 
 60.7 
 54.3 
 19.9 
 
 344.6 
 92.3 
 50.4 
 19.7 
 
 28.0 
 7.5 
 *3.6 
 
 2.1 
 
 1 
 
 283.8 
 47.1 
 *10.6 
 *9.5 
 
 1870-1880 
 
 1880-1890 
 
 1890-1900 
 
 
 * Decrease.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 
 
 47 
 
 TABLE VI. 
 Relative Increase of the Various Population Elements from 1890 to 1900. 
 
 
 County. 
 
 City. 
 
 Rural. 
 
 Total population 
 
 12.0+ 
 
 19.9 
 
 1.9 
 
 Total male population 
 
 13.8 
 
 21.4 
 
 2.0 
 
 Total white males 
 
 13.5 
 
 20.4 
 
 i 
 1 3 6 
 
 Total colored males 
 
 16.1 
 
 24 2 
 
 11.1 
 
 Total females 
 
 11.3 
 
 18 5 
 
 1 9 
 
 Total white females 
 
 11.9 
 
 18 9 
 
 1 3 
 
 Total colored females 
 
 9.7 
 
 14.8 
 
 *7 5 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 * Decrease. 
 Section 4. Growth of Population by Genetic Aggregation 
 
 (a) GENERAL 
 
 Having studied the population as arranged in sex, age, and 
 racial groups, we have now the problem before us whether the 
 increase in population has been due to immigration or to the 
 excess of births over deaths. The investigation of this portion of 
 our subject has been a disappointment, because of the lack of 
 proper and authentic materials. The state of Ohio gathers 
 annually the statistics of births and deaths from county probate 
 courts; and they in turn get their material from the reports of 
 assessors. In the cities of Ohio the boards of health receive 
 statements from the physicians concerning births and deaths. In 
 Clark County, then, the only source of such statistics for the 
 rural population is the assessors' returns. In the city, for ten 
 years past, there has been a separate record kept by the health 
 officer, who registers every birth and death announced by the 
 physicians ; the accuracy of his records depends upon the physi- 
 cians' promptness in sending reports. One physician stated 
 to the writer that he had not been called on for a report for six
 
 48 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 montiis through the carelessness of the sanitary marshal who 
 collects the data. While there is no direct proof that the county 
 assessors have been careless in getting exact returns, yet a com- 
 parison of the probate court records with those of the city health 
 office furnishes a basis for a belief that the vitality statistics are 
 wholly inaccurate. For example, in the year 1899, a difference 
 of more than one hundred was found in the reports, the number 
 in the assessors' reports being one hundred less than the number 
 reported by the city physicians. One would not expect so great 
 discrepancies to occur in the death records, but almost as great 
 an error appears in the same year between the assessors' and 
 physicians' returns. The discrepancy in this year is only one 
 among many. The probate records are in very poor condition 
 for study ; with the exception of a few years, no annual summaries 
 have been preserved, and in these summaries no distinction has 
 been made between city and rural population. For several years 
 the only way in which to gain any idea of the numbers in city 
 and country is to take each assessor's report and tabulate each 
 individual name as urban, rural, white, black a method too labo- 
 rious for practical use. At present the city's birth and death 
 records are in a chaotic condition ; no provision is made for 
 printing the summaries and the only method of obtaining infor- 
 mation is to take each year and tabulate the numbers with regard 
 to sex and color. 
 
 Although we have not been able to separate the county and 
 city records so as to compare them, yet we may make a very rough 
 comparison between the city and the rural districts. Our investi- 
 gation includes a study of the vital statistics for a period of thirty 
 years. The births, month by month, have been tabulated since 
 1880, for sex and color. 1 In looking over the annual birth 
 records of the county, the first thing to hold the attention is the 
 great prominence of certain years. Since 1875 there have been 
 only five years in which there is a record of more than 1,000 
 births. It may be that the records are more accurate for those 
 years; and in the year 1894 (one of the five) it may be that the 
 number is due to the unusual number of marriages the year 
 before. The discrepancies in the assessors' reports for the city, 
 however, indicate that the true number for the whole county 
 
 1 A similar table was prepared for the death record by months.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 49 
 
 must have been over 1,000 in each year since. 1890; which would 
 make a more uniform record for the last decade at least. 
 
 When the number of births for 1903, as reported (870), is 
 compared with the number of persons under one year of age 
 in 1850 when the total population was less than one-third of the 
 present population, we find a difference of only 124 in favor of 
 1903. This would indicate a birth rate for 1903 of only 14.2 per 
 1,000, while the excess of births over deaths in 1850 was 29.1 per 
 1,000. This certainly indicates some inaccuracy in the present 
 statistics. 
 
 If the total number of births for the last thirty years is 
 treated graphically, the polygon of the array indicates a slight 
 fall in the number of births between 1875 and 1878; then for 
 six years there is a gradual rise, reaching a maximum in 1883; 
 after that year the number remains high until 1890, with the 
 exception of a sudden fall in 1888; since that time the number 
 has fallen until 1901, since which time there has been a slight 
 rise.. In 1900 the county birth rate according to the assessors' 
 returns was only 13.70, a decrease of 4.5 from 1890 and of almost 
 4.5 from 1880. During the past year it was 14.50. In order to 
 find some more accurate means of determining the fall in birth 
 rate, a plan somewhat like that of the Federal Census Bureau 
 was followed. For each of the past two decades the mean 
 population was calculated and also the total number of births ; 
 on this basis the annual average was determined. For the first 
 of these decades the rate was 20.20 per 1,000 and for the last 
 (1890-1900) 16.10 per 1,000, making a decrease of 4.10 in the 
 last period. Taking the rate of 1900 at 13.70, the fall from 
 the average for 1890-1900 has been 2.40 per 1,000. 
 
 In order to determine further the accuracy of these last 
 figures the county returns were, increased by the amount of dis- 
 crepancies between them and the city returns. The corrected 
 returns make the rate for 1890, 19.20; that for 1900, 16.60; and 
 that for 1902, 16.80 per 1,000; while the corrected average for 
 the last decade is 18 per 1,000. This would indicate a decrease in 
 the rate from 1890 to 1900 of about 3 per 1,000, and 1.26 from the 
 average for the decade, with a slight increase, since 1900. While 
 these last figures, before being accepted as strictly accurate, should 
 be verified bv corrections of returns of rural assessors, yet we
 
 60 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 may assert that while there has been a decrease in the birth rate, 
 it has not been so great as indicated by the assessors' returns. 
 
 Coming now more particularly to the city birth records and 
 birth rates, we find it necessary to correct the assessors' returns 
 by using the health office, reports. By doing this we find for 
 example that the rate in 1900 changes from 15 to 18 per 1,000. 
 There seems to be an increasing amount of accuracy in reporting 
 vital statistics in the city. The city health officer is doing all 
 in his power to make the returns accurate. According to his 
 reports the rate for 1890 was 21.29, increasing to 23 per 1,000 
 in 1893, since which time there has beeji a decrease. The rate 
 was 20.40 in 1895 ; 18.86 in 1897; and about 17 per 1,000 in 1902. 
 
 (b) BIRTH RATE BY SEX 
 
 During the last thirty years the males have been in a majority 
 in all except five years; the average annual majority has been 
 39, or an average of 52.2 per cent, of the total for each year. 
 Considering the mean annual rate for males and females during 
 the last two decades by the methods employed for the total popula- 
 tion, we find the mean annual rate for 1880-1890 to be 20.60 for 
 the males and 21 for the females ; while for the past decade the 
 rates were 16.70 and 15.70 respectively; this would indicate a very 
 slight decrease of females. Correcting the figures for the past 
 decade by making the fiscal years end at the same time in county 
 and city, this difference is made much less. In the city according 
 to the health reports the rate for males in 1900 is 19.16, and for 
 females 17.95; while for 1890 the rates were. 22.07 an ^ 20.70 
 respectively. 
 
 (c) BIRTH RATE BY COLOR 
 
 It is impossible to make any estimate of the birth rate by 
 color in Springfield, since in only one or two years has the health 
 department made such a distinction. In 1890 the number reported 
 to the health office comprised 74 negroes and 605 whites; this 
 would mean a rate of 20.85 P er ijOoo for the colored, and 20.99 
 for the whites. In 1892 the rates were 15.26 and 22.62 
 respectively. With the exception of these two years it was 
 necessary to take the assessors' reports in order to obtain any
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 51 
 
 data whatever. Even then it was necessary to arrange individual 
 names in groups according to color and sex; by this tedious 
 method the numbers were tabulated for nine years. To obtain 
 any further data than this was impossible except by the too 
 laborious method of going over the county records and selecting 
 the individual records pertaining to the city. 
 
 For the county, summaries were obtained from state statis- 
 tics as far back as 1875. Each color class presents striking 
 changes in birth rates in consecutive years changes too great to 
 be accounted for except by carelessness in obtaining statistics. 
 From 1875 to 1880 the average rate was 18.70 for the whites 
 and 16.95 f r tne negroes ; from 1880 to 1890, it was 20.10 for the 
 whites and 19.60 for the negroes ; while in the last decade the 
 rates were 16.20 and 15.30 respectively. During the past three 
 years the rate has increased somewhat for the whites and remains 
 about the same for the colored. 
 
 One interesting point comes out in comparing the births 
 by sex and color : namely, that while among the whites the males 
 are in the majority during 22 out of 29 years, the colored males 
 are in the majority only 14 out of the 29 years. The average an- 
 nual excess of births of white males over white females is 33.4; 
 while for the colored population the average excess of males over 
 females is less than one. According to the returns the average 
 annual birth rate during the last decade was 16.90 for white 
 males, 15.60 for white females, 14.60 for colored male.s and 16.00 
 for colored females. 
 
 When we compare the births by months for the past 23 
 years we find that the majority of the births occurred in March. 
 This month holds first rank in the number of births ten times in 
 these years, and second or third rank eight times ; more than one- 
 tenth of all the births occurred in this month. September ranks 
 second, followed in order by February, January, December and 
 October. About 28 per cent, of all the births occurred in the first 
 three months of the year. The month with fewest births was May, 
 although there were very few more in April and June. March 
 was the chief birth month for both white and colored ; but while 
 February ranked second among the whites it was fourth among 
 the colored; November held second place among the colored.
 
 52 
 
 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 Among the whites January was third, while September was third 
 among the colored. For the whites the chief birth months in 
 order were March, February, January, December, and September ; 
 among the colored the order was March, November, September, 
 February and January. 
 
 TABLE VII. 
 
 Statistics of Birth in the County. 
 
 Date. 
 
 73 
 
 9 
 
 O 
 
 EH 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 White. 
 
 Colored. 
 
 02 
 
 
 
 73 
 % 
 
 en 
 
 .2 
 73 
 
 8 
 
 fi 
 
 CO 
 0) 
 
 1 
 
 CO 
 
 ,2 
 73 
 
 S 
 o> 
 
 c 
 
 1875 
 
 759 
 721 
 717 
 685 
 759 
 765 
 852 
 801 
 1,029 
 950 
 1,039 
 1,001 
 1,037 
 908 
 937 
 958 
 989 
 972 
 972 
 1,001 
 866 
 906 
 853 
 806 
 816 
 806 
 825 
 821 
 870 
 
 373 
 373 
 385 
 351 
 401 
 412 
 463 
 419 
 537 
 488 
 546 
 500 
 536 
 475 
 493 
 470 
 512 
 470 
 510 
 542 
 455 
 479 
 436 
 440 
 426 
 415 
 394 
 489 
 440 
 
 386 
 348 
 332 
 334 
 358 
 353 
 389 
 382 
 492 
 462 
 493 
 501 
 501 
 433 
 444 
 488 
 477 
 402 
 462 
 459 
 411 
 427 
 417 
 366 
 390 
 391 
 431 
 342 
 430 
 
 339 
 354 
 359 
 332 
 380 
 379 
 430 
 394 
 493 
 444 
 492 
 447 
 494 
 436 
 451 
 426 
 468 
 448 
 473 
 507 
 423 
 436 
 397 
 410 
 377 
 381 
 357 
 458 
 400 
 
 349 
 313 
 305 
 308 
 330 
 326 
 368 
 350 
 449 
 418 
 454 
 450 
 459 
 389 
 416 
 446 
 430 
 460 
 430 
 419 
 376 
 383 
 381 
 322 
 350 
 365 
 402 
 316 
 403 
 
 34 
 19 
 26 
 19 
 21 
 33 
 33 
 25 
 44 
 44 
 54 
 53 
 4Z 
 39 
 42 
 44 
 44 
 22 
 37 
 35 
 32 
 43 
 39 
 30 
 49 
 34 
 37 
 31 
 40 
 
 37 
 35 
 27 
 26 
 28 
 27 
 21 
 32 
 43 
 44 
 39 
 51 
 42 
 44 
 28 
 42 
 47 
 42 
 32 
 40 
 35 
 44 
 36 
 44 
 40 
 26 
 29 
 26 
 27 
 
 1876 
 
 1877 
 
 1878 
 
 1879 
 
 1880 
 
 1881 
 
 1882 
 
 1883 
 
 1884 
 
 1885 
 
 1886 
 
 1887 , 
 
 1888 
 
 1889 
 
 1890 
 
 1891 
 
 1892 
 
 1893 
 
 1894 
 
 1895 
 
 1896 
 
 1897 
 
 1898 
 
 1899 
 
 1900 
 
 1901 
 
 1902 
 
 1903 
 
 
 (d) DEATH RATES 
 
 The comparison of death records as registered by the city 
 board of health and the returns of the assessors point to great
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 53 
 
 carelessness in those who collected such statistics for the probate 
 court: for example, in 1899 there is a difference of 120 in the two 
 reports for the city. 
 
 A table of death records covering the past 30 years has been 
 made for the total population, and the population by sex, color, 
 and age. If the numbers are accurate they show great irregu- 
 larities ; for example, for no apparent reason (except that there 
 was greater accuracy in the report for 1879), the number in- 
 creases from 266 in 1878 to 382 in 1879; and again in 1887 the 
 number was nearly 160 greater than in 1886. The rate on the 
 number given in 1900 in the county was 8.57 per 1,000; this is 
 evidently too low, since the corrected returns for the city alone 
 would leave only 25 deaths for the rural population. From the 
 corrected returns the rate would be a little over 10 per 1,000, still 
 probably too low. At least there has been a great decrease in 
 the death rate. Acording to the number reported by the Federal 
 census, the rate in 1850 was 14.13 per 1,000. Evidently there has 
 been a decrease of three or four per 1,000 in the last fifty years. In 
 Springfield the rate in 1901 was 11.45. 
 
 In the county, according to the probate records, there has 
 been a slight increase in the. rate for males during the past decade 
 and a slightly lower one for females. The rate for the whites 
 remains practically the same as in the previous decade, while 
 the average rate, for the colored has decreased from 12.20 to 10.70. 
 The general rate for the colored population has been about three 
 per 1,000 in excess of that of the whites. The. rate for the past 
 decade has been two higher for colored males than for white 
 males ; and 2.3 higher for colored females than for white females. 
 
 The comparison of deaths by months for the past 22 years 
 brings out the fact that March holds first rank 14 years out of 
 the 22 ; one death in every eight occurred in this month. January 
 holds second place, and February third rank, followed by Decem- 
 ber, August and October ; these five months contain nearly half 
 of all the deaths. The months with fewest deaths are June and 
 May. Based on the average population for these years, this 
 comparison shows a range in death rate from 23 in March to 
 10.4 per 1,000 in June. 
 
 Comparing the relative number of deaths of males and 
 females by months, we find that more deaths occurred in July
 
 54 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 among females than among males; while in August the males 
 have the greater relative number. September occupies a relatively 
 high rank among females, due possibly to the fact that September 
 is a high birth month. October holds a high rank for both males 
 and females; while November and December hold a relatively 
 higher place among the males. Among the whites the greatest 
 number of deaths occurred in March, December, January, Feb- 
 ruary and August in the order named. , The months with fewest 
 deaths among the whites are October, May and June. Among 
 the white males the order of the five highest months is March, 
 January, December, February, and August; while among white 
 females the order is March, December, February, January, and 
 August. Among the white males, July, May and June ; and among 
 the white females April, May, and June have the fewest deaths. 
 Among the negroes the order of months is March, December, 
 January, February and April. August, which holds a relatively 
 high rank among the whites, is the month of fewest deaths 
 among the negroes. The colored population also has a much 
 higher death rate than the whites in October and June. 1 
 
 1 See Table on following page.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 
 
 TABLE VIII. 
 Statistics of Deaths in the County. 
 
 55 
 
 Date. 
 
 "3 
 
 -w 
 
 ' 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 White. 
 
 Colored. 
 
 03 
 
 s, 
 
 "3 
 
 a 
 
 03 
 .2 
 "3 
 S 
 f 
 fk 
 
 
 
 01 
 
 i 
 
 
 ,2 
 "3 
 
 a 
 g 
 
 &. 
 
 1875 
 
 282 
 256 
 289 
 266 
 382 
 328 
 336 
 359 
 376 
 368 
 440 
 410 
 587 
 403 
 434 
 409 
 463 
 492 
 463 
 423 
 451 
 456 
 530 
 516 
 513 
 515 
 545 
 510 
 523 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1876 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1877 . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1878 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1879 
 
 157 
 165 
 162 
 181 
 206 
 178 
 210 
 222 
 306 
 219 
 233 
 225 
 244 
 243 
 267 
 235 
 244 
 249 
 297 
 281 
 284 
 285 
 273 
 283 
 321 
 
 125 
 163 
 174 
 178 
 170 
 190 
 230 
 188 
 281 
 184 
 201 
 184 
 219 
 249 
 196 
 188 
 207 
 207 
 233 
 235 
 229 
 230 
 272 
 227 , 
 202 
 
 148 
 149 
 140 
 166 
 173 
 151 
 192 
 196 
 276 
 198 
 208 
 197 
 219 
 210 
 240 
 212 
 218 
 213 
 268 
 253 
 258 
 259 
 240 
 250 
 274 
 
 118 
 153 
 157 
 165 
 140 
 152 
 213 
 158 
 242 
 161 
 178 
 158 
 193 
 223 
 180 
 168 
 182 
 179 
 207 
 203 
 201 
 214 
 244 
 203 
 169 
 
 9 
 16 
 22 
 15 
 33 
 27 
 18 
 26 
 30 
 21 
 25 
 28 
 25 
 33 
 27 
 23 
 26 
 36 
 29 
 28 
 26 
 25 
 33 
 33 
 47 
 
 7 
 10 
 17 
 13 
 30 
 38 
 17 
 30 
 39 
 23 
 23 
 26 
 26 
 26 
 16 
 20 
 25 
 28 
 26 
 32 
 28 
 16 
 28 
 24 
 33 
 
 1880 
 
 1881 
 
 1882 
 
 1883 
 
 1884 
 
 1885 
 
 1886 
 
 1887 
 
 1888 
 
 1889 
 
 1890 
 
 1891 
 
 1892 
 
 1893 , 
 
 1894 
 
 1895 
 
 1896 
 
 1897 
 
 1898 
 
 1899 t 
 
 1900 
 
 1901 
 
 1902 
 
 1903 
 
 
 (e) DEATHS BY AGE CLASSES. 
 
 Of all the deaths reported since 1889, 12.2 per cent, have been 
 of persons under one year of age; 9.6 per cent, under five; 11.2 
 per cent, between 5 and 20; 10.1 per cent, between 20 and 30; 
 12.2 per cent, between 30 and 45; 12.9 per cent, between 45 
 and 60 ; and 3 1 .8 per cent over 60. The death rate has decreased 
 considerably for the class under one year of age; since 1900
 
 56 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 the rate has been less than 12 per 1,000. The per cent, of deaths 
 in the age class above 60 years has steadily increased from 21 
 in 1880 to 29 in 1903. There has been a corresponding increase 
 in the age class 45 to 60 ; while the percentage of total deaths in 
 the classes 30 to 45 years and 20 to 30 years remains practically 
 the same. 
 
 The following comparisons have been made of the deaths by 
 age, sex and color in the county between 1890 and 1900. Of 
 all those who died under one year 55.4 per cent, were males ; 86.9 
 per cent, were white ; 55 per cent, of the whites and 58 per cent, of 
 the colored were males. Of all the deaths between the ages of 
 5 and 10 years, 52.6 per cent, were males; 87.5 per cent, were 
 white ; 52.8 per cent, of the whites and 49 per cent, of the colored 
 were males. Just one-half of those dying between 5 and 15 years 
 of age were males, 84 per cent, were white; 50.1 per cent, of the 
 whites and 42.3 per cent, of the colored were males. In the class 
 between 15 and 30 years the males numbered a little over one-half 
 of the total ; 86.6 per cent, were white ; and 52.9 per cent, of the 
 whites and 46.8 of the colored were males. More than half (52.1 
 per cent.) from 30 to 45 years were males; nearly 90 per cent, 
 were white and 52.1 per cent, of the white and 55.4 per cent, of 
 the colored were males. In the age class from 45 to 60 years nearly 
 59 per cent, were males; 88.8 per cent, were white; and 58 per 
 cent, of the whites and 62.5 per cent, of the colored were males. 
 
 Fourteen and five-tenths per cent, of all the males who died 
 were, under one year of age ; 8.8 per cent, between one and five ; 9.6 
 per cent, between 5 and 20; 9 per cent, between 20 and 30; 10.4 
 per cent, between 30 and 45 ; 14 per cent, between 45 and 60 ; and 
 33.7 per cent, were over 60. Of all the females who died in this 
 period, 14 per cent, were under one year of age; 9.6 per cent, 
 between one and five; n per cent, between 5 and 20; 10.7 per 
 cent, between 20 and 30; 11.5 per cent, between 30 and 45; 11.9 
 per cent, between 45 and 60; and 31.3 per cent, were over 60. 
 
 In the first year of life the mortality is relatively high among 
 the colored, 19.16 per cent, of all, as against 13.7 per cent, of the 
 whites ; in the next class, from one to five years, the per cent, among 
 the negroes is 10.5 as against 9 for the whites. In the class 5 to 20 
 years the mortality is again much higher among the colored, 14.7 
 per cent, as against 10 per cent, for the whites. In the class from
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 57 
 
 20 to 30 years the percentages are 12.3 and 9.7 for the colored and 
 whites respectively ; while in the next age class from 30 to 45 years, 
 the percentages are 10.3 and 10.9 respectively. In the class from 
 45 to 60 years the relative numbers are practically the same, a 
 trifle over 13 per cent, in all. 
 
 When we compare the deaths by age and sex among the 
 whites we find that in the first year of age the mortality is 
 almost the same, 13.1 per cent, of all males and 13.6 per cent, 
 of all females ; also in the next class, one to five years, the percent- 
 age is 9 for each sex. Fewer males than females died between 
 5 and 20 years, 9.3 per cent, of the males and eleven per cent, of 
 the females. The mortality between 20 and 30 years is about the 
 same, 9 per cent, of the males and 10 per cent, of the females ; 
 while in the next class, 30 to 45 years, the percentages were 10 and 
 1 1. 6 respectively. The mortality among men between 45 and 
 60 years is much higher than among women, 14 per cent, and 12.7 
 per cent, respectively. In the class over 60 occurred 35.6 per cent, 
 of the deaths of males and 32.1 per cent, of the females. 
 
 Among the colored, the mortality among the males is in the 
 first year of life very large, 20.8 per cent, of all as against 22.2 per 
 cent, of the females. In the age period I to 5, the percentages 
 are 9.7 and 11.5 per cent. In the next class, 5 to 20 years, the 
 percentage of deaths of females is very high, 18.9 per cent, as 
 against 14.9 per cent, of the males. One-tenth of all deaths among 
 the colored males occurred between 20 and 30 years, and the pro- 
 portion of females (14.8) is again very high. Between 30 and 
 45 the proportions are practically the same, 10.4 per cent, of 
 males and 10.2 per cent, of females. In the class 45 to 60, the 
 percentages are 15.8 and n.i respectively a lower percentage 
 than that of either white males or females. 
 
 (f) COMPARISON OF BIRTH AND DEATH RATES. 
 
 We may now compare the birth and death rates and draw 
 some, rough conclusions concerning the nature of the increase in 
 population. Taking the statistics as given by the assessors' re- 
 ports, and remembering that the errors in the returns for births 
 and deaths are about the same, we may notice first a general de- 
 cline in the birth rate in the county since 1884 of about 4 per 1,000 ;
 
 68 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 while the death rate has remained about the, same, and has been 
 from 6 to 10 less than the birth rate. In the city during the last 
 decade the birth rate has varied from 17 to 22 and the death rate 
 from 12 to 15 per thousand. 
 
 The decrease in birth rate among the whites is about the same 
 as for the general population, and there is a small decline in the 
 death rate; the colored population shows a relatively greater de- 
 cline in birth rate, and during the last decade a relative increase 
 in death rate. In 1903. while the birth rate for the whites was 6 
 greater than the death rate, among the colored the death rate was 
 about 3 higher than the birth rate. In 1902, the birth rate and 
 death rate among the colored were the same. 
 
 From 1880 to 1890, the excess of births over deaths in the 
 county was 5,390 or 11.5 per 1,000 annually, of the mean popula- 
 tion for the decade. The population of the county actually in- 
 creased 10,329 during that decade, or an average annual increase 
 of 21.9 per 1,000 of mean population, leaving about 48 per cent, 
 of the increase to be accounted for by immigration. During the 
 last decade the excess of births over deaths is more than 1,000 less 
 than for the former period, and the actual increase in population 
 was 6,662, or 37.5 per cent, less than the increase in the former 
 decade. The increase in population from 1890 to 1900 amounted 
 to an annual average increase of 12 per 1,000 of the mean popula- 
 tion ; and the excess of births equaled 7.4 per 1,000 thus leaving 
 4.6 in each 1,000 (or 36.6 per cent.) of the total increase to be 
 accounted for by immigration from other states or countries. 
 
 This excess of births over deaths between 1880 and 1890 is 
 divided between males and females in the proportion of 52.4 and 
 47.6 respectively, and between the whites and colored in the pro- 
 portions of 94.5 and 5.5 respectively. The total increase in popu- 
 lation in the same period is divided between males and females 
 in the proportions of 47.9 and 52.1 respectively and between the 
 white and colored in the proportions 89.7 and 10.3 respectively. 
 During the last decade the excess of births was made up of 49.4 per 
 cent, males and 50.6 females ; and of 94.2 per cent, white and 5.8 
 colored; while the total increase in population consisted of 55.4 
 per cent, males and 44.6 females a very great relative increase 
 of males over the previous period, and 91 per cent, white and 
 9 per cent, colored.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 59 
 
 From 1880 to v 1 890 the excess of births over deaths of all 
 males amounted to an annual average of 11.7 per 1,000 of the mean 
 population, and the total increase equaled 20.7 per 1,000, leaving 
 43.4 per cent, of the total increase of males to be accounted for by 
 immigration. During the past ten years the excess of births over 
 deaths of the males equaled 7.4 per 1,000 annually, and the total 
 increase 12.9 per 1,000, leaving 42.6 per cent, of the increase to 
 immigration. 
 
 In the first of these periods the average annual excess of 
 births over deaths of all females was 13.5 per 1,000 and the total 
 average increase 23.2 per 1,000, leaving 46.1 per cent, to immi- 
 gration ; while during the last period the average excess of births 
 was 7.8 and the total increase n.i per 1,000, leaving 29.7 per cent, 
 of the total increase to immigration. 
 
 For the whites in the first period the annual excess of births 
 equaled 11.5 and the total increase 22 per 1,000, leaving 47.8 per 
 cent, of the total increase to immigration. From 1890 to 1900 
 the average annual excess of births was 7.7 and the total increase 
 11.7 per 1,000, so that but 34.2 per cent, was due to immigration. 
 In the first decade the annual excess of births among the colored 
 averaged 7.4 per 1,000 and the total increase 23.3, so that 68.3 per 
 cent, of the total increase was due to immigration ; in the last 
 decade the annual excess of births averaged 4.6, and the total in- 
 crease 12.3 per 1,000, leaving 62.6 per cent, of the total increase 
 due to immigration. 
 
 From 1890 to 1900, 40 per cent, of the total increase of white 
 males, and 26.8 per cent, of the total increase of white females 
 were due to immigration ; while 77.1 per cent, of the total increase 
 of colored males and 36.5 per cent, of the increase of colored 
 females were owing to immigration.
 
 60 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 CHAPTER II. THE SOCIAL MIND 
 Section 1. The County 
 
 There is no doubt but that the physical environment in the 
 Great Miami Valley has greatly influenced the formation and 
 growth of the mental characteristics of the social population in 
 this region. 
 
 In the first place, every part of the region is easily accessible, 
 and the natural means of communication are excellent. Thus 
 there has been in the physical environment no hindrance to the 
 assimilation of social elements. 
 
 Other conditions, too, were present at the outset for the ready 
 assimilation of the earlier immigration into the county. There 
 was the consciousness of a common purpose in coming to the 
 new country ; and the knowledge of common experiences, common 
 trials and difficulties in the new environment; hence this new 
 life speedily developed a great degree of conscious sympathy. 
 During the first thirty or forty years of the county's history 
 there was absolutely no barrier to a complete assimilation of 
 feelings, tastes and ideas. In the first place there were no relig- 
 ious or racial barriers to the complete amalgamation of existing 
 elements. In each township could be found immigrants from 
 Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York ; or from England, Ireland 
 and Germany. Before 1835 there were no religious beliefs repre- 
 sented except the Presbyterian, Methodist, and "New Lights." 
 Of course these latter elements were austere in character, dog- 
 matic, and uncompromising in religious belief. It was the era of 
 the old-fashioned love, feast with closed doors, even to those 
 who came a moment after the appointed hour ; and when the old- 
 fashioned view of predestination was a reality to every Presby- 
 terian belie.ver. In political belief there was the same dogmatism, 
 the same uncompromising attitude; but the bonds of union be- 
 tween those of unlike political or religious faith, formed by the 
 stress of common physical need, were developed and strengthened 
 by the frequent meetings for economic and social purposes. 
 
 The harvest season always brought great numbers of men 
 together for co-operative work. Other sorts of meetings were
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 61 
 
 the barn raisings and log rollings. The women had their quilting 
 and sewing bees, and both sexes met at the corn huskings and 
 "butcherings." Every neighborhood had its spelling school and 
 singing school; and the debating clubs, "literaries," and "lyce- 
 ums," were as numerous as the women's clubs of today. In fact 
 these societies and clubs were little clearing houses for the inter- 
 change and spread of ideas and opinions political, economic, 
 and religious. At these meetings Presbyterians, Methodists, 
 Whigs, and Democrats came together for deliberation; and this 
 social intercourse was undoubtedly a great force, in softening and 
 modifying political and religious prejudices. Long before the 
 Civil War period the people of the county had become practically 
 homoge.neous. Before that period there were scarcely any new 
 elements in the population with the exception of a few Catholics, 
 Dunkards. and Quakers, who came during the fifties. The best 
 example of the spontaneous response to any common stimulus in 
 those days is shown in the effect of the firing on Fort Sumter, 
 and the call for troops. Within twenty-four hours after the call 
 two companies were organized in Clark County for immediate 
 service ; while the devotion of the women and men at home to the 
 common cause was remarkable. 
 
 Since the Civil War new conditions have arisen. New glottic 
 elements have entered in, especially in the city; new sects have 
 sprung up as a result of migrations from other sections of the 
 country. In the rural districts there are those peculiar religious 
 sects mentioned in another section, such as the Mennonites, River 
 Brethren, and Saints. 
 
 The older members of these sects still cling to the old ideas 
 of dress, personal adornment, and social intercourse. Many of 
 them still hold aloof from any sort of political gathering, or from 
 voting ; but they fail to hold their young men and women. The 
 young women marry men of other and more liberal sects. There 
 is a mingling of youth in these sects with other youths in the . 
 school which is probably the strongest force in changing their 
 views and opinions. Many of the youth go to high-school, and 
 to college., and of course lose the narrow views of their fathers. 
 Even the younger men and women who remain in the church 
 have modified their views. Many take part in politics. Tele-
 
 62 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 phones and many other modern "worldly" conveniences are 
 found in their homes ; they read the daily and weekly newspapers, 
 and many read the current magazines. The introduction of the 
 suburban electric lines and the establishment of free rural mail 
 routes have undoubtedly hastened the changes already begun in 
 these communities. The electric lines now give ready and conven- 
 ient access to Dayton, Springfield, Columbus, and Cincinnati, 
 and they are patronized to a very great extent. 
 
 What has been said of one of these more exclusive sects 
 can be said of all in the county the spirit of exclusiveness and 
 the peculiar tenets held are slowly being modified and pervaded 
 by a broader spirit of sympathy and co-operation. One sees 
 fewer examples of the austere type of character, and less of the 
 dogmatic in religious belief. Indeed, this is true of all sects in 
 the rural districts. Very few of the religious sects in the rural 
 districts are doing more than holding their own. One of the 
 presiding elders of the Methodist Church in this conference says : 
 "Can we supplement the country work? Barring out an excep- 
 tion or two, you will scarcely find a branch of Zion flourishing 
 enough to be a contented resting place for the dove from the 
 ark. There ought to be a fund created to put into the field a 
 force strong enough to save our neglected fields and help to 
 stop the awful tide of Sabbath desecration which is cursing the 
 youth with a godless education." 
 
 The older element, the backbone of the churches, point to 
 the electric lines as the chief cause of the neglect of the church 
 by the young men. Whatever may be the cause, there is certainly 
 a strong and growing apathy toward the church on the part of 
 young men, especially in the little villages. The statistics of 
 church growth show this and a visit to the villages on any Sunday 
 confirms the truth of the statement. 
 
 This apathy is due to two causes. First is that class of 
 people, old and young, who form the best element of the rural 
 population, generally the children of parents of the austere type, 
 and who are rationally conscientious. They are generally in 
 sympathy with the church and its work, but will not become 
 members, because of quarrels or dissensions in their local 
 churches. This class is almost exclusively rural. As a class
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 63 
 
 they are intelligent, economically progressive, politically conserva- 
 tive, with high moral sentiments. There is not a township in 
 the county where the exclusively rural population is in the 
 majority, in which there is a single saloon. 
 
 The second class is found chiefly in the little villages. There 
 the process of social selection has been going on for years. The 
 young people who would be the natural feeders of the churches 
 have gone to the cities, and these, same persons are naturally 
 the most progressive. There can be no doubt of the fact that 
 during the past fifteen years these villages have suffered a decline 
 in moral tone and vigor. Many writers have pointed to the 
 influence of European immigration as a cause of the growing 
 laxity in Sunday observance. This may be one cause, but it is 
 not the only one. One has only to visit the little hamlets in the 
 Miami Valley which have been scarcely touche.d by foreign immi- 
 gration to witness a great and growing laxity in Sunday observ- 
 ance. This village population is not indifferent to the church 
 because of high moral opinions, or conscientious motives, but 
 because it is actuated solely by the pleasures of the senses, and 
 by the economic motive in life. It is attracted by the peculiar 
 or the sensational in religious services. It is convivial in char- 
 acter, easy-going, accommodating itself to surroundings, with- 
 out any particular desire or effort to change its environment. 
 
 In general the rural communities are conservative in opinion. 
 The idea that a farmer's boy needed more than a common school 
 education was, until not very many years ago, well nigh universal ; 
 but the opinion is growing that the farmer boy as well as his city 
 brother needs a higher education. There are several reasons for 
 this change in opinion. One is, the introduction of a township 
 board of education, instead of the old local district board of 
 directors, which until a dozen years ago was sovereign in the 
 school district. This new idea was slow in entering the minds 
 of the people, but it now seems to be firmly established. Indeed, 
 a few are ready to take the next step and to establish a county 
 board of school supervision. This new form of board led to de- 
 liberation in many districts over course of study, text-books, and 
 supervision. Two townships, Green and Madison, held out 
 longest against the idea of supervision; but now all the town-
 
 64 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 ships have supervision of some sort. The consolidation of courses 
 of study led to township commencement days, and these to the 
 idea that there should be higher branches taught to those who 
 wished them. Another reason for the more advanced opinions 
 on education has been the increased reading of daily and weekly 
 newspapers and current magazines, with the development of 
 the free rural mail routes. The increase in the circulation of 
 newspapers and periodicals has been wonderfully rapid. Prob- 
 ably another reason is the development of more improved means 
 of communication through the introduction of the trolley and 
 telephone. Five years ago there were very few, if any. telephones 
 in the rural communities; today there is scarcely a farm house 
 without one. All these things must have a decided effect upon 
 the opinions and ideas of the population. The desire for centraliza- 
 tion of schools grows very slowly. It is difficult even yet for 
 the average person to see anything better than his local district 
 school. Springfield township tried the plan of centralizing two 
 schools, but since the combined schools were placed in one room 
 and with only one teacher, the plan failed, and gave to many a 
 wrong idea of the real meaning and advantages of centralization. 
 The failure of this plan has set back the adoption of any such 
 idea for many years. However, the desire for secondary educa- 
 tion is growing. Twenty years ago very few youth in the rural 
 districts thought of going to high school or college ; today there is 
 scarcely a household with children of proper age where one or 
 more is not taking advantage of the chance for secondary educa- 
 tion. 
 
 Newspapers and magazines have largely taken the place of 
 the old "literary" and lyceum, as a means of conveying informa- 
 tion, and strengthening or modifying sentiments and ideas. The 
 debating club is a thing of the past; indeed there are very few 
 social clubs of any kind in the rural districts. The means for 
 association are fewer than in the past with its old-time co-opera- 
 tive harvest work. The annual county fair is probably the 
 chief place of gathering and meeting, for the renewal of acquaint- 
 ance and exchange of ideas. This is one of the county's most 
 important institutions and one that holds chief place in the mind 
 of the rural population.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 65 
 
 There does not seem to be as much neighborly economic 
 co-operation as formerly, since three or four men can now do 
 the necessary work in wheat or hay harvest. Improved machinery 
 everywhere has lessened the demand for human labor. There is 
 not any great desire on the part of the farming community to 
 join any extensive co-operative movement such as the Grange. 
 There is now a Grange organization in Clark County, but it is 
 weak. There are stated meetings of one small association, but 
 there is no attempt to engage in any practical co-operative work. 
 When the Grange was first organized in the seventies, there was 
 great enthusiasm in the whole county, and many local co-operative 
 lodges were formed, but there also arose disputes, and jealousies, 
 and the whole movement soon died out. 
 
 Section 2. The City 
 
 We find conditions somewhat different in the city from 
 those existing in the rural communities. A student of the social 
 institutions of Toronto, Canada, has well said: "The modern 
 city is an economic, a political, a moral phenomenon, the delight 
 of the social student and the nightmare of every decent reformer. 
 It lacks the monumental grandeur of the primitive city. It lacks 
 the civic spirit of the classic city. It lacks the municipal func- 
 tions of the medieval city. It easily surpasses the greatest 
 cities of time in the rapidity of its growth, the conglomerate 
 character of its elements and the masterly array of its problems. 
 The primitive city was an aggregation. The modern city is an' 
 aggravation. The classic city was a social state, the modern city 
 is real estate. The medieval city was defensive, but the modern 
 city is offensive in the extreme." 
 
 What we have said concerning the growth of homogeneity, 
 intelligence and common ideas in the country before the Civil 
 War period, applies also to Springfield. Since, that period, as 
 already noted, new racial elements have come in and have com- 
 plicated the problems of the complete assimilation, and develop- 
 ment of mental and moral ideas. 
 
 The first and most important barrier to a complete tolera-
 
 66 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 tion and conscious sympathy is that of color race. There is 
 practically no amalgamation of the two elements. There are a 
 few cases of intermarriage between white and colored ; and, in 
 at least a few of such alliances, the contracting parties are not 
 moral reprobates. In two cases coming under our observation, 
 the white girls who had married colored men were considered 
 quiet, refined persons. The attitude of both races toward these 
 alliances is one of intense bitterness. The parties to such con- 
 tracts are socially ostracized by the. whites, and they themselves 
 will not (if they are permitted) associate with the colored. 
 
 This animosity on the part of the whites toward the colored 
 is strong and growing; and on the part of the colored race there 
 is a growing jealousy of rights, real or supposed. It is manifest 
 everywhere. In the public schools the separation of colored and 
 white children was abolished twenty years ago; and the plan 
 has been provocative of trouble. Oftentimes white parents refuse 
 to permit their children to sit by the colored in the school room ; 
 and, on the other hand, many colored parents are so jealous of 
 their social rights that they object to any approach to a plan of 
 so seating the children in the school room as to bring them in a 
 group by themselves. Before mixed schools were introduced, 
 there were colored teachers, but now it would be almost impossible 
 to persuade any school board to elect a colored instructor, and 
 there have been none since separate schools were abolished. In 
 this respect Springfield differs from her neighbor, Columbus, 
 where a few colored teachers are employed. 
 
 The same conditions prevail in politics. The colored vote 
 is solicited by both parties, and the colored voter coddled; but 
 when it comes to giving offices to the colored voter or politician, 
 that is quite another thing. The only elective county office ever 
 given to a colored man is that of infirmary director. A deputy 
 auditor and deputy clerk have been taken from the colored 
 people; and, be it said, they have been efficient officers. In the 
 city, colored men have been appointed to minor offices, including 
 that of policeman, but the sentiment is strong against electing any 
 colored man to council, school board, or any other important 
 office. There is a growing sentiment fostered, by the colored 
 clergy and the colored professional men, that the time has come
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 67 
 
 when the colored voters should have a chance at the offices. 
 The sentiment has been manifested in city elections, but as yet 
 has had no practical result. 
 
 This animosity may be seen again in the industrial world. 
 There are very few negroes in the labor unions. Employers, 
 whether in shop or store, will seldom employ a colored man except 
 for common, unskilled labor. It cannot be denied that it is very 
 difficult for even the educated negro to find employment as a 
 skilled laborer. There is very little association of the two races 
 in society, in the churches or secret orders. 
 
 In our opinion the better element at least of the colored popu- 
 lation does not seek recognition in church or club. The conflict 
 appears chiefly in the schools, in politics, and in economic life. 
 Among the older colored citizens there seems to be a growing 
 desire for cultural associations similar to those of the whites. A 
 short time ago a co-operative association was formed for the 
 purpose of publishing a weekly newspaper devoted to the best 
 interests of the race, but its success is a question. 
 
 Those who have recently come from the South are naturally 
 the most ignorant, and they come here so that they may have a 
 "chance to vote." Many of them form a part of the pauper 
 class. We cannot agree with the observation made by the author 
 of the Sandy Springs study that the moral condition of the negro 
 is lower than in 1865. The extent of pauperism and the willing- 
 ness to live on charity is great, yet there are hopeful features in 
 the situation. The number of educated negroes is increasing, and 
 the opinion of these must have an influence on the others. Un- 
 doubtedly the city high-school has been an influence for good in 
 cultivating higher ideals among the colored. Undoubtedly the 
 great majority of colored pupils in the high-school become quiet, 
 self-respecting, self-controlled, and law-abiding citizens. 
 
 The problem of the complete assimilation of the ethnic races 
 is still present in this city. We have already spoken of the 
 Protestant Germans and their readiness to unite with the native 
 stock. They do not cling to linguistic traditions as much 
 as do the Catholic Germans. They prefer to send their chil- 
 dren to the public schools, and, are rapidly assimilating with 
 the native stock. Religion presents no barrier to intermarriage
 
 CS A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 with other stocks and other sects. The Catholic Germans cling 
 more tenaciously to language and to religious traditions. Indeed, 
 religious traditions are more powerful than the linguistic, for there 
 are frequent marriages with Irish Catholics; while there are 
 comparatively few with German Protestants. The German Cath- 
 olic school is largely patronized and every effort is made to keep 
 the children there, although many pupils go from this school to 
 the public high-school. The German Catholics are more con- 
 servative in every way than are the German Protestants. 
 
 In other portions of this study we have already referred to 
 many events which have aided in bringing about a closer co- 
 operation and in stimulating sympathy and common feelings. 
 One of the prominent examples of co-operation, and most far- 
 reaching in its effects was the Temperance Crusade in the early 
 seventies. The enthusiasm for a temperance crusade spread from 
 Hillsboro, Ohio, to Springfield in February, 1874. Through the 
 influence of a sermon in the Presbyterian church, the women 
 determined to begin a crusade against the saloons. They went 
 in bands, visiting the saloons and holding street prayer meetings. 
 One venerable - woman, who took part in the crusade, says : 
 "One of the blessings of the crusade was that the women of the 
 different denominations came together in a closer bond of union 
 than ever before." Many of the most prominent women of the 
 city engaged in the crusade, and one of the chief was "Mother" 
 Stewart, who later went from town to town to lecture on temper- 
 ance work. The pastors of all the churches gave their help, and 
 the editor of the chief city newspaper aided the cause by frequent 
 editorials. At the close of the crusade came the months of the 
 great "Murphy meetings," when many hundreds signed the 
 pledge. 
 
 The day for such emotional revivals seems to have almost 
 gone by. Very few of the churches in this day hold any more 
 of the old-fashioned revival meetings. 
 
 A more recent response to a common stimulus occurred in 
 1902 on the occasion of the great fire which destroyed the old 
 Whitely East street shops. The sympathies of the people of all 
 classes were, stirred, and the response was quick among rich and 
 poor to aid the small manufacturers in rebuilding their shops 
 and in giving work to the laborers affected.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 69 
 
 These illustrations reveal a strong emotional nature in this 
 people, easily excited, but needing almost a constant stimulation 
 of the feelings in order to lead to action. 
 
 As in many another American city, the social ideal in Spring- 
 field has been the economic. The population has been more 
 largely interested in its immediate economic welfare than in the 
 development of civic beauty or the expansion of the moral life 
 of the community. On the material side, however, there is a 
 growing desire for good streets and cleaner ones, for a better 
 sewerage system and for improved sanitary conditions. 
 
 Whether there has been a development of the mental and 
 moral life, and whether there is reason to believe in the future 
 development of a higher life, are questions which cannot be an- 
 swered quantitatively. The people are quick to feel, but slow in 
 action. This characteristic is illustrated by the sentiment stirred 
 up against the Big Four Railroad on account of recent accidents 
 at railroad crossings. At the time of different fatal accidents 
 the newspapers reflected the indignation of the people at the negli- 
 gence of the railroad in not providing safety gates or watchmen, 
 but at the time of this writing public opinion has not been strong 
 enough to enforce existing laws and ordinances governing such 
 matters. The city seems to be in a state of transition. As one 
 man expressed it : "It has reached the full stature of a city, but 
 still retains many of the characteristics of village days." 
 
 When one studies the development of moral ideas, of the 
 social spirit, and of the social conscience, his opinion will depend 
 largely on his point of view. Judging from the results of the 
 last spring election, one would believe that the city desired a 
 wide open town, with a lax administration of the laws and ordi- 
 nances regulating saloons and gambling houses, and one would 
 believe that the general opinion is that the city exists for the 
 good of the party spoilsman. The desire for such conditions is 
 not confined to one political party, but to that element in both 
 parties which desires a "liberal" administration. The town has 
 certainly been "wide open." Saloons are open every day and 
 night, with no regard for closing ordinances. If one may 
 judge from the utterances of one of the newspapers, the gam- 
 bling spirit has been rampant and unrestrained. Even when
 
 70 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 indicted, saloon-keepers have found some successful way to escape 
 punishment. The Law and Order League has been active in seek- 
 ing to bring law-breaking saloon-keepers to punishment, but they 
 have not been very successful, probably because they have been 
 unfortunate enough to employ an agent who himself was not 
 scrupulous in his method of getting cases against the law- 
 breakers. 
 
 Judging again from the growth of the churches and church 
 attendance, one may notice a growing indifference on the part 
 of working men toward the church and to the call of the 
 church. In most of the churches the laboring man is conspicuous 
 by his absence. Indeed, this apathy toward the church is strong 
 everywhere. Many of the churches have done nothing more than 
 hold their own during the past ten years. People are attracted 
 in great crowds to hear some noted evangelist, but regular church 
 services fail to attract them. 
 
 On the other hand there are evidences of mental and moral 
 growth and the development of a larger spirit of conscious sym- 
 pathy. There is greater independence of thought and a more 
 liberal spirit in all the churches. There is a greater feeling of 
 sympathy and a larger co-operation among the churches than ever 
 before. This is manifest in the frequent united efforts of the 
 churches to attain various purposes. Those of the clergy who have 
 turned their attention to the social regeneration of men and to the 
 social nature and duties of men, have generally met with a prompt 
 response from the people. One illustration of the change in front 
 of a religious organization is furnished by one of the city churches 
 in which but six or seven years ago a reference to social subjects 
 was tabooed, but where, for the last two years, an organized study 
 has been made, of socialism, and social subjects. Indeed, this 
 organization has attracted attention and interest in many other 
 churches, and has suggested similar associations elsewhere. 
 
 In the political parties there is an increasing number of men 
 that are independent in politics to the extent of recognizing prin- 
 ciples as paramount, and who in local affairs look upon the city 
 as a business corporation, and to be operated as such. This spirit 
 is manifest in the discussions of the various literary clubs of the 
 city. There is a growing interest in scientific, social and historical
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 71 
 
 subjects, and one indication of this growth is the increased use of 
 books on such subjects in the public library. 
 
 All of these influences must bring about better and higher 
 ideals of municipal beauty and public morality; and yet there 
 is a vast deal to be done before there is realized in the fullest 
 measure the ideals of physical beauty and civic righteousness. 
 Indeed, as one surveys the city at this stage of its growth, he 
 realizes that it is a long journey yet towards the realization of 
 the idea that society in the city as elsewhere exists for the good 
 of each social unit, and that each individual unit exists for the 
 good of all. There still remains a great work for the schools 
 and churches of the city to develop that true manhood and woman- 
 hood which shall find the greatest individual safety and freedom, 
 and the highest well being only in becoming completely socialized.
 
 72 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 CHAPTER III. THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 
 Section 1. The County 
 
 We now come to consider those forms of association which 
 are almost entirely the products of mental phenomena. Each 
 one of these forms of association implies a certain degree of 
 mental and moral resemblance and a growing consciousness of 
 likeness. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to speak of the public associations 
 of the people of Clark County for political and economic pur- 
 poses. In this section of Ohio, the people, influenced by political 
 traditions in Virginia, made the county the most important sub- 
 division of the state. The minor organizations are the town- 
 ships and school districts. The chief functions of the town- 
 ships are administrative, and are controlled by trustees; their 
 work consists in the repair of minor roads and bridges, and in 
 the care of the outdoor poor. The township judiciary consists of 
 the justice of the peace court, which tries petty civil and criminal 
 cases. 
 
 The county is chiefly an economic organization. Clark 
 County was created by act of the legislature in 1817. Besides the 
 sheriff, whose duties we need not describe, the chief administrative 
 officers are the commissioners, auditor, recorder, and treasurer. 
 The commissioners build and repair county roads, bridges, and 
 public buildings, and have general supervision of the affairs of the 
 county. The county selects officers to carry out the provisions 
 for the care of the poor and for children's homes. Clark County 
 has established both an infirmary for adults, and a children's 
 home ; the officers of the infirmary are elected by the people and 
 those of the children's home are appointive. The one county 
 court is the common pleas, which tries both civil and criminal 
 cases. The probate court is chiefly a court of record for vital 
 statistics, and for the filing and administration of wills. 
 
 (a) MARRIAGES AND CONJUGAL CONDITION. 
 
 The relative numbers of marriages during the last thirty 
 years, with the exception of four years from 1881 to 1885, do not
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 73 
 
 present any great variations. For convenience of comparison, 
 the number for each year has been based on the population per 
 1,000. The mode for the last thirty years has been a little over 
 nine per 1,000, and the average has been 9.1. Certainly the de- 
 crease in birth rate is not due to the relative decrease in mar- 
 riages. The marriage rate in 1850 was 7.5 per 1,000; in 1875 
 9.2; and in 1903, 9.3. In general, the increase or decrease, from 
 the mean follows the industrial conditions in successive years. 
 The greatest number referred to above occurred in the climax of 
 the industrial boom in Springfield. 
 
 Since 1898 a record has been kept of marriages by color. 
 This record shows that during the last six years the number of 
 marriages among the colored has been relatively much greater 
 than among the whites. In 1903 the rate was 8.6 for the whites 
 and 15.9 for the colored; in 1902, 9.4 for the whites and 13.7 
 for the colored. WJiile in 1900 the colored inhabitants were 8.9 
 per cent, of the total county population they furnished 10.2 per 
 cent of all marriages; and in 1903 they furnished 15.7 per cent, 
 of all marriages, while forming 9 per cent, of the population. 
 
 When we compare the number of marriages by five year 
 periods with the births for five-year periods, we find that the 
 average has been two births to each marriage, with a very slight 
 increase for the last ten years. Since 1898 the number of births 
 per marriage is slightly greater for the whites than for the 
 colored. 
 
 The monthly record of marriages for 17 years shows that 
 June holds first rank but three times, while December leads ten 
 times. June holds first or second rank only seven times, while 
 December is first or second for 15 years out of the 17. The 
 months with fewest marriages are July, August and January. 
 Forty per cent, of all marriages occurred in December, October. 
 November and September. This does not correlate closely with 
 the birth record by months, except in the case of September, which 
 ranks second in number of births. 
 
 The following comparisons for the city alone are based 
 on the census of 1900 : Nearly 20,600 persons, or 53.8 per cent., 
 were single; 39.5 per cent, were married, an increase of 21.2 
 per cent, over 1890; 6 per cent, were widowed, and the re-
 
 74 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 mainder were divorced or unknown. Evidently the number of 
 divorced is greatly underestimated. If we take into consideration 
 only the population over 15 years of age, we find that 54.8 per 
 cent, are married ; 8.4 per cent, widowed and less than one per 
 cent, divorced. Of the male population, 56.7 per cent, are single, 
 and the single males number 53.3 per cent, of all single persons. 
 The single females number 50.8 per cent, of all females. The 
 single males have increased 19 per cent, and the single females 14.6 
 per cent, since 1890; the relative proportion of single males has 
 increased somewhat more than one per cent, since 1890. The 
 married males number 39.2 per cent, of the total male population, 
 and the married females 39.8 per cent, of all females. The num- 
 ber of widowed is over twice as great among the females as 
 among the males. About 3.5 per cent, of all males are counted 
 as widowed, while the females had 8.7 per cent, widowed. If we 
 consider only those males and females over 15 years of age, we 
 find that 54.8 per cent, of the males and 55.4 per cent, of the 
 females are married; and 4.8 per cent, of the males and 12.2 per 
 cent, of the females are widowed. 
 
 Divorce. We have compiled a list of the divorces pending 
 and granted annually for a period of thirty years ; and our ob- 
 servations are based on these data. The number of suits for 
 divorce tried in the courts has increased at a remarkable rate. 
 In 1875 the number pending in the beginning of the year was 
 28, and 22 were brought during the year, making a total of 50 
 before the court in that year. The number brought annually 
 shows a continual increase. Assuming the population to be 
 37,000 in 1875, the population of the county has then increased 
 to 62,800, or about 68 per cent. ; the number of suits for divorce 
 brought into court has increased from 22 to 221, or an increase 
 of over 900 per cent. The greatness of this increase may be 
 realized better by a comparison of marriages and divorces by 
 five-year periods since 1875. 
 
 The number of divorces to marriages is as follows : 1875 to 
 1879, inclusive, I to every 12 marriages; 1880 to 1884, i to every 
 12 marriages ; 1885 to l88 9> l to every 9 ; 1890 to 1894, I to every 
 7; 1895 to 1899, i to every 6; 1900 to 1903, inclusive, I to every 
 5 marriages. As has been said before, the relative number of
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 
 
 75 
 
 marriages has not decreased, and this fact makes the great in- 
 crease of divorces all the more noticeable. Of course, not all 
 of the divorces asked for were granted ; nor, on the other hand, 
 do the divorces include desertions and separations that never 
 come under the cognizance of the court. From 1875 to 1879 
 all but two of the divorces asked were granted; from 1880 
 to 1884, 63 per cent.; from 1885 to I&&9, 73 per cent.; and since 
 1900, 74 per cent, of all divorces asked for have been granted. 
 
 The chief reasons alleged by those praying for divorce are 
 three : Adultery, absence or neglect, and cruelty. Of course, in 
 many cases the alleged causes are not the real ones. By far the 
 greater number of cases are brought on the alleged cause of de- 
 sertion and neglect, and the proportion is an increasing one; the 
 fiext cause is cruelty. The number brought on account of adul- 
 tery decreased constantly from 1880 to 1890; since that time the 
 number has increased, although the number since 1900 is not so 
 great as in the period 1879-1884. Certainly the number under 
 the cause of desertion and neglect contains many which should 
 be under the head of adultery. 
 
 It is impossible to determine what proportion of those seek- 
 ing divorce is urban, and what proportion rural. It would be in- 
 teresting to know the relation of divorce to the decreasing birth 
 rate, and also the age of those seeking divorce ; but it is impossible 
 to determine these things from data at hand. 
 
 TABLE IX. 
 Number of Marriages and Divorces by Five-Year Periods from 1875. 
 
 
 
 
 
 ) 1 
 
 
 1875- 
 
 1880- 
 
 1885- 
 
 1890- 
 
 1895- |1900- 
 
 
 1879 
 
 1884 
 
 1889 
 
 1894 
 
 1899 
 
 1903 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Marriages 
 
 1,709 
 
 2,341 
 
 | 2,216 
 
 2,272 
 
 2,096 
 
 2,099 
 
 Divorces asked 
 
 137 
 
 200 
 
 256 
 
 315 
 
 360 
 
 428 
 
 Divorces granted 
 
 135 
 
 126 
 
 188 
 
 224 
 
 263 
 
 317 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 76 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 (b) DWELLINGS 
 
 In 1900 there was one dwelling 1 to every 4.6 persons in 
 Clark County ; this is a slight decrease since 1890, but the number 
 of dwellings has increased 15 per cent. The number to a dwell- 
 ing has decreased 1.6 since 1850; while, on the other hand, the 
 number of dwellings has increased more than 250 per cent, since 
 that time. 
 
 In 1900, there were 13,529 families in the county or about 
 900 more than the number of dwellings. The number of families 
 increased 17 per cent, over 1890. The average of persons to a 
 family in 1900 was 4.3 ; in 1890, 4.5, and in 1850 5.8. Sixty- 
 three per cent, of the dwellings of the county are in the city. 
 The number in the city increased 19 per cent, over 1890, and the 
 number in the rural districts increased but 2 per cent. In the city 
 the average number of persons to a dwelling in 1900 was 4.8, a 
 slight increase over 1890, but still not so large as in 1880, while in 
 the rural population the average was 4.4, a slight decrease from 
 1890. 
 
 In 1900, 65 per cent, of the county families were urban. 
 The number in the city increased 22 per cent, and the number in 
 the rural districts increased 7 per cent, over 1890. In the city 
 the average number to a family was 4.4, and in the rural districts 
 4.3, a slight decrease in each from 1890. The city contains 64.6 
 per cent, of the private families of the county, which comprise 96 
 per cent, of the urban population, with an average size of 4.2 per 
 family. In the rural population, practically all of the families 
 are private, and the average is 4.3 persons to a family. 
 
 When we consider the total number of persons to a dwelling 
 in the city, we find that the mode is three persons. Eighteen and 
 five-tenths per cent, of all the dwellings are occupied by three 
 persons each ; 15.7 per cent, are occupied by four persons per 
 dwelling; 14.8 per cent, by five persons; n per cent, by six 
 persons ; and small percentages by six persons or more. 
 
 In the city, families of from one to two persons have increased 
 47 per cent, over 1890, and contain 9.3 per cent, of the entire 
 city population. This class forms 23 per cent, of all urban 
 families. 
 
 1 We use the term dwellings a used in the last Federal census.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 77 
 
 The families of three persons form 20 per cent, of all fam- 
 ilies ; an increase of 23 per cent, over 1890. This class contains 
 14 per cent, of the city's population. The families of four per- 
 sons number 18 per cent, of all families and have increased 20 
 per cent, over 1890. This group contains 16.6 per cent, of the 
 city's population. The five-member family has increased but 8 
 per cent, over 1890, and contains 16 per cent, of the population. 
 The six-member family contains 13.2 per cent, of the entire popu- 
 lation; the seven-member family, 10.2 per cent.; and the eight- 
 member family, 7 per cent. 
 
 (c) POPULATION AND OCCUPATION GROUPS 
 
 The following is based on the census of 1900: The popu- 
 lation over 10 years of age formed 82 per cent, of the entire popu- 
 lation; of this number the males formed 50.3 per cent, and the 
 females 49.7 per cent. The actual labor force of the city is made 
 up of 12,686 men and 2,809 women, or just about one-half of the 
 population over 10 years of age and 40.5 per cent, of the total 
 population. The men in gainful occupations number over 80 
 per cent, of all males over 10 years of age, and about 66 per cent, 
 of all urban males ; the women so engaged are 18 per cent, of all 
 females over 10 years of age, and about one-seventh of all the 
 urban females. 
 
 The largest occupation group is that of manufacturing and 
 mechanical pursuits, which contains nearly 47 per cent, of the 
 total actual labor force, and which represents more than one- 
 fifth of the entire city population. Nine-tenths of all workers 
 in this group are men; more than one-half of the men, and not 
 quite one-fourth of the women, in all occupations are in this 
 group. Of the 6,600 men in this occupation group, more than 
 one-fourth are iron and steel workers, and more than one- 
 sixth are machinists ; only 14 women are in this class. One man 
 in every six of all the males over 10 years old is an iron and steel 
 worker or machinist. 
 
 The trade and transportation group is the next in size. It 
 contains about 3,100 men and 500 women, or about one-fourth 
 of the actual labor force of the city. About one-fourth of all 
 male laborers and about the same proportion of females are in
 
 78 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 this group. The largest sub-group is that of salesmen, who are 
 one-sixth of all in the class. Another sixth is made up of the 
 merchant class. 
 
 The next group, and but little smaller than the last, is that of 
 domestic and personal service. About 23 per cent, of all workers 
 are in this group; the men are 63 per cent, and the women 37 
 per cent, of the number. The men comprise 18 per cent, of all 
 male workers, and the women nearly one-half of all females in 
 gainful occupations. Four-fifths of the men in this group are 
 laborers not especially classified, and 5 per cent, are saloon-keepers. 
 The greater number of the women (66 per cent.) are servants. 
 
 The next class is that of professional service, comprising 5.6 
 per cent, of all workers; and is made up of 4.5 per cent, of all 
 male workers and 9.4 per cent, of all the women in gainful occu- 
 pations. The men are 69 per cent, of this class. 
 
 The smallest class is that of agricultural pursuits, compris- 
 ing 1.5 per cent, of all in gainful occupations. 
 
 (d) MALES OF MILITIA AGE 
 
 In the whole county in 1900, 22 per cent, of the population 
 were of milita age, an increase of 15.5 per cent, over 1890. The 
 city contains 68.1 per cent, of this number, an increase of over 
 23 per cent, from 1890. This element was 23.3 per cent, of the 
 city population; 80.6 per cent, of these were native whites, and 
 11.3 per cent, were colored. Nearly 24 per cent, of the entire 
 colored element were of militia age ; an increase of almost one- 
 fourth over 1890. In the same time the native whites increased 
 30.2 per cent, and the foreign whites decreased one-fourth. In 
 the rural districts by far the greater number (over 93 per cent.) 
 were native whites, a gain of 3 per cent, over 1890; while the col- 
 ored element, fewer than 200 in number, made up only one-sixth 
 of all the negroes of this class in the county. 
 
 (e) VOTING POPULATION 
 
 The voting population of Clark County in 1900 comprised 
 30 per cent, of the total population, and 60.5 per cent, of the 
 voters were urban. In the city 30.8 per cent, of the population and 
 in the rural districts 29.1 per cent, are voters. In the city 88.2 per
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 79 
 
 cent., and in the country 97 per cent, of voters, are white, an in- 
 crease over 1890 of 30 per cent, and 7 per cent, respectively. The 
 proportion of negroes is slightly greater in the voting than in the 
 total population. The colored voters have increased 31.4 per 
 cent, in the city and have decreased more than n per cent, in 
 the rural districts. The foreign born electors are only 14 per cent, 
 of all voters, and have decreased greatly since 1890. 
 
 Section 2. Springfield 
 
 Springfield was incorporated as a city in 1850 ; and the char- 
 ter of government became effective in 1851, and was the funda- 
 mental law of the municipality for forty years. During these 
 years the administrative functions of the city government were 
 not well divided among the executive, legislative and judicial de- 
 partments. The mayor was not only an executive, but also a 
 judicial officer ; his sole assistant was the city marshal, who had 
 the powers of town constable. During this period the city council 
 was not exclusively legislative, but had also many executive 
 powers. 
 
 In 1891, Springfield was one of the cities classified and r<>- 
 chartered by the state legislature. The fundamental idea was to 
 establish a bi-partisan form of government, so that there might 
 be harmony between the two great political parties. The plan 
 was never realized in any particular; the division of city boards 
 equally between the parties resulted in political quarrels, feuds, 
 deals, and wire-pulling all unworthy of such bodies. After 
 ten years' trial, the good men of both parties were thoroughly 
 disgusted with the practical working of the plan and were eager 
 for a change. 
 
 The present plan is the same in all Ohio cities having over 
 5,000 inhabitants. The charter, which went into effect in 1903. 
 provides for a more complete severing of legislative and execu- 
 tive functions than existed under the old charter. The legisla- 
 tive department consists of a single body, the council, composed 
 at present of nine members ; six of them chosen by wards and 
 three by the city at large. The president of this council is 
 chosen in addition to these by popular vote, and has no vote 
 except in case of tie. This method of election of the president
 
 80 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 of the council does away with the quarrels and wire-pulling at- 
 tendant upon the former method of election by the council itself. 
 The council has general legislative authority in framing ordi- 
 nances and rules subordinate to the city charter; it has, further, 
 the general tax levying power, limited, however, to a levy of ten 
 mills except by special consent of the corporate body, and by 
 the tax commission, which may criticise or revise it ; but the veto 
 of this commission is not final, since the council may still pass 
 the levy over the veto by a three-fourths majority of all the mem- 
 bers. The councilmen hold office for two years. 
 
 The chief executive is the mayor, elected for two years. 
 Under the old charter he was a mere figurehead ; now he has far 
 more power. Vacancies in this office are filled by the president 
 of the council until the next regular election. The mayor may 
 be removed for cause by the governor. The mayor appoints the 
 board of public safety, the park board, hospital and health 
 boards, and the minor administrative officers ; for the first time 
 he has a veto power over the acts of the council. The other chief 
 executive officials are the treasurer, auditor, and board of pub- 
 lic service; these officers are elective. The board of public 
 service has purely administrative duties; having the care of all 
 public buildings and highways ; it is limited in making contracts 
 to the sum of $500, except when authorized by the council. The 
 board of public safety is appointed for four years, and has the 
 regulation and supervision of the police and fire departments. The 
 four-year term of service is good and might well be applied to all 
 other officers in the city. All appointees of this board are under 
 the merit system a new and admirable part of the present plan 
 of government. All members are subject to removal by the 
 mayor, with the approval of the board. The mayor may remove 
 the board members by preferring charges against them before 
 the council. 
 
 The board of review is appointive and has power to equalize 
 the valuations of all real property in the city. The board may 
 place a value on any property not already listed for taxation, or 
 change the valuation of property already listed. As in all other 
 Ohio cities, there is also a decennial board of equalization, which 
 appraises all property anew for the ensuing decade. The board of
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 81 
 
 elections also is appointive ; it has charge of all matters pertaining 
 to registration and elections in the city. 
 
 The board of education is the only body not yet subject 
 to reform by the municipal code; it is hoped, however, that the 
 present legislature (1904) will reform the method of election of 
 school boards, and the general system of school administration. 
 The present board consists of twelve members, two from each 
 ward, and elected for two years. The board appoints the super- 
 intendent of public instruction and other officers and teachers in 
 the schools. During the past year there has been agitation in 
 Springfield, as in other Ohio cities, for the adoption of what is 
 known as the "Toledo Plan," which provides for a smaller num- 
 ber of members, and makes at least one of them a salaried officer, 
 requiring him to devote his entire time to the business manage- 
 ment of the schools, leaving the other school administration to 
 the superintendent of instruction. Further suggestions are : The 
 election of members by the city at large, instead of by wards ; the 
 nomination of members, not by political parties, but through pe- 
 titions of at least two hundred citizens. 
 
 The judicial department of the city consists of a police 
 court, comprising a judge, clerk, and prosecutor, all elected 
 for two years. Experience in Springfield proves that the term of 
 office is not sufficiently long to make them independent of political 
 influences. Only petty criminal cases are tried here. All civil 
 cases are tried in the justice of the peace or common pleas courts. 
 
 In general criticism of the political organization of the city, 
 we may say : First, that the executive department is much 
 stronger than ever before, yet the mayor should be given more in- 
 dependent power in the removal of his appointees ; again, there is 
 no reason why the board of public service should not be ap- 
 pointive, as the board of safety is. Again, the executive 
 boards have taken upon themselves to decide what laws or ordi- 
 nances should be enforced, forgetting that they have no right to 
 exercise individual judgment as to what laws to enforce, and that 
 their plain duty is to enforce the decrees of the people. Last, and 
 most serious, is the criticism that politics so largely control nearly 
 every department of the city government. The legislature would 
 have been wiser if it had adopted the plan proposed by the
 
 82 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 "Special Committee of 1900," which provided that "fitness should 
 be. the only test of the appointment, and fidelity and efficiency the 
 only tenure of office." They suggested a council of seven, four 
 from councilmanic districts, and three from the city at large. 
 
 In the executive department, only the mayor, clerk, and 
 treasurer were to be elective, and nominations were not to be 
 made by party primaries, but by petitions of some definite number 
 of voters. 
 
 The general opinion of advanced thinkers in Ohio today 
 seems to be in favor of the formation of an executive department 
 on the Federal plan. Other interesting features of the proposed 
 code are the propositions that all cities shall have the right to own 
 all telephones, gas, and electric light plants; that cities of over 
 50,000 shall be empowered to own their street-car systems, and 
 that no franchises shall be granted except by direct vote of the 
 people. 
 
 Section 3. Private Associations 
 
 (a) CULTURAL 
 
 In the old days there seem to have been more associations 
 proportionately to the population than at present. Even as late 
 as twenty years ago, scarcely a rural community failed to have a 
 large and flourishing literary society, debating club, or singing 
 school. Today the old-fashioned spelling school or debating so- 
 ciety is a curiosity. The place of these old clubs in the city and in 
 many rural communities has been taken by almost innumerable 
 fraternal organizations among the men and by women's clubs 
 among the other sex. 
 
 There were 98 fraternal bodies in Springfield in 1900, with a 
 total membership of 11,311. There are very few men in the city 
 who do not belong to at least one of these organizations, and many 
 belong to more than one. It is not necessary to speak of the 
 individual fraternities. The Odd Fellows are strongest, with 
 about one-fifth of the total fraternal membership. The Knights 
 of Pythias and the Masons are second and third respectively. Nine 
 of the Masonic lodges are colored, with 430 members; five 
 Knights of Pythias lodges are colored, with 325 members. In
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 83 
 
 all, about 1,000 colored persons belong to the fraternal soci- 
 eties. Three of the fraternal orders' have state homes in Spring- 
 field the Masons, Odd Fellows, and Pythians. The enthu- 
 siasm f for fraternal associations has lately spread over the coun- 
 ty ; especially is this true of the Knights of Pythias and the Junior 
 Order of American Mechanics. Nearly every little, hamlet now 
 has one of these organizations. 
 
 There are many club organizations among the women of 
 Springfield. These clubs are of all sorts and their range of study 
 seems unlimited. The first woman's club was formed about 
 twenty-five years ago, as a branch of the Chautauqua move- 
 ment. It is impossible to enumerate all the women's clubs 
 of today their name is legion. The desire for social and liter- 
 ary clubs is confined to no one sect or class, but is common to all 
 classes. During the past two or three years, four or five clubs 
 have been formed among the colored women of the city. An in- 
 quiry at the public library brings out the fact that these study 
 clubs are creating a larger demand than formerfy for works 
 other than fiction. 
 
 There seems to be little of such club life in the rural com- 
 munities. Indeed, it appears that during the past few years there 
 has been a great lack of that old social life which formerly char- 
 acterized the rural population. Nothing, as yet, has taken the 
 place of the old-time quilting and sewing bees. Probably the 
 coming of the interurban trolley and the telephone will serve to 
 bring about a renewal and strengthening of social life. 
 
 Religious Associations. The first religious organization in 
 the county was that of the Methodists, just a century ago. They 
 erected their first building in 1814. A church building was 
 erected before this, however, by the "New Lights," in 1810, but 
 the organization lasted only fifteen years. The next organization 
 went under the name of "Associate Reformed Presbyterian 
 Church," but it is now known as the United Presbyterian. An- 
 other old organization is the regular Presbyterian, which was 
 formed in 1819. The Federal census of 1850 gives the number 
 of churches as 63, with a seating capacity of 23,000. Unfortu- 
 nately the census did not include the number of communicants. 
 These societies represented 12 different sects, the Methodists lead-
 
 84 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 ing, and the Presbyterians and Baptists following. By 1890, 
 the number of societies had increased to 98, with a seating ca- 
 pacity of 36,000, an increase of 58 per cent, over 1850. The 
 value of all church property was more than $792,000. If the cen- 
 sus figures for 1850 are correct, they show that the churches then 
 had a seating capacity for 500 more than the total population ; 
 while in 1890 there were seatings for only about 70 per cent, of 
 the population. The census of 1890 gives the total number of 
 communicants in the county as 19,576, an average of about 200 to 
 each society; and comprising about 37 per cent, of the total pop- 
 ulation. 
 
 It has been difficult to get the church enumeration of the 
 present day; in some cases estimates only were given by pastors 
 or clerks. The number of societies is now ( 1904) 100, with 
 22,000 communicants, a gain of about 12.5 per cent, in 13 years. 
 This includes an estimate of 4,000 adherents of the Catholic 
 churches. About 35 per cent, of the total county population are 
 church members. At present there are 45 societies in the city, 
 and 55 in the rural districts. The communicants in the city num- 
 ber 16.000 in round numbers and in the rural districts 6,000. 
 The increase in the rural districts has been slightly greater, pro- 
 portionately, than in the city. Many of the churches in the little 
 villages and hamlets, however, are barely holding their own. The 
 Methodist Episcopal is strongest in the rural districts, compris- 
 ing about one-third of the entire rural church population ; but it 
 has scarcely done more than hold its own in recent years. The 
 Lutherans, Presbyterians and Baptists are next in order of 
 strength, making one-fifth of the. rural population. The Reformed 
 Church, and the Christian, number about 600 each, and the Meth- 
 odist Protestant, 300. The rural Catholics number about 300. 
 There is one rural African Methodist church with 175 members. 
 
 This county has been a meeting place for many sects that 
 are peculiar on account of dress or particular religious ob- 
 servances. In the western portion of the county between Spring- 
 fild and New Carlisle are. many Dunkards, who came from Penn- 
 sylvania about fifty years ago; they number about 300, and are 
 among the most thrifty and well-to-do of all the inhabitants of the 
 county. They are now divided into two bodies. In the southeast-
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 85 
 
 ern corner of the county there has been a settlement of Friends 
 for sixty years or mof e ; their number has not grown during the 
 past few years. There are now about 200 communicants in their 
 two churches ; they are divided about equally into Orthodox and 
 Hicksite Friends. 
 
 The southwestern corner of the county, in Mad River and 
 Bethel townships, is largely made up of Mennonites and River 
 Brethren, all of whom are well-to-do and thrifty farmers. The 
 Mennonites. about 200 in all, are divided into three groups. 
 The largest group, 140 persons, is that of the Reformed Men- 
 nonites; the other two groups, about equal in numbers, are the 
 "Brethren in Christ" and "Mennonites Proper." There are only 
 about 60 River Brethren all told. The Seventh Day Baptists 
 have a church in the northwestern part of the county. There is 
 also a community of Saints north and northwest of Springfield. 
 
 In the city the total number of communicants comprises about 
 38 per cent, of the urban population. The first great division of 
 the urban religious population is between Protestant and Catholic. 
 Until 1830, there was not a Catholic in the city, but ten years 
 later there were many Catholic families and a church organization 
 was formed. There are now three large Catholic societies one 
 Ge.rman and two Irish. There is evidently a discrepancy in the 
 number of Catholics as given in the Eleventh Census, for a recent 
 local census returned 800 fewer than the number given in 1890. 
 It is a conservative judgment to estimate the number of Catholics 
 in the city as about 10 per cent, of the total population, and 
 about one-fourth of the church population. The Irish Cath- 
 olics are three times as numerous as the German Catholics. Re- 
 cent returns show 250 German Catholic families and 850 Irish 
 Catholic families in the churches. 
 
 The German Protestants are in two churches, having a mem- 
 bership of about i, 800; these churches are strong and growing. 
 The Lutherans, among the Protestant bodies, have, the greatest 
 number of churches, but the Methodists have the greatest num- 
 ber of communicants. Nearly 77 per cent, of all church mem- 
 bers are Protestant, and of these the German Lutherans make up 
 1 1. 2 per cent., thus leaving about 66 per cent, for the English 
 Protestants. The Methodists, with five bodies, comprise 14.7
 
 86 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 per cent, of the total religious population, and the English Luth- 
 erans 13 per cent. These four bodies mentioned above make up 
 then all but 38 per cent, of the church population. If the figures 
 for 1890 are correct, the Methodists have done little more than 
 hold their own since that time. The English Lutherans now have 
 seven churches, and have increased 40 per cent, over 1890. The 
 Lutherans of all kinds number one- fourth of the church population 
 and about 10 per cent, of the city population. The predominance 
 of the Lutheran element may be accounted for when we remember 
 that Pennsylvania and Maryland have furnished so large a pro- 
 portion of the older city population. 
 
 The Presbyterians are next in strength, with 1,500 members, 
 or about 10 per cent, of all church members; they are divided 
 into the regular Presbyterians, with four churches and 1,250 mem- 
 bers, and the United Presbyterians, with one church and 250 mem- 
 bers. The first body has increased more rapidly than the latter, 
 the increase being about 30 per cent, over 1890. Next in size 
 are the Baptist, Congregational, and Protestant Episcopal de- 
 nominations, each with two churches, and about 500 members, 
 and each growing very slowly. The other (white) churches are 
 scattered among various denominations, e. g., the United Breth- 
 ren, one church, 400 members ; the Christians, 200 members ; and 
 the Universalists with fewer than 100 members. The Jews have 
 a strong organization of about 200 members and are among the 
 most liberal of all the sects. While nothing definite can be 
 learned as to the number of Christian Scientists, yet the number 
 cannot be far from 300, and is growing. The Salvation Army 
 has a strong organization in the city, and has gained the entire 
 respect and financial co-operation of the community. 
 
 The 5,000 colored persons in the city are represented by 1,200 
 communicants. They comprise about 8 per cent, of the total 
 church membership. The Methodists comprise 56 per cent., and 
 the Baptists 44 per cent, of this element. The Baptists have two 
 churches and the Methodists three. If the returns are correct, 
 the colored church membership has increased greatly since 1890. 
 The Methodists have almost doubled their numbers and the Bap- 
 tists have increased by a large percentage. The two Baptist
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 87 
 
 churches are of brick, and are large and commodious ; their prop- 
 erty is valued at $39,000. 
 
 The above named are the regular organizations. As auxil- 
 iary to these may be mentioned the Christian Endeavor societies, 
 Epworth Leagues, and the Baptist Young People's Unions, each 
 of which is organically connected with some church. Another 
 power for good in the city is the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
 tion. The first attempt to form an association was in 1854, 10 years 
 after the first attempt of George Williams in England. An old 
 citizen says that the Civil War united such associations into the 
 Christian Commission, and thus terminated the career of this one 
 in Springfield. A reorganization was effected in 1868. The 
 chief function of this association was to secure public meetings 
 on Sunday and to hold services at the jail and station house. 
 This association also made a collection of some 2,000 volumes, 
 to be used in lieu of a public library, which, in 1872, became the 
 nucleus of the present library. The association relinquished 
 active work in 1872. Another organization was formed in 1879, 
 but failed of its purpose. The last and successful attempt to 
 form an association was made in 1887; it grew rapidly and in 
 1892 numbered more than 1,000 men. A large association 
 building was erected in 1901 at a cost of nearly $100,000. This 
 association is a pioneer in the work of teaching mechanical draw- 
 ing and manual training in its night schools. A few years ago 
 an attempt was made to establish an association among the col- 
 ored men, but as yet it has made little progress. 
 
 The Young Women's Christian Association may be classed 
 among the religious associations, although a part of its work can- 
 not be described as strictly religious in character. It is an out- 
 growth of an old association known as the "Deaconess Home." 
 The work has been to care for women and children ; one notable 
 feature is the establishment of a relief home for children whose 
 mothers must work away from home, and also for homeless 
 children. 
 
 (b) ECONOMIC ASSOCIATIONS 
 
 Private economic associations are chiefly in manufacturing 
 pursuits, although there are 1,200 merchants and agents in the city.
 
 88 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 Associations in manufacturing began with the beginning of the 
 city's history. There are now 13 companies engaged in making 
 machinery and material and supplies for other factories; 7 com- 
 panies make gas and steam engines; 21 make iron and steel prod- 
 ucts, including furnaces, stoves, bridges, and electric supplies ; 
 14 houses manufacture publishing supplies; 9 firms are florists; 
 4 make medicines and chemicals, and 51 are engaged in miscel- 
 laneous manufactures. There are five national banking associa- 
 tions, with over $5,000,000 resources; there are also two strong 
 building and loan associations. 
 
 Labor Unions. Before the close of the Civil War, there were 
 no labor unions in Clark County for the reason that the modern 
 manufacturing system had scarcely begun. The first union to be 
 formed was that of the iron molders, in 1864, with 22 charter 
 members, among whom were many of the now well-known and 
 respected citizens, and many who hold prominent positions 
 in the city. The charter was returned after a few years, but re- 
 gained in 1878. This union pays sick and out-of-work benefits. 
 In common with the other members of the International Molders, 
 it has an agreement with various employers' associations, by which 
 all disputes must be heard by a joint committee representing each 
 organization a plan that has been successful in Springfield. 
 
 The second labor organization formed in the city was the 
 Typographical Union. Its list of charter members includes many 
 who are now publishers and employers. The first event of any 
 prominence connected with its history was in 1886, when a strike 
 was made for higher wages ; the decision of the matter was left 
 to an arbitration committee, and was satisfactorily adjusted. The 
 Introduction of type-setting and type-casting machinery has not 
 proved a detriment to the workmen of Springfield. One of their 
 number said: "It has benefited us, because it has produced a 
 stimulus to the printing business." There has never been a serious 
 strike in connection with this union. 
 
 Aside from these two unions no others existed until 1883, 
 when the locomotive engineers established a branch here. The 
 new impetus to the organization of labor came between 1883 
 and 1886 in the Knights of Labor movement. The first was the 
 Mad River Assembly, which was the sole. Knights' organization 
 until 1885-6, when the Tailors' Assembly was formed. It was
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 89 
 
 followed by the Champion City, Lagonda, Germania, Phoenix, 
 Excelsior and others ; in all there where eleven assemblies. In 
 October, 1886, a district assembly was formed with a membership 
 of 3,000, and with this city as headquarters. The Knights were 
 strong in Springfield, and a trial of strength between them and the 
 city's greatest employer, William N. Whitely, soon ensued. A 
 large proportion of the men in his shops were Knights. The 
 organization had been making trouble in other places, and it was 
 feared that there would be trouble here. Those men that were 
 labor leaders here twenty years ago now frankly admit that the 
 trouble grew out of a misunderstanding of the nature and plans 
 of the Knights of Labor. Fully 1,500 men were employed by the 
 Whitelys, and when one day the foremen made an examination 
 they found that 1,000 men were. Knights. Orders were imme- 
 diately issued for the discharge of every man who would not 
 sign an iron-clad agreement promising to join no labor organi- 
 zation. The firm placed a great sign on the shop, which de- 
 clared that free and independent workmen only would be em- 
 ployed. This action provoked intense excitement, and a riot 
 seemed imminent; however, the advice of cooler heads was fol- 
 lowed, although for weeks the city was stirred up over the sit- 
 uation to a degree never before nor since equaled. The firm re- 
 fused a compromise on any conditions except complete sur- 
 render; and those "locked out" placed a boycott on all the firm's 
 products, and enlisted organized labor over the whole country 
 in its support. The boycott was powerful enough to become a 
 strong element in the causes bringing financial troubles upon these 
 employers. But the Knights of Labor, as a general organization, 
 with a political bias, could not cope with the establishment and 
 growth of separate craft organizations. Soon after the Whitely 
 troubles the organization waned; and by 1890, nearly all the 
 assemblies in the city were discontinued ; the Mad River Assembly 
 lived until 1896. During the period of their greatest strength, the 
 Knights in Springfield exerted a great influence in interesting 
 their members and the people generally in the study of industrial 
 and economic questions. Many speakers of prominence were 
 brought here for the purpose of agitation and education. No 
 other troubles than those mentioned above have occurred. Rela- 
 tions between employer and employes have been harmonious.
 
 90 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 The cigar makers united in 1887, and later the bakers and 
 the locomotive firemen. On September i, 1903, there were in 
 existence in the city 62 craft unions. There are about 5,000 
 workmen in these organizations, or about five in every seven of 
 the workers in the trades represented by these unions. The 
 existence of the general body of Knights had impressed upon 
 the minds of many the desirability of some medium for united 
 action. A meeting was called early in 1890 for the purpose of 
 forming a central body; seven crafts met together and formed 
 a permanent organization, to be known as the Trades and Labor 
 Assembly. The preamble to its constitution sets forth the follow- 
 ing aims: "To promote unity of sentiment and action and a 
 spirit of fraternity among all organizations." It cannot be denied 
 that this central assembly has done much good. The present year 
 is only one among many in which the assembly has been interested 
 in securing university extension lectures ; every year the assembly 
 is addressed by speakers from abroad or from the city. It has 
 interested itself in all sorts of economic and social questions; it 
 was active in trying to secure the passage of the Australian Ballot 
 Law; it has given support to the bill creating a State Board of 
 Arbitration and State Departments of Inspection of Workshops 
 and Factories. In 1890 the assembly instituted the celebration 
 of Labor Day ; as the chief features of the day it provides a great 
 parade, and an array of speakers and various amusements. 
 
 (c) ASSOCIATIONS WITH A MORAL PURPOSE 
 
 The private associations of this sort have been pre-eminently 
 those formed by women. Ever since the first association for work 
 of love during the Civil War, the women have organized for some 
 work of charity. Very soon after the war a "Woman's Benevo- 
 lent Society" was formed ; this society, after a few years, resulted 
 in the formation of the Associated Charities of the city, a semi- 
 public organization for poor relief. 
 
 About nine years ago a sewing school was organized, the 
 expenses being partly met by the Associated Charities and partly 
 by private gifts. The school is undenominational; it is large 
 now and is growing steadily. The Needle Work Guild is another
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 91 
 
 organization of the women of the city; it is an association for 
 the relief of the poor by means of gifts and clothing. 
 
 The Young Women's Mission was organized in 1897 f r 
 the purpose of caring for the sick poor. One of the best illus- 
 trations of the work of women in Springfield is the Clark Mer 
 morial Home for Aged Women, established in 1899. A payment 
 of $200 must be made by those who enter the Home; and any 
 property they may be possessed of at the time of their death is 
 supposed to revert to the Home. The women of the city bear 
 the expenses of maintaining the Home; and thus far they have 
 managed successfully to meet all current expense. The two 
 Women's Christian Temperance Unions are the other undenom- 
 inational organizations for the purpose of giving the city a moral 
 uplift; their influence is sometimes overlooked in the presence of 
 the work done by the other organizations mentioned above. Their 
 chief work has been in extending all influences that make 
 for temperance reform. 
 
 (d) POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS 
 
 The electors in the city, in 1900, made up 65 per cent, of the 
 electors of the whole county, and 30.8 per cent, of the total city 
 population. In 1900, 30.3 per cent, of the county population were 
 voters; in 1890, 28.1 per cent.; in 1880, only 27.7 per cent.; and 
 in 1870, but 23.9 per cent. The voting population of the city has 
 increased a little over 29.2 per cent, since 1890, and that of the 
 rural population a little more than 6 per cent. 
 
 The vote of the county from year to year shows a varying 
 interest in the city, state, and national affairs ; and has never failed 
 to be Republican in state and national elections. The rural vote 
 always shows a Republican majority in county elections ; but the 
 parties in the city are about equally divided on local affairs. 
 Records of the vote of the political parties are available as far back 
 as 1818. In 1873, the records first separate the city from the 
 county vote. From a comparison of the vote at presidential elec- 
 tions in the county since 1829, it may be noted that the parties are 
 better organized now than they were formerly ; and that an increas- 
 ing proportion of the voting population takes a practical interest 
 in elections. Before 1856, it was seldom that more than 75 per
 
 92 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 cent, of the total vote was gotten out in presidential elections, but 
 since 1864, from 85 to 90 per cent, of the voters have been repre- 
 sented at the polls. The earliest settlers were predominantly 
 National Republicans; and, later, Whigs. Until 1844 the Whigs 
 had twice as many adherents as the Democrats. 
 
 The first independent party in the county appeared in 1842, 
 when the Abolitionists polled 44 votes out of a total of more than 
 3,000 cast. This party grew slowly, polling only 67 votes in 1852, 
 and then rising rapidly to 360 in 1853. In 1854 it joined the Re- 
 publican party. The other independent party in earlier years was 
 the -Know Nothing; in 1856 it first appeared with 250 votes, but it 
 disappeared very rapidly. Since 1870, there have been many in- 
 dependent movements in the county. The Greenback party began 
 in 1873, became strongest in 1878, and died in 1880; it was never 
 very large and at the time of its greatest strength polled fewer 
 than 250 votes out of a total of some 9,000. 
 
 The greatest independent movement was the Populist; this 
 party grew from 43 in 1884 to some 1,200 in 1887. By 1900, 
 however, this movement, also, had died away. 
 
 The first Prohibition vote in the county was cast in 1870. 
 The large vote of the party in 1874 was evidently due to the 
 Women's Crusade and the Murphy meetings of 1873. This party 
 has had a checkered career. Presidential elections have always 
 brought a majority of its adherents back to the old parties. The 
 period of greatest growth was between 1885 and 1889; in each 
 of those years the vote was not far from 1,000. The vote de- 
 creased from nearly 900 in 1890 to 79 in 1895. In the election of 
 1903, 300 votes were cast. Probably one reason for the decline 
 has been the increase of other independent parties since 1895. In 
 1895 the Socialist Labor party claimed a few adherents; it cast 
 only 38 votes in 1903. The Social Democrats were organized in 
 1900, but have not appeared on the ticket since. The Socialist 
 party appeared in 1901 with 165 votes, which increased to more 
 than 600 in 1902, and declined again to 345 in 1903. This party 
 seems to have caught all that were formerly in the Union 
 Reform and Social Democratic parties. A futile attempt was 
 made in 1897 to organize a Negro Protective party, but the
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 93 
 
 negroes seem to be too much attached to the Republican party to 
 join any independent movement. 
 
 Taking the county as a whole during the past twenty years, 
 there has been a small and almost a constant proportion of inde- 
 pendent voters. For the most part the Greenback movement was 
 a rural one. In general, the Prohibition party has been stronger 
 in the country than in the city. Since 1900, however, the Prohibi- 
 tionists in the city have been more numerous. A very small num- 
 ber of the adherents of the newer parties are in the rural districts. 
 
 When the arrays of votes of the two great parties are ar- 
 ranged graphically, the two polygons for the county show a re- 
 markable similarity; they show that when apathy appears in one 
 party, it is quite as likely to appear in the other. The rural vote 
 in both parties has been much more even than in the city. 
 
 The private political clubs have been more numerous among 
 the Republicans than among the Democrats. At present the Re- 
 publicans have a large club actively engaged politically.
 
 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. THE SOCIAL WELFARE 
 Section 1. Economic 
 
 The economic well being of the people of Clark County is 
 manifest in various ways, and many of these have already been 
 indicated in the previous portions of this study. The public 
 buildings of the county bear witness to its wealth. The majority 
 of the farm houses bear evidence of prosperity; they are well 
 furnished ; an increasing number are equipped with long distance 
 telephones and other modern conveniences. If the number of 
 dwellings erected is an index of prosperity, the county is enjoy- 
 ing a period of marked prosperity. Since 1900 more dwellings 
 have been erected than in the twenty-five years between 1859 an ^ 
 1875, and more than half as many as were erected during the last 
 decade. The greater part of this increase has been in the city. 
 The number of dwellings in Springfield is increasing faster than in 
 any other period of its history, save in the years 1882 and 1883. 
 
 In the country the value of all lands and buildings has in- 
 creased from $6,000,000 in 1850 to $12,000,000 in 1900. The 
 value of implements has increased from $144,000 in 1850 to 
 ^.16,000 in 1900; and the value of live stock has increased from 
 $1,373,000 in 1880 to $1,615,000 in 1900; the total value of farm 
 products has increased from $2,286,000 in 1880 to $2,904,000 
 in 1900.* 
 
 Of the 13,386 private families living in the county, 17.5 
 per cent, lived in farm homes in 1900 ; and of these farm homes, 60 
 per cent, were owned by the occupants, a decrease of i per cent, 
 from the proportion in 1890, and 9 per cent, from 1880. Sixty- 
 five per cent, of the farm owners owned homes free from all 
 incumbrances. This is 4 per cent, less than the number in 1890. 
 In 1900, 40 per cent, of the farms were tilled by renters, a slightly 
 greater number than in 1880. 
 
 The absolute number owning farm homes has decreased 
 about i per cent, since 1880. The number of renters has increased 
 
 Tabulated from assessors' returns.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 96 
 
 41 per cent, from 1880 to 1890 and I per cent, since 1890. This 
 would seem to indicate that the farmers have been increasing in 
 well being since 1895, relatively to the period 1885-1895. There 
 are about 2,400 homes in the rural districts other than farm 
 homes. Of these, only 46 per cent, were owned in 1900 by their 
 occupants, while just one-ha.lf were so owned in 1890. Of these 
 homes, 60 per cent, were free from incumbrance, an increase of 
 1 6 per cent, over 1890. The absolute number of homes owned 
 by their occupants is about 2 per cent, less than in 1890, while the 
 number free from debt has increased 40 per cent. The number 
 of renters is about 4 per cent, greater than in 1890. 
 
 In the city there are about 8,700 private families ; 62 per cent, 
 of these live in rented homes. This is 2 per cent, less than the 
 proportion in 1890. Sixty-one per cent, of these homes are free 
 from incumbrance a slight decrease since 1890. The absolute 
 number owned has increased from 2.400 to 3,000, an increase of 
 25 per cent., while the number owned free has increased 18 per 
 cent. 
 
 It may be noted in passing that of the 1,000 negroes living 
 outside the city, 18 families, representing 85 persons, live on their 
 own farms; and 25 families, representing probably 115 persons, 
 live on rented farms. The farm owners represent about 8.5 per 
 cent., and the renters 11.5 per cent, of the total rural negro popu- 
 lation. This would indicate that about four-fifths of the negroes 
 are either laborers living on farms or are residents of the smaller 
 villages. It is not possible to find the number of negroes in the 
 city who own homes. 
 
 We have already indicated the nature of the agricultural 
 products of the county, and only a word more is necessary. If 
 returns are accurate, there are far fewer cattle and sheep in the 
 county than in 1850. The number of sheep has decreased from 
 53,000 in 1850, to 20,000 in 1901. The wealth of the agricultu- 
 ral districts consists primarily of the staples, wheat and corn; 
 the average yield of corn during the past five years has been 
 2,000,000 bushels. Farm laborers are scarce and in great de- 
 mand. The average wages are $20 per month, with board. Day 
 laborers receive from $1.00 to $1.50 per day; and even at this 
 price many farmers complain that it is almost impossible to secure 
 or retain desirable workmen. The same is true of female laborers
 
 96 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 in the rural districts. Although there are as yet absolutely no 
 class distinctions between employer and employe on the farms, 
 yet it is well nigh an impossibility to obtain help in house work. 
 The reason is readily found in the attractions and supposed ad- 
 vantages of the city, where work is to be obtained in shop or 
 store at a meager wage. 
 
 The manufacturing interests of the county are quite large 
 even outside the city. Various causes have contributed to the de- 
 velopment and advance of manufacturing in the region. "First," 
 says one writer, "must be considered the great commercial ad- 
 vantages of this state; Ohio has easy water communication with 
 the Atlantic seaboard via Lake Erie and the Erie Canal, and with 
 the Northwest by the lakes and St. Marie Canal, while the Ohio 
 River furnishes cheap communication with Pennsylvania and the 
 Mississippi Valley." Then, too, as the Twelfth Census report sug- 
 gests, the pre-eminence of the state in agriculture created an 
 extensive market in the middle of the century, while the forests 
 of hard wood and the local or nearby manufacture of iron fur- 
 nished abundant supplies of the chief materials for manufactur- 
 ers. Springfield is a distributing center for manufactured prod- 
 ucts. Each year whole trainloads of these products leave for 
 the West and Northwest and for Eastern ports, to be shipped 
 to Russia, Australia and other grain growing countries. While 
 it is not possible to distinguish the manufactures of the city and 
 non-city districts further back than 1880, yet it is interesting to 
 compare the growth of the county's manufacturing interests as 
 far back as 1850. In 1850 there were 200 manufacturing estab- 
 lishments in the county; in 1900 the number was 391. The cap- 
 ital invested in 1850 was about $837,000: in 1900 it was 
 $14,500,000. In 1850 the value of all raw material used was 
 $1,242,000; in 1900 it was $5,843,000. In 1850 the total number of 
 wage earners in these establishments was 879, an average of 4.4 
 to each establishment and with an average annual wage of 
 $300.00 each or about a dollar a day for each work day; by 
 1870 the number of employes had become more than twice as 
 large, with an average annual wage of $1.50 a day each. The 
 2,000 wage earners of 1870 doubled by 1880; and in 1900 there 
 were 6,806 employes, an increase of 60 per cent, over 1880, and 
 an average of 17 to each establishment. The total of wages paid
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 97 
 
 amounted to an average of $1.50 per day to each workman. The 
 value of the product in the county increased from $1,960,000 in 
 1850 to more than $13,000,000 in 1900. 
 
 The smaller towns of the county outside the city have a con- 
 siderable amount of manufacturing. In 1900 there were 86 such 
 establishments, with a capital of over $500,000, with 200 em- 
 ployes and an average daily wage of $1.36 to each workman. 
 The value of the product is considerably over $500,000 annually. 
 
 The city in 1900 had 305 manufacturing establishments, an 
 increase of 33 over 1890. The capital is not much larger than in 
 1890; this is due to the removal from the city of the great White- 
 ly interests and the consequent withdrawal of $2,000,000 capi- 
 tal. The value of the product in 1880 was $8,500,000, and in 
 1900, $12,800,000, an increase of more than 50 per cent. The 
 4,000 men employed in the establishments in 1880 have in- 
 creased to 6,640 in 1900, an increase of over 67 per cent. More 
 than 92 per cent, of all wage earners are rated as above 16 years 
 of age ; the average daily wage has increased very rapidly. In 
 the eighteen months from January i, 1900, to July i, 1901, there 
 was an increase of 19 factories and nearly 1,700 workmen. Judg- 
 ing from the rate of growth, it is a safe calculation to state that 
 the factory employes now number 9.000 men and 800 women. 
 From a local census in 1901, it was found that 8,875 men an ^ 816 
 women were employed. 
 
 As regards the number of establishments engaged in manu- 
 facturing in the various cities of the country, Springfield held 
 92d rank in 1900; as regards the gross value of manufactured 
 products, 7oth place; as regards capital invested, 6ist place, a 
 fall from 5ist place in 1890; as regards the number of wage 
 earners, 7ist place (68th place in 1890) ; in total wages, 63rd 
 place, a rise from 66th place in 1890, and from 56th place in 
 1880. Springfield is one of the chief cities of the world in 
 the manufacture of agricultural implements ; only one other city 
 in the United States (Chicago) outranks her. In 1860 there 
 were seven small establishments of this character, with 114 em- 
 ployes and an average wage of 75 cents a day. In 1900 the 
 value of this product was $5,350,000; the industry employed a 
 capital of over $8,000,000, and 2,360 wage earners at a daily wage 
 of $1.00 per workman. All kinds of agricultural implements are
 
 98 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 made here, corn-planters, grain-drills, cultivators, harrows, har- 
 vesters, self-binders, hay-loaders, hay-rakes, hay-tedders, mowers, 
 reapers, and corn-shellers. In the factories producing agricultural 
 implements, engine and factory supplies, very few women are 
 employed except as clerks and stenographers in the offices. 
 
 Many women are employed in the large publishing houses, of 
 which Springfield has many, ranking 28th city in the country 
 in the output of publishers' and printers' material. 
 
 There are many causes of the success of Springfield in man- 
 ufacturing enterprises. One manufacturer thinks that the chief 
 cause is co-operation. "In the early days the manufacturers were 
 in frequent consultation with one another, helping one another 
 by advice and in a financial way. Every traveling salesman sent 
 out by one factory recommended all the others, and every buyer 
 visiting one shop had to visit all the others." Another present 
 cause is the energy and push of the Commercial Club of the city. 
 Employers and employes are on better terms than in most 
 cities. One manufacturer says : "Our largest employers and rich- 
 est men have grown up from very modest beginnings and their 
 employes have grown up with them; a large number of our 
 present manufacturers began as workmen themselves. Very 
 few cases of special trouble have ever occurred." 
 
 The majority of workmen, even in labor unions, are satis- 
 fied with the wages and on good terms with their employers. 
 Some labor unions have sought to prevent non-union men from 
 working, but this agitation is due more to the efforts of one 
 or two walking delegates than to the desire of the rank and file 
 of the unions. This freedom from labor troubles is largely 
 attributable to the preponderance of the old native stock ; and to 
 the fact that the great body of German and Irish stock has been 
 in the city for more than twenty years. The average laborer has 
 a comfortable home, well furnished, and possessing not only the 
 necessaries, but also many of the luxuries of life. 
 
 The economic classes in the rural districts are not divided 
 by any social cleavage ; employer and employe are absolutely on 
 the same social plane. There are not a dozen families in the 
 country districts where even color makes any difference between 
 employes in the field or at the employer's table. We do not 
 mean to say that there are any social relations between white
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 99 
 
 and colored in any other way except as employer and employee. 
 Possibly the reason for this tolerance of the negro is that the 
 country generally contains the better class of colored laborers. 
 
 In the city there is a widening cleavage of the population 
 along economic and social lines ; and yet Springfield possesses 
 few wealthy people. There is a great body of well-to-do pro- 
 fessional men, merchants, and clerks. The greater part of the 
 population consists of mechanics. One is inclined to the opinion 
 that the social divisions are attributable to a bad training of the 
 younger generation of the fairly well-to-do classes on the subject 
 of manual labor, and to false ideas concerning wealth. These 
 class distinctions creep out in many social clubs, especially among 
 the women. There seems to be a growing tendency to class dis- 
 tinctions in the churches. The churches are largely made up of 
 the merchant and manufacturing class and a few skilled workmen. 
 The writer is not able to judge how many of the laborers are 
 Protestants, but very few of them are attendants on Protestant 
 churches. Probably the most noticeable division among the work- 
 ers is that of color. White men sometimes sit in the most un- 
 comfortable seats in the street car rather than sit with a colored 
 workman. This tendency has been noticed by many. There 
 are few skilled laborers among the colored, and there are very few 
 professional men among them. One or two are mail carriers and 
 one or two are clerks in the county buildings. There are a few 
 negro merchants. The writer knows of none outside the grocery 
 business and restaurant keepers. The grocery stores are very 
 small and bear evidence that they are not extensively patronized 
 by the colored population. There are many negro barbers, hack- 
 men and teamsters. 
 
 The student of the Sandy Springs negroes says that do- 
 mestic service is one of the sources of the growing race aliena- 
 tion. As far as our observation has gone, this is true also of 
 Springfield. Negro women seem to chafe at steady employment 
 as servants. 
 
 The prejudice against the negro crops out once in a while 
 in the economic life, as when recently a druggist refused to sell 
 a glass of soda water to a colored man, who happened to be an 
 instructor in Wilberforce College.
 
 100 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 Section 2. Cultural 
 
 The Lutherans have a college in Springfield which has grown 
 from an institution of 126 students in 1850 to 500 in 1903. There 
 are two strong business colleges and several other private schools. 
 Until 1850 there were none but subscription schools in the city. 
 In the rural districts until 1891 the school district was supreme; 
 it could choose its own teacher, determine his salary and form 
 the course of study. In 1891 the state established township 
 boards, and there is now township supervision of schools through- 
 out Ohio. 
 
 Bethel township has had a strong high-school for nearly 
 thirty years, and has had a great influence in making that town- 
 ship probably the most progressive in the whole county. Before 
 the introduction of local township high-schools, many of the 
 children attended the city high-school ; now nearly all of the town- 
 ships have high-schools. 
 
 In 1901 there were 102 township districts and 20 separate 
 incorporated districts in the whole county. In the township dis- 
 tricts there were 134 rooms and in the separate districts 174 
 rooms. There were 134 teachers in the township schools and 
 180 in the incorporated places. The wages of the teachers are 
 an index of the attitude of a community toward education. Dur- 
 ing the past year it has been difficult to obtain teachers for the 
 country schools at the wages offered. One township superin- 
 tendent said that many men left positions as teachers to become 
 motormen and conductors on the street railways in Springfield 
 and Dayton, since there was more money in such work than in 
 school teaching. Wages have increased very slightly in twenty- 
 five years. In 1880 the average salary in the township schools was 
 $41 per month for men and $33 for women. In 1890 the average 
 wages of men had increased to $48 and of women to $41 per 
 month. 
 
 By 1901, men's wages had fallen to $46, and women's had 
 risen to $44. In the incorporated districts in 1901 the average 
 of men's wages in the elementary schools was $71 per month 
 and of women's wages $42. This is less than either men or 
 women received in 1890 or 1880. In the incorporated high-
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 
 
 schools men's wages fell from $102 in 1890 to $96 in 1901 ; and 
 women's wages from $70 in 1890 to $53 in 1901. Probably these 
 wage changes have been due, not to the cutting of the wages o 
 old teachers, but to the hiring of new teachers at a lower wage. , 
 
 During the past 26 years the township schools have been 
 in session 34 weeks of each year and the. separate schools an 
 average of 36 weeks. In general the country high-schools are 
 open from four to eight weeks less time than the primary schools. 
 In 1901 the school enumeration in the county was 15,983, an 
 increase of 9.3 per cent, over 1890. The total school enrollment in 
 the county, however, is increasing at a fairly rapid rate. In 1901 
 72 per cent, of the enumeration was enrolled. From 1880 to 
 1890 the enrollment increased 32 per cent., while the school 
 population increased just one-half as much ; and from 1890 to 
 1901 the enrollment increased 9.5 per cent, and the enumeration 
 9.3 per cent. In 1901 the boys enrolled numbered very little 
 less than half the total enrollment, an increase of 30.7 per cent, 
 since 1880: in the same time the. enrollment of girls increased 
 32.6 per cent. 
 
 In the township schools the enrollment of boys has de- 
 creased since 1880; the decrease between 1890 and 1901 was 
 10 per cent. The enrollment of the girls decreased 7 per cent, 
 between 1890 and 1901. The enumeration in the townships is 
 5,000 and the enrollment 79 per cent, of this number. In every 
 township there are fewer youth enrolled than twenty or even 
 ten years ago. This is another result due to the movement of 
 the younger population of the married and unmarried to the 
 city; and in part due to the removal from township to separate 
 school districts. 
 
 In the separate districts the number of boys enrolled is dou- 
 ble that of 1880, and 20 per cent, greater than in 1890. The num- 
 ber of girls enrolled is more than double the number in 1880, and 
 30 per cent, greater than in 1890. 
 
 The per cent, of daily attendance on total enrollment shows a 
 constant increase, rising in the townships from 50 in 1880 to 
 69 in 1901 ; and in the separate districts from 76 to 82. 
 
 The attitude of the people toward secondary education is 
 further shown by the high-school enrollment. The enrollment
 
 102 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 in the township high-schools is steadily increasing. There were 
 only 21 pupils in the township high-schools in 1880 and 135 
 in 1901. This does not represent the number in the townships, 
 however, who were receiving high-school education, for many 
 are enrolled in the city and town high-schools. The number of 
 boys in the township high-schools has increased from 12 in 
 1880 to 70 in 1901 ; and of girls from 9 to 65 in the same time. 
 In the separate districts in the same period the number of boys 
 increased from 107 to 307 and of girls from 143 to 467. 
 
 The school census of 1901 presents some interesting data 
 concerning the enumeration at different ages. In the total enu- 
 meration 28.3 per cent, were over 16; 14.1 per cent, were between 
 14 and 16; 42.3 per cent, between 8 and 14; and the remainder, 
 15.3 per cent., under eight. This, by the way, would certainly 
 make at least an average of over 900 births annually in the 
 county for the years 1893, 1894 and 1895, and is another proof 
 of the inaccuracy of the county birth records. 
 
 In Springfield the school enumeration has more than doubled 
 since 1880. Between 1890 and 1900 the increase was 13.7 per 
 cent., while the general population increased 19.9 per cent. In 
 1902 the enumeration was 10,619, f whom the boys were 
 50.3 per cent. The per cent, of enrollment in public schools on 
 enumeration has been as follows: 1876, 49.7 per cent.; 1880, 54.6 
 per cent. ; 1890, 60.2 per cent. ; and in 1900 65 per cent. In 
 1900, 12.2 per cent, were in Roman Catholic schools and 2.2 
 per cent, in other private schools. In all, 79.7 per cent, were 
 in schools of some kind, and 84.1 per cent, of all between 6 
 and 16 were enrolled in the public schools. 
 
 There were 817 colored pupils in the public schools, or 12.1 
 per cent, of the enrollment. Not quite so great a proportion of 
 the colored population is in school as the proportion of the 
 whites. Apropos of the current discussion of the race problem, 
 it is interesting to note the number of colored youth in the 
 different grades of the public schools. In 1900 just 55.7 per 
 cent, of the total colored enrollment was found in the first four 
 primary grades. The proportion of whites is 51.6 per cent. Of 
 the colored, 25.1 per cent, were in the first two grammar grades; 
 of the whites 21.9 per cent. This means that 80.8 per cent, of the 
 colored and 73.5 per cent, of the white pupils were found in the
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 103 
 
 first six grades. In the last two grammar grades were found 11.9 
 per cent, of the colored and 14.8 per cent, of the whites. The 
 remainder, 7.3 per cent, of the colored and n.i per cent, of 
 the whites, were in high-school. Forty-six per cent, of both 
 colored and white pupils in high-school were in the first year; 
 and less than half of one per cent, of the total colored enroll- 
 ment and 1.6 per cent, of the white enrollment were in the 
 graduating class. 
 
 Nearly one-third of the total enrollment was found to be 
 between five and nine years of age ; 51.6 per cent, between 10 and 
 14 years; 15.6 per cent, between 15 and 20 years. Nearly 91 per 
 cent, of all between 10 and 14 years, and 91 per cent, between 15 
 and 20 years were white. The number of foreign whites is very 
 small, fewer than 50 in all ; 71.8 per cent, of the whites were native 
 whites of native parents. 
 
 It is our belief that one reason why colored children do 
 not enter high-school is, as one boy expressed it: "Because in 
 Springfield I can get no better work to do even if I have more 
 education." Many of the colored graduates leave Springfield, 
 some going to Wilberforce College and others going South to 
 teach in colored schools. It cannot be denied that the educated 
 negro has little chance in Springfield to do much else than un- 
 skilled labor. 
 
 Springfield has always been interested in libraries, as is 
 proven by the efforts made from the earliest days to establish 
 one. In 1850 there were three small libraries with an aggregate 
 of 3,800 volumes. One of these was public. In 1891 Benjamin 
 Warder gave a fine building to the city for library purposes. 
 There are now about 20,000 volumes in the city library. During 
 the past year there have been about 5,600 card holders; it is not 
 possible to find the number who use the reading room daily. The 
 circulation of books was 74,177 in 1903, an increase of about 5,000 
 over 1900, and yet over 1,400 less than in 1897. The circulation 
 of non-juvenile books in 1903 was 22.7 per cent, of all. About 
 55.3 per cent, were works of fiction, 3.3 per cent, history, 3.7 
 per cent, literature, 3.3 per cent, travel, 2.6 per cent, biog- 
 raphy, and the remainder scattering.
 
 104 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 (a) ILLITERACY 
 
 In the rural districts there is a very small percentage of 
 actual illiteracy. Among the native whites over 21 years of age 
 in 1900 less than 4 per cent, were illiterate. A little more than 
 19 per cent, of the rural colored males over 21 years were illit- 
 erate. In the city a very small per cent, of the inhabitants under 
 21 were illiterate ; only 55 males under 21 in 1890, and but half 
 that number in 1900. Of all the males in Springfield over 21 
 (11,780) 8,640 were native whites; 1.5 per cent, of these were 
 illiterate. The foreign born numbered 1,492, with 10 per cent, 
 illiterate; 16 per cent, of aliens, I per cent, of the native whites 
 of native parents, and a little more than i per cent, of the native 
 whites of foreign parents were illiterate. 
 
 There were i,ni negroes in the city over 21 years in 1900; 
 one-fifth of them were illiterate. This great proportion is due 
 to the great number of recent immigrants from the South. A 
 trifle over 3 per cent, of the total city population in 1900 were 
 classed as illiterate; 2.7 per cent, of the males and 3.5 per cent, 
 of the females. One-sixth of all male and one-eighth of all fe- 
 male illiterates were between the ages of 20 to 24 ; 43 per cent, of 
 the males and 38 per cent, of the females were from 35 to 54 years 
 of age. In each class there is a great decrease in number since 
 1890. 
 
 Section 3. Vitality Classes 
 
 We have already spoken of the birth and death rates; the 
 statistics of births and deaths do not admit of such comparison 
 as will give any idea as to the relative number of births and 
 deaths in the different elements of the social population. From 
 the death records we learn that the chief causes of death are 
 consumption, typhoid fever, cancer, paralysis, heart disease, pneu- 
 monia and Bright's disease. Notwithstanding the increase in pop- 
 ulation, especially in the city, and the unsanitary conditions of the 
 city, there are relatively fewer deaths from typhoid than twenty 
 years ago. Consumption has decreased relatively during the past 
 twenty years. Heart disease (a name loosely used by assessors 
 and physicians too) has increased very greatly. Deaths from 
 pneumonia also have increased. In 1903 the deaths from con-
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 105 
 
 sumption were more than ten per cent, of the total number of 
 deaths ; while those due to pneumonia were slightly less than ten 
 per cent. In 1890 the proportions were 14 and 2 per cent, re- 
 spectively. Bright's disease seems to be increasing also, judging 
 from the increased number of deaths from that cause. 
 
 In the city in 1901, 3.24 per cent, of all deaths were, due 
 to typhoid, 11.24 P er cent, to consumption, 3.43 per cent, to 
 cancer, 8.19 per cent, to cerebral congestion and hemorrhage, 
 3.81 per cent, to organic heart disease, 6.67 per cent, to Bright's 
 disease, 10.29 per cent, to senile debility, 4.57 per cent, to 
 suicide, 4.57 per cent, to accident, and the remainder scattering. 
 This would mean the following death rates per 1,000: Con- 
 sumption, 1.54; cerebral congestion, 1.124; pneumonia, 1.28; 
 organic heart disease, 1.072; Bright's disease, .915; senile de- 
 bility, 1.412. 
 
 Section 4. Defective Classes 
 
 In the whole of Clark County in 1890, according to the 
 United States census, there were 38 persons who were totally 
 blind, or 7.3 per 10,000; 147 were partially or totally blind, 
 a rate of 28 per 10,000. There were 50 deaf and dumb persons, a 
 rate of 9.5 per 10,000, and 149 were deaf only, or 28 per 10,000. 
 
 There were 104 feeble-minded persons, or 19.7 per 10,000. 
 Of the feeble-minded 54 were white and 50 colored, a rate re- 
 spectively of 11.3 and 107.7 P er 10,000; 62 were male and 42 
 were female, a rate of 23.5 and 16.2 respectively. There were 
 117 insane, or a rate of 22.3 per 10,000; 69 were males and 48 
 females, a rate of 26.2 and 19.2 respectively. The Clark County 
 records are defective as regards the statistics of insane and 
 epileptic. In very few years has there been any separate record 
 of whites and negroes. The number of insane and epileptic sent 
 to the asylums each year varies greatly. In 1879 the rate per 
 10,000 was 2.6; in 1880, 4.3; the average between 1880 and 1890 
 exactly 6; and the annual average between 1890 and 1900 was 
 5.8. The year 1902 furnished the exceptional rate of 12, which 
 dropped again to 3.8 in 1903. The relative numbers of male and 
 female insane show no especial correlation in rates. In general 
 the number of females is only half as large as that of the males.
 
 I 
 106 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 If the statistics are accurate and if we do not reckon the year 
 1902, insanity has made no increase during the past six years. 
 
 Section 5. Morality and Socially Classes 
 
 It is difficult if not impossible to determine the numbers in 
 the different morality classes from statistics. Some approach 
 to it is possible from the records of the city police courts. It 
 is not possible to make a comparative study of these records, 
 since no summaries are made. The following statistics are 
 taken from the United States Labor Bulletin of September, 1901. 
 In that year 353 arrests were made for drunkenness, 24.3 per 
 cent, of all arrests; 196 were for disturbing the peace; 143 
 for assault and battery; 145 for vagrancy; 152 for larceny; 448 
 for other minor offences. There were 143 saloons in the city ; 
 this is 3.6 to every 1,000 inhabitants, or one to 282 persons. Out- 
 side of the city there are no saloons except in one village. 
 
 As is usual in many cities, the worst, if there be a "worst," 
 of these saloons and houses of ill-repute are along the railroad 
 yards. In Springfield since 1874 the region around the Big Four 
 Railroad yards has been known 'as the "Levee," and has been 
 given over to a swarm of courtesans and criminals ; and brothels, 
 gambling dens and saloons abound. It is one of the gathering 
 places for the colored criminals of the country. The city's in- 
 stitutions for the punishment of offenders have been for years 
 an abomination in the sight of all good people. The city has 
 no workhouse, although one is at last being constructed. Offend- 
 ers have generally been sent to the Dayton workhouse. The 
 culprits awaiting trial in police court have been housed in an 
 old, half-ruined, worthless hulk of a building, deficient and de- 
 fective in every particular. The sanitary condition of the prison 
 is deplorable. No apartment is reserved for youthful offenders, 
 but they are crowded together in the same room with the hard- 
 ened criminals to the lasting detriment of their own lives. 
 
 In Springfield one of the chief faults of the municipal sys- 
 tem has been and is the laxity and discrimination in the enforce- 
 ment of the law. Many of the municipal ordinances have been 
 shelved for years. The saloon closing ordinances are enforced
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 107 
 
 intermittently, as are also other ordinances, e. g., those concern- 
 ing gambling. 
 
 It is rather difficult to give statistics of the unsocial classes. 
 The statistics of pauperism are incomplete, for many are cared 
 for as out-of-door poor, from township funds, and these are not 
 reported to the county authorities. 
 
 Clark County's pauper class is cared for at the infirmary or 
 poor farm, and the children's home. Happily, political con- 
 siderations have never entered into the appointment of the officers 
 of the children's home. The officers of the infirmary are elect- 
 ive. The present flourishing condition of the home is due large- 
 ly to the excellent supervision of the superintendent. All able- 
 bodied parents having children in the home must help to pay for 
 their support. There were in 1903, 64 children in the home, 10 
 fewer than last year, and 55 were admitted during the year. A 
 great feature of the home is the placing of children in good 
 homes ; 26 were thus taken out on trial in 1903 and 36 others 
 were taken by their parents ; two were adopted and one was 
 indentured. The greatest number in the home at any one time in 
 1903 was 72 and the smallest 54. The negroes for ten years have 
 formed a very heavy proportion of the total number. On the 
 whole the management of the home has been successful. 
 
 In the earliest years of its history the county farmed out its 
 poor to the lowest bidders. In 1835 a poor farm was established 
 and buildings were erected. In 1875 89 persons were supported 
 in the infirmary at an average cost of 33 cents a day each. This 
 number made a rate of about two per 1,000 of the county pop- 
 ulation. This number increased to 154 in 1880, an average of 
 3.6 per 1,000 of the total population. In 1881 the county rec- 
 ords began a separate entry of white and colored, and of the 
 total of 165 paupers in that year 127 were white and 38 colored, 
 or a rate of 3.3 and 10.6 per 1,000 respectively. In 1890 the 
 number was 256, of whom 118 were received during the year; 
 38 of these were colored (15 per cent.). Among the white 
 paupers there were more than twice as many men as women ; and 
 among the negro paupers the number was equally divided between 
 the sexes. The number of white paupers averaged 4.6 per 1,000 
 whites, and of colored 8.2 per 1,000 negroes. 
 
 In 1902, 1 66 whites and 51 negroes were supported, making
 
 108 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 a rate of 3.1 and 9.7 per 1,000 respectively. The males among 
 the whites equaled 58.4 per cent, of all whites, and the colored 
 males 60.8 per cent, of all colored. 
 
 Pauperism has not made any great increase in the county. 
 Only twice since 1886 has it been greater than in that year. The 
 number admitted yearly to public support varies greatly. The 
 greatest number ever received since 1880 was in 1884, when 274 
 were admitted. From 1894 the number increased until 1898, since 
 which time it has gradually fallen, and in 1902 there were fewer 
 persons admitted than in any year since 1881. The relative 
 number of colored to white has increased during the past ten 
 years. The number otherwise supported than in the infirmary 
 has been recorded in a few years only, so that the figures that 
 are given are worthless for comparison. 
 
 Of those in the almshouses in 1890, 61 per cent, of the 
 males and 68 per cent, of the females, or 64 per cent, of all, 
 were illiterate. In 1902, 67 per cent, of the men and 52 per cent, 
 of all the women were illiterate, as also were 67 per cent, of all 
 white males, 46 per cent, of white females, 68 per cent, of all 
 colored males and 70 per cent, of all colored females. 
 
 The average daily cost of maintaining each pauper has been 
 about 26 cents for several years. In Springfield many of the poor 
 are cared for by the Associated Charities. This association has 
 expended in cash an average of about $5,000 annually. In 
 addition there have been large donations of food and clothing. 
 The reports of the society vary little from year to year, so that 
 a resume of the last two years will give a clear idea of the char- 
 acter of this work. 
 
 During 1902. 530 families, comprising about 1,800 persons, 
 were aided. This makes an average of one to every 22 in the 
 city population, or 4.5 per cent, of the population. About half 
 (255) of these families were composed of married couples and 
 their children; 172 (32 per cent.) were families of widows and 9 
 per cent, were families of deserted wives. 
 
 Of the 1,797 individuals assisted, 576, or 32 per cent., were 
 under 14 years of age; 831, or 46 per cent., were under 20; 384 
 between 20 and 40; 331 between 40 and 55; and 182 (10 per 
 cent.) between 55 and 70. Forty-one per cent, of the heads 
 of families were native whites, and 48.1 per cent, were colored;
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 109 
 
 8 per cent, were Irish, 2.5 per cent. German, and 4 per cent. Eng- 
 lish. Of the individuals aided, 957, or 53.2 per cent., were white 
 and 840, or 46.8 per cent., colored. Estimating the white popula- 
 tion at 36,000 and the colored at 5,000, this last statement means 
 that while one white person out of every 37 whites received 
 charity, one out of every six colored persons received help. Of 
 all the heads of families 64.3 per cent, could read and write, 
 while 30 per cent, were wholly illiterate. 
 
 The record of causes of poverty brings out the fact already 
 claimed by Rowntree in England, that pauperism generally is not 
 due primarily to drink. More than one-fourth of all cases (26 
 per cent.) were caused by sickness of the bread-winner or his 
 family ; 23.7 per cent, by insufficient earnings ; 14.8 per cent, by 
 lack of employment; 10.5 per cent, by lack of male support; 11.3 
 per cent, by old age ; 7.3 per cent, by shiftlessness ; 2.5 per cent, 
 by accident, and the remainder by various causes. The superin- 
 tendent of charities seeks to make a careful canvass of all cases 
 and to discourage promiscuous charity. For a time a part of the 
 plan was a system of loans, but it has been abused to a great 
 extent. Every effort is being put forth to help the poor to help 
 themselves. 
 
 Section 6. The Desocialized 
 
 The jail statistics of the county vary considerably. In 1875 
 there were 187 persons in the jail at different times; and in 1901 
 there were 330, fewer than in any one year since 1893. These 
 numbers would make a rate of one to each 200 in population in 
 1875 anc l one to every 182 in 1901. The greatest number in 
 any one year was 499 in 1894 or one to every 112 in the popu- 
 lation. 
 
 Of the 330 prisoners in 1901, 38 per cent, were natives of 
 Ohio, a much smaller proportion than in any previous year since 
 1875 ; 60 per cent, were native of other portions of the United 
 States, and 2 per cent, were foreign born. The number of foreign 
 born has never been very great for the majority of the years 
 since 1875; the highest percentages have been 15 in 1886, and 
 again in 1896. The number under age was never reported before 
 1889. The proportion in 1901 was 22.5 per cent. The proportions
 
 110 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 of white and colored prisoners have varied greatly. In 1875, 93 
 per cent, were white, in 1880, 66 per cent., in 1885. 72 per cent., 
 in 1890, 58 per cent., and in 1901, 62.5 per cent. The relative 
 number of colored criminals has been larger than that of whites, 
 e. g., in 1880 there was one white criminal to every 461 white 
 persons in the population, and one colored criminal to every 84 
 colored persons. In 1895 the proportion was one to 203 of the 
 whites and one to every 29 of the colored. In 1901 there was one 
 white criminal to every 250 white persons and one colored criminal 
 to every 47 in the colored population in the county. 
 
 In 1901, 92 per cent, of the prisoners were male and 8 
 per cent, female; there were fewer females than in any year 
 since 1887. ^ n I 9 OI > 9 P er cent - f the total number were wholly 
 illiterate and only one person had a higher education. The av- 
 erage cost of keeping the prisoners was 45 cents each per diem 
 and has not varied for many years. 
 
 Section 7. Conclusion* 
 
 In the chapter on the Social Mind, we have already summed 
 up the mental and moral characteristics of both the rural and the 
 urban population. It is not necessary, therefore, to repeat what 
 has been said in that chapter ; nevertheless, we may here em- 
 phasize many of the more important conclusions toward which 
 our study has led us. 
 
 Our study has revealed to us a rural community, growing 
 very slowly in population, practically homogeneous, and in which 
 the process of social selection is rapidly going on. One of the 
 most striking and important phenomena disclosed in a study of 
 the rural population is the decrease in the number of those who 
 own farms, and other rural homes. The tendency toward tenant 
 farming is not as yet general, but it is growing in certain portions 
 of the county ; and wherever this sort of farming has been intro- 
 duced, there has been a deterioration in the tenant class. There 
 seems to be a marked difference between the old conditions of 
 tenantry, where the tenant had an opportunity to become the owner 
 of the property, and modern conditions of high and often unfair 
 
 * Written in April, 1904.
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. Ill 
 
 rents, which discourage the tenant from any attempt toward 
 bettering his condition. In Clark County, however, in most of 
 the townships, the farms are still tenanted by their owners ; but this 
 threatens to be one of the most serious problems for the rural pop- 
 ulation to solve. 
 
 The exclusively rural population is still largely influenced 
 by the ideas and ideals of the earlier and more austere inhabit- 
 ants. One may find everywhere that old-fashioned respect and 
 reverence for law, order, and justice which has been the main- 
 stay of the American civil and political structure. 
 
 I do not believe that the problem of the rural community, 
 however, is that of the farming class. Rather it is that of the 
 little villages and hamlets which are slowly but surely suffering a 
 decline in moral tone and vigor. Their ideas are more narrow, 
 and their ideals decidedly lower than those of the purely rural 
 population. What the movement from the city to country, 
 brought about by the introduction of the interurban trolley, will 
 be able to do for these villages is an interesting question and will 
 repay further investigation. One of the noticeable features of the 
 growth of the city is the relatively greater increase of the native 
 whites of native parents. One is astonished also at the great 
 increase of colored males, and also at the great decrease of the 
 foreign born, and the movement from the city of the native 
 whites of foreign parents. The immigration of colored males 
 into Springfield is very great; four-fifths of the total increase 
 of this class since 1890 is owing to this cause. This increase is 
 especially noticeable in comparison with the white males, among 
 whom only about forty per cent, of the increase is owing to immi- 
 gration. It is a fair inference that if there were no negro immi- 
 grants into the city, there would be a constant relative decrease in 
 that population element. As it is, one of the chief problems of this 
 city is that of race. 
 
 Another phenomenon not readily explained is the great and 
 increasing number of divorces, the great majority of which are 
 brought by residents of the city. At present there is no means 
 of knowing the relation of divorces to the different elements of 
 the population, or to the economic or religious classes. Certainly 
 the number of divorces indicates very low ideals in regard to the 
 sanctity of marriage and of family ties.
 
 112 A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 
 
 In our study we have had revealed again and again the fact 
 that the social ideal of this community is the economic. In this 
 particular, however, this city is probably not unlike the majority 
 of American cities. There seems to be ho abiding desire for aught 
 else than that which will serve to bring about immediate material 
 well-being. This, as shown in another place, is revealed by the 
 attitude of the people on questions of religion and education. 
 
 Since writing the body of this study, an event has occurred 
 which well illustrates the character of the community as viewed 
 from the moral and social standpoints. I refer to the riots 
 which occurred in the early part of March (1904), at which time 
 a mob was formed and on one night lynched a negro who had 
 murdered a white policeman the day before. The next night the 
 same mob again assembled and burned the "Levee," the city's 
 notorious district, where were located many negro brothels. The 
 presence of the state militia was necessary to restore quiet. The 
 mob was headed by the rougher element of the city, although in 
 the ranks there were said to have been many generally quiet and 
 respectable workingmen. Such were the leaders who were de- 
 termined "to uphold the majesty of the law." Nevertheless, in 
 the next few days, immediately after the mob's work, it was 
 difficult to find many persons who wholly discountenanced the 
 illegal proceedings. The universal excuse given in justification 
 of the mob's action was the failure of the courts to perform their 
 proper duties in dispensing justice. Clark County has never 
 sentenced any criminal to death, and it has been a common remark 
 that it would be impossible to find any criminal guilty of murder 
 in the first degree. There is an element of justice also in the 
 criticism that the city police court has been for a long time a 
 travesty on justice; but few people placed the blame for this condi- 
 tion where it belonged, namely, with themselves. These same 
 conditions were present a year ago, and yet the people voted last 
 spring for the continuance of just such conditions. While the city 
 was still under martial law the police authorities, influenced by 
 the spasm of reform sweeping over the city, cleared out various 
 negro "dens" and brothels in places which the mob had threatened 
 to burn. Judging from the attitude of the people at that time,
 
 CLARK COUNTY, OHIO. 113 
 
 one would have thought that at last a first lesson in civic right- 
 eousness had been thoroughly learned, and yet after the passing 
 of only one month since the nights of violence, some of these 
 saloons have been granted licenses to resume business, and no 
 comments have been made, save by one newspaper which in a 
 recent editorial rebukes the people for their lukewarmness in 
 reform. I do not mean to say that there are none who condemn 
 such acts as those of the mob, for there are many who are out- 
 spoken for reform. The county prosecutor has been very active 
 in seeking to bring the leaders of the mob to justice, and several 
 true bills have been returned by the grand jury, but public senti- 
 ment does not seem to be with the prosecutor to any great degree. 
 As has been said before, civic pride has scarcely yet risen above 
 pride in material surroundings. I do not mean to say that all 
 the people belong to the lowest sociality class ; but that the mode, 
 the prevailing number, are still narrow in sentiments and opinions, 
 and individualistic to a high degree. They are quick to feel, 
 good-hearted, ready to sympathize and to help, but they lack that 
 broader sympathy which results in the individual becoming com- 
 pletely socialized. 
 
 On the other hand, the number in the higher sociality classes 
 is surely growing. For example, the Brannock Local Option Bill, 
 at present before the Ohio legislature, meets with growing favor 
 here. Another example of a growing interest in higher things 
 is in the series of university extension lectures on municipal 
 affairs which were largely attended. One cannot believe that con- 
 ditions here are much, if any, worse than in the average American 
 city ; nevertheless, the growth of broader ideas and higher ideals 
 of society and the social welfare is painfully slow. Indeed it is 
 a far cry yet to the time when this people shall say with the ghost 
 of Marley, "My business ? My business is humanity."
 
 VITA 
 
 The writer was born in Springfield, Ohio, February 7, 1872. 
 He received his primary education in the public schools of that 
 city; entered Wittenberg College in 1889, and was graduated with 
 the degree A. B. in 1893. The academic year 1895-96 was spent 
 in the Yale Divinity School. Since 1897 he has been an instructor 
 in the department of Civics and Economics in the Springfield, 
 Ohio, High-school. His graduate work was done in Wittenberg 
 College 1899-1901, where he received the Ph. D. degree; and in 
 Columbia University 1902-1903, in the department of Sociology, 
 Economics and American History.
 
 i :