Speech #500151709

I append the following from the last report of the governor. 1888. in regard to our population: The population of Dakota in 1860. according to the national census of that year. was less than 5.000. In 1870 It was 14.181. showing an increase during that decade of about 200 per cent.. in 1880 the number of inhabitants in the Territory amounted to 135.t77. or an addition of 850 per cent. to the population of the previous census. and fiveyears later this number had increased. as shown by a Foderal census. to 415.610. a gain of more than 200 per cent. in the period between the years 1880 and 1885. There has been no official count of the population since the Federal census of 1885. and the only figures available forthe years 1886.1887. and 1888are estimates approximately correct. made by the commissioner of immigration. and based on the publicland entries as reported by the ten United States land offices within the Territory. On June 30.1886. the commissioner estimated the number of Dakotas inhabitants to amount to 500.000 souls. A year later.