Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 69.djvu/177

173 born of native parents. Only 19 per cent, of Denver's population are foreign born.

The question may well be raised: Why has the state of Colorado so high a ratio of deaths from violence (52.5 per one hundred thousand of population), and Denver so few arrests for crimes of violence? It may be replied that homicide is not naturally frequent in urban communities, but prevails in sparsely settled regions, or in mining districts. In general, homicides decrease as the proportion of persons engaged in manufacturing increases, and increase as the proportion of persons engaged in mining increases.

The figure above illustrates this principle, the states and territories being arranged according to the annual average of deaths from homicide during the decade 1890-99, the District of Columbia having the smallest number of deaths from violence, and Nevada the highest