POPULATION". 253 PORCELAIN. is no doubt that the number of lanfjuages spoken on the earth has rapidly decreased and is rapidly decreasing. There is no doubt that the number of persons speaking the main Aryan languages is rapidly increasing, both by the natural increase of the Caucasian population and by the extended use of these languages, with the extension of the trade and commerce of these countries. But there is no satisfactory statistical measure of this increase. IixiTERACT. It is common, although not uni- versal, to inquire at a census whether the person is able to read and write. With the extension of education in most civilized countries the propor- tion of illiterates among the population is declin- ing. At the present time this proportion, in Christian countries, is greatest in the Slavic peoples and among the negroes of the United States. An intermediate position is held by the Romance countries and Hungary, while the highest position is occupied by Eng- land, the United States, and the Germanic countries of Europe. See ViT;U, Statistics; Immigration; Emi- GRATIOX. POPULIST PARTY, or People's Party. A political party in the United States, organized at Cincinnati in ilay. 1891, by a national con- vention composed chietly of representatives of the agricultural and industrial classes. The party grew out of the movements previously inaugurat- ed by the "Grrangers" and the "Farmers' Alli- ance" (q.v. ). Its platform of principles de- manded the free and unlimited coinage of silver ; the abolition of the national banking system ; the issue of fiat money in sufficient quantity to transact the business of the country on a cash basis, and the loan of such currency to the people at not more than two per cent, per annum on non-perishable agricultural products; national ownership of all means of public communication and transportation ; a graduated income tax ; popular election of United States Senators: the adoption of the initiative and referendum in legislation; and the prohibition of alien owner- ship of land. On .July 2, 1802, a National Con- vention of the Populist Party met at Omaha, Neb., for the purpose of nominating candidates for President and Vice-President of the United States. It adopted a platform embodying the above mentioned views and nominated .James B. Weaver of Iowa for President and James G. Field of Virginia for Vice-President. The Popu- list ticket received 22 electoral votes and a popular vote of 1,055,424. In the next Presi- dential campaign, that of 1896, the Populist Party nominated for President W. .J. Bryan, who had already received the nomination of the Democratic Party, and for Vice-President Thomas E. Watson of Georgia. Jlost of the Populist Party supported Bryan and the Democratic can- didiite for Vice-President, Arthur Sewall, but a considerable portion of the party stood for the independence of their movement, and voted for Bryan and Watson. On account of their refusal to depart from the path marked out by themselves, the latter were called the "Middle-of-the-Road" Populists. In order to have the full Populist vote counted for Bryan, an arrangement was made between the two parties in twenty-eight States, by which each was to have a proportion- ate representation on the electoral ticket. As a result of this arrangement Bryan received 176 electoral votes, while Sewall received 149 and Watson 27. The Populist platform of 1896 dif- fered but slightlj- from that of 1892. In the cam- paign of 1900 the Populist Party again nominated for President W. J. Bryan, who was also the Democratic nominee, but again refused to indorse the Democratic nominee for the Vice-Presidency { Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois) . After a spirited contest, Charles A. Towne of Minnesota received the nomination for Vice-President, but he subse- quently withdrew, and the National Executive Committee of the Populist Party substituted Stevenson. In addition to its old principles the party in 1900 denounced the imperialistic policy of the CJovernment, expressed sympathy for the Boers in their struggle with Great Britain, ad- vocated municipal ownership of public utilities, and condemned the practice of the courts in is- suing injunctions in labor disputes between em- ployers and employees. Consult: Hopkins, Political Parties in the United States (Nev,- York. 1900) ; McKee, National Conventions and Platforms (Baltimore, 1900) ; and Reynolds, National Platforms and Political History (Chi- cago, 1898). POP'UXO'NIA. An ancient town of Italy. See PioMBixo. PORBEAGLE (from Fr. pore, hog + Eng. heagle), or Mackerel Shark. Specifically, a ferocious shark (Lamna cornuhica) , bluish gray in color and reaching a length of ten feet, which is found in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific. The term is extended, however, to include TEETH OF A PORBEAGLE (SIDE VIEW). the whole of its family (Lamnidae), which con- tains several pelagic species, often of great size, power, and ferocity, with stout bodies, a ^ride mouth with separate, triangular, highly special- ized teeth (the third in the upper jaw always small), large gill-openings, and great fleshy fins. In addition to the typical porbeagle (a British name), a well-known species (Isurus oxi/rhyn- chus) haunts the Mediterranean, where it is called 'cane de mare;' and a rarer one (Isurus DeKayi) occurs on the North American coast. The largest and most cosmopolitan of the family is the great white 'man-eater' shark (q.v.). PORCELAIN (OF. porcelaine, porcellaine, Fr. porcelaine, from It. porcellana. porcelain, Venus-shell, so called because the highly polished surface suggested that of the ^'enus-shell, whose curved upper surface resembled a pig's back, from porcella, diminutive of porco, pig, from Lat. porcus, swine, hog, pig; connected with Lith. parszas, Ir. ore, OHG. farh, dialectic Gier. Farch, Ger. Ferkel, AS. fcarh, Eng. farrow, pig) . A peculiar kind of pottery made by the Chinese for many centuries, and in Europe since the discov- ery of its ingredients about the year 1710. There was indeed a little porcelain made in Florence at the close of the sixteenth century, but it is prob- able that this was made of materials brought
