THE Western Watchman reports that St. Louis is 35 per cent Catholic, and tells us that the percentage of the whole is declining. Its relative strength is going backward. In the same article it states that the Catholic population of New York is 2,722,647; of Pennsylvania, 1,496,766; and Illinois, 1,433,752; while little Massachusetts, the great Puritan state, comes next with a population of 1,373,773. Ohio has in round numbers 619,000; Louisiana, 557,000; Wisconsin and New Jersey, each 496,000; California, 391,000; Kentucky, 194,000. Chicago has more Catholic churches than any other city, 187; while New York City has but 138; Brooklyn has 110; Philadelphia, 99. There are 4,845 parochial schools, with 1,237,251 pupils. The total attendance at Catholic schools, including convents, colleges, and asylums, is 1,450,448; a net gain of 53,101 over the previous year. This does not include the seminaries and the training-schools of the various Catholic orders. There are 16,550 priests in the United States; 12,274 are secular, and 4,276 regular; a net gain of 457. Nor does it include the priests of the Philippines. The Catholics have 217 colleges for boys, and 709 academies for girls. Doubtless many of the girls in attendance at these academies are from Protestant families. 51,541 orphans are supported in 289 orphan asylums. The Western Watchman thinks that these statistics are below actual conditions rather than above.