The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1857-05-02
"Rssa'' a.a wss,sr. EaigraueH.

Aifeume," gives very graphic and striking
escoant Of the rush Of emigration from the
Eastern States to Ohio, forty years ago. He
also exhibits the feelings and sentiments Of
those who remained East, and the means to
which they resorted for staying the tide OF
emigration which threatened the speedy de.
population Of the East. Newspaper articles,
pamphlets and books, disparaging the soil
and climate Of Ohio, portraying the dreadful
hardships Of the journey over the mountains,
and the wild and savage character Of the
country, and the beasts Of prey beyond them,
and depicting in most appalling colors the
oaneful effects OF the climate to health and
life, flooded all the Eastern States. But,
Notwithstanding the public opinion Of the
East, and the desperate efforts made to re-
tain the people there, thetide Of emigration
continued to roll on with increasing volume
TILL the territory, then known rs Ohio. now
contains population double that Of oil New
England.
"What hath been will be-" for the past is
ever repeating itself in the present, a. the
present will be repeated in the future. At
the present time not only New England, but
New York and oil the Middle and Western
States, ~ far IS Illinois, are witnessing the
same great exodus Of their population, at.
tracted by the cheaper and more fertile lands
OF the West, that 90 alarmed and aroused
the Eastern States forty years ago, when
Ohio was the Eiiorado Of the needy, The
thrifty and the exterprising in New England.
Experiencing similar evils, resulting from
like cause, II Is but natural that the efforts
and the energies Of the citizens Of the emf
grating States should be directed now, 40
they were in early times, to discourage and
prevent people from going West. And as,
In these days Of railroads, steam navigation
and general intelligence, people cannot Be
frightened BY the terrors Of the route--the
lofty Alleghanies aud the swollen rivers,
ravenoas beasts, hostile Indians, and wilder
nesses, stored with fatal miasmatic disease
and death-other not less potent terrors must
DC con)ured up to brighten the emigran,s
from their purpose. In Virginia, and other
Old Slave States, the evils Of emigration are
realized and openly svowed, and the despair
ing question scan nothing be done to check
hf'' hnds distinct utterance in their newspa-
pefs. Tue same evils, felt not quite SO seri-
ousiy 10 the Northern States, are more sed :
ulously concealed from the public and fhe;,
newspaper editors are too shrewd to expose
snls eating sore OF the body polite for the
commisseration Of their neighbors. But
sney are none the less intent upon finding Z
remedy to "check it," though they proceed
with greater secrecy aud caution in the dis
overy and application of that remedy.
II is to this cause that we owe the abound
ing predictions Of revulsion and ruin
which ill the newspapers of the couutry.--
Hence II is that Eastern newspapers decry
Western lands, and manifest such unceasiny
holy horror Of the ruinous prices asked for
lands aud town lots out West. The wall az
Woe which is wrung from them, in view Of
the mighty exodus from the East, rolls along
ana becomes prophetic and gloomy denunci-
alton OF bankruptcy and ruin to the Vest
VI course, the greater the emigration, the
louder the vail and the more imminent and
overwhelming the bankruptcy and ruin i'm.
pending over the West. Such has been the
course OF thingsin time past, and such it ID
now ana 1t Is the most natural thing in the
world that 1t should be so. That it is so.
should not cause us the slightest alarm, for
the Eastern newspapers have abounded in
Jasisuch articles, time and again, when the
result proved there was no ground for APP
prehension, and in view of the immense EN-.
isration to the West, they would now .sproph.
ecy evil' under the influence Of the depres.
sion Of spirits which they experience, whe,he,
they had any solid reasons for it or not. ia
quote the htelliyencer:
There is strong reason for the course o,
these propaets of evil. They see their owr
States losing, by thousands, the very bes
population they have--brave. adventurou,
and enterprlsing. They see those, their be-.
citizens, selling OUT collecting oil the mo
mes ana means they can get, aud departins
20 pitch Their tents in the future in the grca
West. They see the drain in population
they feel the drain in weaith-the merchant,
ana tradesmen OF the older States cannot bu
perceive the drain in commerce, by the les.
sening circles OF their yesrly business. 1t i
apaipAble aud painful fact--the old State,
are suffering terrible drain on all their re.
sources, and the West is receiving the moon
lns nood OF wealth. Hence the vigor and
seiocity OF western growth. llencethc rap
III rise IN W estern lands. Hence the aston
ishing growth Of Western towns ana cities
II Is the demand for Western real estate /,
accommodate the wants of the living It'd
from the East"
There IS no reason foe this deprecia alton o
1ae West in comparison with the East. VIII
SHOULD II be held as an indication OF will
speculation aud approaching bankruptcy an
ram that the fertile lands OF Illinois an
pwa, with their admirable thoroug hfure
Ostn last and South to market, and the an
nual influx OF hundreds of thousands OF con
sumers, should rise to be worth FIVE. ten. nm
twenty five dollars per acre, when the hilly
stony, sandy and unproductive lands Of Ne,
Lasiand, New Jersey and New York sell .
.wise or quadruple that sum. Our lands no
nail as high IN price as those of the Eas,
vii produce more than double smucb. an
u less than half the expense OF tillave
vaiie the expense Of getting our surplus /,
market is but a tribe more.
And why should such appalling notes o
warning fall upon OUR ears from our easter,
friends, because city lots in our aouris hin,
western towns, which increase in population
Ana business Mt the rate Of thirty per cen,
per annnm, approach in value somexhat ma