Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1867-08-03
MilNaukeR.

4
there is considerable popular skepiicism
In regard to all unsolyed problems OF
| growth and prospect. Western people
are accustomed to high hopes and ro-
seate future calculations. It is much
the habit of the people of the section to
Calculate" the probabilities of success
| of enterprises upOn the bases of ''whO
has hold of the matter and how much
money will they put into 1t. Proper
| " answered, these questions have great
weight. Human energy at full bent Is
very strong, and plenty of money is IA
great power; but there are things strong
erthan human energy, and more powerful
| than money. There are GONE things IN
| connection with the situation md growth
of Milwaukee that claim credit beyond.
the energy of her people or the money
of her capitalists.
The same hand that poured the
waters of the Mississippi through the
| valley of the continent, scoOped out
| the great basin of Lake Michigan and
| connected it with tide-water by the
| Mediterranean that stretches more than
half across the continent. Trade must
| follow these channels. Nature placed
| Milwaukee bay ut the extreme western
verge of these great waters, at point
| where the land portage between them
and the Mississippi is many miles less
| than at any other. 4 NATURAL Indenta-
| ton Of the coast gives ample and natH-
raj protection to shipping, and affords,
with the two rivers that empty here,
| the finest harbOr on the whole chain of
lakes, This harbOr is 80 miles nearer
those of the Atlantic than Chicago. and
all goods brought here or produce
shipped from here save that distance of
lake travel, and command these natural
advantages. For all territory north
| and west of this point there is this same
advantage of 30 miles in land carriage
| TO be sure Chicago has her own and an
indisputable field in the region south
Illinois. south and central Iowa, Ne
braska, much of Indiana aud Michigan.
The extent of the lake commerce de
ponds upon the population creating it.
| The commerce of Lake Michigan Is al
ready greater than the entire foreign
commerce of the whole country. II
| Milwaukee is the natural center of that
portion of this lake commerce created
10y ana for the population OF WiscOn-
| sin, north Iowa aud Minnesota, then 1t
becomes pertinent to inquire the pres
ent and prospective numbers of that
population. At present it numbers
about one and a half million. In 1870,
| the number will exceed two millions,
| and in 1850 not less than four millions
of as thrifty and industrious people as
live, will occupy this favored region OF
our country. AT the present rate of
| increase aud immigration the pOpula
ton of this portion OF the northwest
will equal in density that Of New Eng
land IN the lifetime of middle aged
men. Such density would give us
upwards of ten millions of people.
This looks enormous, but the logic
of facts sustains it. The density of the
population of the northwest THAT por-
| ton of which we are now speaking,
| increased one hundred per cent. from
| 1850 to 1860. Without iDdulging IN
| the speculative, we may assume that
there is no doubt of the prOximate flu
ture population of these states, and
the consequent amount OF their COM
merce and productive industry. The
productions of this population In 1870
will amount, at the rate now given in
the census tables, to over 5000, 900, 900
annually.
now the questions arise, has Milwau.
kee, as the commercial center of this
region, increased as rapidly in bust
ness and population as the country it
self; is it probable that she will con
tinue SO to increase in the future BY
the results in the past, we are able to
predict for the future. At the present
and past ratio of increase Milwaukee
will contain in 1870 about 10000 popu-
lation, in 1880 about $50, 1000. But
Milwaukee Is increasing much faster
even than the region upon which she
depends for her support. While the
population of Wisconsin,, Iowa and
Minnesota doubles in ten years, the
business of Milwaukee quadruples in
the same time. Nothing but sue
cessive failure of crops will check this
rate of increase in business, and with
successive good crops it will even ex-
coed the past. -tI.E .f.- ~
Onr railways extend TO the northwest
and south of west, embracing with
in them nearly the whole region of
which we have been speaking.-
like iron arms stretched out, with
hands interlocked IN central Min
nesota, they clasp these fertile
states securely to themselves and as
their own. Considered either for itself
or for the interest of the city where
they centre, there is not in the United
! States a thousand miles of railway SO
fortunately located. To this CONSOLE
dation and Capitalization of our rail
way system we look for H. power
full auxiliary in the development of the
Northwest by the natural means to
which we. have alluded. Thus when
energy and money are combined and
united with natural advantages and
natural laws, results are predicted with
certainty. Milwaukee is and must con-
| Time the metropolis of this undis.
pnted region and therefore must be-
come one of the great cities of the
Union. In 1860 she ranked as the 18th
city Of the Union, in 1870 she will I'M
| questionably rank as the tenth. In a
race so hOtiy contested even lower
rank would be honorable. But sitting
here as she does at the very gateway
where passes the commerce of new
empire, and the surplus population OF
/ old nations where the vast commerce
of the lakes changes to the land car.
riage and the land productions TO the
| lake with Il location and climate I'M
surpassed upon either continent, with
all these we have right to expect and
to predict a prosperous future for the
Cream City of the Lakes.
"A new asterIod has been discovered
by Hamilton College Observatory.