The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-11-02

into smaller farms, as will b done from
necessity ere long, and them will come 4
demand from the people Of moderate
means from all parts Of the North.
Any one can sec by the emigration
movements At Pittsburgh what iS the ten.
dsncy OF the times all over the county.
ItiS to leave The large centres Of pOpula.
tiOn and get land, and thus secure a
more independent and reliable method Of
making = living. To this end colonies
are leaving Pittsburgh Tor Michigan,
Arkansaa and Florida. As We have be-
fore remarked, none Of them are coming
to West Virginia. where land is as cheap
As iu the staIss 10 which they are going,
and simply because NO one has appeared
among them to present the inducements
afforded by the interior OF our State in
the way Of cheap lands.
A Minnesota paper says that the sale
Of Government lands in that s ate Ia the
largest knoWn for many yeats 1t says
that
"a sort oi mania for the acquisition OF
land seems 10 have broken out simulta.
neously in all parts Of the country. We
are informed by the people Just returned
from Mobiles county that during the
month Of September II 900 acres OF rail-
road land were sold on the ST. Paul &
Sioux City Railroad, besides over 10000
acres were taken at the Land Ofice in
Washington-or about two.thirds more
ot Government land than was sold during
the two previous years."
This, no doubt, is a sample Of what Is
soon to be reen all over the West,. and,
perhaps, also in many parts Of the South.
It has been predicted that the first
great revival will be in farming
lands-the cheaper class OF lands-On ac.
count of the desire, (born of hardship
and necessity on the part Of mechanics
and manufacturing operatives to get away
from the cities and towns. The farm
ing part Ot the American people are BY
far its most prosperous class to-day, on
account OF good crops and good prices
for the same, and the ability to buy at a
great decline in price everything in the
way Of family supplies.
The marked prosperity OF any one
branch OF business in contrAdistiuctiOn
with other branches always attracts large
reinEorcements. The farmers have been
so unusually prosperous this season, and
all other business has SO generally gone
from bad 10 worse, that the indications
are that we will soon see rush into the
agricultural ranks, such as has not been
seen for many years. This country will
have more farmers in the next year or
two, by many thousands, than it has to-
day. The idea is ABROAD that farming
has more promise in it for the immedi-
ate future than work for wages in the
common run Of employments.
The farmers themselves illustrate this
tendency Of human nature to 90 into
whatever is prosperous and promising.
For instance, they have put in an uuusu-
ally large crop Of wheat this fall because
wheat was great success this last sum-
mer aud now brings good price, and be-
cause the prospects are that If the Russian
war continues over winter it will bring :
still better price next season. On this
theory most Of the farmers hereabouts
have gone largely into wheat this fall,
and once more, as in olden times, our
Touring mills are beginning to count on
home supply of grain.
The true remedy for the present hard
times is the tendency to disintegration
In the ranks OF overcrowded and unre-
munerative employments. Thisis much
more natural and effective remedy than
all the schemes OF the quacks who are
prescribing greenback plasters for
our ailments. We are to see 4
rearraugemeut of employments. We
are to zee more people getting liv.
ing out oithe ground and fewer of them
out Of city and town avocations. For
instance, the failure Of so many iron
works since the panic is obliging large
number Of employees to so to farming.
This is why we see such a large emigra.
ton from Pittsburgh and from the cotton
and wOolen mills Of the East, and also
from the glass establishments. Their
operatives are being scattered every day
to all parts Of the country, especially to
the West and South, where they will
hereafter cultivate the soil.
This is the reverse process Of what had
been going on since the early days Of the
war up to the panic Of 1873. The tide is
now ebbing to the rural districts. from
whence IL steadily flowed for more than
twelve years. The consequence will be
that lands will experience an active de.
mand and a probable rise in price. We
refer to the cheap lAnda OF the West and
South and not to the high priced lands
Of the old free States.
Another consequence OF this change
will be that more work and better wages
will accrue to those who remain behind
at their old employments, just as the vast
emigration to America years ago thinned
out the laborins classes in Europe and
made lie more tolerable for those who
we're LEFT behind.
Who Made II:
Sir IsaacSewton very wise and godly
man was once examining new and very
fine globe, when a gentleman came into his