The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-02-22

SOME SYARIIING FIGURES.

Hon. John O. Whitehouse, wealthy
member ofCongress from Poughkeep-
sic, n. Z, and one of the larg est man
ufacturers in that State, has been inter
viewed lately upon The reasons of the
present dtplorable condition Of COM
mercial affairs, in the United States, and
he gives some startling figures drawn
from the United States census. He
shows that in the past twenty-five years,
and especially since the opening OF the
late civil war in 1861, the towns have
grown ct the expense Of the country -
in other words the manufacturing and
commercial interests nave been enriched
al the expense ofthe agricultural popu-
lation. This result,in ouf Judgment, has
been due to the protective tariff policy,
which has paid premiums to the manu-
facturer out of the farmers pockets.
Here are some Of Mr.. Warehouses;
figures:
Mr. Whitehsuse then stated as g
general proposition that IN twenty years
| there had been no increase Of farmers
and farm labor in the Eastern and Mid
die States, and he gave the following
compilation of the facts:
The State Of New York has seventy
five manufacturing and trading cities
AID towns. They had . population IN
1856 Of |, l69, 400 persons. By the year
1870 thew had increased to 1892, AS
Thus in twenty years the nrhan manu-
featuring population had grown I,113,-
009 And in the same period Of twenty
years the whole OF the remainder of the
States population had only grown III,
$50 souls. The towns and cities were
eating up the country. And if you add
to that list of seYentysone places, other
manufacturing boroaghs and villages
which have not considered, may say
that there has been no rural growth
whatever in twenty years.
1T il worse in New England Take
Massachusetts,. In twenty years he
sixtT-six towns have increased 90 PEE
cent, and her rural parts only 8 pc
cent. in population. There are but u,
4 1876 people more in the country parts o
Massachusetts than there were in 1850
In New York State the percentage 81
growth is 05 per cent. for the towns ant
9 per cent. Tor the remainder Of th'
State
is not Vermont an exception, wher
the agricultural interest appears to b.
paramount?n
! "Eo. Her eighteen towns have 81
3T5 people more than in 1870, Will
there are fewer people in the remainde
. of the State by II, 1854 The rural de
J crease i per cent. and the town in
crease 70 per cent. IL twenty years
) Sir he said, take nine States, 81,
in New England. and the States of New
! York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
, There are 297 cities and manufacturing
D towns in these nine States. They nav
! increased 2,6l8,867 souls in tuent
years, prior to 1870. They had il
: creased 81 per cent But look at til
country parts, OR all that vast territor
; outside Of 297 towns. There the increas
: il only IS per cent, or, in persons
] 1,053.0l4 human beings. There is
: positive decrease OF 8 per cent. IN th
/ rural population of New Hampshire
: while her five towns have grown TO pc
: cent. 1t is now only Il per cent. i
. Connecticut Of rural increase, and tha
{ State has more than doubledher civic
. population. New Jersey has grow
800, 5l4 in her thirty-three towns, an
: only liz, OPT in all the rest OF the State.
n These figures are certainly enough t
a. set farmers to thinking Is that
healthy condition of things which i'm
!. poyerishes the land TO build up til
: towns? Lock At 1t now The cite
, stepped to the lips in poverty and mis-
cry, while the sole exports OF the nation
8 TO pay it, dstts abroad, are the product