Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1880-02-19
The Great West in 1880.
Figures that Tell the Story ofa Wonderful
Development.

DO0CtIV"tCHt'
CHICAGO, January al had on ipter-
view the other day with Mr.. Robert p.
Porter, the well-known ttalisticau, who
has been appointed by Census Supetintcn-
dent Walker to have charge Of tho collec-
tion Of statistics of tho debt wealth and
taxation of the United States. hIr. Porter
is now engaged on an ex haustivo work upop
tho resources Of tho West, and has been
uaking studies for it on tho ground ]
asked him if he found that tho West had
changed much in tho past ten years.
ave arc 30 soon to have now cebsus,"
he replied, "that one needs to he modest
in his statements. The facts which have
collected give sort Of comparative view of
the growth of tho three scclions of the
country, aud bear especially on tho ecouo.
mic changes that bavo taken place in tho
past decade in the East, West aud South.
n 1860 the population of the nine Eastern
States {iuoludiug New York and Pcunsyl-
vaoiu) was l0,594,300; tho niao Western
States Excluding Ohio) 6,752 368; aud the
thirteen Southern States, 10,250, ,Ol6. BY
o careful estimate l fud that ut the close Of
1879 the population of the Elstern Suites
had reached IL BOB 900; that ofthe Southern
Suites IA 1886 600, aud that Of the Western
States l4,655,UO0 Thus, while the popu.
'utun of the South probably increased
025 984. aud that of the Eastern States
3,808,T0G, the nine Wcstcru States have
in nineteen years gained 1902 ,G32-an
increase nearly equal tu the aggregate iu-
crease of The Eastern und Southern States
in the same PERIOD"
"To what do you attribute this unequal
increased"
'To law Of nature which mathemnt-
clans coll 'the law of least effort Man
followa this law in tho satisfaction OF his
wants, ond when his movements orc free,
as in the United Stutcs, tho conformity of
his action to this principle may be closely
traced. Not only has the farmer dri(tcd
West, but our manufactures nrc moving
along the ssme line of least resistance"
"And what will DO the effect of this
migration of industrial ccn,res2'
"'The nation docs not lose Ivy the trorsfer,
but is, in fact, benefited. Though the
place left muy suffer temporarily and its
population decreuse. the whole population of
the nation increases, as have shown you,
at u greater ratio, because the means of
supplying the wants OF the masses are
made easier. Let me illustrate this by
colIing your attention to the summary of q
table have just completed, and which has
not yet been made public. In 1870 [ find
that the Eastern Stutes raised 90 ,S20 600
bushels of corn, tho Southern States 343,-
GLIB, 900 bushels, and the Western Stotes
$50 ,8l3,C00. Now, in 1878, the Eastern
States produced iGi 1858 200 bushels, an
increase Ct about 100000 bushels; the
Southern States produced 3l4 729 GOO, o
decrease of nearly 30,000,000 bushels;
while the Western States produced 96S,-
O,D50, an increase Of more than 800
100000 bushels. Ia wheat the Eastern
States have gone IN the eight years from
81 900, 900 bushels to 47,OOOOO0; the
Southern Suites from $4,000, 900 to 40
100000. the Western States FROM lG $4,000,
600 to 332 100000. While the Southern
and Eastern States have kept he even
tenor Of their way in the production of
oats, tho West has gone from l39. 900 600
bushels in 1870 to 2G3, 900. 900 in 1873.
This Increase in production sufficiently
cxpains the influx of tho farming popuia.
ton into the West, but it does not explain
the rapid development Of manufa curing
interests"
"Ilavc you any facts bearing on tha,?'
eyes, said Mr.. Porter, smiling, "and
will give you few. In 1878 the State of
Illinois alone made as many rails as the
whole United States did in 1860. The
four States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana
and Kansas produced in 1878, 266,7s3
tons of rails, more than 80 per cent. Of all
the rails produced in that year in the United
States Already an immense iron rail
industry, second only 10 Pennsylvania, has
grown up, hused Oh the relations between
the Like Super or iron reuioDs and the vast
bituminous coal fields OF Indiana and Illi-
nois! Tho increase Of population on the
shores of the great lakes within the past
quarter century is without parallel 10
history. have mude series Of inyesti.
gs,ions of tho manufacturing population of
the Wcstcrn States fOhio omitted), of the
thirteen Southern States, and of the six
New England States, including New York,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Having
aaocrtained by tic census figures of 1850,
1860 and 1870 tho actual growth of tho
manufacturing population Of each State,
the percentage Of growth for each decade
was easily found out; then by taking the
average drcennial growth between 1850 aad
1870 for tho increase between 1870 aud
1880, have arrived OF the following ap-.
Proclamation:
Number engaged in manufacturing in
1850:
Eastern States, COG 6Gl
Western States, 5S 947
Southern States, 100,SG6
N,,pohor ouoosol z.