The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1882-01-03

stream OF incoming population almost
daily, and are even ourselves astonished
at the constant improvement of our towns
and cities, and the scarcely less than magic
growth of business and trade, have an idea
pretty generally that we are drawing
above all other cards. In other words We do
not doubt but fully nine Western men out
OF every ten who were asked the question
Where do the majority of the immigrants
to this country go?' would answer without
hesitation Ito the West" unless they had
studied the figures furnished by the
emigration bureau. 1t is firmly
believed that nearly everybody who
is dissatisfied with his or her pres
ent habitatioR is possessed of no other idea
than to come west and grow up with the
country" For this reason many laudable
and practicable schemes for securing u
larger population by means other than the
natural increase are laughed at and fall
through for want of assistance and are in
variably met with the remark they will
come without our asking for them" An
examination, however, of the statistics on
this really interesting question will disclose
facts directly to the contrary, and afford US
of the West some useful information if
we will but wisely profit by it. A
leading journal of the East few days
since published some figures, which we here
insert, relative to selection of homes by
our foreign immigrants, and the showing is
hrly of the Southwest. Our exchange
says: During the year ending last June
1856, OI7 immigrants arrived at Castle Gar
den. OF this number 1850 went to Con-
nccticut, 2l59 to Rhode Island and Ii ,O7S to
Massachusetts. New York got li3, 1872
Pennsylvania SO, 475 and New Jersey II ,5s7.
Even South Carolina received 1925
and Texas l,2Gl. North Carolina
got 1924, Tennessee 1896, and Mary
land 1896. The Western States when re-
cevcd the largest number are Illinois,
which got 43,i49 Iowa, l2,526; Michigan,
l7OSS; Minnesota, 1868 Missouri, 7,226;
Kansas, 1881; Indiana, 1924; Ohio, l9lQ1;
Nebraska, 4,l2i, and Wisconsin, 1901,
These figures show that the great cities and
| thiekly settled States of the East have more
| attraction TO immigrants than the sparsely
settled regions of the West, Really, large
sections of New York and Pennsylvania
offer more inducements to settlers
than most Of the region west OF
the Mississippi In fact, the attrac-
tons of this country to European immi-
grants are much more evenly distributed
than is generally supposed" We must
digress to question the accuracy OF the last
generally poor and come to labor, it csr-
tainly will not be contendcd that the tllickly
populated East, with its already cut
throat competition in the wages of labor,
offers anything like such inducements to
the poor laborers as the Wcst.with its cheap
homes, splendid climate, demand for labor
of just the kind the immigrant furnishes
and it's now almost universal freedom
from danger to even the isolated settler,
And with no greater reason can it
be urged that the attractions
ofthis country are much more evenly dis
tributed than supposed" But the lesson
to be learned from these figures is useful
and practical one. The bone and sinew Of
Europe, this infusion of new blood into our
National life is being gradually absorbed
by the North and East, while we are left
dependent mostly upon natural increase
and the shifting proclivities of the native
population of the States, These Europeans
ure Just the character Of men
and women We want to do the labor
that will otherwise remain un-
done, and yet in Texas, with our
boosted advantages and imperial territory
last year out of a half million people who
came through Castle Garden from abroad
to locate and labor in the United States,
we only received about sixteen hundred or
two thousand lfthis population is worth
anything to New York and Ohio and Iowa,
1t it worth as much or more to Texas in her
present sparscly peopled condition and that
it is valuable is shown in the fact that they
further north and In the Eastern States
work 10 obtain il. 1t il about time we
think that our railroad COM
panics and emigration societies
and all others interested in the
matter were looking more closely to the
statistics and making extra cxertions to di-
rect in Western and Southwestern channelsa
larger volume of this current Of humanity
annually passing through Castle Garden.
Instead of two thousand, as in the past
year, we ought to receive this year, out of
half million, at least fifty or seventy-liye
thousand, aside from those who come direct
to Texas from the European ports and Gal
weston. Seven or eight out & every ten of
these people make good citizens and soon
become independent, and are therefore de-
sirable.
Our special from Graham this morning
gives the details of A terribly bloolv tr,uo1,,