Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-08-22
Emigration Westward Of Young YER
mOnters.

A Vermont correspondent writes:
Since the census of 1880, which gave
Vermont population of 1872, 2S6, there
has been large emigration of her sons
and daughters to the West. During the
wears 1880, 81 and '82 ii Is estimated
that between 1000 and 5000 natives of
the State went out to seek new homes
and find new fields of labor in the North
west. Dakota has been the III Dorado
which many have sought, while others
have settled i'm Minnesota, Nebraska and
Colorado. Already this year the tide of
emigration has set toward the West,
and il promises to be rs heavy as in
former years. Vermont is not only a
good State to emigrate from, rs Stephen
A. Douglas asserted, but the emigrants
themselves are of her best and most
industrious citizens. They are the kind
of men that make the Governors, Sena-
tors, Congressman, railroad managers
and Judges in the West. The Wabash,
st. Louis a. Pacific, Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fc, Atlantic a. Pacific, Mexican
Central and other large roads have
graduates of our Vermont railroads as
Presidents and general managers, while
and leading lawyers, in the larger cities
of the West are natives of the State.
There are associations of Sons of YER
mont in q number of Western States,
numbering thousands of members.
While on one hand it is to be deplored
that Vermont does not offer sufficient
inducement in industrial and material
development and progress and in iinan-
cial and political promotion to keep her
sons and daughters at home, il is mat
ter of great satisfaction that so many
win wealth and fame for themselves and
thereby honor Vermont, The most scri-
Gus loss to the State, so far as it affects
her material development, falls upon
the farming industry. The ma Or part
of those who 90 West are the bone and
sincw of the State the young farmers.
IL is well known that many hill farms
have been abandoned of late years by
their former occupants, who have gone
west in Loiy. Farmers clubs and
dairymen's associations have often dis
cussed the question and failed to remedy
the existing evil.
This state of things has produced n
scarcity of farm labor in many sections,
and for the past few seasons the labor
problem has assumed serious proper
tons in rural districts. Gov. Barstow
in his last message thought the subject
of sufficient importance TO make special
reference to the matter of the scarcity of
farm labor, and also took occasion to
indorse proposed solution of the ques-
ton by bringing German and Swedish
immigrants from Castle Garden into
the State, Last year several farming
communities through agents secured a
number of such laborcrs, and this year
the experiment has been repeated on a
larger scale. Probably not less than
one thousand German farm hands have
been brought into the State and disposed
of to our farmers, who pay n bonus of
so for each farm hand to the agent.
Most of these foreigners give satisfac-
ton, but in some instances they are
troublesome and suddenly dccamp for
other parts. This immigration may
prove partial solution of the labor
problem. but IL can not make good the
loss of intelligent landowners and small
farmers who leave the State. Many
farmers in the northern part of the State
have for years relied on French Cana
dians to help them out during the busy
season of the year They make model
scythc-swingers, and are very valuable
in the bayfield,.