Arizona weekly citizen., 1885-02-28
AMERICAS FUTURE CITY.

George NJ. HIgginson has a rather prophetic article in the Century for March, entitled, "Tne Claims of Chi cago," which contains a good deal of food for thought. While the people oi the East are gradually losing sight of the Great West, the latter Is growing apace and every day becoming more iD- dependent and nearer self-supporting. Instead If trying to hold her trade m the West, New York Is looking to the ocean to build up her trade and increase her population. So strongly have the people of the metropolis become i'm bued with the importance of Europe tha: one of her leading journals contains but little else than foreign news and II IS said that even the leading editorials are written in London and Parls and cabled across the ocean. There must be desire for such matter, otherwise the leading advertising medium of New York would not spend thousands upon thousands Of dollars annually to secure 1t. While tms todyism IS going on in New York, the great cities of the West are skimmIng the cream off the trade of the country and growing populous and rich, while NeH York Is only little more than holding her own. The Wet Is ib reality growing great while the East l. D is ezssting on what she has accumulated in the past. The U. $. custom house ai New York, through which eight-tenths of all tine imports of the United Statee enter. Is deceiving the people of that city. They imagine that the impUrte belong to the city of New York and rep resent the trade of that city, when in reality it Is only the toll-gate Of the United States, and in less than a fort. night after entering New York the i'm ports are scattered to the North. South and West and find theii way to every nook and corner of the na ton. NIT. Higginson takes the ground that the ocean trade cannot be greatly increased while the internal trade and manufactures of the country must greatly increase. He points tO the large inland cities of China, winch contain millions of people as proof of his theory He considers Chicago so f vorably si,u ated and so far head of al competitors. that her chances for being the real capl- tsl of the country at no very distant day, Hre exceedingly good. In closing the writer has DO prediction to make for large cities but says: "Tbe redCnd mt population If the northwest will one day make Chicago the best market ID the world, and the production and commod- ities of Eorope and the Eastern States, Of Asia on the west, and the tropics on the south, as well as of the boundIess wheat, grain, and the growing field which stretch away tO the distant west and north, will some day meet here, as on common ground for sale and pur- chase. These predictions may seem ex- travsgant to residents Iu the other states, but in the West there are many intelligent men who have firm and abiding faith that these things will come to pass. During the last 40 years the city has grown from a small settlement of 5000 people to a magnificent city Of over 600,OO0, hpving increased hundred fold, and 1t would not be a whit more surprising If in j0 years more it should increase to five times its present msgni- tude." That would be 3,OO0,OO0 people, and the story l. oks improbable yet as Mir. Higglnson says ''it would not be whit more surprising than its growth of the past 70 years.