West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-09-27
THE NATIONS GROWTH.
What the United States VIII
Become I'm the Near Future.
Figures Which Testify to the
Country's Greatness.

An interesting article in the New York
Times contains some startling facts and flg.
ures concerning the future growth Of the
United States The foundation for any
estimates OF cur future growth, says the
writer, must lie In the history OF itn past.
beginning, therefore, at the dawn OF the
present active generation, say rs years ago.
we lind that our territory included 81
Stat-s, Territories, and the District
OF Columbia; that lite extent was
as IL remains to-day, exclusive OF
Alaska, 3012,S52 square miles, and that it
contained population of less than 1000
OOo. The centre OF population was near Park
crshurg, w. Va The vast territory west
OF the Mississippi River, embracing O States
and Territories, 2,l3o, $40 square miles OF
tional domain, contained at this time only
l,vVa, 40i people, and OF these there were only
w, Tvs living In tho limits OF the four Terri
tories Several peculiar fallaciea respecting
this region gained such general acceptance
that they were recorded upon the maps
and In the Biographies published in this
early period. The fertile region between the
River Platte sld the Red River was des.
crioed as the "Great American DESERT In
one case and as an "Alkali Desert In another.
Even ms late as 1885, in Lippincotts Com
prehensive Geography" it ia said that,
Along tho eastern foot OF the Rocky Noun
tatns these plains arc almost deserts. Much
of this region II suited 20 n pastoral people,
IA arc the high plains OF Asia" The greater
part OF Northern Texas is described as an
''arid, staked plain, and the southern part
Is called a sandy desert"
Now there exist In the trans Mississippi ro-
gion IL States and q Territories having a
population in 1850 OF II, ,2b0,360 According
TO the census OF 1850 the true value of tho
real and personal property wost OF the
mississippi was In the States 500 0,7O4, ,4lg
n nd tf. T.ss q I..
this had Increased TO 81, ll9, COZ, 900, or by
100 per cent, in the six States, au1 TO
t2,SH, ,0O0,0 600, or 10y 2720 per cent, in
the States and Territories included in
the same period OF 30 years the true value OF
real and personal property in the entire
country had increased from az, lS5. $50, ,42i TO
4S,042, ,OOJ,OOO, or something over 600 per
cent During this period OF 80 years since
1853 the Territories OF Minnesota, In 1857, and
Oregon In 1859, were admitted into the Union:
the new Territories OF Kansas. 1851; Nevada,
1851, Nebraska, 1884 and Colorado,
1891, were organized and subsequently ad-
mitted into the ssterhood OF States, and tho
present Territories OF Washington, 1883, Da-
kota, 1861. Arizona and Idaho, 1865, Montana,
1864, and wyoming, 1903, were organized
The State OF Kansas, that was not even
organized as a Territory until lSji, was
OF s7G0 900, ,0O0-a sum exceeding by nearly
$50, ,0O0,O 900 the aggregate valuation OF all
the States and Territories west OF the Missis-
sippi in 1850.
In the direction OF agricultural develop
ment the progress OF tho Nation has boon no
less striking. The corn crop OF 1S4g was
b92,01l, l04 bushels, and in 1879 10 was
1,75i, ,b9i ,676 bushels; the acreage had In
creased from 25.000 900 TO $4,000, 900 The
wheat crop In 1Sie was 40, 485, % "a bushels,
produced on less than i0,0o0,0t0 acres; in
1879 the crop was 40, 4B3, 1877 bushels, and the
acres 81, 4303S3. In ib49 there wore 81, ,707, ,Sg6
bushels Of potatoes produced on 800 001 acres
OF ground, and In 1870 tho crop from 800, :
600 acres was 100, 45S $50 bushels.
But perhaps as just criterion by which to
judge OF the development Of the country as
can DO taken is the statistics regarding the
building OF railroads At the end OF 1882
there were In operation ~, D0S miles OF rail
road, In 1852 there were 80, 10 miles In 1872
there were 69. III and In 1882 thore wsre H.
$50. According TO the Annual Statistician
the number o, miles Ia operation nt the close
OF 1886 was 1873, 2iS miles.
The population by decades since 1850 was
80 follows;