The record-union., 1891-10-03

/ jury to any transportation instrumentality
! by increasing the wealth-producing capacity
/ OF this State 1t Is in that direction that the
future prosperity of the railway lies, and not
| in the direction of the diminishing wealth.
creating power ofthe commonwealth.
But beyond all anticipated consequences,
ABOVE all special and particular considera-
1 tons for existing conditions stands the great
ana unanswefable argument that whatever is
pest lor mankind as a whole is best for every
community and for every individual member.
Inc tendency to bring ali countries into closer
relatlons, SO strongly manifested in modern
methods, is Irresistible. 1t will accept the aid
OF man, but apparently IL will triumph with
out 1t. If our State stood in the middle of our
clvllizat1on to-day, instead OF at It's remotest
verge, ltS mines, Its forests, its fields and its
orchards would be occupied with teeming
populations. The broad limits OF its climatic
possibilities, with their attendant economies
OF production, would assert themselves in
conIerring upon it those natural advantages
now denied to it by the isolation and remote
ness OF its situation.
y COMPETITIVE CONDITION..
The progress in the direction OF economic
means OF communication has brought the
whole world into very close relation Out of
TINS grows competitive condition between
al It's parts. All the industries which engage
tne attention OF men are conducted under this
law of competition. All production in all
parts OF the world sustains a competitive rela-
| tlon 10 the worlds markets. 1t follows that
Whatever confers economy of production on
the Industries pursued in any part OF the
world, gives to the industries pursued there
I U
| accident. They exist by virtue of commercial
| law. They are located at the focal centers of
eonVerglng aud diyerging lines of CONNER
| clal communication, ana their magnitude is
! dependent entirely upon the volume OF COM
merce generated by the products of the region
OF which they are the focal centers.
hen we say that certain territory is natu-
| rally tributary to given city, we mean that
/ the city Is the most economic commercial
base Tor the exchange of the products of the
territory under consideration. Cites, then,
are the result of financial. Industrial and ccm-
mercial conditions. Everybody is fond of
! saving that the people of particular cities are
very enterprlslng, and point to the growth Of
/ the city in evidence of that spirit of enter
prise. There is but little difference between
/ the Cnterprisin9 spirit of the different cities
ol our continent, and intelligent perception of
/ the 1orces influencing the growth of city will
! readily disclose the fact that growth could
not " ell be prevented.
lake Chicago as an Illustration. That CITY
Is about the center, east and west of the popIi-
! louS portion of the United States 1t has the
| equlNalent OF ocean communication at point
about half way between the Atlantic seaport
ana the extreme western margin of greatest
density OF our population. The commercial
lines OF this continent lie east and west
therefore the country lying west of Chicago
! looks eastward for an outlet for its products
/ and FOR a market in which 10 blly and sell
and 1t finds at Chicago The full equivalent of
SeabCard communication a thousand miles
west OF the Atlantic seaboard. Chicago is
| what 1t Is to-day because OF this factor in its
commercial relations; and if you want to
!
nave to do is to imagine that it should sud
| denly cease to exist Take this into consid-
| Grafton for moment and see what would
nece ssarily follow. Ifthe lakes, the Welland
cana! ana the st. Lawrence should suddenly
! become unnavigable the boaSted enterprise
| OF Chicago would avail nothing TO prevent
the dispersal OF the great population which
has concentrated there.
A vast volume of commerce is transacted at
Chlcago, ana cOrreSpondingiy vast Dopula-
ton is the result; but the existence of q COM
merce at That particular point is due to the
one single factor OF enjoying ocean navigation
AZ the very heart OF the population OF the
Unlteu states. This carried in its train at
tendant consequences influencing industrial
ana commercial conditions. Take away this
one factor, as already suggested and Chicago
would cease to exist. A very large proportion
! OF the population inhabiting the western
| countries would find themselves without en-
| ployment. because If the lines over which the
! products OF the countries lying west south
ana southwest OF Chicago Were extended To
| New York, margins would be so reduced that
many industries barely above the line of sub
mergence would go below that line and be
eliminated altogether. In all this We have an
other Illustration OF the interconvertibility Of
cost and distance. Chicago as the geographical
center of the country, at its commercial cen
ter, in the very heart of its population has q
condition which cOnferS upon il the euuiya-
lent advantage of being an Atlantic seaport
Commercially speaking, and when the cost OF
communication Is considered, Chicago bears
the same relation to the rest of the world en-
jOyed by the cities of Boston, New York
Philadelphia and Baltimore. When our com
merce can be carried by team on the ocean an
entirely new condition viii arise-one vastly
more favorable to industrial and commercial
development than we have ever before known
A great commerce will focaliZe at our sea-
ports, and the Pacific Ocean will cease to be n
mere geographical designation, and become,
as II should, a vast commercial factor.
TIT J7f,Tr