The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1891-01-10
APE CITIES TO RULE InD
COUNTRY.

II IT
selves, especially uuder the pl'nv h.vs
representative government "n''n ,be
heeo established in this country '''
ficures of each successive census sus
with increasing elearness the possi0,''.
of a time not very far off when CLUES 10.
hold the ruling power OF State and na.loa
Out of that suggestion arise ques'io
even more serious than that OF iocai %"
government for cities. one nuD ,s
years ago only about three ana Que 'u
per cent, of tine population oil 'ni' 49, 49,
try wa, ma,ssd in cities, and at that '''n'
the CITY of New York had little lnofo
than SO, 600 inhabitants. FIT! 5'"i'
ago the proportion Of city popula''ou "
the whole had risen to eight ana one-na"
per cent, and New York contianeu 'iS
$50 people. The rate Of Increase 10 'ne ~,
ratio of urban population IN the last Ia"
century has been still greater, ana the
new census will show that more thah DUG
fourth of the people of the country ii'e III
cities. The proportion is consideraois
bigber than this in some OF the oluei
States, and though the census '''io'
showing the actual result OF the last eu
umeration are not yet at hand, there Is
no doubt that in this State more thap
one third Of the population is massed 10.
gether in incorporated municipalities
The cause OF this movement IN the us
tribution OF population will doubtless
continue to operate. and the time is not
far distant when majority OF the people
will dwell in civies, and those cities Will
exercise a controlling power in all affairs
of government.
The causes of this transfer of the pre-
ponderance Of numbers and Of power from
rural to urban communities are not dlf-
ficult to find. 1t is the result Oft gen.
eral development Of industrial appliances
and Of the means Of interchange for tie
products OF l.bor. Tue application OF ma
chinery to agricultural processes and the
immense increase OF the scale upon which
farming operations are carried on Lave
diminished the relative number of Iso.
pie necessarily employed in strictly rural
labor. A far greater sff5ct has been pro-
duced by the enormous development OF
manufacturing industries through the
application of machinery. This has
brought population together az central
points, and, while doing away with a
great variety OF widely distributed hand
labor, it has so vastly increased the num-
Der and variety of tho products into
which raw materials are wrought that a
much larger proportion OF the people are
employed in manufacturing than before
Not only the invention and application
of machinery, but tho masslng of capita
By interpretations has promoted this i'm
poseipg movement of labor from the sol
to the workshop and the fact Dry. Ac
companying this industrial movement
has been the rapid development of meant
of conveyance and communication b,
railroads, which has done away With the
Necessity for the nearbess Of population
to the sources of supply. A city may
draw its supply of food and materials
from distance OF thousand miles with
almost as much certainty, celebrity apt
cheapness as it could obtain them from
the country about it, if that were capable
Of producing them, and its people are
| no longer dependent upon their immedi
ate environment. With the expansion
of mechanical Industries and the growth
of COMMUNICATION has come an euormou.
development OF trade and of agenciei
employed in the operations of exchanges
employing multitudes Of people.
In short, it is the evolution through
| which production and trade have beer
going for two generations that has bull
up cities and concentrated population
and the movement has been going on al
over the civilized world. There is NJ
| reason for supposing that it will no5 con
tinue until the people who are scattered
in rural communities and engaged iu oc
equations necessarily carried on in snct
| communities will be in the minority
Heretofore the State has created and
practically controlled city governments
| and it has been judiciaIly hell that nun
icipal government is a subordinate brancl
of State government and subjeec to am
| change which the Legislature may or
dain. The city of Now York is to.da,
| dependent for such measure of self gov
| eminent as it may exercise and for TIL
| privilege OF supplying it's most importan
bany, in which large majority of tn
| members represent rural communities
In an important sense it is ruled by til,
scattered population OF the country dist
riots, which has no conception OF its re
| quirements- Country legislators hav,
| even prevented the cities from havin
their due share of representation in tn
law making body upon which they s
largely depend. Bur the tims will com
| when cities must control the Legislator
and make the government of the State
Though they may still be nomiually tn
creatures of the State, they viii! secur
local self-governmeut by their power t
control the agency which now control
them, and the position Of dependence
may be changed from the cities to til
rural towns.
When the preponderance of populatio
is in cities of constantly increasing siz
they will not ouly control Legislature
and make and uumake State ( government
but they will have the controlling voIc
in the Congress of the nation and detel
mine the character aad policy Of the ia
tional administration. Thus tie tender
cy of population to congregate in cities
the industrial and commercial develor
| ment which draws the forces of the cour
try more and more into employments tina
mass the people together in great urb 4!
Il -.