Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-01-07
uASON'S GLOOMY VIEW.
he MAKES A PREDICTION WHICH 10
IMPORTANT iF TRUE.

Otis Mason, ~ the bureau of ethnulogy
of the National museum. has evolved
theory that the resources Of the western
viii, in u comparatively
Snort time, be exhauste az y support for
rivilized man. and that North and South |
America will be depopulated, except by /
savages Of a very low order Professor
Mason said;
"In order that this may be understood. |
II i first necessary TO explain that this
western part Of the world. known rs
North and South America. is from the
scientific posst Of view an inferior CON
tinent. as compared with the land masses
Of the other hemispheres By that is
meant that, while superior 10 Europe,
Asia or Africa in point OF vegetable
productiveness, il Is less adapted for the
support of animal life. To show that
this Is SO, make n little comparison for
yourself between the beasts of this henri
sphere and those of the other The ele-
plant Of the Old World il represented
here by the tapir What we have rs a
substitute for the camel is the llama,
which il just big enough and strong
enough 10 carry what would be load
for "A man The lion and tiger Of Asia
and Africa are represented on this side
of the earth by little more than big cats.
LOOK AT OUR MONKEYS.
"But To arrive ut the most marked ex-
J hihition Of this contrast yon cannot do
better than consider the monkeys. which
arr most highly developed of all beasts,
approaching very nearly to man. What
Is there 10 he found III the Americas to
CORRESPOND with the anthropod apes OF
tine Old World: The gorilla which uses
a club; the chimpanzee, which is easily
taught to wait upon the table and to
perform other domestic duties. and the
ourang, which presents SO many like
nesses to the human being. are repre-
scented on this side Of the world by mis-
cradle little monkeys with tails.
Thus il Is that this part of the earth
Is termed an inferior continent. because
it Is not able to produce or support such
high developments Of animal life as are
found in the other pnrt Civilized man
exists here to day, not as a natural prod
net, but as an importation.
Professor Mason then. in elaborate de.
tail, described the lapse of wheat farm
ing in one state after another until the
field has been transported to the Dako-
tas and the very verge Of the great desert;
the rapid exhaustion Of the soil and OF
the minerals; the tremendous drain in
every way upon resources, which, new
~ developed rs they are, must be nearly
! exhausted even within the next century,
the ruinous cost OF producing and trans.
! porting articles necessary to civilized
life. He then concluded his reiaa kable
. forecast rs follows:
. TO put it plainly, the 80 called Amer
lean people have camped over this con
! tincnt regardless of their future. They
have delved into tine soil. chopped int
, the mountains and used mp the land un
: til there stares them in the face the al
/ most immediate prospect Of starvation
As for the state of Nevada, we have mo-
been there twenty-five years. and its re
, sources have neen exhausted In othel
} words it will almost Immediately b,
e unable to support "A population. Tn
people who inhabit it are obliged to &,
! because they can no longer make thei
, living there. and it il simply question
of short tim when II will become
. deal state, and ~ lapse into the cnndi
/ ton Of Il territory as impossible to re
/ yiye into the living condition OF stat,
as If il were "A district on the moon.
PAfSFuI. REFLECTIONS
The painful reelection Incidental Il
/ the subject i, thlt other states. If not al
| Of them. are destined sooner OF later +
I follow N.vada's example The popula
ton on this continent cannot necessaril
r Survive Inc means Of subsistence afford
= ed it by the country II what seienc
| says Is true. the white man has got {
/. go. There has been talk u the effec
that the Chinese must vanish. but /
must be confessed they are very muc
better adapted 10 continue existence O
!" this hemisphere ihnn ourselves. for tn
obyious reason shat they will survive u
= here. AMI tint they will continue IN thei
= own manner the civilization which W
= have male an attempt 10 Start
= but the Caucasian. If the scientifi
= men are to be brlievc will not ba alb
- to support existence On this hemisphei
/" after the capital. in the way Of agricul
70 ural and min ral y sources. has been q
u haustel. rs it must l3e sunn Hpwill iii
= appear. The natural question IS by WIN
- processs Ii i very evident. When
= superior race becomes POOR. and thereb
70 unable 10 maintain its superiority,
lapses into the condition of poor white
The Caucasian does become thriftles
incapable OF e1ertion, eventually Al
y preaching 10 the savage. In other word
Us be loses his status in the scale Of Gre
I ton.
=. = Through the progressive exhaustic
"a of the resources Of tho country. sta
D after state viii necessarily become uni
= habitable. becaBs.. 1t viii be incapab
= of supporting a population. Thus VI
n come about the i. population Of one sta
~ after another--of course By a slow pro
81 ess through many years aud there W
be presented the remarkable phenor
enon Of the dropping from the Union
these states successfully. because tn,
v, have come to I've no longer entitled
Nv representation under the law. by sen
al tors and representatives.
a. Nevada viii simply be the first sta
In 10 suecumb u the operation Of this i
r. evitable law. TIE outlook II melanehol
ha That is not to he denied. Its not plea
be ant 10 consider the frame II mind If Ii
a last civilized man On this continent
:. few centuries hence. standing ON saE
N hill. where once the maize luxurious
Ill grew, and shedding silent tear Of affe
ut tipn On the past Of a continent which