St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-01-09
A fLATTERING OUTLOOK.
THE WEST SUFFERED FAR LESS THAN
THE EAST.
THE IMMIGRATION OUTLOOK.


900 Eastern Laborers Re-
turned to Their Former Homes
in Europe, While Few Left
the West.
A. E. Johnson, senior member of the
well-known emigration firm of A. E.
johnson Il Co., and vice president of
the northumberland Bank of st.
Paul, and the Washington Bank of
Minneapolis, returned yesterday, in
time to attend the annual meetings of
the banks today. The firms foreign
business keeps MIR. Johnson about half
of the time at the port of New York,
where he devoles considerable personal
time to the management of the Scandi-
interchangeable line of ocean steam
ers, for which his firm are general pas
senger agents in America. But notwith-
standing Mr. Johnson's various inter-
eSts, his greatest interest continues in
the Northwest, and he can at all times
be counted on as consistent advocate
of the section of country that has
shown and developed such remarkable
natural resources, especially our own
state.
Mr.. johnson was found at his office,
corner Third and Sibley, by GLOBE
reporter, and he willingly granted an
interview and started out by saying that
he paid no special attention 10 politics,
knew but little about finance and could
not predict what congress may finally do
on the tariff.
But do Know" said he, land feel
convinced that so far as the Northwest
is concerned, we are rapidly recovering
from the effects of the recent panic.
And we have come out of the ordeal in
better condition than any other section
Of the country, East. West, North or
South. | was in New York during the
height of the panic III July or August
and by computing the number Of peO-
pld daily thrown out of work in the
East, as mentioned in the New York
papers-and they could naturally not
know of all-figured up 5000 people
daily-say an even halt-million, sud-
denly deprived of employment in shops
and factories during July and August,
i'll a great many cases without any
warning or notice. During the same
period, as we all know, there were COM
parativelY very few industries in the
Northwest that shut down, and at this
Identical time and period our farmers
the country's pride-were busy harvest
ing the golden grain, and thousands of
the wOrkmen from the iron dis
tricts in Northern Michigan and Wis.
consin found work in the harvest fie DIS
of Minnesota and the two Dakotas at
fair wages. This work continued into
the stacking and threshing season, and
through the fall work generally. You
can now see the contrast of the Situa.
ton i'll the manufacturing centerS of
the East as compared with our agricul-
tural country in the Northwest. Yes,
but it will be said, that the crops in the
Northwest were not up to the average,
nor the prices as high as our farmers
would like. That is true. We did not
raise twenty bushels of wheat to the
acre, nCr sell at dollar bushel, but
when the average yield and price for
several years are taken there is nothing
to complain about.
Il was talking about the labor situa-
ton. Well. sir, there are at least rs, GOO,
and possibly 100000, less laborerS in the
United States than six months ago.
What has become of them? Why. they
have returned back to their respective
countries in Europe that they came
from. But this exodus is not from the
great Northwest, but from the East
mostly. What nationalities? First
Italians, then from the other Southern
European natious. and then the skilled
mechanics from England, Scotland and
Ireland, aud last and least from
Northern Europe. including the
three Scandinavian countries. Why did
TO- the Scaudinavians return back as
we'll as the others? Simply because the
great bulk are in theWest and Northwest
and are not dependent ON employment
to any great extent, as they are farmers
and producers. The Scandinavian
farmers in Minnesota don't know much
about the panic or hard times except
what they read in the papers. But they
are affected by the amount of grain,
dairy product. poultry, cattle, hogs and
and general farm product they have to
sell every year, and the market price.
II will now give you another accurate
indication as to the condition of our
farmers in the Northwest, and what
affects the farmer affects any branch of
our business, from the small country
merchant to the wholesaler and banker.
When the Eastern shops and factories
shut down we were in the midst of har-
vest. The Eastern laborer aud me-
chanic, of foreign birth, seeing no pros
pect of work in the near future, re-
turned back to his former home, intend
ing to remain. The Scandinavian farmer
in the Northwest continued to finish up
his summer and fall work. and when
winter set in very large number found
themselves well enough situated that
they could afford to make trip back to
Scandinavia to spend the holidays
among old friends, aged parents, sisters
and brothers, and return in early spring
in time to resume the farm work.
1T can. be readily seen the influence of
emigration produced by the hundred
thousand from the East who returned
because they were unable to get en-
plOyment, and the few thousand Scan
dinavan and German farmers who went
back for social visit, and with spend
ing money enough in their pockets to
make the yule-tide happy and joyous
season, kindling anew the wish and
hope of friends that they too may soon
follow to the far West that deals so
literally ana yields to the husbandman
bountiful return for his labor.
"Tne prospects are very favorable and
bright for large influx of a compare
lively new class of domestic immigrants
refer to the best and most frugal and
saving of iaborers and mechanics In the
large cities of the East and Middle
state. People who have saved a
| few hundred dollars, and are in good
shape financially to BUY forty or eighty
acres of land and become small farmers
say within hundred miles of st.
Paul and Minneapolis-and when we
have farmer on every eighty acres of
good farming land within a radius of
200 miles OF st. Paul, then the Twin
Cities can sustain population of 1,OOO,-
| 600 people, and we shall not then need