The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1894-06-02
Have We too Many Peopie9

gent people are accustomed to ex-
plain panics, strikes, tramps and
other more or less disagreeable fea-
lures of American progress as a re-
suit of unrestricted immigration,
and reader at Austin, Tex, asks
for its opinion in the premises.
Resolved into its simplest form
the whole question is whether this
country now has too much or too
little population. In The Worlds
opinion it is so far from being over
populated that the single State of
Texas could support the present pop
ulation of the whole country not on
ly without bad results but with
great advantage.
The evils which afiiict us at pres
ent are incidents of growth. They
are the results of under population
and over-expectation
All values in America are based
chiefly on the expectation of con-
tinuous growth. 1t has been esti-
mated that at least so per cent. of
the value of all corporation stocks in
years of prosperity represents ex-
pectation of growth, in view of in
creasing demand to be caused by a
continuously progressive increase in
population.
The estimate may be exaggerated,
but we hardly think it is. We are
inclined to believe on the evidence
that if it were now known positively
that hereafter the growth of the
United States would depend solely
on excess of births over deaths, the
average value of real estate and Of
all corporation and business securi-
would greatly depreciate. Two
thirds of the railroads depending
for business on the settlement of
the West and South would be per-
manently bankrupted, and in the
resultant readjustment of all values
the price of labor would fall and
there would follow hard times from
the effects of which no class in the
community would be exempt.
We who now hold America hold it
as trustees. A more sacred and re-
sponsible trust has never been COM
mitted to people, and if we forget
that we are trustees for humanity; i'll
we say that in our laws and policies
we will consider nothing but what
appears at given time to be our
selfish advantage; if trusting wholly
to the short and never to the long
run we make ourselves Ishmaelites. |
with our hands against every man
and every nation, we cannot fail to
suffer the greatest fall and the most
abject degradation that incompet
ency and breach of trust have ever
brought upon people.
Holding such views, we may still
recognize the desirability of exclud-
ing criminals and of protecting our
own people from the attempts of |
other nations to unload unproductive
consumers upon us. We are not
afraid of paupers who are merely
poor enough to be willing to work.
Such paupers have made America
what it is; have given it its system
of free government; have created its
wealth; have forced its progress. 1t
is only the criminal and the unpro.
ductlve, the incompetent pauper,
against whose presence in America
we have any reason to protest
Population and demand, popula-
ton and production, population and
progress, population and higher civ
iization are all indissolubly con
neeted. Only as men increase and
press upon each other is the higher
intellect, the inventive genius of
civilization developed. This is
truth that cannot change for any
act of Congress. 1t governs and it
always will govern the destinies of
nations.
We need more population in Amer
lea. And we need more moderation.