St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-11
THE DOOM OF THE SMALL TOWN.

An article in the current Forum
by Henry J. Fletcher. under the
above title, is receiving an extended
notice by the press, and the COM
ments are various on the facts he
has gathered and condensed from
the census tables, showing marked
decrease in the population of the
townships in the North Central
states of the Union. During the dec
ade 1SS0-1S9O, he finds that over so
per cent Of the townships in these
states have lost in population, a
small percentage have remained
stationary while the remainder have
made some advance. He has in
vestigated the cases of over 1000
towns in the course of his study
This is nothing new. The tend
ency has been known for years,
commented on, and the causes at
tempted to be ascertained. The
same tendency exists in other
countries, though to far less mark
ed degree than here, showing a
movement of population to the cities
from the country, it's farms and vii
lagos. Among the causes that lie
on the surface are the strong social
instincts of man, those which make
him a gregarious animal, loving the
society Of his fellows and avoiding
solitude. Add to the facilities for
intercourse which it is, mistakenly,
supposed the cities afford, their
wide offerings of amusements, their
better schools, and one strong cause
of the migration is found.
But there are others the creation
OF artificial forces, the outcome of
policies both of the government
and of the great corporations en-
gagged in transportation. These lat
ter especially have been effective in
withdrawing from the country
towns the small industries which
formed their nucleus in their purely
business policy of securing traffic
for their roads. The manufacturer
In the country long since gave up
the contest with his city competi-
tor, made unequal by the cheaper
! rates the latter could obtain from
| the railways, both for his material
| coming in and his finished product
| sent to the markets. There was a
temporary gain from the interstate
commerce act with it's long and
short haul proviso, until the rail-
ways and the city manufacturers
| found ways Of avoiding it's proyi-
slons, and during the short breath
ing spell 1t was marked how the
manufacturing industries Of the
country towns revived. In the de-
crease of way traffic caused by this
policy the roads have lost all, and
more than the advantage first
gained. The congestion of urban
population has decreased their earn
| 1ngs, and hence their consuming
capacity, which reacts on railway
earnings.
But the great force that has been
persisitently ait work for thirty
years to transfer population from
the farms and small villages to the
cities is the tariff policy of the
country. 1t has set up manufacture
ing as the god among the industries
and commanded the people to wor-
ship it and pay it tribute. 1t has
been the fetish of the party now re-
turning to power, and it is proclaim
ed today by the evangelist of pro-
lection in his latest speech as the
one thing essential to financial and
industrial recovery. Everything
mas been made to bend to it. This
country has been advertised to the
world as one that permits it's peo-
pie to be burdened that manufac-
turing might thrive. 1t cried to the
old world workers to come here,
where the taxing power was used