New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-19
deIuded by Its strains into helping Mclaughlin
elect one more Mayor Of character and ability.
THE CITYWARD DRIFT.

Among the social and industrial movements OF
the time the drift OF population toward the
cities is reckoned a great evil. There Is little
doubt that 1t is. Perhaps its magnitude Is even
greater than Is commonly imagined. The star
Ting statement Is made on good authority that
in the four great agricultural States OF Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois and Iowa half the townships
were less populous in 1890 than in 1880, while
the large cities had vastly increased in size.
There was n corresponding dmnution Of the
number Of productive enterprises carried on in
rural districts In New-York State two-thirls
of the townships became less popuous, and
more than one-third Of the counties. while the
population Of the cities increased enormously.
The result is abandoned farms on the one hand,
and overcrowded trades in the cities on the
other: and also an increase in the cost Of food
through diminished production. and lowering
of wages through overcompetition.
The causes Of this state Of things are varied.
Some people blame the railroads and their dis
eliminating freight rates-perhaps with some
Justice. Some say it is because farming means
harder work and poorer pay than city bust
nesses Some think il is because Of the superior
social and educational advantages Of the cities.
Some say and perhaps most truly Of all. that the
young man Is not content with the modest COM
petence Of his fathers farm. He wants to make
his pile" and to make it quickly. So he quits the
farm for the city This last-named cause is In
herent in human nature, as that nature has been
developed in our present civilization. 1t must
be overcome, if at ALL by truer culture and higher
ideals of life The tirsinamed. also, is difficult
to deal with. But perhaps both can be in large
measure effected through removal Of the other
two and that these can be removed nearly, If
not altogether, seems Il reasonable belief.
The social advantages of the city are superior
70 those Of the country. and will probably al
WAYS remain So The disparity between them
should not and need not however. be nearly SO
great as it is. Village improvement societies
have already in many places made rural life far
more attractive. The extension Of their work,
the multiplication Of libraries, lecture courses,
etc. the improvement Of schools, the cheapenlng
in price and wide diffusion Of good literature in
periodical and other forms, all make toward the
elevation and increased atractiveness OF the
country as place Of residence. Each village
should be made social and intellectual centre,
and each county town small edition OF the
metropolis: while all. by virtue Of the telegraph
and telephone, should be and may be closely in
touch with the whole world.
Neither is there any good reason why farm
work should be so aborous and brutazing as
to repel men from engaging in It, To say that
there is is to impugn the inventive and progress
sive genius Of the age Already great advances
have been made in the application Of labor
saving machinery; and still others and greater
are yet to be made. In none is the work done
more independently of exacting circumstances,
or is the margin Of leisure greater And yet we
have scarcely begun to learn how 10 farm. Far
more labor is performed than should be neces-
sary the results are far too meagre and enough
matter is wasted every year to fertlize the whole
country one of these days we shall have good
roads everywhere. machinery to do all the hard
work; scientific methods Of fertilization. culture
and irrigation; and not only two, but twoscore
blades of grass growing where only one has
grown before Then the farmers life will be
attractive. his work Easy, his profits great, and
the other two causes Of the cityward drift which
we have mentioned will be so far overcome that
"A wholesome balance will be secured and pre-
served between the city and the country.