Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-02
GROW tn EAST and WEST.

The results of cenSuSeS of population
taken last summer in the two eastern
states of Massachusetts and New Jersey
and in the two western states of Iowa
and Kansas appear to show that the
east has been growing more rapidly
than the west during the last five years.
The gain i'm population during that
period in Massachusetts was, in round
numbers. 10000, or at the rate of III
per cent, and in New Jersey the in
crease in the population was 22S,O0O, or
at the rate of 1871 per cent. Flo the
two western states the showing is not
so favorable. Iowa gained 100000 in
of increase being 7.6 per cent, while the
Kansas census shows n decrease in the
population since 1880 of over $4,000.
that state having lost population at the
rate of more, than, $4,000 a year. Com
menting upon these facts an eastern
contemporary remarks that such sta
tistics show that the point indicating
the center ofYpoptllation in the" United
States will make the smallest west
ward movement during the present dec
ade that has taken place in any de-
cennial period since the first federal
census. u
The movement of population westward
during the last few years has been very
slow, due tof several causes, In the
fi~rst,9place hes number of. immigrants
coming into the country has HieIi com
paratively light and especially so of
to the west as homeseekers. Accord
ing to an Investigation recently made
as to the destination of 1000 immi.
grants who arrived at Ellis island, it
was found that DO per cent of them in
tended to remain on the Atlantic sea
board, willie only 10 per cent went west
of Pennsylvania and but 3 per cent of
this 10 crossed the Mississippi. The
more intelligent immigrants came west,
but these constituted a very small mi
nOrity, while the illiterates, who came
to the country seeking common labor,
remained in the large cities of the
Atlantic states. This has been the ease
for several years. The people who
want to take up farms and pursue the
business of agriculture have not been
coming to the, United States in large
numbers for the last three or four years.
thing is that the low prices of
agricultural products have deferred en-
igratiOn from the east to the west. the
farmers of the former section seeing no
chance to better their lot. and with
many of them 1T Is a hard lot, by re-
moval. Still another thing operating
to the disadvantage of the west has
been the disparaging misrepresenta-
tons that have one out during the last
few years, conveying the impression
that the people of the west are subjected
to greater h%ardships and to Il severer
struggle tor existence than the people
of any other section of the country.
But these drawbacks to western prog
ress will not be permanent. When the
shall again have a policy that
will stimulate the growth of American
industries, create a better home market
for the products of the farm and in
vite to our shores a better class of i'm
migrants, n new impetus will be given
to western advancement, and this sec
ton, capable of supporting several
times it present population, will again
a notable progress. In the
the east is welcome to its
rapid inSfease of population from
the accession rOfs, the least desirable
of immigrants.