The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1897-09-25
PACIFIC COAST PROGRESS.


The North American Review in its
September number contains the fifth
section of the valuable article entitled
"Progress of the United States" by
M. G. Mulhall, F. S. 8. This number
is given to the Pacific states and Is OF
especial value to the coast, for 1t will
open the eyes of many to the great I'M
portance of the western part of the
Union. The author crowds the article
with statistics that tell wonderful
story. The area is 40 per cent of that
of the Union, but the inhabitants are
only four to the square mile, while on
the east of the mountains in the prairie
states the population is 35 to the mile.
In the development of these states
the cities have grown twice as fast
as the country districts. In 1890
there were twenty-five cities, but
twenty years before there were only
five. "This is the only section OF the
Union in which British settlers hold
the highest place, outnumbering both
Germans and Irish"
Concerning the advantageous use OF
labor in the Pacific states, Mr.. Mulhall
says:
SIT appears that the labor OF each
farm hand is equivalent to thirty tons
of grain in the Pacific states, twenty
two in the prairie, seven in the southern
and fourteen in the eastern states, the
average for the whole Union beirg
fourteen tons per hand. In other
words, each hand in the Pacific states
produces double the average. This
shows how efficient and economical is
the labor applied in these states. where
o machine with a couple of men cuts,
threshes. winnows and bags sixty
acres of wheat in a day."
OF mining he says: 'The Pacific
states are pre-emlnently addicted to
mining, the annual output OF minerals,
according to the last census, amount
ing to 142 million dollars, or thirty
seven dollars per inhabitant, against
eighteen dollars in Australia. The
annual product of precious metals in
these states since 1890 has averaged
fifty.fve tons of gold and 1900 of silver,
worth 100 million dollars, which ex-
ceeds the value of precious metals
that any country has yet produced in
the history of mankind"
OF railways the Pacific states in
1895 had 23,SO0 miles (which had cost
1910 millions of dollars, or S5l 900 per
mile. No other part of the world
possesses such a length of RAILWAYS for
population, since each inhabitant
has ten yards of railroad, against five
in Australia and six in Canada"
mortgages are not heavy, being a
little over ten per cent of the value OF
real estate, but farm lands are much
more heavily encumbered than house
property. But the rate OF interest is
very high, averaging nine per cent,
and in Arizona, Idaho and Montana
eleven per cent. The annual burden
of interest on mortgages is equivalent
to a tax of S12 per inhabitant, which is
double the average in the rest of the
Union
"Local and state taxes in 1890 were
S14 per inhabitant, as compared with
saiu the prairie states. The difference
is partly accounted for by the scattered
nature of the population in the Pacific
states, as we'll as by the large expendi-
ture for schools, equal to $3.50 per in
habitant. But the level of public in
struction is inferior to that of the
eastern or prairie states, notwith-
standing the higher outlay for
schools" The percentage of illiterates
was higher in the Pacific states in
1890 than in either the New England,
middle or prairie states: yet the aa.
nual outlay per child was heavier than
in any other section of the Union.
'The average attendance of school
children is very satisfactory, being
ffty-one per cent of the number of
children of school age, whereas the
for the Union is only forty
six per cent.
In conclusion Mr.. Mulhall says: SIN |
whatever aspect we may view the |
Pacific states, their progress must ap-
pear marvellous. Although OF such |
recent formation that most of them
haYe sprung into existence since 1860,
they possess more miles of railway
than any of the European states ex-
cept France or Germany, and their
wealth exceeds that of Sweden, Nor
way and Denmark in the aggregate"