Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-01-15
AMERICA IN 1900.
The Population Centred in u Very Few
cities Near the Coast.

The Population Centred in n Very Few
cities Near the Coast.
In 81. Nicholas there is a timely
article on the Greater New York en-
titled "Reas oning Out Metropolis, -"
by Ernest Ingersoll. Writing of the
distribution OF the population ut the
beginning OF the century, Mr.. lnSer'
soil says:
Montreal and Quebec We're then
large towns, hut making no progress;
nothing had come of the expected
cities a ong the coast of Maine; old
Salem had been outstripped by Bos-
ton. which already numbered 30, 900
citizens: Newport, New London and
New Haven were still lisarpointingly
small; New York. which had borne
the brunt of the ,olutionary war,
include ionly some 80. 600 inhabitants;
while Philadelphia, unframed by the
war, was t!onrishing, and led the list
with population numbering over ST.
O0p. Father south, Baltimore, with
about -, 900 people; Charleston, with
20, GOO and New Orleans then in
French ,errituryl, with 10000 were
the only coast towns worth mention
ing. Civilization had scarcely found
its wnyurrosS the Allsghanies, Chicago
did no, EXIST. and Oswego, Builuo,
Detroit. Pittsl ing and Cincinnati
were mere frontier villages on Indian
tra,ling-p, SITS. New England and
eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland
We're dotted with villages, but the
largest inland towns We're those of
northern New Jersey and the valley
of the Hudson where Newburg, Kings
ton and Albany took TIE lead of all.
Let us see what happened during
the next thirty years.
As soon rs peace, and firm, united
government were gained by The war
for Independence, we Americans be-
gan to think about finding ont and
making use of the wealth of our new
country, first by setting as many per
sons as possible to clearing away the
forests and planting fields; and great
numbers from the older states, and
from Europe, moved West, and re
ceivel from the government tracts of
land, for which the only pay asked
was promise to Stay and cultivate
them.
But it was plat that there was no
use in fnrMnY, no matter how cheap
and fertile the soil, nor i'll cutting
timber or digging minerals, no matter
how accessible and abundant, unless
the pioneers had some way to send
the grain they grew, OF the timber or
minerals to market. Roads We're,
therefore, of the first Importance.
Nobody but hunter or an explorer
could travel into the heavily wooded
interior, except along some navigable
river and at first only the valleys of
these rivers were cultivated. Next, u
lew roads were laid ont, connecting
the coast and riverside towns, but
none penetrated inland very far, and
these were mostly mere tracks for
pack horses. All frontier goods We're
carried by horses until almost the be-
ginning of this century-as they are
yet in remote parts of the far West.
This method is exceedingly expensive.
1t cost, for instance, $40 II ton, or
about twelve and Il half cents II pound,
to carry merchandise by pack -horses
from Philadelphia to Erie in 1871;
and when, in 1889, the first wagon
ROAD WAS opened over the Pennsyl-
vania mountains, the cost of freight
age was three dollars ton for that
part alone alolt 40 miles. It was
not until 1904 that the first through
line of stages was established from
Philadelphia to Pittsburg, making the
trip in seven days.
These things show how gradual, but
how sure, was the advance of civilian
ton westward.