Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-09-23
III SECTIONAL PUZZLES.
States. That Are Neither Northern
Southern, Eastern. Middle. Nor
Weste1H.

A ceStcntion has arisen al -
whether Missouri should be classed q.
Southern or a Western state. Tho
! Atlantis Constitution calls it a Suth-
eFn state. The st. Louis Globe Demo-
ciT< ftlares that it is not Southern
ssatEsbut should be classed with the
NSf'st. Tho Globe Democrat is Pc
publican PAPER and does not like the
South. Put who is to decide to which
section this great state belongs,
| Geographically it may be considered
atsylhjng 1t stretches from the lat,-
.tJtlefbf the northern boundary Of
N0'tb Carolina and Tennessee TO the
i1titsfe Of New York city. 1t extends
farther north than Kansas. farther
south than Virginia, and about as far
west as iowa and Minnesota. II
reaches up TO the middle Of the North
nm state Of Illinois. But, the Globe
Democrat contends, the division of
etatos is not so much geograph as
IL Is political. Missouri did not secede.
j. sent 10000 soldiers into the Northern
army, ana while il was a slave state
slavery was a small concern among
=,
Finally it says, as an additional argu-
mcnt that il is not Southern state
that Missouri does not raise cotton.
Neither does Virginia. In point Of fact
there seems To be no certain rule for
classifying states. Each geographer
has his own ideas.
Maryland is variousy classified as q
Southern. "A Middle, and a Central At
ianIic states. But the great majority
nt Narylenders consider it a Southern
state. IT did not secede. it does not
raise Gotten, and its location is far to
The north Of the cotton states. Never
thcless, Mason and Dixon's line was
always considered the dividing line
between North and South. Maryland
was q slave state. and its sympathies
dIc win the South and it's trade is
largely in the same direction. II is
true that in politics this state as we'll
. Missouri has become doubtful but
North Carolina did not cease to be a
southern state when il elected a Re-
publican governor. The states Of the
Union are classified in groups. and not
enc Of these groups is definitely settled
Except the New England states. There
is 10 doubt about the states which
compose that group. But no one can
tail which are the Middle States.
Some include Maryland in that group
{, nd others do not.
And where does West Virginia be-
long? Morley in his geography calls it
u Western state. because it drains for
the most part into the Ohio river. Put
il docs not seem right to call a state
Western state whose eastern boundary
iec within 200 miles OF the Atlantic
and whose western boundary is over
21tl from the Pacific. II was a part OF
Virginia when Virginia seeded and
Slavery prevailed in il until the war.
Nevertheless. as at present constituted
III is much less identified with the
south than Maryland is and is far more
removed from it in sympathy and
business interest. To what group OF
states. therefore. does West Virginia
A-lnng? There is contention about the
rlace NJ Missouri. and if Missouri IS
doubtful. Kentucky is also doubtful
for the same reasons. The states OF
Upper Mississippi Valley were called
the Western states when they were SO
IL fact. Most Of them are far nearer
the Atlantic than the Pacific coast ana
there is no real reason why they should
~ called Western states.-BaltimoIe