Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-30
WHAT OF THE FuruRE7

With a baby born every minute, the
farm lands of the United States are
bound to increase in value, is a stock
argument with real estate agents, and,
while 1t Is true in theory, and other
causes are contributing to the increase
of wealth In this country thru the di-
rect medium Of Increased population,
the real portent of this growth is little
understood. The growth of population
III the United States during the ten
years from 80 to 1900 was thirteen and
I a half millions, of whom three and
half millions We're Immigrants from
/ foreign lands, but a glance at the inmi-
grafton commissioners report will
show that the arrival of immigrants
i from foreign shores during the three
years past has been at the rate of half
a million per year. AT this rate of ar
rival. the census to be taken eight years
from now Will enumerate five millions
of foreigners not yet arrived when the
census of 1900 was taken, and at the
same percentage of natural Increase as
obtained during the past decade the
census of 1910 will enumerate, all told,
seventeen and half millions of people
more in the United States than were
living there in 1900.
What this mathematical calculation
means to those interested in the future
value of farm lands, or Industrial en-
terprises. may be partially understood
when 1t is known that an Increase of
seventeen and a half millions of people
| to the population of the United States
In ten years is equal to the addition in
| that time of the present entire popula-
ton of the states of Illinois. Wisconsin,
Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas,
Nebraska and both Dakotas, with such
large cities as Chicago, st. Louis, Mil
waukee, Kansas City. Minneapolis, st.
Paul, ST. Joseph and Omaha all Includ-
ed.
The Immigration figures show that,
of the present horde of foreigners land
ing upon our shores annually, fully
two thirds remain in the great cities of
the eastern states, where they are alb
sorbed in the mills and factories,
and in the upbuilding of cities within
cities which is constantly going on
there. But while such an attractive
agricultural state as Iowa received dur
ing the past year only 5000 of the 64S,-
900 foreigners that came to this coun-
try, she contributed a far greater share
in the feeding of the total number. and
her soil has advanced the price of her
farm land very rapidly; SO rapidly, in
fact, that many man believes the top
has been reached today.
IT may be true that all business has
been booming too fast, and that we
must have a period of reaction or we
will run away with ourselves, but the
addition to our numbers in the next ten
years of population equal to the COM
richest states, including eight of the
largest cities of the country, must of
necessity continue our prosperity to
even higher levels in the decades to
come. If we could conceive of start
to be made today without living soul
in almost the entire corn belt and then,
knowing what we do of the wealth and
the people of that region, imagine 1t to
be settled and brought to its present
status within the next ten years, we
would all of us go wild in our specula-
ton upon the future, but that is what
an increase of seventeen and half mil
lions of people means. The effect will
be distributed over a vast area, but the