The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-02

economic development, was the, introduce
tion Of rsilwnys. without enlhrging on
the commercial revolution brought about
everywhere IN The woii>. NY the tIp'ie1tlon
Of steam to land transportation, Prof
Emery notes three distinctively important
results for the United States. in the
first place. the very size Of the country
made railroads far more important here
than In the countries OF Europe. Inc 10.
sources Of the CLited States are separated
by distances 40 great IN Il anything ap,,
proxmating their full development would
ha Va been impossible under the old metho, 9
OF transport The great rivers OF the West.
as already shown, were important arteries
OF commerce., but there were vast dis
tricts separated by enormous distances,
and either totally disconnected from these
waterways, or connected with them only
by streams incapable OF conveying more
than u very limited trade. nor couid
system Of waterways in any adequate de-
gree Consequently, had any observer
In 1880 been able to appreciate the great
poss ilities of production on the America Y
continent he must have resiSnod biniseii
to the conviction that, In face OF the sm II
advance mankind had yet been able 70
make in respect of transport, these posi-
second place, the railroads solved the
geographical problem, and profoundly
modified the course OF economic develop.
nien,. They united the Fast and West.
Neither mountains nor rivers could stop
them II any commodity could be pro-
duced In one district and sold in another.
these districts could now Ire CONNECTED.
Even down to the middle Of the century
the chief routes OF commerce rain mort
and south since that time they have rrn
east and west. The economic unity OF
tho rountrr W's ~ ;'st m'"S Dossthie.
The third feature Of m,rican railroads
lies in the fact that to great extent they
hive ptcGetieu commerce Father Than fOi-
lowed 1t. They have been built. not to
production In the Far West the rails
have hecn I'D through the wilderness
ard the settlers have followed the rails,
IA formerly they followed the river courses.
II Is this fact which has made the develop
ment OF the trsns- Mississippi region pos
eible
In another paragraph the fact is recalled
that the area of Improved farmland in
creased by so per cent. between 1850 and
1890, and the value Of farm property
by 100 per cent Prof Emery appre--
ciates the Importance Of the part played
in the rapid growth of the West by the
application OF new agricultural implements
TO the production Of grain. The rovoiu-
tionary change was INSTRUMENTATION throuRh,,
by Mccormick and Husssy in tho early
sos The complete harvester" OF to-
day represents a great advance on the
earlier machines, but all the main inven-
tions were made before 1880, and the reaper
had come into general use. This appllca-
ton of machinery TO harvesting Is pro-
nounced as important IN the development,
OF Western agriculture as the extent and
fertility OF the soil itself As there was
now practically no limit to production from
lack Of ability to harvest the crop, produce
ton increased enormously. "ThN increase
OF an industrial population in the Eastern
States afforded an expanding market ior
these products, while, at the same time,
the markets Of the Old World we're thrown
crops and the repeal Of the English Corn
Llws. Down TO ist5 exports OF wheat or
provisions to Great Britain on any con-
siderable scale had been only sporadic;
The beginning of steady market appeared
at about this date, but only the beginning,
for Europe was not yet dependent on the
United States for its regular supplies, and
even down To the civil war the exports
Iof food productsl were important OILY
In years of unusual scarcity abroad. The
exports Of cotton still formed the bulk Of
the foreign trade: and, exclusive OK cotton
or tobacco, Europe in normal years took
o smaller quantity Of American products
than did the non-European countries.
Among the many striking features OF
extraordinary from an economic viewpoint
than the fact that throughout the struggle
tho Northern States continued TO in
crease in population and industrial power
despite the fact that, out OF a population
of about q, 600 900, the total Of eniistmen's
and Refreshments was over 2,60O,W0. and
that al the close Of the war i,000,0o0 men
al iy, hss "a
popuIat ion increased by at least 5000"
Doc between 1890 and 1885, while over
4 500 600 acres Of the public domain were
taken up by settlers Despite the fact that
the grain States aent hundreds OF thousands
of men TO the front, the annual production
OF cereals increased. For example, Indiana,
which had produced about 10 ,oO. 900 bushels
1898 although l2A,0OO Of her sons Tone
tenth Of the total population OF 1891 we're
in the Union ranks. Despite the great
demand for food products 10 supply the
army, the exports of wheat and provisions
increased even more than their production.
The average annual export OF wheat for
1899 and 1854 was 81, 900 900 bushels, com-
pared with a maximum export OF n ,OOOC coo
In any year before the war. The demands
for products were such that, despite the
burdens Of taxation and the disorganiza-
ton of the finances, many new industries
were established on firm basis
Prof Emery il one of the politico- econO-
mists who clearly recognize that the civil
war marks turning poin, In the economic
life Of the country az we'll az In ito political
life The question OF national unity was
settled once for all as a political theory,
and il was to be settled even more effectively
by national economic development OH a
vaster scale than had vet been conceived.
The removal Of all barriers TO interstate
commerce through the rapid extension Of
the railroad system eliminating in the
great transcontineu lines; the opening
UP of the grain States west of the Mississippi
o. the limits of the arabic lands; the utiliza-
ton of the grazing facilities and the ex-
poitation I'll tie mineral resources OF the
Rocky Mountains and the arid plains;
the transformation of the Pacific Slope
from series Of mining camps TO an inn
portant source of agricultural and forest
supplies; the expansion Of industry in the
Eastern States in response 10 the discovery
Of the new resources, 10 a continuous series
of inventions, and 10 the increasing market;
the eventual recovery Of prosperity in the
South and the adoption OF a more diversified
industry therein under q system OF free
labor-these were the causes which operated
during the thirty years following the civil
war TO bind oil sections of the country
together with the bonds OF mutual COM
mercial interest"
Ought wa to attribute principally to the
protective tariff the amazing industrial
growth Of the United States? Prof Emery
would answer the question in the negative
He asserts with confidence that the power
Of the tariff whether for good or evil. has
been vastly overrated at has not been
that oppressive burden on the public that
some critics maintain. for many OF its