The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-09-13

other railway trains and seven bnea
Steam shofels, each making two dips per
tnr 1sue os- ara at each dip loading three
TONS Oh iron ore into those seven trains of
cars. The magnitude of the production of
d single mine makes the production of a
SiI P,,e farm appear indeed insignificant
Put the prosperity of a market town
relates, not TO the magnitude of the nro
auctlon OF a single farm. or single mine
t puI 70 the aggregate production within its
:, From this point of view 7 ascertained
me annual production of all the mines in
the largest lron-producing territory in the
t Sniteo states, and to my establishment 1
round that the value of the entire annual
production of all the iron mines in Min
nesota is less than the value of the an
L huai product of the hens. the common
o oaiIn.ydro FOWL. of the magnificent agri
cultural state of Iowa
II We compare the aggregate. by the
standard OF the number of employees the
census of 1900 shows that about 5000
were employed in the Minnesota mines
Wnle more than 1876. 900 were employed
on the farms of Nebraska alone; and that
less than $4,000 We're employed in all the
coal iron, silver. gold and all. other mines
OF the United States. while more than TO-
400. 900 were employed in agriculture
The value of the products of the farms
more than s162. 900. OoO which is nearly
three, times the value of such products
In the preceding census year of $780,
The soil of Nebraska. when fully culti-
knows how much but certainly as much
annual value as the present Iowa
:, have seen 1t stated in print and be-
lieve the statement is supported by sta
tistieS, that the annual products of the
farms of the single state of Iowa exceed
IN value the annual products of all the
of the United States
The aggregate value of the products of
all the farms of the country in the census
year 1900 was $4.739. lis. 000-an aggre-
No CVIff1 nfn
enormous bond and stock issues of the
huge steel trust in the first two months
OF Of, the year-all the stock of the Standard
OH trust at 700 which is about IFS mar
ket value in the next two months-alI the
STOCKS or the minor trusts in the next two
months-to buy all the national banks in
the next two months-to pay the bonded
dept or the government in the next two
months-to retire the -greenbacks in less
man one month and have about $500. 00O-
900 left over.
OF the present and future prosperity of
Omaha. and of the whole United States.
me vast territory whose trade is nat
portions of the far West are irrigated. is
capable of producing unknown billions of
value annually and of sustaining a popu-
iat1on of so many millions that. If stated
in figures. without comparison the state
bombast
Nevertheless: it Is fact that the little
oPSSh Ol All lSiaHQ IN the Atlantic ocean,
called Porto Rico. which is one of the
trophies of the Spanish war. sustains a
population of 953243
The area Of the state of Nebraska is
tWenty-one and one-third times the area
OF Porto Rico, therefore. if as densely
populated as the island of Porto Rico Ne
braska would have population of co.
355,844, equal to more than one-quarter
OF the entire present population of the
whole of the United States If populated
as densely as England. which. however,
procureS from other lands q large share
of its sustenance, with the profits of man
ufacturing and foreign commerce. Ne
braska would have population of more
than 80 100000.
or foreign commerce. Its people. in the
main. live upon the products of their own
lazy and rude agriculture. Hence. while
1t is not probable that the territory trib-
utary to Omaha will have a density Of
population equal to Porto Rico. the fig
ures are interesting as showing the Won
dePful ability of the soil to support popu-
lation. and as indicating the astonishing
possibilities.
The Soil InexhaustIbIe.
There is another difference. Every ton
OF ore which is taken from the mines re-
duces the quantity which can be mined in
the future. But it is not so with farms.
Some years ago L crossed Lake Winnie
pesaukee, in New Hampshire. AS I
sailed along noticed that its beautiful
shores had been disfgured by the recent
erection OF houses TOT the storage OF ice.
A shrewd old Yankee who was aboard re-
marked that it was the cutest way of pro-
ducing wealth imaginable. Last winter
ice worth thousands of dollars was taken
from this lake. and now there is just as
much water as there was before.
1t is just so with the farms. After
they have yielded their annual billions of
value. there are just as many billions
have rewarded the industry of genera
tons following generations. there will be
! sufficient left to reward the industry of
the generations which shall follow, until
time shall be no more.
This is the sure foundation of the pres
ent and future prosperity of the jobbing
trade of the market-town of Omaha. 1t
is everlasting.
Prospects of the immediate Future.
Let us next consider the prospects of
the immediate future. In 1886 there was
a great depression in business affairs,
which was followed by a great migration
of population to the new lands of the then
West. Again in 1856 and 1873 there were
similar business depressions, followed by
the same phenomena of migration of pro-
ducerS to new lands.
The migration which commenced in
1878. and eliminated four years later,
changed the Dakotas. and large areas
west of the Missouri river. into cultivated
and productive farms. which during the
following seven years. 1888 to 1890. by it's
reflex influence, tripled the population
and trade of the market-towns.
A similar migration has followed the
panic years 1885. commencing in 1898,
which has far exceeded any preceding mi
grafton.
If history repeats itself. the migra ton to
the territory west of Omaha is a fact
pregnant with business.
The newcomers are intelligent produc-
ers, possessing capital and capacity, from
the more eastern states. They are open
ing mines and farms and building homes
and mills. 1t takes time to make such
enterprises productive, but the work of
preparation alone has more than doubled
the traffic and earnings of the transmits
souri, railways, from the Canadian Pa
cifc in the far north to the Southern Pa
cific in the extreme south.
An Era of Increasing Trade.
Because history repeats itself, I feel
that it is not venturing upon the realms
of prophecy to say that. resulting from
the enormous immigration of the last four
years. the market-towns of the West have
already entered upon era of increasing
trade, and collateral development, which
will increase year by year. and which will
equal. and probably exceed. the increase
from 1888 to 1890, and that there is not
the slightest cause for alarm on account
of the present panic in Wall street. That
is a spectators panic. For years they
have been setting at defiance every prin-
ciple of the economic laws. initiating soap
bubbles, and insanely calling it creating