The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-29
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE
 PROVINCE AND ITS GROWTH

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 On April 3Oth there will be opened to stupendous, and at the same time, the most picturesque exposition ever held Many are the unique contributions made to challenge the admiration of an ad- miring world. Not the least of these Is the fact of history that the exposition eel ebrates-the Louisiana Purchase.
 This purchase, stumbled upon by the tender-footed Jefferson, was perhaps the most important land sale ever made. In It's size. in its raw and manufactured pro- ducts. in its mineral output in It's homes for foreign and domestic immigrants, in its influence on legislation. this region constitutes one of our greatest sections Its area is S75O00 square miles, as com pared with S1o,9A in the original thirteen States, and 3622.930 in present United States. or about fourth of the land oi the Great Republic. Its size is about thai the Netherlands, Italy, and Switzerland combined. ''Jeffersons Wilderness" as it was designated in ridicule by his ene- mics, now comprises almost wholly the soil of twelve States and two territories. Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa. Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas Colorado, Wyoming Montana, and Oklahoma and Indian Ter ritories. Possessing a population of 5o,- GOO when purchased In 1868, 1t had nearly 15,000 600 in 1900" or nearly three times the population of the entire United States in 1900 and nearly four times the whole country's population at the time Wash ington was inaugurated President, One of these States, Missouri, alone has more people than had the original thirteen States when they won their Independence. St. Louis with 1000 people in 1890 has grown into a larger population than had all the cities of the United States In 1SO0
 The fourteen States and territories that have been held continuously by the Unit cd States since 1903. produced in 1900, 264.- 600. 0c0 bushels of wheat or more than half of that produced for that year in the entire country; 1,o13 900 bushels of corn of forty-eight per cent. of our entire product; and thirty-eight per cent. of the oat crop. "The wheat. corn, oats, rye, barley, cotton, hay. and potatoes produc- ed in this region in 190G, brought $755,- 000000, and its farm animals were valued at SS25, ,000.C0O. or thirty-eight per cent. of those of the whole country" g
 Minnesota, North Dakota, Missouri. South Dakota. Nebraska. and Kansas led all the rest of the States in wheat grow ing in 1902. Excepting Illinois, the four Jefferson States of Iowa. Missouri, Ne braska, and Kansas march in the van of corn producing States. Iowa was second in the yield of hay and oats; Minnesota second in the yield of barley. Texas, which was included in the Purchase of 1893. and to which we gave up our claim in 1879 as a tremendous part of the price paid for Florida, produces almost q third of our cotton crop. But Texas Is not in- cluded in any of the above figures.
 Our country produces 195.800 tons of beet sugar. and two-thirds of 1t is grown in the Jefferson tract.
 Live stock follow grain and hay-and we find in this province thirty-three per cent. of the horses, forty-two per cent. of the cattle, thirty-four per cent. of the hogs, and thirty-one per cent of the sheep. The newer regions of these States are leading the country in sheep and wool growing. Some of the very finest exhibits in live stock of every kind at St. Louis will be accredited to these States west of the Mississippi While Illinois still leads in meat packing. the States west are rapidly overtaking her in the race for final lead in this growing industry. Besides, much of the meat shipped from Chicago is grown and fat tened In the Louisiana States.
 Montana. a child in age, has layishly given to the world gold, silver. lead and copper exceeding a billion dollars. Col