The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-22

Indian Territory. 25.2; Iowa. IA; Kan sas. 18.6; Maine, 22.3: Maryland, 1l.l; Massachusetts, 18.6; Michigan. 15.9' Minnesota, 16.2; Missouri. 15.6; Mon tana, 20; Nebraska, 16.7; Nevada, 1Sl; New Hampshire, 1s.5; New Jersey. lSo New Mexico, IT; New York. 17; North Dakota, 21; Ohio, 16.S; Oklahoma 2l; Oregon. 1s5: Pennsylvania, 14.3; Rhode Island, 19.s; South Dakota, 17.7; Utah, IS; Vermont, 23; Washington. 26; West Virginia, IS; wisconsin, 14.3; Wyoming, I1s.s; California, 14.S; Colorado, 16.7; Connecticut, 1s.5; Delaware, 1892; Idaho, I21.S; Illinois, 13.2.
 1 Alabama Products.
 From this 1t will be observed that
 the percentage or the products or tne horticultural lands in Alabama in 1seS
 was from two to three times as great
 as the majority of the States in the
 Union, and greater than any other one State in the Union.
 l It must be remembered, olso, that only AIS per cent. of the agr'cuItural
 lands of Alabama are improvci, which
 would make the percentage or tho i'm proved land a great deal moro than
 these facts with the great North Gen.
 tral Division of the agricultural States
 containing the States of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minne-
 sota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas. and we find that 70.1 per cent of the lands
 in these States are improved, notwith-
 standing the fact that the percentage, not fed, to value of property Is only
 15.6 per cent
 The value of the products of Alabama
 have been largely increased since 1899
 and will be much larger in 1904 than
 in any year in the history of the State.
 In addition to these agricultural sta
 tistics, I submit briefly that Alabama
 Is the third State in the production of
 iron ore, producing in 1902, 3,574,474
 long tons, valued at s3,936,s12. It pro-
 duced in 1903, 11,700.733 tons of coal
 valued at s15,ooo.O00. the State being
 the fifth in the coal producing States.
 The coke production in 1903 was 2,56S,-
 1855 tons.
 Of the 406 blast furnaces in the United States at the close of 1901, 46 were in the State of Alabama. Of the 2,57s,s64 tons of pig iron produced in the Southern States, Alabama produced 1,225,212.
 1 The whole tax values in 1903. was $307, 100000, and estimated for 1904 Is $315. .000. .000 to $320,000, ,000. Alabama is Union.
 From the foregoing statistics, the natural resources and condition of Ala | bama in mineral and agricultural pro-
 ducts gives to the State an inherent potentiality. so far as natural resources
 and conditions are concerned not pos
 sessed by any other State In the Union. | Population of State.
 | The population, census of 1900, is as
 follows: Whites. 1,001,152; blacks, 1901; population per square mile,
 35.5; urban population in towns of 4,000
 or more, 2S5,8S6; suburban and rural, | 1,542,S09.
 | Nativity-1,577,3O people living in
 Alabama were born in Alabama; 251, ,327
 were born elsewhere, 223,747 of them
 being born in the United States and 17.5sO being born in foreign countries; 236,735 persons living elsewhere were
 born in Alabama. In 1890 there were
 5,043 more foreigners In Alabama than
 there were in 1880, and in 1900 there
 were 1855 less than in 1890.
 From the foregoing statistical class ification of the agricultural lands and
 distribution of the population we ob- serve that three-f1fths of the agricul-
 tural lands in the State are not i'm proved and in cultivation, and that of
 the population of Alabama, 1,304,459 are
 over 10 years of age, and of these 515,- 737 or nearly one-half. are engaged In Iagriculture. The question, therefore,
 Is whether or not 1t is to the interest of Alabama to improve and employ the three f1fths of the agricultural lands of the State, or to allow them to remain
 to be developed unaided by ordinary economic process that heretofore have prevailed. No one will dispute the
 proposition that If the lands now em- ployed in agriculture were cultivated in
 accordance with scientific agriculture | that 1t would greatly increase the pro- ducts and profits of agricultural pur- Isuits. This problem Is. however. one of education and training of the agricul- tural classes. It is also evident that If
 the unimproved agricultural lands of the State were employed in scientific
 agriculture, that 1t would double or triple the agricultural products and
 profits now enjoyed by the State. The
 problem, therefore, Is one of agricul- tural population. It Is not reasonable
 to suppose that under the existing con-
 ditions in Alabama that this population will be materially increased by changes | from other avocations to that of agri- l culture. On the contrary the tendency
 of those employed in agricultural Is to seek employment in other avocations, such as mining, manufacturing, etc. IL
 Is logical to infer that the natural in- | crease of the State from the birth rate
 will also distribute themselves in &C., cordance with this tendency. In thIs
 connection, 1t Is we'll to point out that | Alabama has given to the world, ac- lcording to the census of 1900. 236.
 persons and that the world has given
 to Alabama only 251,327 a balance in
 favor of the State of 14,592. If the
 past record, therefore, Is maintained,
 the conclusion Is inevitable that there will not be from nat uraI increment a large increase in the population of Alabama. Therefore. If this population is increased, and the
 available agricultural lands employed
 the State must look for farmers and farm laborers elsewhere.
 A Policy of Immigration. The policy of immigration has been advocated and opposed. The motto | America for Americans" often finds a
 response in popular sentiment. On l this question Henry Ward Beecher said
 in an address on The Reign of the | Common People:
 We are the harbor to which all the | sails of the world crowd with immi- | grants. and we bless God for 1t. Their | letters go back thicker than leaves in | autumn to those who are left behind l and we have a various population from | Spain. Portugal, Italy. Hungary. Aus tria Germany. Russia. the Scandina- vian lands, Scotland. England and oc- l casionally one from Ireland. It takes l a little time, you know, to get them used to things but whenever the chill dren of foreign immigrants, born and | hred in our native land, have gone | throueh our common schools, they are