The Democratic advocate., 1905-11-25
REAL HEART OF THINGS.
It's Found Not In The Great Cities;
But In Country Homes.

But In Country Homes.
''In time the great cities may become
dominant, but it will be many years hence,
and | would be sorry should live to see
the day, said James j. Hill, President
of the Great Northern railroad THE
national welfare depends upon the pros.
perity of the farm lands, the mining
districts, the lumber camps-not on the
growth of big cities. The agricultural
interests in particular represent the great
est strength of the country, and will for
many Years to come.
Yet men stand appalled, at the spectacle
of metropolis Let us take New York,
as our most striking example--Yhere the
visitor gapes at the crowded markets. the
endless traffic. the hurrying throngs, the
skyscrapers, the roaring factories, the bus
tie of commerce, all the urban reek and
riot, and needless of what lies behind, the
hidden motor power, cries: ''Here is the
heart of things; here is the pulse of the
national life, here the life blood of the ma
ton centers, life blood which, flowing
through the veins of commerce, gives
vigor to all the land New York, the
heart of the country? Rather New York
the parasite-the blood sucker
\ GIANT EXHIBITION.
At best, New York is but a monster ex-
hibit of the products of mines, farms, cat
tie ranges, mills and factories, and of the
rural homes where genius is born, nourish-
ed and inspired. What more speaking
symbol of these things than the city 5 sky
line In itself that skyline of marvellous
architecture, save as il excites wonder, ad-
miration and a sense of enterprise and ac-
tiyIty amounts to nothing. What it sig
ni6es in each ascension and depression is
the comparative values of the country 5
material resources.
Concisely, it represents capital, labor
and raw material OF these three the city
produces not one-iu appreeiable quantity.
The raw material, the men to handle it.
the gold to buy and sell the finished pro
duct, come out of the ground and from the
open spaces.
New York, Chicago, St Louis, or any
other city, has its inception in the open
country, and its existence Is and ever will
be dependent upon the latter None re-
cognises this more quickly than the city
man. He knows from experience that the
city suffers first, last and most from any
national disaster To 20 no further back
than the coal strike of three winters ago
New York faced for weeks coal famine
that paralyEed her activities and almost
killed her poor Manufacturers could not
secure enough fuel to run their plants and
women on the ''east side paid ten cents
for a. much coal as would hll quart pail
The sufferings in this city was out of all
proportion 10 that Of the rest of the ooun-
Try.
All food products come from the outside.
New York uses three million eggs every
day. and beef arrives in whole train loads
daily. The city must 20 to the country
fer its building materials, for wool. cotton,
everything that is needed to run its factor
les, stores aud banks.
DEPENDENT ON THE COUNTRY.
The reckless expenditures of the city
dweller are continually giving rise to the
question Where does the money come
from From the country. Of course.
Every Wild cat scheme that is hatehed in
New York. from Wall Street to Madison
Square, inaugurates its proceedings by send
ing circulars into the country, to catch the
dollars Of the farmer The operations of
the stock exchange are all based on the
condition Of the country. A short wheat
crop. slump in the production of grain,
or the prospect of one, turns the floor OF
the Exchange into pandemonium. Year
bv year the ewes of the moneyed interests
are turned to the earth, fguratively speak
ing and the keenest minds Of the metrop-
oils are speculating as to what success the
farmer Is going 10 have with his crops.
The results of that speculation involve
millions Of dollars. All the country knows
what happens in New York when the cot
tom crop fails The beef strike last year
caused meat TO vanish from million FAM
in dining tables in New York city. In
summer eggs at 35e dOzeE are too expen-
sive as an article OF diet for more than half
the city population. Material and money
she Gets from the outside; and rarely, in
deed, does she even produce the men TO
handle them \ glance at biographies
will show that her captains OF industry,
merchant princes, men of art, professions,
laborers. are country bred, from \. T.
Stewart Ito 90 no further back to the
Roekfellers, Clewes, Depews, and all the
rest of the present day leaders.
EVEN THE PEOPLE FROM THE COUNTRY.
DIR. John H. Girdner, an eminent New
York physician, said recently:
Build wall around New York city,
allow no new men to enter, and in fifty
years the city will depopulate itself. This
city makes too many demands upon those
who live and work in it. Thousands drop
out each month 1t is the fresh country
people aocking here day by day that fur
nish the brains, sinews and pluck to carry
the metropolis to its destiny. Its success
in the past has been due to this out-of
town element and will continue to be.
Men. men, men, is the constant cry
that New York sends out over the country
and the response is adequate, eager and
satisfying. 1t is in this fact that assurance
of the citys still greater advance hes
Capital flowing in from the country made
Wall street by-word to all the world.
Material drawn from the country has made
her the greatest manufacturing town in the
United States Men attracted from the
country have made her financial mistress
of the western hemisphere.
CITIES NOT sELF-DEPENDENT.
Not only is she dependent upon the
open spaces for men, material and money,
but even for trade As compared to the
amount of money spent in this city by out
of town buyers, the sum expended by its
own inhabitants dwindles into insignif
canoe. In recognition of this, the Mer
chants Association of New York annually
arranges with railroads for cheap transpor-
tation, and with hotels for rock bottom
rates. and 1uns excursions to gather in the
out-of- town buyers.
During the month of August over 400
BUYERS from the south and west were in
New York, and during September this
number largely increased. Reckoning un-
der the average of past years each mer-