The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-02-02


direction of our cities and no human
power is sufflient to stay or turn
hack the tide.
The time is upon us when the cities
will dominate the nation. Like cities
like nation. Doubtless you are ia
miliar with the following facts: In
1880, only four per cent of the popu-
lation of the United States lived in
the cities and towns. At that date
there were only six cities in America
with a population of 5000: today
there are GOO such cities. In these
live more than 25,000,000 people The
total increase of population in the
United States from 1890 to 1900 was
20 per cent, while during the same
period the population of the cities
Increased 81 per cent. SO far as we
can see these conditions will con-
tinue. Pouring into Our cities by the
million are more different tongues
than were present at Penticost. Two
forces are at work on the foreigner
the pull and the push. Two voices
iiie.lAO up lu0 pun. AluSllCd Is IuS
land of liberty and wealth The
push is poverty and the deep-soul
hunger for liberty that lives in every
breast. These conditions will con-
tjnue to make our social problem
more and more complicated Philan-
thropists and land agents may con-
time to insist and offer inducement
to the immigrants to move onto land,
but they persist in remaining in the
city. A large per cent of the immi-
grants will make good citizens if we
will show them how The problem is
largely up to us. We have more to
do with the solution of the problem.
than they. The tide of the immi-
grants and moving from the country
and small towns and villages int
the larger towns cities present ).
cial problem, the like of whar,, the
world has never known. True, we
nave had it on smaller scale, but
never SO large and complicated. Such
conditions as l have named, create
the economic, social and industrial
problems. Out of such conditions
the stu problem, the tenement, fac.
tory, long hours of toll, lack of liv.
ing wages. lack of leisure, the swift
approach of old age, the hopeless fu.
ture. These are weights that crush
the light out OF the eye, hope out of
the heart, that drive to drink. dis.
honesty, all kinds of dissipation and
often to suicide. Many have forgot
ten how to smile. Laughing with
them is a lost art. The lack of care
has come SO often. remained so long.
and been so intense. that it has ruin
ed once cheerful face. No hell in
the future can be worse to them
than the one in which they are liv-
ing. We may say these people have
made their own hell-they a'one are
responsible But such a statement
is not all true. Conditions over which
they have had no control, have been
mighty factors in shaping such condi-
tons. A few days ago / visited
home in our own city. The husband
was sick. Inc family consists OF him
self, wife and three children The
man told me that for four years
he had been working in a hotel at
$50 per month. Five of the amount
went to pay the rent. Fifteen dol
lars, just fifty cents per day to
spend for food, clothes, fuel. medi-
cine. How can sick man improve
under those condition?
This is only one among thousands.
Mr.. Hunter and Mr.. Divine tell us
that there are ten million of the very
poorest people who are living below
the line of physical efficiency. Fifty
per cent of this number are just skirt
ing the edge of actual distress. Four
millions of our people are wholly de-
pendent upon some form of pubic