The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1914-06-03
WHAT'S MATTER
With iowa?
Many Eastern Journals Grieve Because
Iowa 10 tho Only Western State
to Lose in Population.
wALLAcEs' FARMER EXPLAINS
California 10 Very AlIuring to Iowa
Farmers Because Of Climate and
No Tax on Moneys.

The Journal, OF Providence. Rhode
Island, the New York Times and 9TH
er eastern journals, are sorely dis
turbed because the population of Iowa
remained stationary from 1870 to
1900, lost fraction in population by
1910. and is estimated by the census
bureau to have lost about three thou
sand in the last four years. This last
is probably approximately true. how
nearly true II is, no one vii know
until the next census.
These eastern journals grieve be-
cause Iowa Is the only western state
that, according to the last census.
lost population; while all the states
adjoining 1t, with inferior soil on the
average, made more or less gain. OF
course this is naturally attributed to
the supposed hostile attitude OF the
people of Iowa toward railroads and
other corporations.
1t Is true that the cities Of Iowa
made very creditable gain. Accord
Ing to the census of 1910, some OF the
county seats and other towns merely
held their own. Where manufacture
ing and mining interests are estab-
llshed, or where there are large edu-
cational institutions, there was very
fair increase; but none of these. nor
all OF them together. have made up
for the decline in rural population.
We have gone to the pains of TAX
ing one county in each congressional
district in the state. county as near
ly agricultural as possible, and have
compared the census of 1900 with that
| of 1910. with the following result-a
decline of about 10000 in the popula.
tiOn of these eleven counties.
Two years ago, In order to ascer.
tain the exact, facts. we took the cen
sus report of Iowa and selected thir
teen agricultural counties In the cen
ter and toward the corners of the
state. We deducted from their tota
population the population of the I'm
corp0rated towns, and found that the
strictly rural population. the popula-
ton on the farms, decreased % per
cent, while the population OF the
towns Increased 14.5 per cent.
Anxious to ascertain the real causes
OF this decline In rural population, We
have taken up agricultural counties
Outsifle the state OF Iowa. We find
that Atchison county, Missouri-one
of the best agricultural counties in
the state. with no large town in 1t
except the college town of Tarklo, had
population In 1900 of l6.5O1. ond in
H,p. 4 Enl nnkaIh onnfhnr nf
the good agricultural counties OF Mis-
sourf, declined In the ten years from
14.418 to 1851. Brown county. one
OF the best agricultural counties In
Kansas, declined from 22,3G9 to 21.-
314. Donaphan county. Kansas, lying
directly, Vest of st. Joseph, Missouri
declined from 1909 to 14,422. Ogle
county, Illinois. declined from 1922
to 27.S64. Fillmore. one OF the best
agricultural counties OF Minnesota
declined from 2S,23S to 25.6S0. All OF
these counties are corn counties with
very rich land.
We find much smaller decrease in
tho counties given over to dalrying
For example, Jackson county. Mime
sofa, lost but 300 out OF a population
| of nearly l4.S00. Jefferson county
Wisconsin. a strong dairy county. lost
but 4S0 out Of population OF 34,SOO
Washington county. Wisconsin. anoth-
er strong dairy county. gained nearly
200 during that time on a population
of $4,000.
Therefore. whatever is the matter
with Iowa is also the matter with
counties of similar land and similar
agriculture in other states in the corn
belt, What, then. Is the matter with
Iowa? Nothing. except that 1t has
more good corn land per square mile
than any other state In the union. The
population of corn land sections nee
essarily. decreases as the country
grows older. and that for purely eco
.nomic reasons. which we will endeav,
OF. to explain to our friends who are
mourning over the sad condition OF
the state OF Iowa.
To grow corn Tor any other grain)
protitably, We must have long corn
rows and long burrows. To maintain
soil fertility we must have four or
six course rotation in the various
grains and, grasses. and therefore as
many fields as there are crops In the
rotation. A farm of quarter sec
tion divides into small fields, making
short corn row and a, short furrow
necessary. This makes the outlay for
horses and machinery so excessive
in proportion to the acreage that
farming anything less than 100 acres
becomes comparatively Improbable.
Hence the eighty acre corn farmer
sells out sooner or later to neighbor
who wants larger farm. Hence. the
disappearance OF the small farm and
the family that has lived on 1t.
This Is not theory; it is fact; and
not only in Iowa. but in all the corn
and grain growing sections in the ad-
joining states and in all other corn
states, and, we might add. in all agri-
cultural countries where general
farming is carried on. In 1900, ac-
cording to the census. Iowa had 1000
farms of from 20 to 100 acres: in 1910
it had but $4,000. That is. $4,000 of
these smaller farms disappeared In
ten years, and with them a population