Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1915-11-05
ELECTRICITY SCATTER CITIES

ELECTRlCITY SCATTER ClTlEs
Congestion of population in cite
is one of the recognized problems 0
modern times, and one that constant
is receiving an increased amount o
attention. For congestion of popu
lation means attendant ills and evil
that are prejudicial to public healt
and morals, besides nwturing othe
factors that are detrimental to pub
lie prosperity and welfare. For in
stance, congestion of population con
tributes to crime and the upbuildin'
of distinctly criminal classes; it tend
to draw more distinctly the line be
tween poverty and wealth and to in
tensify the great basic problem Of un
equal distribution of wealth; it reduc
es the population Of rural communi
ties and thereby tends to correspond
ingly restrict the products of the soil
and it adds to the difficulties OF dis
tributing these products in a way tc
keep the cost of living within reason
able bounds; and it breeds discomfort
and unrest on the part of large mass
es of people, who seek through politi-
cal means, or movements more or less
revolutionary, to find a remedy for
the ills and hardships which are thrust
upon them.
OF course there are some compen-
sating factors for the evils thus enum-
Grated, but it is the strong conviction
of students Of this question that the
real and only solution of this great
problem is to be found through the
scattering Of population and the re-
lief of pressure at congested centers.
And this remedy is to come about,
naturally and orderly, according to
DR.. E. P. Steinmetz, chief electrical
engineer of the United States Steel
corporation, and one Of the worlds
foremost experts in the field of elec,
tricity and allied mechanics. Elec-
tricity, declares this authority, is 60
ing to perform the miracle Of scatter
ing population and relieving the con-
gestion of cities, and he further de-
clares that this process already is
working out the solution of this ques-
ton. The application of steam to
industrial mechanics, he holds, has
been responsible for the increasing
congestion of population, but electric
ity is exerting an influence in the
other direction. Here is his argument:
"Steam built up our great cities
with their congestion and slums. Elec-
tricity will break them down and
scatter the population evenly over the
continent, because electricity can be
transmitted anywhere by simple trans
mission wires. Steam must be used
where generated, and where there is
large labor supply.
"With full electrical development,
the labor supply need not be right at
the factory door. 1t can be moved
cheaply and quickly morning and
evening. There will be no necessity
for locating near where the power
can be produced the cheapest, as in
the steam factory, because the power
can be carried over the wires. The
factories will then go where the land
is cheapest. Electricity will run er-
rands in the home.
"The cost is all that is standing in
the way. But the high cost is due to
the limited use of the electrical mo-
tor rather than any natural disability.
1t is as simple as an alarm clock and
should and would be as cheap if it
were used as generally. All we need
is better distribution and that is COM
ing"
1t is true that electricity in its
modern applications and uses is fast
changing and modifying conditions of
life and business, and it requires no
vivid Imagination to realize the pos
sibility of the picture of the future
drawn by DIR. Steinmetz. There has
been strong, impelling force that
has driven people to forsake the rural
districts and build up eongested Gen.
tiers, but electricity promises to re-
verse this order and give impetus to
the back to the land improvement.
Nor can it be doubted that as this
process gains headway it will be bet
ter for the people Individually and
better for the nation as a whole.
Many of the minor problems will van
sh with the promised scattering of {
and peace, prosperity and
progress will all be advanced by such 8
change.