The Washington herald., 1915-01-20
HISTORY BUILDERS
How the Great Middle West Was
Developed.
Witten Expressly for The Washington Hesld)
By DIR. z. J. EDWARDS.

(Wntten Expressly for The Washington Helld.l
BY DIR. z. J. EDWARDS.
1t has sometimes been observed by
those who have visited that part OF the
country which lies between the Missis-
sippi and the Missouri rivers that 1t was
on the western bank of the Mississippi,
north of st. Louis, that almost all of
the important cities and mercantile COM
munities have been established. while,
on the other hand. it has been upon the
eastern bank of the Missouri, from Kan
sas City northward, that the chief cities
of the Missouri Valley, with one or two
exceptions. have been built.
Soon after the close of the civil war,
Norman B. Ream, now recognized as
one of the foremost of American busi-
ness forces, established himself in trade
in Iowa. Mr.. Ream afterward went to
Chicago, where his larger and more i'm
portant business life was undertaken. 1t
occurred to me to ask Mr. Ream one
day If there was any special reason for
the fact that almost all Of the important
cities of the Mississippi Valley, north
of st. Louis, had been established on
the west bank of the Mississippi. where
as the important cities of the Missouri
Valley had been for the most part built
upon the east bank of the Missouri.
That illustrates one of the most strik-
ing tendencies in our conquest of the
great West-I mean our commercial,
agricultural and industrial utilization of
that very rich region" replied Mr.. Ream.
Until the great development OF railway
transportation west of the Mississippi
River, most of which was not under
taken until after the close OF the civil
war, almost all the pioneers beyond the
Mississippi were compelled to travel by
steamboat up the big river. These
pioneers were looking for cheap and yet
very fertile lands west of the Missis-
sippi River. st. Louis had already been
established as a commercial metropolis
on the west bank of the river. These
pioneers were anxious to find landing
places on the west bank. For that rea-
son, there gradually developed large
commercial mmunities-Hannibal, Mo;
Keokuk. in the southeastern corner OF
Iowa: then Muscatine, Davenport, and
Dubuque, and then Winona and st. Paul,
although II is hardly fair to include st.
Paul, since there were other reasons for
the establishment of a city at the head
waters of the Mississippi.
now look at it from another point OF
view. The pioneers who went nOrtherly
from Kansas CITY were not looking Tor
a settlement beyond the Missouri. They
were anxious to be landed upon the east
bank of the Missouri River. In that
way, St. Joseph, Council Bluffs, Sioux
city and. later, Yankton were establish
, d upon the east bank of the Missouri
1t was not until the government of the
United States determined that a point
upon the Missouri River opposite Coun-
Gil Bluffs now known as Omaha should
be the eastern terminal Of the Union
Pacific that a really great commercial
and railroad community was established
upon the west bank. This arbitrary
choice by the government of Omaha in
stead of Council Bluffs as the terminal
Of the Union Pacific explains the loss OF
prestige of Council Bluffs. 1 have always
thought this was one of the most in
teresting features of the opening up Of
that part of the West which was beyond
the issssippi River"
Copyright. 1916. by E. J. Edwards. All rights
rpseTytd.)
Tomorrow DR.. Edwards will tell Of
two Political Opponents Who Were
H.