Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-09-20

Just what 10 being done with their
money in the cities and towns.
This league OF municipalities, the
accounting system Of Iowa, the state
inspection work. the new legislation In
recent years for cities and towns, the
increa sing interest everywhere in all
municipal affairs-these things indi-
cate an awakening as to urban life and
what 1t means to Iowa. OF course
there is also, and in this we all rejoice,
a steady forward movement looking to
the betterment of social and indus
trial conditions in the rural life. There
can be in such a community as ours
no sharp line Of demarkation between
the rural and urban life. They are
joined together perfectly.
But many persons see the matter
from the wrong viewpoint. They do
not fully appreciate how the urban and
rural life dovetail into each other and
how each class must help the other.
1t is q fact that in Iowa today urban
life is dominant, yet how many know
it? They have heard Of it n have
spoken Of 1t, only to forget that they
should SO fill themselves with the
thought that they would fnd them
selves involuntarily telling of it to
their %neighbors and their friends in
other states. A good many Of those
who nave heard of t have dismissed
the matter with the simple suggestion
that the changing conditions we find
are probably due to a loss of rural
population. They ave heard a good
deal and read too much about how the
people Of Iowa have been going to
other states and making great Iowa
colonies. That is something entirely
too much exploited and too often be-
moaned. It is Of small consequence.
It does not account for the changed
situation of our life in Iowa.
iowa's Contribution to Other States.
It is true that, according to the
] United States IS there are living
| elsewhere in the world outside of Iowa
probably a million Iowa-born persons.
That is Iowa's contribution to the good
of the rest Of the world; but we must
remember that there are still living in
Iowa a million and a half who did not
come here from choice, but arriving
lby accident and having taken a survey
of the situation, they>have voted them
| selves satisfied with Iowa and re-
manned. 1t is also true that in 1910,
| the federal enumerators found that
the persons living in states other than
Iowa, who were natives of Iowa, num-
bered a. per cen more than they did
ten years before, and the native born
living in Iowa had increased only Z
per cent in the same time. But, ac-
cording to the latest enumeration, that
of the state itself, we find that there
has been an increase in the past FIVE
years of native born living in Iowa of
9 per cent as against a previous in
crease of Z per cent in ten years. I am.
therefore, persuaded that the tendency
to remain in Iowa among the Iowa
born people is becoming stronger, and
that from this time on there will be a
decrease in the number Of 1owa-born
people who 20 to other states.
Another interesting fact comes out
thru our latest investigation. It is
that Iowa Is now receiving as a part Of
it's population an increasing number OF
! persons who were born in the states
to the west Of Iowa. We find over
1900 persons living in Iowa who were
born in Kansas. 10000 who were born
in Minnesota; $1,000 who were born in
| Nebraska: 10000 whe were born in
South Dakota: 5000 who came from
Colorado: the same number who came
from Oklahoma and a large number.
who came from other states Of the
west, even including more than 1900
who came from California to Iowa to
live. We are, also getting a consid-
cradle number of persons from south
ern states. There are 225 from
Florida who live in Iowa; 2437 from
South~Carolina; $50 from Georgia.:
many from other southern states in
Guiding 1900 from Texas: 1000 from
North Carolina, and 5000 from Vir-
ginia. So you see that. while Iowa is
sending it's native sons and daughters
to all parts of the world. Iowa is
continually getting new blood from
every part of the United States. Ours
is the ideal melting pot" the crucible
out of which is to come the very
flower Of the new American race.
On the population chart Of Iowa,
where lines are drawn to show the up
ward or the downward trend of popu-
lation, it will be found that the rural
lines and the urban lines cross some
time about six or seven years ago.
| Until the census Of 1910 was taken,
every enumeration had shown a larger
per cent of rural population than Of
urban. The last two enumerations re-
verse the conditions. This is a very
| important fact. In 1870, the. urban
| population of the state vas only 90 per
| cent of the whole, or in other words,
less than one-fourth Of the people
lived in. cities and towns and more
than three-fourths lived on farms. By
1890 it had changed so that a little
more than one-third Of the people
lived in cities and towns. In 1895,
there were AZ per cent of the popu-
lation urban which had increased in
1900 to 43 per cen In 1908 the two
elements had come very close ogether,
the urban population being 4S.S per
cent and the rural population ST. per
cent. II 1910 the urban had become
500 and the rural 49.7 per cent. In
1915 the urban was 52.2 per cent and
the rural 45.S per cent OF the popula-
ton.
The significance Of this is that
henceforth and for all time the urban
population of iowa is to be greater
than the rural population, and Iowa
has very recently changed from being
an agricultural state to common
wealth of agriculture. manufacture,
commerce and all wholesome indus
try.
There is another way Of presenting
the matter to still further emphasize
the situation A map Of Iowa show
ing the location Of each city in the
state makes an interesting and sur
prising exhibit. There are ninety nine
counties and ninety Of them contain