Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-05-29
No More Farmers
Go to Canada From
U. S. Than Come

The old scare that the cheap lands
OF Canada are draining the United
States Of It's farm population has been
revived recently, particularly since
the signing Of the armistice. The state
ment gets printed, NJ one place or an
other now and then. that at least a
million OF Americas best farmers have
left the United States for Canada dur
ing the past ten years, and group Q.
alarm!s;s raise the cry that something
be done TO stop it,
The United States department o!
agriculture finds nothing alarming In
the situation. II does not give cre-
dence 10 tho statement that the United
States has lost million farmers, or
anything like IL, TO Canada In ten years
or at all On the other hand II be-
lieves that at least as MANY farmers
have come from Canada TO the United
States as have gone from the United
States TO Canada. II looks FOR the cross
movement between the two countries
TO continue. just as Very markeu
movement among the states themselves
is always 20 be noticed.
Comparable figures as to the number
of United States farmers who have
gone 10 Canada and Of Canadian
farmers who have come TO thu United
States are hard to obtain but such
figures as are available seem 20 show
u fairly even movement back and forth.
The statistics of the bureau OF irini-
grafton show the number OF people
who have gone from the United states
TO Canada from 1898 10 1918. but do
not show what proportion Of them were
farmers. They ds show. however, the
number Of farmers who went from the
United States 10 all the rest of the
world. That includes, Of course. the
farmers who seek new lai,ds in Can
ada together with the men who came
from all European and other coi ntries
to the United States. owned or work
ed on farms for a time, and returned
to their native countries.
The figures seem to show that, while
considerable numbers OF people have
gone 70 Canada the bulk of them have
not been farmers. The largest exodus
from the United States 10 Canada took
place in 1911 The number of persons
who left the United States for Canada
that year was 1895. The assumption
doubtless has been that practically all
these were farmers seeking cheap
lands. But the number OF farmers who
left the United States that year for all
places in the world was only 1850.
considerably less than one-fourth the
number 81 people who went from the
United States TO Canada that year.
Nothing like all of that 1850 went to
Canada. There is always a consider
able back tide of farmers from the
United States TO Sweden. Italy aid NJ
merous other countries. anG many u
these were included in the 1911 fig
ures.
According 10 these figures. less than
$4,000 farmers left the United States
for ali countries of the globe during
the decade when the alarInists claim
that 1000. 900 farmers left the United
States for Canada alone.
OF these farmers, majority doubt
less did go to Canada and It appears
equally certain that a considerable
number of men who had never been
farmers in the United States acquired
land in Canada. Canadian figures show
that 6il2i Americans took UP h'j::ie
steads in Canada between 1906 and
1914.
These figures. even II they were I'M
compensated by any movement from
Canada 10 the United States. fail to JUS
tify the belief thai the rural districts
of the United States are being depop-
ulated by removals to Canada. But
there has been compensation. The
United States commissioner general OF
immigration has published the follow
ing figures on the number of imni-
grants leaving Canada for the United
States:
ls14-l5 .............-..... s2.215
1856 .............-.... l0l. 5ol
1861 Observation-Disclosures. los. 1893
1915 TO Dec. 81, 1918 -.,..... p, 4A6
Again. the figures do not show what
nronOrtion were IA ru1ers hrfr the Cam