The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-11-23


has done to bring all parts of the
United States more closely together.
i the simultaneous development of q
variety Of interests has partially
offset and point has been reached
F, where the term, citizen OF the
United States, is not a narrow>iden-
tification. The fact is that the
United States comprises a number
of nations, the people Of some OF
which are as different from those
OF others as though they belonged
to foreign nations
Industrial development has
j brought this about ard high rail
road rates are intensifying the ten
dency.
Imagine an enlightened inhabi-
tant Of some other country who
lhad never heard OF the United
States and did not know that the
territory from coast to coast and
from Lakes to Gulf was all one po-
| litical domain Assume that he
travels all over the United States,
talks with the people and becomes
/ familiar with their ways of life and
opinions, but by some trick or con-
spiracy rs prevented from learn
ing that he has spent his time all
| under one flag. In all probability
he would tell you that he had visit
ed five nations, some of which
showed much similarity while
! others were quite diverse,
Among the five separate coun-
tries which he would be likely to
| find would be, first, territory en-
bracing New England and the At
laRtic Coast States down to Mary
land and including New York and
Pennsylvania. Next. he doubtless
would discover great country
known as the middle west. This
would comprise the great states of
the Ohio and Mississippi basins.
The third nation doubtless would be
the south and would include ap-
proximately the one-time confed-
eracy For the fourth country he
would discover a strange new land
for which he would be at loss TO
find a name. 1t would be the ter
ritory embracing the northwestern
states, such as Minnesota, the Da-
kotas, Montana, Idaho and perhaps
Iowa and Nebraska The fifth
country would be the Pacific coast
!, Our imaginary traveller would find
a general similarity of language
but by. no means an identical Ian
guage In these five nations. Indeed
he smight find that native of New
England would have no little diff
Guilty in understanding the every
day colloquial language of a North
Carolinian. All nations would
write an almost identical language,
but each would have a distinct
spoken tongue which would con-
firm the traveller in his belief that
he visited various countries.
Industrial Differences.
The traveller would find that the
fundamental differences which diff
fsrentiated the five nations were ia
dustrial. A nation is formed by it's
interests and comes to think along
lines dictated by its material we'll
being. Its politics Ainvariably are
governed by such matters as man
ufacturers and soil.
The most compact and self-suf-
ficient of the five nations which the
imaginary traveller would vist
would be the New England and At
lantic coast nation. Its capital
would be New York and its people
would have almost wholly indus
trial interests. 1t would be a coun-
try of careful manners, of luxur-
ious living, Of fashionable habits. 1t
would have an air OF arrogance and
pride of tradition which would be
reminiscent of Europe.
The next country would have
more the air of the newly rich. The
country called the middle west
would be hustling land with
everybody trampling on everybody
else in business hours, but with
rather homely and old-fashioned
manners during the social hours.
Half the people would talk about
how rich they were and the other
half about how rich they were goe
ing to be- There would be consid2
cradle imitation of the manners and
customs of the New England nation
but also careless contempt Of
eastern effeminacies.
The nation called the south
would be strange land to the trav-
eler. He would find a new world
in which people lived and thought
almost as though they dwelt on an
ether planet In the south he would
ind the greatest differences OF
speech and manner. There, too, he