Evening star., 1927-06-19
SURVEY SHOWS NEW ERA
In DEVELOPMENT OF u. s.
DR.. o. E. Baker Sees Completion of First
Cycle i'm Settlement With Trend
Backward i'm Agriculture.
BY THOMAS r.. HENRY.
most epochal undertaking
of man in the history of the
world-the settlement of the


of man in the history of the
world-the settlement of the
Il United States-now has COM
pleted its first cycle. The fu-
ture will be a new chapter in the his
tory of the race whose course it is
difficult TO predict.
This is shown by an intensive study
launchde under the direction of the
Department of Agriculture by DR.. Q.
z. Baker, the results of which soon
will be published. The survey is an
exploration of the basic cause for
much of American history. Most
events find their eventual explanation
in The soil from which comes the fun
damental elements of the food, cloth
ing and fuel which make human life
possible.
The statistics studied by DR.. Baker
perhaps explain more fully than ever
before the sociology of the American
people in distinction to that of some
of the older nations. They explain.
for instance, .'Fny democracy has gem
orally prevailed, and there has been
no development of a landed aristoc-
racy similar to that of much of Eu-
rope before the World War
The day Of the pioneer, so far as
the present cycle is concerned, ended
shortly after the war, DR.. Baker finds.
Now the farmer is turning backward
and the areas under cultivation are
decreasing, while the net product is
increasing. There is no present need
for new land. Many crops are a sur
plus on the market.
Land Cycle Reversed.
The progress of American agrfcul-
ture up to the early years of the pres
f1N1
from poor land to better land, and
finally to excellent land. This is con-
trary to the usual course in history,
where the rich land first is occupied
and then the overflow of population
spreads out over less productive soil
until finally 1t can go no further, and
turns back on itself, with various we'll
marked social and political conse-
Quences.
The earlier European settlers occu-
pied unproductive soil. The Plymouth
an jamestown settlements, for in.
stance, were established on sandy, al
most sterile, land. Only the small area
around Philadelphia. it is pointed out,
could be called first rate farming coun-
try. Consequently the pioneers had
a hard struggle to establish them.
selves. Cattle starved by the thous-
ands during hard Winters and some.
times the settlers nearly starved
themselves. But for the first few years
they clung to the safety of the coast
where they could keep in closer touch
with the civilization of Europe. About
$50 years ago the increasing popula-
ton began to force its way inland to-
ward the foot hills of the Alleghenies. |
Here was somewhat better land. There |
was less danger of crop failure and
starvation. Some of it was very good
land, such as the Shenandoah Valley |
OF Virginia, and the Mohawk Valley of |
New York vi
Piedmont Settlement.
The American Revolution found the
Piedmont region, west of Washington, |
Philadelphia and New York, fairly |
well settled, but only a few hardy |
souls had ventured through the noun |
tain passes. But with the end of the |
War for Independence began what |
DIR. Baker characterizes as one of the |
most rapid growths of population in |
the history of the world. The popula- |
ton was doubling every % years. |
Moreover most of the increase was |
due to natural growth instead of i'm |
The younger generations began
bursting over the mountains through |
three great gaps. Here was second
advance to better land-but it still
was comparatively poor agricultural
soil. The first area settled was the
rather infertile Upper Ohio Valley. |
There was far finer land in northern
Ohio and Indiana, but the settlers did
not take advantage of it for three |
reasons. The sought. rather than |
fertility, location on rivers which af- |
forded them transportation and en-
abled them to keep in touch with their |
old homes over the mountains. They
sought further safe locations from the |
Indians ard plenty of wood and water. |
These earlier pioneers were forest |
dwellers in contradiction to the prairie
dweliers of later years. At the end of
the great plains the progress stopped
for time. They were afraid to get
away from the forests into the great
loneliness of the prairies.
There still are old men in the Middle
West, DIR. Baker has found, who tell
OF that old dread of the Prairies, an
other phase of the ancient human fear
of the unknown. There were no rivers
affording safe transportation There
was no wood for fuel. There were
few springs. There We're no trees to
break the Winter winds which, they
feared, would blow over their rude
houses.
War Halted Development.
In this second move westward, DIR.
Baker points out, some very good
land, such as the famous Blue Grass
region Of Kentucky. was occupied.
But as rule the farmers still strug-
gled with not particularly fertile soil.
The prairies awaited the development
OF three mechanical inventions-the
lrNNn @a4H
and the harvester. The exploitation
Of the plains had begun just before the
Civil War, which caused it TO halt for
o time. The real settlement came
largely between 1850 and 1900. In
those so years three times as much
land was occupied as in three cen
turies before. This included the land
which now furnishes half the Nations
food supply. Following the Civil War
the expansion was somewhat faster
from the South than from the North,
due to the impoverished conditions.
All this prevented the growth Of a
landed aristocracy, such as had grown
up in other great agricultural regions
Of the old world. If the land of thI
Atlantic seaboard had been extremely
fertile the history of the United States
might have been far different The
descendants of the Plymouth and
jamestown settlers would have owned
great estates and have been able to
hold them for high rents. which ten
ants would pay rather than face the
dangers of unsettled and unfertile
country beyond. But the fact that the
old land was 4ertiie gave the land
lord no foothold. The tenant had the
upper hand. He had simply to move
on and better his condition A landed
aristocracy did develop to some extent
south Of the Potomac, and it's down.
fall was due largely to this funda-
mental economic condition. THE Vir-
ginians," says DIR. Baker, used to
blame the industrialism of the New
England States for their troubles and
drew an artificial line between the
two sections. AS a matter of fact.