The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1945-11-08
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EC5|lS ROBINSON

Ever since the war ended / have
heard lot of talk about decen-
tralization.
There are many industrial exc
cutives, government leaders,
economists and social reformers
who think that it is of vital i'm
portance: to our nations well-be-
,.ang to eliminate big cities.
Some are interested in decen-
atralization from the viewpoint of
happier, healthier living for more
people.
Others feel that industry could
produce goods more efficiently
and more economically if factor
les were spread around the nation
instead of concentrated in a few
areas.
And still others, who are fam
@r1iiar with government problems,
say that cities, when they become
too big, cannot be governed prop
erly or honestly.
Those are the broad aspects of
decentralization From the more
personal angle, there seems to be
growing and more and more OBJ
vious desire among city people to
get away from the crowds-to
live where they can more fully
express their individuality and
have less of the feeling of being
small cog in big machine.
Psychologists are fully support
ing this new trend. They say that
the city life is not normal-that
:. the average human being is not
mentally equipped to keep up
with the pace, the nervous reac-
ton and competitive strain which
city life demands.
MAXIMUM 100000
The ultimate goal of one group
which is working on the problem
of decentralization is to have no
city in our country of over 1OO,-
1000 population.
Although this would involve
almost insurmountable changes in
our present setup, it would not
mean that as many people would
be moved to new areas as it
might seem.
For at the present time 71f6 of
the people already live in cities
or towns of under 100000 popula-
ton. According to the last CEN
sus, 17G6 live in IA cities of over
100000 population, SO live in % :
cities of from 100000 to 100000, !;
and another $50 live in 55 cities of
between 100000 and 100000 pop
1llation.
Thus less than 100 cities are the
target of the plans of the decen- /
1rahzers, and most of them
would be well-satisfied if they
could somehow reach their first !
goal of breaking up those IA CT !
ties of over 100000.
There are two arguments which
make this the logical time to be-
: cir such a movement: CD in
: eased use of airplanes for trans
portation reduces the need for
industry to be concentrated
around good harbors and giant
railroad terminals; (2) If there
lever is another war our indus
trial power could be destroyed
overnight if it continues to be
packed into small areas.
PROSPERITY rural
It is hard to imagine either New
Work or Chicago ever being re-
1'duced to city of 100000 popula-
zion. But the decentralizers ar
que that no matter how great the
difficulty might be, it would be
better to work out a peaceful, Or
derby program for doing this now
than to have them blown to pieces
oy some future enemy.
The atomic bomb will do more
than any one thing to stimulate
interest in the decentralization
plan.
AS for rural America-the blue
prints of the program highlight
much more prosperous life for
country people than they have at
+ present. No longer, under the de-
GENERALIZATION plan, would it be
necessary for ambitious farm boys
to go to distant cities to find in
dustrial employment. They
would have an industry near at
home which could satisfy their
non-farm interests. And, it is |
. pointed out, an area which in
scsudes both farming and industry
Gaxs more available income and is
/ ..sroportionately more prosperous.
In addition, as farm products
":1Xre used more and more in in
asdtzstry, it seems logical for fac
tories to be moved closer to their
source of supply.
We will all hear a lot about de-
,],,o 1;1of;o,, from 1,ouy IN No