50 



and Teutonic people. Since 1890, GO per cent, have been Alpine and Medi- 

 terranean people. This influx of people who differ widely from the orig- 

 inal stock in temperament, habits, language, and religion, makes the prob- 

 lem of assimilation and blending a serious one. The most efficient agent 

 of Americanization is the public school, where the children learn the Eng- 

 lish language, absorb American ideas, and undergo a change even in head 

 form. The Alpine people are noted for their domestic virtues and devotion 

 to family, divorce being almost unknown among them. The Italians have 

 a native talent for art and music. These are qualities in which the typical 

 American is often lacking, and desirable contributions to the society of 

 the future. 



A rapidly developing country like durs has an almost unlimited ca- 

 pacity to abs(>r)) .md use labor supiily, and there is no indication of a sur- 

 plus. The numlter of cnlored iKjople in proixn-tion to the total population 

 is decreasing, and it Is possible that in time even the "black belt" will fade 

 out. At the twelfth IiiHed .States census the native whites of native par- 

 ents formed a small majority, the foreign whites and native whites of for- 

 eign parents a little over one-third. The tardy returns of the thirteenth 

 census will probably reverse these itroitortinns. The Ignited States is the 

 melting pot of the nations. 



The relative and aiisolute decrease of the rural population, the increase 

 of foreign l)orn, the relative decrease of food supply, the approaching limit 

 of f(H)d production under the iiresent systems of agriculture, the steady 

 rise in iirices. all indicate that the days uf plenty and jirofusion are pass- 

 ing, and tliat the American standard of living nnist decline toward the 

 European standard. 



In Canada, with a jKiitnlation of about 7,fK)0,000, mostly in southern 

 Ontario and Quebec, there are too many unknown factors to make predic- 

 tion justifiable. The greatness of (Canada is chiefly visionary. Their offi- 

 cial literature gives one the inijiression that they liave learned the art of 

 boom and ]>rag until they can go us one better in claiming everj-thing iu 

 sight and more beyond the horizon. In calculating such big round figures 

 as I have given for the .Mlantic ])rovinc«*s, in most cases Canada is al- 

 most negligible. Dreams of :i large agricultural i)opulation on the Peace 

 River in latitude (0° and on the "clay belt" around James Bay seera to 

 have the same kind of a basis as that of a railroad to Hudson Bay and 

 regular lines of steamers from riiurchill to Iiiveri»<Mil. The geographic 



