12 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



EAST AND WEST COMPARED. 



The railroad mileage of the four groups 

 included in "the West" by the interstate 

 commerce commission is 40,340 miles, 

 whereas in the groups included in New 

 England and the Middle States, with a 

 population of 20,000,000 against 10,000,- 

 000 in the West, the aggregate is less than 

 20,000 miles. How great an inequality of 

 burden this enforces is evident at a 

 glance. 



The inequality, of course, does not fall 

 entirely upon the patrons of the railroads. 

 A comparative stateme nt of the earnings 

 per mile shows that the owners of the 

 roads have their share. In the New Eng- 

 land and Middle States groups the gross 

 earnings average about $15,400 per mile; 

 in the western groups they average only 

 $9,500 per mile. 



Heal estate mortgages to the amount of 

 $975,000,000 were reported as being in 

 force in the western states in 1890. On 

 these the annual interest charge was more 

 than $75,000,000. New York state, on the 

 other hand, with a population of 5,000,- 

 000 to add to the value and productivity 

 of property had only $1,000.000,000 mort- 

 gage. . 



The total assessed valuation of property 

 in the Trans-Missouri country approxi- 

 mated $3,795,771,597 in 1890. In the 

 same year the assessed valuation of the 

 north Atlantic states was $10,908,667,585. 

 Relatively to the West this valuation was 

 in the proportion of 10.3, whereas the 

 population was in the vastly different pro- 

 portion of 17.10. Upon the assessed 

 valuation of the Trans-Missouri states the 

 taxation aggregated almost $8,3200,000, 

 while in the north Atlantic states it was 

 slightly over $179,000,'000. 



In the Trans-Missouri states the city, 

 county and state indebtedness amounted 

 in 1890- to something over $141,000,000 

 with an annual interest charge of $7,700,- 

 000. In the north Atlantic states the 

 debt was $467,968,615, with annual inter- 

 est charge of $31,018,325. 



Thus in the matter of taxation, indebt- 



edness and annual interest charge the west- 

 ern states have the advantage. But the 

 north Atlantic states have a total output 

 of farm products and manufactured goods 

 valued at $5,315,052,616 with which to 

 meet their taxes and interest, whereas the 

 Trans-Missouri country has a total output 

 of only $1,359,403,102 with which to meet 

 their taxes and interest. 



Again, the north Atlantic states have 

 in their banks $427,657,388 on deposit, 

 whereas the banks of the entire West and 

 South muster only $247,700,216, all told. 

 In stocks and securities the eastern banks 

 hold $128,174,696 from which to draw in- 

 terest, while the western and southern 

 banks combined hold but $28,845,068, or 

 slightly more than one-fourth the amount 

 held in the East. 



All these figures have been changed 

 more or less since 1890. Gubernatorial 

 estimates place the total population of the 

 Trans-Missouri states at 11,885,977, an in- 

 crease of somewhat over 20 per cent. The 

 same estimates raise the north Atlantic 

 population about 16 per cent. It is allow- 

 able to estimate that the amount of pro- 

 duction has increased accordingly. 



Granting this, the situation with refer- 

 ence to population is very little altered. 

 In the great West is a population of less 

 than six to the square mile, while in the 

 far East is a population of more than 125 

 to the square mile. In the states of the 

 middle West is a population of nearly 

 fifty-six to the mile, while in the southern 

 states is a population of slightly less than 

 forty to the mile. 



With inhabitants only one twenty-fifth 

 as densely located the West supports traf- 

 fic carriers only one-half less in mileage 

 than those of the East. At the same 

 time it produces one-fourth as many com- 

 modities, pays one-fourth as much inter- 

 est upon its indebtedness, and has prop- 

 erty valued at only one-third that of the 

 East. 



Such an illogical arrangement can but 

 suggest how great the opportunities for 

 prosperous existence in the Wust are, and 



