CHAPTER II 

 WHY THE PEOPLE DO NOT GO TO THE LAND 



FLANKED upon one side by economic conditions which 

 deny them prosperity, and upon the other by great natu- 

 ral resources which only await human genius and energy, 

 why do not the surplus people go to the surplus land ? 



First and chiefly, because they lack the necessary capi- 

 tal. To move across the continent and make a new 

 home in a new country requires a working fund of one 

 thousand or two thousand dollars and the latter is much 

 the safer sum. It may almost be said that those who 

 need to move cannot do so, while those who can move 

 do not need to. This is not literally true, because there 

 are doubtless thousands of families commanding a capi- 

 tal insufficient to enable them to engage in trade or 

 manufacture under modern conditions, and likewise in- 

 sufficient to yield support when invested, yet quite 

 enough to establish them comfortably as settlers on 

 irrigated land, provided their capital be supplement- 

 ed by the wise use of their own labor. But there are 

 thousands perhaps millions of families who have ev- 

 ery qualification required for successful settlers except 

 money. Their ability to perform productive labor is, 

 indeed, capital of a most essential kind, but without a 

 certain amount of cash it is capital which is unavailable. 



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