522 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIV. No. 617. 



farmer has made, apart from higher prices, 

 is the freedom to shift from one crop to 

 another, the most conspicuous illustration 

 being cotton. Now that the planter is not 

 generally working against a crop lien bear- 

 ing 40 per cent, interest and profit to 

 secure advances for living and production 

 and has no creditor who will lend on no 

 security but cotton, he is in a position to 

 raise cotton or some other product, as he 

 pleases, and there will never be an exces- 

 sive crop of cotton again, unless by chance 

 for one year, as in 1903, 



Among other results of prosperity, are 

 the ability of the farmer to borrow at a low 

 rate of interest, his enormous accumula- 

 tions, deposits in banks, and investments, 

 the cancellation of old farm mortgages, and 

 his ability to hold his crop after harvest 

 until the price is satisfactory to him, in 

 place of dumping it upon the market as he 

 formerly did to pay debts and expenses. 

 The farmer now has an impregnable eco- 

 nomic position. 



Economic Geography: Dr. J. Eussell 



Smith, Wharton School, University of 



Pennsylvania. 



Economic geography is a study of the 

 world in which we live as a place in which 

 to make a living. Another way of putting 

 it is that it is the description of lands in 

 terms of human usefulness. This phase of 

 geography does not permit itself to be 

 carried off into speculation of purely scien- 

 tific interest unless there is also an 

 economic aspect. It is held down by that 

 qualification of human interest — usefulness 

 to man. 



Almost every industry and every form 

 of human activity is controlled by the 

 physical conditions of the land in which 

 the people live. The understanding of 

 these relations is economic geography, and 

 it is one of the shortcomings of our educa- 



tional system that this study has not re- 

 ceived greater attention. 



Economic geography needs to go into 

 higher education in as thorough a way as 

 has been the case with history. It is useful 

 not only to other sciences but to the direct 

 preparation of the individual for citizen- 

 ship and business. 



The concept and treatment of history 

 have been rapidly changing because of the 

 growing recognition of the part that eco- 

 nomic conditions have had in shaping 

 human affairs. The understanding of the 

 past and the present are alike in their re- 

 quirements. The science of economics, like 

 history, requires for its understanding the 

 fundamental facts of economic geography. 

 Economic geography gives the economic 

 facts that are requisite to an understand- 

 ing of economic theory. Many of the 

 problems of political science also grow out 

 of geographical conditions. 



Private industry and investment also de- 

 pend closely upon the information given 

 by economic geography. Twenty years 

 ago there was a great rush of emigrants 

 into western Kansas. They were un- 

 familiar with the economic geography of 

 the region and a quarter of a million of 

 them attempted to make farm homes where 

 it was impossible to do so. They were 

 driven out bankrupt after years of labor, 

 and eastern mortgage holders also lost mil- 

 lions. Economic geography is quite as im- 

 portant to the financier as to the repre- 

 sentative of industry or government. 



On the general theme of municipal 

 ownership four papers were presented. 

 That by Charles W. Tooke (Syracuse, N. 

 Y.) dealt with legal and financial phases 

 of the problem. The discussion was opened 

 by Charles Whitney Baker of the Engi- 

 neering News, New York City, who said : 



The 'public utilities' in cities at the 

 present day are absolute necessities; hence 



