380 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



many fields, the busy whirl of commercial and social life — but after all, 

 what is all this more than to say, " the fascination of city life " ? 



There is one condition, however, which has undoubtedly done much 

 to intensify the situation and aggravate the difficulties. That is the 

 immense immigration of the last quarter of a century, particularly of 

 the last decade. The immigrants of an earlier generation — the 

 Germans and the Scandinavians — went west in large numbers and took 

 up farm lands, making an effective and valuable addition to the ranks 

 of agricultural producers. Our modern immigrants settle in the most 

 densely populated states, and in the largest and most congested cities. 

 In 1890, 61.4 per cent, of the foreign-born population of the United 

 States were living in cities of at least 2,500 population. In 1900 the 

 percentage of foreign-born in cities of like size was 66.3, while of the 

 10,341,276 foreign-born residents of the United States in that year, 

 38.8 per cent, were huddled in the few great cities having a population 

 of over 100,000. When we consider that only 15.5 per cent, of the 

 native-born population were in cities of that size, it becomes evident 

 how seriously the immigration movement affects the proportion between 

 city and country dwellers — in other words, the cost of living. The 

 census of 1910, after a decade of immigration unparalleled in the 

 history of the nation, will undoubtedly show conditions even more stri- 

 king and appalling. 



The comparatively small increase in the proportion of city dwellers 

 from 1890 to 1900 (from 29.2 per cent, to 33.1 per cent.) may be par- 

 tially explained by the very slight gain in population through immigra- 

 tion during that decade, while the tremendous immigration of the last 

 few years may largely account for the suddenness of the jump in prices. 



To discuss possible remedies for the situation is apart from the pur- 

 pose of the present paper. A few years ago, when the country tele- 

 phone, rural free delivery, and the inter-urban trolley began to come 

 into common use, great hopes were expressed that together they would 

 help to solve the situation by promoting communication and fellowship 

 among rural families, breaking up their isolation, and thus making 

 country life more attractive. The results so far seem to have fallen far 

 short of the anticipations. As for the immigrants, a few of the Italians 

 are beginning to take up market gardening in the neighborhood of the 

 great cities, but this movement is very slight as yet. All the efforts of 

 colonization or removal societies, philanthropic organizations, and of the 

 United States government, have produced almost inappreciable effects 

 in securing a better distribution of the foreign-born. 



What the future may bring forth in the way of increasing the attrac- 

 tiveness of the country for natives or aliens, time alone can tell. But as 

 long as the rush to the cities continues with unabated or increasing 

 force, it is vain to hope that the cost of food will fail to augment at a 

 corresponding rate. 



