Business geography and the development of American industries, by Edwin Sherwood Meade ...

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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at http : //books . google . com/| Digitized by Google Digitized by Google Digitized by Google Digitized by Google Digitized by Google Digitized by Google SUCCESS ..IN.. BUSINESS VOLUME III BUSINESS GEOGRAPHY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN INDUSTRIES BY EDWIN SHERWOOD MEADE, Ph.D. Inslructor in BusineM Practice in the Wharton School of Finance and Bconomyt University of Pennsylvania. P. W. ZIEGLER & CO. PHILADEI.PKIA Digitized by Google r \0^ ^c"- ""^i Copyright, iQoa. BY D. W. Caskby, JR Digitized by Google Introduction CONTENTS Page .. 5 PART I. SECTION I The geograpliical differences between the Ameri- can Continents and those of the Eastern Hem- isphere g SECTION II The northern nations compared with those of the torrid zone 13 SECTION III The United States 16 SECTION IV The economic geography of the United States . . 23 The Atlantic coastal plain 7^ The Allegheny plateau 29 The prairie region 30 The southern coastal plain 35 The peninsula of Florida Z7 The flood plain of the Mississippi 38 Trans -Mississippi highlands 41 The great plains 42 The Cordilleran district 44 The Pacific coast 45 The Columbia district 47 Genera] summary 48 PART II. SECTION I American Industries 54 The mineral industry 56 Non-metallic minerals 69 Metallic minerals 70 Other metals 79 The rare metals 82 SECTIO'N II American Industries (continued) 85 Wheat 85 The shift in location of wheat industry since 1870 92 Corn 95 Other grains lOi The animal industry 106 Change in location of animal industry 112 The fisheries industry 123 The dairy industry 124 (i) Digitized by Google^ u CONTENTS SECTION III American Industries (continued). Fitres and their products 127 Cotton 127 Flax and hemp i33 Tobacco 134 Sugar I3<i Fruits and nuts I37 Lumber i30 India rubber I43 SECTION IV American Industries (continued). The location of manufacturing industry 150 Transportation routes ISS SECTION V The Organization and Management oif Industry ... 170 Collection of raw materials 171 Method of grain collection 172 The collection of live stock i8a SECTION VI Organization and Management of Industry (con- tinued). The specialization of industry igj Relations between employer and employee . . . 207 SECrriON VII The distribution of Industrial Products. Relations between wholesaler and retailer . . . 216 The retail store 22c Recent changes in the organization of trade . 229 Digitized by Google LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Coal Vein: Miner at Work 67 Casting Pig Iron 71 Rolling a Steel Ingot 75 Gold Mining Plant 83 Harvesting Wheat 89 Section of the Wheat Berry 92 Milkers Ready For Work 109 Butter Making; the Old Way 125 Butter Making; the New Way 125 A Cotton Picking Scene 131 Locomotive 157 Grain Elevator 175 Stock Yards 185 Digitized by Google w LIST OF MAPS Page The World: Uninhabitable Areas lo Regions of Low Rainfall 17 Natural Divisions of the United States 24 The Mississippi Flood Plain 39 Railway System of the United States 49 Coal 59 Iron 78 Wheat 87 Corn 96 Frost 98 Rainfall 100 Cotton 128 Tobacco 135 Forests 140 Digitized by Google ■ • ,\ ""U- J- K UNIVERSITY of THE LOCATION, ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OP AMERICAN INDUSTRY INTRODUCTION It IS the author's purpose in this book to familiarize the reader with the principal facts of our industrial and commercial life. We are here concerned with three questions: (a) Why is industry located where it is located? (b) In what way is industry conducted to produce articles of value? (c) How are those articles of value distributed to the people who have money to pay for them? In a field of study of suc'h vast extent we can do no more than consider a few leading facts in each division of the subject. We shall first discuss the general geographical differences be- tween the American continents and the continents of the eastern hemisphere. Next in order we shall discuss the peculiar advant- ages which are conferred by the situation and geographical structure of the United States upon its people in their pursuit of wealth. Having clearly indicated the points of general differ- ence and advantage which distinguish the United States, we shall go on to discuss in more detail the economic geography of the United States; that is to say, the arrangement of land, water, soil, climate, plants, animals and minerals in this country, which make up what is known as our physical environment and Which determine very closely the industries of different sections of our (5) Digitized by Google 6 INTRODUCTORY country. To illustrate: The industries of Pennsylvania are en- tirely different from those of Minnesota. Pennsylvania is pri- marily a coal mining state, and therefore, great manufacturing industries, especially iron and steel, have been built up within her borders. Minnesota, on the other hand, has no coal but is peculiarly adapted to the growing of wheat. The flour milling industry has, therefore, centered in Minnesota. North Carolina has a warm, even and moist climate. Cotton culture springs up naturally under these conditions. This state has also a number of waterfalls which furnish abundant water power for factories. North Carolina is, on this account, 'destined to be a great cotton manufacturing center. Massachusetts and Connecticut are far removed from the cotton fields by their geographical position. They "have no coal, and their water power is already utilized. From these geographical facts we can predict that North Carolina will outstrip Massachusetts in cotton manufacturing. In the same way we can explain the growth and prosperity of Chicago, Buffalo and New York City. In order to avoid the high mountains of Pennsylvania, the greater part of the freight which "has been sent to the seaboard from the West has first been collected at Chicago and the other lake cities and then sent by the northern route, skirting the southern shore of Lake Erie and passing across New York State and down the Hudson river. On this account, because of the steep grades of the Allegheny Mountains, Philadelphia and Baltimore have always been, as it were, shut off from the states west of the mountains and have, therefore, suffered in competition with New York. Enough has now been said on this point to show the su- preme importance of geographical conditions in determining the nature and location of industries, and to convince us that a pre- liminary study of this so-called Economic Geography is nec- essary to a proper understanding of our subject. We shall, therefore, first consider the geographical situation of the United States; its climate as determined by that situation; the main physical features of our country; its vegetable and animal re- sources as conditioned by the facts just mentioned, and finally its mineral resources. Next in order, we ^hall study the location of the most important industries of the United States, explaining Digitized by Google INTRODUCTORY 7 their location on the basis of geographical conditions of soil, climate and resources. Having explained the location of indus- try, we shall then go on to consider the organization of industry for the purpose of production, and the methods which have been developed for the production of the product and for carrying it to market. In the discussion of this phase of our subject, we s*hall consider the coal and iron industries; the grain and meat industries; the cotton industry, and the lumber industry. Having gained some acquaintance with what may be called the ^ysical facts of industry, we shall discuss the business re- lati6ris and arrangements which have grown up on the basis of those physical facts. We wish to know how industry is organ- ized; how, in other words, a mill or a mine is run. Under this "branch of the subject we shall endeavor to show something of the principles which underlie successful business manage- ment. Having organized our mill and started it to running, we have next to dispose of the product; and this introduces us to a study of the methods of shipping and selling goods. Under the methods of shipping, we have to consider the relations of the shipper to the railways and the principles which determine the amiount the shipper must pay for the transportation of his freight. Under the second will be studied the organization of the wholesale markets, the nature of produce speculation and its relation to industry and trade, and the relations between pro- ducer and consumer, including (i) Direct relations between producer and consumer, as when railroads and large establishments are the buy- ers, and (2) The indirect relations, where the goods must be sold to the individual consumer. Under the second head will be discussed the relations be- tween manufacturer, jobber, wholesaler, and retailer — ^the func- tions df the commercial traveler, the credit man, and the com- mercial agency, the methods of advertising and collecting. It is not expected to give within the limited space of this book an exhaustive treatment of any one of the subjects to be studied; the student when he enters business will find that his life-time is too short to completely master even a small portion of the field. Digitized by Google 8 INTRODUCTORY Nor is it desirable to burden his mind with a quantity ot tech- nical detail concerning railway billing, express, mail and tele- graph service, conveyance of property, and the like. All such knowledge can be acquired when it is needed. It is believed, however, that a general understanding of the location of indus- try, the organization of production, and the methods of distribu- tion of products and the sale of goods can he gained by a care- ful study of the field to be covered in this book. Digitized by Google PART I. SECTION I THE GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE AMERICAN CONTINENTS AND THE CON- TINENTS OF THE EASTERN HEMISPHERE. (1) FKysical Xonditions of the Old and New Worlds Take a map of the world and notice the arrangement of mountain ranges on the five contments. In the old world, the eastern hemisphere, you will observe that the mountains run east and west, while in the new world their general direction is north and south. We are hearing a great deal nowadays about the decadence of the old world and the rapid progress of the nations of the West, particularly of the United States. Did it ever occur to you that the arrangement of mountain ranges in the continents of the two hemispheres had anything to do with the decadence of the one and the growth of the other? Another glance at the map will show that the eastern hemi- sphere is the realm of deserts and high br.rren plateaus. The ttortliem part of Africa is a desert, the northern half of Russia is little better, Asia is more than two-thirds desert, and four-fifths of Australia is permanently arid and sterile. In the new world, on the other hand, with the exception of small areas in North and South America, no deserts in the true sense of the term can be said to exist. Practically the whole of the western hemi- sphere is available for agp*iculture and the production of food for a large population. It is this fact which ensures permanent eco- nomic and industrial supremacy to the new world; and, as we shall see presently, the United States is of all the nations of the new world the one best fitted to be the home of a great people and the seat of a great civilization. (2) Why is the DeteH Area of the Old World so Much Greater thsn iK^A Of the New 7 The deserts of the old world and the absence of deserts in the new world can be explained by the peculiar difference in the (9) Digitized by Google Digitized by Google GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES n arrangement of mountain chains. Vegetation requires heat and moisture. Moisture is to a large extent suppHed to the lands which lie north and south of the equator. The air above the bodies of water in the torrid zone becomes saturated with this moisture which is drawn up by the heat of the sun. This sat- urated air rises and flows off toward the poles, and cooler air ru^es in from north and south to take its place. If the moist- ure-laden warm winds from the equator meet with no obstacle, they gfradually cool in their progress toward the poles, and this cooling process condenses, or squeezes out the moisture which they contain, resulting in large rainfall evenly distributed from east to west and gradually diminisfhing from north to south. If these winds, however, in their north or south course meet \rith any obstacle, such as a mountain range, they are deflected upward into the cooler regions of the atmosphere, where their moisture is suddenly condensed and falls as rain or snow on the hither side of the mountain, while the further side gets hardly any moisture from the dried out winds which sweep over the sum- mits. The arrangement of mountains in the old world which I have mentioned is such as to shut out the greater portions of the eastern continents from more than a small amount of moisture brought from the torrid zone. Africa is a table-land surrounded by mountains, which catch most of the rainfall on their seaward sides; Europe is cut in two by mountains which make most of the northern part cold and sterile; Asia is even more unfortunate than Europe. Arabia and Persia are plateaus and therefore des- erts; most of the Chinese Empire and all of Siberia are cut off from the moist winds coming from the south by the highest mountains in the world. Only India, farther India, China proper, and the Asiatic Archipelago are well watered. Australia is a table-land surrounded by mountains, and is almost all desert. We can now understand the tremendous disadvantage of the old world in competition with the new. Its physical structure makes the greater part of its area a desert, incapable of sustain- ing a large population or a high civilization. (3) Fvture of the New World When we turn to the new world we can also understand Digitized by Google 12 GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES the reason for its great advantages over the old world. The mountain ranges of the western continents run north and south and give free play to the moist winds from the equator. Moreover, the fact that the highest mountains are on the western borders of North and South America is an additional advantage, for the general tendency of the equatorial winds is toward the northwest and the southwest. Only a narrow strip of land on the west coast of the two continents suffers from a scanty rain- fall. Most of the American continents lie to the east of the high mountains and offer no obstacle to the free passage of the moist winds. Nearly the whole area of the new world, therefore, is habita- ble and cultivable. With the exception of northern Canada and a small portion of South America, practically its entire area can be utilized for the support of a dense population. Owing to this fact, the future is with the new world. The American continent is to be the seat of the g^eat civilizations of the future. On the western side of the Atlantic will be found the great centers of population, wealth, and industry, which the next century will be- hold. The new world is the land of promise because it is the land of rainfall, and this advantage it owes absolutely to the fact that its moguntain ranges run north and south while the mountain ranges of the eastern continents run east and west. Digitized by Google SECTION 2. THE NORTHERN NATIONS COMPARED WITH THOSE OF THE TORRID ZONE. (4) Furpote of this Section We are now to consider the economic geography of the northern part of the American continent and particularly of that part embraced within the limits of the United States. Having observed the general advantages of the new world over thie old world, we are ready to study the causes which have given and whidh will continue to give the industrial and commercial su- premacy of the new world to the United States; to discover why (to use the words of an American geographer), the United States is fitted to be the home of a gtreat people. (5) Physical Divisions n.nd Chsracteristics of the Five Continents. Turn back now to the map of the world, and carefully ob- serve the sliape of the five continents and their general arrange- ment. You will see at once that the equator divides these con- tinents into two groups, a northern group of two continents (counting Europe and Asia as one), and a southern group of the same number. These two groups of continents may also be dis- tinguished by their form in relation to the equator. The south- ern groups narrow toward the poles, and the greater part of their area lies within the hot, or torrid zone. The continents of the northern group, on the other hand, narrow toward the equator and broaden as they approach the cold regions about the North Pole. The result of this peculiar arrangement of land forms is that in the northern continents the greater portion of habitable areas, comprising nearly all those regions whith can support a large population, have a colder climate than the main bodies of the southern continents, which lie, as I have just stated, within the hot belt surrounding the equator. The colder climates of the (13) Digitized by Google 14 GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES northern continents have always had a most important influence upon the character of their people, and it is in large measure owing to that cold climate that the ruling races and the great conquering nations have always had their seats in the north. (6) H&bii« of Nan in the Warmer Climates Man is by nature little more disposed than the lower ani- mals to hard work and strenuous endeavor. He has no desire to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow if he can sustain him- self without working. In the warm regions of the world, hard work is unnecessary to sustain man in a comfortable existence. Pruit and nuts in great profusion and almost endless variety fall or hang from the trees. The streams swarm with fish, which can easily be caught at all seasons of the year. Game also is abundant. Cold is unknown, clothing and shelter almost super- fluous. Under such conditions, man needs not to work and he is content to sleep and idle his life away. Generation aftet gen- eration, century upon century, find him still in the same condi- tion of drowsy indifference. Progress and improvement are not thought of, because the inducement is lacking. Man is entirely comf(>rtable and secure in his comfort. 17) Habits of Nan in the Cold Climates In the colder regions the conditions are different. Here the climate is harsh and inclement. The winters are severe, locking up land and water in snow and ice. The spontaneous produc- tions of the forest are less abundant, and must be won with more labor. In the north man must work, and work hard in order to live. Unless he works and plans, unless he denies himself pres- ent satisfaction in order to provide for future wants, he will per- ish. Compelled to exertion, he begins to subdue the difficulties which encompass him. He builds houses for shelter. He pro- vides clothing. In order that food may always be at hand, he develops agriculture and domesticates animals. By slow de- grees he organizes civil society, so that by the united strength and co-operative effort of many hands his hard task may become easy. In short, he begins to get tHe better of the physical con- Digitized by Google GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES 15 ditions of soil, climate, vegetation and animal life which sur- round him. He becomes, as we say, master of his environment, (8) The Consequences of Nan*s Disposition to Labor in Northern Climites This discipline of hard work has had important conse- quences. Strenuous exertion becomes habitual. Men keep on working and improving because productive activity hafi become second nature to them. Their food, their tools and their weap- ons, their houses and clothing improve. Their societies expand, until, by dividing their manifold labors, they are able to accom- plisfh an amount otVork which would have been impossible to a single family. Tlie habit of work, wliich was forced upon man during the long ages while he was getting the mastery of a cold climate and an unfriendly soil, has continued to drive him onward; and the new wants and desires, which the power of satisfying them has developed, have so co-operated with the habit of work that man has succeeded in uprearing in the northern latitudes a group of splendid civilizations. Meantime, the lands of the south sleep away an unchanging existence in the torpid contentment of easy satisfaction, and ar« only aroused from their pleasant lethargy by the strong hand of the northern invader. Not only is man compelled to work in the northern lati- tudes, but the rapid changes of temperature unite with the pre- vailing cold to stimulate and quicken his activities. Great and sustained energy is impossible in a hot and moist climate, but the rapid alternations of warmth and cold, the constant s'hifts ot weather, and above all the long winters of the northern countries act as a constant stimulus, a series of electric shocks, to keep ' men on the stretch, and to get from them their utmost degree of effort and accomplishment. It is, then, primarily to their colder climates that th^ northern nations owe the supremacy whidh they enjoy. Of all these northern nations, the United States is best suited, as well by climate as by other physical advantages, to be the home of a permanent industrial supremacy. Digitized by Google _ SECTION 3. THE UNITED STATES (9) LoccLtion Carefully observe the map which will be found on the opposite page. Let us briefly consider, with constant reference to this map, certain important advantages possessed by the United States. To begin with, tlie greater part of the North American continent, and practically the entire extent of the United States, lies within the habitable area of the globe. The northern part of the continent is permanently sterile on account of the cold. But this area lies north of the northern boundary of the United States. Not only this, but the habitable area of the western part of the continent extends so far to the north as to include not only all of the states, but also a considerable por- tion of Alaska. Thus, while well-nigh the entire area of the United States enjoys the advantage of a cool climate, but a small portion of this area is condemned by excessive cold to perpetual barrenness and solitude. Compare this situation with that of Russia, where more than half the empire is sterile from the cold, and we can the more clearly realize the advantage conferred upon our peo- ple by the situation of the country — far enough north to enjoy the benefits of a temperate and cool climate, and yet not so far north as to prevent the growth of crops and the existence of a large population. (10) Moisture and Rainfall Not only is the industry of the United States unfettered by cold, but it is almost equally fortunate in regard to moisture. In Section 2 I have shown how the situation of the mountain ranges on the American continents insures an abundant supply of moisture over their entire area. This statement should be slightly qualified when it is applied to the region of North Amer- ica lying between the looth meridian of west longitude and the coast range, the region whidh is represented by light shading (16) Digitized by VjOOQIC I JHH Digitized by Google i8 GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES upon the map. This region has a relatively small rainfall, no- where exceeding 20 inches per annum, as compared with 30 to 60 inches in other parts of the country. Moreover, this rainfall is unevenly distributed, falling, for the most part, during the win- ter months in the form of snow, and mainly upon flie mountains, from which the numerous and important streams -that traverse this region are constantly supplied. This situation precludes the success of ordinary methods of agriculture within this region. Numerous failures have been the results of attempts to grow crops of com, wheat, and oats within this area, which has, until recent years, gone by the name of the Great American Desert. It has, however, developed that the rainfall of this region was abundantly ample for grazing purposes, and the Great Plains have become the source of meat supply for the Eastern states, much of the land now supporting a profitable cattle industry; for example, in Western Kansas, which was proved utterly unfit for corn and wheat culture. It has also been discovered within the last forty years — the discovery was first made by the Mormons — that large portions of this so-called arid region can be made highly productive by conducting over the land, the water of the large and numerous streams that are fed by the melting snows of t^e mountains. It can, therefore, be assorted that even the desert region of the United States can be made to sustain a large population. Compare our American desert with the Desert of Sahara, with Central Asia, or with Australia — regions where, save on small and scattered oases, neither agriculture nor 'herding can exist, where millions of square miles are forever lost to civiliza- tion — and we can the better appreciate the important benefits which the situation and the physical structure of the North American continent confer upon its inhabitants. On the west coast, California presents the same conditions as the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountain region, with this modification: That, owing to the close proximity of the Sierra Nevada Moun- tains to the coast, the amount of water available for irrigation is ample. Oregon and Washington west of the Coast Range have a greater rainfall than any other part of the United States. This is due to the warm winds which blow up from the southwest, and Digitized by Google GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES IQ whose moisture is condensed on the high mountains of the Cas- cade Range. (11) CliiMLte 9aid ProdocdWly East of the looth meridian and including the area represent- ed by the dark shading to the Atlantic Ocean, practically the en- tire area of the United States is abundantly watered and there- fore tillable. The rainfall of this region is more copious than that of Europe, and is well distributed throughout the year. Droughts, where they occur, are of local significance. Famines are unknown. Not only are the crops of this region reasonably pertain, but, owing to its wide extent, and especially owing to the north and south extension of the United States, these crops in- clude practically all the vegetable products of the temperate and sub-tropical zones. Without extending so far south as to weaken and enervate our people by the damp heat of the tropics, the southern part of the United States, particularly the peninsula of Florida, has a climate which admits of profhable culture of sugar cane, rice, and tropical fruits. Ascending through the Mississippi valley, we pass in succession through the cotton belt, the tobacco belt, the corn belt, and the wheat belt; while in the extreme north the hardier kinds of small grain, such as rye and barley, can be successfully grown. This wide variety of climate and products makes the United States almost completely self- sufficient and, therefore, economically independent of foreign nations. Her soil can produce the food and clothing of her people. This same conjunction of moist and variable climate ex- plains the presence of the immense forests which originally cov- ered practically the entire area east of the Mississippi, including a great variety of woods, from the pine and spruce of the north to the magnolia and cypress of the Gulf states. This profusion and variety of timber "have been at all times a great aid in our national development. (12) LoccLtion of Early Scttlemcnto In the early years of our national history the dense forests afforded abundant material for ship building, and at the same Digitized by Google 20 GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES time forced the colonists to betake themselves to the sea be- cause of the difficulty of penetrating the dense forests west of the seaboard. Confined witliin a narrow strip of coast line, the English colonists developed strong, self-reliant, populous com- munities. Relying alike upon commerce and agriculture, they early developed and practiced the principles of civil government and civil liberty, whfle the French and Spanish colonists, enter- ing the country by the Mississippi on the south and the Great Lakes on the north, scattered over the vast open spaces and along the extensive river systems of the interior and never suc- ceeded in developing any great measure of independent strength. (13; Stni||le for ColonicJ Empire Thus, when the struggle for race supremacy came in the colonial wars of the i8th century, it was the English colonies who triumphed, and who, from their early discipline and the concen- tration and centralization of their power, were able a little later to win their independence from the mother country. After the Revolution, the great forests were penetrated and subdued, and the westward expansion of the United States began. Do not understand me to assert that the triumph of the English over the French was due entirely to the accident of their location to the eastward of the great forests. Other causes, political and relig- ious, with which we are not at this time concerned, contribut'^d largely to their success. The forests, however, did play an im- portant part in guiding the early course of our national develop- ment, and throughout our subsequent history they have greatly aided our industrial and commercial progress by furnishing an abundance of timber for buildings, fences, bridges, and fuel. (14) Other Advuift^cs Another point of advantage to the rapid development of the United States was the fact that all the plants and animals of Eu- rope could be readily domesticated in the new world. The agri- cultural skill and experience of Europe, the results of centuries of experiment, were transplanted entire to the new world. The American continent also supplied to the colonists Indian corn, Digitized by Google GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES 21 which was peculiarly valuable to the pioneer because it g^ew readily in clearings and produced on new ground abundant crops with comparatively little attention; and the potato, which, car- ried over from the new world, has long since become a staple ar- ticle of diet among the people of Europe. Almost the entire area of the United States was healthful, in striking contrast to the lands of tropical America, whither the Spaniards directed fheir efforts. Disease offered no resistance to the rapid settle- ment of the country. The final point of advantage which has very powerfully con- tributed to the growth and present power of the United States is the fact that this is, geographically speaking, one country from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. Only th^ western mountain region and the narrow strip of territory on the west coast can be said to be separated from the rest of the country, and it is not in these regions that the dense population and high industrial development are to be found. East of the Rocky Mountains the whole area of the United States is a geographical unit and is predestined by nature to be the home of a single people, firmly united — and therefore invinc- ible — and at peace, — predestined, not merely because most of Its surface is an open plain, but because of the enormous river systems which center about the Mississippi river, the chain of lakes along its northern border, and the many navigable rivers of the Atlantic seaboard. (15) GeogmphiccLl Units To grasp the industrial importance of this fact, notice on the map the arrangement of the continent of Europe. This continent is split up into a great number of parts by high moun- tains and by arms of the sea. Tliis separation has given oppor- tunity for the growth of separate nationalities, which could live their own lives in their own way without relation to the lives of their neighbors. National life closely follows the divisions of geography. Spain is separated by mountains from Portugal and from France. Great Britain is completely isolated, and within Great Britain, Ireland has a separate nationality. Scandinavia is separated from the rest of Europe by the sea. and Norway and Digitized by Google 22 GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES Sweden are parted by mountains. France is a geographical unit, Italy another, North Austria and Germany another, Tur- key and Greece another, and Russia is clearly marked off from the rest of Europe. (II) The Effect of NatioiicJ IsolcLfion This geographical and national isolation has led to innum- erable wars between the strangers, and yet no one nation has* ever been able to subdue the rest. Geographical barriers and the racial differences which they have produced have time and again proved too strong for military power. The Roman Empire, the Empire of Charlemagne, the Empire of Napoleon, each broke in pieces on the sharp edges of mountain barriers; and Europe has again and again fallen back into the condition of savage war and armed peace. Her people are burdened with debt taxes, war taxes, and conscription. Her credit is almost exhausted. Her business is carried on in constant apprehension of war. Her society is cast in a military mould. Her despotisms rest upon military foundations. The land groans and cries out in misery and anguish of militarism. The shadow of conflict hov- ers over the whole face of Europe, to chill, to paralyze, and to stunt her industrial development. (17) Effect of Nitional Uiuty How different is the situation in the United States! Here there is but one land and one people. All the evils of militarism which curse our European competitors are absent from the United States. Our men are in the fields and shops, not in the barracks. We have no foes to fear, for we possess a continent Our taxes are low, our institutions are those of civil liberty, and our people are free to devote themselves to the production of wealth. Only once has our national development been retarded by civil war, and then the geographical unity of the country, especially the presence of navigable streams throughout the southern states, made possible the invasion and complete subju- gation of the Confederacy and removed the last obstacle fron; the path of our industrial progress — a feat that would have been utterly out of the question had geographical barriers intervened. Digitized by Google GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES a3 This unity, perhaps our greatest advantage, is due to those fea- tures' of the structure of our continent which have already been described and which allow an easy passage over the whole area of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains — ^ wide open plain, intersected only on one side by low mountain ranges and penetrated throughout by naviga'ble rivers. SECTION 4. THE ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES The Appalachian Belt Having indicated some of the more general features of our physical environinent, we shall now proceed to discuss in greater detail the geographical features of the United States, preparatory to a minute consideration of the various products which our country affords. (18) AppUtxhiaLnBelt The map which accompanies this section shows in outline the geographical divisions of the United States. Observe the various divisions. We have first an elevated region (repre- sented by a belt of dark shading) in the eastern part, known as the Appalachian Belt (A B). This extends from northern Maine to northern Alabama. It includes practically the entire area of the New England States and a broad belt of territory extending southwest from Massachusetts, narrowing as it passes through the Middle States and widening to include a much larger area in Virginia, West Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee. This is the mountainous region of the eastern part of the United States, Digitized by Google Digitized by Google GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES 9S (19) Effect of WsLfer Upon Nounteiins In early times these mountains were much higher than at present. Millions of years of steady wear from the water which has rushed down their sides to east and west has lowered the original mountains to mere fragments of their former siae. In- deed, at one time this whole area is believed to have been a great plateau. So thoroughly have the streams done their work that only scattered elevations are left to mark the sites of the old ranges. It is further believed that much of the mountainous ap- pearance which this area now presents is due to the work of the streams in wearing away and cutting through the softer rocks, leaving the harder formations. (20) Further Divitioiis of Appalachian Belt This Appalachian belt may be further divided into an eastern and a western belt, which are separated on the map by the dotted line, and further indicated by the letters O A and N A. The rocks of the older, or eastern belt are much harder than those of the western portion of this region, on which account the eastern part is the country of high peaks and narrow valleys; while in the western part, because of the wearing away of the uplands by the streams, the valleys are much broader and the elevations less marked. The cultivable portions of this area are found in the valleys, along the coast of New England, and in the Carolinas, where the formation of the eastern portion of the belt is that of a table-land with comparatively few elevations. Three breaks occur in the Appalachian belt; one through the Mohawk valley, one in Penn- sylvania where the mountains are low, and a third in Virginia, down the long valley of the Shenandoah, and through the Cum- berland Gap into Kentucky and Tennessee. It was through these openings that the emigrants from the east penetrated to the western country. The easiest passage was up the Hudson through the valley of the Mohawk, from which it was no great distance to Lake Erie and so on to the West. Those who took the middle route passed down the Ohio, and the southern pass gave access to the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. Digitized by Google 26 GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES The Atlantic shore line of the Appalachian belt is of especial interest. Here many arms of the sea enter deep into the land and afford a great number of excellent harbors. Back from the coast for an average distance of loo miles, agriculture can be followed because the highlands have been worn down to a level. Timber was everywhere abundant in the early days, and this con- junction of excellent harbor facilities with considerable agricult- ural resources was made the basis of an extensive commerce in which New England was for a long time pre-eminent. (21) Water Supply Another feature of permanent importance in the Appalach- ian belt is the abundance of water power which it aflfords. This is especially true of New England and certain sections of the South, mainly in the Carolinas and Georgia. The New England streams as they fall from the highlands develop in the descent a large amount of power, which is concentrated by natural dams composed of rocks and gravel rolled along by the streams and accumulating at intervals, thus backing the water into numerous ponds and lakes, which act as storage reservoirs for surplus ac- cumulations of water during the wet seasons. The water power of New England is the main cause of her manufacturing develop- ment. Every considerable fall within easy reach of the centers of population has been utilized for manufacturing purposes. In the South, the arrangement of power is less favorable, but the greater extent of territory which drains into the streams and the fact that the Appalachian belt is bordered by an alluvial plain upon which the waters can readily take effect, have pro- duced along the edges of the belt a series of falls and shoals, which give a large amount of power. (22) Utilisation of Water Power The location of this power in the midst of the cotton fields has encouraged its use for cotton manufacturing, and within a few years it will be entirely taken up and employed for industrial purposes. The amount of power still available in this region, moreover, is very much greater than in New England, and the prospects of the South for manufacturing growth are, therefore, brighter than those of the Northeastern states, Digitized by Google GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES rj There is also abundance of power in the western part of the Appalachian belt where the streams fall toward the Ohio, but here the country is so broken and rough and the difficulties of transportation are so great that the utilization of this power must be carried on very slowly. It may be, however, that it will be found practicable to transmute this water power into elec- tric power, and in this way send it out of these inaccessible re- gions down to the plain country, in which case the waterfalls of the western Appalachian belt would become valuable. The Atlantic Coastal Plain (23) Position cind Extent The second feature of the geography of the United States Which is deserving of notice is the Atlantic Coastal Plain. It ex- tends from Long Island Sound to the peninsula of Florida, and from loo to 300 miles back from the seaboard. Its name is suf- ficient for a general description of this region — a low, flat plain along the seaboard, gradually rising as it approaches the high- lands of the Appalachian belt. It has been formed by the joint action of the streams in wearing down the highlands above it, and by the action of the sea in building up the shore land with large drifts of sand. The greater part of the plain is fertile. For some distance back from the shore, however, the Atlantic Coastal Plain, along its entire length, consists of sand dunes and mars'hes which are usually impossible to cultivate without drain- age, or without extensive works of embankment or tree plant- ing to keep back the sand and give vegetation a chance to start. Numerous works of this kind have been undertaken, especially in the southern part of the plain. This coastal plain contains the densest population of any part of the United States, being the oldest settled portion of the country. It has long enjoyed the advantage of handling the foreign trade of flie nation. It has built up great manufacturing industries to supply the wants of the South and West, which have only recently begun to man- ufacture for themselves, and it lias had the first choice of all European immigration. The last census showed that the most rapid increase of population from 1890 to 1900 was in the states of the Atlantic seaboard. Digitized by Google 2^ GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENCES (24) Great DismcLl Swciinp The Great Dismal Swamp in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia is being rapidly reclaimed by exten- sive drainage operations, and every year large areas of swamp land are converted into fertile farms. As the value of land in the Eastern states continues to rise, there is but little doubt that the greater part of the Atlantic shore belt will be reclaimed for agriculture. The shore line is fringed with sand dunes forming shallow lagoons between them and the shore — indications of the land-building operations of the sea and the rivers. These chan- nels or lagoons grow more and more shallow, and unless con- stantly dredged become in time impassable. Eventually, if not artificially prevented, the lagoon will be entirely filled up and a new shore line formed. (25) RJvert off the CocLttal PlcLin The rivers of the Coastal Plain formerly ran at a much higher elevation than at present. A general subsidence or de- pression of the coastal plain at one time took place, which had the effect of converting the valleys of these rivers into bays and inlets. This influence has been extended far up the rivers so that they are much broader and deeper than the area of their drainage basins would indicate. The Hudson, Delaware, and James rivers are examples. Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay are examples of inlets and estuaries formed by subsidence of the land. The existence of these inlets has been of great importance in the locating of cities. New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond, Savannah, and Charleston are all located at the mouth of drowned valleys,* on account of the early development of an extensive commerce between Europe and the people of the Atlantic slope, which these short deep rivers made easy. This point will be taken up again when we come to discuss the general subject of th^ location of cities. •The subsidence of the New Bsglind coast list hat alretdjr been meatloBed. Digitized by Google The Allegheny Plateau (26) Position cind Extent Th^ western part of the Atlantic highlands is called the Al- leg'heny Plateau. It lies directly west of the Appalachian belt, extends from northern New York to northern Alabama, and in- cludes portions of the states of New York, Pennsylvania^ Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. On the east, it is fringed with high mountains; on the west and south it slopes off gradu- ally to the flat regions of the interior and the Gulf shore. The surface is regular arfd even. This region is remarkable for its stores of mineral wealth arid is also still well covered with tim- ber, although in the northern part much of this has been cut . away. The whole area of the plateau is underlain with coal and iron, other minerals being found but not in sufficient abundance to warrant extensive working. (27) Industnes In the southern part, northern Alabama has developed an extensive iron and steel industry, and many other manufactories have been established here on account of the cheapness of fuel. The soil of the southern part of the Allegheny Plateau is general- ly unfertile, owing to its sandy character, which allows th^ water to pass off too rapidly for successful agriculture. The middle portion of the plateau, embracing most of the state of Virginia, has abundant stores of coal and iron. Coal mining is the prin- cipal industry of the state, no consido*able iron industry having been developed because of the greater cheapness of the iron ores of Lake Superior. The soil of this portion of the Allegheny Pla- tau has been formed from the sartdstones which underlie it and is, therefore, unfertile and unable to support more than a small population. This region is, geologically speaking, very old; that is to say, it has maintained its present form much longer than many other parts of the United Statea. All the streams and rivers of the region have had ample time to wear deep valleys (29) Digitized by Google 30 GEOGR.\>PHICAL DIFFERENCES until the surface of the plateau is very rough and broken — 3l land of steep hillsides and narrow crooked valleys, difficult of ap- proach and probably never destined to be the scene of great in- dustrial activity. The northern part of the plateau, which includes the west- ^^ em part of Pennsylvania and the eastern part of Ohio, has gen- erally the same appearance and resources; but it enjoys a great advantage over West Virginia because of the fact that it separ- ates the fertile plains of the East and the West. The great rail- ways cross or skirt th