ABSTRACT
Much of the popular literature about city destiny has been the work of city boosters, and realtors with land to sell. Forecasting the course of urbanization necessarily involves assumptions about the nature of regions and city growth. Looking backward toward the city's past, after a certain amount of history has unrolled, likewise involves assumptions about where a city is now evolving. The eastern coastal area would contain the cities; the trans-Allegheny area would be the nation's breadbasket. Chicago is vigorously extending its lines of road across toward the Missouri River. After a city has settled down, its citizens may still use the old images, referring to it as the "Gateway to the West" and perhaps building a monument to symbolize it, as St. Louis has; or referring to it as the "Second City," with an eye on its continued, immense importance. The completion of these roads will inevitably divert a portion of the Montana trade from this city to Chicago.
