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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1927-03-10, Page 74 * ♦ «■ ■ Ljttle Known Facts About Water Ways and Soils. LAND OF OPPORTUNITY. In otxr first article on Canada and; Canadiani'S'm wo showed that the_( ®reat'&»t fnudamental asset Canada ■ trcsseaS'es is her predominently sound people. Ov©r half her total population Is of British .origin and fully a quarter is of virile French stock. Canada had nothing to fear at pres'eu't from the unrest engendered by disturbing Euro-; pean offscourings* which are such a problem to our neighbor to the south. With the continuance of san© immigra­ tion we will add to rather than 'detract from, our national prestige. We need population tor th© comply© develop­ ment o? our country, but wo must not acquire it at the cost of national un­ soundness which comes from trying to absorb peoples possessed of low standards of living and low national ideals. Let. us confine our immigration to tho good old British agricultural and j artisan stock than which there is none better^ I Shepherds and the Bibk* | Caleb u-nd lite brother® had boon • taught their lottoiva when u-maU, ap& th© Bible was ‘tli-e-ir one book, which . they read not only In th© evenings nt i home, but out on th© downs during the day when they wore with the flock, Hia extreme familiarity with, the whbte , Bcrlpturo .narrative was a me, There Is that in the old which appeal© in a -special solitary man who feeds his flock on the downs. J remember well in the days of my boyhood and youth, when living in a purely pastoral country among a semi-civilized and very sim­ ple people, how understandable and i eloquent many of the ancient stories I were to me. . . . The people I knew were the descend­ ants of the Spanish colonists of the seventeenth century; Their ideals, their j morality, were the result of conditions- ; they existed in, and wholly unlike, ’ours; and/ th© conditions' wcre^like' thoseof th© ancient peopleof which the 1 Bible tells us, Their very phraseology •was strongly reminiscent of that of the sacred writings, and their char­ acter in th© best specimens was like that of the men of the far past who lived nearer to God, as we say, and certainly nearer to nature than it is, possible for ua in this artificial state-. Among these sometimes grand old. men who were large landowners, rich in flocks and herds, these fine old, dignified "natives,” the' substantial and leading men of the district who could not spell their own names-, there were those who reminded you of Abra­ ham and Isaac and Jacob and Esau and Joseph and his brethren, and even of David . , . with perhaps a guitar for a harp. . . . Even to myself tho memories of my young days came -to be regarded a© very little more than mere imagina­ tions, and I almost ceased to believe in them until, after year© of mixing I with modern men, mostly in towns-, I fell in with the downland shepherds', and discovered that even here, in densely populated and ultra-civilazed England, something of the ancient spirit had -survived. In Caleb, and a dozen old men more or less like him, I seemed to find myself among the people of the past, and sometimes they were so much like some of the remembered, o-ld, soberand slow-mind­ ed herders' of the plains that I could not help saying to myself, ’Why, how this man reminds me of Tio Isidoro, or of Don Pascual of the "Three Poplar Trees,” or of Marcos, who would al­ ways have three black sheep in a flock. And just as they reminded me of these men I had actually known, so did they bring back the older men of the Bible history. — Abraham and . Jacob and the .rest.—W. H. Hudson, in "A Shepherd’s- Life,”------—*—,---- Time for-Actioii; - Saint John Tlmes-Globe (Ind.): If one country subsists on a literary diet provided almost exclusively by a for­ eign country it tends to develop ideate like those of the latter. Canada has her own ideate, distinct from those of the United States. Canada is proud of those ideate. They are not exactly those of Groat Britain, but they have grown from the same -seed and under similar cultural conditions. Therefore it te very desirable that good Canadian magazines should provide Canadian literature for Canadians, and the fact -that the United States magazine is a strong competitor ought not to deter those who labor- to achieve tills end.--------------- 5 Wrong End Up. The yarn concerned a construction gang that were experiencing anything but ideal conditions' in which to work. Most of the time they were wading through mud and slush. Suddenly on© of the workmen came tearing up to the foreman. Ho was ‘ panting so hard that he could not ■ apeak for some moments. Then he blurted out: “You—you—-you'd better come along up the road. Jim Maloney is up to 'is knees in the mud and can’t get out and we can’t get 'im out.” "Only up to ’is knees?” cried tho foreman. "If ’& was up to ‘is neck I’d come. Tell ’im -to get out as best 'e can. Up to ’is knees, indeed!" “But—but,. don’t you see,” the work­ man went on excitedly, ‘“es wrong sldo up.” number of general farms, so that to day Alberta takes n proud position among the producers of livestock, dairy and poultry products. It should bo noted that the provinces of Mani­ toba and Saskatchewan, like Alberta, are no longer solely confined to the production of the nation’s wheat crop. The shipments of mixed farm products • from t-lie ■whole west of Canada are i growing year by year and these in­ creasing exports indicate a permanent and satisfactory condition existing in our basic industry—agriculture. Bri­ tish Columbia, bathed by the mellow breezes of the Pacific, specializes in fruit and, dairy farming. The natural grasses of our western provinces hav-e a palatibility and food value possessed by none of the natural herbage found elsewhere in Canada, and the British .Columbia farmers take full advantage of nature’s bounty, saving much in their ordinary farm routine. This is duo to the soil being alluvial deposit strong In potash and phosphoric, acid derived from the decayed shell fish quite apparent to the naked oye in the British Columbia soils as found im the lower bench levels. i Article III. will follow at an early date. Physical Assets. Our -next greatest national asset is the physical character of our country. In an understanding study of a map of _ ........, Canada wo must be Impressed by the"!do not suppose he coupled these two extraordinary waterways which reach i words casually, but rather with pur- llterally from -coast to coast. We will pose. Ho felt they ought to go to- later touch on the transportation and gether, because they belonged the one power values of these waterways, but! to the other in, the nature of things, at present we wish to point out that “ * ’ * „ ................ their very existence indicates • the1 pleasure; it is a good thing to -make a benificeaice of oui' climate, which has a rainfall sufficient to make these gigantic lakes and rivers possible, There is no other country on earth which has such abundance of rainfall-, and with th© exception of a small por­ tion of southern Saskatchewan and Al­ berta we iuive’ no Canadian desert. Our country has the acreage, the soli fertility and the climatic conditions which combine to make a foundation of successful agriculture upon which has been erected a superstructure of financially sound commerce, based upon our unlimited natural resources. Our Water-ways. We referred- just now to our rivers and lakes strertching from coast to coast. We all fully ap-preciat© the im­ portance, size and scenic grandeur of the St. Lawrence. We have constant reminders of the commercial value and the climatic influence of our In­ land seas, to Great Lakes, but do we in the east realize that beyond them and stretching -even unto the Rookies we have other gigantic bodies of water that are only dwarfed by comparison with tho Great Lakes. How many of us know that Lake Winnipeg is three hundred miles long, and 60 miles wide (nearly twice -as long and twice as wide as Lak-e Ontario); that from the north­ west of Lake Winnipeg the Saskatche-' wau River winds its way for over a thousand miles through fertile prairie and past populous towns,till l't reaches the Rockies with two branches, one passing Edmonton in the north and the other flowing by Medicine Hat three hundred miles farther south and both cities in the province of Alberta. • At Edmonton wo are but a few miles from the Athabasca, which with-its continuing river, the Mackenzie, gives a navigable waterway of over twenty- four hundred miles, reaching to the Arctic Ocean. Lakes, rivers and streams such as possessed by Canada indicate not only an abundant -rain­ fall, and provide cheap transportation, but most important of all they give Water power and water power means industrial prosperity. To th© west of the Rockies we have sizeable rivers coursing through -each and every wood­ ed valley, ranging from tho mighty Fraser, with Its length of over four­ teen hundred miles down to the spark­ ling, crystal clear, -ice cold tributaries of the many lakes that nestle amid the towering peak® of the rugged moun- tain^ranges -that form the backbone of the continent. soli. From tho smiling valley of the An­ napolis', In Nova Scotia, to the sun- kissed fertile alluvial benches of the Fraser canyon, Canada offers every typo of soil with a most lavish diver­ sity of combinations, especially in the i eastern provinces, where the great; glacial ico push thoroughly mixed and ground the component parts together. Ql/ays and sand® lie side by side and throughout these three provinces there is little lack of the natural chemical elements which go to make a complete and fertile soil. Between these three provinces and the west lies what was once believed to be a natural barrier Of fo-cky waste with uninteresting levels of spruce, poplar, and jack pine. Now we know that this barrier con­ tains tho greatest store of precious minerals of any like area in the world, while the poplar, pine and spruce in themselves form an unestimated na­ tional asset they in turn, spring from a ©oil particularly adapted to the growth of certain field crops and as tnich will RcW to out* tllliiib'te" an aroa that can only be measurod by hundreds of square miles. To the west we h«.vo Die great wheat plains' of Canada from whence each year hun- <G'edo of mllilions of bushels of finest wlieat grown aro shipped to markets of the world. Beyond whefit lands, to the foothills of Rockies, wo have an Toiling, Rejoicing "Toiling, rejoicing,” said Longfel­ low of his Village Blacksmith, and I It, is a bad thing to make a toil of pleasure of toil. "When man was con­ demned to earn his bread "by th© sweat of his brow," it was the greatest of all boons disguised a*s a curse! I draw a strong distinction between toil and slavery. Hood gave immortal expression to the latter in his Song of the Shirt. Slavery is an accursed . thing, either in the sweat-shop or on ! the cotton-field. The latter enormity has gone; th© other still lingers in dark corners of our great Industrial cities. It is of the toil of free men I speak, and that ought ever to have in it a strong element of joy. It ought never to be a burden too heavy to be borne-; it ought never to be exacted in a slave­ driving spirit. It is true the work w© do for a liv­ ing’is not always the work we would choose, were w-e th© arbiters of our own destiny. But when I cannot do what I like, it is well to try to like what I do. In the majority of cases this is feasible. No good work was ever done list­ lessly and without enthusiasm. Rus­ kin says: “ We are not sent Into this world to do anything into which we cannot put our hearts. Wo have cer­ tain work to do for our bread, and this is to be done strenuously; other work to do for our delight, and that is to be done heartily; neither is to be done by halves or shifts, but with a will; and what Is not worth this* ef­ fort i& not, to 'be don© at all.” It is a 'high ideal, and its attainment depends less upon th© form of toil which is ours than upon the spirit of willingness, and tho sense of duty, wo bring to the doing of it. When Old John Crome, th© land­ scape painter, lay dying, he said to his son, also a painter: “John, lad, if you only paint a pigsty, glorify it.” You say: “Yes, that’s all very well for John Crome. He painted pictures, even if they were pictures of pigsties. I happen to be a painter of houses, out­ side and in! How am I to rejoice'in that, much less glorify it?” Just by doing it to the topmost peak of your ability, and giving not only your mind, but your whole heart to your job. i . What drive the the tho the. OT-er growing Banks and Credit. London ,-Truth (Ind. Lib.): Mr. Kenna’s -speech at the meeting of Midland Bank was- remarkably inter­ esting and,, instructive. . Mr. McKenna endeavored to home is', in 'effect, that the Bank of England is the virtual controller of money, oi- that title to money which we designate credit. By increasing the volume of credit it is in the power of the Bank to stimulate trade-, but by reducing it to bring about the op­ posite effect. Since 1921 the amount of bank deposits in America has great­ ly increased, whereas In this country it ha® diminished. I-Iere, in th© opinion of Mr. McKenna, lies at least a partial explanation of the divergent trade experience of England and America, and the result has been brought about by the difference in the banking systems of the* two countries. With us the supply of credit is mainly based upon the amount of our gold. In America, roughly speaking, it is re­ gulated by the quantity of bills drawn by the commercial community, which bills, if approved, can form the basis for an increase in the amount Ainerican bank notes. - Mother Knew! Bobby (returning to city after month spent on farm)--"Anti mother, evening I saw the milkmaid.” Mother-—"Milk isn’t made, You must bo thinking of the cocoa,” Hon. Wm, Finlayson Appre­ ciated Something Done, Premier Promises Relief Road Users. THE LOGICAL Must Be Ferguson to Back WAY. Hsuan Tung, the dethroned boy emperor of China at Tientsin, in his latest picture, one' of the very few ever taken. His- desire to leave his trouble was again thwarted by tho Royali&t faction, who Etild cling to the belief that tho monarchic days of China are not yet over. Time Enough. Up at peep of dawn am I; For thought and foot and hand The crowded day comes swift and- sure With charter and. demand. Article III. The Hon, Minister of Forests (under whose jurisdiction lies the improvement of the roads going to form the New Trans-Ontario 'Highway w-e have been advocating) has suggest­ ed in the House that the farmers of this district, the great Laurentiaa Shield, be given -the opportunity to move to new locations in the great clay belt at the public expense. We agree with the Minister that there may be more opportunity to make a success of agricultural pursuits in -the Clay Belt than in the district from Muskoka to Ottawa, but will the residents of this Interesting district care to move? Human Nature. It is a fact that we are creatures of habit and environment, and when once established in a locality with the tendrils of the roots of affection reach­ ing down into the soil and surround­ ings it is very hard io tear loose from long establishU residence, The dis­ trict referred to in the press as back­ ward and poverty stricken possesses all the latent possibilities of Muskoka, where the starving settlors of a few years ago are to-day commencing to reap a fail' livelihood from the influx of tourist traffic. This more particu­ larly applies to the younger genera­ tion, which is more alive to the possi­ bilities afforded by this tourist traffic than is the older generation which lost heart and ambition waiting for the "promised day" to arrive. Hope Springs Eternal. In Haliburton, North Hastings, North Ijauds and And duty walks with happiness, Although its just decree For every bright and shining hour Absorbs and governs me. But oh, the beaten way I take Is ever new for gleaning, And air the flow of human tide Is rich with earnest meaning. And time in plenty do I find Upon the surging street To mark the gay adventuring Of shy infrequent feet. Publicity and Progress. We-stminster Gazette (Lib.): No doubt if we had lived earlier we would have laughed Canute out of court as a misguided enthusiast who wa® try­ ing to get himself known, while Lady Addington and Renfrew -the condition Godiva might have incurred the envy even of American, publicity agents, the tourist traffic and the inhabitants' History, in fact, is built up on publicity the tourist traffic an dth© inhabitants stunts. And, since we brand every- have been struggling with a most im- thing as such, to stop them would be poverished soil and an absolutely 1 in­ to stop the motion of the earth. possible transportation problem. These is different than it is in Muskoka. possible transportation problem. These Soviet Russia has already' felt favor­ able effects from the- operations and influence of th© Canadian Wheat Pool to such an extent that it Is asking the co-operation of the Canadian pool in securing from the United States a vise for M. Alexander Kykov, member of the ‘ board of directors of the “Cen- trosoyus,” so that he may attend the world wheat growers’ conference that will be held in Kansas City, Mo., early in May. Russia attributes a stabilized price of $1.25 for her wheat last year to th© functioning of the Canadian pool. Hence her lively interest in the international conference. The request for a vise came from the New York representatives of the All-Russian Central Union of Con­ sumers' Co-operative Societies (Cen- trosoyus), of Moscow'. The fact is that the Canadian pool invited Russia to take part in the con­ ference and Russia willingly agreed to do so providing that the United States will issue a vise for M. Kykov for the period of the meetings at Kansas City. Notice of the invitation v’as cabled to M. Liubimov, chairman of th© Centro- soyus, and he immediately cabled an caught five fish of a total weight of ’ acceptance, providing a vise was avail- 1 lb. 11 oz. 14 drams! able. - - ___ 4Albeit a.ge or youth abroad With wide, unwearied eye, My smiling heart goes out to it Beneath the city sky. My neighbor on the journey brief Across the busy town Affords to me a dream, a jest, As parson on as clown. And green arcades or drifted snows— Be seasons what they may, Through all a meed of merriment In each full garnered day. —Maude De Verse Newton. Not Ontario. In a special train 366 -expert anglers —members -of the London Anglers’ As­ sociation—left Paddington recently for Marlow. ’ For nearly six hours they used their wiles and all their seduc­ tive bait in efforts to lure fish from a seven-mile stretch of the Thames1. Then all the fishermen gathered for the weighing-in. They found that the Geen Cup and a gold medal had been won with the -catch of a 7-oz. perch, and that between -them all they had The Gahadlan pool will ask the United States Government to extend the vise courtesy to Kykov. While Russia Is not exporting' wheat to any appreciable amount qt present, Canadian Wheat • Pool officials con­ sider that it is only a matter of time when that country will return to the world market as a stiff competitor, and competition is just wljat the existing pool does not want when it comes to marketing wheat in Europe^ It wants a system whereby every wheat export­ ing country will feed the consuming market in co-operation with other ex­ porting countries. India, Argentina-, Australia, Canada and tho United States will be repre­ sented at the Kansas- City conference, als-o Russia, if it gets a vise for Kykov. The main, subject of discussion will be a proposal which will aim to regu­ late the flow of wheat into the Euro­ pean market. Under such regulation a higher price for the growers will be maintained. In effect, a world pool is the objective, although each country will handle its own pool. A "gentle­ men's agreement" will do the rest pro­ vided the delegates adopt the idea which will be presented to them. Diamond cutters who come to Lon-’ don to buy gems remain in semi- darkness until the time comes for examining tho stones. • each dear. .......... & < Barbed wire fence stretched around the international settlement in Shanghai to make mire thul cans, British, French, etc., will bo safe if there is any native uprising, The photograph Ims just been received from SlmnglviL ■conditions have existed for years, but I time and hope revives again. These ’ intermittent operations interest th© people of the whole district and the new’® travels fast. But the capital runs . out and one after another the new ventures close down, and with the clos­ ing, the flame of local hope flickers low. But they love the district, its hills, rocks, streams and lakes are in the blood. The glorious coloring of dawns and sunsefe has been an in-: ■b pi ration to hop® for ibetter times, and j with that hope ha© been engendered; '■a stubborn tenacity to "stick by the! jold homestead.” We are afraid that' i the plan to move these "old timers” ! will meet with small success, and real- ' ly why should these people be moved if a solution of their difficulties cun be made a solution of new fields for the ; tourist (both local a new opportunity’ vestment, A Provincial Money spent in Improving the roads of this territory can ■well be looked upon with a wider vision than to call j such an expenditure an outlay for I colonization purposes only. The motor roads into- our great mining areas of the north can be justified from the standpoint of their value to the province as a whole. The T. and N. O. was a Provincial load until the development of the country its construction. 9o again provement of tho road wre across the ‘great Laurentian we ar© confident, will pay dividends to the Province as a whole as well as giving an opportunity to the people in th© locality' to earn a livelihood from the natural wealth and tourist attrac­ tion of theii' district. "Hook Up” Present Roads. This district has a few fair roads leading up to its boundaries. Th© en­ trance from Dorset has had some work done 'on it and more is promised in th© near future. The road to Klnr mount from Lindsay fei partly im­ proved in sections. The read to- Cdbo- (conk in the west is fair. The approach j from Belleville to Bancroft also is ! passable. Why not “hook up” these ■ fair roads W'ith an east and w'est road j over which reasonably comfortable motor progress could be made. At pre­ sent a tourist wifh a good car would think twice about venturing in to this district of “hundreds of lakes.” Th© writer has not personally -travelled the roads east of Bancroft, but w’© under­ stand they are,’if anything, worse than th© ones we have mentioned, but W'e know from the enthusiastic reports brought back from those that have visited -the area from Bancroft to Ot­ tawa it is more -attractive to* -the tour­ ist in its w’llder grandeur than Is Hali­ burton and North Hastings. The Premier Committed. The Premier of our Province, in ad­ dressing |lie Good Roads Association this week, said he "would see that th© people of th© back towmships would be given the opportunity to get out into the world,” and that “the very purpose of transportation was to enable- the settlement of remote sections of the Province.” Mr. Ferguson went on to •say, "My policy will be toward helping th© outlying sections of our Province to have better means of communica­ tion.” What, I wonder, will- the Pre­ mier say w’hen we tell him that in Haliburton last summer w& saw 1923 licenses on some flivvers and no licenses on others? This condition is not uncommon, but the traffic from the "Great Outside World” is so rare that th© local resident doesn’t even bother to keep his motor markers up-to-date. If the Premier is- then told, a® we pointed out In our last article, -that this portion of Ontario te really wealthy in non-metalic mineral and awaits only public interest and con­ fidence to reap its just reward we are sure that he will order an investigation into this neglected part of our fair On­ tario. We -can say without fear of contradiction that this portion of our “outlying sections” needs and deserves a share of the good roads; promised. The Matter in a Nutshell. To improve and make useable* a New Trans-Ontario road across our Mid­ Hinterland from Ottawa to Orillia we would open a new tourist paradise. We would interest capital in the de­ velopment of non-metalic mineral wealth which is now lying dormant. We would afford an opportunity of livelihood to a population at present almost in a state of indigenes'. We would connect north and south roads now uncorelated'-' upon which large amounts have been spent. Granted these statements as correct ve© feel justified in malting this appeal and gl-ad that it foil to our opportunity to jbe the first to bring this- matter be­ fore the public and our Government. and foreign) and for profitable in- Investment. justified the im- suggest Shield,” marvel to Scripture# way to the The Real Trouble in China. J. L. G„ in the London Observer (Ind. Cons.): The British Government, like tho American, is working genuine­ ly for tho peace, union, independenca and stability of China. That cause can only come gradually to full suc­ cess. British and American co-opera­ tion could ensure- absolutely its ■even­ tual accomplishment. Otherwise things may go worse before they go bettor, and may drift to catastrophe. The Bolshevist method.— hateful to tho strong forces- of Conservative Nation­ alism in China—-would not only des­ troy all prospect of a union ln,‘wton north and south, but would end in a chaos of social civil war added to political civil war. Might Be Worse. In a theatre one night on© mail turned to another sitting beside him and said: “You have been sitting on my hat. It is ruined.” “I am very the other replied, “It might been worse.” "Mow might it worse?” exclaimed tho first > Jnteroctod Power in the offer of swoop­ might havo been sitting on j ing ecnetncions. hmaeoful no-got ismithuont whflWo All Do. I. can afford to look at the. best-—”; and. In b said the shopper. lahianco with “Mow fortunate,” interrupted her j hatred and friend. j "Wiie:i I’m Just looking,” continued ■ the othdr. {t’uffcKKl already sorry, have have been mam, "I my own.” British Concessions. London Daily Telegraph (Cons.'u Wo have gone much farther than any to bo effected by atlons, to a Nationalist h w iviliz .5 fttt a f W) protect our counts: •espeot in so fa.” arid resp-rmsiblo i it I& tainted by rit of fanatical •lento, we shall on fvo.u tho ro- zed v as sph' petition of such outrage* w they hate . :n