St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-02-24
WHAT They LEARNED.
Some Of the Things Canadian
Which Impressed the Lo-
cal Aldermen.
ACQUIRED Information ON Pol
tiles and Passing Obser-
vations Made.
Parkhurst's Curb and Gutter
Monopoly Shattered by a
Committee.
Where Is the Dog Collar
Which Might Identify a
Dead Won an

Those aldermen, who visited the city
hall yesterday, were in no mood TO
transact business. They preferred sit
ting on their shoulder blades and talk
ing of their trip to Canada, while retro
spectively regarding their elevated ped
al eXtremities. Most of them talked,
all at one time. An accurate tran
script of what they said, it would be
impossible to make. Some of their OBJ
servations are here reproduced for the
enlightened of the 64,000,000 of people
who, with quaking hearts. had followed
the progress of the chosen few through
the heart Of foreign country.
The travellers were first brought face
to face with Canada and Canadians in
Ottawa. AS soon as they stepped upon
the depot platform they were warned to
forbear the discussion of politics, and to
refrain from reading the newspapers.
Parliament had been dissolved, and the
Canadians were in the midst of heated
political campaign. What Immediately
struck the Americans with the force of
a Sullivanesque right-hand swing was
the amount of bitterness which the
Canadians throw into their political
struggles. A member of the Conservative
party seems to. look upon Liberal as a
traitor to the queen and to the
flag. His aversion to the Lib
eral partakeS of the Americans
hatred of the name of Benedict Arnold,
not in such highly accentuated de-
gree, of course, bnt to an appreciate
extent. Then this political difference
extends to personal relations. Cana
dams do not Witty one another on the
oil nj horses
over a small! bottle; they go home and
heave brickbatS over the back yard
fence at the chickens of one another.
The Flour City people soon discovered
that tendency and kept close mouth
Oh politics, with one or two exceptions.
Reciprocity is the issue of the cam
paign which the Canadians are prose-
cuting-unrestricted reciprocity. One or
two members of the Minneapolis party
took the pains to inquire into this issue
and were surprised at some of their dis
coveries. They found that reciprocity,
which is comparatively new issue. is
not eSpoused entirely by the Liberals OF
solidly fought by the Conservatives.
Many of the Liberals do not believe III
it, especially the unrestricted sort.
They prefer it in homeopathic doses.
One prominent Ottawa Liberal, a Mr..
McDougall, son of former member
of the Canadian cabinet and one of Sir
John A. Macdonald's heretofore most
uncOmprOmiSing enemies, was OIL the
train with the Minneapolis people for a
couple of hours on the return trip. He
follows in the footsteps OF his father in
politics. Though pronounced Liberal,
he Is with Sir John this year as against
unrestricted reciprocity. He empha-
sized his independence In politics thus:
''If annexation, pure and simple. were be-
fore the Canadian people to-day as an issue,
l would vote for annexation. but l cannot
swallow reciprocity. | believe the national
policy has been wrong; believe that 1t has
done incalculable harm to Canada, but we
have certain Industries which | believe
should be protected. With unrestricted reci-
procity they would be ruined, annihilated.
The Minneapolitans also discovered
that the Canadians regard that the Nc
Kinley bill was intended as Il club with
which to belabor the Canadians into
reciprocity. They seem unable to real
ize that the Mckinley bill was passed
that heavy contributors to the Repub-
lican campaign fund might be reim-
burSed.
Another thing learned was that Sir
John A. Macdonald's trucking to the
French Canadians and to their church
religious differences. but because by
when the intelligent. energetic,
hard working, progressive people
were convinced that his policy was
ruinous. The French Canadians, it was
also learned, will always be against an
nexation to the United States, because
annexation will mean to them the
loss of their exclusive privileges, as
separate s9dools, etc. The French
Canadians ( ire stronger politically than
any natiol% lily in the United States,
because TINY are not recent importa-
tons. They antedate the English
speaking people. They have grown up
a nation within a nation, as it were,
preserving their language and retaining
their peculiar customs and the eXemp-
tons secured to them in the
early colonial wars, before the
United States had attained the
dignity of swaddling clothes even.
Speaking of religious differences, an
other fact was brought to light. The
intelligent Canadian of English or
Scotch extraction hates the Orangeman
with greater intensity than does the
Catholic. The Orangeman is looked
upon as mixture of ignorance and in
herent depravity.
The Minneapolis men were struck by
the difference between the Canadian
public official and his American proto-
type. The American alderman, to con-
fine the comparison to narrow limits,
is frequently young man and a poor
man; the Canadian alderman almost al
most always wears gray hairs and has
wealth. The American alderman
is not lnfrequently a representative
of the canaille, owing his election
to the influence of his saloon, man
utterly without social status and with
very little business solidity; the Can
adiafi city council is sought by retired
business men and is often attained for
the social standing which it carries with
it. Americans seek office for the sal
airy OF opportunities" Canadian mu-
nicipal officials are prohibited by Do
miniJn law from having any business
relations, no matter how remote, with
the government they serve. City
officials there do not find bon dSmen to
secure the city for their actious; they
must have Sufficient real property to be-
come their own bondsmen. Moreover,
politics enters not into city elections,
and all offices which should be admin
istered in a strictly nOn-partiSan man.
ner, as chiefs of police, and of fire de-
partments. judicial officers, etc., are
elected or appointed for life. or during
good behavior.
At Ottawa the Flour City men first
noticed Canadian architecture. Some of
them noticed that the style of building,
which partakes of the European quail
ties, bears a relation to the business
carried on within the particular
edifice. Banks are not slowed
away in one corner of
mammoth structure, but domi-
ciled in a home large emo gil to accom-
modate 1t, and no larger. The very
bank buildings speak of solid wealth.
exclusiveness, the aristocracy of COM
merce. The Minneapolitans found all
the city officials in the Canadian cities
housed in handsome structures. 1t is a
melancholy fact that most of the build
ings in Minneapolis seem to have been
designed by carpenters, assisted by
ornamental cOnfectloners. Large build
inpc in Canada are designed Inv archi-