The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-10-06
Present Day Thoughts.

BY "NEMO.n

forlorn and as knocking at the
door of Uncle Sans domain for
admission. 1t makes quite a
pretty picture and tends to in
crease our self satisfaction at the
idea that we can extend comfort
to the lady with the frosty nose
and the toboggan blanket.
Certain of our orators also in
dulge i'll declarations that sound
very well and read very well about
the arms of Uncle Sam being
wide open to welcome Canada.
They even 60 so far to say, not
only that Canada is welcome. or
that Canada desires to come in.
but that Canada in the course of
time must come in.
Miss Canada, instead of being
puny. cold and miserable is
buXom, self-governing and self
maintaining lady, who owns
nearly halt million square miles
more, exclusive of Alaska, than
her southern would-be protector.
We will grant that some of it is
cold and uuproductive on the ex-
IRENE northern border and the
eastern border, but il We throw
away the Biographies of twenty
five years ago it will be neces-
sary to concede that the map of
Canada has been remaking Just
as extensively as the map of AT
RIGA. The northwestern territory
of Canada, for instance. instead
of being a barren stretch of land
is productive in the extreme and
is capable of providing food
stutfs for fifty millions of people.
The land of Ontario, Quebec,
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
Prince Edward Island is acre for
acre as suitable for maintaining
a population, as is the land in
any other portion of the temper
ate zones. Enormous pOsSibili-
ties are before British Columbia
because of its agriculture, its
fruit growing and its timber. So,
far, therefore, as keeping the
wolf from the door is concerned,
Miss Canada needs little of our
sympathy and certainly does not
ask for it. But it may truly lie
said that neither man nor nation
lives by bread alone and modern
civilization creates so many ne
ceSsities i'll the way of manufac.
tured goods that purely agricul.
tural country will gravitate 90
wards manufacturing country
in order to exchange products.
1t is at this point that the car
toonists and the orators are a lit
tie apt TO show that they are
speaking and thinking of Miss
Canada as she was fifteen or
twenty years ago. She is learn
ing very rapidly to manufacture
what she needs and thus to be
largely independent. In 1865
her imports were $4,000, 900
more than her exports; even as
late as 1888 the balance was still
against her, but in 1898 she ex.
ported SIS, O00,0 900 more. of goods
than she imported. Whatever
feature of her life we look at we
shall find similar evidence of in
crease of strength. The tonnage
of her shipping has doubled in
thirty years and increased % per
cent, in four years. In thirty
years her railroad mileage has
increased from 2,27S to 1918
miles and the tonnage carried in
1898 was nearly 100000, 900 tons.
one third more than in 1895.
Life insurance has grown in nine
teen years from $37, 900, 900 to
1860, 900, 600, and savings bank
deposits have increased from
something over $4,000. 600 in
1868 to nearly S66, 900, 900 in
1898. Iron and steel industry is
being rapidly developed in Cape
Breton, while at the other eud
of the dominion the choicest min
eral areas of British Columbia
are also being opened up. Every
where factories are working to
the utmost capacity. The ten
dency is for employers to look for
men and not men to look for EN-
ployers. Her cities show quite
as marked an improvement IN the
last one hundred years as even
the most progressive cities in the
United States; some of them be
ing models of all that a city
should be in architecture and mu-
nicipal management.
Canada is thus rapidly reach
ing d condition Of mind that even
from the material standpoint of
goods and chatfels. is not likely