The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-12-04
AWAKENING
OF CANADA
The Fever Of Wealth Getting seizes
the Hitherto Conservative and .
L Solid Canadians.
a Preliminary View Of the, Great
Changes Fermenting Through
+. out the Dominion. Is J.
The Big Branch Banking Concerns
Are Behind All Manner of De-
. velopment Enterprises.
From. a Staff. Correspondent.

From a Staff Correspondent.
Toronto, Ont, Dec 4.-In Winnipeg a
few days ago 1 met a Scotchman who re-
marked that he liked the Cana dams better
than the Americans because they could
talk about something besides money and
money making. II have been all through
the United States" he said, land every
where ! went they were taking about
making $3.50, 900, and would not under any
circumstances discount it more than &c
Per cent,
That Scotchman will not much longer
have any cause for preferring the Cana
dams. They, too are rapidly getting to
the point where they don't talk anything
else but money. Like the Americans, they
will leave such insignificant affairs as have
not financial bearing to the women s
clubs. The fact is that the Canadian,
pretty we'll Americanized already In
everything except political relations, is
now becoming quite as keen and eager
and quite as relentless In the pursuit of
the dollar as the American. The Cana
dams always were a successful business
people in a calm and substantial way, and
1t needed only little more alertness and
a little mora concentration on the mai
chance to put them on basis of equality
with the Americans in the great twentieth
century sport Of making more millions
than your neighbor.
! Clergue Of the $780," the Dominion Iron
and Steel company at Sydney. C. B., the
! second discovery of. the agricultural re-
Eions Of the Canadian northwest. the
| hlondike's revelations Of wealth. the in
rush Of American capital have all COM
b1ned TO give the Canadian the fever of
! wealth-getting. And so to-day, in hotel
Hobbies and on trains from one end Of Can
ada to the other, the talk is all of invest
| ments, of combinations, of new, conIpa-
MES, Of franchises, Of subsidies of higher
tariffs, OF new railroads, with their new
opportunities. Toronto is said to be, in
proportion to population, the greatest
stock-gambling city on the continent.
The Canadians are now thoroughly
awake to the possibilities Of their country
and eager to develop it's resources. The
same abundant prosperity that the United
States has had these four years past per-
nleates Canada---on lesser scale, of
course. as becomes a smaller country, but,
possibly, on a more substantial basis In
consequence Canadian capital has accu-
rrulated until the bank deposits to-day
exceed $500, O00,O 900. ~ "
The Canadian banks have entered with
zeal and rather more ~boldness than they
formerly evinced into the spirit Of the
new era, and have made practically the
whole Of that 4S5G0, 100000 available fei,
business, whether in the form of Old and
assured, undertakings or those+of "a newer
and somewhat less rcerts2al nature These
great branch bank systems, with their
agencies: all: over the dominion and else
where, are in a splendid position to feel
the new impulse Of national development
In whatever section it may show itself.
and" to distribute credits for its assist
ance and encouragement. Any under
taking that can enlist the cooperation of
one OF these powerful argus eyed banks
is bound to succeed. # it has any merit,
because the bank at, once takes a father
~ interest in 1t and cannot afford to see
1t fall for lack Of funds. The system is
also particularly adapted to the promo
ton OF large business enterprises. 1t is
able to put at the service of any large
patron that it serves the resources gath
cred from far and wide.
Hence, no one need be surprised to see
Canada become within short time a
more trust-ridden country, and, in pro-
portion to it's size, more industrially and
commercially consolidated country than
even the United States at the present
time. The bankers cannot fail to see the
analogy between their own large institu-
lions and the large commercial and in
dustrial schemes that come to them ask
ing for help.
Another important fact to be borne in
mind in this connection is that subsidies
and governmental assistance in other forms
for almost any promising enterprise of
large proportions are the order Of the day
In Canada. This is not Surprising when
the situation is studied closely AS a ma
tion or colony, or whatever you please.
Canada is not yet Of much consequence
among the nations, however great its pos
sbilities may be. After all, it has only
little more than 100000 people and its
total revenues are not so largo as those of
Greater New York alone. At the same
time the country is far better developed
than was the United States when it had
only 100000 people, as, of course, would
be the case with any nation of 5000 .O0O
ut the beginning of the twentieth century
as compared with any nation Of 5000, 600
at the beginning Of the nineteenth CEN
tury. before the age Of steam and cleo
tricity4 and invention. Consequently the
Canadian government, small as it is com :
paratively, is beset by pressure for spe-
cial privileges, subsidies. high tariffs, con
cessions, ETC., such as the American gov
eminent did not have to meet when it
represented four times as many people as
Sir Wilfrid Laurier's government does. 1t
would be extraordinary, therefore, If Can
, ada should not turn out to be the home
par excellence of monopoly and special
| privilege. Remember. too. that with SO
much of the rest Of the North American
! continent pretty we'll occupied and de-
veloped, Canada has great natural re-
sources almost untouched. and that a con :
81QerdDle part OIL lIle surplus Capital OF q
nation Of SO,0Oo,oO0 people is competing
with or uniting with home capital to ex-
plot these virgin fields. and you begin
to have good idea OF the situation in
Canada. Conditions, then. are ripe for
capital and the capitalistic point Of view
to dominate Canada in the near future. re-
Numbering always that self-interest and
a very definite purpose will see to it that
the capita1istic point of view is continu-
ally kept before the public and the gov
eminent as the view of the whole coun-
y try. 49, .f-' . ~ . e. ~ Is
This then is the present situation in
Canada: The whole country is becoming
infected with the modern commercial
spirit that has found its highest express
! sion In the United States The govern
rnent is the government of only ,000
people. The development Of the com
mercial and Industrial organization Of the
country is already far advanced. The
people are not well organized politically
and have not for many years given man
date that means anything. The country
is full Of shrewd men with their eyes
intent upon the wealth giving possibilities
of the country's resources, it is oyerrun
with other shrewd men from the United
States with the same intention. What
Will be the result2 We may. see la ter.
Theodore NJ. Knappen.