Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-09-09
OVER HALF WAY TOEUROPE
FROM 0TTUMWA BY Rail,

iaSSs lIOlu the waters edge to the
| nelghts crowned by the noble Catho.
| Tic cathedral and other imposing
structures. Landward there is pan,
oramlc view of farm and garden, lake
and wood. Once seen this view be-
| comes indelibly impressed upon the
| mind and can never be forgotten. We
90 not wonder that the people of st.
! Johns are attached to their city, for
| 1t is located on one of the most beau
tiful sites in the world.
| 1t was from this Signal hill that Mar
| conf sent up his kites, by means of
| which he claims to have received sig
| nails by wireless telegraph from Ire
land. Here he desired to erect a per-
manent signal station, but the Gable
Co. claiming to have exclusive rights
lnterfered and Monsieur Marconi left
IN high dudgeon. Here, too, in 1852
a battle was fought between the En-
gllsh and the French. For the third
| time in &c years the French had got
ten possession of ST. Johns An English
force was sent from Halifax to drive
them out. Up the rugged heights from
Quldi Vidi the British soldiers charged
to capture Signal hill, the key of the
situation. The French fought desper-
ately and having great advantage
from their position succeeded several
times in repulsing their foes But the
English finally won and the French
saw that all was lost for them in New
foundland. st. Johns never again fell
into the hands of the French.
AS I looked out upon the ocean
towards the Irish coast, but 1880 miles
| away, | realized that was long dis
I lance from home and that at st. Johns
| was considerably more than half way
! to Europe, having made the entire trip
! by rail excepting only IS miles in
/ crossing the strait between Nova
Scotia and Newfoundland This some
what remarkable railroad trip was
made as follows: Ottumwa to Chicago,
$50 miles; Chicago to Detroit, via the
Wabash railway, 272 miles; Detroit to
| railway, $40 miles; Montreal to ST.
Johns. New Brunswick,via Canadian
Pacific railway, 4S1 miles; st. Johns,
N. b., TO Halifax. via Intercolonial rail
way 275 miles; Halifax to North sgd
7 ney, via Intercolonial railway. 266
miles; North Sydney to st. Johns,
J Newfoundland, via Reid-Newfound-
! land railway, (S5 miles of the distance
/ being made by steamer) 633 miles
! total, 2,777 miles. To better compTe--
/ bend the distance that one can go east
] from Iowa by rail, with but eighty-five
| miles of water travel, it is only neces-
. sary to realize that ST. johns, New
foundland, is 700 miles farther from
/ Iowa than San Francisco, and is more
| than two times as far as New York
City. Of the many interesting points
I visited in New Brunswick and Nova
i Scotia in making this trip, l shall
I speak in subsequent letters. The time
! in Newfoundland is two and one-half
I hours faster than the time in Iowa,
4 and one and half hours faster than
| New York time, so that at noon in
Newfoundland it is only half past nine
| in Iowa.
Newfoundland.
| To many of the people of the states
Newfoundland is a terra incognlto.
1t is not, as is quite generally suppos-
ed, a part of Canada. 1t is an indie
pendent British province about the
size of the state of New York liz has
lieutenant governor appointed By the
British king, and has its own repre-
sentative government over whose en-
actments however the British parlia-
ment has the power of veto. 1t col
! lects its own customs and maintains
its own postotfice system. 1t has no
army or navy and its people, except
/ in the city Of st. Johns, pay no direct
taxes There is no tax on land and
almost without exception taxes are
raised by means of customs duties. 1t
is estimated that the taxes amount to
50 l-S cents on every dollar expended
for the principal necessities of life
This is in reality heavy tax, but be-
ing paid indirectly the people do not
| feel it as much as they would other
wise. Just at present Canada is play
| ing the part of the persistent lover,
and is endeavoring to WOO and win
! Newfoundland into the Canadian con-
| federation. Newfoundland is coy and
shy and is not disposed to reciprocate
/ Canada's ardent protestations. The
people generally are opposed to an
| neXation to Canada but it is probable
that the business and industrial devel-
opments in the next few years will
render such action a practical neces-
| sity and that it will be brought about
! regardless of the popular will Posi-
bly, by that time the people themselves
will realize the necessity. But at
present they do not. though it was in.
timated to me by a Newfoundlapder
today, that if Uncle Sam was doing
the counting Newfoundland would feel
differently about it.
why so?" asked.
Because was the reply, eve would
/ then have our own state government
and levy our own taxes and if Ameri-
can capital once became interested in
/ the island, then you would see things
hum as never before"
But the fact is that Canada is today
very much alive and is making pro-
gress at a rapid rate, much more so
than the people of the United States
/ realize. And the people of Canada
| propose to dominate not only political
/ ly but commercially and industrially
North America from ocean to ocean
and from the United States border to
/ the Arctic. seas. Newfoundland is nee
1 essary to the realization of this great
idea and Newfoundland must eyentu-
/ ally come into the Canadian confeder-