The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-05-08
! Shopper year, in advance
Six Months 50 cents.

DIX MOntnS % CENTS.
The Prime Minister is the highest
officer elected by the people and the
first French h-Canadian to win that
Office is the present prime minister,
Sir Wilfred Laurier. A short descrip-
ton of this popular man will give us
an idea of the kind of statesmen
Canada could send to Washington.
Laurier is fine looking. tall, with
slender but good figure and has all the
high.b bred courtesy of the French, yet
is as genial as Senator Billy Mason; he
has pleasant blending of pride and
good fellowship; when he takes your
hand you are at. once impressed with
the idea that he is possessed of
power-a power to do great things.
His looks remind me of tragedian
or the pictures of our great men of
long ago. l imagine he would look
well in the powdered wig of our fore
fathers. Laurier was knighted during
Queen Victoria's reign, but that has
not hurt him bit, and he is just as
good man as he was before he was
tapped on the shoulder with sword
and told to- rise to the ranks of the
soap makers to the king and the dis
tillers Of Scotch whisky who put his
majesty's picture on their bottles.
This is the leading spirit in the present
Canada aad an example of the brainy
and progressive men they send to
parliament.
During the Spanish-American war
the newspaper offices in Canada were
surrounded until late at night by an
anxious crowd awaiting for the latest
news. Notwithstanding England's
doubtful position at that time, no one
who has watched the Canadian crowds
could doubt the anxiety and sympathy
they felt for the Americans" and you
would almost imagine that it was
their own boys who were on the way
to Cuba and their own Dewey who
sailed into Manila Bay.
l have tried to show that the people
OF Canada are in every way fitted and
suited to be valuable addition to any
country, but whether they would
accept the views of this country on
many questions is very doubtful; and
the people of Canada, even if they
were part of this country, would al
ways have a warmer feeling toward
England than it would be prudent for
this country as whole. A great deal
would depend on the number of states
and territories that would be made
from the present Canada, as the
Canadian power in congress and the
senate would have much to do with
the harmony to be desired, as it would
be in the halls of congress that friction
would be removed and disputes settled.
We could not expect to shoot our
doctrines into the Canadians with
cannon or stuff it down their throats
with revolvers.
The pro-British feeling among our
congressman ana In our state depart
ment is already quite strong and some
time ago it took considerable opposition
on the part of the more conservative
members to suppress an undercurrent
of sentimental British feeling, which if
allowed to grow would lead to alliances
of an entangling nature. The stronger
of our senators considered such an
alliance of more benefit to Great
Britain than this country, and of too
binding character than was advisable
to negotiate. With Canada in repre-
sentation at this time we would get
tangled up with England in a manner
that would make us more of sworld
power" than we wish to be and would
become top-heavy with greatness. G.