Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-04-17
SECURE A FREE HOME IN THH
FERTILE WHEAT FIELDS OF
WESTERN CANADA. .
To the Editor:

To the Editor:
The emigration of well-to-do farm
ers from the United States to the
Canadian Northwest has assumed
such proportions that organized et.
forts are now being made by. inter.
ested persons and corporations to
stem the tide. The efforts are being
initiated chiefly by railway and real
estate interests in the States from
which the bulk of the emigration
takes place. The movement of poDu- q
lation has taken from numerous
states thousands. of persons whose
presence along railways in these
states made business for the trans
Portation companies The move
ment has also become so widely
known that it has prevented the set
tlement OF vacant lands along these
lines, parties who might have locat-
ed there, being attracted to the free
| and more fertile lands of Canada.
The result of the movement has been
that the railway companies not only
see the. vacant lands along their
lines remain vacant, but they also
see hundreds of substantial farmers
who have helped provide business for
these railways move away and 50
cease their contributions. The
farmers have moved to Canada be-
cause they were convinced that 10
would be to their financial interest
to do so. In moving they have been
inconsiderate enough to place their
own financial interests before those
OF the financial interests of the rail-
way corporations.
In addition to the railway CORPORA
tlons. real estate dealers are work
ing to stem the flow of emigrants
OF course every emigrant who goes
tic Canada means the loss of COM
missions on land deals by real es-
| tate dealers. Now a person has but
| to know what the interests are that
| are trying to stop the flow to know
| what motive is influencing their
| course. The emigration means finan-
| cial loss to railway corporations and
| to real estate men. These interests
| therefore are not directing their op-
| position efforts out of any love for
! the departing emigrants or oat of
any high patriotic motives either.
They are doing so purely from self.
| iSh interests. 1t is a matter of dol
| lars and cents with them. They are
| SO patriotic, they are so consumed
| by love for their fellow citizens that
| they want to prevent these fellow
| citizens going to Canada and getting
| free farms of the best wheat land in
| the world; and instead they want to
| make them stay on high priced farms
| in the United States where they will
| continue to pour money into the
| pockets of these railways and real
| estate men.
One of the methods employed by
| these interests to stem the tide Ia
| the distribution of matter to news
papers, painting Canada in the dark,
| est colors. These articles emanate
| chiefly from a bureau in St. Louis.
| They are sent out at frequent inter
walls for simultaneous publication. A
| writer is employed at a high salary
| to prepare the matter.
| Moreover, statements absolutely at
| variance with the truth have lately
| been published broad cast. These ap-
| pear chiefly in what purport to be
| letters from persons who are alleged
| to have gone to Canada and become
| Disguised with it. Only few of such
| have been published and they con-
| tain statements that are absurd in
| their falsity. Whether the parties
whose names appear in connection
| with these letters have ever been
| in Canada and if so, their history
| while there, is to be thoroughly
| looked into. The discovery of their
| motive, like the discovery of the mo-
| tive of the interests who are en-
| gineering the opposition, may prove
| iliumining. In the meantime, however.
| it may be pointed out that only a few
| of such letters have appeared but
since 1897 over $1,000 American set
| tiers have gone to the Canadian
West. Can any reasonable person
suppose for a moment that if Cana
de was one-quarter as bad as repre-
scented in these letters the $1,000
Americans now there would remain
in the country; or, if the Canadian
West had not proved the truth of all
that was claimed for it, the. papers
of every State in the American North
west would not be filled with letters
saying so? Imagine $1,000 aggressive
Americans deceived and not making
short shift of their. deceivers. Tho
fact is the $4,000 are well satisfied
and are encouraging their friends to-
fellow them.
Anyone who sees any of these dis
paraging letters SHOULD remember
that it is railway and real estate in
terests who have from purely selfish
reasons organized a campaign to
stem the flow to Canada. If .Canada
were half as bad as Representatives.
would be no need of such an organi-
cation The fact that such exists In
o. itself magnificent tribute to
Canada. Finally it should not be for
gotten that the letters published are
brImful of falsehoods and that $1,000
satisfied Americans in the Canadian