The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-08-14
Canadian Premier Likely to Go to
she Country on Three Issues.
~ in October.
Montreal Leaders Believe That Such
& Action Would Prevent Meet
; ing of High Joint
Canada Far More Interested in the
Grand Trunk Pacific Than Rec
r., iprocity Just Now.
xSrem a star Correspondent.

Montreal, Aug. 1.-THE opposftioh OIL
eastern Canadian manufacturing interests
to any agreement between Canaoa anu
the United States whereby the two coun-
tries will be brought into closer COM
mercial relationship, probably has It's CEN
ter in this city, the Canadian metropolis.
It Is emphasized in the daily press ana
echoed by business men generally. Ihese
men look with a jealous eye on the Chorus
of the United States to control the trade
Of the Canadian northwest, which they
think belongs to them and will exert all
their influence towards counteracting such
efforts. At present these interests are
behind a propaganda intended to convince
the Canadian public that If Canada keeps
pp her tariff WALL and builds 1t still
higher, American capital will be COM
PEELED to invest In this country, thus
Fastening It's developments. Lower the
tariff, they say, either directly or thru
a reciprocity treaty and American manu-
featuring concerns will not establish large
branches here. What effect this argu-
ment will have cannot now be seen, but
it is being presented industrtously.
I asked one Of the largest wheat and
flour exporters Of Montreal to-day, a
man whose company has lines of eleva-
tors everywhere thru Manitoba and prac-
tically controls the Canadian wheat crop
of the present season, what he thought
about the outlook for a meeting this fall
of the high joint commission. His firm, it
should be said, is strongly supporting the
Laurier liberal government He replied:
High Joint Can't Meet.
"Sir Wilfrid, personally, think, is
more strongly in favor of reciprocity than
all the other members of the cabinet
combined. 1t has come to be something
! of hobby with him, but we much doubt
/ Of the high joint commission Is to meet
! Our advices from Ottawa indicate that the
{ liberal party will take an appeal to the
! country, perhaps as early as October on
| account Of the opposition which will grow
| out Of the passage Of the Grand Trunk
| Pacific railway bill, and If 1t does, Sir Will
| frid will have his hands too full to think
! of the high joint commission, or be able
! to spare any Of his supporters to attend
| 1T. 1 say this Independently Of how the
| proposed appeal to the country may re-
| suit. We don't think the commission will
| meet this fall and If not 1t cannot meet
| for at least two years, we assume, on &C
| count Of the presidential cOmpaign in the
United States next year. tGss--
why will the liberal party appeal in
I October?" asked. why not wait until
next spring."
Because It will be stronger in October
than 1t can possibly hope to be In the
spring. October will be the psychological
moment, and 1t looks as If Laurier would
force the issue. OF course, no one can
tel! about it just yet; but that's how it
looks to us in Montreal to-day"
| A prominent liberal in Montreal, not un-
friendly to reciprocity. told me that he
had grave doubts to- whether the high
joint commission would meet this fall.
One Of his reasons was the likelihood of
an appeal to the country in October, and
he added: .s-
LaurIer's Days Are Numbered.
'sir Wilfrid. in the opinion Of some of
his CLOSE friends, is suffering from an in
durable disease, supposed to be cancer of
the stomach. He is very sensitive about
st and will not permit it to be talked about
dn his presence. But the fact remains
that he has failed perceptibly in the past
year. An appeal to the country this fall,
with the labor 1t will involve, will well
nigh finish him; at least, it will hasten
the close of his public career. Conserva-
tive estimates, not unfriendly, give him
one more year Of active leadership, I'M
less he should show distinct signs Of i'm
provement. When he steps out he will
IN all human probability, be succeeded by
q man who cares less for reciprocity with
the United States than he, and the anti
reciprocity people will have made the1l
point"
win Laurier's appeal to the country
be successful" I asked.
"All his friends and some of his enemies
think so. Personally, I think the contest
will be close. There will be three issues
in the appeal: Laurier's personal popu-
iarity, his Grand Trunk Pacific bill anC
the reapportionment bill for the house Of
commons. Laurier is immensely popular
in the province Of Quebec, which is two
thirds French. This may Offset some o.
the commercial opposition which he will
encounter there. The strength of his
name Is tremendous in our politics, ant
the people would have to be convinced
almost beyond a reasonable doubt, before
they would retire him. There is wide
and very radical difference of opinion re-
garding the merits of the Grand Trunk
Pacific bill. Many who would like to favor
it, say 1t Is premature, that ten twenty
years hence will be soon enough to spring
it. The reapportlOnment bill is by boil
sides said to be the fairest the country
has had for many years. The conServa
tives call it the 'sugar-coating' for thu
railway bill. If the latter were standing
alone, l should predict the overthrow O.
the liberal government; but with the othe
two elements added-Lauriers persona
popularity and the reapportionment bill
the result will probably be close, with the
chances favoring a liberal victory"
Grand Trunk Pacific Paramount.
1t is quite generally believed that should
the passage Of the Grand Trunk cific
bill-and Montreal believes that it will
pass, Notwithstanding a very close vote ir
the senate is prom1sed-not result in ar
appeal to the country the high joint com.
mission will probably meet; or, Sir Will.
fred will begin a correspondence will
Senator Fairbank to that end. AS a mat
ter of fact. however, the people here arr
thinking fifty times about the Crane
unk-Pacfic matter and the possibilt!
of an appeal to the country, where the.
are thinking of reciprocity and the "higl
joints once. One anti-recprocity bust
ness man told me that even if the com
mission were to meet and draft a treat!
the end would be far from having beer
reached '.,rhe treaty would have to rul
the gauntlet of the American senate h
added significantly, "and we UNDERSTAND
up here that your senators don't lik
treaties of that kind"
Americanization Not French Now.
The Montreal Ottawa and Toront
dailies are having a good deal to sa
about the rush of immigration into tn
Canadian northwest. There was time
not longer than year ago, when tn
liveliest fears were entertained in tn
provinces of Ontario and Quebec that tn
tremendous immigration from the state
IS