The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1903-04-17
SECURE FREE HOME MTHE
FERTILE WHEAT FIELDS OF
WESTERN CANADA.
To the Editor:

such proportions that organized eff
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 i the emigration
takes place The movement of p,opu-
lIiation 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
nown that it has prevented the set
tlement Of vacant lands along these
llnes' 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 so
a their contributions. The
farmers have moved to Canada be-
u they were convinced that, it.
would be to- their financial interest
to do so. In moving they have been
lnconsiderate enough to place their
own financial interests before those
of the financial interests of the rail-
way corporations.
In addition to the railway corpora
tions, real estate dealers are work.
ing to stem the flow of emigrants.
OF curse every emigrant who goes
tc 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 fnan-
cial loss to railway corporations and
to real estate men. These interests
therefore are not directing their OPP
position efforts out of any love for
the departing emigrants or out 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 11nifaH Stotoc xvhoro thav, 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 is
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
~ RSA SoAo VIII d1C ox1C2C GU
to have gone to Canada and become
~disgusted with it. Only a 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-
cheering the opposition, may prove
illumining. In the meantime, however,
it may be pointed Oh; 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
da 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 filed with letters
saying so? Imagine $1,000 aggressive
Americans deceived and not making
short/shift of their deceivers. The
fact is the $1,000 are well satisfied
and are encouraging their friends to
follow 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 represented there
would be no need of such an organi-
cation. The fact that such exists is
Of itself a 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
West constitute a living proof that
such is the case.
80 nm. 49, H. -Ll