The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-08-19
G. 7. ?. FIGHT
! IN CANADA
Conservatives Are Confident That
! the Great Railroad Scheme
i Means Liberal Defeat.
Thew Declare That It Is a Crude,
Visionary, Ill-Considered
Plan.
From, a staff Correspondent.

Plan.
From staff Correspondent.
ottawa. Aug. 19.-To-day I had an IN
teresting talk with prominent member
of the conservative party. asked MIN 70
outline for readers of r h e Jour ma
the reasons which impel him to think that
the massage Of the Grand Trunk-Pacifc
bill will cause the downfall OF the AlnelaA
ministry OF course, he views the situa-
ton from a partiZan position, put SINCE
that position is that or all persons mao
oppose the railroad BILL 1t will throw con-
siderable light on the conservative poncy
and show to some degree the FORCES On
which that party Is relying. He said:
1.-The Laurier proposition for a trans
continental railway, supplementlns the
Canadian Pacific and the other lines "hlch
we have east and west. and the outlet oy
way of the great lakes and the st. Law
renee Is visionary and impract1cable to
the highest degree, and shows the hperai
party to have lost its poise. Never pc
fore, in my lifetime, has any party lent
the weight of it's support to any sucH
proposition. The country at some time
in the future may be ready for such
project but it is not ready at present,
and the Grand Trunk-Pacific bill, reduced
to plain English, is nothing more than
proposition to squander the people 8
money in the building of a very expensive
and unnecessary road thru great stretches
of the widest and most inaccessible coun-
try in the dominion. The possibilities or
that country have not been determined,
either for agriculture, minerals or manu-
featuring. 1t Is country which the loot
Of the white man seldom reaches, and the
road at the best can be nothing more
than a wild speculation. with the prob
abilities in favor of failure.
Moreover, the exact routes have not
been announced, and there Is an air OF
uncertainty as to cost and methods OF
construction about the government prop
osition which ought to can for the hearty
condemna ton Of every sane business man
In the land. The scheme is only half di-
gested. If 1t will mean so many great
things to our people, 1t is strange that
that fact cannot be made clear In the
numerous speeches which have been made
in the house of commons in its defense.
An UnbuslnessIke Venture: . -
"There isn't business man in the
country who would invest his funds in a,
venture as unsatisfactory worked out as
this one is, and why should the govern
ment, which Is a great business 1nSt1tu-
ton, act differently from the individual?
I predict that there will be an appeal to
the country in the fall, and that the lib
eral government will be overthrown.
"Of course. we are counting on great
things to follow the resignation Of the
liberal minister Of railways and canals
and his speech in the house against the
Grand Trunk Pacific bill was the strong
est effort Of his public career. That
speech will be printed for general dis
tribution over the country, and do not
mind saying that it will probably be our
strongest card. But we will have other
things to encourage us. The conservative
gains in the recent elections in Manitoba
are very gratifying. We have been told
I1rf1 lie hot o,~fSy
take strong root in the far western coun-
try; that conservatism was not popu-
lar word there and that that section, with
it's rapidly increasing population. would
become a liberal stronghold. The Mani
toba elections show the falsity of that
position. The country, east and west, will
come back to the old time conservative
position and support the party that al
ways looks before it leaps, and Is not
carried away by every ignis fatuus OF
doctrine which crosses Its path.
I'm Ontario here Is much dissatisfac-
ton with the Ross government, which we
believe is 80 alarmed that 1t will refuse
to bring on the by-elections. In thai
province our rally Of last Wednesday night
was one Of the most representative and
enthusiastic we have had anywhere ir
the dominion for many years. AZ
The detection of Mr.. Blair, late min
lister of railways and canals, will do much
to rehabilitate the conservative party ir
New Brunswick. I shall be surprised i
the influence Of his name does not give
us a dozen members Of the common!
more than we now have from that locality
Business Sentiment Against Plan.
1.-THE business men of the country ar,
also opposing the liberal ninistry's rail
way project. The Canadian Manufac
turers' association, which, as rule, doe
not NEEDLE in politics, regards the situa
ton as being so grave that 1t has com
out aggressively against the Laurier bill
and will contribute all that it can to Sc
cure that ministry's overthrow, on tn
ground that it is not wise for the country
from purely business points of view, longe
to continue 1t in power. .s,@ f., -
In our country the influence of tn
newspapers In politics is, perhaps, greater
propOrtionately than it is in the Unite
States. Their editorial and news column
are devoted largely to local affairs, an
the average citizens goes to them for in
formation and guidance. Since the Gran
Trunk Pacific bill was announced, the con
servatives have not lost a paper; the lib
erals on the. other hand, have lost sew
eral. among them their strongest. Othe
liberal papers are giving the railway bi
only a slight support.
Should there be an appeal to the coun
try which we confidently expect, we sha
go into the campaign with no little hop
OF success"
Liberals Defend Their Position.
The foregoing interview gives a fair an
well-baanced statement of the conserva
tive position at this time. In previou
dispatches from Ottawa I have in ger
eral way outlined the liberal position.
Is not necessary to repeat that now, Ell
cept to say that they make q full an
complete denial OF every charge 5brougI
by the conservatives, and declare ths
the success of that party would mean ths
Canada would stand still during the er
tire period of Its ascendency The liberia
admit freely that the proposed new lir
of railway will be colonization lin
They do not deny that it will penetra
the dense wilds of northern Canada, b,
those wilds, they say, will become pop,
lous the moment there Is an outlet fro
them for the products of the farm ar
not before. The settlements now beir
made in the northwest are along and ne,
the railways, of necessity, and so II
country to be opened by this propose
new line, fertile to prodigality, will f
up just as soon as the line is built.
Railroads Must Go First.