The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-09-19
WHY CANADA CAN
Liberals Strong Argument for Pass
age Of the Grand Trunk
Pacific Bill.
Great Growth Since 1871 When the
Dominion Made the Canadian
Pacific Venture.
rom q staff Correspondent.

From STAFF Correspondent.
ment of the liberal party in favor Of the
passage OF the Grand Trunk Pacific railway
bill, is the greatest strength of the country,
| servatiye party made the trtaty with British
Columbia and accepted responsibility for tho
building of the Canadian Pacific. The figures
they serve IN the railway debate Of to-day.
and by glancing at them briefly, one may
see something Of the advance Canada has
been making In thirty-two years.
| In that yea the population OF Canada was
S.547, 900; in 1881, when the contract for the
Canadian Pacific was made with the syndi-
cate the population was 4,s24,ooo; to-day it is
In 1871 the revenue CT the country was
SIS, $50 600; in 1881 it was $2s,5oo.Oo0: last
year it was s66,500, 900.
In 1871. the total trade Of Canada was s17o,-
600 900; in 1881 it was s2os, 1900; last year
In 1871 the bank deposits OF Canada were
| $62, 000, 100, including the savings banks; in
1881 they were $s9, 800, 600; last year they were
OF course, the point made by the liberals
Trunk Pacific bill is that things which could
rot be done in 1871 which marked the initia-
ton of the Canadian Pacific scheme can be
done easily now in the light of experience and
| If such giant project as the Canadian Pa
| oihc-gigantic especially wien the resources
account-could then be undertaken, the Grand
Trunk Pacific with much more reason, can
| be undertaken now.
gain with the Grand Trunk Pacific than it
made with the Canadian Pacific. Again, "a
| brief lock ut Iome OF the figures will be in
| teresting:
The Canadisn Pacific road received land
grants aggregating Is O00,00o acres, and cash,
| or Its equivalent in completed lines, SCI, 000 :
| COO. It also received either free admission of
goods at the customs. or bonuses to COM
pensate it for the goocs made iE Canada.
The Grand Trunk Pacific is not to receive an
acre of land grant, or bonus Of any char
| scter. It receives the public land cr which
its rails and sidetracks ind stations are to be
placed, but nothing besides.
| The Canadian government carried over q
surplus in cash of about $14,000,000 from the
| fiscal year ending June 80, last and that sum,
accc riding to remarks made on the floor OF
tho house OF commons by members OF the
will be amply sufficient to compensate the
country for all expenditures in connection
with the Grand Turk Pacific, which is 9
remarkable statement, when it is remembered
miles of the line east of Winnipeg.
It Is announced by the minister of finance
cific is to tap Lake Superior at some con.
venient point, and that other branches are tt
be built, east well as west, as the needs
of the situation may demand.
The Land Situation.
Clifford sifton, minister of the in
1 uC,
the other day, in defense of the pro
posed railway, made several important state
ments regarding public lands in Manitob'
and the territories, and notwithstanding thes.
a statements were used argument fo
the proposed railway legislation, they ar
OF themselves interesting and important.
4 For q great many years nearly all of tn,
: odd-numberel sections of public land hav'
been held locked up by the government obi
cation to reserve them for use as railwa!
grants m
have been mostly disposed Of as homesteads
In Manitoba and the northwest territories thu
|. government: has not been able to sell the odd
numbered sections. owing to it's unfuIhllet
land grant obligations to the Canadian Pa
cihc road: Recently, however that road Sc
lected large amount Of land adjoining it.
lark in the irrigation business. That selec
! ton, as was pointed out in these dispatche
recently. almost fills the Canadian Pacifi
are yet to be selected-and so it happens tina
} the government, il the course Of two o
three weeks from this time. proposes, &C
!. take steps to place on the market for tn
use Of settlers, all of the remaining even
numbered sections in Manitoba and the north
west, .aggregating more than 100000 acres
It is the intention of the government befor
} the. propagation Of the present session o
parliament to pass measure providing TO
the sale Of that land and it is estimated her
that the effect of this action will be to dray
many thousands more of settlers from tn
states to western Canada than otherwis
would go. One of the provisions of the bill
IS that actual settlers on even-numbered sec
tons shall have the first choice of land o.
odd-numbered sections adjoining them. 1t i
the desire of the government to place at lea .
) portlt of that land on the market thi
| year. AS much of it will be disposed of at tbi
} time as possible. and the remainder, it is be
lieved, will find ready sale next season
This land is among the richest and most de
girable, agriculturally, in the Canada
} northwest Much Of 1t lies alongside sec
tons already settled and the POLICY of open
ing 1t to settlement Is depended upon t
, dou5le the population of the western countr
in few years.
}, The SIfton Argument.
! Now for the way in which Mr. Sifton turn
this situation argument in favor q
the passage of the Grand Trunk Pacific bill
! Here is what he says in his speech on tina
point:
, '.There are probably, out of that 50, 600 on
acres Of odd-numbered sections-the even
numbered sections are kept for the poo
$ mans Observation-Disclosures or 25O0o, 90
. acres at present so far removed from com
! munication as to he absolutely of no none
value whatever. But in my Judgment, With
ten years from the time this railway is CON
pleted, 20,000,Ce0 acres or land owned by til
government at present will have acquire
a money value Of ct least So per acre. I hay
, quoted this to the house to show that, S
far from the railway costing the people any
thing, the enhanced money value Of the pub
tic land to which I have just alluded wi
he four times as great as will be necessar
. | to pay for it,
w. w. Jermane.