The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-02-12

Great Northern and Northern Pacific.
In the last Of these letters Mr.. Thomp-
son makes an elaborate presentation
Of comparative rates and even enters
into a calculation to show how much
the value Of farm land on this side
Of the line il deprecated because Of
higher freight rates. He says in part:
Americans engaged in selling lands
Of Manitoba and the more westerly
Canadian territories are wont to as
cribe the considerable emigration Of
American. farmers to Canada mainly
to the following causes: .(1) Little att
tractive free grant land remains in
the United States; 40 the Canadian
government gives settlers free grants
Of 100 acres: CD alternate square mile
blocks of railway grants can be
bought in Canada at low prices; ca
the uncropped or virgin prairies OF
Canada are uncommonly fertile; (5)
they yield more and better wheat
than more southerly prairies because
of the length Of sunlight per day dur
ing the growing season increases as
agriculture moves north: 60 the immi-
grafton literature Of Canada is at
tractive and trustworthy; ca it is
very extensively circulated in rural
parts of the United States by resident
Canadian agents, who advertise extern
sively in American papers at govern
ment expense; (S) agents of the spec
ulative American companies go after
settlers, dig 'em out and send them
to Canada to view the Canaan there.
"A ninth main cause may reside in
the Canadian railway rates on wheat.
Those of the Canadian Pacific and
Canadian Northern are much more
favorable to settlers than those OF the
Hill system, i. e., the Great Northern
the Northern Pacific and their leased
lines. An inspector Of the general sit
uation in the northwest may be sur
prised to find no mention of this ninth
cause in the various literature and add
vertisements spread by the American
Canadian land companies. Before he
inquiries, Why is not the point made p
it may be we'll to remember that the
headquarters Of these companies are
usually in st. Paul or in some other
place on the Hill system The spec
ulators may not wish to offend a pow
erful railway interest, with which they
have many dealings in the course of
transferring American farmers to
Canadian, soil and citizenship. They
have to hire special cars and some
times special trains for their land
seekers. They may look to he Hill
system for discounts on single fares
and for easy rates ON northward-mov-
ing settlers effects. = In short, they
may need, in their business some, de-
gree Of favor from the Great Northern
and Northern Pacific. Hence it need
not surprise if they publish no COM
parsons between Canadian northwest
and American northwest wheat rates.
for American public in
terests and especially for the interests
Of the farmers of Minnesota and Da-
kota is not in the line of the land COM
panies' duty. It is in the line of duty
for public print. ~.
IF freight rates were established
according to geography, the. Minnesota
and Dakota farmers ought to get their
wheat hauled to lake wateri consider
ably cheaper than the farmers of the
Canadian west can. From the closely
adjacent Canadian Lake Superior
ports Of Fort William or Port Arthur
the distance to Winnipeg, Man., is
about 427 miles by the Canadian Pa
cific railroad. From Duluth to Grand
Forks, N. D., nearly due south Of Win
nipeg, the distance is about 800 miles
by the Hill roads. The Dakotan ship
per at Grand Forks might, therefore,
reasonably expect a lower wheat rate
to Duluth than is given to the Canad-
ian shipper from Winnipeg. But the
Winnipeg-P Port Arthur rate is 10 cents
per 100 pounds, while the Grand Forks
Duluth rate is IA cents per 100 pounds.
His geograp hical position, more favor
able by 1877 miles, costs the Grand
Forks shippers four cents per 100
pounds! -. 49,
What does this amount to in land
values? If the estimate be on the
presumption that wheat farms near
Winnipeg and near Grand Forks alike
will yield rs bushels of No. 1 to the
acre, or say 1850 pounds. then the
Winnipeg farm is worth So cents pei
year per acre more than the Grand
Forks farm. Assuming that such land
in those regions is worth only 10 years
purchase of it's income, or it's possible