The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-07-19

dition the StevestOn line, seventeen
miles long, which was formerly steam
road, has been electrified. These lakes
furnish the light for all these towns
ments. -5
I. Abundant Goal Supply.
"There is an abundant supply Of
coal here, brought in barges from Van
couver island, and delivered to our
a high-grade ,bituminous coal. Better
sources Of supply are constantly open
ing up thru new discoveries and the
construction of branch railway lines,
and I expect that we shall do much
better in coal prices before very long.
American trade is growing here very
rapidly. Judged by. the number Of
as great as twas when came here.
One peculiar incident of my work is
the forty-fve pension vouchers which
| have to execute each quarter for
American veterans who have taken up
homes here.'
Cost of Domestic Service.
Colonel Dudley tells of certain con-
ditions in the domestic-service market,
| throw a good deal of light upon Brit
ish' Columbian affairs. It now costs
$500 for Chinaman to come to this
country to take up residence, and as
a result, none are coming. The old
tax of 800 was not prohibitive, and
so proved a handsome source Of reve-
nue.. The new law has thus killed the
goose that was laying a golden egg,
and at the same time it has raised the
in Vancouver. When the law was
passed, the shrewd orientals promptly
asked for an advance Of from $40 to
| 500 a month wherever they were, tell
| ing in pigeon English that Chinese
were getting "bellee scarce They
| come high, but the householder must
have them. Whether any immigration
somewhat disputed. It seems clear that
| if suitable system of capitalization
could be arranged, the Chinaman could
| well afford to pay $500 for life resi-
dence in this land Of opportunity. The
Jap as a laborer is not so desirable as
John Chinaman. The former "Ameri-
canizes" too rapidly, wants to have his
own way too much, and takes too read
| lily to trades-union devices.
s>E@s Consulates as Loan Offices. >'s@
- Across the bay, at Victoria, Consul
Smith of Rockford, Ill, emphasizes the
| opportunities of an American consul in
the loan business. He says that his
great occupation is helping stranded
Americans to get out Of the country.
None of them ever asks for gift, but
always for loan, and yet this is dis
t1nctlon which does not seem to him i'm
ment for the first time Of one Of these
loans. In fact, no consul is advised to
place his money with stranded Amer
leans unless he is seeking permanent in
vestment. On this point Colonel Dud-
ley, at Vancouver, has had a more for
tunate experience. He reports a return
OF loans in one case out of about a
hundred, and says that in the days of
the Klondike excitement it was not
unusual to have as many as eight such
visitors in day, each seeking a loan.
Consul Smith has learned wisdom
| with experience. He buys food and car
tickets for his visitors instead Of Civ,
ing them the coin Of the realm, and
altho the United States government
makes no provision for this expense
every consul finds that there are a
allowed to go unheeded. A visitor tried
to comfort Colonel Smith by telling
him that General Bragg's great cause
OF complaint at Hongkong was absent
from this locality, namely, the long dis
tances over which transportation had
to be provided. The hero of the Iron
brigade, felt it peculiarly unfortunate
that all the places, like Shanghai ane
Manila and Singapore, to which he
could ship stranded American, were
so far off that the expenses Of the
operation were necessarily high. HI
sighed for the establishment of E
nearby consulate or American post tt
which his troubles could be inexpen
sively referred. The Canadian. consu
lates are so near the international
boundary that it does not cost much tt
deposit the stranded American safel,
within our own territory.
There are two stages in the cordially
Of an American consul to the dust
begrimed travellers who find. their wa,
into his ofice-that before he know
whether they want to borrow money o
not, and that ecstatic state of mind il
which he finds himself when he learn
they ask for nothing but the privileg
Of social chat.
| s THE ATTIC NEET