The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1905-04-08

A man may travel from Dan to Beer
sheba, nowadays and think it is a very
short journey. There is Dan in Ken
lucky and Beersheba over the line in
Tennessee Neither is the trip from Lon.
don to Peking long one in the United
States. Ohio contains a Pekin aud Lon
don, and it is not a long journey from
| Whiskey Buttes. Mont, 10 Seven Devils,
Idaho.
At home to England, the remittance
man is said to be in Western Canada for
the sake of his health; here in Calgary he
is commonly supposed to be here for the
sake of the family reputation at home. |
am inclined to a more charitable view of
them than the common Calgary opinion
They weren' born bad, fancy They are
the fruit of social conditions in England
rather than damned by any doctrine of
original sin You can read the whole story in
Kipling's ''Gentleman Rankers or Lost
Sheep. 1t is no favor to the younger
son to raise him in an environment that
means champagne aud trutfles, the Carl-
ton aud Mayfair and all that goes with IT.
and then turn him loose with Just about
enough income for beer and trankfurters
and all that goes with that.
His education doesn't fit him for any
career whatever; there ism t an occupation
open to him that would pay him more than
20 shillings week, and if be goes to work
in any but few selected callings he loses
caste. If he's Of very rare caliber he may
20 to the colonies, become an empire bull
der and later he heard from. But in the
more frequent case he falls into ways that
make him an eyesore at home; and by and
by his people make more or less definite
bargain with him: if he'll 90 to Western
Canada and STAY there they Il send him
enough money to keep him. In few
eases be gets all his money in lump. His
family gives him enough TO set him upon
ranch aud eheerfully announces to friends
at home who inquire for him that he's
running a ranch in Western Canada They
have cheerful optimism which never in
qnires whether or not experience may not
be an essential prerequisite to running a
ranch A. often a. not, the money that
should have started ranch goes over the
bar Of the ROYAL Hotel And then the
ingenious stories that the mails carry back
70 London TO get another remittsneel II
was hard winter and all the cattle we're
frozen on the range, new stock must be
bought
One bears humorous repetiiions Of these
tales at every turn in Calgary. WIS told
by an EngIishman. himself remittance
man Of better sort. that he knew a fellow
coun,ryman who had several times written
home elAborately detailed stores OF long
.ickne-ses. suhsiantiated By bills of an
amiahle and friendly physician Finally,
as a last resort, forgetting in desperation
that Of necessity this device must be the
las, one. this particular remittance man
bad 4 fellow -conntryman write home to his
people pathetic letter recording The de-
tails Of his fnal sickness and death. The
letter closed With a request for funds for
burial. \ eablei answer said TO embalm
the body and week OF iwo later brother
/ arrived whose bereavement was quickly
changed to Indignation.
These tales OF proaigscy are the com
nonsst talk in Calgary. They say YOU
can hnd in the local pawnshop silver
raountsd. ebony backed hair brushes aud
all the paraphernaha OF London club
man dressing table But there u one
thing the most proaigate viii cling to as
4 irrply A. to his hope Of final social redernp
ton. You viii 6ni, they say, dress suits
I bearing Bond street tailor trade mark
I in prairie shaeks that contain little else 10
I suggest civilization.
4 Not all the remittance men are such as
/ this Some have gone about the way OF
the country with excellent spirit and bust
ness m,thol. They have become pms
Porous ranehers. and with a complement
| Of Chinese servants, serve dinner in courses
I in their bachelor ranchhouses. Not few
Z Of these are Of noble names; 4 son Of an
I IRISH earl and i son Of the best known ad-
I fniral in the British Navy are prosperous
/ ranchers on large scale within few miles
/ Of Calgary