Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-28

who are buying furs but there is no or.
ganized competition TO speak of. The field
is open to ALL but the Hudson Bay Com
pany has been so long on the ground and
It's operations are on such a large scale that
II is not easy TO compete with II. Indeed.
IL would take a long time and a great deal
OF money to build up rival institution that
could cover the field as We do"
Getting Skins to the Market.
1T must be difficult to get the furs from
the wilds to the ports?"
1T is" said Mr.. Chapman. I'VE have
every kind of transportation for that pur-
pose. Some of our furs are carried on the
backs of men from post to post. others are
dragged across country on snow sledges
hauled by dogs, some are padded in canoes
by Indians down stream to the traders and
they are also carried In saiboats and
steamboats,. The Hudson Bay Company has
| increased it's trading facilities by using
modern inventions. We have steamers on
all the large rivers and we send ships once
year up the Mackenzie to the Arctic
ocean, taking a cargo of goods from post to
post and bringing back furs. We have
boats upon Hudson Bay and our vessels
come from England to those posts opce a
year to bring in supplies and take out the
furs. We have now two ships of 500 or 800
tons each for that purpose We also have
telephones and telegraphs In places away
up in the far north"
How about your -four mills?"
We have them at several points where
no one thought until recently that wheat
could be grown. We have a mill several
hundred miles north of Edmonton ana six
or seven hundred miles north of the United
States boundary which is grinding -four for
our own trade. The wheat is raised near
the mills, and we can. Of course. make -four
much cheaper than we can import it, This
enables us to give better terms to the In
dams and 1t also keeps out competition
What has the Hudson Bay Company
done for Canada? %
"A great deal Lord Strathcona SAYS that
1t saved the western part OF the Canadian
Dominion to England, and that had it not
been for our company the United States
would probably have had possession OF this
great northwest. You see, our posts were
established there long before your people
had any hope of valuable territory in that
direction so that after you have made
your Louisiana purchase and came norrh-
ward you found us on the ground. Indeed.
the whole of western Canada was long con-
trolled and governed by the Hudson Bay
Company"
Hudson Bay Company Lands.
The company has now given up its po-
litlcal rights, has II not7'
Yes. The Canadian government bought
out our control of the northern part OF
British America about a generation ago
We now civil institution and not a
political one"
What did you receive from that trade?''
THE price paid was R3c0o00. or 81 600. coo
cash, and one-twentieth OF all the arabic
lands in what is now called the great farm
ing region Of the Canadian northwest The
land grant comprises about 10000 00O
acres. We have, in short. about one-twen-
tieth of the wheat belt, two sections in
every township scattered here and there
through it. We did not take the lands-in a
block. but they are selected in every part OF
the new Canada"
"will your company sell the lands as n
whole?"
NO; we want TO the country settled.
Our idea is to sell in small tracts and make
our money out of the increase In the value
of the land remaining"
Are you selling your lands now?"
Yes. but we not pushing them The
company does not want TO speculate and
we trying to handle this matter so as
to get ell that is possible out of it. We sell
at the top prices and shall continue TO
advance our prices as the market ad-
vances." FRANK G. CARPENTER