The Washington times., 1906-03-11
ENGLISH EXPERTS
VIEW OF OUR BOON
Correspondent of Financial
Times Points Out Evils.
BOASTS SCHEMERS' METHODS
Claims That Romantic Rises in Values
Are Exceptional-Cauadians Have
Gotten Land Fever.
BOASTS SCHEMERS' METHODS

w r. Lawson, d financial expert, re-
Gently commissioned by the London
Financial Times TO investigate boom"
conditions in this country, in q letter
to his paper discusses the situation in
the Northwest section of the United
States in rather a Uessimistic fashion.
Mr.. Lawson says:
Way Farmers Speculate.
In crossing from ST Paul 10 Puget
Sound by the Great Northern railway.
l stopped at several small towns by
the way. Though most of them were
from so TO 1O0 miles som the Canadian
border. they were ali much interested
in the lively times that their Canadian
neighbOTs were enjoying. In a small
way, according to their means, they
were pushing along the boom. A banker
in a Minnesota town OF 1000 informed
me that several farmers he knew had
gone TO Assiniboia or Alberta and
bought sections or half sections. "a
section IS one square mile, or $40 acres.)
InnOoently assuming that they had
bought for settlement I asked II there
had been a large exodus from his dis
trict to the north. Exodus he re-
piled. of course not. Our farmers only
went up TO see the country, and bought
hits of likely looking land as a specu-
tation, They got it on seven OF eight
years deferred payments, and they
hoped TO be able to sell at good proht
before they had much to pay on IT.
Il asked how their little speculauons
had as a rule. turned out. and ne an
swered: Seldom very Well Not being
on the spot. they missed all the best
chances to sell. There were also too
many other sellers in the market. Not
only were the railways pushing on their
land grants as fast as they could. but
the government and the Hudson Bay
Company were always able TO suit any
kind of a buyer. Moreover huge blocks
of the best situated country have got
into the hands of speculative syndicates'
with very magnificent ideas of future
appreciation Everybody talks ND
prices. but nobody misses a chance to
make a profit. The Minnesota punters
have consequently been left out in the
cold They have had to pay uD more
yearly installments than they reckOned
on. and still no profitable purchaser is
in sight. Those of them who had not Ii
good bank balance to fall back uDon
are mortgaginE their farms in Minnesota
in order to pay their installments.
Preachers in the Game.
Fifty miles farther west in a Mime
sofa village of twelve or fifteen hundred
inhabitants 1 met land boomers Of an
other type. Two of them were clergy
men-One a Baptist and the other
Congregationalist Both of them had
been bitten with the Manitoba fever.
One was a simple-minded man with
large family and a small income. New
ertheiess. he had contrived 10 go up to
the Northwest and buy half a section
-
Hudson Bay Company land. and he was
paying out of his meageT stipend OF
perhaps $500 or 5000 a year : per cent
interest on his unpaid installments.
The other was a business man. though
a parson. He had a good eye for a deal
of any kind-in land, horses, or any sort
of substantial property. ! learned from
him that he had paid several flying
visits 10 Manitoba in the intervals OF
clerical duty. He had then several
half sections and quarter sections on
hand which doubtless were proving a
drain on him, though he would not ad-
NIT anything OF the kind.
If the land fever Is 50 strong among
the Americans, what is il likely to be
among the Canadians themselves
should say that they are all in it-par-
sons, laymen, and beadles. From Que
bee TO Sarnia all the papers are full Of
land advertisements. In some Toronto
Office of land or mining agent. Every
other window is placarded with flaming
pictures OF Arcadian homss and quick
fortunes waiting for US all IN the
Northwest. If we do not feel equal to a
whole section of the finest wheat
growing land in the world" we may
draw big prize among the corner lots
of the newborn cities that are extend
ing rapidly beyond Hudson bay to the
north pole.
Like Finding Fortune.
There are some wonderful romances
connected with corner lots. When in
Salt Lake City a fortnight ago, 1 was
shown the corner of a main street that
had been swapped about 1870 for d COW,
and which was now worth two hundred
thousand dollars. IN fact, Senator Clark
of Montana recently offered more than
that for IL. But there are unfortunately
very few such street corners either in
Salt Lake City or anywhere else. Not
many OF them can be reasonably looked
for as far north as the Greet slave
Lake. But any land agent In Montreal
or Toronto or Winnipeg would cheer
fully undertake TO supply them To order.
At least L judge from their ftorid adVer-
tisemeDts- Winnipeg appears to be full
of them They are advertised in a quite
casual way like the latest consignment
Of tea or sugar. Here is a random Sc
lection from heap of them appearing
The eyes of the world have for
some time been set on Winnipeg. but
the eyes Of the city have been set on
Portage avenue, as this IS where we
have seen most of our improvements.
No other thorOughfare in the city can
stand comparison with the avenue in
its progress 10 be the leading retail
street. Look around you, rea-
son this matter out for yourself, eX-
anime the real estate situation in the
city, and then you will come to the
conclusion, the same as we have, that
the western section OF the city is the
only part whose growth is not in some
way limited
''The climax of this auCtioneering
eloquence is an offer of Portage ave-
nue. frontage at 81 a foot $40 down
IS a month. No interest No taxes.
Torrens title The same kind of auc-
tioneering fervor is in full play all
over the Dominion, and gets hotter the
farther north you so. Carried on as IT
has been Systematically, scientifically.
and relentlessly for the past half
dozen years, it would be a marvel If
the Canadian people had not been car
rled off their feet by Il more or less.
The most level-headed and sober-mind-
ed or men can only offer a certain
amount OF resistance to the boom
siren She has unquestionab!y got
hoId or the Canadians and Is drawing
tAem toward the breakers ON which