Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1909-08-10
THE CANADIAN
NORTHWEST.
O. e. Welle Of Wausau, Gives His Inn
pressions Of That Section.

| SPOKANE, WASH, Aug. 3, 1909.
EDITOR PILoT:-
/ have long delayed compliance
with your request for something re-
garding my travels, for the PILOT
To be ready on the spot with in
formation regarding Winnipeg, l
looked in the latest geography before
starting and found it town of AZ, 600.
Arriving there, / found fine, well
built, modern city, claiming 125, 900 in
habitants. The principal streets are
very wide and well paved. A surpris-
ing feature is the number of banks,
no quarter of the city or suburb being
without one, and often there were
several. The explanation is that the
large banks establish branch banks
about town for the convenience of the
public. In all the large cities in Can
ada bank buildings are among the
largest and finest buildings.
A great agricultural exposition was
opened on the day of ARRIVAL 1t was
like quadruple Maratbos1 county
fair and would well repay Canadian
farmers for going hundreds of miles
to see. The railroads gave excur-
sion rates.
The ride across the limitless prai-
ries was very interesting to me. One
might see the homeSteader's ''shack,
about by II, 6 feet high and half
rooted, with straw-covered shed near
by for stock. Not far away he might
see farm buildings equal to the better
class in Marathon county Here, too,
might be seen large herds of fine cat
tie and droyes of horses. Sheep and
hogs were not wanting. He might
see men blowing with from two TO
twelve horses, or with traction en-
gines. He might see great fiocks of
ducks and thousands of sea-gulls.
Here is boundless domain awaiting
development and destined to become
an important factor in the worlds
markets. 1t can not be successfully
maintained that the soil is infertile
and the climate inhospitable. Doubt
less there is poor land and vigorous
climate, but there is also much excel
lent land under favorable climatic
conditions. Conversation with many
Intelligent men living there confirmed
what my eyes saw and reason told me.
Undoubtedly men go there and fail as
they fail everywhere aud in all avoca-
tions, but others succeed under no
better conditions. Evidently failure
is in the man, not in the conditions.
/ do not wish to be understood as
giving encouragement to any one TO
go there in order to better his condi-
tion. / saw nothing in Canada, or in
the western states, TO make me think
it wise for any one to leave Wisconsin
and go there. Men with endurance,
pluck and intelligence prosper there
as elsewhere, but have seen no place
in all my travels to which / would
urge an average man to go in prefer
ence to Wisconsin-or Marathon coun-
ty, if you please. Certainly if / could
turn all my property into cash at a
fair price l should not migrate TO any
place / have seen.
Nevertheless, there is great wealth
to be developed in the great West and
Northwest. The solution of the prob
lens of the forest, grain and fruit
production in the vast and seemingly
unproductive regions is yet to be
made, but the solution is no more
difficult than that of the reduction of
ores and extraction of the metals.
The agricultural department at Wash
ington, the agricultural colleges in
the state, great corporations and in
telligent men are at work at the
problems. Untold wealth will yet be
wrung from vast areas still almost
untouched.
Few people realize how little has
yet been done on this continent. If
all the people in the United States
were removed to Texas that state
would not have SO many people to the
square mile as Rhode Island has.
Thus far in farming we have been
mining the rich stores of plant food
stored by nature through countless
ages Scientific agriculture real
farming-is yet in its infancy. In
short, small strip along the eastern
coast hass been slightly scratched
The development of the continent is
still in the future. When it comes
the great West and Northwest will
yield vast treasure, even though large
areas may remain unproductiye.
What we most need is to abandon our
wasteful methods and learn to hus-
band natures bounty for present and
| future generations.
Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, Ia
coma, Portland and Spokane are
growing, bustling cities, vital to the
development of the great West and
interesting to the tourist.
The Alaska Y Yukon-Pacific exposi-
tion is of moderate dimensions and
generally excellent quality, well
worth seeing.
AS usual, the L. S. government ex-
hibit is the most intelligently planned
and methodically placed. One might
profitably spend days in studying its
presentation of the work of the Far-
ious executive and administrative de
partments at Washington and else
where.
The real agricultural exhibits are
pot in the Agricultural building, but
in the Canadian, Alaskan, Yukon,
state and county buildings. In these
the exhibits are surprise and de-
light. The Forestry building is one