The Green Forest tribune., 1909-05-07
DOLLAR WHEAT HAS
 COME 10 STAY
IN LESS THAN FIVE YEARS GEN. TRAIL CANADA WILL BE CALLED UPON TO SUPPLY THE
 UNITED STATES.

 1 nouncement was made in these col nmns that dollar wheat" had come to stay, and that the time was not far distant when the central provinces of | Canada-Manitoba Saskatchewan and Alberta-would be called upon to sup l ply a large part of the wheat con- sumption in the United States, there were many who laughed at the predic- | lions and ridiculed the idea of wheat | reaching the dollar point and staying l there. Both of these predictions have i come to pass Dollar wheat is here | and it is not only here, but is here to i stay; and at the same time, whatever unpleasant sensations it may arouse In the representative American Gen. 1 tral Canada is already being called lpon to help keep up the bread sup 1 lily, and within the next five years i will, as James J. Hill says, literally become the bread-basket of our in- 1 treasing millions"
 There are few men in the United i States better acquainted with the 1 wheat situation than MT. Hill, and 1 tRere are few men, if any, who are in- 1 elined to be more conservative in l their expressed views. Yet it was this 1 greatest of the worlds railroad men Rho said few days ago that the | price of wheat will never be substan- italy lower than it is today"-and when it is taken into consideration that at that time wheat had scared to $1.20, well above the dollar mark, the statement is peculiarly significant, and doubly significant is the fact that in this country the population is in creased at the. ratio of 65 per cent, while the yield of wheat and other products is increasing at the rate of 1 only p per cent. For several years past the cost of living has been stead fly increasing in the United States, and this wide difference in production and consumption is the reason.
 This difference must be supplied by the vast and fertile grain regions of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. There is now absolutely no doubt of this. Even the press of the country comedies the fact. Results have shown that no other country in the world can ever hope to equal those provinces as wheat producers, and that no other country can produce as hard or as good wheat. Said great grain man recently, If United States wheat main tains the dollar mark, Canada wheat will be well above a dollar a bushel, for in every way it is superior to cur homegrown grain.''
 With these facts steadily impinging their truth upon our rapidly growing population, it is interesting to note just what possibilities as wheat grower" our Northern neighbor pos sesses. While the United States will never surrender her prestige in any manufacturing or commercial line, she must very soon acknowledge, and with as much grace as she can, that she is bound to be beaten as a grain pro- ducer. It must be conceded that great deal of the actual truth about the richness of Canada's grain produc- ing area has been kept out of sight" as Nlr. Hill says, by the strenuous ef-
 
 zines to stem the exodus of our best American farmers into those regions. 1t is a fact that up to the present time, although Canada has already achieved the front rank in the worlds grain producers, the fertile praires Gf Manitoba, Saskatchewan and AL 1 berta have as yet scarcely been trpr1tphnd Milljnnc of frr. the taking, still await our American farmers; and when these millions are gone there are other millions in re- gions not yet opened up to immigra- LiGL. A few years ago the writer, who has been through those wheat prov inces several times, laughed with oth. els of our people at the broad statement that Canada was bound to become John Bulls Bread Basket" Now, after a last trip (and though he is stanch American) he frankly be. lieves that not only will Canada be. come John Bulls bread-basket, but it will within the next decade at least BECOME THE BREAD-BASKET OF THE UNITED STATES. Perhaps this may be a hard truth for Aemricans to swallow but it is a truth neverthe- less. And it is at least a partial com. Densation to knoH that hundreds of thousands of our farmers are profit ing by the fact by becoming producers :: a this new country.
 The papers of this country have nat }rally made the most of the brief De. ] iod of depression which swept over Canada, but now there is not sign of U left from Winnipeg to the coast. lIever have the three great wheat rais- ing provinces been more prosperous Capital is coming into the country rom all quarters, taking the form of ash for investment, industrial con- erns seeking locations, and, best of al, substantial and sturdy immigrants Tome to help populate the prairies. Towns are booming; scores of new elevators are springing up; railroads are sending out their branch lines in all directions; thousands of prosper ous farmers are leaving their prairie shelters for new and modern homes- built by wheat:" everywhere is growing happiness and contentment- happiness and contentment built by wheat-the dollar wheat" which has come to stay. Notwithstanding this, l the Canadian Government is still giv. ing away it's homesteads and selling pre-emptions at s3.00 an acre, and the Railway and Land Companies are dis. 1 posing of their lands at what may be considered nominal figures.