New-York tribune., 1909-12-20
BUILT AN EMPIRE"
FEAT OF TWO MEN.
Steel Rails Made Populous
PrOUiRcc of a Desert.

"A
waste Of sage and silence in the Southwest
and wilderness OF waving wild grass in
III. Northwest. there are to-day scores OF
fties thousands Of towns. hundreds OF
thousands Of homes and millions Of pros
perous men and women and children play
inC under the apple trees. Fer all this the
railway is chiefly responsible.
Probably nowhere on the continent has
The railway done more for the development
Of the West than il has done in Canada
and none Of the railways has accomplished
50 much from SO small a beginning as has
me canadian Northern.
Thirteen years ago the railway contract
.ng frB Of Mackenzie & Mann acquired
charter for a railway In ths Western PROV
ince of Manitoba The charter carried a
grant ~ many thousand acres Of land, val
leo ali the way from % cents to 81 an acre
These men knew that by building a rail-
way and providing transportation they
could create" value. new and perma-
nent value. for these lands.
50 they began building AS fast as a
short section was completed they began
operating. and interesting fact is that
each and every mile completed earned oper-
sting expenses and something more. In
this way the two shrewd builders laid the
foundation Of a fortune.
william Mackenzie. the president and
Donald Mann. vice-president, made a team
that has never been passed on the road TO
success N the history OF the Dominion. For
some reason not quite clear Donald Mann
has been called Dan" Just as wilber D
Nesbit. the Chicago poet, is called Bill"
Msckeuzie concerned himself chiefly with
ohi1iuiuE the "sinews." which General
Mann employed TO the best advantage in his
taries The Honorable Governor and Com
pauy o. Gentlemen Adventures Of England
Trading into Hudsons Bay had held un-
disputed sway To the exclusion Of all others.
A MILE A DAY.
Dan Mann was not only master build
e. " rsi.Nays. but soon developed a re-
nsIsah'. ability ia diplomacy. He makes
and holds friends from the Premier down
L. ire Goormau. Every day for thirteen
years Tie Canadian Northern has either
bought or built mile of railway, building
nasr ~ IT,
The experience in building in the West
and tle knowledge Of the West gained
when crUUacting on the first Canadian
tral--oE--ueutal line enabled them 10 pick
The best sections for their line. General
G-euy-le n Dodge Las said that the dis
c0TerE ot Sherman Pass was due TO the
fsct that band of bad Indians had chased
rim Gown "a ridge which ran far out into
rhe plain and along which the Union Pa
c-i. WAS later built Dan" Mann tells an
equally interesting story OF the discovery Of
what -s known ss the North Country and
Ire great Saskatchewan Valley. which has
since come 10 be called ''Britain-s Bread
bsskel
About all NIr. Mann possessed at the
lire grading The Canadian Pacific across a
Part of the Northwest territories. when.
rising early one morning, he noted the alb
ssnce o1 al his horses. Without waiting
n WsAs the men, he borrowed a sub-con-
tractor team and set out after tie ami
mails. There was no settlement for fifty
o. a hundred miles u the nearest Hudson's
Bz- post he travelled ali day without
once coming ~ sight OF the horses The
wind WAS blowing steadily down from the
norrh- and lie knew they would feed UP
wind t1 ffee themselves Of mosquitoes and
flies. Straight north for four whole DAYS
tev ie5 him. into a new country. where
E.Id grass and pea vine grew waist high 10
him, and he is six feet something
III found his horses and kept them Also
Do La1- The secret OF what he had seen.
When lie began building for himself. or. TO
he exact. for Mackenzie & Mann. he headed
bic TatrGnders for tie north country that
bad rea- overlooked or stunned by earlier
b.. G--z. who feared the latitude. This
laId rs took over. and across II and through
s. Dc sent fingers Of steel Along this line
iu tsu short wears prosperous towns have
sprung up. The prairie wastes have been
changed ~ waving fields. His railway has
absorbed and taken over the Manitoba gov
eminent railway interests, and the history
~ Tho IntercolonisI Railway of Canada
proves raat a government railway is a white
mans burden.
EDESED INTEREST ABROAD.
The Success Of the Canadian Northern,
Ie SCORES If young cities created by il and
BE wonderful industrial development along
fte line have enabled Mr. Mann and his
interests 10 command the attention OF the
foreign investor. without whose co-opera-
toH Canadian resources cannot he devel-
ored a. rapidly as they should be deyel-
oHeC
~ indicated ia the stray horse story. the
eHrira territory. now comprising the TWO
Sras- provinces Of Saskatchewan and Al
oe--a- was an empty empire ten years ago
T. 1889 Jhis vast area produced only
100000 bushels Of wheat. In 1903 the
new province OF Saskatchewan alone pro-
ulcs5 100000 bushels Of wheat, 102, 00O,-
coo bushels of oats 100000 bushels OF
harley and 5000 bushels Of fax. With
Eing.e exception the wheat yield OF the
province Of Saskatchewan exceeds the yield
of any state in the Republic TO the south,
and the province is only four years old.
The simple story Of the development that
has taken place here since Dan Mann ;
horses strayed north the wonderful wax
eniHg Of this last West" the real empire
building. in which this ScotC otCh-Csnadian mas
played such an important part. reads ike
Tie veriest romance. Very early IN MS
career ne learned that, strong az his oands
we're and willing TO work, his head must
help. Having taken a contract 20 bullo
Eonc railway and snow sheds in the heart
Of the Rockies. he harnessed the Columbia
River. shot the wild rapids, and RATED ms
material outfit and supplies in, saving
$4,000 IN the cost Of transportation
Il in tie work OF building MackehZle
Mann come in contact with iron ore
a they did on the Canadian Northern On
tarlo. they form q company for the de-
Telopment of the property At Atkoheh'
IN Western Ontario, they found an lmpor-
tant held Of iron ore, and Immediately
established blast furnaces 10 prove 10 the
"o-lt the value OF their discovery Flnd-
Ing that nearly all the large milling com
Dalles nad established themselves along
the line q the pioneer Western railway,