Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-03

QUEBEC. August 81. 1911.
Never since dear old Quebec was
founded by Sieur Champlain 3oS years
ago have there been so
American many Americans here as
there are today Ihey
AOuIlSIS. come by rail ana py
water both ways; on the st. Lawrence
boats from Montreal and steamers
from Boston and New York; botn ways
Nv rail from Nova Scotia and from the
west and they are spending great
d.a, of money. 1t is amusing to read
:, tho conservative newspapers about
the financial distress in the united
States which President tart Is trying
to relieve by the reciprocity treaty nc
has negotiated with Canada. lou sec
such statements in print every uas'
Ono would think that the American
neon1e were just gasping In extremis
unit, the election in Canada snouio re-
,ieve our commercial depression oy
deciding whether the duties on tneir
nnmnkins and hay should be reduced
in o,1r customs houses. The thrones
of American tourists in the shops VI
Quebec and the recklessness WIN
which they are spreading greenhouses
q
tarous assertion. but the merchants
take the money all the same.
Shonping in Canada Is not as adVan-
tageous as it used to be before our
government adopted the present severe
inspections in the customs houses.
zach returning tourist is allowed one
hundred dollars worth of Canadian
merchandise as a matter of courtesy,
and that amount is usually EXPENDED In
gloves laces. handkerchiefs and 1ur
fra 1yn3n
of clothes by the masculine. Clotnes
are not so cheap here as they used TO De-
There is very little economy in Duylns
suits in Canada. and Canadian tahors
cannot cut or fit as well as those at
home The only advantage is in the
better quality of the material. The
best quality of worsteds. cheviots and
other fabrics from English mills is
sold for about what inferior American
fabrics cost in the United States. The
per cent cheaper and other articles
correspond.
do not know what Quebec would do
if it were not. for the money of Ameri-
can tourists. The city
Profitable doesn't grow and there is
y,:.:A. nothing to make 1t grow.
SlSlIoAS. The population of the
province is practically stationary. The
young people emigrate to New Eng
land TO work in the factories. There
are almost as many French Canadians
in Maine. New Hampshire and Massa-
chusetts as there are in the province
of Quebec.
Everything is French. You seldom
hear an English expression on the
streets, and 80 per cent of the popula-
ton cannot speak or understand the
language. instruction in the public
schools is conducted entirely in French.
There is a prejudice against the Eng
lish and Englishmen. and while there
is no lack of loyalty to the British
government. there is an almost univer
sal feeling of Indifference toward
everything that concerns Great Britain.
things from the new bridge which is be-
ing constructed across the ST. Lawrence
in the place of the one that fell when 1t
was partially completed few years ago.
Then trains from the other side of the
ST. Lawrence will be able to unload their
passengers and freight within the city
limits instead of sending them across on
ferry, but it is difficult to see what
commercial advantage can be derived, be-
cause there is nothing in Quebec to in
wife business: the opportunities for gain
are so much greater in the new country
beyond the great lakes that immigrants
will not stop here. and what little capital
there is in the province is boarded with
jealous care.
The churches and religious orders own
more than % per cent of all. the property
in the city. The official returns estimate
their real estate to be valued at $500 N)O
within the city limits, without including
the enormous areas of farm lands that
belong to them and the stocks. bonds and
mortgages that represent their accumula-
tions. All this property is untaXed which
is becoming a cause of complaint.
The association Of Quebec with our own
west gives the city a peculiar interest to