The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-15
Harm Done by Six Weeks
Strike in Winnipeg Is
Still Felt.
CROP NEWS NOT CHEERING
Resignation Of Sir Thomas
White as Finance Minister
Also q Factor.

n growing optimism of Canadian bushes
circles. which has in some quarter.
reached the dimensions of belief that 8
real Industrial and commercial boom 1.
In process of development. met with 6
succession OF slight setbacks during the
last week. Two Of these came from tn,
West and one from Ottawa.
It Is beginning to be realized that the
harm done by the protracted genera
srtike in Winnipeg cannot be altogether
undone by the simple process Of going
back to work. 1t lasted six weeks, a.
the most important period OF the year SC
FAR as building operations are Concerned
and one of its results Is that large pro-
grsmm of structural activity which was
definitely planned and assured, is now
abandoned for the present year. The
volume Of building permits in May was
such as to Indicate that the year would
be one Of almost record activity in struc-
tural work The present outlook Is that
| It will be about as dull as the dullest OF
the war years The building season In
Canada Is short at the best, and when
| 1t Is shortened by two months (allowine
for the time required for reorganization
1t becomes almost impossible to be sure
OF getting large scale structure COM
pleted in time to allow of the interior
| work being done in the winter, THE
same considerations, but to a somewhat
less extent, affect the other Western
cities which were, scenes Of sympathetic
strikes. !
Crop news from the West was also not
wholly cheerful. Strangely enough. a
part Of the loss to agriculture in the
Prairie Provinces is also due to the Win
nipeg strike Hundreds of cattle and
thousands of hogs were fed for week,
and even months longer than they should
have been, owing to the tieup of trans
portation and in packing and slaughter
ing houses Inability to ship poisons to
grasshopper country has caused a great
spread of the territory infested with this
plague. Mos TOT the crop damage and
cattle loss reported lately is due, how
ever. to drought. for which the strikers
cannot be blamed.
Resignation of Sir Thomas White.
The third slight setback to optimism
was the news OF the resignation. of Sir
Thomas White from the post of Finance
Minister. Canadian business circles had
not fully realized, until this resigna-
ton set them thinking, that during Sir
Thomas's tenure OF 1t this Office has in
creased In Importance about 500 per
cent. In his second budget, in l9ll-l2.
ne dealt with an annual expenditure of
$l37,0O0.000, while the estimated expen-
diture of the Dominion for the current
year was $62o,o0O.o00. 1t Is recognized
mat II VIII be extremely difficult for the
government to obtain a man OF the same
business calibre as Sir Thomas White
10 NIL his place, especially at the pres
ent moment, when the opportunities open
To a shrewd fnancier for the making OF
large income in private business are
almost innumerable.
The most plausible nomination vet
put forward has been that Of Nj. Brad
shaw, the municipal financial expert of
Toronto. who has saved that city many
hundreds OF thousands OF dollars since
his appointment; but Mr.. Bradshaw's
salary Is several times the absurdly
small sum which is allotted to a Do
minion Finance Minister, and obviously
1t is impossible for a Finance Minister to
add to his income by doing any odd
jobs ION the side" In the meanwhile
the West Is putting In a vociferous claim
that the Finance portfolio should go to
its section OF the country, on the ground
that the Premiership and the Finance
Ministry now far exceed in Importance
any other posts in the Cabinet, and
should not both be allotted to Eastern
men.
This demand is distinctly alarming to
the business interests of the East, es-
pecially when 1t is coupled with the name
OF so able and aggressive a Westerner
as the Hon. Arthur Meighen. Mr.
Meighen. while clever and cautious
politician. is a thorough Westerner in
his ideas and also In his political in
terests. He is held largely responsible
for the Governments public ownership
inclinations, and has no fondness in his
heart for big business" Nobody ex-
poets that he will stand out, as Sir
Thomas Is known to have done on va
rious occasions. against demands for the
most extreme forms of profits taxation
and for a radical revision Of tho customs
tariff.
A third suggestion for the Office is Sir
Charles Gordon. who has acquired a
large knowledge OF international finance,
first as head OF the Dominion Textile
Company and more recently as one of
the most active and responsible MEM
bers of the British Commission in WASH
ington. But here another of the Diff
culties which harass a Canadian Pre-
mier presents itself, for Sir Charles is
q Montrea1er. and the Borden Cabinet
has no space for another English speak,
Ing representative from Quebec Province,
while II urgently needs a representative
of the Quebec French.
RHaIrA Da-A.