The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-15
MEIGHEN PROBABLY
TO SUCCEED WHITE
Resignation of Financial Min
lister Regretted Through
out Dominion.
GREAT TASKS LIE AHEAD
Country Faced With Acute
Money Problems During
Coming Year.
GREAT TASKS LIE AHEAD

Special Correspondence to.tho Cdnddid,
Section Of THE Sun.
| OTTAWA, July 14.-Sr Thomas White'l
resignation from tho post of Finance
Minister has been received Throughout
the Dominion as n distinct national loss
Sir Thomas was one of the pillars of the
Unionist Ministry. A Liberal who left
Sir Wilfrid Laurier upon the issue Of
| reciprocity with tho United States, hi;
entry into the Borden Government In
! 1911 was not under suspicious circum-
| stances. Comparatively unknown out
side financial circles. he had neither po-
lit!cal nor parliamentary experience, and
the Liberals persisted in regarding him
as the tool of the trusts and combines.
From the first, however. his career In
politics was brilliantly successful.
Under his administration Canada's inter-
national trade more than doubled reve-
nues showed enormous expansion: an
unfavorable trade balance was reversed /:
new and successful methods Of taxation
were introduced four great domestic
loans were launched, and the Dominion
was converted from debtor into prac-
tically a creditor nation.
When war broke out Canada was Dor
rowing in the marke.s of the world at
the rate of 100000 a day. Had any
one predicted then that the Dominion
could\ withstand the loss of this foreign
credit and manage to finance herself
through four years OF a wealth devasta-
ting war he would have been regarded
as little short OF insane. And yet.
largely Through the skilful financial
leadership of Sir Thomas White, that is
precisely what the country did.
Deprived of the worlds markets.
Canadians turned around and loaned
their Government more than 1000, 000,-
600, financing their own war effort, and
in addition managing to establish cred
its for the mother country to the extent
OF S600,000.000. 1t was splendid
demonstration of financial strength; and
while to a great extent 1t was a mani
feStation Of sturdy national confidence
in a country rich in natural resources.
1t Is doubtful whether SO notable sue
cess could have been achieved without
the fine foresight and leadership of Sir
Thomas White.
Meighen as Successor.
Sir Thomas is likely to be succeeded
by Hon. Arthur Meighen, Minister of
the Interior. A young man, frail in
frame ana delicate in health, Mr..
Meighen has for some years past been
regarded as Sir Thomas's one rival for
the successorship to Sir Robert Borden
Lacking Whites prestige and person
ality. Meighen has a more acute mind.
is an infinitely stronger partisan and a
much more powerful debater. A Con-
sentative with mind that in some ways
has strong bent toward Toryism, he
is feared and hated by the Liberals. He
was tho author of the closure bill. which
In 1913 put an end to unrestricted de-
bate in Parliament, and is also charged
with responsibility for the war time
election act, which d!sfranchised
aliens, and in doing so made certain
the triumph Of military cohscription.
More recently he was the member of
the Ministry delegated to handle the
Winnipeg strike. and his policy Of, I'M
compromising force against all at
tempts at lawlessness Is credited with
having brought the strikers to their
knees. So unyielding was his attitude,
SO strong his determination to maintain
law and order at all costs that the press
referred to him as Canada's man of
blood and iron" while labor journals
characterized him as the Dominion's
"Ludendorff.'
In following White Meighen takes UP
task that will challenge his ability to
the utmost. The country IL faced with
acute financial problems. During the
coming year alone a gap of more than
a half billion dollars will have to be
pridSec between estimated revenue and
contracted expenditures Most OF this
halt billion will-have to be borrowed.
The great bulk of 1t from the Canadian
people themselves. A domestic loan Is
Planned for September or October. hut
with industrial unrest disturbing the
economic life of the country. with pros
poets or poor crop, and with the in
cent!ve OF war patriotism gone. the tasl
or making such n loan a success ia NOT
an easy one And this financial dim
Guilty Is likely to continue for some few
years.
The proclamation of peace will end
me Dominion with a debt of $4,000. 900
oO", upon which there will be a fixed
annual charge of nearly 500. 600 OoO
win pensions bill of at least $40
ooo.oOo and railway deficits estimated
at S25.0O0,oo0 expenditures on current
account will. therefore dncIudlng civil
or consolidated expendture), easily
reach s3j0,000,O00 annually-which is
soo.ooO,OOO in excess of the highest rev
enue ever collected by the country in n
single year. Thus 1t will be seen That
the financial problem is the most vital
or all the questions that confront tho
Dominion and that Sir Thomas Whites
successor takes up no easy burden.