The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-08-15
ON SECOND THOUGHT
BY JAY E. HOUSE.
(From Philadelphia Public Ledgsr.l
Some Notes by a Tired Man.
Montreal, Aug

Montreal, Aug 9.
begin to suspect that the summer
hegira to Canada has been over-esti-
mated. There are, of course, GOOD
many Americans touring mere ANA
there in the Dominion. There nave
been ever since the motorcar became
the favorite weapon OF the Aneri ca
public But 1 detect no wild and I'M
FASHIONED flight northward. Tnere
were more cars on the road along the
upper reaches of the Delaware, IN the
Catskills and in the Adirondacks tnan
I saw between Rouses Point and Mon
treal Literally thousands were burn
ing up the highway in an effort TO
reach the races at Saratoga. The peo-
pie coming into Montreal were taxing
it so calmly that we passed dozens OF
cars We managed to get room in
a decent hotel without wiring for it,
One reason for the existing condltlon
doubtless is that. motorically speaking
will the proofreader kindly permit
''motoricalIy' to ride-Canada is
cul-de-sac. There are good roads into
Montreal and Quebec, but. in man
ner of speaking, they lead nowhere
else When one feels the urge to get
out he must back out. I spent a
couple of hours this afternoon trying
to figure the three of us-Adelafde.
the Blue Swallow and myself-out OF
Canada without recourse either 10
Quebec or Rouses Point. At the end
of the period threw away my license
to figure.
Another cause which doubtless
serves to check the wild wave of
American citizens which swept Canada
in 1920 and 1921 is that the average
American citizen is coming to rely
more upon his personal bootlegger
and less on individual effort The
bootlegging business is becoming
stabilized. Familiarity with danger is
breeding a contempt for it. People
are growing less alarmed at the qros-
pect of dying or going blind. Nov,
do not assume that American citizens
ever came to Canada because of the
superior drinking facilities this coun-
try affords. L know l did not come
for that reason. I am willing to con-
cede that my fellow citizens are
equally pure and upright. But that
has been the talk, and 1 am putting
my dynamite in the hole in the stump.
One thing that impressed me in the
dining room of the Ritz-Carlton to3
night was that Americans are grow
ing gun-shy and shaky. Every time
an American lifts an intoxicant to his
lips he sees some sort of ghost. The
native English-Canadians were drink
ing their favorite vintages in their
usual orderly and stately fashion. To
one who holds no prejudice against
forbidden lubricants it is a treat to
view the spectacle of an Englishman
imbibing his liquor. He is so calm
and orderly about it. But the Ameri-
prohibition, can no longer drink in a
public place without investing the act
with an impalpable attempt at
secrecy. I don't know whether that
augurs well or i'll for prohibition. I
merely furnish the scenario; those
who wish to do so are at liberty to fit
the script to 1t. Since we are discuss
ing prohibition, and since I have no
wish to write of the view from Mount
Royal or the beauty of the cathedral
of Notre Dame, there seems to be
nothing else to talk about, 1 make
note of the restraint exhibited by the
Canadian retailer. 1t must be ten orr
twelve miles from the Canadian GUS
toms town of Lacelle to the King Ed
ward hotel in Napierville. But the
King Edward is the first lubrfcating
station Americans encounter on their
way in. Were conditions reversed, |
there would be string of cheap
hotels a mile long, built for the pur-
pose of catering to the retail trade, |
just back of the custom house at
Rouses Point
Two features of the Canadian land |
scape intrigued me. Altho 1 have been !
in Canada a number of times. I had !
not previously seen an old-faShioned |
well-sweep since we left McDonough |
County, Illinois. That was in 1882. |
Nearly every farmstead between |
Rouses Point and Montreal boasts an '
sweep. That by the !,
the gentle poet who wrote the i'm
mortal verses about The Old Oaken |
Bucket" After he got the water in |
that way he SO thoroly appreciated it
that he gave birth in deathless lines in
its honor. Drawing water with a !
sweep is slightly preferable to diggingl
for it, and that is all The other fea-i
ture was the patch of tobacco growing
near every farmstead. The Americans
are a thriftless race; they buy their
at the store. The Canadian |
farmer still is growing his own. Home
grown tobac is a delectable mar
cotic. The man who survives it, be-
longs to a hardy race.
Brief notes: In Canada was able