Evening star., 1925-02-01
FARMERS DEMAND
/ HUDSON BAY ROAD
Political Forces of Western
! Canada Ready to Fight
to End on Issue.
BY Consolidated Press.

BY Consolidated Press.
MONTREAL. January 3l.--An army
Is marching on Ottawa. In the van
guard of the procession is a banner
with the strange device-"On to the
Bay"
The banner bearers are the elected
representatives of the west" in
Canada and they will plant their ban
ner firmly on the top of the clock
tower within sight of every man COM
Ing TO the capital next Thursday
when the governor general, represent
ing his majesty, King George. opens
Parliament with all the pomp and
ceremony of British tradition.
''On the Bay" is the war cry and
the slogan of these wild men of the
prairies who have picked upon the
completion of a line OF railway from
the wilds OF northern Saskatchew
20 the fringe of the Arctic Circle as
the issue OF their fight with the
East"
Clash of Interests.
The West contains less than two
million people and the East more
than seven million, and the new po-
Htical alignment Of the United States
due to the revolt of the farm bloc
Of the Western States Is paralleled In
the Dominion of Canada with bit
ternesS and an intensity of purpose
that makes the challenge OF the Unit
ed States look like a contest with
single stick, helmet and pads COM
pared with the taunting defiance of
gladiators with the cestus.
Both parties favored the building
of this road for many years when
they were angling for the farmers
votes. Today 1t is repudiated by the
two old parties, but is unanimously
Endorsed by every progressive in the
West. and as the merchants of the
West are dependent on the grain
growers, Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta are a unit in pressing
for the completion of the road.
Work Dropped Since 1918.
Approximately s17,ooo,ooo has al
ready been expended on this road and
sYork has been stopped since the
It owuid take from sS.0o0.o 900 TO
100000 to repair the ravages of
deterioration, and another two or three
million to complete the road. It would
bring the wheat of Regina more than
thousand miles nearer Liverpool.
but opinions vary as 10 how long each
year this port, under the Arctic circle,
which is the terminus OF the road.
would be open for shipping. Advo-
could be kept open five months in the
year, with specially constructed ships,
and critics from the East say less than
two months. The West calls II the
dream of half century" and the East
dubs 1t "a streak of rust
The west is in deadly earnest about
this road. 1t has even IN its widest
moments, talked OF secession from the
empire and there will be strong words
hitter q a
once more debated on the floor of the
House.
VIII Fight to Death.
On the skillful handling OF the issue,
the political life Of Prime Minister
Mackenzie Kline, depends. If he per-
siSts in declaring that the Dominion
already has all the railways IT wants
on It's hands without adding another
white elephant" to its stock, the pro-
gressives of the west will fight him
tooth and nail and will fight him to
the death.
Will the prime minister surrender
and offer a hope of a few promised
millions in order to prepare the way
for an election in August? And If he
does. will French Canada as repre-
sented by the province OF Quebec,
stand for il. Mackenzie King, by
skillful maneuvering, may throw the
question into the Senate and place
upon the upper chamber the onus of
rejecting the scheme. which il would
not have the slightest hesitation in
doing. 1t Will be triumph Of politi-
cal manipulation if he can bring this
about and Prime Minister King is an
astute politician.
If the fight is thrown into the SEN
ate it will only grow more bitter. for
the westeTners will attack the Sen
ate with more gusto than they fight |
their Liberal allies of the west.
Furthermore, it will raise a grave
constitutional question which may be |
Of far greater moment in the molding
or the destiny of the dominion than
any number of millions spent to carry
wheat to Liverpool by way of the |