New Britain herald., 1929-07-19
EDMONTON AND NEW BRITAIN

| gone crazy.
 EDMONTON AND NEW BRITAIN
 A copy of the Edmonton, Alberta, Journal of July 12 has come to hand. It is not frequent that a | newspaper from the far northwest of Canada finds it's way to New Britain What makes the visit even more agreeable is the fact that Ed monton has virtually the same pop ulation as New Britain. The assass- ors of the city of Alberta have just concluded a thorough census. which counted 74,29S persons. This number is approximately what the U. S. federal census bureau esti- mates for New Britain this year and is somewhat less than what our dili- gent postmaster says happens to be our population. Anyway, Edmonton and New Britain have something in common, that of population; and the statistics indicate that the two cities have had this in common for many years.
 The last Dominion census before the union of Edmonton and Strath- coma, suburban town across the river, according to the Journal, gave both of them a population of 3l,- O64. This was in 1911.
 The official census figures of New Britain for 1910 gave a population of 2S.202.
 New Britain in 191O-11, there fore, was slightly smaller than what was Edmonton and Strathcona. The present population of the Canadian metropolis of the Alberta northland has been given. It signifies that Strathcona has done a little better than doubled it's population in Is years, while Edmonton has nearly tripled hers. This is regarded as more than normal growth even in booming northwestern Canada.
 And what has New Britain done meanwhile in staid, steady, conserv- ative and steady habits Connecticut It has more than kept pace with the booming city of the Canadian prov inces.
 A comparison like that will indi- cate to any reasonable person that the talk about New Britain's rapid growth" is not hearsay throughout Connecticut. If we can keep pace with such a swift moving trade center as Edmonton we are doing ''as well as could be expected"
 The cities parallel each other noiilt" Hat III age, 100. Edmonton was trading post of the Hudsons S Bay Company for more than cen- tury, and failed 10 show more than the growth of a village until the closing years of the 18th century. In a decade it became a city - as large as New Britain.
 New Britain was incorporated as an ecclesiastical society in 1754 but at that time it was merely farm lands belonging to the town of | Pennington. There was no post of flee until 1925, at which time Ed monton already was a thriving trad | ing post Of a few hundred inhabi- | tants. New Britain was not incorpor- ! ated as a town until 1850, at which i time 1t had a population of 3,O29. It ! was not incorporated as city un- l til 1870, when it had a population of 9,4So. or course, this was far in advance Of Edmontons population at that time. But Edmonton enjoyed d Nirulcnt boom at the turn Of the 1 century, which did not fltatcn out until 1918, and between then and ] l9i6 there was 2 falling off In l population as fortune hunters in real estate departed New Britain | fortunately never had d boom and
 never had a flattcning out not counting the abnormal war years when the city's great factories were | turning out an avalanche of war ! equipment,
 On the front page of the Edmon- i ton Journal is headline, extending | across the page, reading Wheat l Pool Anticipates 65 Per Cent Crop ! For Prairie Provinces" That is big news in Alberta, but 65 per cent doesn't look as prosperous as 100 per cent. On the same page IS