e), _religious_ (absence of Catholic
tradition and surroundings), are the ever open crevices through which a
tremendous leakage has been draining the vitality of the Church in
Western Canada. So the call of the West is like the frantic S.O.S. on
the high seas, that snaps from the masts of a ship in danger. It is
the cry of thousands of Catholics sinking into the sea of unbelief and
irreligion. In the wreckage there is still a gleam of hope. Great
numbers yet cling to a remnant of the old faith of their fathers; it
will keep them afloat until helping hands come to their rescue.

The Call of the Church in the West is a call of distress. Has the
Church in the East heard it? What is its response?

_The Response of the East_

Has the Church at large in the East heard the call of the West? Has
that cry of distress gone through the ranks of our Catholics like the
shrill blast of the bugle call? Has it awakened our Catholics from
their torpid lethargy and quickened their sense of responsibility? Has
the call been answered, or has it gone out like a cry in the
wilderness, lost in the noise of our busy world, stifled by the clamour
of other voices, smothered under other diocesan and parochial claims?

In the Church of Canada there have always been generous and noble souls
for whom the missions of the West have had a mysterious attraction.
Who can read without emotion of the heroic deeds of the first Jesuits
who followed the explorers and _courreurs-des-bois_ in their perilous
adventures? What tribute of admiration and gratitude do we not owe to
the Oblate missionaries who lived and died with the wandering children
of the plains, who have kept the fires of Faith burning, from the banks
of the Red River to the Pacific Coast, from the winding shores of the
Missouri and Mississippi to the everlasting snows of the Arctic. Their
lives of heroism furnish a bright splash on the rather drab and bleak
landscape of what was known as the Northwest Territories. The Church
of Canada will ever remain indebted to these noble pioneers of the
cross, apostolic bishops and priests of the first hour; their saintly
lives are forever emblazoned on the pages of Canadian history; the
western trails murmur their names in gratitude and the children of the
prairie still bless their memory by the dying fires of their camps.

Indeed the Province of Quebec for years sent her money to help the
struggling schools of Manitoba. The Catholic Chur