With only two or three exceptions--a
fishing bounty, one or two mail contracts--the United States has not
given and may never give government aid to ships. The Canadian
government does and does wisely! Ocean traffic may be as requisite to
prosperity as rail traffic, and you can't give land subsidies to the
sea.

III

It is when one comes to consider Panama's influence on rail traffic
that it becomes apparent the Canal may divert half the Dominion's
traffic to seaboard by Pacific routes. Why do you suppose that the big
grain companies of the Northwest want to reverse their former policy?
Formerly the biggest elevators were built east, the medium-sized at the
big gathering centers, the smaller scattered out along the line
anywhere convenient to the grower. To-day, as far as Alberta is
concerned, the biggest elevators are going up farthest west. Why? Why
do you suppose that the big traction companies of Birmingham, Alabama,
the big wire companies of Cleveland and Pittsburgh are looking over the
Canadian West for sites? One Birmingham firm has just bought the site
for a big plant in Calgary. Why do you suppose that the Canadian
Pacific Railway is building big repair shops at Coquitlam, and the
Canada Northern at Port Mann? Why are both these roads also stationing
big repair plants at inland points, one at Calgary, the other supposed
to be for Kamloops? It is not to help along the townsite lot booms in
these places. No one deprecates these town lots running out the area
of Chicago more than the railroads do. "Wild oats" hurt trade more
than they advertise the legitimate opportunities of a new country.

Take a look at them!

From Fort William to Alberta is one thousand two hundred miles, to
Calgary one thousand two hundred eighty, to Edmonton one thousand four
hundred fifty-one miles. From Alberta to Vancouver is slightly over
six hundred miles. Port William navigation is open only half the year.
The Pacific harbors are open all the year. Manitoba and Saskatchewan
wheat may be rushed forward in time for shipment before the close of
navigation. Because Alberta is farther west and must wait longest for
cars, very little of her wheat can be rushed forward in time; so
Alberta wheat must go on down to St. John, another one thousand two
hundred miles. Look at the figures--six hundred and fifty miles from
Alberta to the seaboard at Vancouver, two thousand four hundred miles
from Alberta to sea-board at St. Jo