CANADA OF TO-DAY.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 639, 7 June 1921, Page 9

CANADA OF TO-DAY.

A PROSPEROUS COUNTRY. The coming: of nearly 50,000 American families into Canada every year according to a writer of repute, is haling u varied effect. The baited Sir.toss is uncomfortable at losing such batches of citizens each spring. And, says the writer, the American land. If he thinks he knows the route of a branch railway line he plunges into land purchase. A land speculative company will snap up a stretch of country on either side of a line. An hotel arid a shop will he put together and then an elevator to store the grain of the neighbouring farmers. A ‘’boom ’ is worked. Pamphlets are scattered that Slocumville is in the centre of the finest wheat country in the world, that land is cheap, but will rapidly rise in value. Advertisements, under the guise of news, appear in the press, describing how the prairie is converted into a rising little town. People are attracted. More stores go up. The more land sold the greater in value is the adjoining land. So the ‘’Doom surely swells, and the land company scoops in hundreds of thousands of dollars. May be the town advances lo prosperity. Possibly the slump comes; values are decreased; fortunes by minor speculators are lost; the air is filled with stories that Canada is the land to lose money in, not to make it.

During a drive of 125 miles through sections of the wheat lands of Manitoba and Assiniboia, I had, says the writer, talks with many settlers in English, Scotch and Finn. The farm Lands in Manitoba— certainly in the region of Brandon, from where I started —are magnificent. There are about 40,000 farmers in the province and last year they earned between them about £12,000,000. Roughly there are 3,000,000 acres under crop in Manitoba.' and the total yield in bushels is about 100,000,000. The taxes are low, the taxpayer of Great Britain pays for Imperial defence. There are no taxes for improvements, and no personal tax except where the income is over £3OO a year. In Manitoba—the name is Indian, and means “God’s Country”—l saw the best of wheat lands. This province alone produces 55,000,000 bushels of wheat. Much of it goes through.the bustling little town of Brandon, with its wide streets, ‘ stores, and great warehouses for the sale of agricultural implements. Truly Canada fs a wonderful country with a brilliant future.