CANADIAN PATRIOTISM.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1916, Page 12

CANADIAN PATRIOTISM.

WEALTHY 'PRIVATE'S CAREER. In U recent list of casualties of the 2St!i Canadian Battalion appears the name of Private T. Lawson. Behind the bald statement of his death is a story of which Canadians may well be proud. Private Lawson was a wealthy Western Canadian, who cut short a world tour to join the colors. The company ol which he was a member was commanded at the time of his death by a young man who in time of peace was an employee of Private Lawson. His sergeant, too, was on his pay-roll. An interesting sketch of Private Lawson, known throughout Saskatchewan is Talmage Lawson, is given by Mr. Vernon Knowles in the Winnipeg Telegram. He was the son of the Rev. 0. T. Lawson, an Irish Methodist minister who went West with his family in the early pioneering days. Talmage was a cowboy. In the course of time he saved up enough money to buy a ranch near Calgarry. He prospered there, and when a favorable opportunity offered sold his property and bought more in the neighborhood of what is now Saskatoon. He added to his possession* in this distriit, but it is doubtful if he had any idea that Saskatoon was to become one of the. most thriving cities in the West. One morning he awoke to find that lie owned a ranch upon the outskirts of a growing city, and that lie had been made wealthy by the determination of thousands of people to own building lots in his immediate neighborhood. While retaining his farm, a whole section between Saskatoon and the suburb of Factorin, lie was able to sell enough property to make him a wealthy man. lie became interested in newspaper enterprises, and helped to float the Prince Albert Herald, and later on bought the Saskatoon Capital, whose name was Immediately changed to the Saskatoon Star.

HURRIED BACK TO ENLIST. Mr. Lawson about nineteen months ago started on a tour round the world. He was in Egypt when the European war-cloud began to form, and by the time war was declared he was hurrying to London. His first thought was to enlist there, but he heard that Canada was to participate in the great struggle, and he lost no time in getting home. He was too late to join the first Canadian force, but enlisted as soon as possible, and last January was moved' to Winnipeg with the Saskatoon volunteers. When he left Saskatoon he would not allow his newspaper to make any re : fcreneo to his departure. He was displeased when the other paper's made a feature of the fact that he was going as a private instead of us r commissioned ofliver. When he | gpt to the front, he found that his platoon was commanded by Lieutenant Austin B. Smith, one of his reporters, and that one of his linotype operators v,-as J. B. Shaw, his sergeant. So Private Lawson served under the men who were drawing their wages from him, and took their orders as cheerfully and obeyed as faithfully as would any other piivutc soldier.