PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TTILL C.O. 885
20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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correspondent of the Emigrants' Information Office. He took me for a drive all through and round Regina.
On Saturday, the 21st of August, I travelled from Regina to Calgary, arriving there in the small hours of Sunday morning. I had as companion on the way a man engaged in the lumber trade, who described to me the life and modus operandi of a lumber camp, and explained how opportunely the winter demand for lumbermen absorbs men who would otherwise be surplus from work on the land.
EDMONTON.
At 8 on Sunday morning I went on to Edmonton, getting there at 4 in the afternoon. I was disappointed to find that Monday, the 23rd, was a holiday." This made it very difficult to get hold of people. However, on Monday * civic morning, I caught Mr. W. J. Webster, the Doniinion Immigration Agent, before he went out of town for the day. He took me over the Immigration Hall, where as many as 200 or 250 immigrants can be accommodated at once, showed me his registers, and talked hard and interestingly throughout the hour at our disposal. The hall gives free shelter for a week, cases shelter is given for a longer period. Mr. Webster had one immigrant there necessary, but not free food. In some for two months, until at last he came to the conclusion that the man did not want to take work. The man is now serving a term in a penitentiary. He will probably be deported. An inspection of the registers showed me that the immigrants were mainly English, Scandinavians, Germans, and Americans, in fairly equal numbers. If anything, the English predominated. Nearly all, on registering, described them- selves as farmers. But Mr. Webster has formed the habit of cross-questioning them closely, and he sometimes finds that those who so describe themselves have little claim to the description. He said that he was now getting an excellent class of British immigrants up at Edmonton, markedly better than a few years ago. He thought there was still a tendency in many of them to criticise Canadian conditions and a failure to adapt themselves to new ways, but on the whole the improvement was marked. He thought the "Hints to Emigrants" in the Emigrants Informa- tion Office "Circular" were very good. He said that the more substantial class of British immigrant did not pass through his hands. Men with capital seemed to think that there was something infra dig. about coming to the Immigration Hall, even if it were only for advice. He was, of course, able to give advice even to them, and could either turn them over to the Dominion Lands Agent as to the homesteads available, or could send them out with "land guides" who would take them over the available areas and help them in every possible way. of the guides.
I read the reports of some
Mr. Webster said that he could do with any number of people who had had experience on the land in England, or were willing and strong enough to make a start on the land in Canada. He could not at present advise mechanics or artisans to come to Edmonton. It was true that Edmonton was increasing rapidly, and there must be an increase in the demand for carpenters and men engaged in the various branches of building. But he thought that even that demand would be supplied from Canadian sources, and did not think that it would be advisable to encourage immigration on the strength of it. For clerks there was absolutely no room. Coal miners, on the contrary, could be absorbed in large numbers. There were 28 coal mines in operation around Edmonton, and it was very difficult to find
men to work in them.
A crying need of the city, he thought, was the establishment of manufactures. He instanced particularly the manufacture of woollen goods. There was a very great demand for blankets, for example, which had at present to be supplied from outside sources. It would be necessary, in the first instance, to import the workers, but after that he thought that there was much money in the idea for any manų- facturer who would be bold enough to make a start. He also spoke of the possi- bilities for a maker of furniture. He told of one man who had come to the town not many years ago, and had begun to make wickerwork furniture (for which there is plenty of material handy). He now employs 15 to 20 hands, and is reported to be very well off.
Mr. Webster spoke of the excellent farming country to the north and west of Edmonton. He said they were now beginning to grow their own apples and vege- tables, having hitherto imported them from great distances east and west. Everyone in the district seems to be counting greatly on the opening up of a new grain route
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vid Hudson's Bay, which will bring Edmonton 2,000 miles nearer the European markets, and will involve only one break of bulk as against two or three under the present conditions.
They had not been troubled with many deportations in Edmonton. They had had perhaps four or five in the last year or two; in no case because of inability to get work.
When deportation is suggested, Mr. Webster has to make a close investi- gation, and report through Winnipeg to Ottawa before the order can be issued.
Incidentally he gave me an instance of the trouble taken to investigate com- plaints. An allegation reached Ottawa that a certain immigrant woman had suffered certain hardships. Mr. Webster was ordered to look into the matter. took him a week to find the woman, but he stuck to it till he got her and cleared the case up. She was apparently making her escape from a drunken and brutal husband, but she had not suffered any of the hardships alleged.
It
Mr. Webster promised to act as a local correspondent of the Emigrants' Informa-
tion Office.
Ile
I then called on Mr. A. G. Harrison, the Secretary of the Board of Trade. was very careful to inform me that the functions of the Board were those of a Publicity Department and not those of an employment bureau. They were con- cerned with making known the resources and possibilities of Edmonton, and their aim was to attract all the capital and industries they could, and all the labour those industries, whether agricultural or other, needed, but not more. being saddled with letters of introduction given to individuals for whom he would He was afraid of then be bound to find employment. He had suffered in that way at the hands of booking agents who had no sort of authority to use his name. When I had explained
the status and functions of the Emigrants' Information Office he was reassured and consented to act as a local correspondent.
He was anxious that the district should not be known merely, or even mainly, as a grain-growing district. He thought it offered a much greater future for mixed farming cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and poultry, as well as grain-in spite of "Alberta Red" and "Alberta Oats." He spoke of the excellent country to the north and west, and of the excellent class of settlers already there. He said that Germans were always good settlers, but he said that a good Britisher could not be beaten. What they wanted was men of experience on the land, and men who would take up homesteads, in preference to helpers. To the east there was a colony of Galicians. They made very good settlers, and were very valuable in that they did heavy navvying work in the towns, in addition to the work on their farms, and spent the proceeds on their farms.
Mr. Mackenzie, the Dominion Lands Agent, was away, but I had a talk with Mr. Ullyot, his chief assistant. The Provincial Government Offices were closed, and I was therefore unable to see anyone in the Department of Agriculture.
In the afternoon I returned to Calgary.
CALGARY.
On Tuesday, the 24th of August, I called on Mr. Dennis, the Superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railway Colonisation and Irrigation Depôt at Calgary. He has entire control over the 3,000,000 acres of irrigated or irrigable land which the Canadian Pacific Railway are offering for sale in the neighbourhood of Calgary, and his operations and responsibilities are on a very extensive scale. He informed me that the lands are filling up rapidly. They were selling them at the time of my call at the rate of about 50,000 acres a week. that nearest Calgary, has now been sold. The two remaining sections, extending The whole of the western section, to 140 miles or so east of Calgary, are along the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, so that there is no difficulty of access. Ninety per cent. of those taking up the lands are Americans of a very desirable class. They come equipped with the necessary knowledge and experience. This year alone they have brought in from $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 capital, and have broken up 56,000 acres of land. The United States of America afford the main hope of the Canadian Pacific Rail- way for the disposal of their land, and they conduct a very extensive propaganda there. They have 1,000 agents stationed in the United States, and they supply special facilities in the way of transportation, running two cars regularly a week from over the border, and, when occasion demands, special trains.
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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Reference :-
885
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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In the United Kingdom the Canadian Pacific Railway have 250 agents, and they continue their efforts to attract suitable settlers from the old country. Their agents make a point of getting into close personal contact with anyone who shows a disposition to buy Canadian Pacific Railway land, and it is their policy to discourage such an one unless he appears to be in every way suitable. In Mr. Dennis's opinion such work in the United Kingdom can only be justified on the ground of sentiment. The cost of agency in the United Kingdom is about five times what it is in the States for each settler attracted. Mr. Dennis recognises that the United Kingdom has not any appreciable surplus of people who possess the necessary capital and experience to make them suitable aspirants for the Canadian Pacific Railway lands. But he also holds very strongly that, speaking generally, the British settler, even if he has capital and experience, suffers under very serious disadvantages as compared with the American, or even the Continental, settler. It is the old cry, lack of adaptability. Even the man who has farmed in the United Kingdom is at first comparatively helpless under the new conditions. If a bolt goes wrong in his pump, he will write to Calgary to ask where he can get another, while an American would straighway devise some makeshift. He is also captious and unwilling to shift for himself, even when the way is indicated for him. Mr. Dennis illustrated what he meant by a reference to the signing of contracts for land. The American, he said, will go out and inspect the land; will satisfy himself as to its quality, come back, and perhaps haggle a little about the price of it; but, that settled, will sign the contract at once. will go out and see the land, and on returning, even if satisfied as to price, will An Englishman argue about the terms of the contract, and will ask for the insertion of such things as a guarantee against frost, or a guarantee that he will have a good crop the first year. Generally speaking the American gets to work more quickly, and gets better results under similar conditions. Mr. Dennis could not specify the causes responsible for these national differences, but he thought that it must be something in the educational and social conditions in the United Kingdom. He did not, of course, say that his criticism applied to all Englishmen and Scotchmen. The best of them were very good, and the first party taken out by the Canadian Pacific Railway from the United Kingdom this year included perhaps the best settlers they had on their lands. (This was confirmed subsequently, quite spontaneously, by the Dominion Lands Agent at Calgary.) But he thought his criticism was accurate as a general proposition.
Mr. Dennis had no fear as to the result of the influx of so many Americans. He was certain that they and their offspring were bound to become good Canadians. Very many of them were Scandinavians and Germans who had built up the middle States of the United States of America and who saw even greater possibilities in Canada.
The price of the Canadian Pacific Railway lands had just been raised from $15 for unirrigated land and $25 for irrigated land to $18 and $30. The policy of the Company was proving a great success, and they were being amply recouped for their expenditure. They give intending settlers every facility and assistance in selecting land, and they undertake such capital works as fencing, breaking the land, sinking wells, &c., on terms on which the settler could not hope to do the work for himself.
Mr. Dennis said that there was a constant demand for farm workers. He thought that artisans and mechanics also ought to be certain of getting work in Calgary and its neighbourhood; but there was no demand for clerks.
I called on Mr. James Winn, the Dominion Immigration Agent at Calgary. He said that the British immigrants coming through were of a distinctly better class. But even so they showed, as a class, a certain helplessness and failure to grapple with the new conditions as compared with other nationalities. The best Britisher could, however, not be beaten. He told me a story of a young English- man who had gone out to Calgary hoping to get work on a ranch. After a fort- night he presented himself to Mr. Winn, faultlessly attired, and complained that he could not get work. Mr. Winn advised him to abolish his monocle, to exchange his riding breeches for trousers, and to discard his walking stick. The next day he appeared in his new get-up, and said that he had now got a place. Mr. Winn secured his walking stick as a memento.
In addition to farm help, blacksmiths and carpenters were in good demand. Clerks there was no room for. Calgary. They were in great demand.
Few domestic servants got through so far as
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Calgary was not much troubled with deportations. There had been perhaps four or five in the course of the year. case, the deportation had been voluntary. There was no distress or poverty in In every case but one, and that a criminal Calgary, even in the winter.
Mr. Winn agreed to act as a local correspondent of the Emigrants' Information Office.
I found that Mr. Leigh Bernard, a local correspondent of the Emigrants' Information Office, was out of the country, but I had a talk with his son, Mr. William Bernard. His views as to the class of Britisher coming through, the difficulty he found in adapting himself to the new conditions, and as to the demand for workers of various kinds, confirmed those of Mr. Winn.
In the afternoon I called on Mr. Rowley, the Manager of the Calgary Branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. petent bank clerks.
He said there was a great dearth of com- own staff of 23, only three were Canadians, the rest were English or Scotch. The It was almost impossible to get them in Canada. Out of his British clerk was as a rule better trained than the Canadian, having gone through a longer and more elaborate course of preparation. Although compelled to use British clerks, Mr. Rowley was more severe on the British immigrant as a class than anyone I had hitherto met. Mr. Rowley is a man of intelligence and culture, and not at all the sort of man to repeat a mere parrot cry. He spoke very strongly
of the quality in Englishmen (and Scotchmen-he thought Scotchmen, if anything, worse) which makes them unable to conceive that any method of doing a thing other than that to which they have been accustomed can possibly be right under any circumstances. He told me a story of a farmer friend of his, with whom he happened to be when two young men came seeking work. They said they had just come from farm work in England. The farmer said at once that he had as much labour as he wanted. Immediately after two Canadians came on the same errand. The farmer engaged them at once. of treatment.
Mr. Rowley asked the reason for the difference Englishmen two years later, when someone else had gone through the painful The farmer explained that he would not mind engaging the process of driving Canadian methods into them.
Mr. Rowley thought that artisans should find work in Calgary. I next saw Mr. Sutherland, the Dominion Lands Agent. steaders of the district pass through his hands. Americans, or Canadians from the Eastern Provinces.
All the home- They are, however, mainly steads they get to work right away and begin to recoup themselves for their outlay at once. The British homesteader is comparatively helpless, and is a considerable On getting their home- time in getting under way. The best Britisher is, however, very good. Some of the men brought out in the first Canadian Pacific Railway party of 1909 were the best settlers in the district. There were good prospects for any artisan who would take up a homestead and, in the early years, work six months at his calling and six months on his farm. Mr. Sutherland promised to act as local corres- pondent of the Emigrants' Information Office.
I also called on Mr. C. II. Webster, the Secretary of the Calgary Board of Trade. He spoke of the functions of the Board. It was his duty to give general advice and information about the conditions in and around Calgary, but not to find employment for individuals or to accept any responsibility for an individual coming out to Calgary. Mr. Craighead, the London booking agent, had, I found, been trying to get from Mr. Webster a statement as to the prospects for artisans in Calgary. Mr. Webster had replied very guardedly. I warned him of the use to which Craighead might put any positive statement by inducing a flow of emigra- tion which Calgary might find it difficult to cope with.
Mr. Webster confirmed the opinion, which seems to be characteristic of Calgary, that the best British immigrants are excellent, but that the majority of them are greatly lacking in adaptability. He thought that artisans and mechanics ought to do well, in reasonable numbers, in and near Calgary. The town is growing, and is bound to grow more, and other towns are springing up around. This, he thought. was a safe general statement, though, as he had explained, he could give no guarantee of employment for any particular individual. Domestic servants were in great demand. There was one growing town not far away which had not a single woman in it.
Mr. Webster consented to act as local correspondent of the Emigrants' Information Office.
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