THE HUMAN WANDERLUST.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 225, 20 September 1913, Page 16

THE HUMAN WANDERLUST.

A PASSION OP THE CEN-ITRtES. (By RFISERFORI) WADDELL, M.A.. D.D.) I was undecided whether to make my first halt at Medicine Hat or Calgary. Tlie former appealed to mc, partly because it was nearly 200 miles further out from the Rockies, and some 1,200 ft. lower than Calgary—likely, therefore, to be warmer. But there was another reason why Medicine Hat would have attraction. Rudyard Kipling has called it "city more fortunate built upon nell." It might therefore be worth a traveller's while to have a look at such a city, though it would be a bad speculation in the long run to be a dweller there. It got its name from the shape of its location. It is built in a depression on the prairie, resembling in appearance a Quaker's hat. The depression suggests a worn-down volcano crater, and the "gas wells," which are the feature, of the place, confirm the suggestion. The gaa rushes through at an enormous pressure —pure, ready to be turned into heat power and light, at a cost to the consumer of only 7_d. per 1,000 cubic feet. The Indians knew of this gas, and associated it with demons. The white man has captured the "demons," and put them to honeßt work—grinding corn and flour, driving factories, and doing household duties of all kinds. If we could only turn all our "devils" to such use, Satan's reputation might improve. Already the power generated by this gaa is driving 30 factories, and last year saw 4 huge flour mills go up to be operated by the same energy. The municipal authorities offer manufacturers a concession of "free power" for five years as an inducement to settle in the "Hat," and there are grounds for the belief that, though the population last year is quoted as a little over 6,000, it is expected that by the time the young men who are walking about its streets tc-day are three score and ten it will have over 500,000. One further significant fact about the "Hat" gas is this: the street lamps burn all day, because it is cheaper to let them do that than pay labour to put them out. But for reasons which I need not detail, I decided to stop at Calgary. The last time I saw Calgary, 12 years ago, it was a place of some 4,000 inhabitants. It was a late autumn evening, and the streets were slushy with sleet. The side paths were mere wooden planks. There was no gas, and the impression was dismal. To-day all is changed. It affords one of the best examples of how these Western cities spring up. It has now a population well on to 100,000. It has brought its gas 200 miles. It has a two-million dollar water power plant. Its university is housed in a modest temporary building, with a syllabus of some 70 subjects, but its managers have planned a home for it that may cost anywhere up to £10,000,000. Already a few citizens have secured 450 acres as a site—an ideal site it might be called. I was hoping to. find warmth in Calgary, ■but I got a mighty cool reception Though it was early in May, winter held its icy grip upon the city. Yet the sun was shining, but it .was only giving light —at least no heat that satisfied mc? The air felt as if it had been thrice sifted over fields -of frozen snow. . What it must be in the depth of winter I may imagine but shall never wish to test. I could almost believe, the story I once heard about a Scotsman and a" Yankee who were discussing the relative temperatures of their country. The Scotsman told some pretty tall facts about cold in the North of Scotland. The Yankee promptly rejoined: "Ah, that's nothin'. To prove it -to you, lteten to this: In the State where I live, one winter day a sheep leaping from one hillock to another was actually frozen in midair." "But," replied the Scotsman, with his devotion to common sense, -"that would be contrary to the law of gravity." ['Oh, I know that," rejoined the Yankee, "but, you see, the law of gravity was frozen too." I will not say that the Calgary cold was as bad as that; but, anyhow, I saw it was too much foT one, so I said to my friend who was travelling with mc: "This is no place for us; let's away." And so ir«. left in the afternoon. It was pleasant to get into the train once more. The hotels in Calgary are comparatively poor. In any case; a C.PJt. Pullman car is as comfortable a place as one need wish for. There have been many improvements in the caTS since I last travelled in them 11 years ago. The sleeping berths seem to mc to be roomier, and I made the discovery that the top .berth was the more desirable. There was less dust and more air, and better. It is heedless to speak of the dining car service. The man who can't find what suits him on the bill of fare must be a very peculiar individual. One great improvfment I found had been made, since my previous journey. Then for all meals, if I remember rightly, you paid a fixed amount—certainly, at any rate, for the dinner; now all meals are eerved a la carte. You select what you please, and pay only for what you select. This is a great advantage, for those at least, who can't eat a dollar and a-half's worth of dinner or breakfast. As it is, however, if one wishes to exchange money for food on an expensive scale he will still find abundant opportunity. For | instance, looking- at a .breakfast menu card that lies before mc, I find two sliced I oranges cost 20 cents, baked apples-with ' I cream 25 cents, a tenderloin - steak 85 cents, bread from 10 to 15 cents, tea 10 i cents, etc. You don't get anything for I nothing, except it Ibe a dainty little toothpick enqlosed in a little tissue paper envelope with the C.P.R. initials on it. If we paid at the same rate for our dinner on a New Zealand dining car, it would cost us from 7/ to 10/. In addition to all this there is the abominable system of tipping the waiter, a system that is universal in this country. There is no question, of course, as to either the quantity or quality of the dining car service of the C.P.R. It ie magnificent. After leading Calgary we run out into comparatively level country. The interest is transferred from mountains to men. We become conscious of the immigration facts and problems. We pass train loads of emigrants every here and there. At all stations they are in evidence, men and women and families all pushing out towards the Eldorado of this Canadian North-west. I saw the other day in an American paper that a young Hungarian wao presented his money at the steamship office at Bremen for passage across the Atlantic was surprised to be booked without charo. and given comfortable quarters. The reason ■was that he was the 10-millionth passenger that had been carried to America

*>y that steamship line. ntnti emigrante from one European porHS geets some interesting ! racial mixtures in America. Tk«t ioi? try has on -hand a present of «tk»S" " digestion that .will tax. all he S? ' Canada fe rapidly developing »S. problem. She lvae been invitinj 51? gration from everywhere, and ehe kS? ting it. I read the other day thkt *!7" ; " Saturday night 3,000 Scotch &fcg&l left the Clyde far Canada. Btrfix!- ' diversity of races that are" here will coon .be/as remarkable i*'b the past it has been in America.-*- , H«* ! one fact indicative of that. TheMll; has ibeen asked for in 110 • of the 432 into which it hae la-ted. That -refera to tw o y'eiwi Ifi Since then the volume and varittiSr umnigrante have greatly increieed.- 45 ;: ' Canadian Government are up tougher problem than any or&iii Government has ever to lAnglo-Saxonise these vast ninltitaii, of diverse creeds and- oharactt-rs •wul'J? - quire all the wisdom and enerev'dt'wt" Church and State. _" - ■ Very curious is this problem migration. It is as mysterious as that «1 birde. Open history anywhere, h<>& fa•':.. earliest pages onwards, and it mettl'jißWhat a story is that which Be Qinjfc, tells of the march of the CamWtlS tars across the Russian Steppfi;''dr-tli''' terrible journey of the GreekA tSroajA Asia, -which Xenophon recordsuyiji ;; "Anabaeie"; or of the HelveHi,- is'-Qi*? sar describes them, vacating -their «U- : territories in Switzerland, burning Oak homes being them and starting on « ntt trek westward! But all these art* migrations are as nothing; tft thett•'■'!» progress to-day. All over tie vWojtf populations aTe on the move »nd One may sympathise with the atffot to keep races distinct, but a littlt dlt»- :- ---vation must eurely convince, him," liit it is Mrs. Partington and her mop tab. The stars in their courses are figiti* I against it. " Whose Empire asked Mr. Redmond recently in a.ipwi on Home Rule. And be went on tolchh that Irish, equally with Scotch udl» lish were a constituent part of.ijD |jj; it will -really soon be difficult tot*B.vij|v Britain is being rapidly depleted oi ife British population. The country U W emptying iteelf into the cities, ssd tti cities are swiftly pushing out over iilfiii eeas. The vacant places are being fifii| with alien from crowded warrens of Europe, and jnoMtq from India and China. Not many jtje hence it will be almost impoeaibje io i% swer jVIr. Redmond's question, ad.'|iijjjj-'----will be the racial mixup, eyen in Britek if -the present process goes on.: It a same in America. I find the st«t««M here growing anxious 1 ■ i JS' Speaker -of Congress eta--ed the other day that in. 1,84i5 farmers left the States f.or.Ci»4lf and that is below the .weekly ifeiip' It represents a losis of over twonillßji';' dollars to the ißepublic. But theTwiSl. loss is on the people themselves. . Tbf ■.'■■ are Americans, and for the moit jei their places will he -filled by foreip immigrants. ,' i;,..-7| The causes of these migration* utm difficult to discover as those ofbirdi* - animals. A boy's composition.ok tl}| . Creation read thus: —"Godm»df fti world, and rested. Then he m»d* au, and rested ThrTi hr and neither God nor, maivhae.CTW.nU ' since." The boy probably buiMe3litt«f than he knew, for.it is a jtet iiii woman has- a great. deal with human , Thesgiejjritiei are often undertaken in'lher 'fajfijjifaj|tiv improve her social position, lid |«k newerand better iboraes. There.Mtothe causes, .!>ut we -have not space to CMoMtate them. It is of more c'oniejnlßtt to etudy the results. These' are numy, Hit some of them laden with serions ftnH When I wee a !boy Irish l«.bj)ui«» «*i to go across to the English, hanrwta, Ml come back again after they wijr'e finiiM, and they were a nine-daye' wonder fat being so far-travelled. But now'-ftto movement is opening out on *n ii«B- . ceivably wider scale. Crowds -of »«fc: men not only drift in and out Ot jdtM'jtl, | work—they cross the «eas.- r.-.Ttejijil.-from Europe to America in theiipnji; and return in the autumn. - ; -Thu»i'ii transportation grows ever ewiftfryipd cheaper, it will be possible to caffjjr (MM" ■ I multitudes of workers from one -eoiiStJ:; and one zone another. HumjtjiHyjii j off the chain. It-is fact l>e(yc>mjngf; I localised, unsettled, migratory, .**PP ing. The subject has Hickled. t& .•** fanaginatave genius of Mr. JH. G; Wife He refers to it in several of ' He. points out, in his impressive that the effect of all this is WiiMj.' ■ people less 'and less interested in :!*S affairs. Already the suburbanite $•* out of the city, .and losing intereji ii JL In " the same way the population o{» country, floating, about like iflSi|fi grow indifferent to the People have no< roots in the.s6it:.l|<J are 'here to-day, but they | pull up their tent-pegs'and uhe ."»■» morrow in quest of epme new pljjlfl*or employment. Even now." America there are States in.perlitf|*? ■tical corruption because of the apiikyf?-. the growing crowds -of unsettlrt •■ ■and women. It -is a curious' that seenw opening out before tie d* lised world—this of a floating popito , , tion, denationalised, developing customs, moralities of its own, iud,tljp. ing little concern in local .politic*, or «• State legislation. The bitten us all, and the wound forWie Wft On a tablet in a church at KctreSM.**; may read this inscription :- r<, Job|BP. Divultius, who never rested,, Hush!" It might eeTve as an.epHiJ" for our modem world. , '.< -■:- .