OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16594, 18 January 1916, Page 8

OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

UThom Odb Own Coiihespondemt.) t OTTAWA, Dcoembcr 4. ' Tho whole country was eomowhat startled ' a'weok ago, although now fairly well accus- < tomed to shocks arising out oi tho wax, j when Government seized —"commandeered* i 3 probably tho proper word—about ' 22,000,000 bushels of wheat lying in eluva- 1 tore and railway terminals far shipment to 1 Great Britain and her Allies. This action 3 took ptacra at a tirrro -when tho movement of grain by way of the Great Lakes was most * activo in viow of the inevitable closing of f navigation on inland -waters during tho next two weeks by tho oncoming of severe winter weather. Tho largest quantity was found at tho head of Lake Superior. There ' •was naturally great consternation, and an immediato rushing to Ottawa on the part ' of tho3e engaged in tho grain trade. It Was necessary to close tho Winnipeg Gram Exchange for several days until explanations could bo mado and an understanding arrived at between the owners of the wheat and Government. All sorts of -wild reports wero put in circulation pending an official statement as to tho tonus of settlement and tho cause for such a sudden and drastic action. ... Government explained that a requisition was mado by Great Britain for a very largo quantity of" high-grade wheat for tho entente Allies Immediate delivery ■was requested. To go on the open market and ibuy such a largo volume of grain would not only involve very considerable delay, but cause a rise in tho price. Having regard to tho emergency which had arisen, it was dccided to seixo tho wheat immediately availablo. This brought tho exigencies of war timo homo to everybody. Later it was announced that Government would pay the market price at the moment of seizure, and indemnify thoso "who were moving gram under coniaraict for delivery within a specified time. This indemnification would only apply, of course, to tho higher price which theso contractors might bo called upon to pay, sinco no other damages could bo incurred during the progress of tho war. Tho fact that it was possible for Great Britain to havo such a requisition filled without dolay is a fresh demonstration of tho resources of the Empire—resources which roust play a considerable, if not a vital, part in the final outcome of this unparalleled struggle. Germany and her allira have no such resources. It happens in this instance that Canada alono oould have supplied fully eight times the volume of wheat involved in the order given. She could do a great deal in other directions. In fact, the feeding of Great Britain and her Allies during tho term of tho war is not a problem which should cause concern. Bread of the very beet quality is assured, and it may be assumed that the available supply of meats is fully up to possible requirements. Thanks to the power of the British navy, all such supplies can bo transported with but the minimum of risk. The German submarines havo not up to this moment sunk a single troopship or supply ship on the route 'between Canada and Great Britain. Canada has also quite recently given another most striking demonstration of her ability to help the Mother Country in time of trouble. A wax loan of_ £10,000,000 -was required. In accordance with lie arrangement mado last year, this loan would have been financed by the Imperial Govern-, ment; Init the Minister of Finance dccided to appeal for the money to the people of Canada. No such appeal for any purpose had ever been made before. There was doubt in some quartere that tho response would be satisfactory; yet within a single week subscriptions aggregating £22,000,000 were received. It is quite probable an additional £10,000.000 would have been offered if the time .imit had been extended. The result has surprised and greatly heartened our own people. The experiment clearly shows that we have been greatly underestimating the volume of capital in the country awaiting investment, and the disposition of the Canadian people to make whatever sacrifices may be required of them in the present crisis. Our resources in money are greater than the response to the war loan would indicate. There were on deposit at the end _ of October savings of the people aggregating £152,000,000. These savings had increased materially since the outbreak of war, which was tlie natural result of uncertainty under such conditions. War, like hard times, forces money into the banks and out of the channels of enterprise. Of course, these savings deposits would not be wholly available. On the other hand, very large smns of money not found in the banks could bo had. In the present instance the rate of interest to subscribers will be 5.4 per cent., which is rather tempting to those who have funds to invest. It was eo considered by insurance, trust, and other companies of that class; but the bulk of the subscriptions came from the people at large, in amounts varying between £200 and £150,000. It is in a time of testing, like the_ present, that the real strength of a nation in all respects is revealed. We now know that Canada can quite easily raise a great deal of money, if it is needed. Hitherto we have looked to England whenever we have occasion to borrow. The Minister of Finance is working out a plan whereby Canada should finance her own war expenditure as well as the purchases here of Great Britain and her allies. The problem is a large one, and in view of the conditions hardly practicable in entirety. The war expenditure of the dominion up to tho end of December of next year will amount to 400,000,000 dollars, while the purchases of great Britain will amount to 600,000,000 dollars. The two together will aggregate over a thousand million dollars. Canada is_ a borrowing country, depending upon outside money markets for the sale of dominion, provincial, and municipal securities. It has no international money centre like New York or London, with accumulation of capital. It follows, therefore, that the dominion is not ■ in a position alone to undertake all the huge financing involved by tho war. She will bo capable, however, by means of the 'domestic loan, ' increasing revenue, and retrenchment to pay a large part of it, and by way of advances help the expenditure of the Allies in Canada for supplies and munitions. Tho increase in available Canadian capital can be produced only by production and saving. There are many facts and circumstances which point to the turning of the tido in Canadian commerce. The slump bad really begun before August, 1914; but with the outbreak of war it was given momentum. In all directions there was decline. Railway earnings, which are barometric in their relationship to trade, scored large decreases. The figures are not yet available from official sources; but it is probable gross earnings fell off by at least £7,010,000 between July 1, 1914, and June 30, 1915. For the 20 years preceding there had been unbroken gains, as there had also been in our foreign commerce; for traffic and trade are practically interchangeable terms. Imports shrank persistently. Exports, however, began to pick up as soon as war orders got in motion. The public revenue declined as imports fell away. The banks, always sensitive to conditions of uncertainty, shut down on loans. At all events, they adopted a policy of extreme caution; and when a banker gets into that mood the borrower is apt to be refused. Tho effect was to discourage enterprise. The banks gathered in money until the vaults wero filled. Now, as I havo said, tho tide has turned. Railway earnings havo shown marked buoyancy sinco September. Primarily, this was due to the movement of Canada's unprecedented harvest It may be my : duty to watch such things, and I have seriously felt that Government should have declared, not. a day, but a week of national thanksfiving, during which our people should ave been much on their knees in gratitude for the phenomenal and timely harvest of 1915. It saved the situation. By no other stroke of fortune could 6uch a widespread distrubtion of money have been secured at a timo when just such a thing w;js needed. 1 There was also the swelling shipment of munitions—to which I shall allude in a moment —joined to general activity in both exports and imports. It would seem that confidence had supplanted doubt in the hearts of the people, which makes all tho difference in the world. Uncertainty is in tho nature of asphyxiating gas to enterprise. The two cannot co-exist. Trade statistics published by the Department of Trade and Commerce show that for the 12 months, ending with October, exports of Canadian produce increased by ! 96,296.139d01, while imports of merchandise 1 innreawd by 92,908.747d01. Total exports for the nine months _ amounted to 1 509,092.215d01, while total imports amounted 1 to 421,677,217d01, leaving a balalnce of trade 1 in favour of Canada of 87,415,028d01. Exports of animal produce for the 12 months ' totalled 89,741.675d01, an increase of 1 25.757,405d01. Exports of agricultural pro- ' due© totalled 158,453,160d01, a decrease of ' 6,318,923d01. Exports of manufactured prot ducts totalled 130,848,327d01, an increase of ' 65,393.597d01, or of 100 per cent. It will be 1 seen that the outgo of manufactures made 1 up the principal increment, and the bulk of ' our shipments of this class consisted of war materials, chiefly shells. The balance of trade in our favour is a novel experience. It > is many years since we had such a situation. > General Alexander Bertram, deputy chairman of the Imperial Munitions Board, gave ; some interesting figures with regard to the i production of munitions in his address beforo the Ottawa branch of the Canadian Association of Civil Engineers at a recent luncheon. Ho said that at present about 100,000 per- . sons were employed in this country on oxders far 20 million shells. The number of

sheila shipped ao far to England is 3,500,000. The valufl of the orders for shells up to tho present h&rl been 220,C00,000d01, and additional orders between now and the end of the year of 180,000,000d0l would bring tho total up to 375,000,00Gd0i. Tho etoel required for tho shells from now until the eud of next year will be about BtW,OOO,COOIb. It will tax tnc steel plants of the dominion to the limit. There will bo 45 million pounds of copper and brass needed, which is more than Canada can produce, and 1£ million pounds of tin, and 10 million pounds of resin General Bertram said that in tho earlier days of shell work ill Canada the _ manufacturers had to bo fairly dragged into it. There is no such roluctanee at tho present tiino. The profits have been substantial. For tho first small order a price of eight dollars and 55 cents per shell had fixed. Thero was, no idea as to what th< actual cost would be. This price was sub mittod to the War Offico and accepted Some Americans e&tno over and said that the shells could not possibly bo made for thaJ price, and this resulted in an application to the Government to protect the m-arvufao turers in caso they could not make th< sheila for the price agreed upon. How over, tho manufacturers found that thi price could bo cut in two if tho War Oflioi gave further orders. Ho referred to thi explosivo factories started, and paid a tn but© to the manufacturers for the class o shells turned out. Not one complaint ha< been received from tho War Office of ain material shipped _ from Canada. . Tho expansion in tragic, particularly in im ports, has very much helped tho public re venue. Tho increase for November, as com pared with last year, was equal tc £1,500,000. For oiglit months of tho cur rent fiscal year tho receipts have beer £21,000,000, as against £18,000,000 for thi corresponding period of last year. The policy of proceeding only with worki actually under construction has caused thi ordinary expenditure in tho past Cl n" months to be rcduced bv ten millions of dot lars, and tho capital expenditure by abou' three millions. As between _ increased re venue and decreased expenditure a favour able balance of 27 millions, as compared witt last year, is secured. The revenue exceed; Hon. W. T. White's predictions when th< war Budget was brought down. Ho esti mated 30 millions of additional revenue. lhi whole financial situation is encouraging Tho recent war loan is a spelndid proo: of that. It shows that wo are really a greol deal stronger than we had assumed, wilier is a good thing to discover. As a result of all that is occurring it ha: been tentatively agreed that thero will no be 1 a general election until after the closi of the war. The people aro m no mood toi a campaign. Our elections are disturbing a best, and it is felt that partisanship migh safely be buried while the Empire is light mg desperately for its existence A eon test at this critical juncture would strike i discordant, note. Tho present Parlmmen has over aNyear to run, and it has been sug gested that' at tho approaching session bott Houses should join in an appeal to the lm porial power to sanction tho continuance o the existing Government until peace hai been declared. Two sessions have taker place since the outbreak of hostilities it Europe, and at neither has matter of a con troversial character been brought up. 1 an election took plaoc now it is certan that the of the Departmen of Militia would come in for criticism, anc it is felt such a thing is in the last degree undesirable. The hatchet will therefore bi buried. Any other course would be mos repugnant to public sentiment. Meanwhile, enlistment in the various unit) which, when complete, will bring Canada: war force up to 250,000, is proceeding rapidly. Novel methods of bringing thi slackers up to a senso of their duty havi been adopted at several centres of rcennt ing. At a certain tea-room in Ottawa re cently the dance was stopped whilo _ser geants in khaki presented a type-writtei document to each of the male dancers. Thi young ladies, who ovidently knew what wa; to happen, displayed a deep interest in thi missives. These dips could not bo stuffed uj a. fellow's sleeve with his handkerchief oi slipped quickly into a vanity case. lh< ladies insisted on knowing what sort o letter it was that was so important that i had to be delivered in the middle of thi sacred tea hour. The missive read: " Havi you yet considered that you're called upor to help defend Canadian homes and Catia di-an women?" The outgo of mail matter for our boyi at the front and in German prison camp lias beeti so enormous as to almost breal down our postal facilities. Literally, it liai amounted to thousands of tons. Of course this extraordinary movement has been dui to the Christmas season, although thi volume of mail matter is at all times large It can safolv be said that not a Canadiai in arms across the Atlantic will be lackinf n. present, or a substantial remembrance o some sort, at Christmas. . Organised ladie: havo co-operated with individuals in gather ing uTid sending forward these Christmai donations, which, while embracing man] delicacies, aid chiefly in the nature of suci genuine comforts as warm clothing and pro tectives against the cold and damp of thi trenches. Wc have more than 100,000 of ou: brave boys over at the front, and the; will all be cheered by presents from homi during tho next two or three weeks. Some nation may be had of the amoun' of work 'being done by Canadian womei for the Red Cross service by the shipment across seas for the month of November Among the oontents of 508 cases weri 79,457 bandages, 55,320 sponges, 56,735 dress inga, 19,410 packages of folded gauze, 12,19( handkerchiefs, 9990 towels, 4400 slings, 239; pairs socks, 1420 flannel shirts, 1715 pyjamas 1973 mufflers, 1405 bod pads, 850 surgica shirts, 254 convalescent suits, 112 dressinp gowns, 284 pillows, 320 pledgets, 532 com fort bags, 810 washcloths, 2 kit bags, ' boxes of cigarettes, 3 cases and 8 packagei of Christmas parcels, II cases of Christ ma; stockings (2 for M'Gill General Hospital), ! raise of supplies for Cliveden Hospital, be sides donations of sugar, cakes, biscuits phun cake and puddings, old linen, etc._ Closely identified with all the activitici created in Canada by tho war is tho persistent movement to either stop or curtai the liquor traffic. Jn all efforts to this enc the temperance people aro having tho co operation of agencies which had heretofori been either passive or arranged on tho sidi of the liquor interest. Thero appears to bi a grim determination on tho part of oui people to strike a decisive blow against thi chief causes of intemperance. The arc; of prohibition is steadily spreading, whili in licensed districts the sellng houre havi been greatly reduced. As an indication o tho progress being made, it is significan that the distillery of Messrs Hiram Walkc: and Sons, one of tho largest in the world has been closed down for a year. Further more, official statistics just made publii show a remarkable falling off in the pe capita consumption of both beer and spirit; during the past year. Trade between Canada and' the Aitipodcai countries is steadily growing. For thi fiscal year ended 31st it amounted in al to 18,118,299d01, made up as follows:—Im parted from Australasia, 6,039,595d01; fron New Zealand, 3,906,462d01t0ta1, 9,986,05" dollars. Exported to Australasia, 5,552,681 dollars; to New Zealand, 2,619,556 dollars —total, 8,172,242 dollars. Among theprin cipal items of exports to New Zealand, ii dollars, were: —Manufactures, 1,745,381: agricultural implements, 637,500; anc canned salmon, 172,004. Among tho manu factures were products of iron and steo to tho valu© of 130,848 dollars, 57,845 dollars worth of solo leather, wiro and nails 60,31! dollars, and boot® and shoes entered al 23,572 dollars. Printing paper alone amounted to 509.907 dollars. In all, _ somt 50 different classes were represented in th<. list of manufactures, including 517,691 dollars -worth of automobiles. Products of the Forest, of which a considerable volume might have been expected, reachcd a total of only 27,961 dollar*. Among tho imports from New Zealand were 4,918,5121b of butter, valued at 1,223,631 dollars. This would represent an average of a trifle over 40 cents per pound, to which would have to be added tho duty and cost of carriage inland, plus selling profit. The retail price in eastern Canada at the prosent time is not that high. It must bo assumed that most of the market for New Zealand butter lies in the western provinces, where, however, every effort is now t>eing made to increase the domestic supply, [t scarcely seems probable these efforts will for some years to come more than keep pace with increasing population. The imports of meats from New Zealand were not on a largo scale, which to me is surprising. Incidentally, is showing tho volume of trade being built jp for the steamers plying between Canada aid tho South Seas, it may bo added that wo imported during the year 1,99&,924d0l &-orth of goods from Fiji. Canada appears to ibe holding her own m le exportation of choese. Tho total volume ior the last fiscal year was 137,601,6611b, most of which went to Great Britain. In 1914 we sent abroad scarcely any butter; but in 1915. notwithstanding our coneidcriblo purchases from New Zealand, wo exported 2,724.9131b. This was leas than a ifth of our foreign sales in years gone by. >ur people, however, take the matter philoiophically. They understand that the define is due to two caur.es in chief: First, i larger domestic consumption, and second, ,he use of cream in other forms. The Dairy 'Jommissioncr is not convinced that the production of milk has really fallen off. although it is hard to see how it could be sxpected to be maintained in the face of a itcady decrease in the number of milch sows, in common with other farm animals. Juch a phenomenon in an agricultural eounry which haa spent millions to develop tho

farming industry, ifl, to say the least, somewhat surprising. It accounts for the high prices of dairy products and moats. There is a movement on foot ill Cwiada for tho establishment of a competent tribunal for tho purpose of issuing identification badges, or buttons, to men of military ago who qj"o willing to aerve, but for somo iidoquato reason nro unable to go to tho front. At present there is no moans of distinguishing such young men from the slacken*. It is felt that such a badge would stimulate rccruitirag by segregating the willing from tho unwilling. Canadian-made toys are this Christmao taking tho place of German goods. A Boston paper tritely observed the otlmr day that if the red paint did not remind them of the blood of Edith Cavell some Americans would no doubt buy Gcxmun toys this year, ns heretofore. Tho month of November was marked by almost complete alisence of snow over the whole country, and very mild weather. Tho movement of wheat down tho Great Lakes during tho past month amounted to 50,612,358 bushels, establishing a record.