OUR CANADIAN LETTER

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 11

OUR CANADIAN LETTER

(Fboh Oto Own Coebesfondent.) OTTAWA, April I* | The whole country, from Atlantic to Pacific, is at present profoundly agitated over a murder v. h.ch took place in Hamilton, Ontario, during the past month. It is always difficult to understand why a score of tragedies are given no more than passing notice, while an- | other, —for no particular reason, fastens j itself suddenly on the imagination of a , nation. Yet so it is. In this instance the circumstances have given rise to a problem, and that seems to be the essential element in creating a more or less enduring sensation — albeit every murder that is not committed openly has it 3 mysterious , and perplexing features. { Florence and Ethel Kinrade, daughters . of Principal Kinrade, were in their luxurious home on Herkimer avenue, in the chief residential section of the city, when the crime occurred. The time was Between ' 3 and 4 o'clock, in the afternoon. They ' were both well-known young ladies, hand- * some and well educated. ' Florence had j gained considerable local reputation as a • singer. What took place is known only J from- the story of this young lady.- She ; says that a ring of the ball took her to ' the door, where she found a shabbily- j dressed man. She took him to be a tramp. • He pushed his way in, and . demanded money. She went upstairs, where her . sister Ethe l was dressed for the street, ; &n<? took a, bank bill from her purse, j Sheiwarned Ethel not to go downstairs; > buj the latter would not heed. She went j down, and immediately shots were fired. ■ When Florence came down, Ethel was ! lying dead in the hall, with three bullets ■ in her head and four in her heart. The ! former rushed out the back door, returned, , engaged in a scuffle with the assassin, ! escaped to the side verandah, was pulled ; back into the house, and then saw the ' murderer go out of the door and dis- ; appear down the street. 1 All this took place in broad daylight and in a populous neighbourhood. When the father was sent for, he aaked, " Was it the man from Virginia?" The mother had for two or three days noticed a man ' hanging about the front of the house, and ; at the time of the shooting had gone to , the police station to ask for protection, i These are the salient facts in the crime, < and. upon them everybody is just now engaged in building up theories as to who ; did the killing. The' tramp theory is not generally be- ■ lieved. If the object was merely robbery, ; it is held that the shooting was uncalled I for. The young ladies wei - e alone, and j did not offer resistance. If Ethel had done | anything to thwart the robber, any one of the shots fired must ha\e killed her . instantly. Why were ee\en bullels put into her body ? Moreover, the . firing of • a revolver was likely to give an alarm, and .that is the last thing a mere thief . would wish to do. It is argued that • whoever committed the murder hid a motive apart from robbery, and hpnee ! nearly everybody to day believes that this ; shocking crime is he outcome of some wild love affair. Few doubt that the _n,amc of the criminal is known to at least i?lox-ence. If 60, why does she shiel d him '! Therein , lie* the mystery. The coroner's inquest • has not yet been held, owing to the serious .' condition of the family in whose horn'? the j murder occurred; but it is not exproted to ] disclose any circumstances with which tha , public mind is not already familiar. ■ Meanwhile the case is the talk of the lan-d, ' and everywhere one hears the call for a ' Sherlock Holmes to step in and unravel j what is certainly a serious puzzle. I In the criminal oategory, with certain j extraordinary features, another case was I given wide public attention during the past , month. In the little town of Simcoe, ] Ontario, police protection had for some years been in the hands of Chief Malone and Officer Wilkina. Early fast autumn the latter was found in the park with two bullets through his head and one in his body. Although frightfully injured, he nevertheless recovered; and then told a remarkable story. He declaicd tha ehoot- ■ ing had been done by the chief at 1 o'clock in the morning, upon the long accepted belief that dead men t-el! no tait 3. At the tria 1 which took place 10 da\s ago Wilkms gave astounding evidence. Ke declared ' that for a long time he had been under , the control of his superior officer, of whom c he stood in constant dread. He had been ! a witness of many crimes of Malone, including robbery and incendiarirm. . On several occasions, juet to enjoy the diversion of seeing the brigade turn out. Chief Malone had set fire to various buildings. Many times he had robbed stores. This testimony was supported by circumstances and the statements of others, and Malone ' has been sent to prison for life. - i On June 30 last oSbia.l returns just made j to Parliament show that Canada had 22,966 miles of railway in operation. Within three months after that date more than 800 additional miles were put in commission. With double track, sidings, ! and yards the total mileage is about 30,000. The capital invested in these lines reaches the large figure of £248,000,000, exclusive ', of £61,000,000 repsesenting the cost of , 1986 miles of line owned by the Dominion ' and Provincial Governments. Toward the 1 construction of railways owned by cor- | porations £40,000,000 has beer given out 1 of the Federal Treasury, in addition to j 31,864,074 acres of land. The pro\mcas and municipalities have given additional , subsidies amounting to £11,000,000 and ' 20,360,109 acres of land. Over and above ' all this, bonds have been guaranteed to the extent of many millions, of pounds. | Taken together, railways cf Canada carried 34,044,992 passengers and 63,071,167 ! tons of freight during 1908. These figures show a moderate increase in passenger ; traffic and a felling-off in the freight business as -compared with the preceding year. The number of passengers does not come up to the figures sent out from New Zea- I land and -Australia -when measured by mileage; but that i 6 probably due to the fact that Canadian railwajs have scarcely 1 any suburban traffic. That service is pro- [ vided by. electric railways, -which last year , carried 299,099,309 passengers. Ihe aver- < age passenger journey on steam lines' for ( the year was 61 miles, while the average ( number of passengers per train was 54." ] The average freight haul was 206 miles. wiih' an average of 278 tons per train. The | number of employees of all cla=6es wjb 106,404, showing a reduction of 17,6C0 dur- j ing the year. The gross earnings of railways for 1908 •were £29,400,000. which was but a few sounds beyond the mark for 1907, while

the operating expenses, amounting to £20,750,000, were £710,G00 above those of the previous year. These results, along with the reductions in staff, were produced "by the depression which came upon the United States in the latter part of 1907, and which up to this moment has continued to aff«ct railway traffic mo.o or less seriously. A pronounced revival appeared to be under way throe or four n:cntl s ago, and considerable improvern--nt was shovn • over the corresponding period in 1907; but 1 during January and February there j occurred a good many set-backs. The ] feeling at the present time is on the side of hope, and there is some negative consolation in the fact that, our American neighbouis are suffering in a much greater degree than we are. In the meantime, ' railway construction is being carried on , with pronounced energy. Large projects { are under way in answer to the call of the , West for increased transportation facilities. This is in keeping with the conviction that existing conditions are wfcoUy ' temporary in -their character. 1 During the-year 1903, 177.51 miles were \ added to the electric railway mileage of the- ; Dominion, 'bringing fche total up to 992.03. 1 In enterprises of this nature £17,600,000 1 has been invested. Sinos th<»f water power • tut Niagara Falle 'has been harnessed, and | j distribution lines have been extended to j points- 100 males distant, numerous electric ; : tramway schemes have been put into opera- ! ti-on in the most congested saou'otis of Ontario. These lines handle both passengers ■. and freight. In fche .Niagara dtsfiriot, lor • example, +he rapid handling of perishable I fruits has been practically revolutionised, j ; Quick marketing facilities have been of ; I great benefit to producers, and the area, !of distribution has bsen correspondingly I widened. All this is apart from the us© | which ie being made of the power generated ■ Ht Niagara for industrial purposes. ■ The offioial record shows that 449 persons were killed and 2347 injured by the rail- ; ways of Canada, during 1908. Of the killed, I 28 were passengers. The toM of life was | I less than for 1907 ; but the figures are, ' ' never thelees, appalling. Public attention | is being very earnestly given to this matter, ' and the collateral question of compel ing ■ the railways to adopt improved methods or , , signalling is '^i'.g generally discussed. Investigation has shown that in the United ,' ' States automatic signals systems on certain ; I lines have brought about a vast improvement j | in respect of safety, and since the element I \of cost is the primary obstacle to the ' installation of these devices, it is expected < that raiiwa3TS will be favourably influenced' '' by considerations of ultimate savings to their treasuries. Wrec-ks were alwajs costly, and at least the principal railways : will not be slow to adopt measures which j -tre calculated to stimulate their net ' income. This movement will proceed side by side with that which has reference to • the gradual elimination -of . level highway ' ciossjngs, ac to which an exceedingly act.ye ' agitation is at present being carried on , in Parliament. ' For nearly a week the eyes of thousands ' of Canadians were focusead on the city j of Toronto, where a. hot struggle was in ! progress between Low and High Ohurch ' factions over the election of a bisihop. , With fevv exceptions, the cler.gy favoured the CJUidktate of the High Church (party, while the lay d^ic-tfafee stood just as firmly by the choice cf tiro Lew Church party. Ballot after ballot was taken, and for several days «.n absolute deadlock was maintained. It became obvious that neither ' party would give waj, and in this situa- j tion a compromise was finally agreed upon. ! Archdeacon Sweeney was elected. Ke is a Low churchman ; 6o that the final xesult xn&y be looked upon ac more or Jets of a ' defeat far the High OLurch party. This is the fir<jj, issue of fche kind which has j taken place in Canada, and it may bei j taken a 6at least an indication of the drift of seiitiment among the Anglican . eiergy. I Within the Methodist Church en issue of another character has been brought con- ; spicuously to the front by an incident which ' occurred about 10 days ago, also in the ! city of Toronto. The Rev. Mr Jackson i is nominally the pastor of Sherbourne Street i Church in that city, although he still retains j his standing in the Conference of Great j Britain. He came to Canada from Edin- j burgh several years ago, primarily for a . ciiange of air. He is recognised as a man ■ of scholarly attainments, a profound | thinker, and an eloquent and earnest I peracher. Over the people of his church, | which is one of the wealthiest in Toronto, | be has obtained a commanding influence. Recently he delivered two addressee on ; the of the Bible, and after the latter he was bitterly assailed in the press ■ by the Rev. Dr Carman, Superintendcnt-g-eneral of the Methodist Church in Canada. He was accused of heresy in having spoken of the first three or four chapters of Genesis as being allegorical. To Mr Jackson's defence came many prominent laymen and several fearlese ministers. While this controversy was at fevier heat the Rev. Dr Rose preached a sermon in Winnipeg along precisely the linea which had been laid down by the Rev. Mr Jackson. Dr Rose is one of the best known and most influential of the Methodist ministers in the Dominion. Since these utterances men of the old 6choc4 are publicly asking the question: What is Methodism coming to in Canada? No one may say; but events would seem to clearly indicate that ministers in that denomination are casting to the winds their ancient fears of indictment before a Church Court. Be that as it may, distinguished Methodist laymen o-re every day demandinggreater freedom for the pulpit, and whatever may be the issue of the incident in Toronto, onlooking members cf other denominations ccc in this outburst the striking away of at least sonu> of the shackles which have hitherto held Methodist ministers to the teaching of only those d«cfrines which were defined by John Wesley. What these pioneers for freedom of thought have clone, others will soon claim the right to do. The- line of settlement in Canada is being steadily pushed northward. The writer very well remembers when an eminent botanist 'announced that wheat could be grown in Manitoba. The statement was at first received with general incredulity. It was not bolieved that grain-growing could be carried on in that latitude. Manitoba is now one great wheat field. Pioneers . were found who, in the course of years, • carried their, operations into the provinces | westward and northward, and at the present time no one may say where wheat cannot be grown within the Dominion. Several years ago the attention of the Government was called to the Peace River Country, which Ike in a direct lines 350 miles to the north of Edmonton. Very

little settlement has even yet taken place beyond Edmonton. In answer to strong appeals -from men who had ventured into tlie Peace River district, it was deoided to establish there an experimental farm station. The report with regard to the Peace River station has just been laid before Parliament. It is an exceedingly inspiring dcoument. It shows that wheat sown in the latter part of April last and the early days of May canae to maturity in August. The quality of the grain was first class. Oats, barley, and peas had also been successfully grown, while many varieties of -vegetables and 6mall fruits had been produced. In' short, the district is shown to be capable of sustaining a very lar^e farming population, and with this fact established it is inevitable that railway facilities will be ptomptly provided. Thus a new and fertile area has been added to the domain within which farming may be carried on under favourable conditions. All this is very encouraging-. It must not be supposed, however, that all conditions in the West are satisfactory. In that section of the Dominion are many

thousands of Indians, whose well-being continues to give anxiety to those who have their interests in charge. At very considerable cost the Government 20 years ago provided for their education, both in letters a.nd the arts. At first great hopes were attached to the civilising and developing aoancies. Pupils came to the schools in la.rge numbers Marry of them exhibited marked capacity Boys and girls were kept at these institutions for years, and were turned out with a sound general education and a good grounding in some of the cra£t6 at which they would be most likely to earn a livelihood. At the same time they cheered the hearts of the missionaries by their acceptance of the religion of the white "man. Within two or th-ree- days the Minister in charge of Indian Affairs was sorrowfully compelled to admit in Parliament that, on the whole, these measures looking to the development and uplifting of the Indians had been a failure. Many of the brightest pupils had lapsed into savagery within a few years after leaving the schools. In that same Western country, on the other hand, large hopes attach

to the possibilities of industrial de« velopi. f nt. Immense beds of ooal have been found, and quite recently natural gas has been discovered in fabulous quantities. Early in the past month one well near iiedicine Hat wa6 producing 4,500,000 cubic feet .of gas per day. This represents tha equivalent of 21,000 horsepower. The finding of gas in such volumes gives assurance of the eaa'lv discovery of petroleum.

At this moni'Mit indications point to a.n early spring. The winter has not been unduly severe, and the snowfall has not beet? a hindrance to railways. liumberinjf operations have been carried on under favourable conditions. Our industries have been operated without interruption. There has not bsen more than normal distress among the poor and unemployed in the larger centres. Should the break-up of ■winter ocour toward the end of March, tho outlook for the year ahead will be exceedingly bright. Early sowing will take place in farming districts, and construction work will begin on large undertakings ■which were suspended during the colder months.