“As a matter of fact, there is in some particulars more intimate union between Canada and the United States than between some of our own provinces. I have often said to my friends that the beginning of wisdom in regard to Canada is the realization of the fact that the natural avenues of traffic and communication lie north and south rather than east and west. We must remember that between various parts of the Dominion nature has set up very formidable barriers, great lakes, high mountains, and wide expanses of uncultivated territory. We must not forget, furthermore, that there are two distinct races in Canada, different in religion, sympathies and general characteristics. Thus it will be seen that without compactness in territory and without a homogeneous spirit among the people, Canada is not a united country. She needs the United States and, by the same token, the United States needs Canada. While I don’t expect to see it in my own time, I feel justified in prophesying that the passing years of the twentieth century will bring an equal union between our country and the States. Together they will rise to greater heights of power, influence and civilization than any nation has yet attained.
“I like to see Canadians go to the United States and I like to see young Americans come to Canada. A young man should always have courage to seek the fields which seem to be most promising for him. I am inclined to think that a changed environment is a stimulus to his energy and ambition. A knowledge of the different sections certainly gives him a broader outlook and adds materially to his equipment for the battle of life.”
XLIX
After Failure as a Grocer, He Becomes the Ablest Administrator Quebec Has Ever Had.
“THE busiest man in Canada,” exclaimed a friend in close touch with the government, when I told him that I desired to meet the Hon. S. N. Parent, Premier of the Province of Quebec.
“Parent, you know,” continued my informant, “is not only Premier of the Province, but is also mayor of the City of Quebec, minister of lands, mines and fisheries, president of the company that is building a seven-million-dollar bridge across the St. Lawrence, director in the Quebec Railway Light and Power Company, director in the Grand Trunk Railway, and a lawyer with the largest practice in the Province.”
This information as to his surprising range of activities, bespeaking a man of remarkable achievement, made me more than ever anxious to talk with Mr. Parent, and I said so to my friend.
“Well,” he exclaimed, “the premier is personally one of the most approachable men alive, but all day long in the ante-rooms of his various offices there are crowds waiting to see him. He never appears in the streets of Quebec on foot, but always in his cab, for the simple reason that if he were walking so many persons would stop him that he would be hours getting to his destination. His lieutenants hedge him in, but once past them you are all right.”
“What would be a good time and place to call on him?”