T. O. Currie, 108 Third street, second floor, Milwaukee, Wis. Thos. Duncan, 30 Syracuse Bank Building, Syracuse, N. Y. The work of these agents is very much the same in character. At almost all the offices there are one or two assistants, whose duty it is to look after the correspondence, issue the certificate which entitles the applicant to the reduced rates afforded by the Canadian railroads to the actual settler, and give to the caller all available information. At the end of the week the assistant keys the letters received according to post-offices and districts. The agent then selects the district that he should visit during the next or coming weeks and advises one or more of the correspondents that he will meet them and their friends at some given place on a set date, or if this is not possible, when necessary he visits the individual correspondent. He carries with him samples of the grains and grasses of central Canada, has with him a supply of literature, and quotes rates from their home to such a point in western Canada as they may desire to go to. He assists the intending settler by securing him the lowest freight rates for his stock and effects, advises him the best way in which to get cars, and afterwards follows the course of the car to its destination. Very often the male members of the family move in advance of those dependent. When this occurs it is the duty of the agent to assist the family in every way possible in order to get a start. During the fall of the year exhibits of grain and grasses, roots, vegetables, etc., with which the agent has supplied himself, are taken from fair to fair and tastefully arranged, then the agent's time is pretty well occupied in this way for from two to three months. A chain-letter system is adopted, which is very effective in getting the names of those in a neighborhood who would likely be interested in Canada. To the names thus secured literature and circulars are sent, and it is surprising the amount of effective work that is done in this way. It is sometimes the case that the manner in which one State may be worked will differ from another State. In each case, however, the agents keep me advised as to what they feel is the best course to pursue, and I am always prepared to accept and act upon such suggestions as may be safely adopted. In some cases it is found that the management of a fair does not care to allow our exhibits to be placed, but these cases are so rare that it is scarcely necessary to refer to them. In most cases there is no difficulty whatever in securing space, and in others managements have requested that we exhibit, offering a space free of charge. Generally, however, we rent a space in some building, and sometimes, unable to do this, ground space is rented. On this ground a temporary structure is sometimes erected, and in other cases a tent is secured, in which exhibits are placed. It is often necessary, in order to interest people in a certain district, to secure the assistance of one or two or more responsible men. Various ways are adopted in order to do this. One of the best methods is to secure transportation for these people and send them through to our western provinces to report to their friends. The agent fills up his report very carefully, and in this way gets in touch with a good class of people. Again, parties are accompanied as far as the boundary line, as there is a possibility that in passing through some of the Western States towns some of the people who may have been directed by the efforts of local agents to Canada may become interested in American lands. I referred in my last report to the inducements held out by Texas land agents. The railroad rates from St. Paul, Chicago, Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas, Indianapolis, and other points to Texas lands were much lower than those to Canada. The Western Passenger Association, however, has adjusted this, so that the rates are now more even; therefore some of this difficulty has been overcome. There is still opposition, and considerable of it is owing to the fact that Texas lands are reasonably low in price and an army of agents are at work throughout the country setting forth the advantages in Texas from a settler's standpoint. Besides the inducements held out by landowners in Texas, those offered by holders in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota were sufficient to arouse a disturbing sentiment amongst possible movers and divert the attention of land seekers. These lands do not carry the advantages that Canadian lands do, but the desire to keep within one's own country is something that is hard to overcome. There is the wish to know what it has to offer before going outside. It is true that Canada has the "last best west," but there is sufficient of the American west (whatever the character of the land may be) to keep the department and its corps of agents busy in the presentation of the superior advantages and opportunities afforded by Canada. Extensive newspaper advertising is one of the chief features of the Canadian, campaign in the United States. Concerning this, Mr. White says: " The country weekly and the farm journals are the principal mediums used. It is found that they reach the class of people mostly desirable as settlers. The city daily and magazine have not been used to any extent, not being found as valuable for reaching the farming public as the others just mentioned. Nearly 7,000 newspapers were contracted with. In recent years the Canadian authorities have encouraged tours of inspection through western Canada by United States editorial associations and newspaper writers generally, and Canadian railways have cooperated in making such tours practicable. As a result articles and editorials relating to Canada have appeared in many newspapers in different parts of the country. It is stated that the publicity gained by this method has materially aided Canadian agents in the campaign to induce emigration to Canada from the United States. The immigration movement from the United States to Canada is discussed at greater length elsewhere in this summary. IMMIGRATION EXPENDITURES. During the fiscal years 1898 to 1908, inclusive, Canada's expenditures in promoting and regulating immigration aggregated $6,779,823. Of this amount $2,500,432, or 36.9 per cent, was expended in Canada, and the remainder in the United States, the United Kingdom, and continental Europe. Assuming that the amount of money expended in Canada represents the cost of regulating immigration, and the amount expended outside of Canada the cost of promoting immigration, it appears that the latter was 63.1 per cent of the total cost during the period considered. SOURCES OF CANADA'S IMMIGRATION. It is apparent that at present Canada divides the emigrating races of the transoceanic world into three general groups, as follows: First, natives of the United Kingdom and of northern and western continental Europe; second, southern and eastern Europeans; third, the races of the Orient. The government has a well-defined idea of the desirability of each group as settlers in Canada; and the Canadian immigration act, although excluding no one solely because of his race or nationality, makes possible an effective discrimination among them. As previously explained, every effort is made to induce persons of the first •Report of the Superintendent of Immigration, Canada, 1906, p. 79. class to settle in Canada. Those of the second group, although admitted in rather large numbers, are not solicited, but, rather, their coming is more or less effectively discouraged. Those of the third class are practically prohibited from entering Canada by the Chineseimmigration act and by barriers erected under various provisions of the immigration law. How Canada has succeeded in attracting immigrants of the races or peoples desired is indicated by the following table, which shows in detail the racial or national composition of immigration to the Dominion during the past nine years, during which period the present system of control has been developed. Canadian immigration statistics are generally recorded by race rather than country of birth, although, as will be seen, territorial rather than ethnological designations are employed to a considerable extent, and in some instances immigrants are designated by the religious sect with which they are affiliated. Therefore the following table, while not entirely comparable with United States immigration statistics, nevertheless gives a clear idea of the racial distribution of recent Canadian immigration: TABLE 1.-Total immigration to Canada from July 1, 1900, to March 31, 1909, by race or nationality. [Compiled from statistical table furnished by Canadian immigration department.] TABLE 1.-Total immigration to Canada from July 1, 1900, to March 31, 1909, by race or nationality-Continued. Grand total... 49, 149 67,379 128, 364 130, 331 146, 266 189,064 124, 667 262,469 146,908 1,244,597 a A religious sect. Including 316 United States citizens coming to Canada via ocean ports. As previously stated, Canada promotes immigration from northern and western Europe and the United States; admits immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, but does not encourage their coming; and practically excludes Asiatics. How nearly the immigration during the nine years covered by the above table conformed to Canada's desires is shown by the following table: TABLE 2.-Total immigration to Canada, 1901-1909, by specified countries or groups of countries. It appears from the above that during the nine years mentioned 78.4 per cent of the immigration to Canada consisted of races or peoples from the north and west of Europe and from the United States, and 18.9 per cent consisted of races or peoples from the south and east of Europe, while only 1.7 per cent was from Asiatic countries. What proportion of the immigration of favored classes was induced by Canada's efforts, and how many persons of the classes not favored were prevented from coming because of the indifferent attitude of Canada, or by the barriers erected against them, can not, of course, be determined. Whether attributable to Canada's policy or to natural causes, it is noteworthy that so large a proportion of the European immigration to the Dominion during the period considered originated in countries where immigration effort is made. The result is even more striking when it is considered that the incentive to emigration, as measured by recent immigration to the United States, is much stronger in southern and eastern than in northern and western European countries. OCCUPATIONS OF IMMIGRANTS. In an official pamphlet intended for circulation in the United Kingdom, farmers, farm laborers, and female domestic servants are mentioned as the only persons the Canadian immigration department advises to emigrate to Canada. All others are advised to get definite assurances of employment in Canada before leaving home, and to have money enough to support them for a time in case of disappointment." How successful the government has been in inducing the desired immigration, so far as the occupations of immigrants are concerned, is shown by the following table: TABLE 3.-Occupation of immigrants to Canada, including accompanying women and children, 1907 to 1909. [Compiled from reports of Superintendent of Immigration, Canada.] Of the total immigration to Canada during the years mentioned 38.6 per cent were classed as farmers or farm laborers, which classification, as noted, includes accompanying women and children. It will be seen that the United States was the chief source of agriculturists arriving in Canada during the period, 58.4 per cent of the total number being from that country, while only 29.6 per cent of the whole came from northern and western European countries. a" Classes Wanted in Canada," issued by the authority of the Minister of the Interior, Ottawa, Canada, 1909, p. 31. |