45 .

 

.» ,,¢.»:-:
“$5.: S

At that time tlsaiaait Austen Chamberlain, a. member
of the British Parliament, was thundering forth his doctrine of
trade within the empire. This, he contended, was to be accom~

._ o

plished by reci-prccin. tariff urmgementm m
-clots. Toazther this doctrine seemed entirely sound, so much
so that he was certain it would appeal to Britishers in that f
light and that its acceptance would be simply a matter of time.
If the Chamberlain policy became an accomplished fact the _
resulting situation would be very disastrous to American wheat
farmers, as Liverpool was the chief market for American wheat.
on the other hand it would be decidedly advantageous to wheat
 _' ; Z4 63£«:ZJ[cf.;&‘u

farmers located  . @’ather's ambition was
to become a wheat farmer on extensive scale. He believed
that greater and more rapid progress could be made in this
manner than by operating in a small way with livestock as the
main source of revenue. He wanted acreage where he could plow
a mile at a stretch without "interruption.

While not altogether satisfied with the results of
his trip to Edmonton in 1899, father could not forget the very
obvious possibilities offered by the Canadian northwest. In
that district cheap land was stailable and while on his way

from Calgary to Edmonton he had observed that the Wetaskewin

country was particularly good. on the return trip he had