yet on a very attractive basis, a steady effort is 

 being put forth to bring outstanding accounts 

 into a more realizable shape. Undoubtedly 

 business firms as well as the people, have sub- 

 jected themselves to rigid economy during the 

 winter months, and the result is now evident in 

 the fact that there is money available both for 

 construction and investment purposes. It would 

 seem, therefore, that there is ample justification 

 for the suggestion that the West will be able to 

 carry on its ordinary annual business without 

 any hindrance in this respect. 



While any large program of construction 

 depends to a certain extent on reductions labor 

 is inclined to take in wages, negotiations so far 

 would lead to the belief that such reductions will 

 be small, say from ten cents an hour to one 

 dollar per day. This will hardly meet the 

 desires of builders and investors, but in the 

 aggregate, with the reduction already in effect 

 in the cost of building materials, the total saving 

 in costs is of considerable value. 



New Construction Under Way 



Contemplated new construction work in 

 Western Canada for January, 1922, amounted 

 to $8,625,100, while in February it amounted to 

 $6,004,200 with contracts amounting to $2,939,- 

 500. This is a decrease over 1921 and 1920, but 

 the March figure appears likely to show up more 

 attractively as some idea has now been reached 

 on question of costs, which hitherto has kept 

 back figuring on new or contemplated work. 

 There will, however, undoubtedly, be a large 

 program carried out in the building of residences 

 as every part of the West has already shown a 

 desire to proceed with this very necessary work, 

 and arrangements are being made for loans, both 

 under the various housing schemes and through 

 loan companies. 



On the Pacific Coast, business continues to 

 improve with a very satisfactory outlook. 

 Mining and lumber situation is showing up better 

 with much mining development work in view 

 and possibilities for large lumber orders. The 

 prairie requirements will soon be made evident, 

 and with reduction in price of lumber and in- 

 crease in value of grain and live stock, a con- 

 siderable amount of work held in abeyance is 

 likely to be proceeded with. 



The Prairie Provinces are concentrating on 

 seeding operations, with reports showing some 

 demand for new machinery but purchases in the 

 aggregate will not be large. With a good crop, 

 however, machinery companies contemplate a 

 very considerable volume of business in the Fall 

 as there will be a large amount of replacement as 

 well as new purchases. Conditions have been 

 unsatisfactory in this relation but the situation 

 has not warranted anything but economy. 



Summing up, the situation generally is im- 

 proving with prospects of betterment in the 

 spring and summer months. 



Optimism as to prospects appears throughout 

 the West, and there is an undercurrent prevailing 

 among the thoughtful that the tide has turned 

 and a continuance of better business is likely to 

 result. 



Industrial Importance of Water Powers 



(Prepared by the Dominion Water-Power Branch, Department of the 

 Interior, as fart of a new pamphlet "Canada as a Field for British Indus- 

 tries" issued by the Commercial Intelligence Service of the Department of 

 Trade and Commerce.) 



If any doubt previously existed as to the viial impor- 

 tance of water-power to the industrial development of a 

 country, the conditions brought on by the war plainly 

 demonstrated its unquestioned value as compared with 

 other known sources. Its superiority rests on a number 

 of factors, of which the chief are: 



1. Once the power development has been completed, the production 

 of energy is comparatively independent of labour, transportation 

 and allied problems. 



2. Cheapness of operation. 



3. The wide distribution of power sites and the ease with which hy- 

 dro-electric energy may be transmitted, allows industries using 

 this kind of power to locate where other conditions, such as raw 

 material, transportation, etc., are favourable. 



The above benefits, particularly the first, were soon 

 recognized under war conditions throughout the world, 

 when the intensive production of war material demanded 

 every available unit of energy. This has further been 

 accentuated by the apparently permanent substantial 

 increase in the cost of coal which may be regarded as the 

 most important competitor of water-power in energy 

 production. As a result, various countries not only extend- 

 ed every effort to further development of water-powers, 

 but also devoted much attention to estimates of available 

 possibilities, so that there now exist fairly reliable figures 

 for many parts of the world. 



1. Water-Powers of the British Empire 



The table following gives the bast available information 

 on the water-power resources of the British Empire. There 

 are included only those British possessions known to have 

 extensive water resources, while those not listed cover a 

 wide area and include a large population. 



/ The total for the British Empire was estimated by the Water-Power 

 Committee of the Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies, England, July, 

 1918, at between 50 and 70 million h.p. 



2 1,774,000 h.p. has been investigated. 



3 Portion of area likely to be developed in the next fifty years. 



4 New developments completed or under construction in 1920 repreunt 

 approximately 650,000 h.p. 



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