THE PROGRESS OF WESTERN AMERICA. 



41 



pressure of a sharp demand, and, indeed, 

 every feature of our Western industrial, 

 development is moving onward and be- 

 coming a more powerful factor in swelling 

 the grand total of our products and com- 

 mercial importance. Building, too, is 

 again reviving and the beneficial effect of 

 the mining activity is to be seen in all the 

 trades." 



AN EMIGRATION BUREAU IN 

 CHICAGO. 



THE Canadian government is actively 

 at work placing the resources and 

 advantages which it has to offer in the 

 Northwest before homeseekers, manufac- 

 turers and investors. An office has been 

 opened in Chicago, where there is now on 

 display an exhibit of the products of the 

 provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and 

 Assinoboia. The exhibit is at present com- 

 prised mainly of grains and grasses, with a 

 few choice photographs of farming scenes 

 and views along the line of the Canadian 

 Pacific Railway. It is the intention to in- 

 terest investors and manufacturers for the 

 purpose of having them open the mines 

 and establish factories, but the principal 

 object of the work is to secure settlers and 

 therefore the Dominion government is 

 offering to the heads of families and other 

 responsible persons a quarter section of 

 land free. 



Mr. Peter F. Daly, who has charge of 

 the Chicago office, is an old railroad man 

 and thoroughly understands the details of 

 work of this character. His efforts are 

 already having good results. 



The Dominion government has taken 

 up this work along the lines advocated by 

 THE IRRIGATION AGE during the past few 

 years and it now remains to be seen 

 whether the various Western States will 

 be as enterprising and energetic as our 

 neighbor on the North. The only way to 

 get settlers is to get them, and the 

 Canadians in the Northwest and the people 

 of the Southern States are working very 

 hard in favor of their particular localities. 

 What will the West do? 



TRANS-MISSISSIPPI COMMERCIAL 

 CONGRESS. 



The eighth annual session of the Trans- 

 Mississippi Commercial Congress at 

 Omaha was fully attended, there being 



300 delegates. President George Q. 

 Cannon, of Utah, was in the chair. Utah, 

 Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Texas, 

 Colorado, California, Arizona, Nevada, 

 New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Wyo- 

 ming, North Dakota and South Dakota were 

 represented. The delegation from Utah 

 was as large as that from Nebraska. 

 Governor Holcombe's address of welcome 

 was responded to by Ex- Governor L. 

 Bradford Prince of New Mexico. 



Some of the addresses were as follows: 



Forestry in the Rocky Mountain Region, 

 Hon. R. Park, of Salt Lake City; The 

 Hawaiian Question, Hon. Hugh Craig, of 

 San Francisco; The Nicaragua Canal, Capt. 

 W. L. Merry, of San Francisco; Statehood 

 for the Territories, Hon. Sidney Clarke, of 

 Oklahoma, and Ex-Governor Prince of 

 New Mexico; Trans-Mississippi Freight 

 Tariffs, Hon. James V. Mahone, of Sioux 

 City, Iowa, and Capt. Lon Bryson, of 

 Davenport, Iowa; Cultivation and Uses of 

 Ramie, Prof. Sylvester Waterhouse, of 

 Washington University, St. Louis; Deep 

 Water ways, Hon. A. P. McGuirk, of 

 Davenport, Iowa; Irrigation, Ex-Governor 

 Prince and others. 



The Congress declared for the free coin- 

 age of silver. Resolutions were also 

 adopted in favor of government control of 

 the Nicaraguan Canal, indorsement of 

 ramie, appointment of United States irri- 

 gation commissioners, admission of New 

 Mexico to Statehood, improvement of 

 Mississippi and Missouri rivers, enactment 

 of a National bankruptcy law, annexation 

 of Hawaii and Cuba, construction of a 

 railway from southern California to Salt 

 Lake, speedy completion of the Hennepin 

 Canal and favoring the deepening of 

 Duluth harbor. 



It was also resolved that the United 

 States Congress be asked to take such 

 steps as may be necessary to hold a Trans- 

 Mississippi Exposition in Omaha during 

 the months of August, September and 

 October in 1898, and that the representa- 

 tives of such States and Territories in this 

 Congress be requested to favor such an 

 appropriation as is usual in such cases to 

 assist in carrying out this enterprise. 



A resolution urging the various State 

 governments to take legislative action 

 relative to irrigation was submitted and 

 passed. 



Also a resolution urging the speedy 

 construction of the proposed railroad from 



