28 THE UPPER YUKON 



From stage driving, young Stevens, having 

 come to Vancouver, became a real estate agent 

 upon a small scale. He took an interest in 

 politics and being helped by his brother-in- 

 law, a bright and forceful young man, he was 

 elected an Alderman of the city of Vancouver. 

 He was then, as now, a sturdy advocate of the 

 rights of the common people as against cor- 

 porate influence. In other words, he was the 

 champion of the people. They realized this 

 fact, and when the next general Dominion elec- 

 tion for representatives to Parliament came 

 up, he, being the candidate of the Conservative 

 party, was elected by a large majority, and he 

 now represents his constituency in the present 

 Parliament. 



I talked with a number of men about him, 

 because I was really much interested in him, 

 having made his acquaintance at a lecture he 

 gave in Philadelphia a year or more before, 

 and in substance every man said the same: 

 "Stevens is the best man we could possibly 

 have as a member of Parliament, because he 

 always looks out for the common people, and 

 at the same time he is fair and square with 

 the corporations and so has their respect and 

 co-operation." 



Mr. Stevens was good enough, in conjunc- 



