The Voice of the North

January 15, 1929

Arising out of the article, "Unrest in the North", which appeared in a former issue of the "Ontario Farmer" is the question, "Can anything be done to allay this condition of affairs?"

That it lies within the power of the government to do a lot toward it is undoubted, but quite a bit can be done by the settlers themselves.

I am not concerned with the doings of the towns and cities in this vast northern district, but am intimately connected with the activities of the farmer and settler, and it is from their point of view that I write. Here again I must ask my readers not to interpret my remarks as the condensed thought of the thousands of scattered dwellers in the Northland, for many will not and do not agree with me in the ideas that follow. On the other hand, there are numbers of thoughtful people in the district who are heartily in agreement with me.

The story of the man who would not interfere with the hornets' nest is well known. His reluctance was based on the knowledge of the fact that these insects were highly organized for offence and defence, and herein lies the moral of the story for the North. The one great thing lacking in these districts is organization. Self-government has always been looked upon as the highest expression of human ambition. Here and there a municipality may be found in the rural districts, but in the majority of places there is as much cohesion as in the sands of the sea shore.

Why this is so is hard to tell. Generally speaking the argument advanced is the expense of keeping up a Council, and to further bolster up the weakness of the case, the advantages of the rural school section Board of Trustees is advanced as being cheap and satisfactory. And as a further salve to conscience the advocates of self-interest drag in the advantages of the road Commissioners under the Statute Labour Act.

Needless to say these two arguments always take well with those who have never given a thought about things, but accept situations just as they find them and never look for anything better. . . . . . .

Once the North is organized, a condition such as that described by the Minister could not exist. And yet there is no method of compelling the formation of a municipality. It must come from the people themselves.

Often I have argued, and still do, that an act should be placed in the Statutes making it compulsory to form a municipality when a certain population was reached, or an assessment figure was obtained, or failing either of these, after the lapse of so many years of settlement. If we get organization then the united voice of the North would be heard in no uncertain terms, and the spasmodic outburst of unrest pass away.