By DESMOND E. HENN • their own homes in a
special development area some distance from the town proper. These men, and their wives, are pre-- pared to grapple with the inconveniences of a high annual rainfall, and to submit to a degree of isolation such that the airy phrase " going down town " connotes a projected trip to Vancouver, 300 miles and twenty-four hours distant by coastal steamer, in exchange for employment in an industry both prosperous and expanding and for a domiCile boasting most of the amenities, and only a few of the defects, associated with any other small town on the North American continent.
In addition to making good use of the opportunities for learning some sort of skilled trade, the newcomers concentrate for the most part on the two prerequisites of effective citizen- ship: a working knowledge of the English language, and an adequate financial reserve, or " stake." Financially, even a relatively brief stay is rewarding : at present the basic minimum rate for unskilled labour is $1.57 an hour, or something over £22 for a 40-hour week. (Though below the rates for com- parable mills in the US, this is still well above the average for Canadian industry as a whole.) The addition of two over- time shifts, which is far from being unusual, brings the weekly total to just over.£38. In the absence of expensive metro- politan amusements it is quite possible for an ordinary labourer to save the net equivalent of £500 a year, while the qualified pipefitter or millwright can• easily double that figure.. With every man thus able to become•his own capitalist in a short space. of time, the Promised Land appears to be fulfilling its promise handsomely.
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