The meeting was held under the auspicies of the Humboldt Local United Farmers of Canada. Mr. Jos. Burton occupied the chair, and in opening the meeting explained that the Canadian Natinal intended to constuct a line from Aberdeen to Melfort, and that the C.P.R. were asking for a charter for a line from Sutherland to Melfort. The U. F. C. desired to get the facts from both sides, and therefore called this meeting, and was glad that officials of both companies had responded to the invitation to be present.

Present C.P.R. Case
Mr. McKay supt. of the C. P. R. Saskatoon was first called on, and presented the case for his company, as follows: "The history of the C. P. R. making request for charter is about as follows: In December 1927, Mr. Totzke and others waited on our president in Winnipeg, and presented largely signed petitions from people in territory through which we were going to run line. They stated that since 1913 they had been asking the Canadian Northern and the Canadian National to build a line in the territory below Middle Lake and through Meskanaw and Ethleton districts. Mr. Coleman stated, however that there would no doubt be opposition to our charter for a line going through there. He was assured the people in the district affected would stand behind it. Since that time we have had many resolutions passed in favor or of our being granted the charter.

After it was announced we would build if granted charter, announcement appeared in the Star that the Canadian National had material at Vonda to build line and were waiting charter. Some of the old line from Vonda has been sold back to the former owners. Later Mr. Kingsland announced on December 6th of last year that they also intended to make application for charter. Last month Sir Henry Thornton announced the intention of asking for a charter from Sh. Julien.

We have acted in good faith and announced that we mean to ask for a charter, and we propose to continue as we have done until we find out who is going to be given the right to build. It is not a matter that can be settled by the Presidents of the Railways; the House of Commons will have to rule on it. Mr. Beatty announced that he does not propose to allow the Canadian National dictate where we should or should not build. He is going to put it up to the Canadian Government.

Mr. Dunning, when in Regina last month, announced that the building of the Hudson Bay line was more or less in the nature of an experiment and that they did not think it wise to saddle the Canadian National with the capitalization cost of the road. Mr. Dunning was asked if the C. P. R. had announced their intention of building a line to the Bay, No, they had not.

The C.P.R. has always protected the people who have given it traffic. If the Hudson Bay road is the success it is expected to be, after the tremendous expenditure which it has rest, the C. P. R. will consider the matter of a line to the bay. There is no traffic to the Bay nor will there be for two or three years at least. Grain elevators will have to be built there. They will have to find boats that will go into the bay. They will have to find insurance companies to insure them. It is worrying the Dominion Government if it will be the success that we hope it will be.

Fifty percent of the people in Saskatchewan live on C. P. R. territory and we claim we have as much right as the Canadian National has to build here or any other road. When they refused to build that line we have every right to go into the territory and serve it. We will leave it to the House to decide where we may not build.

The people living tributary to the Canadian Pacific are as loyal to it as the people living on the other line. Coupled with Mr. Coleman's announcement, which was made on December 1, 1928, was this statement: “That if granted the charter line would be built in 1929. You can no doubt get an abundance of evidence from people in the territory concered that the statements I have given are absolutely correct. We were urged to build through this territory. We foresaw that the Canadian National would no doubt immediately ask for a charter and state that this was their territory. In doing this we are acting in good faith. We are prepared to build the line as soon as charter is granted.”

Chappell Speaks for Canadian National
Mr. B. T. Chappell, supt. of the Canadian National Railways, at Saskatoon was then called on and spoke as follows: "I want to thank the U. F. C. for asking me to come over here today to attend their meeting and tell you our intentions. I might as well start at the first as most of you gentlemen in this room are well acquainted with and know about the Aberdeen to Melfort line. I intend beginning with the early history. Back in 1912 the Canadian Northern Railway went to the House of Commons and asked for

"We picked up the rails and ties and moved them further away to do other work. In 1926 when we were getting our three year branch line program, we discussed this matter. We are going to the Government now asking for the right to build the line we have been trying to get since 1913. I leave this to your judgment whether or not the Canadian Northern and the Canadian National have not being doing all in their power to complete this line. You all know that the West has been for the last 15 or 20 years after the Hudson Bay Railway. We have been figuring on a short line from Saskatoon to The Pas, a line from Vonda to Melfort, from Melfort to Ridgedale, on to The Pas is the shortest line you can get, and that is what the Canadian National and the Canadian Government are trying to get. Mr. McKay says part of the grade has been sold. Gentlemen, there has not been one foot of that grade sold. We own every inch of it. Mr. McKay said at the last meeting of the Board of Trade in Saskatoon that Mr. Kingsland wired a message asking for support. I was asked by the Saskatoon Board of Trade on the day the meeting was being held for an announcement of our position. I wired Mr. Kingsland at 10K in the morning, and we had an answer back by 15K. It had been announced in the paper, and the Railway Committee knew that we had been requesting this line. It is the intention of the Canadian National that if we are granted the right to build it immediatly the farmers will then get a short route to the Bay."

Mr. Lash Speaks On being invited by the chairman Mr. Lash, also of the C.N.R. then spoke. "If any of you care to study, at your leisure, a map of Western lines of the Canadian National Railways you will discover that since the Amalgamation that branch line program since 1923 has been designed to give the shortest possible route to Churchill. The central portion of Saskatchewan is now well served by the lines which have been built, on which will be completed this year, under the program which was brought before and passed by Parliament in 1927."

"We are endeavoring to give to all the farmers who live in the area south and west of Saskatoon, as far as the Rocky Mountains, a short line to Churchill. The link that is necessary to provide that line is the link from Aberdeen to Melfort, and from Ridgedale to a point just south of The Pas. These links we are asking Parliament permission to build this year. If we receive that permission we will save the farmers of all the great area, south and west of Saskatoon, very considerable sum of money on every 100 pounds of wheat they ship by this route. We are also making it possible for them to have a third gateway for their products."

"Mr. McKay has said that the Canadian Pacific is not yet full of faith with regard to the Hudson Bay line. The Canadian National have full faith in the Hudson Bay route, and as I have told you, our entire program for the last six years, has been designed entirely to link the communities in the west with that line. The fact that the line to Melfort has not been constructed is due to no fault of the Canadian National. In 1923, we asked Parliament to pass a bill to construct this link in that route, from from Vonda to Wakaw. It was passed by the House of Commons but thrown out by the Senate. Since that time we have devoted our attention to central Saskatchewan. The fact that we have not brought a new bill to Parliament is because we realized that it would be a matter of two or three years before the line to the Hudson Bay would be constructed but at the same time discussions have taken place between the company and the Department of Railway and Canals which is surely indicative that we had a continuous desire to build this line as soon as the Hudson Bay Railway was nearing completion."

"Now let me speak to you for a moment about charters. We are restricted in the manner in which we approach parliament for the right to build. The C.P.R. being a privately owned railway asks for a charter. A charter carries no obligation and no penalty. If the C.P.R. does not wish to exercise its charter it does not have to. They do not have to commence work for two years. They can construct a short portion of the line and then go to parliament for a renewal. The C.P.R. have charters which were granted in 1921; and on which they have not yet built a mile of line. That is different from what we have to do. We must ask parliament for money to build."

"May I also point out this: Publishing a branch line program first does not mean that you thought of it first. F. H. Bence, President Humboldt Board of Trade gentlemen, the members of the Humboldt Board of Trade are just as interested in the question before us as the U.F.C. are. We wish to see the town prosper."

"We looked into the question of a short line to the bay. It seems to us that a line could be run from here to Hudson Bay Junction and shorten the route. If it is the idea of both railways to enter the Carrot River Valley, the Carrot River would then be a branch line instead of being a through line from Saskatoon to Churchill. This would leave the route from Saskatoon to Melfort to the Canadian Pacific for the construction of their line."