" said Monteith, "two things made me change my party. In the
first place, to be quite frank, I was afraid of American domination.
We are a small people yet. Their immense wealth would overwhelm our
manufacturers and flood our markets with cheap stuff, and with trade
dominance there would more easily go political dominance. You remember
Taft's speech? That settled it for me. That was one thing. The other was
the Navy question. I didn't like Laurier's attitude. I am a Canadian,
born right here in Alberta, but I am an Imperialist. I am keen about the
Empire and that sort of thing. I believe that our destiny is with the
Empire and that with the Empire we shall attain to our best. And since
the Empire has protected us through all of our history, I believe the
time has come when we should make our contribution to its defence.
We ought to have a fleet, and that fleet in time of war should
automatically be merged with the Imperial Navy. That's how I felt at
the last election. This autonomy stuff of Laurier's is all right, but it
should not interfere with Imperial unity."

"It's a funny thing," replied Ross. "I take the opposite side on both
these points. I was born in the Old Country and like most Old Country
people believe in Free Trade. So I was keen to wipe out all barriers
between the United States and ourselves in trade. I believe in trading
wherever you can get the best terms. As for American domination, I have
not the slightest fear in the world of the Yankees. They might flood
our markets at first, probably would, but they would certainly bring
in capital. We need capital badly, you know that. And why should not
factories be established on this side of the line with American money?
Pennsylvania does not hurt New York, nor Illinois Dakota. Why then, with
all trade barriers thrown down, should the United States hurt Canada?
And then on the other side, we get a market for everything we grow
at our doors. Reciprocity looked good to me. As for imperilling our
Imperial connections--I do not mean to be offensive at all--of course
you see what your position amounts to--that our financial interests
would swamp our loyalty, that our loyalty is a thing of dollars and
cents. My idea is that nothing in the world from the outside can ever
break the bonds that hold Canada to the Empire, and after all, heart
bonds are the strong bonds. Then in regard to the Navy, I take the other
view from you also. I believe I am a better Canadian than