and rapid growth of our Prairie
Provinces particularly, the unlimited and perennial resources of their
fertile soil, the progressive spirit of the population have made of the
West the land of great possibilities and mighty problems. The future
of our Country, the peace and prosperity of the nation depend to a
great extent on the reasonable and just exploitation of these resources
and on the adequate solution to these problems.

There is no place in Canada where problems develop more rapidly and
meet with more radical solutions than in Western Canada. This is the
case in every young and prosperous country. No dead are behind the
living, to link the past to the future with the steadying influence of
tradition. Who has not heard of "The Spirit of the West?" Broad in
its vision, sympathetic and ambitious in its plans, over-confident in
its powers and most aggressive in its policies, that spirit grips you
as you pass beyond the Great Lakes into the unlimited horizons of the
rolling prairies. Those who have never experienced its secret
influence, will never fully understand its tremendous power. J. W.
Dafoe, of the Manitoba Free Press, welcoming to the West the Members of
the Imperial Press Conference (1920), assured them that they would
observe in the West evidence "of a newer Canadianism, the Canadianism
of to-morrow; not hostile to the East, but, we think, a little better."

As the West has forced itself on the attention of our economic and
political world, so also have its Religious problems loomed up many and
great on the horizon of the Church. The Catholic Church, there, as in
many mission countries, is in process of formation: immense fields
await the scythe of belated reapers. Yet, notwithstanding this state
of imperfect organization, the Church stands out as one of the great
moral factors which outsiders are the first to respect, and politicians
too willing at times to exploit. Through her teachings and her
children, she is bound to make the beneficial influence of her presence
felt, even by her enemies. Her teachings indeed create for her loyal
children issues which have to be faced squarely and unflinchingly. The
influence of the Church on Society depends on the manner Catholics
understand their social responsibilities and translate into action her
doctrine. We may well apply to the life of the Church in a country
this biological truism: "life consists in adaptation to environment."
From a Catholic v