appreciated, and there were countless occasions where the
qualities of tact and readiness of resource were required to supplement
the prestige which is begotten of discipline alone."

"It would be impossible to estimate the thousands of men that have
passed hither and thither along the line during its construction. A
considerable proportion of them were entirely unsuited to the work. The
construction authorities claim that by the operation of the Alien Labour
Act they were deprived of the services of the professional railroader,
the man who travels with his outfit all over the continent from railway
to railway, and who would have made light of the difficulties of which
so much has been said. It is undeniable that many men have suffered
great hardships, but it is equally true that many of them should never
have turned their attention to railway construction. Some have never
done a day's work on the railway in their lives, and some have never
done it at all."

There was a good deal of wage dispute on the line, but Inspector Sanders
says, "As to the amount of wages received by the men and their not
having any money to send to their families in the east, it was very
noticeable to me that the men who complained most drank most." This
needs no comment.

It is interesting to note here the outside opinion of the "Fort Steele
Prospecter" as contained in an editorial in that paper in February,
1898. After giving a general description of the mixed class of men on
the road it says, "The crimes along the road, however, are surprisingly
small, considering the vicious element which comprises the contingent of
camp followers" in the way of whisky sellers, gamblers and disorderly
characters. "This happy state of affairs is due to the innate fear of
Canadian justice and the scrupulous surveillance of the efficient corps
of the North-West Mounted Police into whose hands the enforcement of law
is committed. No one can travel over the line without a feeling of
admiration for the system which can produce such excellent results, the
absolute security of life and property in a region infested by rogues
and adventurers from every clime." Sanders agrees that hosts of men had
taken up work to which they were wholly unaccustomed. A lot of men were
happy when handling an axe, but the pick and shovel had a saddening
effect on them. And Sanders is in keeping with the general habit of the
Police when he says, "We tried our utmost to have the real gr