A larger and more ambitious paper mill has been that of the Whitworth Armstrong Company at Corner Brook, on the west coast, at the mouth of the Humber River. The amount of money invested has been variously estimated, but considerably over $5o,000,000. The result has been a stupendous plant, with every modern improvement for the industry. The hydro-electric power alone of Deer Lake gives sixty-five thousand horse power. This gives employment to many thousands of men in logging in winter—an invaluable help to the summer cod fishing. The total output goes to America, chiefly, to two big newspapers. It takes forty years to grow one tree in Newfoundland of sufficient size for profitable pulping, with ten inches across at the lower end. Ninety-seven thousand tons of paper were put out last year from Newfoundland. To pay, Corner Brook must put out one hun dred and eighty thousand cords. The splendid harbour, steamers, hotel, machinery, and village that has been built up promise, so long as the forests are conserved, to be an enormous asset for the finances of the country. But the great outlay proved too much for the original company, and in 1927, the whole concern was handed over at a very greatly reduced cost to the Paper Company of America.
The railways of Newfoundland, which are a little over 90o m. in length, and especially the 500 m. from St. John's to the west coast, have done a great deal to foster trade and travel to Canada and the United States. Owing to the difficulty in winters of cross ing the high land, over which the rails were carried, owing to the scattered nature of the small settlements, through which the line passes, and the little amount of inter-town traffic, the railway has been run at an increasing loss annually. The line, as far as Har bour Grace, was finished in 1884, and to Placentia in 1888. In 1893, Mr. R. G. Reid of Montreal was granted a contract to build the rest of the road, which in 1898 was altered to a grant of the whole railway to the contractor at the end of 5o years, provided he operated it free of expense to the Colony, for that period of time. It gave him also, beyond 5,000 ac. in fee simple granted before, 2,500,00o ac. along the route. Mr. Reid was also to build and ply
seven steamers for coastal service, including one for Labrador, he was to provide an electric street railway for St. John's, pave part of the capital, and he became owner of the dock, built an electric lighting system for the city, and acquired the Government tele graph system. He was also to pay a million dollars in cash to the Government.
In 1923 the Government bought out the Reid interests for $2,000,000. They also took over the railroad, and steamers and docks. They had previously taken back their own telegraphs. The line, which is only a narrow gauge one, had fallen into great disrepair, and another million and a half dollars at once had to be spent on the track, and over $600,000 on the rolling stock, ties, bridges, and the buildings. The narrow gauge, and light carriages, have led to delays and troubles from weather and the railway has not been financially successful. Total receipts of the dock and steamship service and railways are :—in 1927, $3,009,190, and for the same period the expenditure was $3,753,087—a deficit of $743,897. In 1924-25 Earnings were $3,371,200, Expenditure, $3,729,710, Deficit, $358,509. These figures include the returns from the freight and passenger service and traffic. Mails, Pull man cars, express, steamers, dock shop and dry dock and miscel laneous are included. The steamers and dock actually showed a small profit.
The newspapers of the country are in St. John's, the Royal Gazette, the Daily News, the Evening Telegram, the Fishermen's Advocate, the Free Press, The Newfoundland Quarterly, and there are half a dozen other papers in various outposts. There are 21 foreign consuls in St. John's.
Good tugs and pilots offer every facility for entering the port. The country now maintains over 200 lighthouses around her shores. Owing to a dangerous current in the neighbourhood of St. Mary's Bay and Cape Race, and also to the frequent heavy fogs that bank often in that vicinity, while icebergs reach as far as there on the Polar Current, that region has not been inappro priately called the "Graveyard of the North Atlantic," so many wrecks having occurred there. It is studiously avoided by mar iners, but has, through the years, claimed many notable victims, and has been the scene of many romances and tragedies. Hotels in the Island for accommodation of tourists are slowly increasing.
St. John's has a large, modern repairing dry dock, a museum, two cathedrals, and the usual quota of public buildings, of which the Government House is the finest and most interesting, are also in the capital.