Fort George Herald, South Fort George, B.C. August 20, 1910 publishers compliments one not one of three dollars per annum missing number of September 3-24 December 10 physician needed at Fort George both the provincial and federal governments are dilatory in matter of grave responsibility Fort George is in grave need of a resident physician the need is becoming more pressing day by day and the O.B.N. Wilkie now lives in the most critical condition in the countless hospital with an abscess in this rope brought on by Keith on like this and that a engineer Daly at the steamer Chilco was obliged to leave here on the last both Quesnel obtain medical attention a case of blood poisoning are instances of the consequences which may be avoided by the present presence of a physician here dominion government is receiving a report from Indian Agent McAllan on the requirements of Indians hear from from a medico believe that there's not 25% of Indians on reserve number one here who are not in need of a physician services for some malady another and we trust that Mr McAllan will report in favour of a federal subsidy to provide the medical care of Indians and so it has the support of the doctor in fort George the provincial government omitted fort George from an estimate that the present fiscal year when granting subsidies fur hospitals and charities although grant of 500 dollars with Quesnel and $300 per Fraser Lake bid is to be urged that this oversight be remedied by the immediate action of the government resulting in provision for a medical man in the very near future the prospect of over 300 men women and children practically marooned over 100 miles from a doctor seemed to appalling did that will be the centre of the situation after the season of their navigation closes and the authorities awaken and it is to a sense of the responsibilities before that time Bruce starts something editor of Saturday sunset enters the arena of conflict on Saturday night the Saturday Sunset the August 13 to contain the observations and prognostications that John P. McConnell written under the nom de plume of Bruce and spend a week year last month that saw some very positive ideas during his week’s stay in fort George which may be of interest to some of his Similkameen readers who don't know much about the subject but to the people of south fort George to represent about four-fifths of the population of this place today this article some work were less a joke the object of ruthless article was apparently to show that Toronto Saturday Night has wilfully maligned the natural resources security company that it Indian reserve is unfit for townsite purposes and that the natural resources security company have the only sure thing townsite proposition in this vicinity we beg to differ we have devoted some space elsewhere to our opinion of Saturday night’s articles with regard to fort George Yet we have had avoided giving any opinion for against the town sides of the natural resources security company why because as yet these townsites are principally stump-littered avenues through the virgin timber behind Indian reserve what they will be two years from now remains to be seen and we believe that on the settlement of the Indian rest of it Indian reserve question if it largely depends the natural resources security company have acquired a name fort George what's in a name very much in this particular instance bruce quotes with indignation the following excerpts from Saturday night the real townsite of fort George and belongs to the grand trunk Pacific and the natural resources security company never well own the foot that it continued on fourth page and the Fort George of today a description giving acreage location and development work and very subdivisions of various subdivisions at Fort George today total an area of about 1370 acre is on the point of land formed by the junction of the fraser and nechako rivers the subdivisions with their respective acreage are owned as faults the south fort George town site owned by the Northern development Company comprising the Hamilton and tappage additions of about 147 acres situated about forty chains south of the Indian reserve and immediately south of the Hudson's Bay Company property adjoining this townsite south lies the Collins addition a strip of 80 acres of land owned by the mercantile trust Company of Vancouver commencing Nechako riverfront immediately adjoining the Indian reserve of 1366 acres on its west boundary being the holdings of the natural resources security company registered as the townsites fort George Central fort George and the mcgregor addition various lots as subdivided cover an area of about 1150 acres groups now has that the subdivisions development work work being done with the exception of the Northern development in the natural resources security company companies properly at south fort George development work is proceeding very rapidly the town site company have cleared most of their site or brush and have graded streets ranging from 66 to 80 feet in width running through the blocks 16 foot alleyways cut up a lot between the streets practically all the business in connection with most of the additions with the sale of lands in fort George section the banks stores the lumber industry Steamboat warehousing Post Office mail distribution etc is carried on at fort George today and the ever-increasing number of business houses opening their doors to the public on this site is convincing evidence of its thorough legitimacy south fort George is beautifully situated on the terraced benches of the fraser river the first or lower benches affording splendid waterfront facilities from Steamboats on the second bench the present town is located at an average elevation of about 20 feet above high water level at Fort George the townsite of the natural resources security company considerable development work has been accomplished by the owners a large stretch of the site fronting into nechako river has been cleared of timber and two long streets fraser and central avenues have been graded at the northern end of Central Avenue several several buildings erected or in course of construction the telephone exchange is located there together with a store large hotel building an office of the Fort George Tribune the site is at an elevation of about 100 feet above river level the high banks making the waterfront of little value for commercial purposes it is generally believed that the grand trunk Pacific people have acquired the Indian reserve number one for future town sites purposes this however is purely rumour as much involved question of Indian titles is as yet far from being settled between the provincial and federal authorities we believe however that the railroad company will undoubtedly gain title to this land eventually will locate their townsite their yards and station on it the reserve contains a splendid stretch of land for townsite purposes although portion of the northern end lies too low to be utilised until protected from inundation in years of extremely high water to the south of the Indian reservation lies the 92 acres of the Hudson's Bay company behind which 132 acres is known locally as the bird land is situated this later property is owned by the Northern development Company and will connect south fort George town site with the Indian reserve which will advance south fort George interest in the event of the reserve being townsited by the railway company the hudsons bay land is perhaps the most valuable property and fort George owing to its location and natural advantages and it will probably be acquired by the grand trunk Pacific and placed on the market together with the Indian reserve and the railroad companys townsite several other properties are now being subdivided and will be placed on the market within a radius of 3 miles from the junction of the fraser and nechako rivers on the west bank of the Fraser River Lands for subdivision had been sold by their original owners at prices ranging from $125-$500 an acre lots in south fort George by selling an average price of $500 per lot and in brisk demand Saturday night or the morning after toronto scribe attacking fort George townsite gets mixed toronto Saturday night in its issue of July 30 continued its attack against the operations of the natural resources security company in their townsite on the nechako river here we are not defending this company against these articles which are based on indiscriminate statements on their advertising literature in his last effort the scribe has drifted off his course his article with its accompanying illustrations impresses anyone cognizant of the situation here with the impression that Saturday night article may had been written the morning after the article proper is prefaced by warning regarding highly advertised land schemes where the public are led to purchase lots on the strength of advertised statements and reference is made to that famous flimflam land company the Canada Cuba illustrating the article are 3 photographs showing views of the temporary bank buildings and at the north end of 2nd St on the south fort George town site the article is headed shacks and forest at Fort George and whilst the writer refers to the fact that supplies are brought over over an expensive route are long distance he is unwittingly depreciating fort George at large by seeking to justify his statements regarding misrepresentations he finds in an advertising of the natural resources security company taking into proper consideration the facts to which are contemporary refers that we are remotely situated here that transportation is an expensive problem and that all things are necessarily primitive at the present time owing to the town's youth the buildings shown in that journal's illustrations are even yet a credit to south Fort George perhaps Saturday night is not aware that the time their correspondent sent in the published photographs of the diminutive rough lumber shacks which serve the traders bank of Canada and the bank of British North America here as quarters arrangements were progressing the erection of the new buildings now nearing completion or that the photograph of Fort George today as reproduced represented as scene on 2nd Ave during the celebrations of July the first for which a sum of $1000 was collected for prizes in the space of 24 hours this happened at south fort George a townsite the existence of which our contemporary is apparently ignorant of and yet is getting mixed up with fort George the town site owned by the natural resources people for the benefit of toronto Saturday night we submit the following information south fort George is populated today by about 250 people at Fort George natural resources security company the total population does not exceed 70 people many of whom are employees the natural resources company have a perfectly legitimate but at present practically unpopulated townsite of great area the value of their various subdivisions at their selling prices exclusive of the government blocks is approximately $1,681,800 the claim of this company to the original townsite of fort George is technically indisputable and some of the land they purchased is registered in the lands department at Victoria under that name giving them the same indisputable title to it as a name for a patent medicine protected by a Copyright to one of the statements in the article referred to we to we wish to take unqualified exception in referring to the 48,000 acres of land acquired by the natural resources security company near Quesnel Saturday night States that there is no surety of any hay or grain crops in any season unless a tedious and expensive process of irrigating the land is first resorted to the correspondent gave out that statement to our contemporary is a poor observer the Quesnel district is notably one in which irrigation is unnecessary and is not resorted to at all in attacking any corporation for resorting to methods to which a journalist believes it to be in the public interest to expose the writer should be sure of the reliability of his source of information and should not make statements to uphold his opinions which may in any way depreciate the value of a great country in its infancy