Winnipeg

the capital city and metropolis of Manitoba. It is situated in the plain of the Red River at the junction of that stream with the Assiniboine, forty-two miles south of Lake Winnipeg. The city is situated on the west bank of the Red and the north bank of the Assiniboine. Numerous bridges cross these streams and connect the city proper with suburbs. Originally a fur-trading post and a group of log houses, Winnipeg has sprung into the metropolis of the greatest wheat-producing region on the face of the globe. In 1870 there were only 215 people in the village; in 1910 a population of 135,000, was claimed. A panoramic view of the city exhibits substantial business blocks, hotels, mammoth elevators, and skyscrapers on a surprising scale. New buildings are going up at about a cost of $15,000,000 a year. The assessed valuation is about $120,000,000. The city owns its own waterworks, quarries, an asphalt paving plant, street lighting system, and electric power plant. There are 185 miles of water mains, 1,140 water hydrants, 377 miles of sidewalks, and 166 miles of sewers.

Winnipeg is the intersecting point of three great railway lines, the Canadian Pacific, the Canadian Northern, and the Grand Trunk Pacific. It is the center also of local lines. Winnipeg claims the honor of being the greatest grain market in the British Empire. The elevators and yards handle 200,000,000 bushels of grain yearly. Winnipeg is the gateway to the fur country. Over $12,000,000 worth of raw furs are shipped out annually. Over $90,000.000 worth of implements and other merchandise are distributed each year by Winnipeg wholesalers. The flouring mill industry and meat packing industry add to the volume of business. The bank clearings are not far from $700,000,000 a year. There are eighteen banks.

According to a prospectus issued in the interest of the Winnipeg Industrial Exhibition held in 1909, the city has thirty-three schools, five colleges, 115 churches, six theaters, three daily papers, two river rowing courses, 316 acres of parks, and the greatest future in interior Canada.