Cape Breton's Magazine

35,000 acres in Cape Breton on a long-term lease. The balance, about 50%, was held foV the most part by small woodlot owners in the eastern counties. One of the things to bring any company in, the Oxford lease to the crown--the crown had to get title to it because no company would come in here with 50% of the wood owned by these small woodlot owners. If a company comes in here and they spend 40 million dollars, the thing they are concerned with is the supply of wood, the raw material. Now, if 507o of it is in the hands of small woodlot owners, well, what's to stop these small woodlot owners from saying they want more a cord--"You've got to give it to us or you can't get your wood." For that reason, no company would risk that amount of cap? ital in here on an open market of that kind. Stora Koppaberg had expressed interest to Hicks's government but could not get as? surance that they would get the wood. Then Hicks's government was defeated in that 1956 election, and Stanfield came into the picture. We went to see him and explained everything. Couldn't give us any answer at all. The next time we went in there--a month's time--he had put an awful lot of study in it and knew the thing inside out. He said then, in the best interest of Nova Scotia, the Oxford lease should be recon? vened to the crown. That would give the pulp company enough crown land wood to op? erate almost independently from the small woodlot owners if the small woodlot owners would decide they wouldn't sell to them. And I knew then we were going to get the pulp mill, (One thing I don't understand: after the water was found here, why did the pulp mill go to the other side?) I saw the plan, I worked with Simon Engineers who were do? ing the site location work. I went to work with them to get closer--85 cents an hour. One morning the engineer came over to me and said, "Well, we made a final decision last night. The mill is coming to Mulgrave, and I'm glad," he said, "because you peo? ple need it the most." It was to be down at Pirate Harbour--the lower end of town. That was all to be filled in and that was the site for it. (It was that definite?) H. J. Rice (former mayor of Canso) wrote to me: "The broadcast by Premier Stanfield at noon today and the fuller announcement in the Chronicle-Herald received tonight re the pulp mill in the Mulgrave area is indeed good news . ??' Still, we were leery. We knew companies were buying land on the Port Hawkesbury side. Simon's Engineering recommended for here. Karl Clauson was the president of the Nova Scotia Pulp Company as it was set up first, and he brought Charles T. Maine and Company in for further recommenda? tion • and they said to put it on the other side because they had more land over there. It was a combination of things. A great hue and cry that things were tough in Cape Breton, the mines, a lot being laid off. Minister of Trade and Industry was from Sydney, and they would have had to buy 28 homes in Mulgrave if they built on this side--a combination of these things, I think.- And once the company got permission from the government to take the water from here across the Strait, then the rest fell in place. But where it went doesn't make too much difference. A lot of people from this side get work over there. And we get a fair a- JOUR-COUNTY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (Antigonish, Guysborough, Inverness, Richmond) Front Row, 1. to r., Albert Whidden, Arthur D. Pynn, Secretary, Angus R. MacDonald, M.P., Leonard O'Neil, Pres? ident, Arthur J. Langley, Sr., 1st Vice-President, J. Clyde Nunn, M.L.A., 2nd Vice-President, Alfred Hattie, Blair Hutchison, H. A. Rice. 2nd Row, 1. to r., Gordon Walker, Hugh Gillis, Robert Urquhart, Ralph MacKinnon, Vince Purcell, Colin R. MacDonald, Byron Langley, Edward Aikins, Arthur J. Langley, Jr. 3rd Row, 1. to r., James Maclntyre, Wiloughby Digdon, Dr. Don MacNeil, Basil Hadley, Walter Fougere, William (Bill) MacKinnon, M.L. (37: