I have made some inquiries about the earnings of the Newfoundland fisherman, and find his net cash income amounts to but three or four hundred dollars a year. While he builds his own boat, he has to buy his engine, gasoline, and oil. He must buy twine and pitch for his nets, cord and hooks for his baited lines, and salt for pickling. A fisherman usually figures on making enough from the cod livers and their oil to pay his salt bill. The bones and entrails and also the livers after the oil has been removed are used as fertilizer. The fisherman usually has no other source of income than his catch, and during the winter he does little except prepare for the next season. He goes in debt to the merchant who furnishes his outfit and the supplies for his family. His catch for the year may or may not bring as much as the amount he owes, but he must deliver it, at the current price, to the firm that gave him credit. This system accounts for the big stores in St. John’s, some of which have made a great deal of money. The merchants render a real service in financing the fishermen, whom they carry through the lean years, but there are those who believe the credit system has outlived its usefulness. Some years ago a farmer-fisherman-mechanic named William Coaker organized the Fishermen’s Protective Union, with local councils in the outports. The union organized coöperative companies that now buy and sell fish, build ships, and handle supplies of all kinds. It even built a water-power plant to furnish electricity at cost to light the men’s homes. A new town, called Port Union, was developed on the northeast coast. This has become the centre of the Union activities, and there its organizer, now Sir William Coaker, spends his time. The Union publishes a daily paper in St. John’s. Its editor tells me that in the last ten years the dividend rate paid by the F. P. U. companies was ten per cent. for eight years, eight per cent. for one year, and none at all for only one year. The Union went into politics, and for three elections has had eleven members in the lower house. By combination with other groups this bloc has held the balance of power. While the Union has a strong voice in the government, the conservative business houses seem to be the dominant influence here in St. John’s, where, quite naturally, the fishermen’s organization finds little favour. St. John’s is the centre for the Newfoundland sealing industry. This is not the seal that yields my lady’s fine furs, but the hair seal, which is killed chiefly for its fat, although the skin is used to make bags, pocketbooks, and other articles of leather. The oil made from the fat is used as an illuminant, a lubricant, and also for some grades of margarine.