This paper presents the first or exploratory phase of research in a study of the effect of invasion on the morale of a community. Although many studies have been made of spacial succession, and some of changes in social attitudes, there has been little attempt to investigate the relationship between these two phenomena, in other words, to show whether, or how, the solidarity of a group is affected by an ecological succession. The process of invasion has been described in connection with different areas of a city. The invasion of one section of a city by an outside ethnic group is a common phenomenon. The general pattern is that, with its first indication, the morale of the resident group strengthens, but eventually one point breaks, that is, someone sells out to one of the invaders. Then another gains a foothold—a house or a shop—and, once the area is well penetrated, both the invasion and exodus gather momentum.

This is a study of a large rural area in which the invasion has taken place over so long a period of time, and over such an extensive region, that the invaded population as a whole has taken longer to realize its significance. In this situation it is much easier to trace and observe the psychological effect of invasion on the invaded group.

The field of research chosen for this study was made up of the four counties of Compton, Richmond, Sherbrooke, and Stanstead in the Eastern Townships of the Province of Quebec. Interviews, practically all indirect, were obtained from the different sections—industrial towns, county towns, summer resorts, villages, and rural areas.

The expansion of the Niagara Peninsula has occurred with its advance from a frontier of conflict to one of contact. Lying at the western extremity of the Hudson-Mohawk, that “greatest of all routes of continental migration,” it forms a major land bridge from New York to Ontario, and exerts the same attraction today, when it has become one of the chief international regions linking Canada with the United States, as it did in the mid-nineteenth century, when it formed part of the great overland route drawing immigrants to the West, or even earlier, when it was itself a pioneer zone. At the same time it is a prime water link between west and east, and, being used both by American and Canadian, has helped to bring them together, first in the commercialization of the St. Lawrence, and later in its industrialization. As a result it is one of the few districts of Canada able to show a continued native growth, together with a “pull on the northern margins of the neighbouring states at all comparable to that of the numerous urban and industrial regions of the United States.”

Thanks to these advantages, its population has increased fifteen times in the last 120 years, with an expansion in recent decades only exceeded by that of the early pioneer influx (see Figure 1). Its problems, therefore, are associated with growth, and with the attempts to work out a series of integrations with each new stage of development, in order to preserve equilibrium in expansion, and create new organizations of settlement and society. Its chequered history, especially as represented in the urban centre, has shown the varying success with which these issues have been met.

In recent years in many countries of the world a great deal of attention has been directed toward the need for more nutritious diets. The term “protective” foods has become established in the literature on nutrition. While there may be some differences of opinion as to what constitutes protective foods, practically all the lists of such foods which have been prepared by nutritionists include milk, meat, eggs, cheese, and fruits and vegetables.

The first studies of consumption of agricultural products in Canada were made by the Economics Division of the Dominion Department of Agriculture in 1930 when by the use of mail questionnaires a survey was made of the purchases of apples by consumers in Toronto and Montreal. A year later the first study of milk consumption in Canada was made by the Economics Division in the Sydney-Glace Bay area of Nova Scotia and in 1935 a more comprehensive study of milk consumption was undertaken in a number of urban and rural areas. Since 1935 additional studies of consumption of foods of various kinds have been made by the Economics Division as well as by other agencies. Most of these studies have been in relation to protective foods which in the main are the more expensive kinds of foods. These studies have been largely confined to city people although information has been gathered on the use of certain commodities in rural Canadian homes.

Recent developments in economic theory are especially rich in policy implications for a single country seeking to maximize its welfare through international trade. They make necessary a restatement of certain parts of the ancient controversy over free trade and protection; namely, those affected by the theory of employment and the theory of imperfect competition.

There is little to add to the broader classical conclusions on the maximization of welfare in the world economy, or to the general, if cautious, acceptance of the infant industries argument. However, the former must be qualified in the light of the theory of imperfect competition, particularly the theory of monopsony, and the implications of decreasing costs; while the latter depends on technological considerations normally impounded in ceteris paribus even in modern value theory.

The special relevance of any of these universes of discourse in terms of which international trade policy may be discussed and evaluated is itself a controversial point. If, for example, a reasonable and steady approximation to full employment is considered of paramount importance, the practical alternatives of fiscal and international policy are considerably narrowed. The most efficient allocation of resources among alternative uses may have to wait on policies for getting all available human resources into some use. At another level, the optimum allocation of resources for one country may be defined for a national real income made possible by exploiting its neighbours. It is the duty of the economist, not to ignore or to condemn these judgments, but to show how the desired ends may be achieved in practice, and to point out any inconsistencies among ends of policy simultaneously desired.

Previous post-war experience is so uniform, and economists differ so little in their prognoses for the next post-war period, that it seems safe to be somewhat dogmatic about the situation that post-war tax policy must meet. In the absence of measures specifically designed to prevent it, there is every reason to expect the typical post-war pattern of hesitation, inflation, deflation, boom, and prolonged depression. It is clear that the unprecedented magnitude of the war effort could lead to fluctuations of unprecedented violence. If the Japanese war were to end soon after the European war, or if it were on a much smaller scale, it is conceivable that the uncertainty characteristic of the months just after cessation of hostilities might lead directly to deep depression. During the reconversion period, there is bound to be serious unemployment in certain industries and regions, that could start a cumulative downswing if allowed to produce a commensurate drop in national income. If on the other hand the Japanese campaign lasts several months and is on a comparable but nevertheless smaller scale, the “hesitation” period may be completely ironed out.

In the first year or two after the European armistice, and perhaps even for a similar period after the Japanese armistice, the primary economic problem will still be scarcity of consumers' goods relative to potential demand for them. The money supply has already risen over 70 per cent since war began, and with $1.75 billion of war bonds in the hands of individuals and another $1.5 billion in the hands of non-financial corporations even before the fifth war loan, it could rise another 70 per cent through sale of government securities to the banking system if war ended tomorrow.