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THE 

CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 
OF  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS 


FOUNDERS  OF 

THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 
OF  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS 


The  late  Lord  Strathcona  and  Mount  Royal 

The  late  Brig.-Gen.  The  H6n.  James  Mason 

Brig.-Gen.  Sir  Henry  M.  Pellatt,  c.v.o.,  D.C  L.,  A.D.C. 

The  late  Senator  George  A.  Cox 

Sir  J.  W.  Flavelle,  Bart.,  LL.D. 

Cawthra  Mulock,  Esq. 

A.  E.  Ames,  Esq. 
Sir  Edmund  Boyd  Osier,  M.P. 

The  late  R.  Wilson-Smith 

The  Rt.  Hon.  The  Lord  Shaughnessy,  K.C.V.O. 

A.  J.  Russell  Snow,  Esq.,  K.C. 

The  late  D.  R.  Wilkie 
Lieut.-Colonel  J.  Cooper  Mason,  D.S.O. 

The  late  J.  R.  Bond 
J.  Castell  Hopkins,  Esq.,  F.S.S.,  F.R.G.S. 


THE  CANADIAN 

ANNUAL  REVIEW 

OF 

PUBLIC  AFFAIRS 


BY 

J.  CASTELL  HOPKINS,  P.S.S.,  F.R.G.S. 


1917 


SEVENTEENTH   YEAR  OF  ISSUE 

ILLUSTRATED 


/  14  7  a  o 


I  9 


TORONTO:  THE  CANADIAN 
ANNUAL  REVIEW,  LIMITED 

1918 


F 


Copyright,  Canada,  1918,  Printed  by 

by  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  THE  HUNTER-ROSE  Co.,  Li  MITE 

REVIEW,  LIMITED.  TOBONTO. 


', 


In 
Sincere  and  Affectionate  Memory 

of 
BRIG.-GENERAL  THE  HON.  JAMES  MASON 

Who 

In  a  Life-time  of  devotion  to  the  Military 

•     Service  of  Canada,  to  its  Banking 

Interests  and  National  Welfare, 

to  the  Unity  and  Greatness 

of  his  Empire,  embodied 

the  highest  qualities 

of  Honour  and 

Loyalty 


This  Volume  is  Dedicated 

By 
THE  AUTHOR. 


; 


PREFACE 


In  this  17th  volume  of  a  work  which  has  been  the  object  of 
intense  interest  and  deep  study  to  the  Author  for  so  many  years, 
I  would  like  to  suggest  two  thoughts — one  of  a  public  nature,  the 
other  of  a  purely  personal  character.  The  first  is  a  statement  of 
gratification  at  the  attention  shown  in  reviews  and  personal  letters 
regarding  one  of  the  main  ideals  which  lay  before  me  in  originally 
undertaking  this  project — a  History  of  Canada  from  year  to  year 
in  all  its  processes  of  internal  development  and  external  relation- 
ship. I  understand  that  the  volume  has  been  useful  to  public 
men,  especially,  in  (1)  the  condensation  of  historical  record  and  data 
as  to  the  different  Provinces  of  Canada — concerning  the  current 
history  and  progress  of  which  no  other  permanent  record  exists; 
and  (2)  the  analysis  of  the  part  taken  by  each  of  the  countries  of 
the  British  Empire  in  the  War  and  in  current  processes  of  an  inter- 
esting political  development  about  which  the  average  Canadian 
can  find  few  facts.  A  third  point  has  arisen  out  of  the  study  of 
conditions  bearing  upon  the  progress  of  the  World- War  which  I 
undertook  to  include  in  the  volume  when  the  struggle  began  in  1914 
— treating  of  all  the  great  countries  on  either  side  of  the  conflict,  so 
far  as  facts  could  be  obtained  and  analyzed.  As  Canada  has  broad- 
ened out  into  a  great  country  in  the  Empire  and  then  into  a  British 
nation,  known  all  over  the  world,  I  have  endeavoured,  despite  the 
inevitable  limitations  of  the  task,  to  keep  pace  with  this  splendid 
progress  in  the  pages  of  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW. 

The  other  thought  in  my  mind  is  purely  personal.  Some  of  my 
friends  in  the  press  and  others  who  comment  upon  or  write  to  me 
about  the  work,  frequently  mention  "The  Editor."  There  can  be 
no  Editor  except  where  someone  else's  literary  work  is  dealt  with, 
revised  and  edited.  I  feel  a  certain  pride  in  the  fact  that  since  it 
started  17  years  ago,  every  page  and  every  line  of  these  volumes, 
running  into  700  or  800  pages  a  year,  have  been  written  by  my 
own  hand  and  personally  evolved  from  a  vast  mass  of  contemporary 
data,  official  reports,  special  records,  information  received  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  as  well  as  Canada — an  accumulation  of  facts 
and  historical  detail  such  as  only  comes  to  a  man  in  thirty  years  of 
time  devoted  to  the  study  of  his  country  and  its  place  in  the  world. 

J.  CASTELL  HOPKINS. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


THE  WORLD-WAR  IN  1917 

PAGE 

The  Progress  and  General  Environment  of  the  War 17 

The  Inter- Allied  Conferences  and  Supreme  War  Council 30 

The  Germans  in  1917.  The  Kaiser  and  His  Government;  National  Character 

and  Opinions 34 

Germany  in  1917:  Its  Armies,  Finance,  Industry,  Food,  and  Other  Conditions  43 

The  Germans  in  Belgium  and  France;  War  Methods  of  the  Teuton  Allies.  ...  49 

War  Conditions  in  Austria-Hungary;  Bulgaria  and  the  Turkish  Empire 60 

Russia:  The  Sweep  of  .Revolution,  Anarchy  and  Socialism 65 

The  Struggles  and  Successes  of  France 81 

The  Difficulties  and  Disasters  of  Italy 88 

The  Lesser  Nations — Greece,  Roumania,  etc. ;  European  Neutrals  and  the  War  93 

South  America  and  the  War;  Conditions  in  Central  America  and  Mexico.  ...  101 

Japan  and  China  in  the  World- War 107 

The  Pope's  Peace  Proposals  and  President  Wilson's  Reply;  Conditions  and 

Comments Ill 

Chronology  of  the  War  in  1917 118 

THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  IN  THE  WAR 

Great  Britain  in  1917:   War  Policy  and  General  Position 127 

The  British  Army  and  Navy  in  the  War;  Submarines  and  Aeroplanes 148 

Ireland  and  the  Empire:   Home  Rule  and  the  National  Convention 160 

Australia  in  1917:    Union  Government,  General  Elections  and  the  Conscrip- 
tion Issue •. 169 

South  Africa  and  the  War:    The  Republican  Movement 178 

New  Zealand  and  Newfoundland:   Two  Island  Dominions  in  the  War 184 

The  Indian  Empire  and  Its  War- Action:   The  Demand  for  Home  Rule 190 

The  Empire  as  a  Unit  in  the  War:   The  Problem  of  Imperial  Unity 197 

The  Imperial  War  Cabinet  and  Imperial  War  Conference  of  1917 206 

The  British  West  Indies  and  the  War 210 

Imperial  Honours  of  the  Year 211 

THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  THE  WAR 

The  United  States  Enters  the  War:   Diplomacy  and  Decision 213 

American  Leaders  and  the  War:   Wilson,  Roosevelt  and    Others 223 

Foreign  Relations  in  1917:    Missions  of  Joffre,  Balfour,  Reading,  Northcliffe.  227 
War  Administration  and  Preparations:   What  was  Done  by  the  United  States 

in  1917 234 

German  Plots  and  Propaganda;    Germans  in  the  United  States 254 

Pacifists  in  the  United  States;   Peace  Organizations  and  the  War 270 

American  War  Production,  Trade,  Industry  and  Finance  in  1917 278 

[8] 


CONTENTS 


CANADA  AND  THE  WAR— THE  GOVERNMENT 

PAGE 

The  Governor-General  and  Public  Affairs:   War- Work  and  Speeches.  ...^'...  282 
The  Prime  Minister  and  the  War:   Sir  Robert  Borden  in  England  and  in  Par- 
liament..  

^National  Finance  and  Sir  Thomas  White;   War  Loans  and  Taxation 292 

*-    The  Militia  Department  in  1917;   National  Service  and  Recruiting *f.  .  302 

The  Government  and  the  War;   Departments  and  Commissions 

Parliament  and  the  War:   Military  Voters  and  War-time  Election  Acts 327  "' 

-*    Conscription  in  Canada:   The  Military  Service  Bill  and  Its  Operation \/§§5'*~ 

Canadian  War  Relations  with  the  United  States 353 

The  Visits  to  Canada  of  M.  Viviani,  Marshal  Joffre  and  Mr.  Balfour 358 

World-Shortage  in  Food;   Policy  of  W.  J.  Hanna  as  Food  Controller 361^*"   "" 

CANADA  AND  THE  WAR— THE  PEOPLE 

\   Agricultural  Conditions,  Free  Wheat  and  the  Grain  Growers 370  ''•" 

^    Canadian  Industry  in  the  War:  Munitions,  Ship-building  arid  the  Fuel  Problem  385  ^*^ 

Transportation  and  the  War;  Nationalization  of  Railways 395  *••* 

,The  Banks  and  the  War:    Banking  Conditions  and  Appointments 407^** 

yjhe  Attitude  of  Canadian  Churches  in  the  War 410 

-  ^Canadian  Labour  and  the  War:    Local  Issues  of  1917 416  ^^, 

Canadian  Women  and  the  War:    Suffrage  and  Societies 425 

Aliens  in  Canada:    Enemy  Influence  and  Political  Conditions 435 

v  High  Prices  and  Cost  of  Living:    Sir  J.  W.  Flavelle's  Position 439  >«-— 

Important  Canadian  Organizations  and  the  War 451 

The  Canadian  Patriotic  Fund 451 

The  Canadian  Red  Cross 452 

British  Red  Cross  in  Canada 454 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 455 

The  Navy  League  of  Canada 458 

The  British  and  Foreign  Sailors'  Society 459 

The  Overseas  Club 460 

Belgian  Relief  and  Other  Funds 461 

The  Empire  Club  of  Canada 461 

The  League  of  the  Empire , 462 

The  Rotary  Clubs 462 

Canadian  Clubs  and  the  War 464 

Miscellaneous  Patriotic  and  Military  Societies 465 

^  The  Jubilee  of  Confederation  and  the  War 466 

The  Halifax  Disaster  and  the  War 467 

Industrial  Research  and  the  War 469 

CANADA  AND  THE  WAR— QUEBEC 

„__  French-Canadians  and  the  War— Causes  and  Effects 471**^ 

Nationalism  in  Quebec:    The  Bourassa-Lavergne  Attitude 477^ 

Quebec  Politics  and  the  War:    In  Dorchester  and,  in  Parliament 482r 

Recruiting  Action  in  Quebec:    Attitude  Toward  Conscription V* 491'^ 

The  Bi-Lingual  School  Question;  Ontario  vs.  Quebec 499 

The  Church  and  the  People:    Attitude  of  the  Hierarchy 503 


10  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

CANADA  AND  THE  WAR— THE  FRONT 

PAGE 

On  the  Way  to  the  Front;    Canadians  in  England 509 

Canadian  Forces  in  France;   Sir  A.  W.  Currie  and  Other  Commanders 519 

The  Canadian  Battles  of  the  Year— Vimy,  Passchendaele,  Bellevue,  etc. .  . .  522 

The  Returned  Soldier:  Pensions  and  the  Hospital  Commission :  The  G.W.V.A.  530 

On  Active  Service:   Canadian  Aviation  in  1917;   Major  Bishop's  Exploits ....  539 

Canadian  War  Incidents:   Casualties  and  Honours;   Winners  of  the  V.C 544 

A          FORMATION  OF  THE  UNION  GOVERNMENT 

*•  The  Popular  Movement  Toward  Union  Government 553 

Sir  Robert  Borden's  First  Efforts  for  Union  Government 561 

The  Western  Convention  and  Liberal  Party  Conditions 569 

Union  Government:    Final  Stage  of  Formation 577 

4.  GENERAL  ELECTIONS  OF  1917 

^*»Union  Government  Policy  and  Sir  Robert  Borden's  Campaign \/  587 

••••The  Liberal  Policy  and  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier's  Campaign 593 

•  The  Unionist  Campaign — Eastern  Provinces  and  Quebec 602 

.  The  Unionist  Campaign— The  Western  Provinces >612 

"The  Laurier  Campaign  as  a  Whole;  Issues  in  Ontario,  Quebec  and  the  West,  v   618  — 
The  Churches  in  the  Election;   Attitude  of  Labour  and  the  Women 628 

The  Soldiers  and  the  Election:    Results  of  the  Contest 633 

«— . 

THE  EASTERN  PROVINCES  OF  CANADA 

Ontario:    Government,  Legislation  and  Political  Issues 644 

Ontario:    The  University  of  Toronto;    Other  Educational  Institutions 666 

Ontario:    Agriculture  and  Production;    The  United  Farmers 668  * 

Ontario  Mines  in  1917:    Cobalt  and  Porcupine  and  Sudbury 669  ^ 

Quebec:    Government;    Legislation;    Education;    Production 672 

Quebec:    Higher  Education — Laval  and  McGill 683 

Nova  Scotia :    Legislation,  War  Service  and  Material  Progress 685 

Nova  Scotia:    Higher  Education  and  the  Universities 694 

New  Brunswick:    Government  Changes  and  General    Elections 695   * 

New  Brunswick:    Educational  Conditions 714 

Position  of  Prince  Edward  Island  in  1917 715 

THE  WESTERN  PROVINCES  OF  CANADA 

Manitoba:    Government,  Legislation,  Agriculture  and  Education 717 

Manitoba:    Higher  Education  and  the  University  of  Manitoba 737 

Manitoba :    The  Grain  Growers'  Association 739 

Manitoba:    Mining  Resources  and  Development 741 

Saskatchewan:    Government,  Legislation  and  Politics 742 

Saskatchewan:    General  Elections  and  First  Session  of  the  New  Legislature. .  761 

Saskatchewan:  The  Grain  Growers'  Association  and  the  Non-Partisan  League  778 

Saskatchewan:    Educational  Conditions  and  Policy 781 

Saskatchewan:    The  University  and  Higher  Education 783 

Alberta:    Government,  Legislation  and  General  Progress 784 


CONTENTS  11 

PAGE 

Alberta:    General  Elections  and  the  New  Stewart  Government 801 

Alberta:    The  United  Farmers  of  Alberta 808 

Alberta:    The  University,  Colleges  and  General  Education 811 

British  Columbia:    Government  and  Politics;    Legislation  and  Production...  812 

Canadian  Obituary 835 

List  of  Canadian  Books  Published  in  1917 14 

Index  of  Names 925 

Index  of  Affairs 940 

SUPPLEMENT 

ANNUAL  REPORTS  AND  ADDRESSES 

Lord  Shaughnessy's  Notable  Address:  The  C.P.R.  and  the  Canadian  Situation  841 
The  Centenary  of  a  Great  Bank:   Annual  Addresses  and  Reports  of  the  Bank 

*"^  Montreal 853 

War  Conditions  and  Finance :  Annual  Addresses  and  Reports  of  the  Canadian 

"^Bank  of  Commerce 865 

Canada  in  War  Time;    The  West  Indies:    Annual  Addresses    and  Report  of 

•""•the  Royal  Bank  of  Canada 879 

financial  Conditions  in  Canada,  1917:   Annual  Addresses  and  Reports  of  the 

"^Merchants  Bank  of  Canada 89.1 

Great  Insurance  Corporation  of  Canada — The  Sun  Life  Assurance  Company  899 
A  Prosperous  Canadian  Institution:  Report  and  Addresses  of  the  Home  Bank 

*  of  Canada 903 

The  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium:    Francis  Grierson  describes  a  Great  American 

Institution 908 

ADVERTISEMENTS 

NEWFOUNDLAND:  THE  NORWAY  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD 910 

NORTHERN  ONTARIO:  ITS  GREAT  NORTHERN  REGIONS 911 

CENTRAL  UNION  TRUST  COMPANY,  New  York— AN  IMPORTANT 

AMERICAN  AMALGAMATION 912 

NOVA  SCOTIA  STEEL  AND  COAL  COMPANY 913 

THE  NATIONAL  PARK  BANK  OF  NEW  YORK 914 

THE  CONFEDERATION  LIFE  ASSOCIATION,  Toronto 915 

THE  CORN  EXCHANGE  BANK,  New  York 916 

CANADIAN  GENERAL  ELECTRIC  COMPANY,  Toronto 917 

CANADIAN  ALLIS-CHALMERS,  LTD.,  Toronto 917 

THE  HANOVER  NATIONAL  BANK,  New  York 918 

THE  TORONTO  GENERAL  TRUSTS  CORPORATION 919 

THE  CANADIAN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY— BANFF  SPRINGS  HOTEL. ...  920 

THE  CANADIAN  NORTHERN  RAILWAY,  Toronto 921 

GUTTA  PERCHA  &  RUBBER,  LIMITED,  Toronto 922 

WESTERN  ASSURANCE  CO.  AND  BRITISH  AMERICA  ASSURANCE 

CO 923 

CANADA  PERMANENT  MORTGAGE  CORPORATION 924 

A.  E.  AMES  &  CO.:  Toronto,  Brokers...  924 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

THE  RT.  HON.  SIR  ROBERT  LAIRD  BORDEN,  P.C.,  G.C.M.G.,  Prime  Minister  of 

Canada  in  1917 Frontispiece 

LIEUT.-GEN.  SIR  ARTHUR  W.  CURRIE,  K.C.M.G.,  C.B.     Appointed   in   1917  to 

command  the  Canadian  Forces  at  the  Front 16 

THE  RUINS  OF  YPRES  CATHEDRAL  IN  1917 40 

CAPT.  J.  R.  WOODS,  of  the  Coldstream  Guards  and  son  of  J.  W.  Woods,  Ottawa. 

Killed  in  Action 56 

HOWARD  G.  KELLEY.  Appointed  in  1917  President  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Rail- 
way and  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway 200 

JOHN  MILTON  GODFREY.  President  in  1917  of  Civilian  Recruiting  League,  2nd 
Military  District,  Canadian  National  Service  League,  and  Ontario  Win- 

the- War-League,  etc!'. 200 

His  EXCELLENCY  WOODROW  WILSON,  President  of  the  United  States  in  1917.    212 

SPEAKER  AND  CHIEF  OFFICERS  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  COMMONS  in  1917 264 

INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  THE  CHATEAU  LAURIER,  OTTAWA 264 

MAJ.-GEN.  W.  G.  GWATKIN,  C.B.,  Chief  of  Staff,  Dept.  of  Militia  and  Defence, 

Ottawa,  1917 712 

WM.  Douw  LIGHTHALL,  K.c.,  F.R.s.c.    President  in  1917  of  the  Royal  Society 

of  Canada 744 

ROBERT  J.  C.  STEAD.  A  distinguished  Canadian  Poet  of  1917 744 

ENTRANCE  HALL  OF  THE  NEW  PARLIAMENT  BUILDINGS  IN  OTTAWA 760 

THE  HON.  CHARLES  STEWART,  M.L.A.    Appointed  in  1917  as  Prime  Minister  of 

Alberta 784 

THE  RT.  HON.  THE  LORD  SHAUGHNESSY,  K.C.V.O 840 

HENRY  V.  FRANKLIN  JONES.  Asst.  General  Manager  in  1917  of  the  Canadian 

Bank  of  Commerce 864 

DANIEL  CHARLES  MACAROW,  General  Manager  of  the  Merchants  Bank  of 

Canada,  Montreal,  in  1917 890 

THE  NEW  SUN  LIFE  BUILDING,  MONTREAL,  Opened  in  1917 898 

THE  HOME  BANK  OF  CANADA,  Toronto,  1917 902 

THE  BATTLE  CREEK  SANITARIUM 908 

THE  UNION  GOVERNMENT  OF  1917 

THE  RT.  HON.  SIR  ROBERT  L.  BORDEN,   P.C.,    G.C.M.G.,  Prime  Minister  and 

Leader  of  the  Union  Government  Movement Frontispiece 

THE  HON.  NEWTON  W.  ROWELL,  K.C.,  M.P.,  President  of  the  King's  Privy 

Council  for  Canada 280 

THE  HON.  JAMES  A.  CALDER,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Immigration  and  Colonization.  344 

THE  HON.  F.  B.  CARVELL,  K.C.,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Public  Works 424 

THE  RT.  HON.  SIR  GEORGE  E.  FOSTER,  G.C.M.G.,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Trade  and 

Commerce 312 

THE  HON.  SIR  W.  T.  WHITE,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Finance 312 

THE  HON.  ARTHUR  MEIGHEN,  K.C.,  M.P.,  Minister  of  the  Interior 584 

THE  HON.  ARTHUR  L.  SIFTON,  K.C.,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Customs 376 

[12] 


ILLUSTRATIONS  13 
THE  UNION  GOVERNMENT  OF  1917— Continued 

PAGE 

LiEux.-CoLONEL  THE  HON.  P.  E.  BLONDiN,  M.p.,  Postmaster-General 472 

THE  HON.  T.  A.  CRERAR,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Agriculture 648 

MAJ.-GEN.  THE  HON.  S.  C.  MEWBURN,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Militia  and  Defence  280 

THE  HON.  J.  D.  REID,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Railways  and  Canals 344 

THE  HON.  SIR  EDWARD  KEMP,  K.C.M.G.,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Overseas  Military 

Forces  of  Canada 376 

THE  HON.  FRANK  COCHRANE,  M.P.,  Minister  without  Portfolio 424 

THE  HON.  J.  P.  ARTHUR  SEVIGNY,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Inland  Revenue 472 

THE  HON.  MARTIN  BURRELL,  M.P.,  Secretary  of  State  and  Minister  of  Mines  552 

THE  HON.  A.  K.  MACLEAN,  K.C.,  M.P.,  Minister  without  Portfolio 552 

THE  HON.  SIR  JAMES  A.  LOUGHEED,  K.C.,  K.C.M.G.,  Minister  without  Portfolio  568 

THE  HON.  C.  J.  DOHERTT,  K.C.,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Justice  and  Attorney-General  568 

THE  HON.  HUGH  GUTHRIE,  K.C.,  M.P.,  Solicitor-General  of  Canada 584 

LiEUT.-CoLONEL  THE  HON.  C.  C.  BALLANTYNE,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Marine  and 

Fisheries  and  of  the  Naval  Service : 616 

THE  HON.  T.  W.  CROTHERS,  K.C.,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Labour 616 

THE  HON.  G.  D.  ROBERTSON,  Senator,  Minister  without  Portfolio 648 

A  GROUP  OF  DISTINGUISHED  OFFICERS 

H.R.H.  PRINCE  ARTHUR  OF  CONNAUGHT 508 

LIEUT.-GEN.  SIR  ARTHUR  CURRIE 508 

BRIG.-GENERAL  VICTOR  W.  ODLUM 508 

MAJOR-GENERAL  SIR  DAVID  WATSON 508 

THE  CENTENARY  OF  THE  BANK  OF  MONTREAL 

THE  PRESIDENT  IN  1917 — SIR  H.  VINCENT  MEREDITH,  BART 852 

THE  GENERAL  MANAGER  IN  1917 — SIR  F.  WILLIAMS-TAYLOR,  LL.D 852 

IST  BANK  OF  MONTREAL  BUILDING,  1817 862 

BANK  OF  MONTREAL  BUILDING  IN  1917 862 

CANADIAN  WINNERS  OF  THE  VICTORIA  CROSS 

LIEUT.  ROBERT  GRIERSON  COMBE,  v.c 56 

CAPT.  HENRY  STRACHAN,  v.c.,  M.C 72 

PTE.  MICHAEL  JAMES  O'ROURKE,  v.c.,  M.C 72 

SERGT.-MAJOR  FRED.  WM.  HALL,  v.c 72 

CAPT.  ROBERT  SHANKLAND,  v.c.,  D.C.M 72 

MAJOR  THAIN  WENDELL  MACDOWELL,  v.c.,  D.S.O.,  B.A 104 

MAJOR  OKILL  MASSEY  LEARMONTH,  v.c.,  M.C 104 

LCE.-CPL.  FRED.  FISHER,  v.c 136 

SERGT.  FREDERICK  HOBSON,  v.c 136 

PTE.  JOHN  GEORGE  PATTISON,  v.c 136 

PTE.  WM.  JOHNSTONE  MILNE,  v.c 136 

LIEUT.  FREDERICK  MAURICE  WATSON  HARVEY,  v.c 168 

PTE.  PETER  ROBERTSON,  v.c 168 

CAPT.  FREDERICK  WM.  CAMPBELL,  v.c 168 

MAJOR  WILFRID  MAVOR,  M.C.,  D.S.O 168 

MAJOR  WM.  AVERY  BISHOP,  v.c.,  M.C.,  D.S.O 538 


CANADIAN  BOOKS  IN  1917 


CANADIAN  BOOKS  ON  THE  WORLD-WAR 

Private  Peat:   His  Own  Story. .   Harold  R.  Peat Indianapolis: 

Carry  On:  Letters  in  War-Time.  Lieut.  Coningsby  Dawson.New  York: 
Understanding  Germany Prof.  Max  Eastman New  York: 


Canada  in  War  Paint 

Canada  in  Flanders  (11) 

With  a  Field  Ambulance  at  Ypres 
Crumps:    The  Plain  Tale  of  a 

Canadian  Who  Went 

/-Canada  and  National  Service. . . 

'    America  and  the  War 

Maple  Leaves  in  Flanders  Fields 

More  Letters  from  Billy 

On  the  Fringe  of  the  Great  Fight 

The  First  Canadians  in  France. . 

From  Montreal  to  Vimy  Ridge 
and  Beyond 


Capt.  Ralph  W.  Bell London: 

Lord  Beaverbrook Toronto : 

Wm.  Boyd Toronto: 

Capt.  Louis  Keene Toronto : 

Col.  W.  Hamilton  Merritt.Toronto: 

Prof.  W.  F.  Osborne Toronto: 

Herbert  Rae Toronto: 

Lieut.  W.  Gray Toronto: 

Col.  Geo.  G.  Nasmith, 

C.M.O Toronto: 

Lieut.-Col.  F.  McKelvey 

Bell.. .  .  .Toronto: 


Letters  by   Lieut.   C.   A. 

Wells Toronto: 

Lieut.-Col.  C.  L.  Flick, 

C.M.G London: 

Capt.  Gilbert  Nobbs Toronto : 

Lieut.-Col.  L.  G.  Des- 

jardins Quebec: 


Just  What  Happened:   A  Diary 

of  Mobilization 

On  the  Right  of  the  British  Line 
L'Angleterre  Le  Canada  et  La 

Grande  Guerre 

The  Next  of  Kin:  Stories  of 

Those  Who  Wait  and  Wonder 

Democracy  and  the  War 

The  Eyes  of  the  Aflmy  antl  Navy  Fl.  Lieut.  A.  H.  Munday .  Toronto 


Nellie  L.  McClung Boston: 

John  Fernian  Coar New  York: 


Bobbs-Merrill, 

Lane. 

Mitchell-Kenner- 

ley. 

J.  M.  Dent. 
Hodder-Stoughton 
Musson. 

Thos.  Allen. 
Macmillan. 
Musson. 
Wm.  Briggs. 
McClelland. 

McClelland. 
McClelland. 

McClelland. 

Ed.  Stanford. 
G.  J.  McLeod. 

Privately  Printed. 

Houghton-Mifflin 

Putnam's. 

Musson. 


HISTORY,  POLITICS,  BIOGRAPHY,  ECONOMICS 

"  The  North  American  Idea Dr.  Jas.  A.  Macdonald. . .  .Toronto:  McClelland. 

Confederation  and  Its  Leaders.  .   M.  O.  Hammond Toronto:  McClelland. 

Short  Treatise  oh  Canadian  Con- 
stitutional Law A.  H.  F.  Lefroy,  K.C Toronto:  Carswell. 

The  Canadian  Railway  Problem  E.  B.  Biggar Toronto:  Macmillan. 

The   Canadian   Annual  Review  J,  Castell  Hopkins,  F.S.S.,  Canadian   Annual 

of  Public  Affairs F.R.G.S Toronto:  Review,  Limited 

Bi-lingual  Schools  in  Canada .  .  .   Prof.  C.  B.  Sissons Toronto:  Dent. 

Sir  Charles  Tupper Hon.  J.  W.  Longley Toronto:  Morang. 

Our  Government Mabel  M.  Stevenson Toronto:  G.  J.  McLeod. 

Ontario  Historical  Society Papers  and  Records Toronto:  The  Society. 

Canadian  Club,  Toronto Proceedings,  1916-17 Toronto:  Warwick-Rutter. 

The  New  Era  in  Canada (Ed.)  Principal  J.O.Miller.Toron to:  J.  M.  Dent. 

Defence  and  Foreign  Affairs Z.  A.  Lash,  K.C Toronto:  Macmillan. 

The  Federation  of  Canada'. 50th  Anniversary  LecturesToronto :  University  Press. 

Pictures  from  Canadian  History.  K.  L.  Macpherson Montreal:  Renouf. 

+  The  Dawn  of  a  new  Patriotism.   John  D.  Hunt Toronto:  Macmillan. 

Canada  and  National  Service...   Col.  W.  Hamilton  Merritt.Toronto:  Macmillan. 

Coreme  de   1917  k  Notre  Dame  Abb6  Thellier  de  Ponche- 

de  Montreal ville Montreal:  Beauchemin. 

Melangs  historiques  et  litt^raires  Hon.  L.  O.  David Montreal:  Beauchemin. 

POETRY 

Kitchener  and  Other  Poems R.  J.  C.  Stead Toronto:  Musson. 

Flint    and    Feather — Complete 

Poems E.  Pauline  Johnson Toronto:  Musson. 

The  Shell A.  C.  Stewart Toronto:  Wm.  Briggs. 

Stories  and  Musings James  L.  Hughes Toronto:  Wm.  Briggs. 

A  Canadian  Twilight  and  Other 

Poems Bernard  F.  Trotter Toronto:  McClelland. 

Irish  Lyrics  and  Ballads Rev.    James   B.    Dollard, 

LITT.D Toronto:  McClelland. 

Heart  of  the  Hills Dr.  Albert  D.  Watson Toronto:  McClelland. 

Canadian  Poets:  An  Anthology.  (Ed.)  John  W.  Garvin.  .  .Toronto:  McClelland. 
The  White  Comrade  and  Other  Katherine  Hale   (Mrs.   J. 

Poems W.  Garvin) Toronto:  McClelland. 

The  New  Joan  and  Other  Poems  Katherine  Hale   (Mrs.  J. 

W.  Garvin) Toronto:  McClelland. 

The  Piper  and  the  Reed Robert  Norwood Toronto:  McClelland. 

His  Lady  of  the  Sonnets Robert  Norwood Toronto:  McClelland. 

[14] 


CANADIAN  BOOKS  IN  1917 


15 


Songs  in  Your  Heart  and  Mine. 
Songs  from  a  Young  Man's  Land 

In  a  Belgian  Garden 

Carry  On 

Marching  Men 

Idylls  of  the  Dane 

The  Hut  in  the  Forest 

After  Ypres  and  Other  Poems . . 
Songs  of  Gladness  and  Growth. 

Songs  of  Ukrainia 

Nor'  Shor'  Verses 

The  Soul:   A  Philosophic  Poem. 

The  Belgian  Mother 

Sea  Dogs  and  Men  at  Arms 

Songs  of  Our  Maple  Saplings . . . 
In  the  Battle  Silences 


POETRY — Continued 


Thomas  H.  Litster 

Clive  Phillipps-Wolley. . 

Prof.  F.  O.  Call 

Virna  Sheard 

Helena  Coleman 

Irene  Elder  Morton 

Mrs.  E.  B.  Bremner 

R.  Stanley  Weir 

James  L.  Hughes 

Florence  R.  Livesay. . . . 

Richard  D.  Ware 

Mgr.  S.  J.  Doucet 

T.  A.  Browne 

Jesse  Edgar  Middleton . 
Annie  B.  MacDougald . 
Rev.  F.  G.  Scott,  C.M.G. 


.Toronto: 
.  Toronto : 
.London: 
.Toronto: 
.Toronto: 
.  Boston : 
.New  York: 
.Toronto: 
.  Toronto : 
.  Toronto : 
.Montreal: 
.St.  John: 
.Toronto: 
.New  York: 
.Toronto: 
.Toronto: 


McClelland. 

Thos.  Allen. 

ErskineMacdonald 

Privately  Printed 

J.  M.  Dent. 

R.  G.  Badger. 

Doran. 

Musson. 

Wm.  Briggs. 

J.  M.  Dent. 

Luce  &  Co. 

McMillan. 

Macmillan. 

Putnam's. 

Musson. 

Musson. 


FICTION  AND  NOVELS 


The  Preacher  of  Cedar  Mountain 

Up  the  Hill  and  Over 

The  Major 


Anne's  House  of  Dreams . 

Under  Sealed  Orders 

The  Next  of  Kin 

Frenzied  Fiction 

Old  Man  Savarin  Stories . 

The  Inner  Door 

The  Sin  That  Was  His. .  . 

Kleath 

The  Magpie's  Nest 

Northern  Diamonds 

Further  Foolishness 

The  High  Heart 


E.  Thompson-Seton Toronto:  Wm.  Briggs. 

Isabel  Ecclestone  MackayToronto:  McClelland. 
Rev.    Dr.   C.   W.   Gordon 

(Ralph  Connor) Toronto:  McClelland. 

L.  M.  Montgomery Toronto:  McClelland. 

H.  A.  Cody Toronto:  McClelland. 

Nellie  F.  McClung Toronto:  Thos.  Allen. 

Stephen  Leacock Toronto:  S.  B.  Gundy. 

E.  W.  Thomson Toronto:  S.  B.  Gundy.. 

Alan  Sullivan Toronto:  S.  B.  Gundy. 

Frank  L.  Packard Toronto:  Copp-Clark. 

Madge  Macbeth Toronto:  Musson. 

Isabel  Paterson Toronto:  S.  B.  Gundy. 

F.  Lillie  Pollock Toronto:  Thos.  Allen. 

Stephen  Leacock Toronto:  S.  B.  Gundy. 

Basil  King Toronto:  Musson. 


MONOGRAPHS  AND  PAMPHLETS 

Bell  Telephone  Memorial Edited  by  Brantford  As- 
sociation  Brantford : 

The  Grange  in  Canada H.  Mitchell Kingston: 

The  Farmers'  Platform Edited  by  Canadian  Coun- 
cil of  Agriculture Winnipeg: 

Urban  and  Rural  Development .   Report  of  Conference ....  Ottawa : 


Les  Pr^curseurs 

The  Catholic  Atmosphere  of 
Shakespeare's  Dramas 

Aesthetic  Criticism  in  Canada: 
Its  Aims,  Methods  and  Status 

Armageddon:  or  The  World- 
Movement  

Measurement  of  Time 

The  Story  of  the  Fighting  26th. 

Machine  Gun  Practice  and  Tac- 
tics  

Souvenirs  de  Verdun. 

L'Appel  Aux  Armes  et  la  Re"- 
ponse  Canadienne-francaise . . 

The  Flag :  Its  Origin  and  Mean- 
ing  

In  the  Ypres  Salient 

Confirmation 

The  Irrepressible  Five:  A  New 
Family  Compact 


A.  H.  de  Tre"maudan Winnipeg: 

Dean  W.  R.  Harris Toronto: 

J.  D.  Logan,  PH.D Toronto: 

Dr.  G.  C.  Workman Toronto: 

Prof.  N.  F.  Dupuis Kingston: 

R.  W.  Gould,  S.  K.  Smith.St.  John: 

Lieut.  K.  B.  McKellar.. .  .Toronto: 
Monument  National  Con- 
ference  Montreal: 

Prof.  Ferdinand  Roy. .    .  .Quebec: 

C.  P.  Band 

E.  L.  Stovel Toronto: 

Beckles  Willson Toronto: 

Dyson  Hague Toronto: 

W.  H.  Moore. .  .  .Toronto: 


Privately  Printed. 
Jackson  Press. 

Privately  Printed. 
Conservation 

Commission. 
Privately  Printed. 

Privately  Printed. 
McClelland. 

Wm.  Briggs. 

Uglow. 

McMillan. 

Macmillan. 

Beauchemin. 

Garneau. 

Musson. 
Musson. 
Musson. 

McClelland. 


MISCELLANEOUS  AND  GENERAL 

Ontario  Historical  Society Annual  Report Toronto:  The  Society. 

Royal  Canadian  Institute Year  Book  and  Report .    .Toronto:  The  Society. 

In  Canada's  Wonderful  North- 
land    W.  Tees  Cumin Toronto:  Wm.  Briggs. 

Methodist  Hymn  Book New  and  Revised Toronto:  Wm.  Briggs. 

The  Great  Poets  of  Italy Dr.  T.  D.  J.  Farmer ....  Toronto:  Wm.  Briggs. 

Notes  on  Canadian  Companies..   E.  R.  Cameron,  K.C Toronto:  Carswell. 

Mortgages  Under  the  Torrens* 

System W.  S.  Scott Toronto:  Carswell. 

Surrogate  Court  Practice  and 

Procedure Judge  Widdifield Toronto:  Carswell. 


16 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


MISCELLANEOUS  AND  GENERAL— Continued 


A  Manual  for  Justices  of  the 
Peace 

A  Round-the- World  Cruise 

Canadian  Birds  Worth  Knowing 

Canadian  Flowers  Worth  Know- 
ing  

Canadian  Trees  Worth  Knowing 

Canadian   Butterflies   Worth 
Knowing 

Medical     Contributions     to  the 
Study  of  Evolution 

Community:         A     Sociological 
Study 

Learning  to  Read 

The   Library,    The   School   and 
The  Child 

In  Canada's  Wonderful  North- 
land  

On    the    Headwaters    of   Peace 
River 

The  Story  of  St.  Paul's  Life  and 
Letters 


The  Highway  of  Life 

Tarbell's  Teacher's  Guide. 


A.  E.  Popple Toronto:  Carswell. 

Frank  Carrel Quebec:  Telegraph. 

Neltge  Blanchan Toronto:  Musson. 

Blanchan-Dickinson Toronto:  Musson. 

Julia  E.  Rogers Toronto:  Musson. 

C.  M.  Weed Toronto:  Musson. 

Prof.  J.  G.  Adami,  F.R.a.London:  Duckworth. 

R.  M.  Maclver Toronto:  Macmillan. 

Dr.  S.  B.  Sinclair Toronto:  Macmillan. 

J.  W.  Emery Toronto:  Macmillan. 

W.  Tees  Curran 

H.  A.  Calkins New  York:  Putnam's. 

Paul  Haworth New  York:  Scribner's. 

Rev.     Dr.     J.    Paterson- 

Smythe Toronto:  Musson. 

Rev.  Hugh  T.  Kerr New  York:  F.  H.  Revell. 

Martha  Tarbell,  PH.D New  York:  F.  H.  Reveil. 


WORKS  OF  REFERENCE 

Political  Appointments,   Parlia- 
ments and  Judicial  Bench. . . .   N.  Omer  Cot6,  i.s.o Ottawa: 

Manitoba  Grain  Growers'  Year 

Book.  . Winnipeg: 

Imperial  Year-Book  for  Canada.  (Ed.)  A.  E.  Southall Ottawa: 

Canadian  Historical  Dates  and 

Events Francis  J.  Audet Ottawa : 

Review    of   Historical    Publica-  Prof.  G.  M.  Wrong 

tions  Relating  to  Canada (Ed.)  H.  H.  Langton Toronto: 

The  Methodist  Year  Book Toronto : 

The  Canadian  Mining  Manual. .    (Ed.)  Reginald  E.  Hore.  .Toronto: 

Canadian  Almanac (Ed.)  A.  W.  Thomas Toronto: 

Heaton's  Annual (Ed.)  Ernest  Heaton Toronto: 

Monetary  Times  Annual (Ed.)  F.  W.  Field Toronto: 

Le  Canada  Ecclesiastique,  1917  Catholic  Directory Montreal: 

Almanach  du  Peuple,  1918 Montreal: 

The  Canadian  Annual  Review  of  J.  Castell  Hopkins,  F. a. B., Toronto: 
Public  Affairs F.B.Q.B 


Lowe-Martin. 

Association. 
Mortimer. 

Beauregard. 

Glasgow-Brook. 
Wm.  Briggs. 
Canadian   Mining 

Journal. 
Copp-Clark. 
Heaton's  Agency. 
Monetary  Times. 
Beauchemin. 
Beauchemin. 
Canadian   Annual 

Review,  Ltd. 


LIEUT.-GENERAL  SIR  ARTHUR  W.  CURRIE,  K.C.M.G.,  C.B., 
Commanding  the  Canadian  Forces  at  the  Front,  1917. 


THE 

CANADIAN  ANNUAL    REVIEW 

OF 

PUBLIC  AFFAIRS 


THE  WORLD-WAR  IN  1917 

During  this  year  the  great  world-struggle  con- 
EnvfronSment  t^nue(^'.  ^th  infinite  variations  of  success  and  failure, 
of  the  °f  achievement  and  endurance,  amongst  the  nations 

World-War,  and  interests  concerned.  It  ended  with  the  war-map 
of  Europe  and  the  East  largely  favourable  to  the 
Teuton  Allies;  with  the  oceans  and  commerce  of  the  world  fretted 
but  not  dominated  by  the  German  submarine;  with  a  restless  under- 
current of  thought  and  feeling  amongst  the  peoples  of  the  world 
which  culminated  in  the  volcanic  eruption  of  Russian  anarchy; 
with  a  blood-testing  of  democratic  government  which  showed  a 
determined  Britain,  a  wonderful  France,  an  Italy  of  mingled  weak- 
ness and  power,  a  United  States  which  had,  finally,  found  itself; 
with  a  clear  revelation,  also,  of  the  greatness  of  autocracy  as  the 
wielder  of  organized  warfare  and  the  inherent  weakness  of  democ- 
racies in  admitting  the  control  or  excessive  influence  of  Pacificism 
and  individualism. 

It  was  a  year  of  brilliant  but  somewhat  ineffective  triumphs  for 
the  British  Allies  on  the  Western  front,  a  year  of  striking  British 
victories  in  the  East,  and  of  Italian  ebb  and  flow  in  the  West;  a 
year  of  disaster  in  the  military  collapse  of  Russia  and  of  hope  in 
the  entry  of  the  United  States  upon  the  blood-stained  European 
arena;  a  year  of  heavy  and  ever-growing  financial  burjdens  for  all 
the  Powers,  with  the  balance  in  favour  of  the  Entente  countries, 
who  still,  in  the  cases  of  Britain,  France  and  the  United  States, 
maintained  their  commerce  and  credit;  a  year  of  unceasing  and 
increasing  casualties  amongst  the  20*000,000  troops  fighting  in  ever- 
widening  areas  during  these  months  of  struggle;  a  year  of  bitter, 
individual  grief  in  many  countries,  of  untold,  indescribable  suffering 
amongst  conquered  peoples,  of  the  continued  barbarism  in  methods 
or  policy  of  German  troops  and  German  governors;  a  year  of  varied 
revelations  as  to  German  plots  in  the  turned-over  pages  of  current 
history  around  the  world;  a  year  of  restricted  production  and  men- 
acing famine  in  food  supplies,  of  high  prices  and  great  war  profits, 

2  [17] 


18  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  heavy  taxation  and  enormous  national  borrowings;  a  year  of 
intense  determination  amongst  French  soldiers,  of  cheerful  confi- 
dence in  British  troops,  of  sullen  doggedness  amongst  the  Germans 
and  war-weariness  in  Austrian  ranks,  of  disintegration,  deception 
and  disruption  in  immense  Russian  armies,  of  heroic  action  and 
feverish  error  amongst  the  Italians;  a  year  in  which  every  noble 
element  in  human  nature  found  some  expression  somewhere  and  in 
which  every  vile  or  vicious  trait  in  the  life-structure  of  mankind 
found  force  and  effect. 

In  this  period  the  world  experimented  in  all  kinds  of  action  and 
policy,  discarded  old  practices  and  principles  as  a  child  does  its 
worn-out  toys,  built  up  new  structures  of  thought  in  a  day  which, 
under  former  conditions,  would  have  needed  a  century  for  evolution, 
twisted  and  manipulated  the  war  strategy  and  tactics  of  the  past 
to  suit  terrors  of  high  explosives,  of  flaming  or  poison  gases,  of 
monstrous  Tanks,  of  bombs  from  the  skies  and  torpedoes  from  under 
the  seas.  Mechanical  transport,  whether  within  the  Teuton  lines 
or  on  the  Western  Allied  front,  in  Mesopotamia  or  Palestine,  showed 
marvels  of  efficiency,  while  science  worked  inconspicuous  but  won- 
derful miracles  in  curative  operation  and  the  saving  of  life,  in  sani- 
tary arrangements  and  inoculation  against  disease,  as  well  as  in  the 
perfecting  of  varied  means  of  death  and  of  injury  to  an  enemy. 
The  social  life  of  almost  every  country  was  in  a  state  of  flux,  into 
the  melting-pot  went  many  national  ideals,  practices  and  prejudices, 
the  selfish  individualism  of  the  day  was  shaken  though  not  elimi- 
nated, self-sacrifice  from  the  rarest  of  the  virtues  became  a  most 
common  one,  class  distinction  was  based  more  and  more  upon 
public  service  while  private  morals  were  dealt  with  by  public  legis- 
lation and  hammered  out  upon  the  anvil  of  war-time  restrictions. 
Religion  came  to  its  own  in  some  troubled  quarters  of  the  world 
even  though,  at  times,  the  difficulties  of  realizing  Christian  princi- 
ples amid  the  world-wide  dominance  of  the  cruellest  war  had  a 
negative  effect.  Women  in  the  Allied  countries  reached  new  stand- 
ards of  sacrifice,  labour,  efficiency,  and  obtained  a  political  power 
undreamed  of  before  this  vast  upheaval  of  elemental  forces.  The 
British  Empire  grew  more  and  more  into  a  close-knit  Common- 
wealth of  nations,  while  international  friendships,  such  as  those  of 
Britain  and  France  and  the  United  States,  found  new  and  blood- 
knit  spheres  of  sentiment  and  action. 

Nine-tenths  of  the  world's  population,  or  1,526  millions,  were 
at  war;  half  the  Governments  of  the  earth,  with  1,370  million  people, 
had  engaged  in  the  struggle  against  the  German  Allies  with  their 
156,000,000  subjects;  other  States,  with  22,000,000  of  a  popula- 
tion, had  broken  off  relations  with  the  Teutons,  while  the  small 
neutral  States  only  constituted  144,000,000  of  people  all-told.  The 
disproportion  of  forces  was  enormous,  yet  back  of  the  Germans 
were  many  elements  making  for  possible  conquest  and  world- 
power.  They  had  a  central  geographical  situation;  a  definite, 
determined,  clear-cut  ambition  and  policy  which  had  been  formu- 
lated and  developed  through  half  a  century,  by  an  autocratic  govern- 
ment, to  a  trained  and  submissive  people;  a  systematic  organization 


PROGRESS  AND  ENVIRONMENT  OF  THE  WORLD -WAR          19 


for  war  with  a  great  army  ready  to  strike  and  able  to  stand  the  buffets 
of  fate  to  a  degree  which  Napoleon  himself  would  have  thought 
superb;  a  splendid  organization  of  resources,  business,  labour,  in- 
dustry, finance  and  man-power;  a  method  of  popular  repression 
which  might  have  explosive  qualities  inherent  in  its  nature,  but 
which,  while  it  lasted,  multiplied  many  times  the  striking  power 
of  its  soldiers ;  a  science  which,  over  a  long  term  of  years,  had  turned 
every  human  capacity  and  mental  power  of  its  people  into  producing 
engines  of  war,  machinery  for  destruction,  weapons  of  death  and 
deviltry;  a  transportation  system  unique  in  the  operations  of  war 
and  which,  practically,  doubled  the  effectiveness  of  the  armies  while 
expanding,  as  the  conquered  or  affiliated  regions  expanded,  from 
Berlin  to  Constantinople  and  tentatively  out  toward  Bagdad  and 
the  Orient;  a  leadership  of  trained  generals  which  gradually  usurped 
or  acquired  complete  and  unified  control  over  all  the  forces  of  its 
Allies  and  welded  them  into  one  great  weapon  for  offensive  war; 
a  ruler  who  had  held,  during  these  war-years  of  tremendous  national 
effort,  the  loyalty  of  his  people  and  who,  however  vast  the  crime 
which  caused  and  precipitated  the  War,  possessed  much  ability  and 
an  obviously  keen  knowledge  of  world  conditions,  public  thought  and 
military  strategy. 

Against  this  mighty  engine  of  aggressive  power  were  the  infinitely 
greater  apparent  forces  of  Great  Britain  and  her  Allies.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  War  their  resources  approximated  $500,000,000,000 
of  national  wealth,  compared  with  an  estimated  $100,000,000,000 
for  the  Teuton  Allies,  an  area  of  40,000,000  square  miles  compared 
with  3,000,000,  and  Pig-iron  production — a  back-bone  of  war — 
totalling  57,000,000  gross  tons  against  16,000,000,  a  wheat  pro- 
duction of  3,000  million  bushels  against  400  millions.  But  during 
the  ensuing  years  of  war  the  mines  and  wealth  and  industries  of 
Belgium  and  Northern  France,  the  agricultural  and  mineral  resources 
of  Roumania,  the  forests  and  industries  of  Poland,  the  agricultural 
wealth  of  Courland  and  Lithuania,  passed  into  German  hands  and 
were  organized  with  characteristic  completeness  and  ruthless  skill. 
Meanwhile,  the  wealth  of  the  Entente  Allies  was  about  the  only 
thing  organized  with  the  same  care  as  was  shown  in  Germany;  indi- 
vidual patriotism,  it  is  true,  did  vast  service  in  the  various  British 
countries  but  nowhere  was  man-power,  industry  and  general  strength 
adequately  developed  until  in  1917  the  voluntary  system,  by  pure 
force  of  external  compulsion,  was  replaced  by  a  sort  of  subdued, 
socialistic  autocracy. 

The  chaotic  mass  of  populations  such  as  China  and  India,  the 
African  Colonies  and  finally  Russia — or  about  1,000  millions  of  the 
great  Alliance — were  practically  unarmed,  unorganized  and  com- 
paratively ineffective.  They  were,  in  part,  utilized  for  labour  pur- 
poses and,  to  an  also  restricted  extent,  for  industry,  but  this  w^as 
counter-acted  by  the  force  of  German  organization  of  conquered 
populations  into  practical  slave  labour.  Hence,  by  the  close  of  1917, 
the  preponderance  of  population  on  the  part  of  Britain's  Allies  was 
more  sentimental  than  effective;  where  it  was  organized  the  Sub- 
marine campaign  had  a  disintegrating  influence.  The  United 


20  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

States,  by  this  time,  had  thrown  itself  into  the  scale  but  as  yet  its 
weight  was  chiefly  felt  in  the  financial  and  industrial  spheres;  on 
the  other  hand  Russia  had  dropped  out  and  its  great  armies,  vari- 
ously estimated  up  to  15  millions  had  dissolved  into  wandering, 
undisciplined  bands  or  huge  units  held  together  by  no  definite  or 
visible  force  of  either  fighting  will  or  patriotic  power. 

By  this  time  Mittel-europa  had  become  a  fact  and  the  Kaiser's 
power  stretched  from  the  North  Sea,  where  it  faced  embattled  Britain, 
to  the  frontiers  of  Egypt  and  Persia.  At  Brussels  and  Antwerp,  at 
Vienna  and  Buda  Pesth,  at  Sofia  and  Belgrade  and  Stamboul,  at  Warsaw 
and  Riga,  at  Smyrna  and  Mosul,  the  war-lord  of  Berlin  was  supreme, 
while  his  trains  ran  and  his  soldiers  marched  at  will  straight  across 
Europe  into  Asia.  He  held  at  the  close  of  1917,  a  position  of  power 
similar  in  fact,  though  not  in  detail,  to  that  of  Napoleon  before  the 
disastrous  Russian  campaign.  Where  his  armies  could  not  pene- 
trate, where  his  soldiers  could  not  win  a  foot  of  soil,  where  his  inter- 
ests were  endangered,  there  the  cohorts  of  German  plotters,  the 
skilful  manipulation  of  German  settlers  or  Germanized  citizens, 
played  havoc  with  the  attempted  organization  of  great  democracies 
and  promoted  treason  to  the  principles  of  liberty  under  which  they 
lived. 

These  influences,  underlying  a  secret  diplomacy  which  the  United 
States  and  various  British  Dominions  affected  to  despise  and  did 
certainly  under-rate,  had  helped  to  keep  the  United  States  out  of 
the  War  and,  therefore,  to  prolong  its  agonies.  They  kept  Italy 
for  a  year  from  sharing  in  the  struggle,  saved  Trieste  and  the  Tren- 
tino  to  Austria  in  1917,  drove  the  Italians  back  to  the  line  of  the 
Piave,  menaced  Venice  and  all  but  detached  Italy  from  the  Alliance. 
They  overthrew  the  Czar,  drove  Russia  into  anarchy  and  eliminated 
it  as  a  fighting  force;  they  almost  created  a  crisis,  a  panic,  a  debacle, 
in  France  during  May- June,  1917;  they  stirred  up  rebellion  in  Ire- 
land, helped  to  defeat  Conscription  in  Australia,  aided  disloyalty 
in  South  Africa;  they  nursed  sedition  in  India,  schemed  and  worked 
throughout  South  America,  attempted  to  keep  China  out  of  the 
conflict.  Instead  of  the  Germans  going  down  to  history  in  the 
words  of  Sir  Frederick  Pollock  as  "people  who  foresaw  everything 
except  what  actually  happened,  and  calculated  everything  except 
its  cost  to  themselves,"  this  phrase  would  seem  far  more  applicable 
to  the  unprepared,  peace-loving,  pacifist-governed  democracies  of 
the  world  than  to  the  organized  and  long-prepared  peoples  and 
rulers  of  the  German  Empire.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  war  situ- 
ation at  the  close  of  1917  was,  on  the  surface,  favourable  to  the 
Germanic  Allies  and  part  of  this  result  was  emphatically  due  to  long- 
prepared  schemes,  careful  plots  and  foreseen  contingencies;  as  much, 
perhaps,  as  to  the  fighting  force  of  armies. 

This  point  was  fundamental  and  if  the  War  was  to  be  lost  by  the 
Allies,  or  become  a  draw,  or  result  in  the  rehabilitation  of  Germany 
as  an  autocratic,  organized  military  Power  amongst  the  nations,  it 
was  clear,  by  the  close  of  1917,  that  this  would  be  due  to  the  diffi- 
culties of  great  Democracies  in  co-ordinating  principles,  policy  and 
action  and  in  organizing  their  united  resources  and  strength.  The 


PROGRESS  AND  ENVIRONMENT  OF  THE  WORLD-WAR          21 

pivotal  problem  was,  of  course,  that  of  Labour.  Left  to  his  natural 
processes  of  thought  and  the  play  of  inter-acting  forces  in  his  own 
commonwealth,  the  workman  was,  and  is,  essentially  patriotic. 
Influenced  as  he  was  at  this  time  in  an  ever-increasing  measure  by 
the  vague  principles  of  Socialism  and  latterly  by  the  anarchism  of 
the  Russian  cult,  he  was  often  inclined  to  become  simply  a  unit  in 
an  international  class  which  fought  for  unmeasured  privileges  and 
for  powers  which,  without  education,  it  could  not  properly  wield. 
The  trained  and  organized  self-control  urged  by  Elihu  Root  as  the 
true  basis  of  democracy  and  the  embodied  enthusiasm  and  clear 
ideals  of  David  Lloyd  George  formed  the  basis  of  an  efficiency 
needed  in  all  the  Allied  countries  to  carry  on  so  vast  a  conflict. 
But  they  were  as  incompatible  with  the  selfishness  of  some  British 
or  American  Trades  Union  as  they  were  with  the  idealistic  ignorance 
of  the  Russian  moujik  suddenly  given  unlimited  power,  the  motives 
of  the  Australian  workman  voting  against  Conscription,  or  the  pre- 
judices of  the  Boer  devotee  of  republicanism  who  misused  his  liberty 
to  strike  at  the  very  source  of  freedom. 

The  democracies  of  the  British  Empire,  France  and,  finally,  the 
United  States  had  to  meet  and  defeat  an  aggressive  nation  which 
had  thrown  into  the  scales  of  war  a  vast  machine  of  organized  man- 
power, industrial  efficiency  and  state  control  of  every  individual 
element  or  function  which  made  for  strength  and  united  force  of 
action.  During  three  years  of  struggle  British  countries,  in  particular, 
had  to  face  varied  forms  of  Party  disintegration  and  disorganization 
at  home  and  their  results  abroad;  Governments  and  leaders  and 
generals  were  hampered,  delayed,  overworked  and  discouraged; 
public  men  had  to  make  speeches  and  play  politics  when  they  should 
have  been  administering  intricate  and  vital  details  of  war  organi- 
zation ;  inconceivable  strikes  took  place  in  mining,  shipping,  munition 
and  other  industries  upon  which  the  lives  of  soldiers  and  the  destinies 
of  the  War  turned  from  day  to  day;  long  delays  in  imperative  pro- 
duction occurred  while  statesmen  were  conciliating  Unions  and  trying 
to  obtain  changes  in  rules  which  handicapped  workmen,  restricted 
work  and  limited  efficiency.  Meanwhile  the  unconscious  traitors, 
the  ignorant  Pacifists,  the  purchased  agents  of  German  under- 
ground work,  exercised  a  ptower  which  was  limited  yet  unchecked, 
which  hampered  recruiting  and  industry,  encouraged  labour  dis- 
organization or  strikes  and,  particularly,  in  the  United  States,  blew 
up  munition  and  other  factories  and  paralyzed  Government  policy 
or,  in  1917,  vital  Departmental  action. 

The  struggle  with  these  difficulties  was  splendid,  the  temper  of 
British  statesmen  in  the  premises  almost  wholly  admirable,  as  were 
many  of  the  arguments  of  President  Wilson  but,  meantime,  the  War 
went  on  and  the  blows  of  an  organized  autocracy  wielding  great 
guns  and  utilizing  the  efficiency  of  united  production  prolonged  the 
struggle  and  bathed  the  world  in  further  blood  and  tears.  Democ- 
racy was  attacked,  its  very  life  and  that  of  liberty — which  is  not 
always  the  same  thing — were  at  stake.  Much  was  done  to  meet  the 
difficulties  but  time  was  needed  and  while  Coalitions  came  and 
politics  were  arranged,  strikes  averted  or  settled,  Pacifists  mildly 


22  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

censured  and  various  disintegrating  influences  of  Demos  overcome, 
great  armies  were  winning  or  losing,  myriads  of  men  were  dying  and 
women  suffering,  countries  such  as  Poland,  Roumania  and  Serbia 
were  being  cruelly  crushed. 

By  the  close  of  1917  it  became  clear  that  certain  elements  of 
internationalized  Labour  in  Britain  and  the  United  States  and 
internationalized  Socialism  in  Russia  remained  ready  to  throw  away 
the  advantages  of  superior  resources,  the  fruits  of  organization  which 
had  at  last  been  consummated,  the  possibilities  of  American  co- 
operation, the  results  of  all  the  mighty  sacrifices  of  France  and 
Belgium  and  the  other  Allies,  and  close  the  War  upon  a  basis  of  no 
indemnities  and  no  annexations.  Meantime,  of  course,  self-control 
had  come  to  the  majority  of  the  peoples  in  Allied  countries,  the 
self-sacrifice  of  masses  and  classes  alike  was  a  real  vindication  of 
the  principles  of  liberty,  class  consciousness  was  kept  in  a  more 
reasonable  subjection  to  national  interests  than  had  been  thought 
possible,  the  voluntary  armies  of  the  British  Empire  were  marvels 
of  effective  bravery  and  quickly-developed  efficiency,  the  final  results 
of  creative  war-industry  wonderful  in  view  of  difficulties  which, 
however,  seemed  to  constantly  take  new  forms  and  require  fresh 
exertions  by  national  leaders  to  overcome. 

An  outstanding  development  of  these  years  in  the  British  Empire 
and  amongst  its  Allies  was  that  of  Socialism.  Of  the  infinitely 
varied  forms  which  this  propaganda  and  ideal  took  there  were  several 
of  clearly-marked  character.  The  first  and  most  prominent  and 
best  understood  was  that  of  which  Germany  stood  as  the  greatest 
exponent — the  state  ownership  of  utilities.  Under  the  Prussian 
system  in  time  of  peace,  as  in  war,  the  State  monopolized  or  con- 
trolled nearly  all  the  things  which,  in  Britain  and  the  United  States, 
were  normally  left  to  private  control  and  which  included  railways, 
waterworks,  gas-works,  industries,  shipping  and  many  other  occu- 
pations or  enterprises.  Some  of  these  had  been  accepted  by  democ- 
racies as  with  Telegraphs  in  Britain,  Railways  in  Australia,  Electric 
Power  in  Canada.  But  the  principle  had  not  been  generally  realized 
until  the  War  worked  an  absolute  revolution  and,  in  self-defence, 
the  democracies  found  themselves  taking  over  first  one  and  then 
another  of  the  great  enterprises  of  the  nations  and,  at  the  end  of 
1917,  appeared  in  full  control  of  railways,  industries,  shipping  and 
every  interest  making  for  organized  war  efficiency — a  condition, 
however,  which  was  slow  in  coming  because  the  autocratic  action 
which  was  so  effective  in  Germany  was  lacking. 

The  second  great  phase  of  Socialism  was  also  embodied  in  Ger- 
many— that  of  the  subordination  of  the  citizen  to  the  State,  the 
elimination  of  individualism,  the  turning  of  the  nation  into  a  vast 
machine  in  which  the  people  were  merely  cogs  in  a  wheel,  units  in  a 
regiment,  and  working  under  public  regulation  and  control.  To 
some  extent  this  latter  phase  of  the  system  was  copied  by  Britain 
when  war  came  but  in  a  tentative,  uncertain,  irritating  and  incon- 
clusive way.  No  individualistic  democracy  could  endure  the  sys- 
tem, in  any  form  which  would  be  efficient,  and  in  this  fact  lay  much 
of  the  ensuing  difficulty  and  danger.  Logically,  of  course,  in  time 


PROGRESS  AND  ENVIRONMENT  OF  THE  WORLD-WAR          23 

of  war  there  should  be  only  the  State  or  the  country;  practically 
no  modern  democracy  would  endure  that  condition  a  day.  The 
Labour  class,  which  was  as  truly  a  class  as  any  aristocracy  or  finan- 
cial oligarchy,  would  not  at  this  time  stand  for  dictation  by  even  its 
own  State,  and  a  part  of  it  in  all  the  Allied  countries  continued  to 
preach  and  practice  a  third  form  of  Socialism  which  consisted  merely 
of  a  loose  combination  of  the  proletariat  or  masses  for  the  purpose 
of  striking  blows  at  the  rich,  the  governing  classes,  the  landowners, 
the  employers  of  workmen.  Ramsay  Macdonald  and  his  Pacifist 
crowd  in  Britain,  the  I.W.W.  in  the  United  States,  Archbishop  Man- 
nix  and  Mr.  Tudor — the  Irish  irreconcilable  and  the  extreme  Lab- 
ourite— in  Australia,  the  Bolsheviki  in  Russia,  the  Sinn  Fein  idealistic 
and  intellectual  rebel  in  Ireland,  had  these  latter  objects  under 
different  disguises.  In  some  cases  the  appeal  was  a  concrete  one 
made  only  to  the  pocket;  in  others  it  was  an  attempt  to  realize 
purely  theoretical  fantasies;  very  largely  it  was  a  form  of  class 
warfare. 

Yet  Democracy  had  struggled  through  the  years  of  this  vast 
conflict  and  at  the  close  of  1917  had  pages  of  glory  to  its  credit  as 
great  as  any  of  which  the  organized  and  still-conquering  Autocracy 
could  boast;  others  would  be  turned  over  in  the  future  but  safety 
could  never  be  assured  until  the  democratic  system  of  thought  and 
feeling  was  willing  to  accept,  also,  a  system  of  organized  efficiency 
and  unity  within  each  of  its  liberty-loving  countries  and  to  make 
exacting  sacrifice  of  the  individual  and  his  will  to  the  State  and  its 
strength. 

In  a  financial  sense  the  Allied  democracies  had  done  well,  their 
methods  had  been  wise  and  their  business  conditions  well-managed, 
from  the  start.  Dominated  by  the  rich  resources  and  the  careful, 
honest  financial  system  of  Great  Britain,  aided,  also,  by  preservation 
of  international  credit  through  British  control  of  the  seas  and  the 
continuance  of  trade,  the  Allies  were  able,  up  to  the  close  of  1916,  to 
carry  their  enormous  liabilities  and  meet  all  demands  without  serious 
or  breaking  strain.  Then,  in  1917,  when  the  Submarine  added  new 
burdens  of  shipping  construction  and  restricted  the  free  interchange 
of  products,  the  United  States  came  into  the  circle  and  contributed 
from  its  enormous  resources  to  the  meeting  of  the  strain  which  was 
beginning  to  be  felt — especially  in  France,  Italy,  and  Russia. 
Amongst  them  all,  with  the  exception  of  broken  Russia,  there  was 
no  thought  or  talk  of  bankruptcy,  repudiation  or  even  critical  condi- 
tions. Of  Germany  and  her  Allies  little  was  known  in  this  connection 
and  the  reports  of  the  Imperial  Bank  of  Germany  were  not  very 
reliable,  though  even  that  official  institution  showed  immense  issues 
of  paper  money.  The  total  war  expenditure  of  the  Entente  Powers 
to  August  1,  1917,  was  *  estimated  by  J.  J.  Fitzgerald,  Chairman 
of  the  U.  S.  Congress  Appropriation  Committee,  at  $51,000,000,000 
and  those  of  the  Teuton  Allies  at  $25,000,000,000;  the  total  for  all 
the  belligerents  was  placed  by  the  Wall  Street  Journal  at  $89,000,000,- 
000,  by  the  Manchester  Guardian  at  $107,000,000,000  and  by  the 
New  York  Post  at  $97,000,000,000;  the  London  Statist,  a  little 
later,  estimated  the  total  at  $100,000,000,000  with  details  as  follows: 


£4  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Entente  Powers  Central  Powers 

Great  Britain  ..........    £4,910,000,000  Germany  ..............    £4,700,000,000 

France  ................      2,820,000,000  Austria-Hungary..                 2,580,000,000 

Russia  .  .                                      4,350,000,000  - 

Italy  ..................       1,160,000,000  £7,280,000,000 

Total  ...............      £13,240,000,000       Aggregate  total  cost  .....  £20,520,000,000 

These  figures  did  not  include  the  United  States  for  which  the 
Treasury  Department  stated  the  War  expenses  to  August  1,  1917, 
at  $1,629,000,000  and  for  the  same  date  estimated  the  total  Entente 
expenditures  at  $67,414,000,000  less  $7,992,500,000  advanced  to 
Allies  and  Dominions,  and  the  total  Teuton  expenses  at  $30,900,000- 
000  less  $600,000,000  advanced  to  Allies—  a  net  total  of  $89,000,000- 
000.  The  New  York  Annalist  estimated  that  if  the  War  continued 
until  August  1,  1918,  the  total  would  be  $155,000,000,000.  At 
the  close  of  1917  the  Financial  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune 
(Garet  Garrett)  estimated  the  cost  of  the  War  to  date  as  follows: 

United  States  ..              .  $6,000,000,000       Germany..                      .    $28,600,000,000 

Great  Britain  .........  31,250,000,000 

Franro  20  500  000  000       Austria-Hungary,  Tur- 

ISsfa  ...............  l^iooioooioOO           key  and  Bulgaria.  .  .  .      16,300,000,000 

Italy.  .'.'..'.'...'.  .......  5,900,000,000 


B6nfania'  agd'pifrtugaT."       5.500.000.000       Total'  TeutOn  Allies  '  '  •  OO.000.000 


Total,  Entente  Allies.  .  .    $85,650.000,000       Grand  Total  ..........  $130,550,000,000 

On  or  about  the  1st  of  August,  1917,  the  issue  banks  began  to 
show  the  strain  in  paper  money  and  the  Bank  of  England  reported 
200  million  dollars  in  bank  and  exchequer  notes,  the  Bank  of  France 
4,000  millions  in  note  circulation,  the  Imperial  Bank  of  Germany 
1,200  millions  and  the  Bank  of  Russia  6,800  millions.*  The  German 
and  Russian  statements  showed  only  a  portion  of  their  note  issues. 
According  to  official  figures,  compiled  by  the  Federal  Reserve  Com- 
mission at  Washington  to  Oct.  31,  1917,  the  Bank  of  England  then 
had  notes  of  206  million  dollars  in  circulation,  that  of  France  4,180 
millions,  that  of  Russia  9,456  millions  and  the  German  Reichsbank 
2,413  millions.  It  may  be  added  that  the  only  currencies  affected  — 
except  in  relation  to  high  prices  —  were  those  of  Germany  and  Russia. 
The  former  at  four  marks  to  a  dollar  was  quoted  at  New  York  in 
July,  1914,  at  96;  on  Mar.  28,  1917,  it  stood  at  59  J^;  in  Scandinavian 
countries  during  July  it  stood  at  53  cents.  The  Russian  rouble  had 
a  still  greater  deprecia  ion.  In  July,  1914,  it  stood  at  51  in  New 
York  and  on  Jan.  17,  1917,  at  13  cents. 

On  Jan.  1st,  1917,  the  daily  cost  of  the  War  to  the  Entente  was 
placed  at  70  millions  and  to  the  Central  Powers  at  35  millions;  on 
Aug.  1  the  estimate  was,  respectively,  76  millions  and  40  millions. 
On  the  other  hand  the  National  wealth  of  the  Entente,  including  the 
United  States  and  the  British  Empire  as  a  whole,  totalled  in  1914 
$550,000,000,000  compared  with  $133,000,000,000  for  the  Central 
Powers.  The  national  income  of  the  peoples  of  the  Entente  countries 
as  compiled  by  C.  W.  Gerstenberg,  Financial  editor  of  the  New  York 
Metropolitan,  in  July,  1917,  was  $66,000,000,000—  though  as  usual 
with  American  writers  the  countries  of  the  British  Empire,  outside 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  were  omitted;  that  of  the  Central  Powers 

*NOTB.  —  Statement  by  the  National  City  Bank  of  New  York. 


PROGRESS  AND  ENVIRONMENT  OF  THE  WORLD-WAR          25 

was  $17,000,000,000.  From  these  figures  it  appeared  that  Britain 
and  her  Allies  could,  under  any  system  of  organized  finance,  carry 
on  the  War  indefinilely — with  a  national  wealth  which  was  nine 
times  the  total  cost  of  3l/2  years  of  titanic  struggle  and  a  national 
income  exceeding  the  yearly  total  of  war  costs.  Such  an  organization 
did  not,  of  course,  exist  but  similar  principles  of  finance  did  control 
all  the  Allies  and  mutual  helpfulness  amongst  the  greater  Powers 
took  the  place,  to  a  substantial  degree,  of  any  paper  union  or  exact 
bases  of  co-operation. 

It  must  be  added  too,  for  the  benefit  of  theorists,  that  so  long 
as  trade  and  production  continued  only  part  of  the  money  spent  in 
the  War  was  lost  or  destroyed.  Property  and  values  were  destroyed 
but  the  total  of  the  former  in  three  years  of  world-war  was  estimated 
at  only  $6,000,000,000— a  bagatelle  in  such  a  conflict— while  values 
changed  and  returned  under  ever-changing  conditions.  Money 
during  the  War  changed  hands  but  unless  lost  in  a  rare  shipping  or 
explosive  disaster  it  was  not  destroyed.  The  real  injury  was  in 
expenditure  upon  things  which  were  not  reproductive  or  permanent; 
but  the  money  itself  was  not  lost  and  the  profits,  interest,  revenues, 
derived  from  its  continuous  turnover  made  for  individual  prosperity. 
Of  course,  the  supply  was  limited  and  from  that  condition — as  war 
demands  increase — there  came  high  prices,  and  the  dangers  of 
inflated  currency.  One  effect  of  this  condition  was  a  great  demand 
for  silver  in  Britain,  France,  Italy,  Russia  and  India,  as  being  pre- 
ferable to  paper  currency,  and  a  phenomenal  rise  in  its  value  which 
was  marked  by  a  selling  price  in  New  York  (early  in  1917)  of  79 
cents  an  ounce,  or  an  increase  of  20  cents  over  the  1914  average. 
Meanwhile,  the  world's  gold  production  ($458,000,000  in  1916) 
was  decreasing  slightly  and  its  silver  supply  (177,000,000  ounces  in 
1916)  was  decreasing  considerably.  The  gold  reserves  of  the  Allied 
countries*  at  the  close  of  1916  (United  Kingdom,  Russia,  France 
and  Italy)  was  1,849  million  dollars,  or  about  the  same  as  on  Dec.  31, 
1913;  those  of  Germany  were  600  millions  compared  with  278 
millions,  and  those  of  Austria  were  unobtainable;  those  of  the  six 
European  Neutral  countries  had  increased  from  245  to  668  millions. 
The  note  circulation  of  the  Allies  (chiefly  Russia  and  France)  had 
increased  from  2,650  to  8,957  millions,  of  Germany  617  to  1,917 
millions,  and  of  the  neutral  Powers  from  699  to  1,115  millions. 

As  to  the  Public  Debts  which  future  generations  would  liquidate 
or  pay  interest  upon,  Alfred  Neymarck,  the  French  statistician, 
estimated  the  European  total  in  1914  at  $32,000,000,000  and  in 
the  beginning  of  1917  at  about  $135,000,000,000.  At  the  close  of 
the  year  the  total  must  have  been  approximately  $175,000,000,000. 
Turning  to  another  topic  it  may  be  said  that  if  the  democracy  of 
Britain  and  her  Allied  countries  in  the  high  and  specially-ordered 
sphere  of  financial  control  had  been  successful  in  this  great  test  of 
the  ages,  so  also  had  the  fighting  spirit,  action  and,  at  times,  success 
of  its  soldiers  been  unquestioned.  When  failure  came  it  was  due  to 
the  lack  of  discipline  so  clearly  expressed  in  the  Russian  and  Italian 
debacles  of  the  year.  Still  greater,  if  possible,  were  those  Services 

*NOTE  — Official  Statistics:    Federal  Reserve  Bulletin,  Washington. 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


of  organized  efficiency — the  British  Navy,  the  Aviators  and  the 
Medical  Corps. 

What  of  the  comparative  man-power,  the  relative  casualties  of 
the  opposing  nations?  In  3J^  years  of  struggle  there  had  been 
nearly  50  millions  of  men  engaged  in  fighting  or  held  as  reserves 
ready  to  spring.  There  had  been  campaigns  in  Poland,  East  Prussia 
and  Galicia,  in  France  and  Belgium,  in  Mesopotamia  and  Egypt, 
Palestine  and  Persia,  in  Syria  and  Armenia,  in  Courland  and  Lith- 
uania, in  the  Caucasus  and  Carpathians  and  the  Alps,  in  Hungary 
and  Roumania,  Serbia  and  Greece,  in  South  and  East  and  West 
Africa.  The.  losses  were  terrific,  the  casualties  myriad  in  number, 
the  details  impossible  of  full  analysis.  Individual  estimates  were  so 
varied  as  to  make  the  thinking  public  during  these  years  very  skepti- 
cal of  all  expert  statements.  Germany  was  so  continuously  repre- 
sented as  suffering  great  losses,  Austria  was  so  frequently  on  its 
last  legs  or  in  a  state  of  absolute  exhaustion,  Turkey  was  so  often 
ready  for  a  starved  and  beaten  submission,  that  some  of  the  statistics 
issued  in  this  connection  were  little  honoured.  There  was  consider- 
able divergence  as  to  casualties  and  also  as  to  available  Teutonic 
man-power.  Taking  Germany  alone  J.  W.  Gerard,  the  late  U.  S. 
Ambassador  at  Berlin,  estimated  the  original  call  to  the  colours  at 
12,000,000  and  General  de  Lacroix,  of  Paris,  at  13,100,000;  F.  H. 
Simonds,  a  generally-reliable  American  expert,  placed  that  of  Aus- 
tria at  8,500,000;  the  Manchester  Guardian  estimated  the  totals 
at  9,000,000  for  Germany  and  7,000,000  for  Austria-Hungary,  with 
2,000,000  for  Turkey  and  500,000  for  Bulgaria— a  total  of  about 
23,000,000.  For  the  British  Allies  this  estimate  included  the  follow- 
ing figures:  British  Empire  7,000,000,  France  6,000,000,  Russia 
15,000,000  and  the  lesser  countries  750,000 — a  total  of  26,500,000. 
Up  to  Aug.  1,  1917,  semi-official  statistics  of  casualties,  compiled  at 
Washington  and  claimed  to  be  approximately  correct,  were  as  follows : 


Entente 

Britain 

France 

Russia 

Italy; 

Belgium .... 
Serbia.  . 


Killed 

298,988 

1,580,000 

2,062,064 

130,356 

62,064 

74,484 


Seriously 

Wounded 

177,224 

921,328 

1,223,476 

60,840 

27,324 

34,776 


Captured 

or  Missing 

182,452 

696,548 

1,243,096 

68,292 

149,644 


Total 

659,664 

3,197,876 

4,528,636 

259,488 

239,032 

109,260 


Totals. 


4,207,956         2,444,968         2,340,032         8,993,956 


Teutons 

Germany 

Austria 

Turkey 

Bulgaria 


Killed 

1,908,800 

849,368 

157,644 

9,324 


Seriously 

Wounded 

958,612 

540,673 

236,548 

8,676 


Captured 

or  Missing 

704,128 

833,644 

86,904 

7,452 


Total 

3,571,540 

481,096 

481,096 

25,452 


Totals 

Grand  Totals. 


2,925,136          1,744,509          1,632,128         4,559,184 


7,133,092         4,189,477         3,972,160       13,553,140 


It  was  added  that  80%  of  the  Entente  wounded  returned  to  the 
colours  and  85%  of  the  German  wounded.  A  possibly  more  correct 
estimate  than  this  and  one  more  generally  accepted  was  that  an 
average  of  60%  were  fit  for  service  again.  As  to  the  numbers  of 
men  available  or  remaining  on  the  Teuton  fronts  the  figures  were 


PROGRESS  AND  ENVIRONMENT  OF  THE  WORLD- WAR         27 

very  divergent.*  Colonel  E.  P.  Repington  of  the  London  Times 
stated  that  at  the  close  of  1916  there  were  128  German  divisions  on 
the  Western  front  and  106  German,  Austrian  and  Turkish  divisions 
on  the  Eastern  front,  29  mixed  divisions  on  the  Roumanian  and  12 
on  the  Austrian,  with  33  Austrian  divisions  on  the  Italian  front — 
a  total  of  308  divisions  or  between  five  and  six  million  men.  M. 
Andr£  Tardieu,  French  High  Commissioner  at  Washington,  wrote 
the  U.  S.  Secretary  of  War  on  July  30  that  3,000,000  men  were  then 
in  the  Army  of  France  at  the  front  and  that  casualties  were  dis- 
tinctly lessening  in  proportion  to  mobilized  strength. 

General  Sir  William  Robertson,  Chief  of  the  British  Staff,  stated 
(Apr.  4)  that  there  then  were  24,000,000  men  in  the  armies  of  the 
belligerents;  General  de  Lacroix  told  Le  Temps,  Paris,  on  June  19 
that  out  of  Germany's  original  13,000,000  a  total  of  3,630,000  were 
definite  losses  or  casualties,  2,200,000  had  been  rejected  as  unfit  with 
1,110,000  wounded  and  under  treatment  or  resident  abroad,  leaving 
a  total  of  6,190,000 — which  was  a  little  larger  than  Colonel  Reping- 
ton's  estimate  of  six  months  earlier.  F.  H.  Simonds  telegraphed 
the  New  York  Tribune  from  French  Headquarters  on  Sept.  20  that 
the  Associated  Press  was  able  to  give  approximately  the  figures 
representing  the  man-power  of  Germany  in  the  War,  at  that  time, 
together  with  the  casualties,  as  follows:  "Fixed  formations  on  the 
various  fronts,  employed  on  lines  of  communication  and  stationed 
in  the  interior,  5,500,000;  Divisions  undergoing  formation  and  men  in 
depots,  600,000;  losses  in  killed,  permanently  disabled  and  prisoners, 
4,000,000;  wounded,  under  treatment  in  hospitals,  500,000 — total 
10,600,000."  To  this  total  another  correspondent  (Henry  Wood) 
added  700,000  for  still  unincorporated  classes  of  1919  and  1920. 
J.  W.  Gerard's  estimate  of  effectives  available  early  in  1917  was 
9,000,000,  with  400,000  new  men  of  military  age  each  year.  Mr. 
Gerard's  figures  do  not  appear  in  his  book,  My  Four  Years  in  Ger- 
many, and  may  be  considered  as  exaggerated.  Mr.  Simonds  esti- 
mated that,  after  the  elimination  of  Russia,  Austria  had  about 
3,500,000  and  that  Italy  had  at  least  3,000,000  men  available. 

Taking  the  general  estimate  of  6,000,000  for  Germany  with 
M.  Tardieu's  statement  of  3,000,000  French  troops  and  Mr.  Lloyd 
George's  estimate  of  3,000,000  available  British  troops,  together 
with  2,000,000  Turks  and  Bulgarians  and  800,000  of  lesser  Entente 
Allies,  it  would  seem  that  the  year  1917 — excluding  Russia,  Japan 
and  the  United  States — closed  with  the  nations  at  war  holding  forces 
in  the  fighting  line,  or  as  active  reserves,  of  about  21,000,000 — very 
nearly  equally  divided  with,  perhaps,  a  balance  in  favour  of  the 
Germans.  The  statistical  situation  Was  much  worse  for  the  Entente 
than  at  the  beginning  of  the  year;  the  real  position  depended  on 
how  soon  the  United  States  could  get  into  the  conflict  seriously. 
The  tremendous  advantage  of  reserve  man-power  in  the  Entente 
Alliance  over  that  of  the  Central  Powers  obviously  was  not  visible  in  the 
fighting  ranks  after  Russia  had  dropped  out,  with  India,  Japan, 
China,  etc.,  excluded  from  practical  consideration  and  the  United 
States  still  unready. 

*NOTE. — Some  careful  estimates  were  given  in  this  Section  of  The  Canadian  Annual 
Review  for  1916. 


28  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Such  a  position  was  calculated  to  arouse  pessimism  but,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  was  not  known  to  the  public  in  the  detail  given 
above  nor  appreciated  by  the  masses  of  the  people  in  British  or 
other  Entente  countries.  There  was,  also,  the  obvious  and  immense 
reserve  which  the  United  States  constituted,  there  was  the  successful 
financial  policy  of  the  Allies  and  their  superior  bases  of  wealth  and 
credit  already  referred  to,  there  were  the  greater  possibilities  of 
industrial  strength  available  when  the  organization  of  the  United 
States  should  be  completed.  On  the  Western  front  there  might, 
during  1917,  be  some  Socialistic  trouble  in  the  French  ranks  and 
privations  and  bitter  battles  elsewhere  but  there  was  superb  opti- 
mism amongst  the  soldiers  in  general  and  absolute  confidence  as  to 
superior  morale  and,  until  the  artillery  of  the  Eastern  Front  came, 
there  was  assurance  as  to  the  superiority  of  artillery  and  aeroplanes. 

The  recovery  of  the  valuable  strategical  ridges  around  Ypres, 
in  Flanders,  the  retreat  of  the  Germans  in  the  Somme,  Oise  and 
Aisne  regions,  their  defeat  at  Vimy,  and  Messines,  and  Passchendaele, 
the  Battle  of  Arras  with  its  capture  of  250  guns  and  20,000  prisoners 
and  German  casualties  placed  at  250,000,  the  wiping  out  of  the 
Noyon  Salient,  the  advance  to  the  walls  of  St.  Quenlin,  Laon  and 
Lens,  the  partial  success  at  Cambrai,  all  gave  colour  to  this  confi- 
dence and  strength  to  the  Allies.  So  in  the  Near  East  with  a  British 
spectacular  success  at  Bagdad  and  Jerusalem  and  the  occupation 
of  Mecca  by  the  Arabs.  But  the  great  point  in  this  connection  was 
that  raised  and  stated  by  Sir  William  Robertson  in  an  interview 
(New  York  Times)  on  Aug.  6:  "Armies  in  the  field  are  only  a 
part  of  this  tremendous  conflict.  Suppose  we  conclude  that  no 
army  of  millions  can  be  broken  and  crushed.  Is  the  same  thing 
to  be  supposed  of  the  nation  behind  the  army?  Surely  we  see  in 
this  great  contest  much  more  than  a  struggle  of  armed  forces.  It 
is  a  sifting  of  nations,  a  trial  of  character,  a  test  of  racial  quality." 

Of  war  weapons  and  inventions  during  this  period  it  must  be 
said  that  they  were  as  wonderful  as  in  some  cases  they  were  horrible. 
In  1914  there  had  been  the  42  centimetre  gun  which  pulverized 
fortifications  that  were  supposedly  impregnable;  in  1915  came  the 
poison  gas  which  added  new  horrors  to  the  War;  in  1916  the  "Tank" 
developed  and  in  1917  came  the  depth  bomb  which  attacked  Sub- 
marines so  successfully.  As  to  gas  there  were  four  main  kinds  em- 
ployed by  the  Germans:  (1)  one  which  made  the  eyes  smart  and  weep 
so  copiously  as  to  temporarily  impair  their  use;  (2)  the  gas  that 
especially  attacked  and  burned  the  tender  parts  of  the  body;  (3)  the 
kind  that  shrivelled  the  mucous  membrane  and  wholly  blinded  the 
victim  for  90  hours;  (4)  the  gas  that  was  projected  in  a  ball-envelope, 
which  dropped  without  noise  and  opened  without  explosion  to 
release  odourless  but  fatal  fumes. 

Associated  with  these  weapons  of  war  was  the  method  of  propa- 
ganda— the  issue  of  floods  of  literature  by  the  different  countries, 
ranging  from  millions  of  leaflets,  and  pamphlets  up  to  thousands  of 
books.  The  German  system  was  exceptionally  varied  and  skilful 
and  vast  in  the  volume  of  its  secret  literature.  But  Great  Britain 
also  did  active  work  and  one  organization  alone,  the  Over-Seas  Club, 


PROGRESS  AND  ENVIRONMENT  OF  THE  WORLD-WAR          29 

issued  in  various  languages  to  meet  German  arguments  a  total  of 
2,000,000  pamphlets.  These  publications  had  more  general  diffusion 
than  books,  yet  the  latter,  through  touching  the  pulse  of  intellectual 
and  political  and  journalistic  forces  in  different  countries,  probably 
wielded  an  equal  influence.  Statistics  in  this  connection*  indicated 
that  about  1,200  books  dealing  with  the  World-War  had  been  issued 
at  the  beginning  of  1917. 

The  year  ended  with  varied  lights  and  shadows  for  the  world, 
with  mingled  pride  and  pain  for  the  Allies,  with  suppressed  and  con- 
cealed suffering  in  Teuton  countries.  Anxious  world- wide  eyes 
were  looking  into  a  future  still  dark  with  possible  horrors,  the  sound 
was  everywhere  heard  of  marching  hosts  in  new  and  greater  armies. 
There  was  the  continued  piling  up  of  vast  armaments,  the  prospect 
of  starvation  for  multitudes  of  people,  the  sound  in  the  tree-tops 
of  revolution  and  change  and  rough-shod  action  in  the  world's 
social  strata.  The  brightness  lay  in  the  continued  heroism  of  vast 
forces  of  men — far  more  voluntary  and  initiative  in  character  on  the 
one  side  than  on  the  other;  in  an  almost  unexpected  self-sacrifice 
and  self-control  shown  by  the  democracies  involved  and  only  brought 
into  more  vivid  view  by  the  lurid  leaders  of  Russian  anarchy;  in  the 
light  of  women's  work  and  endurance  in  all  the  war-swept  lands. 

The  Entente  Allies  were  engaged  in  the  stupendous  task  of 
carrying  munitions  and  men  and  supplies  upon  all  the  Seven  Seas 
with  submarines  and  sudden  death  lurking  everywhere.  England, 
at  the  close  of  the  year,  needed  men,  munitions  and  money,  Italy 
food,  steel  and  coal,  France  food,  munitions,  money,  credits  and  men 
— everything  in  fact.  The  United  States,  in  a  splendid  but  still 
disorganized  effort,  had  a  million  men  in  training  and  at  least  300,000 
untrained,  unarmed  men  in  France;  its  War  estimates  were  gigantic 
and  the  demands  upon  its  resources  in  wheat,  coal  and  iron,  machin- 
ery and  ships,  motors  and  food,  were  all  equally  great.  Britain  was 
ringing  with  insistent  demands  for  reprisals  upon  the  enemy  for 
continued  war  brutalities  and  smashing  of  international  laws  while 
General  Smuts,  who  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  agitation  for  such 
a  policy — as  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  in  opposition  to  it — 
announced  on  Oct.  4  that  air  reprisals  had  at  last  been  reluctantly 
decided  upon. 

Great  Britain  faced  the  menace  of  German  reinforcements  pour- 
ing into  the  Western  field  of  operations  with,  according  to  Mr. 
Lloyd  George,  3,000,000  fighting  men  overseas  and  with  a  record  of 
transportation  summed  up  in  the  official  statement  of  General  F.  D. 
Maurice  that  the  daily  importation  of  war  material  into  France  was 
11  tons  per  hour  in  January,  1917,  and  24  tons  per  hour  in  September. 
To  the  Allied  nations  and  to  her  Dominions  Britain,  at  the  year  end, 
appealed  earnestly  for  increased  food  production  and  everything  in 
the  way  of  world  data  proved  the  need  of  the  appeal — a  threatened 
and  desperate  shortage  of  food  in  the  coming  year.  To  rulers  and 
public  men  the  year  brought  fresh  proof  of  the  personal  havoc 
wrought  by  war.  The  Czar  of  all  the  Russias  was  gone,  King 

*NOTE:  F.  W.  T.  Lange  in  Annotated  Bibliography  of  Literature  Issued  During  the 
European  Conflict. 


30  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Constantine  of  Greece  had  reaped  the  reward  of  treachery,  Nicholas 
of  Montenegro  and  Peter  of  Serbia  shared  with  him  the  pains,  though 
not  dishonour,  of  exile.  Bethmann-Hollweg,  Von  Jagow,  Zimmer- 
man and  Von  Tirpitz  had  followed  each  other  into  German  retire- 
ment while  Berchtold  and  Tisza  had  disappeared  from  Austrian 
control;  Asquith  and  Grey  in  Britain  had  followed  Delcasse"  and 
Viviani  of  France,  while  Bryan  and  Dumba  and  Bernstorff  had  faded 
from  the  American  foot-lights.  In  the  Armies  of  the  world  death 
had  called  Kitchener  and  Von  Moltke,  retirement  had  come  to  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas  of  Russia,  the  Archduke  Friedrich  and  Von  Hotzendorff 
of  Austria,  Joffre  and  Nivelle,  Von  Kluck,  Von  Hausen,  Von 
Heeringen  and  Von  Haesler,  Smith-Dorrien,  Nixon  and  Murray, 
French  and  Cadorna.  The  military  situation  seemed  a  menacing 
one  to  the  Allies  but  with  more  favourable  conditions  promised 
when  the  power  of  the  United  States  was  realized.  Territories 
respectively  occupied  or  captured  by  the  rival  groups  of  Powers 
were  as  follows  at  the  close  of  1917: 

TERRITORY  UNDER  TEUTONIC  CONTROL  TERRITORY  UNDER  ENTENTE  CONTROL 

Area         Nominal  Area  Total 

Countries                  Sq.  Miles  Population              Countries  Sq.  Miles  Population 

Belgium 11,000      7,700,000  German 

Serbia 34,000      4,600,000  Colonies: 

Roumania 54,000      7,500,000  Asia 200  169,000 

Montenegro 6,000          500,000  Africa 890,000  13,000,000 

Poland 49,000     12,000,000  Pacific 96,000  358,000 

Russia 35,614       2,664,000  Greece 46,500  4,800,000 

Total 189,614     34,964,000  Total 1,032,700     18,327,000 

The  Inter-  An  Allied  step  of  great  importance  in  1917  was  the 

Allied  Confer-  movement  toward  closer  international  control  of  war 
ences  and  policy  and  better  co-operation  in  methods.  The  Con- 
Supreme  ference  system  of  1916  was  improved  and  enlarged. 
'  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  the  British  Premier,  and  Lord 
Milner,  M.  Borland,  the  French  Premier,  with  M.  Lyautey,  Minister 
of  War,  and  M.  Thomas,  Minister  of  Munitions,  were  at  Rome  on 
Jan.  5  and  held  a  War  Council  with  the  Italian  Government  about 
the  situation  of  General  Sarrail  at  Salonika,  the  Greek  King  and  the 
Army  of  the  Orient.  Other  Conferences  or  Councils  of  Premiers, 
statesmen  and  generals  followed  at  Petrograd  on  Jan.  29,  at 
Calais  on  Feb.  26,  at  St.  Jean  de  Maurienne,  Savoy,  on  May  5, 
at  Paris  on  May  6  and  again  on  July  25.  Every  effort  at  unity 
of  action — short  of  the  single  command  and  direction  which  had 
done  so  much  for  the  Teutons — was  made  and,  toward  the  close  of  the 
year*  there  developed  a  movement  for  co-ordinating  the  higher  com- 
mands of  the  French,  British,  Italian  and  future  American  armies 
at  the  front  under  one  supreme  strategical  head.  F.  H.  Simonds, 
in  one  of  his  able  articles  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  urged  this  policy 
early  in  November  and  some  of  the  British  papers  took  it  up  as  a 
part  of  the  French  press  already  had  done.  Unity  of  command 
and  concentration  of  the  whole  vast  battle-line  in  one  single  front, 
against  an  enemy  front  under  the  general  control  of  the  German 
high  command,  was  the  proposal.  The  opposite  view  was  expressed 
by  the  London  Globe  of  Nov.  7:  "No  one  who  knows  either  Italy 
or  France  could  advocate  the  denudation  of  the  Italian  front  at  the 


THE  INTER- ALLIED  CONFERENCES  AND  WAR  COUNCIL       31 

order  of  a  French  generalissimo,  or  the  imperilling  of  Paris  by  the 
despatch  of  French  troops  to  the  Carso  on  the  command  of  the 
Italian  commander.  What  would  be  our  feelings  were  Haig  under 
Cadorna  and  the  latter  commanded  the  uncovering  of  the  Channel 
ports  in  order  to  develop  his  offensive  against  Trieste." 

Obviously  this  kind  of  distrust  still  was  a  difficulty  in  the  way  as 
it  had  during  three  years  past  been  an  obstacle  in  the  path  to  victory. 
The  Entente  was  apparently  groping  in  the  dark  for  a  Ludendorff 
of  organization  or  for  a  new  Kitchener  who  could  lead  nations  as 
well  as  armies,  and  this  desire  the  Italian  defeat  further  intensified. 
Field  Marshal  Haig,  Generals  Pe"tain,  Nivelle  and  Foch,  General  Jan 
Christian  Smuts,  were  all  suggested  as  possible  heads  under  some 
new  arrangement.  Meanwhile,  the  British  Government  had  been 
maturing  a  scheme  for  closer  co-ordinated  action  and  at  the  Confer- 
ences in  Rome  and  Paris  and,  finally,  at  Rapallo,  near  Genoa,  on 
Nov.  9,  the  subject  was  discussed,  a  draft  eventually  approved 
and  submitted  to  the  General  Staffs,  accepted  by  France  and  Italy 
and  tentatively  approved  by  President  Wilson.  The  important 
and  conclusive  gathering  had  been  at  Rapallo  where  the  British 
Premier,  the  French  Premier  (M.  Pamleve"),  the  Italian  Premier 
(Sig.  Orlando),  Generals  Foch,  Sir  W.  Robertson,  Sir  H.  H.  Wilson 
and  J.  C.  Smuts  were  present  with  several  other  Ministers  and 
many  officials.  An  Inter- Allied  General  Staff  was  created  with 
Generals  Cadorna,  Foch  and  Wilson  as  members.*  The  agreement 
of  eight  clauses  arrived  at  between  the  three  Governments  con- 
cerned was  in  the  following  terms : 

(1)  With  a  view  to  the  better  co-ordination  of  military  action  on  the  Western 
front  a  Supreme  War  Council  shall  be  created  composed  of  the  Prime  Minister  and 
a  member  of  the  Government  of  each  of  the  Great  Powers  whose  armies  are  fighting 
on  that  front;  the  extension  of  the  scope  of  the  Council  to  the  other  fronts  is  reserved 
for  discussion  with  the  other  Great  Powers. 

(2)  The  Supreme  War  Council  has  for  its  mission  to  watch  over  the  general 
conduct  of  the  War;    to  prepare  recommendations  for  the  decision  of  the  Govern- 
ments and  to  keep  itself  informed  of  their  execution  and  to  report  thereon  to  the 
respective  Governments. 

(3)  The  General  Staffs  and  the  Military  Commands  of  the  armies  of  each  Power 
charged  with  the  conduct  of  military  operations  remain  responsible  to  their  respec- 
tive Governments. 

(4)  The  general  war  plans  drawn  up  by  the  competent  military  authorities  are 
submitted  to  the  Supreme  War  Council,  which,  under  the  high  authority  of  the  Gov- 
ernments, ensures  their  concordance,  and  submits,  if  need  be,  any  necessary  changes. 

(5)  Each  Power  delegates  to  the  Supreme  War  Council  one  permanent  military 
representative  whose  exclusive  function  is  to  act  as  technical  adviser  to  the  Council. 

(6)  The  military  representatives  receive  from  the  Governments  and  the  com- 
petent military  authorities  of  their  country  all  the  proposals,  information,  and  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  conduct  of  the  War. 

(7)  The  military  representatives  watch  day  by  day  the  situation  of  the  forces 
and  the  means  of  all  kinds  of  which  the  Allied  armies  and  the  enemy  armies  dispose. 

(8)  The  Supreme  War  Council  meets  normally  at  Versailles,  where  the  perma- 
nent military  representatives  and  their  staffs  are  established.     They  may  meet  at 
other  places  as  may  be  agreed  upon,  according  to  circumstances.     The  meetings  of 
the  Supreme  War  Council  will  take  place  at  least  once  a  month. 

Speaking  at  Paris  on  Nov.  12,  to  the  Allies  in  general  and  about  the 
new  proposals  in  particular,  the  British  Premier  made  a  some- 

*NOTE  — In  December,  General  Weygand  succeeded  General  Foch  as  the  Freuch 
representative. 


32  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

what  startling  and  very  blunt  speech.  He  first  pointed  out  that 
on  land  and  sea  the  Allies  had  superiority  and  the  advantage  in 
numbers,  weight  of  men  and  material,  economic  and  financial 
resources,  and,  beyond  and  above  all,  in  the  justice  of  their  cause. 
"This,  combined  with  superiority,  ought  ere  now  to  have  ensured 
victory  for  the  Allies;  at  least  it  ought  to  have  carried  them  much 
further  along  the  road  to  victory  than  the  point  which  they  have 
yet  reached."  He  paid  tribute  to  defeated  but  gallant  Italy  and 
fevered  Russia,  stricken  through  no  fault  of  her  own,  and  declared 
that  the  blame  for  slowness  in  world-success  did  not  lie  with  Allied 
armies  or  navies: 

No!  The  fault  has  not  been  with  the  armies;  it  has  been  entirely  due  to  the 
absence  of  real  unity  in  the  war  direction  of  the  Allied  countries.  We  have  all  felt 
the  need  of  it.  We  have  talked  about  it.  We  have  passed  endless  resolutions  resolv- 
ing it.  But  it  has  never  yet  been  achieved.  In  this  important  matter  we  have 
never  passed  from  rhetoric  into  reality,  from  speech  into  strategy.  In  spite  of  all 
the  resolutions  there  has  been  no  authority  responsible  for  co-ordinating  the  conduct 
of  the  War  on  all  fronts,  and,  in  the  absence  of  that  central  authority,  each  country 
was  left  to  its  own  devices.  We  have  gone  on  talking  of  the  Eastern  front  and  the 
Western  front  and  the  Italian  front  and  the  Salonika  front  and  the  Egyptian  front 
and  the  Mesopotamia  front,  forgetting  that  there  is  but  one  front  with  many  flanks, 
that  with  these  colossal  armies  the  battlefield  is  continental. 

Such  unity  as  was  evolved  at  War  Conferences  was,  he  declared, 
make-believe,  a  stitching  together  of  plans  instead  of  a  strategic 
direction  of  armies.  Had  unity  in  this  respect  been  achieved  the 
victories  of  the  armies  would  by.  this  time  have  ended  the  War. 
He  analyzed  the  mistakes  of  the  Allies  as  to  Serbia,  Roumania 
and  Italy,  and  based  his  policy  upon  the  fact  that  the  War,  as  a 
whole,  was  a  blockade  of  two  Great  Powers.  Finally,  he  declared 
that  for  many  months  and  years  he  had  been  urging  a  War  Council 
and  some  central  direction,  but  in  vain:  "Personally  I  had  made 
up  my  mind  that  unless  some  change  were  effected  I  could  no  longer 
remain  responsible  for  a  war  direction  doomed  to  disaster  for  lack 
of  unity."  The  Council  was  thus  established  and  it  commenced 
work  at  once;  it  was  at  first  composed  of  the  three  Premiers  and 
one  other  Cabinet  member  from  each  country — Britain,  France  and 
Italy.  It  was  hoped  that  the  United  States  would  come  in  later,  and 
perhaps,  Russia.  Summarizing  the  official  terms  quoted  above  the 
general  object  of  the  Council  was  to  continuously  survey  the  field 
of  operations  as  a  whole,  to  co-ordinate  the  plans  prepared  by  the 
different  General  Staffs  and,  if  necessary,  to  make  proposals  for 
the  better  conduct  of  the  War. 

Meantime,  an  American  Special  Mission  had  reached  England 
on  Nov.  7  to  represent  the  United  States  in  a  Conference  with  the 
British  authorities.  Edward  M.  House,  the  President's  personal 
adviser  and  confidential  envoy  on  some  preceding  missions,  was 
the  Republic's  chief  representative  and  was  accompanied  by  Admiral 
W.  S.  Benson,  Chief  of  Naval  Operations;  General  Tasker  H.  Bliss, 
Chief  of  Staff,  U.  S.  Army;  Oscar  T.  Crosby,  Assistant  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury;  Vance  C.  McCormick,  Chairman  of  the  War  Trade 
Board;  Bainbridge  Colby,  U.  S.  Shipping  Board;  and  others.  The 
British  Premier  and  the  War  Cabinet,  Mr.  Balfour,  many  other 


THE  INTER-ALLIED  CONFERENCES  AND  WAR  COUNCIL       33 

Government  members,  and  the  chief  British  army,  navy  and  war 
officials  were  in  attendance  at  the  opening  meeting  on  Nov.  19. 
Mr.  Lloyd  George,  in  his  address,  described  man-power  at  the  Front, 
and  shipping,  as  of  special  and  equal  urgency.  He  wanted  to  know 
when  the  first  million  of  men  would  come  from  the  United  States 
and  whether  the  promised  6,000,000  tons  of  shipping  for  1918  would 
be  realized.  He  then  described  the  Aeroplane  situation  and  demands 
and  the  urgency  of  increased  American  food  production;  he  promised 
a  tighter  blockade  of  the  Central  Powers.  Admiral  Benson  replied 
with  information  as  to  what  the  United  States  had  done  already 
in  training  men,  making  munitions,  building  fleets,  economizing 
food  and  manufacturing  aircraft.  It  was  shortly  afterwards  an- 
nounced that  the  American  Mission  would  attend  an  Inter-Allied 
War  Council  in  Paris. 

In  the  Commons  on  Nov.  19  the  British  Premier  defended  his 
Paris  speech  as  necessary  to  destroy  dangerous  complacency  and  illu- 
sions, stated  that  the  Allied  Council  plan  had  been  first  proposed 
by  Lord  Kitchener  in  January,  1915,  and  pointed  out  that  with 
this  War  Council  there  would  be  the  right  to  press  matters  to  a 
conclusion — such  as  recent  suspicions  about  the  Italian  front, 
which  were  dealt  with  too  late.  Upon  the  point  of  Politicians  vs. 
Generals,  so  fatal  in  other  wars,  the  speaker  was  explicit  in  declaring 
that  the  whole  campaign  of  the  year  had  been  carried  out  by  the 
advice  of  soldiers  and  only  upon  their  advice.  As  to  the  rest: 
"There  are  two  fears — two  things  that  can  defeat  us — the  submarine 
menace  and  a  lack  of  unity.  Of  the  Submarine  I  have  no  longer 
any  fear.  We  are  on  its  track.  The  only  other  thing  is  lack  of 
unity.  Unity  is  the  only  sure  way  to  victory — a  victory  that  will 
bring  peace  and  healing  to  a  world  which  is  bleeding  to  death." 
A  great  Inter-Allied  War  Conference  followed  and  was  opened  at 
Paris  on  Nov.  29,  1917.  It  was  composed  of  representatives  of 
all  the  Allies  except  China  and  included  representatives  of  15  nations 
—France,  Great  Britain,  United  States,  Italy,  Japan,  Belgium, 
Serbia,  Roumania,  Greece,  Portugal,  Montenegro,  Brazil,  Cuba, 
Russia,  and  Siam. 

M.  Cle*menceau  presided  and  briefly  welcomed  the  delegates; 
and  M.  Pichon  outlined  the  methods  of  deliberation;  various  Sections 
were  then  constituted  to  deal  with  finance,  imports,  munitions, 
aviation,  food,  transportation  and  blockade;  each  was  presided  over 
by  the  French  Minister  whose  Department  was  involved  and  diplo- 
matic, military  and  naval  questions  were  similarly  handled.  The 
importance  of  the  meeting  was  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  British 
delegation,  including  officials  and  clerks,  numbered  143  persons. 
Co-incident  to,  and  inter-acting  with,  the  Conference  were  sittings 
of  the  Supreme  War  Council  at  Versailles — as  to  which  Mr.  Lloyd 
George  told  Le  Petit  Parisien  (Dec.  1)  that:  "We  are  endeavouring 
at  the  present  to  realize  unity  of  direction  and  control,  and  the  real 
and  total  concentration  of  our  collective  efforts."  For  the  moment 
the  one-time  centre  and  seat  of  autocracy  and  artistic  luxury  under 
Louis  XIV,  the  gorgeous  home  of  the  most  splendour-loving  Sovereign 
who  ever  sent  armies  to  battle  and  embodied  in  his  own  day  the 


34  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

passions  of  conquest  and  power,  was  the  centre  of  a  democratic 
alliance  of  nations  fighting  another  autocrat  of  quite  another  per- 
sonal type  but  with  very  similar  aims  and  ambitions. 

No  detailed  statement  was  officially  issued  as  to  the  Conference 
meetings  but  it  was  announced  on  Dec.  4  by  the  French  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  that  agreements  had  been  concluded  upon  the  basis 
of  "a  complete  understanding  and  close  solidarity  among  the  Allies" 
for  the  solution  of  the  War  questions  in  which  they  had  a  common 
interest:  "The  financial  needs  of  each  of  them,  the  requirements 
of  their  armament,  their  transport,  their  food,  have  been  subjects 
of  profound  study.  The  creation  of  a  Supreme  Inter-Allied  Naval 
Committee  was  determined  upon.  Military  unity  of  a6tion  has 
been  placed  in  the  way  of  certain  realization  by  the  Inter-Allied 
General  Staff,  which  is  at  work  upon  an  organized  programme  of 
all  military  questions.  In  a  diplomatic  point  of  view,  entire  accord 
resulted  from  the  discussions."  Other  general  statements  were 
made  as  the  Conference  continued  its  sittings  over  a  period  of  30 
days  and  as  the  various  Committees  or  Sections  deliberated  and 
decided  upon  the  vast  task  of  co-ordination  which  lay  before  them. 
At  the  close  of  the  year  Col.  E.  M.  House,  the  U.  S.  representative, 
issued  at  Washington  a  summary  of  proceedings  in  which  the  most 
important  items  were  as  follows: 

1.  The  pooling  of  Allied  resources,  with  special  reference  to  those  of  the  United 
States  was  settled  so  as  to  guarantee  full  equipment  of  the  fighting  countries  and  forces. 

2.  The    Allies,  considering    that    the    means    of    Maritime    transportation   at 
their  disposal  should  be  utilized   in  common  for  the  pursuit  of  the  War,  decided  to 
create  an  Inter-Allied  organization  for  the  co-ordination  of  their  operations  and 
establishment  of  a  common  programme  kept  up  to  date. 

3.  Full  and  detailed  Conferences  were  held  of  the  British,  French,  United  States 
and  Italian  representatives  upon  Blockade  matters  and  a  complete  understanding 
was  obtained  of  the  principles  upon  which  these  countries  would  act. 

4.  A  comprehensive  and  accurate  estimate  was  obtained  of  the  food  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Allied  nations  and  of  the  amounts  that  must  be  supplied  by  North 
America  during  the  year  ending  Oct.  1,  1918. 

On  Dec.  14  the  appointment  of  an  Inter-allied  Naval  War  Committee 
was  announced  as  composed  of  the  Minister  of  Marine  and  Chief  of 
Naval  Staff  (or  flag  officers  to  represent  them)  of  each  country. 
Admiral  Benson  reported  at  Washington  that  its  object  was:  "To 
ensure  the  closest  touch  and  co-operation  between  the  Allied 
fleets.  The  task  of  the  Council  will  be  to  watch  over  the  general 
conduct  of  the  naval  war  and  to  ensure  co-ordination  of  effort  at 
sea  as  well  as  the  development  of  all  scientific  operations  connected 
with  the  conduct  of  the  War."  The  question  of  an  Allied  General- 
issimo was  shelved  for  the  moment — greatly  to  the  disappointment 
of  the  French  who  thought  an  Allied  War  Staff  should,  logically, 
involve  an  Allied  War  Chief. 

The  Germans  The  Kaiser  continued  to  dominate  Germany  during 
and  the  this  year;  his  will,  whether  interpreted,  explained, 

Kaiser  in  1917  ;mo(ji£e(j  or  influenced  by  succeeding  Chancellors,  such 
Chamber  as  Bethmann-Hollweg,  Michaelis  or  Von  Hertling,  was 
and  Opinions,  the  arbiter  of  fate  and  the  final  source  of  national 
action  and  policy.  The  country  could  not  properly  be 
judged  apart  from  his  personality;  neither  could  he  be  judged  apart 


GERMANY  IN  1917;  THE  KAISER  AND  His  PEOPLE          35 

from  the  war-aims  and  ruthless  actions  of  German  statesmen  and 
i  armies.  John  Morley,  in  his  Diary  of  July  9,  1891,  once  wrote  of  him, 
during  a  visit  to  England,  that  there  was  "energy,  rapidity,  restlessness 
|  in  every  movement,  from  his  short,  quick  inclinations  of  the  head  to 
;  the  planting  of  the  foot.     But  I  should  be  disposed  strongly  to  doubt 
whether  it  is  all  sound,  steady,  and  the  result  of  a  rightly  co-ordin- 
ated organization."     Years  passed  on  and  whether  for  good  or  ill 
the  Kaiser's  character  hardened  and  his  ambitions  and  convictions 
became  interchangeable. 

The  current  denunciation  of  him  and  his  policy  in  the  world- 
press  outside  of  German  countries,  had  in  1914-17  a  touch  of  war- 
fury  about  it;  but  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  he  bore  an  awful 
burden  of  responsibility,  personally  and  historically,  in  his  initiation 
of  the  War  and  in  its  conduct  at  the  hands  of  his  Generals  and 
soldiers.  That  his  personality  was  a  powerful  one  appears  clear. 
No  monarch  who  could  carry  his  people  and  allied  nations  into 
such  a  conflict  and  hold  them  there  in  the  teeth  of  800  and  then  of 
1,400  millions  of  other  peoples  during  four  years  of  terrific  struggle, 
could  be  honestly  said  to  lack  strength  of  will  and  capacity.  Like 
Napoleon,  he  had  the  ambition  and  faculty  of  ruling;  unlike  Na- 
poleon he  had  to  leave  much,  though  not  all,  of  the  military  leader- 
ship to  others.  His  people,  in  the  main,  believed  in  him  during 
this  period  and  through  1917 — whatever  changes  defeat  or  starva- 
tion might  later  on  create,  or  whatever  of  increased  prestige  victory 
or  partial  success  might  evolve. 

Meanwhile  he  bestrode  the  continent  like  a  Colossus  and  his 
armies  went  hither  and  thither  at  will,  while  hosts  of  cleverly- 
organized  agents  and  spies  and  political  workers  pulled  the  strings 
in  every  enemy  country.  German  Socialism  in  all  its  millions, 
though  restless,  still  lay  at  his  feet;  conflicting  and  antagonistic 
races  and  interests  in  Austria-Hungary,  the  Balkans  and  Turkey 
obeyed  his  war-behests;  political  critics  at  home  still  whispered  in 
private  or  withdrew  their  public  opposition  to  his  internal  policy. 
To  a  considerable  degree  he  still  embodied  in  himself  the  will  and 
ambition  and  character  of  his  people;  the  Divine  right  of  rule  and 
action,  which  he,  no  doubt,  believed  in  as  honestly  as  any  monarch 
of  the  distant  past,  was  capable  of  continued  exercise  only  because 
of  this  fact. 

His  order  to  the  Army  and  Navy  at  the  beginning  of  1917,  when 
the  Peace  proposals  of  that  time  collapsed,  was  as  typical  of  this 
arrogant  piety  and  war  enthusiasm  as  was  the  autocracy  of  many 
old-time  rulers  in  other  applications  and  other  conditions:  "Our 
enemies  refused  my  offer.  Their  hunger  for  power  desires  Germany's 
destruction.  The  War  will  be  continued.  Before  God  and  human- 
ity I  declare  that  on  the  Government  of  our  enemies  alone  falls  the 
heavy  responsibility  for  all  further  terrible  sacrifices  from  which  I 
wished  to  save  you.  With  justified  indignation  at  our  enemies' 
arrogant  crime  and  with  determination  to  defend  our  holiest  pos- 
sessions and  secure  for  the  Fatherland  a  happy  future,  you  will 
become  as  steel.  Our  enemies  did  not  want  the  understanding 
offered  by  me.  With  God's  help  our  arms  will  enforce  it. — Wilhelm, 


36  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

I.B."  His  ensuing  Proclamation  (published  Jan.  14)  was  also 
significant  of  "the  will  to  power,"  which  Tieitschke  urged  and  the 
Prussian  people  had  made  a  world  formula: 

Our  glorious  victories  and  our  iron  strength  of  will,  with  which  our  fighting 
people  at  the  Front  and  at  home  have  borne  all  hardships  and  distress  guarantee 
that  also  in  the  future  our  beloved  Fatherland  has  nothing  to  fear.  Burning  indig- 
nation and  holy  wrath  will  redouble  the  strength  of  every  German  man  and  woman, 
whether  it  is  devoted  to  fighting,  to  work  or  to  suffering.  We  are  ready  for  all  sacri- 
fices. The  God  who  planted  His  glorious  spirit  of  freedom  in  the  hearts  of  our  brave 
peoples  will  also  give  us  and  our  loyal  Allies,  tested  in  battle,  the  full  victory  over 
all  the  enemy  lust  for  power  and  rage  for  destruction. — Wilhelm,  I.R. 

To  understand  the  Kaiser  and  his  government,  the  diplomatic 
arguments  of  Germany  and  the  attitude  of  its  people,  their  extra- 
ordinary national  conceptions  of  World-morality  must  always  be 
remembered.  There  was  no  change  apparent  in  1917.  Just  as 
Bethmann-Hollweg  and  Von  Jagow,  and  of  course  the  Kaiser, 
saw  no  crime  in  smashing  the  neutrality  of  Belgium,  so  on  Jan.  11, 
1917,  a  Note  handed  to  the  neutral  Powers  from  the  German  Gov- 
ernment said:  "Twice  the  Imperial  Government  declared  to  the 
Belgian  Government  that  it  was  not  entering  Belgium  as  an  enemy, 
and  entreated  it  to  save  the  country  from  the  horrors  of  war.  In 
this  case  it  offered  Belgium  a  guarantee  for  the  full  integrity  and 
independence  of  the  Kingdom  and  to  pay  for  all  the  damage  which 
might  be  caused  by  German  troops  marching  through  the  country. 
The  Belgian  Government  refused  the  repeated  offer  of  the  Imperial 
Government.  On  it,  and  on  those  Powers  who  induced  it  to  take 
up  this  attitude,  falls  the  responsibility  for  the  fate  which  befell 
Belgium."  As  a  matter  of  history  Frederick  the  Great  had 
acquired  Silesia  and  its  basis  of  industrial  strength  just  as  Wilhelm  I 
took  Alsace-Lorraine  and  its  basis  for  the  iron  and  steel  arid  arma- 
ment greatness  of  modern  Germany,  or  as  Wilhelm  II  took  Belgium 
with  a  view  to  crushing  France  and  reaching  England.  These 
incidents,  or  Schleswig-Holstein  and  the  Kiel  Canal,  Kiao-Chau 
and  defiance  to  Japan  and  China,  the  Delcasse  affair  and  the 
taking  of  French-African  territory,  were  stages  in  a  process  of 
acquisition  which,  in  1914-17,  included  the  great  French  mining 
districts  of  Briey  and  Longwy,  Belgium,  Poland,  Courland,  Lithu- 
ania, Esthonia,  Roumania,  etc.  National  and  military  necessity  to 
the  German  mind  demanded  these  territories  and  therefore  they 
must  be  taken ! 

The  people  were  convinced  of  the  absolute  superiority  of  the 
Germans  over  all  other  races  and  the  difference  between  their  con- 
ception along  this  line  and  that  of  American  spread-eaglism  or 
British  conceit  lay  in  a  deliberate  education  by  their  masters  to  feel 
that  the  only  way  in  which  this  sentiment  could  be  embodied  and 
practiced  was  in  conquest  by  force — as  a  combined  religious  and 
racial  duty.  The  system  of  thought,  faith,  policy,  practice,  and 
the  methods  of  war  which  resulted,  were  foreshadowed*  in  countless 

*A  most  interesting  work  in  this  connection  is  William  Archer's  Gems  of  German 
Thought.  See  also  the  German  Sections  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review  for  1914, 
1915,|1916. 


GERMANY  IN  1917;  THE  KAISER  AND  His  PEOPLE          37 

writings  and  speeches  and  books — 700  books  a  year  on  War  alone 
were  issued  before  1914  or  in  defence  of  the  War  after  1914.  Univer- 
sities, schools,  pulpits  of  all  denominations,  poems,  songs,  public 
gatherings,  farm  leagues,  industrial  leagues,  colonial  societies,  all 
poured  into  the  public  mind  the  idea,  which  had  slowly  crystallized 
into  action,  that  everything  was  at  the  service  of  the  State,  that 
everything  should  serve  national  ends.  A  few  quotations  from 
German  books  may  be  put  on  record  here: 

1.  Pure  Germanism  (1893)  by  Freidrich  Lrange:  Who  knows  whether  we  Germans 
are  not  the  rod  predestined  for  the  chastening  of  these  degeneracies;    who  knows 
whether  we  may  not  again,  like  our  fathers  in  dim  antiquity,  have  to  gird  on  our 
swords  and  go  forth  to  seek  dwelling-places  for  our  increase! 

2.  Thoughts  on  the  World-War,  by  Prof.  Ernst  Haeckel:  One  single  highly-cultured 
German  warrior,  of  those  who  are,  alas,  falling  in  thousands,  represents  a  higher 
intellectual  and  moral  life-value  than  hundreds  of  the  raw  children  of  nature  whom 
England  and  France,  Russia  and  Italy,  oppose  to  them. 

3.  The  True  Causes  of  the  World-War,  by  Karl  A.  Kuhn:   Must  Kultur  rear  its 
domes  over  mountains  of  corpses,  oceans  of  tears,  and  the  death-rattle  of  the  con- 
quered?    Yes,  it  must.     .      .      .     The  might  of  the  conqueror  is  the  highest  law  of 
morality,  before  which  the  conquered  must  bow. 

4.  The  Real  England,  by  Edmund  V.  Heyking:  England  is  our  worst  enemy,  and 
we  will  fight  her  till  we  have  overthrown  her.     So  may  it  please  our  Great  Ally,  Who 
stands  behind  the  German  battalions,  behind  our  ships  and  U-boats,  and  behind 
our  blessed  'militarism.' 

5.  War  Devotions,  by  Pastor  J.  Rump:  Verily  the  Bible  is  our  book.     . 

It  was  given  and  assigned  to  us,  and  we  read  in  it  the  original  text  of  our  destiny, 
which  proclaims  to  mankind  salvation  or  disaster — according  as  we  will  it. 

6.  Politicus  (1899)  by  H.  Von  Treitschke:  Every  sovereign  State  has  the  undoubted 
right  to  declare  war  at  its  pleasure,  and  is  consequently  entitled  to  repudiate  its 
treaties. 

7.  World-Germany,  by  F.  Philippi:    Formerly  German  thought  was  shut  up  in 
her  corner,  but  now  the  world  si1  all  have  its  coat  cut  according  to  German  measure, 
and  as  far  as  our  swords  flash  and  German  blood  flows,  the  circle  of  the  earth  shall 
come  under  the  tutelage  of  German,  activity. 

8.  War  (1906)  by  Karl  Wagner:  War  is  the  basis  of  all  Kultur,  of  all  morality. 
War  is  the  source  of  all  good  growth.     Without  war  the  development  of  nations  is 
impossible. 

9.  A  Genealogy  of  Morals,  by    Freidrich   Nietzsche:    Deep  in  the  nature  of  all 
these  noble  races  there  lurks  unmistakably  the  beast  of  prey,  the  blond  beast,  lustfully 
roving  in  search  of  booty  and  victory. 

A  part  of  this  curious  world  of  thought,  more  or  less  a  product 
of  it,  was  the  Kaiser,  his  family,  his  ministers,  his  Generals.  At 
times  the  Kaiser  could  show  democratic  wisdom  as  well  as  auto- 
cratic assurance  and  of  such  a  character  was  his  Order  of  Apr.  8, 
1917,  addressed  to  the  Imperial  Chancellor,  who  was,  also,  First 
Minister  in  Prussia.  In  it  he  observed  that  "in  the  endeavour, 
while  strictly  holding  the  just  balance  between  the  people  and  the 
Monarchy,  to  serve  the  welfare  of  the  whole,  I  am  resolved  to  begin 
building  up  our  internal  political,  economic  and  social  life  as  soon 
as  the  war  situation  allows."  Preparations,  therefore,  must  be 
made  to  meet  the  changed  conditions  of  the  future,  and  as  to  this 
he  added:  "Reform  of  the  Prussian  Diet  and  the  liberation  of  our 
entire  inner  political  life,  especially,  are  dearest  to  my  heart."  For 
the  Lower  House  there  was  to  be  "direct  and  secret  election  of 
Deputies";  and  for  the  Upper  one  "more  extensive  and  propor- 
tionate representation."  Much  discussion  followed  but  the  pro- 


38  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

posals  were  not  carried  out  during  this  year.  So,  also,  with  a  policy 
suggested  by  the  Constitutional  Committee  of  the  Imperial  Reich- 
stag, which  urged  that  the  Chancellor  and  Ministers  of  War  and 
Marine  should  be  responsible  to  that  Chamber  and  that  the  Kaiser's 
ordinances  should  be  countersigned  by  the  Chancellor  for  the 
Reichstag. 

Meantime  all  the  important  threads  of  war  and  government, 
transportation,  food  supplies,  industry,  agriculture  and  foreign  rela- 
tions were  by  now  more  or  less  controlled  by  Marshal  Von  Hinden- 
burg  and  Marshal  Von  Ludendorff — the  latter  the  real  Kitchener  of 
Germany  in  matters  of  military  organization.  Many  subordinates, 
many  Ministers,  varied  political  leaders,  there  were,  but  around  and 
above  them  all  were  the  war  needs  and  policy  guided  by  these  two 
men  under  the  Kaiser,  and  embodied  in  an  Imperial  rescript  to  the 
Army  and  Navy  on  Aug.  1:  "We  shall  fight  for  our  existence  in 
the  future  with  firm  resolution  and  unfailing  courage.  As  our 
problems  multiply  so  does  our  strength  increase.  We  are  invincible. 
We  shall  be  victorious.  The  Lord  God  will  be  with  us. — Wilhelm, 
I  &  R."  To  the  people,  on  this  anniversary,  was  issued  a  proclama- 
tion which  reviewed  "this  righteous  war  of  defence"  and  concluded 
with  a  significant  clause:  "Our  people  may  rest  assured  that  German 
blood  and  German  zeal  are  not  being  gambled  with  for  an  empty 
shadow  of  ambition  or  schemes  of  conquest  and  subjugation  but  in 
defence  of  a  strong  free  empire  in  which  our  children  may  live  in 
security."  On  Aug.  22  His  Majesty,  in  addressing  troops  in 
Flanders,  said: 

It  is  in  God's  hands  when,  in  His  wisdom,  He  will  give  us  victory.  All  Germans 
have  realized  who  is  the  instigator  of  this  war,  and  who  is  the  chief  enemy — England. 
Everyone  knows  England  is  our  most  spiteful  adversary.  She  spreads  the  hatred 
of  Germany  over  the  whole  world,  filling  her  Allies  with  hatred  and  eagerness  to 
fight.  Thus  everyone  at  home  knows  what  you  know  still  better,  that  England  is 
particularly  the  enemy  to  be  struck  down,  however  difficult  it  may  be. 

The  Kaiser's  belief  in,  or  misuse  of,  God's  name  was  as  earnest  and 
pronounced  as  with  Puritan  leaders  of  old.  A  favourite  form  was 
indicated  in  the  despatch  to  Prince  Leopold  after  the  conquest  of 
Riga:  "Far-seeing  leadership  and  steel-hard  will  to  victory  guar- 
anteed this  fine  success.  Onward  with  God"!  At  this  time  the 
publication  of  Treaties  and  correspondence  between  the  Czar  and 
other  European  rulers  created  wide  comment  and  aroused  a  storm 
of  criticism  in  the  Allied  press  against  the  Kaiser.  It  was  a  very 
natural  condition  but  it  is  a  little  difficult  to  see  any  particular 
wickedness  in  the  diplomatic  efforts  of  the  Kaiser  to  break  up  a 
growing  entente  amongst  those  whom  he  considered  his  rivals  and 
perhaps  really  believed  to  be  his  enemies.  Moreover,  an  agreement 
between  two  autocrats,  heads  of  two  great  neighbouring  nations, 
was  not  in  itself  improper  or  unnatural  and  not  by  any  means  the 
first  of  the  kind  which  England  had  been  compelled  to  meet.  That 
Britain  and  France  won  out  in  the  end  was  creditable  to  the  peace- 
aims  of  the  Czar;  it  did  not  particularly  reflect  upon  the  Kaiser 
himself.  The  Czar  even  stated  in  his  correspondence  (Aug.  4,  1906) 
that:  "The  maintenance  of  friendly  relations  between  Germany 


GERMANY  IN  1917;  THE  KAISER  AND  His  PEOPLE          39 

and  England  is  an  absolute  necessity  for  the  world."  On  Dec.  22, 
1917,  the  Kaiser  made  a  speech  to  his  Second  Army,  which  dealt 
with  the  battles  of  the  year  on  the  Western  front  in  characteristic 
terms : 

The  year  of  1917,  with  its  great  battles,  has  proved  that  the  German  people  has 
in  the  Lord  of  Creation  above  an  unconditional  and  avowed  Ally  on  whom  it  can 
absolutely  rely.  Without  Him  all  would  have  been  in  vain.  We  do  not  know  what 
is  still  in  store  for  us,  but  you  have  seen  how,  in  this  last  of  the  four  years  of  war, 
God's  hand  has  visibly  prevailed.  ...  If  the  enemy  does  not  want  peace, 
then  we  must  bring  peace  to  the  world  by  battering  in  with  the  iron  fist  and  shining 
sword  the  doors  of  those  who  will  not  have  peace. 

Meanwhile  the  German  leaders  had  talked  and  acted  in  a  similar 
strain.  The  Submarine  decision  of  January  and  the  United  States 
break  of  February  created  difficulties  for  these  Ministers  at  home 
and  abroad.  Herr  Von  Bethmann-Hollweg,  as  Imperial  Chancellor, 
used  characteristic  German  language  in  the  Reichstag  on  Jan.  31: 
"I  always  proceeded  from  the  standpoint  of  whether  an  unrestricted 
U-boat  war  will  bring  us  nearer  to  a  victorious  peace  or  not.  Every 
means,  I  said  in  March,  that  is  calculated  to  shorten  the  War  is 
the  humanest  policy  to  follow.  When  the  most  ruthless  methods 
are  considered  as  the  best  calculated  to  lead  us  to  victory,  and  to  a 
swift  victory,  I  said  at  that  time,  that  they  must  be  employed." 
Then  followed  the  usual  curious  Divine  appeal:  "Success  lies  in  a 
higher  hand,  but  as  regards  all  that  human  strength  can  do  to 
enforce  success  for  the  Fatherland,  you  may  be  assured  that  nothing 
has  been  neglected."  In  an  interview  Count  Von  Hertling,  Bava- 
rian Prime  Minister  (Feb.  20)  declared  that  "the  War  draws  nearer 
its  termination,  but  it  must  be  fought  to  the  bitter  end";  while  the 
Kaiser  on  the  1st  of  that  month  had  issued  a  naval  order  which 
stated  that:  "In  this  work  the  Submarine  will  stand  in  the  first 
rank.  I  expect  that  this  weapon,  technically  developed  with  wise 
foresight  at  our  admirable  yards,  in  co-operation  with  all  our  other 
naval  fighting  weapons  and  supported  by  the  spirit  which,  during 
the  whole  course  of  the  War,  has  enabled  us  to  perform  brilliant 
deeds,  will  break  our  enemy's  war-will." 

As  the  months  passed  on  Peace  discussions  became  more  fre- 
quent and  were  the  apparent  cause  of  the  Chancellor's  retirement. 
The  latter  would  not  accede  to  the  Socialist  demand  for  a  formula 
of  no  annexations  or  indemnities  and  on  May  15  told  the  Reichstag 
that:  "Time  is  on  our  side.  With  full  confidence  we  can  trust  that 
we  are  approaching  a  satisfactory  end.  Then  the  time  will  come 
when  we  can  negotiate  with  our  enemies  about  our  war  aims,  re- 
garding which  I  am  in  full  harmony  with  the  Supreme  Army  com- 
mand. "  Ledebour,  Haase,  Schiedemann  and  other  Socialist  leaders, 
in  vain  demanded  specific  terms  for  Peace.  There  followed  the 
crisis  of  July  and  the  Government's  desertion  by  Mathias  Erzberger 
of  Bavaria,  leader  of  the  Clericals  or  Catholic  Centre  of  the  Pan- 
German  party.  His  policy  was,  apparently,  to  promote  a  Reichstag 
demonstration  with  the  object  of  showing  that  Germany  was  not 
the  servant  of  a  Prussian  military  caste:  to  link  the  Government 
with  the  Reichstag  by  forming  a  sort  of  Coalition  Ministry  which, 


40  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

however,  should  not  be  a  transition  to  an  English  Parliamentary 
system;  and  to  influence  foreign  opinion,  and  especially  Russian 
opinion,  by  securing  a  further  pledge  as  to  the  reform  of  the  Prus- 
sian franchise.  On  July  10  the  Chancellor  stated  that  "the formula 
of  peace  without  annexations  is  unacceptable  to  us.  We  cannot 
declare  our  terms  of  peace.  We  must  fight  to  conquer."  On  the 
14th  his  resignation  was  announced — that  of  the  last  political  ruler 
in  the  world  who  was  in  office  when  the  War  began,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Bulgarian  Premier  and  Sir  Robert  Borden  in  Canada. 
The  appointment  followed  of  George  Michaelis  as  Imperial 
Chancellor — a  Prussian  leader  who,  without  having  shown  any 
particular  Liberalism  of  thought,  was  yet  out  of  touch  with  the 
Junkers.  In  his  first  speech  the  new  official  told  the  Reichstag  on 
July  19  that  Russia  was  to  blame  for  the  War,  that  submarine  war- 
fare was  not  contrary  to  international  law  and  violated  no  law  of 
humanity  and  that  "England  forced  the  weapon  into  our  hands," 
that  there  would  be  no  more  offers  of  Peace  and  that  the  basic  con- 
ditions for  the  future  were  as  follows:  "First  of  all  the  territory  of 
the  Fatherland  is  inviolable.  If  we  make  peace  we  must  make  sure 
that  the  frontiers  of  the  German  Empire  are  made  secure  for  all 
time.  We  must  by  means  of  an  understanding,  and  give  and  take, 
guarantee  the  conditions  of  existence  of  the  German  Empire  upon 
the  Continent  and  overseas.  Peace  must  prevent  the  nations  from 
being  plunged  into  further  enmity  through  economic  blockade." 

On  Aug.  6  following,  Herr  Zimmerman,  author  of  the  attempt 
to  league  Japan  and  Mexico  against  the  United  States,  resigned  and 
was  succeeded  as  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs  by  Dr.  Richard  Von 
Kuhlmann,  Ambassador  to  Turkey;  Herr  Michaelis  remained  Chief 
of  the  Prussian  Government  and  Herr  Helfferich  Vice-Chancellor 
and  Minister  of  the  Interior.  Speaking  in  the  Reichstag  on  Oct.  10, 
Dr.  Michaelis  again  asserted  his  fear  of  Allied  after-war  retaliation 
and  practically  made  its  elimination  a  current  war-aim:  "We  must 
continue  to  persevere  until  the  German  Empire,  on  the  Continent 
and  overseas,  establishes  its  position.  Further,  we  must  strive  to 
see  that  the  armed  alliance  of  our  enemies  does  not  grow  into  an 
economic  offensive  alliance. "  Dr.  Von  Kuhlmann  followed  and 
was  explicit  on  one  important  point:  "There  is  but  one  answer  to 
the  question — Can  Germany  in  any  form  make  concessions  with 
regard  to  Alsace-Lorraine?  That  answer  is  No!  So  long  as  one 
German  hand  can  hold  a  gun,  the  integrity  of  the  territory  handed 
down  to  us  as  a  glorious  inheritance  by  our  forefathers  can  never  be 
the  object  of  negotiations  or  concessions." 

Another  political  crisis  followed,  'led  by  Socialist  opposition  to 
the  Chancellor  but  shared  in  by  other  Reichstag  leaders;  and  on 
Oct.  30  Herr  Michaelis  resigned  and  was  replaced  by  Count  Georg 
Von  Hertling,  Bavarian  Chief  Minister  and  the  first  non-Prussian 
to  hold  the  Imperial  Chancellorship.  He  was  a  man  of  culture,  an 
author  of  books,  a  leader  of  the  Catholics,  opposed  in  the  past  to 
Parliamentary  government  and  democratic  proposals.  As  to  Peace, 
he  had  on  Oct.  10  stated  that:  "Under  all  circumstances  Germany 
must  see  that  she  obtains  political  and  economic  guarantees  from  a 


GERMANY  IN  1917;  THE  KAISER  AND  His  PEOPLE          41 

hostile  Belgium. "  In  the  Bavarian  Diet  on  Oct.  23  he  had  made  a 
remarkable  speech,  of  which  the  following  was  the  salient  point: 
"America  against  Europe — that  is  the  character  which  the  War 
threatens  to  assume  more  and  more.  Consequently  the  Central 
Powers  and  their  Allies  are  no  longer  fighting  for  themselves  alone; 
they  are  fighting  for  the  independence  of  Europe  against  a  colony 
Empire  which  has  become  too  strong.  With  them  are  fighting  the 
neutral  States,  which  will  not  allow  themselves  to  be  forced  into 
war  against  the  Central  Powers,  which  are  defending  Europe." 
The  appointment  of  a  Catholic  leader  was  supposed  to  be  a  subtle 
appeal  to  Italian  and  Irish  sympathies  and  no  doubt,  also,  it  was 
intended  to  neutralize  the  activities  of  Herr  Erzberger.  The  resig- 
nation of  Dr.  Helfferich  followed  this  appointment. 

On  Nov.  29  the  new  Chancellor  stated  his  views — or  some  of 
them.  "I  am,'*  he  said,  "proud  and  thankful  to  say  that  the  arms 
of  Germany  and  her  Allies  have  been  successful  on  almost  every 
occasion  and  everywhere."  As  to  Peace:  "We  greet  joyfully  the 
Pope's  appeal.  The  spirit  in  which  the  answer  to  the  Papal  note 
was  given  still  is  alive  to-day. "  In  the  Reichstag  the  leaders  tenta- 
tively supported  Von  Hertling;  on  the  30th  Herr  Von  Kuhlmann 
described  the  democratic  progress  of  Germany  as  "proceeding  with 
a  clear  perception  of  historical  necessity,"  declared  England  to  be 
under  a  Dictatorship  and  France  undemocratic,  quoted  Lord  Lans- 
downe's  letter  as  a  hopeful  sign.  Meanwhile,  "the  German  people 
will  stand  up  and  be  prepared  to  meet  force  with  force  until  the  dawn 
of  the  better  and  more  humane  understanding." 

Much  was  written  during  1917 — outside  of  Germany — as  to  the 
progress  of  democracy  in  that  country.  As  a  matter  of  fact  its 
progress  was  negligible  so  far  as  the  elements  of  government  and 
advance  of  legislation  were  concerned.  Like  the  Holy  Alliance  of 
another  century  the  entire  system  of  German  policy,  government, 
thought  and  action  was  based  upon  autocracy  at  home  and  auto- 
cracy abroad,  with  the  same  Kaiser  who  had  backed  the  Turkish 
Sultan  before  the  War  and  endorsed  Transvaal  Krugerism  in  1899; 
drilled  in  1897,  through  Marshal  Von  der  Goltz,  the  armies  of 
Turkey;  backed  Austria  in  its  seizure  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina, 
and  opposed  any  development  of  democracy  in  the  blood-stained 
Balkans.  It  was  still  the  old  Germany,  still  the  same  Kaiser — 
sterner  than  ever  in  his  passion  for  power  and  belief  in  a  mission 
which  mixed  up  personal  pride,  divine  right  and  national  patriotism 
in  a  policy  of  German  aggression.  Liberalism  represented  by  men 
such  as  Prof.  Foerster  still  had  small  place  in  the  national  life; 
Prussian  Junkerdom  still  controlled  the  situation  and  held  236 
out  of  397  members  of  the  Reichstag;  real  power  still  remained  in 
the  Bundesrath,  or  Upper  House — appointed  by  the  rulers  of  the 
Kingdoms  and  States  of  the  Empire,  and  constituting  practically  a 
Royal  Council  of  61  members — which  originated  nearly  all  legislation, 
including  money-bills,  and  which  could  dissolve  the  Reichstag  with 
the  Kaiser's  consent,  and  by  which  all  laws  must  be  approved  before 
passage. 


42  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Entente  Allies  attached  importance  to  the  spread  of  Bol- 
sheviki  doctrines  in  Germany  and  Austria  and  any  panacea  pro- 
posed amid  such  conditions  of  privation  as  then  existed  was  sure 
to  have  its  influence.  But  the  most  rigid  censorship  and  autocratic 
system  in  the  world  did  not  give  the  movement  any  public  chance 
of  success.  The  press  remained  as  a  restricted  and  controlled  bul- 
wark of  autocracy  and  the  situation  still  was  as  Liebknecht  had 
described  it  30  years  before  this  time:  "The  Monarchy  has  all  the 
guns,  the  railroads,  the  telegraphs,  the  police,  the  courts,  the  prisons, 
and  the  executioners,  and  we  have  nothing  but  our  bare  arms;  how 
could  we  succeed  in  a  revolution?  "  Added  to  these  powers  was  that 
of  a  vast,  machine-like  army  while  the  industrial  and  financial 
leaders  of  Germany  still  aligned  themselves  with  a  Government  of 
power,  expansion  and  organization. 

What  the  actual  situation  was  amongst  the  masses  at  the  close 
of  1917  no  one  could  say — even  the  rulers  of  Germany  must  have 
been  in  doubt.  A  ferment  had  begun  in  all  nations  and  just  as  in 
pre-Napoleonic  days  or  in  1848  no  one  could  foresee  the  future. 
Had  Louis  XVI,  however,  been  a  strong  man  the  French  Revolu- 
tion might  not  have  occurred;  had  Charles  I  been  a  different  char- 
acter there  would  have  been  no  Commonwealth;  had  the  Czar  been 
equal  to  his  responsibilities  in  1917  the  Bolsheviki  could  not  have 
forced  the  issue.  The  fact  is  that  in  Germany  at  this  time  the 
existing  discontent  and  popular  demonstrations  were  due  chiefly 
to  war  conditions,  not  to  anger  against  the  Dynasty  or  the  Kaiser 
as  such,  or  to  any  revulsion  of  sentiment  against  principles  drilled 
and  trained  into  the  people  from  infancy.  There  was  no  united 
movement.  Maximilien  Harden  demanded  freedom  but  he  had 
been  a  militarist  before  the  War  and  his  paper  was  in  a  condition 
of  chronic  suppression;  Liebknecht  was  in  gaol  and  the  Socialist 
leaders  were  still  riding  in  the  War  chariots  of  the  Junkers  and 
Professors;  some  of  the  intellectuals — Haeckel,  Delbriick,  Fischer, 
Reinecke,  Rohrbach,  etc. — demanded  reform  of  the  franchise  but 
all  of  them  were  advocates  of  Pan-Germanism  and  opponents  of 
liberty  for  the  little  nations ;  secret  societies  were  growing  in  strength 
and  hoped  to  fill  a  place  like  that  of  the  Hetairia  in  Greece  or  the 
Carbonari  in  Italy  or  the  Nihilists  in  Russia  but  only  time  could 
say  how  deep  was  their  root  in  the  very  different  soil  of  phlegmatic, 
stubborn  German  character.  "We  want  a  Republic"  was  the  un- 
punished cry  of  Ledebour  in  the  Reichstag  on  May  15;  "we  want 
freedom  and  peace  and  republicanism"  was  the  demand  of  a  leaflet 
written  by  Siegfried  Baldur  and  circulated  in  large  numbers  from 
Allied  aeroplanes  and  in  other  ways  amongst  German  soldiers;  the 
Independent  Social  Democrats  were  organized  as  an  association  in 
April,  1917,  in  opposition  to  the  regular  or  Government  Socialists 
and  claimed  120,000  members  at  the  close  of  the  year,  with  a  pro- 
nounced policy  of  peace.  But  the  hope  of  victory  was  still  there; 
the  character  of  the  people  still  unsoftened;  the  will  of  the  teachers 
and  the  rulers  still  held  sway. 


GERMAN  ARMIES  AND  GENERAL  CONDITIONS  IN  1917        43 

Germany  in  The  War  losses  and  military  strength  of  Germany 

19?7§;  Kj8  ^  at  the  close  of  1917  were  difficult  to  state  with  absolute 
Food  and  'accuracy.  Approximately  the  casualties  to  date,  as 
other  Con-  based  upon  official  lists  and  involving  death,  capture 
ditions.  or  permanent  disability,  were  4,000,000;  close  British 

estimates  of  the  total,  allowing  for  delayed  German  lists,  etc., 
made  it  4,500,000.  The  Danish  Society  for  the  Study  of  the  War, 
in  a  Monograph  upon  German  conditions,  gave  a  general  estimate 
of  the  indirect  war  loss  of  life  in  that  Empire  from  Aug.  1, 
1914,  to  Aug.  1,  1917,  as  (1)  a  net  increase  of  mortality  amongst 
persons  above  one  year  of  age,  1,436,000  and  (2)  a  decrease  in  the 
birth-rate  totalling  2,482,000.  The  original  German  mobilization 
was  from  ten  to  twelve  millions;  the  generally  accepted  total  was 
the  first  figure  with  J.  W.  Gerard,  the  U.  S.  Ambassador  at 
Berlin  during  that  time,  presenting  the  latter  estimate.  G.  H. 
Ferris,  a  well-known  British  war-correspondent  (London  Chronicle, 
Sept.  14)  put  the  figures  at  10,500,000,  the  definitive  losses  at  4,000- 
000,  with  6,100,000  as  the  total  of  remaining  effectives  on  all  fronts, 
on  lines  of  communication  and  in  the  interior,  of  Divisions  in 
formation  or  in  dep6ts — the  balance  composed  of  wounded  under 
treatment  and  not  yet  exempted  or  returned  to  service. 

Colonel  E.  P.  Repington  of  The  Times,  after  a  visit  to  France 
and  Flanders,  wrote  on  May  4,  1917:  "The  Germans  are  still  very 
strong,  in  fact  stronger  than  they  ever  have  been.  It  is  not  open 
to  us  to  reckon  they  have  less  than  4,500,000  men  in  the  field  on 
both  fronts,  500,000  on  the  line  of  communications,  and  1,000,000 
in  dep6ts  in  Germany.  They  have  increased  the  number  of  Divisions 
in  the  west  to  155."  F.  H.  Simonds,  the  United  States  corres- 
pondent, asserted  a  larger  estimate  of  casualties  and  stated  on  Aug. 
1  that:  "German  casualty  lists,  as  we  now  obtain  them,  show  a  total 
loss  in  killed,  captured  and  wounded  of  4,500,000.  The  figure  is 
too  low  by  half  a  million,  I  believe;  but,  accepting  it  for  the  moment, 
it  shows  that  1,100,000  Germans  have  been  killed  and  600,000  are 
missing  or  prisoners.  Here  is  an  immediate,  absolute  loss  of  1,700,- 
000.  Of  the  2,800,000  remaining  casualties,  not  more  than  60 
per  cent,  have  returned  to  the  firing  line  and,  despite  various  claims, 
this  is  a  high  estimate.  This  adds  1,100,000  to  the  permanent  loss, 
which  makes  it  2,800,0007'  If  we  add  to  this  casualty  total- 
safely  one  of  5,000,000  up  to  the  close  of  the  year — the  Danish 
estimate  of  decreased  birth-rate,  the  loss  of  population  was  heavy. 

Mr.  Gerard's  figures,  as  given  in  the  American  press  of  Aug.  7, 
were  as  follows:  "I  want  to  bring  home  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada  the  gravity  of  the  situation;  because  I  want  to 
tell  them  that  the  military  and  naval  power  of  the  German  Empire 
is  unbroken;  that  of  the  12,000,000  men  whom  the  Kaiser  has  called 
to  the  colours,  but  1,500,000  have  been  killed,  500,000  permanently 
disabled,  not  more  than  500,000  are  prisoners  of  war  and  about 
500,000  constitute  the  number  of  wounded  or  on  the  sick  list  of  each 
day,  leaving  at  all  times  about  9,000,000  effectives  under  arms." 
There  was  a  vast  difference  between  this  total  of  9,000,000  and  the 
6,000,000  indicated  above,  confirmed  by  General  de  Lacroix  and 


44  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

reduced  by  Hillaire  Belloc  to  5,000,000.  Much  depended  upon  the 
estimate  of  men  originally  called  and  also  upon  the  proportion  of 
wounded  returning  to  the  colours.  Ledebour,  the  Socialist,  was 
quoted  at  Washington  on  Oct.  30  as  stating  in  the  Reichstag  that 
"we  have  had  1,500,000  dead,  three  or  four  million  wounded,  of 
whom  500,000  are  crippled  for  life  and  two  million  absolutely  in- 
valided. That  makes  all  together  6,000,000  men  lost  during  three 
years!"  As  to  this  vital  point  of  mobilization  the  Associated  Press 
on  Sept.  9  gave  out  from  French  Army  Headquarters  the  following 
statement : 

Particulars                                             When  Called  Number 

Trained  men ...  On  Outbreak  of  War 4,500,000 

Untrained  Ersatz  Reservists Aug.  1914  to  Feb.  1915. .  .  800,000 

Class  of  1914  Recruits Nov.  1914  to  Jan.  1915. .  .  450,000 

1st  Ban  of  untrained  Landsturm Beginning  of  1915 1,100,000 

Class  of  1915 May-July,  1915 450,000 

Remainder  of  untrained  Landsturm May-July,  1915 150,000 

Class  of  1916 Sept.-Nov.   1915 450,000 

Contingent  of  hitherto  Exempted  men October,  1915 300,000 

2nd  Contingent,  Exempted  men Early  in  1916 200,000 

2nd  Ban  of  Landsturm Early  in  1916 450,000 

Class  of  1917 ' March-November,  1916  .  .  .  450,000 

3rd  Contingent  of  Exempted  men Late  in  1916 300,000 

Class  of  1918 Nov.  1916  to  Mar.   1917 .  .  450,000 

Class  of  1919 1917  (in  part) 300,000 

Additional  Exempted  men During  1917 150,000 

Total  to  August  1,  1917 10,500,000 

The  French  semi-official  estimate  of  German  divisions  on  their 
front  in  August,  1914,  was  96}^  with  26J/2  divisions  on  the  Eastern 
front;  on  Sept.  1,  1917,  the  total  was  placed  at  147  divisions  in  the 
West  and  92  in  the  East.  On  Oct.  20  of  this  latter  year  Colonel 
Repington  estimated  2,200,000  German  troops  as  being  on  the 
Western  front  and  1,400,000  in  the  East.  During  the  last  months 
of  the  year  large  numbers  of  the  latter  were  moved  west  to  France 
or  Flanders  or  Italy,  with  a  considerable  number  of  Austrians. 
Hence,  no  doubt,  the  miscalculation  or  surprise  which  caused  the 
British  victory  at  Cambrai  to  be  turned  into  a  practical  reverse 
with  the  German  capture  of  many  guns  and  tanks  and  thousands 
of  prisoners.  Hence  the  change  in  the  military  situation  which 
appeared  to  transfer  the  aggressive  on  the  Western  front  from 
Entente  to  Teuton  hands  and  enabled  Marshal  Von  Ludendorff  to 
say  in  the  Vienna  Neue  Freie  Press  (Dec.  3),  with  obvious  reference 
to  Russia  that:  "Modern  war  is  a  war  of  peoples,  not  of  armies, 
and  a  war  ends  now  when  an  enemy  people  is  defeated.  There  are 
no  decisive  battles,  as  in  former  wars.  The  battles  merely  have 
an  indirect  influence  on  the  whole  national  system,  inducing  decay 
and  collapse."  Back  of  the  man-power  of  Germany  was  the  fact, 
alleged  by  Carl  W.  Ackerman  and  other  correspondents  and  asserted 
in  detail  by  Gertrude  Baeumer,  the  leading  German  woman  writer, 
that  9,000,000  German  women  were  working  for  a  living  in  1917 — 
very  largely  relieving  men  in  every  species  of  work  developed  by  the 
War. 

The  financial  situation  of  a  country  is  not  seen  in  figures  alone 
and  only  a  few  statistics  as  to  German  conditions — official  at  that — 
were  available  during  this  period.  The  German  ideas  of  system 
and  method  were  rigorously  applied  and  immense  sums  of  money 


GERMAN  ARMIES  AND  GENERAL  CONDITIONS  IN  1917         45 

raised  by  the  internal  loans  and  limited  taxation  which  were  the 
only  forms  of  Government  finance  open  to  the  country;  Bank  re- 
sources and  reserves  were  freely  utilized  and  manipulated  while 
Krupp's  huge  financial  resources  were  used  to  the  utmost.  The 
total  sum  raised  by  the  nation  in  loans  up  to  the  beginning  of  1917 
was  about  $12,000,000,000.  From  July  23,  1914,  to  Jan.  1,  1917, 
the  published  figures  of  the  Reichsbank  or  Imperial  Bank  of  Germany 
— an  institution  corresponding  in  its  functions  to  those  of  the  Bank 
of  England — showed*  that  its  loans  and  discounts,  including  Treas- 
ury bills,  increased  from  about  $200,000,000  to  $2,124,000,000,  or 
by,  approximately,  $1,924,000,000.  In  the  same  period  its  gold 
reserve  was  said  to  have  increased  from  $323,000,000  to  $625,000,000. 
According  to  Sir  Edward  Holden,  the  British  banker,  on  Dec.  31, 
1917,  the  notes  issued  had  increased  over  July  23,  1914,  by  $2,200,- 
000,000,  the  credit  accounts  by  1,680  millions,  and  the  Exchange 
bills  by  3,200  millions. 

External  influences  created  great  difficulties.  Dr.  Lentze, 
Prussian  Minister  of  Finance,  in  his  Budget  speech  of  Jan.  16, 
said:  "The  Blockade  makes  itself  felt  more  and  more.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  it  lies  heavily  on  the  country,  and  yet  it  must  be  borne. 
Encroachments  on  private  interests,  the  difficulties  of  supplying 
foodstuffs,  and  their  costliness  certainly  are  very  great."  As  the 
year  1917  went  on  the  monetary  situation  became  more  unpleasant. 
The  normal  increase  of  National  wealth,  which  had  been  placed 
at  2,500  million  dollars  a  year  by  Herr  Helfferich  and  2,000  millions 
by  Herr  Hauerstein,  President  of  the  Reichsbank,  was  obliter- 
ated by  war  conditions  and  the  elimination  of  trade.  The  result 
was  to  make  even  the  payment  of  yearly  interest  on  national  bor- 
rowings— of  which  interest  the  lowest  estimate  was  750  million 
dollars — difficult  without  calling  upon  national  income.  This  interest 
total  was  more  than  the  whole  of  the  pre-war  Government 
revenues.  Allied  writers  and  statisticians  believed  Germany  to  be 
bankrupt  at  the  end  of  1917  but  its  people  did  not  know  it  and 
only  the  close  of  the  War  could  prove  the  exact  position. 
Meantime,  and  apart  from  speculations,  the  mark,  which  at 
the  end  of  1915  was  quoted  at  20%  discount,  had  dropped  a 
year  later,  in  neutral  centres,  to  30%;  in  June,  1917,  it  was  44% 
below  normal,  in  August  50%,  and  in  September  54%.  On  July 
26  the  London  Times  announced  that  the  silver  florin — or  2-mark 
piece — was  to  be  withdrawn  from  circulation  and  replaced  by  paper 
money  in  order  to  market  the  coins  in  Holland  for  the  price  of  the 
silver.  The  Votes  of  Credit  in  the  Reichstag  in  the  first  three 
years  of  war  were  as  follows: 

Approximate  Value 
Number  Date  Passed  by  Reichstag  in  Dollars 

1..  .  Aug.  4,    1914 $1,250,000,000 

2 Dec.  3,   1914 1,250,000,000 

3... 
4 

5.'.'.' 


7..  . 
8.. 


Mar.  22,   1915 2,500,000,000 


.  .  Aug.  31,   1915 

.  .  Dec.  24,   1915 

.  .June  9,   1916 


Oct.  3,   1916. 
Feb.  23,  1917. 


9 July  20,  1917 


2,500,000,000 
2,500,000,000 
3,000,000,000 
3,000,000,000 
3,750,000,000 
3,750,000,000 


Total $23.500,000,000 

*NOTB. — Bulletin  of  the  National  City  Bank  of  New  York. 


46  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Internal  conditions  as  to  food,  etc.,  also  made  the  financial  situ- 
ation difficult,  but  there  was  at  the  close  of  1917  one  factor  of  obvious 
strength,  and  a  source,  also,  of  national  revenue.  Krupp's,  with  its 
huge  factories  and  workshops  and  100,000  workers,  its  great  coal 
mines  at  Essen  with  at  least  10,000  miners,  its  rolling  mills  at  Annen 
and  Gruson,  its  blast  furnaces  and  shipbuilding  yards,  its  vast 
steel  and  shell  and  gun  industries,  was  in  full  operation  despite 
occasional  aerial  attacks,  brief  strikes,  shortage  of  unskilled  labour, 
and  fires.  Scarcity  of  railway  rolling-stock,  trucks  and  waggons 
was  an  element  of  weakness,  as  was  the  decreasing  product  of 
iron-ore,  but  machinery  and  electricity  and  chemicals  and  ship- 
building trades  were  active  industries,  though  coal  production,  as 
a  whole,  was  short  and  many  other  great  industries  of  the  past, 
such  as  silk,  dress-goods,  woollens,  lace  and  embroidery,  were  dead 
or  stagnant.  The  total  loss  of  German  shipping  to  the  beginning  of 
1917  was  estimated  at  2,250,000  tons — through  mines,  torpedoes, 
and  capture — but  an  unknown  number  of  new  ships  were  under 
construction  or  had  been  built  and  a  $75,000,000  subsidy  was  voted 
in  1917.  Certain  war  industries  in  addition  to  Krupp's  were  tre- 
mendously prosperous  with  big  dividends — though  much  of  the 
profits  went  into  War  loans. 

The  vital  elements  of  industrial  decline  were  (1)  the  curtailment 
in  raw  materials  and  (2)  the  curtailment  of  markets.  The  greatest 
war  production — and  it  was  tremendous — could  not  compensate 
for  these  losses.  Despite  the  sweep  of  Austrian  and  Turkish  markets, 
the  great  and  growing  financial  strength  of  the  farmers  and  larger 
merchants,  Saxony  lost  its  large  foreign  markets  for  dress  goods 
and  porcelains  and  cheap  cottons  and  leather  and  notions;  other 
States  lost  their  customers  for  carpets  and  bronze-ware  and  choco- 
lates and  varied  lines  of  textile  goods.  Substitutes  of  every  kind 
there  were  but  hardly  any  were  really  satisfactory  and  in  food  they 
were  sorrowful  imitations  of  the  real  thing.  Substitutes  for  Salt- 
petre from  Chile  and  aluminum  from  France  were  of  the  more 
satisfactory  kind;  mineral  oils  were  made  from  coal,  synthetic  rubber 
was  invented  and  utilized,  paper  replaced  cloth  with  success  in  some 
respects.  All  the  press  writers  wTho  had  been  in  Germany  during 
periods  of  the  War — Ackerman,  Corey  and  Roth,  for  instance — 
agreed  in  declaring  in  1917  that  there  was  no  great  concealed  prepa- 
ration for  after- war  conditions  and  industrial  conquest.  But  there 
was  no  doubt  as  to  the  war  industries  and  Entente  estimates  of 
artillery  early  in  1917,  put  the  German  army  supply  at  8,000  field 
guns,  alone,  compared  with  3,850  in  1914  with  a  five-times  greater 
supply  of  heavy  guns  than  in  1914.* 

What  of  the  food  supply?  As  to  this  vital  problem  official 
facts  were  non-existent  to  the  world-public  outside  of  Germany 
but  there  was  a  cloud  of  testimony  covering  every  detail.  The 
information  was  contradictory  at  times  as  to  definite  conclusions, 
yet  the  net  impression  to  the  close  student  was  one  of  increasing 
general  privation,  insufficient  nourishment  for  the  masses,  severe 

*NOTE. — According  to  semi-official  figures  published  by  G.  H.  Ferris,  in  January, 
1918,  the  German  armies  were  supplied  with  21,000  cannon  of  all  kinds. 


GERMAN  ARMIES  AND  GENERAL  CONDITIONS  IN  1917        47 

pressure  upon  individual  and  national  morale.  At  the  beginning 
of  this  year  there  was  great  scarcity  in  butter,  cheese,  sugar,  cocoa, 
fats,  oils,  pork,  coffee,  tea,  oranges,  lemons,  bananas  and  eggs. 
Vegetables  were  available  and  also  certain  fruits.  Everybody  lived 
under  the  card  system — with  degrees  of  difficulty  in  obtaining  food 
— but  this  had  often  meant  nothing  except  wise  organization  and 
Government  foresight.  Continuous  efforts  of  the  most  vigorous 
and  skilful  kind  had  been  and  were  under  way  to  make  Germany 
and  its  Allies  independent  of  outside  food  supplies.  Grain  and 
meats  were  the  essentials  and  many  animals  were  killed  out  of 
the  23,000,000  cattle,  originally  in  stock,  in  order  to  save 
grain  and  fodder.  An  estimated  3,000,000  head  of  cattle,  6,000,000 
sheep  and  2,000,000  pigs  were  obtained  in  Roumania  and  no  doubt 
divided  with  Austria;  Poland  was  swept  bare  of  stock  and  other 
conquered  regions  had  furnished  supplies  for  a  time.  Wheat  and 
potatoes  were  also  obtained  in  Roumania  and  fresh  fields  of  culti- 
vation developed.  Large  supplies  of  iron-ore  and  some  other  raw 
material,  with  heavy  food-stocks,  were  obtained  from  neighbouring 
neutrals — either  through  fear  or  for  profit  or  a  little  of  each. 

As  to  details,  there  were  early  in  1917  Government  tickets  for 
meat,  bread,  butter,  sugar,  potatoes,  soap,  eggs,  etc.;  people  had 
to  wait  for  hours  to  be  served  with  their  poor  supplies;  clothes 
were,  under  regulation  by  magistrates,  limited  in  quantity  and 
very  expensive;  large  numbers  of  shops  were  closed  in  Berlin  and 
other  places,  private  motor-cars  had  disappeared  and  lighting  was 
bad;  war-bread  was  made  largely  of  rye  or  potato  flour  or  barley- 
meal,  fish  was  obtainable  with  game,  fowl,  etc.,  to  those  who  could 
pay  the  bill;  prices  of  staple  foods  were  carefully  controlled  by 
the  Government;  milk  was  largely  confined  to  supplying  young 
children  and  invalids;  there  was  a  steady  increase  during  the  year 
in  illnesses  traceable  to  mal-nutrition.  All  reports  indicated  worse 
conditions  as  the  year  progressed.  Correspondents  and  others 
coming  away  with  the  American  Ambassador  were  not  agreed  in 
their  conclusions  but  all  proclaimed  conditions  then  as  bad.  There 
were  serious  food  riots  at  Cologne,  Kiel,  Dresden,  Dusseldorf  and 
Leipsic,  while  the  workmen  at  Krupp's  struck  for  larger  rations 
and  those  working  the  longest  hours  were  successful. 

Brig.-Gen.  J.  E.  Kuhn,  President  of  the  U.  S.  Army  War  College, 
told  the  New  York  Times  (Mar.  11)  on  his  return  from  Germany 
that  "economic  conditions  are  trying  everywhere,  especially  in  the 
case  of  the  Central  Powers.  It  is  certain  that  the  German  people 
are  on  the  edge  of  starvation  and  the  bravest  man  will  succumb 
to  an  empty  stomach."  The  Cuban  Minister  at  Berlin,  Dr.  Aris- 
tides  Aquero,  told  the  press  of  Paris  (June  7)  on  his  way  home,  that 
"for  every  element  of  the  civil  population,  regardless  of  the  social 
class  to  which  it  belongs,  the  daily  ration  at  the  time  of  my  departure 
consisted  of  250  grammes  of  bread,  35  grammes  of  meat, 
350  grammes  of  potatoes,  10  grammes  of  fat  and  8  grammes 
of  sugar.  One  egg  monthly  was  allowed  and  one  portion  of  war 
marmalade  monthly."  Of  the  National  livestock  27,000,000  head  of 
cattle  had  fallen  to  19,000,000,  30%  of  the  swine  had  been  killed  and 
sheep  had  disappeared  almost  entirely. 


48  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  harvests  of  1917  were  below  the  average  and  on  July  30 
reports  to  the  Washington  Food  Offices  were  that  fresh  fowls  brought 
$1.01  a  pound,  young  laying  hens,  $3.32  each,  well-fed  geese,  $11 
to  $19  each;  that  the  egg  ration  at  Hamburg  for  one  week  was  one  egg 
for  each  person;  that  horses  were  in  great  demand  for  food,  with 
horse-flesh  selling  at  from  53  cents  to  86  cents  a  pound  and  rabbits  at 
$2  each.  According  to  similar  statements  on  Oct.  18  the  weekly 
German  ration  then  was,  approximately,  4j^  pounds  of  bread, 
half  a  peck  of  potatoes,  a  cupful  of  beans,  peas  or  oatmeal,  half 
a  pound  of  meat,  12  cubes  of  sugar,  6  individual  patties  of  butter 
and  an  equal  amount  of  other  fats.  The  caloric  value  of  these  foods 
in  the  aggregate  was  less  than  half  the  amount  estimated  by  the  U.  S. 
Food  Administration  as  sufficient  for  a  person  in  a  sedentary  occu- 
pation. At  this  time  it  appeared  that  leather  for  boots  and  shoes 
was  almost  at  an  end,  that  a  big  shortage  in  vegetables  existed, 
that  the  material  allowed  for  clothes  had  to  be  further  lessened. 
Carl  W.  Ackerman,  a  correspondent  who  returned  with  Mr.  Gerard, 
gave  the  following  list  of  food  supplies  which  could  not  be  obtained 
in  Germany: 

Rice  Cream  Candy  Coffee 

Fruit  Flavours  Malted  Milk  Tea  Canned  Soups 

Beer  (malt  or  hops)    Cocoa  Syrups  Caviar 

Chocolate          Dried  Vegetables  Ice  Cream  Olive  Oil        Nuts        Macaroni 

Mr.  Ackerman's  opinion,  as  expressed  in  newspaper  articles  in 
November,  was  as  follows:  "In  their  present  under-nourished  con- 
dition the  public  cannot  face  a  defeat.  If  the  War  ends  this  year 
Germany  will  not  be  so  starved  that  she  will  accept  any  peace  terms. 
But  if  the  War  continues  another  year  or  two  Germany  will  have 
to  give  up."  Herbert  Corey,  another  correspondent,  who  spent 
much  time  in  1917  with  German  refugees  on  the  Swiss  borders, 
put  the  situation  in  another  way  at  this  time:  "Germany  is  suffering 
from  progressive  mechanical  deterioration  and  cumulative  human 
misery.  There  will  be  more  food  in  Germany  during  the  next 
12  months  than  there  was  during  the  12  months  past.  The  weakness 
in  the  German  war  fabric  is  not  one  of  material,  but  of  morale." 
He  illustrated  this  statement  in  a  despatch  dated  Berne,  Oct.  20, 
in  which  he  said:  "Already  the  weakness  occasioned  by  persistent 
under-feeding  is  making  itself  felt  in  the  death  rate.  Men  and 
women  of  more  than  45  years  of  age  and  children  under  6  or  7  years 
have  slight  chance  of  regaining  their  strength  when  attacked  by 
an  illness  that  at  other  times  would  be  considered  of  a  minor  class. 
Deaths  are  being  reported  from  catarrhal  colds,  from  rheumatism, 
anaemia,  and  various  stomach  and  digestive  troubles,  which  are  in 
reality  occasioned  by  the  under-nourishment  of  the  past  2  years. 
An  epidemic  of  dysentery  is  sweeping  through  Germany."  Of 
course,  the  war-map  victories  in  Italy  and  the  possible  peace  with 
Russia  pending  at  this  time  gave  a  factitious  strength  for  the  meeting 
of  such  conditions  but  there  seemed  no  doubt  that  at  the  close  of 
1917  the  German  food  situation  was  serious.  Starvation,  however, 
was  not  so  near  as  the  London  Post  or  Express  and  some  British 
correspondents  thought,  though  the  blockade  had  become  wonder- 


GERMAN  WAR  METHODS  IN  BELGIUM  AND  ELSEWHERE      49 

fully  efficient  and  much  more  so  as  the  United  States  pressure  of 
war  action  became  operative.  In  the  general  situation  Germany 
still  had  certain  specific  advantages  over  her  enemies — (1)  the  ab- 
sence of  experiments  or  improvisation  in  types  of  guns  and  weapons 
through  a  careful  preparedness  policy — except  as  new  inventions 
might  develop;  (2)  regulated  wages  which  gave  cheaper  war  materials; 
(3)  slave  labour  in  the  forcible  enlistment  of  about  2,000,000  prisoners 
of  war  and  the  requisitioned  workers  from  conquered  populations 
totalling  42,000,000;  (4)  free  coal. and  iron  from  conquered  mines 
in  France,  Belgium  and  Poland;  (5)  a  geographical  position  which 
gave  speedier  and  cheaper  war  transportation;  (6)  seizure  of  much 
war  material,  foodstuffs,  finished  products,  personal  property, 
specie,  jewels  and  securities;  (7)  War  imports  and  exploitation  of 
natural  resources  in  captured  territories. 

The  Germans  The  German  occupation  of  Belgium  had  begun 
in  Belgium  with  a  crime — a  self-acknowledged  offence — against 

?*nd  ™an^ei  International  law  and  treaties;  it  proceeded  in  a 
War  Methods  •  ..  f  *  .  •  .1  i  , .  ..i 

of  the  Teuton  sPlrlt  of  cruel  terrorism  over  the  population  with  a 

Allies.  ruthless  ravaging  of  life  and  home  and  public  rights  and 

private  property;  it  was  practiced  in  1917  along  lines  of 
systematic  exploitation  of  the  resources,  labour,  incomes  and  industry 
of  the  country.  There  had  been,  and  there  continued,  forced  requisi- 
tions upon  industry,  municipalities  and  individuals  in  defiance  of 
all  international  laws  and  regulations.  Up  to  July  6,  1917,  there 
were  140  Administrative  Orders*  issued  in  the  Official  Bulletin 
dealing  with  all  kinds  of  natural  products  and  raw  materials  and 
deliberately  calculated  to  fetter  or  limit  Belgian  industries  by  re- 
strictions upon  factories  and  farms,  exports  and  imports,  transport 
of  merchandise,  etc.  They  were  made  absolutely  subsidiary  to 
German  industries  while  the  Belgian  workmen  were  deported  in 
tens  of  thousands  to  help  in  operating  those  of  Germany;  this  slave- 
labour  policy  was  pursued  also  in  Poland  and  Roumania.  Even 
Belgian  trade  secrets  and  industrial  methods  were  utilized  and 
operated  in  Germany,  while  tools  and  machinery  were  carried  away 
by  wholesale. 

Financially,  the  German  mark  was  established  at  a  compulsory 
rate  in  francs;  the  illegal  principle  of  collective  responsibility  for 
individual  infraction  of  complex  German-imported  regulations  was 
made  the  excuse  for  heavy  fines  upon  communities  and  heads  of 
large  families;  war  contributions  exacted  and  fines  imposed  were 
estimated  in  the  middle  of  1917  at  $40,000,000;  military  levies 
were  exacted  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  only  legal  purpose  involved 
—the  needs  of  the  occupying  army — and  by  Order  of  May  21,  1917, 
they  amounted  to  $12,000,000  a  month,  or  a  total  up  to  Aug.  10  of 
$288,000,000  since  the  outbreak  of  war;  various  new  taxes  and 
imports  were  established  by  the  Government  of  occupation  in  direct 
violation  of  the  Hague  Convention  and,  on  Sept.  12,  1916,  the  cash 
balances  of  two  large  Banks  (private  corporations)  to  a  total  of 
$100,000,000  were  seized  and  transferred  to  the  Berlin  Reichsbank; 

*NOTB. — A  volume  by  Fernand  Passelecq  published  at  Paris. 


50  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  value  of  requisitioned  raw  material  and  seized  machinery  and 
tools  was  estimated  up  to  Jan.  31,  1915,  by  Dr.  Ludwig  Gaughofer 
in  the  Miinchener  Neueste  Nachtrichten  (Feb.  26.  1916)  at  $400,000,- 
000.  General  Von  Bissing,  the  late  Military  Governor,  in  his  well- 
known  "Political  Testament"  described  this  general  situation  as 
follows : 

I  must  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  industrial  territory  of  Belgium  is  of 
great  value,  not  only  in  time  of  peace,  but  also  in  case  of  war.  The  supplementary 
advantages  which  we  have  derived  in  the  present  war  from  Belgian  industries,  by 
the  carrying  away  of  machines,  etc.,  must  be  accounted  fully  as  great  as  the  injury 
caused  to  the  enemy  by  the  deprivation  of  these  resources.  The  immediate  import- 
ance of  the  industrial  region  of  Belgium  does  not  exhaust  the  interest  of  the  subject 
for  us.  Without  Belgian  coal,  what  would  have  become  of  our  policy  of  exchange 
with  Holland  and  the  northern  countries?  The  23,000,000  tons  taken  annually  from 
the  Belgian  coal  mines  have  given  us  a  monopoly  on  the  Continent  which  has  con- 
tributed to  assure  our  existence. 

The  deportation  and  forced  labour  of  the  Belgians  was  the 
cruellest  action  and  condition  of  1917.  Commenced  in  the  pre- 
ceding autumn  it  had  elicited  official  protests  from  the  United 
States,  Spain,  Switzerland  and  Holland.  According  to  a  formal 
document  issued*  by  the  Belgian  State  Department  conditions 
showed  (1)  the  cessation  of  the  larger  part  of  Belgian  industries 
owing  to  the  systematic  economic  war  carried  on  by  Germany 
with  the  consequent  reduction  to  idleness  of  300,000  to  400,000 
workmen;  then  (2)  the  organized  deportation  of  many  thousands 
of  these  men  for  the  alleged  reason  of  aid  to  unemployment  and 
the  real  reason  of  providing  forced  war-labour  of  civilians  behind 
the  German  front  or  in  depleted  German  factories  and  workshops. 
A  Belgian  Mission  to  the  United  States — headed  by  Baron  Moncheur 
— followed  and  told  the  President  and  American  leaders,  at  close 
range,  something  of  local  conditions;  in  February  Cardinal  Mercier 
wrote  continued  and  vigorous  protests  to  Baron  Von  Huehne, 
acting  Governor-General  in  succession  to  the  late  General  Von 
Bissing,  against  the  renewed  "kidnapping  of  thousands  of  my 
fellow-countrymen."  Referring  to  the  fines  levied  upon  priests  for 
refusing  to  aid  in  the  make-up  of  lists  for  deported  labour  he  added : 
"We  await  our  vengeance  in  patience.  I  am  not  speaking  of  our 
earthly  vengeance.  We  have  that  already,  for  the  regime  of  occu- 
pation that  you  force  us  to  undergo  is  despised  by  everything  that 
is  decent  in  the  whole  world.  I  am  speaking  of  the  judgment  of 
history,  of  the  inescapable  punishment  of  the  God  of  Justice." 
The  treatment  of  these  workmen  as  shown  in  varied  and  numerous 
reports  was  that  of  slaves;  the  Belgian  Government  for  instance 
issued  a  statement  describing  the  various  "punishments"  resorted 
to  in  order  to  make  men  work  for  their  own  enemies.  In  February 
these  raids  or  deportations  ceased  for  a  time  and,  in  reply  to  neutral 
protests  and  the  appeal  of  the  Pope,  it  was  announced  that  all  who 
did  not  wish  to  remain  in  Germany  would  be  returned.  Many  did 
come  back  but  later  on  they  were  seized  and  again  deported.  In  the 
summer  there  was  a  renewal  of  general  deportation. 

*NOTB.— Published  in  U.S.  Official  Bulletin,  June  9,  1917. 


GERMAN  WAR  METHODS  IN  BELGIUM  AND  ELSEWHERE      51 

One  of  the  worst  phases  of  this  policy  was  that  it  included  women 
and  young  girls — estimates  ranging  as  high  as  20,000 — who  were 
thus  torn  from  their  homes  and  deported  for  enforced  labour  amongst 
and  for  the  roughest  of  soldiers.  Press  stories  of  their  treatment, 
private  letters  made  public  or  known  to  a  few,  gave  details  too  horri- 
ble for  full  narration  here.  After  reading  some  of  these  statements 
the  most  impartial  historian  will  appreciate  the  conclusion  of  J.  H. 
Baker  of  the  Minneapolis  Tribune,  and  latterly  of  the  Ambulance 
Service  in  France,  that:  "No  story  of  the  German's  treatment  of 
women  can  be  exaggerated.  Ambulance  men  and  soldiers  agree 
on  that."  Of  these  German  slaves  (both  men  and  women)  as  Mr. 
Gerard  called  them,  30,000  men  and  women  were  estimated  to  have 
been  taken  from  Antwerp  and  surrounding  regions  and  20,000  from 
the  Belgian  Province  of  Luxembourg.  Of  the  whole  situation  a  Cana- 
dian home  from  the  front,  Major,  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.  Gordon, 
said  in  Winnipeg  on  Dec.  31:  "Then  there  is  the  present  slave 
drive  in  Belgium.  It  is  a  real  slave  drive;  no  other  words  can  de- 
scribe it.  It  has  all  the  pain,  all  the  anguish,  the  indignity  and  the 
inhumanity  which  roused  such  resentment  against  slavery  in  the 
United  States."  The  German  organization  of  the  country,  however, 
showed  much  care  in  hygienic  and  educational  matters,  skill  and 
some  success  in  the  promotion  of  agricultural  production  and  the 
management  of  war  factories,  simplicity  and  directness  in  the  draft- 
ing of  enactments,  a  skilful  use  of  the  bi-lingual  situation  under 
which  nearly  half  the  country  spoke  Flemish — a  sort  of  German 
dialect  dating  back  to  the  days  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  year  it  was  announced  that  Belgium  would  be  forcibly 
divided  into  two  Provinces  running  roughly  along  bi-lingual  lines 
of  French  and  Flemish.  It  does  not  appear,  according  to  a  statement 
by  Baron  Moncheur,  that  prices  of  food  ranged  very  much  higher 
than  they  did  in  many  parts  of  Germany  itself — though  there  was, 
of  course,  little  money  to  buy  it  with. 

As  to  the  military  and  political  situation  the  German  intention 
to  hold  Belgium  was  stiffened  by  the  close  of  1917.  The  belief 
of  General  Von  Bissing  that  the  War  would  be  lost  if  Belgium  were 
not  kept  at  its  end  was  an  essential  faith  of  the  Pan-German  party. 
In  the  official  Memorandum  prepared  by  him  shortly  before  his  death 
on  Apr.  18*  he  urged  annexation,  because,  otherwise,  Belgium  would 
be  a  centre  for  enemy  plot  and  aggressive  action  in  the  next  war; 
because  it  was,  on  the  other  hand,  the  natural  passage  to  France 
for  German  armies,  and  should  be  a  shield  for  German  manufac- 
turing interests  and  regions:  "Belgium  must  be  seized  and  held 
as  it  now  is,  and  as  it  must  be  in  future.  ...  If  only  on  account 
of  the  necessary  bases  for  our  fleet,  and  in  order  not  to  cut  off  Ant- 
werp from  the  Belgian  trade  area,  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  adjacent 
hinterland." 

Meanwhile  Dr.  Stresemann,  a  leading  Liberal  member  of  the 
Reichstag,  had  stated  in  a  public  speech  on  Jan.  7  that:  "If  peace 
is  concluded  without  Germany's  possessing  the  Flemish  coast, 

*NOTE. — Published  by  the  late  Governor's  friend,  N.  W.  Bacmeister,  in*Bergisch 
Markische  Zeitung,  May  18,  1917. 


52  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

England  is  the  winning,  and  we  are  the  losing  side.  A  neutral 
Belgium  is  an  historical  impossibility  after  the  War.  Without 
the  future  possibility  of  marching  through  Belgium  the  Germans 
must  fight  the  next  war  on  the  Rhine  and  not  in  France."  To 
him  Von  Bissing  had  written  (Jan.  14)  congratulations  upon  this 
point  of  view,  mentioned  his  Memorandum,  as  above  quoted, 
and  added:  "We  must  push  as  far  northwards  as  possible  the  frontier 
which  in  future  will  protect  Belgium  from  England  and  France. 
As  the  coast  is  part  of  that  frontier,  the  coast  must  be  our  frontier. 
I  was  delighted  to  see  this  point  brought  forward  at  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  Navy  League."  The  Pan-German  party  expressed  their 
feelings  clearly  in  a  pamphlet-manifesto  early  in  1917:  "Above 
all,  the  domination  of  Belgium  improves  our  position  against  Eng- 
land. .  .  .  Nothing  can  prevent  the  construction  of  a  fortified 
harbour  on  the  marshy  coast  of  Flanders,  which  could  not  be  success- 
fully attacked  even  by  the  most  powerful  fleet."  Even  more 
significant  was  the  conversation  in  January,  1917,  described  by 
J.  W.  Gerard,  U.S.  Ambassador  to  Berlin*,  with  Herr  Von  Beth- 
mann-Hollweg,  then  Chancellor: 

Mr.  Gerard:    'Are  the  Germans  willing  to  withdraw  from  Belgium?' 

The  Chancellor:   'Yes,  but  with  guarantees.' 

Mr.  Gerard:   'What  are  these  guarantees?' 

The  Chancellor:  'We  must  possibly  have  the  forts  of  Liege  and  Namur.  We 
must  have  other  forts  and  garrisons  throughout  Belgium.  We  must  have  possession 
of  the  railroad  lines.  We  must  have  possession  of  the  ports  and  other  means  of 
communication.  The  Belgians  will  not  be  allowed  to  maintain  an  army,  but  we 
must  be  allowed  to  retain  a  large  army  in  Belgium.  We  must  have  commercial 
control  of  Belgium.' 

No  thought  of  such  a  possibility  as  annexation  appeared  in 
Allied  documents,  policy  or  public  expression  and  during  this  year 
steps  were  taken  to  estimate  the  damages  which  Germany  would 
have  to  pay  a  free  and  restored  Belgium.  The  Belgian  Govern- 
ment's preliminary  figures  were  as  follows:  German  war  exactions 
$238,000,000,  private  and  municipal  assessments  $40,000,000, 
confiscation  of  machinery  and  raw  materials  $400,000,000,  destruction 
of  sources  of  economic  wealth — not  including  private  property— 
$1,000,000,000.  As  to  this  latter  point  a  Belgian  Government 
map  was  issued  showing  43,000  estates  destroyed  by  German  occu- 
pation. On  May  31  King  Albert  enacted  and  declared,  upon  advice 
of  his  Ministers,  that  "all  acts  of  disposal  or  transfer  of  movable 
property  or  real  estate  belonging  to  the  State,  and  the  seizure  of 
which  has  been  made  or  ordered  by  the  enemy  since  the  4th  of 
August,  1914,  unless  they  fall  within  the  scope  of  a  normal  manage- 
ment, are  null  and  void." 

As  a  result  of  the  necessary  withdrawal  of  the  U.S.  Ambassador 
at  Berlin,  H.  C.  Hoover  of  the  Relief  Commission  and  Brand  Whit- 
lock,  Minister  in  Belgium,  from  control  of  the  Belgian  Relief  Com- 
mission early  in  1917,  that  great  organization  passed  into  the  hands 
of  other  neutrals  and  suffered  considerably  in  its  work.  Lord 
Robert  Cecil,  British  Minister  of  Blockade,  on  Feb.  14  paid  high 

*NOTB. — Four  Years  in  Germany,  Page  365. 


GERMAN  WAR  METHODS  IN  BELGIUM  AND  ELSEWHERE       53 

tribute  to  those  who  had  been  in  charge:  "The  mere  fact  that 
for  28  months  they  have  kept  alive  10,000,000  people  without  a 
single  serious  hitch  in  the  machinery  of  purchase,  transport  and 
distribution,  shows  what  their  organization  has  been."  In  New 
York  on  Mar.  14  (Herald  report)  Mr.  Hoover  urged  continued 
support  to  this  "the  largest  venture  in  history  of  international, 
benevolent  and  economic  service  and  of  charity."  He  stated  that 
1,250,000  children  were  dependent  upon  the  Commission,  that 
$1.00  per  child  each  month  was  imperative  and  to  emphasize  his 
American  appeal  added:  "Great  Britain  and  France,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  British  possessions  overseas,  are  burdened  with  such 
taxation  as  would  have  been  considered  impossible  before  the  War; 
in  addition  they  have  had  their  own  wounded,  their  own  widows 
and  orphans  to  care  for  and  their  own  interrupted  commerce  to  strug- 
gle with.  And  yet,  without  argument,  without  delay,  they  have 
dispensed  a  charity  which  will  be  one  of  the  marvels  of  history, 
for  they  have  handed  to  the  Commission  more  than  90  per  cent,  of 
all  of  the  money  spent  by  the  Commission  for  the  feeding  of  Belgium." 

What  the  exact  figures  had  been  Edgar  Rickard,  Assistant 
Director  of  Belgian  Relief  work,  told  the  Canadian  Club  at  Ottawa 
on  Apr.  14 :  "  We  have  received  to  date  approximately  $270,000,000, 
of  which  we  have  delivered  into  Belgium  $235,000,000  value  in 
food.  We  have  on  the  ocean  or  purchased  ready  for  loading  $35,000,- 
000  in  food  value.  Of  the  imports  into  Belgium  $120,000,000  in 
value  has  been  allocated  to  the  destitute.  We  have  purchased 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada  $150,000,000  and  we  estimate 
the  profits  to  the  merchants  supplying  us  with  this  food  have  been 
no  less  than  $30,000,000  from  first  to  last.  .  .  .  You  will  want 
to  know  where  this  $270,000,000  has  come  from.  The  British  and 
French  Governments  have  advanced  us,  through  loans  to  Belgium, 
$148,000,000.  France  and  French  institutions  have  given  $90,000,- 
000  on  account  of  Northern  France.  We  have  received  in  private 
benevolences  from  the  British  Empire  $16,000,000,  of  which  Canada's 
share  is  over  2^  million.  The  United  States  has  contributed 
$11,000,000." 

The  situation  in  occupied  France  was  even  harsher  than  that 
of  Belgium  because  it  was  nearer  the  firing  line  of  vast  armies. 
Hence  the  fact  and  revelation  of  horrors  which  followed  the  system- 
atic, organized  devastation  made  by  German  troops  in  the  terri- 
tory evacuated  by  them  early  in  1917.  To  the  Berlin  Lokal-Anzeiger 
of  Mar.  18  its  military  correspondent  wrote  that  "great  stretches 
of  French  territory  have  been  turned  by  us  into  a  dead  country. 
It  varies  in  width  from  10  to  12  or  15  kilometres  (6  to  8  miles), 
and  extends  along  the  whole  of  our  new  position,  presenting  a 
terrible  barrier  of  desolation  to  any  enemy  hardy  enough  to  advance 
against  our  new  lines.  No  village  or  farm  was  left  standing  on 
this  glacis,  no  road  was  left  passable,  no  railway -track  or  embank- 
ment was  left  in  being.  Where  once  were  woods  there  are  gaunt 
rows  of  stumps;  the  wells  have  been  blown  up,  wires,  cables,  and 
pipe-lines  destroyed.  In  front  of  our  new  position  runs,  like  a 
gigantic  ribbon,  an  empire  of  death."  As  a  preliminary  civilians 


54  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

were  strippedfof  any  paltry  belongings  they  might  still  have,  all 
able-bodied  men  and  youths,  numbers  of  women  and  girls,  were 
deported  to  the  interior.  Not  only  was  a  definite  zone  submitted 
to  destruction  but  a  much  wider  area  also  abandoned  in  the  retreat 
which  stretched  from  the  Scarpe  to  the  Aisne. 

A  Commission  of  Inquiry  was  appointed  by  the  Government 
— George  Payelle,  A.  Mollard,  G.  Maringer  and  E.  Paillot — and 
reported  on  Apr.  18  that :  "  Every  detail  in  the  spectacle  of  devasta- 
tion that  met  our  eyes  reveals  a  method  so  implacable  and  so  strik- 
ingly uniform  that  it  is  impossible  not  to  recognize  the  execution 
of  a  rigorously  marked-out  plan.  The  enslavement  of  citizens, 
the  carrying  off  of  women  and  young  girls,  the  pillage  of  homes, 
the  annihilation  of  towns  and  villages,  the  ruin  of  industries  by  the 
destruction  of  factories,  the  desolation  of  rural  districts  by  the  shat- 
tering of  agricultural  implements,  the  burning  of  farms  and  the  cut- 
ting down  of  trees,  were  all  inaugurated  at  the  same  moment  and 
with  the  same  ferocity,  to  create  poverty,  inspire  terror  and  gen- 
erate despair."  T.  P.  O'Connor,  M.P.,  stated,  after  visiting  these 
regions,  that  the  atrocities  were  too  awful  to  describe;  one  phrase 
indicated  the  material  destruction  when  he  stated  that  the  smashed- 
up  trees  alone,  which  he  had  seen,  represented  $50,000,000  of  fruit 
wealth.  One  other  incident  may  be  placed  on  record  here  because 
public  memories  are  short  and  days  of  peace  bring  many  soporific 
influences.  At  a  dinner  of  the  New  York  Merchants'  Associa- 
tion on  Nov.  1,  1917,  Dr.  Leon  Dabo,  a  member  of  the  U.S. 
Commission  sent  to  investigate  German  actions  in  France,  made 
this  statement: 

All  that  the  correspondents  send  over  about  the  atrocities  that  have  been  com- 
mitted, all  the  inhumanities,  all  the  bestialities,  that  no  paper  can  possibly  publish 
— they  are  not  only  true,  but  the  worst  of  them  cannot  be  told.  .  .  .  One  of  my 
distinguished  predecessors  has  just  told  you  that  our  women  and  our  girls  have  been 
protected  from  the  fate  that  befell  the  women  of  France  and  of  Belgium  by  the  Brit- 
ish Navy.  Men,  believe  it,  what  you  have  heard  of  that  fate  is  absolutely  true.  It 
is  more  than  true.  I  have  been  in  a  hospital  in  the  Department  of  Meuse  in  France 
where  there  are  nearly  a  thousand  girls;  not  one  is  18  years  of  age  and  all  will  be 
mothers.  Eleven  per  cent.,  in  addition,  are  stark  mad. 

To  other  alleged  or  proven  atrocities  of  German  act,  or  com- 
plicity, in  other  parts  of  the  world  only  a  hasty  reference  can  be 
made.  The  methods  of  warfare  adopted  from  the  first  were  clearly 
those  calculated  to  strike  terror  into  opponents,  or  the  civilians 
of  enemy  countries,  and  to  over-awe  neutrals — illegitimate  war 
fines,  indiscriminate  mine-laying  at  sea,  bombing  undefended  towns, 
poisoning  wells  in  South-west  Africa  with  arsenic,  brutally  treating 
prisoners  of  war  and  civilians  in  occupied  countries,  sinking  non- 
combatant  and  neutral  vessels  without  notice  or  help,  destroying 
hospital  ships,  storage  of  the  German  legation  at  Belgrade  with 
phials  of  disease-producing  germs,  the  bombing  of  Allied  hospitals. 
These  are  only  a  few  instances  or  illustrations  of  the  situation. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Dwight  Hillis  in  his  Brooklyn  Church  on  Sept.  21, 
1917,  after  a  visit  to  the  Western  front,  said:  "More  than  10,000 
separate  atrocities  committed  by  the  German  armies  have  been 


GERMAN  WAR  METHODS  IN  BELGIUM  AND  ELSEWHERE      55 

documented  and  are  on  file  in  the  chancelleries  of  the  Allied  nations." 
Andr£  Cheradame,  the  French  publicist,  in  a  1917  pamphlet  pub- 
lished in  New  York  described  the  German-controlled  populations 
in  Europe  as  totalling  176,000,000,  which  he  divided  as  follows: 

1.  The  Masters— Germans 73,000,000 

2.  The  Vassals— Magyars,  Bulgars,  Turks.  .  .     21,000,000 

3.  The  Slaves 82,000,000 

The  latter  included  3,000,000  French,  7,500,000  Belgians,  1,500,- 
000  Alsatian-Lorrainers,  22,000,000  Poles  and  Letts,  8,500,000 
Czechs,  8,000,000  Roumanians  and  the  balance  made  up  of  various 
Austrian  tributary  races,  Armenians,  Levantines,  Ottoman  Greeks 
and  Arabs.  Meantime  various  little  nations  were  suffering  cruelly. 
The  treatment  of  tiny  Luxembourg,  with  its  269,000  inhabitants, 
was  as  bad  in  principle  as  that  of  Belgium.  Besides  the  neutrality 
obligations  of  the  Hague  Conventions  there  was  a  special  Treaty 
of  Neutrality  in  its  case  which  was  signed  by  Germany  on  June  11, 
1872.  Despite  this  the  country  had  been  over-run  and  taken 
possession  of  in  1914  and  its  railways  and  factories  freely  used 
for  war  purposes.  In  Warsaw  and  other  centres  of  Russian  Poland 
— according  to  statements  in  the  Amsterdam  Telegraaf,  republished 
in  the  London  Times  of  Feb.  9 — all  the  material  for  industry, 
the  copper,  factory  machinery,  dynamos,  motor  parts,  the  cotton 
and  the  wool  were  confiscated  by  the  invader. 

In  a  number  of  Polish  factories  and  warehouses  only  the  four 
walls  remained.  Commanders  requisitioned  everything,  even  to 
clothing  and  the  shop  carpets:  "More  crushing  and  agonizing  than 
this,  however  is  the  moral  oppression,  the  menace  of  which  is  over 
the  country.  The  'Courts  of  Blood'  perform  their  work  without 
cessation.  Firing  parties  are  always  at  work."  Slave  drives 
were  frequent :  "I  saw  with  my  own  eyes  how  the  Germans  proceed 
in  the  sweeping  away  of  men.  At  night  cordons  of  troops  surrounded 
a  working  class  quarter  at* Warsaw  with  loaded  rifles.  The  soldiers 
chose  here  and  there  those  men  and  women  whom  they  thought 
suitable,  separated  brothers  and  sisters,  mothers  and  children, 
and  compelled  those  whom  they  declared  good  for  slavery  to  leave 
immediately.  Thus  more  than  100,000  men  and  women  were 
removed  from  the  part  of  the  country  under  the  Government  of 
Warsaw.  .  .  .  Deportation  trains  leave  the  country  every  day 
for  Germany."  An  elaborate  constitution,  however,  under  control 
of  an  Austro-German  Governor-General,  was  given  to  the  people 
who  were  told  to  look  forward  to  being  an  independent  Kingdom 
under  the  protection  of  the  two  Empires. 

Conditions  in  Serbia  under  the  Teuton  Allies  were  indescribable. 
According  to  a  Report  made  public  on  Dec.  1  by  the  official  Serbian 
Press  Bureau  at  Washington,  40,000  old  men,  women  and  children 
had  been  deported  by  the  Bulgars  from  Serbia  to  Turkey.  Serbians, 
interned  and  prisoners  of  war,  were  treated  with  appalling  barbarity 
in  Germany,  Austria-Hungary  and  Bulgaria.  The  Frankfurter 
Zeitung  was  quoted  as  saying  that  at  the  end  of  1916  155,030  Serbian 
soldiers  were  prisoners  of  war  and  distributed  as  follows:  25,829 


56  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

rank  and  file  in  Germany,  96,363  men  and  709  officers  in  Austria- 
Hungary,  and  31,942  men  and  187  officers  in  Bulgaria.  There  were 
also  5,000  Montenegrin  prisoners  of  Serbian  race.  Particulars 
were  given  by  the  Press  Bureau  of  the  ill-treatment  of  these  prisoners, 
the  death  at  camp  Nauthausen,  for  instance,  of  7,000  by  May,  1917, 
the  general  spread  of  typhus  and  tuberculosis  with  not  more  than 
70,000,  or  less  than  ones-half,  still  alive  at  or  about  the  above  date. 
It  was  claimed,  according  to  information  issued  by  the  U.S.  State 
Department  (July  24),  that  a  large  amount  had  been  extorted 
in  forced  subscriptions  to  Austrian  war  loans;  that  Serbian  business 
had  been  greatly  injured  by  allowing  enemy  merchants  to  collect 
immediately,  at  six  per  cent,  interest,  debts  estimated  at  $24,000,000. 
Failure  to  pay  was  penalized  by  the  sale  of  property  at  ridiculous 
auction  figures  which  allowed  the  invaders  to  make  immensely 
profitable  purchases.  In  addition,  many  shops  had  been  pillaged; 
the  National  and  the  Ethnographical  Museums  were  completely 
ransacked  by  the  Austrians;  the  National  Library,  the  University 
Library  of  Nish  and  the  Library  of  the  School  of  Theology  at  Prizzen 
were  pillaged  by  the  Bulgarians. 

According  to  the  London  Times  correspondent  with  the  Serbian 
army  (June  1)  the  rebellion  of  15,000  Serbians  in  February,  1917, 
was  most  cruelly  suppressed:  "This  affected  the  Provinces  of  Vidin 
and  Tircova,  where  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  are  of  Serbian 
blood,  and  about  6,000  insurgents  were  captured,  of  whom  over 
2,000  were  summarily  executed.  Executions  were  effected  with 
machine  guns  manned  by  Germans.  Long,  deep  trenches  were 
dug,  in  front  of  which  the  victims  were  bound  to  stakes  and  shot 
in  groups."  What  proportion  of  German  troops  were  engaged  in 
these  and  other  cruelties  or  in  the  permanent  occupation  of  Serbia 
is  debatable  but  certainly  there  were  German  officers  and  Germany 
indirectly  controlled  the  whole  Balkan  situation.  The  general 
condition  of  the  unfortunate  Serbians  at  this  time  was  terrible. 
Hangings,  shootings,  robbery,  every  kind  of  violence  to  man,  woman 
and  child,  starvation  and  inconceivable  misery,  were  all  in  the  lot 
of  the  conquered  people.  According  to  M.  Pashitch,  the  nominal 
Premier,  in  a  London  interview  on  Aug.  10,  over  10,000  girls  of  from 
10  to  14  years  old  had  been  deported  to  the  Harems  of  Constanti- 
nople and  the  East.  Other  deportations  were  wholesale  in  char- 
acter and  the  Dutch  Section  of  the  League  of  Neutral  Countries 
issued  a  Report  late  in  1917  stating  that  "not  less  than  nine  intern- 
ment camps  for  Serbs  have  been  established  in  Austria-Hungary." 
The  Bulgarians  had  much  to  do  with  these  conditions  and  had, 
also,  internment  camps  in  their  own  country.  With  the  Austrians 
their  Administration  combined  in  an  effort  to  crush  the  language; 
patriotic  poems  and  books  of  the  past  were  interdicted  or  seized, 
the  primary  schools  were  closed  and  others  opened  with  German 
and  Hungarian  instruction  as  compulsory;  the  museums  were 
stripped  and  churches  pillaged.  The  Commission  above  quoted 
declared  that:  "The  mass  of  documents  placed  at  our  disposal  has 
left  a  profound  impression  of  an  attempt  to  achieve  the  complete 
ruin  of  a  free  nation  by  means  the  most  brutal  and  cruel.  The 


1? 

.si 


. 

02   ~T3 

§*§ 

" 


« 


O  cS 

.  .0  ee 

ffl  13  c 


GERMAN  WAR  METHODS  IN  BELGIUM  AND  ELSEWHERE      57 

systematic  destruction  of  the  Serbian  nation  is  a  pendant  to  the 
enslavement  of  Belgians." 

The  part  of  Roumania  over-run  by  the  Austro-German  forces 
suffered  in  many  ways  but  not  so  violently.  The  little  son  of  the 
beautiful  Queen  of  Roumania  dying  from  alleged  poisoned  candy, 
dropped  by  a  German  aeroplane  before  the  capture  of  Bucharest, 
typified  the  state  of  that  country  in  its  sufferings  from  the  enemy, 
from  traitors  within  and  treachery  without.  The  conquered  region 
was  squeezed  like  an  orange  for  the  benefit  of  the  conquerors  and 
the  people  driven  like  slaves  to  work;  but  their  production  of  grain 
and  food  supplies  was  too  valuable  to  escape  the  organized  and  in 
this  case,  preservative  operation  of  German  policy.  In  Italy, 
and  typical  of  German  war  character,  were  the  instructions 
issued  in  November  by  the  Military  Governor  of  the  newly- 
conquered  Province  of  Udine:  "Al  workmen,  women,  and 
children  over  15  years  old  are  obliged  to  work  in  the  fields 
every  day,  including  Sunday,  from  4  a.m.  to  8  p.m.  Dis- 
obedience will  be  punished  in  the  following  manner:  (1)  Lazy  work- 
men will  be  accompanied  to  work  and  watched  by  Germans  and 
after  the  harvest  they  will  be  imprisoned  for  six  months — every 
three  days,  one  day  with  bread  and  water;  (2)  lazy  women  will  be 
exiled  and  obliged  to  work  after  the  harvest,  and  receive  six  months' 
imprisonment;  (3)  lazy  children  will  be  punished  by  beating  and  the 
Commandant  reserves  the  right  to  punish  lazy  workmen  by  20 
lashes  daily."  If  this  was  not  slavery  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a 
definition  for  that  system. 

Of  the  Armenian  massacres  many  volumes  have  been  written, 
many  more  will  be  published  and  a  question  of  the  ages  will  be 
German  responsibility  or  otherwise.  In  an  earlier  and  famous 
effort  of  the  Turks  to  destroy  these  unfortunate  people  Mr.  Glad- 
stone made  England  ring  with  his  denunciation  of  a  British  Govern- 
ment which  did  not  go  to  war  in  order  to  avert  the  crime  of  that 
period  and  which  he  therefore  held  to  a  partial  responsibility.  Dur- 
ing this  greater  crime  of  the  World-war  Germany  had  Constanti- 
nople in  an  iron  grip,  German  officers  and  officials  were  everywhere 
in  Asia  Minor,  Germans  controlled  transportation  interests  and  the 
regular  Turkish  armies.  Yet  the  Turkish  irregulars  and  regulars 
alike — sometimes  the  latter  were  under  German  officers — committed 
this  dreadful  offence  against  humanity  and  religion  and  law  without 
fear  and  without  punishment,  without  German  interference  or 
any  expressed  official  regret.  Stories  of  the  crime  continued  to  sift 
through  in  1917. 

The  Rev.  G.  E.  White,  President  of  Anatolia  College,  Marsovan, 
whose  Faculty  was  slaughtered  with  axes  and  their  students  murdered 
in  varied  ways,  reached  New  York  on  Sept.  30  and  described  to  the 
press  the  brutal  way  in  which  his  town  was  cleared  of  Armenians 
by  wholesale  outrage  and  slaughter.  Much  of  the  evidence  collected 
in  1916  and  1917  showed  that  Government  orders  were  given  as  the 
excuse  for  every  kind  of  crime;  that  masses  of  murderers  believed 
in  German  approval  of  their  killings,  tortures  and  rapes.  This 
was  one  of  the  elements  in  the  "Holy  War"  preached  by  the  Germans 


58  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  the  Turks — a  jehad  carried  through  the  East  with  fire  and  sword. 
T.  P.  O'Connor,  M.P.,  like  so  many  others,  was  explicit  in  his  view 
of  the  responsibility.  He  stated  in  an  address  at  Chautauqua,  N.Y., 
on  Aug.  11  that:  "For  a  generation  the  voice  of  Berlin  had  been 
omnipotent  in  Constantinople.  At  that  very  moment  the  troops 
of  Germany  and  Turkey  were  fighting  side  by  side.  Is  it  not  clear, 
therefore,  that  Berlin  had  only  to  say  a  word  and  the  massacres 
would  not  have  begun,  and  even  if  they  had  begun,  would  not  a 
word  have  brought  them  to  an  immediate  end?" 

Dr.  Harry  Stuermer,  then  correspondent  of  the  Kolnische  Zeitung, 
witnessed  the  1915  massacres  and  wrote  reports  which  were  sup- 
pressed and  for  which  he  was  dismissed  from  his  post.  In  his  book, 
Two  War-Years  in  Constantinople,  he  afterwards  gave  a  passionate 
account  of  what  he  saw  and  heard.  Having  established  the  "bound- 
less guilt55  of  Turkey  in  this  Armenian  slaughter,  the  "most  terrible 
massacre  since  Nero's  day,55  he  accused  Germany  of  being  the  Pilate 
of  a  whole  race.  "Conscienceless  cowardice,  cynical  levity,55 
were  some  of  the  terms  with  which  he  branded  his  own  official 
countrymen.  "How  do  I  come  to  make  such  a  terrible  charge?55 
he  asked.  "Because  of  the  fact  that  when  the  Armenian  Patri- 
arch used  to  come  to  our  Ambassador  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  begging 
for  help — and  I  witnessed  this  scene  more  than  once  at  our  Embassy 
— no  interest  was  shown.55  The  Germans,  he  pointed  out,  had 
Turkey  absolutely  in  hand,  and  could  have  put  an  end  to  the  mas- 
sacres at  once  had  they  so  desired:  "In  some  cases,  unbelievable 
as  it  may  seem,  German  officers  were  found  who,  when  the  Ottoman 
authorities  had  not  the  heart  to  fire  on  women  and  children  taking 
refuge  within  doors,  turned  their  guns  on  the  buildings  and  engaged 
in  'cynical  artillery  practice.555  On  Feb.  24  the  American  Commit- 
tee for  Armenian  Relief  received  at  New  York  a  despatch  from  Mr. 
Balfour,  British  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  who  stated  that: 

The  sufferings  of  the  Armenians  in  the  Ottoman  Empire  are  known,  but  it  is 
doubtful  if  their  true  horror  is  realized.  Of  the  1,800,000  Armenians  who  were  in 
the  Ottoman  Empire  two  years  ago,  1,200,000  have  been  either  massacred  or  de- 
ported. Those  who  were  massacred  died  under  abominable  tortures,  but  they 
escaped  the  longer  agonies  of  the  'deported.'  Men,  women  and  children  without 
food  or  other  provisions  for  the  journey,  without  protection  from  the  climate,  regard- 
less of  age  or  weakness  or  disease,  were  driven  from  their  homes  and  made  to  march 
as  long  as  their  strength  lasted  or  until  those  who  drove  them  drowned  or  massacred 
them  in  batches.  Some  died  of  exhaustion  or  fell  by  the  way;  some  survived  a  journey 
of  three  months  and  reached  the  deserts  and  swamps  along  the  middle  Euphrates. 
There  they  have  been  abandoned  and  are  dying  now  of  starvation,  disease  and 
exposure. 

Meantime,  German  War  methods  had  not  been  limited  to  con- 
quered countries  or  peoples.  At  home  there  was  autocratic  oppres- 
sion and  a  continuous  suppression  of  agitation,  of  free-speech,  of 
journalistic  criticism  or  individual  opinion.  The  cases  of  Mehring, 
Mme.  Luxemberg,  Mme.  Duncker,  Mme.  Spahn,  Dr.  Meyer, 
Herr  Regge,  Editor  Kluers,  Editors  Oerter  Weinberg  and  Albrecht, 
were  all  discussed  by  Socialists  in  the  Reichstag  as  being  flagrant 
instances  of  improper  and  cruel  imprisonment  in  different  parts 
of  Germany — manipulated,  as  Herr  Dittmann  alleged,  by  an  army 


GERMAN  WAR  METHODS  IN  BELGIUM  AND  ELSEWHERE      59 

of  police  spies  and  functionaries.  Prisoners  of  War  in  some  of  the 
German  camps  were  brutally  treated,  practically  murdered  on 
certain  occasions ;  in  other  camps  they  were  treated  with  a  fair  degree 
of  decency.  Wherever  possible  they  were  put  at  work  and  it  was 
stated  that  over  1,000,000  were  engaged  in  agricultural  work — 
General  Groner  being  quoted  in  February,  1917,  as  estimating 
the  number  at  750,000. 

As  to  the  individual  treatment  of  prisoners — with  exceptions 
as  already  stated — there  was  every  possible  proof  of  brutality. 
J.  W.  Gerard,  on  his  return  from  Berlin,  told  a  New  York  audience 
(Canadian  Club,  April  9)  that  German  authorities  imprisoned 
townsfolk  for  giving  food  and  drink  to  starving  Canadian  prisoners 
of  war;  that  German  sheep-hounds  were  trained  to  bite  British 
soldiers;  that  small  German  boys  were  allowed  to  shoot  arrows 
tipped  with  nails  into  the  bodies  of  prisoners ;  and  that,  when  typhus 
broke  out  in  a  camp  of  Russian  prisoners,  Frenchmen  and  English- 
men were  sent  to  live  with  them.  He  declared  that  war  prisoners 
were  housed  in  horse-stalls,  six  men  to  a  stall,  at  the  Ruhleben  race- 
track, Berlin;  they  were  underfed  and  the  conditions  were  such 
that  many  of  them  became  insane.  The  French  authorities 
reported  officially  all  sorts  of  cruel  punishments  and  tortures  in- 
flicted upon  unfortunate  poilus;  the  British  White-Paper  (Cd.  8480) 
dealt  in  detail  with  the  brutal  use  of  dogs  in  various  camps. 

Another  characteristic  of  German  militarism  was  revealed 
in  the  extraordinary,  almost  unbelievable,  statements  that  the 
German  Offal  Conversion  Co.  (D.  A.  V.  G.  were  the  German  first 
letters)  was  in  active  operation  with  a  capital  of  $1,250,000,  and 
its  chief  factory  at  St.  Vith  near  the  Belgian  frontier,  for  the  purpose 
of  converting  corpses  from  the  front  into  oils,  fertilizers  and  food- 
fodder.  Proofs  of  this  revolting  practice  included  an  advertisement 
in  the  Chemische  Zeitung  for  an  Engineer  to  direct  such  a  factory, 
details  published  in  the  Independence  Beige  as  extracted  from  La 
Belgique  of  Leyden,  a  photographic  facsimile  of  descriptive  words 
in  an  article  by  Herr  Karl  Rosner  which  appeared  in  the  Berlin 
Lokal-Anzeiger  of  Apr.  10,  stories  told  by  returned  prisoners,  the 
photographed  copy  of  an  army  Order  issued  to  the  6th  German 
Army  and  dated  Dec.  21, 1916,  which  said:  "It  has  become  necessary 
once  more  to  lay  stress  on  the  fact  that  when  corpses  are  sent  to 
the  corpse  utilization  establishments  returns  as  to  the  unit,  date 
of  death,  illness  and  information  as  to  (contagious)  diseases,  if  any, 
are  to  be  furnished  at  the  same  time." 

Still  another  curious  development  was  the  use  of  Commemoration 
Medals.  Though  not  actually  issued  by  the  Government  they 
were  permitted,  controlled  in  the  same  way  as  the  press,  and  at 
times  were  encouraged.  Those  which  had  found  their  way  to 
neutral  countries  numbered  in  1917  nearly  600  varieties.*  The  most 
notable  marked  and  celebrated  Zeppelin  raids  on  London,  the  an- 
nounced victories  of  the  Crown  Prince  at  Verdun,  the  bombard- 
ment of  defenceless  Scarborough  by  German  ships,  various  Sub- 

*NOTE. — Pamphlet  by  G.  P.  Hill,  M.A.,  Keeper  of  Coins  and  Medals  in  British 
Museum. 


60  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

marine  snccesses  with  "Gott  Strafe  England"  as  a  motto  and  por- 
traits of  Admiral  Von  Tirpitz  as  a  new  conqueror  of  Neptune,  the 
sinking  of  the  Lusitania. 

One  point  that  time  and  history  will  not  forget  in  this  War 
was  the  German  destruction  of  Art  treasures.  No  reparation  was 
possible  nor  any  explanation  sufficient  for  the  destruction  of  the  Lou- 
vain  galleries  where  Charles  V,  one  of  Europe's  greatest  rulers, 
pored  over  treasures  of  old  learning;  for  the  burning  of  250,000 
ancient  and  priceless  manuscripts  in  the  Lou  vain  Library;  for  the 
destruction  of  16th  century  editions  of  Virgil  and  Terence  and 
Sallust  and  many  others  and  the  loss  of  rare  copies  of  Aristotle 
and  other  Greeks  of  eternal  memory;  for  the  priceless  Bibles  and 
libraries  of  ecclesiastical  history,  illuminated  and  bordered  by  long 
and  patient  Monkish  labours.  Nothing  in  money  or  power  or 
greatness  could  ever  restore  Rheims  Cathedral  or  St.  Quentin, 
the  Chateaux  of  Coucy  and  Caulaincourt  or  other  Trench  and 
Belgian  monuments  of  religion  and  art  and  century-long  creation; 
nothing  could  repair  the  damage  done  in  Padua  to  the  Carmini 
Church  or  to  the  facade  of  its  famous  Cathedral,  the  levelling  of 
the  evacuated  part  of  France — the  Tuscany,  the  classic  region 
of  that  beautiful  country.  As  with  Greek  paintings  and  temples, 
the  works  of  Menander  and  Sappho,  the  fruits  of  Greek  sculpture 
destroyed  by  the  barbarians  of  old,  so  for  ages  will  Europe  mourn 
over  the  losses  and  regard  with  disgust  the  memory  of  the  invader 
who  caused  similar  destruction  in  a  supposed  new  era  of  civilization. 

War  Condi-  When  the  Archduke  Karl  ascended  the  Austrian 

tria-SHunla?y-throne  on  Nov'  21>  *916'.  he  had  confirmed  Dr-  Von 
Bulgaria  and*  Koerber  in  the  Premiership  and  announced  by  procla- 
t he  Turkish  mation  that:  "You  know  me  to  be  in  harmony  with 
Empire.  my  peoples  in  my  inflexible  decision  to  continue  the 

struggle  until  a  peace  assuring  the  existence  and  development  of 
the  Monarchy  is  obtained."  At  the  same  time  he  would  hasten, 
with  all  his  power,  the  evolution  of  peace.  This  was  the  keynote 
of  Austro-Hungarian  policy  in  1917;  its  Government  fought  dog- 
gedly on  but  with  an  ever-growing  desire  for  the  end.  The  Foreign 
Minister,  in  his  Note  to  the  United  States  on  Mar.  6,  stood  frankly 
behind  Germany,  endorsed  fully  what  was  described  as  long-suffer- 
ing struggles  for  "the  freedom  of  the  Seas,"  and  declared  the  official 
Submarine  warnings  given  to  neutrals  and  the  enemy  by  that  Power 
as  quite  sufficient. 

In  opening  the  Austrian  Reichstath  on  May  31  the  Emperor 
delivered  a  long  address  in  which  he  foreshadowed  a  grant  of  freer 
institutions:  "I  am  convinced  that  the  happy  development  of 
constitutional  life  after  the  unfruitfulness  of  past  years  is  not  pos- 
sible without  expanding  the  Constitution  and  the  administrative 
foundations  of  the  whole  of  our  public  life,  both  in  the  State  and  in 
the  separate  Kingdoms  and  countries,  especially  Bohemia."  He 
also  dealt  with  peace  and  war  in  these  German-like  words:  "While 
our  group  of  Powers,  with  irresistible  force,  is  fighting  for  honour 
and  existence,  it  is  and  remains,  towards  every  one  who  honestly 


CONDITIONS  IN  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,  BULGARIA  AND  TURKEY  61 

abandons  the  intention  to  threaten  us,  readily  prepared  to  cease 
hostilities,  and  whoever  wants  to  open  again  better  and  more  human 
relations  will  certainly  find  from  this  side  a  ready  and  conciliatory 
spirit.  In  the  meantime,  however,  our  fighting  spirit  will  not  relax 
and  our  sword  will  not  become  blunt. " 

Such  was  the  official  situation  early  in  1917.  What  the  internal 
conditions  of  the  Empire  were  is  not  so  easy  to  state.  The  12,000,- 
000  Germans  and  10,000,000  Hungarians  who  controlled  the  other 
part  of  the  mixed  populations  making  up  the  Dual  Monarchy  did 
not,  during  this  war,  have  an  easy  task.  They  had  conscripted 
men  right  and  left  for  war  purposes  and  compelled  Poles  and  Bohe- 
mians, Croats  and  Serbs,  Roumanians  and  Italians,  all  alike,  to 
fight  for  their  conglomerate  Empire.  Out  of  this  condition  had 
arisen  much  of  suffering,  oppression  and  suppression,  but  the  details 
were  unknown  to  the  outside  world.  The  Roumanians  of  Buko- 
wina,  the  Jugo-Slavs  of  Dalmatia,  the  Serbs  of  Bosnia  and  Herzego- 
vina, the  Italians  of  Tyrol  and  Carniola,  the  Slavs  of  Croatia  and 
Slavonia,  were  in  a  state  of  chronic  disaffection.  Bohemia,  although 
recognized  in  the  new  Emperor's  title  as  a  Kingdom  similar  to 
Hungary,  was  in  a  state  of  historic  and  continuous  antipathy  to 
the  Austrians,  with  a  population  of  which  about  4,000,000  were 
Czechs  and  2,500,000  German-speaking  and  thinking.  Yet  in  one 
way  or  another  these  peoples  were  held  together,  or  held  in  subjec- 
tion, and  presented  a  fairly  united  front  for  the  War. 

Of  course  the  lines  were  not  drawn  completely  or  always  clearly, 
in  a  racial  connection;  German  propaganda,  which  was  so  clever 
in  other  parts  of  the  world,  did  not  lose  its  grip  in  this  stamping- 
ground  of  power.  The  Austrian  system  of  government  was  not 
undemocratic  in  theory;  there  was  in  fact  universal  suffrage  in 
elections  for  the  Reichstath.  In  practice,  however,  the  constitu- 
encies were  so  arranged  as  to  return  a  German  majority — the  aver- 
age of  German  seats  having  40,000  population  and  Slav  seats  60,000. 
In  Hungary  conditions  were  autocratic  with  Count  Tisza  as  the 
long-time  Premier  and  pro-German  ruler.  Only  Magyars  and  an 
Austrian  minority  were  entitled  to  vote.  Until  May,  1917,  the 
Austrian  Reichstath  had  not  been  convoked  because  of  War  condi- 
tions; with  its  meeting  came  the  tremendous  changes  of  Russian 
policy  which  could  not  but  help  in  bringing  the  races  of  the  Austrian 
Empire  together.  For  the  time,  at  least,  Russia  abandoned  its 
racial  headship  of  the  Slav,  gave  up  its  historic  claims  to  Constanti- 
nople and  retired  from  all  leadership  in  the  Balkans  while  making 
public  its  own  betrayals  of  Roumania  and  Greece.  This  left  the 
Slavs  of  Austria-Hungary  free  to  drift  away  from  old  moorings  and 
take  up  fresh  racial  associations.  Hence  the  great  possibilities  be- 
fore the  new  Emperor  and  a  lessening  of  the  internal  strain  and 
friction  in  this  particular. 

Meanwhile,  however,  war  conditions  had  increased  the  hard- 
ships of  the  people,  Russian  successes  in  portions  of  the  year  and  the 
Russian  example  of  revolution  and  disintegration  had  increased  a 
discontent  already  based  upon  hunger  and  privation.  Flour-bread 
and  fats  were  all  increasingly  scarce,  boots  were  worn  with  wooden 


62  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

soles;  official  reports  stated  35%  of  the  foods  in  use  to  be  adulterated; 
in  Bohemia,  as  the  year  progressed,  there  was  a  distinct  failure  in 
crops  and  many  died  of  starvation;  in  the  Austrian  Upper  House 
on  Oct.  27  Dr.  Gilbert  Helmer,  Lord  Abbot  of  Teul  and  an  influential 
churchman,  declared  that  "terrible  want  reigns  in  the  districts  of 
Gablonz,  Rumburg  and  Warnsdorf  and  in  the  Erzgebirge";  food 
and  political  riots  occurred  in  many  places  though  all  information 
as  to  details  was  checked  by  the  censorship;  a  coal  crisis  late  in 
the  year  became  serious  and  the  Government  took  over  Control  of 
the  trade;  in  December  fbod  relief  was  promised  via  Russia  and  it 
was  announced  that  the  Governments  of  Berlin,  Vienna  and  Buda- 
Pesth  were  all  creating  transport  facilities  with  this  hope  in  view. 

At  this  time  the  food  issue  depended  upon  the  Ukraine — the 
granary  of  Russia — which  had  a  new  Government  not  very  secure 
in  its  tenure  as  yet,  in  clear  hostility  to  the  Bolsheviki  and  in  close 
touch  with  Roumania;  in  Austria  and  in  Germany,  also,  much 
depended  upon  the  willingness  of  Hungary  to  part  with  its  grain 
supplies — and  it  was  not  very  willing.  The  outlook,  therefore,  was 
not  hopeful  though  the  average  Austrian  subject  knew  little  but 
what  he  was  officially  told.  As  a  matter  of  fact  most  of  the  war- 
news  was  kept  from  him;  as  far  as  was  humanly  possible  all  military 
defeats  or  retirements  were  eliminated  from  his  purview;  the  War, 
but  for  personal  losses  and  food  privations,  would  have  been  a  far- 
away thing  indeed.  As  to  food  F.  C.  Penfield,  United  States  Am- 
bassador, on  his  return  to  New  York  in  May,  put  the  situation  as 
it  then  was  with  conservative  care:  "While  it  is  no  secret  that  the 
distress  in  the  Dual  Monarchy  is  very  great,  it  must  not  be  assumed 
that  the  people  are  at  the  end  of  their  resources."  Everywhere 
money  was  being  made  out  of  war  contracts — even  where  people 
were  crying  for  food;  there  was  much  hoarding  of  supplies  by  the 
wealthy  and  Carl  W.  Ackerman,  the  U.S.  War  correspondent, 
quoted  early  in  the  year  an  estimate  of  400  new  millionaires  in  the 
City  of  Vienna. 

Meanwhile,  political  events  were  not  on  the  surface  unfavour- 
able to  Austria  in  the  War.  Reference  has  been  made  to  the  im- 
mense changes  caused  by  the  Russian  situation;  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year  the  important  Ausgleich,  or  agreement,  regulating  the 
arrangements  between  Hungary  and  Austria,  had  been  renewed  for 
20  years;  Count  Tisza,  who  though  pro-German  in  his  original 
sympathies  was  strongly  Hungarian  and  Nationalist  in  local  policy, 
was  forced  out  of  the  Premiership  in  May  and  was  replaced  by 
Count  Moritz-Esterhazy  and  then  by  Dr.  Alex.  Wekerle.  The 
Roumanian  campaign  was  chiefly  carried  out  by  German  officers 
and  soldiers — aided  in  the  background  by  the  Austrians  who  had 
just  been  beaten  in  the  Russian  offensive — and  was  directed  by  the 
German  General  Staff.  In  August  much  importance  was  attached 
to  the  Conference  of  representatives  of  Germany,  Austria-Hungary, 
Bulgaria,  and  Turkey,  which  took  place  at  Vienna  for  the  discus- 
sion of  an  economic  agreement.  Germany's  real  policy  was  to 
create  a  solid  economic  union  with  Austria-Hungary,  Bulgaria  and 
Turkey,  which  would  mean  absolute  German  control  over  the 


CONDITIONS  IN  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,  BULGARIA  AND  TURKEY  63 

natural  resources  of  those  far-stretching  regions,  and  would  support 
Germany  in  its  future  State-aided  drive  upon  world  markets  after 
the  War. 

At  this  time  the  Emperor  Karl  was,  despite  occasional  cryptic 
or  Germanized  utterances,  believed  to  be  in  favour  of  reasonable 
peace  and  Count  Czernin  von  Chudenitz,  who  early  in  the  year 
became  Imperial  Foreign  Secretary,  was  credited  with  similar  senti- 
ments. In  an  interview  made  public  on  July  30  the  latter  said: 
"I  am  absolutely  convinced  the  Entente  will  never  succeed  in  crush- 
ing us,  and,  since  in  our  position  of  defence,  we  have  no  intention  of 
crushing  the  enemy,  the  War  will  end  sooner  or  later  in  a  peace  by 
understanding.  But,  to  my  way  of  thinking,  the  natural  conclusion 
is  that  the  further  sacrifices  and  suffering  imposed  on  all  humanity 
are  useless,  and  that  it  is  necessary  in  the  interests  of  humanity  to 
reach  a  peace  by  understanding  as  soon  as  possible."  The  peace 
should  be  honourable  and  in  conjunction  with  Austria's 'Allies.  He 
added  that  "the  democratization  of  constitutions  is  the  great  demand 
of  the  times.  Both  in  Austria  and  in  Hungary,  the  Governments 
are  putting  their  hands  to  this  great  work."  Then  came  the  Bo- 
hemian demand  for  absolute  Czech  independence  and  the  dissen- 
sions and  bitterness  shown  at  the  Reichstath  meeting  which,  as 
news,  gradually  sifted  through  to  the  outside  world. 

In  an  address  reported  at  Amsterdam  on  Oct.  4  Count  Czernin 
expressed  himself  in  favour  of  (1)  eventual  and  complete  disarma- 
ment of  the  nations,  (2)  international  guarantee  of  the  freedom  of 
the  seas,  (3)  renouncement  of  Austro-Hungarian  plans  for  enlarge- 
ment, (4)  positive  certainty  of  the  elimination  of  future  economic  war, 
(5)  no  indemnities.  Dr.  Wekerle,  the  Hungarian  Premier,  had  de- 
clared in  the  Chamber  at  Buda-Pesth  on  Sept.  12  that  "our  defen- 
sive war  aims  at  no  conquests  whatever,  that  we  oppose  an  economic 
war  between  the  nations,  and  that  we  are  striving  for  a  suitable 
and  lasting  peace,  which  is  not  detrimental  to  our  interests,  and  that 
to  avoid  a  recurrence  of  the  War  we  even  consider  it  desirable  that 
brute  force  of  arms  in  international  relationships  should  be  replaced 
by  the  moral  empire  of  right. "  Dr.  Von  Seydler,  who  in  June  suc- 
ceeded Count  Clam-Martinic  as  Premier  of  Austria,  stated  at 
Vienna  (Dec.  1)  that  "the  Austro-Hungarian  Government,  in  view 
of  its  repeatedly  proclaimed  position,  has  decided  to  conduct  nego- 
tiations in  a  spirit  of  conciliation,  as  its  aim  is  a  speedy  peace  that 
will  make  possible  trustful  co-operation  of  the  nations  in  the  future. " 
The  close  of  the  year  saw  Peace  demonstrations  in  many  quarters, 
the  partially  successful  Austro-German  attack  upon  Italy  and  the 
pour-parlers  with  the  Russian  Bolsheviki. 

The  part  taken  by  the  Turkish  Allies  of  Germany  and  Austria 
in  the  War  was  not  very  great  in  1917.  Late  in  1916  the  Turkish 
Empire  had  repudiated  the  guardianship,  guarantees,  and  treaties 
under  which  there  had  long  been  a  sort  of  collective  Suzerainty 
held  by  the  Great  Powers  over  its  affairs  and  formally  declared  that 
it  entered  the  group  of  European  Powers  "with  all  the  rights  and 
prerogatives  of  an  entirely  independent  Government."  The  suc- 
ceeding Russian  debdcle  saved  the  situation  for  the  Porte  in  Asiatic 


64  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Turkey  after  the  Russians  had  captured  Erzeroum,  Trebizond  and 
Erzingan,  and  cleft  the  way  almost  clear  for  the  long  march  through 
Anatolia  to  Scutari.  On  the  other  hand  the  revolt  of  the  Arabs 
swept  through  Arabia  and  deprived  the  Sultan  of  the  holy  places 
of  Mecca  and  Medina,  stultified  his  German-backed  declaration  of 
a  Holy  War  and  largely  relieved  the  Mohammedan  world  in  Africa, 
India  and  Central  Asia  from  its  vague  religious  allegiance  to  the 
Caliph  at  Stamboul.  The  British  expedition  through  Mesopotamia, 
in  its  second  stages,  re-captured  Kut-el-Amara  and  in  advancing 
through  Bagdad  delivered  a  blow  to  Turkish  prestige  which  the  later 
success  of  the  Palestine  expedition  and  capture  of  historic  Jerusalem 
greatly  enhanced. 

More  and  more  during  the  year  Turkey  had  become  a  vassal  of 
Germany.  All  the  high  military  commands  were  filled  by  Germans 
while  German  officials  were  everywhere  and  largely  in  control  of 
the  administration  of  affairs;  Turkish  troops  were  under  German 
rules  of  discipline  and  were  sent  freely  to  reinforce  the  Austrians  in 
Dwina,  in  Galicia,  in  Roumania;  a  National  Munitions  factory  was 
in  operation  under  German  foremen  though  most  of  the  munitions 
required  came  from  Krupp's.  Finance  was  disorganized,  food  scarce 
and  poor,  many  in  Constantinople  were  starving,  typhus,  cholera 
and  plague  were  always  present.  It  was  stated  that  the  total 
advances  from  Germany  to  Turkey  in  August,  1917,  were  about 
$700,000,000.  The  large  Turkish  armies  in  Asia  Minor,  though 
aided  by  German  officers,  were  not  seriously  supported  by  German 
or  Austrian  troops.  In  the  Autumn  the  Kaiser  visited  Constanti- 
nople, Count  Von  Bernstorff,  of  American  fame,  assumed  the  post 
of  German  Ambassador,  it  was  announced  that  $250,000,000  of 
German  Exchequer  bonds  would  be  deposited  at  the  capital  to  form 
the  basis  of  an  issue  of  Turkish  paper  money  of  equal  amount,  and 
Marshal  Von  Falkenhayn  was  appointed  to  command  the  Turkish 
armies. 

The  policy  of  Bulgaria  made  it  the  one  Balkan  State  which  at 
the  close  of  1917  had  benefited  by  the  War.  The  unscrupulous 
astuteness  of  Czar  Ferdinand,  his  inherited  Austrian  associations 
and  practical  alliance  with  that  country  under  peace  conditions,  his 
disguised  neutrality  which  lasted  until  Austria  was  ready  to  strike 
with  him  at  Serbia,  his  treacherous  assertions  of  friendship  at  a 
critical  moment  for  the  Entente  Allies,  enabled  him  to  reap  fruits 
from  this  seething  cauldron  of  Balkan  strife.  Had  Serbia  been 
allowed  by  the  Allies  to  strike  at  Bulgaria  first  instead  of  being 
stricken  from  behind,  with  the  Austrians  in  front,  she  might  have 
been  saved.  As  it  was  Serbia  was  crushed  and  the  German  dream 
of  Mittel-europa  was  for  the  moment  a  fact.  Bulgaria  played  a 
very  similar  trick  upon  Roumania  and  with  the  aid  of  treacherous 
ministers  in  Russia  came  out  of  the  struggle  with  additional  terri- 
tory. Later,  Ferdinand  succeeded  in  keeping  the  United  States  from 
declaring  war  against  him  and  the  New  York  Tribune  of  Dec.  11, 
1917,  made  this  comment:  "As  Ferdinand  deceived  Sir  Edward 
Grey  and  Delcasse  he  is  now  deceiving  the  United  States.  He  is 
nothing  more  than  the  creature  of  Austria  and  Germany.  More- 


THE  SWEEP  OF  REVOLUTION  IN  RUSSIA  65 

over,  the  collapse  of  Russia  has  destroyed  the  last  hope  of  that  con- 
siderable Bulgarian  faction  which  is  hostile  to  Ferdinand,  sympa- 
thetic with  the  United  States  and  eager  to  free  Bulgaria  from  an 
alien  domination  and  a  foreign  prince." 

Bulgaria,  as  the  Prussia  of  the  Balkans,  appears  to  have  been 
the  dream  of  this  ambitious  ruler.  Serbia  and  Roumania  had  been 
crushed  by  this  time;  Greece  was  still  safe  under  the  guns  of  Allied 
troops.  Something  of  this  result  was,  no  doubt,  due  to  mistakes  of 
Allied  diplomacy;  something  also  was  due  to  the  fact  that  Ferdinand's 
people  were  in  the  main  vigorous,  healthy  farmers — ruthless  as  were 
all  Balkan  peoples  under  the  precepts,  practices  and  burdens  of 
Turkish  rule  or  custom — and  determined  in  this  upheaval  of  the 
nations  to  survive  as  the  fittest  of  Balkan  races.  M.  Radislavoff, 
Premier  of  Bulgaria,  was  in  Berlin  on  June  10,  spent  many  hours 
in  conference  with  the  Kaiser  and  Marshal  Von  Hindenburg,  and 
in  an  ensuing  interview  stated  Bulgarian  policy  as  follows: 

We  are  only  claiming  territory  in  which  Bulgarian  is  spoken.  The  Dobrudja 
belongs  to  this  area,  as  it  was  forcibly  taken  from  us  by  the  Treaty  of  Bucharest. 
We  are  insisting  that  such  territories  as  are  populated  by  Bulgarian-speaking  people 
become  again  part  of  our  country.  If  the  principle  of  the  right  of  nationalities  to 
determine  their  allegiance  is  recognized  the  Bulgarian-speaking  sections  of  Mace- 
donia and  Dobrudja  will  be  allotted  to  Bulgaria. 

The  leaders  of  the  momentous  changes  of  1917  in 
Russia:  The  Russia  swept  away  the  national  institutions  of  cen- 
RTvohit/  n  Buries  and  substituted  vague,  crude  and  anarchistic 
Anarchy  and  conditions  of  so-called  government;  affected  the  War 
Socialism.  situation  of  the  world  and  aided  those  who  were  striving 
to  suppress  freedom  and  destroy  the  independence  of 
nations;  proposed,  as  did  the  French  revolutionaries  of  a  previous 
century,  to  compel  other  peoples,  by  agitation  or  force,  to  adopt 
similar  lines  of  thought  and  policy;  attempted  the  abolition  of 
classes  in  Russia,  demolished  national  systems  of  finance  and 
credit,  confiscated  money  and  property  and  promised  the  ignorant, 
credulous,  idealistic  peasantry  every  condition  that  fools  could  hope 
for,  saints  pray  for  or  thieves  fight  for.  They,  in  short,  smashed 
up  the  Russia  of  other  days,  which,  in  a  geographical  and  racial 
sense,  had  become  a  great  Power  through  the  efforts  of  some  leaders 
who  were  great  in  policy  and  achievement  and  been  held  in  unity  by 
others  of  similar  type — even  though  this  work  was  marred  by  the 
cruelties  and  crudities  of  a  nation  half  Eastern  and  half  Western  in 
its  nature  and  its  weaknesses  and  by  the  latter-day  actions  of  deca- 
dent or  utterly  unfit  men  in  the  seats  of  power. 

Western  democracies  in  this  great  War  did  not,  and  could  not, 
understand  Russia — either  before  or  after  the  Revolution.  They 
judged  its  statesmen  by  their  own  codes,  its  people  by  their  own 
principles  of  patriotism.  Yet  neither  the  popular  leaders  nor  the 
people  were  fitted  for  self-government  in  a  Western  sense.  Like 
every  administrative  system  which  has  ever  existed  and  under  which 
great  nations  have  risen  and  ruled,  fought  and  struggled  and  died, 
that  of  Russia  had  been  more  or  less  adapted  to  certain  conditions 
in  the  body  politic,  in  the  equipment  of  the  national  mind;  and 

5 


66  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

when  those  conditions  changed  under  the  tremendous  shocks  of  a 
world-war  the  system  collapsed.  It  was  called  a  triumph  for  demo- 
cracy; it  was  really  a  revolt  against  physical  conditions  of  suffering, 
against  treason  seen  in  a  shaded  light,  against  the  blind  leadership 
of  the  blind,  coupled  with  a  strong  desire  to  acquire  something  which 
was  owned  or  held  by  other  people. 

The  Russians  as  a  whole  knew  nothing  about  the  theory  or 
principles  of  democracy.  Some  wanted  the  land  which  they  did 
not  know  how  to  cultivate — except  as  an  ox  or  horse  drags  the  plow : 
others  wanted  riches  which  they  did  not  know  how  to  use  and  in 
taking  them  destroyed  exquisite  churches  or  art  collections  or  his- 
toric buildings — far  more  than  was  known  at  the  end  of  1917;  others 
like  Kerensky  or  Lenine  or  Trotzky  wanted  to  govern  without,  at 
least  in  the  two  latter  cases,  knowing  anything  or  caring  anything 
about  the  principles  or  practice  of  government.  To  call  anarchy 
and  socialism,  red  guards  and  personal  autocracy,  Bolsheviki,  pil- 
lage and  wild  license,  by  the  name  of  democracy  was  as  foolish  in 
1917  as  it  was  in  1795  to  call  the  product  of  Robespierre  and  Danton 
by  the  same  great  name.  Yet  it  was  widely  done;  in  Canada 
whole-heartedly  and  ignorantly — as  in  the  States;  in  Britain  guard- 
edly and  with  knowledge  in  some  quarters,  freely  and  necessarily 
so  in  official  circles. 

Russia,  under  the  Czars,  was  a  land  of  paradoxes.  Its  govern- 
ment was  an  absolute  autocracy  yet  the  peasant  class  had  held  the 
Mir,  or  village  commune  system,  intact  since  the  earliest  days  and 
in  this  cradle  had  rocked  some  of  the  springs  of  liberty  and  evolved 
a  certain  political  practice  and  a  local  power  as  great  as  that  of 
municipalities  in  Western  lands;  its  masses  were  exceedingly  illit- 
erate and  ignorant,  yet  facile  in  the  crude  discussion  of  economic 
and  personal  questions  such  as  division  or  seizure  of  the  land;  its 
Government  controlled  the  Universities  and  educational  system,  the 
press,  the  army  and  the  pulpit,  and  sent  anarchists  to  Siberia  at 
pleasure,  yet  the  local  Mirs  had  grown  into  Provincial  Zemstvos — 
with  much  political  power  and  during  the  War,  under  direction  of 
aristocrats,  with  an  immense  volume  of  good  work  to  their  credit — 
and  into  a  Douma  or  Parliament  which  represented  all  classes, 
though  with  a  majority  still  favourable  to  the  landowners  and  the 
nobility. 

The  Greek  Church  of  Russia  was  officially  represented  in  the 
Government  with  the  Czar  as  its  head  and  the  Holy  Synod  as  its 
governing  body,  yet  its  50,000  clergy  were  frequently  illiterate  and 
of  a  peasant  type  and  character,  while  it  had  a  multitude  of  monks, 
arch-priests,  etc.,  in  various  Orders  who  were  largely  in  the  same 
category;  the  Church  was  a  form  of  Christianity  yet  all  around, 
and  often  in  it,  were  phases  of  mysticism  and  semi-barbarous 
oriental  thought  which  produced  some  of  the  strangest  sects  known 
to  humanity  and  enabled  them  to  flourish  in  many  parts  of  the 
country.  Moral  laxity  accompanied  hysterical  excitement  and 
resulted  in  such  off-spring  as  Gregory  Rasputin;  out  of  many  weird 
and  sometimes  murderous  or  savage  cults  grew  such  developments  as 
Jew-baiting,  such  people  as  the  naked  Doukhobor  and  an  ever- 


THE  SWEEP  OF  REVOLUTION  IN  RUSSIA  67 

growing  mass  of  persons  who  were  as  anarchistic  in  religion  as  most 
of  the  Socialists  were  in  politics. 

The  entourage  of  the  Czar  was  very  mixed.  His  wife's  mother 
was  Princess  Alice  —  a  daughter  of  the  late  Queen  Victoria; 
her  father,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  was  not  only  a  German  but 
an  English-hating  German;  the  family  was  brought  up  in  this 
environment,  though  with  occasional  visits  to  England.  The 
Czarina  undoubtedly  was  under  the  masterful,  personal  influence 
of  the  Kaiser,  while  one  sister  became  Princess  Henry  of  Prussia; 
her  transference  to  St.  Petersburg  gave  her  an  atmosphere  of  plentiful 
German  sympathy  and  ever-growing  German  intrigue — in  which  men 
like  Stuermer,  Soukhomlinoff,  Protopopoff,  Belaieff,  Rasputin,  Poli- 
vanoff,  Manuilov,  Kurloff  and  Ptimirin,  the  Metropolitan  or  head 
of  the  Church,  shared.  She  was  strong-minded,  narrow  in  thought, 
autocratic  in  political  faith,  ready  to  accept  the  courtier-like  lies  of 
pro-Germans  around  her  as  to  a  loyalty  in  the  people  which  they 
were  doing  their  best  to  undermine.  The  Czarina  was  very  religious 
and  by  deception  as  to  her  son's  sickness  Rasputin  obtained  his  influ- 
ence— largely  exaggerated  and  important  chiefly  as  it  was  represented 
to  the  people  by  pro-Germans  or  anarchists  creating  discontent; 
and  as  it  was  utilized  by  similar  elements  seeking  information  to 
send  to  Germany.  Telegrams  published  after  the  Revolution  showed 
her  as  constantly  interfering  in  the  conduct  of  affairs  along  lines  of 
what  might  be  termed  personal  politics.  A  letter  of  warning  and 
advice  written  to  the  Czar  by  his  cousin,  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas 
— a  cousin  of  the  General  of  that  name — in  December,  1916,  con- 
tained a  clause  which  caused  his  banishment  but  will  live  in  history : 

Often  did  you  tell  me  you  could  put  faith  in  no  one,  and  that  you  were  being 
deceived.  If  this  is  so,  then  it  applies  particularly  to  your  wife,  who  loves  you  and 
yet  led  you  into  error,  being  surrounded  by  evil-minded  intimates.  You  believe  in 
Alexandra  Feodorovna.  This  is  natural.  But  the  words  she  utters  are  the  product 
of  skilful  machinations,  not  of  truth.  If  you  are  powerless  to  liberate  her  from  these 
influences,  then,  at  all  events,  be  on  your  guard  against  the  constant  and  systematic 
influence  of  intriguers,  who  are  using  your  wife  as  their  instrument. 

The  Czar's  mental  character  was  typically  Russian  without  the 
brutality  which  would  have  been  understood  by  his  people  and 
which  might  have  carried  him  over  a  crisis,  or  the  clarity  of  thought 
which  might  have  enabled  him  to  appeal  to  the  people  and  rule 
without  the  bureaucracy,  the  reactionary  German  and  the  noble 
who  naturally  wanted  to  hold  his  land.  But  he  was,  constitutionally, 
the  product  of  years  of  Nihilistic  threat  and  menaces  from  bomb 
and  bullet — nervous,  irritable,  excitable  and  controlled  by  those  he 
thought  his  friends.  Despite  all  this  he  loved  his  country  and  was 
devoted  to  the  most  arduous  labour  under  terrific  strain.  Years 
before  the  War  a  translation  of  some  poetry  written  by  him  indicates 
his  feelings  and  character: 

My  happiness  was  born  at  night,  My  soul  gropes,  sadly  searching, 

It  has  only  flourished  in  darkness;  In  mental  fog — it  pines, 

I  have  lost  my  joy  in  life,  And  prays  and  suffers, 

I  wander  wearily  in  gloom.  But  finds  no  peace  on  earth. 


68  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Such  were  the  characters  and  environment  of  the  Court.  In 
public  life  or  the  Douma  were  a  number  of  able  men  led  by  its 
President  M.  Rodzianko — men  like  Miliukoff,  Sazonoff,  Ignatieff— 
who  under  a  reformed  system  would  have  been  strong  supporters  of 
the  throne.  Meanwhile,  however,  the  country  was  being  wrecked 
by  internal  enemies,  despite  the  fact  that  the  Czar  had  done  much 
in  weeding  Germans  out  of  the  Court,  the  Departments,  the  Army, 
the  Civil  Service,  etc.  Still,  large  numbers  remained  and  there  were 
enough  of  them  to  betray  secrets,  misdirect  or  delay  army  supplies, 
promote  munition  strikes  and  blow  up  plants,  bedevil  transporta- 
tion, corrupt  officials  and  army  officers,  prevent  food  shipments  to 
the  Front,  hamper  re-inforcements,  promote  disaffection  and,  even 
up  to  the  last  weeks  of  February  and  March,  1917,  hinder  food 
supplies  for  the  masses  so  as  to  cause  troubles  in  Petrograd  and 
Moscow  which  might  help  negotiations  for  a  separate  Russian  peace 
or  else  throw  the  country  into  anarchy. 

Rasputin  was  one  of  the  worst  of  the  German  tools,  Soukhom- 
linoff,  when  Minister  of  War,  one  of  the  most  dangerous.  The 
Galician  conquest  of  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  was  turned  into  a 
retreat  by  lack  of  munitions;  attempts  were  made  to  murder  Korniloff 
and  Brusiloff  and  other  loyal  leaders;  Spahn,  brother  of  a  German 
statesman  at  Berlin,  was  retained  as  Director  of  the  Putiloff  works 
— the  largest  of  Russia's  munition  factories — where  mysterious  ex- 
plosions and  frequent  strikes  were  the  order  of  the  day;  German 
spies  were  sent  with  commissions  to  the  United  States.  Along  the 
border  and  in  all  the  Baltic  regions  the  millions  of  Germans  de- 
scended from  settlers  of  the  days  of  Catherine  II,  had  outstripped 
the  simple  Russians  in  business,  production  and  prosperity  and, 
under  later-day  developments,  had  spread  through  Russia  a  net- 
work of  spies  and  co-operative  propaganda,  poisoned  the  wells  of 
thought  and  paralyzed  the  springs  of  effective  action. 

Early  in  March  the  Revolution  developed  and  the  world  was 
amazed  by  the  suddenness,  force,  and  effectiveness  of  the  overthrow. 
There  had  for  weeks  been  unrest,  a  sudden  proposal  to  prorogue 
the  Douma,  critical  conditions  in  food  supply,  prohibitive  prices 
and  scarcity  in  the  cities,  continuous  rumours  as  to  German  plots  in 
Court  and  noble  circles,  popular  meetings  and  strikes.  On  Mar.  6 
there  came  a  great  deputation  to  the  Ministers  and  a  deliberately 
weak  and  insulting  reply  from  Protopopoff ,  the  pro-German  Minister 
of  Agriculture.  Then  the  Czar  was  advised  of  danger  and  started 
back  from  the  front  but  never  reached  Petrograd  in  a  sovereign 
capacity;  the  troops  for  a  few  days  of  indecision  were  loyal,  while 
marching  bands  of  Socialists  and  anarchists,  workmen  and  students, 
rebel  soldiers  and  city  clerks,  paraded  the  streets;  there  was  con- 
siderable bloodshed  with  infinite  talk  and  the  result  hung  in  the 
balance  for  a  time  without  a  man  in  the  Czar's  Government  strong 
enough  or  popular  enough  to  save  the  situation. 

These  conflicts  developed,  the  red  flag  flew  in  growing  confidence, 
buildings  were  captured  by  the  rebels;  soldiers  hesitated  and  many 
gave  way  to  the  elusive  propaganda  of  the  internationalists,  the 
Pacifists  and  the  pro-Germans;  on  Mar.  12  the  rank  and  file  of  the 


THE  SWEEP  OF  REVOLUTION  IN  RUSSIA  69 

troops  went  over  to  the  Revolution  and  on  the  following  day  the 
Government  buildings  were  captured  while  every  square  foot  of 
public  ground  was  jammed  with  people  who  talked  and  talked  and 
talked.  Meantime  the  Douma  had  re-assembled  and,  finally,  on 
Mar.  15  a  Government  was  formed  from  it  as  being  the  only 
organized  source  of  administration  left.  Prince  Georges  E.  Lvoff, 
President  of  the  Zemstvos  and  a  man  of  moderation  and  capacity, 
became  Premier — whose  Premier  did  not  appear!  Prof.  P.  N. 
Miliukoff,  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  Social  reformers  and  Liberal 
leaders,  a  believer  in  Parliamentary  monarchy,  became  Foreign 
Minister,  General  A.  J.  Guchkoff  was  appointed  Minister  of  War, 
M.  Tereschenko,  a  wealthy,  cultured  manufacturer,  land-owner  and 
Socialist  of  high  character,  Minister  of  Finance,  and  A.  V.  Kerensky, 
a  brilliant  journalist,  orator  and  leader  of  the  workmen,  Minister  of 
Justice.  The  new  Government  on  Mar.  18  issued  a  statement  of 
policy  which  was  general  in  terms  and  announced  the  grant  of  wide 
liberties  in  public,  military  and  social  life. 

Meanwhile  the  Czar  had  been  detained  at  Pskoff  on  his  way  to 
Petrograd  and  there  went  through  three  stages  of  abdication — (1)  a 
grant  of  full  responsible  government,  (2)  abdication  in  favour  of  his 
son  Alexis  and  (3)  in  favour  of  his  brother,  the  Grand  Duke  Michael, 
who,  however,  declined  the  responsibility  unless  chosen  by  popular 
vote.  The  text  of  the  final  document  on  Mar.  15  included  the 
statement  that:  "In  these  decisive  days  in  the  life  of  Russia  we 
believe  our  people  should  have  the  closest  union  and  organization 
of  all  their  forces  for  the  realization  of  speedy  victory.  For  this 
reason,  in  accord  with  the  Douma  of  the  Empire,  we  have  consid- 
ered it  desirable  to  abdicate  the  throne  of  Russia  and  lay  aside  our 
supreme  power."  The  Grand  Duke  Michael,  after  announcing  his 
decision,  said  on  Mar.  16:  "I  urge  all  citizens  of  Russia  to  submit 
to  the  Provisional  Government,  established  upon  the  initiative  of 
the  Douma  and  invested  with  full  plenary  powers" — until  such  an 
election  as  was  suggested  should  take  place.  The  Czar  and  his 
family  were  sent  to  the  palace  of  Tzarskoe-Selo  and  there  imprisoned; 
later  they  were  removed  to  Tobolsk,  Siberia,  and  in  October  to  the 
Abolak  Monastery;  their  property  and  that  of  the  several  Grand 
Dukes,  estimated  in  various  values  up  to  $958,000,000  and  includ- 
ing immense  areas  of  Crown  Lands,  was  taken  over  by  the  Provisional 
Government;  some  of  the  former  Ministers  were  put  in  gaol,  others 
had  been  killed  in  the  riots  of  early  March.  On  the  20th  the  Gov- 
ernment issued  a  Manifesto  in  which  the  arbitrary  actions  of  the 
Czar's  Ministers  were  reviewed  in  moderate  terms,  the  country 
described  as  on  the  verge  of  ruin,  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  Army 
eulogized  and  the  statement  made  that  "the  Government  will  do  its 
utmost  to  provide  the  army  with  everything  necessary  to  bring  the 
War  to  a  victorious  conclusion.  It  will  faithfully  observe  all  alliances 
uniting  us  to  other  Powers  and  all  agreements  made  in  the  past." 

To  superficial  observers,  to  the  Allied  Governments  who  were  de- 
termined and  bound  to  see  the  best  in  the  changes  thus  made,  to  a 
great  democratic  press  all  over  the  world,  the  situation  was  one  akin 
to  jubilation.  A  nation  of  vast  potential  effort,  with  180,000,000 


70  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

people  controlling  8,400,000  square  miles  of  territory,  with  tremen- 
dous resources  in  men  and  commerce  and  finance  and  agriculture,  had 
joined  the  free  peoples  of  the  world  and  would,  they  said,  surely 
stand  for  democracy  against  autocracy.  Much  of  the  British  press 
described  the  result  as  a  triumph  for  the  Entente  and  a  disaster  for 
the  Central  Powers;  the  United  States  papers  were  almost  unani- 
mous in  considering  the  event  a  victory  for  freedom  and  a  blow  to 
Germany;  Prof.  S.  N.  Harper  of  Chicago,  considered  the  leading 
American  authority  on  Russia,  declared  (Mar.  16)  that  the  "Revolu- 
tion spells  the  end  of  anxieties  and  means  a  more  active  prosecution 
of  the  War  to  victory";  the  Toronto  Globe  of  Mar.  16  voiced  Can- 
adian newspaper  opinion  in  general  when  it  said  that  "far  from 
prejudicing  the  cause  of  the  Allies,  the  coup  d'etat  will  prove  the 
salvation  of  Russia  as  a  military  power  engaged  in  war";  the  On- 
tario Legislature  passed  a  unanimous  Resolution  (Mar.  30)  of  con- 
gratulation to  the  Douma  "upon  the  establishment  of  free  institu- 
tions and  responsible  government  in  Russia."  The  University  of 
Manitoba,  a  number  of  Members  of  the  British  Parliament,  and 
others,  followed  suit,  while  Mr.  Lloyd  George  (Mar.  22)  cabled  the 
Russian  Premier  that:  "I  believe  the  Revolution,  whereby  the  Rus- 
sian people  have  based  their  destinies  on  a  sure  foundation  of  free- 
dom, is  the  greatest  service  which  they  have  yet  made  to  the  cause 
for  which  the  Allied  peoples  have  been  fighting  since  August,  1914. 
It  reveals  the  fundamental  truth  that  this  war  is,  at  the  bottom,  a 
struggle  for  popular  government,  and  for  liberty. " 

There  followed  a  period  of  desperate  struggle  between  Prince 
Lvoff,  supported  by  the  moderate  Liberal  element,  a  middle-class 
composed  of  merchants  and  small  landowners,  people  of  small  set- 
tled incomes  or  possessions,  reasonable  reformers  and  the  lesser 
nobility  on  the  one  side  against  the  Maximalists,  or  Bolsheviki  as 
they  came  to  be  called,  who  were  made  up  of  every  class  of  extrem- 
ists— Nihilists  and  anarchists  and  bomb-throwers  of  the  old  regime, 
the  Socialists  who  held  wild  theories  as  to  equal  redistribution  of 
money  and  property,  and  other  Socialists  who  held  the  view  that  it 
was  their  turn  now  and  that  everything  should  be  turned  over  to  the 
proletariat  and  themselves.  The  Provisional  Government  was 
recognized  as  the  centre  of  such  stability  as  still  existed  and  for 
this  reason  it  was  formally  and  promptly  recognized  by  the  United 
States,  Great  Britain,  France  and  Italy. 

The  new  Government  took  an  oath  (Mar.  28)  to  observe  and 
guard  "civil  liberty  and  civic  equality"  and  to  convoke  a  Constitu- 
ent Assembly;  M.  Tereschenko,  Minister  of  Finance,  promised 
(Mar.  29)  a  new  system  of  taxation  of  War  profits  sufficient  to  pay 
interest  on  outstanding  national  loans;  the  Premier  stated  on  Apr. 
10  that  "the  object  of  free  Russia  is  a  permanent  peace  and  the 
rights  of  all  nations  to  determine  their  own  destiny";  M.  Kerensky 
declared  on  Apr.  7  that  if  the  German  people  would  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  Russia  and  overthrow  their  monarch  "we  offer  the  possi- 
bility of  preliminary  negotiations. "  It  admitted  the  right  of  Poland 
and  Finland  to  complete  independence  and  promised  Armenia  an 
autonomous  Government  under  Russian  protection;  proclaimed  full 


THE  SWEEP  OF  REVOLUTION  IN  RUSSIA  71 

religious  liberty  and  the  emancipation  and  absolute  equality  of  the 
Jews  and  promised  women  the  right  to  vote;  released  100,000  exiles 
from  the  prisons,  mines  and  convict  settlements  of  Siberia — includ- 
ing Catherine  Breshkovskaya,  "the  grandmother  of  the  Revolu- 
tion," who  had  been  there  for  44  years. 

Alongside  this  Government,  in  sympathy  with  the  more  radical 
elements  of  its  policy  but  growling  at  times  like  the  Jacobins  of 
France  against  the  Girondists  in  their  brief  period  of  power,  was  the 
Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates — a  self  created  body, 
jealous  of  all  authority  except  its  own,  striving  to  increase  its  strength 
in  various  ways  and  always  at  the  expense  of  Government  stability, 
tending  toward  extremes  but  not  yet  enmeshed  in  the  net  of  anarchy, 
and  inclined  toward  peace.  It  at  first  represented  the  Labour 
Unions  and  the  peasants,  but  not  to  any  great  extent  the  anarchistic 
group  under  the  leadership  of  Nikolai  Lenine.  On  May  1st  the 
Government  increased  its  unpopularity  with  the  radical,  extremist, 
pro-German  element,  alike  in  the  Soviet  and  amongst  the  Petrograd 
masses,  by  a  Note  from  M.  Miliukoff  to  the  Allied  Governments, 
declaring  that  the  Provisional  Government  "in  safeguarding  the 
rights  acquired  for  our  country  will  maintain  a  strict  regard  for  its 
engagements  with  the  Allies  of  Russia. "  This  was  the  policy  of  the 
Government  and  the  Douma;  but  the  Council  of  Workmen  and 
Soldiers  resented  it  and  showed  a  growing  divergence  by  calling 
upon  all  peoples  to  hold  a  Peace  Conference  of  international  Socialists 
in  a  neutral  country. 

M.  Guchkoff  and  General  Korniloff,  Commander  at  Petrograd,  re- 
signed on  May  13  and  the  Council  at  the  same  time  appealed  to  the 
Army — which  was  being  demoralized  by  Soviet  and  anarchistic  and 
German  propaganda — to  continue  its  defence  of  Russia,and  to  German 
and  Austrian  Socialists  to  overthrow  their  Governments,  while  M. 
Kerensky  declared  that  as  matters  were  going  it  seemed  impossible 
to  save  the  country.  He  denounced  fraternizing  with  the  enemy  on 
the  Eastern  front:  "If  the  tragedy  and  desperateness  of  the  situa- 
tion are  not  realized  by  all  in  our  State  then  all  our  dreams  of  liberty, 
all  our  ideals,  will  be  thrown  back  for  decades  and  perhaps  will  be 
drowned  in  blood."  Samuel  Gompers,  head  of  American  Labour 
interests,  appealed  (May  7)  to  Russian  Labourites  and  Socialists  to 
stand  by  their  Allies  and  world-liberty;  the  Workmen's  Council 
(May  15)  after  first  refusing  Coalition  suggestions,  decided  to  accept 
them  and  declared  against  a  peace  separate  from  the  Allies;  the 
resignation  of  M.  Miliukoff  followed  and  the  Government  was  re- 
organized as  a  Coalition  with  M.  Kerensky  as  Minister  of  War  and 
a  dominating  figure  in  the  Government  and  country.  His  aim 
apparently  was  to  make  Socialism  the  controlling  influence  but  at 
the  same  time  to  moderate  and  adjust  Socialism  to  government  and 
to  foreign  co-operation,  to  avert  anarchy  and  continue  the  War. 

During  June  economic  collapse  was  threatened  by  the  exorbitant 
demands  of  Labour  for  an  increase  in  wages  greater,  often,  than  the 
entire  profits  of  factories,  with  Committees  of  workmen  in  control 
of  production;  advances  were  made  of  100  to  150  per  cent.,  without 
any  increase  in  price  of  the  output,  while  an  8-hour  day  was  every- 


72  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

where  established  but  not  observed  by  the  workers  who  practically 
worked  when  they  pleased.  Meantime  the  Government  on  May  27 
had  shown  either  that  it  had  no  conception  of  Army  and  Navy 
operation  or  else  was  being  driven  by  the  extremists.  It  issued  a 
decree  in  which  everyone  from  Generals  and  Admirals  to  drummer- 
boys  were  placed  upon  an  absolute  equality  of  rights  and  position. 
All  discipline  was  practically  abolished.  Soldiers  could  belong  to 
and  freely  share  in  the  advocacy  of  any  political  party;  no  soldier 
could  be  compelled  to  any  religious  observance,  nor  could  his  mail 
be  touched  or  his  right  of  receiving  any  kind  of  propagandist  litera- 
ture interfered  with;  the  uniform  could  be  discarded  except  when  on 
active  service  and  there  were  to  be  no  more  soldier  servants  or 
orderlies,  no  fixed  replies  to  superiors  or  compulsory  salutes  to 
officers — except  on  parade;  soldiers  outside  the  duty-hours  could 
leave  the  barracks  as  they  chose  and  no  punishment  could  be  in- 
flicted without  trial;  officers  could  only  issue  orders  in  connection 
with  actual  fighting  or  preparations  for  it;  while  all  regimental 
matters  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  elected  Committees. 

On  May  30  a  Congress  of  Soldiers'  Delegates  passed  a  Resolu- 
tion declaring  it  "indispensable  to  take  every  measure  to  put  an 
end  as  quickly  as  possible  to  the  international  carnage  and  conclude 
peace  without  annexation  or  indemnities."  Disorders  and  disor- 
ganization followed  apace  in  both  Army  and  Navy ;  General  Alexieff 
resigned  his  command  of  the  former  and  General  Brusiloff  succeeded 
him;  Elihu  Root,  the  United  States  Commissioner,  arrived  and  his 
addresses,  backed  by  the  continued  advice  of  the  British  Ambassador, 
Sir  George  Buchanan,  steadied  matters  locally  for  a  time;  the  Rus- 
sian commercial,  industrial  and  banking  interests  met  in  Congress 
at  Petrograd  and  urged  continuance  of  the  War,  while  a  Congress 
of  Peasants  on  June  8  asked  for  peace  without  annexation  or  indem- 
nities, but  urged  the  Army  to  submit  itself  to  discipline  and  defend 
the  Revolution;  the  elections  for  a  Constituent  Assembly  were 
arranged  under  universal  suffrage,  secret  voting,  and  an  age-limit 
of  20.  Prince  Lvoff  on  July  7  declared  the  situation  improving  and 
the  United  States  to  be  Russia's  ideal. 

Early  in  July,  General  Brusiloff  swept  forward  in  a  Galician 
offensive  which  was  made  possible  by  the  eloquence  and  personal 
force  of  Kerensky  and  which,  over  100  miles  of  front,  won  various 
victories  and  advanced  to  Kalusz,  the  key  to  Lemberg.  Here, 
however,  mutiny  and  lack  of  all  discipline  accomplished  what  the 
Austro-Germans  could  not  do  and,  step  by  step,  drove  the  Russians 
back  beyond  their  original  lines,  while  German  and  anarchistic 
propaganda  also  caused  defeat  in  the  Baltic  region,  in  the  Carpath- 
ians, at  Czernowitz  and,  eventually,  gave  to  the  Germans  Riga  and 
all  the  country  sweeping  along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Riga  and 
dominating  the  road  to  Petrograd.  Kerensky 's  war  patriotism  had 
been  rendered  futile  by  the  folly  of  his  army  administration  along 
lines  of  Socialism  and  permitted  propaganda.  Meantime  the 
extremists  and  anarchists  under  Lenine  had  done  their  best  to 
create  riots  and  disturbance  and  to  upset  the  Government.  Ger- 
man influence  and  money  and  spies  were  everywhere  ;  fraterniz- 


CAPT.  HENRY  STRACHAN,  v.c.,  M.C., 
Fort  Garry  Horse,  Winnipeg. 


PTE.  MICHAEL  JAS.  O'ROURKE,  v.c.,  M.C. 
Canadian  Infantry,  New  Westminster, B.C. 


5ERGT.-MAJOR    FRED.    WlLLIAM    HALL,    V.C., 

5th  Battalion,  Winnipeg.     Killed  in  action. 


CAPT.  ROBERT  SHANKLAND,  v.c.,  D.C.M., 
Canadian  Infantry,  Winnipeg. 


CANADIAN  WINNERS  OF  THE  V.C. 


THE  SWEEP  OF  REVOLUTION  IN  RUSSIA  73 

ing  at  the  Front  in  various  stages  of  fighting  was  still  going 
on  arid  the  murder  of  officers  constantly  taking  place;  while  German 
plots  in  the  Ukraine  and  amongst  the  Swedish  leaders  of  Finland 
precipitated  and  maintained  disorganization  there.  Despite  all 
these  and  many  other  difficulties  the  Lvoff  Government  held  office 
until  July  20  when  'A.  V.  Kerensky  became  Premier  and,  prac- 
tically, the  Dictator  of  Russia,  with,  at  first,  complete  endorsement 
from  the  Workmen's  Council  and  the  Peasants'  Council  and  their 
proclamation  of  his  Cabinet  as  the  Government  of  National  Safety. 
This  was  caused  by  the  retreats  and  defeats  of  the  Army  and  the 
obvious  need  of  restoring  organization  and  discipline.  To  the 
Soldiers  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  two  Councils  on  July  23 : 
"You  are  being  watched  by  those  who  work  for  Russia  and  by  the 
whole  world.  The  ruin  of  the  Russian  revolution  spells  ruin  for  all. 
Summon  up  all  your  manhood,  your  perseverance  and  sense  of  dis- 
cipline and  save  the  Fatherland. " 

Despite  this,  however,  despite  an  appeal,  also,  from  the  Kerensky 
Government,  the  partial  restoration  of  the  death  penalty  and  the 
prohibition  of  publications  inciting  to  insubordination,  the  demorali- 
zation grew  deeper ;  open  treachery  had  already  aided  the  enemy  and 
thrown  away  the  fruits  of  victory.  Lenine  and  his  associates  were 
censured  by  the  Workmen's  Executive  and  it  was  recommended 
that  "the  group  of  Maximalists  accused  of  having  organized  dis- 
orders or  incited  revolts  or  of  having  received  money  from  German 
sources  should  be  tried  publicly."  Ruszky,  Gourko  and  Brusiloff 
resigned  their  Army  commands  and  Korniloff  took  over  the  desper- 
ate task.  A  re-organization  of  the  Government  followed  with  ex- 
treme radicals  eliminated  and  some  bourgeoisie  representatives 
admitted;  M.  Kerensky  called  a  National  Council  which  met  at 
Moscow  on  Aug.  26  with  2,500  delegates  present  who  represented  all 
the  chief  Russian  interests;  it  heard  a  long  speech  from  the  Premier 
in  which  he  declared  that  "the  State  was  passing  through  a  period 
of  mortal  danger." 

The  fundamental  division  between  moderates  and  extremists 
showed  itself  in  the  Congress  but  still  more  outside  of  it,  and  the 
fall  of  Riga  on  Sept.  3  created  a  new  crisis  and  a  wave  of  unrest — 
followed  by  discoveries  of  alleged  monarchist  plots  and  the  Korniloff 
revolt  which  Kerensky  so  easily  suppressed.  The  Government  was 
re-organized  and  strengthened  and  on  Sept.  27  a  new  Democratic 
Congress,  with  1,200  Delegates,  met  at  Moscow.  Again  Kerensky 
dominated  the  situation  and  controlled  the  moderate  Socialists  or 
Mensheviki,  a  decreasing  portion  of  the  Bolsheviki  or  anarchistic 
group,  the  Constitutional  Democrats  or  Cadets  under  Miliukoff  and 
including  the  bourgeois  or  business,  professional  and  landed  classes. 
On  Sept.  14  M.  Kerensky,  as  President  of  the  Executive  Council, 
issued  a  Proclamation  declaring  Russia  a  Republic: 

Holding  it  necessary  to  put  an  end  to  the  external  indefiniteness  of  the  State's 
organization,  remembering  the  unanimous  and  rapturous  approval  of  the  republican 
idea  expressed  at  the  Moscow  State  Conference,  the  Provisional  Government  declares 
that  the  constitutional  organization,  according  to  which  the  Russian  State  is  ruled, 
is  a  republican  organization,  and  it  hereby  proclaims  the  Russian  Republic. 

Minister  of  Justice,  Yaroudni.  Minister   and    President,    Kerensky. 


74  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Meantime  the  Douma  had  disappeared,  the  proposed  Assembly 
had  not  been  called  and  the  Soviet,  or  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Council,  was  steadily  increasing  its  power,  drawing  into  itself  varied 
elements  of  the  proletariat,  establishing  branches  everywhere  and 
gradually  coining  under  control  of  Lenine  and  his  associates.  In 
the  Soviets,  in  the  Socialist  Party  and  its  many  cliques  and 
sections,  in  a  multitude  of  continuous  street  and  secret  meetings, 
in  the  Army  at  Petrograd  and  Moscow,  as  well  as  at  the  Front,  the 
extremists,  Pacifists  and  pro-Germans  were,  during  these  months, 
very  busy.  Their  chief  leader  was  Nikolai  Lenine,  a  man  of  varied 
career  and  peculiar  character.  He  had  published  Socialist  papers 
in  Paris  and  Switzerland  and  written  books  and  pamphlets  on  the 
wildest  phases  of  international  Socialism;  he  was  in  Austrian  Poland 
when  the  War  broke  out  and  in  Germany  when  the  Revolution 
began;  he  was  a  clever,  unscrupulous,  intolerant,  courageous  man, 
whose  affiliations  and  operations  had  been  such  as  to  lead  to  a  wide- 
spread belief  that  he  was  corrupted  by  German  gold  and  was  an  agent 
of  the  German  Government.  His  real  name  was  said  to  be  Nikolai 
Ilvitch  Ulivanof;  one  of  his  book  names  was  Vladimir  Ilyin;  an- 
other name  used  was  the  significant  one  of  Zederblum.  According 
to  the  London  Daily  Chronicle  (Nov.  10,  1917)  various  associates 
of  his  in  the  Bolsheviki  and  in  the  Government  which  he  afterwards 
formed,  were  really  Germans  bearing  the  following  names: 

Name  Assumed  Actual  Name  Name  Assumed  Actual  Name 
Trotzky            Bronstein                               Sutkhanoff  Gimmer 

Zinovieff  Applebaum  Goreff  Goldman 

Kameneff          Rosenfeldt  Nishkovsky  Goldenberg 

Stekhof  Nabankhis  Ladin  Lure 

Tcherneff,  strongly  opposed  to  Kerensky,  was  originally  Feldmann; 
Parvus,  who  acted  as  a  go-between  for  Lenine  and  the  Germans  at 
Copenhagen  was  Helfandt;  Martoff,  another  Bolshevik,  was  Zeder- 
baum  and  Zagorsky  was  once  Krachmann.*  In  July  Lenine's 
followers  had  seized  Kronstadt  and  he  endeavoured  to  repeat  the 
exploit  in  Petrograd  (July  16)  with  appeals  to  the  people  to  support 
immediate  peace,  the  taking  of  land  and  freedom,  the  destruction 
of  the  Douma  and  all  capitalistic  Ministers,  etc.,  but  the  attempt 
was  crushed  with  machine  guns.  For  a  time  Lenine  had  to  remain 
in  nominal  hiding  and  herein  lay  one  of  the  great  mistakes  of  Keren- 
sky.  Had  he  boldly  seized  and  disposed  of  the  leaders  of  violence, 
anarchy  and  incendiary  Socialism,  he  might  have  organized  stability 
and  retained  power;  but  he  was  unable  to  rise  to  the  level  of  the 
necessary  autocracy. 

During  these  months  Lenine  issued  a  pamphlet  formulating  the 
platform  of  the  Bolshevikif  which  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 
(1)  We  represent  the  class-conscious  proletaries,  hired  labourers, 

*NOTE. — Le  Petit  Parisien,  of  Paris,  published  on  Feb.  7-8,  1918,  a  series  of  official 
German  documents,  amongst  which  was  a  circular,  dated  March  2,  1917,  from  the 
German  Imperial  Bank  to  representatives  in  Switzerland,  instructing  them  to  honour 
all  demands  for  money  from  Nikolai  Lenine,  M.  Sinovieff,  Leon  Trotzky,  M.  Kameneff, 
one  of  the  Russian  representatives  at  the  Brest-Li  to  vsk  negotiations,  and  others. 

tNoxE. — Translation  by  Abraham  Yarmolinsky,  of  the  N.Y.  City  College,  in  New 
York  Times,  Nov.  18,  1917. 


THE  SWEEP  OF  REVOLUTION  IN  RUSSIA  75 

and  the  poorer  portion  of  the  rural  population;  (2)  we  stand  for 
Socialism  and  the  Workmen's  Councils  must  take  over  control  of 
the  banks  and  capitalistic  syndicates,  with  a  view  to  nationalization; 
(3)  we  advocate  a  republic  of  Councils  of  Workmen,  Soldiers, 
Peasants,  in  which  all  the  power  must  belong  to  them;  (4)  we  are 
against  capital  and  it  is  necessary  to  transfer  power  in  this  respect 
to  the  proletariat  and  the  poorer  element  among  the  peasants; 
(5)  we  believe  the  State  does  not  need  a  Police  force  and  the  people 
must  be  synonymous  with  the  Army  and  Militia;  (6)  we  declare 
that  all  Monarchs  should  be  deposed  and  the  land  of  Russia  should 
be  seized  immediately  and  given  to  the  peasants.  In  October 
Lenine  issued  a  statement,  denouncing  the  capitalists  of  Germany 
and  all  countries  as  pirates,,  and  describing  the  rulers  of  Germany, 
England  and  Italy  as  robbers.  He  described  the  war  as  waged  by 
two  groups  of  Powers  for  purely  Imperialistic  and  Capitalistic  pur- 
poses and  then  declared  that  it  must  be  continued  by  Russia  with  a 
Militia  paid  the  same  wages  as  first-class  workmen !  As  to  the  rest : 

The  officers  of  the  Militia  should  be  elected  by  the  soldiers,  and  subject  to  recall, 
and  every  order  of  the  officers  or  generals  should  be  approved  by  a  vote  of  the  men. 
For  it  is  only  elected  officers  whom  the  men  can  be  expected  to  obey  and  respect. 
In  order  that  the  soldiers  be  better  fed,  a  re-partition  of  the  lands  should  be  arranged 
for.  Finally,  we  must  encourage  at  once  every  attempt  made  by  the  soldiers  on  both 
sides  of  the  line  to  fraternize,  in  order  that  these  instinctive  manifestations  of  solid- 
arity may  ripen  into  a  conscious,  organized  movement  to  place  the  Governmental 
owners  of  every  belligerent  nation  in  the  hands  of  the  revolutionary  proletariat. 

With  Lenine  was  a  man  named  Leon  Trotzky  or  Leber  Bronstein 
as  he  was  declared  to  be.  A  leader  in  the  literary  work  of  the 
Socialists,  an  exile  from  Russia  for  years  and  an  anarchistic  agitator 
who  had  been  in  turn  expelled  from  France,  Switzerland  and  Spain, 
he  spent  the  early  months  of  1917  in  New  York.  When  the  Revo- 
lution came  he  started  for  Russia  but  was  detained  at  Halifax 
by  the  British  authorities  and  was  only  released  at  the  misguided 
request  of  the  Provisional  Government  in  Petrograd.  When  the 
War  first  broke  out  he  had  been  in  Berlin  and  was  allowed  to  leave 
for  Paris  where  he  had  funds  enough  to  start  a  Socialist  paper  of 
anti-war  propaganda.  After  the  Revolution  he  became  a  leader 
of  the  Petrograd  Workers'  Council  or  Soviet  and  delivered  burning 
speeches  in  favour  of  separate  peace  with  Germany. 

Persistent  agitation  developed  amongst  the  extremists  in  August 
and  September  and  by  November  the  Kerensky  influence  had  been 
thoroughly  under-mined;  on  Nov.  1  the  Premier  issued  a  state- 
ment conveying  an  intimation  of  despair  as  to  the  restoration  of 
civil  law,  describing  Russia  as  worn  out  by  the  long  strain  of  strife, 
cursing  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  for  not  helping  Russia 
as  they  had  France,  but  declaring  his  country  not  yet  out  of  the 
War.  On  Nov.  8  his  Government  was  overthrown  and  after  some 
fighting  in  streets  and  buildings  Petrograd  was  in  the  hands  of 
Lenine  and  the  Red  Guards  of  the  Bolsheviki.  Their  Revolution- 
ary Committee  at  once  issued  a  Proclamation  declaring  for  (1)  the 
offer  of  an  immediate  democratic  peace;  (2)  the  immediate  handing 
over  of  large  proprietarial  lands  to  the  peasants;  (3)  the  transmission 


76  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  all  authority  to  the  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates; 
(4)  the  honest  convocation  of  a  Constitutional  Assembly. 

To  the  Soviet  M.  Trotzky  announced  that  the  Provisional 
Government  no  longer  existed  and  that  Russia  was  now  controlled 
by  the  peasants  and  workmen.  A  Congress  of  Councils  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Delegates  of  all  Russia  met  and  issued  on  Nov. 
8  proclamations  declaring  (1)  that  all  power  lay  in  its  hands;  (2) 
that  the  re-established  death  penalty  at  the  Front  was  abolished 
and  complete  freedom  of  political  propaganda  restored;  (3)  that 
most  of  the  Ministers  had  been  arrested  and  that  M.  Kerensky 
had  fled  but  would  be  brought  back  and  dealt  with  for  high  treason. 
On  Nov.  9  M.  Lenine  was  announced  as  Premier,  Leon  Trotzky 
as  Foreign  Minister  with  a  Government  of  various  other  Ministers 
and  a  Committee  of  three  to  deal  with  War  and  Marine — one  being 
Krylenko,  a  minor  officer  in  the  Army,  and  another  a  Kronstadt 
sailor.  All  were  of  the  Bolsheviki.  On  the  10th  the  Soviet  Con- 
gress passed  a  Resolution  in  favour  of  immediate  peace  amongst 
all  belligerents  without  annexation  and  without  indemnities.  The 
collapse  of  the  Kerensky  Government  was  complete  and  on  Nov.  20 
the  new  "Government"  announced  its  "obligation  to  offer  all  the 
peoples  and  their  respective  Governments  an  immediate  armistice 
on  all  fronts,"  with  the  purpose  of  opening  pour-parlers  immediately 
for  the  conclusion  of  a  democratic  peace.  General  Dukhonin, 
Commander-in-Chief,  was  ordered  at  once  to  offer  an  armistice  to 
"all  nations,  Allied  and  hostile,"  and,  not  replying,  was  relieved 
by  Ensign  Krylenko  while,  on  the  25th,  M.  Trotzky  sent  a  note  to 
the  neutral  Powers,  declaring  that  "the  consummation  of  an  immedi- 
ate peace  is  demanded  in  all  countries,  both  belligerent  and  neutral," 
and  that  the  Russian  Government  "counts  on  the  firm  support  of 
workmen  in  all  countries  in  the  struggle  for  peace." 

Chaos  followed  in  the  fulles^  sense  of  the  word.  Military  move- 
ments directed  against  Petrograd  and  the  Red  Guard  leaders  by  Ker- 
ensky, Kaledines,  Korniloff  and  others  failed  in  turn  and  constant 
desertions  from  their  ranks  made  it  difficult  even  to  hold  together  the 
elements  of  law  and  order  in  Siberia,  Finland,  Ukraine,  etc.;  the 
Soviets  or  local  Workmen's  Councils  got  control  in  most  of  the 
centres — little  and  big — and  did  much  as  they  liked;  copies  of  all 
treaties  and  private  correspondence  between  Russia  and  other 
Powers  were  issued  to  the  press;  Departmental  officers  and  many 
Government  agents  and  officials  throughout  the  country  were 
displaced  for  refusing  to  recognize  the  Lenine  combination;  money 
was  seized  in  the  Banks  and  repudiation  of  the  National  Debt 
threatened;  the  original  revolutionaries  were  repudiated  as  too 
mild  while  rich  peasants,  small  landowners,  merchants  and  moder- 
ates of  every  class  were  designated  Bourgeois  and  enemies  of  the 
nation;  the  Army  was  run  by  ranting  demagogues  and  any  little 
efficiency  left  was  destroyed,  while  Committees  once  more  dominated 
the  Navy;  untold  and  unknown  crimes  accompanied  the  peasant 
seizures  of  land  and  property  throughout  vast  regions  of  the  much- 
troubled  nation. 


THE  SWEEP  OF  REVOLUTION  IN  RUSSIA  77 

The  60  or  more  racial  and  ethnographic  groups  of  Russia — 
Slavs  and  Lithuanians,  Germans  (2,000,000  of  them)  Latins,  Armen- 
ians, Jews  (5,000,000  of  them),  Finns,  Tartars,  Mongols,  Georgians, 
Poles,  etc. — split  up  in  varied  forms  of  plastic  or  pacific  reception 
of  the  strong  propaganda  which  the  Germans  had  long  been  giving 
them  and  the  Bolsheviki  now  hastened  to  support;  food  rotted  for 
want  of  someone  to  move  it  and  soldiers  starved  at  the  Front  for 
want  of  transport;  work  was  paralyzed  and  social  vice  and  bribery 
were  rampant,  drinking  was  widespread  though  vodka  was  not 
available,  and  violence  was  everywhere;  talk  was  continuous  but  real 
freedom  of  speech  impossible,  lynch  law  was  frequent  in  a  form 
adapted  to  the  crude,  dwarfed  mind  of  the  Russian  workman  and 
useless  meetings  became  a  perfect  mania;  peace  talk  was  everywhere 
and  Petrograd  in  an  orgy  of  pacificism,  German  propaganda  and 
insane  idealism  while  Russian  army  paralysis  struck  deep  blows 
at  world  freedom  and  prolonged  the  War  a  year  at  least;  the  elec- 
tions for  the  Constituent  Assembly — that  dream  of  the  old-time 
revolutionist — were  held  but  went  against  the  Bolsheviki  who  refused 
to  recognize  the  body  and  eventually  "dissolved"  it. 

It  was  forgotten  in  other  countries  at  this  time  that  the  Bolshe- 
viki were  the  direct  and  legitimate  inheritors  of  Nihilism;  that  some 
of  them  had  led  in  bomb-throwing  plots  and  violence  in  the  old 
days;  that  Lenine  and  others  had  in  1905  done  their  best  to  make 
the  Czar's  nominal  grant  of  political  freedom  and  creation  of  the 
Douma  useless  through  disunion  amongst  the  supposed  friends 
of  democracy;  that  Trotzky,  though  not  a  Bolshevik  at  that  time 
was  the  advocate  of  a  "permanent  revolution";  that  the  Bolsheviki 
had  associated  themselves  with  the  lawless  elements  in  all  countries, 
and,  as  late  as  1917,  had  protested  against  the  execution  of  Mooney, 
convicted  at  San  Francisco  of  throwing  a  bomb  into  a  public  parade, 
and  against  a  sentence  of  death  upon  Alex.  Berkman,  the  United 
States  anarchist;  that,  as  a  party,  they  represented  only  themselves 
and  were  badly  beaten  in  nearly  all  the  Municipal  elections  in  over 
600  Russian  towns  and  cities  during  October,  1917,  as  well  as  in 
the  Assembly  elections;  that  whatever  of  good  or  evil  there  might 
be  in  the  variegated  Socialism  of  these  men  there  was  not,  and  could 
not  be,  any  patriotism.  It  was  internationalism  and  anarchy, 
an  individual  ambition  for  power  which  evolved  a  new  autocracy 
and  class  control  of  a  special  type — government  by  the  poor  as 
Lenine  put  it. 

Following  the  seizure  of  power  in  November  came  the  Armistice 
negotiations — not  with  the  German  people  but  with  their  war- 
lords; the  formal  recognition  of  the  new  Government  by  Germany, 
Austria,  Turkey  and  Bulgaria,  but  not  by  the  Entente;  the  announced 
abolition  of  all  titles,  distinctions  and  privileges  and,  as  in  the 
French  Revolution,  the  application  of  the  prefix  "citizen"  to  every 
one;  the  order  that  all  corporate  property  of  nobles,  merchants 
and  burgesses  be  handed  over  to  the  State — ergo  Lenine  and  his 
associates;  the  threatened  confiscation  of  the  Church's  property 
in  lands,  money,  gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones ;  the  abolition 
of  all  military  ranks,  titles  and  decorations  and  an  order  for  the 


78  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

election  of  all  officers — which  resulted  in  the  degradation  of  those 
still  in  command  and  the  choice  of  privates  accompanied  by  much 
violence  and  insult;  the  dismissal  of  Russian  Ambassadors  and  staffs 
in  other  countries  for  not  recognizing  the  Bolsheviki. 

Steadily,  throughout  the  year,  the  army  had  become  a  mob, 
technical  materials,  vast  war  supplies,  artillery  and  guns  and  muni- 
tions, the  command  of  millions  of  men,  issues  depending  on  tactical 
and  scientific  knowledge,  with  great  fortifications,  passed  under 
control  of  private  untrained  soldiers;  Brusiloff,  Korniloff,  Alexieff, 
the  Grand  Duke  Michael,  Ruszky,  Gourko  and  other  veteran 
leaders  of  victory  were  replaced,  finally,  by  one  who  was  little  more 
than  a  private  in  the  army;  the  guardianship  of  1,000  miles  of  line, 
the  holding  of  35,000  miles  of  Turkish  territory,  the  maintenance 
of  the  Roumanian  front,  of  Galician  gains,  of  noble  fortresses,  and  im- 
mense areas  of  fertile  land  behind  the  trenches,  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  elective  Committees  and  privates  who  could  talk;  fraternization 
with  the  enemy  brought  German  gold,  vodka  or  other  liquors  from 
the  Austro-Germans  in  exchange  for  medical  supplies  and  made  the 
rear  a  mob  of  deserters,  while  the  elimination  of  discipline  made 
strategy  a  farce  and  military  success  impossible.  Despite  all  this, 
however,  and  treachery  everywhere,  the  long  Russian  lines  at  the  close 
of  1917  still  held,  a  considerable  section  of  Austrian  and  German 
troops  were  compelled  to  remain  on  guard;  and  Russia  was  to  this 
extent  still  in  the  War.  In  detail,  however,  at  least  2,000,000 
men  were  made  available  to  the  Teuton  Allies  for  other  purposes. 

Meantime,  financial  matters  in  Russia  had  been  growing  steadily 
worse.  The  difficulties  of  ihfc  Lvoff  and  Kerensky  Governments 
were  bad  enough;  the  credit  of  the  Bolsheviki  was,  of  course,  nil. 
British  money  lent  since  the  War  began  to  an  estimated  total  of 
$3,000,000,000  and  American  credit  to  the  amount  of  $180,000,000 
ceased  to  flow  into  the  country  or  to  be  available;  the  prosperity  ex- 
isting from  war  industries  was  soon  nullified  by  wholesale  exaction, 
robbery,  terrorism  and  disorganization;  Lenine,  on  Nov.  28,  renewed 
the  Bolsheviki  threat  to  repudiate  Russia's  obligations  and  debts 
to  other  nations  and  the  total  Russian  Debt,  internal  and  external, 
had  increased  from  4,500  million  dollars  in  1914  to  25,000  millions 
in  1917;  the  legal  limit  of  the  Russian  State  Bank  in  the  issue  of 
paper  money  without  gold  security  had  been  raised  gradually  from 
1,500  million  roubles  in  July,  1914,  to  8,500  millions  in  March,  1917, 
and  after  the  Revolution  it  was  again  raised  to  12,500  millions 
on  July  11;  production  steadily  decreased  over  the  240,000,000 
acres  of  land  which  in  1915  had  grown  grains  and  potatoes,  and  the 
seizure  of  land  in  so  many  places  by  an  ignorant  and  irresponsible 
peasantry  intoxicated  with  liberty,  further  menaced  the  food  supply 
and  the  bases  of  finance;  the  decline  of  the  rouble  in  exchange  value 
proceeded  steadily  and,  by  July,  had  gone  down  from  51  to  23  cents 
and  in  September  to  17  cents;  the  extraordinary  increases  in  Labour 
wages  made  it  impossible  to  obtain  taxation  from  the  industries 
and,  needless  to  say,  Socialism  would  not  tax  the  workmen;  trade 
was  in  a  unique  condition  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  in  1917  (June 
30)  Russia  imported  from  the  United  States  $558,584,000  worth 
of  merchandise  and  exported  to  that  country  $9,484,000. 


THE  SWEEP  OF  REVOLUTION  IN  RUSSIA  79 

Yet  all  of  these  troubles  and  others  such  as  the  bottling  up  of 
wheat  exports  by  the  closing  of  the  Baltic  and  Dardanelles,  the 
disorganization  of  transport  and  labour,  the  original  loss  of  the 
large  German  trade,  could  have  been  met  and  would  have  been 
met  under  the  stable  system  which  the  moderate  revolutionists 
had  partially  built  up.  In  fact  credit  was  returning  and  in  October 
Japan  gave  the  Provisional  Government  a  credit  of  $33,000,000, 
while  the  United  States  advanced,  a  few  weeks  later,  $31,000,000 
more  out  of  its  Russian  credits.  The  coming  of  the  Bolsheviki 
stopped  all  this;  what  the  Germans  may  have  done  in  their  peace 
parleys  in  the  way  of  financially  helping  the  Soviet  or  its  leaders 
was  not  known  at  this  time.  The  economic  resources  of  Russia 
were  tremendous  and  if  the  German  Government,  commercial 
leaders  and  industrial  masters  once  got  control — even  partially— 
of  the  vast  timber  and  pulp  supplies,  the  food  and  raw  materials 
of  the  great  central  plains,  the  enormous  coal  fields  of  Siberia,  the 
great  Baku  oil-bearing  lands  and  other  large  mineral  resources, 
it  would  be  an  obvious  economic  victory  of  the  first  importance. 
At  the  close  of  1917  the  financial  situation,  as  well  as  other  things, 
was  chaotic,  and  anything  might  happen. 

With  the  overthrow  of  the  Czar  had  gone  the  link  which  held 
together  the  great  regions  and  divergent  populations  of  Russia, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  year  Finland  was  an  independent  republic 
under  German  patronage,  Siberia  was  separated  and  in  active 
hostility  to  the  Bolsheviki,  the  Ukraine  was  a  republic  threatened 
by  Germany  in  numerous  forms,  Russian  Poland  was  in  German 
hands,  Bessarabia  was  a  separate  republic  for  the  moment,  there 
was  also  a  republic  in  the  Caucasus  and  one  amongst  the  Don  Cos- 
sacks while  Courland  and  Lithuania  were  practically  German 
provinces.  While  all  this  turmoil  and  trouble  were  developing, 
the  Allies  of  Russia  had  not  been  idle.  Early  in  the  year  Lord 
Milner  had  been  at  Petrograd  and  Moscow  in  conference  with 
the  Czar's  ministers,  together  with  special  representatives  of  France 
and  Italy.  Arthur  Henderson  of  the  British  War  Cabinet  was 
there  in  June  as  was  M.  Albert  Thomas,  French  Minister  of  Munitions. 

At  this  time,  according  to  the  London  Times,  (June  15)  the 
British  Government  replied  to  a  Russian  Note  with  (1)  acceptance 
of  the  policy  of  no  domination  of  other  peoples  or  forcible  occu- 
pation of  foreign  territory;  (2)  declaration  of  its  war  objects  as  being 
defence  of  one's  country,  enforcement  of  international  engage- 
ments, liberation  of  oppressed  populations,  such  as  Poland,  agree- 
ment with  President  Wilson's  war  message  to  Congress;  (3)  the 
statement  that  "the  British  Government  believe  that  broadly 
speaking  the  agreements  which  they  have  from  time  to  time  made 
with  their  Allies  are  conformable  to  these  standards.  But  if  the 
Russian  Government  so  desire  they  are  quite  ready  with  their 
Allies  to  examine,  and,  if  need  be,  to  revise,  these  agreements." 
Neither  Great  Britain  nor  her  Allies,  however,  would  recognize 
the  Bolsheviki  nor  would  they  share  in  the  farcical  negotiations 
of  Brest-Litovsk.  The  American  Commission  of  Mr.  Root  was 
in  Russia  for  some  time  during  June  and  Mr.  Root  returned,  with 
a  more  optimistic  impression  than  succeeding  events  warranted. 


80  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  first  formal  Peace  parley  with  the  Teutons  was  held  on 
Dec.  1st  between  Ensign  Krylenko  and  Gen.  Von  Hoffmeister; 
negotiations  followed  at  Brest-Ltovsk  on  Dec.  2  with  Kameneff, 
Sokolnikoff,  Bithenko  and  Mstislasky — a  peasant,  a  sailor,  a  soldier 
and  a  workman — as  the  Russian  delegates;  for  the  Germans  Prince 
Leopold  of  Bavaria  was  in  charge  but  General  Von  Hoffman  was 
the  actual  negotiator  and  the  Turks,  Austrians  and  Bulgarians 
also  were  represented;  a  ten  days'  suspension  of  hostilities  followed 
to  enable  settlement  of  Armistice  conditions  and,  on  Dec.  7,  Rou- 
mania  was  compelled  to  associate  herself  with  the  negotiations.  To 
Russia's  nominal  Allies  M.  Trotzky  then  presented  an  arrogant 
demand  for  definition  of  their  attitude  toward  his  negotiations 
and  the  statement  that  "in  case  of  refusal,  they  must  declare  clearly 
and  definitely  before  all  mankind  the  aims  for  which  the  peoples  of 
Europe  may  be  called  to  shed  their  blood  during  the  fourth  year  of 
the  War." 

Negotiations  of  this  kind  must  have  been  rather  humiliating 
to  the  War-lords  of  the  Central  Powers  but  they  had  a  big  game  to 
play  with  little  men  and  they  played  it  well  —  the  statesman  at 
Berlin  throwing  up  clouds  of  dust  such  as  the  following  comment  of 
Dr.  Von  Kuhlmann  in  the  Reichstag  on  Nov.  30:  "The  principles 
hitherto  announced  to  the  world  by  the  present  rulers  in  Petrograd 
appear  to  be  entirely  acceptable  as  a  basis  for  re-organization  of 
affairs  in  the  East — a  re-organization  which,  while  fully  taking  into 
account  the  right  of  nations  to  determine  their  own  destinies,  is 
calculated  permanently  to  safeguard  the  essential  interests  of  Ger- 
many and  Russia."  On  Dec.  16  the  Armistice  was  signed  to  last 
from  Dec.  17  to  Jan.  4,  1918,  to  cover  all  fronts,  naval  as  well 
as  military,  and  to  give  the  privilege  of  fraternization  and  inter- 
course between  soldiers,  It  was  "for  the  purpose  of  achieving 
a  lasting  and  honourable  peace  between  both  parties  "  and  no  troops 
were  to  be  moved  during  the  duration  of  the  agreement.  Peace 
negotiations  were  to  continue  and  "cultural  and  economic  relations" 
to  be  at  once  re-established. 

On  Dec.  22  a  formal  Peace  Conference  met  at  Brest-Ltovsk 
with  Germany  represented  by  its  Foreign  Secretary  Dr.  Von  Kuhl- 
mann and  other  diplomats;  Austria-Hungary  by  Count  Czernin, 
its  Prime  Minister,  Field  Marshal  Von  Chisceries  and  others;  Bul- 
garia and  Turkey  by  more  or  less  able  political  and  diplomatic 
leaders;  Russia  by  nine  men  of  whom  the  majority  were  unedu- 
cated and  utterly  inexperienced  theorists  of  good  Socialist  stand- 
ing but  very  uncertain  patriotism  and  honesty,  and  as  diplomats 
mere  infants  in  arms  to  those  they  were  dealing  with.  They  asked 
nominally  and  with  a  confidence  which  was  either  superb  or  silly 
for  many  of  the  things  which  the  Allied  Powers,  backed  by  20,000,- 
000  men  in  arms,  were  desperately  fighting  for.  They  were  stated 
as  demands  in  the  following  terms: 

1.  No  compulsory  annexation  of  territory  taken  during  the  War  and  speedy 
evacuation  of  such  territory. 

2.  That  political  independence  be  restored  to  all  nations  deprived  of  independ" 
ence^by  the  fortunes  of  war. 


THE  STRUGGLES  AND  SUCCESSES  OF  FRANCE  81 

3.  That  national  groups  not  independent  before  the  War  shall  decide  by  a  refer- 
endum whether  they  shall  become  independent  or  give  their  allegiance  to  some  Power. 

4.  Where  mixed  nationalities  occupy  any  territory  the  rights  of  the  minority 
shall  be  defended  by  a  separate  law. 

5.  No  belligerent  country  shall  be  required  to  pay  indemnities  and  private  per- 
sons shall  be  compensated  for  losses  incurred  through  the  War  from  a  special  fund 
contributed  by  all  the  belligerents  on  a  proportional  basis. 

For  the  moment  the  Central  Powers  appeared  to  accept  some 
of  these  clauses  and  Count  Czernin  stated  to  the  Congress  on  Dec. 
25,  in  words  which  preceding  and  after  events  made  interesting: 
"The  delegations  of  the  Quadruple  Alliance  are  agreed  immediately 
to  conclude  a  general  peace  without  forcible  annexations  and  in- 
demnities. They  share  the  view  of  the  Russian  delegation  which 
condemns  the  continuation  of  the  War  purely  for  aims  of  conquest. 
The  statesmen  of  the  Allied  (Teutonic)  Governments,  in  pro- 
grammes and  statements,  have  emphasized  time  and  again  that 
for  the  sake  of  conquest  they  will  not  prolong  the  War  a  single 
day."  Some  of  the  clauses  were  answered  evasively  or  left  for 
consideration  by  a  General  Conference.  The  following  German 
statements  were  official  and  explicit: 

1.  It  is  not  the  intention  of  the  Allies  (German)  to  deprive  of  political  independ- 
ence those  nations  which  lost  it  during  the  War. 

2.  The  Allied  Powers  have  frequently  emphasized  the  possibility  that  both 
sides  might  renounce  not  only  indemnities  for  war  costs,  but  also  for  war  damages. 

3.  The  return  of  Colonial  territories  forcibly  seized  during  the  War  constitutes 
an  essential  part  of  German  demands,  which  Germany  cannot  renounce  under  any 
circumstances.     Likewise,  the  Russian  demand  for  immediate  evacuation  of  terri- 
tories occupied  by  an  adversary  conforms  to  German  intentions. 

By  the  close  of  the  year  the  negotiations  centred  around  this 
latter  point.  Germany  asked  Russia  to  take  cognizance  of  the 
proclaimed  independence  of  Poland,  Lithuania,  Courland  and  por- 
tions of  Esthonia  and  Livonia,  and  that  general  elections  be  held 
in  those  districts  to  determine  their  future  status  before  evacua- 
tion took  place.  It  was  obvious  that  under  military  occupation 
elections  would  be  a  farce,  but  the  Russians  eventually  acceded 
to  the  terms.  Peace  by  Dec.  31  was  assumed  as  certain,  so  pro- 
claimed by  the  Bolsheviki,  and  rejoiced  over  in  Petrograd,  in  Berlin 
and  in  Vienna,  but  no  Treaty  had  been  actually  signed  and  the  Con- 
gress had  adjourned. 

The  Struggles  The  French  people,  during  this  year,  still  had 
o^France68868  to  en(^ure  ^ne  ^oss  m  resources  and  production  from 
in  1917.  its  richest  industrial  section;  it  faced  and  overcame 

difficulties  from  the  internal  treachery  of  Boloism 
and  the  machinations  of  disloyal  Socialists  and  political 
leaders  like  Caillaux;  it  was  struck  a  heavy  blow  by  its  long- 
time ally  and  friend,  Russia,  in  the  threatened  withdrawal  of  army 
support  and  repudiation  of  the  Russian  bonds  so  largely  held  by 
French  peasants.  Yet  the  country  stood  four-square  to  these 
and  other  storms  of  war  and  proved  once  more  the  wonderful  en- 
durance of  its  people.  As  President  Poincare  put  it  in  an  inter- 


82  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

view  (Jan.  19):  "We  are  condemned  to  continue  the  War  until 
we — our  gallant  Allies  and  ourselves — can  obtain  the  reparation 
and  guarantees  rendered  indispensable  by  the  aggressions  of  which 
we  have  been  the  victims,  by  the  sacrifices  to  which  we  have  sub- 
jected ourselves,  and  by  the  losses  which  we  have  suffered."  The 
restoration  of  Alsace-Lorraine  was  declared  an  essential  of  peace. 
On  Mar.  20  M.  Briand  resigned  the  Premiership  as  the  result 
of  Gen.  Lyautey's  retirement  from  the  Ministry  of  War  because 
of  public  discontent  with  aviation  and  other  war  conditions;  Alex- 
andre  Ribot  formed  a  new  Government  in  which  M.  Viviani  was 
Minister  of  Justice,  M.  Painleve",  of  War,  M.  Thomas,  of  Munitions, 
Admiral  Lacaze,  Minister  of  Marine.  All  sections  of  opinion  were 
represented  and,  on  May  22,  the  Premier  announced  a  re-organi- 
zation of  the  Army  command.  In  reading  a  telegram  from  the 
Russian  revolutionary  Government,  which  declared  that  Russia 
would  "never  forget  the  elation  with  which  France  entered  the 
War  on  our  side,"  he  deprecated  dangerous  Peace  sophisms  as  to 
no  indemnities  or  annexations,  and  declared  that  indemnities  for 
the  ravages  of  France  and  Belgium  were  a  requirement  of  both 
law  and  equity  and  that  "the  same  reparation  should  be  required 
for  all  small  nations  that  have  been  crushed." 

During  these  early  months  the  Pacifists,  pro-Germans  and 
extreme  Socialists  were  very  active  in  France  with  M.  Joseph  Caillaux 
— a  cold,  brilliant,  sinister  figure  in  French  politics — as  the  pivot 
upon  which  national  trouble  seemed  to  turn.  A  pro-German 
peace  policy  was  promulgated  by  Le  Bonnet  Rouge,  a  Parisian 
Socialist  journal,  which  was  prosperous  without  apparent  basis, 
and  was  the  alleged  organ  of  M.  Malvy,  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
and  M.  Caillaux.  It  told  the  soldiers  that  in  the  end  neither  Ger- 
man nor  French  victory  mattered;  M.  Malvy,  while  a  Minister, 
encouraged  the  anarchists  by  failing  to  make  arrests  when  strikes 
were  deliberately  organized  with  a  view  to  hampering  military  action 
and  munition  manufacture;  pamphlets  were  largely  circulated 
along  lines  of  Russian  anti-war  advocacy  and  Generals  P£tain  and 
Nivelle  had  to  protest  vigorously  to  the  Government  against  simi- 
lar propaganda  carried  on  in  the  Army;  finally,  Almeryda  of  Le 
Bonnet  Rouge,  who  was  a  confessed  anarchist  as  well  as  a  suspected 
German  spy,  ,died  mysteriously  in  prison  and  M.  Duval,  Manager 
of  that  paper,  was  found  with  $30,000  in  his  possession  after  a  visit 
to  Switzerland. 

Then  came  the  discovery  of  Bolo  Pasha's  intrigues,  involving 
the  expenditure  of  $1,680,000  of  German  money  received  via  New 
York  for  the  purchase  of  Le  Journal  of  Paris,  from  Senator  Hum- 
bert, and  other  purposes;  the  proven  association  of  Bolo  with  M. 
Caillaux,  an  ex-Premier  of  France,  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  Von 
Bernstorff  at  Washington  on  the  other;  the  alleged  connection 
of  Bolo,  Caillaux  et  al  with  the  plots  of  May  and  June,  1917,  which 
almost  paralyzed  the  French  Army  and  promised,  for  a  brief  space, 
to  anticipate  the  Italian  deb  dele  of  later  months.  There  was  also 
the  alleged  receipt  of  large  sums  of  German^money  by  M.  Tunnel 
of^the^Chamber^of  Deputies"  and  the  charge  that  Leymarie,  head 


THE  STRUGGLES  AND  SUCCESSES  OF  FRANCE  83 

of  the  French  Secret  Service  under  M.  Malvy,  had  received  moneys 
and  exacted  blackmail  in  connection  with  German  propaganda 
plots.  Le*on  Daudet  of  L' Action  Frangaise  charged  M.  Malvy, 
who,  as  Minister  of  the  Interior,  had  since  1914  been  in  charge 
of  the  Secret  Service  and  the  Press  Censorship,  with  having  be- 
trayed to  the  Germans  plans  for  the  costly  June  attack  upon  the 
Chemin-des-Dames  position  and  on  Oct.  15  he  wrote  in  his  paper 
that: 

There  was  something  rotten  somewhere  which  delayed  the  victory  of  the  Allies. 
This  something  was  German  money  employed  within  the  Allied  countries.  There 
was  the  Bolo  Pasha  fund  for  corruption  of  the  press,  the  Von  Biilow  fund  for  diplo- 
matic intrigues,  and  the  Hohenlohe  fund  for  promoting  crimes  and  sedition.  The 
last-named  fund,  in  my  opinion,  was  by  far  the  most  important.  It  was  employed 
to  promote  the  plot,  carefully  prepared  for  months,  which  broke  out  in  both  the 
Army  zone  and  the  rear  formation  in  May  and  June  of  this  year.  This  plot  nearly 
attained  the  results  hoped  for  by  the  German  Governments. 

A  little  later  (Nov.  24)  Gustave  Herve*  in  La  Victoire  boldly  charged 
M.  Caillaux  with  being  the  centre  of  a  campaign  for  a  dishonourable 
and  ruinous  peace;  with  consorting,  during  a  recent  visit  to  Italy, 
with  notorious  "defeatist"  and  neutrality  leaders  there;  with  being 
a  devoted  friend  and  protector  of  Bolo  Pasha  and  of  Almeryda, 
the  late  Editor  of  Le  Bonnet  Rouge:  "You  said,  sir,  that  when  you 
found  the  man  who  brought  against  you  something  besides  insinu- 
ations and  twaddling  gossip,  who  dared  accuse  you  outright,  you 
would  prosecute  him  at  the  Assizes  as  a  slanderer.  I  am  your 
man,  sir,  prosecute  me.  I  will  produce  my  proofs  and  witnesses 
before  a  jury."  In  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  Dec.  11  General 
Dubail,  Military  Governor  of  Paris,  asked  authorization  for  pro- 
ceedings against  M.  Caillaux  for  (1)  an  attempt  against  the  safety 
of  the  State  by  acts  of  a  nature  tending  to  compromise  the  alliances 
concluded  between  France  and  foreign  Powers;  (2)  for  treasonable 
relations  with  the  enemy,  and  (3)  for  conducting  an  unpatriotic 
and  treasonable  peace  propaganda. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Premier  General  Dubail  stated  that  during 
recent  investigations  "it  has  been  discovered  that  in  possession 
of  nearly  all  the  accused  were  a  great  number  of  letters  emanating 
from  Joseph  Caillaux,  which  do  not  leave  any  doubt  upon  the  re- 
lations existing  between  him  and  the  persons  accused."  Much 
of  this  correspondence  was  with  Bolo  Pasha  and  was  written  after 
that  person  had  been  charged  with  high  treason.  Current  discus- 
sion and  the  trials  of  Bolo  and  Caillaux  which  followed  revealed 
a  perfect  web  of  intrigue  and  sedition  which  included  Malvy  and 
reached  out  to  General  Sarrail  and  the  Eastern  Army.  Malvy 
had  to  retire,  General  Sarrail  was  recalled  and  the  Ribot  Govern- 
ment on  Sept.  7  was  compelled  to  resign,  partly,  also,  because 
of  refusal  to  allow  French  Socialists  to  attend  the  Stockholm  Con- 
ference. For  a  time  M.  Painleve"  was  Premier  and  Minister  of  War, 
with  a  policy  thus  stated  on  Sept.  18;  "The  re-acquisition  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  reparation  for  the  damage  and  ruin  wrought  by  the  enemy, 
and  a  peace  which  shall  not  be  a  peace  of  constraint  or  violence." 


84  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

M.  Ribot  was  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  On  Nov.  16  Georges 
Clemenceau,  the  stormy  petrel  of  French  politics,  eloquent  and 
vigorous,  critic  and  wrecker  of  many  Ministries,  journalist  and 
radical,  became  Premier  and  promised  a  War-Government  of  effec- 
tive force.  To  the  Deputies  on  the  19th  he  said :  "Too  many  criminal 
attempts  have  already  resulted  on  our  battlefront  in  the  shedding 
of  French  blood.  Further  weakness  would  be  complicity.  We 
shall  be  without  weakness,  as  without  violence.  All  the  accused 
before  courts-martial — that  is  our  policy.  No  more  pacifist  cam- 
paigns; no  more  German  intrigues;  neither  treason  nor  semi-treason. 
War,  nothing  but  war.  ...  If  Germany  to-morrow  expressed 
the  wish  to  enter  into  the  society  of  nations,  I  would  not  agree 
for  Germany's  signature  cannot  be  trusted.  You  ask  what  my 
war  aims  are.  My  aim  is  to  be  victorious."  A  vote  of  confidence 
followed  of  418  to  6. 

It  was  announced  that  there  would  be  no  elections  until  the 
War  was  over — as  there  had  been  none  since  it  commenced.  On 
the  eve  of  the  November  Allied  Conference  M.  Cle*menceau  said 
to  the  press:  "Solidarity  and  discipline  will  give  us  peace,  peace 
through  victory,  the  just  peace.  With  us  there  is  no  question 
of  *  German  organization,'  under  which  the  soul  of  a  man  is  smoth- 
ered. We  are  free  peoples.  In  full  independence  and  by  the 
untrammelled  exercise  of  our  reason  we  agree  to  all  the  sacrifices 
that  are  necessary."  As  to  Russia  the  new  Government,  through 
M.  Pichon,  Foreign  Minister,  stated  on  Dec.  28  that  "the  Allies' 
representatives  are  all  unable  to  recognize  a  Government  which  made 
an  armistice  without  consulting  its  Allies,  opened  negotiations 
for  an  immediate  peace,  summoning  all  belligerents  to  reply  immedi- 
ately whether  they  accepted  these  negotiations,*  and  threatened 
to  declare  void  all  foreign  financial  obligations  created  by  previous 
Governments." 

The  return  of  Alsace-Lorraine  to  France  was  insisted  upon 
during  the  year  with  reiterated  vigour.  The  enforced  seizure  of 
these  Provinces  in  1870,  the  steady  effort  to  Germanize  them, 
the  repeated  statements  of  German  leaders,  from  Bismarck  down, 
that  they  were  necessary  for  strategic  reasons  and  as  a  glacis  between 
the  two  countries,  could  not  be  forgotten — aside  from  the  ruthless 
occupation  of  new  territories  in  the  present  war.  These  latter 
regions  added  to  the  others  meant  absolute  economic  domination 
for  Germany  and,  if  all  were  recovered,  for  France.  S.  S.  McClure 
gave  statistics  in  his  Obstacles  to  Peace  as  to  this  situation  and  pointed 
out  that:  "If  Germany  were  to  hold  the  parts  of  France  now  in  her 
hands  and  retain  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  Germany's  iron  produc- 
tion would  be  41,307,143  tons,  and  that  of  France  only  9,014,760 
tons.  But  if  France  wins,  drives  the  invaders  out  of  the  country, 
and  recovers  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  her  iron  production  would  be 
42,850,265  tons  and  that  of  Germany  only  7,471,638  tons."  There 
also  was  said  to  be  in  Alsace  3,000,000,000  tons  of  Potash  worth  about 
$35,000,000,000.  Alsace  was  said  to  have  furnished  2,000  officers 
to  the  French  armies  in  the  War;  its  official  population  was  German 


THE  STRUGGLES  AND  SUCCESSES  OF  FRANCE  85 

and  its  people  French — though  a  part  of  them  spoke  a  German 
dialect.  In  Lorraine  a  smaller  part  of  the  people  were  French 
and  in  both  Provinces  a  considerable  German  population  had  been 
planted  in  the  past  40  years.  A  racial,  social  and  general  boycott 
had  been  maintained  for  years  by  the  French  against  their  aggressive 
conquerors. 

M.  Ribot  in  his  first  declaration  as  Premier  (Mar.  21)  had  de- 
clared that  "we  shall  wage  war  with  the  firm  resolve  to  recover 
the  provinces  formerly  wrested  from  us  and  obtain  reparation  and 
guarantees  to  prepare  a  durable  peace."  The  Chamber  of  Deputies 
on  June  5  declared  by  Resolution  (453  to  56)  that  "the  War  imposed 
upon  Europe  by  the  aggression  of  Imperialist  Germany  necessitates 
the  return  of  Alsace-Lorraine  to  the  mother  country,  together 
with  the  liberation  of  invaded  territories  and  just  reparation  for 
damage."  M.  Painlev6,  in  his  first  statement  as  Premier  (Sept. 
18)  insisted  upon  the  return  of  these  Provinces;  M.  Ribot  as  Foreign 
Minister  on  Oct.  12  declared  that  "our  soldiers  have  made  up  their 
minds  we  shall  gain  the  victory,  we  shall  regain  Alsace-Lorraine." 
There  was,  early  in  the  year,  an  alleged  diplomatic  effort,  through 
Prince  Von  Biilow  in  Switzerland,  to  detach  France  from  her  alliance 
by  the  cession  of  these  Provinces,  but  a  little  later  Herr  Von 
Kuhlmann  declared  publicly  that  such  a  restoration  of  territory  was 
out  of  the  question. 

Meantime  the  War  had  progressed  with  the  French,  during 
this  year,  on  the  offensive.  The  Germans  were  driven  out  of  a 
considerable  region  of  France  with  the  aid  of  the  British  armies 
but  the  wreck  and  ravage  wrought  by  the  retiring  enemy  were 
beyond  description.  Roye  and  Peronne,  Nestle,  Mametz,  Montau- 
ban,  Lassigny,  Arras  and  Albert,  and  many  more  centres  of  one- 
time happy  and  artistic  life  were  once  more  French — but  they  were 
French  ruins.  The  victories  of  Moronvillers,  Verdun  and  Mal- 
maison  were  splendid  proofs  of  strength  and  courage.  During 
April  and  May  sedition  had  developed  and  there  was  a  situation 
approaching  demoralization  in  a  part  of  the  Army  and  amongst 
a  part  of  the  people.  Recovery  came  with  the  organizing  efforts 
of  P£tain  and  the  strong  hand  which  Cl£menceau  showed  as  Premier 
and,  by  the  close  of  the  year,  France  once  more  stood  like  a  rock 
facing  the  storms  of  war. 

As  to  men  France  was  not  exhausted  in  1917,  though  its  limit 
of  possible  reserves  appears  to  have  been  reached.  M.  Andre* 
Tardieu,  Commissioner  to  the  United  States,  reported  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  at  Washington  on  July  30  that  "the  strength  in  men, 
now  present  in  the  zone  of  the  armies  alone,  shows  the  maximum 
figure  reached  during  the  War.  This  figure,  which  amounts  to 
a  little  less  than  3,000,000  men,  exceeds  by  over  1,000,000  the  number 
of  men  actually  in  the  said  zone  at  the  beginning.  We  are  certain,  with 
the  resources  of  our  metropolitan  colonial  dep6ts,  to  be  able  to 
maintain  that  number  up  to  its  present  level  for  a  long  time  to  come." 
Constantly  decreasing  casualties  were  alleged  and  it  was  stated 
that  at  this  time  the  French  armies  held  574  kilometres  (344  miles) 


86  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  the  front,  the  British  138  (82  miles),  the  Belgians  27  (16  miles). 
Regarding  artillery,  etc.,  M.  Tardieu  stated  that  they  were  amply 
furnished  with  "75s"  since  the  beginning  of  the  War:  "The  number 
of  these  guns  has  constantly  increased;  it  is  adequate  to  our  needs. 
As  for  the  heavy  artillery,  we  had  in  August,  1914,  300  guns  grouped 
in  regiments,  in  June,  1917,  we  had  6,000  of  them,  mostly  modern. 
Our  output  in  munitions  was  arranged  in  August,  1914,  for  13,000 
shots  of  '75s'  a  day.  It  is  now  arranged  for  250,000  shots  of  '75s' 
and  100,000  shots  of  heavy  guns." 

It  may  be  added  that  the  French  maintained  the  secret  of  their 
famous  "  75s "  from  friend  and  foe  alike,  and  that  Germany  spent 
men  and  money  and  wrung  dry  the  elements  of  science  in  vain 
efforts  to  discover  it.  In  March  the  1917  class  recruits  were  called 
out  by  legislation;  in  April  General  Foch  and  five  other  Generals 
were  retired,  General  Lyautey,  late  Minister  of  War,  was  sent  to 
Morocco  as  Commander,  and  Gen.  Pe"tain,  the  hero  of  Verdun, 
became  Commander-in-Chief  in  succession  to  Gen.  Nivelle.  The 
latter  event  arose  out  of  the  partial  failure  of  the  April  offensive 
under  Nivelle  when  a  considerable  advance  was  made  with  St. 
Quentin  and  Laon  menaced  but  not  taken.  In  December  General 
Sarrail  was  succeeded  at  Salonika  by  General  Guillemet  and  French 
troops  were  sharing  with  Italian  in  the  British  advance  to  Jerusalem. 
During  1917,  to  sum  up,  the  French  had  made  many  gains  and  though 
not  always  reaching  their  objectives  were  not  at  any  time  actually 
defeated — 600  square  miles  of  territory  and  300  villages  and  five 
large  towns  were  reconquered,  and  more  than  62,000  prisoners, 
over  1,400  cannon  and  thousands  of  machine  guns  taken  from  the 
enemy.  Mastery  of  the  air  was  held  for  a  time  and  strategical 
conditions  greatly  improved.  In  Aviation  France  won  special 
fame  and  such  names  as  Guynemer,  Heurteaux,  Brocard,  Dorme, 
Nungesser,  Navarre,  Pe*goud,  Lenoir,  Chaput,  and  many  more 
were  amongst  the  "Aces "  or  French  laureates  of  the  air.  Guynemer, 
in  particular,  who  was  killed  in  September,  brought  down  53  enemy 
planes  in  less  than  two  years. 

As  to  French  internal  conditions  during  this  year — apart  from 
the  7,000  square  miles  held  by  the  Germans — there  was  mingled 
sorrow  and  optimism,  depression  and  determination,  of  feeling. 
As  in  all  the  Allied  countries  there  were  treason-mongers  and  plotters, 
but  the  spirit  of  the  nation  rose  above  them  and  "carried  on." 
Women  were  everywhere  in  war-work  and  duties  from  nursing  to 
manual  labour.  In  Paris  the  luggage  at  stations  and  docks  was 
handled  by  women,  railway  crews  were  composed  of  women;  in 
one  of  the  larger  munition  factories  there  were  9,000  women  working 
and  in  it  30,000  shells  were  turned  out  daily.  Although  France  was 
deprived  of  50  per  cent,  of  her  resources  in  coal,  90  per  cent,  of 
her  iron-ore,  and  80  per  cent,  of  her  iron  and  steel  manufacturing 
establishments  by  the  German  invasion  she  had  since  created  and 
developed  an  enormous  industry  which  not  only  supplied  her  own 
forces  but  contributed  a  great  output  to  the  aid  of  her  Allies- 
including  all  kinds  of  supplies  to  the  Belgians,  shells  to  the  Serbian 


THE  STRUGGLES  AND  SUCCESSES  OF  FRANCE  87 

army,  rifles  and  artillery  to  the  Russians,  and  to  the  Roumanians 
all  kinds  of  war  material  from  field  guns  to  gas  masks.  French 
technical  experts  and  specialists  were  sent  to  Russia  to  aid  produc- 
tion; raw  materials  were  supplied  to  Italy,  together  with  a  number 
of  batteries  of  heavy  artillery  and  many  shells.  Helmets,  trench- 
shields,  trench  mortars,  aluminum  and  chemical  corps  were  also 
furnished  to  Italy  with  a  corps  of  aviators  for  the  protection  of  Venice 
and,  at  the  close  of  1917,  when  the  Italian  retreat  occurred,  a  large 
French  force  and  much  armament  were  rushed  to  that  Front.  In 
fact  not  the  least  of  the  wonderful  things  accomplished  by  this 
nation,  facing  a  ruthless  enemy  on  its  own  soil,  was  the  scientific 
industry  which  it  evolved  —  from  the  rochambite  used  at  Verdun 
to  the  mobilization  of  laboratories,  plants  and  technical  appli- 
ances, photography,  electricity,  wireless  and  the  aeroplane.  There 
was  in  1917  a  great  lack  of  coal — which  at  one  time  was  $75.00 
a  ton — and  much  privation  and  suffering  as  a  result;  meat  and 
vegetables  were  costly,  sugar  scarce  and  butter  and  eggs  luxuries; 
bread  was  high-priced  and  the  War  bread  unpalatable,  with  wheat 
supplies  very  short  during  most  of  the  year;  cattle  were  scarce 
and  in  July  the  supply  of  oats  exhausted;  the  new  harvest  was 
expected  to  leave  three  months  at  least  for  which  wheat  must  be 
imported. 

Financially,  the  basic  wealth  of  the  country  maintained  its 
credit  and  responsibilities.  According  to  a  statement  by  M.  Tardieu 
to  the  United  States  Government  (elsewhere  quoted)  there  had 
been  expended  82,647,000,000  francs  from  the  beginning  of  the 
War  to  July  30— or  about  $16,000,000,000.  From  other  countries 
(chiefly  Britain  and  the  United  States)  she  had  borrowed  $1,500,- 
000,000  and  to  her  Allies  had  loaned  $1,000,000,000.  In  July  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  approved  a  graduated  income  tax  under 
which  wages,  agricultural  earnings,  salaries  and  pensions  were 
taxed  3%  per  cent;  commercial  and  manufacturing  profits  4*4 
per  cent;  revenues  from  investment  5  per  cent.  Exemptions  and 
deductions  reduced  these  rates  for  the  smaller  incomes.  A  new 
War  Loan — preceding  ones  had  realized  2,200  and  2,000  million 
dollars  respectively — was  floated  at  the  close  of  the  year  with  over 
10,000  million  francs,  or  about  $2,000,000,000  subscribed.  At  this 
date  it  was  estimated  that  the  War  had  cost  France  $20,000,000,000, 
of  which  $8,000,000,000  had  been  expended  in  1917. 

As  to  American  relations  there  was  great  rejoicing  at  Paris 
when  that  country  joined  the  Allies  and  President  Poincare*  on 
Apr.  5  sent  a  despatch  to  President  Wilson  describing  the  United 
States  as  faithful  to  its  ideals  and  traditions.  As  months  passed 
and  American  loans,  supplies,  aviators,  nurses,  Red  Cross  helpers 
and,  finally,  soldiers,  reached  France  the  import  of  the  new  alliance 
became  obvious.  In  September  the  American  Red  Cross  Council 
voted  $1,000,000  to  aid  the  families  of  French  officers  and  soldiers 
who  might  need  help  and  by  the  close  of  the  year  there  were  200,000 
Americans  on  the  French  and  British  fronts.  On  the  other  hand 
France  freely  granted  supplies  and  munitions  and  artillery  to  the 
American  troops  and  helped  greatly  in  their  training. 


88  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Italy:  Its  Italy  faced  the  crisis  of    existence    as  an  historic 

!md*Di!rasters  nati°nanty    during   this   period.      Unsuspected    diffi- 
o?191?fa  culties   were    developing   in   its   military   ranks  from 

the  first  of  the  year  but  were  held  in  check  by  the 
victories  of  the  summer  and  the  sweep  toward  Trieste;  known 
problems  of  German  propaganda  were  seething  throughout  the 
country  but  were  kept  more  or  less  beneath  the  surface.  Baron 
Sonnino,  the  Foreign  Minister,  told  the  Deputies  (June  21) 
that  the  Government's  war  aims  were  frontiers  which  would  guar- 
antee the  independence  of  a  pacific  State,  with  reparation  for  the 
Belgian  iniquities  and  the  unification  of  an  independent  Poland. 
Italy,  at  this  time,  was  essentially  a  democratic  country,  the  Kingx 
the  first  citizen  of  his  nation  as  well  as  its  hereditary  sovereign.  The 
Court  was  democratic,  the  King  and  Queen  helpful,  in  a  myriad 
ways,  to  their  people.  The  August  offensive  was  a  reply  to  the 
Papal  Peace  note;  an  intimation  that  Trieste,  though  Austria's 
chief  sea-port,  was  demanded,  as  well  as  the  Trentino  which  Austria 
would,  at  this  time,  have  been  willing  to  surrender.  It  was  the 
greatest  Italian  effort  of  the  War  and  the  army  was,  apparently, 
in  good  shape  and  had  been  strengthened  largely  during  the  spring 
of  1917;  it  was  provided  with  a  greatly  increased  number  of  heavy 
guns,  warm  clothing  and  supplies,  and  an  excellent  Aerial  service;  it 
was  supported  by  the  visits  of  Generals  Foch  and  Robertson  to  Count 
Cadorna,  by  the  help  of  France  and  Britain  in  various  forms  and 
by  improved  engineering  and  transport  corps.  In  March,  when 
preparations  were  under  way,  a  semi-official  statement  was  made: 

In  order  to  secure  the  supplies  for  this  new  army,  beginning,  perhaps,  with 
scarcely  500,000  men,  and  now  estimated  at  3,000,000,  the  nation  has  put  in  opera- 
tion a  total  of  2,179  factories,  employing  468,940  persons,  of  whom  72,324  are  classed 
as  skilled  workmen.  There  are,  further,  1,181  minor  projectile  factories,  employing 
35,000  persons,  To  these  totals  must  also  be  added  a  countless  number  of  uniform 
and  clothing  factories  in  every  part  of  the  land.  The  War,  so  far,  has  cost  Italy  about 
$4,000,000,000,  of  which  sum  a  little  over  one-third  has  been  obtained  through  war 
loans  subscribed  by  her  own  people.  The  national  savings  banks  show  a  decided 
increase  of  deposits  to  a  total  of  2,200,000,000  lire,  or  $440,000,000.  In  addition, 
there  are  deposits  in  private  banking  institutions  amounting  to  $1,125,000,000. 

Italy  had  also  been  maintaining  an  army  in  Albania  which  con- 
nected with  the  Anglo-French  expedition  at  Salonika;  she  had  helped 
to  blockade  the  Adriatic  ports  of  Austria,  and  in  the  Anglo-French 
expedition  to  the  Dardanelles;  she  aided  in  the  transportation  of 
troops  and  material  thither  and  sent  a  contingent  to  Palestine.  Yet 
at  the  beginning  of  the  War  Italy's  army  was  not  an  effective  one 
in  the  German  modern  sense  of  the  word;  her  industrial  resources 
were  limited,  and  not  easy  of  development;  she  produced  no  coal 
and  no  iron,  and  the  output  of  her  steel  works  was  small.  Public 
opinion  was  not  then  and  was  not  in  1917  all  it  should  have  been 
and  the  country  was  permeated  with  German  agents,  money,  in- 
fluence and  Pacifist  talk.  Meanwhile,  however,  the  army  had 
driven  back  the  great  Austrian  offensive  of  1916,  had  fought  for 
two  years  amid  clouds,  and  on  the  sides  and  tops  of  mighty  moun- 


ITALY:  ITS  DIFFICULTIES  AND  DISASTERS  IN  1917  89 

tains,  had  captured  and  held  lofty  regions  in  altitudes  varying  from 
5,000  to  11,000  feet. 

In  May,  1917,  a  minor  but  important  offensive  was  made  against 
the  hills  fronting  on  Gorizia;  Dosso  Faiti  was  taken  but  a  check 
received  on  the  slopes  of  Monte  Hermada.  Positions  on  the  Carso 
were  also  stormed  and  taken  and  many  prisoners  captured.  The 
greater  offensive  of  the  end  of  August  resulted  in  a  sweeping  success. 
The  Isonzo  was  crossed,  Monte  Santo  and  the  whole  of  the  Bain- 
sizza  Plateau  captured,  further  territory  taken  and  from  Monfal- 
cone  the  gallant  Italian  troops  were  looking  down  upon  the  promised 
land — Trieste.  Then,  in  apparent  confidence,  General  Cadorna 
proceeded  to  meet  the  stiffening  Austrian  defence  by  solidifying 
his  conquests  but  without  the  preparation  of  any  rear  positions 
to  fall  back  upon  in  the  event  of  reverse — the  omission  which 
had  made  Dunajec  such  an  immense  defeat  to  the  Russians  and 
Verdun  such  a  tragical  possibility  to  the  French.  For  a  couple 
of  months  this  process  of  strengthening  his  gains  was  continued 
by  Cadorna  amid  rumours  of  a  great  German-Austrian  offensive 
and  then,  like  a  roar  of  thunder  in  summer  skies,  came  a  sudden 
onslaught  by  the  enemy  upon  an  unexpected  point  and  the  whole 
Italian  Army  was  in  retreat  with  the  announced  capture  on  Oct. 
28  of  100,000  men  and  700  guns. 

The  official  Italian  announcement  was  significant  and  startled 
the  Allied  world  with  fears  of  something  worse  even  than  the  Rus- 
sian debacle:  "The  failure  to  resist  on  the  part  of  some  units  forming 
our  2nd  Army,  which  in  cowardice  retired  without  fighting,  or 
surrendered  to  the  enemy,  allowed  the  Austro-German  forces  to 
break  into  our  left  wing  on  the  Julian  front.  The  valiant  efforts 
of  other  troops  did  not  enable  them  to  prevent  the  enemy  from 
advancing  into  the  sacred  soil  of  our  fatherland."  Within  a  few 
hours  Gorizia  had  fallen,  Cividale  was  captured,  Italian  territory 
invaded  and  Udine  captured,  the  results  of  many  months  of  arduous 
fighting  lost,  Venice  seriously  menaced  and  even  Lombardy  threat- 
ened. After  the  first  shock  of  surprise  the  strategic  part  of  the 
retreat  was  ably  managed — first  to  the  Tagliamento  River  line  and 
then  to  that  of  the  Piave.  The  1st  Army  was  away  to  the  North, 
the  2nd  had  been  above  Gorizia,  the  3rd  below  Gorizia — all  were 
eventually  brought  into  strategic  line  with  the  Piave,  broken  in 
artillery  and  spirit  and  morale,  but  still  available  for  defensive 
purposes. 

For  the  moment  Venice  was  safe  though  subject  to  air  raids, 
deserted  by  many  of  its  people  and  stripped  of  its  wonderful  art 
treasures — pictures,  carvings,  glass-ware,  statuary  and  ivories — 
as  far  as  they  could  be  moved.  So  with  Treviso,  Padua,  Verona, 
Vicenza  and  other  places.  The  feeling  which  ran  through  Italy 
at  this  time  and  swamped  sedition,  as  it  gradually  re-inspired  the 
soldiers,  was  embodied  in  the  words  of  Gabrielle  D'Annunzio, 
the  poet-aviator  (Nov.  20):  "Austrians  to  walk  in  the  piazza  of 
San  Marco!  I  cannot  think  of  it.  It  is  agony.  It  is  the  ultimate 
horror,  not  alone  for  the  fact  of  it,  but  for  all  that  it  signifies.  It  must 
never  be.  Now,  if  ever,  we  Italians  must  experience  the  resurrec- 


90  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

tion  of  our  great  qualities.  We  must  make  a  great  and  immortal 
gesture,  one  which  shall  thrill  the  world.  Rather  than  devote 
those  stones  to  the  tread  of  Austria,  let  us  fire  the  city.  Let  that 
beauty,  that  inspiration,  perish  in  a  fire  whose  glow  shall  illumi- 
nate the  pages  of  our  history  for  all  time.  Better  that  than  to  sur- 
render it.'* 

By  this  time,  about  280,000  prisoners  had  been  captured  by 
the  Austro-Germans  and  2,500  guns.  There  followed  vigorous 
appeals  to  Britain  and  France  for  help  and  equally  powerful  efforts 
to  make  that  help  prompt  and  effective.  British  monitors  and 
airmen  and  money  already  had  aided  in  the  Isonzo  victories;  British 
and  French  troops,  artillery  and  aviators,  were  now  rushed  by  various 
routes  and  on  every  train  to  the  Piave  front.  For  a  while  the  Italian 
line  trembled  in  the  air;  the  fate  of  Italy  hung  in  the  balance  and 
perhaps  the  whole  fate  of  the  War.  Speedily,  however,  the  popu- 
lation grew  sterner  in  its  patriotism,  slowly  the  troops  regained 
their  morale,  steadily  the  Allied  re-inforcements  tightened  the  wall 
of  resistance,  surely  the  long  line  grew  stronger,  the  spirit  firmer, 
thb  guns  more  numerous  and  the  country,  as  a  whole,  was  saved 
for  the  time  from  the  fate  of  Serbia  and  Roumania.  In  this  result 
the  coming  of  British  and  French  troops  had  a  great  share.  They 
disproved  the  Germanized  charge  in  Italy  that  the  Allies  cared 
nothing  about  that  country  and  its  splendid  efforts;  they  showed 
the  United  States  and  other  Allies  that  Italy  needed  much  which 
they  must  give,  and  give  quickly;  so  far  as  lack  of  munitions  was 
the  cause  of  the  d£bdcle  the  situation  was  greatly  aided.  General 
Cadorna  was  replaced  by  General  Amando  Diaz;  the  great  guns 
of  the  Allies,  when  they  got  into  action,  worked  wonders  and  for  the 
moment  made  the  Piave  secure;  rest  and  time  gave  the  Italian 
soldiers  opportunity  to  discuss  the  heroism  and  leadership  of  a 
retreat  in  which  the  central  figure  was  General  Boriani,  with  his 
Alpine  infantry  and  Bersaglieri. 

Meanwhile,  changes  in  public  opinion  were  marked  by  the  fall 
of  the  Boselli  Cabinet,  and  the  accession  of  Vittorio  Orlando  to 
office  on  Oct.  30.  Sig.  Orlando  had  great  capacity  but  was  little 
known  outside  of  Italy;  a  member  of  the  Giolitti,  Salandra  and 
Boselli  Governments  he  was  what  is  usually  called  a  "safe  man," 
and  had,  also,  the  honour  of  four  sons  in  the  Army.  Baron  Son- 
nino  was  retained  as  Foreign  Secretary,  General  Alfieri  became 
Minister  of  War,  and  General  Dallolio,  Minister  of  Munitions. 
Italy  thus  started  upon  a  new  era  of  war-action  backed  by  the 
Allies  with,  it  is  true,  some  of  its  territory  and  people  in  enemy 
hands  but  with  a  powerful  line  of  defence  and  a  new  determination 
to  rout  out  the  large  number  of  slackers  and  uncalled  young  men 
crowding  the  cities  and  towns — only  those  up  to  36  having  been 
summoned  as  yet  to  the  colours. 

What  was  the  cause  of  Italy's  great  defeat,  its  bitter  collapse 
in  the  hour  of  victory,  its  failure  to  realize  a  splendid  opportunity? 
In  the  main  it  was  the  same  cause  which  smashed  Russia  as  a  com- 
batant, which  disrupted  the  Roumanian  campaign  of  1916,  which 
almost  broke  France  in  the  spring  of  1917 — the  silent  force  of  German 


ITALY:  ITS  DIFFICULTIES  AND  DISASTERS  IN  1917  91 

gold,  the  clever  manipulation  of  German  "friends"  and  spies  and 
dupes.  A  shortage  of  munitions  there  was  owing  to  labour  troubles 
engineered  by  friends  of  Germany,  a  shortage  of  food  and  coal 
in  the  country  was  also  a  natural  reason  for  discontent  and  a  result 
of  the  paralysis  in  transport  facilities.  But  the  immediate  and 
direct  cause  was  the  undermining  of  loyalty,  faith  and  courage 
in  a  part  of  the  2nd  Army  and  its  instructed  belief  that  peace  would 
come  if  the  Austro-Germans  were  allowed  through.  Gen.  Cadorna 
realized  this  propaganda  too  late;  yet  it  was  known  or  felt  very 
widely.  As  in  Spain,  Portugal,  Greece  or  the  United  States,  Germans 
were  everywhere  in  Italy  and  German  influence  had  long  been  uti- 
lized in  politics  and  finance,  in  the  dissemination  of  false  news  and 
views,  in  the  promotion  of  rivalries,  class  and  religious  antagonism, 
international  suspicions.  The  head  and  front  of  this  movement 
was  Sig.  Giolitti — Premier  before  the  War  and  in  original  control 
of  the  Parliament  which  still  was  sitting  at  Rome.  It  was  with 
him  that  Von  Biilow  and  Burian  had  worked  to  delay  Italy  in 
the  War;  it  was  around  him  that  all  the  pro-German,  Pacifist  and 
extreme  Socialist  agencies  of  the  country  centred;  it  was  he  who 
benefited  politically  by  the  peace  propaganda  and  he  who,  with- 
out showing  his  hand  too  openly,  indirectly  controlled  a  Parliament 
of  doubtful  loyalty  and  influenced  a  Government  which,  in  1917, 
was  not  over-efficient. 

There  were  many  things  to  aid  the  German  propaganda — out 
of  which  Austria  was  carefully  kept.  Many  Italians  had  been 
educated  in  Germany  and  there  were  many  German  professors 
at  Italian  Universities  who  had  not  become  Italian  subjects  and 
who  remained  skilful  agents  of  the  Kaiser;  German  science,  pro- 
fessional methods  and  financial  interests  had  permeated  the  trades 
and  business  of  the  country;  German  commercial  travellers,  before 
the  war,  were  specialists  and  men  of  ability  and  apparent  means, 
speaking  Italian  like  natives;  the  Libraries  and  book-sellers  were 
important  factors  in  the  propaganda  and  the  German  Government 
aided  the  former  with  the  gift  of  books  and  official  reports;  during 
the  War  many  commercial  agents  remained  as  journalists  or  visitors 
to  weave  their  webs  of  intrigue;  the  Banca  Commerciale  and  its 
connections — associated  in  peace  days  with  the  Deutsche  Bank 
of  Berlin — gave  credit  to  these  and  other  spies,  discounted  notes 
and  helped  in  filtering  German  money  into  many  parts  of  Italian 
life.  An  illustration  of  pre-war  methods  was  the  Imperial  Insti- 
tute of  Archaeology,  which  came  into  existence  in  Rome  in  1911 — 
a  magnificent  institution  opened  by  the  Kaiser.  With  its  staff 
of  German  experts,  its  artists  and  its  library  it  had  a  great  influence 
in  commerce  and  society. 

There  were  curious  complications  of  national  opinion.  The 
Vatican  was  in  Italy  but  it  was  not  Italian;  the  Church  was  inclined 
to  be  international  rather  than  national.  Many  of  the  States 
or  Kingdoms  had  great  racial  and  political  diversities.  Rome 
lived  largely  in  the  past  and  as  a  city  was  kept  much  in  the  dark, 
by  a  rigid  censorship,  as  to  the  seriousness  of  the  situation;  Milan 
was  warm-blooded  in  the  War,  optimistic  and  patriotic;  Turin 


92  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

was  the  headquarters  of  Giolitti  in  the  old  days  and  of  indifferen- 
tism  in  the  new,  the  centre  of  great  food  scarcity,  the  scene  of  violent 
riots;  other  cities  were  indifferent,  divided  in  opinion  or  full  of 
intrigue,  with  Socialists,  Neutralists,  Pacifists,  Clericals,  Teuto- 
phites,  in  bewildering  varieties  of  opinion.  It  was  an  easy  ground 
for  analysis  by  the  Bureau  in  Berlin  to  which  the  Government 
had  appointed  various  clever  students  of  Psychology  and  devoted 
to  the  study  of  mental,  moral  and  political  phenomena  in  Allied 
countries.  As  in  Russia  and  France  work  was  carried  on  in  the 
Italian  lines  and  behind  the  lines. 

A  religious  incident  was  that  of  Mgr.  Von  Gerlach,  retained 
by  the  Pope  for  some  time  after  the  War  as  his  Private  Chamber- 
lain, and  who,  after  leaving  the  country,  was  tried  in  June,  1917, 
for  espionage  and  found  guilty — though  the  Court  proclaimed  the 
Vatican  free  of  all  suspicion.  According  to  the  London  Times 
he  was  known  to  have  been  in  close  touch  with  Herr  Erzberger, 
the  German  Catholic  leader,  and  to  have  succeeded  Herr  Baum- 
garten  as  leader  of  the  anti-war  propaganda  in  Italy  after  war  was 
declared.  The  verdict  of  the  Court  stated  that  subornation  of 
the  press  was  his  chief  task  but  that  he  also  acted  as  a  channel 
for  communication  to  and  from  the  headquarters  of  the  German 
espionage  organization  for  Italy,  which  had  been  established  in 
Switzerland  under  the  direction  of  Baron  Stockhammer.  In  the 
Roman  Parliament  on  Dec.  20  Sig.  Giolitti  was  described  as  the 
Caillaux  of  Italy  and  the  Vatican  charged  with  still  having  pro- 
German  officials  within  its  gates.  The  charges  evoked  a  brief 
denial  from  Giolitti  and  a  plea  for  unity  in  the  face  of  the  enemy. 
The  end  of  the  year  saw  the  country  more  united  and  earnest  in  its 
war-spirit  than  at  any  time  since  its  entry  into  the  struggle. 

As  to  the  rest  Italy,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  had  over  600,000 
workers  in  munition  factories;  her  trade  was  entirely  changed  in 
its  course  and  instead  of  taking  $150,000,000  in  imports  from  Ger- 
many and  Austria  and  sending  only  $100,000,000  in  return  she 
was  obtaining  everything  from  France,  Britain  and  the  United 
States;  her  shipping  was  not  in  a  favourable  state  and  out  of  1,300,000 
tons  at  the  beginning  of  war  500,000  tons  had  been  lost;  official 
reports  received  at  Washington  on  Oct.  10  indicated  dangerous 
scarcity  of  food  accompanied  by  a  reduction  in  the  year's  product 
of  grains,  and  London  Times  correspondence  showed  the  causes 
to  be  lack  of  Government  food  control,  failure  to  stimulate  pro- 
duction and  short  supplies  from  abroad;  on  Nov.  5  II  Popolo  Romano 
declared  that  100,000  tons  of  new  shipping  and  17,000,000  quintals 
of  wheat  were  required  at  once,  while  imports  of  800,000  tons  of 
coal  were  needed  for  munitions,  railways  and  war  industries.  It 
may  be  added  that,  up  to  Dec.  31,  1916,  Italy  spent  $2,783,075,040 
through  its  War  Department,  and  $156,198,335  for  the  Navy. 
The  total  war  loans  raised  up  to  June  15,  1917,  were  $3,000,000,000, 
chiefly  at  5  or  5j^%  interest  and  the  expenditures  in  two  years 
of  war  were  $3,850,000,000. 


THE  LESSER  NATIONS  AND  EUROPEAN  NEUTRALS  93 

The  Lesser  The  historic  rivalries  and  interesting  alignments 

Nations;  of  j-ne  Balkans  must  be  left  with  only  a  brief  refer- 

Neu^rafs^nd  ence  to  Greece  and  Roumania.  The  year's  record  in 
the  War.  Serbia  was  simply  one  of  crushed  suffering  and  the 

silent  effort  of  a  conquered  people  to  endure  until  the 
end  came  —  renewed  independence  or  national  death.  With 
Greece  it  was  different.  If  King  Constantine  and  his  consort  could 
hold  out  until  the  German  victory  which  they  expected,  was  won, 
Greece  would  share  with  Bulgaria  the  fruits  of  success;  if  Venizelos 
and  the  Entente  won  in  the  struggle  for  freedom,  then  Greece  again 
would  be  a  factor  in  the  new  adjustments.  Documents  published* 
after  the  dethronement  of  Constantine  left  no  doubt  as  to  his  per- 
sonal attitude.  His  reply  to  the  Kaiser's  invitation  of  August, 
1914,  to  join  him  in  the  War  was  significant:  "After  mature  reflec- 
tion I  cannot  see  how  I  can  be  of  service  by  the  immediate  mobiliza- 
tion of  my  army  while  the  Mediterranean  is  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Anglo-French  fleets,  which  would  be  able  to  destroy  the  Greek 
fleet  and  mercantile  marine,  occupy  the  islands,  and  prevent  the 
concentration  of  my  army,  which,  through  the  lack  of  railway 
communication,  can  only  be  made  by  sea.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
I  believe  neutrality  is  necessary,  a  neutrality  which  would,  more- 
over, be  useful  to  Germany.'''  Of  various  telegrams  from  Queen 
Sophie,  one  urged  her  brother,  the  Kaiser,  to  take  the  offensive 
on  the  Macedonian  front  and  hoped  for  Greek  co-operation.  On 
Jan.  10,  1917,  she  telegraphed  that  there  was  a  serious  fuel  and 
ammunition  shortage  caused  by  the  Entente  blockade  and  added: 
"May  the  infamous  swine  receive  the  punishment  they  deserve." 
In  another  message  she  declared  that  "the  Greek  artillery  will 
be  destroyed  if  in  danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Entente." 
She  also  kept  the  Kaiser  informed  of  the  actions  and  intentions  of 
General  Sarrail,  Commander  of  the  Entente  forces  in  Macedonia. 

It  was  this  sort  of  thing  and  the  deceitful  course  of  Constantine 
which  made  the  Allies'  policy  so  varied  and  at  times  ineffective — 
coupled  with  the  Czar's  objection  to  any  action  which  might  pre- 
cipitate republican  institutions  in  the  Balkans  or  remove  his  cousin 
from  the  throne  of  Greece.  As  joint  signatory  with  France  and 
Great  Britain  to  the  1830  Treaty,  which  guaranteed  Greek  inde- 
pendence under  control  of  the  three  Powers,  he  had,  of  course,  much 
to  say.  Meantime,  German  propagandists  were  in  constant  touch 
with  the  King  and  his  ministers,  the  Queen  and  her  associates;  at 
Paris  and  London  there  were  continuous  worry  and  friction  over 
the  difficulties  daily  presented  by  the  tortuous  policy  and  diplomacy 
of  Athens.  To  crush  Greece  would  not  only  antagonize  the  Czar 
but  destroy  the  Venizelist  hopes  for  a  free  and  democratic  country 
and  place  the  Allies  in  a  situation  where  Greece  and  Belgium  would 
be  made  interchangeable  terms.  To  advance  from  Salonika  with 
an  armed  and  treacherous  Greece  behind  was  practically  impossible 
and  early  in  1917  documents  were  made  public  by  the  Venizelist 
press  which  proved  that  Fort  Rupel  had  been  instructed  in  March- 
April,  1916,  to  surrender  to  the  Teuton-Bulgar  invaders  and  that 

*NOTE.— White-Book  distributed  at  Athens  on  Aug.  18,  1917. 


94  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  King  was  responsible  for  a  similar  surrender  of  a  division  of 
Greek  troops  in  August  following.  On  June  12  the  prolonged 
diplomatic  struggle  between  this  monarch  and  the  Entente  Allies 
was  finished.  M.  Jonnart,  on  behalf  of  France  and  Britain  and, 
presumably,  Russia  compelled  the  King's  abdication  in  favour  of 
his  second  son  Prince  Alexander,  and  on  the  16th  issued  an  Allied 
Proclamation  as  follows: 

France,  Great  Britain,  and  Russia  desire  the  independence,  greatness,  and 
prosperity  of  Greece.  They  intend  to  defend  the  brave  little  land  they  have  liberated, 
against  the  united  efforts  of  the  Turks,  Bulgarians  and  Germans.  They  are  here 
to  checkmate  the  manoeuvres  of  the  hereditary  enemies  of  the  Kingdom.  They  will 
put  an  end  to  the  repeated  violations  of  the  Constitution,  of  treaties,  and  the  deplor- 
able intrigues  which  led  up  to  the  massacre  of  soldiers  of  the  Allies.  Yesterday 
Berlin  was  in  command  of  Athens  and  was  gradually  leading  the  people  under  the 
yoke  of  the  Bulgarians  and  Germans.  We  resolved  to  re-establish  the 
constitutional  rights  and  unity  of  Greece.  The  Protecting  Powers,  therefore,  de- 
manded the  abdication  of  the  King.  They  have  no  intention  of  tampering  with  the 
constitutional  prerogatives;  they  have  other  aims,  namely,  to  assure  the  regular 
and  constitutional  progress  of  the  country. 

M.  Zaimis  resigned  the  Premiership  and  on  June  27  M.  Veni- 
zelos  became  once  more  the  popular  ruler  of  Greece ;  revelations  were 
continuous  as  to  the  Germanized  policy  of  the  late  King  and  many 
of  the  political  leaders;  the  army  grew  steadily  in  numbers  and 
Greece  promised  to  become  a  useful  ally  of  the  Entente  Powers. 

As  to  Roumania  it  presented  one  of  the  great  tragedies  of  the  War. 
A  rich,  prosperous,  contented  people,  ambitious  but  not  aggressive, 
governed  cautiously  by  M.  Bratiano  as  Premier,  and,  upon  the 
whole,  feeling  its  way  wisely  through  the  turmoil  and  tumult  of  the 
Balkans  during  many  months  of  war,  it  suddenly  and  without 
obvious  public  reason,  had  leaped  into  the  struggle  during  1916. 
At  the  end  of  that  year  its  capital  and  its  Wallachian  soil  lay  in  the 
hands  of  the  German  conqueror.  An  aftermath  of  the  Russian 
revolution  showed  the  reasons  for  this  situation.  Certain  pub- 
lished official  correspondence  indicated  that  under  the  Czar's  regime, 
though  against  his  policy  and  knowledge,  Stuermer,  then  Premier, 
and  Protopopoff,  an  influential  Minister,  had  deliberately  sacrificed 
Roumania  in  order  (1)  to  aid  Germany  and  Austria  in  checking 
BrusilofFs  drive  through  Galicia  and  (2)  to  force  the  Czar's  hand  in 
favour  of  a  separate  peace.  On  Jan.  1, 1917,  the  King  issued  a  Declara- 
tion which  was  posted  in  every  town  still  free  from  invasion:  "The 
Roumanian  Army  is  not  conquered.  It  is  unconquered  in  that 
which  constitutes  the  sole  value  of  an  army,  even  in  this  age  of 
cowardly,  sterile  technique,  namely,  in  the  consciousness  of  having 
generously  offered  itself  in  order  to  save  the  country  and  to  secure 
the  triumph  of  its  race.  Its  long  resistance  does  honour  to  its  flag. " 
The  famous  Oil-fields  had  been  destroyed  as  far  as  possible  to  pre- 
vent the  enemy  from  using  them  and  Berlin  statements  estimated 
the  damage  at  $80,000,000.  With  the  establishment  of  the  new 
capital  at  Jassy  and  the  possession,  alone,  of  the  Province  of  Mol- 
davia, the  Roumanian  Government,  its  soldiers  and  its  people  were 
cut  off  from  Europe,  except  via  Russia,  with  a  territory  not  fruitful 


THE  LESSER  NATIONS  AND  EUROPEAN  NEUTRALS          95 

in  food  supplies  and  without  military  necessities — the  richest  of  its 
resources  being  in  the  enemy's  hands.  Re-organization  followed, 
however,  under  General  Berthelet  and  with  such  Allied  assistance 
as  was  possible. 

The  small  defensive  army  was  increased  by  about  50,000  wounded 
restored  to  health,  by  60,000  new  recruits  and  by  men  from  the  rear 
or  those  of  hitherto  exempted  ages  or  conditions.  Equipment  was 
the  greatest  difficulty  but  France  supplied  arms,  artillery,  clothes 
and  machine  guns  which  were  paid  for  by  an  English  loan  of  $200,000,- 
000.  Serious  work  of  all  kinds  was  undertaken  though,  as  the  year 
advanced,  German  propaganda  for  peace  and  Russian  propaganda 
for  revolution  began  to  attack  the  vitality  of  the  soldiers'  patriotism 
— fortunately  without  permanent  effect.  Then  came  the  Macken- 
sen  offensive  of  August,  the  gallant  resistance  of  the  Roumanians, 
the  second  Russian  betrayal  in  the  refusal  of  Bolsheviki-crazed 
troops  to  stand  by  their  Allies  and  the  final  success  of  the  Rouman- 
ians. In  December  came  the  third  Russian  betrayal  of  this  hapless 
people  and  their  enforced  participation  in  peace  negotiations  with 
the  Austro-Germans. 

By  August  of  this  year  Portugal  had  improvised  an  army 
where  one  hardly  existed  before.  It  put  130,000  men  on  active 
service,  of  whom  40,000  were  in  France,  while  20,000  men  were 
being  trained  at  home  to  complete  the  two  divisions  on  the 
Western  front.  Portuguese-African  troops,  aiding  in  the  conquest  of 
German  colonies,  totalled  30,000  men.  To  France  6,000  men  were 
sent  to  work  at  munitions  while  England  and  France  were  paid 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  troops  on  this  front.  The  Republic 
had  its  share  of  internal  troubles  and  a  revolutionary  rising  in 
December  resulted  in  Dr.  Sidonio  Paes  becoming  Prime  Minister, 
while  President  Machado  was  deposed  and  sent  out  of  the  country 
and  Costa,  the  ex-Premier,  and  Soares,  Foreign  Minister,  were 
imprisoned  on  a  battleship — revolutions  in  Portugal,  as  in  South 
America,  often  taking  the  place  of  general  elections.  A  statement 
was  issued  from  Lisbon  on  Dec.  18  declaring  that:  "The  foreign 
policy  of  the  new  Portuguese  Government  rests  and  will  continue 
to  rest  on  the  maintenance  of  the  alliance  with  England,  in  hearty 
co-operation  with  the  other  Allies." 

Meanwhile  the  small  Neutral  States  of  Europe  were  having  a 
hard  time.  Germany  had  in  1914,  told  them,  through  Belgium,  that 
weakness  and  honour  combined  did  not  pay,  that  principle  in  war 
was  to  be  ridden  rough-shod  by  expediency,  that  international  morals 
were  a  matter  of  national  strength.  The  Scandinavian  countries  of 
Norway,  Sweden  and  Denmark  suffered  particularly  during  these 
years — in  humiliation  of  spirit,  in  loss  of  lives  and  shipping,  in  dis- 
union of  national  forces.  To  some  extent  they  came  together  in 
self-defence  and  by  stern  necessity  were  forced  into  that  closer  union 
which  long  had  been  the  dream  of  their  sages  and  a  few  statesmen. 
There  was  also  another  side  to  the  situation.  Even  before  the  War 
militarism  and  the  doctrines  of  Treitschke  had  found  strong  place 
amongst  the  upper  classes  of  these  countries  and  the  ties  of  German 
and  Scandinavian  aristocracy  and  social  life  had  been  drawn  fairly 


96  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

close.  Social  relationship  in  these  years  did  not  count  on  the  Allies' 
side  as  it  did  on  that  of  the  Teutons;  it  was  not  used  in  the  same 
effective  though  underhand  way.  The  monarchs  of  the  three 
Scandinavian  countries  were  closely  related.  Christian  X  of  Den- 
mark and  Haakon  VII  of  Norway  were  brothers,  Gustav  V  of 
Sweden  was  their  cousin  and  all  were  cousins  of  King  George  on 
his  mother's  side,  while  King  Haakon  was  also  brother-in-law  to  the 
British  sovereign  and  King  Gustav's  eldest  son,  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Sweden,  was  the  Duke  of  Connaught's  son-in-law.  Yet  one 
German  Queen  in  Sweden  exercised  more  influence  than  all  the 
British  relationships! 

The  masses  of  the  people  were  by  nature  democratic,  by  many 
associations  of  the  past  friendly  to  England,  by  others  hostile  to 
Prussia.  The  press  was,  in  part,  bought  up  by  German  influence 
or  gold;  the  War  brought  pressure  upon  the  politicians  which 
caused  many  curious  developments  in  public  policy.  As  it  pro- 
gressed German  military  successes  and  the  closeness  of  these  coun- 
tries to  the  German  economic  system  tended  to  increase  pro-German 
feeling  just  as  the  Submarine  issue  and  natural  sympathy  with  the 
fate  of  a  little  nation  like  Belgium  drew  many  in  the  other  direction. 
German  spies  and  agents  swarmed  in  Copenhagen,  Christiania  and 
Stockholm;  their  most  common  method  was  to  talk  peace  and  the 
economic  and  military  power  of  Germany  and,  through  Socialist 
influence,  to  try  and  re-act  upon  opinion  in  Allied  countries. 

The  war-action  taken  by  these  Neutrals,  whether  under  pressure 
or  by  inclination — the  latter  had  most  sway  in  Norway  and  Sweden 
— was  in  effect  hostile  to  the  British  Alliance.  The  Swedish  policy 
as  to  mails  and  its  obvious  antagonism  to  Russia  over  Finland  and 
Aland  were  illustrations;  the  closing  of  the  Danish  straits  by  mines 
was,  no  doubt,  a  necessity  because  Germany  would  have  compelled 
it;  the  mining  of  the  only  other  passage  for  the  Allies  into  or  out  of 
the  Baltic — that  of  the  Oresund — by  Sweden  was  injurious  to  Rus- 
sia, helpful  to  the  naval  operations  of  the  Germans,  and  in  contra- 
vention of  an  Italian  treaty.'  All  Scandinavia  declined  to  take 
action  upon  President  Wilson's  invitation  of  February  to  sever 
diplomatic  relations  with  Germany,  but  on  the  other  hand  it  was 
united  on  Feb.  14  in  handing  to  German  ministers  a  protest  against 
the  creation  of  submarine  war-zones.  This  Note  affirmed  that  no 
belligerent  had  the  right  to  prohibit  peaceful  navigation  through 
zones,  distant  from  enemy  coasts  which  could  be  blockaded  only  in 
a  legitimate  manner.  The  Governments  recalled  the  universally- 
recognized  law  on  Naval  blockade — namely,  that  a  neutral  ship 
cannot  be  captured  if  it  is  not  making  any  attempt  to  violate  the 
blockade,  and  that  in  the  event  of  a  ship  being  captured  it  must  be 
brought  before  a  prize  court  in  conformity  with  the  general  regula- 
tions. It  was  pointed  out  that  the  measures  announced  would  be 
still  more  opposed  to  the  principles  of  International  law  if  applied 
without  distinction  to  all  ships  entering  the  zones  described,  and 
consequently  to  those  not  bound  for  enemy  ports.  At  Stockholm 
on  May  9-11  a  Conference  of  the  three  Governments  was  held  and 
the  strictest  neutrality  re-affirmed. 


THE  LESSER  NATIONS  AND  EUROPEAN  NEUTRALS  97 

Meanwhile,  large  Scandinavian  supplies  at  high  prices  were 
going  into  Germany  and  the  checking  of  this  traffic  was,  for  the 
Entente,  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  the  blockade  problems.  It  was 
stated  at  Washington  in  June  that  Germany  was  receiving  from 
Scandinavia  and  Holland  imports  of  food-stuffs  equal  in  calories 
to  the  total  rations  of  2,500,000  soldiers.  The  demand  was  so 
strenuous  that  it  tended  to  strip  the  Scandinavian  countries  of  their 
own  supplies;  they  turned  to  the  Allies  and  at  this  point  the  econ- 
omic pressure  of  Britain  and  the  United  States,  working  together 
in  1917,  changed  conditions  considerably.  By  the  end  of  that  year 
there  was  a  great  shortage  in  bread,  potatoes  and  coal,  gasoline  and 
lubricating  oils,  and  an  insistent,  natural  desire  for  world-peace. 
There  had  been  Cabinet  crises  in  all  Scandinavia  and  the  incoming 
of  the  United  States,  the  democratization  of  Russia,  the  continued 
German  destruction  of  Scandinavian  shipping — despite  the  severely- 
felt  tightening  of  the  Allied  blockade — modified  some,  at  least,  of 
the  pro-German  sentiment.  Still  the  situation  for  the  Allies  was  a 
difficult  one.  Too  heavy  pressure  would  drive  these  countries  into 
German  arms;  too  little  meant  continued  food  and  supplies  for  the 
German  people.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  result  of  increasing  em- 
bargoes made  food  exports  from  Scandinavia  into  Germany  reach, 
at  the  close  of  1917,  the  lowest  point  since  the  War  began.  On 
Nov.  28  another  Conference  was  held  at  Christiania  composed  of  the 
three  Kings,  their  Premiers  and  Foreign  Ministers. 

During  the  year  Norway  suffered  from  the  pro-German  plots 
and  destruction  of  ships  under  direction  of  Baron  Reutenfels;  at 
the  same  time  Sweden  appeared  as  the  willing  go-between  in  Ger- 
man schemes  at  Buenos  Ayres  and  Mexico  and  other  places  of 
diplomatic  or  propaganda  importance.  The  United  States  Govern- 
ment made  public  on  Sept.  8  a  series  of  despatches  chiefly  from 
Count  Von  Luxburg,  German  Minister  at  Buenos  Ayres,  to  the 
Foreign  Secretary  at  Berlin,  which  illustrated  the  character  of  the 
arrangement.  They  showed  that  the  Swedish  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  had  for  three  years  regularly  transmitted  these  and  other 
cables  in  German  cipher  under  the  guise  of  Swedish  Government 
messages.  These  despatches,  bearing  the  signature  of  the  Swedish 
Minister  and  addressed  to  Swedish  Legations  in  certain  neutral 
countries,  were  transmitted  by  them  to  the  German  Government 
through  the  Swedish  Minister  at  Berlin.  In  1915  this  was  stopped 
on  the  surface  by  the  British  Government,  or  at  least  the  promise 
made  that  it  would  cease;  in  1917  the  following  amongst  other 
despatches  (according  to  the  State  Department  at  Washington) 
went  through  these  same  avenues  of  transmission  from  Von  Luxburg 
to  the  Berlin  Foreign  Office: 

May  19,  1917. — This  (Argentine)  Government  has  now  released  German  and 
Austrian  ships  on  which  hitherto  a  guard  had  been  placed.  Government  will  in 
future  only  clear  Argentine  ships  as  far  as  Las  Palmas.  I  beg  that  the  small  steamers 
Oran  and  Guazo,  Jan.  31,  300  tons,  which  are  nearing  Bordeaux  with  a  view  to  change 
the  flag,  may  be  spared  if  possible  or  else  sunk  without  a  trace  being  left. 

July  9,  1917. — Without  showing  any  tendency  to  make  concessions,  postpone 
reply  to  Argentine  Note  until  receipt  of  further  reports.  A  change  of  Ministry  is 
probable.  As  regards  Argentine  steamers  I  recommend  either  compelling  them  to 


98  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

turn  back,  sinking  them  vrithout  leaving  any  trace,  or  letting  them  through.     They 
are  all  quite  small. 

Of  course  the  Swedish  Government  did  not  know  of  these  specific 
despatches  or  their  contents,  but  they  did  not  deny  their  transmis- 
sion, and  such  action  made  the  country  a  passive  German  ally. 
British  opinion  was  expressed  strongly  as  to  this  breach  of  neutrality 
and  it  was  said  that  the  Court,  the  aristocracy  and  the  Army  were 
all  pro-German,  that  Queen  Victoria,  a  daughter  of  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Baden,  was  another  Queen  Sophie  (of  Greece),  that  the 
Universities  and  main  business  interests  were  also  pro-German.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  distinguished  Swedish  publicists  such  as  Sven  Hedin, 
Prof.  Kjellen,  Birger  Morner,  Gustaf  Steffen,  Per  Hallstrom  and 
Harald  Hjarne  expressed  open  sympathy  with  Germany  in  their 
writings  and  most  of  the  "intellectuals"  of  Sweden  were  with  them. 
American  opinion  was  indignant  and  was  not  mollified  by  finding, 
later  on,  that  F.  Cronholm,  Swedish  Charge*  d'Affaires  in  Mexico, 
had  transmitted,  in  the  same  way,  communications  from  Herr  Von 
Eckhardt,  Minister  in  Mexico,  to  the  Berlin  Foreign  Office.  In 
November  it  was  stated  at  Stockholm  that  the  Swedish  Legation 
at  Petrograd  had  agreed  to  act  for  the  Lenine  Government  in 
opening  peace  negotiations  with  Germany,  while  that  Power  an- 
swered the  tightened  American-British  embargo  upon  Swedish 
imports  by  sending  some  small  food  shipments  to  Sweden.  On 
the  other  hand  the  large  industrial  and  Socialist  population  of 
Sweden  chose  in  September  an  anti-Government  majority  for  the 
Diet  and  made  Branting,  the  Socialist  leader,  a  possible  successor 
to  the  Premiership. 

Passing  from  Scandinavia  to  Holland  showed  dangers  and  diffi- 
culties there  of  a  very  similar  character.  The  Dutch  Governim 
had  ever  before  its  eyes  the  fate  of  Belgium,  the  situation  of  Rou- 
mania;  its  general  policy  as  to  the  continuous  Submarine  sinking 
of  ships  was  one  of  protest  and  then  silence.  On  Feb.  8,  T.  C. 
Van  der  Linden,  the  Premier,  told  the  States-General  that  Holland, 
up  to  the  present,  had  strictly  conformed  to  International  law,  it 
believed  that  law  remained  law  even  when  violated  by  others  and 
especially  upheld  the  principle  of  freedom  of  the  seas.  Accordingly, 
while  maintaining  an  impartial  standpoint  in  the  War,  Holland  had 
energetically  protested  to  Germany,  both  against  obstruction  to 
free  navigation  and  against  the  employment  of  Submarines  as  being 
opposed  to  the  principles  of  International  law. 

Upon  paper  these  protests  were  strong;  in  practice  they  were 
powerless.  Holland  knew  quite  well  that  a  logical  aim  of  German 
militarism  was  the  absorption  of  its  racially-similar  people  and  its 
many  Colonies,  and  that  the  Pan-German  party  and  such  publicists 
as  Bernhardi,  Reiner,  Bley,  Tannenberg  and  Von  Halle,  were  strongly 
urging  such  a  policy.  Little  excuse  would  be  needed,  if  power  was 
available,  to  precipitate  a  German  invasion.  German  propaganda 
was  ever  present  in  Holland,  the  Queen's  husband  was  a  German 
Prince,  trade  and  financial  interests  with  Germany  had  been,  and 
still  were,  very  powerful.  The  exports  (metric  tons)  from  Holland 
to  Germany  in  1915  and  1916  were  820,038  and  624,077  tons  respec- 


THE  LESSER  NATIONS  AND  EUROPEAN  NEUTRALS  99 

lively,  and  to  Great  Britain  89,204  and  52,589  tons  respectively*. 
On  the  other  hand  the  Dutch  import  of  German  coal  was  reduced 
from  over  14,000,000  tons  in  1914  to  4,800,000  tons  in  1916  and  still 
less  in  1917.  Dutch  war-profiteers,  also,  benefited  largely  by  Ger- 
man demands  and  a  part  of  the  press  by  German  propaganda. 
Smoked  meats,  butter,  cheese,  eggs,  vegetables  and  fish  went  across 
the  border  until  Holland  itself  was  stripped  of  food. 

Meanwhile,  Britain  was  pressing  Holland  to  restrict  these  ship- 
ments and  Germany  was  refusing  essential  coal  and  iron  unless  they 
were  continued.  A  Dutch  Commission  visited  the  United  States  in 
September  to  try  and  mitigate  the  American-British  policy  in  this 
respect;  an  agreement  between  the  Dutch  Bureau  of  Agricultural 
Exports  and  the  British  Government  had  already  arranged  the 
proportion  of  such  exports  from  Holland  as  being  50%  each  to  the 
two  opposing  nations.  Yet  it  was  claimed  that  in  1916  the  excess 
of  Dutch  food  imports  over  home  consumption  was  sufficient  to 
provision  1,200,000  soldiers  for  one  year.  It  was  alleged  that  the 
waterways  of  Holland  had  been  used  in  the  transport  of  German 
military  supplies  for  Belgium  and  through  two  years  of  British  pro- 
test and  official  correspondence  Holland  was  urged  not  to  permit 
the  Germans  to  ship  copper,  sand,  gravel,  and  other  war  materials 
over  Dutch  waterways.  In  October  an  agreement  as  to  trade  and 
financial  matters  was  announced  between  Holland  and  Austria- 
Hungary;  at  the  close  of  the  year  it  was  stated  that  during  1917 
50,000  more  men  had  been  added  to  the  Dutch  army  which  in  1914 
totalled  250,000  and  was  now  probably  half-a-million  in  number  — 
a  large  force  for  6,000,000  people  to  hold  in  leash! 

Switzerland  maintained  its  neutrality  in  1917  with  fear  and 
difficulty  and  the  added  complication  of  a  mixed  population  and  a 
central  position  between  the  Powers  at  war.  On  Jan.  1  President 
Schulthess  issued  a  statement  that  his  country,  though  surrounded 
by  four  great  nations  at  war,  was  faithful  to  its  traditions  and  deter- 
mined to  maintain  absolute  neutrality:  "  The  Swiss  people,  banded 
about  their  flag,  are  ready  for  every  sacrifice  to  protect  their  inde- 
pendence, the  integrity  of  their  territory,  their  honour  and  national 
dignity.  They  are  convinced  that  all  their  neighbours  will  respect 
their  decision,  but  whatever  happens,  never  will  they  allow  a  foreign 
army  to  invade  their  soil."  From  time  to  time  German  concentra- 
tions on  or  near  the  Swiss  frontiers  caused  alarm  but  did  not  come 
to  anything;  more  serious  was  the  German  failure  at  times  to  carry 
out  pledges  of  monthly  fuel  delivery  and  the  occasional  closing  of 
the  frontier  to  exports  from  Switzerland  or  its  imports  of  grain. 
In  March  Dr.  Paul  Ritter,  Swiss  Minister  at  Washington,  and  acting 
for  Germany,  came  under  suspicion  in  the  United  States  for  pro- 
German  action  in  press  propaganda;  on  Apr.  18  five  large  German 
battle-planes  sailed  over  Swiss  territory  and  notably  Basle,  and 
provoked  anger  by  the  repeated  breach  of  neutrality  thus  involved. 
In  June  occurred  the  pro-German  work  at  Petrograd  of  Robert 
Grimm,  a  Swiss  Socialist,  and  the  Peace  moves  of  Herr  Hoffman, 


—  j   c.  Van  der  Veer,  London  Editor  of  the  Amsterdam  Telegraaf,  in  New 
York  Times. 


100  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

then  Swiss  Foreign  Minister,  which  aimed  at  bringing  Russia  and 
Germany  together,  and  aroused  Entente  anger.  Hoffman's  resignation 
on  June  19  was  regarded  with  satisfaction.  He  had  long  been  a  strong 
pro-German  influence  in  Switzerland  and  the  German-Swiss  press 
greatly  deplored  his  fall.  Julian  Grande,  a  N.Y.  Times  correspond- 
ent at  Berne,  declared  on  June  23  that  all  through  his  career 
"Hoffman  has  been  a  German  agent.'* 

In  October  a  Swiss  Commission,  headed  by  Prof.  W.  E.  Rappard 
of  the  University  of  Geneva,  visited  the  United  States  in  connection 
with  the  embargo  on  food,  for  neutrals  who  were  helping  Germany, 
and  he  pointed  out  that  before  the  War,  Switzerland  imported  80 
per  cent,  of  her  coal  from  Germany,  the  rest  from  Belgium  and 
France.  Of  her  pig-iron  55  per  cent,  had  come  from  Germany,  with 
most  of  the  remainder  from  France;  nearly  75  per  cent,  of  her 
imported  wheat  came  from  Russia  and  Roumania.  In  short,  about 
three-fourths  of  Swiss  imports  had  been  foodstuffs  and  raw  materials, 
while  three-fourths  of  her  exports  had  been  manufactured  articles. 
He  stated  that  the  maintenance  of  their  armies  had  cost  the  Swiss 
during  this  war  $150,000.000  and  that^  Germany  had  made  extra- 
ordinary efforts  to  gain  Swiss  sympathies. 

Spain,  of  all  European  neutrals,  suffered  most  from  internal  dis- 
sensions and.  in  1917,  the  issues  of  monarchy  and  republicanism, 
pro-Germanism  and  pro-Ally  principles,  moderate  Liberalism  and 
Socialism,  Conservatism  and  Catholic  Church  interests,  were  mingled 
together  in  wild  confusion.     Count  Romanones,  the  Premier,  was  a 
warm  friend  of  the  Allies  and  a  moderate  Liberal.     On  Feb.  7  his 
Government  protested  strongly  against  the  Submarine  zone  policy. 
At  this  time  the   Spanish   Court,   the   Clergy  and  the  Army  were 
believed  to  be  decidedly  pro-German,  while  business  interests,  as  in 
many  other  neutral  countries,  and  the  people  generally,  were  con- 
sidered anti-German.     This  condition,  however,  was  modified  by 
such  elements  as  a  partially  pro-German  press,  a  continuous  German 
propaganda,  the  influence  of  many  Germans  living  in  the  country 
and  the  divided  views  of  Catholic  priests  who  were  not  all  German 
in  opinion;  a  part  of  the  Hierarchy,  in  fact,  were  pro- Ally  and  notably 
so  the  Archbishops  of  Tarragona  and  Saragossa.     In  March  unrest 
was  everywhere,  strikes  and  sedition  very  general,  with  methods  of 
strong  suppression  employed  for  a  time.     In  May  Senor  Antonio 
Maura,  head  of  the  Conservative  party,  came  out  with  a  Manifesto 
against  Britain  and  France  and  the  declaration  that  Spain's  proper 
place  was  beside  Germany  and  Austria.      He  took  the  rather  shrewd 
line  of  pointing  out  that  Gibraltar,  held  by  Britain,  and  Tangiers, 
owned  by  France,   were  originally  Spanish  possessions,  and  that 
"until  those  nations  give  an  earnest  of  their  regard  for  Spain  by 
surrendering  these  territories,  they  cannot  expect  the  friendship  of 
Spain." 

No  doubt  the  new  alignment  of  the  United  States  had  something 
to  do  with  such  bold  expressions  of  view;  there  was  little  love  for 
America  amongst  Spanish  leaders.  A  change  of  Government  fol- 
lowed and  Edouaido  Dato,  ex-Premier,  came  into  power.  On  Sept. 
23  an  interview  with  Count  Romanones  was  cabled  to  London 


MEXICO  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA  AND  THE  WAR  101 

in  which  he  claimed  that  the  Liberals  of  Spain  must  be  and  were 
with  the  British  Allies.  King  Alfonso,  though  by  inheritance  an 
Archduke  of  Austria  was  believed  to  be  pro-Ally  but  he  was  in  a 
difficult  position  and  had  parties  to  hold  in  loyalty  who  were  very 
far  apart  in  opinions.  These  parties  were  divided  into  groups 
which  favoured  one  or  the  other  war  alignment — the  Duke  of  Alba, 
for  instance,  a  great  Conservative  personage,  was  with  the  Entente; 
while  Rodrigo  Soriano,  a  republican  leader,  was  an  open  German 
supporter,  and  Alcada  Zamora,  a  leading  member  of  the  Dato 
Government,  was  also  pro-German.  The  country  was  prosperous 
in  many  ways  with  the  rich,  however,  growing  richer  and  the  poor 
poorer  and  a  pressing  shortage  in  food  supplies.  The  following 
table  gives  a  general  view  of  European  Neutrals  in  certain  essential 
data: 

Country  Area  Sq.  Miles       Population    Army  and  Navy 

Denmark .  .  15,300  3,000,000  85,000 

Netherlands 12,600  6,200,000  300,000 

Norway 124,000  2,400,000  110,000 

Sweden 172,800  5,600,000  600,000 

Spain 195,000  20,400,000  1,180,000 

Switzerland 16,000  3,800,000  540,000 


Total 535,700  41,400,000  2,815,000 

South  Amer-  Influenced  by  the  Submarine  issue  and  by  the 
Vto^Cen?  action  of  the  United  States,  Brazil,  Ecuador,  Peru, 
tral  America  Uruguay  and  Bolivia,  in  South  America,  severed  rela- 
and  Mexico,  tions  with  or  declared  war  against  Germany  during 
1917.  So  with  Costa  Rica,  Guatemala,  Honduras, 
Nicaragua  in  Central  America,  while  the  tiny  republics  of  Panama, 
Cuba  and  Haiti  declared  war  on  Germany.  The  declaration  of 
new  war  zones  in  January  and  proclamation  of  unrestricted  Sub- 
marine war  upon  neutrals  as  belligerents,  naturally  stirred  up  these 
countries,  and  as  they  were  so  far  away  from  the  scene  of  war  it 
was  not  a  difficult  matter  to  take  hostile  action.  The  countries 
mentioned,  with  Chile  and  the  Argentine,  comprised  the  most 
resourceful  and  best-governed  regions  of  this  half -continent. 

Their  products  consisted  largely  of  cotton,  coffee,  chocolate, 
sugar,  tobacco,  wheat  and  maize;  their  pastures  were  capable  of 
producing  the  best  beef  in  the  world,  their  virgin  forests  teemed 
with  precious  woods,  in  the  earth  were  immense  quantities  of  gold, 
copper,  silver,  saltpetre,  tungsten  and  coal;  as  nations  the  United 
States,  just  before  and  during  the  War,  had  commenced  to  seek 
bases  for  co-operation  and  exploitation  amongst  them;  everywhere 
Germany  also  had  been  busy  with  political  agents  and  commercial  rep- 
resentatives, while  Britain  still  held  the  bulk  of  their  external  com- 
merce— though  in  the  year  of  June  30,  1917,  South  American  exports 
to  the  United  States  had  grown  to  $542,212,820  or  an  increase  of 
143%  over  1914.  Pan-Germanism  was  a  factor,  but  still  a  nebu- 
lous one,  and  during  the  War  was  simply  a  finger-post  to  future 
possibilities.  Mr.  Justice  Ford  of  the  New  York  Supreme  Court 
was  one  of  those  who  preferred  the  Monroe  Doctrine  and  Pan- 
Americanism  to  sharing  in  the  European  War,  and  he  pointed  out 
on  Jan.  18,  in  an  address,  that: 


102  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Latin  Republics  produce  the  things  we  need  and  they  need  the  things  which 
we  produce.  They  possess  undeveloped  resources  in  field,  forest  and  mine  which 
invite  American  capital  now  flowing  in  ever  increasing  streams  to  the  four  quarters 
of  the  globe.  They  have  60,000,000  inhabitants  and  a  foreign  commerce  which  in 
the  year  before  the  War  amounted  to  $2,385,000,000.  With  the  21  American  repub- 
lics united  for  its  defence,  no  foreign  Power  or  combination  of  Powers  would  dare 
challenge  the  Monroe  Doctrine  and  the  peace  of  the  hemisphere  would  be  assured. 

South  American  countries  so  far  had  only  flirted  with  these  schemes ; 
they  were  a  little  fearful  of  the  ambition  and  pushfulness  of  the 
United  States;  the  war  conditions  of  1917,  however,  threw  all  such 
issues  into  the  melting-pot.  Jealousies  and  anti-United  States  feel- 
ing remained  but  were  greatly  modified.  Gradually,  too,  a  per- 
ception of  Germany's  far-reaching  plans  and  world-politics,  its 
aggressions  and  ambitions  in  the  Americas,  as  well  as  Europe, 
began  to  permeate  the  complex  public  mind  of  these  nations.  The 
United  States,  after  its  entry  upon  the  War,  published  much  war 
literature  and  circulated  widely  a  hostile  conception  of  German 
policy  and  and  these  arguments  were  pressed  home  by  the  Submarine 
issue,  the  Mexican  and  Argentine  diplomatic  revelations.  On  Dec. 
4  a  Black-list  of  1,600  firms  in  Central  and  South  America  was 
announced  by  the  United  States  Government  and  merchants  for- 
bidden to  do  business  with  them  except  under  license. 

Trade  conditions  were  very  similar  in  most  of  the  South  Ameri- 
can countries.  The  German  banks  in  several  of  them  had  increased 
their  help  to  German  customers  after  1914  instead  of  curtailing  it; 
Germans  could  not  leave  for  purposes  of  enlistment  as  so  many  of 
the  British  had  done,  and  their  lines  of  business  grew  and  prospered 
under  war  conditions;  pernicious  weaknesses  in  the  British  blockade 
system — chiefly  concessions  to  United  States  neutrality  and  inadequate 
inspection  of  South  American  mails — enabled  German  firms  to  long 
continue  their  trade  with  Germany;  the  German  South  American 
Institute  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  continued  its  propaganda  and  its  policy 
of  (1)  control  of  news  service  and  information  for  the  South  American 
press;  (2)  safe-guarding  and  advancement  of  German  trade;  (3)  culti- 
vation of  scientific  and  artistic  relations  and  the  popularizing  of  Ger- 
man Kultur  amongst  the  people  by  means  of  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
publications;  (4)  promotion  of  German  civilization  and  language 
study.  These  and  other  German  influences  were  everywhere. 

Meanwhile  Argentina  in  particular  was  in  a  state  of  heated  dis- 
cussion over  Submarines;  Pacifists  and  war  advocates  talked  and 
rioted  in  Buenos  Ayres  during  April  with  much  net  damage  to  Ger- 
man institutions  and  buildings;  its  Government  endorsed  the  war 
action  of  the  United  States  as  being  caused  "by  violation  of  the 
principles  of  neutrality,  consecrated  by  rules  of  International  law, 
which  have  been  regarded  as  definitive  conquests  of  civilization." 
When  the  United  States  Government  made  public  (Sept.  8)  the 
Luxburg  telegrams*  it  created  a  great  sensation  in  Argentina  and 
elsewhere — especially  the  "sink  without  trace"  advice,  the  refer- 
ence to  the  Argentine  Foreign  Minister  (July  7)  as  "a  theatrical 
person"  who  had  shown  "insane  cunning"  in  thwarting  the  write  r 

*NOTE. — See  preceding  Section  relating  to  Sweden. 


MEXICO  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA  AND  THE  WAR  103 

a  statement  of  Aug.  4  that  the  "President  holds  with  us"  and 
on  July  7  that  in  South  America  the  people  "under  their  veneer 
are  Indians";  the  statement  of  Aug.  24  that  "public  opinion  is 
becoming  unpatriotic"  or  anti-German. 

On  Sept.  25  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  at  Buenos  Ay  res,  by  53 
to  18,  directed  President  Irigoyen  to  break  off  relations  with  Ger- 
many and  the  Senate  took  similar  action  by  23  to  1 ;  nothing  serious 
was  done,  however,  and  German  influence  over  Hypolite  Irigoyen 
scored  again.  It  had  done  so  in  the  embargo  on  wheat  exports  a 
year  before  when  there  was  an  abundant  supply  in  the  country; 
now  the  excuse  was  that  Germany  had  promised  compensation  for 
the  previous  sinking  of  the  Toro,  and  on  July  24,  through  Herr 
Zimmerman,  had  instructed  Von  Luxburg  to  make  a  general  excep- 
tion of  the  Argentine  in  Submarine  action.  At  the  close  of  the 
year  there  were  angry  demonstrations  -in  the  capital  against  Ger- 
many, the  President,  and  the  pro-German  paper  La  Union — in 
connection  with  a  further  batch  of  Luxburg  telegrams  made  public 
at  Washington.  Amongst  these  was  a  reference  to  a1  secret  agree- 
ment of  Argentina,  Bolivia,  and  Chile  against  United  States  Pan- 
American  policies.  Meantime  Von  Luxburg  had  been  given  his 
passports  but  was  allowed  to  remain  in  the  country — there  being  ob- 
vious difficulty  in  returning  to  Germany. 

The  Republic  of  Chile  owed  its  original  naval  and  military,  poli- 
tical and  intellectual,  institutions  largely  to  France  and  England; 
in  1917  there  were  about  10,000  Germans  in  this  country  of  3,250,- 
000  people  and  their  work  of  commercial  and  general  penetration  was 
remarkable.  A  group  of  German  officers,  under  General  Korner, 
had  re-organized  and  commanded  the  Army;  German  banks  were 
established  and  German  commercial  firms  were  largely  increased  in 
number;  the  Chilean  Government  from  time  to  time  arranged  for 
the  coming  of  military  instructors,  learned  Professors,  or  civil  and 
railway  engineers,  from  Germany.  None-the-less,  London  remained 
the  commercial  and  financial  centre  for  Chile.  When  war  came  the 
German  propaganda  was  active  but  in  the  end  ineffective — though 
many  branches  of  a  German-Chilean  League  were  formed  with 
headquarters  at  Valparaiso.  Brazil,  the  largest  of  these  Republics, 
held  a  segregated  settlement  of  Germans  totalling  about  500,000, 
controlling  the  Rio  Grande  and  Santa  Catarina  Provinces  with 
much  influence,  also,  in  Parana  and  Sao  Paulo.  They  were  progres- 
sive and  prosperous,  well-organized  municipally  after  the  German 
pattern,  with  up-to-date  methods  in  agriculture  and  stock-raising. 
They  held  about  12,000  square  miles — an  area  equal  to  that  of 
Alsace-Lorraine  and  Saxony;  they  had  tried  to  build  a  state  within 
a  state,  and  had  carefully  preserved  their  language,  customs  and 
institutions.  Up  to  1917  Dr.  Lauro  Muller,  a  native  of  German 
descent,  was  Foreign  Minister  of  Brazil. 

On  the  other  hand  the  rest  of  the  country  was  inclined  to  be 
pro- Ally;  there  were  over  a  million  Italians  in  the  Republic  and  the 
native  Brazilian  was  of  Portuguese  origin  so  that  his  inherited  bias 
was  toward  England  and  her  Allies;  public  feeling  against  Germany 
was  keen  at  the  announcement  of  its  unrestricted  Submarine  policy 


104  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  again  ai  the  sinking  of  the  Parana  on  Apr.  4.  This  was  followed 
on  the  llth  by  the  breaking  off  of  relations  with  Germany  and  the 
eventual  seizure  of  49  interned  German  and  Austrian  ships  with  a 
tonnage  of  253,800  and  a  current  value  of  $50,000,000.  Scattered 
attempts  at  rebellion  followed  in  the  German  States  but  were  quickly 
suppressed,  Dr.  Miiller  resigned  his  office  and  was  replaced  by  Senor 
N.  Pecanha  and,  on  June  4,  the  Brazilian  Ambassador  at  Washing- 
ton presented  a  Note  declaring  the  revocation  of  Brazil's  neutrality. 
On  Oct.  26  a  state  of  war  was  proclaimed  in  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  by  a  vote  of  149  to  1,  and  in  the  Senate  unanimously. 

The  publication  at  this  time  of  Von  Luxburg's  despatches  created 
special  interest  in  Brazil  because  of  his  reference  on  Aug.  4:  "I  am 
convinced  that  we  shall  be  able  to  carry  through  our  principal 
political  acts  in  South  America,  the  maintenance  of  open  market  in 
Argentina  and  the  re-organization  of  South  Brazil."  Meantime  the 
country  had  recovered  from  the  financial  and  war  collapse  of  1914, 
had  resumed  cash  payments  on  its  National  Debt  and  steadily  in- 
creased its  total  trade  following  the  initial  reduction  of  the  first 
war-year.  At  the  close  of  1917  prosperity  was  again  present,  des- 
pite high  prices — sometimes  because  of  them.  Strict  regulations 
were  at  this  time  promulgated  as  to  relations  of  Germans  in  Brazil 
with  enemy  subjects  elsewhere,  while  the  Note  addressed  by  the 
Brazilian  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  reply  to  the  Pope's  Peace 
proposals  was  explicit  in  its  declaration  that: 

The  nations  which  are  more  directly  interested  in  these  questions  are  the  only 
ones  competent  to  declare  whether  honour,  by  arms,  has  been  safeguarded  in  this 
war.  Only  these  nations  shall  decide  whether,  after  confidence  in  treaties  and  in 
international  loyalty  has  been  destroyed,  there  will  be  a  new  force  or  a  spirit  of 
order  which  will  guarantee  to  us  peace,  and  whether  out  of  all  the  difficulties,  suffer- 
ing, and  miseries  of  this  war  a  better  world  will  not  arise. 

Of  other  South  American  countries  it  may  be  added  that  Uru- 
guay— probably  the  most  progressive  of  all  these  Republics — 
endorsed  Brazilian  policy  and  in  a  despatch  to  its  Minister  at  Wash- 
ington, published  on  June  17,  stated  "its  very  earnest  desire  to  see 
the  American  countries,  in  collective  and  actual  co-operation,  adopt 
a  joint  policy  which  may  achieve  a  solidarity  beneficial  to  all,"  and 
urged  that  "the  principles  and  interests  involved  logically  demand 
a  close  union  of  action,  so  that  any  act  perpetrated  against  one  of 
the  countries  of  America  in  violation  of  International  law,  as  univers- 
ally recognized,  shall  constitute  an  offence  against  all  of  them."  On 
Oct.  7  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  approved  rupture  of  relations  by 
74  to  23  votes.  As  to  Peru,  El  Commercio  of  Lima  was  one  of  the 
strongest  of  pro-German  papers.  On  Mar.  7  it  admitted  editori- 
ally that  it  had  been  receiving  money  from  the  Germans  to  support 
and  spread  their  propaganda  in  Peru.  The  editorial  added  that 
this  matter  concerned  the  business  office  of  the  newspaper  and  not 
the  editorial  end.  On  July  28,  however.  President  Pardo  stated 
the  real  opinion  of  his  people  in  a  message  to  President  Wilson, 
approving  his  stand  for  the  principles  of  peace  and  justice  and  liberty. 
On  Oct.  7  the  German  Minister  was  handed  his  passports. 


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II 


MEXICO  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA  AND  THE  WAR  105 

The  ramifications  of  the  Mexican  schemes  of  Zimmerman  and 
Bernstorff  found  a  place  in  Cuba  as  well  as  in  Colombia  and  Venezu- 
ela and  no  doubt  had  an  influence  in  the  Gomez  rebellion;  but  the 
little  Island-republic  was  none-the-less  the  first  of  these  lesser  Ameri- 
can States  to  ally  itself  with  the  United  States.  On  Apr.  7,  by  a 
unanimous  vote,  the  Congress  of  Cuba  had  adopted  a  Resolution 
declaring  war  against  Germany  and  this  was  at  once  proclaimed  by 
President  Menocal.  Guatemala,  Central  America,  despite  the 
severance  of  diplomatic  relations,  remained  a  centre  of  German 
intrigue  with  a  paper  called  German  Echo  as  the  source  of  a  wide 
propaganda;  Paraguay  was  a  South  American  country  which  did 
not  go  beyond  stating,  over  the  Submarine  issue,  that  the  United 
States  was  "forced  into  war  for  the  rights  of  neutrals." 

Mexico  was,  of  course,  in  North  America  but  affiliated  in  so 
many  respects  with  the  peoples  and  institutions  of  the  South  and  so 
little  with  those  of  the  North  that  its  natural  place  for  considera- 
tion is  here.  In  these  years  it  was  under  the  influence  of  a  sort  of 
military  Bolsheviki  with  every  man's  hand  against  the  other's,  with 
many  revolutions,  typically  South  American  in  character,  and  with 
a  people  of  mixed  races  living  in  starved  ignorance  of  the  outside 
world.  By  1917  the  party  and  Government  of  General  Carranza 
loomed  out  of  the  local  chaos  with  some  measure  of  stability;  all 
possible  forms  of  administration  had  been  tried  ranking  from  brutal 
military  governments,  without  organization  of  any  kind,  such  as 
those  of  Zapata  or  Villa,  up  to  one  of  democratic  appearance,  but 
headless,  which  proceeded  from  a  certain  Convention.  Madera, 
Huerta  and  Carranza  were  the  outstanding  figures  and  in  1917  an 
elaborately  written  constitution  was  worked  out  for  the  United 
States  of  Mexico,  and  came  into  operation  on  May  1. 

Its  terms  forbade  slavery,  organized  free  and  secular  education 
and  expressly  prohibited  formation  of  religious  schools  and  the 
holding  of  real  property  by  churches.  Places  of  public  worship 
were  to  be  the  property  of  the  State  and  all  Convents,  Church  build- 
ings, residences,  etc.,  confiscated  and  vested  in  the  nation.  A 
point  to  which  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  took  special 
exception  was  the  following  clause:  "Only  Mexicans  by  birth  or 
naturalization  and  Mexican  companies  have  the  right  to  acquire 
ownership  in  lands,  waters  and  their  appurtenances,  or  to  obtain 
concessions  to  develop  mines,  waters  or  mineral  fuels  in  the  Repub- 
lic of  Mexico.  The  nation  may  grant  the  same  right  to  foreigners, 
provided  they  agree  before  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  be 
considered  Mexicans  in  respect  to  such  property,  and  accordingly 
not  to  invoke  the  protection  of  their  Governments  in  respect  to  the 
same,  under  penalty,  in  case  of  breach,  of  forfeiture  to  the  nation 
of  property  so  acquired."  As  a  whole  the  new  Constitution  was 
very  much  more  detailed  than  the  basic  document  of  1857  which 
had  first  proclaimed  the  independence  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico. 

Early  in  the  year  the  Mexican-American  Joint  Commission  was 
dissolved  as  having,  after  five  months  of  Conference,  failed  in  its 
object  of  settling  differences  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico; 
these  differences  of  military  occupation  and  action  were  settled  a 


106  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

little  later  by  the  United  States  entering  the  war  and  automatically 
withdrawing  from  Mexican  complications.  On  the  other  hand  new 
issues  were  raised  by  the  operations  of  German  agents  in  Mexico, 
the  propaganda  of  false  stories  about  the  United  States  and  its  war- 
aims,  the  reports  of  alleged  German  submarine  bases  or  wireless 
plants  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  movement  of  German  Army  reserv- 
ists and  officers  from  the  United  States  to  this  new  haven  of  refuge 
and  plots,  the  alleged  close  relations  of  Dr.  Krum  Zeller,  a  German 
resident  and  agent,  with  General  Carranza,  the  statement  that  Maxi- 
milien  Klaus,  another  German,  was  in  charge  of  the  Carranza  ord- 
nance factories,  the  pro-German  attitude  of  Rafael  Zubaran,  the 
minister  sent  by  Carranza  to  Germany,  and  of  Luiz  Cabrera,  his 
Minister  of  Finance,  the  known  activities  of  Count  Von  Bernstorff 
in  Mexico.  Then  came  the  publication  by  the  Washington  Govern- 
ment of  the  extraordinary  letter  written  by  Dr.  Zimmerman,  Ger- 
man Foreign  Secretary,  to  Herr  Von  Eckhardt,  German  Minister  at 
Mexico  City,  and  transmitted  through  Von  Bernstorff: 

Berlin,  Jan.  19,  1917:  On  the  first  of  February  we  intend  to  begin  Submarine 
warfare  unrestricted.  In  spite  of  this,  it  is  our  intention  to  endeavour  to  keep  neutral 
the  United  States  of  America.  If  this  attempt  is  not  successful,  we  propose  an  alliance 
on  the  following  basis  with  Mexico:  That  we  shall  make  war  together  and  together 
make  peace.  We  shall  give  general  financial  support,  and  it  is  understood  that 
Mexico  is  to  reconquer  the  lost  territory  in  New  Mexico,  Texas,  and  Arizona.  The 
details  are  left  to  you  for  settlement.  You  are  instructed  to  inform  the  President 
of  Mexico  of  the  above  in  the  greatest  confidence  as  soon  as  it  is  certain  that  there 
will  be  an  outbreak  of  war  with  the  United  States,  and  suggest  that  the  President  of 
Mexico,  on  his  own  initiative,  should  communicate  with  Japan  suggesting  adherence 
at  once  to  this  plan;  at  the  same  time  offering  to  mediate  between  Germany  and 
Japan.  Please  call  to  the  attention  of  the  President  of  Mexico  that  the  employment 
of  ruthless  Submarine  warfare  now  promises  to  compel  England  to  make  peace  in  a 
few  months.  (Signed)  Zimmerman 

American  comment  need  not  be  considered  here,  nor  the  denials  of 
the  Mexican  Government  as  to  any  practical  consideration  of  this 
proposal;  Herr  Zimmerman's  defence  of  the  attempt  was  that  it  was 
perfectly  legitimate  and  similar  in  character  to  an  alleged  preceding 
effort  of  the  United  States  to  align  South  American  countries  against 
Germany — meaning,  apparently,  the  Pan -American  policy  of  Wash- 
ington. The  incident  and  the  war  declaration  increased  German 
activities  in  Mexico  and,  according  to  a  despatch  in  the  New  York 
Tribune  on  Mar.  2,  there  were  3,000  active  workers  then  "using 
money,  threats  and  promises  to  array  Mexicans  of  every  faction 
against  the  United  States."  There  was  infinite  variety  in  the 
rumours,  assertions  and  stories  as  to  German  influence  upon  Car- 
ranza, Villa,  Obregon  and  other  revolutionary  leaders,  as  to  un- 
punished attempts  by  rebels  to  set  fire  to  the  great  oil-wells  at 
Tampico  upon  which  British  fleets  greatly  depended  for  oil  supply. 
It  is  certain  that  hardly  even  a  moral  support  was  accorded  the 
United  States,  though  for  the  first  time  in  four  years  a  Mexican 
Ambassador — Ignacio  Bonillas — was  received  at  Washington.  Ab- 
solute neutrality  was  proclaimed  and  no  reference  made  to  the 
justice  or  otherwise  of  the  American  action:  though  on  Feb.  11, 
1917,  Gen.  Carranza,  as  Chief  Executive  of  Mexico,  had  proposed 


THE  PLACE  OF  JAPAN  AND  CHINA  IN  THE  WAR         107 

to  the  United  States  and  other  Neutrals  that  they  should  urge 
Peace  upon  the  Powers  and  if  refused  stop  all  supplies  to  belliger- 
ents. As  the  year  went  011  the  German  journals  increased  their 
propaganda  and  were  aided  by  a  wealthy  German  merchant  named 
Lubeck,  while  Von  Eckhardt  remained  as  German  Minister;  in 
November  the  Associated  Press  correspondent  was  deported,  de- 
spite United  States  protests,  and  there  were  continuous  allega- 
tions of  German  efforts  to  tamper  with  the  oil-fields.  On  Sept. 
13  the  Washington  Government  made  public  further  German  cor- 
respondence via  Sweden,  which  involved  Von  Eckhardt  and  showed 
that  on  Mar.  8,  1916,  he  had  written  to  Herr  Von  Bethmann- 
Hollweg,  German  Chancellor,  a  letter  which  showed  important 
side-lights  upon  the  preceding  Argentine-Swedish  revelations.  In 
it  he  asked  that  Herr  Cronholm  be  recommended  for  an  Imperial 
German  decoration  in  return  for  "  information  from  a  hostile  camp.*' 

T  .  Japan  originally  entered  the   War  under  a  treaty 

CMna  in*  the  which  limited  its  prescribed  action  to  Eastern  interests 
World-War,  and  territories  but  had  been  read  in  a  broad  spirit 
so  far  as  naval  co-operation  was  concerned.  The 
latter  was  freely  given  by  protection  to  Allied  troopships  and  supply 
ships  in  both  the  Pacific  and  the  Mediterranean,  by  patrolling 
the  Indian  Ocean  from  bases  in  the  Straits  Settlements,  by  protect- 
ing British  interests  along  the  Pacific-American  coasts,  in  helping 
to  fight  Submarines  in  many  waters.  During  1917,  and  especially 
because  of  the  Russian  collapse,  unofficial  discussions  were  had 
in  France,  Italy  and  England  as  to  a  Japanese  expeditionary  force 
in  Europe.  A  leading  obstacle  lay,  as  was  pointed  out  by  Maoshi 
Kato,  a  London- Japanese  journalist,*  in  transportation:  "To 
send  half  a  million  of  troops  to  the  Western  front  by  sea  would  require 
a  vast  transport  tonnage.  Where  is  this  tonnage  to  be  found? 
A  few  divisions,  for  purposes  of  morale,  would  never  do,  for  we 
Japanese  are  not  the  people  to  be  contented  with  half -measures." 
Another  difficulty  was  the  tremendous  prosperity  which  had  come 
to  the  country  as  a  result  of  war  conditions  in  munitions,  supplies, 
shipbuilding  and  varied  collateral  industries;  still  another  lay  in 
the  Oriental  indifference  of  the  people  and  the  curious  fact  that 
every  care  was  being  taken  to  safeguard  German  property,  rights 
and  commercial  privileges  ioi  Japan  where,  though  the  country  was 
at  war  with  Germany,  commercial  relations  were  maintained  despite 
an  official  request  from  the  British  Government  on  July  1,  1915. 

There  had  been  a  willingness  to  aid  Russia  by  men  as  well  as 
with  money  and  munitions,  but  the  Czar's  Government  did  not 
desire  such  help  or  else  could  not  handle  it  and  the  Revolutionary 
Governments  did  not  quite  know  what  they  wanted.  Yet  1,000,000 
or  more  troops  might  have  been  made  available  under  terms  and 
conditions  and  would  perhaps  have  turned  the  tide  of  war  in  the 
East;  as  late  as  October  a  Japanese  credit  of  $33,000,000  was  given 
the  Kerensky  Government — making  a  total  to  all  the  Allied  Govern- 
ments  of  about  $550,000,000  since  the  War  began — according  to  a 

*NOTB. — English  Review  for  December,  1917. 


108  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

speech  by  Baron  Megata  in  the  United  States  on  Oct.  31.  A  1917 
incident  in  connection  with  Russia  was  the  publication  of  the  Treaty 
with  the  Czar  in  the  previous  year  which  guaranteed  the  indepen- 
dence of  China  so  far  as  other  Powers  were  concerned. 

It  marked  a  growing  dominance  of  Japan  in  China  which  already 
had  been  proven  by  its  civil  and  military  advisers  to  the  rulers 
at  Pekin,  its  official  efforts  to  obtain  financial  aid  for  China,  its 
education  of  thousands  of  Chinese  students  in  Japanese  institutions, 
its  intervention  in  Chinese  internal  reforms.  German  influence 
at  this  time  in  China  was  also  considerable  and  during  the  year 
a  sustained  propaganda,  directed  from  Pekin,  had  done  its  best 
to  create  misunderstandings  in  Japan  as  to  England  and  British  policy. 
From  Chinese  headquarters  a  stream  of  pamphlets  and  leaflets 
along  this  line — printed  in  English,  German  and  Japanese — poured 
into  the  hands  of  the  editors,  professors  and  publicists  of  Japan 
as  they  also  reached  everywhere  in  China.  It  was  only  partially 
effective,  however;  the  Terauchi  Government  was  confirmed  in 
office  at  the  Elections,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year,  the  Emperor 
Yoshihito  opened  Parliament  with  this  statement: 

The  European  war  is  becoming  more  and  more  important.  It  becomes  us 
to  devote  our  efforts  toward  more  effective  co-operation  with  the  Allied  Powers. 
We  expect  the  Alliance  to  secure  the  full  fruits  of  victory  and  to  obtain  objects  with 
which  we  heartily  sympathize.  We  are  prepared  to  co-operate  to  the  fullest  extent 
of  our  ability  while  maintaining  peace  in  the  Orient.  In  consequence  of  present 
conditions  we  have  ordered  our  Ministers  to  present  plans  having  to  do  with  the 
necessities  of  national  defence. 

Meanwhile,  relations  with  the  United  States  had  taken  a  new 
and  better  turn.  Early  in  the  year  Viscount  Kaneko,  a  political 
leader,  came  out  in  favour  of  an  economic  alliance  with  the  United 
States  in  respect  to  China;  Dr.  Kazutami  Ukita,  historian  and 
Editor  of  the  Taiyo  magazine,  expressed  similar  views  and  stated 
that  Japan,  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  would  in  future 
dominate  the  Pacific  ocean;  American  and  Australian  opinion  assumed 
a  Japanese  ambition  to  establish  a  Monroe  Doctrine  for  the  East. 
The  interjection  of  the  German-Mexico  plot  evoked  from  Aimaro 
Sato,  Ambassador  at  Washington,  the  following  statement  on  Mar.  1 : 
"With  regard  to  the  alleged  German  attempt  at  inducing  Japan 
and  Mexico  to  make  war  upon  the  United  States,  the  Japanese 
Embassy  desires  to  state  most  emphatically  that  any  invitation 
of  this  sort  would  in  no  circumstances  be  entertained  by  the  Japanese 
Government,  which  is  in  entire  accord  and  in  close  relations  with 
the  Allied  Powers,  on  account  of  formal  agreements  and  of  common 
causes,  and  moreover,  whose  friendship  with  the  United  States 
is  every  day  growing  in  sincerity  and  cordiality." 

On  Aug.  22  a  Special  Imperial  mission  from  Japan  arrived  at 
Washington  headed  by  Viscount  Ishii  and  including  Vice-Admiral 
Takeshita,  Ma j. -General  Sugano,  and  others.  In  presenting  his 
credentials  to  the  President  Viscount  Ishii  concluded  as  follows :  "This 
is  no  ordinary  war.  It  is  an  issue  between  common  morality  and 
an  inhuman  system  of  calculated  aggression  which  would  render 
all  friendly  intercourse  impossible.  The  welcome  fact  that  the 


THE  PLACE  OF  JAPAN  AND  CHINA  IN  THE  WAR  109 

United  States  stand  side  by  side  with  the  Allied  Powers  is  a  guaranty 
of  early  victory,  and  His  Imperial  Majesty  hails  it  as  such  with 
deep  gratification."  Addressing  the  United  States  Lower  House 
on  Sept.  5  the  Envoy  stated  that  Japan  was  doing  in  the  War, 
and  would  do,  everything  that  the  resources  of  the  country  would 
allow.  He  also  warned  the  House  to  be  on  guard  against  "the 
insidious  treachery  that  has  found  hiding  places  in  our  midst,  and 
for  the  last  ten  years  has  sown  the  seeds  of  discord  between  us." 

There  followed  prolonged  discussions  between  the  State  Depart- 
ment and  the  Mission  with,  as  it  afterwards  appeared,  the  Chinese 
situation  as  the  chief  subject.  Meanwhile  Viscount  Ishii,  who 
was  a  cultured  and  able  speaker,  spoke  at  a  number  of  banquets 
and  functions;  at  Boston  on  Sept.  18,  declaring  Japan  to  be  in  the 
War  on  the  side  of  America  and  the  Allies  '  'to  win  with  you,  to  co-operate, 
to  co-ordinate  and  to  contribute."  At  Washington  on  the  21st  he 
told  the  Press  Club  of  German  secret  agencies  at  work  in  the  East 
and  the  West:  "Every  prejudice,  every  available  argument  has 
been  appealed  to,  and  in  all  countries  to-day  fraud,  deception, 
treachery  and  all  the  forces  of  evil  are  wearing  disguises  most  diffi- 
cult to  penetrate.  For  more  than  ten  years  a  propaganda  has 
been  carried  on  in  this  country,  in  Japan,  and,  in  fact,  throughout 
the  world,  for  the  one  and  sole  purpose  of  keeping  nations  of  the 
East  and  West  as  far  apart  as  possible;  to  create  distrust,  suspicion 
and  unkindly  feeling,  all  in  order  that  Germany  may  secure  advan- 
tages in  the  confusion."  The  Envoy  was  warmly  welcomed  in 
New  York  and  given  several  banquets,  etc.  He  visited  San  Fran- 
cisco and  other  points  before  sailing  for  home.  Formal  agreements 
in  this  connection  were  come  to  between  the  United  States  and  Japan 
as  to  Chinese  affairs  and  on  Nov.  2  Robert  Lansing,  U.S.  Secretary 
of  State,  wrote  a  formal  review  of  the  new  understanding  which 
Viscount  Ishii,  for  his  Government,  promptly  confirmed:  ' 

The  Governments  of  the  United  States  and  Japan  recognize  that  territorial 
propinquity  creates  special  relations  between  countries,  and,  consequently,  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  recognizes  that  Japan  has  special  interests  in  China, 
particularly  in  the  part  to  which  her  possessions  are  contiguous.  The  territorial 
sovereignty  of  China,  nevertheless,  remains  unimpaired  and  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  has  every  confidence  in  the  repeated  assurances  of  the  Imperial  Japanese 
Government  that  while  geographical  position  gives  Japan  such  special  interests, 
they  have  no  desire  to  discriminate  against  the  trade  of  other  nations  or  to  disregard 
the  commercial  rights  heretofore  granted  by  China  in  treaties  with  other  Powers. 
The  Governments  of  the  United  States  and  Japan  deny  that  they  have  any  purpose 
to  infringe  in  any  way  the  independence  or  territorial  integrity  of  China,  and  they 
declare,  furthermore,  that  they  always  adhere  to  the  principle  of  the  so-called  'open 
door,'  or  equal  opportunity  for  commerce  and  industry  in  China.  Moreover,  they 
mutually  declare  that  they  are  opposed  to  the  acquisition  by  any  Government  of 
any  special  rights  or  privileges  that  would  affect  the  independence  or  territorial 
integrity  of  China,  or  that  would  deny  to  the  subjects  or  citizens  of  any  country  the 
full  enjoyment  of  equal  opportunity  in  the  commerce  and  industry  of  China. 

In  London  on  Oct.  12  Viscount  Chinda,  Japanese  Ambassador, 
referred  to  this  Mission  as  a  brilliant  success  and  about  the  same 
time  a  Special  Finance  Commission  from  Japan  was  in  the  United 
States  studying  war  finance,  methods  and  possible  economic  relations 
of  a  closer  nature.  As  to  this  latter  point  it  may  be  stated  that 


110  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

copper,  coal  and  petroleum  were  the  chief  Japanese  minerals  in 
course  of  exploitation.  The  chief  imports  were  flour,  raw  cotton, 
machinery,  railway  rolling-stock,  rice  and  oil-cake,  and  the  prin- 
cipal exports  silk,  cotton,  copper,  matches,  straw-plait,  sugar, 
coal,  porcelain,  bronze  and  lacquer-ware,  with,  of  course,  the  recent 
addition,  on  a  huge  scale,  of  munitions  and  materials  of  war.  War 
expansion  had  come,  especially,  in  the  sheet-glass  industry,  in 
paper  and  flour,  cotton-spinning  and  raw  silk  exports;  the  country 
was  converted  from  a  borrower  into  a  lender,  with  a  widespread 
determination  to  capture  the  trade  of  the  East  wherever  possible. 

As  to  China  it  continued  to  find  an  increasing  place  in  Western 
opinion  and  discussion.  Its  republican  institutions,  though  nebu- 
lous in  form  and  doubtful  in  strength,  brought  it  more  into  touch 
with  Europe  and  America,  while  its  relations  with  Japan  had  a 
similar  effect.  On  Jan.  23  Viscount  Motono,  Japanese  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  made  this  statement  in  the  Diet  at  Tokio:  ''Under 
the  influence  of  ambition  Germany  took  possession  of  Tsing-tau  in 
1898  with  the  object  of  preparing  or  the  future  occupation  of  the 
whole  of  China.  This  fact,  which  no  one  can  dispute  to-day,  was 
one  of  the  objects  of  the  great  pan-German  propaganda  and  minute 
preparation  for  war."  On  Feb.  21  it  was  announced  that  certain 
disputes  between  China  and  Japan  had  been  settled  under  agreements 
which  involved  the  engagement  of  Lieut. -General  Aoki  as  military 
adviser  in  China. 

On  Mar.  11  the  Chinese  Senate  by  158  to  37  votes  decided  to 
sever  all  relations  with  Germany  and  the  Lower  House  agreed  by 
331  to  87.  President  Li- Yuan-Hung  was  at  first  opposed  to  this 
policy  but  gave  way  eventually;  Sun  Yat  Sen,  the  former  President, 
also  was  opposed  to  war.  The  influence  of  United  States  action, 
however,  was  considerable  in  China  and  this  was  a  response  to 
President  Wilson's  appeal  for  neutral  support  in  the  Submarine 
issue.  Other  influences  leading  to  this  result  were  (1)  an  intimation 
from  Japan  that  its  Government  would  have  no  objection;  (2)  a 
promise  from  the  Entente  to  grant  certain  concessions,  such  as  the 
suspension  of  the  burdensome  Boxer  indemnities  for  the  period  of 
the  War ;  (3)  the  extension  of  the  right  to  raise  customs  duties  above 
the  statutory  5%  under  existing  treaties;  and  (4)  the  removal 
of  foreign  troops  installed  along  the  Pekin-Mukden  Railway  since 
the  Boxer  outrages.  Without  awaiting  the  formal  declaration 
of  war  China  seized  the  German  merchant  ships  in  her  ports  and 
interned  the  crews  and  put  an  end  to  the  use  of  the  country  as  a 
centre  of  Germany's  eastern  propaganda. 

The  event  marked  the  loss  of  one  more  of  Germany's  economic 
bases  with  companies  capitalized  at  $250,000,000  and  a  trade  which 
had  increased  120%  in  8  years  preceding  the  War.  China  had 
already  sent  100,000  labourers  to  assist  the  Allies  behind  the  Western 
front;  an  immense  further  supply  now  became  available  and  was 
at  once  drawn  upon  by  Britain,  under  new  arrangements,  for  service 
in  Mesopotamia  and  elsewhere.  Then  came  three  months  of  revo- 
lution and  counter-revolution.  Finally,  the  war  party  won  and 
on  Aug.  14  a  Pro  lamation  was  issued,  declaring  war  on  Germany 


THE  POPE'S  PEACE  PROPOSALS;  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  REPLY    111 

and  on  Austria-Hungary,  on  the  ground  that  Germany  had  not  shown 
regret  for  her  methods  of  Submarine  warfare  and  thus  compelled 
China  to  take  action  in  the  interests  of  humanity,  and  with  the  object 
of  enforcing  recognition  of  International  law.  Austria  was  included 
because  she  had  shared  the  war  policy  pursued  by  Germany.  The 
abrogation  of  all  treaties,  agreements,  and  conventions  with  these 
Powers  was  announced.  Austrian  shipping  was  seized,  making 
a  total,  with  German  ships,  of  about  40,000  tons;  financial  obli- 
gations to  Germany  were  cancelled  and  her  extra-territorial  privi- 
leges abrogated;  the  British  King  sent  a  despatch  of  congratulation 
to  the  President  and,  on  Sept.  17,  a  plan  to  ship  a  trial  division 
of  24,000  Chinese  troops  to  France  was  announced — the  actual 
transportation  beginning  early  in  the  new  year.  On  Nov.  12  the 
Chinese  Government  issued  a  declaration  as  to  the  United  States 
and  Japan  agreement,  which  concluded  with  the  statement  that 
"the  Chinese  Government  will  not  allow  herself  to  be  bound  by 
any  agreement  entered  into  by  other  nations." 

The  Pope's  The  year  1917  was  one  in  which  Germany  and  her 

Peace  Propos-  Allies  stood  to  gain  in  any  Peace  by  arrangement,  or 
dent  Wilson's  Peace.  without  victory.  They  held  much  Allied  terri- 
Reply  tory  in  Europe  and  were  acquiring  more  in  Russia; 

they  were  fairly  united  in  aim  and  policy  and  grew 
relatively  stronger,  as  the  year  drew  to  a  close,  in  both  men 
and  guns.  In  the  first  year  or  two  of  the  War  their  rulers  and  leaders 
had  promised  the  people  large  enemy  indemnities  to  meet  the  cost 
and  privations  and  losses  of  the  struggle  together  with  rich  regions 
of  Europe  and  the  world  for  settlement  and  exploitation;  these 
promises  were  not  so  assured  in  1916  and  1917  and  were  often 
replaced  by  a  vague  repetition  of  the  words  "no  indemnities  and  no 
annexations"  as  opposed  to  the  Allied  demand  for  reparation  and 
restitution.  Official  language  never  adopted  these  specific  words — 
though  some  politicians  did;  officially-aided  propaganda  used  them 
freely. 

If  victorious  the  German  demands  would  still  be  what  they  had 
been  throughout  the  War — heavy  money  indemnities  and  the 
acquisition  in  one  form  or  another  of  the  conquered  regions  with, 
also,  vaguely  stated  territories  in  Asiatic  Turkey.  If  defeated  the 
Peace  programme  would  be  helpful  and  in  any  case  would  divide 
and  confuse  public  opinion  amongst  the  Allies.  In  one  respect  the 
Pacifists  of  Germany  and  its  Militarists  were  agreed;  they  would 
accept  a  Peace  based  on  the  existing  war-map  of  Europe.  To 
attain  their  aims  the  propaganda  for  peace  was  shown  in  a  sweep 
of  German  articles  after  the  1916  Battle  of  the  Somme  and  again 
in  December;  during  the  discussion  of  the  official  German  appeal 
to  Neutrals  to  obtain  a  Peace  Conference  and  after  President  Wilson's 
Message  asking  for  Peace  terms  or  proposals;  later,  at  certain  stages 
of  the  War  during  1917.  The  German  part  of  the  movement  cul- 
minated in  the  Reichstag,  on  July  19,  when  a  Resolution  was  pre- 
sented and  carried  by  214  to  116  votes,  with  17  not  voting, 
which  was  discussed  throughout  the  world  and  as  to  which  the  new 


112  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Chancellor,  Dr.  Michaelis,  was  non-committal.  He  declared  that 
"we  wish  to  conclude  peace  as  combatants  who  have  successfully 
accomplished  their  purpose  and  proved  themselves  invincible  first. 
A  condition  of  peace  is  the  inviolability  of  Germany's  territory.  We 
must,  by  means  of  understanding  and  in  a  spirit  of  give-and-take, 
guarantee  conditions  for  the  existence  of  the  German  Empire  upon 
this  continent  and  overseas."  The  terms  of  the  Resolution  Were  as 
follows : 

As  on  Aug.  4,  1914,  so  on  the  threshold  of  the  fourth  year  of  the  War,  the  Ger- 
man people  stand  upon  the  assurance  of  the  Speech  from  the  Throne — 'we  are  driven 
by  no  lust  for  conquest.'  Germany  took  up  arms  in  defence  of  its  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence and  for  the  integrity  of  its  territories.  The  Reichstag  labours  for  peace, 
and  a  mutual  understanding  and  lasting  reconciliation  among  the  nations.  Forced 
acquisitions  of  territory  and  political,  economic  and  financial  violations  are  incom- 
patible with  such  a  peace.  The  Reichstag  rejects  all  plans  aiming  at  an  economic 
blockade;  and  the  stirring  up  of  enmity  among  the  peoples  after  the  War.  The 
freedom  of  the  seas  must  be  assured.  Only  an  economic  peace  can  prepare  the  ground 
for  the  friendly  association  of  the  peoples. 

The  Reichstag  will  energetically  promote  the  creation  of  International  juridical 
organization.  So  long,  however,  as  the  enemy  Governments  do  not  accept  such  a 
peace;  so  long  as  they  threaten  Germany  and  her  Allies  with  conquest  and  violation, 
the  German  people  will  stand  together  as  one  man,  hold  out  unshaken  and  fight 
until  the  rights  of  itself  and  its  Allies  to  life  and  development  are  secured.  The 
German  nation,  united,  is  unconquerable. 

The  majority  Socialists  supported  this  Resolution  but  most  of  their 
100  members  in  the  Reichstag  refused  support  to  the  minority 
Socialists'  proposed  additions  of  no  annexations  or  indemnities, 
right  of  self-determination  for  all  peoples,  immediate  initiation  of 
Peace  negotiations,  agreement  for  general  disarmament  and  com- 
pulsory arbitration.  To  Socialists  and  many  who  did  not  under- 
stand the  German  mind  this  seemed  a  Peace  opening;  to  His  Holi- 
ness the  Pope  it  undoubtedly  was  an  opportunity  to  press  his  cher- 
ished and  natural  ambition.  The  influence  of  the  Vatican  had  been 
for  peace  from  the  beginning  of  the  War  though  always  in  an  aca- 
demic and  neutral  sense.  The  Church  had  23,000,000  adherents  in 
Germany  to  39,000,000  Protestants;  in  Austria  80%  of  the  popula- 
tion was  Catholic  and  in  Hungary  51%.  It  had  taken  no  official 
attitude  as  to  the  causes  of  the  War;  the  Hierarchy  in  most  of  the 
countries  involved  had  not  opposed  the  national  will  or  antagonized 
the  national  point  of  view.  The  German  and  Austrian  Hierarchy 
had  gone  further  and  had  never  shown  anything  but  sympathy  with 
the  Teuton  aims  of  the  moment;  it  had  made  no  response  to  the 
appeals  of  the  Belgian  Hierarchy  led  by  Cardinal  Mercier;  Cardinals 
Hartmann  and  Bettinger  had,  in  fact,  earned  bitter  protests  for 
performing  certain  ecclesiastical  functions  in  conquered  territory; 
Herr  Erzberger,  leader  of  the  German  Catholic  Party,  had  for  a 
long  time  been  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  War. 

The  Pope  had  not  protested  officially  or  diplomatically  against 
the  German  occupation  of  Belgium,  though  he  did  on  Jan.  22,  1915, 
state  publicly  at  the  Vatican  that  "it  belongs  to  the  Roman  Pontiff, 
whom  God  appointed  supreme^interpreter  and  vindicator  of  His 
law,  to  proclaim  before  all^that  no^possible  reason  can  make  licit 
any  violations  of  justice."  Afterwards  his  Secretary  of  State— 


THE  POPE'S  PEACE  PROPOSALS;  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  REPLY   113 

Cardinal  Gasparri — in  reply  to  an  inquiry  from  the  Belgian  repre- 
sentative at  the  Vatican,  stated  that  "the  violation  of  the  neutrality 
of  Belgium,  carried  out  by  Germany,  on  the  admission  of  her  own 
Chancellor  contrary  to  international  law,  was  certainly  one  of 
*  those  injustices'  which  the  Holy  Father  strongly  reprobates."* 
This  was  the  opinion  and  personal  protest  of  the  head  of  a  great 
Church;  it  was  not  a  formal  protest  to  the  Powers  involved  and 
requiring  international  consideration  or  reply.  His  Holiness  also, 
late  in  1916,  "pleaded  with  the  Imperial  German  Government,"  as 
Cardinal  Gasparri  put  it,  in  respect  to  and  against  Belgian  deporta- 
tions. But  this  was  all. 

The  difficulties  of  the  Pope  were,  of  course,  very  great.  The 
intimate  relations  between  the  Court  of  Vienna  and  the  Vatican 
were  historic  and  well-known;  the  Church  in  Germany  was  very 
German  in  composition  and  character,  despite  the  Kulturkampf 
and  the  anti-Church  laws  of  Bismarck;  the  German  Hierarchy 
would  not  have  approved  serious  Papal  interference  with  national 
objects;  the  Catholics  of  Belgium,  though  faithful  to  the  Church, 
were  small  in  number,  while  those  of  France  were  large  in  number, 
but  not  very  faithful;  the  Catholics  of  Spain  were  largely  pro- 
German,  those  of  Italy  pro-Ally  but  with  many  German  sympath- 
izers, those  of  Portugal  stood,  in  the  main,  for  the  Allies;  the  people 
of  Russian  Poland  were  Catholic,  the  Catholic  population  of  Britain 
was  negligible  in  numbers  though  influential,  that  of  Ireland  and  of 
Quebec  was  indifferent  regarding  the  Pope's  intervention  in  the 
War;  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States  were  influential  but  as  yet 
war-neutral  and  in  many  cases  were  friendly  to  the  Germanic  cause. 
Roughly,  there  were  60,000,000  Catholics  on  the  German  side  in 
the  War  and  115,000,000  on  that  of  the  Entente.  His  Holiness, 
therefore,  had  maintained  neutrality  as  to  principles  involved,  as  to 
Church  interests  injured,  as  to  national  treaties  and  rights,  as  well 
as  to  ruthless  war  practices. 

At  the  beginning  of  1917  world- wide  prayers  for  Peace  had  been 
ordered  and  a  few  months  later  there  occurred  the  turn-over  in 
Germany  with  Mathias  Erzberger,  the  Catholic  leader,  in  close 
touch  with  Swiss  and  other  Catholics,  planning  for  peace;  a  sounding 
of  French  Bishops  as  to  chances  in  that  respect;  a  political  struggle 
in  the  Reichstag  which  forced  Bethmann-Hollweg's  retirement  and 
the  passage  of  the  so-called  Peace  Resolution.  In  the  Austrian 
Parliaments  there  was  much  trouble  and  friction  and  a  strong 
national  demand  for  peace,  and  it  also  was  obvious  that  if  Austria 
lost  the  War  it  would  result  in  a  break-up  of  the  chief  Catholic 
Power  in  Europe  with  the  establishment  of  several  Slav  and  anti- 
Catholic  nations  upon  its  ruins.  At  this  juncture  the  Pope  inter- 
vened and  it  so  happened  that  the  moment  was  most  inopportune 
for  the  Entente.  They  were  facing  internal  weaknesses  caused  by 
the  Russian  Revolution  and  a  Socialist  unrest  which  was  aided  by  Ger- 
man propaganda  everywhere;  they  were  striving  to  conciliate  anti- 
war and  to  a  large  extent  pro-Catholic  influences  in  Ireland,  Quebec, 
France,  Italy  and  the  United  States,  which  were  injuring  the  fabric 

*Quoted  by  the  Archbishop  of  Toronto  in  a  pamphlet  issued  early  in  1918. 


114  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  war  unity  and  hampering  the  combined,  concentrated  action  so 
essential  to  war  success;  military  operations  were  at  the  time  fairly 
favourable  to  the  Allies  and,  if  Russia  could  be  held  true,  ultimate 
victory  seemed  possible.  Into  this  situation  the  Papal  Peace  Note, 
dated  Aug.  1,  was  interjected.  After  a  reference  to  his  own  perfect 
impartiality  and  earnest  desire  for  Peace,  to  his  rejected  appeal  of 
1915  and  the  awful  condition  of  war  which  was  assuming  "the 
appearance  of  a  useless  massacre"  the  Pope  proceeded  as  follows:* 

But  no  longer  confining  ourselves  to  general  terms,  as  we  were  led  to  do  by  cir- 
cumstances in  the  past,  we  will  n9w  come  to  more  concrete  and  practical  proposals 
and  invite  the  Governments  of  both  belligerent  peoples  to  arrive  at  an  agreement 
on  the  following  points,  which  seem  to  offer  the  base  of  a  just  and  lasting  peace, 
leaving  it  with  them  to  make  them  more  precise  and  complete.  First,  the  fundamental 
point  must  be  that  the  material  force  of  arms  shall  give  way  to  the  moral  force  of 
right,  whence  shall  proceed  a  just  agreement  of  all  upon  the  simultaneous  and  recipro- 
cal decrease  of  armaments,  according  to  rules  and  guarantees  to  be  established,  in 
the  necessary  and  sufficient  measure  for  the  maintenance  of  public  order  in  every 
State;  then,  taking  the  place  of  arms,  the  institution  of  arbitration,  with  its  high 
pacifying  function,  according  to  rules  to  be  drawn  in  concert  and  under  sanctions 
to  be  determined  against  any  State  which  would  decline  either  to  refer  international 
questions  to  arbitration  or  to  accept  its  awards. 

When  supremacy  of  right  is  thus  established,  let  every  obstacle  to  ways  of  com- 
munication of  the  peoples  be  removed  by  insuring,  through  rules  to  be  also  deter- 
mined, the  true  freedom  and  community  of  the  seas,  which,  on  the  one  hand,  would 
eliminate  any  causes  of  conflict,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  would  open  to  all  new  sources 
of  prosperity  and  progress.  As  for  the  damages  to  be  paid  and  the  cost  of  the  War, 
we  see  no  other  way  of  solving  the  question  than  by  setting  up  the  general  principle 
of  entire  and  reciprocal  conditions,  which  would  be  justified  by  the  immense  benefit 
to  be  derived  from  disarmament,  all  the  more  as  one  could  not  understand  that  such 
carnage  could  go  on  for  mere  economic  reasons.  If  certain  particular  reasons  stand 
against  this  in  certain  cases,  let  them  be  weighed  in  justice  and  equity.  But  these 
specific  agreements,  with  the  immense  advantages  that  flow  from  them,  are  not 
possible  unless  territory  now  occupied  is  reciprocally  restituted. 

Therefore,  on  the  part  of  Germany,  there  should  be  total  evacuation  of  Belgium, 
with  guarantees  of  its  entire  political,  military  and  economic  independence  toward 
any  Power  whatever;  evacuation  also  of  the  French  territory;  on  the  part  of  the 
other  belligerents,  a  similar  restitution  of  the  German  Colonies.  As  regards  terri- 
torial questions,  as,  for  instance,  those  that  are  disputed  by  Italy  and  Austria,  by 
Germany  and  France,  there  is  reason  to  hope  that,  in  consideration  of  the  immense 
advantages  of  durable  peace  with  disarmament,  the  contending  parties  will  examine 
them  in  a  conciliatory  spirit,  taking  into  account,  as  far  as  is  just  and  possible,  as  we 
have  said  formerly,  the  aspirations  of  the  population,  and,  if  occasion  arises,  adjust- 
ing private  interests  to  the  general  good  of  the  great  human  society.  The  same 
spirit  of  equity  and  justice  must  guide  the  examination  of  the  other  territorial  and 
political  questions,  notably  those  relative  to  Armenia,  the  Balkan  States,  and  the 
territories  forming  part  of  the  old  Kingdom  of  Poland,  for  which  in  particular,  ifs 
noble  historical  traditions  and  suffering,  particularly  undergone  in  the  present  war, 
must  win,  with  justice,  the  sympathies  of  the  nations. 

The  obvious  points  of  this  document  were  that  (1)  there  was  no 
recognition  of  any  moral  difference  between  the  belligerents;  (2)  a 
proposal  for  arbitration  and  disarmament  was  made  without  any 
security  suggested  from  the  Powers  who  had  wantonly  opposed  these 
principles  and  disregarded  the  obligation  of  treaties  in  the  past; 
(3)  Belgium  and  other  invaded  countries  were  to  suffer  their  terrible 
losses  without  reparation  or  restitution;  (4)  vital  issues,  such  as 
those  of  Trieste  and  Alsace-Lorraine,  were  to  be  left  at  the  mercy 

*NOTE. — Translation  given  in  The  Lamp,  a  Washington  organ  of  Catholic  thought. 


THE  POPE'S  PEACE  PROPOSALS;  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  REPLY    115 

of  a  Conference  where  organized  militant  autocracy  would  meet 
and  might  overcome  or  divide  the  unorganized  peace-loving  demo- 
cracies of  the  Entente.  Such  were  not  the  Pope's  intentions  and  there 
could  be  no  doubt  of  the  purity  and  good  meaning  of  his  proposals; 
but  such  were  the  inevitable  conclusions  of  the  Governments  which 
received  the  Note.  The  history  of  the  Popes  from  earliest  times 
had  shown  sincere  love  of  peace  and  many  interventions  on  their 
part  had  been  made  to  promote  the  ideal;  Benedict  XV  therefore 
was  following  in  the  footsteps  of  Leo  the  Great  who  had  withstood 
the  Huns  of  Attila,  of  Gregory  I,  Innocent  III,  and  Gregory  VII,  of 
Leo  IX,  Leo  XIII  and  many  another.  It  is  also  obvious  that  the 
position  of  His  Holiness  was  one  of  peculiar  suitability  for  such  a 
purpose  and  that  the  mass  of  information  coming  to  him  from 
Bishops  in  every  corner  of  the  world  and  every  country  of  the  War, 
gave  him  special  knowledge. 

Hence  the  influence  wielded  by  this  pronouncement  and  the 
politely  concealed  resentment  of  the  Entente  statesmen  at  what  they 
considered  proposals  favourable  to  Germany — especially  in  the  non- 
recognition  of  any  difference  between  international  wrong-doers 
and  the  sufferers,  and  in  the  reference  of  His  Holiness  to  "freedom 
of  the  seas."  In  speaking  of  "reciprocal  restitution"  the  New  York 
Tribune  (Aug.  17)  said:  "It  comes  down  to  this  then,  that  after 
three  years  in  which  Germany  has  wreaked  her  will  upon  a  helpless 
people,  upon  a  people  invaded  in  defiance  of  justice  and  right,  that 
empty  shell  which  is  Belgium  is  to  be  evacuated  by  Germany — and 
this  is  all!"  The  President  of  the  United  States  was  the  first,  and 
the  last,  of  the  Entente  nations  to  reply  to  the  Papal  Note.  So  exact 
and  able  in  phrase  and  statement  was  this  document  (Aug.  27)  that 
the  other  Allied  Powers  accepted  it  officially  as  representing  their 
views.  After  words  of  courtesy  and  of  equally  strong  reference  to 
the  stern  facts  bf  the  situation,  and  the  need  for  a  Peace  which 
should  be  enduring,  President  Wilson,  through  Mr.  Lansing,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  recapitulated  the  proposals  of  the  Pope  and  pro- 
ceeded as  follows: 

The  object  of  this  war  is  to  deliver  the  free  peoples  of  the  world  from  the  menace 
and  the  actual  power  of  a  vast  military  establishment  controlled  by  an  irresponsible 
Government  which,  having  secretly  planned  to  dominate  the  world,  proceeded  to 
carry  the  plan  out  without  regard  either  to  the  sacred  obligations  of  treaty,  or  the 
long-established  practices  and  long-cherished  principles  of  international  action  and 
honour;  which  chose  its  own  time  for  the  War;  delivered  its  blow  fiercely  and  sud- 
denly; stopped  at  no  barrier  either  of  law  or  of  mercy;  swept  a  whole  continent 
within  the  tide  of  blood — not  the  blood  of  soldiers  only,  but  the  blood  of  innocent 
women  and  children  also  and  of  the  helpless  poor;  and  now  stands  balked  but  not 
defeated,  the  enemy  of  four-fifths  of  the  world.  This  power  is  not  the  German  people. 
It  is  the  ruthless  master  of  the  German  people.  It  is  no  business  of  ours  how  that 
great  people  came  under  its  control  or  submitted  with  temporary  zest  to  the  domina- 
tion of  its  purpose;  but  it  is  pur  business  to  see  to  it  that  the  history  of  the  rest  of 
the  world  is  no  longer  left  to  its  handling. 

To  deal  with  such  a  power  by  way  of  peace  upon  the  plan  proposed  by  His  Holi- 
ness the  Pope,  would  so  far  as  we  can  see,  involve  a  recuperation  of  its  strength  and 
a  renewal  of  its  policy;  would  make  it  necessary  to  create  a  permanent  hostile  com- 
bination of  nations  against  the  German  people,  who  are  its  instruments;  and  would 
result  in  abandoning  the  new-born  Russia  to  the  intrigue,  the  manifold  subtile 
interference,  and  the  certain  counter-revohition  which  would  be  attempted  by  all  the 


116  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

malign  influences  to  which  the  German  Government  has  of  late  accustomed  the 
world.  Can  peace  be  based  upon  a  restitution  of  its  power  or  upon  any  word  of 
honour  it  could  pledge  in  a  treaty  of  settlement  and  accommodation? 

Responsible  statesmen  must  now  everywhere  see,  if  they  never  saw  before,  that 
no  peace  can  rest  securely  upon  political  or  economic  restrictions  meant  to  benefit 
some  nations  and  cripple  or  embarrass  others,  upon  vindictive  action  of  any  sort,  or 
any  kind  of  revenge  or  deliberate  injury.  The  American  people  have  suffered  intol- 
erable wrongs  at  the  hands  of  the  Imperial  German  Government,  but  they  desire 
no  reprisals  upon  the  German  people,  who  have  themselves  suffered  all  things  in 
this  war,  which  they  did  not  choose.  They  believe  that  peace  should  rest  upon  the 
rights  of  peoples,  not  the  rights  of  Governments — the  rights  of  peoples  great  or  small, 
weak  or  powerful — their  equal  right  to  freedom  and  security  and  self-government 
and  to  a  participation  upon  fair  terms  in  the  economic  opportunities  of  the  world — 
the  German  people  of  course  included  if  they  will  accept  equality  and  not  seek  domi- 
nation. 

The  German  attitude  was  one  of  approval  as  to  the  objects  and 
general  terms  of  the  Papal  Note;  the  Chancellor  (Dr.  Michaelis)  in 
the  Reichstag  on  Aug.  21,  denied  German  initiative  in  the  matter 
and  warmly  approved  the  Pope's  action;  in  this  he  was  supported 
by  the  Liberal,  Conservative  and  Centrist  Catholic  parties  and  the 
Pan-German  group;  comments  by  the  press  were  largely  favourable 
— notably  in  that  supporting  Herr  Erzberger.  On  Sept.  22  the 
replies  of  Germany  and  Austria  were  made  public  as  addressed  to 
Cardinal  Gasparri.  That  of  Germany  was  signed  by  the  Imperial 
Chancellor,  Dr.  Michaelis,  on  behalf  of  the  Kaiser-King  and  it 
warmly  thanked  His  Holiness  for  the  proposals  made;  stated  that 
the  Kaiser-King  "since  taking  over  the  Government,  has  regarded 
it  as  his  principal  and  most  sacred  task  to  preserve  the  blessings  of 
peace  for  the  German  people  and  the  world";  declared  that  "the 
German  Army  must  safeguard  peace"  for  the  German  people; 
referred  to  the  Reichstag  Resolutions  of  July  19  as  proof  of  a  prac- 
tical desire  for  peace,  and  expressed  sympathy  for  an  ideal  future  in 
which  the  moral  power  of  right  should  supersede  the  power  of  arms; 
and  added  generalities  as  to  disarmament,  freedom  of  the  seas  and 
arbitration. 

The  Austrian  reply  received  the  Papal  suggestions  with  religious 
respect  and  national  appreciation.  It  expressed  cordial  agreement 
with  the  moral  and  pacifist  views  of  His  Holiness,  dealt  generally, 
and  not  specifically,  with  his  proposals,  and  declared  that  "we 
support  Your  Holiness'  view  that  the  negotiations  between  the 
belligerents  should  and  could  lead  to  an  understanding,  by  which, 
with  the  creation  of  appropriate  guarantees,  armaments  on  land  and 
sea  and  in  the  air,  might  be  reduced  simultaneously,  reciprocally 
and  gradually  to  a  fixed  limit,  and  whereby  the  high  seas,  which 
rightfully  belong  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  may  be  freed  from 
domination  or  paramountcy,  and  be  opened  equally  for  the  use  of 
all."  Compulsory  arbitration  was  approved  and  the  statement  made 
that  if  this  and  the  freedom  of  the  seas  principle  were  accepted  all 
details  could  be  easily  arranged. 

Catholic  opinion  upon  this  issue  in  the  Entente  countries  was 
divided  pretty  much  along  the  original  lines  of  pacificism  and  war 
sentiment  with  a  natural  tendency  in  the  Papal  appeal  to  help  the 
former  feeling.  The  Rev.  Father  Vaughan,  a  brother  of  the  late 


THE  POPE'S  PEACE  PROPOSALS;  PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  REPLY   117 

English  Cardinal  of  that  name,  declared  (Aug.  24)  that  the  Note 
had  set  the  world  thinking  about  Peace  but  he  feared  that  the  Holy 
Father  did  not  fully  recognize  that  "we  cannot  sheathe  the 
sword  until  we  have  broken  up  militarism,  until  we  have  hauled 
down  the  flag  emblazoned  'kultur  and  frightfulness'."  On  the 
other  hand  the  American  Federation  of  Catholic  Societies  at  Kansas 
City  on  Aug.  28  noted  with  pride  "the  accord  between  the  articles 
of  agreement  offered  by  the  Supreme  Pontiff  and  the  tentative  sug- 
gestions formerly  made  by  the  President  of  thr  United  States." 
The  London  Tablet,  the  leading  British  Catholic  organ  (Aug.  18), 
drew  attention  to  the  distinction  which  made  reciprocal  restitution 
so  difficult:  "The  German  Colonies  were  captured  in  the  course  of 
lawful  war;  Belgium  and  French  territory  were  seized  by  the  Ger- 
mans as  the  result  of  a  brutal  brigandage  which  was  made  possible 
only  by  the  violation  of  an  international  treaty."  It  also  criticized 
the  "useless  massacre"  phrase  as  unfair  to  those  who  were  fighting 
in  self-defence  or  for  human  liberty  and  as  obviously  based  upon  a 
belief  that  the  Entente  could  not  win.  Freeman's  Journal,  the 
Dublin  Nationalist  organ  (Aug.  18)  declared  that  "whatever  the 
defects  of  the  Pope's  proposals  may  be,  they  do  not  mean  a  German 
peace  for  their  acceptance  by  the  Central  Powers  would  be  a  con- 
fession of  the  bankruptcy  of  militarism  as  a  force  in  European 
politics." 

It  cannot  be  said  that  the  Pan-Germans  or  annexationists  liked 
the  Pope's  proposals;  to  them  the  restoration  of  Belgium,  Northern 
France  and  Serbia  meant  defeat  and  by  the  close  of  the  year  they 
controlled  much  public  opinion  in  Germany.  At  Rome  on  Sept. 
22,  Cardinal  Gasparri  commented  upon  the  situation  created  by  the 
Papal  Note.  He  declared  President  Wilson's  proposal  to  reduce 
armaments  and  impose  International  arbitration  by  force  through  a 
society  of  nations  to  be  a  dream,  and  made  this  suggestion:  "All 
inconveniences  and  objections  could  be  avoided  by  suppressing 
Conscription,  with  the  provision  that  it  could  not  be  re-established 
without  a  law  approved  by  the  people.  .  .  .  The  suppression  of 
Conscription  would  lead  automatically  and  without  any  disturbance 
of  public  order  to  disarmament  and  the  end  of  militarism."  By 
the  close  of  the  year  peace  was  further  from  the  thought  of  German 
leaders  than  when  the  Pope  presented  the  subject;  Russia  had 
revived  their  hopes,  their  confidence  and  their  pride  of  power.  So 
far  as  the  intellectuals  of  Germany  were  concerned,  the  leaders  of 
Pan-Germanism  and  Mittel-europa  ambitions,  they  were  garbed  in 
steel  and  even  the  white  mantle  of  a  German  Peace,  worn  by  many 
in  August,  was  discarded  in  December. 


118  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  WAR  IN  1917* 

Jan.  1 — Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  acknowledged  the  independence  of 
Turkey  as  to  old-time  treaties  and  Conventions. 

Jan.  2 — New  Kingdom  of  Hejas,  in  Arabia,  recognized  by  Great  Britain,  France 
and  Italy. 

Jan.  4 — Russians  evacuated  the  Dobrudja. 

Jan.  5 — Germans  captured  Braila  (Roumania). 

Jan.  8 — Focsani,  Roumania,  captured  by  Germans. 

Jan.  9 — Allies  presented  48-hour  ultimatum  to  Greece;  Prince  Golitzin  suc- 
ceeded M.  Trepoff  as  Russian  Prime  Minister. 

Jan.  11 — Advance  of  British  near  Beaumont  Hamel,  France.  New  British 
internal  War  Loan  floated,  bearing  5%  per  cent.;  5th  Austrian  War  Loan  of  $900,- 
000,000  announced. 

Jan.  17 — German  advance  checked  in  Roumania  west  of  the  Sereth;  Vadeni 
retaken  by  Russians.  Greek  Government  accepted  Allies'  demands. 

Jan.  18 — Roumanian  success  between  valleys  of  Casin  and  Susitza.  Progress 
of  British  advance  north  of  Beaucourt-sur-Ancre.  Italians  advanced  in  Albania. 

Jan.  20 — British  air-raid  on  Bagdad.  British  successes  in  East  Africa.  German 
Government  presented  to  the  United  States  a  defence  of  Belgian  deportations. 

Jan.  24 — Surrender  of  a  German  force  in  East  Africa. 

Jan.  25 — Repulse  of  Germans  at  Verdun. 

Jan.  26. — Germans  repulsed  on  Riga  front. 

Jan.  27 — British  advance  on  Somme  front. 

Jan.  29 — Allied  Conference  in  Petrograd;  arrival  of  British  Mission  with  French 
and  Italian  delegates. 

Jan.  31 — New  German  attacks  at  Riga  for  the  most  part  repulsed.  Russians 
advanced  in  Bukowina.  Germany  announced  to  Neutrals  a  campaign  of  unrestricted 
Submarine  warfare. 

Feb.  1 — Russians  regained  positions  previously  lost  on  Riga  front.  Further 
advance  of  Russians  in  the  Bukowina. 

Feb.  2 — British  advanced  on  Somme  front. 

Feb.  3 — The  United  States  broke  off  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany.  Ad- 
vance of  British  north  of  the  Ancre.  System  of  voluntary  bread,  meat  and  sugar 
rations  introduced  in  Great  Britain. 

Feb.  6 — Further  advance  of  British  on  Somme  front.  National  Service  system 
inaugurated  in  Great  Britain. 

Feb.  7 — British  captured  Grandcourt,  south  of  the  Ancre.  German  troops 
crossed  the  Sereth,  Roumania.  Further  attacks  repulsed  by  Russians.  Duke  of 
the  Abruzzi  resigned  command  of  Italian  fleet  and  was  succeeded  by  Vice-Admiral 
Paolo  Theon  di  Revel. 

Feb.  8 — Success  of  British  on  Sailly-Saillisel  Ridge,  right  of  Somme  line;  also  a 
further  advance  from  Grandcourt  on  both  sides  of  the  Ancre. 

Feb.  10 — J.  W.  Gerard,  U.S.  Ambassador,  left  Germany  to  return  home. 

Feb.  11 — Enemy  retreat  at  Serre  Hill;  British  took  trenches.  Heavy  fighting 
east  of  Gorizia;  Italians  repulsed  Austrian  attacks. 

Feb.  12 — British  progress  on  the  Ancre  continued.  Germany  announced  that 
Neutral  shipping  could  no  longer  expect  individual  warning.  The  U.S.  Government 
refused  to  discuss  with  Germany  matters  of  difference  owing  to  the  Proclamation 
of  Jan.  31. 

Feb.  13 — Denmark,  Norway  and  Sweden  presented  an  identic  Note  to  Germany 
refusing  to  recognize  the  Submarine  blockade  as  legal. 

Feb.  14 — The  German  Ambassador,  Count  Johann  Von  Bernstorff,  sailed  from 
New  York  for  home  on  a  Danish  steamer. 

Feb.  16 — British  issued  Order-in-Council  compelling  vessels  sailing  to  or  from  a 
Neutral  country  to  call  at  a  port  in  British  or  Allied  territory. 

Feb.  17 — Further  British  success  on  the  Ancre;  German  positions  north  and 
south  of  Miraumont  captured. 

*Compiled  from  various  sources — the  London  Times,  the  N.Y.  Times,  Current 
History,  the  United  Empire,  journal  and  organ  of  the  British  Empire  League,  the  Ameri- 
can and  Australian  Review  of  Reviews,  etc. 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  WAR  IN  1917  119 

Feb.  19 — The  Australian  Cabinet  re-organized  on  a  Coalition  basis — William 
M.  Hughes  remaining  as  Premier. 

Feb.  23 — British  forces  crossed  Tigris  above  Kut  in  Mesopotamia.  Turkish 
position  turned  and  enemy  in  retreat. 

Feb.  24— German  retreat  on  the  Ancre  continued;  British  occupied  Petit  Mirau- 
mont.  British  capture  of  Kut-el-Amara. 

Feb.  25 — British  occupied  Serre,  Miraumont,  Warlencourt  and  Pys,  in  France. 

Feb.  26 — British  advance  in  France  extended  over  an  11-mile  front  to  a  maxi- 
mum depth  of  2  miles;  successful  raids  north  of  Arras. 

Feb.  27 — Further  successes  on  theSomme;  British  occupied  Le  Barque  and  Ligny. 
Austro-German  success  in  the  Bukowina. 

Feb.  28 — Gommecourt  and  other  places  in  France  fell  into  British  hands.  Turks 
hotly  pursued  towards  Bagdad. 

Mar.  1 — German  intrigues  in  Mexico  brought  to  light. 

Mar.  2 — Russians  recaptured  Hamadan  (Western  Persia). 

Mar.  3 — Marshal  Arz  Von  Straussenberg  appointed  Chief  of  Staff  in  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Army. 

Mar.  7 — The  Irish  Nationalist  members  in  British  Commons  presented  a  Resolu- 
tion calling  for  the  immediate  application  of  the  Home  Rule  law. 

Mar.  8 — French  recaptured  most  of  lost  ground  in  Champagne.  German  suc- 
cess against  the  Roumanians.  Death  of  Count  Zeppelin. 

Mar.  10 — Irles  in  France  fell  into  British  hands. 

Mar.  11 — British  occupied  Bagdad,  after  a  brilliant  100-mile  march  up  the  Tigris. 

Mar.  12 — Revolution  in  Russia  and  abdication  of  the  Czar;  new  Cabinet  formed 
with  Prince  Georges  E.  Lvoff  as  Premier. 

Mar.  13 — British  captured  Grevillers  and  the  whole  of  Loupart  Wood  in  France. 
\j  jj&Mar.  16 — British  advanced  north  of  Peronne  and  in  St.  Pierre  Vaast  Wood. 

Mar.  17 — German  retreat  toward  the  Belgian  frontier  continued;  British  occu- 
pied Bapaume,  Nesle,  Chaulnes,  Peronne  and  over  60  villages;  Roye,  Noyon  and 
Lassigny  taken  by  the  French. 

Mar.  18 — Fierce  German  attacks  in  the  Verdun  region.  British  troops  in  Meso- 
potamia continued  pursuit  of  the  Turks  up  the  Diala  and  occupied  Bahriz  and  Bakuba. 

Mar.  19 — 40  more  villages  fell  into  British  hands  in  France;  rapid  French  ad- 
vance towards  St.  Quentin;  capture  of  Guiscard,  Ham  and  Chauny.  Alexandre 
Ribot  formed  a  new  French  Ministry  based  upon  the  old. 

Mar.  20 — 14  Villages  south  of  Arras  cleared  of  Germans.  First  meeting  of  the 
Imperial  War  Cabinet. 

Mar.  21 — British  advance  reached  points  10  miles  east  of  the  Somme;  German 
resistance  began  to  develop.  Advance  Russian  forces  crossed  the  border  from  Persia 
into  Turkish  territory,  south  of  Baneh. 

Mar.  24 — French  reached  suburbs  of  La  Fere.  British  occupied  Roisel,  7  miles 
east  of  Peronne.  United  States  ordered  withdrawal  from  Belgium  of  its  Minister 
Brand  Whitlock,  and  the  members  of  the  American  Relief  Commission. 

Mar.  25 — German  torpedo-boats  bombarded  Dunkirk.  British  success  on 
Diala  River,  60  miles  north-east  of  Bagdad. 

Mar.  26 — British  took  Lagnicourt,  north-east  of  Bapaume.  French  captured 
further  enemy  trenches  west  of  Monastir,  Serbia. 

Mar.  27 — British  victory  at  Wadi-Ghuzzeh,  5  miles  south  of  Gaza,  Palestine. 
Further  British  advance  north-east  of  Peronne. 

Mar.  31 — British  gains  along  the  whole  line  between  Arras  and  St.  Quentin. 
Deli  Abbas,  north-east  of  Bagdad,  occupied  by  British. 

Apr.  2 — Numerous  villages,  including  Croiselles,  on  the  Arras-Bapaume  front, 
occupied  by  British.  Russian  and  British  forces  established  touch  in  Mesopotamia. 

Apr.  3 — German  victory  over  Russians  on  the  Stokhod. 

Apr.  4— Further  Allied  success  in  the  West.  French  patrols  reached  suburbs 
of  St.  Quentin. 

Apr.  5 — The  Germans  launched  an  attack  north-west  of  Rheims  in  order  to 
relieve  pressure  on  St.  Quentin. 

Apr.  6 — President  Wilson  signed  joint  Resolution  of  Congress  declaring  war 
against  Germany. 

Apr.  7 — British  naval  raid  on  Zeebrugge.     Cuba  entered  the  War. 

Apr.  9 — Opening  of  the  Battle  of  Arras;  British  attacked  between  Lens  and  St. 
Quentin  and  Canadians  captured  Vimy  Ridge. 

Apr.  10 — Further  successes  on  the  Arras  front. 


120  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Apr.  11— Money,  5  miles  from  Arras,  captured.  After  temporary  withdrawal 
on  the  Diala  (Mesopotamia)  British  attacked  Turks  and  drove  them  back  to  Deli 
Abbas. 

Apr.  12 — British  assault  on  German  position  near  Arras  resulted  in  capture  of 
7  towns  and  the  piercing  of  the  famous  "Hindenburg  line,"  with  13,000  prisoners 
taken. 

Apr.  13 — Bolivia  severed  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany. 

Apr.  14— Allied  air  raid  on  Freiburg  as  reprisal  for  sinking  of  Hospital  ships. 

Apr.  15 — Austria  made  semi-official  overtures  to  Russia  for  peace. 

Apr.  16 — Great  French  offensive  on  the  Aisne.  British  approached  Lens,  despite 
German  counter-attacks. 

Apr.  17— Further  French  successes  between  Soissons  and  Rheims.  Turkish 
advanced  positions  on  6-mile  front  captured  north  of  Wadi-Ghuzzeh  (Palestine). 

Apr.  18 — Turks  defeated  by  British  at  Istabulat,  Mesopotamia. 

Apr.  20— Further  French  gains  in  Champagne.  Turkey  decided  to  sever  diplo- 
matic relations  with  the  United  States. 

Apr.  21 — The  British  Mission  to  America,  headed  by  Arthur  J.  Balfour,  arrived 
in  the  United  States. 

Apr.  23 — Fresh  British  offensive  launched  along  the  Scarpe,  France.  Samarra, 
68  miles  north  of  Bagdad,  captured. 

Apr.  24— British  advance  along  the  Scarpe  continued.  Engagement  on  the 
Shattel-Adhaim  (Mesopotamia)  and  Turks  retreated  to  the  Jebel  Hamrin  range. 
The  French  Mission  to  the  United  States,  headed  by  ex-Premier  Viviani  and  Marshal 
Joffre,  arrived  at  Hampton  Roads. 

Apr.  25 — British  advanced  in  Macedonia  in  neighbourhood  of  Doiran. 

Apr.  26 — German  naval  raid  on  Ramsgate. 

Apr.  28 — British  attack  east  of  Vimy  Ridge;  Arleux  taken.  The  Republic  of 
Guatemala  broke  off  relations  with  Germany. 

Apr.  29— General  Petain  appointed  Chief  of  Staff  to  General  Nivelle,  French 
Commander-in-Chief.  Enemy  counter-attacked  in  Macedonia. 

Apr.  30 — Lieut.  Baron  von  Richthofen,  German  aviator,  brought  down  his 
52nd  enemy  airplane. 

May  1 — Evacuation  of  Mush  (Armenia)  by  Russians  announced. 

May  3 — New  battle  along  British  front  in  France  east  of  Arras;  Fresnoy  cap- 
tured. 

May  4 — French  captured  Craonne,  north-west  of  Rheims.  Severe  fighting  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Bullecourt. 

May  5 — Further  French  success  north  of  the  Aisne. 

May  7 — Heavy  German  counter-attacks  on  the  heights  of  the  Aisne. 

May  8 — German  counter-attacks  cause  British  to  withdraw  from  Fresnoy. 

May  9 — Further  French  successes  on  the  Aisne,  British  captured  Bulgarian 
trenches  south-west  of  Doiran. 

May  10 — North  Sea  engagement;  11  German  destroyers  chased  into  Zeebrugge. 
Italian  Mission  to  the  United  States  arrived  in  New  York.  General  Ruszky  removed 
from  command  of  Russia's  armies. 

May  11 — Severe  fighting  near  Lens.  British  Government  raises  the  age  for 
voluntary  attestation  from  40  to  50. 

May  12 — Heavy  bombardment  of  Zeebrugge  by  British  ships  and  aeroplanes. 

May  14 — Zeppelin  L-22  destroyed  by  naval  gunfire  in  North  Sea.  British 
captured  village  of  Roeux  in  the  Scarpe  Valley.  Italian  offensive  launched  from 
Tolmino  to  the  sea.  Russian  Army  Headquarters  estimated  that  Germany  had 
withdrawn  600,000  men  from  the  Russian  front  and  sent  them  to  oppose  the  French 
and  British  offensives. 

May  16 — General  Petain  appointed  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  French  forces, 
with  Genera]  Foch  as  Chief  of  the  General  Staff.  British  advanced  on  a  three-mile 
front  in  Macedonia. 

May  17— British  completed  capture  of  Bullecourt,  where  fighting  had  taken 
place  since  May  3. 

May  18 — Austrian  counter-attacks  on  the  Isonzo  repulsed  with  help  from  Brit- 
ish heavy  artillery. 

May  19— Further  section  of  the  Hindenburg  line,  on  front  of  over  a  mile,  taken 
by  British  north  of  Bullecourt. 

May  20— British  advanced  between  Bullecourt  and  Fontaine.  French  success 
on  the  Moronvilliers  front.  Italians  gave  ground  on  the  Vodice  and  south  of  Gorizia. 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  WAR  IN  1917  121 

May  21 — Hindenburg  line  from  a  point  east  of  Bullecourt  to  Arras  in  British 
hands,  with  slight  exceptions. 

May  25 — Enemy  air-raid  over  south-east  coast  of  England. 

May  26 — The  offensive  on  the  Isonzo  front  Italy's  greatest  effort  in  two  years 
of  war;  22,500  Austrian  prisoners  taken  since  May  14. 

May  27 — Italians  crossed  the  Timavo  River  and  approached  within  a  mile  of 
Duino,  their  immediate  seaport  objective. 

May  28 — The  Brazilian  Chamber  of  Deputies  voted  in  favour  of  revoking  neutral- 
ity and  authorizing  the  seizure  of  German  ships. 

June  1 — The  fortress  of  Kronstadt,  defending  Petrograd,  taken  over  by  the  local 
Workmen's  and  Soldier's  Council. 

June  3 — United  States  Mission  to  Russia,  headed  by  Elihu  Root,  arrived  at  a 
Russian  (Pacific)  port. 

June  4 — General  Alexis  Brusiloff  appointed  Commander-in-Chief  of  Russia's 
armies. 

June  5 — German  naval  bases  at  Zeebrugge  and  Ostend  bombarded  by  British 
warships.  18  German  aeroplanes  dropped  bombs  on  coast  east  of  London.  The 
French  Chamber  of  Deputies  declared  that  Peace  terms  must  include  restoration  of 
Alsace-Lorraine  to  France  and  reparation  for  damage  done  to  occupied  territory 
An  Austrian  counter-attack  on  the  Carso  Plateau,  near  Jamiano,  inflicted  severe 
losses  on  the  Italians;  the  Austrians  claimed  a  total  of  22,000  prisoners  during  the 
Italian  offensive. 

June  7 — In  the  greatest  mine  explosion  of  the  year  the  British  blast  away  German 
positions  on  the  Wytschaete-Messines  Ridge,  dominating  Ypres  from  the  south,  and 
wiped  out  a  bulge  in  the  German  line  5  miles  across  and  3  miles  deep.  Austrian 
counter-attack  on  the  Carso  Plateau  stopped  by  Italians  after  three  days;  with 
reinforcements  from  the  Russian  front  the  Austrians  recaptured  one-third  of  the 
ground  previously  lost. 

June  9 — Major  General  Pershing  and  his  Staff,  on  their  way  to  France,  received 
by  King  George  V. 

June  10 — Italian  efforts  suddenly  shifted  to  the  Trentino  front,  where  several 
Austrian  positions  were  carried. 

June  11 — Lord  Northcliffe,  the  British  newspaperman,  arrived  in  the  United 
States  to  head  a  permanent  War  Mission  along  industrial  lines. 

June  12 — King  Constantine  of  Greece  abdicated  and  was  succeeded  by  his  second 
son  Alexander. 

June  13 — Fourth  German  aeroplane  raid  over  England  within  three  weeks  and 
the  most  destructive  of  the  entire  war. 

June  15 — Lord  Rhondda  is  appointed  Food  Controller  in  Great  Britain,  suc- 
ceeding Lord  Devonport. 

June  17 — British  evacuated  positions  in  the  Struma  Valley  region,  on  the  Bul- 
garian front  in  Macedonia. 

June  18 — Haiti  severed  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany.  A  Commission 
from  Belgium  to  the  United  States  received  by  President  Wilson. 

June  20 — British  re-took  lost  positions  east  of  Monchy-le-Preux;  Canadians 
repulsed  attacks  on  new  positions  near  Lens.  Italians  resumed  the  offensive  in  the 
Trentino  and  captured  Austrian  positions  on  Monte  Ortigara. 

June  22 — Germans  pierced  French  salient  on  a  front  of  1%  miles  along  the  Chemin 
des  Dames. 

June  24 — French  recaptured  greater  part  of  salient  lost  east  of  Vauxaillon. 

June  25 — British  advanced  on  a  front  of  1%  miles  south-west  of  Lens. 

June  26 — Canadians  captured  La  Coulette  and  pushed  beyond  it  toward  Lens. 
French  captured  positions  north-west  of  Hurtebise  Farm.  Austrians  suffered  severely 
in  attempt  to  retake  the  Ortigara  sector. 

June  28 — Canadians,  in  drive  on  Lens,  pushed  on  half  way  through  Avion. 

June  29 — British  carried  German  line  between  Oppy  and  Gavrelle  on  a  front  of 
2,000  yards.  Germans  near  Verdun  captured  several  French  positions.  Turks  drove 
Russians  across  the  River  Abis  Hirman  on  the  Persian  frontier. 

June  30 — British  advanced  a  mile  toward  Lens  over  a  front  of  4  miles. 

July  1 — Russians,  led  by  Kerensky  in  person,  resumed  their  drive  toward  Lem- 
berg  and  advanced  on  an  18-mile  front.  Heavy  fighting  around  Avocourt  Wood, 
Hill  304,  and  Dead  Man  Hill  in  France;  British  drew  close  to  Lens. 

July  4 —  Germans  launched  powerful  offensive  north  of  the  Aisne  on  a  front  of 
nearly  11  miles  but  were  repulsed.  Germans  attacked  French  positions  on  the  left 


122  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

bank  of  the  Meuse  with  liquid  fire  but  were  driven  back.  German  aeroplanes  dropped 
bombs  on  Harwich. 

July  6 — 84  French  aeroplanes  raided  Germany,  causing  heavy  damage  at  the 
Krupp  works. 

July  7 — Fighting  began  near  Pinsk;  city  reported  in  flames.  Russians  occupied 
German  trenches  in  the  Zlochoff  region  and  near  Koniuchy.  British  advanced  east 
of  Wytschaete  in  Belgium. 

July  8— Russian  offensive  spread  north  and  south  of  Halicz;  Russians  crossed  the 
Bystritza  River  on  both  sides  of  the  railway  line  running  west  from  Stanislau  to 
Kalusz  and  Dolina,  and  captured  several  villages  and  the  town  of  Jezupol.  Germans' 
attack  in  four  sectors  on  the  Chemin  des  Dames  repulsed;  French  seized 
three  strongly-organized  salients  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Meuse. 

July  9 — Turks  re-occupied  Panjwin,  Khanikin  and  Ksar-i-Shirin  on  the  Persian 
border. 

July  10— Russians  took  Halicz;  Austro-German  forces  driven  across  the  Lom- 
nica  and  Luvka  Rivers. 

July  11 — Russians  advanced  on  100-mile  front,  pursuing  the  Teutons  across  the 
upper  Lomnica  River.  Germans  launched  a  strong  attack  against  the  British  north 
of  Nieuport  and  drove  them  back  on  the  Yser  River.  Italians  advanced  on  the  Carso 
and  occupied  Dalino.  20  German  machines  raided  London. 

July  12 — Germans  stormed  British  trenches  near  Money  and  took  many 
prisoners. 

July  13 — Russians  pressed  on  in  Galicia  on  a  front  of  nearly  50  miles  from 
Halicz  to  the  foot  of  the  Carpathians,  capturing  several  important  heights  north 
of  the  Dniester. 

July  14 — Russians  beat  off  attacks  on  Kalusz  and  captured  Novicka. 

July  16 — Russians  took  eastern  end  of  Lodziany. 

July  17 — Russians  were  driven  out  of  Kalusz  by  German  re-inforcements  and 
lost  Novicka,  but  re-took  it.  French  captured  German  first  and  second  lines  on  a 
wide  front  north-west  of  Verdun. 

July  19 — Germans  penetrated  Russian  positions  in  north-eastern  Galicia  on  a 
wide  front  near  Zlochow. 

July  20 — Teutons  made  successful  attacks  on  the  Russian  front,  owing  to  mutiny 
of  extremist  Russian  regiments,  and  occupied  first-line  trenches  east  of  Bezrzany. 
Germans  repulsed  in  France  on  the  plateau  before  Craonne  and  Vauclerc,  and  be- 
tween the  Californie  Plateau  and  Casemates  Plateau. 

July  21 — Fighting  resumed  on  the  Roumanian  front;  Austro-Germans  attacked 
positions  near  confluence  of  the  Rimnik  and  Sereth  Rivers,  but  were  repulsed. 

July  22  Russians  continued  to  retreat  in  Northern  Galicia,  as  mutiny  grew, 
and  yielded  ground  as  far  south  as  the  Dniester;  Babino,  on  the  Lomnica,  evacuated. 
Germans  launched  fierce  attacks  on  the  Casemates  and  Californie  Plateau.  German 
air-raid  over  Felixstowe  and  Harwich,  England. 

July  23 — Russians  pierced  German  lines  north  of  Pinsk  marshes  but  retreated 
further  in  northern  Galicia  and  Germans  captured  Tarnopol. 

July  24 — Germans  pursued  Russians  on  a  155-mile  front  from  the  Baltic  to  the 
Black  Sea,  and  crossed  the  Sereth  River  in  the  region  of  the  Mikulice;  Russians 
evacuated  Stanislau;  regiments  on  the  Dvinsk-Vilna  front  abandoned  the  enemy's 
positions  after  capturing  them,  as  sedition  increased.  French  re-took  all  ground  lost 
between  Casemates  and  Californie  Plateaux. 

July  26 — Germans  pursued  Russians  and  continued  their  advance  in  Galicia; 
Russians  abandoned  the  Carpathian  front  as  far  as  the  Kirlibaba  sector.  Germans 
penetrated  French  lines  from  La  Bovelle  Farm  to  a  point  east  of  Hurtebise. 

July  27 — Russians  retired  from  Czernowitz;  Germans  captured  Kolomea. 
French  repulsed  5  German  attacks  on  the  heights  south  and  west  of  Moron villiers ; 
British  captured  La  Bassee.  German  air-raid  over  Paris  and  hospital  near  the 
Front  bombed. 

July  29 — Russians  retreated  over  the  Galician  border  at  Husiatyn;  Germans 
captured  Kuty  in  the  Carpathians. 

July  30 — Russians  stiffened  their  line  and  held  heights  to  the  east  of  the  River 
Zbrocz. 

July  31 — Roumanians  took  fortified  positions  on  the  right  bank  of  the  River 
Putna,  north-west  of  Soveia.  French  and  British  smashed  German  lines  in  Belgium 
on  a  20-mile  front  from  Dixmude  to  Warneton,  taking  10  towns  and  crossing  the 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  WAR  IN  1917  123 

Yser  in  many  places;  French  on  the  Aisne  captured  German  trenches  over  a  front 
of  nearly  a  mile. 

Aug.  1 — Russians  began  offensive  in  Galicia  in  the  direction  of  Trembowla,  but 
retreated  in  the  south.  Germans  in  Belgium  re-took  St.  Julien  from  the  British  and 
gained  a  footing  at  Westhoek. 

Aug.  3 — Austrians  captured  Czernowitz  and  Russians  evacuated  Kimpolung  in 
Bukowina.  British  re-occupied  St.  Julien  and  improved  positions  south  of  Hollebeke. 

Aug.  4 — Austrians  crossed  the  Russian  frontier  north-east  of  Czernowitz;  nearly 
all  of  Galicia  was  now  wrested  from  the  Russians. 

Aug.  5 — Russians  resumed  offensive  tactics  east  of  Czernowitz.  Teutons  occu- 
pied Varna.  Canadians  pushed  forward  south-west  of  Lens;  British  advanced  at 
St.  Julien. 

Aug.  7 — Russians  took  the  offensive  in  Volhynia  and  captured  2  villages  but 
evacuated  two  centres  in  Podolia.  Austro-Germans  began  offensive  against  Russo- 
Roumanian  armies  in  Moldavia  and  stormed  Russian  positions  north  of  Focsani. 

Aug.  9 — French  advanced  south  of  Langemarck. 

Aug.  10 — British  captured  Westhoek  Ridge  and  French  extended  their  positions 
in  the  Bixschoote  region;  Germans  won  ground  north  of  St.  Quentin. 

Aug.  11 — Teuton  attacks  on  the  Sereth  and  Suchawa,  in  Roumania,  repulsed; 
Roumanians  retired  south-west  of  Ocna. 

Aug.  12 — Austro-Germans  in  Moldavia  captured  Grozesni  and  the  dominating 
heights. 

Aug.  15 — Austro-Germans  seized  the  bridgehead  at  Baltaretu  in  Roumania  and 
captured  Stracani.  Canadians  took  German  positions  on  a  2-mile  front  east  and 
south  of  Loos,  including  Hill  70.  Text  of  Pope  Benedict's  Peace  Note  to  the  Bellig- 
erents was  made  public  in  England. 

Aug.  16 — Russians  and  Roumanians  forced  to  cross  to  the  east  side  of  the  Sereth 
and  retired  on  the  Moldavian  border.  British  re-captured  Langemarck  and  pushed 
on  a  half  mile  beyond  in  France. 

Aug.  18 — Austrians  drove  Russo-Roumanians  from  intrenched  positions  south 
of  Grozesni. 

Aug.  19 — Italians  began  offensive  from  Tolmino.  A  French  attack  at  Verdun 
resulted  in  the  capture  of  important  German  positions  over  a  front  of  11  miles. 

Aug.  22 — Special  Japanese  Mission  to  the  United  States  arrived  in  Washington. 

Aug.  23 — Heavy  fighting  near  Lens.     Battle  on  the  Isonzo  developed. 

Aug.  24 — French  attacked  on  left  bank  of  Meuse  and  Hill  304  and  Camard  Wood 
captured.  Italian  progress  continued  on  the  Isonzo  and  Monte  Santo  captured. 

Aug.  25 — Italians  progressed  on  Bainsizza  Plateau. 

Aug.  26 — British  re-established  lost  positions  near  Epehy  and  advanced  hah*  a 
mile,  capturing  strong  positions.  German  attack  on  Ypres-Menin  road  failed. 
French  attack  on  Meuse  captured  several  positions. 

Aug.  27 — Isonzo  battle  continued  with  special  intensity  on  Bainsizza  Plateau. 

Aug.  29 — Italians  continued  their  advance.  Germans  continued  their  offensive 
movement  in  Focsani  region,  Roumania. 

Aug.  31 — Germa'ns  attacked  British  near  Ep£hy;  Italians  advanced  on  Monte 
San  Gabriele  and  the  Carso;  Serbians  attacked  in  Dobropolie-Moglena  sector  of  the 
Balkans. 

Sept.  1 — German  attack  on  Riga  began.  Dwina  crossed  and  Russians  forced 
back.  Naval  engagement  off  coast  of  Jutland. 

Sept.  2 — Heavy  fighting  on  South  Carso  advanced  Italian  line.  German  attack 
on  Riga  continued. 

Sept.  3 — German  attack  on  British  at  Havrincourt  failed.  Riga  captured  by 
Germans. 

Sept.  4 — German  aircraft  bombed  English  East-coast  towns.  Heavy  fighting 
on  Bainsizza  Plateau  and  Monte  San  Gabriele.  Big  Austrian  counter-attack  on 
Carso  failed.  German  pursuit  of  Russian  Army  from  Riga. 

Sept.  5 — German  air-raid  on  London.  German  attack  on  Casemates  Plateau 
repulsed;  also  on  Calif ornie  Plateau.  Fighting  on  Monte  San  Gabriele.  Austrian 
attacks  on  South  Carso  repulsed. 

Sept.  6 — British  pressure  on  Lens  renewed  and  a  line  of  German  strong  points 
attacked  north  of  Frezenberg  near  Ypres.  Heavy  fighting  on  Monte  San  Gabriele. 
Russian  retreat  from  Riga  continued. 

Sept.  7 — German  counter-attacks  recovered  ground  north  of  Frezenberg.  Brit- 
ish advanced  near  Lens.  Russian  retreat  from  Riga  came  to  an  end. 


124  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Sept.  8 — Heavy  fighting  on  Monte  San  Gabriele.  French  and  Russians  com- 
menced advance  on  Albanian  border. 

Sept.  10 — Franco-Russian  advance  continued  on  Albanian  border. 

Sept.  11 — Austrian  attack  on  Italians  on  Monte  San  Gabriele  failed. 

Sept.  12— Russian  Riga  Army  attacked  and  advanced.  Franco-Russian  ad- 
vance on  Albanian  border  halted. 

Sept.  15 — Korniloff  surrendered  to  Kerensky  and  Russia  proclaimed  a  Republic. 

Sept.  16 — Four  Austrian  counter-attacks  on  Bainsizza  Plateau  failed. 

Sept.  21 — Germans  captured  Jacobstadt  on  the  Dwina. 

Sept.  22 — Ostend  bombarded  by  British  naval  force. 

Sept.  23 — Big  German  counter-attack  north-east  of  Langemarck  repulsed. 

Sept.  24 — Germans  attacked  French  positions  north  of  Chaume  Wood;  beaten 
off  with  heavy  loss. 

Sept.  25 — Powerful  German  attack  on  British  positions  between  Tower  Hamlets 
and  Polygon  Wood;  Germans  penetrated  lines  at  two  points.  Two  air-raids  on 
London  during  the  night. 

Sept.  26 — British  advanced  on  6-mile  front  east  of  Ypres.  > 

Sept.  27 — German  counter-attacks  against  Zonnebeke  unsuccessful.  Heavy 
attacks  on  front  from  the  Aisne  to  the  Argonne  failed  to  reach  French  lines. 

Sept.  28 — Australians  repulsed  counter-attacks  east  of  Polygon  Wood.  Italians 
improved  positions  on  San  Gabriele  and  captured  many  prisoners. 

Sept.  29 — General  Maude's  attack  on  Turks  at  Ramadie,  Mesopotamia,  a  com- 
plete victory.  Air-raid  on  London. 

Sept.  30 — Three  German  counter-attacks  on  Ypres  front  were  beaten.  German 
attack  north  of  Berry-au-Bac  partially  successful.  Italians  consolidated  their  posi- 
tions in  spite  of  Austrian  counter-attacks.  Air-raid  on  London. 

Oct.  1 — Five  powerful  counter-attacks  east  of  Ypres.  French  aeroplanes  bom- 
barded the  depots  of  Roulers  and  Lorraine.  German  aeroplanes  caused  "serious 
material  damage"  at  Dunkirk.  German  air-raid  on  south-west  coast  of  England. 

Oct.  2 — German  attack  on  positions  north  of  Verdun  checked;  in  later  attack 
north  of  Hill  344  a  footing  was  gained. 

Oct.  3 — German  attacks  north  of  Menin  road  and  between  Tower  Hamlets  and 
Polygon  Wood  broken  down. 

Oct.  4 — British  attacked  near  Ypres;  greater  part  of  Poelcapelle  captured. 
Great  Allied  air-raid  on  enemy  camp  in  Macedonia. 

Oct.  9 — British  and  French  attacked  in  Belgium;  capture  of  Poelcapelle  com- 
pleted; St.  Jean  de  Mangelaere  and  Veldhoek  taken  with  many  fortified  positions. 
Counter-attacks  south  of  Ypres-Staden  railway  forced  back  advanced  troops.  Bel- 
gian troops  took  Mahenge  in  East  African  highlands. 

Oct.  10 — French  advanced  east  of  Draebank  and  captured  Papegoed,  Belgium. 

Oct.  ll — German  attack  north  of  Hill  344  (Verdun)  repulsed  after  momentary 
success. 

Oct.  12 — British  attacked  on  Ypres  front.  Many  strongholds  captured.  Ger- 
mans landed  on  Oesel  Island,  Riga  region. 

Oct.  13 — Several  German  attacks  on  French  positions  in  the  Hurtebise-Chevreux 
sector.  Temporary  footing  gained.  Arensburg  was  occupied  by  the  Germans. 

Oct.  16— Whole  of  Oesel  Island  in  German  hands.  Nancy  bombed  by  German 
aeroplanes. 

Oct.  17— Naval  battle  in  the  Gulf  of  Riga.  Russians  pressed  back  into  Moon 
Sound.  Germans  landed  troops  on  Dago  Island.  Nancy  bombed  by  German  aeroplanes. 

Oct.  18 — Moon  Island  (Riga)  capture  completed  by  Germans. 

Oct.  19 — Air-raid  over  London. 

Oct.  21 — German  troops  landed  on  Russian  mainland  at  Verder.  British  aero- 
planes bombed  Saarbruck. 

Oct.  22 — Advance  of  British  and  French  troops  on  either  side  of  the  Ypres- 
Staden  railway  north-east  of  Ypres.  Zeebrugge  Mole  bombed  by  British  airmen 
and  also  Melle  railway  sidings  near  Ghent. 

Oct.  23 — French  captured  Malmaison  fort,  Vanin's  Quarries  and  the  villages  of 
Allemant  and  Vaudesson. 

Oct.  24— Austro-Germans  attacked  Italian  lines  and  captured,  through  treach- 
ery, many  positions  between  Plezzo  and  Tolmino. 

Oct.  25 — Germans  retreated  on  Ailette  front  and  French  advanced  to  Oise  Canal. 
Teutons  continued  success  against  the  Italians.  British  captured  several  villages 
on  Struma  front,  Balkans.  Brazil  declared  war  against  Germany. 


CHRONOLOGY  or  THE  WAR  IN  1917  125 

Oct.  26 — New  British-French  advance  towards  Houthulst  and  Passchendaele. 
French  extended  Ailette  gains. 

Oct.  27 — French  continued  operations  west  of  Houthulst  Forest  with  success; 
several  villages  captured.  Some  United  States  troops  reported  in  the  trenches. 

Oct.  28 — French  and  Belgians  took  the  Merckem  peninsula,  including  the  village 
of  Luyghem.  Gorizia  captured  by  Austro-Hungarian  troops. 

Oct.  29 — Germans  gained  slightly  in  sectors  at  Verdun.  Italian  retreat  con- 
tinued and  enemy  advanced)  rapidly. 

Oct.  30 — Canadians  reached  the  outskirts  of  Passchendaele.  Udine  occupied 
by  German- Austrian  forces  and  Italian  retreat  directed  towards  the  Tagliamento. 

Oct.  31 — Beersheba  in  Palestine  captured  by  the  British. 

Nov.  1 — Italians  withdrew  behind  the  Tagliamento. 

Nov.  2 — Germans  retired  along  the  Chemin  des  Dames  as  a  result  of  French 
successes  on  the  Ailette;  French  followed  down  slopes  of  Ailette.  Turkish  first-line 
defences  before  Gaza,  Palestine,  taken  by  British.  Defeat  of  the  Turks  at  Dur  in 
Mesopotamia  by  British. 

Nov.  3 — French  extended  and  consolidated  gains  on  Ailette  front. 

Nov.  5 — British  line  advanced  slightly  south-east  of  Poelecapelle.  Austro- 
German  forces  crossed  the  Tagliamento.  Allied  success  in  East  Africa;  Belgians 
reached  Li  wale. 

Nov.  6 — Passchendaele  captured,  also  Mosselmarkt  and  Goudburg.  British  in 
Palestine  continued  to  advance.  General  Maude  won  victory  at  Tekrit  on  the  Tigris. 

Nov.  7 — French  attacked  successfully  German  positions  at  Schonholz,  Upper 
Alsace.  Italians  retreated  to  the  Livenza.  British  captured  Gaza  in  Palestine. 
Bolsheviki  coup  d'etat  in  Petrograd. 

Nov.  8 — Austro-Germans  attacked  Italian  flank  in  the  Trentino.  ' 

Nov.  9 — Italians  fell  back  toward  the  Piave.  Ascalon  in  Palestine  occupied  by 
British.  Central  Allied  War  Council  formed. 

Nov.  10 — British  attack  north  of  Passchendaele;  objectives  gained.  Italians 
reached  the  Piave  in  their  retreat.  British  in  Palestine  captured  Esdud. 

Nov.  '12 — Turkish  lines  in  Palestine  pierced  near  coast  and  British  continued 
to  advance. 

Nov.  13 — German  mass  attack,  aimed  to  recapture  Passchendaele,  failed. 
On  Piave  front  Austro-Germans  crossed  at  Zenson. 

Nov.  14 — Italians  checked  the  Teutons  at  the  points  of  crossing  on  the  Piave. 
Germans  occupied  Feltre.  British  cut  railway  communications  of  Jerusalem. 

Nov.  16 — German  attack  on  French  in  Belgium  failed.  Austro-Germans  made 
desperate  attempts  to  break  Italian  lines  on  Piave. 

Nov.  17 — Some  Austro-German  attacks  withstood  by  Italians;  Quero  taken, 
however,  and  Italians  retired  to  the  barrier  line  at  Monte  Grappa.  In  Palestine, 
Jaffa,  the  port  of  Jerusalem,  taken  by  British.  Naval  brush  in  the  Bight  of  Heligo- 
land; German  forces  retreated. 

Nov.  19 — Italians  fought  bravely  on  Monte  Tomba  and  Monte  Monfera.  Further 
British  successes  in  East  Africa. 

Nov.  20 — Brilliant  British  surprise  attacks  on  Cambrai  front;  Hindenburg  line 
broken  through.  German  attack  on  Verdun  front  held  by  French. 

Nov.  21 — 'British  advance  at  Cambrai  reached  a  depth  of  5  miles.  French 
troops  captured  German  salient  south  of  Juvincourt. 

Nov.  22 — British  offensive  towards  Cambrai  developed.  Italian  resistance  still 
successful.  Sabir,  a  Turkish  post  in  the  hinterland  of  Aden,  captured  by  British. 

Nov.  23 — British  offensive  towards  Cambrai  further  developed.  German 
counter-attacks  between  Craonne  and  Rheims  repulsed.  Canadians  captured  spur 
between  Moeuvres  and  Queant. 

Nov   24 — British  took  Bourlon  Wood  and  village. 

Nov.  25 — Germans  regained  Bourlon  village  but  not  Bourlon  Wood. 

Nov.  27— Colonel  Tafel  and  his  force  taken  by  British  at  Nevale,  East  Africa. 

Nov.  29 — British  advanced  west  of  Bourlon  Wood. 

Nov.  30 — German  counter-attack  at  Cambrai  broke  down  on  north;  on  the 
south  Germans  penetrated  into  British  lines  and  took  many  prisoners,  tanks  and  guns. 

Dec.  1 — Last  German  force  crossed  Portuguese  border  from  East  Africa. 

Dec.  3 — Heavy  German  attacks  on  Cambrai  line  repulsed  with,  however,  slight 
gains  at  La  Vacquerie  and  east  of  Marcoing. 

Dec.  4 — Austro-Germans  gained  forward  positions  at  Monte  Seisimol,  Asiago 
front. 


126  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Dec.  5 — British  evacuated  Bourlon  Wood  and  ground  to  south-east  towards 
Noyelles,  Cambrai.  German  attacks  near  Gonnelieu  and  La  Vacquerie  beaten  off. 

Dec.  6 — Truce  agreed  upon  for  Russian  front. 

Dec.  7 — Hebron,  Palestine,  captured  by  British.  Ulster  troops  improved  line 
at  La  Vacquerie.  Monte  Seismoil,  Italy,  captured  by  Austrians  after  fierce  fighting. 

Dec.  8 — Jerusalem  taken  by  British. 

Dec.  9 — British  and  French  troops  took  up  positions  on  Italian  front. 

Dec.  12 — Heavy  Austro-German  attacks  between  Brenta  and  Piave  with  slight 
gains. 

Dec.  14-16 — Austrians  took  Monte  Salarolo  and  Col  Caprile. 

Dec.  17 — Armistice  announced  between  Russia  and  Germany  for  28  days. 

Dec.  18 — Austrians  took  Monte  Asolone  near  Monte  Grappa. 

Dec.  20 — Monte  Asolone  recaptured  by  Italians. 

Dec.  22 — British  captured  Nantieh  in  Palestine. 

Dec.  25 — Teutons  captured  Col  del  Rosso  and  adjoining  heights  on  the  Asiago 
Plateau. 

Dec.  26 — Chinese  troops  occupied  Harbin  and  imprisoned  the  Russian  Bolshevist 
force. 

Dec.  28 — British  repulsed  Turkish  attacks  near  Jerusalem  and  advanced  2^ 
miles  on  a  9-mile  front.  Padua  bombarded  by  Austrian  aeroplanes. 

Dec.  29 — British  drove  back  Turks  north  of  Jerusalem  and  captured  several 
villages. 

Dec.  30 — Germans  penetrated  British  lines  north  of  La  Vacquerie  and  south  of 
Marcoing. 

Dec.  31 — French,  British  and  Italian  troops  successfully  stormed  Monte  Tomba 
positions. 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  IN  THE  WAR 

Great  Britain  During  this  year  the  British  Empire  faced  periods 
in  1917:  War  of  success  and  war-hope,  of  failure  and  war-pessi- 
Policy  and  mism.  Vimy  and  Cambrai,  United  States  accession 
P^tfn  anc*  ^ussian  cnaos»  German  retreat  in  France  and 

Italian  reversals,  the  Submarine  and  the  Aeroplane, 
were  phases  of  this  situation.  Through  it  all  Great  Britain  main- 
tained a  fairly  even  keel  of  action  and  policy,  a  splendid  process 
of  internal  development  along  war-lines,  an  unique  and  continu- 
ous supremacy  in  war  finance.  At  the  close  of  1917  the  United 
Kingdom  was  to  the  Entente  Allies  what  Germany  was  to  the 
Teutons — the  head  and  front  of  war-work  and  effort,  the  binding 
and  unifying  element  in  the  Alliance,  the  pivot  upon  which  finance, 
shipping,  food  supplies,  munitions  and  armies  turned.  It  was 
all  done  so  silently,  the  censorship  was  so  tight,  the  fundamental 
objection  of  the  English  character  to  anything  even  distantly  re- 
sembling boastfulness  was  so  effective,  that  public  recognition 
of  British  achievements  often  was  below  the  line  of  just  appreci- 
ation in  Canada  and  other  Empire  or  Allied  countries.  On  the 
other  hand  political  controversies,  occasional  strikes,  all  the  essential 
faults  of  a  non-military  nation  facing  stupendous  technical  odds, 
were  well-known  and  discussed.  Some  of  them  still  were  in  operation. 
To  have  swept  the  seas  of  enemy  ships,  kept  the  Submarine  in  par- 
tial subjection,  and  carried  on  a  world-trade  in  war  supplies  and  trans- 
port; to  have  raised  6,000,000  men  for  war  service  and  turned  Great 
Britain  into  a  great  hive  of  war  industry — technical,  inventive, 
resourceful,  efficient;  to  have  maintained  vast  war  operations 
for  3J/2  years  and  in  1917  to  have  won  supremacy  in  the  field  and 
in  the  air  of  France,  conquered  Mesopotamia  and  part  of  Palestine 
and  Persia  and  the  last  of  the  German  African  Colonies;  to  have 
maintained  a  sweeping  blockade  of  Germany  and  her  Allies  and 
kept  the  German  fleet  bottled  up  while  holding  15,000,000  tons 
of  shipping  in  the  teeth  of  the  Submarine;  to  have  buttressed  the 
financial  credit  of  the  world  behind  British  money  and  advanced 
5,000  million  dollars  to  her  Allies  and  Dominions;  to  have  beaten 
the  ablest  constructive  operator  in  war  chemistry,  industry  and 
engineering  in  the  world  at  his  own  prepared  game — in  heavy 
artillery,  in  trench-mortar  effectiveness,  in  forms  and  use  of  deadly 
gases,  in  such  gas  protection  as  the  box-respirator,  in  aeroplane 
efficiency,  in  submarine  defence  and  the  creation  of  the  Tank;  to 
have  organized  Food  supplies,  production,  military  resources  and 
Labour  capacity  at  home;  to  have  transported  across  various  seas 
in  3  years  of  war  13,000,000  men  and  over  200,000,000  tons  of 
munitions,  supplies,  food,  etc.;  to  have  strengthened  industry 
by  notable  discoveries  and  especially  by  a  process  for  obtaining 
potash  and  by  an  increase  of  50%  in  steel  manufacture;  to  have 

[127] 


128  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

helped  production  by  such  patriotic  sacrifices  of  tradition,  beauty, 
pleasure,  as  the  slaughter  of  ornamental  deer  and  the  turning  of 
the  parks  of  noblemen's  seats  into  sheep-walks  or  cultivated  fields; 
all  these  and  many  more  were  remarkable  war-products  for  a  peace- 
loving  and  commercial  nation  of  not  more  than  47,000,000  people. 
In  January,  1917,  the  Boston  News-Bureau  issued  a  review  in  which 
it  was  stated  that  "all  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world  face  on 
history's  page  when  compared  with  the  spectacle  Great  Britain 
presents  to-day — a  gigantic  physical  power  and  a  trade  and  war- 
power  combined  never  before  dreamed  of."  Mr.  Bonar  Law, 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  stated  certain  details  in  a  speech 
at  Manchester  on  Nov.  7: 

In  1914  we  lost  13,000  or  14,000  more  prisoners  than  we  took.  In  1915  we  lost 
2,800  more.  In  1916  we  took  30,000  more  than  the  enemy  took  from  us,  and  this 
year  already  we  have  taken  45,000  more  than  they  took  from  us..  In  the  first  year 
of  war  we  lost  80  guns  and  took  25.  The  next  year  the  position  improved,  and  last 
year  we  took  169  and  the  Germans  took  none.  This  year  we  have  taken  380  and 
lost  none.  Now  we  have  an  artillery  service  far  better  than  that  of  any  other  bellig- 
erent. In  aeroplanes  we  have  made  immense  advances.  The  number  of  aeroplane 
engines  turned  out  last  month  was  exactly  three  times  more  than  in  October  last 
year.  We  have  secured  air  supremacy  on  the  front.  Last  September  we  dropped 
1,700  bombs  upon  places  in  the  West  from  which  enemy  aeroplanes  come.  We  did 
more  damage  to  the  enemy  in  that  month  than  he  has  done  in  all  the  raids  he  has 
made  upon  England  since  the  beginning  of  the  War. 

Up  to  the  end  of  1916  Mr.  Asquith's  Government  had  been 
responsible  for  much  of  good  in  a  record  of  great  national  achieve- 
ments; during  1917  that  of  Mr.  Lloyd  George  had  its  testing  time 
and,  despite  enemies  and  critics,  did  remarkable  work.  Its  per- 
manent War  Cabinet,  or  inner  circle  of  control,  was  composed  of 
the  Premier,  Lord  Milner  and  Lord  Curzon,  with  two  other  members 
who  changed  in  personnel  and  were  not  such  outstanding  figures. 
In  a  new  and  vital  change  this  Cabinet  was  stretched  to  include 
Dominion  Premiers  or  statesmen  visiting  England.  The  Premier 
was  criticized  by  Pacifists  and  irreconcilable  Radicals,  by  the  Daily 
News  and  The  Nation,  for  having  such  men  as  Milner,  Curzon, 
Balfour,  Carson  and  Cecil  in  his  Government;  he  was  denounced 
by  the  Morning  Post,  Austin  Harrison,  the  English  Review,  and 
old-time  Tories,  for  subservience  to  Lord  Northcliffe  and  his  press; 
from  time  to  time  he  was  keenly  criticized  by  The  Times  and  other 
Northcliffe  papers  for  having  kept  some  weak-kneed,  Pacifist  persons 
in  posts  of  importance.  Yet  there  could  be  no  real  doubt  as  to  Mr. 
Lloyd  George's  democracy — it  was  fundamental  and  innate;  if 
he  utilized  arbitrary  methods  and  the  services  of  men  of  a  military 
type  of  organized  mentality  it  was  for  necessary  war  objects  and 
was  essential  to  national  success.  His  own  driving  force,  personal 
energy  and  magnetism,  his  cheerful  spirit  and  manner,  were  remark- 
able points  in  his  administration  of  what  was  at  this  time  the  great- 
est position  in  the  world. 

The  plans  with  which  the  Government  commenced  the  year 
included  (1)  the  maintenance  and  strengthening  of  British  armies, 
(2)  the  keeping  and  obtaining  of  men  and  women  sufficient  for  an 
ever-increasing  production  of  food,  munitions,  shipping  and  the 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  129 

essential  national  industries,  (3)  the  organization  of  national 
material  and  money  for  war-work,  (4)  closer  co-operation 
and  co-ordination  with  Allied  nations  and  their  armies  and 
Governments.  This  mobilization  of  the  nation  was  carried 
out  during  1917  as  earnestly  and  faithfully — in  the  face  of  many 
obstacles  and  occasionally  perverted  politics — as  it  was  possible 
for  one  man  to  do.  As  the  months  passed  certain  forces  developed 
strength.  One  was  an  under-current,  an  under-ground  movement 
of  Socialism  and  anarchy  which  was  nurtured  by  such  influences 
as  prevailed  under  Bernstorff  in  the  States,  Caillaux  and  Bolo  in 
France,  Lenine  in  Russia  and  Giolitti  in  Italy. 

It  was  seemingly  headless  except  where  Pacifists  like  Snowden, 
Socialists  like  Ramsay  Macdonald  or  discontented  Party  men  like 
Henderson  appeared  above  the  surface;  it  showed  itself  in  Labour 
troubles,  in  class  agitation  and  appeals,  in  Peace  or  Socialist  move- 
ments of  the  Bolsheviki  type;  it  had  intellectual  supporters,  such 
as  H.  W.  Massingham  and  The  Nation,  who  were  absolutely  dis- 
loyal and  it  had  mob  adherents  of  Hyde  Park  anarchy;  it  appeared 
in  the  Commons  led  by  men  like  Ponsonby  and  Trevelyan,  as  well 
as  in  attempts  to  establish  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Councils  of 
the  Russian  type;  it  hinted,  for  the  first  time  in  many  years,  at  a 
revolution  which  would  reach  up  to  the  Crown  itself  and  H.  G. 
Wells  urged  the  organization  of  a  Republic  in  The  Times  of  Apr. 
21.  The  same  journal  in  September  had  a  series  of  articles  on 
"The  Revolutionary  Ferment"  which  were  unique  in  their  plain- 
spoken  language. 

The  Government  did  nothing  definite  in  this  connection;  it 
apparently  believed,  and  correctly  so,  that  the  movement  was  not 
anti-war  in  itself  and  that  only  at  times  did  it  infringe  upon  war 
activities;  it  was  obvious  that  the  vast  majority  of  the  workers 
wanted  strong  war-action  and  the  Stockholm  Conference  inci- 
dent, the  resolutions  of  Labour  bodies,  the  attitude  of  Parlia- 
mentary labour,  proved  this  even  while  undoubted  unrest  caused 
fitful  strikes  and  ever-present  disputes.  The  Pacifist  movement 
was  taken  more  seriously  by  the  public  and  toward  the  close  of 
the  year  it  was  stated  that  there  were  over  50  Peace  Societies  actively 
at  work  in  Britain  and  that  their  output  of  pamphlets  weekly  ran 
up  to  a  million.  They  had  sufficient  funds  at  their  disposal  to 
take  space  in  practically  every  newspaper  in  the  Kingdom  when 
they  wished  to  advertise  their  meetings,  to  spend  enormous  sums 
on  the  hire  of  halls,  and  their  printing  bill  during  the  year  was  not 
less  than  $100,000  for  pamphlets  alone.  There  was  strong  and 
natural  suspicion  as  to  German  money  behind  this  propaganda 
and  the  Government  was  urged  to  take  action.  The  Macdonald 
group  of  Pacifists  were  in  1917  working  as  the  United  Socialistic 
Council  along  Bolsheviki  lines,  while  J.  A.  Seddon  and  Will  Crooks 
led  the  loyal  Labour  ranks  and  were  the  popular  men  of  the  moment. 
In  the  Commons  on  July  26  a  Ramsay  Macdonald  Pacifist  motion 
was  rejected  by  148  to  19. 

Mr.  Lloyd  George,  during  the  year,  made  a  number  of  speeches 
and  each  of  them  was  forceful,  significant,  or  effective.  On  Jan. 


130  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

11  he  made  an  eloquent  appeal  for  the  War  Loan — to  save  the  blood 
of  heroes  in  what  was  essentially  a  war  of  equipment:  "We  are  en- 
gaged in  a  War  in  which  the  stability  of  British  finance  is  as  essential 
for  final  victory  as  the  superiority  of  the  Allied  forces  by  land  and 
sea."  He  was  impressed  by  the  increasing  extent  to  which  the 
Allied  peoples  were  looking  to  Great  Britain:  "They  are  trusting 
to  her  rugged  strength,  to  her  great  resources,  more  and  more. 
To  them  she  looks  like  a  great  tower  in  the  deep.  She  is  becoming 
more  and  more  the  hope  of  the  oppressed  and  the  despair  of  the 
oppressor,  and  I  feel  more  and  more  confident  that  we  shall  not 
fail  the  people  who  put  their  trust  in  us." 

At  Carnarvon  on  Feb.  3  the  Premier  was  explicit  upon  one  vital 
point:  "The  great  task  in  front  of  us  is  the  mobilization  of  all  the 
resources  of  the  Allies  and  their  vitalization  to  the  best  purpose. 
Most  of  the  misfortunes  that  have  come  upon  the  Allied  cause 
have  been  due  to  the  lack  of  cohesion,  or  of  concerted  action  among 
the  Allies.  We  have  acted  too  much  as  if  we  were  engaged  in 
four  different  wars  instead  of  one  great  common  struggle."  On 
the  23rd  he  dealt  with  the  serious  issue  of  shipping  shortages,  food 
supplies  and  essential  production — the  inevitable  conditions  of  the 
increasing  Submarine  campaign.  He  stated  that  before  the  War 
British  tonnage  was  just  adequate;  since  that  time  there  had  been 
an  enormous  increase  in  the  demand  for  tonnage.  More  than 
1,000,000  tons  of  British  shipping  had  been  allocated  to  France 
alone,  and  a  very  considerable  amount  had  been  set  aside  for  Russia 
and  Italy,  while  a  considerable  amount,  also,  had  been  sunk. 

As  to  the  Submarine  menace  there  were  four  sets  of  measures 
to  be  taken:  (1)  by  the  Navy;  (2)  the  building  of  merchant  ships; 
(3)  dispensing  with  unnecessary  imports  and  (4)  production  of 
more  food.  He  stated  that  the  Government  proposed  to  guarantee 
a  price  for  oats,  potatoes,  and  wheat  during  several  years  and  an- 
nounced a  minimum  wage  for  farm  labour  representing  an  increase 
of  50%  in  prevailing  rates.  Brewing  was  to  be  cut  down  to  10,000,000 
barrels  annually  with  a  similar  reduction  in  the  output  of  spirits — 
thus  effecting  a  saving  of  600,000  tons  of  foodstuffs.  The  importa- 
tion of  apples,  tomatoes  and  fruits  would  be  prohibited.  The 
only  exceptions  made  in  fruit  importations  were  oranges  and  bananas, 
though  the  amount  brought  in  would  be  restricted  25  per  cent.  The 
same  restriction  applied  to  nuts.  Canned  salmon  importations 
were  reduced  50%.  The  importation  of  foreign  tea,  coffee  and 
cocoa  was  prohibited,  and  even  the  amount  of  India  tea  was  reduced. 
The  importation  of  aerated,  mineral  and  table  waters  was  pro- 
hibited and  that  of  paper  curtailed  by  a  further  640,000  tons  annually. 
These  drastic  proposals  were  cheerfully  accepted  by  Parlia- 
ment and  the  public  as  being  necessary  and  it  was  stated  that  the 
reduction  in  manufacture  of  malt  and  spirituous  liquors  had  been 
already  made  from  36,000,000  barrels  in  1914  to  26,000,000  in  1916; 
that  the  new  food  restrictions  alone  would  save  900,000  tons  of 
shipping;  that  the  guaranteed  prices  of  wheat  would  work  out 
at  $1.85  per  bushel  for  the  first  year  and  grade  down  to  $1.70  for 
the  next  two  years  and  $1.40  for  the  last  three  years,  with  oats 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  131 

running  at  $9.65  per  quarter,  $8.15  and  $6.10  respectively,  and 
potatoes  at  about  $1.25  per  bag  of  90-lbs.  The  barred  or  restric- 
ted goods  included  rum,  wine,  linen,  all  fancy  articles,  books,  and 
nearly  all  luxuries.  Lord  Devonport  as  Food  Controller  was  to 
have  full  authority  over  supply  and  prices;  the  Board  of  Agriculture 
was  given  power  to  enfore  production  and  control  the  raising  of 
rents. 

Speaking  to  an  American  Club  in  London  (Apr.  12)  Mr.  Lloyd 
George  welcomed  the  United  States  into  the  War  with  great  optim- 
ism— especially  as  to  the  announced  effort  to  build  a  thousand 
3000-ton  wooden  vessels  for  the  Atlantic!  "The  road  to  victory," 
he  declared,  "the  guarantee  of  victory,  the  absolute  assurance  of 
victory,  is  to  be  found  in  one  word — ships.  In  a  second  word — 
ships.  In  a  third  word — ships."  At  the  Guildhall  on  Apr.  27 
the  Premier  made  the  yearly  historical  and  policy  speech  of  the 
Government;  at  the  same  time  he  was  honoured  with  the  Freedom 
of  the  City  of  London.  The  speech  was  optimistic  in  tone  and  vic- 
tory was  declared  to  be  "increasingly  assured";  he  would  not  say 
the  War  would  last  through  1918  but  "we  are  taking  no  chances"; 
Allied  equipment  was  superior — hence  the  black  piracy  of  the  Sub- 
marine unrestricted  warfare;  Empire  unity  was  the  policy  of  the 
future  and  Ireland  was  still  a  menacing  prospect  which  must  be 
"converted  from  a  suspicious,  surly,  dangerous  neighbour,  to  a 
cheerful,  loyal  comrade."  Increased  cultivation,  decreased  imports, 
additional  shipbuilding,  were  essential, 

In  Glasgow  on  June  29  he  received  the  Freedom  of  the  City 
and  delivered  one  of  his  greater  speeches.  Despite  the  Russian 
trouble  he  was  still  optimistic:  "I  am  steeped  every  day — morning, 
noon  and  night — in  the  perplexities  and  difficulties  and  the  anxieties 
of  this  grim  business,  but  all  the  same  I  feel  confident,"  As  to  the 
Submarine  issue  he  was  hopeful;  it  would  become  in  due  course 
"as  great  a  failure  as  the  German  Zeppelin."  To  the  King  he 
paid  high  tribute  as  one  of  the  hardest-worked  men  in  the  country; 
as  to  peace  "this  War  will  come  to  an  end  when  the  Allied  Powers 
have  reached  the  aims  which  they  set  out  to  attain  when  they 
accepted  the  challenge  thrown  down  by  Germany  to  civilization. 
These  aims  were  defined  recently  by  President  Wilson."  A  word 
was  said  to  the  Pacifists:  "You  can  have  peace  at  the  German  price, 
but  do  you  know  what  it  would  be?  The  old  policy  of  buying 
out  the  Goth,  which  eventually  destroyed  the  Roman  Empire, 
and  threw  Europe  into  the  ages  of  barbarous  cruelties." 

At  London  on  July  21  the  Premier  described  Belgium  as :  "  The 
gatekeeper  of  European  liberty;  the  highest,  most  onerous  and 
most  dangerous  trust  ever  imposed  on  a  people.  Faithfully  and 
loyally  have  the  Belgian  people  discharged  their  trust  to  Europe. 
.  It  is  our  business  to  restore  Belgium  to  a  free  and  independ- 
ent people — and  not  to  a  protectorate.  The  sceptre,  the  sword, 
the  scabbard  and  the  soul  must  be  Belgian."  To  a  London  patri- 
otic meeting  (Aug.  4)  Mr.  Lloyd  George  was  significant  in  his  refer- 
ence to  peace:  "The  Kaiser  and  his  new  Chancellor  talk  glibly 
of  peace  but  they  stammer,  they  stutter,  when  they  talk  about 


132  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

restoration.  It  has  not  yet  crossed  their  lips  in  its  entirety.  But 
before  we  enter  a  Peace  Conference  they  must  learn  that  word 
to  begin  with."  As  to  the  rest  he  still  was  optimistic:  "The  last 
reaches  of  a  climb  are  always  the  most  trying  to  the  nerve  and  to 
the  heart,  but  they  are  the  real  test  of  grit,  endurance  and  courage. 
.  .  .  No  one  has  any  idea  how  near  the  top  we  may  be."  On 
Aug.  8,  at  a  Serbian  Dinner  in  London,  he  was  emphatic  upon 
another  point:  "What  I  said  about  Belgium,  speaking  on  behalf 
of  the  British  Government,  I  say  here  again,  speaking  on  behalf 
of  the  same  Government,  of  the  same  people,  about  Serbia;  the 
first  condition  of  peace  is  restoration,  complete  and  without  reser- 
vation. However  long  this  war  may  last — and  it  is  in  the  hands 
of  God — British  honour  is  involved  in  seeing  that  Serbian  indepen- 
dence is  complete."  The  developments  of  Pacificism  and  Socialism 
naturally  aroused  the  Premier  in  these  months  and  on  Oct.  23  in 
London  he  sounded  a  warning  note; 

-  The  enemy  on  most  of  the  battle  fronts  has  organized  with  deadly  care  and  in  " 
genuity  an  offensive  behind  the  lines.     I  know  what  I  am  talking  about.      See  wha  [ 
has  happened  in  France.     They  discovered  it  in  time.     Look  out  for  Boloism  in  al 
its  shapes  and  forms.     It  is  the  latest  and  most  formidable  weapon  in  the  German 
armoury. 

To  a  Deputation  on  Oct.  24  he  referred  to  a  local  question  of  grow- 
ing importance — the  Old  Age  Pension  system  which  he  had  himself 
started  by  spending  £8,000,000  which  had  now  grown  to  £18,000,000: 
"I  hope  the  State  will  go  on  recognizing  the  obligations  it  owes 
to  these  people."  Two  days  before  he  had  dealt  with  the  current 
War  Saving  campaign,  the  efforts  of  120,000  workers  to  promote 
thrift  and  economy,  the  dangerous  extravagances  of  an  artificial 
war-prosperity.  As  to  premature  Peace  efforts  and  policy  he  spoke 
strongly  of  what  would  follow  success:  "All  the  best  scientific 
brains  in  all  lands,  stimulated  by  national  rivalries,  national  hatreds, 
national  hopes,  would  be  devoting  their  energies  for  10,  20  or  30 
years  to  magnifying  the  destructive  power  of  horrible  agents  of  war." 
It  would  mean  the  death  of  civilization. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year  the  Premier's  public  energies  were 
devoted  to  explaining  and  popularizing  the  Supreme  War  Council 
plan;  the  unifying  of  international  war  interests  and  military  action; 
the  meeting  of  real  distrust  and  dishonest  suspicion  of  the  only 
policy  which  could  avert  disaster  and  ensure  success.  His  speech 
on  this  topic  in  Parliament  on  Nov.  19  was  a  rhetorical  and  national 
triumph;  his  deliberate  references  to  the  past  dealt  with  several 
tragedies  of  the  War — Serbia,  Roumania,  Italy,  Russia — in  language 
which  pricked  many  a  bubble  of  inflated  optimism.  In  London  on 
Dec.  20  he  dealt  with  Lord  Lansdowne's  peculiar  epistle  and  demand 
for  Peace  terms  in  assured  words:  "It  is  because  I  am  firmly  con- 
vinced that,  despite  some  untoward  events,  despite  discouraging 
appearances,  we  are  making  steady  progress  towards  the  goal  we 
set  in  front  of  us  in  1914,  that  I  would  regard  peace  overtures  to 
Prussia,  at  the  very  moment  when  the  Prussian  military  spirit 
is  drunk  with  boastfulness,  as  a  betrayal  of  the  great  trust  with  which 
my  colleagues  and  I  have  been  charged."  On  the  20th  he  par- 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  133 

tially  responded  to  the  Lansdowne  letter  by  a  statement  of  Allied 
Peace  terms  which  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  The  complete  restoration  of  national  territory  conquered  by  Germany  and 
complete  reparation  for  damage  done. 

2.  Future  disposition  of  territory  taken  by  Russia  or  Great  Britain  from  Turkey 
— Palestine,  Mesopotamia  and  Armenia — to  be  left  to  the  Peace  Congress,  upon  the 
understanding,  however,  that  they  must  not  be  returned  to  the  "blasting  tyranny 
of  the  Turks." 

3.  The  future  of    the  German  colonies  to  be  decided  by  the  Peace  Congress 
upon  the  understanding  that  the  wishes  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  Colonies  should 
be  respected. 

4.  A  guarantee  that  the  provisions  of  a  treaty  of  peace  would  be  respected — 
preferably  the  democratization  of  the  German  Government. 

These  and  other  speeches,  coupled  with  energetic  national 
policy  as  to  air  raids,  army  increase  and  supplies,  food  restrictions 
and  rationing,  finance  developments  at  home  and  abroad,  Ireland 
and  India,  kept  Mr.  Lloyd  George  in  his  place  of  power  with  an 
ever-increasing  public  sense  of  his  immense  personal  energy  amidst 
national  difficulties.  The  Ministers  assisting  him  were  constantly 
before  the  people  in  all  kinds  of  ways;  some  failed  in  their  work  and 
were  replaced,  some  differed  in  opinion  and  retired,  others  exchanged 
posts  with  a  view  to  better  suitability.  On  June  15  Lord  Devon- 
port  gave  up  the  arduous  position  of  Food  Controller  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Lord  Rhondda.  On  July  17  Sir  Edward  Carson  retired 
as  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  and  became  a  member  of  the  War 
Cabinet  without  Portfolio;  he  was  replaced  by  Sir  Eric  Campbell 
Geddes,  a  railway  engineer  of  42  years  of  age  and  much  experience 
in  work,  Director  of  Transportation  for  a  time  and  then  Comp- 
troller of  the  Navy,  a,  civilian,  a  Major-General  and  a  Vice- Admiral 
at  one  and  the  same  time.  The  Rt.  Hon.  C.  Addison  was  transferred 
from  Munitions  to  the  Reconstruction  work;  Rt.  Hon.  E.  S.  Montagu 
became  Secretary  of  State  for  India  in  succession  to  Austen  Chamber- 
lain; Rt.  Hon.  Winston  Churchill  returned  to  office  as  Minister 
of  Munitions.  Mr.  Chamberlain  retired  because  of  self-assumed 
and  indirect  censure  in  the  Mesopotamian  Report. 

On  Aug.  17  John  Hodge,  M.P.,  became  Minister  of  Pensions, 
George  H.  Roberts,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Labour,  Auckland  C.  Geddes, 
Minister  of  National  Service,  and  G.  J.  Wardle,  M.P.,  Parliamen- 
tary Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Trade.  Mr.  Geddes  was  a  brother 
of  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  and  a  University  Professor;  the 
other  three  were  Labour  members  of  the  Commons.  When  Arthur 
Henderson  retired  as  Labour's  representative  in  the  War  Cabinet 
(Aug.  11)  he  was  replaced  by  George  N.  Barnes,  M.P.  Meanwhile 
Lord  Northcliffe,  as  Special  Commissioner  to  the  United  States, 
and  as  the  outside  protagonist  of  active  and  intensified  war,  wielded 
an  influence  as  great  as  that  of  any  Minister,  while  Loyd  Beaver- 
brook,  the  meteoric  Canadian  who,  at  38,  was  made  a  peer  of  the 
realm,  held  a  personal  influence  in  public  affairs  which  was  less 
spectacular  but  very  real  in  effect.  H.  H.  Asquith  as  Opposition 
Leader  was  a  mi;d  critic  of  the  Government  just  as  he  had  been  a 
conciliatory  Premier.  His  war-aim  was  described  at  Ladybank  on 
Feb.  1:  "We  have  not,  we  never  have  had,  the  faintest  desire  for 


134  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  annihilation  of  the  German  people  or  of  the  German  State. 
Destruction,  widespread  and  terrible  to  contemplate,  is  an  incident 
of  all  war,  but  our  object  in  this  war  is  not  to  destroy  but  to  recon- 
struct on  a  deeper-laid  and  more  enduring  basis  the  wantonly- 
broken  fabric  of  public  right  and  national  independence."  For 
this  solid  safeguards  were  essential.  Following  the  German  un- 
restricted Submarine  declaration  he  was  explicit  (in  the  Commons 
on  Feb.  7)  as  to  what  was  needed:  "First,  the  closest  co-ordination 
in  the  plans  and  operations  of  the  Allies;  and  next,  here  at  home, 
the  completed  and  rounded  organization  and  concentration  of 
every  resource,  of  money,  of  men  and  women,  and  everything  within 
our  reach  or  at  our  command.  In  that  pursuit  let  there  be  no  jarring 
voices,  no  party  cross-currents,  no  personal  or  sectional  estrange- 
ments." 

He  welcomed  the  United  States  on  Apr.  6  as  follows:  "We 
have,  in  our  heart  of  hearts,  longed  that  the  time  might  come  when 
their  strength  would  be  joined  with  ours  in  a  struggle  so  consonant 
to  all  that  is  best  in  our  common  instincts  and  traditions.  That 
day  has  now  dawned,  and  we  believe  that  its  sun  shall  not  set  until 
the  two  great  English-speaking  democracies  can  rejoice  together 
over  the  triumph  of  freedom  and  right."  At  Leeds  on  Sept.  26 
Mr.  Asquith  re-introduced  the  old-time  radical  doctrine  of  Peace 
without  preparation  for  war:  "It  is  immaterial  by  what  methods, 
whether  of  preparation  or  precaution,  or  in  what  forms,  naval, 
military,  diplomatic  or  economic,  the  disturbing  and  disruptive 
forces  of  veiled  warfare  are  allowed  to  operate.  We  must  banish 
once  for  all  from  our  catalogue  of  maxims  the  time-worn  fallacy 
that  if  you  wish  for  peace  you  must  make  ready  for  war."  Dealing 
at  London  (in  an  interview  on  Nov.  10)  with  the  Russian  ideal 
of  no  annexations  or  indemnities,  he  was  clear  as  to  the  vital  need 
for  restoring  the  lands  and  liberties  of  France,  Belgium,  Serbia, 
Poland  and  Roumania  before  peace  could  be  concluded;  at  Bir- 
mingham (Dec.  11)  he  contended  that  the  only  "freedom  of  the  seas" 
which  could  be  restricted  was  that  of  Germany  and  its  Submarine 
policy  and  asked  what  naval  liberty  Britain  had  ever  curtailed 
or  fettered. 

An  important  Government  development  during  these  years 
was  the  appointment  and  operation  of  many  Committees  and  Com- 
missions (75  up  to  the  close  of  1916)  for  the  purpose  of  inquiry, 
construction  of  policy,  co-ordination  of  work,  study  of  conditions, 
administration  of  industry  and  assistance  to  every  branch  of  Execu- 
tive government  or  Parliamentary  action.  In  1917  the  most  im- 
portant bodies  so  created  were  the  Committee  on  after-war  Re- 
construction with  Mr.  Lloyd  George  as  Chairman  and  20  Sub- 
Committees;  a  Board  of  Trade  Committee  re  War  Contracts,  with 
Lord  Buclunaster  as  Chairman,  and  an  Advisory  Committee  to 
the  Munitions  Department  with  Sir  Lionel  Phillips  as  Chairman; 
a  Committee  to  inquire  into  the  Army  Medical  Service  of  which 
Sir  Francis  Howard  was  Chairman,  and  a  War  Cabinet  Committee 
to  investigate  Wages  and  co-ordinate  Labour  issues,  of  which  Mr. 
Barnes  was  Chairman.  Other  Committees  were  appointed  to 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  135 

deal  with  Fertilizers  and  with  Farm  Machinery,  to  advise  the  Board 
of  Agriculture,  to  act  as  a  Board  of  Fuel  Research,  to  investigate 
Sugar  Supplies  and  manage  Fish  Supplies,  to  assist  the  Board  'of 
Customs  and  Excise,  to  report  upon  Electric  Power,  to  deal  with 
Flour  Control  under  the  Ministry  of  Food,  to  control  Oats  imported 
from  Overseas,  to  acquire  and  distribute  Cured  Fish,  to  report 
upon  Poultry  management  and  breeding,  to  investigate  Labour 
Unrest  and  to  deal  with  After- War  Industries,  to  constitute  a  Cotton- 
Control  Board  and  to  deal  with  Commercial  and  Industrial  Policy, 
to  consider  the  production  and  distribution  of  Milk,  to  inquire 
into  Wages  of  Munition  Workers,  to  act  as  an  Advisory  Com- 
mittee upon  Iron  and  Steel  Trades,  to  encourage  Air  Inventions, 
to  advise  the  Minister  of  National  Service  on  (1)  Labour  issues, 
and  (2)  Employment  of  Aliens.  On  Nov.  30  a  Labour  Com- 
mittee was  appointed  with  Sir  Auckland  Geddes,  K.C.B.,  as 
Chairman  to  deal  with  wages,  time-workers  and  co-ordination  of 
issues.  Most  of  these  Committees  or  Commissions  were  unpaid, 
and  the  Chairmen  were  men  of  special  standing  or  technical  character. 
An  interesting  British  development  of  the  year  was  the  prominence 
given  H.M.  the  King  in  the  press  and  in  public  tributes  by  statesmen; 
by  a  recrudescence  of  republican  theorists  of  the  Wells  type  and 
adherents  of  violent  Socialism.  The  King  had  set  a  great  example 
during  these  war  years  in  such  things  as  liquor  prohibition  in  his 
own  household,  the  advocacy  and  practice  of  the  strictest  economy 
in  all  his  establishments,  the  closest  adherence  to  all  Food  regulations ; 
he  touched  a  popular  chord  on  July  17  when  a  Special  Privy  Council 
was  held  to  consider  the  adoption  of  a  new  family  name  for  the 
Royal  House  and  the  announcement  that  the  name  of  Windsor 
had  been  chosen.  There  was  no  longer  to  be  a  House  of  Guelph 
or  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,  as  it  became  with  Prince  Albert;  it  was 
to  go  the  way  of  those  of  Hanover,  Stuart,  Tudor,  Lancaster,  York 
and  Plantagenet;  there  was  in  future  to  be  a  British  House  and 
family  of  Windsor — to  include  all  descendants  of  the  late  Queen 
Victoria  in  the  male  line.  At  the  same  time  all  living  descendants 
were  to  discontinue  and  relinquish  German  titles  or  dignities.  His 
Highness  the  Duke  of  Teck  and  his  family  were  formally  authorized 
to  assume  the  surname  of  Cambridge  and  H.S.H.  Prince  Louis  of 
Battenberg  and  his  family  of  British  citizenship  that  of  Mount- 
batten;  Princess  Louis  of  Battenberg,  at  her  own  request,  aban- 
doned the  rank  and  title  of  a  Princess  of  Hesse  and  was  to  be  known 
in  future  by  the  English  title  of  Marchioness  of  Milford  Haven. 
Other  titles  were  as  follows : 

The  Duke  of  Teck — Marquess  of  Cambridge. 

Prince  Alexander  of  Teck — Earl  of  Athlone. 

Prince  Louis  of  Battenberg — Marquess  of  Milford  Haven. 

Prince  Alexander  of  Battenberg — Marquess  of  Carisbrooke. 

The  severance  of  the  Monarchy  from  association  with  the  German 
dynasty  was  a  wise  and  popular  step  and  helped  to  make  H.  G. 
Wells'  letter  to  The  Times  (Apr.  27),  urging  the  organization  of 
Republican  societies  in  British  towns,  fall  as  flat  as  did  the  long- 


136  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

past  republican  utterances  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  in  the  days  of  his 
callow,  political  youth.  There  were  echoes  of  the  suggestion, 
just  as  there  were  disciples  of  the  Bolsheviki  to  be  found  through- 
out Great  Britain,  but  they  did  not  reach  the  dignity  of  becoming 
a  movement.  On  the  3rd  anniversary  of  the  War  His  Majesty 
sent  to  the  United  States,  Portugal,  France  and  Cuba  and  the 
Sovereigns  of  Italy,  Japan,  Serbia,  Roumania,  Belgium  and  Siam, 
a  cablegram  expressing  "the  unwavering  determination  of  the 
British  Empire  to  pursue  the  contest  until  our  joint  efforts  are 
crowned  with  success  and  our  common  aims  attained." 

Meantime  Labour  had  been  doing  its  war-duty  nobly  as  a  whole; 
failing  flagrantly  as  to  its  duty  in  specific  forms  and  conditions. 
At  Manchester  on  Jan.  23rd  26,700  delegates,  representing  2,000,000 
workers,  met  in  the  16th  annual  Conference  of  the  Labour  Party— 
with  their  representative  in  the  War  Cabinet  (Mr.  Henderson) 
and  five  holders  of  other  Government  positions  present.  G.  J. 
Wardle,  M.P.,  presided  and  said  in  his  opening  speech:  "For  my 
part,  hating  war,  suspicious  of  Courts  and  Chancelleries,  and  in- 
tensely desirous  of  peace,  it  did  not  take  me  very  long  to  make 
up  my  mind,  and  I  am  as  convinced  to-day  as  I  was  at  the  outset, 
that  there  could  only  have  been  one  greater  tragedy  than  the  War, 
and  that  would  have  been  for  Britain  to  have  kept  out  of  it."  A 
bitter  debate  followed  on  the  action  of  six  members  in  joining  and 
supporting  the  Government  but  they  were  endorsed  by  a  card- 
vote  of  1,840,000  to  307,000.  Resolutions  Were  also  passed  in 
favour  of  (1)  an  increased  tax  on  unearned  incomes  rising  to  15s. 
in  the  pound;  (2)  the  high  taxation  of  luxuries  and  direct  taxation 
of  land  values;  (3)  the  nationalization  of  the  banking  system  and 
Universal  Adult  Suffrage;  (4)  increased  pensions  to  sailors  and 
soldiers. 

A  Resolution  supported  by  P.  Snowden,  M.P.,  and  other  leaders 
of  the  Independent  Labour  Party — extreme  Socialists  and  Pacifists 
— proposed  approval  of  the  "international  solidarity  of  labour" 
and  the  calling  of  an  International  Socialist  Congress ;  with  speeches 
such  as  that  of  Bruce  Glasier  in  referring  to  "our  German  comrades." 
It  was  rejected  by  1,498,000  to  696,000  and  the  following  motion 
accepted  by  1,036,000  to  464,000:  "This  Conference  declares  that, 
seeing  the  invasion  of  Belgium  and  France  by  the  German  armies 
threatens  the  very  existence  of  independent  nationalities  and  strikes 
a  blow  at  all  faith  in  treaties,  a  victory  for  German  Imperialism 
would  be  the  defeat  and  destruction  of  democracy  and  liberty 
in  Europe.  It  agrees  that  the  fight  should  continue  until  victory 
is  achieved,  and  that  the  Socialist  and  Trades  Union  organization 
of  the  Allied  Powers  should  meet  simultaneously  with  the  Peace 
Congress." 

All  kinds  of  complicated  issues  developed  during  the  year  with 
much  friction  in  different  trades,  with  many  strikes  and  still  more 
threatened  ones — a  state,  in  fact,  of  continuous  unrest.  High 
prices  and  war- weariness  had  a  natural  influence  in  this,  underground 
pro-German  forces  had  an  inevitable  share,  international  Socialism 
and  Pacificism  still  had  deep  roots  in  the  soil,  the  tremendous  influx 


LcE.-CoRF.  FRED  FISHER,  v.c., 

13th  Battalion,  Westmount.  Montreal. 
Killed  in  action. 


SERGT.  FRED.  HOBSON,  v.c., 

Canadian  Infantry,  Toronto. 

Killed  in  action. 


PTE.  JOHN  GEORGE  PATTISON,  v.c., 
Calgary,  Alberta.     Killed  in  action. 


PTE.  WM.  JOHNSTONE  MILNE,  v.c., 

16th  Infantry  Battalion,  Moose  Jaw. 

Killed  in  action,  Apr.  9,  1917. 


CANADIAN  WINNERS  OF  THE  V.C, 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  137 

of  women  into  war-work  and  industry  and  labour  organization 
had  its  place,  continued  and  ignorant  suspicion  of  employers  was 
a  factor  as  was  the  frequent  selfishness  of  employers.  Talk  in 
all  the  strike  movements  was  a  great  element;  talk  often  took  the 
place  of  work  and,  meantime,  war-needs  suffered  and  soldiers  and 
sailors  died.  The  strike  of  50,000  aeroplane  workers  late  in  the 
year  was  an  illustration.  It  was  decided  upon  by  a  majority  of 
seven  votes  out  of  337;  the  cause  was  a  trifling  one  not  related  to 
wages  or  principles.  It  did  not  last  long  but  a  period  of  precious 
time  and  production  was  wasted.  On  June  12  a  Royal  Commission 
on  Labour  Unrest  was  appointed  and  its  Report  of  July  17 
asserted  that  the  leading  cause  of  trouble  was  that  "the  cost 
of  living  had  increased  disproportionately  to  the  advance  in  wages, 
and  that  the  distribution  of  food  supplies  was  unequal."  Other 
reasons  were  the  enforced  operation  of  the  Munitions  and  Military 
Service  Acts,  the  want  of  housing  accommodations,  the  Liquor 
restrictions,  the  payment  of  lower  wages  to  skilled  rather  than 
unskilled  labour,  the  dilution  of  labour,  the  surrender  of  trades 
union  customs,  industrial  fatigue,  inconsiderate  treatment  of  wo- 
men, etc.  The  recommendations  made  were  unimportant. 

The  retirement  of  Arthur  Henderson,  M.P.,  as  member  of  the 
War  Cabinet,  took  place  on  Aug.  11  on  the  ground  of  alleged  in- 
ability to  act  as  Secretary  of  the  Labour  Party  and  hold  Government 
office  at  the  same  time.  The  following  statement  was  made  in 
a  letter  from  the  Premier  of  that  date:  "Your  colleagues  were  taken 
completely  by  surprise  by  the  attitude  which  you  adopted  at  the 
Labour  Conference  yesterday  afternoon.  You  know  that  they 
were,  in  the  present  circumstances,  unanimously  opposed  to  the 
Stockholm  Conference,  and  you  had  yourself  been  prepared  to 
agree  to  an  announcement  to  that  effect.  I  was  under  the  im- 
pression that  you  meant  to  use  your  influence  against  meeting 
enemy  representatives  at  Stockholm.  When  you  spoke  to  the 
(Labour)  Conference  you  were  not  merely  a  member  of  the  Labour 
Party  but  a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  responsible  for  the  conduct  of 
the  War.  Nevertheless,  you  did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  inform 
the  Conference  of  the  views  of  your  colleagues  and  the  Delegates 
accordingly  were  justified  in  assuming  that  the  advice  you  gave 
was  not  inconsistent  with  their  opinions."  So  with  cabled  infor- 
mation, sent  from  the  Cabinet  to  Mr.  Henderson  at  the  Conference, 
stating  that  the  Russian  Government  disapproved  of  the  Stockholm 
gathering. 

He  was  succeeded  by  G.  N.  Barnes,  M.P.,  and  this  Ministerial 
association  of  Labour  with  men  of  such  supposedly  antagonistic 
views  as  Lord  Rhondda  or  Lord  Devonport,  was  continued — for 
war  purposes  only.  On  Sept.  25  Mr.  Wardle  stated  in  an  interview 
that:  "Things  are  gradually  settling  down  in  the  British  indus- 
trial world,  and  I  have  no  fear  that  there  will  be  any  great  upheaval 
in  labour  circles.  .  .  .  Perhaps  the  most  real  cause  of  unrest 
is  that  there  is  too  much  centralization  alike  among  employers 
and  employees."  All  this  unrest  culminated  in  the  organization 
in  October  of  a  new  Labour  Party  composed  of  the  Independent 


138  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Labourites,  the  British  Socialist  Party  and  the  Fabian  Society— 
mostly  Pacifists,  anti-war,  pro-Socialistic  persons,  led  by  Ramsay 
Macdonald,  Snowden,  E.  D.  Morel  and  others  of  that  type,  with 
the  following  clause  as  a  chief  item  in  their  programme:  "Securing 
for  workers  by  hand  or  brain  the  full  fruits  of  their  industry  and 
the  most  equitable  distribution  thereof  that  may  be  possible  on 
the  basis  of  the  common  ownership  of  the  means  of  production." 
A  little  later  (Dec.  17)  the  main  Labour  Party  issued  a  Memo- 
randum on  War-Aims  which  described  the  fundamental  purpose 
of  the  British  labour  movement  as  making  the  world  safe  for  democ- 
racy: "For  this  purpose,  and  in  order  to  prevent  war  in  the  future, 
Labour  relies  on  the  establishment  of  a  Super-National  Authority, 
or  League  of  Nations,  an  International  High  Court,  an  International 
Legislature,  and  compulsory  arbitration  between  nations."  It 
also  asked  for  the  democratization  of  all  countries,  the  suppression 
of  secret  diplomacy,  control  of  foreign  policy  by  Legislatures,  and 
concerted  action  for  the  limitation  of  armaments  and  universal 
abolition  of  compulsory  military  service.  As  to  definite  details  the 
following  war  objects  were  stated: 

Belgium.  The  restoration  of  complete  independent  sovereignty,  reparation  by 
Germany  under  an  International  Commission  of  the  wrong  done,  and  payment  by 
Germany  for  all  the  damage  that  has  resulted. 

Alsace  and  Lorraine.  The  political  blunder  of  1871  is  denounced,  sympathy  is 
expressed  with  the  inhabitants,  and  it  is  asked,  in  accordance  with  the  declarations 
of  the  French  Socialists,  that  they  shall  be  allowed,  under  the  protection  of  the  Super- 
National  Authority  or  League  of  Nations,  freely  to  decide  what  shall  be  their  future 
political  position. 

The  Balkans.  A  special  Conference  of  Balkan  representatives,  or  an  Interna- 
tional Commission,  should  deal  with  the  problem  on  the  basis  of  the  freedom  of  the 
peoples  to  settle  their  own  destinies. 

^  Italy.  The  demand  of  people  of  Italian  blood  outside  the  Italian  boundaries 
for  re-union  with  Italy  is  supported,  and  it  is  recognized  that  arrangements  may  be 
necessary  for  securing  the  legitimate  interests  of  Italy  in  the  adjacent  seas. 

Poland,  Ituxembourg,  etc.     Each  people  to  be  allowed  to  settle  its  own  destiny. 

Turkish  Empire.  Armenia,  Mesopotamia,  and  Arabia  cannot  be  restored  to 
the  tyranny  of  the  Sultan  and  his  Pashas.  If  it  is  impracticable  for  the  people  to 
decide  for  themselves,  the  administration  should  be,  by  commission,  under  the  Super- 
National  Authority.  Constantinople  should  be  a  free  port  and  neutralized  under 
the  same  administration. 

African  Colonies.  All  the  present  colonies  of  the  European  Powers  in  tropical 
Africa  should  be  transferred  to  the  Super-National  Authority  and  administered  as  a 
single  independent  African  State  with  its  own  trained  staff. 

The  Stockholm  Conference  issue  was  a  vital  one  for  British 
labour  and  the  War.  This  projected  gathering  of  world-Socialists  at 
Stockholm  to  talk  terms  of  Peace  was  engineered  from  Berlin  in  order 
(1)  to  weaken  the  Entente  by  internal  dissensions,  (2)  deceive  neutrals 
and  aid  Pacifists  in  general  by  the  pretended  liberality  of  letting 
Germans  take  part  in  the  proceedings,  and  (3)  obtain  all  possible 
information  through  German  delegates  as  to  the  position  in  Allied 
countries.  On  the  surface  it  originated  with  a  Dutch-Scandinavian 
Committee,  headed  by  M.  Branting,  a  Swedish  leader  who  was 
supposed  to  be  cordially  disposed  towards  the  Allies.  The  first 
invitation  (early  in  1917)  for  an  International  Socialist  Conference 
was  from  this  body  and  it  was  declined  by  French  Socialists  with 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  139 

a  narrow  majority,  by  the  Executive  of  the  British  Labour  body, 
and  by  the  Belgian  and  American  organizations.  Then  the  matter 
was  taken  up  by  the  Russian  Socialists  under  the  influence  of  a 
Danish  journalist  named  Borghjerg  who  represented  Schiedemann, 
Ebert  and  Bauer — German  Socialist  leaders  who  had  all  supported 
the  War  up  to  this  time. 

The  programme  proposed  by  the  Austrian  and  German  delegates 
for  consideration  was  announced  on  May  30  and  included  (1)  no 
annexations  and  no  indemnities;  (2)  the  south  Slavic  lands  and 
Austro-Hungarian  crown  lands  to  remain  in  the  Dual  Monarchy, 
but  Socialists  to  support  the  efforts  of  their  inhabitants  to  gain 
autonomy;  (3)  Finland  and  Russian  Poland  to  be  independent 
states  and  the  people  of  Galicia  to  have  autonomy  under  the  sover- 
eignty of  Austria;  (4)  restoration  of  freedom  of  commerce  on  land 
and  sea,  modification  of  the  protectionist  system,  the  establish- 
ment of  "international  administration"  for  all  maritime  routes 
and  inter-oceanic  canals,  internationally  built  and  administered 
railways;  (5)  the  prohibition  of  the  capture  or  arming  of  merchant- 
men, abolishment  of  prize  courts,  reduction  of  the  contraband  list 
with  exclusion  of  all  raw  materials  for  clothing  or  food,  modification 
of  the  rights  of  blockade  and  "restriction  of  mechanical  means  which 
may  be  employed  in  maritime  and  air  warfare";  (6)  opposing  the 
annexation  of  Belgium,  favouring  Serbia's  independence  and  urging 
the  arrangement  of  Balkan  affairs  without  external  interference. 

The  future  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  was  not  mentioned,  nor  the 
liberties  of  the  Roumanians,  Ruthenians  or  Bohemians,  the  Slavs 
of  Austria  or  the  Armenians  and  Greeks  of  Turkey.  Representa- 
tives of  the  country  which  had  smashed  the  Hague  Tribunal  and 
deified  armed  strength,  now  proposed  a  system  which  would  destroy 
the  naval  and  commercial  strength  of  England  and  establish  that 
of  the  Central  Powers.  Russian  Socialists  were  easily  influenced 
and  some  of  them  at  once  went  to  England,  France  and  Italy 
to  obtain  support  for  a  propaganda  which  was  essentially  Ger- 
man in  its  inception,  character  and  results.  On  June  14  there 
was  published  a  Manifesto  from  the  German  Majority  Socialists  — 
war  supporters  of  the  German  Government — stating  that  it 
was  no  single  nation's  duty  "to  restore  districts  devastated  dur- 
ing the  War";  that  while  the  independence  of  Belgium,  Poland 
and  Finland  should  be  recognized  so  should  that  of  Ireland,  Egypt, 
Tripoli,  Morocco,  India,  Tibet,  and  Korea;  that  "German  Social 
Democracy  demands  for  Alsace-Lorraine  equal  rights  as  an  independ- 
ent federal  State  within  the  German  Empire." 

Such  was  the  proposed  meeting  over  which  the  British  Labour 
Conference  of  Aug.  11  fought  for  hours  and  for  which  Mr.  Henderson 
lost  his  place  in  the  War  Cabinet.  The  Resolution  ultimately  before 
the  gathering  and  which  passed  by  1,846,000  to  550,000  was  as  fol- 
lows: "That  the  invitation  to  the  International  Conference  at 
Stockholm  be  accepted  on  condition  that  the  Conference  be  consulta- 
tive and  not  mandatory."  It  passed  because  Mr.  Henderson, 
a  member  of  the  inner  Government  circle,  approved  it  and  did 
not  tell  the  Conference  that  the  Cabinet  was  unanimously  opposed 


140  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

to  such  action  and  that  the  Russian  delegates  would  not  officially 
represent  the  Russian  Government.  His  expressed  views  were  (1) 
that  British  and  Allied  countries  should  explain  their  views  to  dele- 
gates quite  ignorant  of  the  real  intentions  of  those  countries;  (2) 
that  it  was  dangerous  for  Russians  in  current  conditions  of  instabil- 
ity to  meet  the  enemy  delegates  alone;  (3)  that  the  Conference 
could  not  be  a  binding  one,  nor  could  British  labour  align  itself 
entirely  with  Russian  Socialism ;  (4)  that  the  Conference  was  in- 
evitable and  the  Allied  case  so  strong  it  should  be  presented;  (5) 
that  "it  is  not  only  wise,  but  imperative,  that  a  country — that 
every  country — should  use  its  political  weapons  to  supplement 
all  its  military  organization,  if  by  so  doing  they  can  defeat  the 
enemy."  The  delegates  were  to  number  24  and  the  Independent 
Labour  Party  and  Socialists  proposed  to  be  separately  represented. 

G.  H.  Roberts,  M.P.,  and  G.  N.  Barnes,  M.P.,  Minister  of 
Pensions,  both  opposed  representation — the  latter  declaring  that 
"this  war  will  end  in  such  a  manner  as  will  be  determined  by  the 
relative  strength  of  the  parties  at  the  end  of  it."  Ramsay  Mac- 
donald  declared  that  "our  German  friends — our  German  Socialists 
— have  got  to  work  with  us  whether  we  like  it  or  not.  I  ask  you 
to  let  the  past  bury  the  past  and  to  go  to  Stockholm."  Another 
Labour  Conference  (Aug.  21)  after  prolonged  discussion 
of  the  Henderson  retirement  confirmed  this  policy  of  repre- 
sentation by  a  vote  of  1,234,000  to  1,231,000— a  majority 
of  only  3,000.  At  Blackpool  on  Sept.  2  the  British 
Labour  Congress  reversed  its  former  decision  by  accepting  the 
Report  of  its  Parliamentary  Committee  (2,894,000  to  91,000) 
which  declared  against  an  International  Conference  at  Stockholm 
"at  the  present  moment,"  but  affirmed  that  "an  International 
Labour  Conference,  subject  to  specified  conditions,  is  a  necessary 
preliminary  to  the  conclusion  of  a  lasting  and  democratic  peace." 
It  was  definitely  announced,  also,  that  the  Seamen's  Union 
would  refuse  absolutely  to  work  on  any  ships  carrying  delegates 
to  a  Stockholm  Conference.  The  result  was  abandonment  of  the 
meeting  for  this  year  and  the  issue  of  a  Manifesto  by  the  Stock- 
holm Committee  proclaiming  certain  new  conditions  for  Peace: 
"(1)  The  complete  political  and  economic  re-establishment  of 
Belgium,  with  cultural  autonomy  for  Flanders  and  the  restoration 
of  all  contributions  and  requisitions  raised  contrary  to  international 
law;  (2)  solution  of  the  Alsace-Lorraine  question  to  be  arrived  at 
by  a  plebiscite;  (3)  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  Bohemia  by 
means  of  reunion  of  the  Czechs,  in  a  single  federative  state,  with 
Austria;  (4)  the  political  independence  of  Ireland  within  the  Domin- 
ions of  Great  Britain  and  the  independence  of  Turkish  Armenia." 
Suppression  of  economic  warfare  also  was  proposed. 

The  financial  position  of  Great  Britain  throughout  the  War 
was  one  of  its  most  remarkable  features.  Whatever  else  these  years 
had  taught  they  disproved  absolutely  the  fallacious  opinions  of 
M.  Bloch,  Norman  Angell  and  others  that  war  was  impossible 
because  of  its  cost.  As  The  Times9  financial  writer  put  it  on  Aug. 
4,  1917:  "The  financial  power  of  the  country,  both  absolutely  and 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  141 

relatively,  has  never  been  more  triumphantly  demonstrated  than 
in  its  position  at  the  end  of  three  years  of  war.  Alone  among  the 
belligerents  it  is  paying  for  a  large  proportion  of  the  cost  of  the  War 
out  of  an  enormously  increased  tax  revenue.  Huge  as  is  the  abso- 
lute increase  of  our  National  Debt,  its  service  in  interest  is  amply 
covered  by  the  increase  in  revenue,  while,  in  proportion  to  the 
national  wealth,  its  total  amount  is  still  very  far  short  of  what  the 
National  Debt  was  in  1817,  at  the  end  of  the  Napoleonic  wars, 
proportionately  to  the  (then)  national  wealth." 

About  25%  of  the  yearly  war  expense  was  met  by  taxa- 
tion—the total  war  loans  up  to  March  31,  1917,  being  $16,145,000- 
000,  with  $5,475,000,000  during  that  period  raised  by  taxes.  Up 
to  Mar.  31  £970,000,000,  or  $4,950,000,000,  of  this  had  been  lent 
to  British  Dominions  and  Allies— $710,000,000  to  the  former.  The 
big  financial  event  of  the  year  was  the  Victory  Loan.  There  were 
two  issues  made  in  February  without  specified  amount — (1)  5%, 
repayable  1947,  or  at  option  1929,  issued  at  95,  and  (2)  4%,  repayable 
1942,  or  at  option  1929,  tax-free  and  issued  at  par.  The  Loan 
realized  in  its  5%  issue  £2,069,845,000  and  in  the  4%  issue  £51,384,- 
000,  or  a  total  of  $10,606,000,000,  of  which  $5,000,000,000  were 
new  subscriptions  and  the  balance  conversions.  The  total  War 
Votes  of  Parliament,  it  may  be  added,  up  to  the  end  of  1917  were  as 
follows : 

Dates  Amount  Per  Day 

1914-15 £    362,000,000        £1,500,000  or   $  7,500,000 

1915-16...  1,420,000,000  3,836,000"       19,180,000 

1916-17 2,010,000,000     5,507,000  "   27,535,000 

1917-18 2,450,000,000     6,000,000  "   30,000,000 

In  the  8  months  of  April-November,  1917,  the  Budget  estimates 
of  revenue  were  exceeded  by  £309,000,000  and  of  this  £79,000,000 
went  as  loans  to  Allies,  27  millions  to  Dominions  and  90  millions 
for  the  purchase  of  food,  raw  materials  and  ships.  Mr.  Bonar 
Law's  Budget  for  Mar.  31,  1917,  was  presented  on  May  2  and  the 
chief  changes  were  increases  in  the  Excess  Profits  Tax,  which  was 
raised  to  80%  from  60%  and  the  placing  of  excess  profits  from  muni- 
tion works  on  the  same  basis;  an  increase  of  tobacco  duty  by  Is.  lOd. 
in  the  pound,  and  increased  Amusement  taxes.  The  Expenditures 
were  £2,198,113,000  and  the  Revenue  £573,428,000;  those  for 
1917-18  were  estimated  respectively  at  £2,290,381,000  and  £638,- 
600,000.  Where  expenditures  ran  into  the  10,000  millions  of  dollars 
it  was  difficult  to  grasp  them  but  the  Chancellor  was  able  to  tell 
the  Commons  that  the  situation  was  satisfactory,  that  want  of 
money  would  not  prevent  a  victorious  issue  for  Britain,  and  that, 
financially,  she  could  hold  out  longer  than  the  enemy.  The  items 
of  taxation  for  1916-17  showed  $350,000,000  from  Customs,  $280,- 
000,000  from  Excise,  $155,000,000  from  Estate  Duties,  $1,025,000,000 
from  Incomes,  and  $700,000,000  from  Excess  Profits.  On  July 
24  the  Chancellor  stated  that  war  loans  to  Allies  and  Dominions 
then  totalled  £1,171,000,000  or  $5,800,000,000.  It  may  be  added 
that  the  British  National  Debt  in  1775  was  $644,000,000,  in  1783 
$1,250,000,000,  in  1802  $2,600,000,000  and  in  1816  $4,425,000,000— 
while  the  following  table  indicates  conditions  a  century  later: 


142  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Year  of  March  31  Revenue  Per  Capita  Debt  March  31  Per  Capita 

1913...                 $    919,000,000  $19.98  $3,581,000,000  $77.85 

1914...  991,000,000  21.54  3,538,000,000            76.91 

1915 1,135,000,000  24.67  5,563,000,000          120.94 

1916 1,684,000,000  36.61  11,385,000,000          247.50 

1917 2,876,000,000  62.33  19,508,000,000          424.09 

As  to  the  raising  of  more  men  for  her  vast  armies  Great  Britain 
during  1917,  was  upon  a  Conscription  basis  but  one  restricted  by 
the  enormous  and  pressing  needs  of  Agriculture,  Munitions  and 
Shipbuilding.  Frederick  Palmer,!  the  War  correspondent,  esti- 
mated on  Jan.  19  that  Britain  had  3,000,000  men  in  France  but 
this  must  have  included  Labour  contingents  and  all  other  services 
and  reserves,  as  well  as  Infantry.  The  Times'  Military  corres- 
pondent (Jan.  15)  considered  another  60  Divisions  or  1,000,000 
men  necessary  during  the  year;  in  Parliament  on  Mar.  29  Mr.  Bonar 
Law  presented  a  Military  Service  Bill,  which  passed  in  due  course, 
and  gave  the  authorities  power  to  order  re-examination  of  men  pre- 
viously rejected  for  military  service,  and  also  of  men  who  already 
had  served  and  been  discharged  in  consequence  of  wounds  or  ill- 
ness. He  stated  that  recruits  had  actually  fallen  short  of  the 
number  expected  by  100,000.  The  Chancellor  estimated  that 
this  new  enactment  would  reach  1,000,000  men,  and  that  at  least 
100,000  men  would  be  made  available. 

On  Apr.  4  General  Robertson,  Chief  of  Staff,  stated  to  a  Labour 
Conference  that:  "Numerically  Germany  now  is  stronger  than  at 
any  time  during  the  War.  She  has  recently  made  extraordinary 
efforts,  has  many  more  divisions  in  the  field  than  last  year,  and  has 
increased  the  number  of  her  soldiers  by  about  a  million.  We  must 
meet  this  desperate  effort  and  to  meet  it  we  must  have  men.  .  .  . 
Our  immediate  needs  are  500,000  men  between  now  and  July  next." 
On  June  17  it  was  announced  that  the  need  for  men  was  so  pro- 
nounced that  the  Government  had  to  put  an  end  to  the  arrange- 
ments made  nearly  two  years  before  between  it  and  the  Labour 
unions  under  which  members  of  unions,  whose  trade  was  accounted 
essential  to  maintaining  national  interests,  were  to  be  exempted  from 
military  service  in  preference  to  men  who  were  not  union  men. 
The  man  who  lacked  the  union  card,  though  he  might  be  engaged 
in  the  same  occupation  and  just  as  skilled  and  useful  a  worker, 
had  to  make  a  convincing  demonstration  of  his  case  before  he  could 
be  exempted. 

Sir  Wm.  Robertson  told  the  London  Chronicle  on  Aug.  6  that 
in  this  War  it  was  a  matter  of  nations,  not  armies — the  psychology 
of  peoples:  "The  armies  in  the  field  are  only  a  part  of  this  tre- 
mendous conflict.  Behind  them  is  the  nerve  of  each  separate 
nation  they  represent.  It  is  a  sifting  of  nations.  It  is  a 
trial  of  character.  It  is  a  test  of  racial  quality.  The  work- 
men and  workwomen  of  each  nation  are  engaged  in  the  conflict. 
The  forces  in  the  field  are  only  the  hands  of  a  vast  body  in  which 
every  muscle  is  being  strained  and  tried."  Hence  the  importance 
of  the  British  armies  being  backed  by  the  whole  people  and  their 
Government — united  and  earnest.  In  reviewing  the  three  years 
of  war  (Times,  Aug.  5)  Col.  Repington  declared  that  this  was  not 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  143 

being  done,  that  the  armies  were  too  small,  and  that  the  higher 
direction  of  the  War  had  failed — the  same  view  that  Mr.  Lloyd 
George  frequently  expressed  though  from  a  different  standpoint. 
The  newspaper  critic  was  denouncing  the  Government;  the  Premier 
was  criticizing,  and  wisely  so,  the  lack  of  unified  strategy  amongst 
the  Allies.  Speaking  at  Manchester  on  Nov.  7  Mr.  Bonar  Law 
stated  that  Britain's  Overseas  force  was  3,000,000 — "a  mightier 
never  existed."  By  the  end  of  the  year,  according  to  Sir  Auckland 
Geddes,  Minister  of  National  Service,*  Britain  had  4,000,000 
men  enrolled  in  the  army  and  400,000  of  a  naval  personnel. 

The  industrial  development  of  Britain  continued  in  marvellous  fash- 
ion during  1917 — hampered  only  by  Labour  troubles  and  shortages. 
The  Woolwich  Arsenal  by  this  time  had  become  another  Krupp's 
with  five  square  miles  of  area  where  more  than  75,000  men  were 
employed;  with  great  guns  and  small  guns,  deadly  lyddite  and 
every  kind  of  shell  under  construction;  with  myriad  operations 
in  steel  and  in  every  form  of  skilful  war  industry.  The  Munitions 
Department,  under  Dr.  Christopher  Addison,  had  increased  even 
the  product  of  Mr.  Lloyd  George's  tenure  of  office  and  showed  an 
amazing  productiveness,  economy  and  skill.  On  June  28  the  Min- 
ister told  Parliament  that  in  high  explosives  the  capacity  for  pro- 
duction was  in  March,  1917,  28  times  that  of  March,  1915,  that 
in  machine  guns  (weekly)  it  was  20  times  greater,  that  in  small 
arms  and  their  ammunition  the  output  had  become  so  abundant 
as  to  make  assistance  from  outside  unnecessary.  In  Tanks  the 
supply  of  new  designs  was  coming  along  excellently,  in  aeroplanes 
the  production  for  May  was  twice  that  of  December,  the  output 
of  steel  had  increased  from  seven  to  ten  million  tons  per  annum  since 
the  War,  in  Overseas  supplies  there  were  1,500,000  tons  of  shipment 
monthly  with  a  loss  of  finished  munitions  coming  across  the  Atlan- 
tic (from  Submarines)  of  only  5*9%.  As  to  Labour  he  gave  these 
facts : 

At  the  beginning  of  this  year  we  found  that  the  aircraft  supply  programme 
would  require  at  least  10,000  additional  workers,  many  of  them  skilled,  and  what 
applied  to  aircraft  applied  to  shipbuilding,  gun  manufacture,  tanks,  agricultural 
implements,  and  many  more  supplies.  From  60  per  cent,  to  80  per  cent,  of  the  machine 
work  on  shells,  fuses,  and  trench  warfare  supplies  was  now  performed  by  women. 
More  than  60  technical  schools  and  colleges  in  Great  Britain  were  used  in  this  work. 
They  had  trained  more  than  32,000  workers  in  these  places.  There  were,  also,  five 
special  industrial  factories  engaged  in  training.  There  were  30,000  skilled  work- 
people employed  away  from  their  homes  as  War  Munitions  volunteers.  There  were 
also  over  40,000  soldiers  who  had  been  released  from  the  colours  who  had  similarly 
placed  themselves  at  the  disposal  of  the  Ministry,  and,  in  addition,  more  than  30,000 
Army  Reserve  munitions  workers  had  been  placed  on  work  of  construction  in  the 
steel  trade  and  elsewhere. 

The  Minister  stated  that  a  total  saving  of  £43,000,000  had  been 
effected  in  cost  over  similar  production  in  the  previous  year;  that 
plants  were  now  available  for  supplying  the  country  with  all  it 
required  in  potash,  scientific  instruments,  optical  glass,  machine 
tools,  sulphuric  acid,  super-phosphates  and  tungsten — most  of  them 
imported  before  the  War;  that  a  scheme  was  under  development 

*NOTE. — Speech  in  Commons,  Jan    13,  1918. 


144  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

for  the  production  of  nitrates  and  home  supplies  of  oil;  that  there 
had  been  discovered  and  utilized  "a  component  of  a  new  type  of 
gun  ammunition  possessing  great  advantages  for  certain  purposes 
over  any  previously  produced";  that  an  efficient  Salvage  Depart- 
ment had  been  established  at  the  Front  "for  the  salvage,  re-shipping 
to  this  country,  reforming  and  re-issue  of  a  large  number  of  parts 
of  munitions."  During  this  period  contracts  for  War  Supplies 
came  under  control  of  a  Special  War  Office  Department,  which 
dealt  with  tenders,  costs,  requisition  of  output,  control  of  raw  ma- 
terial, and  up  to  July,  1917,  had  handled  purchases  of  $3,500,000,000, 
of  which  $1,000,000,000  were  for  the  Allies.  The  annual  value 
of  purchases  at  this  time  was  $1,750,000,000.  The  following  table 
of  War  Office  contracts  from  Aug.  4,  1914,  to  Jan.  1,  1917,  was  pub- 
lished in  the  London  Times  of  Feb.  27: 

Boots 34,524,000   prs.        Gloves,  woollen 8,382,000   prs. 

Drawers  (all  kinds) 29,270,000     "  Socks,  worsted 63,565,000     ' 

Barathea 2,360,000  yds.       Vests,  woollen 9,401,000  No. 


Bedford  cord 2,305,000 

Whipcord,  drab 6,064,000 

Flannel  for  Shirts 105,102,000 

Duck,  tent  (cotton) 38,060,000 

Cotton,  grey 11,041,000 

Jean,  cotton 46,853,000 


Blankets 21,175,000 

Cloth  for  Jackets 42,330,000  yds. 

Cloth  for  Trousers 23  687,000 

Cloth  for  Great  Coats. .  21,558,000 
Hospital  and  Miscell'n's.       7,244,000 

Drill,  khaki 61,386,000 


Cap  Comforters 13,326,000  No.        Flannelette,  cotton 23,344,000 

Since  the  War  began  400,000,000  Ibs.  of  bacon  and  167,000,000 
Ibs.  of  cheese,  260,000,000  tins  of  jam,  500,000,000  rations  of  pre- 
served meat  and  40,000,000  horseshoes  had  been  purchased.  The 
leather  industry  had  been  re-organized  with  an  enormous  current 
production  and  officially-watched  economies  in  making  and  in  price. 
As  io  preserved  meats  the  War  Office  stated  (July,  1917)  that  they 
were  obtained  from  packers  in  South  America,  the  United  States, 
Canada,  and  Australia.  Until  November,  1916,  contracts  were 
made  on  competitive  tenders,  or  by  negotiations  with  contractors 
and  preference  in  placing  contracts  had  been  given  as  much  as  possible 
to  Canadian  and  Australian  products.  In  the  Commons  on  Mar. 
1  the  Financial  Secretary  stated  that  1,500,000  pairs  of  Army  boots 
were  being  made  monthly,  that  25,000,000  gas  helmets,  250,000,000 
sandbags,  105,000,000  yds.  of  khaki  cloth  and  115,000,000  yds.  of 
flannel  had  been  manufactured  to  date,  and  he  illustrated  the  wide 
nature  of  war-work  by  stating  that  62,000  cooks  had  been  trained 
during  the  past  year  and  3,000  acres  of  vegetable  gardens  organized 
in  Mesopotamia.  Not  less  remarkable  was  the  efficiency  of  the 
Railways  which  in  the  first  year  of  war  carried  2,686,000  soldiers 
from  one  point  to  another  and  542,000  horses,  while  shipping  to 
France  900,000  tons  of  food,  forage  and  fuel,  17  million  gallons  of 
petrol  and  5  millions  of  oil,  with  491,000  mail  bags;  in  later  years 
the  totals  were  increased  at  least  two-thirds. 

As  the  year  1917  passed  the  expansion  of  the  Munitions  Depart- 
ment  absorbed  much  of  the  war  industry  of  the  nation  and  employed 
2,000,000  people;  it  looked  after  the  manufacture  and  supply  of 
aeroplanes  and  R.F.C.  material  and  controlled  the  great  national 
arsenals,  explosive  and  shell  factories  with  over  20,000  work-shops; 
it  assumed  control  of  petrol  engine  production  and  the  duty  of  supply- 
ing tractors  and  agricultural  engines  for  the  Board  of  Agriculture 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  145 

— at  the  rate  of  1,000  a  month;  it  latterly  arranged  to  supply  ferti- 
lizers for  farmers  and  food-stuffs  for  cattle;  it  discovered  a  formula 
to  replace  German  lenses  and  other  high-power  glasses.  A  Materials 
Economy  Committee  watched  over  designs  and  the  best  use  of 
materials;  rationing  was  adopted  for  a  number  of  metals,  so  as  to 
make  stocks  go  farther;  an  organization  for  collecting  scrap  metal 
was  set  up.  As  to  trade  it  continued  to  expand  from  $6,110,000,000 
in  1914  to  $6,675,000,000  in  1915  and  from  $7,765,000,000  in  1916 
to  $7,343,000,000  in  11  months  of  1917.  British  exports  actually 
grew  from  2,150  million  dollars  in  1914  to  2,530  millions  in  1916. 

The  economic  changes  in  Britain  at  this  time  were  enormous. 
Despite  huge  taxation,  profits  were  still  great;  high  prices  were 
accompanied  by  high  wages,  bigger  incomes,  better  salaries;  determi- 
nation to  "carry  on"  and  prosecute  the  War  to  an  end  did  not 
prevent  extravagance  in  private  life  and  public  methods;  the  un- 
precedented cost  of  the  War  and  expenses  of  $30,000,000  a  day  did 
not  create  any  appearance  of  financial  distress  or  general  poverty; 
despite  the  work  of  the  War  Savings  Committee  and  urgent  appeals 
from  every  source  of  authority,  the  need  for  economy  was  not  under- 
stood by  the  great  mass  of  a  people  earning  unaccustomed  wages 
or,  in  the  middle  class,  finding  sudden  affluence  in  place  of  moderate 
incomes.  In  this  respect  Britain  was  behind  Germany  where  the 
blockade  had  long  since  compelled  economy  and  thrift;  in  another 
vital  respect  it  was  away  ahead  of  Germany — the  payment  of  a 
substantial  proportion  of  war  costs  out  of  yearly  revenue.  In 
other  directions  the  State  control  of  national  supplies  and  distri- 
bution had  almost  eliminated  the  middleman;  producers  and  con- 
sumers were  brought  together  in  a  most  remarkable  way;  the  mer- 
chant class  were  actually  fighting  for  life  with  independent  trade 
eliminated  for  them  in  more  than  20  leading  products.  So  pro- 
nounced was  this  condition  as  to  constitute  an  economic  revolu- 
tion if  made  permanent  after  the  War;  meantime,  it  weakened  one 
of  the  most  important  classes  in  the  community.  They  had 
been,  indirectly,  the  home  market  for  the  manufacturer;  they 
complained  in  these  years,  with  a  degree  of  truth,  that  Food 
Service  Control  officials  were  inefficient,  untrained  and  ignorant 
in  a  business  way  and  that  they  helped  high  prices  and  food 
scarcity  rather  than  the  reverse;  they  claimed  also  that  the  mer- 
chants of  the  City  of  London  and  other  centres  were  trained  in 
their  business  through  many  generations  and  should  have  been 
more  considered.  Food  officials,  however,  had  no  easy  task 
and  in  dealing  with  a  people  so  accustomed  to  individual  liberty 
as  the  British  no  policy — born  in  heaven  or  on  earth — could 
have  been  popular.  From  the  downfall  of  the  Asquith  Govern- 
ment had  come  a  Food  Controller  in  the  person  of  Lord  Devonport, 
once  a  dock  labourer  and  grocer's  clerk,  now  a  millionaire  in  the 
business  represented  in  Canada  by  Sir  Joseph  Flavelle.  He  warned 
the  nation,  the  Submarine  alarmed  the  people,  and  he  put  them, 
early  in  1917,  on  voluntary  rations;  prices  at  once  rose,  the  food 
profiteer  and  hoarder  came  to  the  front,  a  Director  of  Food  Economy 

— Kennedy  Jones — tried  to  evolve  order  out  of  a  chaotic  public 
10 


146  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

opinion.  He  covered  the  country  with  advertisements  and  Food 
conservation  became  a  great  issue.  Then  came  Lord  Rhondda 
as  Controller — a  coal  king,  Director  in  countless  corporations, 
a  shrewd  and  determined  man.  Consumption  grew  less,  production 
grew  greater,  "back  to  the  land"  became  a  fashionable  call,  tennis- 
courts  were  turned  into  potato  patches  and  life  in  Britain  became 
subject,  also,  to  Controllers  of  Drink,  Coal,  Shipping,  Railways 
and  Tobacco.  Thrift  was  in  1917  a  great  fact,  though  by  no  means 
universal;  national  savings  increased  by  about  $1,000,000,000  over 
what  they  were  before  the  War. 

Details  in  this  development  included  Lord  Devonport's  fixing  of 
definite  maximum  prices  for  tea,  coffee,  butter,  cheese  and  lard 
in  March — after  the  Premier's  announcement  of  restricted  imports; 
the  claim  that  voluntary  rationing  up  to  this  time  had  saved  10% 
of  the  country's  meat  consumption;  the  fixing  in  April  of  maximum 
prices  for  wheat,  barley  and  oats  and  the  enforcement  of  meatless 
and  potatoless  days  and  restaurant  rations  for  meat,  bread  and  sugar; 
the  passage  in  May  of  the  Corn  Production  Bill,  under  which  the 
British  farmer  was  guaranteed  a  minimum  price  of  60s.  per  quarter 
of  eight  bushels  for  wheat  grown  this  year,  55s.  for  the  harvests  of 
1918  and  1919,  and  45s.  for  the  following  three  years,  with  provision 
of  minimum  wages  for  agricultural  labourers  and  regulation  of  rents; 
the  immense  powers  given  to  Lord  Rhondda  on  his  appointment 
(June  15)  included  the  right  to  take  over  the  food  supplies  of  the 
country  and  to  adopt  strong  measures  to  check  all  speculation  in 
the  necessaries  of  life;  the  statement  of  the  new  Controller  that  his 
sympathies  were  with  the  consumer  and  that  his  first  efforts  would 
be  to  reduce  the  price  of  bread. 

On  July  26  he  stated  that  he  would  press  for  the  imprisonment 
of  food  profiteers  and  would  fix  prices  of  articles  of  prime  necessity 
on  a  basis  of  pre-war  profits;  all  flour  mills  were  taken  over  by  the 
Government  and  the  flour  sold  at  a  uniform  rate  to  bakers  with  a 
maximum  retail  price  for  bread;  on  Sept.  3  an  Order  regulating 
meat  prices  came  into  force  with  a  general  fall  of  2  pence  a  pound; 
during  these  latter  months  of  the  year  attempts  to  sell  at  prices 
higher  than  those  authorized  were  severely  punished;  toward  the 
close  of  the  year  Sir  Arthur  Yapp,  the  new  Director  of  Food  Economy, 
had  added  all  cereals  other  than  bread  and  butter,  margarine, 
lard,  oils  and  fats  to  the  voluntary  rations;  in  December  sugar 
was  issued  under  the  card  system,  potatoes  were  authorized  to  be 
used  in  the  making  of  bread,  the  killing  of  calves  and  heifers  and  sale 
of  veal  or  lamb  forbidden,  the  sale  of  ice  cream  and  water-ices  pro- 
hibited. 

Akin  to  war-economy  in  money  and  food  was  the  work  of  women. 
They  proved  in  these  years  as  efficient  and  patriotic  as  men,  they 
were  in  everything  and  did  everything  that  physical  powers  would 
permit  and  sometimes  more;  in  the  first  months  of  the  War  200,000 
were  engaged  at  munitions,  in  May,  1917,  there  were  over  1,000,000; 
in  the  Hospital  world,  through  the  organization  of  the  British  Red 
Cross  Society,  and  the  Order  of  St.  John,  the  nucleus  of  trained 
women  was  early  supplemented  by  a  steady  stream  of  part-trained 


WAR  POLICY  AND  POSITION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  147 

or  untrained  girls  and  over  $30,000,000  raised  by  voluntary  con- 
tribution; the  organization  of  Hospital  supplies  was  entirely  managed 
by  women — thousands  of  whom  gave  a  certain  number  of  hours 
weekly;  they  were,  during  1917  in  particular,  called  to  help  in  all 
kinds  of  farm  work  and  grappled  successfully  with  the  engineering 
trades;  they  helped  in  tramways  and  motor-buses,  in  Government 
offices  and  hotels,  in  theatres  and  banks,  in  stores,  offices  and  industries ; 
to  a  total  of  1,071,000  they  replaced  men  and  were  added  to  the 
3,272,000  women  workers  employed  in  July,  1914.  The  net  result  of 
all  these  combined  economic  influences  was  the  saving  of  England 
in  the  Submarine  issue  up  to  the  end  of  1917;  not,  however,  the  pro- 
vision of  all  that  she  really  needed  or  enough  for  her  Allies  abroad. 
Incidents  of  the  year  included  expressions  of  indignation  in  various 
quarters  as  to  the  continued  existence,  influence  and  partial  opera- 
tion of  German  banks  in  London,  the  holding  of  a  protest  meeting 
late  in  March,  and  demands  made  by  Resolution  that  the  Govern- 
ment should  (1)  annul  all  licenses  to  alien  enemy  banks  and  with- 
draw all  instructions  for  the  continuation  of  business;  (2)  close 
these  banks  forthwith,  leaving  the  Official  Liquidator  to  deal  with 
any  outstanding  balances;  (3)  appoint  forthwith  a  Commission 
of  business  men  with  full  powers  to  examine,  analyze  and  report 
upon  the  affairs  of  the  banks  for  the  three  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  War.  Then  came  the  plot  to  kill  the  Premier  by  means 
of  poisoned  darts  and  the  conviction  on  Mar.  10  of  two  women 
and  a  man  with  severe  sentences  of  penal  servitude;  the  purchase 
in  January  of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  by  Sir  Henry  Dalziel,  proprietor 
of  Reynold's  Newspaper  and  leader  of  the  "Ginger  group"  of  poli- 
ticians; the  organization  of  a  new  National  Party  in  England  with 
the  purpose  of  promoting  war  victory,  social  reform,  industrial 
union,  national  defence  and  Empire  unity,  with  Lord  Ampthill, 
Brig. -Gen.  Page  Croft,  M.P.,  Lord  Duncannon,  Lord  Montagu 
of  Beaulieu,  amongst  the  leaders;  a  vigorous  appeal  by  Viscount 
Grey  for  Proportional  Representation  and  a  general  growth  in 
the  movement;  proposals  of  sweeping  reform  in  Educational  policy 
by  Mr.  Hayes  Fisher,  President  of  the  Board  of  Education,  and 
inclusion  of  some  of  them  in  legislation. 

The  principle  of  Women  Suffrage  was  adopted  in  the  Commons 
on  June  19  by  387  to  57  votes,  and  a  notable  Franchise  Bill  which 
included  this  reform  and  also  the  Proportional  principle — the  latter 
being  struck  out,  however,  in  Committee — one-day  Elections, 
and  other  important  changes,  passed  through  Parliament  but  did 
not  become  law  until  1918;  this  Act  increased  the  electorate  from 
8,000,000  to  almost  16,500,000  and  of  these  latter  6,000,000  were 
women;  the  political  recrudescence  of  Lord  Haldane  was  attempted 
and  the  Manchester  Guardian  published  his  Peace  negotiations 
with  Germany  prior  to  the  War;  Sir  Arthur  Lee  gave  to  the  nation 
his  splendid  historic  seat  of  Chequers  as  an  official  residence  for 
the  Prime  Minister;  a  tremendous  tightening  in  Britain's  blockade 
of  Germany  was  involved  in  the  proclamation  of  Oct.  2  prohibiting 
the  exportation  to  Sweden,  Norway,  Denmark  and  the  Netherlands 
of  all  articles  except  printed  matter  and  personal  effects  accompanied 


148  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

by  their  owners;  War  Savings  Committees  were  created  every- 
where and  by  May,  1917,  there  were  over  35,000  working  Associa- 
tions devoted  to  this  object  with  over  3,000,000  members — all 
organized  under  a  National  Committee;  the  fact  was  important  that 
Great  Britain  in  1917  not  only  lent  her  Allies  a  total  of  $5,000,000,000 
but  placed  at  their  disposal  a  merchant  shipping  of  2,000,000  tons 
and  provided  large  coal  and  steel  supplies  for  France,  Russia  and 
Italy. 

The  British  The  British  Army  was  a  great  one  in  1917;  it  had 

Army  and  need  to  be  in  its  friendly  rivalry  with  that  of  France, 
Navy  in  the  m  j^s  footer  conflict  with  that  of  Germany.  It  num- 
marineTand  bered»  according  to  Lord  Northcliffe,  2,200,000  on 
Aeroplanes,  the  Western  front  at  midsummer;  it  totalled  a  little 
later,  according  to  the  Prime  Minister  (Commons, 
Oct.  29)  3,000,000  on  all  fronts;  it  had  casualties  of  500,000  in 
1916  and  not  less  than  that  in  1917;  it  was  represented  at  Salonika 
by,  probably,  200,000  men,  in  Mesopotamia  by  300,000,  and  in 
Palestine  by  200,000  more;  it  took,  in  the  War  up  to  July,  1917 
(according  to  General  Maurice)  739  German  field-guns  and  lost 
96;  a  Parliamentary  statement  of  Dec.  5  showed  prisoners  of  war 
in  British  hands  totalling  127,102  Germans,  2092  Austrians  and 
Bulgarians  and  43,105  Turks;  British  prisoners  in  German  hands 
totalled  44,475  at  the  close  of  the  year;  on  March  7  an  official 
statement  showed  518,741  persons  on  the  British  Pension  list. 

British  Forces  held  about  125  miles  of  the  450  miles  on  the 
Western  front  and  included  in  March,  1917,  five  armies  which  may 
be  described  as  follows:  1st  Army  in  the  Sector  around  Ypres  com- 
manded by  Gen.  Sir  Herbert  Plumer;  2nd  Army,  facing  La  Bass6e 
commanded  by  Gen.  Sir  Henry  Home;  3rd  Army,  in  the  Sector 
around  Arras  commanded  by  Gen.  Sir  E.  H.  H.  Allenby;  4th  Army, 
north-east  of  Albert  and  along  the  Ancre  under  Gen.  Sir  Hubert 
Gough;  5th  Army,  before  Pe*ronne  and  across  the  Somme  commanded 
by  Gen.  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson.  Later  on  Gen.  Sir  Julian  Byng 
took  charge  of  the  3rd  Army  and  Gen.  Allenby  succeeded  Sir  A. 
Murray  in  Egypt  and  Palestine,  while  Sir  H.  Plumer  went  to  Italy 
and  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  W.  R.  Marshall  replaced  the  late  Gen.  Maude 
in  Mesopotamia.  The  Chief  of  the  General  Staff  was  Lieut. -Gen. 
Sir  L.  E.  Kiggell  and  the  Adjutant-General  Lieut.-Gen.  Sir  G.  H. 
Fowke.  The  policy  of  F.-M.  Sir  Douglas  Haig  as  Commander- 
in-Chief  was,  in  this  year,  a  succession  of  offensives,  which  may  be 
listed  as  follows: 

Apr.  9 — Attack  and  capture  at  Vimy  Ridge  on  a  12-mile  front. 

June  7 — Attack  and  capture  of  Wytschaete  Ridge  on  a  10-mile  front,  and  cap- 
ture, also,  of  Messines,  Zonnebeke  and  Pilken  Ridges. 

July  31 — Attack  on  both  sides  of  Ypres  on  an  18-mile  front. 

Aug.  16 — Renewed  attack  north-east  of  Ypres  on  an  8-mile  front  and  at  Hill  70 
on  a  3-mile  front. 

Sept.  20 — Attack  on  8-mile  front  east  of  Ypres — Freze_nberg  and  Veldhoek  also 
being  captured. 

Sept.  26 — Advance  resumed  and  Zonnebeke  and  Polygon  Wood  captured. 

Oct.  4 — Advance  along  the  8-mile  front  between  Langemarck  and  Hollebeke. 


THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY;  SUBMARINES  AND  AEROPLANES     149 

Nov.  21 — Advance  on  front  of  32  miles  to  within  three  miles  of  Cambrai,  with 
the  capture  of  many  villages  and  the  breaking  of  the  German  1st  and  2nd  lines — 
followed  by  a  surprise  defeat  and  the  holding  of  only  a  part  of  the  gains. 

The  vital  point  or  result  of  the  battles  in  the  earlier  offensives  of 
1917,  variously  called  by  the  names  of  positions  on  the  long  line  of 
conflict  such  as  Arras,  the  Ancre,  Vimy  Ridge  and  Messines,  was 
to  deprive  the  Germans  of  the  advantages  of  ground  gained  as 
the  result  of  their  initial  aggression  in  1914;  to  precipitate,  in  co- 
operation with  the  French,  and  compel,  a  German  retreat  in  the 
Valleys  of  the  Oise  and  Aisne  and  in  the  Somme  region  during 
which  Roye,  Bapaume  and  PeYonne  were  re-occupied  with  300 
other  towns  and  villages  and  850  square  miles  of  territory; 
to  dominate  from  higher  ground,  though  not  yet  to  conquer, 
such  centres  as  Laon,  Lens  and  St.  Quentin.  From  the 
ridges  conquered  in  these  battles  or  acquired  later  in  the  year, 
British  troops  were  in  most  cases  able  to  look  down  upon 
the  fields  of  Flanders  or  valleys  of  Northern  France;  the  central 
fact  of  the  struggles  was  the  overwhelming  and  awful  force  of  the 
British  artillery;  the  conflicts  around  Ypres  in  July-October  gave 
the  British  possession  of  many  famous  battle-points  of  recent  years 
— St.  Julien,  Langemarck,  Hill  60,  Hooge,  Westhoek,  Hollebeke, 
Sanctuary  Wood,  Inverness  Copse,  Glencorse  Wood,  Polygon  Wood, 
etc.;  Tanks  and  aeroplanes  were  effective  elements  in  success  and, 
in  Sir  Julian  Byng's  victory  and  defeat  at  Cambrai  the  former 
played  an  important  part  in  success  which  was  afterwards  more 
than  neutralized  by  the  German  capture  of  100  or  more.  Had 
Gen.  Byng  been  supported  with  sufficient  reserves,  and  if  the  accident 
or  surprise  or  whatever  it  was,  had  not  happened,  his  initial  success 
would  have  appeared  a  stroke  of  genius  and  the  results  might  have 
included  the  forced  evacuation  of  much  of  Northern  France. 

British  victories  on  the  Western  front,  however,  were  incon- 
clusive. The  advances  attained  certain  valuable  points  but  did 
not  go  as  far  as  was  hoped — the  pivotal  mining  region  still  remained 
in  German  hands.  Elsewhere  it  was  different.  In  Mesopotamia, 
which  Prince  Von  Biilow  once  described  as  a  land  of  "boundless 
prospects"  and  which  the  Bagdad  Railway  and  the  War  were  in- 
tended to  make  a  German  possession,  the  army  movement  of  1917 
was  carefully  conducted  with  Basra  as  its  sea-base;  river  transport 
up  the  Tigris  was  made  efficient,  food  and  other  supplies  were  poured 
into  the  country;  port  and  harbour  facilities  were  created,  roads 
built,  gardens  planted  and  improvements  effected;  motor  cars 
and  artillery  and  more  men  were  brought  in.  Finally,  General 
Sir  Stanley  Maude  carried  the  British  forces  from  victory  to  victory. 
Beginning  in  February  he  captured  Kut-el-Amara  and  redeemed 
the  previous  British  defeat,  crossed  the  Tigris,  marched  on  and  drove 
the  Turks  steadily  before  him  and  captured  Bagdad.  To  the 
mind  of  the  East  this  was  a  great  conquest.  Bagdad  was  one  of 
the  most  famous  of  Oriental  cities,  the  centre  of  the  largest  and 
richest  province  of  the  Turkish  empire  with  a  population  of  150,000, 
the  base  of  Turkish  supplies  and  operations  in  Mesopotamia  and 
Western  Persia,  the  historic  seat  of  Oriental  empires  for  a  thousand 


150  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

years  from  the  days  of  Babylon,  Judaism  and  the  Tartars  to  those 
of  the  Turks.  In  entering  the  city  on  Mar.  11  General  Maude 
issued  a  stately  Proclamation  offering  liberty  and  racial  unity 
which  was  carried  on  many  wings  throughout  the  East. 

From  Bagdad  the  Turks  were  pursued  for  many  miles  through 
a  country  destitute  of  food  and  supplies,  toward  the  Euphrates  and, 
at  Ramadie  on  Sept.  29,  the  British  defeated  a  Turkish  army  and 
captured  3,500  prisoners.  The  British  campaign  in  Palestine  was 
originally  directed  from  Egypt  with  a  view  to  co-operating  with 
the  Russian  advance  toward  the  Bagdad  Railway  and  the  British 
armies  in  Mesopotamia.  The  1916  movement  was  hampered 
from  various  causes;  in  1917,  under  Gen.  Sir  E.  H.  H.  Allenby, 
the  success  was  rapid  and  the  strategy  brilliant.  Beginning  in 
November  Gaza  and  Beersheba  were  captured  and  a  Turkish  army 
of  20,000  was  defeated;  Samaria,  Askalon,  Jaffa,  Hebron  and  other 
famous  places  of  early  Christian  life  and  Jewish  history  were  taken 
in  succession;  then  came  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  General  Allenby 's 
forces,  aided  by  Australian,  French  and  Italian  contingents,  entered 
on  Dec.  9  the  home  and  original  seat  of  Christianity — the  Holy 
City  which  for  so  many  centuries  had  rested  under  the  dominance 
of  Moslem  conquerors. 

In  General  Allenby 's  Proclamation  to  the  people  he  was  con- 
ciliatory to  a  degree  and  concluded  it  with  a  characteristic  British 
touch:  "Furthermore,  since  your  city  is  regarded  with  affection 
by  the  adherents  of  the  three  great  religions  of  mankind  I  make 
it  known  to  you  that  every  sacred  building,  monument,  holy  spot, 
shrine,  traditional  site,  endowment,  pious  bequest  or  customary 
place  of  prayer  of  whatsoever  form  will  be  maintained  and  protected 
according  to  the  existing  customs  and  beliefs  of  those  to  whose  faith 
they  are  sacred."  From  the  beginning  of  this  campaign  to  the  close 
of  the  year  the  British  captured  99  big  guns  and  howitzers  and  a 
large  stock  of  ammunition  with  lesser  guns  and  supplies.  On  Christ- 
mas Eve  Sir  Edmund  Allenby  sent  a  message  from  the  birthplace 
of  Christianity  to  General  Pershing,  Commander  of  the  United 
States  troops  in  France,  which  will  be  historic  in  its  terms:  "The 
British  troops  in  Bethlehem  send  to  their  American  comrades  a 
message  of  greeting  and  of  hope  that  through  the  achievement  of 
their  common  purpose  the  law  of  force  may  yield  to  the  force  of 
law,  and  peace  and  good-will  reign  at  length  on  earth." 

Meanwhile,  in  Persia,  a  British  force  of  Persians  and  1,000  troops 
from  India  under  Sir  Percy  Sykes  marched  over  1,000  miles  from 
Bunder  Albas  to  Ispahan  and  Teheran,  through  a  country  of  primi- 
tive communities  and  bandit  conditions,  with  German  agents  every- 
where; succeeded  in  establishing  order  amongst  the  tribes  in  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  country;  organized  the  Southern  Persia 
forces  of  the  Shah  in  a  sort  of  gendarmerie  under  British  officers; 
and  during  1917  held  a  part  of  the  country  safe  from  Turkish  occu- 
pation and  later  through  all  the  shifting  sands  of  Russian  success 
and  collapse.  Taken  as  a  whole  these  military  operations  in  Pales- 
tine, Mesopotamia  and  Persia  saved  Egypt  and  prevented  a  German- 
Turkish  thrust  at  India.  It  was  a  melancholy  fact  that  General 


THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY;  SUBMARINES  AND  AEROPLANES  151 

Maude  died  suddenly,  in  his  hour  of  triumph,  on  Nov.  18.  In 
Italy  British  troops  helped  to  hold  the  Piave  line  against  the  Austro- 
German  onslaught,  while  British  artillery  contingents  had  been 
brought  from  the  Italian  debacle  in  the  mountains  without  the  loss 
of  a  gun. 

The  individual  valour  of  British  soldiers  in  these  campaigns 
was  almost  inconceivable  in  volume  and  degree;  the  record  of  the 
winners  of  the  Victoria  Cross  and  D.S.O.  and  M.C.  and  other  honours 
was  replete  with  a  heroism  unequalled  in  history.  The  losses  of  the 
British  aristocracy  in  the  field  continued  large  and  a  few  of  those 
who  illustrated  the  fact  of  all  classes  sharing  in  the  struggle  were 
Major  the  Earl  of  Suffolk  and  Berkshire;  Lieut,  the  Hon.  F.  Thesiger, 
heir  to  Lord  Chelmsford,  Viceroy  of  India;  Lord  Edward  Seymour, 
brother  to  the  Marquess  of  Hertford;  the  Rev.  and  Hon.  M.  B. 
Peel,  M.C.,  son  of  the  1st  Viscount  Peel;  Lieut.-Col.  Lord  R.  Man- 
ners, son  of  the  late  Duke  of  Rutland;  Lieut,  the  Hon.  D.  B.  S.  Bux- 
ton,  son  and  heir  of  Viscount  Buxton,  Governor- General  of  South 
Africa;  were  a  few  of  those  killed  in  action  during  the  year.  Up 
to  March,  1917,  60  Peers,  120  sons  of  Peers  and  62  heirs  to  peerages 
had  been  killed  in  action.  Lieut. -Com.  A.  M.  Asquith,  the  ex- 
Premier's  son,  was  seriously  wounded,  Lieut.  C.  J.  Law,  son  of 
Mr.  Bonar  Law,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  was  killed  in  Pales- 
tine, Brig.-Gen.  Walter  Long,  D.S.O.,  C.M.G.,  son  of  the  Colonial 
Secretary,  fell  in  action  in  France.  Out  of  662  members  of  the 
House  of  Lords  239  were  in  the  Army  or  Navy  and  213  members 
of  the  Commons  out  of  670. 

Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  ever-increasing  efficiency 
of  transport  and  railways  behind  the  Western  lines;  the  immense 
supplies  of  automobiles,  motors,  motor-lorries,  artillery,  gun-carri- 
ages, war-trucks,  ammunition  waggons,  traction  engines,  wireless 
facilities,  motor-cycles,  great  and  small  guns,  field  pieces  of  every 
kind,  which  crossed  to  France  in  a  steady  stream  and  were  planted 
behind  the  troops  and  its  miles  of  shot  and  shell;  the  marvellous 
spectacle  of  the  War  machine  behind  the  fighting  lines — the  veterin- 
ary camps,  motor  garages,  mule  corrals,  supply  and  repair  camps, 
hospitals,  prisoners'  cages;  the  fact  stated  at  Washington  by  Col. 
T.  H.  Goodwin  of  the  British  Medical  Corps  (July  13)  that  up  to 
date  195  British  medical  officers  had  been  killed  and  707  wounded; 
the  collateral  fact  that  in  no  other  war  had  such  marvellous  sanitary 
and  medical  efficiency  been  shown  and  the  statement  of  a  Canadian — 
Col.  G.  G.  Nasmith,  C.M.G.,  in  Winnipeg  on  May  29 — that  "the 
army  of  Great  Britain  is  more  free  from  communicable  disease  than 
the  civilian  or  military  population  of  any  other  country  in  the  world"; 
the  conspicuous  success  of  British  armoured  cars  against  the  Sen- 
oussi  in  Egypt  and  at  the  Battle  of  Gaza  in  Palestine,  the  extraordin- 
ary construction  of  roads  by  the  Engineer  Corps  after  the  devasta- 
tion and  ruin  of  the  German  retreats  in  France  or  after  specific 
bombardments;  the  Japanese  estimate  of  September  that  there 
were  300,000  automobiles  being  used  in  the  War  of  which  Britain 
had  30,000,  France  80,000,  Russia  40,000  and  the  Teutonic  Allies 
130,000. 


152  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

It  was  a  year  of  triumph  for  the  Tanks — but  not  as  effective 
as  it  would  have  been  had  the  treachery  of  spies  been  avoided  and 
the  surprise  of  Cambrai  averted.  The  inventor  was  Col.  E.  D. 
Swinton,  C.B.,  D.S.O.,  the  sponsor  was  the  Admiralty  under  Winston 
Churchill,  the  medium  of  improvement  was  the  Committee  of 
Imperial  Defence,  the  War  Office  was  the  final  source  of  adoption 
and  the  Munitions  Department  was  responsible  for  the  manufacture. 
The  first  one  completed  was  in  February,  1916,  and  in  August 
50  of  them  had  gone  to  France.  In  British  Army  Orders  of  July 
28,  1917,  Tank  Corps  were  created  with  technical  and  working 
personnel.  The  new  "land-ships"  were  of  service  in  the  Battle  of 
the  Somme  when,  according  to  Frederick  Palmer,  they  saved  the 
lives  of  20,000  British  soldiers;  they  were  of  great  service  at  Vimy, 
Messines  and  other  battles  of  1917 — both  British  and  French; 
they  struggled  through  Turkish  hordes  at  Gaza  and  helped  in  over- 
coming Turk  defences  all  the  way  through  Palestine  to  Jerusalem 
and  beyond. 

The  Navy  continued  its  silent  work  during  1917;  it  fought  no 
great  battles  and  had  no  great  enemy  fleets  to  defeat;  yet  it  kept 
the  seas  of  the  world  clear  of  German  commerce  and  ships  and  fought 
a  never-ending  day  and  night  struggle  with  the  Submarine  and  its 
floating  mines.  Its  patrols  were  on  guard  in  the  North  Sea  through 
rough  and  fine  weather  alike,  and  if  their  ceaseless  combing  of 
the  waters  and  watching  of  the  enemy  off  Heligoland  or  Zeebrugge 
allowed  a  stray  battle-ship  to  get  through  to  the  British  coast  a 
few  times  in  a  year,  it  was  no  more  than  the  inevitable  exception 
which  proved  the  rule  of  devoted  service  and  efficient,  strenuous 
work.  The  Navy  held  this  centre  of  sea-power  in  the  North  Sea 
and  maintained  the  continuous  blockade  upon  German  coasts 
and  shipping  and  trade;  it  safeguarded  the  supply  routes  of  9  military 
fronts,  in  three  continents,  for  the  Allies — the  Western,  the  Eastern, 
the  Italian  and  the  Balkans  in  Europe,  the  Caucasian,  Mesopo- 
tamian  and  Palestinian  in  Asia,  the  Egyptian  and  East  African 
in  Africa;  its  river  gunboats  and  monitors  aided  the  Italians  at  Pola 
and  other  Austrian  points,  helped  the  Allied  armies  on  the  East 
coast  of  Africa,  supported  the  British  army  on  the  Tigris  and  the 
Persian  Gulf;  the  East  Indian  squadron  protected  the  Suez  Canal 
and  Red  Sea  and  helped  the  Army  in  Egypt;  electrically-controlled 
motor-boats  did  great  service  on  the  Belgian  coast  and  an  average 
of  80  ships  weekly  were  intercepted  and  examined  by  British  patrols; 
while  about  4,000  ships,  pertaining  to  the  Royal  Navy,  coaled,  pro- 
visioned and  kept  at  sea  year  in  and  year  out. 

It  had  a  strength  toward  the  close  of  the  year*  of  430,000  officers 
and  men,  a  tonnage  of  6,000,000,  a  total  of  3,300  vessels  engaged 
as  mine-sweepers  and  patrols  and  570  ships  of  1,750,000  tons  continu- 
ously carrying  troops  and  stores  to  all  the  theatres  of  war;  during 
the  War,  up  to  the  autumn  of  1917,  it  had  convoyed  13,000,000 
men  across  the  seas,  2,000,000  horses,  25,000,000  tons  of  explosives 
and  supplies,  51,000,000  tons  of  coal  and  oil  fuel,  130,000,000  tons 
of  food  and  other  materials,  while  30,000  tons  of  stores  and  7,000 

*NOTE. — Speeches  by  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Lord  Curzon. 


THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY;  SUBMARINES  AND  AEROPLANES     IBS 

men  were  carried  daily  to  France.  Back  of  the  War-fleet  was 
the  splendid  Mercantile  Marine  of  Britain — from  the  great  cargo 
liners  to  the  cattle-boats  and  tramp  schooners — that  in  thousands, 
week  by  week,  carried  supplies  from  every  port  in  the  world,  faced 
storm  and  submarines  and  countless  mines,  fed  and  clothed  and 
armed  millions  of  British  and  Allied  troops,  brought  dates  and  oil 
from  Mesopotamia,  wheat  from  the  Americas,  rice  and  cotton  from 
India,  rubber  and  cocoa  from  South  America,  wool  from  Australia. 
Of  this  Marine  were  the  sturdy,  tanned,  hardy  sons  of  the  sea  who 
manned  the  ships  and  did  such  invisible,  and  often  unrewarded, 
service  to  their  Empire  —  men  who  would  be  blown  out  of  one 
vessel  and  ship  into  the  next  one  that  sailed  from  the  nearest  available 
port!  Without  such  a  body  of  sailors  the  battle-fleets  would  have 
been  of  small  avail  to  an  ocean  empire  and  sea-separated  allies. 

The  losses  of  the  British  Navy  up  to  1917,  as  given  in  Jane's 
Fighting  Ship,  a  semi-official  authority,  was  a  total  of  381,105  tons; 
that  of  Germany  331,336  tons.  Yet  the  former  was  sweeping  the 
seas  continuously  in  face  of  mines  and  submarines  and  the  latter 
was,  upon  the  whole,  safe  in  port.  Meanwhile,  according  to  this 
work,  "a  new  Navy  has  been  added  to  the  British  fleet  of  1914, 
which  in  rate  of  construction,  power  of  design,  and  novelty  of  type, 
far  surpasses  anything  that  could  have  been  deemed  possible  two 
years  ago."  Another  service  to  the  Allies  and  the  world  was  indi- 
cated when  ex-President  W.  H.  Taft  of  the  United  States  asked 
at  New  York  on  Feb.  3:  "What  would  be  our  situation  to-day  if 
the  English  Navy  were  not  between  us  and  Germany?"  What, 
indeed,  would  have  become  of  the  $1,000,000,000  worth  of  war 
munitions  and  supplies  sent  from  the  United  States  to  Great  Britain 
and  her  Allies  during  the  War,  or  of  American  ports,  commerce, 
ships  and  transports  after  war  was  declared,  had  the  Submarine  won 
out  against  British  naval  strength? 

Despite  the  services  of  the  Navy  there  was  inevitable  criticism. 
On  Oct.  29  Parliament  tendered  its  thanks  for  "faithful  watch 
on  the  seas  during  three  years  of  ceaseless  danger-stress,"  but 
Winston  Churchill  a'nd  the  Daily  Mail  had  led  a  campaign  for  an 
offensive  instead  of  a  defensive  fleet,  and  Mr.  Churchill  put  his 
argument  as  follows  in  The  Times  during  July:  "Are  we  really  to 
be  content  to  see  this  vast  mass  of  about  200  (Allied)  battleships, 
with  nearly  2,000  of  the  greatest  guns  in  the  world,  and  perhaps 
15,000  smaller  guns,  all  equipped  with  the  finest  artillerymen  which 
the  resources  of  great  nations  carefully  prepared  in  years  of  peace 
could  produce,  with  enormous  numbers  of  highly  skilled,  patiently- 
trained,  competent,  professional  and  technical  ratings — is  all  this 
accumulation  of  deadly  war  energy  to  wait  idly  on  the  off-chance 
of  the  German  fleet  emerging  from  its  harbour  to  fight  a  battle, 
until  Peace,  perhaps  an  unsatisfactory  Peace,  is  declared?"  In 
December  Sir  John  Jellicoe  retired  as  First  Sea  Lord  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Admiral  Sir  Rosslyn  Wemyss — whether  this  meant  a 
change  of  strategy  did  not  appear,  though  there  was  no  doubt  that 
the  defensive  policy  of  the  Admiralty  had  been  generally  approved 
by  British  strategists  and  naval  authorities.  It  was  also  endorsed 


154  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

publicly  by  Admiral  W.  S.  Sims,  Commander  of  the  United  States 
Navy.  Meantime,  the  fact  of  the  immense  amount  of  shipping 
and  commerce  destroyed  by  the  5  raiders  which  in  3j/£  years  had 
escaped  the  British  blockade — the  Emden,  the  Moewe,  the  Eitel 
Friedrich,  the  Karlsruhe,  and  in  1917  the  Seeadler  with  its  $40,000,000 
total  destroyed,  illustrated  the  real  service  the  Navy  was  doing. 

The  other  side  of  the  Naval  shield  was  seen  in  the  Submarine 
issue.  Prior  to  the  War  this  arm  of  force  was  not  taken  very  seri- 
ously and  German  naval  statistics  showed  only  37  vessels  ranging 
from  200  tons,  with  a  range  of  1,000  miles,  a  speed  of  12  knots, 
and  2  torpedo  tubes,  up  to  vessels  of  900  tons  with  a  range  of  4,000 
miles,  speed  of  18  knots,  4  torpedo  tubes  and  4  guns.  Early  in 
1917  estimates  as  to  the  number  of  German  U-boats  ran  from  100 
to  1,000  with  a  probable  total  at  that  time  of  200  or  300.  The 
New  York  Journal  of  Commerce  put  the  figures  at  200;  the  Scientific 
American  of  New  York  on  Apr.  7  estimated  that  Germany  could 
turn  out  1,000  Submarines  in  a  year  and  based  its  belief  upon 
alleged  knowledge  as  to  the  capacity  of  German  yards;  up  to  the 
declaration  of  unrestricted  warfare  it  was  claimed  that  from  100 
to  200  Submarines  had  been  destroyed  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
2,360,000  tons  of  British  and  1,622,000  tons  of  Allied  and  Neutral 
shipping  had  been  sunk.  In  1916,  alone,  the  Allied  and  Neutral 
losses  had  totalled  2,082,000  tons.  This  (United  Kingdom)  table 
indicates  conditions: 

ENTERED  (with  Cargoes)  CLEARED  (with  Cargoes) 

Year  British          Foreign  Total  British          Foreign  Total 

1916 20,217,334       9,842,094     30,059,428  17,751,953     17,844,801     35,596,754 

1915 22,861,738     10,862,166     33,723,904  20,380,530     19,148,832     39,529,362 

1914 28,928,893     14,131,890     43,060,783  32,515,814     23,452,755     55,968.569 

Such  was  the  situation  when  Germany  decided  to  risk  war  with 
the  United  States  and  to  attempt  the  destruction  of  every  ship 
from  any  country  carrying  food  or  supplies  to  or  from  the  United 
Kingdom.  As  Dr.  Stresemann,  leader  of  the  National  German 
Liberals,  put  it  at  Hanover  on  Jan.  7:  "The  increasing  importance 
of  Submarines  should  raise  the  monthly  toll  of  tonnage  from  a  half 
to  one  million  tons.  This  would  not  only  strike  England  in  her 
economic  nerve,  but  would  mean  famine  to  the  English  population." 
On  Jan.  31  there  was  issued  a  Memorandum  from  the  German 
Government  withdrawing  its  pledge  to  the  United  States  not  to 
torpedo  merchant  ships  without  notice,  stating  that  it  now  had  to 
fight  with  "all  the  weapons  at  its  disposal,"  and  describing  the 
barred  zones  within  which  all  ships  would  travel  at  their  peril  from 
Feb.  1,  1917.  Dr.  Helfferich,  Vice-Chancellor,  spoke  at  Berlin  on 
Feb.  18  with  hopefulness  as  to  the  result:  "The  British  world- 
empire  is  now  the  object  of  powerful,  merciless  strokes  by  our 
Submarine  navy,  which  has  been  increased  in  numbers  and  efficiency. 
And  this  will  continue  until  the  day  dawns  which  every  German 
heart  ardently  awaits.  ...  If  all  do  their  full  duty — and  every 
German  does  his  duty — then  the  year  1917  will  bring  the  turning 
point  of  the  age;  will  crush  our  British  enemy  on  the  seas  and  open 


> 


THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY;  SUBMARINES  AND  AEROPLANES      155 

for  the  German  nations  the  doors  leading  to  a  free,  great  future." 
The  Chancellor,  Von  Bethmann-Hollweg,  told  the  Reichstag  on 
Feb.  27  that  he  was  satisfied:  "This  success  we  shall  be  able  to  obtain 
partly  by  sinking  and  partly  by  discouraging  neutral  shipping — 
a  success  which  has  already  happened  in  the  widest  sense." 

During  January,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  sinkings  of  British, 
Allied  and  neutral  ships  were  333,000  tons,  in  February  470,000, 
in  March  (5  weeks)  600,000,  in  April  788,000,  in  May  540,000, 
in  June  (5  weeks)  758,000,  in  July  463,000,  in  August  (5  weeks) 
591,000,  or  a  total  in  8  months  of  4,561,000  tons.*  As  against 
this  Britain  and  her  Allies  had  built  about  1,500,000  tons  of  new 
shipping.  Of  British  conditions  the  London  Times  (Oct.  12)  pub- 
lished these  figures  for  the  period  of  Feb.  17-Sept.  28:  Vessels  of 
all  nationalities  entered  at  United  Kingdom  ports,  83,763,  and  cleared 
from  them,  84,556;  number  of  British  ships  of  1,600  tons  and  over 
sunk  by  mine  or  torpedo,  587;  number  of  those  under  1,600  tons, 
and  including  fishing  craft,  367;  during  this  period  the  British  ships 
unsuccessfully  attacked  by  Submarines  totalled  511.  The  total  of 
ships  sunk  from  Sept.  28  as  above  to  Dec.  31  included  163  of  over 
1,600  tons  and  69  under  that  figure — including  fishing  vessels — 
and  an  average  for  the  11  months  of  68  a  month  in  the  former  and 
39  in  the  latter  category. 

Mr.  Lloyd  George  in  the  Commons  on  Aug.  16  stated  that  the 
net  British  losses  since  the  inception  of  Submarine  warfare  averaged 
250,000  tons  of  shipping  a  month,  or  3,000,000  tons  a  year;  that 
the  normal  peace  construction  of  shipping  was  2,000,000  a  year, 
which  in  1915  had  fallen  to  688,000  tons  and  in  1916  to  538,000 
tons;  that  it  was  now  increasing  and  in  the  first  six  months  of  1917 
was  484,000  tons  and  would,  he  hoped,  total  1,100,000  tons,  with 
330,000  tons  acquired  abroad.  The  average  figures  of  the  war- 
years  did  not  at  this  time  show  results  of  the  unrestricted  campaign 
but  they  were  equal,  in  1917,  to  all  the  sinkings  prior  to  that  period. 
Official  British  figures  made  the  total  of  all  losses — neutral  and  Allies 
also — to  Oct.  1  run  from  4  to  4j/£  million  tons,  which  was  very  far 
indeed  from  the  German  hoped-for  1,000,000  tons  a  month.  By 
the  close  of  the  year 'the  total  losses  from  Feb.  1  were  estimated 
at  about  6,000,000  tons  with  a  British  and  United  States  construc- 
tion of  over  2,000,000  tons.  Prof.  W.  M.  Dixon  of  the  University 
of  Glasgow  prepared  the  following  list  of  neutral  ships  sunk 
by  the  Germans  up  to  Apr.  26,  1917: 

Total  Total  As-  Total  Total  As- 

Torpe-  Ships  certained                                       Torpe-  Ships  certained 

Mined    doed    Sunk     Tonnage                          Mined    doed  Sunk  Tonnage 

59  60  147,923 

1  1  281 

1  1  1,419 

1  1  2,537 


Dutch  
Swedish.  .  . 
Norwegian 
Danish  .  .  . 
Spanish  .  .  . 
American  . 
Brazilian 

41 
30 
54 
20 
2 
4 

35 
71 

382 
94 
33 
16 
2 

76 
101 
436 
114 
35 
20 
2 

148,921 
99,628 
987,816 
123,385 
75,769 
59,256 
6.719 

Greek  
Argentine.  . 
Peruvian  .  . 
Uruguayan 

Totals.  .  . 

152       695       847       1,653,654 

On  Oct.  10  the  Kolnische  Zeitung,  an  influential  paper  of  Cologne, 
published  an  article  entitled  The  Race  with  Death,  which  contained 

*NOTE. — Figures  compiled  and  published  (Sept.  10)  by  C.  H.  Grasty,  War  Cor- 
respondent in  London  of  the  New  York  Times. 


156  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  following  sentence:  "If  the  dockyards  of  the  Entente  can  build 
merchant  tonnage  faster  than  our  U-boats  can  sink  it,  England 
wins  the  War."  How  far  this  was  done  can  be  approximately 
stated.  Senator  McCumber  gave  all  available  figures  to  the  United 
States  Senate  after  the  close  of  the  year  and  stated  that  the  total 
shipping  of  Allied  and  Neutral  countries  afloat  on  Dec.  31,  1917, 
was  35,810,700  tons,  as  compared  with  42,000,000  tons  in  August, 
1914,  or  a  decrease  of  only  6,000,000  tons,  while  half  of  the  existing 
tonnage  was  carrying  War  supplies  or  had  been  expropriated  for 
war- work.  Hence  the  shortage  in  shipping.  Following  the  de- 
claration of  unrestricted  warfare  Great  Britain  appointed  a  strong 
Committee  on  Mercantile  Shipping  and  Sir  Joseph  Macleay  as  Con- 
troller of  Shipbuilding ;  tremendous  activity  followed  but  difficulties 
in  labour,  strikes,  building  materials,  etc.,  intervened  to  prevent 
all  the  hoped-for  increase  of  construction. 

Standardized  ships  were  designed  and  the  first  one  tried  out  in 
September,  and  on  Oct.  11  Maj.-Gen.  F.  B.  Maurice,  Director  cf 
Military  Operations,  was  able  to  say  that:  "Nothing  the  U-boats 
have  done  has  delayed  for  a  single  hour  our  work  in  France;  the 
British  army  was  never  better  fed  or  supplied  than  to-day."  On 
the  other  hand  Great  Britain  was  on  limited  diet  with  all  manner 
of  restrictions:  Italian  munition  plants  cried  out  for  coal  and  the 
Italian  and  French  navies  were  crippled  for  want  of  fuel;  shipping 
on  the  Atlantic  was  quite  inadequate  to  carry  United  States  men 
and  supplies  and  meet  all  Allied  requirements  A  menace,  not  always 
thought  of  in  this  connection,  also  developed  greatly  from  Mar.  9 
when  Sir  Edward  Carson  had  pointed  out  that  "not  only  are  Sub- 
marines used  for  sinking  ships,  but  also  for  laying  mines  under  the 
water,  and  they  can  follow  your  mine-sweepers  as  quickly  as  you 
sweep  up  the  mines  and  they  can  lay  new  mines  without  your  know- 
ing or  suspecting  it.  Do  not  underestimate  the  dangers  or  diffi- 
culties of  that.  Mines  have  been  laid  as  far  out  as  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  and  Colombo  and  the  Gulf  of  Aden." 

As  to  the  number  of  Submarines  destroyed  or  taken  Washington 
reported  about  60  captured  in  the  first  six  weeks  of  1917;  no  official 
figures  were  issued  as  to  this  and  even  estimates  did  not  appear 
in  Britain  but  the  New  York  Times  in  April  put  the  variable  total 
at  from  7  to  25  a  week.  In  the  British  Commons  on  Nov.  1  Sir 
Eric  Geddes,  1st  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  stated  officially  that  "be- 
tween 40  and  50  per  cent  of  German  Submarines  in  the  North  Sea, 
Atlantic  and  Arctic  Sea  have  been  sunk;  that  last  quarter  the  enemy 
lost  as  many  Submarines  as  they  lost  in  1916;  that  U-boats  are 
being  sunk  to  an  increasing  extent,  but  the  Germans  are  building 
faster  than  hitherto;  that  the  net  British  loss  of  ton- 
nage during  the  War  is  2J/2  million  tons;  that  in  September 
overseas  sailings  of  large  ships  were  20%  in  numbers  and  30%  in 
tonnage  higher  than  in  April."  At  the  close  of  the  year  it  was  stated 
that  the  sinkings  of  Submarines  for  December  was  a  record  number 
and  more  than  the  German  shipyards  could  turn  out  in  a  month.  A 
vital  point,  however,  was  in  the  loss  of  German  crews — the  difficulties 
of  training  new  ones  and  of  obtaining  men  for  such  perilous  work 


THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY;  SUBMARINES  AND  AEROPLANES      157 

Meantime,  every  method  of  invention  and  the  skill  and  brains 
of  many  nations  had  been  devoted  to  schemes  for  strengthening 
or  destroying  the  Submarine.  The  British  got  a  "detector"  which 
gave  warning  of  the  approach  of  the  under-sea  boat;  the  Germans 
then  were  said  to  have  invented  a  noiseless  submarine.  Automatic 
steel  arms,  reaching  out  and  pushing  the  Submarine  away  from 
trap  nets,  was  a  German  device;  the  British  "mystery  ships"  were 
a  source  of  much  harm  to  the  enemy  for  a  time.  Great  Britain 
had  3,000  fishing  boats,  trawlers,  drifters,  fast  motor-boats,  patrol 
boats,  etc.,  armed  with  guns  and  nets,  fighting  the  Subs  in  the  North 
Sea,  while  aeroplanes  and  destroyers  and  submarine  chasers  assisted. 
The  United  States  specialists,  as  well  as  those  of  Britain,  were 
in  1917  studying  means  of  detection  and  destruction,  methods  of 
avoiding  attack,  camouflage  of  varied  nature,  smoke  screens  and 
protection  of  ships  against  torpedoes — Edison  and  Hudson  Maxim 
and  Marconi  were  all  at  work — and  deep-sea  mines  and  curtains; 
floats  and  drag-nets  were  freely  employed,  wireless  and  its  adapta- 
tions were  found  very  useful,  while  detectors  and  deflectors  had  a 
place.  Great  Britain  armed  her  merchant  vessels,  sanctioned 
deck-loading,  tried  to  accelerate  construction  and  restricted  imports. 
With  it  all  in  July,  1917,  the  United  Kingdom  had  14,000,000 
tons  in  service  with  7,500,000  tons  devoted  to  import  trade  and  the 
balance  to  war-duties,  while  Sir  Eric  Geddes,  on  Dec.  13,  stated 
that  there  was  a  distinct  downward  trend  in  mercantile  losses 
and  an  upward  trend  in  shipbuilding.  The  finally  published  figures 
of  ship  losses  and  construction  were  as  follows: 

LOSSES  MEBCANTILE  SHIP-BUILDING  OUTPUT 

United  Foreign                               United  Foreign 

Year                      Kingdom  Allies  Total  Kingdom  Countries  Total 

1914 468,728  212,635  681,363             675,610  337,310  1,012,920 

1915 1,103,379  621,341  1,724,720             650,919  551,081  1,202,000 

1916 1,497,848  1,300,018  2,807,866             541,552  1,146,448  1,688,000 

1917 4,009,537  2,609,086  6,623,623  1,163,474  1,539,881  2,703,355 


Total 7,079,492     4,743,08011,837,572         3,031,555     3,574,720     6,606,275 

Aviation  was  the  other  great  discovery  or  invention  of  the  War 
up  to  and  during  1917.  It  had  so  many  elements  of  good  in  it  as 
well  as  of  war-evil  that  all  nations  and  interests  were  concerned 
in  its  development.  In  the  War  itself  the  Air-raids  on  London, 
the  killing  and  wounding  of  civilians  and  women  and  children,  and 
the  justifiable  talk  of  British,  French  and  Italian  reprisals, 
illustrated  one  side,  while  the  high  and  chivalric  code  of  fighting 
amongst  British  aviators,  the  splendid  courage  and  devotion  to 
duty,  the  winged  romance  of  the  all- too-short  life  of  the  air,  brought 
out  a  singularly  noble  element  in  the  vast  conflict.  Before  the 
War  the  British  were  absolutely  unprepared  in  this  respect;  so 
far  as  considered  by  the  public  at  all  Aviation  was  merely  a  new 
sport.  There  was  a  Flying  School  on  Salisbury  Plain,  aircraft 
had  been  used  in  the  1913  military  manoeuvres,  and  a  few  men 
like  Admiral  Scott  and  the  imaginative  H.  G.  Wells  saw  the  future 
importance  of  the  aeroplane;  but  in  relative  standing  Germany 
was  first,  France  second  and  Britain  third,  with  about  80  aeroplanes 

*NOTE. — Officially  issued  by  Government  on  March  21,  1918. 


158  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

in  the  Royal  Flying  Corps  to  start  the  1914  campaign  with.  In 
1917  the  aeroplanes  ran  into  the  thousands  and  the  skilled  aviators 
and  mechanicians  and  pilots  into  the  tens  of  thousands.  It  was 
no  easy  task  directing  this  development  and  a  training  for  young 
men  of  18  to  25  years  of  age  which  included  wireless  telegraphy, 
photography,  aerial  gunnery,  machine  guns,  artillery  co-operation, 
flight  theory  and  practice,  rigging  of  aeroplanes,  flying,  etc. 

With  a  steady  improvement  in  machines  from  the  1914  day 
of  the  Farman  to  the  Italian  Caproni  of  1917  there  was  an  immense 
progress  in  aerial  work.  Between  1914  and  1917  the  average  speed 
rose  from  60  to  90  miles  an  hour,  high  speed  from  80  to  120  miles 
an  hour,  a  fair  height  of  climb  from  4,000  to  10,000  feet,  and  a  great 
height  from  8,000  to  20,000  feet,  a  fair  climbing  rate  from  200  to 
600  feet  per  minute,  and  a  fast  rate  from  400  to  1,200  feet  per  minute, 
a  long-distance  flight  from  120  miles  to  400,  and  big  bombing  raids 
from  12  machines  to  50  and  the  load  of  bombs  from  120  to  1,500  Ibs. 
The  character  of  the  operations,  the  work  done,  the  skill  required 
and  practiced,  increased  proportionately;  British  seaplanes  operated 
in  East  Africa,  flew  over  Syria  to  bombard  Turkish  railways  in 
Egypt,  dropped  food  into  Kut-el-Amara,  daily  bombarded  Bul- 
garian camps  and  transports,  fought  and  flew  wherever  the  Navy 
went.  The  Royal  Flying  Corps  was  everywhere  in  the  Western 
and  many  Eastern  war-fields  and  from  time  to  time  in  1917  dominated 
the  Western  front  in  particular  and  bombed  continuously  many 
German  fortifications,  war-works  and  industries,  supply  dep6ts 
and  munition  or  aeroplane  factories. 

In  Great  Britain  every  class  of  manufacture, -'big  and  small, 
which  was  not  making  munitions,  was  making  aeroplanes  or  their 
parts.  New  models  were  many,  new  devices  varied,  until  the  aero- 
plane became,  practically,  a  fast  motor  with  wings.  The  Aerial 
Coast  Patrol  of  Britain  was  a  great  and  vital  organization,  helping 
to  locate  and  assist  destroyers  in  fighting  submarines,  detecting 
submerged  mines,  searching  for  submarine  bases,  convoying  troop 
and  merchant  ships  along  the  coasts,  attacking  hostile  ships  and 
investigating  others,  protecting  ports,  conveying  information  and 
orders  to  shipping,  serving  as  "eyes"  to  the  Army  and  Navy,  help- 
ing mine-planters  and  mine-destroyers  alike.  At  the  close  of  the 
year  aerial  tanks,  or  armoured  aeroplanes,  were  said  to  be  under 
construction  by  the  Allies  and  large,  all-metal  battleplanes  by  the 
Germans.  Britain,  also,  was  making  biplanes,  carrying  19  men 
with  600  h.p.  engines  and  over  3  tons  weight  in  guns  and  ammuni- 
tion. The  Zeppelins  had  passed  in  great  measure  as  a  war-machine 
and  the  United  States  was  said  to  be  constructing  20,000  aeroplanes 
and  training  many  men — the  latter  costing  for  each  pilot  about 
$6,000  with  the  sacrifice  of  at  least  one  machine  in  learning. 

In  Great  Britain  there  had  originally  been  rivalry  and  a  mixing 
of  responsibility  between  the  R.F.C.  and  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service; 
the  creation  of  an  Air  Board  under  Lord  Curzon  and  then  Lord 
Cowdray  (Jan.  1,  1917)  had  done  much  to  relieve  this  difficulty; 
the  latter  retired  in  the  middle  of  November  and  was  succeeded 
by  Lord  Rothermere  after  his  brother,  Lord  Northcliffe,  had  de- 


THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY;  SUBMARINES  AND  AEROPLANES      159 

dined  the  post;  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  David  Henderson  did  good  work  as 
Director-General  of  Military  Aeronautics  but  was  replaced  in  October 
by  Maj.-Gen.  J.  M.  Salmond.  Lord  Northcliffe's  refusal  was  based, 
according  to  a  letter  of  Nov.  15,  chiefly  on  alleged  abuse  of  the 
Censorship,  retention  of  men  in  the  Government  toward  whom 
he  could  not  entertain  loyalty,  and  insufficient  Government  restric- 
tions upon  sedition-mongers.  Meanwhile,  there  were  many  proofs 
of  increasing  efficiency  in  the  Air  Service.  The  Zeppelin  raids  were 
finally  checked  in  the  casualties  following  the  Raid  of  Oct.  19  and 
although  these  and  the  Aeroplane  raids  which  succeeded  had  done 
and  continued  to  do  much  injury — more  than  was  known  abroad 
—the  official  figures  of  casualties  in  the  18  raids  reported  for  1915, 
the  22  in  1916,  and  14  specified  up  to  Oct.  1,  1917,  were  not  very 
large.  In  24  of  these  attacks  there  were  865  killed  and  2,500  wounded 
but  there  were  also  many  scenes  of  horror  and  destruction  and 
suffering  which  these  figures  hardly  indicate;  and  if  the  above  aver- 
age held  good  the  total  casualties  were  over  5,000. 

As  the  British  Aviation  system  developed  and  its  numbers 
and  efficiency  grew  the  enemy  casualties  increased.  One  compila- 
tion of  figures  showed  that  in  April-May,  1917,  the  Germans  on  the 
Western  front  lost  811  planes  to  the  Allies' 61 9;  for  May- August 
inclusive  the  Germans  admitted  a  loss  of  271,  the  British  claimed 
the  destruction  of  424  German  machines,  and  the  French  claimed 
197 — or  a  total  of  621.  The  Allies  also  alleged  serious  damage 
to  476  other  planes  in  that  period  whose  fate  was  not  absolutely 
determined.  Sir  Eric  Geddes  stated  in  the  Commons  on  Nov. 
11  that  in  September  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service  carried  out 
64  raids  behind  the  enemy  lines  in  Flanders,  dropping  2,736  bombs. 
The  casualties  in  men  on  all  sides — in  learning  as  in  fighting 
—were  very  heavy.  No  totals  were  published  but  Capt.  Albert 
Ball,  D.S.O.,  M.C.,  the  English  hero  of  the  R.F.C. — as  Capt.  W.  A. 
Bishop,  v.c.,  D.S.O.,  M.C.,  was  of  its  Canadian  membership — 
and  the  fighter  of  over  100  air-battles,  lost  his  life  during  1917; 
while  Capt.  W.  Leefe  Robinson,  v.c.,  who  destroyed  the  first  Zeppe- 
lin in  British  air,  was  taken  a  prisoner.  Other  heroes  of  the  air 
were  so  many  and  the  gallantry  of  this  arm  of  the  Service  so  obvious 
and  continuous,  that  further  specific  reference  would  be  invidious. 
The  French  had  a  system  of  emphasizing  distinction  by  placing 
an  aviator  in  the  class  of  "Aces"  after  he  had  destroyed  five  enemy 
machines  and  of  then  making  his  name  public.  Their  list  at  the 
close  of  1917  totalled  44  and  represented  392  German  machines 
actually  brought  down  within  the  French  lines;  it  was  headed  by 
Lieut.  Nungessor  with  30  to  his  credit,  while  13  other  Aces  had  been 
killed  in  aerial  flights.  German  air  casualties  were,  of  course, 
heavy  and  German  papers  issued  amongst  officers  were  said  in 
June  to  contain  from  two  to  ten  deaths  in  the  Flying  Corps  every 
day.  The  most  notable  in  1917  were  Walter  Hoehndorf,  Lieut. 
Vosse,  and  Capt.  Boelcke.  Major  Von  Richthofen  was  the  chief 
living  German  aviator  of  the  year  with  an  alleged  62  machines 
to  his  credit. 


100  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Air  reprisals  was  a  much-discussed  subject  in  Britain  during 
1917.  The  French  had  to  a  limited  extent  been  practicing  them 
for  some  time  and  the  immunity  of  Paris,  with  continuous  attacks 
upon  London,  were  supposed  to  illustrate  the  results.  In  April  the 
bombing  attack  upon  Freiburg  was  an  Allied  reprisal  for  the 
sinking  of  hospital  ships  and  for  a  time  it  was  effective.  Then 
the  air-raids  on  England  daily  or  weekly  developed  scenes  of  horror 
— one  of  them  described  by  Will  Crooks,  M.P.,  on  June  9  as  "the 
awful  spectacle"  at  a  school  where  10  little  children  were  killed  and 
50  others  maimed  and  wounded  in  every  conceivable  form  of  suffer- 
ing. The  opponents  of  reprisals,  including  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, many  Bishops,  Lord  Derby,  Sir  Edward  Clarke,  etc.,  argued 
that  if  a  thing  was  wrong  or  evil  in  the  enemy  it  could  not  be  justi- 
fied as  revenge  or  reprisal.  The  other  side,  headed  by  Hall  Caine, 
Robert  Blatchford,  Lord  Northcliffe,  and  aided  by  the  Northcliffe 
press,  declared  that  it  was  justifiable  when  serving  as  a  preventative; 
that  Germany  was  quite  willing  to  hold  its  view  as  long  as  Britain 
held  hers;  that  it  was  a  duty  to  first  protect  British  women  and 
children  and  only  afterwards  those  of  the  enemy;  that  reprisals 
had  military  importance  in  detaching  enemy  machines  from  the 
Western  front  to  defend  inland  centres. 

As  the  year  drew  to  a  close  the  popular  demand  for  action  de- 
veloped strongly  and  the  press,  as  a  whole,  pointed  out  that  the 
Germans  seldom  raided  Paris  or  other  French  cities  because  they 
knew  that  retaliation  would  be  prompt  and  the  damage  repaid  four- 
fold to  German  cities.  On  Oct.  2  the  Premier  declared  in  London 
that  Germany  would  be  bombed  "with  compound  interest"  and  on 
the  4th  General  Smuts,  as  a  member  of  the  War  Cabinet,  told  the 
Chambers  of  Commerce  in  London  that  "we  are  dealing  with  an 
enemy  whose  Kultur  has  not  carried  him  beyond  the  rudiments  of 
the  Mosaic  Law,  and  to  whom  you  can  only  apply  the  maxim  of 
'An  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth.'  On  that  principle  we 
are  most  reluctantly  forced  to  apply  to  him  the  bombing  policy 
which  he  has  applied  to  us.  I  am  afraid  the  Government  has  no 
longer  any  choice  in  the  matter."  The  policy  was  duly  carried 
out  but  only  tentatively  so  up  to  the  end  of  this  year. 

Ireland  and  The  year  began  with  the  usual  confusion  of  thought 

The16  RUle:     in  and  about  Ireland;   it  closed  with  a  situation  which 
National  was  serious  in  the  matter  of  increased  sedition  and 

Convention,  vital  in  the  subjects  still  under  consideration  by  a  great 
Irish  Convention  Ireland  at  this  time  was  in  a  posi- 
tion to  do  much  service  to  the  Empire  and  to  the  cause  of  liberty  in 
the  War;  the  good  it  did  was  well  done.  It  had  sent  most  gallant 
contingents  of  Orangemen  and  Catholics  to  the  front  and  Irish 
troops  on  Aug.  16,  1917,  had  greatly  distinguished  themselves  in 
the  Ypres  area,  while  Major  W.  H.  K.  Raymond,  M.P.,  had  won 
his  D.S.O.  and  the  Legion  of  Honour  before  death  caught  him  in 
action  on  June  7;  it  had  sent  five  other  M.P.s  to  the  Front — J.  T. 
Esmonde,  J.  L.  Esmonde,  S.  L.  Gwynn,  W.  A.  Redmond  and  D.  D. 
Sheehan;  it  had  in  1917  met  Britain's  need  of  food  by  increasing 


IRELAND  AND  THE  WAR;  THE  SINN  FEIN  ISSUE          161 

the  soil  cultivation  62%  over  that  of  the  previous  year,  or  from 
2,384,000  acres  to  3,034,000  acres;  its  output  of  food  and  drink- 
stuffs  reaching  Great  Britain  had  increased  from  $165,000,000  in 
value  before  the  War  to  $230,000,000  in  1915  and  still  more  in  later 
years. 

Yet  the  country  was  unable  to  settle  its  own  form  of  government 
or  satisfy  its  people  in  a  political  sense — and  discontent  was  rife; 
it  needed  improved  housing,  a  re-modelled  system  of  primary  edu- 
cation and  a  new  system  of  technical  training,  a  better  drainage 
system,  revision  of  its  railway  and  temperance  laws,  and  a  reformed 
financial  system,  but  there  was  no  organized  Government  to  do  or 
attempt  these  things.  The  War  had  not  brought  to  its  people  any 
great  munition  industries — perhaps  because  they  would  not  have 
been  entirely  safe  there — nor  had  wages  risen  appreciably.  Home 
Rule,  which  had  finally  passed  the  British  Parliament  in  1914,  was 
held  up  so  as  to  permit  of  united  Party  action  in  Great  Britain  with 
respect  to  War  issues  and  under  a  clause  which  left  its  promulgation 
subject  to  Order-in-Council.  And,  according  to  John  Dillon  in  a 
London  interview  on  Mar.  19:  "Reactionaries  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment have  been  blind  to  German  influence  in  Ireland,  blind  to 
the  fact  that  Germany  has  been  trying  all  through  the  War  to  stir 
up  Irishmen  against  British  rule.  German  money  has  poured  into 
Ireland  to  keep  up  bitterness  against  England." 

A  new  development  of  an  old  condition  had  also  come  to  Ireland 
in  the  progress  of  Sinn  Feinism  as  the  party  of  irreconcilable  dis- 
loyalty, of  anti-British  prejudice  and  even  hatred,  of  idealistic 
republicanism,  of  protest  against  everything  constitutional  or  any 
reform  proposed — except  that  of  separation  from  the  British  Em- 
pire. It  succeeded  to  the  White  Boys  of  1762,  the  Right  Boys  of 
1787,  the  United  Irishmen  of  1798,  the  Young  Ireland  of  1848,  the 
Fenians  of  1863-8.  Yet  there  were  Irishmen  at  home  and  in  other 
parts  of  the  world  who  supported  the  organization  and  its  unlawful 
acts  and  who  would  not  consider  themselves  disloyal  to  Ireland  or, 
if  living  in  Canada  or  Australia,  as  disloyal  to  the  Empire.  Prof. 
John  MacNeill,  and  other  leaders  of  the  Sinn  Fein,  did  not  want 
self-government  of  the  Canadian  or  Australian  type;  they  wanted 
an  Irish  Republic  and  to  obtain  it  would  have  had  to  wear  out  or 
conquer  by  force  the  opposition  of  England  with  its  new  armies  of 
5,000,000  men  and  to  conquer  by  arms  the  richest  and  most  indus- 
trious part  of  Ireland  itself.  This  learned  agitator  waived  all  such 
considerations  and  put  the  proposal  in  the  English  Review  of  Sep- 
tember, 1917,  as  follows:  "The  right  and  the  wise  thing  for  England 
to  do  is  to  consent  freely,  without  grudge,  if  possible  with  generous 
cordiality,  to  the  establishment  of  an  Irish  Republic  unconditionally !" 

As  an  organization  Sinn  Fein  had  developed  out  of  conditions 
preceding  the  Rebellion  of  1916  and  the  continued  refusal  of  a  ma- 
jority of  Young  Ireland  to  fight  in  the  War;  out  of  the  strong  antag- 
onisms created  by  Ulster's  struggle  against  Home  Rule  and  fear  of 
Catholic  domination;  out  of  the  English  rejection  of  conciliation 
policies  proposed  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  abandoned  by  Lord  Rosebery, 
revised  by  Mr.  Asquith  and  renewed  by  Mr.  Lloyd  George;  out  of 


162  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

a  mingling  of  racial  and  sectarian  prejudices  and  of  British  inability 
to  believe  that  it  was  safe  to  give  full  freedom  to  a  people  represented 
by  the  disloyal  utterances  of  the  Green  Book  of  1886  or  the  Rebellion 
of  1916.  Out  of  all  these  and  other  things  and  because,  also,  of 
something  naturally  combative  in  the  Irish  character,  the  Sinn  Fein 
organization,  by  the  close  of  1917,  was  said  to  have  250,000  members 
in  12,000  separate  clubs  or  branches. 

Disorder  accompanied  this  evolution  during  the  year  and  contempt 
for  the  law  was  general;  no  efforts  of  conciliation,  such  as  the  release 
of  interned  rebels  from  the  previous  year,  had  any  effect  nor  did 
the  opposite  policy  expressed  in  the  arrest  of  about  50  members  of 
the  organization  in  Limerick  and  Gal  way  on  Feb.  22nd.  Politically 
the  protests  of  John  Redmond  and  other  Nationalist  leaders  were 
disregarded;  Count  Plunkett,  a  Sinn  Feiner,  was  elected  in  North 
Roscommon  (Feb.  6)  and  Joseph  McGuinness,  the  successful  candi- 
date in  May  for  South  Longford,  was  in  gaol  for  his  share  in  the 
Rebellion.  Prof.  Edward  de  Valera  of  Dublin  University  was 
elected  for  East  Clare  in  succession  to  the  Major  Redmond  whose 
last  words  from  the  Front  to  his  wife  were  as  follows:  "If  I  do  not 
come  back  you  know  I  will  have  done  my  best  for  Ireland  and  for 
everyone."  De  Valera,  who  defeated  a  Nationalist  by  over  2,000 
majority  had  taken  part  in  the  Rebellion  and  was  now  released 
from  prison;  his  policy  was  one  of  complete  independence  and  an 
Irish  Republic;  a  little  later  he  ranked  with  James  Larkin, 
Plunkett,  Countess  Markiewicz,  Arthur  Griffith  (the  founder)  and 
John  MacNeill,  amongst  the  Sinn  Fein  leaders,  and  became,  also, 
President  of  the  organization. 

According  to  the  London  Chronicle  the  organization  at  this  time 
received  much  money  from  the  United  States  and  of  this  a  consid- 
erable part  came  indirectly  from  Germany.  By  July  drilling  and 
arming  were  going  on  and  seditious  speeches  being  delivered  over  a 
wide  Irish  area  with  a  freedom  similar  to  the  situation  in  1916;  De 
Valera  and  the  Countess  Markiewicz  of  Rebellion  fame  openly 
talked  revolution  and  the  acceptance  of  aid  from  any  country  which 
could  send  support  to  the  cause  of  Independence;  voluntary  re- 
cruiting was,  of  course,  dead  and  the  British  Government  was  afraid 
even  to  hint  at  Conscription,  while  Sir  F.  Fletcher- Vane,  a  British 
officer  in  Dublin  during  1916,  now  joined  the  Sinn  Feiners  and  urged 
a  policy  along  "the  lines  indicated  by  the  Russian  Revolution."* 
As  to  definite  objects  Arthur  Griffith,  founder  of  five  Sinn  Fein 
papers  which  had  been  suppressed  and  Editor  of  a  current  organ, 
Nationality,  told  F.  A.  McKenzie  and  other  press  correspondents  on 
Aug.  3  that: 

1.  We  want  complete  separation  from  England.     The  Irish  are  a  separate  peo- 
ple, a  distinct  nation.     The  Canadians  and  Australians  are  not.     We  do  not  want, 
and  would  not  accept,  the  status  of  a  British  Dominion. 

2.  It  is  for  the  Irish  people  to  decide  whether  they  will  have  a  Republic  or  a 
Monarchy;   to  decide  altogether  their  own  form  of  government. 

3.  As  to  Ulster  it  is  the  rule  of   the   British  people  that  minorities  submit  to 
majorities;  we  would  have  Ulster  minorities  submit  to  the  will  of  the  majority. 

*NOTE, — New  York  Post,  Aug.  25,  1917 — Letter  dated  June  23. 


IRELAND  AND  THE  WAR;  THE  SINN  FEIN  ISSUE          163 

4.  England  will  have  very  little  to  say  about  the  matter.  Everyone  knows 
that  England  is  defeated  in  the  War  already.  We  do  not  expect  to  get  these  things 
from  her  willingly,  but  she  will  have  to  give  them.  The  Conference  of  the  Powers 
will  see  to  that. 

Mr.  McKenzie  brought  away  from  the  interview  a  sense  of  the 
agitator's  intense  hatred  of  England.  The  movement  was  not 
actively  militaristic;  its  members  had  enough  of  that  for  a  time  in 
1916.  It  was  bitter  against  the  Nationalist  Party  and  John  Red- 
mond personally;  it  depended,  as  speeches  at  a  Convention  in 
Dublin  on  Oct.  26  showed,  upon  the  aid  of  Germany  and  Austria 
at  a  future  Peace  Conference;  it  demanded  the  same  liberties  as 
Poland  and  Belgium  and  Serbia  wanted  but  did  not  admit  that  this 
was  the  very  thing  Britain  was  fighting  for  against  autocracy  and 
conquest.  "It  would  break  English  law  for  Ireland's  good  but 
never  the  moral  law,"  DeValera  said  in  his  Presidential  speech  at 
the  Convention,  where  it  was  decided  by  Resolution  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  organization  should  be  trained  in  the  use  of  arms,  though 
this  training  should  not  be  compulsory.  This  Convention  adopted 
a  provisional  constitution  aimed  at  securing  International  recog- 
nition of  Ireland  as  an  independent  republic  and  by  it  the  platform 
of  the  Sinn  Fein  organization  was  approved  with  certain  paragraphs 
as  follows: 

Sinn  Fein  aims  at  securing  international  recognition  of  Ireland  as  an  independent 
Irish  Republic.  Having  achieved  that  status,  the  Irish  people  may  by  referendum 
freely  choose  their  own  form  of  government. 

This  object  shall  be  attained  through  the  Sinn  Fein  organization,  which  shall  in 
the  name  of  the  sovereign  Irish  people  (a)  deny  the  right  and  oppose  the  will  of  the 
British  Parliament  and  the  British  Crown  or  any  other  foreign  Government  to  legis- 
late for  Ireland;  (b)  make  use  of  any  and  every  means  available  to  render  impotent 
the  power  of  England  to  hold  Ireland  in  subjection  by  military  force  or  otherwise. 

Whereas  no  law  without  the  authority  and  consent  of  the  Irish  people  is  or  ever 
can  be  binding  on  their  conscience;  therefore,  in  accordance  with  the  Resolution  of 
Sinn  Fein,  adopted  in  the  Convention  of  1915,  a  Constituent  Assembly  shall  be 
convoked,  comprising  persons  chosen  by  Irish  constituencies  as  supreme  national 
authority  to  speak  and  act  in  the  name  of  the  Irish  people  and  to  devise  and  formu- 
late measures  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole  people  of  Ireland. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  thousands  of  young  fellows  were  playing 
at  being  rebel  soldiers  while  those  of  greater  youth  were  members 
of  Mme.  Markiewicz's  Boy  Scouts;  these  and  others  were  showing 
open  contempt  for  Courts  of  Law  and  the  ordinary  workings  of  the 
constitution  as  understood  by  British  people  everywhere.  At  the 
same  time  the  coming  of  the  United  States  into  the  War  and  the 
refusal  of  Irish- Americans,  outside  of  extremist  ranks,  to  approve 
Sinn  Feinism,  had  its  effect  in  moderating  somewhat  the  expression 
of  views  and  preventing  an  explosion — a  process  helped  by  the 
Irish  Convention  which  had  been  created  by  the  Lloyd  George 
Government  and  which  sat  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 
In  this  body  the  Sinn  Feiners  refused  to  participate  unless  it  were 
given  a  free  hand  to  declare  for  a  Republic  or  any  other  far-reaching 
idea;  meanwhile  Nationalists  and  Ulsterites  tried  to  find  in  it  a 
common  ground.  The  former  had  won  a  great  victory  in  obtaining 
the  passage  of  a  Home  Rule  Bill  but  the  easily^understood,  though 
possibly  mistaken,  action  of  the  British  Government  in  holding  it 


164  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

up  during  the  War  was  a  blow  to  the  Party,  a  serious  issue  for  John 
Redmond  in  personal  popularity,  a  real  help  to  Sinn  Feinism. 

Mr.  Lloyd  George  spoke  on  the  general  issue  in  the  Commons 
(Mar.  7)  with  clarity  and  conciseness  but  in  terms  which  the  Na- 
tionalists resented  strongly  through  a  speech  from  Mr.  Redmond 
and  by  leaving  the  House  in  a  body.  The  Premier  described  what 
he  termed  "the  fundamental  facts"  of  the  Irish  situation.  One 
was  that  centuries  of  ruthless  and  often  brutal  injustice  had  driven 
hatred  of  British  rule  into  the  very  marrow  of  the  Irish  race;  an- 
other was  that  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  Ireland  the  population 
was  as  hostile  to  Irish  rule  as  the  rest  of  Ireland  was  to  British  rule. 
These  fundamental  facts  raised  two  questions.  "The  first  is  whether 
the  people  of  this  country  are  prepared  to  confer  self-government  on 
the  parts  of  Ireland  which  unmistakably  demand  it!"  The  answer 
given  by  the  Premier  was  an  affirmative.  "The  second  question 
is  whether  the  people  of  this  country  are  prepared  to  force  the 
population  of  the  north-eastern  corner  of  Ireland  to  submit  to  be 
governed  by  a  population  with  whom  they  are  completely  out  of 
sympathy!"  In  his  judgment  and  that  of  the  Government,  the 
answer  was  a  negative. 

On  the  9th  the  Irish  Parliamentary  Party  issued  a  statement  in 
reply  which  was  officially  sent  to  the  Premiers  of  British  Dominions 
and  Provinces  and  the  President  of  the  United  States.  In  it  they 
interpreted  the  Government  policy  as  one  of  accepting  an  Ulster 
veto  upon  Home  Rule;  charged  the  Premier  with  changing  his 
views  as  to  the  impossibility  of  excluding  Ulster  from  the  operation 
of  the  Bill ;  described  their  concession  of  County  option  for  a  limited 
period  as  the  last  one  they  could  make;  declared  that  "the  action 
of  the  British  Government  since  the  formation  of  the  Coalition  in 
May,  1915,  culminating  in  the  Prime  Minister's  speech,  has  made 
the  task  of  carrying  on  the  constitutional  movement  in  Ireland  so 
difficult  as  to  be  almost  impossible."  Finally,  they  appealed  to 
Irishmen  everywhere  and  especially  to  the  millions  in  the  Dominions 
and  the  United  States  to  "come  to  the  aid  of  those  (Nationalists) 
who  have  rescued  Ireland  from  being  made  the  cat's  paw  and  tool 
of  Germany  and  who  are  struggling  against  terrible  odds  to  keep 
open  the  road  to  Irish  liberty  through  peaceful,  constitutional 
means."  The  Manifesto  concluded  with  a  demand  for  Home  Rule 
on  the  basis  of  the  Bill  and  as  a  principle  for  which  the  Empire  and 
the  United  States  were  fighting  in  Europe. 

Lord  Northcliffe  followed  this  up  by  an  appeal  to  the  New  York 
World  to  obtain  expressions  of  American  opinion  on  the  issue;  and 
the  result-  as  republished  in  The  Times  (Apr.  25-28),  showed  a  great 
volume  of  Home  Rule  sentiment  and  a  belief  that  the  granting  of 
it  at  this  stage  would  strengthen  the  Empire  and  consolidate  United 
States  action  in  the  War.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  W.  H.  Taft,  Charles 
W.  Eliot,  Cardinal  Gibbons  (who  urged  upon  Ulster  the  lesson  of 
the  South),  Dr.  Murray  Butler,  Mayor  Mitchel,  Alton  B.  Parker, 
Col.  George  Harvey,  Archbishop  Ireland,  were  amongst  those  who 
responded.  The  War  evoked  another  side  in  Irish-American  opin- 
ion. The  extremist  view  was  voiced  by  the  Irish  World  and  stated 


IRELAND  AND  THE  WAR;  THE  SINN  FEIN  ISSUE          165 

by  such  speakers  as  W.  Bourke  Cochran,  who  told  the  New  York 
Society  of  Illustrators'  banquet  on  Apr.  18  that  "the  European 
War  is  the  most  sordid  in  the  history  of  the  world";  that  until  the 
entry  of  the  United  States  110  belligerent  nation  could  give  a  reason 
for  being  a  participant;  that  to  compare  the  aims  and  motives  of 
the  belligerents  with  those  of  savages  in  any  past  war  would  be,  in 
substance,  to  humiliate  and  degrade  the  savages!  It  was  proven 
by  the  German  Embassy  documents  found  in  raiding  Von  Igel's 
rooms  in  New  York;  by  the  riot  which  arose  in  a  New  York  mass- 
meeting  of  32  Irish-American  organizations  when  the  Chairman 
refused  to  put  a  Resolution  urging  Mr.  Wilson  to  demand  the 
Independence  of  Ireland;  by  the  pro-German  work  of  J.  A.  O'Leary, 
John  Devoy  and  Justice  D.  F.  Cohalan,  which  was  revealed  in  the 
Von  Igel  papers,  and  as  to  the  latter  voiced  in  the  following  "very 
secret"  despatch  from  Von  Igel  to  Von  Bernstorff,  which  the  U.S. 
Government  made  public  and  which  was  dated  at  New  York, 
Apr.  17,  1916: 

Judge  Cohalan  requests  the  transmission  of  the  following  remarks:  'The  revolu- 
tion in  Ireland  can  only  be  successful  if  supported  from  Germany,  otherwise  England 
will  be  able  to  suppress  it,  even  tho'  it  be  only  after  hard  struggles.  Therefore, 
help  is  necessary.  This  should  consist,  primarily,  of  aerial  attacks  on  England  and 
a  diversion  of  the  fleet  simultaneously  with  Irish  revolution.  Then,  if  possible, 
a  landing  of  troops,  arms  and  ammunition  in  Ireland,  and  possibly  some  officers  from 
Zeppelins.  This  would  enable  the  Irish  ports  to  be  closed  against  England  and  the 
establishment  of  stations  for  submarines  on  the  Irish  coast  and  the  cutting  off  of  the 
supply  of  food  for  England.  The  services  of  the  Revolution  may,  therefore,  decide 
the  War.'  He  asks  that  a  telegram  to  this  effect  be  sent  to  Berlin. 

On  Oct.  4  the  New  York  World  published  a  letter  (Aug.  23,  1916) 
written  by  Von  Bernstorff  to  the  German  Foreign  Office,  urging  the 
use  of  influence  at  the  Vatican  to  obtain  the  appointment  of  Daniel 
Cohalan,  a  cousin  of  the  Judge,  as  Bishop  of  Cork.  A  little  later 
(Oct.  23)  Liam  Mellowes,  a  Sinn  Fein  leader  in  1916,  Patrick  Mc- 
Carton,  styled  the  First  Ambassador  of  the  Irish  Republic  to  the 
United  States,  and  Von  Recklinghausen,  a  German  subject  and 
associate  of  these  men,  were  arrested  in  New  York  (McCarton  in 
Halifax)  charged  with  trying  to  get  to  Ireland  under  false  pretences 
and  with  papers  found  in  their  New  York  rooms  showing  various 
plot  ramifications.  The  other  school  of  Irish  thought  in  the  States 
—the  school  dominant  and  general  in  Canada,  and  with  some  weight 
in  Australia — was  illustrated  by  the  meeting  in  Chicago  on  Dec.  18 
of  the  Irish  Fellowship  Club,  the  largest  Irish  organization  in  the 
city,  which  announced  the  sending  of  $10,000  to  Mr.  Redmond  as  a 
first  instalment  of  help— which  totalled  $100,000  from  the  States  a 
few  weeks  later — and  passed  the  following  declaraiion  of  belief  with 
practical  unanimity: 

Any  attempt  to  make  distinctions  between  the  Allies  is  futile,  foolish  or  insincere. 
Any  policy  which  promises  aid  to  the  cause  of  the  Allies  and  at  the  same  time  singles 
one  of  them  out  for  attack  is  self-contradictory.  We  are,  therefore,  compelled  to 
regard  any  Irishman  who  at  this  time  tries  to  embarrass  the  conduct  of  the  War  by 
any  of  the  European  Powers  as  trying  to  embarrass  America. 

Meanwhile,  the  great  Irish  event  of  the  year  had  been  taking  place 
—  a  National  Convention  on  which  might  hang  the  destiny  of 


166  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Ireland,  the  hopes  and  tears  of  history.  During  a  debate  in  the  Com- 
mons on  Mar.  22  all  the  speakers  agreed  that  something  must  be 
done  in  Ireland  and  Mr.  Bonar  Law  declared  that  the  Government 
and  country  wanted  a  settlement,  that  the  "Irish  question  was 
acting  as  a  handicap  in  carrying  on  the  War  and  that  the  Govern- 
ment had  decided  that,  in  spite  of  the  risks,  it  is  worth  while  for  us, 
on  our  own  responsibility,  to  make  another  attempt."  On  May  17 
following  the  Government  made  public  letters  from  the  Premier  to 
Mr.  Redmond,  Nationalist  leader,  and  to  Sir  John  Lonsdale,  acting- 
Leader  of  the  Ulster  Unionists,  explaining  new  Government  pro- 
posals relating  to  Ireland  to  be  included  in  a  Bill  which  would  de- 
pend for  presentation  to  Parliament  upon  something  like  a  second 
reading  acceptance  from  both  Irish  parties.  The  measure  provided 
for: 

(1)  The  immediate  application  of  the  Home  Rule  Act  to  Ireland,  but  excluding 
therefrom  the  six  Counties  of  North-east  Ulster,  such  exclusion  to  be  subject  to  re- 
consideration by  Parliament  at  the  end  of  five  years  unless  affected  by  the  second 
provision;  (2)  a  Council  of  Ireland  to  be  composed  of  two  delegations,  consisting, 
on  the  one  hand,  of  all  the  members  returned  to  Westminster  from  the  excluded  area, 
and,  on  the  other,  of  a  delegation  equal  in  numbers  from  those  of  the  Irish  Parliament; 
(3)  for  a  reconsideration  of  the  financial  proposals  of  the  Home  Rule  Act,  with  facil- 
ities provided  for  dealing  with  Irish  industrial  development,  housing  problems  and 
educational  questions. 

It  was  proposed  that  after  the  second  reading  this  Bill  and  the  Home 
Rule  Act  should  be  considered  by  a  Conference  of  all  parties.  An 
"alternative  plan"  was  suggested  of  assembling  a  Convention  of 
Irishmen  of  all  parties  for  the  purpose  of  producing  a  scheme  of 
Irish  self-government.  Mr.  Redmond  at  once  announced  "vigorous 
opposition"  to  the  proposed  Bill  but  a  readiness  to  recommend  the 
Convention  plan  to  his  people.  Wm.  O'Brien  supported  this  view 
and  Sir  John  Lonsdale  undertook  to  present  the  proposals  to  his 
Ulster  Unionist  Council — and  they  eventually  accepted  the  Con- 
vention policy — while  Lord  Midleton,  on  behalf  of  Southern  and 
Western  Irish  Unionists,  approved  the  Convention  idea.  On  May 
21  Mr.  Lloyd  George  announced  that  a  Convention  would  be  sum- 
moned at  once  to  be  composed  of  representative  Irishmen  in  Ireland 
to  submit  to  the  British  Government  a  constitution  for  the  future 
Government  of  Ireland  within  the  Empire.  If  "substantial  agree- 
ment" were  reached  as  to  the  character  and  scope  of  such  a  Consti- 
tution, the  Government  would  accept  responsibility  for  securing  the 
necessary  legislative  sanction.  The  policy  was  almost  universally 
welcomed  in  England  and  in  the  Lords  (May  21)  Lord  Curzon 
hoped  for  a  final  solution  of  the  issue,  while  Lord  Lansdowne  wished 
the  Convention  "God-speed."  In  the  Commons  on  June  11  the 
Premier  announced  that  the  Convention  would  consist  of  101  mem- 
bers, as  follows: 

Chairmen  of  County  Councils  and  Boroughs;  8  Delegates  from  Chairmen  of 
small  urban  districts. 

4  Roman  Catholic  Bishops;  the  Primate  of  the  Episcopal  Church  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin;  Dr.  John  Irwin,  Presbyterian  Moderator. 

Chairmen  of  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  Dublin,  Belfast,  and  Cork;  7  Labour 
Delegates  from  the  same  Cities. 


f\j 

? 


IRELAND  AND  THE  WAR;  THE  SINN  FEIN  ISSUE          167 

5  Nationalist  delegates;  5  Ulster  delegates;  2  O'Brienites;  2  Irish  representative 
peers;   5  Southern  Unionists;   and  5  Sinn  Feiners  if  willing  to  serve. 
15  additional  members  to  be  nominated  by  the  Government. 

On  June  15  all  Sinn  Fein  or  Rebellion  prisoners  were  released  as  a 
token  and  hope  of  conciliation.  Meanwhile,  the  Sinn  Feiners  had 
promptly  announced  they  would  take  no  part  in  the  Convention — 
as  did  Wm.  O'Brien  on  the  ground  that  it  was  "an  unrepresentative 
Assembly."  At  a  protest  meeting  in  Dublin  on  May  22  Arthur 
riffith  had  limited  his  opposition  to  a  time  when  rebel  prisoners 
ere  set  free  but  the  Government's  meeting  of  his  condition  did  not 
change  his  attitude.  The  best-known  of  the  15  Government 
nominees  to  the  Convention  were  Lord  Dunraven,  Sir  Horace 
Plunkett,  Lord  Desart,  Lord  Granard,  Lord  MacDonnell,  Sir  Craw- 
ford McCullough;  and  of  the  4  Nationalists  Mr.  Redmond  and 
Joseph  Devlin.  Lord  Londonderry  was  the  chief  of  the  5  Ulster 
Unionists  and  Lord  Midleton  of  the  5  Southern  Unionists. 

Of  the  93  delegates  present  at  the  first  meeting  in  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Dublin,  on  July  25,were,  also,  the  Duke  of  Abercorn,  Sir  Henry 
Blake  and  the  Earl  of  Mayo;  Bishop  O'Donnell  of  Raphoe,  Bishop 
Kelly  of  Ross,  and  Bishop  Harty  of  Cashel;  Archbishops  Crozier  of 
Armagh  and  Bernard  of  Dublin  (Anglican).  Mr.  H.  E.  Duke, 
Irish  Secretary,  presided  and  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  was  elected  as 
permanent  Chairman.  The  proceedings  of  the  Convention  were 
private  and  it  sat  at  intervals  up  to  the  close  of  the  year  and  after- 
wards. Meantime,  according  to  Arnold  Bennett,  writing  on  Nov. 
8,  all  sections  of  Dublin  Castle  officials  worked  for  the  success  of 
the  Convention.  He  described  Mr.  Duke  as  perhaps  the  best  Chief 
Secretary  Ireland  ever  had — an  English  Conservative  and  con- 
vinced Home  Ruler;  the  Attorney-General,  James  O'Connor,  K.C., 
as  a  young  Irish  Catholic  and  ardent  Nationalist;  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, Sir  Ignatius  O'Brien,  as  a  Catholic  and  Nationalist,  and  the 
Solicitor-General,  A.  W.  Samuels,  K.C.,  as  a  Protestant  and  Con- 
servative. Sir  Wm.  Byrne,  Under-Secretary  for  Ireland,  and  his 
Assistant,  Sir  Edward  O'Farrell,  were  both  Irishmen  and  Catholics. 
In  the  Commons  on  Oct.  23  Mr.  Redmond  moved  the  follow- 
ing Resolution  (rejected  by  211  to  78):  "That  this  House  deplores 
the  policy  which  has  been  pursued  and  is  being  pursued  by  the 
Irish  Executive  Government  and  the  Irish  military  authorities  at  a 
time  when  the  highest  interests  of  Ireland  and  the  Empire  demand 
the  creation  of  an  atmosphere  favourable  to  a  successful  result  of 
the  deliberations  of  the  Irish  Convention."  During  the  ensuing 
debate  Mr.  Redmond,  pleaded  for  the  waiving  of  contentious  issues 
or  the  pursuit  of  provocative  policies. 

Mr.  Duke,  Chief  Secretary,  in  his  reply,  stated  that  Ireland  had 
practical  immunity  from  the  miseries  of  war;  that  it  enjoyed  pros- 
perity in  industry,  while  its  public  services  were  maintained  and 
its  supplies  cared  for;  that  its  young  men  were  not  subject  to  Con- 
scription. He  described  the  current  campaign  of  anarchy,  declared 
that  "the  unconscripted  young  men  of  Ireland  were  being  enrolled 
by  avowed  enemies  of  the  Empire  for  the  creation  of  a  new  rebellion"; 
that  some  of  the  leaders  of  this  organized  sedition  were  the  very 


168  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

men  who  had  been  released  from  prisons  in  order  to  create  an  atmos- 
phere of  good-will  for  the  assembling  of  the  Convention;  and  stated 
that  the  Government  could  not  permit  "latitude  for  the  commission 
of  crime."  Mr.  Asquith  expressed  his  sense  of  the  critical  situation 
— for  the  Convention,  the  Government,  Ireland  and  the  Empire; 
while  Mr.  Lloyd  George  declared  that  they  could  not  treat  as  of 
no  consequence  speeches  such  as  those  of  Mr.  de  Valera,  the  manu- 
facture of  arms,  or  the  drilling  of  young  men  and  that  the  Chief 
Secretary  had  taken  great  risks  through  fear  of  provoking  disunion, 
but  after  the  experience  of  last  year  could  not  go  beyond  the  limit 
already  reached.  At  the  close  of  1917  no  conclusion  had  been 
reached  by  the  Convention  and  Sir  H.  Plunkett,  on  Dec.  24,  issued 
a  statement  as  follows:  "I  cannot  say  that  we  will  be  able  to  present 
a  unanimous  report;  but  I  can  tell  you  that,  at  the  end  of  our  de- 
liberations, we  shall  leave  the  Irish  question  better  than  we  found  it." 

During  these  difficult  months  the  attitude  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  had  been,  practically,  one  of  Nationalism  as  understood  by 
Mr.  Redmond  and  his  followers.  There  were  powerful  exceptions, 
as  with  the  Bishop  of  Limerick,  who  supported  Sinn  Feinism  as  he 
had  the  1916  Rebellion;  there  were  a  number  of  priests  who  took 
the  same  view  and  were  present  at  various  Sinn  Fein  meetings. 
In  this  1917  crisis,  however,  certain  basic  facts  stood  out  clearly. 
The  first  was  the  issue  of  a  joint  Manifesto  in  May,  signed  by  three 
of  the  four  Catholic  Archbishops  and  15  of  the  24  Catholic  Bishops, 
together  with  3  Bishops  of  the  Anglican  Church  in  Ireland  and  5 
Chairmen  of  County  Councils,  declaring  that  under  no  circumstances 
must  Ireland  be  divided  under  a  Home  Rule  system  either  through 
County  option  or  by  Provincial  government,  and  that  such  parti- 
tioning of  the  country  would  be  fought  by  a  unanimous  Nationalism. 
The  second  was  that  Bishops  Harty,  Kelly,  Mullory  and  O'Donnell 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  Convention.  The  third  was  the 
issue  of  a  Pastoral  on  June  19  from  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of 
Ireland,  in  session  at  Maynooth,  and  signed  by  H.E.  Cardinal 
Logue  as  Chairman,  which  declared  that  "the  clergy  should  earn- 
estly exhort  their  people  to  beware  of  all  dangerous  associations  and 
sedulously  shun  all  movements  that  are  not  in  accord  with  the 
principles  of  Catholic  teaching  and  doctrine.  For,  as  it  is  well 
known  to  students  of  theology,  all  organizations  that  plot  against 
the  Church,  or  lawfully  constituted  authority,  whether  openly  or 
secretly,  are  condemned  by  the  Church  under  the  gravest  penalties." 

Priests  were  reminded  of  the  regulations  prohibiting  attendance 
at  public  meetings,  except  by  permission,  and  told  that  it  was 
strictly  forbidden  "to  speak  of  political  or  kindred  affairs  in  the 
church."  Individual  Bishops  pressed  home  these  instructions. 
Dr.  Cohalan  of  Cork  urged  that  the  Convention  be  given  a  fair  trial. 
Dr.  Foley  of  Kildare  issued  a  warning  to  his  people  on  Oct.  10:  "I 
wish  to  say  that  subjects  are  bound  to  obey  the  civil  authority  not 
only  through  fear  of  its  wrath  but  for  the  sake  of  conscience.  .  .  . 
There  is  no  doubt  that  rebellion  in  the  circumstances  of  Ireland  is 
absolutely  unjustifiable  from  the  point  of  view  of  Divine  law." 
Dr.  Gilmartin  of  Clonfert,  early  in  November,  declared  that  "the 


MAJOR  WILFRID  MAVOR,  M.C.,  D.S.O., 
15th  Battalion,  Toronto;    son  of  Prof. 
James  Mavor. 


PTE.  PETER  ROBERTSON,  v.c., 
175th  Battalion,  Medicine  Hat,  Alberta. 


LIEUT.  FREDERICK  MAURICE  WATSON 

HARVEY,  v.c., 
13th  C.M.R.,  Medicine  Hat. 


CAPT.  FREDERICK  WILLIAM  CAMPBELL,  v.c., 
Mount  Forest,  Ont.,  1st  Battalion. 
Died  of  wounds,  June  19,  1915. 


CANADIAN  WINNERS  OF  MILITARY  HONOURS. 


AUSTRALIAN  ^  POLICY  AND  ELECTIONS  IN  1917  169 

teaching  of  theologians  is  that  resistance  by  physical  force  to  the 
de  facto,  established,  Government  is  justified  only  in  extreme  cases, 
when  the  following  conditions  must  be  present:  (1)  The  Govern- 
ment must  be,  in  the  judgment  of  the  large  body  of  the  people, 
tyrannical;  (2)  that  constitutional  or  legal  means  are  not  available; 
(3)  that  there  is  good  hope  of  success,  so  that  resistance  to  the  Gov- 
ernment by  armed  force  will  not  entail  greater  evils  than  it  seeks  to 
remedy.  In  my  judgment,  these  conditions  do  not  exist  at  present 
in  this  country,  and  therefore  recourse  to  armed  force  in  the  present 
circumstances  is  morally  unlawful."  Finally,  H.E.  Cardinal  Logue, 
in  a  letter  read  to  the  Churches  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Armagh  on 
the  last  Sunday  in  November,  said: 

We  have  troubles  and  unrest  and  excitement  and  dangers  here  at  home,  which 
render  domestic  peace  necessary.  Whether  it  be  due  to  the  demoralization  which 
this  world-war  has  brought  to  almost  every  country,  or  to  the  fate  which  seems  to 
hang  over  our  own  unhappy  country,  blasting  her  hopes  when  they  seem  to  brighten, 
an  agitation  has  sprung  up  and  is  spreading  among  our  people  which,  ill-considered 
and  Utopian,  cannot  fail,  if  persevered  in,  to  entail  present  suffering,  disorganization, 
and  danger,  and  is  sure  to  end  in  future  disaster,  defeat  and  collapse.  And  all  this 
in  pursuit  of  a  dream  which  no  man  in  his  sober  senses  can  hope  to  see  realized — the 
establishment  of  an  Irish  Republic,  either  by  an  appeal  to  the  potentates  of  Europe 
seated  at  a  Peace  Conference  or  an  appeal  to  force  by  hurling  an  unarmed  people 
against  an  Empire  which  has  five  millions  of  men  under  arms,  furnished  with  the  most 
terrible  engines  of  destruction  which  human  ingenuity  could  devise.  The  thing 
would  be  ludicrous,  if  it  were  not  so  mischievous  and  fraught  with  such  danger,  when 
cleverly  used  as  an  incentive  to  fire  the  imagination  of  an  ardent,  generous,  patriotic 
people. 

Australia  in  William  Morris  Hughes  continued,  during  1917,  to 

Union     dominate  Australian  political  affairs.     He  did  a  wise 
Government,    ,1  •  •  •  TT   •         /^  i 

General  Elec-  thing   in   organizing   a    Union   Government,   a  brave 

tions  and  thing  in  fighting  a  general  election  upon  the  Con- 
Conscription  scrip tion  issue,  a  disappointing  thing  in  referring  the 
latter  matter  to  a  second  Referendum.  Political  difficul- 
ties were  considerable.  Neither  the  Hughes  Labour  party,  the  Opposi- 
tion or  Caucus  Labourites,  nor  the  Liberals,  had  a  majority  over  the 
other  two — although  the  Liberals  had  the  largest  following;  in  the 
Senate  the  Opposition  Labour  section  had  a  small  majority  over 
both  parties.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  matter  of  coalition  or  chaos,  with 
a  general  election  in  the  offing  which  did  not  promise  a  solution 
unless  preceded  by  coalition. 

In  January  there  were  continued  conferences  between  J.  Hume 
Cook,  ex-Premier  and  Opposition  Liberal  leader,  and  Mr.  Hughes, 
as  a  Labour  leader — with  special  reference  to  Australian  representa- 
tion at  the  Imperial  War  Conference  through  a  coalition  of  parties; 
F.  G.  Tudor,  Leader  of  the  official  anti-Hughes  wing  of  the  Labour 
party,  was  urged  to  join  these  Conferences  and  a  national  War 
Government  but  without  success;  in  February  terms  were  settled 
between  the  Hughes  party  and  the  Liberals  under  which  the  latter 
were  to  have  six  members  in  a  Cabinet  of  eleven;  a  meeting  of  State 
Premiers  was  held  at  Melbourne  and  a  Resolution  passed,  declaring 
that  "the  time  has  arrived  when  party  issues  should  be  subordinated 
to  the  winning  of  the  War,  the  preservation  and  development  of 


170  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Australian  national  life,  and  the  maintenance  of  Empire  solidarity"; 
on  Feb.  16  it  was  announced  that  minor  difficulties — especially  the 
retention  of  Senator  Pearce  as  Minister  of  Defence,  which  Mr. 
Cook  opposed,  had  been  overcome.  The  new  War  Government 
was  sworn  in  on  the  17th  as  follows: 

Position  Name  Politics 

Prime  Minister  and  Attorney-General.  .Rt.  Hon.  William  Morris  Hughes..  .Labour 

Minister  for  the  Navy Rt.  Hon.  Joseph  Hume  Cook Liberal 

Treasurer Rt.  Hon.  Sir  John  Forrest 

Minister  of  Defence Senator  George  Foster  Pearce Labour 

Minister  of  Works  &  Railways Hon.  William  A.  Watt Liberal 

Minister  of  Customs Hon.  Jens  August  Jenson Labour 

Minister  of  Home  Affairs Hon.  Patrick  McMahon  Glynn ....  Liberal 

Postmaster-General Hon.  William  Webster Labour 

Assistant  Attorney-General Hon.  Littleton  Ernest  Groom Liberal 

Vice-President  Executive  Council Hon.  Edward  Davis  Millen 

Honorary  Minister Hon.  Edward  John  Russell Labour 

Subsequently  Mr.  Millen  was  appointed  to  the  new  Ministry  of 
Repatriation  and  Mr.  Groom  took  his  place.  The  state  of  parties 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  at  this  juncture  was  as  follows: 
Liberal-Ministerialists,  34;  Labour-Ministerialists,  14;  Independ- 
ent, 1;  Opposition-Labour,  26;  or  a  Coalition  majority  of  23.  In 
the  Senate  Opposition-Labour  had  19  seats;  Liberal-Ministerialists, 
5;  Labour-Ministerialists,  12;  or  an  Opposition  majority  of  2.  Sir 
W.  H.  Irvine,  a  prominent  Liberal  leader,  promised  his  support  to 
the  Government  and  it  was  intended  that  he  should  accompany 
Mr.  Hughes  to  the  War  Conference,  but  political  conditions  finally 
prevented  any  Australian  representation  getting  across  in  time. 
Meanwhile,  at  Geelong  (Jan.  26)  just  before  this  re-organization, 
Mr.  Hughes  had  stated  his  personal  position  as  follows: 

I  have  been  all  my  public  life  a  member  of  the  Labour  Party.  I  have  not 
spared  myself  in  its  service,  and  have  worked  without  respite  for  Labour.  Some 
say  I  have  been  too  zealous  in  the  cause  of  Labour,  but,  rightly  or  wrongly,  I  believed 
in  its  ideals.  I  was  a  strong  party  man,  but  from  the  day  War  broke  out  I  put  party 
interests  aside  and  those  of  the  nation  in  their  place.  I  have  severed  the  ties  of  a 
lifetime,  I  have  broken  with  the  most  powerful  organization  ever  established  in 
Australia,  and  have  drawn  down  upon  my  head  the  denunciations  and  hatred  of  those 
who  for  years  were,  or  had  professed  to  be,  my  friends  and  supporters.  ...  I  hope 
my  Liberal  friends  will  remember  that  I  broke  with  my  party  not  because  I  did  not 
believe  in  the  Labour  platform,  but  because  the  Labour  movement  was  being  prosti- 
tuted to  a  mean  and  ignoble  aim.  In  the  supreme  hour  of  national  danger  it  failed 
to  think  and  act  nationally. 

Following  the  Coalition  the  Premier  met  Parliament  on  Feb.  22 
and  outlined  his  policy  as  (1)  appointment  of  a  Minister  to  give 
his  whole  time  to  the  question  of  returned  soldiers;  (2)  the  obtain- 
ing of  $350,000,000  for  War  purposes  in  the  current  year  with  a 
War  debt  already  totalling  $655,000,000;  (3)  amending  the  Tariff 
so  as  to  develop  Australian  production  and  industry;  (4)  respect 
for  the  people's  1916  verdict  against  Conscription  and  the  obtaining 
of  more  men  by  an  intensified  voluntary  campaign;  (5)  representa- 
tion of  Australia  at  the  Imperial  War  Conference  and  prolongation 
of  the  life  of  Parliament  for  six  months  after  the  termination  of  the 
War;  (6)  a  white  Australia  and  financial  tax  arrangements  with 
the  different  States  so  as  to  avoid  dual  impositions.  Every  effort 
was  made  to  obtain  Senate  support  for  Government  legislation 


AUSTRALIAN  POLICY  AND  ELECTIONS  IN  1917  171 

along  these  lines  but  in  vain — the  anti-Conscription,  anti-Hughes 
element  stood  firm. 

Finally,  Parliament  was  dissolved  on  Mar.  26  with  Elections 
fixed  for  May  5.  It  was  a  bitter  contest.  Mr.  Hughes  entered  it 
with  such  prestige  as  was  afforded  by  his  vehement,  spectacular  and 
eloquent  campaign  in  England*  against  Germanized  trade  and 
industry  and  for  adequate  Dominion  control  in  Empire  government; 
and  with  the  influence  of  Liberal  support  behind  the  loyal  wing  of 
the  powerful  Labour  party  which  he  had  led  and  which,  when  united 
under  him,  was  dominant  in  the  Commonwealth.  He  had  against 
him  a  keen,  personally-hostile,  majority  wing  of  the  Labour  party; 
all  who  believed  that  the  Labour  leaders  in  Caucus  should  make 
and  unmake  Ministries  and  Ministers  and  policies;  all  who  shared 
the  views  of  the  I.W.W. — a  strong  organization  in  Australia  which 
Mr.  Hughes  had  dealt  with  mercilessly,  had  disbanded  and  impris- 
oned and  endeavoured  to  smash  up;  all  who  disliked,  feared,  or 
misunderstood  the  Conscription  issue  of  1916,  and  all  who  were 
opposed  to  the  War  as  pro-Germans,  extreme  Socialists,  Pacifists, 
etc.;  all  the  Irish  followers  of  Dr.  Daniel  Mannix,  who  upon  the 
death  of  Archbishop  Carr,  to  whom  he  had  been  Co-Ad jutor,  became, 
in  1917,  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Melbourne;  all  those  who 
had  personally  encountered  the  biting  invective  by  which  Mr. 
Hughes  in  his  long  political  career  had  made  many  enemies.  It 
was  a  contest  of  conditions  rather  than  party — the  caucus  of  organ- 
ized Labour  having  become  so  iron-clad  and  autocratic  in  its  domin- 
ance that  all  personal  conviction  was  eliminated  and  Mr.  Hughes 
on  the  Conscription  issue,  though  its  leader  and  the  National  Prime 
Minister,  had  either  to  accept  its  negative  view  and  give  up  office, 
or  retire  from  the  Party  and  fight  his  former  colleagues. 

Australian  soldiers  and  sailors  on  active  service  had  votes,  as 
did  Commonwealth  electors  abroad  on  War-work,  nurses  and  muni- 
tion workers.  Late  in  March  Mr.  Tudor,  as  Leader  of  the  Caucus 
Labourites — a  member  of  Mr.  Hughes'  Ministry  prior  to  the  Con- 
scription issue — published  an  Address  to  the  electorate,  declaring 
that  if  returned  to  power  the  Labour  party  would  (1)  do  its  utmost 
under  the  voluntary  system  to  secure  men  for  the  Front;  (2)  that  it 
would  promote  shipbuilding  and  help  the  Allies  by  stimulating  food 
and  metal  production;  (3)  that  a  system  of  Tariff  revision  would 
be  immediately  adopted  with  a  view  to  protecting  Australian  manu- 
facturers; (4)  that  War  profits  would  be  additionally  taxed  and  a 
heavy  Income  tax  imposed;  (5)  that  the  Daylight  Saving  measure 
would  be  repealed  as  being  vexatious  and  ineffective;  (6)  that  "we 
will  again  submit  to  a  referendum  the  proposal  to  extend  the  powers 
of  the  Commonwealth  Parliament  and  we  will  provide  pensions  for 
widows  and  orphans";  (7)  that  Australia  should  be  represented  at 
the  War  Conference  but  that  all  decisions  affecting  Australia  should 
be  subject  to  the  Federal  Parliament.  A  little  later  the  Premier 
issued  to  Australian  electors  in  general  a  Manifesto  declaring 
that: 

*NOTE. — See  Australian  Section  in  1916  volume. 


172  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  National  Government  which  I  have  the  honour  to  lead,  is  composed  of  men 
of  different  parties,  who  are  united  on  the  War  and  on  all  that  is  necessary  to  achieve 
victory.  It  is  composed  of  men  loyal  to  Australia  and  to  the  Empire.  They  regard 
it  as  a  sacred  duty,  in  this  great  war  for  liberty  against  German  military  despotism, 
to  put  the  welfare  of  the  Commonwealth  before  the  narrow  interests  of  party.  Labour 
men  who  have  joined  hands  with  the  Liberals  are  animated  by  the  same  spirit  that 
has  moved  the  members  of  the  British  Labour  party  to  join  hands  with  Mr.  Lloyd 
George  and  Mr.  Bonar  Law  in  order  that  Great  Britain  may  stand  united  against 
the  enemy. 

We  stand  for  the  Empire,  for  the  prosecution  of  this  war  to  decisive  victory. 

We  are  against  premature  peace,  and  for  tjie  lasting  peace  which  can  come  only 
when  the  military  despotism  of  Prussia  is  utterly  destroyed. 

We  stand  for  the  Government  of  the  people  through  their  elected  representa- 
tives as  against  government  by  secret  juntas  of  irresponsible  persons  working  in  the 
interests  of  cliques  and  sections. 

We  stand  for  the  rule  of  law  against  anarchy;  for  arbitration  as  against  strikes; 
for  public  and  private  economy. 

We  are  for  new  avenues  of  employment  for  our  people  by  the  development  of 
our  resources  and  the  encouragement  of  our  industries. 

We  are,  in  a  word,  for  a  fair  deal  for  all  men. 

The  result  on  May  5  was  a  great  triumph  for  the  Government  with 
large  majorities  for  most  of  the  Ministers.  To  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives 53  Liberals  and  Hughes-Labourites,  or  Nationalists  as 
the  combination  was  called,  were  elected,  and  22  Caucus-Labourites 
or  Opposition  supporters,  were  chosen — giving  a  Government  ma- 
jority of  31;  to  the  Senate,  where  one-half  the  membership  of  36 
had  retired  by  rotation,  the  whole  18  elected  at  this  juncture  were 
Government  supporters — giving  it  a  majority  of  12  in  the  Upper 
House.  With  the  return  of  Mr.  Hughes  to  power  and  his  unusual 
triumph — Australian  Governments  were  generally  beaten  at  the 
polls  or  in  Parliament  by  narrow  majorities — the  question  of  Con- 
scription came  at  once  to  the  forefront  though  everything  possible 
was  done  to  stimulate  recruiting  and  avoid  it.  Senator  Pearce 
had  stated  (Feb.  28)  that  in  conformity  with  the  requirements  of  the 
War  Office,  16,500  men  a  month  were  still  needed  to  reinforce 
the  Australian  Expeditionary  Force  at  the  front  and  that  the  num- 
ber of  volunteers  in  January  was  not  nearly  sufficient  as  only  5,348 
men  enlisted  in  that -month. 

Donald  Mackinnon,  Director-General  of  Recruiting,  employed 
every  means  known  to  promote  interest  and  attract  attention; 
women  were  urged  to  sacrifice  their  feelings  for  men  who  would  not 
do  their  national  duty ;  New  Zealand  and  Maori  troops  were  brought 
to  Sydney  in  May  and  were  given  a  great  reception;  while  the 
Premier  addressed  a  series  of  meetings.  On  July /  4  it  was  announced 
that,  for  the  first  time,  the  number  of  Australian  casualties  exceeded 
the  number  of  recruits,  and  Mr.  Hughes  (July  6)  began  a  further 
enlistment  campaign  with  the  hope  of  raising  the  5,000  a  month 
total  to  7,000 — which  were  all  that  were  then  asked.  A  Federal 
Recruiting  Committee,  consisting  of  members  of  both  parties  in  the 
Federal  Parliament,  was  also  appointed  to  assist  the  Director- 
General.  To  point  these  calls  sharply  the  statistics  of  casualties 
up  to  July  28,  1917,  were  published  as  follows:  Deceased,  28,547; 
wounded,  43,238;  missing,  4,056;  sick,  27,207;  prisoners  of  war, 
2,143;  and  nature  of  casualties  not  specified,  248;  total,  105,439. 


AUSTRALIAN  POLICY  AND  ELECTIONS  IN  1917  173 

The  total  number  of  embarkations  to  June  30,  1917,  was  306,227. 
The  failure  of  voluntaryism  was  due  to  some  causes  special  to  Aus- 
tralia, such  as  a  high  rate  of  wages  fixed  by  the  Industrial  Courts; 
a  phenomenal  passion  for  racing  and  other  sports  which  had  not  as 
yet  been  checked;  the  distraction  of  political  contests  in  the  Com- 
monwealth, and  some  of  the  States,  in  which  I.W.W.,  anti-War, 
Sinn  Fein  and  Pacifist  utterances  of  all  kinds  were  rife. 

Finally  the  decision  for  a  new  Referendum  was  come  to;  it  was 
announced  that  if  it  were  defeated  the  Government  would  resign, 
and  the  date  fixed  was  Dec.  20th.  The  Government  believed  the 
Labour  hostility  to  be  less  than  it  was  a  year  before;  it  hoped  some- 
thing from  the  prestige  of  the  Canadian  elections  and  an  urgent 
cablegram  from  Sir  Robert  Borden;  it  thought  the  troops  at  the 
Front  would  be  more  favourable.  On  the  other  hand  various  si  rikes 
had  muddled  the  Labour  situation  and  the  I.W.W.  and  Sinn  Fein 
elements  were  quite  incorrigible;  Archbishop  Mannix  had  about 
20%  of  the  population  to  play  upon  with  an  Irish-Catholic  hostility 
to  the  issue  which  showed  intense  bitterness;  supporters  of  Con- 
scription regretted  the  delay  involved  in  a  Referendum  and  thought 
Parliament  should  have  dealt  with  the  matter  by  legislation;  the 
personal  and  party  equation  was  not  brought  to  bear  upon  the  issue 
as  in  the  general  election  of  April  and  in  that  of  Canada.  The 
Premier  issued  a  Manifesto  declaring  that  Australia  must  maintain 
her  five  Divisions  in  France  and  her  forces  in  Palestine  and  else- 
where at  their  full  strength  and  to  do  this  7,000  men  per  month 
were  necessary. 

It  was  promised  that  under  the  new  law  enlistment  would  con- 
tinue and  compulsion  only  be  used  to  bring  the  total  up  to  7,000  a 
month;  the  choice  would  be  confined  to  single  men,  only,  between 
the  ages  of  20  and  44  years,  including  widowers  and  divorcees  with- 
out children  dependent  upon  them.  There  were  to  be  many  exemp- 
tions and  the  Government  was  to  prescribe  the  industries  essential 
to  the  prosecution  of  the  War  and  the  national  welfare  of  Australia, 
with  a  special  tribunal  to  determine  the  amount  of  labour  necessary 
for  their  effective  operation.  In  November  Mr.  Hughes  issued  a 
Manifesto  to  Australian  soldiers  serving  abroad,  in  which  he  out- 
lined the  proposals  of  the  Government  and  stated  that  voluntary 
recruiting  had  failed  to  produce  the  7,000  men  "required  to  keep 
your  battalions  at  effective  strength  on  General  Birdwood's  esti- 
mate." The  Government  considered  this  power  essential:  "If  you 
refuse  to  endorse  its  policy  on  this  question,  then  it  will  have  no 
option  but  to  hand  over  the  reins  of  government  to  the  extremists 
who  are  opposing  it  in  this  fight."  He  dealt  with  one  of  his  oppo- 
nents in  strenuous  terms: 

Archbishop  Mannix,  who  has  assumed  the  position  of  Leader  of  the  Govern- 
ment's opponents  in  this  fight,  has  preached  sedition  in  and  out  of  season.  You  who 
are  near  the  vortex  of  world  affairs  know  what  Sinn  Fein  means.  You  know  its 
disloyalty,  its  insatiable  hatred  of  Britain.  Yet  Dr.  Mannix  declares:  'You  in 
Australia  are  Sinn  Feiners,  and  more  luck  to  you.'  The  Sinn  Fein,  which  has  gotten 
German  gold  to  do  Germany's  dirty  work,  declares  that  every  man  who  wears  khaki 
is  a  traitor.  .  .  .  It  is  Dr.  Mannix  who,  now  that  Britain  has  set  her  back  to  the 
wall  and  is  fighting  for  her  existence  against  the  enemies  of  liberty  and  democracy, 


174  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

declares  that  Ireland  will  seize  her  opportunity  and  strike  for  Independence.  His 
disloyal  utterances  have  moved  prominent  Catholics  in  Australia  to  public  protest — 
Mr.  Justice  Heydon,  Mr.  Justice  Duffy,  Sir  Thomas  Hughes. 

Loyalty  was  the  basis  of  Mr.  Hughes'  campaign — in  which  he 
travelled  3,000  miles  and  addressed  18  meetings  in  two  weeks; 
meetings  were  stormy  beyond  compare,  with  returned  soldiers  tak- 
ing energetic  part;  every  effort  was  made  to  organize  the  women 
and  Mme.  Melba  cabled  an  appeal  from  the  United  States  to  sup- 
port Conscription;  all  the  political  leaders  of  the  Opposition  ex- 
pressed loyalty  and  win-the-war  views — Mr.  Tudor  himself  having 
a  son  at  the  Front — but  contended  that  denuding  Australia  of  men 
who  should  be  engaged  in  war  industries  was  not  the  best  way  of 
helping;  the  State  Premiers  of  New  South  Wales,  Victoria,  Tasmania 
and  South  Australia  supported  Conscription,  while  Mr.  Ryan  of 
Queensland  opposed  it.  A  further  statement  (Dec.  14)  from  the 
Premier  told  the  soldiers  that: 

Voluntary  recruiting  has  failed  and  pacificism,  I.W.W.-ism,  Sinn-Fein  and  pro- 
German  influences  are  responsible  for  its  failure.  The  same  influences  that  led  to  the 
defeat  of  compulsion  on  Oct.  28, 1916,  have  doomed  voluntaryism.  They  are  against 
all  recruiting,  voluntary  or  compulsory.  The  recent  strike,  the  most  disastrous  in 
the  history  of  Australia,  was  engineered  by  these  sections  for  the  deliberate  purpose 
of  destroying  the  Government  and  rendering  its  war  policy  abortive. 

When  the  figures  were  made  up  it  was  found  that  Conscription 
was  again  defeated,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  the  reported  total 
was  1,013,000  in  favour  and  1,178,000  against,  with  New  South 
Wales  as  the  chief  antagonistic  State  and  Queensland,  Victoria  and 
South  Australia  also  voting  in  the  negative,  while  Western  Australia 
and  Tasmania  were  favourable  and  the  soldiers,  also,  gave  a  small 
affirmative  majority.  The  total  vote  was  larger  by  104,000  than  in 
1916,  and  the  hostile  majority  had  risen  from  73,000  to  165,000. 
The  result  evoked  world-wide  comment  but  whatever  it  may  have 
meant  it  certainly  upset  the  political  situation  and,  if  Hon.  F.  G. 
Tudor,  Labour  leader,  had  possessed  a  majority  or  thought  he 
could  win  one  at  the  polls,  it  would  have  put  him  in  power.  At  the 
close  of  the  year  Mr.  Hughes'  resignation  was  in  order  and  the 
whole  party  organization  of  the  Commonwealth  was  in  a  state  of 
turmoil.  * 

Meanwhile  the  Labour  situation  in  Australia  had  been  complex, 
dangerous  to  the  State,  hampering  to  War  administration.  The 
Labourites  were  no  more  disloyal  as  a  class  than  elsewhere  in  the 
Empire  but  whatever  pro-German  elements  there  were  in  the  coun- 
try fastened  themselves  upon  the  Caucus  organization  and  helped 
in  every  process  or  policy  which  might  cause  national  disorganiza- 
tion: Apart  from  the  defeat  of  Conscription  and  discouragement 
of  recruiting,  the  strikes  of  August  and  September  did  great  harm. 
The  New  South  Wales  strike,  which  started  the  trouble,  arose 
(Aug.  2)  from  the  Government's  introduction  of  a  card  system  of 
recording  time  in  its  tramways  and  railway  workshops  which  the 
Unions  claimed  was  a  process  of  "speeding  up";  the  Government 


*NOTE. — On  Jan.  8,  1918,  he  did  resign  but  Mr.  Tudor  failed  to  form  a  Govern- 
ment and  Mr.  Hughes  returned  to  office. 


AUSTRALIAN  POLICY  AND  ELECTIONS  IN  1917  175 

contended  there  was  absolutely  no  real  grievance,  that  the  move- 
ment was  inspired  by  disloyal  leaders  and  the  I.W.W.,  that  it  was 
supported  with  a  view  to  defeating  a  Government  by  industrial 
weapons  after  failing  to  do  it  with  political  ones. 

For  a  time  paralysis  developed  and  at  one  stage  hundreds  of 
lousands  of  tons  of  overseas  and  coastal  steamers  were  lying  idle 
ind  27  transports  were  held  up  in  Australian  ports,  while  every 
iportant  industry  throughout  Australia  (including  mining,  manu- 
jturing  and  transportation)  was  affected.  Then  the  Government 
>k  hold,  declared  the  strikes  illegal,  refused  to  recognize  the  leaders 
Committees,  except  as  law-breakers,  called  and  obtained  volun- 
jrs  to  carry  on  the  Services  and  arrested  a  number  of  the  strike 
iders,  commandeered  the  coal  mines  and  operated  them  for  the 
public.  After  a  few  stormy  and  serious  weeks  the  people  so  rallied 
to  the  support  of  the  Government  that  strike  and  strikers  collapsed 
and  this  form  of  Unionism  received  the  severest  blow  it  had  ever 
been  struck;  the  card  system  was  maintained  and  loyal  workers 
and  volunteers  who  desired  to  stay  were  retained  at  their  posts;  20 
Unions  in  New  South  Wales  were  de-registered  and  legislation  was 
passed  to  strengthen  the  Government  in  dealing  with  the  I.W.W. 
and  anarchism.  At  this  time  the  official  records  showed  453  Unions 
in  Australia  with  303,507  members  and  19,257  out  of  employment. 
Meantime,  while  Australians  at  home  were  fighting  amongst 
themselves  those  in  the  trenches  were  doing  heroic  service  for  the 
Empire  and  human  liberty.  At  the  end  of  October,  out  of  382,000 
enlistments  298,000  men  had  gone  overseas,  with  a  current  strength 
abroad  of  216,000.  Of  these  16,000  were  in  Egypt  and  Palestine, 
104,000  in  France,  and  72,000  in  England.  Australian  troops  took 
part  in  some  stirring  scenes  on  the  Western  front.  Their  patrols 
were  the  first  to  enter  Bapaume  on  Mar.  17,  after  a  Battalion, 
representing  all  the  States,  had  worked  its  way  through  the  inner  de- 
fences of  the  town;  and  after  their  troops  had  held  for  five  long  months 
of  severe  winter  most  of  the  trenches  opposite  this  place  under  all 
the  appalling  conditions  of  the  Somme  battlefield.  Of  the  struggle 
at  Lagnicourt  during  this  battle  Philip  Gibbs  wrote  as  follows,  on 
Apr.  17: 

Battalions  of  Prussian  Guards,  charging  in  waves,  broke  through  our  forward 
posts  and  drove  a  deep  wedge  into  our  positions,  where  they  stayed  for  a  time,  doing 
what  damage  they  could.  But  the  Australian  staff  officers  were  swift  in  preparing 
and  delivering  a  counter  blow.  Companies  swept  forward,  and,  with  irresistible 
spirit,  flung  themselves  upon  the  Prussians,  forcing  them  to  retreat.  They  fell  back 
in  an  oblique  line  from  their  way  of  advance,  forced  deliberately  that  way  by  the 
pressure  and  direction  of  the  Australian  attack.  At  the  same  time  our  batteries 
opened  fire  upon  them  with  shrapnel  as  they  ran,  more  and  more  panic-stricken, 
towards  their  old  lines.  The  greatest  disaster  befell  them,  for  they  found  themselves 
cut  off  by  their  own  wire,  those  great  broad  belts  of  sharp  spiked  strands  which  they 
had  planted  to  bar  us  off.  What  happened  then  was  just  appalling  slaughter.  The 
Prussians  struggled  frantically  to  tear  their  way  through  the  wire,  to  climb  over  it 
and  under  it.  They  fell  so  that  dead  bodies  were  piled  upon  dead  bodies  in  long  lines 
of  mortality  before  and  in  the  midst  of  that  spiked  wire,  and  the  Australian  soldiers, 
quiet  and  grim,  shot  on  and  on  till  more  than  1,500  German  corpses  lay  on  the  field 
of  Lagnicourt. 


176  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

During  the  fighting  in  April  the  Australian  troops  advanced  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Bullecourt  and  this  village  and  vicinity  were 
the  scene  of  fierce  struggles.  F.-M.  Sir  Douglas  Haig  in  one  of  his 
despatches  (Dec.  25)  stated  that:  "The  5th  Army  launched  an  attack 
on  Apr.  11  against  the  Hindenburg  line  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Bullecourt.  The  Australian  and  West  Riding  battalions  showed 
great  gallantry  in  executing  a  very  difficult  attack  across  a  wide 
extent  of  open  country."  Considerable  progress  was  made,  and 
parties  of  Australian  troops,  preceded  by  tanks,  penetrated  the 
German  positions  as  far  as  Riencourt — though  later  ordered  to 
withdraw.  During  the  Ypres-Comines  drive  of  the  British  on 
Sept.  20  Australian  troops  stormed  the  famous  Glencorse  Wood, 
while  South  Africans  and  British  were  taking  neighbouring  positions. 
According  to  Renter's  correspondent:  "To  the  Anzacs  and  some  of 
the  British  troops  which  served  General  Plumer  so  well  at  Messines, 
fell  what  might  have  been  expected  to  prove  the  stiffest  part  of  the 
great  day's  work.  They  acquitted  themselves  nobly.  For  the 
Australians  it  was  the  most  completely  successful  achievement  in 
their  glorious  career." 

Sir  Douglas  Haig  described  this  advance  as  "a  fine  performance, 
in  which  the  capture  of  a  difficult  piece  of  ground  that  had  much 
delayed  us  was  successfully  completed."  On  Sept.  26  the  Aus- 
tralians carried  the  remainder  of  Polygon  Wood,  together  with  the 
German  trench  line  to  the  east  of  it,  and  established  themselves  on 
their  objectives  beyond  the  Becelaere-Zonnebeke  road.  On  Oct.  8 
in  another  drive  of  British  troops  Daisy  Wood,  north-east  of  Brood- 
seinde,  where  the  Germans  had  long  stubbornly  resisted  all  attacks 
and  held  to  their  positions  because  of  natural  difficulties  of  the  ground, 
was  quickly  overrun  by  the  Australians  who  took  many  positions. 
It  may  be  added  that  on  July  6  General  Wm.  Holmes,  C.M.G., 
D.S.O.,  who  had  commanded  the  5th  Australian  Brigade  in  the 
Dardanelles,  was  killed  in  the  trenches  and  Hon.  W.  A.  Holman, 
Premier  of  New  South  Wales,  wounded  by  shell  while  inspecting 
the  Australian  forces.  Meanwhile,  the  gallantry  of  the  Australian 
troops  had  been  honoured  in  many  ways.  The  year  saw  the  list  of 
Australian  V.C.  heroes  rise  to  18 — some  with  bars  and  Military 
Crosses  or  a  D.S.O.  in  addition.  Surg.-Gen.  N.  B.  Howse,  v.c., 
C.B.,  was  made  a  K.C.B.,  as  was  Colonel  the  Hon.  James  Burns, 
M.L.A.;  Brig. -Gen.  S.  A.  Pethebridge,  C.M.G.,  and  Maj.-Gen. 
H.  G.  Chauvel,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  were  given  the  K.C.M.G.  From  the 
beginning  of  the  War  up  to  Apr.  16,  1917,  150  Australians  also  had 
won  the  D.S.O.,  415  the  M.C.,  1,180  the  Military  Medal,  and  413 
the  D.C.M. 

It  may  be  added  that  Parliament  in  August  approved  a  War- 
time Profits  Tax  Bill.  The  tax  was  50  per  cent,  for  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1916,  and  75  per  cent,  afterwards,  and  was  levie/1  on  excess 
profits  made  after  June  30,  1915.  The  War  Loans  of  Australia 
included  two  from  the  British  Government,  totalling  $247,000,000, 
and  five  internal  ones — three  of  which,  floated  in  1915-16,  totalled 
$293,000,000,  with  one  in  April,  1917,  which  brought  $107,000,000 
and  another  in  November  of  $101,000,000— a  net  total  of  $748,000,- 


AUSTRALIAN  POLICY  AND  ELECTIONS  IN  1917  177 

000.  Patriotic  Funds  were  generously  supported  and  up  to  August, 
1917,  the  total  was  estimated  at  $36,000,000.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  year  the  total  was  $33,000,000  for  all  the  States  and  was  appor- 
tioned as  follows: 

State  Amount  State  Amount 

Victoria. . .                                .  $  8,950,870       Western  Australia $  1,648,115 

New  South  Wales 13,212,520       Tasmania 1,050,825 

Queensland 4,726,435 

South  Australia 3,507,495               Total $33,096,260 

This  figure  included  $7,323,000  collected  for  Belgian  Relief  and 
$9,683,000  for  Red  Cross  funds.*  There  was  a  great  variety  of 
Funds  and  the  help  was  generous  for 'every  useful  cause — various 
Patriotic  Funds  re  Soldiers,  War  and  Unemployment,  Y.M.C.A., 
Tobacco  Funds,  Trench  Comforts,  Russian,  Serbian,  Polish  and 
Montenegrin  Relief,  Aeroplanes,  Motor  Ambulances  and  Motor 
Cars  for  the  Front,  Blue  Cross,  etc.  During  the  year  Australia 
completed  (Oct.  1)  its  Transcontinental  Line  running  1,051  miles 
from  Kalgoorlie  in  Western  Australia  to  Port  Augusta  in  South 
Australia  on  a  partly  interior  route,  connecting  Perth,  Adelaide, 
Melbourne,  Sydney  and  Brisbane,  costing  $35,000,000  and  built 
entirely  by  Government  action  without  the  aid  of  contractors.  The 
total  Australian  casualties  up  to  July  28,  1917,  were  105,439  and  the 
total  embarkations  to  June  30  were  306,227;  the  Hon.  E.  D.  Millen 
estimated  the  amount  of  money  raised  by  Australia  for  war  purposes 
up  to  the  close  of  1917— voluntary  and  by  loan— as  $1,000,000,000. 
A  plague  of  mice  developed  during  the  year  and  in  millions  fed  upon 
the  wheat  stored  in  such  quantities  throughout  the  country,  despite 
millions  of  others  being  killed;  the  net  profits  of  23  Australian  banks, 
with  a  paid-up  capital  of  $116,700,000,  were  stated  in  February  to 
have  totalled  $15,000,000  in  1915-16  with  dividends  averaging  9'26%. 
An  interesting  matter  was  the  visit  of  several  notable  Australians 
to  Canada  during  the  year — including  Hon.  Alfred  Deakin,  ex- 
Premier  of  the  Commonwealth;  Sir  W.  Baldwin  Spencer,  F.R.S., 
Professor  of  Biology,  University  of  Melbourne;  Hon.  W.  A.  Holman, 
Premier  of  New  South  Wales;  Hon.  H.  C.  Hoyle,  member  of  the 
Holman  Government,  and  Hon.  J.  D.  Connolly,  new  Agent-General 
in  London  for  that  State.  Mr.  Holman  attracted  attention  in  Can- 
ada, in  England  and  in  the  United  States  for  speeches  which  were 
emphatic  as  to  the  future  retention  by  the  Empire  of  German  col- 
onies in  the  Pacific  and  which  touched  new  ground  at  several  points. 
At  a  luncheon  in  London  (June  22)  he  stated  his  hope  that  there 
would  be  reprisals  against  Germany,  that  the  men  who  began  the 
air-raids  would  eventually  be  tried,  condemned  and  hanged  as 
murderers,  and  that  German  prisoners  in  England  would  be  put  to 
work.  At  Sheffield  on  Aug.  6  he  declared  that  Conscription  should 
be  a  permanent  measure;  in  London  on  Aug.  15  he  urged  before 
the  Liberal  War  Committee  that  the  Minister  of  Munitions  should 
meet  striking  labourers  face  to  face  and  explain  matters,  and  that 
at  the  Front  novel  and  untried  methods  of  warfare  be  practiced. 
To  the  Bankers'  Club,  New  York,  on  Sept.  20,  Mr.  Holman  said: 

*NOTE. — For  valuable  statistics  in  this  connection  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  D.  H. 
Ross,  the  efficient  Canadian  Trade  Commissioner  in  Australia. 
12 


178  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

"We,  in  Australia,  pay  for  the  transportation  of  our  own  troops,  we 
pay  them  their  wages  of  $1.50  a  day.  We  pay  for  all  the  munitions 
they  fire  away."  In  Canada  he  addressed  the  Canadian  Clubs  at 
Montreal,  Toronto  and  other  places. 

At  Toronto  on  Sept.  5  Mr.  Hoyle  told  the  press  that :  "We  have 
for  years  before  the  War  had  a  large  German  propaganda  in  Australia 
under  the  guise  of  International  Socialism.  It  was  German  to  the 
core.  As  soon  as  war  broke  out  the  emissaries  disappeared  quickly." 
On  Oct.  1  Mr.  Connolly  told  the  Toronto  Globe  that  "wages  in 
Australia  are  now  regulated  by  an  Arbitration  Court  presided  over 
by  a  Supreme  Court  Judge  and  comprising  a  representative  nomi- 
nated by  the  employees  and  another  by  the  employers.  The  mini- 
mum wage  for  unskilled  labour  is  ten  shillings  ($2.50)  per  day." 

South  Africa  The  Union  of  South  Africa,  with  its  white  popu- 
^j£  the  War;  jation  of  abouj.  1,300,000— of  which  more  than  half 
publican  were  Dutch  in  origin  and  a  considerable  faction 
Movement.  opposed  to  doing  anything  in  the  War  or  for  the 
Empire — yet  accomplished  much.  A  reasonably  safe 
sea-service  secured  by  Great  Britain,  coasts  clear  of  enemy  offensives 
or  danger  and  British  contributions  of  men  and  money,  helped 
in  the  process  but  did  not  detract  from  the  outstanding  achieve- 
ments of  Generals  Botha  and  Smuts  as  civilian  and  military  leaders 
of  the  people  and  their  armies.  Between  August,  1915,  and  May, 
1917,  66,150  men  had  enlisted  for  Overseas  service  and  44,214 
for  service  in  South,  East  or  West  Africa.  Besides  these  about 
4,000  men  went  to  England  at  their  own  expense  and  hundreds 
volunteered  for  the  Aviation  Corps.  South  African  troops  had 
suppressed  the  Rebellion,  furnished  the  forces  for  conquering  German 
South-west  Africa,  provided  the  bulk  of  troops  which  carried 
on  the  long  and,  finally,  successful  campaign  in  German  South- 
east Africa,  contributed  an  Expeditionary  force  which  won  a 
brilliant  record  in  Flanders  and  units  which  figured  in  the  fight- 
ing in  Mesopotamia,  Egypt,  Gallipoli  and  Macedonia. 

Civilians  had  contributed  upward  of  $10,000,000  by  the  close 
of  1917  to  various  War  Funds  and  patriotic  purposes;  while  tens 
of  thousands  of  black  labourers  had  been  recruited  for  service  behind 
the  lines  in  Europe  and  in  East  Africa  for  road-making,  shipping 
and  transportation  work  generally.  This  question  of  native  labour 
overseas  was  not  clearly  understood  there  or  abroad.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  the  natives  volunteered  their  services,  they  were  accepted 
under  strict  supervision  and  were  doing  splendid  work;  they  came 
largely  from  Bechuanaland,  Swaziland  and  Basutoland,  which  in 
any  case  were  under  direct  Imperial  control.  At  the  request  of 
the  Imperial  Government  that  of  the  Union  had  formed  a  Rail- 
way battalion  of  men  drawn  from  local  services  for  work  in  France. 
On  Apr.  13,  1917,  Hon.  F.  S.  Malan,  Minister  of  Mines,  announced 
that  the  Union  Government  had  decided  to  make  a  grant  of  $5,000,- 
000  to  the  Imperial  authorities  in  recognition  of,  but  not  in  com- 
pensation for  the  protection  afforded  to  South  African  trade  by  the 
British  Navy;  and  the  estimates  providing  for  this  sum  were  duly 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  WAR;  A  REPUBLICAN  AGITATION   179 

voted  on  June  28.  During  the  year  this  and  other  matters  of 
war-concern  were  widely  and  often  bitterly  discussed  and  crudely 
misrepresented  by  the  Nationalists,  under  J.  B.  M.  Hertzog.  Lord 
Buxton,  the  Governor-General — who  lost  his  son  at  the  Front 
on  Oct.  9 — in  opening  Parliament  (Feb.  16)  announced  proposals 
for  a  more  adequate  pension  for  the  Overseas  troops;  declared  that 
the  devoted  and  gallant  services  rendered  to  the  Empire  by  the 
South  African  forces  overseas  reflected  great  credit  on  officers 
and  men  who  were  upholding  the  honour  of  South  Africa  and  de- 
served the  gratitude  of  their  fellow-citizens;  hoped  that  it  would 
be  possible  not  only  to  maintain  the  Overseas  contingent  at  full 
strength,  but  to  augment  it;  stated  that  Ministers  had  continued 
to  organize  as  many  volunteers  as  possible  for  service  abroad  and 
in  Africa  and  desired  to  render  His  Majesty's  Government  all  possi- 
ble assistance  in  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  War. 

Meantime  military  operations  under  control  of,  or  in  which 
South  Africa  was  vitally  interested,  were  important.  A  despatch 
from  General  Northey  as  to  the  Nyassaland-Rhodesia  force  in 
German  East  Africa  dated  Mar.  10,  1917,  dealt  with  the  conquest 
of  20,000  square  miles  of  territory;  about  the  same  time  a  despatch 
was  made  public  from  Major-Gen.  J.  C.  Smuts,  describing  the 
operations  in  that  country  following  the  occupation  of  the  Kili- 
manjaro-Aruscha  area  in  1916.  The  larger  problem  of  the  conquest 
of  the  whole  of  this  great  German  colony  necessitated  the  re-organi- 
zation of  the  East  African  forces  and  this  had  been  done  by  forming 
three  divisions  under  General  Smuts  as  Commander-in-Chief; 
other  military  agencies  in  the  conquest  were  the  troops  under  Gen- 
eral Northey  and  Sir  Charles  Crewe,  the  Belgians  who  advanced 
on  Tabora  and  the  Portuguese  who  had  come  through  on  the  extreme 
north.  Of  the  troops  generally  General  Smuts  said:  "The  plain 
tale  of  their  achievements  bears  the  most  convincing  testimony 
to  the  spirit,  determination,  and  prodigious  efforts  of  all  ranks." 

Lieut.-Gen.  A.  E.  Hoskins  eventually  replaced  General  Smuts 
on  his  call  to  England  late  in  1916;  in  April,  1917,  Maj.-Gen.  J.  L. 
van  Deventer  succeeded  to  the  command;  and  a  Boer  officer  thus 
closed  a  great  British  campaign  which  a  Boer  General  had  com- 
menced. It  must  be  added  that  the  British  or  Boer  military  leaders 
had  a  German  opponent  in  Col.  Von  Luttow-Vorbeck  who,  in  mili- 
tary skill,  was  worthy  of  their  steel  and  who  organized  black  contin- 
gents of  great  fighting  capacity  and  value.  General  Smuts  in  fact 
described  these  Askiri  troops  under  German  leadership  as  "the 
most  formidable  force  of  black  troops  I  have  ever  seen,"  and  the 
German  pre-war  scheme  of  organizing  African  negroes  into  one 
of  the  most  powerful  armies  in  the  world  as  eminently  practicable. 
In  this  campaign — of  which  only  the  straggling  ends  had  to  be 
brought  together  after  his  departure — General  Smuts  had  to  con- 
tend with  an  army  of  about  50,000  of  these  troops,  stiffened  by 
a  thousand  Germans  and  strengthened  with  powerful  artillery, 
observation  balloons  and  many  machine  guns.  To  meet  them 
he  had  some  British  soldiers  and  some  British  South  Africans, 
thousands  of  Boer  volunteers,  the  Belgian  troops  and  about  12,000 
negro  soldiers  from  various  parts  of  South  Africa. 


180  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

On  Dec.  1,  1917,  General  van  De venter  was  able  to  telegraph 
the  Union  Government  that:  "German  East  Africa  is  completely 
cleared  of  the  enemy.  Thus  the  whole  of  German  overseas  posses- 
sions have  passed  into  our  hands  and  those  of  our  Belgian  allies. 
Only  a  small  German  force  now  remains  in  being.  This  has  taken 
refuge  in  adjoining  Portuguese  territory  and  measures  are  being 
taken  to  deal  with  it."  Thus  a  country,  nearly  double  the  size 
of  Germany  itself,  was  conquered  and  with  that  of  South-west 
Africa,  already  conquered,  a  veritable  empire  was  acquired.  Through 
these  efforts  and  the  sacrifices  involved  the  South  African  Union 
had  secured  a  real  voice  in  the  disposal  of  a  sub-continent  and  the 
dreams  and  statecraft  of  Cecil  Rhodes  were  verging  on  accom- 
plishment. The  situation  in  this  great  portion  of  the  African 
continent  at  the  close  of  1917  showed  the  British  flag  waving  over 
the  following  regions : 

Area  Total  Proportion 

(Sq.  Miles)  Population  of  Whites 

Cape  Province 276,995  2,564,965  582,377 

Natal 35,290  1,194,043  98,114 

Transvaal 110,426  1,686,212  420,562 

Orange  Free  State 50,392  528,174  175,189 

Basutoland 11,716  404,507  1,396 

Bechuanaland 275,000  125,000  1,692 

Rhodesia 438,575  1,570,559  34,379 

British  East  Africa 248,000  4,000,000  3,500 

Uganda 109,119  2,927,494  1,903 

Nyassaland 39,573  1,139,900  785 

Total 1,595,086       16,140,854         1,319,897 

German  South-east  Africa 384,318         7,500,000  5,536 

German  South-west  Africa 322,450  264,830  14,830 


Total 706,768         7,764,830  20,366 

On  the  Western  front,  in  Europe,  South  Africans  maintained 
the  reputation  of  their  1916  exploits  at  Delville  Wood.  During 
the  Battle  of  Arras,  for  instance,  and  not  far  from  the  Canadians 
in  their  capture  of  Vimy,  the  South  African  troops  stormed  a  posi- 
tion with  what  the  London  Times  correspondent  of  Apr.  13  de- 
scribed as  "great  gallantry."  Sir  Douglas  Haig  in  his  Report 
noted  this  as  a  complete  success  north  of  the  Scarpe  where  "troops 
from  Scotland  and  South  Africa  who  had  already  stormed  St.  Lau- 
rent Blagny  captured  Attries."  In  the  3rd  Battle  of  Ypres  on  Sept. 
20  Renter's  correspondent  stated  that  the  South  Africans  did  splen- 
did work.  They  swept  forward  toward  their  mark  with  irresis- 
tible elan,  and  the  Commander-in-Chief  afterwards  referred  to  this 
fighting  as  follows:  "Scottish  and  South  African  troops,  advancing 
on  both  sides  of  the  Ypres-Roulers  railway,  stormed  the  line  of 
fortified  farms  immediately  in  front  of  their  position  and,  pressing 
on,  captured  Zonnebeke  and  Bremen  Redoubts  and  the  hamlet 
of  Zevenkote." 

As  to  the  political  position  the  Premier  and  his  South  African 
party  were  sure  of  the  Unionist  party  support  under  Sir  Thomas 
Smartt  upon  all  matters  of  pro-British  war  policy  and  this  gave 
General  Botha  93  seats  out  of  130.  The  Nationalist  minority 
of  27,  however,  under  General  J.  B.  M.  Hertzog,  was  bitterly  an- 
tagonistic, anti-British,  anti-War  and  anti-Empire.  It  concentra- 
ted in  its  support  all  Boer  prejudices  and  hatreds  of  the  older- time, 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  WAR;  A  REPUBLICAN  AGITATION    181 

the  racial  bitternesses  and  crude  ignorances  of  the  Veldt,  all  the 
elements  which  once  looked  for  a  South  African  Republic,  from 
the  Cape  to  the  Zambesi,  under  Boer  control.  The  Government, 
however,  while  accepting  and  needing  Unionist  support  did  not 
cater  to  it  or  even  receive  it  with  public  gratitude — influenced, 
no  doubt,  by  the  difficulty  of  holding  Boer  support  in  a  country 
where  there  were  over  700,000  Dutch  people  to  600,000  English- 
speaking,  besides  70,000  Jews,  a  number  of  Germans  and  others, 
surrounded  by  nearly  16,000,000  blacks.  Hence  it  was  that  Gen- 
eral Botha  opposed  Coalition;  with  the  Nationalists  it  was  impossi- 
ble, with  the  Unionists  unwise.  As  to  the  principles  of  the  South 
African  party  of  which  General  Botha  was  leader,  an  outline  was 
given  late  in  1917  by  Sir  Meiring  Beck,  Minister  of  Posts  and  Tele- 
graphs, as  involving:  (1)  the  creation  of  a  self-dependent  South 
Africa  by  means  of  the  development  of  its  resources,  agricultural 
and  industrial,  and  through  the  medium  of  racial  co-operation; 
(2)  the  maintenance  of  law,  order,  and  constitutional  rule;  (3) 
a  determination  to  protect  and  defend  the  constitution;  (4)  whole- 
hearted acceptance  of  the  principle  that  the  voice  of  the  majority 
must  be  accepted  as  the  ruling  voice;  (5)  the  recognition  of  obli- 
gations and  responsibilities,  as  well  as  privileges,  under  the  British 
Crown. 

During  1917  the  seeds  of  Nationalist  propaganda  had  taken 
root  and  grown  into  bold  advocacy  of  republican  ideas  with  other 
Separatist  activities  of  a  varied  nature.  In  the  background,  every- 
where, were  Gen.  Hertzog  and  his  followers;  all  the  assistance  that 
could  be  given  by  German  emissaries  and  old-time  Boer  irrecon- 
cilables  was  given.  The  Nationalist  press  and  speeches  teemed 
with  assertions  hostile  to  British  connection,  to  the  Governor- 
General  and  his  alleged  encroachments  upon  constitutional  rights, 
to  the  burdensome  responsiblities  of  the  War.  So  pronounced  did 
the  campaign  become  that  General  Botha  (June  15)  issued  a  warn- 
ing to  the  Transvaal  members  of  his  Party  to  be  on  their  guard 
against  "a  false  and  misleading  propaganda  for  Independence." 
After  describing  the  proposal  as  impracticable  and  dangerous  and 
as  leading  to  "bitterness,  division,  race  hatred  and  even  to  civil 
war,"  he  concluded  with  these  words:  "My  warning  is  intended 
very  earnestly,  because  I  foresee  in  this  movement  nothing 
but  ruin  for  South  Africa  and  disastrous  consequences  for 
the  South  African  people.  I  appeal  above  all  to  our  pioneers  and 
the  fathers  of  the  people  to  follow  the  safe  way  of  honour,  along 
which  a  great  future  awaits  us." 

The  Nationalist  reply  to  the  Premier  was  a  Manifesto  issued 
by  its  Federal  Council.  It  stated  in  terms  of  sinister  moderation 
that  it  was  an  undeniable  fact  that  in  the  hearts  of  a  very  con- 
siderable section  of  the  population  of  South  Africa  there  was  a  strong 
desire  for  complete  Independence;  that  the  right  of  self-govern- 
ment would  naturally  develop  in  the  direction  of  greater  self-de- 
pendence; that  the  movement  for  a  closer  union  of  the  Empire 
was  in  complete  conflict  with  this  tendency;  that  the  republican 
sentiment  already  existing  had  been  greatly  accentuated  by  the 


182  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

policy  of  the  War,  and  that,  in  short  "the  existence  of  a  republi- 
can sentiment  in  the  country  is  wholly  explicable  and  legitimate." 
Violence  was,  of  course,  deprecated,  whether  it  was  intended  "to 
bring  about  or  to  prevent  a  change  of  status."  On  June  20  Parlia- 
ment recognized  the  evils  of  the  situation  by  passing  (72  to  21  votes) 
a  Resolution  presented  by  the  Rt.  Hon.  J.  X.  Merriman,  a  veteran 
statesman,  seconded  by  C.  Louw,  a  Dutch  member,  as  follows: 

That  this  House,  viewing  with  alarm  several  manifestations  of  a  republican 
propaganda  now  being  carried  on  in  this  country,  desires  to  record  its  opinion  that 
such  manifestations,  whether  by  speech,  writing  or  other  methods,  are  directly  at 
variance  with  the  constitution  as  laid  down  and  agreed  to  in  the  South  African  Act; 
that  they  are  opposed  to  the  best  interests  of  the  people,  and  if  persisted  in  must 
inevitably  lead  to  fatal  dissensions  and  to  the  ultimate  ruin  of  the  European  race  in 
South  Africa.  This  House,  therefore,  calls  upon  all  those  who  are  loyal  to  the  con- 
stitution to  express  the  strongest  disapproval  of  the  dangerous  efforts  of  those  who 
seek  to  subvert  the  principles  upon  which  that  constitution  is  based. 

Speaking  at  Robertson,  Cape  Colony  (June  24)  General  Botha 
—who  had  a  son  at  the  Front — again  denounced  this  propaganda: 
"I  believe  in  maintaining  the  link  between  South  Africa  and  Great 
Britain.  You  cannot  destroy  this  link  without  a  bloody  civil 
war.  You  cannot  create  a  republic  unless  the  two  races  agree. 
And  it  is  not  possible  that  the  English  element  in  South  Africa 
will  want  a  republic.  .  .  .  The  people  are  playing  with  fire. 
Let  us  cease  this  nonsense."  At  the  South  African  Party  Congress, 
Pretoria,  on  Oct.  1,  a  Resolution  was  passed  expressing  readiness 
to  secure  a  better  understanding  with  the  Nationalists  on  the  basis 
of  (1)  the  maintenance  of  the  Union  Constitution,  (2)  of  carry- 
ing out  the  obligations  connected  therewith,  and  (3)  of  the  main- 
tenance of  South  African  Party  principles;  but  at  the  same  time 
repudiating,  unanimously,  all  republican  ideas  and  endorsing  Mr. 
Merriman's  Resolution  in  Parliament. 

On  the  same  day  the  Nationalists  held  a  Congress  at  Bloem- 
fontein  and  Gen.  Hertzog  declared  that  ultimate  Independence 
was  desirable  and  inevitable;  at  the  same  time  he  maintained  that 
the  result  of  the  Government's  policy  in  assisting  Great  Britain 
in  the  War  was  a  spirit  of  dissatisfaction  which  was  almost  revo- 
lutionary. At  Graaf  Reinet,  a  Cape  Colony  Congress  of  National- 
ists was  addressed  on  the  same  day  by  Dr.  Malan,  Editor  of  De 
Burger,  who  expressed  similar  views  but  declared  the  time  not 
ripe  and  urged  that  the  movement  be  not  forced  prematurely. 
In  November  the  Transvaal  Provincial  Council  took  swift  advan- 
tage of  certain  British  speeches  on  Peace  conditions  to  read  into 
them  the  principle  that  "no  peace  will  be  possible  before  the  vio- 
lated rights  and  liberties,  principles,  nationalities,  and  independ- 
ent existence  of  small  nations  have  been  recognized,"  and,  there- 
fore, to  urge  the  British  Government  to  apply  this  principle  to 
South  Africa! 

Meanwhile  the  presence  and  career  of  General  Jan  Christian 
Smuts  in  England  during  these  months  was  a  living  lesson  in  Im- 
perialism and  the  antithesis  of  Nationalism.  Coming  with  the 
eclat  of  victory  against  the  Germans  and  of  loyalty  to  the  Empire 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  WAR;  A  REPUBLICAN  AGITATION    183 

in  a  leader  of  a  race  akin  to  the  German  and  who  hadjshared  in 
war  against  Great  Britain  only  a  few  years  before,  General  Smuts 
soon  added  to  his  reputation  by  a  sane  survey  of  the  situation  in 
his  public  speeches  and  private  counsels.  Within  a  few  months 
he  had  been  sworn  of  the  Privy  Council,  given  the  Freedom  of 
London  and  other  great  cities,  made  a  Doctor  of  Laws  in  half-a- 
dozen  Universities,  heard  at  important  meetings  as  one  of  the 
greater  British  statesmen  would  be  heard,  recognized  by  the  press 
as  a  leader  of  public  opinion,  accepted  as  one  of  the  chiefs  in  the 
Imperial  Conference,  called  to  the  Imperial  War  Cabinet  and 
retained  there  as  a  permanent  member — with,  at  47  years  of  age, 
his  personality,  his  pictures  and  his  name  known  in  every  part  of 
the  British  Empire  and  in  every  Chancellerie  of  Europe. 

Speaking  at  a  London  banquet  on  May  22  he  declared  that  the  mili- 
tary training  of  African  natives  should  be  forbidden :  "An  army  might 
be  trained  there  which  would  be  a  danger  to  civilization.  Again, 
we  must  remember  that  we  have  now  secured  a  through  route 
from  Egypt  to  the  Cape,  protected  not  only  on  the  land,  but  on  the 
sea  side.  I  hope  this  will  be  borne  in  mind  when  the  settlement 
after  the  War  comes  about/'  In  similar  speeches — made  from 
time  to  time  in  all  the  British  centres  of  thought — General  Smuts 
emphasized  two  points  (1)  that  Boer  and  Briton  were  fighting 
together  for  an  ideal  of  liberty  that  was  universal  and  that  (2)  peace 
would  be  suicide  if  accepted  before  civilization  was  secured  in  its 
future  right  to  freedom.  As  he  put  it  at  Sheffield  on  Oct.  24 :  "We 
cannot  make  peace  until  the  German  war  machine  becomes  a  scrap 
of  paper  and  Germany  has  learned  the  lesson  that  war  does  not 
pay,  that  the  wages  of  sin  is  death."  His  view  of  Imperial  relations 
was  concisely  expressed  at  a  banquet  given  him  by  both  Houses 
of  Parliament  on  May  15: 

How  are  you  going  to  keep  this  Commonwealth  of  nations  together?  It  seems 
to  me  that  there  are  two  potent  factors  that  you  must  rely  upon  for  the  future.  The 
first  is  your  hereditary  Kingship,  the  other  is  our  Conference  system.  As  to  the 
first  you  cannot  make  a  republic  of  the  British  Commonwealth  of  nations.  If  you 
had  to  elect  a  President,  he  would  have  to  be  a  President  not  only  here  in  these  Islands, 
but  all  over  the  British  Empire — in  India  and  in  the  Dominions — and  be  really  repre- 
sentative of  all  these  peoples.  Here  you  would  face  an  absolutely  insoluble  problem. 
...  In  regard  to  the  present  system  of  Imperial  Conferences,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  devise  better  machinery  for  common  consultation  than  we  have  at  present. 

Of  other  matters  of  importance  it  may  be  stated  that  official  figures* 
showed  the  total  direct  War  expenditures  of  the  Union  Government 
from  Aug.  4,  1914,  to  Mar.  31,  1917,  as  £3,239,461  from  Revenue 
account  and  £23,454,145  from  Loan  account,  with  at  least  £1,000,000 
of  indirect  war  expenditure  or  an  approximate  total  of  $138,000,000. 
According  to  James  R.  Leisk,  Secretary  for  Finance,  the  major 
portion  of  the  Loans  was  borrowed  from  the  Imperial  Government. 
As  to  voluntary  contributions  H.E.  Lord  Buxton  had  appealed 
in  August,  1916,  for  an  increase  in  the  Governor-General's  Patri- 
otic Fund  for  Soldiers  to  £1,000,000  within  12  months.  On  Feb. 
28,  1917,  he  was  able  to  report  the  receipt  of  £1,006,334  or  $5,000,000, 

*NOTE.— Obtained  through  the  courtesy  of  W.  J.  Egan,  Canadian  Trade  Commis- 
sioner at  Cape  Town. 


184  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  to  state  that  the  monthly  expenditure  under  the  Fund  was 
£27,000  or  $135,000.  By  Provinces  the  contributions  showed 
£331,000  from  the  Transvaal,  £258,000  from  the  Cape,  £183,000 
from  Natal,  and  only  £13,000  from  the  Free  State.  There  were 
many  other  War  Funds  and  no  central  authority  over  them,  but 
a  general  estimate,  including  machine  guns,  aeroplanes,  Red  Cross, 
etc.,  would  indicate  another  £1,000,000  or  $5,000,000  of  voluntary 
contributions. 

New  Zealand  New  Zealand  continued  its  gallant  and  efficient 
and  New-  service  to  the  Empire  in  1917.  Its  Coalition  Govern- 
foundland  ment  had  commenced  work  in  1916  and  the  New 
in  the  War.  Year  found  its  leaders— Rt.  Hon.  W.  F.  Massey 
and  Sir  Joseph  Ward — in  England  where  they  remained 
for  the  Imperial  Conference.  Conscription  was  in  force  and  the 
first  calls  for  military  service  had  given  thousands.  Prices  were 
high  and  increasing  with  a  difference,  for  instance,  between  the 
value  of  11  chief  New  Zealand  exports  for  the  year  of  July  31,  1916, 
at  current  figures  and  those  assessed  at  1914  figures,  of  $55,000,000; 
the  population  was  found  to  be  1,100,000  or  an  increase  of  141,000 
since  1911;  the  War  expenditure  up  to  June  30,  1917,  totalled  $142,- 
000,000  and  war  loans  $120,000,000,  while  a  War  Purposes  Loan 
Bill  in  August  authorized  the  borrowing  of  $120,000,000  more  at 
4J^%  with  one-half  asked  for  at  once  which  was  over-subscribed 
by  $15,000,000. 

Old-age  pensions  were  increased  by  $1.25  a  week  and  a  War 
bonus  to  Civil  Servants  of  $2,000,000  a  year  was  voted  by  the  Legis- 
lature; the  Budget  of  the  year,  presented  in  August  by  Sir  Joseph 
Ward,  showed  an  ordinary  revenue  of  $91,835,000  and  a  surplus, 
apart  from  the  War,  of  $21,000,000,  with  the  imposition  of  various 
new  taxes — a  progressive  land  tax,  tax  on  unimproved  values, 
a  progressive  income  tax  and  a  super-war  tax  on  incomes,  an  amuse- 
ments tax  and  increased  customs  and  excise  duties.  The  Public 
Debt  was  $627,000,000  as  compared  with  $458,000,000  in  1914. 
In  recognition  of  New  Zealand's  position  in  the  Empire  it  was  created 
a  Dominion  by  the  Imperial  Government  and  the  Governor  raised 
to  the  status  of  a  Governor- General. 

The  chief  issue  of  the  year  was  enforcement  of  the  Conscrip- 
tion Act.  The  Court  of  Appeal  declared  the  Act  valid  on  Apr. 
4;  the  Government  did  as  that  of  Great  Britain  had  done  and  as  Can- 
ada did  later,  relegated  the  question  of  exemptions  to  special  tri- 
bunals; by  June,  1917,  thousands  of  volunteers  had  come  forward 
as  well  as  10,000  men  under  the  compulsory  call;  Sir  James  Allen, 
as  Acting  Premier  and  Minister  of  Defence,  carried  out  his  task 
with  fair  success.  There  had  been  difficulties.  Thousands  of 
appeals  were  lodged,  the  Military  Service  Boards  were  increased 
from  four  to  ten,  and  at  times  the  situation  was  chaotic;  drastic 
War  Regulations  as  to  sedition  were  deemed  necessary,  Labour 
was  restive  and  the  question  of  primary  production  and  workers 
inevitably  prominent. 


NEW  ZEALAND  AND  NEWFOUNDLAND  IN  THE  WAR         185 

The  Coal-mine  strike  of  April  was  undoubtedly  seditious  in 
origin  and  the  action  was  not  a  complete  cessation  of  work  but 
a  deliberate,  pre-arranged  limitation  of  output  which  threatened 
the  country  with  a  severe  fuel  famine,  the  curtailment  of  war  in- 
dustry and  hampering  of  transportation.  The  men  announced  in 
a  Manifesto  that  they  had  no  quarrel  with  the  Companies:  "In 
the  present  instance  it  is  Conscription  alone  and  nothing  but  Con- 
scription." Yet  the  Service  Boards  were  granting  exemptions 
to  all  miners  actually  engaged  in  mining.  On  Apr.  25  the  strike 
was  settled  on  a  basis  of  essential  mine-workers  being  exempted 
with  other  conditions  which  eliminated  penalties,  released  prisoners 
and  really  played  with  the  principle  involved.  This  trouble  was 
a  reflection  of  the  Labour  opposition  to  Conscription  in  Australia; 
a  large  number  of  the  miners  were  really  loyal  to  the  War  and  many 
had  sons  at  the  Front.  A  little  later  some  municipal  elections 
were  fought  on  the  Conscription  issue  and  its  opponents  were  snowed 
under  by  votes.  On  July  6  Sir  Joseph  Ward  intimated,  in  reply  to 
protests  against  curtailment  of  railway  services  in  order  to  release 
men  for  the  Front,  that  the  time  must  come  "when  it  may  not  be 
possible  to  let  any  more  men  go";  Mr.  Massey  agreed  with  this 
view  but,  at  the  same  time,  stated  that  the  authorities  in  England 
had  made  a  special  appeal  to  him  for  more  men. 

The  Pacifists  and  men  of  similar  type  in  the  Dominion  at  once 
seized  on  these  words  to  argue  that  the  best  service  was  production 
of  food,  etc.,  with  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Legislative  Council 
urging  the  export  of  sheep  rather  than  men;  but  Sir  James  Allen, 
Sir  Francis  Bell  and  Mr.  Massey  himself  soon  put  a  quietus  on  this 
argument.  By  the  middle  of  the  year  74,000  men  had  gone  to  the 
Front,  of  whom  3,200  were  in  Egypt  and  Palestine,  12,000  were 
in  training  camps,  and  the  returned  men  numbered  10,547,  of  whom 
1,238  re-enlisted;  the  casualties  had  been  over  26,000  and  the  pro- 
portion of  wounded  returning  to  the  Front  was  61%.  Reinforce- 
ments were,  at  this  time  (August)  reduced  from  15  to  12%  or  in 
weekly  drafts  from  2,400  to  1,920.  In  August,  also,  the  Police 
were  given  enforcement  of  a  law  which  aimed  at  enrolment  of 
every  man  of  military  age  in  the  Dominion  in  an  Expeditionary 
Force  Reserve;  those  not  responding  were  subject  to  a  fine  of  $250 
or  imprisonment  for  three  months.  In  calling  up  the  men  for 
active  service  it  was  decided  that  the  basis  for  married  men  should 
be  children — those  without  any  being  called  first. 

A  National  Efficiency  Board  prepared  a  basis  under  which  every 
man  and  woman  in  the  Dominion  should  do  some  form  of  War 
work  if  necessary;  Maoris  were  brought  under  the  Compulsory 
Act  and  trouble  was  caused  by  the  inclusion  of  priests  in  the  drafting 
ballots.  They  were  supposed  to  be  exempted  but  some  of  the 
Boards  objected  and  there  was  much  friction — the  Dominion  Catholic 
Federation  finally  protesting  vigorously:  "(1)  That  such  compul- 
sion of  clergy  is  abhorrent  to  the  minds  of  Catholics  and  without 
precedent  in  English-speaking  countries;  (2)  that  the  number  of 
such  clergy  is  too  insignificant  to  make  their  service  as  soldiers 
of  material  value  in  winning  the  War;  (3)  that  the  religious  minis- 


186  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

trations  of  all  such  clergy  and  religious  assistants  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary within  the  Dominion."  During  the  prolonged  nine  months'  visit 
of  Mr.  Massey  and  Sir  J.  G.  Ward  to  Great  Britain  they  took  part 
in  matters  of  Conference  and  Cabinet  import  and  in  May  and  June 
returned  home  via  Canada  where  they  addressed  a  number  of  Can- 
adian Club  meetings. 

New  Zealanders  distinguished  themselves  as  usual  on  the  Western 
front,  with  Messines  as  the  central  incident  of  the  year.  In  the 
great  Battle  of  Arras  one  of  the  objectives  was  Messines  Ridge 
and  the  most  important  points  of  this  Ridge,  which  overlooked  the 
Ypres  roadways  and  operations,  were  the  villages  of  Wytschaete 
and  Messines.  The  London  Times  correspondent  had  this  to  say 
of  the  capture  on  June  7:  "It  is  to  the  New  Zealanders  that  the 
honour  of  winning  the  village  of  Messines  fell,  and  they  did  their 
work,  as  always,  cleanly  and  well,  with  very  light  casualties,  and, 
after  the  success,  they  consolidated  and  fortified  their  ground  with 
a  thoroughness  and  precision  which  deserve  the  highest  praise. 
.  .  .  Between  the  New  Zealand,  Australian  and  Irish  troops 
were  the  stanch  English  regiments,  who  have  done,  as  always, 
magnificently.  They  have  carried  everything  before  them,  and, 
so  far  as  we  know  at  present,  there  is  no  flaw  in  our  success." 

Sir  Douglas  Haig  reported  of  the  3rd  Battle  of  Ypres  that  on 
July  31  the  attack  on  the  2nd  Army  front  had  met  with  complete 
success.  On  the  extreme  right  New  Zealand  troops  carried  La 
Basseville  after  a  sharp  fight  lasting  some  50  minutes.  On  the 
left  English  troops  had  captured  Hollebeke,  etc. — together  they 
got  6,100  prisoners.  During  the  attack  of  Oct.  4  New  Zealand 
troops  carried  Gravenstafel,  and  drove  the  enemy  from  a  network 
of  trenches  and  strong  points  on  the  Gravenstafel  Spur.  On  Oct. 
12  another  kind  of  incident  occurred  when  the  New  Zealand  division 
was  assigned  to  attack  the  Bellevue  ridge  and  other  positions 
2,000  yards  from  Passchendaele  village.  "We  thought,"  wrote 
the  New  Zealand  correspondent  with  the  troops,  "at  the  time  that 
we  were  up  against  a  stiffer  proposition  than  we  had  tackled  at 
Messines,  stiffer  even  than  at  the  Somme.  .  .  .  Greasy,  muddy, 
waterlogged  shell-holes,  concrete  redoubts  fronted  with  wire  and 
crammed  full  with  machine  guns;  in  addition  to  all  this  the  artillery 
had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  getting  up  the  guns."  In  the  end  the 
advance  was  found  impossible  and,  finally,  it  was  given  up  with  a 
New  Zealand  loss  of  nearly  5,000  men.  In  this  and  other  battles 
great  heroism  was  shown  and  Corp.  Samuel  Frickleton,  Lieut. 
Rupert  Vance  Moon,  Pte.  Thomas  Cooke,  Cpl.  Leslie  Wilton  Andrew 
won  the  Victoria  Cross.  Five  others  had  won  the  honour  in  pre- 
ceding years,  including,  perhaps,  the  youngest  General  officer 
on  Service — Brig.-Gen.  B.  C.  Freyberg,  D.S.O.,  who,  in  1917,  was 
only  28  and  had  been  twice  wounded  in  Gallipoli  and  again  at  the 
Ancre. 

Other  incidents  of  the  year  included  the  purchase  of  Cheese 
by  the  Government  on  behalf  of  the  British  authorities  at  9j/£  pence 
for  1st  grade  and  9)4  pence  for  2nd  grade,  with  the  statement  that 
if  sufficient  cheese  was  not  offered  the  necessary  amount  would 


NEW  ZEALAND  AND  NEWFOUNDLAND  IN  THE  WAR          187 


be  seized  and  requisitioned;  the  continued  control  by  the  Imperial 
Government  of  New  Zealand  lamb  and  mutton  with  prices  of  6j/£ 
pence  per  Ib.  to  4%  per  lb.,  the  use  in  this  respect  of  Government 
agents  and  elimination  of  profiteering;  the  purchase  of  New  Zealand 
wool  by  the  British  Government  at  a  total  price  of  about  $70,000,000 
and  involving  prices  which  were  satisfactory  but  not  exorbitant;  the 
increasingly  sympathetic  legislation  for  women  which  was  described 
by  Lady  Ward  when  in  Toronto  (May  29)  as  including  Mothers' 
pensions  or  annuities,  widow's  annuities  and  grants  for  the  care  of 
orphans  up  to  14  years,  State  training  of  mothers  in  the  care  of 
infants,  and,  of  course,  the  franchise;  a  continued  shortage  of  ship- 
ing  aggravated,  in  the  case  of  this  Dominion,  by  inadequate  storage 
facilities  for  meat,  butter  and  cheese;  the  official  statement*  that 
by  Mar.  31,  1917,  the  New  Zealand  people  had  contributed  to  vari- 
ous War  and  Patriotic  Funds  $16,095,000  in  money  and  $1,490,000 
in  goods.  Retail  food  prices  had  increased  30%  over  July,  1914 
— about  the  same  rate  as  in  Australia. 

The  Island  of  Newfoundland,  like  New  Zealand,  was  recognized ' 
as  a  Dominion  in  official  title  during  1917  and  its  War  record  cer- 
tainly merited  the  compliment.  Sir  W.  E.  Davidson,  who  since 
1913  had  been  the  successful  Governor  of  the  Island  was  appointed 
to  New  South  Wales  in  October  and  his  successor  was  Sir  Charles 
Alexander  Harris,  K.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  c.v.o.,  who  for  a  number  of 
years  had  been  associated  with  the  Colonial  Office.  In  politics 
Newfoundland  went  through  the  same  experience  as  Canada  and 
Australia  and  formed  a  Coalition  Government.  Sir  Edward  Morris 
still  remained  the  strongest  personality  in  the  local  political  world; 
he  had  been  a  member  of  its  Government  for  15  years  and  Premier 
since  1909;  but  new  problems  and  conditions  required  new  men 
and  the  closer  co-operation  of  parties.  The  Premier  saw  this  and 
endeavoured  to  bring  them  together — not  an  easy  task  in  a  country 
where  party  feeling  and  personal  prejudices  ran  high  and  were 
often  bitter  in  the  extreme.  In  the  House  of  Assembly,  with  a 
membership  of  36,  the  Government  held  21  seats  and  the  Opposi- 
tion 15,  but  the  latter  claimed  that  a  majority  of  the  votes  at  the 
last  Elections  had  been  cast  for  them — a  result  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
Fishermen's  Union  Party,  a  new  organization  which  had  sprung  to 
life  in  the  northern  districts,  swept  nine  constituencies  by  enormous 
majorities,  and  now  were  supporting  the  Opposition. 

Another  Election  was  due  and  was  claimed  to  be  very  undesir- 
able in  War-time;  but  the  Opposition,  under  Dr.  Wm.  Lloyd  and 
W.  F.  Coaker  of  the  Fishermen's  Party,  did  not  accept  this  view, 
demanded  an  Election,  and  strenuously  fought  the  proposal  to 
extend  the  duration  of  the  Legislature  by  special  Act.  Early  in 
July  a  deadlock  developed  in  the  business  of  Parliament  and  the 
Government  could  not  even  pass  its  Revenue  bills.  Finally  on 
Aug.  16  the  Premier  announced  that  all  parties  had  come  to  a  war 
agreement,  that  permission  had  been  obtained  from  the  Imperial 
Government  to  increase  the  Cabinet  from  9  to  12,  that  a  Bill  would 

*NOTE. — By  courtesy  of  W.  A.  Beddoe,  Canadian  Trade  Commissioner  at  Auckland. 


188  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

be  presented  and  passed,  extending  the  life  of  the  Legislature  for 
one  year  and  legalizing  the  seats  of  new  Ministers  without  bye- 
elections,  that  Hon.  S.  D.  Blandford,  Hon.  C.  H.  Emerson  and  Hon. 
R.  K.  Bishop  had  resigned  their  positions  to  facilitate  the  re-organi- 
zation and  that  the  new  National  Cabinet  would  be  as  follows: 

GOVERNMENT  PARTY  MEMBERS 

Prime  Minister Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Edward  Morris 

Minister  of  Finance Hon.  Michael  P.  Cashin 

Minister  of  Militia  and  Defence Hon.  John  R.  Bennett 

Colonial  Secretary Hon.  R.  A.  Squires,  K,C. 

Without  Portfolio Hon.  M    P    Gibbs 

Without  Portfolio Hon.  John  C.  Crosbie 

OPPOSITION  PARTY  MEMBERS 

Minister  of  Justice Hon.  William  P.  Lloyd 

Minister  of  Agriculture Hon.  Walter  Halfyard 

Without  Portfolio Hon.  William  F.  Coaker 

Without  Portfolio Hon.  J.  Augustus  Clift 

Without  Portfolio Hon.  A.  E.  Hickman 

Without  Portfolio Hon.  William  J.  Ellis 

Wm.  Woodford  (Government)  was  Minister  of  Public  Works  and 
John  Stone  (Opposition)  Minister  of  Marine  and  Fisheries,  with- 
out seats  in  the  Cabinet.  A  Cabinet  Committee,  composed  of 
Messrs.  Coaker,  Crosbie  and  Hickman,  was  at  once  appointed  to 
deal  with  the  difficult  matter  of  shipping  and  tonnage.  A  Commis- 
sion appointed  by  the  late  Government  to  look  into  the  High  Cost 
of  Living  had  embodied  another  issue  by  reporting  on  July  10  that 
as  to  one  standard  grade  of  pork  alone  "we  find  that  from  Jan.  1 
to  the  middle  of  May  the  price  as  imported  varied  only  from  about 
$32  to  $34,  while  the  average  selling  price  in  the  market  for  the 
same  period  rose  from  about  $33  to  $44,  showing  that  whereas 
the  cost  of  the  article  only  increased  $2  in  about  four  months, 
the  price  to  the  consumer  advanced  about  $10."  Many  millions 
of  profit  were  made  by  this  means. 

In  the  Legislature  a  crisis  arose  at  the  end  of  August  by  the 
Upper  House  or  Council  rejecting  the  Profits  Tax  Bill,  intro- 
duced and  carried  in  the  Assembly  by  the  new  Government.  It 
aimed  at  checking  the  evil  indicated  above  and  levied  a  tax  (not 
retroactive)  of  20%  on  all  business  profits  in  excess  of  $3,000.  It 
not  being  constitutional  to  reconsider  Bills,  the  Legislature  closed, 
and  again  convened  in  an  Extraordinary  Session.  On  recommen- 
dation of  the  National  Cabinet  the  Governor  appointed  four  new 
members  of  the  Council  who  at  once  voted  in  favour  of  the  Profits 
Tax  Bill,  which  thereupon  became  law.  During  the  main  Session 
a  number  of  local  Acts  were  passed,  including  the  inauguration  of 
Daylight  Saving,  the  enactment  of  War  Pensions  and  provision 
for  a  Board  of  Pension  Commissioners,  the  creation  of  a  Militia 
Department,  the  appointment  of  a  Food  Control  Board,  the  enact- 
ment of  a  Currency  Act  creating  a  coinage  similar  to  that  of  Canada, 
and  a  Loan  Act  for  $3,000,000.  Another  Act  was  unanimously 
passed  defining  and  restricting  the  powers  of  the  Upper  House 
and  reserving  money  bills  in  particular  to  the  House  of  Assembly. 

Meanwhile  Prohibition  had  gone  into  force  on  Jan.  1,  1917, 
and  it  stopped  the  import,  manufacture  or  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors 
of  every  kind  within  the  Colony,  except  for  medicinal,  manufactur- 


NEW  ZEALAND  AND  NEWFOUNDLAND  IN  THE  WAR         189 

ing,  or  sacramental  purposes,  and  not  excepting  a  long  list  of  patent 
medicines  which  were  specifically  banned.  A  public  Controller 
in  St.  John's  and  physicians  or  magistrates  elsewhere  were  the 
custodians  of  supplies  legally  permitted.  At  the  end  of  the  year 
the  handicap  upon  revenue  involved  in  this  policy  had  been  met 
and  the  Revenue  was  found  for  the  calendar  year  to  total  $4,442,476 
or  $25,867  more  than  in  1916.  The  Food  Control  Board,  appointed 
in  August,  consisted  of  Hon.  P.  T.  McGrath,  M.L.C.,  as  Chairman, 
Henry  Le  Messurier,  Deputy  Minister  of  Customs,  and  George 
Grimes,  M.L.A.  In  September  Hon.  J.  R.  Bennett,  the  new  Min- 
ister of  Militia,  visited  Toronto,  Ottawa  and  other  points  for  the 
purpose  of  looking  into  Canada's  Militia  system,  recruiting  methods, 
conscription  conditions,  etc. 

The  Island  Colony  already  had  done  much  along  recruiting 
and  other  War  lines.  Out  of  a  population  of  240,000,  and  up  to 
the  beginning  of  1917,  there  had  been  sent  overseas  2,810  soldiers 
and  1,638  sailors  while  459  of  the  former  and  83  of  the  latter  were 
under  training  at  St.  John's — a  total  of  4,990  men.  Of  these  there 
had  been  930  permanent  casualties.  During  1917  the  Royal  New- 
foundland Regiment,  which  had  done  such  excellent  service  in 
Gallipoli  and  on  the  Somme,  further  distinguished  itself,  while 
Sir  Edward  Morris  on  May  1  received  through  the  Colonial  Secre- 
tary a  despatch  fron  General  Allenby,  then  commanding  a  Division 
in  France,  stating  that  during  recent  fighting :  "  The  Newfoundlanders 
did  gallant  work  in  repelling  very  heavy  counter-attacks  by  the 
Germans.  Their  casualties  were  high,  but  they  showed  splendid 
staunchness  and  fought  like  heroes."  The  London  Times  corres- 
pondent on  Sept.  3  wrote  that: 

In  proportion  to  their  numbers  there  are  no  troops  in  the  Army  Wfiich  have 
earned  for  themselves  a  finer  reputation  than  the  Newfoundlanders.  This  year  at 
Arras,  beyond  Monchy,  they  behaved  magnificently.  Once  more  in  the  recent 
fighting  here  they  have  done  superbly.  It  was  in  the  advance  beyond  Steenbeek, 
when  they  were  among  the  troops  whose  task  was  to  cross  some  500  yards  of  what 
is  known  as  Floating  Swamp  to  attack  a  strong  fortified  position  with  concrete  de- 
fences on  the  farther  side.  Floating  Swamp  is  the  name  for  a  quaking  morass  which 
gives  no  foothold  anywhere,  but  heaves  and  oozes  and  bubbles  to  unknown  depths  as 
you  wade  through  it.  The  swamp  was  a  fearsome  thing  to  breast,  and  it  was  swept 
by  machine-gun  fire,  which,  however,  spluttered  blindly  through  our  barrage.  Be- 
hind it  they  went  doggedly  on  in  the  grey  of  the  early  morning,  wading,  stumbling, 
forcing  a  way  as  best  they  could.  Those  who  were  badly  hit  sank  into  the  dreadful 
ooze.  Some  lightly  wounded  went  on  after  their  comrades  or  made  their  painful  way 
back.  But  the  rest  went  on,  and,  mud  from  head  to  toe,  with  only  their  rifles  held 
above  their  heads  still  dry,  panting  and  almost  worn  out,  on  the  heels  of  the  barrage 
they  rushed  the  German  fort.  There  was  a  short  burst  of  wild  fighting,  and  the 
fort  was  theirs  after  as  fine  an  exhibition  of  mere  physical  endurance  as  men  have 
often  been  called  on  to  show. 

Newfoundland  suffered  from  the  War  in  various  ways.  Many 
of  her  ships  were  torpedoed,  her  fast,  six-hour  boat  service  between 
Sydney,  C.B.,  and  Port  au  Basques,  was  discontinued,  the  water 
journey  between  shore  and  shore  became  ten  hours  long.  No  lights 
were  allowed  upon  the  streets  of  St.  John's  and  in  many  other  ways 
the  Island  felt  far  more  the  pressure  of  war  than  any  place  in  Canada. 
Dependent  as  she  was  on  other  countries  for  many  of  her  supplies 


190  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  shortage  of  shipping  was  keenly  felt,  while  hard  coal  was  run 
up  to  $20  a  ton.  Red  Cross  work  was  continuous  and  Lady  David- 
son gave  up  every  available  bit  of  Government  House  for  the  pur- 
pose while  gifts  of  money  and  material  went  to  Great  Britain  and 
many  of  the  Allies,  and  the  Patriotic  Association  aided  recruiting, 
organized  training,  financed  regimental  undertakings,  and  expended 
$3,000,000  in  these  things  and  the  care  of  soldiers'  families  or  the 
education  of  returned  soldiers. 

The  Indian  The  place  of  India  in  the  War  during  1927  remained  more 
FtTwar*1  or  ^ess  a  sna(^owy  outline  or  impression  in  the  public 
Action-  The  mind  of  the  wo  rid.  Its  Princes  were  known  to  have  given 
Demand  for  generously,  its  intellectual  classes  to  be  seeking  some 
Home  Rule,  vague  policy  called  self-government,  its  vast  peasant 
and  artisan  classes  of  many  races  to  be  still  inarticulate, 
its  military  forces  to  have  suffered  in  the  Kut  disaster  of  1916  and 
the  Royal  Commission  Report  of  1917.  As  to  the  first  point  there 
could  be  no  question.  The  rulers  of  Native  States  in  British  India 
and  of  tributary  States  without  its  boundaries  were  equally  loyal. 
As  the  Maharajah  of  Gwalior,  who  had  expended  at  least  $1,500,000 
on  War  purposes  to  date,  put  it  early  in  March:  "I,  and  the  other 
Rulers  of  India,  are  prepared  to  pour  all  our  resources  into  the 
common  war  coffer  until  Germany  is  crushed.  The  world  confla- 
gration, by  furnishing  a  common  platform  upon  which  all  India  can 
work,  has  done  much  to  encourage  co-operation  among  the  Indian 
States,  and  also  to  emphasize  the  essential  unity  of  aims  between 
them  and  the  Government  of  India."  To  the  Associated  Press  on 
Feb.  26  the  Maharajah  of  Bikaner  was  even  more  emphatic: 

I  love  the  King-Emperor  as  the  representative  of  sovereign  power,  and  I  love 
him  as  a  man.  There  is  no  sacrifice  which  he  might  ask  of  me  that  I  would  not  make. 
My  resources,  my  life  and  the  lives  of  the  men  of  Bikaner  belong  to  him.  I  myself 
am  a  ruler,  the  descendant  of  sovereigns  who  have  held  our  land  for  centuries.  We 
are  a  proud  race,  but  I  would  gladly  kneel  to  lift  the  shoes  of  His  Majesty  were  he 
but  to  command,  though  I  would  do  that  for  no  one  else  in  the  wide  world.  That  is 
how  I  feel  personally  toward  the  Throne,  and  I  speak  with  the  authority  arising  from 
close  associations  with  my  brother  rulers  when  I  tell  you  that  they  too  love  their 
King-Emperor  and  will  follow  where  he  leads,  through  thick  and  thin. 

The  relationship  and  value  of  the  British  Monarchy  to  India 
could  not  be  more  clearly  defined  than  in  these  words.  To  this 
ruler  there  had  come  an  invitation  to  a  seat  in  the  Imperial  War 
Conference  and  from  60  of  the  most  important  ruling  Princes  of 
India  there  went  back  to  the  King-Emperor  an  expression  of  grati- 
tude for  the  honour  thus  conferred  on  the  Indian  empire  and  them- 
selves. These  rulers  had  already  given  largely  in  direct  money 
contributions  and  yearly  grants,  in  men  and  resources,  guns,  motor- 
ambulances  and  lorries,  well-equipped  hospitals,  hospital  ships,  aero- 
planes, stores  and  munitions  of  war,  and  numerous  gifts  of  conveni- 
ence and  comfort,  with  subscriptions  given  freely  to  the  Indian  war 
funds  and  to  the  Central  Funds  in  London. 

The  Maharajah  of  Pattiala,  the  Khan  of  Khelat,  the  Rajah  of 
Manipur,  the  Chiefs  of  Bihar  and  Orissa,  Bahratpur  and  Panna 


THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE:  ITS  WAR  EFFORTS  AND  GOVERNMENT    191 

were  announced  in  April  to  have  given  a  corps  of  mule-drivers  and 
a  camel  corps,  to  have  defrayed  expenses  and  provided  men  for  in- 
fantry contingents,  granted  money  for  aeroplanes,  and  given  rail- 
way cars  for  use  in  Mesopotamia;  the  Government  of  the  Punjab 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  180,000  acres  to 
be  allotted  to  those  who  rendered  distinguished  service  in  the  field, 
and  the  Lieut. -Governor,  Sir  R.  F.  O'Dwyer,  stated  on  Nov.  6  that 
the  Province  had  contributed  320,000  men  to  the  Indian  Army  since 
war  began;  the  Maharajah  of  Nabha  gave  the  British  Government 
3  lakhs  of  rupees  ($100,000)  for  war  purposes,  together  with  100 
horses  and  the  use  of  his  residences  at  Simla,  Ambala  and  Lahore, 
for  the  wounded;  the  Nepal  Government  granted  a  second  contribu- 
tion of  $100,000  for  War  purposes,  the  ruler  of  Darbhanga  gave 
$66,000  for  aeroplanes;  the  Gaikwar  of  Baroda  gave  $33,000  to  the 
Imperial  Indian  Relief  Fund,  the  rulers  of  Rajputana  contributed 
$150,000  to  the  King-Emperor  for  aeroplanes  and  machine  guns, 
the  Maharajah  of  Mysore  gave  $330,000;  the  Nizam  of  Hyderabad 
contributed  $500,000  to  the  Admiralty  to  help  in  fighting  the  Sub- 
marine peril. 

At  Simla  on  Sept.  5  Lord  Chelmsford,  Viceroy  of  India,  reviewed 
the  situation  in  this  connection.  He  stated  that  of  the  large,  well- 
equipped  fleet  of  river  steamers  on  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  57 
per  cent,  had  been  supplied  by  India,  which  had  also  provided  a 
considerable  mileage  of  railway  material,  equipment  and  personnel. 
Large  quantities  of  railway  material  also  had  been  sent  from  India 
to  Egypt  and  East  Africa  and  electrical  power  stations  established 
throughout  Mesopotamia.  The  Indian  Telegraph  Department  sup- 
plied and  maintained  over  9,000  miles  of  telegraph  line,  while  the 
Farms'  Department  furnished  "military  dairies,"  and  cultivated 
vegetable  gardens  in  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  valleys.  There  were 
20  Indian  labour  corps  in  Mesopotamia,  and  another  25  in  France, 
with  "upwards  of  60,000  artisans,  labourers  and  special  workers  of 
various  kinds,  and  some  20,000  menials  and  followers."  350  medi- 
cal officers  had  been  withdrawn  from  civil  employment,  and  500 
Indian  practitioners  had  accepted  temporary  commissions  in  the 
Indian  Medical  service.  An  Indian  Munitions  Board  had  been 
founded  under  the  direction  of  Sir  Thomas  Holland;  it  had  re- 
grouped the  official  machinery  of  control  and  started  many  new 
War  enterprises. 

The  Government  also  financed  in  this  year  large  quantities  of 
wheat,  jute  manufactures,  hides,  and  other  essential  commodities  for 
Great  Britain,  the  Dominions  and  the  Allied  Governments.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  year  the  Central  Imperial  Relief  Fund  totalled 
$3,600,000;  it  was  largely  added  to  in  1917.  On  Mar.  1  it  was 
announced  that  the  Indian  Government  would  contribute  $500,000,- 
000  of  a  special  grant  for  war-purposes — the  amount  to  be  raised 
partly  by  a  Loan  issued  in  India  which,  at  the  close  of  the  year, 
totalled  $175,000,000,  and  partly  by  taking  over  the  liability  for 
interest  and  sinking  fund  on  such  an  amount  of  the  British  War 
Loan,  as  might  be  necessary  to  make  up  the  total — $30,000,000  of 
this  being  provided  for  in  the  current  estimates.  Meanwhile  the 


192  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


British  Government,  up  to  the  close  of  the  year,  had  spent 
000,000  in  India  for  war  purposes.  In  this  connection  the  preceding 
conduct  of  affairs  by  Sir  Wm.  Meyer,  Minister  of  Finance — whose 
name  had  a  peculiar  ring — came  in  for  a  criticism  which  covered  his 
effort  to  keep  expenditures  on  a  peace  basis  and  his  alleged  parsimony 
in  the  first  Mesopotamia  expedition. 

Such  was  the  surface  situation  of  India  in  this  great  crisis.  Under 
the  surface  unknown,  intangible  elements  of  vast  and  varied  nature 
were  seething  amongst  its  315  millions  of  population.  They  were 
the  crude,  disunited,  intensely  ignorant  feelings  of  the  impassive 
Oriental  mind;  they  were  not  active  because  there  was  no  sufficient 
reason,  such  as  the  Indian  Mutiny  leaders  provided,  to  force  the 
native  to  mental  and  physical  exertion;  they  were  of  a  nature  beside 
which  the  Russian  problem  in  psychology  was  an  open  book  and 
they  ran  in  two  main  streams  with  an  immense  variety  of  currents 
and  cross-currents  in  racial  and  ethnographic  detail — the  Moham- 
medan and  the  Hindu.  In  the  main  the  former  comprised  the  great 
fighting  races,  the  dominant  forces  of  any  physical  warfare  in  India; 
the  latter  included  a  small  class  intellectualized  by  western  educa- 
tion, and  another  class  of  fanatical  priests  and  leaders  who  embodied 
the  wildest  cults  of  Oriental  religion;  others  there  were  in  great 
masses  of  Hindus  who  were  untouched  as  yet  by  any  civilization  but 
their  own  and  possessed  of  an  infinite  number  of  castes  which  were 
harder  to  break  than  any  traditional  law  of  Medes  or  Persians. 

Below  and  around  all  the  bewildering  varieties  of  race  and  lan- 
guage and  creed,  of  ignorant  superstition  and  murderous  fanaticism; 
of  cultured  high  life  and  loyal  rulers  of  what  were  really  great  na- 
tions in  population  and  wealth;  of  splendour  in  buildings  and  dress 
and  jewels  and  the  other  extreme  of  squalour  in  life  and  habits  and 
environment,  which  was  called  India,  were  certain  defined  condi- 
tions. There  was  (1)  the  existence  of  3,000  or  more  castes  which 
maintained  feelings  as  to  race  and  religion  beside  which  those  of 
Quebec  or  Ireland  were  mere  figures  of  speech,  and  (2)  a  certain 
Oriental  softness  and  fatalism  of  thought  and  feeling  and  expression 
which  looked  to  the  past  rather  than  the  present,  created  a  content 
which  was  really  passiveness  and  left  public  and  private  destinies 
in  the  hands  of  its  rulers  or  leaders.  Hence  the  tremendous  and 
little-understood  responsibility  assumed  by  Western  advocates  of 
change  and  reform  and  political  betterment.  Russian  Bolshevikism 
and  anarchy  were  mere  trivialities  compared  with  a  possible  situa- 
tion in  India  when  the  peaceful  ryot  in  his  many  millions,  the 
satisfied  artisan  in  his  lesser  millions,  the  warlike  Mohammedan  in 
his  sense  of  superiority  and  belief  in  supremacy,  should  be  really 
stirred  into  action  by  agitators,  disturbed  in  centuries-old  thought 
by  demagogues,  or  let  loose  upon  the  fair  fabric  of  Indian  empire 
construction  and  development  by  attempts  of  the  political  genii  to 
put  Oriental  wine  into  a  Western  bottle. 

How  the  voting  privileges  and  free  institutions  and  Western 
government  were  to  work  amongst  a  people  iron-bound  in  an  almost 
inconceivable  system  of  caste;  with  fundamental  ideas  of  life  and 
society  which  absolutely  prohibited  intervention  from  above  by  rulers, 


THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE:  ITS  WAR  EFFORTS  AND  GOVERNMENT  193 

laws  or  regulations,  to  say  nothing  of  Legislatures;  with  customs  as 
to  inter-marriage,  infant  marriage,  prohibition  of  widows'  re-mar- 
riage (even  infant  widows)  and  the  appalling  infant  mortality  due 
to  deep-rooted  superstitions  and  customs  running  into  dim  centuries 
of  the  past;  with  conditions  of  semi-servitude  and  almost  satisfied 
slavery  amongst  millions  and  with  scores  of  other  millions  of  the 
lower  castes  living  in  hopeless  social  outlawry  whose  touch  or  even 
shadow  was  regarded  as  pollution;  were  not  indicated  or  even  dis- 
cussed. Native  agitators  would  not  do  so;  British  statesmen  could 
not  very  well  do  so. 

Yet  the  latter  did  not  in  1917  seem  to  be  afraid  of  these  condi- 
tions; they  strove  to  meet  alleged  elements  of  discontent,  vague 
threats  of  trouble  by  agitators  and  Eastern  politicians,  through  all 
kinds  of  promises  and  plans.  Anyone  looking  for  discontent  in  a 
bundle  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  antagonistic  races  and  castes  and 
creeds  would  find,  and  will  always  find,  what  he  sought;  the  states- 
man should  seemingly  do  his  best  not  to  stir  up  such  a  hornet's  nest 
of  age-long  prejudices,  hatreds  and  conflicting  traditions  as  the  life 
of  India  embodied.  Party  politics,  a  pure  Indian  Civil  Service,  an 
untainted  Judiciary  of  the  British  kind,  an  impartial  educational 
system,  appeared  as  utterly  alien  to  the  real  Eastern  conception  of 
government  as  the  ethics  of  Christianity  would  be  to  a  Brahmin  at 
the  altar  of  his  special  god  or  to  a  peasant  throwing  himself  under  the 
wheels  of  Juggernaut !  Yet  men  experienced  in  Indian  administration 
urged  self-government  as  a  panacea.  Lord  Carmichael,  late 
Governor  of  Bengal,  told  the  Royal  Colonial  Institute  (Nov.  14) 
that  "whether  we  like  it  or  not,  a  spirit  of  discontent  is  growing, 
both  in  intensity  and  in  volume,  every  day  in  India  among  all  classes. 
The  discontent  may  lead  to  disaster  if  through  it  Indians  lose  their 
sense  of  proportion,  but  it  will  lead  to  triumph  if  through  it  Indians 
learn  to  share  in  a  real  partnership  with  Britain."  Like  Sir  Wm. 
Wedderburn,  a  continuous  agitator,  Mrs.  Besant,  the  late  Charles 
Bradlaugh,  the  Hindu  National  Congress  and  others,  Lord  Car- 
michael appeared  to  think  that  a  great  Western  constitutional  struc- 
ture evolving  out  of  centuries  of  totally  different  conceptions  of  life 
could  be  built  upon  a  basis  of  Oriental  customs  and  thought.  Lord 
Chelmsford,  like  some  of  his  predecessors — notably  Lord  Hardinge 
— believed  in  a  modified  form  of  this  evolution  and  the  new  Secre- 
tary of  State  for  India  (Rt.  Hon.  E.  S.  Montagu)  in  1917  took  very 
definite  ground  in  this  respect.  On  Aug.  20  he  made  this  important 
statement  in  the  British  Commons: 

The  policy  of  His  Majesty's  Government,  with  which  the  Government  of  India 
are  in  complete  accord,  is  that  of  the  increasing  association  of  Indians  in  every  branch 
of  the  administration,  and  the  gradual  development  of  self-governing  institutions, 
with  a  view  to  the  progressive  realization  of  responsible  government  in  India  as  an 
integral  part  of  the  British  Empire.  ...  I  would  add  that  progress  in  this  policy 
can  only  be  achieved  by  successive  stages.  The  British  Government  and  the  Govern- 
ment of  India,  on  whom  the  responsibility  lies  for  the  welfare  and  advancement  of 
the  Indian  peoples,  must  be  the  judges  of  the  time  and  measure  of  each  advance, 
and  they  must  be  guided  by  the  co-operation  received  from  those  upon  whom  new 
opportunities  of  service  will  thus  be  conferred,  and  by  the  extent  to  which  it  is  found 
-  that  confidence  can  be  reposed  in  their  sense  of  responsibility. 

13 


194  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

As  a  preliminary  step  the  bar  would  at  once  be  removed  upon  the 
admission  of  Indian  officers  to  the  British  Army.  Mr.  Montagu, 
himself,  would  visit  India  and  see  what  the  situation  was.  Lord 
Chelmsford  described  this  announced  policy  as  "a  landmark  in  the 
constitutional  history  of  England  and  resonant  with  hope."  To 
the  Associated  Press  (N.Y.  Tribune)  the  Secretary  for  India  on  Sept. 
15  carefully  guarded  and  yet  exemplified  his  recent  utterance: 
"This  ideal  of  ours  must  be  approached  by  easy  stages.  The  man 
who  thinks  Home  Rule  for  India  is  a  practical  policy  is  either  wholly 
ignorant  of  the  situation  or  designedly  mischievous.  Steps  towards 
responsible  government  will  be  taken  at  different  stages  by  different 
parts  of  India.  Great  provinces  will  fit  themselves  for  it  at  differ- 
ent times.  But  the  chief  thing  is  that  we  are  going  ahead  firmly  on 
the  path  toward  the  end  which  we  all,  British  and  Indian  alike, 
desire.  The  measures  we  adopt  must  be  adequate.  They  must 
show  real  progress."  In  November  Mr.  Montagu  was  in  India 
receiving  addresses  from  the  National  Congress,  the  Moslem  League, 
the  Home  Rule  organization  and  others,  and  visiting  Princes  and 
statesmen  and  public  bodies. 

Meanwhile  there  had  been  a  livelier  expression  of  Indian  discon- 
tents than  at  any  time  since  the  War  began.  The  Indian  National 
Congress,  which  had  been  moderate  in  its  Home  Rule  demands 
under  the  control  of  men  like  G.  K.  Gokhale,  Sir  P.  Mehta  and  Sir 
S.  P.  Sinha,  fell  into  the  hands  of  extremists  who  refused  to  co-operate 
with  the  Government  along  lines  of  evolution  and  arrived  at  a  self- 
government  advocacy  dangerously  akin  to  separation  and  to  con- 
ditions which,  in  India,  would  involve  anarchy.  At  the  Lucknow 
meeting  of  the  Congress  late  in  December,  1916,  the  President  had 
urged  a  radical  and  immediate  change  in  the  government  of  India 
and  illustrated  the  weakness  of  his  school  of  thought  by  stating  that 
revolution  rested  in  economic  conditions  and  would  disappear  under 
the  blessings  of  freedom.  He  demanded  the  abolition  of  the  India 
Council,  complete  financial,  legislative,  and  administrative  autonomy, 
the  separation  of  Executive  and  Judicial  functions,  the  repeal  of  the 
Arms  and  Press  acts,  the  withdrawal  of  all  repressive  measures,  and 
a  national  militia  open  to  all  races.  The  splendid  British  Civil 
Service  and  Judiciary,  which  had  held  India  along  lines  of  internal 
peace  and  the  controlled  unity  essential  to  its  divergent  races  and 
animosities,  was  a  bureaucracy  which  must  be  got  rid  of. 

A  great  welcome  had  been  given  to  Mrs.  Besant,  her  extreme 
denunciations  of  British  rule  applauded,  her  seditious  utterances  in 
New  India  apparently  accepted  and  she,  herself,  elected  President 
for  1917.  At  the  same  time  the  All-India  Moslem  League  had  met 
also  at  Lucknow  and  elected  as  President  for  1917  Mohammed  Ali, 
who  was  in  prison  on  charges  of  sedition.  A  Committee  of  this 
League  came  into  agreement,  for  the  first  time,  with  a  Committee 
of  the  Congress  and  this  promised  a  moderating  influence  despite 
the  Presidency  matter.  The  Indian  National  Congress  dated  from 
1885  and  was  essentially  Hindu  in  composition;  the  League  dated 
from  1906  and  was  primarily  intended  to  protect  Mohammedan 
interests  but  with  British  loyalty  as  a  distinctive  principle. 


THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE:  ITS  WAR  EFFORTS  AND  GOVERNMENT  195 

A  development  along  lines  which  suited  the  latter  organization 
was  the  representation  of  India  at  the  Imperial  War  Conference. 
The  Delegates,  who  came  by  invitation  of  the  British  Government 
were  the  Maharajah  of  Bikaner,  Sir  James  Meston  and  Sir  Satyendra 
iha.     The  War  Conference  passed  a  Resolution — supported  by 
>ir  Robert  Borden  for  Canada — declaring  that  India  should  be  fully 

^presented  at  the  regular  Conferences  of   the  future.      H.E.  Lord 

/helmsford,  in  addressing  the  Legislative  Council  at  Simla  on  Sept. 
dealt  with  these    proposed  constitutional  reforms  and  declared 

lat  the  British  Government  intended  to  advance  as  follows:   (1)  In 
domain  of  the  local  self-government  of  a  village  or  by  a  muni- 
cipal council;    (2)  in  the  responsible  employment  of  Indians  under 

ic  Government;  (3)  in  the  domain  of  Legislative  Councils.  Early 
in  November  the  Viceroy  addressed  a  Conference  of  the  Princes  and 
ruling  Chiefs  of  India  at  Delhi  and  advised  them  to  wait  until 
further  experience  indicated  the  lines  on  which  the  informal  Imperial 
Conferences  could  be  most  appropriately  developed  in  the  joint 
interests  of  the  Princes  and  the  Empire  at  large.  He  warmly 
thanked  the  Princes  for  providing  adequate  reserves  for  the  Im- 
perial troops  and  for  raising  recruits  for  the  army. 

As  to  the  War  itself  India  helped  considerably  in  1917.  Its 
troops  had  served  in  Gallipoli,  in  Mesopotamia,  in  Egypt,  in  Pales- 
tine, in  German  East  Africa,  in  China,  in  Persia,  and  in  France; 
the  ruling  Princes  of  India  had  contributed  largely  of  their  standing 
armies  and  had  taken  effective  measures  to  guard  the  6,000  miles 
of  Indian  land-frontier  from  intrusion  or  invasion;  Indian  forces 
had  undertaken  several  military  operations  of  magnitude  on  the 
North- West  Frontier;  Lord  Chelmsford  stated  (Sept.  5)  that  the 
Man-Power  Board  of  India  had  provided  recruits  for  the  Army 
increasing  from  thousands  to  tens  of  thousands,  and  that  the  Indian 
Army  reserve  of  officers  numbering  40  in  1914  now  exceeded  3,000. 
In  this  year  General  Sir  Charles  Munro,  who  had  seen  much  war 
experience  in  1914-16,  was  appointed  Commander-in-Chief  and  in 
performing  his  duties  visited  the  Mesopotamian  front  and  the  cen- 
tres of  India.  On  Mar.  2  the  Indian  Defence  Force  Bill,  making 
military  service  compulsory  for  all  British  subjects  of  European 
origin  between  the  ages  of  16  and  50,  became  law.  General  Allenby's 
despatches  from  Palestine  showed  that  contingents  of  Ghurkas  took 
part  in  the  capture  of  positions  around  Jerusalem  and  General  Smuts 
in  his  official  reports  paid  high  tribute  to  Indian  troops  in  East 
Africa.  By  the  close  of  the  year  India  had  contributed  1,000,000 
men  to  the  forces  of  the  Empire. 

A  collateral  subject  was  the  Mesopotamia  Report  issued  in  June 
and  dealing  with  the  muddle  of  the  first  Kut  campaign,  when  thous- 
ands of  Indian  troops  were  captured  by  the  Turks.  Some,  at  least, 
of  the  trouble  was  due  to  pre-war  starving  of  the  military  forces 
along  lines  of  economy;  much  was  due  to  the  division  of  authority 
and  responsibility  between  London  and  Delhi — the  Indian  Secretary 
of  State  and  the  Viceroy.  The  Commissioners,  headed  by  Lord 
George  Hamilton,  censured  Sir  John  Nixon  who  led  the  advance, 
and  Gen.  Sir  Beauchamp  Duff  who  commanded  in  India,  and  Sir 


196  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Edmund  Barrow,  Military  Secretary  of  the  Indian  Office;  they 
held  that  political  responsibility  rested  upon  Lord  Hardinge  as  Vice- 
roy and  Austen  Chamberlain  as  Secretary  for  India.  The  causes  of 
the  disaster,  in  brief,  were  inadequate  strategy,  poor  supplies  and 
equipment,  insufficient  reinforcements,  bad  transport,  medical 
neglect  and  lamentably  insufficient  preparation.  Lord  Hardinge  in 
his  defence  (Lords,  June  26)  claimed  that  the  Commission  did  not 
give  sufficient  consideration  (1)  to  the  unexampled  effort  of  India 
at  the  beginning  of  the  War,  (2)  to  the  risks  and  troubles  of  the 
Government  in  1914  and  1915  as  to  internal  and  border  matters, 
(3)  to  the  point  that  the  Government  of  India  opposed  an  advance 
on  Bagdad  without  reinforcements,  (4)  to  the  fact  that  he  was 
deceived  and  mis-informed  as  to  river  transport  and  medical  condi- 
tions. Aga  Khan,  the  Moslem  leader  of  India,  wrote  The  Times 
(July  27)  supporting  Lord  Hardinge  and  blaming  the  situation  upon 
the  failure  of  London  to  recognize  the  military  needs  and  resources 
of  India  when  war  was  known,  during  the  past  ten  years,  to  be 
imminent. 

Another  interesting  Indian  and  Empire  development  was  the 
cotton  goods  question.  For  many  decades  there  had  been  a  small 
customs  duty  on  the  cotton  goods  imported  (nearly  all  from  Lan- 
cashire) into  India.  This  duty  was  balanced  by  a  corresponding 
excise  duty  on  cotton  goods  manufactured  in  India  itself;  it  had 
thus  no  protective  character  but  existed  for  revenue  only.  Cotton 
formed  the  sole  clothing  of  the  vast  majority  of  India's  population, 
the  bulk  of  whom  lived  in  a  degree  of  poverty  almost  beyond  the 
imagination  of  Europeans  or  Canadians,  and  spent  money  on  scarcely 
anything  except  salt  and  a  few  implements  and  utensils.  As  the 
tax  was  not  protective,  its  whole  yield  went  to  the  Indian  Govern- 
ment, and  it  was  kept  very  low — 3^  per  cent.  For  decades,  also, 
there  had  been  an  agitation  by  the  Bombay  mill-owners  to  make 
the  duty  protective  by  abolishing  or  differentiating  the  excise;  and 
in  this  they  had  had  the  support  of  native  Indian  politicians.  Free- 
trade  England  was  keenly  opposed  to  this  policy,  especially  Manches- 
ter and  Lancashire. 

Meanwhile  the  industry  in  India  developed  largely  and  its  out- 
put increased  between  1901-11  by  185%.  At  this  stage  in  1917  the 
Indian  Government  decided  to  raise  the  Import  duty  to  7}^% 
while  leaving  the  excise  untouched^ — a  distinctly  protectionist 
measure.  Mr.  Chamberlain,  Secretary  for  India,  sanctioned  the 
policy  and  there  followed  a  perfect  storm  of  free-trade  indignation 
in  England,  with,  of  course,  a  practical  side  to  it  amongst  the  Lan- 
cashire operators.  A  large  deputation  waited  on  Mr.  Chamberlain 
(Mar.  12)  and  he  told  them  the  duties  must  stand  though  he  was 
threatened  with  a  Lancashire  "ablaze  with  wrath"  and  the  anger  of 
an  industry  exporting  $635,000,000  worth  of  material  a  year,  of 
which  29%  went  to  India,  employing  450,000  workers  and  repre- 
senting $375,000,000  of  capital.  His  chief  ground  of  refusal  was 
that  the  Government  could  not  accept  a  gift  of  $500,000,000  from 
India  and  at  the  same  time  veto  an  Indian  fiscal  policy  because  it 
touched  the  pockets  of  some  British  manufacturers. 


THE  EMPIRE  AS  A  WAR  UNIT;  INTERNAL  PROBLEMS       197 

The  Empire  The  King's  position  in  the  War  was  not  always 

as  a  Unit  in  clear  to  the  public  of  the  outer  Dominions  but  to 
the  War;  The  their  statesmen — as  expressed  in  Conferences  and 
Problem  of  m  speeches — it  was  obvious  that  a  primary 
Unity?3  element  in  maintaining  the  Empire  as  a  unit 

in  war  or  peace  was  the  position  and  the  function 
of  the  Monarchy.  It  was  the  keystone  of  the  Imperial  arch.  Per- 
sonally, the  King  led  in  all  forms  of  self-sacrifice  required  by  war 
conditions — Prohibition,  food  restrictions,  economy,  generous  gifts 
to  War  funds,  etc.  Always  and  naturally,  by  much  travel  and 
experience  and  association  with  Empire  leaders,  he  was  an  Im- 
perialist. At  the  opening  of  Parliament  on  Feb.  7  His  Majesty 
had  a  special  Imperial  escort  composed  of  92  officers  representing 
the  Indian  army,  both  Native  and  British,  and  the  Canadian, 
Australian,  New  Zealand,  South  African,  Newfoundland  and  Brit- 
ish West  Indian  forces.  To  Parliament  he  made,  in  his  Speech, 
two  Empire  allusions: 

(1)  My  people  throughout  the  Empire  and  my  faithful  and  heroic  Allies  remain 
steadfastly  and  unanimously  resolved  to  secure  the  just  demands  for  reparation  and 
restitution  in  respect  of  the  past,  and  guarantees  for  the  future  which  we  regard  as 
essential  to  the  progress  of  civilization. 

(2)  I  invited  representatives  of  my  Dominions  and  my  Indian  Empire,  which 
have  borne  so  glorious  a  share  in  the  struggle,  to  confer  with  my  Ministers  on  import- 
ant questions  of  common  interest,  relating  to  the  War.     The  steps  so  taken  will,  I 
trust,  conduce  to  the  establishment  of  closer  relations  between  all  parts  of  the  Empire 

The  King's  selection  of  the  designation  of  Windsor  for  his  House 
and  family  was  approved  throughout  the  Empire  and  it  is  worthy 
of  record  that  at  the  Privy  Council  (July  17),  when  he  announced 
the  decision,  South  Africa  and  Australia  were  represented  by  General 
Smuts  and  W.  P.  Schreiner  for  the  former  and  Andrew  Fisher  for 
the  latter.  Sir  George  Perley,  not  being  a  member,  was,  of  course, 
not  present.  Royal  contributions  to  War  funds  were  many  but 
only  two  can  be  mentioned  here — $50,000  to  the  Empire  Red  Cross 
collection  of  Oct.  18  and  $5,000  in  aid  of  Halifax  Relief.  As  to 
the  former  the  King  sent  a  Message  to  all  his  representatives  through- 
out the  Empire,  describing  the  greal  work  of  this  Society:  "In  every 
theatre  of  the  War,  regardless  of  distance,  discomfort  or  danger, 
the  task  of  alleviating  pain  and  suffering  and  of  ministering  to  those 
in  need,  is  performed  with  unparalleled  devotion  by  the  men  and 
women  who  have  taken  service  under  the  Red  Cross."  The  King 
and  Queen  Mary  sent  a  Christmas  message  to  the  Canadian  and 
other  Imperial  troops  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  appealed  to  his 
people  by  Proclamation  throughout  the  world  to  hold  a  special 
day  of  prayer  for  victory:  "The  world- wide  struggle  for  the  triumph 
of  right  and  liberty  is  entering  upon  its  last  phase.  The  enemy 
is  striving  by  desperate  assault  and  subtle  intrigue  to  perpetuate 
the  wrongs  already  committed  and  stem  the  tide  of  a  free  civiliza- 
tion. We  have  yet  to  complete  the  great  task  to  which  more  than 
three  years  ago  we  dedicated  ourselves." 

Second  only  in  importance  to  the  War  Conference  in  1917  was 
the  Final  Report  of  the  Dominions  Royal  Commission  which, 


198  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

since  1912,  and  as  a  result  of  decisions  at  the  1911  Imperial  Confer- 
ence, had  been  touring  the  Empire  and  studying  its  natural  re- 
sources. It  was  composed  of  Lord  D'Abernon  of  Esher  (Chair- 
man), Thomas  Garnett,  Sir  Wm.  Lorimer,  Joseph  Tatlow  and  Sir 
A.  E.  Bateman  for  the  United  Kingdom;  Sir  George  E.  Foster, 
representing  Canada,  Donald  Campbell  for  Australia,*  Hon.  J.  R. 
Sinclair,  M.L.C.,  for  New  Zealand,  Sir  Richard  Solomon,  and  after- 
wards Sir  J.  W.  S.  Langerman,  for  South  Africa,  and  Sir  E.  R.  Bow- 
ring  for  Newfoundland.  The  objects  of  the  Commission  were  to 
report  (1)  upon  natural  resources,  (2)  upon  opportunities  and  methods 
of  development,  (3)  upon  facilities  existing,  or  capable  of  creation 
in  the  production,  manufacture  and  distribution  of  such  products, 
(4)  upon  trade  and  tariff  factors  in  this  general  connection.  Great 
Britain,  Canada,  Australia,  South  Africa,  Newfoundland  and  New 
Zealand  were  visited,  161  meetings  were  held  and  851  witnesses 
examined.  The  Report  was  an  elaborate  state  document  of  much 
value;  the  interim  reports,  issued  over  several  years,  already  had 
given  a  mass  of  information  and  details  as  to  resources,  trade, 
production,  tariffs,  etc.  The  only  thing  lacking  in  the  facts  was 
the  absence  of  collation  in  such  a  way  as  to  picture  the  Empire  as 
a  unit.  The  following  is  a  condensed  summary  of  recommendations: 

1.  It  is  vital  that  the  Empire  should,  be  placed  in  a  position  which  would  enable 
it  to  resist  any  pressure  which  a  Foreign  Power  or  group  of  Powers  could  exercise  in 
time  of  peace  or  war  through  control  of  raw  materials  and  commodities  essential  to 
its  well-being. 

2.  The  responsibility  for  a  survey  and  investigations  on  the  lines  indicated 
should  be  entrusted,  together  with  other  functions,  to  a  new  Imperial  Development 
Board. 

3.  A  far  greater  measure  of  Government  control  over  agencies  in  the  United 
Kingdom  for  the  selection  of  emigrants;  the  need  for  the  provision  of  adequate  cap- 
ital, training,  and  assistance  for  intending  soldier-settlers;    as  a  matter  of  Imperial 
policy,  far  greater  attention  to  the  emigration  of  women  and  children  from  the  United 
Kingdom. 

4.  The  interchange  of  school  teachers  between  the  United  Kingdom  and  the 
Dominions  in  order  to  secure  for  the  rising  generation  fuller  acquaintance  with  con- 
ditions overseas  and  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

5.  Cheap,  speedy,  and  efficient  transport  between  all  parts  of  the  Empire  by  the 
use  of  vessels  of  great  length  and  draught,  and  development  of  harbours  and  their 
approaches  along  the  great  trade  routes  of  the  Empire. 

6.  Improvement  in  the  cost  of  sea  transport  with  Government  control  of  steam- 
ship companies. 

7.  Legislation  imposing  liability  on  the  shipowner  for  the  negligence  of  his  ser- 
vants in  the  stowage,  delivery,  etc.,  of  merchandise  to  be  passed  in  the  United  King- 
dom, the  Union  of  South  Africa,  and  Newfoundland. 

8.  Reduction  of  cable  rates  between  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  self-governing 
Dominions. 

9.  State  control  of  telegraph  communication  between  the  United  Kingdom  and 
Australia  and  New  Zealand  through  Canada. 

10.  Extension  of  the  Trade  Commissioner  service. 

11.  A  quinquennial  Census  of  the  population  of  the  Empire  on  a  limited  scale. 
Improved  statistical  methods  and  compilations  in  the  various  parts  of  the  Empire,  and 
a  Conference  of  the  Statisticians  of  the  Empire. 

12.  The  establishment  throughout  the  Empire  of  uniform  coinage  based  on  the 
decimal  system,  and  of  uniform  weights  and  measures,  based  on  the  metric  system. 

*NOTE. — For  reasons  rather  obscurely  stated  Mr.  Campbell  afterwards  withdrew. 


THE  EMPIRE  AS  A  WAR  UNIT;  INTERNAL  PROBLEMS       199 

Imperial  co-ordination  and  co-relation  were  the  object  and  text 
of  this  Report;  an  obvious  weakness  in  its  constitution  and  con- 
clusions was  the  omission  of  India  and  the  retirement  of  the 
Australian  delegate.  With  Empire  resources  chiefly  in  view  and 
upon  the  initiative  of  H.  Wilson  Fox,  a  Committee  was  formed 
early  in  the  year  with  Sir  Starr  Jameson  as  Chairman,  and  Rudyard 
Kipling,  Brig.-Gen.  H.  Page  Croft,  M.P.,  Lord  Desborough,  Sir 
Arthur  Lawley,  H.  J.  Mackinder,  M.P.,  Moreton  Frewen,  Earl 
Grey,  Lord  Islington,  Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  J.  A.  Seddon,  Labour 
M.P.,  and  the  Earls  of  Plymouth  and  Selborne  as  members.  This 
Committee  issued  the  following  programme  at  the  close  of  January, 
1917: 

We,  the  undersigned,  realizing  the  immense  latent  resources  of  the  Empire  and 
the  possibility  of  developing  this  great  and  varied  wealth  for  State  purposes,  under 
State  auspices,  and  so  lifting  from  the  peoples  of  the  Empire  the  burdens  caused  by 
the  War,  have  formed  ourselves  into  a  Committee  to  advocate :  (a)  the  conservation 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Empire  of  such  natural  resources  as  are,  or  may  come,  under  the 
ownership  or  control  of  the  Imperial,  Dominion  or  Indian  Governments;  (b)  the 
development  of  selected  resources  of  the  Empire  under  such  conditions  as  will  give 
to  the  State  an  adequate  share  of  the  proceeds. 

Intimately  associated  with  these  conditions  and  proposals 
was  the  Imperial  Preference  problem — the  need  for  tariff  protection 
against  after-war  conditions  and  the  benefits  of  an  Empire  prefer- 
ential system.  A  Government  Committee  had  been  appointed 
by  Mr.  Asquith,  when  Premier,  in  July,  1916,  and  headed  by  Lord 
Balfour  of  Burleigh,  an  old-time  Free-trader,  to  study  and  report 
upon  a  commercial  and  industrial  policy  fitted  to  the  future  situa- 
tion. There  were  169  members  who  submitted  a  Report  on  Feb.  2, 
1917,  which  declared  the  following  Resolutions  to  cover  the  views 
of  all  upon  the  principle  of  Preference  but  with  objections  as  to 
other  points  from  three  members: 

1.  We  consider  that  special  steps  must  be  taken  to  stimulate  the  production  of 
foodstuffs,  raw  materials,  and  manufactured  articles  within  the  Empire. 

2.  We  recommend  that  the  Government  should  now  declare  their  adherence  to 
the  principle  that  Preference  should  be  accorded  to  the  products  and  manufactures 
of  the  British  Overseas  Dominions. 

3.  It  will  in  our  opinion  be  necessary  to  take  into  early  consideration,  the  desir- 
ability of  establishing  a  wider  range  of  Customs  duties  which  would  be  remitted  or 
reduced  on  the  products  and  manufactures  of  the  Empire,  and  which  would  form  the 
basis  of  commercial  treaties  with  Allied  and  Neutral  Powers. 

On  Apr.  27  Mr.  Lloyd  George  put  the  issue  as  follows  at  the  Guild- 
hall: "We  have  decided  that  in  future  it  is  the  business  of  British 
and  Dominion  statesmanship  to  knit  the  Empire  in  closer  bonds 
of  interest,  of  trade,  of  commerce,  of  business  and  general  inter- 
course in  affairs.  We  have  considered  this  problem  and  decided 
that  in  order  to  develop  these  enormous  territories  in  future  it  is 
necessary  that  exceptional  encouragement  should  be  given  to  the 
products  of  each  part  of  the  Empire.  We  believe  that  a  system 
of  Preference  could  be  established  without  involving  the  imposi- 
tion of  food  burdens."  A  few  months  later  the  Preferential  idea 
was  endorsed  by  a  Report  of  the  Canadian  Manufacturers'  Associa- 
tion at  its  meeting  in  Winnipeg  on  June  14,  as  already  by  Chambers 


200  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

\ 

of  Commerce  in  Great  Britain,  in  Australia  and  in  South  Africa. 
The  Report  was  worded  in  almost  identical  terms  with  the  above 
Resolution. 

Meanwhile,  other  vital  Empire  problems  of  an  acute  or  a  direct 
nature  were  receiving  practical  consideration.  Consultation  of 
the  Dominions  upon  issues  of  Peace  and  War  had  been  a  pious 
aspiration;  in  1917  it  was  a  practical,  insistent  issue  dealt  with 
at  a  War  Cabinet  and  Conference.  On  Jan  31  Sir  Robert  Borden 
stated  in  the  Canadian  Commons  that  "a  despatch  had  been  re- 
ceived from  the  Colonial  Secretary  on  Jan.  21,  1915,  stating  that 
it  was  the  intention  of  His  Majesty's  Government  to  consult  the 
Canadian  Prime  Minister  most  fully  and,  if  possible,  personally, 
when  the  time  to  discuss  possible  terms  of  peace  arrived."  In  the 
House  of  Lords  on  Feb.  8  Lord  Curzon  referred  to  the  Dominions' 
share  in  the  War  and  added:  "We  therefore  now  regard  them  as 
being  entitled  to  a  voice  in  the  prosecution  of  the  War  to  the  end 
which  we  contemplate,  also  to  arrange  the  settlement  of  terms  of 
peace."  OnApr.  27  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  in  his  Guildhall  speech,  eulogized 
Empire  war-action  and  proceeded:  "Henceforth  effective  partner- 
ship must  be  the  only  basis  of  co-operation.  If  our  action  brings 
the  Dominions  into  trouble  they  must  henceforth  be  consulted 
before  we  act.  The  methods  must  be  carefully  considered.  A 
great  war  is  not  the  best  time  for  thinking  out,  perhaps,  a  new 
constitution,  but  our  Councils  of  Empire  must  be  a  reality.  The 
Imperial  War  Cabinet  has  been  a  demonstration  of  the  value  of  such 
Councils.  .  .  .  Great  problems  regarding  submarines,  shipping 
and  food,  as  well  as  military  decisions,  were  all  reviewed,  but  we 
must  do  more."  In  the  Imperial  War  Cabinet  every  Dominion 
of  the  Empire  (except  Australia)  was  represented  and  approved  of 
this  new  element  of  partnership. 

Various  specific  plans  of  Imperial  co-operation  or  consolida- 
tion were  proposed  in  1917  apart  from  the  practical  realizations 
of  the  year.  Lord  Milner  suggested  a  purely  Imperial  Cabinet, 
with  an  Imperial  Prime  Minister,  and  Ministries  'for  the  Navy, 
Army,  Foreign  Affairs,  Finance,  Imperial  Commerce  and  Communi- 
cations, for  India  and  for  the  greater  Crown  Colonies.  Such  a 
Cabinet  should  be  subject  to  a  Parliament  to  which  the  United 
Kingdom  and  the  Dominions  would  elect  their  own  respective 
quotas  of  representatives.  This  was  the  full  fruit  of  Imperial 
^Federation  ideals.  Mr.  Z.  A.  Lash,  K.C.,  a  Canadian  thinker 
and  publicist,  elaborated  a  less  drastic  phase  in  a  little  book  full 
of  condensed  thought  and  policy  called  Defence  and  Foreign  Affairs. 
He  opposed  the  Imperial  Parliament  policy  and  the  plans  of  Lord 
Milner  or  those  outlined  by  Lionel  Curtis  in  his  Problem  of  the 
Commonwealth;  assumed  that  some  change  was  imperative  in 
control  of  Foreign  affairs  and  urged  that  the  Empire  should  not 
again  postpone  united  defence  preparations  until  war  was  at  hand; 
insisted  upon  the  necessity  of  a  Central  Authority  which  must 
have  jurisdiction  over  Foreign  policy,  must  control  an  Army  and 
Navy,  and  must  provide  money  for  their  maintenance;  urged  the 
creation  of  an  Imperial  Council  with  Executive  and  Legislative 


S 

o  So.o 


is 

' 


1THE  EMPIRE  AS  A  WAR  UNIT;  INTERNAL  PROBLEMS  201 
wers — created  by  mutual  agreement,  approved  by  a  vote  of  the 
people  in  Great  Britain  and  the  Dominions,  and  ratified  by  the 
Imperial  Parliament.  The  Round  Table  groups  of  Canada,  after 
discussing  the  proposals  of  Mr.  Curtis  and  others,  issued  in  Febru- 
ary, 1917,  a  Memorandum  which  had  been  prepared  by  a  Toronto 
Committee  with  Sir  Edmund  Walker  as  Chairman,  submitted 
to  members  all  over  Canada,  and  signed  by  many  as  approving  its 
statements.  The  conclusions,  or  "broad  premises  upon  which 
all  can  agree  in  discussing  the  subject,"  were  as  follows: 

1.  Canada  has  shown  her  determination  to  preserve  and  strengthen  the  ties 
which  now  bind  her  to  Great  Britain  and  other  portions  of  the  British  Commonwealth. 

2.  Effective  organization  of  the  Empire  must  not  involve  any  sacrifice  of  respon- 
sible government  in  domestic  affairs,  or  the  surrender  of  control  over  fiscal  policy  by 
any  portion  of  the  Empire. 

3.  But  it  is  an  inevitable  development  of  responsible  government  in  the  Do- 
minions that  they  should  assume  their  proportionate  share  in  the  defence  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  should  have  a  voice  in  determining  its  relations  with  other  States. 

4.  We  think,  therefore,  that  as  soon  as  circumstances  permit,  political  leaders 
throughout  the  Empire,  irrespective  of  party,  should  meet  to  consider  the  problem 

Amongst  the  signatories  to  this  document  were  Sir  John  Willison, 

A.  E.  Ames,  G.  Frank  Beer,  Sir  R.  A.  Falconer,  J.  W.  Flavelle, 
M.  J.  Haney,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  D.  Chown,  Z.  A.  Lash,  K.C.,  and  Prof. 
G.  M.  Wrong,  Toronto;  Sir  A.  M.  Nanton,  Winnipeg;  T.  B.  Macau- 
lay,  Sir  Wm.  Peterson,  Lord  Shaughnessy  and  Sir  F.  Williams- 
Taylor,  Montreal;  R.  B.  Bennett,  K.C.,   M.P.,   and  P.   Burns,   Cal- 
gary; Hon.  Chas.  A.  Dunning,  Saskatoon;  Rt.  Rev.  M.  F.  Fallon, 
D.D.,  London;  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  C.  Fitzpatrick,  Ottawa;  Sir  J.    George 
Garneau,  Quebec;  Sir  J.  M.  Gibson,  Hamilton;  Chancellor  Cecil 
C.  Jones,  Fredericton;  President  Stanley  Mackenzie,    PH.D.,    and 
Archbishop  C.  L.  Worrell,  Halifax;  Sir  C.  Phillipps-Wolley,  Somenos, 

B.  C.;  Hon.  H.  W.  Richardson,  Kingston;  Hon.  C.  W.  Robinson, 
Moncton.     There  were  100  all  together,  with  the  above  names  taken 
almost  at  random  to  indicate  the  character  of  the  support  given. 

On  Apr.  27  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  Toronto  to  discuss 
this  Memorandum  with  Sir  Edmund  Walker  in  the  chair  and 
N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.,  Liberal  leader  in  Ontario,  Sir  W.  Hearst,  Prem- 
ier of  Ontario,  J.  W.  Flavelle  and  Prof.  C.  W.  Colby  as  speakers. 
The  Chairman  defined  and  defended  the  Round  table  as  a  move- 
ment which  was  Empire-wide  and  based  primarily  upon  the  idea 
of  study  and  consultation  in  the  Imperial  unity  problem:  "We 
must  think  nationally  before  we  can  think  Imperially.  Our  move- 
ment can  only  spring  from  the  people."  Mr.  Flavelle  had  no  fear 
of  losing  autonomy  in  an  Imperial  Federation;  the  Central  Parlia- 
ment would  be  no  more  of  an  outside  body  than  was  the  Federal 
Parliament  in  the  Dominion.  Sir  Wm.  Hearst  asked  a  pertinent 
question:  "In  the  day  when  Canada  has  a  population  equal  to  the 
British  Isles,  does  anyone  suggest  that  she  would  leave  the  question 
of  peace  and  war  to  a  Parliament  over  which  she  had  no  control?" 
Mr.  Rowell  declared  that  the  Irish  question  must  be  settled  first, 
that  the  present  duty  was  to  save  the  Empire  now  and  re-organize 
it  afterwards,  that  a  co-operation  of  free  peoples  was  better  than 
centralization  in  government. 


202  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Meanwhile  certain  War  policies  arose  vitally  affecting  the 
Empire  system.  One  was  the  question  of  retaining  German  col- 
onies after  the  War — or  if  the  issue  should  actually  arise — fighting 
for  them  in  diplomacy  and  at  the  Peace  Congress.  South  Africa 
was  determined  to  keep  or  control  the  East  and  South-west  empires 
of  Germany  which  it  had  conquered;  Australia  and  New  Zealand 
were  equally  determined  as  to  Samoa,  New  Guinea  and  the  German 
Pacific  Islands.  Japan  in  its  Kao-Chiau  acquisition  and  Pacific 
interests  was  associated  with  Australia  in  this  matter;  early  in  1917 
almost  simultaneous  announcements  were  made  by  Mr.  Long, 
British  Colonial  Secretary,  Count  Motono,  Japanese  Foreign  Min- 
ister, and  Mr.  Massey,  New  Zealand  Premier,  that  there  would 
be  no  return  to  Germany  of  its  Colonies  in  Africa,  Asia  or  the  Pacific. 
Mr.  Walter  Long's  speech  was  at  Westminster  on  Jan.  81:  "Let 
no  man  think  that  the  struggles  for  these  Colonies  have  been  in 
vain.  Let  no  man  think  that  these  Colonies  will  ever  return  to 
German  rule.  It  is  impossible.  Our  Overseas  Empire  will  not 
tolerate  any  suggestion  of  the  kind."  The  Prime  Minister  was 
not  so  positive  and  at  Glasgow  on  June  29  merely  said:  "As  to 
the  German  Colonies,  that  is  a  matter  which  must  be  settled  by 
the  Peace  Congress.  The  wishes,  the  desires,  and  the  interests 
of  the  people  of  those  countries  themselves  must  be  the  dominant 
factor  in  settling  their  future  government." 

British  Socialists  were  opposed  to  annexations  and  especially 
so  the  Macdonald-Snowden  group;  British  Labour  leaders  were 
uncertain,  wobbly,  and  inclined  to  antagonism.  In  the  Commons 
on  May  16  a  motion  by  Philip  Snowden  was  voted  down  without 
division.  It  proposed  to  welcome  "the  repudiation  by  the  Russian 
Government  of  all  proposals  for  Imperialistic  conquest  and  aggrand- 
izement" and  called  on  the  British  Government  to  issue  a  similar 
declaration  in  behalf  of  the  British  democracy.  Lord  Robert 
Cecil,  Minister  of  Blockade,  in  his  speech  referred  to  the  German- 
African  Colonies:  "While  it  is  true  that  we  did  not  take  them 
in  order  to  rescue  the  natives  from  German  rule,  but  as  a  part 
of  the  War  operations,  having  rescued  them  are  we  going  to  hand 
them  back?"  He  then  read  a  long  account  of  the  shocking  treat- 
ment suffered  by  the  natives  in  both  German  East  Africa  and  German 
West  Africa,  and  said :  "  If  there  is  any  measure  of  success  in  the  War, 
I  should  regard  with  horror  the  idea  of  returning  natives  who  have 
been  freed  from  a  government  of  that  kind."  An  interview,  by 
cable,  was  given  to  the  Montreal  Star  on  Sept.  29  by  Mr.  Secretary 
Long.  In  it  he  said  that  all  assertions  must  be  estimated  by  the 
degree  and  quality  of  the  victory  won: 

But  these  German  possessions  have  been  captured  by  British  troops,  many  of 
them  from  our  Dominions  and  Colonies.  The  policy  of  the  Empire  is  not,  and 
never  has  been,  to  seek  territory  for  territory's  sake.  ...  I  am  quite  sure  of  this — 
that  our  Dominions,  looking,  as  I  have  said,  to  the  question  of  their  own  future 
security,  will  vehemently  resent  any  attempt  to  restore  German  rule  in  those  terri- 
tories. Further  we  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that  in  the  future  the  submarine  and 
aeroplane,  and  all  the  modern  and  terrible  inventions  of  war,  will  have  materially 
altered  the  situation,  and  we  are  compelled  to  ask  ourselves  what  would  be  the  oppor- 
tunities of  a  selfish  and  aggressive  Power,  animated  solely  by  military  lust,  if  we 


THE  EMPIRE  AS  A  WAR  UNIT;  INTERNAL  PROBLEMS      203 

were  to  allow  them  to  retain  in  every  part  of  Africa  outposts  which  they  would  assur- 
edly make  submarine  and  aircraft  bases,  and  convert  into  strongholds  from  which 
to  attack  their  peaceful  neighbours.  ...  A  peace  that  will  see  these  oppressed 
German  possessions  started  on  the  road  toward  progress  and  prosperity,  with  a 
future  like  that  of  other  British  Colonies  as  their  goal,  is  the  only  peace  which  the 
world  can  contemplate  with  satisfaction. 

Hon.  W.  A.  Holman,  Premier  of  New  South  Wales,  Hon.  J.  D.  Con- 
nolly, Agent-General  for  Western  Australia  in  London,  Rt.  Hon. 
W.  F.  Massey,  Premier  of  New  Zealand,  were  all  equally  emphatic 
upon  this  point,  and  Gen.  J.  C.  Smuts  of  South  Africa  declared 
in  the  London  Chronicle  (Mar.  13)  that:  "The  mere  suggestion 
that  any  part  should  be  returned  is,  of  course,  preposterous.  I 
shudder  to  think  what  would  happen  to  the  native  population. 
The  whole  of  South  Africa,  East  Africa,  South- West  Africa,  and 
Rhodesia  would  stand  aghast  at  such  an  idea."  As  to  Peace  pro- 
posals the  Empire  Governments  were  united  in  opposition  to  any 
premature  or  indefinite  peace;  of  details  there  might  be  discussion 
and  as  to  terms  there  were  differences  of  opinion,  but  "carry  on  to 
victory"  still  was  the  sentiment  at  the  end  of  1917. 

On  the  other  hand  Pacificism  and  Peace,  without  pride  or  power, 
found  continued  advocacy  in  the  Manchester  Guardian  and  The 
Nation,  and  in  such  bodies  as  the  1,000  Socialists  and  Labourites 
who,  at  Leeds  on  June  3,  declared  for  peace  without  annexations 
or  indemnities,  demanded  "freedom  of  the  press,"  and  called  for 
"the  establishment  in  England  of  a  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  group, 
on  the  Russian  model,  to  work  for  a  people's  peace."  To  these 
elements  came  an  extraordinary  re-inforcement  in  the  person  of 
the  Marquess  of  Lansdowne,  K.G.,  a  great  noble  of  the  old  type, 
a  statesman  and  Colonial  ruler  of  wide  experience,  a  leader  of  the 
old-time  Tory  school  of  thought.  On  Nov.  29  there  was  pub- 
lished in  The  Times  a  long  letter  from  him,  in  which  he  described 
the  horrors  of  the  War,  its  wanton  prolongation  as  being  a  crime, 
and  reparation  and  security  as  the  stated  aims  of  the  Entente.  He 
reviewed  the  situation  as  to  peace  upon  the  apparent  assumption 
that  Germany  could  be  trusted  to  make  an  agreement  "to  keep 
the  peace"  and  avoid  hostile  combinations  against  other  nations; 
deprecated  any  commercial  war  upon  Germany  and  wanted  trade 
to  flow  after  the  War  in  its  natural  channels;  asked  for  a  frank  ex- 
change of  view  between  the  Allied  Powers  as  to  any  re-arrangement 
of  the  map  of  South-eastern  Europe.  He  declared  that  Britain 
was  not  going  to  lose  the  War  but  wrote  of  the  position  in  most 
pessimistic  vein: 

An  immense  stimulus  would  probably  be  given  to  a  peace  party  in  Germany  if 
it  were  understood:  (l)That  we  do  not  desire  the  annihilation  of  Germany  as  a  Great 
Power;  (2)  that  we  do  not  seek  to  impose  upon  her  people  any  form  of  Government 
other  than  that  of  their  own  choice;  (3)  that  except  as  a  legitimate  war  measure 
we  have  no  desire  to  deny  to  Germany  her  place  among  the  great  commercial  com- 
munities of  the  world;  (4)  that  we  are  prepared,  when  the  War  is  over,  to  examine, 
in  concert  with  other  Powers,  a  group  of  international  problems,  some  of  them  of 
recent  origin,  which  are  connected  with  the  question  of  the  freedom  of  the  sea;  (5) 
that  we  are  prepared  to  enter  into  an  international  pact  for  the  settlement  of  inter- 
national disputes  by  peaceful  means. 


204  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  question  of  Irish  Home  Rule  interjected  itself  into  Empire 
politics  and  policy  in  1917.  It  affected  the  Conscription  result 
in  Australia — perhaps  decided  the  issue;  it  influenced  recruiting 
in  all  parts  of  the  Empire,  especially  during  the  period  following 
the  Rebellion;  it  gave  form  and  name  to  agitations  in  India  which, 
in  certain  extremes,  were  akin  to  Bolshevikism;  it  afforded  a  text 
for  pro-Germans  everywhere  and  a  pretext  for  Germany  to  place 
Belgium  and  Ireland  upon  a  common  level.  On  Mar.  7  the  Austra- 
lian Senate,  by  its  Labour  majority,  passed  a  Resolution  (28  to  2) 
in  favour  of  "a  just  measure  of  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  without 
undue  delay";  a  gathering  of  400  Irish-Canadians  at  Winnipeg 
on  Mar.  12  declared  that  "when  one  part  of  the  Empire,  as  is  the 
case  in  Ireland,  is  unhappily  governed  in  opposition  to  the  will 
of  the  great  majority  of  its  people,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  part  of 
this  Empire  to  take  active  steps  to  see  that  justice  is  done  that 
portion  of  the  Empire"  and  therefore  urged  that  "the  principle 
of  nationhood  be  clearly  recognized  in  Ireland";  at  Montreal  on 
Mar.  15  Mr.  Doherty,  Minister  of  Justice,  stated  that  "Home 
Rule  is  Ireland's  right  and  its  grant  is  England's  opportunity." 
Dr.  M.  F.  Fallon,  Bishop  of  London,  whose  Imperialism  was  un- 
doubted, spoke  with  equal  emphasis  on  Mar.  16:  "I  know  that 
there  is  an  Irish  question,  and  that  its  equitable  settlement  is  vital 
to  the  honour  of  the  name  of  Britain,  to  the  successful  issue  of  the 
War,  and  to  the  satisfactory  solution  of  'the  grave  problems  that 
shall  confront  us  when  the  War  is  over."  He  bitterly  denounced 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  declared  that  in  holding-up  Home  Rule 
he  "gave  the  project  of  Imperial  unity  and  the  political  ideal  of 
a  British  Commonwealth  the  worst  blow  it  has  received  in  a  score 
of  years."  The  Orange  Grand  Lodge  of  Ontario  East  responded 
(Mar.  21)  with  a  Resolution  approving  the  British  Premier's  stand 
and  others  followed  suit.  At  Toronto  on  Apr.  27  N.  W.  Rowell, 
Liberal  leader  in  Ontario,  declared,  and  The  Globe  endorsed  his 
view,  that  "the  Irish  question  must  be  settled  before  we  settle 
the  question  of  Imperial  relations." 

What  of  the  Empire  as  a  whole  in  the  War?  Taken  by  total 
enlistments  Canada,  by  the  close  of  1917,  had  raised  430,000  men, 
Australia  350,000,  New  Zealand  100,000,  South  Africa  80,000, 
Newfoundland  5,000,  British  West  Indies  7,000,  India  1,000,000, 
or  a  total  of  1,972,000.  Great  Britain  had  at  least  3,000,000  abroad 
in  France,  Greece,  Macedonia,  Mesopotamia,  Italy,  Palestine, 
Egypt,  East  Africa,  etc.,  with  probably  2,000,000  in  reserve  at 
home,  or  as  casualties — a  total  for  the  Empire  of  7,000,000.  A  curious 
feature  of  the  fighting  in  1917  was  a  rumour  spread  abroad  by  German 
influences  that  Englishmen  had  not  done  their  fair  share  in  the 
War  and  were  deliberately  giving  precedence  to  Dominion  and 
other  troops.  So  wide-spread  Were  these  allegations — especially 
in  the  United  States — that  General  F.  B.  Maurice,  Chief  Director 
of  Military  Operations,  told  the  Associated  Press,  on  July  19,  that 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  "the  greatest  part  of  the  fighting  since  the  War 
began  has  naturally  fallen  on  English  troops — they  are  the  largest 
part  of  the  Army  and  have  borne  the  brunt  of  the  work.  The 


THE  EMPIRE  AS  A  WAR  UNIT;  INTERNAL  PROBLEMS      205 

isualty  lists  show  that  the  English  regiments  have  fought  just 
as  gallantly  and  bravely  and  have  lost  as  heavily  as  any  regiments 
in  the  Imperial  Army." 

An  element  in  this  connection  was  the  traditional  reserve  of 
the  Englishman  as  to  himself  and  his  unfailing  generosity  in  praising 
Colonial  troops.  Sir  Frederick  Smith,  when  in  New  York  on  Dec. 
30,  blamed  the  Censorship  in  part  and  declared  that  "the  truth 
is  that  85  per  cent  of  the  casualties  in  the  early  days  were  suffered 
by  the  men  who  went  right  from  Britain  to  the  Front."  In  August 
official  figures  were  issued  as  follows:  For  the  four  series  of  battles 
at  the  Somme,  Arras,  Ypres  and  Messines  the  Divisions  engaged 
were:  At  the  Somme,  Motherland  5,  to  Dominions  1;  Arras,  3j/£ 
to  1;  Ypres,  7  to  1;  Messines,  2  to  1.  The  casualties  per  Division 
were:  At  the  Somme,  Motherland  5  to  Dominions  4;  Arras,  7  to  6; 
Ypres,  5  to  1;  Messines,  11  to  13. 

The  money  raised  for  War  purposes  during  these  years  included 
$750,000,000  in  Australia,  $120,000,000  in  New  Zealand,  $138,000,000 
in  South  Africa,  $500,000,000  (raised  or  pledged)  in  India,  $3,000,000 
in  Newfoundland  and  $700,000,000  in  Canada  with  at  least  $50,000,- 
000  in  the  scattered  Crown  Colonies— a  total  of  $2,261,000,000 
from  countries  hitherto  considered  as  more  or  less  dependent  upon 
British  financial  support.  Very  generous  also  were  the  voluntary 
subscriptions  and  gifts  for  War  purposes  in  these  countries.  An 
estimate  may  be  made  of  $36,000,000  from  Australia,  $18,000,000 
from  New  Zealand,  $10,000,000  from  South  Africa,  $25,000,000 
from  India,  $3,000,000  from  Newfoundland,  $75,000,000  from 
Canada,  or  a  total  of  $167,000,000  in  3J^  years  of  War.  As  an 
illustration  of  Empire  contributions  and  gifts  outside  the  Domin- 
ions the  following  for  1917*  may  be  mentioned: 

Straits  Settlements:  Increase  in  War  contribution  from  $1,000,000  a  year  to 
$2,500,000. 

Basutoland:  $150,000  for  Aeroplanes. 

Gold  Coast  Colony,  Africa:   $1,000,000  in  10  yearly  instalments. 

Nigeria:   1  per  cent,  on  $40,000,000  of  War  Debt. 

Zanzibar:   $100,000  for  Aeroplanes  with  prior  gifts  of  $150,000. 

Hong-Kong:  $5,000,000  from  Loan  and  Revenues. 

Mauritius:    1,000,000  Rupees  for  Aeroplanes. 

Nigeria,  Gold  Coast,  East  Africa,  Uganda  and  Nyassaland:  Cost  of  Local  Cam- 
paigns. 

Burma:   1st  Instalment  of  War  Fund  $950,000. 

Gambia;   $50,000  to  R.F.C.  for  Aeroplanes. 

Falkland  Islands:   One-tenth  of  yearly  Customs  revenue  for  ten  years. 

Federated  Malay  States:  $50,000  for  Belgian  Relief  and  $15,000  to  3  other 
Relief  Funds;  also  £1,000,000  official  grant  for  1917  and  £750,000  pledged  for  1918 
—a  total  of  $8,750,000. 

Malaya  Public:   Money  for  35  Aeroplanes  and  a  Tank. 


*Ncm$. — See  also  Lists  in  preceding  volumes  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review. 


206  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Imperial  In  Canada  little  was  heard,  known,  or  realized  in 
War  Cabinet  1917  regarding  the  Imperial  War  Cabinet.  British 
and  Imperial  thinkers  and  writers  termed  it  a  revolutionary  con- 
War  Confer-  stitutional  change  and  in  a  sense  it  was  one;  why  its 
ence  of  1917.  importance  and  functions  should  be  so  blurred  in 
transmission  of  news  that  the  average  Canadian  could 
hardly  distinguish  between  it  and  the  W7ar  Conference  was  hard  to 
understand.  Newspapers  opposed  to  Imperial  consolidation  passed 
over  it  in  their  comments  without  serious  consideration;  others 
did  not,  with  a  few  exceptions,  mark  its  significance  to  Empire 
evolution.  Secrecy  in  its  proceedings  was  one  cause,  greater  pub- 
licity to  the  Conference  conclusions  another,  aversion  of  politicians 
to  crossing  a  stream  of  possible  local  controversy  before  they  came 
to  it  a  factor. 

Like  everything  else  in  the  Empire  system  it  evolved  naturally. 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  in  1916  had  changed  the  Cabinet  system  into  one 
of  an  inner  War  Cabinet  of  five  men  and  an  outer  Government  of 
many  administrators  and  Departmental  heads;  in  1917  he  extended 
the  inner  circle  of  advisory  leaders  to  include  the  Dominions  as  well 
as  the  United  Kingdom — that  Australia  was  not  included  was  the 
result  of  local  political  conditions.  In  1916  visiting  Premiers  had 
been  asked  to  sit  at  special  meetings  of  the  general  Cabinet  Council; 
now,  in  calling  the  War  Conference,  the  British  Premier  intimated 
that  for  the  purposes  of  that  gathering  "your  Prime  Minister  will 
be  a  member  of  t&e  War  Cabinet."  There  was,  also,  a  complete 
change  in  function  from  the  sittings  of  isolated  Dominion  Ministers 
who  had  attended  in  an  honorary  capacity.  In  1917,  as  The  Times 
put  it  on  Mar.  21: 

The  War  Cabinet  now  meeting  is  an  Executive  Cabinet  for  the  Empire.  It  is 
invested  with  full  responsibility  for  the  decision  of  all  matters  which  are  essential 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  War,  including  questions  of  Foreign  policy,  of  the  provision 
of  troops  and  munitions,  and  of  War  finance.  It  will  settle  Imperial  policy  as  to 
the  terms  of  peace.  It  will  consider  those  important  problems  which  are  certain  to 
be  the  pressing  legacy  of  the  War. 

The  first  meeting  was  held  on  Mar.  20  and  consisted  primarily 
of  the  British  War  Cabinet — Messrs.  Lloyd  George,  A.  Bonar  Law, 
Arthur  Henderson,  Lord  Curzon  and  Lord  Milner — with  Sir  Robert 
Borden  for  Canada,  Sir  James  Meston,  Lieut. -Governor  of  Agra 
and  Oudh  and  Sir  Satyendra  Sinha  for  India,  Sir  Edward  Morris 
for  Newfoundland,  Mr.  W.  F.  Massey  for  New  Zealand,  and  Lieut. - 
Gen.  Jan  Christian  Smuts  for  South  Africa.  Mr.  Walter  Long  and 
Mr.  Balfour  were  made  temporary  members  of  this  Imperial  War 
Cabinet  while  the  War  Conference  was  in  Session.  The  British 
Premier  presided  and  addressed  the  members  at  the  first  meeting, 
as  did  the  Colonial  Secretary.  A  series  of  14  meetings  were  held 
while  the  British  War  Cabinet  and  the  ordinary  Cabinet  held  sep- 
arate councils  from  time  to  time  to  deal  with  matters  not  coming 
before  the  new  body.  On  May  17  Mr.  Lloyd  George  announced  in 
Parliament  that  in  consequence  of  the  success  of  the  Imperial  War 
Cabinet  it  had  been  decided  to  hold  meetings  of  that  body  once  a 
year,  or  oftener  if  necessary,  to  discuss  Foreign  affairs  and  other 
aspects  of  Imperial  policy. 


THE  IMPERIAL  WAR  CABINET  AND  CONFERENCE          207 

He  referred  to  the  decision  as  "a  landmark  in  the  constitutional 
history  of  the  British  Empire."  At  these  sittings,  he  added,  the 
Overseas  members  of  the  Imperial  War  Cabinet  had  access  to  all 
information,  freely  discussed  all  the  most  vital  aspects  of  Imperial 
policy,  and  came  to  important  decisions  with  regard  to  them;  these 
decisions  would  enable  the  Imperial  Government  to  prosecute  the 
War  with  increased  unity  and  be  of  the  greatest  value  in  the  negotia- 
tions for  peace.  The  Premier  declared  that  the  fresh  minds  and 
new  points  of  view  which  their  new  colleagues  had  brought  to  the 
problems  engaging  attention  had  been  of  immense  help:  "The  ex- 
periment was  a  complete  success."  It  was  announced  that  for  the 
future  the  Imperial  Cabinet  would  consist  of  the  Prime  Minister  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  and  such  of  his  colleagues  as  dealt  specially 
with  Imperial  affairs,  the  Prime  Ministers  of  each  of  the  Dominions, 
or  a  specially  accredited  representative  possessed  of  equal  authority, 
a  representative  of  the  Indian  people  who  would  be  appointed  by 
the  Government  of  India.  Mr.  Lloyd  George  then  reviewed  the 
Constitutional  issue: 

We  hope  that  the  holding  of  an  annual  Imperial  Cabinet  to  discuss  foreign  affairs 
and  other  aspects  of  Imperial  policy,  will  become  an  accepted  convention  of  the 
British  Constitution.  I  ought  to  add  that  the  institution  in  its  present  form  is  ex- 
tremely elastic.  It  grew  not  by  design,  but  out  of  the  necessities  of  the  War.  The 
essence  of  it  is  that  the  responsible  heads  of  the  Government  of  the  Empire,  with 
those  Ministers  who  are  specially  entrusted  with  the  conduct  of  Imperial  policy, 
should  meet  together  at  regular  intervals  to  confer  about  Foreign  policy  and  matters 
connected  therewith,  and  come  to  decisions  in  regard  to  them,  which,  subject  to  the 
control  of  their  own  Parliaments,  they  will  then  severally  execute.  By  this  means 
they  will  be  able  to  obtain  full  information  about  all  aspects  of  Imperial  affairs  and 
to  determine  by  consultation  together  the  policy  of  the  Empire  in  its  most  vital 
aspects  without  infringing  in  any  degree  the  autonomy  which  its  parts  at  present 
enjoy. 

A  little  before  this,  in  the  Commons,  on  Apr.  27,  Mr.  Bonar  Law 
stated  that  the  Imperial  War  Cabinet  had  unanimously  accepted 
the  principle  that  each  part  of  the  Empire,  having  due  regard  to 
the  interests  of  our  Allies,  should  give  specially  favourable  treat- 
ment and  facilities  to  the  produce  and  manufactures  of  other  parts 
of  the  Empire  but  that  there  was  no  intention  of  making  any  change 
during  the  War,  and  that  the  Resolution  did  not  involve  any  taxa- 
tion of  food  proposals.  The  London  Times  noted  a  tendency,  which 
was  also  marked  in  the  outer  Dominions,  to  slur  over  the  proceed- 
ings and  import  of  the  meetings  and  stated  (June  1)  that  "the 
Imperial  War  Cabinet,  while  it  was  in  being,  was  a  Cabinet  with  all 
the  wide  powers  of  that  eminently  British  body.  It  took  executive 
decisions  on  questions  of  foreign  policy,  of  operations  by  sea  and 
land,  and  of  the  terms  of  peace  that  will  command  the  approval  of 
all  parts  of  the  Empire."  It  may  be  added  that  General  Smuts 
was  afterwards  specially  invited  to  remain  in  England  as  a  regular 
member  'of  the  British  War  Cabinet — also  a  new  departure.  Mean- 
while, on  Mar.  13,  Mr.  Lloyd  George  had  issued  a  statement  regard- 
ing the  Imperial  War  Conference  and  described  it  as  marking  a  new 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Empire.  Of  subjects  for  discussion  he 
added : 


208  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  fate  of  the  German  Colonies  is  one  obvious  question,  but  there  are  many 
questions  of  equal  moment,  all  difficult  problems,  connected  with  the  making  of 
peace,  to  be  threshed  out.  The  War-policy  of  the  Empire  will  be  clearly  defined 
and  of  great  importance  in  what  I  may  call  the  preparation  for  peace.  That  will 
involve  not  only  demobilization,  but  such  post-war  questions  as  the  migration  of 
our  people  to  other  parts  of  the  Empire,  the  settlement  of  soldiers  on  the  land,  com- 
merce and  industry.  It  seems  to  us  an  impossible  and  undemocratic  proposition  to 
think  that  the  Overseas  nations  should  raise  and  place  in  the  field  armies  containing 
an  enormous  proportion  of  their  best  manhood  and  not  want  to  have  a  say,  and  a 
real  say,  in  determining  the  use  to  which  they  are  to  be  put.  That  is  why  one  of  the 
first  acts  of  the  new  Government  was  to  ask  the  Premiers  of  the  Overseas  Dominions 
to  sit  in  the  Executive  Cabinet  of  the  Empire. 

The  ensuing  War  Conference  was  in  Session  for  15  days,  the 
initial  meeting  being  on  Mar.  21  when  the  Rt.  Hon.  W.  H.  Long, 
Colonial  Secretary  and  Chairman,  addressed  the  members.  He 
explained  the  Election  difficulties  which  made  it  impossible  for  Mr. 
Hughes  of  Australia  to  be  present,*  mentioned  the  preliminary 
meeting  of  the  first  Imperial  Cabinet,  spoke  of  "a  re-birth  of  the  Em- 
pire" which  must  result  from  the  great  War  struggle,  and  especially 
welcomed  the  representatives  of  India.  The  members  of  the  Con- 
ference were  as  follows: 

Great       Rt.  Hon.  Walter  H.  Long  New  Rt.  Hon.  William  F.  Massey 

Britain:    Rt.  Hon.  The  Earl  of  Derby  Zealand:      Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Joseph  G.  Ward,  Bart. 

Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Albert  H  Stanley  South  Lieut.-Gen.  The  Rt.  Hon.   J.   C. 

Kt.  Hon.  Sir  Alfred  Li.  Mond  Afrira-  Smuts 

Rt.  Hon.  Christopher  Addison  %*"?      , 

Rt.  Hon.  E.  H.  Prothero  gn'dVfOUnd-  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  E.  P.  Morris 

Canada:  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Robert  Borden  India:  Rt.  Hon.  Austen  Chamberlain 

Hon.  Sir  George  H.  Perley  Sir  James  S.  Meston 

Hon.  Robert  Rogers  H.H.  The  Maharajah  of  Bikaner 

Hon.  J.  Douglas  Hazen  Sir  Satyendra  P.  Sinha 

A  central  debate  of  the  Conference  (Apr.  16)  was  on  the  constitu- 
tional issue.  Sir  Robert  Borden  laid  stress  upon  preserving  Domin- 
ion autonomy,  obtaining  equality  of  status  with  the  Motherland, 
and  attaining  a  full  citizenship  in  the  Empire  which  would  involve 
a  voice  in  Foreign  relations.  He  also  described  the  important  place 
of  the  Crown  in  the  new  system.  Mr.  Massey  emphasized  the  les- 
sons of  the  War,  urged  bonds  as  "soft  as  silk  and  strong  as  steel," 
deprecated  interference  with  Dominion  fiscal  policies,  declared  the 
present  loose  Empire  system  to  have  worked  very  well  in  the  War, 
eulogized  the  Imperial  Cabinet  policy  and  the  work  of  the  Confer- 
ences. General  Smuts  spoke  of  the  British  Empire  as  the  first 
organized  group  of  free  and  united  nations  in  history,  deprecated 
the  idea  of  a  central  Parliament  and  Executive  for  the  Empire,  and 
described  "continuous  consultation"  as  the  secret  of  permanent 
and  closer  unity.  Sir  E.  Morris,  like  preceding  and  succeeding 
speakers,  emphasized  the  importance  of  the  Monarchy  in  the  Im- 
perial structure,  while  Sir  Joseph  Ward  urged  the  construction  of 
an  Empire  Federal  authority.  The  following  important  Resolutions 
were  unanimously  passed  by  the  Conference,  the  first  being  the  one 
discussed  above  and  moved  by  Sir  R.  Borden  and  Mr.  Massey : 

1.  Constitution:  The  Imperial  War  Conference  are  of  opinion  that  the  re-ad- 
justment of  the  constitutional  relations  of  the  component  parts  of  the  Empire  is  too 

*NOTE, — On  Mar.  30  Mr.  Long  cabled  the  Governor-General  of  Australia  that  he 
was  telegraphing  information  of  proceedings  and  Resolutions  for  the  confidential  use 
of  his  Prime  Minister. 


THE  IMPERIAL  WAR  CABINET  AND  CONFERENCE          209 

important  and  intricate  a  subject  to  be  dealt  with  during  the  War,  and  that  it  should 
form  the  subject  of  a  special  Imperial  Conference  to  be  summoned  as  soon  as  possible 
after  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  They  deem  it  their  duty,  however,  to  place  on 
record  their  view  that  any  such  re- adjustment,  while  thoroughly  preserving  all  exist- 
ing powers  of  self-government  and  complete  control  of  domestic  affairs,  should  be 
based  upon  a  full  recognition  of  the  Dominions  as  autonomous  nations  of  an  Imperial 
Commonwealth,  and  of  India  as  an  important  portion  of  the  same,  should  recognize 
the  right  of  the  Dominions  and  India  to  an  adequate  voice  in  foreign  policy  and  in 
foreign  relations,  and  should  provide  effective  arrangements  for  continuous  consulta- 
tion in  all  important  matters  of  common  Imperial  concern,  and  for  such  necessary 
concerted  action,  founded  on  consultation,  as  the  several  Governments  may  determine. 

2.  Defence:  That  the  Admiralty  be  requested  to  work  out  immediately  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  War  what  they  consider  the  most  effective  scheme  of  Naval  Defence 
for  the  Empire  for  the  consideration  of  the  several  Governments  summoned  to  this 
Conference,  with  such  recommendations  as  the  Admiralty  consider  necessary  in 
that  respect  for  the  Empire's  future  security. 

That  this  Conference,  recognizing  the  importance  of  assimilating  as  far  as  possi- 
ble the  military  stores  and  equipment  of  the  Imperial  forces  throughout  the  Empire, 
recommends  that  an  expert  Committee,  representative  of  the  military  authorities  of 
the  United  Kingdom,  the  Dominions,  and  India,  be  appointed  as  early  as  possible  to 
consider  the  various  patterns  in  use  with  a  view  to  selecting  standard  patterns  for 
general  adoption  as  far  as  the  special  circumstances  of  each  country  admit. 

That  this  Conference,  in  view  of  the  experience  of  the  present  War,  calls  atten- 
tion to  the  importance  of  developing  an  adequate  capacity  of  production  of  naval 
and  military  material,  munitions,  and  supplies,  in  all  important  parts  of  the  Empire 
(including  the  countries  bordering  on  the  Pacific  and  Indian  Oceans)  where  such 
facilities  do  not  presently  exist,  and  affirms  the  importance  of  close  co-operation 
between  India,  the  Dominions,  and  the  United  Kingdom,  with  this  object  in  view. 

That  this  Conference  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  desirable  that  the  Ordnance  personnel 
of  the  military  organizations  of  the  Empire  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  trained  on 
the  same  methods  and  according  to  the  same  principles,  and  that  to  secure  this  end 
selected  officers  of  the  Ordnance  service  from  all  parts  of  the  Empire  should  be  attached 
for  adequate  periods  to  the  Imperial  Ordnance  Department. 

3.  Trade  and  Tariffs:  That  the  Imperial  War  Conference  welcomes  the  proposed 
increase  of  the  Board  of  Trade  service  of  Trade  Commissioners  and  its  extension 
throughout  the  British  Empire,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  the 
Dominions  Royal  Commission,  and  recommends  that  the  Governments  concerned 
should  co-operate  so  as  to  make  that  service  as  useful  as  possible  to  the  Empire  as  a 
whole,  especially  for  the  promotion  of  Inter-Imperial  Trade. 

That  the  time  has  arrived  when  all  possible  encouragement  should  be  given  to 
the  development  of  Imperial  resources,  and  especially  to  making  the  Empire  inde- 
pendent of  other  countries  in  respect  of  food  supplies,  raw  materials,  and  essential 
industries.  With  these  objects  in  view  this  Conference  expresses  itself  in  favour  of: 

(1)  The  principle  that  each  part  of  the  Empire,  having  due  regard  to  the 
interests  of  our  Allies,  shall  give  specially  favourable  treatment  and  facilities  to 
the  produce  and  manufactures  of  other  parts  of  the  Empire; 

(2)  Arrangements  by  which  intending  emigrants  from  the  United  Kingdom 
may  be  induced  to  settle  in  countries  under  the  British  flag. 

That  the  Imperial  War  Conference  consider  it  desirable,  with  a  view  to  prevent 
dumping  or  any  other  mode  of  unfair  competition  from  present  enemy  countries 
during  the  transition  period  after  the  War,  that  the  several  Governments  of  the 
Empire,  while  reserving  to  themselves  freedom  of  action  in  any  particular  respect, 
take  power  to  control  the  importation  of  goods  originating  in  such  countries  into 
the  Empire  for  a  period  of  twelve  months  after  the  War. 

4.  Natural  Resources:    That  having  regard  to  the  experience  obtained  in  the 
present  War,  this  Conference  records  its  opinion  that  the  safety  of  the  Empire  and 
the  necessary  development  of  its  component  parts,  require  prompt  and  attentive 
consideration,  as  well  as  concerted  action,  with  regard  to  the  following  matters: 

(1)  The  production  of  an  adequate  food  supply  and  arrangements  for  its 
transportation  when  and  where  required,  under  any  conditions  that  may  reason- 
ably be  anticipated. 


210  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

(2)  The  control  of  natural  resources  available  within  the  Empire,  especially 
those  that  are  of  an  essential  character  for  necessary  national  purposes,  whether 
in  peace  or  in  war. 

(3)  The  economical  utilization  of  such  natural  resources  through  processes 
of  manufacture  carried  on  within  the  Empire. 

5.  India:  That  the  Imperial  War  Conference  desires  to  place  on  record  its  view 
that  the  Resolution  of  the  Imperial  Conference  of  20th  April,  1907,  should  be  modi- 
fied to  permit  of  India  being  fully  represented  at  all  future  Imperial  Conferences 
and  that  the  necessary  steps  should  be  taken  to  secure  the  assent  of  the  various  Gov- 
ernments in  order  that  the  next  Imperial  Conference  may  be  summoned  and  consti- 
tuted accordingly. 

That  this  Conference,  having  examined  the  Memorandum  on  the  position  of 
Indians  in  the  Self-governing  Dominions  presented  by  the  Indian  representatives  to 
the  Conference,  accepts  the  principle  of  reciprocity  of  treatment  between  India  and 
the  Dominions  and  recommends  the  Memorandum  to  the  favourable  consideration 
of  the  Governments  concerned. 

Other  Resolutions  expressed  appreciation  of  a  Minute  addressed  to 
the  Prime  Minister  by  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales,  as  Chairman  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales'  Committee  re  Care  of  Soldiers'  Graves,  and 
urged  the  appointment  of  an  Imperial  War  Graves'  Commission; 
recognized  the  importance  and  desirability  of  Empire  uniformity  in 
Naturalization  laws;  thanked  Earl  Grey  for  his  great  interest  in  the 
plan  of  an  Empire  building  at  Aldwych  to  hold  the  headquarters  of 
all  the  Dominions,  but  did  not  think  it  practicable;  approved  the 
establishment  of  an  Imperial  Mineral  Resources  Bureau  in  London 
with  all  parts  of  the  Empire  represented;  suggested  that  the  matter 
of  double  or  duplicated  Income  tax  between  the  countries  of  the 
Empire  be  taken  up  immediately  after  the  War;  urged  the  British 
authorities  to  take  special  steps  for  the  protection  of  Empire  soldiers 
from  moral  temptations  while  on  leave. 

An  Address  of  "devoted  loyalty"  was  presented  to  H.M.  The 
King  on  May  2,  after  the  Conference  had  adjourned  on  Apr.  27 
—its  sittings  having,  as  a  rule,  been  held  alternately  with  those  of 
the  Imperial  War  Cabinet.  There  were  several  functions  in  con- 
nection with  the  Conference — one  being  a  House  of  Commons 
luncheon,  addressed  by  General  Smuts,  Sir  R.  Borden  and  Mr. 
Walter  Long.  The  latter  described  this  gathering  of  the  Overseas 
Dominions  as  "fraught  with  immense  possibilities — from  it  will 
emerge  an  Empire  such  as  we  have  never  seen  before."  The  Free- 
dom of  the  City  of  London  was  granted  on  May  1  to  Lieut. -Gen. 
Smuts,  Sir  E.  P.  Morris,  Sir  James  Meston,  the  Maharajah  of 
Bikaner  and  Sir  S.  P.  Sinha;  that  of  Edinburgh  was  conferred  on 
Sir  R.  Borden,  General  Smuts  and  the  Maharajah  of  Bikaner. 

The  British  West  Indies  and  the  War.  Renewed  suggestions 

as  to  the  union  of  these  Islands  with  Canada  were  heard  in  1917  as  a  result  of  War  condi- 
tions. Harry  J.  Crowe  continued  in  Canada  his  advocacy  of  the  policy,  especially  along 
commercial  lines,  as  did  the  Canada-West  Indies  Magazine,  published  at  Montreal;  T.  B. 
Macaulay,  President  of  the  Sun  Life  Assurance  Co.,  urged  identity  of  interests  and,  in 
addressing  the  Ottawa  Board  of  Trade — as  republished  in  the  Empire  Review  of  June 
— he  declared  that :  "  Canada  and  the  West  Indies  are  mutually  complementary.  Each 
produces  what  the  other  needs,  and  each  needs  what  the  other  produces.  But  at 
present  both  are  largely  tributary  to  New  York.  Why  should  we  not  trade  directly 
together,  and  cut  out  New  York?  Personally,  I  would  like  to  see  the  West  Indian. 


THE  WEST  INDIA  ISLANDS:  IMPERIAL  HONOURS 

Islands  placed  on  precisely  the  same  footing  commercially  as  a  Province  of  the  Do- 
minion, so  that  there  should  be  absolute  free  trade  between  us."  A.  T.  Drummond, 
LL.D.,  of  Montreal,  urged  the  Union  of  the  British  West  Indies  as  a  preliminary 
step  and  pointed  to  the  "large  identity  of  interest  in  respect  of  the  products  of  the 
soil,  climatic  conditions,  trade  outlook  and  connections,  character  of  the  people  and 
methods  of  government.  Federation  (local)  can  be  viewed  from  the  standpoints  of 
concentration  of  authority,  external  trade,  internal  development,  and,  to  some  extent, 
strategical  importance  to  the  Navy,  but  these  standpoints  are  somewhat  interdepen- 
dent." This  view  Canada,  the  London  journal  of  Canadian  affairs,  also  approved. 
In  London  the  West  India  Committee,  an  important  body,  was  re-organized  with 
R.  Rutherford  as  Chairman  and  H.  A.  Trotter,  Deputy  Chairman,  while  the  Royal 
Colonial  Institute  decided  to  prepare  a  survey  of  the  Islands'  resources  and  conditions. 

The  tdtal  area  of  the  West  Indies — including  British  Guiana  and  Honduras — 
was  110,249  sq.  miles  and  the  population  2,000,000;  there  was  little  co-ordination  in 
work  and  government  but  much  duplication.  War  contributions  were  surprisingly  gener- 
ous from  these  Islands — populated  as  they  largely  were  by  blacks  and  still  in  the 
Crown  Colony  stage  of  evolution.  Up  to  the  beginning  of  1917  Jamaica  had  given 
.$227,000  in  voluntary  contributions  to  various  Funds,  besides  officially  undertaking 
to  pay  the  Imperial  Government  $300,000  a  year  for  40  years  on  War  account,  and 
sending  6,000  men  for  military  service;  at  the  date  mentioned  450  men  of  the  Island 
held  British  commissions  and  over  200  had  died  on  active  service.  In  February  a 
5th  War  Contingent  was  announced  as  raised  and  recruiting  was  proceeding  for 
another.  Trinidad  contributed  from  taxation  during  the  year,  for  War  purposes,  over 
$500,000  besides  voluntary  gifts  and  subscriptions  totalling  $350,000,  of  which  $200,- 
000  was  for  the  purchase  of «Cocoa  for  His  Majesty's  troops,  $85,000  for  British  Red 
Cross,  and  $50,000  as  a  contribution  to  the  Prince  of  Wales'  Fund;  oil  May  21  it 
was  stated  that  two  further  contingents  of  volunteers — three  others  had  previously 
gone,  totalling  22  officers  and  840  men — had  reached  England  from  Trinidad,  while 
another  of  500  men  was  being  recruited.  Barbadoes  contributed  officially  $200,000 
as  a  free  war  gift  in  addition  to  a  similar  sum  previously  granted  and  its  popular 
subscriptions  to  many  Funds,  including  Red  Cross,  Belgian  Relief,  etc.,  totalled 
$85,000,  while  the  troops  sent  to  join  the  British  West  India  Regiment  numbered 
530  officers  and  men;*  British  Guiana  gave  large  contributions  of  sugar  (worth  $85,- 
000),  rum  and  rice  from  the  beginning  of  the  War,  while  up  to  July  29, 1917,  $126,000 
had  been  collected  for  War  Funds. 

Bermuda,  with  only  21,000  population,  sent  493  soldiers  to  the  Front,  the  Legis- 
lature voted  $20,000  as  a  contribution  toward  the  expenses  of  the  War  and  expended 
$143,000  locally  for  War  purposes,  while  the  public  collected  $55,000  for  various 
Funds  and  the  I.O.D.E.  branch  sent  28,000  articles  to  the  British  Red  Cross  and  other 
contributions  to  other  purposes;  St.  Vincent  contributed  altogether  $10,000  from 
the  Government,  $4,600  from  the  public  and  197  recruits  for  the  Army;  Grenada 
through  its  Legislative  Council,  voted  $5,000  as  a  direct  contribution  and  for  War 
purposes  $27,500  in  1915  and  $55,000  in  1916,  supplied  377  recruits  to  the  B.W.I. 
Regiment  and  50  more  in  1917,  while  collecting  over  $40,000  by  public  subscription 
for  patriotic  purposes;  Saint  Lucia  recruited  1,000  men  out  of  a  military  population 
of  5,000,  contributed  altogether  $33,500  to  different  Funds  and  in  1917  took  up 
$61,000  in  War  Loan  subscriptions;  Montserrat,  the  smallest  of  Colonies,  gave  $3,600 
to  the  War  Fund  and  the  Bahamas  voted  $50,000  for  War  purposes.  It  may  be 
added  that  a  strong  effort  was  made  to  further  the  joint  interests  of  these  countries 
and  Canada  by  the  Canadian-West  India  League,  of  which  the  Hon.  President  was 
Lord  Shaughnessy,  K.c.v,o.,  the  President,  T.  B.  Macaulay,  of  Montreal,  and  the 
Hon.  Secretary,  Wm.  T.  Robson,  of  that  city,  with  an  influential  Executive  repre- 
senting the  Islands  and  Montreal  interests.  The  Exports  of  the  British  West  Indies 
and  British  Guiana  to  Canada  in  1917  were  $21,311,580  and  the  Imports  from  the 
Dominion  $7,694,441;  in  the  three  years  1915-17  the  figures  were  $48,208,942  and 
$17,293,357,  respectively. 

Imperial  Honours  of  the  Year.  The  elevation  of  sir  Hugh 

Graham  of  Montreal  and  Sir  Wm.  Max  Aitken  of  Montreal  and  London  to  the 
Peerage  and  the  refusal  of  a  Knighthood  and  Senatorship  by  John  Ross  Robertson 
of  Toronto  aroused  considerable  discussion.  Sir  Maxwell  Aitken  was  a  young  Canadian 

*NOTE. — For  many  of  these  figures  I  am  indebted  to  the  courtesy  and  efforts  of 
Mr.  E.  H.  S.  Flood,  Canadian  Trade  Commissioner  at  Bridgetown,  Barbadoes. 


212  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  quite  remarkable  ability  and  exceptional  political  skill  and  force,  who  had  won  a  sud- 
den and  high  place  in  British  public  life  while  devoted  to  the  advancement  of  Canadian 
interests  abroad.  Mr.  Ross  Robertson  had  always  been  radical  in  view  and  his  paper 
(The  Telegram}  sometimes  verged  upon  republicanism  in  thought;  but  he  himself  was  so 
fine  a  type  of  citizen  and  so  outstanding  a  man  in  strength  and  virility  of  character 
that  he  could  afford  to  decline  national  or  Imperial  compliments  if  he  so  desired. 
The  British  press  described  the  Montreal  honours  as  eminently  fitting — with, 
in  the  case  of  Lord  Beaverbrook,  some  political  exceptions;  the  Canadian  press  was 
inclined  to  view  them  critically  and  as  part  of  an  institution.  The  Toronto  Globe  (Feb. 
21)  was  explicit  on  this  point:  "Is  it  not  time  to  call  a  halt  in  this  'New  Imperialism'? 
It  is  not  in  consonance  with  the  new-world  spirit  of  democracy."  The  hereditary  side 
of  Lord  Atholstan's  honour,  as  with  that  of  Lord  Beaverbrook,  was  the  chief  element  of 
criticism — though,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  neither  of  the  new  Peers  had  a  son.  The 
Kingston  Whig,  the  Woodstock  Sentinel-Review,  the  Toronto  Globe  and  Star,  the  Ham- 
ilton Herald,  the  Vancouver  World,  the  Halifax  Chronicle,  the  Edmonton  Bulletin, 
the  London  Advertiser,  the  Stratford  Beacon — these  and  most  of  the  other  protestants 
were  Liberal  journals — exceptions  being  the  Guelph  Herald,  London  Free  Press  and 
the  Prince  Albert  Herald,  the  Christian  Guardian  and  Orange ville  Sun,  with,  of  course, 
the  Toronto  Weekly  Sun  (Radical),  which  already  refused  to  acknowledge  any  Imperial 
title  in  Canada  and  referred  to  Mr.  Laurier  and  Mr.  Borden  while  believing  also  in 
neutrality  of  War  thought.  These  papers  did  not  regard  the  honours  as  a  compliment 
to  Canada  and  rather  minimized  the  services  of  the  men  who  were  honoured.  The 
Grain  Growers'  Guide  described  titles  in  general  (Mar.  14)  as  "tin  pot  appanages." 
Other  Canadians  honoured  during  the  year  were  as  follows : 

K.C.M.G...  .Hon.   Albert  Edward  Kemp Minister  of  Militia. 

K.C.M.G...  .Hon.  Wm.  Howard  Hearst Premier  of  Ontario. 

K.C.M.G.  .  .Robert  A.  Falconer,  C.M.G President  of  University  of  Toronto. 

K.C.M.G.. .  .Lieut.-Col.J.Strathearn  Hendrie.c.v.o.Lieut.-Governor  of  Ontario. 

K.C.M.G...  .Wm.  Peterson,  C.M.G.,    LL.D Prin'pal  McGill  University,  Montreal. 

C.M.G Rev.  Daniel  Miner  Gordon,  D.D., LL.D. Prin'pal  Queen's  University,  Kingston. 

C.M.G Capt.  Edward  H.  Martin Superintendent  of  Halifax  Dockyard. 

C.M.G Graham  Airdrie  Bell Department  of  Railways  &  Canals. 

C.M.G Wm.  Henry  Walker,  i.s.o Ass't  Urider-Secretary,  External  Affairs 

Knight.    . .  .Hon.  Walter  G.  P.  Cassels Judge  of  the  Exchequer  Court. 

Knight .    .  .  .Mortimer  B.  Davis Montreal  Tobacco  Manufacturer. 

Knight .    ...  Hon.  Ezekiel  McLeod Chief  Justice  of  New  Brunswick. 

Knight .    . .  .John  Aird Gen.Man.Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce 

Knight .    ...  George  Bury Vice-President  of  C.P.R. 

Knight .    ...  George  Burn General  Manager,  Bank  of  Ottawa. 

Knight .    .  .  .Augustus  M.  Nanton Winnipeg  Financier. 

Knight.    ..  .Surg.-Gen.  EugenoFiset,  C.M.G., i. s.o. Deputy  Minister  of  Militia. 

K.C.B Major-Gen.  John  W.  Carson,  C.B.  Militia  Dept. Representative  in  England 

Baronet.   . .  .Joseph  Wesley  Flavelle Chairman,  Imperial  Munitions  Board. 

I.S.O Pierre  Martial  Cote,  K.C Department  of  Justice. 

I.S.O. .         .  .Lieut.-Col.  T.  G.  Johnston  Loeeie.  .Deputy  Minister  of  Lands,  N.B. 


A  large  number  of  military  honours  were  also  granted  during  the  year.  No  exception 
was  taken  to  these  but  that  of  Sir  J.  W.  Flavelle  added  fuel  to  the  fire  of  criticism. 
A  measure  of  personal  unpopularity,  in  respect  to  war  prices  of  the  Davies'  firm  and 
war  orders  for  bacon,  etc.,  reacted  upon  an  honour  bestowed  for  admitted  war  services 
as  the  controller  and  manager  of  immense  British  Munition  interests  in  Canada. 
It  may  be  added  that  the  titles  chosen  during  the  year  by  three  new  Canadian  Peers, 
the  first  created  in  1916,  were  as  follows:  Sir  Thomas  Shaughnessy,  K.C.V.O.,  Baron 
Shaughnessy  of  Montreal,  Canada,  and  Ashford,  Ireland;  Sir  Hugh  Graham,  Baron 
Atholstan  of  Huntingdon,  Quebec,  and  Edinburgh,  Scotland;  Sir  Win.  Max 
Aitken,  Bart.,M.p.,  Baron  Beaverbrook  of  Beaverbrook,  New  Brunswick,  and  Cherkley, 
Surrey. 

A  new  Ofrder  of  the  British  Empire  was  announced  by  the  King,  for  ser- 
vices rendered  during  the  War,  with  divisions  for  both  men  and  women.  A  long 
List  of  recipients  was  published  and  the  Classes  of  the  Order  stated  as  follows: 

MEN  WOMEN 

1.  Knights  Grand  Cross  (G.B.E.)  1.  Dames  of  Grand  Cross  (G.B.E.) 

2.  Knights  Commanders  (K.B.E.)  2.  Dames  Commanders  (D.B.E.) 

3.  Commanders  (C.B.E.)  3.  Commanders  (C.B.E.) 

4.  Officers  (O.B.E.)  4.  Officers  (O.B.E.) 

5.  Members  (M.B.E.)  5.  Members  (M.B.E.) 

The  Honours  for  the  Dominions  were  postponed  but  the  following  Canadians  were 
included:  K.B.E.,  Charles  Blair  Gordon,  Montreal;  O.B.E.,  Prof.  John  C.  McLennan, 
Toronto. 


His  EXCELLENCY  WOODROW  WILSON 
President  of  the  United  States  in  1917. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  THE  WAR 

The  United  The  United  States  as  a  Nation  did  not  want  to 

^hatw  ^nters  fight  in  this  War;  its  leaders,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
Diplomacy  were  agreed  upon  the  policy  of  neutrality  so  long 
and  Decision,  as  it  could  be  maintained  with  reasonable  honour 
and  dignity;  its  people  were  prosperous  in  fact,  pacific 
in  principle,  exceedingly  proud  in  theory;  its  position  was  one  of 
known  unpreparedness  for  war.  The  diplomacy  of  the  President, 
therefore,  had  been  one  of  excessive  difficulty;  that  of  Germany 
one  of  mingled  bluff  and  indifference.  Toward  the  close  of  1916 
the  Central  Powers  had  issued  their  first  formal  Peace  proposal, 
which  the  Allies  had  rejected;  immediately  following  it  President 
Wilson  had  written  his  Note,  asking  the  Belligerents  to  define  their 
war-aims.*  To  this  latter  appeal  the  Allied  Governments  respond- 
ed on  Jan.  10,  1917,  with  a  declaration  of  respect  for  its  lofty 
sentiments  and  with  this  statement  of  their  objects : 

The  civilized  world  knows  that  they  imply,  in  all  necessity  and  in  the  first  in- 
stance, the  restoration  of  Belgium,  of  Serbia,  and  of  Montenegro,  and  the  indemnities 
which  are  due  them;  the  evacuation  of  the  invaded  territories  of  France,  of  Russia, 
and  of  Roumania,  with  just  reparation;  the  re-organization  of  Europe,  guaranteed 
by  a  stable  settlement,  based  alike  upon  the  principle  of  nationalities,  on  the  right 
which  all  peoples,  whether  small  or  great,  have  to  the  enjoyment  of  full  security  and 
free  economic  development,  and  also  upon  territorial  agreements  and  international 
arrangements  so  framed  as  to  guarantee  land  and  sea  frontiers  against  unjustified 
attacks;  the  restitution  of  provinces  or  territories  wrested  in  the  past  from  the  Allies 
by  force  or  against  the  will  of  their  populations;  the  liberation  of  Italians,  of  Slavs, 
of  Roumanians,  and  of  Tcheco-Slovaques  from  foreign  domination;  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  populations  subject  to  the  bloody  tyranny  of  the  Turks;  the  expulsion  from 
Europe  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  decidedly  alien  to  Western  civilization. 

On  Jan.  17  Sir  C.  Spring-Rice,  British  Ambassador,  presented  to 
the  United  States  Government  a  further  Note,  signed  by  A.  J. 
Balfour  as  Foreign  Secretary  and  amplifying  the  views  above  ex- 
pressed. It  was  a  most  able  document  and  the  writer  made  special 
reference  to  Turkey  as  being  openly  used  by  Germany  as  an  engine 
of  conquest:  "Under  German  officers  Turkish  soldiers  are  now 
fighting  in  lands  from  which  they  had  long  been  expelled,  and  a 
Turkish  Government  controlled,  subsidized,  and  supported  by 
Germany  has  been  guilty  of  massacres  in  Armenia  and  Syria  more 
horrible  than  any  recorded  in  the  history  even  of  those  unhappy 
countries."  For  Militarism  as  a  disease  international  treaties 
and  laws  did  not  seem  a  sufficient  check  or  cure.  A  durable  Peace, 
therefore,  was  only  possible  with  three  conditions : 

The  first  is  that  existing  causes  of  international  unrest  should  be  as  far  as  possible 
removed  or  weakened;  the  second  is  that  the  aggressive  aims  and  the  unscrupulous 
methods  of  the  Central  Powers  should  fall  into  disrepute  among  their  own  peoples; 
the  third  is  that  behind  International  law  and  behind  all  treaty  arrangements  for 
preventing  or  limiting  hostilities  some  form  of  International  sanction  should  be 
devised  which  would  give  pause  to  the  hardiest  aggressor. 

*NOTE. — See  The  Canadian  Annual  Review  for  1916,  Pages  42,  232,  234. 

[213] 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Meantime,  Switzerland,  the  Scandinavian  countries,  Spain,  Greece, 
China  and  Persia  had  also  replied  to  the  President  with  varied 
Notes  playing  upon  the  Peace  ideal;  while  at  the  same  time  Count 
Von  Bernstorff,  German  Ambassador  at  Washington,  was  sending 
the  following  message*  to  the  Berlin  Foreign  Office,  dated  Jan. 
22:  "I  request  authority  to  pay  put  up  to  50,000  (fifty  thousand) 
dollars  in  order,  as  on  former  occasions,  to  influence  Congress  through 
the  organization  you  know  of,  which  can  perhaps  prevent  war. 
I  am  beginning  in  the  meantime  to  act  accordingly."  Taking 
associated  facts,  of  which  the  President  was  probably  aware  in 
connection  with  German  propaganda,  the  perhaps  deliberate  in- 
discretion of  Mr.  Secretary  Lansing  in  his  reference  to  the  Peace 
Note  as  indicating  a  possibility  of  war,  the  knowledge  of  an  intensi- 
fied Submarine  issue  of  the  near  future  which  the  Government 
must  have  had,  it  was  not  hard  to  see  reasons  for  the  President's 
efforts  to  promote  peace. 

The  United  States  Senate  approved  his  action  (Jan.  4)  by  48 
to  17  and  Senator  Hamilton  Lewis  boldly  declared  that  the  country 
would  be  drawn  in  if  the  War  lasted  much  longer;  in  Berlin  a  semi- 
official banquet  was  given  to  Ambassador  J.  W.  Gerard  on  Jan. 
6,  when  Herr  Von  Gwinner  of  the  Deutsch  Bank  compared  Mr. 
Gerard  with  "the  peace  dove  of  Noah's  Ark,"  and  addresses  were 
made  by  Herr  Helfferich,  Herr  Zimmerman,  Foreign  Secretary, 
and  others;  at  this  very  moment  Germany  had  decided  to  tear 
up  its  pledges  as  to  Submarines  and  Herr  Zimmerman,  who  stated 
at  the  banquet  that  he  "felt  sure  friendly  and  trustful  relations 
would  continue,"  was  about  to  write  (Jan.  19)  Von  Eckhardt  in 
Mexico  and  suggest  a  Mexico-Japan  alliance  to  invade  the  United 
States;  three  days  after  this  despatch  was  sent  President  Wilson 
made  another  peace  effort.  On  Jan.  22  he  addressed  the  Senate, 
but  really  the  American  people  and  the  belligerent  Governments; 
reviewed  his  Peace  Note  and  the  replies  thereto;  proclaimed  the 
end  of  the  War  as  not  far  off  and  urged  a  League  of  Nations  to  con- 
serve future  peace — with  the  United  States  as  a  factor  in  the  final 
settlement.  The  following  extracts  from  the  address  were  important : 

The  statesmen  of  both  of  the  groups  of  nations  now  arrayed  against  one  another 
have  said  that  it  was  no  part  of  the  purpose  they  had  in  mind  to  crush  their  antagon- 
ists. They  imply,  first  of  all,  that  it  must  be  a  peace  without  victory.  Victory 
would  mean  peace  forced  upon  the  loser,  a  victor's  terms  imposed  upon  the  van- 
quished. It  would  be  accepted  in  humiliation,  under  duress,  at  an  intolerable  sacri- 
fice and  would  leave  a  sting,  a  resentment,  a  bitter  memory,  upon  which  terms  of 
peace  would  rest,  not  permanently,  but  only  as  upon  quicksand.  No  peace  can  last, 
or  ought  to  last,  which  does  not  recognize  and  accept  the  principle  that  governments 
derive  all  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  that  no  right  any- 
where exists  to  hand  people  about  from  sovereignty  to  sovereignty  as  if  they  were 
property. 

So  far  as  practicable  every  great  people  now  struggling  toward  a  full  develop- 
ment of  its  resources  and  of  its  powers  should  be  assured  a  direct  outlet  to  the  great 
highways  of  the  sea.  And  the  paths  of  the  sea  must  alike  in  law  and  in  fact  be  free. 
The  freedom  of  the  seas  is  the  sine  qua  non  of  peace,  equality  and  co-operation. 

On  the  same  day  Mr.  Lansing,  Secretary  of  State,  submitted  to  the 

*NOTB. — Made  public  by  the  U.S.  Government  on  Sept.  21,  1917. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  ENTERS  THE  WORLD-WAR          215 

American  Institute  of  International  Law  a  proposed  code  of  mari- 
time neutrality  rules  which  was  opposed  to  past  principles  and 
existing  British  practice.  It  included  Articles  prohibiting  the 
commercial  blockade  of  belligerent  ports  and  all  right  of  search 
except  examination  of  a  vessels'  papers.  Correspondence  of  neutrals 
or  belligerents  was  to  be  inviolable.  Belligerent  and  neutral  mer- 
chant vessels  were  in  no  case  to  be  confiscated  or  sunk,  although 
contraband  aboard  them  might  be  confiscated  or  destroyed  by 
captors.  Allied  comment  upon  the  President's  address  considered 
the  pivotal  point  to  be  the  "Peace  without  Victory"  reference. 
American  comment  was  confused — the  idealism  of  the  address 
being  everywhere  praised;  its  practicability  doubted  by  such  papers 
as  the  Chicago  Tribune,  Kansas  City  Star,  New  Orleans  Times- 
Picaynne,  St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat,  Detroit  Free  Press>  Louisville 
Courier- Journal,  the  Portland  Oregonian.  The  views  were  criti- 
cized by  Messrs.  Roosevelt,  Root,  Beck  and  other  Republican 
leaders;  they  were  approved  by  Oscar  S.  Straus  and  the  New  York 
Peace  Society. 

Then,  on  Jan.  31,  the  German  Ambassador  presented  to  Mr. 
insing  an  official  Note  in  which  the  German  Government  acknow- 
Iged  receipt  of  the  President's  Senate  speech,  declared  that 
"its  main  tendencies  correspond  largely  to  the  desires  and  prin- 
ciples professed  by  Germany" — especially  as  to  self-government 
for  countries  like  India  and  Ireland;  reviewed  again  the  German 
attempt  for  Peace,  its  fight  for  existence,  the  "lust  of  conquest" 
shown  by  the  Entente,  the  creation  of  a  new  situation  by  England's 
brutal  blockade  and  ruthless  "contempt  for  international  law!" 
New  decisions  had  become  necessary  and  "the  Imperial  Government 
— in  order  to  serve  the  welfare  of  mankind  in  a  higher  sense  and 
not  to  wrong  its  own  people — is  now  compelled  to  continue  the 
fight  for  existence,  again  forced  upon  it,  with  the  full  employment 
of  all  the  weapons  which  are  at  its  disposal."  Hence  the  enclosure 
of  two  Memoranda — one  defining  barred  zones  around  Great  Britain, 
France,  Italy,  and  in  the  Eastern  Mediterranean  where  "all  ships 
met  (including  neutrals)  will  be  sunk,"  Germany,  it  was  added, 
had  not  so  far  made  "unrestricted  use  of  the  weapon  which  she 
possesses  in  her  Submarines"  but  that  she  could  forego  this  right 
no  longer.  The  other  declared  that  regular  American  passenger 
steamers  would  still  be  permitted  if  (1)  Falmouth  were  the  port 
of  destination,  a  certain  route  was  carefully  followed,  and  the  ships 
were  painted  and  flagged  in  a  specified  way,  and  (2)  the  United 
States  Government  guaranteed  that  no  contraband  (according  to 
German  regulations)  was  carried. 

On  Feb.  1st  newspapers  of  every  shade  of  opinion  and  from 
the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico — excepting  German-American 
journals — were  unanimous  in  denunciation  of  this  policy  and  firm 
in  the  demand  that  Washington  should  protect  the  rights  of  the 
United  States  on  the  seas.  It  was  pointed  out  that  to  date  182 
Americans  had  been  killed  by  German  submarines;  the  Lusitania 
episode,  with  the  President's,  stirring  notes,  was  revived  on  every 
side;  the  general  conclusion  was  that  this  despatch  and  action 


, 

216  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

meant  war.  Meantime,  Herr  Von  Bethmann-Hollweg  had  told 
the  Reichstag,  also  on  Jan.  31,  that  conditions  had  forced  Submarine 
warfare  "into  its  last  acute  stage";  that  the  number  of  submarines 
in  hand  had  greatly  increased  and  "thereby  a  firm  basis  created 
for  success  " ;  that  a  bad  wheat  harvest  and  a  coal  shortage  threatened 
the  world  and  the  Allies  in  particular;  that  the  submarines  would 
render  the  Allied  situation  still  more  critical.  As  to  the  rest  "suc- 
cess lies  in  a  higher  Hand." 

The  President  had  at  once  called  to  Washington  his  friend  and 
adviser,  E.  M.  House;  on  the  2nd  he  met  his  Cabinet  and  on  the 
3rd  addressed  a  joint  Session  of  Congress.  After  quoting  his  official 
statement  of  Apr.  18,  1916,  that  unless  Submarine  warfare  was 
held  within  legitimate  bounds  the  United  States  would  have  to  sever 
relations  with  Germany,  and  quoting  the  German  Government's 
pledge  in  that  respect,  the  President  proceeded  to  state  that  diplo- 
matic relations  had  now  been  severed,  the  German  Ambassador 
given  his  passports,  and  Mr.  Gerard  recalled  from  Berlin.  Still, 
he  could  not  believe  that  the  German  threats  would  actually  be 
carried  out;  "Only  overt  acts  on  their  part  can  make  me  believe 
it."  If  his  hope  proved  unfounded  Congress  would  be  called  to 
consider  the  situation.  At  the  same  time  a  Note  was  handed  by 
Mr.  Lansing  to  the  German  Ambassador  along  the  lines  of  the  Presi- 
dent's speech  and  the  Senate  on  Feb.  7  endorsed  the  action  thus 
taken  by  78  to  5. 

Count  Von  Bernstorff  at  once  prepared  to  leave  Washington 
and,  at  the  request  of  the  United  States,  a  safe  conduct  was  granted 
to  him  and  his  suite  by  Great  Britain  and  France;  Dr.  Paul  Ritter, 
the  Swiss  Minister,  took  charge  of  German  interests,  while  the 
ex- Ambassador  informed  the  press  (Feb.  4)  that  the  reasons  for 
the  break  were  (1)  the  newspapers,  (2)  Wall  Street,  and  (3)  Ameri- 
can society,  and  that  he  believed  25,000,000  of  the  people  to  be 
pro- Ally,  15,000,000  pro-German  and  60,000,000  passive;  passage 
was  taken  on  the  Scandinavian  liner  Frederick  VIII  and  the  German 
Consuls  at  various  points,  with  their  families  and  other  persons, 
totalling  149  in  all,  were  finally  allowed  to  accompany  the  Ambassa- 
dor; amongst  the  party  were  many  well-known  German  propa- 
gandists and  workers,  such  as  Dr.  H.  F.  Albert,  Wolf  von  Igel— 
under  indictment  and  $25,000  bail — and  Baroness  Zwiedenek;  at 
Halifax  on  Feb.  14  the  ship,  the  German  passengers,  and  their 
baggage  were  detained  some  days,  carefully  examined  by  the  British- 
Canadian  authorities  and  then  allowed  to  go  their  way  after  bitter 
protests  from  Von  Bernstoiff;  the  latter  received  the  Iron  Cross 
of  the  White  Ribbon  from  the  Kaiser  and  was  appointed  Ambassa- 
dor at  Constantinople. 

Meantime  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  Gerard,  his  staff  and 
various  United  States  Consuls,  had  been  held  at  Berlin  as  hostages 
to  guard  and  ensure  Von  Bernstorff s  safety — a  fact  admitted  on 
Feb.  10  by  Dr.  Von  Stumm,  German  Foreign  Under-Secretary; 
finally,  on  Feb.  12,  he  and  his  party  crossed  the  Swiss  border.  Events 
followed  thick  and  fast.  On  Feb.  10  Dr.  Ritter  informed  the  Govern- 
ment that  Germany  was  still  willing  to  negotiate — "provided 


THE  UNITED  STATES  ENTERS  THE  WORLD-WAR          217 

lat  the  commercial  blockade  against  England  will  not  be  broken 
lereby,"  but  was  told  by  Mr.  Lansing  that  negotiation  was  use- 
less under  present  conditions;  a  crisis  soon  developed  at  United 
States  ports  and  in  American  shipping,  and  all  kinds  of  vessels 
were  held  up  with  immense  cargoes,  by  fear  of  the  new  Submarine 
situation;  German  shipping  interned  in  United  States  ports,  in  the 
Philippines,  and  at  Panama,  was  disabled  and  injured  in  various 
ways  by  the  German  crews;  the  House  of  Representatives  unani- 
mously reaffirmed  (Feb.  12)  its  belief  in  settlement  of  International 
disputes  by  arbitration  or  mediation;  the  sinking  of  S.  S.  California 
on  Feb.  8,  with  many  passengers  from  the  States,  created  war  talk 
but  it  turned  out  there  were  no  American  citizens  on  board.  « 

During  this  period  the  New  York  Tribune  urged  war  and  was 
the  first  to  propose  a  military  alliance  with  the  Entente  while  the 
railway  and  shipping  tie-up  grew  steadily  worse;  the  opponents 
of  war  led  by  W.  J.  Bryan  and  Senator  W.  J.  Stone,  Chairman  of 
the  Foreign  Relations  Committee,  continued  an  active  propa- 
ganda and  the  latter  denounced  (Feb.  16)  the  "newspaper  cabal," 
working  for  war,  as  public  enemies;  the  arming  of  American  ships 
for  defence  against  attack  was  urged  and  also  an  extra  Session  of 
Congress,  but  the  President  held  back  until  even  the  Pacifist  West 
was  suffering  in  freights  from  the  blockade  of  shipping,  and  began  to 
murmur;  Germany  proposed,  through  Dr.  Ritter,  an  elaborate 
extension  of  an  old  Prussian-American  agreement  of  1799,  which 
would  have  prevented  the  United  States  seizing  German  merchant 
ships  in  case  of  war,  but  this  was  refused;  Pacifist  societies  and 
individuals  urged  a  campaign  to  accept  the  German  War  Zone 
and  forbid  American  passengers  on  Allied  shipping. 

On  Feb.  25  the  Laconia  was  sunk  off  the  Irish  coast  with  several 
American  citizens  on  board — two  of  whom  were  lost — and  following 
the  sinking  of  the  U.S.  vessels  the  Housatonic  and  L.  M.  Law. 
On  the  next  day  President  Wilson  appeared  before  Congress  and 
announced  the  proposed  adoption  of  a  policy  of  "armed  neutrality"; 
while  describing  the  situation  as  similar  to  that  of  a  month  before 
and  declaring  that  "the  overt  act"  had  not  yet  occurred  though 
the  intent  was  obvious.  He  asked  for  full  authority  to  act  in  case 
a  crisis  developed:  "It  is  devoutly  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  put  armed  forces  anywhere  into  action.  The  American 
people  do  not  desire  it,  and  my  desire  is  not  different  from  theirs. 
.  .  .  I  hope  that  I  need  give  no  further  proofs  and  assurances 
than  I  have  already  given  throughout  nearly  three  years  of  anxious 
patience  that  I  am  the  friend  of  peace,  and  mean  to  preserve  it  for 
America  so  long  as  I  am  able."  Power  was  asked  to  arm  ships, 
and  to  use  other  means,  together  with  a  sufficient  financial  credit. 
"We  must  defend  our  commerce  and  the  lives  of  our  people  in  the 
midst  of  the  present  trying  circumstances,  with  discretion  but 
with  clear  and  steadfast  purpose." 

The  British  press  and  many  of  the  American  papers  described 
the  Laconia  sinking  as  an  overt  act  but  Mr.  Wilson  did  not  admit 
this;  while  in  the  Reichstag  at  Berlin  (Feb.  27)  the  leaders  joined 
in  approving  the  "unrestricted"  Submarine  policy — despite  Ameri- 


218  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


can  opinion.  The  Imperial  Chancellor  regretted  the  rupture  but 
declared  that  "the  successes  of  our  Submarine  warfare  already 
obtained  much  surpass  the  expectations  of  our  Navy";  Dr.  Peter 
Spahn,  leader  of  the  Central  Catholic  Party,  stated  that  "the 
Submarine  weapon  can  only  be  fully  utilized  if  unrestricted,  and 
serious  damage  to  England  is  then  certain";  P.  Scheidemann, 
the  Majority  Socialist  leader,  declared  that  "Germany  is  unani- 
mous that  all  our  power  must  be  strained  to  frustrate  the  plans  of 
the  enemy,  that* it  may  bring  peace  soon";  Count  F.  Von  Westarp, 
Conservative  leader,  said  that  "we  are  now  employing  our  last 
fighting  weapon,  with  which  England's  vital  spot  will  be  directly 
hit."*  Following  this  debate  came  the  publication  (Mar.  1)  of  the 
Zimmerman  despatch  as  to  Japan  and  Mexico,  the  arousing  of 
much  indignation  in  the  States,  and  the  assurance  of  President 
Wilson  to  the  Senate  that  the  document  was  genuine. 

In  this  latter  body  a  bitter  "filibuster"  was  organized  by  the 
Pacifists  against  a  Bill  granting  the  President  Armed  Neutrality 
powers.  It  was  based  upon  rules  which  declared  unanimity  neces- 
sary in  fixing  a  time  to  vote  and  was  successful  because  the  64th 
Congress  expired  at  noon  on  Mar.  4.  The  leader  in  this  campaign 
was  R.  M.  La  Follette,  a  Republican  of  one-time  Presidential  am- 
bitions, and  the  others  were  M.  E.  Clapp,  A.  B.  Cummins,  A.  J. 
Gronna,  W.  S.  Kenyon,  G.  W.  Norris,  J.  D.  Works — Republicans; 
W.  F.  Kirby,  H.  Lane,  J.  A.  O'Gorman,  W.  J.  Stone,  J.  K.  Varda- 
man — Democrats.  As  to  this  the  President  issued  a  statement 
describing  the  situation  as  "unparalleled  in  the  history  of  modern 
government."  He  pointed  out  that:  "More  than  500  of  the  531 
members  of  the  two  Houses  are  ready  and  anxious  to  act;  the  House 
of  Representatives  has  acted,  by  an  overwhelming  majority;  but 
the  Senate  is  unable  to  act  because  a  little  group  of  wilful  men, 
representing  no  opinion  but  their  own,  have  rendered  the  great 
Government  of  the  United  States  helpless  and  contemptible." 
He  urged  alteration  of  the  rules.  On  Mar.  5  the  re-elected  Presi- 
dent was  inaugurated,  addressed  the  65th  Congress,  and  analyzed 
the  War  situation  as  it  affected  "the  composite  and  cosmopolitan 
people"  of  the  United  States  who  could  not  be  indifferent  to  or 
independent  of  the  War  but  yet  were  conscious  of  not  being,  or 
wishing  to  be,  part  of  it;  declared  that  the  United  States  stood 
"firm  in  armed  neutrality"  and  was  arming  itself  to  make  good 
the  claim  to  "a  certain  minimum  of  right  and  freedom  of  action"; 
defined  once  more  the  things  for  which  the  United  States  stood 
in  peace  or  in  war: 

That  all  nations  are  equally  interested  in  the  peace  of  the  world  and  in  the  politi- 
cal stability  of  free  peoples,  and  equally  responsible  for  their  maintenance. 

That  the  essential  principle  of  peace  is  the  actual  equality  of  nations  in  all 
matters  of  right  or  privilege. 

That  peace  cannot  securely  or  justly  rest  upon  an  armed  balance  of  power. 

That  Governments  derive  all  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed 
and  that  no  other  powers  should  be  supported  by  the  common  thought,  purpose  or 
power  of  the  family  of  nations. 

That  the  seas  should  be  equally  free  and  safe  for  the  use  of  all  peoples,  under 
rules  set  up  by  common  agreement  and  consent,  and  that,  so  far  as  practicable,  they 
should  be  accessible  to  all  upon  equal  terms. 


THE  UNITED  STATES  ENTERS  THE  WORLD-WAR  219 

That  national  armaments  should  be  limited  to  the  necessities  of  national  order 
and  domestic  safety. 

That  the  community  of  interest  and  power  upon  which  peace  must  henceforth 
depend  imposes  upon  each  nation  the  duty  of  seeing  to  it  that  all  influences  proceed- 
ing from  its  own  citizens,  meant  to  encourage  or  assist  revolution  in  other  States, 
should  be  sternly  and  effectually  suppressed  and  prevented. 

After  this  war  approached  quickly.  The  United  States  ships 
Algonquin  (Mar.  2),  City  of  Memphis,  Illinois,  and  Vigilancia 
(Mar.  19),  and  the  Healdton  (Mar.  22)  were  torpedoed  without 
warning  while  flying  the  American  flag;  the  Senate  adopted  a  closure 
rule  which  would  prevent  future  action  of  the  La  Follette  character, 
with  only  three  votes  against  it;  a  special  Session  of  Congress  was 
called  for  Apr.  16  to  deal  with  the  situation  and  meantime  the 
arming  of  the  merchant  marine  was  ordered  on  Mar.  9  and  pro- 
ceeded steadily  with  contracts  also  let  for  $136,000,000  worth  of 
cruisers  and  battleships;  New  York  held  a  War  Sunday  on  Mar. 
11  and  pledges  of  support  poured  in  upon  the  Administration  while 
organized  preparations  began  on  Mar.  25  to  place  the  nation  upon 
a  war  footing;  on  Apr.  2  the  torpedoing  of  the  Aztec  was  announced 
and  at  the  same  time  the  President  met  Congress  in  joint  Session 
and  called  upon  the  nation  to  enter  the  War  in  order  to  make  the 
world  safe  for  democracy. 

In  his  two  hours'  speech  he  first  reviewed  the  Submarine  action 
of  Germany  and  the  pledges  made  and  broken:  "The  new  policy 
has  swept  every  restriction  aside.  Vessels  of  every  kind,  what- 
ever their  character,  their  cargo,  their  destination,  their  errand, 
have  been  ruthlessly  sent  to  the  bottom  without  warning  and  with- 
out thought  of  help  or  mercy  for  those  on  board,  the  vessels  of 
neutrals  along  with  belligerents."  International  law  and  humanity 
had  been  disregarded  and  mankind  challenged  by  "wholesale  de- 
struction of  the  lives  of  non-combatants,  men,  women  and  children, 
engaged  in  pursuits  which  have  always,  even  in  the  darkest  periods 
of  modern  history,  been  deemed  innocent  and  legitimate."  Sub- 
marines, as  used  by  Germany,  were  described  as  "outlaws";  the 
armed  neutrality  he  hoped  to  observe,  like  that  of  peace,  had  be- 
come ineffectual  in  face  of  "a  War  against  all  Nations." 

With  a  profound  sense  of  the  solemn  and  even  tragical  character  of  the  step  I 
am  taking  I  advise  that  Congress  declares  the  recent  course  of  the  Imperial  German 
Government  to  be  in  fact  nothing  less  than  war  against  the  Government  and  people 
of  the  United  States;  that  it  formally  accepts  the  status  of  a  belligerent  which  has 
thus  been  thrust  upon  it;  and  that  it  take  immediate  steps  not  only  to  put  the  coun- 
try in  a  more  thorough  state  of  defence,  but  also  to  exert  all  its  power  and  employ 
all  its  resources  to  bring  the  Government  of  the  German  Empire  to  terms  and  end 
the  War.  What  this  will  involve  is  clear.  It  will  involve  the  utmost  practicable 
co-operation  in  counsel  and  action  with  the  Governments  now  at  war  with  Germany 
and,  as  incident  to  that,  the  extension  to  those  Governments  of  the  most  liberal 
financial  credits,  in  order  that  our  resources  may  so  far  as  possible  be  added  to  theirs. 
It  will  involve  the  organization  and  mobilization  of  all  the  material  resources  of  the 
country  to  supply  the  materials  of  war  and  serve  the  incidental  needs  of  the  nation 
in  the  most  abundant  and  yet  the  most  economical  and  efficient  way  possible.  It 
will  involve  the  immediate  addition  to  the  armed  forces  of  the  United  States,  already 
provided  for  by  law  in  case  of  war,  of  at  least  500,000  men,  who  should,  in  my  opinion, 
be  chosen  upon  the  principle  of  universal  liability  to  service  and  also  the  authoriza- 
tion of  subsequent  additional  increments  of  equal  force  as  soon  as  they  may  be  needed 
and  can  be  handled  in  training. 


220  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

As  to  Peace  and  its  principles  the  President  stood  upon  the  ground 
set  by  his  speeches  of  Jan.  23,  Feb.  3  and  Feb.  26;  as  to  Gerinany 
he  differentiated  once  more  between  the  Government  and  the  people 

-"it  was  not  upon  their  impulse  that  their  Government  acted 
in  entering  this  war;  it  was  not  with  their  previous  knowledge  or 
approval."  As  to  principles  and  conditions:  "A  steadfast  concert 
for  peace  can  never  be  maintained  except  by  a  partnership  of  demo- 
cratic nations"  which  should  be  a  league  of  honour,  a  partner- 
ship of  opinion;  the  Russian  revolution  was  described  as  "a  wonder- 
ful and  heartening  thing";  Prussia  was  stated  to  have  "from  the 
very  outset  of  the  present  war  filled  our  unsuspecting  communi- 
ties and  even  our  offices  of  Government  with  spies  and  set  criminal 
intrigues  everywhere  afoot  against  our  national  unity  of  council, 
our  peace  within  and  without,  our  industries  and  our  commerce." 
The  gauge  of  war  was  accepted  with  the  "natural  foe  of  liberty"; 
the  United  States  had  no  selfish  ends  to  serve,  they  desired  no  con- 
quest or  domain,  sought  for  themselves  no  indemnity  or  com- 
pensation. As  to  German- Americans  he  believed  the  most  of  them 
to  be  loyal  and  true  to  the  United  States:  "If  there  should  be  dis- 
loyalty, it  will  be  dealt  with  with  a  firm  hand  of  stern  repression." 
On  Apr.  6  the  President  issued  a  Proclamation  as  to  the  existence 
of  a  state  of  war,  enjoined  alien  enemies  to  preserve  the  peace  and 
refrain  from  violation  of  the  laws  or  any  expressed  hostility  to  the 
United  States,  or  the  giving  of  comfort,  aid  or  information  to  the 
enemy,  and  defined  a  series  of  rules  and  conditions  as  to  such  alien 
enemies.  At  the  same  time  66  interned  German  vessels  in  American 
ports  were  taken  over  and  the  crews  sent  to  Ellis  Island,  while 
the  Allied  patrols  on  North  American  coasts  were  replaced  by  United 
States  war  vessels.  Meanwhile,  a  Resolution  had  been  submitted 
to  the  Senate  and  Representatives,  in  identic  terms,  approving  the 
President's  war  action.  It  was  passed  in  the  Senate  by  82  to  6 — 
the  latter  being  part  of  the  President's  12  "wilful  men"  and  made 
up  of  Senators  Stone,  Lane  and  Vardaman,  La  Follette,  Gronna 
and  Norris. 

In  the  Lower  House  the  Resolution  passed  by  373  to  50  votes 
after  about  50  speeches  had  been  made.  Claude  Kitchin  of  North 
Carolina,  Democratic  leader,  led  the  opposition  and  was  supported 
by  Miss  Rankin,  the  new  woman  member,  and  by  others  of  signi- 
ficant name — Decker,  Dill,  Esch,  Frear,  Haugen,  Igoe,  Knutson, 
Lundsen,  Rodenburg,  Voigt.  The  main  argument  used,  as  in  the 
Senate,  was  a  play  upon  old-time  hostility  to  Great  Britain — the 
declaration  by  Mr.  Kitchin,  for  instance,  that  "Great  Britain,  every 
day,  every  hour,  for  two  years,  has  violated  American  rights  on 
the  seas";  that  Germany  in  her  death-struggle  was  defending  her- 
self and  not  aiming  directly  against  the  United  States.  The  full 
flower  of  Pacificism  was  developed  as  follows:  "Why  can  we  not, 
why  should  we  not,  forego  the  violation  of  our  rights  by  Germany, 
and  do  as  we  did  with  Great  Britain,  do  as  we  did  with  Mexico,  and 
thus  save  the  universe  from  being  wrapped  in  the  flames  of  war?" 

The  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  then  submitted  an  exhaustive  > 
Report  which  recited  Germany's  hostile  actions  towards  the  United 


THE  UNITED  STATES  ENTERS  THE  WORLD-WAR 

States  and  reviewed  its  misdeeds  generally — submarines,  plots, 
intrigues,  indignities,  unfriendly  acts.  Telegrams  of  felicitation 
followed  these  events  from  the  heads  of  all  the  Allied  nations  to 
President  Wilson  and  from  many  organizations  and  institutions 
and  leaders  abroad;  the  British  Parliament  passed  in  both  Houses, 
with  one  dissentient  in  the  Commons,  a  Resolution  expressing  to 
the  United  States  "profound  appreciation  of  the  action  of  their 
Government  in  joining  the  Allied  Powers  and  thus  defending  the 
high  cause  of  freedom  and  rights  of  humanity  against  the  gravest 
menace  by  which  they  have  ever  been  faced";  the  Neutral  Govern- 
ments of  Brazil,  Argentina,  Bolivia,  Paraguay,  Uruguay,  Panama 
and  Cuba  approved  the  policy  of  the  United  States  and  some  of 
them,  later  on,  joined  it  in  declaring  war;  at  home  the  mass-meetings, 
which  for  a  month  past  had  been  of  a  protesting,  critical,  urgent  charac- 
ter, turned  into  gatherings  of  congratulation  and  loyal  support;  the 
Pacifists  and  pro-Germans  who  had  been  flooding  Washington 
with  delegations,  and  the  mails  with  peace  propaganda,  returned 
home  and  went  to  work  in  more  devious  ways. 

On  Apr.  15  the  President  issued  a  personal  appeal  to  his  "Fellow 
countrymen,"  urging  appreciation  of  the  greatness  of  the  task  before 
them  and  explaining  some  of  its  details  in  clear  terms — the  raising 
and  equipment  of  great  Armies,  the  placing  of  the  Navy  on  a  war- 
footing,  production  and  supply  of  food  and  ships  and  coal  and  muni- 
tions and  war-material  for  the  nation  and  for  its  Allies.  He  appealed 
to  the  great  industries  and  other  artisans  for  patriotic  service; 
urged  the  farmers,  and  especially  those  of  the  South,  to  produce 
increased  food-stuffs;  asked  middlemen  of  all  kinds  to  forego  un- 
usual profits  and  to  organize  and  expedite,  in  particular,  the  ship- 
ment of  supplies;  told  the  Railway  operators  and  employees  that 
upon  them  rested  immense  responsibility  in  allowing  no  obstruction, 
inefficiency  or  slackened  power  in  transport:  "The  supreme  test 
of  the  nation  has  come  and  we  must  all  speak,  act  and  serve  together." 
As  to  Austria  relations  were  peculiar  and  the  President  did  his 
best  to  keep  away  from  war  controversy  or  action  in  that  connection. 
On  Feb.  18  the  United  States  Government  had  reminded  the  Im- 
perial Government  of  its  Submarine  policy,  or  promises  of  restricted 
warfare,  as  being  similar  to  those  of  Germany,  and  inquired  whether 
the  new  German  action  would  cause  a  change  in  the  Austrian  atti- 
tude. The  reply  was  handed  to  F.  C.  Penfield,  Ambassador  at 
Vienna,  on  Mar.  6  and  took  the  same  ground  as  did  Germany  in 
argument,  in  denunciation  of  Britain,  in  throwing  the  blame  upon 
others,  in  urging  its  work  for  "freedom  of  the  seas,"  in  appeal 
for  the  gentle  Submarine  facing  a  possibly-armed  neutral  ship, 
and  not  being  allowed  to  work  its  will!  After  reference  to  the 
Blockade  came  this  interesting  statement: 

For  moae  than  two  years  the  Central  Powers  hesitated.  As  the  only  ones  of 
the  Belligerents  who  had  done  everything  to  secure  existing  Treaties  which  were  to 
guarantee  to  neutrals  the  freedom  of  the  seas,  they  felt  with  pained  hearts  the  law 
of  the  hour  which  commanded  them  to  violate  this  freedom.  The  proclamations 
which  they  issued  last  January  are  apparently  directed  only  against  the  rights  of 
neutrals.  In  reality  they  serve  towards  the  restoration  of  these  rights;  the  Sub- 
marines which  are  cruising  around  the  English  coast  announce  to  peoples  who  need 


222  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  sea  that  the  day  is  not  far  off  when  the  flags  of  all  states,  in  the  glory  of  their 
newly-won  freedom,  can  freely  fly  over  the  seas. 

In  his  War  speech  of  Apr.  2  the  President  referred  to  this  subject 
as  follows:  "The  Austro-Hungarian  Government  has  avowed  its 
unqualified  endorsement  and  acceptance  of  the  reckless  and  lawless 
Submarine  warfare  adopted  now  without  disguise  by  the  Imperial 
German  Government,  and  it  has,  therefore,  not  been  possible  for 
this  Government  to  receive  Count  Tarnowski,  the  Ambassador 
recently  accredited,  but  that  Government  has  not  actually  engaged 
in  warfare  against  citizens  of  the  United  States  on  the  seas."  There- 
fore, he  preferred  to  exclude  the  Dual  Monarchy,  Bulgaria  and  Tur- 
key, from  present  discussion.  On  Apr.  9,  however,  the  Austro- 
Hungarian  Government  withdrew  its  representatives,  Consuls,  etc., 
from  the  United  States  and  at  the  same  time  Austrian  interned  ships 
were  seized  by  the  American  Government.  On  Dec.  4,  following, 
the  President  addressed  Congress  again  upon  the  general  war  situ- 
ation and  dealt  with  the  intolerable  menaces  of  intrigue  and  force 
being  used  by  Germany  against  the  United  States.  The  following 
emphatic  statement  was  made: 

Let  there  be  no  misunderstanding.  Our  present  and  immediate  task  is  to  win 
the  War,  and  nothing  shall  turn  us  aside  from  it  until  it  is  accomplished.  Every 
power  and  resource  we  possess,  whether  of  men,  of  money,  or  materials,  is  being 
devoted  and  will  continue  to  be  devoted  to  that  purpose  until  it  is  achieved.  Those 
who  desire  to  bring  peace  about  before  that  purpose  is  achieved  I  counsel  to  carry 
their  advice  elsewhere.  We  will  not  entertain  it.  We  shall  regard  the  War  as  won 
only  when  the  German  people  say  to  us,  through  properly  accredited  representatives, 
that  they  are  ready  to  agree  to  a  settlement  based  upon  justice  and  the  reparation 
of  the  wrongs  their  rulers  have  done.  They  have  done  a  wrong  to  Belgium  which 
must  be  repaired.  They  have  established  a  power  over  other  lands  and  peoples  than 
their  own — over  the  great  Empire  of  Austria-Hungary,  over  hitherto  free  Balkan 
states,  over  Turkey,  and  within  Asia — which  must  be  relinquished. 

An  important  statement  as  to  the  future  was  made  in  referring  to 
the  fact  that  Germany,  after  the  War,  might  still  remain  in  the 
hands  of  "ambitious  and  intriguing-  masters"  who  could  not  be 
trusted:  "It  might  be  impossible,  also,  in  such  untoward  circum- 
stances, to  admit  Germany  to  the  free  economic  intercourse  which 
must  inevitably  spring  out  of  the  other  partnerships  of  a  real  peace. 
But  there  would  be  no  aggression  in  that."  As  to  Austria-Hungary 
he  declared  that  their  affairs  must  be  left  in  their  own  hands — not 
in  those  of  Germany — and  that,  meantime,  the  impediments  to 
American  War  success,  presented  by  that  Empire  as  a  vassal  of 
Germany,  made  a  declaration  of  war  necessary:  "We  must  meet 
its  force  with  our  own  and  regard  the  Central  Powers  as  but  one." 
Turkey  and  Bulgaria,  also,  were  tools  of  Germany  but  no  practi- 
cal purpose  would  be  served  by  a  war  declaration  at  present.  On 
Dec.  7  both  Houses  passed  a  Resolution  declaring  that  in  view  of 
"repeated  acts  of  war"  against  the  United  States  a  state  of  war 
now  existed  between  the  Republic  and  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Government.  The  Senate  was  unanimous — La  Follette  not  voting; 
the  Lower  House  was  363  for  and  Meyer  Loudon,  the  New  York 
Socialist,  against.  In  accordance  with  the  President's  view,  though 
against  the  convictions  of  many,  no  reference  was  made  to  the  other 


AMERICAN  LEADERS  AND  THE  WAR  IN  1917  223 

two  Enemy  Allies.     On  the  12th  a  Proclamation  of  war  was  issued 
:>y  the  President. 

lerican  The  processes  of  Mr.   Wilson's  mind  in  passing 

Leaders  from  pacific  tolerance  in  thought  and  policy  to  a  posi- 

and  the  War:  |-jon  of  Minerva-like  war-equipment  were  clearly  indi- 
Roroevelt  cated  in  his  official  and  diplomatic  statements.* 
and  Others.  Intellectually,  Woodrow  Wilson  appears  to  have  been 
peculiarly  fitted  to  guide  the  destinies  of  a  great  and 
complex  community  through  the  mazes  of  a  world-war.  Cautious 
in  word  and  action,  clever  and  effective  in  expression  and  exposition, 
keen  and  shrewd  in  his  knowledge  of  public  opinion,  strong  in  final 
determination  and  action,  he  had  gone  through  nearly  three  years 
of  external  war  and  internal  controversy  without  losing  his  hold 
upon  public  confidence  and  respect.  If  it  had  been  possible  to  keep 
the  United  States  out  of  the  War  he  would  have  done  so;  as  it  was 
he  held  the  scales  level  until  a  Presidential  election  had  given  him 
four  more  years  of  power  and  an  opportunity  to  adequately  meet 
any  issue  which  might  be  forced  upon  the  Nation,  f  The  probabil- 
ities are  that  an  earlier  declaration  of  hostilities  would  have  pro- 
duced a  dis-united  people;  an  opposing  possibility  which  can  never 
be  verified  is  that  a  Roosevelt  or  similar  leadership  in  the  White 
House  might  have  swept  the  people  off  their  feet  and  facilitated 
preparations  which  would  have  greatly  shortened  the  world-war. 
In  practice  the  President  had  risen  to  all  the  demands  of  Peace  and 
a  patriotism  founded  upon  its  principles;  during  the  1917  stages  of 
war-preparation  he  rose  to  the  demands  of  a  militant  and  more 
essential  patriotism,  despite  the  fact  that  neither  people  nor  nation 
were  prepared  for  war.  Mr.  Wilson  had  carried  the  country  with 
him  and  by  the  close  of  1917  he  was  practically  a  national  Dictator 
and  his  private  views,  as  well  as  public  policy,  were  things  of  world 
import. 

Only  slight  reference  can  be  made  here  to  the  President's  general 
attitude  as  distinct  from  his  diplomatic  and  War-policy  speeches. 
On  June  14,  at  Washington,  he  reiterated  his  belief — shared  in,  at 
one  time,  by  many  British  leaders — that  "the  German  people  did 
not  originate  or  desire  this  hideous  war  or  wish  that  we  should  be 
drawn  into  it,"  and  the  obvious  but  hampering  conclusion  in  war- 
time that  "we  are  not  the  enemies  of  the  German  people  and  they 
are  not  our  enemies."  Of  course,  he  had  to  deal  at  home  with  a 
large  population  of  Germans  or  German  descendants  and  no  doubt 
this  was  good  political  policy.  To  a  Red  Cross  meeting  on  May  12 
he  declared  (1)  that  this  was  no  war  for  amateurs  or  mere  spontane- 
ous impulses  but  one  of  business  and  organization,  and  (2)  that  it 
was  already  uniting  the  American  people  north  and  south  and  east 
and  west.  In  his  Proclamation  as  to  Army  Registration  (May  19) 
he  made  the  strong  statement  that:  "It  is  not  an  army  that  we 
must  shape  and  train  for  war — it  is  a  nation.  To  this  end  our 

*See  also  volumes  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review  for  1915  and  1916. 

t — The  actual  popular  vote  in  1916  was  as  follows:    Wilson,   9,116,296;  ^Hughes, 
547,474. 


224  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

people  must  draw  close  in  one  compact  front  against  a  common 
foe.  But  this  cannot  be  if  each  man  pursues  a  private  purpose.'* 
In  addressing  the  American  Federation  of  Labour  at  Buffalo 
on  Nov.  12  Mr.  Wilson  described  the  War  as  complex  in  one 
respect,  simple  in  another:  "Its  roots  run  deep  into  all  the  obscure 
soils  of  history,  but  in  my  view  this  is  the  last  decisive  issue  between 
the  old  principles  of  power  and  the  new  principles  of  freedom." 
Its  history  and  origin  were  elaborately  treated;  the  responsibility 
of  the  United  States  and  its  free  Labour  system  analyzed.  The 
President  shared  in  many  other  public  matters  during  the  year 
requiring  control,  guidance,  persuasion,  or  even  threats — and 
always  with  tact,  courtesy  and  much  sound  argument. 

Meantime,  Theodore  Roosevelt  had  been  a  constant  and  virile 
critic  of  the  Administration;  a  continuous  and  outstanding  public 
figure.  His  hatred  of  neutrality  for  the  United  States  in  this  War 
was  earnestly  expressed.  In  an  interview  on  Jan.  30  he  denounced 
the  President's  peace  views:  "Peace  without  victory  is  the  natural 
idea  of  the  man  who  is  too  proud  to  fight.  In  the  event  of  war,  it 
is  the  only  kind  of  peace  open  to  the  nation  whose  governor  and 
leaders  are  too  proud  to  fight  and  too  foolish  to  prepare.  If  a 
righteous  war  is  ended  by  a  peace  without  victory,  such  a  peace 
means  the  triumph  of  wrong  over  right,  and  neutrality  between 
right  and  wrong  means  the  support  of  wrong  against  right."  He 
did  not  believe  (Metropolitan  for  February)  in  the  League  to  En- 
force Peace:  "Pacificism  in  this  country  is  the  strongest  aid  and 
encouragement  to  Militarism  in  every  military  autocracy  abroad." 
To  a  request  of  Mr.  Bryan's  friends  for  a  joint  debate  on  Peace 
he  wrote  a  contemptuous  refusal  on  Feb.  28:  "The  unpreparedness 
upheld  by  the  advocates  of  professional  Pacificism  does  not,  as  is 
sometimes  said,  represent  a  high,  although  impractical,  ideal.  It 
is  profoundly  immoral,  and  in  actual  practice  has  been  conclusively 
shown  by  the  events  of  the  last  few  years  to  inspire  and  abet  the 
commission  of  the  meanest  sins,  not  only  against  our  own  country, 
but  against  the  cause  of  international  duty." 

At  Chicago  on  Apr.  29  he  urged  the  President  to  "put  the  Am- 
erican flag  on  the  firing  line  in  France,  Flanders  or  the  Balkan 
peninsula  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  and  keep  it  there,  as  long 
as  the  War  continues,  over  a  constantly-growing  fighting  force 
until  the  War  brings  victory."  He  urged  obligatory  service  and 
added:  "Now  that  we  are  at  war,  let  us  make  it  a  real  war,  not  a 
make-believe  war,  not  a  war  of  limited  liability.  We  owe  our 
safety  at  this  moment  to  the  British  fleet  and  the  French  and  British 
armies.  I,  for  one,  am  not  content  to  rest  under  that  kind  of  obliga- 
tion." Meanwhile,  he  was  raising  men  on  the  strength  of  his  own 
reputation  and  by  means  of  his  own  volcanic  energy ;  by  May  1  there 
were  187,000  volunteers  ready  to  follow  him  to  France  or  anywhere 
else,  and  he  was  in  a  position  to  offer  to  the  War  Department  two 
completely  equipped  Divisions,  but  did  not  obtain  the  coveted 
permission.  On  Long  Island  (July  4)  Colonel  Roosevelt  turned  his 
attention  to  Pacifists  and  pro-Germans.  Their  attitude  was  des- 
cribed as  moral  treason  warranting  shipment  to  Germany,  and  he 


AMERICAN  LEADERS  AND  THE  WAR  IN  1917  225 

urged  that  all  German  language  papers  in  the  United  States  be 
compelled  to  print  alternative  columns  in  English:  "At  this  moment 
the  vital  thing  to  remember  about  these  half-hidden  traitors  is  that 
to  attack  America's  Allies,  while  we  are  at  death  grips  with  a  pecu- 
liarly ruthless  and  brutal  foe,  or  to  champion  that  foe  as  against  our 
Allies,  or  to  apologize  for  that  foe's  infamous  wrongdoing,  is  to  be 
false  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  to  the  United  States."  In  The 
Metropolitan  for  September  he  denounced  Mr.  Secretary  Baker  for 
stating  on  June  7  that  while  there  were  "difficulty,  disorder  and 
confusion"  in  getting  things  started,  he  preferred  that  condition  to 
being,  like  Germany,  "ready,  anxious  and  prepared  for  war."  To 
this  the  reply  was  emphatic:  "Let  our  people  keep  steadily  in 
remembrance  that  the  Pacifists,  sometimes  speaking  their  own  folly, 
and  sometimes  acting  under  the  sinister  inspiration  of  paid  German 
emissaries,  insisted  that  we  should  keep  unprepared  because  to  be 
prepared  for  war  is  to  be  'anxious  for  it  ...  and  inviting  it.' 
They  insisted  that  unpreparedness  meant  peace."  It  did  not  mean 
peace;  it  did  not  and  never  will  keep  a  nation  out  of  war;  it  merely 
"makes  the  nation*  incompetent  to  carry  it  on  effectively."  After 
six  months  of  war  the  United  States,  he  declared,  could  not  meet  a 
single  German  Army  Corps. 

At  Princeton  on  Nov.  16  the  Colonel  alleged  that  if  the  United 
States  had  acted  promptly  on  Feb.  1,  declared  war  and  sent  troops 
forward  at  once,  Russia  might  have  kept  up  its  heart  and  Italy  been 
saved  from  the  peace-monger  and  traitor  and  resulting  invasion. 
At  New  York  (Nov.  12)  he  supported  Woman  Suffrage  and  declared 
that  "the  Germanized  Socialists  in  this  country,  men  and  women 
alike,  and  the  professional  Pacifists  and  pro-Germans,  and  all  others 
who  aid  and  abet  them,  are  emphatically  traitors."  He  visited 
Toronto  on  Nov.  26  to  help  the  British  Red  Cross,  received  an 
ovation  from  an  enormous  crowd  and  once  more  described  United 
States  Socialism  as  "a  Germanized  annex  of  autocracy  and  militar- 
ism"; while  professional  Pacifists  were  "the  worst  enemies  of  free- 
dom, democracy  and  righteousness."  He  favoured  absolute  pro- 
hibition of  liquor  in  the  Army  and  so  wrote  on  Dec.  24. 

Wm.  Howard  Taft,  Alton  B.  Parker,  Joseph  H.  Choate  and 
Elihu  Root — the  first  and  last  were  Republican  leaders — gave  Mr. 
Wilson,  and  the  War  when  it  came,  loyal  support  during  this  year. 
They  signed — except  Mr.  Root — a  call  for  war-action  on  Feb.  26, 
which  declared  that  "the  need  of  theJiour  is  to  take  effectual  meas- 
ures to  safeguard  our  shipping  and  our  citizens,  rather  than  to  wait 
for  Americans  to  be  murdered  and  then  go  to  war  to  punish  the 
offender."  Mr.  Taft  supported  the  proposed  League  to  Enforce 
Peace  and  on  Feb.  5,  in  New  York,  urged  the  immediate  enforce- 
ment of  Conscription  and  a  policy  of  militant  preparedness,  while 
denouncing  dependence  on  British  Naval  protection.  At  Montreal, 
Canada,  on  Sept.  26,  he  addressed  an  American  Unitarian  Conven- 
tion meeting  there  and  denounced  the  Pacifist  character  of  a  report 
presented  by  the  Rev.  J.  Haynes  Holmes — of  New  York  notoriety 
in  that  connection.  At  Boston  on  Dec.  19  he  differed  on  one  point 
from  President  Wilson  and  declared  that  "we  are  fighting  thelGer- 

15 


226  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

man  people,  a  people  obsessed  with  megalomania  and  the  only  way 
we  can  win  is  by  hitting  the  German  people  with  a  club." 

Mr.  Root  did  high  public  service  during  the  year  in  his  Russian 
mission,  in  urging  t,he  policy  of  compulsory  military  service,  in  pre- 
senting War  ideals  and  duty  along  lines  different  from  those  of  the 
President  but  leading  to  the  same  end.  As  President  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  International  Law  he  dealt  at  Washington,  on  Apr. 
26,  with  the  fundamentals  of  democracy  and  war.  One  was  vital: 
"There  is  a  radical  incompatibility  between  popular  self-govern- 
ment and  continuous  military  discipline,  for  military  control  is  in 
itself  despotic.  As  compared  with  military  autocracies,  the  normal 
condition  of  democracies  is  a  condition  of  inferior  military  efficiency. 
This  invariable  characteristic  of  democracy  leaves  it  no  option  in 
its  treatment  of  autocracy.  The  two  kinds  of  government  cannot 
live  permanently  side  by  side."  To  a  Conference  of  lawyers  on 
Sept.  3  he  declared  that  "this  is  a  conflict  between  two  opposed  and 
inevitably  opposed  systems  of  government,  of  policy,  of  politics,  of 
human  society."  At  Chicago  on  Sept.  14  he  dealt  with  free  speech 
in  peace  and  war: 

A  nation  which  declares  war  and  goes  on  discussing  whether  it  ought  to  have 
declared  war  or  not  is  impotent.  A  democracy  which  cannot  accept  its  own  decisions 
made  in  accordance  with  its  own  laws,  but  must  keep  on  endlessly  discussing  a 
question  already  decided,  has  failed  in  the  fundamental  requirements  of  self-govern- 
ment; and  if  the  decision  is  to  make  war,  the  failure  to  exhibit  capacity  for  self- 
government  by  action  will  inevitably  result  in  the  loss  of  the  right  of  self-government. 

Meanwhile,  W.  J.  Bryan  had  been  leading  the  Pacifist  thought 
of  the  country;  back  of  the  intellectual  peace-lover  were  all  the 
Socialist,  I.W.W.,  and  pro-German  elements.  He  had  always  been 
anti-British  in  speech  and  policy;  his  pamphlets  on  India  were  the 
cherished  possession  and  weapon  of  every  Hindu  sedition-monger 
before  and  during  the  War;  his  paper,  The  Commoner,  had  been 
debarred  from  circulation  in  India  as  far  back  as  1906.  He  was 
bitterly  opposed  to  fighting  Germany  at  this  juncture  and  to  a  New 
York  audience  on  Feb.  2  stated  that  only  invasion  warranted  war, 
and  that  the  reply  to  Germany  should  be:  "No!  We  have  the  wel- 
fare of  100,000,000  people  to  guard,  priceless  ideals  to  preserve,  and 
we  will  not  wallow  with  you  in  a  mire  of  blood  to  conform  to  a  false 
standard.  It  would  be  a  crime  for  us  to  enter  this  War."  In  a 
statement  issued  on  Feb.  4  he  urged  the  American  people  to  pro- 
test against  war  and  to  ask  the  President  to  keep  American  ships 
and  citizens  out  of  the  German  zone.  He  wanted  a  Referendum  on 
the  subject  and  believed  a  tremendous  majority  would  vote  against 
war.  While  in  Washington  Mr.  Bryan  attacked  the  personnel  of 
the  Army  and  Navy  and  urged  Democrats  to  oppose  war  in  Congress 
and  to  hamper  the  President  in  his  policy.  On  Feb.  10  an  open 
letter  was  published  in  which  he  gave  these  alternatives: 

(1)  We  can  postpone  until  the  War  is  over  the  settlement  of  any  dispute  which 
cannot  be  settled  by  peaceful  means; 

(2)  We  can  keep  American  citizens  off  belligerent  ships; 

(3)  We  can  refuse  clearance  to  ships  of  the  United  States  and  other  neutral 
countries  carrying  contraband  and  passengers  on  the  same  ship; 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS;  MISSIONS  OF  JOFFRE  AND  BALFOUR 

(4)  We  can  withdraw  protection  from  American  citizens  who  are  willing  to 
jeopardize  the  nation's  peace  by  travelling  as  seamen  with  contraband  on  American 
or  neutral  vessels; 

(5)  We  can,  if  necessary,  keep  all  American  vessels  out  of  the  danger  zone  for 
the  present; 

(6)  Congress,  which  has  exclusive  power  to  declare  war,  can  submit  the  declara- 
tion to  Referendum  vote,  making  exception  in  case  of  invasion. 

To  Congress  on  Mar.  28  he  addressed  an  appeal  in  characteristic 
terms:  "To  you,  and  to  you  only,  is  given  constitutional  authority 
to  declare  war — war  which,  in  this  case,  may  mean  the  signing  of 
the  death-warrant  of  thousands,  even  millions,  of  your  countrymen, 
and  the  laying  of  grievous  burdens  upon  future  generations.  Before 
you  take  this  blood  upon  your  hands,  consider  I  pray  you,  (1)  that 
the  wrongs  which  you  would  punish  are  not  intended  primarily 
against  this  country;  (2)  that  our  land  is  not  threatened  with  in- 
vasion, but  that  we  are  asked  to  go  3,000  miles  for  a  chance  to  fight; 
(3)  that  we  have  not  the  excuse  for  going  to  war  that  the  European 
nations  had.  We  have  a  peace  plan  offered  by  this  nation  to  the 
world,  and  now  embodied  in  30  treaties  with  three-quarters  of  the 
population  of  the  globe.  It  provides  for  investigation  of  all  disputes 
by  an  International  tribunal  before  resort  to  war."  He  again  urged 
a  Referendum  as  a  last  resort.  When  war  came — after  he  had 
fought  its  declaration  to  the  last  ditch — Mr.  Bryan,  who  had  com- 
manded a  Regiment  in  the  Spanish  War  and  was  now  57  years  old, 
wired  the  President  on  Apr.  6:  "Please  enroll  me  as  a  private 
wherever  I  am  needed.  Assign  me  to  any  work  that  I  can  do, 
uncalled  to  the  colours."  He  was  next  heard  urging  Woman's 
Suffrage,  supporting  the  Liberty  Loan  and  helping  the  Red  Cross 
Funds. 

Foreign  Diplomatically  a  new  America  emerged  into  the 

jy^iji1?8  !n     arena  of  nations  in  1917;    one  which  drew  away  per- 
1917:  Missions         ..,,      ,  in*  i*.-  e 

of  Joffre,  Bal-  ceptibly  but  not  wholly  trom  its  own  traditions  of 

four,  Reading,  isolation,  from  an  atmosphere  of  extreme  self-assur- 
Northcliffe.  ance  developed  by  distance  from  other  world-centres, 
from  a  diplomatic  and  national  attitude  of  indifference, 
verging  upon  contempt,  for  the  affairs  of  Europe,  Asia  or  Africa. 
From  conditions  in  the  early  19th  century  to  those  of  the  early 
20th  century  was  a  leap  into  space  which  involved  enormous  changes 
— and  it  came  under  the  regime  of  a  Party,  like  that  of  the  Liberals 
in  England,  which  was  essentially  one  of  peace,  retrenchment  and 
social  reform.  With  this  change,  and  the  aggressions  of  Germany  on 
sea  and  land  and  air,  in  diplomacy  and  war,  came  the  inevitable 
drawing  together  of  the  United  States  and  the  Allied  lovers  of  liberty; 
with  it,  also,  came  the  submergence,  though  not  by  any  means 
destruction,  of  the  old  anti-British  feeling  upon  which  non-inter- 
vention, Monroe  doctrine  and  continental  unity  ideals  had  all  been 
primarily  based;  with  it,  in  the  years  1914-17,  came  a  revolution 
in  diplomatic  interchanges  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  from  the  condition  of  American  irritation  at  assumed, 
threatened,  or  possible  wrongs,  to  one  of  readiness  to  believe  friendly 
assurances  and  to  accept  friendly  relations;  with  it,  finally,  as  the 


228  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

cloud  of  war  closed  down  upon  the  American  horizon,  came  the 
slow  development  of  a  practical  alliance. 

Despite  a  hostile  history,  prejudicial  school-books,  and  the 
spread-eagle  oratory  of  the  American,  despite  the  opposing  tradi- 
tions and  social  system  and  political  views  of  Britain,  despite  masses 
of  foreigners  and  foreign-speaking  peoples  in  the  Republic,  this 
world-crisis  finally  threw  the  two  nations  and  France  together  into 
a  common  crucible  of  self -protection  and  moral  compulsion.  It  did 
not  look  like  this  upon  the  surface,  when  the  year  1917  opened. 
Diplomatically  the  United  States  appeared  as  a  nation  quite  apart 
from  any  traditional  stream  of  British  thought,  conception  of  inter- 
national duty,  or  ideals  of  world-power.  President  Wilson  had  dis- 
tinctly intimated  in  all  his  speeches  and  official  writings  of  this 
period  that  the  United  States  stood  alone,  that  the  American  con- 
tinent was  its  centre  and  Americanism  his  only  ideal,  that  the  con- 
servation and  enhancement  of  United  States  interests  were  his 
objects  and  constituted  his  whole  policy.  But  the  time  was  near 
when  the  national  ideal  of  a  continental  peace  would  be  smashed  by 
the  sword  of  war  and  the  Submarine  do  for  the  Anglo-Saxon  nations 
what  a  century  of  peace  might  have  failed  to  do. 

At  this  time  the  United  States  had  developed  enormous  trade 
interests  with  the  Entente.  The  export  of  explosives  alone  had 
risen  from  $5,000,000  in  1913  to  $717,000,000  in  1916;  in  the  fiscal 
years  (June  30)  the  export  of  all  War  material  had  grown  from 
$435,000,000  in  1915  to  $2,127,000,000  in  1917.  This  trade  factor 
and  the  great  inflow  of  British  gold,  the  close  alliance  of  Britain 
and  France,  and,  above  all,  the  continuous,  undoubted  and  real 
cordiality  of  British  statesmen,  the  courteous  diplomacy  of  Spring- 
Rice  following  upon  the  personal  prestige  of  James  Bryce,  the  clear 
and  yet  friendly  documents  of  Mr.  Balfour  as  Foreign  Minister,  had 
all  contributed  to  a  better  feeling  between  the  countries  prior  to 
this  year  of  actual  war  relationship. 

With  the  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  War  the  change  in 
the  relations  of  the  countries  became  obvious.  Courteous  inter- 
changes, marked  at  times  by  acerbity  and,  on  occasion,  by  a  sort 
of  traditional  American  suspicion  of  British  policy,  turned  into 
subjects  of  co-operation,  inter-action,  combined  effort.  Great 
Britain  was  absolutely  and  obviously  delighted;  the  United  States 
was  unexpectedly  and  clearly  willing  to  learn  by  Britain's  experi- 
ences and  be  guided  by  British  mistakes.  .  Mr.  Asquith  issued  a 
statement  (Apr.  6):  "The  President  urges  upon  his  fellow-citizens 
the  utmost  practical  co-operation  in  counsel  with  the  Allies  and 
promises  every  form  of  effective  help  that  America  can  provide. 
We  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  acknowledge  his  appeal  and  his 
assurance  with  profound  sympathy  and  gratitude."  On  Apr.  7, 
J.  H.  Choate,  the  veteran  statesman  and  ex-Ambassador  to  England, 
wrote  to  Earl  Grey  his  pride  at  the  final  decision  of  the  President, 
who  had  reached  the  point  in  his  watchful  waiting  when  he  could 
safely  "announce  to  the  world  our  alliance  with  France  and  Great 
Britain  without  any  practical  dissent." 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS;  MISSIONS  OF  JOFFRE  AND  BALFOUR  229 

Summed  up, the  promised  help  included  (1)  an  utilization  of  the 
U.S.  Navy  in  co-operation  with  the  Allies;  (2)  providing  the  Entente 
with  munitions  to  the  fullest  possible  extent;  (3)  granting  Loans  of 
$4,000,000,000  to  the  Allies;  (4)  providing  foodstuffs  as  a  set-off  to 
the  U-boat  campaign;  (5)  training  over  a  million  men  during  the 
first  year  of  the  War,  and  another  million  in  the  second  year.  At 
an  American  luncheon  in  London  on  Apr.  12  Mr.  Lloyd  George 
declared  that  "the  advent  of  the  United  States  into  this  war  gives 
the  final  stamp  and  seal  to  the  character  of  the  conflict — as  a  strug- 
gle against  military  autocracy  throughout  the  world."  A  solemn 
State  and  international  service  in  St.  Paul's  on  Apr.  20  further 
marked  the  event.  On  July  4  at  a  London  meeting,  W.  H.  Page, 
American  Ambassador,  re-echoed  the  thought  at  the  back  of  these 
functions:  "Let  us  now  give  ourselves  to  a  closer  understanding, 
that  the  unity  of  these  two  peoples  and  their  two  Governments  shall 
be  the  immutable  basis  of  sympathetic  relations  forever." 

Incidents  following  included  the  Allied  use  of  the  American 
Navy,  through  a  co-ordination  effected  by  Rear-Admiral  W.  S.  Sims 
and  a  Commission  sent  to  England;  the  prompt  arrangement  of  a 
series  of  United  States  loans  to  the  Allies  for  expenditure  in  the 
United  States — illustrated  by  that  of  Great  Britain  which  in  April 
was  placed  at  $8,000,000  a  day  for  foodstuffs  and  munitions;  the 
withdrawal  by  Britain  of  the  Black-list  against  enemy  traders  in 
the  United  States;  the  sending  of  French  and  British  officers  to 
help  in  training  Aviation  and  other  Services  in  the  States.  A  British 
Recruiting  mission  in  the  United  States  was  arranged  and  facilitated 
with  Brig. -Gen.  W.  A.  White  as  its  head  and  was  allowed  to  deal 
with  all  British  subjects  in  the  Republic  while  Canada  was  given 
similar  privileges;  Lord  Rhondda,  as  Food  Controller,  on  June  19 
appealed  earnestly  to  the  Americans  to  help  in  conserving  and 
shipping  food  supplies  and  the  President  and  Mr.  Hoover  responded 
with  urgent  appeals  to  the  people  and  varied  regulations;  on  Aug. 
24  an  Allied  Purchasing  Commission  in  the  United  States  was 
announced — to  control  all  Government  purchases  for  Great  Britain, 
France,  Italy,  Russia,  Belgium  and  Serbia;  on  Oct.  10  a  Confer- 
ence of  the  Standard  Oil  Co.,  the  U.S.  Shipping  Board  and  British 
representatives  assured  a  sufficient  supply  of  fuel  oil  for  the  British 
Navy;  on  Oct.  24  the  American  Red  Cross  Society  announced  a  gift 
of  $1,000,000  to  the  British  Red  Cross  and  on  Nov.  20  the  British 
Premier  told  the  American  War  Mission  in  London  that  "the  col- 
lapse of  Russia  and  the  reverses  to  Italy  make  it  even  more  impera- 
tive than  before  that  the  United  States  send  as  many  troops  as 
possible  across  the  Atlantic  as  early  as  possible";  at  the  close  of 
the  year  it  was  stated  officially  that  American  advances  and  war 
credits  granted  to  the  Allies  stood  as  follows: 

Great  Britain $2,045,000,000           Belgium. .                    $      77,400,000 

France 1,285,000,000           Serbia 4,000,000 

Italy 500,000,000 

Russia 325,000,000                    Total $4,236,400,000 

Meanwhile,  the  United  States  took  its  place  in  Inter-Allied 
Conferences  at  London  and  Paris,  in  an  Inter-Allied  War  Council 


230  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  Naval  Council;  it  refused  coal  to  Neutral  ships  carrying  sup- 
plies from  South  America  to  the  Northern  European  neutral  coun- 
tries unless  their  cargoes  were  inspected  in  American  ports;  it  cut 
off  supplies  (Nov.  20)  to  Russia  until  the  situation  there  cleared  up, 
and  seized  30,000,000  pounds  of  sugar  at  New  York  on  Nov.  21 
which  was  held  subject  to  Russian  orders;  the  President  received 
a  large  number  of  Foreign  Missions,  including  those  of  Italy,  Japan, 
Russia,  Belgium,  Holland,  Great  Britain  and  France — with  special 
British  and  French  Scientific  delegations. 

The  central  one  of  the  year,  however,  and  one  which  created 
great  enthusiasm,  interested  an  immense  number  of  people,  and 
aroused  the  best  thought  of  the  nation,  was  that  of  the  Rt.  Hon. 
A.  J.  Balfour,  British  Foreign  Minister,  and  Marshal  Joffre — repre- 
senting the  chief  Allied  countries  and  the  two  nations  closest  to  the 
United  States.  Both  of  these  men  were  leaders — one  in  statecraft, 
the  other  in  arms — each  had  characteristics  of  great  personal  charm 
and  recognized  qualities  of  real  leadership.  It  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  Mr.  Balfour  made  the  most  marked  personal  impression 
of  any  visiting  Englishman  in  American  history.  He  was  the  first 
to  reach  the  United  States,  via  Halifax  and  the  Niagara  frontier, 
on  Apr.  21,  and  Washington  on  the  22nd.  His  party  included  Sir 
Eric  Drummond,  Ian  Malcolm,  M.P.,  Rear-Admiral  Sir  Dudley  de 
Chair,  Major-Gen.  G.  T.  M.  Bridges,  Lord  Eustace  Percy,  Capt.  H. 
H.  Spender-Clay,  M.P.,  and  Lord  Cunliffe,  Governor  of  the  Bank 
of  England.  There  was  a  large  Staff  of  British  specialists  and 
experts  representing  the  War  Office,  Blockade  Department,  Wheat 
Commission,  Munitions  Department,  Ordnance,  Supplies  and 
Transports. 

On  Apr.  25  Mr.  Balfour  told  a  group  of  newspaper  correspondents 
that  "our  confidence  in  the  assistance  which  we  are  going  to  get 
from  this  community  is  not  based  upon  such  shallow  considerations 
as  those  which  arise  out  of  formal  treaties.  No  treaty  could  in- 
crease the  undoubted  confidence  with  which  we  look  to  the  United 
States,  who,  having  come  into  the  War,  are  going  to  see  the  War 
through."  Meetings  with  the  President  and  many  officials  followed 
and  on  Apr.  29 — the  French  Mission  having,  meantime,  arrived — 
the  ex-Premiers  of  France  and  Great  Britain  stood  at  Mount  Vernon 
beside  the  tomb  of  Washington  and  paid  tribute,  as  Mr.  Balfour 
put  it,  to  the  leader  who  would  have  "rejoiced  to  see  the  country  of 
which  he  was  by  birth  a  citizen  and  the  country  his  genius  called 
into  existence,  fighting  side  by  side  to  save  mankind  from  a  military 
despotism."  After  daily  conferences  with  Cabinet  officials,  Mr. 
Balfour  was,  on  May  5,  formally  received  and  welcomed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  with  the  President  of  the  United  States 
in  the  gallery,  and  was  given  an  ovation  by  the  members.  In  his 
address  the  visitor  spoke  of  Congress  and  Parliament  as  "the  great- 
est and  the  oldesL  of  the  free  assemblies  now  governing  great  nations 
in  the  world."  Upon  the  issue  at  stake  he  was  clear  and  logical: 
"When  I  was  young  we  used  to  flatter  ourselves  that  progress  in- 
evitably meant  peace,  and  that  growth  of  knowledge  was  always 
accompanied,  as  its  natural  fruit,  by  the  growth  of  good- will  among 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS;  MISSIONS  OF  JOFFRE  AND  BALFOUR  231 

the  nations  of  the  earth.  Unhappily,  we  know  better  now,  and  we 
know  there  is  such  a  thing  in  the  world  as  a  Power  which  can  with 
unvarying  persistency  focus  all  the  resources  of  knowledge  and  of 
civilization  into  the  one  great  task  of  making  itself  the  moral  and 
material  master  of  the  world." 

The  British  Commission  was  welcomed  in  New  York  on  May  11 
by  immense  and  cheering  crowds,  decorated  streets,  speeches  from 
Mayor  Mitchel  and  Mr.  Choate;  an  eloquent  and  appreciative 
response  was  given  by  Mr.  Balfour  as  to  a  spectacle  which,  if  it 
could  have  been  seen  by  the  British  people,  would  have  given  them 
"new  strength,  new  courage,  new  enthusiasm,  new  resolution.'*  A 
dinner  at  the  Waldorf  (May  12)  attended  by  1,000  leading  men  of 
New  York,  followed,  at  which  Mr.  Balfour  declared  his  unalterable 
conviction  "that  we  have  reached  a  moment  in  the  world's  history 
on  which  the  future,  not  of  this  country,  but  of  every  country,  not 
of  its  interests,  but  of  every  interest  of  civilization,  is  trembling  in 
the  balance."  What  was  the  peril?  "It  is  the  calculated  and 
remorseless  use  of  every  civilized  weapon  to  carry  out  the  ends  of 
pure  barbarism.  .  .  .  Shall  we  who  know  what  freedom  is  become 
the  humble  and  obsequious  servants  of  those  who  only  know  what 
power  is?"  At  a  similar  function  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  the 
British  Minister  described  the  difference  between  past  naval  war, 
with  its  definite  and  dignified  codes,  and  the  new  German  system  of 
maritime  murder.  An  incident  of  the  visit  was  Mr.  Balfour's 
reception  at  Washington  on  May  4  of  a  deputation  of  Irish- Ameri- 
cans, who  laid  their  views  before  him  and  called  attention  to  the 
favourable  impression  that  a  solution  of  the  Irish  question  would 
have  in  the  United  States.  He  replied  that  everything  possible  was 
being  done  to  bring  the  Ulsterites,  Redmondites  and  Sinn  Fein 
elements  together,  and  that  the  British  Parliament  stood  ready  "to 
agree  to  any  solution  that  the  Irish  themselves  found  acceptable." 
On  the  24th  Mr.  Balfour  issued  a  farewell  message  to  the  American 
people  through  the  National  Press  Club,  in  which  he  stated  that 
uncertainty  had  been  removed  in  many  directions  and  an  efficient 
co-operation  made  possible  by  the  exact  definition  of  resources  and 
needs.  At  the  Guildhall  (July  13)  on  his  return  home  he  was  form- 
ally welcomed  and  in  his  speech  said: 

Unless  American  and  British  statesmanship  is  far  less  equal  to  the  task  before 
it  than  I  conceive  it  to  be,  the  beginning  of  a  mutual  understanding  between  the 
English-speaking  peoples  is  going  to  increase  in  strength,  to  grow  in  usefulness,  and 
to  become  with  each  succeeding  year  more  solidly  based,  so  that  time  shall  have  no 
grip  upon  it,  decay  shall  never  touch  it,  and  it  shall  endure  for  all  time  as  the  eternal 
product  of  mutual  good-will,  mutual  comprehension,  and  the  mutual  pursuit  of 
common  ideals. 

Marshal  Joffre,  the  hero  of  the  Marne,  headed  the  French  High 
Commission  and  with  him  were  M.  Ren£  Viviani,  ex-Premier  and 
Minister  of  Justice  in  France,  Vice-Admiral  Chocheprat,  Marquis 
de  Chambrun,  a  lineal  descendant  of  Lafayette,  and  a  Staff  of 
associates  and  experts.  The  visitors  arrived  at  Fort  Monroe  on 
Apr.  24  and  proceeded  to  Washington  where  on  the  26th  M.  Viviani 
issued  a  Message  stating  that:  "We  have  come  to  this  land<to  salute 


232  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  American  people  and  its  Government,  to  call  to  fresh  vigour  our 
lifelong  friendship,  sweet  and  cordial  in  the  ordinary  course  of  our 
lives,  and  which  these  tragic  hours  have  raised  to  all  the  ardour  of 
brotherly  love."  This  was  "France  Day"  in  New  York,  so  called 
by  Governor  Whitman  in  commemoration  of  the  historic  friendship 
of  the  two  nations,  and  everywhere  the  tri-colour  flew  while  the 
strains  of  the  Marseillaise  echoed  tributes  to  Lafayette  and  the  spirit 
of  French  liberty. 

At  Washington's  tomb  on  the  29th  the  speech  of  M.  Viviani  was 
an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  founder  of  the  Republic;  in  the  Senate 
on  May  1st,  M.  Viviani  and  Marshal  Joffre  were  welcomed  with 
acclaim  and  the  former  concluded  his  address  as  follows:  "Together 
we  will  carry  on  the  struggle;  and  when  by  force  we  have  at  last 
imposed  military  victory,  our  labours  will  not  be  concluded.  Our 
task  will  be — I  quote  the  noble  words  of  President  Wilson — to 
organize  the  society  of  nations."  In  the  Lower  House  on  May  3 
the  ex-Premier  was  again  the  speaker:  "Intrusted  with  a  mandate 
from  a  free  people,  we  come  among  freemen  to  compare  our  ideas, 
•exchange  our  views,  to  measure  the  whole  extent  of  the  problems 
raised  by  this  war."  At  Chicago  on  the  4th  Marshal  Joffre — who 
could  not  speak  English — gave  his  first  brief  address;  at  St.  Louis 
20,000  persons  welcomed  the  visitors  and  so  at  Kansas  City  and 
Springfield,  Illinois — where  the  Marshal  placed  a  wreath  on  the  tomb 
of  Lincoln;  at  many  smaller  places  a  great  welcome  was  given  and 
at  Philadelphia  Independence  Hall  was  the  centre  of  interest;  New 
York  was  reached  on  May  9  and  various  functions  shared  in  with 
the  British  Commissioners — a  great  welcome  being  given  in  the 
crowded  streets,  with  another  address  from  M.  Viviani.  A  New 
York  statue  of  Lafayette  was  unveiled,  Columbia  University  con- 
ferred its  LL.D.  degree  upon  the  two  Frenchmen  and  Mr.  Balfour, 
Grant's  tomb  was  visited  and  a  Metropolitan  concert  attended 
where  the  audience  gave  Marshal  Joffre  $85,000  for  relief  work. 
M.  Viviani  continued  to  be  a  favourite  and  impassioned  speaker — 
to  the  lawyers  of  New  York  on  May  12  he  said:  "For  the  last  three 
years  we  have  been  fighting  for  liberty;  we  are  flinging  to  the  breeze 
under  the  fire  of  cannon  the  banner  of  universal  democracy.  May 
all  free  men  rise  and  come  to  our  side."  On  the  14th  the  French 
visitors  stood  before  the  tomb  of  Lafayette  at  Baltimore;  on  June 
14,  in  the  French  Chamber  at  Paris,  M.  Viviani  reviewed  this  tour 
and  its  lessons — its  proofs  that  the  American  army  would  stand  by 
the  side  of  France  with  immediate  aid  and  constant  co-operation. 
During  this  visit  the  hero  of  the  Marne  was  a  popular  idol;  M. 
Viviani  a  good  exponent  of  the  eloquence  for  which  France  was  famous 
— so  good  that  even  those  who  did  not  know  French  came  under 
the  spell.  A  curious  fact  in  this  connection  was  the  difficulty 
amongst  rulers,  leaders,  statesmen,  even  American  diplomats,  in 
talking  to  the  visitors.  No  one  understood  French;  all  the  -British 
Commissioners  talked  it  fluently.  It  was  stated  from  Paris  on 
June  6  that  Marshal  Joffre  and  the  American  military  chiefs  drew 
up  together  a  plan  of  organization  for  the  new  American  armies 
which,  also,  was  approved  by  the  British  leaders. 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS;  MISSIONS  OF  JOKFRE  AND  BALFOUR  233 

Following  these  Commissions  Lord  Northcliffe  accepted  the 
Chairmanship  of  a  British  War  Mission  to  the  United  States,  which 
was  to  sit  permanently  at  Washington  or  New  York  and  deal  with 
the  vast  and  varied  problems  of  the  War.  His  energetic,  virile 
personality  was  akin  to  that  of  American  leadership,  his  mental 
activity  and  dislike  of  precedent  akin  to  American  character,  his 
interviews,  already  published  in  American  papers,  and  his  forceful 
criticisms  of  inertia  at  home  were  familiar  to  the  American  public. 
The  appointment  was  announced  on  June  6  and  well  received.  On 
June  11  he  arrived  in  the  States  and  stated  that  the  War  Cabinet 
had  appointed  him  "to  try  to  co-ordinate  the  work  of  the  various 
admirable  British  organizations  already  established  here."  In  the  Brit- 
ish Commons  (June  13)  Mr.  Bonar  Law  added  that  Lord  Northcliffe 
was  directly  responsible  to  the  War  Cabinet  and  that  his  mission 
was  to  "co-ordinate  and  supervise  the  work  of  Mr.  Balfour's  War 
Mission,  to  prevent  a  conflict  of  interests,  and  to  determine  priority 
and  maintain  friendly  relations  with  the  Allied  representatives,  as 
well  as  with  the  United  States  authorities  themselves." 

Speaking  in  New  York,  on  July  20,  at  a  great  British  recruiting 
demonstration,  Lord  Northcliffe  spoke  of  British  (Canadian)  troops 
being  cheered  as  they  passed  through  American  cities,  of  Canadian 
Highlanders  marching  up  Bunker's  Hill,  of  American  and  British 
speakers  and  generals  standing  side  by  side,  and  looked  to  the  time 
when  there  might  be  a  Federation  of  the  two  peoples.  In  address- 
ing magazine  editors  and  writers  (New  York,  June  28)  he  urged 
mobilization  of  man-power  and  machine  power,  and  declared  that 
in  the  aeroplane  lay  the  chief  Allied  hope  of  victory.  To  the  War 
Convention  of  U.S.  Chambers  of  Commerce  at  Atlantic  City  on 
Sept.  19  Lord  Northcliffe  described  the  great  work  of  industrial  and 
commercial  England  in  the  War  and  added:  "We,  the  business 
men  of  the  Allies,  will  show  the  Kaiser  that  lofty  impulse  can  move 
mountains  and  even  hammer  a  way  through  the  23  walls  of  iron  and 
concrete  he  is  said  to  have  constructed  across  the  road  to  Berlin." 
In  October  he  made  a  tour  of  the  Middle  West  and  at  St.  Louis  on 
the  26th  eulogized  the  American  draft  system  and  flying-fields,  but 
expressed  no  opinion  as  to  guns  and  aeroplanes.  During  this  period 
he  had  many  difficulties  as  to  the  shipping  policy  of  the  United  States 
and  its  requisition  of  British  ships  in  American  yards.  Failing  to 
bring  about  the  return  of  the  ships  Lord  Northcliffe,  it  was  under- 
stoofl,  urged  the  Shipping  Board  to  commit  itself  to  their  return  at 
the  end  of  the  War  or  as  soon  as  American  military  necessities  would 
permit.  This  was  refused  but  ultimately  agreed  to.  By  the  close 
of  the  year  Lord  Northcliffe  controlled,  and  had  turned  the  British 
Mission  into,  one  of  the  greatest  business  concerns  in  the  world. 
Buying  munitions  at  the  rate  of  $3,000,000  a  day,  working  out  the 
transportation  of  enormous  shipments  of  war  supplies  by  rail  and 
steamboat,  purchasing  grain,  cotton,  oil,  mules  and  horses,  hogs, 
etc. — with  10,000  employees  throughout  the  United  States — and 
seeing  that  countless  factories  and  industries  produced  the  necessary 
articles,  his  Mission  soon  became  a  great  and  fruitful  element  in  the 
relations  of  the  two  countries. 


234  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

On  Sept.  12  Viscount  Reading,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England, 
arrived  in  the  States  on  a  Special  Mission  connected  with  financial 
matters;  he  was  accompanied  by  Col.  E.  D.  Swinton  —  the  inventor 
of  the  Tank  —  Sir  Thomas  Reyden,  and  others.  As  Chairman  of 
the  Anglo-French  Commission  which  floated  the  $500,000,000  Loan 
in  1915,  Lord  Reading  had  been  personally  popular  in  the  United 
States  and  won  the  full  confidence  of  American  financiers.  For 
some  time  past  the  Federal  Reserve  Board  had  been  seeking  to  solve 
problems  of  international  exchange  in  time  of  war,  though  its  efforts 
were  not  wholly  successful.  This  and  the  financial  needs  of  Britain, 
the  Allies  and  Canada,  were  the  bases  of  this  new  mission.  A 
series  of  conferences  followed  in  Washington  and  at  Ottawa  with  the 
officials  concerned  and  with  Lord  Northcliffe.  At  a  Liberty  Loan 
meeting  in  New  York  on  Oct.  18  Lord  Reading  made  a  powerful 
appeal  for  support  and  expressed  this  pledge:  "Great  Britain  has 
determined,  that  come  what  may,  whatever  sacrifices  she  may  have 
to  make,  be  they  ever  so  great,  be  they  even  far  greater  than  we 
have  yet  reckoned,  she  will  never  sheathe  her  sword  until  Germany 
has  realized  that  she  is  in  the  fight  to  the  end." 

War  Adminis-        The  United  States  entered  the  War  with  tremen- 
What'was         ^ous   exPectat^ons   °f   success   in   the   popular   mind, 


Done  by  the  w^tn  an  optimism  in  official  circles  which  was,  however, 
United  States  relieved  by  ever-increasing  knowledge  of  the  situation, 
in  1917!  with  public  announcements  as  to  immense  Armies  of 

4,000,000  men  within  a  few  years,  great  ship-building 
plans  of  10,000,000  tons  in  a  year,  enormous  aeroplane  projects  of 
26,000  machines  in  1918,  brilliant  inventions  to  be  utilized  which 
would  sweep  away  the  Submarine  menace,  the  projected  making  of 
16,000  mobile  artillery  cannon  within  two  years.  Some  of  these  and 
other  expectations  were  partly  realized;  some  met  with  severe  set- 
backs. A  perhaps  unexpected  fact  was  the  willingness  of  the  Adminis- 
tration to  invite  and  receive  and  frequently  act  upon  the  experienced 
advice  of  British  and  French  representatives  or  delegates  at  Wash- 
ington. 

The  President  from  the  first  handled  the  greater  problems 
with  personal  skill  and  energy  ;  delays  which  hampered  and  restricted 
action  were  not  his  fault;  events,  however,  showed  that  he  was  not 
always  a  good  judge  of  human  nature  in  the  selection  of  subordinates. 
War  legislation  on  a  vast  scale,  National  Registration,  compulsory 
military  service,  the  raising  of  immense  sums  of  money,  the  organi- 
zation of  the  country's  resources  in  food  and  industry,  the  despatch 
of  a  large  Force  to  France  —  these  things  were  carried  out  in  1917. 
President  Wilson,  officially,  had  great  powers  and  these  were  largely 
increased  when  in  the  hands  of  a  convinced,  determined  or  aggres- 
sive man;  they  were  further  enhanced  in  1917  by  War  legislation 
and  functions  and  it  is  a  question  if  the  War  Cabinet  of  Britain, 
backed  by  the  co-operation  of  the  King  and  the  great  personal 
prestige  of  the  Premier,  had  as  much  real  power  as  Mr.  Wilson  at 
Washington.  The  way  in  which  the  latter  guided  and  instructed 
Congress  as  to  legislation  had  few  counterparts  elsewhere;  on  July 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       235 

23,  for  instance,  he  wrote  A.  F.  Lever,  in  charge  of  a  Food  Con- 
servation Bill  in  the  Lower  House,  that  the  Congressional  War 
Committee  included  in  its  terms  would,  "if  enacted  into  law,  render 
my  task  of  conducting  the  War  practically  impossible."  Congress 
must,  he  frankly  intimated,  refrain  from  touching  the  powers  of  the 
Executive.  The  clause  was  eliminated. 

The  President's  Order  of  Oct.  14,  as  to  Trading  with  the  Enemy, 
was  sweeping  in  the  powers  used  and  accorded  to  him  by  Congress 
— practically  a  complete  control  over  American  trade  and  commerce. 
So  with  the  Order  of  Oct.  15,  mobilizing  the  nation's  gold  resources 
and  banking  reserves  in  the  hands  of  the  Federal  Reserve  Board. 
An  illustration  of  firm  action  and  clear  thinking  was  seen  in  Mr. 
Wilson's  manipulation  of  the  Selective  draft  plan  and  in  his  bold 
policy  of  Railway  war  nationalization.  His  Cabinet  was  made 
up  of  men,  who  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  proved  good  though  not 
great  administrators;  facing  tremendous  new  problems  they  evaded 
or  overcame  many  obstacles  and  evoked  some  order  and  substan- 
tial progress  out  of  what  very  often  were  chaotic  conditions.  To 
the  President  they  were  responsible  for  their  administration  and, 
for  the  result,  he  was  primarily  responsible  to  the  country.  During 
1917  the  members  were  as  follows: 

Secretary  of  State Robert  Lansing 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury William  Gibbs  McAdoo 

Secretary  of  War Newton  Diehl  Baker 

Attorney-General Thomas  Watt  Gregory 

Postmaster-General Albert  Sidney  Burleson 

Secretary  of  the  Navy Joseph  us  Daniels 

Secretary  of  the  Interior Franklin  Knight  Lane 

Secretary  of  Agriculture David  Franklin  Houston 

Secretary  of  Commerce William  C.  Redfleld 

Secretary  of  Labour William  Beauchop  Wilson 

Through  Mr.  Lansing  had  gone  the  diplomatic  correspondence; 
it  changed  after  War  commenced  into  one  of  keeping  smooth  the 
system  of  co-operation  with  the  Allies;  it  was  marked  by  periodic 
revelations  of  official  German  intrigue  plots.  Mr.  Houston  had 
charge,  under  the  President  and  subject  to  the  wide  range  of  duties 
afterwards  accorded  to  the  Food  Controller,  of  promoting  the 
efficiency  of  agriculture  and  its  increased  production;  Mr.  Redfield 
endeavoured  to  stir  up  and  keep  active  the  industrial  development 
of  the  country  and  pointed  out  to  the  National  Association  of  Manu- 
facturers at  New  York  on  May  16  that:  "the  Nation  will  need  what 
I  have  called  the  three  armies  of  the  field,  the  factory,  and  the  farm 
—if  either  of  these  are  seriously  depleted,  our  cause  would  tremble." 
The  Department  made  a  Census  of  population  for  draft  require- 
ments, and  one  of  acids  and  other  war  materials  and  the  general 
manufacturing  industries  of  the  country;  through  its  Bureau  of 
Standards  it  did  valuable  war-work  of  a  confidential  nature.  Mr. 
Daniels  and  Mr.  Baker  were  much  and  constantly  criticized;  what 
they  did  will  be  reviewed  later.  Mr.  Lane  was  an  able  adminis- 
trator of  a  Department  which  reached  out  from  orange  groves  to 
phosphate  beds  and  from  Forest  Conservation  to  the  staking  of 
homesteads;  its  technical  machinery  greatly  aided  the  Council  of 
National  Defence;  its  Reclamation  service  rushed  the  extension 
of  canals,  etc.,  so  as  to  encourage  food  production  and  transport; 


236  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

its  Topographic  Survey  and  Bureau  of  Mines  were  of  great  service 
—the  latter  in  stimulating  output. 

Mr.  W.  B.  Wilson  did  vital  work  in  solving  Labour  problems  while 
his  Department  registered  thousands  of  shipwrights  throughout 
the  country  and  took  the  direction  of  employees  working  in  the 
production  of  war  supplies;  its  mediators  were  everywhere  in  the 
strike  troubles  and,  through  a  Public  Service  Reserve,  it  classified 
men  for  war  service  while  getting  numbers  of  boys  on  to  the  farms 
to  replace  the  soldiers  or  increase  production.  Mr.  Gregory's 
work  was  of  great  importance  in  its  round-up  of  alien  enemies  and 
plotters,  administration  of  the  Enemy-trading  Act  and  legal  pro- 
ceedings against  slackers.  As  a  whole  the  Cabinet  appears  to  have 
worked  harmoniously;  personally,  by  October,  its  members  had 
a  collective  total  of  10  sons  in  the  Army,  Navy  or  Aviation  services. 
It  may  be  added  that  the  creation  of  War  Commissions  and  official 
organizations  of  various  kinds  helped  to  relieve  the  Government 
of  oppressive  duties — if  at  times  also  it  encouraged  undue  rival- 
ries and  divergent  interests  or  delayed  operations  and  procedure. 
The  most  important  were  the  following: 

COMMISSION,    ETC.  PRESIDENT    OR    CHAIRMAN 

War  Industries  Board Daniel  Willard 

Committee  on  Coal  Production P.  S.  Peabody 

Commercial  Economy  Board A.  W.  Shaw 

Federal  Trade  Commission W.  B.  Colver 

Government  Grain  Corporation Henry  A.  Garfleld 

Railroad  War  Board Robert  Fairfax 

U.S.  Millers'  Commission James  F.  Bell 

Priority  Board R.  S.  Lovett 

Shipping  Board's  Chartering  Commission Welding  Ring 

Committee  on  Industrial  Preparedness Howard  E.  Coffin 

War  Trade  Board Vance  C.  McCormick 

Red  Cross  War  Council H.  P.  Davison 

Labour  Adjustment  Board N.  Everitt  Macy 

National  Advisory  Committee  on  Aeronautics Dr.  W.   F.   Durand 

War  Savings  Certificate  Commission Frank  A.  Vanderlip 

General  Munitions  Board . Frank  A.fScott 

Council  of  National  Defence Hon.  Newton  D.  Baker. 

The  chief  of  these  bodies  was  the  Council  of  National  Defence 
created  by  the  President  on  Mar.  1,  1917,  with  the  Secretaries 
of  War,  the  Navy,  Commerce,  Interior,  Labour  and  Agriculture 
as  ex-officio  members,  Mr.  Baker  as  Chairman,  and  an  Advisory 
Board  of  which  each  member  had  charge  of  an  important  working, 
organizing  and  administrative  Committee  as  follows:  Aircraft 
Production,  Howard  E.  Coffin;  Transportation,  Daniel  Willard; 
Engineering  and  Education,  Hollis  Godfrey;  Medicine  and  Surgery, 
Dr.  Franklin  Martin;  Labour  and  Health,  Samuel  Gompers;  Supplies, 
Julius  Rosenwald:  Raw  Materials,  Bernard  M.  Baruch.  W.  S. 
Gifford  was  Director,  and  G.  B.  Clarkson,  Secretary.  This  body 
reported  on  Oct.  27  that  it  had  arranged  or  supervised  (1)  the  pro- 
curement of  raw  materials  for  the  military  and  naval  forces  at 
prices  greatly  below  the  current  market  rates:  (2)  the  completion 
of  an  inventory,  for  military  purposes,  of  American  manufacturing 
plants;  (3)  the  saving  to  the  Government  of  millions  of  dollars 
by  the  proper  co-ordination  of  purchases;  (4)  a  close-knit  organi- 
zation of  telephone  and  telegraph  companies  to  ensure  rapid  and 
efficient  wire  communication;  (5)  the  initiation  of  a  movement  to 
co-ordinate  activities  in  all  the  States  for  national  defence;  (6) 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       237 

the  carrying  on  of  successful  campaigns  for  conserving  wheat, 
wool,  and  other  commodities.  Collateral  to  this  Council  was  a 
Committee  on  Public  Information  appointed  by  the  President 
on  Apr.  14  and  composed  of  the  Secretaries  of  State,  War  and 
Navy,  with  George  Creel  as  Chairman  and  executive  officer;  the 
object  to  guard  secrets  in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  various 
Departments  and  also  to  issue,  in  an  official  Bulletin,  the  War  in- 
formation which  it  was  thought  right  and  proper  for  the  people 
to  receive.  This  publication  was  a  most  valuable  one  in  many 
ways  and  creditable  to  the  Government  and  its  Editor. 

The  great  and  immediate  problem  of  the  War  came,  of  course, 
under  Mr.  Baker's  administration.  On  Apr.  2,  when  War  was 
declared,  the  public  knew  little  of  the  Nation's  preparedness  except 
that  many  speeches  had  been  made  about  it;  the  War  Department 
did  know  the  limitations  of  the  country  and  had  been  preparing, 
within  strict  limitations,  for  eventualities.  Mexico  had  made  the 
nucleus  of  an  Army  possible  and  the  National  Guards  of  the  States 
were  more  or  less  ready;  the  munition  work  for  the  Allies  had  started 
and  developed  a  vast  industry  which  only  awaited  national  develop- 
ment; rifles  and  artillery  and  ammunition,  machine-guns  and  aero- 
planes, were  sadly  lacking  but  the  facilities  for  making  them 
were,  in  some  instances,  available.  As  to  men  the  1910  Census 
showed  21,000,000  between  the  ages  of  18  to  45;  excluding  aliens, 
Chinese,  etc.,  and  including  the  natural  increase  afterwards,  this 
figure  would  roughly  represent  the  available  soldier  class  of  1917. 
The  total  population  on  Jan.  1st  was  estimated  officially  at  113,309,- 
285.  The  President,  the  General  Staff,  and  Mr.  Baker  started  out 
with  the  idea  of  having  1,000,000  men  ready  in  a  year  and  2,000,000 
in  two  years.  The  War  measures  carried  through  Congress  provided 
an  increase  of  the  Regular  Army  by  volunteers  from  131,000  to 
292,000  and  the  National  Guard  from  123,000  to  329,000;  for  the 
Registration  on  June  5  of  all  men  in  the  nation  between  19  and 
25  years  of  age  which  Mr.  Baker,  writing  on  May  26,  estimated 
would  total  7,000,000  with  about  42%,  or  3,000,000,  disqualified 
for  various  reasons;  for  the  cumpulsory  service  of  the  4,000,000 
men  remaining — if  required — by  Selective  Draft  and  a  first  call 
for  500,000  with  the  immediate  training  of  100,000  officers  under 
voluntary  enlistment.  On  May  26  an  official  estimate  was  issued 
showing  the  available  men  to  be  more  numerous  than  the  Secretary 
for  War  had  thought — 10,000,000  being  the  total  of  military  draft 
je  and  including  5,372,400  single  men  and  4,545,900  married 
men.  They  were  divided  into  Classes  as  follows : 

Agriculture,  Forestry  and  Animals 2,864,000 

Manufacturing  and  Mechanical 3,036,000 

No  Gainful  Occupations • 500,500 

Transportation 967,000 

Trade 1,054,000 

Public  Service 144,000 

Domestic  and  Personal  Services 441,000 

Professional  Service 335,000 

Clerical  Occupations 374,000 

Extraction  of  Minerals 364,000 

On  May  18  the  Selective  Draft  Bill  became  law  and  the  President 
ordered  Registration  for  June  5  and  preparations  for  Maj.-Gen, 


238  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

John  J.  Pershing  to  take  a  Division  to  France  at  the  earliest  moment 
—the  troops  actually  beginning  to  leave  on  June  15  with  the  last 
ships  of  the  contingent  reaching  there  on  July  3.  Registration 
was  a  great  success  and  the  complete  figures  showed  a  total  of  9,663,- 
078  out  of  an  available  total  of  10,264,867— of  whom  600,000  were 
exempted.  Of  these  4,981,430  asked  and  gave  reasons  for  exemption 
from  Service,  1,239,259  were  aliens,  111,760  were  described  as 
enemies;  61  '53%  was  the  proportion  claiming  exemption  while 
9*40%  of  the  whole  population  were  registered.  Meanwhile,  the 
National  Guards  had  been  called  out  and  on  Aug.  5,  419,834  men 
and  13,093  officers  were  thus  mustered  into  the  Federal  service 
with  the  announcement,  also,  that  the  Regular  Army  had  almost 
reached  its  authorized  war  strength  of  292,000  men.  On  Aug. 
31  five  per  cent,  of  the  first  Draft  of  625,000  were  called  to  the 
colours  and,  following  Registration,  during  ensuing  months  more 
Drafts  were  called  as  fast  as  32  great  Cantonments  could  be  built 
to  receive  them — and  faster  than  equipment  and  arms  could  be 
prepared  for  them.  The  Secretary  for  War  (Sept.  7)  stated  that 
the  United  States  Army  would  have  a  strength  of  2,000,000  on 
Dec.  31,  and  in  asking  Congress  for  money  on  Sept.  19  spoke  of 
equipping  and  supplying  an  army  of  2,300,000  during  1918.  Of 
these  troops  about  200,000  were  in  France  by  the  close  of  the  year. 
The  appropriations  for  this  Force  during  1917  totalled  $7,519,000,000 
and  the  estimates  for  the  next  fiscal  year  were  over  $10,000,000,000. 
By  Aug.  3,  72,914  candidates  had  come  forward  for  the  2nd  series 
of  Officers'  Training  Camps  and  51,838  had  passed  the  physical 
tests;  from  the  1st  series  27,341  officers  had  graduated  on  Aug.  20 
and  been  assigned  to  duty.  On  Oct.  26  the  five  classes,  and  the 
order  in  which  selections  would  be  called  to  service,  were  made  public. 
Slackers  were  not  treated  gingerly.  On  June  2  the  Attorney- 
General  issued  this  statement:  "Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that 
under  Section  5  of  the  Act  parties  convicted  of  the  charge  of  evading 
registration  are  not  only  punished  for  the  crime  committed  but 
are  thereupon  duly  registered  with  all  the  liability  for  military 
service  resulting  therefrom."  Those  evading  registration  or  the 
draft  call  were  brought  into  a  national  drag-net,  firmly  handled, 
and  severely  punished.  A  reward  of  $50  was  offered  by  the  War 
Department  for  the  apprehension  and  delivery  of  every  man  failing 
to  report  under  the  Draft  law.  The  pay  of  American  soldiers 
ranged  from  $36.60  a  month  for  1st  class  privates — with  20% 
added  for  foreign  service — to  $40.20  for  artillery  and  cavalry, 
$80.80  for  engineers,  ordnance,  etc.;  non-commissioned  officers 
ranged  from  $44.00  to  $86.00  a  month;  Officers,  in  addition  to  cer- 
tain fixed  allowances,  ran  from  $1,700  a  year  for  2nd  Lieutenants 
up  to  $3,500  for  Lieut. -Colonels  and  $11,000  for  Lieut. -Generals. 
As  to  armament,  Maj.-Gen.  Crozier,  Chairman  of  Ordnance,  stated 
that  up  to  June  1  orders  for  1,000,000  Enfield  rifles  had  been  placed; 
that  several  types  of  machine  guns  had  been  found  efficient  by  the 
Board,  but  that  procurement  of  an  adequate  supply  was  a  question 
of  securing  deliveries;  that  all  American  field-guns  were  to  be  similar 
in  calibre  to  the  French  75 's  and  that  the  French  semi-automatic 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       239 

breech  mechanism  had  been  adopted  in  modified  form;  that  Ameri- 
can and  French  batteries  in  France  could  be  served  from  the  same 
Ammunition  factories.  Regarding  discipline — from  which  there 
were  many  lapses — Mr.  Baker  wrote  to  the  President  on  Dec.  18, 
in  reply  to  a  Senate  question,  as  follows: 

Distinctions  of  rank  in  the  Army  are  solely  in  the  interest  of  military  discipline. 
They  imply  no  social  distinction;  indeed,  in  a  country  like  ours,  the  advantage  of 
education  and  culture  will  very  frequently  be  found  in  favour  of  the  soldier;  and  yet 
it  is  necessary  that  the  soldier  should  acquire  by  continuous  and  unvarying  practice 
the  habit  of  instant  odedience  to  his  superior.  This  is  as  true  of  officers  as  it  is  of  men. 

The  results  actually  attained  by  the  President  and  his  War 
Department  were  not  reached  without  criticism  and  serious  defi- 
ciencies. At  the  end  of  1917  the  Forces  in  France  were  largely 
equipped  and  munitioned  from  British  and  French  sources,  no 
artillery — field  guns,  machine  guns  or  howitzers — had  been  supplied 
and  France  had  largely  filled  the  gap ;  there  was  a  shortage  in  supplies 
and  clothing  and  lack  of  reserves  in  such  essentials  as  heavy  shoes; 
small  arms  ammunition  was  defective  owing  to  some  chemical 
change.  Col.  Roosevelt  charged  at  New  York  in  September  that 
rifles  were  so  scarce  that  the  troops  in  training  had  to  use  broom- 
sticks and  the  reply  of  Mr.  Baker  was  that  the  United  States  then 
had  1,300,000  service  rifles  with  13,000  a  day  being  made;  the  failure 
in  machine  guns  was  admitted  though  Mr.  Baker  stated  on  Dec. 
14  that  every  suitable  plant  in  the  country  had  begun  to  turn  them 
out  at  full  capacity;  the  powder  supply  was  low  but  vigorous  action 
was  started  in  December — particularly  as  to  T.N.T.;  great  defi- 
ciency of  motor-trucks  was  reported  from  the  training  camps  and 
also  an  injurious  lack  of  warm  clothing  for  the  men. 

The  real  difficulty  at  the  back  of  it  all  was  a  combination  of 
present  politics  and.  Pacificism  before  the  War — the  functions  of 
the  General  Staff  having  been  assumed  by  Congress  and  prepared- 
ness opposed  by  Pacifists  as  an  international  danger.  Mean- 
while Mr.  Baker  had  undoubtedly  done  much.  His  Department 
had  ordered  or  purchased  15,000,000  blankets,  40,000,000  yards 
of  bobbinets,  54,000,000  yards  of  cotton  cloth,  47,000,000  yards 
of  unbleached  drilling,  21,000,000  pairs  of  shoes,  and  myriads  of 
other  supplies;  16  soldier-cities  had  been  built  up,  each  holding 
40,000  men,  with  1,000  separate  buildings  in  each  and  every  com- 
fort and  hygienic  necessity  provided;  a  Liberty  Motor-truck  had 
been  tested  and  developed  and  become  the  main  reliance  of  the 
United  States  in  the  production  of  air-planes  and  so,  also,  with  the 
designing  of  a  new  standard  military  truck;  the  enlisted  personnel 
of  the  Medical  Corps  had  been  increased  to  70,000  men.  By  the 
close  of  the  year  procedure  had  been  simplified,  the  War-branches 
co-ordinated  and  organized,  adequate  power  given  to  the  Division 
Chiefs,  the  War  Council  made  more  effective.  As  to  military  com- 
mands the  chief  officials  at  the  close  of  1917  were  as  follows: 

Chief  of  Staff Gen.  Tasker  H.  Bliss 

Quartermaster-General Major-Gen.  Henry  G.  Sharpe 

Chief  of  Artillery Maj.-Gen.  Erasmus  M.  Weaver 

Chief  of  Ordnance Maj.-Gen.  Win.  Crozier 

Judge- Advocate-General Maj.-Gen.  Enoch  H.  Crowder 


240  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Commander  of  Artillery  Forces Maj.-Gen.  P.  C.  March 

Commander-in-Chief  in  France Gen.  J.  J.  Pershing 

Commander  at  Base  in  France Maj.-Gen.  W.  L.  Sibert 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  had  an  arduous  and  responsible 
post.  He  was  bitterly  attacked,  especially  by  Col.  Roosevelt, 
as  a  civilian  running  a  navy;  he  did  not  have,  as  was  the  case  in 
England,  an  Admiralty  of  trained  experts  to  run  it  for  him;  there 
was  a  minimum  of  facilities  for  development  and  a  lack  of  sea- 
spirit,  of  maritime  interest — though  not  of  interests — amongst 
the  people.  At  the  beginning  of  war,  for  the  United  States,  the 
personnel  was  64,680  with  about  25,000  in  other  Naval  branches; 
on  Dec.  20,  1917,  official  figures  showed  173,851  officers  and  men 
in  the  Navy,  54,000  in  the  Naval  Reserve,  17,356  in  the  Naval 
Militia,  46,307  in  the  Coast  Guard,  Hospital  and  Marine  Corps 
— a  total  for  all  these  services  of  about  290,000.  The  pre-war  appro- 
priations for  1917  were  $312,678,071,  while  the  actual  total  under 
three  War  Acts  of  that  year  was  $1,592,732,859.  The  value  of 
the  ships  in  the  Navy  when  War  began  was  $482,375,799  and  they 
included  42  battleships,  10  armoured  cruisers,  25  ordinary  cruisers, 
9  monitors,  57  destroyers  and  36  torpedo  vessels.*  Under  pre- 
war legislation  27  Ist-class  battleships  and  25  2nd-class,  with  46 
cruisers  of  different  classes,  108  destroyers,  and  130  coast  sub- 
marines, were  to  be  built  and  ready  by  1921. 

Besides  problems  of  construction  and  expenditure  Mr.  Daniels  had 
plenty  to  do  and  the  Naval  Department  in  these  months  took  over 
hundreds  of  vessels  and  transferred  them  into  patrols,  sub-chasers, 
mine-sweepers,  etc.,  doubled  the  Atlantic  Fleet  with  every  battleship 
and  cruiser  fully  manned,  and  placed  thousands  of  expert  gunners 
as  training  crews  on  American  armed  merchantmen;  sent  United 
States  destroyers  to  operate  with  the  Allied  Naval  forces  and  arranged 
the  convoy  of  practically  all  United  States  merchant  ships;  carried 
out  the  largest  ship  construction  programme  in  American  history 
— from  super-Dreadnoughts  to  Sub-chasers — and  greatly  lessened 
the  time  of  construction;  erected  20  training  camps  for  85,000 
men,  enlarged  the  Navy  Yards  and  built  huge  foundries,  machine 
shops  and  warehouses;  extended  the  Naval  Gun  Factory,  built  a 
big  projectile  plant,  and  pressed  the  work  on  dry-docks,  piers,  etc., 
as  well  as  on  Aviation  plants,  submarine  bases  and  store  facilities. 
Like  Mr.  Baker  of  the  War  Department  Mr.  Daniels  had  previ- 
ously leaned  toward  Pacificism  and  his  remarks  at  the  starting 
of  a  Government  armour-plate  plant  at  Charleston  (Aug.  30)  were 
significant:  "We  have  too  long  looked  almost  solely  to  the  private 
manufacture  of  weapons  of  war,  with  the  result  that  when  we  entered 
upon  this  struggle  our  facilities  were  wholly  inadequate  for  our 
needs . ' '  He  added  the  declaration  that  * '  we  will  not  sheathe  the  sword 
until  victory  is  won."  In  a  New  York  speech  on  Dec.  12,  however, 
he  urged  avoidance  of  the  spirit  of  hate,  no  matter  how  merciless 
the  aggravation:  "America  has  never  drawn  the  sword^except  for 
liberty,  and  it  has  never  sheathed  it  except  in  victory." 

Naval  incidents  of  the  year  included  the  urgent  order  of  June 
9  as  to  revealing  naval  and  military  secrets  by  persons  connected 

*NOTE, — Report  of  Naval  Department,  1916. 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       241 

with  the  Naval  service;  the  support  given  by  the  Secretary  to  Naval 
auxiliaries  of  the  Red  Cross  and  his  appointment  of  16  women  to 
act  as  leaders  in  the  work ;  the  enforcement  in  the  Navy  of  promotion 
by  selection  instead  of  seniority;  the  declaration  of  Mr.  Daniels 
in  his  Annual  Report  (1917)  for  an  International  Navy  to  enforce 
international  Peace  decrees;  the  official  statement  at  the  end  of 
the  year  that  expenditures  of  the  Naval  Ordnance  Bureau  had  in- 
creased from  31  to  560  million  dollars;  the  fact  that  over  1,100 
vessels  had  been  furnished  and  equipped  with  guns,  ammunition, 
spare  parts,  and  all  their  auxiliaries  since  the  fitting  out  of  the 
Campana  on  Mar.  14,  1917.  At  the  close  of  the  year  the  United 
States  joined  the  Allied  Naval  Council  and  Admiral  W.  S.  Benson, 
Chief  of  Naval  Operations,  represented  the  Department  at  the  Allied 
Conference  in  Paris  during  December.  Vice-Admiral  Wm.  S.  Sims 
was  Commander  of  the  American  naval  forces  in  European  waters. 

Meanwhile,  Congress  had  been  sitting  in  special  session  from 
Apr.  2  to  Oct.  6 — and  dealing  with  an  unprecedented  mass  of  legis- 
lation. The  Administration  had  to  face  some  opposition  that  was 
captious  and  hostile — owing  to  partisan,  Pacifist  or  pro-German 
feeling,  and  some  that  was  honest;  but  it  succeeded,  despite  delays 
and  disappointments,  in  getting  through  an  immense  amount  of 
business  with  appropriations  for  1917-18  totalling  $18,879,000,000 
and  additional  capital  authorizations  for  the  future  of  $2,511,000,000.* 
The  lead  given  was  strong  but  it  came  chiefly  from  without — either 
from  President  or  people;  the  spirit,  on  the  whole,  was  good  but 
it  was  not  initiative.  The  vital  points  of  legislation  were  the  Selec- 
tive Draft  Bill  or  Conscription;  the  Liberty  Loan  Bill  and  the 
"Eleven  Billion"  Bond  Bill,  the  Army  Appropriation  Act,  the  Bill 
increasing  the  Naval  and  Marine  Forces,  the  Enemy  Trading  Act, 
the  War-Budget  Bill,  the  Espionage,  Priority,  Shipping  and  Food 
Control  Acts,  the  War  Revenue  Bill  and  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  In- 
surance Bill.  In  principle,  and  within  a  few  months  of  its  War 
declaration,  Congress  had  conscripted  men  and  wealth,  regulated 
food  and  drink  and  prices,  assumed  control  of  production  and 
distribution,  regulated  industry  and  suspended  or  controlled  profits 
— all  in  opposition  to  cherished  ideals  and  practices  of  American 
individualism  on  which  the  economic  structure  of  the  Republic 
was  supposed  to  be  built — and  handed  many  of  these  powers  over  to 
the  President  or  his  appointees. 

The  most  discussed  measures  were  the  War  Revenue  Act — caused 
in  some  degree  by  changes  due  to  ever-shifting  financial  require- 
ments and  the  irritations  of  a  taxation  totalling  $2,100,000,000; 
the  Food  Conservation  measure,  which  was  fought  in  guerilla 
fashion  because  of  its  inclusion  of  partly  extraneous  issues  such 
as  Prohibition;  the  Espionage  Bill,  which  stirred  up  every  bit  of 
pro-German  and  Pacifist  thought  in  Congress  and  out  of  it  and, 
by  its  inclusion  of  a  vigorous  Censorship  evoked  opposition  of 
another  kind  from  newspapers,  politicians,  writers,  etc.;  the  In- 
surance Act,  under  which  a  national  war  Insurance  covered  officers, 
nurses  and  enlisted  men  and  was  granted  without  medical  examina- 

*NOTE. — New  York  Tribune  review,  Oct.  8,  1917. 
16 


242  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

tion  in  sums  of  not  less  than  $1,000  and  not  more  than  $10,000  at 
$8.00  per  $1,000 — the  Government  assuming  War  risks  estimated 
at  $556,000,000  in  the  first  two  years  with,  also,  cost  of  administration. 
In  a  House  of  Representatives  containing  a  small  minority  of  oppo- 
nents to  all  war  and  40  members  with  German  names,  some  antagon- 
ism was  to  be  expected.  Yet,  practically,  all  that  President  Wilson 
asked  was  granted — except  the  Censorship. 

Under  one  of  these  Acts  Herbert  C.  Hoover,  for  so  long  the 
capable  Red  Cross  Commissioner  in  Belgium,  was  appointed  Food 
Administrator  by  the  President  on  Aug.  10  with  a  programme  out- 
lined by  the  latter  on  May  19  when  he  suggested  the  legislation : 
"Full  inquiry  into  the  existing  available  stocks  of  foodstuffs  and 
into  the  costs  and  practices  of  the  various  food-producing  and  dis- 
tributing trades;  the  prevention  of  all  unwarranted  hoarding  of 
every  kind  and  of  the  control  of  foodstuffs  by  persons  who  are  not 
in  any  legitimate  sense  producers,  dealers,  or  traders;  the  requisi- 
tioning, when  necessary  for  the  public  use,  of  food  supplies  and  of 
the  equipment  necessary  for  handling  them  properly;  the  licensing 
of  wholesome  and  legitimate  mixtures  and  milling  percentages, 
and  the  prohibition  of  the  unnecessary  or  wasteful  use  of  foods." 
Authority  was  also  given  to  establish  prices  to  farmers  so  as  to  guaran- 
tee a  minimum  figure  and  to  secure  the  consumer  against  extortion 
at  the  hands  of  middlemen.  Mr.  Hoover  at  once  issued  a  statement 
pointing  out  that  the  Allied  harvests  would  this  year  fall  short 
of  the  normal  by  525,000,000  bushels  of  grain  and  expressing  the 
hope  that  the  United  States  would  export  225,000,000  in  place  of 
its  usual  80,000,000  bushels.  So,  in  meats,  consumption  must  be 
lessened  and  export  increased  to  help  meet  a  condition  in  which 
33,000,000  head  of  stock  animals  had  been  killed  in  the  Allied  countries. 
Mr.  Hoover's  successive  steps  of  policy  included  a  sweeping  scheme 
to  regulate  wheat  and  flour  supplies  by  the  creation  of  a  $50,000,000 
Government  Corporation  to  buy  and  sell  wheat;  the  fixing  of  the 
price  of  wheat  at  $2.20  a  bushel  for  the  1917  crop;  the  taking  under 
control  of  all  grain  elevators  or  flour  mills  with  a  capacity  of  over 
100  barrels;  a  request  to  Grain  Exchanges  to  suspend  dealings 
in  futures. 

To  a  Senate  Committee  on  June  19  he  stated  that  in  flour,  alone, 
during  the  past  5  months  $250,000,000  in  excess  of  normal  profits 
had  been  exacted  from  the  American  consumer;  his  basic  princi- 
ples for  dealing  with  this  situation  were  (1)  export  regulation;  (2) 
control  of  distribution,  including  speculation;  (3)  mobilization  of 
women  and  men  in  a  campaign  for  economy;  (4)  participation  of 
the  States  in  Food  administration.  He  proposed,  also,  that  Federal 
Commissions  to  control  wheat,  sugar,  and  a  few  other  prime  com- 
modities through  regulation  of  production,  storage,  transportation, 
and  sale  be  appointed.  By  way  of  indicating  the  vast  results  to 
be  obtained  through  economy,  he  stated  that  a  saving  of  6  cents 
a  day  per  capita  in  the  United  States  meant  a  saving  of  $2,000,000,000 
a  year  and  that  a  saving  of  20%  in  the  consumption  of  flour  would 
give  the  Allies  100,000,000  more  bushels  of  wheat.  In  passing 
it  may  be  said  that  a  semi-official  estimate  issued  at  this  time  showed 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       243 

that  by  bad  preparation  and  cooking,  over-eating  and  wrong-eating, 
$700,000,000  a  year  of  food  was  wasted  in  the  United  States.  Ap- 
peals from  the  President  and  every  one  in  authority  were  issued 
to  save  food  supplies,  avoid  waste,  and  economize  in  daily  habits; 
as  the  year  went  on  shortages  abroad  from  decreased  production 
were  enhanced  through  destruction  by  Submarines  and  by  short- 
ages in  shipping  which  made  it  difficult  for  Argentina,  India  and 
Australia  to  market  their  products. 

On  Nov.  1  and  for  the  duration  of  the  War,  100,000  manufac- 
turers, wholesalers,  and  other  distributers  of  staple  food  came 
under  license  by  the  U.S.  Food  Administration  so  as  to  check  hoard- 
ing, speculation  and  extortionate  prices.  Other  steps  for  con- 
servation included  pledges  of  personal  economy  which  were  signed 
in  immense  numbers;  an  official  intimation  from  Mr.  Hoover  that 
wheat,  meats,  milk,  fats  and  sugar  (with  fuel)  should  be  the  pivot 
of  economy  and  that  fruits,  vegetables  and  local  supplies  should 
be  eaten  freely;  the  making  of  23  States  absolutely  "dry"  through 
legislation  prohibiting  shipment  of  liquor  into  any  territory  where 
manufacture  and  sale  were  prohibited,  plus  the  Prohibition  already 
passed  by  Congress  against  the  use  of  food  materials  in  whiskey- 
making,  with  authority  to  the  President  to  impose  similar  prohibition 
on  beer  and  wine-making;  urging  increased  pork  production  with  a 
statement  from  Mr.  Hoover  (Oct.  25)  that  "the  production  of  fats 
is  to-day  a  critical  necessity  for  the  preservation  of  the  Allies  and 
the  maintenance  of  their  constancy  in  the  War." 

At  the  close  of  the  year  certain  outstanding  facts  were  clear. 
One  was  the  official  estimate  of  650,828,000  bushels  of  wheat  as 
the  national  production  or  an  increase  of  only  10,000,000  over  1916, 
but  with  a  (heavy  increase  in  corn  and  oats  and  barley — with  a  total 
product  of  929,000,000  bushels;  another  was  a  great  saving  in  the 
consumption  of  wheat  and  meat  caused  by  the  tremendous  adver- 
tising campaign  of  the  Summer,  in  which  some  of  the  higher  agencies 
have  been  indicated,  and  in  which  the  whole  nation  shared,  with 
wheatless,  meatless  and  wasteless  meals  as  the  slogan;  while  prices 
in  many  products  ran  high  for  a  time,  they  had  been  greatly  reduced 
and  large  savings  effected  by  Government  agencies  as  illustrated 
in  the  following  table  given  to  the  Senate  by  W.  S.  Gifford,  Direc- 
tor of  the  Council  of  National  Defence,  at  the  end  of  1917: 

Old  Governing 

Product                    Price  Price  Reduction  Annual  Saving 

Per  ton  Per  ton  Per  ton  Tonnage 

Coke $16.00  $     6.00  $10.00  38,000.000  $    380,000,000 

Pig-iron 58 . 00  33 . 00  25 . 00  40,000,000  1 ,000,000,000 

Bars 110.00  58.00  52.00  6,000,000  312,000,000 

Shapes 120 . 00  60 . 00  60 . 00  3,000,000  180,000,000 

Plates 225 . 00  65 . 00  160 . 00  4,000,000  640,000,000 

Other  Products Varied  Varied  30.00  20,000,000  600,000,000 


Total $3,112.000,000 

Akin  to  saving  food  for  the  Allies  was  the  question  of  shipping. 
Great  things  were  promised,  serious  disappointments  and  delays 
were  caused  in  this  respect,  a  good  deal  was  achieved  in  the  end. 
Before  the  War  President  Wilson  had  secured  the  passage  of  a  Bill 
for  the  promotion  of  construction  and  the^appointmentjrf  a  Ship- 


244  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

ping  Board;  that  event  hastened  action  and  on  Apr.  16,  1917,  the 
Emergency  Fleet  Corporation  was  organized  with  Maj.-Gen.  G.  W. 
Goethals  as  General  Manager  and  a  Congressional  grant  of  $50,000,- 
000.  Work  was  begun  on  what  was  intended  to  be  a  vast  fleet  of 
steel  and  wooden  ships;  German  tonnage  was  seized  by  the  Ship- 
ping Board,  refitted  and  put  into  service,  and  power  was  given  the 
Board  to  commandeer  neutral  shipping  if  required;  there  followed 
a  prolonged  controversy  between  W.  H.  Denman,  Chairman  of 
the  Board,  and  General  Goethals  of  the  Corporation,  as  to  the 
relative  value  of  steel  and  wooden  ships.  It  was  so  vehement  as 
to  hold  up  plans,  delay  construction  and  retard  all  serious  production. 
Finally,  the  President  obtained  the  resignation  of  both  gentlemen  and 
on  July  25  appointed  E.  N.  Hurley  as  Chairman  of  the  U.  S.  Ship- 
ping Board,  with  Rear-Admiral  W.  L.  Capps  as  General  Manager 
of  the  Fleet  Corporation. 

At  this  time  merchant  ships  engaged  in  the  Atlantic  trade  repre- 
sented 25,500,000  gross  tons  and  of  this  amount  England  operated 
13,400,000  gross  tons,  and  the  United  States  over  2,000,000  and 
it  was  announced  that  within  a  year  the  United  States  would  be 
operating  10,000,000  tons.  Work  was  hastened  and  on  Aug.  24 
the  Board  asked  Congress  for  an  appropriation  of  $1,134,000,000 
to  be  used  in  constructing  433  ships  of  1,919,200  tons  already  con- 
tracted for,  452  ships  of  2,968,000  tons  ready  for  contract  when 
funds  were  available,  237  ships  of  1,281,400  tons  under  negotiation, 
and  150  miscellaneous  vessels  of  1,800,000  tons.  It  was  also  announ- 
ced that  shipping  under  construction  by  neutral  or  Allied  Govern- 
ments would  be  commandeered  at  a  cost  of  $515,000,000,  and  vessels 
purchased,  other  than  those  constructed  or  commandeered,  at  a 
cost  of  $150,000,000. 

The  Shipping  Board  pointed  out  that  contracts  for  348  wooden 
ships  had  been  let  or  agreed  upon  by  the  Corporation,  with  a  ton- 
nage of  1,218,000  at  a  cost  of  about  $174,000,000.  In  addition 
contracts  for  100  others  were  under  way.  Contracts  for  77  steel 
ships  had  been  let,  or  agreed  upon,  with  a  tonnage  of  642,800 
at  a  cost  of  $101,660,356.  To  a  Senate  Committee  on  Dec.  21 
Mr.  Hurley  stated  that  there  had  been  delays  but  that  dual 
organization  and  control  had  been  abolished  and  the  Corpora- 
tion— of  which  Mr.  Hurley  also  was  President — now  answered 
directly  to  himself  as  Chairman  of  the  Board;  one  contract 
had  been  completed  and  there  were  enough  contracts  to  keep 
all  yards  working  at  maximum  capacity;  he  deprecated  private 
construction  of  steel  ships,  but  was  encouraging  wooden  construc- 
tion for  private  owners  whenever  their  building  would  not  inter- 
fere with  the  Board's  building  plans. 

The  commandeering  of  403  steel  ships  of  over  2,500,000  tons, 
which  were  under  construction  or  contract  for  Allied  and  Neutral 
Governments,  was,  of  course,  strongly  opposed  and  criticized — 
especially  by  Great  Britain  and  France;  Britain  was  interested 
to  the  extent  of  1,000,000  tons  and,  finally,  a  compromise  gave  the 
ships  to  the  United  States  during  the  War  and  to  Great  Britain 
afterwards;  besides  the  commandeered  ships,  and  the  117  ships 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       245 

of  German  and  Austrian  origin  aggregating  2,871,359  tons,  there 
were  officially  stated  on  Sept.  26  to  be  636  ships  of  3,124,700  tons 
being  constructed  under  contract  from  the  Fleet  Corporation. 
In  addition  to  these  1,039  vessels  under  construction — 353  of  wood, 
58  composite,  225  steel  and  403  requisitioned — Congress  was  asked 
to  authorize  5,000,000  tons  more;  three  new  Government  ship- 
building plants  were  also  asked  for. 

Meanwhile  lumber  was  difficult  to  get,  labour  difficult  to  handle, 
and  delays  serious.  The  great  lumbermen  of  the  United  States 
did  not  throw  their  energy  and  splendid  equipment  into  the  work; 
some  of  the  big  steel  interests  did.  Mr.  Hurley  stated  on  Oct. 
31  that  all  the  United  States  shipyards  turned  out  in  1916  were 
750,000  tons  and  that  between  Nov.  1  and  Mar.  1,  1918,  1,000,000 
tons,  dead-weight,  would  be  achieved.  Lord  Northcliffe  was  not 
optimistic  and  on  Oct.  24  said  to  the  Chicago  Chamber  of  Commerce: 
"We  have  been  told  that  you  must  put  6,000,000  tons  of  ships  in 
the  water  in  1918.  I  see  no  signs  of  such  a  tonnage  in  1918.  I 
do  see  signs  of  filling  16  great  cantonments  and  of  the  manufac- 
ture of  immense  amounts  of  munitions,  but  I  do  not  see  the  signs 
for  that  bridge  across  the  Atlantic  without  which  this  recruiting, 
all  this  enthusiasm,  all  this  manufacturing,  will  be  null  and  void. 
Therefore,  I  urge  you,  entreat  you,  to  believe  that  your  army  without 
transports  will  be  valueless." 

Meanwhile,  private  capital  had  been  going  into  shipbuilding 
and  shipping,  or  trying  to  do  so,  and  between  January  and  August 
inclusive  new  Companies  were  started  with  a  capital  of  $245,193,000; 
the  U.S.  Steel  Corporation  went  into  construction  and,  on  Nov. 
21  laid  the  keel  of  its  first  steel  ship  with  50  others  said  to  be  pro- 
jected; on  Nov.  15  Admiral  Capps  resigned  as  General  Manager 
of  the  Fleet  Corporation  and  was  succeeded  by  Rear- Admiral 
F.  R.  Harris.  At  the  end  of  the  year  Mr.  Hurley  told  a  Senate 
Committee  (Dec.  28)  that  42  Government  Ship-building  yards 
were  under  extension  and  development,  with  132  yards  under 
operation;  that  the  first  war-shipping  contract  was  let  on  Apr. 
27,  and  that  the  number  at  date  was  146,  including  996  ships  of 
5,517,100  tons,  but  not  the  requisitioned  ships  under  private  con- 
struction or  order  of  Foreign  owners.  During  this  year  the  United 
States  had  lost  68  vessels  of  170,106  tons  and  10  ships  of  28,493 
tons  in  1915-16. 

In  shipping  as  in  railway  and  other  conditions  the  Labour 
>roblem  was  ever-present.  So  far  as  the  War  issue  was  concerned 
)fficial  leaders  and  the  American  Federation  of  Labour  were,  in 

ie  main,  loyal  and  helpful;  unofficial  Labour  was  divided  into 
^aried  organizations  and  classes  with  varying  degrees  of  loyalty 
lown  to  the  I.W.W.,  which  did  not  know  what  it  meant.  Samuel 

rompers,  President  of  the  American  Federation  was,  from  the 
irst,  strong  and  straight  upon  the  vital  issue  of  war  and  of  labour 
concentration  for  national  service.  As  early  as  Mar.  4  he  had 
called  a  Conference  of  113  Presidents  of  the  greater  Unions  and 
Railway  Brotherhoods  to  meet  on  the  12th  and  discuss  prepared- 
ness for  the  coming  struggle.  He  had  already  accepted  a  position 


246  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

on  the  President's  Council  of  National  Defence  and  he  now  urged 
that  Labour  should  be  associated  with  the  future  constructive 
policies  of  national  defence.  The  Conference,  representing  2,500,000 
organized  workmen,  formally  offered  its  services  to  the  country 
"in  every  field  of  activity  to  defend,  safeguard  and  preserve  the 
United  States  against  all  its  enemies,  whomsoever  they  may  be"; 
but  it  did  not  formulate  definite  plans  or  endorse  President  Wilson's 
policies  or  appoint  Committees  to  give  life  to  its  declaration. 

With  the  evolution  of  the  War-spirit  and  the  organization 
of  the  Pacifist  element,  conditions  became  more  clear,  and  it  was 
obvious  that  while  a  large  portion  of  the  workmen  would  co-operate 
with  Government  and  country  there  was  also  a  large,  indetermin- 
ate, restless  Socialistic  element  which  would  always  be  uncertain 
and  which  might  easily  cause  much  trouble.  In  August  there 
was  a  serious  shipping  strike  of  12,000  men  in  New  York  and  for 
weeks  a  great  strike  on  the  Pacific  Coast  was  threatened  with  much 
war- work  held  up.  On  the  25th  an  agreement  was  entered  into 
by  representatives  of  the  Navy  Department,  the  Emergency  Fleet 
Corporation,  and  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labour,  providing 
for  the  rapid  and  peaceable  adjustment  of  all  labour  disputes  in 
shipyards  throughout  the  country.  At  the  same  time  an  Adjust- 
ment Commission  was  appointed  to  arrange  details.  In  August, 
also,  F.  Farrington,  President  of  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America 
issued  a  loyal  appeal  to  miners  to  remain  at  their  posts  and  thus 
help  the  nation's  soldiers. 

As  the  months  passed,  however,  Labour  unrest  seemed  to  in- 
crease and  was  aided  by  pro-German  underground  influences  in  the 
various  organizations,  by  the  unscrupulous  falsehoods  of  the  In- 
dustrial Workers  of  the  World,  by  the  disproportionate  increase 
of  wages  in  different  industries.  Strikes  curtailed  war  produc- 
tion as  did  the  unnecessary  and  frequent  movements  of  workers 
from  one  industry  to  another,  or  from  plant  to  plant,  and  their 
unwillingness  to  work  special  hours  or  to  earn  extra  money  for 
additional  work.  Mr.  Hurley  and  the  Shipping  Board  in  October 
complained  persistently  of  the  shortage  of  labour;  Mr.  Gompers 
and  the  A.F.L.  declared  that  there  was  no  shortage  in  the  country 
as  a  whole.  The  I.W.W.,  by  all  kinds  of  sabotage  and  lawless 
operations,  tied  up  the  lumber  industry  on  the  Pacific  coast  in  Octo- 
ber and  November  and  curtailed  Air-fleet  construction  as  well  as 
Ship-building. 

In  the  A.F.L.  Mr.  Gompers  found  his  authority  challenged 
though  he,  himself,  proved  unbeatable  at  the  annual  meeting  of 
Nov.  12  in  Buffalo;  Pacifists  led  by  a  Boston  Irishman  named  Tobin, 
however,  obtained  some  offices  and  influence;  the  Convention  was 
told  that  the  164,000  men  in  the  lumber  industry  of  Oregon  and 
Washington  promised  to  pass  under  I.W.W.  control;  on  the  other 
hand  the  Report  of  the  Executive  Committee  did  not  mince  words 
in  declaring  that  "it  is  an  imperative  duty  from  which  there  is  no 
escape  that  wage-earners,  as  well  as  all  other  citizens  of  this  Re- 
public, support  our  Government  in  its  righteous  effort  to  defend  prin- 
ciples of  humanity  and  to  establish  democracy  in  international  re- 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       24? 

lations."  As  to  the  future  a  World  Conference  of  Trade  Unions 
was  suggested  to  .meet  at  the  same  time  as  the  Peace  Congress; 
finally  the  Convention,  after  hearing  a  vigorous  denunciation  of 
Pacificism,  I.W.W.,  and  German  propaganda  from  Mr.  Gompers, 
condemned  the  anti-war  and  anti-conscription  campaign  by  450 
to  15  votes.  By  the  close  of  the  year  there  was  greater  stability, 
better  organization  and  labour,  and  a  larger  output  in  many  direc- 
tions. Meanwhile,  a  new  development  in  Socialism  was  taking 
place  in  the  American  Alliance  for  Labour  and  Democracy  (essenti- 
ally a  war-body)  which  Mr.  Gompers  had  formed  and  of  which 
he  was  President. 

Coal  was  a  serious  problem  all  through  the  year.  In  the  spring, 
the  Government  had  appealed  for  a  greater  output,  a  Coal  Pro- 
duction Committee  of  the  Defence  Council  was  appointed  and  Mr. 
Secretary  Lane,  on  May  23,  stated  that  great  demands  were  coming 
upon  War  industries  from  the  Allies.  T.  S.  Peabody,  Chairman 
of  the  Committee,  explained  that  "the  total  production  of  coal 
throughout  the  country  has  been  seriously  curtailed  by  difficulties 
in  transportation  service  and  unequal  distribution  of  cars,  result- 
ing in  shortage  in  the  number  of  cars  available  for  loading,  as  well 
as  congestion  in  the  avenues  leading  to  the  points  of  distribution." 
The  Federal  Trade  Commission  pointed  out  (June  22)  that  bi- 
tuminous coal  was  40%  short  of  the  possible  maximum — due  to 
"faulty  rail  transportation"  which,  in  turn,  was  caused  by  the 
use  of  coal  cars  for  speculative  purposes  and  products  other  than 
coal :  "The  Commission  believes  that  the  coal  industry  is  paralyzing 
the  industries  of  the  country,  and  that  the  coal  industry  itself 
is  paralyzed  by  the  failure  of  transportation.  The  coal  problem 
cannot  be  worked  out  as  long  as  the  railroads  are  allowed  to  divide 
and  allot  traffic;  to  lay  embargoes  without  regard  to  their  immedi- 
ate effect  upon  industry,  or  the  systematic  distribution  of  coal; 
to  give  priority  to  the  movement  of  high  freight  rate  commodities 
and  to  use  the  device  of  the  long  haul." 

On  Aug.  23  Coal  was  placed  under  control  of  Dr.  H.  A.  Garfield, 
President  of  Williams  College,  as  Fuel  Administrator  with  the 
prices  of  bituminous  fixed,  at  the  same  time,  to  run  from  $2.00  to 
$3.00  a  ton  and  anthracite  from  $4.00  to  $5.30.  Retail  regulation 
was  left  to  Dr.  Garfield.  The  Commissioner,  for  a  period,  stopped 
shipment  to  Canada  from  the  Lake  ports  in  order  to  relieve  a  North- 
west shortage,*  faced  strong  opposition  as  to  prices  from  the  mine 
operators,  a  succeeding  diminution  of  output  and  much  disorganiza- 
tion in  the  industry.  There  had  been  controversy  between  the 
Government  and  officials  and  the  Operators  over  prices  ever  since 
May — as  well  as  over  delays  in  transportation — and  the  accumulative 
effect  of  these  conditions  was  to  delay  and  confuse  buying  through- 
out the  country  and  create  confusion  through  cancellation  of  orders. 
On  Nov.  15  the  Fuel  Administrator  stated  that  while  production 
had  increased  by  50,000,000  tons,  the  consumption  had  grown 

*NOTE. — On  Oct.  24  it  was  announced  that  the  Fuel  Administrator,  after  consulta- 
tion with  Canadian  authorities,  would  permit  about  2,000,000  tons  of  bituminous  and 
700,000  tons  of  anthracite  to  move  across  the  Canadian  border  during  the  next  two 
months. 


£48  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


by  100,000,000,  through  munition  plants,  Government  war  demands, 
and  public  utility  requirements.  Incidentally,  V.  H.  Manning, 
Director  of  the  Mines'  Bureau,  in  speaking  of  the  1916  production 
of  600,000,000  tons,  stated  that  150,000,000  tons  of  this,  or  25%, 
was  wasted  through  inefficient  use. 

With  this  shortage  came  increasing  railway  troubles.  The 
President  had  early  foreseen  difficulties  in  this  respect  and,  on  Apr. 
11,  a  meeting  of  50  Railway  Presidents  convened  at  Washington, 
decided  to  co-operate  with  the  Government,  to  eliminate  all  com- 
petitive activities  and  to  co-ordinate  the  operations  of  the  rail- 
ways in  one  Continental  system.  The  President  at  once  appointed 
a  Railroad  War  Board  of  five  experienced  Railway  officials — Fairfax 
Harrison,  Howard  Elliott,  Hale  Holden,  J.  Kruttschnitt,  and  Samuel 
Rea — with  plenary  powers  along  this  line  and  with  the  single  object 
of  transportation  efficiency.  They  had  to  deal  with  and  organize 
a  system  comprising  693  railways,  operating  262,000  miles  of  track, 
using  1,326,987  freight  cars,  employing  1,750,000  persons,  and 
owned  by  1,500,000  shareholders. 

On  Sept.  9  the  Board  reviewed  its  executive  and  co-operative 
activities  during  five  months  as  having  involved  the  movement 
of  thousands  of  car-loads  of  lumber,  transportation  of  large  numbers 
of  troops  from  place  to  place,  the  organization  of  special  military 
equipment,  the  standardization  of  settlements  with  the  Govern- 
ment, the  reduction  of  car-shortage  from  148,627  on  Apr.  30  to  33,776 
on  Aug.  1,  the  elimination  of  passenger  trains  and  saving  of  20,000,- 

000  miles  of  train  service,  the  saving  of  52,000  cars  by  pooling  Lake 
coal  and  Lake  ore,  the  regulation  of  grain  movement  for  export 
and  the  shipment  of  75,000,000  bushels  to  the  Allies  between  May 

1  and  July  14.     None-the-less  the  Railways  failed  to  meet  the  crisis 
when  it  came.     It  was  not  the  fault  of  this  particular  Board,  nor 
of  the  officials;  nor  was  it  altogether  the  fault  of  extreme  industrial 
production,  complex  labour  troubles  and  demands — under  which 
the  gross  earnings  of  United  States  railways  in  1917  were  $4,188,- 
227,185,   or  an  increase  of  $451,000,000;   the  operating  expenses 
$2,943,458,000  or  an  increase  of  $487,000,000;  the  Taxes  $222,026,- 
753  or  an  increase  of  $56,000,000. 

There  had  been  for  years  such  endless  and  persistent  criticism, 
so  much  political  control  and  rate  regulation  of  the  most  hampering 
kind,  such  litigation  and  investigations  and  probes,  such  limitation 
of  profits  in  so  many  ways,  that  the  Railways  were  more  or  less 
starved  and  without  the  reserves  in  cars  and  engines  and  supplies 
to  meet  a  great  emergency.  At  the  end  of  November  the  National 
Coal  Association  issued  at  Washington  a  statement  that  "the  country 
faced  a  fuel  famine  which  could  be  averted  only  by  the  railroads 
furnishing  adequate  car  supplies  to  the  mines.  .  .  .  There 
is  not  a  sufficient  stock  of  coal  on  hand  at  any  place  in  the  country 
to  continue  long  the  operation  of  the  munition  plants,  or  the  street 
railways,  the  gas,  light,  heat,  power,  water  and  other  plants  which 
must  have  bituminous  coal."  On  Dec.  18  the  Senate  ordered  in- 
quiry into  the  situation  and  on  the  26th  the  President  took  action 
through  the  issue  of  this  important  statement: 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       249 

I  have  exercised  the  powers  over  the  transportation  systems  of  the  country 
which  were  granted  me  by  the  Act  of  Congress  of  last  August  because  it  has  become 
imperatively  necessary  for  me  to  do  so.  This  is  a  war  of  resources  no  less  than  of 
men,  perhaps  even  more  than  of  men,  and  it  is  necessary  for  the  complete  mobiliza- 
tion of  our  resources  that  the  transportation  systems  of  the  country  should  be  organ- 
ized and  employed  under  a  single  authority  and  a  simplified  method  of  co-ordination, 
which  has  not  proved  possible  under  private  management  and  control.  .  .  .  Imme- 
diately upon  the  re-assembling  of  Congress  I  shall  recommend  that  these  definite 
guarantees  be  given:  (1)  of  course,  that  the  railway  properties  will  be  maintained 
during  the  period  of  Federal  control  in  as  good  repair  and  as  complete  equipment  as 
when  taken  over  by  the  Government,  and  (2)  that  the  roads  shall  receive  a  net  opera- 
ting income  equal  in  each  case  to  the  average  net  income  of  the  three  yfcars  preceding 
June  30,  1917. 

The  Hon.  W.  G.  McAdoo,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  was  to  have 
complete  Executive  authority  as  Director-General;  and  the  Presi- 
dent pointed  out  that  the  Railroad  War  Board  while  doing  its  duty 
admirably  was  without  sufficient  authority  or  powers.  The  Presi- 
dential action  was  taken  for  the  duration  of  the  War  and  was, 
of  course,  not  Government  ownership  or  expropriation  in  the  usual 
sense  of  the  phrase.  In  Aviation  much  was  promised  by  the  press 
and  hoped  for  by  the  public  men  and  by  Allies;  it  was  not  till  the 
end  of  the  year  that  proofs  of  either  production  or  progress  were 
apparent.  The  need  was  early  obvious  for  both  Submarine  and 
battle  purposes  as,  on  Mar  23,  official  statements  at  Washington 
showed  that  food  shipments  from  the  United  States  in  February, 
1917,  dropped  from  105  to  67  millions,  while  air  supremacy  on  the 
Western  front  was  held  by  first  one  side  and  then  the  other.  During 
1916,  before  war,  for  the  United  States,  the  Army  authorities  had 
ordered  366  aeroplanes  and  received  64,  while  nine  factories  represen- 
ted the  industrial  strength  of  the  nation  in  this  respect. 

With  the  coming  of  war  plants  had  to  be  improved,  production 
rushed,  standardization  of  parts  and  the  whole  carried  on,  experi- 
ments made,  material  obtained  in  immense  quantities,  close  co- 
operation of  Army  and  Navy  and  factories  organized,  young  men 
recruited  in  thousands,  competent  training  aviators  obtained.  On 
May  21  the  Council  of  National  Defence  announced  the  creation 
of  an  Aircraft  Production  Board  with  Howard  E.  Coffin  as  Chair- 
man and  Brig. -Gen.  Geo.  O.  Squier,  Rear  Admiral  D.  W.  Taylor, 
and  three  well-known  business  men  as  members;  its  immediate  and 
modest  policy  in  the  first  year  was  stated  to  be  the  turning  out 
of  about  3,500  air  machines,  including  both  training  and  battle 
types,  and  the  establishment  of  schools  and  training  fields  with 
sufficient  capacity  not  only  to  man  these  machines,  but  to  supply 
a  constant  stream  of  aviators  and  mechanics  to  the  American  forces 
in  Europe. 

By  June  three  Aviation  fields  were  under  construction,  training 
planes  were  being  built  and  1,100  cadets  were  in  preliminary  train- 
ing at  8  of  the  greater  Universities;  General  Squier  had  asked  Con- 
giess  for  a  grant  of  $600,000,000  and  an  American  field  was  under 
preparation  Jn  France  to  which  aviators  would  go  after  four  months' 
training  in  the  United  States  and  there  receive  French  instruction 
in  French  machines  for  immediate  operations.  Mr.  Secretary 
Baker  stated  on  June  18  that  "an  American  Air  Navy  of  30,000 


250  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

machines  is  the  Government's  aeroplane  programme  for  the  first 
year  of  war."  The  United  States  was  to  make  war  aeroplanes, 
training  planes,  bombing  machines  and  observation  aircraft,  accord- 
ing to  these  plans.  American  auto  plants,  in  part,  would  be  utilized 
to  make  the  standardized  engines  for  the  first  year  and  furniture 
factories,  typewriter  plants  and  other  mills  be  equipped  for  work 
to  manufacture  the  wings  and  other  parts.  Early  in  July  the  Ad- 
ministration Bill  before  Congress  included  provisions  for  the  immedi- 
ate construction  of  22,625  aeroplanes  and  45,250  engines,  at  an 
estimated  cost  of  $363,140,000  and  contemplated  an  Aviation 
Corps  of  about  75,000  men.  Under  its  terms  the  President  was 
given  broad  authority  in  the  organization  of  this  force  with  power 
to  draft  men  for  service  if  necessary.  By  July  22  the  Bill  had  passed 
the  Houses  and  gone  to  the  President  with  $640,000,000  as  the  total 
sum  granted.  On  Aug.  8  Mr.  Secretary  Daniels  announced,  in 
addition  to  the  Military  plans,  the  immediate  construction  of  a 
Naval  Aircraft  factory  with  1,000  planes  a  year  capacity. 

Then  something  happened.  Labour  troubles  caused  delay  but 
the  chief  element  appears  to  have  been  a  desire  to  experiment, 
to  get  something  better  than  the  British  or  French  models,  to  have 
a  purely  American  machine.  A  Liberty  motor  was  finally  evolved 
which  the  War  Department  proclaimed  satisfactory  and,  on  Oct. 
4,  Mr.  Baker  stated  that  contracts  had  been  let  and  work  was  in 
progress  on  practically  the  entire  number  of  aeroplanes  and  motors 
for  which  provision  had  been  made  in  recent  legislation.  The 
types  under  construction  "covered  the  entire  range  of  training 
machines,  light  high-speed  fighting  machines,  and  powerful  battle 
and  bombing  planes  of  the  heaviest  design,"  with  training  machines 
and  giant  battleplanes  of  the  Caproni  type:  "The  work  of  the 
Aviation  Section  has  been  thoroughly  systematized.  The  train- 
ing of  aviators,  the  building  of  motors,  and  the  construction  of 
wings  is  proceeding  uniformly — each  keeping  pace  with  the  other 
and  with  general  war  plans."  A  considerable  number,  also,  were 
being  made  abroad  and  many  of  the  accessories  were  being  manu- 
factured at  the  Front. 

As  to  men  the  University  ground-schools  were  turning  them 
out  steadily,  24  Flying  schools  had  been  authorized  and  besides  the 
thousands  under  United  States  training  many  were  being  instructed 
in  Canada  and  the  Allied  countries.  On  Nov.  1  names  were  officially 
given  to  15  Army  Aviation  training  fields.  Critics,  at  this  stage, 
claimed  that  the  advice  of  experienced  Allied  aviators  was  not  being 
taken,  that  adequate  instruction  in  topography,  mapping,  etc., 
was  not  being  given,  that  civilians  interested  in  existing  devices 
or  inventions  were  in  positions  of  influence — a  condition  found 
very  dangerous  by  Great  Britain  and  soon  abolished.  At  the  close 
of  the  year  it  was  officially  stated  that  100  Aviation  instructors 
and  166  mechanical  engineers  and  inspectors  were  at  work,  with 
a  promised  total  of  400  of  the  former  and  4,447  of  the  latter  by 
1919;  that  $740,000,000  had  been  appropriated  for  building,  manning 
and  equipping  20,000  planes;  that  there  had  been,  however,  "enor- 
mous deficits  in  material  and  accessories,  in  equipment  and  necessary 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

buildings."  At  the  same  time  the  Navy's  Flying  Corps  demanded, 
and  enlistment  was  authorized  of,  8,000  young  men  as  mechanics. 
No  American  planes  were  in  France  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

Meantime  the  American  Red  Cross  activities  had  been  greatly 
increased.  By  the  first  months  of  1917  $49,868,728*  had  been 
collected  for  this  and  other  War  Funds  along  Neutral  lines  and 
of  the  total  $3,830,000  was  for  the  Allied  Red  Cross  with  an 
estimated  $4,000,000  for  the  German  Red  Cross  and  $2,570,000 
more  for  other  German  Funds.  War,  of  course,  stopped  these 
latter  collections  and  public  attention  turned  chiefly  to  Red  Cross 
efforts.  On  Apr.  11  Miss  Mabel  Boardman  (Head  Nurse  of  the 
Society)  stated  that  it  was  "ready,  at  a  moment's  notice,  to  mobilize 
enough  nurses,  ambulances  and  medical  and  surgical  supplies  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  an  army  of  1,000,000  men."  A  Central 
Bureau  and  Supply  Service  were  at  once  organized,  a  War  Council 
appointed  on  May  10,  and  preparations  made  to  raise  a  Fund  of 
$100,000,000. 

H.  P.  Davison  of  J.  P.  Morgan  &  Co.,  retired  to  give  his  whole 
time  to  the  work  of  organization  as  Chairman  of  the  War  Council 
of  the  American  Red  Cross;  he  made  the  statement  on  May  27  that 
"hundreds  of  American  doctors  and  nurses  are  already  at  the  Front, 
a  force  of  12,000  American  engineers  will  soon  be  rebuilding  the 
railroads  of  France,  and  upwards  of  25,000  American  men  are  now 
on  the  battlefields  of  Europe,  fighting  as  volunteers  in  the  Allied 
armies."  By  Aug.  1  the  $100,000,000  had  been  over-subscribed. 
Army  rank  was  given  to  the  workers  by  the  President,  from  Major- 
General  down  to  Lieutenant.  On  Sept.  10  Mr.  Davison  reported 
that  from  May  10  to  Aug.  31  the  Council  had  appropriated  $12,339,- 
681  for  work  in  Europe — chiefly  France;  he  estimated  that  the  Ameri- 
can Army  alone  would  need  20,000  nurses  and  20,000  physicians; 
the  accounts  of  the  A.R.C.  were  audited  by  the  War  Department 
and  an  Annual  Report  made  to  Congress.  On  Sept.  18  the  Presi- 
dent called  on  all  school  children  to  become  junior  members  of  the 
Society  and  help  its  operations;  the  National  Surgical  Dressings 
Committee,  with  25,000  working  members,  became  an  Auxiliary 
of  the  Red  Cross;  a  Committee  of  experts  was  appointed  in  June 
to  deal  with  war-sanitation  and  public  health  at  home  and  abroad; 
J.  D.  Ryan,  of  Anaconda  Copper  fame,  was  on  July  13  appointed 
Director-General  of  Military  Relief  and  the  statement  made  that 
the  26  pre-war  Base  Hospital  units  had  grown  to  43,  with  5  Navy 
base  hospitals,  18  hospital  units,  and  50  ambulance  companies; 
on  July  26  $1,500,000  worth  of  foodstuffs  was  purchased  for  ship- 
ment to  France;  on  Oct.  22  Mr.  Davison  announced  a  National 
Women's  Advisory  Committee  of  16  and  a  request  to  each  of  its 
3,000  chapters  in  the  United  States  to  form  similar  local  bodies. 

A  kindred  society  in  its  war  aims  was  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  with  its  2,700  Associations  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  its  membership  of  600,000,  its  wealth  of  $106,000,000. 
Always  a  strong  organization  it  undertook  in  November,  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  John  R.  Mott,  General  Secretary,  Alfred  E. 

*NOTE. — Year  Book,  Carnegie  Endowment,  New  York. 


252  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Marling,  Chairman,  and  Geo.  E.  Perkins,  Chairman  of  the  Finance 
Committee,  to  raise  $35,000,000  for  providing  "care  and  comforts 
for  American  soldiers  and  sailors  at  home  and  on  foreign  service." 
It  was  to  be  an  8-day  drive,  and  on  Nov.  19  the  campaign  result 
exceeded  the  total  asked  for.  It  was  intended  to  use  the  money 
in  work  amongst  the  training  camps,  in  the  maintenance  of  build- 
ings, equipments  and  officials,  and  its  National  War-work  Council 
allotted  $11,120,000  for  the  American  Army  and  Navy,  $11,994,000 
for  American  troops  in  England  and  France,  $3,305,000  for  work 
in  the  Russian  Army,  $2,649,000  for  work  in  the  French  Army,  and 
$1,000,000  for  work  in  the  Italian  Army,  $1,000,000  for  work  in 
the  war  prison  camps  and  $3,932,000  to  provide  for  general  expan- 
sion. As  to  these  objects  Maj.-Gen.  Leonard  Wood  stated  (Nov. 
14)  that:  "I  believe  the  work  the  Y.M.C.A.  is  now  doing  in  the 
great  cantonments  where  our  troops  are  being  trained  is  perhaps 
the  greatest  and  the  best  it  has  ever  attempted.  One  has  to  see  it 
to  appreciate  it." 

Other  American  organizations  associated  with  the  War — before 
and  after  the  United  States  came  in — were  very  numerous  and 
notable;  some  were  of  exceptional  and  international  importance. 
The  Federal  Council  of  War  Relief  Associations  in  July,  1917, 
had  75  separate  Committees  within  its  jurisdiction,  a  record  of 
$20,000,000  raised  and  $10,000,000  worth  of  supplies  shipped, 
a  membership  of  2,000,000  with  5,000  branches.  The  American 
Rights  League,  organized  on  Nov.  30,  1915,  with  Geo.  Haven 
Putnam  as  Chairman,  had  as  its  object:  "To  uphold  the  duty  of 
the  Republic  in  its  international  relations,  and  to  do  what  may 
prove  to  be  practicable,  with  the  resources  that  it  can  control, 
to  arouse  and  direct  public  opinion  throughout  the  country  in  be- 
half of  the  protection  of  American  lives,  the  maintenance  of  Ameri- 
can rights,  and  the  fulfilment  of  American  obligations."  The 
League  maintained  that  relations  with  Germany  should  have  been 
broken  at  the  time  of  the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania,  and  that  the 
United  States  should,  early  in  the  War,  have  taken  part  directly 
with  England,  France,  Belgium,  and  their  Allies.  It  did  much 
through  circulation  of  publications,  the  holding  of  meetings,  corres- 
pondence with  citizens  throughout  the  country,  and  petitions 
to  President  and  to  Congress,  to  uphold  these  views,  and  in  the 
past  two  years  had  distributed  more  than  1,200,000  of  its  bulletins 
and  other  documents,  and  printed,  in  the  form  of  advertisements, 
many  appeals  to  the  country  or  to  the  President.  It  issued  in 
February  an  earnest  appeal  by  50  religious  leaders  urging  a  final 
United  States  acceptance  of  "loyalty  to  great  and  divine  ideals." 
After  the  War  was  entered  upon  it  stood  opposed  to  a  peace  without 
victory  or  to  an  inconclusive  settlement;  on  Mar.  5  it  held  a  great 
meeting  in  New  York  addressed  by  Mr.  Putnam,  Rev.  Dr.  Abbott, 
W.  Roscoe  Thayer,  James  M.  Beck,  and  others,  who  stood  enthusi- 
astically for  war  and  American  duty;  in  July  it  issued  an  Address 
to  the  Russian  people  handling,  without  gloves,  the  specious  "no 
annexation  and  no  indemnity"  motto  of  the  Socialists  and  Germans 
and  urging  the  democracy  to  stand  firm  with  that  of  America. 

• 

' 


WAR  POLICY  AND  EFFORTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES       253 

Other  important  Societies  were  the  National  Security  League, 
of  which  Elihu  Root  was  Hon.  President  and  J.  H.  Choate,  Presi- 
dent, and  which  for  years  had  stood  for  patriotic  education,  military 
training  and  national  preparedness  and  early  in  1917,  held  at  Wash- 
ington a  great  Congress  of  Constructive  Patriotism;  the  Navy 
League  of  the  United  States,  of  which  Col.  R.  M.  Thompson  was 
President;  the  American  Defence  Society,  which  aimed  to  press 
the  active  work  of  war  and  curb  or  punish  disloyalty  and  which 
did  effective  fighting  against  street  sedition  and  the  work  of  Hearst, 
La  Follette  and  others,  under  the  leadership  of  R.  M.  Kurd;  the 
League  for  National  Unity,  which  was  formed  at  Washington  on 
Sept.  12  with  the  public  approval  of  the  President.  The  objects 
of  the  latter  body  were  "to  create  a  medium  through  which  loyal 
Americans  of  all  classes,  sections,  creeds  and  parties,  can  give  ex- 
pression to  the  fundamental  purpose  of  the  United  States,  to  carry 
to  a  successful  conclusion  this  new  war  for  the  independence  of 
America,  the  preservation  of  democratic  institutions  and  the  vindi- 
cation of  the  basic  principles  of  humanity."  Cardinal  Gibbons 
was  Hon.  Chairman  and  Theodore  N.  Vail,  Chairman.  In  this 
connection  the  Cardinal,  by  letter  dated  Oct.  6,  assured  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  "unwavering  determination  of  loyal  citizens  to  stand 
by  him  in  his  every  effort  to  bring  success  to  our  arms  and  to  achieve 
those  ideals  of  justice  and  humanity  which  compelled  our  entrance 
into  the  War." 

The  War  activities  of  American  women  were  not  at  first  as  well 
organized  as  were  other  popular  efforts.  There  was  super-abundance 
of  work  and  plenty  of  enthusiasm  and  Ida  M.  Tarbell  wrote  on 
June  27  that:  "Quietly,  almost  unconsciously,  there  is  going  on  in 
this  country  an  extraordinary  gathering  of  its  woman  power.  Multi- 
tudes of  organizations  and  of  individual  women  are  flowing  together 
in  a  great  union."  But  voluntary  effort  bred  countless  duplica- 
tions while  lack  of  authority  and  centralization  produced  confusion. 
The  Woman's  Committee  of  National  Defence  had  been  formed 
in  April  with  Dr.  Anna  Howard  Shaw  as  Chairman  and  it  was 
officially  told  to  act  as  a  clearing-house  for  Women's  activities. 
It  took  them  some  months  to  grasp  what  this  really  meant  in  a 
country  such  as  the  United  States.  Finally,  State  Divisions  of 
the  Committee  were  constituted  to  represent  all  local  women's 
organizations  regardless  of  race,  creed  or  colour;  Chairmen  were 
appointed  to  be  responsible  for  the  work  in  each  State,  to  avoid 
over-lapping  and  to  develop  facilities  for  the  gradual  entry  of  women 
into  many  spheres  of  new  labour  and  co-ordinated  war- work.  The 
objective  announced  was  the  registration  for  these  purposes  of 
20,000,000  women  and  the  care  of  those  who  actually  went  into 
new  fields  of  labour.  As  to  this,  the  American  Federation  of  Labour, 
on  Nov.  12,  demanded  equal  pay  for  equal  work  without  regard 
to  sex. 

Important  War  incidents  of  the  year  included  the  organization 
of  farm  labour  in  40  States  under  a  very  effective  system,  and  the 
action  of  35  States  in  compelling  a  lower  price  for  bread;  the  National 
Defence  Conference  held  at  Washington  on  May  2-3  with  47  State 


254  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Councils — which  had  been  appointed  by  the  Governor  in  each 
case  to  promote,  pilot  and  supervise  the  war  activities  of  the  State 
represented;  the  Report  of  A.  Mitchell  Palmer,  Alien  Property 
Custodian  (Dec.  31,  1917)  that  he  was  in  control  of  and  liquidating 
Alien  trusts  valued  at  $134,605,231 — including  Enemy  Insurance 
Companies  with  gross  assets  of  over  $40,000,000;  the  establish- 
ment on  May  1  of  a  censorship  upon  cables,  telegraphs  and  tele- 
phones, the  application  of  cable  prohibitions  to  all  lines,  and  opera- 
tion against  telegraphs  and  telephones  along  the  Mexican  border. 
On  Aug.  27  the  President  issued  an  Order  forbidding  the  shipment 
of  any  goods  to  European  neutral  countries  except  under  license, 
and  largely  extending  the  lists  for  which  license  was  required; 
on  Oct.  14  the  President  placed  the  censorship  of  mails,  cables, 
radio  and  telegraph  messages  passing  out  of  the  United  States 
in  the  hands  of  a  Censorship  Board,  consisting  of  representatives 
of  the  War,  Navy  and  Postomce  departments,  the  War  Trade 
Board,  with  George  Creel,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public 
Information;  vast  stores  of  cotton,  steel,  copper,  nickel,  leather, 
oil,  chemicals  and  other  war  necessaries  purchased  in  the  United 
States  by  German  agents  before  the  Republic  entered  the  War 
and  since  held  in  their  names  by  American  brokers  were  taken  over 
by  the  Government  on  and  after  Oct.  22. 

Other  matters  included  the  opening  on  Oct.  30  of  the  great 
store  of  German  scientific  information  in  the  country  to  American 
manufacturers  through  the  Federal  Trade  Commission  licensing 
enemy-owned  patents  and  copyrights  for  use  by  citizens  of  the 
United  States;  the  issue,  on  Dec.  5,  of  an  American  black-list 
of  1,600  firms  in  20  Central  and  South  American  countries,  with 
whom  merchants  of  the  United  States  were  forbidden  specifically 
to  do  business  except  under  special  license;  the  fact  that  amongst 
the  volunteers  for  Army  or  Navy  in  the  United  States  were  three 
of  ex-President  Roosevelt's  sons,  one  of  ex-President  Taft's,  Sergt. 
Marshall  Field  of  Chicago,  whose  fortune  was  estimated  at  $300,- 
000,000,  and  Gnr.  Junius  S.  Morgan,  son  of  J.  P.  Morgan  of  New 
York,  while  Edsel  Ford,  son  of  the  motor  magnate,  had  fought 
bitterly  for  exemption  under  the  Selective  Draft  and  carried  his 
appeal  up  to  the  President. 

Thp  greatest  and  cleverest  propaganda  of  all  time 
an  ots  was  ^^  of  Germany  in  the  years  just  preceding  1914; 
ganda;  Ger-  then  came  the  concentrated  and  effective  plots  which 
mans  in  the  developed  during  succeeding  war-years.  No  country 
United  States,  or  institution,  national  idealist  or  natural  rebel,  was 
free  from  underground  and  often  unknown  influence; 
the  best  elements  of  human  nature  and  the  worst  were  played  upon 
with  music  equally  attuned  to  suit  the  Pacifist  or  Socialist,  the  Hindu 
or  the  Sinn  Feiner,  the  preacher  or  the  publicist.  In  addition  to  the 
80,000,000  Germans  at  home  in  Germany  and  Austria  there  were 
about  20,000,000  Germans  abroad — in  the  United  States,  in  Great 
Britain,  in  Brazil  and  all  through  South  America,  in  Austria  and 
South,  East  and  West  Africa,  in  China  and  Japan,  all  through 
Scandinavia  and  everywhere  in  Holland  and  Spain. 


GERMAN  PLOTS  AND  PROPAGANDA  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  255 

They  appear,  in  the  main,  to  have  been  devoted  to  their  Father- 
land and  to  have  had  none  of  the  educated  or  cultured  or  inherited 
aversion  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  to  espionage,  supervision  and  direction 
from  home.  This  influence  was  variously  exercised.  The  natural 
ties  of  society  and  race  brought  correspondence  and  information  to 
Germany  which  were  at  the  service  of  the  State;  a  skilled  and 
world-wide  espionage  system  had  paid  employees  everywhere  and 
travelling  experts  in  every  country;  trade  was  used  as  a  prime 
factor  and  local  politics  were  manipulated  freely;  German  Consuls 
in  every  centre  abroad  had  little  centres  of  propaganda  and  in- 
formation for  the  authorities  at  home;  membership  in  clubs  at 
London  and  other  foreign  capitals  and  the  waiters  in  club-life  every- 
where were  sources  of  secret  knowledge  which  rarely  failed  in  some 
kind  of  result — whatever  the  degree  of  judgment  behind  it;  barbers, 
governesses  and  domestic  servants  all  over  the  world  in  centres  of 
action  and  government  were  paid  small  sums  for  periodical  reports; 
business  spies  were  widely  utilized  in  institutions  such  as  an  Insur- 
ance Company  or  a  -national  Bradstreet  down  to  the  employee  of  a 
pre-War  concern  making  guns,  or  munitions,  or  chemical  products 
or  industrial  goods. 

German  Insurance  Companies,  as  the  United  States  eventually 
discovered,  were  sources  of  continuous  information  as  were  the 
electrical  and  piano  concerns  which  suited  German  mechanical  apti- 
tudes; the  Hamburg- American  Steamship  Line  and  North  German 
Lloyds,  with  their  branches  at  New  York  and  London  and  world- 
ports  everywhere,  were  a  centre  of  German  propaganda  and  espion- 
age; school-books  in  all  countries,  but  especially  those  of  Britain 
and  its  Dominions,  and  the  States,  were  used  along  subtle  lines  of 
education  regarding  the  greatness  of  the  German  mind,  the  historic 
nobility  of  the  German  rulers,  the  sympathetic  geniality  of  the 
German  character,  the  wonderful  leaps  of  German  science*;  the 
German  Professor  was  omni-present  in  Universities  everywhere  and 
always,  or  nearly  so,  with  that  peculiarly  benevolent  air  of  abstracted 
geniality  which  often  made  him  an  object  of  popular  regard  but 
never  of  fear;  books  were  written,  and  published  in  all  languages, 
so  adapted  as  to  build  up  and  perpetuate  the  belief  in  German  mili- 
tary, scientific,  educational  and  philosophical  supremacy;  news- 
papers in  every  corner  of  Europe,  in  many  capitals  of  South  America, 
in  every  centre  of  the  United  States,  were  found  in  war-years  to 
have  been  started,  or  helped  or  bribed  or  otherwise  influenced  to 
further  German  propaganda — if  not  openly  for  Germany  then  in 
very  astute  forms  of  opposition  to  some  existing  policy  or  Govern- 
ment. 

The  system  was  wonderful  in  its  completeness.  According  to 
Curtis  Roth,  for  many  years  U.S.  Consul  at  Plauen,  Saxony,  and 
other  practical  students  of  German  administration,  there  were  three 
main  divisions  of  the  German  machine:  (1)  The  Admiralty  branch 
with  headquarters  at  Hamburg,  (2)  the  General  Staff  with  head- 
quarters at  Munich,  and  (3)  the  Foreign  Office  centred  at  Berlin. 

*NOTE. — I  have  before  me  a  Montreal  school-book  (Royal  Series  of  Readers) 
which  illustrates  this  statement. 


256  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

There  were  five  main  functions  in  the  work:  The  gathering  of  in- 
formation concerning  expected  enemy  countries,  the  development  of 
unrest  and  German  propaganda  within  these  and  neutral  countries, 
the  guarding  of  home  information,  the  promotion  of  smuggling 
schemes  and  plans  for  the  possible  destruction  of  materials,  stores, 
factories  and  communications  abroad.  Stockholm,  Copenhagen,  Gen- 
eva, Berne,  Amsterdam  and  The  Hague  were  the  great  spy  centres 
where  those  of  Germany  met  the  lesser  lights  and  smaller  machines 
of  other  countries. 

The  revelations  of  1917  showed  the  official  relations  of  the  Ger- 
man Foreign  Office  under  Von  Jagow,  Zimmerman  or  Von  Kuhl- 
mann  with  plots  in  Ireland,  Mexico,  Japan,  Argentina,  the  United 
States.  The  working  chiefs  of  the  propaganda  and  espionage  sys- 
tem— two  different  elements  of  the  same  work — were  varied.  Prince 
Von  Biilow  in  Italy,  and  latterly  in  Switzerland,  was  the  higher  type, 
as  was  Mgr.  Von  Gerlach  in  Italy  and  Admiral  Von  Hintze  in  Russia 
Mexico  and  China;  other  figures  in  the  panorama  were  men  like 
Baron  Reutenfels  in  Sweden,  Bolo  Pasha  and  M.  Caillaux  in  France, 
Grimm  and  Hoffman  in  Switzerland;  unconscious  instruments  were 
Ramsay  Macdonald  in  Britain,  Roger  Casement  in  Ireland,  and 
Senator  La  Follette  in  the  States;  bribed  or  perverted  agents  were 
Soukhomlinoff,  Lenine  and  Trotzky  in  Russia.  The  German  agents 
were  not  necessarily  Germans;  often  the  most  effective  were  men 
of  other  nationalities  used  by  brainier  men  at  Berlin  for  definite 
objects  or  paid  deliberately  for  definite  work.  Danes,  Norwegians 
and  Swedes  were  favourite  instruments,  especially  in  .  the  lower 
social  strata.  Lord  Northcliffe  stated  at  Washington  on  July  7,  as 
to  the  superior  elements,  that: 

There  were  spies  who  moved  about  in  a  good  social  circle  as  a  rule,  picking  up 
any  information  they  could  get.  Members  of  this  class  were  entirely  unknown  to 
each  other,  and  only  known  to  headquarters  by  numbers.  They  were  paid  a  mini- 
mum of  $3,000  and  a  maximum  of  $12,000  a  year,  and  were  usually  engaged  in  some 
other  kind  of  work — very  often  insurance  work,  very  often  as  travelling  salesmen. 
Quite  a  number  of  them  were  women. 

The  espionage  system  in  different  countries  was  subdivided  into 
Naval,  Military,  commercial,  financial,  political  and  diplomatic  sec- 
tions; the  agents  were  distinct  and  isolated,  usually  quite  unaware 
of  each  other's  activities,  varied  in  character  and  standing  and 
capacity,  but  all  directed  at  the  same  object  by  the  leaders  of  espi- 
onage work  in  Germany  and  abroad,  German  Embassies  and  a 
number  of  German  Consulates  at  large.  Of  the  American  branches 
of  both  espionage  and  propaganda  Count  Von  Bernstorff — assisted  by 
Dr.  Dumba,  the  Austrian  Ambassador,  Count  Von  Luxberg,  the  Ger- 
man Minister  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  Herr  Von  Eckhardt,  at  Mexico 
City — was  the  diplomatic  head;  Capt.  Boy-Ed  was  chief  of  the 
Naval  section  in  the  United  States  and  Capt.  Von  Papen  of  the 
Military;  miscellaneous  leaders  were  numerous  but  Karl  Fuehr  and 
Dr.  Mechlenburg  were  said  to  be  heads  of  the  German  Publicity 
Bureau,  Heinrich  Albert  of  the  Austrian  Embassy  and  Franz  Von 
Igel  of  German  notoriety  in  New  York  became  well  known  in  this 
connection,  as  did  Franz  Bopp  at  San  Francisco  and  Hans  Tauscher 
in  New  York. 


GERMAN  PLOTS  AND  PROPAGANDA  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  257 

Great  organizations  were  formed  at  home  and  subsidized  by  the 
State  with  this  propaganda  as  an  element  of  their  work  which, 
usually,  was  termed  commercial  extension.  Amongst  them  were 
the  German  Export  Bank  at  Berlin,  the  Export  Association  of 
Saxony,  the  Commercial  Museum  of  Frankfort,  the  Export  Sample 
Dep6ts  at  Berlin,  Stuttgart,  Dresden,  Frankfort  and  Weimar,  with 
agents  in  many  centres  abroad;  several  Export  Information  Bureaux, 
the  German  Overseas  Bank,  Berlin,  and  the  Committee  for  Colonial 
Economy;  the  German  Photographic  Co.,  with  a  specialty  in  the 
systematic  foreign  presentation  of  German  pictorial  propaganda; 
the  Auslands-Anseiger,  Ltd.,  whose  object  was  to  centralize  the 
German  advertising  business  abroad,  and  to  distribute  advertise- 
ments to  the  foreign  Press,  while  safeguarding  German  interests; 
the  Deutscher  Ueberseedienst,  Ltd.,  established  for  the  creation  of 
a  foreign  News  Service,  which  would  enlighten  public  opinion  at 
home  and  abroad,  give  special  attention  to  the  requirements  of 
Germany's  economic  life,  and  provide  for  other  general  propaganda. 
The  League  of  Truth  was  one  of  several  supposedly  popular 
organizations  which  sprang  up  in  Germany  and  were  supported  by 
the  Government  for  purposes  of  propaganda.  It  was  financed  by 
German-Americans,  directed  by  the  Foreign  Office  through  Dr. 
Hammann,  who  for  ten  years  had  been  chief  of  its  Propaganda 
department,  President  of  the  Overseas  News  Agency,  and  a  direct- 
ing spirit  in  the  German-American  and  German-Canadian  Associa- 
tions in  Berlin.  The  Overseas  Agency  was  financed  by  the  Krupps 
and  was  in  control,  amongst  other  work,  of  the  Tuckerton  and  Say- 
ville  Wireless  towers  in  the  States,  of  all  the  Berlin  "news"  and 
articles  which  came  to  the  United  States,  and  of  much  real  informa- 
tion which  went  from  there  during  the  first  years  of  the  War,  under 
the  local  direction  of  Dr.  Dernberg,  to  Berlin. 

Success  was  obvious.  The  efforts  of  Portugal  were  greatly 
hampered  and  the  natural  leanings  of  Spain  toward  the  Allies 
checked;  the  feelings  of  Scandinavia  and  Holland  tortured  and 
twisted  out  of  all  resemblance  to  the  real  situation;  more  than  one 
newspaper  and  public  man  in  Mexico,  Brazil  and  other  South 
American  countries  were  blinded  or  bribed;  many  newspapers  were 
directly  organized  through  the  Overseas  News  Agency — such  as 
Germania  at  Buenos  Ayres  and  others  of  the  same  name  in  Bogota, 
Guayaquil  and  Sao  Paulo,  with  similar  journals  at  San  Salvador  and 
Guatemala;  the  Arabs  in  Egypt  and  elsewhere  were  stirred  up  and 
linked  up — when  they  did  not  take  the  other  side  and  voluntarily 
stand  for  Britain  and  their  own  liberties — in  Holy  War  with  what 
Count  Von  Hardenburg,  a  German  Consul-General  in  the  East, 
called  "lordly  Oriental  races  such  as  the  Turks";  attempts  were 
made  to  organize  revolt  in  India  with  Wolf  Von  Igel  and  Franz 
Bopp  as  the  unofficial  chiefs  in  the  United  States^and  Har  Dayal 
and  Jodh  Singh  as  the  Hindu  leaders;  Persia  was  over-run  with 
Indian  seditionists,  Swedish  officer-agents  and  German  Mohamme- 
dan appeals  to  help  the  converted  Kaiser. 

In  these  and  other  ways  Germany  succeeded ]f or  arshort  time  in 
restoring  the  Manchu  dynasty  in  China  and  installing  German  in- 

17 


258  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

struments  in  power — with  German  commercial  agents  already 
strong  in  Thibet,  Turkestan  and  Mongolia,  as  well  as  at  Pekin  and 
interior  points  of  China;  established,  through  the  Bagdad  Railway, 
its  stations,  which  were  really  fortifications,  and  its  German-trained 
Turkish  officers  and  the  ever-purchasable  Oriental  in  all  parts  of 
Asia  Minor,  an  influence  which  the  war  proved  to  be  very  powerful; 
did  much  to  keep  alive  the  Raizulli  rebellion  in  Morocco  and 
promote  anti-British  and  anti-French  views  amongst  the  restless 
Moslems  of  the  so-called  Spanish  territory;  tried  to  plant  a  Bolshe- 
viki  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  United  States  by  financing  or  inciting 
Villa  or  Zapata  or  Carranza  and  keeping  up  a  permanent  turmoil  in 
Mexico;  swamped  Roumania  during  the  six  months  before  its 
declaration  of  war — according  to  its  chief  journalist, Cons tantin  Mille 
of  L'Adeverin — by  spending  36,000,000  francs  in  methods  of  public 
corruption;  controlled,  or  tried  to  control,  Switzerland  by  German- 
ized politicians  like  Hoffman,  by  a  huge  electrical  organization 
manipulated  by  Walter  Rathenau  of  Berlin,  run  by  600  German 
specialists,  and  capable  of  stopping  all  electric  works  in  the  country 
at  a  moment's  notice;  established  German  papers  at  various  and 
far- sundered  places — as  the  Muschaw  at  Bangkok,  the  War  in  Pekin, 
the  Deutsche  Zeitung  (in  Chinese)  at  Shanghai,  De  Toekomist  in 
Holland,  the  Continental  Times  "for  Americans  in  Europe." 

In  1917  the  total  number  of  Germans  and  their  Allies  in  the 
United  States  (born  in  enemy  countries)  was  estimated  officially  at 
4  662,000  men,  women  and  children*;  of  these  about  964,000  were 
male  aliens  of  21  years  and  over  divided  by  countries  into  136,000 
from  Germany  447,000  from  Austria,  280,000  from  Hungary,  and 
101,000  from  Turkey  and  Bulgaria.  Many  of  the  Austrians  were 
really  Germans,  many  of  the  sons  were  as  German  as  their  German- 
born  parent  or  parents;  many  of  the  Jews,  Poles,  etc.,  were  of 
German  affiliation  as  members  of  the  1,130,000  Irish- Americans 
were  of  German  friendship.  Out  of  the  complicated  mass  came  a 
situation  in  which  at  least  a  million  of  more  or  less  prosperous  and 
influential  citizens  were  an  excellent  basis  for  disloyal,  pro-German, 
anti-Ally  propaganda;  various  American  writers  and  thinkers  estim- 
ated this  seed-plot  of  disloyalty  at  2,000,000.  That  it  was  utilized 
to  the  hilt  goes  without  saying;  that  much  was  hoped  at  Berlin  from 
this  element  in  keeping  the  United  States  out  of  the  War  or  hamper- 
ing its  efforts  in  the  War,  Mr.  Gerard  asserted  strongly  in  his  Four- 
Year  record  of  life  in  Germany;  that  much  could  be  done  in  other 
countries  under  such  conditions  has  been  already  indicated. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  relationship  between  the  rulers 
of  Germany  and  the  American  propaganda  of  (1)  the  years  before 
1914  and  (2)  the  years  1914-17.  General  Von  Bernhardi  indicated 
the  preliminary  situation  in  his  visit  of  1913  and  no  German  officer 
undertakes  such  missions  without  Government  approval ;  the  actions 
and  cables  of  Von  Bernstorff,  Von  Eckhardt  and  Von  Luxberg 
proved  the  matter  during  the  War  period,  as  did  the  published  cor- 
respondence of  Herr  Zimmerman,  who  as  Foreign  Secretary,  was 
under  the  Kaiser's  direct  and  daily  supervision.  The  seizures  of 

*NOTE. — Government  Bulletin,  June  12. 


GERMAN  PLOTS  AND  PROPAGANDA  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  259 

papers  held  by  Von  Igel  in  New  York  were  valuable  in  this  connec- 
tion. Von  Igel,  in  carrying  on  his  manifold  pro-German  and  anti- 
American  act  vities,  was  shown  to  be  in  constant  touch  with  the 
German  Embassy  and  with  Count  Von  Bernstorff  in  person.  In  the 
form  of  letters,  telegrams,  notations,  checks,  receipts,  ledgers,  cash- 
books,  cipher  codes,  lists  of  spies,  and  other  memoranda  and  records, 
were  found  indications — in  some  instances  of  the  vaguest  nature,  in 
others  of  the  most  clear  character — that  the  German  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment, through  its  representatives  in  a  then  friendly  nation,  was 
concerned  with: 

1.  Violation  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States; 

2.  Destruction  of  lives  and  property  in  merchant  vessels  on  the  high  seas; 

3.  Irish  revolutionary  plots  against  Great  Britain; 

4.  Fomenting  ill-feeling  against  the  United  States  in  Mexico; 

5.  Subornation  of    United  States   writers  and  lecturers  and  financing  of  propa- 
ganda. 

6.  Maintenance  of  a  spy  system  under  the  guise  of  a  Commercial  Investigation 
Bureau; 

7.  Subsidizing  of  a  Bureau  for  the  purpose  of  stirring  up  Labour  troubles  in 
munition  plants; 

8.  The  bomb  industry  and  other  related  activities. 

The  organized  system  appears  to  have  begun  under  Paul  Koenig  as 
a  secret  service  agent  in  the  Hamburg- American  Line;  it  soon 
developed  close  official  relations  and  the  strong  support  of 
Herman  Ridder  of  the  New  York  Staats-Zeitung  (financed  by  Von 
Bernstorff),  Geo.  Sylvester  Viereck,  Editor  of  several  New  York 
German  papers,  Baron  Von  Recklinghausen,  Dr.  George  Barthelme, 
American  correspondent  of  the  Cologne  Gazette,  Hugo  Schmidt, 
representative  of  the  Deutsche  Bank  of  Berlin  in  the  United  States, 
and  Heinrich  Albert  of  the  German  Embassy.  The  latter  handled 
most  of  the  $60,000,000  which  was  supposed  to  have  been  used  in 
the  Propaganda  work  of  placing  spies,  buying  newspapers,  paying 
lecturers  and  purchasing  some  of  the  politicians  who  tried  to  prevent 
the  shipment  of  munitions  to  the  Allies,  and  some  of  the  Pacifists 
who  struggled  to  prevent  War. 

Others  of  the  German  crowd  of  conspirators  were  Alvo  Von 
Alvensleben  of  Vancouver  and  Seattle  financial  fame;  Dr.  Arnold 
Krumm  Keller,  German- American  plotter  in  Mexico;  Paul  Carus, 
the  clever,  erudite,  pro-German  Editor  of  the  Open  Court  Magazine 
of  Chicago;  Carl  Heynen,  for  years  an  influential  German  agent  in 
the  States  and  Mexico — where  he  was  Consul-General;  P.  A. 
Borgemeister,  a  New  York  banker  and  afterwards  Secretary  to  Herr 
Albert;  Prof.  Jonathan  Zenneck,  a  wireless  expert,  and  H.  S.  Ficke, 
New  York  Auditor  of  the  North-German  Lloyds,  whose  home  on 
Staten  Island  commanded  a  view  of  ships  entering  and  leaving  New 
York  Harbour;  Franz  Von  Rintelen,  the  organizer  of  the  notorious 
National  Labour  Peace  Council;  Marcus  Braun,  Editor  of  Fair 
Play  and  a  political  Hungarian  leader  in  New  York;  Lieut.  Robert 
Fay,  Wernher  Von  Horn  and  A.  K.  Fischer;  Horst  Von  der  Goltz, 
the  agent  of  Von  Papen  and  other  plotters,  who  gave  away  his 
companions  in  evidence  and  a  book;  Baron  Von  Reiswitz,  one-time 
Consul  at  Chicago  and  indicted  for  conspiring  to  raise  revolt  in 


260  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

India  and  for  paying  A.  H.  Wehde  $20,000  for  this  purpose;  Albert 
Kaltschmidt  of  Detroit  whose  special  mission  was  the  blowing  up 
of  Canadian  buildings. 

As  to  official  proofs  the  United  States  Government  at  certain 
intervals  throughout  1917  published  documents  which  its  Secret 
Service,  or  the  seizure  of  mail  matter  and  inspection  of  ships  by 
British  naval  representatives,  had  made  available.  On  Sept.  26 
Mr.  Secretary  Lansing  stated  that  "the  Department  of  State  pos- 
sesses conclusive  evidence  that  on  or  before  Jan.  19  Count  Von 
Bernstorff  had  received  and  read  the  Zimmerman  telegram  to 
Minister  Eckhardt  in  Mexico  " — which  announced  the  coming  of 
unrestricted  Submarine  action — and  that  he,  therefore,  was  fully 
advised  of  this  policy  at  a  time  when  he  asked  for  authority  from 
Berlin  "to  employ  funds  to  influence  Congressional  action  in  favour 
of  the  continued  neutrality  of  this  country."  On  Oct.  5  many  of 
the  late  Ambassador's  confidential  cables  to  the  Berlin  Foreign 
Office — then  under  Herr  Von  Jagow — were  made  public.  Amongst 
them  were  the  extraordinary  Bolo  Pasha  papers  which  included  the 
Bernstorff  request  for  a  credit  of  $1,700,000  in  New  York  for  the 
Peace  work,  as  it  was  called,  of  Bolo.  On  Oct.  10  further  documents 
were  issued,  in  which  one  despatch,  signed  by  Dr.  Zimmerman, 
Under-Secretary  at  the  German  Foreign  Office,  and  dated  Jan.  3, 
1916,  instructed  Von  Bernstorff  that  the  General  Staff  desired  the 
destruction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  at  several  points,  with 
a  view  to  complete  and  protracted  interruption  of  traffic.  Capt. 
Boehm  had  been  given  instructions;  "Inform  the  Military  Attache 
and  provide  the  necessary  funds."  Following  these  instructions  as 
to  Canada  came  others  regarding  local  operations  addressed  to  Capt. 
Von  Papen  as  Military  Attach 6,  dated  Jan.  26,  signed  "Representa- 
tive of  General  Staff"  and  mentioning  that  particulars  of  persons 
suitable  for  carrying  on  sabotage  in  the  United  States  and  Canada 
could  be  obtained  from  certain  persons,  including  Jeremiah  A. 
O'Leary  of  New  York.  The  document  concluded  as  follows:  "In 
the  United  States  sabotage  can  be  carried  out  on  every  kind  of  fac- 
tory for  supplying  munitions  of  war.  Railway  embankments  and 
bridges  must  not  be  touched.  Embassy  must  in  no  circumstances 
be  compromised.  Similar  precautions  must  be  taken  in  regard  to 
Irish  pro-German  propaganda." 

These  little  arrangements  for  war  upon  a  neutral  country's  in- 
dustries made  full  use  of  other  than  German  agents.  Mr.  O'Leary 
was  President  of  the  American  Truth  Society — an  Irish-Catholic 
organization — and  in  a  despatch  from  Von  Bernstorff  to  Berlin 
(Sept.  15)  reference  was  made  to  Wm.  Bayard  Hale,  a  newspaper 
correspondent  in  Germany,  as  a  friend  who  could  give  the  Foreign 
Office  useful  information.  Count  Von  Bernstorff,  therefore,  appears 
as  directing  German  propaganda  from  Washington  and,  practically, 
war  activities  upon  United  States  interests,  upon  Canada  and 
Mexico,  in  South  America  generally  as  other  documents  indicated, 
and  even  in  France  as  the  Bolo  Pasha  case  proved. 

G.  H.  Putnam,  President  of  the  American  Rights  League,  alleged 
on  Jan.  3,  1917,  that  $27,000,000  had  been  spent  in  the  United 


GERMAN  PLOTS  AND  PROPAGANDA  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  261 

States  on  German  work  and  propaganda;  it  was  afterwards  claimed 
in  the  Senate  that  fully  400,000  German  spies  were  at  work  in  the 
country.  The  methods  of  operation  were  varied  and  almost 
innumerable.  In  the  first  place  there  was  every  form  of  open  and 
obvious  propaganda — press  articles,  books,  pamphlets,  leaflets, 
translations  of  German  literature  into  English  and  special  publica- 
tions into  English,  Swedish,  Polish,  Norwegian,  Danish,  Italian, 
Hebrew,  Czech,  and  every  language  which  was  largely  used  in  the 
States  or  in  the  countries  of  Europe,  Asia  or  Africa,  which  it  was 
desired  to  reach.  In  July  tons  of  seditious  literature  (1,500  bags  in 
all)  printed  in  varied  languages  and  intended  for  circulation  in  many 
countries,  were  seized  by  British  ships,  brought  to  London,  and 
condemned  by  the  Prize  court  as  part  of  a  gigantic  German  scheme 
to  spread  their  propaganda  to  the  four  corners  of  the  earth. 

Socialist  newspapers  in  various  languages  were  favourable  bases 
for  operations.  Easily  purchased  or  influenced,  edited  by  vain,  or 
unscrupulous,  or  ignorant  or  already  deluded  persons,  they  were 
facile  instruments  for  attack  upon  Governments,  upon  organized 
opponents  of  Germany,  upon  elements  of  war  concentration  in  all 
free  countries.  The  United  States  had  a  number  of  these  sheets; 
Canada  also  had  some  and  Russia  was  full  of  them;  France  and 
England  had  more  than  was  good  for  them.  In  a  country  where 
Chicago  could  call  itself  the  third  German  city  of  the  world  and 
New  York  have  a  third  of  its  population  speak  in  foreign  tongues, 
Socialism  was  a  serious  German  factor.  German  language  news- 
papers in  the  States  were  weak  in  news,  small  in  staff,  and  racial  in 
tone,  but  with  strong  and  numerous  articles  upon  Teutonic  influence 
in  America  and  in  the  world — a  few  of  them  were  really  imposing 
journals  and  able  fighters  for  the  cause  of  Germany.  Of  such  were 
the  New  York  Staats-Zeitung,  the  Illinois  Staats-Zeitung  of  Chicago, 
and  the  Pittsburg  Volksblatt.  Whether  little  or  big,  clever  or  dull, 
these  journals,  and  a  hundred  others  in  the  German  tongue,  with 
those  of  other  foreign  tongues,  kept  up  before  and  during  the  first 
few  months  of  war  in  1917  a  continued  German  propaganda  and 
keen  criticism  of  United  States  policy. 

German  language  schools  or  Germanized  school-books  in  some 
form  or  other  were  utilized  to  give  an  exaggerated  view  of  German 
greatness  and  qualities — many  such  schools  being  subsidized  by  the 
municipality  concerned.  These  German  text-books  were  peculiar. 
In  Newark,  N.J.,  for  instance,  Im  Vaterland,  a  book  used  in  the 
High  Schools,  declared  in  different  pages  that  "Germany  must  have 
agreat  army  because  it  is  surrounded  by  enemies ;  Germany  is  great 
because  of  the  Bismarck  blood  and  iron  formula;  Kaiser  Wilhelm 
is  a  great  man  and  his  first  wish  is  to  serve  the  German  people." 
According  to  the  N.Y.  Tribune  (Dec.  24)  13,000  local  pupils  of  the 
most  impressionable  age  were  studying  the  language  of  Germany: 
"More  than  that,  they  are  absorbing,  and  from  text-books  supplied 
by  the  Board  of  Education,  the  doctrines  of  Hohenzollernism,  so 
cleverly  and  subtly  distributed  through  the  pages  as  to  stamp  them, 
in  the  opinion  of  many,  as  a  far-flung  piece  of  German  propaganda 
conceived  years  ago  at  Berlin."  A  book  of  German  War  and  Patri- 
otic Songs  was  one  of  the  volumes. 


262  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

As  to  Chicago  J.  W.  Gerard,  in  one  of  his  statements,  said: 
"When  I  spoke  in  the  great  Medinah  Temple  on  Oct.  22  I  was  able 
to  show  to  the  audience  two  German  text-books  used  in  the  Chicago 
public   schools,   stamped   with   the  Royal   arms   of   Prussia.     The 
books  had  been  approved  by  Ella  Flagg  Young,  Superintendent  of 
Schools  in  1914.     In  one  of  these  books  was  printed  the  German 
patriotic  song,  'The  Watch  on  the  Rhine.'     They  were  cleverly 
compiled  to  impress  children  at  a  youthful  age  with  a  favourable 
idea  of  German  royalty."     The  only  foreign  language  taught  in  the 
grammar  schools  in  Chicago  was  German  and  parents  were  com- 
pelled to  sign  a  statement  as  to  whether  or  not  they  wished  their 
children  to  be  taught  that  language.     The  President  of  Vassar 
College  (Dr.  H.  N.  MacCracken)  told  the  N.Y.  Tribune,  and  proved 
what  he  said,  that  the  German  text  for  translations  at  College 
entrance  examinations  all  over  the  country  were  arranged  to  deal 
with  (1)  treachery  and  plunder  in  certain  wars,  (2)  the  virtues  of 
retaliation  in  war,  (3)  the  hypocrisy  of  the  English  as  to  slavery 
described  by  Goethe,  (4)  the  fanaticism  of  French  religious  wars, 
and  (5)  Schiller's  praises  of  Peace.     He  also  pointed  out  that  the 
personnel  of  the  Board  in  charge  of  these  examinations  was  largely 
German — three  out  of  five. 

Of  American  Teachers,  it  was  found  that  there  were  11  German 
aliens  in  Milwaukee  schools  and  that  the  De  Witt  Clinton  High 
School  of  New  York,  according  to  the  N.Y.  Times  of  Nov.  16  was 
"a  seminary  of  sedition,  anti-Americanism,  socialism,  pacificism,  op- 
position to  the  War,  attacks  upon  the  Government."     Dr.  J.  L. 
Tildsley,  Assistant  Superintendent  of  New  York  Schools,  stated 
(Nov.  19)  that:   "Many  teachers  are  Socialists,  pacifists  or  interna- 
tionalists, and  that  Socialist  literature  is  being  freely  circulated." 
Cleveland  Moffett  told  the  American  Defence  League  (Nov.  28) 
that  the  New   York   public   schools   had    1,000   disloyal   teachers. 
These  were  German  methods  of  influencing  public  opinion  which 
had  developed  gradually;   there  were  other  and  immediately  effec- 
tive methods  created  during  war-time.     Senators  Tillman  and  Cham- 
berlain stated  publicly  that  there  were  German  spies  in  all  the 
Government   Departments   and   many   newspapers   supported   the 
statement;  outgoing  cables,  inadequately  censored,  outgoing  uncen- 
sored   mails   to   neutral   countries,   enemy-owned   marine  and   fire 
insurance  companies,  German  agents  in  or  near  Mexico,  were  means 
of  conveying  information  to  Germany;   wireless  messages  via  South 
America  to  Spain  and  thence  to  Germany,  as  with  diplomatic  cables 
from  Mexico  and  Argentina  via  Sweden,  reached  the  enemy.     A 
Report  submitted  to  Congress  on  Sept.  17  showed  that  the  United 
States  Army  and  Navy  were  well  salted  with  German  spies;    that 
"large  German  corporations,  such  as  the  Hamburg-American  Line 
and  the  North  German  Lloyds  maintained  complete  organizations 
which  systematically  gathered  facts  such  as  the  date  of  the  depar- 
ture and  the  number  of  our  troop-carrying  transports";  that  "Ger- 
many was  informed  of  the  sailing  date  and  number  of  transports 
carrying  the  first  troops  sent  to  France  by  an  apparently  simple 
business  cable  from  the  representative  in  New  York  of  a  big  German 


GERMAN  PLOTS  AND  PROPAGANDA  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  263 

firm  to  a  correspondent  in  Barcelona."  Mayor  J.  P.  Mitchel  of 
New  York  stated  in  his  election  campaign  (Oct.  14)  that  he  had 
early  prepared  the  forces  of  the  city  to  meet  a  dangerous  condition 
of  pro-German  activity — such  as  plots  to  destroy  the  water  supply 
and  city  bridges. 

As  the  first  year  of  American  war  passed  on  German  intrigue 
found  a  place  in  many  spheres.  German  work  in  munition  plants  was 
obvious  and  had  been  well  known  since  1914;  almost  equally  clear 
was  its  effect  upon  food,  coal  and  transport.  The  growing  of  food 
could  not  be  affected  but  its  transport  to  the  Allies  could;  on  the 
water  it  was  being  dealt  with  and  it  remained  for  German  ingenuity 
to  affect  the  land  transport.  As  to  coal,  its  production  could  be 
delayed  by  strikes  and  wherever  possible  Hungarian  and  foreign 
miners  were  stirred  up;  its  transport  and  that  of  food,  could  be 
affected  by  a  tie-up  in  the  railway  system.  Just  how  far  the  mess 
in  American  transportation  toward  the  close  of  1917  resulted  from 
these  conditions  was  not  proved,  but  a  multitude  of  small  data  went 
to  show  that  where  German  employees  could  misdirect  a  train, 
delay  a  shipment,  send  it  to  a  wrong  place,  mix  up  invoices  or  med- 
dle with  credits  and  rates,  it  was  done. 

In  such  a  country  as  the  United  States  rumour  was  naturally  a 
great  factor  and  it  was  utilized  to  the  full.  Of  such  was  the  charge 
that  British  troops  were  lying  low  and  letting  Colonial  and  French 
soldiers  do  the  fighting  for  them;  threatened  shortages  in  salt, 
laundry  blue  and  matches,  stated  officially  to  have  no  existence; 
the  slanders  about  deplorable  cruelties  practiced  against  Germans  in 
Canadian  internment  camps;  the  food  riots  in  New  York  and  dis- 
satisfaction elsewhere  aroused  by  statements  that  Americans  were 
being  starved  and  prices  raised  mountain-high  in  order  to  ship  food 
to  the  English;  the  stories  told  ignorant  negroes  in  the  South  as  to 
the  coming  of  the  Kaiser  to  effect  their  liberation  and  the  incitement 
given  them  to  resist  registration  and  military  service;  the  fight  put 
up  in  all  sorts  of  insidious  ways  against  food  control,  or  restriction, 
or  self-denial  and,  directly,  against  the  pledge-card,  together  with  a 
systematic  hoarding  of  food  supplies;  the  similar  fight  of  rumour 
and  depreciation  and  organized  propaganda  against  the  two  War 
Loans;  the  influence  of  German  Directors  and  managers  in  many 
United  States  National  and  State  Banks  upon  financial  issues  and 
conditions. 

Overt  acts  of  hostility,  sabotage,  incendiarism,  etc.,  were  many 
but  not  easy  to  prove.  The  explosions  at  Kingsland,  N.J.,  on  Jan. 
11,  and  Haskell,  N.J.,  on  Jan.  12,  destroyed  property  valued  at  over 
$15,000,000.  Records  kept  by  the  Insurance  Press  of  New  York 
showed  a  distribution  of  42  munition  plant  disasters  up  to  the  be- 
ginning of  1917,  as  follows:  New  Jersey  13,  Pennsylvania  11,  New 
York  4,  Illinois  2,  and  8  other  States  one  each,  Canada  (Ontario 
and  Quebec)  4.  On  Feb.  10  the  machine-shop  building  of  the 
Union  Switch  and  Signal  Co.,  Pittsburg,  the  largest  plant  of  its 
kind  in  the  United  States,  and  which  had  filled  munition  orders  for 
European  Governments,  was  destroyed  by  fire  with  a  loss  estimated 
at  $4,000,000.  On  Apr.  10  the  Eddystone  Munition  Works  at  Ches- 


264  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

ter,  Pa.,  were  blown  up  with  325  workers  dead  and  missing  and 
30,000  shells  destroyed;  on  Oct.  30  a  great  fire  broke  out  on  the 
pier  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway  at  Baltimore  where  vast 
quantities  of  munitions  and  supplies  for  the  American  forces  in 
France  and  for  the  Allies  were  stored,  and  within  ten  minutes  after 
the  flames  were  discovered  the  entire  structure  was  ablaze.  On 
Nov.  11  the  factories  of  the  Washburn  Wire  Co.,  working  on  large 
war  orders  for  the  U.S.  Government,  were  destroyed  with  an  estim- 
ated loss  of  nearly  $2,000,000.  Amongst  its  1,000  employees  were 
many  Germans  and  Austrians.  Vivid  stories  were  told  in  United 
States  papers  of  the  prolonged  effort  of  Germans  to  destroy  by 
dynamite  the  Sault  locks  and  canals,  through  which  50,000,000  tons 
of  ore  passed  yearly,  and  of  the  arrest  of  an  estimated  600  spies  and 
plotters;  fires  in  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  were  said  to  have  been 
as  numerous  in  months  of  war  as  in  preceding  years  of  peace;  during 
the  war-period  of  1917,  32  water-front  fires  were  stated  to  have 
taken  place  at  Brooklyn  with  damage  amounting  to  millions  of 
dollars  and  large  losses  of  munitions  and  food  intended  for  the 
Entente. 

The  hampering  of  production  in  isolated  or  single  plants,  the 
tieing-up  of  industrial  work  or  shipment  in  small  and  myriad  ways, 
was  so  varied  and  far-reaching  as  to  be  impossible  of  description. 
As  an  illustration  of  what  was  going  on  the  following  telegram  of 
Oct.  27,  from  H.  C.  Hoover,  Food  Administrator,  to  Seattle,  may 
be  quoted:  "I  am  informed  of  a  widespread  conspiracy  to  destroy 
animals  in  stock-yards,  and  grain  supplies.  In  view  of  the  tremen- 
dous loss  of  food  sustained  by  the  recent  fire  in  Kansas  City  stock- 
yards I  urge  that  you  get  in  touch  immediately  with  all  Stock-yard 
Companies  in  the  State  of  Washington."  Admiral  Guffin's  state- 
ment in  February  to  the  Senate  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs  indi- 
cated another  phase:  "Any  hope  of  the  United  States  being  able  to 
steal  a  march  on  foreign  Navies  seems  futile.  We  have  long  been 
forced  to  believe  that  it  is  a  practical  impossibility  to  keep  secret 
any  of  our  undertakings." 

A  rather  remarkable  element  in  these  plots  and  German  propa- 
ganda was  the  work  of  John  R.  Rathom,  his  Providence  Journal,  and 
the  staff  with  which  he  surrounded  himself.  Apparently  he  had  in 
1914  sized  up  the  war  situation,  arrived  at  some  fair  idea  of  the  facts, 
and  deliberately  organized  his  whole  thought  and  effort  to  the  dis- 
covery of  proofs  which  could  be  used  in  affecting  public  opinion  and 
the  conduct  of  United  States  policy.  According  to  the  story  which 
he  told  the  Canadian  Press  Association,  Toronto,  on  June  14,  he 
had  established  two  wireless  stations  on  the  coast,  one  at  Block 
Island  and  one  at  Point  Judith.  "When  the  War  began  we  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  *  listening  in'  on  Sayville  and  four  operators  were 
put  to  work,  day  and  night.  After  nearly  100,000  messages  had 
been  stored  in  the  vaults  The  Journal  was  fortunate  enough  to  dis- 
cover the  code  to  read  some  of  these  messages.  Armed  with  facts 
thus  revealed  our  reporters  were  sent  out  to  take  jobs  in  the  Ger- 
man and  Austrian  Consulates  and  other  places  named  in  the  mes- 
sages. One  of  them  was  placed  in  the  German  Embassy  itself. 


SPEAKER  AND  CHIEF  OFFICERS  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  COMMONS 
OF  CANADA  ON  THE  50TH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  CONFEDERATION. 

Including  HON.  E.  N.  RHODES,  Speaker,  in  the  centre;  and  T.  B.  FLINT,  M.A.,  D.C.L.,  Clerk, 

on  his  right. 


T-vTTVRTnn  VTF:W  rur  CTTAT^*T-  T,AT'RTF,R.  OTT\W*_ 


GERMAN  PLOTS  AND  PROPAGANDA  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  265 

The  material  we  got  would  keep  us  going  for  25  years,  and  we  have 
not  touched  50  per  cent,  of  it.  We  have  not  printed  10  per  cent, 
of  it.  We  would  have  gone  on  doing  so,  but  the  result  was  attained." 
On  June  11,  1917,  The  Journal  issued  a  pamphlet,  describing  its 
warnings  to  the  Administration,  its  exposure  of  mysterious  explo- 
sions in  powder  plants,  steamships,  factories;  its  stories  of  plots  in 
Labour  unions  and  other  organizations;  its  revelation  of  W.  J. 
Bryan's  relations  with  Dr.  Dumba,  the  Austrian  Ambassador;  its 
campaign  against  Boy-ed  and  Von  Papen  of  the  German  Embassy; 
its  publication  of  facts  as  to  the  Embassy's  plots  against  munition 
plants,  aid  to  German  raiders,  attempts  upon  Canadian  canals  and 
railways;  its  1916  proofs  as  to  the  successive  fires  and  explosions 
said  to  emanate  from  German  sources;  its  continuous  denunciation 
of  Bryan  and  the  Pacifists  as  in  league  with  the  Germans ;  its  revela- 
tions as  to  German  plotting  in  Mexico,  etc.  The  whole  story  was 
one  of  the  most  dramatic  in  the  history  of  world-propaganda  and 
international  relations. 

Another  active  element  in  meeting  this  propaganda  was  the 
American  Defence  Society,  of  which  Richard  M.  Kurd,  New  York, 
was  Chairman.  Its  plan  of  organization  provided  for  the  enrol- 
ment of  a  small  American  vigilance  corps  in  every  city  and  town, 
which  classified  all  residents  as  either  loyal,  disloyal,  doubtful,  or 
unknown,  with  a  further  designation  as  enemy-alien,  pro-German, 
or  anti-government.  Good  work  was  done  by  this  Society  toward 
the  close  of  the  year.  By  this  time  loyal  feeling  was  being  vigorously 
stirred  up  and  J.  W.  Gerard,  ex- Ambassador  at  Berlin,  in  an  address  at 
Pittsburg  on  Nov.  13  put  considerable  opinion  into  a  few  strong 
words:  "We  should  *  hog-tie'  every  disloyal  German- American,  feed 
every  Pacifist  raw  meat,  and  hang  every  traitor  to  a  lamp  post,  to 
insure  success  in  this  war.  And  our  traitors  are  not  all  German- 
Americans;  some  men  high  in  public  life  are  aiding  the  Prussian 
cause." 

The  worst  of  these  elements  of  mischief  was  the  I.W.W.,  com- 
posed of  a  mixture  of  anarchists,  extreme  Socialists,  fanatics  of 
various  kinds,  and  irresponsible,  worthless  loafers  of  varied  race  and 
nationality — and  all  of  the  unskilled  labour  type.  Their  leader  was 
W.  D.  Hay  wood,  a  prominent  official  at  one  time  of  the  Western 
Federation  of  Miners  and  an  active  Socialist  but,  ultimately,  too 
extreme  in  his  methods,  his  disloyalty  and  his  violence,  for  either 
of  those  not  very  mild-mannered  organizations.  With  Moyer  and 
Pettibone  of  the  Independent  Workers  of  the  World  he  had  been 
mixed  up  in  various  trials  for  murder,  bomb-throwing,  and  similar 
offences,  and  was  believed  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  the  Colorado 
mining  crimes  of  ten  years  ago;  he  was  avowedly  an  advocate  of 
sabotage  and  pillage.  This  organization  was  in  antagonism  to  the 
Trade  Unions  as  well  as  the  employers;  capital  and  country  and 
real  labour  were  all  alike  objectionable.  The  writer  has  before  him 
a  copy  of  (1)  an  appeal  by  Gordon  Lee,  Organizer  of  the  I.W.W.  of 
South  Africa,  and  (2)  the  platform  of  the  Indian  (Hindu)  Workers' 
Union  of  that  body.  There  is  the  same  stamp  of  sedition  in  all 


266  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

"free"  countries.     Vincent  St.  John,  who  preceded  Hay  wood  as 
Secretary,  defined  their  policy  as  follows: 

As  a  revolutionary  organization  the  I.W.W.  aims  to  use  any  and  all  tactics  that 
will  get  the  results  sought  with  the  least  expenditure  of  time  and  energy.  The  ques- 
tion of  'right'  and  'wrong'  does  not  concern  us.  No  terms  made  with  an  employer 
are  final.  All  peace,  so  long  as  the  wage  system  lasts,  is  but  an  armed  truce.  Failing 
to  force  concessions  from  the  employers  by  the  strike,  work  is  resumed  and  '  sabotage ' 
is  used — sabotage  being  a  restriction  of  production  by  slow,  or  deliberately  ineffi- 
cient, labour  or  destructive  action. 

R.  W.  Bruere,  who  was  commissioned  by  the  N.Y.  Evening  Post 
— not  a  very  enthusiastic  war  organ — to  investigate  this  body  and 
especially  its  100,000  members  in  Washington,  Oregon,  Idaho  and 
Montana,  wrote  a  series  of  articles  in  its  November  and  December 
issues  which  were  a  mine  of  information  in  this  connection.     Writ- 
ing on  Dec.  1,  he  stated  that  "the  primary  interest  of  the  I.W.W.  is 
in  the  awakening  of  a  revolutionary  and  rebellious  spirit  against  the 
whole  of  capitalistic  industry  and  the  wage  system  in  particular. 
They  are  the  Bolsheviki  of  the  labour  movement."     During  this  year 
I.W.W.  activities   included    various   industrial    or    mining  strikes, 
financial  aid  to  pro-German  journals  under  threat  of  suppression, 
such  as  the  N.Y.  L'Avoenire,  and  the  issue  of  poisonous  leaflets  filled 
with  sedition  and  appeals  to  violence  or  passion.     One  of  their  speak- 
ers named  Frank  Little,  at  Butte  on  Aug.  1,  described  the  soldiers 
as  "Uncle  Sam's  scabs  in  uniform"  and  was  lynched  for  his  utter- 
ance which,  however,  was  mild  compared  with  the  speeches  at  many 
other  I.W.W.  meetings;  Solidarity,  the  organ  of  the  Order  and  under 
control  of  W.  D.  Hay  wood,  fought  enlistment,  Conscription,  war 
action  of  any  kind,  the  Red  Cross,  the  War  loans,  etc.,  and,  in  urging 
Butte  miners  to  strike,  stated  on  July  7  that  "no  enemy  could  do 
more  against  the  physical  power  of  the  United  States  within  its 
borders  to-day  than  to  cut  off  its  copper  output";    The  Industrialist 
of  Duluth,  another  organ,  published  an  open  letter  to  British  sol- 
diers in  the  trenches  urging  them  to  refuse  to  fight,  while  the  New 
York  Call  declared   that   "we   see   the  city   streets   crowded   with 
drunken,  blood-crazed  *  patriots'  yelling  for  war";    Tom  Watson, 
one  of  their  wild-eyed  leaders,  contributed  to   The  Jefersonian  a 
series  of  articles  which  even  England  would  have  forbidden  and 
Canada  would  have  stopped;    of  similar  type  were  //  Proletario, 
La  Riscossa  and  L'Era  Nuova. 

The  Italian  and  other  Foreign  Socialist  sheets  were  worse  than 
the  German  because,  no  doubt,  less  liable  to  suspicion  and  stoppage. 
La  Parola  Proletario  for  instance*  urged  the  people  to  "overthrow 
all  religions,  all  the  bourgeois  governments  and  the  infamy  of  capi- 
talism," and  described  the  calling  to  the  colours  of  the  drafted  men 
as  "the  bagging  of  human  flesh  for  the  great  slaughter."  Obrana, 
a  Bohemian  journal  of  New  York,  and  the  Hungarian  Elore  of  New 
York,  were  even  worse,  while  some  English-speaking  journals  were 
fully  as  bad.  The  N.Y.  Irish  World  was  in  a  class  by  itself.  The 
Freeman's  Journal,  also  of  New  York,  ran  it  pretty  close  in  abuse  of 
England,  while  Viereck's  Fatherland  and  Hearst's  papers  throughout 

*NOTE. — N.Y.  Tribune,  Translation:  Sept.  12. 


GERMAN  PLOTS  AND  PROPAGANDA  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  267 

the  country  maintained  an  almost  equal  level.  Government  treat- 
ment of  this  I.W.W.  by-product  of  Socialism  was  at  first  cautious; 
eventually  it  was  firm  and  vigorous.  Enemy  agents,  spies  and 
doubtful  foreign  characters  were  watched  and  many  quietly  arrested 
and  interned  after  Apr.  2,  and  the  acquisition  of  the  necessary  powers. 
There  was  an  active  Bureau  of  Investigation  and  the  Department  of 
Justice  helped  wherever  possible.  As  early  as  Apr.  6  Mr.  Gregory, 
Attorney-General,  ordered  the  arrest,  without  reference  to  Courts 
or  warrants,  of  60  alleged  ringleaders  in  various  plots — all  German 
subjects  and  known  to  be  active  enemies;  this  was  promptly  fol- 
lowed by  the  President's  Proclamation  defining  treason,  its  nature 
and  penalties  under  American  laws;  and  another  prohibiting  Ger- 
man-owned Insurance  Companies  from  transacting  Marine  or  War 
insurance. 

The  first  legislative  action  affecting  these  elements  was  the  Trad- 
ing with  the  Enemy  Bill  which,  amongst  other  things,  placed  all 
Foreign  language  publications  and  also  disloyal  or  seditious  English 
publications,  under  a  censorship  composed  of  local  Postmasters  and 
made  it  unlawful  to  circulate  or  transport  publications  noii-mailable 
under  the  Espionage  Bill.  Mr.  Burleson,  Postmaster-General,  issued 
an  explanation  on  Oct.  26  of  the  terms  of  the  latter  Act  and  defined 
the  nature  of  such  publications  as  any  which  advocated  treason  or 
forcible  resistance  to  a  law,  gave  false  reports  as  to  the  war,  taught 
insubordination  in  military  or  naval  forces,  obstructed  enlistment, 
or  violated  any  part  of  the  Espionage  Act,  or  were  printed  in  foreign 
languages  without  the  local  Postmaster's  consent.  A  barred  zone 
was  established  (Nov.  10)  at  certain  points  within  which  enemy 
aliens  were  not  allowed,  a  Censorship  organized,  Enemy  Fire  and 
Casualty  insurance  ordered  into  liquidation  and  a  National  Intelli- 
gence Service  formed  to  combine  the  work  of  all  Secret  Service 
bureaux.  As  the  year  closed  street  meetings  labelled  Socialist  and 
pertaining  to  the  violent  branch  of  that  vague-thinking  body  were 
prohibited  or  broken  up  and  their  headquarters  in  Chicago  and 
New  York  searched  and  papers  seized.  On  Sept.  5  the  Government 
took  drastic  action  to  stop  the  I.W.W.  branch  of  the  anti-War 
agitation  and  by  a  co-ordinated  plan  the  headquarters  at  Chicago, 
Minneapolis,  Denver,  Salt  Lake  City,  Duluth,  Detroit,  and  many 
other  centres  right  through  to  the  Pacific  Coast  and  San  Francisco, 
Seattle,  Los  Angeles,  Tacoma,  Portland,  etc.,  were  raided. 

Large  quantities  of  letters,  checks,  literature,  and  documents 
were  seized  and  Scranton,  Pa.,  found  to  be  the  real  headquarters  of 
the  organization.  On  the  28th,  under  blanket  indictment  charging 
a  nation-wide  conspiracy  by  166  leaders  of  the  I.W.W.  to  hamper 
the  Government's  war  efforts,  wholesale  arrests  were  made  in  differ- 
ent centres  which  included  W.  D.  Hay  wood,  Richard  Brazier,  G. 
Audreychine  and  other  officials,  with  R.  H.  Chaplin,  editor  of 
Solidarity,  C.  Rothfisher,  Editor  of  Berguinkas,  and  by  Oct.  2,  140 
others — of  whom  more  than  half  were  Germans  or  Austrians.  The 
indictments  against  these  men  covered  40  printed  pages  and  alleged 
15,000  offences  under  ten  specific  heads — one  of  the  worst  being  a 
book  on  Sabotage  by  Emil  Fouget,and  published  by  the  organization 


268  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

in  different  languages,  which  gave  detailed  instruction  to  strikers 
how  to  destroy  ovens,  disable  machines  and  injure  industries  so  as 
to  indefinitely  delay  production. 

There  were  many  other  Court  cases  dealing  with  matters  of 
sedition  or  pro-German  work.  The  payment  of  $60,000  by  Wolf 
Von  Igel,  acting  for  the  German  Ambassador,  to  the  Hindu,  Dr. 
Chakraberty,  and  a  German  chemist  named  Sckunner,  for  the 
fomenting  of  a  rebellion  in  India,  as  well  as  a  widespread  conspiracy 
to  this  end,  were  indicated  in  papers  found  when  these  men  were 
arrested  at  New  York  on  Mar.  6;  at  New  York  on  Oct.  5  Hugo 
Schmidt  testified  as  to  the  $1,600,000  placed  to  his  credit  in  1916 
by  Von  Bernstorff  and  the  German  Foreign  Office  for  the  French 
operations  of  Bolo  Pasha;  at  Chicago  in  October  four  men  named 
Boehm,  Wehde,  Jacobsen  and  Gupta,  were  tried  before  Judge 
Landis  for  stirring  up  sedition  in  India  and  receiving,  through  Baron 
Von  Reiswitz,  $20,000  to  help  in  a  plot  which  ran  in  varied  activities 
from  San  Francisco  to  Siam. 

A  Court-Martial  was  held  during  November  and  December  on 
more  than  100  American  soldiers  for  pro-German  utterances  and 
activities  and  the  sentencing  of  one-third  to  the  Penitentiary  and  the 
others  to  dishonourable  discharge  from  the  Army;  the  continued 
trial  from  1916  occurred  of  Franz  Bopp,  Von  Brincken,  Von  Schack, 
Von  Koolbergen  and  others  at  San  Francisco  for  (1)  violating  Ameri- 
can neutrality  by  setting  afoot  a  military  enterprise  against  Canada 
(C.P.R.)  in  aid  of  Germany,  and  (2)  of  conspiring  to  dynamite 
munition  shipments,  with  conviction  and  two-year  terms  of  im- 
prisonment; at  New  York  on  Feb.  21  Sander  and  Wunnenberg — the 
latter  for  25  years  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United  States — were 
arrested  on  the  charge  of  employing  agents,  on  an  extensive  scale, 
to  obtain  maps,  photographs,  and  other  military  information  in 
England  and  Ireland  for  the  benefit  of  Germany;  at  Hoboken 
(Mar.  6)  Fritz  Kolb  and  Hans  Schwartz  were  arrested  charged  with 
plotting  to  aid  Germany  by  blowing  up  munition  plants  in  the 
States — whether  the  United  States  was  at  war  or  neutral  did  not 
matter. 

On  Mar.  9  Ali  Fritzen  was  arrested  on  an  indictment  charging 
him,  Von  Papen,  Von  Igel  and  Tauscher,  with  sharing  in  a  con- 
spiracy to  blow  up  the  Welland  Canal,  pleaded  guilty  and  was  given 
a  short  term  in  the  Penitentiary;  for  plotting  to  place  incendiary 
bombs  made  at  Hoboken  in  the  cargoes  of  ships  leaving  New  York, 
six  Germans  were  on  Apr.  6  sentenced  to  terms  in  gaol;  on  the  7th 
a  number  of  Germans  were  arrested  at  Buffalo,  Chicago,  Tuckerton, 
N.J.,  El  Paso,  etc.,  together  with  Rao  Chandra  of  the  Hindu  Ghadyr, 
and  charged  with  plots  of  varied  character — the  latter  being  mixed 
up  with  Chakraberty  and  Gupta  in  the  India  plots  engineered  by 
Von  Papen  and  Von  Igel;  at  San  Francisco  on  July  7,  139  indict- 
ments were  fyled  against  R.  Capelle  of  the  North  German  Lloyds, 
and  H.  C.  Kauffman  and  A.  H.  Von  Schack  of  the  local  German 
Consulate,  F.  Von  Papen,  C.  D.  Bunker,  local  Shipping  Agent, 
Capt.  T.  A.  Anderson  of  the  Sacramento,  Ram  Chandra,  Louis 
Hengsler,  Hans  Tauscher,  husband  of  Mme.  Gadski,  and  others 


GERMAN  PLOTS  AND  PROPAGANDA  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  269 

prominent  in  Pacific  coast  shipping,  charging  them  with  assisting  to 
supply  German  warships  in  the  Pacific  with  arms,  ammunition,  coal, 
and  with  having  planned  revolution  in  India,  and  acted  generally 
as  if  the  United  States  were  at  war  with  England. 

On  Aug.  9  Alvo  Von  Alvensleben  and  two  other  Germans  were 
arrested  at  Seattle  and  interned  on  the  charge  of  plotting  "to  obtain 
military  secrets  from  the  naval  station  at  Bremerton,  and  the  pro- 
motion of  German  propaganda";  at  Concord,  Mass.  (Sept.  19), 
Gaston  Means,  when  arrested,  was  found  to  have  a  mass  of  docu- 
ments connected  with  Von  Papen's  spy  system;  a  raid  in  New  York 
on  Sept.  27  resulted  in  the  arrest  of  90  skilled  German  and  other 
foreign  mechanics  employed  in  plants  working  on  Government  con- 
tracts, and  the  finding  in  their  possession  of  important  Navy  details, 
blue-prints,  charts,  maps,  and  other  documents;  at  New  York  on 
Oct.  11  indictments  against  Reister,  Zeffert,  Uhde,  Von  Rintelen 
(already  in  gaol) ,  Bode,  Wolpert,  Sternberg,  Scheele,  and  others  who 
had  fled  the  country  charged  them  "with  conspiring  to  destroy  Allied 
ships  at  this  port  before  the  States  entered  the  War"  and  included 
the  ever-present  Von  Papen. 

Government  investigations  in  October  as  to  the  schemes  of  Bolo 
Pasha  showed  that  Pavenstedt,  a  New  York  banker  who  conducted 
Bolo's  negotiations  with  Von  Bernstorff,  had  lent  $15,000  to  Ridder 
of  the  New  York  Staats-Zeitung  which  had  come  from  Dr.  Dernberg 
when  Director  of  German  propaganda  in  America;  others  of  Paven- 
stedt's  cheques  were  payable  to  the  Deutsches  Journal  (dated  Jan. 
12,  1916,  and  endorsed  by  W.  R.  Hearst),  and  one  of  Jan.  31,  1917, 
was  payable  to  the  American  Truth  Society  and  endorsed  by  J.  A. 
O'Leary;  indictments  were  returned  at  Newark  on  Nov.  9  against 
Benedict  Prieth  and  other  officials  of  the  New  Jersey  Freie  Zeitung, 
charging  them  with  treason  based  upon  29  editorial  extracts  from  this 
paper. 

^  At  the  trial  of  A.  C.  Kaltschmidt  of  Detroit  charged  with  "con- 
spiracy to  dynamite  private  and  public  property  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada,"  R.  Herrman  testified  that  Kaltschmidt  engaged 
him  to  inspect  the  tunnel  under  the  St.  Clair  River  between  Port 
Huron  and  Sarnia,  Ontario,  in  order  to  see  if  its  destruction  by 
dynamite  was  practicable,  and  that  he  finally  decided  to  use  a  device 
which  was  to  be  senl  into  the  tunnel  with  a  time-clock  bomb.  Other 
evidence  showed  that  this  man  received  $28,000  from  the  German 
Embassy,  and  Fritz  Neff,  who  made  the  bombs,  testified  that  more 
than  a  year  before  Kaltsehmidt  told  him  Germans  in  Detroit  were 
plotting  to  dynamite  factories  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
Karl  Schmidt  stated  that  in  1915  he  was  sent  by  Kaltschmidt  to 
Duluth  to  purchase  dynamite  and  then  to  the  district  around  Nipi- 
gon,  Ontario,  to  inspect  the  tracks  of  the  C.P.R. — though  he  did 
not  know  of  any  intended  violence.  Five  of  the  prisoners  were 
convicted  and  Kaltschmidt  on  Dec.  22  was  sentenced  to  four  years 
imprisonment  and  fined  $20,000  and  the  others  in  proportion— 
Neff's  wife  being  given  two  years  and  fined  $15,000.  At  the  end  of 
the  year  San  Francisco,  which  had  long  been  the  headquarters  of 
Indian  sedition  on  this  continent,  saw  the  trial  of  Bhagwan  Singh, 


270  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

also  known  in  Vancouver,  and  charged  with  a  share  in  creating  the 
troubles  which  arose  at  Singapore  and  the  later  plots  at  Lahore 
during  the  War.  Like  many  of  the  other  Hindus  already  mentioned 
he  was  associated  with  The  Ghadyr  of  San  Francisco. 

Such  were  a  few  of  the  indications  of  that  strong  undercurrent 
of  sedition  and  violence  which  moved  below  the  surface  of  American 
society  and  life  during  these  years.  It  took  all  forms  and  used  all 
possible  instruments,  it  was  in  the  main  sordid  in  motive  or  brutal 
in  plan  and  practice,  it  had  none  of  the  high  ideals  which,  in  mis- 
taken but  obvious  ways,  influence  open  rebellion  against  alleged 
wrongs.  Of  course,  the  German-American  Alliance,  said  to  repre- 
sent 3,000,000  members  when  the  United  States  entered  the  War, 
professed  loyalty;  in  fact  it  did  so  at  an  Executive  meeting  on  Feb. 
8,  and  by  Resolution  stated  that  "in  case  of  hostilities  the  Society 
will  organize  regiments  of  German-Americans  and  fight  under  the 
command  of  President  Wilson  as  loyally  as  we  did  under  Abraham 
Lincoln  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union."  Dr.  C.  A.  Hexamer, 
the  President,  also  announced  that  they  had  instructed  collections 
for  the  German  Red  Cross  and  other  Funds  to  cease  in  the  Society 
and  that  he  had  written  to  its  members  urging  loyalty  to  America. 
Through  its  Executive,  the  New  York  German  Alliance  on  Sept.  3 
re-affirmed  its  loyalty  but  did  not  discuss  the  War  though  it  did 
receive  a  report  stating  that  21,000  children  in  the  State  schools 
were  studying  German.  It  was  not  considered  wise  to  hold  German 
Conventions,  either  National  or  State,  in  view  of  the  plots  publicly 
known  and  publicly  unknown.  Despite  the  loyalty  of  men  like 
Maj.-Gen.  J.  E.  Kuhn,  Congressman  Julius  Kahn,  Otto  H.  Kahn, 
the  New  York  banker,  and  many  private  German  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  it  is  not  difficult  to  estimate  the  danger  to  the  coun- 
try which  centred  in  this  movement  and  its  racial,  Socialistic  and 
other  collateral  elements. 

Pacifists  in  The   result   of   educational   looseness   of   thought, 

States^Peace  Pu^c  ignorance  of  the  complexities  of  international 
Organizations  ^e  or  the  living  lessons  of  history,  contempt  for 
and  the  War.  precedent  and  the  products  of  past  thinking  or  experi- 
ence— many  of  the  difficulties  innate  in  democracy — 
were  embodied  in  United  States  Pacificism  during  these  War  years. 
The  conditions  created  were  not  fundamental  but  the  vicious  and 
the  weak,  the  corrupt  and  the  foolish,  the  merely  selfish  and  the 
wholly  German,  the  American  sentimentalist  and  the  Germanized 
militarist,  were  merged  in  a  confused  mass  which  tried  to  control 
public  opinion  by  vigorous  agitation  in  favour  of  Peace.  As  the 
New  York  Tribune  put  it  (Aug.  24):  "Sedition  has  gone  hand  in 
hand  with  Pacificism,  and  the  pro-Germans  have  joined  hands  with 
the  anarchists.  There  has  been  a  din  and  disturbance  on  the  sur- 
face unparalleled  in  our  history." 

Yet  the  great  majority  of  the  people  swung  into  line  behind 
the  President  and  presented  a  strong  war  front — weakened  only 
in  places  by  the  treachery  and  folly  of  the  Pacifists.  The  common- 
places of  this  school  were  and  are  well  known  and  were  sum  Diarized 


AMERICAN  PACIFISTS  AND  THEIR  PEACE  ORGANIZATIONS    271 

in  a  spirit  of  earnest  belief  by  Rev.  J.  Howard  Melish  (Holy  Trinity 
Church,  New  York)  in  The  Outlook.  United  States  rights  to  him 
were  equally  menaced  by  Germany  and  by  Great  Britain;  the 
assassin's  bullet  of  a  German  Submarine  was  preferable  to  the 
slow  starvation  of  a  British  blockade;  all  the  belligerents  were  beyond 
the  pale  of  morality;  to  spread  and  advance  democracy  the  best 
course  was  to  keep  out  of  the  War  and  ensure  a  peace  without 
victory;  it  was  the  duty  of  America  to  suffer  and  endure  and  to 
appeal  from  Germany  drunk  to  Germany  sober! 

Such  views  in  varied  form  were  preached  hourly  and  daily  during 
these  years,  from  the  public  rostrum  and  the  pulpit  down  to  the 
soap-box  of  New  York  parks — with  millions  of  the  people  also  reached 
by  the  literary  propaganda  which  went  into  every  city,  town  and 
hamlet.  Some  of  the  advocates  were  sincere  and  honest;  others 
were  described  by  Elihu  Root  on  his  return  from  Russia  (New  York, 
Aug.  14)  as  follows:  "Here,  as  in  Russia,  German  money  is  seeping 
through  the  country  seeking  to  undermine  the  press  and  public  men 
and  to  establish  a  structure  of  treason.  Here,  as  there,  are  weak  senti- 
mentalists who  lend  themselves  to  the  most  terrible  enemy  of  peace 
and  justice  and  humanity  since  the  fall  of  Ghengis  Khan.  Here, 
as  there,  are  men  who  proclaim  their  patriotism  and  sell  their 
country."  There  were  Pacifists  such  as  Prof .  Bushnell  Hart  of  Harvard, 
who  described  the  causes  of  the  War  as  too  numerous,  deeply  con- 
cealed, and  involved,  for  common  understanding;  Prof.  D.  A.  Muzzey 
of  Columbia  University,  who  said  in  a  speech  on  Feb.  6  that  "before 
going  to  war  I  would  wait  until  they  had  sunk  seventy  times  seven 
ships,  and  then  I  wouldn't  go  to  war — I  would  wait  until  they  had 
insulted  us  and  then  till  they  were  sick  of  insulting  us";  Prof.  Scott 
Nearing  of  Toledo  University,  who  was  a  leader  in  the  anti-war 
movement  and  thought  the  matter  of  going  into  the  War  could 
be  settled  best  by  a  Referendum;  Amos  Pinchot,  who  denounced 
"the  dollar  patriots  and  undesirable  citizens"  who  were  forcing 
the  Republic  into  war;  Prof.  Simon  N.  Patten  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  who  was  a  conspicuous  and  respected  believer 
in  the  ideal  side  of  Pacificism;  Tom  Watson  of  Georgia,  whose  paper 
The  Jejfersonian  was  so  scurrilous  as  to  be  unquotable. 

These  men,  and  others  of  every  type,  were  mixed  up  together 
with  a  common  label  of  Pacifist.  It  was  sometimes  unjust,  just 
as  was  the  suspicion  that  any  but  a  small  minority  of  the  60  per  cent, 
of  American  University  professors,  whom  Prof.  W.  H.  Wood 
of  Hamline  University  stated  to  have  studied  in  Germany,  were 
disloyal.  Most  of  them  were  loyal  Americans  and  only  a  minority 
were  Pacifists  (even  in  principle)  but  those  that  were  so  became 
prominent.  Henry  Ford  continued  to  be  a  type  of  many  Ameri- 
cans— active  in  Pacificism  until  his  country  was  in  the  War  and 
then  publicly  loyal  to  his  Government.  As  he  put  it  at  Detroit 
on  Oct.  16,  so  many  felt:  "Although  there  is  not  a  man  in  the  world 
more  opposed  to  war  than  myself,  I  feel  that  we  must  support 
pur  Government  to  the  limit  in  this  war  because  our  President 
is  pledged  to  abolish  future  wars  as  far  as  possible."  Yet,  only 


272  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

a  few  months  before  (Feb.  8)  the  N.  Y.   Tribune  had  contained 
an  interview  in  which  Mr.  Ford  said : 

What  I  fear  are  the  machinations  of  roaring  lions,  who  really  are  the  tools  of  the 
interests  which  make  money  out  of  war.  If  the  Germans  do  not  sink  one  of  our  ships 
without  warning  I  fear  that  one  will  be  sunk,  anyway,  by  agents  of  the  influences 
which  do  not  desire  peace.  I  could  not  help  having  a  feeling  of  that  kind  in  regard 
to  the  Lusitania.  Although  there  had  been  warning  that  the  ship  would  be  attacked, 
she  ran  into  the  war  zone  at  half  speed  and  was  not  provided  with  an  escort. 

Waiving  this  covert  charge  against  the  British  Government 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  according  to  statements  presented  to 
Congress  in  July,  1917,  Mr.  Ford  had  a  net  gain  in  materials,  cash 
and  buildings  for  his  Company,  during  this  War  period,  of  $86,000,000, 
while  his  War  orders  to  December,  1917,  totalled  $200,000,000! 
Of  the  political  Pacifists  Senator  R.  M.  La  Follette  was  the  leader. 
In  addition  to  his  part  in  holding  up  the  President's  War  measures 
at  the  close  of  the  64th  Congress  he  tried  on  Aug.  11  to  embarrass 
the  Administration  by  presenting  a  long  Resolution  to  the  Senate 
which  demanded  an  explanation  and  re-statement  of  the  reasons 
for  which  the  country  was  going  to  war,  urged  a  disavowal  of  all 
advantages,  acquisitions,  privileges  or  economic  benefits  to  be 
derived  therefrom,  and  declared  that: 

This  Government  will  not  contribute  to  the  efforts  of  any  belligerent  for  the 
purpose  of  prolonging  the  War  to  annex  new  territory,  either  in  Europe  or  outside 
of  Europe,  nor  to  enforce  the  payment  of  indemnities  to  recover  the  expenses  of  the 
War;  but  the  Congress  does  hereby  declare  in  favour  of  the  creation  of  a  Common 
Fund,  to  be  provided  by  all  the  belligerent  nations,  to  assist  in  the  restoration  of  the 
portions  of  territory  in  any  of  the  countries  most  seriously  devastated  by  the  War , 
and  for  the  establishment  of  an  International  Commission  to  decide  the  allotment 
of  the  Common  Fund. 

Senator  W.  H.  King  offered  another  Resolution  which  in  set 
terms  demanded  German  confession  and  expiation  of  crime  as  a 
preliminary  to  peace.  Neither  came  to  a  vote  during  this  Session. 
Besides  these  and  similar  actions  wide  discussion  was  caused  by 
Senator  La  Follette's  speech  at  St.  Paul*  in  which  he  said:  "For  my 
own  part,  I  was  not  in  favour  of  beginning  the  War.  I  would  not 
be  understood  as  saying  we  didn't  have  grievances;  we  did,  but  they 
were  insufficient,  considering  the  amount  and  the  rights  involved." 
Much  newspaper  denunciation,  many  petitions  to  Congress,  many 
speeches  and  letters,  were  the  result  of  his  policy  and  views.  Action 
was  urged  and  investigations  started  by  Congress  but  Mr.  La  Fol- 
lette told  the  Senate  on  Oct.  6  that  "not  by  the  breadth  of  a  hair" 
would  he  turn  from  his  course,  and  he  did  not  do  so.  With  him  in 
the  Senate  were  others  of  both  parties  such  as  W.  J.  Stone,  who 
presided  over  the  Foreign  Affairs  Committee,  opposed  many  of 
the  President's  measures,  and  made  public  on  Mar.  3  a  description 
of  certain  plans  for  protecting  United  States  ships  in  the  War  zone 
— while  receiving  a  position  of  illustrated  honour  in  Viereck's  Father- 
land as  "the  champion  of  peace  and  Democracy;"  J.  A.  Reed  of 
Missouri,  Gronna  of  North  Dakota,  T.  W.  Hardwick  of  Georgia, 
L.  Y.  Sherman  of  Illinois,  T.  P.  Gore  of  Oklahoma,  J.  K.  Vardaman 

— Reported  in  N.Y.  Tribune  of  Oct.  5, 


AMERICAN  PACIFISTS  AND  THEIR  PEACE  ORGANIZATIONS    273 

of  Mississippi,  and  a  few  others  who  were  either  pro-German  or 
to  whom  the  sun  rose  and  set  solely  for  the  States  which  they  indi- 
vidually represented. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  on  Sept.  27  J.  T.  Heflin  of 
Alabama,  in  dealing  with  Von  Bernstorff's  request  to  Berlin  for 
money  to  influence  Congress,  demanded  an  investigation  into  the 
activities  of  the  following  members :  Senator  La  Follette  and  Con- 
gressmen W.  E.  Mason  and  F.  A.  Britten,  Illinois,  P.  D.  Norton 
and  J.  M.  Baer,  North  Dakota.  Nothing  came  of  it  however. 
Claude  Kitchin,  a  leader  of  this  House,  opposed  much  of  the  War 
legislation  and  was  an  avowed  Pacifist;  Champ  Clark  of  Canadian 
annexation-reciprocity  fame  was  a  vigorous  opponent  of  the  Draft 
policy  and  James  R.  Mann,  a  Republican  candidate  for  Speaker, 
was  a  strong  Pacifist;  the  only  woman  member,  Miss  Rankin,  was 
regarded  as  an  ally  of  the  most  sentimental  and  strenuous  peace- 
advocates.  Outside  Congress  W.  H.  Thompson,  Mayor  of  Chicago, 
was  a  vigorous  leader  of  this  school  of  thought  and  made  himself 
conspicuous  by  refusing  to  invite  Marshal  Joffre  and  Mr.  Balfour 
to  his  City.  All  kinds  of  protests  poured  in  upon  him  and  all  sorts 
of  action  were  taken  by  public  bodies,  but  he  had  a  large  German- 
foreign  electorate  and  did  not  seem  to  care.  His  organ,  The  Repub- 
lican, was  bitterly  anti-war — "Peace  crucified  on  the  altar  of  com- 
mercialism" being  one  of  its  phrases. 

New  York's  Mayoralty  contest  in  1917  was  fought  between 
Pacificism,  said  to  be  represented  by  the  Irish  Tammany  candidate, 
Judge  J.  F.  Hylan,  who  was  also  supported  by  W.  R.  Hearst;  Morris 
Hillquit,  the  Socialist  and  alleged  pro-German  candidate,  and  Mayor 
Mitchel.  Mr.  Hylan,  who  was  ultimately  elected,  was  charged 
with  being  an  Hon.  Vice-President  of  the  disloyal  "Friends  of 
Peace"  organization  and  on  the  Bqard  of  a  subsidiary  Printers' 
Association,  of  which  two  Germans — Schwartzer  and  Weismann — 
were  the  chief  officers;  an  advertisement  appeared  in  German, 
signed  by  Germans  in  New  York  which  declared  him  "the  only 
non-German  official  in  Brooklyn  who  had  a  good  word  for  the  German 
cause."  He  denied  pro-Germanism  and  after  his  election,  by  the 
biggest  plurality  ever  accorded  in  New  York,  declared  himself  back 
of  the  President  in  his  War  policy.  Mr.  Hillquit,  who  received 
142,178  votes  to  Mr.  Hylan's  149,307,  had  the  strong  Socialist 
support  with  that  of  all  the  elements  crowding  under  its  red  flag. 
He  emphatically  stood  for  peace,  or  as  he  put  it  on  Sept.  23:  "Not 
warfare  and  terrorism,  but  socialism  and  social  justice  will  make 
the  world  safe  for  democracy."  He  had  the  support  of  the  extreme 
Irish  organizations  and  stood  for  "a  democratic  revolution  in  Ire- 
land"; while  "we  want  Peace,  we  are  opposed  to  War,"  was  the 
strident  note  of  his  campaign.  Mayor  Mitchel  described  him  on 
Oct.  1  as  the  "avowed  Socialist  and  Pacifist,  avowed  opponent  of 
military  service  and  of  this  War." 

Standing  out  all  through  this  period  as  an  opponent  of  friendly 
relations  with  the  British  Allies,  or  of  conflict  with  Germany,  was 
Wm.  Randolph  Hearst  and  his  string  of  newspapers.  To  him 

La  Follette  was  "the  conscience  of  America";  to  him    and    his 
is 


274  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

press  Mayor  Mitchel  and  his  candidacy  owed,  in  part,  their  defeat; 
to  him  Bolo  Pasha  was  introduced  and  he  attended  a  dinner  given 
by  that  German  agent  when  in  New  York;  of  him  and  his  papers 
the  German  press  at  the  outbreak  of  the  War  spoke  highly  and  the 
Caillaux  press  in  France  at  a  latter  date  warmly;  for  his  European 
press-cable  agencies  both  the  British  and  French  Governments 
sought  suppression  on  the  ground  of  inaccurate  and  padded,  anti- 
Ally  and  pro-German  material.  According  to  the  New  York  Tribune, 
in  its  "Who's  Who  Against  America,"  Mr.  Hearst  had  three  general 
principles  in  this  anti-war  campaign:  "The  1st  was  to  advocate 
peace  proposals  on  Germany's  terms;  the  2nd  to  magnify,  if  not 
actually  glorify,  Germany's  virtues  and  formidable  powers  and 
incidentally,  to  instil  distrust  of  the  Allies;  the  3rd  was  to  ham- 
string war  measures  necessary  for  the  United  States." 

On  the  entry  of  the  United  States  there  was  in  the  Hearst  papers 
some  camouflage  as  to  the  great  things  which  America  must  do; 
afterwards  pessimism  was  an  abounding  product — the  War  to  last 
7  or  10  years  and  the  result  to  be  a  draw  and  so  on.  The  Hearst 
correspondent  in  Germany,  Wm.  Bayard  Hale,  was  described  in 
German  despatches,  which  were  caught  and  published,  as  a  friend 
of  their  cause;  his  correspondence  in  the  New  York  American  cer- 
tainly was  as  pro-German  as  could  be  desired.  During  1917  Mr. 
Hearst  obtained  control  of  the  Washington  Times  and  it  at  once 
became  a  Peace  organ.  Speaking  of  him  on  Nov.  2,  1917,  James 
M.  Beck  referred  in  New  York  to  his  ownership  of  17  newspapers 
and  magazines  in  Boston,  New  York,  Atlanta,  Chicago,  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Los  Angeles  with  a  daily  audience  of  5,000,000  people 
and  added:  "It  is  thus  within  Mr.  Hearst's  power  to  convey  to  these 
millions  the  subtle  poison  of  insidiously  disloyal  utterances,  and 
it  may  be  said  without  exaggeration  that  the  greatest  menace  to 
the  part  which  America  is  destined  to  play  in  the  struggle,  comes 
from  the  Hearst  press." 

The  Irish  element  was  to  a  considerable  extent  Pacifist — so  far 
as  this  War  was  concerned.  J.  A.  O'Leary  was  the  most  conspicu- 
ous of  the  extremists  and  was  President  of  the  American  Truth 
Society — composed  of  a  number  of  organizations  originally  formed 
to  resist  the  celebration  of  100  years  of  peace  between  Britain  and 
the  States  and  to  foster  interest  in  German  development.  He  was 
mentioned  as  trustworthy  in  one  of  the  secret  German  documents 
made  public  by  the  Government  and  he  published  a  paper  called 
Bull  which  proclaimed  that  the  United  States  was  conducting  an 
unjust  war  as  "the  vassal  of  England,"  that  an  early  peace  must 
be  made,  that  anything  must  be  done  to  avoid  a  hideous  American 
partnership  with  a  bankrupt  and  disintegrated  British  Empire. 

In  the  private  papers  of  the  New  York  Staats-Zeitung  the  authori- 
ties found  a  letter  in  which  O'Leary  urged  Herman  Ridder  to  oppose 
the  War  and  put  more  "punch"  into  his  editorials.  Associated 
with  O'Leary  were  Judge  Daniel  Cohalan,  John  Devoy  of  the 
Gaelic-American,  Viereck,  Braun  and  other  Germans,  whom  Wash- 
ington indicted  publicly  as  working  for  the  German  cause;  with 
him,  also,  were  the  Friends  of  Irish  Freedom  who  filled  New  York 


AMERICAN  PACIFISTS  AND  THEIR  PEACE  ORGANIZATIONS   275 

streets  and  parks  for  a  while  with  anti-war  orators.  On  the  other 
hand  a  large  section  of  Irish-Americans  were  conspicuous  in  their 
loyalty  when  war  was  once  declared — President  John  Whalen  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Catholic  Societies,  for  instance,  stating 
on  Aug.  27  that  "whether  the  struggle  be  long  or  short  we  pledge 
the  undeviating  loyalty  to  our  country  of  3,000,000  Catholic  men 
and  women";  Cardinal  Gibbons  was  an  outstanding  opponent  of 
Pacificism  as  a  principle  and  of  war  as  a  practice,  while  urging  "an 
abiding  faith  in  the  wisdom  and  judgment  of  the  President." 

There  were  many  Pacifist  organizations  at  this  time  in  the 
States  but  the  older  ones,  based  upon  real  principle  and  not  sedition 
or  Socialism,  were  more  or  less  quiet  in  face  of  the  great  issue — as, 
for  instance,  the  Carnegie  Endowment  for  International  Peace 
which  stood  behind  the  President,  the  International  Peace  Forum 
of  which  men  like  W.  H.  Taft,  Andrew  Carnegie,  etc.,  were  officers, 
the  American  Peace  and  Arbitration  League.  Of  quite  a  different 
character  were  the  League  for  World  Peace,  of  which  David  Starr 
Jordan  was  a  Vice-President,  the  Women's  Peace  Party,  of  which 
Jane  Addams  was  the  leader  and  Henry  Ford  a  victim,  and  the 
German- American  Alliance;  the  American  Embargo  Conference 
organized  by  Von  Bernstorff  to  prevent  shipments  of  Munitions 
to  Great  Britain,  and  which  from  its  German  friends  in  Chicago, 
Cleveland,  Boston,  New  York,  etc.,  sent  in  April,  1916,  100,000 
telegrams  to  Congress  demanding  that  the  "enormous  crime"  of 
war  with  Germany  be  not  perpetrated;  Labour's  National  Peace 
Council  which  had  a  similar  origin  and  ex-Congressman  F.  Buchanan, 
David  Lamar,  Franz  Von  Rintelen  and  other  seditionists  as  the 
chief  officers,  and  was  associated  with  O'Leary's  American  Truth 
Society;  the  Neutral  Conference  Committee,  another  organization 
of  the  same  nature  and  the  Collegiate  League  against  Militarism 
with  members  in  35  colleges  and  the  publication  of  a  Peace  journal 
called  War;  the  Anti-Militarism  League,  and  the  Committee  for 
Democratic  Control  headed  by  Amos  Pinchot,  pro-German  Pacifisl , 
and  Max  Eastman,  Socialist;  the  American  Peace  Society  of  which 
G.  W.  Kirchwey  was  President. 

There  were  three  main  organizations,  however,  in  1917  and  the 
most  conspicuous  was  the  Emergency  Peace  Federation  founded 
in  New  York  on  Feb.  6  with  G.  W.  Kirchwey  as  President,  G.  F. 
Peabody  as  Treasurer,  and  a  platform  of  "Keep  America  Out 
of  War  and  Its  Intended  Consequences,"  with  an  immediate  pro- 
gramme of  sending  telegrams,  letters  and  advertisements  to  all 
parts  of  the  country  urging  people  to  wire  their  Representatives 
and  Senators  to  vote  against  war.  Mr.  Bryan  led  its  Peace  lobby 
at  Washington  and  a  Woman's  Committee  of  the  Federation  was 
formed  with  Mrs.  Henry  Villard,  owner  of  the  N.  Y.  Evening  Post 
and  widow  of  its  German  founder,  as  Chairman.  On  Feb.  24  a 
Manifesto  was  issued  urging  concerted  action  to  influence  Congress 
against  war,  separate  telegrams  were  sent  to  Senator  Stone,  Champ 
Clark,  Claude  Kitchin  and  Vice-President  Marshall,  supporting 
"Peace"  and  emphasizing  these  points; 


276  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

1.  No  declaration  of  war  without  an  advisory  Referendum  by  the  people. 

2.  Warn  the  President  and  Congress  against  taking  any  steps  which  may  lead 
us  into  virtual  belligerency  without  a  declaration  of  war  by  Congress. 

3.  Protest  with  all  your  might  against  the  Spy  Bill  which  has  passed  the  Senate 
by  a  vote  of  60  to  10  and  is  now  before  the  Hpuse.     Mention  especially  clause  three, 
which  provides  life  imprisonment  for  any  one  who  causes  disaffection  in  army  or 
military  forces. 

A  mass-meeting  was  held  in  New  York  on  Mar.  9  with  vigorous 
anti-British  and  pro-German  sentiments  expressed.  "Do  we  want 
to  crush  Germany?"  was  received  with  a  roar  of  "Noes";  the  same 
question  as  to  British  sea-power  was  received  with  a  roar  of  cheers. 
A  keen  campaign  was  meanwhile  urged  against  the  arming  of  mer- 
chantmen and  meetings  were  organized  all  over  the  country.  A 
Commission  was  appointed  by  the  Federation  with  Dr.  Starr  Jordan, 
the  Pacifist  leader,  as  Chairman,  and  L.  P.  Lochner  of  Chicago, 
of  German  antecedents  and  Ford  Commission  fame,  as  Secretary, 
to  plan  "immediate  measures  for  keeping  the  country  out  of  war 
and  to  work  for  an  international  peace."  The  country  was  placarded 
with  advertisements,  signed  by  Mrs.  Villard  for  the  Woman's 
Committee,  describing  the  horrors  of  war  and  adding:  "Your  men 
are  to  be  sent  into  this  horrible  butchery — your  husbands,  your 
fathers,  your  sons.  We  have  no  real  cause  for  War."  $200,000 
was  also  asked  for  with  the  concluding  message:  "Mothers,  save 
your  sons!  Daughters,  save  your  Fathers!"  Money  came  in 
and  the  Pacifists  advanced  on  Washington  with  all  the  personal 
and  political  pressure  they  could  bring  to  bear. 

Following  this  and  the  declaration  of  war  the  People's  Council 
of  America  for  Democracy  and  Peace  came  to  the  front — not  in 
Europe — as  a  merger  of  the  above  and  other  Societies.  It  appar- 
ently had  plenty  of  means,  its  offices  in  New  York,  etc.,  were  im- 
posing, its  pamphlets  urged  amongst  other  things  "an  early,  general 
and  democratic  peace,  to  be  secured  through  negotiation  and  in 
harmony  with  the  principles  outlined  by  the  new  Russia."  They 
denounced  the  alleged  abrogation  of  United  States  rights  of  free 
speech,  free  press  and  free  assembly,  and  undertook  to  flood  the 
country  with  propaganda  organized  by  J.  D.  Cannon,  a  labour 
leader,  A.  W.  Ricker,  a  magazine  writer,  J.  D.  Maurer,  a  labour 
agitator,  and  Prof.  L.  M.  Keasbey  of  the  University  of  Texas. 
David  Starr  Jordan  was  Treasurer  and  L.  P.  Lochner  Executive 
Secretary;  other  noted  Pacifists  on  the  Committee  were  Rev.  Dr. 
J.  L.  Magnes,  Morris  Hillquit,  Max  Eastman,  Prof.  H.  W.  L.  Dana 
of  Columbia  University;  several  were  of  German  names. 

A  great  Peace  Conference  was  announced  to  be  held  at  Minne- 
apolis on  Sept.  1-6  but  the  Governor  of  Minnesota  decided  to  pro- 
hibit the  meeting  as  hampering  the  Federal  Government  in  its 
prosecution  of  the  War  and  endangering  public  peace;  an  invitation 
came  from  Governor  L.  J.  Frazier  of  N.  Dakota  to  meet  at  Fargo 
but  that  city  refused  to  permit  anything  of  the  kind;  Hudson,  in  Wis- 
consin, Milwaukee,  and  Washington,  followed  suit  and  on  Aug.  30-31 
a  thousand  Pacifists  were  wandering  in  the  wilderness  trying  to  find  a 
meeting  place.  Finally,  a  gathering  was  held  in  Chicago  with  the 
State  Governor  and  Mayor  Thompson  at  loggerheads  in  the  matter. 


AMERICAN  PACIFISTS  AND  THEIR  PEACE  ORGANIZATIONS    277 

At  this  time  Prof.  Scott  Nearing  of  Toledo  University  took 
the  Chairmanship  of  the  Council  and  branches  were  organized 
wherever  possible — some  of  those  in  New  York  having  Chairmen 
with  such  names  as  L.  P.  Goldberg,  Dr.  I.  Kaufman,  A.  C.  Wyman, 
S.  E.  Fructer,  C.  A.  Schneider,  Oscar  Alter,  etc.  The  Cincinnati 
branch  was  organized  by  Colon  Schett  and  D.  Kiefer,  local  pro- 
Germans,  with  Rothenberg  of  Cleveland  as  the  chief  speaker.  Their 
literature  teemed  with  such  statements  as  this:  "The  savage  orgy 
has  dragged  itself  over  three  of  the  blackest  years  that  modern 
history  records.  .  .  .  Sooner  or  later  we  must  begin  the  process 
of  stopping  this  war.  Why  not  now?"  How  this  was  to  be  done 
was  unimportant,  apparently;  the  main  thing  was  to  create  dis- 
affection, pessimism,  division,  weakness,  amongst  American  people. 
A  weekly  journal  commenced  issue  by  the  Council  on  Oct.  10  with 
extreme  Pacificism  as  its  principle  and  denunciation  of  everybody 
and  everything  except  themselves  and  their  own  views.  A  member- 
ship at  this  time  of  1,500,000  was  claimed  with  branches  in  75  cities. 

A  third  organization  of  this  kind  was  the  American  Union  against 
Militarism;  with  its  subsidiary  American  Legal  Defence  League 
intended  to  defend  and  help  supporters  who  were  arrested  or  who 
defied  the  Draft,  etc.  Its  Publicity  Bureau  in  February  started 
a  post-card  canvass  of  100,000  people,  asking  them  if  they  thought 
the  States  should  go  to  war  or  if  they  did  not  prefer  a  Referendum 
— and  declaring  that  "for  2J^  years  (before  entering  the  War) 
President  Wilson  had  given  the  country  an  inspiring  example  of 
patience  and  thoughtful  deliberation."  In  June — after  the  War 
declaration — they  published  advertisements  broadcast  over  the 
country  opposing  private  manufacture  of  munitions  and  compul- 
sory military  training,  or  service,  and  demanding  a  Conference  of 
Neutral  Nations  to  maintain  neutral  rights!  The  signers  of  this 
document  included  Jane  Addams,  Amos  Pinchot,  Eastman  and 
Maurer,  A.  A.  Berle,  and  Crystal  Eastman.  A  Civil  Liberties 
Bureau  was  organized  as  a  centre  and  defence  for  conscientious 
objectors  to  military  service  and  other  affiliated  societies  were  the 
No-Conscription  League  and  the  Federated  Union  for  Democracy 
while  The  Blast,  edited  by  Alex.  Berkman  who  was  in  gaol  for  sedi- 
tion, and  Mother-Earth  of  similar  repute,  were  approved  organs. 

Meanwhile  many  lovers  of  real  peace,  of  honourable  national 
life,  had  abandoned  or  altered  their  Peace  affiliations.  Men  like 
C.  E.  Russell,  A.  L.  Benson,  John  Spargo,  broke  with  German- 
created  and  manipulated  Socialism;  journals  such  as  The  Advocate 
of  Peace  stood  by  the  war-policy  of  the  nation,  while  many  Leagues 
and  organizations  of  a  War  and  Nation-first  character  sprang  into 
existence.  Incidents  of  the  year  which  must  be  mentioned  were 
the  fact  of  100  newspapers  and  magazines  being  under  Government 
investigation  in  September  as  either  dangerously  Socialist,  Pacifist, 
anarchistic  or  pro-German;  the  refusal  of  Geraldine  Farrar,  in  New 
York  on  Feb.  11,  an  admitted  pro-German,  to  sing  the  National 
Anthem;  the  enforced  retirement  of  Dr.  Karl  Muck,  a  Prussian, 
from  the  Directorship  of  the  Boston  Symphony  Orchestra,  because 
of  a  refusal  to  play  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner";  the  decision  of 


278  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  Board  of  the  Metropolitan  Opera  Co.,  New  York,  to  ban  German 
songs  and  release  Ober,  Kurt,  Sembach,  Braun  and  other  German 
singers  from  their  contracts;  the  strong  sentences  passed  by  Judges 
in  different  parts  of  the  country  upon  Pacifists  opposing  Conscrip- 
tion and  the  Draft,  on  the  ground  of  treason. 

WarProduc-  The  wealth  of  the  United  States,  according  to 
tion,  Trade,  the  official  estimates  of  its  Census  Bureau,  was  $43,642,- 
Industryand  000,000  in  1880,  $65,037,000,000  in  1890,  $88,517,- 
*inancem  000,000  in  1900,  and  $187,739,000,000  in  1912. 
The  increase  in  the  last  12  years  was  $8,000,000,000 
a  year  and  John  Skelton  Williams,  Comptroller  of  the  Currency, 
stated  on  May  26,  1917,  that  the  increase  during  1914-16  was  at 
the  rate  of  $40,000,000,000  per  annum  or  a  total  increase  of  $100,000,- 
000,000  in  about  three  years  of  the  World-war.  The  surplus 
earnings  of  the  people  in  this  war  period  were  estimated  by  Mr. 
Williams  at  $20,000,000,000  or  twice  as  much  as  the  1917  call  of 
war  to  the  Republic.  Mr.  Williams  continued  as  follows:  "Much 
of  this  accumulated  wealth,  produced  by  over  40,000,000  intelli- 
gent workers,  has  been  re-invested  in  mills  and  factories,  in  the 
enlargement  and  expansion  of  business  enterprises  of  all  kinds, 
and  in  loans  to  foreign  countries,  while  our  deposits  in  banks  have 
increased  by  billions.  It  is  believed  that  the  investible  earnings 
or  profits  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  are  now  increasing 
at  the  rate  of  $2,000,000,000  every  three  months." 

As  to  the  Banks  the  total  resources  of  the  National  and  State 
institutions  on  May  1,  1917,  one  month  after  the  American  War 
declaration,  were  $16,000,000,000  or  the  greatest  ever  held,  and 
since  July,  1914,  the  resources  of  National  and  State  banks  together 
had  increased  by  $8,000,000,000  or  more  than  the  total  deposits 
of  all  the  banks  of  the  United  Kingdom.  According  to  M.  W. 
Harrison,  an  official  of  the  American  Bankers'  Association  (N.  Y. 
Times,  Apr.  15,  1917),  the  people  of  the  United  States  could  obtain 
and  utilize,  if  necessary,  $75,000,000,000  for  war  purposes.  In 
its  natural  resources  the  production  of  the  United  States  in  1917 
was  as  follows: 

Crop                                       Acreage             Production  Value  on  Dec.l 

Corn 119,755,000        3,159,494,000  $4,053,672,000 

Wheat 45,941,000           650,828,000  1,307,418,000 

Oats 43,572,000        1,587,286,000  1,061,427,000 

Barley 8,835,000           208,975,000  237,539,000 

Potatoes...                                                              5,343,000           529,677,000  639,986,000 

Hay 69,988,000             94,930,000  1,567,325,000 

Tobacco 1,446,000        1,196,451,000  297,442,000 

Cotton 33,634,000              10,949,000  1,451,819,000 

Fruits 129,382,000  323,079,000 

Gold  and  Silver  (1916) 141,543,300 

Pig-iron  (1916) 663,478,118 

Live-Stock 8,263,524.000 

As  to  Trade  the  merchandise  totals  in  three  calendar  War-years, 
with  the  annual  excess  of  exports  over  imports,  had  been  as  follows : 
1915,  $5,333,167,542  and  $1,776,074,152;  1916,  $7,871,617,266  and 
$3,089,184,596;  1917,  $9,178,000,000  and  $3,274,000,000  respectively. 
The  excess  imports  of  gold  in  1917  were  $166,000,000  compared 
with  $530,000,000  in  1916.  The  exports  of  breadstuffs  in  1917 


UNITED  STATES*  WEALTH,  PRODUCTION  AND  INDUSTRY    279 

totalled  $602,241,223  compared  with  $456,197,826  in  1916;  of  meat 
and  dairy  products  $362,415,400  and  $281,621,982  respectively;  of 
cotton  $575,306,634  and  $545,228,684  respectively;  of  mineral 
oils  $253,027,075  and  $201,721,291  respectively.  Of  course,  in- 
creased prices  and  values  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  these  expand- 
ing figures  and  the  London  Times'  financial  writer  in  its  October 
Supplement  estimated  that  such  advances  during  the  1917  fiscal 
year  in  wheat,  corn,  flour,  bacon,  hams,  sugar,  mineral  oil,  brass 
plates,  copper  pigs,  steel  billets,  steel  rails,  structural  steel,  cotton 
cloth,  and  raw  cotton  accounted  for  nearly  75  per  cent,  of  the  in- 
creased value  of  the  total.  As  to  other  trade  conditions  the 
National  Foreign  Trade  Convention  of  1917,  at  Pittsburg,  approved 
a  statement  drawn  up  by  J.  A.  Farrell,  Chairman  of  its  Council, 
which  declared  that  "to  meet  world  competition  United  States 
business  must  be  relieved  of  disadvantages  imposed  by  legislation 
and  be  protected  by  governmental  action  from  possible  discrim- 
ination in  foreign  markets."  At  the  same  time  the  United  States 
should  "adopt  the  principle  of  a  flexible  or  bargaining  tariff." 

Industry  showed  great  expansion  in  these  War  years.  The 
net  incomes  of  the  104  chief  American  industrial  concerns  were 
as  follows:  1914,  $263,153,892;  1915,  $575,045,979;  1916,  $1,273,- 
854,854.  When  President  Wilson  on  July  11,  1917,  intimated 
that  the  Allies  should  not  be  charged  a  higher  price  for  War  supplies 
than  was  paid  by  the  United  States  Government  he  gave  a  decided 
check  to  undue  profits  which  was  increased  by  succeeding  taxation 
legislation.  In  the  fiscal  year  of  June  30,  1917,  78%  of  United 
States  exports  consisted  of  manufactured,  or  partly  manufactured, 
goods,  as  against  59%  in  1914,  before  the  War.  The  greatest  items 
were  iron  and  steel  products  of  which  the  1914  export  was  $251,480,- 
677  and  that  of  1917  $1,129,341,616;  Explosives,  which  were  $6,272,- 
197  and  $802,789,437  respectively;  Manufactures  of  brass,  copper, 
mineral-oil  (refined),  cotton,  chemicals  and  dyes,  motor-cars  and 
leather,  totalled  $481,000,000  in  1914  and  $1,570,000,000  in  1917. 
Commercial  failures  in  1917  totalled  13,855  with  liabilities  of  $182,- 
441,371  (R.  G.  Dun  &  Co.)  compared  with  16,993  and  $196,212,256, 
respectively,  in  1916.  It  may  be  added  that  a  Tariff  Commission 
was  created  by  President  Wilson  in  March  with  Prof.  F.  W.  Taussig 
of  Harvard  University  as  Chairman  to  investigate  and  report  upon 
the  trade  and  tariff  policies  of  other  countries. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  United  States  had  a  splendid  financial 
basis  upon  which  to  enter  the  War;  there  was  nothing  small  or 
narrow  in  the  expenditures,  Loans,  undertakings  and  popular 
hopes  of  the  months  following  April;  neither  the  President,  Congress 
nor  the  people  as  a  whole,  showed  the  least  desire  to  develop  their 
preliminary  operations  on  anything  but  the  largest  scale;  beside 
the  figures,  which  soon  developed,  the  $3,478,000,000  of  Civil  War 
expenditure  in  1860-5  were  trivial.  Much  of  what  Great  Britain 
had  gone  through  in  transforming  the  economic,  political,  social 
and  general  life  of  an  unarmed  and  peaceful  nation  into  that  of  a 
formidable,  armed,  combatant  Power,  was  faced  in  1917  by  the 
United  States.  During  the  year  W.  G.  McAdoo,  Secretary  of  the 


280  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Treasury,  suggested  to  Congress  and  obtained  the  power  of  raising 
$2,000,000,000  by  the  sale  of  War-Savings  and  Thrift  Stamps, 
and  issued  Treasury  certificates  to  Nov.  1  totalling  $3,388,698,000; 
the  gold  monetary  stock  in  the  United  States  on  Nov.  1,  1917, 
was  $3,041,500,000  or  one-third  of  the  world's  total. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  the  annual  Report  submitted  by  Mr. 
McAdoo  for  distinctly  War  services  included  in  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1918,  was,  for  the  Army,  $8,668,000,000,  for  the  Navy 
$1,300,000,000,  for  purchase  of  obligations  of  Foreign  Governments 
$6,115,000,000  and  for  the  Shipping  Board  $901,000,000.*  The 
total  of  all  estimated  Receipts  (1917-18)  including  Liberty  Loans, 
was  $12,580,732,800,  the  similar  Expenditures  $18,775,919,955— 
including  the  Loans  to  Allies.  The  Estimates  for  June  30,  1919 
(submitted  by  Mr.  McAdoo  on  Dec.  3)  included  $6,615,936,553 
for  the  Army,  $1,014,077,503  for  the  Navy,  and  $3,504,918,055 
for  Public  Works  which  were  practically  all  fortifications.  The 
total  Receipts  were  put  at  $5,176,000,000  and  Expenditures— ex- 
clusive of  Allied  Loans— at  $12,804,034,440.  The  actual  National 
Debt  on  Dec.  31,  1917,  however,  was  only  $5,615,000,000.  To 
meet  these  heavy  calls  (about  $36,000,000,000  for  two  years  of 
War)  new  taxation  and  large  borrowings  were  necessary.  The 
War-tax  Revenue  Bill,  as  it  finally  passed  both  Houses  on  Oct. 
2,  was  expected  to  produce  $2,534,000,000  of  revenue  and  included 
the  following  estimated  returns: 

Income  Tax $    851,000,000  Transportation..  .$145,000,000 

Excess  Profits  Tax 1,000,000,000  Automobiles 40,000,000 

Wines  and  Spirits $193,000,000 

Under  the  Income  Tax  returns  of  1917  there  were  recorded  over 
22,000  millionaires,  and  of  these  about  3,700  were  multi-millionaires,  f 
Meanwhile  the  Banking  system  held  an  important  place  in  finan- 
cial War- work.  The  National  Banks  were  increasing  largely  in 
numbers  and  wideness  of  distribution  and  on  June  30,  1916,  their 
capital,  surplus,  and  profits,  deposits  and  circulation,  totalled 
$29,358,000,000  or  an  increase  of  15%  over  1915.  Their  lack  of 
cohesion  and  organized  efficiency  was,  however,  a  serious  matter 
to  which  Mr.  McAdoo,  in  his  Annual  Report  for  1917,  drew  explicit 
attention  as  an  element  of  national  weakness.  He  urged  them 
to  join  the  Federal  Reserve  system  and  thus  consolidate  their 
strength.  This  system,  organized  on  Nov.  16,  1914,  was  tested 
by  the  War  and  financial  strain  and  under  it  the  12  Reserve  Banks 
had  increased  their  Assets  from  $943,410,000  on  Nov.  17,  1916, 
to  $3,012,406,000  on  Nov.  16,  1917,  with  gold  holdings  of  $1,584,- 
328,000.  Practically,  it  formed  a  Government  Bank  and  acted 
as  banker  for  the  National  and  State  institutions,  while  the  Board 
in  control  of  the  combined  operations  had  a  powerful  influence 
upon  the  general  banking  policy.  As  the  total  resources  of  United 
States  Banks  in  May,  1917,  was  $35,000,000,000  this  fact  meant 
much  in  a  financial  sense.  A  statement  of  the  Board  on  Nov.  28, 
1916,  had  produced  a  serious  effect  on  Bank  investments  in  Foreign 

*NOTE.— U.S.  Official  Bulletin,  Dec.  5,   1917. 

. — Report  of  Commissioner  of  Inland  Revenue. 


« 

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UNITED  STATES'  WEALTH,  PRODUCTION  AND  INDUSTRY    281 

securities  and  this,  on  Apr.  1,  1917,  was  reversed  as  follows:  "Since 
that  date  the  country's  gold  reserve  has  been  further  materially 
strengthened  and  supplies  a  broad  basis  for  additional  credit.  The 
Board  considers  that  Banks  may,  with  advantage,  invest  a  reasonable 
amount  of  their  resources  in  foreign  securities." 

In  May  the  Government  issued  its  first  War  Loan  for  $2,000,000,- 
000  at  3j/£%  and  the  public  (4,000,000  of  them)  promptly  subscribed 
$3,035,226,850,  though  only  the  original  sum  was  allotted.  On 
Oct.  1  a  new  Liberty  Loan  issue  was  offered  of  $3,000,000,000, 
4%  convertible  gold  bonds,  due  Nov.  15,  1942.  Mr.  McAdoo 
announced  that  the  money  was  wanted  for  military  and  naval 
equipment,  payment  of  soldiers  and  sailors,  construction  of  a  great 
fleet  of  merchant  vessels  and  creation  of  a  large  fleet  of  aeroplanes. 
Eventually,  on  Nov.  8,  he  was  able  to  announce  that  $4,617,532,300 
had  been  subscribed  by  9,400,000  persons  and  institutions;  50% 
of  the  over-subscription  was  allotted. 


Message  to  Canada  from  the  U.S.  Secretary  for  War 

3rd  Anniversary  of  the  War 

August  4,  1917 

Our  hearts  go  out  to  Canada  to-day,  when  the  great  Dominion 
is  entering  on  her  fourth  year  of  the  battle  against  German  autocracy. 
I  cannot  speak  excepting  for  my  own  Department,  but  with  Canada 
we  face  a  common  foe  with  ten  millions  of  our  men  registered  under 
a  plan  for  selective  draft,  with  our  regular  army  trebled  and  our 
National  Guard  more  than  doubled  through  enlistments,  or  a  united 
force  of  half  a  million  men,  with  an  aircraft  programme  of  great 
proportions  in  process  of  realization;  with  weapons  ranging  from 
small  arms  to  the  heaviest  artillery  in  hurried  manufacture;  with 
great  camps  through  the  country  beginning  to  turn  out  their  thou- 
sands of  intensively  trained  officers  for  the  new  troops;  with  huge 
cantonments  being  rushed  to  completion  for  the  housing  of  half  a 
million  men  called  into  action  under  the  selective  draft;  with  special 
forces  such  as  engineers,  forestry  men  and  aviators  being  despatched 
to  the  side  of  the  Canadians  now  so  bravely  working  in  France  and 
Belgium. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  fix  a  value  on  what  we  are  accomplishing  or 
how  much  sooner  our  efforts  will  enable  our  Allies  to  bring  to  its 
successful  end  this  horrible  war,  with  its  sufferings  and  burdens 
which  have  been  so  keenly  felt  by  our  neighbours  across  the  Lakes; 
but  this  we  know,  that  our  common  effort  will  do  much  to  strengthen 
the  friendly  relations  which  have  existed  always  between  the  people 
of  Canada  and  the  United  States. 

NEWTON  D.  BAKER 


CANADA  AND  THE  WAR— THE  GOVERNMENT 

The  Cover-  H.  E.  The  Duke  of  Devonshire  did  not,  of  course, 
in  pSSic™1  touck  the  militarv  side  of  Canadian  life  and  the  War 
Affairs  and  as  n*s  R°yal  predecessor  had  done,  but  he  and  the 
the  War.  Duchess  during  1917  took  effective  interest  in  all 

public  matters  associated  with  the  War  and  Imperial 
interests  in  Canada.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  the  Governor- 
General  was  in  Toronto  and  on  Jan.  22  inaugurated  the  Patriotic 
Fund  Campaign  at  a  Massey  Hall  meeting — the  first  large  public 
gathering  he  had  addressed  in  Canada.  During  his  speech  the 
Duke  said:  "I  would  also  like  to  add  that  the  King  takes  a  great 
and,  indeed,  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  work  this  Fund  is  doing. 
He  knows  all  of  the  great  work  Canada  has  done."  In  conclusion 
he  declared  that  when  the  War  was  brought  to  a  successful  con- 
clusion "it  will  be  our  business  to  see  that  the  British  Empire  shall 
be  the  greatest  instrument  for  maintaining  peace  the  world  has  ever 
seen." 

During  this  visit  His  Excellency  received  the  Hon.  degree  of 
LL.D.  at  the  University  of  Toronto;  inspected  the  Housing  scheme 
of  G.  Frank  Beer  and  his  associates,  and  accepted  an  Address  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Beer;  visited  the  Spadina  Military  Hospital  and 
College  Street  Convalescent  Home;  inspected  the  new  Connaught 
Laboratories  associated  with  Toronto  University  and  the  generos- 
ity of  Col.  A.  E.  Gooderham.  At  Montreal  on  Feb.  9  the  Duke 
helped  to  launch  the  local  Patriotic  Fund  at  a  crowded  luncheon 
of  the  Canadian  Club  and  by  addressing  an  afternoon  meeting 
of  the  Women's  Canadian  Club  and  an  evening  mass-meeting  in 
the  Monument  National.  Sir  Herbert  Ames,  at  the  latter  meeting, 
stated  that  $18,000,000  had  been  contributed  by  the  people  and 
$12,000,000  more  was  required.  Victor  Morin,  President  of  St. 
Jean  Baptiste  Society,  was  in  the  chair  and  Archbishop  Bruche*si 
was  one  of  the  speakers.  An  Address  was  presented  to  the  Duke 
who  replied  in  French  and  congratulated  the  Society  upon  its  work 
in  this  connection  and  urged  that  all  its  force  and  energy  be  utilized 
to  uphold  in  the  War  the  time-honoured  rights  and  privileges  secured 
to  Canadians  by  the  bravery  and  sacrifice  of  their  fathers. 

To  the  meeting  of  women  was  proclaimed  the  fact  that  Great 
Britain  would  never  have  asked  the  aid  of  the  Dominions  if  it  had 
not  first  been  generously  offered  and  the  further  fact  that  at  the 
time  of  speaking  the  British  Empire,  in  numbers  of  men,  manu- 
facture of  munitions  and  warlike  supplies,  supply  of  money,  and 
almost  complete  control  of  the  sea  was  "the  greatest  war  machine 
ever  created."  On  Feb.  22-25  the  Duke  and  Duchess  and  Ladies 
Maud  and  Blanche  Cavendish  were  again  in  Toronto,  when  the 
Duke  first  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Red  Cross  Society  and  heard 
reports  of  much  work  done  from  Col.  Noel  Marshall,  Col.  G.  A. 
Sweny  and  Brig. -Gen.  the  Hon.  James  Mason.  Visits  followed  to 

282] 


THE  DUKE  OF  DEVONSHIRE  AND  PUBLIC  AFFAIRS        283 


the  soldiers  at  Exhibition  Camp,  to  Loretto  Abbey  and  St.  Joseph's 
College,  to  several  important  War  industries  and  to  Upper  Canada 
College,  with  a  Dinner  at  the  Speakers'  Patriotic  League.  The 
Duchess  visited  the  Toronto  General  Hospital.  Winnipeg  was  then 
visited  by  Their  Excellencies  and  the  chief  items  of  their  round  of 
public  duties  in  the  succeeding  months  of  the  year  may  be  briefly 
summarized  as  follows : 

PLACE  DATE  SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS 

Winnipeg Feb.  28-Mar.7  Visit  to  Children's  Hospital. 

Visit  to  Agricultural  College  and  C.P.R.  Shops. 

Visit  to  I.O.D.E.  Convalescent  Home. 

Address  to  Women's  Canadian  Club  and  Grain  Exchange 

Visit. 

Visit  to  the  General,  Grace  and  St.  Boniface  Hospitals. 
Legislative  and  Civic  Addresses  and  Government  House 

Reception. 

Receipt  of  Hon.  LL.D.  from  University. 
Presented  V.C.  to  Father  of  late  Leo  Clarke. 
Inspection  of  Schools  and  Visit  to  Red  Cross  Offices. 
Y.M.C.A.  Banquet. 
Review  of  Troops  and  Boy  Scouts. 

Brandon March  6 Opening  of  Winter  Fair  and  Address  to  Canadian  Club. 

Ottawa April  10 Opening  of  the  4th  International  Roads  Congress. 

Hamilton May  19-21 .  .  .Visit  to  Red  Cross  and  other  Patriotic  Headquarters. 

Opening  of  Mountain  Hospital  and  Public  Reception. 
Visit  to  Mountain  Sanitarium  and  Collegiate  Institute. 
Attending  Civic  Dinner  and  Address  to  Canadian  Club. 
. .  Visit  to  Niagara  Falls. 

. .  In  residence  and  Fishing  trip  to  Magdalen  Islands. 
. .  Conference  of  Political  leaders  at  Government  House. 
. .  Signing  of  Military  Service  Bill. 
. .  Opening  of  Military  Hospital. 
. .  Reception  by  Mayor  and  Citizens. 

Visit  to  Crown  Reserve  Mines,  etc. 
. .  Civic  Reception  and  Welcome. 
.  .Visit  to  Hollinger  Gold  Mines. 
.Inspection  of  Internment  Camp  for  Alien  Enemies. 
,  .  Civic  Welcome  and  Visit  to  Mond  Nickel  Co.  Works. 
Visits  to  British-American  and  Canadian  Copper  Mines. 
. .  Unveiling  of  Memorial  to  Alex.  Graham  Bell. 
, .  Visit  to  Bishop  Strachan  School. 
Receiving  of  Navy  League  Deputation. 
Attended  Y.M.C.A.  Campaign  Fund  Dinner. 
Opening  of  Connaught  Laboratories  for  the  University. 
. .  Address  to  a  gathering  at  the  Station. 
.Presented     War     Decorations     to     Veterans. 
Review  of  Military  Units  and  acceptance  Provincial  Address. 
.Accepted  Provincial  and  Civic  Addresses. 
Address  to  Canadian  Club  and  Inspection  of  Cadet  Corps. 
Opening  of  Fair  of  the  Allies  and  G.W.V.A.  Headquarters. 
Visit   to    Connaught   Seamen's   Institute   and   Esquimalt 

Sailors'  Club  and  Hospital. 

Inspection  of  Military  Units  and  Military  Hospital. 
Inspection  of  Royal  Jubilee  and  St.  Joseph's  Hospitals. 
Attended  Provincial  Government  Reception  and  Victory 

Loan  Ball. 

Inspected  Ship-yards  and  urged  Construction. 
Address  at  High  School. 
.Civic  Welcome  and  Address. 


Quebec 

Ottawa 

Toronto 

Whitby 

Cobalt. 

Haileybury. . 

Timmins 

Kapuskasing 
Sudbury .... 

Brantford . 
Toronto. . . 


May  22 

.June  13-30. 
.  Aug.     9 .... 

.  Aug.  28 

.Aug.  31 

.Sept;t24 

.  Sept.  25 

.  Sept.  26 

.  Sept.  27 

.Oct.   1-2.... 

.  Oct.  24 

.Oct.  25... 


Chapleau .  . . 
Edmonton.  . 

Victoria 


.  Nov.  12 

.Nov.j4l7.... 

Nov.  20-26. 


Nanaimo. . . 
Duncan. . . . 
Ladysmith . 
Vancouver . 


,Nov.  23. 
,Nov.  24 


Nov. 
Nov. 


Calgary 


26 Accepted  Civic  Banquet. 

27 Address  to  the  Canadian  Club. 

Opened  Returned  Soldiers'  Club. 

Visited  Hastings  Lumber  Plant  and  Opened  Holy  Rosary 
Bazaar. 

Dec.  1-2 Civic  Address  and  Luncheon. 

Attended  Veterans'  Concert. 

Visit  to  Victory  Loan  headquarters;   Review  of  Boy  Scouts 

and  Cadet  Corps. 

Attended  National  Pageant  and  visited  the  P.  Burns  Ranch. 
Dec.  5-8 Visited  St.  Chad's,  East  Grey,  Military  and  Regina  Gen- 
eral Hospitals. 

-  Received  Civic  Address  and  visited  Grey  Nun's  Hospital. 
Addressed  Canadian  Club  and  presented  Military  Decora- 
Visit  to  Public,  Separate,  Normal  and  Collegiate  Schools. 
Inspected  Boy  Scouts  and  visited  Regina  College. 

Regina Dec.  5-8 Received  Legislative  Address  and  attended  Government 

Reception. 


284  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

PLACE                 DATE  SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS 

Winnipeg.  . .  .Dec.   10 Visited  St.  Mary's  Academy. 

Address  to  Business  and  Professional  Men. 

Inspected  Tuxedo  Military  Hospital. 

Banquetted  by  local  Patriotic  Bodies. 
Halifax Dec.  22 Visit  to  Devastated  Area  and  .Address  to  Relief  Executive. 

From  Halifax  to  Victoria,  therefore,  the  Duke's  activities  had  spread 
and  everywhere  he  left  the  impression  of  common  sense,  patriotic 
feeling  and  insight  into  war  conditions.  An  interesting  function 
of  his  first  year  at  Ottawa  was  the  marriage  of  Lady  Mary  Hamilton, 
daughter  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Abercorn,  to  Capt.  R.  O.  R. 
Kenyon-Slaney,  A.D.C.,  on  May  25 — said  to  be  the  first  wedding 
from  historic  Rideau  Hall;  the  Duke's  visit  to  Cobalt  and  the  North 
country  was,  also,  the  first  one  of  a  Vice-regal  character.  In  June 
it  was  announced  that  the  Governor- General  had  donated  26  bronze 
medals  for  competition  in  the  Public  and  High  Schools  and  Col- 
legiate Institutes  of  Saskatchewan;  on  Sept.  15  the  Duke,  as  Patron, 
and  the  Duchess  as  President  of  the  Canadian  Red  Cross  Society, 
issued  an  appeal  for  the  British  Red  Cross  funds:  "The  ever- widening 
theatre  of  war  involves  an  ever-increasing  call  upon  the  resources 
of  the  Red  Cross,  which  depends  entirely  upon  the  voluntary  offer- 
ings of  a  grateful  and  generous  Empire." 

Through  a  letter  to  Sir  Thomas  White  His  Excellency  on  Nov. 
11  urged  support  to  the  Victory  Loan  in  order  "to  provide  funds 
for  Canada's  continued,  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  War  and  to 
furnish  needed  credits  whereby  the  Imperial  Government  may  be 
enabled  to  purchase  in  the  Dominion,  grain,  foodstuffs,  munitions 
and  other  supplies."  A  curious  incident  in  connection  with  the 
Governor-General's  visit  to  Calgary  developed  in  a  formal  protest 
from  the  local  Ministerial  Association  against  his  visit  to  Mr.  Pat. 
Burns'  ranch  on  a  Sunday.  On  Christmas  Day  there  went  a  Message 
from  His  Excellency  to  the  Canadian  forces  in  France' of  congratu- 
lation upon  "the  ever-increasing  lustre"  of  their  deeds,  and  from 
the  Duchess  a  contribution  of  2,000  boxes  of  specially-prepared 
chocolates  for  the  children  of  unfortunate  Halifax.  Flowers  went  also 
to  the  Halifax  hospitals  and  on  Dec.  31  the  Duke,  as  President, 
issued  his  formal  appeal  for  renewed  support  to  the  Canadian 
Patriotic  Fund — "for  the  families  of  the  gallant  men  who  on  land 
and  sea  are  so  nobly  defending  the  Empire  and  maintaining  the 
principles  of  liberty  and  justice." 

H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Connaught,  ex-Governor-General,  had  not 
forgotten  Canada  in  1917  and  took  a  continuous  interest  in  Canadian 
troops,  hospitals,  institutions  and  interests  abroad.  On  Jan.  23 
he  visited  Shorncliffe  Camp  and  inspected  the  forces  in  training, 
visited  the  Canadian  Military  Hospital  at  Beachborough  and 
paid  special  tribute  to  the  work  of  the  Y.M.C.A.,  for  which  he 
opened  a  new  Hut.  The  Duchess  of  Connaught  died  on  Mar.  14 
and  various  tributes  were  paid  to  her  memory  in  Canada  with 
kindly  recollections  of  her  personality  and  work.  The  funeral 
took  place  on  the  19th  with  the  Dominion  represented  by  Sir  Robert 
Borden,  Sir  George  and  Lady  Perley,  and  others;  a  Memorial  Ser- 
vice was  also  held  at  Westminster  Abbey  with  other  services  in 
Toronto,  Ottawa  and  various  Canadian  centres. 


SIR  ROBERT  BORDEN  IN  ENGLAND  AND  IN  PARLIAMENT    285 

In  Parliament  at  Ottawa  (Apr.  19)  Sir  George  Foster  referred 
to  Her  Royal  Highness  as  having  taken  part  in  Canadian  social 
and  war  and  charitable  interests  "unobtrusively,  kindly  and  effec- 
tively"; while  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  paid  tribute  to  activities  carried 
on  in  spite  of  ill-health  and  to  the  trouble  caused  by  war  between 
her  own  country  and  the  adopted  Empire  to  which  she  had  been  so 
loyal.  Similar  words  were  spoken  in  various  Provincial  Legis- 
latures. During  the  year  the  Duke  was  appointed  Inspector- 
General  of  Oversea  Troops  and  inspected  Canadians  throughout 
the  United  Kingdom  as  well  as  at  the  Front;  while  the  Princess 
Patricia  visited,  frequently,  the  Ontario  Military  Hospital  at  Orping- 
ton where  she  taught  Needlework  to  wounded  soldiers  and  became, 
also,  Patroness  of  the  Canadian  War  Contingent  Association  in  London. 
Another  former  Governor- General  of  Canada  passed  away  on  Aug. 
29  in  the  person  of  Earl  Grey.  His  services  to  the  Empire  had 
been  considerable  and  his  patriotism  pronounced;  memorial  services 
were  held  at  Westminster  Abbey,  in  Ottawa  and  at  Salisbury, 
Rhodesia. 

The  Premier  While  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  represented  the 
srdRob  rtaf:  King  in  Canada»  Sir  Robert  Borden  was,  for  part  of 
Borden  fnEng- 1917,  representing  Canada  at  the  heart  of  the  Empire, 
land  and  in  sitting  in  the  Councils  of  Great  Britain  and  con- 
Parliameiit.  tributing  Canadian  personal  judgment  and  official  co- 
operation in  the  conduct  of  the  War.  The  general 
proceedings  and  results  of  the  Imperial  War  Conference  and  the 
Imperial  Cabinet  meetings  have  been  considered  elsewhere;*  the 
personal  influence  and  opinions  of  the  Canadian  Premier  have  here 
to  be  dealt  with.  At  Ottawa  on  Jan.  22  the  Speech  from  the  Throne 
referred  as  follows  to  the  matter:  "The  Government  of  the  United 
Kingdom  have  invited  the  First  Ministers  of  the  Dominions  to 
attend  a  series  of  special  and  continuous  meetings  of  the  War  Cabinet 
(of  which  for  this  purpose  they  will  be  members)  to  consider  urgent 
questions  affecting  the  prosecution  of  the  War,  the  possible  con- 
ditions in  which  the  Allied  Nations  could  assent  to  its  termination, 
and  the  problems  which  would  then  immediately  arise.  This 
invitation  has  been  accepted  on  behalf  of  Canada." 

Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  intimated  an  Opposition  willingness  to  facili- 
tate business  and  make  the  Premier's  absence  possible;  though  he 
did  not  quite  see  how  the  Prime  Minister  of  Canada — not  being  a 
member  of  the  British  Parliament — could  sit  in  the  Imperial  Cabinet. 

Je  did  not  raise  objections,  however,  and  Mr.  Lloyd  George  had 

simply  put  all  questions  of  precedent  and  practice  to  one  side. 
The  Empire,  like  the  War,  was  making  its  own  precedents  and 

>ir  Robert  Borden,  in  following,  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that 
he  had  sat  in  the  British  Cabinet  during  1915  and  Mr.  Hughes 

)f  Australia  in  1916.  As  to  the  views  to  be  presented  for  Canada 
he  was  explicit:  "I  can  give  the  Conference  this  firm  assurance: 
that  the  people  of  this  country  are  united  in  their  determination 
to  throw  all  their  efforts  into  the  War,  and  to  bring  it  to  that  con- 
* — See  Page  206  of  this  volume. 


286  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

elusion  which  alone  can  bring  about  a  lasting  peace.  As  to  the 
conditions  of  peace  I  think  the  people  of  this  country  will  be  satisfied 
to  abide  by  the  conclusion  which  has  already  been  announced  by 
the  British  Government — that  peace  will  only  be  granted  upon  the 
condition  of  reparation  for  the  past  and  guarantees  for  the  future." 

On  Feb.  12  the  Premier  and  his  Canadian  colleagues — Hon. 
Robert  Rogers  and  Hon.  Douglas  Hazen — left  Ottawa  and  arrived 
safely  in  London  on  the  23rd,  despite  the  fact  that  Germany  had 
shortly  before  commenced  the  more  ruthless  phase  of  its  Submarine 
campaign.  To  the  press  on  this  date  he  issued  a  statement  that 
Canada  had  sent  300,000  men  across  the  seas,  given  300,000  workers 
to  Canadian  munitions,  borrowed  $300,000,000  within  the  Dominion 
for  war  purposes,  and  contributed  $60,000,000  by  voluntary  gift. 
He  described  the  summoning  of  the  War  Conference  as  "a  memorable 
event  in  the  development  of  a  world-wide  Commonwealth,  as  open- 
ing a  new  chapter  in  its  history,  and  challenging  the  imagination 
as  to  even  greater  events  which  that  chapter  shall  record."  On  the 
same  day  Sir  Robert  accompanied  the  Colonial  Secretary  to  the  House 
of  Commons  where  he  heard  Mr.  Lloyd  George  make  his  speech 
on  Import  prohibitions;  lunched  with  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Connaught  and  on  the  following  day  was  received  by  H.M.  the 
King.  On  Feb.  26-28  he  held  consultations  with  the  Colonial 
Secretary  and  the  Committee  of  Imperial  Defence,  discussed  de- 
mobilization problems  with  Sir  George  Perley,  who  also  entertained 
the  Canadian  Ministers  at  dinner  to  meet  the  Duke  of  Connaught 
and  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  and  had  an  interview  on  Naval  matters 
with  Admiral  Sir  John  Jellicoe.  Meanwhile  the  Premier  and  his 
colleagues  were  flooded  with  offers  of  hospitality  and  social  kindness 
but  Sir  Robert  announced  on  the  27th  that  they  were  in  England 
on  urgent  business  and  had  placed  themselves,  as  to  time,  in  the 
hands  of  the  British  Ministers. 

There  was  delay  in  the  actual  meeting  of  the  Conference  owing 
to  Australian  difficulties  and,  after  transacting  much  preliminary 
business  Sir  Robert,  with  Messrs.  Hazen  and  Rogers,  passed  over 
to  France,  and  visited  the  Canadian  front.  It  was  the  Premier's 
first  experience  since  1915  when  the  Canadian  troops  were  holding 
Ypres  under  historic  conditions.  On  Mar.  9  a  portion  of  the  troops 
marched  past  in  review  and,  later,  the  Canadian  Premier  and  his 
party — including  Prince  Arthur  of  Connaught — visited  a  part  of 
the  Front  from  which  they  had  a  view  of  the  German  lines  and  ob- 
tained a  general  idea  of  the  configuration  of  the  ground  held  by  the 
Canadians.  Of  these  and  other  incidents  Stewart  Lyon,  the  Cana- 
dian correspondent,  stated  on  Mar.  10  that:  "Sir  Robert  was  deeply 
stirred  by  the  sights  of  the  day.  He  had  seen  many  thousands 
of  men  inured  to  the  life  in  the  trenches,  hardened  veterans,  while 
yet  lads  or  young  men.  He  had  bidden  a  Nova  Scotia  Battalion, 
of  which  he  is  Hon.  Colonel,  God-speed.  He  had  observed  Battalion 
practice  in  which  great  attacking  waves  were  being  sent  against 
the  trenches,  with  other  evidence  of  the  evolution  of  the  weapons 
of  destruction." 


SIR  ROBERT  BORDEN  IN  ENGLAND  AND  IN  PARLIAMENT   287 

British  headquarters  were  visited  and  the  Premier  was  cordially 
received  by  F.-M.  Sir  Douglas  Haig;  so  with  the  French  head- 
quarters and  General  Nivelle.  At  the  suggestion  of  Sir  Douglas 
Haig  the  Somme  region  was  inspected  and  the  Canadian  Premier 
saw  Courcelette  and  stood  upon  the  churned-up  ruins  of  Thiepval; 
he  saw  Vimy  Ridge  and  the  four  Divisions  which  were  about  to 
take  it  and  from  Mont  St.  Eloi  watched  preparations  for  the  coming 
attack;  several  Canadian  Hospitals  also  were  inspected  and  various 
tributes  received  as  to  the  gallantry  of  the  Canadian  troops,  the 
effective  work  of  the  Railway  Construction  and  Forestry  Corps, 
the  work  of  the  Medical  Staff.  On  Mar.  13  Sir  Robert  was  back 
in  London  and  told  the  press  that  he  found  the  spirit,  physique 
and  training  of  the  Canadian  forces  all  that  could  be  desired  and 
was  proud  to  learn  that  in  the  fighting  which  resulted  in  the  splendid 
gains  of  recent  months,  the  Canadians  had  taken  their  full  share 
and  borne  themselves  worthily.  In  a  cable  to  the  Canadian  Minister 
of  Militia  the  Premier  used  similar  terms  and  stated  that  there 
were  130,000  Canadians  in  France:  "We  are  entering  upon  the  most  ,- 
critical  period  of  the  War,  and  I  voice  the  feeling  at  the  Front  when 
I  appeal  to  Canadians  to  support  with  the  most  earnest  efforts  the 
proposals  which  you  are  putting  forward  to  partially  mobilize  the 
active  militia  of  Canada.  Splendid  response  to  these  proposals 
is  vitally  necessary  in  order  that  the  full  strength  of  our  Dominion, 
in  co-operation  with  the  whole  Empire,  shall  be  thrown  into  the 
struggle  with  the  least  possible  delay."  On  the  14th  a  visit  was 
paid  to  the  forces  training  at  Shorncliffe  and  to  the  Canadian  Hos- 
pitals in  that  area. 

On  Mar.  21  the  first  Imperial  War  Conference  and  the  first 
Imperial  War  Cabinet  began  their  Sessions  and,  until  Apr.  27, 
the  sittings  were  held  at  various  dates  but  usually  on  alternate 
days.  The  duties  of  the  Delegates  were  more,  of  course,  than 
attendance  at  formal  meetings.  There  was  much  necessary  pre- 
paration, a  mass  of  documents  dealing  with  important  subjects 
had  to  be  considered,  and  many  consultations  held  with  officials 
and  Departments  apart  from  the  actual  sittings  of  Cabinet  or  Con- 
ference. There,  also,  were  various  functions  of  a  public  character. 
On  Apr.  2  Sir  Robert  Borden  and  Lieut.-Gen.  J.  C.  Smuts  were 
the  chief  guests  at  a  luncheon  at  the  House  of  Commons  given 
by  the  Empire  Parliamentary  Association.  Mr.  Walter  Long, 
Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  presided,  and  among  those  present 
were  Mr.  Balfour,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Milner,  Lord  Harcourt 
and  General  Sir  William  Robertson.  Sir  Robert  Borden  in  speaking 
said:  "Little  more  than  20  months  have  elapsed  since  I  last  addressed 
you.  We  had  some  realization,  but  hardly  an  adequate  conception 
even  then,  of  the  tremendous  task  which  still  lay  before  us  in  this 
war.  In  these  Islands  you  have  risen  splendidly  to  the  need;  we  of 
the  Dominions  have  striven  also  to  do  our  part.  I  then  reminded 
you  that  350,000  men  had  joined  the  colours  in  the  Oversea  nations. 
To-day  I  can  tell  you  that  not  fewer  than  1,000,000  men  in  those 
Dominions  have  taken  up  arms  for  the  Empire."  Of  the  Conference 
he  spoke  as  "taking  counsel  with  you  of  the  Motherland  upon  the 


288  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

needs  of  the  situation  so  as  better  to  co-ordinate  our  common  effort 
and  consummate  our  common  purpose."  Of  the  Imperial  Cabinet 
he  spoke  clearly: 

The  Imperial  War  Cabinet  as  constituted  to-day  has  been  summoned  for  definite 
and  specific  purposes,  publicly  stated,  which  involve  questions  of  the  most  vital 
concern  to  the  whole  Empire.  With  the  constitution  of  that  Cabinet  a  new  era  has 
dawned  and  a  new  page  of  history  has  been  written.  It  is  not  for  me  to  prophesy 
as  to  the  future  significance  of  these  pregnant  events;  but  those  who  have  given  thought 
and  energy  to  every  effort  for  full  Constitutional  development  of  the  Oversea  nations 
may  be  pardoned  for  believing  that  they  discern  therein  the  birth  of  a  new  and  greater 
Imperial  Commonwealth. 

General  Smuts  also  spoke  at  length  along  similar  lines  and  the  press 
of  Apr.  3  dealt  with  the  two  speeches  as  very  significant  while  The 
Times  urged  an  Imperial  Constitutional  Convention  after  the  War. 
On  the  4th  the  Canadian  Premier  attended  at  the  Guildhall  to  receive 
a  new  Mace  proffered  by  Sir  Charles  Wakefield  when  Lord  Mayor 
of  London,  and  following  the  Ottawa  fire  of  1916.  Sir  George 
Touche  and  Sir  Samuel  Shead,  ex-Sheriffs  of  London,  shared  in  the 
gift.  There  was  a  representative  audience  and  Sir  Charles,  in  making 
the  presentation,  stated  that  the  general  design  of  the  Mace  was 
similar  to  that  used  in  the  British  House  of  Commons,  and  that 
in  it  there  had  been  incorporated  a  portion  of  the  original  which 
had  been  rescued  from  the  fire.  Sir  Robert  Borden,  in  acknow- 
ledging the  gift,  said  it  would  be,  indeed,  an  emblem  of  that  tie 
which  bound  the  Mother  Country  and  the  Overseas  Dominions 
in  a  union,  the  strength  of  which  had  been  amply  demonstrated 
during  the  past  three  years  of  war:  "We  in  Canada  have  taken 
part  in  this  war  for  the  Empire  because  we  are  one  of  the  nations 
of  the  Empire;  because  the  existence  of  the  Empire  was  and  is 
threatened;  because  its  ideals  and  its  liberties  were  endangered." 

On  Apr.  6-7  the  Premier  visited  the  Canadian  Hospitals  at 
Orpington  and  Epsom — the  latter  one  of  the  largest  of  its  kind, 
where  many  Australians  and  New  Zealanders,  as  well  as  Canadians, 
had  been  treated;  on  the  9th  he  inspected  Bramshott  and  Whitley 
Camps,  reviewed  the  troops  and  decorated  some  of  the  veterans, 
and  on  the  10th  was  at  Edinburgh  where,  with  the  Maharajah 
of  Bikaner  and  General  Smuts,  he  received  the  Freedom  of  the  City. 
In  speaking  Sir  Robert  paid  special  tribute  to  General  Smuts  as 
being,  with  General  Botha,  a  great  asset  of  the  Empire:  "We  come 
from  different  Dominions.  We  have  sprung  from  different  but 
kindred  races.  We  have  grown  up  under  widely  different  conditions. 
Is  there  not  some  evidence  that  our  Empire  rests  on  broad  founda- 
tions when  I  find  that  his  conception  and  my  own,  as  to  the  course 
and  method  of  future  constitutional  relations  and  development, 
are  substantially  the  same?"  The  week-end  of  Apr.  7  was  spent 
with  Lord  and  Lady  Midleton  in  Surrey;  on  that  of  Apr.  14-15 
Sir  Robert  Borden,  with  General  Smuts,  the  Premiers  of  New- 
foundland and  New  Zealand  and  the  Archbishop  of  York,  were 
guests  of  the  King  and  Queen  at  Windsor  Castle. 

On  the  18th  the  Premier  attended  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Canadian  War  Contingent  Association  and  paid  high  tribute  to  the 


SIR  ROBERT  BORDEN  IN  ENGLAND  AND  IN  PARLIAMENT   289 

Beachborough  Hospital  so  largely  supported  by  that  Association. 
On  the  21st  he  received  the  Freedom  of  Manchester  and,  after 
dealing  with  Empire  topics  and  future  conditions  under  which 
"the  industries  of  Germany  will  be  supported  and  developed  by  a 
more  thorough,  powerful  State  organization  than  has  ever  been 
known,"  he  turned  to  the  United  States  and  said:  "I  have  spoken 
of  the  responsibilities  of  our  Empire;  let  me  emphasize,  even  more 
strongly,  the  joint  responsibility  of  the  American  Republic  and  the 
British  Commonwealth.  Inspired  by  the  same  ideals,  united  in 
a  common  purpose  and  acting  in  unselfish  and  loyal  co-operation 
they  possess  a  power,  both  moral  and  material,  which  can  command 
the  peace  of  the  world."  During  the  week-end  of  Apr.  21  Sir 
Robert  visited  the  Canadian  wounded  from  Vimy  at  the  Epsom 
and  Cliveden  Hospitals  and  had  a  cheering  word  for  large  numbers 
of  the  800  patients  whom  he  saw.  On  the  24th  Conference  business 
and  long  interviews  with  the  Premier,  Colonial  Secretary  and  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  illustrated  the  character  of 
his  crowded  days. 

A  luncheon  of  the  Empire  Press  Union  (Apr.  25)  with  Lord 
Burnham  in  the  chair  evoked  a  speech  from  the  Canadian  Premier 
in  which  he  said:  "I  am  not  at  all  confident  that  the  Empire  has 
yet  realized  itself,  or  that  Britain,  which  represents  it,  has 
realized  herself.  I  do  not  conceal  from  you  my  view  that  the 
constitutional  development  of  the  Empire  will  proceed  along  the 
path  of  equal  nationhood  and  equal  status,  united  by  a  tie  of  common 
and  devoted  allegiance  to  the  same  Crown."  As  to  the  War  "the 
people  of  Canada  would  regard  their  sacrifices  in  vain  unless  it  were 
brought  to  such  a  conclusion  as  will  insure  peace  in  the  world  for 
generations  to  come."  To  the  convalescent  officers  in  the  Perkins 
Bull  Hospital  Sir  Robert  gave  an  address  on  May  1  and  referred  to 
the  almost  unnoticed  and  revolutionary  change  that  was  taking 
place  in  the  government  of  the  Empire  through  the  creation  of 
the  Imperial  War  Cabinet  and  Conference. 

It  may  be  added  that,  in  addition  to  other  work  recorded,  the 
Premier  visited  Shoreham,  Crowborough  and  Hastings  Camps, 
that  of  Forestry  at  Windsor  Park,  and  Canadian  hospitals  at  Folke- 
stone, Shorncliffe,  Taplow,  Brighton,  Eastbourne,  Roehampton, 
Edinburgh  and  Manchester.  Before  leaving  Great  Britain,  at  the 
close  of  the  War  business  for  which  he  and  his  colleagues  had  come 
over,  Sir  Robert  took  formal  action  of  two  kinds.  He  wrote  the 
British  Premier  on  Apr.  30,  declaring  that  the  "deliberations  in 
which  we  have  taken  part  have  made  us  realize  more  fully  the  vastness 
and  complexity  of  the  problems  involved"  and  referring  to  the 
summoning  of  the  Imperial  War  Cabinet  as  follows:  "A  notable 
advance  in  the  development  of  constitutional  relations,  and  I  am 
confident  that  the  usage  thus  initiated  will  gradually  but  surely 
develop  into  a  recognized  convention."  Mr.  Lloyd  George  replied 
on  May  2  that  it  had  been  "of  immense  advantage  to  bring  to  bear 
upon  the  vital  problems  of  war  and  peace,  fresh  minds  and  fresh, 
angles  of  vision  from  the  Overseas  Dominions,"  and  he  hoped, 
also,  that  the  experiment  would  prove  "a  permanent  convention 

19 


290  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

/ 

of  our  constitution."  In  the  second  place  Sir  Robert  issued  a  public 
statement  (May  9)  in  which  he  dealt  with  the  purposes  and  achieve- 
ments of  these  weeks: 

The  importance  of  the  step  taken  has  hardly  been  realized.  For  the  first  time 
in  our  history  representatives  of  all  the  self-governing  nations  of  the  Empire  sat 
around  the  Council  board  tendering  advice  to  the  Crown  upon  matters  of  common 
Imperial  concern.  That  such  a  development  was  possible  was  due  to  three  consid- 
erations: (1)  Stress  of  great  events  brushed  aside  precedent;  (2)  the  flexibility  of 
British  conditions  and  the  British  practical  instinct  for  meeting  a  need  as  it  arises; 
(3)  the  great  power  and  authority  with  which  the  Prime  Minister  is  invested  under 
the  British  constitution. 

. 
On  May  14  the  Premier  arrived  at  Quebec  with  his  colleagues  and 

told  the  press  that:  "The  summoning  of  the  Imperial  War  Cabinet 
is  regarded  as  an  event  of  the  highest  significance  and  there  is  reason 
to  anticipate  that  the  practice  thus  established  will  develop  into 
recognized  usage."  To  Parliament  on  May  18  he  submitted  a 
detailed  and  elaborate  report  upon  the  public  issues  of  this  visit. 
The  Imperial  War  Cabinet  was  reviewed  constitutionally  and  Sir 
Robert  pointed  out  one  important  development  which  had  sprung 
up  as  a  necessity  and  without  design:  "On  days  when  the  Imperial 
War  Cabinet  did  not  sit  the  War  did  not  wait;  therefore  it  was 
necessary  that  the  British  Cabinet  itself  should  sit  on  those  days 
to  deal  with  questions  arising  out  of  the  War.  This  result,  there- 
fore very  early  obtained:  that  the  Imperial  War  Cabinet  was  dif- 
ferentiated from  the  British  War  Cabinet;  that  the  Imperial  War 
Cabinet  sat  for  the  purpose  of  dealing  with  matters  of  common 
concern  to  the  whole  Empire,  and  the  British  War  Cabinet  sat  for 
the  purpose  of  dealing  with  those  matters  which  chiefly  concerned 
the  United  Kingdom.  There  were,  for  the  first  time  in  London, 
two  Cabinets  advising  the  Crown." 

This  practice  and  the  ideal  back  of  it  so  impressed  itself  upon  the  people  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  upon  their  statesmen,  that  at  the  very  last  meeting  of  the 
Imperial  War  Cabinet  a  definite  offer  was  made  to  the  Overseas  Dominions  that  this 
experiment  should  be  continued  in  the  future;  that  it  should  develop  into  a  usage 
and  into  a  convention;  and  that  annually  at  least,  and,  if  necessity  should  arise, 
oftener,  there  should  assemble  in  London  an  Imperial  Cabinet  to  deal  with  matters 
of  common  concern  to  the  Empire.  .  .  .  The  future  of  this  proposal  will  be  a  Cabinet 
of  Governments  rather  than  of  Ministers.  Having  regard  to  the  declarations  of  the 
Prime  Minister  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  his  colleagues,  the  proposal  will  carry 
with  it  much  of  advantage  to  the  Overseas  Dominions.  I  say  that  for  this  reason: 
It  is  not  proposed  that  the  Government  of  the  United  Kingdom  shall,  in  foreign 
affairs,  act  first  and  consult  us  afterwards.  The  principle  has  been  definitely  and 
finally  laid  down  that  in  these  matters  the  Dominions  shall  be  consulted  before  the 
Empire  is  committed  to  any  policy  which  might  involve  the  issues  of  peace  or  war. 

As  to  the  rest  Sir  Robert  declared  that  the  experience  of  sitting 
in  this  Empire  Cabinet  had  given  a  clearer  and  wider  view  of  war 
conditions,  duties  and  responsibilities  than  would  have  been  other- 
wise possible:  "The  day  I  examined  the  correspondence  of  the  War 
Cabinet,  I  suppose  there  were  at  least  200  telegrams  dealing  with 
every  conceivable  subject,  with  matters  arising  in  almost  every 
country,  neutral,  allied,  or  enemy,  in  the  world."  He  quoted  the 
Resolutions  moved  at  the  War  Conference  and  recorded  elsewhere, 
and  stated^that  the  Special  Imperial  Conference  to  be  called  after 


SIR  ROBERT  BORDEN  IN  ENGLAND  AND  IN  PARLIAMENT    291 

the  War  "for  considering  constitutional  readjustment"  should 
include  representatives  of  the  recognized  political  parties  in  all 
the  Dominions  of  the  Empire.  The  Premier  then  dealt  with  the 
development  of  Empire  resources,  declared  that  before  the  War 
"Germany  had  a  better  knowledge  and  conception  of  the  natural 
resources  of  the  Dominions  of  this  Empire  than  was  to  be  found 
in  the  United  Kingdom,"  and  urged  better  and  cheaper  facilities 
of  communication  as  an  essential  element  in  development.  He 
declined  to  urge  a  change  of  Fiscal  policy  upon  the  people  of  Great 
Britain.  As  to  Naval  Defence  "it  will  be  necessary  for  the  United 
Kingdom  and  the  Overseas  Dominions  to  take  up  the  question  in 
co-operation  and  with  a  view  to  concerted  action"  and  for  this 
purpose  the  Admiralty  would  prepare,  after  the  War,  a  scheme  for 
consideration. 

During  the  Parliamentary  Session  the  Premier  took  his  usual 
position  of  careful  leadership  and  courteous  conduct  of  controversial 
affairs  and,  in  the  main,  dealt  with  the  larger  issues  of  war  admin- 
istration. On  Feb.  1  he  introduced  the  Resolutions  for  a  $500,000,- 
000  National  War  Loan  and  stated  the  War  expenditure  to  date 
as  $448,850,053;  on  the  2nd  he  replied  to  F.  B.  Carvell  and  dealt 
at  length  with  the  Ross  Rifle  question.  He  referred  to  the  fact 
that  the  rifle  was  good  in  some  respects  and  inferior  in  others  but 
that  supplies  in  1914-15  were  badly  needed  with  a  year  required 
in  which  to  change  a  factory  from  one  kind  to  another  and,  in  this 
case,  a  year's  notice,  also,  in  which  to  abrogate  the  contract  with 
the  Company ;  that  defective  ammunition  had  something  to  do  with 
the  original  trouble  while  the  fault  of  jamming  was  not  confined 
to  the  Ross  alone;  that  no  one  at  first  thought  of  trench  warfare 
as  a  permanent  thing  and  that  this  had  proved  the  most  trying 
test  to  which  the  rifle  could  be  put;  that  changes  in  construction 
were  made  in  accordance  with  British  advice  and  that  when  the 
troops  lost  confidence  in  the  rifle  it  was  withdrawn  and  the  Lee- 
Enfield  substituted.  His  summary  was  as  follows:  "The  rifle  had 
been  approved  by  the  late  Government  in  the  form  in  which  we  found 
it  when  war  broke  out.  The  Minister  of  Militia  believed  it  to  be 
a  good  rifle.  We  had  no  evidence  before  us  that  it  was  not 
a  good  rifle  until  experience  in  actual  warfare,  under  conditions 
of  the  utmost  severity,  demonstrated,  in  the  opinion  of  the  military 
authorities  at  the  Front,  that  it  ought  to  be  put  aside  and  the  Lee- 
Enfield  substituted  for  it.  They  made  that  suggestion  to  us,  and 
we  acquiesced  in  it." 

The  question  of  Demobilization  was  discussed  on  Feb.  5  and  the 
Medical  Service  in  England  and  Dr.  Bruce's  report  on  the  6th. 
After  the  Premier's  return  from  Great  Britain  the  question  of 
Woman  Suffrage  was  brought  up,  on  May  16,  and  Sir  Robert  ex- 
pressed the  view  (1)  that  it  should  not  be  granted  because  of  women's 
war  services  but  when  given  it  should  be  done  as  a  fundamental 
right;  that  (2)  there  was  an  irresistible  impulse  in  democratic  coun- 
tries to  recognize  this  right  and  that  the  time  was  coming  for  it  to 
be  given  in  "all  the  Parliaments  of  the  nation  and  the  Empire"; 
that  (3)  in  the  words  of  his  amendment  to  a  Resolution  presented 


292  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

by  D.  Sutherland,  declaring  that  the  question  should  engage  the 
attention  of  the  Government  at  the  present  session,  it  should  rather 
"engage  the  attention  of  Parliament  before  an  appeal  to  the  people 
is  made."*  The  Military  Service  Act  was  presented  by  the  Prem- 
ier on  June  11  and  will  be  dealt  with  separately;  so  with  the  Ex- 
tension of  Parliament  Bill  moved  as  an  Address  to  the  King  on 
July  17.  Speaking  on  Aug.  14  to  the  2nd  reading  of  the  Bill  for 
acquisition  of  the  Canadian  Northern  Railway,  he  said : 

I  do  not  for  one  moment  repudiate  the  responsibility  which  the  present  Admin- 
istration has  in  this  matter.  We  had  before  us  just  two  alternatives:  One  was  to 
let  these  roads  go  to  the  wall,  to  injure  the  credit  of  this  country  beyond  measure, 
to  bring  about  grave  detriment  to  the  public  interest,  to  discourage  the  public  senti- 
ment of  Canada,  to  make  it  appear  to  the  world  that  all  this  development  in  this 
country  rested  on  no  sure  foundation,  and  to  put  Canada  back  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
That  was  one  alternative.  The  other  alternative  was  to  go  forward.  I  believe  that 
the  proposals  which  we  now  submit  to  Parliament  are  thoroughly  in  the  interest  of 
the  people  of  this  country,  and  that,  in  the  years  to  come,  when  that  assured  develop- 
ment which  awaits  Canada  shall  have  had  its  fulfilment,  the  C.N.R.  system,  acquired 
by  the  people  of  Canada  under  these  proposals,  will  be  one  of  the  greatest  assets  in 
the  ownership  of  our  people. 

On  Aug.  29  he  continued  the  discussion  of  this  question  and  of  three 
alternatives — liquidation,  acquisition  by  the  C.P.R.,  or  by  the 
Government  of  Canada — stood  firmly  for  the  latter.  In  dealing 
with  the  argument  as  to  taking  over  the  physical  assets  and  not 
the  balance  of  the  common  stock  he  was  emphatic.  Under  the 
latter  method  the  credit  of  the  country  was  maintained,  justice 
secured  to  the  Company  through  a  recognized  tribunal,  the  cor- 
porate entity,  organization,  efficiency  and  service  of  the  Railway 
not  interfered  with.  The  following  important  statement  was  made: 
"I  am  convinced  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  Railway  companies 
and  the  Government  to  get  together  in  the  immediate  future,  and 
establish  a  system  of  co-operative  management  of  all  the  railways 
in  Canada.  .  .  .  There  has  been  effective  and  efficient  co- 
operative management  of  railways  in  England;  we  can  surely  carry 
out  something  of  the  same  kind  in  this  country.  One  result  would  be 
that  we  would  save  every  year  $15,000,000  or  $20,000,000  in  the 
operation  of  these  roads."  The  Premier  dealt  with  the  War-Time 
Elections  Act  on  Sept.  10.  In  all  these  and  other  speeches  clear 
thinking  and  debating  skill  of  the  most  approved  Parliamentary 
kind  were  shown;  Sir  Robert  maintained  in  fact  his  undisputed 
leadership  of  the  House. 

National  Fin-  The  financial  administration  of  affairs  continued 
ance  and  Sir  during  1917  to  be  a  pivot  upon  which  national  action 
Wh't^W  turned  and  the  personality  and  policy  of  Sir  Thomas 
Loans  and^  White  remained  high  in  public  esteem — despite  the 
Taxation.  difficulty  of  pleasing  everyone  in  days  of  high  taxa- 
tion and  higher  expenditures.  In  one  respect  the 
Minister  had  a  satisfactory  basis  for  his  operations;  the  resources 
of  the  country  were  great,  their  development  was  substantial  and 
national  credit  stood  high.  The  expansion  in  agriculture,  industry 

*NOTE. — The  debate  was  adjourned  and  not  renewed  during  the  Session. 
I 


FINANCIAL  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SIR  THOMAS  WHITE       293 

and  business  was  steady  though,   of  course,   the  high  and  ever- 
growing prices  inflated  the  statistical  figures  to  some  extent. 

Still,  with  all  allowances,  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the 
count ly  were  remarkable.  The  exports  of  domestic  produce  be- 
tween the  year  ending  Feb.  28,  1915,  and  that  of  Feb.  28,  1917, 
increased  from  $391,000,905  to  $1,117,374,693,  or  154  per  cent.*; 
the  value  of  field  crops  rose  from  $825,270,600  in  1915  to  1,144,000,- 
000  in  1917;  industrial  production  rose  in  value  from  $1,392,000,000 
in  1915  to  an  estimated  total  of  $2,000,000,000;  in  the  years  1915- 
16,  inclusive,  British  and  Allied  orders  for  shells,  munitions,  food 
supplies  and  ships  had  totalled  $1,095,000,000  and  by  the  end  of 
1917  the  total  was  in  excess  of  $1,500,000,000;  immigration,  though 
reduced  in  number,  improved  in  quality  and  from  Mar.  31,  1915,  to 
Mar.  31,  1917,  totalled  268,720,  of  whom  137,000  were  from  the 
Stales;  the  values  of  Canadian  Live-stock  in  1917  were  $1,102,-  ^  '/ 
261,000,  or  an  increase  of  $200,000,000  in  the  year;  Bank  clearings  " 
grew  from  $7,797,430,800  in  1915  to  $12,469,426,435  in  1915^be- 
tween  Dec.  31,  1914,  and  Dec.  31,  1917,  the  Deposits  in  Canadian 
Banks  had  increased  from  $1,012,739,990  to  $1,565,419,884. 

As  against  this  condition  of  obvious  prosperity  was  the  under- 
current of  doubt  and  the  waves  of  depression  and  pessimism  which 
a  world-war  made  inevitable,  the  dangers  which  were  ever  present 
to  shipping  and  products,  to  individuals  and  nations,  to  all  financial 
calculations  and  conditions,  to  markets  and  stocks  and  basic  values. 
The  first  war  shock  had  been  well  met  by  Sir  Thomas  White  in  the 
latter  months  of  1914  and  in  succeeding  years,  as  conditions  of  con- 
fidence returned,  production  steadily  increased  and  the  financial 
demands  of  war  attained  enormous  dimensions,  the  Minister  had  to 
adjust  his  policy  to  ever-changing  problems  of  revenue,  taxation 
and  debt.  Canada  had  been,  essentially,  a  borrowing  nation  and 
now  its  British  market  for  loans,  and  for  a  time  the  American  mar- 
ket, were  closed,  or  partially  so,  and  a  debtor  nation  changed  into 
a  creditor.  In  1914  Canada  had  sold  bonds  in  Great  Britain  total- 
ling $200,000,000;  in  1916  none  were  sold  there,  $170,000,000  in  the 
United  States,  and  $99,000,000  within  Canada;  in  1917  the  United 
States  absorbed  $186,000,000  and  Canadians  took  $772,000,000f. 
Meanwhile  the  Public  Debt  had  grown  from  $335,996,850  on  Mar. 
31,  1914,  before  the  War,  to  $976,428,504  on  Dec.  31,  1917.  The 
following  list  of  Government  issues  and  War  Loans  indicates  the 
detailed  borrowing  for  which  Sir  Thomas  White's  policy,  and  war 
requirements,  were  jointly  responsible: 

Issued               Place  Amount  Issued               Place  Amount 

March,   1915  ..  .London  .  .  .  $  25,000,000  September,  1916. Canada.  .  .  $100,000,000 

July,  1915 New  York.  25,000,000  March,   1917. . . .  Canada .  .  .  150,000,00 

New  York.  20,000,000         July,   1917 New  York.  100,000,000 

November,  1915 Canada.  ..  100,000,000  November,  1917. Canada.  ..  150,000,000 

March,  1916 New  York .  25,000,000 

New  York.  25,000,000  

New  York .  25,000,000                      Total $745,000,000 

The  increase  in  the  Public  Debt  was  accompanied,  fortunately, 

*NOTE. — At  the  same  date  in  1918  it  was  $1,562,588,114. 

fYearly  statistics  issued  by  E.  R.  Wood,  President,  Central  Canada  Loan  and 
Savings  Co.,  and  an  acknowledged  authority. 


294  ,THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

by  increased  revenues  and  production  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
Canadian  securities  of  various  kinds  showed  clear  depreciation  in 
values  and  the  leading  stocks  were  all,  during  1917,  upon  lower 
levels  than  in  1916 — the  total  depreciation  in  128  securities  being 
estimated  by  the  Montreal  Financial  Times  at  $210,000,000.  The 
chief  illustration  was  the  C.P.R.,  which  began  the  year  at  the  high 
price  of  167^  and  closed  at  139,  or  a  depreciation  of  $74,000,000. 
As  was  to  be  expected  Building  permits  or  operations  continued  to 
decrease,  registering  in  Montreal  $4,387,000,  in  Toronto  $7,630,000 
in  Vancouver  $768,000  and  in  Winnipeg  $2,212,000,  compared  with 
a  total  for  the  four  cities  in  1913  of  $83,000,000. 

There  still  was  a  heavy  consumption  and  importation  of  luxuries. 
Despite  the  appeals  and  advice  of  the  Finance  Minister  Canadians, 
in  the  year  ending  Mar.  31,  1917,  imported  $19,000,000  worth  of 
fruits  and  nuts;  $8,550,000  worth  of  motor-cars,  with  $7,200,000  of 
auto-parts  and,  in  the  preceding  three  years  a  total  of  $16,000,000 
worth;  $3,500,000  worth  of  gasoline,  of  which  at  least  one-half  was 
for  pleasure  purposes;  $669,000  worth  of  perfumery  and  $1,717,000 
of  precious  stones,  $12,943,000  of  silks  and  manufactures  of  silks, 
$4,000,000  worth  of  spirits,  wines  and  ales.  Of  other  such  items 
there  might  be  mentioned  ribbons,  confectionery,  jewelry,  musical 
instruments  and  paintings,  totalling  over  $7,000,000.  Working 
people  lived  better  than  they  had  ever  done  before;  so  did  many 
newly-rich  persons  benefiting  by  the  profits  of  war.  On  the  other 
hand  large  numbers  of  thinking,  patriotic  people  denied  themselves 
everything  except  necessities  and  they  more  than  balanced  the 
unthinking  and  selfish. 

Meanwhile,  Sir  Thomas  White  was  doing  his  best  to  control  the 
problem  of  national  finance  which  underlay  all  other  problems. 
Speaking  to  the  Toronto  Board  of  Trade  on  Jan.  3  he  was  explicit 
in  his  advice:  "The  people  of  Canada  should  practice  economy, 
which  results  in  greater  national  saving.  Every  man  over  21 
understands  how  to  economize,  and  every  man  can  carry  it  out  if 
he  wants  to  carry  it  out.  Let  us  economize.  Let  us  make  our 
savings  serve  the  purpose  of  war.  Let  the  people  of  the  Dominion, 
by  thrift  and  economy,  make  their  dollars  fight  the  Huns."  He 
criticized  increased  business  dividends,  slackness  in  labour,  self- 
indulgence  of  any  kind.  The  cause  was  worth  some  sacrifice  and, 
as  he  pointed  out  to  the  New  York  Canadian  Club  on  Jan.  29: 
"What  man,  what  people,  would  not  feel  a  noble  pride  in  the  citi- 
zenship of  the  glorious  British  Empire?  We  stand  for  Canada,  but 
Canada  within  the  Empire,  one  and  indissoluble.  We  are  fighting 
for  the  ideals  of  the  Empire,  the  ideals  of  liberty,  freedom,  equality 
before  the  law."  It  was  estimated  in  March  that  during  two  years 
the  people  of  Canada  had  saved  by  thrift  and  economy  about  $500,- 
000,000. 

The  Budget  speech  was  delivered  on  Apr.  24  and  was  brief 
beyond  all  precedent.  For  the  fiscal  year  of  Mar.  31  the  revenue 
was  stated  as  $232,000,000  or  $100,000,000  over  the  first  fiscal  year 
of  war  (1914-15).  The  total  current  and  capital  expenditure — 
apart  from  distinctively  war  items  but  including  war  interest, 


1C 

FINANCIAL  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SIR  THOMAS  WHITE       295 


charges  and  pensions — was  $172,000,000  and  left  a  surplus  of 
000,000  to  devote  to  war  purposes:  "Since  the  beginning  of  hostil- 
ities our  total  war  outlay,  including  estimated  and  unadjusted 
liability  to  Great  Britain  for  the  maintenance  of  our  troops  at  the 
Front  and  inclusive  of  withheld  pay,  totals,  so  far  as  we  can  cal- 
culate, about  $600,000,000.  As  the  result  of  this  large  war  expendi- 
ture, the  net  National  Debt  of  Canada,  which  was  $336,000,000 
before  the  outbreak  of  war,  has  risen  to  over  $900,000,000.  By 
the  end  of  the  present  fiscal  year  (Mar.  31,  1918)  it  may  reach 
$1,200,000,000."  He  added  that  the  policy  of  the  Government 
was  "to  fund  the  War  indebtedness  so  as  to  postpone  its  maturities 
to  periods  well  beyond  the  end  of  the  War,  and  by  increased  taxa- 
tion on  the  one  hand  and  the  reduction  of  current  expenditure  on 
works  on  the  other,  to  meet  from  annual  income  all  annual  outlays, 
including  increased  interest  and  pension  charges  and,  in  addition,  a 
substantial  amount  of  the  War  expenditure  itself."  As  to  War 
Loans,  the  Minister  stated  that: 

Since  the  outbreak  of  the  War  we  have  floated  in  Canada  domestic  loans  aggre- 
gating $350,000,000  and  have,  in  addition,  furnished  $150,000,000  through  our  chart- 
ered banks  to  the  Imperial  Treasury  to  meet  its  commitments  for  munitions  and  sup- 
plies purchased  in  Canada.  Everywhere,  I  believe,  this  is  regarded  as  a  very  notable 
achievement  on  the  part  of  Canada.  It  has  not  only  made  possible  our  participa- 
tion on  a  large  scale  in  the  War  but  it  has,  in  greater  measure  than  we  realize, 
brought  about  the  present  state  of  prosperity  in  the  Dominion.  Without  the  aid 
afforded  by  the  savings  of  our  people  the  expenditures  which  have  been  made  in 
Canada  by  both  Governments  for  supplies  and  munitions  could  not  have  been  made. 

Trade  conditions  of  unprecedented  prosperity  were  due,  in  part, 
to  this  policy  and  he  pointed  out  that,  while  the  trade  balance,  or 
excess  of  imports  over  exports,  was  against  Canada  in  1912  and 
through  1915  (fiscal  years),  to  a  total  of  $650,000,000,  it  had  turned 
in  1916  to  an  excess  of  exports  totalling  $249,000,000  and  in  1917 
to  $314,000,000.  Higher  prices  and  War  production  were  chiefly 
responsible,  of  course,  but  so  also  were  greater  grain  exports.  The 
only  safeguard  against  the  expected  trade  declension  of  Peace  times 
was  private  saving  and  business  husbanding  of  resources.  It  may 
be  stated  here,  though  not  included  in  the  Budget  speech,  that  the 
exact  official  statistics  of  Revenues  and  Expenditures  and  Debt  for 
the  calendar,  instead  of  fiscal,  years  1915-17  were  as  follows: 

Particulars  To  Dec.  31,  1915  To  Dec.  31,  1916  To  Dec.  31,  1917 

Revenue. .  .  $122,027,821           $166,856,349  $190,659,370 

Ordinary  Expenditure 74,469,455               81.696,505  96,982,537 

Capital  Expenditure 27,369,792               18,973,635  17,015,417 

War  Expenditure 85,748,898              170,229,748  171,748,839 

Net  Debt 515,144,019             722,111,449  976,428,504 

A  most  interesting  point  in  these  figures  was  the  obvious  care  as  to 
ordinary  expenses  and  capital  outlay;  it  may  be  added  that  the 
Interest  on  the  Public  Debt  rose  from  $15,700,000  in  the  fiscal  year 
1915  to  $21,400,000  in  1916  and  $35,800,000  in  1917.  There  were 
no  Tariff  changes  announced  in  the  Budget  but  an  increase  in  the 
Business  Profits  War-Tax  of  1916  was  stated  for  a  new  Excess 
Profits  Tax  as  follows:  50%  of  all  profits  in  excess  of  15%  but  not 
exceeding  20%  per  annum  and  75%  of  all  profits  in  excess  of  20% 


296  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

per  annum  upon  capital:  "That  is  to  say  up  to  15%  they  (business 
interests)  will  be  liable  in  the  existing  legislation  and  in  addition 
we  shall  take  one-half  cf  their  profits  between  15%  and  20%  and 
three-fourths  of  their  profits  beyond  20  per  cent.  The  increased 
tax  will  chiefly  affect  manufacturers  of  munitions  and  other  war 
supplies.  While  the  percentage  of  excess  profits  which  is  taken  is 
large,  sufficient  is  left  to  provide  incentive  to  effort  on  the  part  of 
all  subject  to  War-tax."  The  Minister  discussed  Income  Tax 
proposals  but  declared  that  in  view  of  competitive,  continental  con- 
ditions in  wealth  and  population,  with  the  balance  in  favour  of  the 
United  States,  this  taxation  should  not  be  resorted  to  until  abso- 
lutely necessary. 

Financial  interests  were,  in  some  measure,  opposed  to  this  Tax 
legislation  and  Sir  Thomas  White  was  strongly  criticized  by  the 
Financial  Times  of  Montreal,  in  particular,  on  the  ground  that  (1) 
the  Tax  was  not  equitable,  and  discriminated  against  one  small 
group  of  citizens;  (2)  that  it  would  remove  the  incentive  to  War 
activities  of  an  industrial  character  and  restrict  production;  (3) 
that  it  would  eliminate  the  source  of  large  contributions  to  War 
loans  and  War  requirements;  (4)  that  it  was  a  tax  on  enterprise, 
on  special  ability,  on  capital,  on  efficient  production;  (5)  that  the 
basis  of  so-called  excess  profits  was  the  keeping  of  capital  and  labour 
occupied  24  hours  a  day  instead  of  8  hours  in  order  to  meet  war 
emergency,  and  that  the  profits,  therefore,  were  not  really  excessive; 
(6)  that  War  industries  required  capital  but  only  for  a  limited  and 
doubtful  period  and  that  in  order  to  get  and  keep  investments  and 
increasing  plants  for  a  temporary  business  large  profits  were  essen- 
tial. The  Montreal  Gazette  did  not  like  the  taxation  nor  did  the 
Montreal  Daily  Mail  or  Montreal  Herald.  The  manufacturers' 
organ,  Industrial  Canada,  objected  not  to  the  principle,  but  to  its 
application  and  the  Legislative  Committee  of  the  Manufacturers' 
Association  at  Winnipeg  on  June  13  claimed  that  "no  amount  of 
revenue  which  the  increased  taxation  of  profits  could  possibly  yield 
would  compensate  for  the  detrimental  effect  of  such  taxation  upon 
the  industrial  future  of  the  country." 

The  measure  passed  in  due  course  with  little  change  and  on  July 
25  the  Minister  of  Finance  announced  to  the  Commons  a  proposed 
national  measure  of  Income  taxation.  He  explained  his  previous 
objections  to  the  levy  on  the  ground  of  Provincial  direct  taxation 
already  applicable,  the  cost  of  administration  of  such  a  Tax  in  a 
large  country  so  sparsely  populated  as  Canada,  and  the  possible 
effect  it  might  have  upon  after- war  immigration.  But  "in  view  of 
the  financial  situation,  the  increased  demands  which  will  be  made 
upon  us  and  the  purpose  of  the  people  of  Canada  in  this  war,  it  is 
manifest  to  me  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  we  must  resort  to 
this  measure."  He  stated  that  in  the  plans  developed  the  Govern- 
ment had  regard  to  the  greatly  increased  cost  of  living,  the  municipal 
taxation  upon  incomes,  running  in  some  places  as  high  as  3%,  and 
the  Income  tax  of  some  of  the  Provinces: 

We  propose  to  levy  an  Income  Tax  of  4%  upon  incomes  exceeding  $2,000  per 
annum  in  the  case  of  unmarried  men  and  widowers  without  children,  and  exceeding 


FINANCIAL  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SIR  THOMAS  WHITE       297 


$3,000  in  the  case  of  other  persons,  and  in  addition  thereto  a  supertax  of  2%  upon 
the  amount  by  which  the  income  exceeds  $6,000  and  does  not  exceed  $10,000;  5% 
upon  the  amount  by  which  the  income  exceeds  $10,000  and  does  not  exceed  $20,000; 
8%  upon  the  amount  by  which  the  income  exceeds  $20,000  and  does  not  exceed 
$30,000;  10%  upon  the  amount  by  which  the  income  exceeds  $30,000  and  does  not 
exceed  $50,000;  15%  upon  the  amount  by  which  the  income  exceeds  $50,000  and 
does  not  exceed  $100,000;  25%  upon  the  amount  by  which  the  income  exceeds  $100,000. 

The  Tax  was  to  apply  on  incomes  of  the  current  year  and  when 
liability  under  the  Profits  Tax  came  to  an  end  on  Dec.  31,  1917. 
"It  is  not  the  intention  to  renew  that  measure."  Sir  Thomas  added 
that  there  were  provisions  for  an  income  tax  on  corporations  and 
joint  stock  companies,  earning  an  income  exceeding  $3,000,  of  4%, 
with  the  shareholders  liable  also  to  the  supertax.  No  time  limit 
was  imposed  but  the  Minister  hoped  that  after  the  War  the  taxa- 
tion would  be  deliberately  reversed.  A.  K.  Maclean,  for  the  Opposi- 
tion, approved  the  principle  involved.  There  was  wide  discussion 
of  this  measure  and  it  was  pointed  out  as  a  preliminary  fact  that 
an  Income  tax  in  some  form  or  other  was  already  in  existence  in 
most  European  countries  and  had,  in  1916,  been  established  in  the 
United  States  with  exemptions  of  $3,000  and  $4,000,  a  tax  of  2% 
and  a  graded  additional  tax  on  incomes  of  $20,000  and  upwards. 
Some  changes  followed  the  initial  proposal — the  chief  one  being  a 
change  in  exemption  of  unmarried  persons,  widows  or  widowers 
without  dependent  children,  from  $2,000  to  $1,500.  As  finally 
passed  it  applied  to  all  persons  or  individuals  and  all  syndicates, 
trusts  or  associations  and  all  companies  or  corporations,  or  their 
legal  representatives  not  expressly  exempted;  a  business  partner- 
ship and  persons  carrying  on  business  as  a  partnership  were  taxable 
in  their  individual  capacity.  As  finally  worked  out  the  rates  on 
certain  specific  Incomes  were  as  follows*: 


Unmarried  Persons  and  Widows  or  Wid- 
owers without  Dependent  Children. 


All  Other  Persons 


Income 

Normal       S 
Tax 

uper         Total 
Tax            Tax 

$  1,500 

Exempt 

Nil 

2,000 

20 

20 

3,000 

60 

60 

4,000 

100 

100 

5,000 

140 

140 

6,000 

180 

180 

8,000 

260 

40              300 

10,000 

340 

80              420 

15,000 

540 

330              870 

25,000 

940 

980           1,920 

Normal 

Super 

Total 

Income 

Tax 

Tax 

Tax 

$  3,000 

Exempt 

Nil 

4,000 

40 

40 

5,000 

80 

80 

6,000 

120 

120 

7,000 

160 

"26" 

180 

8,000 

200 

40 

240 

9,000 

240 

60 

300 

10,000 

280 

80 

360 

15,000 

480 

330 

810 

25,000 

880 

980 

1,860 

Incidents  of  this  taxation  included  the  vigorous  attacks  of  the  To- 
ronto Star  upon  the  legislation  as  an  insufficient  impost  upon  large 
corporations  and  as  letting  many  of  them  out  of  the  net — illustrated 
by  the  Wm.  Davies  Co.,  which,  it  was  claimed  (July  26)  would  be 
taxed  $55,200  in  1917  in  place  of  $223,063  levied  in  1916  under  the 
Business  Profits  Tax;  exception  taken  by  some  financial  journals 
to  the  practical  exemption  of  farmers  from  taxation  and  the  claim 
that  their  money  was  more  assured,  their  prosperity  greater,  their 
cost  of  living  less,  their  total  returns  larger,  than  with  the  average 
business  men  in  cities  who  made  incomes  subject  to  this  tax;  the 


*NOTB. — Trusts  and  Guarantee  Co.,  Toronto,  Booklet. 


- 


298  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

wide  and  loose  talk  as  to  Conscription  of  wealth  as  well  as  men 
without  any  definition — economic  or  exact — of  the  meaning  of  the 
Socialistic  phrase  but  with  a  vague,  popular  feeling  that  it  would 
be  a  means  of  getting  more  money  out  of  the  rich  for  the  benefit  of 
the  poor;  the  suggestion  of  J.  B.  Musselman,  Saskatchewan  Grain 
Growers'  Secretary,  in  the  Regina  Leader  (Sept.  29)  that  all  profits 
on  War  business — not  agricultural  profits — should  be  invested  by 
"compulsory  subscription,"  in  Government  bonds  at  a  rate  of 
interest  similar  to  that  which  obtained  before  the  War;  protest  from 
many  quarters  against  any  abandonment  of  the  Excess  Profits  Tax 
during  the  War  and  the  final  announcement  by  Sir  Thomas  White 
in  the  House  on  Aug.  17  that  the  Tax  would  be  continued;  the  semi- 
official estimate  at  the  close  of  1917  that  the  Business  Tax  would, 
during  its  3  years,  have  realized  $50,000,000  for  the  Treasury  and 
the  new  Income  tax  $25,000,000  in  its  first  year. 

Of  Sir  Thomas  White's  other  legislation  during  this  Session  a 
few  words  must  be  said.  He  amended  the  Bank  Act  so  as  to  auth- 
orize Banks  to  loan  money  to  farmers  and  those  engaged  in  raising 
stock,  on  the  security  of  their  Live-stock,  taking  a  simple  form  of 
assignment  which  might  be  registered  at  a  trifling  expense  instead 
of  the  chattel  mortgage  or  bill  of  sale  necessary  under  the  existing 
Act.  His  Insurance  Bill  was  an  important  and  complete  revision 
of  the  Dominion  Insurance  Act.  The  amendments  were  of  three 
classes — those  considered  necessary  to  remove  from  the  Act  features 
which  had  been  decided  by  a  Privy  Council  judgment  to  be  ultra 
vires;  those  necessary  to  meet  changed  conditions  which  had  arisen 
since  the  old  Act  was  passed ;  those  needed  to  remove  certain  serious 
defects  in  the  Act  which  had  come  to  light  in  its  administration. 
Among  the  new  clauses  was  one  enlarging  the  definition  of  "Explo- 
sion insurance"  to  include  insurance  against  damage  caused  by 
bombardment  and  other  factors  incidental  to  war.  The  clause 
making  a  paid-up  capital  of  $300,000  necessary  in  Fire  and  Life  in 
order  to  obtain  a  license  was  modified  to  admit  certain  British  com- 
panies with  large  surpluses  but  small  capital;  another  amendment 
permitted  Fire  and  Automobile  insurance  companies  to  invest  in 
the  Rural  telephone  Debentures  of  Saskatchewan  and  other  similarly 
secured  issues,  and  provided  that  no  Canadian  Company  could 
invest  in  the  stock  of  any  other  company  transacting  the  same  class 
of  insurance  business  so  as  to  check  the  inter-locking  of  Companies; 
there,  also,  was  a  clause  compelling  the  maintenance  of  an  adequate 
reserve  by  Hail  Insurance  companies. 

The  Minister  presented  on  Aug.  1  and  carried  through  the  House, 
with  careful  speeches  and  through  much  debate,  the  purchase  by 
the  Government  of  the  600,000  shares  of  the  Canadian  Northern 
Railway  (par  value  $60,000,000)  on  terms  to  be  set  out  in  an  agree- 
ment and  with  the  appointment  of  an  Arbitration  tribunal  to  deter- 
mine the  value  of  these  shares  and  the  amount  to  be  paid  therefor. 
A  further  Loan  of  $7,500,000  was  also  carried  by  the  Minister  for 
the  use  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  in  paying  interest  on  its  secur- 
ities and  for  Railway  betterments  and  purchases.  Another  Bill 
facilitated  financial  arrangements  between  the  British  Government 


FINANCIAL  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SIR  THOMAS  WHITE 

and  the  C.P.R.  to  permit  the  former  to  utilize  the  Company's 
securities  held  in  England  as  collateral  to  War  loans  obtained  in 
New  York — through  the  C.P.R.  issue  of  collateral  trust  bonds  to  be 
exchanged  for  its  consolidated  stock  and  other  securities.  In  August 
the  Minister  announced  that  $10  War  Savings  Certificates  were  to 
be  offered  the  public  at  once,  purchasable  at  $8.60  and  bringing  the 
holder  face  value  at  the  end  of  three  years — $860  would  in  this  way 
bring  in  $1,000. 

A  notable  feature  of  Sir  Thomas  White's  policy  was  a  continuous 
financial  co-operation  with  the  British  authorities.  On  Feb.  1  the 
Minister  of  Finance  stated  that  the  total  of  Canadian  advances  to 
the  Imperial  Munitions  Board  to  date,  for  the  British  purchase  of 
Munitions  and  supplies,  was  $150,000,000,  but  that  on  the  other 
hand  $97,000,000  was  owing  by  the  Canadian  Government  to  the 
Imperial  Government  together  with  $122,000,000  for  special  ad- 
vances made  by  Great  Britain  for  the  war  equipment  and  supplies 
of  Canadian  troops — which  latter  had  been  repaid  by  Dominion 
bonds.  Credits  continued  during  the  year  based  upon  Bank  action 
and  National  Loans  and  on  Aug.  27  Sir  Thomas  stated  that  the 
Dominion  Government  had  advanced  to  date  to  the  Imperial  Muni- 
tions Board  the  sum  of  $285,000,000.  There  had  also  been  advanced 
to  the  Board  by  the  Banks  of  Canada  $100,000,000,  and  other  ad- 
vances to  the  end  of  the  year  would  total  $170,000,000:  "In  order 
to  provide  the  farmers  of  Canada  with  an  export  market  for  their 
Cheese,  we  arranged  to  provide  $40,000,000,  to  be  paid  out  during 
July,  August,  September  and  October.  In  addition  to  that  sum 
$10,000,000  was  supplied  for  the  purchase  of  hay,  oats  and  flour." 

On  Sept.  21  the  Minister  met  the  Canadian  Bankers'  Association, 
Canadian  Bond  dealers,  etc.,  to  discuss  a  situation  which  involved 
the  granting  of  still  further  war  credits  to  Great  Britain  and  the 
purchase  of  wheat  on  her  behalf.  Arrangements  were  completed 
for  the  advance  of  $75,000,000  by  the  Banks  to  finance  meat  and 
bacon  purchases  and  the  Banks  also  agreed  to  facilitate  a  temporary 
advance  of  $80,000,000  for  the  payment  of  wheat  at  Western  points 
of  delivery  while  holding  the  wheat  as  security  until  it  reached  the 
seaboard.  At  the  seaboard  the  British  Government,  through  the 
Wheat  Export  Company,  was  to  accept  the  wheat  and  repay  the 
Banks.  The  latter  plan  was  the  result  of  agreement  between  Lord 
Reading  for  the  British  Government  and  Sir  T.  White  for  Canada. 
The  record  of  Bank  and  Dominion  advances  on  British  account  to 
the  end  of  the  year  showed  the  following  total  as  against  $300,000,- 
000  advanced  by  Great  Britain  on  Canadian  account  for  the  main- 
tenance of  its  forces  in  Britain  and  France: 

Date                                                              Source  of  Credit  Amount 

December, . .  1915. .                              . .  Dominion  Government $  50,000,000 

April               1916 ..                               .  .  Banks. .  .                           75,000,000 

July                 1916                                            "                         25,000,000 

September,     1916 Dominion  Government 50,000,000 

November,     1916 Banks 20,000,000 

January,         1917 Dominion  Government 25,000,000 


March,  1917. 

May,  1917. 


June,  1917..  ..C.P.R.. 


June,  1917 .  .  Dominion  Government 75,000,000 


July,  1917. 

August,  1917. 

Sept.-Dec.,     1917. 


10,000,000 
40,000,000 
10,000,000 


35,000,000 
35,000,000 
100,000,000 


Total $550,000,000 


300  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Meanwhile  Canadian-British  trade  had  produced  another  compli- 
cated condition;  in  the  three  fiscal  years,  1915-16-17,  the  total  Can- 
adian exports  to  Britain  were  $2,419,953,679  and  Imports  therefrom 
$1,808,485,635;  the  trade  balance  in  favour  of  Canada  was,  there- 
fore, more  than  equal  to  its  total  obligations  abroad  for  interest  on 
the  $3,000,000,000  of  British  money  invested  in  Canada.  During 
the  year  Canada  floated  its  3rd  and  4th  War  Loans.  Up  to  this 
time  the  Government  borrowings  in  the  War  had  included  one  4j/2% 
Loan  in  London  for  $25,000,000,  two  5%  Loans  in  New  York  total- 
ling $120,000,000,  and  two  in  Canada,  5%,  totalling  $200,000,000. 
On  Mar.  11  Sir  Thomas  White  issued  an  Appeal  to  the  people  of 
Canada,  together  with  a  Prospectus  of  the  new  issue  of  $150,000,000, 
5%,  bonds  maturing  Mar.  1,  1937,  with  interest  payable  half- 
yearly  in  gold  and  an  issue  price  of  96.  Within  three  days  the  bulk 
of  the  Loan  was  taken  up — the  Bank  of  Montreal  taking  the  largest 
single  sum — $8,700,000.  Finally,  the  Loan  was  over-subscribed  by 
$100,000,000  and  the  Minister  announced  on  Mar.  27  that  the 
Banks  would  be  eliminated  and  other  allotments  scaled  down  to 
meet  requirements:  "The  result  is  a  most  notable  and  significant 
success  for  the  Canadian  people.  In  the  eyes  of  the  outside  world 
it  will  be  regarded  as  our  greatest  achievement  of  the  War  next 
to  mobilizing  our  army  and  sending  it  overseas." 

The  second  Victory  Loan  (as  these  two  were  called)  was  issued 
in  October  as  $150,000,000,  5^%,  gold  bonds,  bearing  interest 
from  Dec.  1st,  1917,  offered  at  par  and  free  from  taxes  in  three 
maturities— 5-year,  Dec.  1,  1922,  10-year,  Dec.  1,  1927,  and  20-year, 
Dec.  1,  1937.  The  proceeds  were  to  be  used  for  War  purposes  only 
and  be  spent  wholly  in  Canada.  Elaborate  preparations  were  made 
for  the  canvass  with  a  Dominion  Executive  composed  of  A.  E.  Ames, 
Toronto,  Chairman;  J.  M.  Mackie,  Montreal,  and  J.  H.  Gundy, 
Toronto,  Vice-Chairmen ;  C.  H.  Burgess,  Toronto,  Secretary,  and 
other  prominent  financial  men.  Within  a  short  time  the  Minister 
and  Mr.  Ames  had,  practically,  a  vast  selling  organization  in  shape 
with  thousands  of  agents  in  every  part  of  Canada,  hamlet  or  city, 
lumber  or  mining  camp,  country  and  town  alike,  and  a  machine 
graded  down  from  Dominion  to  municipal  in  its  scope  and  work. 
There  also  was  a  representative  Bankers'  Committee  and  a  Publicity 
Committee  headed  by  F.  W.  Kerr  of  Toronto,  and  with  J.  H.  Woods 
of  Calgary  as  Chairman  of  a  Press  Committee  which  sent  out  25,000 
news  articles,  suggestions,  patriotic  cartoons,  etc.,  to  every  publi- 
cation in  Canada.  The  larger  Committee  issued  30,000,000  pieces 
of  educational  matter — exclusive  of  the  Press  items  and  advertise- 
ments in  1,300  Canadian  publications.  These  latter  were  excep- 
tionally good  and  did  much  to  bring  the  War  and  its  import  home 
to  every  citizen. 

To  a  great  audience  in  Toronto  on  Nov.  9  Sir  Thomas  White 
described  (1)  the  prosperity  of  Canada  and  (2)  the  purpose  of  the 
Loan  as  helping  to  sustain  Canada's  military  efforts  and  standing 
behind  the  soldiers  with  food  supplies,  munitions  and  money.  Can- 
ada must  "produce  and  save  and  invest  in  Dominion  securities"; 
its  people  must  get  upon  a  War  basis  and  practice  self-sacrifice  and 


FINANCIAL  ADMINISTRATION  OF  SIR  THOMAS  WHITE       301 

self-denial.  The  first  subscription  (Nov.  12)  received  at  the  Finance 
Department  was  from  H.E.  the  Duke  of  Devonshire;  President 
H.  G.  Kelley  of  the  Grand  Trunk  issued  an  appeal  to  his  officials 
and  employees;  Lord  Shaughnessy  promised  to  take  $10,000,000  for 
the  C.P.R.  if  Canada  took  up  $300,000,000  and  as  Hon.  Chairman 
of  the  Montreal  Committee  was  active  in  his  personal  help.  Presi- 
dent Gompers  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labour  announced, 
on  Nov.  22,  a  subscription  of  $10,000  from  that  body,  while  Mme. 
Sarah  Bernhardt  raised  $50,000  for  the  Loan  in  Hamilton  on  the 
same  day;  on  Nov.  26  Theodore  Roosevelt  addressed  a  great  meet- 
ing in  Toronto  on  behalf  of  the  Loan  and  told  Canadians  that  "the 
duty  incumbent  on  both  of  our  nations  is  to  fight  this  war  through 
to  a  finish,  no  matter  how  long  it  takes,  and  at  no  matter  what  cost 
of  life  and  treasure,  until  we  win  the  peace  of  overwhelming  victory"; 
on  the  28th  a  much-discussed  campaign  sheet  was  issued  describing 
a  supposed  landing  of  Germans  in  Canada  and  the  fearful  results; 
at  the  same  date  Samuel  Gompers  spoke  in  Toronto  and  declared 
that:  "I  hold  it  to  be  the  first  duty  of  every  Canadian,  by  birth  or 
citizenship,  to  do  everything  within  his  power  to  unite  the  people 
in  winning  of  this  war."  Harry  Lauder  at  Hamilton,  Toronto,  Mon- 
treal and  other  places,  gave  time  and  songs  and  witty  speech  to  the 
sale  of  bonds  which  ran  up  into  the  hundreds  of  thousands  and  at 
one  Rotary  Club  luncheon  in  Toronto  totalled  $700,000. 

From  Ottawa  on  Dec.  2  the  Minister  of  Finance  issued  a  state- 
ment congratulating  Canada  on  having  doubled  the  subscription 
asked  for  and  "gone  over  the  top"  to  a  total  of  $300,000,000:  "The 
success  of  this  Loan  was  vital  to  Canada.  We  have  now  the  means 
of  carrying  on  the  War,  and  for  the  establishment  of  needed  credits 
for  Great  Britain.  This  means  that  business  will  be  maintained  and 
will  help  in  turn  to  support  the  War."  He  thanked  the  Committees, 
the  Press,  the  Boy  Scouts,  the  splendid  organizers  of  victory,  the 
staff  of  3,000  Canadian  Banking  offices,  the  women  who  had  worked 
so  hard,  the  masses  who  had  contributed  so  freely.  Two  days  later 
the  subscriptions  were  still  coming  in  with  a  total  received  of  $401,- 
530,100,  and  despatches  of  congratulation  came  from  the  King  and 
the  Duke  of  Connaught.  As  to  details  Toronto's  total  up  to  Dec. 
Jrd  was  $76,256,000,  Hamilton  $12,623,000  and  London  $6,505,000. 
Ip  to  the  15th  the  official  figures  issued  by  W.  S.  Hodgens,  Chair- 
man, Dominion  Business  Committee,  were  (1)  as  follows,  while  (2) 
the  other  table  below  gives  particulars  of  the  whole  four  Loans 
issued : 


I. 

Province 
Alberta 

Population 
496  000 

No.  of 
Subscribers 
55,408 
45,834 
78,856 
20,000 
39,521 
362,900 
125,867 
5,300 
73,675 

Per 
Capita 
in    8.9 
in    8.5 
to    7.0 
in  17.5 
in  12.8 
in    7.11 
L  in  17.97 
I  in  17.54 
Lin    8.82 

Amount     Subscription 
Subscribed    Per  Capita 
$  16,515,150     $33.29 
17,820,500       49.29 
32,326,600       85.23 
10,250,000       25.25 
18,588,150       36.59 
203,823,500       78  .  94 
93,798,100       41.45 
2,331,350       25.07 
21,777,050       33.50 

British  Columbia  
Manitoba 

394,000 
555,000 

New  Brunswick  

350,000 

Nova  Scotia        

508,000 

Ontario 

2  582  000 

Quebec   

.  .      2,263,000 
93  000 

P.E.  Island 

Saskatchewan  

650,000 

Total 7,891,000      807,361         1  in    9 . 77     $417,230,400     $52 . 87 


302 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


ii. 

Record  of  Loans 


Amount  of  Loan(l) 

Public  Subscriptions 

Bank  Subscriptions 

Total  Subscriptions 

Total  Over-Subscriptions . 
Total  Over-Subscriptions 

by  Public 

Number  of  Subscribers . . 


1st  2nd  3rd 

War  Loan  War  Loan  War  Loan 

Issued  Issued  Issued 

Nov.  22,  1915  Sept.   12,   1916  Mar.  12,  1917 

$  50,000,000  $100,000,000  $150,000,000 

78,729,500  151,444,800  200,768,000 

25,000,000  50,000,000  60,000,000 

113,729,500  201,444,800  260,768,000 

53,729,500  101,444,800  110,768,000 


28,729,500 
24.862 


51,444,800 
34,526 


50,768,000 
40,800 


4th 
War  Loan 

Issued 

Nov.  12,  1917 
SI  50.000,000 
419,289,000(2) 

4i9,289',666 
269,289,000 

269,289,000 
820,035 


(1)  Ultimately  increased  to  $100,000,000. 

(2)  Approximately  $400,000,000  was  allotted. 


The  financial  record  of  Sir  Thomas  White  for  the  year — and  all 
the  years  of  war — was,  obviously,  a  remarkable  one  because,  with- 
out capacity  and  understanding  of  the  situation  on  his  part  the  peo- 
ple would  not  have  responded  so  well  or  the  country  prospered  so 
greatly.  By  the  close  of  the  year  the  War  expenditures  of  Canada 
for  1914-17  totalled  $705,183,000  of  which  nearly  two-thirds  had 
been  spent  in  Canada.  At  this  time,  also,  the  Minister  of  Finance 
had  to  meet  a  great  fall  in  New  York  exchange  during  October  and 
a  still  more  difficult  rise  in  the  next  month  which  went  to  the  other 
extreme — coupled  with  an  American  embargo  upon  gold.  His 
representations  at  Washington,  backed  by  the  Bankers'  Association, 
succeeded  in  lifting  the  embargo  and  in  December  exchange  was 
becoming  normal — despite  the  growing  trade  balance  against  Can- 
ada. A  personal  matter  may  be  noted  in  Sir  Thomas  White's 
answer  to  a  query  in  the  Commons  on  Aug.  13  which  stated  that 
his  interest  in  the  National  Trust  Co.  of  Toronto,  prior  to  becoming 
Minister,  was  that  of  General  Manager  with  the  ownership  of  ten 
shares. 

In  December  the  Minister  appointed  W.  F.  Nickle,  M.P.,  and 
Sir  Herbert  Ames  to  assist  him  with  legislative  and  other  duties 
and,  on  the  31st,  issued  an  appeal  to  the  people  for  personal  and 
national  economy,  increased  production  and  the  elimination  of 
luxury,  postponement  of  public  works'  construction,  and  preserva- 
tion of  liquid  capital  for  the  essential  industries  and  commercial 
needs.  It  may  be  added  in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  De- 
partment of  Finance  that  under  the  terms  of  its  working  arrange- 
ments with  the  Bank  of  England  over  $1,000,000,000  in  gold  coin 
and  bullion  had  been  received  at  Halifax  and  Vancouver,  brought 
across  the  continent,  weighed  and  held  and  disposed  of  for  the  Bank 
or  the  British  Government. 


The  Militia 
Department 
in  1917:  Na- 
tional Ser- 
vice and 
Recruiting. 


The  picturesque  personality  of  Sir  Sam  Hughes 
was~  replaced  during  this  year  by  the  business-like 
administration  of  Sir  Edward  Kemp.  There  was 
less  driving  force  with  fewer  results  in  the  Militia 
Department;  ihere,  also,  was  much  less  friction  with 
fewer  frills.  /The  new  Minister,  however,  had  to 
meet  a  condition  in  whicn  the  voluntary  system  was  reaching  its 
limit  and,  in  order  to  postpone  the  inevitable  but  undesirable  method 
of  Conscription,  he  and  the  Government  tried  all  possible  plans 
for  increasing  the  Army.  They  seemed  to  feel,  and  no  doubt  wisely, 


MILITIA  DEPARTMENT;  REGISTRATION  AND  RECRUITING    303 

that  the  public  must  be  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  failure  of 
voluntaryism  before  compulsion  could  be  made  effective.  Of 
this  nature,  perhaps,  was  the  National  Service  Board  and 
its  operations.  Created  by  Order-in-Council  on  Oct.  5,  1916, 
its  primary  object  was  to  facilitate  recruiting  by  a  sort  of  voluntary 
co-ordinating  of  labour  in  the  various  industries*  with  army  re- 
quirements and  to  obtain  a  National  registration  of  man-power. 
Aggressive  action  was  ensured  by  the  Chairmanship  of  R.  B.  Ben- 
nett, K.C.,  M.P.;  work  was  hampered  and  the  policy  of  the  13  Direc- 
tors of  National  Service  under  him  affected  by  the  absence  of  exact 
legal  authority.  Cards  for  signature  had  been  prepared  with  ques- 
tions as  to  work  or  occupation  and  willingness  to  perform  National 
Service,  either  by  enlistment  or  special  labour,  and  these  were 
issued  at  the  first  of  the  year  in  all  parts  of  the  Dominion.^ 

Leaders  in  public  life  and  effort  were  prompt  in  support  of  the 
plan  and  in  urging  the  signed  return  of  the  cards.  Lord  Shaugh- 
nessy  issued  a  circular  in  Montreal  declaring  it  "important  that  an 
inventory  should  be  made  from  time  to  time  of  the  man-power  of 
the  country,  with  a  view  to  determining  our  national,  industrial, 
agricultural  and  commercial  efficiency."  Archbishop  Bruche'si 
stated  that  he  would  sign  and  added:  "I  hope  all  my  priests  will 
sign  as  well,  and  that  this  same  act  of  patriotism  will  be  performed 
by  our  citizens  generally."  The  Toronto  Globe  (Jan.  3)  was  in- 
cisive as  to  duty:  "To  every  man  between  the  ages  of  16  and  65 
inclusive  there  comes  a  call.  It  cannot  be  ignored  or  set  aside 
by  any  man  who  boasts  of  his  loyalty  and  his  patriotism.  The 
National  Service  registration  card  is  more  than  a  formal  registration 
of  the  man-power  of  the  country.  It  is  a  test  of  the  patriotic  spirit 
of  its  citizens."  In  Toronto  Sir  Wm.  Hearst,  N.  W.  Rowell,  M.L.A., 
Archbishop  McNeil  and  others  urged  a  popular  response.  Hon. 
T.  C.  Norris,  Manitoba's  Premier,  was  still  more  emphatic:  "I  be- 
lieve that  the  men  who  oppose  the  Government's  request  at  such 
a  time  as  this  should  be  put  into  gaol  or  some  other  place." 

There  was,  however,  a  pronounced  Labour  opposition  to  Regis- 
tration. In  Vancouver  the  Trades  and  Labour  Council  passed  a 
Resolution  urging  workmen  to  decline  answering  the  questions  of 
the  cards;  the  Montreal  Council  decided  not  to  sign  the  cards, 
as  did  a  gathering  of  Socialists  at  Port  Arthur;  the  Winnipeg  Council, 
led  by  R.  A.  Rigg,  M.L.A.,  opposed  registration  by  Resolution  be- 
cause "the  Canadian  people  have  had  no  opportunity  to  express 
themselves  with  regard  to  its  principles,  because  it  may  lead  to 
Conscription,  because  it  involves  coercion  of  Labour  by  private 
capital."  The  Trades  Congress  as  a  body  had  previously  stated 
its  opposition  to  both  Registration  and  Conscription./ 

On  Jan.  4  Hon.  F.  Cochrane,  Minister  of  Railways,  authorized 
a  circular  to  12,000  employees  of  Government  railways,  urging 
prompt  answers  and  return  of  the  cards;  Mr.  Bennett  and  Hon. 
J.  D.  Hazen  addressed  a  mass-meeting  in  St.  John  on  the  same 
day  and  described  this  plan  as  a  last  chance  to  prove  that  the  volun- 
tary  system  had  not  failed;  the  International  Typographical  Union 

*NOTE, — See  1916  volume  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review,  Pages  325-30. 


304  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  Winnipeg  endorsed  the  plan  as  did  that  of  Regina;  the  Edmonton 
Bulletin  of  Jan.  8  did  not  understand  the  matter  and  wanted  to  know 
if  Registration  meant  military  or  industrial  conscription  and,  if 
the  latter,  for  whom  the  conscripts  were  to  work  and  whether  farmers 
were  to  be  drafted  from  Western  fields  to  make  Ontario  munitions! 
All  the  official  speeches,  including  a  1916  statement  of  the  Premier, 
declared  that  the  cards  would  not  be  used  for  military  purposes. 
Lieut. -Col.  G.  F.  Carruthers  at  Winnipeg  on  Jan.  12  declared  that 
"we  have  to-day  a  class  of  men  who  are  talking  sedition  and  prac- 
tically treason"  and  expressed  the  beliefc  that  German  money 
and  intrigue  were  behind  these  elements.  >On  Feb.  12  Mr.  Bennett 
announced  that  the  National  Service  campaign  had  been  successful 
beyond  expectations  and  that  nearly  80  per  cent,  of  the  cards  sent 
out  had  been  filled  in  and  returned  and  were  still  coming  in  at  the 
rate  of  35,000  per  day.  The  time  for  completion  was  extended  to 
Mar.  31. 

A  little  later  the  Board  stated  that,  in  view  of  the  United  States 
coming  into  the  War,  action  should  be  taken  by  the  Dominion 
Government  (1)  to  mobilize  a  large  army  for  home  defence  and 
make^effective  the  provisions  of  the  Militia  Act  in  that  behalf  and 
(2)  to  utilize  aliens  as  farm  labourers.  On  Apr.  23  the  Finance 
Minister  stated  in  the  Commons  that  incomplete  card  returns  from 
each  Province  were  as  follows:  Nova  Scotia,  92,767;  New  Bruns- 
wick, 70,927;  P.  E.  Island,  21,479;  Quebec,  290,866;  Ontario,  627,152; 
Manitoba,  131,265;  Saskatchewan,  149,649;  Alberta,  88,278;  British 
Columbia,  76,977,  and  Sir  George  Foster  on  May  14  stated  the 
total  to  date  for  all  Canada  as  1,549,360.  Sir  Robert  Borden 
told  the  House  on  June  20  that  108,965  cards  were  returned  without 
any  question  being  answered  but  that  the  names  of  most  of  the  senders 
were  obtained;  that  252,034  single  men,  18  to  45  years  old,  indicated 
that  they  were  British  subjects  and  apparently  fit  for  military  service; 
that  returns  were  received  from  approximately  80%  of  the  total 
males  in  Canada  between  18  and  65  and  that  of  the  20%  who  failed 
to  send  in  cards  the  majority  would  likely  be  single  men  fit  for 
military  duty.  In  June  the  National  Service  Board  issued  a  series 
of  advertisements  urging  citizens  "to  produce  more,  to  waste  less, 
particularly  of  food;  to  eliminate  extravagance  of  every  kind;  to  save 
intelligently  and  systematically,  and  to  lend  the  savings  to  the 
nation  through  the  purchase  of  War  Savings  Certificates." 

/Early  in  August  175,000  letters  were  mailed,  asking  specific 
persons  on  the  National  Service  cards  to  volunteer  for  farm  labour 
during  the  whole  or  part  of  their  time — the  names  being  selected 
out  of  the  300,000  men  who  had  stated  a  willingness  to  do  special 
work.  The  response  was  not  made  public  and  a  little  later,  as  a 
result  of  the  Military  Service  Act  coming  into  operation,  the  Board 
went  out  of  existence,  with  a  Parliamentary  valedictory  from  Mr. 
Bennett  on  Sept.  20.  In  it  he  expressed  regret  that  the  signing  of 
the  cards  had  not  been  made  compulsory  and  that  no  penalty  had 
been  provided  for  failure  to  sign;  stated  that  they  had  tried  to  create 
an  atmosphere  which  would  produce  cause  for  signature  and  had 
used  meetings,  advertisements  and  150,000  letters  to  arouse  senti- 


MILITIA  DEPARTMENT;  REGISTRATION  AND  RECRUITING    305 

ment;  divided  the  returns,  totalling  1,549,360  cards,  into  286,976 
military  prospects  in  non-essential  occupations  and  183,727  in  farm- 
ing, with  4,660  skilled  workers  in  mines  and  ships  and  munitions, 
or  a  total  of  475,363;  the  Industrial  classes  reporting  totalled  143,995, 
soldiers   48,496   and   the   "discards"   679,511   with   incomplete   or 
blank  cards  206,605.     He  deprecated  the  vagueness  of  the  Board's 
or/ginal  scope  and  duties  and  its  lack  of  statutory  powers. 
Ij ^Even  this  partial  analysis  of  man-power  showed  plenty  of  avail- 
able men  for  recruiting  purposes  and  the  year  1916  had  seen  178,537 
enlistments,  making  a  total  since  the  War  commenced  of  383,955. 
There  had  been  a  falling  off  in  December,  1916,  and  this  continued 
and  grew  worse  during  each  succeeding  month  of  1917.    At  the  same 
time  the  United  States,   with   100,000,000  people  to  draw  upon, 
only  obtained  30,000  men  for   its  regular  army  in  the  first  three 
weeks'  war-call  of  Apr.   1-24   as  compared  with  Canada's  35,000 
in  a  similar  period  in  1914!     In  this  connection  and  the  charges 
as  to  cost  of  Canadian  recruiting  in  money  it  may  be  mentioned 
that,  in  1861-5,  23  States  of  the  American  Union  paid  $290,000,000 
to   promote   enlistment.*     Various   recruiting   schemes   were   tried 
at  this  time  in  Canada  with  the  never-failing  speeches  and  per- 
sonal efforts  of  indefatigable  officers  of  Overseas  battalions.     The 
Joint   Committee  of  the  Recruiting  League  and   Canadian  Club 
of  Hamilton,  and  similar  recruiting  organizations  in  Toronto,  Winni- 
peg,  Montreal,   Vancouver,   etc.,   were  persistent  in  their  efforts. 
The  demand  for  labour,  the  high  wages,  the  standard  of  luxury, 
high  living  and  selfish  pleasure,  however,  fought  against  the  appeals 
of  conscience,   duty   and   patriotism;   the   Battalion   system,   also, 
was  blamed   though    not    altogether   justly   because,  whatever  its 
faults,  it/j6rought  into   play  the  elements  of  local  personality  and 
pride.    // 

With  the  new  year  the  Minister  of  Militia  and  Council  had 
decided  to  lower  the  standard  of  fitness  somewhat,  to  place  the 
height  at  4  feet  11  inches,  to  loosen  the  sight  and  flat-foot  test, 
to  accept  one-eyed  men  otherwise  fit,  to  apply  a  similar  rule  to 
hearing  in  one  ear  or  the  loss  of  one  or  two  fingers  or  toes,  to  make 
the  age  limit  18  and  45  years,  to  classify  men  medically  unfit  for 
the  infantry  or  artillery  as  available  for  Medical,  Ordnance  or 
Forestry  units,  to  have  all  recruits  pass  a  final  Board  before  being 
attested.  A  little  later  mobilization  dep6ts  were  established  at 
various  points  where  the  proposed  recruit  could,  after  examination 
by  the  local  A.M.C.  officer  or  a  civilian  doctor  appointed  by  the 
medical  authorities,  go  to  the  mobilization  point  to  be  thoroughly 
examined  by  a  Board  and  classified  as  fit  for  the  Infantry,  the 
Army  Service  or  Railway  construction.  It  was  decided  by  the 
Minister,  at  this  time,  also,  to  re-organize  the  Canadian  Army, 
so  far  as  possible,  on  a  territorial  system — to  give  its  units  in  a 
partial  degree  the  local  place  and  standing  and  opportunity  for 
creating  war  traditions  which  so  many  wished  had  been  done  in 
a  complete  form  from  the  first. 

*  The  Rev.  Dr.  G.  B.  Cutten,  at  Halifax  on  May  20,  stated  that  the  recruiting  of 
the  unfit  in  Canada  had  cost  $10,000,000. 
20 


306  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

In  England  there  were  to  be  26  reserve  battalions  and  these 
were  to  feed  the  forces  in  France  with  men  from  the  same  part 
of  Canada  as  the  original  battalions  had  come  from.  Sir  Edward 
Kemp's  announcement  of  Mar.  20  stated  that  to  further  ensure 
the  territorial  association  between  Canada  and  the  linked  over- 
seas battalions  being  maintained,  and  for  facility  of  administra- 
tion, the  regimental  system  was  to  be  adopted  by  grouping  together 
into  one  regiment  the  reserve  battalions  and  linked  battalions  at 
the  Front.  There  were  4  Ontario  Regiments,  2  of  Quebec,  1  each 
for  Manitoba,  British  Columbia,  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan  with 
P.E.  Island  and  New  Brunswick  included  in  Nova  Scotia.  On 
Apr.  2  the  Department  stated  that  the  large  number  of  men  holding 
officers'  qualifications  but  not  on  active  service  were  expected  to 
volunteer  for  overseas  in  connection  with  the  officers'  drafts  which 
would  shortly  be  formed.  Under  this  arrangement  they  would 
go  overseas  and  serve  in  the  ranks  until  an  appointment  was  available. 
Under  date  of  May  15  the  Government  classified  the  soldiers  entitled 
to  War  Badges  as  (1)  those  who  had  seen  active  service  in  England 
or  at  the  Front  and  been  honourably  retired  or  discharged;  (2) 
those  who  had  offered  themselves  and  been  rejected  as  medically 
unfit;  (3)  those  who  had  offered  and  been  refused  on  the  ground 
of  services  being  more  valuable  to  the  State  than  if  on  active  service. 
Regulations  were  announced  on  May  22  which  applied  the  new 
medical  tests  and  arranged  the  various  classes. 

Meanwhile,  throughput  the  country,  there  was  a  last  dying 
effort  to  obtain  recruits.  Lieut.-Col.  W.  S.  Dinnick,  with  the  aid 
of  the  Great  War  Veterans,  tried,  unsuccessfully,  to  get  one  Over- 
seas Company  in  Toronto.  General  Lessard  and  Colonel  Blondin 
made,  also,  a  vigorous  effort  in  Quebec.  Letters  from  the  Front, 
such  as  that  of  Canon  F.  G.  Scott  published  in  the  press  of  Feb. 
27,  appeared  to  be  in  vain:  "To  shirkers  at  home,  nothing  but 
hisses  are  due.  I  never  want  to  take  the  hand  of  any  man  who  is 
physically  fit  and  has  not  volunteered  to  come  to  the  Front."  In 
this  connection  an  Ottawa  despatch  in  the  Toronto  Globe  on  Mar.  9 
stated 'that:  "Cabinet  Ministers  on  their  way  to  their  offices  this 
morning  had  a  forceful  object  lesson  as  to  the  need  of  some  drastic 
method  of  stimulating  recruiting.  For  several  hours  two  blocks 
on  Sparks  Street,  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  were  crowded  with  hundreds 
of  young  men,  all  apparently  physically  fit  and  of  military  age, 
trying  to  secure  tickets  for  a  hockey  game."  Local  recruiting 
officers  could  not  persuade  one  to  enlist.  At  this  very  time,  and 
it  was  one  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  there  were  44  units  recruiting 
in  the  Toronto  and  Hamilton  district.  As  a  matter  of  fact  J.  M. 
Godfrey,  President  of  the  Canadian  National  Service  League, 
represented  the  opinion  of  all  concerned  in  recruiting  when  he  said 
in  Toronto  as  early  as  Jan.  4  that:  "Everyone  engaged  in  active 
recruiting  for  any  length  of  time  becomes  a  conscriptionist.  He 
soon  sees  that  the  voluntary  system  is  ineffective,  unfair,  unequal, 
undemocratic,  wasteful,  and  not  really  British."  By  June  30, 
according  to  the  Minister  of  Militia  in  the  House  on  Aug.  6,  the 
figures  of  enlistment,  etc.,  were  as  follows: 


MILITIA  DEPARTMENT;  REGISTRATION  AND  RECRUITING     307 

Reported  enlistments  to  30th  June,  1917 424,456 

Overseas  to  same  date 329,943 

of  whom  142,779  in  France;  756  elsewhere  than  in  France;  124,399  in 
England  (of  whom  23,265  in  hospitals  and  convalescent  camps  as  of 
31st  May);  31,955  killed,  died,  missing,  and  prisoners;  3,944  en  route 
from  Canada,  and  about  26,000  discharged  or  returned  for  discharge  after 
wounds,  etc. 

In  Canada 18,475 

Discharged,  etc.,  in  Canada 76,038 

/During  these  months  not  only  had  recruiting  decreased  but 
wastage  from  casualties  and  the  discharge  of  men  in  England, 
or  in  Canada  for  various  causes,  had  increased.  The  enlistments 
and  wastage  of  the  year  ran  as  follows  by  months:  January — 
Enlistments  9,194,  wastage  4,396;  February — 6,809  and  21,955; 
March— 6,640  and  6,161;  April— 5,330  and  10,894;  May— 6,407 
and  13,457;  June— 6348  and  7,931;  July— 3,882  and  7,906; 
August— 3,117  and  13,232;  September— 3,588  and  10,990;  Octo- 
ber—4,884  and  5,929;  November— 4,019  and  30,741;  December— 
3,921  and  7,476.  The  total  casualties — killed  and  wounded,  died 
of  wounds,  prisoners  or  missing  to  Dec.  31,  1917,  were  145,671,  of 
whom  25,138  were  killed  in  action,  102,726  wounded,  and  2,740 
prisoners  of  war.  / Mean  while,  co-operation  had  been  effected 
with  the  British/' Recruiting  Mission  in  the  United  States, 
headed  by  Brig. -Gen.  W.  A.  White,  C.M.G.,  and  assisted  by 
a  Canadian  as  well  as  British  staff.  Recruits  were  accepted 
for  the  Canadian  Forces  and  forwarded  for  attestation  to 
the  nearest  Canadian  dep6t — Vancouver,  Calgary,  Winnipeg, 
London,  Toronto,  Kingston,  Montreal,  Valcartier,  St.  John  and 
Halifax — which  was  selected  for  the  purpose.  Men  were  permitted 
to  make  their  own  choice  at  these  points  as  to  the  unit  they  joined 
and  the  total  number  reporting  to  July  17  was  2,194  while  679  re- 
cruits in  Canada  reported  for  service  in  the  British  forces. 

In  obtaining  the  400,000  men  who  joined  the  forces  voluntarily 
in  Canada,  one  of  the  great  basic  elements  was  the  Militia.  It  was 
utilized  in  connection  with  the  battalion  system  and  drawn  upon 
both  for  men  and  experience  in  training;  it  could  have  been  still 
more  helpful  then  and  serviceable  in  the  future  had  its  traditions 
and  esprit-de-corps  been  considered  by  the  linking  of  Overseas 
Battalions  with  Home  regiments.  This  idea  was  emphasized  by 
Brig.-Gen.  James  Mason  in  the  Senate  on  May  1  when  he  asked  if 
the  Government  could  find  some  means  of  allotting  the  Fighting 
Battalions  among  the  Militia  Regiments  as  was  done  in  the  Imperial 
Army,  so  as  to  preserve  on  their  colours  the  honours  won  in  bat- 
tle; it  was  dealt  with  to  some  extent  by  the  Government  in  con- 
necting Overseas  battalions  with  reserves  at  home  and  in  England. 
During  the  year  General  Mason  endeavoured  to  ascertain  how  far 
the  Canadian  home  Regiments  had  been  associated  with  recruiting 
and  what  would  have  been  their  Overseas  strength  had  a  connecting 
system  been  developed  at  first.  The  statistics  collected  were 
valuable  and  interesting  and  by  his  courtesy — with  some  additions 
— are  given  here  as  follows : 


308 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


APPROXIMATE  NUMBER  OF  ENLISTMENTS  FROM,   OR  BY,   THE  EFFORTS  OF 


CANADIAN  REGIMENTS*. 


Corps 


Address 


Officers 


N.C.O.'s 
and  Men 

62nd  Regiment St.  John's 83  2,483 

1 10th  Irish  Regiment Toronto 33  2,609 

19th  Battery Moncton,  N.B 16  45 

40th  Regiment Cobourg 52  1,500 

.  72nd  Regiment Vancouver,  B.C 220  4,791 

96th  Regiment Port  Arthur 96  1  GOT 

17th  Battery Sydney,  N.S S  -  358 

90th  Regiment Winnipeg 175  5,000 

78th  Regiment New  Glasgow 46  2,200 

50th  Regiment Victoria,  B.C 90  2,100 

91st  Regiment Hamilton 106  3  330 

86th  Regiment Three  Rivers '. . .  2  29 

66th  Regiment Halifax,  N.S 36  513 

63rd  Regiment Halifax,  N.S 51  493 

71st  York  Regiment Fredericton,  N.B 79  2,153 

1st  G.G.  Foot-Guards Ottawa 103  641 

16th  Battery Guelph 9  200 

1 06th  Regiment Winnipeg 203  5,545 

20th  Battery Fraserville 2  53 

104th  Regiment New  Westminster 92  2,394 

14th  Regiment  P.W.O.R Kingston 59  529 

77th  Regiment Dundas 118  1,900 

31st  Regiment Owen  Sound 40  1,500 

16th  Regiment Picton 24  400 

57th  Regiment Peterboro 46      (N.C.'s)  45 

10th  Battery Woodstock,  N.B 12  80 

43rd  Regiment Ottawa 102  1,950 

2nd  Regiment,  Q.O.R Toronto 210  8,524 

44th  Regiment Niagara  Falls 50  3,000 

97th  Regiment Sudbury 110  5,000 

68th  Regiment Prince  Arthur 39  2,000 

7th  Regiment London 142  1,000 

48th  Highlanders Toronto .  .  5,000 

33rd  Regiment Clinton 64  1,200 

84th  Regiment St.  Hyacinthe 3  260 

1 1th  Battery Guelph 19  150 

45th  Regiment Lindsay 70  3,000 

109th  Regiment Toronto 174  4,274 

65th  Regiment Montreal 55  4,000 

17th  Regiment Levis,  Que 10  50 

13th  Royal  Regiment Hamilton 5,993 

85th  Regiment Montreal 52  2,800 

29th  Regiment Gait 53  2,000 

55th  Irish  Regiment Montreal 47  1,473 

14th  Battery Toronto 32  175 

28th  Regiment Stratford 58  3,000 

1st  Battery Quebec 7  178 

99th  Regiment Brandon,  Man 110  1,328 

54th  Regiment Sherbrooke 9  996 

5th  Battery Kingston 65  60 

30th  Regiment Guelph 101  600 

79th  Regiment Winnipeg 145  3,552 

25th  Regiment St.  Thomas 29  383 

94th  Regiment North  Sydney 52  2,500 

10th  Royal  Grenadiers Toronto 154  3,222 

58th  Regiment Westmount 80  2,000 

70th  Regiment Hull,  Que 28  1,280 

20th  Regiment Milton,  Ont 65  900 

28th  Battery Picton 20  250 

36th  Regiment Brampton 160  3,600 

6th  Regiment Vancouver,  B.C 83  3,648 

21st  Regiment Windsor,  Ont 84  3,800 

100th  Regiment Winnipeg 259  4,021 

8th  Regiment Quebec 55  752 

80th  Regiment Nicolet 24  276 

22nd  Regiment Woodstock,  Ont. 48  195 

9th  Regiment Quebec 35  492 

7th  Battery St.  Catharines 23  952 

5th  Royal  Highlanders Montreal 175  4,500 

12th  Regiment,  York  Rangers Toronto 108  3,135 

95th  Regiment Regina 20  1,000 

81st  Regiment Hants 45  300 

1 1th  Regiment Vancouver 85  4,250 

60th  Regiment Moose  Jaw 113  5,387 

3rd  Victoria  Regiment Montreal 95  2,200 

103rd  Regiment Calgary 100  2,000 

*NOTE. — A  few  Regiments  or  their  C.O.'s  did  not  respond  to  inquiries  and  are  not 
included;  others  reporting  were  inclined  to  include  men  who  never  actually  passed 
through  their  Regiments. 


MILITIA  DEPARTMENT;  REGISTRATION  AND  RECRUITING     309 

N.C.O.'s 

Corps                                                 Address  Officers  and  Men 

67th  Regiment Woodstock,  N.B  .  .  37  600 

15th  Regiment Belleville 61  1,750 

101st  Regiment Edmonton 187  2,910 

13th  Battery Winnipeg 23  343 

15th  Battery Montreal 7  197 

105th  Regiment Saskatoon 130  575 

22nd  Battery Montreal 17  233 

35th  Battery Montreal 4  235 

39th  Battery Montreal 9  90 

69th  Regiment Williamstown 32  325 

38th  Regiment Brantford 91  2,211 

102nd  Regiment Kamloops 4,386 

51st  Regiment Sault  Ste.  Marie 20  602 

A  vigorous  effort  developed  in  March  to  raise  a  force  for  Home 
defence  which  would  be  distinct  from  the  Army  on  active  service. 
As  the  young  and  eligible  men  would  no  longer  volunteer  in  any 
large  numbers  it  was  hoped  to  obtain  their  support  for  a  service 
which  would  not  divorce  them  from  home-ties  and  occupations 
and  yet  would  give  them  a  certain  amount  of  training  and  perhaps 
develop  a  military  and  patriotic  spirit  which,  in  turn,  would  induce 
them  to  enlist  for  active  service.  Meanwhile,  they  would  help 
to  guard  Canada  against  complications  from  Germans  in  the  States 
which  then  were  feared,  and  enable  the  50,000,  or  so,  of  troops 
in  local  training  for  the  Front  to  go  overseas.  It  was  understood 
to  be  a  last  effort  of  Sir  Edward  Kemp  as  Minister  to  obtain  voluntary 
enlistment  and,  on  Mar.  16,  he  announced  the  details  of  the  scheme. 
By  it  50,000  men  were  asked  for  in  a  Canadian  Defence  Force  so 
that  troops  still  in  Canada  might  be  released  and  sent  overseas.  The  v 
Minister's  Memorandum  put  it  as  follows:  "An  appeal  is  now  made 
to  the  manhood  of  Canada  for  an  equal  number  of  men  to  volunteer 
for  home  defence  by  joining  the  active  militia.  An  opportunity 
is  now  afforded  to  those  who  have  been  prevented  from  undertaking 
Overseas  service  to  join  this  movement."  Men  enlisting  for  Home 
defence  or  Overseas  service  would  be  trained  together;  the  pay  and 
separation  allowances  in  the  former  case  were  slightly  less,  the  term 
of  enlistment  was  the  same — six  months  after  the  close  of  the  War — 
and  the  time  for  training  was  two  evenings  and  one  afternoon  a 
week;  there  was  to  be  a  joint  summer  camp  and  the  men  of  the 
C.E.F.  would  have  a  distinguishing  badge.  From  London 
Robert  Borden  sent  a  despatch  appealing  for  support  to  theASche 

From  the  first,  however,  the  proposal  was  not  popular./  Opposi- 
tion papers  described  it  as  a  weak  Government  effort'  to  avoid 
Conscription  and  its  problems;  military  men  regarded  it  as  a  com- 
promise with  the  real  issue  and  many  were  frank  in  saying  that^  it 
would  fail;  the  real  slacker  would  not  give  up  his  comfort  or  risk 
his  position  for  Home  service  any  more  than  for  Active  service; 
the  young  man  who  really  thought  himself  unable  to  go  was  not 
interested,  did  not  want  to  pose  as  a  sort  of  half-and-half  soldier 
and  was  unwilling  to  sacrifice  position  and  salary  for  what  looked 
like  a  dying  effort  of  voluntaryism.  Maj.-Gen.  S.  C.  Mewburn 
of  Hamilton,  an  officer  of  great  organizing  experience,  was  put  in 
charge  of  the  C.D.F.  as  Director-General  and  Maj.-Gen.  W.  A. 
Logic,  the  efficient,  energetic  commander  of  Military  District  No. 
2  for  nearly  three  years,  gave  all  support  possible  to  the  project. 


310  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

In  Toronto  on  Mar.  24  a  Conference  of  military  men  was  held 
with  Generals  Mewburn  and  Logie  present  and,  despite  doubts, 
the  officers  undertook  to  give  the  scheme  a  fair  trial.  The  Toronto- 
Hamilton  district,  from  which  a  large  return  was  hoped,  was  divided 
into  four  sections  with  Lieut. -Colonels  P.  L.  Mason,  B.  H.  Belson, 
Wm.  Hendrie  and  J.  I.  McLaren  as  Brigadiers.  General  Logie  on 
Mar.  29  addressed  the  Royal  Grenadiers  in  Toronto  and  appealed 
through  them  to  all  militiamen  to  make  the  new  Force  a  success — 
"to  enlist  for  drill  on  a  few  more  nights  a  week  than  you  have  been 
doing,  and  then  to  go  into  camp  on  the  first  of  May,  for  the  defence 
of  Canada."  At  the  same  time  appointments  to  command  of  the 
ten  proposed  Battalions  in  the  Toronto  District  were  announced 
and  during  the  next  few  weeks  vigorous  efforts  were  made  to  interest 
the  public  in  the  proposal.  Advertisements  filled  the  press  asking 
men  to  come  forward  and  release  others  to  fight  in  France;  to  the 
Queen's  Own,  Toronto,  on  Apr.  10  and  on  other  occasions  General 
Logie  urged  patriotic  men  to  help  in  preventing  Canada  from  being 
denuded  of  fighting  forces;  Militiamen  were  told  that  this  was  the 
purpose  for  which  they  originally  had  put  on  a  uniform  and  that 
thjy  should  live  up  to  their  obligation. 

/To  the  Commons  on  May  3  Sir  Edward  Kemp  stated  that  returns 
to  date  were  small  and  by  this  time  the  general  opinion  was  that 
the  project  had  failed.  As  a  matter  of  fact  those  who  enlisted  in 
the  C.D.F.  side  by  side  with  others  going  into  the  C.E.F.  said,  in 
effect,  that  they  would  make  sacrifices  and  could  serve  in  the  Army 
at  home  but  would  not  make  the  same  sacrifices  to  serve  abroad 
where  there  was  fighting  to  be  done!  Hence  the  situation  which 
developed  and  made  General  Mewburn  tell  the  military  officers 
of  Victoria,  B.C.,  on  May  10,  that  their  recommendations  for  con- 
scription by  enforcement  of  the  Militia  Act  voiced  a  sentiment  which 
he  had  heard  throughout  Canada.  On  May  25  orders  were  issued 
that  no  more  appointments  of  officers  or  enlistment  of  men  would 
be  made  for  the  C.D.F.  It  was  understood  that  out  of  10,000  men 
called  for  from  the  Toronto  District  only  1,000  had  been  obtained. 
In  Parliament  on  June  25  Sir  Edward  Kemp  gave  his  reasons  for 
the  effort  and  its  valedictory  at  the  same  time:  "Because  of  this 
request  for  troops  from  the  Overseas  authorities,  and  because  of 
the  depleted  condition  of  the  Militia  force  in  Canada,  and  because 
of  the  general  idea  that  there  were  a  great  many  men  in  this  country 
who  would  enlist  for  Home  defence  but  not  for  Overseas  service, 
it  was  thought  desirable  to  institute  this  campaign  as  a  last  new 
efjert  in  voluntary  recruitingjf 

An  important  issue  raisecf  at  this  time  was  the  question  of  what 
had  become  of  many  thousands  of  men  enlisted  but  not  then  on 
the  strength  of  the  Expeditionary  Force.  At  Ottawa  on  Mar.  2 
Lieut. -Col.  C.  S.  Mclnnes,  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  testified 
before  a  Parliamentary  Committee  that  the  total  number  of  men 
weeded  out  in  Canada  before  their  battalions  went  Overseas  was 
50,000.  The  monetary  loss  to  the  country,  he  said,  had  been  a 
heavy  one,  as  the  recruiting  and  training  costs  for  each  man  were 
very  considerable:  "In  England  many  who  were  not  fit  for  all 


V 


MILITIA  DEPARTMENT;  REGISTRATION  AND  RECRUITING     311 

purposes  at  the  Front  were  assigned  to  other  duties,  some  going 
to  the  Forestry  units,  some  to  technical  work,  etc."  Out  of  10,000 
men  who  had  returned  to  Canada  up  to  the  end  of  1916  Col.  Mclnnes 
thought  that  probably  1,000  should  never  have  been  allowed  to  go 
over  at  all.  On  May  15  the  total  of  Canadian  enlistments  was 
414,402  and  in  the  Commons  on  May  30  it  was  officially  stated  that 
up  to  May  1st  312,503  men  had  left  Canada  for  Overseas,  while  25,475 
men  and  officers  of  the  C.E.F.  were  on  service  in  Canada.  Obviously, 
about  76,000  men  were  not  accounted  for  and  much  was  made  of 
this  in  the  press  hostile  to  the  Government.  On  Aug.  6  Sir  Edward 
Kemp  gave  the  exact  total  up  to  June  30  as  76,038.  Then 
the  issue  turned  upon  the  latter  figures  and  the  Regina  Leader  put 
it  as  follows:  "Why  were  they  discharged?  What  was  the  reason? 
And  where  have  they  gone?  All  these  men  were  accepted  after 
medical  examination,  so  that  they  cannot  be-  placed  in  the,  class  of 
the  medically  unfit!"  The  answer  had  already  been  giy/n  by  the 
Minister  in  the  House  on  July  6  up  to  May  31  as  follows*/ 

Not  likely  to  become  efficient.  5,345  Special  cases. ..  1,127 

Medically  unfit 33,887  Deaths 573 

Absentees  struck  off 13,081  Miscellaneous 1,085 

Under  age 2,086  Not  classified 1,106 

By  purchase 1,248  Irregularly  attested 1,725 

Misconduct,  Undesirables,  etc. ..  2,371 

To  accept  Commission 919                 Total 64,553 

Criticism  then  switched  to  the  recruiting  system  which  could  take 
on  so  many  unfit  men,  train  them  at  great  expense  and  then  find 
that  they  had  to  be  discharged — and  Dr.  H.  A.  Bruce  and  Sir  Wm. 
Baptie,  in  their  respective  Reports,  commented  unfavourably. 
It  was  a  condition  due  in  fact  to  (1)  haste,  (2)  carelessness,  and  (3) 
enthusiasm  of  men  and  officers  alike.  By  Oct.  31,  1917  (Con- 
scription came  into  force  on  Oct.  15)  the  following  were  the  total 
figures  of  enlistment  by  Provinces:  Ontario  191,632,  Quebec  48,934, 
Nova  Scotia  and  P.  E.  Island  23,436,  New  Brunswick  18,022, 
Manitoba  52,784,  Saskatchewan  26,111,  Alberta  35,279,  British 
Columbia  and  Yukon  42,608— Total  438,806.  By  country  of  birth 
this  total  showed  Canadian  born  197,473,  British  Isles  215,769, 
others  26,564. 

Associated  with  military  affairs  were  various  Departmental 
orders  and  regulations.  On  Feb.  1  the  Minister  issued  a  statement 
-as  to  personal  requests  about  soldiers  which  had  become  very  numer- 
ous. He  stated  that  the  services  of  every  available  man,  in  what- 
ever capacity  his  physical  and  other  capabilities  fitted  him  to  occupy, 
was  urgently  required  both  in  England  and  at  the  Front:  "It  should, 
therefore,  be  clearly  understood  that  the  exigencies  of  the  Military 
situation  must  be  the  primary  consideration."  It  was  further 
explained  that  (1)  the  only  channel  for  obtaining  a  commission 
Overseas  was  through  an  application  from  the  soldier  to  his  Command- 
ing Officer;  that  (2)  on  request  of  the  British  authorities  no  further 
requests  for  return  of  men  to  take  out  commissions  in  Canada  would 
be  forwarded;  that  (3)  all  promotions  were  "according  to  efficiency 
and  seniority"  and  must  be  seconded  by  superior  officers;  that 
(4)  transfers  from  one  unit  to  another  Overseas  were  undesirable 


312  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and,  in  any  case,  could  only  be  made  through  the  soldier  and  his 
C.O.;  that  (5)  as  to  leave  or  discharge  on  medical  grounds  the 
recommendations  of  the  Medical  Officer  of  the  Unit  were  invariably 
followed;  that  (6)  applications  for  leave  or  discharge  on  "compas- 
sionate grounds" — death,  illness  or  domestic  troubles  at  home — 
could  be  very  seldom  granted  and,  in  any  case,  must  go  through 
an  O.C.  of  a  Canadian  Military  District. 

On  the  same  date  orders  were  issued  to  prohibit  travel  to  the 
United  Kingdom  without  passports  obtained  from  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  External  Affairs — in  order  to  check  the  thousands  of 
persons  going  to  England  and  adding  to  the  war-burdens  of  that 
country  in  the  way  of  food  and  shipping.  On  Mar.  27  a  Depart- 
mental letter  stated  that  there  were  "in  Canada  many  lieutenants 
qualified  and  awaiting  appointments  in  the  Expeditionary  Force 
with  nc  chance  of  going  Overseas  unless  they  were  either  seconded 
or  resigned  their  commissions";  that  it  was  hoped  many  would 
enlist  and  the  assurance  given  that  promotions  would  be  rapid; 
that  "the  intention  was  to  grant  no  more  commissions  in  the  Ex- 
peditionary Force  in  Canada."  A  system  of  travel  permits  for 
Canadians  between  18  and  45  years  of  age  was  inaugurated  on 
May  24  which  involved  photograph  and  references  and  was  intended 
to  prevent  the  avoidance  of  military  service — a  fine  of  $2,500  or 
5  years  imprisonment,  or  both,  being  the  extreme  penalty. 

An  Order-in-Council  of  June  29  regulated  the  wearing  of  military 
uniforms  and  forbade  "any  person,  not  an  officer  or  man  of  the 
Militia,  or  an  officer  or  soldier  of  any  other  Forces  of  His  Majesty,  to 
wear  any  uniform  or  any  articles  of  clothing  similar  to  the  uniform 
of  the  Militia  or  other  Forces" — except  retired  officers  and  soldiers 
honourably  retired,  having  permission  in  writing  from  the  C.O. 
of  the  District.  Official  instructions  of  July  18  dealt  at  length  with 
problems  of  venereal  disease,  ordered  vigorous  action  on  the  part 
of  District  Officers  Commanding,  and  gave  rules  for  dealing  sharply 
with  any  neglect  of  instructions  by  subordinate  officers.  It  was 
described  as  "the  greatest  remaining  cause  of  military  ineffective- 
ness" and  as  essentially  a  disciplinary  matter. 

In  Parliament,  on  Aug.  18,  the  re-organization  of  the  Royal 
North- West  Mounted  Police,  as  a  result  of  the  establishment  of 
Provincial  Police  by  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan,  was  discussed 
and  it  appeared  that  the  authorized  strength  of  this  splendid  Force 
was  1,200,  exclusive  of  officers,  and  the  present  strength  742;  that 
76  men  had  purchased  their  discharges  in  order  to  enlist  and  that 
many  others  had  applied  to  go  at  a  time  when  it  was  not  deemed 
wise  to  reduce  the  numbers — 56  Imperial  reservists  being,  however, 
permitted  to  do  so.  On  Nov.  5  Regulations  were  issued  making 
vaccination  against  smallpox,  inoculation  against  typhoid,  dysen- 
tery, cholera,  etc.,  and  blood-examinations  in  respect  to  venereal 
disease,  compulsory  in  the  C.E.F.  An  Order-in-Council,  Mar.  15, 
had  dealt  with  the  complaints  as  to  Insurance  companies  disputing 
official  death  certificates  of  soldiers;  stated  that  "the  casualty 
records  had  been  carefully  searched,  and  not  a  single  instance 
found  of  any  man  having  been  found  to  be  alive"  after  certificates 


MILITIA  DEPARTMENT;  REGISTRATION  AND  RECRUITING     313 

were  issued;  and  provided  that  "all  Insurance  companies  trans- 
acting business  of  life  insurance  in  Canada  shall  accept  as  satis- 
factory proof  of  death  such  official  certificates  of  death."  On  Aug. 
25  new  regulations  were  issued  as  to  Separation  allowances — the 
Government  grant  to  dependants  of  officers  and  men  on  the  strength 
of  the  C.E.F.  The  rates  were  stated  as  follows: 

per  Month                                                            per  Month 

Rank  and  Pile $20.00  Lieutenants $30.00 

Sergeants  and  higher  rank  below  Captains 40 . 00 

that  of  W.O.  (1st  Class) 25.00  Majors 50.00 

Warrant  Officers,  (1st  Class). . .       30.00  Officers  of  higher  Field  rank 60.00 

Military  incidents  of  the  year  included  a  statement  of  Sir  Edward 
Kemp  on  Feb.  5  that  since  the  outbreak  of  war  voluntary  sub- 
scriptions by  the  people  of  Canada  for  the  purchase  of  machine 
guns  had  totalled  $1,£71»2&7  and  that  the  total  amount  spent  by 
the  Government  for  the  purchase  of  such  guns,  spare  parts,  etc., 
was  $3,527,894;  the  depositing  of  the  Colours  of  the  169th  Battalion, 
an  active  service  unit  of  the  109th  Regiment,  with  solemn  ceremony 
in  St.  Paul's  Church,  Toronto,  on  May  13;  the  organization  work 
attempted  by  Brig.-Gen.  the  Hon.  James  Mason  as  Chief  Organizer 
of  the  Reserve  Militia  in  Canada  and  the  Government  decision 
at  the  close  of  the  year  that  no  man  of  military  age  could  be  accepted 
as  an  officer  in  this  Reserve — which  made  it  difficult  to  maintain  the 
units;  the  authorization  in  September  of  a  Reserve  of  Officers, 
C.E.F.,  with  retention  of  rank  and  preference  for  employment 
when  fitted — especially  those  sharing  in  active  war  operations. 

During  this  year  the  long-continued  controversy  as  to  the  merits 
or  otherwise  of  the  Ross  Rifle  came  to  an  end  and  with  it,  for  the 
moment,  the  effort  to  manufacture  rifles  in  Canada.  In  1915  the 
expressed  opinions  of  F.-M.  Sir  John  French,  and  in  1916  of  F.-M. 
Sir  Douglas  Haig,  had  been  unfavourable  to  the  further  use  of  the 
rifle  at  the  Front;  the  Canadian  troops  themselves  had  lost  con- 
fidence in  it  and  the  Lee-Enfield  had  been  gradually  substituted 
with  the  consent  and  approval  of  the  Canadian  Premier.  Sir  Sam 
Hughes,  however,  continued  to  believe  in  its  efficiency  and  value, 
while  some  Liberals  in  Parliament  and  some  journals  in  the  country 
were  bitter  in  denunciation  of  its  use — even  tor  a  time — and  especially 
of  its  continued  manufacture.  F.  B.  Carvell  (Lib.)  brought  up  the 
subject  in  the  Commons  on  Feb.  2,  1917,  and  urged  the  Govern- 
ment to  make  a  Ross  rifle  with  a  Lee-Enfield  bolt,  chamber  and 
magazine,  or  an  improved  Lee-Enfield  such  as  the  United  States 
was  making;  the  Premier  dealt  in  reply  with  the  original  contract 
made  under  a  Liberal  Government,  with  the  attempted  changes 
in  the  rifle,  and  the  difficulties  of  cancelling  or  repudiating  the  con- 
tract; Sir  Sam  Hughes  maintained  his  defence — and  defiance — 
as  to  the  rifle  and  all  its  works. 

On  the  5th  Sir  Robert  Borden  gave  a  detailed  list  of  10  changes 
or  improvements  made  in  the  rifle  and  stated  that  a  formal  notice 
had  been  given  the  Company  as  to  making  one  of  the  Lee-Enfield 
character.  A  prolonged  discussion  followed  in  Committee — General 
Hughes  declaring  that  the  Lee-Enfield  was  found  defective  in  South 


314  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Africa  and  was  so  considered  by  the  Japanese  Government  and  was 
altogether  unfit  compared  with  the  Ross.  Hon.  Arthur  Meighen 
spoke  for  the  Government  and  Hon.  F.  Oliver  against.  The  Hon. 
G.  P.  Graham  urged  the  nationalization  of  the  Ross  Factory  at 
once  and  the  manufacture  of  a  new  rifle,  and  the  Toronto  Globe 
endorsed  this  proposal.  On  Mar.  18  it  was  announced  by  the  Govern- 
ment that  the  contract  for  100,000  Ross  rifles,  entered  into  with 
the  Ross  Rifle  Co.,  in  February,  1916,  had  been  cancelled  because 
of  the  Company's  default  in  deliveries.  The  Imperial  Government 
had,  prior  to  this,  cancelled  its  orders  and  the  works  at  once  closed 
down;  on  Mar.  28,  under  Order-in-Council,  the  Government  took 
over  the  Rifle  Factory  and  placed  it  under  the  Militia  Department; 
a  little  later  W.  Shires  Fisher  of  St.  John  was  appointed  Commis- 
sioner in  charge. 

Meanwhile,  Sir  Sam  Hughes,  though  no  longer  on  the  front 
bench  in  the  Commons,  still,  at  times,  held  a  conspicuous  place 
in  military  discussions.  Always  "thorough,"  he  told  the  Canadian 
Club  at  New  York  on  Jan.  8  that  Germany  should  hand  over  its 
Navy  to  the  Allies  as  a  guarantee  of  peace,  the  Kiel  Canal  be  made 
free  to  the  world  and  the  Hohenzollern  autocracy  overthrown. 
At  a  Masonic  meeting  in  Toronto  on  Jan.  9  he  reiterated  his  belief 
in  universal  military  training  for  the  youth  of  the  land  while  living 
at  home,  or  in  schools  where  they  had  proper  associations,  and  from 
10  to  16  years  of  age.  On  the  28th  he  stated  in  a  Montreal  address 
that  if  he  were  Minister  of  Militia  again  he  would  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  applying  the  Militia  Act  and  claimed  there  still  were  700,000 
single  men  of  eligible  age  in  the  Dominion.  He  advocated  enrolling 
from  100,000  to  300,000  men  for  home  defence  in  Canada  and  de- 
nounced the  British  authorities  for  alleged  efforts  (1)  to  prevent 
Canadian  control  of  its  Forces  in  England,  (2)  to  prevent  Canadians 
from  voting  in  the  trenches,  and  (3)  to  oppose  his  desire  to  use 
Canadian  equipment  in  England  and  at  the  Front. 

In  the  Commons  on  Jan.  30  he  presented  a  vindication  of  his 
work  as  Minister  which  was  characteristically  vehement,  bitter 
against  British  officers  and  officials,  deprecatory  of  regular  soldiers 
in  comparison  with  volunteers  and  civilian  troops,  assertive  of 
Canada's  rights  and  his,  as  Minister,  against  all  and  sundry  British 
regulations,  customs,  traditions  or  military  precedents.  He  wanted 
General  Currie  or  General  Turner  in  command  of  the  Canadian 
Army  Corps  and  freely  criticized  Sir  Thomas  White  for  interference 
(on  financial  grounds)  with  his  Department  when  he  was  Minister, 
and  also  Sir  George  Perley's  English  administration  of  Canadian 
affairs.  Speaking  at  Belleville  (Feb.  25)  he  said  that  ''if  the  labour 
supply  of  Canada  was  properly  organized  and  the  women  workers 
properly  mobilized,  there  would  be  no  dearth  of  help,  either  for 
agricultural  or  war  munitions  production."  On  Apr.  6  he  wired 
President  Wilson  at  Washington,  offering  congratulations  on  his 
War  policy  and  any  personal  help  he  could  render  in  suggestions 
or  advice.  In  a  speech  at  Lindsay  on  Apr.  28  he  accused  the  Prime 
Minister  and  Munition  makers  of  holding  up  recruiting  in  March, 
1916,  and  in  the  Commons  on  June  19  repeated  the  charge  in  general 


THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  WAR;  ROYAL  COMMISSIONS   315 

terms  and  without  specific  proofs.  He  declared  that  German  gold 
was  behind  the  anti-recruiting  movement  with  so-called  Labour 
leaders  influenced  by  it  via  United  States  Germans;  that  Canadian 
journalists,  in  the  pay  of  Germanized  peace  organizations  were 
preaching  Pacificism;  that  manufacturers  wanted  cheap  labour 
and  big  profits  and  influenced  the  Imperial  Munitions  Board,  the 
Cabinet  and  the  Premier. 

The  Premier,  on  July  6,  emphatically  denied  the  allegation  as 
to  recruiting  in  terms  similar  to  his  denial  of  Jan.  29;  his  idea  was 
not  to  hold  up  enlistment  but  re-arrange  and  properly  organize  it. 
This  denial  applied,  also,  to  the  alleged  terms  of  a  conversation 
with  J.  M.  Godfrey  of  Toronto;  Sir  Thomas  White  and  M.  H. 
Irish,  M.L.A.,  of  Toronto,  whose  names  had  been  brought  in,  also 
denied  the  statement.  Meanwhile  the  Union  Government  had 
been  formed,  the  Elections  had  come  and  gone,  and  since  Oct.  12 
Maj.-Gen.  S.  C.  Mewburn  of  Hamilton  had  been  Minister  of  Militia 
and  Sir  Edward  Kemp  in  charge  of  military  affairs  Overseas.  There 
were  a  number  of  important  military  changes  and  appointments 
during  the  year  in  Canada.  Maj.-Gen.  W.  E.  Hodgins  retired 
as  Acting  Adjutant- General  to  accept  an  appointment  on  the  Over- 
seas Mobilization  Committee  as  representative  of  the  Militia  De- 
partment and  General  Mewburn  took  his  place;  Maj.-Gen.  D.  A. 
Macdonald,  C.M.G.,  i.s.o.,  retired  as  Quarter  master- General  at 
Headquarters  and  was  afterwards  knighted  for  his  services;  other 
appointments  were  as  follows : 

Acting  Adjutant-General Colonel  E.  C.  Ash  ton. 

Director-General  of  Engineer  Services Col.  A.  P.  Deroche. 

Hon.  Colonel The  Rev.  J.  M.  Almond,  C.M.G. 

Hon.  Colonel  28th  N.B.  Dragoons Brig.-Gen.  H.  H.  McLean. 

O.C.  of  Military  District  No.   11 Maj.-Gen.  R.  G.  Edwards-Leckie,  C.M.O. 

Hon.  Colonel Lieut.-Col.  J.  J.  Carrick. 

Hon.  Colonel  A.M.C Surg.-Gen.  G.  Sterling  Ryerson. 

O.C.  of  Military  District  No.   12 Maj.-Gen.  J.  C.  MacDougall,  C.M.G. 

Commandant,  Exhibition  Camp,  Toronto .. Lieut.-Col.  John  I.  McLaren. 

Major-General  (T) Brig.-Gen.  R.  G.  Edwards-Leckie,  C.M.O. 

Major-General  (T) Brig.-Gen.  Hugh  H.  McLean. 

Military  Secretary  to  Minister  of  Militia.  .Lieut.-Col.  Henry  C.  Osborne. 

Colonel  in  Militia Lieut.-Col.  I.  H.  Cameron,  M.B. 

Acting  Quartermaster-General Col.  J.  Lyons  Biggar 

The  Govern-  The  Government  on  Jan.  1,  1917,  through  H.E. 
mentandthe  the  Governor- General,  greeted  King  George  V.,  all 
ments Tand  the  Allied  rulers  and  the  Indian,  South  African,  New 
Commissions.  Zealand,  Australian  and  Newfoundland  peoples  with 
felicitations  upon  the  part  taken  by  their  respective 
troops  in  the  War,  with  earnest  hope  for  success  in  the  coming 
battles  and  with  a  statement  of  Canada's  position  which  was  sum- 
marized in  the  despatch  to  His  Majesty  at  London:  "They  o\esire 
to  express  once  more  the  firm  and  unwavering  resolve  of  the  Canadian 
people  to  spare  no  effort  and  shrink  from  no  sacrifice  which  may  be 
necessary  on  their  part."  On  Jan.  11  a  Conference  was  concluded 
at  Ottawa  between  Provincial  and  Federal  Government  representa- 
tives as  to  a  despatch  from  the  British  Government  which  expressed 
the  desire  to  retain  ex-soldiers  within  the  United  Kingdom  as  far 
as  .possible,  but  to  co-operate  with  the  Dominions  in  retaining 
them  within  the  Empire  in  case  they  should  desire  to  emigrate.  In- 


316  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

formation  was  desired  as  to  amounts  and  quality  of  land  for  settle- 
ment, size  of  holding,  extent  of  Government  assistance,  etc.,  and 
also  openings  for  employment,  if  any,  afforded  by  the  Governments 
of  the  Overseas  Dominions.  It  was  also  proposed  that  a  central 
body  should  be  established  in  the  United  Kingdom  to  take  such 
action  as  might  be  necessary  there  for  this  purpose,  and  the  sugges- 
tion was  made  that  each  of  the  Dominions  should  be  represented. 
The  subject  was  discussed  very  fully  at  the  Conference  and  all 
possible  information  by  the  Provinces  promised  to  the  Federal 
authorities;  methods  of  co-operation  and  questions  of  employment 
were  dealt  with. 

In  June  it  was  announced  that  the  Government  had  filled  3,686 
vacancies  in  the  public  service  of  18  Departments  with  returned 
soldiers  while  9  Postmasterships  were  being  held  vacant  for  return- 
ing men.  On  Sept.  2  a  telegraphic  leased  wire  service,  operating 
day  and  night  and  linking  up  for  the  first  time  the  daily  newspapers 
of  Canada,  East  and  West,  was  inaugurated  as  the  result  of  united 
action  by  the  Borden  Government  and  Canadian  publishers.  The 
Service  covered  6,000  miles  of  wire  and  was  to  be  operated  by  The 
Canadian  Press,  Ltd.,  of  which  the  Head  Office  was  in  Toronto 
with  C.  O.  Knowles  as  General  Manager,  various  News  Bureaux 
at  Winnipeg,  Montreal,  Halifax  and  Vancouver  and  a  strong  inter- 
Provincial  Directorate.  To  E.  F.  Slack,  President  at  Montreal, 
came  congratulations  from  the  Premier  in  which  he  said:  "It  should 
be  the  means  of  bringing  into  closer  touch  widely-separated  communi- 
ties; make  their  people  more  familiar  with  the  ideals  and  aims  of 
other  provinces  or  districts;  assist  in  bringing  mutual  understanding 
to  all,  and  thus  aid  in  the  growth  of  a  national  consciousness  and 
a  truly  national  spirit ." 

The  Government  completed  the  Quebec  Bridge  during  this  year 
at  an  estimated  cost  of  $17,000,000  or  a  total — with  that  of  the 
disasters  which  came  to  this  great  undertaking — of  about  $35,000,000. 
It  was  said  to  be  the  most  remarkable  steel  structure  ever  built  and 
was  designed  to  carry  the  main  line  of  the  Transcontinental  Rail- 
way across  the  St.  Lawrence  near  Quebec.  The  length  of  the 
suspended  span  was  640  feet  and  from  shore  to  shore  3,739  feet, 
the  total  steel  used  was  66,655  tons.  The  central  span  was  duly 
placed  on  Sept.  19,  with  Phelps  Johnson,  President  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence Bridge  Co.,  G.  H.  Duggan,  Chief  Engineer,  and  W.  L.  Mont- 
serrai,  H.  P.  Borden  and  Ralph  Modjeski,  members  of  the  Govern- 
ment Bridge  Commission,  present.  In  September  the  Canadian 
Government  adhered  to  an  Imperial  Treaty  with  Portugal,  under 
which  certain  commercial  advantages  were  accorded  the  countries 
concerned;  on  Sept.  23  Capt.  J.  E.  Bernier  returned  from  his  7th 
Arctic  trip  and  reported  with  special  knowledge  as  to  Baffin's  Land 
and  an  alleged  40,000  miles  of  fishing  rights  and  of  a  "Middle  pass- 
age" free  of  ice;  on  Dec.  26  the  Minister  of  Naval  Affairs  received 
word  that  V.  Stefansson,  the  explorer,  was  in  safety  and  that  the 
Government  expedition  which  he  led  to  the  Arctic  regions  in  the 
Karluk  from  Victoria  on  June  17,  1913,  was  for  the  moment  at 
an  end  after  discovering  three  lots  of  new  land  of  more  or  less  geogra- 


THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  WAR;  ROYAL  COMMISSIONS   317 

phical  import.  To  the  Halifax  sufferers  from  explosion  and  fire 
the  Government  accorded  $5,000,000  on  Dec.  20;  on  Oct.  24  Sir 
Robert  Borden  issued  a  statement  as  to  Patronage  abolition: 

The  work  of  the  War  Purchasing  Committee  has  been  so  satisfactory  and  effec- 
tive that  the  Prime  Minister  has  under  consideration  the  retention  of  its  organization 
as  General  Purchasing  Commission  for  all  Departments  of  the  Government.  ...  In 
pursuance  of  the  Government's  intentions  to  abolish  patronage  both  in  respect  of 
appointments  to  the  public  service  and  in  the  purchase  of  supplies,  there  will  hereafter 
be  no  patronage  lists  in  any  Department  of  the  Government.  There  has  been  no 
such  list  in  the  War  Purchasing  Commission  which  has  purchased  all  supplies  by 
tender  after  public  advertisement  or  circular  addressed  to  all  known  sources  of  sup- 
ply in  this  country. 

Meantime  Orders-in-Council — largely  under  the  War  Measures 
Act — had  been  infinitely  varied  and  covered  a  wide  field  of  war 
requirement,  Government  policy  and  Canadian  needs.     The  Censor- 
ship Orders  were  co-ordinated  and  consolidated  (Feb.  3);  military 
and  naval  officials  were  given  certain  powers  in  respect  to  alleged  spies 
(Feb.  13);  the  entry  of  American  farm  labourers  during  the  agri- 
cultural  season   was   facilitated   and   regulated    (Feb.    28);   Naval 
Service    Separation    Allowances   were    re-organized    and   regulated 
(Jan.  5);    no  assignment  of    any  right  in  Dominion  lands,  water- 
powers,  mining,  school  and  timber  lands,  etc.,  was   to  be  granted 
except  to  a  British  or  Allied  subject  before  and  since  the  outbreak 
of  war  (Mar.  5);  the  Expropriation  Act  was  extended  to  cover  the 
taking  over  of  buildings,  machinery,  materials,  tools,  plants,  etc., 
as  well  as  land  in  cases  concerned  with  munitions  and  other  war- 
work  (Mar.  17);  women  and  girls  and  children  under  12  were  for- 
bidden passage  from  Canada  through  the  enemy  war  zones  (Feb. 
20);  male  persons  of  military  age  or  national  service  capacity  from 
18  to  45  were  forbidden  to  leave  Canada — subject  to  specific  regu- 
lations  (May  24);  the  exportation  of  wheat  flour  was  forbidden 
except  to  the  United  Kingdom  and  other  British  countries  and 
made  subject  to  license  (Aug.  18);  passports  were  made  necessary 
for  any  person  travelling  by  ship  to  any  point  outside  of  Canada 
and  the  United  States  (Aug.  9) ;  the  exportation  of  arms,  ammunition, 
fuel,  food,  cotton,  wool,  machines,  implements,  and  a  long  list  of 
necessary  articles  and  products  were  forbidden  to  Norway,  Sweden, 
Denmark   and   Holland    (Sept.   8);   the  possession   of  matches  or 
anything  with  powers  ot  ignition  or  explosion,  or  attempt  to  intro- 
duce them  into  any  factory  where  explosives  were  made,  was  for- 
bidden (Sept.  20);  the  importation  and  sale  of  Coal  in  Canada  was 
regulated  and  placed  under  control  of  a  Fuel  Controller  (Oct.  26); 
the  use  of  grain  in  the  distillation  of  potable  liquors  was  prohibited 
(Nov.  2) ;  special  regulations  as  to  Separation  Allowances  were  issued 
on  Feb.  16  and  Sept.  13;  the  exportation  of  various  grains  and  food- 
stuffs was  forbidden  to  the  United  Kingdom  and  British  countries 
except  under  license  from  the  Food  Controller  (Dec.  3) ;  the  British 
statutory  Black  List  of  enemy  traders  was  accepted,   subject  to 
certain  exceptions,  and  complete  to  June  22,  1917,  (Aug.  25)  and 
additions  were  afterwards  accepted   up  to  Nov.   9.     On  Apr.   10 
various  War  Orders-in-Council  from  1914  up  to  date  were  consolidated 
into  the  Defence  of  Canada  Order,  1917. 


318  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

There  were  a  number  of  Government  changes  in  1917 — apart 
from  the  Coalition  developments  which  are  dealt  with  separately. 
On  Jan.  8  the  Hon.  J.  P.  Albert  SeVigny,  B.A.,  M.P.,  since  1911, 
and  Speaker  of  the  Commons,  was  appointed  Minister  of  Inland 
Revenue;  Hon.  P.  E.  Blondin,  Secretary  of  State,  became  Post- 
master General  in  succession  to  the  late  T.  Chase  Casgrain;  Hon. 
E.  I.  Patenaude,  Minister  of  Inland  Revenue,  took  Mr.  Blondin  s 
place.  On  Mar.  21  it  was  announced  that  the  latter  intended  to  go 
on  active  service  and  devote  his  energies,  first,  to  raising  a  Battalion 
in  Montreal.  His  resignation  was  offered  but  not  accepted;  he 
was  created  a  Lieut. -Colonel,  look  command  ot  a  volunteer  Battalion 
in  course  of  formation  and,  with  General  Lessard,  tried  to  arouse 
sentiment  in  Quebec.  Later  he  went  to  England  with  his  men. 
A  curious  incident  oi  the  year  was  the  publicity  given  to  the  personal 
use  at  Quebec  by  Mr.  SeVigny  of  some  furniture  borrowed  from  the 
Speaker's  Chambers  at  Ottawa  after  the  Fire  and  at  a  time  when 
he  held  the  position  of  Speaker.  The  Minister  told  the  House 
on  June  6  that  it  was  done  with  the  assent  of  the  Officers  concerned 
and  with  no  idea  of  permanent  use,  and  that  the  effects  had  since 
been  returned.  Some  party  capital  was  made  out  of  the  matter. 
On  June  5  Mr.  Patenaude  resigned  his  Portfolio  in  a  letter  to  the 
Premier  expressing  his  loyalty  to  the  Allied  cause  but  inability  to 
support  Conscription:  "The  proposed  law  threatens  to  destroy 
unity  and  to  give  rise  throughout  the  country  to  deep  internal  divi- 
sions, of  long  duration,  and  even  detrimental  to  the  needs  of  the 
present  moment." 

The  retirement  of  Hon.  Robert  Rogers,  Minister  of  Public  Works, 
was  an  important  political  event  which  developed  out  of  matters 
which  were  widely  discussed.  The  personality  of  Mr.  Rogers 
was  popular  and  likeable;  his  reputation  and  record  had  been  as 
bitterly  attacked  by  political  opponents  as  were  those  of  Sir  Clifford 
Sifton  by  the  Conservatives  when  he  held  office  in  the  Laurier 
Government;  his  great  ability  as  a  business  man,  a  politician  and 
an  organizer  was  generally  recognized.  During  1916  the  Hon.  A.  C. 
Gait,  as  a  Special  Commissioner  of  the  Norris  Government,  in 
Manitoba,  had  been  investigating  alleged  scandals  in  the  location 
and  construction  of  the  new  Agricultural  College  of  that  Province 
under  the  Roblin  regime.  Mr.  Rogers'  name  and  policy,  when 
Minister  of  Public  Works  in  the  Roblin  Government,  had  come  up 
and  Mr.  Justice  Gait  was  severe  in  his  strictures  and  implications. 
Mr.  Rogers  had  been  examined  and  in  turn  had  denounced  the 
Commissioner  as  acting  with  impropriety  in  holding  such  a  position 
while  a  Judge  in  the  Manitoba  Courts,  and  with  "graft"  in  accept- 
ing remuneration  for  his  work.*  On  Jan.  30  an  interim  Report 
was  submitted  to  the  Legislature  and  in  it  the  Commissioner  handled 
Mr.  Rogers  very  freely.  He  refused  to  accept  various  statements 
made  by  the  Minister  in  his  evidence — six  of  them  in  detail ;  he  found 
(1)  that  Mr.  Rogers  had  suggested  to  a  contractor  named  Carter 
the  increasing  of  his  tender  which  was  done  to  the  extent  of  $8,700, 

*NOTB. — Mr.  Justice  Gait  had  been  a  Conservative  and  was  appointed  to  the 
Bench  by  the  Borden  Government  in  1912. 


THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  WAR;  ROYAL  COMMISSIONS   319 

(2)  that  this  was  added  to  the  original  amount  of  the  Order-in- 
Council,   and   (3)   that  the  Carter  Company  made  various  over- 
charges totalling  $16,070,  and  (4)  made  a  contribution  to  the  Con- 
servative Campaign  funds. 

Mr.  Rogers  replied  on  the  31st  with  a  declaration  that  the 
Commissioner  was  "manufacturing  Liberal  campaign  munition  for 
the  Norris  Government."  He  stated  that  the  Provincial  Architect 
had  reported  the  Carter  tender  as  too  low  and  the  actual  cost  of 
the  work  as  $8,000  higher;  the  Minister  had  then  telephoned  this 
statement  to  Mr.  Carter  who  was  to  see  the  Architect  and  that  was 
all  he,  Mr.  Rogers,  had  to  do  with  the  matter.  As  Mr.  Carter 
shortly  after  this  contributed  $7,500  to  the  1911  Dominion  cam- 
paign fund  of  the  Conservative  party  the  inference  to  all  partisans 
was  obvious  and  it  was  made  the  most  of  by  various  journals  opposed 
to  Mr.  Rogers  and  the  Borden  Government.  The  Ottawa  Citizen, 
the  Toronto  Globe,  the  Winnipeg  Free  Press,  and  other  Liberal 
journals  demanded  the  Minister's  resignation.  Following  these 
incidents  Sir  Robert  Borden  showed  his  disbelief  in  the  charges 
by  taking  Mr.  Rogers  to  England  with  him  while  the  party  attacks 
continued  in  Canada  with  many  references  in  The  Globe  and  else- 
where to  Mr.  Rogers  as  the  "Master  of  the  Administration."  On 
May  26th  another  Report  was  issued  by  Commissioner  Gait  as  to 
work  done  by  the  notorious  Winnipeg  contractors,  Thomas  Kelly 
&  Sons.  In  it  he  charged  a  conspiracy  "to  provide  moneys  for  the 
Conservative  campaign  fund,  for  use  at  both  Dominion  and  Provin- 
cial elections,  from  Thomas  Kelly  &  Sons  and  others  who  should 
be  contractors  for  the  various  buildings  comprising  the  new  College; 
and,  to  provide  Thomas  Kelly  with  funds  out  of  the  Provincial 
Treasury  over  and  above  what  he  might  legitimately  earn." 

His  method  of  analysis  was  unique  in  judicial  documents:  (1) 
Mr.  Rogers  was  to  "create  an  atmosphere  of  laxity  in  his  Depart- 
ment," (2)  contracts  for  "extras"  were  to  be  lavishly  granted, 

(3)  Conservative  workers  were  then   to  call  on  the  Contractors 
for  party  contributions.     The  answer  of  the  Conservative  press 
to  this  statement  was  that  it  was  pure  assumption,  fiction  and 
invention — not  a  Judicial  finding  or  proven  verdict.     Mr.  Rogers 
characterized  it  as  "unadulterated  falsehood"  and  declared  him- 
self ignorant,  as  a  Manitoba  Minister  or  since,  of  Thomas  Kelly 
having  ever  contributed  one  dollar  to  party  funds.     The  Liberal 
press  campaign  against  the  Minister  was  further  encouraged,  however, 
and  on  June  2  The  Globe  described  his  presence  in  the  Government 
as  an  "intolerable  dishonour."     Meanwhile,  on  May  28,  Mr.  Rogers 
had  written  the  Prime  Minister,  reviewing  his  position  in  the  case; 
declaring   the   Commissioner's   attitude   to   be   one  of   determined 
and  personal  malice,  and  claiming  to  be  "entitled  to  a  full  and  fair 
investigation  by  a  tribunal  in  high  standing  of  all  matters  contained 
in  these  Reports,  reflecting  in  any  way  on  my  public  conduct." 
This  wag  at  once  granted  and  by  Order-in-Council  of  June  6  Sir 
Ezekiel  McLeod,  Chief  Justice  of  New  Brunswick,  and  Hon.  Louis 
Tellier  of  Montreal,  were  appointed  Commissioners  for  "reviewing 
and  considering  the  evidence  taken  before  Commissioner  Gait." 


320  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

In  the  Commons  on  June  6  the  Premier  read  the  Minister's  letter 
and  stated  that  at  his  own  request  Mr.  Rogers  had  been  relieved  of 
duty  in  the  Department  of  Public  Works.  The  Commission, 
sitting  at  Montreal,  then  commenced  to  review  the  evidence  and, 
later  on,  asked  the  Norris  Government  if  it  desired  representation. 
Mr.  Norris  (July  7)  replied  that  no  Provincial  interests  were  involved 
and  suggested  that  as  the  Gait  Commission  was  still  in  existence 
Mr.  Rogers  could  submit  his  evidence  there  if  he  desired.  There 
was  a  brief  public  enquiry  at  Montreal  on  July  10  and  on  July  28 
the  Commission  reported  as  follows: 

1.  That  the  increase  of  the  Carter  Company's  tender  by  $8,700  was  recommended 
by  Mr.  Hooper,  the  Provincial  Architect,  to  Hon.  Mr.  Rogers. 

2.  That  there  was  no  connection  whatever  between  such  increase  and  the  con- 
tribution of  $7,500  made  by  the  Carter  Company  to  the  Election  fund. 

3.  That  during  the  time  Hon.  Mr.  Rogers  was  Minister  of  Public  Works  for 
Manitoba,  all  the  contracts  let  for  the  Agricultural  College  buildings  were  properly  let. 

4.  That  the  contracts  themselves  were  carefully  drawn  and  properly  safeguarded 
the  Government. 

5.  That  the  payments  made  during  Hon.  Mr.  Rogers'  term  of  office  were  made 
only  after  they  had  been  duly  and  honestly  certified  by  the  proper  officials  of  the 
Department. 

6.  That  there  was  no  conspiracy  between  Mr.  Rogers  and  any  contractor  or 
other  person. 

7.  That  the  evidence  does  not  sustain  the  findings  of  Mr.  Justice  Gait  in  so  far 
as  they  reflect  upon  or  prejudicially  affect  the  honour  or  integrity  of  Hon,  Robert 
Rogers  or  the  honesty  of  his  dealings  or  transactions. 

The  Report  itself  was  an  elaborate  document;  meanwhile  there 
had  been  a  statement  by  Hon.  Wm.  Pugsley,  a  Liberal  leader,  in 
the  Commons  on  July  23  that  no  such  document  as  that  of  Com- 
missioner Gait  "should  be  accepted  without  the  evidence  upon 
which  the  findings  were  supposed  to  be  based  being  reviewed  either 
by  Parliament,  a  Committee  of  Parliament  or  in  some  other  way"; 
on  Aug.  2  Mr.  Rogers  was  presented  with  a  Memorial  signed  by 
70  Conservative  members  of  the  Commons  and  dated  July  27, 
which  congratulated  him  upon  the  McLeod-Tellier  findings  and 
deprecated  the  "malice"  of  Mr.  Commissioner  Gait.  On  Aug. 
15  Mr.  Rogers  wrote  to  the  Premier  reviewing  his  political  attitude 
and  the  national  situation;  denouncing  the  Liberals  for  partisan 
conduct  and  slanderous  campaigns  in  war-time;  deprecating  further 
effort  to  form  a  Coalition  with  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  criticising 
the  "present  inaction  and  indecision"  of  the  Government.  Sir 
Robert  Borden  replied  (Aug.  17)  and  mentioned  the  large  items  of 
war- work  carried  out  by  the  Government  and  pending  in  varied 
degrees  of  completion;  at  the  same  time  he  regretted  an  apparent 
divergence  of  view  and  accepted  the  Minister's  resignation  of  his 
post. 

The  Minister  of  Trade  and  Commerce  arranged,  early  in  the 
year,  with  the  authorities  of  France  for  two  commercial  trains; 
one  stocked  with  samples  of  Canadian  products  to  tour  France, 
and  the  other  to  travel  through  Canada  with  French  goods.  By 
circular  letter  from  the  Department  on  Jan.  5  merchants,  manu- 
facturers and  the  general  public  were  urgently  requested  to  refrain 
from  applying  for  permission  to  import  material  and  supplies  from 


THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  WAR;  ROYAL  COMMISSIONS    321 

the  United  Kingdom,  unless  for  war  or  other  urgent  national  objects. 
Sir  George  Foster  was  Acting  Prime  Minister  during  Sir  Robert 
Borden's  absence  in  England;  he  had  to  deal  with  the  Grain  and 
Wheat  prices  situation;  in  an  interview  on  Feb.  24  he  paid  special 
tribute  to  the  British  merchant  marine  and  hoped  that  recent  speeches 
of  Lloyd  George  and  Sir  E.  Carson  "would  bring  home  the  gravity 
of  the  situation  and  shake  us  all  out  of  our  complacent  feeling" 
as  to  the  War.  Meantime,  his  Department  had  been  the  medium 
through  which  demands  for  huge  supplies  of  raw  material  were 
made  known  in  Canada ;  it  also  was  the  intermediary  through  which 
the  needs  and  claims  of  Canadian  importers  and  exporters  were 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  proper  authorities  in  England; 
large  purchases  for  France,  South  Africa,  Italy,  Britain  and  Belgium 
were  so  arranged.  During  the  year  this  Minister  and  the  Census 
Commissioner,  R.  H.  Coats,  had  charge  of  the  new  Industrial 
Census  of  Canada  and  the  proposed  annual  Agricultural  Census. 
In  June  the  shortage  of  wire-rope  became  acute  everywhere  and 
Sir  George  issued  instructions  as  to  the  best  means  of  meeting  a 
situation  affecting  war  industries,  ship-building,  mining  and  logging 
very  materially. 

Immigration,  though  not  a  War  problem,  was  closely  associated 
with  conditions  expected  to  follow  the  War  and  for  the  fiscal 
year  1916-1917  the  total  entries  into  Canada  were  75,395,  of  whom 
61,389  came  from  the  United  States — 10,246  being  repatriated 
Canadians.  Dr.  W.  J.  Roche,  Minister  of  the  Interior,  stated  in 
the  Commons  (May  7)  that  a  rush  of  after-war  immigrants  was 
expected.  His  Bill  organizing  Land  Settlement  for  and  by  returned 
soldiers  was  explained  as  (1)  keeping  British  settlers  within  the 
Empire  and  as  applicable  only  to  soldiers  of  the  Empire;  (2)  setting 
aside  such  areas  of  Dominion  land  in  such  localities  as  might  be  ap- 
proved by  a  Board  of  Commissioners,  to  be  appointed  to  administer 
the  work;  (3)  giving  soldiers  homesteads  of  160  acres  and  providing 
for  agricultural  instruction  to  inexperienced  men;  (4)  affording 
financial  assistance  by  way  of  loans  to  those  recommended  as  having 
the  requisite  skill  and  likely  to  succeed  as  farmers,  for  equipment, 
purchase  of  stock  and  improvements  up  to  $2,000.  The  measure 
passed  in  due  course. 

The  Hon.  J.  D.  Hazen,  as  Minister  of  Naval  Affairs  and  Marine 
and  Fisheries,  had  an  important  War  Department  to  administer; 
he  also  accompanied  the  Premier  to  the  Imperial  Conference  and 
while  in  France  visited  the  cemetery  at  Ypres  where  his  son  was 
buried;  he  took  special  interest,  while  in  England,  in  shipbuilding 
matters  and  conditions;  at  Toronto  on  June  16  he  was  present 
at  the  launching  of  four  vessels  for  the  Protection  service  from  the 
Poison  Iron  Works;  as  Minister  he  continued  the  large  shipments 
of  Canadian  fish  for  the  soldiers  at  the  Front;  on  July  28  he  agreed, 
at  a  St.  John  Conference,  to  provide  the  tonnage  for  bringing  hard 
coal  to  New  Brunswick.  His  annual  statement  in  the  Commons 
(Aug.  6)  reviewed  the  Naval  work  of  his  Department — especially 
the  Naval  Intelligence  branch  which  collected  and  distributed 

intelligence  to  and  from  its  officers,  the  Admiralty  and  other  Imperial 
21 


322  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

officers  and  was  responsible  that  all  merchant  vessels  received  their 
proper  orders,  on  leaving  Canadian  ports,  with  regard  to  their 
route  and  instructions  for  avoiding  enemy  submarines  and  other 
vessels.  All  matters,  so  far  as  they  appertained  to  naval  policy, 
regarding  prohibited  exports,  detention  of  ships,  supply  of  bunkers 
to  merchant  vessels,  censorship  of  cables,  press  and  wireless  tele- 
graph messages,  arming  of  merchant  vessels,  suspected  persons  and 
kindred  matters,  were  dealt  with  by  this  Branch.  It  was  responsible 
for  the  distribution  of  all  confidential  books  and  documents,  of 
which  there  were  a  great  number,  to  Canadian  naval  officers  and 
for  all  matters  connected  with  the  defence  of  Canadian  coasts. 

The  Transport  Service  Branch  was  closely  associated  with  the 
Acting  Director  of  Overseas  Transport  and  was  responsible  for  the 
movements  of  all  transports,  carrying  either  troops  or  munitions; 
for  the  provision  of  any  necessary  escorts  at  sea  and  for  seeing  that  the 
Imperial  authorities  received  detailed  information  by  telegraph 
of  the  cargoes  of  all  transports  before  arrival  in  England.  Naval 
dockyards  and  hospitals,  the  Royal  Naval  College,  the  Royal  Naval 
Air  Service  and  Volunteer  Reserve,  the  Motor  Boat  Patrol,  the 
Royal  Naval  Canadian  Volunteer  Reserve,  were  under  charge  of 
this  Minister.  From  the  R.N.C.V.R.  1,188  men  had  been  sent 
Overseas,  382  officers  for  the  Air  Service  had  been  sent  to  England, 
300  sub-lieutenants  and  100  men  had  been  recruited  in  other  ser- 
vices. The  Radio-telegraph  system  had  been  largely  developed 
and  large  Overseas  transportation  problems  dealt  with;  as  well 
as  normal  conditions  such  as  Life-saving  stations,  Fisheries  Pro- 
tection, Tidal  and  Current  Surveys,  Hydrographic  work,  etc.; 
there  were  40  students  in  the  Royal  Naval  College  at  Halifax. 
On  Oct.  15  Mr.  Hazen's  resignation  was  announced  and  in  his  letter 
of  the  13th,  accepting  it,  the  Premier  referred  to  his  energy  and 
industry,  thoughtful  diplomacy  in  international  (United  States) 
relations  and  personal  firmness  and  courtesy.  A  little  later  he 
became  Chief  Justice  of  New  Brunswick. 

As  to  the  other  Ministers  much  has  been  said  elsewhere.  Mr. 
Doherty,  as  Minister  of  Justice,  had  to  deal  with  many  compli- 
cated Orders-in-Cotmcil  and  the  operation  of  the  Military  Service 
and  other  War  Acts;  Mr.  Cochrane  as  Minister  of  Railways  had 
the  rapidly-growing  Government  railways  to  manage  and  much 
re-organization  work  to  do;  Dr.  Reid,  Minister  of  Customs,  had 
to  regulate  conditions  which  the  War  rendered  complex  though 
United  States  co-operation,  when  it  came  tended  to  make  them 
easier;  Sir  James  Lougheed  had  the  Senate  as  his  Portfolio  and  despite 
his  tact  and  judgment  did  not  always  find  it  easy  to  manage;  Mr. 
Meighen  as  Solicit  or- General  was  not  only  a  legal  adviser  but  a 
much-appreciated  public  and  Parliamentary  speaker.  At  Vancouver 
on  Mar.  30  he  stated  that  Canada  had  now  57  medical  institutions 
in  different  countries,  that  these  hospitals  were  capable  of  accom- 
modating from  35,000  to  40,000  patients,  that  Canada  had  the 
first  and  finest  Dental  service  among  the  troops  of  the  Allies  and 
that  such  was  its  efficiency  that  they  had  been  enabled  to  utilize 
50,000  men,  who  would  otherwise  have  been  refused, 


THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  WAR;  ROYAL  COMMISSIONS   323 

Of  Departments  in  general  it  may  be  said  that  the  ordinary 
expenditure  of  the  Militia  Department  for  1916-17  (Mar.  31)  totalled 
$4,301,785  and  its  War  expenditure  $298,291,031,  compared  with 
combined  figures  of  $165,114,918  in  1915-16  and  $63,168,431  in 
1914-15  and  that  its  total  Pension  payments  in  1916-17  were  $2,556,- 
056  and  in  1915-16  $413,630.  The  Report  of  the  Interior  Depart- 
ment (Hon.  W.  J.  Roche)  showed  a  natural  war  decrease  in  Home- 
stead entries  in  the  Western  Provinces  from  31,829  in  1914  (Mar. 
31)  to  11,199  in  1917;  Letters-patent  issued  for  Dominion  lands 
were  nearly  normal  or  3,019,178  as  the  acreage  total  for  1917;  the 
Land  sales  by  Railway  Companies  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Co., 
had  increased  from  $7,398,191  in  1914  to  $12,058,439  in  1917— 
and  continued  to  grow  during  the  latter  year;  Immigrants  via 
ocean  ports  were  11,600  in  1915-16  and  13,985  in  1916-17,  and  from 
the  United  States  36,937  and  61,389  respectively.  The  following 
appointments  (1)  to  the  Senate,  (2)  to  various  positions,  and  (3) 
to  the  Bench,  were  made  during  the  year : 

1.  APPOINTMENTS  TO  THE  SENATE 

Gazetted                                  Name  Address 

Jan.  20th Frederic  Nicholls Toronto. 

Henry  W.  Richardson Kingston. 

Gideon  D.  Robertson Welland. 

George  Lynch  Staunton,  K.C Hamilton. 

Adam  B.  Crosby Halifax. 

Charles  E.  Tanner,  K.C Pictou. 

"         Thomas  Jean  Bourque Richibucto. 

Jan.  31st Henry  Willoughby  Laird Regina. 

June  26th Lytton  Wilmot  Shatford Vancouver. 

Albert  E.  Planta Nanaimo. 

June  29th G  8rge  W.  Fowler Sussex. 

July  26th John  Henry  Fisher Paris. 

Richard  Blain Brampton. 

Lendrum  McMeans Winnipeg. 

David  Ovide  L'Esperence Quebec. 

July  27th George  Green  Foster Montreal. 

July  30th Richard  Smeaton  White Montreal. 

August  1st Roderick  Harold  Clive  Pringle Cobourg. 

Angus  Claude  Macdcmell Toronto. 

Oct.  23rd George  Henry  BarnanT,  K.C Victoria. 

Wellington  B.  Willoughby Moose  Jaw. 

Lieut.-Col.  James  Davis  Taylor New  Westminster. 

"         Frederick  Laurence  Schaffner Boissevain. 

Nov.  13th William  H.  Bennett Midland. 

Dec.  17th George  Henry  Bradbury Selkirk. 

2.  GOVERNMENT  APPOINTMENTS 

Lieut.-Governor,  New  Brunswick Gilbert  W.  Ganong St.  Stephen 

Hon.  Wm.  Pugsley,  K.C.,  D.C.L..  .St.  John. 

Member  of  the  King's  Privy  Council  for 

Canada Hormisdas  Laporte Montreal. 

Hon.  A.D.C.  to  Governor-General Capt.  Ed.  H.  Martin,  C.M.G.,  B.N.Ottawa. 

.  . .  .Lieut.-Com.  Stephen  H.  Morres. 

Clerk  of  Senate  and  Master  in  Chancery  Austen  E.  Blount 

Postmaster  of  Montreal Joseph  E.  E.  Leonard Montreal. 

Member,  Civil  Service  Commission.  .  .Clarence  Jameson Digby,  N.S. 

Collector  of  Inland  Revenue Michael  J.^  O'Connor,*  K.C Ottawa. 

A.D.C.  to  Governor-General Capt.  M.  A.  T.  Ridley 


324 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Chairman,  Ottawa  Improvement  Com- 
mission  Sir  Henry  K.  Egan 

Member  and  Chairman,  Ci.vl  Service 

Commission Hon.  Wm.  J.  Roche,  M.D. 

Comptroller,  R.N.W.  Mounted  Police.  .Angus  A.  McLean 

Superintendent,  Geodetic  Survey  of 
Canada 

Chief  Astronomer  of  Canada. . 


.  Ottawa. 


.Neil  J.  Ogilvie 

.  .Otto  Julius  Klotz,  LL.D. 


Harbour  Commissioner R.  S.  Gourlay 


.H.  W.  Woods,  ex-M.L.A. 


.  Chatham. 
.Ottawa. 

.  Toronto. 
.St.  John. 
.  Nanaimo. 
.Pt.duFort. 


Post  Office  Inspector. 

Superintendent,  British  Colonial  Dredges .  F.  H.  Shepherd,  ex-M.p. .  . 

Superintendent  of  Reservoirs Gerald  Brabazon,  ex-M.p. . 

3  JUDICIAL  APPOINTMENTS 

Judge:   County  Court  of  Van- 
couver  British  Columbia  Hugh  S.  Cayley Vancouver. 

Junior  Judge :  County  Court 

of  Vancouver "  "      H.  D.  Ruggles " 

Puisne  Justice:  Court  of  Appeal       "  **      David  M.  Eberts,  K.C Victoria. 

Judge:   County  Court  of  Dau- 
phin   Manitoba Angus  L.  Bonnycastle .  .  .  Winnipeg. 

Judge:  Court  of  Appeal Charles  P.  Fullerton,  K.C.         " 

Chief  Justice,  Appeal  Division 

of  Supreme  Court New  Brunswick .  Hon.  John  Douglas  Hazen. St.  John. 

Judge:   County  Court  District 

No.  6 Nova  Scotia. .  .  .Daniel  McNeill,  K.C Inverness. 

Judge:  County  Court,  District 

No.  4 "  .  .  .Barclay  Webster Kentville. 

Judge:   County  Court  of  Wat- 
erloo  Ontario Wm.  M.  Reade Waterloo. 

Junior  Judge:  County  of  Huron       "         Edward  M.  Lewis Goderich. 

Junior  Judge:    County  Court 

of  Ontario Robt.  Ruddy,  K.C Peterboro. 

Junior  Judge:    County  Court 
of  Waterloo 

Junior  Judge:    District  Court 
of  Algoma 

Deputy    Judge:     County     of 
Wentworth . . 


.Robt.  Ruddy,  K.C. 

.E.  J.  Hearn,  K.C Toronto. 

.James  McN.  Hall. .....  .Haileybury 

.John  G.  Gauld,  K.C Hamilton. 


Chief  Justice:  Supreme  Court 

of  Judicature P.E.  Island  . . .  .Hon.  John  A.  Mathieson.  .Charlott'n. 

Puisne  Judge:  Superior  Court. Quebec Chas.  A.  Duclos,  K.C.  . .  .Montreal. 

Judge:  District  Court  of  Mel- 
ville  Saskatchewan. .  .Thomas  J.  Blain Regina. 

Judge:  District  Court  of  Bat- 

tleford ...  .Alex.  D.  Mclntosh.. ....  .Humboldt. 

There  were  a  number  of  Government  Commissions  during  the 
year.  Those  dealing  with  Transportation  and  Military  affairs  are 
dealt  with  elsewhere.  Hon.  J.  A.  Chisholm,  Rev.  Dr.  John  Forrest 
and  J.  T.  Joy  of  Halifax  were  appointed  to  inquire  and  report 
upon  the  unrest  in  the  mining  industry  carried  on  by  the  Domin- 
ion Coal  Co.,  Ltd.;  W.  H.  Armstrong  of  Vancouver  was  appointed 
(Nov.  27)  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  unrest  amongst  employees 
of  the  Trail  Consolidated  Company;  W.  Sanford  Evans,  Ottawa, 
H.  B.  Thompson,  Victoria,  and  F.  T.  James,  Toronto,  were  appointed 
Commissioners  to  inquire  into  and  report  upon  certain  matters 
in  connection  with  Fishing  and  Canning  Industries,  in  District 
No.  2  of  British  Columbia;  the  Hon.  M.  S.  McCarthy  was  appointed 
to  investigate  into  and  report  upon  certain  differences  concerning 
wages  between  the  City  of  Edmonton  and  its  Street  Railway  em- 


THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  WAR;  ROYAL  COMMISSIONS   325 

ployees.  The  War  Purchasing  Commission  (Hon.  A.  E.  Kemp, 
G.  F.  Gait  and  H.  Laporte)  issued  a  Report  of  4  large  volumes 
in  January  with  details  of  its  heavy  work  which  included  the  super- 
vision of  purchases  for  the  Canadian  forces  as  well  as  the  Naval 
service  and  Internment  operations,  of  clothing,  equipment,  munitions 
and  supplies  of  every  sort  and  the  supervision  of  contracts  for  trans- 
portation. On  Sir  Edward  Kemp's  retirement  to  go  overseas  W.  P. 
Gundy,  Toronto,  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Commission.  An 
important  matter  of  the  year  was  the  appointment  on  Apr.  16  of 
R.  A.  Pringle,  K.C.,  Ottawa,  as  a  Commissioner  to  inquire 
into  the  Newsprint  situation,  including  cost  of  production,  sale, 
price  and  supply,  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  Many  representa- 
tions had  been  made  to  the  Government  by  newspaper-owners 
urging  action  as  to  the  control  of,  or  decrease  in  prices  charged  for, 
newsprint  paper.  As  a  consequence  conferences  were  held  and  a 
set  price  to  Canadian  consumers  at  the  mill  arranged  for.  Then 
came  a  United  States  investigation  and  the  indictment  of  many 
paper  manufacturers  there  for  alleged  infraction  of  the  Sherman 
Anti-Trust  law.  The  dependence  of  the  United  States  upon  Canada 
as  to  newsprint  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Fiscal  Year                                  U.S.  Imports  from  Canada  Total  U.S.  Imports 

Ending  Quantity  Quantity 

June  30                                           Tons  Value  Tons  Value 

1912 55,563  $  2,101,023  56,854  $  2,155,501 

1913...                                               .  146,733  5,646,289  147,479  5,681,109 

1914 274,842  10,634,926  278,071  10,765,108 

1915...                                               .  329,314  12,742,743  332,782  12,883,452 

1916 438,212  16,646,891  438,746  16,670,604 

Before  the  Commission  H.  A.  Stewart,  K.C.,  Brockville,  was  Counsel 
for  the  Government  and  W.  N.  Tilley,  K.C.,  Toronto,  for  the  news- 
papers. On  June  21  the  Commissioner  ruled  that  under  the  Order- 
in-Council  his  investigations  were  confined  to  the  cost  of  production, 
selling  price  and  supply  of  newspaper-print  in  Canada  and  there- 
upon Mr.  Tilley  withdrew  from  the  Commission  on  the  ground 
that  an  inquiry  limited  to  the  11  per  cent,  of  Canadian  production 
used  in  Canada  was  worthless.  Later  he  returned  to  the  work. 
During  the  inquiry  the  Abitibi  Power  &  Paper  Co.  admitted  a  profit 
of  $20.45  a  ton  on  a  selling  price  of  $50;  the  Donnacona  Paper  Co. 
Limited,  showed  an  increase  in  the  cost  of  newsprint  paper  from 
$29.21  a  ton  in  1915  to  $45.39  a  ton  in  1916,  and  $50.20  a  ton  during 
the  first  four  months  of  1917;  the  Laurentide  Co.  sold  in  1916  more 
than  23,000  tons  of  sulphite  in  the  United  States  at  a  profit  per 
ton  of  almost  $20  on  a  cost  price  per  ton  of  $35.  On  July  10  A.  H. 
Bowness,  Superintendent  of  the  Newsprint  mifl  of  the  E.  B.  Eddy 
Co.,  said  that  the  cost  of  manufacturing  newsprint  sulphite  had 
been  $41.56  a  ton  in  1914,  $45.99  in  1915,  $32.22  in  1916  and  was 
$52.57  in  1917.  The  cost,  therefore,  had  not  varied  greatly  and, 
on  Oct.  29  Mr.  Pringle  noted  that  from  the  statements  of  11  Compan- 
ies he  had  found  that  the  average  cost  of  producing  newsprint 
at  the  plants  was  $57.50  per  ton.  Meantime,  the  manufacturers 
claimed  to  have  been  losing  money  under  a  Government  fixed 
price  of  $50  per  ton  dating  from  early  in  the  year — a  total  estimated 
at  $500,000  but  easily  borne  under  the  huge  sulphite  profits. 


326  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

During  the  year  Sir  Charles  Davidson,  as  Government  Commis- 
sioner, submitted  Reports  upon  a  number  of  matters  he  had  inquired 
into.  He  cleared  R.  A.  Pringle,  K.C.,  of  charges  as  to  tendering 
for  supply  of  oats  to  the  Military  Department;  in  the  Acton  charges 
of  1915  against  the  Military  Department  and  War  Purchasing  Com- 
mission he  found  that  neither  directly  nor  indirectly  did  the  latter 
have  anything  to  do  with  the  matter  in  question;  another  Report 
found  that  there  were  no  improprieties  in  connection  with  Govern- 
ment food  supplies  to  troops  in  the  vicinity  of  Regina  in  the  early 
part  of  the  War;  still  another  declared  that  the  purchase  of  horses 
for  war  purposes  in  the  same  vicinity  was  honestly  carried  out. 
These  were  published  in  March  and  in  April  the  Commissioner 
dealt  with  the  Garland  case  and  severely  condemned  W.  F.  Gar- 
land, M.P.,  as  "a  profiteer  of  public  contracts";  in  two  minor  cases 
of  alleged  over-payment  by  the  Military  for  oats  and  "house- wives" 
he  found  that  there  was  nothing  wrong;  A.  deWitt  Foster,  ex-M.p., 
was  strongly  condemned  for  weakness,  though  not  dishonesty,  in 
certain  horse  purchases  for  the  Government  late  in  1914;  of  the 
allegations  of  fraudulent  purchases  of  hay,  etc.,  in  respect  to  the 
Regina  remount  establishment  in  1915  the  Commissioner  found 
forged  vouchers  and  a  small  loss  of  $2,500  through  fraud. 

The  Commission  on  Conservation  under  the  able  guidance  of 
Sir  Clifford  Sifton  found  new  fields  of  work  amid  war  conditions — 
the  example  of  Germany  in  its  organization  of  minerals  and  agri- 
culture and  the  needs  of  the  world  in  economy,  scientific  production 
and  industry  and  the  elimination  of  waste  being  conspicuous  ele- 
ments. Town-planning  under  the  control  of  Thomas  Adams  made 
steady  progress  during  the  year  with  organization  of  Civic  Improve- 
ment Leagues  and  passage  of  various  Provincial  Acts;  as  did  efforts 
at  Forest  protection  from  fire — with  its  losses  of  $150,000,000  in 
50  years — and  the  work  of  the  Branches  dealing  with  Minerals, 
Fish,  Game  and  Fur-bearing  animals.  During  the  year  a  valuable 
and  elaborate  Report  upon  Rural  conditions  and  Problems  in  Canada 
by  Mr.  Adams  was  published  by  the  Commission.  The  8th  annual 
meeting  was  held  at  Ottawa  on  Jan.  16-17  with  Senator  W.  C.  Ed- 
wards in  the  chair.  Sir  Clifford  Sifton,  from  England,  sent  a  long 
review  of  the  work  done  and  elaborate  addresses  were  given,  and 
afterwards  published  in  the  Proceedings,  upon  Fertilizers,  Soil 
Tests,  Forest  Protection,  Classification  of  Crown  Lands,  Town 
Planning,  Food  Conservation,  Fur  Resources,  Food  Production, 
Venereal  Diseases  and  Water-Powers. 

On  Oct.  24  Sir  Clifford  Sifton  wrote  to  the  Government  outlin- 
ing the  position  of  the  Commission  as  to  the  application  of  the 
Power  Development  Co.,  Ltd.,  to  dam  the  St.  Lawrence  River 
at  the  Coteau  Rapids:  "We  submit  that  it  is  in  the  highest  degree 
unwise  for  the  Governments  of  Canada  and  the  United  States 
to  encourage  the  exportation  of  power  from  one  country  to  another 
when,  in  the  near  future,  each  country  will  require  all  the  power 
it  can  develop  or  to  which  it  is  entitled."  At  a  meeting  of  the 
Commission  on  Nov.  27  Sir  Clifford  stated  that  despite  the  world's 
needs  and  example  "we  still  persist  in  a  great  degree  in  the  crude 


AN  IMPORTANT  WAR  SESSION  OF  PARLIAMENT  327 

and  wasteful  methods  naturally  characteristic  of  a  country  where 
resources  are  abundant."  He  urged  (1)  the  elimination  of  political 
patronage  in  Forestry  work,  (2)  the  regulation  for  Fire  protection 
purposes  of  4,300  miles  of  Railway  still  not  subject  to  the  Railway 
Commission,  (3)  the  greater  utilization  of  Western  lignite  coal, 
(4)  an  International  Commission  to  control  and  develop  Niagara 
and  other  water-powers.  It  may  be  added  that  in  November 
Sir  Henry  Drayton,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Railway  Commis- 
sioners, was  appointed  Controller  of  Electrical  Energy  in  Ontario, 
and  that  M.  E.  Nichols  of  Montreal  became  Director  of  Public 
(War)  Information. 

The  Civil  Service  of  Ottawa,  as  of  most  of  the  Provinces,  did 
well  in  War  matters.  Duties  and  work  were  greatly  increased, 
hours  of  labour  longer,  responsibilities  greater,  contributions  to 
Patriotic  Funds  from  restricted  incomes  generous,  the  recruiting 
response  excellent.  A  journal  called  The  Civilian  was  published 
in  the  interests  of  this  body  of  national  workers — edited  by  Ernest 
Green — and  it  issued  a  volume  called  Two  Years  of  War  which  gave 
some  indication  of  the  services  rendered  and  unknown  to  the  nation 
as  a  whole.  In  1917  the  Civil  Service  in  Ottawa  City  contributed 
$165,000  to  the  Patriotic  Fund  alone  and  other  sums  to  the  Red 
Cross  and  similar  Funds,  while  a  Woman's  branch  gave  freely 
in  labour  and  money.  As  the  year  drew  to  a  close  official  statistics 
showed  that  1,000  men  had  volunteered  from  the  Ottawa  Service 
and  3,000  from  the  Outside  Service;  by  Dec.  31  the  total  was  4,277— 
excluding  Government  Railways  which  totalled  another  1,000.  On 
Dec.  31  307  Civil  Servants  had  laid  down  their  lives  in  the  War 
and  419  been  wounded — with  many  others  not  officially  known — 
and  there  were  19  Prisoners  of  War;  of  decorations  82  were  on 
record  as  awarded  to  Canadian  Civil  Servants  but  the  list  was  very 
incomplete.*  The  Civil  Service  Federation  of  Canada  met  at 
Ottawa  on  Nov.  27  with  R.  Holmes  in  the  chair.  An  address  was 
given  by  Hon.  W.  J.  Roche,  the  new  Chairman  of  the  Civil  Service 
Commission,  who  dealt  with  the  question  of  Patronage  and  politics 
and  their  proposed  elimination  from  appointments,  in  both  the 
Inside  and  Outside  Services.  Walter  Todd,  Ottawa,  was  elected 
President. 

Parliament  The  1917  Session  of  Parliament  was  both  long  and 

umtar  War:  eventful-  It  was  opened  on  Jan.  19  by  H.E.  the  Duke 
VoterTand  °^  Devonshire  with  a  Speech  from  the  Throne,  in  which 
War-Times  reference  was  made  to  the  "  enormous  preparations  "  un- 
ElectionActs.  der  way  throughout  the  Empire  for  war  purposes,  the 
development  of  Canada's  vast  resources  which  would 
come  after  the  War,  the  valour  and  heroism  of  His  Majesty's  forces 
in  all  arenas,  the  conspicuous  resourcefulness  of  Canadian  troops; 
the  National  Service  policy  was  mentioned,  the  coming  Imperial 
Conference  and  the  50th  Anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  Domin- 
ion referred  to,  and  the  commercial,  financial  and  industrial  stability 

*NOTE. — The  total  number  of  Civil  Servants  contributing  to  the  Superannuation 
Fund  in  1913  was  10,593  and  their  annual  salaries  $11,640,813. 


328  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  the  country  recognized;  the  War  patriotism  of  the  past  was 
declared  to  be  in  no  wise  abated  and  the  determination  of  the  Domin- 
ion strengthened  to  carry  on  for  an  abiding  peace.  A  reference 
was  made  to  the  hoped-for  extension  of  the  Parliamentary  term. 
At  this  time  25  members  of  the  Commons  were  on  active  service 
and  one  had  been  killed.  Later  in  the  Session  a  Return  showed 
the  total  number  as  27  with  13  having  returned  to  Canada.  There 
were  11  vacancies  reported  during  the  recess;  Edgar  N.  Rhodes, 
B.A.,  LL.B.,  member  for  Cumberland,  N.S.,  since  1908,  was  unani- 
mously elected  Speaker;  J.  H.  Rainville,  LL.B.,  member  for  Chambly 
since  1911,  was  chosen  Deputy  Speaker;  toward  the  close  of  the 
Session  the  retirement  of  Thomas  B.  Flint,  M.A.,  D.C.L.,  ex-M.p., 
Clerk  of  the  Commons  since  1902.  was  announced.  On  Sept.  20 
the  Premier  and  Opposition  Leader  expressed  appreciation  of  his 
services  and  on  their  motion  he  was  made  an  Hon.  Officer  of  the 
House;  the  Address  was  moved  by  G.  C.  Wilson,  Wentworth,  and 
seconded  by  J.  A.  Descarries,  Jacques-Cartier.  The  Premier 
(Jan.  22)  reviewed  the  year's  War- work  of  the  Government  in 
its  various  Departments  and  after  some  days  the  Address  was  passed 
without  division  on  Jan.  31.  The  chief  debates  of  the  Session 
were  as  follows: 

Subject  Introduced  by  Dates 

Address  by  Mr.  Balfour The  Premier May  28. 

Address  by  M.  Viviani The  Premier May  12. 

Bruce-Baptie  Reports E.  M.  Macdonald Feb.  6,  July  31. 

Budget,  The Sir  Thomas  White.  .  .  .Apr.   24,   27,   May 

1,  3,  4. 

Capital  Punishment R.  Bickerdike Apr.  19,  May  2. 

Cattle  Embargo,  British F.  L.  Schaffner Apr.  30. 

Conduct  of  the  War Col.  J.  A.  Currie May  21. 

Daylight  Saving Sir  George  Foster July  23. 

Fisheries,  Canadian C.  Jameson June  5. 

Flour  Prices G.  W.  Kyte May  3. 

Free  Trade  in  Wheat Hon.  F.  Oliver May  23. 

Fuel  Resources J.  E.  Armstrong May  14. 

Government  Railways H.  Boulay Apr.  25. 

Governor-General's  Speech Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier Jan.    22-3-4,    25-6, 

29,  30. 

Grain  for  Distilleries,  etc Sir  George  Foster May  8. 

Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Rails .Hon.  F.  Oliver May  30. 

Imperial  Munitions  Board G.  W.  Kyte June  4. 

Income  Tax Sir  Thomas  White July  25,  Aug.  2,  3, 

17,  Sept.  7,  15. 

Insurance  Act  Amendments Sir  Thomas  White.  .  .  .July  27,  Aug.  4,  31. 

Labour  and  Combines Hon.  G.  P.  Graham.     June  4. 

Landry  Commission  in  New  Brunswick.  .Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier Aug.  6. 

Liquor  in  Military  Camps Hon.  R.  Lemieux Apr.  26. 

Liquor,  Sale  or  Use  of Hon.  C.  Marcil Aug.  11. 

Live-stock,  Loans  on Sir  Thomas  White .  .  .  .June  4. 

Military  Service- Act Sir  Robert  Borden June  11,  18,  19,  20, 

21,  22,  25-6-7-8-9,  July  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  19,  24,  Aug.  18. 
Military  Voters'  Act Hon.  C.  J.  Doherty. .  .Aug.  20,  21,  22,  23, 

24,  31. 

Munitions,  Manufacture  of E.  M.  Macdonald Sept.  8. 

National  Service  Board R.  B.  Bennett Sept.  20. 

Naval  Statement Hon.  J.  D.  Hazen Aug.  6. 

O'Connor  Report G.  W.  Kyte July  30. 


AN  IMPORTANT  WAR  SESSION  OF  PARLIAMENT  329 

Subject  Introduced  by  Dates 

Overseas  Minister Sir  Robert  Borden.  .  .  .Aug.  7,  13,  17. 

Parliamentary  Term  Extension Sir  Robert  Borden.  .  .  .July  17. 

Pelagic  Sealing  Treaty E.  M.  Macdonald Sept.  18. 

Physical  Welfare  of  People Michael  Steele May  2. 

Potatoes,  Duties  on F.  B.  Carvell Sept.  18. 

Prime  Minister  in  England Sir  Robert  Borden.  .  .  .May  18. 

Prisoners  of  War  Parcels Sir  Edward  Kemp Apr.  24. 

Prisoners  of  War  Parcels J.  G.  Turriff July  31. 

Proportional  Representation J.  G.  Turriff Apr.  30. 

Quebec  and  Saguenay  Railway Hon.  W.  Pugsley Sept.  6. 

Racing,  Limitation  of Oliver  J.  Wilcox Jan.  31. 

Railway  Situation— C.N.R Sir  Thomas  White Aug.  1,  7,  8,  14,  15, 

16,  17,  23,  27,  28,  29,  30. 

Railways W.  M.  German July  14. 

Railways Hon.  G.  P.  Graham. .  .July  16. 

Ross  Rifle Sir  Robert  Borden Feb.  5. 

Senate,  Appointments  to A.  K.  Maclean Apr.  30. 

Senate,  Constitution  of W.  M.  German May  7. 

Soldier  Settlement  Board Hon.  W.  J.  Roche.  .  .  .May  7,  July  20,  25. 

Soldiers,  Homesteads  for Hon.  F.  Oliver July  26. 

Soldiers,  Returned F.  F.  Pardee Feb.  5. 

Soldiers,  Returned J.  H.  Burnham May  21. 

Submarine  Menace E.  M.  Macdonald May  11. 

Technical  Education Hon.  R.  Lemieux May  9. 

Tractor  Engines,  Duty  on A.  B.  McCoig Apr.  23. 

Votes  for  Overseas  Soldiers Michael  Steele May  14. 

War  Loan Sir  Robert  Borden .  . .  .Feb.  1,  2,  6,  7. 

War-Time  Elections  Act Hon.  A.  Meighen Sept.  6,  10,  11,  12, 

14,  20. 
Woman  Suffrage Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier May  16. 

The  chief  legislation  of  the  Session — the  longest  since  Confed- 
eration, with  136  sittings — were  the  Military  Service  Act,  the 
Excess  Profits  and  Income  War-Tax  Acts  under  which  wealth  was 
conscripted  to  some  extent,  as  men  were  under  the  preceding  measure. 
These  and  the  C.N.R.  Act  are  dealt  with  elsewhere  and  there  were 
three  others  of  which  consideration  follows.  At  the  opening  of 
Parliament  Sir  Robert  Borden  announced  his  desire  to  continue 
its  term — which  ended  in  October — without  a  War-time  Election 
and  the  Governor-General's  Speech  stated  that  the  Ministers 
believed  both  "the  wishes  of  the  Canadian  people  and  the  urgent 
requirements  of  the  War  would  be  best  met  by  avoiding  the  dis- 
traction and  confusion  consequent  upon  a  general  election  at  so 
critical  a  time."  There  had  been  no  Election  in  France  or  Britain 
during  the  War  and  the  latter  Parliament  was  extended  from  time 
to  time  without  serious  controversy.  On  July  17  the  Premier 
introduced  a  Resolution  proposing  an  Address  to  the  King,  asking 
that  the  British  Parliament  should  further  extend  the  term  of  the 
existing  Canadian  Parliament  until  Oct.  7,  1918. 

He  claimed  that  conditions  and  arguments  and  facts  in  favour 
of  extension  were  similar  to  those  of  Feb.  8,  1916,  when  a  similar 
request  had  been  unanimously  approved:  "There  has,  up  to  the 
present  time,  been  at  least  a  seeming  unity.  Outside  and  inside 
of  Parliamenl  men  have  worked  together  without  regard  to  party 
or  race  or  creed.  I  believe  that  party  political  questions  have 
not  been  very  much  in  the  minds  of  the  people  during  the  last  three 


330  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

years."  He  hoped  this  would  continue.  As  to  the  contention 
that  Conscription  should  not  be  enforced  until  a  united  and  general 
effort  of  a  voluntary  character  had  been  carried  out,  he  asked  how 
that  was  possible  unless  this  proposal  were  accepted  and  a  general 
election  postponed.  The  Government  did  not  appear  as  a  suppliant 
but  simply  to  try  to  avoid  the  distraction,  bitterness  and  strife 
of  a  contest;  they  would  not  submit  to  the  Imperial  Parliament 
a  divided  House  or  country  upon  the  question  and,  therefore,  the 
vote  must  be  practically  unanimous.  The  Hon.  G.  P.  Graham 
(Lib.)  followed  and  declared  that  there  were  subjects  more  important 
than  the  extension  of  the  Parliamentary  term — the  Patriotic  Fund 
as  a  national  matter,  Transportation  by  land  and  sea,  and  Pro- 
duction, for  instance.  He  moved  this  amendment : 

In  the  opinion  of  this  House  the  consideration  of  tne  terms  of  said  Resolution 
should  be  deferred  until  the  Government  brings  before  Parliament  measures  provid- 
ing that  those  best  able  to  pay  will  be  asked  to  contribute  their  full  share  to  the  cost 
of  the  War  and  by  which  all  agricultural,  industrial,  transportation  and  natural 
resources  of  Canada  will  be  organized  so  as  to  insure  the  greatest  possible  assistance 
to  the  Empire  in  the  War,  and  to  reduce  the  cost  of  living  to  the  Canadian  people. 

After  a  reply  by  Sir  George  Foster  as  to  this  Conscription  of  wealth 
policy  and  support  to  the  motion  from  Hon.  Wm.  Pugsley  and 
E.  M.  Macdonald,  it  was  lost  by  78  to  61.  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
then  spoke  and  assumed  full  responsibility  for  the  Opposition's 
refusal  to  extend  the  term  and  its  consequent  forcing  of  a  general 
election.  Many  things  had  happened  since  last  year  and  condi- 
tions had  changed;  there  were  20  vacancies  in  Parliament,  Con- 
scription was  imminent  and  to  be  passed  by  a  moribund  Parlia- 
ment, other  nefarious  designs  might  be  in  contemplation,  the  Ross 
rifle  situation  was  serious.  A  Referendum  upon  Conscription  had 
been  refused;  now  the  Government  sought  to  destroy  "the  sacred 
right  of  the  people"  to  control  their  Parliament:  "These  are  no 
longer  British  institutions;  these  are  simply  Prussian  institutions, 
and  to  agree  to  the  Resolution  would  be  an  abdication  of  responsible 
government  and  a  denial  of  democracy  and  of  the  rights  of  a  free 
people."  Dr.  Michael  Clark  (Lib.)  opposed  his  Party  leader  in  this 
matter;  Hon.  F.  Oliver  supported  him  and  the  Premier's  Resolution 
carried  by  82  to  62.  On  the  18th  Sir  Robert  announced,  in  view 
of  his  pledge  and  the  small  majority,  that  the  Government  would 
take  no  further  action  in  the  matter.  The  Toronto  Globe  on  this 
date  reviewed  the  situation  as  one  of  politics:  "An  extension  of  the 
life  of  Parliament  would  be  merely  an  extension  of  the  life  of  the 
present  Government,  with  no  change  of  men  or  methods."  A  pro- 
nounced Government  reconstruction  or  a  Coalition  would,  it 
claimed,  have  changed  the  situation. 

The  next  important  matter  was  the  Military  Voters'  Bill.  Dr. 
Michael  Steele  (Cons.)  had  proposed  in  a  Resolution  on  May  14 
that  "the  Government  should  introduce  legislation  extending  the 
franchise  to  every  British  citizen  who  enlisted  with  the  Canadian 
forces  for  Overseas  service,"  and  Hon.  A.  Meighen,  for  the  Govern- 
ment, promised  careful  consideration.  On  Aug.  13  the  Hon.  C.  J. 
Doherty,  Minister  of  Justice,  introduced  his  Bill  to  make  more 


AN  IMPORTANT  WAR  SESSION  OF  PARLIAMENT  331 

adequate  and  complete  provision  for  the  taking  of  the  votes  of 
soldiers  during  the  present  war  than  existed  under  present  legis- 
lation. Conditions,  he  stated,  had  greatly  changed  since  the 
Soldiers'  Voting  Act  of  1915  and  this  measure  contained  important 
modifications  of  the  old  law  and  some  new  features.  The  C.E.F. 
had  increased  six-fold  in  numbers,  Submarine  perils  made  the 
bringing  of  the  ballots  across  for  counting  difficult.  Minute  details 
as  to  the  voting  and  for  the  protection  of  ballots  were  gone  into: 
"There  were  to  be  special  returning  officers  and  each  of  these  would 
have  a  clerk  assigned  to  him.  After  the  ballots  were  returned  in 
sealed  boxes  to  the  Commissioner  of  Canada  in  France,  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  High  Commissioner  in  London,  and  then  to  the  General 
Returning  Officer  in  Canada,  these  special  returning  officers  with 
their  clerks  would  sort  and  count  the  ballots  and  furnish  statements 
of  the  results  to  the  Commissioners."  The  ballots  were  to  be  printed 
as  voting  for  the  Government  or  for  the  Opposition  or  any  other 
Party  candidate,  but  not  for  an  individual  by  name;  conscientious 
objectors  against  military  service  were  disqualified  from  voting  as 
were  Mennonites  or  Doukhobors  while  all  persons  voting  at  the 
Elections  lost  claim  to  exemption  from  military  service  as  conscien- 
tious objectors;  there  were  provisions  for  recount  and  the  Minister 
asked  for  suggestions.  The  military  electors  were  specified  to  include : 

Every  person,  male  or  female,  who,  being  a  British  subject  has  been  placed  on 
active  service  as  one  of  the  C.E.F.,  the  Royal  Canadian  Navy,  the  Canadian  Militia 
on  active  service,  or  the  Royal  Naval  Canadian  Volunteer  Reserve,  or  has  been, 
\vhile  within  Canada,  enrolled  as  one  of  the  British  R.F.C.,  Royal  Naval  Air  Service, 
or  Auxiliary  Motor  Boat  Patrol  Service,  whether  as  officer,  soldier,  sailor,  dentist, 
nurse,  aviator,  mechanician  or  otherwise,  and  who  remains  one  of  any  such  forces,  or 
services,  or  has  been  honourably  discharged  therefrom,  or  in  the  case  of  an  officer 
who  has  been  permitted  to  resign  or  without  fault  on  his  part  has  had  his  services 
dispensed  with,  and  every  person,  male  or  female,  who,  being  a  British  subject  ordin- 
arily resident  in  Canada,  whether  or  not  a  minor  or  an  Indian,  is  on  active  service  in 
Europe  in  any  other  of  the  forces  or  services,  military  or  naval,  of  His  Majesty  or  of 
His  Allies. 

The  details  of  the  Act  involved  much  discussion  and  F.  B.  Carvell 
led  in  opposition  to  Clauses  (1)  allowing  a  soldier  under  certain 
contingencies  to  specify  the  constituency  in  which  he  would  have 
his  vote  recorded,  (2)  permitting  a  presiding  officer  to  take  a  soldier's 
vote  without  the  scrutineer  being  present,  and  (3)  applying  the  terms 
of  the  Act  to  soldiers  in  Canada,  who,  it  was  contended,  should 
come  under  the  ordinary  election  laws.  The  Act  passed  in  due 
course  under  determined  Liberal  opposition  with  but  few  amend- 
ments— one,  from  the  Senate  placing  officers  and  privates  in 
the  same  position  as  to  discharge  from  the  Army.  The 
War-Times  Election  Act  was  an  unusual  one;  it  disfranchised 
persons  and  reduced  the  electoral  list  instead  of  the  opposite; 
it  was  believed  to  be  an  imperative  war  measure  on  the  one 
side  and  to  be  essentially  a  partisan  scheme  by  the  other  side; 
it  had  far-reaching  political  consequences.  The  Hon.  Arthur 
Meighen,  owing  to  the  illness  of  the  Prime  Minister,  presented  it 
to  the  House  on  Sept.  6  and  took  the  unusual  course  of  explaining 
its  provisions  on  the  1st  reading.  He  pointed  out  that  300,000  of 


332  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  best  men  of  Canada  were  Overseas,  that  though  given  the  vote 
many  would  never  be  able  to  poll  it,  that  they  represented  a  personal 
force,  a  persuasive  power,  an  electoral  influence,  which  would  be 
lost  in  the  Election  that  was  now  inevitable,  that  this  injustice 
to  the  men  and  loss  to  the  country  should  be  met  by  giving  the  vote 
to  their  women  relations  at  home,  that  this  proposal  would  only 
operate  during  the  War,  and  demobilization  afterwards.  This  war 
franchise  for  women  would  be  limited  in  application!  as  well  as  in 
time.  At  the  same  time  it  was  contended  that  enemies  of  alien 
birth  should  be  excluded  from  the  franchise  under  War  conditions. 
There  were  consequently  two  elements  in  the  Bill  which  may  be 
summarized  in  Mr.  Meighen's  words : 

/.  Women  s  Franchise.  A  very  substantial  portion  of  the  women  of  this  coun- 
try who  are  now  British  subjects  have  become  British  subjects  by  the  naturalization 
of  a  parent,  or  by  marriage.  Remembering  this,  it  would  be  unfair  and  unreasonable 
under  the  shadow  of  this  war  that  an  unlimited  woman  suffrage  should  be  granted. 
.  .  .  Not  only  do  those  who  are  nearest  of  kin  to  the  Overseas  forces  more  likely 
represent  in  sentiment  and  in  purpose  the  voice  and  will  of  those  who  are  fighting 
for  us,  but  also  those  whose  sons,  whose  brothers,  and  whose  husbands  have  gone  to 
the  battlefield,  have  given  a  service  and  made  a  sacrifice  in  this  war  of  a  character 
higher  and  greater  than  that  which  any  other  person  is  able  to  give  or  to  make.  .  .  . 
The  Bill,  therefore,  provides  that  the  wives,  the  widows,  the  mothers,  the  sisters,  and 
the  daughters  of  the  members  past  or  present  of  the  actual  Overseas  force  shall  have 
the  right  to  vote  in  the  War-time  Election.  This  privilege  does  not  extend  to  such 
relatives  of  those  of  our  Expeditionary  forces  as  have  not  yet  gone  Overseas. 

2.  Alien  Disfranchisement.  In  this  country  we  have  a  substantial  portion  of 
our  population  who  are  of  alien  enemy  birth,  or  alien  enemy  blood,  or  near  extraction. 
Many  of  these  people  doubtless  have  been  more  and  more  divorced  in  sympathy 
from  the  land  of  their  nativity.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  a  large  number 
who  are  comparatively  recent  arrivals  and  who  have  not  the  same  sense  of  Canadian 
and  British  nationality  as  we  have.  Furthermore,  inasmuch  as  war  service  should 
be  the  basis  of  war  franchise,  and  inasmuch  as  from  the  commencement  of  this  war, 
not  only  in  Canada,  but  in  Great  Britain,  it  has  been  found  undesirable  and  unwise 
to  accept  those  of  the  citizens  of  the  class  I  have  described,  for  the  highest  service  of 
war,  it  does  not  seem  unreasonable  that  they  should  not  exercise,  during  the  war, 
that  control  of  our  destinies  which  is  vested  in  the  franchise.  It  is  in  a  sense  unfair 
to  those  men  themselves,  many  of  whose  sons  and  brothers  are  fighting  in  armies  in 
Europe  against  us,  that  they  should  be  asked  to  determine  by  their  vote  the  vigour, 
or  the  direction  which  that  war  should  take.  It  is  unfair  to  the  rest  of  the  population 
that  they  should  have  the  right  to  so  decide.  .  .  .  When  they  were,  in  Australia, 
facing  a  situation  such  as  we  face  to-day  they  disqualified  for  the  War-time  Election 
all  of  their  citizens  who  were  of  alien  enemy  birth  no  matter  how  long  they  had  been 
naturalized.  This  Bill  does  not  go  that  far.  This  Bill  disqualifies,  for  the  War-time 
Election,  those  of  alien  enemy  birth,  or  of  other  European  birth  and  of  alien  enemy 
mother  tongue  or  native  language,  who  have  been  naturalized  since  the  31st  March, 
1902.  It  is  further  to  be  noted  that  whomsoever  is  disqualified  from  voting  by  this 
measure  is  at  the  same  time  exempted  entirely  from  combatant  service  in  the  War. 
By  this  Bill  the  Provincial  franchise  is  adopted  in  every  Province  of  Canada  subject 
to  the  operation  of  the  two  principles  I  have  described. 

The  Secretary  of  State  added  a  long  analysis  of  the  mode  in  which 
the  Provincial  electoral  lists  would  be  applied  and  the  Dominion 
lists  used  when  there  was  no  Provincial  one.  He  concluded  with 
the  statement  that  the  Government  hoped  to  see  the  coming  election 
express  "the  real  views  of  the  Canadian  people."  The  Liberal 
Opposition  from  the  first  fought  the  Bill  fiercely.  To  them  any 
elimination  of  the  right  to  vote  was  the  smashing  of  a  sacred  prin- 


AN  IMPORTANT  WAR  SESSION  OF  PARLIAMENT  333 

ciple;  the  naturalized  Aliens  in  the  country  had  been  given  certain 
rights  which  were  being  taken  away  and  another  "scrap  of  paper" 
torn  up ;  if  the  franchise  were  tampered  with  on  one  occasion  it 
could  be  on  another  and  the  people's  liberties  endangered.  Back 
of  these  natural  feelings  was  the  fact  of  a  large  foreign  vote  in 
Alberta  and  Saskatchewan  which  usually  went  Liberal  and  which 
on  this  occasion  would  be  doubly  lost  (1)  by  the  men  disfranchised, 
and  (2)  by  the  women  who  were  not  enfranchised.  The  Hon. 
F.  Oliver  (Sept.  8)  put  the  issue  strongly  from  his  standpoint:  "In 
order  to  create  a  special  military  class  in  this  country  we  are  to  dis- 
franchise the  women  of  five  of  the  great  Provinces  of  Canada  just 
as,  in  order  to  establish  a  military  class,  we  give  the  franchise  to 
men  who  never  saw  Canada  and  probably  never  will  see  it."  A 
military  caste,  a  junker  aristocracy,  an  oligarchic  Kaiserism,  were 
some  of  his  epithets. 

G.  E.  McCraney  (Lib.)  declared  that  the  object  of  the  Bill  was 
to  re-elect  the  Government  party;  J.  H.  Sinclair  (Lib.)  asked  (Sept. 
10)  "what  kind  of  franchise  are  we  going  to  have  in  this  country 
if  the  Secretary  of  State  continues  to  tamper  with  it,  twist  it  and 
bedevil  it?"  and  declared  that  the  Bill  "disfranchised  a  million 
women  who  lived  between  the  Ottawa  river  and  the  Pacific  coast 
and  who  were  now  entitled  to  vote";  J.  W.  Edwards  (Cons.)  argued 
that  the  women  representing  Overseas  men  had  in  the  coming  contest 
"an  especial  interest  in  seeing  that  the  honour  their  men  have  won 
for  this  country  is  not  put  to  shame  by  a  Government  which  would 
be  controlled  by  the  anti-British  and  foreign  element  in  this  Domin- 
ion." Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  pointed  out  (Sept.  10)  that  the  United 
States,  with  infinitely  more  alien  enemies  than  Canada,  had  not 
taken  this  drastic  course;  that  most  of  the  disfranchised  men  were 
Austrians  with  Russian  sentiment;  that  the  best  course  as  to  women 
was  to  give  the  vote  to  all  and  not  to  a  few.  He  moved  that  "the 
abridgment  by  this  Parliament  of  the  electoral  franchise  now  enjoyed 
in  any  Province  of  the  Dominion  by  any  class  of  His  Majesty's 
subjects  would  be  contrary  to  the  peace,  order,  and  good  government 
of  Canada."  The  Bill  was  "a  retrograde  and  German  measure." 
Sir  Robert  Borden  in  his  reply  asked:  "If  my  Right  Hon.  friend 
says  that  we  should  call  upon  them  (alien  enemies)  to  pronounce 
judgment  upon  the  issue  of  this  war  in  this  Election,  will  he  shrink 
from  declaring  that  they  ought  to  be  subject  to  the  same  military 
service  as  other  citizens  of  Canada?  If  he  takes  the  one  position 
it  seems  to  me  that  he  must  take  the  other."  W.  A.  Buchanan 
[Lib.)  resented  the  Bill  as  unfair  to  the  Liberal  members  from  the 
West  who  supported  Conscription.  The  Laurier  amendment  was 
rejected  by  46  to  34.  Mr.  Pugsley  then  moved  an  amendment, 
rejected  by  47  to  35,  that: 

It  is  not  desirable  to  disfranchise  large  numbers  of  the  people  of  Canada  who 
have  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance,  have  been  guaranteed  the  rights  of  citizenship  in 
the  name  of  His  Majesty  the  King,  and  who  have  not  failed  to  discharge  all  the 
obligations  of  citizenship;  arid  further  that  any  measure  granting  the  franchise  only 
to  a  limited  number  of  women  is  contrary  to  the  public  interest  and  fails  to  recognize 
the  splendid  patriotic  work  which  has  been  performed  by  the  women  of  Canada, 
generally,  during  the  present  war. 


334  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Bill  then  passed  its  2nd  reading  by  47  to  35.  The  closure 
was  applied  several  times  and  the  3rd  reading  passed  on  Sept. 
15  by  53  to  32  after  certain  amendments  had  been  voted  down: 
(1)  D.  B.  Neely — that  Provincial  franchise  laws  as  to  women's  vote 
should  guide  the  war  franchise;  (2)  G.  E.  McCraney — giving  every 
natural-born  British  subject  a  vote;  (3)  D.  B.  Neely — eliminating 
provision  to  remove  franchise  from  any  British  subject  qualified 
by  Provincial  law.  In  the  Senate  Sir  James  Lougheed  presented 
the  Act  on  Sept.  15  and  the  Opposition  Leader  (Hon.  H.  Bostock) 
moved  the  same  amendment  that  Mr.  Pugsley  had  presented 
in  the  Commons;  it  was  lost  by  30  to  25.  Some  minor  amendments 
were  made  and  accepted  by  the  Commons.  A.  K.  Maclean  and 
the  Nova  Scotia  Liberals  put  up  a  vigorous  fight  on  the  closing  day 
of  the  Commons  against  the  proposed  system  of  arranging  the 
Nova  Scotia  lists  but  a  Senate  compromise  was  accepted. 

Other  legislation  passed  included  Mr.  Roche's  Chinese  Immi- 
gration Bill,  permitting  students  of  China  to  visit  Canada  without 
paying  head-tax,  as  in  the  United  States;  the  incorporation  of 
the  Canadian  Division,  Aerial  League  of  the  British  Empire,  the 
Army  and  Navy  Veterans  in  Canada,  the  General  Council  Canadian 
Boy  Scouts,  and  the  Daughters  of  the  Empire;  Sir  T.  White's  War 
Charities  Act,  providing  that  all  organizations  appealing  to  the 
public  for  war  charities,  etc.,  must  be  registered  with  the  Secretary 
of  State;  the  Hon.  Mr.  Doherty's  amendments  to  the  Criminal 
Code  (1)  making  the  evidence  of  a  wife  admissible  against  the 
husband  in  prosecutions  for  non-support,  (2)  making  it  a  criminal 
offence  to  have  illicit  connection  on  the  part  of  an  employer  or  person 
in  a  position  of  authority,  (3)  constituting  it  an  offence  for  a  trader 
who  has  become  insolvent  to  have  failed  to  keep  regular  books  of 
account;  an  amending  Bill  of  the  Minister  of  Justice  as  to  Insurance 
providing  penalties  under  the  Criminal  Code  for  failure  to  take 
out  a  Dominion  license  and  also  an  amendment  making  rebates 
on  policy-premiums  by  agents  of  Provincial  Insurance  Companies 
subject  to  the  same  penalties  as  those  of  Dominion  concerns. 

An  amendment  to  the  Government  Railways  Act  by  Hon.  F.  Coch- 
rane  put  these  lines  under  the  operation  of  the  Railway  Commission — 
except  as  to  expropriation.  Mr.  Doherty's  Bill  as  to  Sale  of  Intoxi- 
cating Liquors  was  intended  to  strengthen  the  Provinces  in  ad- 
ministering Prohibition  enactments  with  Senate  amendments  which 
the  Minister  accepted  (1)  eliminating  a  clause  which  would  have 
prevented  the  circulation  in  Prohibition  Provinces  of  outside  news- 
papers containing  liquor  advertisements  and  (2)  holding  up  the 
free  right  of  search  in  private  houses  by  constable  or  peace  officer 
until  information  had  been  laid  in  the  usual  legal  form  before  a 
Judge  or  magistrate.  An  important  clause  actually  passed  pro- 
vided for  the  suspension  of  the  Scott  Act  when  other  legislation  was 
in  force  equally  or  more  prohibitive  in  its  restrictions — the  author- 
ity to  be  the  Governor-in-Council;  Federal  penalties  were  imposed 
upon  Patent  medicines  containing  certain  amounts  of  alcohol  in 
addition  to  Provincial  penalties;  a  party  shipping  liquor  in  con- 
travention of  the  Act  could  be  tried  either  at  the  place  of  shipment 


CONSCRIPTION  IN  CANADA;  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE  ACT  335 

or  in  the  Province  to  which  it  was  sent.  Hon.  Dr.  Roche's  Bill 
establishing  a  Soldier  Settlement  Board  provided  for  3  Commissioners 
under  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  and  to  empower  the  latter  upon 
recommendation  by  the  Board  to  (1)  reserve  such  Dominion  lands 
as  might  be  required;  (2)  to  grant  a  free  entry  for  not  more  than  160 
acres  to  any  person  who  had  served  in  the  Naval  or  Military  expedi- 
tionary forces  of  the  United  Kingdom,  British  Dominions  or  Col- 
onies, and  had  left  the  forces  with  an  honourable  discharge,  or  to 
the  widow  of  any  such  person  dying  on  active  service;  (3)  to  pro- 
vide that  the  Board  might  loan  to  such  settler  upon  prescribed 
terms  and  for  approved  purposes  sums  up  to  $2,000. 

The  Dominion  Companies  Act  was  amended  so  as  to  compel 
companies  to  hold  an  annual  meeting;  to  specify  in  elaborate  detail 
the  nature  of  the  reports  to  be  submitted  by  the  Directors;  to  make 
the  Auditor  distinctly  responsible  to  the  shareholders;  to  authorize 
the  Secretary  of  State  to  investigate  the  affairs  of  any  Company 
and  to  appoint  an  Inspector  for  this  purpose;  to  enlarge  information 
required  in  Prospectuses  along  lines  of  the  Ontario  and  Imperial 
Acts;  to  differentiate  between  private  and  public  companies  and 
permit  incorporation  of  patriotic  and  similar  societies  without 
Act  of  Parliament.  A  measure  presented  by  the  Premier  provided 
for  a  Minister  of  the  Overseas  Military  Forces,  a  Parliamentary 
Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Militia  and  Defence,  and  a  Parlia- 
mentary Under  Secretary  of  State  for  External  Affairs  with  the 
salary  of  the  Minister  $7,000  and  of  the  other  officials  $5,000  per 
annum.  Resolutions  were  presented,  but  not  passed,  by  J.  G.  Tur- 
riff  asking  for  election  of  the  House  under  Proportional  Repre- 
sentation; by  Michael  Steele  urging  a  separate  Government  Depart- 
ment for  the  supervision  of  Public  Health;  by  W.  M.  German 
asking  an  amendment  of  the  B.N.A.  Act  by  the  Imperial  Parliament 
to  change  the  Senate  into  an  elective  body  chosen  for  seven  years 
by  districts  with  the  same  voting  qualifications  as  for  the  Commons; 
by  Clarence  Jameson  urging  a  Department  of  Fisheries  under  a 
separate  Minister — withdrawn;  by  Hon.  F.  Oliver  and  F.  B.  Carvell 
proposing,  on  May  23rd,  a  wide  free-trade  adjustment  in  the  Tariff. 
This  proposal — rejected  by  65  to  38 — included  wheat,  flour,  farm 
implements  and  machinery,  mining  and  milling  machinery,  rough, 
partly  dressed  lumber,  oils,  chemical  fertilizers,  staple  foods  and  food 
products  and  domestic  animals,  with  lower  duties  on  all  general  impor- 
tations except  luxuries.  Parliament  was  prorogued  on  Sept.  20  by 
H.E.  the  Governor-General  with  a  Speech  referring  to  the  War 
situation,  eulogizing  Canadian  gallantry  at  Vimy  and  Lens,  stating 
the  urgent  need  for  re-inforcements,  and  reviewing  some  of  the 
legislation  of  the  Session. 

Conscription  After  two  years  of  discussion,  which  increased  in 
in  Canada;  feeling  and  effect  from  month  to  month;  after  War 
Service^mn^  exPeriences  which  changed  a  deep  national  and  demo- 
and  its  Op-  cratic  antagonism  to  military  compulsion  into  a  popular 
eration.  belief  as  to  its  imperative  necessity:  the  impossible  be- 

came a  fact,  great  difficulties  were  overcome  and,  in  the 
middle  of  1917,  Conscription  became  the  law  of  Canada.   The  Govern- 


336  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

ment  had  not  been  in  favour  of  it  and  Sir  Robert  Borden  in  August 
1914,  and  in  January,  1915,  had  stated  that  it  was  not  the  intention 
to  propose  compulsory  military  service.  As  late  as  December, 
1916,  he  declared  that  the  National  Service  cards  would  not  be  used 
to  promote  Conscription.  As  the  Premier  put  it  in  a  letter  to  the 
Mayor  of  Montreal  on  July  13,  1917:  "These  statements  were 
absolutely  and  literally  true  when  they  were  made.  No  one  could 
then  estimate  or  even  imagine  the  magnitude  of  the  efforts  neces- 
sary to  win  the  War  and  thus  to  preserve  our  national  existence." 
Of  itself  there  was  nothing  dishonourable  or  opposed  to  National 
freedom  in  the  acceptance  of  this  policy.  In  the  earlier  periods 
of  English  history  compulsory  service  was  the  badge  of  the  freeman, 
and  slaves  only  were  exempt;  conscription  remained  the  basis  of 
national  defence  under  all  the  greater  Kings  including  Henry  II 
and  Edward  I;  it  operated  side  by  side  with  voluntaryism  under 
Elizabeth  and,  though  Charles  I  preferred  the  volunteer  system, 
Cromwell  used  compulsion  freely.  In  the  Wars  with  France  con- 
scription was  used  for  Home  defence;  the  volunteer  system  for  Foreign 
service.  Then  came  the  British  Peace  period,  the  system  of  a  volun- 
tary army  and  militia.  Before  the  world- war  of  1914  had  reached 
its  4th  year  Conscription  had  become  the  recognized  policy  of  every 
country  involved  except  Canada,  South  Africa  and  Australia — and, 
in  the  two  latter  Dominions  there  was  compulsory  home  training. 
The  situation  in  Canada  at  the  beginning  of  this  year  was  that  the 
Militia  Act,  under  which  "the  Governor-in-Council  may  place  the 
militia,  or  any  part  thereof,  on  active  service  anywhere  in  Canada, 
and  also  beyond  Canada,  for  the  defence  thereof,  at  any  time  when 
it  appears  advisable  so  to  do  by  reason  of  emergency"  was  not 
proclaimed;  that  the  Canadian  Army  in  France  or  England  was  there 
by  special  Parliamentary  permission,  Executive  action  and  volun- 
tary association;  that  no  call  had  ever  been  made  under  the  terms 
of  the  Militia  Act  by  which  the  males  of  Canada,  liable  for  military 
service,  could  have  been  enrolled,  ordered  for  service  and  sent  abroad. 
Under  this  Act  the  male  population  liable  to  service  was  divided 
into  four  classes : 

(1)  The  1st  Class  shall  comprise  all  those  of  the  age  of  18  years  and  upwards, 
but  under  30  years,  who  are  unmarried  or  widowers  without  children. 

(2)  The  2nd  Class  shall  comprise  all  those  of  the  age  of  30  years  and  upwards 
but  under  45  years,  who  are  unmarried  or  widowers  without  children. 

(3)  The  3rd  Class  shall  comprise  all  those  of  the  age  of  18  years  and  upwards, 
but  under  45  years,  who  are  married  or  widowers  with  children. 

(4)  The  4th  Class  shall  comprise  all  those  of  the  age  of  40  years  and  upwards, 
but  under  60  years. 

The  right  of  compulsion  was  inherent  in  this  Act  without  further 
Parliamentary  action;  the  power  had  not  been  utilized  and  the 
Militia  had  remained,  through  three  years  of  war,  as  merely  a  supply 
base  for  enlistment,  for  officers,  for  training  volunteers.  By  the 
first  of  this  year  compulsion  of  some  kind  seemed  imperative  to  all 
thoughtful  men  but  the  Government  had  to  deal  with  many  who 
were  not  in  that  category  and  with  many,  also,  who  were  deliberately 
hostile  to  this  method  of  raising  men  for  reasons  of  a  personal, 


CONSCRIPTION  IN  CANADA;  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE  ACT   337 

political,  racial,  or  other  nature.  No  stone  was  left  unturned  to 
avoid  the  contingency  and,  after  the  National  Service  Board  and 
its  effort  to  regulate  and  expedite  work  and  enlistment,  came  the 
Lessard-Blondin  attempt  to  arouse  Quebec,  and,  finally,  the  Defence 
Force  scheme.  Meantime  public  opinion  grew  steadily  in  favour 
of  compulsory  action.  The  Hon.  P.  E.  Blondin  in  Quebec  told 
the  people  of  Joliette  (May  5)  that  Conscription  would  have  to 
come  if  recruiting  failed;  N.  W.  Rowell,  M.L.A.  (Ontario  Liberal 
leader),  at  Thamesford  on  Feb.  12  and  at  various  other  places, 
urged  the  putting  into  force  of  the  Militia  Act,  so  far  as  calling 
out  the  first  class  for  Home  defence  was  concerned;  the  Vancouver 
Daily  Sun  (Lib.)  also  urged  enforcement  of  the  Act  (Feb.  8)  and, 
in  Toronto,  The  Star  (Lib.)  was  converted  by  the  United  States' 
example  to  support  the  adoption  of  Conscription  by  selective  draft, 
under  the  Militia  Act  (May  8) ,  as  being  a  democratic  and  fair  method. 
Sir  C.  H.  Tupper  (Ind.-Cons.)  in  Vancouver  on  Jan.  4  described 
the  existing  crisis  in  the  life  of  liberty,  declared  the  voluntary  system 
exhausted,  deprecated  the  Government's  delay  in  taking  action, 
opposed  a  popular  vote  upon  the  question  as  a  "Referendum  to 
slackers"  and  contrary  to  British  constitutional  procedure,  Urged 
immediate  compulsion;  Sir  Sam  Hughes,  in  Parliament  and  else- 
where, advocated  prompt  enforcement  of  the  Militia  Act  as  did 
Conservative  papers  like  the  Toronto  Mail  and  the  World.  Reso- 
lutions in  favour  of  compulsion  of  some  kind  were  passed  by  a  mass- 
meeting  at  Windsor  (Jan.  3)  and  by  Conservatives  at  Niagara 
Falls  (Jan.  9) ;  leading  Winnipeg  citizens  in  a  Petition  to  the  Govern- 
ment urged  re-organization  and  conscription  of  men  and  money, 
with  A.  M.  Nanton,  G.  W.  Allan,  R.  T.  Riley,  J.  H.  Munson,  C.  W. 
Rowley,  W.  J.  Bulman,  W.  J.  Tupper,  John  Gait,  A.  L.  Crossin 
and  C.  F.  Roland  amongst  the  signatories;  a  War  and  National 
Service  League,  formed  in  Vancouver  (Jan.  24)  with  Mr.  Justice 
Macdonald,  chairman,  urged  "immediate  compulsory  military 
service,"  while  a  Conference  of  officers  at  Ottawa  on  the  same  day, 
with  Major-Gen.  W.  A.  Logie  presiding,  unanimously  asked  Militia 
Act  enforcement;  the  National  Service  Board,  meeting  in  Conference 
at  Ottawa  (Feb.  10)  declared  officially  that  "action  should  be  taken 
by  the  Dominion  Government  to  mobilize  a  large  army  for  home 
defence,  and  the  provisions  of  the  Militia  Act  in  that  behalf  should 
be  made  effective";  in  Toronto,  Lieut.-Col.  John  A.  Cooper  (Feb. 
12)  before  going  overseas,  urged  conscription  through  the  Militia 
Act  and  declared  the  voluntary  system  exhausted,  while  officers 
of  No.  1  Military  District  at  London  made  a  similar  statement  on 
the  same  day;  in  Winnipeg  a  Convention  of  Manitoba  Agricultural 
Societies  (Feb.  14)  declared  that  under  existing  circumstances 
"Conscription  is  justified"  and  promised  their  support;  the  Toronto 
City  Council  by  Resolution  on  Feb.  19  demanded  immediate  enforce- 
ment of  the  Militia  Act  and  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Women's 
Anglican  Diocesan  Auxiliary  supported  the  proposal  (May  4);  the 
Canadian  Defence  League,  Toronto  (May  8),  and  the  Edmonton 
Board  of  Trade  (May  15)  urged  Conscription, 

22 


338  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Opposition,  however,  was  simmering  in  many  quarters.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  year  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  was  believed  to  be  un- 
favourable; the  Toronto  Globe,  which  had  so  much  influence  with 
Ontario  Liberalism,  was  uncertain;  Quebec  was  quite  positive  in  its 
hostility  and  many  Labour  leaders  were  known  to  be  keenly  antagon- 
istic. The  Globe  of  Jan.  6  thought,  in  view  of  the  exodus  of  slackers 
to  the  United  States,  that  it  might  be  well  for  the  Premier  to  make 
a  statement  that  Conscription  was  not  as  yet  under  consideration; 
on  Jan.  24  it  pointed  out  that  "Conscription  for  Overseas  service 
in  Canada  is  a  measure  that  both  political  parties  consider  im- 
practicable, and  were  any  attempt  made  to  compel  Overseas  service 
the  effective  guarding  of  the  frontier  would  probably  require  more 
men  than  the  measure  would  yield  in  recruits."  Better  recruiting 
methods  were  urged  and  on  the  following  day  the  calling  out  of 
young  men  for  Home  defence  was  suggested;  when  the  Government 
announced  its  voluntary  Home  defence  scheme  it  was  described  (Mar. 
19)  as  "  a  clumsy  expedient,  a  weak-kneed  compromise,  a  timid  evasion 
of  duty"  and  partial  enforcement  of  the  Militia  Act  was  urged. 
The  Liberal  Monthly,  the  official  party  organ  at  Ottawa,  approved 
in  February  the  Australian  rejection  of  Conscription  as  "the  proper 
action  to  take  in  a  free  democratic  country";  the  Hon.  F.  Oliver 
in  the  House  on  Jan.  23  declared  that  while  calling  up  the  man- 
hood of  a  nation  for  military  service  was  right  and  logical  in  theory, 
in  practice,  here,  it  was  impossible;  H.  H.  Dewart,  M.L.A.  (Mar.  18) 
wanted  the  Militia  Act  enforced  but  for  Home  defence  only. 

Such  was  the  situation  when  on  May  18  Sir  Robert  Borden 
told  the  country  that  a  Conscription  measure  was  imperative  and 
would  be  introduced.  As  to  available  man-power  at  this  juncture 
it  was  known  that  the  1911  Census  showed  1,720,070  males  between 
18  and  45  years  of  age,  the  enlistments  to  date  were  414,000,  the 
number  of  munition  workers  were  about  300,000  of  whom  perhaps 
100,000  would  not  come  in  the  above  class,  the  men  of  all  ages 
engaged  on  farms  were  917,000.  According  to  official  figures  pre- 
sented to  the  Senate  by  General  Mason  (Aug.  3)  the  male  population 
in  the  1st  class,  under  Conscription — single  men  and  widowers 
without  children  between  20  and  35  years  inclusive — totalled  665,000. 
He  placed  the  Canadian-born  eligible  population,  18  to  45,  at  667,000 
English  and  445,000  French,  the  British-born,  outside  of  Canada, 
as  307,000,  and  the  United  States  or  other  foreign-born  Canadians 
as  306,000.  In  the  Commons  on  June  13  the  Minister  of  Militia 
submitted  statistics  showing  the  approximate  number  of  the  popu- 
lation between  20  and  45,  under  the  Census  of  1911,  as  760,453 
single  men  and  823,096  married  men;  the  increase  of  population 
between  1911  and  1917  was  about  balanced  by  the  number  of  men 
already  enlisted.  By  Provinces  the  figures  available  (20  to  45 
years)  and  between  20  and  34  years,  as  afterwards  included  in  the 
1st  three  classes  of  the  new  Act  and  subject  of  course,  to  deduc- 
tion of  unnaturalized  foreigners  and  possible  exemptions,  were  as 
follows : 


CONSCRIPTION  IN  CANADA;  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE  ACT    339 

Under  Military 

Provinces  Single  Married  Service  Act 

P.  E.  Island 8,501  6,791  6. 706 

Nova  Scotia 42,667  45,984  35,610 

New  Brunswick 28,056  33,199  23,492 

Quebec 143,540  208,679  123,831 

Ontario 243,050  289,047  201,430 

Manitoba 55,995  57,372  48,726 

Saskatchewan 81,314  66,691  90,571 

Alberta 64,263  51,009  53,979 

British  Columbia. 89,729  61,305  70,354 

Yukon 3,062  1,019  1,750 

N.W.  Territories 722  2,000  504 


Total 760,899        823,096          656,953 

The  Prime  Minister,  in  his  announcement  to  Parliament  on  May 
18,  at  the  end  of  a  long  speech  devoted  to  the  Imperial  War  Confer- 
ence and  Cabinet,  was  brief  but  effective.  He  described  the  war 
situation  as  serious  and  added:  "A  great  struggle  lies  before  us, 
and  I  cannot  put  that  before  you  more  forcibly  than  by  stating 
that  at  the  commencement  of  this  spring's  campaign  Germany 
put  in  the  field  1,000,000  more  men  than  she  put  in  the  field  last 
spring."  He  deplored  the  Russian  situation,  expressed  pleasure 
at  the  accession  of  the  United  States  which  had  already  contributed 
9,000  men  to  the  C.E.F.,  dealt  with  the  Submarine  menace,  had 
no  hope  of  the  War  ending  in  1917,  and  then  proceeded:  "Hitherto 
we  have  depended  upon  voluntary  enlistment.  I  myself  stated  ! 
to  Parliament  that  nothing  but  voluntary  enlistment  was  proposed  I  ]fi 
by  the  Government.  But  I  return  to  Canada  impressed  at  once  f 
with  the  extreme  gravity  of  the  situation,  and  with  a  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility for  our  further  effort  at  the  most  critical  period  of  the 
War.  It  is  apparent  to  me  that  the  voluntary  system  will  not 
yield  further  substantial  results."  In  full  view  of  the  call  from  the 
Front  and  of  all  his  responsibilities,  the  Premier  concluded  as  follows : 
"Therefore  it  is  my  duty  to  announce  to  the  House  that  early  pro- 
posals will  be  made  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  provide, 
by  compulsory  military  enlistment  on  a  selective  basis,  such  re- 
inforcements as  may  be  necessary  to  maintain  the  Canadian  army 
in  the  field  as  one  of  the  finest  fighting  units  of  the  Empire.  The 
number  of  men  required  will  not  be  less  than  50,000  and  will  probably 
be  100,000."  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  in  his  comment,  did  not  commit 
himself  further  than  the  statement  that  it  was  Canada's  determi- 
nation to  remain  in  the  War  till  the  end  and  to  do  its  duty. 

A  month  passed  before  the  actual  presentment  of  this  measure 
to  Parliament  and  in  that  period  public  opinion  found  wide  expres- 
sion. Liberal  opinion  steadily  and  surely  split  upon  the  question. 
The  Hon.  Edward  Brown,  Provincial  Treasurer  of  Manitoba,  at 
Le  Pas  on  May  18  supported  Conscription  and  stated  that  the 
Manitoba  Government  stood  behind  Sir  Robert  Borden  on  the  issue; 
the  Toronto  Globe  (May  19)  declared  that  "the  big  problem  before 
Canada  to-day  is  the  problem  of  war.  The  first  step  necessary 
to  insure  the  active  co-operation  of  the  Dominion  in  the  final  phases 
of  the  campaign  is  the  compulsory  organization  of  all  the  military 
resources  of  the  country";  the  Toronto  Star  supported  the  principle 
but  wanted  conscription  of  wealth  also;  the  Catholic  Register  of 
Toronto  approved  the  Government's  decision,  as  did  Hon.  T.  H. 


340  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Johnson  of  the  Manitoba  Government  on  June  4;  a  Liberal  meeting 
in  Toronto  on  June  9,  called  at  the  signed  request  of  48  prominent 
members  of  the  Party — including  A.  E.  Dyment,  G.  Frank  Beer, 
W.  G.  Jaffray,  H.  M.  Mowat,  W.  Mulock,  Jr.,  J.  E.  Atkinson, 
A.  E.  Ames,  Thomas  Findley,  W.  H.  Shaw  and  M.  J.  Haney— 
supported  Conscription,  urged  all  citizens  to  declare  themselves, 
and  listened  to  addresses  from  Dr.  Michael  Clark,  M.P.,  N.  W. 
Rowell,  M.L.A.,  S.  J.  Mocre  (Chairman),  Rev.  Father  Minehan, 
G.  G.  S.  Lindsey,  K.C.,  Aid.  J.  G.  Ramsden  and  W.  E.  Turley. 
Conservative  support  was  to  be  expected  and  a  mass-meeting  on 
June  11,  addressed  by  Sir  W.  H.  Hearst,  Hon.  T.  W.  McGarry 
and  Hon.  W.  D.  McPherson  of  the  Ontario  Government,  with  Mr. 
Rowell,  the  Opposition  Leader,  passed  a  Resolution  supporting  an 
"equitable  system  of  compulsory  selection  with  power,  also,  to 
requisition  or  restrict,  when  necessary,  public  utilities,  factories, 
industries  or  other  businesses";  open-air  meetings  in  Queen's  Park, 
Toronto,  (June  2)  urged  immediate  enforcement  of  Conscription 
and  the  suppression  of  sedition  in  Canada;  the  Victoria  (B.C.) 
Conservative  Association  and  the  Hon.  J.  A.  Mathieson,  Premier 
of  P.  E.  Island,  urged  support  of  the  Government. 

There  was  opposition,  also,  The  Manchester  Guardian  (Radical) 
of  May  20  tried  to  interject  the^  Referendum  idea  into  Canadian 
politics  as  the  Toronto  Globe  and  .other  papers  had  tried  to  do  with 
Prohibition  and  English  politics  and  this  plan — whether  the  English 
journal  or  the  current  Australian  action  was  the  inspiration — later 
I  on  was  taken  up;  the  Toronto  Weekly  Sun,  Radical  to  the  verge 
fof  republicanism  and  neutral  in  the  War  when  not  clearly  anti- 
British,  intimated  to  its  agricultural  readers  (May  23)  that  Canada 
had  already  made  a  stupendous  effort  in  men  and,  financially, 
would  be  in  penury  for  generations,  that  Conscription  would  fall 
I  chiefly  on  unskilled  labour,  that  it  would  appear  to  be  directed 
[against  Quebec  and,  anyway,  that  it  would  be  passed  by  a  Parlia- 
ment not  representative  of  the  people;  Peter  Me  Arthur,  the  writer- 
farmer,  and  W.  L.  Smith,  the  farmer- journalist,  vigorously  opposed 
Conscription — the  latter,  in  the  best  spirit  of  Pacificism,  declaring 
on  May  30  (Sun)  that  "it  is  a  serious  matter  to  urge  a  man  to  go 
out  and  disembowel  a  fellow-creature"  and  more  so  to  use  com- 
pulsion in  such  a  case;  the  United  Farmers  of  Ontario  declared  by 
Resolution  that  the  Government  should  submit  its  proposals  to 
a  popular  Referendum;  Quebec  opposition  grew  in  strength  from 
day  to  day. 

During  these  four  weeks  it  gradually  became  clear  that  the 
Government  would  gain  a  number  of  Liberals  in  Parliament  and 
much  Liberal  support  in  the  country,  that  it  would  probably  lose 
most  of  its  current  Quebec  support,  that  the  issue  might,  in  the  end, 
and  certainly  did,  so  far  as  an  Election  was  concerned,  depend  on 
the  West.  In  the  Commons  on  June  11  Sir  Robert  Borden  intro- 
duced the  Military  Service  Act  and  explained  its  provisions,  and 
his  reasons,  more  fully  than  usual  on  a  1st  reading.  He  reviewed 
the  War  position  and  Canada's  situation  briefly,  from  the  3J^ 
splendid  months  in  which  100,000  Canadians  enlisted  to  the  later 


CONSCRIPTION  IN  CANADA;  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE  ACT  341 

days  of  dragging  effort  and  evasion  of  duty,  with  the  existing  pros- 
pect of  either  dwindling  Divisions  at  the  Front  or  a  re-inforcement 
through  compulsory  service.  He  did  not  propose  enforcement  of 
the  Militia  Act  because  that  meant  selection  by  ballot  or  chance: 
"We  are  convinced  that  the  selection  should  be  based  upon  an 
intelligent  consideration  of  the  country's  needs  and  conditions. 
We  must  take  into  account  the  necessities  of  agriculture,  of  commerce, 
and  of  industry."  In  its  Preamble  the  Bill  recited  the  defence 
clauses  of  the  Militia  Act  and  proclaimed  the  new  measure  as  neces- 
sary to  obtain  re-inforcements  "for  the  defence  and  security  of 
Canada,  the  preservation  of  the  Empire  and  of  human  liberty." 
Administration  was  placed  under  the  Department  of  Justice  and 
the  term  was  for  duration  of  the  War  and  of  demobilization;  it 
covered  all  male  British  subjects  between  20  and  45  years  of  age 
and  they  were  at  first  placed  in  10  classes  which  were  afterwards 
re-arranged  into  6  as  follows: 

Class  1.     Those  who  have  attained  the  age  of  20  years  and  were  born  not  earlier 
than  the  year  1883  and  are  unmarried,  or  are  widowers  but  have  no  child. 

Class  2.     Those  who  have  attained  the  age  of  20  years  and  were  born  not  earlier  ,  T 
than  the  year  1883  and  are  married,  or  are  widowers  who  have  a  child  or  children. 

Class  3.     Those  who  were  born  in  the  years  1876  to  1882,  both  inclusive,  and   ' 
are  unmarried,  or  are  widowers  who  have,  no  child. 

Class  4.     Those  who  were  born  in  the  years  1876  to  1882,  both  inclusive,  and 
are  married,  or  are  widowers  who  have  a  child  or  children. 

Class  5.     Those  who  were  born  in  the  years  1872  to  1875,  both  inclusive,  and   -  * 
are  unmarried,  or  are  widowers  who  have  no  child. 

Class  6.     Those  who  were  born  in  the  years  1872  to  1875,  both  inclusive,  and  are 
married,  or  are  widowers  who  have  a  child  or  children. 

These  classes  were  to  be  called  up  from  time  to  time  by  proclamation 
of  the  Governor-in-Council  and  when  called  up  became  enlisted 
soldiers  under  military  law;  before  reporting  they  were  deemed 
to  be  on  leave  of  absence  without  pay;  those  not  reporting  within 
reasonable  time  would  be  guilty  cf  desertion  or  absence  without 
leave  and  liable  to  imprisonment  at  hard  labour.  The  tribunals 
to  deal  with  exemptions  and  to  hear  appeals  were  (1)  Local  Ex- 
emption Courts,  (2)  Appeal  Courts,  and  (3)  a  Central  Appeal  Judge 
who  would  be  the  final  Court  of  Appeal.  The  conditions  of 'ex- 
emption were  broad  and  liberal:  (1)  that  of  working  in  essential 
War  occupations;  (2)  those  in  work  for  which  they  had  special 
qualifications;  (3)  cases  where  "serious  hardship  would  ensue,  if 
the  man  were  placed  on  active  service,  owing  to  his  exceptional 
financial  or  business  obligations  or  domestic  position,  ill  health  or 
infirmity;  and  (4)  conscientious  objection  to  combatant  service 
or  prohibition  by  the  tenets  of  his  faith.  Certain  classes  were 
exempted  such  as  members  of  His  Majesty's  regular  or  reserve, 
or  auxiliary  forces,  as  defined  by  the  Army  Act.  These,  in  the  main, 
were  as  in  the  British  Act;  men  serving  in  any  of  the  British  forces 
on  land  or  sea,  with  clergy  and  ministers  of  all  religious  denomina- 
tions, and  settlers  of  the  Mennonite  or  Doukhobor  communities 
were  also  excluded. 


342  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Premier  had  no  doubt  as  to  the  measure  being  one  to  safe- 
guard the  defence  of  Canada.  Its  first  line  of  defence  was  in  the 
North  Sea,  he  declared;  obviously  the  second  was  in  France  and 
Belgium  and  the  third  in  garrison  or  home  duty  in  Canada.  The 
Premier  moved  the  2nd  reading  on  June  18,  very  briefly,  and  quoted 
the  statistics  of  R.  H.  Coats,  Dominion  Statistician,  as  to  the  number 
of  married  and  single  men  of  various  ages  in  Canada.  Between 
the  ages  of  20  and  24,  both  inclusive,  there  were  319,610  single 
men  and  66,247  married  men  or  a  total  of  385,857;  between  25 
and  29,  both  inclusive,  there  were  205,125  single  men  and  165,369 
married  men  or  a  total  of  370,494;  between  the  ages  of  30  and  34, 
both  inclusive,  there  were  112,011  single  men  and  198,328  married 
men  or  a  total  of  310,339.  Thus  the  total  number  between  the 
ages  of  20  and  34,  both  inclusive,  was  1,066,690.  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
followed  at  length  and  indicated  the  reasons  which  compelled  him 
to  accept  a  split  in  his  Party  upon  this  question,  to  break  the  unanim- 
ity of  Canadian  War  action,  to  become  essentially  the  leader  of 
his  people  in  Quebec  and  to  make  necessary,  later  on,  a  War  election 
conflict.  His  reasons  may  be  summarized  briefly  with  the  use  of 
his  own  words  as  follows: 

1.  To-day  the  Government  brings  down  a  measure  to  substitute  for  voluntary 
service  compulsory  service — compulsory  service,  which  the  Government,  from  the 
day  the  War  broke  out  up  to  the  18th  of  April  this  year,  has  said  never  would  be 
resorted  to.     But  the  Government  has  cast  aside  its  oft-repeated  assurances,  and  I 
rise  to  ask,  whether  or  not  this  new  measure  will  not  be  more  detrimental  than  helpful 
to  the  cause  which  we  all  have  at  heart. 

2.  The  law  of  the  land,  which  antedates  Confederation  by  many  generations, 
and  which  was  re-introduced  at  the  tune  of  Confederation,  emphatically  declared 
that  no  man  in  Canada  shall  be  subjected  to  compulsory  military  service  except  to 
repel  invasion  for  the  defence  of  Canada.     My  honourable  friend  says  the  first  line 
of  defence  for  Canada  is  in  France  and  Flanders.     I  claim  there  never  was  any  danger 
of  invasion  on  the  part  of  Germany.     Nobody  can  say  that  Canada,  for  one  instant 
during  the  last  three  years,  was  in  danger  of  invasion. 

3.  Would  anyone  believe  that,  if  the  Government  had  told  us  (1916)  that  they 
contemplated  introducing  the  new,  radical  principle  of  Conscription,  Parliament 
would  have  been  extended?    When  this  Government  asks  this  moribund  Parliament 
to  pass  such  a  law  as  this,  it  is  an  abuse  of  the  authority  which  has  been  placed  in 
their  hands  by  the  people  of  Canada.     Parliament  has  not  been  ha  touch  with  the 
country  for  two  years  and  more,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  this  is  an  additional  reason 
why  we  should  not  proceed  with  this  Bill. 

4.  There  is  in  all  the  Provinces  of  the  Dominion  at  the  present  moment,  amongst 
the  working  classes,  an  opposition  to  this  measure  which  is  not  wavering,  but  which 
is  becoming  stronger  every  day.    There  is  another  class  who  have  been  strongly 
opposed  to  Conscription  and  I  must  deal  with  them.     I  refer  to  the  French-Canadian 
portion  of  the  population. 

5.  I  ask,  which  is  the  course  most  conducive  to  success  in  the  War — compulsion 
with  irritation  and  bitterness  and  a  sense  of  intolerance  and  injustice,  or  consultation 
with  consequent  union,  and  universal  satisfaction  all  around?   .    .    .  What  I  pro- 
pose is  that  we  should  have  a  Referendum  and  a  consultation  of  the  people  upon 
this  question. 

6.  When  the  verdict  of  the  people  has  been  given,  there  can  be  no  further  ques- 
tion, and  everybody  will  have  to  submit  to  the  law.     I  repeat  the  pledge  I  gave  a 
moment  ago  on  behalf  of  my  own  Province,  that  every  man,  even  although  he  is 
to-day  opposed  to  the  law,  shall  do  service  as  well  as  any  man  of  any  other  race. 

The  Leader  of  the  Opposition  then  moved  an  amendment    that 
"the  further  consideration  of  this  Bill  be  deferred  until  the  prin- 


r 

CONSCRIPTION   IN    CANADA;    THE   MILITARY    SERVICE    ACT    343 

ciple  thereof  has,  by  means  of  a  Referendum,  been  submitted  to 
and  approved  of  by  the  electors  of  Canada."  The  ensuing  debate 
was  a  long  and  interesting  one,  lasting  for  over  three  weeks  and 
including  a  Nationalist  amendment  to  the  amendment,  presented 
on  June  20,  by  J.  A.  Barrette  (Cons.-Nat.)  as  follows:  "That  this 
Bill  be  not  now  read  a  second  time  but  it  be  read  a  second  time 
this  day  six  months."  There  were  four  sides  to  the  discussion — 
first  the  normal  Conservative  support  of  the  Government  following 
the  lead  given  by  Sir  Robert  Borden,  Sir  George  Foster,  Mr.  Doherty, 
and  Sir  Thomas  White;  second,  the  attitude  of  the  dissentient 
Liberals — Hugh  Guthrie,  K.C.,  F.  F.  Pardee,  Hon.  G.  P.  Graham, 
E.  W.  Nesbitt,  W.  A.  Buchanan,  Michael  Clark,  A.  K.  Maclean, 
K.C.,  F.  B.  Carvell,  D.  B.  Neely,  W.  S.  Loggie,  Thomas  MacNutt, 
Duncan  C.  Ross  and  J.  S.  Douglas,  who  for  a  great  variety  of  reasons 
supported  Conscription;  third,  the  almost  unanimous  French- 
Canadian  position  of  antagonism,  and  fourth,  the  steady  old-guard 
element  of  Liberalism  lead  by  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  who  received  the 
earnest  support  of  D.  D.  McKenzie,  Hon.  Charles  Murphy,  E.  B. 
Devlin,  J.  H.  Sinclair,  E.  M.  Macdonald,  Hon.  C.  Marcil,  Hon. 
Frank  Oliver,  Hon.  R.  Lemieux  and  all  the  French-Canadian 
members  except  four. 

Conservatives  supported  the  measure  on  the  ground  of  im- 
perative need  for  men;  the  failure  of  voluntary  enlistment — after 
periods  of  great  success;  the  call  of  the  Canadian  soldiers  at  the 
Front  for  help,  for  reserves,  for  greater  strength;  the  call  of  loyalty 
to  the  Empire  in  a  mighty  struggle  for  liberty;  the  desirability  of 
defending  Canada  in  France  and  Belgium  rather  than  on  Canadian 
soil;  the  pledge  of  the  Premier  to  give  500,000  men;  the  action  of 
the  United  States,  as  well  as  the  example  of  Britain,  France,  and 
all  the  Allies,  in  accepting  the  principle  of  compulsion;  the  fact 
of  a  Referendum  being  an  excuse  and  means  for  defeating  the  pro- 
posal by  indefinite  delay  and  by  final  popular  veto  under  conditions 
of  partisan  excitement.  The  list  of  Government  speakers  was  a 
large  one,  including  Sir  Sam  Hughes  who,  however,  was  very  critical 
and  expressed  a  decided  preference  for  enforcement  of  the  Militia 
Act;  Hon.  Arthur  Meighen,  Hon.  F.  B.  McCurdy  and  W.  F.  Cock- 
shutt;  Sir  Edward  Kemp,  who  defended  recruiting  methods,  and 
Lieut. -Col.  James  Arthurs,  who,  with  J.  W.  Edwards,  was  severe 
upon  the  French-Canadians  and  Quebec;  Sir  Herbert  Ames,  Hon. 
A.  Se"vigny  and  Dr.  J.  L.  Chabot — the  latter,  however,  did  not 
vote  in  the  final  division  though  speaking  in  favour  of  Conscrip- 
tion; James  Morris  who  represented  the  French-Canadian  con- 
stituency of  Ch&teauguay  and  doomed  himself  to  certain  defeat 
at  the  next  elections,  as  did  F.  J.  Robidoux,  the  Acadian  member 
for  Richibucto,  N.B. 

The  Liberals  who  deemed  it  necessary  to  sacrifice  party  to  con- 
science and  country  used,  and  felt,  some  of  these  arguments.  They 
did  not  spare  the  Government  or  criticism  of  its  alleged  dilatory, 
unsystematic,  unorganized  and  improperly-supported  recruiting 
methods;  the  personal  tributes  to  the  Opposition  leader  were  ob- 
viously sincere  and  heart-felt.  But  upon  this  great  issue  the  call 


344  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

to  them  was  higher  than  politics,  stronger  than  party  loyalty. 
Conscription  of  wealth  as  well  as  manhood  was  an  additional  pro- 
posal made  by  many  and  urged  strongly  upon  the  Government. 
As  Mr.  Guthrie  put  it  on  June  19:  "I  believe,  in  the  minds  of  the 
people,  conscription  of  wealth,  conscription  of  industry,  and  of 
resources,  are  included,  and  I  trust  that,  during  the  present  session, 
the  Government  will  take  steps  to  bring  in  concurrent  legislation 
which  will  let  the  people  see  that  flesh  and  blood  are  not  lightly 
held,  and  that  wealth  is  not  lightly  exempt."  He  would  like  to 
see  a  Coalition  and  this  was  the  expressed  view  of  many  other 
Liberal  supporters  of  the  Bill.  A.  K.  Maclean  (June  26),  while 
believing  in  the  necessity  of  compulsion  as  a  final  weapon,  also 
felt  that  a  further  recruiting  effort  might  be  made:  "There  should 
be  a  further  trial  of  voluntary  enlistment  after  the  Bill  becomes 
law  and  before  it  is  enforced."  Mr.  Carvell  (June  27)  endorsed 
this  view.  He  felt  powerfully  the  call  of  the  trenches  and  put  it 
earnestly  before  the  House  but  believed  that  the  voluntary  system 
had  not  been  honestly  carried  out.  Mr.  MacNutt  (July  5)  thought 
there  was  absolute  need  of  such  legislation:  "Many  men  are  employed 
to-day  in  non-essential  industries  who  could  be  sent  to  the  Front 
and  their  places  filled  by  others,  including  returned  soldiers."  French- 
Canadian  or  Nationalist  opinions  are  dealt  with  elsewhere. 

Liberal  speeches  following  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  ran  along  distinc- 
tive party  lines.  They  expressed  Absolute  endorsation  of  the  War 
and  of  Canada's  part  in  it,  but  maintained,  with  their  leader,  that 

(1)  the  Militia  Act  forbade  sending  troops  abroad,   (2)   that  the 
War  was  not  one  for  the  defence  of  Canada,  and  (3)  that  all  action 
must  be  voluntary.  There  were  many  points  of  view  expressed.  E.  W. 
Nesbitt  declared  (June  22)  that  voluntary  enlistment  was  discouraged 
through  enormous  and  unnecessary  war  expenditures  and  by  the 
Government  campaign  for  munition  workers  at  $2.50  to  $8.00  a 
day;  W.  M.  German  admitted  (June  25)  that  "the  need  for  men  is 
imperative"  but  the  Laurier  policy  of  a  Referendum  was  better, 
safer,  surer;  Hon.  W.  Pugsley  denied  (June  25)  that  there  was  any 
danger  of  Canada's  splendid  soldiers  being  left  without  support- 
Imperial  soldiers  could  always  be  called  upon  for  aid;  E.  B.  Devlin 
based  his  attitude  upon  (1)  opposition  to  the  principle  of  coercion, 

(2)  the  absence  of  good  military  reasons  or  necessity  for  the  step, 

(3)  the  alleged  fact  that  there  were  2,000,000  men  available  for  re- 
inforcements in  England,  and  3,500,000  more  of  military  age,  who 
had    escaped    conscription.     These    rumoured    and     entirely     un- 
official figures  were  used  again  and   again    during    the    debate — 
especially  by  the  French-Canadian  members.     J.  H.  Sinclair  main- 
tained that  Parliament  had  no  right  to  dictate  to  the  people  on 
such  a  subject  but  that  if  it  was  submitted  to  them  properly  Con- 
scription  would   carry;   W.    E.    Knowles,    though   admitting   that 
Conscription  was  logical,  equitable  and  just,  opposed  the  Bill  because 
its  enforcement  would  be  difficult  and  dangerous;  E.  M.  Macdonald 
had  no  faith  in  the  administration  of  the  Act  by  the  present  Govern- 
ment or  its  officials.     Including  a  large  number  of  Quebec  members 
there  were  45  Laurier  speakers  upon  this  issue.      The  2nd  reading 


CONSCRIPTION  IN  CANADA;  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE  ACT    345 

i 

division  took  place  on  July  5  with  Mr.  Barrette's  amendment 
receiving  only  9  votes  made  up  of  French  Nationalist-Conservatives 
and  including  MM.  Achim,  Barrette,  Bellemare,  Boulay,  Descarries, 
Girard,  Guilbault,  Paquet  and  Patenaude.  Then  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier's  Referendum  proposal  was  defeated  and  the  main  motion 
carried,  while  a  last-hour  amendment  of  A.  B.  Copp  (Lib.)  proposed 
that  "the  further  consideration  of  this  Bill  be  deferred  until  such 
adequate  provision  has  been  made  for  the  dependants  of  soldiers 
enlisted  for  Overseas  as  will  remove  the  necessity  of  raising  money 
by  public  subscription  for  their  support."  The  voting  figures 
were  as  follows: 

Majority 
For  Against          Against 

Barrette  Amendment 9  165  156 

Laurier  Amendment 62  111  49 

Copp  Amendment 56  115  59 

Majority  For 
Bill,  2nd  Reading 118  55  63 

By  Provinces  the  Conservatives  voted  solidly  in  favour  except 
the  Quebec  nine;  the  Liberals  in  Ontario  showed  10  for  the  Bill 
and  2  against,  and  in  Quebec  37  against  and  none  in  favour;  4 
members,  all  Liberals,  from  constituencies  west  of  the  Quebec 
border  voted  agalSsTthe  Bill — Oliver,  Murphy,  Molloy  and  Proulx; 
12  English-speaking  members,  all  Liberals,  voted  against  it — 
Oliver,  Murphy,  Molloy,  Bickerdike,  McCrea,  Power,  Devlin,  Kay, 
Kyte,  Copp,  Hughes  and  Chisholm.  Conservatives  voting  for  the 
Referendum  included  Sir  R.  Forget,  Hon.  E.  I.  Patenaude  and  the 
9  Nationalists,  while  Forget,  Patenaude  and  Eugene  Paquet  voted 
with  the  Government  against  the  Copp  amendment;  Liberals  who 
voted  for  the  Government  and  the  Bill  and  against  the  Referendum 
were  Messrs.  Graham,  Pardee,  Guthrie,  Carvell,  A.  K.  Maclean, 
Robert  Cruise,  Charlton,  Turriff,  Nesbitt,  MacNutt,  H.  H.  McLean, 
McCraney,  Loggie,  Michael  Clark,  Buchanan,  J.  S.  Douglas,  Cham- 
pagne, D.  B.  Neely  and  Duncan  Ross;  those  voting  for  the  2nd 
reading  were  Messrs.  Pardee,  Guthrie,  Carvell,  A.  K.  Maclean, 
Cruise,  Charlton,  Turriff,  Graham,  Duncan  Ross,  Nesbitt,  McMillan, 
McNutt,  Buchanan,  Loggie,  McLean,  McCraney,  Clark,  Sinclair, 
Champagne,  German,  McCoig,  Neely,  Levi  Thomson,  Truax, 
Douglas  and  Knowles;  the  Liberals  who  voted  first  for  the  Referen- 
dum against  the  Government  and  then  for  the  2nd  reading,  were 
Messrs.  J.  A.  McMillan,  Sinclair,  Truax,  McCoig,  German,  Levi 
Thomson  and  Knowles;  the  French  Conservatives  who  stayed  with 
the  Government  throughout  were  J.  H.  Rainville,  Hon.  A.  SeVigny, 
F.  J.  Robidoux,  Dr.  L.  J.  Chabot  and  Hon.  P.  E.  Blondin.  Follow- 
ing this  the  discussions  were  detached  and  mostly  in  Committee. 

The  3rd  reading  of  the  Bill,  on  motion  of  the  Premier,  carried 
(July  24)  by  102  to  44.  During  this  final  debate  J.  G.  Turriff 
(Lib.)  spoke  briefly  and  urged  a  National  Government  as  did  F.  F. 
Pardee.  The  matter  of  Divinity  students'  exemption,  as  at  first 
proposed  by  the  Prime  Minister,  on  the  ground  of  British  and 
American  precedent  and  the  fact  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
having  dedicated  its  students  to  the  Church  from  the  beginning  of 
their  training,  came  in  for  strong  criticism.  It  was  (July  14)  claimed 


346  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

to  be  unfair  to  other  students  and  undemocratic  in  nature.  H.  B. 
Morphy  wanted  to  know  who  was  asking  for  such  exemption  and 
Col.  J.  A.  Currie  described  this  class  of  student  in  Montreal  as 
causing  much  of  the  trouble  against  Conscription  there.  Eventu- 
ally the  exemption  was  dropped.  Criticisms  of  the  newspaper 
Censorship,  from  Messrs.  Oliver  and  Graham  in  particular,  were 
vigorous — the  former  (July  19)  declaring  that  the  clauses  of  the 
Bill  forbidding  and  penalizing  encouragement  of  resistance  to  the 
Act,  or  the  impeding  of  its  operations,  were  dealing  "only  with  an 
offence  against  a  law  passed  as  a  partisan  measure  by  a  partisan 
Government  and  to  give  such  a  Government  the  power  of  destruc- 
tion over  their  partisan  opponents."  The  clauses  were  passed  in 
due  course. 

In  this  debate  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  made  some  pessimistic  comment 
upon  political  conditions  and  the  perils  of  a  compulsory  law  of  this 
nature,  and  spoke  briefly  of  the  action  of  dissentient  Liberals: 
"I  have  not  tried  to  impose  my  views  upon  any  of  my  followers. 
I  respect  their  consciences;  I  would  not  attempt  to  bring  any  one 
of  them  around  to  my  way  of  thinking.  I  have  my  conscience 
and  they  have  theirs;  but  this  situation  shows  that  we  are  face  to 
face  with  a  cleavage  which,  unless  it  is  checked,  may  rend  and  tear 
this  Canada  of  ours  down  to  the  very  roots."  He  expressed  grave 
doubt  as  to  whether  Canada  could  send  any  more  soldiers  abroad: 
"The  question  is  how  many  men  can  we  take  from  the  life  of  the 
nation  at  the  present  time  without  imperilling  the  public  services 
which  are  essential  to  this  country,  and  essential  to  carrying 
on  our  share  of  the  War."  Sir  Wilfrid  renewed  his  claim  that  the 
Government  had  deceived  the  people  as  to  Conscription  and  de- 
clared that  through  Hon.  Mr.  Doherty  it  had  let  a  "high  dignitary" 
of  the  Church  in  Montreal,  at  the  close  of  1916,  understand  there 
would  be  no  compulsion.  Hon.  Arthur  Meighen  replied  briefly 
and  vigorously.  In  the  Senate  the  2nd  reading  of  the  Bill  was 
moved  on  Aug.  3  by  Sir  James  Lougheed  in  an  eloquent  speech 
and  with  some  very  plain  speaking: 

Roughly  estimated  we  require  at  once  to  recruit  100,000  men.  The  provisions 
of  this  Bill  are  so  designed  that  this  number  shall  be  obtainable  from  that  class  of 
men  in  Canada  that  long  ago  should  have  readily  responded  to  the  call  of  duty.  .  . 
The  first  duty  of  the  citizen  is  to  defend  the  state  in  which  he  lives.  Failing  in  this 
he  is  recreant  not  only  to  his  duty  but  in  his  sense  of  citizenship.  Of  all  our  state 
systems  nothing  is  more  illogical  than  a  voluntary  system  of  defence.  It  places  a 
premium  upon  the  want  of  manly  courage,  of  cowardly  recreancy  to  the  highest 
institutions  and  the  defence  of  the  State.  The  basic  principle  of  the  State  is  com- 
pulsion. This  is  fundamental  in  its  entire  organization.  It  runs  through  every 
system  of  law,  both  civil  and  criminal,  through  practically  all  the  conventions  of 
society;  without  it  law,  order,  system,  and  organization  could  not  exist. 

Other  speakers  were  Senators  Landry,  F.  L.  Beique,  Rufus 
Pope,  H.  J.  Cloran,  N.  A.  Belcourt,  G.  Lynch-Staunton;  an  im- 
portant contribution  to  the  debate  was  the  speech  of  General  Mason 
of  Toronto,  which  included  a  summary  of  all  the  main  statistics 
relating  to  recruiting  and  military  service.  The  discussion  was 
concluded  on  Aug.  5  and  the  amendment  of  Hon.  H.  Bostock, 
Liberal  leader,  adding  the  words  "with  the  understanding  that  this 


CONSCRIPTION  IN  CANADA;  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE  ACT    347 

Bill  will  not  come  into  force  until  after  the  General  Election," 
was  defeated  by  44  to  35 — the  Conservative  Senators  A.  C.  P. 
Landry,  H.  Montplaiser  and  C.  P.  Beaubien  voting  for  the  amend- 
ment. On  the  main  motion  the  Government  and  the  Bill  were 
sustained  by  54  to  25  with  the  following  Liberals  voting  an  affirma- 
tive: Senators  H.  Bostock,  F.  P.  Thompson,  R.  Watson,  L.  G. 
DeVeber,  J.  M.  Douglas.  R.  Beith,  P.  Talbot,  G.  McHugh,  and  D. 
Gillmor.  Senator  Beaubien  also  changed  his  view  of  the  matter. 
Some  unimportant  amendments  were  made  and  accepted  by  the 
Commons  on  Aug.  18;  Sir  Edward  Kemp  at  Camp  Borden  on  Aug. 
12  had  stated  that  the  Bill  would  be  enforced  immediately  on  its 
passage;  the  Act  was  signed  in  Toronto  by  H.E.  the  Duke  of  Devon- 
shire on  Aug.  28.  The  Premier  and  Sir  W.  Laurier  agreed  to  share 
equally  in  the  appointment  of  the  Board  of  Selection  for  the  nomina- 
tion of  one  member  of  each  Local  Tribunal  under  the  Act  and 
the  Opposition  leader  explained  his  acceptance  (Aug.  29)  briefly: 
"The  House  knows  the  position  I  have  taken  on  this  Bill.  I  do  not 
approve  of  it.  It  having  now  become  law  it  behooves  us  all  as 
British  subjects  to  see  that  it  is  carried  out  as  harmoniously  as 
possible." 

Meanwhile  the  country  had  been  discussing  the  Bill  in  every 
possible  way  and  from  every  conceivable  standpoint.  Liberals 
naturally  found  it  hard  to  reach  a  conclusion  and  the  Toronto 
Globe,  with  its  long  and  keen  antagonism  to  the  Government,  especi- 
ally so.  On  May  21  it  urged  compulsory  action  in  all  war  essen- 
tials and  on  June  5  proposed  enforcement  of  the  Militia  Act — 
instead  of  the  Conscription  Bill;  on  June  15  it  declared  that  the 
"Military  Service  Bill,  considered  by  itself,  does  not  meet  the  needs 
of  the  hour  or  reflect  the  views  of  the  country,"  and  urged  conscription 
of  wealth  as  well  as  men;  on  June  19,  after  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier's 
speech  in  the  House,  it  declared  the  issue  to  be  now  definite,  the 
duty  of  Parliament  plain  and  imperative,  the  emergency  "too  real, 
too  overmastering"  to  admit  of  a  Referendum,  and  support  to  the 
2nd  reading  essential;  by  June  28  the  "hour  of  indecision"  for 
Canada  was  declared  to  be  past,  the  people  to  be  looking  for  action, 
and  a  prompt  vote  in  Parliament  desirable.  On  July  9  the  dissen- 
tient Liberals  were  congratulated  upon  their  ideal  of  public  duty 
and  Liberalism  declared  greater  than  Liberal  "organization";  by 
the  21st  all  party  feeling  was  thrown  to  the  winds,  the  Bill  declared 
to  be  "  a  fresh  dedication  of  Canada  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  sanctified 
by  the  bravest  blood  of  free  nations."  The  measure  should  be  put 
at  once  on  the  statute-book  and  enforced  without  fear  or  favour. 
Other  Liberal  newspapers  were  explicit  in  their  advocacy  of  the 
Bill  and  in  opposition  to  the  Referendum — such,  for  instance,  as 
the  Toronto  Star,  St.  John  Globe,  Hamilton  Times,  Woodstock 
Sentinel-Review,  St.  John  Telegraph,  Manitoba  Free  Press,  Winnipeg 
Tribune,  and  the  Kingston  Whig.  The  following  statement 
affords  some  indication  of  national  opinion  as  apart  from  papers 
and  politicians: 


348  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Date  Organization  or  Person  Expressed  Opinion 

May  21 — B.C.  Methodist  Conference,  Victoria .  .   In  favour  of  Conscription. 

May  27 — Vancouver  Mass-meeting 

May  28 — Toronto  City  Council Resolution  in   support   of  Con- 
scription. 

May  29 — Orillia  Mass-meeting 

—Toronto  West  District  Methodists 

— Archbishop  C.  L.  Worrell A  Sensible  Conscription  system. 

June    1 — Alberta  Methodist  Conference,  Calgary .   Compulsion  of  men,  material  and 

wealth. 

May  31 — Dominion  I.O.D.E.  Convention Conscription  of  men,  money,  la- 
bour, service. 

June    1 — Mass-meeting  at  Victoria Selective  Conscription. 

— Montreal  Methodist  Conference,  Pembroke 

— Winnipeg  Mass-meeting 

June    2 — Toronto  Mass-meeting 

"      — B.C.  Salmon  Canners'  Association 

June    3 — North  Vancouver  Citizens 

June    4 — Hamilton  Methodist  Conference Conscription  of  men  and  wealth. 

June    3 — Nelson  (B.C.)  City  Council Selective  Conscription. 

June    4 — New  Westminster  Mass-meeting 

June    5 — Brandon  (Man.)  City  Council 

"      — Toronto  Church  of  England  Synod.  .  .  . 

June    7 — Toronto  W.C.T.U Conscription  of  men  and  wealth. 

June    8 — Congregational  Union*  of  Canada Registration  and  Conscription. 

— London  Methodist  Conference Selective  Conscription. 

June    9 — Presbyterian  General  Assembly,  Montreal 

— Northern  Baptist  Association,  North  Bay.  Conscription  of  men  and  wealth. 

June  12 — Westmount  (P.Q.)  City  Council Conscription  of  men. 

June  13 — Winnipeg  Mass-meeting Military  Service  Act. 

— Algoma  Church  of  England  Synod 

June  14 — Victoria  (B.C.)  Board  of  Trade Conscription  of  men  and  Mobili- 
zation of  wealth. 

—Manitoba  Retail  Merchants'  Association.  Conscription  of  men  and  wealth. 
June  13 — Methodist  Laymen's  Association,  Toronto  Conscription  of  men  and  wealth . 

June  14 — Toronto  Baptist  Association 

"      — Canadian  Manufacturers'  Association .  .  .   Military  Service  Act. 

June  15 — Saskatchewan  Baptist  Convention Selective  Conscription. 

— Methodist  Conference  of  N.B.  and  P.E.  Selective   Conscription  of    men, 
Island.  money,  labour. 

June  18 — Victoria  (B.C.)  City  Council Conscription  of  men  and  wealth. 

June  20— Toronto  Board  of  Trade Military  Service  Act. 

June  26 — Earlscourt  (Toronto)  Meeting 

July  12 — Directors,  United  Farmers  of  Alberta. . .  Conscription  of  men  and  wealth. 
Aug.  15 — Dominion  Board,  Retail  Merchants  of 

Canada. 
Aug.  26 — Empire  Club  of  Canada Conscription  of  men. 

Individual  speakers  or  writers  in  favour  of  Conscription  in  some 
form  or  other  were  very  numerous — for  instance,  Sir  Wm.  Peter- 
son of  McGill  University;  JSmilius  Jarvis,  J.  M.  Godfrey  and 
J.  G.  O'Donoghue,  organizers  of  Win-the-War  League;  C.  F.  Ran- 
nard,  President  of  the  Manitoba  Retail  Merchants;  Hon.  E.  J. 
Davis,  ex-M.L.A.,  of  Newmarket;  Archbishops  Matheson  and  Worrell 
of  the  Church  of  England;  W.  D.  Lighthall,  K.C.,  of  Montreal  and 
Lieut. -Col.  C.  C.  Ballantyne  of  the  same  city — both  Liberals;  Sir 
C.  H.  Tupper  of  Vancouver.  Two  cablegrams  from  the  Front 
had  a  marked  effect  upon  opinion  at  a  vital  juncture — one 
from  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  Arthur  Currie  and  the  other  from  Stewart 
Lyon,  Canadian  Press  correspondent,  and  both  dated  Aug.  11. 


CONSCRIPTION  IN  CANADA;  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE  ACT    349 

They  were  received  by  the  Win-the-War  League  at  Toronto  and 
General  Currie  said:  "We  sincerely  sympathize  with  your  endeavours 
to  arouse  pur  countrymen  to  necessity  of  remaining  united  and 
firm  in  their  determination  to  furnish  troops  in  the  field  all  neces- 
sary support.  We  deeply  deplore  fact  that  wisdom  of  doing  so 
has  become  a  subject  for  debate  and  controversy  by  those  at  home. 
.  .  .  If  support  is  now  withheld  or  even  delayed  it  means  that 
additional  burden  will  have  to  be  borne  by  men  already  doing  the 
seemingly  impossible."  Mr.  Lyon  was  equally  emphatic: 

In  numbers,  Canada  is  not  adequately  represented.  Moreover,  there  is  serious 
danger  that  when  man-power  is  most  required  Canadian  forces  will  be  rapidly  de- 
creasing. There  is  urgent  need  for  such  a  suspension  of  party  strife  as  will  enable 
men  everywhere  in  Canada  to  unite  for  immediate  enforcement  of  Compulsory  service 
measure.  Sons  of  Canadian  fathers  and  mothers  who  in  flower  of  their  youth  go 
out  to  die  in  freedom's  cause,  should  be  given  assurance  that  filling  of  their  places  in 
ranks  is  regarded  in  Canada  as  solemn  national  obligation  transcending  all  party  ties 
and  loyalties. 

Following  the  passage  of  the  Bill  Government  organization  pro- 
ceeded steadily  with  Maj.-Gen.  W.  G.  Gwatkin,  C.B.,  Chief  of 
General  Staff,  as  the  military  director.  Enforcement  of  the  Act 
was  not  in  military  hands  but  under  control  of  the  Department 
of  Justice;  the  Militia  Department,  however,  hoped  and  asked  for 
25,000  men  at  once  and  10,000  a  month;  General  Currie  in  France 
and  General  Turner  in  England  were  understood  to  want  the  men 
quickly  for  training  in  England;  volunteers  were  accepted  though 
not  sought  for,  and  were  not  included  in  the  100,000  specified  in 
the  Act.  On  Sept.  3  an  Advisory  body,  called  the  Military  Service 
Council,  was  appointed  by  the  Government  to  help  the  Justice 
Department  in  administering  the  Act,  and  was  composed  of  E.  L. 
Newcombe,  K.C.,  Deputy  Minister  (Chairman),  O.  M.  Biggar, 
Edmonton,  John  H.  Moss,  K.C.,  Toronto,  L.  J.  Loranger,  K.C., 
Montreal,  and  Lieut. -Col.  H.  A.  C.  Machin,  Kenora.  The  Hon. 
L.  P.  Duff  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Canada  was  appointed  Central 
Appeal  Judge  and  head  of  the  whole  system,  with  final  powers 
in  the  matter  of  exemption.  On  Sept.  7  it  was  announced  by  Sir 
George  Foster  in  Parliament  that  the  Board  of  Selection  to  be 
chosen  by  the  Government  and  the  Opposition  Leader  had  been 
determined  and  it  was  duly  approved  as  follows: 

Province  Nominees  of  Sir  Robert  Borden    Nominees  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 

Ontario:  A.  E.  Fripp,  M.P.,  Ottawa.  Sir  John  Gibson,  Hamilton. 

W.  A.  Boys,  M.P.,  Barrie.  A.  B.  Lowe,  Ottawa. 

Quebec:  J.  H.  Rainville,  M.P.,  St.  Lambert  Hon.  S.  N.  Parent,  Montreal. 

Romeo  Langlois,  K.C.,  Quebec.       Hon.  Sydney  Fisher,  Knowlton. 
Nova  Scotia:  G.  S.  Campbell,  Halifax.  D.  A.  Cameron,  Sydney,  C.B. 

New  Brunswick:     Mariner  G.  Teed,  K.C.,  St.  John.    John  McCaffery,  Fredericton. 
Manitoba:  Senator  W.  H.  Sharpe,  Manitou.    Sir  Donald   McMillan,    Winni- 

peg- 
Saskatchewan:         Senator  H.  W.  Laird,  Regina.       Arthur  Hitchcock,  Moose  Jaw. 
Alberta:  R.  B.  Bennett,  M.P.,  Calgary.         Alfred  H.  Clarke,  K.C.,  Calgary. 

British  Columbia:  R.  F.  Green,  M.P.,  Victoria.          Hon.  James  Horace  King,  Vic- 
toria. 
Yukon:  Lieut-Col.  A.  Thompson,  M.D.,     F.  C.  Wade,  K.C.,  Vancouver. 

M.P.,  Ottawa. 
P.E.  Island:  WUliamL.JCotton,  Charlottet'n.     James  J.Johnston,  Charlottet'n. 


350  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

On  Sept.  11  an  official  advertisement  in  all  the  press  contained 
an  explanation  of  the  Act  from  the  Minister  of  Justice — the  need 
of  re-inforcements,  the  1st  call  limitation  to  men  of  20 — 34  who 
were  unmarried  or  widowers  without  children  on  July  6,  1917, 
the  nature  of  the  Civil  tribunals  dealing  with  exemptions  and  the 
means  of  getting  exemption,  the  penalties  for  disobedience  of  orders 
to  join  the  Colours.  Official  statistics  were  published  at  this  time 
showing  the  C.E.F.  enlistments  of  January-July,  1917,  as  16,367 
infantry  and  28,247  of  other  arms,  the  discharges  in  Canada  as  15,390 
and  the  casualties  37,971.  The  Local  Tribunals  for  Exemption 
were  established  by  proclamation  on  Sept.  12  after  the  Board  of 
Selection  and  Judges  had  done  their  part  and  were  stated  by  Lieut.  - 
Col.  Moss  on  Sept.  15  to  total  1,253  in  number.  The  Registrars  under 
the  Act  had  most  important  functions — the  organizing  of  Provincial 
Staffs,  looking  after  the  work  of  Provincial  tribunals,  and  dealing 
with  thousands  of  reports  and  tens  of  thousands  of  questions  or 
objections.  Their  names  were  as  follows: 

Province  Name  Address 

Ontario Glyn  Osier Toronto. 

Manitoba E.  R.  Chapman Winnipeg. 

Saskatchewan A.  L.  Haining Saskatoon. 

Quebec Eugene  Godin,  K.C Montreal. 

New  Brunswick William  A.  Ewing,  K.C St.  John. 

Nova  Scotia E.  Hart  Nicholls Halifax. 

British  Columbia Robert  S.  Lennie,  K.C Vancouver. 

P.E.  Island William  W.  Stanley Charlottetown. 

Alberta John  M.  Carson Calgary. 

Meantime  Medical  Boards  were  appointed  to  sit  at  the  same  places 
as  the  Exemption  Tribunals;  the  medical  conditions  under  the  Act 
were  the  same  as  under  the  C.E.F.  enlistments  since  May,  1917; 
Class  A-2  included  Infantry,  Artillery  and  Engineers,  while  Class 
B-2  included  Forestry,  Construction,  C.A.M.C.,  and  C.A.S.C.;  those 
medically  exempt  in  the  first  class  could  be  tried  in  the  second. 
The  Military  Service  Council  issued  advertisements  explaining  how 
men  and  employees  could  help  in  the  administration  of  the  Act 
and  the  grounds  upon  which  exemption  could  be  sought;  Memoranda 
were  published  and  circulated  generally  along  similar  lines,  which 
explained  conditions  and  procedure;  an  elaborate  pamphlet  detailed 
the  terms  of  the  Act  and  the  bases  for  Tribunal  action,  and  another 
gave  reasons  why  the  law  was  necessary  and  its  application  invoked 
for  "the  Defence  of  Canada."  The  1st  draft  or  call  of  men  in  Class 
1  was  made  on  Oct.  13  and  was  for  "the  defence  and  security  of 
Canada,  the  preservation  of  our  Empire  and  of  human  liberty";  the 
Grand  Council  of  the  Indians  of  Ontario  decided  by  Resolution 
on  Oct.  3  not  to  seek  exemption  for  their  people  though,  later  on, 
the  Indians  of  British  Columbia  appealed  to  the  Prime  Minister 
for  exemption  and  declared  enforced  military  service  to  be  slavery; 
the  Board  of  Selection  on  Oct.  9,  through  Sir  John  Gibson  (Chairman) 
announced  that  the  Exemption  Tribunals  were  practically  complete 
and  that  the  Judges  throughout  Canada  had  responded  freely  and 
fully  in  making  their  appointments  of  the  second  member  in  each 
tribunal.  Reporting  had,  meanwhile,  been  slow  and  exemption 


CONSCRIPTION  IN  CANADA;  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE  ACT    351 


requests  very  numerous,  while  the  mass  of  detail  was  indicated 
by  a  statement  of  Mr.  Newcombe  on  Oct.  24  that  co-operation 
with  the  Military  Service  Council  was  required  from  16,000  Post- 
masters, 15  Registrars  and  their  Staffs,  and  200  Medical  Boards. 
One  of  the  problems  was  the  place  of  Militia  officers  in  Class  1  who, 
at  first,  were  supposed  to  come  under  the  Act;  eventually  it  was 
accepted  that  they  would  not  be  compelled  to  revert  in  rank.  Accord- 
ing to  W.  H.  Trueman,  K.C.,  Winnipeg,  a  natural-born  British  subject 
under  the  Act  was  anyone  born  in  His  Majesty's  dominions  or 
anyone  born  outside  those  dominions  whose  father  or  grandfather 
was  a  natural-born  British  subject.  Hindus  and  naturalized  Jap- 
anese were  found  to  come  under  the  Act  and  this  created  great 
interest  in  British  Columbia  —  the  former  applying  for  exemption 
on  the  ground  of  not  being  given  the  rights  of  citizenship.  By 
Nov.  10,  when  the  date  fixed  for  registration  and  exemption  was 
reached,  21,568  had  reported  for  service  and  310,376  or  57%  applied 
for  exemption.  Men  continued  to  come  in,  however,  up  to  the  end 
of  the  year  when  the  totals  for  Canada  and  its  Provinces  were  as 
follows  : 

Claims         Claims         Claims        Appeals 

Total         Total          Allowed  for  for  Lodged 

Province  No.  Reg-   Claims  for  by  Local  Exemption  Exemption    Against 

isteredf    Exemption  Tribunals   Disallowed  Not  Dealt   Decisions 

118,128 
115,707 

23,831 

15,629 
4,176 

20,858 

44,203 

25,069 

12,824 


Ontario 125,750 

Quebec 117,104 

Nova  Scotia 26,354 

New  Brunswick 17,065 

P.E.  Island 4,425 

Manitoba 22,879 

Saskatchewan 46,733 

Alberta 28,105 

British  Columbia . , .  15,821 

Yukon. .  .  159 


85 


With 

Tribunals 

94,197 

19,148 

4,783 

21,276 

89,575 

3,711 

22,421 

27,683 

16,158 

2,774 

4,899 

2,815 

10,181 

2,524 

2,924 

2,034 

3,648 

332 

196 

348 

14,241 

5,221 

1,396 

3,982 

25,138 

5,783 

13,282 

2,359 

18,093 

4,560 

2,416 

4,503 

7,548 

3,815 

1,471 

2,122 

(No  cases  h( 

jard) 

Canada 404,395   380,510   278,779 


47,868 


53,788 


67,122 


In  the  final  result  the  Provinces  did  well  in  registration — including 
Quebec;  if  there  were  too  many  exemptions  it  was  the  fault  of  an 
elastic  machinery  and  a  fully  developed  and  frequently  selfish 
human  nature  taking  advantage  of  it.  The  military  representative 
on  each  Tribunal  had  the  right  of  appeal  against  exemptions  to 
any  Judge  of  a  Supreme  or  Superior  Court  and  thence  to  Mr  Justice 
Duff,  and  this  they  exercised  freely,  during  these  months,  to  the 
extent  of  20,000 — mostly  in  Quebec.  On  Nov.  20  the  Prime  Minister 
issued  a  long  statement  reviewing  the  clauses  of  the  Act  and  the 
methods  of  enforcement.  Two  points  were  of  serious  importance: 
(1)  His  reference  to  mistakes  by  Tribunals  as  "in  cases  where  ex- 
emption has  been  refused  to  men  long  engaged  in  agricultural  produc- 
tion, without  whose  labour  such  production  could  not  be  continued" ; 
the  other  (2)  dealing  with  such  conditions  as  Montreal  indicated 
"in  cases  where  exemption  has  been  granted  without  sufficient 
grounds  or  in  an  indiscriminate  manner,  the  representatives  appointed 
by  the  Minister  of  Militia  will  see  that  all  necessary  appeals  are 
lodged  to  prevent  the  intention  of  the  Act  from  being  defeated 
by  the  default  of  any  Tribunal  or  Tribunals."  These  Military 
Representatives  were  as  follows: 


352  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Military  District  Name  Military  District  Name 

No.  1 Lieut.-Col.  H.  D.  Smith.  No.  6 Major  W.  P.  Purney. 

No.  2 Lieut.-Col.  R.  H.  Greer.  No.   10 Lieut.-Col.  W.  G.  Bell. 

No.  3 Lieut.-Col.  D.  R.  Street.  No.   11 Major  R.  H.  Belson. 

No.  4 Major  A.  P.  Grothe.  No.   12 Lieut.-Col.  R.  A.  Carman. 

No.  5 Colonel  G.  E.  A.  Jones.  No.  13 Major  G.  W.  Kerby. 

An  important  point  in  the  exemptions  was  the  question  of  young 
farmers  who  were  deemed,  and  in  the  main  felt  themselves,  to  be 
essential  at  home  for  agricultural  production.  Tribunals  in  all 
rural  parts  were  free  in  their  acceptance  of  this  claim  and  their 
wholesale  exemption  of  farmers'  sons;  where  this  was  refused  there 
were  public  meetings  and  vigorous  protests  as  at  Perth  where  on 
Nov.  17th,  500  farmers  paraded  and  protested.  Farm  &  Dairy  and 
other  agricultural  papers  appealed  for  an  exact  statement  of  the 
Government's  intent  in  this  respect  and  were  told  by  General 
Mewburn,  Minister  of  Militia,  on  Nov.  25  at  Dundas,  that  "farmers' 
sons  who  are  honestly  engaged  in  the  production  of  food  will  be  ex- 
empt from  military  service."  Under  a  test  case  brought  before 
Judge  Duff  on  Dec.  6,  in  an  appeal  by  a  young  farmer  of  7  years' 
working  experience,  whose  father  was  an  old  man,  exemption  was 
granted  on  "the  sole  ground  that  the  national  interest  is  better 
served  by  keeping  these  men  at  home."  An  Order-in-Council  of 
Dec.  3  enacted  that  "in  any  case  where  a  person  engaged  in  agri- 
culture has  applied  for  exemption  and  such  exemption  has  been 
refused,  the  Minister  of  Militia  and  Defence,  if  he  is  of  the  opinion 
that  the  services  of  such  persons  are  essential  for  promoting  agri- 
cultural production,  may,  by  order  under  his  hand,  discharge  such 
person  from  Military  Service." 

Another  ruling  by  the  Central  Appeal  Judge  was  that  "the 
sole  remaining  member  of  a  family,  with  two  brothers  in  the  C.E.F. 
should  be  granted  exemption";  he  also  ruled  on  Dec.  13  against 
a  Quebec  Law  student's  exemption  on  the  ground  that  he  was  needed 
at  the  Front.  In  Winnipeg  on  Dec.  21  Judge  Haggart  ruled  that 
when  a  farmer  had  two  sons  one  should  go.  Judges  as  a  whole 
were  everywhere  inclined  to  be  lenient — so  much  so  that  the  Ottawa 
Journal-Press  of  Dec.  24  declared  that  the  getting  of  100,000  men 
would  be  impossible  and  asked  "if  these  learned  jurists  really  appre- 
ciate the  tremendous  seriousness  of  the  problem  put  before  them!" 
At  this  time  it  was  officially  stated  that  241,565  men  had  been  medi- 
cally examined  and  117,873  of  these  assigned  to  Category  "A"  as 
fit  for  the  trenches  and  that,  at  the  same  ratio,  the  remaining  number 
would  yield  78,582  for  the  fighting  line. 

Incidents  of  these  months  included  the  determined  effort  of 
E.  F.  Hutchings,  President  of  the  Great  West  Saddlery  Co.  of 
Winnipeg,  and  a  reputed  millionaire,  to  obtain  the  exemption  of 
his  son  who,  before  the  War,  was  an  enthusiastic  Militia  officer 
and  of  exceptional  physique;  an  alleged  declaration  by  him  that 
he  would  not  take  a  cent  of  the  current  War  loan  unless  this  were 
granted,  and  if  it  were  that  he  would  take  $500,000;  a  refusal  of 
exemption  by  Judge  Haggart  which  was  confirmed  on  appeal 
by  Mr  Justice  Duff.  There  were,  also,  many  efforts  to  obtain 
exemption  as  conscientious  objectors  but  many  of  these  were  dis- 


CANADIAN  WAR  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES     353 

allowed — an  illustrative  case  being  that  of  Charles  Bubaltz  in  Cal- 
gary (Nov.  15)  who  flatly  declared  that  he  "would  not  kill  a  German 
under  any  circumstances,  even  if  the  Huns  were  about  to  kill  his 
bride;  he  would  not  go  to  war,  would  net  fight,  and  would  not  serve 
in  the  non-combatant  branches."  This  man  was  one  of  the  Inter- 
national Bible  Students  who  gave  trouble  in  Toronto  and  elsewhere 
and  circulated  grossly  disloyal  Pacifist  leaflets  throughout  Canada. 

Canadian  The   ordinary   rules   of   international   relationship 

with*heatl°nS  haXe  never  held  good  as  between  Canada  and  the 
United  States.  United  States.  Speaking  the  same  language  (in  large 
part),  holding  the  same  liberties,  living  similar  lives — 
though  with  variations — along  3,000  miles  of  a  frontier  unguarded 
by  troops  or  cannon,  it  was  inevitable  that  the  history  of  these 
countries  should  be  a  record  of  extreme  friction,  or  of  close  friend- 
ship, with  danger  of  strife  and  war  in  the  one  case,  and  of  assimi- 
lation or  absorption  in  the  second  place.  Through  the  far-seeing 
diplomacy  of  Great  Britain  the  first  possibility  had  been  averted 
when  the  World-war  began;  through  the  unique  loyalty  of  Canada 
and  its  small  population  the  second  contingency  had  disappeared 
from  public  thought.  Trade  was  running  along  normal  and  in- 
creasing lines  despite  Canada's  fiscal  preference  on  British  imports; 
American  investments  in  Canadian  industries  were  growing  to  a 
total  of  at  least  $600,000,000;  social  and  business  interests  were 
becoming  closer  and  closer  and  taken  as  a  matter  of  course;  the 
balance  of  trade  was  in  favour  of  the  Republic  but  a  protective 
tariff  held  the  Canadian  markets  free  from  undue  competition  or 
dumping;  American  capital  was  asked  for  sparingly  and  the  bulk 
of  Canadian  requirements  were  obtained  in  England. 

With  the  War  a  great  change  came — not  suddenly,  or  in  the 
form  of  definite  relationship,  or  of  any  organized  action.  But, 
as  prosperity  swelled  upward  in  the  United  States  there  came  a 
willingness  to  meet  Canada's  financial  requirements  in  the  new 
conditions  of  the  War.  With  men  like  Roosevelt  and  Root  struggling 
to  have  their  people  join  the  Allies  they  drew  toward  Canada  and 
expressed  warm  appreciation  of  its  policy — as  Col.  Roosevelt  put 
it  at  New  York  on  Aug.  15 :  "  We  have  no  right  to  consider  ourselves 
as  standing  level  with  Canada  in  this  fight  for  democracy  until  we 
have  placed  5, 000,000  men  in  thefield."  Earlier  in  the  War  Canada  had, 
in  sentiment,  drawn  away  from  rather  than  toward  the  United  States 
and  its  feeling  was  distinctly  one  of  aloofness  from  a  people  who 
did  not  pay  their  share  of  the  world-price  for  liberty.  Then  came 
the  War  declaration  of  Apr.  2,  1917,  and,  before  the  year  was  out, 
Canadian  factories  were  making  munitions  and  aeroplanes  for  the 
United  States,  while  American  plants  were  furnishing  Canada  with 
certain  kinds  of  steel  and  a  pooling  of  Canadian  and  American 
steel  supplies  was  under  way  for  ship-building  needs;  the  Ottawa 
and  Washington  Governments  had  come  to  an  understanding  as 
to  the  movements  of  labour  during  the  rest  of  the  War  with  mutual 
assistance  in  the  mobilization  of  agricultural  workers;  a  Canadian 
War  Mission  was  established  at  Washington  to  facilitate  the  grow- 


354  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

ing  volume  of  business  transactions  between  the  countries  and  to 
act  in  the  closest  conjunction  with  the  British  War  Mission  at 
the  Capital  as  well  as  with  the  British  Embassy;  under  an  agree- 
ment between  Canada,  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  ab- 
sentee males  of  military  age  came  under  the  Conscription  laws  of 
the  three  countries  and  were  given  a  fixed  period  in  which  to  return 
to  their  own  countries — after  which  they  would  be  liable  to  com- 
pulsory military  service  under  the  laws  of  the  country  in  which  they 
resided;  an  International  Arbitration  Board  was  under  consideration 
to  deal  with  reciprocity  in  port  and  commercial  privileges  for  fish- 
ing vessels,  and  to  provide  for  the  protection  of  the  salmon  in- 
dustry of  the  Eraser  River  system;  Canada  and  the  States  also 
collaborated  in  the  use  and  conservation  of  food,  fuel,  electric 
power,  ships  and  other  war-time  essentials.  It  was  all  a  part  of  the 
coming  together  of  Empire  and  Republic  in  a  great  common  cause. 

There  were  various  local  changes  such  as  an  increase  in  the 
Canadian  tendency  to  accept  American  expert  advice  in  varied 
forms  of  industry,  architecture  and  construction,  engineering, 
munitions,  etc.,  with  its  collateral  influence  on  trade;  the  inter- 
national arrangement  for  free  wheat  and  flour  which  would,  a  few 
years  before,  have  been  thought  a  tariff  revolution;  the  constant 
consultation  of  leading  men  at  Ottawa  and  Washington — Sir  Thomas 
White  and  Mr.  McAdoo,  Sir  George  Fester  and  the  President, 
Mr.  Hanna  and  Mr.  Hoover — with  the  British  Ambassador  and 
Lord  Northcliffe  as  pivots  upon  which  negotiation  and  arrangement 
largely  turned.  There  were  questions  of  munition  and  steel 
and  food  and  transport  and  coal  and  shipping  and  labour  and  the 
course  of  exchange  which  compelled  this  consultation;  a  Canadian 
Loan  of  $100,000,000  was  arranged  and  floated  through  J.  P.  Morgan 
&  Co.,  and  with  Government  permission,  in  July;  a  United  States 
Order  was  issued  in  August  permitting  soldiers  in  uniform  to  cross 
into  the  United  States  upon  presentation  of  an  order  from  a  Cana- 
dian commanding  officer;  the  British-Canadian  Recruiting  Com- 
mission, under  Brig.-Gen.  W.  A.  White  for  Great  Britain  and  Col. 
J.  S.  Dennis  for  Canada,  was  given  official  aid  and  established  dep6ts 
east  and  west  at  all  the  leading  centres;  in  October,  through  arrange- 
ments between  the  U.S.  Food  Administration  and  the  British  Wheat 
Export  Co.,  quantities  of  Canadian  wheat,  owned  and  controlled 
by  the  Wheat  Export  Co.  and  moving  down  the  lakes  for  export, 
were  made  available  for  grinding  by  mills  in  the  United  States  and 
thus  relieved  a  difficult  situation  there. 

Early  in  the  year  Canadian  Banks  had  15  branches  in  the  United 
States  and  Canadian  railways  had  about  20,000  cars  outstanding 
on  American  lines  which  they  found  difficulty  in  getting  back; 
following  the  War-break  of  April  in  United  States  stocks,  the  Cana- 
dian market  depreciated  over  $100,000,000;  in  the  Paper  and  Pulp 
inquiry  of  the  U.S.  Federal  Trade  Commission  Canada  was  in- 
volved as  to  supplies  and  prices  and  the  final  condemnation  of 
certain  manufacturers.  There  was  much  talk  as  to  American 
soldiers  in  the  Canadian  forces  before  the  Republic  entered  the 
War  and  "authorities"  like  the  Hearst  papers  went  as  high  as 


CANADIAN  WAR  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES    355 

32,000  in  their  estimates.  To  the  Toronto  press  on  Apr.  18  Brig.- 
Gen.  the  Hon.  James  Mason  wrote,  analyzing  Canadian  enlistment 
figures  with  the  conclusion  that  not  more  than  7,500  Americans 
were  included  in  the  400,000  men  raised  in  Canada.  On  July  31 
it  was  officially  announced  at  Ottawa  that  9,813  recruits  had  given 
their  birth-country  as  the  United  States.  Meantime  American 
and  Canadian  trade  had  each  been  leaping  upward  with  American 
exports  growing  from  $23.43  per  capita  in  1914  (year  of  June  30) 
to  $41.55  in  1916,  and  Canadian  trade  from  $53.45  per  capita  in 
1914  (year  of  Mar.  31)  to  $133.37  in  1917.  Canada's  exports  to 
the  United  States  in  1917  were  24%  of  its  total  and  its  imports 
from  the  United  States  78%  of  its  total;  its  trade,  as  a  whole,  with 
the  Republic  was  47%  of  its  total  trade  compared  with  53%  in  1914. 
This  condition  included  an  increase  for  Canada  in  an  unfavourable 
trade  balance  of  290  millions  in  1913  to  one  of  384  millions  in  1917 
(Mar.  31).  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Canada  was  the  third  best  customer 
of  the  United  States  and  the  following  (1)  United  States  official 
figures  for  the  years  ending  June  30,  and  (2)  official  Canadian 
figures  of  trade  for  the  War-years  (Mar.  31)  are  illuminating : 

1. — U.S.  Exports  to —  1917  1916 

Britain $2,047,545,843  $1,526,685,102 

France 1,011,529,095  628,851,988 

Canada 787,529,729  468,784,793 

Russia... 


2.  —  Canadian  Trade 
1914 

Exports 
to  U.S. 
$200  459  373 

Imports 
from  U.S. 
$410  786  091 

Total  Trade 
with  U.S. 
$    611  245  464 

1915  

215,409,326 

428,616,927 

644,026,253 

1916 

320  225  089 

398  693  720 

718  918  809 

1917... 

486.870.690 

677.631.616 

1.164.502.306 

On  Apr.  19  the  House  of  Commons  officially  welcomed  the  United 
States  as  an  Ally  in  the  War — as  the  British  Parliament  had  done 
on  the  preceding  day.  Sir  George  Foster,  Acting  Premier,  paid 
tribute  to  the  Republic  as  a  country  where  conditions  had  bred 
profound  antagonisms  to  war  and  which  had  in  this  world-conflict 
for  23^  years  "maintained  its  position  of  neutrality  honestly,  thor- 
oughly, and  even  under  conditions  of  great  provocation  and  difficulty. 
.  .  .  .  It  is  something  when  such  a  nation,  trying  by  every 
possible  means  to  avoid  entrance  upon  the  arena,  finds  itself  at  last 
compelled  to  throw  its  sword  into  the  scale  in  favour  of  democracy, 
of  justice,  and  of  the  liberties  of  small  nations."  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
joined  in  the  welcome  and  described  Canada's  interest  in  the  Ameri- 
can decision  as  greater  than  that  of  any  other  country:  "We 
share  with  them  this  continent.  We  hope  that  henceforth,  as  a 
result  of  this  war,  the  solidarity  of  the  nations  will  be  established 
and  that  the  brotherhood  of  man  will  be  the  basis  of  the  future 
relationships  of  the  world.  Let  us  hope  that  this  brotherhood  of 
man  with  man  will  commence  in  our  relationship  with  the  United 
States."  A  reference  to  Reciprocity  and  free  wheat  followed. 
Significant  incidents  of  rapprochement  were  the  activities  of  the 
I.O.D.E.  in  the  United  States  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Elliott 
Langstaff  of  New  York  and  the  work  of  a  very  active  Chapter  at 
Chicago;  the  statement  of  Sir  Edward  Kemp  (Commons,  July  30) 


356  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

that  27  Canadian  officers  were  employed  with  the  British  Recruiting 
Mission;  the  fact  that  Lieut. -Col.  P.  A.  Guthrie  and  band  of  the 
236th  Battalion,  C.E.F.,  visited  Boston  and  New  York  on  recruiting 
missions  with  an  enthusiastic  welcome  in  crowded  streets,  while 
a  detachment  of  the  48th  Highlanders,  Toronto,  under  Lieut.-Col. 
C.  W.  Darling,  had  a  similar  reception  in  New  York  and  Chicago; 
the  succeeding  presentation  to  the  Toronto  Regiment  (Sept.  21) 
of  a  large  United  States  flag  on  behalf  of  the  N.Y.  Scottish  High- 
landers; a  Boston  luncheon  on  Feb.  8  in  honour  of  Lieut.-Col.  J.  L. 
McAvity  of  St.  John  and  the  26th  Overseas  Battalion,  which  he 
had  commanded;  a  great  Allied  recruiting  meeting  in  Chicago  on 
July  26  as  to  which  Archdeacon  Cody  stated  that  there  had  never 
been  anything  on  the  Continent  to  equal  it;  an  appeal  from  Elmer 
H.  Youngman,  Editor  of  the  N.Y.  Bankers'  Magazine,  in  August, 
for  reciprocity  in  Banking  and  the  admission  of  Canadian  bank 
branches  to  the  right  of  receiving  deposits  in  New  York  and  else- 
where; the  visit  of  the  5th  Royal  Highlanders  of  Montreal  to  Boston 
for  recruiting  purposes  on  Sept.  24  and  their  warm  reception.  Of 
this  last  feature  in  the  record  Lord  Northcliffe  very  truly  said  in 
Maclean's  Magazine  (September) : 

That  British  troops  in  uniform  should  march  through  American  cities,  should 
be  cheered  in  New  York,  should  arouse  a  city  like  Newark,  New  Jersey,  to  enthusiasm, 
should  march  up  Bunker's  Hill  without  calling  forth  a  word  of  Jingo  protest — that  is 
one  of  the  most  astonishing  events  of  our  time. 

Arrangements  were  put  into  force  on  the  border  to  prevent 
young  men  migrating  from  one  country  to  the  other  to  evade  mili- 
tary duty;  American  troops  were  sent  by  permission  of  President 
Wilson  to  take  part  in  Toronto's  Victory  Loan  parade  on  Nov.  20; 
during  the  Canadian  elections  polls  were  opened  in  several  United 
States  centres  for  the  convenience  of  R.F.C.  Canadians  in  training; 
150  Army  and  Navy  officers  from  the  State  of  Washington  attended 
a  Victory  Loan  ball  at  Victoria,  B.C.,  on  Nov.  23  and  were  re- 
ceived by  H.E.  the  Governor-General;  the  Canadian  Government 
was  asked  during  the  term  of  the  War  not  to  grant  naturalization 
papers  to  American  citizens;  W.  G.  Ross  of  Montreal  was  elected 
President  of  the  American  Port  Authorities  at  Cleveland  on  Sept. 
12;  the  University  of  Rochester  on  Oct.  2  gave  Hon.  W.  R.  Riddell 
of  Toronto,  and  Lord  Northcliffe  the  Hon.  degree  of  LL.D.  and 
Sir  John  Aird  of  Toronto  was  elected  a  Vice-President  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bankers'  Association  in  December;  through  Mr.  Gompers  the 
American  Federation  of  Labour  subscribed  $10,000  in  the  Novem- 
ber war  loan  of  Canada,  while  the  American  Red  Cross  gave 
$1,000,000  to  the  British  Red  Cross.  Toward  the  end  of  the  year 
there  were  rumours  in  the  Liberal  press  as  to  the  appointment  of 
a  Canadian  High  Commissioner  at  Washington  to  act  with  the 
British  Ambassador  and  co-ordinate  the  purchase  of  war  munitions 
and  supplies  and  raw  material,  problems  of  exchange,  credits, 
food,  etc.,  with  the  name  of  Hon.  J.  D.  Hazen  suggested.  It  ap- 
peared, however,  that  the  British  Ambassador  had  acted  so  well 
for  the  interests  of  Canada,  and  the  work  of  the  British  War  Com- 
mission under  Lord  Northcliffe,  with  Sir  C.  B.  Gordon  of  Montreal 


CANADIAN  WAR  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  UNTTJED  STATES    357 

as  Vice-Chair  man,  had  been  so  thoroughly  done  that  the  matter  was 
not  considered  pressing.  An  opposing  contention  was  that  a  Min- 
ister fresh  from  Ottawa  would  have  more  influence  and  be  better 
fitted  for  the  work  than  a  resident  official. 

An  important  body  at  this  time  was  the  International  Joint 
Commission  organized  in  1910  to  deal  with  Boundary  waters  and 
made  up  in  two  Sections  of  which,  in  1917,  the  Canadian  was  com- 
posed of  C.  A.  Magrath,  Ottawa  (Chairman),  H.  A.  Powell,  K.C., 
St.  John,  and  P.  B.  Mignault,  K.C.,  Montreal,  with  L.  J.  Burpee 
as  Secretary  while  the  American  Section  was  composed  of  Hon. 
Obadiah  Gardner,  Rockland,  Me.  (Chairman),  James  A.  Tawney, 
and  Hon.  R.  B.  Glenn  Winston.  On  June  12  a  final  Report  as  to 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods  dispute  was  fyled  at  Ottawa  and  recom- 
mended the  maintenance  of  an  ordinary  maximum  stage  level  of 
1061-25  with  an  extreme  range  from  1056  to  1062'50— the  former 
level  only  to  be  reached  in  years  of  excessive  drought,  and  the  latter 
in  years  of  excessive  precipitation.  According  to  a  statement  sub- 
mitted by  Mr.  Burpee  to  the  Premier  this  decision  recognized  the 
water-power  interests,  particularly  those  on  the  Winnipeg  River 
supplying  light  and  power  to  the  city  of  Winnipeg,  as  the  dominant 
interests  in  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  region,  and  the  level  recommended 
was  one  of  very  great  benefit  to  those  interests.  At  the  same  time 
the  interests  of  navigation,  lumbering,  fisheries  and  agriculture  were 
said  to  be  safeguarded.  It  was  estimated  that  $100,000,000  was 
invested  in  Canadian  industries  of  this  region  which  were  depen- 
dant on  the  water-power.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Com- 
mission in  Ottawa  early  in  October  the  plans  of  the  International 
Lumber  Co.  on  Rainy  River  were  approved  and  the  question  of 
pollution  of  boundary  waters  was  considered  as  well  as  the  irrigation 
apportionment  of  the  St.  Mary  and  Milk  Rivers  in  Montana,  Alberta, 
and  Saskatchewan.  A  meeting  at  New  York  on  Nov.  12  dealt 
further  with  these  matters. 

For  two  weeks  in  April  and  May  Sir  George  Foster  was  present 
at  Allied  Conferences  in  Washington  when  the  vital  questions  of 
co-operation  in  production,  munitions'  output,  shipbuilding,  coastal 
defence  and  the  regulation  of  food  prices  was  discussed.  In  August 
Immigration  regulations  were  suspended  by  Canada  and  the  United 
States  Government  permitted  many  thousands  of  American  farm 
hands  to  cross  the  border  and  help  Canadian  farmers;  in  August, 
also,  F.  C.  Walcott  of  the  U.S.  Food  Administration  was  in  Ottawa 
arranging  for  joint  international  action.  During  the  year  Sir  Cecil 
Spring-Rice,  British  Ambassador,  was  constantly  in  Ottawa,  or 
Canadian  Ministers  were  in  Washington,  conferring  together;  while 
Lord  Northcliffe  paid  Canada  several  visits  and  helped  in  keeping 
the  two  countries  on  a  level  keel.  Sir  Charles  Fitzpatrick,  Chief 
Justice  of  Canada,  and  Sir  Edmund  Walker  of  Toronto,  delivered 
notable  speeches  at  New  York  on  Mar.  17  before  the  Lawyers* 
Club  of  that  City  on  the  Centennial  of  the  Rush-Bagot  Agreement 
of  1817;  N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.,  M.L.A.,  addressed  the  American  News- 
paper Publishers'  Association  at  New  York  on  Apr.  26  with  Maj.- 
Gen.  G.  T.  M.  Bridges  and  J.  W.  Gerard.  Other  incidents  included 


358  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

an  LL.D.  degree  conferred  on  the  Canadian  poet,  Dr.  Thomas  O'Ha- 
gan,  by  the  University  of  Notre  Dame  in  Indiana  and  the  decision 
of  Harvard  University  to  devote  a  special  branch  of  its  Library 
to  Canadian  history  and  literature  with  Clarance  M.  Warner, 
lately  of  Napanee,  placed  in  charge. 

The  Visits  to  A  most  interesting  War  incident  of  the  year  was 
VManf  Mar-'  the  recpPtion  in  Canada  of  the  distinguished  French 
shalJoffre and  and  British  Commissioners  to  the  Government  of  the 
Mr.  Balfour.  United  States.  A  joint  sitting  of  the  two  Houses  of 
Parliament  was  devoted  on  May  12  to  hearing  M.  Rene" 
Viviani,  Chief  of  the  French  Mission,  Minister  of  Justice,  and  ex- 
Premier  of  France.  J.  H.  Rainville,  Deputy  Speaker  and  a  French- 
Canadian,  formally  welcomed  the  visitor  who,  in  reply,  delivered 
in  French  a  characteristically  eloquent  speech.  He  paid  tribute 
to  Canada  in  the  War,  to  Great  Britain,  to  King  Edward  VII  as 
the  maker  of  the  Entente,  to  heroic  France,  to  the  vast  struggle 
going  on  "between  triumphant  autocracy  bent  on  ruling  over  the 
world,  and  democracy  whose  sole  aim  is  to  regenerate  it;  between 
absolute  rulers  who  consider  as  mere  possessions  the  peoples  over 
whom  they  rule,  and  democracy  whose  object  is  to  elevate  the 
mind,  the  conscience  and  the  soul."  The  French  orator  and  his 
burning  words  moved  even  those  who  did  not  understand  the  exact 
meaning.  The  members  were  profoundly  stirred  and  Sir  George 
Foster  moved  that  a  record  of  this  striking  address,  so  full  of 
heart  and  fire,  of  high  ideal  and  strong  purpose,  be  placed  upon 
Hansard.  As  to  the  future  he  added:  "Old  misapprehension  and 
prejudices  will  have  passed  away  in  the  dread  fires  of  war,  washed 
away  in  common  blood  shed  for  a  common  cause,  and  the 
spirit  of  our  countries  will  emerge  united  for  one  highest  ideal,  and 
for  a  stronger  civilization."  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  also  eulogized  the 
speaker  and  declared  that  in  the  furnace  of  war  "this  paradox  of 
an  Empire  of  free  peoples  has  become  a  living  thing  under  British 
institutions." 

Montreal  gave  a  great  reception  to  Marshal  Joffre  on  Sunday, 
May  13,  with,  perhaps,  half  a  million  people  lining  the  streets  and 
squares,  with  much  cheering  in  the  long  procession  from  the  Windsor 
Station  to  Fletcher's  Field  where  the  Montreal  Garrison  troops, 
under  Maj.-Gen.  E.  W.  Wilson,  were  reviewed  and  an  illuminated 
Address  received  from  Mederic  Martin,  Mayor  of  a  city  "founded 
by  Frenchmen,  whose  heroism  history  never  tires  of  proclaiming, 
from  whom  our  city  has  regarded  it  as  a  duty  and  an  honour  to 
preserve  the  language  and  glorious  traditions."  The  Address  went 
on  to  say  that  "France  and  England,  our  two  mother  countries, 
have  suffered,  but  the  greater  the  sufferings  the  greater  will  be 
their  triumphs,  which  will  produce  fortuitous  results  for  liberty, 
civilization,  and  the  happiness  of  the  world."  From  the  Marshal 
came  only  a  brief  word  of  eulogy  for  the  Canadian  soldier:  "I  have 
seen  your  men  in  action;  they  are  courageous;  they  are  indomitable 
and  marvellous ;  they  despise  death  and  their  bravery  is  only  equalled 
by  that  of  the  soldiers  of  France."  A  half-minute  speech  followed 


VISITS  OF  M.  VIVIANI,  MARSHAL  JOFFRE,  MR.  BALFOUR    359 

to  the  officers  regarding  the  only  thing  that  mattered — so  far  as  he 
was  concerned:  "You  have  sent  many  men  Overseas,  and  I  feel  sure 
you  will  continue  to  send  more,  for  men  are  needed,  badly  needed." 
There  was  a  State  luncheon  at  the  Ritz-Carlton  with  Lieut.-Col., 
the  Hon.  P.  E.  Blondin  in  the  chair  and  Archbishop  Bruche*si,  with 
a  most  representative  list  of  people,  present.  The  speeches  were 
brief  and  the  Marshal  merely  expressed  thanks  for  his  reception  as 
showing  that  France  had  a  place  in  the  people's  affections.  An 
inspection  of  returned  soldiers  took  place  on  the  McGill  Campus, 
and  the  French  Consulate  and  Municipal  Library  also  were  visited. 
To  Sir  George  Foster,  Acting  Premier,  the  Marshal  sent  an  expressive 
message  on  the  20th:  "We  take  with  us  an  undying  memory  of  this 
welcome,  which  has  permitted  us  to  realize  how  close  and  affectionate 
are  the  bonds  which  unite  us  in  these  hours,  when  all  the  moral  and 
physical  power  of  the  Allies  should  be  consecrated  to  the  common 
cause  and  to  victory." 

The  Rt.  Hon.  Arthur  James  Balfour  had,  for  almost  a  life-time, 
been  in  the  blaze  of  world-publicity  and  in  the  high  places  of  British 
life  and  policy  since  he  last,  in  1875,  stood  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Niagara  and  viewed  its  marvellous  scene.  With  his  British  Mission 
he  had  landed  first  at  Halifax  on  Apr.  21  and,  before  leaving  for 
Washington,  issued  a  Message  to  the  Canadian  people  in  which 
he  paid  high  tribute  to  the  heroes  of  Ypres  and  Vimy  and  to  the 
work  of  the  Red  Cross — concluding  as  follows:  "You  have  combined 
to  the  utmost  of  your  powers,  energy  and  mercy  in  your  prose- 
cution of  the  War.  In  times  of  reconstruction,  such  as  these, 
they  form  the  only  foundation  upon  which  Empires  can  be  built 
that  have  any  service  to  offer  to  mankind.  I  have  been  sent  upon 
a  Mission  to  your  neighbouring  State.  I  think  of  it  as  your  Mission 
as  well  as  ours  and  I  trust  that  a  representative  from  Canada  will 
join  me  in  Washington."  Messrs.  White  and  Foster  left  shortly 
afterwards  to  join  Mr.  Balfour  and  a  month  later  (May  25)  the 
British  statesman — also  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs — and  like  M. 
Viviani  an  ex-Premier  of  his  country,  was  in  Toronto.  A  great 
and  cheering  multitude  of  people  greeted  him  at  Queen's  Park  where, 
in  the  open  air,  addresses  of  welcome  were  tendered  by  Sir  Wm. 
Hearst  for  the  Province  and  Mayor  T.  L.  Church  for  the  City — 
the  former  observing  that  "you  suggest  to  us  the  continuity  of 
British  traditions,  responsibilities  and  zeal  for  public  service"  and 
the  latter  declaring  that  "the  citizens  of  Toronto  will  support  the 
Imperial  cause  to  the  end."  In  response  the  visitor  spoke  eloquently : 

I  come  into  Canada  to  a  great  free  country,  composed  not  only  of  friends,  but 
of  countrymen.  We  think  the  same  thoughts,  we  live  in  the  same  civilization,  we 
belong  to  the  same  Empire,  and  if  anything  could  have  cemented  more  closely  the 
bonds  of  Empire,  if  anything  could  have  made  us  feel  that  we  were  indeed  of  one 
flesh  and  one  blood,  with  one  common  history  behind  us,  if  anything  could  have 
cemented  these  feelings,  it  is  the  consciousness  that  now  for  two  years  and  a  half 
we  have  been  engaged  in  this  great  struggle. 

A  stop  at  Niagara  Falls  had  preceded  this  visit  and  there,  as  in 
Toronto,  Mr.  Balfour  was  accompanied  by  most  of  the  members 
of  his  Mission;*  he  crossed  the  Whirlpool  Rapids  in  an  aerial  car 

*  See  record  of  Mission  in  the  United  States. 


360  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  visited  Brock's  Monument.  A  Civic  luncheon  was  accepted 
in  Toronto  on  the  26th  and  to  his  own  toast  Mr.  Balfour  spoke  of 
"something  which  lies  far  deeper  than  mere  formal  expressions  of 
policy,  which  makes  one  feel  the  ties  of  kinship,  which  makes  of 
patriotism  more  than  a  phrase — those  fundamental  identities  of 
thought,  of  feeling,  of  aspiration  and  of  outlook  without  which  mere 
similarity  of  institutions  are  all  vain."  In  the  afternoon  an  Hon. 
LL.D.  was  conferred  by  the  University  of  Toronto  and  Mr.  Balfour 
again  spoke  with  a  scholarly  touch  and  sadness  of  thought  born  of 
war.  He  emphasized  the  value  of  Anglo-American  unity  in  world 
crises.  On  the  28th  he  was  at  Ottawa,  attended  a  Cabinet  Council, 
met  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  and  at  2  o'clock  addressed  a  joint  Session 
of  Parliament.  Addresses  of  welcome  were  given  by  the  Speakers 
of  the  Commons  and  the  Senate — Hon.  E.  N.  Rhodes  and  Hon. 
Joseph  Bolduc — and  then  Mr.  Balfour  spoke  briefly  in  French  and 
more  fully  in  English.  It  was  a  speech  of  perfect  diction,  obvious 
culture,  clear  thought,  simple  style  and  convincing  phrase.  His 
description  of  the  British  Empire  before  the  War  as  viewed  by  the 
the  ordinary  German  politician  was  as  follows:  "The  calculation 
was  that  the  British  Empire  was  but  a  fair-weather  edifice,  very 
imposing  in  its  sheer  magnitude,  in  the  vast  surface  of  the  globe 
which  it  occupied,  but  quite  unfitted  to  deal  with  the  storm  and 
stress  of  war;  destined  to  crumble  at  the  first  attack  and,  like  the 
house  built  on  sand,  to  fall  with  a  great  ruin."  On  the  face  of  it 
there  was  a  basis  for  this  view;  underneath  there  were  a  thousand 
elements  unknown  or  not  understood;  the  result  was  really  a  political 
miracle.  As  to  the  rest: 

We  have  staked  our  last  dollar  upon  democracy,  and  if  democracy  fails  us  we 
are  bankrupt  indeed.  But  I  know  democracy  will  not  fail  us.  ...  When  democracy 
sets  itself  to  work,  when  it  really  takes  the  business  in  hand,  I  hold  the  faith  most 
firmly  that  it  will  beat  all  the  autocracies  in  the  world;  but  it  will  not  beat  them 
easily,  it  will  not  beat  them  without  effort,  it  will  not  beat  them  unless  it  is  prepared 
to  forego  temporarily  those  divisions  which,  in  a  sense,  are  the  very  life-blood  of  a 
free,  vigorous  and  rapidly  developing  community. 

Sir  Robert  Borden,  in  moving  the  record  of  this  speech  on  the  pages 
of  Hansard,  expressed  appreciation  of  and  agreement  with  the 
terms  of  Mr.  Balfour's  message  of  eloquence  and  deep  feeling.  Sir 
Wilfrid  Laurier  paid  high  personal  tribute  to  the  visitor  and  added: 
"But,  Mr.  Balfour,  I  am  sure,  would  be  the  first  to  recognize  that 
the  warmth  of  the  receptions  which  he  has  received  in  this  country 
is  not  due  alone  to  his  great  name  and  personality,  but  is  associated 
with  an  even  greater  name,  the  name  of  England,  the  champion 
of  liberty,  the  mother  of  living  nations.  England,  great  at  all  times, 
was  never  greater  than  at  this  moment.  .  .  .  God  bless  England 
for  all  the  sacrifices  she  has  made,  for  the  duty  she  has  undertaken, 
for  the  risks  she  has  assumed."  After  a  tribute  to  France  he  declared 
that  Canadians  "stand  to-day  prouder  of  the  British  allegiance 
than  we  were  three  years  ago." 

On  the  29th  Deputations  were  received  from  St.  Andrew's  Society 
and  the  Orange  Order.  At  Montreal  (May  30)  Mr.  Balfour  addressed 
a  crowded  meeting  of  the  Canadian  Club  with  Sir  Cecil  Spring- 


FOOD  PROBLEMS:  POLICY  OF  W,  J.  HAHTCA  ra  CANADA    361 

Rice,  British  Ambassador  to  the  United  States,  present — as  he  had 
been  at  Toronto  and  Ottawa — with  Sir  Lomer  Gouin,  Lord  Shaugh- 
nessy  and  other  leaders  of  Provincial  and  City  life.  Afterwards 
he  accepted  an  LL.D.  degree  from  McGill  University  and  in  speaking 
referred  to  the  great  services  of  Rear-Admiral  Sir  Dudley  de  Chair, 
who  was  also  to  receive  honour,  and  who  had  commanded  the 
blockade  operations  against  Germany  in  the  early  part  of  the  War. 
He  spoke  of  the  Army,  the  Navy,  Diplomacy  and  the  great  functions 
in  peace  and  war  of  Universities  as  moulders  of  character  and  national 
manhood.  As  to  Canadians  he  was  clear:  "You  have  every  element 
which  can  go  to  make  a  great  future.  You  have  the  conscious 
conviction  that  your  community  strikes  its  roots  far  back  into  the 
noblest  history  in  the  world,  the  history  of  England  and  of  Great 
Britain.  .  .  .  The  moment  when  Canada  threw  its  efforts  into 
this  war  stamped  Canada  as  having  all  the  attributes  of  a  great 
nation,  for  no  nation  can  be  great  if  it  is  not  able,  on  some  over- 
mastering occasion,  when  duty  clearly  points  in  one  direction,  to 
make  every  self-sacrifice."  In  Montreal  the  day  was  a  public 
holiday;  the  welcome  generous  to  a  degree. 

World- Short-  Amongst  the  many  problems  of  the  war  this  be- 
Poliin  of**** :  came>  m  tuTie>  the  most  absorbing  because  it  directly 
W.  J?Hanna  anc(  personally  affected  the  greatest  number  of  people; 
in  Canada.  indirectly,  of  course,  it  affected,  or  might  affect,  the 
vitality  and  operations  of  all  the  Armies.  Official 
figures  at  the  close  of  1917  indicated  a  depletion  in  the  herds 
of  European  food  animals  totalling  115,000,000  head — a  shortage  in 
hogs  alone  of  32,425,000.  The  wheat  crops  of  Canada  and  the 
United  States  were  below  the  normal,  while  those  of  Australia  and 
India  were  greatly  restricted  in  shipment,  if  not  prohibited,  by  a 
Submarine  warfare  which,  also,  was  sinking  large  supplies  of  food  and 
other  material.  In  France,  Italy  and  Belgium  the  estimated  pro- 
duction of  wheat  for  1917  had  showed  a  reduction  of  198,000,000 
bushels  over  a  five-year  average  preceding  the  War.  The  general 
demand  was  officially  described  as  calling  for  971,000,000  bushels  of 
wheat  to  supply  Great  Britain  and  her  European  Allies  until  the 
harvests  of  1918.*  Great  Britain  and  her  Allies  could  produce  but 
394,000,000  bushels,  leaving  577,000,000  bushels  to  be  supplied  by 
import.  The  normal  consumption  of  Canada  and  the  United  States, 
the  only  countries  readily  available  for  supply  would  allow  the  ex- 
port of  about  207,000,000  bushels,  which  meant  a  shortage  of  370,- 
000,000  bushels  for  Great  Britain  and  the  Allies,  unless  production  was 
increased  and  other  foods  substituted  in  America  for  wheat.  Dr. 
J.  W.  Robertson,  C.M.G.,  of  the  Ottawa  Agricultural  Department, 
put  the  situation  as  follows  in  Victoria  on  June  5 : 

Do  you  know  that  in  1916  the  countries  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  produced 
very  much  less  grain  than  in  the  previous  year?  There  are  not  less  than 
40,000,000  men  engaged  in  the  War.  Over  60  per  cent,  of  that  number  came 
from  the  farms  and  were  food  producers  before  called  to  serve  their  countries  on  the 
battlefield.  There  are  20,000,000  engaged  in  making  munitions.  They  are  getting 
higher  wages  than  ever  before  and  are  spending  lavishly;  the  majority  of  them  don't 

*  Official  statement  in  Agricultural  Gazette.  Ottawa,  September,  1917. 


362  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

know  the  meaning  of  economy.  In  addition,  millions  of  tons  of  ships  are  being  sunk 
by  the  enemy  submarines,  and  most  of  the  ships  are  carrying  foodstuffs.  The  situa- 
tion is  terribly  grave.  Our  duty  is  simply  this — to  produce  more  and  to  waste  nothing. 

Every  country  in  Europe  was  on  rations  and  the  supply  of  all  neces- 
sities was  limited — luxuries  practically  prohibited.  The  United 
States  was  put  under  many  regulations  during  this  year  by  the  Food 
administration  of  H.  C.  Hoover;  Canada,  in  the  latter  part  of  1917, 
accepted  a  mild  form  of  regulation  and  control  under  the  Hon. 
W.  J.  Hanna.  This  food  control  was  not  anywhere  thorough  or 
complete — not  even  in  Germany  where  years  of  pre-War  preparation 
and  organization  had  existed.  In  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
as  in  Britain,  something  was  done  in  conserving  food  by  voluntary 
methods  before  compulsion  was  used;  when  the  latter  came,  even 
partially,  into  operation  it  was  accompanied  by  a  whole  host  of 
problems — high  or  increasing  prices  and  the  need  of  greater  pro- 
duction with  less  man-power;  profiteering  in  production,  sale  and 
distribution;  speculation,  hoarding  and  unfair  application  of  a  fair 
policy;  evasion  of  regulations  and  difficulties  as  between  urban  and 
rural  areas;  the  replacing  of  loose,  long-practiced  habits  of  extrava- 
gance by  self-denial,  economy  and  thrift.  In  England  Lord  Devon- 
port,  and  then  Lord  Rhondda,  were  dictators  with  almost  supreme 
power  in  their  food  policies  which  included,  when  thought  necessary, 
the  enforced  allotment  of  land,  the  extension  of  credit  to  farmers,  the 
utilization  of  labour  and  the  establishment  of  food-producing  indus- 
tries, the  rehabilitation  of  the  fisheries  industries,  the  control  of  all 
foreign  purchases,  the  importation  and  distribution  of  foodstuffs, 
the  fixing  of  maximum  prices  and  sales  regulation  of  all  food  grains 
and  their  products,  the  close  control  of  sugar,  the  regulation  of 
eating-houses,  the  reduction  in  the  use  of  wines  and  spirits,  and  cam- 
paigns of  food  economy  aud  production.  In  the  United  States, 
also,  Mr.  Hoover  had  great  powers  and  used  some  of  them  in 
sweeping  fashion. 

In  Canada,  always  a  self-contained  country  as  to  food  and  far 
from  the  sound  of  shells  and  roar  of  guns  there  was  special  difficulty 
in  getting  people  to  appreciate  the  need,  which  gradually  became 
imperative,  for  conservation  of  food.  With  the  beginning  of  the 
year  had  come  appeals  of  varied  and  numerous  character  to  the 
public  to  conserve,  and  the  farmers  to  produce,  and  to  everyone 
with  a  little  land  to  grow  vegetables,  and  thus  save  wheat  for  ex- 
port. As  Mr.  Burrell,  Minister  of  Agriculture,  put  it  in  a  national 
Appeal  on  Feb.  12:  "Individual  efforts,  even  though  small  and 
unskilled,  will,  in  the  aggregate,  mean  much.  By  applying  their 
labour  to  uncultivated  land  near  their  homes,  or  by  assisting  farmers, 
everybody  having  health  can  accomplish  something.  There  is  need, 
not  only  for  an  increased  supply,  but  for  wise  economy  of  food." 
A  multitude  of  suggestions  were  made — such  as  saving  ocean  tonnage 
for  the  essentials,  the  construction  of  more  ships,  improvement  of 
land  transportation  facilities,  a  plain  statement  of  what  Britain 
chiefly  needed  from  Canada  besides  wheat,  the  elimination  of  waste, 
the  conservation  of  seeds,  the  greater  care  and  home  use  of  any 
Apple  surplus  not  needed  abroad. 


FOOD  PROBLEMS:  POLICY  OF  W.  J.  HANNA  IN  CANADA    365 

Wide-spread  details  were  issued  by  Dominion  and  Provincial 
Departments  of  Agriculture  as  to  gardening  methods  and  the  best 
use  of  vegetables;  the  call  was  issued  for  High  School  boys  to  go  to 
the  farms  and  for  girls  and  women  to  take  to  the  gardens;  implement 
makers  used  every  effort  to  produce  man-sa\ing  machinery  for  the 
farms  and  tractors  came  into  special  service;  Boards  of  Trade, 
municipalities,  voluntary  organizations  of  every  kind,  the  Ontario 
Organization  of  Resources  Committee,  were  at  work  in  a  thousand 
forms  of  warning  and  advice;  the  decrease  in  Live-stock  was  dealt 
with  in  the  press  and  by  official  circular,  the  free  admission  and  sale 
of  Oleomargarine  was  urged  as  a  substitute  for  butter  and  this 
was  eventually  arranged;  the  fact  of  about  2,000,000  bushels  of 
barley,  500,000  bushels  of  corn,  etc.,  being  yearly  consumed  in  making 
liquor  was  pressed  as  a  reason  for  Prohibition.  On  May  2  Kennedy 
Jones,  British  Director  of  Food  Economy,  declared  in  an  interview 
that  "every  pound  of  food  raised  in  the  Dominion  is  another  spike 
in  the  torpedo  tubes  of  the  German  Submarines.  Your  effective 
organization  of  voluntary  hand  workers,  the  patriotic  way  in  which 
university  and  high  school  students  are  responding  to  the  call  to 
spend  their  vacation  in  helping  the  farmers,  and  the  promotion  of 
vacant  lot  cultivation,  are  all  characteristic." 

At  this  time  the  demand  for  a  Canadian  Food  Controller  began 
to  be  heard.  The  Toronto  Star  (Apr.  28)  wanted  one  who  would 
control  production,  storage,  distribution  and  consumption;  E.  C. 
Fox,  General  Manager  of  The  Wm.  Davies  Co.,  Ltd.,  stated  (May  1) 
that  his  firm  was  strongly  in  favour  of  such  an  appointment  and 
of  meatless  days  for  the  whole  Dominion;  W.  E.  Rundle,  General 
Manager,  National  Trust  Co.,  urged  the  appointment  of  such  an 
official  (May  6) ;  the  Trades  and  Labour  Congress  (May  17)  asked  for 
Food  and  Fuel  Controllers  and  the  nationalization  of  cold  storage 
plants  and  the  prohibition  of  wheat  speculation;  the  Canada  Bread 
and  Cake  Manufacturers,  at  Toronto  (May  15),  urged  "the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Food  Controller,  with  Cabinet  rank,  who  should  have 
full  powers  to  deal  with  and  regulate  the  manufacture,  delivery, 
prices,  and  use  of  all  foodstuffs  throughout  the  Dominion."  On  the 
other  hand  Prof.  James  Mavor,  an  able  economic  student  (Globe,  May 
17),  described  three  things — which  seemed  impossible  in  Canada — 
as  essential  to  thorough  food  control:  (1)  compulsory  labour  or  else 
equal  remuneration  for  farm  and  industrial  work;  (2)  a  system  of 
rationing,  and  (3)  arbitrary  regulation  of  prices.  By  this  time  names 
were  being  suggested  for  such  a  position — C.  A.  Magrath  and  W. 
Sanford  Evans  amongst  them;  on  June  20  the  Hon.  W.  J.  Hanna, 
M.L.A.,  and  member  without  Portfolio  of  the  Ontario  Government, 
was  appointed,  under  the  War  Measures  Act,  Food  Controller  for 
Canada.  Mr.  Hanna  accepted  on  condition  that  no  salary  should 
attach  to  the  office  and  left  at  once,  after  a  conference  with  the 
Government,  for  Washington  to  confer  there  with  Mr.  Hoover. 
The  Order-in-Council  (June  16)  defining  the  powers  of  the  new 
position  declared  that  they  could  be  exercised  independently  of, 
or  in  co-operation  with,  any  Department  of  the  Dominion  or  Pro- 
vincial Governments,  or  of  any  Department  or  Officer  of  British 


364  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

or  Allied  Governments  vested  with  similar  authority,  but  should 
not  contravene  the  powers  or  duties  of  the  Board  of  Grain  Super- 
visors. It  would  be  within  the  power  of,  and  the  duty  of  the 
Food  Controller: 

To  make  such  inquiry  and  investigation  as  he  deems  necessary  into  the  quan- 
tities, location  and  ownership,  and  into  the  sources  of  supply  of  any  article  of  food  used 
by  the  people  of  Canada  and  into  the  prices  at  which  same  is  sold  or  held  for  sale 
and  the  causes  of  such  prices;  to  ascertain  the  food  requirements  of  Canada  and  to 
facilitate  the  export  of  the  surplus  to  Great  Britain  and  her  Allies;  to  make  regula- 
tions where  he  deems  it  in  the  public  interest  and  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Governor-in-Council : 

1.  Governing  the  prices  of  any  article  of  food  and  the  storage,    distribution, 
sale  and  delivery  thereof. 

2.  Providing  for  the  conservation  of  food  and  the  prevention  of  waste  thereof 
and  governing  the  consumption  of  food  in  hotels,  restaurants,  cafes,  private  houses, 
clubs  and  other  places. 

3.  Respecting  the  manufacture,  preparation,  storage  and  transport  of  food. 

4.  Authorizing  the  Food  Controller  to  purchase,  requisition,  store,  sell    and 
deliver  food. 

Mr.  Hanna  had  always  been  looked  upon  as  a  politician  of  excellent 
capacity,  a  lawyer  of  ability,  and  a  business  man  of  standing — the 
latter  vouched  for  by  his  close  association  with  the  Imperial  Oil  Co. 
It  was  taken  for  granted  at  once  that  he  would  regulate  prices  and  much 
more  was  thought  of  that  point  by  the  public  than  of  greater  pro- 
duction or  conservation.  The  Toronto  Globe,  for  instance,  said 
editorially  (June  20):  "There  need  be  no  arbitrary  interference 
with  natural  prices,  but  it  will  be  Mr.  Hanna's  duty  to  keep  the 
channels  between  the  producers  and  the  consumers,  so  far  as  possible, 
clear  of  profiteering  and  extortion,  and  to  see  that  the  law  of  supply 
and  demand  has  at  least  fair  play."  Mr.  Hanna,  himself,  did  not 
take  this  view  of  his  duties  and,  after  conferences  at  Washington 
and,  at  home,  with  representatives  of  many  Canadian  organizations, 
and  the  establishment  of  national  headquarters  at  Ottawa,  he  issued, 
on  June  29,  an  official  statement  in  which  he  described  the  outstand- 
ing fact  as  danger  of  food  shortage  for  Allied  armies  and  peoples 
and  the  corresponding  call  upon  the  resources  of  Canada  and  the 
United  States:  "Every  individual  is  under  a  direct  obligation  to 
assist  in  rationing  the  Allied  forces.  There  must  be  national  self- 
denial  and  national  co-operation  to  provide  the  necessary  supplies." 
Certain  immediate  measures  should  be  taken,  voluntarily,  and 
at  once.  There  should  be  "maximum  production;  the  largest 
possible  consumption  of  perishable  foodstuffs  in  order  to  liberate 
the  storable  foods  for  transportation;  the  adoption  of  war  menus; 
the  prevention  of  food  waste;  the  utilization  and  creation  of  organized 
volunteer  bodies  to  assist  the  Food  Controller  in  increasing  and 
conserving  the  food  supplies."  Wheat,  meats,  fish,  cheese,  beans, 
canned  and  evaporated  foods,  were  specifically  mentioned  as  essen- 
tials for  conservation :  "Fruits  and  vegetables  in  their  seasons  should 
be  the  country's  foods  to  the  greatest  possible  extent.  Food  is 
being  wasted  in  the  stores,  hotels,  restaurants,  clubs,  and  homes  of 
the  Dominion.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  dealing  in  or  pre- 
paring and  serving  food  to  adopt  measures  which  will  eliminate 
waste."  On  July  7  Mr.  Hanna  wired  Mr.  Hoover  at  Washington  that : 


FOOD  PROBLEMS:  POLICY  OF  W.  J.  HANNA  IN  CANADA    365 

Organizations  are  under  way  to  reach  every  household  in  Canada,  with  the  co- 
operation of  Provincial  Governments  and  working  through  farmers,  all  Women's 
Institutes,  schools,  Red  Cross,  Daughters  of  the  Empire,  National  and  Local  Coun- 
cils of  Women,  Y.M.C.A.,  Y.W.C.A.,  church  societies,  municipal  bodies  and  news- 
papers. Will  organize  local  units  in  every  community,  using  these  means  and  others. 
Will  demonstrate  through  local  units  domestic  economy,  home  canning  and  evaporat- 
ing of  perishable  products  in  order  to  release  the  exportable.  Organization  work 
largely  voluntary.  Press  is  prepared  to  do  its  part.  Have  arranged  Committee  to 
proceed  at  once  to  devise  regulations  to  lessen  waste  and  direct  food  supplies  in  hotels, 
restaurants,  etc. 

To  a  Toronto  meeting  on  July  6  Mr.  Hanna  stated  that  in  wheat 
alone  the  total  requirements  for  the  Allies  and  neutrals  of  Europe  for 
the  year  would  be  1,105,000,000  bushels.  The  production  of  Europe 
for  this  period  was  estimated  at  645,000,000  bushels.  "We  must 
export  from  Canada  and  the  United  States  to  meet  this  shortage 
460,000,000  bushels";  under  normal  production  only  about  300,- 
000,000  bushels  could  be  thus  supplied.  In  a  statement  issued  on 
July  11  the  Food  Controller  added  that  "the  consumption  of  wheat, 
beef  and  bacon  in  the  Dominion  must  be  reduced  by  at  least  one- 
third  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  Allied  armies  and  people;  every  man, 
woman  and  child  in  Canada  is  under  a  direct  war  obligation  to  assist 
in  that  reduction."  Meantime,  he  had  appointed  Mr.  Justice 
Hugh  Rose  and  George  Wright,  Toronto,  Miss  Mary  W.  Watson, 
Guelph,  and  W.  A.  Cooper,  C.P.R.,  Montreal,  as  a  Committee 
to  oversee  Food  consumption,  and  another  Special  Committee,  com- 
posed of  G.  Frank  Beer  and  R.  Y.  Eaton,  Toronto,  and  F.  S.  Wiley, 
Port  Arthur,  "to  deal  with  the  Canadian  fish  problem  and  to  report 
on  the  feasibility  of  providing  an  ample  supply  of  fresh-water  fish 
at  reasonable  prices  to  the  consumers  of  central  Canada,  while 
giving  legitimate  returns  to  the  fishermen." 

Mr.  Hanna  did  not  care  much  about  fixing  prices  which,  to  so 
many,  was  fundamental  to  the  whole  problem  though  at  Mont- 
real on  July  17  he  said:  "We  will  not  hesitate  to  fix  prices  where 
lecessary."  But  people  must  keep  cool  about  it.  For  instance, 
the  substitution  of  brown  bread  for  white,  which  was  urged,  he 

ited  the  equal  price  was  the  fault  of  the  dealers:  "These  darker 
grades  should  be  substantially  cheaper  than  the  other  and  will  be. 
As  to  prices  generally — while  our  primary  duty  is  to  save  food  for 

[port,  the  prices  must  be  right."  In  this  bread  matter  Mr.  Hanna 
had  a  conference  with  Dominion  milling  interests  at  Ottawa  on 
July  30.  "The  price  of  bread  has  been  too  high,"  he  said  afterwards, 
"particularly  in  some  sections.  Whatever  is  necessary  will  be  done 
— we  hope  agreeably  to  all  concerned.  But  it  must  be  done."  On 
Aug.  17  an  Order-in-Council,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Hanna,  was 
passed  prohibiting  the  export  of  Canadian  flour  to  the  United  States 
for  the  period  for  which  the  export  of  Canadian  wheat  to  the  United 
States  was  prohibited — subject  to  the  issue  of  Food  Control  licenses. 
Later  on  to  a  Women's  Institute  Convention  in  Toronto  on  Nov. 
Mr.  Hanna  explained  his  final  course  regarding  bread,  as  to 
which  it  had  been  impossible  to  fix  the  price  till  the  Government 
had  in  conjunction  with  the  United  States,  fixed  the  price  of  wheat: 


366  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

This  matter  settled,  I  made  it  impossible  for  the  millers  to  obtain  more 
than  25  cents'  profit  on  every  barrel  of  flour,  and  compelled  them  to  dispose  of 
the  offal — bran,  shorts,  etc. — without  a  profit  at  all.  In  the  States  a  profit  of  50 
cents  a  ton  is  allowed  on  these  by-products.  I  may  add  that  the  United  States 
feels  that  if  it  could  get  its  bread  prices  on  a  parity  with  ours  it  would  be  doing 
great  things. 

In  the  main,  however,  no  public  action  was  taken  as  to  prices 
and  they  remained  without  regulation.  Efforts  at  controlling  con- 
ditions were  made,  but  without  resort  to  compulsion.  Gradually,  the 
organization  of  the  Food  Controller  became  a  most  elaborate  affair 
with  three  officials  at  $4,500  a  year  each;  a  Central  Advisory  Com- 
mittee composed  of  representatives  of  the  Government,  the  Churches, 
Labour  organizations,  Educational  departments  and  institutions, 
urban  interests,  farmers,  rural  municipalities,  and  men's  and  women's 
organizations;  Provincial  Committees  similarly  composed  were 
appointed  with,  also,  the  Food  Consumption  and  Fish  Committees. 
Following  the  United  States  example,  meatless  days  in  restaur- 
ants, etc.,  were  ordered  on  Aug.  9,  together  with  the  prohibition  of 
the  use  of  wheat  in  making  alcohol,  and,  on  the  24th,  addressing 
a  Toronto  meeting  Mr.  Hanna  promised  to  take  up  the  question 
of  prices — especially  of  bread — stated  that  a  Bacon  Commission 
had  been  appointed  and  read  a  message  from  Lord  Rhondda,  de- 
claring that :  "It  is  now  vital  for  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  Allies 
in  Europe  to  obtain  from  Canada  foodstuffs  in  far  larger  quantities 
than  under  peace  conditions.  That  must  necessarily  entail  effort 
and  far-reaching  economy,  with  their  attendant  sacrifices  on  the  part 
of  the  Canadians."  On  the  21st  the  Food  Controller  issued  another 
appeal  for  conservation  of  wheat,  beef  and  bacon,  another  declara- 
tion as  to  coming  world-famine  in  these  products.  The  sale  of 
canned  vegetables  to  the  public  was  forbidden  on  Aug.  24  for  the 
season  during  which  fresh  ones  were  available;  it  may  be  added  that 
on  Aug.  31  a  Montreal  Star  reporter  visited  50  local  restaurants  of 
all  classes  in  that  city  and  found  that  this  rule  was  almost  entirely 
disregarded.  In  the  autumn,  under  urgent  requests  from  Mr. 
Hanna  (Sept.  14)  Food-pledge  cards  (1,150,000  in  number)  were 
widely  distributed  and  signed  and  the  women  of  Canada  asked  to 
promise  the  use  of  other  flours  for  the  white,  the  use  of  a  portion  of 
brown  bread  daily,  the  substitution  of  fish  and  vegetables  as  often 
as  possible  for  beef  or  bacon,  and  the  elimination  of  waste. 

Meanwhile,  Mr.  Hanna  and  his  Department  were  the  objects  of 
ever-increasing  criticism.  Some  of  it  was  unfair  and  ignorant;  some 
of  it  was  purely  malicious — such  as  the  statement  that  he  had  recent- 
ly made  $2,000,000  in  food  speculations  or  that  he  ate  meals  opposed 
to  his  own  regulations;  some  of  it  was  deserved  by  the  apparent 
fact  that  whenever  he^made  a  move  in  connection  with  articles  of 
food  the  prices  went  up.  Everything  that  took  place,  or  was  ru- 
moured, in  profiteering,  little  or  big,  was  laid  upon  his  shoulders; 
he  was  blamed  for  bread  being  higher  here  than  in  Britain,  for  its 
increasing  price  and  that  of  milk  and  fish;  he  was  denounced  for 
prohibiting  the  use  of  a  small  quantity  of  wheat  in  making  whiskey 
when  88,000,000  Ibs.  of  other  grains  were  so  used;  the  Toronto  Star 
had  a  series  of  articles  (Aug.  31,;etc.).declaring  Canadian  food  control 


FOOD  PROBLEMS:  POLICY  OF  W.  J.  HANNA  IN  CANADA     367 

a  farce,  and  in  this  view  was  joined  by  The  Globe.  On  Sept.  26 
Mr.  Hanna  issued  a  statement  which  brought  him  renewed  criticism 
but  was  quite  explicit  in  its  terms  as  to  control  of  prices : 

Unless  the  consumers  in  the  cities  of  Canada  signify  their  willingness  to  face  a 
complete  disruption  of  all  trades,  a  total  breakdown  of  real  estate  values,  and  the 
utter  demoralization  of  labour  conditions  in  their  cities,  the  Food  Controller  cannot 
possibly  accede  to  the  demand  made  in  some  quarters  to  'cut  prices  down,'  to  'sell 
food  at  cost,'  or,  as  it  is  otherwise  expressed,  'to  do  away  with  the  middleman.'  Such 
goals  may  be  partially  achieved.  How  much  or  how  little  can  be  done  will  be  made 
known  to  the  public  from  time  to  time,  as  I  find  necessary.  .  .  .  But  I  must  remind 
those  Canadians  who  are  perhaps  unaware  of  the  fact,  that  seven  main  factors  may 
be  said  to  govern  the  present  prices  of  food:  (1)  The  disproportion  between  demand 
and  supply,  consumption  and  production.  Food  cannot  be  cheap  while  there  is 
such  a  growing  disparity  between  the  numbers  of  consumers  and  producers;  (2)  un- 
restrained competition  between  great  foreign  buyers  of  foodstuffs  in  our  markets; 

(3)  unequal  distribution  of  the  available  supplies,  surplus  production  in  one  Province 
being  unavailable  for  Provinces  in  which  shortages  exist;    (4-7)  the  food  speculator, 
the  greedy,  unnecessary  and  inefficient  middleman,  and  the  waster. 

Technically,  the  economic  argument  based  upon  these  premises 
had  strength;  practically,  it  did  not  appeal  to  the  over-burdened 
consumer  or  critic  who  wanted  to  get  away  from  precedents  as  the 
War  itself  had  long  since  done.  The  document  was  generally 
accepted  as  a  refusal  to  control  prices  as  they  were  controlled  in 
Britain — as  to  jams,  meats  and  cheese,  bacon  and  hams,  lard,  sugar, 
bread,  tea,  coffee,  milk,  etc.  There  was  continued  criticism 
in  the  press — Conservative  as  well  as  Liberal — but  so  far  as  Mr. 
Hanna  was  concerned  his  duty  was  claimed  to  be  not  regulation 
of  prices  but  (1)  to  stimulate  production,  (2)  to  discourage  waste 
and  conserve  food,  (3)  to  promote  economy  and  substitutions, 

(4)  to  work  in  co-operation  with  the  United  States  authorities, 
and  (5)  to  prevent  hoarding.     Following  this  incident  action  was 
taken  in  certain  directions.      On  Oct.  11  an  Order-in-Council  gave 
the  Controller  power  "to  require  wholesale  producers  and  whole- 
sale dealers  in  articles  of  food  to  make  returns  giving  their  names 
and  addresses,  the  particulars  with  respect  to  the  purchases,  sales, 
shipments  and  prices  of  articles  of  food  dealt  in  by  them  and  the 
capacity  and  equipment  of  their  premises";  on  Nov.  15  the  Food 
Controller  was  given,  and  at  once  enforced,  the  power  of  licensing 
all  wholesale  or  retail  dealers  in  food  commodities,  all  manufacturers, 
brokers,    commission    merchants,    etc. — the    Order-in-Council    also 
giving  Mr.  Hanna  the  right  to  prescribe  units  of  weights  or  measures, 
the  designation,  marking,  or  grading  of  food,  and  the  maximum 
amount  to  be  bought  or  sold.     Meanwhile  (Oct.  16)  H.  B.  Thomson, 
ex-M.L.A.,  and  General  Manager,  Turner,  Beeton  &  Co.,  of  Victoria, 
was  made  Assistant  Food  Controller;  and  on  Oct.  19  wholesale  and 
retail  dealers  or  manufacturers  had  been  forbidden,  after  specific 
dates,  to  sell  cereal  foods  in  packages  of  less  weight  than  20  pounds 
and  were  made  subject  to  license  from  the  Food  Controller. 

On  the  23rd  an  Order-in-Council,  as  a  War-time  measure,  abol- 
ished the  prohibition  as  to  Oleomargarine,  permitted  its  importa- 
tion, manufacture  and  sale  in  Canada,  and  gave  the  Controller  power 
to  regulate  its  price.  Of  course,  there  was  opposition.  The  grocery 


368  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

trade  objected  to  the  ban  on  cereal  sales,  the  farmers  objected  to  the 
competition  of  oleomargarine,  and  so  on.  On  Oct.  26,  Mr.  Hanna 
announced  a  shortage  in  sugar  and,  as  in  previous  cases,  the  wealthy 
began  storing  that  article  and  it  became  still  more  scarce;  on  Nov. 
5  an  Order-in-Council  was  passed  upon  Mr.  Hanna's  advice,  and 
supplementary  to  that  of  Aug.  9,  enacting  that  "no  grain  of  any 
kind  and  no  substance  that  can  be  used  for  food  shall  be  used  in 
Canada  after  Nov.  30  for  the  distillation  of  potable  liquors." 
At  this  time  a  vigorous  campaign  for  increased  production  of 
Hogs  was  carried  on  by  the  Departments  of  Agriculture  and  Mr. 
Hanna,  with  the  fact  of  British  imports  in  that  respect  increasing 
in  three  years  from  638  to  1,006  million  Ibs.,  as  the  basis  of  urgency; 
earnest  appeals  came  from  France  for  more  food,  more  bacon,  more 
sugar.  At  the  close  of  the  year  the  Food  Controller  issued 
a  Letter  to  the  Clergymen  of  Canada  in  which  he  stated  that 
the  French  crop  was  less  than  half  normal,  thousands  in  Italy  on 
the  point  of  starvation,  neutral  countries  suffering  keenly,  the 
United  States  without  any  supplies  for  shipment  abroad,  the  Allies 
without  ships  for  Australian,  Indian  and  other  reserves,  and  that 
the  outlook  in  Europe  was  unfavourable  for  next  year.  He  urged 
the  supreme  need  Overseas  for  wheat  and  wheat  flour,  meats — 
especially  beef,  bacon  and  ham — sugar  and  fats. 

Incidents  of  this  work  included  the  publication  of  all  sorts  of 
regulations,  rules  or  suggestions  as  to  eating  or  the  canning,  drying 
and  preserving  of  fruits  and  vegetables  for  home  use;  instructions 
and  hints  for  women  and  house-wives,  for  men  in  their  gardens,  for 
all  who  wished  to  help;  statements  that  every  year  $50,000,000 
worth  of  good  food  was  wasted  by  kitchen  carelessness;  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Millers'  Committee  to  assist  the  Controller  with  licensed 
flour  mills  and  products;  the  prohibition  by  Order-in-Council  of 
the  exportation,  except  under  license,  of  food  commodities,  feeding 
stuffs,  fats,  oils,  soap,  fertilizers,  etc.,  to  other  destinations  abroad 
than  the  United  Kingdom,  British  Possessions  and  protectorates; 
the  attempt  to  regulate  the  potato  problem  by  persuasion,  by  more 
even  distribution,  and  the  movement  of  potatoes  from  P.E.  Island 
to  Ontario  and  Quebec,  the  greater  use  of  a  product  which  had  over 
6,000,000  bushels  of  a  surplus  in  1917;  the  explanation  in  this  and 
other  connections  that  continued  congestion  of  freight  and  distri- 
bution facilities  must  affect  prices  as  well  as  supplies.  The  shortage 
of  tin  and  tinned  containers  for  dairy,  cheese  and  fish  or  food-canning 
industries  was  serious  and  the  use  of  substitutes  and  public  econ- 
omies carefully  studied,  while  agitation  was  carried  on  against 
wastage,  etc.;  the  utilization  of  garbage  was  urged  for  hog-feed,  as 
a  fertilizer,  and  for  fat  in  glycerine  when  used  in  nitro-glycerine 
and  soap;  the  fact  was  pointed  out  that  at  the  close  of  1917  the  per 
capita  consumption  of  beef  (November)  was  reduced  to  58*39%  of 
the  November,  1916,  figures,  and  of  bacon  44*85%,  while  the  use 
of  white  flour  was  reduced  20%  and  that  of  fish  increased  14%; 
the  campaign  at  this  time  for  increased  hog-raising,  for  "keeping 
a  pig,"  was  illustrated  by  a  conference  at  Ottawa  on  Nov.  7  with 
Delegates  present  from  all  the  Provinces,  and  a  similar  one  for  the 


FOOD  PROBLEMS:  POLICY  OF  W.  J.  HANNA  IN  CANADA    369 

West  at  Winnipeg  on  Nov.  29  which  proclaimed  the  intention  of 
doing  everything  possible;  the  work  in  this  connection  of  the  Domin- 
ion Department  of  Agriculture,  with  its  speaking  advertisements 
spread  all  over  the  country,  was  of  great  value.  More  than  1,500,000 
pamphlets  were  issued  during  the  year  by  Mr.  Hanna's  Office, 
together  with  the  Canadian  Food  Bulletin,  daily  War  menus;  meatless 
days  in  16,000  eating  houses  effected  a  saving  estimated  at  several 
hundred  tons  per  month  of  beef  and  bacon.  The  chief  officials  of 
his  organization  in  December,  1917,  were  as  follows:  Chairman, 
Central  Advisory  Committee,  Dr.  J.  W.  Robertson,  C.M.G.,  Ottawa; 
Chairman,  Dominion  Advisory  Council,  T.  B.  Macaulay,  Montreal; 
Chief  of  Staff,  S.  E.  Todd,  Ottawa;  Legal  Adviser,  F.  H.  Keefer,  K.C., 
Thorold. 


CANADA  AND  THE  WAR— THE  PEOPLE 

Agricultural  During  1917  the  farmer  became  one  of  the  pivots 
FnT^Wlieat  uPon  which  the  destiny  of  nations  and  the  conduct  of 
and  the  Grain  the  World- war  turned.  In  Canada  he  did  not  always 
Growers.  understand  or  appreciate  what  this  meant ;  occasionally 
it  conveyed  to  him  only  an  opportunity  of  getting 
higher  prices  for  a  stated  product  or  better  returns  for  a  given  amount 
of  work.  It  really  was  possitje  to  be  an  individual  profiteer  on  a 
farm  as  it  was  in  the  manipulation  of  munitions  or  some  other 
War  industry.  But,  upon  the  whole,  the  Canadian  farmer  worked 
hard  in  these  war-years,  did  his  duty  well,  and  profited  by  sub- 
stantial prices  even  while  paying  more  for  seed  and  wages  and  supplies. 
According  to  the  best  available  statistics  there  was  in  1917  a  deficit 
between  the  world's  requirements  and  estimated  supplies;  compli- 
cated by  the  difficulty  of  shipment  to  the  chief  market  in  Great 
Britain  and  the  fact  of  Australia,  India  and  the  Argentine  being 
prevented  by  the  Submarine  menace  from  sending  their  grain  sur- 
plus to  Europe.  As  eventually  worked  out  the  statistics  of  crops 
in  Canada  and  countries  specially  associated  with  wheat  production 
were  as  follows:* 

Carry-over  Prospective 

Countries                          August  1st  Crop             Exports  Exports 

1917  1917               1916-17  1917-18 

Bushels  Bushels           Bushels  Bushels 

United  States .  .                                        22,000,000  650,828,000  201,032,000  140,000,000 

Canada 26,000,000  231,730,000  174,600,000  185,000,000 

Argentine  (Dec.,  1917  crop) 210,000,000  55,376,000  100,000,000 

Australia  (Dec.,   1917  crop) 156,000,000  115,000,000  70,632,000  85,000,000 

India   (April,   1917,  crop) 379,000,000  52,504,000  65,000,000 

Totals 204,000,000  1,586,558,000     554, 144,000     575,000,000 

The  requirements  were  put  at  595,000,000  bushels — excluding,  of 
course,  the  Central  Powers  and  their  Allies.  Meanwhile,  in  annual 
products  Canada  (year  ending  Mar.  31)  had  exported  225,372,941 
Ibs.  of  lard,  bacon,  beef,  hams,  mutton,  pork  and  canned  meats  in 
1915-16,  and  279,399,867  Ibs.  in  1916-17,  compared  with  41,523,714 
Ibs.  in  1913-14.  The  United  States,  in  the  same  years  (June  30) 
under  the  heading  of  lard,  canned  and  cured  beef,  bacon,  hams  and 
fresh  beef,  had  exported  1,609  million  and  1,702  million  pounds, 
respectively,  compared  with  874  millions.  As  to  values  and  com- 
parative production,  the  farmers  and  farm-workers  of  Canada, 
occupying  109,000,000  acres  and  worth  in  land,  buildings,  implements 
and  live-stock  or  a  total  of  $4,231,000,000,  produced  in  1910f  field 
crops  valued  at  $384,513,795;  in  1914  the  total  was  $638,580,300, 
in  1915  $825,370,600,  in  1916  $886,494,900,  and  in  1917  $1,144,636,- 
450.  Higher  prices  had  more  to  do  with  this  progress  than  in- 
creased production,  as  the  following  figures  of  the  chief  crops  J 
indicate : 

*  Article  by  T.  K.  Doherty  in  International  Review  of  Agricultural  Economics  and 
also  Ottawa  official  publications. 
t  Census  of  1911. 

j  Census  &  Statistics  Monthly,  Ottawa,  E.  H.  Godfrey,  F.S.S.,  Editor. 

[370] 


AGRICULTURE;  THE  GRAIN  GROWERS;  FREE  WHEAT       371 


Field  Crop 

Area  in 
Acres 

Yield 

Acre 
Bushels 

Total 
Yield 
Bushels 

Average 
Price 
(Bushel) 

Total 
Value 

Fall  Wheat      

1915 

1,030,581 

28'45 

29,320,600 

$0'90 

$  27,149  700 

Spring  Wheat 

1916 
1917 

1915 

818,264 
725,300 

14  078  834 

21-50 
21-50 

25  '87 

17,590,000 
15,533,450 

364  222  000 

1-54 
2-08 

0*91 

27,118,300 
32,336,900 

329  667  200 

Oats 

1916 
1917 

1915 

14,551,445 
14,030,550 

11,555,681 

16  '85 
15-50 

40'24 

245,191,000 
218,209,400 

464,954  400 

1-29 
1-93 

0'36 

316,978,100 
420,701,700 

171  009  100 

Barley 

1916 
1917 

1915 

10,996,487 
13,313,400 

1,718,432 

37-30 
30-25 

31'51 

410,211,000 
403,009,800 

54,017,100 

0  51 
0-69 

0'52 

210,957,500 
277,065,300 

27  985  800 

Potatoes                    .    .  . 

1916 
1917 

1915 

1,802,996 
2,392,200 

485,777 

23  72 
23-00 

124'24 

42,770,000 
55,057,750 

60,353,000 

0-82 
1  08 

0'60 

35,024,000 
59,654,400 

36,459,800 

Turnips,  Mangolds,  etc. 

Hay  and  Clover  
Fodder  Corn 

1916 
1917 

1915 
1916 
1917 

1915 
1916 
1917 

1915 

472,992 
656,958 

156,691 
141,839 
218,233 

7,776,995 
7,821,257 
8,225,034 

332,469 

133-82 
121-50 

384-05 
264  '  24 
290  '  75 

Tons 
1  36 
1-86 
1-66 

10"  17 

63,297,000 
79,892,000 

60,175,000 
36,921,100 
63,451,000 

Tons 
10,612,000 
14,527,000 
13,684,700 

3,382,770 

0-81 
1  01 

0-24 
0  39 

0  46 

(Ton) 
14'37 
11  60 
10  33 

4  91 

50,982,300 
80,804,400 

14,588,700 
14,329,000 
29,253,000 

152,531,600 
168,547,900 
141,376,700 

16,612,600 

1916 
1917 

293,058 
366,518 

6  65 
7'34 

1,907,800 
2,690,370 

4'92 
5-14 

9,393,000 
13,834,900 

Between  1915  and  1917,  inclusive,  there  had  been  a  decreased 
production  in  practically  every  crop  except  potatoes  and  vegetables 
and  hay — the  gardening  work  of  the  cities  and  towns  being  respon- 
sible for  much  of  the  first-mentioned  increases.  In  Live-stock  there 
was  a  steady  though  not  large  increase  in  numbers  and  a  considerable 
one  in  values.  Horses  grew  from  2,947,738  in  1914  (June  30)  valued 
at  $371,430,363  to  3,412,749  in  1917  valued  at  $429,123,000;  cattle 
from  6,036,817  worth  $297,130,793  to  7,920,940  worth  $544,676,000; 
sheep  from  2,058,045  worth  $14,550,710  to  2,369,358  worth  $35,576,- 
000;  swine  from  3,434,261  worth  $42,418,325  to  3,619,382  worth 
$92,886,000.  Roughly,  the  farmers  of  Canada  had  in  three  years 
of  war  almost  doubled  the  value  of  their  field  crops  with  a  total 
increase  of  $500,000,000  in  value  and  a  decrease  in  production  while 
enhancing  the  value  of  their  Live-stock  by  over  one-third  or  $375,- 
000,000. 

Speaking  at  Ottawa,  on  Sept.  14,  Hon.  Martin  Burrell,  Minister 
of  Agriculture,  stated  that  there  were  in  Europe  28,000,000  less 
cattle  than  when  the  War  broke  out,  54,000,000  fewer  sheep,  and 
32,000,000  less  swine.  As  to  the  work  of  his  Department  the  Min- 
ister spoke  of  the  organization  of  the  egg  trade,  and  the  initial  steps 
that  had  been  taken  to  standardize  eggs  and  stimulate  production. 
People  complained  of  the  high  price  of  meat  stuffs,  dairy  products 
and  eggs,  but  omitted  to  remember  the  equally  high  price  of  feed. 
The  Department  had  under  consideration  plans  by  which  the  screen- 
ings from  the  elevators  of  the  West,  thousands  of  tons  of  which  were 
going  to  the  United  States,  might  be  made  available  for  feeding 
poultry  and  cattle  in  Canada.  In  dealing  with  food  control  and 
legislation  of  a  restrictive  character,  Mr.  Burrell  said  that  there  had 


372  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

been  constant  requests  for  legislation  prohibiting  the  slaughter  of 
calves.  England  had  taken  action  of  this  kind,  and  then  had  to 
reverse  it — largely  because  of  the  extra  demand  which  it  had  made 
on  the  reserves  of  cereals  and  foods  which  could  be  used  by  man. 
Restrictive  legislation  of  this  kind  not  only  perpetuated  bad  types  of 
animals  but  in  preventing  slaughter  would  restrict  the  farmer's 
market  and  probably  discourage  breeding.  He  had  thought  it  wise 
to  approach  this  question  in  another  way : 

Last  year  we  paid  the  expenses  of  any  farmer,  or  representative  of  a  farmer, 
who  would  take  a  carload  of  stockers  and  feeders  back  to  the  farms  from  the  Winni- 
peg stockyards,  and  from  October,  1916,  to  May  31st  of  this  year,  we  sent  back  in 
this  way  18,000  head  of  stock  to  Western  farms,  which  otherwise  would  have  been 
slaughtered  or  exported  to  the  United  States.  We  have  also  made  an  arrangement 
with  the  Banks  of  Canada  by  which  prizes  are  offered  at  over  500  fairs  to  boys  and 
girls  who  feed  and  care  for  calves  and  pigs  for  a  certain  period.  Further  than  this, 
and  recognizing  the  large  amount  of  forage  existing  in  Eastern  Canada,  we  have 
completed  an  arrangement  with  the  railways  by  which  farmers  will  be  able  to  bring 
carloads  of  breeding  stock  back  from  the  stockyards  of  Toronto  and  Montreal  to  the 
farms  freight-free. 

Meanwhile,  the  production  of  creamery  butter  had  increased 
from  64,698,165  Ibs.  in  1910,  worth  $15,645,845,  to  82,564,130  Ibs. 
in  1916,  worth  $26,966,355;  that  of  factory  cheese  had  grown  from 
199,904,205  Ibs.,  valued  at  $21,587,124,  to  192,968,597  Ibs.  in  1916, 
worth  $35,512,622.  The  export  of  domestic  butter  in  the  fiscal 
year  1910-11  was  3,142,682  Ibs.,  and  the  import  1,227,390  Ibs.;  in 
1916-17  the  exports  were  7,990,435  Ibs.,  and  imports  3,038,843  Ibs. 
The  exports  of  cheese  remained  the  same — 181,000,000  Ibs.,  and 
180,000,000  Ibs.,  respectively.  During  these  years  the  need  for 
farm  labour  was  considerable  but  the  supply  depended  largely  upon 
the  wages  farmers  were  willing  to  pay  in  competition  with  all  kinds 
of  war  industries  and  the  call  of  military  needs.  All  the  Provinces 
organized — in  1917  particularly — to  send  help  to  the  farmers  through 
boys  and  men  and  young  women.  In  Ontario  and  Quebec  Government 
Bureaux  of  Labour  were  at  work  to  promote  production  with, 
also,  many  forms  of  organized  private  effort;  in  Saskatchewan  and 
Alberta  the  press  and  advertising  posters  and  cheap  railway  rates, 
the  pulpits  and  municipalities,  the  official  Bureaux,  were  all  utilized; 
in  British  Columbia,  as  elsewhere,  school  holidays  were  utilized 
and  many  Government  appeals  made.  A  Conference  at  Regina 
on  Feb.  28  was  held  by  R.  B.  Bennett  of  the  National  Service  Board, 
with  Provincial  officials  and  Grain  Growers,  and  he  pointed  out  that 
"the  chief  difficulty  in  the  way  of  realizing  expectations  of  greater 
production  is  the  shortage  of  labour,  and  extraordinary  efforts  have 
been  and  will  be  made  to  supply  the  deficiency."  The  Dominion 
Department  of  Agriculture  sought  help  in  the  United  States  and 
obtained  thousands  of  harvesters  through  official  and  public  co- 
operation there.  Meantime,  the  cost  of  labour  had  been  leaping 
upward  with  official  Ottawa  statistics  showing  in  1914  the  monthly 
rate  (summer  season,  including  board)  as  $35.55  for  males  and  $18.81 
for  females,  compared  with  corresponding  figures  for  1917  of  $63.63 
and  $34.31,  or  nearly  double.  By  the  year  the  increase  had  been 
from  $323.00  for  males  and  $189.00  for  females  to  $610.00  and  $364.00 
respectively. 


AGRICULTURE;  THE  GRAIN  GROWERS;  FREE  WHEAT       373 

During  the  Session  Mr.  Burrell  and  his  Department  were  re- 
sponsible for  the  Live-Stock  Act,  which  regulated  stock-yards  and 
exchanges  and  public  markets  dealing  in  live-stock;  licensed  Com- 
mission merchants  and  dealt  with  complaints  as  to  the  operation, 
etc.,  of  stockyards;  regulated  the  grading,  branding,  and  marking 
of  live-stock,  meat,  poultry,  eggs  and  wool  with  the  size  and  marking 
of  packages  containing  these  products.  The  Department,  mean- 
time, did  what  it  could  to  increase  production  and  help  the  farmer 
in  every  direction — besides  the  great  element  of  practical  exemption 
from  active  service.  In  1915  its  watchwords  were  Patriotism  and 
Production,  in  1916  Patriotism  and  Thrift,  and  in  1917  Cultivation. 
Bank  loans  to  farmers  were  relieved  by  legislation  from  various 
restrictions,  wheat  was  made  free  into  the  United  States  and  pi  ices 
guaranteed  in  Canada.  In  smaller  details  the  Experimental  Farm 
organization  issued  Seasonable  Hints  monthly,  which  covered  a  wide 
range  of  subjects  and  much  information;  many  pamphlets  were 
published  dealing  with  such  topics  as  cheese,  grain,  insects,  live- 
stock, butter-making,  cow-testing,  poultry-keeping,  seed-cleaning, 
basket  fruit,  cold  storages,  etc.;  the  Diary,  Entomological,  Fruit, 
Health  of  Animals,  Live-stock,  Seed,  and  Tobacco  Branches  con- 
tinued their  activities  and  issued  almost  countless  publications — 
bulletins  and  circulars  dealing  with  dairy  work,  field-crops,  plant 
diseases,  orchards,  gardens,  poultry,  etc.  A  special  Bureau  of 
Information  was  organized  to  deal  with  the  question  of  food  supplies. 
Mr.  Burrell,  on  Feb.  12,  issued  an  earnest  appeal  for  increased  pro- 
duction : 

The  Government  of  this  country  fully  appreciates  what  the  farmers  have  done 
during  the  past  two  years.  In  urging  them  to  maintain  their  efforts,  though  con- 
fronted with  more  difficult  conditions,  I  do  so,  not  because  of  the  high  prices  which 
will  doubtless  hold  for  nearly  all  food  products,  but  because  of  the  important  and 
special  service  which  Canadian  agriculture  can  render  the  Empire  at  this  juncture. 
All  who  assist  in  this  work  render  a  great  service  to  the  State.  I  do  not  say  the 
greatest,  for  that  is  done  by  those  who,  facing  death,  daily  serve  their  country  at 
the  battle-front. 

At  the  end  of  1916  Sir  George  Foster  had  discussed  with  the 
Wheat  Commission  in  London  the  purchase  of  Canada's  1917 
output  as  a  result  of  the  British  Government's  decision  to  guarantee 
home  wheat-growers  a  fixed  price  of  about  $1.82  per  bushel  and  to 
acquire  the  surplus  of  India,  Australia  and  Egypt.  It  was  contended 
that  the  Empire  could  produce  enough  wheat  to  be  independent  of 
the  Chicago  or  other  food  speculators  and  that  as  British  farmers 
had  agreed  to  sacrifice  their  war-profits  the  Overseas  farmers  might 
be  willing  to  do  the  same.  Negotiations  commenced  with  Ottawa 
in  February  and  soon  extended  to  Winnipeg  and  the  West.  The 
British  Government  made  the  offer  of  purchase;  the  Canadian 
Government  acted  as  intermediary  and  suggested  from  the  Imperial 
Wheat  Commission  a  flat  rate  of  $1.30  per  bushel;  the  Grain  Growers 
and  farmers  of  the  West  and  Ontario  met,  as  the  Canadian  Council 
of  Agriculture,  at  Regina  on  Mar.  3  and  rejected  the  offer  as  insuffi- 
cient. They  telegraphed  Sir  George  Foster  accordingly  and  suggested 
a  flat  rate  of  $1.70  or  a  guarantee  of  price  running  from  a  minimum 
of  $1.50  to  a  maximum  of  $1.90 — "Five  cents  a  bushel  below  the 


374  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

average  price  received  for  grain  during  the  whole  of  the  marketing 
months  of  the  current  season."  The  Hon.  George  Langley  told 
the  press  on  the  14th  that  "the  price  offered  was  altogether  too 
low  in  view  of  the  general  rise  of  prices  on  all  commodities  which 
the  farmer  has  to  purchase,  especially  the  price  of  labour  that  is 
certain  to  rule  all  through  the  coming  season.  In  addition  we  had  to 
take  into  consideration  the  uncertainties  of  the  Western  crop  and 
the  possibility  of  a  shortage  of  grain  that  would  leave  a  compara- 
tively small  surplus  for  exportation — in  which  case  the  natural 
movement  of  the  market  would  be,  probably,  to  carry  the  price  well 
above  $2  a  bushel/'  In  a  public  statement  on  Mar.  21  the  Minister 
of  Trade  and  Commerce  deprecated  this  attitude: 

The  British  Government  is  not  only  anxious  that  Canada  shall  grow  the  largest 
possible  crop  of  wheat  this  year,  but  it  desires  to  know  now  that  it  can  depend  on 
getting  all  that  Canada  has  to  export  and  to  be  relieved  to  that  extent  from  some  of 
its  anxiety  as  to  sources  of  supply.  It  has  sought  to  secure  as  far  as  possible  its 
supply  from  Empire  sources,  and  stated  to  me  that  it  relies  largely  on  the  patriotism 
and  power  of  production  of  Empire  farmers  to  contribute  their  full  measure  of  output 
this  year  and  to  sell  it  to  the  Government  at  reasonably  remunerative  rates. 

The  geographical  position  of  Canada,  taken  in  connection  with  sea-war  dangers 
and  shortage  of  transport  tonnage,  makes  it  of  great  importance  that  its  surplus 
supply  should  be  at  the  sole  disposal  of  the  British  Government.  One  vessel  on  the 
Atlantic  route  is  nearly  equal  in  carrying  capacity  to  three  on  the  Indian  and  Aus- 
tralian routes.  The  fixing  of  the  price  has,  in  the  cases  above  mentioned,  been  a 
matter  of  agreement  based  on  a  reasonable  price  to  the  producer. 

The  Regina  Leader  of  Mar.  26  gave  the  farmer's  view  of  the  situ- 
ation after  pointing  out  that  the  price  suggested  by  Sir  George 
Foster,  $1.30  for  No.  1  Northern  at  Fort  William,  meant  about 
$1.15  to  the  farmer  at  his  market  town,  and  that  in  1914  a  Saskat- 
chewan Commission  had  presented  figures  showing  that  it  cost  62 
cents  to  produce  and  haul  a  bushel  of  wheat  to  the  initial  shipping 
point:  "Between  1913  and  1917  the  cost  has  further  and  enormously 
increased.  Every  item  that  goes  into  the  cost  of  production  wheat 
has  increased.  Labour  is  hard  to  get  at  any  price;  food,  clothing, 
fuel,  all  have  largely  advanced  in  price;  farm  implements  and  ma- 
chinery are  more  expensive,  and  the  Government  has  added  to  their 
cost  by  increasing  the  custom  duties,  and  the  amount  of  these  duties 
has  also  been  still  further  increased  by  reason  of  the  higher  valu- 
ation upon  which  the  higher  duties  must  be  paid;  taxes  are  heavier 
and  there  are  more  of  them  occasioned  by  the  War."  Sir  George 
explained  again,  on  Apr.  17,  that  the  offer  and  price  came  from  the 
British  Government,  or  Royal  Wheat  Commission,  and  took  into 
account  the  prices  paid  in  the  countries  named  above  and  the  con- 
ditions of  transportation. 

Hugh  McKellar,  Editor  of  the  Moose  Jaw  Farmer  (May  10) 
criticized  the  action  of  the  Council  of  Agriculture  as  arbitrary, 
unauthorized  and  not  very  loyal :  "  I  maintain  that  farmers  in  Canada 
could  have  well  afforded  to  take  $1.30  a  bushel  for  their  surplus 
wheat  of  the  1917  crop,  in  order  to  help  Great  Britain  win  the  War, 
no  matter  whether  or  not  wheat  goes  to  $5.00  a  bushel;"  Then 
came  the  competitive  buying  by  British  agents,  the  leap  of  prices 
on  the  Winnipeg  Grain  Exchange  to  phenomenal  figures  and  the 


AGRICULTURE;  THE  GRAIN  GROWERS;  FREE  WHEAT       375 

fluctuations  in  May  and  June  wheat,  with  a  condition  which,  between 
May  1-6,  promised  to  bring  disaster  to  Western  grain  companies. 
Arrangements  were  finally  come  to  which  the  Winnipeg  Exchange, 
through  J.  C.  Gage,  President,  in  a  cable  on  May  7,  described  as 
follows:  "In  view  of  the  generous  and  equitable  arrangement  made 
for  settling  outstanding  contracts  as  well  as  for  future  purchases  of 
balance  of  crop,  practically  all  interests  on  our  Exchange  have  given 
assurance  that  at  least  90  per  cent,  of  wheat  that  will  be  purchased 
or  contracted  by  them  will  be  sold  to  Allied  Governments  or  Canadian 
mills/' 

While  this  latter  situation  was  developing  the  Government,  by 
Order-in-Council  of  Apr.  16,  solved  a  troublesome  problem  for  the 
moment,  met  a  strenuous  Western  demand,  facilitated  British  pur- 
chases of  wheat  and  flour,  raised  the  temporarily  low  prices  in  Canada 
caused  by  local  conditions,  to  the  American  level,  gave  the  Canadian 
farmer  an  alternative  market  to  that  of  Great  Britain,  in  the  United 
States,  and  realized  the  policy  of  the  U.S.  Tariff  laws  under  which 
wheat,  wheat  flour,  semolina,  and  other  wheat  products,  were  to  be 
entered  free  of  duty  from  countries  which  removed  duties  upon 
identic  U.S.  products.  For  these  reasons  and  in  due  form  the  three 
products  mentioned  were  made  free  into  Canada  and  became  auto- 
matically free  from  Canada  into  the  United  States.  Liberal  motions 
along  this  line  had  been  presented  and  defeated  at  Ottawa  on  Jan. 
28,  1914,  Apr.  23,  1914,  and  Feb.  23,  1916.  The  action  was  taken 
under  the  War  Measures  Act,  On  Apr.  24  J.  G.  Turriff  (Lib.) 
moved  in  the  Commons  a  Resolution  "expressing  pleasure  that 
the  Government  has  at  last  yielded  to  the  persistent  demands  of  the 
Grain  Growers  of  the  West,  as  frequently  set  forth  by  delegations 
and  resolutions  of  the  representatives  of  the  farming  interest,  and 
repeatedly  voiced  by  the  Liberal  party  in  this  House.  .  .  .  This 
House  is  of  the  opinion  that  if  the  policy  of  Free  Wheat  is  made 
permanent  it  will  enormously  increase  the  prosperity  of  the  West 
and  be  to  the  general  advantage  of  the  whole  Dominion."  The 
Resolution  urged  that  such  permanence  be  assured  by  statute  but 
after  long  debate  it  was  defeated,  as  unnecessary,  by  a  Govern- 
ment vote  of  51  to  40  on  May  10. 

The  Grain  Growers'  view  of  the  Free  Wheat  action  was- expressed 
by  J.  A.  Maharg,  President  of  the  Saskatchewan  body,  on  Apr.  16: 
"With  an  assurance  of  good  prices  in  competitive  markets  we  can 
be  certain  that  our  labours  will  be  repaid  justly.  Free  wheat  will 
help  to  bring  back  to  the  land  that  population  which  has  gone  else- 
where. The  next  logical  step  is  to  give  the  farmer  the  same  oppor- 
tunity to  purchase  necessary  supplies  required  in  the  production 
of  farm  produce.  The  granting  of  free  wheat  will,  further,  have  a 
far-reaching  effect  in  strengthening  the  bond  of  union  and  the 
relations  between  our  American  neighbours  and  ourselves."  "A 
larger  field,"  he  added,  "would  be  opened  up  to  the  Western  miller." 
Roderick  McKenzie,  Secretary  of  the  Council  of  Agriculture,  alleged 
that  "it  will,  of  course,  bring  the  farmers  more  money  and,  in  addi- 
tion to  getting  into  the  U.S.  market  for  low-grade  grain,  it  is  going 
to  give  us  another  avenue  for  export  and  provide  a  check  on  the 


376  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

manipulation  of  grain  through  all  our  grain  going  to  export  by  means 
of  the  one  spout."  Conservative  newspapers  took  the  view  that  con- 
ditions were  not  normal,  that  prices  in  Canada  were  being  kept 
down,  that  home  consumption  would  soon  remove  the  United  States 
as  a  competitive  exporter,  that  war  transportation  difficulties  made 
marketing  increasingly  difficult.  The  Grain  Growers9  Guide  (Apr. 
25)  was  jubilant:  "Various  reasons |will%be  advanced  as  to  why 
free  wheat  was  granted,  but  it  may  be|taken*as  a  fact  that  the  real 
reason  is  that  the  great  bulk  of  the  grain  growers  in  Western  Canada 
have  demanded  free  wheat  and  have  determined  to  get  it  by  the 
use  of  their  votes.  .  .  .  Minneapolis  prices  have  ruled  from 
five  to  ten  cents  over  Winnipeg  for  many  years,  but  now  they  are 
certain  to  be  equalized.  It  will  give  permanence  to  the  wheat 
growing  industry  and  will  attract  immigrants  to  this  country." 

Following  these  events  the  Government  (June  11)  appointed  a 
Board  of  Grain  Supervisors  to  supervise  the  grain  production  and 
trade  of  Canada.  It  was  composed  of  Robert  Magill  (Chairman), 
Secretary,  Winnipeg  Grain  Exchange;  H.  W.  Wood,  President, 
United  Farmers  of  Alberta;  S.  K.  Rathwell,  grain  producer,  Moose 
Jaw;  T.  A.  Crerar,  Grain  Growers^, Grain  Co.,  Winnipeg;  J.  C.  Gage, 
President,  Grain  Exchange,  Winnipeg;  W.  R.  Bawlf,  grain  dealer, 
Winnipeg;  W.  L.  Best,  Labour  representative,  Ottawa,  and  Controller 
Joseph  Ainey,  Montreal;  Lionel  H.  Clarke,  Toronto  Harbour  Com- 
mission; W.  A.  Mathewson  of  Winnipeg  and  James  Stewart, 
British  Wheat  Purchasing  Commission,  Winnipeg.  The  Commission 
was  given  power  to  fix  grain  prices  on  shipment  from  storage  eleva- 
tors but  not  the  price  paid  to  farmers;  it  could  accept  offers  of 
purchase  from  British  or  Allied  Governments  and  determine  what 
quantity  to  sell  and  prices  required;  it  was  given  authority  to  take 
grain  from  elevators  without  the  owners'  permission  and  fix  prices  to 
them  and  the  purchasers;  it  could  investigate  storage  and  accumulation 
of  grain  and  prevent  the  restriction  of  marketing;  it  could  ask 
the  Railway  Commission  to  order  cars  to  any  point  and  in  any  num- 
ber— notwithstanding  the  powers  of  the  Grain  Act;  pending  the 
formation  of  a  U.S.  Board  the  Commission  was  to  try  and  hold 
prices  on  a  parity  with  those  of  the  Republic.  Sessions  commenced 
at  Winnipeg  on  June  20  and  many  interests  were  heard  on  varied 
problems  and  conditions.  The  first  important  action  was  the  fixing 
of  the  maximum  price  for  1916  wheat,  then  in  storage,  at  $2.40,  to 
come  into  effect  on  Aug.  1;  the  second  was  the  ensuing  prohibition 
on  export  of  this  grain  to  the  United  States  without  permission. 
Other  Orders  of  the  Board  included  the  abolition  of  trading  in  wheat 
for  future  delivery  after  Sept.  1 ;  the  fixing  of  Western  wheat  prices 
for  a  year  from  Aug.  31  at  $2.15  to  $2.21  and  of  Ontario  winter 
wheat  at  $2.22  Montreal.  On  Aug.  5  a  statement  was  issued  by 
the  Board  addressed  to  Canadian  grain  growers  and  dealers,  as 
follows : 

H.  T.  Robson,  the  representative  for  North  America  of  the  Royal  Commission 
on  Wheat  Supplies,  London,  who  purchases  all  grain  and  cereal  products  for  Great 
Britain  and  her  European  Allies,  has  requested  the  assistance  of  the  Board  and  stated 
that  it  is  essential  that  the  flow  of  grain  to  the  Allies  be  maintained  steadily,  and  that 


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AGRICULTURE;  THE  GRAIN  GROWERS;  FREE  WHEAT       377 

if  the  supply  for  any  one  month  is  short  the  consequences  will  be  serious.  .  .  .  The 
Board  of  Grain  Supervisors  earnestly  request  the  full  and  cordial  co-operation  of 
owners  of  wheat  in  Canada,  so  that  the  quantity  required  for  the  loading  of  the  ves- 
sels provided  will  be  secured. 

The  Saskatchewan  Grain  Growers  at  once  asked  that  an  embargo 
on  shipments  of  flour  and  other  wheat  products  to  the  States  be 
imposed  together  with  control  of  prices.  On  Sept.  12  the  Board 
announced  the  fixing  of  prices  for  the  1917  crop  of  wheat  on  bases 
identical  with  those  of  the  United  States  for  the  same  grades  at 
Minneapolis  and  Duluth;  No.  1  Manitoba  Northern  $2.21,  No.  2 
$2.18,  No.  3  $2.15;  No.  1  Alberta  Red  Winter  $2.21,  No.  2  $2.18, 
No.  3  $2.15.  As  in  the  United  States,  American  millers  and  the 
Allies  were  required  to  pay  to  the  U.S.  Grain  Corporation  one  per 
cent,  on  the  wheat  purchased,  in  addition  to  the  fixed  charges,  and 
in  accordance  with  a  request  from  the  U.S.  Government,  the  Board 
decided  that  Canadian  flour  millers,  the  Allies  and  other  consumers 
of  Canadian  wheat  would  be  required  to  pay,  in  addition  to  the 
fixed  prices,  a  sum  of  two  cents  per  bushel  to  the  Board,  and  the 
Allies,  including  the  United  States,  a  further  amount  not  exceeding 
two  cents  per  bushel — the  money  to  be  used  in  carrying-charges 
on  wheat  held  in  country  elevators.  There  was  some  criticism 
from  Saskatchewan,  but  in  general  the  farmers  were  satisfied  and 
by  Oct.  24,  under  arrangement  between  the  respective  Food  Ad- 
ministrations, large  supplies  of  Canadian  wheat  were  moving  by 
way  of  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  eastern  U.S.  flour  mills  and  serious 
pressure  in  the  American  north-west  relieved.  On  Nov.  21  the 
Grain  Board  received  a  cable  from  London,  which  closed  matters 
up  for  the  1917  crop:  "Have  received  cable  from  Royal  Commission 
on  Wheat  Supplies  whereby  they  authorize  us  to  guarantee  to  you 
that  the  Wheat  Export  Co.  will  accept  grain  from  Grain  Supervisors, 
all  allocations  of  Canadian  wheat  for  the  balance  of  season,  basis  of 
price  of  $2.21."  Meantime  Dr.  Magill  had  resigned  the  Chairman- 
ship of  the  Board  and  been  succeeded  by  Leslie  H.  Boyd,  K.C.,  of 
Montreal,  who,  also,  was  Director  of  Grain  Elevators. 

In  the  Grain  Growers3  Guide  (Oct.  3)  H.  W.  Wood  of  the  United 
Farmers  Association,  Alberta,  gave  a  history  of  the  wheat  price- 
fixing  and  congratulated  the  above  Board,  the  farmers,  and  himself 
as  a  member  of  the  Board,  that  the  $2.40  fixed  upon  for  the 
1916  balance  of  crop  was  "the  highest  price  that  has  been  fixed 
by  any  authority  in  the  Empire,  or  by  any  one  of  the  Allied  govern- 
ments up  to  the  present  time  and,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  it  is  the 
highest  price  that  has  ever  been  arbitrarily  fixed  on  wheat  at  any 
time  in  any  country  in  the  world;  it  was  nowhere  in  the  Act  made 
obligatory  on  us  to  fix  these  prices  on  a  low  level,  nor  was  there  at 
any  time  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Board  to  fix  low  prices. 
.  .  .  Just  how  much  influence  our  action  in  setting  this  price 
had  on  the  United  States  Board  in  raising  their  price  above  the  $2.00 
mark,  above  which  they  seemed  determined  not  to  go,  I  do  not 
know.  But  that  it  did  have  some  influence  I  do  not  doubt."  Else- 
where in  his  article  Mr.  Wood  stated  that  $2.25  was  the  proper 
price  for  this  crop.  There  was  nowhere  any  question  of  the  effect 


378  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  this  increase  upon  the  cost  of  living  to  the  consumer  or  to  the 
British  or  Allied  Governments.  On  the  other  hand  speculative 
prices  in  the  States  at  this  period  ran  up  as  high  as  $3.00,  and  there 
was,  also,  no  doubt  that  the  action,  coupled  with  the  stoppage  of 
dealing  in  futures  on  the  Exchanges,  steadied  speculation  and  prices 
in  Canada. 

Other  agricultural  incidents  of  the  year  included  a  War  effort  of 
Mr.  Burrell,  through  the  Premier's  visit  to  England,  to  obtain  action 
upon  the  cattle  embargo.  The  Canadian  Parliament  and  politi- 
cians of  both  sides  had  contended  for  a  decade  that  this  British 
prohibition  of  living  cattle  from  Canada  was  unjust  and  undeserved; 
now,  in  view  of  the  War  Conference,  the  demand  for  foodstuffs  in 
England,  and  the  natural  desire  of  the  Imperial  authorities  to  smooth 
over  every  possible  point  of  friction  with  the  Overseas  Dominions, 
it  thought  this  was  the  psychological  moment  to  revive  the  issue. 
Sir  Robert  Borden  did  what  was  possible  but  in  London,  on  May  25, 
Rt.  Hon.  R.  E.  Prothero,  President,  Board  of  Agriculture,  reviewed 
the  situation  and  stated  that:  "The  prohibition  cannot,  I  am  advised, 
be  justified  on  the  ground  of  the  health  of  the  cattle  bred  and  reared 
in  Canada,  and  leaving  that  country  for  the  first  time  by  direct 
shipment  to  a  British  port,  and  they  ought  not  to  be  excluded  under 
the  Diseased  Animals  Act  of  1896.  .  .  .  When,  however,  farmers 
here  are  being  asked  to  reduce  their  Live-stock,  permission  is  plainly 
impossible,  but  the  prohibition  rests  largely  upon  the  agricultural 
policy  of  the  United  Kingdom  rather  than  on  the  risk  of  disease." 

In  May  the  Dominion  Government  appointed  J.  A.  Ruddick  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  James  Alexander  of  Montreal, 
to  co-operate  with  James  McGowen,  Commissioner  of  the  Imperial 
Board  of  Trade,  who  had  arrived  at  Ottawa  to  purchase  Canada's 
surplus  Cheese  supply  for  the  use  of  the  armies.  On  May  31  Sir 
Robert  Borden  stated  in  the  Commons  that  the  British  Government 
had  decided  to  take  over  at  a  fixed  price  all  Cheese  coming  from  the 
United  States  or  Canada  as  was  done  some  time  before  in  Australia 
and  New  Zealand.  The  difficulty  in  Canada  was  settlement  of  a 
proper  price.  Eventually  21 24  cents  on  board  steamers  at  Montreal 
was  accepted — compared  with  19  cents  paid  New  Zealand  for  the 
1916-17  crop — and  under  this  arrangement  between  June  1  and  Dec. 
31,  1917,  1,860,237  boxes  of  155,062,463  Ibs.  were  handled  by  the 
Commission  with  $40,000,000  advanced  by  the  Canadian  Govern- 
ment to  enable  Great  Britain  to  make  the  purchase.  It  may  be 
added  that  the  Department,  early  in  the  War,  rendered  great  ser- 
vice to  this  industry  by  the  discovery  of  a  substitute  for  rennet 
through  investigations  of  G.  H.  Barr  of  the  Dairy  Division. 

A  strong  effort  was  made  to  protect  the  wool  interests  of  the 
country  which  imported  50%  of  their  raw  wool  and  the  Govern- 
ment, with  the  sanction  of  the  Imperial  authorities,  formed  the 
Canadian  Wool  Commission  to  take  charge  of  the  distribution  of 
Australasian  wool  which  was  released  to  Canadian  industry.  It 
consisted  of  George  Pattinson,  Preston;  L.  Bonner,  Paris;  C.  W. 
Bates,  Carle  ton  Place;  James  Rosamond,  Almonte;  George  Forbes, 
Hespeler,  and  F.  B.  Hayes,  Toronto,  as  Hon.  Secretary.  Sir  George 


AGRICULTURE;  THE  GRAIN  GROWERS;  FREE  WHEAT       379 

Foster,  accordingly,  was  notified  by  the  Colonial  Secretary  on  Apr. 28 
that  16,000  bales  of  Australian  and  7,000  of  New  Zealand  wool  could 
be  sold  to  Canada  for  strictly  manufacturing  purposes  and  not  for 
accumulation  or  speculation.  The  Trade  Commissioners  at  Mel- 
bourne and  Auckland,  New  Zealand — D.  H.  Ross  and  W.  A.  Beddoe — 
were  appointed  Canadian  Wool  Commissioners,  and  Lieut.  W.  G. 
Worth,  C.E.F.,  in  England.  The  work  of  the  Commission  was 
well  under  way  by  the  close  of  the  year.  As  to  eggs  Canada  was  now 
producing  a  surplus  dependent  upon  export  prices  and  the  Canadian 
Produce  Association  in  Convention  at  Montreal  (Feb.  6),  and,  in 
view  of  large  losses  owing  to  the  marketing  of  bad  eggs,  urged  the 
Government  to  enact  legislation  "to  provide  and  legalize  standards 
for  all  Canadian  eggs,  and  to  provide  such  inspection  as  may  be 
necessary,  and  that  this  legislation  prescribe  regulations  to  provide 
against  the  sale  of  eggs,  unfit  for  food,  and  making  due  allowance 
for  reasonable  deterioration."  The  shipments  from  Montreal  of 
eggs  to  Great  Britain  were  380,000  cases  in  1916,  278,000  in  1915 
and  112  cases  for  1914;  the  total  exports  in  1916  (calendar  year) 
were  valued  at  $2,462,619. 

Meantime,  the  Live-stock  Branch,  Department  of  Agriculture, 
had  been  doing  a  wide  range  of  work.  It  completed  arrangements 
with  the  Railway  companies  for  the  movement  of  cattle,  sheep  and 
swine  from  points  where  live-stock  was  scarce  and  feed  abundant. 
On  Oct.  26  a  Conference  of  representatives  from  Provincial  Depart- 
ments of  Agriculture  for  Ontario,  Quebec,  New  Brunswick,  Nova 
Scotia  and  P.  E.  Island  was  held  at  Ottawa  with  H.  S.  Arkell  in  the 
chair^and  an  address  from  the  Food  Controller  (Mr.  Hanna)  as  to 
Hog  products  and  their  necessity.  Resolutions  were  passed  (1) 
expressing  approval  of  the  movement  to  increase  Hog  production 
and  satisfaction  that  the  Minister  would  regulate  the  spread  between 
producers  and  consumer;  (2)  asking  the  Department  "to  make  avail- 
able to  farmers  and  feeders  of  Live-stock  wheat  screenings  of  high 
grade,  and  also  to  properly  control  the  manufacture  and  sale  ^  of 
bran,  shorts  and  middlings";  (3)  requesting  the  Live-stock  Division 
to  prepare  a  brief  resume  of  the  facts  presented  at  the  meeting  so 
as  to  stir  up  the  farmers  to  the  actual  situation  and  stimulate  them 
into  hog  production."  This  action  was  followed  by  a  similar  Con- 
ference of  Western  agricultural  representatives,  also,  called  by  Hon. 
T.  A.  Crerar,  the  new  Minister,  and  by  an  elaborate  system  of  ad- 
vertising as  to  the  world  shortage  of  meat,  the  plentiful  supply  of 
feed  for  the  animals  and  the  urgent  need.  Meantime  the  receipts 
of  cattle  at  the  Canadian  markets  were  806,847  in  1917,  of  hogs  1,148,- 
192,  and  of  sheep  351,339 — a  decrease  except  in  cattle. 

The  Seed  requirements  of  the  country  were  great,  the  deficit 
considerable,  the  Government  action  energetic  and  continuous. 
That  of  1915-16  was  on  a  large  scale;  late  in  1916  the  Seed  Purchasing 
Commission  was  appointed  under  authority  of  Hon.  Arthur  Meighen, 
then  Acting  Minister  of  Agriculture,  and  it  arranged  that  all  farmers 
in  need  of  help  to  procure  their  supplies  of  seed  grain,  should  establish 
their  claims  in  the  municipality  where  they  lived  and  its  governing 
body  assume  responsibility  for  financing  their  purchases,  either 


380  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

directly,  or  with  the  co-operation  of  their  Provincial  Governments. 
Headquarters  were  established  at  Regina  and  the  active  aid  of  the 
Governments  of  Manitoba  and  Saskatchewan  received;  629,000 
bushels  of  seed  wheat  and  408,000  of  seed  oats  purchased;  special 
freight  rates  arranged  and  orders  filled  from  Ontario,  Quebec  and 
New  Brunswick,  as  well  as  the  West.  For  the  1917  crop  $1,400,000 
was  spent;  in  October,  1917,  the  Commission  was  purchasing  supplies 
for  the  new  year,  and  A.  E.  Wilson  of  Indian  Head  was  specially 
appointed  in  this  connection.  These  w^ere  a  few  of  the  activities 
of  the  Department;  over  all  Canada  and  in  varied  matters  it  also 
conducted,  in  this  year,  several  advertising  campaigns.  From 
apples  to  increased  production,  vegetables  to  thrift,  the  people 
were  urged  to  co-operation  and  work. 

Dominion  aid  to  agricultural  instruction  in  the  Provinces  was 
continued  under  the  Act  of  1913  with  a  total  paid  of  $3,400,000  up  to 
Mar.  31,  1917— Agricultural  colleges  and  schools  getting  $1,015,230, 
Instruction  and  demonstrations  $1,766,761,  Elementary  teaching 
$309,602,  Women's  Work  $110,084,  etc.  The  total  1917  grant  was 
$1,100,000  to  all  the  Provinces.  The  Department  of  Agriculture 
in  1917  turned  over  the  purchase  of  oats  and  flour  for  War  Office 
account  to  the  Wheat  Export  Co.  Its  total  business  in  this  con- 
nection under  the  supervision  of  J.  A.  Ruddick,  Dairy  Commissioner, 
had  been,  from  the  beginning  of  the  War,  over  $100,000,000  with  an 
expenditure  in  1917 — including  hay — of  $35,866,126. 

Farmers  in  Canada,  during  the  War  years,  had  two  dominant 
beliefs — one,  that  their  industry  was  the  basis  of  Canadian  strength 
and  a  factor  in  war  success;  the  other  that  it  was  just  as  patriotic 
to  produce  as  to  fight.  Without  arguing  either  point  it  may  be  said 
that  the  Census  figures  showed  in  1911  a  valuation  for  Canadian 
farm  property  (including  live-stock)  of  $4,231,840,636,  which  in 
1917  was  at  least  $5,000,000,000;  that  in  the  fiscal  years  1914-15-16-17 
the  shipments  abroad  of  farm  products  (agricultural  and  animal) 
totalled  $1,113,000,000;  that  most  of  this  export  went  to  the  United 
Kingdom  at  war  prices  and  profits  to  either  the  farmer  or  the  middle- 
man; that  every  report  of  Provincial  or  Dominion  farm  organiza- 
tions showed  prosperity  and  excellent  financial  conditions;  that  the 
above  export  compared  with  a  total  of  $861,000,000  of  industrial 
production — including  War  industries  and  munitions;  that  the 
average  value  of  occupied  farm  lands  went  up  from  $38.41  per  acre 
in  1914  to  $43.92  in  1917;  that  in  the  four  years  1914-17  the  produc- 
tion of  wheat  was  1,114,876,450  bushels  valued  (Census  and  Statistics 
Office)  at  $1,350,368,900;  that  the  increased  values  of  grain  and 
live-stock  in  1914-17  was  $875,000,000. 

How  did  the  farmers  meet  their  War  obligations?  As  producers 
they  did  admirably  and,  of  course,  were  well  paid  for  it  and  deserved 
to  be;  as  volunteers  for  active  service  they  did  particularly  well  in 
the  West  with  an  enlistment  to  August  1917,  of  40,000;  as  contri- 
butors to  war  funds  and  investors  in  War  loans  they  did  not  com- 
pare with  the  urban  interests.  Their  organizations  became  very 
strong — so  much  so  as  to  have  a  representative  in  the  Union  Govern- 
ment of  1917.  In  a  co-operative  direction  these  did  good  work 


AGRICULTURE;  THE  GRAIN  GROWERS;  FREE  WHEAT        381 

organizing  agriculture;  in  apolitical  sense  they  endeavoured  to  organ- 
ize all  the  farmers  of  Canada;  in  war  matters  their  views  were  not 
so  prominent.  The  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta  Co-operative 
Elevator  Companies  and  the  Manitoba  Grain  Growers'  Co.  handled 
enormous  quantities  of  grain  and  their  combined  profits  in  1916 
exceeded  $1,800,000  with  a  storage  capacity  of  5,000,000  bushels. 
These  business  organizations  were  combined,  through  their  Execu- 
tive Committees,  with  the  Saskatchewan  and  Manitoba  Grain 
Growers'  Associations,  the  United  Farmers  of  Alberta  and,  in  1917, 
the  United  Farmers  of  Ontario,  its  Co-operative  Company,  and  the 
Grain  Growers'  Guide  of  Winnipeg,  into  the  Canadian  Council  of  Agri- 
culture, and  represented  a  membership  of  about  75,000.  This  body 
met  from  time  to  time  to  deal  with  all  kinds  of  national,  fiscal, 
financial  and  Provincial  issues.  The  War  was  not  dealt  with  except 
in  the  matter  of  Britain's  wheat  purchase  offer,  but  in  preparing  a 
Constitution  and  platform — afterwards  accepted  by  all  the  affiliated 
Societies — the  following  clause  was  included  in  a  long  preliminary 
statement  which  covered  a  declaration  that  (1)  the  Protective  tariff 
had  fostered  combines  and  trusts;  that  (2)  "agriculture  is  almost 
stagnant  throughout  Canada  as  shown  by  the  declining  rural  popu- 
lation in  both  Eastern  and  Western  Canada,  due  largely  to  the 
greatly  increased  cost  of  agricultural  implements  and  machinery, 
clothing,  boots  and  shoes,  building  material  and  practically  every- 
thing the  farmer  has  to  buy,  caused  by  the  Protective  tariff";  that 
(3)  "the  Protective  tariff  is  the  most  wasteful  and  costly  method 
ever  designed  for  raising  national  revenue,  because  for  every  dollar 
obtained  thereby  for  the  public  treasury,  at  least  three  dollars  pass 
into  the  pockets  of  the  protected  interests";  and 

Whereas  the  War  has  revealed  the  amazing  financial  strength  of  Great  Britain, 
due  to  the  free  trade  policy  which  has  enabled  her  to  draw  her  supplies  freely  from 
every  quarter  of  the  globe  and  consequently  to  under-sell  her  competitors  on  the 
world's  markets,  and  because  this  policy  has  not  only  been  profitable  to  Great  Britain, 
but  has  greatly  strengthened  the  bonds  of  Empire  by  facilitating  trade  between  the 
Motherland  and  her  Overseas  Dominions,  we  believe  that  the  best  interests  of  the 
Empire  and  of  Canada  would  be  served  by  reciprocal  action  on  the  part  of  Canada 
through  gradual  reductions  of  the  tariff  on  British  imports,  having  for  its  object  a 
closer  union  and  a  better  understanding  between  Canada  and  the  Motherland,  and 
by  so  doing  not  only  strengthen  the  hands  of  Great  Britain  in  the  life  and  death 
struggle  in  which  she  is  now  engaged,  but  at  the  same  time  bring  about  a  great  reduc- 
tion in  the  cost  of  living  to  our  Canadian  people. 

Speaking  to  the  Manitoba  Grain  Growers  at  Brandon  on  Jan.  10 
President  R.  C.  Henders  declared,  as  to  the  War,  that  "our  honour, 
our  very  soul,  as  well  as  the  national  liberty,  were  at  stake,  and  we 
could  not  stay  out  of  it  except  at  a  loss  of  these."  He  supported 
National  Service  and  urged  a  National  Government.  Despite 
protests  and  an  attempted  Resolution  against  it  this  Convention 
heard  F.  J.  Dixon,  M.L.A.,  a  politician  of  alleged  disloyal  and  anti- 
war views,  speak  on  Free  trade;  it  also  approved  National  Service, 
registration,  increased  production  and  war  organization  of  farm 
labour,  the  foundation  of  a  National  Government  and  a  Census  of 
the  wealth  of  Canada.  It  urged  the  creation  of  a  Department  to  look 
after  the  appointment  of  returned  soldiers  to  official  posts.  At 


382  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  annual  meeting  of  this  organization,  which  usually  had  600 
representative  farmers  present,  the  War  was  not  a  vital  subject  of 
discussion.  H.  W.  Wood,  President  of  the  United  Farmers  of  Al- 
berta, delivered  an  elaborate  address  to  his  Convention — (Edmonton, 
Jan  23)  with  the  following  reference,  only,  to  this  subject:  "Many 
of  the  U.F.A.  members,  as  well  as  many  of  the  sons  of  U.F.A.  mem- 
bers, are  at  the  Front  giving  or  offering  their  lives  in  defence  of 
national  freedom.  That  this  freedom  will  be  preserved  no  one 
doubts.  But  that  the  rights  of  the  people  of  Canada,  especially 
of  Western  Canada,  will  be  preserved  and  respected  is  not  so  clear." 
So  with  the  reports  of  Directors,  etc.  The  Winnipeg  Free  Press 
(Feb.  7)  editorially  criticized  the  apparent  indifference  of  the 
organization  in  this  respect  and  for  not  expressing  approval  of 
National  Service  or  adopting  the  Patriotic  Acre  scheme.  The 
answer  of  the  Grain  Growers9  Guide  (Feb.  14)  was  that  "the  Province 
of  Alberta  leads  Canada  in  the  proportion  of  soldiers  it  has  given  to 
the  War  and  the  number  of  soldiers  from  the  farm  homes  of  that 
Province  is  very  large,"  Amongst  many  Resolutions  passed  was 
pne  declaring  that  the  Patriotic  Fund  should  be  raised  by  Federal 
taxation,  so  levied  as  to  reach  everyone  able  to  contribute,  and  with 
power  of  collection  in  the  hands  of  municipalities.  On  July  12  the 
Directors  of  the  U.F.A.  passed  a  Resolution  affirming  "belief  in 
the  principle  of  the  selective  Conscription  of  men  to  carry  on  the 
War,  and  the  conscription  of  wealth  for  the  same  purpose." 

Meantime,  the  Manitoba  Horse  Breeders'  Association  (Jan.  10) 
had  urged  the  Conscription  of  labour  so  as  to  compel  aliens  to  work 
for  reasonable  wages:  various  District  organizations  of  the  Saskat- 
chewan Grain  Growers  had  recorded  by  Resolution  a  firm  belief 
in  one  standard  of  reward  and  equality  of  compensation — equal 
pensions — for  officers  and  soldiers;  President  J.  A.  Maharg,  at  the 
Moose  Jaw  Convention  of  the  Saskatchewan  Grain  Growers,  with 
2,000  delegates  present  (Feb.  12),  urged  friendly  relations  with  the 
United  States  during  and  after  the  War,  suggested  a  Conference  of 
returned  soldiers  to  advise  the  country  what  they  wanted  done  for 
them  in  land  or  training,  advocated  early  encouragement  of  immi- 
gration. The  Executive  of  this  body  reported  the  recent  shipment 
of  3,200,000  Ibs.  of  Saskatchewan  flour  to  the  Imperial  Government 
as  a  Patriotic  acre  contribution  and  a  total  valued  at  $200,000, 
with  the  enlistment  of  an  estimated  5,000  members.  Resolutions 
were  passed  (1)  in  favour  of  Pensions  to  all  disabled  soldiers  in  pro- 
portion to  disability  and  irrespective  of  rank,  (2)  asking  the  Govern- 
ment to  support  dependants  of  soldiers  killed  in  service  until  the 
Pensions  became  available,  (3)  declaring  that  no  alien  enemy 
applications  for  homesteads  should  be  accepted  till  the  Canadian 
soldiers  had  returned. 

The  United  Farmers  of  Ontario  organization  was  formed  for 
the  special  advancement  of  material  interests  along  specific  lines 
of  advocacy,  which  included  U.S.  Reciprocity  as  a  chief  plank; 
its  organ,  the  Weekly  Sun  of  Toronto,  was  edited  by  Gordon  Waldron, 
a  devoted  follower  of  the  late  Goldwin  Smith;  the  War,  according 
to  this  journal,  was  something  which  had  to  be  endured  but  of  which 


AGRICULTURE;  THE  GRAIN  GROWERS;  FREE  WHEAT       383 

the  least  said  the  better.  When  references  were  made  they  con- 
sisted in  side-attacks  upon  Militarism  and  jingoes  who  were  worse 
than  Germans!  W.  L.  Smith,  a  semi-editorial  writer,  on  Aug.  8 
threatened  the  cities  with  food  privation  if  farmers  had  to  pay  much 
more  for  their  labour:  "They  will  probably  decide  to  save  what  they 
can  and  let  the  rest  go.  They  will  at  least  be  assured  of  their  own 
food,  and  if  people  in  the  cities  lack  this  prime  necessity  in  the  coming 
winter  it  will  be  nothing  more  than  what  is  coming  to  them.  .  .  . 
Certain  it  is,  farmers  after  working  late  and  early  to  produce  a  bumper 
crop  are  not  going  to  pay  the  value  of  that  crop  for  the  mere  har- 
vesting of  the  same."  On  Oct.  31,  dealing  with  the  agitation  to 
increase  hog  production,  Mr.  Smith  wrote:  "There  is,  however, 
not  much  reason  to  fear  any  great  surplus  in  hogs  in  1918.  Hogs 
cannot  live  on  the  east  wind  or  even  on  grass  alone."  Conscription 
would  make  it  more  difficult  to  provide  for  them  the  necessary 
grain  and  milk.  Canada  on  one  occasion  was  said  to  have  been 
"hurrahed"  into  the  War;  it  was  added  that  the  War  might  help 
plutocracy  in  America  more  than  democracy  in  Europe.  And  so  on. 

The  organization  was  growing,  however,  and  in  its  third  year, 
1917,  had  8,000  members  enrolled.  President  R.  H.  Halbert,  at 
its  annual  meeting,  dealt  at  length  (Feb.  28)  with  Farmers'  problems 
which,  to  him,  appeared  to  be  entirely  economic.  A  somewhat 
negative  Resolution  was  passed  as  to  Conscription:  "Since  human 
life  is  more  valuable  than  gold,  this  Convention  most  solemnly 
protests  against  any  proposal  looking  to  the  conscription  of  men  for 
battle,  while  leaving  wealth  exempt  from  the  same  measure  of 
enforced  service.  It  is  a  manifest  and  glaring  injustice  that  Canadian 
mothers  should  be  compelled  to  surrender  boys  around  whom  their 
dearest  hopes  in  life  are  centred,  while  plutocrats,  fattening  on 
special  privileges  and  war  business,  are  left  in  undisturbed  possession 
of  their  riches." 

At  the  succeeding  Convention  on  Dec.  19  it  was  declared  that: 
"No  farmer  will  produce  on  mere  patriotism.  We  cannot  live  on 
patriotism.  We  should  have  enough  to  cover  the  cost  of  production 
and  a  little  interest  on  our  investment."  At  the  same  time  the  duty 
to  produce  more  and  work  harder  was  admitted.  Mr.  Halbert 
proclaimed  Agriculture  as  "the  hope  of  human  liberty"  and  the 
farmers  as  "the  peacemakers  of  humanity  who  will  heal  the  scars 
of  war."  He  touched  a  real  problem  in  these  words:  "One  day 
we  are  exhorted  to  produce  for  the  sake  of  Belgium  and  the  Allies, 
and  the  next  we  are  told  that  we  will  have  to  give  our  sons  to  fight 
in  the  trenches  in  France.  We  are  between  the  devil  and  the  deep 
sea."  In  Regina  on  Nov.  15  the  Western  Live-stock  Convention 
urged  upon  the  Dominion  Government  "the  imperative  necessity 
of  instructing  Military  Registrars  and  Exemption  tribunals  to  exer- 
cise every  possible  precaution  in  order  to  avoid  the  drafting  of 
farmers'  sons,  young  farmers,  and  bona  fide  experienced  farm  labour, 
whether  applying  for  exemption  or  not,  whose  removal  would  seri- 
ously interfere  with  the  conduct  of  agricultural  operation."  The 
conscription  of  alien  labour  for  agricultural  work  was  also  suggested. 
District  No.  14  of  the  Saskatchewan  Grain  Growers  (Nov.  16) 


384  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

demanded  "the  conscription  of  such  wealth  as  it  may  be  found  possi- 
ble to  conscript  without  hampering  the  operations  of  industry"; 
the  levying  of  a  tax  upon  the  value  of  all  unused  or  inadequately 
used  land,  whether  in  urban  or  rural  districts;  and  heavily  graduated 
income  taxes  levied  upon  all  incomes  in  excess  of  $2,000  per  year. 
Government  life  insurance  for  all  soldiers  at  a  low  premium  was  also 
urged. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  Pacificism  taught  at  farmers'  Conven- 
tions in  both  East  and  West.  Mrs.  Nellie  McClung  was  prominent 
in  this  respect  and  her  view  was  illustrated  at  the  Edmonton  Conven- 
tion on  Jan.  26  when  she  compared  the  British  singing  of  the  2nd 
verse  of  the  National  Anthem  with  the  German  war-thought  train- 
ing in  College,  school,  press,  literature  and  public  life,  and  added: 
"Let  us  be  sure  that  we  do  not  poison  the  hearts  of  our  children  with 
military  training."  So  with  John  Evans  of  Nutana,  a  Director  of 
the  Saskatchewan  Grain  Growers  (Regina,  Dec.  19):  "This  is  not 
the  time  for  hate.  In  Britain,  France  and  the  U.S.A.,  since  the 
War  commenced,  there  are  men  who  are  big  enough  to  come  forward 
and  unite  the  different  classes  and  interests  in  their  countries." 
He  put  the  opposition  in  Canada  to  Reciprocity  with  the  United 
States,  and  the  plans  to  defeat  German  world-conquest  in  trade  after 
the  War,  on  the  same  level  and  as  equally  evil.  The  Grain  Growers 
of  District  No.  8,  on  this  occasion,  passed  Resolutions  asking  for 
repeal  of  the  War-Time  Elections  Act  and  in  favour  of  a  Federal 
Board  to  control  and  adjust  Labour. 

Meanwhile  in  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta  the  Farmers*  Non- 
Partisan  League — an  American  pacifist  Farmers/  organization  of 
Socialistic  tendencies  and  200,000  membership  in  Minnesota,  South 
Dakota,  Montana,  Kansas,  Nebraska  and  Colorado — had  obtained 
influence  and  strength.  It  was  really  a  new  and  extreme  political 
organization  with  the  ideals  and  forms  of  faith  of  another  country. 
The  U.S.  President  was  A.  C.  Townley,  the  platform,  state-ownership 
and  nationalization  of  everything.  In  a  North  Dakota  election, 
alliance  with  the  I.W.W.  and  resistance  to  recruiting  were  publicly 
charged.  It  affected  war  matters  as  one  more  distraction  and  in- 
fluence away  from  concentration  on  production,  on  patriotic  thought 
and  war-action.  Neither  the  American  nor  Canadian  platforms, 
though  developed  in  war  years,  had  any  direct  reference  to  that 
subject.  Indirectly  they  urged  the  conscription  of  wealth  in  some 
undefined  way,  as  well  as  of  men,  the  arrangement  of  Government 
insurance  for  soldiers  and  better  protection  for  soldiers'  homes 
against  mortgages  and  taxes.  The  following  table  of  Canadian 
general  production  in  1917  may  be  added  here  as  a  fairly  close 
estimate  in  a  remarkable  record  for  7,200,000  people: 

Field  Crops $1,100,000,000 

Dairy  Products  Sold  or  Held 1,300,000,000 

Eggs,  Fruit,  &c 40,000,000 

Lumber 176,000,000 

Manufacturing  Industries 2,000,000,000 

Fisheries. 34,000,000 

Minerals 200.000.000 

Total...  .    $4,850,000,000 


CANADIAN  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  WAR;  THE  FUEL  PROBLEM   385 

A  Special  Census  of  Canadian  manufactures  for 
Canadian  In-  1915  was  made  public  in  1917  and  in  the  industries 
i?8tryj[n  ^e  especially  affected  by  the  War  showed  food  products 
dons',  Ship-  costing>  for  materials  and  labour,  $330,977,700  and 
ing  and  Fuel,  with  a  value  of  production  totalling  $388,815,362;  in 
Textiles  the  respective  totals  were  $114,937,167  and 
$144,686,605;  in  Iron  and  Steel  $93,309,283  and  $120,422,420;  in 
Leather,  etc.,  $58,047,881  and  $71,036,644.  The  value  of  direct 
war  trade  in  all  industries  was  stated  for  1915  at  $133,417,371  but 
this  could  not  have  included  munitions.  The  total  value  of  Cana- 
dian industrial  products  in  1915  was  $1,407,137,140  compared  with 
$1,165,975,639  in  1910,  $718,352,603  in  1905,  and  $481,053,375 
in  1900.  The  estimate  for  1917  was  2,000  millions.  As  to  industrial 
centres  Montreal  stood  first  with  $243,237,575  output  in  1915  and 
Toronto  next  with  $219,143,728.  The  exports  of  Canadian  manu- 
factured goods  in  the  fiscal  year  1914  totalled  $57,000,000  and  in 
1917  $477,000,000.  During  this  period  the  manufacturers  of 
Canada  had  to  suffer  from  higher  prices  in  raw  material  far  beyond 
the  normal  upward  movement  of  the  preceding  25  years  which 
ran  at  about  2J^%.  The  following  compilation  by  index  figures  is 
of  value  in  this  connection:* 

No.  of  July  Oct.  Oct.  Oct. 

Source  of  Index             Commodities       1914  1915  1916  1917 

Dept.  of  Labour,  Ottawa. ..         271  134'6  152'4  187'2  242'6 

Annalist 25  144'7  140'8  187'0  280'2 

Bradstreet's 96  8'6  9'9  12'0  16'9 

Dun 200  119-7  126'6  152'3  219'6 

Gibson 22  58'9  60*  82'2  120'1 

Manufacturers,  at  this  time,  came  in  for  much  unfair  criticism  in 
respect  to  profits  which  occasionally  were  excessive  but,  as  a  rule, 
were  reasonable;  in  any  event  they  could  usually  last  only  for  the 
War  period  and  would  necessarily  cover  considerable  final  losses 
in  plant  investment,  etc.  This  was  not  always  the  case,  of  course. 
In  the  greater  iron  and  steel  industries,  for  instance,  many  of  the 
additions  to  plant  would  be  permanent  elements  of  production. 
According  to  David  Carnegie,  Ordnance  Adviser  of  the  Imperial 
Munitions  Board  (Ottawa  address,  Apr.  26,  1917),  which  institution 
dealt  with  650  factories  in  144  towns,  from  Halifax  to  Victoria,  engaged 
in  making  munitions  of  one  kind  or  another:  "Manufacturers  from 
almost  every  industry  in  Canada  have  turned  their  attention  to  the 
production  of  munitions,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  record  that  few  of 
them  have  failed  in  producing  the  standard  of  work  required.  .  . 
The  approximate  value  of  shell-forging  plant  machinery  installed 
is  estimated  at  about  $5,000,000.  Coming  to  the  plants  for  the 
machining  and  assembling  of  shells  and  the  manufacture  of  com- 
ponent parts,  there  have  been  installed  over  18,000  machines  and 
90,000  h.p.  to  drive  them,  the  estimated  cost  approximating  $35,000,- 
000." 

Colonel  Carnegie  pointed  out  that  Sir  J.  W.  Flavelle,  also,  had 
initiated  great  national  factories  for  Canada  to  do  the  loading  of 
fuses,  the  manufacture  of  gun  cotton,  acids,  tri-nitro-toluol,  acetone, 

*  James  B.  Ferguson,  of  Woodstock,  in  Industrial  Canada,  February,  1918. 
25 


386  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

cordite,  nitro-cellulose  powder,  aeroplanes  and  electric  steel  and  that 
the  stock  of  each  of  these  concerns  was  held  by  the  Board.  By  the 
year  1917  the  whole  great  industry,  controlled  by  this  Board,  dealing 
with  $800,000,000  worth  of  past  or  present  orders,  was  standardized 
as  to  product;  new  processes,  new  equipment  and  new  skill  utilized 
for  development,  and  new  industries  created;  an  impetus  given  to  a 
myriad  subsidiary  interests  and  the  production  of  minerals,  the 
improvement  of  chemical  methods;  the  initiation  of  refining  in 
copper,  zinc  and  lead,  and  the  use  of  electro-thermic  processes  for 
ferro-alloys  effected;  the  close  scientific  study  of  metals  and  physical, 
chemical  and  other  values  carried  out;  with  250,000  workers  improved 
in  mental  processes  and  personal  skill  and  material  returns — in- 
cluding 12,000  women.  Senator  N.  Curry,  speaking  with  much 
industrial  authority,  declared  in  an  interview  on  Jan.  5  that:  "The 
greater  part  of  machinery  bought  for  shell-making  is  suitable  for 
general  commercial  work,  and  being  new  and  more  up-to-date  than 
most  plants  were  equipped  with  before  the  War,  will,  in  most  cases, 
be  kept  in  service.  The  knowledge  and  experience  gained  by  the 
metal  workers  of  Canada  during  the  War  will  be  of  very  great 
benefit  in  their  regular  business."  Other  manufacturers  believed 
that  from  50%  to  75%  of  munition  plants  would  be  useless  for  peace 
purposes. 

There  was  no  doubt  as  to  industrial  prosperity  in  Canada  during 
1917.  A.  C.  Flumerfelt  told  the  Victoria  press  on  Feb.  10,  as  to  a 
recent  trip,  that  "munition  plants  are  running  night  and  day  at 
Montreal,  Toronto,  Hamilton,  Brantford,  Oshawa,  Whitby,  Trenton 
and  at  other  points."  Thomas  Cantley,  Hon.  Frederic  Nicholls, 
F.  W.  Baillie,  C.  W.  Sherman,  R.  O.  McCulloch,  Wm.  Inglis,  Robert 
Hobson,  Lloyd  Harris,  Mark  Workman,  Thos.  Findley,  headed 
great  industrial  concerns  interested  in  war  production,  or  partly 
so.  J.  W.  Flavelle  on  Apr.  18  stated  the  value  of  orders  received  by 
his  Board  to  Mar.  30  as  $850,000,000,  shipments  as  $470,000,000, 
and  disbursements  as  $543,000,000;  up  to  this  time  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  Banks  had  advanced  $300,000,000  for  Imperial  pur- 
chases here;  meanwhile  the  Government,  by  its  legislation  of  May, 
took  from  munition  makers  excess  profit  taxes  of  50%  on  all  profits 
in  excess  of  15%,  but  not  exceeding  20%  per  annum,  and  75%  of 
all  profits  in  excess  of  20%  per  annum  upon  capital.  At  this  time 
the  capacity  of  Canadian  factories  approximated  400,000  18-pr. 
shrapnel,  complete  rounds,  per  week,  including  cartridge  cases, 
primers,  fuses  and  propellants;  a  weekly  capacity  for  nearly  400,000 
high  explosive  shells,  ranging  in  sizes  from  18-pounders  to  9 '2  inch 
shells  and  making  an  approximate  total  weekly  output  of  800,000 
shells.  Speaking  of  the  conditions  in  this  industry  Col.  Cantley 
of  the  N.S.  Steel  Company  said  at  Winnipeg  on  June  12  that: 

The  manufacture  of  munitions  has  been  a  long  and  hard  struggle,  which  only 
the  fit  have  survived.  Of  those  who  have  been  tempted  to  try  it  many  have  lost 
money,  some  having  been  practically  ruined.  Others  have  done  no  better  than 
recover  their  investment.  Still  others  have  made  a  small  profit  that  hardly  com- 
pensated them  for  the  risk  they  incurred.  A  few  have  done  well,  but  only  because 
they,  after  great  toil,  mastered  a  most  difficult  problem  and  proved  themselves  espec- 
ially efficient.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  offering  the  opinion  that  the  man  who  has 
made  money  out  of  the  manufacture  of  munitions  has  richly  earned  it. 


CANADIAN  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  WAR;  THE  FUEL  PROBLEM   387 

There  were  during  the  year  several  ups  and  downs  in  orders 
which  turned  upon  (1)  the  increased  capacity  of  Great  Britain,  (2) 
the  difficulty  and  dangers  of  transportation,  and  (3)  the  conduct  of 
Government  financing.  In  August  a  general  re-adjustment  took 
place,  a  number  of  men  and  women  were  released  from  munition 
factories,  certain  lines  of  production  were  discontinued  and  in  others 
production  was  restricted — under  instructions  from  the  Munitions 
Board  of  Aug.  21.  In  the  Commons  (Sept.  8)  E.  M.  Macdonald 
inquired  as  to  conditions :  "  I  understand  the  situation  in  Canada  to 
be  that  a  great  number  of  the  industries  which  have  been  producing 
certain  types  of  shells  have  been  notified  that  they  must  stop  alto- 
gether. This  notification  comes  without  the  slightest  preliminary 
warning."  Sir  Thomas  White,  in  his  reply,  said:  "It  is  an  object 
to  Great  Britain,  from  a  financial  standpoint,  to  manufacture  as 
much  of  her  own  requirements  as  possible  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  She  is  continuing  to  order  in  this  country  the  shells 
which  she  specially  requires."  As  a  matter  of  fact  advances  to 
Britain  for  this  purpose  were  continuing:  "In  round  figures  we  have 
supplied  to  the  Imperial  treasury  during  this  year:  January,  $20,000,- 
000;  February,  $25.000,000;  March,  $34,000,000;  April,  $25,000,000; 
May,  $26,000,000;  June,  $36,000,000;  July,  $48,000,000;  August, 
$37,000,000;  and  the  estimate  for  the  month  of  September  is  $40,- 
000,000." 

At  this  time  it  was  announced  that  many  plants  hitherto  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  8-inch  and  9 '2-inch  shells  for  the  British 
Government  would  be  converted  into  plants  for  producing  6-inch 
shells;  Great  Britain  also  entered  the  American  as  well  as  the 
Canadian  market  on  a  large  scale  for  these  latter  shells.  American 
orders,  also,  came  to  Canada — munitions,  woollen,  and  cotton  goods, 
ships  and  other  war  supplies — induced  by  the  pressure  of  prepara- 
tion and  rush  of  men  to  the  colours  there;  Canada,  also,  had 
to  import  $156,000,000  worth  of  metals  from  the  United  States  to 
carry  on  its  industries,  in  addition  to  coal  and  other  necessaries. 
On  Nov.  10  Sir  Joseph  Flavelle  stated  that  the  U.S.  Ordnance 
authorities  had  placed  orders  in  Canada  for  about  7,000,000  75- 
millimetre  shells,  the  American  Government  supplying  all  steel 
and  component  parts,  but  the  forging  and  assembling  to  be  done  in 
Canada.  In  this  connection  a  $250,000,000  credit  was  arranged 
at  Washington.  The  conditions  in  this  respect  were  becoming  part 
of  the  British-Canadian  financial  situation  which  turned  upon  how 
far  the  Canadian  people  would  advance  money  to  the  Government 
to  lend  Great  Britain  for  the  purchase  of  war  supplies  and,  by  the 
end  of  1917,  it  was  found  that  the  response  had  been  splendid  and 
that  the  orders  placed  in  Canada  through  the  Imperial  Munitions 
Board  had  risen  to  $1,100,000,000  with  a  total  actually  expended  of 
$875,000,000.*  The  country  which  in  1914  hardly  knew  what  a 
shell  was,  had  since  then,  machined  53,000,000,  with  40,000,000 
brass  cartridges  cases  and  58,000,000  ^copper  bands  and,  in  one 
projectile,  was  supplying  50%  of  British  requirements  on  all  fronts. 
Explosives  such  as  cordite,  T.N.T.,  acetone,  methyl-ethyl  and  nitric 

*  Address  by  Hon.  N.  W.  Rowell  in  Toronto  on  Feb.  23rd,  1918. 


388  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

acid  were  under  steady  manufacture;  the  refining  of  molybdenite 
and  shipping  of  asbestos  had  been  developed  and  a  large  airplane 
industry  created;  Fuses,  the  much-discussed  product  of  1916,  were 
being  turned  out  at  275,000  per  month. 

Meantime,  the  trade  and  industrial  and  war  interests  of  the 
country  had  also  concentrated  upon  ship-building  as  a  new  and  vital 
need.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  Canada  had  less  than  1,000,000 
tons  of  all  kinds  of  merchant  ships — to  carry  its  enormous  trade, 
to  transport  armies  and  supplies  to  the  Front,  and  to  help  meet 
the  world-shortage  of  the  year  in  shipping.  On  Jan.  20  Mr.  Hazen, 
Minister  of  Marine,  announced  that  "in  order  to  provide  for  a  large 
employment  now  and  pave  the  way  for  permanent  and  increased 
ship-building  after  the  War,  permission  has  been  granted  for  the 
export  of  ships  " — 7  steel  cargo  ships  at  Vancouver,  3  at  Port  Arthur, 
6  at  Toronto,  2  at  Montreal  and  3  at  New  Glasgow.  There  was  yet, 
however,  much  apathy  as  to  this  industry,  due  very  largely  to  the 
impression  that  ships,  especially  in  war-time,  were  a  precarious 
investment.  Col.  Cantley  at  New  Glasgow  (Feb.  8),  urged  action 
after  pointing  out  the  enormous  demand  and  need,  and  profit  also, 
there  was  in  building  for  present  and  future  merchant  trade:  "  Canada 
has  every  natural  advantage  necessary  for  the  successful  development 
of  a  ship-building  industry,  with  her  extensive  coast-line  on  both 
sides  of  the  Dominion,  with  numerous  and  splendid  harbours,  with 
an  ample  supply  of  timber,  large  coal  output  and  a  well-developed 
iron  and  steel  industry.  Practically  all  the  material  entering  into 
the  construction  of  ships  is  made  or  can  readily  be  made  in  Canada." 
Government  assistance,  however,  was  necessary  either  by  bounty, 
tariff  protection  or  subsidy. 

As  the  months  passed  activity  grew  in  all  Canadian  ship-yards 
and  by  March  it  was  stated  that  100  vessels,  ranging  from  250  to 
6,000  tons,  were  under  construction.  The  Imperial  Munitions 
Board  had  added  ships  to  its  munitions  and  aeroplane  manufacture 
and  on  Mar.  13  it  was  announced  that  the  contracts  already  placed 
were  around  $25,000,000  and  that  ships  of  substantial  carrying 
capacity  and  of  steel  would  be  constructed:  "The  British  Govern- 
ment has  sent  out  a  representative,  who  is  placing,  wherever  possible, 
contracts  for  new  ships  and  purchasing  those  already  in  the  market; 
vessels  under  construction  here  for  Norwegian  interests  have  been 
bought  for  delivery  at  Montreal,  Toronto,  Collingwood,  Port  Arthur 
and  the  Pacific  coast."  The  chief  difficulty  in  construction  was 
obtaining  steel  plates  from  the  United  States.  Existing  firms  were 
given  contracts  while  new  and  large  plants  on  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  coasts  were  arranged  for  and  efforts  made  to  fully  utilize 
the  promised  subsidies  of  the  British  Columbia  and  Nova  Scotia 
Governments.  The  next  two  years  were  expected  to  see  an  expendi- 
ture of  $100,000,000  by  the  Munitions  Board  with  $60,000,000  for 
the  current  year.  Sir  Thomas  White  told  the  Commons  on  Apr. 
23  that  "orders  have  been  placed  by  the  Imperial  Government  for 
the  construction  of  22  steel  vessels,  with  a  total  tonnage  of  175,000, 
while  orders  for  eight  others  are  pending."  The  Munitions  Board 
was  given  supervision  of  the  British  orders  and  business  and,  prac- 


CANADIAN  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  WAR;  THE  FUEL  PROBLEM   389 

tically,  control  of  ship-building  in  Canada.  R.  P.  Butchart  of 
Vancouver  was  appointed  Director  for  the  Board  on  the  Pacific, 
while  J.  W.  Norcross  of  Canada  Steamships  Ltd.,  was  associated 
with  Eastern  development  and  W.  I.  Gear  of  the  Reford  Company, 
Montreal,  was,  a  little  later,  appointed  Director  of  Steel  Ship-building. 
In  the  Commons  on  May  22  the  Finance  Minister  stated  that  the 
Government,  in  view  of  the  exchange  situation,  had  offered  the  Im- 
perial Munitions  Board  a  credit  of  $10,000,000  to  be  availed  of  as 
required  for  the  purpose  of  their  ship-building  programme  and  as 
money  lent  to  the  Imperial  Government.  E.  M.  Macdonald  urged 
that  the  Government  adopt  a  strong  policy  of  mercantile  marine  con- 
struction in  Canada  and  Sir  T.  White  intimated  in  reply  that  a  bounty 
system  or  plan  of  granting  subsidies  would  have  to  be  adopted. 
The  shortage  of  steel  plate  was  a  great  obstacle  and  he  considered 
wooden  ships  as  an  emergency  proposition  only.  Mr.  Hazen, 
Minister  of  Marine,  stated  that  there  was  a  current  shortage  in 
Dominion  vessels  for  the  coal  and  oil  trades;  A.  K.  Maclean  re- 
garded the  lack  of  timber  and  labour  as  serious  elements  in  building 
wooden  ships  on  the  Atlantic  Coast.  As  to  steel  ship  construction, 
on  a  large  scale,  Mr.  Workman,  President  of  the  Dominion  Steel 
Corporation  (May  12),  was  pessimistic;  he  did  not  believe  Canada 
could  do  it  within  2  or  3  years.  Meantime,  work  was  restricted  by 
the  scarcity  of  steel,  though  Vancouver  and  Halifax  sought  in  varied 
ways  to  develop  operations  there,  and  in  the  Commons  (June  1) 
Hon.  C.  Marcil  urged  that  the  shipping  glories  of  Quebec  and  Mon- 
treal should  be  revived — even  if  it  were  by  small  wooden  ships 
below  the  2,500  tons  desired  by  the  British  Government.  Mr. 
Hazen  stated  that  many  ships  were  already  under  construction 
in  that  Province — at  Montreal,  Le\is,  Sorel  and  Isle  d'Orteans — 
as  well  as  at  various  Lake  ports  and  on  the  coasts.  The^situation 
at  this  time  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

Tonnage  Tonnage          Tonnage 

Steamers  and  Sailing  Vessels  No.       Steel       No.      Wood      No.      Totals 

Atlantic  Coast 10        20,560       60        20,110       70        40,670 

Great  Lakes 21        42,134         1  40       22        42,174 

Pacific  Coast...  9        39,960       13        13,720       22        53,680 


Total 40      102,654       74        33,870     114      136,524 

The  wooden  ships  being  made  for  the  Board  were  largely  experi- 
mental at  this  time  as  the  British  Minister  of  Shipping  was  not 
sure  of  their  effectiveness;  it  was  claimed  for  British  Columbia, 
where  27  were  under  construction,  that  with  proper  aid  1,000  could 
easily  be  built.  In  Parliament  on  Sept.  6  E.  M.  Macdonald  urged 
Government  action,  Hon.  Wm.  Pugsley  wanted  wooden  ships  con- 
structed and  J.  H.  Sinclair  urged  Government  steel  ship-building. 
Sir  George  Foster,  Minister  of  Trade,  declared  wooden  building 
on  a  large  scale  impracticable  and  stated  6,000  tons  as  the  best  economic 
size  for  steel  ships.  As  to  Government  construction:  "Conditions 
make  it  absolutely  impossible  for  Canada,  at  the  present  time,  to 
engage  in  the  business."  At  the  end  of  1917  and  with  very  little 
public  knowledge  of  the  fact  this  industry  had  made  great  strides 
with  20  large  new  Companies  in  operation  (since  1914),  with  107 
ships  under  construction  of  which  44  were  in  Altantic  coast  ship- 


390  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

yards,  46  on  the  Great  Lakes  and  18  on  the  Pacific  coast,  with  a 
total  tonnage  of  155,691  and  a  value  of  $46,000,000— compared  with 
new  shipping  in  1915  of  18,832  tons.  Meantime,  the  Munitions 
Board  had  let  many  contracts  for  1918  construction  in  addition  to  those 
specified  above.  An  attempt  at  concrete  ship-building  was  initiated 
at  Montreal. 

Nearly  all  lines  of  industry  were  prosperous  in  Canada,  despite 
the  handicaps  of  labour  shortage,  delays  in  transportation  and  short- 
age in  supplies.  The  very  important  production  of  steel  ingots 
and  direct  steel  castings  grew,  for  instance,  from  828,641  tons  in  1914 
to  1,728,812  tons  in  1917-— or  a  four-year  total  of  5,006,598  tons, 
while  electric  steel  leaped  from  61  to  39,069  tons  in  the  same  period. 
This,  of  course,  was  essentially  a  war-output.  The  consumption 
of  raw  cotton  and  production  of  cotton  goods  during  1914-17  had 
grown  considerably  and  orders  for  Canadian  troops  were  replaced 
by  requirements  from  those  of  the  United  States;  the  motor-car 
industry  had  grown  from  a  registration  of  81,712  in  1915  to  178,000 
in  1917  with,  also,  an  investment  by  the  public  of  about  $150,000,000 
and  an  output  from  Canadian  factories  of  an  estimated  $60,000,000; 
chemicals  became  one  of  the  vital  war  industries  and  every  month 
new  works  of  this  or  of  a  metallurgical  character  were  established — 
such  as  benzol,  Tri-nitro-toluol,  aniline  oils  and  salts,  dyestuffs, 
aspirin,  resorcin  and  benzoic  acid  derivations;  the  paint  and  varnish 
industry  continued  to  suffer  from  lack  of  raw  materials  and  re- 
striction of  building  operations  but,  on  the  other  hand,  made  sweeping 
progress  in  export  business  and,  in  a  war  connection,  made  shell 
varnishes,  stains  for  shell  boxes,  helped  in  munitions  and  expected 
to  benefit  from  ship-building  developments;  the  flour  trade  had  a 
four-year  period  of  the  greatest  prosperity  with,  for  instance,  an 
average  export  price  in  1916  of  $5.59perbbl.,  compared  with  $4.26  in 
1914  or  31%  increase.  The  Pulp  and  paper  industry  expanded 
greatly  with  an  increase  of  exports  in  wood-paper  to  the  United 
States,  between  1906  and  1916,  of  287%  and  in  paper  of  965%— 
or  a  total  value  in  the  latter  year,  according  to  U.S.  statistics,  of 
$26,261,299.  R.  H.  Coats,  Dominion  Statistician,  estimated  the 
Canadian  paper-mill  product  in  1917  as  worth  $45,000,000  and  that 
of  the  pulp-mills  as  $28,000,000,  or  nearly  double  the  paper  and 
pulp  production  of  1915.  The  total  exports  in  this  varied  and 
important  industry*  were  as  follows: 

Year  of  Chemical  Mechanical 

Mar.  31st.                                 Paper  Pulp  Pulp  Pulp-Wood          Total 

1914...  $12,675,036  $2,923,083  $3,441,741  $7,388,770  $26,428,630 

1915 15,478,338  4,806,622  4,459.539  6,817,311  31,561,810 

1916 20,021,270  6,801,011  3,575,537  5,743,847  36,141,665 

1917 26,072,646  14,032,920  6,371,133  6,448,189  52,924,888 

In  the  Furniture  industry  the  chief  change  was  one  of  prices  or  rather 
the  rising  cost  of  materials  going  into  the  finished  products;  Can- 
ning interests  prospered  but  the  consumer  abroad  or  the  purchaser 
for  export  had  to  meet  an  ocean  freight  up  to  $5.00  per  cwt.  compared 
with  40  cents  before  the  War;  in  agricultural  implements  production 
did  not  increase  owing  to  curtailment  of  markets  and  it  was  claimed 
*  Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce  Monthly  Letter,  March,  1918. 


CANADIAN  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  WAR;  THE  FUEL  PROBLEM   391 

that  the  selling  price,  though  rising,  had  not  increased  in  proportion 
to  the  cost  of  raw  materials.  One  of  the  growing  problems  of  1917 
was  that  of  Fuel.  Canada  was  largely  dependent  upon  the  United 
States  for  its  anthracite  coal;  its  industries  had  to  have  it,  or 
electricity,  and  the  latter  was  not  always  available.  The  possible 
exhaustion  of  the  American  anthracite  fields*  in  a  hundred  years 
made  Canadian  dependance  even  more  serious;  the  war  experiences 
of  Holland,  Switzerland  and  the  Scandinavian  countries  made  the 
possibly  humiliating  character  of  such  a  position  obvious.  During 
the  latter  part  of  1917  mining  troubles  and  transportation  difficulties 
in  the  United  States  reacted  upon  Canada,  reduced  its  supplies  and, 
in  the  winter  of  both  1916-17  and  1917-18,  the  coal  shortage  caused 
much  discomfort,  threatened  something  worse  and  even  menaced 
Munition  work  for  a  time.  According  to  A.  V.  White,  in  his  studies 
of  this  subject,  the  Coal  resources  of  Canada  were  as  follows: 

Coal  Semi-                                                 Sub- 
Province        Square  Anthracite        Bituminous          Bituminous  Lignite 
Miles  Tons                   Tons                      Tons  Tons 

Nova  Scotia. . .         521         10,691,000,000     

N.  Brunswick. .          121      166,000,000     

Ontario 10  27,500,000 

Manitoba 48  176,000,000 

Saskatchewan  .    13,406  65,793,000,000 

Alberta   .           .    81,878  845,900,000    217,918,000,000    932,053,000,000  29,095,000,000 

Brit.  Columbia      6,045      77,923,000,000      5,715,500,000 

Yukon. . 2,840     275,000,000     5,159,000,000 

North-west 

Territories .  .          600  5,280,000,000 

Arctic  Islands .      6,000     6,600,000,000     

Total 111,169     845,900,000    313,573,000,000    932,053,000,000    111,246,000,000 

The  coal-beds  of  Alberta,  British  Columbia  and  the  Yukon  were 
supposed  to  contain  enthracite  but  it  was  not  the  type  of  the  U.S. 
Lake  Superior  region.  The  total  production  of  bituminous  coal  in 
1916  was  13,800,000  tons,  of  which  1,735,588  tons  were  exported; 
the  import  of  this  coal  from  the  United  States  was  13,000,000  tons; 
of  anthracite  the  importation  was  4,500,000.  Sir  George  Foster 
explained  the  situation  leading  up  to  the  shortage  in  the  Commons 
on  Aug.  22.  The  nominal  output  of  U.S.  anthracite  was  67,700,000 
tons  and  that  of  bituminous  about  500,000,000  tons,  while  the  pro- 
duction in  1916-17  was  greater  than  normal.  Against  this,  however, 
were  greatly  increased  war  demands — the  steel  industry  alone 
wanting  40,000,000  more  tons  and  the  railways  30%  additional 
supply  for  haulage.  Added  to  this  was  the  car  and  engine  shortage 
of  the  railways.  Meantime,  in  Canada,  the  earlier  winter  of  1917 
saw  much  privation  and  the  cutting  off  of  passenger  trains  and 
enforced  economy  in  the  use  of  fuel;  shortage  in  supplies  for  many 
people  and  the  blocking  of  trains  and  shipments;  difficulties  in 
distribution  as  well  as  in  mining  owing  to  the  labour  scarcity;  much 
demand  for  soft  coal  and  a  rise  in  prices — running  at  Montreal 
up  to  $20  a  ton  on  Feb.  14.  All  through  Ontario  there  was  at  this 
time  a  serious  shortage  with  supplies  doled  out  in  100-lb.  lots  and 
the  burning  at  some  places  of  fences  and  furniture.  Relief  came 
on  Feb.  18  but  for  a  few  days  the  situation  was  bad. 

*  Arthur  V.  White,  Consulting  Engineer  to  the  Commission  on  Conservation, 
estimated  in  a  valuable  pamphlet  issued  in  1918  that  the  War  would  greatly  lessen 
this  period. 


S92  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

In  the  Commons,  on  May  14,  J.  E.  Armstrong  brought  this  ques- 
tion up  and  urged  the  development  of  Canada's  fuel  resources 
with  organization,  scientific  research,  and  a  co-ordinated  survey 
of  Canadian  and  Empire  mineral  supplies;  dealt  with  the  mineral 
production  and  demands  caused  by  the  War  and  the -danger  of  a 
cutting  off  in  the  U.S.  export  of  coal;  described  the  disastrous  result 
to  Canadian  industries  and  declared  that  Canada  had  1,234  billion 
metric  tons  of  coal  (compared  with  the  U.S.  total  of  3,538  billions) 
available  but  only  two  small  deposits  of  anthracite;  urged  the  de- 
velopment of  peat  as  to  which  Russia  was  now  producing  10,000,000 
metric  tons  a  year.  Between  1908-1914  the  Mines  Branch  had 
located  140,000  acres  of  Peat  bogs  in  Ontario,  Quebec,  Nova  Scotia, 
P.E.  Island  and  Manitoba,  which  would  yield  115,000,000  tons  of 
fuel  and  produce  a  multitude  of  valuable  by-products — especially 
sulphate  of  ammonia.  He  urged,  by  Resolution,  that  "the  deposits 
of  bituminous  and  anthracite  coal  in  Canada,  located  in  the  extreme 
eastern  and  western  portions  thereof,  be  more  fully  and  thoroughly 
utilized  for  the  benefit  of  the  residents  of  the  central  Provinces; 
that  the  enormous  peat  and  lignite  deposits  so  widely  distributed 
through  all  portions  of  the  Dominion  be  also  scientifically  made  use 
of  for  the  same  purpose;  and  further,  that  the  Government  of  Canada 
make  a  special  effort  to  have  these  valuable  deposits  more  fully 
and  rapidly  developed."  J.  G.  Turriff  urged  the  Government  to 
take  practical  steps  to  demonstrate  the  value  of  the  coal  areas  of 
Saskatchewan;  George  McCraney  suggested  experiments  in  the  use 
of  straw  for  fuel  and  lighting  purposes;  D.  D.  McKenzie  thought 
the  deepening  of  the  St.  Lawrence  waterways  and  canals  for  heavily 
loaded  steamers  was  the  best  solution.  Sir  Thomas  White  described 
the  Peat  question  as  one  of  commercial  failure  at  present;  it  might 
change  under  new  conditions.  The  motion  was  accepted  with  the 
addition  of  oil-shales  and  water-powers  as  subject  for  attention. 

By  Order-in-Council  of  June  8  the  position  of  Fuel  Controller 
was  constituted.  After  stating  that  Quebec,  in  the  coming  season, 
could  not  be  sure  of  more  than  200,000  tons  of  its  2,000,000  require- 
ments for  factories  and  railways,  from  Nova  Scotia,  that  reduced 
output  and  war  demands  in  the  States  made  supplies  from  there 
more  difficult,  that  strikes  in  the  Western  Provinces  had  diminished 
the  Canadian  product  (by  over  200,000  tons),  the  duties  of  the  Con- 
troller were  defined  as  investigation  of  coal  conditions  in  Canada, 
and  the  probable  output  or  demand,  outside  sources  of  supply, 
transport  for  foreign  coal,  co-operation  between  producers,  carriers, 
and  consumers,  co-ordination  of  the  various  interests  affected. 
Charles  A.  Magrath,  Chairman,  International  Boundary  Commission, 
was  appointed;  a  little  later  C.  W.  Peterson  of  Calgary  became 
Deputy  Controller  and  W.  H.  Armstrong,  Vancouver,  was  made 
Director  of  Coal  Operations  in  the  mining  regions  of  British  Columbia 
and  Alberta  (District  18)  with  power  of  investigation  and,  under 
certain  conditions,  power  to  take  pssession  of  and  operate  any  mine 
or  coke-producing  plant.  The  Ontario  Government  on  July  28 
appointed  R.  C.  Harris,  Toronto,  to  act  as  Hon.  Fuel  Commissioner 
for  the  Province  and  to  co-operate  with  Mr.  Magrath.  H.  P.  McCue, 


CANADIAN  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  WAR;  THE  FUEL  PROBLEM   393 

an  American  specialist,  was  made  Assistant  Fuel  Controller  at  a 
large  salary  ($25,000  per  annum).  Mr.  Magrath  made  it  clear 
tbat  he  would  not  permit  extortionate  prices  for  coal  and  intended 
to 'control  the  situation  in  this  respect. 

On  July  26  he  issued  a  statement  urging  economy  and  declaring 
that  if  the  War  went  on  many  months  more  he  might  have  to  place 
restriction  on  the  use  of  coal,  wood,  gasoline,  and  even  natural 
gas.  In  the  States  coal  at  the  mine  was,  late  in  August,  given  a 
fixed  price  of  $4.10  to  $4.90  for  the  four  grades  of  Anthracite  and 
$1.75  to  $2.25  for  Bituminous.  In  Winnipeg  on  Sept  29  hard  coal 
was  selling  at  $12.50  per  ton  with  a  retail  dealer's  profit  of  50  cents; 
this  profit  Mr.  Magrath  declared  reasonable  under  the  circumstances 
and  a  little  later  fixed  it  as  the  general  margin  of  retail  profit. 
At  the  same  time  (Oct.  25)  brokers'  charges  and  wholesalers'  com- 
missions were  regulated,  prices  at  the  mine  were  to  be  fixed  after 
agreement  with  the  Controller,  supplies  were  restricted  to  a  two- 
months'  requirement.  By  December  the  fuel  situation  was  again 
critical  and  the  conditions  of  February,  1917,  already  imminent. 
The  U.S.  Fuel  Administration  intimated  that  Canada  should  take 
steps  for  economy  and  limitation  of  use  as  in  the  Republic;  if  so  it 
would  receive  a  pro-rata  supply  on  the  same  bases  as  the  States  of 
the  Union.  Meanwhile,  the  question  of  electric  power  became 
increasingly  urgent  and  the  18,000,000  h.p.  of  the  water-power 
resources  of  Canada,  with  a  development  of  only  1,800,000  h.p. 
were  increasingly  discussed.  The  attitude  of  Canadian  manu- 
facturers toward  the  War  was  in  1917  one  of  support,  activity  in 
war  production,  preparedness,  to  some  extent,  for  a  future  of  varied 
nature.  The  annual  Convention  of  the  Canadian  Manufacturers' 
Association — a  powerful  organization  with  3,239  members  on  Apr. 
30 — was  held  at  Winnipeg  on  June  12-14.  Lieut.-Col.  Thomas 
Cantley,  retiring  President,  described  current  industrial  difficulties 
as  follows: 

Labour  has  never  been  in  so  great  demand  in  Canada  as  it  is  at  present,  nor 
ever  so  highly  paid.  Manufacturing  materials  of  every  kind  have  greatly  ad- 
vanced in  value  and  are  still  daily  becoming  increasingly  difficult  to  secure;  in  some 
instances  the  prohibition  of  their  export  from  other  countries  has  made  it  necessary 
for  us  to  have  recourse  to  inferior  substitutes.  For  a  considerable  portion  of  our 
normal  products  there  has  ceased  to  be  a  demand,  so  that  many  manufacturers  have 
had  to  adapt  equipment  to  the  manufacture  of  new  products,  and  cultivate  new  mar- 
kets. The  movement  of  traffic  has  been  attended  by  exasperating  delays.  Owing 
to  a  shortage  of  production  and  the  difficulties  of  transportation,  coal  has  advanced 
to  famine  prices,  threatening  to  deprive  us  of  both  heat  and  power.  Our  expenses 
have  been  increased  by  the  necessity  of  providing  liberal  compensation  for  industrial 
accidents.  Our  Legislatures,  meanwhile,  have  added  to  the  list  of  Statutes  that  tend 
to  interfere  with — when  they  should  facilitate — inter-Provincial  trade,  and  over  and 
above  all  these  troubles  we  have  begun  to  feel  the  burden  of  taxation  which  before 
long  must  fall  with  even  greater  heaviness  upon  us  as  the  War  indebtedness  of  Can- 
ada is  increased. 

He  deprecated  abuse  of  the  manufacturers,  asserted  their  proven 
patriotism  and  enterprise,  criticized  the  Excess  Profits  tax,  regretted 
the  agitation  to  lower  tariff  duties  and  described  35  years  of  Pro- 
tection as  having  prepared  "a  large  and  varied  industrial  equipment 
of  first-class  efficiency."  The  speedy  adaptation  of  that  equipment, 


394  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

supplemented  by  a  very  large  investment  in  new  plant,  of  about 
$25,000,000,  for  the  production  of  munitions  and  war  supplies, 
had  not  only  "enabled  Canada  to  render  assistance  of  im- 
measurable value  to  the  Allied  cause,  but  it  also  enal  .ed 
her  to  keep  her  workmen  fully  employed  at  high  wages." 
S.  R.  Parsons  of  Toronto,  the  new  President,  spoke  briefly  at  the 
banquet  which  closed  the  Convention,  but  did  not  treat  of  the  War. 
Resolutions  touching  war  conditions  were  passed  as  follows : 

1.  Urging  that  "immediate  steps  be  taken  to  assist  in  overcoming  the  desperate 
need  for  Railway  equipment,  which  at  present  exists,  by  providing  an  ample  supply 
of  cars  and  locomotives  and  turning  them  over  to  the  Companies  under  lease  or  con- 
tract of  purchase." 

2.  Recording  "the  keen  satisfaction  it  feels  at  the  courage  displayed  by  the 
Prime  Minister  in  providing  for  the  conscription  of  Canada's  manhood,  and  pledges 
him  its  unqualified  support  in  whatever  application  of  the  principle  of  Conscription 
he,  with  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  needs  of  the  situation,  may  deem  it  wise  to 
bring  into  operation." 

3.  Suggesting  that  the  Government's  Advisory  Board  on  Industrial  Research 
should:    (1)  organize  Industrial  Bureaux  to  inform  manufacturers  as  to  new  processes 
and  technique,  and  (2)  institute  Laboratories  for  solution  of  industrial  problems  in 
substitutes,  waste,  etc. 

4.  Urging  Government  inquiry  "into  the  best  methods  for  conserving  and  in- 
creasing our  domestic  and  overseas  trade,  to  the  end  that  our  present  prosperity  may 
not  unduly  suffer  when  the  stimulus  resulting  from  orders  for  munitions  and  other 
war  supplies  is  removed." 

The  Legislation  Committee,  through  Lloyd  Harris,  reported  objec- 
tions to  the  Excess  Profits  tax  as:  (1)  danger  to  future  investment 
of  capital  for  extension  of  old  industries  or  establishment  of  new 
ones;  (2)  removal  of  incentives  to  enterprise  and  discouragement  of 
production;  (3)  injury  to  after- the- war  business  and  prospects  and 
a  tax  on  present  efficiency  in  war  production.  The  Tariff  Committee, 
through  G.  H.  Douglas,  reported  that  "what  the  fiscal  policy  needed  for 
the  upbuilding  and  welding  of  Empire  countries  is  the  general 
adoption  by  all  British  countries  of  tariff  preferences  for  Empire 
products  corresponding  to  the  preferences  which  are  granted  to 
Empire  products  under  the  tariff  of  Canada.*'  Besides  Mr.  Parsons 
the  officers  elected  for  1917-18  included  W.  J.  Bulman,  Winnipeg, 
and  T.  P.  Howard,  Montreal,  as  Vice-Presidents,  and  J.  F.  Ellis, 
Toronto,  as  Treasurer.  The  following  were  the  Chairmen  of 
Branches  in  1917: 

Branch  Name  Address 

Hamilton. W.  H.  Marsh Hamilton. 

Prairie  Provinces W.  R.  Ingram Winnipeg. 

Maritime  Provinces Archibald  McCall New  Glasgow. 

Montreal T.  H.  Wardleworth Montreal. 

Quebec J.  H.  Gignac Quebec. 

Toronto Thos.  Roden Toronto. 

British  Columbia W.  H.  Harvey Vancouver. 

A  Manufacturers'  delegation  waited  on  the  Premier  at  Ottawa 
on  Sept.  12  and  submitted  Resolutions  (1)  pledging  loyal  support 
to  the  Military  Service  Act,  "even  at  the  cost  of  much  inconvenience 
and  loss  arising  from  present  labour  conditions,  and  to  do  every- 
thing in  our  power  to  make  possible  the  complete  carrying  out  of 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  WAR;  RAILWAY  NATIONALIZATION    395 

the  provisions  of  the  Act";  (2)  suggesting  a  National  Cabinet  with 
business,  industry,  agriculture  and  labour  represented;  (3)  urging 
the  election  of  non-partisan  supporters  of  the  Government;  (4) 
favouring  "reasonable  taxation  of  the  enterprises  and  wealth- 
producing  power  of  the  country"  and,  incidentally,  a  fair  Income 
tax. '  The  following  table  shows  the  progress  of  two  basic  products 
in  export  during  the  War-years  ending  Mar.  31 : 

1915  1916  1917 

Minerals,  Metals  and  Manufactures  of ..  $68,407,080  $217,657,607  $441,137,752 
Iron  and  Steel  and  Manufactures  of 18,372,059  140,513,556  305,122,884 

Transporta-  The  Railways  constituted  a  vital  war  problem  for 

War  ^Nation-  Canada  m  *ts  Government  policy,  financial  interests 
alization  of  "  an<^  general  welfare.  There  was,  during  much  of  1917, 
Railways.  a  severe  shortage  in  rolling  stock,  great  difficulty  and 
prolonged  delays  in  obtaining  renewals  of  equipment, 
serious  increases  in  the  price  of  all  railway  material,  large  advances 
and  demands  as  to  wages  and  heavy  reductions  in  labour  supply, 
a  natural  impairment  of  credit  and  difficulty  in  obtaining  money, 
considerable  congestion  in  traffic  owing  to  war  requirements  and 
production  and  no  adequate  increase  of  rates  to  meet  increasing 
costs,  or  inadequate  facilities,  or  deficiencies  in  equipment.  Con- 
struction projects  were  eliminated  or  reduced  to  a  minimum — the 
new  track  construction  of  1916  was  297  miles  compared  with  719 
in  1915.  At  the  same  time,  as  the  year  1917  passed  and  a  record 
volume  of  traffic  was  carried  over  Canadian  lines,  it  was  found  that 
record  difficulties  had  been  met  in  many  directions.  Earnings 
had  mounted  higher  with  increasing  costs  and  splendid  work  by 
the  management  of  the  four  great  systems  of  Canada  prevented 
any  such  break-down  in  operation  as  characterized  the  United 
States.  Economy  became  a  habit,  efficiency  was  largely  developed. 
The  chief  statistics  of  the  four  War-years  (June  30)  were  as  follows : 

1914  1915  1916  1917 

Total  Mileage 30,795  35,578  37,434  38,604 

Capitalization $1,808,820,761  $1,875,810,888  $1,893,877,819  $1,985,119,991 

Tons  of  Freight  Carried 101,393,989  87,204,838  109,659,088  121,916,272 

Number  of  Passengers .  .                46,702,280  46,322,035  49,027,671  53,749,680 

Gross  Earnings $243,083,539  $199,843,072  $263,527,157  $310,771,479 

Operating  Expenses $178,975,258  $147,731,099  $180,542,259  $222,890,637 

Net  Earnings $64,108,280  $52,111,972  $81,346,394  $87,880,842 

A  combination  of  problems  brought  combined  action  and  on  Oct. 
24,  as  a  result  of  war  conditions  and  of  Government  suggestion, 
the  Canadian  Railway  Association  for  National  Defence  was  formed 
at  Montreal  with  the  object  of  formulating  in  detail  a  policy  of 
operation  for  all  or  any  of  the  railways,  for  the  co-ordinating  of 
industrial  activities  toward  the  prosecution  of  the  War,  and  for 
rendering  the  most  efficient  possible  service  to  the  national  cause. 
It  was  hoped  that  through  heavier  loading  of  cars,  elimination  of 
unnecessary  train  service,  the  co-operative  use  of  all  facilities  to 
the  best  advantage,  the  country's  needs  might  be  better  served — 
and,  of  course,  the  convenience  of  the  Railways  also.  The  Execu- 


396  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

tive  Committee  was  composed  of  the  Presidents  of  the  C.P.R., 
C.N.R.,  G.T.R.,  and  the  N.Y.  Central  as  representing  American 
railway  ^interests  in  Canada — Lord  Shaughnessy ,  Sir.  Wm.  Mackenzie, 
Howard  G.  Kelley  and  Alfred  Smith,  respectively.  The  two  chief 
Committees  were  as  follows: 

Administrative  Board  Car  Service  Committee 

U.  E.  Gillen Grand  Trunk  W.  A.  Kingsland  ..Canadian  Northern 

£  A.  Hayes Government  Railways  w  M  Ri  ,  .Government  Railways 

D.  B.  Hanna Canadian  Northern 

E.  D.  Bronner.  .  .Michigan  Central  A"  K  Locke Toronto,  H.  &  B. 

J.  H.  Walsh Quebec  Central  J-  E-  Duval Grand  Trunk 

Sir  George  Bury.  .Canadian  Pacific  Arthur  Hatton.  .  .Canadian  Pacific 

F.  F.  Backus Toronto.  H.  &  B.  W.  A.  Griffin T.  &  N.  O. 

Mr.  Gillen  was  Chairman  of  the  Board  and  Mr.  Hatton  of  the  Car 
Service  Committee.  One  of  the  first  problems  dealt  with  was  the 
recovery  of  about  20,000  cars,  or  10%  of  the  211,900  Canadian 
freight  cars,  which  were  held  for  various  reasons  by  American 
railways  in  the  United  States.  Under  the  constant  interchange 
of  cars  between  the  two  countries  this  number  had  accumulated 
in  the  United  States  over  and  above  the  American  cars  similarly 
held  in  Canada.  Immediate  steps  were  taken  in  this  connection 
—with  a  Conference  at  New  York  on  Dec.  5 — and,  also,  in  the  matter 
of  cars  making  their  long  journey  from  point  to  point  in  Canada 
with  only  two-thirds,  or  three-quarters,  of  their  proper  load — the 
consequent  delay  in  handling  thousands  of  tons  of  freight,  and  the 
holding  up  of  perhaps  25%  of  the  total  haulage  capacity.  Other 
things  were  done.  The  speed  of  all  trains  was  regulated  so  as  to 
use  a  minimum  quantity  ot  coal  for  a  maximum  effort;  passenger 
trains  were  reduced  by  a  total  of  2,000,000  train  miles  per  year; 
traffic  difficulties  were  supervised  as  a  whole  and  conditions  co- 
ordinated; economy  in  the  use  and  movement  of  cars  was  cultivated 
with  effect. 

Meanwhile,  efforts  had  been  made  to  establish  an  increase  in 
freight  rates  and,  on  Mar.  26,  the  Canadian  Freight  Association — 
acting  for  the  Railways — announced  for  operation  on  Apr.  23  an 
addition  of  about  15%  to  the  average  existing  rates  in  Western 
Canada.  The  Canadian  Manufacturers'  Association  at  once  pro- 
tested to  the  Dominion  Railway  Commission,  though  it  was  under- 
stood that  they  objected  more  to  details  than  to  the  general  average 
of  increase  while  vigorous  protests,  as  to  both  details  and  principle, 
came  from  the  Western  Grain-Growers  and  the  matter  was  held 
up  by  the  Government  Railway  Commission  to  consider  and  in- 
vestigate. The  Vancouver  Board  of  Trade  claimed  before  this  body 
at  a  sitting  there  on  June  6  that  such  an  increase  would  add  to  the 
high  cost  of  living  and,  in  any  case,  should  not  apply  to  local  trans- 
portation in  British  Columbia;  D.  B.  Hanna  of  the  C.N.R.  told  the 
Commission  at  Toronto  on  June  12  that  the  growing  cost  of  operat- 
ing expenses — in  coal,  wages,  locomotives,  cars,  and  materials  of 
all  sorts — made  the  increase  imperative;  the  Toronto  Board  _  of 
Trade  did  not  oppose  this  action  but  suggested  to  the  Commission 
that  it  be  an  emergency  measure  only;  the  United  Farmers  of  Ontario 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  WAR;  RAILWAY  NATION ALIZ AT  (ON    397 

denounced  the  proposal  and  declared  that  such  an  increase  would 
mean,  practically,  a  gift  of  $18,500,000  to  the  C.P.R.,  while  the 
C.N.R.  would  get  $5,321,000  and  the  G.T.R.  $5,873,256;  R.  Mc- 
Kenzie,  Secretary  of  the  Canadian  Council  oi  Agriculture,  presented 
an  elaborate  Memorandum  opposing  the  increase  as  an  added  burden 
to  the  primary  industries  of  agriculture,  lumber,  etc.,  and  enlarging 
upon  the  profits  of  the  C.P.R.;  J.  B.  Musselman,  of  the  Saskatchewan 
Grain  Growers,  claimed  that  $40,000,000  directly,  and  as  much 
more  indirectly,  would  be  added  to  the  consumer's  burdens.  Finally, 
on  Dec.  27,  the  Railway  Commission  gave  judgment  permitting 
an  increase  of  from  10  to  15%  in  freight  and  passenger  rates  with  an 
estimated  additional  revenue  of  $13,682,100  to  the  C.P.R.,  $6,068,802 
to  the  G.T.R.,  and  $3,791,150  to  the  C.N.R.  The  manufacturers 
approved  the  action  as  a  War  measure,  the  farmers  and  shippers 
of  the  West  continued  an  active  propaganda  against  it.  *  Meanwhile, 
in  July,  an  increased  rate  on  grain  products  passing  by  lake  and  rail 
from  Fort  William  to  Toronto  and  Montreal  was  allowed  despite  the 
protests  of  millers  and  others. 

The  question  of  Railway  nationalization  or  public  ownership 
on  a  large  scale  was  made  possible  by  the  War  and  its  application 
in  respect  to  certain  Canadian  railways  was  made  inevitable  by  the 
war-created  conditions.  The  action  of  the  Government  in  saving 
the  railway  and  financial  situation  in  1916  by  special  aid  to  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific  and  Canadian  Northern  Railways  for  the  purpose 
of  meeting  current  obligations  and  interest  payments  precipitated 
the  appointment  (July  13,  1916)  of  a  Royal  Commission  to  inquire 
into  Railways  and  Transportation — including  territories  served  by 
the  three  great  systems  of  Canada,  physical  conditions,  operative 
methods,  branch  lines,  connections  in  the  United  States,  steamship 
connections  and  financial  conditions,  together  with  problems  of 
re-organization,  or  state  acquisition.  The  Commissioners  appointed 
were  Alfred  H.  Smith,  President  of  the  N.Y.  Central,  Sir  Henry 
L.  Drayton,  Chairman  of  the  Railway  Commission,  and  Sir  George 
Paish  of  London — the  latter  being  unable  to  act  was  replaced  by 
Wm.  M.  Acworth  of  London.  The  Report  was  presented  to  Parlia- 
ment on  May  3,  with  one  Section  signed  by  Sir  H.  L.  Drayton  and 
Mr.  Acworth  and  the  other  by  Mr.  Smith.  The  majority  report 
was  ambitious  in  treatment  and  analyzed  at  length  the  condition 
of  the  three  chief  railways;  deprecated  the  control  of  the  G.T.R.  and 
C.N.R.  passing  entirely  into  the  hands  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
or  the  control  of  all  three  into  the  hands  of  the  Government;  opposed 
the  management  of  these  railways  as  a  whole  being  vested  in  any 
new  private  corporation;  recommended  that  the  Canadian  Northern, 
Grand  Trunk,  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  Intercolonial  and  National 
Transcontinental  be  transferred  by  Act  of  Parliament  to  an  indepen- 
dent Board  of  Trustees,  which  should  be  incorporated  and  speci- 
fically constituted  as  the  Dominion  Railway  Company  with  (1) 
ownership  of  the  Lines  to  be  vested  in  it  absolutely,  (2)  Govern- 
ment responsibility  to  the  Company  to  be  assumed  for  the  interest 
on  existing  securities  of  these  railways;  (3)  constitution  of  the 

*  Early  In  1018  the  Government,  as  a  matter  of  policy,  suspended  the  Increased  rates. 


398  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Board  to  be  non-political,   permanent,   self-perpetuating   and  not 
subject  to  direct  Government  or  Parliamentary  control. 

The  statement  was  made  that  existing  fixed  charges  of  these 
five  railways  were  $34,000,000  per  annum  and  to  this  was  added 
$6,000,000  for  interest  on  new  capital  required;  on  the  basis  of  actual 
net  earnings  in  1916  it  was  assumed  by  the  Commissioners  that  the 
shortage  at  the  incept'on  of  the  proposed  plan  would  be  about 
$12,500,000,  making  an  additional  gross  income  of  $50,000,000 
necessary  and  this  they  regarded  as  possible.  It  was  pointed  out 
that  the  operated  mileage  of  Canada  was  far  greater  per  capita  than 
that  of  Britain  or  France  and  roughly  equal  to  that  of  the  German 
Empire  or  India;  that  this  mileage  had  far  outstripped  the  growth 
of  the  population  and  the  available  traffic;  that  the  8  systems  in- 
volved in  this  Report  had  received  from  Government  subsidies 
$157,294,329,  from  the  sale  of  lands  $158,189,933,  from  Loans  out- 
standing, or  investment,  $396,924,483,  from  Guarantees  outstanding 
$256,042,992— a  total  of  $968,451,737.  The  Commissioners  de- 
clared that  Canadian  Railways  were  in  excess  of  existing  require- 
ments, that  highways  should  be  improved  to  help  the  farmers  in 
bringing  grain  to  market,  that  Hudson  Bay  Railway  construction 
should  not  be  re-commenced,  that  the  natural  tendency  of  railway 
rates  in  Canada,  as  in  the  United  States,  was  to  rise,  that  the  Guaran- 
tee policy  in  railway  building  was  dangerous.  It  was  recommended, 
in  addition  to  the  main  points  already  specified,  that  the  Railway 
Commission  be  given  jurisdiction  over  all  Dominion  railways  and 
report  to  Parliament  as  to  all  proposed  grants  of  charters,  subsidies 
and  guarantees;  that  there  should  be  a  continuous  public  audit 
of  Dominion  Railway  accounts;  that  Railway  Councils  should  be 
established  so  as  to  bring  together  railway  management  and  public 
interests. 

Mr.  Smith  in  his  Report  took  definite  ground  in  approval  of 
past  Government  aid  to  railways  in  money,  credit  and  legislation, 
but  supplemented  this  with  regret  that  there  had  not  been  some 
official  supervision  of  policy  and  expenditure;  eulogized  the  C.P.R., 
alleged  that  the  Grand  Trunk,  standing  alone  with  better  operating 
conditions,  could  become  profitable,  and  declared  that  with  a  return 
to  normal  conditions  "and  provided  with  the  capital  necessary  for 
equipment  and  for  additional  local  facilities,  this  road  could  work 
its  way  out  in  a  reasonable  time."  He  urged  this  strong  argument 
against  the  policy  proposed  by  the  Majority  report:  "The  three 
great  Canadian  companies  amongst  them  either  own,  lease,  or 
control  no  less  than  7,000  miles  of  railway  situated  in  the  United 
States.  And  some  at  least  of  these  lines  are  necessary  economic 
complements  of  the  Canadian  systems.  It  is  clearly  impossible 
that  the  Dominion  Government  should  be  subjected,  not  only  to 
the  regulating  authority  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
and  the  several  State  Railway  Commissions  of  the  United  States, 
but  also  to  the  police  regulations  of  all  the  States  which  these  lines 
enter.  Technically,  no  doubt,  the  difficulty  could  be  got  over  by 
vesting  the  legal  ownership  in  Government  officials  under  their 
own  names,  as  trustees  for  the  Government.  But  the  practical 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  WAR;  RAILWAY  NATIONALIZATION    399 

fact  would  remain.  It  would  in  effect  be  the  Canadian  Govern- 
ment which  would  be  ordered  by  the  United  States  Interstate  and 
State  Commissions  to  alter  its  rates,  and  Canadian  Government 
officials  who  would  be  required  by  United  States  law  courts  to  ex- 
plain their  actions  and  justify  their  conduct."  He  did  not  believe 
in  nationalization  and  could  not  accept  the  general  conclusions  of 
his  colleagues : 

My  friends  seek  to  avoid  Government  ownership  and  operation — in  fact  condemn 
it  as  inadvisable,  but  propose  a  plan  which  contains  so  many  elements  of  danger  in 
the  direction  which  is  sought  to  be  avoided  that  I  am  unable  to  join  them.  Their 
plan  would  add  about  a  billion  dollars  to  the  direct  Debt  of  Canada.  The  interest 
on  this  is  about  forty  millions,  adding  very  largely  to  Government  expenses.  Judging 
from  the  experience  Canada  has  had  with  its  Government  railways,  it  is  fair  to  assume 
that  this  would  remain  a  permanent  burden.  Operated  by  private  companies,  this 
interest  would  ultimately  be  borne  by  the  Companies  without  recourse  to  the  Govern- 
ment funds,  and  at  the  same  cost  of  service  to  railway  patrons  as  would  obtain  under 
Government  operation.  Their  plan  also  leavgs_jout.-«ofl»e-<rf-the -railways, ---Thuuis 
unfair  to  the  investors  whose  property  is  to  b«  etibjcctcd  to  Government  competition. 
It  also  discriminates  in  the  method  by  which  the  respective  properties  are  to  be  acquired. 
I  cannot  approve  the  proposed  centralization  of  control.  There  are  problems  local 
to  separate  regions  which  often  require  prompt  action  and  co-operation  between  the 
railroads  and  the  people  served. 

He  suggested  certain  remedies  for  the  existing  situation:  "Let  the 
Canadian  Pacific  alone;  let  the  Grand  Trunk  operate  the  eastern 
lines  now  held  by  that  Company  and  the  Canadian  Northern; 
let  the  Canadian  Northern  operate  the  western  lines,  now  held  by 
that  Company  and  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  system ;  let  the  Govern- 
ment operate  the  connections  or  procure  their  operation  by  private 
companies;  all  of  which  should  be  done  under  arrangements  that 
are  equitable  and  yet  look  to  the  not  distant  day  when  the  country 
will  have  survived  the  War  and  resumed  its  prosperous  growth." 
He  believed  that  most  of  the  trouble  in  Canadian  railways  (apart 
from  War  conditions)  was  due  to  absence  of  co-ordination  and  co- 
operation under  Government  regulation;  that  the  commercial  and 
political  unification  of  Canada  had  called  for  much  over-building 
and  duplication;  that  the  Grand  Trunk  would  be  better  off  financially 
without  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  and  that  the  Canadian  Northern 
had  been  built  economically  and  soundly  though  its  continuation 
west  of  the  Rockies  and  some  of  its  Eastern  extensions  were  unwise. 
Attached  to  the  Report  was  a  physical  appraisement  of  the  C.N.R. 
and  G.T.R.,  made  by  Prof.  G.  F.  Swain  of  Boston,  and  his  corps 
of  expert  assistants  and  covering  12,073  miles  of  line  with  1,358 
miles  of  the  C.P.R.  for  purposes  of  comparison. 

These  Reports  aroused  great  interest.  The  majority  one,  though 
disclaiming  Public  ownership  and  control  as  being  everywhere 
injuriously  affected  by  politics,  was  yet  accepted  very  generally 
as  supporting  that  policy;  a  later  address  by  Sir  Henry  Dray  ton 
in  Toronto  (May  10)  appeared  to  confirm  this  view.  The  bulk 
of  the  press  was  in  favour  of  some  such  policy  but  able  journals 
like  the  Montreal  Gazelle  and  the  Winnipeg  Free  Press  were  doubtful 
of  its  advantages  and  were  much  more  assured  as  to  the  private 
initiative,  careful  investment  and  management,  and  direct  incentive 
which  corporate  ownership  was  claimed  to  give.  With  this  'latter 


400  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

view  evidence  afterwards  given  by  Mr.  Acworth  before  an  American 
Congress  Committee  accorded.  He  alleged  that  "taking  them  all 
for  all,  the  private  Railway  companies  of  England  and  the  United 
States  have  served  the  public  better  than  the  Government  railways 
of  the  Continent,  or  of  Australian  colonies."  The  financial  press, 
as  a  whole,  opposed  Government  ownership  and  criticized  the 
Drayton-Acworth  scheme  as  public  ownership  without  political 
control  and  this  was  declared  to  be  impossible.  W.  H.  Moore  of 
the  Canadian  Northern  issued  a  booklet  in  which  he  discussed 
various  alleged  errors  in  the  majority  Report  and  strongly  criti- 
cized its  conclusions. 

Meantime  the  Government  had  to  decide  an  immediate  issue — 
apart  from  theories,  precedents  of  peace  times  in  other  countries, 
or  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  particular  proposals.  The  Canadian 
Northern  and  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  had  to  have  more  help,  under 
war  conditions  which  made  it  impossible  to  obtain  money  on  the 
open  market,  yet  public  opinion  clearly  was  opposed  to  further 
Government  aid  without  Government  ownership  or  control;  the 
Prime  Minister  himself  had  at  one  time  led  a  political  campaign 
in  favour  of  public  ownership  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  in  its  early 
stages;  the  very  success  and  wealth  of  the  C.P.R.  made  the  public 
suspicious  of  "great  and  grasping  corporations"  while  the  opposite 
condition  in  other  railways  made  them  fearful  of  future  Canadian 
burdens  from  corporations  that  might  not  succeed.  The  West  was 
a  unit  for  Government  ownership  and  the  West  was  swinging  a 
1/yV  wide  measure  of  political  influence.  In  Parliament  on  Aug.  1  Sir 
Thomas  White  presented  the  Government's  plan  or  solution  of  the 
problem.  After  dealing  at  length  with  the  Royal  Commission, 
its  Reports,  and  its  conclusions  he  stated  that:  " The  finances  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  are  all  that  you  might  desire.  The  finances  of 
the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  are  entirely  satisfactory  with  the  ex- 
ception only  of  their  contingent  liability,  which  is  a  very  heavy  one, 
in  respect  to  the  securities  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  which  they 
have  guaranteed.  The  position  of  the  Canadian  Northern  is  that, 
although  the  Company  makes  net  earnings,  any  surplus  cash  it 
has  on  that  account  it  requires  to  pay  for  betterments  and  rolling 
stock.  The  result  in  that  the  Company  is  short  of  cash  for  the 
purpose  of  paying  interest  upon  its  underlying  securities. 
The  prolongation  of  the  War  has  made  it  impossible  for  the  Canadian 
Northern  to  float  any  additional  securities,  to  issue  any  further 
debenture  stock." 

His  proposal  was  for  the  Government  (1)  to  acquire  the  600,000 
shares  of  capital  stock  of  the  C.N.R.  Company — par  value  $60,000,- 
000— at  a  price  to  be  determined  but  not  to  exceed  $10,000,000; 
(2)  to  appoint  three  arbitrators  to  settle  such  values  and  obtain 
such  reports  and  facts  as  might  be  necessary;  (3)  to  give  the  Company 
upon  transfer  of  these  shares  all  necessary  aid  in  arranging  its 
indebtedness  and  obligations.  Under  this  plan  ownership  of  the 
whole  Canadian  Northern  system  would  be  attained  by  purchase  of 
the  $60,000,000  of  the  Company's  stock  still  in  the  hands  of  private 
individuals  or  pledged  as  security  for  loans.  The  remaining  $40,- 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  WAR;  RAILWAY  NATIONALIZATION  401 

000,000  of  its  stock  had  been  in  possession  of  the  Government  since 
1914,  when  the  latter  guaranteed  an  issue  of  Canadian  Northern 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $40,000,000.  As  to  values  the  Drayton- 
Acworth  report  put  the  minimum  cash  investment  in  this  System 
at  $383,302,451  with  $100,000,000  of  capital  representing  no  cash 
consideration;  the  C.N.R.  Company  put  its  property  investment 
on  June  30,  1916  (including  stock)  at  $494,112,489.  As  to  the 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  a  later  Bill  provided  for  a  Loan  of  $7,500,000 
re-payable  on  demand,  to  meet  current  interest  requirements, 
secured  by  mortgage  and  backed  by  a  Government  constitution 
of  its  Board  of  Directors.  Another  Bill  presented  by  Mr.  Cochrane, 
Minister  of  Railways,  provided  for  placing  all  Government  railways 
under  the  Railway  Commission. 

The  discussion  of  these  proposals  in  Parliament,  and  the  policy 
involved,  was  long  and  controversial.  Sir  T.  White  pointed  out 
on  Ang,  1  that  under  the  C.N.R.  policy  of  the  Government:  "We 
shall,  by  this  transaction,  acquire  9,513  miles  of  the  Canadian 
Northern  Railway  System,  with  branches  in  all  Provinces  of  Canada 
except  New  Brunswick  and  Prince  Edward  Island,  and  including 
6,000  miles  of  branches  in  Western  Canada.  That  system  has 
entry  to  every  important  city  and  centre  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 
We  shall  have  all  the  adjuncts  of  the  road,  including  telegraph 
companies  and  elevator  companies."  The  Government  already  had 
the  Intercolonial  with  its  access  over  a  leased  line  to  Montreal. 
When  the  Quebec  Bridge  was  completed  across  the  St.  Lawrence, 
this  Intercolonial  Line  would  have  this  access  over  the  Canadian 
Northern-Quebec  to  the  terminals  of  the  C.N.R.  in  Montreal. 
He  pointed  out  that  the  ownership  and  control  of  these  terminals 
and,  indeed,  those  of  the  Canadian  Northern  System  in  all  parts 
of  Canada,  would  be  under  the  control  and  ownership  of  the  Dominion. 
The  Intercolonial  would,  under  these  conditions,  have  connec- 
tion with  Ontario  and  with  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  Alberta  and 
British  Columbia.  In  addition  to  this  the  Government  owned  the 
National  Transcontinental  from  Moncton  to  Winnipeg. 

The  2nd  reading  of  the  Bill  was  moved  on  Aug.  14,  spoken  to 
by  the  Minister  of  Finance,  the  Prime  Minister,  Hon.  G.  P.  Graham, 
Hon.  W.  Pugsley,  J.  E.  Armstrong,  D.  D.  McKenzie,  W.  F.  Maclean, 
Hon.  R.  Lemieux,  and  passed  on  the  16th  after  Mr.  Graham  (Lib.) 
had  moved  an  amendment,  which  was  defeated  by  67  to  41,  declaring 
that:  "Parliament  should  proceed  to  take  over  the  said  Railway 
for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  Canada  under  the  said  provision 
of  the  said  Act  and  that  the  capital  stock  of  the  said  Canadian 
Northern  Railway  Co.  should  be  considered  in  the  said  foreclosure 
order  as  possessing  no  value  and  that  nothing  should  be  paid  there- 
for." It  was  a  party  vote  and  much  Liberal  feeling  was  shown  as 
to  possible  payments  to  Mackenzie  and  Mann  for  a  stock  which 
on  the  one  hand,  represented  the  investment  of  many  years  of 
labour,  thought,  skill  and  effort  and  on  the  other  hand  did  not 
represent  cash.  There  was  much  debate  on  the  3rd  reading  and 
Mr.  Pugsley  (Lib.)  moved  an  amendment  on  Aug.  29  that  the  final 
award  as  to  payment  for  stock  be  subject  to  ratification  by  Parlia- 

26 


402  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

ment.  This  was  defeated  by  53  to  37  and  the  Bill  then  passed. 
Amongst  the  Liberals  opposing  Government  ownership  of  railways 
were  J.  A.  Robb,  Huntington,  F.  B.  Carvell,  Carleton,  N.B.,  Pius 
Michaud,  Victoria,  N.B.,  D.  D.  McKenzie  of  Cape  Breton,  N.S. 
Mr.  Carvell  described  the  policy  as  a  "farce  and  fallacy." 
It  may  be  added  here  that  a  List  of  Shareholders  in  the  C.N.R. 
Company  submitted  by  Sir  T.  White  (Aug.  23)  showed  the  Govern- 
ment as  holding  $40,000,000,  Mackenzie,  Mann  &  Co.  Ltd.,  $58,614,- 

000,  Messrs.  Mackenzie,  Hanna  and  Mann  $10,000  each,  and  John 
Aird  and  H.  V.  F.  Jones  in  Trust,  $1,000,000.     In  the  Senate  the 
Hon.  H.  Bostock,  Liberal  leader,  claimed  (Sept.  5)  that  the  Govern- 
ment was  assuming  liabilities  of  $653,246,949  and  moved  a  long 
amendment  to  the  2nd  reading  reviewing  alleged  financial  condi- 
tions and  deferring  further  consideration  of  the  Bill  until  infor- 
mation by  the  Government  had  been  given  upon  the  points  raised. 
It  was  defeated  by  43  to  37  as  were  a  number  of  other  amendments. 

Much  might  be  said  about  the  Railways  individually  and  the 
influence  of  the  War  upon  their  general  conditions.  The  Canadian 
Pacific  dominated  the  financial  situation  on  the  continent  so  far 
as  railway  prosperity  and  progress  were  concerned.  Its  1917 
balance  sheet  showed  total  Assets  of  $1,038,074,983  including  cash 
on  hand  on  Dec.  31  of  $31,424,893,  property  investments  of  $695,- 
195,293,  available  resources  placed  at  $279,650,538,  and  working 
assets  (with  cash  in  hand)  $63,229,149.  The  Liabilities  included 
$556,966,803  of  stock  and  $55,650,000  of  bonds  and  note  certificates; 
the  surplus  revenue  from  operation  was  $127,275,369  and  the  surplus 
in  other  Assets  was  $113,  639,443.  The  debates  in  Parliament  and 
the  country  on  Railway  nationalization  and  the  Royal  Commission 
Report  evoked  many  compliments  upon  the  high  financial  position 
of  the  C.P.R.;  theJVto.ntreal  Gazette  urged  that  it  should  be  allowed 
to  take  over  the  C.N.R.  and  Sir  H.  L.  Dray  ton  stated  at  Toronto 
on  May  10  that  "the  C.P.R.  Company  is  giving  an  efficient  public 
service  and  is  well  and  efficiently  organized,  stands  well  in  the  world's 
financial  circles,  and  has  a  great  borrowing  power,  as  well  as  liquid 
assets  held  in  reserve."  It  was  stated  in  May  to  have  2,000  freight 
cars  under  construction;  on  July  16  it  finally  took  over  the  manage- 
ment, operation  and  control  of  the  Allan  Line  of  32  steamships 
with  3  under  construction;  its  management,  including  Lord  Shaugh- 
nessy,  was  naturally  opposed  to  Public  ownership  of  railways  and 
may  have  used  legitimate  influence  against  the  C.N.R.  acquisition 
but  there  was  no  truth  in  current  allegations  as  to  a  combination 
between  Sir  W.  Laurier  and  Lord  Shaughnessy;  the  latter  in  denying 
any  active  steps  of  this  kind,  on  Sept.  3,  stated  that  Members  of 
the  Government  had  initiated  the  original  discussion  as  to  C.P.R. 
acquisition  of  the  Canadian  Northern.  * 

As  to  the  War  action  of  the  C.P.R.,  it  was  generous  and  continu- 
ous. The  Company  was  credited  with  giving  more  men  to  active 
service  than  any  other  organization  in  Canada.  The  total  on  Jan. 

1,  1917,  was  stated  as  7,114  employees  of  whom  176  had  been  killed 


Lni 


*Sir  Thomas  White  denied  this  on  Sept.  4,  and  declared  that  the  suggestion  came 
from  the  Railways,  and  that  he  stated  the  plan  to  be  impracticable  when  asked. 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  WAR;  RAILWAY  NATIONALIZATION   403 

and  415  wounded.  Numbers  continued  to  enlist  during  this  year 
while  Brig.-Gen.  F.  S.  Meighen,  a  Director  of  the  C.P.R.,  did  good 
service  abroad.  One  of  the  problems  of  Conscription  was  how  to 
deal  with  the  depleted  ranks  of  this  and  other  railways.  Financially 
the  Company  stood  ready  to  loan  its  securities  in  England  to  the 
Imperial  Government  for  pledge  in  New  York  as  collateral  to  British 
obligations;  a  matured  scheme,  however,  of  $200,000,000  collateral 
trust  bonds,  payable  in  the  United  States  currency,  approved  by 
shareholders  and  allowed  by  Parliament,  was  temporarily  abandoned 
owing  to  the  Republic  coming  into  the  War.  An  agreement  was 
carried  out  with  the  Imperial  Government  under  which  4%  con- 
solidated debenture  stock  to  the  amount  of  $40,000,000  was  issued 
and  loaned  to  the  Imperial  Treasury  for  a  maximum  period  of  5 
years,  at  a  premium  of  J^%  per  annum,  over  the  interest  payable 
on  the  stock;  in  June  it  was  announced  that  the  C.P.R.  had  lent 
$10,000,000  to  the  Imperial  Munitions  Board  to  assist  the  Imperial 
Government  in  its  purchases  of  war  supplies;  to  the  Canadian 
Patriotic  Fund  $150,000  was  given  in  1916  and  $200,000  in  1917 
and  by  the  employees  of  the  Company  a  total  of  $87,962  in  these 
years;  Lord  Shaughnessy,  as  President  of  the  C.P.R.,  took  an  active 
part  in  Patriotic  Fund  and  Red  Cross  collections  and  in  National 
Bond  sales;  the  Company  purchased  for  the  War  Office  $25,000,000 
of  Canadian  products  and  manufactured  large  quantities  of  munitions. 
The  Canadian  Northern,  since  its  inception  in  1896,  had  cut  such 
a  figure  in  the  progress  and  politics  of  Canada  that  absorbing  books 
could  be  written  about  its  history.  The  War  came  at  its  most 
critical  stage  of  final  evolution  and  prevented  a  full  realization  of 
the  carefully-worked-out  plans  of  its  founders  or  promoters — Mac- 
kenzie, Mann,  Hanna,  Lash.  It  did,  however,  survive  as  a  separate 
entity  and  as  one  of  the  great  Transcontinental  lines  of  Canada, 
with  a  time  to  come  when  the  services  of  Sir  Wm.  Mackenzie  and 
Sir  Donald  Mann,  in  particular,  would  be  recognized  as  of  National 
value  in  the  moneys  borrowed  abroad  and  expended  in  Canada, 
in  the  aid  given  to  transportation  throughout  the  West,  in  the  adver- 
tising of  Canadian  resources  and  progress.  The  events  of  1917, 
not  already  mentioned,  included  an  Order-in-Council  of  March 
declaring  the  Canadian  Northern  Pacific,  the  C.N.  Western  and 
the  C.N.  Saskatchewan  Companies'  lines  to  be  "works  for  the 
general  advantage  of  Canada,"  and  under  the  complete  jurisdiction 
of  the  Railway  Board  in  respect  of  rate  control,  etc.  A  little  later 
a  Special  Commission,  composed  of  E.  E.  Loomis,  President  of  the 
Lehigh  Valley  Railway  and  J.  W.  Flatten,  President,  U.S.  Mortgage 
&  Trust  Co.,  New  York,  reported  to  the  C.N.R.  Company  the  re- 
sults of  an  investigation  of  its  financial  condition  and  stated  that 
its  capital-investment  had  been  "secured  economically  and  expended 
wisely";  that  its  undertaking  was  sound  in  all  essentials  and  the 
Railway  well  located  and  well  built;  that  main-line  grades  over 
practically  its  entire  route  were  the  "most  favourable  in  existence, " 
and  that,  under  a  normally  developed  traffic-density,  the"  Railway 
"should  operate  at  a  ratio  previously  unknown  and  at  enormous 
profit";  that  of  the  arable  lauds  tributary  to  the  C.N.R.  System 


404  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

in  the  Prairie  Provinces  less  than  15%  was  under  cultivation,  "so 
that  large  increases  in  both  population  and  traffic  may  be  expected 
within  a  few  years";  that  if  $86,000,000  could  be  obtained  in  the 
next  five  years  for  necessary  betterments,  etc.,  the  Railway  could 
be  carried  on  and  all  interest  charges  met. 

The  Company  did  not  publicly  oppose  the  Government  policy 
?but  it  fought  nationalization  during  the  year  as  a  principle  and 
would,  of  course,  have  liked  further  Government  loans  to  carry 
it  over  the  War  and  reconstruction  periods.  In  August  Montreal 
financial  men  such  as  F.  W.  Molson,  H.  R.  Drummond.  H.  A.  Ekers, 
Z.  Hubert,  W.  R.  Miller,  Geo.  Caverhill,  G.  F.  Benson  and  many 
others  signed  a  protest  to  the  Government  declaring  that  its  acquisi- 
tion of  this  Railway  meant  "a  national  burden  of  unknown  magni- 
tude, and  one  certainly  greater  than  any  ever  before  imposed  upon 
this  country,  with  the  exception  of  the  War  Debt."  As  to  this  the 
situation  was  exaggerated  and  the  Minority  report  of  A.  H.  Smith 
of  the  Royal  Commission  clearly  pointed  out  that:  "The  precarious 
financial  situation  of  the  Canadian  Northern  is  due,  in  part,  to  its 
uncompleted  condition,  and  to  the  fact  that  needed  capital  cannot 
be  obtained.  This  Sytem  is  not  at  present  able  to  earn  all  its  fixed 
charges.  As  important  parts  of  the  System  have  but  recently 
emerged  from  the  construction  period,  it  would  be  truly  remarkable 
if  it  were  able  to  do  so.  It  does  earn  a  very  large  proportion  of  such 
charges,  and  probably  could  earn  all  of  them  but  for  the  burden 
of  eastern  extensions  and  duplications  that  have  been  placed  upon 
it.  Practically  all  commercial  enterprises,  and  particularly  rail- 
roads, must  go  through  a  development  period."  The  Company 
had  a  good  year's  business  in  1917,  despite  depletion  of  man-power 
and  financial  difficulties,  with  considerable  increases  in  freight  and 
passenger  revenues,  train  earnings  and  mileage  as  well  as  in  operat- 
ing expenses. 

The  Grand  Trunk  Railway  had  always  faced  difficulties  in  Canada 
— pioneer  ones  of  construction,  financial  ones  of  far-away  control, 
political  ones  of  local  complication,  and  then,  finally,  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific  problem.  Despite  the  heavy  expenditures  and  liabili- 
ties incurred  on  this  latter  project,  obstacles  might  have  been  once 
more  overcome  had  not  the  War  smashed  all  ordinary  bases  of 
action.  As  it  was,  a  splendid  railway  had  been  built  and  a  string 
of  hotels  established  worthy  of  a  far  greater  population.  E.  J. 
Chamberlin,  President,  in  a  statement  of  Apr.  21  described  the 
situation  as  follows:  "The  conditions  that  obtain  to-day  in  our  great 
industries  were  undreamt  of  before  the  War  and  the  railways  can- 
not be  blamed  if  they  failed  to  see  the  coming  of  the  conflict.  The 
period  immediately  before  the  opening  of  hostilities  was  marked 
by  a  tremendous  decline  in  railroad  traffic.  Net  revenues  fell  to 
the  vanishing  point.  There  were  tens  of  thousands  of  idle  freight 
cars  and  hundreds  of  idle  locomotives.  The  confidence  of  investors 
in  railway  securities  had  been  shaken  by  the  persistent  and  suc- 
cessful efforts  of  various  bodies  to  prevent  the  roads  from  earning 
a  fair  payment  for  transportation  service.  They  have  been  called 
upon  during  the  past  two  years  to  carry  a  burden  of  a  magnitude 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  WAR;  RAILWAY  NATIONALIZATION    405 

that  would  previously  have  been  considered  outside  the  realms  of 
possibility."  In  Ontario  coal  shortage  and  the  retention  of  Canadian 
cars  in  United  States  traffic,  especially  hampered  the  Grand  Trunk 
during  both  winter  seasons  of  1917  and  it  also  became  obvious  that 
there  was  a  shortage  in  locomotives.  At  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  G.T.R.  in  London  (Apr.  26)  A.  W.  Smithers,  Chairman,  pointed 
out  that  during  the  War  "not  only  did  prices  rise  but  it  had  been  im- 
possible to  obtain  delivery  of  supplies  even  when  they  were  prepar- 
ed to  pay  the  high  prices,  and,  in  a  word,  they  had  had  to  be  content 
with  a  hand-to-mouth  existence."  He  stated  that  a  list  of  articles 
used  by  the  Railway  showed  such  rises  as  50,  70,  90  and  even  200% 
in  prices  compared  with  pre-war  times.  Their  lines  in  the  United 
States,  also,  had  been  affected  by  the  Adamson  8-hour  Law  which 
meant,  with  some  modification  of  detail,  that  "men  were  to  be  paid 
for  eight  hours'  work  at  the  rate  of  ten  hours'  pay,"  or  an  increase 
of  about  25%  in  the  wages  of  trainmen:  "If  the  railways  are  to  con- 
tinue to  exist  increased  rates  must  be  allowed." 

As  to  the  Dray  ton- Ac  worth  Report  and  questions  of  Public 
ownership  President  Chamberlin  appeared  before  the  Commission 
and  contended  that  (1)  the  Government  had,  in  effect,  gone  into 
partnership  with  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  and  subsequently,  by 
subsidies  and  guarantees,  had  enabled  a  rival  (the  Canadian  Northern) 
to  come  into  existence  as  a  Transcontinental  line;  (2)  that  this 
action  of  the  Government  was,  in  view  of  its  position  as  a  partner 
with  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  tantamount  to  bad  faith;  (3)  that 
the  simultaneous  construction  of  the  Canadian  Northern  in  the 
same  territory  greatly  enhanced  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  labour, 
doubled  the  cost,  and  prolonged  the  period  of  construction;  (4) 
that  a  new  duty  on  steel  rails  was  imposed  after  the  Grand  Trunk 
Pacific  Act  was  passed,  and  that  this  added  $5,000,000  to  the  cost 
of  construction;  (5)  that  the  G.T.R.  would  never  have  gone  into  the 
scheme  had  they  known  they  would  be  exposed  to  Canadian  North- 
ern competition.  The  Report  placed  the  total  Grand  Trunk  com- 
mitment for  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  at  $123,280,980  and  asserted 
the  former's  inability  to  meet  these  liabilities  under  existing  condi- 
tions. Mr.  Chamberlin  contended  in  reply  (May  19)  that  Grand 
Trunk  credit  was  high  and,  apart  from  the  newer  Line,  its  financial 
position  good;  that  the  tons  of  freight  carried  per  mile  of  line  in 
1916  was  5,347  and  its  number  of  passengers  3,357 — in  both  cases 
away  above  its  competitors;  that  it  had  the  largest  average  gross 
earnings  per  mile  of  line  of  any  of  the  greater  railways  of  Canada, 
or  157%  of  the  average  rate  of  all  lines.  The  proposals  of  the  Com- 
mission were  strongly  criticized  in  England  by  Grand  Trunk  share- 
holders and  by  such  papers  as  the  London  Times,  Daily  Telegraph 
and  Morning  Post.  In  the  Toronto  Globe  of  July  10  Mr.  Chairman 
Smithers  stated  the  attitude  of  his  Company  which  had  a  capital  of 
$430,000,000  practically  all  held  in  Great  Britain;  which  had  raised 
much  of  this  at  4%  or  one  per  cent,  less  than  it  could  have  been 
borrowed  in  New  York;  which  during  65  years  had  only  received 
$28,000,000  in  aid  from  Canadian  Governments  or  municipalities 
compared  with  aid  to  the  C.P.R.  of  $347,000,000,  to  the  C.N.R. 


406  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  $298,000,000  and  to  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  of  $114,000,000. 
His  criticism  of  the  Royal  Commission  was  concise: 

The  majority  Report  proposes  that  the  Canadian  Northern  should  be  taken  over 
by  the  Government  and  relieved  of  all  its  liabilities,  but  does  not  propose  to  apply 
the  same  method  to  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  which  has  received  far  less  assistance 
than  any  other  road.  The  Commission  proposes  that  in  consideration  of  the  G.T.P. 
being  taken  over  by  the  Government,  the  old  Grand  Trunk,  as  one  of  the  parties 
to  the  construction  of  the  G.T.P.  should  be  surrendered  to  the  Government  on  terms 
amounting  to  the  semi-confiscation  of  the  rights  of  British  stockholders.  In  other 
words,  it  suggests  that  the  pioneer  railway  of  Canada,  which,  out  of  its  own  resources, 
has  rendered  far  more  service  to  Canada  than  any  other  railway,  should  be  the  only 
railway  to  be  treated  in  this  unjust  way,  a  way  certainly  unprecedented  in  the  history 
of  Canada. 

The  answer  of  the  Government  to  this  and  other  statements  was 
made  by  Sir  Thomas  White  on  Aug.  23  and  it  was  explicit  as  to  the 
G.T.P.,  vague  as  to  the  Grand  Trunk:  "We  have  already  the  Inter- 
colonial, which  is  ours.     We  have  the  National  Transcontinental  from 
Moncton  to  Winnipeg,  which  line  is  ours.     The  Grand  Trunk  Pacific 
railway  must  come  in.     There  is  also  the  Grand  Trunk,  which  has 
liabilities  in  connection  with  that  railway.     I  do  not  forecast  the 
future  with  respect  to  that  situation."     Mr.  Smithers  visited  Canada 
in  October  and  to  the  Winnipeg  Free  Press  on  the  12th  pointed  out 
what  construction  of  the  Grand  Trunk  65  years  before  meant — and 
its    maintenance    for    years    afterwards — when    labour,    materials, 
engineers  and  money  had  all  to  be  brought  from  England:  "Through 
all  the  phases  of  railway  improvement,  which  has  been  almost  con- 
tinuous from  that  day  to  the  present,  the  Grand  Trunk  Company 
has  provided  out  of  its  own  resources  and  on  its  own  credit  the 
capital  necessary  to  keep  the  Railway  up  to  modern  conditions. 
.     Notwithstanding  the   many  financial  and  political  crises 
that  have  occurred  in  the  65  years  of  its  existence,  the  Grand  Trunk 
has  never  defaulted  on  its  fixed  charges,   although  nearly  every 
Railway  in  the  United  States  has  done  so."     Meanwhile  (Aug.  28) 
the  retirement  had  taken  place  of  E.  J.  Chamberlin  as  President 
of  the  Grand  Trunk  and  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railways,  after  a 
five-year  tenure  of  the  post;  his  successor  was  Howard  G.  Kelley, 
an  able  railway  man  with  26  years'  experience  in  the  United  States, 
who  had  been  Chief  Engineer  since  1907  and  Vice-President  since 
1911.     W.   H.   Biggar,   K.C.,   became  Vice-President  in  charge,  of 
legal  matters,  U.  E.  Gillen,  Vice-President  in  charge  of  operation 
and  W.  D.  Robb,  Vice-President  in  charge  of  motive-power,  etc., 
with  W.  P.  Hinton  as  Vice-President  and  General  Manager  of  the 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific.     It  may  be  added  that  these  two  Railways 
and  the  C.N.R.  contributed  large  numbers  of  men  to  the  War  forces 
and  that  the  Grand  Trunk  carried  out  various  Government  orders 
for  munitions;  during  1917,  also,  this  Company  increased  its  gross 
receipts   by   nearly    $5,000,000   while    its   working   expenses   rose 
$9,000,000.     As  to  the  Intercolonial  (Government)  Railway  it  was 
greatly  affected  by  the  cartage  of  war  supplies  to  Halifax  and  St. 
John  at  competitive  rates  with  the  much  shorter  lines  of  the  C.P.R. 
and  C.N.R.     For  the  fiscal  year  (Mar.  31,  1917)  it  earned  $16,805,- 
723  and  expended  $15,731,389  with  a  surplus   which   was  absorbed 


CANADIAN  BANKS  AND  WAR  CONDITIONS  OF  1917         407 

by  equipment  renewal  needs.  Operating  expenses  increased  owing 
to  the  growing  cost  of  coal,  wages,  material  and  supplies.  The 
Transcontinental  Railway  (Government)  earned  $5,916,550  with 
operating  expenses  of  $7,883,177.  The  operating  of  all  the  4,063 
miles  of  Government  lines  totalled  $24,645,433  as  against  $17,797,- 
061  in  1916  and  the  earnings  were  $23,465,565  as  against  $18,373,147. 
These  roads  carried  large  numbers  of  troops  as  well  as  war  supplies. 
Other  statistics  of  the  greater  Railways  of  Canada  were  as  follows 
—the  C.P.R.  and  G.T.R.  figures  being  for  1917  and  the  others  for  1916 : 

Canadian       Canadian         Grand          Grand        Intercol-      National 
Particulars          Pacific          Northern         Trunk          Trunk  onial       Transcont'l 

Pacific      (Governm't)  (Gov'm't) 

Gross  Earn'gs  $152,389,334  $35,476,275  $53,627,410  $8,282,787  $15,686,661  $5,798,516 
Working    Ex- 
penses       105,843,316     25,244,186     45,014,470     7,272,976     13,323,183     5,360,061 

Surplus  * ....        36,316,875   131,395     2,196,264 

Net  Earnings.       46,546,018       9,373,530     11,343,695     1.060,345      2,363,478        429.454 

The  Banks  In  countries  where  financial  operations  were  free 

Banking War:  Banking  continued  through  these  years  of  war 
Conditions  to  be  an  excellent  barometer  of  national  condi- 
and  Appoint-  tions.  The  Canadian  system  was  primarily  an 
ments.  excellent  one,  suited  to  a  sparsely-settled  and 

far-flung  country,  capable  of  maintaining  a  flexible 
supply  of  money  for  changing  seasons,  fitted  for  the  trans- 
fer of  the  surplus  in  one  section  to  meet  the  needs  of  another  per- 
haps 3,000  miles  away.  After  the  first  critical  days  of  August, 
1914,  the  confidence  of  Canadians  in  their  system  had  been  complete 
and  their  deposits  on  demand  and  notice  increased  from  $1,012,- 
739,990  on  Dec.  31,  1914,  to  $1,144,680,651  on  Dec.  31,  1915,  to 
$1,303,215,134  on  Dec.  31,  1916,  and  $1,565,319,884  on  Dec.  31, 
1917;  a  total  increase  of  deposits  in  three  years  of  war  of  over  $500,- 
000,000.  The  fact  that  this  great  increase  took  place  in  face  of 
5%  war  bonds,  and  at  an  average  interest  rate  of  3%,  spoke  volumes 
for  popular  support  of  the  Banks.  There  was  criticism,  of  course, 
and  especially  as  to  the  investments  in  call  loans  at  New  York  and 
elsewhere  in  the  States  which  increased  from  85  millions  on  Dec. 
31,  1914,  to  137  millions  at  the  end  of  1915,  173  millions  at  the  end 
of  1916  and  134  millions  at  the  end  of  1917.  The  value  of  this 
liquid  asset  was  shown,  though  not  as  fully  as  expected,  by  its 
reduction  at  the  outbreak  of  war  from  125  millions  on  July  31  to 
74  millions  on  Nov.  30.  Meantime,  Bank  clearings  after  the  partial 
collapse  of  the  first  war-months  grew  with  the  development  of  war 
business  and  production  and  at  the  end  of  each  year  the  total  was 
as  follows:  1915,  $7,797,430,809;  1916,  $10,557,060,950;  1917, 
$12,469,426,435.  A  natural  tendency  of  these  years  of  curtailment 
in  expenditures  and  shortage  in  men  was  a  halt  in  the  creation  of 
Bank  branches — a  check  in  the  tremendous  organization  of  offices 
which  had  gone  on  during  the  previous  decade  and  which  now 
proceeded  on  sedate  lines  during  the  War  years  from  3,047  in  1914 
(Dec.  31)  to  3,087  in  1915,  3,116  in  1916  and  3,214  in  1917— the 
branches  outside  of  Canada  in  the  latter  year  totalling  124  or  15 

*  Figures  varied  somewhat  as  to  details,  but  there  was  no  surplus  in  the  cases  of 
the  O.N.R.  and  G.T.P.,  whose  deficits  or  interest  charges  to  be  met  totalled  $7,454,000. 


408 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


in  the  United  States,  29  in  Newfoundland,  59  in  the  West  Indies, 
where  the  Royal  Bank  of  Canada  competed  with  the  Colonial 
Bank  of  Britain,  12  in  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America,  8  in 
England  and  1  in  France.  The  net  profits  of  18  chartered  Banks 
in  1917  were  $17,142,852  upon  111  millions  of  paid-up  capital  and 
114  millions  of  Rest,  or  barely  8%,  compared  with  $15,560,169 
in  1916.  As  to  this  point  Sir  John  Aird,  in  reviewing  the  Canadian 
Bank  of  Commerce  business  during  the  year  pointed  out  that  the 
increasingly  keen  competition  in  business  had  resulted  in  the  Banks 
being  called  upon  to  "perform  far  greater  services  for  smaller  re- 
muneration, so  that  the  increase  in  the  volume  of  their  business 
is  out  of  proportion  to  the  increase  in  their  profits."  The  chief 
elements  of  Banking  business  in  the  four  years  of  war — 1914  to 
1917 — were  as  follows: — 


16,432,562  24,135,205  50,561,475 
105,660,507  122,495,227  262,778,409 
854,546,031  859,746,102  902,948,540 


Particulars  Dec.  31,  1914  Dec.  31,  1915  Dec.  31,  1916 

Current  Gold  and  Coin.  .  $  62,569,688     $  67,995,610     $  71,172,169 

Dominion  Notes  Held 138,056,339       145,547,870       124,750,241 

Government  and   Reserve 

Deposits 

Government  and  Other  Se- 
curities Held 

Call  and  Short  and  Current 

Loans  in  Canada 

Call  and  Short  and  Current 

Loans  Elsewhere 128,426,724       195,637,608      250,274,854 

Total  Assets ..  .     1,555,556,815    1,737,992,244    1,948,044,256 

Capital  Paid  Up 113,916,913       113,987,577       113,346,341 

Rest  or  Reserve  Fund 113,070,859       112,457,333       113,383,343 

Notes  in  Circulation 105,969,755       122,199,582       148,785,287 

Deposits     on     Demand     or 

Notice 1,012,739,990 

Deposits  Elsewhere  than  in 

Canada 98,901,413       134,650,183       162,860,614 

Total  Liabilities 1,314,646,254    1,499,283,690    1,706,948,568 


Dec.  31,  1917 
$  82,032,863 
167,509,121 

103,039,631 
468,406,273 
930,312,318 

246,064,580 
2,323,163,783 
111,673,776 
114,673,776 
192,923,824 

1,144,680,651    1,303,215,134    1,565,419,884 

174,779,104 
2,081,733,392 


Meanwhile,  the  Canadian  Bankers'  Association,  of  which  E.  L. 
Pease  of  the  Royal  Bank  of  Canada  was  President,  had  become  a 
war-power  in  the  country  through  its  co-operation  and  loyal  support 
of  Government  policy  and  the  Finance  Minister.  The  Banks 
had  advanced  in  1916  $100,000,000  to  the  Imperial  authorities 
for  munitions;  six  Banks,  a  little  later,  loaned  $20,000,000  additional 
as  a  sort  of  syndicate  for  buying  wheat  and  storing  it  over  the  winter; 
in  January,  1917,  the  Banks  bought  Canadian  Treasury  bills  for 
$50,000,000,  maturing  early  in  1918,  in  July  and  August  another 
$70,000,000  of  Sy2  months'  bills,  and  in  October  $75,000,000  which 
matured  in  1919;  they  facilitated  the  sale  of  $550,000,000  of  Canadian 
securities  in  the  Canadian  market,  lent  money  to  customers  for 
this  purpose  and  lost,  inevitably,  a  portion  of  their  dejposits  which 
may  or  may  not  have  come  back  to  the  individual  bank  in  other 
forms;  toward  the  close  of  the  year  they  opened  a  credit  for  the 
Imperial  Government,  through  the  Wheat  Export  Company,  of 
$100,000,000  for  the  purchase  of  grain  while  a  further  sum  of  $80,- 
000,000  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  British  representatives  for 
the  purchase  of  cheese,  bacon  and  other  foodstuffs;  they  financed 
munition  and  war-supply  plants,  held  the  wheels  of  trade  and  credit 
and  production  firm,  helped  shipbuilding,  encouraged  thrift,  preached 
caution,  practiced  economy;  they  aided  the  Minister  of  Agriculture 
in  the  promotion  of  production  and  the  expansion  of  live-stock,  and 
lent  money  to  the  farmers  on  crops  and  live-stock  under  new  Parlia- 


CANADIAN  BANKS  AND  WAR  CONDITIONS  IN  1917         409 

mentary  enactments;  contributed  largely  year  by  year  to  the  Patri- 
otic Fund,  the  British  and  Canadian  Red  Cross,  Belgian  Relief, 
the  Y.M.C.A.,  etc.,  and  purchased,  or  offered  to  do  so,  large  blocks 
of  war  loans.  In  this  latter  respect  the  Banks  especially  aided  the 
Victory  Loan  of  October,  1917,  and  Bankers'  Committees  were 
appointed  throughout  Canada  with  Chairmen  as  follows:Montreal, 
C.  E.  Neill;  Quebec,  N.  Lavoie;  Halifax,  D.  MacGillivray;  St.  John, 
A.  C.  Skelton;  Charlottetown,  H.  W.  Dunning;  Toronto,  H.  V.  F. 
Jones;  Winnipeg,  H.  B.  Shaw;  Calgary,  C.  G.  K.  Nourse;  Regina, 
R.  J.  Williams;  Edmonton,  G.  R.  F.  Kirkpatrick;  Victoria,  D.  Doig; 
Vancouver,  G.  V.  Holt.  This  and  other  aid  to  a  proffered  Loan 
of  150  millions  resulted  in  over  400  millions  being  subscribed.  The 
enlistment  from  Bank  Staffs  was  large,  representative,  spontaneous, 
and  ran  from  an  Assistant  General  Manager  to  thousands  of  junior 
clerks.  The  figures  were  not  authoritatively  known  or  published 
in  1917  but  are  given  herewith  and  in  detail  for  the  first  time:* 


Bank 
Montreal        , 

Staff 
Beginning  of 
War 

Staff 
Jan.  15th 
1918 

Enlist- 
ments 
to 

Ton       1  K. 

Percentage  Category  A 
of  Enlist-    Men  or  Men 
ments  to    Called  under 
Male  Staff   the  Central 
ugust,  1914  Appeal  Court 
50  '  14                 82 
50-61                 124 
47  '  75                  65 
41-41                   99 
30  '  66                   56 
2  '  62                 106 
50  '  55                 167 
3'00                100 
52  '  19                207 
54  21                 263 
41  '  97                259 
52-00                  66 
41-11                  58 
30-74                   64 
10  51                 129 
42-67                   71 
50-11                   47 
38-19                   12 
39  '  35                   42 
30.33                  19 
34.21                    6 

Men 
,     1,416 
909 
712 
768 
623 
420 
1,179 
267 
1,508 
2,693 
2,254 
725 
630 
605 
571 
639 
892 
254 
460 
211 
38 

Women    Men 
228        1  ,082 
77           722 
113            494 
60           570 
28            524 
3            578 
45        1,018 
5            354 
94         1,122 
360        2,019 
244         1,826 
68            529 
59            510 
29            520 
21            683 
31            403 
98           575 
15            173 
19           322 
12            139 
57 

Women     1918  A 
808         710 
358         460 
282          340 
254          318 
177          191 
8            11 
414          596 
16              8 
554         787 
1,086      1,460 
1,122          946 
292         377 
233          259 
225          186 
84            60 
163         230 
377         447 
79           97 
155          181 
72            64 
10            13 

Nova  Scotia 

B.N.A  

Toronto. 

Molsons  , 

Nationale 

Merchants  

Provinciate 

Union  

Commerce 

Royal 

Dominion.             .  • 

Hamilton 

Standard  

Hochclaga  

Ottawa  

Imperial 

Home  

Northern  Cro\vn  
Sterling  

Weyburn  

Total 17,674    1,609     14,220    6,769      7,741  2,042 

Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  continued  publication  by  the 
Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce  of  elaborate  pamphlets  giving  letters 
from  its  Staff-recruits  at  the  Front,  the  issue  of  its  valuable  Monthly 
Letter  upon  Financial  conditions  in  Canada  and  its  yearly  Review 
of  Business  Conditions  by  members  of  the  Staff;  the  celebration  by 
the  Bank  of  Montreal  on  Nov.  3  of  its  century  of  corporate  and  busi- 
ness existence  during  a  period  in  which  Canada  was  made,  and 
made  over  again,  and  developed  from  a  wilderness  into  a  great 
country  with  the  Bank  as  a  prominent  factor  in  the  best  elements 
of  this  progress  ;f  the  statement  of  Sir  F.  Williams-Taylor  (Dec.  3) 
that  "the  great  London  Clearing  Banks  have  increased  their  holding 
of  Government  securities  from  12%  of  their  deposits  before  the 
War  to  about  40%  at  present  and  this  compares  with  a  trifling 
pre-war  percentage  and  a  present  percentage  of  20%  held  by  Cana- 

*  Through  the  courtesy  of  E.  L.  Pease,  President  of  the  Canadian  Bankers' Asso- 
ciation, and  to  date  of  Jan.  15,  1918. 

tNoTE. — See  Supplement  at  end  of  the  volume. 


410  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

dian  Banks";  the  optimistic  remark  of  M.  J.  Haney,  President  of 
the  Home  Bank  of  Canada  (June  26)  that  "  Canada  has  passed  from 
a  trading  post  to  a  nation  within  the  Empire  and  that  with  her 
magnificent  agricultural  lands  in  every  Province,  her  timber,  and 
untold  areas  of  coal  and  iron,  her  nickel,  silver  and  gold,  and,  further- 
more, the  great  asset  of  her  water-powers  in  every  province,  ex- 
tending from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  this  country  should  be 
the  Factory  of  the  world."  The  more  important  appointments  of 
the  year  included  H.  B.  Shaw  to  be  General  Manager  of  the  Union 
Bank  of  Canada  at  Winnipeg,  and  J.  W.  Hamilton,  Assistant  Gen- 
eral Manager;  C.  H.  Easson  as  General  Manager  of  the  Standard 
Bank  of  Canada,  Toronto,  in  place  of  the  late  G.  P.  Scholfield; 
H.  V.  Cann  to  be  Assistant  General  Manager,  Bank  of  Ottawa, 
Ottawa,  and  J.  A.  McLeod  to  the  same  post  in  the  Bank  of  Nova 
Scotia,  Toronto.  Other  appointments  were  as  follows: 


Bank  of  Montreal Director J.  H.  Ashdown. 

Bank  of  Montreal. .  .  .Director. . .  .  .H.  W.  Beauclerk 


Bank  of  Montreal Director Col.  Henry  Cockshutt.Brantford 


Bank  of  Montreal Director G.  B.  Fraser . 

Bank  of  Montreal Manager  of  Branch W.  Turner 

Bank  of  Montreal Assistant  to  President. .  .O.  R.  Sharp 

Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce. Director. . .  . .  Chas.  N.  Candee 


.  Winni] 
.Montr 


,  Montreal. 
.  Chicago. 
.  Montreal. 
.  Toronto. 


Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce. First  Agent  at  New  York .  F.  B.  Francis New  York. 

Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce.Third  Agent  at  New  York.C.  J.  Stephenson  .  . .  .New  York. 

Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce.  Supervisor  (Foreign  Dep.).S.  H.  Logan Toronto. 

Royal  Bank  of  Canada Supt.  of  Branches M.  W.  Wilson Montreal. 

Royal  Bank  of  Canada Secretary  of  the  Bank S.  D.  Boak Montreal. 

Royal  Bank  of  Canada General  Inspector N.  Hillary Montreal. 

Royal  Bank  of  Canada General  Inspector G.  W.  MacKimmie .  .Montreal. 

Royal  Bank  of  Canada General  Inspector S.  R.  Noble Montreal. 

Royal  Bank  of  Canada Director C.  C.  Blackadar Halifax. 

Royal  Bank  of  Canada Manager,  New  York F.  T.  Walker New  York. 

Merchants  Bank  of  Canada .  Director Thomas  Ahearn Ottawa. 

Merchants  Bank  of  Canada .  Director Lt.-Col.  J.  R.  Moodie.Hamilton. 

Merchants  Bank  of  Canada .  Inspector J.  N.  Kennedy Winnipeg. 

Merchants  Bank  of  Canada .  Assistant  Western  Super- 
intendent  W.  J.  Finucan Winnipeg. 

Bank  of  Nova  Scotia President Charles  Archibald  .  . .  Halifax. 

Bank  of  Nova  Scotia Vice-President George  S.  Campbell. .  Halifax. 

Bank  of  Nova  Scotia . .        .  .  Vice-President .  .  . .  J.  Walter  Allison  .  .    .  Halifax. 


Weyburn  Security  Bank Director N.  D.  McKinnon . 

Union  Bank  of  Canada . .    . .  Chief  Inspector. . .  . .  P.  Vibert. 


Union  Bank  of  Canada Western  Inspector W.  M.  Chandler. . 

Northern  Crown  Bank Director George  Fisher. . .  . 

Northern  Crown  Bank Director H.  J.  Symington. . 

The  Bank  of  Ottawa .  .        . .  Director. . .  . .  M.  J.  O'Brien 


The  Bank  of  Ottawa Director Hon.  George  Gordon  North  Bay 


Standard  Bank  of  Canada. . .  Director T.  B.  Greening 

Standard  Bank  of  Canada. . .  Director James  Hardy 

The  Dominion  Bank Director R.  S.  McLaughlin 

The  Dominion  Bank Director. . .  . .  H.  H.  Williams. 


.  Weyburn. 
.  Winnipeg. 
.  Winnipeg. 
.Winnipeg. 
.Winnipeg. 
.  Renfrew. 


Hamilton. 
,  Toronto. 
.  Oshawa. 
,  Toronto. 
.Montreal. 


Sterling  Bank  of  Canada Director J.  W.  Norcross. . . 

Montreal  City  and   District 

Bank Director H.  H.  Judah Montreal. 

Home  Bank  of  Canada Superintendent,    Western 

Offices F.  Daniel  Coyle Toronto. 

Attitude  of  The  position  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in 

Canadian  the  War  was  greatly  discussed  in  Canada  during  1917 
Churches  — its  attitude  in  Quebec,  Australia  and  Ireland 
in  the  War.  especially.  These  problems  are  dealt  with  elsewhere 
and  under  the  headings  indicated.  Of  the  general 
Canadian  situation  there  was  no  question.  The  Church  of  Cardinal 
Mercier  of  Belgium,  Cardinal  Bourne  of  Great  Britain  and  Cardinal 
Gibbons  of  the  United  States  was  also  the  Church,  in  this  great 
struggle,  of  Archbishops  McNeil,  Sinnott  and  Casey  in  Canada. 
The  international  character  of  the  Church  brought  its  own  problems 


ATTITUDE  OF  CANADIAN  CHURCHES  IN  THE  WAR         411 

here  as  well  as  elsewhere  and  it  was  sometimes  difficult  for  Protest- 
ants to  make  allowance  for  a  religious  organization  in  which  Cardinal 
Hartmann  of  Cologne  and  the  heads  of  the  Church  in  France  were 
pitted  against  each  other  by  national  demand  and  action;  in  which 
many  Catholics  put  the  Russian  treatment  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Lemberg  on  a  par  with  the  German  action  toward  the  Archbishop 
of  Malines;  in  which  such  racial  issues  as  those  of  French  Canada 
and  Ireland  found  a  place  in  the  war- thought  and  policy  of  one  and 
the  same  Church.  The  Pope,  himself,  naturally  and  properly 
urged  peace;  that  he  should  not  take  sides  may  have  been  essential 
to  success  as  a  possible  Mediator;  that  it  had  never  been  the  place 
of  His  Holiness  to  take  action  upon  such  moral  issues  as  the  invasion 
of  Belgium  was  strongly  maintained  by  such  unquestioned  British 
patriots  as  Cardinal  Bourne  of  Westminster  and  Archbishop  McNeil 
of  Toronto.  Time  alone  could  give  its  final  verdict  upon  this  vital 
point. 

There  were  certain  things  the  Church  continued  to  stand  for  in 
this  war-period  with  much  effect.  One  was  its  opposition  to  such 
developments  as  the  moving-picture  craze  had  introduced  into 
Canadian  and  American  life;  another  was  its  attitude  toward  the 
argument  of  Dr.  C.  W.  Elliot  of  Harvard  that  the  War  had  proved 
Christianity  a  failure;  in  Canada  it  continued  to  oppose  the  diversion, 
under  some  Provincial  laws,  of  Catholic  taxes,  through  corporate 
companies,  to  Public  school  purposes  and  to  denounce  the  Manitoba 
system  which  practically  compelled  Catholics  to  support  both  kinds 
of  schools;  everywhere  it  stood  for  religion  in  education  as  the  basis 
of  private  life  and  public  thought.  The  Archbishops  and  Bishops 
in  Canada  supported  in  large  measure  the  War  Funds  and  National 
Loans  incident  to  the  conflict  and  no  question  of  French  or  English 
Canada  was  involved  in  this  matter.  Archbishop  A.  A.  Sinnott 
of  Winnipeg  was  especially  active  in  all  patriotic  causes.  In  un- 
veiling an  Honour  Roll  of  the  local  Catholic  Club  (Feb.  4)  His 
Grace  expressed  the  ardent  hope  that  this  example  would  be  emulated 
by  many  others;  at  a  similar  ceremony  (Feb.  25)  in  a  church  which 
had  sent  118  of  its  men  to  active  service  he  was  equally  emphatic: 
"It  is  as  Catholics  faithful  to  the  teachings  of  our  Church,  that  we 
gather  here  this  evening  to  honour  those  of  our  own  kith  and  kin, 
our  friends  and  acquaintances,  who  had  such  a  high  sense  of  duty  that 
they  counted  all  things  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  traditions 
and  ideals  for  which  their  country  stood  and  with  the  liberty  which 
they  enjoyed  under  her  protection.  May  we  not  say  with  truth  that 
in  the  presence  of  the  enemy  and  the  sacrifices  which  the  War  has 
entailed,  there  are  only  in  this  country  citizens  of  Canada,  citizens 
of  Britain,  citizens  of  the  Empire." 

Unveiling  an  Honour  Roll  of  the  Brandon  Catholic  Church  on 
June  10  the  Archbishop  delivered  one  of  the  most  patriotic  speeches 
ever  heard  in  that  city.  There  was  no  faltering  in  this  statement: 
"We  have  come  together  to  do  honour  to  those  of  our  brethren  of 
this  parish  who  have  taken  up  arms  in  defence  of  their  country, 
and  we  hold  the  ceremony  in  the  church  before  the  altar  of  sacrifice 
because  we  believe  that  intelligent  devotion  to  country  can  only 


412  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

take  its  rise  and  receive  its  unfailing  reward  in  devotion  to  God.'* 
On  Nov.  25  His  Grace  issued  a  pastoral  to  be  read  in  the  churches  of 
his  Archdiocese,  urging  investment  in  the  National  Victory  Loan: 
"He  who  willingly  and  knowingly  refuses  such  (aid)  must  be  con- 
demned as  ungrateful  and  recreant  in  his  duty  to  that  country 
whose  protection,  prosperity  and  liberty  he  uses  and  enjoys,  and, 
therefore,  false  to  the  teachings  of  our  holy  religion."  Addressing 
H.E.  Cardinal  B£gin  during  a  visit  to  St.  John  (Oct.  16)  Bishop 
E.  A.  LeBlanc  declared  that  the  Pope  and  the  British  Empire  were, 
each  alike,  striving  for  a  peace  "in  which  the  moral  force  of  right 
will  replace  the  material  force  of  arms,  and  the  burden  and  menace 
of  militarism  will  be  forever  removed. ' '  In  this  view  he  was  supported 
by  the  Cardinal.  At  the  other  end  of  the  Dominion  Archbishop 
Casey  of  Vancouver  was  equally  earnest  and  in  a  pastoral  letter  to 
his  churches  of  British  Columbia  (Nov.  25)  His  Grace  urged  financial 
war  support  and  military  enlistment:  "Our  very  life  as  a  nation, 
our  homes  and  our  firesides,  nay,  even  vital  principles  of  humanity 
and  civilization,  as  we  understand  them,  are  at  stake  in  the  issue 
of  this  gigantic  contest.  We  are,  therefore,  to  place  our  all,  blood  and 
treasure,  at  the  disposal  of  the  authorities  of  our  nation,  so  that 
our  duty  to  our  country  may  be  fulfilled  to  its  uttermost  degree." 

Bishop  McDonald  of  Victoria,  B.C.  (Nov.  5)  was  equally  em- 
phatic: "We  have  full  confidence  that  God  is  with  us  in  this  struggle. 
God  is  justice  itself.  His  very  essence  is  right,  and  to  fight  for  the 
right  is  to  fight  for  God."  So  with  Bishop  McNally  of  Calgary  in 
a  pastoral  letter  of  Nov.  11  calling  upon  his  people  to  support  the 
Victory  Loan.  Archbishop  McNeil  of  Toronto  was  frequent  in 
loyal  speech  during  the  year.  One  quotation  may  be  given  (Nov. 
5):  "Men,  money,  munitions — these  are  strictly  sinews  of  war. 
Not  all  of  us  can  aid  King  and  country  by  going  to  the  Front  or  by 
working  in  munition  factories;  but  all,  both  men  and  women,  can 
and  should  aid  by  lending  money  to  the  Government  for  war  pur- 
poses." So  with  Bishop  Fallon  of  London  in  his  appeals  to  loyalty 
and  British  sentiment,  his  open  support  of  the  Union  Government 
and  Conscription,  his  offer  early  in  the  year  to  give  to  the  Patriotic 
Fund  one-third  of  his  income  yearly  till  the  end  of  the  War  if  100 
others  in  London,  with  an  income  of  over  $3,000,  would  do  the  same. 
As  to  politics  it  may  be  added  that  the  Rev.  Father  F.  Minehan 
joined  Bishop  Fallon  in  supporting  the  Union  Government  and  was 
balanced  in  that  respect  by  the  Rev.  Father  Drummond,  the 
eloquent  Jesuit  of  Edmonton,  who  supported  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier. 

No  exact  or  official  figures  were  published  during  the  year  as 
to  enlistments  by  religious  denominations  but  Newman  Hall,  a 
Catholic  organization  of  Toronto,  issued  a  statement  on  Nov.  1  that 
up  to  Oct.  1,  1916,  the  Ontario  recruiting,  according  to  religious 
thought,  had  been  as  follows:  Anglican  15%  of  the  Anglican  popu- 
lation, Presbyterian  4*82%  of  its  denomination,  Catholic  2*92% 
and  Methodists  2'69%  of  their  Faith.  The  Catholic  Register  of 
Toronto  on  May  10  published  figures  collected  by  the  Holy  Name 
Union  which  showed  that  out  of  17  reporting  parishes  (March,  1917) 
in  Toronto  there  were  over  3,000  enlistments.  Detailed  and  exact 


ATTITUDE  OF  CANADIAN  CHURCHES  IN  THE  WAR         413 

figures  for  13  parishes*  showed  that  out  of  1,800  recruits  there  had 
been  201  casualties.  It  also  was  claimed  in  the  Antigonish  Casket 
that  47%  of  the  enlistments  in  Nova  Scotia  were  Catholic.  Arch- 
bishop McNeil  estimated  that  15,000  Catholics  had  enlisted  in 
Ontario.  A  Church  movement  of  this  year  was  the  effort  to  organize 
a  Catholic  Young  Men's  Association  based  on  the  Y.M.C.A.  and 
one  Young  Men's  Catholic  Institution  was  opened  at  St.  John  on 
Jan.  29.  A  part  of  this  plan  was  pressed  by  Major  the  Rev.  J.  J. 
O'Gorman  of  Ottawa  and  looked  to  the  erection  of  distinct  Catholic 
Army  Huts  at  the  Front;  a  Society  was  duly  incorporated  with 
organization  effected  and  Lieut. -Col.  the  Rev.  W.  T.  Workman,  M.C., 
Assistant  Director  of  Chaplain  Service,  London,  elected  as  President 
on  Nov.  5.  The  actual  work  had  been  going  on  since  June  with 
Huts  under  operation  by  the  end  of  the  year  at  the  Canadian  Camps 
in  England  and  at  various  points  in  France  for  which  $60,000  had 
been  collected  in  Canada.  They  were  to  be  open  to  all  but  to  have 
a  Catholic  atmosphere  and,  as  their  Letters-patent  stated,  to  "serve 
the  two-fold  purpose  of  chapels  for  Catholic  soldiers  and  recreation 
huts  for  all  soldiers,  and  to  supply  Catholic  chaplains  with  rosaries 
and  other  devotional  aids  for  distribution  to  Catholic  soldiers." 

Meanwhile  the  U.S.  Knights  of  Columbus  had  taken  up  the  idea 
and  raised,  by  Aug.  30,  over  $1,000,000  and  much  more  in  the  follow- 
ing months.  At  the  annual  Convention  of  August  in  Chicago 
Canada  was  represented  by  19  Delegates  covering  all  its  Provinces 
and  an  ultimate  total  of  $3,000,000  was  decided  upon.  In  the 
Dominion  a  regular  assessment  of  members  was  imposed  and  volun- 
tary subscriptions  also  sought.  Meantime  many  Catholic  Chaplains 
had  won  war  honours  at  the  Front  for  gallantry  and  devotion  under 
fire;  the  Rev.  Father  Nolan,  O.M.I.,  in  a  Winnipeg  address  on  Feb. 
11,  "rejoiced  that  Canada  had  not  failed  to  bear  her  share  of  Im- 
perial responsibility"  and  extolled  the  work  of  women  amongst 
whom  "the  religion  of  patriotism  receives  an  exaltation  incapable 
to  men";  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  B.  O'Neill  at  the  University  of  St.  Joseph, 
N.B.  (July  8)  urged  Conscription  as  the  only  square  deal;  Rev. 
Nicholas  Roche,  Provincial  of  the  Basilian  Order,  pointed  out  in 
a  Toronto  sermon  (Oct.  14)  that  "thousands  of  Catholic  priests 
have  distinguished  themselves  on  the  battlefield,  either  as  com- 
batants or  as  chaplains."  The  other  side  was  shown  by  priests 
like  the  Rev.  Father  Whelan  of  St.  Patrick's,  Ottawa,  who  on  Dec. 
30  preached  vehemently  against  Conscription. 

The  great  Methodist  body  of  Canada  was  conspicuous  in  its 
war  work  and  its  officials  enthusiastic  in  urging  enlistment,  in  preach- 
ing loyalty,  in  aiding  War  Funds,  in  backing  up  the  Y.M.C.A.; 
the  chief  Methodist  organ,  the  Christian  Guardian,  was  insistent 
in  its  support  of  every  policy  calculated  to  strengthen  war  action 
and  administration — National  Service  cards,  enlistment  and  re- 
cruiting, Conscription,  Union  Government.  As  it  urged  on  June  20, 
so  it  practiced:  "Our  Church  believes  in  a  religion  which  is  patriotic 
to  the  core.  'Fear  God'  and  *  Honour  the  King'  are  most  closely 
allied,  and  we  aie  proud  of  the  fact  that  our  Methodist  people  have 

*  Supplied  by  Courtesy  of  F.  K.  Boylan,  Toronto. 


414  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

never  failed  to  respond  to  a  truly  patriotic  appeal.  Yes,  the  Church 
has  a  right  to  inculcate  patriotism  and  to  rally  her  sons  to  the  defence 
of  the  flag  in  this  great  world-war."  It  was  estimated  at  this  time 
that  460  Methodist  ministers  were  in  khaki,  many  of  them  as 
privates,  and  the  Conferences  of  the  Church  everywhere  expressed 
themselves  in  terms  of  open  loyalty  and  war  support.  The  Method- 
ist Church  of  Alberta  (June  1  at  Calgary)  with  its  67  Ministers 
on  active  service,  urged  the  Government  to  "immediately  compel 
into  national  service  all  the  available  resources  of  men,  material, 
and  wealth  in  the  Dominion";  the  London,  Ontario,  Conference 
(June  6),  by  a  standing  vote,  urged  "Selective  Conscription,  based 
on  a  just  and  equitable  principle, "  and  also  branded  war-profiteers 
as  taking  blood  money  from  the  people;  the  Methodist  Conference 
of  New  Brunswick  (June  16)  declared  for  the  "immediate  conscrip- 
tion of  wealth  and  labour  and  the  nationalization  of  all  natural 
resources  so  as  to  enable  the  carrying  on  of  the  War  to  the  earliest 
successful  conclusion";  the  London,  Ontario,  Conference,  to  a 
standing  vote,  while  singing  the  National  Anthem,  urged  (June  8) 
Conscription  and  also  Prohibition,  while  the  Hamilton  Conference 
(June  4)  asked  for  Conscription  of  men  and  wealth;  the  British 
Columbia  Conference  (May  16)  declared  that  "we  take  solemn 
pride  in  the  fact  that  a  total  of  33,  or  one-fourth  of  the  effect ive 
strength  of  the  Conference,  apart  from  superannuates,  have  enlisted 
at  the  call  of  their  country  and  leave  us  virtually  with  no  students 
capable  of  meeting  military  requirements."  The  Rev.  Dr.  S.  D. 
Chown,  General  Superintendent,  was  unceasingly  patriotic  in  speech 
and  in  formal  addresses  to  his  Church,  as  a  whole — illustrated 
by  the  following  appeal  of  Jan.  3  to  support  National  Service: 
"If  ye  seek  righteousness  and  peace,  if  ye  stand  for  liberty,  duty 
and  sympathy  for  the  weak,  ye  shall  be  prospered  materially.  If 
ever  a  war  in  all  history  was  seeking  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  this 
is,  so  far  as  we  are  engaged  in  it.  If  we  win,  we  shall  have  material 
welfare;  if  we  lose,  we  shall  descend  into  economic,  if  not  personal, 
slavery." 

The  Church  of  England  in  Canada  was  proud  of  its  War  record, 
as  to  which  Archbishop  Worrell  of  Nova  Scotia  claimed  on  June  1 
that  44%  of  the  Canadian  troops  belonged  to  this  Church,  or 
165,145  out  of  a  specific  353,000.  His  Grace  claimed  that  in  Canada, 
as  a  whole,  the  Anglicans  stood  first,  the  Presbyterians  second,  the 
Baptists  third,  the  Methodists  fourth  and  the  Catholics  fifth, 
while  the  number  of  chaplains  allotted  were  in  the  following  order: 
Roman  Catholics,  Presbyterians,  Anglicans,  Methodists,  Baptists. 
The  Archbishop  earnestly  supported  Conscription  both  before  and 
after  the  Premier's  decision.  "Why,"  he  asked  the  N.S.  Synod  on 
May  29,  "men  of  infinite  value  to  a  community  should  be  called 
upon  to  sacrifice  themselves  in  order  that  a  number  of  worthless 
and  non-producing  creatures  may  go  on  in  their  animal  enjoyment, 
is  beyond  comprehension";  at  the  Provincial  Synod  in  Montreal  on 
Oct.  2  he  endorsed  the  Union  Government  idea.  In  Winnipeg  on 
June  19  Archbishop  Matheson,  Metropolitan  of  Canada,  strongly 
endorsed  Selective  Conscription  before  his  Synod  and  urged  more 


ATTITUDE  OF  CANADIAN  CHURCHES  IN  THE  WAR          415 

unity  in  support  of  Government  policy.  Other  leaders  of  the  Church 
also  expressed  themselves  earnestly.  Bishop  Richardson  of  New 
Brunswick  in  his  Synod  address  of  Feb.  6  reviewed  the  War  situation 
and  Canada's  part,  urged  the  need  for  Conscription  and  the  raising 
of  even  more  than  the  promised  500,000:  "There  ought  to  go  out  to 
the  Government  from  every  source  and  centre  of  influence  a  strong 
challenge,  yes,  even  a  peremptory  demand,  that  nothing  be  left 
undone  to  secure  from  Canada  the  largest  possible  contingent  of 
fighting  men." 

Bishop  Farthing  of  Montreal  supported  the  various  stages  of 
Government  policy — National  Service,  Conscription,  Union  Govern- 
ment— and  on  Apr.  22  5,000  voices  cheered  His  Lordship  in  the 
local  Arena  as  he  declared  that  the  "man  who  will  not  take  his  share 
in  the  common  work  of  the  nation  is  a  miserable  hypocrite  and  must 
be  compelled  to  do  his  work, "  that  if  this  is  a  democracy  every  man 
should  be  treated  alike;  while,  in  his  Cathedral  on  Aug.  5,  he  de- 
nounced "the  cursed  game  of  politics."  Bishop  de  Pencier  of  New 
Westminster  spent  some  time  with  the  62nd  Battalion  at  the  Front. 
Bishop  Williams  of  Huron  in  a  Montreal  address  on  Oct.  2  declared 
that:  "Britain  would  not  have  been  in  this  war  at  all  had  it  not 
been  for  the  power  of  Christian  principles.  The  example  of  a  great 
nation  thus  risking  its  life  to  keep  its  word  is  something  new  in 
history  and  is  a  great  step  toward  establishing  the  law  of  Christ 
to  be  the  law  of  nations."  Bishop  Sweeny  of  Toronto,  before  his 
Synod  on  June  5,  urged  that  the  "more  complete  and  effectual 
mobilization  of  the  entire  resources  of  Canada  in  men  and  material 
be  unreservedly  placed  at  the  disposal  of  our  country  and  Empire." 
This  Synod  appointed  a  strong  Committee  to  look  after  returned 
soldiers  of  the  Church;  that  of  the  ecclesiastical  Province  of  Canada 
(Oct.  4)  passed  a  Resolution  by  38  to  8  in  favour  of  prayers  for  the 
dead — in  view  of  war  conditions  and  the  example  of  the  Primate 
of  England.  • 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada  left  war  action  very  largely 
to  the  initiative  and  sentiment  of  its  own  people.  It,  however, 
gave  them  a  lead  on  June  10  when  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  passed  this  Resolution:  "The  Assembly  desires  to  express 
its  approval  of  the  efforts  being  made  to  rouse  sluggards  among  the 
youth  of  Canada  to  a  sense  of  their  duty  and  to  enrol  those  available 
in  the  armies  of  Canada.  It  endorses  a  policy  of  Selective  Conscrip- 
tion as  applied  to  the  battlefield  and  also  as  applied  to  the  wealth 
and  talent  of  the  country  for  the  service  of  Canada,  at  this  time, 
when  so  much  is  at  stake.  All  minor  issues  should  be  set  aside  in 
a  common  enthusiasm  to  win  the  War."  That  this  war  feeling  was 
deep  and  real  could  not  be  better  illustrated  than  in  the  putting 
aside  of  all  the  convictions  and  conflict  and  sincere  personal  beliefs 
surrounding  the  Church  Union  movement  in  recent  years  until 
the  War  should  be  over.  Strong  organization  against  Union  had 
grown  with  the  months.  The  Message  had  been  issued  to  oppose  it 
steadily,  and  many  prominent  men  had  joined  this  negative  propa- 
ganda; on  the  other  side,  however,  stood  the  greater  names  of  Pres- 
byterianism — the  most  influential  in  the  country — and  they  could 


416  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

have  forced  the  issue.  The  General  Assembly,  however,  on  June 
12  unanimously  decided  not  to  press  the  subject  upon  the  churches 
and  to  "earnestly  urge  upon  our  people  that  debate  and  organized 
propagandism  on  either  side  should  be  discontinued"  until  two 
years  after  the  close  of  the  War.  Major  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.  Gordon 
of  Winnipeg  not  only  did  special  service  as  chaplain  at  the  Front 
but  gave  various  earnest  addresses  in  Canada  along  lines  of  war  help 
—  illustrated  by  his  Winnipeg  sermon  of  Jan.  14:  "Before  Canada 
there  is  but  one  simple,  single  duty,  and  for  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  Canada  that  duty  is  to  plough  this  tearing,  terrible  fur- 
row of  war  straight  through  to  the  end." 

The  Baptists  changed  in  these  years  from  the  most  pacifist  of 
all  religious  divisions  to  one  of  the  most  militant.  Its  Saskatchewan 
Convention  on  June  15  declared  that  the  foundations  of  peace 
and  liberty  were  menaced  and  urged  Conscription  of  men-power,  war 
profits,  measured  increments  of  wealth;  the  Northern  Baptist 
Association  at  North  Bay  (June  10)  urged  Conscription  of  men  and 
wealth  and  others  followed  suit.  Capt.  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Cameron 
of  Toronto  was  an  eloquent  exponent  of  this  patriotism  —  in  the 
trenches  and  at  home.  The  Lutheran  Evangelical  Conference 
reported  at  Mildmay  on  Apr.  26  that  500  of  its  boys  were  in  khaki 
and  pledged  its  Church  by  resolution  "to  do  all  we  can  in  patriotic, 
Red  Cross  and  other  ways  to  break  down  militarism  and  crush 
the  autocratic  spirit  of  the  German  Empire."  It  may  be  added 
that  the  Canadian  Bible  Society  supplied  each  soldier  with  a  small 
copy  of  the  New  Testament  and  that  early  in  1917  the  number  thus 
given  was  over  300,000.  As  to  the  chaplains  at  the  Front,  Capt. 
C.  G.  D.  Roberts,  in  a  letter  published  on  Feb.  10,  declared  that 
the  Canadian  Chaplain  Service  had  been  "so  successful,  so  rich 
in  results,  and  conducted  along  such  broadly  humane  lines,  that  it 
is  impossible  to  do  it  justice."  As  to  the  rest: 

The  organization  as  a  whole  guards  the  interests  of  each  communion;  and  guards 
them  impartially.  The  representation  of  the  different  Churches  upon  the  establish- 
ment is  strictly  proportionate  to  the  strength  of  their  membership  among  the  troops. 
That  Church,  whichever  it  may  be,  which  sends  the  smallest  number  of  its  adherents 
into  the  field,  naturally  requires  the  smallest  representation.  Any  form  of  sectarian 
propaganda  is  firmly  ruled  out.  ...  It  would  be  contrary  to  the  whole  self- 
sacrificing  spirit  of  the  C.C.S.  to  single  out  by  name  any  of  those  who  have  distin- 
guished themselves  by  deeds  of  individual  heroism.  In  some  cases  such  achieve- 
ments have  received  official  recognition.  In  other  cases  they  have  escaped  or  evaded 
such  recognition. 


Canadia  War-strain  of  the  workman  in  all  the  Allied 

Laboured  countries  was  considerable  at  this  time;  in  England 
the  War:  and  France  it  was  very  heavy,  in  the  United  States 
Issues  of  1917  only  commencing,  in  Canada  effort  still  was  voluntary 
and  the  pressure  steady  but  not  severe.  The  funda- 
mental issue  which  grew  acute,  in  proportion  as  the  War  touched 
the  lives  and  interests  of  the  labouring  class,  was  how  the  cherished 
fruits  of  agitation  and  organization  were  to  be  subordinated  by 
organized  Labour  to  imperative  War  necessities  —  without  losing 
or  dangerously  submerging  the  results  of  a  long  struggle  for  increased 


CANADIAN  LABOUR  AND  THE  WAR  ISSUES  OF  1917        417 

wages,  shorter  hours,  greater  liberties,  the  evolving  national  life 
as  conceived  by  Labour  leaders.  An  adjustment  was  reached  in 
England  after  three  years  of  disturbance,  in  France  after  the  first 
realization  of  what  German  conquest  meant,  in  the  United  States 
very  rapidly  outside  of  I.W.W.  and  Germanized  circles,  in  Canada 
rather  quickly  by  the  great  masses  of  the  workers  but  more  slowly 
by  their  official  leaders. 

The  growth  of  Unionism  in  Canada  had  been  steady  and  the 
membership  of  organized  Labour  increased  from  133,132  in  1911 
to  166,163  in  1914  and  then,  owing  to  war  conditions  and  partly 
to  recruiting,  fell  to  143,343  in  1915 — rising  again  to  160,407 
in  1916.  In  this  latter  year  there  were  1,842  local  Trade  Union 
branches  and,  up  to  its  close,  22,192  enlistments  of  members.  Accord- 
ing to  the  1910  Census  there  were  987,302  male  workers  in  the  building 
trades,  domestic  service,  manufacturing  establishments,  mining, 
and  transportation;  there  were  many  more  mixed  and  merged  in 
other  occupations  and  the  membership  of  Labour  Unions  was  prob- 
ably one  in  eight  of  the  total  male  workers  of  the  country.  So, 
in  the  United  States,  when  in  1910  the  Census  showed  27,194,914 
engaged  in  manual  labour  with  7*7  per  cent,  members  of  Labour 
organizations. 

The  workmen  of  Canada  did  splendidly  during  the  year  and  the 
War — in  service,  in  avoidance  of  strikes,  in  acceptance  of  emergency 
work,  in  recruiting  for  the  Army.  The  leaders  were  not  so  helpful 
and  J.  C.  Watters,  President  of  the  Trades  and  Labour  Council, 
James  Simpson,  Vice-President  and  a  well-known  Socialist,  F.  J. 
Dixon,  M.L.A.,  and  R.  A.  Rigg,  M.L.A.,  of  Winnipeg,  J.  H.  McVety 
of  Vancouver  and  Alphonse  Verville,  M.P.,  of  Montreal,  seemed  to 
vie  with  Socialist  leaders  in  other  countries  in  fighting  war  action 
and  organization  of  the  people — up  to  a  certain  point.  Mr.  Watters 
had  never  been  very  strong  in  his  War  sentiments,  judging  by  an 
interview  of  Aug.  4,  1914,  in  the  Sydney  (N.S.)  Record:  "You  can 
quote  me  as  saying  that  England  should  hang  her  head  in  shame 
at  an  alliance  with  barbaric  Russia  against  the  country  most  highly 
civilized  in  all  the  world.  There  is  no  good  reason  why  England 
should  go  to  war  with  Germany.  Germany,  of  all  countries,  has 
stood  pre-eminently  for  peace.  Germany  stands  alone  as  the  leader 
in  the  world's  civilization.  .  .  .  The  policy  of  the  Labour 
party  is  to  make  war  against  war  and  we  are  proud  of  Keir  Hardie's 
proposal  that  there  should  be  a  great  international  strike  against 
war." 

During  1917  the  Labour  leaders  mentioned  above  vigorously 
opposed  Conscription  and  some  of  them  even  Registration;  Messrs. 
Watters  and  Verville  wanted  a  general  strike  to  prevent  the  Military 
Service  Act  coming  into  force.  Mr.  Simpson  desired  an  organization 
of  Soldiers  and  Workmen  similar  to  the  institution  which  had  smashed 
up  Russia.  These  men  did  not  appear  to  be  in  touch  with  the 
majority  Labourites  and  leaders  in  either  Britain  or  the  States; 
Samuel  Gonipers,  indeed,  President  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labour,  with  which  the  Canadian  organization  was  affiliated,  in 
speeches  at  Buffalo  and  Toronto,  plainly  portrayed  the  imperative 

27 


418  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

need  for  loyal  labour  support  to  the  objects  of  the  War  in  both 
Canada  and  the  United  States.  At  the  end  of  1916  Labour  dele- 
gations to  Ottawa  had  expressed  the  fear  that  National  Service 
registration  would  lead  to  Conscription  and  the  Prime  Minister 
had  pledged  himself  not  to  use  the  cards  to  that  end — though  refusing 
to  say  that  Conscription  might  not  become  necessary.  Messrs. 
Watters,  Simpson,  Rigg  and  P.  M.  Draper  had  accepted  the  assur- 
ance and  urged  organized  labour  to  support  National  Service.  In 
a  succeeding  address  to  his  Unions  Mr.  Watters  declared  that  the 
policy  of  the  Labour  Congress  in  its  1914  meeting  had  been  "to 
send  every  assistance  possible  to  the  Allies  in  a  mighty  endeavour 
to  secure  early  and  final  victory  for  the  cause  of  freedom  and  democ- 
racy." This  policy  was  qualified  at  the  Vancouver  Convention 
by  the  adoption  of  "unchangeable  opposition  to  all  that  savours 
of  Conscription."  At  the  Toronto  Convention  of  1916  the  War  policy 
of  the  Congress  was  still  further  modified  by  opposing  Registration. 
Voluntaryism  was  the  keynote  of  the  Congress  action  but  the  pledge 
of  the  Premier  as  to  Registration  not  being  used  in  case  of  Conscrip- 
tion permitted  the  Executive  to  approve  the  National  Service  plan. 
In  this  view  it  was  supported  by  the  Toronto  and  Ottawa  Trades 
and  Labour  Councils  and  opposed  by  those  of  Montreal,  Winnipeg 
and  Vancouver. 

A  series  of  Labour  meetings  against  National  Service  followed. 
A  Regina  mass-meeting  on  Jan.  3,  protested  and  called  upon  the 
Borden  Government  to  resign  and  the  Edmonton  Labour  Council 
declined  to  approve  or  disapprove;  Calgary  labour  men  held  a  meeting 
(Jan.  4)  and  by  one  majority  refused  to  approve  the  Registration 
scheme  or  sign  the  cards,  and  Socialists  at  Port  Arthur  came  to  a 
similar  conclusion  after  various  speeches  in  foreign  tongues;  a 
Vancouver  mass-meeting  in  the  Labour  Temple  (Jan.  6)  denounced 
the  scheme  and  urged  workmen  not  to  sign  the  cards;  in  Winnipeg 
R.  A.  Rigg,  M.L.A.,  and  F.  J.  Dixon,  M.L.A.,  addressed  a  number  of 
meetings — the  latter  declaring  on  the  7th  that  he  was  not  going 
"to  die  for  a  myth"  and  on  the  17th  that  if  he  thought  the  War 
was  for  liberty,  as  some  did,  he,  also,  would  be  in  the  trenches. 
J.  H.  McVety,  President  of  the  Vancouver  Labour  party,  wTas  in 
favour  of  Registration  and  at  the  Revelstoke  Convention  of  the 
B.C.  Federation  of  Labour  (Jan.  29-31)  did  his  best  to  obtain  a 
favourable  expression  of  opinion  but  this  was  negatived  by  19  to  15. 
Joseph  Naylor,  Cumberland,  succeeded  Mr.  McVety  as  President 
and  the  following  Resolution  was  passed:  "That  Conscription  be 
not  put  into  effect  before  it  has  been  submitted  to  a  Referendum 
vote  of  the  people  of  Canada." 

On  May  18  James  Simpson  issued,  as  Vice-President,  a  statement 
on  behalf  of  the  Trades  and  Labour  Congress  as  to  the  Government's 
Conscription  announcement  and  declared  that:  "The  Government 
has  not  commanded  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  Labour 
organizations  of  Canada  in  its  administration  of  the  country's 
affairs  during  this  crisis.  .  .  .  He  (Sir  Robert  Borden)  has  not 
taken  the  organized  Labour  movement  of  Canada  into  his  confidence, 
nor  hasjjp  conferred  with  Labour's  chief  representatives  since  he 


CANADIAN  LABOUR  AND  THE  WAR  ISSUES  OF  1917        419 

returned,  and  until  such  time  as  he  does  we  are  justified  in  assuming 
that  Conscription  is  unnecessary."  A  meeting  of  the  Ontario  Labour 
Educational  Association  at  London  on  May  25  passed  Resolutions 
in  favour  of  (1)  Government  control  and  operation  of  Cold  Storage 
plants;  (2)  appointment  of  a  Food  Controller  with  an  Advisory 
Committee  of  whom  one-fifth  should  be  labour  men;  (3)  taking  at 
least  75%  of  all  war  profits  for  war  purposes;  (4)  re-organization  of 
the  Pension  Board  with  a  view  to  increasing  the  grants;  (5)  nationali- 
zation of  "the  industries  in  the  country  which  are  necessary  to  the 
successful  carrying  out  of  the  War — the  wages  and  conditions  of 
the  workers  to  be  guaranteed  by  the  Government";  (6)  nationali- 
zation of  the  Banks  of  Canada. 

A  Socialist-labour  gathering  at  Vancouver  (May  28)  was  openly 
seditious  in  its  speakers;  the  Calgary  Trades  and  Labour  Council 
(May  25)  declared  that  "we  demand  the  conscription  of  the  entire 
wealth  of  the  country,  and  we  will  oppose  any  conscription  of  men 
until  this  is  done,"  and  heard  the  Rev.  Wm.  Irvine  announce  that 
every  man  should  give  up  his  bank-book  and  all  he  had  before  men 
should  be  forced  to  fight;  in  Vancouver  (May  27)  an  Anti-Con- 
scription League  was  formed  with  a  vote  of  662  against  29,  and 
many  workmen  of  military  age  were  present;  on  the  same  day  at 
Toronto  Labour  Temple  hundreds  of  men  and  women  voted  emphati- 
cally to  oppose  the  compulsory  military  proposals  of  the  Govern- 
ment, "believing  as  we  do  that  militarism  is  absolutely  opposed 
to  any  form  of  democratic  government/'  with  James  Simpson  declaring 
that  it  was  no  longer  necessary  now  that  the  United  States  had  come 
in;  a  crowded  Church  meeting  in  Winnipeg  (May  27)  heard  F.  J. 
Dixon  say  that  "as  far  as  fighting  goes,  I  prefer  to  do  mine  here, 
and  if  I  have  to  shed  my  blood  I  prefer  to  shed  it  here  where  I  know 
it  will  be  for  freedom." 

At  Vancouver  on  May  30  the  Labour  Council,  led  by  J.  H. 
McVety,  passed  a  Resolution  declaring  that  a  Conscription  law 
"would  not  only  sacrifice  the  workers  without  their  consent,  but 
would  also  annul  those  protective  measures  which  organized  labour 
has  been  able  to  force  from  the  employers,"  and  demanded  a  refer- 
endum in  the  Provincial  organization  as  to  a  general  strike  if  the 
Act  should  pass.  Meanwhile,  meetings  had  been  held  and  Reso- 
lutions against  Conscription  passed  by  many  Miners'  organizations 
in  Alberta  and  British  Columbia;  in  North  Ontario  those  of  Cobalt, 
Porcupine,  etc.,  had  also  acted.  The  Winnipeg  Labour  Council 
(May  31)  opposed  Conscription  and  urged  a  Referendum.  On 
June  2  a  National  Labour  Conference  was  held  at  Ottawa  and  dis- 
cussed at  length  a  special  Report  which  said:  "We  declare  ourselves 
as  most  emphatically  opposed  to  the  proposed  Conscription  measure, 
and  we  urge  the  workers  in  Canada  to  oppose,  by  every  means  in 
their  power,  the  enactment  of  such  legislation."  The  Premier's 
statements  were  officially  claimed  to  contain  not  one  argument  in 
favour  of  such  action  and  only  five  delegates  voted  against  the 
Report.  An  official  review  of  proceedings  declared  that  a  campaign 
would  begin  at  once  for  the  re-organization  of  the  Imperial  Muni- 
tions Board  for  reasons  based,  apparently,  upon  its  essential  War- 
time policy : 


420  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

1.  Violation  of  sanitary  requirements,  lowering  the  wage  standards,  elimination 
of  the  eight-hour  day  and  introduction  of  the  12  and  14-hour  day  and  seven-day  week. 

2.  Unnecessary  dilution  of  labour  by  the  introduction  of  female  labour  and  no 
general  effort  to  maintain  the  same  standard  wages  as  received  by  the  men. 

3.  Substitution  of  cheap,  semi-skilled  labour  from  rural  districts  for  construc- 
tion work  and  a  declared  policy  of  refusing  to  recognize  Trades  Union  representatives. 

A  Labour  meeting  in  Vancouver  followed  on  June  4  with  a  speech 
from  E.  T.  Kingsley  in  which  he  asked  if  members  of  Boards  of  Trade 
and  Ministerial  associations  "ever  did  anything  useful  or  produced 
anything?"  At  Ottawa  on  the  5th  Mr.  Simpson  stated  that  "steps 
would  be  taken  to  form  an  organization  of  a  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
CouncilJin|[Canada  somewhat  on  the  plan  of  the  organization  in 
Russia" — but  if  the  effort  was  made  it  did  not  come  to  anything; 
at  Victoria  (June  6)  the  Labour  Council  declared  against  Con- 
scription and  in  Montreal  on  the  7th  the  local  Council  once  more 
put  itself  on  record.  On  June  14  Mr.  Watters  issued  a  Manifesto 
of  straight  Socialism  and  continued  opposition: 

The  greatest  service  that  Canada  can  render  the  Allies,  therefore,  is  to  conscript 
(not  borrow)  the  wealth  of  the  nation,  to  take  over  and  operate  the  mines,  railroads, 
munition  works  and  other  establishments  necessary  to  the  prosecution  of  the  War 
(including  the  Banking  system),  to  eliminate  the  last  vestige  of  profiteering,  thus 
giving  the  nation  the  benefit,  instead  of  the  profiteer,  of  the  work  done.  ...  I 
consider  it  my  duty  to  sound  a  note  of  warning  to  the  organized  workers  not.  to  permit 
themselves  to  be  shackled  with  the  chains  of  Conscription.  In  the  event  of  its  being 
established  any  effort  on  the  part  of  the  workers  to  ameliorate  conditions  can  be 
frustrated  by  simply  calling  them  to  the  colours  and  placing  them  under  military 
discipline. 

The  Halifax  Labour  Council  on  the  same  date  declared  for  a  Refer- 
endum first  and  stated  that  "no  form  of  Conscription  should  be 
submitted  to  the  people  unless  it  carries  with  it  provisions  for  the 
nationalization  of  food  supplies,  the  conscription  of  surplus  wealth, 
the  control  and  operation  by  the  Dominion  of  Canada  of  all  indus- 
tries essential  to  the  carrying  on  of  the  War."  A  pronounced  agita- 
tion by  circulating  literature  and  holding  meetings  followed  but 
was  merged  to  some  extent  in  the  political  issues  which  soon  developed. 
Mr.  Verville  in  the  Commons  on  June  28  described  a  general  strike 
as  possible;  Mr.  Watters  issued  a  statement  (July  3)  urging  the 
conscription  of  both  man-power  and  wealth-power — if  not,  "it 
becomes  the  duty  of  Labour  to  bring  pressure  upon  the  Government 
by  refusing  to  work"  and  by  promoting  a  general  strike;  a  circular 
issued  on  July  9  and  calling  the  September  Congress,  dealt  negatively 
with  the  War  problems  of  the  country,  expressed  fear  as  to  after- 
war  immigration,  urged  work  against  organized  capitalism. 

On  July  15  (Sunday)  Mr.  Watters  addressed  3,000  anti-war 
French-Canadians  at  Hull  and  declared  that  on  the  day  the  Military 
Service  Act  passed  "organized  Labour  would  lay  down  its  tools  and 
refuse  to  work,"  denounced  Lloyd  George  as  "a  tricky  politician 
who  had  disgraced  humanity,"  criticized  Sir  J.  W.  Flavelle  and 
alleged  that  "we  must,  and  shall,  refuse  to  be  sent  to  the  Front  to 
protect  profiteers."  On  Aug.  10  a  similar  address  at  Sydney,  N.S., 
was  marred  by  interruptions  and  eggs;  at  Halifax  he  found  it  im- 
possible to  hold  an  intended  meeting  though  the  Longshoreman's 


CANADIAN  LABOUR  AND  THE  WAR  ISSUES  OF  1917        421 

Union  promised  support;  at  St.  John  a  small  audience  on  the  22nd 
heard  a  two-hour  speech  and  reiteration  of  the  claim  that  there 
was  absolutely  no  ground  or  "one  substantial  reason"  for  Con- 
scription; at  Ottawa  on  Sept.  8  he  went  further  in  Socialism  than 
ever  and  declared:  "Food  supplies,  railroads,  buildings,  and  indus- 
tries are  the  real  wealth  which  we  want,  and  cannot  be  taken  out 
of  the  country  like  stocks  and  bonds/'  The  B.C.  Federation  of 
Labour  (Sept.  3)  held  a  special  meeting  when  J.  Kavanagh, 
the  new  President  of  the  Vancouver  Labour  Council  declared  con- 
scripts "the  most  degraded  of  slaves."  By  56  to  8  the  question 
of  a  general  strike  was  left  to  the  Executive — after  a  Referendum 
had  only  been  partially  responded  to  by  the  Provincial  Unions 
with  their  10,000  members. 

The  33rd  annual  Convention  of  the  Trades  and  Labour  Council 
of  Canada  met  at  Ottawa  on  Sept.  17-22  with  J.  C.  Watters  in  the 
chair  and  heard  an  address  from  Hon.  T.  W.  Crothers,  Minister  of 
Labour,  in  which  he  stated  that  150,000  workmen  were  included  in 
the  Canadian  forces;  gave  a  cordial  welcome  to  Sir  Robert  Borden 
who  urged  them  to  remember  the  men  at  the  Front;  accorded  an 
ovation  to  Mr.  Watters  who  deprecated  "the  bitter  and  uncalled-for 
attacks"  to  which  he  had  been  subjected.  The  ensuing  debates 
were  vigorous,  a  few  of  the  speeches  were  seditious  but,  upon  the 
whole,  they  were  moderate  and  the  results  of  the  discussion  reason- 
able. The  Executive  Committee  reported  a  re-affirmation  of  the 
opposition  of  the  Congress  to  Conscription,  but  stated  that  it  was 
not  deemed  right,  patriotic  or  in  the  interests  of  the  Dominion  or 
of  the  labour  classes  to  do  anything  to  prevent  the  obtaining  of 
all  the  results  anticipated  from  the  enforcement  of  the  law;  vigorously 
opposed  any  form  of  Industrial  Conscription  or  interference  with 
Unionism;  urged  the  formation  of  an  "Independent  Labour  Party" 
similar  to  that  of  Great  Britain — though  using  the  same  name 
they  did  not  appear  to  mean  the  anti-war  branch  led  by  Ramsay 
Macdonald;  opposed  the  War-Times  Election  Act,  approved  the 
principle,  though  not  conditions,  of  the  Canadian  Northern  ex- 
propriation and  declared  the  present  soldiers'  pensions  to  be  in- 
adequate; suggested  an  invitation  to  Colonial  labour  to  send  repre- 
sentatives to  British  Labour  Congresses;  urged  the  resignation  of 
Sir  Joseph  Flavelle  owing  to  his  alleged  indifference  to  Union  wages 
and  conditions ;  demanded  Mothers'  and  Old- Age  pensions. 

Many  anti-Conscription  Resolutions  were  presented — Calgary, 
Transcona,  Edmonton,  etc.,  but  the  Executive  Committee  Report 
was  adopted  after  amendments  (1)  proposing  Conscription  of  wealth 
as  an  essential  part  of  the  policy,  (2)  no  application  of  law  until 
after  a  General  Election,  (3)  immediate  repeal  of  the  Act,  had  been 
defeated  and  the  Executive  Report,  as  quoted  above,  carried.  A 
straight  vote  on  Conscription  showed  all  but  20  against  it.  Other 
Resolutions  urged  (1)  regulation  of  the  prices  of  food  commodities; 
(2)  enactment  of  an  8-hour  day  to  come  into  force  on  the  day  that 
Peace  treaties  were  signed;  (3)  increase  in  Privates'  pay  to  $2.00 
a  day  and  in  Separation  allowances  by  60%;  (4)  abolition  of  the 
Canadian  Patriotic  Fund  as  showing  discrimination  in  distribution 


422  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  collection  alike,  with  a  certain  taint  of  charity;  (5)  abolition 
of  all  distinctions  in  the  Army  so  far  as  Pensions  were  concerned, 
and  the  uniform  grant  of  $100  per  month  to  all  totally  disabled  sol- 
diers— whether  Generals  or  Privates;  (6)  creation  of  Demobilization 
Boards  with  labour  representatives  in  the  military  districts.  The 
Immigration  Committee  reported  in  favour  of  a  Literacy  test — 
reading  and  writing  in  any  language — for  immigrants;  declared  that 
the  Chinese  head-tax  should  be  abolished  and  the  entry  permitted 
"of  the  subjects  of  China  and  Japan  and  the  natives  of  India  upon 
a  percentage  of  population  basis  of  one  Oriental  for  each  1,000  of 
the  Dominion's  population,  exclusive  of  such  Orientals  as  are  already 
in  the  Dominion."  Resolutions  were  approved  in  favour  of  (1)  a 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Council  "to  protect  the  interests  of  the 
soldiers  and  workers  in  all  contemplated  adjustments  of  our  present 
systems,"  and  (2)  of  co-operation  between  the  Labour  Congress 
and  the  G.W.V.A.,  as  to  rates  of  wages;  many  local  motions,  60 
or  more,  were  approved  along  lines  similar  to  preceding  years  and 
J.  C.  Watters  of  Ottawa  was  unanimously  re-elected  President 
with  James  Simpson,  Toronto,  R.  A.  Rigg,  M.L.A.,  Winnipeg,  and 
Arthur  Martel,  Montreal,  as  Vice-Presidents ;  P.  M.  Draper 
remained  Secretary-Treasurer. 

Incidents  of  the  Convention  were  vigorous  condemnation  of 
the  War-time  Election  Act  as  threatening  "the  formation  of  a 
military  caste";  an  anti-War  speech  from  Laura  Hughes  of  Toronto, 
in  which  she  declared  that  France  was  going  the  way  of  Russia,  that 
capitalists  were  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble,  that  Labourites  must 
"endorse  the  demand  of  the  workers  of  Russia,  Great  Britain, 
France  and  the  United  States  for  a  policy  of  no  annexations  and 
no  indemnities";  a  Resolution  declaring  that  the  Congress  and  the 
American  Federation  of  Labour  should  work  together  for  the  con- 
scription of  wealth;  the  official  statement  that  membership  had 
increased  by  15,000  over  1916;  the  influence  upon  the  Convention 
of  the  attitude  taken  by  President  Gompers  of  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labour  in  his  speeches  and  work  and  his  telegram  to  the 
Chairman  speaking  of  the  "common  cause  to  defend  democratic 
institutions  and  ideals  against  autocratic  forces  that  seek  to  dominate 
the  world  relations";  the  selection  of  Messrs.  Watters,  Simpson 
and  Draper  as  Delegates  to  the  Labour  Conference  to  be  called  by 
British  Labourites  to  discuss  Peace  terms;  the  Socialistic  address 
of  J.  Winstone,  the  British  Fraternal  delegate,  who  had  failed  to 
carry  the  late  Keir  Hardie's  seat. 

Meanwhile,  the  9th  Convention  of  the  Canadian  Federation  of 
Labour — composed  of  workmen  who  preferred  a  national  to  an 
international  body — was  a  small  gathering,  on  Sept.  5-7,  and  met 
at  Sherbrooke.  C.  G.  Pepper  of  Ottawa  presided  and  was  re-elected 
President;  he  stated  that  they  had  lost  the  support  of  the  Provincial 
Workmen's  Association  of  Nova  Scotia  during  the  year.  Resolu- 
tions were  passed  (1)  asking  the  Government  to  increase  the  War- 
tax  on  excessive  profits  and  (2)  asking  that  the  Food  Controller, 
Mr.  Hanna,  "devote  his  efforts  to  a  reduction  of  the  cost  of  living 
instead  of  determining  what  the  people  should  eat." 


CANADIAN  LABOUR  AND  THE  WAR-  ISSUES  OF  1917        428 

Following  these  Conventions  organized  Labour  opposition  to 
Conscription  ceased.  In  their  action  the  leaders  in  office  had  not 
represented  their  160,000  members  as  a  whole — to  say  nothing  of 
workers  outside  the  ranks;  old-time  leaders  such  as  G.  D.  Robertson, 
Gus  Francq  of  Montreal,  Calvin  Lawrence,  Win.  Glockling,  J.  G. 
O'Donoghue,  D.  A.  Carey,  W.  L.  Best,  P.  M.  Draper,  had  not 
supported  the  hostile  view  and  had  been  whole-heartedly  in  war 
support.  The  continued  right  to  strike,  however,  and  a  desire  for 
the  fair  taxation  of  wealth  was  a  general  demand.  Mixed  up  with 
an  unpatriotic  minority  in  Labour  organizations,  but  most  potent 
outside  of  them,  were  a  number  of  I.W.W.  advocates  and  some 
pro-Germans  or  confirmed  Pacifists.  The  miners  of  District  18 
(Alberta  and  the  Crow's  Nest)  of  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  Amer-' 
ica  had  a  section  of  these  men  and  they  precipitated  strike  after 
strike  in  the  all-essential  production  of  coal;  similar  elements  were 
at  work  in  Vancouver  and  in  the  mines  of  Vancouver  Island;  the 
Western  Federation  of  Miners,  whose  leaders  were  under  serious 
American  suspicion,  had  much  influence  in  Porcupine  and  Cobalt. 
Fred.  Coleman,  an  American  writer  and  student  of  Labour  conditions, 
told  the  Vancouver  Sun  (Aug.  3)  that  he  saw  many  traces  of  I.W.W. 
influence  in  Canada:  "It  is  the  hidden,  sneaky,  secret  propaganda 
that  is  hardest  to  reach  and  if  the  Canadian  labouring  man  is  not 
careful  he  will  find  that  the  scheming  pro-German  element  will  have 
him  working  for  it  before  he  realizes  it.  If  the  men  who  are  striking 
had  full  knowledge  of  German  efforts  to  cause  labour  unrest  they 
would  be  mighty  careful."  As  to  this  the  Winnipeg  Telegram  of 
Dec.  25th  was  explicit:  "The  trouble  in  the  Canadian  coal  mines 
has  been  so  persistent,  and  often  so  manifestly  unfair,  that  there 
lurks  a  suspicion  that  behind  it  is  some  sinister  influence." 

Only  organized  labour  expressed  itself  in  an  articulate  form  upon 
Conscription  though  22,000  went  voluntarily  from  the  former  and 
130,000  from  the  unorganized  section.  Labour  unions  of  Lethb ridge, 
Alberta,  met  on  May  4  and  approved  Conscription;  the  Greater 
Toronto  Labour  party  did  the  same  on  June  10  and  Calvin  Lawrence, 
Dominion  legislative  representative  of  the  Locomotive  Engineers, 
endorsed  the  Military  Service  Act  on  June  11;  the  Regina  Typo- 
graphical Union  supported  Conscription  (July  8)  while  W.  L.  Best 
and  G.  B.  Nicholson  of  the  Locomotive  Engineers  declared  in  pub- 
lished statements  that  Mr.  Waiters,  in  this  matter,  did  not  represent 
Canadian  Labour.  The  Montreal  Council  would  not  discuss  the 
general  strike  question.  So  far  as  strikes  were  concerned  they  proved 
the  statements  made  above  and  occurred  chiefly  in  the  Mining 
districts  mentioned.  Including  the  three  war-years  of  1914-16  there 
had  been  162  Labour  disputes  in  Canada,  involving  38,975  men  with 
744,480  hours  lost,  compared  with  361  disputes,  involving  110,141 
men  and  the  loss  of  4,405,606  hours  in  the  preceding  three  years. 
In  1917  there  was  an  increase — 148  disputes  with  48,329  men  involved 
and  1,134,970  hours  lost. 

On  Jan.  16  5,870  coal  mine  and  coke-oven  employees  in  District 
No.  18  went  on  strike  and  a  time  loss  of  42,000  days  was  involved 
before  the  dispute  was  terminated.  On  Apr.  1,  7,475  employees  in 


424  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  same  district  struck  and  the  dispute  %as  not  terminated  until 
July  3,  when  the  Dominion  Government  appointed  a  Director  of 
Coal  Operations  to  take  control  of  the  mines.  This  dispute  involved 
a  loss  of  512,075  days  or  45  per  cent,  of  the  total  time  loss  in  the  year. 
Another  serious  strike  was  that  of  1,600  employees  at  the  smelter 
at  Trail,  B.C.  This  dispute,  which  began  Nov.  15,  caused  a  time 
loss  of  48,000  days.  The  great  majority  of  the  troubles  were  minor 
ones — small  in  numbers  and  loss  of  time;  65%  were  chiefly  caused 
by  the  desire  for  higher  wages;  official  statements  showed  56%  settled 
in  favour  of  the  employers,  22%  in  favour  of  the  men  and  20%  com- 
promises. In  the  first  of  the  Alberta  mine  strikes  the  men  demanded 
higher  wages  after  signing  agreements  for  a  given  term,  during  a 
time  when  closed  mines  would  have  meant  great  suffering  in  the 
West,  and  it  was  only  settled  by  the  Government  guaranteeing  the 
operators  an  increased  price  from  large  customers  such  as  the  C.P.R. 
During  the  second  one  in  May  the  operators  offered  another  15% 
increase  to  the  miners  who  would  not  accept  less  than  25%,  and 
6,000  men  who  had  been  taking  a  4-weeks'  holiday,  formally  went 
out — work  not  being  resumed  till  July  3,  when  W.  H.  Armstrong, 
appointed  by  the  Government  as  Director  of  Coal  Operating 
arranged  a  satisfactory  increase  based  upon  the  additional  cost  of 
living  which,  later  on,  was  accepted  by  all  concerned  as  involving 
19  cents  per  day;  at  the  close  of  the  year  Lethbridge  miners  were 
out  because  the  C.P.R.  was  employing  men  not  members  of  the 
U.M.W.  The  comment  of  the  Calgary  Herald  (Dec.  20)  was  ex- 
plicit: "There  seems  to  be  some  trouble-making  element  in  the 
Alberta  miners'  organization  that  is  a  power  for  evil  all  the  time. 
No  sooner  is  one  bit  of  discord  straightened  out  than  another  takes 
its  place."  Meanwhile  the  U.M.W.  was  figuring  in  sedition  trials 
in  the  States  as  hampering  munition  production,  etc. 

In  Northern  Ontario  the  troubles  were  chiefly  those  of  unrest 
and  constant  pressure  for  increased  wages  with  no  desire  to  give 
longer  hours  or  facilitate  war-production;  with  also  the  employment 
of  alien  enemies  and  men  of  doubtful  stability.  At  Vancouver  a 
Longshoreman's  strike  in  August  suspended  six  shipments  to  Australia 
and  supplies  for  the  Army  in  Mesopotamia;  the  men  declined  to 
meet  the  Board  of  Trade  and  F.  W.  Peters  of  the  C.P.R.  charged 
I.W.W.  action  and  German  money;  the  Vancouver  Sun  (Aug.  3) 
declared  that  disturbances  and  conditions  indicated  I.W.W.  anarchy 
and  violence;  the  C.P.R.  offered  to  accept  their  demands  but  the 
offer  was  refused  because  a  stated  period  was  included.  Two  days 
later  the  issue  was  settled  after  the  docks  had  been  tied  up  for  a 
week.  At  Fort  William  and  Port  Arthur  an  Elevator  strike  occurred 
early  in  October  and  resulted  in  the  stoppage  of  the  movement  of 
grain  throughout  Western  Canada  with  a  chance  of  grain  destruction 
by  strikers  of  whom  75%  were  said  to  be  of  alien  origin — the  strikers 
alleging  22%.  Recognition  of  union  and  higher  wages  were  the 
issues,  the  Government  was  appealed  to  for  protection  by  the 
operating  interests  and  L.  H.  Boyd,  K.C.,  Chairman  of  the  Grain 
Commission,  was  appointed  Director  of  Elevator  Operations  and 
was  sent  up  to  effect  a  settlement.  After  conferences  he  disposed 
of  the  matter  on  Oct.  8  with  most  of  the  demands  granted. 

• 


CANADIAN  WOMEN  AND  WAR:  SUFFRAGE  AND  SOCIETIES   425 

Canadian  Social  conditions  in  far-flung  Canada  did  not  per- 

Woinen  and  mj|-  of  fae  same  volume  of  war-work  amongst  its 
Suffrage 'and  women  as  characterized  Great  Britain.  There  were 
Societies.  too  few  of  them,  they  were  too  scattered  in  great 
agricultural  regions,  they  were  too  busy  with  the 
essential  duties  of  a  new  country.  The  total  female  workers  (1911) 
in  a  population  of  7,200,000  were  364,821;  the  total,  according  to 
population,  was  3,384,000  females  to  3,821,000  males;  there  was  no 
surplus  of  women — many  with  leisure  time  and  ample  means — as  in 
the  Old  Land.  Between  July,  1914,  and  July,  1917,  the  number 
of  women  workers  in  the  United  Kingdom  increased  from  3,231,000 
to  4,766,000  and  of  the  latter  total  670,000  were  in  munition  work 
and  632,000  in  other  Government  or  war- work.*  No  such  statistics 
are  available  for  Canada  but  there  was  considerable  female  labour 
and,  in  1917,  the  increase  was  marked  though  with  only  a  limited 
tendency  to  volunteer  for  such  work  as  that  of  the  Auxiliary  British 
Army  Corps  of  30,000  women  who  went  to  France  to  act  as  mechanics, 
automobile  drivers,  cooks,  milkers,  shepherdesses,  haymakers, 
market-gardeners  and  harvesters. 

The  chief  Women's  organization  in  war-work  matters  was  the 
Imperial  Order  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Empire  with  its  40,000 
members  and  a  collection  of  $800,000  during  the  year  for  war  and 
patriotic  purposes.  Mrs.  A.  E.  Gooderham  of  Toronto,  in  her 
Presidential  address  at  the  17th  annual  Convention,  May  28- June  1, 
at  Victoria,  B.C.,  emphasized  the  increasing  need  for  exclusion  of 
politics  from  the  meetings  of  the  Order;  the  desirability  of  its  members 
making  a  separate  study  in  this  respect  and  doing  their  full  duty 
as  citizens  under  new  suffrage  conditions;  the  place  of  the  War  in 
their  hearts  and  minds:  "We  all  have  known  anxiety;  we  all  have 
suffered  and  we  all  have  denied  ourselves.  Yes,  but  what  has  been 
the  measure  of  our  anxiety,  and  our  suffering  and  our  self-denial? 
Have  we  been  willing  to  go  further  than  the  force  of  circumstances 
made  it  necessary  for  us  to  go?  Have  we  felt  as  never  before  the 
oneness  of  the  Empire?  Have  we  realized  that  the  individual  has  a 
great  responsibility  in  society?"  Mrs.  J.  Murray  Clark  reported  the 
formation  of  84  new  Chapters  in  the  year  ending  April,  1917,  and 
Mrs.  John  Bruce  reported  ordinary  receipts  of  $11,069  for  the  year 
and  special  contributions  of  $2,314  for  Canadian  Red  Cross,  $3,005 
for  Secours  Nationale,  $5,830  for  Y.M.C.A.  Overseas,  $3,607  for 
British  Sailors'  Relief  Fund,  $2,623  for  St.  Dunstan's  Home  for 
Blind  Soldiers,  $2,196  for  Prisoners  of  War  Relief,  etc.,  with  $753,601 
raised  by  the  various  Chapters  for  war- work  of  which  $345,611  was 
contributed  by  Ontario  and  $82,000  by  Quebec. 

Resolutions  were  passed  of  (1)  loyalty  to  King  and  Queen  and 
Empire,  and  (2)  of  prayer  that  "money,  labour  and  service  be  con- 
scripted of  every  man  and  woman  so  that  all  may  equally  do  their 
duty  to  their  King,  country  and  Empire."  A  patriotic  address  was 
given  by  Mrs.  Elliott  Langstaff,  President  of  the  Order  in  the  United 
States;  Mrs.  Melville  Martin  of  Regina  urged  the  establishment  of 

*  According  to  the  German  authoress,  Prau  Gertrude  Baeumer,  there  were  9,500,- 
000  women  in  Germany  working  for  a  living  at  the  beginning  of  1917. 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Provincial  Chapters  in  the  unorganized  Provinces;  Mrs.  H.  D. 
Spence  of  Calgary  dealt  eloquently  with  the  ideals  of  Loyalty;  Mrs. 
Colin  H.  Campbell  of  Winnipeg  reviewed  the  problem  of  the  Re- 
turned Soldiers  with  perception  and  sympathy;  Mrs.  A.  W.  McDou- 
gald  of  Montreal  spoke  of  organization  and  disciplined  service 
amongst  women;  the  affiliated  Victoria  League  of  London,  England, 
reported  a  year  of  Empire  educational  work  and  war-efforts,  as 
did  the  National  Chapters  in  Bermuda  and  the  Bahamas,  the 
Committee  for  Work  in  India  and  that  responsible  for  South  African 
Graves'  decoration.  Of  the  4  Provincial  Chapters  New  Brunswick 
reported  21  local  Chapters  and  806  members  with  $28,345  raised 
during  the  year;  Manitoba,  69  Chapters  and  2,856  members  with 
$87,000  raised;  British  Columbia,  92  Chapters  and  3,198  members 
with  $55,000  raised;  Saskatchewan,  57  Chapters  and  2,800  members 
with  $65,000  raised  in  cash.  A  curious  incident  of  the  Convention 
— not  recorded  in  its  journal  Echoes — was  the  unanimous  passage 
of  a  Resolution  requesting  the  Prime  Minister  "that  drastic  measures 
to  the  utmost  limit  of  the  law  be  taken  to  punish  the  treasonable 
conduct  of  M.  Armand  Lavergne  and  that  he  be  deprived  of  all 
rank  and  insignia  pertaining  to  the  profession  which  he  disgraces." 
Other  motions  favoured  (1)  the  establishment  by  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment of  Homes  for  the  orphaned  children  of  soldiers  killed  in  the 
War;  (2)  the  abolition  of  any  celebration  of  Paardeburg  Day  in 
view  of  Boer  support  in  the  World-war;  (3)  asking  for  a  law  enforcing 
the  playing  of  the  National  Anthem  at  the  beginning  instead  of  the 
close  of  performances  or  functions.  The  officers  elected,  or  in  most 
cases  re-elected,  were  Mrs.  A.  E.  Gooderham,  Toronto,  President; 
Lady  Mackenzie,  Mrs.  E.  F.  B.  Johnston  and  Mrs.  W.  R.  Riddell, 
Toronto,  Mrs.  McLimont,  Quebec,  and  Mrs.  Grant,  Halifax,  Vice- 
Presidents;  Secretary,  Mrs.  H.  W.  Auden,  Treasurer,  Mrs.  John 
Bruce,  Organizing-Secretary,  Mrs.  Murray  Clark — all  of  Toronto; 
Educational  Secretary,  Mrs.  Geo.  H.  Smith,  St.  Catharines. 

During  the  year  the  I.O.D.E.  and  its  Junior  Branch — the  Children 
of  the  Empire — were  incorporated  by  Parliament;  the  former  ex- 
pressed official  regret  at  the  calling  of  an  Election  in  war-time  and 
supported  the  Win-the-War  campaign  and  Toronto  Convention  of 
Aug.  2;  circulated  a  Petition  to  the  Government  to  grant  furloughs 
to  all  men  of  the  First  C.E.F.  who  were  still  Overseas;  appealed  to 
members,  through  the  National  Executive,  to  observe  2  meatless 
days  and  2  potatoless  days  a  week  and  to  abstain  from  the  use  of 
veal  and  lamb;  protested  by  Executive  Resolution  against  a  pro- 
posed economy  in  the  flying  of  the  national  flag  over  schools  and 
public  buildings  in  Toronto:  "If  there  was  no  British  flag,  and  no 
sentiment  connected  with  it,  there  would  be  no  general  enlistment 
nor  would  the  millions  of  soldiers  of  Great  Britain  be  available. 
Nothing  appeals  to  the  British  soldier  or  sailor  as  his  national  flag 
does."  At  a  meeting  in  London  on  Oct.  24  Mrs.  C.  T.  Campbell 
stated  that  since  1914  that  district  of  the  I.O.D.E.  had  collected 
$70,000  for  war  purposes.  Every  chapter  in  Canada  did  something 
along  this  line  and  they  kept  up,  as  well,  their  regular  Empire  and 
local  work — collecting  for  a  dozen  war  funds,  making  supplies  for 


CANADIAN  WOMEN  AND  WAR:  SUFFRAGE  AND  SOCIETIES   427 

hospitals,  knitting  socks  for  soldiers  and  looking  after  returned  or 
wounded  men,  making  comfort  bags  and  every  conceivable  article 
of  use  and  convenience  for  the  soldiers,  holding  and  giving  enter- 
tainments, luncheons,  functions  of  all  kinds,  supporting  the  Red 
Cross,  or  helping  in  garden  and  farm  production,  looking  after  soldiers' 
dependants. 

One  Ontario  Chapter  (Lindsay)  sent  93,949  articles  in  a  year  to 
the  Field  Comforts  Commission  in  London;  the  Provincial  Chapter 
in  British  Columbia,  under  Mrs.  Henry  Croft,  organized  for  the 
second  time  a  gift  in  large  quantities  of  home-made  jam  for  troops 
in  trench  or  hospital  abroad;  during  the  Montreal  Patriotic  Fund 
campaign  of  February  the  local  I.O.D.E.  supplied  1,000  volunteer 
women  workers;  the  I.O.D.E.  Convalescent  (Soldiers)  Home  of 
Winnipeg  reported  in  April  that  3,545  returned  men  had  been  cared 
for  during  the  past  year  in  its  most  comfortable  quarters.  An 
interesting  incident  in  this  connection  was  the  publication  of  an 
Historical  Souvenir  prepared  by  the  Manitoba  Chapter  and  giving 
an  elaborate  record  in  handsome  form  of  its  many-sided  activities. 
The  Provincial  Presidents  of  the  Order  in  1917  were  Mrs.  Colin  H. 
Campbell,  Manitoba,  Mrs.  W.  Melville  Martin,  Saskatchewan,  Mrs. 
Henry  Croft,  British  Columbia,  and  Mrs.  G.  C.  Van  Wart,  New 
Brunswick. 

The  National  Council  of  Women  of  Canada  took  an  active  share 
in  public  work,  and  incidentally  in  that  of  the  War,  during  1917. 
Its  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Winnipeg,  May  31-June  8,  with 
Mrs.  F.  H.  Torrington,  Toronto,  in  the  chair,  and  the  Marchioness 
of  Aberdeen  amongst  the  guests  present.  The  speeches  and  reports 
dealt  largely  with  the  Suffrage  question  and  Resolutions  were  passed 
(1)  urging  those  interested  in  Moving  Pictures  to  provide  suitable 
pictures  for  children;  (2)  asking  the  Government  for* a  standardi- 
zation in  sizes  for  all  canned  goods  and  in  weight  for  canned  meats; 
(3)  approving  a  Daylight  Saving  law  during  the  War;  (4)  asking  the 
Federal  franchise  for  the  women  of  all  Canada;  (5)  expressing 
sympathy  with  the  women  of  France,  Belgium  and  Poland  in  "the 
atrocities  described  in  documents  forwarded";  (6)  approving  "physi- 
cal training  under  qualified  educationists"  for  boys  and  girls  in  all 
schools  with  Military  drill,  during  the  War  only,  for  all  youths  be- 
tween 18  and  20  years  of  age  and  the  deferring  of  discussion  as  to 
compulsory  military  training  until  after  the  War.  A  Committee 
dealt  elaborately  with  Women  in  agriculture  and  urged  the  extension 
of  Western  homestead  rights  to  women;  one  on  Citizenship  reviewed 
the  Suffrage  situation  and  the  work  of  the  Council  along  this  line; 
the  Committee  on  Women's  Employment  estimated  20,000  as  engaged 
in  Munitions  and  war-work. 

The  Reports  of  many  federated  societies  were  presented  and  the 
officers  elected  included  H.E.  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  as  Hon. 
President;  Mrs.  Torrington,  President;  Lady  Aberdeen,  Advisory 
President;  Mrs.  R.  D.  Fairbairn,  Toronto,  Corresponding  Secretary; 
and  Mrs.  G.  C.  Watt,  Brantford,  Treasurer.  During  the  year 
most  of  the  38  Local  Councils  met  and  passed  Resolutions  and  dis- 
cussed questions  of  national  betterment  or  public  morals  or  social 


428  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

reform  and  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  war- work  done;  but  it 
was  not  of  an  organized,  uniform,  persistent  character.  The  Halifax 
Council  published  a  useful  list  of  positions  which  women  could  take 
in  order  to  relieve  men  for  active  service — clerical,  store-sales, 
printing  business,  reporting  chauffeurs,  delivery  waggons,  railway 
ticket-sellers,  meter  reading,  musicians,  letter-carriers,  tailoring, 
teaching,  janitor  and  elevator  work,  etc.  The  Hamilton  Council 
promoted  war-thrift,  that  of  Winnipeg  asked  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment (May  22)  for  the  appointment  of  a  Food  Controller  and  the 
fixing  of  a  limit  to  the  amount  of  cereals  used  in  the  production  of 
alcoholic  beverages;  that  of  Victoria  protested  the  War-times  Election 
Act  as  unjust  in  its  exclusion  of  many  women;  that  of  Winnipeg 
asked  for  Government  control  of  Cold-storage  plants.  In  March 
Mrs.  Willoughby  Cummings,  D.C.L.,  resigned  as  National  Secre- 
tary, after  holding  the  position — with  one  year's  exception — 
since  1894. 

When  the  National  Service  Board  called  upon  Women  to  place 
100,000  placards  re  Food  conservation  in  factories,  shops,  etc., 
the  National  Council  of  Women,  with  its  immense  number  of  affili- 
ated societies,  undertook  the  work;  it  also  organized  in  various 
places  Committees  for  pledge-card  work  in  this  connection;  the 
Montreal  Local  Council  of  Women  declared  in  favour  of  Conscription, 
as  did  the  Executive  of  the  National  body  and  a  majority  of  its 
federated  Associations;  the  Victoria  Local  Council  passed  a  Reso- 
lution in  favour  of  Military  drill;  that  of  Winnipeg  asked  (Jan.  26) 
for  a  National  Government  and  this  the  Executive  approved  after 
reference  to  the  subordinate  bodies.  A  National  Council  meeting 
in  Toronto  (Mar.  31)  declared  that  a  vote  was  a  trust  and  should 
be  so  regarded;  that  Canada's  chief  political  danger  lay  in  the 
patronage  system;  that  infant  mortality,  the  feeble-minded,  and 
venereal  disease  were  problems  demanding  instant  attention;  that 
Government  should  reform  the  system  of  immigration. 

On  Sept.  25  the  Regina  Local  Council  protested  against  the  War- 
Times  franchise  for  women  and  on  Nov.  13  the  Toronto  Local  Council 
declared  that  "it  is  the  duty  of  every  patriotic  woman  to  support 
the  Union  Government  and  Win-the-War  movement."  A  certain 
fundamental  divergence  of  thought  became  visible  in  this  organiza- 
tion during  1917  similar  to  that  amongst  men  prior  to  the  War.  It 
was  clearly  shown  at  a  meeting  of  the  National  Council  Executive 
at  Ottawa  on  Mar.  21  when  Miss  Constance  Boulton  declared  com- 
pulsory military  training  to  be  essential  for  the  protection  of  a  free 
democracy  and  Mrs.  Adam  Shortt  replied,  amidst  applause,  that 
"to  give  our  boys  naval  and  military  training  is  to  build  a  bonfire 
ready  for  the  match.  Why  should  we  give  our  boys  something  we 
are  fighting  to  withstand  to-day?  Up  to  the  age  of  18  years  no 
boy  should  handle  a  musket."  This  body  was  affiliated  with  the 
International  Council  of  Women  and  had  9  representatives  upon 
its  Standing  Committees. 

The  Women  on  the  farms  followed  the  example  set  in  the  cities 
and  organized  during  these  war-years  to  some  purpose.  In  the 
West  they  had,  by  1917,  several  branch  organizations  of  the  Grain 


CANADIAN  WOMEN  AND  WAR:  SUFFRAGE  AND  SOCIETIES   429 

Growers'  Associations.  That  of  Manitoba  met  at  Brandon  on  Jan. 
12  in  connection  with  the  men's  meetings  but  decided  to  meet 
separately  in  1918 — as  in  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta.  Resolu- 
tions were  passed  in  favour  of  Medical  inspection  in  schools,  of  women 
school  trustees,  of  the  segregation  of  mental  deficients,  and  of  study- 
ing the  best  way  to  supply  free  medical  and  hospital  service.  Another 
motion  urged  that  wives  of  municipal  voters  be  given  the  municipal 
vote.  Mrs.  Tooth  was  President  and  Mrs.  J.  S.  Wood  of  Oakville 
1st  Vice-President.  At  the  Moose  Jaw  meeting  of  the  Saskat- 
chewan Grain  Growers  the  Women's  Association  met  also  on  Feb. 
12-16  with  Mrs.  J.  M.  McNaughtan  of  Piche — re-elected  by  acclam- 
ation— in  the  chair.  Resolutions  were  passed  in  favour  of  medical 
certificates  of  health  before  marriage  licenses  issue,  Woman's  Suffrage, 
more  efficient  help  for  farm  women,  district  nurses,  increased  medical 
aid  in  rural  districts,  municipal  franchise  for  women,  grant  of  home- 
steads to  women,  co-operative  bakeries  and  laundries.  In  May 
the  Secretary  of  this  body  issued  a  circular  letter  urging  attention 
to  sanitary  conditions  in  schools,  the  legal  dangers  in  making  wills, 
the  need  for  District  nurses,  the  question  of  Homesteads  for  women, 
the  need  of  a  teacher's  presence  at  school  in  the  noon-hour:  "Let 
your  neighbours  know  that  Red  Cross  work  can  be  successfully 
carried  on  through  the  medium  of  the  Association  and  they  will 
more  readily  organize  in  their  district."  The  Executive  issued  a 
similar  circular  expressing  appreciation  of  past  efforts  in  Red  Cross 
and  Patriotic  work  and  declaring  that  it  "must  be  executed  through 
extra  sacrifice  and  not  at  the  expense  of  work  to  which  we  are  already 
pledged." 

The  United  Farm  Women  of  Alberta  met  at  the  same  time  as 
the  men's  organization  (Jan.  23-25  at  Edmonton)  with  Mrs.  Irene 
Parlby  of  Alix  as  the  capable  President.  In  her  annual  address 
Mrs.  Parlby  dealt  with  local  issues  chiefly,  but  in  reporting  to  the 
Men's  Association  she  made  a  strong  patriotic  appeal  for  war  support; 
in  other  addresses  of  the  Convention  the  Ruthenians,  Dependant 
Children,  Political  reforms,  Citizenship,  Recreation  for  boys  and 
girls  and  Co-operation  were  the  subjects.  In  all  these  gatherings 
the  War  was  not  officially  dealt  with  but  there  was  much  quiet 
discussion  regarding  its  resulting  conditions. 

The  Women's  Institutes  of  Alberta  numbered  135  at  the  beginning 
of  1917  with  3,700  members.  During  the  year  thousands  of  dollars 
were  raised  for  war  funds  and  hundreds  of  parcels  collected  for  the  Red 
Cross.  A  Convention  of  these  bodies  was  held  at  Calgary  on  Mar.  15-17, 
with  500  delegates  present,  reported  135  branches  and  $13,359 
raised  for  patriotic  and  relief  work.  Miss  Isabel  Nobel,  Daysland, 
was  elected  President.  The  Institutes  were  aided  by  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  and  were  based  upon  similar  organizations  in  Ontario; 
in  Saskatchewan  and  Quebec  the  same  societies  were  called  Home- 
makers'  Clubs,  in  Manitoba  the  Home  Economics  Association, 
in  British  Columbia  they  went  by  the  old  name  and  all  were  centres  of 
much  quiet  war  effort.  In  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta,  however, 
the  presence  of  a  large  alien  population  of  enemy  origin  had  its 
influence  in  restricting  public  work.  Those  of  Ontario  at  their 


430  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

16th  annual  meeting  in  Toronto  (Nov.  20)  discussed  increased 
thrift,  more  Red  Cross  work,  greater  food  production,  the  making 
of  fruit  preserves  for  the  Front.  In  British  Columbia  the  Institutes 
were  splendidly  organized  with  Conferences  of  the  Okanagan, 
Vancouver  Island  and  other  districts  and  considerable  effort  in 
war-work,  food  production  and  the  study  of  women's  interests 
and  duties. 

The  Women's  Canadian  Clubs  did  not,  as  a  united  body,  do 
war- work;  separately  many  of  them  were  enthusiastic  and  energetic. 
Everywhere,  however,  their  luncheons  and  meetings  did  bring 
women  together  and  interest  them  individually  in  the  issues  and 
practical  needs  of  the  conflict.  As  Mrs.  H.  P.  Plump  tre  of  Toronto 
put  it  to  the  Victoria  Club  (Oct.  15) :  "  What  has  happened  in  Belgium, 
Serbia  and  Armenia  has  shown  us  what  war  really  is.  Most  un- 
expectedly has  it  demonstrated  the  value  of  women  and  has  been 
the  means  of  letting  down  the  bars  of  prejudice  against  their  entry 
into  public  life."  The  Club  at  Victoria  in  its  Khaki  Club  for  re- 
turned soldiers  and  untiring  war-work  by  members  and  Executive, 
its  concerts  and  tag-days  and  special  Funds  and  those  of  Vancouver, 
Winnipeg,  St.  John,  Edmonton,  Hamilton,  Montreal  and  Toronto, 
did  excellent  service  either  in  work  or  through  the  educative  influence 
of  addresses  or  by  both.  The  Woman's  Canadian  Club,  Hamilton,  had 
12  addresses  during  the  year  on  War  subjects;  that  of  Montreal  4 
and  St.  John  5;  that  of  Toronto  8,  including  one  by  Lord  Montagu 
of  Beaulieu  on  Aviation;  that  of  Vancouver  4  and  Victoria  5;  that 
of  Winnipeg  10  including  one  meeting  for  Rt.  Hon.  W.  F.  Massey 
of  New  Zealand. 

The  work  of  the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  was 
primarily  along  lines  of  peace;  its  tendency  in  war  days  was  to 
confine  activities  to  moral  warnings  and  social  work.  The  anti- 
liquor  movement  was  one  of  its  greatest  objects  of  support  and 
triumph,  anti-cigarettes  then  took  its  place  to  some  extent  but  was 
not  a  popular  theme  with  the  men  at  the  Front.  The  Resolutions, 
etc.,  of  the  British  Columbia  Association  (New  Westminster, 
June  12)  illustrate  these  activities:  Protest  against  the  liquor 
traffic,  congratulation  to  the  King  upon  his  attitude,  reference  to 
the  war  temptations  for  young  women  and  request  to  Government 
for  making  age  of  consent  18  years,  criticism  of  Food  Conservation 
and  cost  of  living  problems.  In  a  long  address  before  the  W.C.T.U. 
District  Convention  at  Heward,  Sask.,  by  the  President,  Mrs.  H.  E. 
Armstrong,  there  was  no  word  of  the  War  or  German  atrocities 
in  Belgium,  Poland,  etc.,  but  there  was  a  pen  picture  of  Cossacks 
raiding  a  Polish  village  before  the  War!  Mrs.  Robert  Sinton, 
President  of  the  Regina  Branch,  objected  (Sept.  26)  to  the  refusal 
of  a  vote  to  alien  women,  as  did  the  Alberta  Provincial  W.C.T.U. 
on  Oct.  5.  This  latter  body  asked  for  a  medical  marriage  certificate 
and  the  admission  of  women  to  Theological  courses  and  degrees. 
In  the  West  these  Associations  all  did  good  work  for  the  Red  Cross 
and  Patriotic  Funds.  The  Halifax  W.C.T.U.  in  March  urged 
Woman's  Suffrage  upon  the  Legislature.  In  Ontario  soldiers 
comforts  received  much  aid  and  an  immense  number  of  parcels 


CANADIAN  WOMEN  AND  WAR:  SUFFRAGE  AND  SOCIETIES   431 

were  sent  from  the  Unions  of  Toronto  and  the  Province  generally; 
40  Unions  reported  in  June  that  patriotic  work  along  independent 
lines  was  being  done. 

The  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  had  become  a  strong 
organization  in  1917  with  Christian  fellowship,  service,  study,  prayer 
and  missionary  effort  as  the  basis  of  action.  The  student  work  was 
increasing  with  a  summer  Conference  of  69  students  held  in  Muskoka, 
and  representing  2,200  members.  The  Foreign  or  missionary  de- 
partment had  Secretaries  in  Tokio,  Hong-Kong,  Bombay  and 
Colombo  and  co-operated  with  the  Y.W.C.A.  of  Britain,  United 
States  and  Australia.  Lady  Falconer  of  Toronto  was  President  of 
the  Dominion  Council  of  the  Associations  and  there  were  7  National 
Secretaries;  the  financial  receipts  of  1916-17  were  $23,000.  There 
was  much  in  the  work  of  this  organization  similar  to  that  of  the 
W.C.T.U.;  it  looked  after  working  girls  in  particular,  provided 
lodging-houses,  rest  and  recreation  rooms,  physical  exercise,  etc. 
As  to  War-work  it  took  special  oversight  of  munition  workers  in 
factories  and  on  farms ;  helped  in  getting  girls  for  Ontario  and  British 
Columbia  fruit-picking;  devoted  much  time  in  certain  localities 
such  as  Victoria  to  Red  Cross  work  and  Convalescent  Homes;  re- 
ceived an  allotment  of  $15,000  from  the  Y.M.C.A.  collection  in  May; 
was  asked  by  the  Munitions  Board  at  Ottawa  tc  take  charge  of  the 
welfare  of  girls  employed  in  the  munition  works  of  Canadian  cities; 
established  in  Toronto  a  canteen  in  one  factory  employing  1,000 
girls,  and  in  St.  Catharines  operated  a  large  hotel  as  a  Y.W.C.A. 
hostel. 

The  Girl  Guide  movement  was  primarily  intended  (1912)  to 
train  girls  in  physical  development,  woodcraft  and  exercise,  house- 
keeping and  cookery,  discipline  and  a  sense  of  duty,  obedience  to 
authority  and  good  manners.  Companies  were  organized  by  October, 
1917,  to  the  number  of  290  with  10,000  members  scattered  through 
the  Provinces  of  Canada;  Lady  Pellatt  of  Toronto  was  Chief  Com- 
missioner and  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  movement.  Like  the 
Boy  Scouts  the  Girl  Guides  owed  their  origin  to  Sir  R.  Baden- 
Powell.  The  share  of  the  organization  in  war- work  was  individual 
except  that  almost  every  Company  was  a  centre  of  activity  and 
enthusiasm  for  any  patriotic  cause.  A  War-thrift  badge,  for  instance, 
was  given  to  encourage  investment  in  war  bonds;  the  collection  of 
money  for  wool  and  other  material  and  the  knitting  of  Red  Cross 
supplies  were  largely  shared  in;  much  clothing  was  made  and  many 
Guides  went  into  various  forms  of  war  employment.  A  wide-spread 
organization  of  international  character  was  the  King's  Daughters 
and  Sons,  a  religious  body  similar  in  many  respects  to  the  Y.W.C.A., 
and,  as  described  by  its  Ontario  Secretary,  Mrs.  Wm.  Burnett, 
its  work  was  as  wide  as  the  world's  needs — among  the  poor  and 
unfortunate,  the  lonely,  the  shut-ins,  etc. :  "In  Cobourg  we  find  much 
that  we  can  do  for  the  returned  soldiers  in  the  Military  Hospital 
and  we  furnish  and  maintain  a  King's  Daughters'  room  in  our  town 
hospital."*  There  were  59  circles  in  the  Ontario  Branch  and  its 
President,  Mrs.  M.  S.  Savage,  reported  on  Oct.  3, 1917,  that  "thought 

"Letter  to  the  Author,  Jan.  21,  1918. 


432  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  energy  has  been  so  given  up  to  patriotic  work,  Red  Cross  and 
all  its  accompanying  demands,  that  some  circles  have  given  up  their 
regular  meetings  and  are  working  with  other  organizations."  Brit- 
ish Columbia  had  a  very  active  Provincial  organization;  the  guilds 
at  Ottawa  and  St.  John,  Victoria,  Toronto,  Montreal  and  Owen 
Sound  did  service  in  helping  work-girls  in  various  directions. 

Of  miscellaneous  organizations  the  Victorian  Order  of  Nurses, 
with  its  various  Branches  in  Province  or  city  and  its  care  of  50,000 
patients  throughout  Canada  by  294  nurses,  formed  a  most  useful 
basis  for  Nursing-help  abroad;  the  Canadian  Association  of  Trained 
Nurses,  was  an  important  professional  organization  from  which  many 
volunteers  went  Overseas,  with  Helen  Randal,  Vancouver,  as  Presi- 
dent; the  National  Ladies'  Guild  for  Sailors,  interested  itself 
in  British  sailors  and  in  the  Homes  and  Clubs  for  sailors  existing 
in  Canada.  Queen  Mary's  Needlework  Guild,  in  which  Her  Majesty 
was  directly  interested  and  which  sent  many  supplies  abroad; 
the  University  Hospital  Supplies'  Association,  which  helped  the 
French  and  British  Red  Cross,  as  well  as  the  Canadian;  the  Women's 
Emergency  Corps,  in  Toronto,  which  first  took  up  the  work  of  regis- 
tering women  for  war  service;  the  Women's  Patriotic  League  of 
Toronto,  with  its  extensive  knitting  and  soldiers'  comforts  work; 
the  Women's  War-Time  Thrift  Committee  which  did  an  important 
work  in  Ontario;  the  Jewish  Council  of  Women,  the  Women's 
Liberal  and  Conservative  Clubs  of  Toronto,  and  many  another, 
all  rendered  substantial  war  service.  The  Women's  Hospital 
Supply  Association  of  Toronto  University  shipped  from  March, 
1915,  to  September,  1917,  1,400  cases  of  supplies  containing  160,000 
articles  to  the  Front;  the  Quebec  Housewives'  League  was  organized 
during  1917  with  10,000  active  members  but  its  work  was  confined 
to  controlling  local  prices  and  social  reform  lines;  the  Thrift  and 
Resources  Committee  was  formed  in  Toronto  as  a  branch  of  the 
Ontario  Government  organization  and  during  its  first  year  had 
4,000  gardens  put  in  and  tended  by  soldiers'  wives. 

Countless  Associations  of  local  character  and  work  were  organized 
to  supplement  the  larger  activities.  Women  organized  and  fitted 
up  Soldiers'  Clubs,  knitted  and  served  to  meet  soldiers'  needs  in 
a  hundred  forms,  prepared  clothes  and  supplies  for  hospitals,  en- 
couraged young  women  to  try  and  do  farm  or  munition  work, 
and  looked  after  them  when  there,  prepared  woollen  articles  for 
the  Royal  Navy  or  collected  money  for  pipes,  tobacco,  candies, 
etc.,  in  conjunction  with  the  National  Ladies'  Guild  for  Sailors, 
joined  Women's  Rifle  Associations,  shared  in  the  war-work  of  Church 
societies.  Individual  workers  were  too  numerous  to  mention. 
Mrs.  H.  D.  Warren  of  Toronto  was  made  a  Lady  of  Grace  (St. 
John  of  Jerusalem)  by  the  King,  as  was  Mrs.  Wm.  Dennis  of  Halifax; 
Mrs.  Agar  Adamson,  a  self-sacrificing  Canadian  worker  in  Belgium, 
was  given  the  Order  of  Elizabeth  by  the  Queen  of  the  Belgians; 
Mrs.  Innes-Taylor  of  Toronto  was  honoured  by  the  King  of  the 
Belgians  for  aid  to  his  stricken  people;  Mrs.  Arthur  Van  Koughnet, 
an  unremitting  Toronto  worker  for  soldiers'  comforts,  was  appointed 
Hon.  Superintendent,  locally,  in  that  connection  for  the  Hospitals 


CANADIAN  WOMEN  AND  WAR:  SUFFRAGE  AND  SOCIETIES  433 

Commission.     During  1917  the  Toronto  Committee  of  the  Patriotic 
Fund  raised  $214,000  and  that  of  Montreal  $167,000. 

During  the  year  women  took  an  ever-increasing  interest  in 
public  affairs — apart  from,  as  well  as  in,  their  national  organizations. 
A  large  Delegation  waited  upon  the  Attorney-General  of  British 
Columbia  on  Jan.  25  and  asked  for  various  Provincial  reforms 
in  respect  to  women — protection  of  deserted  wives,  support  of 
aged  parents,  a  woman  Factory  inspector,  a  woman  inspector  of 
prisons,  women  officers  of  women's  departments  in  prisons,  custodial 
care  for  feeble-minded  women,  better  care  of  women  in  prison  and 
extension  to  them  of  the  Parole  system.  The  Saskatchewan  Equal 
Franchise  Association  at  Moose  Jaw  in  March  asked  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Provincial  Bureau  of  Social  Research,  total  Prohi- 
bition, Dominion  regulation  of  the  sale  of  patent  medicines  and 
urged  women  to  refrain  from  Party  affiliations.  As  to  this  Mrs. 
Carrie  C.  Catt,  President  of  the  International  Suffrage  Association 
of  the  United  States,  told  the  Ontario  Franchise  body  on  May  9 
that  it  was  impossible.  Her  chief  advice  was:  "To  make  a  careful 
and  far-reaching  investigation  of  laws  concerning  women  and 
children,  and  keep  a  non-partisan  group  for  the  present  for  the  sake 
of  getting  what  is  wanted.  Like  a  maelstrom,  the  political  parties  are 
bound  to  sweep  you  in  sooner  or  later."  The  Ontario  Women's  Lib- 
eral Association  met  at  Toronto  on  May  11  and  discussed  various  econ- 
omic and  war  problems  as  well  as  political — Mrs.  J.  M.  Godfrey 
taking  a  strong  party  attitude.  Mrs.  J.  A.  Macdonald  described 
the  immense  amount  of  Red  Cross  work,  etc.,  being  done  by  affiliated 
bodies  and  a  motion  was  passed  expressing  lack  of  confidence  in  the 
Government's  conduct  of  war  affairs.  The  report  of  the  Women's 
Conservative  Club  of  Toronto,  an  organization  which  believed  in 
eliminating  politics  during  war-time,  showed  shipments  (May  16) 
in  the  year  of  1,147,748  articles  to  men  at  the  Front,  in  France, 
Belgium,  Salonika,  Lemnos  and  Mesopotamia.  The  Women's 
Liberal  Association  of  Regina  took  active  part  in  local  politics; 
in  Winnipeg  on  Sept.  6  a  Women's  Non-Partisan  League  was  formed 
to  support  candidates  and  not  parties,  personal  worth  and  principles, 
the  conscription  of  wealth,  as  well  as  men.  Meantime,  on  Apr. 
28,  a  meeting  was  held  in  Toronto  of  what  Miss  Laura  Hughes 
termed  "our  Woman's  Peace  Party"  and  which  she  stated  in  a 
published  letter  had  been  holding  meetings  all  winter.  *  Apparently 
this  was  a  branch  of  Jane  Addams'  U.S.  Pacifist  organization.  Mrs. 
Hector  Prenter  of  Toronto  was  active  along  Pacifist  lines  as  she 
had  been  in  bringing  Crystal  MacMillan  to  Toronto  in  1916. 

Into  this  general  situation  was  interjected  the  agitation  for  and 
final  realization  of  Woman  Suffrage.  The  subject  was  discussed 
in  the  Commons  on  May  16  with  favourable  speeches  by  D.  Suther- 
land, Wm.  Wright,  Hon.  W.  Pugsley,  Sir  Robert  Borden  and  others, 
but  no  vote  or  decision  was  come  to;  in  Ontario  the  Legislature 
finally  granted  the  demand  for  Provincial  suffrage  after  efforts  of 
Allan  Studholme,  Wm.  McDonald,  J.  C.  Elliott,  J.  W.  Johnson 
and  others  dating  back  five  years  and  the  ever-present  work  of  the 

*Toronto  Telegram.fyAug.  25.  1917. 
28 


434  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Ontario  Women's  Franchise  Association;  Manitoba,  Alberta,  Sas- 
katchewan and  British  Columbia  had  already  adopted  the  policy 
within  a  year  or  so  of  this  time,  while  New  Brunswick  had  a  munici- 
pal franchise  for  women.  There  was  no  great  demand  or  agitation 
in  the  West  except  by  the  W.C.T.U.  in  Alberta;  but  there  was  a 
general  recognition  that  women's  position  required  legal  improve- 
ment and  this,  coupled  with  women's  splendid  war-work,  carried 
it  through  in  both  East  and  West.  The  energetic  work  of  some 
Ontario  women  and  their  organizations  also  had  a  reflex  action 
elsewhere.  Mrs.  Emily  Stowe,  Mrs.  E.  S.  Gullen,  Mrs.  Nellie 
McClung  of  Winnipeg,  Mrs.  Emily  Murphy  of  Edmonton,  Mrs. 
Ralph  Smith  of  Vancouver,  Dr.  Margaret  Gordon,  President  of 
the  Canadian  Franchise  Association,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Huestis,  Mrs. 
A.  B.  Ormsby,  President  of  the  Ontario  Equal  Franchise  league, 
Mrs.  L.  A.  Hamilton,  President  of  National  Equal  Franchise  Union, 
Prof.  Cairie  Derrick,  President  of  the  Montreal  Suffrage  Association, 
were  amongst  those  to  whom  special  credit  was  due.  Then  came 
the  War-Times  Act  and  partial  Dominion  voting  rights,  while  a 
little  later  Sir  Robert  Borden  put  the  seal  to  all  this  success  by  writing 
a  letter  which  appeared  in  the  Vancouver  press  of  Sept.  17  as  follows: 

In  case  I  am  returned  to  power,  it  is  my  purpose  to  place  upon  the  statute  books 
a  measure  granting  the  franchise  to  all  women  of  British  birth  and  conferring  upon 
women  of  foreign  birth  the  right  to  seek  and  obtain  naturalization  on  their  own 
behalf;  that  they  may  become  endowed  with  the  same  privilege  after  suitable  resi- 
dence in  this  country  and  perhaps  after  suitable  educational  tests.  The  same  measure 
should  provide  that  a  woman  of  British  citizenship  should  not  lose  this  citizenship 
upon  her  marriage  except  with  her  own  consent.  (Signed)  R.  L.  Borden. 

Meanwhile,  on  Mar.  7,  the  Ontario  Equal  Franchise  Association 
decided  "to  turn  its  energies  to  the  work  of  preparation,  study  and 
training  for  citizenship"  and  then  changed  its  name  to  that  of 
"Ontario  Women's  Citizen  Association"  with  a  series  of  Resolutions 
demanding  the  right  of  election  to  the  Legislature,  the  establishment 
of  Government  food  warehouses,  the  enforcement  of  Selective 
Conscription,  prohibition  of  the  sale  of  veal  and  young  lamb,  etc. 
Its  official  platform,  announced  on  Sept.  6,  included  Federal  Fran- 
chise, abolition  of  Patronage  and  along  series  of  Social  and  Moral 
reforms — including  abolition  of  death  sentence,  age  of  consent  to 
be  21  years,  equal  wage  for  equal  work,  abolition  of  special  prison 
garb,  sex  hygiene  for  teachers  and  pupils,  members  of  Legislatures 
and  Parliament  to  be  subject  to  recall,  equal  guardianship  of  children. 
A  motion  was  passed  thanking  the  Government  for  partial  enfran- 
chisement under  the  War-Times  Act  but  re-affirming  the  claim  to 
full  rights  when  the  War  was  over.  On  Sept.  4  the  Saskatchewan 
Equal  Franchise  League  urged  the  Federal  franchise  for  women, 
organization  of  women  for  national  war  t>ervice,  equalization  of 
military  pensions  as  between  officer  and  private,  furlough  for  soldiers 
who  had  been  2  years  at  the  Front,  the  formation  of  a  National 
Government. 

Later  in  the  year  women  began  to  come  into  their  political  heritage 
in  a  practical  way.  Mrs.  Louise  C.  MacKinney  and  Miss  R.  C. 
MacAdams  were  elected  to  the  Alberta  Legislature;  Mrs.  Ralph 


ALIENS  AND  ALIEN  ENEMY  INFLUENCE  IN  CANADA       435 

Smith  was  nominated  as  Liberal  candidate  in  a  Vancouver  bye- 
election;  Mrs.  J.  H.  MacGill,  B.A.,  was  appointed  Juvenile  Court 
Judge  in  Vancouver  and  Miss  Ethel  MacLachlan  to  a  similar  posi- 
tion in  Regina;  Mrs.  J.  W.  deB.Farris  was  made  a  member  of  the 
Senate  of  the  University  of  British  Columbia.  Mrs.  G.  G.  S.  Lindsay 
of  Toronto  came  to  the  front  during  Ihe  year  as  a  public  speaker 
on  patriotic  subjects;  Mrs.  Huntley  Drummond  of  Montreal  did 
much  public  work  and  Mrs.  Nellie  McClung  of  Winnipeg  continued 
to  lecture  throughout  Canada  and  the  United  States.  Some  legal 
cases  during  the  year  were  of  special  interest  to  these  and  future 
women  lawmakers.  In  Winnipeg  (July  12)  Chief  Justice  Mathers 
decided  that,  technically,  a  widow  is  not  next  of  kin  to  her  husband; 
Mr.  Justice  Riddell  at  Toronto  decided  (Oct.  12)  that,  legally, 
any  money  saved  by  a  wife  out  of  funds  provided  by  her  husband 
to  defray  household  expenses  was  still  the  property  of  the  husband. 
In  connection  with  a  printed  will-form  filled  in  by  the  late  Mrs.  E. 
Charlton  of  Brantford  Mr.  Justice  Middleton  stated  at  Toronto 
(Dec.  19)  that:  "The  result  of  these  wills  is  really  a  crime.  I  have 
dealt  with  at  least  20  of  them  and  the  effect  has  been  in  each  case 
to  defeat  the  intention. of  the  testator."  At  Montreal  on  Feb.  12 
Mr.  Justice  Weir  closed  the  Court  to  a  slander  suit  issued  by  Mrs. 
Sabourin  on  the  ground  "that  the  husband  has  the  administration 
of  all  the  personal  property  of  his  wife,  and  he  alone  may  exercise 
all  the  movable  actions  which  belong  to  her."  At  London  Miss 
M.  Thompson  who  had  been  in  jail  there  for  five  months  for  con- 
tempt of  Court,  was  said  to  have  lost  her  reason.  She  had  promised 
her  dying  sister  to  look  after  her  child  and  had  kept  this  pledge  for 
a  number  of  years  when  the  child's  father  decided  he  wanted  posses- 
sion and  this  the  Courts  allowed — though  Miss  Thompson  refused 
to  reveal  its  whereabouts.  The  Presidents  of  some  important 
Women's  organizations  not  mentioned  in  this  Section  were  as  follows : 

B.C.  Suffrage  League Miss  H.  Gutteridge Vancouver. 

B.C.  Pioneer  Political  Equality  League.  . .  .Mrs.  Wm.  McConkey.  .  .  .Vancouver. 

Central  W.C.T.U.  of  Saskatchewan Mrs.  Robert  Sinton Regina. 

Halifax  Equal  Suffrage  League Dr.  Eliza  Ritchie Halifax. 

Ontario  Women's  Citizen  Association Mrs.  A.  B.  Ormsby Toronto. 

Ontario  Women's  Likeral  Association Mrs.  J.  A.  Macdonald. . .  .Toronto. 

Political  Educational  League Mrs.  Luther  Holling Winnipeg. 

Saskatchewan  Equal  Franchise  League.  .  .  .Mrs.  Lawton Moose  Jaw. 

Toronto  Suffrage  Association Dr.  Margaret  Johnston.  .  .Toronto. 

Toronto  Women's  Liberal  Association Mrs.  George  S.  Decks Toronto. 

Women's  Art  Association  of  Canada Mrs.  J.  Home  Cameron .  .  Toronto. 

Women's  Liberal  Association Mrs.  Henry  Norman Victoria. 

do  do  Mrs.  Stanley  Brown Vancouver. 

Women's  Press  Club Mrs.  Hugh  Cochrane Montreal. 

do  do  Miss  Louise  Mason Toronto. 

Women's  War-Time  Thrift  Committee Mrs.  H.  H.  Loosemore.  .  .Toronto. 

Aliens  in  Threads  of  alien  enemy  influence  were  woven  into 

Canada:  many  War  interests  and  products  of  Canada  as  well 

encf1ayndlflU"  as  the  United  States  and  other  countries  of  this  period. 
Political  All  alien  forces  were  not  necessarily  enemy  ones  in 

Conditions,     origin  or  intent  but  they  frequently  netted  the  same 
results.     The    1911    Census    showed    a    Foreign-born 
population   of    752,000   to   whom   Austria-Hungary   and  Germany 


436  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

contributed  161,000;  the  most  of  them  being  in  the  West  with 
7,800  only  in  Ontario.  The  1916  Census  returns  indicated  that 
these  countries  were  responsible  for  20%  of  the  population  of  Saskat- 
chewan, 13%  of  Alberta  and  12%  in  Manitoba.  The  Aliens  natural- 
ized in  1915  (Mar.  31)  were  15,758  of  whom  2,402  were  of  enemy 
origin;*  the  aliens,  other  than  Canadians,  emigrating  to  the  United 
States  (American  returns)  in  the  year  of  June  30,  1917,  were  19,115. 
The  official  treatment  of  aliens  by  Canada  was  admirable;  toward 
those  who  were  citizens  and  acted  as  such  no  discrimination  was 
shown.  Latterly,  however,  a  stiffer  public  attitude  was  adopted 
as  war  developed  the  German  policy  more  fully  and  an  increasing 
suspicion  was  felt  regarding  German  employees.  Teachers  in 
schools  usually  had  to  go  and  many  Government  employees  also, 
though  in  June,  1917,  there  still  were  20  persons  of  German  origin 
in  the  Ottawa  Government  service;  Lutheran  preachers  remained 
at  their  posts  though  they  were  watched  and  from  time  to  time 
had  to  leave  for  the  States;  German  Clubs  were  discontinued  and 
German  songs  stopped,  while  agitation  against  the  language  devel- 
oped from  time  to  time. 

During  the  year  much  was  heard  of  Kitchener,  the  centre  of 
the  old-time  German  population  of  the  Waterloos,  which  had  origin- 
ally come  from  Germany  via  Pennsylvania.  The  name,  in  1916, 
had  been  changed  from  Berlin  and  of  its  population  8,000  were 
British  Canadians  and  12,000  of  German  origin  with  a  small  pro- 
portion who  had  come  direct  from  Germany.  It  was  stated  by 
Mayor  D.  Gross  (Globe,  Jan.  26)  that  1,100  men  enlisted  from 
North  Waterloo  and  that  in  the  118th  Battalion  50%  were  of 
German  extraction;  that  the  City  had,  altogether,  given  $124,000 
to  War  Funds  and  paid  $31,000  in  soldiers'  insurance  premiums; 
that  97%  of  the  National  Service  cards  had  been  at  once  filled  up 
and  signed.  Yet  there  was  undoubtedly  a  disloyal  element  in  the 
city  which  was  pro-German  in  its  traditions,  in  its  refusal  to  accept 
the  changes  of  a  century  in  German  character  and  life,  in  its  aver- 
sion to  active  war  policy  and  action  against  Germany.  A  very  few 
native  Germans  in  such  a  centre  could  and  did  stir  up  trouble. 
The  election  of  Mr.  Gross  as  Mayor  on  Jan.  1,  with  the  announced 
policy  of  changing  the  name  back  to  Berlin,  caused  a  riot;  the 
continued  use  of  the  name  Berlin  on  certain  municipal  documents 
caused  anger;  Aid.  A.  L.  Bitzer  was  accused  of  defending  the  Lusitania 
sinking  and  open  cheering  for  the  Kaiser  after  the  elections  was 
freely  charged.  Mayor  Gross  in  his  opening  address  (Jan.  8) 
declared  that  "it  should  be  our  aim  to  do  our  full  share  toward  every 
need  in  the  defence  of  the  British  Empire."  As  to  the  change  of 
name  question:  "The  agitation  has  raised  feelings  of  bitterness  and 
discord.  It  has  led  to  acts  of  lawlessness  and  violence  such  as  were 
never  known  before  in  our  city.  ...  I  believe  I  may  say  for 
you  that  we  will  not  entertain  any  proposal  to  re-change  the  name 
of  the  city  during  our  term  of  office."  As  the  year  passed  on  stories 
of  Kitchener  ill-feeling  crept  into  the  press  from  time  to  time  but 
werejargely  discounted  until  on  Nov.  24  a  few  hundred  people  in 

*  Restrictions  were  afterwards  imposed  in  this  connection. 


ALIENS  AND  ALIEN  ENEMY  INFLUENCE  IN  CANADA       437 

his  audience  refused  to  allow  the  Prime  Minister  to  be  heard  at  an 
Election  mass-meeting.  Much  anger  was  aroused  throughout 
Canada  and  though  partisanship  had  as  much  to  do  with  the  matter 
as  racial  feeling,  it  naturally  was  not  looked  at  in  that  way.  W.  D. 
Euler  (Lib.)  who  was  contesting  the  seat  against  W.  G.  Weichel 
(Cons.)  expressed  much  regret  but  was  elected  by  over  2,000  major- 
ity. It  was  stated  that  outside  resentment  at  this  treatment  of 
Sir  Robert  Borden  resulted  in  the  cancellation  of  $300,000  worth 
of  business  orders:  the  Brantford  City  Council  declared  that  the 
name  of  Kitchener  should  be  taken  away. 

Mr.  Euler  in  a  letter  to  the  press  (Dec.  28)  claimed  that  the  whole 
trouble  arose  from  natural  suspicions  by  British  residents  and  out- 
siders and  natural  resentment  by  loyal  German-Canadians.  He 
described  the  people  as  bitterly  opposed  to  Conscription  and  stated 
that  "many  of  them  fled  from  Germany  to  escape  militarism  and 
looked  with  horror  upon  the  prospect  of  compulsory  military  service 
in  Canada."  To  this  letter  the  Rev.  Charles  A.  Sykes  of  Kitchener 
replied  by  stating  that  on  election  night  soldiers  in  uniform  were 
hissed  and  jeered;  that  at  Heidelburg — a  hamlet  nearby — boys  and 
men  paraded  singing  German  songs;  that  Mr.  Euler  and  others  in 
Kitchener  were  trying  to  be  "Canadian  without  being  British  and 
loyal  without  being  patriotic."  There  the  issue  rested.  In  the 
West  the  situation  was  more  serious.  It  affected  in  a  marked  manner 
the  legislation  and  elections  in  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan  and  the 
issue  of  Ottawa  politics  and  legislation,  Canadian  Union  Govern- 
ment, and  Parliamentary  elections.  The  taking  away  of  the  Fed- 
eral Franchise  from  men  of  enemy  origin  was  a  drastic  measure 
which  aroused  as  strong  antagonism  in  one  section  of  these  Provinces 
as  did  the  restriction  of  the  soldier  votes  to  two  or  three  constituen- 
cies in  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan  for  the  Provincial  elections  amongst 
another  section  of  the  people.  There  was  published  in  May,  1917, 
a  long  circular  issued  during  the  preceding  year  by  the  German- 
Canadian  Union  of  Saskatchewan  which  illustrates  the  situation. 
It  was  the  result  of  a  meeting  at  Regina  on  July  27,  1916,  which 
had  decided  on  a  propaganda  and  fighting  fund  for  the  organization 
and  the  following  clause  may  be  quoted : 

Have  you  ever  had  the  feeling  that  we  German  Canadians  should  stand  close 
together  and  be  firmly  organized?  Then  support  our  work.  Have  you  ever  felt 
that  it  is  a  compelling  necessity,  a  command  of  self-respect  for  us  as  men  and  citizens 
that  our  affairs  and  purposes  be  carried  on  in  Parliament  by  men  of  our  own  race? 
Then  support  us  in  our  work.  Have  you  at  heart  your  own  future  and  the  future  of 
your  children  in  this  new  land?  Then  support  us  in  our  work.  Are  you  ready  for 
the  defence  of  our  citizen  rights,  especially  in  the  school  and  language  questions,  the 
question  of  the  taking  up  of  homesteads  and  of  immigration,  to  make  a  small  sacrifice? 
Then  send  in  your  contribution  at  once  to  the  fighting  fund. 

The  result  of  this  was  organization  amongst  the  English-speaking 
Provincial  electors  and,  with  other  reasons — political,  national  and 
war-time — was  a  cause  of  the  War-time  Elections  Act.  The 
latter  was  a  Dominion- wide  issue  and  a  part  of  the  ensuing  Electoral 
struggle.  The  Bill  in  Parliament  has  been  dealt  with  elsewhere; 
in  the  country  it  was  variously,  received.  The  Toronto  City 


438  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Council  (Apr.  30)  had  approved  the  principle  of  excluding  enemy 
aliens  from  the  Federal  franchise  during  war-time  by  17  to  5;  the 
Catholic  Register  of  Toronto  denounced  the  proposal  as  unworthy 
and  a  repudiation  of  solemn  engagements;  the  Liberal  press  bitterly 
opposed  it  and  the  Toronto  Star  and  Regina  Leader  and  Edmonton 
Bulletin  led  in  a  determined  fight  against  it;  even  after  the  Act  was 
passed  and  the  Union  Government  was  formed  the  Leader  de- 
manded the  repeal  (Nov.  6)  of  "this  infamous  Act"  and  hoped  that 
Messrs.  Sifton  and  Calder  would  support  such  action  in  the  new 
Parliament — after  the  Elections  it  took  the  same  view  (Dec.  6); 
the  Grain  Growers'  Guide,  Winnipeg,  supposed  to  represent  the  import- 
ant Grain  Growers'  organizations  (Sept.  12)  described  the  Act  as 
disfranchising  anti-conscriptionists,  as  "a  violation  of  confidence 
and  not  in  keeping  with  Allied  principles,"  and  as  embodying  the 
basis  upon  which  President  Diaz  so  long  maintained  power  in  Mexico; 
the  Vancouver  Sun  (Lib.)  called  it  a  "Steal  the  Elections  Act "  and 
the  end  of  responsible  government. 

During  the  year  all  kinds  of  incidents  affecting  Aliens  in  Canada 
developed.  Germanized  school-books  in  Saskatchewan  were  fiercely 
attacked — though  politics  had  some  share  in  this  situation;  the 
Vancouver  Province  declared  (May  23)  that  of  thousands  of  alien 
enemies — Austrians  and  Ruthenians  chiefly — between  Winnipeg  and 
the  Coast,  only  a  few  could  be  induced  to  work,  while  idleness  easily 
bred  sedition;  R.  A.  M.  Abich,  a  Sergeant  in  the  Mounted  Police, 
who  left  for  Berlin  in  June,  1914,  was  reported  killed  as  a  German 
scout  on  the  Western  front  and  there  was  evidence  which  proved 
him  a  German  agent  while  in  Canada;  the  labour  shortage  every- 
where resulted  in  the  employ  of  Austrian  and  German  aliens  in 
work  of  all  kinds — the  Imperial  Munitions  Board,  the  Lindsay 
Arsenal  and  many  munition  and  other  industrial  plants;  seditious 
talk  was  punished  from  time  to  time  but  very  lightly  compared  with 
American  sentences  after  the  United  States  came  into  the  War — 
a  Davenport,  Iowa,  case  involving  a  20-year  sentence!  A  man 
named  Belash  of  Hilliard,  Alberta,  was  fined  $100;  Pastor  Frederick 
Hedden  of  the  Disciples'  Church  at  Erin  was  arrested  but  allowed 
to  return  to  the  States;  Magistrate  G.  T.  Denison  in  Toronto  gave 
Alex.  Auer  a  two  years'  sentence  in  the  Penitentiary  for  saying  that 
if  conscripted  he  would  shoot  down  the  first  British  officer  he  met — 
on  appeal  Mr.  Justice  Britton  released  him;  Rev.  H.  A.  Shorting 
of  Kitchener  was  interned  for  alleged  financial  aid  to  the  enemy; 
Isaac  Bainbridge  of  Canada  Forward,  a  Socialist  journal,  was  given 
9  months  by  Mr.  Justice  Hodgins  for  seditious  libel. 

Col.  G.  T.  Denison  wrote  the  Toronto  press  on  June  18  denounc- 
ing the  influences  of  the  "hidden  hand"  in  Canadian  politics  and 
business — as  in  England  and  the  States  and  elsewhere.  He  pointed 
to  many  things  in  recent  British  history  which  could  only  be  explained 
by  impalpable  and  inscrutable  German  influence.  It  had  bedevilled 
Russia,  betrayed  Roumania,  intrigued  against  the  United  States, 
paralyzed  Greece,  for  a  time  defeated  Hughes  in  Australia  and  had 
in  fact,  been  using  its  malign  power  all  over  the  world:  "Does 
anyone  believe  that  the  Germans"  have  overlooked  Canada?  If  so, 


THE  COST  OF  LIVING;  SIR  J.  W.  FLAVELLE'S  POSITION    430 

examine  closely  the  situation  at  Ottawa  now,  and  it  will  be  seen 
how  their  evil  work  is  helping  to  bedevil  Canada  also."  In  this 
respect  the  labour  problem  was  a  difficult  one.  J.  Murray  Clark, 
K.C.,  Toronto,  in  several  press  letters  vigorously  denounced  the 
I.W.W.  and  declared  that  recent  mining  strikes  were  manipulated 
by  them  with  the  aid  of  alien  enemy  workers.  At  the  same  time 
the  Kiwanis  Club  of  Winnipeg  (Oct.  12),  and  other  organizations, 
demanded  that  aliens  not  employed  be  compelled  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  work  at  a  fair  wage;  while  public  protests  were  many 
as  to  enemy  aliens  being  employed  in  munition  plants  at  $5.00 
a  day  while  Canadian  soldiers  received  $1.10.  The  Government 
banned  many  German- American  publications  during  the  year 
including  most  of  the  German  language  papers,  such  books  as 
The  Vampire  of  the  Continent  by  Count  Ernest  Zu  Reventlow, 
and  America  s  Relations  to  the  Great  War  by  Prof.  L.  W.  Burgess 
of  Columbia  University.  An  Order-in-Council  also  prohibited  alien 
enemies  from  controlling  or  operating  any  business  in  Canada. 
It  may  be  added  that  on  July  26  Col.  J.  A.  Currie  made  this  state- 
ment in  the  Commons:  "Every  German  who  went  over  with  the 
First  Contingent,  and  I  believe  every  man  of  German  birth  who 
has  yet  gone  over,  has  been  detained  in  England  or  else  has  been 
sent  back  here.  With  very  few  exceptions,  unless  they  had  the 
special  permission  and  authority  of  the  Minister,  they  were  not 
allowed  to  go  to  the  Front." 

High  Prices  The  high  cost  of  living  was  a  great  War  problem 

LMiS°-Ss£fJ  of  1917'  but  not  wholly  so-  II  already  had  reached 
wrFlavelle's  a  m§n  level  in  1913  before  the  War,  it  rose  some- 
Position,  what  in  1914,  it  leaped  upwards  in  1916-17.  It  was  a 
world-wide  issue  based,  in  its  serious  phenomena, 
upon  inadequate  production  at  the  points  of  demand,  insis- 
tent requirements  of  a  continuous  nature,  costly  and  insufficient 
transportation  by  land  and  by  sea.  It  was  accompanied  by  condi- 
tions associated  with  these  fundamental  ones — increasing  scarcity 
of  coal  from  (1)  lack  of  labour,  and  (2)  increase  of  demand;  exhaustion 
of  many  raw  materials  followed  by  ever-increasing  military  needs 
and  transport  difficulties.  Government  control  took  new  and  ex- 
traordinary forms,  every  effort  was  made,  compatible  with  that 
stiff  and  unthinking  independence  which  characterizes  modern  de- 
mocracy, to  organize  men  and  interests,  economize  consumption,  and 
facilitate  distribution;  but  the  best  results  were  not  as  good  as  they 
should  have  been.  Except  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  where 
crops  could  not  be  shipped,  prices  grew  high  and  higher.  Early 
in  1916  retail  food  prices  in  Germany  and  Austria  were  double  those 
ruling  before  the  War;  in  1917  they  fluctuated  but  with  a  net  upward 
tendency  most  of  the  time.  In  these  years  prices  in  Canada,  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  ran,  roughly,  according  to  Index 


numbers,  j 

Wholesale 
Prices 
1913  
1916... 

is  follows:* 

Great 
Canada      Britain 
135  '  5           85 
182'G          137 
207-4          154-3 
245'Q          175'7 

United          Retail  Food 
States               Prices 
81            1913  
100            1916  
118            Dec.,  1916.. 
150            Aug.,  1917.. 

Canada 
7'33 
8-79 
lO'll 
11-68 

Great 
Britain 
102 
160 
184 
202 

United 
States 
98 
112 
125 
147 

Dec., 
Aug., 

1916.  . 
1917.. 

Wholesale  Prices  in  Canada,  issued  by  Department  of  Labour,  Ottawa. 


440  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

All  kinds  of  Government  action  developed — in  the  meat  production 
of  Argentina,  the  wheat  crop  of  India  and  Australia,  the  wheat 
offer  to  Canada,  the  British  purchase  of  Canadian  cheese  and  the 
British  control  of  wool  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  for  instance. 
Upon  the  whole,  Canada  maintained  a  slightly  lower  level  than 
other  countries — an  American  report  at  the  end  of  1917  showing 
14  commodities  in  which  prices  were  higher  in  the  United  States — 
bread,  flour,  oatmeal,  rice,  potatoes,  beans,  fish,  tea,  pork-chops, 
round  steak,  lard,  milk,  butter,  and  cheese;  with  7  commodities 
in  which  Canada  ranked  higher — canned  tomatoes,  corn,  salmon 
and  peas,  sugar,  coffee  and  eggs.  In  the  U.S.  Senate  on  May  2nd 
J.  H.  Gallinger  presented  a  table,  prepared  by  the  Old  Dutch  Market 
Co.,  comparing  prices  in  April,  1914,  with  those  of  April,  1917,  and 
a  few  of  the  more  important  items  were  as  follows :  granulated  sugar 
which  increased  125%  per  pound;  flour  93%  to  107%  per  pound; 
milk  65%  to  70%  per  can;  corn-meal  100%  per  pound  and  oatmeal 
70%;  butter,  1st  grade,  83%  per  pound  and  round  steak  60%; 
eggs  80%  per  dozen  and  potatoes  291%  per  peck;  lard  100%  per 
pound.  The  average  increase  on  60  items  was  85 '32%.  In  Canada, 
according  to  statistics  issued  by  the  Department  of  Labour  at 
Ottawa  the  average  prices  in  60  centres  were  as  follows: 


Commodities 
All  Foods  (30  items)  . 
Starch,  Laundry  

1900 

.    $5.48 
2 

1910 
$6.95 
3 

1914 
$7.73 
3 

1915 

$7  87 
3 

1916 

$8.79 
3 

May 
1914 

$7.42 

May 
1917 
$11.82 
3 

Fuel  and  Lighting  .  . 

1.50 

1.76 

1.90 

1.83 

1.92 

1.87 

2.30 

Rent 

2  37 

4  05 

4  65 

4  12 

4  04 

4  88 

4.34 

Total $9.37     $12.79     $14.31     $13.85     $14.78     $14.20     $18'49 

Iron  and  steel  prices  grew  from  an  index  figure  of  155  in  July,  1914, 
to  279  in  July,  1917,  and  other  metals  in  the  same  period  from  115 
to  276.  It  was  noticeable  that  the  prices  increased  steadily  and  not 
only  in  the  War  years.  By  Provinces  the  chief  increase  was  in  On- 
tario, 116%,  and  in  Quebec,  105%,  running  down  to  British  Columbia 
with  67%.  Meanwhile,  the  British  increases  had  been  almost 
entirely  since  the  War — the  general  cost  of  living  being  75%  more  on 
July  1,  1917,  than  in  1914.  The  price  of  some  meats  rose  by  100% 
and  200%,  bread  and  cheese  and  potatoes  were  over  that  fig- 
ure. Several  official  enquiries  were  made  during  1917  besides  the 
continuous  one  into  prices  carried  on  by  the  Canadian  Labour 
Department.  W.  F.  O'Connor,  K.C.,  who  was  appointed  Acting 
Commissioner  of  the  Cost  of  Living  under  Mr.  Crothers  of  this 
Department,  reported  on  May  18  as  to  Sugar.  In  his  introduction 
Mr.  O'Connor  criticized  the  accounting  systems  and  business  methods 
of  Canadian  manufacturers  and  merchants,  deprecated  price  in- 
vestigations by  municipalities  unless  they  were  given  more  power, 
and  approved  greater  rights  of  combination  in  respect  to  export 
trade.  The  sugar  refined  in  Canada  during  1916  was  345,089  tons, 
worth  $47,473,114  and  all  but  one  of  six  companies  used  imported 
raw  cane  sugar  with  the  Cuban  crop  in  control  of  the  situation. 
In  1916  its  total  product  was  2,607,000  long-tons;  the  world's  sugar 
crop  was  16,000,000  long-tons;  the  reduction  in  the  former  case  was 
400,000  and  in  the  latter  592,000  tons.  As  to  details  the  Com- 


THE  COST  OF  LIVING;  SIR  J.  W.  FLAVELLE'S  POSITION    441 

missioner  stated  that  two  Canadian  refineries  were  working  on  a 
small  margin  of  profit  and  one  at  a  loss,  with  the  others  in  different 
degrees  of  profit. 

Difficulties  faced  were  (1)  the  unstable  condition  of  the  labour 
market,  (2)  the  erratic  supply  of  raw  sugar  and  accessory  material 
such  as  coal,  chemicals,  packages,  etc.,  (3)  the  general  increase  in 
the  cost  of  raw  sugar  and  accessory  materials.  Methods  of  manu- 
facture, distribution  and  sales  were  analyzed,  prices  and  profits 
reviewed,  and  an  important  conclusion  of  the  Report  was  this:  "I 
have  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  existing  arrangement  under 
which  sugar  is  sold  by  the  refiners  within  Canada  is  illegal.  I  have 
reached  the  conclusion  that  the  equalized  rate  system  under  which 
sugar  is  distributed  within  Canada  is  illegal,  but  I  have  as  strongly 
reached  the  conclusion  that,  notwithstanding,  the  system  of  sale 
and  the  system  of  distribution  have  been,  and  are,  fair  and  indeed 
beneficial  in  their  operations  to  the  public.  I  am  convinced  that, 
because  of  these  systems  and  of  their  operation,  sugar  is  reaching 
the  Canadian  consumer  at  a  cost  below  that  at  which  the  refiners 
can  sell  it  to  the  retailers  or  consumers  direct."  In  this  connection 
—though  a  wider  one  than  sugar — Hugh  Blain,  President  of  the 
Dominion  Wholesale  Grocers'  Guild,  addressed  the  members  of  the 
Dominion  Government  on  Feb.  7,  1917,  as  to  the  fixing  of  prices, 
the  place  of  the  wholesaler  or  so-called  middleman,  and  the  pro- 
posed appointment  of  a  Government  Commission  to  regulate  whole- 
sale trade: 

The  wholesaler  does  the  manufacturer's  business  for  him  under  exactly  the  same 
conditions  that  he  would  do  it  himself,  and  he  does  it  at  a  lower  cost  to  the  manu- 
facturer. Eliminate  the  wholesaler,  and  no  one  would  be  better  off.  The  retailer 
would  not,  the  consumer  would  not,  and  the  manufacturer  would,  on  the  other  hand, 
be  worse  off.  The  manufacturer  is  merely  using  a  cheaper  medium  for  the  distribu- 
tion of  his  goods,  without  cost  to  anyone,  and  with  profit  to  himself,  which  is  good 
business  economy.  The  wholesaler  merely  takes  over  the  distributing  part  of  the 
manufacturer's  business,  and  does  it  cheaper  than  the  manufacturer  could  do  it. 

On  May  29  Mr.  O'Connor  reported  as  to  Anthracite  Coal,  of 
which  Canada  imported  its  entire  consumption  from  the  States — 
4,568,440  tons  in  1916-17.  He  pointed  out  that  90%  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania product  was  in  the  hands  of  a  few  large  concerns  and  in- 
dicated that  he  had  found  (1)  "no  evidence  of  undue  accumulation 
at  any  time  since  the  beginning  of  the  War,"  though  in  1916-17 
there  was  a  general  scarcity;  (2)  "a  very  small  profit  derived  by 
coal  dealers,  notwithstanding  the  undoubtedly  high  prices  that  the 
cost  of  coal  to  them  has  driven  them  to  demand";  (3)  ample  evidence 
of  local  combines  (illegal  because  in  partial  restraint  of  competition) 
and  made  up  of  all  or  mostly  all  of  the  local  coal  dealers,  in  prac- 
tically every  city  in  Canada — but  not  responsible  for  any  enhance- 
ment of  prices  and  with  the  object  of  avoiding  price-cutting  war. 
As  to  price  he  accepted  the  selling  price  at  the  American  mines  of, 
say,  $4.00  per  long-ton,  added  transportation  costs  on  cars  or  boats 
of  $3.00,  also  a  cost  for  receiving,  degradation,  storing,  handling, 
selling  and  general  expenses  totalling  $1.60  per  short-ton,  or  a  net 
figure,  after  delivery,  of  $7.85  per  short-ton,  exclusive  of  the  local 
coal-dealer's  profit. 


442  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

So  far  as  prices  in  general  were  concerned  Canada  was  fortunate 
in  one  way.  As  the  Food  Controller  (Mr.  Hanna)  put  it  at  the  close 
of  1917:  "Real  wages,  being  the  amount  of  food,  clothing  and  other 
goods  which  money- wages  will  buy,  determine  the  welfare  of  the  wage- 
earning  population  and,  judged  on  this  basis,  Canadians  are  abso- 
lutely the  most  fortunate  people  in  the  world  to-day."  This  fact 
was  no  particular  comfort  to  people  who  could  not  understand  or 
obtain  explanation  of  a  constant  rise  in  the  cost  of  essential  commo- 
dities. It  might,  for  instance,  be  true  that  bread  was  cheaper  in 
England  than  in  Canada  because  bakers  there  were  secured  from 
losses  by  Government  subventions  but  Canadians  only  knew  that 
bread  cost  more  than  it  did  in  England.  They  could  not  clearly 
see  the  larger  causes  and  the  lesser  details  which  fitted  into  a  world- 
condition.  Money  inflation  and  high  prices  are  a  part  of  all  wars — 
especially  of  a  world  conflict  where  the  output  of  gold  and  silver 
could  not  keep  pace  with  the  growth  of  expenditure;  extravagant 
living  and  payment  of  exorbitant  prices  for  luxuries  took  time  for 
limitation;  the  waste  of  food  by  profiteers  holding  for  better  prices, 
by  people  striving  to  get  only  the  better  cuts  of  meat,  by  the  order- 
ing and  destruction  of  individual  helpings  of  food  only  partly  used 
and  running  to  enormous  quantities  over  a  continent;  the  waste 
of  products  in  cold  storage,  of  apples  unpicked  or  wasted,  of  things 
lost  through  lack  of  labour,  of  the  fact  of  inefficiency — all  helped 
to  create  scarcity  and  raise  prices.  Then  there  was  the  shopping 
system  by  telephone,  the  expensive  delivery  system  and  demands 
of  thoughtless  customers,  the  high  cost  of  labour-saving  machinery 
to  the  farmer;  high  freight  rates  and  losses  from  delayed  or  con- 
gested transportation,  scarcity,  also,  of  teams  and  carters  and 
delivery  or  hauling  equipment;  the  increase  of  wages  and  decrease 
of  hours  worked — in  many  cases — with,  in  others,  decrease  of  effi- 
ciency and  production;  the  waste  in  garbage,  etc.,  estimated  by  the 
Food  Controller  at  $56,000,000  or  $7.00  per  head  of  the  population 
every  year,  and  losses  such  as  the  26,000  Ibs.  of  immature  veal 
destroyed  in  a  Toronto  fire  during  a  few  minutes. 

Of  the  specific  problems  bread  was  ever-present.  The  increase 
had  been  steady  from  5  cents,  at  one  time  in  1910,  to  6  cents  in  1912, 
7  cents  in  1914,  8  cents  in  1916,  and,  in  1917,  it  rose  from  9  to  10 
cents.  The  price  of  flour  during  this  latter  year  varied  in  different 
cities  and  with  it  the  cost  of  materials,  making  a  1  Ib.  loaf  of  bread 
vary  from  6'6  cents  in  Toronto  to  6*4  in  Ottawa,  7'6  in  Montreal, 
7'5  in  Halifax,  and  6'8  in  Winnipeg.  The  fixing  of  the  prices  of 
wheat  and  flour  in  September  eventually  stabilized  rates  in  bread. 
All  through  the  year  large  quantities  of  perishable  food  products 
were  held  in  cold  storage,  even  while  prices  were  rising  higher  and 
higher.  According  to  Mr.  O'Connor,  on  Nov.  1,  butter,  which  had 
been  rising  in  price,  showed  an  increase  of  34%  in  storage  over  a 
year  before.  During  this  year  other  increases  were  as  follows: 
eggs  4%,  beef  8%,  pork  6%,  fish  2%.  There  was  a  slight  decrease 
in  cheese,  bacon,  mutton.  Potatoes  were  a  curious  problem.  The 
supply  of  1917  was  plentiful,  yet  prices  were  high  and  the  product 
often  scarce;  130,000  bags  were  said  to  have  frozen  or  rotted  on  rail- 


THE  COST  or  LIVING;  SIR  J.  W.  FLAVELLE'S  POSITION     443 

way  sidings  at  Montreal  in  February  because  the  dealers  wanted 
still  higher  prices;  no  price  was  fixed  by  the  Food  Controller  because 
he  found  that  the  cost  of  producing  a  90-pound  bag  in  Ontario  was 
$1.27;  Quebec,  $1.50;  New  Brunswick,  $1.35  to  $1.50;  Nova  Scotia, 
$1.05;  P.E.  Island,  90  cents,  and  the  difficulty  therefore  obvious. 
The  Food  Conservation  Committee,  Victoria  (Oct.  2),  asked  for 
a  minimum  price  and  also  urged  the  Food  Controller  to  regulate 
and  control  the  handling,  storage  and  distribution  of  food  products. 

The  Milk  problem  was  a  pressing  one  for  a  time  with  the  opposing 
interests  of  the  consumer,  the  farmer  and  the  urban  dairymen. 
It  appeared  when  23  tickets  sold  for  $1.00  in  1917  compared  with 
16  in  the  previous  year  and  also  in  the  actual  cost  of  milk,  as  opposed 
to  the  retail  price,  varying  in  the  different  Provinces.  To  the 
Toronto  Globe  (Sept.  26)  R.  W.  E.  Burnaby  stated  the  producer's 
case  as  including  the  increased  value  and  cost  of  the  cow,  the  in- 
creased cost  and  difficulty  of  obtaining  labour,  the  higher  prices  of 
feed — a  total  value  per  cow  of  $153.83  per  annum,  less  costs  of  $141.66, 
or  net  profits  of  $12.17.  The  Toronto  Milk  Producers'  Association 
in  September  demanded  an  increase  of  50  cents  per  can  and  of  16 
cents  per  quart  for  cream;  in  reply  to  this  and  other  similar  proposals 
the  Food  Controller  (Sept.  24)  asked  all  to  wait  for  the  Report  of 
the  Milk  Committee  or  until  Oct.  31.  This  Committee  was 
composed  of  Lieut. -Col.  G.  G.  Nasmith,  M.D.,  C.M.G., 
and  E.  H.  Stonehouse,  Toronto,  Dr.  T.  Boucher,  Montreal,  R.  W. 
Wigmore,  St.  John,  Dr.  N.  E.  MacKay,  Halifax,  P.  B.  Tustin, 
Ottawa,  W.  R.  Hamilton,  Vancouver,  and  J.  Bingham,  Ottawa, 
and  its  inquiry  commenced  on  Sept.  27. 

An  initial  development  was  a  chart  of  the  farmers'  price  to  dis- 
tributors of  milk  with  figures  stated  as  follows:  Nova  Scotia,  6'9 
cents;  New  Brunswick,  7*5  cents;  Quebec,  Montreal  district,  5*8 
cents;  Ontario,  generally,  a  little  over  6  cents;  Manitoba,  5*7  cents; 
Alberta  (doubtful),  8'1  cents;  British  Columbia,  7  cents.  Early 
in  November  the  Report  was  made  public  and  included  a  scheme 
under  which  $1,500,000  could  be  saved  to  the  consumers  in  17 
centres.  It  was  stated  that  the  price  paid  for  milk  to  the  producers 
was  not  excessive  in  view  of  present  conditions.  The  average 
increase  in  the  price  of  milk  had  been  less  than  30  per  cent,  in  a 
stated  period,  while  the  average  cost  of  cows,  feed  and  labour  had 
advanced  50%,  75%,  and  75%,  respectively.  The  farmers  were 
receiving  an  average  of  from  6  to  8  cents  per  quart  and  the 
consumers  paying  from  10  to  13  cents;  the  difference  lay  with  the 
distributors  and  the  "spread"  was  declared  excessive.  Mr.  Hanna 
at  once  took  action  and  on  Nov.  15  the  "spread"  was  fixed  to  not 
exceed  5*25  cents  per  quart  for  the  4  Western  Provinces  and  5 
cents  per  quart  in  the  Eastern  Provinces  after  Jan.  1,  1918. 

In  the  Commons  on  May  3  absolute  control  of  food  prices  and 
an  embargo  on  the  export  of  food  products  was  urged.  G.  W.  Kyte, 
W.  F.  Cockshutt,  D.  D.  McKenzie,  Sir  Thomas  White,  and  others, 
discussed  different  sides  of  the  question.  A.  K.  Maclean,  K.C., 
was  the  most  radical  in  his  views:  "If  fixing  minimum  and  maximum 
prices  is  the  solution  of  the  problem  then  let  us  have  that.  If  we 


444  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

must  take  over  the  flour  mills  of  this  country  let  it  be  done.  If 
it  means  more  direct  control  of  transportation,  let  it  be  done.  If 
if  means  closing  the  wheat  exchanges  of  this  country,  I  say  again, 
let  it  be  done,  although  that  would  be  a  doubtful  procedure."  W.  D. 
Lighthall,  K.C.,  of  Montreal  (Municipal  Journal,  June,  1917)  urged  a 
Dominion  Board  to  deal  with  the  whole  question:  "The  principles 
to  recognize  are:  (1)  That  the  law  of  supply  and  demand,  which 
formerly  regulated  prices,  no  longer  applies  because  it  depended 
on  competition;  (2)  that  competition  tends  more  and  more  to  dis- 
appear with  the  formation  of  powerful  mergers,  trusts  and  combines; 
(3)  that  the  result  is  a  series  of  virtual  monopolies;  (4)  that  uncon- 
trolled monopolies  fix  their  own  prices  arbitrarily;  (5)  that  it  is 
contrary  to  the  public  interest  that  any  monopoly  should  have  this 
arbitrary  power,  and,  therefore,  (6)  there  ought  to  be  over  every 
monopoly  a  controlling  tribunal."  Mr.  O'Connor,  the  Commis- 
sioner, had  a  similar  idea  which  he  called  a  Trade  and  Industrial 
Board  with  jurisdiction  over  trade  combines  and  methods;  on  Sept. 
20  the  Toronto  Board  of  Control  asked  for  "enquiry  into  bread, 
milk,  fuel,  ice,  dairy  and  farm  produce  and  other  necessaries  of  life, 
with  a  view  to  preventing  undue  increase  of  prices." 

The  I.O.D.E.  Executive  went  further  and,  as  representing  40,000 
women,  on  Oct.  4  requested  the  Government  "to  take  such  steps  to 
regulate  the  price  of  foodstuffs,  and  their  uses,  that  the  people  may 
be  able  to  obtain  the  necessities  of  life  at  reasonable  cost,  and  that 
such  foodstuffs  may  be  conserved  for  our  men  Overseas."  The 
War-Time  Thrift  Committee  of  Toronto  passed  on  Oct.  5  a  long 
Resolution  urging  more  education  of  the  public  in  the  need  for 
economy  and  stating  that  in  many  homes  "the  present  high  price 
of  foodstuffs  is  bearing  heavily  and  especially  upon  the  nourishment 
of  children."  The  Food  Controller  was  urged  (1)  to  find  means  to 
effectively  control,  and  if  possible  to  reduce,  the  price  of  such  vital 
foods  as  bread,  butter  and  milk,  and  of  all  foods  distributed  through 
cold-storage  plants;  (2)  to  remove  oleomargarine  restrictions  and 
to  investigate  curtailment  of  ice-cream  and  use  of  milk  only  as  a  food; 
(3)  to  consider  regulations  making  the  price  of  bread  one  day  old 
and  of  brown  bread  cheaper  than  that  of  fresh  white  bread.  It  was 
known  that  Mr.  Hanna  did  not  believe  in  controlling  prices  and 
speaking  at  Toronto  on  Nov.  21  the  Prime  Minister  indicated  that 
this  also  was  his  view.  Britain,  he  pointed  out,  was  an  importing 
country;  Canada  an  exporting  country  where  prices  were  partly 
regulated  by  Purchasing  Commissions  of  the  British  and  Allied 
Governments. 

Meantime,  Sir  Joseph  Flavelle  and  his  interests  had  become  the 
centre  of  wide  discussion,  of  much  and  serious  criticism,  of  popular 
hostility  in  some  directions  and  alarm  in  others.  An  eminent 
business  man  of  keen  ability  and  great  wealth,  a  prominent  Methodist 
layman  of  high  personal  character  and  much  earnestness  of  speech; 
a  public-spirited  personality  in  specific  directions — such  as  the 
University  of  Toronto  and  the  Toronto  General  Hospital;  President 
and  large  shareholder  in  the  Wm.  Davies  Co.  Ltd.,  which  did  an 
immense  business  in  retail  and  wholesale  food  supplies  before  the 


THE  COST  OF  LIVING;  SIR  J.  W.  FLAVELLE'S  POSITION    445 

War  and  had  greatly  increased  its  business  during  the  War;  he  also, 
in  1916,  accepted  the  post  of  Chairman  of  the  new  Imperial  Muni- 
tions Board.  This  business  reached  from  Halifax  to  Vancouver 
and  involved  the  handling  and  expenditure  of  hundreds  of  millions 
of  dollars;  it  carried  great  responsibility  in  the  letting  of  contracts, 
erection  of  buildings,  obtaining  of  vast  supplies  in  raw  materials — 
some  scarce  and  most  of  them  costly;  it  meant  holding  tens  of  thous- 
ands of  men  and  women  in  faithful  work  for  emergency  conditions 
which  were  greater  than  most  people  realized.  It  was  a  period  of 
severe  and  continuous  personal  strain,  of  considerable  service  to 
the  Empire  and  the  Allies.  For  those  services  the  King  and  the 
Imperial  Government  made  him  a  Baronet  in  June,  1917 — an  honour 
obviously  merited  by  the  particular  work  for  which  it  was  given 
and  in  harmony  with  the  British  principle  of  recognizing  the  War 
services  of  civilians  who  held  representative  positions  at  home  or 
abroad. 

At  this  stage  came  a  climax  to  smouldering  public  resentment 
over  the  rising  scale  of  prices  and  especially  bacon,  of  which  the 
Davies  Company  had  exported  95,000,000  Ibs.  in  1916.  Prelimin- 
ary criticism  had  been  free  and  widespread,  rumours  as  to  combination 
amongst  pork  packers  and  a  deliberate  increase  in  prices  were  rife, 
stories  of  masses  of  food  in  cold  storage,  held  to  force  prices  up  and 
often  kept  until  many  tons  had  to  be  thrown  away,  were  widely 
circulated,  denunciation  of  certain  interests  or  persons  as  profiteers 
was  common.  On  May  24  E.  C.  Fox,  General  Manager  of  the 
Davies  Company  wrote  to  the  press  in  reference  to  a  statement 
presented  to  the  Commons  by  A.  B.  McCoig  that  this  Company 
was  seeking  $2,800,000  worth  of  insurance  on  meats  in  cold  storage. 
He  explained  that  all  meats  intended  for  current  trade  or  shipment 
or  preservation  for  a  length  of  time  required  cold  storage  facilities 
and  treatment;  stated  that  they  never  had  any  such  total  amount  as 
the  above  figure  in  cold  storage  at  any  one  time — not -more  than 
3  per  cent,  of  the  total  of  meats;  stated  that  "the  hoarding  of  food 
in  cold  storage  for  more  than  a  limited  period  is  prevented,  not  only 
by  natural  physical  laws,  but  because  to  cold-store  an  important 
percentage  of  the  packers*  production  of  meats  would  be  unprofit- 
able"; described  the  periods  when  it  was  necessary  to  carry  butter, 
eggs  and  cheese  in  storage  to  keep  public  supplies  uniform  and 
sufficient. 

While  this  preliminary  controversy — most  of  it  was  not  in  the 
public  press — was  going  on  it  appears  quite  probable  that  Sir  Joseph 
Flavelle,  himself,  as  he  afterwards  asserted,  was  paying  little  atten- 
tion to  the  Davies  Company.  He  was  accustomed  to  large  interests 
and  was  handling  in  Munitions  bigger  matters  than  any  other  man 
in  Canada  except  the  Minister  of  Finance;  he  was,  however,  a  shrewd 
business  man  and  knew  that  his  personal  profits  were  going  along 
all  right.  They  were  afterwards  estimated  for  the  three  years, 
1915-17,  at  $1,685,345  for  himself  out  of  $3,304,560  which  the  Com- 
pany had  made.  This  was  large  but  in  1916  Armours  of  Chicago 
paid  out  $250,000,000  for  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  and  divided 
$80,000,000  of  many  years'  accumulated  surplus  amongst  its  stock- 


446  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

holders  in  a  400%  dividend;  Swift  &  Co.  reported  a  similar  surplus 
of  $60,000,000 — much  of  it  made  before  the  War;  the  net  earnings 
of  the  Armours  and  Swift  in  1916  totalled  $40,000,000.  As  developed 
in  subsequent  investigations  the  following  figures  show  the  Davies 
business — the  first  three  columns  being  submitted  from  Clarkson, 
Gordon  &  Dilworth,  Auditors,  and  the  fourth  one  from  Mr.  Fox 
as  excluding  capital  and  rest-fund  interest,  dividends,  insurance, 
profits  and  loss: 

Surplus  as  stated 

Year                                                       Assets  Liabilities  Surplus  by  Mr.  Fox 

1913 $4,690,478  $2,182,359  $2,012,882  $    340,905 

1914 5,754,812  3,010,007  2,060,426  373,350 

1915..                                       6,466,533  2,933,151  2,601,434  906,428 

1916 9,582,173  4,820,717  3,921,665  1,757, 180 

1917 13,384,948  7,330,357  5,008,101  1,723,600 

On  July  9  W.  F.  O'Connor,  K.C.,  as  Acting  Commissioner  re 
Cost  of  Living,  submitted  his  Report  on  Cold  Storage  in  Canada. 
Several  points  of  attack  were  first  cleared  up.  He  (1)  emphatically 
denied  the  existence  of  any  Trust  or  combination  to  raise  or  keep 
up  prices;  (2)  declared  that  there  was  no  guilty  destruction  of  food 
supplies  improperly  held  and  no  over-accumulation  of  products; 
stated  (3)  as  to  the  high-price  problem  that  "extensive  buying  for 
export  has  contributed  most  to  the  advances  in  prices  of  cold  storage 
commodities."  He  pointed  out  that  a  world  shortage  had  induced 
high  bidding  in  a  world  market;  that  the  domestic  price  had  followed 
the  trend  of  export  prices  upwards;  that  "the  figures  which  follow 
will  disclose  that  the  Canadian  farmer  has  not  been  blind  to  his 
opportunities."  On  the  whole,  he  alleged  that  the  operations  of 
the  cold  storage  companies  had  stood  the  test  of  investigation  well. 
"The  profits  per  pound  or  per  dozen  of  most  of  these  companies 
have  been  small,  and  have  not,  to  any  great  degree,  contributed 
to  produce  the  very  high  prices  prevailing."  On  the  other  hand 
he  stated  that  "a  few  of  the  cold  storage  companies  have  attained 
such  dimensions,  and  have  so  centralized  the  business  in  certain  lines 
as  to  exercise  a  practical  monopoly,  especially  of  export  business." 
His  figures  in  this  connection  and  the  evidence  adduced  of  "big 
business"  carried  on  by  the  Davies  concern  aroused  the  public 
and  caused  both  just  and  unjust  comment — some  of  the  criticism 
in  vigorous  and  unstinted  terms.  The  Cold  Storage  warehouses 
were  listed  in  detail  as  containing  34,000,000  cubic  feet  of  space, 
10,300,000  feet  being  subsidized  or  in  public  warehouses  through 
which,  in  1916,  169,000,000  Ibs.  of  produce  passed  or  remained. 

The  functions  of  a  cold  storage  business  in  Canada  were  to  pur- 
chase the  food  products  from  the  producer,  to  prepare  and  preserve 
them,  to  distribute  them  in  (a)  the  home,  and  (b)  the  foreign  markets. 
Elaborate  tables  indicating  the  extent  to  which  these  objects  were 
realized  followed  and  Mr.  O'Connor's  comment  was  concise:  "The 
food  consumer  has  suffered  as  a  result  of  war  conditions.  The  food 
purveyor  has  not.  He  has  seen  to  it  that  he  has  been  well  and 
sufficiently  paid.  Accordingly,  while  yielding  well-deserved  credit 
to  the  cold  storage  companies  of  Canada  for  the  capable  manner  in 
which  they  have  grappled  with  the  problem  of  supplying  the  needs 
of  the  armies  and  people  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Allies,  it  will  be 


THE  COST  OF  LIVING;  SIR  J.  W.  FLAVELLE'S  POSITION    447 

well  to  remember  that  the  performance  has  been  upon  strictly  business 
and  not  upon  patriotic  lines.  The  consumer,  who  alone  has  suffered 
for  his  country  in  the  process,  is  the  patriot."  In  the  matter  of 
profits  and  margins  the  Commissioner  emphasized  the  fact  that  in 
his  various  tables  the  word  "margin"  represented  "gross,  not  net, 
profit  on  the  commodity  from  the  time  it  is  laid  down,  all  costs  and 
expenses  paid,  in  the  storage  warehouse."  In  his  detailed  tables 
and  statistics  Mr.  O'Connor  dealt  with  the  ten  leading  storage  com- 
panies of  Canada  by  numbers  and  did  not  specifically  name  them 
in  his  Report.  In  the  press,  however,  in  Parliament  when  the  sub- 
ject was  discussed  on  July  30,  and  in  the  public  statements  of  the 
Companies  concerned,  it  was  accepted  that  No.  5  was  the  Matthews- 
Blackwell  Company  and  No.  9  the  Davies  Company.  Around  this 
latter  concern  the  ensuing  controversy  centred  and  the  chief  figures 
given  were  as  follows : 


Product 
Butter  

Bought 
L6s. 

6,083,508 

Bought 
Total 
Value 

$1,890,380 

Bought 
Average         Sold 
Price           Lbs. 
c. 
31  '07       5,547,768 

Sold          Sold 
Average  Margin 
Price    of  Profit 
c.               c. 
31  '51         0'44 

Eggs    

6,413,673 

1,613,438 

25'IS       5,566,505 

32  '  42          7  27 

Cheese  

2,632,618 

461,455 

17  52       2,489,351 

18  "67          1  '  15 

Beef  

.      22,232,988 

2,373,421 

10'67     16,514,231 

11  '64         0-97 

Fresh  Pork 

8,602,511 

1,295,069 

15  '05       3,732,606 

16  "27          1  22 

Bacon 

65  307  154 

10  681  590 

16  '35     97791019 

21  '40          5  '05 

Ham  i  . 

1,319,966 

196,718 

14  '90          938,807 

19'81          4'91 

Mutton-Lamb.  .  . 

2,887.607 

468.727 

16-23       2,443.729 

16  56          0  33 

In  his  final  conclusions  the  Commissioner  declared  (1)  that  the 
business  of  these  Companies  was  fairly  conducted  without  illegal 
combination  or  excessive  accumulation;  (2)  that  individual  cases  of 
profiteering  had  occurred  in  1916  over  which  he  had  no  jurisdiction 
but  which,  occurring  in  1917,  would  have  been  reported  to  the 
Attorney-General;  (3)  that  the  tendency  of  margins  upon  beef  and 
butter  was  to  be  excessive  and  warranted  a  declaration  from  the 
Food  Controller;  (4)  that  other  margins  might  be  lessened  but 
that  reductions  along  this  line  would  not  benefit  the  consumer 
greatly — the  profits  being  chiefly  on  turn-over  and  volume  of  busi- 
ness. In  the  main,  prices  depended  upon  costs  and,  therefore, 
upon  many  factors  and  elements — farmers'  charges,  increased  wages, 
delivery  expenses,  higher  salaries,  etc. 

The  effect  of  this  document  upon  public  opinion  was  instant. 
It  collected  and  concentrated  all  the  varying  waves  of  feeling  as  to 
prices  and  costs  upon  one  outstanding  firm  and  brought  its 
head  under  fire  in  a  very  real  sense.  It  became  personal  largely 
because  Sir  Joseph  had,  upon  several  occasions,  denounced  undue 
profits  in  war-time  with  distinctive  phrase  and  forcefulness.  In- 
cident to  this,  like  all  very  successful  men,  he  had  many  enemies 
and  rivals.  Some  of  these  disliked  his  strong-handed  guarding 
of  munition  contracts  or  their  distribution;  others  resented  his  title 
and  the  public  recognition  of  services  of  which  the  public  were  not 
and  could  not  be  fully  informed  in  war  time.  Labour  feelings  were 
stirred  up,  bitter  denunciation  of  capitalists  and  manufacturers  as 
being  profiteers  were  rife  and  explicit,  politicians  were  alarmed, 
the  consumer,  as  a  class,  was  indignant.  Sir  Joseph  Flavelle  recog- 
nized the  strength  of  this  sentiment  by  wiring  a  statement  to  the 


448  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Prime  Minister  from  Toronto  on  July  13,  in  which  he  described  the 
press  comments  on  the  business  of  the  Davies  Company  as  "grotes- 
quely untruthful  in  mass  and  in  detail"  with  "a  curious  mixture 
of  ignorance  and  malice." 

He  stated  that  he  had  offered  the  Imperial  Government  to  oper- 
ate for  it  during  the  War,  on  a  cost  and  percentage  basis,  in  bacon, 
canned  meats  and  pork  and  beans,  but  that  they  preferred  the 
open  market.  As  to  this:  "All  army  purchases  of  bacon  are  made 
in  London.  All  army  purchases  of  canned  meats  and  pork  and 
beans  are  made  in  Canada.  Both  are  made  in  open  and  untram- 
melled competition  with  the  world.  If  it  is  wrong  to  secure  a  share 
of  this  and  other  business  under  these  competitive  conditions,  the 
Company  has  been  guilty  of  such  a  wrong  and  of  no  other. ' '  Following 
this  the  Davies  Co.  issued  a  full-page  advertisement  to  the  daily 
press  of  Canada,  reviewing  the  Report  and  stating  its  own  business 
condition  for  the  first  time  in  public.  It  was  signed  by  the  General 
Manager  with  an  intimation,  also,  that  "this  terminates  all. public 
statements  of  the  Company — except  at  an  official  investigation." 
Mr.  Fox  stated  that  on  its  dealings  in  Live-stock  (1,043,000  head  in 
year  of  Mar.  27,  1917)  and  of  160,000,000  Ibs.  of  meats,  6,550,000 
Ibs.  of  butter,  5,650,000  dozens  of  eggs  and  26,500,000  tins  of  canned 
goods,  the  net  profits  were  two-thirds  of  a  cent  per  pound  in  meats, 
1*04  cents  per  pound  on  butter  and  cheese  and  per  dozen  on  eggs, 
and  one-half  a  cent  per  tin  on  canned  goods;  the  turnover  from  all 
operations  was  $40,000,000  and  the  net  percentage  of  profit  before 
deducting  war-tax  was  3'45%. 

Mr.  O'Connor's  margin,  bacon  especially,  was  denounced,  as  show- 
ing "dangerous  inability  to  co-ordinate  figures";  from  this  margin  of 
5*05  cents'  profit  there  should  be  deducted  operating  charges  for 
labour,  curing  materials,  refrigerator,  etc.,  or  1'02  cents  per  Ib. — 
also  2*09  cents  as  the  cost  of  transportation  and  of  sale  in  England. 
The  final  profit  would,  he  said,  be  much  less  than  one  cent  per  pound; 
the  increase  in  the  margin  over  1915  was  due  to  increased  ocean 
freight  rates  and  war  insurance.  In  his  Report  Mr.  O'Connor 
had  intimated  that  certain  figures  were  difficult  to  obtain  and  suggest- 
ed an  official  Accounting  inquiry.  This  the  Government  agreed  to 
and  on  Sept.  18  the  session  of  a  Royal  Commission,  composed  of 
G.  F.  Henderson,  K.C.,  Ottawa  (Chairman),  Geoffrey  Clarkson, 
Toronto,  and  A.  B.  Brodie,  Montreal  (the  latter  expert  account- 
ants), opened  in  Toronto  with  J.  W.  Bain,  K.C.,  as  counsel  repre- 
senting the  Government,  W.  N.  Tilley,  K.C.,  for  the  Davies  Company, 
and  Gordon  Waldron  for  Saturday  Night,  which  had  been  fiercely 
attacking  the  Company  and  its  President  in  a  series  of  articles. 
Only  a  few  of  the  main  points  of  the  inquiry  can  be  mentioned. 
E.  C.  Fox,  General  Manager,  testified  as  to  the  holders  of  20,000 
shares  of  which  Sir  J.  W.  Flavelle  held  10,067,  and  stated  that  the 
President  had  little  to  do  with  the  existing  management  of  the 
business.  The  Company  had  an  original  capital  of  $250,000  and 
the  existing  stock  was  $4,000,000,  largely  created  from  profits. 
It  was  found  to  hold  40%  of  the  shares  of  the  Harris  Abattoir— 
a  big  Toronto  concern,  60%  of  the  Sheede-Thompson  Company 


THE  COST  OF  LIVING;  SIR  J.  W.  FLAVELLE'S  POSITION    449 

in  London,  which  acted  as  its  English  agents,  and  $25,000  in  the 
Ontario  Fertilizer  Company. 

In  his  testimony  (Sept.  19)  Mr.  Fox  further  stated  that  bacon 
was  weighed  for  sale  on  reaching  England,  that  a  much-discussed 
process  called  post-curing  "added  to  the  weight  of  the  article  to  the 
extent  that  it  absorbed  extra  water  but  that  the  primary  purpose 
was  one  of  convenience  in  shipping."  Mr.  Fox  dealt  in  his  evidence 
with  the  rapid  rise  in  pork  products  during  1915  and  1916.  He 
stated  in  reply  to  Counsel  that  the  returns  of  the  contract  with  the 
British  War  Office,  at  this  time,  insured  his  firm  receiving  the  cost 
of  the  product:  "Whatever  the  market  value  of  bacon  was  in 
London  we  would  get,  provided  it  was  the  same  or  higher  than  it 
was  here."  Mr.  Fox  also  admitted  that  after  the  expiry  of  the 
British  Government's  contract  in  August,  1916,  the  price  of  pork 
went  down  about  two  cents  and  had  not  risen  yet  to  the  old  price. 
He  refused  to  give  the  reasons  for  this  cancellation.  He  assented 
to  Mr.  Henderson's  statement  that  "the  more  pork  you  could  buy 
the  more  profits  you  stood  to  make  in  the  event  of  the  market  con- 
tinuing to  rise" — subject  to  incidents  which  might  occur  from  week 
to  week.  He  declared  that  "the  Davies  Company  in  the  years 
ending  March,  1913  and  1914,  stayed  in  the  English  market  because 
they  believed  the  hog  industry  in  Canada  could  only  be  sustained 
through  that  market,  and  stayed  at  a  loss  to  themselves."  He 
claimed  (Oct.  12)  that  profits  came  to  his  firm  in  recent  years  out 
of  the  war-export  (British)  business  and  not  out  of  the  local  con- 
sumer. T.  F.  Matthews,  of  the  Matthews-Blackwell  Company, 
stated  (Oct.  19)  that  his  Company  had  no  guarantee  from  the  British 
Government  and  that  the  competitive  buying  of  hogs  by  his  firm 
and  the  Davies  people,  to  supply  British  bacon  requirements,  ran 
prices  up.  He  had  never  heard  of  post-curing  until  now  and,  of 
course,  his  firm  did  not  use  it. 

Sir  Joseph  Flavelle  testified  on  Oct.  20  as  to  the  Company's 
relations  with  other  concerns,  its  methods,  business  in  England, 
nature  of  reports  and  basis  of  estimating  profits,  etc.  Upon  the 
moot  question  of  curing — the  post-cure  system  under  which  tem- 
porary weight  (afterwards  stated  to  average  2%,  or  a  total  of  1,600,- 
000  Ibs.)  was  added  to  the  bacon  by  a  pickling  or  second  preserva- 
tive process — the  witness  declared  that  his  was  the  responsibility, 
that  the  method  was  worked  out  in  a  pre-war  period  in  order  to 
compete  with  Danish  packers  who  first  used  it,  that  it  facilitated 
shipping  and  the  holding  of  consignments  for  specific  export.  During 
this  prolonged  examination  some  personal  references  of  a  public 
nature,  and  important  in  the  final  analysis,  occurred.  Sir  Joseph 
agreed  with  Mr.  Bain  that  without  the  War  the  demand  for  bacon 
would  not  have  come  which  made  the  extra  profits  possible;  he 
frankly  admitted  that  he  was  in  this  and  other  Companies  for 
business  and  not  philanthropic  reasons;  stated  that  the  great  pro- 
portion of  the  profits  were  made  from  sales  to  the  British  War  Office; 
claimed  that  the  upward  trend  of  prices  was  general  and  that  the 
Davies  Company  only  shared  with  the  rest  and  that  their  success 
in  getting  business  was  due,  largely,  to  their  long  connection  in  Eng- 

29 


450  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

land;  stated  as  to  the  profits  of  100%  on  capital,  which  Mr.  Bain 
alleged  to  be  the  1917  figures,  that  he  had  no  "qualms  of  conscience." 
His  explanation  of  a  famous  speech  was  as  follows — after  a  refer- 
ence to  great  need  of  munitions  at  the  Front,  and  the  chance  of 
Canadian  manufacturers  failing  in  delivery  and  breaking  their 
pledges  because  of  increased  costs:  "I  said  that  if  it  is  profits  in 
relation  to  what  I  have  seen  and  what  I  have  told  you,  then  your 
profits  ought  to  go  to  the  Hell  to  which  they  belong.  And,  sir,  I 
would  say  just  the  same  to-day."  In  reply  to  a  charge  in  the  Com- 
mons on  July  30  that  his  Company  had  preferential  shipping  pri- 
vileges on  munition  ships,  Sir  Joseph  wrote  a  letter,  which  was  read 
in  the  House,  that  the  bacon  under  Government  contract  was  con- 
trolled by  the  British  Minister  of  Shipping  and  that  his  firm's  other 
consignments  of  bacon  took  chances  with  those  of  other  shippers. 

The  Royal  Commission  reported  on  Nov.  19  as  to  their  investi- 
gation of  the  O'Connor  Report  and  found  that  "the  percentage 
profit  (Davies)  during  the  four  War-years  on  meat  products  sold 
to  the  Canadian  public  was  12'7  per  cent.;  on  specialties  and  cooked 
meats  13*2%;  on  produce  purchased  in  the  United  States  and  sold 
outside  of  Canada  1'6%;  and  on  English  exports  72'5%";  that 
"from  August,  1916,  to  February,  1917,  the  Davies  Company  en- 
joyed the  very  distinct  advantage  over  its  competitors  of  having 
a  fixed  minimum  price,  which  unquestionably  gave  it  greater  assur- 
ance in  making  its  purchases  of  live  hogs";  that  "the  Davies  Com- 
pany could  not  lose  in  a  declining  market,  but  in  an  advancing 
market  every  chance  was  in  its  favour";  that  the  post-cure  was 
adopted  in  1902,  prevented  deterioration  and  enabled  products  to 
be  held  longer.  Sir  Joseph  Flavelle's  statement  that  he  did  not 
in  any  way  use  his  official  influence  to  obtain  their  British  contract 
was  accepted.  The  figures  on  certain  widely-discussed  points  were 
as  follows : 

Profit  Profit 

Year  of                               Company       Company          Per-    Investment      with  without 

March  31st.                            Sales              Profits         centage                       Interest  Interest 

p.c.  p.c. 

1914...                               .    $10,774,274     $       15,521             '14     $1,314,243       20'41  6'89 

1915 16,883,111           484,631          2'87        1,351,840       56'80  43'32 

1916..                                      25,135,468        1,335,454          5'32       1,744,251        93'76  80'02 

1917 41,080,632        1,634,161          3'99        69'08  57'48 

Following  this  publication  came  a  violent  renewal  of  the  contro- 
versy and  much  criticism  of  Sir  J  .W.  Flavelle.  A  few  papers  such 
as  the  Ottawa  Journal-Press,  the  Winnipeg  Telegram  and  the  Mani- 
toba Grain  Growers9  Guide,  demanded  his  retirement  from  the 
Munitions  Board,but  the  position  was  an  Imperial  one  and  Sir  Joseph 
did  not  believe  that  he  had  done  anything  wrong  in  accepting  the 
profits  of  his  business.  As  to  this  the  Toronto  Globe  of  Oct.  24 
declared  that  he  had  failed  "to  apply  to  his  own  firm  the  higher 
ethics  of  war  contracts  which  he  imposed  upon  munition  manu- 
facturers." Incidentally,  the  popular  feeling  in  this  matter  was 
responsible  for  much  misunderstanding  and  many  mis-statements 
as  to  titles  in  general  and  the  specific  honour  conferred  upon  the 
Chairman  of  the  Munitions  Board.  Basing  action  upon  the  Hender- 
son Report  the  Government  took  up  the  question  of  Packers'  profits 


THE  CANADIAN  PATRIOTIC  FUND  AND  THE  WAR          451 

and  Hon.  N.  W.  Rowell  was  appointed  Chairman  of  a  Cabinet 
Committee  to  deal  with  the  question  of  limiting  such  profits  in  future. 
On  Oct.  31  the  Food  Controller  stated  that  the  Government  would 
establish  effective  control  over  all  packing-houses  and  cold  storage 
plants — the  statistics  for  Dec.  1  showing  114,505,797  Ibs.  of  butter, 
cheese,  beef,  pork,  bacon  and  mutton  in  storage  compared  with 
110,676,765  on  Nov.  1,  1916. 

The  Canadian  Patriotic  Fund.    This  war  organization  of 

which  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Connaught  had  been  President  in  1914-15-16,  and  H.E. 
the  Duke  of  Devonshire  President  in  1917;  of  which  Sir  Thomas  White  was  Hon. 
Treasurer  since  its  inception,  Sir  Herbert  Ames  Hon.  Secretary,  and  P.  H.  Morris 
Secretary,  continued  its  splendid  work.  Up  to  Dec.  31,  1917,  total  Receipts  from 
the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  Canadian  people  were  $34,596,290  and  total 
disbursements  to  the  dependants  of  Canadian  soldiers  $25,140,327 — with  a  balance 
in  hand  of  $9,455,969.  The  contributions  and  advances  by  Provinces  were  as  follows : 

Province  Receipts  Advances 

Alberta $  1,834,245.70  $  3,040,960.33 

British  Columbia 2,463,420.87  3,670,873.20 

Manitoba 135,527.99  135,429. *2 

New  Brunswick 1,097,107.19  959,139.68 

Nova  Scotia 1,343,728.95  1,046,620.48 

Ontario 16,311,199.22  10,991,852.08 

P.  E.  Island 126,521.00  64,308.60 

Quebec 8,781,098.10  3,136,528.80 

Saskatchewan 1,952,479.77  1,926,901.72 

Yukon , 45,631 .20          


Total $34,090,959.99       $24,972,614.61 

Sundry  totals  such  as  $142,936  from  the  Public  Service  of  Canada  and  special  gifts 
from  Great  Britain,  United  States,  etc.,  totalled  $241,225.48  of  receipts  and  $13,350.86 
of  Advances.  Manitoba  had  an  entirely  separate  Fund  and  the  amount  specified 
above  had  been  sent  to  Ottawa  in  subscriptions  which  were  afterwards  remitted  to 
the  Provincial  Fund.  An  analysis  of  these  figures  showed  interesting  results.  In 
Ontario  the  cities  gave  the  large  single  amounts — Toronto  and  York  Counties  $4,964,- 
757,  Hamilton  and  Wentworth  County  $1,315,270  and  Ottawa  with  Carleton  County 
$1,178,136 — but  without  the  counties  they  could  not  have  met  the  situation  at 
all.  The  County  Councils,  largely  composed  of  farmers  and  very  largely  representing 
them,  voted  much  greater  sums  than  the  public  generally  knew  of — Bruce  County 
Council  $177,500;  Carleton  $36,000;  Dufferin  $32,050;  Elgin  $131,000;  Essex  $108,000; 
Frontenac  $46,750;  Grey  $99,000;  Haldimand  $70,000;  Halton  $32,086  (and 'main- 
tenance of  soldier  dependants  within  its  borders);  Hastings  $56,000;  Huron  $183,000; 
Lincoln  undertook  charge  of  soldiers'  dependants  within  its  boundaries — except  in 
St.  Catharines;  Kent  $97,847;  Lambton  $110,400;  Lanark  $48,000;  Leeds,  $85,000; 
Lennox  $39,600;  Middlesex  $132,000;  Durham  $186,500;  Ontario  $138,390;  Peel 
$96,000;  Perth  $86,000;  Peterborough  $59,500;  Prescott  $1,900;  Renfrew  $82,842; 
Simcoe  $128,000;  Stormont  $83,200;  Waterloo  $74,698  and  Wellington  $78,250. 
These  subscriptions  totalled  $2,500,000  and  there  were  other  considerable  sums 
f/om  farmers  not  distinguished  in  the  County  branch  reports  of  the  Fund. 

The  smallest  contributions  were  the  $1,900  from  Prescott  and  $1,974  from  Hali- 
burton;  in  Quebec,  however,  the  Counties  of  Bagot,  Berthier,  L'Assomption,  Laprairie, 
Levis,  Richelieu,  Soulanges,  Vercheres  and  Two  Mountains  gave  nothing,  while  Beauce, 
Chicoutimi,  L'Islet,  Matane,  Portneuf,  Terrebonne,  Vandreuil  and  Wolfe  gave  under 
$1,000.  Montreal  City  and  Island  totalled  $6,457,595,  Quebec  City  and  District 
$601,866  and  Sherbrooke  City  and  County  $155,424,  so  that  the  46  counties  containing 
the  bulk  of  Quebec's  agricultural  population  contributed  about  $500,000.  Interesting 
or  notable  contributions  during  1917  included  $843,000  of  Ontario  Government 
grants,  $110,000  from  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  $5,700  from  the  Western  Mennonites, 
$90,000  from  the  Quebec  Government  and  $44,344  from  C.P.R.  employees.  The 
collection  of  $15,000,000  in  1917  was  not  an  easy  task  and  the  result  was  in  excess 
of  expectations;  it  commenced  with  an  earnest  appeal  from  the  Duke  of  Connaught 
for  estimated  requirements  of  $12,500,000  and  the  statement  that  55,000  families 


452  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

or  150,000  individuals  were  then  dependent  upon  the  Fund.  The  campaign  that 
followed  in  Toronto  was  very  successful  and  was  combined  with  a  Canadian  Red  Cross 
appeal  and  the  motto  "Serve  by  Giving";  it  was  directed  by  Sir  Wm.  Mulock  as 
President  of  the  Toronto  and  York  Patriotic  Fund,  E.  R.  Wood,  Chairman  and 
Treasurer,  and  W.  S.  Dinnick  as  Campaign  Organizer;  the  Teams  were  under  well- 
known  men  and  leaders  in  such  work  with  strong  Rotary  Club  and  Women's  Commit- 
tees; 23/£  millions  in  four  days  was  the  goal  set.  A  mass-meeting  on  Jan.  22  was 
addressed  by  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  Sir  John  Hendrie,  N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.,  Mayor 
Church,  Sir  W.  Mulock  and  Sir  H.  B.  Ames — the  latter  telling  the  people  of  Ontario 
that  $6,000,000  was  expected  from  them.  York  County  Council  gave  $250,000, 
Toronto's  Council  $50,000,  and  on  the  first  day  five  Banks  gave  $150,000.  During 
the  four  days' campaign  the  totals  ran  as  follows:  1st  day  $948,760;  2nd  day  $685,995; 
3rd  day  $423,624;  4th  day  $1,200,418.  Of  individual  subscriptions  the  Sheet  Metal 
Products  Co.  gave  $36,000,  the  Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce  $50,000,  Wm.  Davies 
Co.  Ltd.  $25,000,  and  Harris  Abattoir  Co.  $20,000,  Massey-Harris  Co.  $20,000, 
Sir  E.  B.  Osier  $20,000,  Gutta  Percha  and  Rubber  Co.  $18,000.  Of  the  teams  the 
Rotary  Club  came  first  and  the  Women's  second  and  J.  J.  Gibbons  third,  with  $800,000 
amongst  them.  Civic  employees  gave  $48,456  and  the  T.  Eaton  Co.  employees 
$101,129.  The  total  was  $800,000  in  excess  of  the  objective  of  2*/£  millions. 

Montreal  did  splendidly  in  this  campaign  and  made  a  total  of  $4,290,000  in  prom- 
ised subscriptions — including  an  expected  $1,000,000  from  the  city — which  compared 
with  $2,508,000  in  1916,  $1,613,000  in  1915  and  $1,613,000  in  1914.  Lord  Shaugh- 
nessy  and  W.  M.  Birks  were  in  charge  and  $2,500,000  was  the  amount  asked  for. 
J.  W.  McConnell  headed  a  Committee  of  "one  day's  pay"  pledges  and  obtained 
$850,000,  J.  Murray  Gibbon  was  Publicity  Manager  and  W.  G.  Ross  and  U.  H. 
Dandurand  other  leaders.  Amongst  the  larger  donations  were  Huntley  Drummond, 
Sir  Herbert  Holt,  Lord  Shaughnessy  and  Dominion  Textile  Co.,  $20,000  each,  Sun 
Life  $25,000,  Bell  Telephone  Co.  $24,000,  C.P.R.  $225,000,  G.T.R.  $10,000  per  month 
continued.  The  Bank  of  Montreal  gave  $60,000  and  the  Merchants  $30,000,  while 
W.  F.  Angus  obtained  $112,000  from  13  munition  manufacturers;  the  employees  of 
the  C.P.R.,  Canadian  Explosives,  Montreal  Locomotives,  Canada  Car  and  Foundry, 
Grand  Trunk  and  Dominion  Bridge  Co.,  contributed  a  total  of  $241,000.  Lord 
Shaughnessy  presided  at  the  meeting  on  Feb.  16  when  the  great  total  was  reached 
and  Toronto  for  once  beaten  in  a  patriotic  contest.  Congratulations  were  received 
from  the  Governor-General  and  Admiral  Jellicoe  and  many  others.  As  to  the  cities 
generally,  Hamilton  gave  $650,000;  Ottawa,  $400,000;  London,  $300,000;  Brockville, 
$150,000;  St.  Catharines,  $100,000;  Halifax,  $200,000;  Vancouver,  $400,000;  Victoria, 
$200,000;  Edmonton,  $150,000;  Calgary,  $175,000;  Quebec,  $250,000.  Sir  H.  B.  Ames, 
Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Fund,  speaking  in  the  Commons  on  Aug.  17  deprecated  criticism 
of  rich  men  in  this  connection  and  said: 

Here  are  several  men  whose  gifts,  I  know,  have  gone  into  six  figures  since  the  War 
began:  Sir  Edmund  Osier,  Sir  Edward  Kemp,  Sir  Herbert  Holt,  Mr.  Huntley  Drummond, 
the  Birks  of  Montreal,  and  the  Ross's  of  Quebec.  These  men  have  all  given  in  the 
most  generous  possible  manner.  1  have  a  list  here  of  our  subscribers  in  Montreal  and 
I  see  that  240  men  have  given  $508,000;  I  have  a  list  here  of  31  men  in  Toronto  who 
gave  $143,500;  in  London,  33  men  gave  $135,000;  Hamilton,  also,  has  been  very 
generous. 

Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  contribution  by  Welland,  Ontario,  to  the  Fund 
of  $9.00  per  capita,  of  St.  Catharines  $12  per  head  and  in  Camrose,  Alberta,  the  giving 
of  $22,000  or  double  the  sum  asked  for;  the  request  in  September  of  the  North  Alberta 
Fund  management  that  the  Dominion  Government  take  over  the  responsibility  in 
view  of  the  War-time  Franchise  Act;  the  general  movement  along  a  line  of  proposed 
Government  assumption  of  the  Fund  at  the  close  of  1917 — especially  in  view  of  another 
$12,000,000  being  required  for  1918;  the  passage  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  a 
curious  Resolution  (June  14)  stating  that  the  wife  of  a  Canadian  soldier  received 
$15  or  $20  a  month  and  the  wife  of  a  British  reservist  $5.00,  and  that  in  order  to  pre- 
serve "the  same  standard  of  comfort"  the  Patriotic  Fund  should  allow  the  latter  not 
more  than  $10.00  per  month;  the  decision  to  raise  the  ages  at  which  children  became 
ineligible  under  the  Fund  to  16  for  boys  and  17  for  girls. 

The  Canadian  Red  CrOSS,  which  had  been  founded  in  1896, 
did  great  war  service  in  these  later  years  of  1914-17.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1917  it  had  7  Provincial  Branches— Ontario  and  British  Columbia  not  being  separately 


THE  CANADIAN  RED  CROSS  AND  THE  WAR  458 

organized  except  that  the  latter  had  District  centres  at  Victoria  and  Vancouver; 
it  had  772  chartered  branches  spread  all  over  Canada  compared  with  484  a  year  before; 
it  had  established,  constructed  and  equipped  a  number  of  Hospitals — the  Duchess 
of  Connaught  institution  at  Cliveden,  the  King's  Canadian  Red  Cross  Hospital, 
Bushey  Park,  the  C.R.S.  Special  at  Buxton  and  the  Convalescent  Home  for  Nurses 
at  Chelsea,  the  Princess  Patricia  Special  at  Ramsgate  and  the  C.R.C.  Hospital  at 
Vincennes,  France,  a  Hospital  for  Officers  in  London;  the  total  moneys  collected 
to  the  beginning  of  1917  were  $2,266,357  and  the  expenditures  included  $250,000  on 
the  Vincennes  and  Princess  Patricia  Hospitals,  $300,000  on  Prisoners  of  War  food 
allowance,  $100,000  in  Hospital  maintenance,  $335,000  on  others  of  the  Hospitals 
mentioned  above,  $300,000  on  supplies  such  as  blankets,  towels  and  tobacco  purchased 
in  Canada,  and  $200,000  on  supplies  such  as  drugs,  hospital  furnishings,  etc.,  purchased 
in  England,  $280,000  to  the  British  and  French  Red  Cross  and  various  British  or 
Allied  institutions;  a  total  of  supplies  for  soldiers,  hospitals,  etc.,  valued  at  $8,000,000 
had  been  packed,  shipped  and  distributed  Overseas.  During  1917  the  Canadian 
Red  Cross  had  charge  of  all  parcels  addressed  to  or  intended  for  Canadian  prisoners 
in  enemy  hands  and  this  added  greatly  to  the  volume  of  work.  The  annual  meeting 
was  held  in  Toronto  on  Feb.  21  with  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Devonshire  present, 
their  Excellencies  becoming  also  Patrons  of  the  Society.  Addresses  were  given  or 
reports  read  and  the  following  officers  elected  for  the  year : 

President H.R.H.  The  Duchess  of  Connaught. 

Chairman  of  Central  Council Colonel  G.  A.  Sweny. 

Hon.  President The  Hon.  Sir  Edward  Kemp. 

Chairman  of  Executive  Committee Lieut.-Col.  Noel  G.  L.  Marshall. 

Hon.  Treasurer Brig.-Gen.  The  Hon.  James  Mason. 

Hon.  Corresponding  Secretary .Mrs.  H.  P.  Plvunptre. 

Hon.  Recording  Secretary Beverley  S.  Maclnnes. 

Hon.  Solicitor John  T.  Small,  K.C. 

Vice-Patrons  were  the  Lieut.-Governors  of  the  Provinces,  the  Vice-Presidents  repre- 
sentative men  from  each  Province  of  Canada.  In  May  H.E.  the  Duchess  of  Devon- 
shire accepted  the  Presidency  in  succession  to  the  late  Duchess  of  Connaught.  In- 
cidents of  the  year  included  the  formation  of  a  Winnipeg  branch  of  the  Canadian  Red 
Cross  with  Mrs.  E.  M.  Wood  as  Chairman  (Mar.  12)  and  affiliation  with  67  other 
branches  in  the  work  of  the  Manitoba  Red  Cross  Society;  a  great  Ball  given  in  New 
York  on  May  2  at  the  Biltmore  in  aid  of  the  Canadian  Red  Cross  and  Canadian 
Patriotic  Fund  with  an  address  from  Colonel  Marshall  of  Toronto  and  readings  by 
Julia  Marlowe  and  E.  H.  Sothern — Sir  Herbert  B.  Tree  and  M.  Paderewski  also 
taking  part;  a  series  of  addresses  beginning  in  May  and  given  by  Mrs.  H.  P.  Plumptre 
of  Toronto  to  Red  Cross  meetings  in  the  West  and  where  she  stated  that  in  money  and 
supplies  Canadians  had  contributed  more  than  $12,000,000  to  the  Red  Cross;  a  report 
of  the  Victoria,  B.C.,  Branch  that  up  to  June  30  its  shipments  to  headquarters  had 
included  30,502  shifts,  46,574  pairs  of  socks,  19,554  suits  of  pyjamas;  the  collection 
by  the  Vancouver  Branch,  under  the  Presidency  of  Sir  Hibbert  Tupper,  during  these 
war-years  of  $275,000  in  cash  and  $675,000  worth  of  gifts  and  supplies — according  to 
its  statement  of  Oct.  5;  the  total  raised  by  the  Manitoba  Province  Red  Cross  under 
G.  F.  Gait,  President,  was  $125,295  in  1917  with  a  total  during  the  War,  in  cash  and 
supplies,  of  $670,000.  The  following  were  the  official  figures  of  donations  received  in 
Canada  during  1917: 

Yukon  Territory. ..              .  $      8,209.82  New  Brunswick. .                .  $    16,530.00 

United  States  of  America. .  76,142.61  Nova  Scotia 11,939.30 

British  Columbia ..  84,882.78  Prince  Edward  Island 6,080.00 

Alberta 107,724.65  Ontario 555,299.46 

Saskatchewan 332,978.01 

Manitoba 230,196.77 

Quebec 167,854.15                   Total $1,597,837.55 

During  the  year  a  London  War  Committee  composed  of  G.  C.  Cassels,  C.  Cambie 
and  F.  W.  Ashe,  managers  of  Canadian  Banks  in  London,  was  appointed  to  co-operate 
with  the  Commissioner,  Col.  C.  A.  Hodgetts — who  in  June  received  a  C.M.G.  from 
the  King.  As  a  matter  of  fact  their  duties  were  supervision  of  the  Commissioner's 
work  and  office  and  consideration  of  recommendations  for  submission  to  the  Canadian 
Executive.  Upon  the  death  of  the  Duchess  of  Connaught,  who  had  acted  as  Chair- 
man, H.R.H.  the  Princess  Patricia  consented  to  be  Hon.  Chairman  of  the  Committee. 
The  Asst.-Commissioners — H.  Blaylock  in  France  and  Claude  Bryan  in  England — 
were  promoted  to  Lieut.-Colonel  rank;  Lady  Drummond  continued  her  most  valuable 


454  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

. 

services  as  head  of  the  C.R.C.  Information  Bureau  in  London  and  Mrs.  Rivers-Bulkeley 
of  the  Prisoners-of-War  Department.  As  a  result  of  the  Air-raids  it  was  necessary 
to  evacuate  the  East  Coast  Hospitals  and  this  decision  affected  those  of  the  C.R.C. 
at  Ramsgate  and  Margate.  The  Society  was  given  the  furnished  home  of  Colonel 
Gulton,  M.P.,  in  London  for  use  as  a  Nurses'  Rest  Home  and  a  Rest  Home  for  Officers 
was  also  established  at  Moor  Court,  Sidmouth.  During  1917  the  maintenance  of 
all  the  C.R.C.  Hospitals,  with  the  exception  of  the  I.O.D.E.  institution  in  London, 
was  assumed  by  the  C.A.M.S.;  the  cash  Contributions  of  the  year  in  Canada  totalled 
$1,521,694,  making  $3,768,823  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  the  value  of  the 
supplies  received  was  $3,725,000  and  a  war-years'  total  of  $10,757,000;  158  new 
Local  branches  in  Canada  were  formed,  making  at  the  end  of  this  year  961  branches, 
of  which  Alberta  had  141,  British  Columbia  30,  Manitoba  74,  New  Brunswick  79, 
Nova  Scotia  39,  Ontario  176,  P.E.  Island  1,  Quebec  35  and  Saskatchewan  336. 

British  Red  CrOSS  in  Canada.  This  British  fund  was  gener- 
ously supported.  Particulars  of  its  splendid  War-work  were  issued  and  widely  published 
and  included  an  actual  cash  expenditure  outside  the  United  Kingdom — in  France, 
Belgium,  East  Africa,  Italy,  Serbia  and  Montenegro,  Russia  and  Roumania — upon 
Hospitals,  buildings,  motors  and  their  upkeep,  ambulances,  trains,  rest  stations, 
surgical  dressings,  etc.,  of  $21,800,000;  the  sending  abroad  of  6,000,000  articles  of 
clothing,  etc.,  416,000  parcels  of  food  and  clothing  to  British  prisoners  of  war  in 
enemy  countries;  the  supply  of  6,500  surgeons  and  nurses  and  stretcher-bearers.  In 
Great  Britain  57,000  hospital  beds  were  founded  and  maintained  and  30,000  provided 
with  nursing  staff;  7,500  V.A.D.  nurses  helped  in  Army  hospitals,  40,000  books  and 
magazines  were  supplied  weekly  for  the  wounded  and  sick  with  460  motor  ambulances 
maintained  and  28  command  depots  and  convalescent  camps  visited  regularly  and 
supplied  with  comforts  and  games.  It  cost  $300,000  a  week  at  this  time  to  carry  on 
the  work,  or  $16,000,000  a  year.  "Our  Day"  for  the  Empire  was  appointed  as  Oct. 
18  and  on  that  day  H.M.  the  King  issued  a  special  appeal  which  reviewed  the  great 
work  done  by  this  Society  and  the  Order  of  St.  John — much  of  which  the  King  had 
seen  in  operation:  "In  every  theatre  of  the  War,  regardless  of  distance,  discomfort  or 
danger,  the  task  of  alleviating  pain  and  suffering  and  of  ministering  to  those  in  need  is 
performed  with  unparalleled  devotion  by  the  men  and  women  who  have  taken  service 
under  the  Red  Cross."  His  Majesty  headed  the  List  with  a  personal  contribution 
of  £10,000  in  addition  to  the  £5,000  which  he  also  gave  yearly;  Queen  Mary  gave 
£1,000  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  £3,000. 

The  launching  of  the  various  campaigns  in  Canada  was  aided  by  an  appeal  from 
H.E.  the  Governor-General  and  the  Lieut.-Governors  of  the  Provinces;  by  the  an- 
nouncement of  a  $1,000,000  gift  from  the  U.S.  Red  Cross,  by  a  visit  from  Lord  North- 
cliffe  and  a  meeting  in  Toronto  on  Oct.  14  presided  over  by  Sir  Edmund  Walker  and 
addressed  by  Major  W.  A.  Bishop,  v.c.,  D.S.O.,  M.C.,  the  hero-aviator,  as  well  as  Lord 
Northcliffe.  The  latter  stated  that:  "In  the  British  Red  Cross  not  two  per  cent  of 
the  funds  are  spent  upon  expenses.  The  cost  of  the  Red  Cross  service  is  $30  a  minute. 
It  has  risen  lately,  and  one  of  the  reasons  why  we  make  this  appeal  is  because  it  is 
very  obvious  that  it  will  not  decrease.  .  .  .  Our  Red  Cross  is  an  auxiliary  of  the 
Royal  Medical  Corps.  It  is  an  emergency  corps.  There  is  no  red  tape  in  con- 
nection with  it.  On  one  occasion  $250,000  worth  of  material  was  called  for  in  the 
morning  and  before  night  the  whole  was  sent  off."  Major  Bishop  spoke  briefly  — as 
did  Noel  Marshall  and  Mayor  Church.  Ontario  and  Toronto  endeavoured  to  keep 
the  lead  in  Canada  which  they  won  in  previous  years  and  under  which  the  Province 
had  contributed  in  1916  one-fourth  of  the  total  for  the  whole  British  Empire.  The 
Campaign  Chairman  for  the  City  was  Sir  Edmund  Walker  and  the  organizer  once  more 
was  Lieut.-Col.  W.  S.  Dinnick;  there  were  19  Captains  of  teams,  a  Women's  Committee 
with  Mrs.  Henry  Strathy  as  President,  School  and  Church,  Rotary  Club  and  Salva- 
tion Army  Committees,  and  $500,000  was  the  amount  aimed  at;  the  total  actually 
achieved  was  $830,191 — with  the  team  headed  by  J.  Allan  Ross  collecting  the  highest 
amount,  or  $100,487.  The  City  Council  gave  $125,000  and  the  workers  in  the  City 
factories,  through  the  Rotary  Club  collectors,  gave  20,000  subscriptions  or  $94,261. 
Hamilton  Fyfe,  the  British  journalist,  was  in  Toronto  at  the  time  and  expressed  great 
interest  in  this  business  work  of  the  business  men.  Elsewhere  the  City  of  Hamilton 
raised  $100,000  with  G.  C.  Coppley  as  Chairman  of  its  Committee;  in  Montreal  the 
work  was  pressed  by  the  Quebec  Province  branch  of  the  Red  Cross,  of  which  W.  R. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  455 

Miller  was  President  and  Sir  F.  Williams-Taylor  and  Huntley  Drummond  active 
members.  Mr.  Miller  at  a  meeting  on  Oct.  29  mentioned  that  "in  the  last  three  years 
Ontario  had  given  $5,100,000  for  the  British  Red  Cross  while  Quebec  had  subscribed 
only  $250,000."  The  City  of  Winnipeg  granted  $10,000. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  This  organi- 
zation appealed  to  many  interests  and  humanitarian  instincts.  It  was  essentially 
social,  it  was,  in  part,  religious,  it  had  enough  business  management  and  principle 
and  practice  to  make  and  keep  the  Association  a  financial  success,  it  provided  centres 
for  the  amusement,  instruction  and  physical  development  of  young  men  which  were 
wholesome,  and  it  attracted,  therefore,  the  support  of  parents  and  guardians  and  all 
who  were  interested  in  the  welfare  of  young  men.  In  the  War  it  was  pacific  but 
helpful  and  its  many  workers  throughout  Canada  enthusiastic  in  raising  money  for 
organization  abroad  and  in  sending  supplies  to  Britain  and  the  Front  which  were 
sold  for  a  moderate  sum  to  the  soldiers  and  usually  given  away — as  with  tea  and 
coffee— to  the  wounded;  in  politics  it  was  a  Prohibition  organization,  a  moral  reform 
agency,  and  did  not,  as  a  rule,  interfere  with  propaganda  of  any  other  kind — war 
causes  or  controversies,  for  instance,  or  what  is  usually  termed  patriotism — though 
its  leaders  took  up  such  issues  as  War  Loans,  Red  Cross  and  Patriotic  Fund  subscrip- 
tions; in  religion  it  was  a  constant  exponent  of  what  its  organ  Canadian  Manhood 
described,  in  October,  as  sending  forth  the  men  in  khaki  "not  as  Canada's  Army 
but  as  representatives  of  Christ."  Originally  a  British  organization  founded  by  the 
late  Sir  George  Williams  in  London  on  June  6,  1844  (Montreal,  Nov.  25,  1851;  Boston 
Dec.  29,  1851)  it  had  spread  all  over  the  world  and  become,  before  the  World- War, 
a  great  international  factor  in  social  and  religious  work. 

There  was  much  interchange  of  officials  in  earlier  years  between  Canada  and 
the  United  States.  Canadian  Associations  numbered  (1917)  43  in  Ontario,  9  in  Quebec, 
3  in  Alberta,  6  in  British  Columbia,  3  in  Manitoba,  3  in  Saskatchewan,  2  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, 5  in  Nova  Scotia  and  1  in  Prince  Edward  Island.  Those  at  Toronto,  Montreal, 
Hamilton,  Ottawa,  Winnipeg  and  the  other  larger  cities  led  in  the  work,  while  the 
National  Council,  representing  these  75  independent  Y.M.C.A.  units,  had  as  Chair- 
man in  this  year  G.  Herbert  Wood,  Toronto,  and  General  Secretary,  Charles  W. 
Bishop,  assisted  by  16  other  Secretaries.  The  2nd  National  Convention  of  Canadian 
Associations  was  held  at  Ottawa  on  Nov.  2-5,  1917,  with  a  registered  attendance  of 
177  and  J.  A.  Machado,  Ottawa,  as  Chairman.  A  report  from  Mr.  Wood  dealt  with 
(1)  the  "challenge  of  the  War  and  its  demands  upon  the  religious  and  moral  forces  of 
the  nation";  (2)  the  courage  and  success  of  the  National  Council  in  grappling  with 
the  opportunity;  (3)  the  extension  of  support  to  all  war-work  and  "to  the  local  Asso- 
ciations, as  evidenced  by  the  success  of  some  in  liquidating  their  debts  and  by  others, 
especially  the  larger  ones,  in  greatly  increasing  their  membership ";  (4)  the  unfavour- 
able effect  of  the  War,  however,  upon  some  Associations  which  had  failed  to  grow  or 
rise  to  their  opportunities.  There  was  a  notable  attendance  of  business  men  and 
special  addresses  by  Dr.  H.  M.  Tory,  President  of  Saskatchewan  University,  Dr. 
John  R.  Mott,  head  of  the  American  Y.M.C.A.,  G.  H.  Wood,  Toronto,  R.  P.  Wilder, 
New  York.  Reports  of  Red  Triangle  work  in  British  training  camps,  in  France, 
Mesopotamia,  Egypt,  East  Africa,  etc.,  were  given  and  various  railway  men  spoke 
of  the  value  of  the  work  done  in  railway  camps.  The  closing  Session  was  addressed 
by  H.E.  the  Governor-General  and  Hon.  N.  W.  Rowell,  War-work  had,  meanwhile, 
caused  a  great  re-organization  in  the  functions  of  the  Y.M.C.A.,  and  its  Military 
Service  Department  in  1917  had  a  headquarters  staff  in  Toronto  of  13  men,  headed 
by  Dr.  John  Brown  as  General  Supervisor,  with  51  Military  Secretaries  spread  over 
Canada;  in  England  there  were  70  of  these  officials  and  in  France  44.  Those  in  ser- 
vice Overseas  had  the  military  rank  of  Hon.  Lieutenant  or  Hon.  Captain;  the  Head- 
quarters in  London  had  Lieut.-Col.  Gerald  W.  Birks  of  Montreal  as  General  Super- 
visor. Work  done  at  the  Front  was  described  in  one  detail  by  J.  H.  Lang,  National 
Secretary,  Australian  Y.M.C.A.,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Bishop: 

During  the  last  great  offensive,  the  Association  was  honoured  by  being  consulted 
in  reference  to  the  general  plans  for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  and  given  the 
definite  responsibility  of  taking  care  of  the  walking  wounded  in  association  with  the 
Medical  Service.  The  Medical  Service  was  concerned  primarily  with  the  stretcher 
cases  and  the  Y.M.C.A.  with  the  walking  wounded.  Wherever  there  was  a  casualty 
or  clearing  station  the  Y.M.C.A.  dug-out  was  placed  alongside  of  it,  and  as  the  streams 
of  walking  wounded  came  in,  they  were  met,  cared  for  and  given  free  drinks  of  hot  tea, 
etc.,  by  the  Y.M.C.A.  Secretaries. 


456  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Money  was  needed  for  keeping  up  such  an  organization  and  it  was  freely  asked 
for  and  given.  During  1917  the  Canadian  people  were  asked  for  $750,000;  they  con- 
tributed $1,131,391  including  gifts  from  Governments,  municipalities,  special  war- 
campaigns  and  receipts  from  sales,  etc.  The  financial  statement  for  the  year  showed 
$634,506  expended  on  work  amongst  Canadian  soldiers  in  England  and  France,  "  in- 
cluding free  distribution  of  drinks,  stationery,  reading  material  and  athletic  supplies; 
building  huts  and  providing  motion  pictures,  concerts,  canteen  supplies,  and  re- 
creational, educational  and  religious  programmes,  and  administration";  $71,595 
for  work  of  the  British  Y.M.C.A.  amongst  Canadian  soldiers  and  $5,400  for  work  in 
Mesopotamia;  $244,113  for  work  in  Canada  in  Summer  Camps,  Winter  Barracks, 
Hospitals,  Red  Triangle  Clubs,  Discharge  Depots,  Boys  on  Farm  Service,  Munition 
workers,  Troop  Train  work,  Internment  Camps,  Cost  of  Financial  Campaigns, 
Supplies  of  free  stationery,  games  and  athletic  equipment;  $64,155  for  general  pur- 
poses of  administration  and  a  balance  of  $118,351.  Compared  with  this  expenditure 
of  $950,000  for  military  service  in  1917  was  that  of  $389,126  in  1916,  $33,000  in  1915 
and  $7,000  in  1914.  An  official  statement  at  the  end  of  the  year  showed  that,  in  1917, 
55%  of  Y.M.C.A.  canteens  at  the  Front  were  in  advanced  positions  where  civilian 
stores  did  not  exist;  that  38  were  behind  the  lines  at  Vimy  and  40  at  Passchendaele; 
that  8  Canadian  Y.M.C.A.  dug-outs  were  destroyed  by  the  Germans  during  the 
year.  In  England  the  Y.M.C.A.  operated  in  every  Canadian  camp,  as  the  British 
did  in  every  other,  and  in  15  Hospitals  and  with  20  Forestry  units.  In  Canada  12 
hospitals  with  various  internment  and  military  camps,  were  looked  after,  while  900 
women  gave  voluntary  assistance. 

During  the  year  a  system  of  educational  occupation  was  introduced  into  the 
Canadian  field  forces  under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  H.  M.  Tory  and  the  authority  of 
the  Army  chiefs  and  the  Y.M.C.A.  Dr.  Tory  spent  three  months  in  England  and 
France  and  his  proposals,  as  finally  put  into  practice  at  the  end  of  the  year,  included 
the  formation  of  Classes  amongst  the  reserves,  or  the  troops  at  the  Front  resting 
temporarily,  of  educational  effort  by  (1)  an  organized  system  of  popular  lectures  on 
the  nations  at  war — the  campaigns,  the  British  Empire,  Canada  as  a  country,  Agri- 
culture, etc.;  (2)  the  promotion  of  small  study-groups  of  soldiers  to  take  up  specific 
subjects  such  as  the  Bible,  biography,  politics,  education  and  science;  (3)  the  pro- 
motion of  reading  groups  in  billets  and  tents;  (4)  the  development  of  a  definite  library 
system.  To  the  Y.M.C.A.  Council  Dr.  Tory  proposed  the  more  ambitious  scheme 
of  an  Agricultural  College  to  instruct  soldiers  who  wished  to  take  up  land  after  the 
War;  so  with  a  business  course,  engineering,  medical  and  legal  courses,  etc.,  in  pre- 
liminary stages.  In  a  series  of  Canadian  addresses  in  the  Autumn  he  amplified 
this  scheme  with  a  University  in  Khaki  as  the  ideal.  A  beginning  was  made  in  Decem- 
ber by  the  Canadian  Command  which  authorized  the  establishment  of  a  University 
of  Vimy  Ridge  with  General  Sir  Arthur  Currie  as  Chancellor  and  General  L.  J.  Lipsett 
as  President.  Technical  and  vocational  training  were  the  initial  subjects  tried 
and  in  the  first  five  days  lectures  were  given  to  11  Infantry  battalions  with  a  total 
attendance  of  5,000  and  the  enrolment  of  1,000  students.  Meantime  the  approxi- 
mate membership  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  in  Canada  was  (1917)  40,000,  of  which  the  Toronto 
Central  represented  3,960,  the  Montreal  Central  3,180,  the  Toronto  West  End  2,691, 
the  Winnipeg  (Vaughan  St.)  1,597,  Ottawa  1,483,  Vancouver  1,414,  and  Halifax  983. 
Of  these  or  other  Associations  the  Presidents  were  as  follows: — 

Toronto S.  Henderson.  Victoria Geo.  Bell. 

Hamilton B.  E.  Johnston.  Vancouver T.  J.  Trapp. 

Ottawa J.  A.  Machado.  Winnipeg Geo.  N.  Jac 

Peterborough G.  A.  Gillespie.  Regina •.  .V.  F.  McLean. 

Montreal James  W.  Knox.  St.-  John F.  A.  Dykeman. 

Quebec W.  H.  Wiggs.  Halifax J.  F.  Fraser. 

Calgary R.  C.  Marshall.  New  Glasgow. . .  .Hon.  R.  M.  McGregor. 

Edmonton J.  E.  Brown.  Charlottetown J.  A.  Clark. 

At  a  Y.M.C.A.  Convention  in  Winnipeg  on  Feb.  1  it  was  decided  to  divide  the 
Western  Provinces — hitherto  composing  one  division — into  two  sections.  The 
headquarters  for  the  West  had  been  located  at  Calgary  but  in  future  there  were  to  be 
headquarters  at  Winnipeg  and  Vancouver  respectively.  The  Hon.  Edward  Brown 
was  elected  President  of  the  Western  body  with  W.  T.  Hart  as  Vice-President  for 
Manitoba,  James  Balfour  for  Saskatchewan,  Dr.  H.  R.  Smith  for  Alberta  and  I. 
Delamater  of  Fort  William  for  Western  Ontario.  E.  W.  Keenleyside  looked  after 
British  Columbia.  In  Toronto  early  in  the  year  an  hotel  for  returned  soldiers  was 
opened  by  the  National  Council  and  called  tbe  Red  Triangle  Club;  with  Government 


THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHKISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  457 

aid  Y.M.C.A.  Institutes  were  planned  near  the  war  munition  works  of  Trenton,  Sault 
St.  Marie  and  Lachine;  the  Council  also  co-operated  with  the  Military  Hospitals 
Commission  in  social  entertainment  for  the  soldiers  and  as  vocational  advisers;  a 
campaign  in  April  and  May  to  raise  $750,000  for  the  year's  work  was  more  than 
successful  with  Major  G.  W.  Birks  and  Capt.  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Cameron  as  the  chief 
speakers — coming  direct  from  the  Front  and  addressing  meetings  at  Halifax,  St. 
John,  Toronto,  Winnipeg,  Regina,  and  many  other  places.  Much  was  said  in  the 
speeches  about  the  usefulness  of  the  Huts  or  tents  and  the  description  of  A.  K.  Yapp, 
a  leading  British  worker,  in  dealing  with  the  British  side  of  Y.M.C.A  war-life  covered 
the  ground  as  to  Canadian  conditions: 

Begin,  for  example,  with  the  huts  set  up  in  England  at  the  various  camps  and  in 
the  big  towns.  Then  cross  the  Channel.  Directly  you  arrive  you  find  our  huts  at  the 
base  camps — large  and  splendid  huts.  Travel  along  the  lines  of  communication,  and 
you  find  our  huts  all  the  way — getting  a  little  smaller,  or  becoming  tents,  as  you  approach 
the  war  zone.  Then  you  leave  these  smaller  huts  behind,  and,  within  sound  of  the  guns, 
find  the  Y.M.C.A.  installed  in  ruined  houses.  Go  further  still  and  enter  the  trenches.  You 
find  us  there,  hard  at  work  in  a  dug-out.  It  is  a  moving  thing  to  see  our  workers  in 
these  dug-outs,  ministering  to  the  mud-stained  soldiers  as  they  trudge  back  from  the 
front  trenches.  So  our  service  extends  from  the  training  camps  and  garrisons  in  Eng- 
land to  the  very  dug-outs  on  the  field  of  battle. 

As  a  local  appeal  the  splendid  work  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  at  Vimy  Ridge  and  a  letter  from 
Brig.-Gen.  V.  W.  Odium  saying  that  he  had  recommended  one  of  its  officers  for  a 
Military  Cross,  were  most  effective;  so  was  Lord  Curzon's  statement  in  England  that 
the  Y.M.C.A.  in  this  war  had  fashioned  "a  girdle  of  mercy  and  loving-kindness 
around  the  world."  The  response  was  generous  and  in  excess  of  the  sum  asked. 
Toronto  aimed  at  $200,000  and  obtained  $215,000  with  $15,000  from  a  Woman's 
Committee  led  by  Mrs.  H.  P.  Plumptre  and  $5,000  each  from  E.  R.  Wood,  Massey- 
Harris  Co.,  Chester  D.  Massey  and  Sir  John  Eaton.  Winnipeg  exceeded  the  $50,000 
mark  set  by  a  Committee  of  which  J.  H.  Ashdown  was  Chairman;  Halifax  gave 
$5,000  more  than  the  $20,000  asked  for  and  St.  John  went  over  its  $15,000  allotment 
to  $22,000;  Montreal  was  asked  for  $150,000  and  under  a  Committee  headed  by  J.  W. 
Ross,  J.  W.  McConnell  and  Sir  F.  Williams-Taylor  obtained  $269,000;  Ottawa  contri- 
buted $30,000,  Hamilton  $31,000,  London  $20,000.  At  the  meetings  held  in  this 
connection  audiences  were  told  of  the  120  centres  maintained  by  the  Y.M.C.A., 
of  the  Huts  where  the  men  were  addressed  by  Chaplains,  Hebrew  and  Christian, 
Protestant  and  Catholic;  of  the  30,000  letters  written  in  the  Huts  every  day  by 
Canadian  soldier  lads,  of  the  65,000  cups  of  coffee  handed  the  men  in  the  trenches 
daily,  of  100  pianos,  300  gramophones  and  27  motion-picture  machines  used  to  enter- 
tain the  men,  of  the  baseball  equipment  in  gloves,  bats,  balls  and  masks.  Of  the 
Montreal  contributions  the  Birks  family  headed  the  list  with  $25,000,  Lord  Shaugh- 
nessy  for  the  C.P.R.  gave  $10,000,  the  Grand  Trunk  and  the  Bank  of  Montreal  $5,000 
each.  The  total  for  Canada  was  over  $1,000,000. 

Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  successful  effort  of  Regina  to  obtain  $15,000 
for  the  work  of  its  local  Y.M.C.A.;  the  drive  of  Toronto  to  obtain  4,000  new  members 
and  the  response  of  8,263  applicants;  the  building  at  Halifax  of  a  Y.M.C.A.  Hut  at 
a  cost  of  $15,000  for  the  seamen  of  the  Royal  Navy;  the  transfer  of  the  Y.M.C.A. 
building  in  Halifax  into  a  hospital  with  120  patients;  the  success  of  Winnipeg's  member- 
ship appeal  in  December  with  over  1,000  new  members;  the  services — besides  those 
mentioned  elsewhere — of  Rev.  John  MacNeill  at  the  Front  and  Major  J.  H.  Wallace, 
Senior  Y.M.C.A.  officer  in  France,  of  D.  A.  Budge  in  England  and  of  T.  D.  Patton 
in  the  Canadian  West,  G.  A.  Warburton  and  Harry  Ryrie  in  Toronto,  Taylor  Statten 
and  W.  R.  Cook  amongst  boys,  H.  R.  Hadcock,  Capt.  H.  A.  Pearson  and  others  in 
addresses  throughout  Canada  as  to  the  War-work  of  the  organization.  At  the  close 
of  the  year  Y.M.C.A.  membership  in  Canada  totalled  36,000,  its  Associations  num- 
bered 121  and  its  buildings  were  valued  at  $6,800,000,  while  it  had  114  military 
Secretaries  Overseas  with  over  1,700  assistants  and  146  military  centres  of  which 
45  were  in  Canada,  50  in  England  and  51  in  France.  There  were  criticisms  of  the 
institution.  Some  Church  interests  declared  that  it  took  from  their  strength  and  instead 
of  being  non-denominational  should  be  inter-denominational;  in  partnership  rather 
than  independent.  There  was  an  under-current  of  talk  as  to  young  men  in  Y.M.C.A. 
work  evading  military  duty.  A  few  of  the  facts  were  that  Major  the  Rev.  C.  W. 
Gordon  stated  the  soldiers  from  the  Winnipeg  Y.M.C.A.  at  400  early  in  1917;  that, 
according  to  H.  Ballantyne,  Western  Secretary  (Feb.  7),  out  of  8,000  young  men  who 
were  members  when  the  War  began  over  70%  had  enlisted ;  that  the  West  End  Y.M.C.A. 


458  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

(Toronto)  had  contributed  825  men  to  the  C.E.F.  by  May,  1917,  and  all  the 
Toronto  branches  2,500,  of  whom,  in  October,  160  were  stated  to  have  been  wounded, 
100  to  have  been  killed  and  20  decorated;  that  the  Regina  Y.M.C.A.  was  in  actual 
financial  need  from  660  of  its  members  having  enlisted,  while  the  total  in  Vancouver 
was  over  400.  Others  thought  that  Y.M.C.A.  buildings  should  be  given  up  for 
Hospitals  and  similar  purposes — especially  in  Toronto,  where  it  was  urged  as  to  the 
Central  building  that  it  be  thrown  open  to  the  soldiers  instead  of  sending  wounded 
men  away  out  of  town. 

Early  in  1917  the  War  Office  asked  the  Canadian  National  Council  for  Canadian 
Secretaries  to  help  in  the  work  amongst  Imperial  troops;  in  April  the  National  Council 
issued  a  statement  to  its  officials  in  Canada  that  "the  Y.M.C.A.,  which  is  highly 
patriotic  in  thought  and  purpose,  should  take  action  in  regard  to  the  selection  of  its 
employed  force  for  enlistment  and  National  Service  and  recommend  that  every  facility 
be  given  to  the  unmarried  and  eligible  men  on  their  staffs  who  feel  that  they  should 
enlist";  fromlNew  York  on  June  5  Mr.  Balfour  wrote  to  the  International  Y.M.C.A. 
Secretary  that  its  work  had  been  admirably  done  and  that  "its  spiritual  and  material 
value  to  the  men  is  beyond  reckoning,  and  the  services  of  its  personnel  deeply  appre- 
ciated by  the  soldiers." 

The  Navy  League  Of  Canada.  The  British  Navy  League  at  the 
beginning  of  1917  had  262,000  members  and  aimed  to  reach  a  million;  its  objects  were 
the  education  of  public  opinion  as  to  the  essential  import  of  sea-control,  prevention 
of  a  premature  peace,  tightening  of  the  Blockade,  compulsory  compensation  by  Ger- 
many for  shipping  destroyed  by  Submarines,  teaching  of  Naval  History  in  Empire 
schools,  organization  of  National  sea-training  for  boys,  support  to  an  Imperial  Air 
policy;  it  had  held  14,000  meetings  since  1914  and  issued  6,000,000  naval  and  war 
leaflets,  etc.  Navy  Leagues  existed  in  South  Africa  and  Australia  and  in  June,  1917, 
one  was  organized  for  Canada  as  the  Canadian  Branch  of  the  Navy  League  of  the 
British  Empire  with  Their  Excellencies  The  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Devonshire  as 
Patrons,  W.  G.  Ross  of  Montreal  as  President,  M.  P.  Fennell,  Jr.,  as 
Treasurer  and  Lieut.-Col.  C.  G.  Williams  as  Hon.  Secretary,  and  the  following 
platform: 

1.  A  thoroughly  organized  educational  campaign  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  Navy 
and  Mercantile  Marine:    (a)  by  lectures;    (6)  by  the  circulation  of  literature:    (r)  by 
placing  readers  in  public  schools. 

2.  To  raise  funds  for  the  relief  of  British  and  Canadian  sailors  and  their  dependants, 
for  Sailors'  Homes,  Institutes  and  Hospitals  in  Canada  and  throughout  the  Empire. 

3.  To  encourage  volunteer  Naval  Brigades  for  boys  and  young  men  in  which  they 
can  receive  practical  and  theoretical  instruction  in  seamanship  to  prepare  them  for 
service  in  our  Mercantile  Marine. 

There  was  already  a  Winnipeg  Branch  of  the  British  Navy  League  founded  in  1903 
with  500  members  at  the  close  of  1917;  the  Hon.  President  was  Brig.-Gen.  H.  N. 
Ruttan,  the  President  W.  R.  Allan,  the  Hon.  Secretary  Capt.  T.  H.  Hooper,  and  the 
Executive  Committee  included  Sir  A.  M.  Nanton,  Dean  Coombes  and  J.  H.  Munson, 
K.C.  A  Women's  Division  was  formed  at  Winnipeg  on  May  26  with  Mrs.  W.  R. 
Allan  as  President  and  with  similar  principles  of  diffusing  literature  and  information; 
in  the  autumn  $9,360  was  raised  by  a  Carnival  for  the  Lady  Beatty  Fund  and  an 
Auxiliary  was  formed  to  obtain  comforts  for  the  North  Sea  Fleet.  Mr.  Allan,  at 
a  meeting  on  Oct.  19,  described  the  League's  policy  as  follows:  "To  bring  home  to  all 
citizens  of  this  country  the  fact  that  they  are  absolutely  dependent  in  their  daily 
lives  upon  the  British  fleet;  to  impress  upon  them  the  fact  that  they  can  assist  the 
Navy  by  taking  an  intelligent  interest  in  its  activities  and  helping  to  create  a  healthy 
public  opinion  regarding  its  upkeep."  On  Oct.  2  an  Ontario  Branch  of  the  Navy 
League  of  Canada  was  formed  at  Toronto  with  the  Governor-General  and  Duchess 
of  Devonshire  and  the  Lieut.-Governor  of  Ontario,  Sir  John  Hendrie,  as  Patrons; 
Sir  John  C.  Eaton  as  Hon.  President,  Commodore  ^milius  Jarvis,  S.S.D.,  as  President, 
Sir  John  Aird,  as  Vice-President,  and  Lieut.-Col.  Cecil  G.  Williams  as  Sec.-Treas. 
The  following  Executive  was  appointed: 

F.  E.  Brentnell.  Com.  F.  C.  Law,  R.N. 

W.  E.  Burke.  Rev.  J.  Russell  McLean. 

Hartley  H.  Dewart,  K.C.  Com.  C.  G.  Marlatt.  S.S.TJ. 

George  E.  Evany.  II .  II .  Macrae. 

J.  Castell  Hopkins.  Chris.  W.  Thompson. 

Rev.  Dr.  A.  Hall.  Lieut.  H.  J.  Wickham,  R.N. 


THE  NAVY  LEAGUE;  BRITISH  AND  FOREIGN  SAILORS'  SOCIETY   459 

On  Oct.  13  another  Branch  was  established  at  St.  John,  N.B.,  with  Mayor  Hayes 
as  Hon.  President,  Col.  E.  T.  Sturdee,  President,  J.  A.  Likely,  Vice-President,  and 
C.  B.  Allan,  Secretary-Treasurer.  In  October  a  Quebec  Province  Branch  was  formed 
at  Montreal  with  James  Carruthers  as  President,  M.  P.  Fennell  and  Hon.  D.  O. 
L'Esperance,  Vice-Presidents,  and  C.  W.  Trenholme,  Secretary.  A  Women's  Branch 
was  organized  at  Montreal  on  Dec.  20  with  Lady  Atholstan  as  Patroness,  Lady  Mere- 
dith as  President  and  the  following  as  representative  Vice-Presidents:  Mrs.  D.  Forbes 
Angus,  Mrs.  F.  N.  Beardmore,  Mrs.  G.  L.  Cains,  Mrs.  Arthur  Drummond,  Mrs. 
W.  G.  Ross,  Lady  Williams-Taylor,  Mrs.  W  C.  Hodgsou  and  Mrs.  C.  W.  Trenholme. 
A  Saskatchewan  Branch  was  formed  at  Regina  on  Dec.  11  with  a  Committee  consisting 
of  His  Honour  R.  S.  Lake,  Commander  A.  B.  Perry,  C.M.G.,  of  the  R.N.W.M.P., 
Hon.  W.  M.  Martin,  Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning  and  Peter  McAra.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Hall, 
in  an  address,  suggested  the  institution  of  travelling  lectureship  in  Imperial  history  for 
the  purpose  of  instilling  in  the  youth  at  school  the  inspiration  to  be  drawn  from  deeds 
of  bravery  in  the  annals  of  the  British  Navy. 

A  Branch  of  the  British  Navy  League  had  existed  for  years  at  Victoria,  B.  C., 
under  the  active  leadership  of  Sir  C.  Phillipps-Wolley.  In  1917  its  President  was 
Arthur  Cole  and  the  Vice-Presidents,  A.  S.  Barton  and  C.  E.  Redfern,  and  its  chief 
current  object  was  described  as  helping  the  British  and  Foreign  Sailors'  Society  and 
their  dependants,  for  which  over  $10,000  had  been  raised.  This  Branch  was  closely 
allied  to  the  British  Seamen's  Institute  and  had  5  houses  or  clubs  for  sailors  arriving 
on  the  Coast.  During  the  year  Com.  C.  G.  Marlatt,  Toronto,  and  Lieut.  J.  K.  L. 
Ross,  Montreal,  were  awarded  the  Special  Service  Decoration  already  held  in  Canada 
by  Sir  John  Eaton  and  Commodore  Jarvis.  On  Oct.  25  the  Ontario  Branch  issued 
an  appeal  through  its  Patron,  the  Governor-General,  for  the  formation  of  local  branches 
and  a  call,  also,  for  an  educational  campaign  to  help  the  work  of  the  Navy  and  the 
Mercantile  Marine — stating,  in  the  latter  connection,  that  there  was  no  Patriotic 
Fund  or  Pension  system  covering  the  Marine  sailors  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  War. 

The  League  helped  greatly  in  the  Government's  efforts  at  recruiting  for  the  Royal 
Navy.  Lieut. -Col.  C.  G.  Williams  spoke  at  many  places,  east  and  west,  as  did  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Alfred  Hall.  Commodore  Jarvis  of  the  R.C.Y.C  was  Chief  Naval  Recruiting 
Officer  in  Ontario  as  W.  G.  Ross  was  in  Quebec.  In  1916  the  Admiralty  had  asked 
for  seamen  and  petty  officers  and  motor-boatmen,  and  got  a  number,  though  not  all 
that  was  hoped  for;  on  Mar.  1,  1917,  the  Minister  of  Naval  Service  at  Ottawa  appealed, 
also,  for  men  to  train  as  officers  of  the  Royal  Navy.  Their  special  course  would 
extend  over  1%  years  after  which  successful  candidates  would  be  entered  in  the 
fleet  as  midshipmen.  The  period  of  service  as  midshipmen  would  be  arranged  so 
that  on  reaching  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  special-entry  Cadets  would  be  approximately 
the  same  age  as  those  entered  in  the  regular  way.  A  little  later  Vice-Admiral  Sir 
Charles  Coke  (with  a  staff  of  officers)  arrived  at  Ottawa  to  take  command  of  the 
Naval  Patrol  service  which  the  Canadian  Government  was  also  establishing  on  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  Coasts,  and  for  which  recruits  had  been  called.  At  the  same  time 
Sir  Charles  was  to  superintend  the  construction  of  drifters,  trawlers  and  other  auxiliary 
craft  being  built  for  the  British  Government.  This  Patrol  service  was  termed  the 
Royal  Canadian  Naval  Volunteer  Reserve  and  it  included  seamen,  stokers,  firemen, 
engine  room  artificers,  cooks,  stewards  and  boy  stewards.  Naval  recruiting  was 
slow,  Canada  very  inland  in  feeling,  and  the  military  arm  more  attractive;  but  accord- 
ing to  the  Canada  Military  Gazette  of  June  12  6,000  Canadians  had  by  that  date 
joined  the  Royal  Navy  since  1914;  in  Montreal  Mr.  Ross  arranged  in  April  a  Grand 
Naval  Week  and  had  a  series  of  educative  and  recruiting  meetings. 

The  British  and  Foreign  Sailors'  Society  undertook  to 

mark  its  Centenary  of  service  (1918)  by  establishing  a  Fund  which  it  was  hoped  would 
reach  $1,250,000  and  for  which  Lady  Jellicoe  earnestly  appealed  to  Canadians.  "I 
have,"  she  wrote  on  Sept.  9,  "seen  evidence  of  the  splendid  relief  work  of  this  Society 
in  providing  clothes  and  food  for  sailors  interned  in  Germany;  in  dispensing  immediate 
practical  assistance  to  disabled  sailors  and  dependants  of  seamen  who  have  fallen 
on  war  service;  in  providing  an  education  for  sailors'  orphans;  and  especially  in  feeding, 
sheltering,  clothing  and  forwarding  to  their  various  hom^s  many  thousands  of  mer- 
chant seamen  whose  vessels  have  been  sunk  by  enemy  action."  Early  in  the  year 
the  Canadian  National  Branch  lead  by  W.  G.  Ross  of  Montreal  and  greatly  aided 
by  contributions  from  Toronto  and  other  parts  of  Canada,  collected  $500,000  for  the 
support  of  this  organization  and  in  appreciation  of  the  work  of  the  Royal  Navy  and 


460  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Mercantile  Marine.  Sir  Edward  Carson,  1st  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  wrote  Mr.  Ross 
on  Mar.  10  expressing  public  thanks  for  the  service  thus  rendered.  This  Canadian 
Branch  had  been  formed  in  1909  with  the  following  objects: 

To  aid  the  associated  Institutes  and  Agencies,  and  to  co-operato  with  local  Com- 
mittees. 

To  foster  a  National  interest  in  the  welfare  of  Men  of  the  Sea,  by  Conventions, 
lectures  and  the  circulation  of  suitable  literature. 

To  provide  a  cheerful,  homelike,  healthful  place  of  resort  for  seamen  in  all  our 
ports. 

To  afford  recreation  for  the  sailors,  by  means  of  games,  concerts,  lectures,  etc. 

To  supply  wholesome  literature  to  out-going  vessels. 

To  inculcate  the  principles  of  temperance  and  thrift. 

To  furnish  religious  services  of  a  simple  character  and  to  promote  the  social,  moral 
and  spiritual  redemption  of  the  men. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Alfred  Hall  was  chief  Canadian  Chaplain  and  organizer  of  the  B.&  F.S. 
Society:  ^Bmilius  Jarvis  of  Toronto  succeeded  Lord  Strathcona  in  1917  as  President 
of  the  Canadian  National  Branch.  Besides  the  Centenary  contributions  above 
mentioned  recruiting  was  aided  and  a  $100,000  collection  undertaken  to 
equip  Royal  Navy  Institutes  at  Halifax  and  Esquimalt.  Associated  with 
this  organization  was  the  Canadian  National  Ladies'  Guild  for  Sailors,  of 
which  Lady  Willison,  Toronto,  was  President.  It  furnished  and  equipped  a  Naval 
Institute  at  Toronto  for  the  R.N.C.V.R.,  and  from  year  to  year  aided  various  Naval 
funds  and  collections.  It  may  be  added  that  the  Boys'  Naval  Brigade,  Toronto,  was 
increased  to  about  500  members  during  the  year. 

The  Overseas  Club.  This  was  one  of  the  most  important  Empire 
organizations  of  a  voluntary  character  in  these  years  of  war.  Founded  on  Aug. 
27,  1910,  with  H.M.  The  King  as  Patron,  Lord  Northcliffe  as  President,  and  J.  Evelyn 
Wrench,  C.M.G.,  as  Hon.  Secretary  and  Organizer,  supported  warmly  by  Lord  North- 
cliffe and  his  influential  press,  and  backed  by  a  powerful  Committee;  it  touched 
certain  human  elements  of  loyalty  and  Imperial  interest  and  met  with  great  success. 
In  1917  it  boasted  a  membership  of  152,000,  with  $2,600,000  subscribed  for  war 
purposes— including  $1,200,000  for  the  Overseas  Tobacco  Fund,  $800,000  for  the 
Aircraft  Fund,  $380,000  for  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Fund,  and  the  balance  for  Red 
Cross,  Belgian  Soldiers,  Hospitals,  etc.  Its  Imperial  Aircraft  Flotilla  totalled  108 
units  with  100  machines  subscribed  for  by  members  up  to  May  23,  1917.  Week  by 
week  large  quantities  of  tobacco,  cigarettes  and  hampers  were  despatched  to  British 
soldiers  serving  in  France,  Salonika,  Egypt,  Mesopotamia,  and  British  East  Africa. 

During  this  year  an  important  element  in  the  Club's  work  was  the  establish- 
ment of  local  Committees  throughout  the  world  for  the  distribution  of  literature  in 
neutral  countries  which  presented  the  British  and  Allied  standpoint  and  helped  to 
counteract  German  propaganda.  Books,  leaflets,  pamphlets,  maps,  illustrated 
diagrams,  etc.,  were  distributed  in  large  quantities — about  2,000,000  in  the  year. 
It  was  estimated  that  14,000  members  had  joined  the  colours;  an  Overseas  Trade 
Bureau  was  formed  to  develop  trade  and  the  sale  of  British  manufactures  abroad; 
during  1915-16,  2,848,000  children  in  British  elementary  schools  through  the  Club 
contributed  a  penny  each  for  soldiers'  comforts;  its  monthly  journal,  called  Overseas, 
had  a  wide  and  useful  circulation.  The  objects  of  the  Club  were  formally  stated  as 
follows:  (1)  To  help  one  another;  (2)  to  render  individual  service  to  our  Empire; 
(3)  to  maintain  our  Empire's  supremacy  upon  the  seas  and  in  the  air;  (4)  to  draw 
together  in  the  bond  of  comradeship  British  people  the  world  over. 

In  Canada  the  Over-Seas  Club  had  a  membership  of  over  2,000  with  strong 
Branch  organizations  at  Toronto,  Halifax,  Peterborough,  London  and  Vancouver. 
The  Toronto  Branch,  under  the  energetic  efforts  of  its  President,  Fane  Sewell,  did 
effective  work  along  Empire  lines  and  in  1917  had  over  200  members.  It  looked  after 
returned  soldiers  in  many  helpful  ways;  it  collected  tobacco  and  comforts  for  soldiers 
at  the  Front;  its  Ladies'  Auxiliary  visited  the  Hospitals  and  helped  to  cheer  the 
convalescent  soldiers;  its  Prisoners  of  War  Bread  Fund  in  1916-17  raised  over  $50,000 
for  the  sustenance  of  Canadians  in  Germany.  The  Halifax  Branch  had  Mr.  Justice 
Russell  as  President,  a  representative  list  of  Vice-Presidents,  and  a  strong  Executive 
with  Major  J.  Plimsoll  Edwards  as  Hon.  Secretary.  Its  work  covered  propaganda, 
care  of  soldiers,  Hospital  Cot  and  Ambulance  Funds,  Patriotic  and  Tobacco  Funds, 
help  to  training  ships,  Sea-Scouts  and  Seamen's  Homes,  with  $16,000  collected  in 
the  past  four  years.  The  membership  at  the  close  of  1917  was  225.  Associated  with 
the  Over-Seas  Club  was  an  efficient  Tobacco  Fund  organization,  of  which  F.  R.  Jones 
was  Secretary  in  Canada,  and  which  had  collected  $230,000  by  the  end  of  1917. 


BELGIAN  RELIEF;   THE  EMPIRE  CLUB  OF  CANADA        461 
Belgian  Relief  and  Other  Funds.  The  Canadian  Committee 

for  Belgian  Relief,  of  which  Maurice  Goor,  Consul-General  for  Belgium  at  Ottawa, 
was  President,  continued  its  work  during  1917  with  A.  De  Jardin  of  Montreal  as  Hon. 
Secretary-Treasurer  in  place  of  H.  Prud'homme  who  had  become  a  Vice-President. 
In  a  Report  covering  the  war  period  to  June  15  of  this  year  it  was  stated  that  the 
250,000  Belgian  refugees  in  England  still  were  giving  about  $300,000  a  month  for 
relief  in  Belgium;  that  the  Belgian  Government,  out  of  British  and  French  and  United 
States  loans,  were  paying  the  American  Commission  for  Relief  $7,500,000  a  month; 
that  the  British  Empire  had  continued  to  give  freely  with  a  large  proportion  of  wheat 
and  flour  supplies  bought  in  Canada  by  the  Commission.  Canadian  contributions  as 
a  total  had  been,  at  the  date  specified,  $2,827,191  with,  also,  $234,355  forwarded 
direct.  The  Dutch  and  Spanish  Governments  took  over  the  work  of  the  American 
Commission  in  April — following  the  retirement  of  the  U.S.  Commission  on  Mar. 
24  because  of  "the  German  Government's  disregard  for  its  written  undertakings "- 
and  Hugh  Gibson,  Secretary  of  the  late  American  Legation  in  Brussels,  described 
the  new  Commission  officials  as  competent  and  efficient. 

For  a  time  the  appeal  to  Canadians  had  been  discontinued  and  M.  De  Jardin 
wrote  to  the  press  early  in  June  that  the  shortage  of  shipping  and  the  United  States- 
Belgian  Loan  of  $45,000,000  made  it  advisable  to  let  matters  stand  for  the  moment. 
Then,  in  July,  came  the  publication  of  the  above  Report  in  which  Canada  was  appealed 
to  for  special  aid  to  the  Children's  Health  Fund,  Belgian  Soldiers'  Comforts,  Belgian 
Red  Cross  and  Prisoners'  Fund;  King  Albert  in  July  expressed  thanks  to  a  British 
society— the  National  Committee  for  Belgian  Relief— which  had  collected  $12,000,000 
within  the  British  Empire  in  two  years;  the  Ontario  Committee,  under  J.  W.  Woods, 
Chairman  of  the  Board,  urged  special  help — especially  for  Mrs.  Agar  Adamson's 
Fund  for  Belgian  refugees  behind  the  Lines  which  was  caring  for  500  Belgian  families. 
It  may  be  added  that  up  to  June,  1917,  the  American  Belgian  Relief  Commission  had 
received  from  the  British  Government  $89,500,000,  from  the  French  Government 
$66,000,000,  cash,  food  and  clothing  worth  $17,000,000  from  British  Empire  Com- 
mittees and  $11,500,000  from  those  in  the  United  States;  the  French  Government 
had  also  advanced  $108,000,000  for  relief  in  German-occupied  North  France.  • 

The  Empire  Club  of  Canada.   This  organization,  which  was 

formed  in  1903,  had  done  good  work  along  the  lines  of  its  motto,  "Canada  and  a 
United  Empire,"  by  arranging  a  series  of  valuable  speeches  on  Imperial  topics  which 
were  yearly  published  in  book  form.  During  the  War  it  took  its  part  in  much  of 
Toronto's  patriotic  work  and  in  1916  issued  a  platform  of  principles  and  objects  which 
included  (1)  the  advancement  of  the  interests  of  Canada,  and  a  united  Empire,  (2) 
organization  of  the  Empire  with  a  share  by  the  Dominion  in  questions  of  peace  and 
war,  (3)  contribution  to  Imperial  Defence,  (4)  grants  of  land  to  soldier-settlers,  (5) 
Preferential  tariff  for  all  Empire  products  and  manufactures,  (6)  physical  and  military 
training  in  all  educational  institutions.  On  May  17  a  Resolution  was  passed  unani- 
mously urging  the  Dominion  Government  to  adopt  Conscription  by  enforcement  of 
the  Militia  Act  and  an  Order-in-Council  making  the  Selective  Draft  feature  operative. 
Norman  Sommerville,  B.A.,  was  elected  President,  F.  J.  Coombs,  J.  Murray  Clark,  K.C., 
and  Sir  Fred.  Stupart,  Vice-Presidents.  The  following  Addresses  were  delivered 
during  the  year : 

Date                            Speaker  Subject 

Jan.  11 ...    .  Peter  McArthur Canadian  Empire  Builders. 


Jan.  18.. 
Feb.  1.... 
Feb.  8. .  . . 
Feb.  15. . . 
Feb.  22. . . 
Mar.     1 . 
Mar.     8 . 
Mar.  15. 
Mar.  22. 
Mar.  29. 
April  5 .  . 
April  12. 
April  19. 
April  26. 
,May    10. 
June    15. 
Nov.     1 . 


.N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.,  M.L.A Britain's  War  Effort 

W.  A.  Willison .  .War  Mobilization  of  Great  Britain. 


.  J.  L.  Englehart Greater  Ontario. 

.Prof.  Alfred  Baker The  Spanish  Nations. 

.Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould Win  the  War — The  Next  Step! 

.  Rev.  Charles  Aubrey  Eaton Canada  in  World  Politics. 

.Prof.  A.  B.  Macallum,  F.R.S The  Rasearch  Council  and  Its  Work. 

.Hon.  W.  R.  Riddell The  Prussian  Mind. 

.E.  F.  B.  Johnston,  K.C A  Study  of  the  Kaiser. 

.  Zebulon  Alton  Lash,   K.C Canada's  Foreign  Affairs. 

.Prof.  James  Mavor,  PH.D Russia — Past  and  Present. 

.Sir  Douglas  Cameron,   K.C.M.G.  .  .War  Conditions. 

.  James  Donald  Allan Commercial  Russia. 

.Mrs.  Arthur  Van  Koughnet War- Work  of  Canadian  Women. 

.Rev.  Dr.  G.  C.  Pidgeon Western  and  Eastern  Canada. 

.John  B.  Rathom Germany's  War  and  the  United  States. 

.Alexander  Graham  Bell Substance  of  My  Latest  Research, 


462  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Date  Name  Subject 

Nov.     8  .  .  .  Dr.  Henry  Marshall  Tory A  New  Overseas  Problem. 

Nov.  15  ..  .  Stewart  Lyon My  Experiences  at  the  Front 

Nov.  29 ..  .  Harry  Pratt  Juclson The  States  in  the  Great  War. 

Dec.  12...  .Lord  Montagu  of  Beaulieu Empire  and  Aviation. 

Dec.  20...  .Rev.  Canon  Gould,  D.D The  Imperial  Significance  of  Jerusalem. 

The  League  Of  the  Empire.  This  organization  was  primarily 
an  Imperial  and  Educational  society  with  the  support  or  approval  of  most  of  the 
educational  authorities  and  ruling  interests  throughout  the  Empire.  In  1907  it  pro- 
moted a  Conference  between  the  British  Educational  authorities  and  those  overseas, 
which  led  to  other  similar  meetings.  The  League  in  Canada  worked  in  close  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Head  Office  in  London.  The  exchange  of  Teachers  between  countries 
of  the  Empire,  the  arrangement  and  maintenance  of  correspondence  between  schools 
with  37,000  children  thus  affiliated  throughout  the  Empire  in  1917 — of  whom  5,000 
were  Canadians — and  Empire  Conferences  on  Education,  were  parts  of  its  work. 
The  Canadian  League  was  in  affiliation  with  the  Ontario  Educational  Association  and 
held  a  Conference  in  Toronto  at  the  annual  Meetings  of  that  body. 

"News  From  Home"  budgets  were  started  by  the  League  in  1914  for  Canadian 
soldiers  at  the  Front  and  increased  by  hundreds  weekly  up  to  and  through  1917  when 
the  total  was  about  12,000.  Money  was  raised  for  Soldiers'  Comforts.  Many  young 
soldiers  who,  as  boys,  were  members  of  schools  affiliated  with  the  League  in  Canada 
were  looked  after  at  the  League  of  Empire  Club-house  in  London  and  much  hospitality 
and  kindness  shown.  The  officers  in  Canada  were  Principal  Maurice  Hutton,  Presi- 
dent, Col.  George  T.  Denison  and  J.  L.  Hughes,  LL.D.,  Vice-Presidents,  Mrs.  H.  S. 
Strathy,  Hon.  Secretary,  with  head-quarters  at  Toronto.  During  the  year  H.M. 
Queen  Alexandra  became  Patroness  of  the  League  and  H.R.H.  The  Duke  of  Con- 
naught  Hon.  President.  Sir  Phillip  P.  Hutchins  was  Chairman  of  the  Council 
in  Great  Britain  and  Mrs.  E.  M.  Ord  Marshall,  Hon.  Secretary.  A  chief  element  of 
the  British  League's  work  was  the  Annual  Conference  of  the  Imperial  Union  of  Teach- 
ers, which,  .in  1917,  met  at  London  on  July  20-22  and  heard  addresses  from  Hon. 
W.  A.  Holman  of  Australia,  Prof.  A.  V.  Salmon,  M.  V.  Mouravieff-Apostal  and 
Sir  M.  Bhownagree;  another  was  encouragement  of  the  celebration  of  Empire  Day, 
while  the  Federal  Magazine,  published  by  the  League,  listed  in  August  50  Hospitals, 
33  Army  and  Navy  Funds  and  25  public  institutions  aided  by  the  League;  since  the 
War  it  had  acted  as  a  Depot  and  clearing-house  for  over  a  million  gifts  for  soldiers 
from  all  parts  of  the  Empire. 

The  Rotary  ClubS.  This  international  organization  was  of  United 
States  origin  and  became  a  great  success  there  following  upon  its  foundation  at  Chicago 
by  Paul  P.  Harris  in  1905.  The  first  Rotary  Club  in  Canada  was  formed  at  Winnipeg 
on  Nov.  3,  1910.  At  the  beginning  of  1917  there  were  300  of  these  Clubs  in  the 
United  States,  Hawaii,  Cuba,  Canada,  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  with  30,000  members. 
Though  there  was  an  International  Federation  of  the  Clubs  each  one  was  independent 
and  self-supporting — the  International  Board  of  Directors  approving  new  Clubs 
for  membership  from  time  to  time.  A.  C.  Klumph,  Cleveland,  was  President,  but  at 
the  Altanta  Convention  of  June  17-22  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  E.  Leslie  Pidgeon 
of  Winnipeg,  who  had  defined  the  objects  of  the  Society  as  follows  in  the  Winnipeg 
Free  Press  of  Feb.  24,  1917:  "Rotary  is  an  organization  composed  of  one  representative 
from  each  calling,  for  the  purpose  of  developing  altruism  in  service.  It  would  scarcely 
be  correct  to  say  that  each  member  is  a  representative  of  his  class,  because  his  fellow- 
workers  had  no  part  in  his  selection.  But  it  is  nearer  to  the  fact  to  say  that  each 
member  represents  Rotary  to  his  class.  He  has  been  chosen  by  Rotarians,  because 
they  have  had  reason  to  believe  that  he  will  be  a  good  student  and  missionary  of  the 
idea  of  altruistic  service.  He  joins  with  his  fellow-members  in  studying  the  doctrine 
of  service,  and  is  placed  under  a  moral  obligation  to  give  a  living  example  of  it  in  his 
own  work."  As  approved  at  the  1915  San  Francisco  Convention  the  following  is  a 
condensation  of  the  Ethical  code  of  Rotary  and  of  the  pledges  taken  by  a  member : 

1.  To  consider  my  vocation  worthy,  and  as  affording  me  distinct  opportunity  to 
serve  society. 

2.  To  improve  myself,  increase  my  efficiency,  and  enlarge  my  service,  and  by  so 
doing  attest  my  faith  in  the  fundamental  principle  of  Rotary,  that  he  profits  most  who 
serves  best. 


THE  ROTARY  CLUBS  OF  CANADA  IN  1917  463 

3.  To  realize  that  I  am  a  business  man  and  ambitious  to  succeed;    but  that  I  am 
first,  an  ethical  man,  and  wish  no  success  that  is  not  founded  on  the  highest  justice 
and  morality. 

4.  To  use  my  best  endeavours  to  elevate  the  standards  of  the  vocation  in  which 
I  am  engaged. 

5.  To  consider  no  personal  success  legitimate  or  ethical,  which  is  secured  by  taking 
unfair  advantage  of  certain  opportunities  in  the  social  order. 

6.  To  be  not  more  obligated  to  a  brother  Rotarian  than  I  am  to  every  other  man 
in  human  society;    because  the  genius  of  Rotary  is  not  in  its  competition,  but  in    its 
co-operation. 

7.  Finally,  believing  in  the  universality  of  the  Golden  Rule,  we  contend  that  So- 
ciety best  holds  together  when  equal  opportunity  is  accorded  to  all  men  in  the  natural 
resources  of  this  planet. 

The  benefits  claimed  from  these  principles  and  this  Association  were  those  of  knowing 
men  that  one  ought  to  know,  goodfellowship,  development  of  true  friendship,  in- 
formation as  to  other  men's  work,  problems  and  successes,  education  in  efficient 
methods  of  business,  stimulation  of  the  service  ideal,  promotion  of  the  mutual  con- 
fidence which  means  good  business.  The  very  nature  of  the  organization  induced 
close  fraternal  relations  with  United  States  Clubs  and  a  large  attendance  at  inter- 
national Conventions.  Vancouver  had  one  on  Feb.  24-5,  1917,  with  500  delegates 
present  from  the  15th  District,  or  States  of  Oregon  and  Washington  and  the  18th, 
or  Provinces  of  British  Columbia,  Alberta  and  Manitoba.  The  addresses  dealt  with 
Service — to  fellow  members,  to  the  local  Club,  to  the  community  through  beautifying 
and  city  planning,  to  employees,  to  children,  to  country.  A  District  Conference  of 
Ontario  and  Quebec  was  held  at  London  on  Feb.  26  with  President  Klumph  in  attend- 
ance from  Cleveland.  As  the  movement  spread  through  Canada  local  interests  were 
distinctly  benefited  with  more  or  less  energetic  advocacy  of  good  roads,  the  paving  of 
streets,  securing  of  fire  protection  for  neglected  districts,  the  building,  care  and  ad- 
ministration of  charitable  institutions,  the  starting  of  movements  for  public  libraries, 
the  promotion  of  anti-tuberculosis  campaigns,  conducting  beautiful-garden  contests, 
raising  money  for  Y.M.C.A.  buildings,  maintaining  day  nurseries,  building  tuberculosis 
hospitals,  promoting  plans  for  introducing  thoroughbred  cattle.  The  following  were 
in  1917  the  most  active  Clubs: 

Club  President  Club  President. 

St.  John F.  A.  Dykeman.  Calgary R.  J.  Lydiatt. 

Victoria Frank  Higgins.  Hamilton W.  H.  Cooper. 

Vancouver A.  R.  McFarlane.  Winnipeg Duncan  Cameron, 

Montreal Walter  J.  Francis.  Regina J.  J.  Galloway. 

Toronto J.  S.  M.  Ridley.  Brantford J.  M.  Young. 

A  feature  of  the  Clubs  was  a  weekly  luncheon,  usually  addressed  upon  some  social 
or  business  topic  by  a  man  known  to  have  authority  in  that  special  connection — 
latterly  and  frequently  upon  War  topics.  A  few  of  the  typical  ones  in  1917  were 
A.  M.  Fraser,  Victoria,  on  Fire  Insurance;  Rev.  R.  Whiting,  Winnipeg,  on  Public 
Ownership  of  Utilities;  Mrs.  Ralph  Smith,  Vancouver,  on  the  Foreigner  in  Canada; 
W.  J.  Phelan,  Vancouver,  on  the  success  of  the  National  Cash  Register  business; 
Rev.  Hugh  Dobson,  Regina,  on  Social  Service;  Prof  A.  S.  MacKenzie,  Halifax,  on 
Science  and  After- War  problems;  V.  C.  Martin,  Victoria,  on  Accountancy  in  Business. 
Resolutions  were  occasionally  passed  such  as  that  of  the  Montreal  Club  (Oct.  23) 
in  favour  of  the  City's  government  by  a  Commission ;  that  of  the  Toronto  Club  (Dec. 
7)  in  favour  of  the  Union  Government  and  Conscription;  but  they  were  not  numerous. 
The  Clubs  preferred  such  activities  as  the  Vancouver  erection  of  a  Clinic  and  school 
for  tuberculosis  children,  the  Halifax  Club's  work  after  the  explosion  there,  the  Toronto 
effort  for  better  Hotel  accommodation  in  Ontario,  the  Calgary  adoption  and  bringing 
up  of  a  waif. 

As  to  the  War  the  work  in  1916  was  occasional;  the  work  and  interest  in  1917  was 
continuous.  The  coming  of  the  United  States  into  the  War  stirred  up  members  in 
Canada  also  and  much  Rotary  work  was  turned  in  the  direction  of  war  support  along 
effective  social  lines.  In  Toronto  the  Rotary  Club  had  already  done  much  in  organ- 
izing the  50,000  Club  with  its  weekly  contribution  to  the  Patriotic  Fund;  in  the 
January  appeal  for  this  Fund  it  joined  earnestly  and  collected  a  total  of  $384,000; 
in  Montreal,  under  W.  G.  M.  Shepherd,  and  in  Halifax  it  did  a  similar  work;  in  Vic- 
toria the  Club  registered  boy  pupils  for  work  on  Island  farms  during  the  summer, 
distributed  pledge  cards  for  Food  Conservation  and  helped  in  various  minor  matters; 
in  Toronto  it  cultivated  a  root  farm  and  raised  there  and  in  city  lots  during  1917 
$50,000  worth  of  vegetables.  The  latter  Club  had  collected  a  considerable  sum  for 
the  British  Red  Cross  in  1916  and  in  1917  did  still  better;  Victoria  aided  the  Victory 


464  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Loan  campaign  in  November,  as  did  that  of  Halifax,  which  Sir  R.  L.  Borden  addressed 
on  Nov.  13;  those  of  Winnipeg  and  Regina  passed  Resolutions  in  favour  of  a  substan- 
tial increase  in  the  rates  of  pensions  for  soldiers  and  their  dependants.  The  Inter- 
national Officers — President  Pidgeon,  Vice-Presidents  Robinson  McDowell,  Louis- 
ville, and  H.  J.  Brunniere,  San  Francisco,  with  C.  R.  Perry,  Chicago,  Secretary,  and 
Rufus  Chapin,  Chicago,  Treasurer — visited  Winnipeg  on  Sept.  20. 

Canadian  Clubs  and  the  War.   These  organizations,  like  the 

Women's  Canadian  Clubs — which  are  referred  to  under  the  Woman's  War  Section 
— did  considerable  war-work,  but  it  was  outside  of  their  original  scope  and  objects. 
Weekly,  or  occasional,  luncheon  addresses  still  remained  their  chief  function,  with 
Ottawa,  Montreal,  Toronto,  Hamilton,  Winnipeg,  St.  John,  Victoria,  Vancouver, 
Halifax  and  Regina  as  the  most  active  in  this  latter  connection.  The  chief  topic  in 
nearly  all  the  150  addresses,  of  which  particulars  are  available,  was  the  War — in 
every  phase  of  local  and  practical  application,  historical  and  theoretical  treatment, 
patriotic  and  material,  financial  or  commercial  aspect.  Conspicuous  speakers  of  the 
year  were  H.E.  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  Lord  Reading,  Sir  Edmund  Walker,  Sir 
Herbert  Ames,  Hon.  James  M.  Beck  and  G.  Haven  Putnam  of  New  York,  Lord 
Northcliffe,  Dr.  J.  R.  Mott,  Rt.  Hon.  A.  J.  Balfour,  Lord  Montagu  of  Beaulieu,  Sir 
Clifford  Sifton,  Dr.  Andrew  MacPhail,  Rt.  Hon.  W.  F.  Massey  and  Sir  J.  G.  Ward 
of  New  Zealand,  Major  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.  Gordon,  James  W.  Gerard,  Hon.  W.  A. 
Holman,  Hon.  H.  C.  Hoyle  and  Hon.  J.  D.  Connolly  of  Australia,  Dr.  G.  R.  Parkin, 
C.M.G.,  N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.,  Hon.  Arthur  Meighen,  M.P.  The  heads  of  the  more  active 
Clubs  in  1917  were  as  follows: 

Club  President  Secretary 

Ottawa Hon.  L.  P.  Duff J.  E.  Macpherson. 

Montreal W.  M.  Birks T.  Kelly  Dickinson. 

Winnipeg John  Gait R.  H.  Smith. 

Vancouver Rev.  W.  H.  Vance J.  R.  V.  Dunlop. 

Regina W.  J.  M.  Wright J.  G.  McCall. 

Hamilton W.  H.  Levering J.  B.  Hanna. 

Westmount F.  B.  Common J.  B.  Brodie. 

Halifax Hon.  E.  H.  Armstrong W.  A.  Major. 

Toronto E.  C.  Fox Shirley  Denison,  K.C. 

Regina J.  F.  Bryant,  K.O Norman  Ruse. 

Victoria John  Cochrane F.  J.  Sehl. 

Kitchener J.  C.  Haight D.  S.  Bowlby. 

St.  John James  H.  Frink 

Dartmouth H.  A.  Russell C.  L.  Baker. 

Goderich Rev.  J.  B.  Fotheringham J.  L.  Killoran. 

Kingston Lieut.-Col.  C.  N.  Perreau R.  Meek. 

The  Toronto  Club  had  1,329  members  and  maintained  in  1917  its  consistent  stand 
of  no  propaganda  and  no  participation  in  public  affairs.  The  Montreal  Club  with 
1,800  members  did  not  take  the  same  view  and  continued  to  be  the  medium  for  launch- 
ing important  patriotic  movements  and  helping  in  various  public  matters.  The 
Ottawa  Club  (1,348  members)  was  prominent  for  its  meetings.  These  three  clubs  did 
not,  however,  do  actual  war-work  in  the  sense  of  Executive  action,  contribution  or 
collection  of  moneys,  etc.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Canadian  Clubs  of  Hamilton  and 
Winnipeg  were  active  in  many  directions  and  the  former,  through  a  Patriotic  Fete 
and  by  special  subscriptions,  collected  $109,000  for  Overseas  hospital  supplies  and, 
besides  this,  had  contributed  since  1914  $59,000  to  other  Funds.  It  also  placed  in 
the  vestibule  of  the  City  Hall  a  Memorial  Tablet  bearing  the  names  of  Hamilton 
men  who  had  given  their  lives  in  the  World- War,  with  space  for  further  names;  initi- 
ated a  movement  for  a  Memorial  Hall  to  commfemorate  Hamilton  men  killed  in  action; 
collected  50,000  magazines  to  send  to  local  fighting  men  abroad;  contributed  to  the 
C.E.F.  a  Canadian  Club  platoon  in  the  173rd  Battalion  and  another  platoon  in  the 
91st  Highlanders;  shipped  50,000  quart  jars  of  canned  fruit  and  a  large  quantity  of 
dried  fruit  to  Canadian  soldiers  in  the  hospitals  of  England  and  France.  The  Win- 
nipeg Club  passed  a  unanimous  Resolution  in  favour  of  National  Government  and 
that  of  Brandon  refused  to  do  so;  the  Winnipeg  organization  also  celebrated  the  50th 
anniversary  of  Confederation  by  presenting  to  every  school-child  a  copy  of  the  pic- 
ture of  The  Fathers  of  Confederation  and  expended  $1,000  in  Canadian  history 
scholarships;  the  Vancouver  Club  took  part  in  the  Montreal  Win-the-War  Conven- 
tion of  May,  founded  a  Returned  Soldiers'  Club  and  gave  it  $1 ,376,  and  boasted  an 
Honour  Roll  of  75  members.  The  membership  of  Winnipeg  was  1.832,  the  largest 
in  Canada,  that  of  Halifax  400,  that  of  Vancouver  942.  It  may  be  added  that  on 


MISCELLANEOUS  PATRIOTIC  AND  MILITARY  SOCIETIES       465 

Dec.  6  Lieut-.Col.  C.  R.  McCullough,  Hamilton,  W.  Sanford  Evans,  Ottawa,  James 
Ferres,  Montreal,  Henry  Carpenter  and  George  D.  Fearman,  Hamilton,  met  in 
Hamilton  to  mark  the  25th  anniversary  of  their  initiation  of  the  Canadian  Club  idea. 
The  Canadian  Clubs  in  the  United  States  were  active  in  all  kinds  of  War-work. 
That  of  New  York,  in  addition  to  dinners  and  addresses,  took  charge  of  the  interests 
of  Canadians  in  the  city  and  state  of  New  York  and  looked  after  their  dependants; 
the  office  of  T.  D.  Neelands,  President,  was  a  sort  of  clearing-house  for  relief  cases; 
large  Red  Cross  collections  and  donations  were  made;  it  contributed  $8,500  and  a  relief- 
boat  to  the  Halifax  sufferers;  amongst  its  Canadian  speakers  in  1917  were  Sir  R.  L. 
Borden,  Hon.  J.  D.  Hazen,  Sir  Sam  Hughes,  Sir  W.  H.  Hearst,  and  Major  C.  W. 
Gordon.  The  Seattle  Club  heard  Sir  C.  H.  Tupper  on  " Canada's  Share  in  the  War" 
(Feb.  17);  that  of  Spokane  endorsed  President  Wilson  and  United  States  war  action; 
while  the  Boston  Club  doubled  its  membership  and  proposed  to  organize  a  Canadian 
National  Bank  in  that  City — though  it  found  the  difficulties  considerable.  The  first 
Canadian  Club  in  England  was  organized  at  Folkestone  on  Sept.  24  with  Col.  C.  A. 
Smart  as  President  and  the  Earl  of  Derby  as  the  chief  guest. 

Miscellaneous  Patriotic  and  Military  Societies.  The 

total  voluntary  war  contribution  through  recognized  Canadian  agencies  early  in 
1917  approximated  $60,000,000;  by  the  close  of  the  year  it  was,  probably,  $75,000,000. 
By  March  the  Canadian  Patriotic  Fund  represented  $26,277,000  of  this  amount 
and  the  Dominion  Government  to  Imperial  authorities  $2,800,000;  the  Provincial 
Governments  to  special  war  objects  and  the  Imperial  Government  $7,775,000;  the 
Canadian  Red  Cross  $2,561,000,  British  Red  Cross  $3,600,000,  British  Sailors'  Relief 
$655,000,  Machine  guns,  etc.,  $2,500,000,  Belgian  Relief  $2,709,000;  with  smaller 
sums  for  Military  Hospitals,  Jewish  work,  Seamen's  Hospital,  Secours  National 
(France),  Government  relief  purposes,  etc.  Of  other  organizations  the  South  of 
France  Relief  Association  (Montreal)  had  in  February  sent  abroad  360  cases  con- 
taining 35,000  articles;  the  50,000  Club  (Toronto)  in  nine  months  of  1917  collected 
$325,398  for  the  Patriotic  Fund;  the  Secours  National  reported  $204,000  sent  to 
France  up  to  Feb.  11  of  this  year  and  an  active  Toronto  Association  with  Sir  Glen- 
holme  Falconbridge  as  President;  July  14  was  France  Day  in  various  centres  and 
considerable  sums  were  realized  by  the  tag  method  for  French  Red  Cross  purposes— 
for  instance  $8,000  in  Regina  and  $16,000  in  Winnipeg;  in  September  the  French 
Wounded  Emergency  Fund  was  organized  for  a  Western  Province  campaign  with 
Hon.  T.  G.  Mathers,  Winnipeg,  as  Chairman  and  $162,000  collected;  Palestine  Tag 
Daj  (July  31)  in  Toronto  brought  in  $13,000  for  war  sufferers  in  that  distressful 
land;  a  Blue  Cross  Association  was  organized  in  Winnipeg  at  this  time  with  Mrs. 
G.  F.  Coombes,  President,  and  in  affiliation  with  the  British  Association  for  help  to 
wounded  horses — for  whom  it  maintained  4  hospitals  in  France.  Of  Societies  doing 
war-work  of  a  special  nature  the  St.  John  Ambulance  Association  was  conspicuous. 
Its  annual  meeting  at  Ottawa  on  Feb.  26  was  addressed  by  the  Duke  of  Devonshire 
as  Patron  and  J.  M.  Courtney,  C.M.G.,  i.s.o.,  was  re-elected  President.  Lieut.-Col. 
R.  J.  Birdwhistle,  General  Secretary,  toured  the  West  in  October  and  stated  at  Winni- 
peg on  the  8th  that  its  work  had  been  greatly  developed  by  the  war  needs  of  the 
time.  During  the  war  years  every  class  of  the  community  had  received  the  benefits 
of  first-aid  and  home-nursing  training;  in  every  city  in  Canada  a  large  percentage  of 
the  Police  had  been  instructed  in  how  to  render  assistance  in  case  of  accident,  and  the 
study  had  also  been  taken  up  by  Railway  employees,  men  and  women  employed  in 
factories  and  industrial  establishments  generally;  during  1916-17  every  soldier  leaving 
Canada  for  Overseas  received  a  course  of  instruction  in  First  Aid,  and  thousands  of 
cases  were  on  record  of  the  splendid  results  accruing;  in  1916  over  150,000  soldiers 
were  given  instruction  in  the  proper  method  of  caring  for  the  minor  casualties  to 
which  they  were  subjected 

The  Boy  Scout  movement  progressed  steadily.  The  Duke  of  Connaught,  who 
had  been  Chief  Scout  while  in  Canada  and  an  earnest  patron  of  the  idea,  stated  in 
London,  at  the  British  Scouts  annual  meeting,  that;  "  The  foundations  of  character  and 
self-discipline  are  essential  as  first  steps  towards  preparing  a  lad  for  being  a  soldier, 
and  these  attributes  are  markedly  promoted  through  Boy  Scout  training.  The 
authorities  in  Canada  have  now  recognized  this  and  the  two  movements  are  running 
harmoniously  in  co-operation."  H.  G.  Hammond,  Ontario  Secretary,  told  the  press 
on  Feb.  1  that  there  were  probably  5,000  Canadians  on  active  service  who  had  been 
Boy  Scouts :  "  In  England  they  are  doing  a  wonderful  work  in  the  Government  offices 

30 


466 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


and  departments  and  as  guards  on  the  East  Coast.  The  keenness  of  the  little  fellows 
is  remarkable"  and  one  of  them  (16  years  old)  won  a  V.C.  and  died  at  his  post  in  the 
Battle  of  Jutland.  At  Ottawa  on  Apr.  22  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  presided  over  a 
General  Council  meeting  and  Col.  Sir  Percy  Sherwood  was  re-elected  Dominion 
Commissioner  with  Gerald  H.  Brown  as  Hon.  Dominion  Secretary  and  Lieut.-Col. 
The  Hon.  H.  Henderson,  Hon.  Treasurer;  644  Troops  in  Canada  were  reported. 
The  following  statistics  of  this  organization  for  instruction  of  boys  in  the  principles 
of  discipline,  loyalty  and  good  citizenship  were  as  follows,  up  to  June  30,  1917: 


Troops 

Officers 

Scouts 

Ontario  

1915 
237 
82 
60 
69 
46 
45 
36 
20 
2 

1916 
230 
99 
78 
69 
74 
40 
30 
26 
2 

1917 
247 
86 
70 
60 
98 
32 
21 
37 
4 

1915 
446 
138 
85 
138 
65 
87 
86 
34 
5 

1916 
344 
111 
135 
113 
137 
73 
75 
41 
3 

1917 
374 
99 
135 
108 
193 
52 
39 
53 
10 

1915 
7,213 
2,141 
1,371 
1,872 
909 
1,039 
858 
831 
109 

1916 
7,146 
2,345 
1,961 
1,891 
1,453 
1,004 
893 
747 
102 

Alherta 

Manitoba  
Quebec   .    . 

Saskatchewan.  . 
British  Columbia.  .. 
New     Brunswick  .  .  . 
Nova  Scotia.  .  . 

P.  E.  Island 

Total... 

597 

648 

655 

1.084 

1.032 

1.063 

16.343 

17,542 

17,024 

The  Jubilee  of  Confederation  and  the  War.   u  a  had 

not  been  for  the  World-War  Canada's  celebration  of  the  50th  Anniversary  of  its 
Federation  as  a  Dominion — July  1,  1867-1917 — would  have  been  elaborate  in  detail 
and  national  in  character.  As  it  was,  the  event  had  permanent  interest  and  more 
so  because  its  official  celebration  was  associated  with  a  structural  stage  of  the  new 
Parliament  Buildings  at  Ottawa.  A  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  had  been 
appointed  on  Feb.  7,  composed  of  Sir  George  Foster  (Chairman),  Hon.  G.  P.  Graham, 
Sir  Sam  Hughes,  C.  Jameson,  Hon.  R.  Lemieux,  E.  M.  Macdonald,  Hon.  C.  Murphy, 
Hon.  A.  Sevigny  and  Lieut.-Col.  J.  D.  Taylor,  and  they  reported  on  May  31  that  an 
historical  pamphlet  should  be  published  dealing  with  Canada's  growth,  a  Proclama- 
tion be  issued  inviting  commemorative  meetings  and  church  services,  Provincial  co- 
operation in  an  official  celebration  be  invoked  and  a  Federal  postage  stamp  and  post- 
card be  issued  in  commemoration  of  the  event.  Associated  with  this  Committee  was 
one  from  the  Senate  including  Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell,  Hon.  R.  Dandurand,  Hon.  W. 
C.  Edwards,  Hon.  J.  S.  McLennan,  Hon.  W.  H.  Sharpe  and  Hon.  R.  Watson.  The 
joint  Committee  of  Parliament  on  Parliament  Buildings  reconstruction  was  also 
concerned  in  the  celebration — Hon.  R.  Rogers  (Chairman),  Hon.  P.  E.  Blondin, 
Hon.  J.  D.  Hazen,  Sir  J.  A.  Lougheed,  Hon.  W.  Pugsley,  Hon.  J.  D.  Reid,  Hon.  R. 
Watson  and  J.  B.  Hunter  (Secretary). 

The  general  feeling  throughout  the  country  was  one  of  interest,  but  also  that  the 
War  prevented  any  functions  of  a  joyous  character  such  as  ordinarily  would  have 
developed.  In  many  places — notably  Winnipeg — Empire  Day  was  marked  by 
special  consideration  of  this  event;  at  the  Royal  Society  meeting  in  Ottawa  (May  23) 
Prof.  A.  B.  Macallum,  F.R.S.,  dealt  with  the  subject  at  length  in  his  Presidential 
address;  the  Vancouver  Canadian  Club  and  Toronto  University  arranged  for  a  series 
of  lectures  on  the  subject  and  R.  E.  Gosnell  of  Victoria  wrote  a  number  of  local  articles 
of  an  historical  character;  Rev.  Dr.  S.  D.  Chown,  General  Superintendent,  issued  a 
letter  urging  all  Methodist  churches  to  hold  special  services  on  July  1.  On  June  30 
the  press  of  Canada  published  many  studies  of  Canadian  progress  during  the  50 
years  and  on  July  2  there  were  a  number  of  quiet  demonstrations  of  national  patriot- 
ism as  there  had  been  on  the  preceding  day  an  immense  number  of  special  church 
services  and  sermons.  At  Ottawa  Sir  Greorge  Foster  presided  and  H.E.  the  Duke 
of  Devonshire  addressed  an  assemblage  in  front  of  the  Parliament  Buildings — the 
latter  unveiling  a  Memorial  Tablet  in  the  following  terms: 


1867 


July 


1917 


ON  THE  FIFTIETH 

ANNIVERSARY  OF    THE  CONFEDERATION 

OF  BRITISH  COLONIES  IN  NORTH 

AMERICA 

AS 

THE  DOMINION  OF  CANADA 
THE  CANA.DIAN  PARLIAMENT  AND 

PEOPLE 

DEDICATED  THIS  BUILDING 
THEN  IN  PROCESS  OF  CONSTRUCTION 


AFTER  DAMAGE  BY  FIRE 

As  A  MEMORIAL  OF 

THE  DEEDS  OF  THEIR  FOREFATHERS 

AND  OF  THE  VALOUR  OF  THOSE 

CANADIANS 
WHO  IN  THE  GREAT  WAR  FOUGHT  FOR 

THE 
LIBERTIES  OF  CANADA 

OF  THE  EMPIRE 
AND  OF  HUMANITY 


THE  HALIFAX  DISASTER  AND  THE  WAR  467 

Sir  Robert  Borden  spoke  briefly  in  eulogy  of  the  men  who  made  Confederation  and 
of  the  men  who  in  1917,  upon  the  fields  of  France,  were  guarding  it;  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
declared  that  the  work  of  the  Fathers  had  more  than  justified  expectations  and  had 
founded  a  great  country,  now  standing  with  the  other  Colonies  "in  the  intangible 
bonds  of  British  unity";  messages  of  congratulation  were  read  from  Rt.  Hon.  D. 
Lloyd  George,  Rt.  Hon.  W.  H.  Long,  Colonial  Secreatry,  Sir  E.  P.  Morris,  Premier 
of  Newfoundland,  the  Earl  of  Liverpool,  Governor-General  of  New  Zealand,  the 
Government  of  Australia,  President  Wilson  of  the  United  States,  Lords  Lansdowne, 
Aberdeen  and  Grey,  and  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Connaught.  Provincial  celebrations 
were  held  officially  at  Toronto — with  a  Parade  of  8,000  troops  and  addresses  by  Sir 
W.  H.  Hearst,  N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.,  and  others;  at  Winnipeg,  with  a  notable  address 
by  Sir  James  Aikins;  at  Regina  with  the  publication,  also,  of  a  handsome  pamphlet 
of  historical  and  patriotic  character;  at  all  the  capitals  with  more  or  less  of  ceremony 
and  public  interest.  Published  statistics  of  progress  were  many;  perhaps  the  per- 
centages of  growth  were  most  interesting  and  of  these  a  few  may  be  given: 

Particulars  Increase                             Particulars  Increase 

Area 590%  Iron  and  Steel  Industry 1,643% 

Population 111%  Railway  Mileage 1,462  % 

Wheat  Crop 1,194%  External  Trade 1,653% 

Dairy  Production 462%  Bank  Assets 2,192% 

Fisheries 375%  Bank  Deposits 4,120% 

Minerals 1,270  School  Expenditures 2,140% 

Celebrations  were  also  held  in  London  and  a  most  impressive  service  and  address  by 
Bishop  Ryle  at  Westminster  Abbey  were  marked  by  the  presence  of  the  King  and 
Queen  and  Queen  Alexandra.  Other  functions  included  a  Reception  at  the  Royal 
Colonial  Institute  and  H.M.  the  King  cabled  the  Governor-General  as  follows:  "I 
rejoice  with  the  Dominion  in  celebrating  the  Jubilee  of  its  strong,  ever-growing  pros- 
perous life,  and  I  join  in  honouring  those,  the  living  and  the  dead,  who  by  their  deeds 
have  added  a  glorious  chapter  to  the  Empire's  history — George  R.  &  I."  Sir  Robert 
Borden  issued  an  Address  to  the  people,  reviewing  Canadian  progress  in  brief  words 
and  concluding  as  follows:  "All  this  is  impressive;  but  still  more  inspiring  is  the 
thought  that  during  the  half  century  which  now  draws  to  a  close  Canada  has  come 
to  a  fuller  knowledge  of  her  heritage  and  of  the  responsibilities  which  it  entails;  to  a 
clearer  consciousness  of  National  purpose,  to  a  firmer  confidence  in  her  destiny." 

The  Halifax  Disaster  and  the  War.   whether  the  explosion 

of  Dec.  6  on  board  the  munition  ship  Mont  Blanc  in  Halifax  harbour,  which  wrecked 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  city,  was  a  direct  result  of  some  German  plot  or  an 
indirect  and  accidental  result  of  the  War  was  not  settled  in  1917,  but  there  was  no 
doubt  as  to  the  disastrous  nature  of  the  event.  Halifax  had  up  to  this  time  held  an 
important  place  in  war  operations;  it  was  the  base  from  which  a  large  portion  of 
Canadian  troops  had  gone  to  the  Front;  it  was  the  port  from  which  many  British 
activities  in  the  Atlantic,  including  the  protection  of  Canadian  transports  and  supply 
ships  were  directed  and  the  scene  of  search  or  examination  for  suspicious  ships  on  the 
North  American  station,  etc.  Its  new  ocean  terminals  were  nearing  completion  at 
great  cost  and  had  proved  very  useful  in  facilitating  Allied  shipping  operations;  the 
City  had  in  1917  been  favoured  with  much  prosperity,  a  great  increase  in  exports, 
shipping  tonnage  and  Bank  clearings. 

On  the  morning  of  Dec.  6  the  population  of  Halifax — numbering  47,000  in  normal 
times,  but  at  this  time  much  greater — was,  about  9  o'clock,  going  to  business  or  at  work, 
while  in  Bedford  Basin  two  ships  were  approaching  each  other — one  from  without, 
the  other  from  within.  The  former  was  a  French  Munitions  ship  from  New  York 
under  Capt.  Lamedoc,  named  Mont  Blanc,  and  loaded  with  4,000  tons  of  tri-nitro- 
toluol — a  very  powerful  explosive — and  a  supply  of  picric  acid;  the  latter  was  the 
Into,  a  Norwegian  freighter  loaded  with  Belgian  relief  supplies  and  commanded  by 
Capt.  Fram.  Both  had  pilots  on  board  and  the  story  of  the  Mont  Blanc  Captain, 
with  evidence  afterwards  adduced,  seemed  to  show  that  the  Imo,  for  some  inexplic- 
able r«ason,  deliberately  kept  a  wrong  course.  When  the  two  ships  actually  collided 
the  Mont  Blanc  was  so  held  as  to  cause  the  blow  to  strike  its  forward  hold  where  the 
picric  acid  was,  rather  than  where  the  more  explosive  T.N.T.  was  stored.  Fire  fol- 
lowed, however,  and  the  explosion  after  the  men  had  fled  from  the  ships — the  Mont 
Blanc  being  near  the  Halifax  shore  of  the  Narrows  and  the  Imo  drifting  to  that  of 
Dartmouth. 


468  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  effect  of  the  explosion  was  instant,  horrible  and  disastrous  in  the  extreme. 
Every  building  in  the  City  was  damaged,  the  north  end,  or  Richmond  section,  was 
almost  demolished  and  part  of  Dartmouth  seriously  injured,  buildings  collapsed  and 
fires  started  everywhere,  thousands  were  killed  or  wounded,  maimed  or  blinded,  the 
water-front  was  in  ruins  and  the  dockyard  sidings  destroyed,  20,000  men,  women 
and  children  rendered  homeless  and  destitute  with  property  losses  placed  at  $25,000,- 
000.  Later  estimates  stated  that  2,000  were  killed  and  8,000  wounded;  many  more 
suffered  severely,  perhaps  permanently,  in  the  terrible  blizzard  and  cold  which  fol- 
lowed the  explosions  and  fire  and  found  thousands  living  in  improvised  tents  or  win- 
dowless,  freezing  houses.  This  storm  of  snow  and  wind  was,  in  turn,  succeeded  by 
almost  torrential  rains  and  the  combination  proved  a  climax  of  misery.  Many  men 
on  ships  in  the  harbour  were  killed  or  injured — especially  on  the  Pictou,  a  steamer 
loaded  also  with  munitions.  Its  Captain,  a  former  British  sailor  named  J.  W.  Har- 
rison, when  the  balance  of  his  crew  fled,  remained  on  the  burning  ship.  Knowing 
that  if  the  fire  once  reached  its  explosives  their  proximity  to  the  City  would  cause  an 
infinitely  greater  disaster — perhaps  wipe  the  place  out  entirely — he,  single-handed, 
cut  the  hawsers  of  the  ship  so  that  it  might  drift  away,  fitted  up  a  hose  and  eventually 
succeeded  in  putting  out  the  fires.  Many  a  V.C.  has  been  won  for  less.  Another 
act  of  heroism  was  that  of  Vincent  P.  Coleman,  telegraph  operator  at  Richmond 
Station,  who  lost  his  life  sending  a  message  of  warning  as  to  "munition  ship  on  fire 
making  for  Pier  8"  and  saved  the  lives  of  many  on  board  trains  which  were  nearing 
Halifax  and  were  stopped  in  time. 

Every  kind  of  help  was  given  to  the  sufferers  or  rushed  into  the  unfortunate 
city  from  outside.  The  devoted  nurses  in  the  hospitals,  and  the  doctors,  worked  day 
and  night,  soldiers  from  the  Garrison,  and  sailors,  aided  them,  and  every  available  build- 
ing was  packed  with  dead  and  wounded,  while  panic-stricken  crowds  in  the  streets  were, 
in  the  earlier  stages,  kept  in  order  and  guided  by  marines  and  sailors  from  the  ships; 
the  shops  and  druggists  threw  open  their  supplies  to  the  public.  St.  John  sent  im- 
mediate relief  in  carloads  of  clothing  and  food  and  Red  Cross  supplies  with  a  Com- 
mittee to  help  the  sufferers  personally;  corps  of  doctors  and  nurses  were  rushed  from 
Sackville  and  Monet  on,  as  well  as  St.  John,  and  Amherst,  Windsor,  Truro,  Sydney, 
responded  with  all  available  help;  telegrams  offering  aid  or  promising  money  came 
from  all  over  Canada  and  Sir  John  Eaton  went  down  from  Toronto  in  a  private  car 
with  help  and  supplies  of  all  kinds;  the  Dominion  Government  appropriated  $1,000,- 
000  at  once  and  later  made  it  $5,000,000;  Sir  Robert  Borden  contributed  $1,000, 
personally,  to  the  local  Relief  Fund  and,  with  Hon.  F.  B.  Carvell  and  A.  K.  Maclean 
abandoned  the  Election  campaign  to  help  in  the  city;  the  British  Government 
granted  £1,000,000  and  the  U.S.  Congress  talked  of  voting  $5,000,000  which,  however, 
was  not  done;  Boston  sent  a  fully-equipped  500-bed  Red  Cross  unit  with  nurses  and 
medical  staff  and  N.Y.  Central  trains  speeded  from  New  York  (Dec.  7)  with  $200,000 
worth  of  supplies,  600  men,  tools,  lumber,  portable  houses  and  motor  trucks;  Mon- 
treal placed  $100,000  at  command  of  the  city  and  the  Militia  authorities  at  Ottawa 
sent  a  car-load  of  supplies.  Messages  came  from  H.M.  the  King,  President  Wilson, 
the  Governor-General  of  Australia  and  many  others.  Mr.  Justice  R.  E.  Harris 
issued  a  statement  on  Dec.  7  for  a  local  Committee  that:  "While  every  building  in 
Halifax  and  Dartmouth  was  more  or  less  damaged,  the  devastated  area  is  found  near 
the  scene  of  the  explosion,  and  embraced  chiefly  districts  occupied  by  workers  and  the 
poorer  classes.  Between  3  and  4  thousand  of  such  dwellings  have  been  completely 
destroyed  by  the  explosion  or  by  fire.  The  number  of  those  affected  is  estimated  at 
25,000,  the  destitute  poor  in  the  area  will  number  upwards  of  20,000,  and  their  actual 
loss  and  the  estimated  cost  of  their  temporary  maintenance  will  reach  between  25 
and  30  million  dollars."  This  was  followed  by  an  appeal  from  Mayor  P.  T.  Martin 
of  Halifax  and  Mayor  E.  F.  Williams  of  Dartmouth  (Dec.  10),  addressed  to  the  people 
of  Canada,  which  stated  that  the  damage  to  shipping  and  Port  equipment  was  very 
serious  and  the  devastation  in  the  city  appalling,  estimated  the  dead  at  2,000  and 
asked  for  $25,000,000  to  re-organize  and  rebuild.  Later  semi-official  figures  put  the 
material  damage  and  financial  losses  at  $15,000,000.  This  did  not  include  Govern- 
ment losses  or  destruction  of  docks  and  cargoes  and  public  buildings,  which  were 
estimated  at  another  $15,000,000.  Insurance  particulars  were  not  published  #t  this 
time,  but  one  estimate — Monetary  Times — was  $21,000,000. 

Relief  continued  to  pour  in.  The  Ontario  Government  gave  $200,000,  Toronto 
voted  $100,000  and  Hamilton  forwarded  $2,500  and  voted  another  $5,000;  Lord 
Shaughnessy  and  the  C.P.R,  sent  a  $50.000  carload  of  supplies  and  a  Manitoba  Free 
Press  Fund  contributed  $70,000;  the  City  of  Winnipeg  voted  $25,000,  the  Govern- 


INDUSTRIAL  RESEARCH  AND  THE  WAR  469 

ment  of  Saskatchewan  $25,000,  the  City  of  Kingston  $7,500,  the  I.O.D.E.  established 
a  home  in  Halifax  for  unclaimed  children,  the  British  Columbia  Government  gave 
$50,000,  the  Ottawa  Journal-Press  collected  $13,000,  Calgary  raised  a  Fund  of  $45,000. 
Outside  of  Canada  contributions  were  generously  given..  A  Lord  Mayor's  Fund  in 
London  received  £5,000  from  H.M.  the  King,  Newfoundland  granted  $50,000  and 
the  City  of  St.  John's  $10,000,  the  Furness-Withey  Steamship  Co.  gave  $25,000  and 
Lord  Northcliffe  $5,000,  Jamaica  voted  $5,000,  the  British  Red  Cross  Fund,  Toronto, 
granted  $125,000,  the  Government  of  Bermuda  $4,320,  and  the  U.S.  Cities  of  Hart- 
ford and  Syracuse  $5,000  and  $10,000  respectively.  By  the  end  of  December  the 
total  in  hand  was  $2,735,000.  In  Halifax,  meanwhile,  medical  organization  was  in 
charge  of  Lieut.-Col.  F.  McKelvey  Bell  as  Chief  of  Committee,  the  Citizen's  Relief 
Committee  was  headed  by  R.  T.  Mcllreith,  K.C.,  and  a  special  Committee  was  chosen 
on  Dec.  21  to  report  on  the  rehabilitation  of  Halifax  composed  of  H.  R.  Silver,  W.  R. 
Powell,  G.  Fred.  Pearson,  G.  W.  Hensley,  Hon.  R.  G.  Beazley,  F.  H.  Bell,  K.C.,  and 
F.  B.  McCurdy,  M.P. 

The  year  closed  with  an  investigation  under  way  into  the  causes  of  the  tragedy, 
headed  by  Mr.  Justice  Drysdale  with  Capt.  L.  A.  Demers,  Government  Wreck  Com- 
missioner, and  Capt.  W.  Hose,  R.C.N.,  assisting.  W.  A.  Henry  of  Halifax  was  Counsel. 
As  the  investigation  proceeded  public  opinion  changed  somewhat  from  its  first  belief 
in  German  plots  and  spies  to  one  of  fear  that  carelessness  had  been  displayed  by 
Port  or  Harbour  authorities.  Under  the  first  impression  14  Germans  in  the  City  were 
arrested  but  afterwards  released  and  a  special  officer  was  sent  from  Ottawa  by  Sir 
Percy  Sherwood  to  investigate.  It  became  clear  that  signals  had  not  been  obeyed 
by  the  Imo;  also  that  the  Mont  Blanc  had  not  displayed  the  red  flag  of  a  munition 
ship  on  entering  the  harbour.  The  pertinent  query  was  at  once  made  by  the  Halifax 
Chronicle  (Lib.)  and  The  Herald  (Cons.)  as  to  why  this  was  permitted.  The  former 
declared  the  Dominion  Government  responsible  as  having  exclusive  control  of  the 
Harbour  and  demanded  reparation  for  damage;  the  latter  (Dec.  28)  described  the 
catastrophe  as  "the  result  of  carelessness  and  lack  of  foresight,"  stated  that  there 
had  been  conflict  of  authority  between  the  Naval  authorities  and  Harbour-master, 
F.  G.  Rudolph,  and  urged  re-organization  and  clear  definition  of  duties  in  both  con- 
nections. There  the  matter  rested  at  the  close  of  the  year. 

Industrial  Research  and  the  War.   This  problem  in  Canada 

as  in  other  countries,  covered  many  vital  problems  of  War  action  and  after- war  policy; 
it  concerned  Governments,  industries  and  institutions  alike.  The  production  of 
food,  the  application  of  science  to  industrial  work  of  almost  every  nature,  but  especially 
war-work,  the  preparation  for  future  competition  with  the  experts  of  friend  and 
enemy  alike  in  the  markets  of  the  world,  the  question  of  prices,  the  use  of  fish  for 
food,  the  briquetting  of  peat,  the  conservation  of  heat,  substitutes  for  coal  and  gaso- 
line, the  extraction  of  metals  from  refractory  ores  and  creation  of  explosives,  the 
evolution  of  anaesthetics,  the  varied  and  wider  applications  of  chemistry,  the  creation 
of  cheap  concentrated  fertilizers,  electric-power  problems  and  the  extraction  of  nitro- 
gen from  air,  were  some  of  the  matters  involved.  The  United  States  was  already 
doing  much  along  these  lines  with  National  institutions  spending  (1915)  $25,000,000 
a  year  and  2,000  persons  engaged  in  scientific  investigations,  while  its  National  Re- 
search Council,  as  developed  by  war  conditions,  was  greatly  strengthened  in  scope 
with  many  important  Committees;  Australia  had  a  strong  and  active  Advisory 
Council  of  Science  and  Industry  with  Committees  in  each  State  and,  in  1917,  a  Per- 
manent Institute  was  in  process  of  organization;  in  Great  Britain  there  was  a  Privy 
Council  Committee  on  Scientific  and  Industrial  Research  with,  also,  an  Advisory 
Council  and  in  1917  a  Government  grant  of  £1,000,000  for  its  work. 

In  Canada  an  Advisory  Council  for  Scientific  and  Industrial  Research  had  been 
established  by  the  Government  in  1916.  This  body  issued  a  series  of  questions  to 
men  and  institutions  concerned  in  technical  or  industrial  problems  and  had  advised 
the  Dominion  Government  to  (1)  establish  20  studentships,  eaph  having  a  value  of 
$600  to  $750  per  annum,  and  several  scholarships,  each  having  an  annual  value  of 
$1,500,  at  the  universities  or  technical  colleges  of  the  Dominion  and  (2)  "to  render 
assistance  to  the  Provincial  Governments,  local  industries,  or  other  recognized  bodies, 
should  they  desire  to  establish  local  institutes  or  bureaux  for  industrial  research  at 
important  industrial  centres  in  Canada."  In  1917  it  studied  the  question  of  pro- 
ducing a  coal  or  fuel  in  the  West  which  could  be  used  in  the  East  and  other  similar 
problems.  In  October  representative  Mining  and  Chemical  Committees  were 


470 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


appointed  to  aid  the  Council.  F.  D.  Adams,  F.R.S.,  and  Dr.  R.  F.  Ruttan  of  McGill 
University  in  several  addresses,  Dr.  George  Bryce  of  Winnipeg  in  a  series  of  able 
articles,  Dr.  A.  B.  Macullum,  F.R.S.,  Chairman  of  the  Research  Council,  Prof.  J.  C. 
McLennan  of  Toronto  University — appointed  a  member  of  the  British  Board  of 
Inventions  during  the  year — Prof.F.  H.  Sexton  of  Halifax,  were  active  workers  of  this 
period,  as  were  institutions  such  as  the  Canadian  Manufacturers'  Association,  the 
organization  which  agreed  to  compile  an  Inventory  of  Canadian  research  facilities; 
the  Canadian  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  the  Canadian  Mining  Institute,  the  Society 
of  Chemical  Industry;  and  a  Joint  Committee  of  Technical  Organizations  in  Toronto 
specially  appointed,  in  the  exclusive  and  secret  service  of  Canada,  to  help  in  mobilizing 
its  research  and  industries.  The  Canadian  Manufacturers'  Association  organized  a 
special  Committee  with  Thos.  Roden  as  Chairman,  a  local  organization  was  formed 
in  Regina  and  help  given  in  British  Columbia  and  New  Brunswick. 

The  Royal  Canadian  Institute  of  Toronto  was  greatly  interested  in  this  work 
under  the  leadership  of  Prof.  J.  C.  McLennan  and  J.  Murray  Clark,  K.c.  The 
latter  was  elected  President  in  1917  and  in  his  address  of  Nov.  3  referred  to  the  War 
side  of  this  work:  "  It  is  gratifying  that  the  work  of  Dr.  McLennan  and  other  Canadian 
scientists  is  increasingly  contributing  to  the  success  of  the  Allies.  The  details  of 
much  of  this  work  cannot  yet  be  published  but  we  can  safely  say  that  the  scientific 
achievements  of  Canadians  have  saved  the  lives  of  many  thousands  of  our  soldiers 
and  sailors."  The  Bureau  of  Industrial  and  Scientific  Research  established  by  the 
Institute  was  dealt  with  as  having  given  an  impetus  to  Dominion  Government  action 
and  general  effort.  An  able  review  of  International  law  followed  with  incidental  but 
effective  references  to  the  work  of  German  plotters  in  holding  up  the  production  of 
Canadian  mines.  In  Parliament,  on  May  9,  Hon.  R.  Lemieux  urged  the  Govern- 
ment by  Resolution  to  give  effect  to  the  recommendation  of  the  Royal  Commission 
on  Technical  Education  which  had  been  appointed  and  had  reported  some  years 
before  with  great  elaboration.  The  Government  should,  he  thought,  undertake  that 
the  spread  of  technical  skill  and  knowledge  be  subsidized  by  the  Dominion  in  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Provinces.  After  some  debate  an  amendment  by  Sir  George  Foster 
was  accepted  which  stated  that  "reasonable  assistance  should  be  given  at  the  earliest 
practicable  opportunity." 


CANADA  AND  THE  WAR— QUEBEC 

The  French  The  people  of  Quebec  in  1917  had  travelled  a  long 

Canadians^  way  from  tne  jays  wnen  their  ancestors  fought  the 
^Causes  '  British  in  open  war  for  the  possession  of  a  continent, 
and  Effects,  or  the  new  American  Republic  for  the  retention  of 
their  separate  existence  under  British  rule,  or  the 
British  rulers  of  Quebec  in  1837  for  greater  political  power.  Since 
those  days  much  had  been  given  them  or  confirmed  to  them — rights  of 
political  action,  absolute  freedom  of  self-government,  privileges  in 
language  and  religion  and  laws,  the  protection  of  a  great  Empire,  the 
co-operation  for  common  purposes  of  a  vigorous  Dominion.  They, 
also,  had  done  much  in  helping  to  create  Confederation,  in  adjusting 
the  ready-made  difficulties  of  racial  and  religious  strife  in  a  wide 
and  language-separated  community,  in  governing  fairly  a  Protestant 
and  English  minority,  in  taking  a  large  share  in  the  development  of 
the  Dominion.  When  the  War  came  they  were  expected  to  have  the 
same  feelings  as  other  Canadians,  to  share  the  enthusiasms  of  their 
English-speaking  fellow  citizens,  to  take  the  same  patriotic  action 
in  enlistment  and  in  support  of  Britain  and  France.  It  was  too 
much  to  expect  without  preliminary  education  along  lines  of  Empire 
responsibility  and  European  issues  or  conditions.  This  they  had 
never  had  except  in  the  negative  and  hostile  form — fear  of  British 
Imperialism,  antagonism  to  closer  British  relations  or  larger  spheres 
of  duty,  aversion  to  the  anti-Church  institutions  and  policy  of 
France.  The  people  had  their  own  political  leaders  who  told  them 
what  they  liked  as  to  other  Provinces  or  the  Empire  and,  in  many 
cases,  were  not  over-scrupulous  in  their  facts  or  cautious  in  expression 
of  their  fancies.  The  Church,  in  recent  years,  had  held  aloof  from 
politics  and  the  masses,  therefore,  while  carefully  guided  in  Provin- 
cial affairs  by  leaders  like  Marchand  or  Gouin,  were,  in  issues  such 
as  the  South  African  struggle  or  the  World- War,  more  or  less  at  the 
mercy  of  men  such  as  Henri  Bourassa  or  P.  E.  Blondin — in  the  days 
before  the  latter  changed  his  views. 

Yet,  with  all  these  conditions  admitted — which  the  average 
Canadian  outside  of  Quebec  did  not  clearly  understand — the  French- 
Canadians  at  the  beginning  of  the  War  cheered  Great  Britain  and 
France  almost  as  heartily  as  did  English-Canadians  and  started  out  to 
enlist  in  considerable  numbers  while  even  Mr.  Bourassa  had  to  hold 
his  journalistic  guns  in  leash.  Then  certain  factors  showed  their 
force  and  will  be  dealt  with  separately — politics  as  developed  in  the 
Bi-lingual  question  and  the  leadership  of  his  race  by  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier;  the  dignified,  correct,  but  somewhat  aloof  attitude  of  the 
Church  and  a  steadily -growing  antipathy  or  suspicion  in  the  people 
as  to  France  and  its  religious  policy;  the  persistent,  insidious  propa- 
ganda and  cultivation  of  historic  antagonisms  by  Mr.  Bourassa, 
his  journal  Le  Devoir  and  his  Nationalist  following.  Back  of  these 
fundamental  conditions  in  the  formation  of  public  opinion  were  a 

[471] 


472  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

multitude  of  other  matters  which  were  local  to  Quebec  and  unthought 
of  in  the  other  Provinces  except,  perhaps,  as  vague  impressions. 
There  was  the  absence  of  real  military  organization  in  Quebec  and 
the  lack  of  Militia  enthusiasm  with  12  French-Canadian  regiments 
as  against  52  in  Ontario ;  there  was  a  confirmed  pacificism  of  thought 

.  which  was  the  natural  result  of  isolated  racialism;  there,  also,  was 
the  periodical  presence  of  a  Nationalism  which,  under  many  forms  and 
names,  had  existed  through  the  days  of  Papineau,  the  storms  of  the 
Sixties,  the  spectacular  successes  of  Mercier,  the  Laurier  fight  against 
an  Imperial  naval  contribution,  the  Blondin-Monk-Bourassa 
struggle  against  either  Canadian  or  Empire  naval  action,  the  almost 
single-handed  battle  of  Mr.  Bourassa  in  favour  of  Canadian  Inde- 
pendence; there  was  the  serious  lack  of  acquaintance  between  the 
newspapers,  the  journalists  and  writers,  the  average  politician  of 
Quebec  or  Ontario  with  similar  elements  of  public  opinion  in  the 
other  Provinces;  there  was  the  smaller  proportion  of  eligible  single 
men  in  Quebec  as  compared  with  Ontario — ages  20  to  34  showing 
123,831  in  Quebec  (1911)  compared  with  201,400  in  Ontario. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  also,  French -Canadian  ignorance  of  war 
issues  and  causes  was  no  greater  than  that  of  the  American  people 
on  Aug.  4,  1914;  the  difference  was  that  this  condition  remained 
wrapped  up  in  a  robe  of  racial  isolation  while  the  United  States 
gradually  caught  the  spirit  of  English-speaking  thought  as  it  shared 
in  the  atmosphere  of  language  similarity  and  racial  intercourse. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  Canada  as  a  whole  in  this  War  went 
through  a  continuous  educative  process  and  it  was  greatly  to  Sir 
Robert  Borden's  credit  that  he  understood  the  necessity  of  this 
process.  The  country  had  to  pass  from  a  condition  of  extreme 
Pacificism  to  one  of  continuous  war-thought  and  an  organized  action 
which  should  replace  the  early  enthusiams  caught  and  concentrated 
at  Valcartier;  it  had  to  move  slowly  toward  the  stage  of  personal, 
political  and  general  recognition  of  the  fact  that  its  liberties  and 
very  existence  were  bound  up  with  those  of  the  Empire  and  Great 
Britain;  it  had  to  abandon  cherished  ideals  of  individual  freedom  for 
Government  control  of  personal  services;  finally  it  had  to  throw  the 
strongest  of  these  ideals  to  the  winds  and  accept  a  compulsory  military 
service  which  had  never  been  dreamed  of  and  was  considered  quite 
impossible  even  after  two  years  of  war.  All  these  processes  Quebec 
was  expected  to  go  through  at  the  same  time  and  at  the  same  rate 
of  speed  as  other  Provinces.  Yet  its  people  were  without  the  bril- 
liant light  of  a  language  and  press  which  trained  the  thought  of  a 
continent  and  voiced  the  feelings  of  Great  Britain;  without  the  ties 
of  relationship  which  brought  so  many  English-Canadians  close  to 
their  Motherland  personally  and  also  politically,  socially,  financially, 
commercially ;  without  the  pressure  of  knowledge  and  conviction 
and  political  action  which  came  so  naturally  to  the  English-speaking 

Amasses  of  Canada;  without  special  instruction,  special  Govern- 
ment appeal,  or  special  and  really  necessary  patriotic  propaganda — 
above  all,  without  any  serious  check  upon  unpatriotic  Nationalist 
teachings.  Too  little  may  have  been  given  by  Quebec;  altogether 
too  much  was  expected. 


THE  FRENCH-CANADIANS  AND  THE  WAR  473 

Too  much,  also,  was  expected  from  French -Canadian  love  for 
France.  It  was  not  really  there;  it  had  been  largely  an  eloquent 
figure  of  speech,  or  peroration  to  some  verbal  defiance  of  Ontario 
Orangeistes.  The  traditions  of  the  French-Canadian  were  those  of 
Quebec  during  300  years  of  North  American  struggle  and  Indian 
conflict  and  Canadian  development,  of  a  vague  affection,  perhaps, 
in  cultured  circles  for  a  France  of  the  days  of  Louis  XIV.  With 
the  modern  country  of  republican  infidelity  there  was  little  associa- 
tion and  that  little  had  come  in  for  severe  criticism  at  the  hands 
of  English-Canadian  extremists  before  the  Entente  became  a  useful 
fact.  It  was  hard  for  English-speaking  Canadians  to  understand 
this  lack  of  regard  for  France  in  view  of  an  oft-expressed  devotion 
to  the  French  language,  or  to  appreciate  the  earnest  belief  that  a 
language  could  conserve  the  faith  of  a  race  and  preserve  its  isolated 
and  cherished  nationality.  As  the  year  1917  opened  the  situation 
was  one  of  almost  complete  misunderstanding  in  Quebec  as  to  the 
real  position  of  the  Provinces  and  the  Empire  in  the  War ;  an  equally 
pronounced  misconception  in  Ontario  and  elsewhere  as  to  the 
French-Canadian.  Quebec  was  not  a  Province  of  slackers  nor  was 
Ontario  one  of  slanderers;  the  people  were  so  temperamentally 
different  that  a  Bourassa  and  Le  Devoir  could  lead  an  overwhelming 
public  sentiment  in  one  while  a  Hocken  and  an  Orange  Sentinel 
would  only  lead  a  class  or  section  in  the  other;  the  Montreal  Labour 
Council  opposing  National  Service  cards  was  really  no  worse  than 
that  of  Winnipeg  or  Vancouver  taking  similar  action;  the  tendency 
of  rural  regions  in  Quebec  Province  to  avoid  recruiting  should  have 
been  more  easy  to  condone  than  the  vigorous  fight  of  farmers  in 
Ontario  against  Conscription  when  applied  to  their  sons ;  the  activity 
of  some  Catholic  Cure's  against  Conscription,  however  it  might  be 
regretted,  was  no  more  church  interference  in  politics  than  was  the 
energetic  Prohibition  propaganda  of  the  Methodists  in  Ontario;  the 
exodus  of  young  men  from  Quebec  to  the  States  in  order  to  avoid  vague 
tales  of  possible  compulsion  stood  with  reports  of  a  similar  movement 
in  1916-17  along  the  Ontario  and  New  Brunswick  frontiers.  On 
the  other  hand  the  policy  of  Ontario  in  regulating  the  teaching  of 
English  and  French  in  Separate  Schools,  attended  by  Irish  as  well 
as  French  Catholics  and  admittedly  under  Government  jurisdiction, 
was  no  more  dictated  by  hostility  to  Quebec  than  by  hatred  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 

As  to  War  action  here  is  one  side.  French-Canadians  did  nearly 
as  well  in  the  First  Contingent  as  native-born  English-Canadians; 
the  bravery  of  those  who  constituted  the  22nd  Battalion  was  illus-. 
t rated  at  Courcelette  and  in  the  125  decorations  won  by  it  up  to 
the  close  of  1917;  the  very  names  of  enlistment  showed  that  the 
best  type  of  Quebec  family  had  known  its  duty — Taschereau,  Lange- 
lier,  Garneau,  Lemieux,  Casgrain,  Papineau,  Gouin,  Archambault, 
De  Lotbiniere,  Pelletier,  Fiset,  Duchesnay,  Le  Blanc,  Beaudry, 
Lacoste,  Panet,  Brodeur,  Dansereau,  Beique;  contributions  to 
Patriotic  Funds  were  fair  in  view  of  the  small  average  of  wealth 
amongst  French-Canadians  and  the  large  average  of  a  rural  popu- 
lation living  comfortably  but  with  small  cash  margins.  Amongst 


474  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  larger  gifts  of  1917  were  $5,000  from  Hon.  F.  L.  Beique,  $1,000 
each  from  La  Patrie  and  La  Presse,  $12,500  from  La  Banque  d'Hoch- 
elaga,  $6,000  from  La  Banque  Provinciale,  $2,000  from  Alphonse 
Racine,  Ltd.,  $2,000  from  La  Commission  Scolaire  Catholique, 
$1,500  from  E.  Lafleur,  K.C.,  $1,000  from  L.  G.  Beaubien  et  Cie, 
$10,000  from  Credit  Foncier  Franco-Canadien,  $15,000  from  La 
Seminaire  de  St.  Sulpice,  $5,000  from  Hudon-He*bert  et  Cie,  Ltd., 
$1,000  each  from  Le  Club  St.  Denis  and  Hon.  C.  P.  Beaubien.  The 
same  comment  applies  to  the  subscriptions  to  Victory  Bonds  in 
tLis  year  which  included  such  sums  as  $200,000  from  L.  A.  Gosselin, 
Montreal,  $70,000  from  the  estate  of  Hon.  L.  Tourville,  $50,000 
from  Societe  des  Artisans  Canadien  Francais,  $80,000  from  the  town 
of  La  Tuque,  $25,000  from  Caron  et  Freres,  $10,000  from  E.  H. 
Lemay,  $25,000  each  from  A.  N.  Drolet,  J.  P.  Cot£  and  J.  B.  Renaud 
et  Cie.,  Quebec,  with  $200,000  from  Hon.  G.  E.  Amyot,  Quebec, 
and  $100,000  from  Mme.  L.  J.  Forget,  Montreal,  $70,000  from 
Hon.  F.  L.  Beique  and  $10,000  each  from  La  Cie  d'Association 
Mount  Royal  and  La  Seminaire  de  St.  Sulpice.  French-Canadians 
active  in  the  movement  to  collect  these  moneys  or  subscriptions 
were  A.  P.  Frigon,  Napoleon  Lavoie,  U.  H.  Dandurand,  Maj.- 
Gen.  A.  E.  Labelle,  Paul  Lacoste,  K.C.,  J.  A.  Beaudry,  while  the 
Ladies'  Committees  in  the  Patriotic  Fund  and  Victory  Loan  efforts 
had  French-Canadian  branches  of  great  usefulness  and  support. 
The  fact  that  fully  half  of  Canada's  total  enlistment  were  born 
outside  of  Canada  and  chiefly  in  the  United  Kingdom  showed  that 
elements  of  indifference  were  not  confined  to  one  Province;  Laval 
Hospital  Unit,  No.  6,  in  its  work  at  St.  Cloud,  proved  that  the  great 
Montreal  University  had  done  more  than  produce  a  few  disorderly 
students  of  whom  Canada  heard  much;  the  Quebec  Government 
gave  generously  to  War  Funds  and  objects  and  up  to  the  time  when 
Conscription  became  a  party  issue  its  attitude  was  absolutely  non- 
partisan  in  support  of  the  War;  no  men  of  any  race  could  take  higher 
British  ground  than  Sir  P.  E.  LeBlanc,  Talbot  Papineau,  Sir 
J.  G.  Garneau,  Napoleon  Garceau,  A.  H.  de  Tre*maudan  (Winnipeg), 
Prof.  Ferdinand  Roy,  K.C.,  F.  J.  Robidoux,  M.P.  (Kent,  N.B.) ;  no 
man  could  die  more  gallantly  for  his  country  and  Empire  than 
Major  Talbot  Papineau,  M.C.,  and  Major  Lambert  Dumont-Lavio- 
lette,  M.C.,  or  fight  more  skillfully  than,  for  instance,  Lieut.-Col. 
T.  L.  Tremblay  or  Major  L.  J.  Daly-Gingras. 

The  other  side  of  the  shield  showed  that  Ontario  and  other  parts 
of  the  country  had  taken  offence  at  some  parts  of  the  Quebec  situ- 
ation and  if  the  French-Canadian  people  were  not  altogether  to 
blame  for  their  recruiting  apathy  and  succeeding  activity  against 
Conscription  their  leaders  were  to  blame  for  the  same  indifference 
to  English-Canadian  susceptibilities,  traditions  and  ideals  as  the 
latter  often  showed  to  the  French.  Just  as  The  Sentinel  and  the 
strong  views  of  the  Toronto  News,,  or  Telegram,  or  Winnipeg  Free 
Press  on  certain  points  of  race  and  religion  were  frequently  quoted 
in  Quebec,  so  Quebec  papers  and  speakers  were  translated  into 
English  whenever  anything  sensational  or  unpleasant  was  said  and 
these  quotations  were  scattered  broad-cast — without  the 


THE  FRENCH-CANADIANS  AND  THE  WAR  475 

house  of  argument  which  a  common  language  provides.  Hence 
the  responsibility  of  leaders  on  either  side.  In  this  analysis  Ontario 
can  be  taken  as  representing  English  Canada  so  far  as  English 
language,  ideals  and  religious  feelings  were  concerned.  To  the 
French-Canadian  it  took  the  place  held  by  Nova  Scotia  in  early 
days  of  school  sectarianism  or  by  Manitoba  in  the  controversies  of 
1895-6  or  of  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan  in  those  of  1905.  Ontario 
claimed  to  be  liberal  in  its  welcome  to  and  its  treatment  of  French 
settlers  in  the  North  or  in  Essex  and  other  counties  touching  the 
Quebec  border;  it  alleged  that  the  Bi-lingual  regulations  about  which 
Quebec  leaders  and  press  said  so  much  and  as  to  which  the  Church 
really  feared  interference  with  its  influence  in  the  Separate  Schools 
were  aimed  at  efficient  instruction  in  both  languages  and  not  de-  • 
struction  of  one  language — though  there  was  no  official  desire  to 
encourage  the  extension  of  French  language-teaching  in  schools 
where  French  attendance  was  negligible;  it  was  contended  that 
this  question  was  not  a  religious  one  at  all  and  that  the  attitude  of 
Bishop  Fallon  and  the  position  of  Ontario  and  Canadian  Bishops 
in  general,  outside  of  Quebec,  went  to  prove  this  assertion. 

Ontario  and  the  other  Provinces  found  it  impossible  to  under- x 
stand  the  feelings  of  French  speakers  and  the  press  as  to  this  question 
— especially  in  time  of  war  and  when  enhanced  by  the  French 
Parliamentary  speeches  of  the  Conscription  debates.  Its  people 
read  reports  of  utterances  in  Le  Devoir  and  violent  speeches  against 
Ontario  or  Great  Britain,  with  wonder  and  some  anger.  It  was 
asserted  that  Catholic  power  over  the  Separate  Schools  of  Protestant 
Ontario  had  been  greatly  increased  since  Confederation — so  much  so 
as  at  one  time  to  menace  the  popularity  of  the  strong  Mowat  Govern- 
ment; it  was  pointed  out  that  in  the  heart  of  the  so-called  Orange 
Toronto  was  a  little  French-Canadian  School  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
where  the  children  said  their  prayers  in  French  and  the  Catechism 
lesson  was  given  in  French  and  French  was  mostly  spoken  at  re- 
creation time,  and  that  from  the  church  near  to  the  school  112 
French-Canadians  had  gone  Overseas;  it  was  stated  that  about 
1,300  French  or  bi-lingual  signs  were  scattered  throughout  the 
Post  Offices  of  Ontario  under  a  simple  system  of  toleration;  as  to 
Orangemen  it  was  contended  by  Sir  Sam  Hughes  on  one  occasion 
(Stratford,  Mar.  14)  that  the  world  had  never  witnessed  such  a 
spectacle  as  80,000  Orangemen  from  Canada  fighting  or  dying  for 
the  Belgian  Catholic  people!  These  were  details  but  they  illustrated  ^ 
the  matters  which  stirred  Ontario  feeling  and  found  expression  during 
the  Elections  of  1917.  So  with  the  University  question  and  the 
fact  that  while  Toronto  and  McGill  and  Manitoba  and  Saskatchewan 
and  Alberta  Universities  sent  their  thousands  of  recruits  with  other 
thousands  preparing,  they  only  heard  of  Laval  students  as  disturbing 
meetings  and  opposing  recruiting  or  Conscription.  Thinking  people 
knew  of  the  splendid  Laval  Hospital  but  the  masses  knew  little  and 
heard  much  more  of  the  opposition  given  to  Conscription  by  Prof. 
Edouard  Montpetit  than  of  the  patriotic  opinions  of  Prof.  Ferdinand 
Roy.  Meanwhile  the  indifferent  recruiting  in  Quebec  found  im- 
mediate echoes  elsewhere  with,  also,  sensational  reports  of  disturbed 


476  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

or  broken-up  meetings  followed  by  greatly  increased  evidences  of 
opposition  and  sometimes  violence  during  the  period  just  prior  to 
Conscription.  As  if  to  accentuate  this  divergence  of  thought  came 
the  attempt  to  blow  up  Lord  Atholstan's  house  near  Montreal,  the 
threats  made  against  Sir  Robert  Borden's  life  and  that  of  other 
Ministers  and  the  later  Conscription  riots  in  Montreal  and  Quebec; 
as  if  to  afford  ironic  comment  upon  the  situation  Marshal  Joffre, 
representing  England  and  France  as  they  struggled  for  their  very 
lives  and  homes  upon  the  battle-fields  of  the  Western  front,  passed 
on  May  14  between  lines  of  thousands  of  young  French-Canadians 
in  Montreal  who  would  not  enlist  and  who  opposed  Conscription. 
Efforts  were  made  to  bring  the  two  peoples  together  and  to 
eliminate  politics  and  cultivate  understanding.  One  of  these  was 
the  Bonne  Entente  promoted  in  19 16  by  John  M.  Godfrey  in  Toronto 
and  Sir  J.  G.  Garneau  in  Quebec.  A  large  delegation  of  Ontario 
men  then  visited  Montreal,  Sherbrooke,  Quebec  and  Three  Rivers. 
In  return  Sir  George  Garneau,  Sir  Lomer  Gouin,  Lieut.-Col.  F.  W. 
Hibbard,  O.  S.  Perreault  of  Montreal,  Hon.  C.  P.  Beaubien,  Hon. 
L.  P.  Pellet ier,  and  a  considerable  Deputation,  visited  Toronto  and 
Hamilton  in  January,  1917.  Sir  George  Garneau  in  receiving  an 
Hon.  LL.D.  from  Toronto  University  (Jan.  8)  showed  his  keen 
perception  of  the  war  situation:  "We  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact 
that  if  our  cities  are  free  from  the  horrors  of  war,  if  the  glorious 
St.  Lawrence  has  not  been  sullied  by  enemy  ships  and  our  coast 
towns  have  not  been  bombarded,  we  owe  it  to  the  battles  fought  in 
France  and  Flanders,  and  above  all,  to  the  magnificent  self-sacri- 
ficing work  of  the  British  Navy."  Sir  Lomer  Gouin  in  his  speech 
at  a  banquet  on  this  date  put  the  war-issue  for  Quebec  and  Canada, 
as  it  should  be,  very  clearly;  "Each  is  giving  of  its  dearest  and 
costliest  for  the  freedom  and  the  defence  of  the  liberties  of  the  other. 
Englishmen  and  Frenchmen  are  fighting  for  the  sacred  things  which 
are  common  to  both.  They  are  mingling  their  blood  on  the  battle- 
fields of  right  and  justice  and  for  the  aid  of  the  defenceless  of  the 
community.  This  is  the  time,  therefore,  to  preach  and  practice 
unity  in  Canada."  A  little  later  the  movement  developed  a 
National  Unity  Convention,  which  was  held  in  Montreal  on 
May  21-25,  attended  by  a  number  of  earnest  Canadians 
from  different  Provinces  who  wanted  Ontario  and  Quebec,  in 
particular,  to  come  together.  The  delegates  visited  Berthier 
and  Three  Rivers  and  were  entertained  at  a  banquet  in 
Montreal  on  the  23rd,  which  was  notable  for  an  address  by  Bishop 
Gauthier  of  the  frankest  kind;  an  exposition,  in  fact,  of  the  Quebec 
side  of  the  questions  at  issue.  H.  J.  Gagne  presided,  and  a  Re- 
solution was  unanimously  passed  declaring  that  "Canadians 
of  French  and  British  descent  should  exhibit  to  one  another  in  the 
interests  of  national  unity  a  high  example  of  mutual  respect  for 
each  other's  legitimate  ideals  and  languages  (both  common  to 
our  Parliament),  and  of  mutual  trust  in  each  other's  desire  to  co- 
operate heartily  for  the  welfare  of  Canada";  and  that  they  should 
work  together  for  the  material  development  of  Canada  and  the 
education,  in  a  common  patriotism,  of  newcomers  in  the  country. 


NATIONALISM  IN  QUEBEC:  BOURASSA-LAVERGNE  ATTITUDE  477 

All  these  facts  and  points  of  view  have  to  be  borne  in  mind  by  the 
man  who  wishes  to  understand  a  position  in  which  the  Winnipeg 
Free  Press  (Liberal)  declared  on  Jan.  12  that  the  "failure  of  the 
Province  of  Quebec  to  measure  up  to  its  duty  of  participation  in  the 
War  is  the  greatest  tragedy  in  Canadian  history";  or  little  Nova 
Scotia  could  claim  that  its  450,000  people  gave  20,000  soldiers  to 
the  War  while  1,600,000  French-Canadians  in  Quebec  had  given 
about  7,000;  or  many  journals  could  take  a  political  view  expressed 
by  the  demand  of  the  Toronto  Mail  of  Aug.  2  that  there  should  be 
no  Quebec  domination  in  Canada;  or  Mr.  Bourassa  and  the  Nation- 
alists make  press  and  platform  ring  with  denunciation  of  Ontario 
persecution.  When  Conscription  came  Ontario  oouldjopt  undcr- 
stand  why  registered  French-Canadians  in  thousands  should  seek 
exemption when  only  hundreds  of  English-Canadians  did  so.  It 
was,  of  course,  logical  enough  for  men  who  were  ignorant  of  the 
War  issues,  who  were  untrained  in  any  sense  of  obligation  to  the 
Empire,  who  had  already  refused  to  recruit,  who  opposed  com- 
pulsory  service  as  an  electoral  issue.  What  else  could  be  expected! 
But  this  whole  matter  and  all  its  collateral  or  minor  issues,  as  lightly  m 
sketched  here,  show  that  if  Quebec  had  excuses  for  its  attitude  so  $ 
also  did  Ontario  and  other  parts  of  Canada  for  resenting  the  position  - 
taken. 

Nationalism  The  position  and  influence  of  Mr.  Bourassa  in 
^h^Bou?'  Quebec  could  be,  and  was,  sometimes  over-estimated; 
assa-Lavergne  ^  also  was  frequently  under-estimated.  Its  import- 
Attitude,  ance  in  these  war-years  did  not  lie  in  Parliamentary 
representation,  though  a  number  of  Conservative 
members  of  the  Commons  had  been  elected  as  Nationalists 
in  1911;  nor  in  Provincial  Legislative  representation,  because 
it  had  none.  It  lay  in  the  persistent  and  clever  advocacy  of  a  cause 
— the  non-participation  of  Canada  in  Imperial  wars  or  Empire 
government  or  Imperial  responsibility;  in  steady  and  consistent 
presentment  of  French-Canadians  as  the  only  true  Canadians  and 
as  the  continuous  victims  of  either  British  rapacity,  or  Ontario 
persecution,  or  Manitoba  injustice,  or  Orange  wickedness;  in  bitter 
and  unscrupulous  denunciation  of  Great  Britain  and  the  British 
people  and  soldiers  in  the  War  with  the  reiteration  of  every  possible 
misconception  as  to  Allied  policy  and  action. 

The  mouthpiece  of  Mr.  Bourassa  in  this  connection — Le  Devoir 
— was  not  a  great  or  even  brilliant  journal,  but  it  was  a  clever  one, 
it  was  influential  in  voicing  opinions  which  some  local  politicians 
held  but  dared  not,  or  could  not,  put  so  clearly,  it  reached  an  audience 
not  so  much  large  as  it  was  select  and  influential — political  leaders 
or  would-be  politicians,  rising  young  lawyers  and  speakers,  priests 
in  the  cities  and  cure's  in  the  parishes,  students  of  Laval  and  profes- 
sors in  the  colleges.  Nationalism  in  its  later  form  had  aimed  ~at. 
the  destruction  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  his  Navy  plans  of  1910; 
it  equally  worked  for  the  overthrow  of  Sir  Robert  Borden  and  his 
Imperial  contribution  policy  of  1912  and  War  plans  of  1916-17. 
After  the  War  commenced  and  Mr.  Bourassa  had  time  to  get  home 


478  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

from  Europe  under  British  protection,  he  was  for  a  few  months  very 
moderate  and  reserved — in  his  own  utterances  and  those  of  Le  De- 
voir. Upon  this  situation  the  Government  apparently  based  a 
policy  of  conciliation  which  did  not  change  when  the  Nationalist 
attitude  reverted  to  that  of  pre-war  days  and  proceeded  to  weaken 
the  sympathies,  prejudice  the  opinions  and  influence  the  action  of 
the  people  along  anti-British  and  anti-Empire  lines.  The  position 
taken  as  to  the  War  was  that  of  Sinn  Fein  in  later  days;  toward 
France  it  was  akin  to  that  of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  peoples 
of  South  America  toward  Spain  or  Portugal.  As  a  party  National- 
ism had  been  broken  up  by  the  successive  inclusions  of  Monk, 
Pelletier,  Nantel,  Coderre,  Blondin,  Patenaude  and  Sdvigny  in  the 
Cabinet  at  Ottawa,  but  as  an  element  in  moulding  public  opinion 
it  was  neither  weak  nor  contemptible. 

Mr.  Bourassa,  with  his  temperamental  restlessness,  his  fertility 
of  mind  and  variety  of  knowledge — perhaps  more  superficial  than 
deep — his  fundamental  dislike  and  suspicion  of  Great  Britain,  his 
respect  for  the  Church  and  antagonism  to  republican  ideas,  was  a 
man  of  obvious  influence.  Politically,  so  long  as  he  was  opposed 
to  Laurier  and  a  very  possible  element  in  splitting  the  Liberalism 
of  Quebec,  it  may  have  been  "good  politics"  for  the  Conservatives 
to  tolerate  him  and  his  followers  as  a  sort  of  party  attachment; 
whether  this  condition  continued  throughout  the  War-years 
with  a  view  to  holding  Quebec  upon  an  even  keel  and  without 
any  violent  disruption  of  feeling,  was  a  matter  of  much  and  con- 
tinuous controversy.  If  there  was  any  toleration  it  obviously 
came  to  an  end  with  the  appearance  of  Armand  Lavergne — Mr. 
Bourassa's  chief  lieutenant — upon  the  Cannon  platform  in  the  Dor- 
chester bye-election,  and  his  denunciation  of  England  for  its  treat- 
ment of  Ireland,  Russia  for  having  tortured  Poland,  Italy  for  having 
spoliated  the  Holy  See,  and  the  Allies  for  violating  Greek  neutrality ! 
As  the  year  1917  grew  in  length  the  Bourassa  utterances  in  Lc 
Devoir  became  very  bold — with  a  fundamental  explanation,  prob- 
ably, in  his  statement  to  the  Manchester  Guardian  of  Mar.  20th: 
"As  to  us,  Nationalists,  our  choice  has  been  made  many  years  ago. 
The  choice  being  put  to  us,  we  vote  for  Independence.  It  is,  to 
our  mind,  the  simplest  solution  of  the  national  problem,  the  most 
consonant  with  British  and  Canadian  traditions,  the  necessary  goal 
of  self-government."  The  Toronto  Telegram  of  May  4  had  the 
following  quotation  from  a  recent  statement:  "France  is  wiping 
herself  out  to  make  England  greater,  stronger,  more  rich.  And  to 
complete  the  spectacle  they  try  to  persuade  the  France  of  America, 
the  only  survivor  of  the  great  colonies  of  old  France — all  the  others 
have  been  stricken  down  or  conquered  by  Anglo-Saxondom — they 
try  to  make  the  France  of  America  believe  that  *  filial  duty*  requires 
her  also  to  open  her  veins." 

Conscription  was  vehemently  opposed  by  Le  Devoir,  beginning 
with  May  29,  when  Henri  Bourassa  signed  a  long  editorial  from 
which  a  brief  extract  follows:  "For  the  last  18  years  I  have  led  the 
fight  against  British  Imperialism.  We  have  never  ceased  to  say 
that  a  tax-of-blood  is  the  logical  and  inevitable  consequence  of  the 


NATIONALISM  IN  QUEBEC;  BOURASSA-LAVERGNE  ATTITUDE  479 

principles  and  acts  imposed  by  the  two  parties  who  have  in  turn 
ruled  this  country.  The  germ  of  Conscription  was  contained  in 
the  volunteer  expedition  to  South  Africa."  In  a  Montreal  speech 
on  May  30,  Mr.  Bourassa  urged  the  union  of  French-Canadians 
in  Manitoba,  Ontario,  Acadia  (New  Brunswick) ,  and  New  England : 
"Let  us  guard  our  blood  and  labour  at  a  price,  if  necessary."  A 
series  of  personal  editorials  followed  and  in  the  4th  one  (May  81) 
he  said:  "Canada  has  furnished  all  the  man-power  she  can  for  this 
war  without  grave  danger  to  her  own  existence  and  that  of  her 
Allies.  .  .  .  What  England  needs  is  not  soldiers,  but  bread,  meat 
and  potatoes."  On  June  1  he  declared  that  there  was  in  Canada 
'a  line  of  deep  cleavage"  between  the  races;  that  Imperial  ideas 
had  caused  this  through  abandonment  of  an  alleged  original  plan  for 
Canada  to  stand  alone  without  Empire  responsibilities.  On  June 
5  he  commented  upon  Conscription  in  Canada  as  following  action 
in  the  United  States  and  as  intended,  chiefly,  to  catch  escaping  slackers 
for  the  benefit  of  that  country:  "So  it  is  not  to  save  democracy 
and  a  superior  civilization  that  Canada  is  threatened  by  the  most 
hateful  and  bloodiest  of  tolls,  it  is  not  to  help  France  arid  England, 
it  is  not  even  to  support  its  own  army,  it  is  simply  to  do  police  work 
for  the  United  States  Government" !  Disguised  threats  followed,  on 
the  6th,  with  sundry  references  which  were  malignant  in  the 
extreme : 

It  remains,  therefore,  for  the  Government  to  be  prudent  and  not  push  matters 
so  far  as  to  provoke  the  most  violent  reaction.  ...  If  the  leaders  of  the  nation 
do  not  know  how  to  read  the  signs  of  the  times,  incidents  will  take  place,  bringing 
to  national  unity  the  most  profound  and  painful  wounds,  while  the  Allied  cause  will 
suffer  more  than  any  good  that  could  be  accomplished  by  the  raising  of  100,000 
soldiers.  Whatever  discretion  is  used  in  the  application  of  a  forced  military  service, 
it  will  only  tend  to  irritate  the  French-Canadians  and  those  Canadians  who  are 
Canadians  before  all.  What  will  be  done  with  the  thousands  of  young  Englishmen 
who  have  come  to  Canada  to  escape  Conscription,  and  when  the  young  French- 
Canadians,  with  the  sack  on  their  backs,  are  forced  to  go  and  'save'  the  Empire  and 
British  Democracy,  while  hundreds  and  thousands  of  British  are  permitted  to  remain 
here  and  earn  the  salaries  of  our  own  people  and  eat  their  bread,  is  it  to  be  supposed 
that  British  loyalty  will  be  very  sensibly  increased? 

In  a  Montreal  speech  on  June  7th,  Mr.  Bourassa  was  emphatic: 
"We  will  resist  Conscription  and  we  will  not  have  Conscription,  not 
because  we  are  cowards,  but  because  we  have  received  from  God 
and  the  King  the  mission  of  making  of  this  country  a  prosperous 
land  and  not  one  of  exile  and  misery."  Following  this  he  had  a 
new  series  of  articles  on  the  Military  Service  Act — asking,  on  June 
11,  if  Canada's  100,000  men  were  to  replace  the  5,000,000  of 
Russia,  or  hold  the  lines  till  the  United  States  was  ready,  or  take 
the  place  of  150,000  British  residents  "hiding"  in  the  United  States! 
Addressing  a  Montreal  meeting  on  June  20,  he  told  his  audience 
that  "because  you*  do  not  want  to  fight  it  is  not  because  you  are 
cowards,  but  because  you  have  a  national  duty,  a  duty  as  fathers 
of  families,  and  as  citizens,  to  save  the  country  from  ruin  and  bank- 
ruptcy and  suicide."  At  another  gathering  (June  21)  Mr.  Bourassa 
touched  another  point:  "French-Canadian  representatives  in  Parlia- 
ment lie  when  they  tell  the  English-Canadians  that  the  French 


480  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

population  are  in  sympathy  with  the  War  and  are  willing  to  die  for 
France  and  England.  This  is  not  true."  Before  a  great  gathering 
'on  June  27  he  declared  that  :  "If  within  the  next  five  or  ten  years 
we  become  American  citizens — quite  a  possibility — we  will  owe  it 
to  the  mock  patriots  who  are  trying  to  impose  Conscription  on  us 
to-day."  He  also  announced  his  support  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
and  declared  that  Canadians  were  in  this  War  as  "the  servile  slaves 
of  England  "  In  Le  Devoir  on  July  3  he  declared  that  "to  cele- 
brate the  50th  anniver  ary  of  Confederation  the  leaders  of  the 
nation  find  nothing  better  to  do  than  to  glorify  its  suicide  and  to 
exalt  ts  devotion  to  a  foreign  cause.  .  .  .  It  is  the  part  of  maniacs 
and  murderers  to  glorify  a  horrible  butchery  in  which  people  slaughter 
each  other  without  knowing  why."  Meanwhile,  both  Le  Devoir 
and  its  owner  occasionally  referred  to  the  folly  of  violence — only 
agitation  and  work  and  anti-war  effort  were  advisable.  When 
violence  did  occur  it  was  gravely  deplored!  Of  President  Wilson's 
reply  to  the  Pope's  peace  proposals  Mr.  Bourassa  wrote  on  Aug. 
30  that  "truth  and  untruths,  openness  and  duplicity,  logic  and 
sophistry,  disport  themselves  together,  with  easy  grace."  On  Oct. 
31st  he  explained  why  peace  did  not  come.  It  was  because  England 
was  saving  her  man-power  and  money  to  dominate  the  world  after 
the  War  had  exhausted  her  allies  and  enemies!  A  eulogy  of  the 
Kaiser  followed  for  having  "brought  German  industry  up  to  such 
a  point  of  efficiency  that  it  threatened  English  supremacy  and 
American  ambitions." 

Meanwhile,  Lieut.-Col.  Armand  Lavergne — he  was  C.O.  of  the 
61st  Regiment  de  Montmagny — had  been  maintaining  his  con- 
spicuous but  not  very  influential  position  in  public  affairs.  As 
Henri  Bourassa's  chief  assistant,  however,  and  as  a  speaker  of 
some  eloquence,  his  place  in  the  Nationalist  propaganda  was  obvious. 
He  was  a  Militia  officer  with  no  use  for  war  in  any  form^—except  of 
speech;  he  declared  in  1915  and  1916*  that  if  Conscription  ever 
came  then  he  would  be  amongst  the  first  to  fight — but  when  that 
policy  was  announced  his  opposition  was  fierce  and  active;  during 
those  years  he  stated  that  Home  defence  was  his  ideal  and  under 
that  policy  he  would  at  once  enlist — but  when  the  Government 
organized  the  Canadian  Defence  Force  he  was  nowhere  visible. 
He  was  always  and  everywhere  anti-British  and  anti-War.  In  the 
Montreal  Star  on  Apr.  9  appeared  the  curious  statement  that 
Col.  Lavergne  would  support  the  Blondin-Lessard  effort  at  volun- 
tary recruiting  and  though  it  seemed  incredible  there  were  indica- 
tions of  its  truth.  He  admitted  an  invitation  from  Gen.  Lessard  to 
take  charge  of  Home  recruiting,  but  not  for  Overseas;  later  (June 
25)  it  was  stated  by  the  Minister  of  Militia  in  Parliament  that  no 
official  invitation  had  been  given  and  the  matter  dropped.  Then 
followed  a  series  of  fiery  speeches  against  Conscription.  In  a  Mon- 
treal Star  f  interview  (May  21)  he  said:  "Canada  is  already  prac- 
tically bankrupt  through  this  war,  and  now  she  is  taking  another 

*  For  the  attitude  of  these  and  other  Nationalists  in  the  past,  see  The  Canadian 
Annual  Review  from  year  to  year. 

t  The  reports  of  these  speeches  appeared  in  the  English  press  of  Quebec  and  all 
over  the  Dominion  and  were  never  denied. 


NATIONALISM  IN  QUEBEC:  BOURASSA-LAVERGNE  ATTITUDE  481 

step  toward  ruin  and  Annexation."  To  a  great  crowd  in  Quebec, 
which  immediately  afterwards  went  and  smashed  the  windows  of 
The  Chronicle  and  L'Evenement,  he  said  on  May  25  that  he  would 
not  accept  Conscription  whether  passed  by  Parliament  or  not:  "I 
will  go  to  jail  or  be  hanged  or  shot  before  I  will  accept  it.  The 
Conscription  of  1917  had  its  origin  in  1898,  when  Canada  sent  men 
to  assist  in  crushing  a  small  nation  in  the  Transvaal,  which  only 
wanted  the  right  to  live."  .  .  .  It  is  not  for  Canada  to  defend 
England,  but  for  England  to  defend  Canada." 

At  Loretteville  (May  27)  Col.  Layergne  added:  "If  the  Govern- 
ment passes  this  damned  law,  if  you  have  a  heart,  if  you  are  still 
descendants  of  those  who  ascended  the  scaffold  crying  'Vive  la 
liberteY  'Vive  1'Independence,'  you  should  take  a  pledge  to  disobey 
it."  He  declared  that  "it  was  England  who  wished  the  War  of  to- 
day to  crush  Germany.  She  may  have  had  good  reasons  for  this 
from  her  point  of  view,  but  we  have  nothing  against  the  Germans. 
.  .  .  I  love  my  own  enough  to  tell  them  that  they  should  not 
give  one  drop  of  blood  to  defend  England.  If  we  have  to  spill  it, 
let  us  begin  as  our  fathers  did,  by  doing  so  for  the  defence  of  liberty 
at  home."  To  15,000  people  in  Quebec  on  July  15,  he  said:  "If 
the  Conscription  law  is  enforced  Canadians  have  only  one  choice — 
to  die  in  Europe  or  die  in  Canada.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  if 
my  body  is  to  fall  in  any  land,  I  want  it  to  be  on  Canadian  soil." 
Among  the  means  suggested  to  prevent  the  enforcement  of  the  law 
was  that  the  labour  men  should  withdraw  their  money  from  the 
Banks  and  support  only  the  "unpurchased"  newspapers.  As  before, 
the  crowd  adjourned  and  smashed  the  windows  of  journals  support- 
ing the  Government.  A  personal  echo  of  the  preceding  year  and 
of  the  Quebec  Garrison  Club's  effort  to  expel  Lavergne  from  its 
membership  was  the  decision  of  Mr.  Justice  Roy  (Jan.  13)  nullify- 
ing the  expulsion  and  g-ving  Lavergne  damages  in  his  suit.  The 
decision  was  appealed,  but,  meanwhile,  on  Nov.  1,  the  much  de- 
sired resignation  was  offered. 

Another  follower  of  Henri  Bourassa  was  Tancrede  Marsil,  who 
had  been  a  Conservative-Nationalist  candidate  for  Bagot  in  1911. 
He  issued  for  a  short  time  a  not  very  important  paper  called  Le 
Reveil,  in  Montrea',  but  it  made  up  for  circulation  by  strength  of 
language.  In  it  he  campaigned  against  National  Service,  against 
War-action  and  policy,  and  urged  the  establishment  of  a  Canadian 
republic.  It  was  discontinued  on  Mar.  20  after  a  sharp  warning 
from  Ottawa  and  Mr.  Marsil  then  issued  La  Libert  e,  an  equally 
violent  publication.  To  this  journal  Sir  Robert  Borden  was  the 
man  "who  leads  us  to  the  slaughter,"  and  "better  revolution  a  hun- 
dred times  than  slavery."  "Why,"  it  asked  on  June  28,  "con- 
script Canada  and  force  it  to  destroy  itself  since  it  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  affair?"  The  refusal  to  exempt  divinity  students  was 
thus  heralded:  "Seminarians  in  barracks;  the  coup  of  Borden,  the 
Orangeman.  S£vigny,  like  another  Judas,  supports  his  task-master. 
The  press  is  to  be  muzzled  like  a  mad-dog."  On  July  24  this  paper 
also  was  suspended  after  urging  a  general  strike,  withdrawal  of  money 
from  the  Banks,  revolution,  if  necessary.  Le  Bulletin^  a  Montreal 

31 


482  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

weekly,  and  Le  Progres  du  Saguenay  of  Chicoutimi,  also  urged  the 
Nationalist  propaganda. 

Quebec  Poli-          Politics  constituted   a   vital  element  of    the   war 
War^In  Pr°blem  in  Quebec — more  so  than  was  generally  sup- 

Dorchester       posed  elsewhere.     The  habitant,  or  small  farmer,  or 
and  in  the  average  artisan,  did  not  suspect  that  because  he 

Parliament,  possessed  the  excitable  French  nature  and  was  sus- 
ceptible to  racial  interests  and  appeals,  naturally  jeal- 
ous of  his  traditions  and  cherished  privileges,  obviously  suspicious 
of  pressure,  or  supposed  pressure,  from  the  overwhelming  mass  of 
English-Canadians,  British  Empire  peoples  or  Anglo-Saxon  popula- 
tions— therefore,  he  was  an  object  of  special  consideration  to  poli- 
ticians. He  did  not  inherit  his  politics  as  did  so  many  people  in 
Ontario  and  elsewhere;  but  he  did  inherit  the  strong  desire  for  a 
French  Quebec  and  a  most  natural  liking  for  the  extension  of  French- 
Canadian  ideals  and  language  through  the  medium  of  speech,  of 
school,  and  of  migration.  Of  these  aspirations  his  Church  had 
come  to  be  a  part  and,  in  late  years,  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  had  become 
a  central  figure  in  his  political  affections.  It  was  no  longer  party 
politics  in  this  latter  connection,  as  in  the  days  of  Laurier  and  Chap- 
leau  or  Dorion  and  Cartier;  it  was  devotion  to  a  Chief  who  embodied 
the  essence  of  Quebec  thought.  At  heart  Quebec  was  and  is  moder- 
ate, though  it  could  be  swept  by  a  storm  of  resentment  or  prejudice 
a  little  more  easily  than  the  other  Provinces  because  of  its  racial 
isolation;  to  defeat  the  leader  who  retained  support  because 
of  moderation  it  was  inevitable  that  extremes  such  as  Nationalism 
should,  from  time  to  time,  come  upon  the  scene  and  be  used  by  the 
politicians.  Hence  the  use  of  Mercier  and  his  followers  by  Laurier 
in  his  younger  days  against  Sir  John  Macdonald;  hence  the  use  by 
Conservatives  of  Bourassa  and  his  Nationalists  against  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier  in  the  latter's  day  of  power;  hence,  once  more,  the  evolution 
of  Nationalism  as  a  factor  against  War-action,  Conscription,  the 
Borden  Government  of  1911  and  the  Union  Government  of  1917. 
For  these  extremes  of  thought  in  Quebec  there  were  always  excuses 
to  be  found  in  English  Canada  from  the  days  of  Kiel's  execution 
to  those  of  Ontario  opposition  to  Jesuit's  Estates  legislation  in  Que- 
bec, the  Naval  policy  of  Laurier  or  Borden,  the  Bi-lingual  policy  of 
Ontario,  the  Orange  propaganda  and  the  War  action  of  later  years. 
The  Orange  Order  was  an  external  part  of  Quebec's  politics  and 
afforded  a  basis  for  not  unnatural  bitterness  though,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  it  was  not  a  powerful  element  in  Ontario  politics  except 
when,  as  in  1896,  some  racial  or  religious  issue  divided  the  Conserva- 
tive party  and  its  Orange  adherents  went  over  to  the  Liberals. 
Early  in  1917  its  Provincial  Grand  Lodges  took  a  strong  position 
regarding  Quebec — and  the  results  lost  nothing  when  transmitted 
to  the  French-Canadian  public.  The  B.C.  Grand  Lodge  at  Vancouver 
on  Feb.  24  declared  in  favour  of  national  service  and  Conscription, 
if  necessary,  and  then  passed  upon  a  point  vital  to  the  religious  in- 
terests of  Quebec:  "We  again  place  ourselves  on  record  as  being 
opposed  to  the  exemption  from  taxation  of  the  whole  or  any  part  of 
the  property  owned  by  religious  denominations/'  To  the  Bi-lingual 


FRENCH-CANADIAN  POLITICS  AND  THE  WAR  483 

agitators  in  Quebec  and  elsewhere  H.  C.  Hocken,  Grand  Master, 
Ontario  West,  gave  vehement  warning  on  Mar.  14:  "It  seems 
necessary  to  warn  them  that  the  continuance  of  their  unlawful  and 
outrageous  propaganda  will  produce  a  counter-agitation  for  the 
abolition  of  all  Separate  Schools."  He  denounced  the  alleged  dis- 
loyalty of  French-Canadians  to  the  Empire  at  this  critical  period 
and,  in  speaking  of  a  Quebec  journal's  sensational  proposal  for  a 
Canadian  Republic,  declared  that  "if  occasion  should  arise  250,000 
Orangemen,  too  old  for  Overseas  service,  could  be  enlisted  in  a 
month  to  put  down  any  attempt  that  might  be  launched  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec  to  set  up  a  Republic."  Mr.  Hocken  had  the 
courage  of  his  convictions  and  in  a  letter  to  the  Toronto  Star  on 
Mar.  19  declared  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  had  really 
started  the  War  through  a  Concordat  under  which  the  Church 
received  recognition  in  Serbia  and  as  a  result  of  which,  he  claimed, 
the  Austrian  Archduke  had  been  murdered  at  Serajevo!  Back  of 
the  Orange  Order  in  Ontario  was  the  Canadian  Protestant  Publicity 
League  with  T.  W.  Self  as  Chairman  and  the  issue  in  1917  of  50,000 
pamphlets  of  a  propagandist  character.  To  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ontario  East  E.  H.  McLean,  the  Grand  Master,  (Belleville,  Mar. 
21)  made  a  statement  upon  which  the  Nationalists  of  Quebec  could 
easily  have  based  a  campaign:  "Now  that  the  law  with  regard  to 
Bi-lingual  schools  has  been  settled,  we  are  looking  forward  to  the 
gradual  banishment  of  the  French  language  as  a  language  of  in- 
struction and  communication  in  our  primary  schools."  Such  ex- 
tremist views  in  one  Province  made  an  admirable  excuse  for  ex- 
tremist opinions  in  Quebec  itself. 

Meantime,  Quebec  in  its  Dorchester  bye-election  had  been  hav- 
ing a  trial  of  forces  in  respect  to  the  War  and  its  policies  or  possibil- 
ities. The  vacancy  had  occurred  through  the  appointment  of  the 
Hon.  Albert  SeVigny,  the  sitting  member,  as  Minister  of  Inland 
Revenue  and  the  election  was  set  for  Jan.  27.  The  campaign 
began  with  the  year  and  Government  supporters  believed,  at  this 
time,  that  if  the  Liberals  won  they  would  force  a  General  Election 
in  the  hope  of  sweeping  Quebec  as  a  part  of  the  contest.  On  Jan. 
16  the  Liberals  met  at  Ste.  Henedine  in  Convention,  declared  that 
Mr.  SeVigny  had  been  disloyal  and  unpatriotic  in  the  1911  campaign, 
criticized  his  appointment  to  office  and  offered  the  nomination  to 
Lucien  Cannon,  M.L.A.  for  the  county.  At  St.  Prosper  on  Jan.  18, 
Mr.  SeVigny  met  his  opponent  in  joint  debate  and  this  meeting,  as 
well  as  many  subsequent  ones,  threshed  out  again  the  Naval  issues 
of  1910-11-12  with,  also, war  conditions  and  the  possibility  of  Conscrip- 
tion. Mr.  Sevigny  was  quite  frank  as  to  the  past:  "I  was  against 
a  Canadian  Navy  in  1911.  I  admit  saying  that  I  was  against  all 
participation  in  the  wars  of  the  Empire  and  when  I  made  that 
declaration  I  was  sincere.  But  when  the  Prime  Minister  returned 
from  England  in  1912,  declared  that  a  great  danger  menaced 
our  country,  and  asked  for  a  contribution  of  $35,000,000,  I 
felt  that  it  was  right."  He  appealed  earnestly  for  sup- 
port in  the  Government  war  policy,  for  the  National  Service 
proposals  and  for  the  putting  aside  of  politics.  Mr.  Cannon  roundly 


484  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

accused  the  Minister  of  betraying  his  Nationalist  colleagues  of 
1910-11  and  breaking  his  promise  to  this  constituency;  charged 
him  with  betrayal  of  his  race  and  a  Government  dishonesty  which 
involved  extra  postage  and  stamps  upon  medicine  bottles  to  pay  for 
squandered  millions;  declared  that  "National  Service  is  preliminary 
to  Conscription,  and,  with  the  chief  of  my  party,  I  am  against  Con- 
scription." As  to  the  rest  he,  also,  was  frank:* 

Do  not  forget  one  thing.  There  are  men  in  the  Borden  Cabinet  who  want  to 
cut  the  head  off  the  French-Canadian  race;  if  Mr.  Sevigny  is  elected  the  Government 
will  believe  that  the  Province  of  Quebec  is  in  favour  of  Conscription.  I  am  not 
against  participation  in  the  War.  I  consider  England  is  fighting  a  fair  and  just  war, 
and  her  ally,  France,  has  roused  herself  and  is  fighting  for  what  is  best  in  life.  There 
are,  however,  considerations,  national  and  Canadian.  Are  we  to  ruin  our  country 
from  the  point  of  view  of  men  and  wealth  and  everything  else  for  England?  I  say 
no  without  hesitation.  If  you  elect  Sevigny  there  will  be  no  limit  to  the  sacrifices 
that  Canada  will  have  to  make. 

The  Conservatives  followed  this  meeting  with  the  issue  of  an  Elec- 
tion pamphlet  explaining  Mr.  Sevigny 's  vote  for  the  British  Navy 
contribution  and  how  greatly  conditions  had  changed  since  his  ex- 
pressed opinions  of  1911:  "To-day  our  country,  Canada,  is  threat- 
ened just  as  much  as  France  and  England,  and  everyone  must  do 
his  utmost  to  prevent  the  Germans  from  attaining  their  cursed  am- 
bition." It  defended  the  Shell  Committee  and  the  Government  as 
to  graft  charges  and  declared  that  the  National  Service  cards  were 
not  Conscription  but  "a  prudent  measure  of  stock-taking."  At  St. 
Zacharie  (Jan.  19)  Mr.  Cannon  repeated  his  statement  that  Sir  W. 
Laurier  was  behind  him  in  this  contest  and  added  the  name  of  Sir 
Lomer  Gouin;  he  reiterated  here  and  elsewhere  quotations  from 
alleged  anti-British  speeches  of  Mr.  Sevigny;  he  dealt  with  Dr. 
Sproule  as  "the  master  of  the  Orange  Lodges  and  an  enemy  of  the 
French-Canadian  race,"  and  accused  Mr.  Sevigny  of  serving  under 
him;  he  told  his  opponent  that  he  "would  rather  be  a  half-breed 
than  a  pure  French-Canadian  who  had  betrayed  his  people."  Re- 
ferring at  Ste.  Rose  on  Jan.  21  to  the  Government  Mr.  Cannon 
declared  that:  "All  that  keeps  back  these  men  who  are  ready  to 
deliver  us  hand  and  foot  to  England  is  the  fear  in  the  country  of 
Conscription.  It  is  not  only  in  Quebec  that  there  is  this  fear,  but 
in  all  parts  of  Canada."  The  Minister  met  the  argument  as  to 
Ontario  persecution  of  French-Canadians  as  follows :  "  Unfortunately, 
it  is  true  that  we  do  not  always  get  justice  in  Ontario,  but  there  is 
no  persecution  like  that  of  the  Liberal  Government  of  Manitoba, 
the  Government  which  Mr.  Cannon  loves,  and  which  broke  the 
settlement  of  1897  in  regard  to  the  French-Canadians."  On  the 
21st  Mr.  Cannon  denied  he  reports  of  his  speeches  as  to  one  of 
which  Mr.  Sevigny,  after  hearing  it,  offered  (St.  Prosper)  "to  give 
$1,000  to  charity  if  the  speech  were  printed  in  the  Liberal  papers 
of  Quebec  and  Montreal."  In  his  denial,  issued  to  the  outside  press, 
Mr.  Cannon  said  he  was  proud  of  being  a  British  subject  and  be- 
lieved Canada  should  give  all  possible  help  in  the  War,  but  he  ob- 
jected to  being  robbed  by  the  Government,  or  the  country  "drained 
of  her  manhood  and  resources" — as  he  quoted  from  Lord  Shaughnessy. 
*  Toronto  Globe  report,  Jan.  20th,  1917. 


FRENCH-CANADIAN  POLITICS  AND  THE  WAR  485 

Meanwhile,  at  Ste,  Henedine  (Jan.  21)  and  other  places,  the 
Liberal  candidate  read  a  letter  from  Sir  W.  Laurier  as  follows: 
"You  have  done  a  good  act  in  renouncing  your  Provincial  mandate 
to  revindicate  and  reaffirm  in  Dorchester  the  rights  of  outraged 
conscience.  I  trust  the  electors  will  respond  to  your  noble  appeal. 
I  wish  you  all  success.  Your  devoted  friend,  Wilfrid  Laurier."  It 
was  here  that  Hon.  P.  E.  Blondin,  Postmaster  General,  spoke  for 
his  colleague  in  vigorous  terms  and  declared  that  "if  it  is  a  revolu- 
tion thai  Mr.  Cannon  wants  to  start,  if  he  wants  to  raise  the  Province 
of  Quebec  in  arms  against  the  other  Provinces,  I  have  come  here  to 
tell  him  that  the  army  he  would  be  able  to  raise  would  be  only  an 
army  of  renegades  and  wretches."  At  the  same  time  Le  Nationaliste, 
the  weekly  edition  of  Le  Devoir,  came  out  in  strong  support  of  Mr. 
Cannon.  At  Ste.  Marguerite  on  the  22nd  Mr.  Cannon  said  that 
voting  would  be  on  the  record  of  the  Government  and  Mr.  SeVigny 
and  as  to  whether  the  people  were  in  favour  of  Nationa1  Service  in 
Canada,  when,  in  England,  Conscription  came  six  months  after 
National  Service.  He  also  charged  Mr.  SeVigny  with  taking  a 
military  course  at  Kingston  and  asked  him  at  this  and  other  joint 
meetings,  why  he  did  not  enlist?  Meantime,  on  the  20th,  Sir  R.  L. 
Borden  had  telegraphed  Mr.  Sevigny  congratulations  on  his  speeches, 
regret  at  Mr.  Cannon's  views,  and  belief  that  "the  electors  of  Dor- 
chester will  sound  a  note  of  truer  Canadianism  and  will  administer 
fitting  rebuke  to  one  who  seeks  political  support  by  calling  for 
relaxation  of  our  war  effort." 

The  bye-election  was  discussed  in  the  Commons  on  Jan.  23,  and 
in  the  press  generally,  but  nothing  was  added  to  the  facts  of  the 
above  record.  The  meetings  were  numerous  and  grew  stormier  as 
the  day  of  decision  approached.  Mr.  Cannon  pressed  his  appeal  as 
one  personal  to  their  leader,  Laurier,  denounced  Sevigny  and  his 
one-time  Nationalist  colleagues  in  the  Government  as  having  wronged 
and  betrayed  their  race,  and  alleged  that  Mr.  Blondin  at  Ste.  Rose 
on  Jan.  24,  had  declared  that  "even  if  Conscription  were  put  in 
force  it  would  mean  little  to  the  people  because  they  had  only  to 
get  across  the  frontier."  Mr.  Blondin  wired  denial  to  the  Premier 
on  the  26th  as  follows:  "This  news  comes  to  me  just  a  few  minutes 
after  my  declaration  in  a  speech  delivered  at  St.  Prosper,  that  it 
would  be  an  act  of  cowardice  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to 
promise  that  there  would  never  be  Conscription  in  this  country  and 
more  especially  so  in  this  war  time."  Mr.  Sevigny  pointed  to  the 
great  material  services  he  had  rendered  his  constituency  by  Govern- 
ment patronage  and  frequently  defied  his  opponent  to  get  a  Laurier 
endorsation  of  his  Jan.  18th  speech;  Liberal  speakers  asked  the  Minister 
what  he  had  ever  done  for  Army  and  Navy  recruiting,  or  for  the 
Patriotic  Fund  and  Red  Cross,  and  claimed  that  liquor  was  being 
freely  circulated ;  Government  supporters  alleged  that  in  the  house- 
to-house  campaign  all  kinds  of  seditious  things  were  said,  with  Bi- 
lingualism  a  distinct  issue;  party  workers,  organizers  and  speakers 
flooded  the  constituency,  with  Messrs.  Patenaude,  Blondin  and 
Sevigny  representing  the  Government,  but  a  marked  absence  of 
Liberal  leaders  for  Mr.  Cannon.  The  result  was  announced  on 


486  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

on  the  28th  as  297  majority  for  the  Minister  compared  with  332  in 
1911  and  a  Liberal  one  of  163  in  1908.  In  a  formal  statement,  Mr. 
SeVigny  declared  that  he  put  the  War  before  the  electors  as  the  only 
issue  and  the  duty  of  all  to  make  any  sacrifice  for  victory.  He 
especially  deprecated  the  use  of  the  Bi-lingual  question  against  him. 
Mr.  Cannon  in  a  similar  statement  denying  that  he  had  ever  men- 
tioned the  Bi-lingual  question  in  a  speech,  declared  that:  "I  adhered 
strictly  to  the  Liberal  policy  of  my  Leader  as  regards  war  questions 
.  .  .  and  my  speeches  were  directed  solely  against  the  Nationalist 
principles  of  my  opponent  and  the  bad  Administration  at  Ottawa." 
A  final  echo  of  this  contest  was  the  defeat  of  Mr.  SeVigny  in  the 
General  Elections  by  Mr.  Cannon;  his  refusal  to  sign  a  pledge  to 
repeal  the  Conscription  measure  and  release  the  conscripts;  its 
signature  by  the  Liberal  candidate  and  the  latter 's  support  by 
Armand  Lavergne. 

Following  this  incident,  which  was  only  significant  as  it  showed 
the  play  of  politics  in  a  Quebec  constituency,  came  the  Conscription 
debate  at  Ottawa  in  June  and  July — preceded  by  the  retirement  of 
Hon.  E.  L.  Patenaude  from  the  Government,  of  J.  H.  Rainville  from 
the  Deputy-Speakership  of  the  Commons,  of  Eugene  Paquet  (Cons.) 
from  the  post  of  Government  Whip  for  Quebec.  The  quota- 
tions which  follow  from  French-Canadian  speeches  in  the  House  are 
of  importance  for  several  reasons.  They  were,  and  remained, 
largely  unknown  to  English-speaking  Canada  because  in  the  un- 
revised  Hansard  issued  to  the  press  from  day  to  day  they  were  usually 
in  French  with  the  translations  only  appearing  in  the  revised  Edition 
of  some  months  later;  they  were  a  text  for  much  French-Canadian 
speech  and  opinion  in  the  succeeding  general  elections;  they  were 
elements  in  the  violent  feeling  shown  in  following  months  against 
recruiting  and  especially  Conscription;  they  indicated  certain 
obstacles  to  closer  national  unity  which  have  always  developed  in 
French-English  conflicts  of  opinion.  Politics  were  obliterated  upon 
the  surface  and  Quebec  Liberals,  Nationalists  and  Conservative- 
Nationalists  combined  in  denouncing  the  Government,  Conscription, 
alleged  British  cowardice  at  the  Front,  excessive  war-obligations, 
war-Imperialism,  etc.  L.  J.  Gauthier  (Lib.)  gave  a  keynote  to  much 
that  followed*  on  June  21:  "If  you  press  this  measure  through,  my 
people,  declaring  that  this  Government  has  no  mandate,  will  use 
the  very  Bill  itself  to  fight  the  matter  out.  We  acknowledge  thai 
in  this  fight  there  will  be  pain  and  suffering.  We  may  have  to  go  to 
the  direst  consequences.  My  people  are  willing  to  go  to  the  limit  if 
you  impose  upon  them  such  a  piece  of  legislation;  I  believe  they 
are  right,  and  I  will  do  as  they  intend  to  do."  Other  comments 
were  as  follows: 

Joseph  Demers,  K.C.  (Lib.)  June  21. 

The  sending  over  of  200,000  men  would  have  been  more  in  conformity  with  our 
needs,  with  the  needs  of  the  Allies,  with  our  resources  and  our  interest.  200,000 
men  at  the  Front  would  have  been  considered  as  evidence  of  a  boundless  generosity 
and  devotion.  .  .  .  The  only  way  in  which  we  can  at  present  really  assist  in  bring- 
ing about  the  final  victory  of  the  Allies  is  by  developing  agriculture,  it  is  by  doing 

*  All  these  quotations  are  from  the  revised  Hansard. 


FRENCH-CANADIAN  POLITICS  AND  THE  WAR  48? 

intensive  culture,  it  is  by  setting  ourselves  to  the  building  of  ships,  it  is  by  turning 
out  more  munitions. 

Hon.  Jacques  Bureau  (Lib.)  June  26. 

If  I  were  to  endeavour  to  make  a  distinction  between  the  races  which  compose 
Canada  I  would  speak  of  us  as  the  senior  Canadians,  as  we  are,  and  who,  I  claim, 
are  the  only  true,  genuine  Canadians,  and  of  the  junior  Canadians,  who  are  in  the 
majority  at  the  present  time.  ,  .  .  We  are  being  slandered  and  slurred.  Is  that 
an  encouragement  or  an  inspiration  to  us?  .  .  .  We  do  not  want  to  fight  for  liberty 
in  Europe  and  create  a  condition  of  slavery  in  Canada.  .  .  .  If  I  were  a  young  man, 
eligible  to  enlist,  I  would  consider  that  the  condition  I  have  exposed  would  justify 
me  in  not  enlisting. 

Hermenegilde  Boulay  (Cons.)  June  27. 

We  are  opposing  Conscription  for  different  reasons,  which  deserve  consideration: 

(1)  Because  our  traditions,  our  constitution,  our  status  as  a  colony  are  opposed 
to  it. 

(2)  Because  we  have  already  sent  Overseas  to  help  the  Allies  a  sufficient  number 
of  men  considering  our  population  and  our  financial  needs. 

(3)  Because  the  mandate  which  we  received  from  the  people  in  1911  does  not 
enable  us  to  enact  such  a  measure,  especially  without  beforehand  consulting  the 
people. 

(4)  Because  we  are  not  as  fairly  dealt  with  as  we  should  be  by  the  English- 
speaking  majority  in  this  country,  and  because  a  feeling  has  been  created  by  the 
Liberal  party  in  1896,  and  by  ourselves  in  1911,  in  opposition  to  the  levying  of  troops 
of  any  kind. 

Paul  A.  Seguin  (Lib.)  June  27. 

I  am  against  Conscription.  I  demand  Elections.  The  spirit  of  Imperialistic 
autocracy  that  introduced  this  measure  is  the  same  that  dictated  the  coercion  laws 
of  England  against  Ireland,  and  of  Russia  against  Poland.  .  .  .  The  fault  for  all 
lack  of  recruiting  in  Ontario,  in  Quebec,  and  elsewhere  in  Canada,  has  been  suffi- 
ciently and  amply  laid  at  the  door  of  the  Government. 

Alphonse  Verville  (Lib.-Lab.)  June  28. 

Organized  labour  has  notified  the  Government  and  the  country  in  that  respect. 
When  they  say  that  they  will  use  all  the  means  at  their  disposal  to  oppose  compulsion 
I  want  this  Parliament  and  the  country  to  know  that  means  a  general  strike.  And 
what  would  a  strike  mean  under  present  conditions?  It  would  mean  a  calamity. 
Would  anyone  assume  responsibility  for  that?  If  responsibility  there  be  it  rests 
upon  those  who  prevent  the  masses  from  pronouncing. 

George  H.  Boivin  (Lib.)  June  29. 

They  (French-Canadians)  are  opposed  to  Conscription  because  they  consider 
that  Canada's  contribution  of  420,000  men  should  be  proportionately  equalled  by 
the  other  Allied  nations  and  sister  dominions  before  Canada  is  asked  to  do  more. 
.  .  .  They  are  opposed  to  Conscription  because  they  consider  this  war  to  be  a  war 
of  attrition  and  their  own  country  in  no  immediate  danger  of  attack. 

J.  A.  C.  Ethier  (Lib.)  June  29. 

Neither  am  I  of  those  who  claim  that  we  owe  nothing  to  England  or  that  we  have 
done  too  much,  but  I  do  believe  that  we  have  done  enough  and  that  Conscription 
destroys  our  autonomy,  removes  our  liberty  and  leads  us  to  ruin. 

Honore  Achim  (Cons.)  June  29. 

Should  ever  a  disruption  occur  in  this  country,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  say  that  it  will 
not  take  place  between  the  Province  of  Quebec  and  the  remainder  of  Canada,  but 
between  the  Province  of  Ontario  and  the  rest  of  the  Dominion.  Yes!  Ontario, 
where  the  capitalists  are  attempting  to  crush  the  freedom  of  labour;  Ontario,  whose 
manufacturers  are  attempting  to  restrain  the  freedom  of  trade;  Ontario,  whose 
jingoes  are  trying  to  strangle  freedom  of  conscience. 


488  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Rock  Lanctot  (Lib.)  July  4- 

I  maintain  that  we  have  no  trenches  to  defend  in  Europe  and  that  the  countries 
who  have  and  who  must  defend  their  trenches  are  France,  England  and  Italy,  but 
not  Canada.  That  is  why  I  oppose,  as  forcibly  as  I  can,  the  sending  of  men  to  the 
other  side.  .  .  .  Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  not  only  in  Germany  that  Boches  are  to  be 
found;  there  are  some  in  Ontario  and  in  Manitoba;  they  are  to  be  found  in  both 
political  parties.  It  is  here  that  we,  the  French-Canadians,  must  stand  up  and  tell 
them:  which  foe  have  we  got  to  face?  .  .  .  In  this  war  England  has  at  stake  the 
supremacy  of  the  sea,  and  the  supremacy  of  trade,  whilst  for  us,  for  Canada,  it  would 
be  no  more,  no  less,  only  a  change  of  master,  because  England  is  not  used  to  be  under 
a  master's  lash,  while,  as  far  as  we  are  concerned,  we  already  have  had  two  in  the  past 
and  it  would  not  be  so  hard  on  us  to  have  a  third  one. 

L.  J.  Papineau,  K.C.  (Lib.)  July  4- 

Are  our  soldiers  sent  more  often  than  in  their  turn  to  the  most  exposed  points? 
One  might  believe  it.  If  such  were  the  case  we  must  expect  not  only  a  levy  of  50,000 
or  100,000  men,  but  that  many  others  will  have  to  follow,  and  sooner  than  is  generally 
expected. 

D.  A.  Lafortune,  K.C.  (Lib.)  July  5. 

But  do  they  say  it  is  Canada's  war  that  is  now  being  waged  in  Europe?  I  say, 
no;  it  is  not  Canada's  war.  Canada  has  not  made  any  declaration  of  war  to  any- 
body whatever;  Canada  has  not  been  attacked  and  it  is  Canada's  war  only  in  the 
Government's  mind  and  in  that  of  their  friends.  .  .  .  They  may  say  that  we 
should  give  our  last  cent  to  save  the  Empire;  as  for  me,  I  shall  say  I  have  no  more 
to  give. 

J.  E.  Marcile  (Lib.)  July  5. 

If  it  (the  British  Army)  is  as  formidable  as  it  is  represented,  it  is  high  time  that 
the  fact  be  demonstrated.  It  is  up  to  it  to  show  its  mettle  and  relieve  the  Colonial 
forces  which  since  the  inception  of  the  War  have  constantly  been  under  fire  and  very 
often  have  been  left  alone  to  fight  and  win  the  battle.  Are  we  to  think  that  our 
soldiers  and  those  of  the  other  Colonies  are  the  only  ones  brave  enough  to  face  the 
danger  of  a  battle  in  close  formation?  For,  since  war  began,  whether  in  Flanders, 
France  or  elsewhere,  all  the  victories  reported  have  been  won  by  the  Colonial  troops. 

Mederic  Martin  (Lib.)  June  28. 

It  is  the  end  of  Confederation  that  is  coming,  nothing  else,  if  we  continue  to 
insult  one  another.  ...  I  say  that  if  such  abuse  is  continued,  if  this  law  is  passed, 
you  will  have,  unfortunately,  civil  war  in  this  country.  .  .  .  We,  of  the  Province 
of  Quebec,  we  believe  we  can  better  serve  the  interests  of  the  Empire  and  of  the 
Allies  by  supplying  them  with  ammunition  and  foodstuffs. 

There  were  some  exceptions  to  speeches  of  this  kind.  Mr. 
SeVigny  supported  the  Bill  and  Mr.  Blondin  was  absent  raising  his 
battalion  for  the  Front;  Dr.  J.  L.  Chabot,  of  Ottawa  (Cons.),  en- 
dorsed the  Bill  in  the  strongest  possible  way  and  declared  (June  28) 
that,  unfortunately,  French-Canadians  had  "allowed  themselves  to 
be  misguided  and  ill-advised  by  a  certain  few  in  Quebec  whose  teach- 
ings, actions  and  writings  since  the  beginning  of  the  War  have 
proved  them  to  be  false  to  their  Canadian  citizenship  and  to  their 
standing  as  British  subjects";  Dr.  Eugene  Paquet  (Cons.),  while 
supporting  a  Referendum,  denounced  the  Liberal  party  as  having, 
prior  to  1909,  advocated  in  Quebec  the  doctrines  of  Nationalism  and 
non-participation  in  the  wars  of  the  Empire;  Major  Gustave  Boyer 
(Lib.)  gave  his  reasons  for  opposition  on  July  3  as  (1)  lack  of  con- 
fidence in  the  Borden  Government,  (2)  because  Parliament  had  no 
mandate  from  the  Electors,  (3)  because  compulsory  service  was  an 
economic  error,  and  (4)  because  a  large  number  of  quoted  authorities 

• 


FRENCH-CANADIAN  POLITICS  AND  THE  WAR  489 

declared  more  men  essential  for  home  production;  A.  A.  Mondou 
(Cons.),  though  opposing  Conscription  declared  (July  4)  that  the 
destinies  of  the  British  Empire  were  at  stake  and  that  England  was 
fighting  for  "the  most  rightful  and  noblest  of  causes"  and,  incident- 
ally, stated  that  in  future  he  would  support  Sir  W.  Laurier. 

Mixed  in  with  these  declarations  of  practically  an  entire  Provin- 
cial racial  representation  were  inevitably  hostile  expressions  from 
English-speaking  members,  but  they  were  so  few  as  to  be  quite 
negligible  in  real  importance.  Lieut. -Col.  James  Arthurs  claimed 
(June  26)  that  Quebec  had  only  furnished  one  complete  Battalion 
at  the  Front  and  that  large  numbers  had  deserted  of  those  originally 
enlisting;  J.  A.  M.  Armstrong  declared  flatly  (June  21)  that  Con- 
scription was  necessary  because  Quebec  had  not  done  its  duty;  J.  W. 
Edwards  laid  the  blame  for  everything  upon  Sir  W.  Laurier  and 
charged  him  with  preaching  Independence,  separation  and  British 
connection  as  a  yoke  of  bondage.  Such  were  the  main  points  of 
view  expressed  and  it  may  be  added  that  French  members  supposed 
to  be  favourable  to  the  Bill  were  bombarded  with  letters — many  of 
them  threatening;  that  F.  J.  Robidoux  of  N.B.  Acadian  birth  and 
representation  supported  Conscription  as  did  Hon.  Pascal  Poirier  of 
Shediac,  N.B.,  and  Hon.  T.  J.  Bourque  of  that  Province  in  the  Sen- 
ate; that  Senator  C.  P.  Beaubien  spoke  eloquently  for  Conscription 
but  did  not  vote  for  it,  while  Senator  D.  O.  L'Esperance  did  both. 
The  Hon.  Philippe  Landry  did  not  speak  at  length  in  the  Senate, 
but  on  June  28  told  a  meeting  at  Verner,  Ont.,  that:  "The  fact  is 
they  want  your  sons,  the  flower  of  your  youth,  to  fight  in  foreign 
lands.  I  am  a  supporter  of  the  Militia  Act;  its  intention  is  to  pro- 
vide for  the  defence  of  the  country,  but  in  the  country  and  not 
across  the  seas." 

Meanwhile,  what  of  the  press  of  Quebec?  As  a  whole  it  was 
more  concerned  in  Quebec  matters,  in  the  issue  with  Ontario  over 
Bi-lingualism,  in  the  "menace"  of  Conscription  or  Imperialism,  in 
the  political  supremacy  of  Sir  W.  Laurier,  than  in  the  War,  its  con- 
duct, its  Canadian  support  or  its  final  issue.  Le  Canada  of  Montreal 
and  Le  Solid  of  Quebec  led  the  Liberal  political  life  of  the  Province; 
La  Presse  of  Montreal,  also  Liberal  in  politics  and  much  more  in- 
fluential in  circulation  and  opinion,  led  in  the  fight  against  Ontario's 
educational  policy  and  the  claim  that  Quebec  had  done  its  duty  in 
recruiting — it  was  devoted  to  French-Canadian  and  Catholic  in- 
terests; La  Patrie  of  Montreal  was  usually  Conservative  in  tone 
and  a  supporter  of  recruiting  and  Conscription  but  ultimately  in 
favour  of  a  Referendum;  L'Evenement  of  Quebec  was  the  only  French 
journal  in  the  Province  which  steadily  supported  the  Borden  Gov- 
ernment, recruiting,  Conscription  and  union;  L' Action  Catholique  of 
Quebec,  and  La  Croix  of  Montreal,  were  much-quoted  Church  jour-' 
nals — the  latter  small  in  circulation  and  influence;  Le  Devoir  was 
the  Nationalist  organ  with  a  considerable  and  persistent  power. 
The  position  of  La  Presse  was  stated  by  Oswald  Mayrand  in  a  speech 
before  the  Canadian  Press  Association,  Toronto,  (June  14)  which 
the  Toronto  Star  thus  summarized: 


490  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

He  believes  that  had  Conscription  been  put  in  force  at  the  outset  of  war  Quebec 
would,  along  with  the  other  Provinces,  have  accepted  it;  even  now  it  will  be  found 
that  the  people  of  Quebec  will  accept  such  laws  as  are  adopted;  too  much  import- 
ance is  attached  by  the  English  press  of  Canada  to  the  sayings  of  Bourassa  and  his 
associates;  the  people  of  Quebec  are  an  isolated  people,  cut  off  from  Europe,  separated 
by  language  from  close  intimacy  with  the  rest  of  Canada,  disliking  war,  and  offended 
by  the  harsh  judgments  of  those  who  condemn  them  without  comprehension  of  their 
general  attitude. 

On  May  16th  La  Presse  declared  that:  "Had  the  Government 
applied  full  Conscription  at  the  outbreak  of  the  War  it  would  be  work- 
ing finely  to-day.  If  it  is  found  necessary  at  the  last  moment  it  will 
be  religiously  accepted  by  the  Province  of  Quebec."  It  was  bitterly 
opposed  to  "the  Imperialistic  dream"  and,  according  to  an  editorial 
quoted  in  the  Toronto  News  on  Feb.  26,  believed  an  Imperial  policy 
would  be  the  death  of  Canadian  national  feeling,  in  its  association  with 
"the  political  and  social  institutions  of  Europe  which  are  the  feudal 
product  of  ten  centuries,"  and  a  repudiation  of  the  destiny  which 
bound  Canada  to  the  continent  of  America.  When  the  issue  of 
Conscription  was  raised  it  was  not  unfavourable,  subject  to  a  Refer- 
endum or  general  election;  it  continued  (Aug.  23)  to  urge  Ontario 
to  give  up  its  race  prejudices  and  malicious  campaigns,  its  Orange 
platforms  erected  on  the  ruins  of  national  brotherhood;  it  denounced 
the  Orange  Sentinel  with  its  "fire  of  discord"  and  urged  the  cessation 
of  educational  persecution  in  Ontario. 

Le  Canada,  as  the  accepted  Liberal  organ  at  Montreal  of  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier,  was  an  important  journal  in  its  influence  upon  public 
opinion.  It  was  opposed  to  any  closer  constructive  unity  of  the 
Empire  and  on  Feb.  14  reviewed  the  Round  Table  deliverance  of 
Sir  Edmund  Walker  and  others  and  declared  that  Liberals  could 
not  accept  "the  participation  of  Canada  in  all  the  wars  of  the  Empire 
and  the  creation  of  an  Imperial  organization  which  will  decide  the 
Foreign  policy  of  Great  Britain."  On  May  26  it  strongly  opposed 
Conscription  and  had  this  reference  to  Bi-lingual  issues  in  Ontario: 
"Why  is  it  that  in  districts  where  the  majority  is  Anglo-Canadian 
the  French-Canadians  are  considered  only  as  intruders  who,  if  they 
are  to  be  regarded  as  fellow-citizens,  must  renounce  their  customs, 
their  traditions,  and  their  language?  "  It  took  the  passing  of  Con- 
scription very  seriously  and  on  July  25  had  half  a  page  devoted  to 
head-lines  on  that  event,  of  which  a  selection  follows:  "Despite  the 
Solemn  Warning  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  the  Government  last  even- 
ing passed  the  Death  Ordinance  of  100,000  Young  Canadians; 
Before  the  vote  on  the  Third  Reading,  the  Leader  of  the  Liberal 
Party  warned  the  Government  that  the  Adoption  of  this  Bill  would 
endanger  Harmony  and  Good  Understanding  in  the  country  and 
bring  about  the  Gravest  Consequences;  Complete  account  of  the 
most  Tragic  Sitting  of  Parliament."  Sir  Robert  Borden  was  des- 
cribed as  "the  author  of  the  hateful  blood- tax  law." 

As  the  year  passed  on  production  was  urged  in  place  of  the  enlist- 
ment of  men;  the  Military  Service  Act  was  said  to  be  passed  by  "a 
servile  majority  led  by  the  military  caste";  Conscription  was  op- 
posed with  vigour  and  persistence.  A  reasonable  contention  was 
the  request  for  a  French-Canadian  military  commander  in  Quebec 


RECRUITING  IN  QUEBEC:  ATTITUDE  TOWARD  CONSCRIPTION  491 

— preferably  Brig.-Gen.  A.  O.  Pages  or  Gen.  F.  L.  Lessard — and 
criticism  of  an  English-Canadian  clergyman  as  Chief  Recruiting 
Officer  in  Montreal.  Meantime  L'Evenement  in  Quebec,  and  La 
Patrie  in  Montreal,  had  a  rather  hard  time  of  it  for  favouring  Con- 
scription. They  were  objects  of  much  denunciation  and  some 
hostility;  the  offices  of  both  journals  were  mobbed  and  it  was  said 
on  June  9  that  L.  J.  Tarte,  the  proprietor  of  La  Patrie,  had  been 
shot  at.  These  journals  dealt  strongly  with  the  indebtedness  of 
Canadians  to  England  and  the  British  Navy;  in  this  they  were 
joined  by  Le  Soleil  (Lib.)  of  Quebec,  which  declared  that  "England 
has  acquired  at  the  price  of  awful  sacrifices  the  right  to  be  loved 
and  respected  by  all  of  her  subjects."  The  Church  papers,  with 
the  exception  of  La  Croix,  counselled  moderation ;  Le  Pays,  the  anti- 
clerical sheet,  denounced  M.  Bourassa  and  his  views  and  described 
him  as  a  coward  anoVa  traitor.  And  so  the  discussion  went  on. 
In  the  main  it  was  one-sided  and  these  various  quotations  are  given 
an  historic  setting  here  because  they  illustrated  the  political  influences 
which,  from  time  to  time,  have  moulded  Quebec  and  against  which 
there  was  no  opposing  current  of  thought  and  explanation,  to  clear 
the  air,  as  in  English-speaking  Canada.  They  constituted  at  once 
an  excuse  and  an  explanation  for  the  War  attitude  of  the  French- 
Canadians. 

Recruiting  It  was  inevitable  that  such  a  continuous  education 
Ouebe  ^Atti  a£amst  war  acti°n  and  Empire  sentiment  as  preceding 
tude  Toward  Pa£es  have  indicated  should  have  some  definite  effect 
Conscription,  upon  a  people  so  temperamental  as  the  French-Canad- 
ians, so  excitable  by  nature,  so  irresponsible  and  easily 
led  in  political  matters,  so  light-hearted  and  gay  in  character,  so  far 
in  knowledge  and  physical  fact  from  the  historical  scenes  of  war 
and  the  dreadful  realities  of  European  carnage.  The  official  figures 
of  French-Canadian  enlistment  up  to  Apr.  30,  1917,  were  issued  on 
June  15  as  14,000  to  which  Quebec  contributed  6,979,  other  Pro- 
vinces 5,904,  and  the  Valcartier  1st  Contingent  1,217;  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier  (Commons,  June  18)  thought  the  total  should  be  about 
20,000  while  La  Presse  and  others  claimed  that  the  real  figures  were 
25,000.  All  kinds  of  reasons  continued  to  be  given  for  this  fact  and 
many  have  already  been  indicated;  the  Liberal  leader  in  the  above- 
mentioned  speech  pointed  out,  as  an  important  cause,  that  French- 
Canadians  had  had  no  personal  relations  with  France  since  1760 
and  few  settlers  native  to  France. 

In  March  the  Federal  Government  faced  the  situation  with  the 
resignation  of  Hon.  P.  E.  Blondin  in  order  to  raise  a  Battalion  for 
Overseas;  in  May  came  the  announcement  of  Conscription.  On 
Mar.  20  Mr.  Blondin  had  told  the  people  of  Sorel  that  "if  the  country 
is  in  danger  and  we  had  recourse  to  Conscription,  it  will  be  imposed 
frankly  and  above  board";  he  then  resigned  the  Postmaster-General- 
ship to  accept  command  of  the  258th  Batt.  French-Canadians,  for 
Overseas;  at  the  same  time  the  Canadian  Defence  Force  plan  was 
promulgated  at  Ottawa  and  much  support  was  expected  from 
Quebec;  on  Mar.  £3  it  was  announced  that  Maj.-Gen.  F.  L.  Lessard 


492  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

had  offered  his  services  to  assist  Mr.  Blondin  in  recruiting  and  the 
latter,  in  an  address  to  his  constituents  of  Champlain,  declared  that 
he  felt  "deeply  convinced  that  the  most  imperious  duty  of  the 
present  hour  for  me  is  to  practice  what  I  have  preached  to  you  for 
the  last  three  years  and  to  devote  myself  entirely  to  the  rallying  of 
the  French-Canadians."  Preparations  were  made  for  a  tour  of 
the  Province  by  Col.  Blondin  and  Gen.  Lessard  which  was  to  last 
76  days — from  May  1  to  July  15 — to  commence  in  the  extreme 
west  of  the  Province  and  end  in  the  lower  St.  Lawrence  country. 
There  were  70  persons  in  the  party  with  a  special  train  to  carry  them 
and  58  meetings  were  scheduled.  Offices  at  once  were  opened  in 
Montreal  and  the  new  Battalion  started  with  officers  who  included 
Lieut.  R.  Lemieux,  a  son  of  the  Liberal  politician,  Lieut.  George 
Murphy,  nephew  of  the  Hon.  C.  Murphy,  and  Lieut.  P.  E.  Letour- 
neau,  son  of  S.  Letourneau,  K.C.,  M.L.A.  Col.  Blondin  stated  (Apr. 
3)  that :  "  I  am  sure  the  hearts  of  the  people  in  this  Province  are  sound. 
I  am  going  from  prelate  to  prelate,  from  priest  to  priest,  from  father 
to  father,  from  mother  to  mother,  and  from  son  to  son,  and  I  believe 
I  can  convince  them  that  it  is  the  duty  of  this  Province  to  send  its 
full  share  of  young  men  to  help  the  British  and  French  armies." 
At  the  same  time  an  organization  was  effected  at  Montreal,  with 
Gen.  Lessard  in  the  Chair  (Apr.  5)  to  help  in  recruiting  two  Battalions 
for  home  service.  From  France  there  sailed  at  this  time  two  French 
officers  to  assist  in  the  campaign,  while  Sir  Edmund  Osier,  Toronto, 
sent  a  cheque  for  $2,000  to  supplement  other  funds  offered.  Great 
interest  was  expressed  by  papers  outside  Quebec  and  the  promoters 
of  the  movement  received  wide-spread  compliments;  while  within 
the  Province  they  received  a  measure  of  Clerical  support. 

But  it  was  all  too  late.  The  public  mind  was  trained  in  one 
direction;  public  conviction  was  solidified.  A  Montreal  meeting  on 
May  7  proved  the  fact,  with  determined  interruptions  by  a  body 
of  young  men  in  the  galleries  who  were  styled  by  Senator  C.  P. 
Beaubien,  in  his  effort  at  speech,  as  "the  gentlemen  of  Laval." 
Sir  Louis  Taillon,  a  one-time  Premier  of  Quebec,  presided,  and  the 
speakers  included  Senators  Beaubien  (Cons.)  and  R.  Dandurand 
(Lib.),  Maj.-Gen.  Lessard  and  Col.  Blondin,  Hon.  J.  Decarie  of  the 
Provincial  Government  and  two  returned  officers  of  the  22nd  Battal- 
ion. Clear  speaking  was  practically  impossible  and  neither  war 
veterans,  officers,  nor  political  leaders  could  be  properly  heard; 
the  police  did  nothing.  At  St.  Hyacinthe  the  first  recruiting  meeting 
of  the  War  was  held  on  May  9;  at  Sherbrooke  (May  10)  Rev.  Father 
H.  A.  Simard  sat  in  his  soutane  on  the  platform  and  also  spoke; 
at  Megantic  (May  11)  Father  Choquette  shared  in  the  meeting  and 
at  Coaticook  (May  15)  Rev.  Father  Martin  expressed  his  sympathy 
with  the  speakers;  Magog  on  May  17  saw  the  parish  priest,  a  priest 
of  the  Benedictine  Order,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  a 
Methodist  minister  and  an  Adventist  preacher  grouped  on  the 
platform.  At  all  these  and  other  meetings  Gen.  Lessard  expressed 
himself  as  in  favour  of  Conscription  and  hinted  at  its  coming  as  a 
necessity;  they  were  educative  but  brought  few  recruits.  The 
campaign,  however,  was  in  full  swing,  with  a  Quebec  meeting  to  be 


RECRUITING  IN  QUEBEC:  ATTITUDE  TOWARD  CONSCRIPTION  493 

addressed  by  Sir  Lomer  Gouin  when,  on  May  20,  this  and  other  meet- 
ings were  cancelled  as  a  result,  it  was  announced,  of  impending 
Conscription.  Col.  Blondin  returned  to  Montreal  to  complete  his 
recruiting  there  with  a  promised  platoon  from  Laval  University 
and,  in  September,  the  Battalion  numbered  600.  In  the  Commons 
on  June  25  Sir  Edward  Kemp  had  stated  that  92  recruits  resulted 
from  the  Blondin-Lessard  campaign. 

From  the  May  20th  announcement  of  Conscription  a  new  and 
violent  phase  developed.  It  commenced  with  a  protest  in  Quebec 
on  May  21  organized  by  Oscar  Drouin,  President  of  the  Young 
Liberal  Club,  and  a  group  of  young  men;  with  10,000  people  listen- 
ing to  heated  speeches  and  cries  of  "down  with  Borden,"  statements 
such  as  that  of  Aid.  E.  Dussault  that  it  was  the  duty  of  Canadians 
to  defend  Canada  and  nothing  more,  or  of  Oscar  Drouin  that  he 
would  fight  even  to  death  against  Conscription.  A  Referendum  or 
Election  was  the  demand  by  resolution,  an  anti-Conscription  League 
was  formed  and  a  series  of  meetings  around  Quebec  organized.  At 
Ste.  Anne  de  Bellevue  (May  20)  a  young  man's  meeting  was  addressed 
by  Charles  Query  who  declared  that "  Borden  is  taking  your  sons  by 
force  and  sending  them  away  to  be  killed"  and  by  I.  Vautrin,  Presi- 
dent of  the  local  Liberal  Association.  At  Lafontaine  Park,  Montreal 
(May  23),  15,000  people  heard  T.  Marsil  describe  Sir  R.  Borden  as 
"the  tool  of  Downing  Street"  and  Ubald  Paquin,  a  young  journalist, 
declare  that:  "Conscription  is  organized  murder,  systematically 
calculated  and  prepared  in  advance;  it  is  the  suicide  of  a  nation; 
it  is  total  oblivion  in  the  mire  of  militarism  and  Imperialism;  it  is 
the  sinister  obliteration  of  a  people  and  its  personality."  The  air 
of  the  cities  and  centres  became  day  by  day  more  heated.  A  parade 
of  protest  in  Montreal  where  numerous  meetings  were  held  nightly, 
resulted  in  small  riots  on  May  24  and  the  smashing  of  the  windows 
of  La  Patrie.  One  large  meeting  was  told  by  L.  N.  Ricard  that: 
"All  we  owe  England  is  Christian  forgiveness.  Proportionally, 
Canada  has  done  more  for  the  War  than  England  itself,"  while  Mayor 
Martin  stated  that  Sir  R.  Borden  "would  send  our  children  to 
the  slaughter-house  without  a  mandate  from  the  people." 

In  Quebec  Col.  Lavergne  commenced  his  harangues  with  a  re- 
sulting riot  but  the  more  prominent  speakers  there  and  elsewhere 
were  moderate  and  asked  the  people  to  wait  until  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
had  spoken.  A  Ligue  Patriotique  des  Interets-Canadiens  was 
organized  in  Montreal,  anti-Conscription  demonstrations  continued 
to  grow  in  size  and  many  stormy  scenes  occurred  on  the  streets  of  i 
the  city  and  at  corner  meetings,  while  protest-gatherings  or  parades-* 
were  held  at  Lachine,  Sherbrooke  and  Hull.  Quebec  City  Council 
passed  a  Resolution  against  Conscription  by  19  to  2  and  Montreal  by 
12  to  5;  at  a  Labour  meeting  in  Montreal  (June  6)  E.  C.  St.  Amour 
said  that  he  did  not  preach  revolution  but  "  if  they  want  to  take  our 
children  by  force  and  send  them  across  the  seas,  we  will  do  our  duty 
here  and  perhaps  shed  our  blood  also."  P.  E.  Lamarche,  ex-M.P., 
(June  7)  said:  "The  thought  that  comes  to  all  true  Canadians  is 
that  we  have  done  enough  for  the  works  of  war;  we  have  sent  men 
enough  to  death;  our  young  country  has  need  of  some  young  men  and 


494  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

should  keep  enough  to  guarantee  our  national  survival."  His  query 
as  to  what  would  happen  if  Germany  won  was  greeted  with  laughter 
and  he  explained  that  the  only  evil  result  would  be  the  conquest  of 
India:  "I  am  not  ready  to  have  ruin  and  bankruptcy  here  to  keep 
the  allegiance  of  300,000,000  Hindus  to  the  British  crown.  I  do  not 
want  my  country  to  be  a  country  of  beggars  simply  that  the  factories 
of  Birmingham  may  continue  to  make  goods  for  India." 

The  resignation  of  Mr.  Patenaude  from  the  Cabinet  came  at 
this  juncture  with  the  declaration  of  the  Minister  that  Conscription 
"threatens  to  destroy  this  unity  and  to  give  rise  throughout  the 
country  to  deep  internal  divisions  of  long  duration."  In  Montreal, 
on  the  12th,  Leo  Doyon  declared  the  Government  to  be  obsessed 
with  a  mania  for  war  and  "to  Want  blood  and  more  blood  to  be 
sacrificed  to  German  cannon "  while  at  Maisonneuve  on  the  14th 
Fernand  Villeneuve  declared  that  30,000  young  men  of  Ontario 
had  gone  to  the  United  States  to  avoid  serving  in  the  Canadian 
Army.  Then  came  the  Laurier  declaration  against  Conscription 
and  the  movement  took  a  party  direction  even  while  its  seditious 
side  continued  and  grew  in  volume.  At  Terrebonne,  June  15,  L.  A. 
David,  K.C.,  M.L.A.,  illustrated  a  leaning  of  these  orators  toward 
Independence  in  the  statement  that  "much  as  we  are  loyal  to  the 
British  crown  and  respect  its  flag  this  will  only  be  the  case  as  long 
as  our  country  has  not  grown  wings  large  enough  to  take  its  flight 
and  occupy  the  rank  which  its  destiny  has  reserved  for  it."  M. 
David  amplified  this  view  at  Maisonneuve  on  July  4:  "The  time  is 
not  far  distant  when  parties  will  be  formed  on  a  new  basis,  one 
accepting  Imperialism  as  its  programme  and  the  other  the  complete 
autonomy  of  Canada."  Throughout  the  Province  on  Sunday 
(June  24)  St.  Jean  Baptiste  Day  was  celebrated  with  many  speeches 
and  sermons  and  at  Montreal  Senator  A.  C.  P.  Landry,  the  head  of 
the  Bi-lingual  agitation,  was  emphatic:  "We  still  have  the  right  to 
discuss  the  proposal  of  obligatory  enrolment.  If  it  is  adopted  we 
shall  take  other  measures  which  it  would  not  be  prudent  to  reveal 
to-day."  Threats  of  personal  trouble  or  danger  were  not  limited 
to  the  Prime  Minister  and  his  Cabinet — Dr.  J.  L.  Chabot,  M.P., 
who  favoured  Conscription,  stating  in  the  House  on  June  28  that  he 
had  received  many  threatening  letters — "describing  the  various 
methods  of  death  intended  for  me  should  I  vote  for  Conscription, 
conveying  choice  epithets  galore,  and  qualifying  me  as  a  traitor  and 
coward." 

When  the  Parliamentary  vote  showed  only  10  members  outside 
of  Quebec  as  opposed  to  Conscription  it  made  thinking  men  re- 
flect in  that  Province  and  aroused  much  biting  comment  in  other 
Provinces.  But  in  Quebec  the  opposition  now  grew  with  what  it 
fed  upon,  politics  became  more  and  more  an  issue,  the  Nationalists 
switched  over  to  the  Liberal  side  and  the  demand  for  consultation 
of  the  people  before  enforcement  rang  through  the  Province.  Joseph 
Demers,  M.P.,  at  Napierville  (July  9)  declared  that  the  Government 
could  not  enforce  the  law:  "We  have  at  our  disposal  the  means  to 
resist  such  an  unconstitutional  law,  and  when  the  time  comes  we 
will  be  able  to  give  you  certain  advice  as  to  how  to  evade  this  law, 


RECRUITING  IN  QUEBEC:  ATTITUDE  TOWARD  CONSCRIPTION  495 

We  will  be  passive.  They  can  send  us  to  gaol."  At  Laprairie  (July 
14)  Roch  Lanctot,  M.P.,  used  the  most  unbridled  personal  language 
about  Sir  R.  Borden,  Sir  Wm.  Mackenzie  and  the  English-speaking 
members  at  Ottawa,  declared  that  England  was  not  doing  her  war- 
duty,  boasted  that  he  had  refused  to  sign  the  National  Service 
cards  and  assumed  that  "everyone  up  to  45  would  have  to  go  to 
the  butchery."  At  a  Quebec  mass-meeting  Aid.  E.  Dussault  stated 
that  the  Anti-Conscription  League  would  in  future  be  the  Quebec 
League  of  Canadian  Rights  and  that  special  committees  were  being 
formed  to  afford  legal  aid  to  young  men  who  refused  to  be  con- 
scripted. One  of  the  bitterest  of  the  speakers  of  this  period  was 
Tancrede  Marsil,  a  Nationalist-Conservative  who  had  edited  two 
short-lived  and  violent  papers  in  Montreal  and,  in  the  intervals, 
made  many  vehement  speeches  and  organized  a  Sons  of  Liberty 
League.  At  a  meeting  on  June  12  he  declared  that  "force  called  for 
force"  and  urged  a  general  labour  strike;  at  Hochelaga  (June  15) 
he  said  that  "in  1$37  the  people  rose  because  it  was  a  tribute  of 
money  that  was  exacted  but  to-day  it  is  a  tribute  of  blood"  and 
added  that  it  was  necessary  "to  oppose  violence  with  violence" 
against  the  work  of  fools.  At  this  time  he  and  his  paper  declared 
themselves  to  be  Laurier  adherents  and,  during  a  Montreal  meeting 
on  June  22,  he  stated  that  "the  duty  of  the  hour  is  to  face  the 
enemy,  not  the  Boches  in  Europe,  but  those  nearer  at  hand";  in 
Montreal  on  June  28  he  denounced  Dr.  Michael  Clark  as  "an 
immigrant  who  should  go  back  to  his  own  country,"  and  Graham, 
Pardee,  Guthrie  and  Carvell  as  men  who  had  betrayed  Laurier 
in  order  to  become  Ministers;  he,  at  Chambly  (July  22),  gave  vent 
to  wilder  utterances  such  as  the  assertion  that  to  obtain  soldiers 
"they  have  thrown  workmen  in  the  street  to  starve  and  replaced 
them  by  women  and  children,  by  *  blokes'  and  Chinese." 

In  August  anti-draft  meetings  were  held  everywhere.  At  La- 
fontaine  Park,  Montreal  (Aug.  8),  Fernand  Villeneuve,  a  very  young 
man,  gave  this  advice  to  the  crowd:  "If  a  recruiting  officer  comes  to 
you  do  not  be  afraid  to  give  him  a  threshing,  and  if  you  have  any- 
thing to  shoot  with  don't  be  afraid  to  use  it."  F.  X.  Moisan  de- 
nounced the  English  as  too  cowardly  to  face  the  Germans  and  added : 
"If  you  are  resolved  to  have  justice  and  liberty,  be  resolved  to 
sprinkle  the  soil  of  the  Province  of  Quebec  with  your  blood  instead 
of  reddening  the  soil  of  Flanders  with  it  for  the  benefit  of  England." 
Ubald  Paquin  declared  that  the  English  had  become  more  Boche 
than  the  Germans  and  that  the  Colonies  were  to  England  simply 
reservoirs  from  which  to  draw  men:  "He  who  enrols  is  a  traitor  to 
his  race,  and  a  coward,  and  should  be  afraid  to  walk  the  street  in 
khaki,  for  all  honest  men  will  have  the  right  to  spit  their  contempt 
in  his  face."  On  the  9th  Villeneuve  let  loose  this  language:  "It 
is  not  out  of  fear  that  the  French-Canadian  is  opposed  to  Con- 
scription. It  is  out  of  love  for  our  country  and  hatred  for  England." 
The  statement  of  Sir  E.  Kemp  that  the  Government  intended  to 
enforce  the  Act  evoked  a  fresh  storm  in  Montreal  where,  on  Aug. 
13,  Gideon  Martel,  President  of  the  Federation  of  Labour  Clubs, 
declared  that  "we  are  ready  to  go  ahead  to  the  end,  to  prison  if 


496  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

necessary,  and  if  they  come  to  shoot  us  we  will  be  the  first  to  do  the 
shooting";  while  Cleo  Thibault  intimated  that  it  would  "take 
more  than  two  Regiments  to  crush  the  French-Canadians"  and 
that  one  French-Canadian  was  as  good  as  15  "blokes" — English 
immigrants.  L.  O.  Maille,  at  this  time,  became  prominent  as  a 
street  orator  in  Montreal,  stated  (Aug.  21)  that  he  was  going  to 
run  for  Parliament  and  if  elected  would  endeavour  to  reduce  the 
Governor-General's  salary;  Paul  Lafortune  added  on  this  occasion 
that  Canada  had  been  sold  body  and  soul  by  the  capitalists  to  the 
Empire. 

At  the  Champ  de  Mars  (Aug.  26)  Alphonse  Bernier  went  so  far 
as  to  favourably  compare  the  Kaiser  with  King  George  on  the 
ground  that  the  former  had  sent  his  sons  to  the  War  while  the 
latter  had  sent  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  enjoy  himself  in  Paris!  At 
Lafontaine  Park  (Aug.  28)  young  Villeneuve  produced  a  "Declara- 
tion" signed  by  20  persons — including  himself,  Lafortune  and 
Bernier — and  headed  "A  Warning  to  Conscriptionists."  It  stated 
that  "if  the  Bill  is  enforced  Borden  and  his  men  will  have  to  suffer 
the  penalty  of  death  ('Supplice  de  la  mort').  Nothing  will  be  left 
lacking  to  put  into  operation  our  project,  because  these  men  are 
traitors  and  executioners,  and  merit  death."  Many  in  the  crowd 
signed  the  document.  Stormy  scenes  and  some  street  rioting 
followed.  Aug.  30  was  a  wild  night  in  Montreal  with  large  crowds, 
myriad  street  speeches,  a  clash  with  the  police  on  Philips'  Square, 
the  free  firing  of  revolvers  and  wounding  of  at  least  7  men,  the  smash- 
ing of  windows,  an  occasional  looting  of  shops,  the  blocking  of 
street  cars  and  traffic.  An  alleged  telegram  from  Valcartier  saying 
that  American  and  French-Canadian  troops  were  fighting  the 
English  evoked  wild  cheers  at  one  juncture.  Several  arrests  were 
made  and  at  Quebec  similar  demonstrations  were  attempted  but 
subsided  after  marching  past  the  home  of  Hon.  A.  Sevigny.  The 
Government  announced  that  adequate  steps  would  in  future  be 
taken  to  preserve  order  and  the  Police  of  Montreal  broke  up  various 
ensuing  meetings — though  a  published  protest  on  Sept.  2,  signed  by 
R.  Parsons  (an  English  anarchist)  and  P.  Mongeau,  declared  that 
they  would  continue  the  fight  to  remain  free  men.  On  the  3rd 
Bernier,  Lafortune,  Mongeau  and  Villeneuve  addressed  a  large 
meeting  with  violent  attacks  upon  both  parties  and  the  clergy 
and  vigorous  eulogies  of  Bourassa.  At  another  on  the  4th  Ville- 
neuve said  that  from  the  blood  of  their  opposition  would  came 
glorious  days  while,  on  the  7th,  G.  Martel,  Labour  leader,  urged 
a  general  strike  and,  on  the  llth,  another  meeting  was  addressed 
by  Lafortune,  Bernier,  Mongeau  and  Maille  in  speeches  of  similar 
character  with  special  eulogies  of  Henri  Bourassa. 

An  unpleasant  incident  occurred  at  this  time  which  was  collateral 
to  the  general  agitation  without  being  a  part  of  it.  On  Aug.  9  at 
4  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  charge  of  dynamite  was  exploded  at  one 
side  of  the  residence  of  Lord  Atholstan  (Sir  Hugh  Graham)  at 
Cartierville.  It  smashed  the  windows  and  filled  the  lower  rooms  with 
wreckage  but  as  the  building  was  of  solid  stone  it  escaped  serious 
damage  and  the  family  or  household  were  uninjured.  Prior  to  the 


RECRUITING  IN  QUEBEC:  ATTITUDE  TOWARD  CONSCRIPTION  497 

outrage  Lord  Atholstan — whose  paper,  The  Star,  was  vigorously 
in  favour  of  Conscription — had  received  threatening  letters  but 
paid  no  attention  to  them.  The  dynamite  was  found  to  be  part  of 
350  pounds  stolen  on  Aug.  1  from  a  local  quarry  by  a  gang  of  masked 
men.  The  local  police  were  unable  to  find,  or  at  any  rate  did  not 
find,  the  men;  the  Dominion  police  were  sent  to  the  scene  and 
advertised  a  Government  reward  of  $5,000  for  capture  of  the  mis- 
creants; Elie  Lalumiere,  one  of  the  anti-conscription  orators  and  a 
dealer  in  electric  fixtures,  was  the  first  to  be  arrested  (Aug.  30); 
on  Sept.  2  at  Lachute  Joseph  Leduc,  alias  Handfield,  Henri  Mon- 
ette,  alias  Girard,  and  J.  A.  Tremblay,  three  suspected  men,  were 
rounded  up  but,  after  a  fight  with  the  police,  Leduc  shot  himself 
and  the  other  two  escaped.  All  three  men  were  desperadoes,  cocaine 
fiends,  wanted  for  several  murders  and  crimes.  Lalumiere  was  said 
to  be  an  associate  of  theirs  and  to  have  been  connected  with  corrupt 
political  work  in  earlier  days. 

Tremblay,  Cyr,  Goyer,  Wisintainer,  Chagnon,  and  others, 
totalling  12  in  number,  were  eventually  arrested  and  placed  on  trial 
before  Mr.  Justice  Saint  Cyr.  Lalumiere  made  a  written  confession 
which  resembled  the  wildest  of  criminal  romances  and  detailed  other 
plots — the  blowing  up  of  The  Star  offices,  The  Gazette,  the  Mount 
Royal  Club,  Senator  Beaubien's  home  and  the  killing,  in  some 
form  or  other,  of  Sir  R.  Borden  and  various  public  men.  Tremblay 
also  confessed  and  gave  the  names  of  Handfield,  Monette  and  him- 
self, with  several  others,  as  placing  the  dynamite  at  Cartierville. 
He  specified  Lalumiere  but  afterwards  withdrew  the  name.  On 
Sept.  18  Monette  was  caught  and  brought  before  Judge  Lanctot. 
At  this  stage,  also,  a  Government  detective  named  Charles  Des- 
jardins  was  interjected  into  the  case.  He  had  been  instrumental 
in  working  up  evidence,  had  joined  organizations  in  order  to  learn 
of  the  projected  crime,  and  was  now  accused  of  complicity  in  it, 
put  under  arrest  and  sent  for  trial,  with  P.  E.  Lamarche,  K.C.,  as 
the  person  pressing  the  charges.  Judge  Lanctot  (Oct.  22)  cancelled 
his  bail  and  the  whole  matter  was  alleged  to  be  a  Nationalist  revenge 
for  the  expose*  of  a  plot  which  so  injured  their  political  campaign. 
The  12  men  charged  with  different  branches  of  the  crime  came  for 
trial  before  Mr.  Justice  Pelletier  and  a  jury  on  Nov.  14.  The  first 
trial  had  failed  because  one  of  the  jurors  died;  this  second  one  re- 
sulted in  a  disagreement  through  one  of  the  jurors  obstinately  re- 
fusing to  concur  in  the  verdict  of  guilty;  a  third  trial  was  arranged 
and  fixed  for  November,  1918.  The  attempted  crime  seems  in  its 
origin  to  have  been  a  mixture — partly  fanaticism  evoked  by  super- 
heated politics,  partly  the  real  criminality  of  desperate  characters. 
Some  of  the  men  were  mere  hot-heads  like  Lalumiere,  others  like 
Tremblay  were  clever  enough  to  know  better,  others  were  of  the 
Leduc-Monette  type.  That  a  heated  political  atmosphere  can 
cause  crime  was  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  Paul  Lafortune  could, 
unrebuked,  tell  a  Montreal  public  meeting  on  Aug.  12  that  "the 
affair  at  Cartierville  shows  that  we  are  not  cowards.  What  was 
done  there  was  well  done,  and  I  am  not  afraid  to  say  so,  and  ask  that 
my  words  be  reported." 

32 


498  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Equally  violent  were  speeches  on  Sept.  12th — C.  Renaud 
describing  the  Borden  Government  as  "cursed  demons,"  while 
Villeneuve  went  a  step  further  and  declared  that  "if  we  cannot 
float  the  flaming  flag  of  Independence  over  the  Parliament  Buildings 
at  Ottawa  there  remains  the  flag  of  the  Americans;  we  have  had 
enough  of  the  Union  Jack."  Bernier  declared  that  "if  ever  any 
man  deserved  to  be  blown  up  and  deserved  death,  it  is  the  owner  of 
The  Star."  Following  this  meeting  Villeneuve,  Lafortune,  Cot£ 
and  Mongeau  were  arrested  but  allowed  out  on  bail.  Marsil, 
Mongeau  and  Bernier  repeated  their  speeches  on  the  15th  with  no 
reference,  however,  to  disobeying  the  Conscription  Act;  on  the 
18th  P.  E.  Mongeau  announced  that  the  meetings  would  in  future 
be  political  ones  and  the  legal  point  was  thus  evaded;  G.  Martel 
(Sept.  28)  denounced  Sir  R.  Borden  as  "the  worst  autocrat  the  world 
has  ever  seen."  A  month  later  Mongeau  endeavoured  to  get  a  legal 
declaration  that  the  Military  Service  Act  was  unconstitutional  on 
the  ground  of  Canada  having  no  power  of  Conscription  under  the 
B.N.A.  Act  except  for  the  defence  of  Canadian  territory.  Mr. 
Justice  Bruneau  on  Oct.  31  issued  a  writ  under  this  appeal  tempor- 
arily holding  up  the  prosecution  of  Mongeau  and  his  fellows  but 
not  expressing  a  constitutional  opinion.  The  Elections  followed 
and  showed  a  deep  and  almost  passionate  resentment  in  Quebec 
against  Conscription,  the  Act  and  the  Government,  with  an 
equally  strong  desire  to  back  Sir  W.  Laurier. 

The  brief  notoriety  of  the  men  just  dealt  with — Lalumiere, 
Marsil,  Mongeau,  Bernier,  Villeneuve,  Lafortune — passed  away  and 
they  were  replaced  by  politicians  who  were  more  careful  in  their 
statements  but  who  embodied  some  at  least  of  the  feeling  which 
these  youthful  and  enthusiastic  orators  expressed.  The  remarks 
of  these  young  men  have  been  quoted  here  because  they  were  the 
finger-posts  to  a  condition,  the  signs  of  a  sentiment  which  existed, 
and  the  result  of  precedent  training  by  older  men — members  of 
Parliament  elsewhere  quoted,  Liberal  and  Conservative-Nationalists, 
Bourassa  and  his  school;  because  they  were  the  1917  embodiment 
of  opinions  which  politicians  have  often  created  in  Quebec  and 
benefited  by  but  which  they  usually  refrain  from  leading.  Of  course 
this  does  not  mean  that  all  Quebec,  or  the  majority  of  the  people 
under  proper  leadership,  or  in  normal  conditions,  thought  as  these 
men  spoke;  it  does  mean  that  in  their  racial  and  linguistic  aloofness 
the  French-Canadians  could  often  be  misled  by  the  very  enthusiasms 
and  temperament  which  ordinarily  would  make  them  the  best  of 
citizens.  Nor  was  there  anything  remarkable  in  some  French- 
Canadians  opposing  Conscription;  the  point  was  in  the  union  of  a 
whole  Province  against  it.  There  were  plenty  of  English-Canadians 
opposed  to  it — even  an  occasional  anti-Conscription  riot  occurred; 
there  were  plenty  of  speeches  which  were  not  exactly  British  in 
character — even  a  few  which  were  seditious  in  matter  though  negli- 
gible in  importance.  After  the  Elections,  also,  agitation  largely 
ceased  in  Quebec,  seditious  speeches  dropped  for  a  time,  the  regis- 
tration under  the  Act  took  place  and  showed  Montreal  as  registering 
83%  of  its  available  population  and  Quebec  City  80%,  with  a  total 


THE  BI-LINGUAL  SCHOOL  QUESTION:  ONTARIO  vs.  QUEBEC   499 

for  the  two  cities,  reported  on  Nov.  14,  of  100,623  seeking  exemption 
and  1,654  offering  for  service.  Thousands  of  appeals  were  entered 
by  the  Government  representatives  against  these  proposed  ex- 
emptions and  the  Military  Service  Council  on  Nov.  26  issued  this 
statement:  "It  has  become  p erf ectly  apparent  that  a  large  number 
of  Exemption  tribunals  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  have  failed  to 
appreciate  their  duties  and,  in  consequence,  have  granted  exemptions 
in  a  very  large  number  of  cases  where  no  justification  for  exemption 
exists.  As  a  result  it  has  become  necessary  to  invoke  the  right  of 
appeal  on  a  very  large  scale." 

Meanwhile  this  situation  was  taken  seriously  in  the  rest  of 
Canada.  Usually  the  attention  bestowed  upon  Quebec  affairs  was 
not  as  much  as  they  deserved;  in  these  years  of  stress  and  strain  of 
war  the  attention  was  greater  in  one  sense  than  the  Province  merited, 
yet  in  another  was  neither  wise  nor  useful.  Ontario  people  resented 
being  called  "Bodies"  but  nothing  was  done,  except  in  the  Bonne 
Entente  attempt,  to  get  at  the  root  of  the  evil.  French-Canadians 
quite  properly  resented  the  occasional  term  of  slacker  or  coward 
applied  to  them;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  words  were  used  upon  a 
thousand  recruiting  platforms  all  over  Canada  in  application  to 
local  men  who  did  not  volunteer.  The  Hon.  N.  A.  Belcourt  made 
a  most  interesting  speech  in  the  Senate  on  Aug.  3,  appealing  for 
consideration  for  his  people,  speaking  with  absolute  truth  of  their 
temperamental  qualities  and  great  sensitiveness,  their  love  of  country 
and  instincts  of  courtesy  and  friendliness,  but  he  suggested  no  way 
of  escaping  from  the  political  leadership  of  the  Merciers  and  Bouras- 
sas,  whose  counter-types  in  Ontario  politics,  to  the  French  publicist, 
would  be  George  Brown  or  D* Alton  McCarthy. 

As  with  nearly  all  issues  arising  between  Provinces 
The  Bi-  and  peoples  in  a  common  country  there  was  a  funda- 

Hngual  School  mental  historical  basis  for  this  one.  At  the  beginning 
Ontario'vs.  °f  things  there  was  no  question  of  French  Canada, 
Quebec.  with  its  60,000  population,  expanding  racially  and 

territorially,  and  the  boundary  lines  between  Upper 
and  Lower  Canada  were  laid  with  the  belief  that  on  one  side  there 
would  be  a  French  Province  and  on  the  other  an  English  one.  As 
these  and  all  other  parts  of  British  America  grew  together  into  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  two  ideas  in  this  respect  found  frequent  ex- 
pression— one  that  the  whole  country  was  rightly  and  legally  open 
to  French-Canadians  and  available  for  their  expansion,  settlement, 
development;  the  other  was  that  this  could  not  be  controverted, 
but  that  the  right  did  not  carry  with  it  privileges  of  language  and 
race  and  community  isolation  which  had  been  granted  to  Quebec 
as  a  Province.  The  divergence  was  sharp  and  it  was  fundamental 
to  this  Bi-lingual  issue  which  also  involved  a  vital  question  of  the 
right  of  each  Province  to  manage  its  own  affairs — a  right  greatly 
and  obviously  to  the  advantage  of  Quebec  in  its  relation  to  the 
Dominion  and  other  Provinces. 

In  these  days,  as  time  went  on,  Quebec  people  prided  themselves 
and  with  some  reason,  upon  their  equitable  treatment  of  the  Protest- 


500  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

ant-English  minority  and  they  asked  the  other  Provinces  in  1896, 
in  1905  and  in  1916-17,  to  act  in  a  similar  way  toward  the  Catholic- 
French  minority.  Even  here  the  issue  was  complicated  in  1917  by 
the  presence  of  a  Catholic-English  minority  in  Ontario  which  also 
desired  to  attend  the  Separate  Schools  and  did  not  desire  instruction 
in  French.  Another  difference  between  the  Ontario  and  Quebec 
minorities  was  that  the  French  minority  in  Ontario  was  aggressive, 
fighting  for  alleged  rights,  anxious  to  bring  and  keep  another  Prov- 
ince in  the  issue,  whereas  the  English  minority  in  Quebec  was  quies- 
cent and  apparently  satisfied  with  its  condition.  The  attitude  of 
the  Quebec  minority  was  illustrated  at  the  43rd  annual  Convention 
of  the  Protestant  Teachers  of  Quebec  which  (Oct.  4)  declared  that 
"in  view  of  the  recognized  necessity  and  importance  of  having  the 
French  language  taught  in  the  Protestant  schools  and  securing  bet- 
ter results,  it  is  desirable  to  secure  the  services  of  a  Director  of 
French  for  the  Protestant  schools  of  the  Province."  There,  also, 
were  other  differences.  In  Ontario  the  Roman  Catholics  were  only 
exempt  from  taxation  for  the  Public  schools  and  not  for  the  High 
schools,  as  in  Quebec;  in  Ontario,  also,  the  curriculum,  inspection 
and  final  examinations  were  under  control  of  the  Minister  of  Educa- 
tion and  not  of  a  Committee  of  Public  Instruction  as  in  Quebec. 
Then  there  was  the  ever-present  element  helping  to  add  fuel  to  the 
least  flickering  flame  of  dispute  in  racial  or  religious  matters — the 
Nationalists  of  Quebec  and  the  Orangemen  of  Ontario  and  other 
Provinces.  There  was  good  in  both  these  organizations  and  there 
was  much  of  religious  and  moral  appeal  in  both  of  them.  But  each 
was  partisan  in  a  form  particularly  antagonistic  to  the  other;  each 
thought  within  limitations  which  allowed  no  breadth  of  view;  anti- 
Empire  in  the  one  case  and  anti-Church  in  the  other  constituted  a 
ring  within  which  their  votaries  must  dance.  It  must  be  added, 
however,  that  Orange  loyalty  to  British  institutions  and  Empire 
was  bred  in  the  bone  and  made  many  English  believers  in  religious 
toleration  condone  the  Order's  vehement  sectarian  viewpoint. 

As  to  the  Bi-lingual  issue  in  detail  it  has  been  dealt  with  in  this 
work  from  year  to  year*.  One  thing  was  clear — that  Ontario  had 
never  sought  to  really  restrict  or  destroy  Separate  Schools  as  Mani- 
toba had  done.  In  fact  a  party  leader  had  been  kept  out  of  power 
for  years  because,  in  part,  of  the  belief  that  he  was  anti-Catholic. 
On  the  other  hand  it  had  not  followed  the  New  Brunswick  system 
under  which  Acadian  children  were  educated  during  the  first  four 
years  in  their  mother-tongue  with  continuous  English  training  there- 
after. There  was  a  looseness  and  toleration,  however,  about  the 
Ontario  system,  before  the  time  of  Regulation  17,  which  permitted 
the  growth  of  schools  almost  entirely  French  and  this  was  the  chief 
excuse  for  Government  action  in  that  respect.  It  was  not  in  any 
sense  a  religious  issue  despite  the  sectarianism  of  the  Orange  Order 
and  this  was  proven  in  the  issue  of  a  Pastoral  read  to  the  Catholic 
churches  and  Separate  Schools  of  Ontario  on  Feb.  4,  1917.  It  was 
signed  by  11  members  of  the  Canadian  Hierarchy — Archbishops 

•  See  Pages  524-532  and  566-571  in  the  1916  volume;  502-517  and  562-567  in  the 
1915  volume;  also  the  issues  for  1910-1911-1912-1913. 


THE  BI-LINGUAL  SCHOOL  QUESTION:  ONTARIO  vs.  QUEBEC  501 

Gauthier  of  Ottawa,  McNeil  of  Toronto,  Spratt  of  Kingston,  and 
Beliveau  of  St.  Boniface,  Bishops  Scollard  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
Macdonell  of  Alexandria,  Fallon  of  London,  O'Brien  of  Peterborough, 
Latulippe  of  Haileybury ,  and  Ryan  of  Pembroke,  with  Dr.  Charlebois, 
Vicar  Apostolic  of  Keewatin.  The  document  had  been  prepared  at 
a  meeting  in  Ottawa  on  Jan.  24,  after  study,  deliberation  and  prayer, 
and  it  urged  the  clergy  and  laity  to  obey  all  just  laws  and  regula- 
tions of  the  civil  authorities,  asked  the  majority  in  Ontario  to  con- 
sider sympathetically  the  aspirations  of  the  minority,  and  added  these 
conclusions: 

That  we  are  confident  there  is  no  desire  or  intention  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment or  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Ontario  to  prescribe  the  French  language. 
This  is  set  forth  in  the  official  statement  of  the  policy  of  the  Government  of  Ontario 
issued  on  the  14th  day  of  March,  1916,  as  expressed  in  the  following  words:  'Regula- 
tion 17  applies  only  to  the  list  of  schools  annually  designated  by  the  Minister  as 
English-French.  In  the  case  of  schools  not  on  the  list,  but  containing  French-speak- 
ing pupils,  or  in  the  case  of  new  schools  organized  since  the  adoption  of  Regulation 
17,  in  1913,  the  use  and  study  of  the  French  language  are  provided  for  by  Section 
84  (b)  of  the  Public  Schools  Act,  and  by  Section  12  (2)  of  the  Regulations  for  Public 
and  Separate  Schools.  These  enactments,  which  have  for  many  years  defined  the 
place  of  the  French  language  in  Ontario  schools,  have  not  been  amended  or  rescinded.' 

That  we  are  also  confident  there  is  no  ill-will  on  the  part  of  the  French-Canadian 
people  towards  the  Government  or  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Ontario,  and  are 
of  the  opinion  that  much  of  the  agitation  against  the  educational  measures  of  the 
Government  has  been  caused  by  the  misunderstanding  of  Regulation  17. 

The  issue  between  Bishop  Fallon  and  some  of  the  French-Canadian 
people  of  his  Diocese  illustrated  the  fact  that  the  issue  was  essen- 
tially racial.  A  vigorous  fight  was  put  up  during  1917  by  the  French- 
Canadians  of  a  parish  in  Essex  County  regarding  the  appointment 
of  Rev.  F.  X.  Laurendeau  as  its  Cure".  A  letter  dated  Aug.  26 
submitted  to  the  Bishop  of  London  by  officials  of  the  local  church 
and  representing  the  dissentient  group  which  had  refused  to  receive 
the  pastor  and  had  shut  its  church  doors  because  they  believed 
him  opposed  to  Bi-lingualism,  was  both  bitter  and  personal  in  its 
attack  upon  His  Lordship — with  no  reference  to  any  public  issue. 
On  Sept.  9,  Father  Laurendeau  took  possession,  but  was  escorted 
to  the  church  by  Provincial  policemen  who  had  to  use  their  clubs 
upon  a  mob  of  people  and  force  the  doors  of  the  church.  After 
this  the  church  was  for  a  time  boycotted  and  at  a  meeting  of  thous- 
ands of  French-Canadian  Catholics  from  neighbouring  places,  at 
Ford  City  on  Sept.  23,  it  was  decided  to  attend  no  service  addressed 
by  Bishop  Fallon  or  permit  him  to  confirm  their  children.  On  the 
other  hand  a  meeting  of  26  priests  in  the  Deanery  of  London  (Oct. 
24)  of  whom  6  were  French,  deplored  this  action  and  deprecated 
"the  conduct  of  unprincipled  agitators  who  are  leading  the  people 
astray,"  and  re-asserted  their  loyalty,  respect  and  cheerful  obedience 
to  constituted  authority. 

During  these  months  and  despite  the  Privy  Council's  decision 
that  Regulation  17  was  constitutional  and  valid,  much  opposition 
to  its  enforcement  continued.  Inspector  Thomas  Swift  of  the 
Ottawa  Bi-lingual  schools,  reported  that  in  his  February  inspection 
he  had  found  the  French  language  used  as  the  language  of  com- 


502  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

munication  and  instruction;  the  reason  assigned  by  the  teachers 
being  that  the  children  were  able  to  make  more  progress  when  taught 
in  their  own  language.  The  Inspector  added  that  the  schools  were 
at  least  a  year  behind  the  Public  schools  in  efficiency  and  that  there 
was  no  real  effort  to  teach  English  or  obey  the  Regulation.  In  the 
Legislature  during  March  the  Minister  of  Education,  Hon.  Dr.  R.  A. 
Pyne,  carried  a  Bill  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  Commission 
to  take  the  place  of  the  Ottawa  Separate  School  Board  if  that  Board 
continued  to  neglect  or  disobey  the  school  laws  of  the  Province. 
Speaking  in  the  House  on  Mar.  30,  Dr.  Pyne  said:  "I  regret  that 
the  law  is  not  being  obeyed.  The  Government  now  is  merely  tak- 
ing precautionary  measures  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  conditions 
which  have  occurred  in  Ottawa.  We  think  the  Bill  is  all  right,  but 
it  may  never  be  invoked  and  I  hope  and  trust  it  never  will  be." 
As  to  this  action,  N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.,  Opposition  leader,  doubted 
its  constitutionality  as  being  a  repetition,  in  fact  though  not  alto- 
gether in  form,  of  the  1915  legislation  which  had  been  disallowed. 
He  preferred  the  processes  of  law  against  the  School  Boards  concerned 
but  would  not  oppose  the  Bill;  he  pleaded  for  every  possible  tolera- 
tion and  welcomed  the  assurance  of  the  Premier  (Sir  W.  H.  Hearst) 
that  every  effort  was  being  made  to  get  properly-trained  Bi-lingual 
teachers.  The  French-Canadian  members  of  the  House  united, 
however,  against  the  Bill  which  had  five  opponents — Pinard,  Mageau, 
Racine,  Ducharme  and  Evanturel. 

Another  Government  measure  provided  for  relief  of  the  late  un- 
constitutional Ottawa  Commission  in  its  expenditure  of  $300,000 
and  assessed  that  amount  upon  the  Ottawa  Separate  School  Board. 
It  was  resolutely  opposed  by  the  same  five  members  and  Mr.  Rowell, 
as  Opposition  leader,  supported  (Apr.  4)  the  Bill  though  he  did  not 
like  charging  the  money  to  the  School  Board.  The  Premier  de- 
clared that:  "The  Government  is  determined  to  stand  by  and 
enforce  Regulation  17.  It  is  both  practicable  and  workable  and 
has  proved  so  in  every  school  which  has  made  a  sincere  effort." 
These  measures  were  discussed  in  the  Senate  on  Sept.  13  and  de- 
nounced by  French-Canadian  members,  such  as  Hon.  F.  L.  Beique, 
who  declared  them  to  be  unconstitutional  and  "in  complete  disregard 
of  the  judgments  of  the  highest  Courts  of  Canada  and  of  the  Privy 
Council,  as  well  as  a  violation  of  most  sacred  rights."  Meanwhile, 
on  Mar.  19,  the  Toronto  News,  whose  attitude  was  so  much  dis- 
cussed in  Quebec,  editorially  stated  its  policy  as  follows:  "Beyond 
all  question  a  working  knowledge  of  two  modern  languages  is  of  im- 
mense value,  seeing  that  it  doubles  efficiency  in  expression  and  in- 
creases the  range  of  thought.  It  is  very  desirable  that  we  should 
have  more  intensive  study  of  French  in  the  high  schools  and  univer- 
sities of  Canada.  It  is  not  possible  to  give  two  languages  equal 
status  in  public  schools.  It  is  possible  to  treat  French  fairly  in 
French-speaking  communities  and  yet  ensure  that  every  child  in 
Ontario  shall  have  a  good  knowledge  of  English." 

Legal  actions  continued  during  the  year.  On  June  7  Mr. 
Justice  Kelly  refused  the  application  of  Chairman  S.  N.  Genest  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Separate  School  Board  at  Ottawa  to  quash  the 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  QUEBEC  AND  THE  WAR        503 

judgment  of  Dec.  17,  1914,  committing  him  for  breach  of  an  injunc- 
tion which  had  restrained  him  from  employing,  or  paying  salaries  of, 
teachers  not  possessing  the  proper  legal  qualifications.  Mr.  Genest 
appealed  and  the  Appellate  Division  of  the  High  Court  finally  dis- 
missed his  action  on  June  22.  A  little  later  Mr.  Justice  Sutherland 
decided  that  in  respect  to  the  enforcement  of  this  injunction  Mr. 
Genest  must  produce  original  records,  cheque  book,  vouchers,  pay 
sheets,  etc.,  or  in  default  stand  committal  to  jail.  On  Oct.  2  he 
submitted,  in  part,  to  this  order  in  presenting  at  Ottawa  certificated 
copies  of  certain  documents.  Then  the  long-standing  case  of  the 
Ottawa  School  Board  against  certain  Banks,  as  to  the  Board  funds 
held  under  legal  actions  and  decisions,  opened  before  Mr.  Justice 
Clute  at  Ottawa  on  Oct.  3.  In  his  evidence  on  the  5th  Inspector 
Swift  confirmed  his  Report  of  February:  " In  1917  I  cannot  say  there 
was  one  school  which  I  could  classify  or  put  down  as  conforming 
with  Regulation  17.  As  far  as  I  can  remember,  between  40  and  47 
teachers  out  of  112  had  valid  certificates.  The  rest  had  no  certifi- 
cates at  all  or  had  no  valid  certificates."  On  Oct,  29  the  Court  of 
Appeal  received  from  the  Provincial  Government  a  submission  of 
its  1917  legislation  as  to  these  Schools  and  on  Dec.  10  Sir  Wm. 
Meredith  rendered  judgment  declaring  the  Act  valid  and  confirm- 
ing the  Legislature's  authority  to  appoint  a  new  Commission  to 
manage  these  Schools. 

Meanwhile,  in  Quebec,  Bi-lingualism  was  being  officially  imposed 
or  insisted  upon  wherever  possible.  In  Parliament,  H.  Boulay  moved 
an  amendment  to  the  new  Railway  Act  which  provided  that  time- 
tables, bills  of  lading,  station  signs,  etc.,  in  the  Province  of  Quebec 
should  be  printed  in  both  French  and  English  and  he  asked  that  all 
railway  employees  coming  in  contact  with  the  public  should  under- 
stand both  the  official  languages  of  the  country.  After  discussion 
the  Minister  of  Railways  accepted  this  so  far  as  the  trainmen  on 
local  trains  in  Quebec  were  concerned.  On  July  9  Hon.  Mr.  Lemieux 
noted  that  his  request  to  have  Customs  and  Immigration  forms 
printed  in  French  and  English  had  been  acceded  to.  Such  was  the 
general  situation  in  1917  so  far  as  Bi-lingualism  was  concerned — 
read  with  what  has  been  written  in  preceding  Sections. 

The  Church  The  place  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Quebec 

Peo  \e^  Atti-  ^^  alwavs  been  one  of  power  and  responsibility.  In 
tude  of  the  "  the  early  days  of  British  rule  it  was  trusted,  and  rightly 
Hierarchy.  so,  by  the  far-away  authorities  in  England;  in  days 
of  early  war  with  the  United  States  it  proved  to  be 
loyal  to  the  Government  and  faithful  its  to  responsible  post;  during 
later  times  of  attempted  revolution  and  internal  strife  it  held  the 
reins  of  moderation  and  upon  the  whole  stood  by  the  flag  as  well 
as  its  own  rights;  during  the  years  of  fateful  conflict  in  1914-17  it 
was  trusted  by  all  Governments  concerned  and  much  was  hoped  from 
its  admitted  influence  over  the  people.  The  position,  however, 
was  more  difficult  than  in  any  previous  case.  The  Church  itself 
was  international  and  neutral  in  one  great  sense;  but  in  another  it 
stood,  as  usual  in  such  cases,  with  the  racial  unit  which  it  guided  in 


504  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

religious  matters — the  Catholics  of  Ireland  and  Austria,  of  Belgium 
and  France,  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  A  cardinal  precept 
of  the  Church  was  loyalty  in  secular  things  to  the  secular  Govern- 
ment but  across  its  path  in  Quebec,  as  in  Ireland,  there  swept  con- 
ditions of  special  complexity.  In  the  Quebec  case  was  the  fact  that 
French-Canadians  were  a  race  within  a  race,  a  unit  in  a  country  of 
mixed  race  and  religion — a  country  within  an  Empire  of  many 
races  and  religions. 

All  around  it  was  the  pressure  of  5,000,000  Canadians  and  100,- 
000,000  Americans  who  at  heart,  in  a  sort  of  passive  way,  disapproved 
of  Church  influence  and  control  over  the  French-Canadians — though 
the  rest  of  the  Dominion  accepted  without  reserve  the  pacts  and 
understandings  upon  which  the  secular  power  of  the  Church  and  the 
privileges  of  its  people  in  Quebec  rested.  Hence  the  apparent  neces- 
sity— in  a  tremendous  issue  which  the  attitude  of  the  Pope  proclaimed 
to  be  apart  from  the  Church — of  not  endangering  its  hold  upon  a 
mercurial  but  devoted  people  by  any  aggressive  leadership  along 
war  lines.  Loyal  and  correct  leadership  was  given  by  the  Hierarchy 
from  the  first;  a  dignified  and  proper  stand  was  assumed  throughout 
as  to  the  national  duty  of  British  subjects,  but  the  position  taken 
was  not  aggressive  or  seriously  educative  in  character.  Moreover, 
the  Church  was  hampered  by  the  evolution  of  the  Bi-lingual  question 
and  the  use  made  of  it  by  Mr.  Bourassa,  a  devoted  son  of  the  Church 
and  clever  enough  to  know  how  to  retain  that  reputation.  The 
lower  clergy  were  not,  also,  as  united  in  their  attitude  or,  in  many 
cases,  as  correct  in  their  views  as  were  the  Ecclesiastical  leaders. 
Hence  a  certain  increase  in  hostile  expressions  during  this  year  from 
enthusiasts  such  as  the  Orangemen  in  English  Canada;  hence  some 
of  the  regrettable  utterances  during  the  Conscription  and  Election 
periods  there  and  some,  at  least,  of  the  recruiting  difficulties  in 
Quebec;  hence  a  divergence  of  thought  between  the  English  and 
French  Hierarchies  upon  the  Bi-lingual  question.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  the  vital  issue  in  Quebec,  as  in  Ireland,  was  racial  and  not 
religious. 

For  this  reason  and  the  facts  which  follow  much  of  the  Church 
criticism  heard  in  Ontario  and  elsewhere  was  unjust.  As  Arch- 
bishop McNeil  of  Toronto  put  it  on  Nov.  3:  "Quebec  and  Ireland 
are  a  very  small  part  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  I  am  not  authorized 
to  speak  for  either;  but  I  can  speak  for  the  Catholic  Church  in  this 
rriatter.  Thirty  years  ago  we  all  held  in  Canada  the  opinion  which 
still  prevails  in  parts  of  Quebec.  We  looked  upon  ourselves  as 
British  colonists  depending  on  England  for  defence  against  any  public 
enemy.  .  .  .  The  real  test  of  loyalty  is  obedience  to  the  law. 
No  part  of  Canada  has  yet  failed  in  this  test.  Not  until  there  is 
disobedience  to  the  law  will  it  be  time  to  speak  of  disloyalty." 
There  was  no  real  question  of  the  patriotism  of  the  Church  in  France 
despite  the  new  law  of  March  which  sent  the  balance  of  priests, 
acting  in  hospitals  or  as  stretcher-bearers,  etc.,v  to  the  Front;  if 
the  issue  were  raised  the  25,000  priests  in  the  French  armies  could 
give  an  answer  which  was  affirmed  by  a  multitude  of  gallant  deeds 
and  war  honours.  So  in  Quebec,  where  the  issue  should  not  have 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  QUEBEC  AND  THE  WAR        505 

been  raised;  but  where  some  difficulty  was  unavoidable  in  view  of 
the  racial  complications.  There,  also,  had  been  a  natural  suspicion 
amongst  the  Church  leaders  as  to  the  influences  of  French  infidelity 
upon  the  sons  of  Quebec  but  the  religious  revival  in  France,  the 
passing  of  anti-Church  leaders  such  as  Caillaux  and  Malvy,  the 
turning  of  the  soldiers  back  to  the  Church  of  their  fathers  in  the 
fire  of  battle,  all  tended,  by  1917,  to  greatly  relieve  that  situation. 

On  Jan.  3  Cardinal  Be"gin  addressed  a  Pastoral  to  his  churches, 
directing  the  people  to  sign  the  National  Service  cards.  It  was  not, 
His  Eminence  added,  a  question  of  politics  or  of  Conscription,  it 
was  the  taking  of  an  inventory  of  Canada's  resources;  "Let  us  set 
an  example.  Let  us  prove  that  we  are  actuated  by  an  enlightened 
patriotism  conformable  to  the  teaching  and  traditions  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  Let  us  show  respectful  deference  towards  the  civil  authority 
within  its  rights."  In  a  following  Lenten  letter  to  his  clergy,  read 
in  thev  churches  of  Montreal  on  Feb.  18,  Archbishop  Bruch£si  con- 
demned the  frivolities  of  the  day  in  feminine  fashions  and  various 
social  extremes  and  urged  greater  Christian  charity  in  this  time  of 
war.  A  collection  was  authorized  in  all  churches  for  the  Patriotic 
Fund  and  Red  Cross  and  the  clergy  were  asked  to  commend  the 
matter  to  their  people.  At  this  time  also  Mgr.  Emard,  Bishop  of 
Valleyfield,  issued  a  Pastoral  letter  urging  his  flock  to  harmonize 
their  Bi-lingual  desires  with  the  rights  of  other  nationalities,  and 
declaring  the  Empire's  part  in  the  War  a  righteous  one,  and  the 
duty  of  all  able  to  do  so  to  enlist  in  the  Army.  Speaking  at  a  banquet 
in  Montreal  on  May  23,  given  in  honour  of  the  Bonne  Entente  move- 
ment for  closer  and  more  friendly  Provincial  relations,  Bishop 
Gauthier,  Auxiliary  to  the  Archbishop  of  Montreal,  spoke  with 
frankness  of  current  issues  as  he  saw  them.  The  French-Canadians 
in  1812  had  saved  Canada  to  Britain,  yet  in  response  the  Catholic 
minority  educational  rights  had  been  taken  away  from  the  schools 
in  New  Brunswick,  in  Manitoba,  in  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan, 
and  now  in  Ontario;  no  serious  complaint  had  ever  been  made  as  to 
Quebec's  treatment  of  its  minority  schools.  One  language  was 
not  an  essential  for  the  British  Empire,  for  Switzerland  or  for  Bel- 
gium; it  need  not  be  for  Canada.  As  to  the  War  the  French- 
Canadians  had  done  their  part. 

The  Conscription  issue  followed  and  in  the  beginning  of  the 
agitation  (May  25)  Archbishop  Bruche"si  urged  the  people  of  his 
Archdiocese  "to  use  their  rights  as  free  citizens  with  calm  and 
moderation"  and  he  appointed  a  succeeding  Sunday  as  a  day  of 
prayer  for  union  and  peace  in  Canada.  On  June  6,  at  St.  Benoit, 
His  Grace  explained  why  he  had  originally  supported  National 
Service:  "We  did  all  we  could  once  more  to  prove  our  loyalty  to 
the  British  Crown.  For  my  part  I  have  done  all  I  could  to  help 
Canada  to  do  her  part,  as  was  suitable,  and  to  show  that  we  here 
do  not  deserve  the  attacks  of  the  Orangemen.  In  the  matter  of 
National  Service  cards  I  asked  the  Prime  Minister  if  it  was  a  question 
of  Conscription.  He  answered  with  emphasis  that  there  was  no 
such  question,  and  that  he  himself  was  opposed  to  all  compulsory 
enlistment."  Now,  all  was  suddenly  changed  and  his  people  were 


506  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

at  liberty  to  express  their  opinions.  With  this  development  came 
warning  notes  of  hostility  from  L' Action  Catholique,  the  episcopal 
organ  of  Quebec.  Conscription  was,  early  in  June,  described  as  a 
new  question  which  had  only,  as  yet,  been  glimpsed  by  the  most 
far-seeing  statesmen,  the  country  was  said  to  be  unprepared  for  it, 
the  Government  to  have  long  since  declared  that  it  would  never  be 
imposed  upon  the  country,  the  great  war-need  of  the  moment  to  be 
production.  Further  Canadian  effort  in  sending  men  to  war  was 
said  to  threaten  exhaustion.  As  the  agitation  in  the  Province 
grew  so  did  the  sentiment  of  this  journal:  "Let  our  people  consider 
themselves  as  duly  warned.  A  campaign  of  calumny  has  been  taken 
up  against  them  throughout  the  world.  It  is  vile  and  cowardly, 
but  that  is  how  matters  stand.  We  are  at  this  moment  actually  guilty, 
in  the  first  place,  of  being  Canadians."*  Then  came  the  refusal 
to  exempt  divinity  students  from  Conscription  and,  on  July  28, 
Cardinal  Be*gin  gave  an  interview  to  L' Action  Catholique  dealing 
primarily  with  this  subject  and,  as  a  whole,  denouncing  compulsory 
service : 

This  Conscription  law  is  a  menace  which  causes  the  Canadian  clergy  the  worst 
apprehensions.  This  military  service,  as  it  is  proposed,  or  at  least  as  we  are  enabled 
to  judge  from  the  speeches  and  articles  its  discussion  has  provoked,  is  not  only  a 
serious  blow  to  the  rights  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  independent  in  its  domain,  and 
whose  laws  and  practice  exempt  the  clergy  and  that  class  of  society  which  that  name 
designates  from  the  service  of  arms,  but  also  it  constitutes  a  fatal  obstacle  to  the 
recruiting  of  ministers  of  God,  shepherds  of  souls,  as  well  as  to  that  of  the  staff  of 
clerical  teachers,  and  through  this  very  fact  it  creates,  in  our  society,  an  evil  much 
worse  than  that  which  it  is  alleged  to  attempt  to  remedy.  .  .  .  On  the  other  hand, 
treaties  assure  Canadian  Catholics  the  free  practice  of  their  religion.  The  legisla- 
tion under  way  may  strike  that  liberty  a  mortal  blow.  I  like  to  believe  that  political 
wisdom  will,  in  the  end,  overcome,  in  the  hearts  of  our  statesmen,  the  urgings  and 
counsel  of  certain  elements  liable  to  trouble  forever  the  peace  of  this  country,  and 
that  no  one  will  dare,  on  a  matter  so  important  and  delicate,  to  hurt  the  sentiments 
of  the  whole  Catholic  population  of  the  Dominion  and  imprudently  sow  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic  the  seed  of  the  fatal  religious  discords  that  have  divided  the  old  world . 

Following  this  utterance  the  Montreal  Gazette  stated  that  Cardinal 
B6gin — who  in  1916  had  urged  Sir  R.  Borden  to  disallow  the  Ontario 
Bi-lingual  Regulations — had  now  written  to  Catholic  Ministers  and 
members  at  Ottawa  in  opposition  to  the  Military  Service  Act;  Le 
Devoir  also  hinted  at  this  but,  if  it  were  so,  the  letter  or  letters  were 
never  made  public.  As  the  Provincial  agitation  continued  to  in- 
crease and  the  French-Canadian  press  became  more  vehement, 
with  increasingly  unpleasant  comments  elsewhere  in  Canada, 
Archbishop  Bruchesi,  in  celebrating  on  Aug.  8  his  20th  year  in  the 
Episcopate,  dealt  with  the  issue  in  a  sermon  very  seriously:  "The 
Church  is  above  parties.  But  we  cannot  close  our  eyes  to  events 
in  the  country.  We  have  reached  an  exceedingly  grave  position. 
Divisions  between  the  Provinces  and  between  nationalities  have 
been  accentuated.  We  are  nearing  racial  and  religious  war.  When 
will  these  troubles  end?"  His  Grace  believed  that. the  War  would 
not  end  by  force  of  arms  but  by  financial  troubles,  revolutions, 
weariness.  As  to  Canada:  "Incontestable  rights  have  been  violated. 

*  Translation  in  Montreal  Star  July  6th — with  extracts  from  other  Quebec  papers. 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  QUEBEC  AND  THE  WAR        507 

Laws  have  been  passed  of  which  even  those  who  passed  them  seem 
to  be  afraid."     Prayer  was  the  only  recourse. 

Meanwhile,  in  June,  La  Croix  of  Montreal  and  its  affiliated 
journal  L'Ideal  Catholique  had  published  articles  of  a  rather  violent 
tone  against  Conscription.  They  were  important  as  coming  from 
papers  which,  though  not  official  organs  of  the  Hierarchy,  yet 
circulated  almost  exclusively  amongst  the  clergy  of  the  Province 
and  because,  also,  they  were  represented  in  other  parts  of  Canada 
as  embodying  the  views  of  the  Church.  The  Editor  of  La  Croix  was 
a  well-known  writer — Joseph  B6gin — and,  on  June  15,  his  paper 
came  out  boldly  for  secession  from  the  Dominion :  "  From  being  the 
pioneers  of  this  beautiful  country  we  have  become  the  valets  of  a 
race  which  pretends  to  be  superior  but  which  is  nothing  more  than 
the  modernized  product  of  the  rapacious  Jews.  What  advantage, 
minimum  though  it  be,  have  we  got  from  Confederation?  Our 
faith,  our  language,  our  schools  and  the  future  of  our  children,  the 
well-being  of  our  families,  the  mission  which  Providence  seems  to 
have  confided  to  our  hands,  to  plant  on  the  shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
a  truly  Christian  civilization,  appear  to  be  passing  away.  The 
War  came  and  the  majority  here  again  imposed  upon  us  its  arbitrary 
will.  We  are  already  crushed  by  an  enormous  Debt,  and  to-day 
they  wish  to  impose  by  force  a  law  as  unconstitutional  as  it  is  anti- 
Canadian,  which  will  send  our  sons  and  brothers  to  the  European 
butchery,  like  so  many  cattle,  to  satisfy  the  appetite  of  a  master." 
Separated  from  Canada,  yet  still  under  the  British  Crown,  was 
the  ideal,  and  to  promote  this  a  leader  was  called  for  and  the  forma- 
tion of  Committees,  everywhere,  urged.  In  succeeding  issues  this 
view  was  reiterated  and  Conscription  was  described  as  a  product  of 
the  Orange  lodges.  L'Ideal  Catholique  pressed  (July  6)  for  recog- 
nition of  a  new  French  country  which  would  possess  boundless 
resources  and  a  glorious  future.*  Hundreds  of  papers  in  Canada 
and  many  in  the  States  republished  these  articles;  Catholic  ^papers 
such  as  the  Antigonish  Casket  repudiated  them,  while  L* Action 
Catholique  dealt  with  the  difficulties  in  the  way  and  Archbishop 
Bruche*si  (Aug.  20)  declared  the  proposal  "thoughtless  and  unreason- 
able." Abb6  Groulx  of  Laval  University  was  disposed  to  sympa- 
thize with  pessimistic  views  of  Confederation.  In  the  St.  John 
Cathedral  on  Oct.  16  Cardinal  B£gin  declared  that  "it  is  the  duty 
of  all  to  pray  for  a  peace,  long  and  lasting,  such  as  the  British  Empire 
is  fighting  for  and  as  outlined  by  the  Pope";  at  Halifax  on  the  19th 
His  Eminence  made  an  earnest  appeal  for  the  Red  Cross.  He  had 
instituted  a  collection  in  every  Parish  of  Quebec:  "In  the  name  of 
justice,  humanity  and  civilization,  I  ask  your  keenest  interest  in 
and  your  largest  contributions  towards  this  magnificent  work." 

Meantime,  what  of  the  clergy?  The  parish  priests  had  much 
influence,  they  were  undoubtedly  affected  by  the  persistent  teach- 
ings of  Le  Devoir  and  the  later  attitude  of  La  Croix,  they  had  in 
1896,  in  some  measure,  supported  Laurier  against  the  Manitoba 
Mandement  of  the  Hierarchy.  To  them  the  Church  was  a  great 

*These  quotations  are  taken  from  translations  which  appeared  from  day  to  day  at 
this  time  in  the  English  press  of  Montreal  as  "French-Canadian  Views." 


508  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

rock,  buttressed  by  language  and  race  and  made  to  appear,  through 
the  organs  mentioned  and  the  statements  of  politicians,  as  threatened 
by  any  war-policy  which  took  away  the  young  men  from  their  shores 
to  the  aid  of  infidel  France.  The  majority  of  rural  priests  appear 
to  have  taken  no  part  in  the  matter  at  all;  a  minority  vehemently 
opposed  war- action  until  justice  should  be  rendered  the  race  by 
Ontario  and  J.  H.  Rainville,  M.P.,  appealed  to  the  priests  of  Chambly- 
Vercheres  to  help  in  saving  French  Catholics  from  this  dangerous 
position;  a  small  section  came  out  in  active  support  of  recruiting 
during  the  Blondin-Lessard  campaign.  Anti-Conscriptionist  orators, 
also,  were  frequent  in  their  denunciation  of  the  Church  for  its  appro- 
val of  National  Service,  and  P.  Panneton  in  Montreal,  on  May  25, 
openly  attacked  Archbishop  Bruche'si  for  his  support  of  recruiting. 
General  Lessard,  in  a  statement  on  May  8,  expressed  his  view 
clearly:  "The  voice  of  the  Episcopal  authority  has  made  itself 
heard,  but  it  does  not  seem  that  the  majority  of  the  clergy  gave 
as  attentive  an  ear  to  that  voice,  as  we  would  have  expected." 
As  to  Laval  some  of  its  professors — Montpetit  and  Perrault,  for 
instance — opposed  Conscription  publicly  as  they  had  a  right  to  do, 
and  just  as  Methodist  professors  in  Ontario  and  Anglican  priests 
there  and  elsewhere  supported  it;  others  like  Ferdinand  Roy  recognized 
the  needs  and  difficulties  of  the  situation;  some  students  undoubtedly 
allowed  their  Gallic  enthusiasms  to  carry  them  away  at  public 
meetings  and  to  give  room  for  unpleasant  comments  in  other  Pro- 
vinces. As  a  whole,  the  Church  during  this  troubled  year  of  1917 
was  not  friendly  toward  Conscription  and  it  is  a  question  if,  in  view 
of  all  conditions  in  its  own  Province,  anything  else  could  have  been 
expected;  it  was  not  hostile  to  recruiting  but  on  some  occasions 
was  passive,  on  others  indifferent,  at  certain  stages  helpful;  it  was 
loyal  to  Canada's  place  in  the  War  and  gave  full  support  to  Patriotic 
Funds — with  some  large  purchases  of  Victory  bonds;  it  stood,  above 
all,  and  through  all  the  turbulence  of  the  later  months  of  1917,  for 
observance  of  the  law  and  acceptance,  even  of  Conscription,  if 
once  enforced  as  the  law  of  the  land. 


CANADA  AND  THE  WAR— THE  FRONT 

There  was  an  immense  amount 'of  Canadian  war- 
wor^  c*one  *n  England  during  these  years;  large  finan- 
Canadians  c^a^  an(^  commercial  transactions  were  carried  on 
in  England  between  the  Governments  concerned  through  the 
office  of  Sir  George  Perley;  much  military  training 
was  done,  large  camps  maintained,  many  hospitals  looked  after  in 
Great  Britain  and  at  the  Western  and  other  Fronts;  centres  for 
Red  Cross  and  every  form  of  patriotic  work  which  women  could 
undertake  were  maintained;  London  was  the  essential  pivot  upon 
which  turned  the  final  efficiency  and  force  of  Canada's  war-effort 
as  it  passed  from  the  fulcrum  into  France.  Under  the  supervision 
of  Sir  George  Perley  as  Acting,  and  finally  as  permanent  High 
Commissioner  for  Canada,  and  since  late  in  1916  Minister  of  Over- 
seas Forces,  a  multitude  of  matters  were  dealt  with  and,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  1917,  he  had  the  following  additional  Canadian  officials: 

Special  Agent  of  the  Minister  and  Depart- 
ment of  Militia Maj.-Gen.  John  W.  Carson,  C.B. 

General  Officer  Commanding  Canadian 

Forces  in  British  Isles Maj.-Gen.  R.  E.  W.  Turner,  C.B.,  v.c.,  D.S.O. 

Acting  Overseas  Deputy  for  Minister  of 

Militia Brig.-Gen.  Alexander  D.  McRae. 

Adjutant-General Brig.-Gen.  P.  E.  Thacker,  C.M.G. 

Director  of  Personal  Services Col.  H.  Kemmis-Betty,  D.S.O. 

Accountant-General Col.  W.  R.  Ward. 

Chief  Paymaster  and  Officer  of  Records. .   Lieut.-Col.  J.  G.  Ross. 

Sir  George  Perley  in  his  public  utterances  during  this  year 
struck  a  high  note  of  sane  Imperialism.  In  the  Empire  number 
of  the  Manchester  Guardian  (Mar.  20)  he  expressed  these  views: 
"It  must  always  be  the  desire  of  a  virile  people  to  attain  a  full 
measure  of  self-government.  This  necessitates  a  change  in  the 
present  British  system,  so  that  the  Dominions  may  have  a  real 
voice  in  peace  and  war  and  all  matters  of  common  concern.  One 
can  justify  our  sacrifices  in  this  struggle,  but  it  would  be  impossible 
to  argue  that  we  can  regularly  and  permanently  assist  in  the  Empire's 
wars  unless  we  have  something  to  say  as  to  their  declaration  and 
management."  In  celebration  of  the  50th  anniversary  of  Con- 
federation the  Royal  Colonial  Institute  presented  an  illuminated 
Address  to  Sir  George  Perley,  describing  Canada  as  "the  pioneer, 
overseas,  in  self-government,  federation,  and  nationhood;  the 
possessor  of  a  rich  and  storied  past,  of  a  present  made  glorious  by 
Canadian  prowess  and  sacrifice,  of  a  future  boundless  as  the  wheat- 
growing  lands  of  the  North- West."  To  the  Montreal  Star  on  Aug. 
4th  he  issued  a  message  declaring  that :  "Our  history  as  a  nation  will 
be  recorded  as  starting  from  this  war,  our  troops  having  made  a 
name  for  themselves  second  to  none.  They  have  shown  that  a 
citizen  army,  inspired  by  love  of  liberty,  is  a  match  for  the  best- 
trained  troops  of  Germany."  During  a  discussion  in  the  Commons 
at  Ottawa  on  Aug.  7  it  transpired  that  during  these  war-years,  while 

[509] 


510  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Sir  George  Perley  had  been  acting  as  High  Commissioner  and 
practically  as  Overseas  Minister  of  Militia,  he  had  declined  any 
remuneration  for  his  services  and  so  also  for  his  varied  administrative 
duties  at  Ottawa  between  1911  and  1914.  So,  it  may  be  added, 
with  F.  B.  McCurdy,  Parliamentary  Secretary  of  the  Militia  De- 
partment. In  the  debates  which  followed,  notably  on  Aug.  13, 
Liberal  speakers  deprecated  Sir  George  Perley's  control  of  military 
affairs  and  opposed  the  creation  of  a  Minister  of  Overseas  Military 
Forces  which  the  Government  put  through  Parliament  at  this  time. 
Sir  Robert  Borden,  on  the  latter  date,  explained  that  the  Order-in- 
Council  of  October,  1916,  had  provided  for  the  position;  this  present 
legislation  attached  a  salary  to  it.  He  explained  that  Sir  George 
had  assumed  its  duties  at  the  Premier's  urgent  request;  so  far  as 
purely  military  matters  were  concerned  he  acted  by  the  advice  of 
General  Turner.  The  powers  of  the  Minister  were  defined  by  the 
Premier  and  may  be  condensed  as  follows : 

1.  He  was  charged  with  the  control  of  and  was  responsible  for  the  administration 
of  the  affairs  of  the  military  forces  of  Canada  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  on  the 
continent  of  Europe;    the   ordnance,   arms,  ammunition,  armouries,  stores,  muni- 
tions and  habiliments  of  war  belonging  to  Canada  in  those  countries;  all  expenditure 
incurred  in  the  United  Kingdom  or  elsewhere  in  Europe  for  or  in  respect  of  these 
Forces. 

2.  He  was  given  power  in  urgent  matters  to  act  provisionally  without  reference 
to  the  Canadian  Government. 

3.  He  was  charged  with  the  negotiations  on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  Can- 
ada with  His  Majesty's  Government,  in  all  matters  connected  with  the  government, 
command  and  disposition  of  the  Overseas  forces  of  Canada  and  arrangements  for 
co-ordinating  their  operations  and  services  with  those  of  His  Majesty's  troops. 

4.  He  was  given  power  to  appoint  and  pay  the  necessary  officers  and  clerks  and 
to  create  an  Advisory  Council. 

As  the  year  progressed  Sir  George  organized  his  Department  so 
that  Civil  matters  came  to  him  and  military  matters  were  largely 
dealt  with  by  Gen.  Turner;  Lieut.-Col.  Walter  Gow  of  Toronto  was 
appointed  Deputy  Minister.  In  the  middle  of  the  year  Sir  Richard 
Turner — he  had  received  a  K.C.M.G.  from  the  King — was  admin- 
istering the  military  affairs  in  England  through  four  Branches: 
(1)  that  of  the  Assistant  Military  Secretary  in  charge  of  Major 
F.  F.  Montague;  (2)  that  of  the  General  Staff  in  charge  of  Lieut.-Col. 
H.  F.  McDonald,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  (3)  that  of  the  Adjutant-General  in 
charge  of  Brig.-Gen.  P.  E.  Thacker,  C.B.,  C.M.G.;  that  of  the  Quarter- 
master General  in  charge  of  Brig.-Gen.  A.  D.  McRae,  C.B.  General 
Carson,  had  early  in  the  year,  retired  from  his  position.  In  August 
Sir  George  Perley  visited  the  Canadian-  troops  at  the  Front  and  after- 
wards described  the  appointment  of  General  Currie  to  the  command 
as  most  popular,  the  spirit  of  the  soldiers  as  wonderful,  the  work  of 
the  Railway  and  Forestry  Corps  as  most  valuable,  that  of  the  Can- 
adian hospitals  as  splendid.  In  October,  upon  finally  accepting 
office  as  High  Commissioner,  Sir  G.  Perley  resigned  his  seat  for  Ar- 
genteuil,  Que.,  and  at  the  same  time  Sir  Edward  Kemp  gave  up  his 
Ministry  of  Militia  to  accept  the  post  of  Minister  Overseas.  On 
Dec.  20  it  was  announced  that  the  High  Commissioner  had  handed 
over  a  bronze  gun  captured  by  the  58th  Canadian  Infantry  Battalion 
to  the  British  authorities  for  the  manufacture  of  future  Victoria 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  FRONT:  CANADIANS  IN  ENGLAND    511 

Crosses;  at  Christmas  time  he  issued  a  message  of  congratulation 
to  Canadians  on  the  honour  won  by  their  troops  during  1917. 

During  the  year  Sir  George  had  joined  the  Imperial  War  Graves 
Commission,  headed  by  H.R.H.  The  Prince  of  Wales,  which  included 
the  Earl  of  Derby,  K.G.,  as  Chairman  of  Committee,  and  all  the 
Dominion  High  Commissioners  as  members  and  had  for  its  object 
a  mission  declared  by  the  Imperial  Conference  to  be  a  sacred  obli- 
gation resting  on  the  whole  Empire — the  maintenance  of  the  burial 
places  of  its  soldiers  and  sailors.  He  organized  a  Committee  to  deal 
with  the  transport  of  Canadian  troops  and  their  dependants  after 
the  War,  and  including  H.  A.  Allan,  J.  H.  Plummer,  Brig.-Gen. 
St.  Pierre  Hughes,  Lieut. -Col.  J.  H.  D.  Hulme  and  others;  in  July 
a  Military  Mission  was  appointed  to  visit  and  spend  3  months  in 
France,  attached  to  the  Ministry  of  War,  and  consisting  of  Brig.-Gen. 
Lord  Brooke,  Major  G.  R.  Geary  (Toronto),  Major  Asselin  (Mon- 
treal), and  Capt.  Joly  de  Lotbiniere;  another  Mission,  appointed 
by  the  Canadian  Government,  however,  was  that  of  the  Canadian 
War  Archives  Society  composed  of  (Hon.)  Lieut.-Col.  A.  G.  Doughty, 
C.M.G.,  Dominion  Archivist,  Lieut.-Col.  Wm.  Wood  of  Quebec  and 
Capt.  Gustave  Lanctot  "to  make  a  survey  of  all  the  war  activities 
of  Canada,  with  a  view  to  obtaining  a  complete  and  comprehensive 
key  to  all  classes  of  public  war  records."  Meantime  the  Canadian 
War  Records  Office  had  been  doing  good  work  since  its  establish- 
ment in  1916  by  Sir  W.  Max  Aitken  with  a  grant  of  $25,000  from 
Ottawa;  the  aid  of  Lieut.-Col.  R.  Manley  Sims,  D.S.O.,  Major  C.  G.  D. 
Roberts  and  Capt.  Holt  White  had  been  effective  in  collating  data 
for  the  permanent  history  of  Canada's  forces  in  the  field.  This 
office  and  work  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  Canadian  Records 
Office  which  dealt  with  the  details  of  casualties,  sickness  and  indi- 
vidual incidents  in  the  Army. 

Sir  Max  Aitken,  though  giving  up  "  Eye- Witness "  work  during 
this  year,  retained  his  interest  in  the  Records  and  became  Lord 
Beaverbrook  as  a  result  of  participation  in  British  politics.  His 
services  to  Canada  as  its  Record  Officer  since  1915,  and  as  Officer  in 
charge  of  the  War  Records  Office  since  January,  1916,  were  given 
without  remuneration.  His  duties  were,  by  means  of  daily  cables, 
to  give  to  the  Canadian  public  an  account  of  the  performances  of  the 
Canadian  troops  and  in  this  capacity  he  wrote  the  two  volumes  of 
Canada  in  Flanders.  He  also  looked  after  the  collection,  fyling, 
copying,  collation  and  safe-keeping  of  the  enormous  quantity  of 
official  records,  maps,  diaries,  precis  and  private  accounts  relating 
to  the  operations  and  activities  of  the  Canadian  troops.  It  may  be 
added  that  on  Feb.  21  Lord  Beaverbrook  was  given  a  Dinnei  and 
presentation  of  plate  by  50  leading  politicians — amongst  them  Mr. 
Bonar  Law,  Rt.  Hon.  Neil  Primrose,  Sir  F.  E.  Smith,  Tim  Healy, 
Rudyard  Kipling,  and  Lord  Rothermere.  The  Canadian  Army 
Dental  Corps  was  established  in  1917  with  Col.  J.  A.  Armstrong 
(Ottawa)  as  Director  of  Dental  Services,  though  in  preliminary 
work  and  organization  it  had  already  done  much  and  performed 
300,000  operations.  Meanwhile,  arrangements  had  been  evolved 
and  completed  in  1917  for  the  handling  of  the  large  sums — ranging 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

up  into  the  hundreds  of  millions — required  to  pay  expenses  of  troops 
in  England  and  at  the  Front.  Sir  Robert  Borden  in  the  Commons 
on  Feb.  1,  1917,  gave  a  statement  in  this  regard  which  may  be  sum- 
marized briefly: 

1.  Canada,  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  at  the  outbreak  of  war  signified  a  desire 
to  bear  the  whole  cost  of  their  Expeditionary  Forces  and  have  since  made  their  own 
issues  of  pay,  cash  allowances  and  pensions. 

2.  The  expenses  borne  in  the  first  instance  by  the  Imperial  Government  for 
Canadian  troops  in  England  (rations,  forage,  clothing,  stores,  etc.)  are  recovered 
currently  through  the  ordinary  medium  of  accounts. 

3.  As  to  expenses  in  the  Field  it  is  not  practicable  to  keep  account  of  actual 
issues  and  it  is  the  intention  of  the  Imperial  Government  (subject  to  the  concurrence 
of  the  Dominion  Government)  that  payment  should  take  some  simple  form  such  as 
an  estimated  rate  per  head. 

4.  There  are  no  accounts  which  show  the  cost  of  supplies  and  services  to  Can- 
adian troops  in  France  and  the  figures  can  only  be  arrived  at  by  estimate.     Leaving 
munitions  aside  the  rate  of  expenditure  per  head  of  the  Army  as  a  whole  (excluding 
Indian  troops)  is  about  9s.  6d.  per  day.     Of  this  sum  about  4s.  represents  pay,  cash 
allowances  and  pensions,  the  charges  corresponding  to  which  in  the  case  of  Canadian 
troops  are  paid  by  Canada  direct;  remounts,  for  which  it  was  found  possible  to  make 
a  separate  settlement  on  the  basis  of  actual  transactions;   and  mechanical  transport 
vehicles.     The  remaining  5s.  6d.  includes  a  certain  number  of  large  items  supplied 
by  the  War  Office  such  as  rations,  forage,  fuel,  clothing,  equipment  and  general 
stores,  drugs,  stationery,  and  accounts  for  a  total  of  4s.  per  day. 

5.  The  total  estimate  (April,  1916)  was  6s.  per  day  per  man  which  is  considered 
reasonable. 

On  Feb.  17  it  was  announced  from  Ottawa  that  the  forces  in  England 
had  been  re-organized  with  26  reserve  Battalions  arranged  according 
to  Provinces  and  acting  as  re-inforcements  for  Battalions  at  the 
Front  coming  from  the  same  Province  or,  where  possible,  locally. 
A  question  greatly  discussed  during  the  year — especially  in  women's 
organizations  and  social  reform  bodies — was  the  moral  condition 
of  the  Canadian  soldiers  in  England.     Much  of  the  talk,  some  of  the 
Resolutions,  many  of  the  speeches,  were  very  wide  of  the    mark. 
War  psychology  breeds  an  infinite  brood  of  rumours,  and   includes 
depressed  views  of  social  and  public  conditions,  with  an  almost 
morbid  willingness   to  believe  the  worst.     This  moral   issue  also 
furnished  a  ready  field  for  exaggeration  in  the  interest  of  Prohibition 
advocacy.     At  the  Ontario  Prohibition  Convention  of  Mar.  8  state- 
ments  absolutely   vitriolic    in   character   were   made,    the   British 
Government  was  freely  condemned  with  little  visible  reason  or  proof 
for  conditions  guessed  at,  or  rumoured,  or  asserted  in  private  corres- 
pondence, and  more  than  one  woman  urged  that  no  more  men  be 
allowed  to  go  across.     The  Rev.  E.  Tennyson  Smith,  a  veteran 
English  reformer,  protested  strongly:  "To  suggest  for  one  moment 
that*  the  British  Government  connives  at  the  existence  of  immoral 
conditions  is  absolutely  untrue  and  unfair.     Your  boys  will  have 
no  greater  temptation  or  even  as  great  temptation  in  England  as 
here,  for  anything  worse  than  the  streets  of  Montreal  I  have  never 
known.     It  is  entirely  untrue  that  the  British  Government  permits 
or  even  winks  at  immorality."     On  motion  of  Mrs.  Thornley  of  the 
W.C.T.U.  a  Resolution  was  passed  declaring  that  the  Convention 
"views  with  extreme  regret  and  genuine  concern  the  use  of  the 
wet  canteen,  the  rum  ration  and  the  permission  (afterwards  changed 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  FRONT:  CANADIANS  IN  ENGLAND    513 

to  "existence")  of  conditions  concerning  social  vice  with  the  gravest 
possible  effect." 

As  to  alleged  drinking  and  encouragement  to  drink  given  in 
England,  Sir  Robert  Borden  in  the  Commons  on  May  18,  after 
referring  to  the  kind,  hospitable  and  generous  treatment  of  Canadian 
troops  by  the  British  people  and  submitting  reports  from  Generals 
Turner  and  Steele  and  Gen.  Child  of  the  War  Office,  added:  "It  is 
enough  to  say  that  these  reports  indicate  that  all  such  representations 
are  almost  absolutely  without  foundation.  The  Canadian  troops 
are  not  addicted  to  the  habit  of  drunkenness.  .  .  .  When 
troops  go  to  the  canteen  they  are  necessarily  under  discipline  and 
supervision.  If  there  is  no  wet  canteen,  and  men  go  out  to  the 
public-houses — and  you  cannot  very  well  prevent  them — they  are 
not  under  the  same  discipline  or  supervision."  The  Rev.  John 
MacNeill  of  Toronto,  at  a  Prohibition  meeting  in  England  on  Mar.  3, 
assumed  that  many  of  these  charges  were  true  and  urged  the  Tem- 
perance example  of  Canada;  the  British  Government,  meantime, 
by  steady  legislation,  had  reduced  the  national  production  and  con- 
sumption of  liquor  by  two-thirds;  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Caswell,  Chap- 
lain, 18th  Reserve  Battalion,  wrote  to  the  Christian  Guardian  (Apr. 
25)  that  statements  as  to  drinking  and  vice  were  grossly  exaggerated, 
that  the  average  in  the  Battalions  of  1,200  or  1,500  that  he  knew  of 
personally  was  less  than  one  case  of  drunkenness  per  day,  and  that 
Canadian  soldiers  in  London  as  tourists  were  "just  as  sober  and  as 
clean  as  at  home."  On  July  6  English  papers  announced  that  Mr. 
Lloyd  George  had  received  a  protest  from  the  Ontario  Presbyterian 
Women's  Missionary  Society,  making  grave  charges  against  the 
British  Government  because  Prohibition  had  not  been  adopted  and 
alleging  that  Canadian  soldiers  in  England  were  being  ruined,  body 
and  soul,  by  drink  and  disease. 

This  was  characterized  freely  by  Canadian  chaplains  and  officers 
on  the  spot  as  a  gross  and  libellous  exaggeration;  it  was  stated  offici- 
ally that  the  British  convictions  for  drunkenness  and  other  offences 
in  the  London  area  averaged  one-fifth  of  the  pre-war  period  and  that 
protests  from  workmen  and  others  as  to  the  increasing  shortage  of 
beer  had  recently  gone  as  high  as  the  King.  The  Rev.  Dr.  S.  D. 
Chown  was  explicit  as  to  this  problem  in  a  statement  to  the  Social 
Service  Conference  on  Sept.  13:  "There  is  no  question  that  the  reports 
circulated  in  Canada  as  to  social  disease  and  drunkenness  among 
the  men  overseas  are  not  well  founded.  The  stamina  of  the  men  is 
splendid.  Convictions  and  arrests  for  drunkenness  among  the 
Canadian  soldiers  are  less  than  among  a  similar  body  of  civilians. 
The  Canadian  troops  overseas  show  absolutely  no  sign  of  deteriora- 
tion." At  the  same  time  he  definitely  condemned  the  existence  of 
temptations  greater  than  the  men  should  be  called  upon  to  meet. 
As  to  disease  in  particular  Lieut. -Col.  (Professor)  J.  George  Adami, 
M.D.,  F.R.S.,  of  McGill  and  the  C.A.M.C.,  on  his  return  from  England 
referred,  to  a  branch  of  the  subject  (Ottawa,  Jan.  16)  seldom  heard 
of  in  Cinada:  "The  number  of  Canadians  going  to  England  with 
venereal  disease  has  become  serious  and  is  a  cause  of  complaint  from 
authorities  on  the  other  side."  There  was  a  tendency  in  Canada  to 


514  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

suppose  that  the  76,000  enlisted  troops  who  were  discharged  from 
the  Force  during  the  years  1914-17  had  been  associated  in  some  way 
with  this  question,  but  it  was  absolutely  without  basis.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  many  of  them  never  reached  England,  many  of  the  remainder 
developed  unfitness  under  new  climatic  conditions,  some  who  got 
there  were  affected. 

Another  issue  of  these  years  was  the  return,  or  usefulness  in 
England,  of  officers  belonging  to  broken-up  Battations  or  who  had 
been  sent  over  unattached.  There  were  hundreds  of  them — an 
estimate  of  those  remaining  in  January,  1917,  being  300 — and 
General  Turner  had  to  face  the  problem  of  their  disposition.  Many 
of  the  seniors  were  too  old  to  revert  to  lieutenant  and  there  were  no 
other  places  for  them;  nearly  all  wanted  to  go  to  the  Front  and 
hated  to  go  home  without  facing  fire;  in  many  cases  in  was  impos- 
sible for  financial  and  family  reasons,  to  take  much  lower  rank. 
During  1916-17  200  or  more  returned  to  Canada  and  during  the 
war-years  at  least  200  Canadians  had  received  British  commissions 
while  the  Imperial  Government  also  found  about  200  positions 
in  training  camps,  transport  duties,  posts  of  town  major  in  the 
various  villages  behind  the  lines,  etc.,  which  were  suitable  for  older 
men.  A  Canadian  Overseas  Order,  finally,  stated  that  "from 
October  26,  1917,  only  officers  (with  the  exception  of  Quartermasters) 
with  Overseas  service  will  be  deemed  eligible  for  employment  on 
the  establishment  of  any  reserve  unit,  regimental  or  command  dep6t, 
school  of  instruction,  department  or  other  formation  in  the  British 
Isles."  Prisoners  of  War  matters  were  a  fruitful  source  of  mis- 
understanding and  there  was  not  always  in  Canada  a  due  regard 
for  the  many-sided  nature  of  the  problems  before  the  War  Office. 
New  regulations  issued  in  March  evoked  for  the  moment  some 
local  complaint  and  this  reference  from  the  Canadian  Red  Cross 
Bulletin: 

We  may  fairly  suppose  that  the  action  of  the  British  War  Office  was  based  on 
two  principles:  (1)  To  prevent  news  and  food  reaching  the  enemy,  and  prolonging 
the  War;  (2)  to  ensure  the  proper  feeding  of  all  Canadian  prisoners  so  far  as  this  is 
possible.  The  part  played  by  the  Canadian  Red  Cross  is  to  guarantee  the  cost  of 
supplying  food  and  clothing  to  all  Canadian  prisoners,  and  also  to  undertake  the 
actual  work  of  registering  the  names  and  addresses  (so  often  changed),  of  prisoners, 
and  sending  off  to  them  the  weekly  parcel  of  food  on  which  their  very  life  depends. 
Each  prisoner  now  receives  from  the  funds  of  the  Red  Cross  a  weekly  parcel  of  food 
costing  $1.50  one  week,  and  about  $3.00  the  next  week,  together  with  6  Ibs.  of  bread 
each  week.  Clothes  are  sent  as  permitted  and  as  required. 

A  meeting  held  in  Toronto  (Apr.  19)  with  W.  R.  Plewman  in  the 
chair  practically  expressed  disbelief  in  the  need  for  these  precautions 
and  in  the  judgment  of  the  War  Office!  There  were  about  2,300 
Canadian  prisoners  in  Germany  at  this  time  and  the  War  Office 
treated  British  and  Canadians  in  exactly  the  same  way.  Complaint 
also  was  made  in  Parliament  on  July  31  by  J.  G.  Turriff.  In  October 
it  was  announced  that  the  British  Government  had  arranged  for 
licenses  to  send  British  (or  Canadian)  prisoners  money  for  their 
maintenance,  via  an  agent  in  a  neutral  country,  to  the  limit  of  £25 
per  month — through  Thomas  Cook  &  Sons  and  subject  to  Govern- 
ment authorization  in  Canada.  It  may  be  added  here  that  the 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  FRONT:  CANADIANS  IN  ENGLAND    515 

5th  Division  in  England  which  was  destined,  finally,  to  be  broken 
up  as  re-inforcements,  was  commanded  by  Maj.-Gen.  Garnet  B. 
Hughes,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  the  Artillery  by  Brig.-Gen  W.  O.  H.  Dodds, 
C.M.G.,  and  the  various  Canadian  Camps  as  follows:  London  Area, 
Col.  G.  Godson-Godson,  D.S.O.;  Shorncliffe,  Col.  C.  A.  Smart,  C.M.G.; 
Bramshott,  Brig.-Gen.  F.  S.  Meighen,  C.M.G.;  Seaford,  Colonel  S.  D. 
Gardiner,  M.C.;  Shoreham,  Brig.-Gen.  J.  P.  Landry,  C.M.G.  What 
were  called  the  Reserve  Brigades  were  commanded  as  follows:  1st, 
Col.  M.  A.  Colquhoun,  D.S.O.;  2nd,  Col.  J.  E.  Leckie,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.; 
3rd,  Col.  S.  D.  Gardiner,  M.C.;  4th,  Brig.-Gen.  J.  P.  Landry,  C.M.G.  ; 
5th,  Col.  J.  A.  Gunn,  D.S.O.;  6th,  Col.  J.  G.  Rattray,  D.S.O.  Of  the 
Infantry  Brigades  in  the  5th  Division  Brig.-Qen.  J.  F.  L.  Embury, 
C.M.G.,  commanded  the  13th,  Brig.-Gen.  A.  E.  Swift,  D.S.O.,  the 
14th,  and  Lieut. -Col.  D.  M.  Sutherland  the  15th.  As  to  appoint- 
ments during  the  year,  Major  G.  McLaren  Brown,  of  the  C.P.R.  in 
London,  became  an  Assistant  Director  at  the  War  Office  (unpaid) 
and  a  Lieut. -Col.,  and  Maj.-Gen.  H.  E.  Burstall,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  was  made 
an  A.D.C.  to  the  King.  Other  Canadian  appointments  in  Eng- 
land were  as  follows: 

Director  of  Organization Lieut.-Col.  F.  S.  Morrison,  D.S.O. 

Director  of  Personal  Services Lieut.-Col.  G.  F.  Hamilton,  D.S.O. 

Director  of  Medical  Services Surg.-Gen.  G.  La  F.  Foster.  C.B. 

Director  of  Chaplain  Services Rev.  J.  McP.  Almond,  C.M.G.,  M.A. 

Director  of  Supplies  and  Transport Lieut.-Col.  D.  M.  Hogarth,  D.S.O. 

Director  of  Ordnance  Services Lieut-.Col.  K.  C.  Folger,  D.S.O. 

Commandant,    Canadian   Training   School,    Crow- 
borough Lieut-.Col.  A.  C.  Critchley,  D.S.O. 

Inspector  of  War  Trophies Major  Beckles  Willson. 

President,  Board  to  Deal  With  Regimental  Funds.   Lieut.-Col.  R.  M.  Dennistoun,  K.C. 

Director  of  Veterinary  Services Brig.-Gen.  W.  J.  Neill. 

Director  of  Timber  Operations Brig.-Gen.  A.  McDougall. 

Representative  at  the  Front  of  Minister  of  Militia .   Col.  R.  Manley  Sims,  D.S.O. 
Representative  on  British  Canteen  Commission...   Col.  Nelson  Spencer,  M.L.A. 

The  Canadian  Hospital  service  in  England  was  important  and, 
in  the  main,  effectively  managed  during  1917.  Lieut.-Col.  H.  A. 
Bruce,  M.D.,  whose  Report  created  so  much  discussion  in  1916  and 
undoubtedly  struck  weak  points  in  the  system — while  it  apparently 
exaggerated  other  defects — was  early  relieved  of  his  appointment  as 
Inspector-General  and  became  a  Chief  Inspector  of  the  British 
Medical  Services  in  France.  His  Report  and  the  Supplementary 
one  of  Sir  Wm.  Baptie's  Commission  were  debated  in  Parliament 
at  Ottawa  on  Feb.  6  and  again  on  July  31  and  very  widely  dealt 
with  in  the  press.  *  Surg.-Gen.  G.  Carleton  Jones,  who  was  referred 
to  largely  in  these  documents,  was  appointed  during  the  year  to 
co-ordinate  the  Canadian  Services  in  Great  Britain,  France  and  Can- 
ada. In  Parliament  on  Aug.  27  the  Premier  submitted  a  despatch 
from  Sir  George  Perley  reviewing  28  reforms  and  specific  improve- 
ments effected  during  the  past  8  months  in  the  administration  of  the 
Canadian  Army  Medical  Corps,  including  details  and  arrangements 
as  to  inspection,  assembly  and  embarkation  of  patients  for  ship- 
ment, hospital-ship  service  to  Canada,  increased  accommodation 
for  patients,  abolition  of  dual  administration  at  Shorncliffe,  etc., 
and  of  Purchasing  bureau  for  Medical  supplies,  establishment  of 
central  Medical  stores,  decentralization  of  Medical  Boards,  etc. 

*  See  1916  volume  for  summary  of  Reports. 


516 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


, 


Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  regrettable  suicide  of  Col  C.  W.  F. 
Gorrell,  formerly  C.O.  of  the  Red  Cross  Hospital  at  Taplow;  the 
placing  of  the  Perkins  Bull  Convalescent  Officers'  Hospital  under  the 
C.A.M.C.,  and  the  report  of  the  Ontario  Military  Hospital  in  Kent 
with  its  6,000  patients  in  12  months;  the  opening  of  the  Canadian 
Women's  block  of  the  Royal  Naval  Hospital  at  Haslar  by  H.M. 
Queen  Mary — accompanied  by  Princess  Mary — on  May  10;  the 
calling  of  Capt.  Andrew  MacPhail,  M.D.,  r.R.s.c.  (Professor  of  the 
History  of  Medicine  at  McGill  University)  from  the  Front  to  deliver 
the  Cavendish  Lecture  before  the  West  London  Medico-Chirurgical 
Society  on  June  22;  the  acquisition  of  a  new  Canadian  Hospital  at 
Liverpool  and  the  moving  of  the  Hospitals  at  Ramsgate  to  Buxton 
with  the  establishment  of  the  University  of  Toronto  Base  Hospital — 
returned  from  Salonika — at  Basingstoke;  the  fact  that  on  July  20 
there  were  18,907  Canadian  military  patients  in  Canadian  and 
British  hospitals  in  the  British  Isles.  The  following  is  an  official 
list  of  all  C.E.F.  Hospitals  in  England  or  France  at  the  close  of  1917:* 

CANADIAN  GENERAL,  HOSPITALS 

Hospitals  Location                    Officer  Commanding 

No.     1  General  Hospital France Lieut.-Col.  J.  G.  Gunn. 

No.     2  '         France Colonel  G.  S.  Rennie. 

No.     3  France Colonel  H.  S.  Birkett,  C.M.G. 

No.     4  Basingstoke Lieut.-Col.  W.  H.  Hendry. 

No.     5  Liverpool Lieut.-Col.  J.  L.  Biggar. 

No.     6  France Colonel  G.  E.  Beauchamp. 

No.     7  France Colonel  F.  Etherington. 

No.     8  France Lieut.-Col.  H.  R.  Casgrain. 

No.     9  Shorncliffe Lieut-.Col.  E.  G.  D.  Davis. 

No.  10  .  .  Brighton Colonel  W.  McKeown. 

No.  11  Shorncliffe Lieut.-Col.  W.  A.  Scott. 

No.  12  Bramshott Lieut.-Col.  H.  E.  Kendell. 

No.  13  Hastings Lieut.-Col.  J.  E.  Williams,  D.S.O. 

No.  14  Eastbourne Lieut.-Col.  E.  Seaborn. 

No.  15  Taplow Lieut.-Col.  W.  L.  Watt. 

No.  16  Orpington Lieut.-Col.  D.  W.  McPherson. 

CANADIAN  CONVALESCENT  HOSPITALS 

Bearwood Wokingham  . . .  .Major  R.  E.  Woodhouse. 

Bromley Bromley Lieut.-Col.  J.  R.  Speir. 

Hillingdon  House Uxbridge Lieut.-Col.  J.  A.  Sponagle. 

I.O.D.E.  and  Perkins  Bull London Lieut.-Col.  H.  M.  Robertson. 

King's-Canadian .Bushey  Park .  .  .Lieut.-Col.  J.  D.  McQueen. 

Monk's-Horton Monk's-Horton. .  Lieut.-Col.  George  Clingham. 

Woodcote  Park Epsom Lieut.-Col.  L.  E.  W.  Irving,  D.S.O. 

CANADIAN  SPECIAL  HOSPITALS 

Canadian  Red  Cross Buxton Lieut.-Col.  F.  Guest. 

Etchinghill Etchinghill Lieut.-Col.  W.  F.  M.  McKinnon. 

Granville  Special Buxton Lieut.-Col.  J.  S.  Clark. 

West  Cliff  Eye  and  Ear West  Cliff Lieut.-Col.  S.  H.  McKee,  C.M.O. 

Witley  Camp Witley Major  L.  C.  Harris. 

Lenham Lenham Lieut.-Col.  W.  M.  Hart. 

Officers'  Hospital Broadstairs Lieut.-Col.  C.  H.  Gilmour. 

CANADIAN  STATIONARY  HOSPITALS 

No.  1  Stationary  Hospital France Colonel  H.  C.  S.  Elliot, 

No.  2           '                    '          France Lieut.-Col.  A.  G.  Farmer. 

No.  3           '                    '         France Lieut.-Col.  C.  H.  Reason. 

No.  4           '                    '          '.France Lieut.-Col.  A.  Mignault. 

No.  7                               '          France Lieut.-Col.  J.  Stewart. 

Nol  9           '                    '          France Lieut.-Col.  R.  McLeod. 

No.  10                              '         France Lieut.-Col.  E.  Seaborn. 

CANADIAN  CASUALTY  CLEARING  STATIONS 

No.  1  Casualty  Clearing  Station. .  .France Lieut.-Col.  C.  H.  Dickson. 

No.  2         "  "       ...France Lieut.-Col.  J.  E.  Davey. 

No.  3         "  "  "          ..France Lieut.-Col.  R.  J.  Blanchard. 

No.  4         "  "  "        ...France Lieut.-Col.  S.  W.  Prowse. 

*  Furnished  to  the  Author  by  courtesy  of  Gen.  W  G.  Gwatkin,  C.B.,  Chief  of   Staff, 
Ottawa. 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  FRONT:  CANADIANS  IN  ENGLAND    517 

Of  Canadian  women's  work  in  England  much  might  be  written. 
As  an  organization  the  chief  factor  was  the  Canadian  War  Contingent 
Association  of  which  Sir  George  Perley  was  President  and  J.  G.  Col- 
mer,  C.M.G.,  Hon.  Secretary,  with  Lady  Perley  and  Mrs,  McLaren 
Brown  as  President  and  Secretary  respectively,  of  the  Ladies' 
Committee.  Lady  Strathcona,  Lady  Kirkpatrick,  Mrs.  L.  S.  Amery, 
Mrs.  Donald  Armour,  Mrs.  Franklin  Jones,  Mrs.  Haydn  Horsey, 
Mrs.  Grant  Morden,  Mrs.  P.  Pelletier  and  Lady  Drummond  were 
amongst  the  members  of  this  Committee.  The  supply  of  a  steady 
stream  of  comforts  to  the  soldiers  was  the  central  object  of  the 
Association — with  toilet  articles,  food  such  as  hard  candy,  tinned  and 
dried  fruits,  chewing  gum,  lime-juice,  curry  powder,  etc.,  tobacco, 
pipes,  cigarettes,  games,  matches,  books,  magazines,  pencils,  mouth 
organs,  etc. — as  the  chief  needs.  There  was  a  Dominion  branch  at 
Halifax  to  supervise  shipping  from  Canada.  The  Association  also 
maintained  the  Queen's  Canadian  Military  Hospital  at  Beach- 
borough  Park,  Shorncliffe,  and  to  this  institution  the  women  inter- 
ested gave  splendid  service  and  had  a  new  wing  under  construction 
in  1917.  Expressions  of  gratitude  came  to  the  organization  during 
this  year  from  Generals  Byng,  Turner,  Currie,  Burstall,  Lipsett, 
Watson  and  many  others.  The  receipts  from  Canada  in  1916  illus- 
trated the  work  done  and  included  280,000  pairs  of  socks  and  12,500 
flannel  shirts;  the  cash  subscriptions  received  in  that  year  were 
$60,000;  during  1917  the  receipts  and  volume  of  work  increased  and 
in  October  and  November,  for  instance,  106,000  pairs  of  socks  and 
4,000  each  of  shirts,  handkerchiefs  and  mufflers  were  sent,  with 
120,000  cigarettes,  to  the  Front.  To  Canada  during  the  year  Mrs. 
McLaren  Brown  paid  a  visit  and  made  a  number  of  speeches  while 
several  Provincial  branches  were  organized  to  help  the  cause  in 
London.  Red  Cross  work  specially  appealed  to  Canadian  women 
in  London  and  here  Lady  Drummond  of  Montreal  was  foremost. 
She  was  the  organizer  and  head  of  a  Committee  which  looked  after 
sick  and  wounded  Canadians  in  connection  with  the  Red  Cross 
Society  and  under  her  leadership  ladies  of  the  C.W.C.A.  in  con- 
junction with  hundreds  of  friends  in  all  parts  of  England  joined  in 
visiting  the  numerous  hospitals  and  helping  in  the  work  of  sympathy 
and  support.  The  Information  Bureau  of  the  Canadian  Red  Cross 
was  organized  by  Lady  Drummond  and  continued  under  her  active 
supervision  as  one  of  the  most  valued  of  helpful  institutions  in  London 
for  the  Canadian  soldier.  During  a  brief  visit  to  her  home  in  Mon- 
treal, after  three  years  of  devoted  effort,  Lady  Drummond — who 
had  lost  her  only  son  at  Ypres — gave  an  eloquent  Message  to  Can- 
adians through  the  Ottawa  Canadian  Club : 

A  Message  for  you,  Canada,  one  that  is  written  in  scarlet,  even  the  blood  of  your 
sons;  at  a  great  price  have  these  exalted  you.  Henceforth  you  are  above  vain-glory. 
Prejudice  and  faction  shall  die  out  of  you,  you  shall  be  intolerant  only  of  falsehood  and 
wrong.  As  in  this  War  England  and  France,  in  firm  alliance,  have  defended  against 
a  perverted  and  selfish  nationalism,  not  only  their  own  integrity,  but  freedom  and 
justice  for  the  world,  so  may  it  be  with  les  deux  races  au  Canada  in  time  to  come. 
Safe  and  confident  may  you  be  in  their  common  loyalty,  Canada;  strong  also,  not  in 
selfish  isolation,  but  as  sharing  the  burdens  and  privileges  of  a  great  community  of 
nations;  symbol  and  presage  of  a  larger  unity  of  mankind. 


518  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

There  was  women's  work  in  every  direction.  At  the  headquarters 
of  the  C.A.M.C.  there  were  lady  drivers  headed,  in  length  of  service, 
by  Miss  Gordon  Brown,  a  neice  of  Col.  Sir  A.  P.  Sherwood  of  Ottawa; 
in  France  there  were  many  Red  Cross  Canadian  girls  and  women 
taking  men's  places  as  drivers  of  motor  ambulances  and  carrying 
wounded  men  from  the  ambulance  trains  to  the  hospitals,  helping 
also  with  supplies  and  work  of  many  kinds;  throughout  France 
also  were  many  Canadian  V.A.D.  nurses  and  helpers  in  every  stage 
of  suffering  for  the  wounded,  in  every  form  of  kindly  entertainment, 
amusement  or  comfort  for  the  soldier  on  leave  or  resting  in  the 
C.R.C.  Huts  behind  the  Front.  At  this  point,  also,  there  must  be 
mentioned  the  Brit:sh  women  whose  work  Lady  Drummond  re- 
corded in  a  December,  1917,  letter  to  The  Times:  "In  closing  I 
would  say  a  word  of  grateful,  heartfelt  thanks  as  a  Canadian  woman 
to  the  women  of  this  country  for  the  'perfect  mothering'  which  they 
have  given  to  our  men  from  overseas."  Great  Britain  had  80,000 
Voluntary  Aid  Detachment  Helpers  or  V.A.D.'s,  and  the  cry  and 
need  was  for  thousands  more;  Canada  helped  in  this  splendid  work 
but  not  as  much  as  she  might  have  done  (perhaps  200  a' together), 
with  the  sharp  criticisms  of  Sir  Sam  Hughes  as,  no  doubt,  a  negative 
influence.  The  unselfish  labours  of  these  (in  the  main)  unpaid 
workers  were  too  great  to  merit  attention  to  the  gossip  of  occasional 
women  critics.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  V.A.D.  nurses  in  Canada 
did  work  similar  to  that  of  probationers  in  a  regular  nursing  course — 
general  ward-work.  But  in  England  or  near  the  Front  they  per- 
formed every  duty  from  washing  dishes  and  preparing  trays  for  the 
men  in  the  hospitals  to  acting  as  telephone  operators  or  driving 
motor  ambulances.  There  was  no  place  they  were  not  ready  and 
anxious  to  fill.  In  England,  also,  every  kind  of  Club  and  institu- 
tion, the  historic  homes  of  London  and  the  country,  were  ready  for 
wounded  or  rest-seeking  Canadian  soldiers  with  varied  Committees 
of  Canadian  women  seeking  means  to  help. 

There  was  one  serious  side  to  this  shield,  however — the  presence 
in  England,  at  the  beginning  of  1917  of  about  30,000  Canadian 
women — relatives  of  soldiers  in  the  main  but  many,  also,  who  had 
drifted  to  England,  in  one  of  the  curious  contrasts  of  wartime,  for 
social  reasons,  for  pleasure,  for  curiosity  or  similar  motives.  Of 
the  large  total,  therefore,  a  proportion  were  unable  or  unwilling  to 
do  war-work,  to  do  work  of  any  kind  which  would  be  helpful  to  the 
community,  and  became  additional  burdens  upon  the  financial  and 
food  resources  of  a  greatly-burdened  country.  Gradually  they  were 
sifted  out  by  Canadian  authorities,  some  were  brought  home  and 
no  more  were  allowed  to  go  from  Canada;  but  ships  were  scarce  and 
difficulties  many.  Of  the  incidents  during  the  year  an  interesting 
one  was  the  visit  of  the  Duchess  of  Connaught's  Irish-Canadian 
Rangers,  of  Montreal,  to  Ireland.  According  to  despatches  700 
men  and  28  officers  arrived  in  Dublin  on  Jan.  25  and  were  heartily 
cheered  on  their  march  through  the  streets.  The  officer  in  com- 
mand was  Lieut. -Col.  O'Donoghue;  the  Adjutant  was  Capt.  the 
Hon.  A.  J.  Shaughnessy.  The  Battalion  was  reviewed  by  Lord 
Wimborne,  the  Lord  Lieutenant;  the  officers  were  entertained  by 


GENERAL  CURRIE  AND  THE  CANADIAN  FORCES  IN  FRANCE  519 

the  Lord  Mayor  at  luncheon;  letters  of  welcome  were  received  from 
the  Duchess  of  Connaught,  Mr.  Redmond,  Sir  Edward  Carson  and 
others.  Belfast  was  visited  and  a  great  welcome  received;  Cork 
and  Armagh  joined  in  the  reception;  Blarney  Castle  was  added  to 
the  circle  of  entertainment  and  "the  wearing  of  the  Green,"  for  the 
moment,  assumed  an  Imperialist  chord.  Other  matters  included  the 
depositing  of  the  Colours  of  the  124th  Battalion  in  Witley  Parish 
Church,  one  of  the  oldest  in  England  and  mentioned  (1081)  in  the 
Domesday  Book;  the  tribute  by  Mr.  Lloyd  George  (July  3)  to  the 
skilled  work  of  Canadian  Forestry  Battalions  in  Britain;  the  opening 
of  a  Canadian  Khaki  Club  at  Shoreham  on  Aug.  20  and  organization 
of  a  Canadian  Club  for  officers  at  Shorncliffe  on  Sept.  24^  the  election 
in  1917  as  834th  Lord  Mayor  of  London  of  Charles  A.  Hanson, 
founder  of  the  Montreal  brokerage  firm  of  Hanson  Brothers;  the 
initiation  of  an  Overseas  Press  Club  with  John  Kidman  of  the 
Montreal  Gazette  as  Hon.  Secretary;  the  organization  of  a  Khaki 
College  Library  at  Witley  (Nov.  22)  as  a  part  of  the  Canadian  scheme 
for  education  of  soldiers  in  training  camps  as  well  as  in  Army  groups 
at  the  Front. 

Canadian  The  year   1917  saw  about   125,000  Canadians  in 

Forces  in  France  giving,  when  up  to  establishment,  90,000 
Ar£wCec  Sifi  %hting  troops.  This  Canadian  Army  Corps  was 
and  Other"6  commanded  by  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  Julian  Byng  up  to 
Commanders,  and  after  Vimy,  and  then  by  Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  Arthur 
Currie;  its  Divisional  Commanders  were  Majors-General 
A.  C.  Macdonell — after  General  Currie's  promotion — H.  E.  Burstall, 
L.  J.  Lipsett  and  David  Watson;  its  Cavalry  Brigade  was  led  by 
Brig.-Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Seeley,  D.S.O.,  War  Secretary  for  a  time  before 
the  War.  In  this  Army*  there  were  54  Battalions  of  Infantry,  or 
about  55,000  men,  more  than  10,000  Artillery,  from  3,000  to  4,000 
Engineers,  3,000  Medical  troops,  perhaps  2,000  Army  Service  Corps, 
with  others  making  about  20,000  troops  of  other  arms  than  the 
Infantry.  The  Cavalry  Brigade  had  an  establishment  of  3,000. 
The  fighting  corps  troops  amounted  to  11,000,  the  bulk  of  them 
being  Artillery,  5,000  or  6,000  strong,  including  siege  artillery, 
aircraft  artillery,  trench  mortars,  with  Corps  field-troops  for  main- 
taining the  supply  of  ammunition,  etc.  There  also  were  over 
2,000  engineers,  tunnellers,  telegraphers,  telephonists,  etc.,  with 
3,000  machine-gunmen  and  cyclists.  With  these  men  in  the 
Divisions  and  Cavalry  Brigade  and  Fighting  Corps  troops  were 
28,000  in  Railway,  Forestry  and  Labour  Services,  with  36,000  on 
the  lines  of  communication.  These  figures,  of  course,  indicated  the 
establishment  and  necessarily  differed  at  various  stages  of  fighting, 
rest,  recuperation  and  reserve. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  Maj.-Gen.  A.  W.  Currie,  C.B.,  D.S.O., 
who  had  been  in  command  of  the  1st  Division  since  1915,  was 
steadily  making  his  mark  as  a  rising  officer  of  solid  ability.  He  had 
joined  the  Canadian  Militia  as  a  private  in  1895  and  had  worked  his 
way  up  to  the  successful  command  of  the  5th  British  Columbia 

*  Official  statement  issued  by  Department  of  Militia,  Ottawa,  on  Nov.  1st,  1917. 


520  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Regiment  of  Garrison  Artillery;  he  received  in  1914  the  command 
of  a  Brigade  for  active  service  and  soon  showed  the  elements  of 
natural  military  capacity.  Writing  to  M.  N.  Oxley  of  the  National 
Life  Assurance — of  which  Company  the  General  had,  in  private 
life,  been  resident  manager  at  Victoria,  B.C.,  for  15  years — in  a 
letter  published  at  Toronto  (Jan.  20)  he  stated  that,  during  1916, 
"we  inflicted  more  casualties  than  we  received,  and  whenever  you 
do  that  in  this  war  you  win,  for  it  is  a  war  of  attrition."  Typical 
of  the  man  were  these  letters  to  different  old  friends  which  from  time 
to  time  found  their  way  into  print — kindly  in  remembrance  of 
everyone  serving  under  him  and  of  special  interest  to  his  correspondent 
or  local  circles.  In  one,  published  by  the  Victoria  Colonist  of  Apr. 
15,  after  referring  to  the  return  of  a  bombing  party  from  a  raid,  he 
said  that  there  was  nothing  savage  about  them:  "Nothing  can 
exceed  their  self-sacrifice,  their  sense  of  duty,  their  sharing  of  each 
others'  burdens,  their  chivalry  or  their  gallantry.  They  are  living 
closer  to  their  God  than  ever  before.  ...  I  would  like  to  tell 
you  a  little  about  our  chaplains.  They've  been  splendid — practicing 
Christianity,  not  preaching  it."  In  a  letter  to  a  New  York  friend, 
dated  Mar.  16,  he  spoke  of  the  Germans  with  much  force:  "Every 
story  concerning  German  cruelty,  treachery,  lack  of  decency  and 
honour,  rape,  murder,  is  true.  Would  it  be  worth  living  in  a  world 
with  Germany  in  the  ascendancy?  I  don't  think  so." 

On  June  10  General  Byng  issued  a  special  Order  of  farewell  upon 
promotion  to  the  command  of  one  of  the  British  armies:  "During 
the  year  of  my  command  the  unvarying  success  in  battle,  the  progress 
in  training  and  in  discipline,  and  the  unswerving  devotion  and  loyalty 
of  all  ranks  are  features  which  stand  out  prominently  in  the  history 
of  the  Corps.  That  history  will  last  forever,  and  my  association 
with  you  in  the  making  of  it  is  a  joy  that  can  never  be  impaired." 
Many  tributes  were  paid  to  this  popular  Commander  by  the  Dom- 
inion Government,  officers  and  men  in  personal  correspondence, 
and  by  all  who  knew  his  military  work  of  the  period.  The  Canadian 
press  was  chiefly  interested  in  his  successor  and  several  journals 
hoped  it  would  be  a  Canadian  with  Generals  Currie  and  Turner 
specially  mentioned.  On  June  19  it  was  announced  that  Sir  Arthur 
Currie — recently  knighted  by  the  King  upon  the  Battlefield  of  Vimy 
— had  been  authorized  to  take  over  the  command.  It  was  a  re- 
markable promotion  and  well  illustrated  the  possibilities  for  natural 
talent  in  a  great  struggle  where  real  ability  was  an  absolute  essential. 
The  new  Commander  continued  from  time  to  time  to  express  him- 
self on  Canadian  affairs  touching  the  War  and,  while  in  London  on 
June  19,  said  to  F.  A.  McKenzie,  the  correspondent:  "My  own 
personal  conviction  is  that  the  only  solution  of  the  problem  of  Cana- 
dian recruiting  is  Conscription.  I  believe  the  many  difficulties 
which  now  threaten  the  adoption  of  such  a  policy  would  disappear 
before  prompt,  bold  action.  My  experiences  in  France  have  shown 
me,  as  a  soldier,  the  necessity  of  Conscription  if  we  desire  to  main- 
tain at  full  strength  our  fighting  divisions  to  the  end  of  the  War." 
In  July  he  was  gazetted,  with  Maj.-Gen.  Turner,  a  Lieut.-General. 
On  Aug.  4  he  authorized  a  Message  to  the  Montreal  Star,  stating 


GENERAL  CURRIE  AND  CANADIAN  FORCES  IN  FRANCE     521 

that  news  from  Canada  was  not  pleasant  reading  at  the  Front 
where  "Orangemen  and  Catholics,  Anglo-Saxon  and  French- 
Canadians,  Whig  and  Tory,  fight  side  by  side  and,  dying,  are  laid 
side  by  side  in  the  same  grave,  fully  satisfied  to  give  their  lives  for 
the  cause  they  know  to  be  just."  These  and  other  utterances 
caused  political  criticism  in  Canada  and  the  declaration  of  Hon. 
Frank  Oliver  at  a  Liberal  Convention,  Red  Deer,  Alberta,  (Sept.  27) 
that  "when  we  have  a  political  general  in  command  of  our  forces  I 
want  to  be  assured  that  our  battles  are  not  being  fought  for  political 
effect."  This  statement — and  later  rumours  as  to  the  General's 
retirement — aroused  much  comment  but  were  generally  accepted 
as  ebullitions  of  an  election  campaign — especially  as  Sir  Arthur  did 
not  hesitate  to  urge  public  support  for  the  Union  Government 
because  of  its  Conscription  attitude.  His  private  letters  of  this 
period  show  intense  pride  in  the  men  under  his  command — the 
fighting,  indomitable  spirit  of  the  Canadians.  To  Sir.  Wm. 
Hearst,  Toronto,  in  a  note  which  was  published  on  Dec.  6,  he  said: 
"The  year  1917  has  been  a  glorious  year  for  the  Canadian  Corps. 
We  have  taken  every  objective  from  the  enemy  we  started  for,  and 
have  not  had  a  single  reverse.  Vimy,  Arleux,  Fresnoy,  Avion, 
Hill  70,  and  Passchendaele  all  signify  hard-fought  battles  and 
notable  victories.  All  this  testifies  to  the  discipline,  training,  leader- 
ship and  fine  fighting  qualities  of  the  Canadians.  Words  cannot 
express  the  pride  one  feels  in  being  associated  with  such  splendid 
soldiers."  In  December  the  General  was  decorated  by  King  Albert 
upon  the  battlefield  with  the  highest  Belgian  honour  for  his  victory 
at  Passchendaele  Ridge. 

Only  less  important  than  the  work  of  the  Infantry  and  Cavalry 
and  Artillery  was  that  of  the  so-called  non-combatant  Services — 
a  mere  figure  of  speech  very  often,  so  far  as  danger  was  concerned. 
The  Railway  Corps  were  particularly  effective — the  work  of  one 
month  (April)  showing  51  miles  of  track  laid,  43  miles  repaired, 
36  graded,  46  ballasted,  60  maintained  (average),  1,597  men  engaged 
on  construction  with  3,276  of  other  labour  attached  and  many 
bridges  built  or  repaired.  Col.  W.  C.  P.  Ramsey,  C.M.G.,  Montreal, 
and  Brig.-Gen.  J.  W.  Stewart  (Vancouver),  were  in  charge.  The 
despatch  of  F.-M.  Sir  Douglas  Haig,  made  public  on  June  20,  re- 
ferred to  this  work  and  to  Government  action  as  to  Railway  stock 
late  in  1916:  "I  wish  to  place  on  record  here  the  fact  that  the  success- 
ful solution  of  the  problem  of  railway  transport  would  have  been 
impossible  had  it  not  been  for  the  patriotism  of  the  Railway  com- 
panies at  home  and  in  Canada.  They  did  not  hesitate  to  give  up  the 
locomotives  and  rolling  stock  required  to  meet  our  needs  and  even 
to  tear  up  track  in  order  to  provide  us  with  the  necessary  rails." 
To  these  men  and  the  Labour  Battalions,  Roland  Hill  referred  in 
an  article  of  Oct.  17  issued  by  the  Militia  Department:  "They  are 
shelled  by  Fritz,  if  anything,  more  persistently  and  in  greater  volume 
than  the  Infantry,  yet  night  and  day  tons  of  ammunilion  and  rations 
and  men  go  forward  over  repaired  lines,  feeding  guns  and  men  alike." 
Railway  troops,  as  they  came  to  be  called,  moving  the  lines  up  to 
and  operating  them  close  behind  the  Front,  had  many  casualties 


522  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

in  1917  and  the  Canadian  contingents  won  a  number  of  the  D.S.O. 
and  other  honours — notably  in  the  Cambrai  fighting.  So  with 
Canadian  Engineers  and  Tunnelling  companies  (No.  3)  who  sent 
Hill  60  up  in  fine  dust,  who  were  continually  under  fire  in  many  parts 
of  the  long  lines  and  who  rendered  great  and  varied  service.  One 
Correspondent  visited  a  Company  which  counted  7  officers  with 
the  Military  Cross  and  27  men  with  other  decorations  won  in  this 
work. 

The  Forestry  Corps  also  did  good  work  with  22  Companies 
operating  in  France  in  the  middle  of  1917  with  probably  double  that 
number  by  the  end  of  the  year.  The  Companies  were  equipped  with 
Canadian-made  saw  milling  machinery  and  tools,  and  the  greatest 
efficiency  and  keenness  was  displayed  by  all  ranks.  Operations 
extended  over  a  large  area.  All  species  of  lumber  were  manufactured, 
including  sawn  timber,  sleepers,  trench  timber,  pit  props  for  roads 
and  mining.  They  often  operated  under  fire  and  in  an  advance 
their  work  was  essential.  Nine-tenths  of  the  preparation  was  in 
fact  dependent  on  lumber  supplies.  Nothing  could  be  moved  over 
soggy,  shell-devastated  ground  without  improvised  plank  roads  or 
railways  resting  on  wooden  ties.  Shelters  for  men,  trenches,  saps 
and  innumerable  other  structures  of  an  advancing  army  were  made 
of  wood.  At  the  beginning  of  1917  there  were  1,500  of  these  Cana- 
dian workers  at  the  Front;  at  the  end  of  the  year  there  were  56 
companies — 33  working  for  the  British  and  23  for  the  French  armies, 
with  about  8,000  men  altogether.  Col.  J.  B.  White  (Westmount) 
was  at  the  head  of  the  Corps.  The  work  of  the  Canadian  Army 
Medical  Corps  was  arduous,  effective  and  highly  considered,  the 
skill  of  the  surgeons  and  devotion  of  the  nurses  remarkable;  the 
work  of  the  stretcher-bearers  in  the  battles  of  this  year  was  beyond  all 
praise  for  self-sacrificing  bra  very  and  assiduity;  and  the  achievements 
of  Medical  science  in  the  Canadian  service,  as  in  the  British  and 
French,  were  wonderful,  with  epidemic  disease  almost  eradicated, 
typhoid  non-existent,  sanitation  splendid.  The  medical  work  of 
this  Corps  included  early  diagnosis  and  elimination  of  suspected 
cases  of  epidemic  disease;  inoculation  to  control  typhoid  fever,  etc.; 
chlorination  and  filtration  of  water,  and  destruction  of  excreta; 
control  of  insects  and  breeding  places  of  flies;  protection  of  food. 
The  Dental  service  before  and  after  the  formation  of  the  Canadian 
Army  Dental  Corps  was  exceptionally  effective  and  did  much  to 
maintain  the  health  of  the  troops. 

The  Cana-  The  War  efforts  and  successes  of  Canadian  troops  in 

dian  Battles  1917  came  at  a  stage  when  the  acknowledged  high 
Vim16?6*  "  stancung  °f  the  Army  Corps  was  at  its  best  with  a 
chendaefeT'  g°oc*  average  of  mental  and  physical  qualities,  ex- 
Bellevue,  etc.  cellent  conditions  of  discipline  and  training,  a  shrewd 
individual  common-sense  trained  in  the  business  of 
war.  There  was  quick  initiative  and  a  disregard  for  red-tape  which 
was  characteristic  and  effective  when  combined  with  discipline. 
Canadians  had  held  at  various  times  a  battle-front  ranging  from 
about  a  mile  on  the  Ypres  Salient,  6,000  yards  in  the  fierce  fighting 


VIMY  RIDGE  AND  OTHER  CANADIAN  BATTLES  OF  1917     523 

of  June,  1916,  and  perhaps  12  miles  in  the  Somme  offensive  of  1916; 
early  in  1917  they  held,  according  to  Stewart  Lyon's  estimate, 
about  one-fortieth  of  the  entire  Western  front.  During  the  first 
months  of  this  year  they  carried  out  a  number  of  important  raids — 
notably  north  of  Arras  on  Jan.  17  with  1,000  yards  of  trenches 
captured;  on  Feb.  15  when  a  Bavarian  Battalion  was  treated  to 
mines  and  bombs  and  some  of  their  trenches  were  taken;  on  Feb. 
27  and  Mar.  1  when  considerable  damage  was  done  the  enemy  but 
with  the  loss  in  the  latter  fight  of  Colonels  S.  G.  Beckett  and  A.  H.  G. 
Kimball,  C.B.,  D.S.O.,  Then  came  the  Battle  of  Vimy  Ridge.  It 
was  a  part  of  the  general  attack  launched  on  Apr.  9  by  the  1st  and 
3rd  Armies  of  the  British  Command  along  the  Arras  front  and  the 
Canadians  were  given  a  section  of  the  Arras-Lens  road,  with  Vimy 
Ridge  as  their  objective.  They  had  four  Divisions  in  line  assisted 
by  one  British  brigade.  Their  troops  numbered  about  75,000  with 
Lieut. -Gen.  Sir  Julian  Byng,  K.C.B.,  in  command  of  the  Corps 
which  was  a  part  of  the  1st  Army  under  Gen.  Sir  H.  S.  Home,  K.C.B.; 
the  enemy's  Army  was  under  Crown  Prince  Rupprecht  of  Bavaria. 
The  Commanders  of  the  four  Canadian  Divisions  were,  respectively, 
Majors-General  A.  W.  Currie,  C.B.,  H.  E.  Burstall,  L.  J.  Lipsett 
and  David  Watson;  the  Infantry  Brigades  were  commanded  by 
Brigadiers-General  Garnet  B.  Hughes,  C.M.G.,  W.  St.  P.  Hughes, 
D.S.O.,  F.  O.  Loomis,  D.S.O.,  G.  S.  Tuxford,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  Robert 
Rennie,  C.M.G.,  M.V.O.,  D.S.O.,  A.  H.  Macdonell,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  A.  C. 
Macdonell,  D.S.O.,  C.M.G.,  H.  D.  B.  Ketchen,  C.M.G.,  J.  H.  Elmsley, 
D.S.O.,  F.  W.  Hill,  D.S.O.,  Victor  W.  Odium,  D.S.O.,  and  J.  H.  Mac- 
Brien,  D.S.O.  The  Battalion  Commanders  were  as  follows,  early  in 
the  year,  and  with  very  few  changes  at  the  date  of  the  Battle: 

INFANTRY  C.O.  BATTALION  INFANTRY          C.O.  BATTALION 

1st  Lieut.-Col.  G.  C.  Hodson.  38th  Lieut.-Col.  C.  M.  Edwards,  D.S.O. 

2nd  Lieut.-Col.  W.  M.  Yates.  42nd  Lieut.-Col.  G.  S.  Cantlie,  D.S.O. 

3rd  Lieut.-Col.  J.  B.  Bogers,  M.C.  43rd  Lieut.-Col.  W.  Grassie. 

4th  Lieut.-Col.  W.  Rae,  D.S.O.  44th  Lieut.-Col.  E.  R.  Wayland. 

5th  Lieut.-Col.  H.  M.  Dyer,  D.S.O.  46th  Lieut.-Col.  H.  J.  Dawson. 

7th  Lieut.-Col.  W.  F.  Gilson.  47th  Lieut.-Col.  W.  N.  Winsby. 

8th  Lieut.-Col.  J.  M.  Prower,  D.S.O.  49th  Lieut.-Col.  W.  A.  Griesbach,  D.S.O. 

10th  Lieut.-Col.  D.  M.  Ormond.  50th  Lieut.-Col.  C.  B.  Worsnop,  D.S.O. 

13th  Lieut.-Col.  G.  E.  McCuaig,  D.S.O.  54th  Lieut.-Col.  A.  H.  G.  Kemball,  C.B. 

14th  Lieut.-Col.  R.  P.  Clark,  M.C.  58th  Lieut.-Col.  H.  A.  Genet,  D.S.O. 

15th  Lieut.-Col.  C.  E.  Bent,  D.S.O.  60th  Lieut.-Col.   F.   A.   DeL.   Gascoigne. 

16th  Lieut.-Col.  C.  W.  Peck.  72nd  Lieut.-Col.  J.  A.  Clark. 

18th  Lieut.-Col.  G.  F.  Morrison,  D.S.O.  75th  Lieut.-Col.  S.  G.  Beckett. 

19th  Lieut.-Col.  W.  R.  Turabull.  78th  Lieut.-Col.  J.  Kirkcaldy,  D.S.O. 

20th  Lieut.-Col.  C.  H.  Rogers.  87th  Lieut.-Col.  R.  W.  Frost,  D.S.O. 

21st  Lieut.-Col.  E.  W.  Jones,  D.S.O.  102nd  Lieut.-Col.  J.  W.  Warden,  D.S.O. 

22nd  Lieut.-Col.  A.  E.  Dubuc,  D.S.O.  Princess  Patricias,   Lieut.-Col.  A.  S.  A.  M. 

24th  Lieut.-Col.  R.  O.  Alexander,  D.S.O.  Adamson,  D.S.O. 

25th  Lieut.-Col.  E.  Hilliam,  D.S.O.  Royal  Can'd'ns,  Lieut.-Col.  C.H.  Hill,  D.S.O. 

26th  Lieut.-Col.  A.  E.G.  McKenzie,  D.S.O.  93rd  Lieut.-Col.  T.  J.  Johnston. 

27th  Lieut.-Col.  J.  P.  Daly,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.  1st  C.M.R.,  Lt.-Col.  R.  C.  Andros.  D.S.O. 

28th  Lieut.-Col.  A.  Ross.  4th       "         Lt.-Col.    H.    D.    L.     Gordon, 

29th  Lieut.-Col.  J.  M.  Ross,  D.S.O.  D.S.O. 

31st  Lieut.-Col.  A.  H.  Bell,  D.S.O.  5th  Lt.-Col.  D.  C.  Draper,  D.S.O. 

The  attack  of  the  Canadian  Corps  was  preceded  by  a  blasting, 
withering  fire  from  British  and  Canadian  artillery  which  smashed 
Vimy  Ridge  as  though  by  the  combined  force  of  an  earthquake  and 
tornado.  The  defences  had  been  organized  on  a  scale  proportionate 
to  the  importance  of  the  position  and  consisted  of  an  extensive  and 
intricate  series  of  heavily  wired  trench  systems,  with  numerous 
fire  trenches  and  communication  trenches,  deep  and  elaborate  dug- 


524  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

outs,  caves  and  tunnels,  concrete  machine-gun  and  trench-mortar 
emplacements,  and  cunningly-constructed  redoubts,  while  along  the 
whole  front  lay  a  chain  of  great  craters  created  by  preceding  mine 
explosions.  An  official  description  of  the  fire-onslaught  which 
followed  the  three  days'  bombardment  declared  that  it  was  pressed 
with  special  and  terrific  force  on  the  morning  of  Apr.  9  from  massed 
artillery  and  many  field-guns  hidden  in  advanced  positions:  "The 
greatest  of  British  guns  bombarded  the  enemy  positions  on  and 
beyond  the  Ridge  and  trenches,  dugouts,  emplacements  and  roads, 
were  smashed  to  uselessness."  An  intense  barrage  of  shrapnel  from 
the  field-guns,  strengthened  by  the  indirect  fire  of  hundreds  of 
machine  guns,  followed  along  the  front  and  at  5.30  a.m.  the  Cana- 
dian troops  advanced  in  three  waves  of  attack.  Flurries  of  snow 
drifted  over  the  battlefield  as  the  Canadians  left  their  jumping-off 
trenches.  Behind  the  rolling  barrage  the  light  was  sufficient  for 
manoeuvring  purposes  and  yet  obscure  enough  to  obstruct  the 
range  of  vision  and  lessen  the  accuracy  of  fire  by  the  German  rifle- 
men and  machine  gunners:  "The  first  stage  of  the  advance  was 
made  over  ground  indescribably  tangled  with  obstacles  of  all  sorts, 
with  great  mine  craters,  with  thousands  of  shell-holes  which  had 
churned  the  whole  field  into  a  vast  puddle  of  mud,  with  crumbled 
trenches,  coils  and  hedges  of  torn  entanglements  and  barbed  wire." 
But  over  this  difficult  ground,  over  and  around  the  craters  and 
tangles,  into  and  under  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  the  long  lines  of  Cana- 
dian infantry  moved  forward  steadily  on  the  fringe  of  a  rolling 
curtain  of  shrapnel  fire.  The  troops  followed  the  barrage  and  with 
them  were  a  large  number  of  Tanks,  then  new  to  the  enemy  and 
a  great  help  when  the  crest  of  the  Ridge  was  reached  and  the  soldiers 
had  to  meet  machine-gun  emplacements  which  still  existed  and 
Germans  who  were  still  able  to  fight  despite  the  artillery  blasts. 
Especially  at  Hill  145  was  a  strong  defence  made  with  reserves 
pouring  in  from  Lens  and  Douai  but  it  was  useless  and  by  1  p.m. 
the  Canadians  were  in  possession  of  Vimy  Ridge  and  looking  down 
upon  the  level  plains  of  Douai  with  the  villages  of  Farbus,  Vimy 
and  Petit  Vimy  lying  at  their  feet  and  not  far  beyond  those  of 
Bailleul,  Arleux  and  Mericourt.  Following  this  success  they 
branched  out  and  in  the  next  few  days  took  various  places,  including 
the  villages  of  Vimy  and  other  points  of  German  vantage;  on  the 
13th  the  enemy  withdrew  on  a  considerable  front.  Field  Marshal 
Haig's  report  of  the  Battle  of  Arras  (Dec.  25)  dealt  with  this  portion 
of  it  as  follows : 

The  attack  of  the  1st  Army  on  the  Vimy  Ridge  was  carried  out  by  the  Canadian 
Corps.  It  was  further  arranged  that,  as  soon  as  the  Vimy  Ridge  had  been  secured, 
the  troops  in  line  on  the  front  with  the  Canadian  Corps  should  extend  the  area  of 
of  attack  northward  as  far  as  the  left  bank  of  the  Souchez  River.  An  additional 
Army  Corps  was  also  at  the  disposal  of  the  1st  Army  in  reserve.  ...  On  the  left 
the  Canadians  rapidly  overran  the  German  positions  and  by  9.30  a.m.,  in  spite  of 
difficulty  going  over  wet  and  sticky  ground,  had  carried  the  village  of  Les  Tilleuls 
and  La  Folie  Farm.  Further  north,  the  Canadian  division,  with  an  English  brigade 
in  the  centre  of  its  attack,  completed  the  capture  of  the  Vimy  Ridge  from  Com- 
mandant's House  to  Hill  145,  in  spite  of  considerable  opposition,  especially  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Thelus  and  the  high  ground  north  of  this  village.  These  positions 
were  taken  by  1  p.m.,  and  early  in  the  afternoon  our  final  objectives  in  this  area  had 


VIMY  RIDGE  AND  OTHER  CANADIAN  BATTLES  OF  1917     525 

been  gained.  .  .  .  The  left  Canadian  division,  meanwhile,  had  gradually  fought  its 
way  forward  on  Hill  145,  in  the  face  of  a  very  desperate  resistance.  The  enemy 
defended  this  dominating  position  with  great  obstinacy,  and  his  garrison,  re-inforced 
from  dugouts  and  underground  tunnels,  launched  frequent  counter-attacks.  In  view 
of  the  severity  of  the  fighting,  it  was  decided  to  postpone  the  attack  upon  the  crest 
line  until  the  following  day.  At  the  end  of  the  day,  therefore,  our  troops  were  estab- 
lished deeply  in  the  enemy's  positions  on  the  whole  front  of  attack.  We  had  gained 
a  firm  footing  in  the  enemy's  third  line  on  both  banks  of  the  Scarpe,  and  had  made 
an  important  breach  in  the  enemy's  last  fully  completed  line  of  defence.  Meanwhile, 
on  the  left  flank  of  our  battle  front,  the  Canadians  had  renewed  their  attack  at  4 
p.m.  (Apr.  10)  on  the  portion  of  Hill  145  still  remaining  in  the  enemy's  possession, 
and  captured  it  after  sharp  fighting,  together  with  over  200  prisoners  and  a  number 
of  trench  mortars  and  machine  guns.  .  .  .  On  our  left  flank  operations  of  the  1st 
Army  astride  the  Souchez  River  met  with  complete  success.  Attacks  were  delivered 
simultaneously  at  5  a.m.  on  Apr.  12  by  English  and  Canadian  troops  against  the  two 
small  hills  known  as  the  Pimple  and  the  Boisen-Hache,  situated  on  either  side  of  the 
Souchez  River.  Both  of  these  positions  were  captured,  with  a  number  of  prisoners 
and  machine  guns.  Steps  were  at  once  taken  to  consolidate  our  gains  and  patrols 
were  pushed  forward  to  maintain  touch  with  the  enemy.  The  withdrawal  (of  the 
enemy)  commenced  on  the  morning  of  Apr.  13.  Before  noon  on  that  day  Canadian 
patrols  had  succeeded  in  occupying  the  southern  portion  of  Givenchy-en-Gohelle, 
had  pushed  through  Petit  Vimy  and  had  reached  the  cross-roads  500  yards  north- 
east of  the  village.  That  afternoon  English  patrols  north  of  the  Souchez  River 
crossed  No  Man's  Land  and  entered  Angres,  while  Canadian  troops  completed  the 
occupation  of  Givenchy-en-Gohelle  and  the  German  trench  system  east  of  it.  Further 
so.uth  our  troops  seized  Petit  Vimy  and  Vimy,  and  Willerval  and  Bailleul  were  occu- 
pied in  turn. 

The  honour  won  in*  this  action  was  great  and  promised  to  be  per- 
manent; the  comments  were  world- wide  and  eulogistic  of  the  Canadian 
forces;  the  congratulations  many  and  earnest.  As  Percival  Phillips 
of  the  Morning  Post  put  it  (Apr.  10):  "The  Canadians  hold  Vimy 
Ridge  and  dominate  the  beaten  enemy  beyond  it.  They  fought 
their  way  from  the  foot  to  the  crest  and  continued  their  progress 
down  the  steeper  eastern  slope  to-day.  It  is  the  bitterest 
German  defeat  of  all.  The  Ridge  which  barred  our  path  to  the 
plain  of  Douai  was  regarded  by  Prince  Rupprecht's  armies,  like 
many  other  defences  since  lost,  as  an  impregnable  fortress  capable 
of  resisting  any  assault.  Yet  the  Canadians  took  it  on  a  time-table, 
which,  save  in  one  trifling  instance,  was  faithfully  adhered  to,  and 
flung  the  Bavarian  front  back  into  the  ruins  of  Vimy  and  the  scarred 
field  below."  In  its  editorial  of  Apr.  11  the  New  York  Tribune 
declared  that:  "No  praise  of  the  Canadian  achievement  can  be 
excessive.  From  the  plains  and  from  the  mountains,  from  the  cities 
and  from  the  prairies,  Canada  has  poured  out  her  thousands  and  her 
hundreds  of  thousands ;  she  has  sent  across  the  ocean  an  army  greater 
than  Napoleon  ever  commanded  on  any  battlefield;  her  volunteer 
regiments  have  shown  the  same  stubborn  and  tenacious  quality 
which  is  the  glory  of  the  British  army."  From  the  British  press 
came  whole-hearted  and  unstinted  eulogy.  Little  was  said  of  the 
English  north-country  and  Scottish  troops  who,  in  this  far-flung 
Arras  fight,  also  captured  dozens  of  fortified  and  difficult  places  on 
the  way  to  Lens  and  Cambrai  and  St.  Quentin,  took  about  10,000 
prisoners  and  many  guns  and  in  six  days  advanced  six  miles  and 
broke  the  tradition  of  trench  impregnability.  The  imagination  of 
old  and  new  countries,  alike,  was  caught  by  the  specific  Canadian 
success.  From  the  King  in  London  and  the  Prime  Minister  at 


526  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Ottawa  came  congratulations,  from  Sir  Edward  Kemp  an  official 
cable,  and  from  Sir  Sam  Hughes  an  unofficial  one,  from  the  Governor- 
General  of  Australia  and  Mr.  Walter  Long,  Colonial  Secretary, 
came  cabled  eulogies,  from  General  Sir  Henry  Home  this  official 
statement:  "By  the  troops  of  the  1st  Army  the  Vimy  Ridge  has  been 
regarded  as  a  position  of  very  great  strength.  The  Germans  have 
considered  it  impregnable.  To  have  carried  this  position  with  so 
little  loss  testifies  to  soundness  of  plan,  thoroughness  of  preparation, 
dash  and  determination  in  execution,  and  devotion  to  duty  on  the 
part  of  all  concerned.  The  ninth  of  April  will  be  a  historic  day  in 
the  annals  of  the  British  Empire."  In  a  Special  Order  Sir  Douglas 
Haig  said:  "The  capture  of  the  renowned  Vimy  Ridge  is  an  achieve- 
ment of  the  highest  order  of  which  Canada  may  well  be  proud." 

In  this  Battle  of  Vimy — lasting,  with  its  extensions,  from  Apr. 
9  to  the  13th — the  casualties  included  some  representative  officers. 
Brig.-Gen.  F.  O.  W.  Loomis  was  slightly  wounded,  Lieut.  H.  Boyd 
Symonds  and  Lieut.  L.  C.  Ramsay  of  Montreal  were  killed,  and 
Capt.  W.  S.  M.  MacTier  and  Lieut.  A.  J.  Norsworthy,  of  a  notable 
military  family,  wounded;  Major  Gordon  Heron  and  Lieut.  Wm. 
Molloy,  ex-M.L.A.,  of  Winnipeg,  were  killed;  Major  J.  A.  Crichtley, 
M.C. — one  of  four  brothers  and  a  father  on  active  service  from  an 
Alberta  ranch — was  killed,  as  was  Capt.  Walter  Pickup  and  Lieut. 
E.  R.  Dennis,  M.C.,  of  Halifax,  Capt.  Victor  Gordon  Tupper  of 
Vancouver,  Major  C.  C.  Gwyn  of  Dundas,  Lieut.  Douglas  Armstrong 
and  Capt.  G.  R.  Heron,  Ottawa;  so  with  Lieut.  Guy  A.  Beck,  one  of 
four  Toronto  brothers  at  the  Front,  Major  T.  H.  Callaghan,  D.C.M., 
Capt.  C.  W.  Birch,  Victoria,  Major  W.  E.  Curry  and  Capt.  H.  S. 
Boulter  of  Toronto.  The  operations  of  this  first  phase  in  the  Battle 
of  Arras  were  continued  on  Apr.  28  on  a  front  of  8  miles  and  follow- 
ing preliminary  attacks  held  up  by  insufficiently  destroyed  wire 
entanglements.  The  objectives  of  the  Canadian  Corps  on  this 
date  consisted  of  Arleux-en-Gohelle  and  the  German  trench  system 
west  of  the  village,  known  as  the  Arleux  Loop.  The  attacking 
troops  were  ordered  to  advance  to  a  definite  line  east  of  the 
village,  and  there  consolidate  a  position  in  preparation  for 
further  operations.  The  main  attack  against  Arleux  was  en- 
trusted to  the  same  Canadian  Division  that  had  reached  Parbus 
Wood  on  the  right  of  the  Canadian  attack  on  the  9th  of  April,  while 
the  Division  that  had  captured  Thelus  was  directed  to  form  a  defensive 
flank  to  the  north.  The  attack  was  launched  at  4.45  a.m.,  and  in 
spite  of  determined  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  German  infantry 
th~  whole  of  the  enemy's  trench  line  was  successfully  carried.  Severe 
fighting  took  place  in  Arleux  but  the  garrison  of  the  village  was 
gradually  overcome,  and  the  objectives  gained.  Some  hundreds  of 
prisoners  were  taken  and  the  line  held. 

In  further  co-operation  with  the  British  advance  and  in  a  general 
attack  from  Bullecourt  to  Fresnoy,  the  Canadian  troops  stormed  the 
latter  village  and  the  German  defences  north  of  it  towards  a  point 
close  to  Acheville.  The  German  infantry  offered  the  most  stubborn 
resistance  throughout  the  advance,  and  the  fighting  was  bitter, 
German  losses  heavy  and  470  prisoners  taken.  In  consequence  of  a 


VIMY  RIDGE  AND  OTHER  CANADIAN  BATTLES  OF  1917     527 

failure  to  capture  Oppy  this  position  became  a  sharp  salient  and 
after  the  Canadians  had  been  relieved  by  a  British  Division  was, 
on  the  8th,  evacuated.  Progress  was  made  however  from  the 
readjusted  Canadian  trenches  and  on  June  12  a  number  of  trenches 
were  captured  and  consolidated  with  counter-attacks  repulsed.  On 
the  24th  of  June  Canadian  troops  co-operated  with  the  British 
brigade  on  their  left  in  successful  attack  north  of  the  Souchez  River, 
by  which  an  important  section  of  the  enemy's  trench  system  was 
seized  on  a  front  of  about  400  yards.  Next  day  this  success  was 
followed  up  on  both  banks  of  the  river.  Canadian  troops  occupied 
the  German  trenches  from  the  northwest  edge  of  La  Coulotte  to  the 
river,  while  further  north  troops  of  the  neighbouring  British  Division 
made  equal  progress.  On  the  26th  of  June  the  advance  of  the 
Canadian  Corps  was  resumed  under  cover  of  an  artillery  barrage 
and  rapid  progress  made  on  the  whole  front  between  the  Arras-Lens 
railway  and  the  river.  All  objectives  were  gained,  including  La 
Coulotte  village.  On  June  27  the  enemy's  trenches  south  of 
were  attacked  and  captured  and  on  the  28th  a  general  attack 
was  launched  with  Canadian  troops  pushing  through  Avion  and 
lieu  dit  Leauvette. 

All  these  operations  involved  courage  and  skill  and  organization, 
it  Fresnoy,  according  to  The  Times  correspondent:  "The  village  was 
:rongly  defended  by  machine  guns  and  wire.  While  these  were 
temporarily  held  by  the  troops  attacking  the  village  frontally,  those 
on  both  sides  pushed  right  and  left.  After  fighting  amid  the  ruins 
200  men  and  eight  officers  surrendered.  This  success  breaks  at 
this  point  the  notorious  Oppy-Mericourt  line."  Of  the  Arleux  fight 
The  Times  said  that:  "All  the  conditions  were  very  favourable  for 
the  defence,  but  the  Canadian  attack  was  irresistible.  The  machine- 
from  the  sunken  roads  gave  some  trouble,  and  the  left-hand 
>ps  were  temporarily  delayed.  The  centre  and  right  went 
traight  on,  however,  over  successive  obstacles  and  into  the  village, 
rhere  there  was  very  stiff  fighting,  much  of  it  individual  hand-to- 
ind  combats."  Following  this  advance — a  part  of  a  large  and 
totly-contested  British  movement  on  a  15-mile  front — Sir  Julian 
Byng  on  May  3  addressed  a  Message  "expressing  to  all  ranks  the 
pride  I  feel  in  commanding  the  Canadian  Corps."  It  was  in  this 
stage  of  the  fighting  that  Lieut.-Col.  Russell  Britton,  D.S.O.,  was 
killed  by  a  shell.  Writing  to  the  London  Chronicle  Philip  Gibbs 
said:  "These  men  who  took  Arleux  and  Fresnoy  are  great  soldiers, 
excelling  in  certain  grim  qualities  of  spirit  which  make  them  terrible 
in  attack  and  strong  to  endure.  .  .  .  Imagine  the  spirit  of  men 
who  will  walk  through  two  barrages,  falling  walls  of  shell-fire,  in 
order  to  get  at  the  enemy  beyond.  That  was  what  happened  on 
the  way  to  Fresnoy."  Of  the  fighting  around  Coulotte  there  was 
one  brilliant  piece  in  which  a  central  electric  station,  forming  an 
outpost  of  Lens,  was  finally  taken  by  British  Columbian  troops  on 
June  6.  This  part  of  the  struggle  around  Lens,  including  Coulotte 
and  other  actions,  brought  Canadians  within  a  mile  of  the  centre 
of  this  great  mining  city  and  region  while  movements  or  raids  in 
August  captured  other  positions  on  the  way — especially  on  Aug.  21 


528  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

when  lines  of  trenches  skirting  the  town  were  taken  with  200  prisoners. 
Meanwhile,  on  Aug.  15,  the  chief  portion  of  the  Canadian  troops 
had  attacked  on  a  front  of  4,000  yards  south-east  of  Loos  with  the 
strong  fortification  called  Hill  70  as  the  objective.  It  had  been 
reached  by  the  British  but  not  held  in  the  Battle  of  Loos  on  Sept. 
25,  1915.  The  assault  now  was  successful  at  light  cost  and  in  exact 
accordance  with  plans  while,  at  the  same  time,  three  mining  suburbs 
of  importance  were  captured.  The  succeeding  actions  resulting 
in  the  capture  of  Passchendaele  Ridge  were  thus  described  by  Sir 
Douglas  Haig  in  his  Report  of  Dec.  25 : 

On  Oct.  26  English  and  Canadian  troops  attacked  on  a  front  extending  from 
the  Ypres-Roulers  railway  to  beyond  Poelcappelle.  The  Canadians  attacked  on  the 
right  on  both  sides  of  the  small  stream  known  as  the  Ravebeek,  which  flows  south- 
westward  from  Passchendaele.  On  the  left  bank  of  the  stream  they  advanced 
astride  the  main  ridge  and  established  themselves  securely  on  the  small  hill  south 
of  Passchendaele.  North  of  the  Ravebeek  strong  resistance  was  met  on  the  Bellevue 
Spur,  a  very  strong  point  which  had  resisted  our  efforts  in  previous  attacks.  With 
splendid  determination  the  Canadians  renewed  their  attack  on  this  point  in  the  after- 
noon, and  captured  it.  Two  strong  counter-attacks  south  and  west  of  Passchendaele 
were  beaten  off,  and  by  nightfall  the  Canadians  had  gained  practically  the  whole  of 
their  objectives. 

On  Oct.  30  Canadian  and  English  troops  attacked  at  5.50  a.m.  on  a  front  extend- 
ing from  the  Ypres-Roulers  railway  to  the  Poelcappelle- Westroosebeke  road.  On 
the  right  the  Canadians  continued  their  advance  along  the  high  ground  and  reached 
the  outskirts  of  Passchendaele,  capturing  an  important  position  at  Crest  Farm  on  a 
small  hill  south-west  of  the  village.  Fighting  was  severe  at  all  points,  but  particularly 
on  the  spur  west  of  Passchendaele.  Here  no  less  than  five  strong  counter-attacks 
were  beaten  off  in  the  course  of  the  day,  our  troops  being  greatly  assisted  by  the  fire 
of  captured  German  machine  guns  in  Crest  Farm.  At  6  a.m.  on  Nov.  6  Canadian 
troops  renewed  their  attack  and  captured  the  village  of  Passchendaele,  together  with 
the  high  ground  immediately  to  the  north  and  north-west.  Sharp  fighting  took  place 
for  the  possession  of  pill-boxes  in  the  northern  end  of  the  village,  around  Mosselmarkt, 
and  on  the  Goudberg  Spur.  All  objectives  were  gained  at  an  early  hour,  and  at  8.50 
a.m.  a  hostile  counter-attack  was  beaten  off.  Over  400  prisoners  were  captured  in 
this  most  successful  attack,  by  which  for  the  second  time  within  the  year  Canadian 
troops  achieved  a  record  of  uninterrupted  success.  Four  days  later,  in  extremely 
unfavourable  weather,  British  and  Canadian  troops  attacked  northward  from  Pass- 
chendaele and  Goudberg,  and  captured  further  ground  on  the  main  ridge  after  heavy 
fighting. 

No  brief  record,  such  as  this  must  be,  can  give  any  idea  of  what 
the  fighting  of  these  months  involved;  of  the  universal  courage 
displayed  or  the  heroism  so  often  evoked  by  opportunity  and  marked 
by  honours  from  the  Crown  or  mention  in  despatches;  of  the  pri- 
vations cheerfully  endured,  of  the  friendly  emulation  with  Empire 
or  Allied  soldiers.  Canadian  troops  did  not  like  too  much  praise — 
though  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  reach  that  point.  They  were 
at  this  time  amongst  the  best  troops  on  the  Front;  to  say  that  they 
were  better  than  the  best  British  or  French  soldiers  would  be  to 
express  an  impossibility.  Of  the  various  events  summarized  above 
it  may  be  said  that  the  official  British  report  of  Aug.  15  described 
the  storming  of  two  miles  of  German  positions  east  of  Loos  :^  "The 
formidable  defences  on  Hill  70,  which  resisted  our  attacks  in  the 
Battle  of  Loos  in  September,  1915,  and  had  since  been  improved 
and  strengthened  by  every  method  and  device  known  to  our  enemies, 
were  carried  by  assault."  These  lines  were  held  after  the  capture  by 


VIMY  RIDGE  AND  OTHER  CANADIAN  BATTLES  OF  1917     529 

Canadians  against  what  The  Times  described  as  "repeated  German 
counter-attacks  of  the  bloodiest  and  most  costly  description."  It 
was  probably  the  most  desperate  fighting  that  the  Canadian  Corps 
faced  during  the  year  and  on  Aug.  22  they  had  taken  another  mile 
of  trenches  under  similar  conditions  and  held  one  advanced  post 
within  the  city  itself.  This  conflict  was  marked  by  a  bloody  per- 
sonal encounter  with  bayonets  in  which  neither  combatant  would 
yield — until  the  Canadians  won  over  the  dead  bodies  of  the  enemy. 
Between  the  15th  and  22nd  1,400  prisoners  were  taken.  Sir  Douglas 
Haig  on  the  23rd  sent  this  Message  to  General  Currie: 

I  desire  to  congratulate  you  personally  on  the  complete  and  important  success 
with  which  your  command  of  the  Canadian  Corps  has  been  inaugurated.  The 
Division  you  employed  on  Aug.  15  totally  defeated  four  German  Divisions,  whose 
losses  are  reliably  estimated  at  more  than  double  those  suffered  by  the  Canadian  troops. 
The  skill,  bravery,  and  determination  shown  in  the  attack  and  in  maintaining  the 
positions  won  against  repeated  heavy  counter-attacks  were  in  all  respects  admirable. 

To  Sir  Edward  Kemp  General  Currie  cabled  in  reply  to  congratu- 
lations that  "in  repeated  and  determined  counter-attacks  the 
flower  of  the  German  army  was  thrown  against  us,  but  our  line  re- 
mained unshaken  as  our  own  Rockies.  Will  not  the  pride  which 
you  say  Canada  has  in  her  sons  inspire  her  to  send  us  men  to  take  the 
place  of  those  so  nobly  fallen?"  As  days  and  weeks  passed  the 
Canadians  continued  to  press  upon  and  crowd  the  defenders  of 
Lens — raiding  at  times  the  very  heart  of  the  blood-stained  city, 
holding  houses  faced  by  the  enemy  across  the  street,  fighting  day 
and  night,  winning  many  decorations  and  multiplying  incidents  of 
heroism.  Then  they  were  relieved  and  placed  on  the  Passchendaele 
line  where  more  open  and  conspicuous  fighting  took  place  and  they 
smashed  their  way  through  Bellevue  Spur  and  other  fortifications 
to  and  over  the  Ridge.  Of  the  Bellevue  fight  much  might  be  said. 
While  pressing  up  the  slope  the  men  were  frequently  hip-deep  in 
the  squelching  mire  and  struggled  onward  thus  for  six  hours  until 
in  the  face  of  a  shattering  machine-gun  fire  they  were  ordered  to 
withdraw  temporarily.  Then  re-inforcements  were  brought  up,  the 
waves  re-organized,  the  Canadians  advanced  again  and  yard  by 
yard  the  semi-liquid  slope  was  breasted.  Pill-box  after  pill-box 
was  cleared  until  the  crest  of  the  spur  was  reached  and  passed. 
In  the  British  offensive  of  June-October,  which  as  a  whole  took 
the  Messines,  Wytschaete,  Zonnebeke,  Pilken  and  Passchendaele 
Ridges,  the  ^  Canadians  captured  the  last-mentioned  after  taking 
Meetchele  Village  in  a  notable  preliminary  action. 

This  fighting  on  the  outposts  of  Flanders  gave  the  Corps  new 
reputation  and  the  French  press  could  not  say  too  much  of  the 
initiative,  persistence  and  cool  courage  shown.  General  Currie 
wrote  Sir  G.  Perley  on  Nov.  7  that:  "The  situation  was  that  certain 
tactical  features  had  to  be  taken.  Canadians  were  brought  to  do 
the  job;  so  far  they  have  done  it  mighty  well."  The  Canadian 
Cavalry,  chiefly  Fort  Garry  Horse,  which  aided  General  Byng  at 
Cambrai,  performed  some  work  on  Nov.  20  which  ranked  with  the 
beet  exploits  of  the  kind  in  Empire  history — one  squadron  charging 

34 


530  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

upon  and  capturing  an  enemy  Battery  and  racing  two  miles  into 
the  enemy  lines  over  infantry  and  other  obstacles  and  then  fighting 
its  way  back,  or  the  43  who  remained  did,  through  guns  and  soldiers 
to  Masnieres.  At  the  close  of  the  year  the  Canadian  Corps  was 
back  at  Lens.  It  may  be  added  that  the  German  troops  facing 
Canadians  at  Vimy  totalled  140,000  or  8  Divisions;  that,  according 
to  General  Byng,  the  prisoners  taken  were  5,000  and  the  artillery 
included  65  guns,  106  mortars  and  126  machine  guns.  General 
Currie's  explanation  of  the  success  as  given  in  a  letter  to  Col.  E.  G. 
Prior  of  Victoria  (Colonist,  June  7)  was  (1)  supreme  confidence  in 
the  men,  (2)  careful  plans  and  study  before  attack,  (3)  splendid 
artillery  training  and  support.  War  appointments  of  the  year 
included  Col.  A.  E.  G.  MacKenzie,  D.S.O.,  of  St.  John  as  Brig.-General 
to  command  the  5th  Brigade;  Col.  F.  B.  Black,  CX-M.L.A.,  of  Moncton 
as  Brig.-General,  with  command  of  a  Brigade;  Brig.-Gen.  E.  W.  B. 
Morrison,  D.S.O.,  as  Canadian  Artillery  Corps  Commander  in  suc- 
cession to  Maj.-Gen.  Burstall.  In  September  Walter  A.  Willison 
was  named  as  Canadian  Press  representative  with  the  troops  in 
succession  to  Stewart  Lyon  who  had  held  the  post  about  a  year. 
The  French  Government  presented  to  Canada  and  forwarded  a 
collection  of  War  trophies  which  Sir  Robert  Borden  described  in 
the  Commons  on  Sept.  19;  General  Seeley,  former  Secretary  for 
War  and  Commanding  the  Canadian  Cavalry,  lost  his  son  in  action; 
Lieut.-Col.  J.  H.  Mitchell,  D.S.O.,  C.M.G.,  was  one  of  a  British  Staff 
Mission  sent  to  Italy  at  the  close  of  the  year;  the  retirement  of 
Brig.-Gen.  Arch.  H.  Macdonell,  C.B.,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  from  active 
service  was  another  personal  event  of  importance. 

The  Returned  Much  was  done  for  the  returned  soldier  in  1917; 
Soldier:  Pen-  there,  still,  however,  was  much  to  do.  There  were 
HoTitsU* the  from  10»000  to  20»000  men  in  Canada  during  the  year 
Commission;  wno  !'l)  na(?  returned  to  England  from  the  Front 
The  G.W.V.A.  wounded  or  ill  and,  after  a  time  of  careful  treatment, 
been  found  incapacitated  for  further  service,  and  were 
brought  home,  (2)  had  been  brought  to  Canada  to  be  treated  for 
wounds  or  disablement  of  a  presumably  permanent  nature.  There 
were,  also,  about  70,000  men  who  had  been  in  khaki  for  a  short 
time  but  were  discharged  before  leaving  the  country  for  physical 
or  other  reasons  or  who  had  got  to  England  and  there  were  found 
to  be  unfitted  for  active  service,  or  in  a  small  minority  of  cases, 
were  sent  home  for  insubordination  or  personal  offences.  They 
were  not  a  factor,  as  yet,  but  might  some  day  develop  difficulties. 
The  returned  soldier  was  at  this  time  an  Imperial  problem  as  well 
as  a  Canadian  one  and  a  strong  effort  was  organized  in  England  to 
direct  after-war  emigration  of  soldiers,  in  concert  with  the  Dom- 
inions, to  the  Empire  rather  than  outside  countries.  The  Standing 
Emigration  Committee,  of  which  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  was 
Chairman,  and  the  Empire  Land  Settlement  Committee  (Earl  Grey, 
Chairman),  were  elements  in  this  work;  the  Australian  constitution 
of  a  Government  Board  to  direct  local  financial  aid  in  the  migration 
of  soldiers  from  the  Motherland  was  one  result.  The  British  Govern- 


THE  RETURNED  SOLDIER  IN  1917;  THE  G.W.V.A.        531 

ment  appointed  a  Committee  in  February  to  consider  and  report 
on  this  question  with  Lord  Tennyson  as  Chairman  and  the  High 
Commissioners  for  Australia,  New  Zealand  and  South  Africa,  and 
Agents-General  for  six  Australian  States  as  members,  and  only  one 
Canadian,  J.  Bruce  Walker,  Commissioner  of  Immigration,  Winni- 
peg. He  was  selected,  no  doubt,  by  the  Canadian  Government  and 
Sir  George  Perley  did  not  accept  a  place  on  the  Committee. 

On  Jan.  10-12  a  Conference  on  this  question  was  held  between 
the  Dominion  and  Provincial  Governments  at  Ottawa  as  the  result 
of  a  despatch  from  the  British  Government  supporting  the  retention 
of  emigrants  within  the  Empire  wherever  possible.  Land  settle- 
ment plans  for  soldiers  were  discussed  and  legislation  was,  later  on, 
presented  to  Parliament  and  approved.  Preferential  employment 
and  technical  education  for  returned  men  were  also  considered. 
The  Imperial  side  of  the  question  was  to  be  taken  up  by  the  Premier 
when  he  went  to  England  in  the  summer  and,  meanwhile,  the  sub- 
ject was  discussed  in  the  Canadian  Commons  on  Feb.  5  by  F.  F. 
Pardee  and  others  on  the  basis  of  future  demobilization  of  400,000 
soldiers  and  300,000  munition  workers.  Sir  Robert  Borden  in 
speaking  divided  the  returned  men  into  two  classes — (1)  those  who, 
upon  arrival  in  Canada,  were  retained  under  the  care  of  the  Military 
Hospitals  Commission,  placed  in  hospitals,  in  sanatoria,  or  in  con- 
valescent homes,  and  who  continued  to  draw  their  pay  and  allow- 
ances and  to  be  provided  for;  and  (2)  those  who  were  discharged  and 
as  to  whom  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Federal  and  Provincial  Govern- 
ments to  see  that  they  had  every  opportunity  for  employment 
either  in  the  occupations  in  which  they  were  engaged  before  or  in 
some  other  occupation.  From  Parliament  the  discussion  passed  to 
the  country.  W.  J.  Gage  of  Toronto  took  the  practical  step  of 
donating  $100,000  to  provide  comfortable  homes  at  nominal  rentals 
for  the  widows  and  children  and  other  dependants  of  Canadian 
soldiers  killed  on  active  service;  the  Ontario  Good  Roads  Association 
(Feb.  27)  heard  schemes  for  the  employment  of  returned  soldiers  in 
highway  construction;  farm  work  was  said  to  be  insufficiently 
remunerative  to  keep  the  men  and  their  families  and  to  be  neither 
permanent  nor  popular;  the  National  Service  Commission  undertook 
to  find  the  previous  trade  or  calling  of  each  man  on  service  and 
Lord  Shaughnessy  at  Montreal  (Mar.  20)  drew  attention  to  the 
danger  of  putting  soldiers  into  work  or  places  for  which  they  were 
unfitted.  "I  should,"  he  added,  "like  to  see  thousands  of  them, 
not  now  highly  skilled,  given  special  training  to  equip  them  with 
the  skill  they  lack.  We  have  got  to  find  out  in  detail  what  is  best 
for  the  men — yes,  and  for  each  particular  man,  with  his  individual 
capacities  and  aptitudes." 

This  was,  in  reality,  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  the  Military 
Hospitals  Commission,  appointed  by  the  Dominion  Government  in 
1915,  with  Sir  James  Lougheed  as  Chairman  and  16  other  members, 
an  ex-officio  member  from  each  of  the  nine  Provinces  appointed  by 
the  respective  Governments  and  a  subsidiary  Committee  in  each 
Province.  By  the  close  of  1917  the  Commission  had  54  Military 
Convalescent  Hospitals  and  14  Sanatoria  for  the  treatment  of 


532  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Tuberculosis  under  its  control.  They  were  established  at  Sydney, 
Halifax,  and  Kentville  in  Nova  Scotia,  Charlottetown,  P.E.  Island, 
and  Fredericton,  River  Glade  and  St.  John  in  New  Brunswick;  at 
Quebec,  Lake  Edward,  Montreal,  Ste.  Agathe  and  Ste.  Anne  de 
Belle vue  in  Quebec;  at  Kingston,  Ottawa,  Cobourg,  Whitby,  Toronto, 
Guelph,  Newmarket,  Hamilton,  St.  Catharines  and  London  in  On- 
tario; at  Winnipeg  and  Ninette,  Manitoba;  at  Regina,  Saskatoon, 
Moose  Jaw  and  Prince  Albert  in  Saskatchewan,  and  at  Calgary,  Ed- 
monton and  Frank  in  Alberta;  at  Victoria,  Sidney,  Qualicum, 
Vancouver,  Balfour  and  Kamloops  in  British  Columbia.  The 
officers  were  S.  A.  Armstrong,  Director,  E.  H.  Scammell,  Secretary, 
T.  B.  Kidner,  Vocational  Secretary,  Lieut. -Col.  A.  Thompson,  M.D., 
M.P.,  Medical  Superintendent,  and  Lieut. -Col.  J.  J.  Sharpies,  O.C. 
for  the  Commission.  An  important  part  of  the  Commission's  duty 
was  its  system  of  re-education  after  discharge  from  the  C.E.F.  It 
appointed  vocational  officers  for  Ontario,  the  Maritime  Provinces, 
Quebec,  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  Alberta  and  British  Columbia, 
in  conjunction  with  the  Provincial  Employment  Committees  which 
represented  the  Provincial  Governments.  Disabled  Soldiers'  Train- 
ing Boards  and  Provincial  Advisory  Committees  on  Training  were 
also  appointed.  This  latter  body  consisted  of  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Committee,  a  vocational  officer  and  a  medical  man.  As 
to  the  Provincial  Committees  it  was  agreed  by  the  Provinces  to 
"assume  the  responsibility  of  endeavouring  to  find  employment  for 
discharged  soldiers,  who,  upon  their  return  to  Canada,  are  physically 
and  otherwise  fit  to  assume  such  employment."  Up  to  the  beginning 
of  1917  these  Provincial  Committees  had  obtained  positions  for 
5,886  returned  soldiers  with  only  148  reported  as  being  still  out  of 
employment  or  unsuited. 

On  May  8,  6,515  patients  were  in  charge  of  the  Commission  and 
20,600  Canadians  were  in  English  Hospitals.  On  Aug.  17  the  former 
total  was  8,811.  There  were  four  classes  of  patients  dealt  with  in 
Canada:  (1)  the  active  cases  requiring  continuous  medical  attention, 
(2)  the  convalescent,  (3)  those  suffering  from  Tuberculosis,  (4)  those 
suffering  from  special  disorders  such  as  shell-shock  or  rheumatism. 
According  to  Sir  R.  Borden  in  the  Commons  (Feb.  5)  the  Com- 
mission then  had  in  operation,  or  under  construction  for  these  pur- 
poses, 16  hospitals  or  homes,  with  accommodation  for  2,600  men  in 
the  1st  class;  for  class  two  27  institutions,  accommodating  4,700 
men;  for  class  three  18  institutions,  with  accommodation  for  900 
men;  and  for  class  four,  four  institutions  with  accommodation  for 
200  men.  The  number  of  men  who  had  passed  through  the  hands  of 
the  Commission  was  nearly  10,000.  Details  were  worked  out  by 
this  body  with  most  minute  pains  and  if  its  mechanism  had  been 
adjusted  as  carefully  as  its  paper  organization  there  should  have  been 
none  of  the  friction  or  incidents  of  discomfort  which  did  occasionally 
and  inevitably  develop.  Complaints  as  to  lack  of  accommodation 
developed  early  in  the  year  and  on  Feb.  22  Col.  Sharpies  told  a 
Parliamentary  Committee  that  16,000  returned  soldiers  had  passed 
through  the  receiving  depdts  at  Quebec,  St.  John  and  Halifax  with 
others  arrivingjatjthe  rate  of  600  a  month:  "Up  to  this  time  it 


THE  RETURNED  SOLDIER  IN  1917;  THE  G.W.V.A.        533 

had  been  possible  to  accommodate  in  the  hospitals  all  who  required 
treatment."  Col.  Thompson  testified  that  the  Commission  would 
shortly  have  10,000  beds  available  for  returned  men  and  had  notified 
Sir  George  Perley  that  it  was  ready  to  care  for  the  soldiers  as  fast 
as  they  were  sent  back  to  Canada. 

A  very  real  difficulty  was  that  of  the  over-lapping  powers  and 
jurisdiction  of  the  Hospitals  Commission  and  the  Army  Medical 
Corps.  The  M.H.C.  claimed  to  have  control  and  to  be  responsible 
for  all  unfit  returned  soldiers  in  everything  but  the  strict  and  limited 
medical  treatment;  the  C.A.M.C.  claimed  that  vocational  and 
general  training  of  disabled  or  wounded  men  was  a  part  of  the 
medical  treatment  and  that  it  should,  therefore,  share  in  adminis- 
tration of  the  work.  The  latter  body  had  first  been  in  charge  of  the 
wounded  and  afterwards  under  the  Militia  Department  continued 
its  appointments  despite  the  power  of  selecting  nurses  and  medical 
staff  having,  also,  been  given  the  new  Commission.  Hence 
friction  and  some  disorganization  and  a  vigorous  report  in  1916 
by  Col.  F.  W.  Marlow  of  the  C.A.M.C.,  Toronto.  On  Feb.  28 
Sir  Edward  Kemp,  Minister  of  Militia,  stated  in  the  Commons  that 
"the  Medical  end  of  the  Military  Hospitals  Commission  work  was 
to  be  turned  over  to  the  Canadian  Army  Medical  Service.  A  new 
office  to  be  known  as  Director  of  Medical  Services  Invalids  would 
be  created  and  this  officer  would  have  full  responsibility  in  dealing 
with  and  administrating  the  medical  and  surgical  work  under 
direction  of  the  Department.  The  Military  Hospitals  Commission 
would  provide  the  hospitals  and  equip  them,  look  after  the  com- 
missariat and  continue  their  work  of  re-educating  returned  soldiers. 
It  was  explained  that  there  were  1,800  officers  of  the  C.A.M.C.  of 
whom  about  500  were  still  in  Canada  and  400  civilian  doctors  parti- 
ally employed  in  military  work.  To  the  new  office  thus  created 
Lieut.-Col.  J.  T.  Fotheringham,  C.M.G.,  and  late  of  the  C.E.F.,  was 
appointed. 

Later  in  the  year  a  Board  of  Consultants  was  appointed  to  act 
with  Col.  Fotheringham  in  co-ordinating  and  supervising  profes- 
sional standards  and  practice  in  all  institutions  of  the  Hospital 
Commission — General  Surgery,  Lieut.-Col.  I.  H.  Cameron;  Medicine, 
Lieut.-Col.  D.  McGillivray;  Orthopaedic  Surgery,  Lieut.-Col.  C.  L. 
Starr;  Special  Sense  cases,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  D.  Courtenay;  X-Ray,  etc., 
Lieut.-Col.  Robert  Wilson.  In  the  Commons  on  Feb.  7  the  Premier 
moved  the  appointment  of  a  Committee  to  inquire  into  and  report 
upon  "  (1)  the  reception,  treatment,  care,  training  and  re-education 
of  the  wounded,  disabled  and  convalescent  who  have  served  in  the 
C.E.F.;  (2)  the  provision  of  employment  for  those  who  have  been 
honourably  discharged  from  the  C.E.F.,  and  (3)  the  training  and  re- 
education of  those  so  discharged  who  are  unable  to  engage  in  their 
former  occupation."  Sir  H.  B.  Ames  (Chairman),  R.  B.  Bennett, 
Hon.  C.  Marcil,  W.  S.  Middlebro,  Hon.  C.  Murphy.  F.  B.  McCurdy, 
F.  F.  Pardee,  D.  C.  Ross  and  D.  Sutherland  were  named.  From 
the  Senate  Messrs.  C.  P.  Beaubien,  N.  A.  Belcourt,  J.  W.  Daniel, 
J.  H.  Ross,  F.  P.  Thompson  and  General  Mason  were  appointed. 
A  number  of  meetings  were  held  in  Montreal,  Toronto  and  Ottawa 


534  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  much  evidence  taken.  That  of  Col.  F.  W.  Marlowe,  who  had 
resigned  his  post  of  A.D.M.S.  a  month  before,  aroused  (Mar.  21) 
a  stormy  discussion;  other  witnesses  were  Maj.-Gen.  W.  A.  Logic, 
Hon.  W.  D.  McPherson,  Mayor  T.  L.  Church.  Col.  Marlowe's 
Report,  made  public  by  the  Minister  of  Militia  on  Feb.  28,  had 
alleged  a  practical  disruption  of  the  A.M.C.  as  an  organization 
owing  to  Oversea  requirements  and  had  deprecated  the  duplication 
of  machinery  created  by  the  M.H.C.  instead  of  the  Militia  Depart- 
ment fitting  the  A.M.C.  to  take  up  what  he  described  as  its  proper 
Hospital  work.  To  combine  military  discipline  and  medical  care 
under  civilian  control  was  the  problem  of  the  Commission  and  the 
point  at  which  it  took  issue  with  the  Army  Medical  Corps.  On 
July  17  the  Committee  reported  to  Parliament  a  series  of  recom- 
mendations which  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

(1)  That  both  Federal  and  Provincial  authorities  take  effective  measures  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  Tuberculosis. 

(2)  That  those  soldiers  who  are  hopelessly  insane  should  be  cared  for  at  the 
expense  of  the  Federal  Government  in  Provincial  institutions. 

(3)  That  returned  soldiers  suffering  from  venereal  diseases  should  be  quarantined 
at  the  port  of  arrival  in  Canada  until  cured. 

(4)  That  orthopaedic  institutions  be  provided  at  centres  throughout  Canada. 

(5)  That  a  number  of  returned  men  be  induced  to  learn  the  occupation  of  manu- 
facturers of  artificial  limbs,  and  that  soldiers  be  supplied  with  limbs  free  of  cost  during 
lifetime. 

(6)  That  returned  men  who  have  been  undergoing  convalescent  treatment  and 
have  partially  completed  courses  of  vocational  training  be  allowed  to  continue  such 
courses  for  two  months. 

The  educative  work  of  the  Hospitals  Commission  was  admirably 
carried  on  during  the  year  with  classes  in  every  convalescent  home 
which  helped  (1)  to  fill  in  the  time,  (2)  to  give  back  physical  strength, 
and  (3)  to  revive  mental  confidence.  There  were  distinct  divisions 
such  as  (1)  Informative — with  instruction  in  ordinary  school  sub- 
jects, stenography,  bookkeeping,  preparation  for  civil  service, 
mechanical  and  architectural  drawing,  motor  mechanics,  machine 
tool  operating,  poultry  raising,  bee-keeping,  vegetable  and  flower 
gardening;  (2)  Occupational — such  as  wood- working,  shoe-repairing 
and  novelty-making,  in  which  the  men  were  also  able  to  make  a 
little  money.  Tuberculosis  patients  were  separately  and  carefully 
treated.  The  system  developed  in  Canada  was,  at  the  close  of 
1917,  perhaps  the  best  in  any  country,  with  the  entire  cost  defrayed 
by  the  Government,  courses  longer  than  elsewhere  and  10%  of  all 
casualties  under  instruction,  pensions  larger  and  general  treatment 
better.  On  Nov.  15  returned  soldiers  under  the  M.H.C.  command 
numbered  10,953  with  19,059  cases  in  United  Kingdom  hospitals; 
a  record  in  the  past  year  of  21  new  centres  of  treatment  and  voca- 
tional training  erected  and  equipped;  45  buildings  remodelled  and 
equipped;  100  institutions  caring  for  convalescent  soldiers  with 
11,395  beds  available  in  convalescent  homes  and  2,500  other  beds 
used  in  clearing  dep6ts;  3,000  men  enrolled  for  vocational  training 
and  869  men  being  taught  new  trades. 

The  Board  of  Pension  Commissioners  for  Canada  was  composed 
of  Lieut. -Col.  R.  H.  Labatt,  London,  Comr.  J.  K.  L.  Ross,  Mon- 


THE  RETURNED  SOLDIER  IN  1917;  THE  G.W.V.A,        535 

treal,  and  Major  J.  L.  Todd,  C.A.M.C.,  Victoria.  During  this  year 
Pension  matters  in  England  were  looked  after  by  a  Pensions  and 
Claims  Board,  the  Secretary  to  the  High  Commissioner,  etc.  About 
20,000  pensions  were  awarded,  of  $5,000,000  a  year,  during  1917  with 
828  complaints  received  and  carefully  investigated.  The  expense 
in  salaries,  etc.,  was  $481,752.  By  Order-in-Council  of  Oct.  22 
amended  regulations  were  issued  providing  for  an  increase  in  pensions 
and  allowances  as  from  Apr.  1,  1917,  with  a  total  advance  of  40%; 
at  the  same  time  disabilities  were  divided  into  20  classes  instead  of 
six  with  greater  certainty  of  receiving  pensions  based  accurately 
upon  the  disability  incurred;  an  additional  allowance  for  married 
men  was  granted  and  the  allowance  for  children  was  graded  upon 
the  nature  of  the  disability  involved.  The  total  disability  payment 
per  annum  was  $600  compared  with  $351  in  Great  Britain,  $379 
in  Australia,  $505  in  New  Zealand,  $240  in  France,  $360  in  United 
States  and  $243  in  Italy — with  many  differences  in  detail.  The 
future  total  of  Pensions  was  estimated  by  Comr.  Ross  (Winnipeg, 
Aug.  27)  at  $40,000,000  a  year.  Arrangements  were  made  with  the 
Patriotic  Fund  and  Hospitals  Commission  to  give  information  as 
to  Pensions  and  the  Board  also  opened  branch  offices  at  the  15 
chief  centres  of  Canada.  As  to  Separation  Allowances  and  alleged 
grievances  Sir  E.  Kemp  stated  in  the  Commons  on  May  8  that 
there  were  then  being  issued  monthly  from  Ottawa  150,000  cheques 
for  assigned  pay,  and  90,000  for  separation  allowances  or,  in  all, 
240,000  cheques  each  month.  Delays  and  mistakes,  he  pointed  out, 
were  at  times  inevitable  and  were  caused  by  sudden  increases, 
volume  of  business,  inexperience  of  staff  and  of  paymasters  in 
battalions,  sudden  movement  of  battalions,  unexplained  instruc- 
tions from  Overseas,  changes  of  address  and  incomplete  information. 
The  British  and  other  Governments  had  the  same  trouble.  Of 
Pensions  to  Canadians  in  Imperial  Forces  the  Minister  stated  on 
Aug.  20  that  arrangements  had  been  made  with  the  British  Govern- 
ment so  that  each  Government  should  pay  pensions  of  its  own 
officers,  irrespective  of  their  service  with  the  other. 

Meanwhile,  it  was  obvious  that  Soldiers'  organizations  in  some 
form  or  other  would  spring  up  and  at  the  first  of  the  year  there  was 
one  in  Winnipeg  with  1,100  members,  in  Victoria  with  300,  in  Wood- 
stock, Ontario,  with  150,  in  Vancouver  with  250,  in  Hamilton  with 
300,  in  Edmonton  with  300,  in  Calgary  with  200,  in  Ottawa  with 
200,  in  Montreal  with  500,  in  Toronto  with  700.  Most  of  these 
had  been  organized  during  1916  and  appear  to  have  sprung  from  the 
Montreal  Association,  or  rather  from  its  example.  On  June  5, 
1915,  a  letter  from  W.  D.  Lighthall,  K.C.,  had  appeared  in  certain 
newspapers  urging  organization  for  the  protection  of  soldiers'  inter- 
ests, and  on  Sept.  27  following  a  preliminary  meeting  was  held  at 
his  Office  with  a  larger  one  on  Nov.  6 — Col.  F.  S.  Meighen  in  the 
chair  with  Gen.  E.  W.  Wilson  and  a  number  of  returned  soldiers 
present.  A  Committee  was  appointed  and  on  Feb.  13,  1916,  the 
constitution  completed  and  accepted  at  a  public  meeting  with  J. 
Seggie  elected  President,  W.  B.  Scott  and  J.  C.  Murray,  Vice- 
Presidents,  and  A.  H.  Stevenson,  Secretary.  The  constitution  of 


536  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

this  Canadian  Association  of  Returned  Soldiers  set  forth  that: 
"This  is  to  be  an  Association  of  honourably-discharged  men  who 
enlisted  and  have  seen  Overseas  service  in  the  Great  War  of  1914. 
It  is  independent  of  Governments,  parties,  politics,  benefactors, 
and  all  other  outside  influences.  It  seeks  to  represent  the  men,  their 
view,  their  needs,  their  principles,  their  honour  and  dignity,  and  all 
their  interests.  The  objects  are:  friendship,  memorials,  fraternal 
help  and  loyalty."  Its  objects  were  afterwards  incorporated  by 
Parliament  as  those  of  the  Great  War  Veterans'  Association  of 
Canada  with  a  few  additions : 

(a)  To  perpetuate  the  close  and  kindly  ties  of  mutual  service  in  the  Great  War, 
and  the  recollections  and  associations  of  that  experience,  and  to  maintain  proper 
standards  of  dignity  and  honour  amongst  all  returned  soldiers; 

(6)  To  preserve  the  memory  and  records  of  those  who  suffered  and  died  for  the 
nation.  To  see  to  the  erection  of  monuments  and  memorials  to  their  valour,  the 
provision  of  suitable  burial  places,  and  the  establishment  of  an  annual  Memorial  Day; 

(c)  To  ensure  that  provision  is  made  for  the  due  care  of  the  sick,  wounded  and 
needy  among  those  who  have  served,  including  reasonable  pensions,  employment  for 
such  as  are  capable,  soldiers'  homes,  medical  care  and  proper  provision  for  dependant 
families  of  enlisted  men; 

(d)  To  inculcate  constantly  loyalty  to  Canada  and  the  Empire  and  unstinted 
service  in  their  interests; 

(«)  To  establish,  maintain  and  operate  club-rooms,  hospitals,  employment  and 
information  bureaux,  industrial  and  other  educational  schools  and  facilities,  libraries 
and  establishments  for  the  benefit  of  and  promotion  and  advancement  generally  of 
the  interests  of  such  soldiers. 

Following  the  growth  of  the  Montreal  and  other  organizations — 
the  Returned  Soldiers'  Association  of  British  Columbia,  the  Army 
and  Navy  Veterans  of  Saskatchewan,  the  Great  War  Veterans  of 
Winnipeg  and  of  Ontario,  etc. — the  need  of  co-operation  was  felt 
and,  early  in  1917,  arrangements  made  for  a  Convention  at  Winnipeg 
on  Apr.  12.  At  this  meeting  the  Great  War  Veterans'  Association 
of  Canada  was  formed  with  delegates  present  from  all  over  Canada 
and  35  Associations  represented,  of  which  Nova  Scotia,  Ontario, 
British  Columbia  and  Saskatchewan  were  Provincial  in  scope.  A. 
C.  Hay  of  Winnipeg  presided  and  the  platform,  as  above  stated,  was 
approved,  the  headquarters  located  at  Ottawa  and  a  monthly  journal 
called  The  Veteran  decided  upon  and  shortly  afterwards  issued. 
Resolutions  were  passed  in  favour  of  Conscription  and  protesting 
against  the  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta  plans  for  granting  votes  to 
Overseas  men :  recommending  that  320  acres  of  land  within  reasonable 
distance  of  transportation  facilities  be  allotted  to  each  Canadian 
who  had  gone  Overseas,  with  a  minimum  loan  of  $2,000;  asking 
the  Dominion  Government  to  throw  open  for  entry  for  members 
of  the  C.E.F.  land  reserved  for  Railway  purposes  but  not  yet  allotted, 
all  arable  land  held  under  stock-grading  leases  and  all  other  blanketed 
land  subject  to  the  joint  supervision  of  the  Government  and  the 
G.W.V.A.";  urging  that  the  present  system  of  gratuities  under  the 
Pension  Act  be  abolished  and  that  the  ratio  of  disability  of  the 
pensioner  be  reduced  from  20%  as  at  present,  to  5%,  also,  that  any 
decision  of  the  Board  be  not  final;  declaring  that  the  pensions  of 
officers  and  men  in  the  ranks  should  be  equalized,  that  a  pension 
scale,  based  upon  a  minimum  of  $1,200  per  annum  for  total  dis- 


RETURNED  SOLDIBR  IN  1917;  THE  G.W.V.A.        537 

ability,  be  inaugurated,  that  the  pension  of  the  widow  and  the 
widowed  mother  be  no  less  than  that  of  the  totally-disabled  pen- 
sioner, and  that  the  pensions  for  children  be  materially  increased; 
asking  that  the  head-tax  on  Chinese  be  retained  and  increased  and 
that  German  and  Austrian  aliens  of  the  Prairie  Provinces  be  dis- 
franchised until  the  end  of  the  War.  The  following  officers  were 
elected:  President,  W.  P.  Purney,  Halifax;  Vice-Presidents,  James 
Robinson,  D.C.M.,  Vancouver,  and  J.  J.  Shanahan,  Toronto;  Sec- 
retary-Treasurer, N.  F.  R.  Knight,  Ottawa.  The  Executive  Com- 
mittee represented  the  seven  Provinces  as  follows:  S.  C.  Tippett, 
St.  John,  J.  R.  Anderson,  Montreal,  K.  C.  Macpherson,  Ottawa, 
J.  M.  Dunwoodie,  D.C.M.,  Winnipeg,  Ivan  Finn,  Prince  Albert, 
Dr.  V.  C.  Mulvey,  Edmonton  and  H.  E.  Stafford,  Vancouver.  At 
the  close  of  the  year  there  were  over  80  branches  of  the  G.W.V.A., 
with  30,000  members. 

Meanwhile,  the  organization  in  its  varied  branches  had  early 
made  itself  felt  in  an  aggressive  presentation  of  opinions.  On  May 
21  President  W.  P.  Purney  issued  to  the  press  a  statement  of  prin- 
ciples which  he  had  addressed  to  the  members  of  the  G.W.V.A. 
Unity  and  co-operation  were  the  watchwords  and  the  spirit  of  their 
work  was  as  follows:  "We  have  rights — if  not  accorded  we  will 
demand  them,  and  if  united  gain  them;  we  have  have  rights — let  us 
not  ask  for  more,  for  if  unreasonable  we  will  lose  the  respect  and 
esteem  that  we  hold  to-day;  we  have  rights — yes,  and  is  not  the 
greatest  one  that  of  worthy  citizenship  in  Canada — the  best  country 
on  earth?"  A  later  document  gave  details  and  programme  includ- 
ing (1)  Government  combing  out  of  Departments,  Militia  services 
and  non-essential  industries  for  enlistment;  (2)  the  conscription 
of  aliens,  of  national  labour  with  Government  control  and  operation 
of  all  factories  and  public  utilities  during  the  War;  (3)  the  placing 
of  all  incomes  and,  wealth  above  a  reasonable  figure,  at  the  service 
of  the  country;  (4)  the  creation  of  a  Department  of  Government 
to  deal  with  demobilization,  Pensions,  Hospitals,  Land  settlement, 
Vocational  training  and  all  similar  problems;  (5)  the  increase  of 
total  disability  pension  from  $480  to  $840  per  annum  and  other 
allowances  in  proportion.  All  kinds  of  Resolutions  were  passed 
at  G.W.V.A.  meetings.  The  Ontario  Branch  (May  15)  urged  that 
"no  commissioned  officers  be  given  the  privilege  of  resigning  because 
they  refuse  to  revert  to  the  lower  ranks  in  order  to  proceed  to  the 
Front,  and  that  if  such  persons  be  discharged  their  certificates  be 
marked  dishonourable."  That  of  Winnipeg  (May  22)  urged  the 
Government  to  control  food  prices  and  to  purchase  or  acquire  all 
wheat  held  in  Elevators,  etc.;  later  on  (Aug.  16)  it  protested  vigor- 
ously against  a  War- time  general  election.  That  of  Quebec  Province 
submitted  a  Petition  in  July  urging  a  community  system  of  farming 
and  the  grant  of  "sufficiently  large  tracts  of  land  to  found,  say, 
three  colonies  in  different  parts  of  the  Province  of  Quebec — as  near 
the  railroad  as  possible  and  divided  into  100-acre  lots."  That  of 
Vancouver  protested  against  the  attitude  of  the  Winnipeg  Liberal 
Convention  on  Conscription  and  elections.  In  this  and  other 
directions  a  certain  amount  of  political  action  was  taken  and  several 
candidates  were  put  up  in  the  Elections. 


538  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

On  Oct.  24  J.  J.  Shanahan,  Acting  President,  issued  a  political 
manifesto  with  the  following  as  the  vital  clause:  "It  will  behoove 
us  to  bring  all  our  forces  to  bear  to  secure  the  defeat  of  any  candi- 
date who  is  not  prepared  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  secure  the  enforce- 
ment of  Conscription."  On  Nov.  5  the  Ontario  G.W.V.A.  issued 
instructions  as  follows:  "No  branch  should  nominate  any  member  or 
private  citizen  for  Parliament.  The  G.W.V.A.  is  a  non-political 
association  and  intends  to  remain  such.  .  .  .  Great  War 
Veterans  should  endorse  any  man  who  is  selected  by  representative 
organizations  supporting  the  Union  Government."  The  Saskat- 
chewan Association  (Nov.  9)  issued  a  manifesto  urging  support  of 
the  Union  Government,  protesting  against  past  "political  pull"  in 
the  Army,  and  advocating  seniority  of  service,  ability,  and  actual 
war  service  as  the  future  and  primary  qualifications  for  promotion, 
In  Calgary  the  G.W.V.A.  (Nov.  12)  urged  this  Election  platform: 
"Immediate  enforcement  of  Conscription  by  the  draft  method  and 
conscription  of  wealth;  establishment  of  an  ample  income  tax  and 
prevention  of  profiteering;  equalization  of  pensions  and  waging  of 
war  to  the  last  man  and  the  last  dollar."  The  Toronto  branch 
(Nov.  23)  decided  to  give  individual  support  to  Majors  R.  C.  Cock- 
burn  and  Carson  McCormack;  that  of  Winnipeg  (Nov.  27)  asked 
for  alien  labour  conscription  at  $1.10  per  day  and  that  of  Halifax 
urged  support  of  the  Union  Government.  The  Winnipeg  G.W.V.A. 
helped  to  elect  one  of  its  members  to  Parliament — Maj.  G.  W.  An- 
drews. The  Saskatchewan  organization  (Nov.  1)  protested  against 
the  appointment  of  officers  to  the  Depot  battalion  who  had  not 
seen  service  overseas;  asked  that  men  who  had  fyled  on  homesteads 
after  enlistment  should  be  allowed  to  count  their  time  in  the  Service 
as  residence  on  their  homesteads;  petitioned  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment to  appoint  a  public  trustee  to  look  after  the  settlement  of  the 
estates  of  soldiers  killed  in  action.  Khaki  Clubs  were  formed  in 
Toronto,  Hamilton  and  other  places;  forcible  action  was  taken  in 
Toronto  against  employment  of  aliens  and  there,  as  in  Winnipeg, 
Vancouver,  etc.,  in  breaking  up  anti-Conscription  meetings. 

Another  soldiers'  organization  which  was  much  discussed  but 
neither  so  effective  nor  so  strong  as  the  G.W.V.A  was  the  Associated 
Kin  of  the  C.E.F.,  started  in  London,  Ontario,  by  Gordon  Wright 
with  a  Dominion  Association  of  which  Mr.  Wright  was  President, 
J.  M.  McEvoy  of  London,  Vice-President,  J.  H.  Laughton,  Secre- 
tary, and  J.  H.  Coyne,  F.R.S.C.,  St.  Thomas,  Treasurer.  The  Toronto 
branch  was  formed  at  a  meeting  on  Feb.  5  with  Hon.  W.  R.  Riddell 
in  the  chair  and  ^Emilius  Jarvis  as  the  chief  speaker.  A  representa- 
tive Committee  was  appointed  and  Hamilton  Cassels,  K.C.,  a  little 
later,  became  President,  Dyce  W.  Saunders,  Vice-President,  ^Emilius 
Jarvis,  Treasurer  and  W.  C.  C.  Innes,  Secretary.  Other  branches 
were  formed  and  the  announced  objects  of  the  Association  were  to 
secure  recruits,  to  collect  and  preserve  information  as  to  conditions 
of  training  and  equipment,  to  protect  the  home  interests  of  absent 
soldiers.  A  journal  called  The  Kinsman  was  published  and  the 
recognition  of  Mothers  losing  sons  in  the  War  was  a  part  of  the  plans 
proposed.  Toward  the  close  of  the  year  an  effort  was  launched  to 


MAJOR  WILLIAM  AVERT  BISHOP,  v.c.,  M.C.,  D.S.O.,  AND  BAR. 


hley  &  Crippen, 

Photographers,  Toronto. 


CANADIAN  AVIATION  IN  1917;  MAJOR  BISHOP'S  EXPLOITS  539 

obtain  a  Dominion  membership  of  2J/2  millions  at  $1.00  per  head 
but  it  met  with  considerable  initial  criticism  and  was  not  successful. 
There  were  Next-of-Kin  Associations  in  Calgary  and  Winnipeg. 

Canadians  by  1917  had  won  a  remarkable  place  in 
s£vtce-VCan-  the  Aviation  records  of  the  Empire.  Yet  they  had 
adian  A  via- "  no  distinct  organization,  no  centre  for  separate  achieve- 
tion  in  1917.  ment  and  reputation,  no  Corps  such  as  had  won  dis- 
tinction for  Australia  in  the  East.  They  simply 
took  to  the  air  as  the  British  did  to  the  sea  and  by  individual 
effort,  voluntary  action  and  initiative  swarmed  into  the  British  service 
until  both  the  Royal  Flying  Corps  and  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service 
recognized  a  peculiar  aptitude  in  the  splendid  work  rendered 
by  Canadians  fighting  side  by  side  with  their  British  brothers. 
The  Canadian  Army  Corps  was  complete  except  in  this  one  branch, 
and  there  were  plenty  of  aviators  in  the  latter  years  of  the  War  to 
form  Canadian  Squadrons  but,  for  some  reason,  Sir  Sam  Hughes  did 
not  approve  and  though,  after  he  ceased  to  be  Minister,  much  was 
done  in  Canada  to  encourage  Imperial  enlistment  and  to  facilitate 
Imperial  construction  of  machines  and  training  of  men,  nothing 
was  done  in  the  organization  of  a  Corps.  It  was  estimated  at  the 
end  of  1917  that  1,000  Canadians  had  joined  the  R.N.A.S.,  and  3,000 
theR.F.C. — as  officers  and  pilots,  mechanicians  and  assistants.  An 
official  statement  in  London  on  Aug.  11  was  that  299  officers  and 
409  privates  coming  to  England  in  the  Canadian  forces  had  been 
granted  commissions  in  the  R.F.C.,  with  93  others  of  Canadian  birth; 
that  346  officers  joined  the  R.N.A.S.  in  Canada  under  arrangements 
organized  by  Admiral  Kingsmill,  while  66  others  had  joined  this 
service  and  been  transferred  to  the  Flying  Corps;  that  80  members 
of  the  Canadian  military  forces  had  been  granted  commissions  in 
the  Naval  Air  Service — a  total  of  1,293  officers. 

In  the  early  part  of  1917  Capt.  Lord  Alastair  Innes-Ker,  D.S.O., 
was  in  Canada  and  recruited  a  number  of  men  for  the  R.F.C.;  the 
Department  of  Naval  Service  at  Ottawa  did  everything  possible  to 
recruit  men  for  the  Naval  Air  Service,  and  had  marked  success,  with 
632  accepted  up  to  the  close  of  the  year;  in  December  Lord  Montagu 
of  Beaulieu,  an  authority  and  enthusiast  in  aircraft  matters,  spoke  at 
a  number  of  centres — Toronto,  Ottawa,  Montreal,  Winnipeg  and 
other  Western  points,  Vancouver  and  Victoria,  etc. — to,  as  he  ex- 
plained it  in  Toronto  on  Dec.  11,  "impress  on  the  Canadian  people 
the  increasing  importance  of  aircraft  in  the  War  and  the  hope  we 
have  that  many  more  of  the  young  men  of  Canada  will  join  the 
flying  forces,  both  naval  and  military."  He  reiterated  everywhere 
the  earnest  belief  that  aircraft  would  decide  the  great  issue.  "If," 
he  declared,  "Canada  continues  to  give  us,  in  increased  numbers, 
the  class  of  air  men  that  she  has  given  in  the  past,  she  will  be  making 
one  of  the  best  contributions  she  can  towards  the  winning  of  this 
long  and  bitter  struggle."  He  estimated  about  2,000  Canadians  as 
being  in  the  two  Services  at  this  time — not  including  mechanicians 
and  corps- workers.  The  Administration  of  the  British  Corps  was, 
of  course,  entirely  in  British  hands  and  there  were  some  inevitable 


540  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

rumours  that  Canadians  did  not  always  receive  fair  treatment  and 
promotion.  The  fact  of  the  matter  was  that  promotions  on  active 
service  in  such  a  Corps  could  and  did  go  absolutely  by  merit;  if 
there  was  any  exception  it  would  be  in  favour  of  Canadians — as 
was  known  to  be  the  case  in  distribution  of  Honours  to  several  of 
the  Army  services.  So  far  as  the  promotion  from  Lieutenants  to 
Fl.  Commander  was  concerned  there  was  no  complaint;  such  as  it 
was  it  referred  to  Squadron  Commander  —  a  position  requiring 
exceptional  qualities  and  experience  quite  distinct  from  the  splendid 
daring  which  distinguished  Canadian  aviators.  The  Air  Service, 
also,  was  a  branch  of  the  active  Services  which  Canadians  heard 
little  about — unless  it  were  the  announcement  of  casualties — until 
Wm.  Avery  Bishop  came  upon  the  scene  in  1917  with  a  record  which 
soon  placed  him  in  the  class  of  Alfred  Ball  of  British  fame  and 
Guynemer  of  French  celebrity.  Within  a  few  months  he  won  almost 
every  Army  honour  available  and  rose  from  Lieutenant  to  Major 
in  rank.  The  following  official  statements  of  these  Honours  are 
published  here  for  the  first  time  in  conjunction  and  present  a 
remarkable  picture  of  achievement : 

M.C.  May  26,  1917:  Lieut.  Wm.  Avery  Bishop. 

For  conspicuous  gallantry  and  devotion  to  duty.  He  attacked  a  hostile  balloon 
on  the  ground,  dispersed  the  crew  and  destroyed  the  balloon,  and  also  drove  down  a 
hostile  machine  which  attacked  him.  He  has  on  several  other  occasions  brought 
down  hostile  machines. 

D.S.O.  June  18,  1917:  Capt.  Wm.  Avery  Bishop. 

For  conspicuous  gallantry  and  devotion  to  duty.  While  in  a  single-seater  he 
attacked  three  hostile  machines,  two  of  which  he  brought  down,  although  in  the 
meantime  he  was  himself  attacked  by  four  other  hostile  machines.  His  courage  and 
determination  have  set  a  fine  example  to  others. 

V.C.  August  10,  1917:  Capt.  Wm.  Avery  Bishop. 

For  most  conspicuous  bravery,  determination  and  skill,  Captain  Bishop,  who 
had  been  sent  out  to  work  independently,  flew  first  of  all  to  an  enemy  aerodrome; 
finding  no  machine  about,  he  flew  on  to  another  aerodrome  about  3  miles  south-east, 
which  was  at  least  12  miles  the  other  side  of  the  line.  7  machines,  some  with  their 
engines  running,  were  on  the  ground.  He  attacked  these  from  about  50  feet,  and  a 
mechanic,  who  was  starting  one  of  the  engines,  was  seen  to  fall.  One  of  the  machines 
got  off  the  ground,  but  at  a  height  of  60  feet  Captain  Bishop  fired  15  rounds  into  it 
at  very  close  range,  and  it  crashed  to  the  ground.  A  second  machine  got  off  the 
ground,  into  which  he  fired  30  rounds  at  150  yards  range,  and  it  fell  into  a  tree.  Two 
more  machines  then  rose  from  the  aerodrome.  One  of  these  he  engaged  at  the  height 
of  1,000  feet,  emptying  the  rest  of  his  drum  of  ammunition.  This  machine  crashed 
300  yards  from  the  aerodrome,  after  which  Captain  Bishop  emptied  a  whole  drum 
into  the  fourth  hostile  machine,  and  then  flew  back  to  his  station.  Four  hostile 
scouts  were  about  1,000  feet  above  him  for  about  a  mile  of  his  return  journey,  but 
they  would  not  attack.  His  machine  was  very  badly  shot  about  by  machine-gun 
fire  from  the  ground. 

Bar  to  D.S.O.  Sept.  26,  1917:  Capt.  Wm.  Avery  Bishop. 

For  conspicuous  gallantry  and  devotion  to  duty  when  engaging  hostile  aircraft. 
His  consistent  dash  and  great  fearlessness  have  set  a  magnificent  example  to  the  pilots 
of  his  squadron.  He  has  destroyed  no  fewer  than  45  hostile  machines  within  the 
past  five  months,  frequently  attacking  enemy  formations  single-handed,  and  on  all 
occasions  displaying  a  fighting  spirit  and  determination  to  get  to  close  quarters  with 
his  opponents,  which  have  earned  the  admiration  of  all  in  contact  with  him. 

Such  a  record  is  rare  in  any  warfare  and  it  won  instant  appreciation 


CANADIAN  AVIATION  IN  1917;  MAJOR  BISHOP'S  EXPLOITS  541 

in  Canada  when  the  facts  became  known.  In  October  the  announced 
results  of  five  months'  fighting  by  Major  Bishop,  in  addition  to  47 
destroyed  machines,  was  110  single  combats  with  the  enemy,  23 
planes  sent  down  without  absolute  certainty  as  to  destruction, 
thrilling  escapes  without  number  including  one  fall  of  4,000  feet 
with  his  machine  in  flames.  Incidentally  the  winning  of  this  reputa- 
tion meant  public  recognition  in  Canada  of  the  large  part  taken  by 
Canadian  aviators  at  the  Front.  In  the  Commons  on  Aug.  17 
Sir  Edward  Kemp  referred  to  the  distinguished  services  of  Capt. 
Bishop  and  placed  on  Hansard  the  Gazette  record  of  his  V.C.  In 
September  Major  Bishop — as  he  then  was — returned  to  Canada 
upon  a  brief  visit  to  his  father,  W.  A.  Bishop  of  Owen  Sound,  Regis- 
trar of  Grey  County,  and  his  family.  He  was  given  a  warm  welcome 
by  the  public  everywhere  and  in  Toronto  on  Sept.  27  crowded  streets 
and  cheers  greeted  him,  a  dense  throng  at  the  City  Hall  acclaimed 
him  again,  Mayor  Church  presented  a  formal  Civic  welcome.  In 
his  speech  the  visitor  stated  there  were  more  than  1,000  Canadians 
in  the  Flying  Corps  at  this  time.  After  a  rest  of  about  a  week  at 
his  home  Major  Bishop  visited  Kingston  on  Oct.  6  and  received  an 
enthusiastic  welcome;  to  an  Aero  Club  luncheon,  Toronto,  on  the 
13th  he  gave  a  description  of  Aerial  fighting  at  the  Front,  Hon. 
N.  W.  Rowell  spoke  and  Col.  Hamilton  Merritt,  President  of  the 
Club,  stated  as  to  Aviation  in  Canada  that:  "It  was  only  when  the 
Imperial  Government  stepped  in  with  her  millions  of  money  that 
Canada  got  a  chance.  The  growth  since  then,  with  15  air  squadrons 
of  270  machines  now  in  operation,  has  been  remarkable."  Major 
Bishop  addressed  an  immense  audience  in  Massey  Hall  on  Oct.  15 
for  the  British  Red  Cross  and,  also,  the  Empire  Club  and,  on  Oct.  17, 
this  youthful  hero  of  the  Air — he  was  only  22  and  held  the  British 
record  to  date  for  air  fighting — was  married  in  Toronto  to  Miss 
Margaret  Burden,  a  neice  of  Sir  John  Eaton.  After  visits  to  New 
York  and  Washington  he  returned  to  England  and  active  service. 

Meantime  other  Canadians  had  won  air  distinction  and  rapid 
promotion  and  honours.  Fl.  Lieut.  Basil  Deacon  Hobbs,  D.S.O.  , 
D.S.C.,  of  the  R.N.A.S.  (Sault  Ste.  Marie)  won  his  distinctions  in 
May  with  a  Zeppelin  and  3  submarines  to  his  credit,  was  later  given 
a  bar  to  his  Cross  and  mentioned  four  times  in  despatches;  Fl. 
Commander  Redford  H.  Mulock,  D.S.O.  and  Cross  of  the  Legion 
of  Honour  (Winnipeg),  won  reputation  in  1916  and  in  1917  was 
made  a  Squadron  Commander;  Fl.  Capt.  A.  Gerald  Knight,  D.S.O. , 
M.C.,  was  announced  in  January  as  missing  after  a  career  of  varied 
exploits;  Sub.-Lieut.  Robert  Leckie  of  Toronto  was  awarded  the 
D.S.C.  for  bringing  down  Zeppelin  L  22  off  the  coast  of  England  on 
May  14;  Fl.  Comm.  Theodore  Douglas  Hallam,  D.S.C.,  was  awarded 
a  Bar  to  his  Cross  in  1917  after  actions  of  varied  courage  and  skill 
and  so  with  Fl.  Lieut.  Raymond  Colleshaw,  D.S.C.,  who  also  was 
awarded  the  D.S.O.  for  "great  gallantry  and  skill  in  all  his  com- 
bats"; Gerald  Hervey  of  the  R.N.A.S.,  son  of  P.  C.  B.  Hervey, 
Superintendent  of  Dominion  Parks,  won  his  D.S.C.  "for  tackling 
ten  Gothas  single-handed  in  a  German  raid  and  bringing  down  two 
of  them,"  and  in  1917  was  promoted  to  Squadron  Commander; 


542 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Fl.  Lieut.  J.  S.  T.  Fall,  D.S.C.,  of  Victoria,  who  won  two  bars  to  his 
Cross;  Fl.  Comm.  Philip  Sidney  Fisher,  D.S.C.,  D.S.O.  (Montreal), 
obtained  the  latter  honour  for  fighting  six  combats  single-handed  in 
one  battle  and  as  "a  most  efficient  and  plucky  flight  leader";  Fl. 
Lieut.  Melville  C.  Wood,  son  of  D.  D.  Wood  of  Winnipeg,  was 
killed  in  September  after  two  years  of  distinguished  service  (in 
Egypt);  and  so  with  Fl.  Comm.  Arnold  J.  Chadwick,  D.S.C.,  of  Tor- 
onto, on  the  Western  Front.  Promotions  as  Fl.  Commander  included 
in  1917  W.  J.  Rutherford,  L.  P.  Watkins,  E.  G.  Joy,  R.  I.  Vander- 
Byl,  A.  G.  Henshaw,  P.  B.  Tabernacle,  G.  C.  Rogers,  L.  W.  Hopkins, 
Evans  McKay,  D.S.C.,  while  Fl.  Comm.  P.  C.  Sherren,  M.C., 
and  Fl.  Capt.  J.  S.  Scott,  M.C.,  were  appointed  Squadron  Commanders 
and  G.  C.  de  Dombasle  a  Wing  Commander.  The  casualties  in 
this  Service  were  very  numerous,  often  pathetic  because  of  the 
specially  bright  promise  and  youthf  ulness  of  those  who  passed  away. 
Such  a  case  was  that  of  Fl.  Lieut.  Theodore  Glasgow  of  Toronto 
who  was  killed  in  one  of  his  earliest  flights  in  France  at  the  age  of 
19.  Others  were  Fl.  Lieutenants  Carl  McKissock,  Toronto,  Mel- 
ville Sayer,  Winnipeg,  Eric  McMurtry,  Montreal  and  H.  L.  Crowe, 
Toronto.  There  were  so  many  similar  losses  that  these  can  only 
be  mentioned  here  as  an  illustration  of  the  tragedies  of  the  splendid 
Air  Force.  Of  young  Canadians  who  distinguished  themselves  in 
the  Service  the  following  is  a  partial  list  in  addition  to  those  already 
mentioned  : 


Fl.  Com.  Wm.  T.  Hall. 

Cecil  Barley,  D.S.C. 

Robert  Little,  D.S.O. 

A.  M.  Chook,  D.S.C. 

L.  S.  Breadner,  D.S.O. 

A.  P.  Matheson. 

W.  G.  Barker.  M.C. 

P.  W.  Chambers. 

Lester  Hopkins. 

C.  T.  Lally,  M.C. 

S.  T.  Edwards,  D.S.C. 

G.  G.  MacLennan. 

J.  T.  Anglin. 

J.  E.  Shearman,  D.S.O.,  D.S.C. 

C.  McNicholl,  D.S.C. 

W.  E.  Flett,  D.S.C. 


Fl.  Com.  A.  S.  Ince,  D.S.C. 

L.  F.  W.  Smith,  D.S.C. 

H.  G.  Boswell,  o.a.c. 
Fl.  Capt.  Le  Royer,  M.C. 
Fl.  Lieut.  J.  S.  T.  Fall,  D.S.C. 

S.  W.  Rosevear,  D.S.C. 

Ellis  V.  Reid,  D.S.C. 

C.  B.  Sproat,  D.S.C. 

Harold  S.  Kerby,  D.S.C. 

J.  R.  S.  Devlin,  D.S.C. 

A.  W.  Carter,  D.S.C. 
Rochfort  Grange,  D.S.C. 
G.  H.  Barley,  D.S.C. 

B.  M.  B.  Galbraith,  D.S.C. 
G.  B.  Smith,  D.S.C. 

W.  A.  Curtis,  D.S.C. 


Meanwhile  arrangements  had  been  made  under  Imperial  auspices 
and  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Canadian  Government  to  construct 
Aviation  plants  upon  a  large  scale,  establish  grounds  for  aviators, 
and  organize  20  reserve  squadrons  in  Canada  as  a  branch  of  the 
Royal  Flying  Corps.  Construction  and  equipment  were  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Imperial  Munitions  Board  and  the  first  undertaking 
in  January  was  an  aviation  plant  at  Camp  Borden  involving  a 
large  outlay  with,  also,  the  training  of  Air  students.  The  immediate 
construction  of  360  training-planes  was  designed,  the  plant  was  to 
cost  $3,000,000  and  the  work  was  directed  by  Col.  R.  S.  Low. 
F.  W.  Baillie  of  the  Canadian  Cartridge  Co.  was  selected  as  the 
Director  of  the  Canadian  organization;  George  A.  Morrow,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Imperial  Life  Assurance  Co.,  was  Assistant  Director; 
A.  H.  Mulcahey  of  the  Grand  Trunk,  Winnipeg,  was  secured  as 
Purchasing  Agent,  and  Arthur  F.  White  of  the  Dominion  Securities 
Corporation  appointed  Secretary.  It  was  the  intention  to  recruit 


CANADIAN  AVIATION  IN  1917;  MAJOR  BISHOP'S  EXPLOITS  543 

the  personnel  for  these  Squadrons  entirely  in  Canada,  and  to  officer 
them  as  far  as  possible  with  Canadian  officers  sent  back  from  Over- 
seas. One  object  of  the  Imperial  authorities  in  starting  the  scheme 
was  to  enable  candidates  to  have  instruction  in  flying  free  of  expense 
to  themselves;  further,  the  machines  for  these  Squadrons  would  be 
built  in  Canada  and  thus  relieve  the  labour  pressure  in  England. 
About  3,000  skilled  mechanics  were  required  for  the  necessary  work 
of  these  Squadrons  and  their  enlistment  was  at  once  commenced 
with  payments  arranged  on  the  Canadian  scale  and  running  from 
$1.10  per  day  for  unskilled  labour  to  $2.80  for  Warrant  officers. 
Assistance  was  given  in  this  connection  by  the  National  Service 
Board  and  12,000  of  its  cards  were  selected  as  the  basis  of  an  appeal 
for  recruits.  To  help  in  training  the  workmen  250  experts  in  aero- 
plane manufacture  came  from  England. 

It  was  announced  in  April  that  there  were  to  be  in  Canada  four 
centres,  at  which  officers  would  be  trained  for  the  Royal  Flying 
Corps  with  a  thousand  aeroplanes  in  use.  The  plant  at  Camp 
Borden  was  then  in  operation  and  another  in  the  Bay  of  Quinte 
district  was  under  construction.  The  erection  of  Schools  and  Aero- 
dromes was  proceeded  with  at  North  Toronto,  Long  Branch  near 
Toronto,  at  Camp  Lulu,  Vancouver,  B.C.,  as  well  as  at  Camp 
Mohawk  on  the  Bay  of  Quinte.  By  May  31  there  were  1,000 
mechanics  working  at  Camp  Borden  and  150  pilots  under  instruction 
with  Brig. -Gen.  C.  G.  Hoare  in  command  of  the  Canadian  Branch 
of  the  Flying  Corps.  Hundreds  of  men  came  from  the  United 
States  to  train  at  the  new  camps  as  they  came  into  service  and  by 
August  Canadian  Aeroplanes,  Ltd.,  controlled  by  the  Munitions 
Board  and  managed  by  F.  W.  Baillie,  had  an  immense  factory  in 
operation.  Cadet  officers  for  the  Corps  were  called  for  at  this 
time  and  many  enlistments  made — especially  in  British  Columbia 
and  around  Toronto.  Toward  the  end  of  the  year  Canadians  and 
Americans,  in  training,  very  largely  went  south  to  the  great  Texas 
Camp  at  Fort  Worth.  During  this  period  there  were  a  good  many 
fatalities  from  various  accidental  causes  during  training— in  Canada, 
in  Texas  and  at  later  stages  in  England.  By  the  end  of  the  year 
many  millions  were  being  expended  by  the  British  authorities  upon 
this  Canadian  Air  Service  and  work,  with  the  Toronto  factory  em- 
ploying over  2,000  skilled  mechanics  and  turning  out  5  planes  a 
day;  five  Aerodromes  or  schools  or  camps  had  been  constructed 
and  a  sixth  was  under  way;  hundreds  of  R.F.C.  officers  were  keeping 
the  training  machinery  in  operation;  the  University  of  Toronto  had 
utilized  a  number  of  its  educational  buildings  for  instruction  in 
the  theory  of  flight,  aerial  gunnery,  observation,  photography,  wire- 
less telegraphy,  and  many  branches  of  military  aeronautics  through 
which  all  Cadets  had  to  pass. 

Meantime,  the  work  of  the  Aero  Club  of  Canada  of  which  Col. 
W.  Hamilton  Merritt,  Toronto,  was  the  energetic  President,  had 
been  of  assistance  in  this  development.  Its  original  aim  was  to 
promote  the  training  of  Canadian  lads  for  the  Air  Service  and  this 
was  realized  by  the  establishment  of  the  Imperial  training  Squadrons 
and  the  construction  work  of  the  Munitions  Board;  its  second  object 


544  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

was  to  obtain  from  the  Canadian  people  as  many  gifts  of  aeroplanes 
as  possible  in  order  to  help  His  Majesty's  Government  and  the  cause. 
This  was  partially  realized  by  the  presentation  of  8  training  aero- 
planes and  5  Service  aeroplanes — of  which  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Merritt 
gave  three,  James  Carruthers  of  Montreal  seven  and  the  Corporation 
of  Toronto  three — at  a  total  expense  of  over  $100,000.  A  woman's 
branch  of  the  Aero  Club  was  formed  at  Toronto  in  March  with 
Mrs.  E.  H.  Duggan  as  President.  In  Montreal  the  Canadian  Division 
of  the  Aerial  League  of  the  British  Empire  had,  meanwhile,  been 
in  active  operation,  with  Sir  H.  S.  Holt,  W.  M.  Birks,  Lansing  Lewis, 
C.  Forgie,  G.  G.  Foster,  K.C.,  interested  in  its  management  and  G.  R. 
Lighthall  as  Hon.  Secretary.  A  number  of  aeroplanes  were  con- 
tributed through  the  influence  of  this  organization  and  a  Branch 
was  formed  in  P.E.  Island.  Of  incidents  during  the  year  one  was 
the  sending  of  a  group  of  Canadian  aviators  to  Italy  to  help  the 
Italians  in  their  difficulties  and  another  was  the  initiation  of  an 
effort  (Toronto,  Mar.  6)  to  organize  a  Canadian  Hospital  for  Flying 
Corps.  Recruiting  for  the  R.N.A.S.  was  discontinued  by  the  Admir- 
alty at  the  close  of  the  year. 

Canadian  Nearly    every    notable    or    prominent    family    in 

War  Inci-  Canada  was  represented  on  the  active  service  list  of 
dents:  Casu-  ^[s  \yar>  in  many  of  them  the  year  brought  cause 
allies  and  »  .  £  .  ,  ,  .,,  •  j  •  ,1  n 

Honours.  *or  §rlef  mingled,  always,  with  pride  in  the  gallantry 
shown  by  Canadians  during  these  days  of  the  supreme 
sacrifice — as  indeed  with  the  still  larger  proportion  of  deaths  from 
out  of  British  or  French  homes.  Fifty  sons  of  Canadian  members 
of  Parliament  had  gone  into  the  Army  or  Navy  by  1917  and  this 
year  saw  also  a  number  of  casualties  notable  for  the  intrinsic  char- 
acter and  reputations  of  the  officers  concerned.  Amongst  the  best 
known  were  Lieut.-Colonels  S.  G.  Beckett,  R.  H.  Britton,  D.S.O., 
M.  Docherty,  D.S.O.,  D.  I.  V.  Eaton,  G.  T.  Denison,  Jr.,  [S.  W. 
Hewetson,  Thomas  C.  Irving,  D.S.O.,  A.  H.  G.  Kemball,  C.B./D.S.O., 
E.  Woodman  Leonard,  D.S.O.,  R.  C.  McLeod,  W.  W.  Stewart;  Majors 
J.  G.  Anderson,  M.C.,  P.  W.  Anderson,  M.C.,  C.  E.  A.  Bredin,  D.S.O., 
K.  L.  T.  Campbell,  M.C.,  W.  H.  P.  Collum,  M.C.,  C.  E.  Cooper,  M.C., 
J.  A.  Critchely,  M.C.,  J.  A.  Delancey,  M.C.,  H.  Hutchison,  D.S.O.,  M.C., 
O.  M.  Learmonth,  v.c.,  M.C.,  T.  M.  Papineau,  M.C.,  and  Capt.  V.  G. 
Tupper,  M.C.;  others  were  Capt.  C.  T.  Costigan,  M.C.,  D.S.O.,  a  well- 
known  and  gallant  soldier;  Lieut.  D.  J.  Barker,  formerly  Assistant  to 
the  General  Manager  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal  and  a  popular  financial 
figure  in  Montreal;  Capt.  M.  Lockhart-Gordon  of  Toronto,  the 
second  brother  to  be  killed  with  still  another  on  service;  Corp.  the 
Rev.  F.  T.  Kinghan,  B.A.,  of  Sparta,  Ontario;  Lieut.  A.  J.  Nors- 
worthy  of  Montreal,  brother  of  Major  E.  C.  Norsworthy  killed  at 
Ypres  and  of  Major  S.  C.  and  Lieut.  J.  W.  Norsworthy  still  on 
service;  Major  Alvin  Ripley,  Postmaster  of  Lethbridge,  Alberta; 
Lieut.-Col.  Glenlyon  Campbell,  ex-M.p.,  D.S.O.,  dead  of  fever  in 
England  after  leading  his  Campbell's  Scouts  at  Vimy;  Major  F.  R. 
Spence,  Toronto,  and  Lieut.-Col.  A.  T.  Thomson,  D.S.O.,  M.C.,  of 
Port  Credit,  Ontario;  Major  Mahlon  Lambert  Boyle,  M.C.,  brother 


CANADIAN  WAR  INCIDENTS;  CASUALTIES  AND  HONOURS    545 

of  Lieut.-Col.  Russell  Boyle  killed  at  St.  Julien;  Major  A.  L.  McHugh 
Vane  and  Major  Cecil  V.  Strong  of  Halifax;  Fl.  Lieut.  W.  L.  Clifford, 
Canada's  champion  Marksman  at  Bisley  in  1909;  Major  Arthur 
Ion  Fraser,  D.S.O.,  of  the  Indian  Cavalry.  The  following  List, 
continued  from  preceding  volumes,*  gives  the  names  of  young 
Canadians  of  well-known  name  or  family  : 


Lieut.  F.  Guy  Dunstan  x 

Lieut.-Col.  R.  C.  Morris  x 

Fl.  Lieut.  H.  L.  Crowe  x 

Sergt.  Ernest  M.  Rochester  x. . 

PL  Oadet  H.  C.  Rochester 

Lieut.  H.  L.  Watson  x 

FL  Lieut.  Conn.  Smythe,  M.C.  . . 

Lieut.  K.  L.  Carruthers 

Lieut.  R.  T.  M.  Dean 

PL  Com.  G.  M.  Dean 

Lieut.  Harold  M.  Groves  x 

Lieut.  B.  V.  McCrimmon 

Lieut.  Norman  McLeod  x 

Lieut.  M.  Langdon  Ellis 

Lieut.  P.  D.  Huestis 

Lieut.  N.  C.  Fergusson 

Lieut.  Eric  Chown    

Major  G.  M.  Orr 

FL  Lieut.  P.  H.  Raney 

Capt.  Leslie  Lockhart-Gordon  x 
Lieut.-Col.  H.  D.  Lockhart- 
Gordon,  D.8.0 


Son  of       Kenneth  J.  Dunstan Toronto. 

Late  Hon.  Alex.  Morris. ...         " 

Harry  J.  Crowe " 

Rev.  Dr.  W.  M.  Rochester. 
Rev.  Dr.  W.  M.  Rochester. 

W.G.Watson 

A.  E.  S.  Smythe 

Prof.  Adam  Carruthers 

Rev.  F.  Morgan  Dean " 

Rev.  F.  Morgan  Dean " 

W.  E.  Groves 

Rev.  Dr.  A.  L.  McCrimmon         " 

H.  C.  McLeod 

M.  C.  Ellis 

A.  E.  Huestis " 

G.  Tower  Fergusson 

Rev.  Dr.  S.  D.  Chown " 

Late  Dr.  J.  Orlando  Orr. . 

W.  E.  Raney,  K.C 

W.  H.  Lockhart-Gordon . . . 

W.  H.  Lockhart-Gordon. 


VJTIFI  mJHt      \J.  O.  \Jt  «   «•••••»••••  TT.       JUL«      J^IVFV/JXJ-tCM.  U~VJI  VfJ.  MW1J.  .    . 

Lieut.  J.  A.  Wylie  x Neph  w  of  Maj.-Gen.  W.  A.  Logie 


FL  Lieut.  A.  W.  Kilgour  x 

Lieut.  John  H.  Creighton 

Lieut.  Evans  A.  McKay,  M.C... 

Lieut.  J.  M.  Massey,  M.C 

Lieut.  Asa  R.  Minard  x 

Lieut.  B.  T.  Nevitt  x 

Capt.  J.  H.  G.  Strathy,  M.C.  . . 
Sergt.  R.  Douglas  Patterson  x. 

Lieut.  Norman  W.  Cosby 

Lieut.  Gordon  M.  Pearce  x 

Lieut.  Rex  Pearce  x 

Lieut.  R.  S  .C.  Webber 

FL  Lieut.  Gordon  Hanlan  x 


Son 


of 


Robert  Kilgour, 

Rev.  Dr.  W.  B.  Creighton . 

Rev.  Dr.  W.  J.  McKay. . , . 

John  Massey 

Capt.  A.  R.  Minard 

Dr.  R.  B.  Nevitt 

Nephew  of  Col.  H.  J.  Grasett,  C.M.Q. . . 

Son  of      Late  R.  L.  Patterson 

Late  Lieut.-Col.  H.  M.  Cosby 

W.  K.  Pearce 

W.  K.  Pearce 

B.  C.  Webber 

Late  Edward  Hanlan 


Lieut.  C.  T.  Bruce  x Nephew  of  Col.  H.  A.  Bruce 


Son  of 


Lieut.  J.  D.  P.  Scholfleld. 

Capt.  A.  D.  Fisken 

Lieut.  N.  A.  Keys 

Lieut.  A.  S.  Robertson 

Lieut.  B.  F.  Trotter  x. 

Lieut.-Col  R.  H.  Britton,  D.S.O.X  Nephew  of  Mr.  Justice  Britton 

FL  Lieut.  G.  R.  S.  Fleming  x. .       Son  of      Atwell  Fleming.. . 

Lieut.  J.  Spence  Reid Nephew  of  Late  F.  S.  Spence. 

Major  H.  W.  A.  Foster,  D.S.O., 

M.C.  . .          Son  of 


H.  C.  Scholfleld,  OX-M.L.A.  .  . 

J.  Kerr  Fisken 

Prof.  D.  R.  Keys 

Rev.  Dr.  Andrew  Robertson 
Prof.  Thomas  Trotter. . , 


Lieut.  R.  McPherson 

Pte.  H.  A.  Chambers 

Lieut.  C.  P.  Coatsworth,  M.C.  . . 

Major  W.  H.  Tyrrell 

Lieut.  Thos.  Brehant  Saunders  x 

Major  C.  A.  Robertson 

Lieut.  Maurice  Clarkson  x 

Lieut.  M.  M.  Winchester 

Major  W.  E.  Curry  x 

FL  Lieut.  G.  H.  Morang  x 

Lieut.  R.  H.  M.  Joliffe 

Lieut.  A.  E.  de  M.  Jarvis 

Lieut.  A.  M.  Latchford 

Lieut.  J.  K.  Latchford 

Lieut.  F.  K.  Lefroy  x 

Major  G.  R.  Heron 

Lieut.  N.  E.  Walker  x 

Capt.  Chas.  C.  Gwyn  x 

Ian  M.  Macdonell 

Pte.  D.  Arthur  Carey 

FL  Lieut.  J.  W.  Lockhart 


Late  W.  A.  Foster,  K.C 

Hon.  W.  D.  McPherson 

Rev.  Dr.  A.  B.  Chambers. . 

Judge  Coatsworth 

Dr.  J.  B.  Tyrrell 

Dyce  Saunders 

J.  Ross  Robertson 

E.  R.  O.  Clarkson 

Rev.  Dr.  A.  B.  Winchester. 

J.  Walter  Curry,  K.C 

George  M.  Morang 

Rev.  T.  W.  Jolliffe 

Rev.  Canon  Jarvis 

Hon.  F.  R.  Latchford 

Hon.  F.  R.  Latchford 

A.  H.  F.  Lefroy,  K.C 

Grandson  of  Late  J.  Gordon  Brown 

Son  of  Charles  Walker 

Nephew  of  Sir  E.  B.  Osier,  M.P 

Son  of  A.  McLean  Macdonell 

D.  A.  Carey 

Reginald  Lockhart 


*  See  Pages  290-1  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review,  1914;  Page  221,  1915  volume; 
Pages  468-475,  1916  volume. 

NOTE. — Those  marked  with  a  cross  (x)  were  killed  in  action  or,  in  a  few  cases,  by 
military  accident. 

35 


546 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


C.  V.  M.  Temple 

Alfred  Wright... 

Alfred  Wright 

Alfred  Wright 

Late  G.  A.  Somerville. 


Lieut.  Claude  C.  Temple Son  of      C.  V.  M.  Temple Toronto 

Capt.  C.  S.  Wright,  M.C 

Lieut.  V.  B.  Wright,  x 

Lieut.  A.  M.  Wright 

Lieut.  H.  A.  Somerville 

PI.  Lieut.  D.  R.  C.  Wright  x .  .  .  Grandson  of  Late  Sir  M.  C.  Cameron. 

Pte.  E.  F.  Clarke Nephew  of  Late  E.  F.  Clarke,  M.P 

Lieut.  G.  A.  Penchen Son  of      Lieut.-Col.  A.  G.  Penchen. . 

PL  Lieut.  F.  S.  Strathy  x Stuart  Strathy 

Capt.  Eric  Clarke Dr.  C.  K.  Clarke 

Maj.  Gordon  B.  Heyd L.  F.  Heyd,  K.C 

Capt.  N.  S.  Macdonnell Late  Rev.  D.  J.  Macdonnell 

Lieut.  Howard  Hunter W.  H.  Hunter 

Lieut.  W.  M.  Geggie  x Rev.  Dr.  A.  Logan  Geggie. 

Lieut.  C.  B.  MacQueen Col.  F.  W.  MacQueen 

PI.  Lieut.  F.  M.  Bryans Dr.  W.  F.  Bryans 

Lieut.  H.  Cassels Hamilton  Cassels,  K.C 

Lieut.  David  Blain Hugh  Blain 


Son  of 


Nephew  of 
Son  of 


Lieut.  Gerald  Gait  x 

Major  Walter  L.  MacLean  x .  . 
Capt.  G.  C.  Rogers,  M.C.  x. . . 

Gnr.  E.  Brydone-Jack 

Major  C.  S.  Belcher  x 

Lieut.  Leslie  J.  Deacon  x 

Lieut.  M.  M.  Perdue 

Lieut.  A.  R.  Gordon Nephew  of 

Tpr.  Douglas  Waugh Son  of 

Pte.  K.  G.  Bowman  x 

Major  Harold  Aikins 

Lieut.  F.  W.  Parrish 

Lieut.  Leslie  Deacon 

Pte.  S.  S.  Mclntyre 

Ldeut.  Dawson  Elliott 

Lieut.  W.  B.  Wilton Brother  of 

Major  Lanigan Son  of 

Lieut.  A.  L.  Waugh  x 

Capt.  W.  M.  Hart,  M.C 

Son  of 


Hon.  A.  C.  Gait Winnipeg. 

Rev.  Dr.  John  Maclean .... 

Hon.  Robert  Rogers 

Prof.  E.  Brydone  Jack 

H.  M.  Belcher 

T.  R.  Deacon 

Mr.  Justice  Perdue 

Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.  Gordon .... 

Mayor  R.  D.  Waugh 

H.  A.  Bowman 

Sir  J.  A.  M.  Aikins 

W.  L.  Parrish,  M.L.A 

ex-Mayor  T.  R.  Deacon. . . . 

Daniel  Mclntyre,  LL.D 

D.  K.  Elliott 

T.  W.  Wilton,  M.L.A 

J.  B.  Lanigan 

R.  D.  Waugh 

Thomas  Hart 


Lieut.  Arthur  Goodeve  x Son  of      A.  S.  Goodeve Otta 

Lieut.  S.  M.  Goodeve  x A.  S.  Goodeve 

Col.  G.  T.  Hamilton,  D.S.O Archbishop  Hamilton 

Capt.  Wm.  H.  Morris,  M.C.  x. .  .  ex-Mayor  W.  D.  Morris. .  .  . 

Fl.  Lieut.  J.  A.  M.  Fleming ....  Grandson  of  Late  Sir  Sandford  Fleming. . 

Lieut.  John  E.  Almon  x Nephew  of  Sir  H.  K.  Egan 

Lieut.  J.  de  G.  Audette Son  of      Mr.  Justice  Audette 

Sir  George  Burn 

Late  Maj.-Gen.  B.  H.  Vidal 

Grandson  of  John  R.  Booth c 

Nephew  of  Late  Sir  Henry  Bate 

C.  A.  Magrath 

Son  of 


Lieut.  G.  D.  Burn 

Lieut.  H.  M.  Vidal  x 

Fl.  Lieut.  Jackson  R.  Booth. . 

Lieut.  Holland  N.  Bate 

Lieut.  C.  R.  Magrath  Godwin. 

Lieut.  R.  L.  Sladen  x 

Pte.  Wm.  Brooke  x 

Capt.  W.  D.  Herridge 

Major  J.  C.  T.  Thompson 

Major  Allan  Powell,  D.S.O 


Fl.   Com.   P.   S.   Fisher,    D.S.O., 

D.S.C 

Lieut.  John  C.  Carting,  M.C 

Lieut.  Wilfrid  H.  Carling,  M.C.. 

Lieut.  Kenneth  Duggan  x 

Lieut.  Herrick  S.  Duggan  x 

Lieut.  L.  H.  Biggar 

Capt.  A.  Dawes 

Fl.  Lieut.  R.  J.  Dawes 

Lieut.  Stanley  McPherson 

Lieut.  Barclay  McPherson 

Pte.  Wilfrid  McPherson 

Lieut.  F.  G.  Pedley,  M.C 

Fl.  Lieut.  Hugh  Allan  x 

Lieut.  C.  S.  de  Gruchy,  M.C.  x. . 
Capt.  Percival  Molson,  M.C.  x. . 

Lieut.  G.  C.  T.  Hadrill 

Lieut.  E.  M.  Chauvin 

Lieut.  K.  S.  Drummond,  M.C  ... 

Lieut.  Edmund  P.  Cloran 

Lieut.  B.  O.  Wilson 

Lieut.  Eric  M.  Hersey 

Major  E.  A.  McMurtry  x 

Major  John  J.  Moyse 

Lieut.  R.  Lemieux 


A.  F.  Sladen,  C.M.O.,  c.v.o. . 

C.  J.  Brooke,  K.C 

Rev.  Dr.  W.  T.  Herridge. . . 
Late  Sir  John  Thompson  . . . 
Dr.  R.  W.  Powell 


Nephew  of  Hon.  Sydney  A.  Fisher Mon  real. 

Grandson  of  Late  Sir  Henri  Taschereau. . 

Late  Sir  Henri  Taschereau. 
Son  of       G.  H.  Duggan 

G.  H.  Duggan 

W.  H.  Biggar 

Late  James  P.  Dawes 

Late  James  P.  Dawes 

Late  D.  A.  McPherson 

Late  D.  A.  McPherson 

Late  D.  A.  McPherson 

Rev.  Dr.  Hugh  Pedley 

Sir  Montagu  Allan 

Philip  de  Gruchy 

J.  T.  Molson 

George  Hadrill 

H.  N.  Chauvin,  K.C 

Late  J.  J.  Drummond 

Hon.  H.  J.  Cloran,  K.C 

Maj.-Gen.  E.  W.  Wilson 

Dr.  Milton  Hersey 

S.  A.  McMurtry 

Prof.  C.  E.  Moyse 

Hon.  R.  Lemieux,  M.P 


NOTE. — Those  marked  with  a  «ross  (x)  were  killed  in  action  or,  in  a  few  cases,  by 
military  accident. 


CANADIAN  WAR  INCIDENTS;  CASUALTIES  AND  HONOURS     547 


Lieut.  W.  E.  Buchan  x 

Lieut.  R.  B.  Esdaille  x 

Lieut.  L.  des  Trois  Maisons .... 

Capt.  E.  B.  Finley 

Lieut.  Roger  Maiilet 

Lieut.  Ren6  Bourgeois 

Fl.  Com.  C.  M.  Clement  x 

Capt.  Kenneth  Bell-Irving  x. .  .  . 
Lieut.  P.  D.  M.  McLagan  x. .  .  . 

Capt.  J.  Duff  Stuart  x 

Capt.  H.  B.  Hamber  x 

Lieut.  H.  M.  Thomas 

Lieut.  J.  W.  Smith 

Pte.  J.  D.  McMurrich  x 

Lieut.  R.  H.  Creery  x 

Lieut.  C.  J.  Creery  x 

Lieut.  K.  A.  Creery 


Lieut.  H.  Waring  Laird  x 

Pte.  H.  H.  Hawkes 

Sergt.  Edward  McNab 

Major  W.  S.  Mclnnis 

Major  Kenneth  Perry,  D.S.O.  . 


Lieut.  H.  A.  Dyde .  . 
Pte.  H.  G.  Riddell  x. 
Lieut.  F.  R.  Henry.. 


Lieut.  Frank  M.  Dunn  x 

Lieut.  Donald  Maclean  x 

Lieiit.  J.  G.  Tatlow,  M.C 

Capt.  D.  F.  Scott 

Lieut.  P.  H.  J.  Blakemore 

Lieut.  Arthur  B.  Boggs 

Capt.  R.  H.  B.  Ker 

Lieut.  W.  C.  Ross 

Lieut.  H.  M.  Ross 

Pte.  J.  R.  Kingham 

Major  J.  H.  Sweet  x 

Lieut.  Hartley  Holmes 

Fl.  Lieut.  Norman  Hall. . 


Son  of       J.  S.  Buchan,  K.C Montreal. 

C.  B.  Esdaille 

J.  P.  A.  des  Trois  Maisons. 

W.  C.  Finley 

Dr.  Gaston  Maiilet 

Louis  Bourgeois 

Son  of      Mr.  Justice  Clement Vancouver 

Mrs.  W.  Bell-Irving 

Late  J.  C.  McLagan 

Lieut.-Col.  J.  Duff  Stuart. .  . 

Brother  of  Eric  W.  Hamber 

Son  of  Rev.  Ernest  Thomas 

Hon.  Ralph  Smith 

LateW.  B.  McMurrich,  K.C. 

A.  McC.  Creery 

A.  McC.  Creery 

A.  McC.  Creery 

Son  of      Hon.  H.  W.  Laird Regina. 

J.  B.  Hawkes,  OX-M.L.A 

Hon.  A.  P.  McNab 

J.  K.  Mclnnis 

Comm'r  A.  P.  Perry,  C.M.G.  . 

Son  of      Rev.  Dr.  Dyde Edmonton 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Riddell 

W.  T.  Henry 

Son  of      Robert  Dunn Victoria. 

Rev.  Dr.  H.  N   Maclean 

Hon.  R.  G.  Tatlow 

W.  E.  Scott 

Wm.  Blakemore 

Beaumont  Boggs 

D.  R.  Ker 

Hon.  W.  R.  Ross,  M.L.A 

Hon.  W.  R.  Ross,  M.L.A 

Joshua  Kingham 

Archdeacon  Sweet 

Lieut.-Col.  W.  J.  H.  Holmes, 

Major' G.'  A.  B.'  Hall '. '. '. '. '. 


Lieut.  A.  M.  Naismith Son  of  P.  L.  Naismith Calgary. 

Lieut.  W.  G.  Cairns Brother  of  John  Cairns 

Lieut.  R.  E.  P.  Pryce-Jones Son  of  Lieut.-Col.  A.  W.  Pryce-Jones 

Lieut.  Everett  Fallis  x. .  "  Rev.  S.  W.  Fallis 


Lieut.  K.  A.  Clark . 
Lieut.  J.  A.  Clark . . 
Pte.  Michael  Clark. 
Pte.  Robert  Clark. . 


Capt.  H.  H.  Van  Wart.. . 

Capt.  J.  A.  Winslow  x . . . 

Lieut.  Fred.  Foster 

Lieut.  Hibbert  Binney  x . 


Son  of      Dr.  Michael  Clark,  M.P Red  Deer. 

Dr.  Michael  Clark,  M.P 

Dr.  Michael  Clark,  M.P 

Dr.  Michael  Clark,  M.P 

Son  of      ex-Mayor  W.  Van  Wart,  K.c.Fredericton. 

Dr.  H.  V.  B.  Bridges 

E.  Byron  Winslow 

Nephew  of  Hon.  W.  E.  Foster 

Grandson  of  Late  Bishop  Binney 


Corp.  P.  J.  Veniot 

Lieut.  Ralph  Murray. 
Lieut.  Lionel  Teed . . . 


Son  of      P.  J.  Veniot St.  John. 

Hon.  J.  A.  Murray 

"  M.  G.  Teed,  K.C 

Major  R.  J.  McLaren  x Son  of      Late  Lieut.-Col.  Henry  Mc- 
Laren  Hamilton. 

Lieut.  G.  Lynch-Staunton  x. . .  .  Hon.  G.  S.  Lynch-Staunton. 

Lieut.  J.  A.  McLaren Nephew  of  Lieut.-Col.  J.  I.  McLaren. . . 

Major  Wm.  McLaren  x Lieut.-Col.  J.  I.  McLaren. . . 

Capt.  J.  Alex.  Turner Grandson  of  Late  Hon.  James  Turner .  .  . 

Lieut.  W.  H.  Hay Nephew  of  Sir  J.  S.  Hendrie 


Lieut.  A.  S.  McLean  x 

Lieut.  Kenneth  Somerville 

Lieut.-Col.  E.  W.  Leonard  x. .  .  . 
Lieut.-Col.  Ibbotson  Leonard. . . 

Capt.  Max.  McEvoy 

Major  Ward  Wright 

Sergt.  D.  G.  Wright 

Capt.  N.  R.  Wright 


Son  of      M.  Y.  McLean,  M.P London. 

Mayor  C.  R.  Somerville 

F.  E.  Leonard 

F.  E.  Leonard 

J.  M.  McEvoy,  LL.D 

Gordon  Wright 

Gordon  Wright 

Gordon  Wright 


Lieut.  John  Howe Grand  Nephew  of  Late  Hon.  Joseph  Howe. . . . Halifax. 

Lieut.  Gavin  Stairs  x Grandson  of  Late  Hon.  W.  J.  Stairs 


NOTE. — Those  marked  with  a  cross  (x)  were  killed  in  action  or,  in  a  few  cases,   by 
military  accident. 


548 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Lieut.  Fred.  Tanner Son  of      Charles  E.  Tanner,  K.C Halifax. 

Capt.  D.  D.  Macdonald  x Nephew  of  Mr.  Justice  Chisholm 

Lieut.  A.  H.  Weldon Son  of      B.  C.  Weldon,  ex-M.p .  . 


Lieut.  A.  S.  K.  Lloyd  x 

Lieut.  F.  P.  Lloyd 

Lieut.  W.  E.  Lloyd 

Pte.  G.  C.  Hopkins  x 

Fl.  Cadet  J.  de  B.  Domville  x. 

Fl.  Cadet  D.  A.  Swayze  x 

Lieut.  Welland  G.  Williams  x. . 

Capt.  L.  A.  Smith 

Major  O.  M.  Leannonth,  v.c. 

D.S.O.  x 

Major  Henri  Chasse,  M.C 

Lieut.  Antoine  Chasse 


Lieut.  Edward  R.  Osier 
Capt.  R.  O'Leary,  M.C.  . 


Son  of      Rev.  Dr.  Lloyd Saskatoon. 

Rev.  Dr.  Lloyd 

Rev.  Dr.  Lloyd 

ex-Mayor  Wm.  Hopkins 

Grandson  of  Senator  Domville King's,  N.B. 

Son  of       Judge  Swayze Lindsay. 

W.  H.  Williams Pembroke. 

C.  C.  Smith Carnduff. 

Wm.  Learmonth Quebec. 

Brother  of  Edmond  Chasse 

Edmond  Chass6. . . 


Lieut.  A.  N.  Carter 

Major  A.  L.  S.  Mills,  D.S.O 

Lieut.  N.  L.  Chipman,  x 

Lieut.  A.  S.  Bertram Nei 

Pte.  T.  W.  E.  Allen  x S 

Lieut.  Houlton  Morphy  x 

Pte.  John  Peters  x 

Capt.  E.  O.  Wheeler,  M.C 

Lieut.  Leo  Buchanan  x 

Lieut.  D'Arcy  Strickland  x 

Lieut.  Wilfrid  McKay 

Lieut.  R.  B.  McGuire  x 

Capt.  F.  I.  Simpson  x 

Lieut.  J.  D.  de  Pencier 

Lieut.  T.  F.  W.  de  Pencier .... 

Pte.  W.  H.  Copper  x 

Lieut.  W.  M.  Nickle 

Capt.  Howard  K.  Harris 

Pte.  Walter  Hawkes 

Pte.  George  Hawkes 

Pte.  Oliver  Hawkes 

Pte.  Colin  MacLeod 

Pte.  A.  R.  Macleod  x 

Corp.  J.  M.  Macleod  x 

Sergt.  D.  L.  Macleod 

Pte.  J.  M.  Williams 

Lieut.  P.  J.  Burn 

Lieut.  J.  R.  Stratton,  M.C 

Lieut.  H.  S.  Matthews  x 

Lce.-Corp.  R.  R.  Howden  x . . . . 

Lieut.  J.  G.  B.  Coyne 

Lieut.  H.  E.  B.  Coyne 

Lieut.  W.  G.  B.  Coyne 


Sir  Wm.  Osier,  BART London,  Eng. 

Richard  O'Leary Richibucto. 

E.  S|  Carter Rothesay. 

Late  Bishop  Lennox  Mills . .  Kingston 

Lewis  Chipman,  K.C Yarmouth. 

hew  of  Sir  Alex.  Bertram Dundas 

>n  of      Rev.  Canon  W.  C.  Allen Millbrook. 

H.  B.  Morphy,  M.P Listowel. 

Fred.  Peters,  K.C Prince  Rupert 

A.  O.  Wheeler Sidney,  B.C. 

G.  O.  Buchanan Haney,  B.C. 

Late  Col.  D'Arcy  Strickland. R.N.W. M.P. 

Late  Dr.  A.  McKay,  M.L.A..Ingersoll. 

Blaney  McGuire Orangeville. 

Harvey  Simpson,  OX-M.L.A.  .Virden. 

Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  de  Pencier  ....  N.  Westmin'r 

Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  de  Pencier  .... 

Archdeacon  Cooper Keewatin. 

W.  F.  Nickle,  M.P Kingston. 

Late  T.  M.  Harris Brantford. 

J.  B.  Hawkes,  OX-M.L.A Balgorie,  S. 

J.  B.  Hawkes,  CX-M.L.A 

J.  B.  Hawkes,  CX-M.L.A " 

D.  MacLeod,  OX-M.L.A Springhill. 

Neil  Macleod Summerside. 

Neil  Macleod " 

Neil  Macleod 

John  Williams,  M.L.A Arthur,  Man. 

Late  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Burn Qu'Appelle. 

Hon.  J.  R.  Stratton Peterborough 

T.  F.  Matthews 

Hon.  J.  H.  Howden Neepawa. 

J.  H.  Coyne,  F.S.C.C St.  Thomas. 

J.  H.  Coyne,  F.S.C.C 

J.  H.  Coyne,  F.S.C.C 


A  feature  of  the  military  life  of  Canada  in  this  war  was  the 
number  of  families  who  contributed  all  their  eligible  sons — three, 
four  and  upwards — to  the  Army,  with  very  often  the  Father  also. 
Reference  has  been  made  in  preceding  volumes  to  some  of  the  better- 
known  cases;*  a  few  more  instances  may  be  given  here.  The  six 
sons  of  H.  O.  Bell-Irving  of  Vancouver  all  distinguished  themselves 
in  different  branches  of  the  Service:  Lieut.  Henry  B.  Bell-Irving, 
D.S.C.,  Dover  Patrol;  Major  Richard  Bell-Irving,  R.F.C.;  Major  Fred. 
Bell-Irving,  M.C.,  14th  Battalion;  Capt.  M.  Bell-Irving,  M.C.,  D.S.O., 
Royal  Flying  Corps ;  Fl.  Comm.  Duncan  Bell-Irving,  M.C.,  and  Bar  and 
Croix  de  Guerre;  Lieut.  A.  Bell-Irving,  R.A.  The  Lieut. -Governor 
of  Nova  Scotia,  MacCallum  Grant,  had  5  sons  on  active  service: 
Lieut.  Eric  M.  Grant,  13th  Batt.,  Capt.  Gerald  W.  Grant,  C.A.M.C., 
Lieut.  J.  M.  Grant,  R.C.N.,  Lieut.  G.  Grant,  V.  Battery,  Mid'n 
H.  S.  W.  Grant,  R.C.N.  The  Stair  family  of  Halifax — grandsons 

NOTE. — Those  marked  with  a  cross  (x)  were  killed  in  action  or,  in  a  few  cases,  by 
military  accident. 

*  See  Page  290,  1914  volume  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review;  Page  221,  1915 
volume,  and  Pages  468-9.  1916  volume. 


CANADIAN  WAR  INCIDENTS;  CASUALTIES  AND  HONOURS    549 

of  Hon.  W.  J.  Stair — included  Gavin  and  George,  who  were  killed, 
and  Herbert  and  Denis  fighting  in  Flanders  during  1917.  Major- 
Gen.  S.  C.  Mewburn,  C.M.G.,  M.P.,  Minister  of  Militia,  had  a  son 
killed  in  action,  8  nephews  and  14  cousins  on  active  service.  The 
family  of  the  late  Thomas  Brown,  Toronto,  had  24  members  in  the 
Army,  of  whom  one  was  the  late  Lieut.  G.  A.  Ewens  and  another 
Major  Howard  Jeffs.  M.c.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  A.  Sullivan  of  Winnipeg 
boasted  3  sons  and  4  sons-in-law  on  active  service;  J.  G.  Cosgrove 
of  Winnipeg  had  3  sons  at  the  Front  and  with  them  were  9  cousins — 
all  of  Manitoba;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  W.  Glenday  of  Toronto  had  12 
sons  or  nephews  on  service.  The  following  statement  compiled 
from  all  parts  of  Canada  further  illustrates  this  point: 

Parent  Residence  No.  of  Sons  on  Service 

Eustace  Collins Montreal 8 

Thomas  O'Shaughnessy 

Mr.  Mawhhmey 8 

James  Barnard (Father  and  3  Sons) 

Mrs.  M.  Morrison 4 

Corp.  James  Murdock (Father  and  3  Sons) 

Charles  Cashing Westraount 5 

Donald  McDonald Toronto 7 

J.  E.  Boswell 4 

Mrs.  Priscilla  Hay 4 

Philip  W.  Moore "        4 

William  Cooper 4 

Pte.  H.  Marshall (Father  and  3  Sons) 

Pte.  John  Parm (Father  and  3  Sons) 

John  Daly "       4 

Mrs.  David  Ashdown East  Toronto 7 

John  A.  Long Ottawa 6 

Mrs.  McColl "        4 

A.  Dobbie Victoria 4 

Sergt.  F.  J.  Barker (Father  and  3  Sons) 

Sergt.  J.  A.  Kenning "       (Father  and  6  Sons) 

Mrs.  N.  Pellow "       4 

S.  N.  Reid "       4 

Capt.  A.  G.  Sargison "       (Father  and  3  Sons) 

Mrs.  Malcolm "       4 

J.  K.  Nicholl Halifax 4 

J.  W.  Nicoll "       4 

Mrs.  Annie  Ambrose "       4 

John  Simpson . .  Winnipeg 5 

G.  H.  Heath "       5 

Arthur  J.  Hebb Lunenburg 5 

Mrs.  Letitia  Meister "  5 

Mrs.  L.  Kendall Vancouver 4 

William  Tough (Father  and  3  Sons) 

Thomas  Campbell ...  5 

S.  G.  Ball "  10-*-. 

Mr.  Watts South  Vancouver (Father  and  7  Sons) 

L.  G.  Doidge North  Vancouver 4 

Pte.  Charles  E.  G.  Adams Kfelowna,  B.C (Father  and  4  Sons) 

Pte.  M.  A.  Berard "  (Father  and  3  Sons) 

Thomas  Hill Coldwater 5 

John  Ennis Ayr,  Ont 4 

John  McLean Sydney,  C.B 4 

Mrs.  Solomon  Matthews St.  John's 4 

James  W.  Macintosh New  Glasgow 5 

Robert  Mathers Claburn,  B.C (Father  and  8  Sons)*1 

Miles  Simpson Shoal  Lake 4 

Ernest  Gratto Truro,  N.S 6 

Hugh  Robertson Verdun,  Que 5 

Lieut.  Seymour  Greene Duncan,  B.C (Father  and  5  Sons) 

Mr.  Sleight Tisdale,  Sask 4 

Pte.  George  P.  Kennedy Pilot  Mound (Father  and  3  Sons) 

J.  B.  Carruthers Kingston 4 

Mrs.  A.  Colburae Cumberland,  N.S 6 

Thomas  Boyey Gananoque 5 

M.  Thorsteinson Sturgeon  Creek,  Man. . .  4 

Mrs.  J.  Leavitt Verdun,  Que 4 

Mrs.  A.  D.  Telfer Edmonton 4 

J.  W.  MacDonald Portage  la  Prairie 4 

Mrs.  J.  F.  Richardson Maitland,  Ont 4 

H.  Rathbone . .  Grand  Mere,  Que 5 

G.  D.  Campbell Weymouth,  N.S 6 


550  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  loss  by  Sir  Montagu  Allan, 
Montreal,  of  his  only  son — Fl.  Lieut.  Hugh  Allan,  following  upon 
the  death  of  his  two  daughters  in  the  Lusitania  disaster;  the 
wounding  and  capture  of  Lieut.  Travers  Williams-Taylor,  son  of 
the  Gen.  Manager  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal,  in  the  Mesopotamia 
campaign ;  the  fact  of  Upper  Canada  College,  Toronto,  being  reported 
on  Oct.  20  as  having  950  of  its  Old  Boys  in  uniform  with  107  fatal 
casualties  and  a  distribution  of  Honours  which  included  2  awards 
of  C.B.,  1  of  C.M.G.,  21  of  D.S.O.,  39  of  M.C.,  etc.;  the  wounding 
for  the  fifth  time  in  France  of  Major  Wilfrid  Mavor,  D.S.O.,  M.C., 
son  of  Prof.  Mavor  of  Toronto  University;  the  statement  of  Major 
H.  W.  Niven,  D.S.O.,  M.C.,  of  the  Princess  Pats,  that  out  of  1,066 
original  members  of  the  Battalion  only  20  or  30  still  survived  in 
the  fighting  line;  the  death  at  the  Front  of  Nursing  Sisters  F.  L. 
and  G.  L.  Lang  of  Toronto,  and  of  Miss  E.  J.  Whitman,  daughter 
of  Senator  Whitman  of  Nova  Scotia;  the  fact  of  Canadian  artists 
being  better  represented  at  the  Front  than  was  known  in  Canada, 
and  including  J.  L.  Graham,  A.  Y.  Jackson,  Ernest  Fosbery,  W.  J. 
Wood,  J.  W.  McLaren,  R.  S.  Hewton,  Charles  Maitland,  W.  G. 
Storm,  M.C.,  Louis  Keene,  C.  H.  Barrawd,  A.  E.  Waite,  F.  Coates; 
the  reverting  of  Lieut.-Col.  Sir  Wm.  Price  of  Quebec  from  Colonel 
to  Captain  in  order  to  get  to  the  Front;  the  fact  that  up  to  Mar.  1 
Sir  John  Eaton  of  Toronto  had  expended  $1,000,000  put  of  his 
private  means  in  supporting  the  families  of  men  on  active  service 
who  had  been  in  his  employ — including  1,800  from  the  Toronto 
store  and  900  from  Winnipeg.  A  remarkable  war  factor  in  Canada 
and  in  Imperial  military  life  was  the  Royal  Military  College,  Kingston. 
According  to  official  information*  the  total  number  of  its  Cadets 
since  foundation  was  1,379  and  of  these  358  had  held  commissions 
in  the  Imperial  Army,  and  201  in  the  Canadian  Permanent  Force; 
260  had  commissions  in  the  C.E.F.  and  25  in  the  R.F.C.,  while  10 
had  enlisted  as  privates.  Of  the  total  105  had  been  killed  in  action 
up  to  the  close  of  the  year,  214  had  received  Imperial  Honours 
running  from  the  V.C  and  K.C.B.  downwards  while  20  held  Foreign 
decorations.  Of  the  graduates  the  following  won  special  distinction 
in  the  Imperial  Service: 

Lieut.-General    Sir    C.    M.    Kirkpatrick,  Brig.-General  A.  G.  Brennen,  C.M.G. 

K.C.S.I.,  C.B.  Brig.-General    Sir    E.    P.    C.    Girouard, 
Major-General  Sir  W.  T.  Bridges,  K.C.B.  K.C.M.G.,  D.S.O. 

Major-General  Sir  C.  M.   Dobell,   K.C.B.,  Brig.-General   R.    J.    F.    Hayter,    C.M.Q., 

C.M.G.,    D.S.O.  D.S.O. 

Major-General  H.  P.  Leader.  Brig.-General  W.  C.  G.  Heneker,  C.B.,  D.S.O. 

Brig.-General  G.  S.  Cartwright,  C.B.,  C.M.G.  Brig.-General  W.  B.  Lindsay,  C.M.Q.,  D.S.O. 

Brig.-General  H.  M.  Campbell,  C.B.,  C.M.G.  Brig.-General  W.  B.  Lesslie,  C.M.G. 

Brig.-General  E.  J.  Duffus,  C.B.  Brig.-General  E.  M.  Morris,  C.M.Q. 

Brig.-General  A.  C.  de  J.  de  Lotbiniere,  Brig.-General  H.  A.  Panet,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O. 

C.B.,  c.s.i.,  C.I.E.  Brig.-General  E.  de  B.  Panet,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O. 

Brig.-General  H.  C.  Nanton,  C.B.  Brig.-General  A.  E.  Panet,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O. 

Brig.-General  P.  G.  Twining,  C.B.  Brig.-General  D.  H.  Ridout,  C.M.G. 

Brig.-General  C.  H.  C.  Van  Straubenzie,  Brig.-General  R.  K.  Scott,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O. 

C.B.,  C.M.G. 

Many  Honours  were  won  by  Canadians  during  the  year  and 
many  were  awarded  by  the  King  but  it  is  safe  to  say,  as  of  all  branches 
of  His  Majesty's  service,  that  where  one  was  recognized  a  dozen  others 

*  Supplied  by  courtesy  of  the  Commandant — Colonel  C.  N.  Perreau. 


CANADIAN  WAR  INCIDENTS;  CASUALTIES  AND  HONOURS    55 1 

deserved  to  be.  In  the  higher  circles"' of  command  Maj.-Gen. 
Arthur  Wm.  Currie,  C.B.,  Maj.-Gen.  Richard  Ernest  Wm.  Turner, 
v.c.,  C.B.,  D.S.O.,  and  Maj.-Gen.  Samuel  Benfield  Steele,  C.B.,  M.V.O., 
were  knighted  with  a  K.C.M.G.  in  each  case.  The  awards  of  D.S.O., 
M.C.,  and  D.S.C.,  and  Military  and  Distinguished  Conduct  Medals, 
Royal  Red  Cross  and  other  Honours  were  very  numerous — numbering 
at  least  3,000  by  the  close  of  the  year  if  mention  in  Despatches  be 
included.  Next  to  the  V.C.  was  the  D.S.O.  and  ranking  high, 
therefore,  were  the  Bars  to  that  Honour  with  Lieut. -Col.  C,  W. 
Weldon  McLean,  D.S.O. ,  son  of  Maj.-Gen.  H.  H.  McLean,  M.P.,  of 
St.  John,  as  the  only  Canadian  winner  of  three  Bars — and,  it  was 
said,  the  only  one  in  the  whole  British  Army.  Another  exceptional 
matter  was  the  winning  of  both  the  D.S.O.  and  M.C.  with  Lieut. - 
Col.  J.  B.  Rogers,  Majors  T.  R.  Coleman,  A.  P.  Miller,  Cyril  North, 
Fred  Lister,  H.  W.  A.  Foster,  Charles  Reynolds,  S.  C.  Norsworthy, 
K.  A.  Mahaffy,  H.  M.  Urquhart  and  Captains  C.  E.  Bailey  (a  Bar 
to  the  M.C.  also),  L.  D.  Herori,  and  D.  E.  Mclntyre  amongst  the 
recipients,  while  Fl.  Lieut.  Basil  D.  Hobbs  won  the  D.S.O.  and  D.S.C. 
Other  incidents  were  the  fact  of  Col.  W.  P.  Anderson,  Ottawa, 
having  three  sons  on  active  service  and  each  decorated  with  the 
D.S.O.;  the  mention  in  Despatches  five  times  (up  to  January,  1917) 
of  Brig.-Gen.  J.  H.  Elmsley,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.,  of  Toronto;  the  volun- 
teering for  service  of  Vice-Adm.  John  Denison,  R.N.,  from  the 
retired  list  and,  when  over  60  years  of  age,  his  reversion  to  the  rank 
of  Captain  and  winning  of  the  D.S.O.;  the  conferring  of  Military 
Medals  upon  90  Western  Canadians  in  September  for  bravery  shown 
during  the  battles  around  Lens  and  the  rapidity  of  promotion  and 
honours  won  by  Canadians  in  the  Imperial  Service.  Special  Honours 
of  the  year  1917  were  as  follows: 

C.M.G.  Col.  C.  A.  Hodgetts.  C.M.G.  Maj.-Gen.  S.  C.  Mewburn. 

C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  J.  P.  Landry.  C.M.G.  Maj.-Gen.  E.  W.  Wilson. 

C.M.G.  Col.  C.  A.  Smart.  C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  T.  D.  R.  Hemming. 

C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  H.  F.  McDonald,  D.S.O.  C.M.G.  Col.  C.  S.  Maclnnes. 

C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  R.  J.  P.  Hayter,  D.S.O.  C.M.G.  Col.  D.  W.  McPherson. 

C.M.G.  Major-Gen.  H.  E.  Burstall,  C.B.  C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  J.  A.  Hesketh,  D.S.O. 

C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  F.  O.  W.  Loomis,  D.S.O.  C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  R.  Rennie,  D.S.O.,  M.V.O. 

C.M.G.  Col.  R.  F.  M.  Sims,  D.S.O.  C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  H.  D.  B.  Ketchen. 

C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  J.  H.  Elmsley,  D.S.O.  C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  G.  B.  Hughes,  D.S.O. 

C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  E.  Hilliam,  D.S.O.  C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  E.W.B.Morrison.o.s.o. 

C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  V.  W.  Odium,  D.S.O.  C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  E.  C.  Hart. 

C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  C.  H.  Mitchell,  D.S.O.  C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  C.  C.  Van  Straubenzie. 

C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  G.  E.  Sanders,  D.S.O.  C.B.        Brig.-Gen.  G.  S.  Tuxford,  C.M.G. 

C.M.G.  Maj.-Gen.  D.  Watson,  C.B.  C.B.  Brig.-Gen.  A.  C.  Macdonell,  c.M.a. 
C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  M.  Murray  Alexander.  D.S.O. 

C.M.G.  Colonel  G.  P.  Murphy  C.B.        Col.  H.  S.  Birkett. 

C.M.G.  Hon.  Col.  The  Rev.  R.  H.  Steacy.  C.B.        Col.  J.  A.  Roberts. 

C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  Jas.  G.  Ross.  C.B.  Brig.-Gen.  A.  C.  Joly  de  Lotbini- 
C.M.G.  Brig.-Gen.  F.  S.  Meighen.  ere,  C.B.I.,  C.I.B. 

C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  P.  J.  Daly,  D.S.O.  C.B.        Brig.-Gen.  A.  D.  McRae. 

C.M.G.  Lieut.-Col.  J.  E.  Leckie.  D.S.O.  C.B.       Brig.-Gen.  P.  E.  Thacker,  C.M.G. 

FOREIGN    DECORATIONS 

Commander  Order  of  Leopold. .  .  .Belgium Maj.-Gen.  David  Watson. 

Order  of  Danilo  (3rd  Class) Montenegro. .Brig.-Gen.  Victor  W.  Odium. 

Order  of  St.  Anne Russia Maj.-Gen.  H.  C.  Uniacke. 

Order  of  Stanislas  (2nd  Class) .  .Russia Brig.-Gen.  H.  E.  Burstall,  C.B. 

Order  of  Stanislas  (3rd  Class)..  .Russia Lieut.-Col.  J.  J.  Creelman. 

Cavalier,   Order  of  St.   Maurice 

and  St.  Lazarus Italy Lieut.Col.  R.  Brutinel,  D.S.O. 

Order  of  White  Eagle  (4th  Class) .  Serbia Major  J.  H.  Parks,  D.S.O. 

LEGION  OP  HONOUR: 

Croix  d'Offlcier France Lieut.-Col.  D.  S.  Maclnnes,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O. 

Croix  de  Commandeur France Surg.-Gen.  Eugene  Fiset,  C.M.G. 

Croix  de  Commandeur France Lieut.-Col.  Albert  E.  LeBel,  M.D. 


652  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

N 

Croix  de  Chevalier . .  France Capt.  the  Eev.  C.  V.  Doyon. 

Croix  de  Chevalier France Major  G.  P.  Vanier,  M.C. 

Croix  de  Chevalier France Major  R.  L.  H.  Ewing,  M.C. 

Croix  de  Chevalier France Major  H.  L.  Keegan. 

Croix  de  Chevalier France Major  J.  M.  Rolston. 

Croix  de  Chevalier France Lieut.-Col.  H.  W.  Blaylock. 

Croix  de  Chevalier France Lieut.-Col.  Arthur  Mignault. 

Croix  de  Chevalier France Major  C.  F.  Constantine,  D.S.O. 

Croix  de  Chevalier France Major  A.  E.  Dubuc,  D.S.O. 

Croix  de  Chevalier France Major  L.  R.  Lafleche. 

Order  of  Danilo  (4th  Class) Montenegro.. Major  P.  F.  Villiers. 

Chevalier,  Order  of  Leopold Belgium Major  R.  T.  Young. 

Offlcier,  Order  of  Leopold Belgium Lieut.-Col.  W.  B.  M.  King,  D.S.O. 

Croix  d'Omcier France Brig.-Gen.  H.  D.  B.  Ketchen,  C.M.G. 

Croix  d'Officier France Lieut.-Col.  T.  L.  Tremblay,  D.S.O. 

Croix  de  Commandeur France Maj.-Gen.  R.  E.  W.  Turner,  v.c. 

Croix  de  Commandeur France Maj.-Gen.  David  Watson,  C.B. 

COMPLETE  LIST  OF  CANADIAN  WINNERS   OF  THE  V.C. 

Lieut.  Ronald  Neil  Stuart,  D.S.O Royal  Naval  Reserve P.E.  Island. 

Lieut.  Henry  Strachan,  M.C Fort  Garry  Horse Winnipeg. 

Lce.-Corp.  Frederick  "Fisher  (K) 13th  Battalion Westmount. 

Capt.  Okill  Massey  Learmonth,  M.C.  (K)  .  .Canadian  Infantry Quebec. 

Pte.  Robert  Hanna Canadian  Infantry Vancouver. 

Pte.  Michael  James  O'Rourke Canadian  Infantry New  Westminster. 

Sgt.  Fred.  Hobson Canadian  Infantry Toronto. 

Pte.  Harry  Brown Canadian  Infantry East  Emily,  Ont. 

Major  Wm.  Avery  Bishop,  M.C.,  D.S.O..  .Royal  Flying  Corps  and 

Cavalry Owen  Sound. 

Cpl.  Filip  Konowal Canadian  Infantry Vancouver. 

Lieut.  Robert  Grierson  Combe Canadian  Infantry Melville,  Sask. 

Pte.  John  George  Pattison Canadian  Infantry Calgary. 

Capt.  Francis  Alex.  Caron  Scrimger Med.  Officer  14th  Batt'n  .Montreal 

Pte.  Fred.  Wm.  Hall  (K) 8th  Battalion Winnipeg. 

Lieut.  Fred.  Wm.  Campbell  (K). 1st  Canadian  Battalion. . Mount  Forest 

Lieut.-Col.  Thain  Wendell  MacDowell,  B. A., 

D.S.O Canadian  Infantry Maitland,  Ont. 

Lieut.  Fred.  Maurice  Watson  Harvey Canadian  Infantry Medicine  Hat. 

L.  Sgt.  Ellis  Wellwood  Sifton  (K) Canadian  Infantry Wallacetown. 

Pte.  Wm.  Johnstone  Mime  (K) Canadian  Infantry Moose  Jaw. 

Pte.  Robert  Shankland Canadian  Infantry Winnipeg. 

Major  Fred.  Lumsden Marine  Artillery 

Pte.  John  Chipman  Kerr Canadian  Infantry Fox  River,  N.S. 

Lieut.  Thomas  Orde  Lawder  Wilkinson. .  .North Lancashire Regt... 

Pte.  Leo  Clarke  (K) Canadian  Infantry Winnipeg. 


H  £ 


FORMATION  OF  THE  UNION  GOVERNMENT 


The  Popular  The  ideal  of  united  or  national  Government,  in 
Movement  face  of  a  great  crisis,  or  in  days  of  a  vast  war  struggle 
iori^Govern-  sucn  as  this  of  1914-17,  was  a  natural,  instinctive 
ment.  impulse.  It  had  long  been  a  fact  in  Britain — though 

not  always  in  name;  it  was  practically  a  reality  in 
France  except  for  a  small  Socialist  minority;  it  became  one 
in  New  Zealand  in  1916  and  in  Australia  during  1917;  all  parties 
in  South  Africa  were  united — excepting  the  incorrigible  Hertzog 
following.  At  the  beginning  of  the  War  the  Liberals  of  Canada 
stood  instantly  and  loyally  behind  the  Borden  Government;  after 
a  time  rifts  appeared  in  the  co-operation  and  political  differences 
developed;  then  came  greater  problems  evolved  by  the  pressure  of 
war — the  failure  of  Recruiting,  the  situation  in  Quebec,  the  Con- 
scription issue  and  enforcement  when  passed,  the  complications  of 
Western  thought  and  policy.  At  this  stage  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
appeared  to  have  abandoned  his  co-operative  attitude.  He  refused 
to  join  the  Government  in  a  Recruiting  appeal,  he  was  understood 
from  the  first  to  be  opposed  to  Conscription  and  finally  fought  it 
to  the  end,  he  keenly  contested  the  War-times  Election  Act  and 
refused  to  support  a  further  extension  of  the  Parliamentary  term. 
While  these  events  were  transpiring  public  opinion  was  slowly  being 
formed  and  consolidated. 

Sir  Robert  Borden,  as  the  head  of  the  Government  since  War 
began — the  only  original  War  Premier  left  in  the  world  except  M. 
Radislavoff  of  Bulgaria — was  the  target  of  attack,  and  also  the 
rallying  point  of  action.  The  Liberal  press,  in  an  increasing  degree 
during  1916  and  then  1917,  denounced  him  as  slow  in  thought  and 
policy,  lacking  in  all  initiative,  devoid  of  personal  or  political  strength. 
The  very  keenness  and  continuous  character  of  this  criticism  proved 
the  Premier  to  be  a  bigger  man  than  his  opponents  would  admit; 
at  the  same  time  the  Opposition  could  not,  or  did  not,  suggest 
anyone  who  could  take  his  place  in  party  leadership  and  war-action 
— except,  of  course,  their  own  Leader.  As  a  matter  of  logical 
argument,  if  Sir  Robert  Borden  was  responsible  for  all  the  inevitable 
faults  and  weaknesses  of  a  War  Government  in  a  nation  of  pacifists 
and  of  unpreparedness,  he  was  also  responsible  for  what  was  accom- 
plished by  that  Government — for  cabling  and  pledging  Canadian 
co-operation  two  days  before  the  War  began,  for  having  30,000  men 
ready  to  ship  abroad  in  six  weeks,  for  enlisting  420,000  men  and 
sending  325,000  Overseas  in  three  years,  for  keeping  the  industries 
of  Canada  going  and  building  up  a  vast  munition  business  of  $1,000,- 
000,000,  for  trebling  Canada's  trade  in  the  years  of  war,  for  the 
establishment  of  pensions  and  a  great  Hospital  system,  for  organizing 
a  Soldiers'  land  settlement  scheme,  for  large  revenues,  for  taxation 
of  varied  interests.  The  fact  was  that  many  others  shared  with 

[553] 


$54  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

him  in  these  actual  accomplishments  just  as  others  were  responsible 
for  delays  and  mistakes  in  his  Administration  during  these  stormy 
years.  He  was,  in  fact,  a  careful,  earnest,  sincere  leader  of  his  party 
and  people  in  a  most  difficult  period;  anxious  to  do  the  best  for 
Empire  and  country,  conscious  of  the  greatness  of  the  task  before 
all  rulers  in  these  years,  knowing  much  of  the  difficult  and  divergent 
temperaments  of  the  Canadian  public  and  the  national  danger  of 
going  too  fast,  as  well  as  the  international  danger  of  going  too  slow. 
That  he  was  a  leader  in  fact  as  well  as  name  his  Cabinet  and  Parlia- 
mentary management  showed;  that  he  had  lots  of  political  courage 
was  proven  by  the  fact  of  Conscription  and  the  policy  of  Alien  dis-  ! 
franchisement. 

Tributes  to  Sir  Robert  Borden  also  grew  with  the  year  and 
despite  criticism  he  gradually  became  the  one  man  in  whom  vital 
interests  could  centre  and  with  whom  nearly  all  leaders  could  work. 
History,  which  goes  deeper  than  surface  thought,  can  see  the  reasons 
for  this  and  one  of  them  was  personality — conciliatory  arid  rarely 
aggressive,  firm  rather  than  arbitrary,  persistent  rather  than  vigorous, 
patient  and  far-seeing  rather  than  sensational  or  popular.  To  E.  W. 
Thomson,  the  Canadian  correspondent  of  the  Boston  Transcript  the 
Premier's  action  regarding  General  Hughes  had  proved  him  a  strong 
man;  to  observers  of  Parliamentary  life  his  unfailing  good  humour  and 
courtesy,  knowledge  and  debating  ability,  were  obvious  proofs  of  per- 
sonal capacity  as  was  the  manner  in  which  he  bore  the  continuous  strain 
of  war- work  and  duty;  the  St.  John  Standard,  in  a  friendly  review  of 
his  work  on  Sept.  1,  declared  that  he  possessed  "temperament, 
experience,  ability  and  mastery  of  the  science  of  government  to 
fit  him  for  the  mighty  tasks  which  have  fallen  to  his  lot,  and  no 
other  Canadian  is  equally  fitted  to  guide  the  country's  destinies  to 
the  end  of  the  War  and  beyond."  The  Premier's  statement  in 
the  Commons  on  July  17  embodied  his  own  feelings  in  this  time  of 
crisis:  "During  the  past  three  years  the  responsibilities  and  burdens 
imposed  upon  those  to  whom  is  entrusted  the  administration  of 
public  affairs  have  been  greater  than  can  possibly  be  realized  by 
any  one  who  has  not  been  called  upon  to  grapple  with  and  fulfil 
them.  We  have  discharged  those  responsibilities  to  the  best  of 
our  ability;  we  have  not  spared  ourselves  in  the  effort  to  achieve 
their  just  accomplishment.  In  all  our  endeavours  there  has  been 
no  regard  for  any  consideration  but  the  conscientious  performance 
of  our  duty;  otherwise  we  should  have  been  entirely  unworthy  of 
the  trust  reposed  in  us." 

Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  faced  the  problems  of  1917  without  the  per- 
sonal vigour  and  ambition  which  middle  life  still  affords;  with  an 
inborn  and  ineradicable  hatred  of  war  and  its  conditions  and  neces- 
sities; with  a  devotion  to  Canada  as  he  saw  and  felt  the  pulse  of  its 
national  life  which  made  him  greatly  fear  the  current  complications 
of  Imperial  development  and  the  responsibilities  arising  from  this 
veritable  "vortex  of  militarism";  with  a  natural  love  for  his  own 
race  which  made  him  understand  and  appreciate  the  causes  of  their 
aloofness  from  the  War  and  made  him  hesitate  to  force  their  hands. 
At  the  beginning  of  1917  he  was  still  a  power  in  the  country.  Quebec 


THE  POPULAR  MOVEMENT  TOWARD  UNION  GOVERNMENT  555 

was  supposed  to  be  his  whenever  he  called  the  stakes  unless  too  great 
a  handicap  were  given  Bourassa;  the  West  was  full  of  war-restless- 
ness, aversion  to  Tariffs,  anxiety  for  the  free  trade  which  seemed  to 
mean  wider  markets  and  for  which  the  Liberal  leader  stood;  Ontario 
and  the  Maritime  Provinces  had  very  many  to  whom  the  Laurier 
personality  and  record  of  1896-1911  greatly  appealed.  Like  Sir 
Robert  Borden  the  Liberal  leader,  in  these  later  years,  was  a  "safe" 
man;  he  too  was  cautious — much  more  so  than  the  Premier.  He 
did  not  like  the  many  changes  of  the  War  period  and  expressed 
his  general  attitude  in  this  reference  to  Imperialism  (Commons, 
May  18):  "I  cannot  imagine  that  under  present  circumstances,  so 
long  as  there  is  the  disparity  of  population  between  the  United 
Kingdom  and  the  dependencies,  any  system  can  be  organized  or 
planned  which  will  work  more  satisfactorily  than  the  plan  which  we 
now  have  and  upon  which  the  Empire  has  grown  up  to  its  present 
solidity."  There  was  no  fear  or  doubt,  however,  of  the  United 
States  in  his  Ottawa  interview  of  Apr.  5  regarding  its  War  decision: 
"It  means  that  the  people  of  the  North  American  continent  will 
fight  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  a  common  cause  and  from  that  we  may 
naturally  expect  closer  friendship  and  sympathies  and  all  the  benefits 
that  will  flow  therefrom."  Sir  Wilfrid  was  consistent  during  this 
year  in  opposing  Railway  nationalization  as  was  the  Premier  in 
accepting  it;  both  leaders  were  inconsistent  in  the  Referendum 
proposal  compared  with  their  1910  Naval  Bill  record.  As  to  War- 
action  he  issued  a  strongly  worded  Message  in  the  January  (1917) 
Liberal  Monthly  which  reviewed  the  war  obligations  and  work  of 
the  Allies  and  declared  "it  no  vain  national  boast  that  the  Canadian 
people  have  far  exceeded  the  expectations  laid  down  at  the  outset" ; 
and  emphasized  the  need  for  greater  Canadian  effort  and  unity: 

Let  the  young  and  healthy  enlist,  and  those  who  cannot  enlist  will  serve  the 
country  by  work  in  the  fields,  in  the  forest,  in  the  mines,  on  the  sea  and  in  the  shops. 
Every  individual  in  the  nation  can  work;  every  hour  of  toil  is  conducive  to  victory, 
and  work  should  be  specifically  directed  to  that  end.  All  public  construction,  unless 
necessary,  and  immediately  indispensable,  should  be  deferred  till  more  auspicious 
times;  all  available  funds  and  labour  devoted  to  the  production  of  munitions,  food 
and  war  necessities  and  their  prompt  conveyance  where  needed.  .  .  .  While  we 
claim,  and  with  just  cause  claim,  to  have  done  much,  our  efforts  pale  almost  to  noth- 
ing when  compared  with  the  exertions,  the  almost  inconceivable  exertions,  of  Great 
Britain,  of  France,  of  Russia  and  of  Italy.  .  .  .  Let  us  imitate  this  noble  example. 
Let  us  here  and  now  sink  passions,  prejudices,  vain  and  idle  recriminations.  Let  us, 
when  criticism  is  needed,  criticize  without  bitterness,  only  by  appeals  to  reason,  and 
above  all  let  us  bend  all  our  energies  towards  making  Canada  an  effective  factor  in 
the  struggle.  The  heart  of  the  nation  must  beat  with  one  accord  and  one  desire. 

The  Conservative  press,  at  the  beginning  of  1917,  looked  askance 
at  the  idea  of  Union  or  National  Government  and  regarded  its 
advocacy  by  such  Liberal  journals  as  the  Toronto  Star  with  open 
suspicion — increased  by  the  continuous  attacks  of  that  paper  upon 
the  Government's  financial  policy,  the  more  than  vigorous  onslaughts 
of  The  Globe  upon  Mr  Rogers,  the  vehement  Government  criticisms  of 
the  Regina  Leader  or  Edmonton  Bulletin.  The  tendency  was  to 
ask  (1)  what  could  or  should  a  National  Government  do  which  the 
Borden  Government  had  not  done;  (2)  what  could  such  a  Govern- 


556  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

inent  have  done  up  to  date  which  the  Borden  Government  had 
not  done;  (3)  how  was  such  a  Government,  if  created,  to  represent 
the  varied  masses,  classes,  races  and  interests  of  the  Dominion 
without  the  War-election  which  should  be  avoided  if  possible;  (4) 
how  could  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  consistently  join  such  a  Government 
and  what  would  be  its  value  without  him;  (5)  if  purely  professional 
and  financial  men  such  as  Sir  T.  Shaughnessy,  Sir  W.  Mackenzie 
or  Sir  Vincent  Meredith  were  included,  as  suggested,  how  could 
they,  or  would  they,  handle  such  questions  as  Government  owner- 
ship of  railways?  It  was  pointed  out  that  in  the  United  Kingdom 
the  leaders  of  both  great  parties  were  in  favour  of  coalition  and, 
according  to  the  Toronto  News  of  Mar.  28,  that  in  Canada  they  were 
not;  it  was  contended  that  the  demand  was  merely  a  cry  arising 
out  of  the  discomforts  of  war  conditions  or  the  wishes  of  an  Opposition 
out  of  office;  the  men  who  at  this  time  commenced  to  advocate  the 
policy  were  looked  upon  with  suspicion  as  to  party  motives  and,  of 
course,  the  motives  of  some  of  them,  then  and  afterwards,  were 
clouded  by  this  ever-present  influence ;  it  was  urged  by  such  vigorous 
Conservative  journals  as  the  Winnipeg  Telegram  that  the  Conser- 
vative Government  had  subordinated  party  to  national  war-purposes 
and  was,  therefore,  a  National  Government;  it  was  claimed  that  if 
Sir  W.  Laurier  would  not  join  in  such  a  simple  national  object  as 
a  united  appeal  for  enlistment  and  war  service  it  would  be  quite 
impossible  to  obtain  union  upon  all  the  complex  issues  dividing  the 
two  parties.  The  Toronto  News  of  Jan.  26  put  the  current  Con- 
servative sentiment  regarding  the  proposal  as  follows: 

There  is  no  need  in  this  country  for  such  an  Administration,  as  there  was  in 
Great  Britain,  where  philosophic  Pacifists  had  to  be  got  rid  of  before  the  full  weight 
of  the  nation  could  be  thrown  into  the  War.  .  .  .  Too  many  genuine  patriots  have 
been  subject  to  war-time  hysteria.  They  have  been  carried  away  by  the  crafty 
whisperings  of  insinuating  politicians,  working  first  for  a  Liberal  Administration, 
then  for  a  Coalition  Cabinet,  and  lastly  for  a  National  Government.  .  .  .  It  is 
self-evident  that  many  advocates  of  a  National  Government  are  sincere  and  high- 
minded  in  their  intention.  It  is  also  true  that  all  those  who  are  indifferent  or  hostile 
to  the  War  and  to  the  Empire  are  against  the  (Borden)  Government.  We  know,  also, 
that  certain  powerful  corporations  which  are  inimical  to  the  nationalization  of  public 
services  are  active  in  then*  advocacy  of  a  National  Government.  Western  Liberals, 
who  cannot  follow  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  and  yet  feel  strongly  on  the  tariff,  will  find  if 
they  examine  themselves  closely,  that  they  have  more  in  common  with  the  present 
progressive  Government  than  with  the  Opposition,  or  with  any  Administration 
dominated  by  present  Oppositionists. 

There  was,  inevitably,  a  good  deal  of  partisanship  in  the  matter 
at  all  stages.  If  Sir  Robert  Borden  could  be  re-placed  as  leader  in 
a  Coalition  Cabinet  by  a  colourless  Conservative  or  a  leading  Liberal 
it  would  obviously  be  a  triumph  for  the  Opposition,  and  in  such  a 
whispering  gallery  as  Ottawa  during  the  Session,  or  in  the  political 
correspondence  of  the  press  from  Ottawa,  there  was  no  way  of  keeping 
party  feeling  out  of  the  subject.  Coalition  had  been,  up  to  this 
t.imftjjdjpjiat-  pYoliisjyely  a  Liberal  propagandjiso  far  as  the  press 
was  concerned,  though  with  support  fromthe  Toronto  World  and 
W.  F.  Maclean,  M.P.,  from  Sir  Clifford  Sifton  and  the  Manitoba 
Free  Press,  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.  Gordon  and  other  elements 


THE  POPULAR  MOVEMENT  TOWARD  UNION  GOVERNMENT  557 

not  firmly  partisan  in  war  matters.  The  Premier's  personal  view 
was  favourable  but  his  policy  obviously  was  to  await  the  expression 
of  national  opinion  and,  with  attendance  at  the  Imperial  Confer- 
ence looming  up  for  some  months,  he  left  the  subject  for  public 
consideration  and  the  development  of  some  crisis  which  would 
make  political  union  imperative  and  therefore  possible.  His  last 
words  to  Parliament  before  leaving  for  London  (Feb.  7)  were  signi- 
ficant: "I  hope  that  we  may  all  unite  to  throw  the  full  strength  of 
this  country  into  the  contest.  I  most  earnestly  invite  the  co- 
operation of  gentlemen  opposite  and  the  co-operation  of  all  the 
people  in  this  country,  regardless  of  political  opinions,  regardless 
of  race  or  of  creed,  to  make  this  cause  triumphant  and  to  throw 
into  this  war  the  greatest  effort  of  a  united  people."  Public  opinion 
at  this  stage  was  absolutely  _nebuious.  Party  glasses  obscured 
vision  except  in  a  lew  outstanding~"cases.~  J.  G.  Turriff,  M.P.  (Lib.) 
thought  a  National  Government  spelled  control  by  the  "big  inter- 
ests"; Western  Grain  Growers  wondered  how  far  it  would  advance 
or  retard  freer  trade  and  lower  tariff  movements;  Conservative 
declarations  at  party  meetings  that  it  was  all  a  scheme  of  the  Liberals 
to  get  into  office  still  evoked  cheers;  those  who  wanted  to  "get 
together"  still  held  vague  views  as  to  what  form  the  policy  would 
take — should  it  be  a  Coalition  of  political  parties  as  they  stood,  or 
an  attempt  to  combine  such  apparently  opposing  interests  as  the 
French-Canadians  and  Orangemen,  the  Manufacturers  and  Western 
agricultural  elements  in  a  Union  Government  for  special  war-effort, 
or  the  bringing  of  financial,  industrial  and  other  leaders  into  what 
would  be  a  National  as  distinct  from  a  political  Government. 

Liberal  politicians  continued  to  attack  Sir  R.  Borden  while 
others  were  urging  some  kind  of  coalition.  W.  M.  German,  M.P., 
at  Hamilton  (Apr.  10)  declared  that  the  Premier  had  "lamentably 
failed  to  carry  on  a  war-time  Government,  and  that  he  should 
long  since  have  called  a  meeting  of  party  leaders  and  formed  a 
National  administration";  while  The  Globe  as  late  as  May  5  declared 
"  that  the  failure  of  the  Borden  Administration  was  due  to  the  absence 
of  statesmanship  and  the  lack  of  moral  stamina  and  that  in  every- 
thing that  affects  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  War  and  the 
welfare  of  the  people  the  Borden  Government  has  signally  failed 
to  express  the  national  mind."  Obviously  there  was  a  good  way  to 
go  before  Party  union  under  Sir  Robert  Borden  could  be  achieved! 
Meantime,  however,  the  call  in  many  Liberal  quarters  for  union 
of  some  kind  increased  and  then  spread  in  other  directions.  The 
Ottawa  Free  Press,  under  the  editorship  of  E.  Norman  Smith,  was 
probably  the  first  conspicuous  Liberal  advocate  of  the  policy.  On 
July  10,  1915,  after  arguing  the  principle  and  the  necessity  at  length, 
it  had  declared  that  "the  formation  of  a  Dominion  Coalition  Govern- 
ment, under  Sir  Robert  Borden,  if  it  is  so  desired,  would  be  the 
truly  patriotic  thing  for  Canada's  leading  statesmen  to  bring  about 
— patriotic  for  the  Empire  and  patriotic  for  Canada."*  Then  came 
the  1916  advocacy  of  the  Toronto  Star  and  its  statement  on  Jan.  4, 

*  Mr.  Norman  Smith  told  the  Author,  May  1917,  that  at  this  time  Sir  W.  Laurier 
expressed  to  him  "doubt  as  to  both  the  wisdom  and  feasibility  of  Coalition." 


558  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

1917:  "There  should  be  no  party  in  office  at  this  time.  The  Prime 
Minister  should  not  have  a  political  party  on  his  back.  The 
country  should  have  a  non-partisan  War  Administration.  If  Sir 
Robert  Borden  brought  that  about  it  would  be  the  end  of  his  troubles 
and  the  beginning  of  his  usefulness."  The  influential  Free  Press  of 
Winnipeg — Liberal  and  controlled  by  Sir  Clifford  Sifton — declared 
on  Jan.  6  that:  "A  united  National  Government  is  important;  united 
action  by  the  whole  country  is  more  important.  The  former  is 
fundamental  because  it  is  the  only  way  of  effecting  the  latter."  On 
the  other  hand  official  Liberalism  was  cool  and  the  Liberal  Monthly 
for  March  said:  "The  Liberal  Party  must  be  true  to  itself;  it  must 
look  to  the  future  of  the  Dominion.  It  has  cheerfully  given  its 
co-operation  to  the  Administration,  as  an  Opposition  in  Parliament, 
but  the  great  problem  is  yet  to  come  and  the  Liberal  party  must 
keep  itself  free  to  deal  with  that  problem.  When  the  battle  flags 
are  furled  and  the  troops  come  marching  home — what  then?"  The 
Toronto  Star,  though  it  urged  Coalition  almost  daily  during  the 
early  months  of  1917,  yet  denounced  the  Premier  and  the  Govern- 
ment continually  for  weakness,  inefficiency,  incapacity;  at  the 
same  time  it  declared  (May  16)  that  if  Sir  Robert  would,  upon 
return  from  England,  lead  along  certain  lines  of  food  and  price 
control,  put  the  Militia  Act  in  force  and  organize  ship-building,  the 
country  would  follow  him.  But  the  greatest  need  (May  18)  was  a 
non-partisan  Government : 

(1)  Such  a  Government  would  commit,  not  one  party,  but  both,  to  the  policy 
adopted,  and  this  would  do  away  with  the  excuse  for  inaction,  the  fear  as  to  what 
the  other  party  would  do;  (2)  such  a  Government  would  not  be  hobbled  by  its  past 
record  and  policies  and  political  debts  owed  to  interests  and  persons,  but,  being  a 
special  Administration  for  the  period  of  the  War,  would  be  free  to  deal  with  all  matters 
in  the  light  of  war;  (3)  such  a  Government  might  be  criticized  and  opposed  by  some 
newspapers,  and  supported  and  defended  by  others,  but  this  would  have  to  be  for 
reasons,  and  not  as  now,  in  sheer  unreason  and  from  partisan  prejudice. 

Meanwhile,  N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.,  M.L.A.,  the  Ontario  Liberal 
leader,  had  continued  the  earnest  war  speeches  which  in  1915  and 
1916  made  him  conspicuous  in  Canada  as  a  whole.  He  entered 
upon  consideration  of  these  problems  with  a  basis  indicated  in  an 
Empire  Club  Address  at  Toronto  on  Jan.  18:  "It  is  the  chief,  moving, 
outstanding,  compelling  fact  in  this  great  war  that  the  Dominions 
unhesitatingly  say  in  this  struggle  for  justice,  for  liberty,  for  free 
democracy,  that  now  and  for  ever  we  are  one  and  inseparable, 
Britain  and  her  sons  across  the  sea."  He  moved  slowly  in  suc- 
ceeding months  toward  the  ideal  of  coalition  or  union.  At  Drumbo 
(Feb.  2)  he  dealt  with  the  sources  and  hardships  of  the  soldiers: 
"They  are  sacrificing  everything  for  Canada.  Have  they  not  the 
right  to  expect  that  those  who  remain  at  home,  leaders  and  people 
alike,  will  make  corresponding  sacrifices?"  His  speeches  dealt  with 
the  progress  of  democracy  and  the  greatness  of  Britain's  war  effort, 
the  need  for  more  Canadian  exertion  and  economy,  a  greater  contri- 
bution of  men  and  money  and  production.  On  May  8,  at  a  Toronto 
Liberal  meeting,  he  denounced  the  Government's  C.D.F.  scheme, 
urged  the  enforcement  of  the  Militia  Act,  and  asked  the  Government 


THE  POPULAR  MOVEMENT  TOWARD  UNION  GOVERNMENT  559 

"to  either  lead  the  people  or  get  out  of  the  Way."  At  Woodstock 
on  May  13  he  was  explicit  as  to  recruiting:  "The  time  is  too  critical 
not  to  speak  out  plainly;  we  cannot  meet  the  situation  any  longer 
by  voluntary  enlistment,"  and  at  North  Bay,  before  the  Canadian 
Club,  on  May  16,  he  came  out  definitely  for  Coalition  of  some  kind: 
"Do  you  see  any  hope  of  our  moving  forward  as  a  united  nation, 
exerting  our  utmost  efforts  to  win  the  War,  and  grappling  courage- 
ously with  our  own  domestic  problems,  unless  we  create  a  War 
Government?  Do  we  not  need  a  Government  which  will  command 
the  confidence  of  the  whole  people,  which  will  have  the  moral  author- 
ity to  adopt  the  measures  necessary  to  meet  the  present  critical 
situation,  and  which  will  move  courageously  and  quickly  along 
the  path  of  duty,  irrespective  of  personal  or  party  consideration?" 
While  political  leaders  were  rather  academically  arguing  for  or 
against  Coalition  of  some  kind  the  public  was  discussing  the  subject 
much  more  seriously.  The  Winnipeg  Ministerial  Association  (Jan.  15) 
passed,  unanimously,  a  Resolution  demanding  a  Government  "repre- 
senting as  far  as  possible  the  geographical  divisions,  races,  classes 
and  main  interests  of  Canada,  and  the  highest  administrative  and 
scientific  talent  of  the  nation."  It  was  supported  by  Rev.  Dr. 
S.  G.  Bland,  a  vigorous  Liberal,  and  followed  by  a  motion  in  favour 
of  Conscription — the  two  very  often  going  together  in  public  ex- 
pressions of  opinion  during  these  months.  On  Jan.  25  and  other 
dates  the  Toronto  Star  contained  whole  pages  of  telegraphed  answers 
to  the  question  of  whether  or  not  the  time  had  arrived  for  "the  Prime 
Minister  to  bring  into  his  Cabinet  representatives  of  all  parties  and 
of  the  ablest  business  men  available,  thus  organizing  a  truly  National 
Canadian  Government."  Of  the  first  304  replies  received  211  or  70% 
were  wholly  favourable  to  National  Government;  of  the  others  82 
were  opposed  and  11  indecisive.  Those  concerned  were  Reeves, 
Mayors,  Presidents  of  Canadian  Clubs  and  Boards  of  Trade  through- 
out the  Dominion  and  were  thoroughly  representative  men.  From 
the  West  a  batch  of  65  replies  were  published  on  Feb.  3  and  showed 
80%  of  an  affirmative  nature.  On  Jan.  24  the  Winnipeg  Canadian 
Club  voted  unanimously  for  the  following  Resolution: 

That  the  Club  respectfully  urges  the  Prime  Minister:  (1)  To  re-organize  the 
Administration  along  national  lines  by  including  men  of  recognized  organizing  capa- 
city wherever  they  may  be  found,  irrespective  of  party  affiliations  or  Parliamentary 
experience;  (2)  to  give  adequate  representation  in  such  re-organization  to  all  classes 
of  the  nation  who  are  contributing  to  the  desired  result;  (3)  following  the  example 
of  Great  Britain  to  concentrate  executive  authority  in  a  War  Council  of  few  members 
— such  re-organization  to  be  carried  out  without  appeal  to  the  electors. 

The  Toronto  Canadian  Club  endorsed  the  same  Resolution  by 
a  postal  vote  of  749  to  106.  The  Winnipeg  Board  of  Trade  (Jan. 
25)  declared  in  favour  of  War  Government  under  the  lead  of  Sir 
R.  Borden  who  "should  assign  any  work  directly  connected  with 
the  prosecution  of  our  share  in  the  War  to  men  whose  executive 
and  business  capacity  is  recognized  throughout  the  Dominion;  that 
these  men  should  be  chosen  solely  on  account  of  that  capacity  and 
without  regard  to  territorial,  racial,  religious,  political  or  other 
ordinary  or  traditional  considerations;  that  they  should  constitute 


560  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

a  war  council  and  proceed  along  the  same  general  lines  as  the  corres- 
ponding organization  in  Great  Britain,  and  that  re-organization  should 
be  carried  out  without  an  appeal  to  the  electors."  The  Rotary 
Club  of  Winnipeg  followed  (Jan.  24)  with  a  Resolution  calling  for 
the  "entrusting  of  war-time  administration  to  a  broadly  national 
Cabinet  made  up  of  men  individually  qualified  for  the  emergent 
task,  and  together  representative  of  all  important  classes  of  the 
community,  irrespective  of  pre-war  party  distinctions."  The  Van- 
couver Board  of  Trade  (Mar.  2)  urged  a  Coalition  of  the  two  Parties 
and  the  British  Columbia  Methodist  Conference  (May  23)  called 
for  a  National  Government.  Meanwhile,  a  Win- the- War  movement 
had  originated  in  Toronto  at  a  meeting  called  arid  presided  over  by 
J.  M.  Godfrey  of  Bonne  Entente  effort  in  1916.  It  was  attended  by 
Sir  Douglas  Cameron  of  Winnipeg,  Archbishop  McNeil  of  Toronto, 
S.  R.  Parsons,  Sir  Wm.  Mulock,  Lieut. -Colonels  R.  W.  Leonard 
and  Kelly  Evans,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  H.  Hincks  and  a  number  of  others. 
The  immediate  objects  were  described  as  a  National  Convention 
at  Montreal  for  the  purpose  of  backing  up  the  Borden,  or  any  other, 
Government,  in  the  one  great  purpose  of  energetic  war-action. 
Lieut. -Col.  Lome  Mulloy,  Kelly  Evans  and  B.  A.  Gould — an  Ameri- 
can author  and  publicist  who  had  recently  become  a  British  subject 
— were  the  chief  speakers  and  organizers  of  the  movement.  Many 
Win-the-War  meetings  were  held  throughout  the  country  and 
delegates  appointed  to  go  to  Montreal;  re-organization  of  the  Govern- 
ment or  a  Coalition  was  kept  out  of  the  speeches  and  resolutions 
but  not  out  of  the  private  discussions  surrounding  the  announced 
objects.  The  National  Unity  Convention,  as  it  was  finally  termed, 
met  at  Montreal  on  May  23-5  with  500  delegates  present  including 
Hon.  J.  A.  Mathieson,  Premier  of  P.E.  Island,  Archbishop  Worrell, 
Halifax,  Sir  W.  Mulock,  J.  M.  Godfrey  and  Frank  Wise,  Toronto, 
Mr.  Justice  Russell  and  Chief  Justice  McLeod,  Fredericton,  Mrs. 
H.  C.  Harrington,  L.  S.  Klinck  and  Hon.  A.  C.  Flumerfelt,  Victoria, 
Lieut.-Col.  L.  W.  A.  Mulloy,  Dr.  W.  H.  Atherton,  Montreal,  L'Abbd 
D'Amour,  Quebec,  and  Lieut.-Col.  R.  O'Leary,  Richibucto,  N.B. 
Horace  J.  Gagne  presided  with  Mr.  Flumerfelt  as  joint  Chairman. 
Resolutions  were  passed  in  favour  of  a  Food  Controller,  of  French 
and  English-Canadian  co-operation  in  War  effort,  of  regulation  in 
the  importation  and  manufacture  of  luxuries  and  more  ample  pro- 
vision for  soldiers  and  dependants.  A  Win-the-War  and  Canadian 
Unity  League  was  formed  with  H.  J.  Gagne,  Montreal,  as  President, 
and  Frank  Wise,  Toronto,  Secretary-Treasurer.  The  final  and  chief 
Resolution  was  as  follows: 

That,  in  order  that  Canada  may  do  its  utmost  towards  winning  the  War,  it  is 
essential  that  the  country  be  thoroughly  organized  along  non-partisan  lines  for  all 
branches  of  national  service  developed  through  local  Boards  so  as  to  ensure: 

(1)  The  provision  of  necessary  re-inforcements  for  the  army. 

(2)  The  maximum  production  of  food,  munitions  and  other  necessaries. 

(3)  The  necessary  diversion  of  man-power  and  woman-power  from  their  pur- 
suits to  be  carried  out  with  the  least  possible  derangement  of  agricultural,  industrial 
and  economic  efficiency. 

(4)  The  Government  to  requisition  and  restrict,  when  necessary,  public  utilities, 
factories,  industries  or  other  businesses,  and  require  them  to  be  operated  by  or  for 
the  Government  with  such  a  provision  for  remuneration  as  the  Government  shall 
consider  just. 


SIR  ROBERT  BORDEN'S  FIRST  EFFORTS  FOR  UNION        561 

The  discussion,  ^so  far,  had  been  tentative  and  pre- 
Sir  Robert  paratory  for  conditions  which  far-seeing  men  felt  were 
B°rd|;n'srFirst  inevitable;  yet  it  was  lacking  in  leadership  and  light 
Unk>n  Gov-  uPon  tne  .basic  issues  involved.  It  remained  for  the 
ernment.  Prime  Minister,  on  his  return  from  England  and 
presentation  to  the  country  of  the  imperative  need  for 
Conscription  and  united  effort,  to  give  the  vital  impetus,  which  JJML 
somewhat  ,^uggi«h  movftn?£lllJ'f?q|n™H  No  hint  was  given  in  the 
Premier's  speech  of  May  18  as  to  coalition;  nor  was  much  said 
about  it  for  some  days  except  as  to  the  difficulties  of  enforcing 
Conscription  by  a  party  Government  with  the  overhanging  pros- 
pect, also,  of  a  general  election.  Then,  on  May  27,  it  became 
suddenly  clear  that  a  re-organization  of  the  Government,  in  order 
to  face  the  new  issues  involved,  was  on  the  tapis.  Sir  Robert  Borden 
(May  28)  asked  the  Opposition  Leader  to  meet  him  on  the  fol-  ^c^t 
lowing  day  and  then  explained  fully  the  War  situation  as  he  had 
been  advised  in  detail  during  recent  meetings  of  the  Imperial  War/  „. 
Cabinet  and  in  the  freest  possible  discussions  with  British  leaders; 
stated  the  conclusion  he  had  come  to  that  compulsory  military  ser- 
vice was  essential  to  carry  on  Canada's  military  work  and  duty  and 
explained  the  provisions  of  the  proposed  Bill;  suggested  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Coalition  Government  and  asked  the  co-operation  of  Sir 
Wilfrid  Laurier  upon  the  basis  that  outside  of  the  Prime  Minister, 
each  of  the  two  political  parties  should  have  an  equal  representation  . 
in  the  Cabinet;  urged  the  importance  of  avoiding,  if  possible,  a' 
war-time  Election. 

The  Liberal  leader  replied*  with  an  expression  of  regret  that  he 
had  not  been  consulted  prior  to  the  announcement  as  to  Conscrip- 
tion; with  the  statement  that  he  "dreaded  very  serious  difficulties" 
if  such  a  law  were  passed  by  the  existing  Parliament;  with  advice 
against  holding  any  Caucus  meeting  during  negotiations  and  the 
statement  that  he  would  consult  Sir  Lomer  Gouin  and  other  friends. 
He  also  intimated  that  Conscription  should  not  be  enforced  until 
approved  at  a  Referendum  or  general  election.  At  the  same  tinte 
the  Premier  formulated  his  proposals  in  writing  as  follows:  "That 
a  Coalition  Government  should  be  formed;  that  the  Military  Ser- 
vice Bill  should  be  passed;  that  a  pledge  should  be  given  not  to 
enforce  it  until  after  a  general  election;  and  that  Parliament  should 
be  dissolved  and  the  Coalition  Government  should  seek  a  mandate  ' 
from  the  people."  Further  conferences  of  the  leaders  followed  on  ; 
June  1st  and  on  the  4th,  with  the  personnel  of  the  proposed  Govern-  * 
ment  under  consideration  and  no  insuperable  difficulties  anticipated 
—  according  to  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier's  letter  of  June  6  following. 
Meanwhile,  the  whole  country  was  interested  and  political  circles 
greatly  disturbed,  perplexed  and,  in  Ottawa,  excited.  The  press 
teemed  with  rumours,  all  manner  of  public  men  and  prominent 
personages  were  represented  as  possible  or  impossible  Cabinet 
figures.  Amongst  Liberal  guesses  Hon.  G.  P.  Graham,  F.  F.  Pardee 
and  Michael  Clark  were  favourites;  amongst  non-political  names 


*  Narrative  given  in  a  letter  to  the  Prime  Minister  dated  June  6  and  made  public 
on  the  7th. 


562  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

those  of  Lord  Shaughnessy,  J.  W.  Flavelle,  Z.  A.  Lash,  Sir  Adam 
Beck,  were  mentioned;  it  was  generally  asserted  in  Liberal  papers* 
that  Messrs.  Crothers,  Cochrane,  Hazen,  Roche,  and  Burrell  would 
retire  in  any  serious  re-organization.  There  was  a  tendency  in  the 
Liberal  press  to  support  Coalition  and  the  Ottawa  correspondent  of 
the  Toronto  Globe,  as  early  as  May  27,  wrote  that  Liberals  had  a 
"sincere  desire  to  do  what  is  considered  best  for  the  national  interest 
in  securing  stability  of  government  and  all  possible  unity  of  national 
action  towards  winning  the  War." 

That  paper,  however,  continued  its  editorial  attacks  upon  the 
Government  and  on  May  29  declared  that:  "Sir  Robert  Borden 
has  forfeited  the  confidence  of  the  Canadian  people.  It  is  a  dan- 
gerous experiment  to  force  an  extension  of  the  life  of  the  Borden 
regime  by  any  scheme  of  reconstruction  that  does  not  rest  on  the 
consent  of  the  two  historic  parties  in  Parliament."  The  Toronto 
Star  (May  28),  however,  urged  the  Premier  to  call  on  Sir  W.  Laurier 
for  help — which  he  had  done  on  that  very  day.  The  Conservative 
press,  some  of  it  grudgingly,  swung  into  line  behind  the  Premier; 
Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  F.  F.  Pardee,  Chief  Liberal  Whip,  went  to 
Montreal  on  the  30th  and  consulted  Sir  Lomer  Gouin,  Hon.  R. 
Lemieux,  Hon.  J.  L.  De*carie,  Provincial  Secretary,  S.  Le*tourneau, 
M.L.A.,  Montreal  district  organizer;  on  the  same  day  the  Toronto 
News  correspondent  wired  that  "a  Union  Government  now  seems 
certain  and  imminent  and  it  is  understood  will  not  include  Sir  Wil- 
frid Laurier,  but  have  his  approval";  on  the  following  day  Sir 
Wilfrid  Laurier  was  in  Ottawa  again  and  the  press  declared  the 
result  of  the  negotiations  uncertain.  It  was  generally  believed  at 
this  stage  that  Gouin  of  Quebec,  Rpwell  of  Ontario  and  Murray  of 
Nova  Scotia  had  been  invited  to  join  a  Coalition  Government.  At 
a  Halifax  function  (May  30)  the  Premier,  Hon.  G.  H.  Murray,  de- 
clared that  this  "is  a  time  when  the  very  best  should  be  given  the 
country,  when  Liberals  and  Conservatives  should  lay  aside  their 
party  feelings  and  unite  for  the  one  great  object  of  presenting  a 
united  and  unanimous  front  to  the  world."  A.  K.  Maclean,  M.P., 
a  former  member  of  the  Nova  Scotia  Government,  was  understood 
to  have  charge  of  negotiations  in  Nova  Scotia  and  left  Ottawa  at 
this  time  for  Halifax;  G.  E.  McCraney,  M.P.,  figured  in  the  later 
negotiations  in  the  West,  F.  B.  Carvell  in  New  Brunswick,  and  F.  F. 
Pardee  in  Quebec  and  Ontario.  Hon.  Arthur  Meighen  was  stated 
to  have  an  active  place  in  preliminary  and  subsequent  discussions. 
On  June  2  an  Opposition  Caucus  took  place  and  on  the  4th  the  two 
leaders  held  brief  conference — a  matter  of  information  to  Sir  Wilfrid 
on  certain  points,  the  Premier  stated — with  indications  along  the 
line  of  a  favourable  settlement. 

Then  something  happened.  Up  to  this  date,  according  to  Sir 
Wilfrid's  letter  of  June  6,  no  impassable  or  serious  divergence  existed 
and  only  questions  affecting  personnel  were  under  discussion.  Yet 
on  the  6th  a  final  conference  was  held  and  to  quote  his  own  words 
to  the  Premier  Sir  Wilfrid  said:  "I  answered  that  I  had  not  seen 
my  way  clear  to  join  the  Government  on  the  terms  proposed.  I 
asked  you  at  the  same  time  if  Conscription  was  the  only  basis,  to 


Sm  ROBERT  BORDEN'S  FIRST  EFFORTS  FOR  UNION        563 

which  you  replied  in  the  affirmative."  The  reason  advanced  for 
the  refusal  was,  therefore,  Conscription;  but  that  issue  was  the 
same  on  May  28  and  June  1  or  4,  as  it  was  on  the  6th !  Difficulties 
within  both  parties  were  obvious.  The  French-Canadians  were 
almost  a  unit  against  the  Compulsion  Act  and  any  Coalition  aimed 
at  its  passage  and  enforcement;  Western  Liberal  leaders,  though 
they  did  not  come  into  this  stage  of  the  discussion,  were  not,  out- 
side of  Manitoba,  inclined  to  be  favourable;  many  active  Liberals, 
everywhere,  believed  at  this  time  that  a  general  election  would  return 
Sir  Wilfrid  to  power,  solve  the  Quebec  issue,  give  the  West  freer 
trade  and  Reciprocity,  promote  recruiting  by  new  and  more  united 
effort.  Moreover,  the  continued  retention  of  Hon.  R.  Rogers  in 
the  Cabinet  was  a  Liberal  stumbling-block  and  probably  the  chief 
personal  difficulty  involved.  The  Premier,  also,  had  no  easy  task  in 
his  own  party.  Leading  Conservative  members  and  men  on  the 
back-benches,  alike,  were  suspicious  of  Liberal  aims  and  policy; 
resentful  of  the  continuous  attacks  upon  Sir  R.  Borden  himself; 
angry  at  the  extreme  bitterness  of  the  onslaughts  upon  Mr.  Rogers 
by  The  Globe;  scornful  as  to  Quebec  and  the  Laurier  or  Nationalist 
attitude  and  sceptical  as  to  the  West  and  its  free-trade  Grain  Grow- 
ers. Sir  Edmund  Osier,  whose  political  acumen  was  much  respected, 
was  more  than  doubtful  (June  1):  "Unless  you  could  get  men 
absolutely  to  sink  their  party  differences,  I  don't  see  how  they  could 
possibly  work  together.  It  would  be  almost  impossible  that  this 
could  be."  He  did  not  oppose  Coalition;  he  did  appreciate  the 
obstacles  in  the  way:  "I  do  not  think  there  is  much  to  be  gained 
by  bringing  in  outsiders — business  men  without  experience  in  office. 
They  have  too  much  to  learn."  Others  frankly  wanted  a  personally- 
strengthened  Conservative  Government  to  appeal  to  the  country 
and  believed  it  would  win. 

A  new  situation  opened  up  as  the  result  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier's 
refusal  to  join  a  Coalition  Government.  The  letters  between  the 
Leaders  were  made  public  on  June  7,  told  the  story  of  negotiations 
concisely  and  showed  clearly  that  whatever  the  cause  of  the  break- 
down between  June  4th  and  6th,  the  present  and  coming  issue  was  be- 
tween Borden  and  Conscription  and  Laurier  and  no -Conscription, 
with  a  general  election  as  essential  to  the  settlement  of  the  question. 
As  Sir  Robert  put  it  in  his  reply:  "I  was  convinced  that  compulsory 
service  was  necessary,  and  must  be  included  in  the  policy  of  the 
proposed  Coalition.  You,  on  the  other  hand,  decided  that  you 
could  not  accept  such  a  policy,  and  that  you  could  not  join  a  Gov- 
ernment which  adopted  it."  Both  leaders  met  their  Parties  in 
caucus  and  explained  the  situation,  and  it  looked  for  the  moment 
as  if  the  Union  project  were  killed.  Several  things,  however,  emerged 
out  of  what  the  Liberal  press  called  a  muddle,  or  a  mess,  and 
what  the  Conservative  press  was  inclined  to  regard  as  good  political 
strategy  on  the  Premier's  part  as  well  as  sound  patriotism.  His 
followers  believed  that  he  had  put  the  Opposition  in  a  difficult  posi- 
tion— one  which  involved  the  certain  disruption  of  the  Liberal  party 
with  a  loss  to  the  Conservatives  of  only  a  few  seats  in  Quebec. 
Many  of  them  hoped  the  issue  would  be  left  at  that  and  a  distinct 


564  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

party  gain  scored.  But  Sir  Robert  Borden  was  not  playing  politics; 
he  had  entered  upon  a  course  which  was  difficult  and  perhaps  in  the 
end  politically  dangerous;  he  intended  to  see  it  through  for  patriotic 
and  war  reasons  and  the  courage,  patience  and  persistence  which 
he  showed  in  the  next  few  months  fill  a  conspicuous  page  in  Canada's 
history.  His  speech  in  Caucus  (June  7)  was  a  stirring  appeal  to 
meet  the  war-crisis,  to  realize  the  sufferings  of  the  soldiers,  to  sup- 
port and  strengthen  the  Government  which  was  determined  to  sup- 
port the  men  at  the  Front.  In  presenting  the  Conscription  Bill  to 
Parliament  on  June_Jll_the  Premier  was  explicit  as  to  the  need  of 
unity : 

It  was  my  strong  desire  to  bring  about  a  union  of  all  parties  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  any  such  disunion  or  strife  as  is  apprehended.  That  effort  was  an  abso- 
lutely .sincere  one,  and  I  do  not  regret  that  it  was  made,  although  the  delay  which 
it  occasioned  may  have  given  opportunity  for  increased  agitation  (in  Quebec)  and 
for  excitement  arising  from  misunderstanding.  I  went  so  far  as  to  agree  that  this 
Bill  should  not  become  effective  until  after  a  general  election,  in  the  hope  that  by  this 
means  all  apprehension  would  be  allayed,  and  that  there  might  be  a  united  effort 
to  fulfil  the  great  national  purpose  of  winning  this  war.  What  may  be  necessary  or 
expedient  in  that  regard,  I  am  yet  willing  to  consider,  for  ever  since  this  war  began  I 
have  had  one  constant  aim  and  it  was  this:  to  throw  the  full  power  and  effort  of  Can- 
ada into  the  scale  of  right,  liberty  and  justice  for  the  winning  of  this  war,  and  to 
maintain  the  unity  of  the  Canadian  people  in  that  effort. 

This  desire  had  been  the  cause  of  delay  in  presenting  the  Bill; 
this  was  the  reason  for  that  period  of  waiting  which  followed  the 
Premier's  announcement  of  May  18  and  which  the  Liberal  press  so 
resented.  He  wanted  to  have  it  dealt  with  by  a  reasonably  united 
Parliament  and  not  a  party-divided  one.  It  soon  became  clear, 
after  this  event,  that  Sir  Robert  intended  to  continue  his  effort  to 
form  a  non-party  or  Union  Government;  that  consultations  would 
continue  with  the  secondary  Liberal  leaders  and  groups;  that  every 
possible  condition  would  be  admitted  and  a  willingness  to  com- 
promise shown  on  any  point  except  the  fundamental  one  of  war- 
action.  This  effort  at  political  unity  lasted  through  the  vital  de- 
bates in  Parliament  on  Conscription;  and  the  Liberal  leader's 
refusal  to  extend  the  Parliamentary  term.  During  this  stage  in  the 
Union  Government  movement  one  after  another  of  the  active  work- 
ing leaders  of  Liberalism  found  it  imperative  to  vote  against  Sir 
Wilfrid  Laurier  and  his  negative  policy  or  Referendum  plan.  Each 
of  those  votes  made  Coalition  easier  and  the  Premier  more  deter- 
mined. To  a  mere  party  man,  bent  upon  winning  an  ensuing  Elec- 
tion, these  evidences  of  Opposition  disintegration  would  have  been 
satisfactory;  but  to  the  Premier  they  were  only  finger-posts  point- 
ing the  way  to  union.  Meantime  the  outside  opinion  of  his  Con- 
scription policy,  which  grew  in  strength  day  by  day  during  the 
Session,  was  not  at  first  hopeful  of  Coalition  except,  perhaps,  by 
inference.  In  Toronto  on  June  10  a  mass-meeting  was  held  with 
the  evident  aim  of  influencing  Parliamentary  action  on  Conscription 
and  addressed  by  Sir  W.  H.  Hearst,  Premier  of  Ontario,  and  N.  W. 
Rowell,  Opposition  Leader,  by  Hon.  T.  W.  McGarry  (Cons.)  and 
Michael  Clark,  M.P.  (Lib.),  Hon.  W.  D.  McPherson  (Cons.),  and 
W.  H.  Shaw  (Lib,),  Mayor  T.  L.  Church  (Cons.),  and  G.  G.  S. 


SIR  ROBERT  BORDEN'S  FIRST  EFFORTS  FOR  UNION        565 

Lindsey,  K.C.  (Lib.)  There  were  others  also  and  the  speeches  were 
all  for  Conscription  and  War  support,  but  with  no  reference  to 
Coalition.  At  Winnipeg  on  the  21st  300  Conservatives  from  all 
parts  of  Manitoba  gathered  in  Convention  and  endorsed  the  Gov- 
ernment policy,  and  Sir  R.  Borden,  without  reference,  however,  to 
the  question  of  party  union.  As^.  however,  Liberal. af.tex,,Xiberal  in 
the  Commons  declared  themselves  in  favour  of  the  Military  Service 
Act,  as  men  like  Graham,  Pardee,  Carvell,  Maclean,  Guthrie, 
Buehanan,  MacNutt,  McCraney,  Turriff,  separated  themselves  on 
this  vital  issue  from  their  historic  party  allegiance,  the  country 
wakened -U£  to  a  renewedJbelieiJn  the  practicability  and  necessity 
of  Coalitioji  jn^ojne_iojrm.  Hugh  Guthrie,  on  the  18th,  declared  in 
Parliament  for  coalition;  a  Liberal  meeting  in  Treherne,  Manitoba, 
demanded  (June  20)  a  National  Government;  the  Toronto  Star  of 
June  23rd  declared  that  if  a  Coalition  was  impossible  Sir  Robert 
Borden  should,  in  any  case,  "set  up  a  new  Government,  bringing 
in  new  men  with  new  minds  and  fresh  enthusiasms";  the  Rev.  Dr. 
S.  G.  Bland,  a  vehement,  fighting  Liberal,  declared  at  Winnipeg 
(June  24)  that  "the  passionate  desire  of  Canada  for  a  National 
Government  should  be  met  and  Sir  Robert  Borden  should  re-con- 
struct his  Government";  a  month  later  F.  F.  Pardee  in  the  House 
(July  24)  declared  that  "  the  affairs  of  this  country  to-day  demand  a 
National  Government,  if  it  can  be  formed  on  a  proper  basis,  for  the 
proper  administration  of  those  affairs";  J.  G.  Turriff,  on  the  same 
day,  added  the  belief  that  "until  the  end  of  the  War  it  would  be 
much  better  if  we  had  a  national  Government — a  mighty  good  thing 
for  Canada  if  the  two  parties  could  bury  their  differences  for  the 
time  and  unite." 

At  this  stage  an  important  incident  occurred.  The  Mamtoba 
Free  Press,  which  had  been  a  steady  supporter  of  Coalition,  reviewed 
thlTsTtuation  on  July  12  and  made  this  suggestion:  "An  organized 
Liberal  group,  if^bne  were  in  existence,  could  receive  a  proposition 
if  Sir  Robert  chose  to  make  one,  and  they  could  accept  it  or  reject f1 
it,  taking  in  each  case  the  responsibility  of  justifying  their  action  to 
the  people."  On  the  16th  the  26  dissentient  Liberals  at  Ottawa, 
supporting  Conscription,  met  in  caucus  for  the  first  time  with  A.  K. 
Marjggj^  in  the  chair  and  constituted  themselves  a  new  force  in 
politics  and  in  the  events  which  followed.  Meanwhile,  the  West 
had  decided  to  discuss  this  question  in  a  big  way  and  to  thresh  out 
its  details  and  issues  in  a  Western  Convention  which  should  meet 
apart  from  Federal  party  leacters  and  eastern  influences.  At  the 
time  when  the  call  went  out  (July  6)  the  Hon.  J.  A.  Calder,  the 
strong  man  of  Saskatchewan  Liberals  for  so  many  years,  Hon.  A.  B. 
Hudson,  Attorney-General  of  Manitoba,  J.  W.  Dafoe,  Editor  of  the 
Free  Press  and  a  vigorous  Unionist  worker,  Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton, 
Premier  of  Alberta,  and  a  brother  of  Sir  C.  Sifton,  were  in  Ottawa. 
They  discussed  matters  with  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  some  of  them 
with  the  Premier,  or  his  friends.  Then  came  Sir  Clifford  Sifton's 
intervention  backed  up  by  his  Winnipeg  journal's  continued  advo- 
cacy of  Coalition  and  Conscription.  In  a  letter  to  Senator  Bostock, 

Liberal  leader  in  the  Senate,  this  one-time  Minister  of  the  Interior 

• 
. 

• 


566  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

in  a  Laurier  Government  and  a  public  man  whose  ability  was  widely 
recognized,  on  July  3  reviewed  briefly  and  forcibly  the  war-situation 
and  Canada's  policy,  with  the  declaration  that  nothing  mattered 
now  except:  (1)  to  put  every  possible  ounce  of  force  into  our  strik- 
ing power  with  men,  guns  and  munitions,  in  order  to  help  the  Allies 
to  win  the  victory  for  liberty;  (2)  to  stand  by  our  men  at  the  Front 
and  give  them  abundant  re-inforcements  and  reserves  to  admit  of 
rest  and  recuperation;  (3)  to  maintain  the  honour  of  Canada  and 
redeem  our  pledge  to  see  the  War  through  to  the  limit  of  our  capa- 
city. He  added  the  hope,  shared  with  many  others,  that  if  Sir  W. 
Laurier  could  not  join  a  Union  Government  he  at  least  would  agree 
to  an  extension  of  Parliament  and  thus  avert  a  general  election. 
Quebec,  it  was  declared,  would  be  the  cause  of  a  refusal  and  its  result 
involve  "no  more  men,  no  more  money";  if  the  Opposition  Chief 
were  returned  to  power  two-thirds  of  his  followers  would  be  pledged 
against  Conscription  and  to  anything  but  "a  perfunctory  and  in- 
effective participation  in  the  War."  Then: 

(1)  There  will  be  no  Conscription  in  Quebec;  (2)  there  will  be  no  recruiting  in 
Quebec;  (3)  under  these  circumstances  it  will  be  obviously  impossible  to  raise  troops 
in  the  other  portions  of  Canada.  Imagine  a  Laurier  Government  trying  to  raise 
troops  in  the  other  Provinces  while  Quebec  scornfully  refuses  either  to  submit  to 
Conscription  or  to  recruit;  (4)  our  regiments  at  the  Front  will  be  left  stranded  and 
will  dwindle  and  disappear  in  effective  fighting  force;  (5)  the  predominating  and 
controlling  element  behind  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  will  not  allow  him  to  prosecute  the 
War.  ...  If  anything  in  this  troubled  world  can  be  absolutely  clear,  it  is  clear 
to-day  that  we  can  grapple  with  this  situation  in  one  way,  and  in  one  way  only,  by 
the  formation  of  a  Union  War  Government,  administered  on  non-partisan  lines, 
which  will  straightway  appeal  for  a  mandate  to  the  people  of  Canada  and  can  con- 
sistently be  supported  by  every  element  in  the  population  that  is  loyal  to  the  cause. 

On  July  20  a  Conference  of  Ontario  Liberal  members  and  leaders 
and  candidates  in  the  coming  Elections  was  held  in  Toronto  and 
The  Globe  of  the  next  day  declared  its  conclusions  to  be  that  winning 
the  War  was  the  first  consideration,  that  under  Sir  W.  Laurier's 
leadership  the  next  campaign  would  be  fought  and  won,  and  there 
should  be  no  extension  of  the  Parliamentary  term,  that  Coalition 
with  the  Borden  Government  was  impracticable  and  that  there 
should  be  another  voluntary  effort  before  Conscription  was  enforced. 
It  was  afterwards  stated  by  some  of  those  present  that  these  con- 
clusions were  not  unanimous,  but  no  exact  detail  was  made  public. 
Meanwhile,  the  Premier  still  was  holding  the  gate  open  to  Union 
and  Mr.  Rowell,  who  was  universally  supposed  to  be  considering 
the  matter,  said  at  Hickson  in  N.  Oxford  (July  26)  to  his  constituents : 
"Strongly  as  I  differ  from  the  manner  in  which  this  grave  issue  of 
Compulsory  service  was  presented  to  the  country,  wise  as  I  believe 
it  would  have  been  to  consult  with  labour,  agriculture  and  other 
interests  vitally  affected,  before  the  proposal  was  submitted  to 
Parliament,  firmly  as  I  believe  it  should  have  been  presented  by  a 
National  Government  rather  than  by  a  party  government,  these 
considerations  would  not  excuse  me  for  now  failing  to  support  a 
measure  which  I  am  convinced  is  essential  to  meet  the  War  condi- 
tions we  are  now  facing."  That  Ontario  opinion  was  behind  him 
in  this  view  there  was  little  doubt,  and  the  uncertain  attitude  of 


SIR  ROBERT  BORDEN'S  FIRST  EFFORTS  FOR  UNION        567 

Hon.  G.  P.  Graham,  Sir  W.  Laurier's  chief  colleague  from  Ontario, 
in  the  negotiations,  in  Parliament,  and  in  his  public  speeches,  helped 
to  prove  this  fact.  A  more  assured  proof  was  a  meeting  of  Liberal 
editors  from  all  parts  of  the  Province  in  Toronto  on  July  26  and 
including  T.  H.  Preston,  Brantford  Expositor;  W.  J.  Taylor,  Wood- 
stock Sentinel-Review;  J.  I.  Mclntosh,  Guelph  Mercury;  W.  M. 
O'Beirne,  Stratford  Beacon;  J.  M.  Elson,  St.  Catharines  Journal; 
Hal.  B.  Donly,  Simcoe  Reformer;  J.  G.  Elliott,  Kingston  Whig; 
with  Wm.  Banks,  Jr.,  for  the  Toronto  Globe,  and  J.  T.  Clark  and 
J.  R.  Bone  for  the  Toronto  Star.  The  following  Resolution  was 
passed  with  one  dissentient: 

(1)  Canada's  task  is  to  organize  her  man-power  and  resources  for  the  winning 
of  the  War,  including  compulsory  military  service,  conscription  of  wealth,  progressive 
income  tax,  increased  food  production,  control  of  profiteering,  nationalization  of 
munition  plants,  national  and  personal  thrift  and  economy,  etc. 

(2)  It  is  essential  that  our  troops  be  backed  up  by  the  needed  re-inforcements, 
and  that  the  Liberal  party  in  Ontario  should  stand  squarely  for  compulsory  military 
service,  and  that  no  candidate  should  be  supported  who  will  not  support  this. 

(3)  Sir  Robert  Borden  and  his  Government  have  proved  themselves  unequal  to 
these  tasks.     No  other  purely  party  Government  at  the  present  time  could  deal  with 
them.     A  war  Cabinet  and  Government  representing  both  parties  and  the  strong 
forces  of  the  nation  working  for  the  winning  of  the  War  is,  therefore,  necessary. 

The  reference  to  Sir  Robert  Borden  was  resented  by  The  News  and 
other  Conservative  papers  and  was,  in  fact,  followed  on  the  27th 
by  a  vigorous  attack  in  The  Star  upon  the  Premier  and  his  Govern- 
ment, while  The  Globe  of  the  same  date  declared  that:  "The  ques- 
tion of  a  union  Administration  cannot  be  considered  apart  from  its 
personnel.  Some  members  of  the  present  Government  are  impossible 
because  of  incompetence  or  worse.  Some  Liberals  may  be  named 
for  office  who  would  be  equally  unacceptable."  The  attitude  of 
this  journal  had  not,  as  yet,  been  favourable  to  Union  Government; 
even  when  the  general  idea  became  acceptable  it  did  not  want 
Borden  leadership  and  expressed  continued  hostility  to  certain 
members  of  the  Cabinet.  Meantime,  the  Bonne  Entente  movement 
of  1916,  the  National  Unity  plan  of  earlier  in  1917,  had  developed 
into  a  Win-the-War  and  National  Government  advocacy  with  J.  M. 
Godfrey,  B.  A.  Gould,  Frank  Wise  and  others  as  the  promoters  of 
a  new  Convention  to  be  held  in  Toronto  on  Aug.  2-3.  The  call  to 
attend  this  gathering  was  signed  by  prominent  men  in  various 
centres  of  the  Province,  such  as  A.  E.  Ames,  Col.  A.  E.  Gooderham, 
R.  S.  Hudson,  Hugh  Blain,  Col.  G.  T.  Denison,  Toronto;  C.  A. 
Birge,  G.  C.  Coppley,  J.  P.  Bell,  C.  R.  McCullough,  Hamilton; 
J.  C.  Norsworthy,  Ingersoll,  and  H.  Cockshutt,  Brantford;  it  de- 
clared that  every  resource  must  be  devoted  to  war-effort  and  urged 
that  "a  national  non-partisan  Government  be  established  for  the 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  War."  The  Convention  opened  on 
Aug.  2  with  J.  M.  Godfrey  (Lib.)  in  the  chair.  He  urged  that  both 
political  machines  should  be  "scrapped,"  declared  that  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier  had  forfeited  his  leadership  of  Canadians  and  urged  a  new 
war-party  behind  a  new  National  War  Government:  "I  earnestly 
believe  that  Sir  Robert  Borden  will  form  the  very  best  Government 
he  can.  Official  Liberalism  will  no  doubt  be  offered  a  strong  repre- 


568  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

sentation.  The  invitation  has  already  been  extended."  Hon.  W. 
D.  McPherson  (Lib.)  followed  in  a  non-partisan  speech.  In  the 
evening  Hugh  Guthrie,  M.P.,  expressed  another  Liberal  opinion  as 
to  the  Premiership  by  declaring  that  no  other  man  than  Sir  R. 
Borden  should  be  entrusted  with  the  formation  of  a  National  Gov- 
ernment. Sir  W.  H.  Hearst  and  Mr.  Rowell  also  spoke — the  latter 
declaring  that  he  saw  "no  prospect  of  any  satisfactory  solution  of 
our  present  difficulties  apart  from  the  creation  of  a  real  National  or 
War- Government."  Such  a  Government  must  be  composed  of  men 
who  commanded  public  confidence  and  it  should  fairly  represent  all 
the  strong  forces  of  the  nation  with,  also,  a  Parliamentary  majority. 
"Such  a  Government,  whenever  formed,  will  have  my  most  cordial 
support." 

The  Convention  included  800  delegates  and  Resolutions  were 
passed  expressing  loyalty  to  the  King,  paying  tribute  to  the  soldiers, 
and  greeting  the  Allies.  To  Gen.  Sir  Arthur  Currie  was  sent  a 
despatch  declaring  that:  "A  great  Win- the- War  Convention  is 
demanding  that  party  politics  be  dropped,  that  a  national,  non- 
partisan,  Win-the-War  Government  be  established,  that  all  Win-the- 
War  elements  in  Canada  support  such  a  National  Government,  and 
that  Conscription  be  at  once  employed  to  re-inforce  our  brave  sol- 
diers battling  on  the  field  of  honour."  The  following  Resolution, 
on  motion  of  Col.  R.  W.  Leonard,  was  unanimously  approved: 
"Whereas,  this  Convention  deeply  deplores  the  holding  of  a  general 
election  during  the  War — Resolved  (1)  that  the  Prime  Minister 
should  without  delay  form  a  National  non-partisan  Government, 
representative  of  all  who  demand  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  War, 
and  in  determining  upon  this  its  members  should  disregard  previous 
party  affiliation;  (2)  that  immediately  upon  the  formation  of  such 
a  National  non-partisan  Government  the  leader  of  such  Government 
should  introduce  a  Resolution  requesting  the  extension  of  the  term 
of  Parliament."  Associated  with  the  Convention  were  a  large  num- 
ber of  women  who,  on  Aug.  3,  with  2,000  present  at  the  meeting, 
passed  a  Resolution  in  favour  of  Conscription  and  National  Govern- 
ment and  against  a  general  election — but  if  it  should  come  pledging 
opposition  to  all  candidates  not  in  favour  of  Conscription  or  follow- 
ing a  leader  opposed  to  it.  On  Aug.  4  Sir  Robert  Borden  received 
a  deputation  from  the  Toronto  Convention  composed  of  J.  M. 
Godfrey,  C.  R.  McCullough,  W.  C.  Mikel,  K.C.,  W.  R.  P.  Parker, 
Mrs.  A.  E.  Gooderham,  Mrs.  L.  A.  Hamilton  and  others  and  listened 
to  the  Resolutions  presented  by  Mr.  Godfrey  and  his  associates. 
To  them  the  Premier  made  his  first  public  comment  upon  the  per- 
sonal difficulties  of  his  position  and  intimated  that  he  was  still 
working  for  Union: 

The  responsibilities  entailed  upon  the  leader  of  a  Government  in  a  country  such 
as  ours,  and  under  the  conditions  which  have  prevailed  during  the  past  three  years, 
are  extremely  onerous,  more  so  than  could  be  realized  by  anyone  who  has  not  striven 
to  fulfil  them.  But  however  severe,  and  even  overpowering,  they  must  be  fulfilled 
to  the  full  limit  of  one's  strength  and  capacity.  Like  the  men  in  the  trenches,  a 
Minister,  under  such  conditions,  must  remain  at  his  post  until  he  is  granted  an  hon- 
ourable discharge.  ...  It  has  become  more  and  more  apparent  during  recent 
months  that  party  differences  must  be  sunk  and  all  forces  united  in  the  effort  to  win 


H   2 


u 
"3 

Q   "S 


1! 

a  S 


WESTERN  CONVENTION:  A  CHECK  TO  UNION  GOVERNMENT  569 

the  War.  My  endeavours  for  that  end  during  recent  weeks  have  not  been  wholly 
made  public,  but  those  who  have  an  intimate  knowledge  of  public  affairs  during  that 
period  are  aware  that  no  effort  on  my  part  has  been  wanting.  It  is  appropriate  on 
this  occasion  to  make  my  fellow-countrymen  fully  acquainted  with  my  desire  and 
intentions.  I  hope  that  in  the  near  future  a  Government  may  be  formed,  based 
upon  a  union  of  all  persons,  irrespective  of  party,  race  and  creed,  who  believe  that  the 
struggle  which  we  now  wage  is  for  the  success  of  liberty  and  justice,  who  realize  that 
it  involves  the  destiny  of  our  Dominion,  of  this  Empire,  and  even  of  the  world,  and 
who,  putting  aside  all  differences  of  minor  significance,  are  prepared  to  join  in  a  united 
and  determined  effort  to  throw  into  the  conflict  the  full  power  and  strength  of  this 
Dominion. 

While  these  movements  and  efforts  were  proceeding  the  Premier 
had  been  quietly  working  toward  the  same  end.  The  Liberals 
generally  believed  to  have  been  approached  included  N.  W.  Rowell, 
Toronto;  Hon.  G.  H.  Murray,  Halifax;  F.  F.  Pardee,  Sarnia;  Hugh 
Guthrie,  Guelph;  A.  K.  Maclean,  Halifax;  Michael  Clark,  Red  Deer; 
G.  E.  McCraney,  Saskatoon;  H.  A.  Robson,  Winnipeg;  and  Hon. 
J.  A.  Calder,  Regina;  while  F.  B.  Carvell,  Hon.  G.  P.  Graham  and 
others,  such  as  Sir  John  Eaton,  Sir  Wm.  Hearst,  and  Lord  Shaugh- 
nessy  were  mentioned  more  or  less  seriously.  Despite  rumours,  no 
further  advance  was  made  to  Sir  W.  Laurier.  On  Aug.  9  the  Gov- 
ernor-General summoned  a  number  of  prominent  men  to  a  confer- 
ence at  Government  House.  No  statement  of  proceedings  was  made 
public  but  it  was  announced  that  besides  H.E.  the  Duke  of  Devon- 
shire there  were  present  Sir  Robert  Borden,  Sir  W.  Laurier,  Hon. 
G.  P.  Graham,  Lord  Shaughnessy,  Sir  Lomer  Gouin,  Archbishop 
Mathieu  of  Regina,  Sir  George  Foster  and  Sir  Clifford  Sifton.  It 
was  an  effort  to  bring  together  those  who  might  help  in  such  a 
Coalition  as  the  Premier  was  working  for.  That  it  had  some  good 
results  was  probable;  that  it  would  not  greatly  influence  the  Quebec 
leaders  was  obvious  from  Sir  W.  Laurier's  determined  position  and 
Sir  Lomer  Gouin's  statement  in  Montreal  on  Aug.  2:  "The  attitude 
of  the  Province  of  Quebec  is  sincere.  To  us  it  appears  that  a  Gov- 
ernment elected  six  years  ago  on  a  programme  containing  not  one 
word  pertaining  to  military  matters  is  not  a  Government  which 
should  impose  Conscription  on  Canada  to-day.  Let  us  have  elec- 
tions, and  if  the  majority  of  the  Canadian  people  declare  in  favour 
of  Conscription  I  am  convinced  that  our  Province,  like  the  others, 
will  submit  to  the  people's  will."  He  added  approval  of  the  Laurier 
attitude  since  the  beginning  of  the  Session.  This  incident,  the 
passage  of  Conscription  and  other  legislation,  the  clear  evidence  of 
Quebec's  antagonism  to  the  Government's  policy  or  to  a  Coalition, 
the  reasonable  assurance  of  Ontario's  favourable  attitude,  the  com- 
ing of  a  Western  Conference  which  would  clear  the  air  in  those  four 
Provinces,  marked  the  close  of  Sir  Robert's  first  efforts  for  Union 
Government. 

The  Western  The  position  of  the  West  was  a  vital  one  in  the 
and^Jniori1  f°rmati°n  of  the  proposed  Administration  as  it  also 
Government  promised  to  be  in  a  general  election.  Its  political 
Conditions,  leaders  were  a  vigorous,  fighting  group  of  men, 
second  to  none  in  ability  and  superior  to  many  in 
concentrated  purpose  and  aggressive  beliefs.  Allied  with  Quebec 


570  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

or  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  against  Conscription  they  would  have 
made  the  issue  more  than  uncertain;  standing  aside  from  both 
parties  they  would  have  held  the  balance  of  power  against  any  Gov- 
ernment under  existing  conditions.  A  Western  party  was,  in  fact, 
mooted  at  this  time  and  had  some  strong  support;  hence  the  im- 
portance of  the  forthcoming  Convention  at  Winnipeg.  It  was 
obvious  that  pending  its  conclusions  few  of  the  Western  leaders 
would  definitely  commit  themselves — and  none  had  done  so  except 
Dr.  Michael  Clark  and  Sir  Clifford  Sifton  who  was  one  only  in  virtue 
of  his  past  career  and  present  control  of  the  Winnipeg  Free  Press; 
with  Frank  Oliver  and  Hon.  C.  W.  Cross  on  the  other  side. 

Following  his  letter  to  Mr.  Bostock,  Sir  C.  Sifton  went  West 
with  the  expectation  of  (1)  ascertaining  the  trend  of  feeling  toward 
the  Convention,  and  (2)  influencing  some,  at  least,  of  the  leaders 
for  Union  Government.  At  Winnipeg  on  July  30  he  urged  upon  400 
leading  business  men  at  the  Canadian  Club  the  need  for  thinking 
only  of  the  War  and  its  prosecution,  of  abandoning  criticism  and 
endorsing  constructive  effort:  "What  are  we  going  to  do,  I  ask? 
Sir  Robert  Borden  went  to  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  proposed  a  Coali- 
tion Government,  and  Laurier  refused.  Sir  Robert  then  proposed 
a  Coalition  with  the  English-speaking  Liberals,  supporters  of  the 
War  and  of  Conscription,  and  so  far  as  I  know  the  offer  is  still 
standing."  He  pointed  out  the  disastrous  possibilities  of  pro-Con- 
script ionist  Liberals  and  Conservatives  fighting  each  other  in  the 
constituencies  with  anti-Conscriptionist  Liberals  running  in  between 
them,  and  added:  "The  Liberal  Convention  to  be  held  in  Winnipeg 
next  week  will  be  one  of  the  most  momentous  since  Confederation, 
and  if  that  Convention,  as  I  trust  it  will,  should  declare  for  a  strong 
and  determined  war  policy,  for  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  War 
and  a  properly  organized  fight  to  carry  those  objects  through,  then 
they  should  be  in  sight  of  their  goal."  In  Regina  on  the  31st  he 
stated  that:  "Sir  Robert  Borden's  proposals  are  made  to  the  great 
Liberal  party  of  Canada,  in  so  far  as  it  is  composed  of  men  who  are 
for  winning  the  War,  to  come  in  and  form  a  Union  Government, 
make  their  own  stipulations  as  to  policy,  and  put  their  shoulders 
under  the  load."  At  Moose  Jaw  (Aug.  1)  he  urged  again  a  com- 
bination of  Win-the-War  Liberals  with  Sir  R.  Borden  and  the  Con- 
servatives. There  could  be  no  doubt  that  the  tone  and  arguments 
of  Sir  Clifford's  recent  letter  had  considerable  weight  in  the  East,  as 
the  position  long  taken  by  the  Free  Press  had  in  the  West,  and  that 
these  speeches  also  had  popular  influence;  yet  it  was  clear  that 
political  leaders  of  the  moment  in  the  Western  Provinces  some- 
what resented  the  intervention  and  did  not  like  being  led,  or  appar- 
ently so,  by  a  man  out  of  active  public  life  and  who  had  been  of 
late  years  so  identified  with  finance  and  capitalism.  They  were 
forming  their  own  opinions  and  wanted  to  do  it  in  their  own  way; 
the  tone  of  thought  expressed  a  little  later  at  the  Convention  showed 
this.  It  was  anticipated  in  an  interview  given  out  by  Hon.  A.  B. 
Hudson,  Attorney-General  of  Manitoba,  on  July  30,  that:  "This 
is  to  be  a  Western  Convention,  and  Western  men  and  women  are 
quite  capable  of  doing  their  own  thinking  and  their  own  acting. 


WESTERN  CONVENTION:  A  CHECK  TO  UNION  GOVERNMENT  571 

We  will  welcome  Eastern  press  representatives,  but  they  are  the 
only  Easterners  we  expect  or  want  to  see  at  any  stage." 

Much  was  expected  from  this  gathering.  Unionists  were  curi- 
ously hopeful.  The  Toronto  Globe  (Aug.  1)  after  urging  the 
"weighty  reasons  for  a  National  Government,"  declared  that:  "It 
(the  Convention)  springs  from  a  dissatisfaction  with  the  posture  of 
affairs  at  Ottawa,  and  an  impulse  to  break  through  political  barbed- 
wire  entanglements  into  clear,  open  ground,  with  definite  leadership 
and  definite  objectives."  Many  of  the  Western  leaders  were  com- 
mitted in  some  measure  to  Conscription  and  it  was  inferred  that 
they  would  favour  Union  Government;  the  Regina  Leader,  though 
strongly  and  consistently  attacking  the  Borden  Government,  had 
supported  the  National  Government  idea  for  months  and  as  long 
ago  as  May  24  had  declared  it  "the  national  duty  of  Sir  Robert 
Borden  to  take  immediate  steps  for  the  formation  of  a  National 
Government " ;  the  Hon.  W.  M.  Martin,  Premier  of  Saskatchewan,  had 
stated  on  July  30  that  he  had  "ever  since  the  War  began,  favoured 
a  National  Government,  but  the  Conservative  party,  up  to  a  short 
time  ago,  never  offered  to  any  Liberal  in  Canada  a  position  in  one"; 
Vancouver  and  Victoria  meetings  in  British  Columbia  had  turned 
down  Resolutions  supporting  Sir  W.  Laurier  or  denouncing  the 
Prime  Minister;  Hon.  T.  C.  Norris,  Premier  of  Manitoba,  and  mem- 
bers of  his  Government  such  as  T.  H.  Johnson,  had  supported  the 
idea  of  Union  Government  and  were  earnest  believers  in  War  effort 
to  the  uttermost.  On  the  other  hand  the  Grain  Growers'  Guide, 
which  represented  T.  A.  Crerar  of  Winm'peg,  J.  A.  Maharg  and  Hon. 
Geo.  Langley  of  Saskatchewan,  and  the  leaders  of  the  United  Farm- 
ers of  Alberta,  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  Borden  Government's 
policy  and  while  favouring  (May  30)  "a  National  Government  in 
a  National  crisis"  desired  a  referendum  on  Conscription  as  in  Aus- 
tralia; the  Edmonton  Bulletin  and  Hon.  Frank  Oliver,  its  owner, 
and  Hon.  C.  W.  Cross  of  the  Alberta  Government,  were  keenly 
opposed  to  Union  Government  and  the  latter  took  a  delegation  to 
the  Convention  supporting  that  view  and  Sir  W.  Laurier  as  the 
leader  of  Canadian  Liberalism;  there  was  also  a  strong  under-cur- 
rent of  dissatisfaction — especially  amongst  Manitoba  Liberals — 
with  the  retention  of  Hon.  R.  Rogers  in  the  Borden  Government 
and  the  possibility  of  his  remaining  in  a  Union  Cabinet;  several 
members  of  the  Saskatchewan  and  British  Columbia  Governments 
were  inclined  to  be  Laurier  supporters.  Amongst  them  all,  in  every 
Province,  there  was  comprehension  of  the  fact  that  in  the  coming 
Elections  the  West,  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Pacific,  would 
have  57  representatives  instead  of  35  and  possess  one-third  of  the 
total  membership  of  the  Commons  instead  of  about  one-fifth.  With 
it  all  there  was  confidence  that  united  they  could  carry  the  West 
for  the  Federal  House  as  they  had  done  in  Provincial  contests  and 
the  feeling  that  the  Foreign  vote  was  safe  to  go  against  the  Borden 
Government  and  Conscription.  There  was  nothing  wrong  to  a 
politician  in  this  latter  point.  The  votes  were  there,  someone  should 
poll  them,  they  had  largely  gone  Liberal  in  recent  Provincial  con- 
tests, it  was  obvious  that  they  would  be  unlikely  to  support  a  war- 


572  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

policy  in  which  they  felt  only  the  burdens  and  none  of  the  senti- 
ment of  national  spirit. 

The  meeting  of  the  Convention  was  preceded  by  the  arrival  of 
a  Northern  Alberta  delegation  with  banners  marked  "Laurierfor  the 
West,"  by  a  private  meeting  addressed  in  the  Royal  Alexandra  Hotel 
by  the  four  Western  Premiers  and  with  the  optimistic  statement 
of  Mr.  Oliver  of  Edmonton  that  95%  of  the  delegates  were  in  favour 
of  Sir  Wilfrid.  The  Convention  opened  on  Aug.  7  with  about  1,000 
delegates  present  (including  about  50  women)  and  representing  the 
cream  of  Western  Liberalism.  The  Hon.  H.  C.  Brewster,  Premier 
of  British  Columbia,  called  it  to  order  and  proposed  Hon.  T.  C. 
Norris  as  temporary  chairman.  The  election  followed  of  C.  M. 
Hamilton,  McTaggart,  Sask.,  as  permanent  Chairman,  and  Capt. 
C.  B.  Reilly  of  Calgary  as  Vice-Chairman.  The  speeches  and 
Resolutions  of  the  first  day  did  not  deal  very  largely  with  War 
issues,  but  developed  along  lines  of  Western  need  or  advocacy.  Mr. 
Hamilton,  however,  declared  that  "the  political  forces  in  eastern 
Canada  have  divided  themselves  into  two  hostile  groups  that  have 
apparently  become  irreconcilable  and  it  is  up  to  the  people  in  the 
West  to  help  those  parties";  while  Mr.  Premier  Norris  declared 
that  "the  importance  of  a  Win-the-War  policy  ranks  highest  and 
above  everything  else."  A  cable  of  congratulation  was,  also,  sent 
to  Sir  Douglas  Haig  on  the  achievements  of  the  Canadian  Army 
and  pledging  re-inf  or  cements.  The  speeches  upon  the  whole  were 
not  partisan  and  dealt  with  the  questions  raised  along  lines  of  busi- 
ness-like presentation  and  brief  argument.  J.  G.  Turriff,  M.P., 
and  T.  A.  Crerar,  moved  an  important  Resolution  declaring  that: 
"As  the  general  progress  and  prosperity  of  our  people  depend  in  a 
very  large  measure  upon  our  agricultural  development,  and  as  the 
obligations  assumed  by  Canada  by  reason  of  the  War  and  of  our 
existing  railway  situation  can  best  be  taken  care  of  by  increased 
population  and  consequent  increased  production,  it  is  imperative 
there  should  be  inaugurated  without  delay  a  comprehensive  scheme 
of  Immigration  and  Land  Settlement;  such  scheme  to  be  evolved 
and  carried  into  effect  by  the  co-operation  of  Federal  and  Provincial 
authorities,  and  to  embrace  the  principle  of  state  assistance  in  the 
direction  of  making  available  for  suitable  settlers  the  vacant  land 
now  owned  by  speculators,  railway  and  land  companies,  and  located 
in  existing  well-organized  communities  within  easy  distance  of  rail- 
way and  marketing  facilities."  Other  Resolutions  of  the  1st  day 
were  as  follows: 

1.  Declaring  that  the  interests  of  Education  in  the  West  demand  the  transfer 
to  Provincial  control  of  all  school  lands  and  of  the  School  Land  Endowment  Fund. 

2.  Urging  that  the  Federal  Homestead  Act  be  extended  to  permit  women  to 
fyle  a  claim  to  160  acres  of  free  land  and  upon  fulfilling  specified  conditions  to  receive 
their  patent. 

3.  Stating  that  the  Election  laws  of  Canada  should  be  so  amended  as  to  prohibit 
contributions  for  election  purposes  by  corporations  or  officers  thereof;    to  limit  the 
total  amount  of  money  spent  by  or  in  behalf  of  any  candidate  in  any  election  con- 
test; to  provide  for  full  publicity  of  the  source  of  all  campaign  contributions  and  for 
a  more  speedy  and  simple  procedure  for  the  trial  of  election  petitions. 

4.  Declaring  that  the  Federal  Government  should  make  provision  to  assist  the 
Provinces  in  securing  the  cheapest  possible  long-term  credits  for  agriculturists  by 


WESTERN  CONVENTION:  A  CHECK  TO  UNION  GOVERNMENT  573 

lending  money  to  the  Provinces  at  cost  for  this  purpose  on  the  security  of  Provincial 
bonds. 

5.  Claiming  that  in  view  of  the  high  cost  of  farm  machinery  as  a  factor  in  the 
production  of  breadstuffs  that  the  Dominion  Government  should  immediately  pro- 
vide for  an  inquiry  into  the  different  factors  which  constitute  the  price  to  the  farmer, 
with  a  view  to  such  action  as  may  be  possible  to  bring  about  reduction. 

6.  Urging  the  Federal  Government  to  make  use  of  the  elaborate,  modern  dry- 
dock  and  ship-building  plant,  costing  2^  millions,  which  for  three  years  had  been  in 
existence  at  Prince  Rupert,  B.C. 

7.  Declaring  that  as  a  war  measure,  and  with  the  object  of  utilizing  to  the  fullest 
extent  the  food  values  within  the  Dominion,  the  Federal  Government  should  take 
possession  of  all  stocks  of  alcohol  and  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  manufacture, 
importation,  exportation,  storage  or  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  within  the  Dominion 
of  Canada. 

8.  Expressing  opposition  to  the  granting  of  all  hereditary  titles  in  Canada  and 
to  all  other  titles  for  other  than  Naval  or  Military  services. 

9.  Asking  that  lands  within  the  Provinces  of  Alberta,  Saskatchewan  and  Mani- 
toba, still  ungranted  and  held  by  the  Dominion  Government  for  the  benefit  of  Can- 
ada, should,  after  July  1,  1917,  be  held  for  the  benefit  of  the  Province  in  which  they 
were  situated. 

10.  Urging  that  all  lands,  timber,  water  and  minerals  in  the  Peace  River  district 
and  railway  belt  of  British  Columbia  be  transferred  to  that  Province. 

During  the  day  speeches  were  made  on  one  or  more  of  these  issues 
by  Hon.  Edward  Brown,  Winnipeg,  Hon.  T.  D.  Pattullo,  Victoria, 
Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton,  Hon.  H.  C.  Brewster,  Hon.  C.  R.  Mitchell, 
Edmonton,  J.  H.  Haslam,  Regina,  Hon.  T.  H.  Johnson  and  Mrs. 
Charles  Robson  of  Winnipeg.  There  was  unanimity  and  speed  in 
business  and  on  three  occasions  a  passing  reference  to  Sir  W.  Laurier 
evoked  enthusiastic  cheers.  So  obvious  was  the  feeling  of  the  Con- 
vention in  this  respect  that  Dr.  Michael  Clark  left  for  home  during 
the  day.  Various  Committees  had  been  appointed  and  one  of  100 
members  prepared  and  submitted  the  various  Resolutions.  On 
the  8th  the  Convention  took  up  the  essential  War  problems  which 
had  been  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  every  one,  which  had  formed 
the  topic  of  innumerable  conversations,  conferences  of  leaders,  and 
caucuses  of  followers.  The  first  of  the  Resolutions — approved  by 
the  Committee  of  100 — was  moved  by  Mr.  Premier  Sifton  and 
declared  that  the  Convention  "feels  compelled  to  place  on  record 
its  most  severe  disapproval  of  the  War  administration  of  the  Borden 
Government."  It  was  declared  that  the  Government  had  sought 
from  the  outset  to  make  a  "national  life  and  death  struggle  the 
prerogative  of  one  political  party";  had  exhibited  "gross  incompet- 
ency  and  inefficiency,"  had  allowed  dissension  to  overcome  leader- 
ship in  its  councils  and  was  "no  longer  entitled  to  the  confidence 
of  the  Canadian  people."  No  direct  reference  was  made  to  the 
Coalition  matter.  In  his  speech  Mr.  Sifton  described  the  Govern- 
ment as  "inefficient  and  incompetent"  and  surrounded  by  sinister 
influences.  What  was  termed  the  Win- the- War  Resolution  was 
moved  by  D.  B.  Neely,  M.P.,  of  Saskatchewan  in  an  eloquent  speech 
of  fighting  Liberalism.  In  it  he  regretted  the  1916  extension  of  the 
Parliamentary  term,  described  Sir  R.  Borden's  proposal  of  Coalition 
as  an  insult  to  the  Opposition  leader  and  declared  that  under  future 
Liberal  administration  the  re-inf orcements  would  be  kept  up  for  the 
Front.  Capt.  Reilly,  a  returned  soldier,  seconded  the  motion  and 
J.  G.  Turriff  then  moved  an  addition  to  the  2nd  Clause  in  the  words, 


574  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

"and  by  compulsion  if  possible."  Mr.  Premier  Sifton  and  Hon. 
T.  H.  Johnson  declared  the  Resolution  as  it  stood  involved  Con- 
scription and  the  amendment  was  rejected  by  a  large  majority 
with  part  of  the  Manitoba  delegation  voting  in  its  favour.  The 
Resolution  then  passed  unanimously  as  follows,  amidst  a  roar  of 
cheers  and  the  singing  of  the  National  Anthem: 

"•^  In  this  War  for  the  defence  of  democracy  against  military  despotism,  the  condi- 
tions call  for  the  putting  forth  by  each  Allied  belligerent  of  its  full  power  as  the  only 
assurance  of  victory.  In  times  of  peril  the  entire  resources  of  the  country,  moral 
and  material,  man-power  and  wealth,  are  justly  disposable  by  the  State  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  its  national  liberties.  The  imperative  duty  of  the  people  of  Canada 
to-day  in  regard  to  the  War  is  its  continued  and  vigorous  prosecution: 

(1)  By  conferring  with  the  British  Government  for  the  purpose  of  definitely 
ascertaining  the  scope  and  character  of  the  services  that  can  best  be  rendered  by 
Canada  in  the  conduct  of  the  War. 

(2)  By  the  maintenance,  in  unimpaired  strength  at  the  Front,  of  our  fighting 
forces,  and  the  taking  of  all  steps  necessary  to  secure  required  re-inforcements  for 
this  purpose. 

(3)  By  organizing  the  production  of  our  other  contributions  to  the  War,  such 
as  food,  munitions  and  other  war  necessities,  upon  lines  of  the  greatest  efficiency. 

(4)  By  the  complete  extinction  of  profiteering  in  all  business  having  to  do  with 
munitions  and  the  necessaries  of  life,  if  necessary,  by  the  nationalization  of  these 
industries,  or  by  the  adaptation  of  the  British  system  of  controlled  establishments. 

(5)  By  the  recovery  for  the  public  treasury  of  undue  profits  obtained  since  the 
beginning  of  the  War,  through  the  exploitation  of  the  interests  of  the  people,  for  the 
present  requirements  of  the  State. 

(6)  By  the  application  of  a  combined  system  of  sharply  graduated  taxation 
upon  incomes  and  excess  profits  which  shall  insure  that  every  citizen  shall  bear  his 
or  her  full  share  of  the  War  burden,  according  to  his  or  her  means. 

(7)  By  thoroughly  organizing  the  nation  and  carrying  out  this  programme  by 
whatever  means  may  be  necessary  for  its  accomplishment. 

OnTthe  following  day,  upon  motion  of  A.  G.  McKay,  K.C.,  M.L.A.,  of 
Alberta  and  W.  E.  Knowles,  M.P.  of  Moose  Jaw,  Sask.,  the  Con- 
vention passed  the  following  important  Resolution  with  enthusiastic 
approval  and  few  dissentients:  "That  the  Convention  places  on 
record  its  admiration  of  the  life  and  work  of  the  greatest  of  all 
Canadians,  the  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  and  of  his  earnest 
endeavour  to  carry  out  his  duty  as  he  sees  it  in  the  interest  of  all 
Canada  respecting  our  part  in  the  great  world  struggle.  We  express 
the  hope  that  his  undoubted  ability,  his  long  experience  and  match- 
less statesmanship  may  be  utilized  in  re-uniting  the  people  of  Can- 
ada in  this  great  crisis,  in  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  War  and 
in  carrying  out  the  platforms  laid  down  by  this  Convention."  The 
Premiers  of  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  British  Columbia  and  Alberta 
supported  this  motion.  Mr.  Norris  declared  that:  "I  have  been 
an  advocate  of  a  National  Government,  and  I  believe  the  best 
chance  we  can  have  of  a  National  Government  in  Canada  is  under 
the  leadership  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier.  If  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  recog- 
nized that  there  was  a  united  West  desirous  of  a  National  Govern- 
ment he  would  be  statesman  enough  not  to  ignore  it.  When  Sir 
Wilfrid  is  returned  to  power — and  Sir  Robert  Borden  can  never 
be  returned — the  thing  to  do  is  to  form  a  national  business  Gov- 
ernment." Mr.  Martin  asked  why  Sir  R.  Borden  had  not  made  a 
proposition  to  the  Convention  and  declared  that  if  Sir  Wilfrid  were 
returned  to  power  every  plank  of  the  Convention  would  be  carried 


WESTERN  CONVENTION:  A  CHECK  TO  UNION  GOVERNMENT  575 

out.  Mr.  Brewster  stated  that "  the  War  Resolution,  as  passed,  means 
Conscription  if  necessary,"  and  his  endorsation  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
was  "on  the  assumption  that  he  would  carry  out  that  Resolution 
in  its  entirety."  Mr.  Sifton  did  not  "think  that  any  National 
Government  would  win  the  confidence  of  the  people  previous  to  an 
Election."  Then,  on  motion  of  T.  A.  Crerar,  the  Convention 
unanimously  approved  the  following  Resolution:  "That  this  Con- 
vention expresses  the  hope  and  hereby  declares  the  desire  of  its 
members  that  in  the  impending  Election  the  discussion  of  issues 
should  be  kept  on  a  plane  free  from  all  appeals  to  passion  and  pre- 
judice in  matters  of  race  and  creed  and,  further,  that  whichever 
party  is  returned  to  power  the  business  of  the  Government  of  Can- 
ada should  be  carried  on  by  a  truly  National  Government  composed 
of  representatives  drawn  from  the  different  elements  and  industries 
of  Canada."  Mr.  Premier  Norris  supported  the  motion  and  Hon. 
J.  A.  Calder  made  his  first  speech  in  the  Convention  along  the  same 
lines.  Other  Resolutions  passed  were  as  follows: 

1.  Urging  pensions  to  widows  sufficient  to  keep  them  in  comfort,  increased  pay 
to  soldiers,  and  in  the  Separation  Allowance,  so  as  to  do  away  with  the  Patriotic 
Fund  collections;  the  placing  of  men  and  officers  upon  an  equal  basis  in  the  matter 
of  pensions  and  the  provision  of  vocational  training  for  all  returned  soldiers. 

2.  Approving  the  principle  of  public  ownership  of  railways,  telegraphs  and 
express  systems. 

3.  Suggesting,  as  a  war  measure  (but  without  reference  to  details)  the  develop- 
ment of  the  iron  and  steel  industry  on  the  Pacific  Coast  as  a  national  enterprise. 

4.  Favouring  a  Dominion  Bankruptcy  law. 

5.  Urging  the  re-organization  of  the  Banking  system  of  Canada  along  democratic 
lines  and  popular  control  by  means  of  (1)  a  Banking  Commission  invested  with  plen- 
ary powers  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  banking,  currency,  coinage  and  credits,  and, 
in  particular,  with  power  to  regulate  and  control  (a)  the  issue  of  public  currency; 
(b)  the  coinage  of  gold  and  silver;    (c)  the  purchase  of  bullion  produced  in  Canada; 
(d)  the  amount  of  call  money  loaned  outside  of  Canada;  (e)  interlocking  directorates; 
(f)  the  supervision  of  credits;    (g)  the  capitalization  of  banks;    (h)  the  payment  of 
dividends;   (i)  the  relations  of  subsidiary  trust  and  money-lending  concerns  to  Banks, 
and  (2)  the  establishment  of  a  National  Bank  of  Canada,  as  a  central  reserve  institu- 
tion, upon  whose  Board  of  Governors  should  also  sit,  amongst  others,  the  members 
of  the  Banking  Commission. 

6.  Declaring  that  the  State  should  own  and  operate  Cold  Storage  plants  through- 
out the  Dominion. 

7.  Stating  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  of  Canada  to  stamp  out  all 
combinations  in  restraint  of  trade  or  which  have  the  effect  of  iwduly  affecting  prices 
and  that  laws  pertaining  to  the  creation  and  operation  of  any  and  all  combines  and 
trusts  should  be  revised,  extended  and  strengthened  with  a  Federal  Court  and  Prose- 
cutor responsible  for  enforcement. 

8.  War  prohibition  of  the  manufacture  of  high-grade  white  flour  in  Canada  and 
action  along  the  lines  of  tilling,  in  1918,  every  available  acre  of  land. 

9.  Favouring  the  immediate  commencement  and  speedy  completion  of  a  main 
Highway  across  Canada. 

10.  Opposing  the  payment  of  an  arbitrated  price  for  the  C.N.R. 

11.  Asking  for  an  increase  of  50%  in  the  British  preference,  free-trade  in  wheat, 
flour,  etc.,  free  importation  of  farm  implements  and  machinery,  tractors  and  engines, 
and  mining,  milling  and  other   machinery,  rough  and  partly  dressed  lumber,  various 
fuel  oils,  cement,  fertilizers,  fishing  lines,  etc.,  staple  foods,  fruits,  etc.  (on  a  reciprocal 
basis),  substantial  reductions  in  general  tariff  except  on  luxuries. 

The  Convention  adjourned  after  references  to  the  work  of  Hon.  A. 
B.  Hudson  as  Chairman  of  the  Resolutions  Committee  and  of  Hon. 
G.  A.  Dunning  as  Secretary.  The  work  of  the  Convention  thus 


576  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

ended  was  expected  to  unite  Liberalism  in  the  West  and  to  hold  in 
unity  three  distinct  elements:  (1)  The  aggressive  natural  antagon- 
ism of  the  Delegates  to  Conservative  rule  at  Ottawa  and  to  the 
Borden  Government  as  such;  (2)  the  strong  loyalty  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  Western  Liberals  to  the  personality  and  past  career  of  Sir 
Wilfrid  Laurier;  (3)  the  strenuous  desire  of  a  majority  of  the  Dele- 
gates to  get  forward  with  war-work  and  re-inforcements  for  the 
Front.  Like  all  compromises  the  War  Resolutions  were  the  result 
of  much  friction  and  discussion — chiefly  in  Committee.  It  would 
seem  that  Manitoba  had  stood  in  the  main  for  National  Govern^ 
ment  before  an  Election  and  against  any  recognition  of  the  Laurier 
leadership  and  in  this  attitude  was  led  by  Messrs.  Norris,  Johnson, 
Brown  and  T.  A.  Crerar;  that  British  Columbia,  led  by  F.  C.  Wade, 
K.C.  (with  Mr.  Premier  Brewster  excepted)  and  Alberta,  led  in 
this  matter  by  Hon.  C.  W.  Cross  and  A.  G.  McKay,  stood  for  Laurier 
and  against  Conscription;  that  Saskatchewan  was  more  or  less 
divided  with  Messrs.  Martin  and  Calder  for  re-organization  at 
Ottawa  and  Hon.  W.  R.  Motherwell  for  Party  policy  and  action. 
The  War  and  Laurier  Resolutions  were  variously  interpreted. 
According  to  the  Free  Press  Sir  Wilfrid  on  Aug.  9  wired  to  Hon. 
Frank  Oliver  that  "War  Resolution  as  understood  by  report  at 
Ottawa  is  perfectly  satisfactory  and  is  in  accord  with  my  views  and 
those  of  Eastern  Liberals."  On  the  other  hand  Hon.  A.  B.  Hudson 
of  the  Manitoba  Government,  in  an  interview  on  the  10th,  stated 
that  this  Resolution  involved  Conscription  and  that  the  Laurier  one 
did  not  commit  the  Convention  to  his  leadership.  A  little  later  the 
Edmonton  Bulletin — Mr.  Oliver's  paper — declared  on  Sept.  3  that 
the  Convention  stood  "for  leadership  by  the  man  under  whose 
direction,  as  the  greatest  exponent  and  exemplar  of  Liberalism  in 
Canada,  our  country  flourished  as  it  never  did  before." 

The  comments  upon  the  gathering  were  many  and  varied  with 
undoubted  disappointment  in  Unionist  ranks  and  severe  criticism 
in  the  Conservative  press.  The  Toronto  Star  saw  the  failure  to 
endorse  Union  Government  as  due  to  the  pre-Convention  unpopu- 
larity of  Hon.  R.  Rogers  and  Sir  C.  Sifton;  the  Winnipeg  Free  Press 
declared  that  "the  net  results  of  the  Convention's  labours  is  to  leave 
the  Western  Liberals  an  integral  part  of  the  Liberal  party  of  Canada, 
of  wMch  Sir  Wilfrid  is  the  leader" — a  leader  opposed  tooth  and  nail 
to  Conscription;  Le  Canada  of  Montreal  declared  that  "the  Western 
Liberals  will  remain  Liberal  and  for  them  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  re- 
mains the  venerated  leader  of  the  Liberal  party";  the  Toronto 
Globe  (Aug.  13)  came  put  more  strongly  for  Union  than  before  and 
favoured  "the  immediate  formation  of  a  Cabinet  representing  the 
very  strongest,  straightest  and  most  aggressive  elements  in  Can- 
adian life";  the  Winnipeg  Tribune  (Ind.  Lib.)  declared  the  result 
due  to  party  politicians  striving  for  office;  G.  E.  McCraney,  M.P., 
stated  (Aug.  10)  that  the  "Convention  was  not  anti -Conscription, 
but  anti-Borden  and  anti-Borden  Government,  and  to  that  extent 
accurately  reflected  the  public  opinion  of  the  West";  the  Toronto 
News  (Cons.)  described  the  attitude  of  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta 
as  due  to  the  Alien  vote;  F.  C.  Wade,  K.C.,  Chairman  of  the  B.C. 


UNION  GOVERNMENT:  FINAL  STAGE  OF  FORMATION       577 

Delegation,  stated  frankly  (Vancouver  Sun,  Aug.  13)  that  "the 
selection  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  as  leader  meant  that  the  Liberals 
have  chosen  a  man  who,  as  an  Imperial  statesman  has  not  an  equal 
in  or  out  of  Canada."  A  side  issue  of  comment  was  the  holding  of 
Austro-German  meetings  in  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta — Vonda, 
Gravelburg,  East  Regina,  Kindersley,  Kaiser,  etc. — and  expressions 
of  support  to  Liberalism  as  represented  by  the  Convention — in 
which,  by  the  way,  a  German  settler  at  Dundurn  named  E.  J. 
Meilicke,  had  been  prominent. 

Open  dissatisfaction  soon  developed  and  was  first  expressed  by 
a  signed  protest  of  Winnipeg  Liberals,  calling  a  public  meeting, 
which  included  such  well-known  names  as  Isaac  Pitblado,  J.  H. 
Ashdown,  Frank  O.  Fowler,  E.  D.  Martin,  J.  B.  Coyne,  Walter  H. 
Trueman,  T.  A.  Crerar,  C.  N.  Bell  and  R.  D.  Waugh.  The  Grain 
Growers'  Guide  (Aug.  15)  declared  that  "in  its  war  policy  and  in  its 
endorsation  of  Laurier  the  Convention  did  not  represent  the  best 
thought  and  opinion  of  the  Prairie  Provinces' ' ;  the  North  Winnipeg 
delegates  met  (Aug.  17)  and  urged  the  formation  at  once  of  a  Na- 
tional Government  while  D.  A.  Ross,  M.L.A.,  E.  A.  August,  M.L.A., 
John  Graham,  M.L.A.,  and  Andrew  Graham  of  Pomeroy — all  of 
Manitoba — wrote  expressing  disapproval  of  the  Convention  in  its 
War  and  Laurier  motions;  South  Winnipeg  Liberals  met  on  Aug. 
21  and  2,000  people  approved  a  Resolution  in  favour  of  Conscrip- 
tion, repudiating  on  this  account  the  leadership  of  Sir  W.  Laurier 
and  declaring  for  a  National  Government — preferably  under  new 
leadership  and  without  a  War  election.  At  this  meeting  Mr. 
Premier  Norris  expressed  himself  as  being  opposed  to  Laurier  leader- 
ship under  present  conditions  and  stated  that  his  views  put  before 
the  Resolutions  Committee  were  in  favour  of  a  Western  Liberal 
group  pledged  to  no  leader:  "I  have  nothing  more  to  say  except 
that  our  leader  having  failed  us,  I  am  now  ready  to  support  Sir 
Robert  Borden  in  the  formation  of  a  National  Government  pledged 
to  win  the  War." 

Whatever  the  forces  behind  the  conclusions  of  the 
einment°V~  WmmJ!eg  Convention,  jts  attitude  marked  the  highest 
Final  Stage  point  of  the  opposition  to  Sir  Robert  Borden  and 
of  Formation,  his  Union  proposals ;  it  showed,  also,  that  the  position 
of  Liberalism  in  the  West  toward  Coalition  was 
divided  with  a  very  strong  element  against  any  such  policy  and 
with  a  strong  desire  for  general  elections  and  a  party  decision.  As 
Eastern  Liberalism  also  was  divided  with  vigorous  support  for  the 
Union  Government  ideal  together  with  a  natural  desire  in  many 
quarters  that  such  a  Government  should  have  a  Liberal  or  non- 
Conservative  head,  the  issue  became  complex.  Against  this  latter 
desire  was  the  feeling  of  a  united  Conservative  party,  outside  of 
Quebec,  which  was  willing  to  follow  Sir  Robert  in  a  re-organization 
of  his  own  Government  but  was  absolutely  unwilling  to  hand  over 
the  reins  of  power  to  any  Liberal  leader.  The  question,  therefore, 
was  clearly  one  of  a  re-organization  such  as  the  Premier  had  so  long 
urged  or  a  general  election  fought  amid  chaotic  conditions  with  a 

37 


578  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

confused  and  divided  Liberalism,  a  Conservative  party  without 
French-Canadian  support,  a  Quebec  united  behind  its  own  leader,  a 
West  with  at  least  one  certain  vote — the  French-Canadians  and 
the  naturalized  aliens.  For  a  short  time  following  the  Convention 
many  Unionist  Liberals  declared  that  the  Prime  Minister  would  be 
unable  to  succeed  in  his  efforts.  The  Toronto  Star  (Aug.  23)  urged 
him  to  let  someone,  else  try  a  hand  at  Union  Government  and  the 
Vancouver  Sun  suggested  F.  B.  Carvell;  the  Hon.  J.  A.  Calder 
visited  Ottawa  and,  according  to  a  Memorandum  made  public  by 
the  Regina  Leader  on  Dec.  12  following,  endeavoured  to  organize 
Liberal  weekly  newspapers  to  be  published  in  Ontario  and  Winnipeg 
in  opposition  to  the  Borden  Government ;  antagonism  to  the  Canadian 
Northern  policy  of  the  Government  developed  and  was  pressed 
in  Parliament  by  Liberals  who  on  this  point  and  some  others  were 
re-united;  the  violence  of  French-Canadian  feelings  as  to  Conscrip- 
tion reached  a  head  and  had  to  be  firmly  dealt  with. 

On  the  other  hand  public  meetings  at  Regina,  Victoria,  Vancouver, 
Brandon,  Winnipeg  and  other  Western  points  called  for  a  Union 
non-partisan  Government  and  were  led  by  such  representative  men 
as  Peter  McAra,  Regina,  and  Lieut.  M.  Malcolm,  Liberal  M.L.A. 
for  Hanley;  Lindley  Crease,  K.C.,  and  Hon.  A.  C.  Flumerfelt,  Vic- 
toria; Sir  Augustus  Nanton  and  Chief  Justice  T.  G.  Mathers,  Rev. 
E.  Leslie  Eidgeon  and  John  Gait,  Winnipeg;  Rev.  Principal  Vance 
and  Nicol  Thompson,  Vancouver.  From  Prof.  Arch.  McMechan 
of  Dalhousie  University,  Halifax,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  E.  D.  McLaren 
of  Vancouver,  came  urgent  press  appeals  to  support  Borden  and 
Union  Government.  Many  other  meetings  in  August  developed  as 
the  days  passed — 2,000  women  of  Vancouver,  for  instance,  demanding 
National  Government  with  similar  meetings  of  women  at  Portage 
La  Prairie,  Brandon  and  Winnipeg.  Win-the-War  meetings  were 
held  at  Virden  and  Selkirk,  Manitoba;  at  Vancouver,  addressed  by 
E.  P.  Davis,  K.C.,  and  L.  G.  McPhillips,  K.C.;  at  Victoria,  addressed 
by  M.  B.  Jackson  M.L.A.  (Lib.)  and  Chief  Justice  Hunter  and  at 
other  points;  while  Resolutions  were  passed  by  such  bodies  as  the 
Life  Underwriters  of  Canada  meeting  at  Winnipeg.  At  this  juncture 
came  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Rogers  as  Minister  of  Public  Works  and 
the  removal  of  one  of  the  chief  reasons  given  by  many  Liberals 
for  not  supporting  the  Premier's  effort;  almost  at  the  same  time 
came  the  introduction  to  Parliament  of  the  Military  Voters  Bill 
which  ensured  a  large  Soldiers'  vote  for  the  Government,  and  on 
Aug.  20  a  gathering  at  Ottawa  of  Western  Liberal  public  men,  con- 
cerned in  the  Union  Government  proposals — Sir  Clifford  Sifton, 
his  brother  Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton,  Premier  of  Alberta;  Hon.  J.  A.  Calder, 
Minister  of  Public  Works,  Saskatchewan;  H.  W.  Wood,  President  of 
the  United  Farmers  of  Alberta;  T.  A.  Crerar,  Winnipeg,  President 
of  the  Grain  Growers'  Grain  Co.;  and  J.  G.  Turriff,  M.P. 

With  these  events  and  following  the  Convention  there  was  played 
at  Ottawa  a  game  of  politics  and  patriotism  so  inter-mixed,  so 
cleverly  manipulated,  so  resourceful  and  varied  in  weapon  and 
method  as  to  have  no  precedent  in  Canadian  history.  For  months 
Sir  Robert  Borden  had  pressed,  with  tact  and  diplomacy  and  honest 


580  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

that  the  Western  Liberals  were  only  willing  to  join  under  Hon.  L. 
P.  Duff  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Ottawa,  Chief  Justice  Sir  Wm.  Mulock 
of  Ontario,  Chief  Justice  Sir  Fred.  Haultain  of  Saskatchewan,  Sir 
George  Foster  or  Sir  Adam  Beck. 

At  this  juncture,  on  Aug.  29,  the  Conservative  caucus  met  at 
Ottawa  with  J.  E.  Armstrong  in  the  chair,  and  tendered  the  Prime 
Minister  a  demonstration  of  affection  and  support.  Sir  Robert 
reviewed  the  negotiations  from  his  first  effort  to  obtain  Sir  W. 
Laurier's  adhesion  to  the  present  proposals  for  an  equal  representa- 
tion of  prominent  Liberals  and  Conservatives;  stated  that  three  of 
the  Western  leaders  had  wired  him  from  Winnipeg  on  Aug.  23  that* 
"they  favoured  a  National  Government  and  the  formation  of  a 
War  Council  of  six,  of  which  Sir  Robert  Borden  should  be  one,  but 
they  thought  a  change  of  leadership  essential  and  suggested  four 
gentlemen,  of  whom  Sir  George  E.  Foster  was  first  named  and  added 
the  understanding  that  all  these  gentlemen  would,  under  another 
leader,  be  willing  to  serve,  together  with  strong  Eastern  colleagues." 
Sir  Robert  went  on  to  say  that  the  question  of  forming  a  Union 
Government,  based  upon  the  support  of  all  elements  of  the  popu- 
lation prepared  to  join  in  an  earnest  effort  to  help  in  winning  the 
War,  was  above  personal  or  party  consideration.  He  strongly 
emphasized  his  conviction  that  any  question  as  to  the  personal 
status  or  political  fortunes  of  any  individual  was  utterly  insigni- 
ficant and  expressed  his  absolute  willingness  to  retire  altogether, 
or  to  serve  under  Sir  George  Foster,  if  the  result  would  be  to  unite 
all  elements  of  the  population  and  have  them  represented  in  a 
Union  Government.  Sir  George  Foster  followed  and  emphasized 
the  warm  friendship  and  co-operation  which  had  existed  between 
Sir  Robert  and  himself,  his  appreciation  of  the  immensity  of  the 
task  that  had  confronted  the  Prime  Minister  since  the  outbreak  of 
hostilities  and  of  the  untiring  patience  and  devotion  that  had  held 
him  to  the  performance  of  duties — during  which  he  had  acquired 
vast  knowledge  of  conditions  and  requirements  not  only  in  Canada 
but  Overseas  as  well.  He  was  willing  to  serve  in  any  capacity  but 
firmly  believed  that  the  full  strength  of  the  country  would  not  be 
available  unless  Sir  R.  Borden  remained  at  the  head  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Amidst  a  scene  of  great  enthusiasm  the  following  Resolution 
was  approved: 

We,  the  supporters  of  Sir  Robert  Borden's  Government  in  the  Parliament  of 
Canada,  record  our  emphatic  approval  of  that  Government's  policy  and  achieve- 
ments during  these  three  years  of  war.  We  endorse  the  earnest  and  patient  efforts 
of  the  Prime  Minister  to  bring  about  a  union  of  all  the  war  forces  of  Canada  and  to 
give  to  this  Dominion  in  these  days  of  ever-increasing  stress,  suffering  and  peril,  the 
advantage  of  an  Administration  which  would  typify  that  union  and  speak  to  the  world 
the  unswerving  resolution  of  our  people  to  see  this  war  through  to  victory.  For  the 
purpose  of  such  union  we  are,  one  and  all,  prepared  to  make  any  personal  or  party 
sarcifice  that  the  occasion  may  demand.  We  record  unanimously  our  profound 
admiration  of  the  great  work  and  splendid  leadership  of  Sir  Robert  Borden.  We 
sincerely  believe  that  no  other  man  can  discharge  with  like  capacity  the  tremendous 
task  of  Prime  Minister  during  this  crisis  and  that  now,  of  all  times,  his  continuance 

*  Those  mentioned  were  assumed  by  the  press  to  be  Messrs.  Sifton,  Calder.  Crerar 
and  Isaac  Pitblado.  The  other  proposed  leaders  were  Sir  W.  Mulock,  F.  B.  Carvell 
or  Sir  Adam  Beck. 


UNION  GOVERNMENT:  FINAL  STAGE  OF  FORMATION        579 

earnestness,  his  project  of  Union  Government,  his  appeal  to  the 
non-partisan  sentiment  of  Parliament  and  the  country  at  a  serious 
crisis  in  world  affairs;  his  effort  to  avert  a  general  election  and  then, 
when  it  became  inevitable,  to  prevent  it  from  being  chaotic  and 
unfruitful  in  result  and  to  make  clear,  also,  the  delaying  evils  of  a 
Referendum  on  Conscription;  his  fear  that  an  isolated  and  hostile 
Quebec  might  be  established  in  the  midst  of  Confederation  unless 
the  Conscription  issue  could  be  taken  out  of  politics.  Now,  when 
it  became  clear  that  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  many  of  his  followers, 
both  East  and  West,  wanted  a  general  election,  the  Premier  used 
every  point  of  political  vantage  which  could  come  to  him  as  a  Party 
leader.  Conciliation  enlarged  the  split  in  Liberal  ranks;  he  had 
never  been  a  vehement  disputant  or  shown  personal  feeling  in 
politics  and  during  this  difficult  Session  he  kept  the  House  upon 
as  even  a  keel  as  possible.  The  War-times  Franchise  Act 
brought  in  a  large  electorate  of  women  voters  who  would  probably 
be  friendly  to  the  Government,  and  aislrancnised  a  large  Western 
element  which  was  undoubtedly  hostile  to  both  Government  and 
war-policy.  The  attitude  taken  in  presenting  an  Address  to  the 
King,  asking  for  the  extension  of  Parliament  and  at  the  same  time 
stating  that  it  would  not  be  pressed  unless  given  large  Liberal 
support,  put  the  onus  of  a  war  electiop  upon  Sir  W.  Laurier  and  his 
party.  Taken  altogether  the  Session,  both  before  and  after  this 
last  stage  in  his  Union  Government  efforts,  showed  the  Premier 
to  be  a  stronger  and  more  able  man  than  his  opponents  had  dreamed 
of  and  a  more  adroit  and  firmer  leader  than  his  own  followers  had 
believed  him  to  be. 

From  Aug.  20  onward  the  negotiations  at  Ottawa  and  elsewhere 
assumed  an  active  and  continuous  form.  Much  depended  upon 
Mr.  Calder.  The  position  of  Hon.  A.  L.  S^ftorij  representing  Alberta 
and  accompanied  to  Ottawa  by  H.  W.  Wood,  was  known  to  be 
favourable,  as  was  that  of  the  Manitoba  Government,  as  a  whole, 
with  T.  A.  Crerarj-epresenting  the  Grain  Growers  of  that  Province. 
But  MrTt^airfeT  was  at  this  time  the  leading  Liberal  of  the  West  in 
many  respects ;  he  was  an  expert  organizer  and  had  been  looked  upon 
as  the  Opposition's  chief  Western  support  in  that  connection;  he 
was  a  shrewd  and  far-seeing  politician.  On  the  22nd  it  was  an- 
nounced that  Messrs.  Calder,  Sifton,  Wood  and  Crerar  had  left  for 
the  West;  on  the  23rd  they  met  in  Winnipeg  and  conferred  with 
Mr.  Premier  Martin  and  Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning  of  Saskatchewan 
and  Hon.  A.  B.  Hudson  of  the  Manitoba  Government.  Mr.  Wood 
issued  a  statement  that  "while  he  favoured  the  formation  of  a  Union 
Government,  he  himself  would  not  be  a  member  of  it  as  he  con- 
sidered there  were  others  with  more  experience  and  ability  available." 
The  Toronto  Globe  at  this  point  (Aug.  25)  interjected  its  view  as1 
follows:  "To  uphold  the  honour  of  the  country  all  parties  should 
be  fused  in  a  National  Administration  to  enforce  a  national  policy. 
Liberals  must  be  concerned  with  the  verdict  of  history  on  the  part 
they  play  at  this  critical  time."  Meanwhile  the  issue  was  said, 
according  to  The  Globe  correspondent  at  Ottawa  (Aug.  27)  to  turn 
upon  leadership,  while  the  Winnipeg  Free  Press  of  Aug.  29  declared 


UNION  GOVERNMENT:  FINAL  STAGE  OF  FORMATION       581 

in  the  Premiership  is  indispensable  to  the  nation,  and  to  his  support  we  pledge  our 
unalterable  devotion. 

This  Conservative  attitude,  coupled  with  the  known  aversion  of 
many  Conservatives  to  any  Coalition  and  the  aggressive  position 
of  many  Western  Liberals,  apart  from  those  who  demanded  another 
leader,  appeared  to  kill  the  project  and  a  large  part  of  the  press 
began  to  line  up  for  the  Elections  and  to  discuss  Party  politics. 
But  the  patient  persistence  of  Sir  Robert  Borden  was  not  even  yet 
fully  appreciated.  Elements  of  popular  support,  also,  were  soon 
shown.  The  Hon.  Edward  Brown,  Provincial  Treasurer,  Winnipeg, 
was  outspoken  in  his  view  (Aug.  30) :  "In  my  mind,  Sir  Robert  Borden 
is  acceptable  as  leader  of  a  Union  Government,  and  I  am  not  in 
sympathy  with  any  attempt  to  drive  a  hard  bargain  at  this  time. 
Sir  Robert  was  the  father  of  the  Military  Service  Bill  and  he  is  the 
logical  leader  of  a  Union  Government  to  carry  it  out."  The  women 
of  Winnipeg,  in  a  mass-meeting  representing  all  the  city  organiza- 
tions, declared  unanimously  in  favour  of  a  non-partisan  National 
Government,  as  did  Win-the-War  meetings  at  Esquimalt,  B.C., 
Morris  and  Dauphin,  Manitoba — the  latter  addressed  by  Rev.  E.  A. 
Smith,  President  of  the  Manitoba  Methodist  Conference.  Others 
followed  at  Mather,  Virden,  Melfort,  Brandon,  in  Manitoba,  Ross- 
land,  Vernon,  Nelson,  in  British  Columbia,  and  Regina*  Sask. — 
the  latter  urging  Sir  Robert  Borden  to  resume  negotiations.  This 
meeting  was  presided  over  by  J.  A.  Allan,  K.C.,  and  addressed  by 
D.  B.  Thorn,  K.C.,  Principal  Stapleford  of  Regina  College,  G.  H. 
Barr,  L.  T.  McDonald  and  Robert  Sinton,  who  were  all  wall-known 
Liberals.  Eight  prominent  Calgary  Liberals  on  Aug.  31  telegraphed 
the  Premier  promising  support  of  many  Alberta  colleagues;  Sir  C.  H. 
Tupper,  speaking  at  Chilli wack,  B.C.  (Sept.  3)  declared  strongly 
for  Union  Government  as  did  Prof.  W.  F.  Osborne  in  Winnipeg. 
On  the  12th  a  Delegation  from  the  Canadian  Manufacturers'  Associ- 
ation waited  on  Sir  Robert  Borden  and  submitted  Resolutions  of 
its  Executive,  pledging  support  to  the  enforcement  of  Conscription 
and  urging  that:  "It  is  essential  that  the  Cabinet  be  re-organized 
along  lines  that  will  secure  the  fullest  possible  measure  of  national 
unity  and  co-operation  and  that  a  larger  proportion  of  business  men 
than  heretofore  should  be  included." 

Meanwhile  the  Wgr-Hrnps  KWtjon  ^Aofc  had  been  introduced 
(Sept.  6)  and  was  slowly  passing  through  Parliament,  while  its 
electoral  significance  was  permeating  political  thought.  It  was 
announced  at  the  same  time  that  Sir  Robert  intended  to  re-organize 
his  Cabinet  at  the  close  of  the  Session  and  a  Globe  despatch  from 
Ottawa  on  Sept.  14  mentioned  Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton,  J.  G.  Turriff,  M.P., 
and  Hugh  Guthrie  as  possibilities,  while  declaring  that  F.  B.  Carvell, 
J.  A.  Calder,  G.  H.  Murray,  N.  W.  Rowell,  T.  A.  Crerar  and  others 
mentioned  in  the  past  were  now  definitely  out  of  it;  Parliamentary 
debates  over  the  War  Franchise  Bill  became  vehement  and  aroused 
strong  party  feeling.  On  the  10th  the  Prime  Minister  had  replied 
to  an  inquiry  from  E.  P.  Davis,  K.C.,  a  leading  Vancouver  Liberal, 
that:  "It  is  both  my  purpose  and  my  expectation  to  form  a  Union 
Government  before  the  general  election,  which  is  now  imminent. 


582  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

As  you  are  aware,  I  have  during  the  past  3}^  months  used  my  best 
endeavours  for  that  purpose  which  has  been  publicly  announced. 
.  .  .  If  it  should  prove  impossible  to  form  a  Union  Government 
before  the  general  election  I  shall  certainly  do  so  if  I  should  be 
returned  to  power."  By  Sept.  24  discussions  were  in  full  swing 
again  with  Mr.  Premier  Sifton  back  in  Ottawa  after  spending  some 
days  at  Winnipeg;  with  N.  W.  Rowell,  M.L.A.,  touring  the  West  and 
meeting  Mr.  Calder  in  Winnipeg,  and  Hon.  H.  C.  Brewster  and 
Senator  Bostock  at  Regina;  with  Hon.  J.  D.  Reid  taking  advice  in 
Toronto  and  acting  for  the  Premier  who  was  recuperating  from  a 
slight  illness  in  the  wilds  of  Labelle  County,  Quebec. 

On  the  28th  it  was  stated  in  the  press  that  Messrs.  Sifton,  Calder 
and  Crerar  of  the  West  had  re-considered  their  position  and  would 
come  in  and  on  Oct.  2  Messrs.  Calder,  Carvell,  Ballantyne  and  others 
were  at  the  Capital.     The  next  day  a  practical  step  in  reconstruction 
was  taken  by  the  swearing  in  of  JHjigh  Guthrie,  K-c->  M-p-»  as  Solicitor- 
General — a  position  vacant  since  Mr.  Meighen  became  Secretary  of 
State — and  Lieut.-Col.  C.  C.  Ballanlyne  aij  Minister  of  Public  Works 
!    in  place  of  Hon.  R.  Rogers.     Cnl.  Tfalla^yr^  ^ac  Q  w^11.lrrinwrt  bnsi- 
/    ness  man.  ex-President  of  theTanadian  Manufacturers'  Association, 
I     and  a  moderate  Liberal  who  had  never  taken  part  in  politics;  Mr. 
\    Guthrie>was  a  life-long  exponent  of  Liberalism  who  had  been  in 
L  Parliament   since   1900.     Following   this   event   Ontario   began   to 
take  action.     Its  politicians  had  been  more  or  less  quiescent  on  this 
issue  for  a  time  because  the  feeling  in  Liberal  ranks  was  well  known 
and  it  was  felt  that  if  the  West  could  be  won  over  there  would  be 
no  serious  difficulty  as  to  this  part  of  the  East.     A  meeting  of 
Conscriptionist-Liberals  was  held  in  Toronto  on  Sept.  24,  attended 
by  such  representative  party  men  as  Hume  Cronyn,  London;  J.  L. 
Counsell,  Hamilton;  Hal.  B.  Donly,  Simcoe;  Thos.  Findley,  A.  E. 
Ames,  H.  M.  Mowat,  K.C.,  Toronto;  A.  R.  Goldie,  Gait;  Lieut.-Col. 
W.  M.   Gartshore,  London;  Lloyd  Harris  and  L.  M.  Waterous, 
Brantford;  R.  J.  McLaughlin,  K.C.,  Lindsay;  H.  J.  Pettypiece,  Forest; 

D.  B.  Simpson,  K.C.,  Bowmanville  and  C.  C.  L.  Wilson,  Ingersoll. 
They  discussed  the  situation  and  decided  to  hold  a  Convention  in 
the  near  future.     Mr.  Rowell  came  again  to  the  front  early  in 
October.     On  the  7th  and  8th  Messrs.  A.  L.  Sifton,  J.  A.  Calder, 
T.  A.  Crerar,  W.  M.  Martin  and  A.  B.  Hudson  were  again  in  Ottawa 
while  Mr.  Premier  Brewster  was  on  the  way  from  Victoria.     The 
three  Western  men  first  mentioned  held  a  long  conference  with  the 
Premier  on  the  8th,  while  Messrs.  Carvell,  Pardee,  Graham  and 

E.  M.  Macdonald  conferred  with  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  and  a  last 
effort  was  made  to  prevent  the  final  rupture;  Mr.  Rowell  also  was 
in  the  capital,  and  there  was  no  doubt  as  to  his  willingness  to  join 
any  reasonable  combination. 

At  this  stage  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  took  a  hand  in  the  matter  and 
paid  a  visit  to  Toronto  (Oct.  9)  where  he  met  500  party  friends  and 
followers — including  Mr.  Rowell,  Hon.  G.  P.  Graham,  E.  M.  Mac- 
donald, F.  F.  Pardee,  C.  M.  Bowman,  M.L.A.,  A.  J.  Young,  President 
of  the  Ontario  Reform  Association,  P.  C.  Larkin,  and  others.  There 
had  been  preceding  rumours  of  Sir  Wilfrid's  retirement  from  the 


UNION  GOVERNMENT:  FINAL  STAGE  OF  FORMATION       583 

leadership  in  order  to  facilitate  a  re-union  of  his  party,  but  if  there 
was  any  truth  in  them  this  Toronto  consultation  changed  the  situa- 
J^on,  and  the  vjej£r^iLJL£ader  succeeded  in  winning  back  or  holding 
6  number  of  those  wnohacT  differed  with  him  on  Conscription  — 
and  ]VTr.  Pardee.  Wm.  Pugsley,  E.  M.  Mac- 


._ 

onaldTSydney  Fisher,  Mackenzie  King,  D.  D.  McKenzie  and  Charles 
Murphy  had  stood  by  him  from  the  first.  Since  the  Winnipeg 
Convention  there  had  been  a  swinging  of  the  pendulum  to  and  fro 
in  this  respect.  Sir  Lomer  Gouin  had  publicly  aligned  himself 
with  his  old-time  leader  and,  speaking  in  Montreal  on  Aug.  20,  had 
described  the  Borden  Government  as  "worn  out,  moribund  and 
drifting,"  and  declared  that:  "For  my  part,  I  will  never  consent 
to  contribute  to  Government  by  a  small  group  whose  authority  is 
expired  and  who  wish  to  govern  the  country  in  spite  of  the  wishes 
of  the  people."  E.  F.  B.  Johnston,  K.C.,  of  Toronto,  stated  on  Sept. 
6,  after  returning  from  the  West,  that  a  National  Government 
"composed  of  the  present  Administration,  with  the  addition  of  a 
few  discontented  Liberals,  would  not  be  acceptable."  Wm.  R.  Wood, 
M.L.A.,  Manitoba,  joined  Messrs.  Cross  and  Gariepy  in  Alberta, 
and  Motherwell,  Langley  and  W.  F.  A.  Turgeon  in  Saskatchewan 
against  Union  Government,  while  the  Foster  Government  in  New 
Brunswick  stood  aloof  and  Mr.  Premier  Murray  in  Nova  Scotia 
found  difficulty  in  swinging  his  Government  into  line.  The  Hon. 
Wilfrid  Gariepy,  Minister  of  Municipal  Affairs  in  Alberta,  expressed 
his  views  on  Sept.  5  as  in  favour  of  a  Union  Government  with  Sir 
R.  Borden  eliminated.  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,,  in  a  letter  (Aug  21) 
to  Frank  Wise,  Secretary  of  the  Win-the-War  League,  Toronto, 
had  defined  his  position  as  being  a  refusal  to  enter  the  Borden  Govern- 
ment with  acceptance  of  its  ready-made  policy  of  Conscription 
and  not  a  refusal  to  enter  "a  National  Government  whose  first  duty 
would  have  been  to  discuss  and  frame  a  policy  adapted  to  our 
national  situation."  Up  to  the  last  the  influential  Regina  Leader 
fought  Union  Government  under  Sir  R.  Borden  as  vigorously  as 
its  Liberal  colleague  in  Winnipeg,  the  Free  Press,  fought  for  it,  or 
as  the  Winnipeg  Telegram  (Cons.)  fought  Sir  Clifford  Sifton  and  the 
Free  Press.  The  Leader  wanted  an  Election  and  to  get  rid  of  the 
Borden  Government;  it  stood  by  the  Winnipeg  Convention  and 
denounced  the  War-time  franchise  vigorously;  its  Ottawa  corres- 
pondence of  Oct.  8  suggested  that  if  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  "should 
decide  that  his  path  of  duty  lay  in  stepping  aside  for  an  English- 
speaking  Liberal  leader,  then  the  Western  Liberals  would  likely 
withdraw  at  once  from  the  present  negotiations." 

Meantime  negotiations  progressed  steadily  at  Ottawa  with  Hon. 
Arthur  Meighen  as  a  principal  on  behalf  of  the  Premier.  By  Oct. 
llth,  19  Liberal  politicians  —  including  Hon.  A.  Turgeon  of  Saskat- 
chewan, F.  B.  Carvell  of  New  Brunswick,  A.  K.  Maclean,  W.  S. 
Fielding  and  Hon.  G.  H.  Murray,  of  Nova  Scotia,  F.  F.  Pardee, 
Ontario,  H.  C.  Brewster  of  British  Columbia,  and  also  Hon.  J.  W. 
de  B.  Farris  and  others  already  mentioned  —  were  in  Ottawa.  Every 
phase  of  the  complicated  question  had  by  this  time  been  threshed 
out.  The  old-time  Liberals,  whose  sense  of  duty  and  national 


584  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

expediency  had  overcome  their  personal  loyalty  to  a  respected 
leader,  were  upon  assured  and  convinced  ground;  the  Conservative 
leaders  in  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta,  who  were  in  doubt  as  to  their 
political  positions — W.  B.  Willoughby  and  Edward  Michener— 
were  promised  Senatorships ;  Conservative  and  Liberal  Unionists 
who  were,  for  a  time,  all  at  sea  as  to  how  conflicting  nominations 
and  seats  were  to  be  adjusted  in  the  Elections,  had  come  to  some 
sort  of  understanding;  the  many  conflicting  issues  between  parties 
had  been  thrown  into  a  melting-pot  of  discussion  and,  so  far  as  the 
Unionists  were  concerned,  been  moulded  into  some  kind  of  shape 
through  compromise  action  or  by  postponing  settlement  till  after 
the  War;  the  Premier  approached  three  French-Canadian  Liberals 
with  a  view  to  having  one  of  them  in  the  Cabinet.  On  Oct.  12  an 
official  announcement  was  made  that  success  had  come  to  the 
Prime  Minister's  prolonged  efforts  and  that:  "The  delays 
incidental  to  the  formation  of  a  Union  Government  were  no 
more  than  might  have  been  anticipated,  as  the  difficulties  were 
immensely  greater  than  those  which  occur  in  the  formation  of  a 
strictly  party  Government.  The  conferences  which  have  taken 
place  during  the  past  four  days  have  been  characterized  by  a  very 
earnest  and  sincere  purpose  on  the  part  of  all  concerned  to  bring 
about  the  formation  of  a  Union  or  National  Government."  The 
new  Ministers  were  announced  and  were  to  be  sworn  in  on  the 
13th.  The  Union  Government  as  finally  constituted  was  as  follows: 

Department                                                         Minister                                Politics 
PrimeiMinister  and  Minister  of  Ex- 
ternal Affairs Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Robert  Laird  Borden Cons 

President  of  the  Privy  Council.  .  .Hon.  Newton  Wesley  Rowell,  K.C Lib. 

Trade  &  Commerce Rt.  Hon.  Sir  George  Eulas  Foster Cons.  u> 

Public  Works Hon.  Frank  Bradstreet  Carvell Lib.  U 

Interior Hon.  Arthur  Meighen,  K.C Cons. 

Railways  and  Canals Hon.  John  Dowsley  Reid Cons. 

Finance Hon.  Sir  Wm.  Thomas  White Cons.—  •/ 

Postmaster-General Lieut.-Col.  Pierre  Edouard  Blondin Cons.HU 

Marine   and   Fisheries   and   Naval 

Service Hon.  Charles  Colquhoun  Ballantyne Lib. 

Justice Hon.  Charles  Joseph  Doherty,  K.C Cons.w- 

Militia  and  Defence Maj.-Gen.  Sydney  Chilton  Mewbuni Lib. 

Secretary  of  State Hon.  Martin  Burrell Cons. 

Labour Hon.  Thomas  Wilson  Crothers,  K.C Cons. 

Inland  Revenue Hon.  J.  P.  Albert  S£vigny Cons. 

Customs Hon.  Arthur  Lewis  Sifton,  K.C Lib.4^ 

Agriculture Hon.  Thomas  Alexander  Crerar Lib.ss 

Militia — Overseas Hon.  Sir  Albert  Edward  Kemp Cons.  - 

Immigration  and  Colonization ....  Hon.  James  Alexander  Calder Lib.tx 

Solicitor-General Hon.  Hugh  Guthrie,  K.C 

Without  Portfolio Hon.  Gideon  Decker  Robertson 

Without  Portfolio Hon.  Alexander  K.  Maclean,  K.C 

Without  Portfolio Hon.  Frank  Cochrane Cons. 

Without  Portfolio Sir  James  Alexander  Lougheed Cons. 

The  retiring  Ministers,  as  to  Departments,  were  Sir  G.  H.  Perley, 
Hon.  F.  Cochrane,  Hon.  W.  J.  Roche,  Hon.  J.  D.  Hazen.  Messrs. 
Rogers  and  Patenaude  had  gone  before  the  re-organization  took 
place.  Of  the  new  Ministers  Mr.  Carvell  had  long  been  an  outstand- 
ing figure -in  aggressive  Liberalism,  fearless  in  criticism  and  comment, 
honest  in  character  and  political  repute;  Mr.  Crerax  was  not  a 
politician  of  the  old  type  but  a  man  of  wide  agricultural  experience 
and  an  effective  and  able  leader  in  Western  public  affairs  and  interests 
of  a  special  kind;  IVfr.  Calder  was  a  master  of  political  organization 
and  detail,  a  keen  student  of  Western  political  thought  and  a  leader 


§ 


UNION  GOVERNMENT:  FINAL  STAGE  OF  FORMATION       585 

of  distinct  initiative;  Mr.  Sifton  was  a  silent,  capable  man  who 
had  proved  that  a  good  judge  could  also  be  a  strong  politician; 
General  Mewburn  was  a  patriotic  soldier  with  clear  organizing  ability 
along  military  lines  and  an  experience  which  specially  fitted  him  for 
his  new  position ;  Mr.  Rowell  stood  for  social  reform  and  what  might 
be  called  higher  politics — an  eloquent,  patriotic  and  forceful  public 
man;  Colonel  Ballantyne  as  a  manufacturer,  business  man  and 
financier,  had  won  prominence  in  the  life  of  Montreal ;  Mr.  Robertson 
had  for  some  time  been  a  progressive  yet  moderate  representative 
of  Labour  in  the  Senate  and  Mr.  Maclean  had  been  for  years  a  con- 
spicuous figure  in  the  public  life  of  Nova  Scotia  and  in  Parliament 
was  the  chief  Opposition  critic  in  financial  matters.  Of  the  older 
Ministers,  the  Conservatives  who  continued  in  office,  Sir  George 
Foster  was  doyen  in  years  and  eloquence  and  experience ;  Sir  Thomas 
White  was  a  financial  leader  whose  abilities  and  war  policy  had  won 
him  the  respect  of  the  whole  country;  Mr.  Meighen  was  a  man  of 
great  executive,  rhetorical  and  administrative  ability;  Sir  James 
Lougheed  had  succeeded  as  a  politician  in  every  task  he  had  been 
given  and  his  leadership  of  the  Senate  had  been  tactful  and  effective; 
Mr.  Burrell  had  made  an  excellent  Minister  of  Agriculture,  Mr. 
Doherty  a  quiet  and  industrious  Minister  of  Justice,  Sir  Edward 
Kemp  did  particularly  good  work  in  the  War  Purchasing  Commission, 
Mr.  Crothers  had  never  been  afraid  to  express  his  views  on  Labour 
questions  and  Dr.  Reid  had  been  a  careful  administrator  in  frequent 
charge  of  Railways  as  well  as  of  his  own  Department;  Colonel 
Blondin  and  Mr.  SeVigny  had  passed  through  various  stages  of 
French-Canadian  public  life  and  now  represented,  with  typical 
courtesy  and  courage,  the  best  thought  of  their  Province. 

The  press  tributes  to  the  Prime  Minister  upon  this  successful 
result  of  his  long  and  persistent  efforts  were  many.  The  Montreal 
Star  (Oct.  12)  declared  that  "the  patience  and  patriotism  of  Sir 
Robert  Borden  through  this  prolonged  crisis  are  beyond  praise.  To 
them  is  due  its  successful  result  to  an  extraordinary  extent. "  The 
Toronto  News  went  further  in  its  eulogy:  "Sir  Robert  Borden  has 
apparently  achieved  the  impossible.  In  a  country  especially  given 
to  furious  political  faction,  he  has  succeeded  in  the  formation  of  a 
strong  War  Administration  representative  of  all  the  patriotic  elements 
in  the  population.  For  his  long  patience  and  final  triumph  history 
will  give  the  Prime  Minister  a  place  with  Lincoln — that  other 
statesman  who,  in  the  face  of  vicious  opposition  and  heart-breaking 
difficulties,  was  able  at  length  to  consolidate  his  nation  in  the  cause 
of  humanity  and  freedom";  the  Ottawa  Journal  pointed  out  that 
"to  the  initiative  and  patriotism,  the  persistence  and  patience  of 
Sir  Robert  Borden,  the  achievement  of  Union  Government  is  pri- 
marily due — but  Sir  Robert  could  not  have  accomplished  anything 
had  it  not  been  for  the  unselfishness  and  public  spirit  of  other  Con- 
servative leaders  and  the  patriotism  and  encouragement  of  many 
leading  Liberals";  the  Saskatoon  Star  thought  that  "nothing  Sir 
Robert  Borden  has  done  in  the  past,  and  he  has  done  much,  ranks 
in  measure  of  achievement  with  this";  the  Victoria  Colonist  (Nov.  4) 
declared  that  "the  Prime  Minister,  because  he  kneftv  how  to  wait, 


586  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

has  done  a  magnificent  work  in  cementing  Canadian  public  opinion" 
and  eulogized  his  broad-mindedness  and  toleration.  These  were 
Conservative  journals  and  the  Liberals  commented  according  to  their 
politics — as  Unionists  or,  as  the  public  soon  came  to  call  them, 
Laurierites.  The  Toronto  Globe  approved  the  action  of  the  Liberals 
in  joining  the  new  Government  and  declared  that  they  represented 
a  people's  movement,  not  a  politician's;  the  Winnipeg  Free  Press 
eulogized  its  personnel  as  disinterested  and  capable  and  believed 
that  it  would  give  "a  united  nation  far-seeing,  high-minded  and 
patriotic  leadership";  the  Edmonton  Bulletin  described  the  Unionist- 
Liberal  action  as  "treachery  to  life-long  principles"  and  Le  Soleil 
of  Quebec  did  not  believe  that  they  represented  Canadian  Liberalism; 
the  Moose  Jaw  Times  (the  Hon.  Walter  Scott's  paper)  expressed 
keen  satisfaction  that  the  Liberals  "have  had  to  make  no  concessions 
and  that  they  control  all  the  leading  portfolios  relating  to  war 
and  to  the  economic  welfare  of  the  country".  On  Oct.  22  the 
members  of  the  Inner  or  War  Cabinet  Committees  were  an- 
nounced as  follows: 

War  Committee  of  the  Council          Reconstruction  and  Development  Committee 

Et.  Hon.  Sir  Robert  Borden  (Chairman).  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Robert  Borden  (Chairman). 

Hon.  N.  W.  Rowell  (Vice-Chairman) .  Hon.  A.  K.  Maclean  (Vice-Chairman). 

Maj.-Gen.  S.  C.  Mewburn.  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  George  Foster. 

Hon.  Sir  Thomas  White.  Hon.  Sir  Thomas  White. 

Hon.  Charles  J.  Doherty.  Hon.  John  D.  Reid,  M.D. 

Lieut.-Col.  The  Hon.  C.  C.  Ballantyne.  Hon.  J.  A.  Calder. 

Hon.  F.  B.  Carvell.  Hon.  Arthur  Meighen. 

Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton.  Hon.  T.  A.  Crerar. 

Hon.  Sir  Edward  Kemp.  Hon.  Sir  James  A.  Lougheed. 

Lieut.-Col.  The  Hon.  P.  E.  Blondin.  Hon.  G.  D.  Robertson. 

The  Prime  Minister  in  his  statement  as  to  the  duties  of  these  Com- 
mittees stated  that  the  War  Committee  was  intended:  "For  the 
purpose  of  co-ordinating  the  efforts  of  the  several  Departments  of 
the  Government  in  the  prosecution  of  the  War,  for  ensuring  the 
maximum  of  effort  with  the  minimum  of  expenditure  and,  generally, 
for  the  purpose  of  throwing  the  full  power  of  Canada  into  the  national 
endeavour."  It  would  inquire  into  and  report  upon  the  status 
and  maintenance  of  the  military  forces  of  Canada,  the  enforcement 
of  the  Military  Service  Act,  the  defence  of  the  Canadian  coasts  and 
the  patrolling  of  territorial  and  adjacent  waters,  the  arrangements 
for  garrisons  and  outposts  in  Canada,  the  training  and  equipping 
of  troops,  the  internment  of  aliens,  the  prohibition  and  regulation 
of  imports  and  exports  and  the  granting  of  licenses  therefor,  the 
arrangements  with  the  Government  of  the  United  Kingdom  and 
with  the  Governments  of  the  Allied  nations.  The  Reconstruction 
Committee  would  deal  with  demobilization,  investigate  the  enor- 
mous and  varied  resources  of  the  Dominion  and  consider  a  scheme 
of  immigration  and  colonization  in  order  to  promote  further  pro- 
duction. Land  Settlement  would  be  dealt  with  together  with 
Transportation  problems  involved  in  the  Government  acquisition 
of  railways  and  the  growing  need  of  water  transport;  Air  Service 
as  a  national  requirement  and  problems  of  revenue,  taxation  and 
thrift;  so  with  the  condition  of  Labour  and  the  coming  of  Women 
into  public  affairs  and  service. 


THE  GENERAL   ELECTIONS  OF  1917 


Union  Gov-  The  new  Government  had  only  been  formed  a  few 

ernment  days    when   it   issued   a   statement   of   war-policy,    a 

SirRobert  programme  of  principles  and  practice,  which  was  in- 
Borden's*  tended  to  appeal  to  the  dominant  sentiment  of  the 
Campaign.  country  and  to  prove  that  the  new  non-political  dis- 
pensation was  energetic  and  intended  to  be  effective. 
On  Oct.  18  the  Prime  Minister,  after  consultation  with  his  colleagues, 
stated  that:  "The  Union  Government  has  been  formed  with  a 
desire  to  give  representation  to  all  elements  of  the  population  sup- 
porting the  purpose  and  effort  of  Canada  in  the  War.  Representa- 
tive men  of  both  political  parties  are  included  in  its  personnel, 
and  it  is  intended  forthwith  to  give  to  Labour  special  representa- 
tion. .  .  .  The  lines  of  policy  to  be  followed  chiefly  relate  to  the 
prosecution  of  the  War  and  to  the  consideration  and  solution  of 
problems  arising  during  its  progress  or  which  will  supervene  upon 
the  conclusion  of  peace."  They  were  outlined  as  follows: 

1.  The  vigorous_prosecution  of  the  War,  the  maintenance  of  Canada's  effort,  by 
the  provision  ^r^^^s^a^y^e-TnTbr^cemerits,  the  immediate  enforcement  of  the  Mili- 
tajy-Service  Act  and  the  most  thorough  co-operation  with  the  Governments  of  the 
UniteaKfrigHdin  and  of  the  other  Dominions  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  War. 

2.  Civil  Service  Reform,  with  a  view  to  extending  the  principle  of  the  present 
Civil  Service  Act  to  the  outside  Service,  and  thus  to  abolish  patronage  and  to  make 
appointments,  upon  the  sole  standard  of  merit,  with  preference  to  returned  soldiers 
who  are  duly  qualified. 

3.  The  extension  of  the  Franchise  to  women,  with  suitable  provisions  for  enabling 
married  women  to  determine  their  nationality  and  to  obtain  naturalization  notwith- 
standing marriage. 

4.  Adequate  taxation  of  War  Profits  and  increased  taxation  of  Income  as  neces- 
sitated by  the  continuance  of  the  War. 

5.  A  strong  and  progressive  policy  of  Immigration  and  Colonization,  accom- 
panied by  suitable  provisions  to  induce  settlement  upon  the  land,  to  encourage  in- 
creased agricultural  production,  and  to  aid  in  the  development  of  Agricultural  re- 
sources. 

6.  Effective  arrangements  for  Demobilization,  for  the  care  and  vocational  train- 
ing of  returned  soldiers,  for  assistance  in  enabling  them  to  settle  upon  the  land,  and 
for  adequate  pensions  to  those  who  have  been  disabled  and  to  the  dependants  of 
those  who  have  fallen. 

7.  The  development  of  Transportation  facilities,  the  co-operative  management 
of  the  various  railway  systems  so  as  to  secure  economy  in  operation,  to  avoid  un- 
necessary construction  and  to  secure  the  widest  and  most  effective  use  of  existing 
railway  facilities;  the  encouragement  and  development  of  the  ship-building  industry 
and  the  establishment  of  steamship  lines  upon  both  Oceans  and  upon  the  Great 
Lakes;   co-operation  with  the  various  Provincial  Governments  for  the  improvement 
of  highways  and  the  investigation  of  the  possibilities  of  Air  Service  for  important 
national  purposes. 

8.  The  reduction  of  public  expenditure,  the  avoidance  of  waste  and  the  encour- 
agement of  thrift. 

9.  Effective  measures  to  prevent  excessive  profits,  to  prohibit  hoarding  and  to 
prevent  combinations  for  the  increase  of  prices,  and  thus  reduce  the  cost  of  living. 

10.  The  encouragement  of  co-operation  among  those  engaged  in  agricultural 
production,  with  a  view  to  diminishing  the  cost  of  production  and  marketing  so  that 
the  price  paid  to  the  producer  may  conform  more  closely  to  that  paid  by  the  consumer. 

[587] 


588  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

11.  The  general  development  of  all  the  varied  resources  of  Canada  and  their  con- 
servation and  utilization  to  the  best  advantage  of  the  people  with  the  co-operation 
and  assistance  of  the  State  in  every  reasonable  way  for  that  purpose. 

12.  Adequate  consideration  of   the  needs  of  the  industrial  population,  the  main- 
tenance of  good  relations  between  employers  and  employed,  and  such  conditions  of 
employment  as  will  assure  suitable  standards  of  living  among  the  labouring  classes. 

With  a  view  to  the  development  of  this  policy  a  truer  understanding 
between  East  and  West  would  be  aimed  at,  while  to  better  carry 
out  the  proposals  made  a  Portfolio  of  Immigration  and  Colonization 
already  had  been  established  and  special  Committees  of  the  Cabinet 
formed.  This  announcement  was  well  received  and  the  press,  with 
a  few  exceptions,  praised  its  theories  and  hoped  for  practical  results. 
Following  this  the  Government  proceeded  to  clear  up  a  number  of 
difficult  matters  which  required  settlement  and  in  the  course  of  the 
next  month  announced :  (1)  That  there  would  hereafter  be  no  patron- 
age lists  in  any  Department  of  the  Government  and  that  it  was 
proposed  to  make  the  War  Purchasing  Commission  a  general  pur- 
chasing agency  for  all  the  Departments;  (2)  that  in  future  Outside 
Services,  to  which  appointments  in  the  past  had  been  recommended 
by  members  of  the  Party  in  power,  would  be  placed  under  the  Civil 
Service  Commission;  (3)  that  Patronage  Lists  in  the  Departments 
under  which  contracts  had  hitherto  been  awarded  were  destroyed; 
(4)  that  such  undertakings  as  the  St.  John  breakwater  or  Toronto 
Harbour  works,  which  were  not  thought  essential  to  war-policy  had 
been  cut  out  or  limited;  (5)  that  a  system  of  control  in  Cold-storage 
plants  by  which  the  margin  of  profit  between  the  producer  and  con- 
sumer should  be  regulated,  allowing  the  plants  a  profit  of  7%  on 
their  investments,  with  a  division  of  further  profits  through  taxes 
up  to  11%,  the  remainder  above  that  figure  going  to  the  Treasury 
and  no  sale  to  produce  more  than  2  cents  profit  on  the  dollar,  had 
been  put  in  operation;  (6)  that  the  price  of  flour  was  regulated  so 
that  millers  could  make  no  higher  profit  than  25  cents  a  barrel  and 
food  supplies  conserved  by  forbidding  the  use  of  grain,  etc.,  in  the 
making  of  Liquor;  (7)  that  the  Separation  allowance  of  soldier  de- 
pendants had  been  increased  by  $5  a  month,  or  20  per  cent.  On 
Oct.  31  Sir  Robert  Borden  issued  a  statement  pointing  out  that 
men  prominent  in  public  life,  in  both  political  parties,  had  unsel- 
fishly stood  aside  in  order  that  Union  might  be  achieved;  that  the 
members  of  the  present  Administration  had  sunk  their  party  differ- 
ences, disregarded  all  minor  considerations,  and  united  in  an  earnest 
effort  for  a  supreme  national  purpose;  that  now  they  asked  the 
people  of  Canada,  of  whatever  party  allegiance,  to  pursue  the  same 
course,  to  unite  in  the  same  spirit  and  thus  to  aid  in  the  same  pur- 
pose. He  therefore  urged  the  people  of  both  parties,  in  the  various 
ridings,  to  unite  and  nominate  Union  candidates.  At  the  same  time 
the  Elections  were  announced  for  Dec.  17  with  nominations  on 
Nov.  19  and  the  Yukon  election  on  Jan.  28,  1918.  On  Nov.  12  the 
Premier  issued  a  Manifesto  to  the  people  of  Canada  in  which  he 
reviewed  the  recruiting,  Conscription  and  general  war  policy  of 
his  late  Government  and  then  dealt  with  the  immediate  issue  as 
follows : 


UNION  GOVERNMENT:  Sm  ROBERT  BORDEN'S  CAMPAIGN    589 

The  Administration  in  whose  name  this  appeal  is  made  is  not  the  agent  or 
organ  of  any  group,  section  or  party.  There  are  those  among  its  members  who  must 
assume  responsibility  for  the  conduct  of  the  war  thus  far;  and  such  members  do  not 
seek  to  evade  that  responsibility.  There  are  those  also  among  its  members  who  have 
no  such  responsibility.  For  the  Military  Service  Act  all  assume  the  fullest  respon- 
sibility, as  do  all  for  the  future  conduct  of  the  war  and  for  future  measures  of  policy 
and  acts  of  administration.  It  is  not  suggested  that  the  Government  which  held 
office  for  6  years  is  immune  from  criticism  because  of  the  Union  Government  which 
has  been  organized,  but  only  that  the  war  is  the  first  consideration,  and  that  to  its 
energetic  and  successful  prosecution  union  among  the  people  is  as  necessary  as  the 
coalition  of  political  leaders. 

No  claim  of  exceptional  patriotism  or  public  virtue  is  made  for  those  who  have 
united  to  constitute  a  coalition  Cabinet.  But  it  was  necessary  to  sink  differences 
and  overcome  prejudices  if  that  object  was  to  be  attained.  If  the  object  was  great 
enough  to  justify  union  and  co-operation  of  political  leaders  divided  by  old  quarrels 
and  acute  differences  in  feeling  and  opinion,  it  is  surely  great  enough  to  justify  the 
like  unity  of  purpose  and  endeavour  among  the  electors  upon  whose  decision  the  fate 
of  the  Government  and  the  measures  to  be  taken  for  the  further  prosecution  of  the 
war  depend.  In  the  trenches,  Liberals  and  Conservatives  fight  and  die  for  a  com- 
mon Canada  and  a  common  Empire.  No  party  wall  divides  the  wounded  in  the  hos- 
pitals. Nor  do  those  who  minister  to  their  wounds  and  ease  their  sufferings  ask  to 
what  party  the  afflicted  belong.  Is  it  too  much  to  expect  that  the  spirit  by  which 
the  Army  lives  and  triumphs  will  be  as  active  and  as  powerful  among  the  people  at 
home  when  they  cast  their  ballots,  and  that  here  as  there  the  great  cause  for  which 
we  contend  will  unify  and  inspire  the  nation? 

But  there  are  other  reasons  why  the  Union  Government  should  be  entrusted 
with  power.  It  has  pledged  itself  to  the  extirpation  of  old  abuses  and  to  a  wise  and 
bold  policy  of  constructive  reform.  The  system  of  patronage  in  the  distribution  of 
contracts  and  offices,  which  has  prevailed  in  Canada  for  generations,  has  been  the 
root  of  many  political  evils.  It  has  fostered  local  and  sectional  interests  incompatible 
with  the  national  welfare  and  injurious  to  the  efficiency  of  the  national  service.  It 
has  troubled  representatives  of  the  people,  permitted  the  ascendancy  of  organized 
minorities  in  the  constituencies,  and  affected  the  independence  of  Parliament  itself. 
It  may  be  that  these  evils  should  have  been  overcome  long  ago.  Censure  may  lie 
upon  successive  Governments  which  have  tolerated  the  system.  But  inveterate 
diseases  succumb  only  to  heroic  treatment — and  heroism  has  not  distinguished  Can- 
adian parties  in  dealing  with  patronage.  Generally,  Governments  have  lived  long  in 
Canada,  and  when  for  many  years  distribution  of  patronage  has  been  confined  to  the 
party  in  power  there  is  a  natural  disposition  to  adjust  the  balance  when  at  length  the 
other  party  succeeds  to  office. 

Once  committed  to  the  system,  influences  are  recognized  and  interests  created 
that  are  not  easily  resisted  or  dislodged.  It  is  believed  that  a  Government  derived 
from  both  political  parties  and  strengthened  by  special  representation  of  agriculture 
and  organized  labour  can  act  with  greater  freedom  and  independence  than  a  Govern- 
ment which  held  office  under  the  old  conditions.  Hence  the  resolution  to  abolish 
trading  in  patronage,  to  fill  public  office  by  merit  and  not  by  favouritism,  and  to 
establish  honest  and  open  competition  in  awarding  contracts  and  buying  supplies. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  in  full  the  announcement  of  policy  already  made  public. 
In  carrying  out  these  policies  the  Government  engages  to  stop  wasteful  expenditure 
and  unwise  duplication  of  railways,  and  to  arrange  effective  co-operation  between 
the  public  and  private  railway  systems.  With  the  acquisition  of  the  Canadian 
Northern  Railway  the  State  becomes  one  of  the  chief  carriers  of  passengers  and  pro- 
ducts. If  public  management  is  to  be  satisfactory,  there  must  be  vigour  in  adminis- 
tration and  breadth  and  courage  in  outlook.  Efficiency  must  be  insured.  Consid- 
eration of  personal  or  political  patronage  must  be  sternly  ignored.  Accommodation 
equal  to  that  which  the  private  companies  afford  must  be  provided. 

Measures  must  also  be  taken  to  insure  adequate  ocean  transportation  under 
national  or  international  regulation  if  extortionate  charges  are  attempted.  For  many 
years  in  Canada  the  railway  policy  was  determined  not  so  much  by  the  needs  of 
transportation  as  by  the  demands  of  rival  groups  of  railway  builders.  As  a  result 
we  have  a  great  railway  mileage,  constructed  at  heavy  cost,  with  long  stretches  of 
parallel  lines,  where  a  single  system  could  have  handled  all  the  traffic,  and  at  lower 
charges  upon  a  smaller  investment  of  capital.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  Canada 


590  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

will  yet  develop  traffic  in  excess  of  present  rail  facilities,  and  in  the  meantime  the 
Government  will  endeavour  to  co-ordinate  existing  services  and  improve  and  protect 
the  national  railways  without  injustice  to  private  companies.  As  old  methods  of 
railway  building  have  to  be  abandoned,  so  old  systems  of  taxation  have  to  be  revised. 
In  order  to  meet  the  ever-increasing  expenditure  for  war  purposes  and  also  to  insure 
that  all  shall  share  in  common  service  and  sacrifice,  wealth  will  be  conscripted  by 
adequate  taxation  of  war  profits  and  increased  taxation  of  income. 

There  will  be  close  inquiry  into  expenditures  in  order  to  protect  the  Treasury 
against  purely  local  demands,  and  to  eliminate  undertakings  of  purely  political  origin 
and  object.  Permanent  Committees  of  the  Cabinet  have  been  established  for  war 
and  reconstruction.  The  very  difficult  and  intricate  problems  inevitably  arising  out 
of  war  conditions  are  being  considered  and  studied  earnestly  and  attentively  with  a 
view  to  effective  action  with  the  least  possible  delay.  Immigration  and  colonization 
will  receive  careful  and  continuous  attention,  always  with  a  sympathetic  regard  for 
labour  and  in  full  recognition  of  the  necessity  for  greater  production.  Thorough  and 
effective  co-operation  among  agricultural  producers  will  be  encouraged.  The  men 
by  whose  sacrifice  and  endurance  the  free  institutions  of  Canada  will  be  preserved 
must  be  re-educated  where  necessary  and  re-established  on  the  land  or  in  such  other 
pursuits  or  vocations  as  they  may  desire  to  follow.  The  maimed  and  the  broken 
will  be  protected;  the  widow  and  the  orphan  will  be  helped  and  cherished. 

Duty  and  decency  demand  that  those  who  are  saving  democracy  shall  not  find 
democracy  a  house  of  privilege,  or  a  school  of  poverty  and  hardship.  The  franchise 
will  be  extended  to  women,  not  chiefly  in  recognition  of  devoted  and  capable  service 
in  the  war,  but  as  a  measure  of  justice  too  long  delayed.  If  men  die,  women  suffer;  if 
they  are  wounded,  women  heal;  if  they  are  maimed,  women  labour.  And  since  there 
can  be  no  separation  in  suffering  and  sacrifice,  there  should  be  none  in  citizenship. 
The  Government  will  strive  to  develop  and  stimulate  a  common  patriotism  in  all 
elements  of  the  people  and  all  portions  of  the  Dominion.  It  inherits  no  baneful 
legacies.  It  cherishes  no  grievances  or  animosities.  East  and  West  are  equal  at  the 
Council  table,  and  in  the  new  Parliament  all  the  Provinces  will  have  equal  and  ade- 
quate representation.  In  the  electoral  campaign  it  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that 
reticence  should  be  observed  in  the  treatment  of  all  questions  in  which  smoulder  the 
fires  of  old  racial  and  religious  quarrels  and  contentions.  Those  who  gave  their  lives 
for  us  on  the  far-away  fields  of  battle  cherished  the  vision  of  a  united  Canada.  To 
deny  the  vision  would  be  treason  to  their  memory. 

The  Government  thoroughly  realizes  that  in  this  national  emergency  there  is 
imperative  necessity  for  fulfilment  of  its  policies  with  the  least  possible  delay.  It 
pledges  itself  to  prosecute  the  war  with  ceaseless  vigour,  to  strive  for  national  unity, 
to  administer  the  public  departments  with  economy  and  efficiency,  to  advise  measures 
of  taxation  which  will  regard  social  justice,  and  to  neglect  nothing  that  may  be  re- 
quired to  sustain  the  soldiers  on  service  or  to  comfort  those  of  their  households  whom 
they  have  left  behind.  Firmly  convinced  that  these  objects  can  best  be  achieved  by 
a  Government  representing  all  parties,  classes,  creeds  and  interests,  I  appeal  with 
confidence  on  its  behalf  for  the  sympathy  and  support  of  the  Canadian  people. 

Sir  Robert  then  left  for  Halifax  to  open  his  campaign  and  during 
the  next  month  made  a  succession  of  earnest  appeals  to  the  electorate 
in  many  Canadian  centres.  The  first  was  at  a  mass-meeting  in  his 
home  town  (Nov.  14)  and  he  put  the  war  situation  in  plain,  clear  terms : 
"In  the  face  of  the  autocratic  military  aggression  which  now  seeks 
to  dominate  the  world  no  nation  can  endure  unless  its  people  are 
prepared  to  fight  in  its  defence.  Under  the  Military  Service  Act 
the  highest  duty  of  citizenship  is  demanded  of  the  people.  I  am 
entirely  confident  that  they  will  not  shrink  from  that  duty.  It  is 
said  that  this  law  ought  not  to  be  put  into  operation  without  a 
Referendum.  I  consider  it  my  imperative  duty  to  put  the  Act  in 
force  immediately.  That  course  is  being  pursued,  and  it  will  be 
unhesitatingly  continued.  What  is  the  reason?  The  need  for  re- 
inforcement is  insistent,  compelling,  imperative.  .  .  .  The  terrible 
need  for  re-inforcements  can  be  met.  But,  even  with  the  best  speed 


UNION  GOVERNMENT:  SIR  ROBERT  BORDEN'S  CAMPAIGN      591 

that  can  be  made,  we  shall  barely  be  in  time.  Yet  it  is  seriously 
proposed  that  with  Canadian  Divisions  depleted  at  the  Front — and, 
remember,  that  a  Division  when  thus  depleted  ceases  to  be  an 
effective  fighting  unit  until  re-inforced — it  is  proposed  that  we  are 
to  wait  until  Parliament  is  summoned,  until  a  bill  for  a  Referendum 
is  passed,  and  until  the  Referendum  shall  have  been  held  and  the 
verdict  of  the  people  pronounced."  The  enforcement  of  military 
service  should  not  be  carried  on  by  a  Party  Government;  hence  the 
need  and  fact  of  Union.  The  Premier  declined  re-nomination  in 
Halifax,  which  he  had  represented  for  21  years,  in  favour  of  Hon. 
A.  K.  Maclean,  one  of  his  Liberal  colleagues,  and  the  latter  followed 
Sir  Robert  Borden's  speech  with  one  in  which  he  proclaimed  himself 
still  a  Liberal,  as  not  condoning  the  past  but,  in  face  of  a  great  em- 
ergency, simply  forgetting  it.  Much  attention  was  given  to  the 
gravity  of  the  War  situation  and  the  fact  that  Canada's  destiny 
was  at  stake  in  France  and  Flanders.  Senator  Lynch  Staunton  of 
Hamilton  slso  spoke.  With  the  same  colleagues  Sir  Robert  spoke 
at  Sydney,  N.S.,  on  the  16th  and  made  a  vigorous  attack  on  Sir 
Wilfrid  Laurier,  alleging  (1)  that  he  had  declined  to  give  his  best 
assistance  to  voluntary  recruiting  in  Canada;  (2)  that  he  was 
responsible  for  forcing  an  election  in  War-time;  (3)  that  the  Liberal 
chieftain's  opposition  to  the  Canadian  Northern  Bill  was  a  negation 
of  his  attitude  in  1913. 

In  proof  of  the  first  statement  he  read  a  letter  from  the  Canadian 
Club,  Hamilton,  dated  Feb.  20,  1917,  asking  Sir  Wilfrid,  on  behalf 
of  the  Club's  recruiting  Committee,  for  a  brief  endorsement  of  their 
efforts  to  arouse  new  interest  in  the  matter,  telling  him  of  the  work 
that  had  been  done,  and  declaring  that  a  favourable  reply  would 
be  of  "the  greatest  value."  The  reply,  dated  Feb.  26,  acknowledged 
receipt  and  added:  "I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  send  you  at  once  an 
affirmative  answer.  I  will  look  into  the  matter,  but  will  keep  it 
under  advisement."  No  other  answer  was  received  and,  Sir  Robert 
observed,  "the  matter  is  still  under  advisement."  Following  this 
meeting  the  Premier  wrote  a  vigorous  letter  to  the  Conservative 
Association  of  Carlton- Victoria  as  to  the  proposed  running  of  a 
candidate  against  Hon.  F.  B.  Carvell  who  had  been  "reluctant  to 
enter  the  Government  as  he  had  to  break  ties  and  associations  of 
very  long  standing  and  was  attached  very  strongly  to  his  party  and 
to  his  political  associates"  and  who,  therefore,  deserved  their  most 
loyal  support.  Any  other  action  he  would  construe  as  "absolute 
want  of  confidence  in  himself  as  leader  of  the  Governmnent."  He 
also  intervened  actively  in  Queen's-Shelburne  on  behalf  of  Hon.  W. 
S.  Fielding  who  was  running  as  a  Unionist  and  wrote  to  the  dissen- 
tient Conservatives  that:  "It  is  my  most  earnest  hope  that,  having 
regard  to  the  greater  issues  that  are  involved  in  this  Election,  which 
concerns  the  future  of  our  country  and  of  the  whole  Empire,  all 
personal  or  party  antagonism  will  be  laid  aside."  On  Nov.  18  the 
Premier  was  back  in  Ottawa  and  on  the  21st  opened  his  Ontario 
campaign  at  Massey  Hall,  Toronto.  J.  R.  L.  Starr,  K.C.,  presided 
and  the  other  speakers  were  Hon.  N.  W.  Rowell,  Sir  W.  H.  Hearst 
and  Sir  Robert  Falconer,  President  of  Toronto  University. 


592  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Premier  was  emphatic  as  to  enforcement  of  the  Military  Service 
Act:  "We  intend  to  see  that  in  every  community,  and  every  district, 
and  every  Province  in  Canada,  that  Act  shall  be  enforced  fully, 
impartially  and  firmly."  It  was  passed  because  the  compulsory 
features  of  the  Militia  Act  did  not  permit  of  adequate  selection  with 
a  view  to  seeing  that  men  essential  in  certain  public  duties,  functions 
or  industries,  were  kept  at  home. 

He  explained  the  general  policy  of  the  new  Government  and 
proclaimed  the  sacrifice  of  party  interests  and  feeling  trivial  in  com- 
parison with  the  sacrifices  of  the  men  at  the  Front.  Mr.  Rowell's 
appeal  was  an  eloquent  presentation  of  a  Liberal's  view  in  this  war- 
emergency.  He  stated  at  once  that  the  men  with  him  in  the  Union 
Government,  or  supporting  it,  were  the  fighting  back-bone  of  Liber- 
alism: "What  is  the  alternative  to  this  Union  Government?  If 
you  think  Canada  has  done  enough,  and  if  you  think  of  quitting  the 
War,  you  have  an  alternative,  but  if  you  are  in  favour  of  supporting 
the  men  at  the  Front  by  the  necessary  re-inforcements  and  legisla- 
tive measures  in  order  that  this  war  may  be  carried  through  to  a 
victorious  conclusion,  then  I  say  in  all  sincerity  you  have  no  alterna- 
tive to  Union  Government."  At  London  on  the  22nd  Sir  Robert 
was  accompanied  by  Hon.  T.  A.  Crerar  and  Hon.  C.  C.  Ballantyne, 
while  Mrs.  P.  D.  Crerar,  of  Hamilton,  made  an  earnest,  appealing 
address  to  support  the  boys  at  the  Front — where  her  sons  also  were. 
Meetings  followed  at  St.  Mary's  and  Stratford  on  the  23rd  and  at 
Dundas  and  Kitchener  on  the  24th,  at  Uxbridge  and  Oshawa  on  the 
26th.  Mr.  Rowell  also  spoke  at  these  meetings  and  the  refusal  of 
a  hearing  to  the  Prime  Minister  at  Kitchener — the  German-Can- 
adian centre — was  a  much-discussed  incident — especially  after  the 
City  Council  on  Nov.  26  declined,  by  7  to  5,  to  offer  an  apology  or 
express  regret.  Sir  Robert  was  at  Windsor  on  the  27th  and  received 
an  ovation  from  7,000  people  when  he  declared  that:  "If  the  men 
at  the  Front  are  not  sustained  I  do  not  want  to  remain  Prime  Min- 
ister of  Canada."  Dunnville  and  Simcoe  were  visited  by  the  Premier 
and  Mr.  Rowell  on  the  28th,  Milton  on  the  29th  and  Millbrook  on 
the  30th — at  the  latter  place  Mrs.  H.  P.  Plumptre  of  Toronto  ad- 
dressed the  audience.  Speeches  were  given  at  Arnprior  and  Ren- 
frew on  Dec.  1.  During  this  tour  the  Premier  addressed  19  meetings 
in  one  week  and  25  altogether,  with  the  War  as  the  central  topic 
and  the  need  of  re-inforcements  as  the  vital  point.  On  Dec.  3  Sir 
Robert  was  at  St.  John,  accompanied  by  Hon.  F.  B.  Carvell.  A 
mass-meeting  of  women  was  addressed  and  the  Premier,  as  usual, 
declared  there  was  only  one  issue  and  that  was  the  War;  Mr.  Carvell 
stated  that  he  had  no  apologies  to  make  for  past  criticisms  of  the 
Borden  Government  and  none  to  make  for  joining  the  Coalition — 
"the  present  issue  is  so  much  bigger  and  so  much  more  important 
than  anything  in  the  past  that  it  is  possible  to  bury  political  differ- 
ences with  my  present  leader."  The  Premier  spoke  at  St.  Stephen 
and  St.  Andrews  on  the  4th;  accompanied  by  Mr.  Carvell  and  Hon. 
E.  N.  Rhodes  he  was  at  Amherst,  N.S.,  on  the  5th.  Meetings  at 
Summerside,  Point  Borden  and  Charlotte  town,  P.E.I.,  followed  on 
the  6th;  the  Halifax  disaster  ensued  and  Sir  Robert  at  once  aban- 


THE  LIBERAL  POLICY:  SIR  WILFRID  LAURIER'S  CAMPAIGN  593 

doned  his  campaign  and  devoted  some  days  to  doing  what  he  could, 
personally  and  officially,  for  the  stricken  city.  From  Halifax,  on 
Dec.  11,  he  issued  a  special  Message  of  regret  to  the  people  of  British 
Columbia  that  he  could  not  go  West  during  this  campaign: 

Whether  Canada  shall  continue  or  withdraw  her  effort  in  this  war,  whether  our 
troops  shall  be  supported  or  abandoned,  is  the  one  supreme  question.  The  honour 
and  good  name  of  Canada  are  vitally  and  eternally  involved.  There  is  no  escape  from 
this  issue  and  upon  every  man  and  every  woman  lies  a  direct  and  personal  responsi- 
bility for  its  determination.  Compared  with  it,  the  fortunes  of  individuals  and  the 
future  of  parties  shrink  into  utter  insignificance.  The  men  who  hold  our  battle  lines 
wait  with  intensest  interest  Canada's  answer;  so  do  the  men  on  the  other  side  of 
'No  Man's  Land'  who  hold  the  trenches  against  them.  I  am  supremely  confident 
that  British  Columbia's  answer  will  be  worthy  of  the  spirit  which  has  inspired  her 
people  since  the  commencement  of  this  world-wide  tragedy. 

The  Premier  spoke  at  Ottawa  on  Dec.  14  to  an  enthusiastic 
gathering  which  cheered  especially  his  declaration  that  "you  cannot 
win  a  war  by  a  Referendum."  He  reviewed  the  Union  Govern- 
ment's work  as  follows:  (1)  The  abolition  of  the  Patronage  List; 
(2)  the  Civil  Service  Act  appliedjto  the  outside  as  well  as  the  inside 
service;  (3)  the  War  Purchasing  Commission  made  permanent  to 
do  all  Canadian  Government  buying;  (4)  the  Income  Tax  to  be  on 
the  same  basis  as  in  the  United  States;  (5)  the  War  Profits  Taxa- 
tion to  be  continued ;  (6)  the  Packers'  profits  severely  taxed ;  (7)  no 
article  of  food  to  be  used  for  the  manufacture  of  spirituous  or  in- 
toxicating liquors.  Other, points  in  his  last  speech  of  the  campaign 
were  the  declaration  that  "Russia  took  a  Referendum,  and  the  result 
is  evident  to  all";  that  in  November  infantry  casualties  were  ten 
times  greater  than  enlistments;  that  "it  is  not  a  two-party  Govern- 
ment, it  is  a  no-party  Government,  and  we  are  sitting  around  the 
Council  Board,  not  as  Liberals  and  Conservatives,  but  as  Canadians  " ; 
that  the  men  at  the  Front  "will  keep  faith  with  their  fallen  com- 
rades— will  you  keep  faith  with  those  who  have  fallen  and  those 
who  still  live?  "  In  all  these  speeches  the  Premier*  made  little  refer- 
ence to  Quebec,  to  racial  or  religious  issues  or  conditions,  or  to  any- 
thing except  what  he  considered  the  matter  in  hand — the  return  of 
a  Government  pledged  to  enforce  Conscription  and  carry  on  for 
Canada  in  the  War.  Even  a  meeting  billed  for  Montreal  was  can- 
celled in  order  to  avoid  any  chance  of  violence  or  hostility  being 
aroused.  To  him,  on  Dec.  15,  came  a  cable  from  the  Australian 
Premier — Rt.  Hon.  W.  M.  Hughes:  "I  earnestly  hope  that  the 
electors  of  the  Dominion  will  give  you  and  your  Government  a 
triumphant  majority  in  order  that  Canada  may  put  forth  her  full 
strength  in  this  mighty  struggle  between  liberty  and  despotism." 

The  Liberal  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  had  a  difficult  situation  to  meet 

Sir  Wilfrid  *n  ^s  Election;  there  was  obvious  disorganization  in 
Laurier's  n^s  old-time  Party  ranks  and  a  continuous  record  of 
Campaign.  veteran  followers,  East  and  West,  seceding  to  the  other 
side;  there  was  a  Liberal  press  almost  entirely  opposed 
to  him  outside  of  one  Province  and  a  hostile  combination  led 

*  The  Private  Secretary  of  a  Prime  Minister  in  such  a  campaign  as  this  has  an 
arduous  and  responsible  position.  In  October  A.  E.  Blount,  who  had  been  with  Sir  R. 
Borden  for  years,  resigned  to  accept  the  Clerkship  of  the  Senate,  and  George  W.  Yates, 
an  experienced  journalist  in  the  past  and  Secretary  to  Mr.  Cochrane,  was  appointed  m 
his  place. 


594  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

by  the  Toronto  Globe  was  hard  indeed  for  a  Liberal  leader  to 
bear  with  patience;  there  were  unpleasant  conditions  in  Quebec 
to  control,  if  possible,  and  to  defend  or  explain  in  other  parts  of 
Canada.  With  it  all  the  Liberal  chieftain  maintained  his  hopeful 
outlook,  fought  earnestly  for  his  cherished  convictions  of  a  life-time, 
believed  that  he  had  a  chance  to  win,  and  was  convinced  that  if  he 
did  so  the  personal  qualities  and  influence  which  had  settled  the 
Manitoba  problem  of  1896  could  adjust  those  of  1917.  If  he  did 
not  win,  his  supporters,  combined  with  the  Liberals  behind  the 
Unionist  Government,  might  be  strong  enough  to  revolutionize  politi- 
cal conditions  when  the  War  was  over.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  his 
personality  was  the  element  in  the  Opposition  most  dangerous  to 
the  Union  Government  cause.  After  that  there  was  the  obvious 
assurance  of  one  large  Province  being  behind  him  almost  unani- 
mously; then  there  was  the  knowledge  of  all  political  leaders  as  to 
the  past  strength  and  vitality  of  Party  feeling  in  Canada  and  the 
doubt  as  to  whether  any  dissentient  colleagues  could  sufficiently 
undermine  the  instinctive  partisan  loyalty  to  their  Leader  of  large 
masses  of  the  people;  there  was  the  certainty  of  much  natural  dis- 
content as  to  Conscription  all  through  Canada  and  the  belief  that 
many  Conservatives  as  well  as  Liberals  were  dissatisfied  with  the, 
past  record  of  the  Borden  Government. 

In  all  his  speeches  of  this  year  Sir  Wilfrid  was  emphatic  in  asser- 
tion that  (1)  Canada  was  in  the  War  to  the  end,  and  (2)  that  whatever 
the  verdict  of  the  Elections,  all  Canadians  would  submit  to  the 
decision  and  the  law.  In  The  Canadian  Liberal  Monthly — the  official 
Party  journal — for  January,  1917,  he  had  published  an  earnest 
analysis  of  what  Canada  had  done  and  an  appeal  to  Canadians  to 
do  still  more:  "There  is  every  probability  that  we  are  still  far  from 
the  end,  and  so  long  as  more  has  to  be  done,  we  have  not  done 
enough.  Only  the  all-possible  will  suffice.  Industry  should  be 
organized  with  the  sole  view  to  victory,  with  all  idea  of  profit  care- 
fully eliminated.  For  let  it  ever  be  remembered  that  industry  is 
public  service.  Let  the  young  and  healthy  enlist,  and  those  who 
cannot  enlist  will  serve  the  country  by  work  in  the  fields,  in  the 
forest,  in  the  mines,  on  the  sea  and  in  the  shops.  Every  individual  in 
the  nation  can  work;  every  hour  of  toil  is  conducive  to  victory,  and 
work  should  be  specifically  directed  to  that  end;  all  available  funds 
and  labour  devoted  to  the  production  of  munitions,  food  and  war 
necessities  and  their  prompt  conveyance  where  needed."  A  warm 
tribute  was  paid  to  the  fallen:  "The  rest  of  us  owe  it  to  them  that 
we  also  make  sacrifice,  sacrifice  of  feelings,  of  prejudice,  of  comfort, 
of  leisure,  of  gains.  .  .  .  Let  us  here  and  now  sink  passions,  pre- 
judices, vain  and  idle  recriminations.  Let  us,  when  criticism  is 
needed,  criticize  without  bitterness,  only  by  appeals  to  reason,  and 
above  all  let  us  bend  all  our  energies  towards  making  Canada  an 
effective  factor  in  the  struggle.  The  heart  of  the  nation  must  beat 
with  one  accord  and  one  desire."  This  journal  for  August  defined 
his  policy  as  follows:  "(1)  That  Canada  will  remain  in  the  War  to 
the  end;  that  (2)  Canada  shall,  by  a  systematic  and  thorough 
national  war  organization  make  a  supreme  effort  to  secure  by  vol- 


THE  LIBERAL  POLICY:  SIR  WILFRID  LAURIER'S  CAMPAIGN  595 

untary  enlistment  the  necessary  number  of  recruits;  that  (3)  if  this 
national  war  organization  fails  to  secure  the  required  number  of 
soldiers  by  voluntary  enlistment  the  electors  of  Canada  will  be 
asked  to  vote  on  a  Conscription  Referendum;  that  (4)  if  the  result 
of  the  Referendum  favours  Conscription  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  pledges 
his  word  that  the  verdict  will  be  accepted  in  every  part  of  Canada, 
even  in  the  Province  of  Quebec;  that  (5)  if  the  result  of  the  Refer- 
endum is  against  Conscription,  then  the  national  war  organization 
will  be  continued  and  vigorously  prosecuted  and  every  effort  made 
to  secure  by  voluntary  enlistment  the  number  of  soldiers  needed; 
that  (6)  information  will  be  secured  from  the  British  authorities  as 
to  which  is  most  needed  from  Canada,  men  or  food."  To  Frank 
Wise,  Secretary  of  the  Win-the-War  League,  Toronto,  Sir  Wilfrid 
wrote  on  Aug.  21,  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  as  to  his  war  position,  that 
the  Borden  Government  had  hopelessly  blundered  in  not  long  ago 
ascertaining  the  character  of  war  service  which  Canada  could  best 
render;  that  a  general  election  was  imperative  because  (1)  the 
Western  Provinces  were  entitled  to  22  more  members  by  Census 
returns  and  (2)  because  there  were  24  constituencies  unrepresented. 
He  defined  the  duty  of  the  Majority  leader  in  the  next  Parliament 
as  follows: 

(1)  To  confer  immediately  with  Great  Britain  and  her  Allies,  with  a  view  to 
ascertaining  how,  and  to  what  extent,  the  participation  can  be  utilized  to  the  greatest 
advantage  in  the  prosecution  of  the  War,  regard  being  had,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the 
necessities  of  the  Allies  for  men,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  our  population,  resources, 
industries,  geographical  and  other  essential  considerations. 

(2)  To  bring  into  being  a  Government  composed,  as  far  as  possible,  of  the  ablest 
men  in  all  classes,  whose  immediate  task  would  be  the  effective  and  non-partisan 
organization  of  the  whole  nation  on  the  lines  determined  upon. 

(3)  To  organize  a  vigorous  and  compact  system  of  voluntary  enlistment,  con- 
ceived and  carried  out  on  strictly  non-partisan  and  broadly  national  methods. 

(4)  To  devise  and  apply  ways  and  means  so  that  the  full  duty  of  Canada  be 
generously  performed  toward  our  returned  soldiers  and  their  dependants;  the  wealth 
of  Canada  compelled  to  contribute  its  just  and  proper  share  of  our  burdens;  and  the 
mass  of  the  people  efficiently  safeguarded  form  the  greed  of  war  profiteers. 

The  League  in  reply  asked  Sir  Wilfrid:  "(1)  To  place  a  definite 
time  limit  on  the  period  you  would  allow  for  recruiting;  (2)  to  state 
that  if  voluntary  effort  failed  to  produce  the  necessary  re-inforce- 
ments,  you  would  resort  to  Conscription."  No  answer  was  given 
to  this.  Meanwhile  the  Quebec  issue  had  developed  and  attracted 
wide  attention  with  an  under-current  in  Canada — even  in  the 
Liberal  party1— hostile  to  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  as  the  natural  leader 
of  French  Canadians.  Many  followers  of  the  Liberal  leader  in 
English-speaking  Canada  claimed  that  if  he  had  come  out  in  favour 
of  Conscription  his  native  Province  would  have  gone  over  to  Bourassa 
and  the  Nationalists;  that  the  benefit  of  his  moderate  patriotic 
leadership  would  thus  have  been  lost  to  Canada;  that  the  end  would 
have  been  disaster  and  disunion.  In  the  Commons  on  Aug.  1  Sir 
Wilfrid  dealt  with  Sir  Clifford  Sif ton's  statements  in  this  connection: 
"Neither  on  this  occasion,  nor  any  occasion  in  my  public  life,  did  I 
ever  take  an  attitude  in  deference  to  one  Province  alone.  The 
politics  which  I  have  opposed  were  not  opposed  from  the  point  of 


596  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

view  of  one  Province  but  from  the  point  of  view  of  Liberal  prin- 
ciples and  with  respect  to  all  the  Provinces  of  Canada  and  irrespec- 
tive of  race  or  creed.  This  is  my  position  to-day.  ...  I  am  in 
this  War  to  the  end,  but  I  am  in  this  War  not  upon  compulsion,  but 
upon  the  voluntary  principle  of  enlistment."  There  was  talk  in 
these  months  of  Sir  Wilfrid  retiring  in  favour  of  someone  who  could 
lead  a  united  party  in  the  Elections  and  there  was  evidence  of  his 
desire  to  make  way  if  any  good  purpose  could  be  served.  But  the 
Western  Convention  indirectly  endorsed  his  leadership;  so  with 
directness  did  an  Ontario  Conference  held  in  Toronto  on  July  20, 
at  the  call  of  F.  F.  Pardee,  Chief  Liberal  Whip.* 

At  this  latter  meeting  of  Ontario  Federal  members  (Liberal)  and 
candidates  W.  A.  Charlton,  M.P.,  presided  and  Hon.  G.  P.  Graham 
delivered  an  address,  stating  that  the  dissentient  or  Conscriptionist 
Liberals  had  acted  conscientiously  on  that  issue.  An  official  state- 
ment of  proceedings  (Globe,  July  21)  claimed  the  purpose  of  the 
meeting  to  be  a  frank  and  free  interchange  of  opinion,  stated  that 
this  was  carried  out  with  cordiality,  that  Mr.  Graham  took  the 
census  of  the  gathering  as  to  the  unanimous  opinions  reached,  and 
that  these  were  summarized  and  unanimously  endorsed,  as  follows: 
"(1)  That  the  putting  forth  of  Canada's  whole  effort  towards  win- 
ning the  War  is  the  first  consideration  of  party  policy  and  party 
effort;  (2)  that  the  patriotism,  integrity  of  purpose  and  statesman- 
ship of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  are  unquestioned,  and  that  under  his 
Dominion  leadership  the  coming  campaign  will  be  fought  and  won; 
(3)  that  there  should  be  no  extension  of  the  present  Parliament,  but 
that  an  appeal  should  be  made  to  the  people  for  a  new  Parliament 
and  a  new  Administration;  (4)  that  the  War  administration  of  the 
Borden  Government  does  not  warrant  any  further  trust  by  the 
people  of  Canada;  (5)  that  at  the  present  time  and  under  the  aegis 
of  the  present  Government  a  -Coalition  or  Union  Government  of 
Liberals  and  Conservatives  is  impracticable  and  undesirable;  (6) 
that  before  attempting  an  enforcement  of  the  present  Conscription 
measure  and  having  regard  to  all  national  conditions,  there  should 
be  a  united  and  whole-hearted  effort  under  the  voluntary  system." 
As  there  were  some  Liberals  present  who  were  supposed  to  be 
favourable  to  Union  Government,  and  were  known  Conscriptionists 
— Pardee,  Ross,  Giithrie,  for  instance — these  announced  conclusions 
were  disputed  and  The  Globe  of  July  24  stated  that  "some  who 
attended  have  made  the  definite  statement  that  they  declared  them- 
selves frankly  and  positively  in  favour  of  Conscription."  Mr. 
Rowell  was  not  present. 

There  followed  the  decision  and  action  of  the  Liberal  leader  as 
to  Extension  of  Parliament  and  Union  Government;  his  consulta- 
tion with  Liberal  leaders  and  supporters  in  Montreal  on  Oct.  1,  with 
Sir  Lomer  Gouin,  Hon.  S.  A.  Fisher,  Senators  F.  L.  Beique,  J.  P.  B. 
Casgrain,  J.  M.  Wilson  and  R.  Dandurand,  Hon.  R.  Lemieux,  Hon. 
W.  Mitchell  and  many  Liberal  candidates  of  the  Province,  present 
at  a  Reform  Club  luncheon;  the  rumours  of  his  retirement  stated 

NOTE. — La  Soliel,  of  Quebec,  on  Oct.  6th  declared  this  to  be  a  fact,  and  reported 
Sir  Wilfrid  as  so  saying. 


THE  LIBERAL  POLICY:  SIR  WILFRID  LATJRIER'S  CAMPAIGN  597 

in  such  papers  as  The  Globe  and  the  Ottawa  Citizen-,  his  visit  to 
Toronto  on  Oct.  9-10  and  consultation  with  leading  Ontario  Liberals, 
a  Reception  at  the  King  Edward  attended  by  1,200  of  his  admirers 
and  followers  with  another  for  women  which,  also,  was  largely 
attended.  Nothing  further  was  heard  of  retirement  and  on  Nov.  4 
Sir  Wilfrid  issued  his  Election  Address  to  the  Canadian  people.  It 
was  a  long  and  elaborate  document.  Of  the  Union  Government  he 
said:  "Six  members  of  the  Liberal  party,  some  of  them  close  per- 
sonal friends,  have  consented  to  become  members  of  the  Administra- 
tion, and  in  the  programme  which  they  intend  to  follow,  no  trace  is 
to  be  found  that  the  Liberal  members  of  the  Administration  have 
succeeded  in  influencing  their  colleagues  to  the  adoption  of  measures 
which  they  deemed  essential  not  only  to  win  the  War,  but  for  the 
welfare  of  the  country  at  all  times."  The  hope  of  increased  Immigra- 
tion after  the  War  was,  he  asserted,  greatly  impaired  by  the  War- 
times Election  Act,  which  had  broken  faith  with  naturalized  Can- 
adian citizens;  the  C.N.R.  arrangement  was  denounced  as  paying 
for  a  stock  property  which  the  Government  experts  had  declared 
absolutely  without  value;  the  high  cost  of  living  was  said  to  be  due 
to  excessive  profits,  hoardings  and  combinations  which  the  Govern- 
ment had  not  checked,  and  that  "no  measure  to  reduce  the  cost 
could  be  effective  unless  and  until  the  tariff  is  reformed  and  its  pres- 
sure removed  from  commodities"  affected  by  the  above  causes. 
The  War-times  Election  Act  was  strongly  denounced: 

A  blot  upon  every  instinct  of  justice,  honesty  and  fair  play.  It  takes  away  the 
franchise  from  certain  denominations  whose  members  from  ancient  times  in  English 
history  have  been  exempt  from  military  service,  and  who  in  Great  Britain  never  were, 
and  are  not  now,  denied  their  rights  of  citizenship.  It  takes  away  the  franchise 
from  men  whom  we  invited  to  this  country,  to  whom  we  promised  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  our  citizenship,  who  trusted  in  our  promises  and  who  became,  under 
our  laws,  British  subjects  and  Canadian  citizens.  They  are  thus  humiliated  and 
treated  with  comtempt  under  the  pretence  that  being  born  in  enemy  countries,  in 
Germany  and  Austria,  they  might  be  biased  in  favour  of  their  native  country  and 
against  their  adopted  country.  The  assumption  is  false  in  theory  and  might  easily 
be  so  demonstrated.  It  is  sufficient  to  observe  that  it  is  also  false  in  fact.  There 
has  not  been  any  current  of  emigration  from  Germany  to  Canada  during  the  last  20 
years,  and  as  to  Austria,  almost  the  total  number,  perhaps  nine-tenths  of' the  emi- 
grants from  that  country,  were  not  from  Austria  proper,  but  from  those  Slav  provinces 
held  by  force  by  Austria,  and  whose  sympathies  are  strong  and  deep  against  her,  and 
for  the  Allies.  It  gives  the  franchise  to  some  women  and  denies  it  to  others.  All 
those  whose  privilege  it  is  to  have  near  relatives  amongst  the  soldiers  will  be  voters. 
The  right  will  be  refused  to  all  those  not  so  privileged,  though  their  hearts  are  just 
as  strong  in  the  cause,  and  though  they  have  worked  incessantly  for  it.  Moreover, 
in  five  Provinces  of  the  Dominion,  namely,  Ontario,  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  Alberta 
and  British  Columbia,  women  have  been  admitted  to  the  franchise.  According  to 
the  terms  of  the  Dominion  law,  which  no  sophistry  can  blur,  being  electors  in  the 
Province,  women  are  electors  in  the  Dominion.  The  Act  of  last  Session  snatches 
away  that  right  from  them.  The  Act  is  vicious  in  principle,  and  is  equally  vicious 
in  its  enacting  dispositions.  ...  It  has  for  its  object  and  for  its  effect  to  discourage 
and  to  stifle  the  free  expression  of  the  will  of  the  people,  and  to  make  Parliamentary 
government  a  mere  name  without  the  reality. 

As  to  the  War,  Sir  Wilfrid  declared  that  the  Allies  could  not  avoid 
it  and  pointed  out  that  "at  the  very  beginning,  penetrated  of  the 
immensity  of  the  struggle  and  of  the  necessity  of  bending  all  our 
efforts  to  the  winning  of  the  War,  we  of  the  Opposition  gave  to  the 


598  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Government  every  possible  assistance.  We  assented  to  all  their 
War-measures,  except  when  convinced  that  these  measures  would  be 
detrimental  rather  than  helpful."  This  year,  however,  Conscription 
had  been  proposed.  "With  this  policy  I  found  it  impossible  to 
agree.  If  it  be  asked  how  this  view  is  consistent  with  my  oft- 
expressed  determination  to  assist  in  winning  the  War,  I  answer, 
without  any  hesitation,  that  this  sudden  departure  from  the  volun- 
tary system  was  bound  more  to  hinder  than  to  help  the  War."  It 
was  opposed  to  all  past  British  principles  and  practice ;  it  came  as  a 
surprise  in  Canada  and  not,  as  it  eventually  was  carried  out  in 
Britain,  after  a  careful  preparation  of  public  opinion.  As  to  him- 
self, in  the  campaigns  of  1910-11  he  had  to  meet  the  Nationalist 
assertions  in  Quebec  that  his  Naval  policy  involved  Conscription: 
"I  gave  the  public  frequent  assurance  that  under  no  circumstances 
would  Conscription  follow  the  adoption  of  our  policy.  Again  and 
again  after  the  outbreak  of  the  present  War  I  insisted  that  Conscrip- 
tion should  not  be  introduced  in  Canada.  Such  was  my  position 
when  the  Government  reversed  its  attitude  and,  without  warning, 
introduced  the  Military  Service  Act.  To  force  such  a  drastic  measure 
upon  a  people  thus  unprepared  and  against  repeated  assurances  to 
the  contrary,  was  neither  wise  nor  prudent,  nor  effective.  It  may 
bring  men  to  the  ranks  but  it  will  not  infuse  into  the  whole  body  of 
the  nation  that  spirit  of  enthusiasm  and  determination  which  is  more 
than  half  the  battle.  It  will  create  and  intensify  division  where 
unity  of  purpose  is  essential.  I  am  only  too  well  aware  that  the 
views  which  I  here  present  have  not  met  with  universal  acceptance, 
even  in  the  party  to  which  I  belong,  but  even  yet  I  hold  that  to 
coerce  when  persuasion  has  not  been  attempted  is  not  sound  policy, 
and  in  this  I  appeal  to  the  impartial  judgment  of  all  Canadians." 
Of  his  own  policy  he  proceeded  to  treat  as  follows: 

In  combatting  the  policy  of  Conscription,  all  that  I  asked  was  that  a  measure 
of  such  moment  should  not  be  enforced  by  Parliament  without  an  appeal  to  the 
people.  I  supported  a  Referendum  for  the  reason  that  the  Referendum  is  the  most 
advanced  and  the  most  modern  method  of  consultation  of  the  people,  without  the 
complications  inseparable  from  a  general  election.  ...  A  fundamental  objection  to 
the  Government's  policy  of  Conscription  is  that  it  conscripts  human  life  only,  and 
that  it  does  not  attempt  to  conscript  wealth,  resources,  or  the  services  of  any  persons 
other  than  those  who  come  within  the  age  limit  prescribed  by  the  Military  Service 
Act.  This  is  manifestly  unjust.  A  policy  which  will  accord  first  place  to  the  soldier 
and  the  sailor  in  the  concern  of  the  State  will,  I  believe,  bring  forth  all  the  men  neces- 
sary to  fight  its  battles  without  the  need  of  recourse  to  Conscription.  If  returned 
to  power,  I  should  adopt  such  a  policy.  My  first  duty  will  be  to  seek  out  the  ablest 
men  of  the  country,  men  of  organizing  capacity  as  well  as  men  representative  of  all 
classes  in  the  community,  and  invite  them,  irrespective  of  what  it  may  involve  in  the 
way  of  sacrifice  of  their  personal  interests,  to  join  with  me  in  the  formation  of  a  Cabinet 
whose  first  object  will  be  to  find  the  men,  money  and  resources  necessary  to  ensure 
the  fullest  measure  of  support  to  our  heroic  soldiers  at  the  Front,  and  to  enable  Canada 
to  continue  to  do  her  splendid  part  to  win  the  War. 

As  to  the  present  Military  Service  Act  my  policy  will  be  not  to  proceed  further 
under  its  provisions  until  the  people  have  an  opportunity  to  pronounce  upon  it  by 
way  of  a  Referendum.  I  pledge  myself  to  forthwith  submit  the  Act  to  the  people 
and  with  my  followers  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  majority  of  the  nation  as  thus 
expressed.  I  would  at  the  same  time  organize  and  carry  out  a  strong  appeal  for 
voluntary  recruiting.  It  is  a  fact  that  cannot  be  denied  that  the  voluntary  system, 
especially  in  Quebec,  did  not  get  a  fair  trial,  and  a  fair  trial  would  receive  from  a 


THE  LIBERAL  POLICY:  SIR  WILFRID  LAURIER'S  CAMPAIGN  599 

generous  people  a  ready  response  which  would  bring  men  to  the  ranks,  with  good- 
will and  enthusiasm,  and  which  would  eliminate  from  our  political  life  one  of  its  most 
harrowing  problems,  as  no  loyal  Canadian  can  view,  without  the  gravest  apprehen- 
sion, a  disunited  Canada  at  this  critical  hour  of  our  history.  To  these  views  it  is  no 
answer  to  say  as  is  now  often  said,  that  we  must  have  Conscription  or  'quit.'  This 
statement  is  falsified  by  a  recent  and  conclusive  example.  Australia  rejected  Con- 
scription and  Australia  did  not  'quit.'  Australia  is  still  in  the  fight  under  the  volun- 
tary system.  .  .  .  To-day,  under  the  exhaustion  the  War  has  caused  in  the  Old 
World,  Great  Britain  and  her  Allies  are  appealing  as  never  before  for  more  food,  more 
ships  and  more  coal.  No  country  has  vaster  resources  than  Canada  to  supply  these 
imperative  requirements.  What  is  needed  is  vigorous  efforts  to  further  an  unlimited 
production.  To  meet  this  existing  need,  I  am  prepared,  in  addition  to  the  measures 
already  outlined,  to  take  what  further  steps  may  be  necessary  to  increase,  double  and 
quadruple  the  output  of  all  that  may  be  necessary  for  marching  and  fighting  armies. 

To  Quebec  he  devoted  a  brief  space  and  claimed  that  dilatory  enlist- 
ment there  was  due  to  the  Borden  Government's  alleged  supporters, 
the  Nationalists,  whose  policy  was  "no  participation  in  Imperial 
wars,"  and  whose  doctrine  had  been  emphasized  in  1910-11  and 
never  repudiated  by  their  Conservative  allies.  Of  minor  items  of 
policy  he  declared  for  (1)  greater  agricultural  production  facilitated 
by  Government  assistance  and  removal  of  disabilities ;  (2)  the  lifting 
of  duties  on  agricultural  implements  and  other  essentials  as  demanded 
by  Western  farmers  and  others;  (3)  the  removal  of  7J^%  war-tax 
imposed  in  1915  on  all  except  enemy  countries  and  the  5%  war-tax 
imposed  in  1915  against  British  goods;  (4)  reduction  of  the  high 
cost  of  living  by  bringing  under  Government  control  all  food-pro- 
ducing factories  as  in  Great  Britain;  (5)  organization  of  Govern- 
ment shops  to  manufacture  war  material,  ships,  etc.;  (6)  control, 
if  necessary,  of  all  establishments  manufacturing  war  material  in 
order  to  immediately  stop  profiteering;  (7)  generous  assistance  on 
the  part  of  the  State  to  replace  returned  soldiers  in  comfortable 
positions  in  civil  life;  (8)  more  effective  measures  by  the  State  for 
maintenance,  care  and  comfort  of  the  soldiers'  dependants  and 
families;  (9)  a  strong  and  progressive  Immigration  policy,  unhamp- 
ered by  any  disfranchisement  Act;  (10)  C.N.R.  legislation  to  be 
reopened  and  adjudicated  upon  by  the  new  Parliament;  (11)  a  sys- 
tem of  purchases  in  Government  supplies  direct  from  the  producer 
without  the  intermediary  or  middleman.  Finally  he  declared  that; 

Should  I  be  called  upon  to  form  a  Government  I  would  hope  to  include  in  it 
representatives  of  business,  of  labour  and  of  agriculture,  of  the  men  whose  sole  object 
in  dealing  with  the  affairs  of  the  country  will  be  to  devote  the  whole  resources,  wealth 
and  energy  of  the  country  to  the  winning  of  the  War.  It  can  only  be  done  by  honest 
agreement  amongst  all  the  different  elements  and  interests  of  the  country.  I  would 
hope  to  have  a  Government  representative  of  the  masses  of  the  people — the  common 
people — whose  guiding  principle  should  be  to  defend  them  against  organized  privilege 
which  has  heretofore  had  far  too  much  control  over  the  Government  of  the  country. 
...  In  this  Election  the  supreme  end  is  to  assist  in  the  tremendous  struggle  in 
which  we  are  engaged,  to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  nation,  to  avoid  the  divisions  and 
discords  which,  for  many  years  kept  in  check,  are  now  unfortunately  again  looming 
up  dangerous  and  threatening,  to  resolutely  face  the  economic  situation  with  the 
view  of  avoiding  and  lessening  privations  and  sufferings,  which  should  not  exist  in  a 
country  so  richly  endowed  by  nature  as  our  country. 

This  Manifesto  was  variously  received.  Liberal  Unionist  papers 
like  the  Regina  Leader  eulogized  its  general  fairness  toward  those 


600  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

who'Lhad  left  their  leader  and  toward  the  Party  he  was  chiefly  oppos- 
ing; this  journal  described  it  (Nov.  5)  as  "a  clear,  logical,  unimpas- 
sioned  statement  of  the  political  situation  as  Sir  Wilfrid  sees  it"; 
all,  however,  joined  with  the  Conservative  journals  in  declaring  that 
the  question  of  more  men  for  the  Front  was  the  vital  issue  and  was 
not  fully  met.  The  Brantford  Expositor,  a  veteran  Liberal  paper, 
described  it  as  follows:  "An  able,  but  disingenuous  and  subtle  ap- 
peal intended  to  reach  the  disaffected  voters  of  whatever  class.  It 
will  please  the  Province  of  Quebec  and  it  is  an  alluring  bid  for  the 
Western  vote,  but  for  those  who  have  loved  Laurier  yet  think  the 
winning  of  the  War  to  be  the  one  great  issue,  it  is^a  heart-breaking 
disappointment."  It  did  not  win  back  any  of  the  Unionist  press 
though  it  did  solidify  the  fighting  Liberal  elements  already  behind 
the  Chieftain.  As  the  campaign  proceeded  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  made 
a  limited  number  of  speeches  and  wrote  some  letters.  Of  the  latter, 
one  addressed  to  a  correspondent  at  Windsor,  Ontario,  in  respect  to 
the  views  of  an  approved  candidate  was  decidedly  enigmatic*:  "At 
a  meeting  of  Liberal  candidates  in  Eastern  Ontario  three  weeks  ago 
I  declared  that  there  were  three  alternatives  to  take — for  many  of 
them  had  declared  for  Conscription.  I  did  not  desire  to  make  this 
a  party  question,  for  that  would  have  been  very  compromising. 
Each  of  these  alternatives  is  acceptable:  (1)  To  present  himself 
against  Union  and  against  Conscription;  (2)  against  Union,  but  for 
Conscription;  (3)  as  an  independent  Liberal."  The  Liberal  leader's 
first  election  meeting  was  at  Quebec  on  Nov.  9;  it  was  crowded, 
wildly  enthusiastic,  vigorously  anti-Conscriptionist.  His  speech  was 
along  the  lines  of  his  Manifesto  with  this  main  point:  "We  began 
with  the  voluntary  system;  it  is  our  duty  to  continue  with  it."  He 
declared  that  the  Government  had  manufactured  a  new  electorate 
with  which  to  win  the  Elections:  "I  believe  that  our  first  and  press- 
ing duty  is  to  share  in  the  fight.  I  believe  that  it  is  our  immediate 
duty  to  help  our  armies  who  have  covered  themselves  with  glory. 
We  must  support  them  with  men." 

Sir  Lomer  Gouin  followed  in  what  the  Toronto  Globe  report 
described  as  "a  passionate  speech";  eulogized  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
as  "the  great  exemplar  of  the  real  democratic  idea  in  the  new  world"; 
described  the  Union  Government  as  merely  a  combination  of  in- 
dividuals who  did  not  represent  the  national  spirit  of  Canada.  As 
to  the  effort  to  isolate  Quebec:  "No  man  or  union  of  men  is  strong 
enough  to  violate  the  will  of  the  overwhelming  mass  of  the  people. 
We  cannot  be  frightened  by  the  threat  of  isolation.  Nobody  is  our 
guardian.  In  Canada  we  are  the  deans.  This  is  our  home,  our 
native  land,  and  here  our  people  will  remain  as  the  companions  and 
equals  of  their  fellow-Canadians."  The  Provincial  Premier  earn- 
estly endorsed  Sir  Wilfrid's  appeal  to  the  people  to  serve  and  serve 
voluntarily.  At  Ottawa  on  Nov.  2?  Sir  Wilfrid  addressed  a  great 
mass-meeting  accompanied  by  Hon.  C.  Murphy  and  H.  H.  Dewart, 
M.L.A.  He  referred  to  the  Recruiting  appeal  of  the  Canadian  Club, 
Hamilton,  and  stated  "that  it  was  his  policy  not  to  endorse  anything 
unless  he  knew  the  parties  who  made  the  application" ;  declared  that 

*  Published  editorially  in  Victoria  Colonist,  Dec.  13.  1917. 


THE  LIBERAL  POLICY:  SIR  WILFRID  LAURIER'S  CAMPAIGN  601 

the  invitation  to  support  a  National  Service  Board  appeal  for  re- 
cruiting was  refused  because  the  Board  had  been  bedevilled  by 
partisanship;  noted  that  Conscription  had  been  defeated  in  Aus- 
tralia though  there  was  no  Quebec  or  "racialism"  there;  proclaimed 
his  devotion  to  "free  speech"  and  his  regret  that  the  Premier  had 
not  been  heard  at  Kitchener — even  in  a  bad  cause;  stated  that  he 
would  not  repeal  the  Conscription  Act  until  the  people  had  passed 
upon  it  by  Referendum.  He  denounced  the  C.N.R.  legislation, 
described  the  War-times  Franchise  Act  as  iniquitous,  criticized  the 
Food  Controller  for  giving  good  advice,  only,  while  prices  of  food 
continued  to  soar,  referred  to  the  number  of  recruiting  speeches  he 
had  made.*  A  meeting  at  Arnprior  was  addressed  on  Dec.  3  and 
here,  as  at  Ottawa,  he  denied  any  alliance  with  the  Nationalists: 
"Mr.  Bourassa  and  I  are  at  variance  upon  many  questions  as  he  has 
set  forth  in  his  paper,  Le  Devoir.  He  says,  for  instance,  that  we 
have  done  enough  in  the  War.  I  am  in  the  war  to  the  end."  As 
to  the  rest:  "If  we  are  to  win  this  war,  if  we  are  to  get  men  to  go 
to  the  fighting-line,  the  proper  way  is  by  appealing  to  the  soul,  not 
to  coercion  of  the  conscience." 

A  week  later  Sir  Wilfrid  started  for  the  West  and  made  a  tour 
which  was  triumphant  in  its  great  meetings,  careful  attention  of 
large  crowds,  respectful  interest  and  evidences  of  personal  prestige. 
At  Winnipeg  on  Dec.  10  he  spoke  to  8,000  people,  described  the  Union 
Government  as  simply  the  old  Borden  Government — a  political 
crazy  quilt ;  admitted  that  Quebec  had  not  done  its  duty  in  enlisting, 
but  laid  the  blame  on  the  alleged  Nationalist-Conservative  alliance 
of  1910-11;  denounced  Sir  Clifford  Sifton  as  laying  a  snare  for  the 
Unionist  Liberals  and  declared  that,  if  the  Government  won,  "the 
rent  between  the  races  in  Canada  will  be  worse  than  it  was,  and 
the  work  of  making  this  a  united  country  will  have  received  a  very 
bad  shock";  claimed  that  150,000  Canadians  were  in  England  as 
reserves  and  that  there  was  no  hurry  for  re-inforcements  and  no 
danger.  As  to  German  and  Austrian  settlers,  he  said:  "It  is  said 
that  they  have  a  prejudice  against  Great  Britain  and  for  their 
native  country.  That  is  not  so."  H.  H.  Dewart,  M.L.A.,  of  Toronto, 
and  Hon.  A.  G.  McKay,  M.L.A.,  of  Edmonton,  also  spoke.  At 
Regina  on  the  llth  great  throngs  sought  to  hear  the  Liberal  leader. 
He  reiterated  his  statement  that  his  object  had  always  been  to  win 
the  War;  declared  that  returned  soldiers  should  be  cared  for  by  the 
Government  as  a  debt  and  not  as  a  charity ;  stated  that  war  revenue 
should  be  secured  by  direct  taxation  on  properties;  deplored  the 
Borden  Government  method  of  raising  the  revenue  by  increasing 
the  tariff.  "  While  a  small  rivulet  of  the  money  received  under  the 
present  fiscal  policy  goes  to  the  Government,  the  bulk  goes  to  the 
privileged  classes,"  he  declared.  "As  to  Quebec,  I  have  to  admit 
that  Quebec  has  not  given  according  to  its  numbers,  compared  with 
Ontario  and  the  other  Provinces."  He  once  more  placed  the  respon- 
sibility on  the  Borden-Bourassa  relations  of  1911. 

*  The  Liberal  Monthly  of  Nov.  27  gave  a  list  of  16  recruiting  speeches  delivered  by 
him  in  1914-15-16. 


602  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Mr.  Dewart  and  Hon.  W.  G.  Mitchell,  Treasurer  of  Quebec, 
Hon.  G.  Langley  and  Hon.  W.  R.  Motherwell  of  the  Saskatchewan 
Government,  also  spoke.  Mr.  Langley  described  Sir  Wilfrid  as 
"the  greatest  of  all  living  Canadians";  Mr.  Motherwell  believed 
that  his  former  colleague,  Mr.  Calder,  had  been  "duped  by  appear- 
ances at  Ottawa"  and  claimed  that  under  the  Franchise  Act  "the 
Government  chose  the  voters  instead  of  the  voters  choosing  the 
Government."  In  Calgary  on  the  12th  Sir  Wilfrid  addressed  four 
large  meetings  aided  by  Messrs.  MacKay  and  Dewart,  accompanied 
by  Patrick  Burns  of  Alberta  cattle  fame,  and  supported  in  several 
speeches  by  Rev.  Wm.  Irvine,  local  Liberal  candidate,  who  reiterated 
the  claim  that  food  and  production  were  more  needed  in  the  War 
than  men.  At  Vancouver  on  Dec.  14  the  Liberal  leader  addressed 
five  meetings.  The  speeches  followed  preceding  lines,  excepting 
that  he  explained  his  inability  to  aid  recruiting  in  Quebec:  "I  have 
not  done  it  because  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  do  it.  I  was  not  in  the 
Government,  or  I  would  have  done  it.  If  I  had  been  in  office  I 
would  not  have  been  stupid  enough  to  take  the  methods  taken  by 
this  Government."  Nationalism,  supported  by  a  Government 
alliance,  had  created  the  situation  in  that  Province  and  the  Govern- 
ment was  suffering  the  consequences.  As  to  the  rest:  "If  we  win  I 
will  take  my  share.  I  will  take  the  responsibility  incumbent  on 
victory.  I  will  try  to  form  a  strong  Government  with  all  the 
elements  of  the  country  represented,  but  if  I  fail  then  I  shall  con- 
tinue the  work  as  a  simple  private  in  the  grand  army  of  freedom." 
Other  speakers  at  these  meetings  were  Hon.  W.  G.  Mitchell,  H.  H. 
Dewart  and  Hon.  J.  W.  de  B.  Farris,  of  the  Provincial  Government. 
This  concluded  the  Laurier  meetings  of  the  campaign  and  Sir  Wilfrid 
returned  Eastward  to  hear  the  results. 

The  Unionist  Meantime  the  Conservatives  and  their  Liberal 
Campaign—  a\i[es  na(j  been  working  out  the  difficult  task  of  nom- 
vhices^nd°"  inations  —  in  Ontario  particularly,  where  the  large 
Quebec.  majority  of  seats  were  held  by  the  Conservative  party, 

and  in  the  West  where  liberals  were  a  dominating 
influence — soothing  old  animosities,  controlling  instinctive  rival- 
ries, meeting  personal  ambitions,  and  evading  party  prejudices. 
Many  Liberal  supporters  of  Conscription  in  Ontario  were  endorsed 
by  Sir  W.  Laurier  and  this  also  created  an  obvious  complication. 
The  press,  however,  was  almost  unanimously  Unionist  and,  as  the 
campaign  developed,  Liberals  constantly  announced  a  change  of 
allegiance,  spoke  or  presided  at  Unionist  meetings  and  illustrated 
the  changing  current  of  public  opinion.  In  Ontario  G.  D.  Conant 
ajkl  F.  L.  Fowke  of  Oshawa,  F.  H.  Chrysler,  K.C.,  Ottawa,  Hon. 
E.  H.  Bronson  and  A.  W.  Fleck,  Ottawa,  Stewart  Lyon  and 
J.  D.  Allan,  Toronto,  R.  J.  McLaughlin,  K.C.,  Oshawa,  W.  E. 
Raney,  K.C.,  Toronto,  E.  B.  Brown,  K.C.,  a  nephew  of  the  late 
George  Brown,  Principal  D.  Bruce  Macdonald,  J.  A.  Paterson,  K.C., 
and  Robert  J  affray,  Toronto;  W.  E.  Smallfield,  Renfrew,  and 
Robert  Meek,  Kingston,  were  interesting  instances.  A  further 
illustration  was  the  formal  appeal  issued  on  Dec.  15  by  64 


UNIONIST  CAMPAIGN:  EASTERN  PROVINCES  AND  QUEBEC   603 

Liberals,  urging  the  Electors  "as  you  value  the  honour  of  your 
country,  the  security  and  independence  of  the  Empire,  and  the  cause 
of  freedom,  to  use  your  influence,  as  we  are  doing,  and  cast  your 
ballots,  as  we  will  do,  in  behalf  of  the  Union  Government/*  This 
was  signed  by  such  men  as  A.  E.  Dyment,  President  of  the  Toronto 
Reform  Association,  and: 

James  Ryrie.  Lt.-Col.  P.  H.  Deacon.  J.  M.  Clark,  K.C. 

J.  E.  Atkinson.  ,--W.  D.  Matthews.  G.  T.  Somers 

D.  E.  Thomson,  K.C.             J.  P.  MacKay.  Thomas  Pindley. 
J.  H.  Gundy.                           W.  E.  Rundle.  J.  T.  Eby. 

C.  J.  Holman,  K.C.  A.  T.  Reid.  A.  P    Rutter 

Prof.  A.  C.  McKay.  D.  A.  Dunlap.  R.  A.  Reeve,  M.D. 

John  Firstbrook.  Jos.  T.  Clark.  Chester  D    Massey 

E.  R.  Wood.  Frank  Sanderson.  ^Hugh  Blain. 
Bert  H.  McCreath.  E.  T.  Malone.  '  S.  J.  Moore. 
Mark  Bredin.  S.  Casey  Wood.  John  A.  Tory. 
John  B.  Holden.  G.  A.  Morrow.  Joseph  Oliver. 

There  were  difficulties  as  to  candidates  in  North  Essex,  in 
Hamilton,  where  Col.  J.  I.  McLaren  (Lib.)  and  T.  J.  Stewart 
(Cons.)  and  C.  R.  McCullough  (Cons.)  were  candidates, 
and  in  West  Kent.  But  there  was  a  strong  official  desire 
to  avoid  such  difficulties  and  to  give  Liberal-Unionists  every 
possible  chance.  H.  M.  Mowat,  K.C.,  was  given  a  Toronto  nomina- 
tion; F.  F.  Pardee  was  supported  in  West  Lambton.  The  latter 
declared  at  Sarnia  on  Oct.  24  that:  "I  am  for  a  war-union  Govern- 
ment. I  have  been  since  the  War  was  declared.  ...  I  am 
a  Liberal  by  faith  and  conviction,  Liberal  to  the  core.  But  I  believe 
the  momentary  fate  of  political  parties  little  in  comparison  with  the 
supreme  obligations  of  the  struggle  which  Canada  shares.  I  support 
the  platform  of  the  Government."  Hon.  F.  B.  Carvell  delivered  a 
vigorous  speech  in  his  favour  on  this  occasion.  Durham  County 
Conservatives  met  on  Nov.  12  and  ratified  the  nomination  of  Hon. 
N.  W.  Rowell— Col.  R.  A.  Mulholland  retiring.  In  North  Oxford 
Sir  R.  Borden  asked  support  for  E.  W.  Nesbitt,  a  Liberal-Unionist, 
over  Col.  D.  M.  Sutherland  (Cons.).  Eventually  most  of  the  asperi- 
ties of  a  new  combination  were  removed  with  Welland  where  W.  M. 
German  and  Evan  Eraser  were  candidates,  Kent  with  A.  B.  McCoig 
and  J.  W.  Plewes  in  the  field,  North  Wellington  with  two  Conserva- 
tives and  a  Laurierite  as  the  candidates,  as  the  exceptions.  In 
none  of  these  three  was  there  a  ratified  Government  candidate. 
The  Toronto  Globe  had  put  it  on  Nov.  9  as  follows:  " There  should 
be  no  factious  opposition  from  Conservatives  to  the  group  of  Liberals 
who  voted  for  the  Military  Service  Act  in  the  House  of  Commons 
and  who  favour  Union  Government.  .  .  .  They  have  had  a 
harder  road  to  travel  than  their  Conservative  fellow-members.  In 
Parliament  they  were  under  the  painful  necessity  of  breaking  the 
ties  with  their  leader  and  with  the  majority  of  their  colleagues.  In 
their  constituencies  they  must  face  the  hostility  of  many  of  their 
former  supporters."  This,  in  the  end,  was  generously  and  fully 
recognized. 

The  400  Liberal-Conscriptionists  from  all  parts  of  Ontario  who 
met  at  Hamilton  on  Nov.  2nd  had  no  doubt  of  their  position. 
G.  G.  S.  Lindsey,  K.C.,  presided;  H.  M.  Mowat,  K.C.,  past-President 
of  the  Ontario  Reform  Association,  was  an  active  ffigure;  addresses 
were  delivered  by  General  Mewburn,  Hon  F.  B.  Carvell,  Hon  N.  W. 


604  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Rowell,  Lloyd  Harris.  Other  prominent  Liberals  present  besides 
the  most  of  those  signing  the  call*  were:  D.  R.  Ross,  Embro;  T.  R. 
Mayberry,  Ingersoll;  J.  O.  McCarthy  and  F.  G.  Inwood,  Toronto; 
D.  Williams  and  E.  C.  Drury,  Simcoe;  J.  H.  Crow,  Welland,  Sam. 
Carter,  M.L.A.,  Guelph;  Kirwan  Martin,  Hamilton.  Resolutions 
were  passed  (1)  in  favour  of  enforcement  of  the  Military  Service 
Act,  conscription  of  the  wealth  and  productive  forces  of  Canada, 
and  organization  of  all  its  natural  resources  to  help  the  forces  in 
the  field;  (2)  pledging  support  to  Union  Government  candidates 
who  were  the  nominees  of  a  joint  or  fusion  Convention;  (3)  endors- 
ing the  Liberal  leaders  who  had  joined  the  new  Government. 
General  Mewburn,  in  his  speech,  declared  that  "we  are  in  this  war, 
or  should  be,  not  with  one,  two  or  three  hundred  thousand,  but  to 
the  very  limit  of  our  resources,"  and  added,  "I  did  not  want  to  get 
into  public  life,  and  I  will  not  get  into  politics."  Mr.  Rowell  stated 
that  if  the  Government  met  disaster  in  the  Elections  "it  will  not 
be  because  of  the  strength  of  the  Opposition,  but  because  of  the 
prejudice  of  friends  who  will  not  get  together."  Mr.  Carvell  an- 
nounced that  "if  this  Government  is  returned  to  power  I  promise 
you  that  so  far  as  I  ana  concerned  the  rich  man  will  pay  much  more 
than  he  has  done  in  the  past."  As  to  the  Tariff:  "When  the  War 
is  over  I  will  have  something  to  say  about  it  and  I  shall  say  it 
emphatically." 

There  could  be  no  question  as  to  the  influence  of  Mr.  Rowell  in 
the  Ontario  campaign.  A  son  of  the  Province,  a  man  of  eloquence 
and  force  along  moral  and  patriotic  lines,  an  earnest  supporter  of 
recruiting  since  the  beginning  of  the  War,  he  had  won  his  way  in 
public  opinion  before  joining  the  Union  Government.  Then,  he 
appealed  with  special  influence.  His  share  in  the  Premier's  tour 
has  been  referred  to;  besides  that  he  delivered  a  series  of  educative 
addresses  which  did  much  to  swing  Liberal  feeling  toward  the 
Government.  He  spoke  at  Bowman ville  on  Nov.  20;  with  Sir 
George  Foster  and  Gen.  Mewburn  he  was  at  Hamilton  on  the  22nd 
and  declared  that  "if  we  had  been  no  part  of  the  British  Empire 
at  all,  but  an  independent  democratic  power  on  the  north  half  of 
this  continent,  we  would  have  been  compelled  to  enter  this  struggle 
just  as  the  United  States  has  done."  After  a  number  of  Borden 
meetings  he  was  at  Port  Dover  on  Dec.  3  and  at  Midland  on  the  4th. 
A  New  Liskeard  meeting  on  the  7th  marked  the  close  of  a  tour  in 
Northern  Ontario  with  Sir  Wm.  Hearst,  in  which  they  had,  together, 
addressed  four  meetings.  At  Toronto  on  the  8th  he  touched  a  very 
practical  point:  "Suppose  Canada  says  to  the  United  States,  *  We're 
going  to  leave  it  to  you  to  carry  the  burden.'  'All  right,  then,'  says 
the  United  States,  'if  we've  got  to  carry  the  burden  and  there  is  a 
shortage  of  available  materials,  we'll  keep  them  at  home  so  that  we 
can  carry  the  burden.'  If  the  United  States  took  that  attitude  it 
would  paralyze  industrial  operations  in  Canada.  Men  who  talk  of 
shifting  burdens  to  the  United  States  know  not  whereof  they  speak." 
On  the  10th  Mr.  Rowell  was  at  Brampton  and  dealt  with  the  argument 
as  to  reserves  in  England.  He  pointed  out  that  the  fighting  strength 

*  See  page  582  of  this  volume. 


UNIONIST  CAMPAIGN:  EASTERN  PROVINCES  AND  QUEBEC    605 

of  the  Army  turned  on  Infantry  and  stated  that  the  available  re- 
sources in  England  and  France,  back  of  the  front  lines,  was  only 
31,000  and  probably  would  be  exhausted  by  April,  1918.  A  trip 
through  Durham  County  followed  with  a  number  of  speeches  and 
the  support  of  Hon.  W.  D.  McPherson  of  the  Ontario  Government; 
he  was  at  Whitby  and  Gait  on  the  12th  and  at  Clinton  on  the  13th 
— speaking  also  at  Mitchell  and  Seaf orth — with  unity  of  the  national 
forces  as  his  motto  and  with,  also,  stern  deprecation  of  the  attitude 
of  Quebec.  At  Lakefield  and  Peterborough  on  the  14th  he  delivered 
several  passionate  appeals  for  war  effort  and  united  action.  On  the 
15th  he  closed  his  campaign  at  Newton ville,  Newcastle  and  Bowman- 
ville,  and  ended  a  three-weeks'  tour  of  continuous  speech-making. 

With  Mr.  Rowell  in  part,  and  at  many  points  alone,  Sir  Win. 
Hearst,  Premier  of  Ontario,  aided  the  campaign  with  earnestness 
and  force.  He  spoke  at  Aurora  on  Dec.  4,  Sault  Ste.  Marie  on  the 
5th,  North  Bay  on  the  6th,  Haileybury  and  New  Liskeard  on  the 
7th,  Georgetown  on  the  12th,  Petrolea  on  the  13th,  Orillia  on  the 
14th.  The  Petrolea  meeting  was  notable  for  a  declaration  that: 
"As  Prime  Minister  of  Ontario  and  as  representative  of  its  people, 
I  will  see  that  Sir  Robert  Borden  and  Mr.  Rowell  keep  their  promises 
to  Ontario  and  that  the  people  of  Quebec  are  compelled  to  do  their 
share  before  further  sacrifices  are  demanded  from  Ontario."  Every- 
where his  speeches  rang  with  the  appeal  to  stand  by  the  flag  and  the 
Empire.  Incidents  of  the  Ontario  campaign  included  a  Manifesto 
of  27  Ottawa  Liberals  issued  on  Dec.  10,  appealing  for  support  to 
Union  Government;  a  statement  (Dec.  15)  by  G.  A.  Warburton  as 
the  Liberal  chairman  of  the  Citizens'  Union  Committee,  Toronto, 
that  "it  is  far  safer  to  trust  the  country  to  Union  Government  than 
it  would  be  to  trust  it  to  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  whose  chief  strength 
is  in  a  solid  body  of  French-Canadians";  a  Message  from  John  R. 
Rathom  of  the  Providence  (R.I.)  Journal  declaring  that  "it  is  incon- 
ceivable that  Canada,  which  during  the  past  three  years  has  given  to 
the  world  such  splendid  proof  of  her  loyalty  to  all  the  highest  ideals 
of  civilization,  should,  at  this  moment,  recede  from  those  ideals  by 
declaring  herself  on  the  side  of  the  slacker,  the  coward,  the  material- 
ist, and  of  those  to  whom  loyalty  and  honour  are  but  sounds  signi- 
fying nothing";  the  point  raised  by  Hon.  J.  D.  Reid  in  a  speech 
(Nov.  5)  that  Sir  W.  Laurier  was  Premier  when  the  Militia  Act, 
involving  military  compulsion  without  selection,  became  law;  a 
forcible  appeal  at  London  on  Nov.  29  by  Sir  Adam  Beck,  based  on 
what  he  had  seen  at  the  Front — "miles  of  graves,  fields  of  crosses, 
your  own  Canadian  flesh  and  blood  lying  there  under  the  sod  of 
France  and  Flanders";  the  extremist  declaration  of  the  Toronto 
News  on  Dec.  5  that  the  Liberal  leader,  as  he  appeared  before  the 
country,  was  "nothing  more  than  a  play-actor,  a  demagogue,  a 
charlatan,  and  a  mountebank";  the  addresses  of  Hon.  T.  W.  Mc- 
Garry  and  Hon.  I.  B.  Lucas  of  the  Ontario  Government  at  various 
points. 

In  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia  the  Government  campaign 
encountered  difficulty  in  the  personal  rivalries  and  political  feelings 
of  these  long-settled  communities.  Eventually  Win-the-War  senti- 


606  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

ment  and  Conventions  evoked  unity.  In  New  Brunswick  the  nomi- 
nation of  Maj.-Gen.  H.H.  McLean  (Lib.)  for  the  County  of  Kings, 
with  strong  support  from  Dr.  D.  H.  McAllister,  late  Liberal  M.P., 
illustrated  one  side  of  the  shield.  In  St.  John  the  Conservatives 
refused  to  support  Hon.  Wm.  Pugsley,  the  late  member,  because  of 
his  past  hostility  to  Conscription  and  Union  and  despite  his  an- 
nounced leaning  toward  Union  Government  as  expressed  in  a  long 
statement,  published  on  Oct.  22,  declaring  that  he  had  urged  Mr. 
Carvell  to  join  the  Coalition  and  that  "Liberals  who  support  Mr. 
Carvell  as  a  Minister  in  the  Union  Government  will  not  thereby 
cease  to  be  Liberals,  any  more  than  Mr.  Carvell  will  cease  to  be  a 
Liberal  and  a  valiant  and  fearless  champion  of  Liberal  principles." 
The  situation  was  relieved  by  his  appointment  as  Lieut. -Governor 
and  the  Unionist  nomination  of  R.  W.  Wigmore  (Cons)  and  S.  E. 
Elkin  (Lib.)  for  the  two  seats.  In  Westmoreland  two  Unionist 
Conservatives  insisted,  however,  on  running  and  made  the  election 
of  A.  B.  Copp  (Lib.)  probable,  while  the  chances  of  F.  J.  Robidoux, 
ex-M.p.  and  an  Acadian  supporter  of  Conscription,  were  very  doubtful. 
The  Hon.  F.  B.  Carvell  was  the  chief  factor  in  the  New  Brunswick 
campaign,  ably  supported  by  Hon.  J.  A.  Murray  and  Hon.  J.  B.  M. 
Baxter,  members  of  the  late  Conservative  Government  of  the 
Province  and  by  dissentient  Liberals  such  as  A.  O.  Skinner,  T.  H. 
Bullock,  T.  H.  Estabrooks,  R.  T.  Hayes,  George  McAvity,  J.  Eraser 
Gregory  and  Michael  McDade.  An  address  by  Mr.  Carvell  to  his 
constituency  of  Victoria-Albert  was  widely  circulated  with  the 
following  as  the  chief  clauses: 

The  real  question  before  the  electors  of  Canada  to-day  is  whether  or  not  this 
Dominion  will  do  its  full  duty,  not  only  to  itself,  the  Empire  at  large,  and  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  world,  but  to  the  soldiers  who  have  already  gone  forward,  many  of  whom 
have  made  the  supreme  sacrifice.  When  the  Military  Service  Act  was  introduced  in 
Parliament  by  the  present  Premier  in  the  month  of  May  last,  a  sharp  cleavage  arose, 
not  only  in  Parliament,  but  throughout  Canada  at  large,  and,  in  voting  upon  this  all- 
important  measure,  unfortunately,  25  of  my  colleagues  and  myself  found  ourselves 
at  variance  with  our  Leader  as  to  the  advisability  of  supporting  Selective  Conscrip- 
tion. .  .  .  For  four  long  months  my  colleagues  and  myself  attempted  to  find  some 
common  ground  with  our  Leader  on  this  great  issue,  on  which  we  could  appeal  to  the 
country,  but  unfortunately  we  failed;  and,  believing  as  I  do,  that  the  first  duty  of 
every  citizen  is  to  do  his  utmost,  and  see  that  his  country  does  its  utmost,  to  the 
successful  prosecution  of  this  war,  after  many  long  and  weary  negotiations  I  decided 
to  accept  the  position  in  the  Union  Government,  which  I  now  occupy.  This  Govern- 
ment has  been  formed  by  a  union  of  both  Conservatives  and  Liberals  for  the  express 
purpose  of  carrying  on  the  affairs  of  the  country,  if  elected,  until  the  close  of  the  War 
and  a  reasonable  time  thereafter  in  which  to  demobilize  the  army  and  place  the  coun- 
try again  upon  a  peace  footing.  When  that  has  been  accomplished  our  agreement 
ceases,  and  every  member  of  the  Government,  whether  Liberal  or  Conservative,  is 
at  perfect  liberty  to  pursue  any  course  which  in  his  conscience  he  may  deem  right  and 
proper.  We  have  allowed  all  matters  of  local  and  political  interest  to  Canada  to 
remain  in  abeyance  until  peace  has  been  declared,  and  to  devote  our  whole  attention 
to  the  energetic  prosecution  of  the  War. 

A  series  of  speeches  followed  at  Woodstock,  Bath,  Andover,  Plaster 
Rock,  Centreville  and  other  points  in  his  constituency,  as  well  as 
St.  Stephen,  St.  George,  Fredericton  and  other  centres  in  the  Prov- 
vince.  His  last  word  was  a  brief  appeal  to  the  Electors  published  on 
Dec.  17:  "Do  your  duty.  The  vote  you  will  cast  to-day  is  the  most 


UNIONIST  CAMPAIGN:  EASTERN  PROVINCES  AND  QUEBEC  607 

important  of  your  life-time.  You  are  deciding  whether  or  not  Canada 
shall  stand  by  the  men  at  the  Front  and  the  Empire.  Vote  for  the 
Union  candidates."  In  Nova  Scotia  Halifax  was  the  chief  difficulty. 
Sir  Robert  Borden,  after  21  years  as  its  representative,  retired  to 
run  in  Kings  so  that  Hon.  A.  K.  Maclean  could  be  one  of  the  Govern- 
ment candidates.  Party  feeling  ran  high,  however,  and  the  Laurier 
Liberals  nominated  two  straight  party  men  and  declined  all  negoti- 
ations. Eventually  Mayor  P.  F.  Martin  was  nominated  with  Mr. 
Maclean.  A  gathering  of  100  leading  Provincial  Conservatives  met 
in  Halifax  on  Nov.  2,  proclaimed  its  strong  adhesion  to  Union  Govern- 
ment and  decided  to  join  the  Unionist  Liberals  in  a  Provincial 
Association.  This  was  arranged,  later  on,  with  Sir  Frederick  Fraser 
as  President  and  a  Committee  composed  of  prominent  Conservatives 
and  Liberals.  On  Dec.  12  an  Appeal  was  issued,  including  the  follow- 
ing statements:  "Which  do  the  fighting  sons  of  Nova  Scotia  in 
Flanders  trenches  want — Re-inforcements  or  Referendum?  They 
are  calling  to  us  for  bread.  Shall  we  give  them  a  stone?  And  a 
clarion  message  of  warning  and  appeal  goes  out  to  every  Nova 
Scotian  from  the  ravaged  community  of  Halifax.  The  call  is  to 
every  man  and  woman  to  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  great 
crisis  that  confronts  us.  In  Union  is  Strength.  In  Union  is  Secur- 
ity. In  Union  is  Victory."  Meantime,  Hon.  G.  H.  Murray,  for  30 
years  Liberal  Premier  of  the  Province,  came  out  in  support  of  the 
Union  Government  and  of  his  former  colleague,  A.  K.  Maclean; 
his  published  statement  of  Oct.  24,  declared  that  he  had  "unhesita- 
tingly offered  the  co-operation  of  the  Provincial  Government  of 
Nova  Scotia  to  any  representative  National  Government  organized." 
The  Hon.  W.  S.  Fielding,  so  long  Liberal  Finance  Minister  at 
Ottawa,  on  the  same  day  expressed  his  adhesion  in  these  terms:  "I 
see  no  reason  why  the  Liberals  of  the  Maritime  Provinces  should 
not  be  willing  to  support  the  new  Government  in  measures  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  War  while  reserving  their  freedom  of  action" 
— on  other  issues.  He  also  approved  Mr.  Maclean's  action.  His 
endorsation  was  considered  satisfactory  by  the  Premier  and  as  he 
had,  meanwhile,  received  the  Liberal  nomination  in  Queens-Shelburne 
Sir  Robert  wrote  personally  to  the  local  Conservative  leaders,  asking 
them  not  to  oppose  Mr.  Fielding.  The  Halifax  Chronicle  also  came 
out  in  support  of  the  Government.  A  great  meeting  on  the  4th 
was  addressed  by  Mr.  Carvell,  with  Hon.  G.  E.  Faulkner  (Lib.)  in 
the  chair.  As  to  P.  E.  Island,  Hon.  A.  E.  Arsenault,  the  Premier, 
stated  that:  "There  is  a  strong  element  and  silent  vote  in  the  Lib- 
eral party  which  is  for  the  Union  candidates.  .  .  .  There  is  a  very 
large  representation  of  Island  boys  at  the  Front  and  their  relatives 
will  not  see  them  abandoned,  and  the  same  sentiment  is  expressed 
by  everybody." 

The  Quebec  situation  was  a  vital  centre  of  this  contest.  It  was 
not  important  so  far  as  the  number  of  seats  which  the  Government 
might  hope  to  hold  or  carry  was  concerned;  they  had  few  illusions 
as  to  success  beyond  hoping  for  the  return  of  Hon.  C.  J.  Doherty, 
Sir  H.  B.  Ames,  Mr.  Ballantyne,  Mr.  Sevigny  and  Colonel  Blondin, 
and  the  barely  possible  election  of  a  few  others  who  could  be  affected 


608  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

by  the  turn-over  of  English-speaking  Liberals  in  the  Eastern  Town- 
ships. There  were  many  of  these,  also,  in  Westmount  and  Montreal 
led  by  such  Liberals  as  W.  D.  Lighthall,  K.C.,  J.  S.  Brierley  and 
Wm.  Rutherford.  But  the  expressed  views  of  Quebec  candidates, 
the  policy  of  Quebec  Nationalism,  the  support  given  by  Mr.  Bourassa 
to  Sir  W.  Laurier,  the  anti-Conscription  and  Government  riots, 
strongly  influenced  the  rest  of  Canada  and  undoubtedly  did  much 
to  affect  the  final  result.  The  viewpoint  of  local  Conservatives  was 
expressed  by  Hon.  Albert  SeVigny  at  Quebec  on  Oct.  21  when  he 
stated  in  an  interview  that:  "Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  committed  a 
crime  in  refusing  to  unite  the  two  great  races  that  live  in  Canada. 
By  his  attitude  and  that  of  his  supporters,  the  French-Canadians, 
who  are  a  brave  people,  have  been  made  to  appear  a  race  of  cowards. 
If  Laurier  had  accepted  Union  there  would  have  been  prompt  settle- 
ment of  the  Ontario  and  Manitoba  School  difficulties."  In  the 
Montreal  district  J.  H.  Rainville,  candidate  in  Chambly-Vercheres, 
managed  the  Conservative  campaign  and  a  Union  Government 
organization  of  Liberals  and  Conservatives  was  formed  on  Oct.  29, 
with  English  and  French  Sections  and  a  speech  from  Mr.  Doherty 
declaring  that  "when  the  Homeland  is  attacked,  the  whole  Empire 
is  attacked,  and  within  that  Empire  Canada  is  attacked,"  and  one 
from  Mr.  Sevigny.  The  latter  declared  that:  "For  five  months 
unscrupulous  men,  most  of  them  irresponsible  men,  have  thought 
it  their  duty  to  protest  against  the  Military  Service  Act  by  attacking 
the  Government,  public  men  and  the  other  Provinces  of  Canada. 
The  most  scandalous  insults  were  bandied  about  by  these  men  who 
have  placed  on  my  race,  a  race  of  which  I  am  proud,  a  disgrace  that, 
unfortunately,  will  not  be  removed  for  many  years  to  come." 

L.  J.  Tarte  and  his  journal  La  Patrie  supported  the  Government 
to  some  extent,  as  did  L'Evenement,  managed  by  Mme.  Chasse*  who 
had  two  sons  at  the  Front;  but  these  were  the  exceptions  to  an 
almost  unanimous  rule  in  the  Quebec  press.  Mr.  SeVigny  was 
nominated  in  two  ridings  and  in  his  campaign  of  speeches  had  a 
hard  time.  At  St.  Anselme  in  Dorchester  on  Nov.  11  he  was  unable 
to  speak  a  word  to  a  crowd  of  10,000  and  his  effort  was  interspersed 
with  revolver  shots,  stones,  smashed  windows  and  other  unpleasant- 
ness. Even  in  Westmount,  where  French  and  English  were  mixed, 
cheers  for  Laurier  on  Nov.  15  prevented  most  of  the  Minister's 
speech  being  heard,  while  broken  windows  and  the  burning  of  his 
effigy  by  Laval  students  further  marked  public  opinion.  On  the 
19th  Mr.  Doherty,  in  one  part  of  Montreal,  and  Mr.  Rainville,  in 
another,  were  howled  down  by  mobs;  so  in  lesser  degree  with  Mr. 
Ballantyne  on  the  20th.  During  this  period  the  press  attacks  and 
those  of  public  speakers  upon  Messrs.  Blondin  (who  was  at  the 
Front),  SeVigny  and  Rainville,  were  amongst  the  bitterest  ever 
known  in  even  Quebec's  stormy  politics.  "Judas"  and  "the  trium- 
virate of  traitors"  were  common  expressions.  The  Government 
candidates  could  not  be  heard  at  meetings  and  they  had  practically 
no  press  through  which  to  reach  the  people;  Messrs.  Ballantyne, 
Doherty  and  Ames,  as  the  campaign  progressed,  met  with  similar 
difficulty,  so  far  as  the  French  voters  were  concerned.  In  Griffintown 


UNIONIST  CAMPAIGN:  EASTERN  PROVINCES  AND  QUEBEC   609 

(Montreal)  on  Nov.  19  Mr.  Doherty's  meeting  was  broken  up; 
in  St.  Antoine  Division  (Nov.  20)  Sir  Herbert  Ames  was  shouted 
down;  other  meetings  had  the  same  result  and  the  three  candidates 
had  to  be  escorted  to  and  from  the  halls  by  Police  who,  however, 
made  no  effort  to  keep  order  and  obviously  sympathized  with  the 
mobs.  Other  Unionist  meetings  had  be  to  cancelled  as  there  was 
little  or  no  protection  for  the  speakers.  Wounded  soldiers  were 
hissed  or  hooted  and  asked  if  they  were  drunk  when  they  enlisted. 
Outside  of  Montreal  Unionists  were  frequently  terrorized  into 
silence;  Joseph  Bernard  of  L' Evenement,  a  candidate  in  Quebec 
county,  was  mobbed  on  Nov.  25  and  threatened  with  lynching; 
Mr.  SeVigny  was  unable  to  return  to  Dorchester  and  his  life  was 
threatened  by  letter  if  he  did  so;  in  Laurier-Outrement  Colonel 
Blondin's  campaign  was  carried  on  for  him  without  meetings  except 
a  few  addressed  by  his  wife;  at  Sherbrooke  on  Nov.  29  a  meeting 
which  Messrs.  Doherty  and  Ballantyne  tried  to  address  was  turned 
into  a  three-hour  riot  by  a  murderous-acting  mob  which  wrecked  the 
front  of  the  theatre  and  afterwards  flung  missiles  through  the  windows 
when  the  speakers  tried  to  "carry  on" — the  Mayor  being  absent 
from  the  scene  while  the  special  constables  sworn  in  were  not  visible. 
James  Morris,  who  had  supported  Conscription  in  Parliament,  had 
no  chance  in  Huntingdon  County  and  a  meeting  at  Franklin  (Nov. 
30)  was  dissolved  with  revolver  shots,  rotten  eggs  and  stones.  Other 
broken-up  meetings  were  those  of  P.  J.  Dore  at  Lacolle,  Aime*  Chasse 
at  St.  Elphege,  C.  H.  Cahan,  K.C.,  upon  several  occasions  in  Maison- 
neuve — where  he  was  opposing  Hon.  R.  Lemieux.*  Within  a  couple 
of  weeks  of  Election  day  the  storm  was  somewhat  allayed  and  some 
meetings  were  held  without  violence.  On  the  12th,  however,  a 
Verdun  meeting  of  Messrs.  Doherty  and  Ballantyne  had  to  be 
given  up.  Sir  Robert  Borden's  Montreal  address,  announced  for 
this  date,  also,  was  cancelled. 

The  reflex  action  of  these  incidents  was  early  visible  in  other 
parts  of  the  country.  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  was  already  a  target  for 
much  attack,  the  recruiting  situation  in  Quebec  an  excuse  for  a 
fanaticism  which  is  not  confined  to  any  one  race  or  religion  or  country, 
the  despatches  appearing  in  Unionist  papers  from  Montreal  added 
fuel  to  any  flame  which  existed  and  the  following  extract  from  one 
in  the  St.  John  Standard  (Cons.)  of  Nov.  22  was  a  sample  of  many. 
After  reviewing  these  riots  the  correspondent  proceeded:  "Nor  are 
the  French  Canadians  much  more  sympathetic  toward  the  Victory 
Loan  than  they  are  to  the  Military  Service  Act.  Deduct  the 
amounts  contributed  by  the  English  and  it  is  a  case  of  neither  pay 
nor  fight  by  the  others.  Wholesale  exemptions  for  military  service 
are  the  rule.  Of  15,000  applications  for  exemption  in  this  city  all 
have  been  granted  but  about  600."  The  statement  was  unfair  or 
inaccurate  as  a  whole  but  it  served  its  purpose.  Bourassa  and  Le 
Devoir  were  widely  quoted  as  representing  French-Canadian  feeling 
and  views  while  pages  of  campaign  literature  appeared  in  the  news- 
papers loaded  with  his  anti-British  opinions.  Resentment  was  un- 

*NOTE. — Mr.  Cahanihad  previously  retired  from  the  St.  Lawrence  Division  in  favour 
of  Col.  Ballantyne,  the  ne\v  Minister  of  Marine, 
39 


610  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

avoidable  and  in  a  political  campaign  exaggeration  was  inevitable; 
yet  the  advantage  taken  of  the  deplorable  situation  in  Quebec  was 
politically  natural.  Advertisements  teemed  in  the  Unionist  press 
dealing  with  Quebec  and  one  from  the  Citizens'  Union  Committee, 
of  which  J.  W.  Lyon,  Guelph,  G.  A.  Warburton,  and  Dr.  A.  H.  Ab- 
bott, Toronto,  were  the  chief  officers,  said:  "We  believe  that  a  united 
Quebec  will  dominate  a  divided  Canada  unless  all  loyal  men  and  women 
forget  party  differences  and  local  prejudices  and  unite  to  support 
British  ideals  and  traditions;  that  the  future  of  our  soldiers,  their 
wives  and  dependants,  cannot  be  safely  trusted  to  the  Province  of 
Quebec,  which  has  conspicuously  failed  in  all  patriotic  work — 
enlistments,  Patriotic  and  Red  Cross  Funds  and  Victory  Loan." 
Other  separate  advertisements  of  this  Committee  stated  that  "a 
solid  Quebec  will  vote  to  rule  all  Canada  and  only  a  solid  Ontario 
can  defeat  them";  that  "Quebec  must  not  rule  all  Canada";  that 
"a  Laurier  victory  will  be  the  first  Canadian  defeat";  that  Canada 
having  subscribed  $410,000,000  to  the  Victory  Loan— "of  which 
Quebec  outside  of  Montreal  only  subscribed  $17,000,000 — shall  we 
hand  the  whole  sum  over  to  Quebec  to  spend?"  An  elaborate  page 
advertisement  in  the  Monetary  Times  of  Dec.  14  and  many  other 
journals  expressed  these  views: 

To-day,  in  our  national  crisis,  Quebec  alone,  among  all  the  Provinces,  stands 
more  united  than  ever  before.  She  knows  what  she  wants: — 

(1)  Withdrawal  from  the  War.         (3)  Weakening  of  the  ties  of  British  connection. 

(2)  Bi-lingual  schools  everywhere.    (4)  Political  control  of  Canada. 

From  the  Ottawa  River  to  Labrador  and  the  Gulf  a  common  purpose  actuates 
Quebec  in  her  determination  to  profit  by  the  factional  divisions  of  Canada  and  to 
impose  her  will  upon  all  the  people  of  Canada.  Within  the  last  few  weeks  Quebec 
has  mobilized  all  her  forces  to  dominate  Canada  under  the  unified  leadership  of  Bour- 
assa  and  Laurier.  .  .  .  With  60  solid  seats  Quebec  is  about  to  accomplish  her 
designs.  Bourassa,  the  real  master  and  idol  of  Quebec,  is  in  sight  of  his  goal.  To 
attain  her  purpose,  Quebec  has  not  scrupled  to  ignore  British  traditions  and  to  sup- 
press freedom  of  speech.  So  thoroughly  organized  is  her  campaign  to  prevent  even 
the  discussion  of  the  War  that  Unionist  candidates  are  prevented  from  holding 
public  meetings  throughout  that  Province.  The  Unionist  minority  in  Quebec  are  the 
victims  of  organized  obstruction.  To  be  successful  in  her  determination  to  rule  all 
Canada,  Quebec  has  but  to  secure  a  few  seats  in  each  of  the  other  Provinces.  United 
in  her  determination  to  quit  the  War,  Quebec  would  compel  a  divided  Canada  to  do 
likewise.  By  union  only  can  the  English-speaking  people  prevent  this  calamity. 

The  Unionist  Party  Publicity  Committee,  of  which  Sir  John  Willi- 
son  was  Chairman,  did  strong  service  for  its  cause  in  advertisements 
spread  throughout  the  press  of  Canada.  Much  was  said  about 
Bourassa  and  the  French-Canadians.  A  reference  to  the  Victory 
Loan  was  followed  by  this  statement:  "Is  it  to  be  handed  over  to 
Laurier  and  Bourassa  and  their  adherents,  who  propose  deferring 
Canada's  further  participation  in  the  War?"  Another  advertise- 
ment declared  that:  "Laurier,  Bourassa  and  Quebec  think  we  have 
done  enough,  and  are  in  favour  of  deserting  our  men,  breaking  our 
pledge,  ruining  the  country's  credit  with  our  Allies,  and  trailing 
Canada's  honour  in  the  mud  of  world  opinion.  Quebec  having 
failed  to  do  her  duty,  is  now  trying  to  bend  the  rest  of  Canada  to  her 
will."  A  campaign  leaflet  issued  by  this  Committee  declared  that 
"the  French-Canadians  who  have  shirked  their  duty  in  this  war 


UNIONIST  CAMPAIGN:  EASTERN  PROVINCES  AND  QUEBEC    611 

will  be  the  dominating  force  in  the  Government  of  the  country. 
Are  the  English-speaking  people  prepared  to  stand  for  that?"  An 
advertisement  on  the  eve  of  Election  declared  that  "your  vote  on 
Monday  will  return  Union  Government — or  leave  Canada  to  the 
will  of  Laurier,  Bourassa  and  Quebec."  From  Vancouver  to  Halifax 
these  advertisements  ran  and  they  certainly  influenced  public 
opinion,  as  did  the  broadcast  publication  of  an  anti-Conscription 
pledge  signed  by  some  of  the  Liberal  candidates  in  Quebec.  Speeches 
everywhere  rang  with  denunciation  of  Quebec  Nationalism,  of  war 
inaction,  of  Bourassa  and  of  an  alleged  alliance  between  him  and 
Sir  W.  Laurier.  Edmund  Bristol,  K.C.,  (Cons.)  in  Toronto  (Dec.  10) 
described  Quebec  as  "the  spoiled  child  of  Confederation"  and  T.  C. 
Robinette  (Lib.)  declared  at  the  same  meeting  that  Quebec  could 
not  rule  eight  other  Provinces;  H.  C.  Hocken,  an  Orange  leader  and 
Conservative  candidate,  was  vehement  in  his  denunciation  of  the 
French-Canadians,  and  G.  W.  Allan,  K.c.  (Lib.)  in  Winnipeg  (Dec.  5) 
described  Quebec  as,  politically,  "the  plague-spot  of  the  whole  Do- 
minion"; Hon.  T.  C.  Norris  at  Morden  declared  on  Dec.  4  that  if 
Sir  Wilfrid  won  the  election  Bourassa  would  rule  Canada;  Sir 
Hibbert  Tupper  (Cons.)  at  Vancouver,  on  Oct.  20,  stated  that: 
"It  seems  inconceivable,  under  present  needs,  that  Canada,  as  a 
whole,  will  submit  to  Quebec  rule,  and  if  Laurier  wins  now  it  means 
Quebec  rule  with  a  vengeance.  I  never  doubted  that  our  patriots 
in  Quebec  are  at  heart  sound  but  the  vast  majority  are  nevertheless 
being  led  to  a  desperate  position."  Some  other  references  follow: 

Isaac  Campbell,  K.C.,  (Lib.)  Winnipeg,  Dec.  5: 

Suppose  Sir  Wilfrid  wins  and  comes  into  office — I  don't  think  he  will  come  into 
power.  He  may  hold  office,  but  not  power.  The  backbone  of  the  Quebec  Nation- 
alist party  won't  allow  him  a  free  hand  on  the  question  of  winning  the  War.  He 
won't  hold  office  a  day  if  he  counters  their  wishes. 

Hon.  N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.,  (Lib.)  North  Bay,  Dec.  6: 

We  might  as  well  frankly  face  the  issue.  There  is  a  Nationalist,  clerical  and 
reactionary  movement  at  work  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  which  to-day  dominates 
the  political  situation  in  that  Province,  and  is  using  this  hour  of  grave  national  peril 
to  dominate  the  political  situation  throughout  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  ...  If 
Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  had  been  20  years  younger  I  believe  he  would  have  fought  this 
sinister  influence  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  just  as  he  did  in  1896,  and  would  have 
triumphed  over  it.  I  was  opposed  to  the  Nationalist  propaganda  in  1911,  when 
Canada  was  at  peace.  I  am  doubly  opposed  to  it  to-day,  when  Canada  is  at  War. 
.  .  .  Those  of  us  who  had  knowledge  of  the  situation  found  ourselves  compelled 
to  choose  between  supporting  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  a  policy  shaped  to  secure  Na- 
tionalist support  and  which  we  believed  would  take  Canada  out  of  the  War,  or  to 
decline  to  follow  him  farther. 

Archdeacon  H.  J.  Cody  (Cons.),  Kitchener,  Dec.  10: 

We  have  to  set  aside  the  picturesque  figure  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  to  see  the 
powers  that  are  behind  him.  Henri  Bourassa  is  the  real  leader  of  Quebec,  and  I  ask 
if  that  Province,  led  by  him,  shall  have  the  domination  of  the  rest  of  this  free  Dominion 
which  has  sacrificed  and  suffered;  is  it  for  him  to  say  to  the  rest  of  Canada  that  'We 
have  done  enough?' 

Sir  Wm.  Hearst  (Cons.),  Georgetown,  Dec.  12: 

The  issue  to-day  is:  Shall  Canada  have  a  Union  Government  of  all  Provinces 
and  parties  outside  of  Quebec,  or  shall  a  solid  Quebec  control  the  destiny  of  a  divided 
Canada?  Ontario  must  stand  by  the  Union  of  the  Eight  Provinces,  and  must  do  so 
in  a  manner  so  emphatic  and  conclusive  that  Quebec  domination  will  never  again 
be  attempted. 


612  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Daily  News  (Cons.),  Toronto,  Dec.  1: 

Is  Quebec  to  rule  Canada?  Is  the  one  French-Canadian  Province  to  lord  it 
over  the  eight  English-speaking  Provinces?  Are  the  people  of  Quebec,  in  alliance 
with  the  anti-British  and  pro-German  elements  of  the  population  in  the  other  Prov- 
inces, to  take  the  Dominion  out  of  the  War?  Are  the  French-Canadians,  who  have 
refused  to  fight  for  Canada's  liberties,  to  prevent  the  re-inforcement  of  the  gallant 
troops  which  for  over  three  years  have  upheld  the  national  honour  in  countless  bloody 
encounters? 

The  Globe  (Lib.),  Toronto,  Dec.  4: 

How  can  he  (Sir  W.  Laurier)  aid  in  winning  the  War  if  he  should  attain  power 
and  be  compelled  to  retain  it  by  the  support  of  a  solid  delegation  of  Quebec  members, 
many  of  whom  are  out-spokenly  hostile  to  any  further  contribution  of  .Canada's 
man-power  to  the  Allied  cause?  English-speaking  Liberals  cannot  afford  to  vote 
and  work  for  a  party  in  which  they  can  be  no  more  than  a  tail  to  the  Quebec  Nation- 
alist kite. 

Manitoba,  from  the  first,  was  inclined  toward 
Unionism'  its  Government  led  the  people  in  this 
Thwestern  respect  and  aided  in  preventing  the  Western  Con- 
Provinces,  vention  from  becoming  more  than  a  compromise  of 
diverging  views.  None  of  the  Provincial  Ministers 
opposed  Union  and  Hon.  Valentine  Winkler  was  neutral ; 
Messrs.  R.  S.  Thornton,  Edward  Brown,  T.  H.  Johnson,  J. 
W.  Armstrong  and  the  Premier,  did  pronounced  service  in  the 
Elections.  The  inclusion  of  Mr.  Crerar  in  the  Cabinet,  as  repre- 
senting the  great  grain-growing  interests  of  the  West,  prevented  the 
appointment  of  Hon.  A.  B.  Hudson  as  a  second  Minister  from  Mani- 
toba. Mr.  Hudson  was  in  the  hospital  during  much  of  the  contest 
but  on  Dec.  13  issued  a  statement  declaring  there  was  but  one  domi- 
nant issue:  "If  an  elector  wants  Canada  to  do  her  full  share  toward 
winning  the  War  he  must  support  Union  Government."  All  the 
Liberal  members  of  the  Legislature  aided  the  Unionist  cause  except 
two;  Isaac  Pitblado,  K.C.,  H.  J.  Symington,  K.C.,  J.  B.  Coyne,  K.C., 
active  Liberals  of  Winnipeg,  A.  C.  Fraser  of  Brandon  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  S.  G.  Bland  were  other  Liberals  who  took  an  active  part  in  the 
Province,  as  did  W.  J.  Tupper,  K.C.,  a  well-known  Conservative. 
Isaac  Campbell,  K.C.,  was  a  veteran  Liberal  of  high  character  and 
place  in  his  party  who  also  lent  great  influence  to  the  Unionists  and 
in  a  Winnipeg  speech  on  Dec.  5  dealt  at  length  with  the  attitude  of 
Quebec  and  the  Nationalists.  As  to  the  rest:  "We  are  supporting 
the  Unjon  Government  on  its  policy  of  helping  to  win  the  War,  and 
on  Conscription  because  Conscription  is  necessary.  We  must  keep 
on  and  we  must  stay  in  the  War  because,  from  the  most  selfish 
viewpoint,  if  the  Allies  are  defeated  it  will  cost  us  more  to  quit  than 
it  will  to  keep  on.  We  must  stay  because  we  have  pledged  our  last 
available  man  and  our  last  available  dollar.  We  must  stay  because 
our  honour  is  concerned  that  we  do  not  desert  our  Allies." 

The  first  great  Western  meeting  was  held  at  Winnipeg  on  Oct.  22 
with  Messrs.  J.  A.  Calder,  Arthur  Meighen  and  T.  A.  Crerar  as  the 
speakers.  Mr.  Crerar,  in  his  speech,  stated  that:  "The  Grain  Grow- 
ers of  Western  Canada  have  always  believed  in  Union  Government. 
Personally  I  have  always  believed  in  it.  I  believe  we  should  have 
had  it  two  years  ago  and  that  it  would  have  been  much  better 
for  us  in  Canada.  ...  I  think  I  can  say  tliat  the  farmers 


THE  UNIONIST  CAMPAIGN:  THE  WESTERN  PROVINCES      613 

stand  whole-heartedly  behind  it."  He  took  pride  in  the  fact,  as 
Minister  of  Agriculture,  that  his  whole  life  had  been  and  would 
be  bound  up  in  Agriculture  and  he  believed  that  he  understood  the 
difficulties  of  the  farmers.  As  to  one  leading  issue  he  said:  "My 
conception  of  the  Conscription  of  wealth  is  the  conscription  of  the 
earnings  of  wealth,  of  profit,  of  income,  and  I  think  you  can  rest 
safely  assured  that  the  new  Administration  will  pay  very  careful 
attention  to  that  part  of  the  business."  Mr.  Meighen  gave  statistics 
to  prove  the  need  for  re-inforcements  and  showed  that  the  net  loss 
to  the  C.E.F.,  after  enlistments,  discharges  and  casualties  had  been 
reviewed,  was  50,927  between  Jan.  1  and  Sept.  30,  1917,  while  during 
that  period,  in  the  vital  matter  of  Infantry,  there  were  16,329  en- 
listments and  48,410  casualties — to  say  nothing  of  discharges. 
Hence  the  need  for  Conscription  and  his  hope  that  "the  cry  from 
the  agony  of  the  battlefield  will  be  heard  in  sympathy  and  answered 
in  honour."  He  addressed  a  number  of  succeeding  meetings  in 
Manitoba  and  others  East  and  West. 

During  the  ensuing  campaign  Mr.  Premier  Norris  in  all  his 
speeches,  dwelt  upon  the  necessity  of  Union  to  carry  on  the  War, 
declared  his  conviction  that  the  new  Administration  was  a  real 
Union  Government  and  that,  though  an  admirer  and  supporter  of 
Sir  W.  Laurier  for  many  years,  he  could  not  endorse  him  now. 
As  Mr.  Norris  was  highly  respected  in  the  Province  his  opinion  had 
weight  with  many  old-time  Liberals  who  might  not  otherwise  have 
changed  their  minds.  During  the  campaign  Messrs.  Norris  and 
Meighen  spoke  together  at  Morris,  Morden,  Boissevain,  Brandon, 
Minnedosa  and  Neepawa.  Mr.  Crerar  and  R.  W.  Craig,  K.C., 
(Cons.)  spoke  at  Roblin,  Basswood  and  Rapid  City,  Crandall  and 
Hamiota,  Miniota  and  Birtle  and  Gladstone;  Mr.  Crerar  also  was 
at  Carman,  Carberry,  Souris,  Napinka,  Manitou  and  Emerson  with 
W.  J.  Tupper,  K.C.  On  Sept.  6  the  Manitoba  Free  Press,  though 
standing  for  Union  Government  during  many  months,  preceded  an 
able  campaign  of  advocacy  in  succeeding  weeks  with  this  declaration : 
"In  order  to  prevent  any  possible  misunderstanding  the  Free  Press 
asserts  that  it  will  not  take  the  responsibility  of  assisting  in  the  elec- 
tion of  any  Liberal  candidate,  however  high  his  position  in  the  party, 
however  emphatic  his  protestations  as  to  war  policy,  if  he  seeks  the 
suffrage  of  the  people  solely  as  a  party  candidate  without  the  en- 
dorsement of  a  Union  Convention.  .  .  .  For  the  duration  of 
the  War  the  Free  Press  is  out  of  party  politics."  As  to  candidates 
there  were  complications  but  most  of  them  were  overcome.  G.  W. 
Allan,  K.C.,  (Cons.)  was  a  strong  candidate  in  South  Winnipeg  from 
the  beginning;  Rev.  Dr.  S.  G.  Bland  intended  to  run  in  the  Centre 
as  a  Liberal  supporter  of  the  Government  but  eventually  retired  in 
favour  of  Major  G.  W.  Andrews,  D.S.O.,  a  soldier-Liberal;  after 
various  complications  in  Brandon  Rev.  Dr.  H.  P.  Whidden  (Cons.), 
Principal  of  the  Baptist  College,  was  nominated.  Mr.  Crerar  ran 
in  Marquette  and  an  incident  of  his  contest  was  a  letter  (Dec.  5) 
from  H.  W.  Wood,  President  of  the  Union  of  Alberta  Farmers, 
urging  support  to  the  new  Minister  because  of  his  "devotion  to 
the  ideals  of  the  West  and  the  Western  farmers,  and  to 


614  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  highest  ideals  of  Canadian  Nationality  as  a  whole."  Mr. 
Crerar  addressed  several  meetings  in  Winnipeg  and  on  Dec.  13 
told  a  final  one  that  his  two  weeks'  tour  of  the  Province  had  convinced 
him  that  "rural  Manitoba  is  solid  for  Union." 

In  Alberta  Liberalism  was  and  had  been  dominant  for  years  in 
both  Provincial  and  Federal  affairs — while  in  Manitoba  it  had  only 
recently  won  power  in  the  Province  after  many  years  of  Opposition. 
There  had  been  some  internal  divergence  of  feeling  at  Edmonton 
between  the  sections  led  by  Hon.  C.  W.  Cross,  Attorney-General, 
and  Mr.  Premier  Sifton,  but  it  never  took  active  form;  in  these 
Elections  Mr.  Sifton  carried  with  him  a  large  portion  of  his  party 
but  Mr.  Cross  joined  forces  with  Hon.  Frank  Oliver  and  some 
members  of  the  Provincial  Government  who  stood  with  him — 
notably  Hon.  Duncan  Marshall  and  Hon.  Wilfrid  Gariepy.  Mr. 
Sifton  was,  however,  a  reserved,  astute  leader  and  he  knew  his 
Province  well.  Labour  interests  were  strong  in  the  cities  and  he 
had  one  Labour  man  running  as  a  Unionist  supporter  in  Calgary 
side  by  side  with  T.  M.  M.  Tweedie,  an  old-time  Conservative 
opponent  of  his  late  Government;  while  a  Soldier  candidate  opposed 
him  personally  in  Medicine  Hat  he  had  popular  Conservative 
officers  as  Unionist  candidates  in  Major  Lee  Redmond  at  Calgary 
and  Maj.-Gen.  W.  A.  Griesbach,  D.S.O.,  at  Edmonton.  Michael 
Clark  put  up  a  strong  fight  in  Red  Deer  while  W.  A.  Buchanan, 
another  Liberal  of  the  new  light,  ran  again  in  Lethbridge;  George 
Lane,  the  well-known  rancher,  retired  as  Liberal  candidate  in  Bow 
River  and  proclaimed  himself  a  Unionist;  Victoria  had  a  three- 
cornered  fight  with  J.  W.  Leedy,  ex-Governor  of  Kansas,  standing 
as  an  anti-Conscriptionist,  Non-partisan  League  candidate.  Mr. 
Sifton  and  his  one-time  opponent,  Mr.  Tweedie,  spoke  at  Lethbridge 
on  Nov.  20,  at  Macleod,  Calgary,  Edmonton,  Red  Deer  and  other 
points. 

Dr/a'Clark,  who  had  a  hard  fight  in  his  own  riding  against 
an  anti-war  American  element,  found  time  to  deliver  forcible  speeches 
at  Calgary  and  Edmonton;  R.  B.  Bennett,  K.C.,  ex-M.p.,  who  had 
declined  re-nomination  in  Calgary  as  a  Conservative-Unionist, 
spoke  at  various  points — Crossfield,  Calgary,  Carstairs,  Acme, 
Didsbury.  Two  mass-meetings  at  Calgary  on  Nov.  22  were  ad- 
dressed by  Hon.  T.  A.  Crerar,  Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton,  Mr.  Bennett  and 
others.  Mr.  Crerar  was  emphatic  as  to  the  tariff  question  not 
being  an  issue  in  this  contest  and  declared  that  the  pre-War  expendi- 
ture of  $135,000,000  in  Canada  would  increase  to  $275,000,000 
after  the  War.  It  was  pointed  out  that  Messrs.  Ballantyne,  Crerar, 
Robertson,  White  and  General  Mewburn  were  not  politicians  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  At  Medicine  Hat  on  Dec.  14  Mr. 
Sifton  dealt  with  the  charge  that  he  had  abandoned  Liberalism: 
"A  Liberal  is  a  man  who  stands  for  progressive  legislation  and 
legislation  is  the  test."  As  to  Quebec  he  was  sarcastic:  "It  seems 
a  man  can  be  a  Liberal  in  the  West  only  if  he  receives  the  sanction 
of  Quebec.  .  .  .  If  we  want  unity  in  Canada  it  can  only  come 
by  satisfying  Quebec.  If  Quebec  is  not  satisfied  then  there  is  dis- 
union!" An  incident  of  the  Alberta  as  well  as  Manitoba  campaign, 


THE  UNIONIST  CAMPAIGN:  THE  WESTERN  PROVINCES       615 

which  had  weight  with  the  farmers  was  the  endorsation  of  Mr. 
Crerar  by  H.  W.  Wood  of  the  U.F.A.;  another  was  the  able  series 
of  articles  published  by  the  Calgary  Herald  under  the  name  of 
Politicus — standing  for  its  Editor — J.  H.  Woods.  Amongst  active 
Unionist  speakers  in  the  campaign  were  F.  Davis,  M.L.A.,  and  James 
Short,  K.C.,  (Conservatives)  with  Hon.  C.  W.  Fisher,  M.L.A.,  A.  L. 
Smith  and  Clifford  Jones,  K.C.  (Liberals).  No  member  of  the 
Government  of  the  Province  shared  in  the  Unionist  fight,  though 
Hon.  C.  Stewart,  the  new  Premier,  announced  himself  as  a  supporter. 

In  Saskatchewan  it  was  a  case  of  Mr.  Calder  as  the  head  and 
front  of  the  whole  fight  and  the  real  leader  of  Western  Canada  in 
the  Election.  Like  Alberta  this  was  essentially  a  Liberal  province 
and  much  depended  upon  his  influence.  After  negotiations  of  some 
length  it  was  announced  on  Oct.  25  that  a  National  Government 
Association  of  Saskatchewan  had  been  formed  out  of  the  two  old 
Party  organizations  and  a  combined  political  machine  created,  which 
in  the  astute  and  practiced  control  of  the  new  Minister  of  Coloni- 
zation promised  to  be  a  power  for  Unionism.  On  Nov.  20  the  Regina 
Leader,  an  important  Liberal  element  in  the  formation  of  Western 
opinion,  after  declaring  that  it  stood  by  Free-trade  and  Reciprocity 
and  old-time  Liberalism,  and  in  determined  opposition  to  the  War- 
times Election  Act,  proceeded  editorially  as  follows:  "It  makes 
absolutely  no  difference  what  question  comes  up  for  consideration 
and  action  in  the  next  Parliament,  whether  it  be  a  question  of  tariff 
or  taxation,  or  anything  else,  it  should  be  considered  only  in  the 
light  of  its  effect  in  winning  the  War.  All  questions  should  be 
put  to  the  acid  test  of  the  War."  Convinced  of  this  and  having 
confidence  in  the  Liberal  Ministers  and  Liberal-Unionist  candidates : 
"The  Leader  is  content  until  the  War  is  won  to  leave  Tariff  as  well- 
as  all  other  questions  to  be  decided  as  they  effect  the  one  great 
Canadian  and  Empire  policy  of  to-day — the  winning  of  the  War." 
Meanwhile,  on  Oct.  23,  Messrs.  Calder,  Meighen  and  Crerar  had 
spoken  in  Regina  along  the  line  of  their  Winnipeg  speeches  with  a 
special  British  appeal  from  Mr.  Meighen:  "Even  though  Canada  is 
not  a  nation  of  the  first  rank  a  reaction  on  her  part  would  throw  a 
cloud  over  the  Allied  front  and  chill  the  heart  of  Britain  whose 
courage  and  deathless  grit  has  for  the  second  time  in  a  century  saved 
the  world."  On  the  27th  Mr.  Calder  issued  a  statement  as  to  voting 
conditions  at  the  Front  and  stated  his  decision  to  accept  a  Moose 
Jaw  nomination  instead  of  the  one  offered  him  for  Regina  by  such 
prominent  Liberal  Unionists  as  R.  G.  McCuish,  H.  Y.  McDonald, 
K.C.,  J.  F.  Frame,  K.C.,  W.  F.  Kerr,  Robert  Martin,  etc.  At  the 
end  of  the  month  the  Minister  left  Vancouver  to  arrange  British 
Columbia  complications  as  to  seats  and  candidates  and,  with  Hon. 
Martin  Burrell,  addressed  a  local  mass-meeting  on  the  30th  and  one 
in  Victoria  on  the  31st. 

Mr.  Calder,  on  Nov.  20,  issued  a  Manifesto  addressed  to  the 
people  of  Saskatchewan  in  which  the  issues  were  defined  as  simple: 
(1)  That  a  combination  of  parties  could  carry  on  a  war  better  than 
a  partisan  Administration  and  (2)  that  necessary  re-inforcements 
must  be  obtained  and  could  only  be  obtained  by  Conscription. 


616  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

All  Provincial  Premiers  but  one  were  stated  to  be  supporting  the 
Union  Government  while  scores  of  prominent  Liberals  were  daily 
deserting  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  on  this  issue  and  he  mentioned  J.  A. 
Maharg,  President  of  the  Saskatchewan  Grain  Growers,  who  had 
just  been  elected  by  acclamation,  R.  C.  Renders  and  R.  McKenzie 
of  the  Canadian  Council  of  Agriculture.  For  the  rest  he  defended 
his  own  personal  attitude  and  believed  that,  as  to  Union  Government, 
"the  pages  of  Canada's  future  history  will  clearly  demonstrate  that 
the  proper  course  was  pursued,  and  that  Liberalism  in  its  truest 
and  broadest  sense  did  not  suffer  therefrom."  A  further  appeal 
was  issued  on  Dec.  6  for  organized  effort  and  work:  "Now  is  the 
time  for  action.  Let  the  call  go  forth  in  every  nook  and  corner  of 
the  Province.  Patriotic,  public-spirited  citizens  should  everywhere 
take  the  lead.  Don't  hold  back.  Act  now.  Otherwise  it  will  be 
to  late."  This  was  followed  on  Dec.  10  by  an  elaborate  statement 
from  Hon.  W.  M.  Martin,  Provincial  Premier,  in  which  he  began 
by  saying:  "I  have  always  been  in  favour  of  the  principle  of  the 
union  of  parties  during  the  War ;  Coalition  should  have  been  offered  by 
Sir  Robert  Borden  and  the  Conservative  party  long  before  it  was." 
The  new  Government  was  declared  to  be  thoroughly  repre- 
sentative of  Liberalism — with  the  exception  of  Sir.  W.  Laurier: 
"At  this  point  let  me  state  that  Hon.  J.  A.  Calder  entered  the  Govern- 
ment after  a  consideration  extending  over  a  period  of  weeks  during 
which  time  he  displayed  the  greatest  anxiety  and  when  he  finally 
reached  a  decision  he  did  so  with  the  utmost  sincerity  of  which  a 
man  is  capable."  The  new  Government  had  already  done  much; 
much  more  remained  to  be  done.  He  repudiated  as  untrue  and  a 
slander  the  press  statements  that  "a  vote  for  Sir  W.  Laurier  is  a 
vote  to  quit  the  War,"  and  declared  his  only  difference  of  opinion 
with  the  Liberal  leader  was  on  the  question  of  Conscription;  he  de- 
scribed the  War-times  Franchise  Act  as  "un-British  and  undemo- 
cratic" with  machinery  which  might  easily  be  dangerous  to  the 
people  and  demanded  its  repeal  at  the  1st  Session  of  the  new  Parlia- 
ment; he  denounced  and  repudiated  any  campaign  against  Quebec 
in  the  constituencies.  But  these  and  other  things  were  subsidiary 
to  the  vital  War  issue  of  the  time  and  upon  this  he  supported  the 
Union  Government.  As  to  Quebec  one  of  the  leading  Unionist 
campaign  speakers  in  Saskatchewan  was  J.  H.  Haslain  (Lib.)  of  Regina 
and  in  a  speech  (Dec.  8)  at  Elfros  he  dealt  at  length  with  the  French- 
Canadian  situation  and  described  it  as  involving  a  solidified  Province 
under  the  control  of  the  Hierarchy.  An  incident  in  this  connection 
was  the  fact  that  at  the  Crerar-Meighen  meeting  of  Oct.  23,  held  in 
a  Methodist  Church,  the  audience  was  looked  after  by  Catholic 
ushers.  On  Dec.  13  Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning,  Provincial  Treasurer, 
announced  his  support  of  Union  Government  as  had  Hon.  A.  P. 
McNab  upon  another  occasion.  J.  A.  Maharg,  President  of  the 
Grain  Growers,  and  elected  by  acclamation  as  Unionist  member  for 
Maple  Creek,  issued  an  Address  to  the  people  on  the  17th  in  which 
he  made  special  appeal  to  the  farmers.  Referring  to  a  certain  un- 
easiness as  to  the  Tribunals  he  said:  "The  sole  purpose  of  Selective 
Conscription  is  that  industries  essential  to  the  vigorous  prosecution 


H  £ 


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II 
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PS 


THE  UNIONIST  CAMPAIGN:  THE  WESTERN  PROVINCES       617 

of  the  War  shall  not  be  interfered  with,  and  as  Agriculture,  in  so  far 
as  Canada  is  concerned,  is  the  most  essential  industry,  conse- 
quently a  Government  pledged  to  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
War  can  surely  be  depended  upon  to  protect  this  industry  in  every 
way."  He  declared  in  conclusion  that  the  welfare  of  the  Empire 
and  the  world  was  concerned  in  the  result.  Mr.  Calder  on  the 
15th  issued  a  last  word — with  these  final  words  as  to  the  War:  "We 
intend  to  stick  and  fight  it  out  to  a  finish." 

Public  opinion  in  British  Columbia  and  in  its  Government  was 
divided  during  the  preliminary  months  of  this  contest  and  the 
fight  itself  was  a  keen  one.  The  Hon.  H.  C.  Brewster  had  been 
unable  to  hold  his  delegation  along  Union  lines  at  the  Western 
Convention  and  he  did  not  lead  his  party  very  energetically  in  the 
Elections — though  he  was  a  strong  Conscriptionist.  Indeed,  his 
Unionist  views  were  in  some  doubt  for  a  time  and  on  Nov.  1  he  issued 
a  formal  statement  with  this  paragraph:  "Leading  men  of  both 
political  parties  have  met  on  the  basis  of  mutual  concessions  and 
sacrifice,  and  I  think  Canada  is  disposed  to  make  similar  concessions 
from  whatever  hostility  was  inspired  by  the  record  of  the  late  Govern- 
ment and  to  give  the  new  Administration  a  trial  for  the  period  of 
the  War  and  subject  to  the  honest,  efficient  direction  of  Canada's 
war  efforts.  That  is  my  personal  attitude."  On  Nov.  9  he  reiter- 
ated his  view,  urged  unity  of  political  action  and  deprecated  the 
conflicting  interests  visible  in  the  Province;  on  Dec.  11  he  spoke  for 
Dr.  Tolmie  in  Victoria.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  constituencies  in 
this  Province  were  especially  hard  to  manage  in  the  nominations; 
party  and  personal  feeling,  Socialist  and  Labour  sentiment,  were 
rife  and  it  required  all  available  agencies  and  Mr.  Calder's  own  inter- 
vention to  meet  the  difficulties  and  fuse  the  rivalries  involved  into 
a  working  political  relationship.  Mr.  Brewster  himself  was  for  a 
time  one  .of  the  Cabinet  possibilities  at  Ottawa  with  a  seat  in  that 
event  necessary  for  himself;  his  Provincial  Conservative  opponent, 
Hon.  W.  J.  Bowser,  K.C.,  was  discussed  as  a  candidate  as  well  as 
Sir  C.  H.  Tupper  in  Vancouver;  eventually  H.  H.  Stevens.  ex-M.p., 
was  re-nominated  as  the  Conservative  and  S.  J.  Crowe  as  the  Liberal 
Unionist  in  the  Coast  city  with  a  soldier-candidate,  Major  R.  C. 
Cooper. 

Win-the-War  and  Great  War  Veterans'  Leagues  were  every- 
where and  of  influence  in  bringing  partisans  together;  in  Vic- 
toria Dr.  Simon  F.  Tolmie  (Lib.)  was  nominated  and  carried  on  an 
earnest  and  much-discussed  campaign.  Many  Liberals  came  into 
the  Unionist  ranks  and  amongst  them  Nicol  Thompson,  J.  A.  Cun- 
ningham, J.  H.  Senkler,  K.C.,  and  J.  N.  Ellis  of  Vancouver,  Dr. 
Ernest  Hall,  F.  A.  McDiarmid,  F.  J.  Stackpoole,  K.C.,  of  Victoria, 
while  Joshua  Kingham  of  Victoria  was  Chairman  of  the  Unionist 
Federal  Committee.  A  Labour  candidate  was  J.  H.  McVety, 
Chairman  of  the  Vancouver  Labour  Council;  H.  Bell-Irving,  Van- 
couver, head  of  the  famous  military  family,  made  an  earnest  appeal 
through  the  press  on  Dec.  13  for  support  to  the  Government  "because 
everything  we  hold  dear  in  life  is  at  stake."  Sir  Herbert  Tupper 
took  a  forceful  part  in  the  Election.  At  Victoria  on  Dec.  4  he 


618  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

declared  it  a  disgrace,  an  infamy,  that  a  contest  had  to  be  fought 
at  all  and  described  the  Referendum  as  a  vote  by  the  men  who  did 
not  want  to  go  to  the  Front  as  to  whether  or  not  they  should  be 
compelled  to  go!  At  Vancouver  on  the  7th  he  made  a  slashing 
attack  upon  F.  C.  Wade  and  other  Laurier  supporters.  At  another 
meeting  (Dec.  11)  he  denounced  Bourassa  as  "steeped  to  the  lips 
in  treason."  On  the  12th  he  charged  Sir  W.  Laurier  with  trying 
"to  open  the  portals  of  office  with  a  bloody  key."  The  Hon.  Martin 
Burrell  made  a  number  of  speeches  in  the  Province  —  notably  at 
Victoria,  Oct.  31,  and  Vancouver,  Dec.  6;  Hon.  Mr.  Calder  also 
spoke  in  these  centres.  Hon  Mr.  Meighen  was  at  Vancouver  on 
Dec.  16  and  made  this  eloquent  reference: 

What  of  Britain!  Incomparable  Britain!  The  mainstay,  the  forefront  of  em- 
battled democracy.  Groaning  under  a  burden  that  might  stagger  half  the  world, 
she  borrows  $5,000,000  more  and  sends  it  to  bind  the  wounds  and  restore  the  homes 
of  your  sister  city  (Halifax),  smitten  in  the  holocaust  of  war.  Britain,  the  hope,  the 
reliance,  of  the  Entente,  faithful  to  the  last  to  every  ally.  United  around  Britain  they 
will  win  and  they  all  know  that  come  what  may,  though  the  world  may  crash,  Britain 
will  stand  true,  undismayed,  unconquerable. 

The  Laurier  The  followers  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  had  a  difficult 


a       o  fight  to  wa?e  in  this  campaign.     Outside  of  Quebec, 

Issues  in  On-  where  practically  the  whole  press  was  theirs  —  except 
tario,  Quebec  two  daily  papers  —  they  had  a  united  press  against 
and  the  West,  them  with  the  London  Advertiser,  Edmonton  Bulletin 
and  Calgary  News-Telegram  as  the  chief  exceptions. 
All  the  Provincial  Premiers  were  for  Union  Government  except  Sir 
Lomer  Gouin,  though  the  Western  Liberal  Governments  were 
somewhat  divided  in  their  allegiance.  The  soldier  vote  was  a  strong 
Unionist  probability.  On  the  other  hand  the  French-Canadian 
vote  in  Ontario,  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta  was  relied  upon  for 
support  and  a  still  considerable  foreign  vote  which  naturally  resented 
the  War-times  Franchise  Act.  There  were  a  good  many  Labour- 
Liberal  candidates  who  were  expected  to  show  good  results  and  there 
was  a  restlessness  East  and  West  as  to  the  Conscription  of  farmers 
which  was  hopeful.  The  chief  issues  raised  were  the  cost  of  living 
and  alleged  power  of  the  profiteers;  past  political  patronage  and 
charges  of  corruption  against  Hon.  R.  Rogers  and  the  Borden  Govern- 
ment; faulty  Militia  administration,  the  Ross  Rifle  and  alleged 
failure  to  educate  and  interest  Quebec  in  a  recruiting  sense;  the 
alleged  autocratic,  anti-Liberal,  anti-Canadian,  anti-British  plan  of 
Conscription.  In  Quebec  the  whole  issue  was  Conscription  and 
the  personality  of  Sir  W.  Laurier.  The  Publicity  element  was  poor 
in  comparison  with  that  of  the  Unionists  —  in  a  few  of  the  papers 
of  British  Columbia  and  Alberta,  chiefly,  advertisements  appeared 
describing  the  whole  issue  as  one  of  "The  People  vs.  The  Big  Inter- 
ests" with  the  Flavelle  matter  as  the  basic  principle  of  attack  and 
the  C.N.R.  policy  as  a  secondary  one;  the  changes  also  were  rung 
upon  an  alleged  Memorandum  prepared  by  Hon.  J.  A.  Calder  in 
July,  which  reviewed  the  sins  and  weaknesses  of  the  Borden  Ad- 
ministration as  he  saw  them  at  that  time;  Sir  C.  Sifton  was  freely 
denounced  as  a  capitalistic  leader  of  the  Union  forces. 


THE  LAUEIER  CAMPAIGN  AND  ITS  ISSUES  IN  CANADA       619 

In  Ontario  H.  H.  Dewart,  K.C.,  M.L.A.,  for  one  of  the  Toronto 
seats,  was  a  leader  in  the  Provincial  fight;  Hon.  W.  L.  Mackenzie 
King  was  a  candidate  in  North  York  but  took  little  outside  part; 
Sir  Allen  Aylesworth  made  a  number  of  speeches  for  his  old-time 
Leader  at  Ottawa;  Hon.  Charles  Murphy  kept  largely  to  his  con- 
stituency. The  Hon.  G.  P.  Graham  supported  Conscription  but 
proclaimed  himself  an  out-and-out  admirer  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
and  the  combination  caused  his  supporters  in  South  Renfrew  to 
give  the  nomination  to  a  straight  Laurier,  anti-Conscription  candi- 
date, and  prevented,  also,  his  receipt  of  a  Unionist  nomination.  At 
a  Conference  called  by  Sir  Wilfrid  in  Ottawa  on  Oct.  20  Eastern 
Ontario  Liberals,  including  Mr.  Graham,  pledged  themselves  (1) 
to  support  "every  effort  needed  to  sustain  Canada's  part  in  the  War" 
and  (2)  recorded  "admiration  of  the  life  and  work  of  the  greatest 
of  all  Canadians,  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  and  desire  to  express  the  hope 
that  he  will  long  continue  as  leader  of  the  great  Liberal  party." 
On  Oct.  24  Mr.  Graham  was  in  conferences  with  Sir  Wilfrid,  Mr. 
Lemieux  and  others  at  Montreal.  On  Nov.  2  he  telegraphed 
regret  at  not  being  able  to  attend  the  Hamilton  meeting  of  Unionist 
Liberals:  "I  do  not  recede  one  iota  from  the  position  I  took  up  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  The  platform  of  the  new  Government  shows 
the  infusion  of  Liberal  principle;  if  that  programme  is  adhered  to 
I  will  support  it.  Our  boys  at  the  front  have  to  be  supported  and 
the  quickest  and  the  fairest  way  to  accomplish  this  is  by  Compulsory 
service."  During  the  ensuing  Elections  he  supported  Dr.  Rankin, 
Laurier  candidate,  at  Stratford  (Nov.  29)  and  declared  that  Union 
Government  should  have  been  formed  in  1914;  at  Ingersoll  (Nov. 
30)  he  said  that:  "Union  Government  should  not  be  forced  down  the 
throats  of  the  people,  but  formed  after  the  people  have  expressed 
themselves  at  the  polls";  in  Toronto  (Dec.  4)  he  spoke  for  A.  J. 
Young,  a  Laurier  candidate,  and  described  himself  as  a  Conscription- 
ist  follower  of  Sir  W.  Laurier;  at  Dundas  on  Dec.  10  he  denounced 
the  War-times  Franchise  Act  and  stated  that  he  had  refused  to 
join  the  Union  Government  because  it  was  intended  to  stifle  the 
voice  and  wishes  of  the  people,  and  should  not  be  formed  till  after 
the  Elections.  He  made  other  strong  Liberal  speeches  during  the 
contest. 

Mr.  Dewart's  view  as  presented  at  various  places  in  the  Province 
centred  in  this  statement  at  Toronto  (Oct.  18):  "The  issue  is  one 
between  the  people  and  the  monopolies.  There  never  has  been  a 
time  in  the  history  of  Canada  when  the  real  issue  between  the 
Liberal  party  and  whatever  party  it  may  have  to  face  was  so  apparent. 
The  question  to  be  decided  at  the  coming  Election  is  whether  the 
people  shall  rule  or  whether  the  vested  interests  and  moneyed 
people  shall  continue  to  lead  the  Government.  The  man  who  goes 
into  this  Union  Government  puts  himself  in  line  with  the  corporate 
interests  and  against  the  interests  of  the  people."  At  a  Montreal 
Liberal  function  on  Nov,  28  he  declared  that  "the  Liberal  party 
of  Ontario  stands  behind  Quebec,  because  we  believe  Quebec  will 
do  her  part."  To  a  Toronto  audience  (Dec.  3)  he  stated  that: 
"The  Liberal  party  of  to-day  is  just  as  truly  fighting  the  battle  of 


620  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

democracy  in  Canada  as  are  the  Allied  armies  on  the  fields  of  Europe. 
The  struggle  in  Canada  is  between  autocratic  and  self-constituted 
power  and  the  authority  of  the  people."  At  Beaverton  (Dec.  5) 
he  declared  that  Unionist  advertising  prevented  the  press  from 
publishing  honest  statements;  at  Brockville  and  elsewhere  he  de- 
nounced the  C.N.R.  agreement  as  a  betrayal  of  the  public  treasury 
and  interests.  Sir  Allen  Ay les worth — whose  only  son  was  on  active 
service — proclaimed  Liberal  loyalty  to  the  War.  In  Toronto  on 
Nov.-  13  he  declared  "a  politician  who  changed  his  political  creed 
to  be  on  the  same  plane  as  a  man  who  forsook  his  religious  beliefs — 
he  was  an  apostate  and  a  renegade."  He  denounced  the  Union 
Government  as  made  up  of  hypocrisy  and  sham,  declared  Con- 
scription not  an  issue  as  the  100,000  men  would  soon  be  Over- 
seas, and  freely  condemned  the  Franchise  Act.  He  spoke  at  Beaver- 
ton,  Aylmer  and  other  places.  Mr.  Mackenzie  King,  at  Stouff- 
ville  (Nov.  23)  and  other  places,  described  Union  Government  as 
a  fraud  intended  to  win  Elections  and  not  the  War:  "Conscription 
might  turn  Canada  into  another  Ireland." 

The  candidacy  of  A.  J.  Young  against  Sir  George  Foster  in  North 
Toronto  attracted  some  attention.  He  had  been  forced  to  resign 
the  Laurier  candidacy  in  Nipissing  because,  though  he  pledged  his 
support  to  Sir  Wilfrid,  he  would  not  promise  to  support  a  Referendum 
or  repeal  of  Conscription.  In  his  appeal  to  the  Toronto  riding  he 
declared  the  new  Government  and  that  of  Sir  R.  Borden  as  the 
same  and  opposed  it  vigorously  though  saying  little  as  to  his  own 
policy;  on  Dec.  4  he  proclaimed  himself  a  supporter  of  the  Military 
Service  Act  and  its  enforcement.  The  popular  personality  of 
Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  was  everywhere  used  by  his  friends  and  eulogized 
by  many  of  his  opponents;  undoubtedly  it  was  a  factor  in  Ontario 
as  elsewhere.  As  Hon.  Mr.  Murphy  was  reported  to  have  said  at 
Vars  (Oct.  29),  so  said  others:  "War  or  no  war,  I  will  not  desert 
Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  no  matter  what  policy  he  pursues.  I  am  a 
supporter  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  through  thick  and  thin,  although 
all  others  may  desert  him."  Outside  of  the  cities  the  influence  of 
the  Ontario  United  Farmers'  organization  was  not  asserted  except 
through  its  organ  the  Weekly  Sun.  This  journal  was  an  offshoot  of 
the  4ate  Goldwin  Smith's  influence  and  support  and  inherited  his 
views  upon  many  subjects — with  Gordon  Waldron,  W.  D.  Gregory 
and  W.  L.  Smith  as  from  time  to  time  in  control  of  its  policy.  The 
two  former  were  Laurier  candidates  in  the  campaign  while  James 
McEwing,  ex-M.L.A.,  a  leader  of  the  organized  farmers  and  a  be- 
liever in  Free-trade,  etc.,  was  also  in  the  field — though  unlike 
those  of  the  West  he  supported  the  Opposition.  To  the  Sun  "the 
validity  and  legality  of  the  so-called  Union  Government"  (Oct.  17) 
was  a  matter  for  consideration — it  would  be  a  "government  by 
usurpers  for  two  or  three  months";  "the  appeals  and  denunciations 
of  the  Laurier  manifesto,  we  should  think,  put  the  claims  of  Union 
Government  aside  and  elevate  the  preservation  of  popular  govern- 
ment in  this  country  to  first  place  among  the  issues  of  the  coming 
election"  (Nov.  7);  there  was  "no  mistaking  the  temper  of  the 
farmers,  who  march  in  procession  and  pass  resolutions  protesting 


THE  LAURIER  CAMPAIGN  AND  ITS  ISSUES  IN  CANADA      621 

against  the  taking  of  their  help."  Some  meetings  of  farmers  were 
held  to  protest  against  Conscription  of  their  sons — notably  at  Perth 
where  500  paraded  and  met  on  Nov.  15  but,  upon  the  whole,  they 
did  not  take  fire  from  either  side.  The  Bracebridge  Gazette  of  Nov. 
12  made  this  appeal  to  them: 

Every  man  taken  from  a  Canadian  farm  destroys  the  power  of  Canada  to  feed 
the  men  at  the  Front. 

Every  man  taken  from  a  Canadian  farm  makes  more  terrible  the  cry  of  starving 
women  and  children  for  whom  our  men  are  fighting. 

Your  neighbour  did  not  send  your  man  to  war.  Will  you  force  your  neighbour's 
man  to  go  to  war? 

Your  man  had  his  choice  of  what  branch  of  war  work  he  wished  to  do.  Con- 
scription gives  no  choice.  Conscripts  must  use  rifle,  bomb,  and  bayonet. 

Your  man  went  forth  in  honour.  Your  neighbour  honoured  him.  Will  you 
force  your  neighbour's  man  to  go  in  dishonour  as  a  Conscript? 

Italy  has  been  over-run  by  Germany  because  Italy  stripped  her  fields  of  men 
for  the  Front  and  left  too  few  men  on  the  farms  to  feed  them. 

Conscription  and  the  Union  Government  is  a  conspiracy  of  the  rich  and  powerful 
against  the  lowly. 

Do  you  wish  to  enslave  Canada's  manhood  to  help  the  titled  aristocrats? 

Mr.  Waldron  went  further  and  charged  (Toronto,  Dec.  3)  that  the 
Canadian  casualties  were  excessive  and  that  the  conduct  of  the 
Army  should  be  inquired  into;  The  Sun  had  already  declared  (Nov. 
28)  that  "many  will  maintain  that  these  losses  must  not  continue"; 
on  Sept.  26  it  asserted  that  "we  cannot  hope  to  exert  our  full  strength 
in  the  War,  if  the  soldiers  are  not  assured  that  they  will  be  ably 
led."  Upon  the  whole,  however,  the  Liberal  campaign  in  Ontario 
was  a  personal  one  without  such  press  or  platform  aid  as  the  party 
was  accustomed  to.  The  best  of  a  difficult  situation  was  made  with 
the  candidacy  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  in  Ottawa,  G.  S.  Gibbons  as 
Liberal-Labour  candidate  in  London,  A.  C.  Hardy  in  Leeds  against 
Sir  Thomas  White,  as  amongst  the  more  interesting  contests. 

The  Liberal  campaign  in  Quebec  was  an  easy  one.  Sympathetic 
and  enthusiastic  crowds,  admiration  and  respect  for  the  Leader, 
belief  in  his  cause  and  advocacy,  made  the  lot  of  speakers  and  candi- 
dates politically  pleasant.  The  Hon.  Rodolphe  Lemieux,  formerly 
Postmaster-General,  was  Sir  Wilfrid's  chief  lieutenant  and  he  had 
stated  his  personal  view  to  the  Canadian  Club,  New  York,  on  Jan. 
27  as  follows:  "There  is  one  question  which  in  my  judgment  is  para- 
mount— it  is  the  great  war  now  raging  beyond  the  seas;  it  is  the 
participation  of  Canada  in  that  stupendous  struggle — it  is,  above 
all,  the  determination  we  share  in  common  that  our  Empire  and  her 
gallant  Allies  shall  ultimately  triumph."  During  the  elections  he 
stood  upon  Sir  W.  Laurier's  platform,  claimed  that  there  were 
25,000  French-Canadians  abroad,  pointed  with  pride  to  the  gallant 
record  of  these  troops,  and  keenly  resented  the  term  of  "slacker" 
as  applied  to  his  people  in  campaign  speeches  elsewhere.  As  he 
put  it  at  Longueuil  on  Oct.  22:  "I  am  pleased  to  see  my  only  son 
take  up  arms  to  fight  for  ideals  of  justice  but  I  would  have  regretted 
to  see  the  hand  of  a  sergeant  laid  on  the  boy  to  compel  him  to  fight." 
He  dealt  largely  in  this  speech,  as  in  others,  with  the  personality  of 
the  Liberal  leader:  "Laurier  is  a  Liberal,  a  Canadian  patriot;  above 
all,  he  is  Laurier."  He  stated  that  he  bore  a  message  from  Sir 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

asking  all  to  obey  the  Military  Service  Act.  As  to  the  rest 
he  "believed  Conscription  to  be  a  camouflage,  under  which  Rule 
Britannia  could  be  sung  and  Quebec  insulted  as  a  Province  of  shirkers 
and  slackers."  At  Nicolet  on  Oct.  28  he  declared  that  the  French- 
Canadian  did  not  differ  greatly  from  the  English-Canadian  in  his 
opinion  of  Conscription,  except  that  he  was  more  outspoken.  Noted 
in  past  years  as  a  vigorous  exponent  and  admirer  of  British  con- 
nection he  now  expressed  resentment  at  the  action  of:  "Those 
supporters  of  Imperialism  who  direct  the  policy  of  the  Government 
and  wish  to  substitute  compulsory  for  voluntary  service.  That 
means  to  renounce  our  traditions,  to  return  to  colonialism.  As  a 
Canadian  and  a  Liberal  I  rise  in  revolt  against  this  violation  of  our 
rights."  As  the  campaign  developed  this  view  was  amplified  and 
at  Maisonneuve  on  Nov.  10  he  labelled  Milner,  Northcliffe,  Atholstan, 
Beaverbrook  and  Flavelle  as  Imperialistic  conspirators  who  must 
be  dealt  with  by  ballots,  compared  the  Jingoes  of  London  and  Canada 
with  the  Junkers  of  Prussia,  and  declared  that  Sir  W.  Laurier  had 
once  refused  a  Peerage.  Mr.  Lemieux  had  the  Montreal  district  as 
his  special  charge  and,  speaking  at  Hochelaga  (Nov.  22),*  was 
quoted  in  the  press  throughout  Canada  as  follows:  "Why  have 
the  Tories  imposed  Conscription  upon  Canada?  To  create  a  pre- 
cedent, in  order  that  Canada  may  become  for  England  a  reservoir 
of  men  for  the  wars  of  the  future.  That  is  the  basis  of  Imperialism. 
I  say  that  before  doing  more — and  we  have  already  done  enough — 
we  ought  to  wait  until  the  United  States  has  furnished  at  least 
1,500,000  men." 

The  Provincial  Premier  made  several  speeches  in  support  of 
his  Federal  leader.  At  Quebec  on  Nov.  9  he  vigorously  denounced 
Conscription  and  declared  that:  "The  year  1911  was  the  end  of  an 
era  of  happiness  in  Canada.  .  .  .  'Through  the  aid  of  Sir  Clifford 
Sifton  the  Government  have  been  able  to  get  control  of  the  news- 
papers and  chloroform  the  journalists  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific."  As  to  the  rest:  "There  is  no  power  here,  there  is  no  power 
in  the  world,  that  is  able  to  impose  Conscription  on  the  Canadian 
people  against  their  will.  There  is  no  man  strong  enough  to  impose 
this  measure  upon  us  if  we  do  not  want  it."  He  did  not  fear  the 
threat  of  isolation  for  Quebec:  "We  are  on  this  land  by  right  of 
discovery,  the  right  of  first  settlers,  of  courage,  of  constancy,  of  a 
special  decree  of  Providence,  and  we  will  remain  on  it."  Sir  Lomer 
Gouin  also  addressed  a  Montreal  mass-meeting  on  Dec.  7  with 
Mr.  Lemieux,  Hon.  W.  G.  Mitchell,  Provincial  Treasurer,  and  Hon. 
S.  A.  Fisher,  with  Mayor  Martin  in  the  chair.  In  speaking,  the 
Premier  described  the  work  which  had  been  accomplished  "by  every 
city,  town  and  village  in  the  Province  in  subscribing  to  the  Victory . 
Loan,  the  Red  Cross,  the  Sailors'  Fund  and  many  other  funds,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  succour  the  war-worn  heroes  in  Flanders  and 
in  France — especially  the  Belgians,  those  glorious  martyrs."  He 
denounced  the  C.N.R.  purchase  and,  as  to  Conscription,  claimed 
that  food,  not  men,  was  the  vital  need  of  the  moment ;  he  severely 
criticized  the  Food  Controller  and  Sir  Joseph  Flavelle.  "Our 

*  Le..  Canada  ...report  afterwards  quoted  by  Le  Devoir. 


THE  LAURIER  CAMPAIGN  AND  ITS  ISSUES  IN  CANADA      623 

people  have  been  here  for  300  years,"  concluded  Sir  Lomer,  "and 
no  one  can  possibly  treat  us  as  strangers.  It  is  our  right  to  cultivate 
and  preserve  intact  our  ancestral  traditions  and  we  intend  to  do  so 
with  as  much  firmness  as  piety.  Is  there  any  place  where  the 
minority  have  been  treated  with  more  justice  and  respect  than  in 
the  Province  of  Quebec?"  Fair-play,  tolerance  and  justice  was 
declared  to  be  his  motto  and  that  of  Sir  W.  Laurier.  At  Sherbrooke 
(Dec.  11)  Sir  Lomer  pointed  out  that  in  the  Province  there  were 
only  5  counties  having  a  majority  of  English-speaking  people,  yet 
15  English-speaking  Liberals  had  been  elected  by  a  majority  of  the 
French  vote.  He  feared  that  Conscription  and  100,000  men  would 
not  be  the  limit  of  call  if  the  Unionists  were  returned  to  power. 
Besides  Mr.  Mitchell  the  Hon.  J.  L.  Decarie  and  L.  A.  Taschereau 
also  made  some  speeches  on  behalf  of  the  Liberals  but  the  Provincial 
Government,  as  a  whole,  took  no  active  part. 

The  picturesque  figure  of  M.  Martin,  Mayor  of  Montreal,  was 
active  in  the  campaign.  On  Nov.  7  he  was  reported  as  saying  "  the 
United  States  will  be  given  Quebec  after  the  War,  if  not  the  whole 
of  Canada,  as  recompense  for  that  country  assisting  Great  Britain"; 
on  the  6th  he  described  the  Masonic  Lodge  of  England  as  responsible, 
through  Sir  R.  Borden,  for  the  Conscription  Act;  on  Dec.  4  he  told 
a  Westmount  meeting  that  "if  SeVigny,  Ballantyne,  Blondin  and 
Doherty  are  elected  by  the  votes  of  soldiers  it  will  mean  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  revolt."  Meanwhile,  Le  Canada  was  putting 
up  a  vigorous  campaign.  It  claimed  that  French-Canadians  were 
no  longer  properly  represented  in  Ottawa  Departments  or  Govern- 
ment appointments;  that  Sir  Robert  Borden's  methods  of  rule  were 
as  truly  Prussian  as  the  Kaiser's.  With  it  and  La  Presse  the  main 
issue  was  Conscription  and  they  fought  earnestly  along  that  line — as 
did  English-speaking  candidates  such  as  Hon.  S.  A.  Fisher,  A.  R. 
McMaster,  K.C.,  James  Robb,  A.  B.  Hunt,  S.  W.  Jacobs,  K.C., 
Capt.  C.  G.  Power,  F.  N.  McCrea,  Dr.  J.  J.  Guerin,  N.  K.  Baldwin, 
W.  C.  Nunn,  E.  B.  Devlin.  There  was  no  racialism  in  this  respect. 
Of  subsidiary  issues  there  were  many.  Attacks  upon  England  and 
the  English  were  inevitable  features  of  the  campaign — illustrated 
by  one  statement  that  the  English  took  to  their  heels  at  Mons  and 
Ypres — and  they  were  almost  excusable  in  view  of  such  reprehensible 
speeches  as  that  of  Prof.  John  MacNaughton  of  McGill  University, 
'in  Montreal  on  Dec.  4,  when  he  made  a  reference*  to  the  French- 
Canadians  which  can  only  be  mentioned  here  as  an  illustration,  on 
the  other  side,  of  extreme  racialism.  Another  regrettable  statement 
which,  also,  circulated  throughout  Canada  and  arose  out  of  General 
Currie's  appeals  for  support  to  Conscription  was  that  the  General 
had  been  recalled  to  England  on  account  of  incompetence.  Bishop 
Fallon's  support  of  Union  Government  was  keenly  resented  and 
La  Presse  became  especially  vehement  in  this  respect  while  Le 
Canada  described  him  as  forming  an  alliance  with  Orange  fanatics 
to  suppress  the  French  language.  An  important  incident  of  the 
contest  was  the  issue,  under  Nationalist  auspices,  of  a  pledge  as  to 

#1*  "If  Laurier'were  to  win  he  would  win  leading  the  cockroaches  of  the  kitchen  of 
Canada  to  victory." 


624  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Conscription  which  was  signed  by  Lucien  Cannon,  Liberal  candi- 
date in  Dorchester,*  and  others  throughout  the  Province,  as  follows: 

I,  the  undersigned  candidate  for  the  Federal  deputation,  by  these  presents, 
agree,  if  I  am  elected,  to  exact  the  immediate  suspension  of  the  Military  Service 
Act  of  1917,  and  all  of  its  effects,  until  the  Canadian  electors  have  been  consulted 
by  a  plebiscite,  and,  should  the  majority  of  the  people  condemn  Conscription  in  this 
Referendum,  I  agree  to  require  that  it  (the  Military  Act)  be  considered  as  void  and 
without  effect  from  its  very  origin,  and  that  in  consequence  the  conscripts  be  liberated 
from  service  and  discharged.  I  also  agree  to  vote  against  any  Government  that 
should  refuse  to  adopt  the  above-mentioned  policy. 

What  the  Nationalist  support  amounted  to  in  the  contest  did  not 
appear  clearly  as  there,  practically,  was  no  division  in  the  Opposition 
ranks  and  all  were  against  Conscription.  In  the  1911  contest  the 
Nationalists  had  won  a  number  of  seats  and  most  of  their  members 
had  given  a  general  support  to  the  Government  until  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Conscription  issue.  In  this  1917  Election  there  were 
no  Nationalist  candidates  except  T.  Marsil,  who  ran  as  a  Liberal 
and  signed  the  above  pledge,  L.  O.  Maille,  who  appeared  as  an 
Independent,  and  A.  Lavergne,  who  ran  against  a  Liberal  and  a 
Unionist  in  Montmagny.  From  his  intellectual  but  narrow  watch- 
tower  in  Le  Devoir  Mr.  Bourassa  watched  the  contest  and  his  utter- 
ances were  so  freely  and  widely  quoted  as  to  form  one  of  the  lesser 
issues  of  the  campaign.  On  Nov.  8  he  made  a  statementf  after 
conference  with  "a  great  number"  of  his  followers  and  friends  as 
to  what  attitude  they  should  take  in  the  contest,  which  proceeded, 
in  part,  as  follows:  "The  Unionist  programme  is  the  antithesis  of  all 
we  admire,  of  all  we  believe  and  all  we  desire,  while  it  is  the  synthesis 
of  all  we  detest,  of  all  we  despise,  both  in  men,  ideas  and  tendencies 
in  both  parties.  .  .  .  We  are  at  one  with  Laurier  in  contesting 
the  right  of  the  Tories  to  seek  to  cover  up  their  crimes  and  misdeeds 
of  the  past  six  years.  Adversaries  of  the  Coalition  Ministry,  of  all 
its  platform  and  of  its  personnel,  we  accept  M.  Laurier's  programme 
insofar  as  it  approaches  our  principles  and  our  ideas,  and  we  reject 
it  wherever  it  agrees  virtually  with  that  of  the  Ministry.  We 
ask  nothing  better  than  to  assist  Laurier  to  throw  out  of  power  the 
Government  which  has  proved  itself  a  traitor  to  the  nation."  On 
the  following  day  appeared  a  bitter  attack  on  England  along  lines 
common  with  Le  Devoir  and  stating  that  4,000,000  men  of  military 
age  were  being  deliberately  kept  in  the  factories  and  shops  so  as 
to  evade  service!  On  the  10th  Nationalists  were  urged  "to  exact 
pledges  from  the  Liberal  candidates  that  they  would  not  only  oppose 
Conscription  but  would  put  themselves  on  record  as  against  any 
and  all  additional  efforts  to  prosecute  the  War." 

Meantime,  the  result  in  the  Maritime  Provinces  hung  in  doubt. 
Party  feeling  ran  high  and  the  members  of  the  Provincial  Govern- 
ments took  no  active  part  in  the  contest  on  either  side,  though  the 
Premiers  were  understood  to  favour  Unionism.  The  retirement 
of  E.  M.  Macdonald  from  the  representation  of  Pictou,  N.S.,  was 
a  distinct  loss  to  Liberalism  as  was  the  moderate  support  of  Unionism 

*A  detailed  despatch  from  Quebec  in  the  Toronto  Globe  of  Nov.  12. 
t  Despatch  and  translation  in  Toronto  Globe,  Nov.  9.     Elaborate  Report  in  Mon- 
treal Star. 


THE  LAURIER  CAMPAIGN  AND  ITS  ISSUES  IN  CANADA      625 

given  by  Hon.  W.  S.  Fielding  though  Hon.  R.  M.  MacGregor  of  the 
Provincial  Government  supported  the  Liberal  in  Pictou.  Much 
was  expected  and  a  strong  support  received  from  the  Acadian  vote 
in  New  Brunswick  where  ISAcadien,  said  to  be  the  organ  of  Hon. 
P.  J.  Veniot,  Minister  of  Public  Works,  was  opposed  to  Conscription. 
These  Provinces,  however,  had  little  outside  aid  in  speakers  and  the 
Laurier  organization  was  poor  while  the  more  influential  Liberal 
press  supported  the  Government.  In  the  West  things  were  different 
and,  despite  the  acceptance  of  Union  Government  by  the  leaders 
of  the  Grain  Growers,  much  was  hoped  from  dissentient  farmers 
who  would  refuse  to  put  aside  their  Free  trade  and  other  convictions 
for  any  cause  whatever.  For  a  time  the  attitude  of  the  Farmers' 
candidates,  of  whom  there  were  seven  and  including  J.  A.  Maharg, 
President,  Saskatchewan  Grain  Growers,  R.  C.  Renders,  President 
of  the  Manitoba  body,  and  J.  S.  Wood,  Vice-President,  R.  McKenzie, 
Secretary,  Canadian  Council  of  Agriculture,  Thomas  Beveridge, 
P.  Proudfoot,  W.  J.  Ford — all  but  two  running  in  Manitoba — was 
in  doubt.  On  Oct.  4  they  issued  a  statement  declaring  that  "there 
is  necessity  for  complete  organization  of  the  nation's  forces  for  the 
winning  of  the  War,  including  not  only  the  conscription  of  men  for 
fighting  but  also,  and  simultaneously,  the  control  of  industry  and 
the  mobilization  of  wealth."  They  admitted  Sir  Robert  Borden's 
honesty  of  purpose  but  deprecated  his  alleged  desire  to  organize  a 
mere  political  combination ;  to  them  this  would  not  be  a  real  Coalition 
of  the  kind  required.  So  with  the  failure  to  adequately  conscript 
wealth  and  control  industry.  They  stood  for  the  national  Free 
trade  platform  of  the  Council  of  Agriculture  but  were  prepared 
"to  forego  the  immediate  discussion  of  Tariff  amendments,  if  given 
full  assurance  that  an  adequate  measure  of  excess  profits  and  income 
taxation  would  be  put  in  operation  at  the  earliest  moment."  Eventu- 
ally the  adhesion  of  T.  A.  Crerar  to  the  new  Government  settled  this 
issue  and  on  Oct.  31  the  Grain  Growers'  Guide  expressed  its  approval 
and  support,  Mr.  Renders  came  out  for  the  Government,  Mr. 
Maharg  was  elected  by  acclamation  as  a  Government  supporter, 
Mr.  Wood  gave  way  for  Hon.  Mr.  Meighen  in  Portage  La  Prairie 
and  Messrs.  Beveridge,  Proudfoot,  McKenzie  in  Manitoba,  and 
Ford  in  British  Columbia,  retired. 

This  disposed  of  one  Liberal  hope  but  there  were  varied  forms  of 
Western  feeling  from  which  much  support  still  was  assured.  Much 
was  made,  for  instance,  of  the  danger  to  farms  and  farmers  of  any 
further  depletion  of  man-power  but  the  assurance  of  Gen.  Mewburn 
that  "farmer's  sons  who  are  honestly  engaged  in  the  production  of 
food  will  be  exempt  from  military  service,"  coupled  with  Mr.  Justice 
Duff's  decision  that  competent  agricultural  labour  should  not  be 
withdrawn  from  the  farms,  were  largely  accepted  as  a  pledge  of 
policy.  On  the  other  hand  Sir  W.  Laurier 's  promise  of  free  agri- 
cultural implements  and  lower  tariff  duties  was  popular  in  the 
West.  In  Winnipeg  S.  J.  Farmer,  R.  A.  Rigg,  and  F.  J.  Dixon 
were  vigorous  Liberal  workers  and,  on  Oct.  19,  a  Provincial  Liberal 
Association  was  formed  with  Alex.  Dunlop,  Neepawa,  as  President 
and  the  support  of  Senator  R.  Watson,  H.  Chevrier,  ex-M,L.A.»  etc, 

40 


626  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

In  Saskatchewan  Messrs.  W.  R.  Motherwell,  Geo.  Langley,  G.  A. 
Bell  and  W.  F.  A.  Turgeon  of  the  Provincial  Government,  remained 
Laurier  supporters;  the  attitude  of  Hon.  S.  J.  Latta  was  doubtful  and 
the  Premier  and  Hon.  A.  P.  McNab  were  Unionists;  G.  A.  Scott 
was  actively  Liberal  and  many  other  members  of  the  Legislature 
stayed  with  their  leader.  Mr.  Calder,  however,  controlled  the 
Party  organization  and  took  it  over  to  the  Government.  On  Dec. 
3rd  Mr.  Langley  addressed  a  letter  to  Sir  W.  Laurier  which  was  made 
public.  In  it  he  specified  his  support  because:  "(1)  I  am  fully 
persuaded  that  the  resources  of  this  Dominion  will  be  placed  more 
completely  at  the  disposal  of  the  Empire  in  this  critical  time  under 
your  strong  leadership";  because  (2)  the  leadership  of  Sir  R.  Borden, 
Mr.  Rogers,  Mr.  Meighen  and  Sir  T.  White  represented  to  him 
"class  selfishness  and  reactionary  political  thought";  because  (3) 
the  War-times  Election  Act  disgusted  him  and  the  alleged  appeals 
to  race  and  religious  fanaticism  alarmed  him. 

Alberta  was  led  by  Hon.  C.  W.  Cross,  Attorney-General,  in  this 
matter  and  his  influence  was  widely  exerted  for  Laurier  Liberalism. 
He  had  the  support  of  Hon.  J.  R.  Boyle,  Hon.  W.  Gariepy  and  Hon. 
G.  P.  Smith  of  the  Provincial  Government,  while  A.  G.  McKay, 
M.L.A.,  J.  L.  Cote,  M.L.A.,  and  other  members  of  the  Legislature 
helped  with  speech  and  influence.  Hon.  Frank  Oliver  was  the 
centre  of  the  fighting  in  Edmonton  where,  despite  his  large  former 
majorities  and  the  work  of  his  paper,  The  Bulletin,  he  had  a  power- 
ful opponent  in  General  Griesbach  who  was  still  at  the  Front.  His 
newspaper,  on  Sept.  13,  declared  that:  "To  the  Liberal  West  Laurier 
stands  impersonally  as  the  embodiment  of  an  ideal  created  by  years 
of  service,  distinguished  by  achievement  when  in  power  and  by 
steadfastness  to  principle  in  defeat.  In  the  mind  of  the  West,  Laurier 
and  Progress  are  intimately  associated."  This  personal  issue  was 
steadily  urged  and  had  its  weight.  In  Red  Deer  Dr.  Michael 
Clark  was  turned  down  by  a  Liberal  Convention  and  W.  F.  Puffer 
nominated;  eventually  he  ran  as  a  Unionist.  On  Nov.  1  Alex. 
Allan  of  Calgary,  President  of  the  Provincial  Liberal  Association, 
called  a  Convention  of  "  Liberals  opposed  to  the  Borden  Government" 
to  meet  at  Edmonton  on  Nov.  10  in  order  to  discuss  the  situation 
and  500  representatives  attended,  including  Messrs.  Oliver,  McKay 
and  Gariepy  with  Martin  Woolf,  S.  G.  Tobin,  H.  P.  Atkins  and 
W.  A.  Rae,  members  of  the  Legislature.  The  Resolutions  were 
ten  in  number  and  unanimously  approved  the  platform  adopted 
by  the  Liberal  Convention  at  Winnipeg;  condemned  Messrs.  Sifton, 
Calder  and  Crerar  for  entering  the  Union  Government  and  sub- 
stituting expediency  for  consistency,  political  intrigue  and  man- 
oeuvring for  statesmanship;  re-affirmed  confidence  in  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier,  his  judgment  and  leadership;  expressed  its  appreciation 
of  the  services  of  Labour  in  the  War  and  regretted  that  its  rightful 
claim  to  representation  in  the  Government  had  been  ignored; 
condemned  the  Military  Service  Act  and  the  War-time  Elections 
Act,  because  of  manifest  unfairness  and  the  disfranchisement  of 
a  large  percentage  of  the  population;  deplored  the  disfranchisement 
of  all  but  a  few  women  in  five  Provinces  of  Canada  and  declared  for 


THE  LAURIER  CAMPAIGN  AND  ITS  ISSUES  IN  CANADA      627 

the  enfranchisement  of  all  women  on  an  equal  basis  with  men ; 
demanded  that  agricultural  implements  be  placed  on  the  free  list 
and  that  the  Agricultural  resources  of  Canada  be  effectively  organ- 
ized to  aid  in  winning  the  War;  condemned  Sir  Robert  Borden  for 
failing  to  restore  control  of  their  natural  resources  to  the  Western 
Provinces  and  demanded  immediate  action;  asked  for  increased 
pay  for  the  soldier,  increased  allowances  to  dependants  and  the 
revision  and  enlargement  of  the  Pension  list  to  the  end  that  every 
soldier  and  his  family  should  be  properly  and  fully  cared  for. 

Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  was  the  keynote  of  the  Convention  and  a 
despatch  of  endorsation  was  sent  during  the  proceedings.  Mr. 
Allan  presided  and  Hon.  F.  Oliver  spoke  at  length.  Mr.  Cross  sent 
a  telegram  as  to  :"The  intriguing  cabal  of  profiteers  at  present  in 
control  at  Ottawa  and  the  so-called  Win-the-War  movement;  I 
know  of  no  one  who  can  do  more  toward  consolidating  Canada's 
efforts  in  that  behalf  than  our  honoured  leader,  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier." 
The  Laurier  Resolution  expressed  special  confidence  in  Sir  Wilfrid 
to  realize  the  Convention  policy:  "We  recognize  that  it  is  only  by 
levying  its  fair  contribution  on  the  accumulated  wealth  of  the  country; 
the  elimination  of  profiteering,  the  proper  regulation  of  food  prices 
to  reduce  the  cost  of  living,  and  the  rational  utilization  of  the  man- 
power of  the  nation,  that  Canada  can  hope  to  do  her  full  share  in 
the  War."  Mr.  Cross  took  an  active  part  in  the  ensuing  campaign 
from  Vancouver  to  Winnipeg  and  appeared  to  be  really  hopeful 
as  to  the  result  of  the  contest;  Hon.  A.  G.  McKay  (one-time  Liberal 
leader  in  Ontario)  spoke  at  many  points — Red  Deer  on  Nov.  21, 
Edmonton  on  the  23rd  and  24th,  Battleford  on  the  28th.  Mr. 
Oliver  spent  much  time  speaking  in  the  North  and  at  Morinville 
on  the  30th  developed  a  new  point  for  his  side  in  admitting  that 
Compulsory  military  service  was  recognized  in  the  Militia  Act  and 
declaring  that:  "The  question  is  as  to  the  application  of  this  principle, 
whether  it  is  wise  or  prudent  to  apply  it  at  the  present  time  and 
whether  the  measure  is  wisely  framed;  upon  this  I  and  my  Leader 
took  issue  with  the  Government  of  the  day."  Supported  by  Hon. 
G.  P.  Smith,  Provincial  Secretary,  he  spoke  at  length  in  Edmonton 
on  Dec.  7  while  W.  W.  B.  Mclnnes,  lately  a  British  Columbia 
County  Court  Judge,  delivered  in  Calgary  on  Nov.  29  two  of  his 
characteristic  orations  in  denunciation  of  the  Borden  Government, 
the  "big  interests,"  the  profiteers,  the  "purchased  venal  press  of 
Canada"  and  the  evils  of  Conscription  and  the  War-times  Franchise 
Act  while  also  eulogizing  Laurier  and  Liberalism.  This  was  the 
text  of  practically  all  the  Western  Liberal  speeches  in  the  campaign. 

Other  incidents  included  the  activities  of  James  Weir,  M.L.A., 
a  Vice-President  of  the  United  Farmers  of  Alberta  and  prominent 
in  a  United  States  organization,  the  Non-Partisan  League,  which 
had  won  place  and  influence  in  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta.  He 
campaigned  against  Mr.  Crerar  in  Manitoba  and  spoke  at  Winnipeg 
and  many  points  in  Alberta;  urged  the  platform  of  the  League, 
including  a  demand  that  10%  of  accumulated  capitalbe  conscripted; 
was  repudiated  by  H.  W.  Wood,  President  of  the  U.F.A.,  so  far 
as  representation  of  that  organization  was  involved;  described 


628  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Quebec  as  "the  gem  of  Confederation"  in  a  Winnipeg  speech; 
met  Mr.  Crerar  in  joint  debate  at  Minnedosa  on  Dec.  12  where 
he  claimed,  on  Lord  Rhondda's  alleged  authority,  that  Britain's 
needs  were  in  this  order — food,  munitions,  money,  men;  alleged  in 
a  letter  to  the  Grain  Growers'  Guide  that  Mr.  Crerar  stultified  the 
whole  farmers'  movement  by  joining  a  Government  of  the  capitalist 
class.  Mr.  Weir  spoke  in  Calgary  on  Nov.  29  in  support  of  Rev. 
Wm.  Irvine,  Labour  candidate  in  that  city  and  also  a  Non-Partisan 
League  promoter. 

In  British  Columbia  the  Liberal  campaign  was  led  by  W.  W. 
B.  Mclnnes  and  F.  C.  Wade,  K.C.,  and  organized  by  Hon.  J.  H. 
King  of  the  Provincial  Government — supported  also  by  Hon. 
J.  W.  de  B.  Farris,  K.C.,  Attorney- General,  Hon.  J.  W.  Weart, 
Speaker  of  the  Legislature,  J.  S.  Cowper,  M.L.A.,  G.  G.  McGeer,  M.L.A., 
Jos.  Watters,  M.L.A.,  of  Yale,  and  M.  A.  Macdonald,  M.L.A.,  late 
Attorney-General.  Hon.  T.  D.  Pattullo,  Minister  of  Lands  took 
no  actual  part  but  was  a  Laurier  supporter  at  the  Western  Conven- 
tion. Charles  Macdonald,  Gordon  Grant  and  Joseph  Martin,  K.C., 
of  Vancouver,  and  Stuart  Henderson,  Victoria,  were  active  figures  in 
the  campaign.  Mr.  Mclnnes,  who  was  an  ex-M.p.,  after  resigning 
as  County  Court  Judge,  accepted  nomination  in  Comox-Alberni  as 
well  as  Vancouver  and  spoke  almost  continuously  for  two  weeks — 
mostly  in  Vancouver  and  once  in  Calgary.  He  took  the  ground  that 
the  advocacy  of  Conscription  throughout  the  Dominion  was  an 
artificial  cry  worked  up  for  political  purposes,  that  Canada  had 
men  enough  in  England  to  supply  re-inforcements  for  the  next  two 
years,  and  that  the  voluntary  system  was  capable  of  maintaining 
Canada's  quota  at  the  Front.  He  issued  a  Manifesto  on  Sept.  15 
which  covered  a  whole  newspaper  page.  In  it  he  accepted  the 
War  as  the  vital  issue  and  elaborated  the  above  views;  described  the 
Canadian  Patriotic  Fund  management  as  affected  by  snobbery  and 
favouritism  and  denounced  the  Borden  Government  up  to  the 
hilt;  wanted  the  Army  democratized  and  the  "vultures'  feast  of 
corruption"  eliminated;  urged  greater  production  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  one  language  in  the  country.  In  this  Province,  as 
everywhere  outside  of  Quebec,  the  Liberal  campaign  was  complicated 
by  the  split  in  the  party  which  took  away  so  many  leaders  of  Liberal 
work  and  opinion  and  turned  them  into  opponents.  There  were, 
also,  in  British  Columbia,  7  Labour  or  Socialist  candidates — 4  of 
them  dividing  the  Liberal  vote.  Three  of  the  Liberal  candidates 
were  former  soldiers. 

The  Churches        There   was   no   doubt   about  the  position  of  the 
Churches   in   this   election — except   as   to   the   rather 
Attitude' of      clouded  situation  in  Quebec.     The  Union  Government 
Labour  and      Publicity  Committee  recognized  this  in  a  press  appeal 
the  Women,     and  advertisement  on  Dec.   13  which  declared  that 
"Onward!  Christian  Soldiers!"  should  be  the  battle- 
cry  of  every fsane  man  and  woman  in  the  country;  the  Methodist 
Church  openly  took  the  lead  in  this  connection.     Officially   the 
Christian  Guardian,  week  after  week,  impressed  upon  its  people 


THE  CHURCHES  IN  THE  ELECTION;  WOMEN  AND  WORKMEN  629 

that  there  was  only  one  issue — that  of  the  War.  On  Dec.  12  it 
finally  urged  that  neither  party  politics  nor  the  position  of  Quebec 
should  be  allowed  to  separate  Canada  from  that  one  consideration. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  S.  D.  Chown,  General  Superintendent  of  the  Church, 
through  this  journal  on  the  above  date  and  in  the  press  throughout 
Canada,  stated  the  situation  with  earnest  frankness.  He  supported 
Conscription  as  essential  and  the  Union  Government  as  necessary 
for  its  enforcement;  he  deprecated  the  dominating  attitude  of 
Quebec  and  referred  to  the  "  grave  danger  lest  one  type  of  religion 
should  obtain  a  preponderating  influence  in  the  counsels  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  Canada."  He  declared  that:  "This  is  a  redemptive  war, 
and  its  success  depends  entirely  upon  the  height  of  sacrifice  to  which 
our  people  can  ascend.  It  is  under  this  conviction  that  ministers 
of  the  gospel  feel  in  duty  bound  to  enter  the  political  arena.  We 
shall  fail,  and  fail  lamentably,  as  Christian  people  unless  we  catch 
the  martyr  spirit  of  true  Christianity  and  do  our  sacrificial  duty 
between  now  and  the  17th  of  December."  Equally  emphatic 
was  the  Manifesto  of  the  General  Board  of  Social  Service,  addressed 
to  the  Methodist  people  and  signed  by  Rev.  Dr.  T.  Albert  Moore 
(Dec.  7).  It  urged  support  of  the  Union  Government:  (1)  In  order 
to  adequately  re-inforce  the  troops,  (2)  to  prevent  internal  division 
and  ensure  enforcement  of  the  Act,  (3)  as  a  duty  to  the  soldiers 
and  in  order  to  properly  aid  in  defeating  Germany.  The  Toronto 
Methodist  Ministerial  Association,  the  Methodist  Churches  of  St. 
John  (N.B.)  District,  the  Methodist  Conference  of  Saskatchewan, 
passed  earnest  Resolutions  along  this  line;  countless  preachers  of 
this  Church  throughout  Canada  urged  the  same  view. 

The  Church  of  England  was  not  far  behind.  Archdeacon  H.  J. 
Cody,  Toronto,  was  an  outspoken  supporter  of  the  Government; 
Bishop  David  Williams  of  Huron  issued  a  statement  (Dec.  6)  de- 
claring that  "the  only  course  for  us,  consistent  with  our  self-respect, 
independence  and  freedom,  whether  as  Canadians,  British  subjects 
or  as  Christians,  is  to  support  the  Union  Government";  Bishop 
J.  C.  Farthing  of  Montreal  issued  a  Pastoral  (Dec.  6)  describing  the 
emergency  and  the  policy  of  the  Government,  and  appealing  to 
his  people  to  "close  up  our  ranks  and  unite  the  country  behind  our 
Union  Government  for  God  and  country";  Bishop  J.  A.  Newnham 
of  Saskatchewan  declared  in  an  interview  (Dec.  12)  that  he  was 
"heart  and  soul  for  the  Union  Government,  believing  that  its 
policy  is  the  wise  one  and  its  pledges  and  intentions  are  honest  and 
tend  to  the  real  welfare  of  the  country";  Bishop  C.  D.  Schofield  of 
Columbia,  B.C.,  presided  at  a  Unionist  meeting  in  Victoria  on  Dec. 
15  and  urged  support  to  the  Union  Government  because  it  was 
"pledged  to  see  that  everything  is  done  to  forward  the  cause  that 
the  British  Empire  has  taken  in  hand  as  from  God  Himself";  Bishop 
A.  J.  Doull  of  Kootenay,  B.C.,  stated  in  a  Pastoral  (Nov.  30)  that 
"the  duty  of  supporting  the  Union  Government  is  a  sacred  one" 
owing  to  the  British  need  for  men;  Bishops  J.  A.  Richardson  of  Fred- 
ericton  and  L.  W.  Williams  of  Quebec,  at  St.  John  on  Dec.  16, 
urged  support  of  the  Government  and  the  War;  the  Synod  of  Calgary 
Diocese  by  Resolution  (Dec.  13)  declared  it  "the  duty  of  every 


630  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

churchman,  setting  aside  all  thought  of  party  politics,  to  support 
the  present  Government";  Archbishop  S.  P.  Matheson,  Primate 
of  all  Canada,  in  a  Pastoral  on  Dec.  8,  urged  all  voters  to  support 
the  Government  and  active  prosecution  of  the  War;  Bishop  J.  F. 
Sweeny  of  Toronto,  in  a  Pastoral  of  Nov.  29,  gave  the  following 
reasons  for  supporting  the  Government. 

(1)  Because  it  is  non-partisan — being  composed  of  the  best  men  on  both   sides 
of  politics. 

(2)  Because  its  raison  d'etre  is  to  'win  the  War.' 

(3)  Because  it  pledges  both  sides  equally  to  any  policy  or  action  that  in  their 
combined  wisdom  they  may  adopt  toward  this  end. 

(4)  Because  its  determination  is  to  keep  full  faith  with  the  Motherland,  in  the 
matter  of  Canada's  pledges,  and  thus  with  Canada's  sons  at  the  Front. 

(5)  Because  to  do  otherwise  at  this  time  of  stress  for  the  Empire  would  be  to 
emphasize  division,  the  consequences  of  which  might  lead  to  disasters  greater  than 
can  be  estimated. 

So  far  as  this  subject  was  concerned  Bishop  M.  F.  Fallen  of  London 
was  the  one  outspoken  representative  of  Catholicism  and  his  mani- 
festo of  Dec.  6  was  published  and  circulated  all  over  Canada.  In 
it  he  paid  high  personal  tribute  to  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  but  declared 
that  "every  element  opposed  from  the  beginning  to  Canada's 
participation  in  the  War,  every  element  desirous  that  Canada  should 
now  withdraw  from  the  War,  as  well  as  all  those  who  hold  it  as  a 
principle  that  Canada  is  not  concerned  in  the  War,  are  united  in 
their  opposition  to  Union  Government  and  in  their  desire  to  bring 
back  to  power,  for  their  own  unworthy  purposes,  the  great  leader 
who  disclaims  all  sympathy  with  the  principles  they  profess."  He 
described  what  Catholics  in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada  were 
doing  for  the  War,  denounced  any  slackening  in  Canada's  purpose, 
described  Conscription  as  absolutely  necessary,  declared  the  isolation 
of  Quebec  to  be  a  danger,  but  one  of  her  own  choosing,  and  added 
that  there  was  a  still  "  graver  danger  in  needlessly  confusing  religion 
with  a  question  purely  racial."  As  to  the  rest  he  urged  all  to  support 
the  Union  Government.  There  was  no  official  utterance  from  the 
Presbyterian  Church — except  the  Toronto  Presbytery — but  the 
Rev.  Dr.  D.  M.  Gordon,  Principal  of  Queen's  University,  Major 
the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.  Gordon  back  from  the  Front,  the  Rev.  Prof. 
Robert  Law  of  Knox  College,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  S.  Grant,  made 
strong  personal  appeals.  The  Maritime  Baptist  of  St.  John  urged 
the  greatness  of  the  War  issue;  Rabbi  S.  Jacobs  of  Toronto  asked 
the  Jews  to  support  the  Government  and  British  justice  and  liberty; 
a  large  body  of  Toronto  clergy  of  every  Protestant  denomination 
met  on  Dec.  4  and  urged  support  to  Union  principles,  as  did  a  similar 
meeting  at  St.  Stephen,  N.B.  So  it  was  all  over  Canada  with  count- 
less sermons  along  this  line  from  pulpits  of  all  denominations  as 
Dec.  17  approached,  with  also,  Unionist  meetings  held  in  many 
church  buildings. 

The  position  of  the  Women  in  this  Election  was  an  interesting 
one.  They  were  earnestly  appealed  to  by  the  Government,  the  press, 
the  pulpit  and  the  platform  and  received  a  vote  if  qualified  by  age 
and  allegiance  and  the  fact  of  being  a  wife,  widow,  mother,  sister, 
or  daughter,  of  any  person,  male  or  female,  living  or  dead,  who  was 


THE  CHURCHES  IN  THE  ELECTION;  WOMEN  AND  WORKMEN   631 

serving  or  had  served  without  Canada  in  any  of  the  military  forces, 
or  within  or  without  Canada  in  any  of  the  naval  forces  of  Canada  or 
of  Great  Britain  in  the  current  war.  The  Prime  Minister,  in  his 
Manifesto,  stated  that  this  war-franchise  was  granted  because  "if 
men  die  women  suffer;  if  they  are  wounded  women  heal;  if  they 
are  maimed  women  labour,"  and  promised  extension  after  the 
War.  The  estimated  number  of  possible  women  voters  under 
current  conditions  ran  up  to  1,000,000  with  half  that  as  the  probable 
total.  Union  Government  had  the  public  support  of  Mrs.  A.  E. 
Gooderham,  President  I.O.D.E.;  Mrs.  A.  B.  Ormsby,  President, 
Ontario  Women's  Citizenship  Association;  Mrs.  E.  A.  Stevens, 
President,  W.C.T.U.  of  Ontario,  and  Mrs.  L.  A.  Hamilton,  Chair- 
man, Women's  Section  of  Win-the-War  League.  On  Dec.  14 
Maj.-Gen.  S.  C.  Mewburn,  Minister  of  Militia,  issued  an  Appeal 
to  "Mothers  of  Canadian  Soldiers"  of  which  an  extract  follows: 

Is  there  not  cause  for  just  and  solemn  pride  that  your  sons  were  not  found  want- 
ing when  the  testing  time  came,  but  were  foremost  among  men  of  valour  and  high 
spirit,  eager  to  bear  their  part  in  the  most  momentous  struggle  in  the  history  of  the 
world?  These  men  who  left  the  shores  of  Canada  were  your  sons;  bone  of  your 
bone,  and  flesh  of  your  flesh.  Their  sacrifice  is  your  sacrifice,  their  suffering  has  been 
your  suffering,  and  their  honour  is  your  honour.  To  you  the  nation  offers  its  homage, 
gratitude  and  respect.  The  War  is  not  yet  over,  though  we  have  cause  to  be  thankful 
for  battles  won  and  for  many  signs  that  the  enemy  is  weakening  under  our  blows. 
The  end  is  certain,  but  the  only  path  to  victory  is  that  of  fortitude  and  patience.  To 
weaken  now  is  to  lose  all. 

They  were  told  in  many  directions  that  the  War  was  made  upon 
women  by  Germany  to  an  atrocious  extent  and  much  wasfsaid  of 
the  Cavell  murder;  daughters  of  the  late  Edward  Blake,  Sir  Oliver 
Mowat,  Principal  Caven  and  the  widow  of  Dr.  Carman  appealed 
publicly  for  support  to  Unionism;  Sir  Robert  Borden  on  Dec.  13 
declared  that  in  addressing  over  50  meetings  he  had  found  women 
everywhere  to  be  "  strong  of  purpose,  earnest  and  active  in  endeavour, 
clearly  realizing  that  the  issue  is  infinitely  above  all  party  or  personal 
consideration."  For  the  first  time  in  Canadian  history  women 
shared  in  political  Conventions,  presided  at  political  meetings, 
spoke,  with  men,  from  platforms  to  large  and  small  crowds.  Women 
organized  in  separate  Associations  in  many  centres  and  took  their 
full  share  in  the  work  of  canvassing.  On  Dec.  6  the  wives  of  leaders 
in  the  great  Protestant  denominations  signed  an  appeal  to  all  women 
to  pray  and  vote  for  the  best  support  of  the  soldiers;  the  Victoria 
(B.C.)  Colonist  on  Dec.  16  had  a  full-page  appeal  to  the  women  to 
vote  against  "a  Bolsheviki  intoxicated  with  the  hope  of  power"; 
a  Winnipeg  Committee  of  500  women  aided  the  Unionists  in  that 
City  and  were  backed  up  by  a  meeting  of  2,000  women  on  Dec.  13, 
which  was  addressed  by  Hon.  T.  A.  Crerar  and  others;  in  many 
Western  places  they  had  their  own  Committee  rooms  and  paid 
their  own  expenses  and  took  part  in  the  parades  when  victory  came ; 
the  Union  Government  Association  of  Quebec  Province  had  a 
French-Canadian  Ladies'  Section,  headed  by  Lady  Angers,  Mme. 
P.  E.  Blondin  and  Mme.  L.  J.  Tarte  with  Mesdames  P.  B.  Mignault, 
C.  P.  Beaubien,  L.  P.  Rodier,  H.  Du verger  and  H.  de  Salaberry 


632  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

upon  the  Committee.  Amongst  the  women  who  did  active  service 
as  speakers  in  the  campaign  were  the  following  Unionists: 

Mrs.  H.  P.  Plumptre Toronto.  Mrs.  R.  F.  McWilliams Winnipeg 

Mrs.  L.  A.  Hamilton Toronto.  Mrs.  Edward  Brown Winnipeg. 

Mrs.  G.  G.  S.  Lindsey Toronto.  Mrs.  Harold  Riley Calgary 

Miss  Constance  Boulton Toronto.  Capt.  Julia  Henshaw Vancouver. 

Lady  Eaton Toronto.  Mrs.  Irene  Moody Vancouver 

Mrs.  A.  B.  Ormsby Toronto.  Mrs.  John  Scott Montreal. 

Mrs.  N.  W.  Rowell Toronto.  Miss  Helen  R.  Y.  Reid Montreal. 

Mrs.  P.  D.  Crerar Hamilton.  Mrs.  Grace  McLeod  Rogers.  .  Amherst 

Mrs.  Charles  Robson Winnipeg.  Mrs.  Colin  H.  Campbell Winnipeg. 

The  Laurier  Liberals  did  not  have  much  publicity  for  their  meetings 
and  it,  also,  was  difficult  to  find  any  large  number  of  women 
supporters  along  public  lines.  In  Toronto  Mrs.  Hector  Prenter 
was  active  and  in  Vancouver  Mrs.  Ralph  Smith;  in  Montreal  Dr. 
Grace  Ritchie  England  spoke  for  Sir  Wilfrid,  as  did  Mme.  J.  P.  B. 
Casgrain,  and  in  Winnipeg  Mrs.  George  Armstrong. 

Labour  took  an  organized  form  in  the  Elections  but  was  not 
actively  hostile  to  the  Union  Government,  despite  the  attitude  of 
its  leaders  toward  Conscription.  The  Government  recognition  of 
Parties  for  the  polling  of  the  soldiers  created  the  opportunity  and 
a  distinct  party  was  formed  with  Walter  R.  Rollo  of  Hamilton  as 
the  titular  leader  of  37  candidates.  He  ran  against  T.  J.  Stewart, 
and  other  candidates  who  may  be  mentioned  were  D.  A.  Carey  in 
Toronto  South  who  was,  practically  a  Unionist  supporter,  A.  Verville 
in  Montreal  who  was  a  Laurier  advocate,  H.  J.  McVety  in  Van- 
couver, a  long-time  leader  in  Labour  circles,  R.  S.  Ward  and  R.  A. 
Rigg,  the  latter  resigning  from  the  Legislature  in  Winnipeg  and  both 
running  as  opponents  of  Conscription  and  Union;  Andrew  McBeth 
in  Regina  who  called  himself  a  Liberal-Labour  candidate  and  support- 
ed the  Opposition.  The  tendency  amongst  most  of  these  candi- 
dates was  towards  Socialism — in  the  West  a  rather  extreme  form 
and  with  two  of  the  Ontario  men  calling  themselves  Social  Democrats. 
There  were  three  Labour  candidates  in  Montreal  who  would  not 
acknowledge  the  Rollo  leadership,  an  Independent  in  S.  Vancouver 
(Edward  Gold),  and  4  candidates  in  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan  of 
the  Non-Partisan  League,  including  J.  W.  Leedy  who  supported 
the  Opposition  and  D.  H.  Galbraith  of  Unionist  tendencies.  G.  S. 
Gibbons  (Lib.)  in  London  received,  also,  the  nomination  of  the  local 
Trades  and  Labour  Council  as  a  supporter  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier. 
In  Montreal  on  Nov.  3  the  Independent  Labour  Party  of  Canada, 
Quebec  Branch,  was  formed  with  Joseph  Ainey  as  President,  and 
under  the  auspices  of  J.  C.  Watters,  President  of  the  Dominion  Trades 
and  Labour  Congress,  who,  however,  intimated  that  the  Congress  was 
taking  no  part  in  the  Elections.  The  Federal  programme  of  the 
new  organization  included  free  State  insurance  against  sickness, 
old  age  and  accident;  abolition  of  prison  labour  in  competition  with 
free  labour,  a  State  bank  to  take  the  place  of  the  existing  system, 
free  speech  and  a  free  press,  abolition  of  the  Senate,  a  fixed  date  for 
Federal  Elections  to  prevent  surprise  contests.  A  Manitoba  Branch 
was  organized  on  Nov.  8.  As  the  Election  developed,  however,  it 
was  clear  that  Labour  would  not  be  a  serious  issue ;  the  War  was  too 
big  a  matter  to  admit  of  any  third  Party  successes. 


SOLDIERS  AND  THE  ELECTION;  RESULTS  OF  THE  CONTEST    683 

The  Soldiers  The  Unionists  made  the  Soldiers  and  their  re-in- 
E?dtihn-  forcement  the  vital  issue  of  the  Elections;  at  the 
Results  of  same  time  every  care  was  taken  to  see  that  their  votes 
the  Contest,  were  polled  whether  in  England,  in  France,  in  the 
United  States,  in  the  Navy,  or  elsewhere,  as 
well  as  those  of  their  dependants  in  Canada.  The  terms  and 
arrangements  were  clearly  defined  in  the  Military  Voters'  Act;* 
the  Prime  Minister  and  the  Leader  of  the  Opposition  each  nominated 
22  special  returning  officers  and  clerks  for  Overseas  or  elsewhere 
outside  of  Canada;  each  of  the  300,000  soldiers,  nurses,  etc.,  abroad 
was  allowed  to  vote  only  for  a  candidate  upon  his  Party  affiliation 
— Government,  Opposition,  Labour,  or  Independent — and  not  by 
his  name,  which  caused  some  complications;  arrangements  for 
military  voting  within  Canada  and  naval  voting  at  sea,  covering 
an  estimated  40,000  men,  were  elaborated  with  special  polls. 
Lieut.-Col.  W.  P.  Purney,  Overseas  Clerk  of  the  Crown  in  Chan- 
cery, was  appointed  to  superintend  the  voting  and  the  Government 
Scrutineer  in  France  was  Lieut.-Col.  F.  Manley  Sims,  C.M.G.,  D.S.O.; 
in  England,  Lieut.-Col.  A.  T.  Thompson;  those  for  the  Opposition 
were  respectively,  Godefroi  Langlois  and  W.  T.  R.  Preston.  Presid- 
ing Officers  in  charge  were  appointed  for  England  as  follows:  Maj.- 
Gen.  G.  B.  Hughes,  Brig.-Gen.  F.  S.  Meighen,  Col.  Charles  A. 
Smart,  Col.  S.  D.  Gardner,  Lieut.-Col.  F.  L.  Armstrong,  Major 
J.  T.  Hill.  In  France,  and  Europe  generally,  Col.  Frank  Reid  was 
in  charge.  Those  in  Canada  and  for  the  Naval  posts  were  as  follows: 

Major  G.  J.  Dawson Edmonton.  Lieut.-Col.  G.  W.  Marriott.  .  .Quebec. 

Lieut.-Col.  J.  H.  D.  Hulme. .  .Vancouver.  Lieut.-Col.  A.  B.  GillLs Whitewood 

Lt.-Col.  A.  L.  Bonnycastle. .  .Winnipeg.  Capt.  F.  C.  C.  Pascoe Halifax. 

Col.  Frank  B.  Black St.  John.  Lt.-Com.  C.  J.  Stuart Sydney. 

Col.  W.  E.  Thompson Halifax.  ,Vice-Adm.  Wm.  O.  Storey.  .  .Esquimalt 

Lieut.-Col.  G.  H.  Gillespie.  .Kingston.  Col.  Charles  F.  Winter Ottawa. 

Capt.  H.  F.  Reid Windsor.  Lieut.-Col.  H.  A.  C.  Machin. Ottawa. 

Major  N.  M.  Young Toronto.  Lieut.  Col.  G.  A.  Carruthers.  .Ottawa. 

Major  F.  B.  McRae Charlottetown.    Capt.  M.  W.  Turner Ottawa. 

Lieut.-Col.  E.  T.  Leprohon.  .Montreal. 

In  Overseas  camps  the  soldiers  commenced  voting  on  Dec.  1  and 
the  polls  closed  at  8  p.m.,  Dec.  17.  Details  of  voting  regulations 
were  as  follows:  If  the  elector  could  indicate  the  name  of  the  electoral 
district  in  which  he  last  continuously  resided  for  at  least  4  months  of 
the  12  months  preceding  his  enlistment  or  appointment — or  a 
place  in  that  district — his  vote  went  to  that  electoral  district  but 
if  he  could  not  specify  these  details  the  vote  would  go  to  any  electoral 
district  of  which  he  had  clear  recollection  as  a  one-time  resident. 
If,  by  reason  of  non-residence  in  Canada,  or  from  any  other  reason, 
he  was  unable  to  indicate  any  particular  constituency  or  place, 
then  he  might  stipulate  the  electoral  district  to  which  his  vote  should 
apply.  Union  Government  appeals  to  these  troops  abroad  were 
urgent  and  like  those  addressed  to  the  people  at  home  were  based 
primarily  upon  the  failure  of  voluntary  enlistment  and  the  need  for 
re-inforcement.  As  to  this  an  official  statement  was  issued  from 
Ottawa  on  Dec.  12  stating  that  the  total  Infantry  reserves  in  France 
and  England  were  31,000,  with  only  16,500  immediately  available. 

*  For  details  see  Sub-Section,  "War  Legislation  and  Parliament,"  Pages  330-1. 


634 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


The  remaining  14,500  were  undergoing  training  in  England  or  were 
men  convalescing  there.  The  total  Infantry  enlistments  for  the 
11  months  ending  Nov.  30  were  22,487,  while  the  total  Infantry 
casualties  for  the  same  period  were  119,541.  The  remainder  of 
troops  in  England,  about  44,000,  were  in  training  and  included 
re-inforcements  for  Artillery,  Cavalry,  Engineers,  machine-gunners, 
pioneers,  army  service  and  army  medical  corps.  Another  Passchen- 
daele  fight  it  was  said  would  wipe  out  the  reserves  immediately 
available.  To  the  soldiers  at  the  front  two  formal  appeals  were 
made.  That  for  the  Government  took  the  form  of  a  statement 
from  its  Liberal  members  signed  by  Messrs.  Rowell,  Mewburn, 
Sifton,  Calder,  Crerar,  Ballantyne,  Maclean  and  Carvell.  It  ex- 
plained the  reasons  for  Conscription  and  the  formation  of  the  new 
Government,  described  the  negotiations  with  Sir  W.  Laurier,  indi- 
cated the  public  support  given  to  the  Unionist  policy  and  added: 
"We  regard  the  winning  of  the  War  as  the  supreme  issue,  and  are 
resolved  to  leave  lesser  matters  in  abeyance  while  the  united  energy 
of  the  Canadian  people  is  directed  to  that  end.  We  pledge  ourselves 
to  labour  unceasingly  in  the  cause  to  which  you  have  devoted  your- 
selves. .  .  .  We  desire  to  prove  ourselves  worthy  of  you  by 
aiding  in  the  carrying  on  of  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  in  an 
honest,  straightforward  way."  Meanwhile  on  Dec.  6  a  special 
cable  was  sent  from  18  Liberal  newspaper  Editors  supporting  Union 
Government  as  follows : 

The  undersigned  desire  to  express  to  you,  and  through  you  to  the  members  of 
the  Dominion's  Overseas  forces,  the  assurance: 

(1)  That  in  their  opinion  the  present  Union  Government  is  formed  primarily 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  support  for  the  troops  in  the  field; 

(2)  That  the  new  Government  includes  or  has  the  support  of  practically  all  the 
Liberal  leaders  and  has  the  support  of  all  the  Liberal  Premiers  in  the  Dominion 
except  in  Quebec,  and 

(3)  That  it  can  be  relied  upon  to  deal  with  conditions  in  Canada  and  abroad, 
which  have  been  subject  to  criticism  in  the  past. 


(Signed) 


Stewart  Lyon,  Toronto  Globe 

J.  W.  Dafoe,  Winnipeg,  Free  Press 

J.  E.  Atkinson,  Toronto  Star 

G.  Fred  Pearson,  Halifax  Chronicle 

E.  W.  McCready,  St.  John  Telegraph 

Cal.  Davis,  Hamilton  Times 

T.  H.  Preston,  Brantford  Expositor 

W.  F.  Kerr,  Regina  Leader 

H.  P.  Moore,  Acton  Free  Press 


W.  J.  Taylor,  Woodstock  Sentinel 
J.  I.  Mclntosh,  Guelph  Mercury 
W.  M.  Davidson,  Calgary  Alberlan 
J.  G.  Elliott,  Kingston  Whig 
W.  E.  Smallfield,  Renfrew  Mercury 
H.  T.  Blackstone,  Orillia  Times 
H.  J.  Pettypiece,  Forest  Free  Press 
H.  B.  Donly,  Simcoe  Reformer 
H.  Fleming,  Owen  Sound  Sun 


On  the  other  hand  advertisements  appeared  in  various  English 
papers  and  special  Opposition  appeals  were  issued  and  signed  by 
W.  T.  R.  Preston  "on  behalf  of  the  Liberal  candidates."  In  them, 
on  Nov.  17  Sir  W.  Laurier  was  described  as  the  greatest  Colonial 
figure  of  this  generation,  loyal  to  the  Crown  and  to  British  interests, 
pledged  to  support  the  Motherland  "with  the  full  resources  of  the 
Dominion,"  to  give  honest  government,  to  eliminate  political  favour- 
itism in  the  Army,  to  take  care  of  the  soldier — if  returned  to  power 
— in  all  kinds  of  personal  and  public  ways  which  were  specified  in 
eight  general  clauses.  Various  political  charges  followed  as  in  this 


SOLDIERS  AND  THE  ELECTION;  RESULTS  OF  THE  CONTEST  635 

paragraph:  "While  you,  with  true  British  courage  and  amazing 
fortitude  have  faced,  and  are  preparing  to  face,  appalling  conditions 
and  stupendous  sacrifices,  political  vultures  at  home  have  been  fatten- 
ing, and  are  preparing  to  fatten  still  more,  upon  public  expenditure 
and  public  necessities.  Colossal  fortunes  have  been  amassed  by 
Government  pets  through  exorbitant  profits,  who  have  made  no 
personal  sacrifices  nor  suffered  any  personal  inconveniences.  The 
political  hangers-on  at  Ottawa  have  been  raking  in  the  gold  while 
you  and  your  comrades  were  being  raked  by  German  shells."  As 
to  Conscription  this  explanation  was  given:  "Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
voted  against  Conscription  (1)  because  Sir  Robert  Borden  had  given 
his  pledge  that  there  would  be  no  Conscription  until  after  an  Elec- 
tion, and  (2)  because  the  proposal  was  not  accompanied  with  a  Bill 
to  Conscript  the  wealth  of  those  who  had  grown  rich  out  of  war 
contracts  and  food  profiteering."  The  Referendum  would  settle 
the  issue,  clear  away  dissension  and  bring  about  Union  at  home  with 
"a  full  quota  of  re-inforcements."  On  Nov.  22  in  the  Canadian 
Gazette  and  other  journals  this  statement  was  inserted  over  Mr. 
Preston's  signature: 

Under  instructions  from  Sir  Robert  Borden's  Cabinet,  Array  Officers  who  are 
filling  safety  jobs  are  mobilized  to  organize  and  secure  your  votes  in  support  of  the 
Government. 

These  officers  have  been  furnished  with  a  list  of  constituencies  which  they  are 
charged  to  carry  at  all  costs. 

This  action  by  officers  is  a  direct  violation  of  the  King's  Regulations. 

That  instructions  have  been  given  of  this  character  on  the  authority  of  the 
Government  justifies  the  allegation  that  the  management  of  the  Canadian  Army  is 
political  to  the  core. 

It  is  no  secret  that  this  horde  of  'cushey'  officers  is  to  organize  and  distribute 
the  'floating  vote'  to  constituencies  in  which,  but  for  this  nefarious  work,  the  Govern- 
ment Candidates  will  be  defeated. 

By  marshalling  and  dividing  this  vote  in  certain  constituencies  these  officers 
hope  to  throttle  the  honest  voice  of  the  Dominion. 

This  is  being  systematically  and  officially  arranged.  The  man  who  steals  your 
franchise  commits  a  much  greater  offence  than  if  he  steals  your  purse. 

From  the  men  at  the  Front  came,  also,  many  appeals 
for  support.  The  Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.  Gordon  bore,  and  expressed,  a 
strong  one;  Rev.  Canon  A.  P.  Shatford  of  Montreal  wrote  a  vigor- 
ous one;  Col.  W.  G.  McKendrick  of  Headquarters  Staff  wrote  to 
Mr.  Rowell  a  most  earnest  description  of  the  need.  Other  elements 
of  urgency  from  the  Front  included  an  earnest  letter  from  Maj.- 
Gen.  Sir  S.  B.  Steele  to  J.  M.  Godfrey,  Toronto,  published  on  Oct. 
2;  a  long  letter  from  Major  J.  A.  Leger  in  Le  Moniteur  Acadien  and 
others  in  the  press  from  Rev.  Father  Thornton,  Major  J.  L.  Ralston, 
Major  Stanley  Bauld,  Lieut.  J.  D.  Cahan,  and  very  many  others— 
with  an  earnest  message  from  Rudyard  Kipling  on  Dec.  1  declaring 
that:  "If  re-inforcements  are  not  forthcoming,  Canada,  after  all 
her  sons'  mighty  sacrifice  in  the  last  three  years,  must  gradually 
go  out  of  the  War.  That  means  that  half-a-million  devoted  men 
will  have  been  coldly  repudiated  by  their  own  people."  In  a  cable 
from  General  Turner,  v.c.,  to  the  Minister  of  Militia,  made  public 
on  Nov.  28,  specific  reference  was  made  to  this  need  of  re-inforce- 
ments: "We  who  are  close  to  the  fighting  zone  know  only  too  well 


636  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  bitter  struggle  which  the  Canadian  Divisions  are  making  to 
maintain  their  position.  If  the  people  of  Canada  would  only  realize 
that  in  order  to  maintain  our  Divisions  at  full  strength  men  who 
have  been  wounded  have  to  be  rushed  back  as  soon  as  they  are 
fit  without  the  leave  or  rest  to  which  they  are  entitled,  I  believe 
there  is  not  a  patriotic  civilian  in  Canada  who  will  not  stand  heart 
and  soul  behind  you  in  your  endeavours."  Speaking  at  Ottawa 
on  Dec.  13  the  Premier  read  a  letter  from  General  Sir  Arthur 
Currie  concluding  as  follows:  "With  the  firm  belief  in  our  hearts  that 
we  shall  be  supported  and  upheld  by  all  true  Canadians,  we  pledge 
ourselves  solemnly,  before  God,  to  keep  faith  with  our  fallen  com- 
rades." 

In  Canada  the  War  Veterans  were  a  factor.  They  were  im- 
pelled by  the  issues  to  take  part  in  the  contest  though,  under  organi- 
zation form  as  the  G.W.V.A.,  they  were  not  supposed  to  have  any 
politics.  Major  C.  V.  McCormack  in  Parkdale,  Toronto,  Major 
R.  C.  Cockburn  in  East  York  received  the  enthusiastic  support  of 
returned  soldiers  and  the  Toronto  Telegram,  At  a  Parkdale  meeting 
(Dec.  2)  SergL  W.  E.  Turley,  Secretary  of  the  Provincial  G.W.V.A., 
stated  that  this  organization  was  not  in  politics  but  was  behind  the 
Union  Government  because  it  brought  in  Conscription  to  help  the 
men  at  the  Front:  "There  are  32,000  reasons  under  the  sod  in 
Flanders  why  it  should  go  through."  The  G.W.V.A.  worked  also 
for  Lieut.-Col.  J.  I.  McLaren  in  West  Hamilton  and  Colonel 
D.  M.  Sutherland  in  North  Oxford — neither  of  whom  had  Govern- 
ment endorsement.  The  Ottawa  Branch  on  Dec.  13  issued  a  dec- 
laration that:  "Our  Association  knows  no  politics,  and  therefore 
we  are  glad  to  be  able  to  support  a  Unionist  Government  because  it 
is  composed  of  the  best  men  in  both  political  parties  whose  sole 
object  is  the  winning  of  the  War,  the  support  of  our  men  at  the 
Front  and  their  dependants  at  home."  It  concluded  with  an  appeal 
to  vote  for  Government  candidates  and  the  British  Empire.  At 
Woodstock  (Dec.  15)  Sir  Adam  Beck  supported  Colonel  Sutherland. 
In  Montreal  Lieut.-Col.  J.  J.  Creelman,  D.S.O.,  stood  as  an  Inde- 
pendent candidate,  supporting  Conscription  and  a  National  Govern- 
ment, but  eventually  retired  in  favour  of  Sir  H.  B.  Ames;  Lieut.- 
Col.  D.  C.  Draper,  D.S.O.,  was  a  Government  candidate  in  Brome 
and  Major  G.  W.  Andrews,  D.S.O.,  in  Winnipeg — the  latter  with 
the  following  platform: 

1.  The  boys  overseas  need  immediate  and  adequate  re-inforcements. 

2.  A  solid  Quebec  must  not  rule  Canada. 

3.  Russia  has  collapsed.     Will  Canada  be  next? 

4.  Women  are  generally  right.     Next-of-Kin  women  are  backing  Union  Govern- 
ment. 

5.  France  has  given  1  out  of  7  of  her  population;  Britain  1  out  of  8;  Australia 
1  out  of  14;  Canada  1  out  of  20.     Surely  we  have  not  done  enough. 

6.  A  vote  for  Union  Government  is  a  vote  for  democracy,  and  a  blow  to  militarism. 

Major  D.  Lee  Redman  ran  in  Calgary  as  a  Unionist  and  with  the 
Government  endorsation,  but  also  as  the  official  nominee  of  the 
G.W.V.A.  of  Calgary.  The  Provincial  Executive  of  the  Saskatche- 
wan body  issued  a  Manifesto  on  Dec.  15  declaring  that  2,600  returned 
soldiers  of  the  Province  had  "emphatically  expressed  themselves 


SOLDIERS  AND  THE  ELECTION;  RESULTS  OF  THE  CONTEST  637 

in  favour  of  Union  Government."  Signed  by  Major  James  McAra, 
President,  a  strong  appeal  was  made  for  popular  support.  The 
Regina  body  worked  hard  to  elect  Dr.  W.  D.  Cowan  and  held  a 
mass-meeting  in  his  behalf  on  Dec.  3  while  Pte.  Harris  Turner, 
the  blind  M.L.A.  and  returned  veteran,  spoke  throughout  this 
Province  for  the  Unionists.  In  Vancouver  South  the  Unionist 
nominee  was  Major  R.  C.  Cooper  who  was  also  endorsed  by  the 
G.W.V.A.  Other  soldier  candidates  were  Major  Aime*  Chasse", 
Quebec;  Lieut. -Col.  Sam  Sharp,  N.  Ontario;  Major  B.  R.  Hepburn, 
Prince  Edward;  Col.  C.  R.  Peck,  Skeena,  B.C.;  Brig.-Gen.  W.  A. 
Griesbach,  D.S.O.,  Edmonton;  Capt.  R.  J.  Manion,  Port  Arthur; 
Lieut. -Col.  Norman  Lang,  Humboldt;  Lieut. -Col.  James  Arthurs, 
Parry  Sound;  Dr.  J.  L.  Chabot,  Ottawa;  Dr.  Peter  McGibbon,  M.C., 
Muskoka;  Major  J.  W.  Margeson,  Lunenburg,  N.S.;  Capt.  J.  W. 
Brien,  S.  Essex;  Col.  H.  F.  McLeod,  York,  N.B.;  and  Capt.  C.  G. 
Power,  a  Laurier  supporter  in  Quebec.* 

Meanwhile  the  Elections  had  been  proceeding.  So  far  as  the 
Government  was  concerned  the  arrangement  of  candidates  in 
constituencies,  as  between  Conservative  and  Liberal  Unionists,  was 
an  essential  point.  In  the  East  there  was  no  exact  rule  with  a 
succession  of  compromises  according  to  local  conditions  and  subject 
to  certain  obvious  hitches — the  lack  of  Government  endorsement 
for  Labour  candidates,  largely  because  of  the  absence  of  Unionists 
amongst  them,  and  the  unavoidable  endorsement  of  some  party 
candidates  against  soldiers.  In  the  West,  however,  Sir  James 
Lougheed  and  Mr.  Burrell  with  Messrs.  Calder  and  Sifton  had  the 
matter  largely  in  hand  and,  after  many  conferences  with  other 
leaders  and  politicians,  a  general  agreement  of  fifty-fifty  for  the  56 
Western  seats  was  announced  on  Oct.  25.  In  the  country,  as  a 
whole,  there  was  (1911)  a  Conservative  popular  majority  of  669,594 
to  625,103;  in  1908,  1904,  1900  and  1896  there  had  been  a  Liberal 
popular  majority  averaging  60,000  in  the  four  Elections;  to  this 
popular  vote  a  part  of  the  women  now  were  added.  In  the  late  House 
the  members  totalled  221;  in  the  new  one  they  would  be  235.  The 
deferred  elections  were  Halifax  (2  seats),  Nelson,  Manitoba,  (a  new 
seat)  and  the  Yukon.  Nominations  took  place  on  Nov.  19  and  18 
acclamations  were  announced,  including  Hon.  W.  S.  Fielding  in 
Nova  Scotia,  John  McMartin  in  Glengarry,  Robert  Cruise  in  Mani- 
toba and  J.  A.  Maharg,  with  three  others,  in  Saskatchewan — all 
Liberal  Unionists;  Hon.  Martin  Burrell  (Cons.)  in  British  Columbia 
and  Hon.  H.  S.  Beland,  who  was  still  a  German  prisoner,  with  9 
Laurier  Liberals,  in  Quebec.  Others  were  chosen  later  owing  to 
retirement  of  opponents  and,  by  election  day,  29  had  been  returned 
without  opposition,  including  such  representative  supporters  of 
Sir  W.  Laurier  as  J.  A.  C.  Ethier,  L.  A.  Lapointe,  G.  H.  Boivin,  Hon. 
Jacques  Bureau  and  L.  J.  Gauthier.  Hon  F.  B.  Carvell  and  Hon. 
F.  B.  McCurdy  in  New  Brunswick  were  also  returned  as  Government 
members.  Lieut.-Col.  Wm.  Hendrie  retired  in  West  Hamilton  as 
didjW.  B.  Northrup,  K.C.,  ex-M.p.  for  East  Hastings — the  latter  a 
popular  political  figure  who  became  Clerk  of  the  new  House  of 

NOTE. — See  also  Page  538  of  this  volume. 


638 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Commons.  T.  Marsil  in  Montreal  and  E.  F.  Dussault  in  Quebec 
also  retired.  On  Election  Day  it  was  found  that  the  Unionists 
had  a  majority  of  at  least  40  and  probably  60.  The  returns  as 
finally  settled  appear  in  the  following  statement  compiled  from 
official  sources: 


Constituency 


Opposition 
Candidate 


Algoma  East .  .  .  L.  O.  Connor 

Algoma  West. .  .C.  N.  Smith 

Brant B.  Doran 

Brantford J.  W.  Bowlby.  .  .  . 

Bruce  North. . .  .John  McAuley  .  .  . 

Bruce  South. .  .  .  R.  E.  Truax 

Carleton F.  H.  Honeywell.. 

Dufferin T.  C.  Dryden 

Dundas A.  W.  Mclntyre. . 

Durham G.  W.  Jones 

Elgin  East W.  G.  Charlton  .  . 

Elgin  West Wm.  Tolmie 

Essex  North W.  C.  Kennedy  .  . 

Essex  South ....  Robt.  Atkin 

Fort  William- 
Rainy  River.  .A.  H.  Dennis  .... 

Frontenac J.  Halliday 

Glengarry-Stor- 
mont 

Grenville P.  A.  Mclntosh  .  . 

Grey  North ....  Dr.  A.  L.  Danard* 

Grey  South-east  W.  H.  Wright 

Haldimand J.  J.  Parsons 

Halton W.  D.  Gregory. . . 

Hamilton  East. .  G.  Halcrow. . 


ONTARIO 

Government 
Candidate 
G.  B.  Nicholson. . . . 
T.  E.  Simpson.  .  .  . 

,  John  Harold 

W.  F.  Cockshutt.  . 

.Col.  H.  Clark 

.A.  E.  McNab 

.  George  Boyce 

.J.  A.  Best 

.O.  D.  Casselman.  . 
Hon.  N.  W.  Rowell 

D.  Marshall 

.  Hon.T.W.Crothers 

,E.  S.  Wigle 

Capt.  J.  W.  Brien 


Member 

Elected 
G.  B.  Nicholson. . . . 

T.  E.  Simpson 

John  Harold 

W.  F.  Cockshutt   . 
Col.  H.  Clark.  .. 
R.  E.  Truax.  .  .. 
G  eorge  Boyce . .  . 

J.  A.  Best 

O.  D.  Casselman.  . 
,Hon.  N.  W.  Rowell. 

D.  Marshall 

Hon.T.W.Crothers. 
W.  C.  Kennedy .  . . 
Capt.  J.  W.  Brien, 


Poli- 
tics. 
Govt. 


Opp. 
Govt 


Opp. 
Govt, 


Hamilton 
Hastings  East .  ! 
Hastings  West.. 
Huron  North. . . 
Huron  South.  .  . 

Kent 

Kingston 

Lambton  East . . 
Lambton  West. . 

Lanark 

Leeds 

Lennox  and  Ad- 

dington 

Lincoln 

London 

Middlesex  East . 
Middlesex  West. 

Muskoka 

Nipissing 

Norfolk 

Northumberl'd  . 
Ontario  North . . 


.  R.  J.  Manion R.  J.  Manion 

,  Dr.  J.  W.  Edwards  Dr.  J.  W.  Edwards. 

John 'McMartin.  .  .John  McMartin. . 
.Hon.  J.  D.  Reid. .  .Hon.  J.  D.  Reid. . . 
.W.  S.  Middlebro..  .W.  S.  Middlebro.. . 

.  R.  J.  Ball R.  J.  Ball. . . 

,  F.  R.  Lalor F.  R.  Lalor 

R.  K.  Anderson  .  .  .  R.  K.  Anderson .  . . 
Hon.S.C.Mewburn.Hon.S.C.Mewburn. 


W.  Cross 
R.  J.  Graham 
A.  Hyslop 
T.  McMillan 
A.  B.  McCoig 

A.  W.  Richardson 
Neil  McDougall.  . 
J.  G.  Morrison.  .  . 

B.  A.  C.  Caldwell. 
A.  C.  Hardy 


.T.  J.  Stewart  ...... 

.T.  H.  Thompson  .  . 
E.  G.  Porter  ...... 

.James  Bowman  .  .  . 


.  J.  Stewart. 
T.  H.  Thompson. 

E.  G.  Porter 
James  Bowman.  . 

J.  J.  Merner  ......  J.  J.  Merner 

J.  W.  Plewes  ......  A.  B.  McCoig.  .  . 

W.  F.  Nickle  ......  W.  F.  Nickle  ...... 

J.  E.  Armstrong.  .  .  J.  E.  Armstrong.  .  . 

F.  F.  Pardee  ......  F.  F.  Pardee  ...... 

Dr.  A.  E.  Hanna  .  .  Dr.  A.  E.  Hanna  .  . 
Hon.  SirW.T.  White  Hon.SirW.T.White 


Opp. 
Govt. 


E.  W.  Grange 

Capt.  E  .J .  Lovelace 

G.  S.  Gibbons 

J.  M.  Rose 

D.  C.  Ross 

G.  H.  O.  Thomas. . 

E.  A.  Lapierre 

J.  A.  Wallace 

S.  G.  Dudley 

Fred.  Hogg 


Ontario  South.  .W.  E.  N.  Sinclair. 
/  Sir  W.  Laurier 

Ottawa \H.  B.  McGiverin. 

Oxford  North D.  M.  Sutherland 

Oxford  South. .  .M.  S.  Schell 

Parkdale Gordon  Waldron  . 

Parry  Sound. . . .  H.  C.  Hocken. . .  . 

Peel B.  Fetch 

Perth  North J.  P.  Rankin 

Perth  South ....  Wm.  Forrester 

Peterborough  E.W.  H.  Johnson. . . 

Peterborough W.R.  R.  Hall 

Port  Arthur  and 

Kenora J.  A.  Dunbar 

Prescott Edmond  Proulx .  . 

Prince  Edward  .  H.  Horsey 

Renfrew  North. Norman  Reid 

Renfrew  South  .1.  E.  Pedlow 

Russell Hon.  C.  Murphy  .  . 


W.  J.  Paul 

J.  D.  Chaplin 

Hume  Cronyn. .  .  . 

S.  F.  Glass 

G.  A.  Elliott 

Peter  McGibbon.. 
C.  R.  Harrison.  .  . 
W.  A.  Charlton. . . 

C.  A.  Munson. .  .  . 
Lieut.-Col.     S.     S. 

Sharpe 

Wm.  Smith 

J.  L.  Chabot 

A.  E.  Fripp 

E.  W.  Nesbitt. .  .  . 

D.  Sutherland 

H.  M.  Mowat 

Col.  J.  Arthurs .  .  . 
Samuel  Charters. . 
H.  B.  Morphy.... 

Dr.  M.  Steele 

J.  A.  Sexsmith.  .  . 
J.  H.  Burnham. . . 


S. 


.W.  Jl.Paul 

.J.  D.  Chaplin 

.  Hume  Cronyn. . . . 

.  S.  F.  Glass 

.  D.  C.  Ross 

.Peter  McGibbon.. 
.C.  R.  Harrison. .  . 
.  W.  A.  Charlton. . . 
.  C.  A.  Munson. 
Lieut.-Col.  S. 

. Sharpe 

.  Wm.  Smith 

.J.  L.  Chabot 

.A.  E.  Fripp 

.E.  W.  Nesbitt 

.  D.  Sutherland 

.  H.  M.  Mowat 

.Col.  J.  Arthurs. . . 
.  Samuel  Charters. . 

.H.  B.  Morphy 

.Dr.  M.  Steele.  .  . . 
. J.  A.  Sexsmith.  .  . 
.J.  H.  Burnham. . . 


Opp. 
Govt. 


F.  H.  Keefer F.  H.  Keefer 

A.  R.  Metcalf Edmond  Proulx  .  .  . 

W.  B.  R.  Hepburn. W.  B.  R.  Hepburn. 
Col.  H.  J.  Mackie.Col.  H.  J.  Mackie. 
Lt.-Col. T.L.Martin  I.  E.  Pedlow. . . 
D.  C.  Merkley Hon.  C.  Murphy  .  . 


Opp. 
Govt. 

Opp. 


Ma- 

jority. 

146 

2,270 

83 

3,692 
1,690 

172 
2,621 
2,991 
1,430 
4,519 

308 
1,647 

446 

169 

3,383 
1,983 

Accl. 
1,277 
2,294 
1,236 
1,216 
2,770 
6,752 

2,737 
2,293 
1,625 
2,029 

543 
1,089 
4,412 

984 
2.849 
3,207 
3,167 

1,582 

5,519 

4,353 

1,457 

399 

1,579 

44 

1,286 
3,397 

1,555 
2,523 
5,023 
5,470 
762 
1,312 
9,608 
3,139 
2,252 
1,868 
57 

1,166 
3,418 

3,514 
2,304 

1,476 

524 

63 

2,127 


*The  words  "no  endorsement"  under  Quebec  mean  that  one  or  more  candidates  of 
varied  affiliation  ran,  but  only  received  a  few  votes:  elsewhere  the  asterisk  means  that 
the  candidates  were  of  diverse  political  views  in  opposition  to  the  Government  nominee. 


SOLDIERS  AND  THE  ELECTIONS;  RESULTS  OF  THE  CONTEST 


Opposition 
Candidate 

Manley  Chew. . 
E.  C.  Drury .  .  . 
J.  H.  Mitchell. . 
A.  E.  Roebuck. 
J.  G.  Ramsden. 

J.  T.  Vick 

A.  J.  Young. . . . 


Constituency 
Simcoe  East 
Simcoe  North. . . 
Simcoe  South. . . 
Timiskaming . . . 
Toronto  Centre . 
Toronto  East . . . 
Toronto  North. 


Toronto  South. .  D.  A.  Carey 

Toronto  West .  .  C.  W.  Kerr 

Victoria G.  D.  Isaac 

Waterloo  North. W.  D.  Euler 

Waterloo  South .  Adam  Thomson .  . 

Welland U.  M.  German.  . . 

Wellington  N. .  .  Jas.  McEwing. .  .  . 
Wellington,  S. .  .  L.  Cunningham  .  . 

Wentworth J.  H.  Dickenson. . 

York  East Major  R.  C.  Cock 

burn  (G.W.V.A.)*. 

York  North.  .  .  .Hon.W.L.M.King 
York  South  ....  A.  MacGregor. .  .  . 
York  West Frank  Denton. . .  . 


Argenteuil P.  R.  McGibbon. . 

Bagot J.  E.  Marcile. 


Member 

Elected 

.J.  B.  Tudhope. . . 
.Col.  J.  A.  Currie... 
.W.  A.  Boys. 


Hon.  H.  S.  Beland 
.  L.  J.  Papineau .  .  . 
.C.  A.  Fournier .  .  . 
.  Theodore  Gervais. 
.  Hon.  C.  Marcil. .  . 
.A.  R.  McMaster. . 

.  J.  Archambault. . . 
.A.  L.  Desaulniers. 


Beauce 
Beauharnois . . 
Bellechasse. . . 

Berthier 

Bona  venture . 

Brome 

Charnbly  and 

Vercheres.  . 
Champlain . . . 
Charlevoix- 

Montmorency.  Pierre  Casgrain. . . 
Chateauguay- 

Huntingdon. .  J.  A   Robb 

Chicoutimi- 

Saguenay  ....  Edouard  Savard . . 

Compton A.  B.  Hunt 

Dorchester Lucien  Cannon 

Drummond  and 

Arthabaska. .  .J.  O.  Brouillard. . .  . 

Gasp6 Hon.  R.  Lemieux. 

George  -  Etienne 

Cartier S.  W.  Jacobs 

Hochelaga J.  E.  LeSage 

Hull J.  E.  Fontaine 

Jacques-Cartier  D.  A.  Lafortune. . 

Joliette J.  J.  Denis 

Kamouraska. . .  .  Ernest  Lapointe. . 

Labelle H.  A.  Fortier 

Laprairie    and 

Napierville . . .  Roch  Lanctot 

L'Assomption    - 

Montcalm P.  A.  Seguin 

Laurier-Outre- 

mont P.  R.  DuTremblay 

Laval-Two 

Mountains.  . . J.  A.  C.  Ethier. .  . . 

Levis J.  B.  Bourassa 

L'Islet J.  F.  Fafard 

Lotbiniere Thos.  Vien 

Maisqnneuve. .  .Hon.  R.  Lemieux. 

Maskinonge\  .  .  .H.  Mayrand 

Matane F.  J.  Pelletier 

Megantic L.  T.  Pacaud 

Missisquoi W.  F.  Kay 

Montmagny A.  M.  Dechene. . .  , 

Nicolet Arthur  Trahan 

Pontiac F.  S.  Cahill 

Portneuf M.  S.  Delisle 

Quebec  County. H.  E.  Lavigueur. .  . 

Quebec  East Rt.    Hon.    Sir   W. 

Laurier. 
Quebec  South. . .  C.  G.  Power 


Government 
Candidate 
.J.  B.  Tudhope.  . 
.Col.  J.  A.  Currie. 

.  W.  A.  Boys 

.  Hon.  F.  Cochrane  .  Hon.  F.  Cochrane . 
.Edmund  Bristol.  .  .Edmund  Bristol. .  . 
.  Hon.  Sir  A.E.KempHon.Sir  A.E.Kemp 
.Rt.  Hon.  Sir  G.  E.  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  G.  E. 

Foster Foster 

.  Dr.  C.  Sheard Dr.  C.  Sheard 

.  H.  C.  Hocken H.  C.  Hocken 

.  Hon.  Sir  S.  Hughes. Hon.  Sir  S.  Hughes. 

.  W.  G.  Weichel W.  D.  Euler .  . 

.  F.  S.  Scott F.  S.  Scott. 

.Maj.  E.  E.  Fraser.  Major  E.  E.  Fraser. 

.  Wm.  A.  Clarke Wm.  A.  Clarke 

.Hon.  H.  Guthrie..  .Hon.  H.  Guthrie.. . 
.  G.  C.  Wilson G.  C.  Wilson 

.Thos.  Foster Thos.  Foster 

.J.  A.  M. Armstrong..!.  A.  M.Armstrong. 
. W.  F.  Maclean. . .  .W.  F.  Maclean. . . . 
,T.  G.  Wallace T.  G.  Wallace 

QUEBEC 

.  Harry  Slater P.  R.  McGibbon. . . 

.  J.  E.  Lafontaine. .  .T.  E.  Marcile 

Hon.  H.  S.  Beland . 

L.  J.  Papineau .... 

.  Honor^  Grenier. . . .  C.  A.  Fournier .... 
.  J.  W.  A.  Ecrement  .  Theodore  Gervais. . 
.Phillippe  Furois.  .  .Hon.  C.  Marcil..  .  . 
.Col.  D.  C.  Draper. A.  R.  McMaster... 

.J.  H.  Rainville J.  Archambault.. . . 

. Hon.  P.  E.  Blondin.A.  L.  Desaulniers. . 

.  P.  Bouchard Pierre  Casgrain. . . . 

.James  Morris J.  A.  Robb 

.  Joseph  Girard Edouard  Savard . . . 

K.  N.  Mclver A.  B.  Hunt 

Hon.J.P.A.Sevigny  Lucien  Cannon. .  .  . 


J.  O.  Brouillard. . . 

.Dr.  L.  P.  GauthierHon.  R.  Lemieux. 


Poli-     Ma- 
tics     jority 
Govt.    3,593 
1,947 
4,614 
2,157 
8,133 
"       11,495 


18,237 
5,104 
9,618 
3,259 
1,864 
2,787 
762 
1,494 
5,219 
5,683 


Opp. 
Govt, 


*No  endorsation. . .  S.  W.  Jacobs 

*No  endorsation. .  .  J.  E.  LeSage 

J.  E.  Fontaine 

Aquila  Jasmin D.  A.  Lafortune. . . 

J.  A.  Dubeau J.  J.  Denis 

S.  C.  Rioux Ernest  Lapointe. . . 

.  .  H.  A.  Fortier. . . 


Mastai  Pagnuelo .  .  Roch  Lanctot 

J.  B.  T.  Richard  .  .P.  A.  Seguin 

Hon.  P.  E.Blondin.P.  R.  DuTremblay. 


Alphonse  Bernier 

M.  J.  E.  Rosseau 

C.  H.  Cahan 

*No  endorsation. 
H.  Boulay 

G.  P.  England. .. '. 
George  Blais 

*No  endorsation. . 

J.  E.  Bianchard '.  '. 
Omer  Drouin .... 

James  Scott. . . 


.J.  A.  C.  Ethier 

.J.  B.  Bourassa. . . . 

.J.  F.  Fafard 

.  Thos.  Vien 

.Hon.  R.  Lemieux. . 

.H.  Mayrand 

.F.  J  .Pelletier 

.  L.  T.  Pacaud 

.W.  F.  Kay 

.A.  M.  Dechene 

.  Arthur  Trahan 

.F.  S.  Cahill 

.M.  S.  Delisle 

.  H.  E.  Lavigueur. . . 
.Rt.    Hon.    Sir    W. 

Laurier. 
Capt.  C.  G.  Power. 


Opp 


3,978 

1,078 

14,023 

9,074 


429 
3,226 
Accl. 
Accl. 
3,692 

982 
2,895 

438 

2,065 
6,623 

5,068 
1,845 

10,031 
1,903 
3,731 

Accl. 

4,278 

5,522 
9,388 
Accl. 
2,311 
337 
3,262 
Accl. 

3.252 
5,009 
1,247 

Accl. 
4,190 
Accl. 
3,732 
4,033 
2,502 
4,563 
Accl. 
1,138 
1,051 
Accl. 
3,937 
Accl. 
4,253 
6,395 

1,315 


*The  words  "no  endorsement"  under  Quebec  mean  that  one  or  more  candidates 
of  varied  affiliation  ran,  but  only  received  a  few  votes;  elsewhere  the  asterisk  means  that 
the  candidates  were  of  diverse  political  views  in  opposition  to  the  Government  nominee. 


640 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Constituency 
Quebec  West . . 

Richelieu 

Richmond  and 

Wolfe 

Rimouski 

St.  Anne 

St.  Antoine 

St.  Denis 

St.   Hyacinthe 

Rouville 

St.  James 

St.  Johns  and 

Iberville 

St.  Lawrence  - 

St.  George .  .  . 


Opposition 
Candidate 

George  Parent. . 

P.  J.  A.  Cardin. 


Government 
Candidate 

Henri  Chasse 

E.  A.  D.  Morgan 


Member 

Elected 

.  George  Parent 

.P.  J.  A.  Cardin. . 


E.  W.  Tobin.. 
E.  Danjou. . .  . 
J.  J.  E.  Guerin 
W.  J.  Hushion 
A.  Verville. .  . 


L.  J.  Gauthier. . 
L.  A.  Lapointe. 

Jos.  Demers 

W.  C.  Munn.. 


,M.  G.  Crombie E.  W.  Tobin 

E.  Danjou 

.  Hon.  C.  J.  Doherty  Hon.  C.  J.  Doherty 

,  Sir  H.  B.  Ames Sir  H.  B.  Ames 

.  *No  endorsation.     A.  Verville. .  . 


,  L.  J.  Gauthier 

,L.  A.  Lapointe.  . . 


St.  Mary H.  Desaulniers  .  . 

Shefford G.  H.  Boivin 

Sherbrooke F.  N.  McCrea..  . 

Stanstead W.  K.  Baldwin. . 

T6miscouata. . . .  C.  A.  Gauvreau. 

Terrebonne J.  E.  Provost.. . . 

Three  Rivers  and 

St.  Maurice .  .  Hon.  J.  Bureau. . 
Vaudreuil- 

Soulanges. . .  .Gustave  Boyer. . 
Westmount  -  St. 

Henri J.  A.  Leduc , 

Wright E.  B.  Devlin 

Yamaska Oscar  Gladu 


.  P.  J.  Dore Jos.  Demers 

,Hon.  C.  C.  Ballan-  Hon.  C.  C.  Ballan- 

tyne tyne 

H.  Desaulniers .  . 

G.  H.  Boivin 

.  W.  S.  Davidson  .  .  .F.  N.  McCrea. .  . . 

,  W.  L.  Shurtleff W.  K.  Baldwin. . . 

.  Luc  LeBel C.  A.  Gauvreau. . . 

J.  E.  Provost. . . . 


Hon.  J.  Bureau. . . 

. J.  F.  Bissonnette .  .Gustavo  Boyer. .  . 

Hon.J.P.A.SevignyJ.  A.  Leduc... 

Andrew  Pritchard  .E.  B.  Devlin 

*No  endorsation. . .  Oscar  Gladu .... 


Ppli-     Ma- 
tics     jority 
Opp.      5,932 
2,521 

1,448 
Accl. 

Govt.  3,930 
3,114 

Opp.      8,830 

Accl. 
Accl. 

3,908 


Govt.    3,403 
Opp       Accl. 


3,667 

1,012 
1,542 

2,689 


W.  A.  Wells . 


.  J.  H.  Sinclair Opp. 


.John  McCorrnack  .D.  D.  McKenzie. . . 

.J.  C.  Douglas J.  C.  Douglas. . 

R.  H.  Butts R.  H.  Butts. .  . 

.F.  B.  McCurdy.. .  .F.  B.  McCurdy.. . . 
.Hon.E.  N.Rhodes  .Hon.  E.  N.  Rhodes. 


NOVA  SCOTIA 
Antigonish    and 

Guysborough.J.  H.  Sinclair.  .  . 
Cape  Breton  N. 

and  Victoria. .  D.  D.  McKenzie. 
Cape  Breton  S. 
and  Richmond  W.  F.  Carroll . . . 

G.  W.  Kyte 

Colchester G.  H.  Vernon. . . 

Cumberland . . . .  H.  J.  Logan 

Digby  and   An- 
napolis  L.  J.  Lqvitt A.  L.  Davidson A.  L.  Davidson 

Hon. A. K.Maclean. Hon. A.  K.  Maclean 

P.  F.  Martin P.  F.  Martin 

H.  B.  Tremain H.  B.  Tremain. . 

Thos.  Gallant A.  W.  Chisholm. . . 

Rt.    Hon.    Sir   R.  Rt.    Hon.    Sir    R. 

Borden Borden 

Lunenburg Wm.  Duff J.  W.  Margeson. . .  Wm.  Duff 

Pictou R.  H.  MacKay. . .  .Alex.  McGregor. .  .Alex.  McGregor. . . 

Shelburne  and 

Queen's Hon.  W.  S.  FieldingHon.  W.  S.  Fielding 

Yarmouth     and 

Clare Hon.J.W.Commeau  E.  K.  Spinney E.  K.  Spinney 


Halifax E.  Blackadar  . 

R.  H.  Eisnor. . . 

Hants L.  H.  Martell .  . 

Inverness A.  W.  Chisholm 

King's James  Sealy 


Govt. 


Opp. 

Govt. 

Opp. 

Govt. 


NEW  BRUNSWICK 


Charlotte W.  F.  Todd 

Gloucester On6s.  Turgeon .  .  . 

Kent A.  T.  Leger 

Northumberland  John  Morrissey . . 
Restigouche  and 

Madawaska . .  Pius  Michaud .... 

Royal Fred.  E.  Sharp. . . 

St.  John  City 

and    Counties 

of    St.     JohnW.  P.  Broderick . . 

and  Albert.  . .  A.  F.  Emery 


T.  A.  Hart T.  A.  Hart Govt. 

J.  E.  de  Grace Ones.  Turgeon ....   Opp. 

F.  J.  Robidoux A.  T.  Leger. 

..  S.  Lot 


Wm.  S.  Loggie Wm. 


>ggie. . . .   Govt. 


Victoria  and 

Carleton . .  . 

Westmoreland 

York-Sunbury 


.James  E.  Porter. 

.A.  B.  Copp 

.N.  W.  Brown.  .  . 


D.  A.  Stewart Pius  Michaud Opp. 

Gen.  H.  H.  McLean  Gen.  H.H. McLean  Govt. 


.  R.  W.  Wigmore .  . .  R.  W.  Wigmore ... 
.  S.  E.  Elkin S.  E.  Elkin 

.Hon.  F.  B.  Carvell.Hon.  F.  B.  Carvell.       " 

.O.  B.  Price* A.  B.  Copp Opp. 

.  Col.  H.  F.  McLeod .  Col.  H.  V.  McLeod.  Govt. 

MANITOBA 


1,438 

828 

1,383 

907 

Accl. 

1,196 

819 
Accl. 
Accl. 

293 
1,286 

1,417 
838 
757 

Accl. 
1,016 


617 
Accl. 
2,240 
1,047 

2,806 
3,125 


7,900 
8,081 

Accl. 
1,663 
3,864 


Brandon H.  S.  Paterson Dr.  H.  P.  Whidden.Dr.  H.  P.  Whidden.  Govt.  10,136 

Dauphin Robt.  A.  Cruise .  .  .  Robt.  A.  Cruise . .  .  Accl>* 

Lisgar E.  W.  Quinn Ferris  Bolton Ferris  Bolton 3,221 

*The  words  "no  endorsement"  under  Quebec  mean  that  one  or  more  candidates  of 
varied  affiliation  ran,  but  only  received  a  few  votes;  elsewhere  the  asterisk  means  that  the 
candidates  were  of  diverse  political  views  in  opposition  to  the  Government  nominee. 


SOLDIERS  AND  THE  ELECTIONS;  RESULTS  OF  THE  CONTEST  641 


Opposition 
Constituency  Candidate 

Macdonald W.  H.  Walsh. . .  . 

Marquette F.  C.  Hamilton. . 

Neepawa Alex.  Dunlop 

Nelson 

Portage  la 

Prairie F.  Shirtliff 

Provencher J.  P.  Molloy .  .  . . 

Selkirk J.  E.  Adamson.  . 

Souris T.  H.  Buck 

Springfield G.  J.  Charette. . . 

Winnipeg  Cent.  .R.  S.  Ward 

Winnipeg  North  R.  A. 

Winnipeg  South.N.  T.  M< 


Government                Member  Poll-     Ma- 
Candidate                   Elected  tics     jority 

.  R.  C.  Renders R.  C.  Henders Govt.    3,766 

.Hon.  T.  A.  Crerar.Hon.  T.  A.  Crerar.  "        7,520- 

.F.  L.  Davis F.L.Davis "        3,056 

J.  A.  Campbell J.  A.  Campbell "        Accl. 


.Hon.  A.  Meighen.  .Hon.  A.  Meighen. . 

.J.  R.  Johns J.  P.  Molloy Opp. 

.Thomas  Hay Thomas  Hay. .  .      .   Govt.    2,815 

.A.  E.  Finley A.  E.  Finley  .  . 

. R.  L.  Richardson.  .R.  L.  Richardson 
.Maj.G.W.Andrews.Maj.G.W.Andrwes. 


R.  M.  Blake R.  M.  Blake 

G.  W.  Allan G.  W.  Allan. . . 


3,635 

185  —  ((  i 
815        ^ 
Accl. 
2,089 
20,930 


6,184 
16,515 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA 


Burrard P.  Donnelly 

Cariboo R.  F.  Leighton 

Comox-Alberni .  W.  W.  B.  Mclnnes. 

Kootenay  East  .R.  E.  Beat  tie 

Kootenay  West. W.  Maxwell 

Nanaimo H.  A.  Stewart 

N.  Westminster. R.  C.  McRae 

Skeena Alfred  Stork 

Vancouver  Cen- 
tre  W.  W.  B.  Mclnnes. 

Vancouver  S. . . .  Chas.  MacDonald  . 
.S.  Henderson.. . 


S.  J.  Crowe 

F.  J.  Fulton 

H.  S.  Clements... 

Dr.  S.  Bonell 

R.  F.  Green..'. .  .  . 
J.  C.  Mclntosh. .  . 
W.  G.  McQuarrie. 
Col.  C.  W.  Peck.. 


.S.  J.  Crowe 

.F.  J.  Fulton 

.H.  S.  Clements... 

.Dr.  S.  Bonell 

.R.  F.  Green 

.J.  C.  Mclntosh..  . 
.W.  G.  McQuarrie. 
.Col.  C.  W.  Peck.  . 


Govt. 


Victoria  City . 
Westminster 

District 

Yale. . . 


H.  H.  Stevens H.  H.  Stevens 

Maj.  R.  C.  Cooper  Maj.  R.  C.  Cooper. 
S.  F.  Tolmie S.  F.  Tolmie.  . 


.F.  B.  H.  Ramsay.  .F.  B.  Stacey F.  B.  Stacey. . 

.  .Hon.  M.  Burrell. .  .Hon.  M.  Burrell. . 


7,859 
3,206 
1,490 
1,849 
3,642 
7,199 
4,498 
695 

8,179 
4.428 

8,764 

2,282 
Accl. 


P.  E.  ISLAND 

King's J.  J.  Hughes Jas.  Mclsaac Jas.  Mclsaac Govt.  52 

Prince Joseph  Read A.  A.  Lefurgey . . .  .Joseph  Read Opp.  324 

Queen's A.  B.  Warburton .  .  D.  Nicholson D.  Nicholson Govt.  58- 

J.  E.  Sinclair Alex.  Martin J.  E.  Sinclair Opp. 

SASKATCHEWAN 

Assiniboia E.  Waddington J.  G.  Turriff .  .      . .  J.  G.  Turriff . .           Govt.  4,524" 

Battleford W.  G.  A.  Gourlay  .H.  O.  Wright H.  O.  Wright ....          "  3,711 

Humboldt J.  L.  Barry Col.  Norman  Lang  Col.  Norman  Lang  2,174 

Kindersley J.  T.  Seward E.  T.  Meyers E.  T.  Meyers  ....  5,560 

Last  Mountain J.  F.  Johnston J.  F.  Johnston .  .  .  Accl. 

Mackenzie G.  W.  McPhee /  *G.  W.  McPhee  \  J.  F.  Reid "  677 

\  J.  F.  Reid / 

Maple  Creek J.  A.  Maharg J.  A.  Maharg Accl.  • 

Moosejaw James  Somerville.  .Hon.  J.  A.  Calder.  .Hon.  J.  A.  Calder. .  5,920 

N.  Battleford . . .  Chas.  Comerford  .  .  C.  E.  Long C.  E.  Long 1,898 

Prince  Albert. . . Sam.  McLeod Andrew  Knox Andrew  Knox 3,590 

Qu'Appelle. L.  Thomson L   .Thomson Accl.  - 

Regina A.  McBeth W.  D.  Cowan W.  D.  Cowan 7,964 

Saltcoats John  Rowan Thos.  MacNutt .  .  .Thos.  MacNutt.  . .  2,963  - 

Saskatoon Jas.  W.  Casey J.  R.  Wilson J.  R.  Wilson 7,806 

Swift  Current.  .M.  J.  Reilly Ira  E.  Argue Ira  E.  Argue 3,772 

Weyburn R.  F.  Thompson. . .  R.  F.  Thompson. . .  Accl. 

*Mr.  McPhee  had  the  distinction  of  being  endorsed  by  both  Leaders  and  defeated. 

ALBERTA 

.W.J.Blair...          .   Govt.  1,538 

.  H.  H.  Halladay .  . .  761 

.D.  E.  Redman "  4,452 

.T.M.M.Tweedie..  6,971 

.H.  A.  Mackie 2,653 

.Gen.W.A.Griesbach  2,696 

W.  A.  Buchanan. . .  2,834- 

.H.  M.  Shaw "  2,518 

Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton. .  3,301- 

.  Michael  Clark 2,413  « 

.J.  McC.  Douglas.  .        "  2,599- 

.  W.  H.  White Opp.  254- 

.Dr.  A.  Thompson..   Govt.       

The  distinctive  features  of  the  result  were  (1)  the  unanimity  of  the 
French-Canadians    against    Union    Government   and    Conscription 

*The  words  "no  endorsement"  under  Quebec  mean  that  one  or  more  candidates  of 
varied  affiliation  ran,  but  only  received  a  few  votes;  elsewhere  the  asterisk  means  that  the 
candidates  were  of  diverse  political  views  in  opposition  to  the  Government  nominee, 


Battle  River  D.  W.  Warner.  . 
Bow  River.  .  .  J.  E.  Gouge. 

.  .W.J.Blair  
H.  H.  Halladay      . 

Calgary  East.  .  .Win.  Irvine  
Calgary  West..  .J.  A.  Irving 

.  .D.  E.  Redman  
T.M.M.Tweedie.. 

Edmonton  East  A.  E.  May  
Edmonton  West  Hon.  F.  Oliver  . 
Lethbridge  L.  L.  Pack  
Macleod  D.  R.  Mclvor.  . 
Medicine  Hat.  .  .  C.  B.  Reilly  
Red  Deer  W.  F.  Puffer.  .  . 
Strathcona.  .  .  .  A.  T.  Mode 

..H.  A.  Mackie  
..W.  A.  Griesbach... 
.  .  W.  A.  Buchanan.  .  . 
..H.  M.  Shaw  
.  .Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton.  . 
..Michael  Clark  
J.  McC.  Douglas    . 

Victoria  W.  H.  White.  .  . 
Yukon  F.  P.  Conecdon  . 

.  .J.  B.  Holden  
.  .  Dr.  A.  Thompson.  . 

642  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  in  favour  of  Sir  W.  Laurier;  (2)  the  pronounced  sweep  in  Ontario 
where  only  8  Opposition  members  were  elected  out  of  82  with  several 
of  these  threatened  by  the  soldiers'  vote  when  its  count  should  be 
completed ;  (3)  the  great  success  of  Unionism  in  the  West  and  British 
Columbia  where  the  Opposition  won  3  seats  out  of  55 ;  (4)  the  election 
of  14  soldiers  returned  from  active  service  and  the  defeat  by  large 
majorities  of  all  Labour  or  Socialist  candidates  except  Mr.  Verville 
of  Montreal  who  was  more  Liberal  than  Labour  in  politics;  (5)  the 
immense  size  of  the  Unionist  majorities  in  Canada  generally  and  of 
the  Laurier  majorities  in  Quebec.  As  to  comments  Mr.  Calder, 
who  with  Mr.  Meighen,  came  out  of  the  contest  with  much  Western 
prestige  expressed  his  delight  in  the  result  and  the  need  for  Govern- 
ment action  "in  a  big,  aggressive  way"  and  Mr.  Sifton  declared  that 
the  result  insured  "future  development  of  the  West  along  non- 
partisan  lines."  Mr.  Meighen  described  the  Election  as  a  national 
character  test  of  the  sternest  kind:  "Every  appeal  that  could  be  ad- 
dressed to  the  selfish,  weak  and  the  timid,  every  allurement  that 
attended  the  prospect  of  immediate  comfort,  every  temptation  to 
seek  individual  advantage  rather  than  to  use  the  ballot  as  the 
citizen  of  a  nation,  was  brought  into  play.  ...  It  was  a  call 
of  duty  to  the  absent;  a  call  of  honour  from  the  State;  and  the 
conscience  of  the  nation  triumphed."  Messrs.  Doherty,  Ballantyne 
and  Ames,  who  were  the  only  Unionists  from  Quebec  Province,  in 
interviews  regretted  the  French-Canadian  attitude  while  Sir  Herbert 
Ames  stated  that  this  particular  vote  in  St.  Antoine,  Montreal, 
had  left  him  entirely. 

The  Toronto  Star,  in  dealing  with  the  Quebec  situation,  alleged 
the  vital  point  to  be  that  "we  in  Ontario  and  the  West  regard  the 
War  as  a  Canadian  question,  and  Quebec  does  not."  L'Evenement 
(Cons.)  was  explicit:  "Province  of  Quebec,  you  have  got  w^hat  you 
wanted!  Under  a  leader  in  whom  you  have  for  so  long  placed  your 
confidence,  and  who  has  conducted  you  into  so  dangerous  a  position 
by  placing  you  in  opposition  to  almost  all  the  rest  of  the  Confedera- 
tion, you  are  now  really  isolated  and  alone  in  your  corner,  unable 
to  ^do  anything  either  for  yourself  or  for  anyone  else."  Le  Soleil 
claimed  a  Laurier  popular  majority  in  Quebec  of  200,000  and  de- 
clared that  fanaticism  and  race  cries  had  defeated  the  Leader  but 
that  in  any  case  he  would  have  more  followers  in  the  next  House 
than  in  the  1911-17  Parliament;  Arthur  Sauve*,  Conservative  leader 
in  the  Quebec  Legislature,  thought  the  result  a  triumph  for  Bourassa 
and  his  ideas  in  Quebec;  La  Presse  declared  Quebec  to  be  true  to 
its  National  obligations  and  urged  a  revival  of  the  Bonne  Entente; 
Le  Canada  declared  the  result  due  to  "an  electorate  which  was  led 
to  believe  that  Conscription  was  directed  against  French-Canadians 
alone,  and  that  it  was  a  punishment  we  deserved";  the  Halifax 
Acadian  described  it  as  due  to  the  anti-Quebec  cry  while  the  Mon- 
treal Herald  urged  a  new  invitation  to  Laurier  to  enter  the  Cabinet 
— a  proposal  strongly  criticized  in  part  of  the  Ontario  and  Western 
press;  the  Grain  Growers'  Guide  was  delighted  over  the  election  of 
six  leaders  in  the  Western  farmers'  movement.  Henri  Bourassa 
in  Le  Devoir  described  the  result  as  a  victory  for  Independence: 


SOLDIERS  AND  THE  ELECTIONS;  RESULTS  OF  THE  CONTEST  643 


"The  French-Canadians  resisted  en  masse  because  they  are  en  masse 
and  by  instinct  Nationalist.  After  the  War  parties  will  be  broken 
up  again.  The  alignment  will  be  on  two  principal  questions — 
the  settlement  of  our  accounts  with  England  and  the  readjustment 
of  our  economic  equilibrium.  ...  In  the  conflict  between 
Imperialism  and  Nationalism  the  place  of  the  French-Canadians  is 
established."  As  to  Party  totals — important  to  politicians  when 
the  War  should  end  and  new  adjustments  be  possible — the  Conser- 
vatives elected  numbered  115,  the  Laurier  Liberals  82,  the  Union 
Liberals  38.  The  result  by  Provinces  and  in  detail  was  as  follows: 


Province 


P.E.  Island 

Nova  Scotia 

New  Brunswick. .  . 

Quebec 

Ontario 

Manitoba 

Saskatchewan .... 

Alberta 

British  Columbia. . 
Yukon 

Total . . . 


Liberals 

2 
4 
4 
62 
8 
1 
0 
1 
0 
0 

82 


Union 

Conserv- 

Govt. 
Civilian 

Opp.          Govt.          Opp. 
Civilian    Soldiers'     Soldiers' 

atives 

Vote 

Vote 

Vote 

Vote 

0 

2 

10,450 

12,224 

2,775 

434 

3 

9 

40,985 

49,831 

10,699 

1,474 

4 

3 

35,871 

32,397 

9,934 

919 

1 

2 

61,808 

240,504 

14,206 

2,927 

12 

62 

419.928 

263,300 

95,212 

5,793 

6 

8 

83,469 

26,073 

23,698 

1,157 

7 

9 

68,424 

30,829 

12,996 

2,672 

4 

7 

60,399 

48,865 

19,575 

1,055 

1 

12 

59.944 

40,050 

26,461 

2,059 

0 

1 

666 

776 

293 

32 

115 


841,944      744,849      215,849         18,522 


The  total  Government  vote  of  all  kinds,  according  to  the  Report 
of  W.  F.  O'Connor,  General  Returning  Officer,  was  1,057,793  and 
the  total  for  the  Opposition  763,371.  Of  the  Soldiers'  vote  37,386 
was  polled  in  North  America,  112,095  in  France  and  84,890 
in  England — a  total  of  234,371  including,  apparently,  those  taken 
at  sea  and  in  Italy.  Three  Ontario  Liberal  members  who  voted 
Conscription,  but  were  not  endorsed  by  the  Government,  held  their 
seats — Duncan  Ross  in  W.  Middlesex,  R.  E.  Truax  in  S.  Bruce 
and  A.  B.  McCoig  in  Kent.  vSir  W.  Laurier  was  defeated  in  Ottawa 
and  W.  M.  German  in  Welland  by  a  Conservative,  though  he  had 
supported  Conscription;  Hon.  Frank  Cochrane,  though  fighting  in 
Timiskaming  a  combined  French  and  Labour  oppposition,  was 
elected.  The  highest  majority  was  that  of  Major  G.  W.  Andrews, 
D.S.O.,  in  Centre  Winnipeg  (20,930) ;  next  to  him  was  Sir  G.  E.  Foster, 
18,237,  in  North  Toronto;  G.  W.  Allan,  K.C.,  had  16,515  in  Winnipeg 
South  and  W.  F.  Maclean  came  next  in  South  York  with  14,023; 
Edouard  Savard  in  Chicoutimi  had  10,031,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  H.  P. 
Whidden  in  Brandon  10,136.  All  were  Unionists  except  Mr.  Savard. 
On  Dec.  13  Sir  Robert  Borden  issued  a  statement  declaring  that: 

It  was  not  a  partisan  victory  in  any  sense.  The  splendid  elements  of  the  Liberal 
party  who  worked  so  strenuously  and  with  such  magnificent  results  in  every  Province 
except  one  are  to  be  congratulated  equally  with  the  Conservatives.  Equally  fine 
was  the  spirit  of  the  Conservatives  who,  regardless  of  party  affiliations,  supported 
and  elected  Union-Liberal  candidates  in  many  ridings.  It  was  a  notable  test  of 
democracy.  The  Canadian  people,  after  more  than  three  years  of  heroic  devotion 
and  untold  sacrifice,  were  called  upon  to  say  whether  Canada's  effort  in  the  War 
should  be  maintained.  In  the  midst  of  the  campaign  the  test  of  compulsory  military 
service  had  to  be  applied.  No  more  severe  trial  of  the  self-endurance  of  a  democracy 
was  ever  made. 


THE  EASTERN  PROVINCES  OF  CANADA 


Ontario :  Gov-  The  Hearst  Government  in  1917  had  important 
jrl*?\en*'  issues  to  deal  with  but  they  were  not,  in  the  main,  of 
and  Political  a  partisan  nature.  The  Prime  Minister  was  knighted 
Issues.  during  the  year  as  the  successor  of  Sir  Oliver  Mowat  and 

Sir  James  Whitney ;  he  delivered  a  number  of  eloquent 
speeches  upon  war-work  and  its  problems  and  in  the  Union  Govern- 
ment campaign;  he  proved  himself  an  energetic  Minister  of  Agri- 
culture and  helped  to  promote  production.  His  Government 
further  advanced  the  Hydro-Electric  policy  and  perfected  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Act  and  the  operation 
of  Prohibition,  gave  a  vote  to  Women  and  standardized  municipal 
accounting  with,  also,  the  creation  of  a  Deputy  Minister  and  Bureau 
of  Municipal  Affairs. 

During  the  year  the  Premier  promised  a  Deputation  (Feb.  9) 
careful  attention  to  certain  Town-Planning  suggestions;  declined 
(Apr.  1),  on  account  of  War  conditions,  to  undertake  at  present  the 
building  of  a  College  of  Arts;  arranged  with  N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C., 
Leader  of  the  Opposition  (Apr.  6)  not  to  have  any  more  bye-elections 
in  Ontario  until  after  the  War  and  no  Provincial  election,  at  least, 
until  after  another  Session;  told  a  Delegation  (Apr.  25)  that  there 
was  room  for  successful  ranching  in  Ontario  and  that  "the  Provincial 
Prison  Farm  at  Burwash  had  proved  that  the  luscious  clover  and 
grasses  of  Northern  Ontario  were  superior  for  feeding  purposes  to 
those  of  Alberta";  dealt  in  elaborate  and  detailed  form  with  the 
constitution  and  character  of  Ontario  institutions  in  a  University  of 
Toronto  lecture  on  May  10;  joined  hands  with  Mr.  Rowell  and 
others  at  a  non-political  meeting  in  Toronto  (June  11)  and  made  an 
earnest  plea  to  enact  and  support  Conscription,  "to  exercise  every 
force,  to  use  every  endeavour,  to  enact  every  Act  of  Parliament 
that  is  possible  to  strengthen  our  line  at  the  Front  and  win  the 
War,  to  bring  the  full  force  of  the  nation  to  play  in  this  great  death 
struggle";  spoke  on  July  2  at  Exhibition  Park  to  thousands  of  people 
on  the  lessons  of  Canada's  50  years  of  Confederation  and  the  need 
of  fresh  consecration  to  the  cause  of  liberty  through  re-inforcements 
of  men  and  munitions;  addressed  a  Win-the-War  Convention  in 
Toronto  (Aug.  2)  with  the  declaration  that  the  "only  choice  left 
to  us  is  the  choice  between  fulfilment  of  our  solemn  obligation  to 
our  men  at  the  Front  and  desertion — between  courage,  determination 
and  action  and  everlasting  dishonour  and  disgrace." 

As  Minister  of  Agriculture  Sir  Wm.  Hearst  published  throughout 
the  Province  a  series  of  appeals  during  the  year  for  increased  pro- 
duction and  did  much  to  ensure  progress  by  urging  the  organization 
of  vegetable  gardens  in  every  possible  locality;  by  obtaining  the 
help  of  High  School  boys  in  seeding  farms  and  reaping  harvests; 
by  calling  on  city  men  and  retired  farmers  to  enlist  in  the  fight  against 
food  shortage;  by  running  agricultural-instruction  cars  over  the 

[644] 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS        645 

Grand  Trunk  lines  in  Eastern  Ontario  fully  equipped  with  exhibits, 
samples,  modern  machinery  and  instructors ;  by  asking  manufacturers 
in  August  to  release  as  many  men  as  they  possibly  could  for  harvest 
work  on  the  farms — with  10,000  men  or  boys  required;  by  purchasing 
and  putting  into  37  counties  of  the  Province  over  90  farm  tractors 
in  order  to  facilitate  seeding  for  the  1917  and  1918  crops;  by  appoint- 
ing R.  R.  Harding,  a  Thorndale  sheep-breeder,  to  make  a  complete 
survey  of  the  waste  lands  of  old  and  new  Ontario  and  to  obtain 
full  information  as  to  their  possibilities  in  cattle  and  sheep-ranching ; 
by  helping  the  Toronto  Board  of  Trade  to  launch  its  campaign 
(Mar.  21)  for  the  mobilization  of  urban  labour  resources  to  assist 
agricultural  production  and  pledging  the  Government's  co-operation 
with  any  other  organization  in  the  Province  along  these  lines;  by 
establishing  a  Government  Employment  Bureau  to  aid  the  farmer 
in  obtaining  labour ;  by  urging  attention  to  sheep-raising  in  a  Pro vmce 
where  600,000  sheep  compared  with  7,000,000  in  New  York  State; 
by  holding  a  Provincial  Conference  at  the  Parliament  Buildings  on 
Oct.  31  to  promote  potato  cultivation  and  (Nov.  6)  another  to  give 
an  impetus  to  hog  production  on  the  farm  and  through  urban  co- 
operation; by  issuing  leaflets  and  pamphlets  on  egg-production,  pig- 
feeding  and  many  similar  subjects;  by  giving  all  possible  Govern- 
ment aid  to  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College  which  in  1917  had 
675  students  in  its  general  courses,  360  in  Domestic  Science  and 
398  in  the  Summer  Courses,  with  over  500  of  its  men  on  active 
service ;  by  continuing  grants  and  support  to  the  Women's  Institutes 
with  their  record  of  10,052  rural  meetings  in  1915-16,  an  attendance 
of  225,000  and  a  membership  of  30,335;  by  proclaiming  in  varied 
speeches  that  "Canadian  soldiers  were  holding  the  first-line  trenches 
in  France  but  that  the  second-line  trenches  were  the  farms  of  Canada." 
Dr.  G.  C.  Creelman,  the  new  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  ably^and 
continuously  seconded,  during  the  year,  the  more  public  efforts  of 
the  Minister,  with  a  policy  which  included  the  obtaining  of  additionl 
farm  labour  from  the  United  States,  the  establishment  of  Seed  farms, 
the  encouragement  of  Co-operative  Societies  and  arrangement  for 
Loans  to  farmers  at  moderate  rates,  extension  of  the  Ontario  Veter- 
inary College  course,  with  its  230  students,  to  four  years,  the  pro- 
motion of  Apple  consumption,  increase  of  Poultry  and  provision  of 
cheap  Waterwork  plants  for  the  farms.  The  Federal  grant  for 
Agricultural  Education  was  $336,303  in  1917-18  and  $301,158  in 
1916-17.  This  Department  also  issued  an  immense  number  of 
special  publications  and  amongst  them  were  the  following  in  1917: 

Fruit-Tree  Diseases  of  Ontario J.  E.  Howett;  Lawson  Caesar. 

Wheat  and  Rye C.  A.  Zavitz. 

Feeding  Stock  Suggestions Prof.  G.  E.  Day. 

Insects  Affecting  Vegetables Prof.  C.  J.  S.  Bethune. 

Pruning:  Fruit-Trees  and  Bushes  .  .  .  .F.  M.  Clement;  F.  S.  Reeves. 

Dairy  Cattle .  .  A.  Leitch;  H.  M.  King;  J.  P.  Sackville. 

The  Pear  in  Ontario F.  M.  Clement;  O.  J.  Robb. 

Farm  Poultry W.  R.  Graham ;   F.  N.  Marcellus. 

Wintering  of  Bees  in  Ontario Morley  Pettit. 

Tuberculosis  of  Poultry D.  H.  Jones. 

Insects  Attacking  Fruit  Trees Lawson  Caesar   B.A..  B.S.A. 

The  Department,  meanwhile,  had  initiated  and  aided  an  Organiza- 
tion of  Resources  Committee  with  Sir  John  Hendrie,  Lieut. -Governor, 


646  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

as  Chairman  and  the  Prime  Minister  and  Mr.  Rowell  as  Vice- 
Chairmen  and  Dr.  A.  H.  Abbott  as  Secretary.  It  issued  an  earnest 
explanatory  appeal  for  increased  production  and  advertised  largely 
along  similar  lines;  promoted  co-operative  vegetable  gardens 
and  had  all  kinds  of  Societies  throughout  the  Province  at  work  in 
this  connection;  by  the  end  of  1917  it  had  525  local  Committees 
throughout  Ontario  and  aided  in  the  substantial  increase  which 
was  shown  after  the  harvest  season;  made  strong  efforts  to  induce 
city  men  to  help  on  the  farms  and  published  a  statement  showing 
that  there  were  978  villages  in  the  Province  with  from  100  to  1,000 
people,  141  towns  and  villages  of  1,000  to  5,000,  and  43  towns  or 
cities  of  5,000  or  over  from  which  help  could  come;  organized  the 
planting  of  vacant  lots  and  conducted  a  campaign  as  to  the  value 
of  fish  for  daily  food.  In  this  general  work  the  Education  Depart- 
ment and  the  Labour  Bureau  co-operated  with  the  Premier  and  the 
Committee  and  at  the  close  of  this  year  Sir  Win.  Hearst  was  able  to 
thank  5,000  High  School  boys,  in  particular,  for  their  help  on  the 
farms.  As  to  details  the  Hon.  T.  W.  McGarry,  Provincial  Treasurer, 
announced  for  the  Government  on  May  7  that  the  sum  of  $200  would 
be  made  available  at  the  nearest  Bank  for  every  Ontario  farmer  who 
desired  to  increase  his  acreage  and  needed  the  money  to  buy  seed- 
loans  to  be  repayable  with  interest  at  six  per  cent,  on  Nov.  1,  after 
the  farmer  had  sold  his  crop.  If  the  crop  failed  and  the  farmer  was 
unable  to  repay  the  money,  the  Government  would  make  it  good. 
If  all  the  175,000  farmers  of  Ontario  had  taken  advantage  of  this 
offer  it  would  have  involved  $35,000,000;  a  large  proportion,  of 
course,  did  not  need  any  monetary  help.  On  Apr.  3  a  mass-meeting 
was  held  in  Toronto  to  promote  the  labour  end  of  the  Campaign,  a 
War  Production  Club  was  organized  with  this  object  in  view  and  the 
Toronto  Women's  War-Time  Thrift  Committee  joined  in  the  effort 
with  a  Provincial  Conference  of  women  held  in  Toronto  on  July  24 
and  addressed  by  Lady  Hendrie,  Lady  Hearst,  Mrs.  W.  E.  Sanford, 
Mr.  Rowell  and  others.  The  Government  and  its  workers  had  to 
meet  during  the  year  the  indirect  hostility  of  the  Weekly  Sun — 
a  farmers'  paper.  It  was  illustrated  by  such  statements  as  this  on 
July  25 :  "  When  farmers  produce  a  second  blade  of  grass,  some  other 
fellow  gets  that  other  blade.  They  have  learned  that  a  small  crop 
and  comparatively  high  prices  pay  better,  because  there  is  less  outlay 
for  labour,  than  a  big  crop  and  very  low  prices."  On  the  other  hand 
the  Government  was  greatly  aided,  and  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, particularly,  by  a  large  number  of  farmers'  organizations, 
of  which  the  following  list  shows  the  Presidents  for  this  year : 

Ontario  Horticultural  Association Dr.  F.  E.  Bennett .  .  .  St.  Thomas. 

Ontario  Agricultural  and  Experimental  Union H.  Sirrett Brighton. 

Ontario  Corn-Growers'  Association R.  W.  Knister Comber. 

Ontario  Swine  Breeders'  Association John  I.  Platt Hamilton. 

Ontario  Large  Yorkshire  Breeders'  Association J.  C.  Stuart Osgoode. 

Ontario  Berkshire  Breeders'  Association  .  .  .  .  Frank  Teasdale .  .    .  .  Concord. 


Ontario  Horse  Breeders'  Association. 

Ontario  Sheep  Breeders'  Association 

Western  Ontario  Poultry  Association 

Western  Ontario  Seed  Growers'  Association  . 

Ontario  Beekeepers'  Association 

Ontario  Association  of  Fairs  and  Exhibitions 

Ontario  Vegetable  Growers'  Association 

Fruit  Growers'  Association  of  Ontario 

Dairymen's  Association  of  Western  Ontario 


Wm.  Smith,  M.F Columbus 


.  .  .  Jas.  Douglas Caledonia. 


.J.  H.  Saunders London. 

A.  McKenney Amherstburg 

F.  W.  Krouse Guelph. 


.  Wm.  S.  Scarf Durham. 

.  J.  J.  Davis London. 


F.  A.  J.  Sheppard St.  Catharines. 

.  R.  W.  Stratton Guelph. 


Dairymen's  Association  of  Eastern  Ontario J.  N.  Stone Norham. 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS        647 

As  to  the  Government  in  general,  war-work  and  conditions 
absorbed  much  of  the  time  of  its  members;  one  incident  was  the 
grant  of  $100,000  to  Halifax  after  its  disaster  and  the  shipment 
of  several  carloads  of  supplies.  Mr.  McGarry's  Budget  Speech  on 
Feb.  22  showed  an  excellent  financial  position  with  Ordinary  Receipts 
for  the  year  ending  Oct.  31,  1916,  of  $13,841,339  and  Expenditures 
of  $12,706,332;  the  Estimates  for  1917  were,  respectively,  $14,306,878 
and  $10,448,652.  As  announced  a  year  later,  for  Oct.  31,  1917,  the 
Ordinary  Receipts  totalled  $18,269,597  and  Expenditures  $16,518,222 
—a  surplus  of  $1,751,374.  The  Assets  of  the  Province  (1916)  con- 
sisted of  Bank  balances,  $4,228,276,  the  T.  &  N.  O.  property  and 
Hydro-Electric  investment,  the  value  of  the  Provincial  buildings  and 
their  land  areas,  totalling  $72,778,058;  the  estimated  Assets  or 
resources  in  pine  timber,  pulpwood,  mining  and  agricultural  lands, 
etc.,  were  placed  at  $475,350,000.  In  speaking  Mr.  McGarry  referred 
to  his  1916  surplus  of  $1,134,996  and  his  reduction  of  the  net  Debt 
by  $810,253;  to  the  fact  that  the  War-tax  returns  of  $749,218  were 
not  included  in  this  surplus  but  were  used  for  special  war  purposes; 
to  the  increase  in  Succession  duties  from  $45,507  in  1893  to  $1,253,951 
in  1914  and  $2,451,000  in  1916;  to  the  loss  of  $500,000  from  liquor 
license  revenues  and  the  gain  from  Assessment  taxes  of  $243,918 
in  5^2  months,  and  from  automobiles  of  $334,759  over  the  previous 
year;  to  the  $665,000  received  from  the  Hydro-Electric  Power 
Commission  as  Interest  and  sinking  fund  and  $1,000,000  profit 
from  the  T.  &  N.  O.  Railway;  to  the  3^  millions  borrowed  under  the 
Northern  Ontario  Aid  Act,  of  which  $2,000,000  had  been  repaid;' 
to  the  successful  work  of  the  Hydro-Electric  Commission  and  opera- 
tion of  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Act ;  to  a  total  War  expenditure 
in  1915  and  1916  of  $4,262,089;  to  the  Orpington  (Government) 
Hospital  in  England,  the  aided  Maple  Leaf  Clubs  in  London,  the 
Soldiers'  Aid  Commission  of  which  the  Chairman  was  Hon.  W.  D. 
McPherson;  to  the  farms  provided  by  the  Minister  of  Lands  for 
returned  soldiers  and  to  the  plan  under  which  the  Government 
proposed  to  purchase  $17,000,000  worth  of  the  securities  of  the 
Province  held  in  England,  re-borrow  the  money  on  this  side,  and  to 
that  extent  help  Great  Britain  in  financing  this  war.  It  may  be 
added  that  the  War  expenditure  of  1917  totalled  $2,414,447,  with 
receipts  of  $2,050,128  from  the  War-tax.  During  this  year  the 
.  Province  borrowed  $5,000,000.  Of  this  two  millions  were  obtained 
at  5%  without  any  commission  and  one  million  at  4*92%  and  the 
claim  was  made  that  no  other  Province  or  country  had  been  able  to 
borrow  at  such  favourable -rates.  In  addition,  two  millions  were 
obtained  from  one  of  the  Banks  at  the  end  of  the  year  for  6%. 
Under  this  Department  was  the  Provincial  Library,  of  which,  in 
1917,  the  Librarian  was  Avern  Pardoe,  in  his  19th  year  of  office. 
To  him,  also,  Dr.  Alex.  Eraser,  submitted  in  1917  the  13th  Annual 
Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Archives  which  included  a  valuable  re- 
issue of  La  Rochefocauld-Liancourt's  Travels  in  Canada,  1795, 
annotated  by  Sir  D.  W.  Smith  and  edited,  with  notes,  by  Hon.  W.  R. 
Riddell,  LL.D. 


648  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Hon.  F.  G.  Macdiarmid  as  Minister  of  Public  Works  and 
Highways  continued  his  advocacy  of  better  roads  and  was  ably 
assisted  by  the  Commissioner  of  Highways — W.  A.  McLean.  Speak- 
ing to  the  Ontario  Good  Roads  Association  (Feb.  28)  the  Minister 
stated  that  motor-licenses  had  brought  in  $650,000  in  the  past  year 
and  that  the  total  would  soon  be  $1,000,000.  He  intimated  the 
proposed  establishment  of  a  system  of  Provincial  highways  and 
legislation  which  included  the  authorized  construction,  by  the 
Highways  Department,  of  various  roads  considered  necessary  as 
links  in  the  Provincial  system;  the  completion  of  this  system  from 
the  Western  boundary  to  the  Eastern  boundary  of  the  Province 
so  as  to  connect  with  Montreal;  a  plan  for  municipalities  to  contri- 
bute 30%  of  the  expenditures  on  these  roads;  the  designation  of 
County  roads  by  the  Minister,  towards  the  construction  and  main- 
tenance of  which  a  subsidy  of  60%  could  be  authorized;  the  settle- 
ment of  disputes  as  to  liability  in  this  connection  and  as  to  bridges; 
the  deviation  or  widening  of  highways  and  authorization  of  the  ex- 
propriation of  material  for  road-making;  Provincial  suburban  roads 
in  the  vicinity  of  cities  to  be  established  where  a  portion  of  the 
cost  could  be  assessed  as  local  improvement  work.  This  policy  of 
a  great  highway  running  from  Toronto  to  Windsor  and  thence  to 
Montreal  was  generally  approved  and  a  large  Deputation  on  Mar.  1 
expressed  pleasure  at  the  proposals.  A  tour  of  Western  Ontario 
by  the  Minister  and  his  Deputy  in  June  added  to  their  conviction 
that  agricultural  prosperity  and  good  roads  were  co-related.  Work 
on  the  completion  of  the  Toronto-Hamilton  Highway  was  carried  out 
at  an  estimated  additional  cost  of  $314,771  with  a  widening  of  part 
of  the  road  for  motor  purposes;  the  last  slab  of  concrete  was  laid 
on  Nov.  6  in  a  road  of  36  miles  that  had  taken  three  years  to  construct 
and  had  required  125,000  tons  of  stone,  70,000  tons  of  sand  and  150,- 
000  bbls.  of  cement;  G.  H.  Gooderham,  M.L.A.,  was  Chairman  of 
the  Commission  and  Sir  Wm.  Hearst  formally  opened  the  Highway  on 
Nov.  24.  This  Minister  had  under  his  supervision  (1)  the  Trades 
and  Labour  Board  of  which  W.  A.  Riddell,  PH.D.,  was  Superintendent 
and  which  in  1917  opened  a  number  of  Employment  Bureaux  to 
help  the  farmers  and  munition  industries;  (2)  the  Factory  Inspec- 
tion Branch  which  in  1916  made  10,618  inspections  of  factories  with 
243,118  employees,  prosecuted  infractions  of  the  law,  and  investigated 
accidents,  sanitary  and  other  conditions,  hours  of  labour  and  fire 
protection;  (3)  the  Timiskaming  &  Northern  Ontario  Railway  Com- 
mission, which  (Oct.  31,  1917)  under  the  Chairmanship  of  J.  L. 
Englehart  had  a  mileage  of  459,  an  operating  revenue  of  $2,331,905, 
and  expenses  of  $1,881,296,  ore  royalties  of  $119,576  and  net  earnings 
of  $516,700.  Mr.  Macdiarmid's  Annual  Report  (Oct.  31,  1917) 
showed  an  expenditure  of  $963,863  upon  public  buildings,  the  con- 
struction of  153  miles  of  new  roads  and  repair  of  1197  miles,  the 
building  of  1475  culverts  and  106  bridges  at  a  cost  of  $263,745  to 
the  Province  and  $75,000  to  municipalities,  a  total  length  of  steam 
railways  under  operation  of  10,952  miles  and  of  electric  lines  1086 
miles. 


o 
O 

55 
O 

I 


.  ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS        649 

The  Provincial  Secretary  (Hon.  W.  D.  McPherson)  had  under  his 
jurisdiction  (1)  the  Provincial  Board  of  Health,  of  which  Dr.  J.  W.  S. 
McCullough  was  Chief  Officer,  with  its  oversight  of  public  health, 
checking  of  disease,  watching  over  sanitation  work  in  laboratories, 
distribution  of  biological  products  free  of  charge  for  small-pox,  diph- 
theria, typhoid,  etc.;  (2)  the  Queen  Victoria  Niagara  Falls  Park 
Commission,  of  which  P.  W.  Ellis  of  Toronto  was  Chairman,  with 
its  control  of  the  Canadian  area  around  the  Falls,  its  influence  upon 
the  Power  question,  distribution  and  privileges  of  the  Companies; 

(3)  the  50  gaols  and  lock-ups  of    Ontario   with  commitments  of 
16,100  in  1916;  and  the  Hospitals  for  Feeble-Minded  and  Epileptics 
with  1,034  patients  in  1916  and  for  the  Insane  with  6,170  inmates; 

(4)  the  162  Hospitals  with  91,013  patients  admitted  in  1917,  a  total 
of  5,651  deaths  and  7,365  births  and  a  cost  of  $4,450,957,  during  the 
year,  together  with  103  Charitable  institutions  of  varied  nature; 

(5)  the  Vital  Statistics  of  the  province  showing  births  totalling  65,264 
in  1916,  marriages  23,401,  deaths  35,580;  (6)  the  Provincial  Munici- 
pal   Audit    with     a     certain     oversight     of     municipal     financial 
affairs     and     the     Registration     Office    with     $149,506     fees     in 
1916  and  1,285  charters  or  licenses  issued;  (7)  the  administration 
of  the  Ontario  Temperance  Act  with  (Oct.  31,  1917)  1,300  Standard 
hotels  under  license  and  many  licensed  Vendors  also.     Mr.  Mc- 
Pherson was  Chairman  of  the  Provincial  Soldiers'  Aid  Commission 
and  performed  his  duties  with  characteristic  thoroughness,   with 
many  new  or  enlarged  institutions  and  much  educative  work  under 
supervision;  the  farm  and  cultivated  acreage  of  the  various  insti- 
tutions pertaining  to  his  Department  totalled  6,600;  he  met  with 
certain  difficulties  during  the  year  in  the  administration  of  Bufwash 
Prison  Farm  where  a  new  system  of  treating  prisoners  was  in  opera- 
tion. 

The  Hon.  Isaac  B.  Lucas,  K.C.,  as  Attorney- General,  had  charge 
of  Legal  Offices  and  general  oversight  of  the  enforcement  of  law. 
Under  his  supervision,  also,  were  (1)  the  Friendly  Societies  number- 
ing 27  with  a  membership  on  Dec.  31,  1917,  of  243,781,  insurance 
in  force  of  $156,788,705  in  Ontario  and  $1,103,457,343  outside  of 
Ontario  and  Benefits  paid  in  Ontario  of  $2,556,635  during  the  year; 
(2)  the  Registry  Offices  of  the  Province,  the  Division  Courts'  business 
and  the  Loan  Corporations  with,  in  the  latter  case  (1916),  a  capital 
stock  of  $228,511,574,  Deposits  of  $24,545,532,  Debentures  of  $100,- 
747,854,  Mortgages  on  Land  of  $163,423,748,  Trustee  Assets  of 
$164,030,776;  (3)  the  Ontario  Railway  and  Municipal  Board,  which 
in  1916  received  523  formal  applications  for  hearing,  validated 
Municipal  debentures  of  $2,289,744,  supervised,  in  some  degree, 
the  Telephone  systems,  Municipal  and  Public  Utilities,  Land  Sub- 
divisions and  Assessments ;  (4)  the  870  Mutual  Insurance  Companies 
of  the  Province  with  a  gross  amount  at  risk  of  $340,893,498  and  new 
business  taken  (1916)  of  $120,493,492;  (5)  the  joint  stock  Fire 
Companies  with  net  amount  at  risk  of  $97,461,751  and  the  work  of 
the  Fire  Marshal's  office.  Subject  to  this  Department  was  the  Work- 
men's Compensation  Board  (Samuel  Price,  Chairman),  which  re- 
ported for  1917  total  awards  of  $2,913,085  for  28,702  accidents  out 
of  a  total  of  36,514. 


650  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

• 

A  most  important  Government  work  was  that  of  the  Hydro- 
Electric  Commission  of  which  Sir  Adam  Beck  was  Chairman,  W.  K. 
McNaught,  C.M.G.,  and  Mr.  Lucas,  Commissioners.  Into  the  6 
systems  under  this  Commission — which  included  Niagara,  Severn, 
Eugenia,  Wasdell,  Kaministiquia  and  St.  Lawrence,  together  with 
Ottawa — there  had  come  between  1911  and  Oct.  3,  1917,  43  munici- 
palities with  an  investment  for  power-plants,  equipment,  land, 
buildings,  etc.,  of  $37,176,900.  The  liabilities  of  the  Commission 
to  the  Provincial  Treasurer  were  $38,102,720,  its  consolidated  opera- 
tive earnings  $6,070,065,  and  expenses  $5,077,491,  with  a  1917 
surplus — after  deducting  depreciation  charge — of  $385,367.  The 
Municipalities  coming  in  during  1917  numbered  14,  the  total  popu- 
lation of  all  those  involved  in  the  Systems  was  1,168,000,  the  plant 
cost  was  $20,077,935,  the  Debenture  Debt,  etc.,  $15,636,473,  the 
surplus  between  yearly  revenues  and  charges  $992,574.  Sir  Adam 
Beck  continued  his  energetic  work  in  the  expansion  of  this  organi- 
zation during  the  year  and  stated  on  Feb.  15  to  the  Ontario  Municipal 
Electrical  Association  that  within  two  or  three  months  the  munici- 
palities using  Hydro-power  would  exceed  200  with  an  investment 
by  municipalities  and  the  Provincial  Commission  of  $40,000,000; 
that  the  price  of  power  would  continue  to  be  reduced  and  that  the 
import  of  over  5,500,000  ton  of  soft  coal  had  been  made  unnecessary 
by  electricity,  while  nearly  500  munition  plants  in  Ontario  were 
using  between  70,000  and  80,000  of  Hydro  horse-power;  that  1,000,- 
000  h.-p.  would  be  eventually  available  at  Niagara  Falls  and  still 
another  million  for  Ontario  if  the  St.  Lawrence  were  made  a  deep 
waterway;  that  electrification  of  all  railways  in  the  western  part  of 
the  Province  would  make  it  independent  of  bituminous  coal.  His 
ambition  for  the  future  was  thus  defined:  "My  own  opinion  is  that 
the  Hydro-Electric  power  system  must  absorb  the  whole  of  the 
electric  systems  in  the  Province  of  Ontario,  and  I  hope  it  will  begin 
at  Niagara  Falls." 

Meanwhile,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  the  projected  Hydro- 
Radial  (Electric)  line  from  Toronto  to  Niagara  which  was  to  cost 
$10,000,000  had  been  voted  upon  by  the  Municipalities  concerned 
and  approved  by  all  except  Nelson  and  Hamilton;  the  Niagara 
System  municipalities  also  voted  by  large  majorities — except  Goder- 
ich — for  the  municipal  development  of  the  Chippewa  Creek-Niagara 
Falls  power  project  of  the  Commission.  Legislation  was,  accord- 
ingly, promised  by  the  Premier  and  Mr.  Lucas  on  Jan.  2.  Following 
this  Sir  Adam  Beck  campaigned  in  Hamilton  for  his  radial  policy, 
announced  bitter  opposition  to  the  C.N.R.  entrance  into  that  city 
which  would,  he  declared,  seriously  check  the  development  of 
electrified  railway  operations  in  the  Province.  In  the  Legislature 
on  Mar.  20  lie  spoke  upon  this  subject,  denounced  Sir  W.  Mackenzie 
and  Sir  D.  D.  Mann  personally  and  in  respect  to  the  Electrical 
Development  Co. — which  had  been  his  chief  rival  in  Ontario  and 
the  pioneer  one  at  that — and  the  C.N.R.  proposed  extensions; 
declared  the  latter  railway  bankrupt  and  the  Electrical  Development 
Co.  to  have  gone  beyond  its  permitted  126,000  horse-power  develop- 
ment at  the  Falls  and  to  have  installed  units  for  use  in  accidents 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS        651 

which  he  described  as  a  "theft"  of  water-power;  stated  that  the 
Commission  had  entered  into  a  contract  with  the  Imperial  Munitions 
Board  to  supply  them  with  20,000  h.-p.  for  their  new  plant  in  Ash- 
bridge  Bay,  Toronto,  and  had  reduced  the  coal  consumption  of 
the  Province  by  four  million  tons,  which  at  $5  per  ton  meant  a 
saving  of  $20,000,000.  He  urged  prohibition  of  the  export  of  electric 
power.  R.  J.  Fleming  and  Sir  Wm.  Mackenzie  replied  vigorously  to 
the  above  charges,  denied  Sir  Adam's  interpretation,  of  their  Power 
agreement  and  rights  and  the  accuracy  of  his  statements.  Sir  William 
(Mar.  22)  described  the  attack  in  a  letter  to  the  Premier  as  one  of 
"personal  vindictiveness "  and  added  that  if  Sir  Adam  had  any 
real  charge  to  make  he  (Sir  Wm.  Mackenzie)  would  welcome  its 
decision  in  the  Courts.  Mr.  Fleming  (Mar.  26)  declared  in  a  letter 
to  Sir  Adam  Beck  that  "we  have  munition  plants  on  our  line  whose 
demands  total  more  than  60,000  h.-p.,  and  when  you  seek  to  embarrass 
the  operation  of  our  Niagara  plant,  as  you  have  been  doing  for  many 
a  day,  you  do  not  advance  the  interests, of  the  munition  plants  nor 
of  the  Allies."  As  to  this  the  yictoria  Park  Commission  in  its 
1917  Report  accused  the  Electrical  Company  of  using  136,000 
h.-p.  instead  of  125,000. 

All  through  the  year  the  fundamental  differences  between  the 
private  Mackenzie  interests  and  the  alleged  public  interests  behind 
the  Hydro  Commission  were  at  war  and  Sir  Adam  Beck  never 
hesitated  to  use  his  legislative  and  political  power  to  defeat  the 
rival  corporation.  On  Mar.  29,  for  instance,  the  Railway  Committee 
of  the  Legislature  refused  an  extension  of  time  to  the  Toronto  Subur- 
ban Railway  Co. — a  Mackenzie  concern — for  certain  construction 
work  which  was  uncompleted  owing  to  war  conditions  and  which  would 
have  competed  with  Hydro  projects.  During  the  ensuing  Session 
the  Government  amended  the  Power  Commission  Act  to  authorize 
the  Commission  to  acquire  shares  in  Power  development  companies ; 
to  issue  bonds,  guaranteed  by  the  Province,  as  an  alternative  to 
receiving  advances  from  the  Treasury;  to  make  the  Commission's 
lands  subject  to  municipal  taxation  and  authorizing  Townships  to 
undertake  electrical  distribution  and  to  make  agreements  with  the 
Commission  but  imposing  penalties  for  issuing  debentures  in  this 
connection  without  permission  of  the  Commission;  to  transfer  the 
regulation  of  the  Financial  Comptroller  of  the  Commission  from 
the  Government  to  that  body  itself;  to  hand  over  the  Chippewa- 
Queenston  development  matter  to  the  Commission  with  full  power 
in  construction,  operation  and  the  issue  of  guaranteed  Provincial 
bonds.  These  large  powers  were  further  increased  by  amending 
the  Water  Powers  Regulation  Act  so  that  in  any  difference  between 
the  Commission  and  a  water-power  owner,  as  to  the  latter's  excessive 
use  of  electric  energy,  the  matter  would  be  referred  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  a  Commission  of  Judges  which  could  order  the  owner  to 
pay  the  Hydro  Commission  for  the  excess  at  a  price  which  the  latter 
would  fix.  The  Electrical  Company  claimed  these  Acts  to  be 
ultra  vires  and  petitioned  the  Federal  Government  to  disallow  them. 

Following  this  legislation  the  Hydro  Commission  purchased  the 
Ontario  Power  Co.  plant,  assets  and  contracts  at  Niagara  Falls 


6,52  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

for  $22,669,000,  payable  in  Commission  bonds,  for  40  years  at  4%, 
to  the  extent  of  $8,000,000  for  the  $10,000,000  worth  of  stock  held 
by  the  Company  and  by  assumption  of  the  bond  liability  of  $14,669,- 
000  secured  by  a  first  mortgage  on  the  property.  The  privileges 
in  the  charter  held  by  this  Company,  together  with  the  restrictions 
of  the  Boundary  Waters  Treaty,  had  combined  to  form  a  serious 
menace  to  the  Chippewa  scheme.  The  Treaty  limited  Canada  to 
36,000  cubic  feet  per  second  of  the  waters  of  the  Niagara  district, 
of  which  over  29,000  cubic  feet  were  already  under  diversion  by  the 
various  Canadian  companies.  Under  their  charter  the  Ontario 
Company  had  apparent  rights  to  over  4,000  cubic  feet  of  the  balance 
available,  and  the  establishment  of  these  rights  would  have  left 
only  2,000  cubic  feet  available  for  the  Chippewa  project — an  amount 
quite  inadequate  to  justify  the  cost  of  its  development.  The  term 
of  a  contract  under  which  the  Ontario  Power  Co.  had  agreed  to 
export  60,000  h.-p.  at  $12.50  per  h.-p.  to  the  American  side  was 
shortened  by  60  years  and  was  to  expire  in  1950  concurrently  with 
the  contracts  of  Ontario  municipalities  for  100,000  h.-p.  at  $9  per 
h.-p.  The  Ontario  Power  plant  was  developing  180,000  h.-p.  and 
working  at  a  high  standard  of  efficiency ;  the  arrangement  made  the 
Hydro-Electric  Power  Commission  of  Ontario  the  largest  individual 
hydro-electric  system  in  the  world. 

Other  events  developed  rapidly.  Welland,  in  becoming  a  City 
on  July  2,  gave  much  credit  to  the  Commission  for  the  development 
of  its  industrial  strength;  Chief  Justice  Sir  Wm.  Meredith  and 
Justices  H.  T.  Kelly  and  R.  F.  Sutherland  were  appointed  (July  26)  to 
investigate  "the  operations  of  electrical  development  companies 
with  a  view  to  ascertaining  whether  or  not  any  of  the  companies 
had  exceeded  their  charter  rights  in  the  matter  of  diversion  of  water 
and  development  of  horse-power" — in  other  words,  the  charges 
made  by  Sir  Adam  Beck  against  the  Mackenzie-Mann  interests. 
On  Oct.  17  D.  L.  McCarthy,  K.C.,  Counsel  for  the  latter,  withdrew 
from  the  Commission  on  the  ground  that  only  the  Courts  could 
decide  the  issue  and  that  the  Inquiry  was  "unfair  and  unjust." 
No  report  was  issued  to  the  end  of  the  year.  In  October  a  shortage 
of  electric-power  developed  and  threatened  to  endanger  Munition 
work  and  a  Toronto  meeting  of  the  Municipalities  interested  was 
addressed  on  the  16th  by  Sir  Adam  Beck.  It  passed  Resolutions 
(1)  demanding  prohibition  of  the  export  of  power  by  Canadian 
Companies  to  the  United  States ;  (2)  censuring  the  Senate  for  having 
"delayed  action  on  the  revised  Railway  Act,  which  was  a  Govern- 
ment measure  containing  legislation  necessary  to  safeguard  the 
rights  of  the  municipalities  in  their  ownership  and  control  of  the 
public  highways";  (3)  urging  t-Jie  appointment  of  an  Ontario  Munici- 
pal representative  to  the  Senate  to  advance  special  legislation  and 
expressing  renewed  confidence  in,  and  admiration  for,  Sir  Adam 
Beck.  On  the  31st  Sir  Adam  asked  the  Dominion  to  appoint  a 
Controller  of  Electric  Power  to  regulate  the  export  and  distribution 
of  electricity  and  this  was  done  on  Nov.  6  with  Sir  H.  L.  Dray  ton 
of  the  Railway  Board  as  Controller  "of  the  production  and  distri- 
bution of  electrical  energy  by  Companies  in  the  Province  of  Ontario." 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS        653 

On  the  8th  the  latter  ordered  all  Companies  producing  power  on  the 
Canadian  side  of  Niagara  Falls  to  operate  their  plants  at  full  capacity 
in  order  to  relieve  the  serious  shortage  of  electrical  energy  which 
then  amounted  to  70,000  h.-p.  on  the  Niagara  system.  An  effort 
was  at  once  made  to  get  in  touch  with  the  U.S.  Government  and 
interests  in  this  matter  and  on  Dec.  28  this  was  made  possible  by 
the  American  Government  taking  over  Power  Companies  on  the 
United  States  side  as  a  war  measure.  It  may  be  added  here  that 
Hon.  G.  Howard  Ferguson,  Minister  of  Lands,  Forests  and  Mines, 
showed  (Oct.  31,  1917)  a  sale  of  165,628  acres  of  Crown  Lands  at 
$140,948,  free  grants  of  land  totalling  85,139  acres,  with  Settlers' 
Loans  of  $383,968  to  date;  the  total  revenues  of  the  Department 
were  $3,579,196  and  expenditures  $903,154,  the  area  of  lands  under 
license  was  16,313  sq.  miles. 

The  Education  Department  under  Hon.  R.  A.  Pyne  and  his 
Deputy  Minister,  A.  H.  U.  Colquhoun,  had  a  busy  year  with  some 
very  important  legislation  to  their  credit.  There  were  a  number  of 
minor  amendments  to  the  School  laws  but  the  Teachers'  and 
Inspectors'  Superannuation  Act  was  the  chief  measure.  Dr.  Pyne 
explained  the  Bill  on  Mar.  22  as  involving  an  assessment  of  2j/£% 
upon  the  salaries  of  teachers  and  inspectors  with  an  equal  sum  con- 
tributed by  the  Province.  The  salaries  involved  amounted  to 
$9,500,000  a  year  and  with  the  amount  contributed  from  salaries 
and  that  paid  by  the  Government  the  new  Superannuation  Fund 
would  have  $475,000  to  start  with.  Toronto  and  Ottawa  had  local 
Pension  systems  in  existence  and  the  legislation  was  arranged  so 
that  these  could  be  continued  if  desired.  The  Pensions  were  to  be 
based  on  length  of  service  and  amount  of  salary;  none  were  to  be 
less  than  $365  per  annum  and  none  greater  than  $1,000  per  annum. 
Applications  based  on  40  years'  teaching  experience  could  be  made 
after  Jan.  1,  1918.  A  Teacher  or  an  Inspector  retiring  after  30 
years'  employment  was  entitled  to  an  annual  allowance  actuarially 
equivalent  to  that  provided  after  40  years'  employment.  Retire- 
ment for  ill-health  after  15  years'  service  would  warrant  an  allow- 
ance and  upon  the  death  of  a  contributor  the  sum  paid  in  would 
go  to  his  or  her  heirs.  The  Board  in  control  was  to  be  composed  of 
an  Actuary,  and  two  other  persons  appointed  by  the  Minister,  two 
Teachers  or  Inspectors  who  were  members  of  the  Ontario  Educational 
Association  and  elected  at  its  annual  meeting.  The  appointments 
to  this  Commission  eventually  made  were  A.  H.  U.  Colquhoun 
(Chairman);  Prof.  M.  A.  Mackenzie,  Actuary;  J.  R.  Humphreys, 
Principal  R.  A.  Gray  and  Inspector  J.  H.  Putnam.  Payments  of 
Teachers  and  Inspectors  were  to  be  deducted  from  the  Legislative 
School  grants  of  the  School  Boards  and  were  to  be  placed  to  the 
credit  of  the  Superannuation  Fund  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  Province, 
with  interest  at  current  rates.  The  School  Boards  would,  in  their 
turn,  deduct  the  payments  from  the  teachers'  salaries.  The 
annual  Report  of  the  Minister  for  1917*  declared  that  the  condition 
of  Education  in  the  Province  was  satisfactory;  that  salaries  of 
teachers  had  continued  to  increase  and  in  the  calendar  year  1916 

"Issued  in  1918  and  dated  Feb.  18. 


654  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

showed  a  growth  in  rural  schools  of  $33  and  $12,  in  urban  schools  of 
$24  and  $14,  and  in  all  public  schools  $55  and  $13,  for  male  and 
female  teachers  respectively;  that  the  standing  of  teachers  was 
steadily  improving;  that  the  usefulness  of  the  Public  Libraries, 
under  the  direction  of  W.  O.  Carson  as  Inspector,  was  increasing 
and  especially  along  lines  of  war  education;  that  the  enlistments 
of  Provincial  teachers  totalled  485  with  34  killed  in  action.  The 
statistics  of  the  Schools  for  the  year  ending  Dec.  31,  1916,  were  as 
follows : 

R.  C.  Continu- 

Particulars  1916  Public      Separate       High        ation 

Schools      Schools      Schools    Schools 
Number  of  Schools ...  6,091  539  161        >    132 

Number  of  Pupils  Enrolled 439,710        69,265          28,833        5,082 

Average  Daily  Attendance 282,649        46,197          22,781        3,729 

Number  of  Persons  Employed  as  Teachers ..  10,640          1,454  1,038  234 

Average  Annual  Salary  for  Male  Teachers ..  $957  *  $1,839      $1,093 

Average  Annual  Salary  for  Female  Teachers .  $626  *  1.376  757 

Amount  Expended  for  Teachers'  Salaries.  . . .     $7,393,829    $535,661  $1,509,227  $224,464 

Amount  Expended  for  School  Houses $1,836,821    $395,289    $398,791      $25,109 

Amount  Expended  for  all  Other  Purposes ...     $2,877,926    $312,379      $580,236    $56,575 

Total  Amount  Expended  on  Schools $12, 108,576$!, 243,329  $2,488,254  $306,148 

Cost  per  Pupil  (Enrolled  Attendance) $27.53        $17.95          $86.00      $60.00 

Educational  incidents  of  the  year  included  the  enrolment  of 
20,000  pupils  in  the  40  evening  industrial  schools  of  the  Province ; 
the  splendid  Empire  Day  celebration  and  Confederation  Jubilee, 
combined  on  May  23  under  the  auspices  of  the  Minister  of  Educa- 
tion, and  the  circulation  of  a  handsome  historical  Bulletin  reviewing 
for  school  children  the  -patriotic  interests  of  the  occasion ;  the  state- 
ment of  Dr.  Pyne  on  July  14  that  there  was  no  serious  shortage  in 
the  teaching  staffs  despite  War  conditions ;  the  issue  in  October  of  an 
outline  history  of  the  War — remote  and  immediate  causes,  current 
conditions  and  British  Empire  participation,  suitable  for  youthful 
instruction;  the  success  of  the  yearly  Summer  Course  in  Agriculture 
for  Teachers — under  arrangement  between  the  two  Departments  and 
with  266  men  and  women  in  attendance;  the  educative  work  of  the 
Ontario  Library  Association,  which  met  in  Toronto  on  Apr.  10 
and  elected  Miss  Mary  Black,  Chief  Librarian  of  Fort  William 
Library,  as  President.  There  was  a  continued  growth  in  the  Public 
Library  system  including,  in  1916,  1,262,765  volumes  in  the  175 
Free  Libraries,  with  a  circulation  of  4,626,323,  and  447,081  volumes 
in  the  226  Association  Public  Libraries  with  a  circulation  of  505,607; 
the  total  Legislative  grant  in  1917  to  these  institutions  was  $32,287 
and  the  Travelling  Libraries  increased  in  1917  10%  over  the  pre- 
ceding year  in  circulation  with  1500  new  books  purchased;  W.  O. 
Carson,  Inspector  of  Public  Libraries,  reported  an  increased  public 
demand  for  books,  an  increased  circulation  of  40%  since  the 
War  began  and  a  very  successful  Session  in  Sept. -Nov.  of  the  School 
for  training  Librarians.  An  agitation  amongst  Roman  Catholics, 
for  revision  of  the  law  under  which  Company  taxes  were  divided 
amongst  Public  and  Separate  Schools,  developed  during  the  year, 
with  some  strong  statements  in  the  Catholic  Register  and  other 
journals  of  this  Church.  It  was  claimed  that  the  arrangements 
were  so  faulty  or  difficulties  so  great  that  large  numbers  of  Catholic 
shareholders  in  financial  or  industrial  concerns  were  really  paying 

*  Not  officially  given. 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS          655 

taxes  to  the  Public  Schools  upon  their  holdings  of  stock — the  Toronto 
Street  Railway  being  instanced.  Another  grievance  was  illustrated 
in  the  statement  that  in  one  issue  of  a  Toronto  paper  (July  14) 
86  out  of  159  Public  School  Boards,  asking  fqr  teachers,  made 
Protestantism  a  condition. 

Though  not  directly  connected  with  this  Department,  Medical 
Education  was  an  important  topic  of  the  year  because  of  the  in- 
vestigation and  Report  of  Mr.  Justice  F.  E.  Hodgins  who  had  been 
appointed  a  Commissioner  on  Sept.  29, 1915.  His  Report,  submitted 
on  Oct.  13,  1917,  dealt  with  Osteopathy,  Chiropractic,  Christian 
Science,  Optometry,  Dentistry  and  other  pseudo-medical  branches, 
and  submitted  a  series  of  recommendations  including  (1)  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  institution  of  Physical  Therapy  upon  the  grounds 
of  the  General  Hospital  which  should  cover  all  the  varied  forms  of 
manipulative  cure;  (2)  the  selection  of  a  Staff  from  those  having 
War  experience  in  this  subject;  (3)  installation  of  modern  equipment 
along  these  lines  in  the  University  Department  of  Physics  and 
provision  of  a  compulsory  course  for  medical  students;  (4)  require- 
ment of  licenses  and  adequate  diplomas  from  practitioners  and  the 
appointment  of  a  Medical  Director  attached  to  the  Department  of 
Education;  (5)  establishment  of  a  Provincial  Registry  and  quali- 
fication for  Nurses.  Meanwhile,  the  Ontario  Educational  Associa- 
tion, which  dealt  yearly  with  so  many  branches  of  the  Education 
Department's  work,  had  met  in  Toronto  on  Apr.  9-12,  with  Prof. 
Maurice  Hutton  in  the  chair  and  addresses  of  welcome  from  Hon. 
Dr.  Pyne  and  N.  W.  Rowell,  K.C.  A  long  series  of  papers  and  speeches 
followed  covering  almost  every  conceivable  subject  from  the  training 
of  Teachers  to  that  of  Food  Health  and  its  relation  to  good  citizen- 
ship; from  patriotism  and  the  War  to  the  study  of  Imagination; 
from  Household  Science  to  Industrial  Art  and  from  Spelling  Reform 
to  the  claims  of  Spanish  as  an  Educational  course;  from  Church 
and  State  in  France  to  the  Rise  of  Mathematics.  The  speakers 
included  Dr.  R.  A.  Falconer,  Prof.  C.  B.  Sissons,  Prof.  G.  M.  Wrong, 
Prof.  O.  D.  Skelton,  John  Lewis,  Archdeacon  Cody,  F.  W.  Merchant, 
Dr.  G.  C.  Creelman,  Prof.  J.  G.  Hume.  The  Public  School  Section 
continued  its  yearly  condemnation  of  (1)  melo-dramatic  and  comic- 
picture  shows;  (2)  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  cigarettes;  (3)  Comic 
Supplements  in  the  papers.  Wm.  Pakenham,  D.Paed.,  was  elected 
President,  R.  W.  Doan  re-elected  Secretary  and  Henry  Ward,  B.A., 
Treasurer.  The  following  Chairmen  of  Sections  and  Departments 
were  elected: 

Section  or  Department  Name  Address 

Elementary Louise  N.  Currie Toronto. 

Public  School S.  Nethercott Woodstock. 

Kindergarten Clara  Brenton London. 

House  Science Miss  Laird Toronto. 

Technical  and  Manual  Arts John  G.  Graham Toronto. 

Physical  Training Dr.  Fred.  S.  Minns Toronto. 

Spelling  Reform .  .-.  .  .  Prof.  D.  R.  Keys Toronto. 

College  and  Secondary  School F.  P.  Gavin Windsor. 

Modern  Language  .        .    .  W.  H.  Williams,  M.A Kitchener. 

National  Science. . .  .  . G.  A.  Carefoot St.  Catharines. 

Classical.... Prof.  N.  W.  De  Witt Toronto. 

Mathematical  and  Physical R.  C.  Rose Smith  Falls. 

English  and  History James  Keillor.  B.A Toronto. 

Commercial T.  W.  Gates London 


656  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Section  or  Department  Name  Address 

Continuation  and  High  School  Principals.  .  .A.  P.  Grundy,  B.A.  .  .  .  .Gait. 

Supervising G.  G.  McNab,  M.A Renfrew. 

Inspectors Dr.  Putnam Ottawa. 

Training H.  J.  Crawford,  B.A Toronto. 

Trustees Dr.  J.  B.  Waugh Stratford. 

There  was  not  much  politics  in  Ontario  during  the  year — after 
the  bye-election  fights  of  January — and  the  Opposition  Leader, 
N.  W.  Rowell,  devoted  his  time  largely  to  recruiting  speeches  and 
latterly,  to  working  for  Conscription  and  the  Union  Government. 
During  the  early  part  of  the  year  he  spoke  at  Niagara  Falls,  Toronto 
on  several  occasions,  North  Bay,  Woodstock  and  many  other  places ; 
later  he  was  in  the  West  and  spoke  at  the  large  centres.  He  stood 
beside  Mr.  Premier  Hearst  at  a  great  Toronto  meeting  on  June  11 
and  declared  that:  "This  is  our  war,  and  being  a  war  with  the  strong- 
est military  power  of  Europe  we  cannot  carry  it  on  as  a  limited 
liability.  We  have  staked  our  all  on  the  success  of  the  issue,  and  we 
must  be  prepared  to  throw  our  all  into  it  in  order  to  ensure  success. 
For  more  than  two  years  I  have  urged  better  organization  of  the 
man-power  and  resources  of  Canada  for  the  better  prosecution  of 
this  war,  and  when  the  Government  takes  a  step  in  that  direction 
my  presence  here  indicates  that  I  believe  that  step  is  necessary." 
On  July  2  at  a  similar  meeting  to  celebrate  the  Confederation  Jubilee, 
he  added:  "Let  us  dedicate  ourselves  anew  to  that  flag  which  has 
protected  us  all  our  days.  Let  us 'dedicate  ourselves  anew  to  the 
cause  of  liberty,  for  which  so  many  of  our  gallant  sons  have  died." 
Once  more  on  Aug.  2  he  stood  with  Sir  Wm.  Hearst  and  made  the 
declaration  that:  "I  am  here  to-night  to  support  the  principle  of 
compulsory  military  service,  conscription  of  wealth  and  the  forma- 
tion of  a  National  or  War  Government."  His  retirement  to  join 
the  Union  Government  made  it  necessary  to  choose  a  new  Opposition 
leader.  C.  M.  Bowman,  Chief  Liberal  Whip,  was  perhaps  his 
natural  successor,  others  suggested  in  the  press  were  H.  H.  Dewart, 
K.C.,  Wm.  Proudfoot,  K.C.,  and  J.  C.  Elliott,  with  Mr.  Proudfoot  as 
the  journalistic  favourite.* 

There  were  some  exceptions  to  Mr.  Rowell's  non-party  attitude. 
One  was  in  the  Bye -elections  at  the  beginning  of  the  year — North- 
west Toronto  vacated  by  the  appointment  of  W.  D.  McPherson, 
K.C.,  to  be  Provincial  Secretary,  with  J.  G.  Cane  as  the  Liberal 
candidate;  West  Simcoe,  vacated  by  the  death  of  Hon.  J.  S.  Duff, 
with  W.  T.  Allan  as  the  Conservative  and  Isaac  Scott  as  the  Liberal 
candidate.  The  contests  were  spirited  and  in  Toronto  Mr.  Mc- 
Pherson was  aided  by  A.  E.  Donovan,  M.L.A.,  H.  C.  Hocken,  Col. 
J.  A.  Currie,  M.P.,  Dr.  Forbes  Godfrey,  M.L.A.,  and  others;  Mr.  Cane 
was  supported  by  Messrs.  Rowell  and  Dewart — the  former  dealing 
chiefly  with  Prohibition  and  the  work  of  Liberalism  in  obtaining 
it,  and  the  latter  with  allegations  of  Government  carelessness  in 
guarding  the  production,  sale  or  export  of  Nickel  so  that  some,  at 
least,  of  it  had  gone  to  Germany.  The  new  Minister  had  an  excellent 
public  record  and  his  policy  was  that  of  the  Government — chiefly 
along  War  lines.  The  vote  on  Jan.  22  in  Toronto  stood  at  4,174 

*£?OTE. — It  was  not  till  January  7,  1918.  that  fche  latter  was  formally  selected. 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS          657 

and  2,305,  or  a  majority  of  1,869  for  Mr.  McPherson.  In  West 
Simcoe  the  contest  was  closer  and  Mr.  Scott  made  a  strong  fight  as 
a  respected  farmer  known  throughout  the  riding.  For  him  Mr. 
Rowell  spoke  at  Alliston,  Collingwood  and  other  points  and  was 
aided  by  C.  M.  Bowman;  for  the  Government  Hon.  I.  B.  Lucas, 
Hon.  G.  H.  Ferguson  and  Col.  J.  A.  Currie  were  the  chief  speakers. 
There  were  sundry  personalities  indulged  in  but  the  Conservatives 
stood  for  the  Bi-lingual  Regulation  17 — which  Mr.  Rowell  did  not 
attack ;  claimed  that  in  12  years  there  had  not  been  a  breath  of  scandal 
against  the  Government;  urged  the  advantages  of  the  Hydro- 
Electric  policy,  and  described  Mr.  Dewart's  Nickel  charges  as 
clap-trap;  eulogized  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Act,  the  Govern- 
ment's policy  on  Prohibition,  the  appointment  of  G.  C.  Creelman  as 
Agricultural  Commissioner.  Mr.  Allan  was  elected  on  Jan.  15  by 
2,334  to  1,699,  or  a  majority  of  635. 

The  Nickel  issue  of  the  year  was  one  of  those  unsatisfactory 
questions  in  which  no  exact  proof  can  be  proffered  on  either  side. 
The  Government  contended  that  the  arrangements  for  safe-guarding 
the  export  of  this  precious  war  metal  (1)  to  the  International  Nickel 
Co.,  in  New  Jersey,  and  (2)  in  their  sales  to  customers,  were  thorough 
and  were  not  only  approved  by  the  Imperial  authorities  but  carried 
out  by  them  in  conjunction  with  the  Dominion  Government.  The 
Opposition,  notably  Mr.  Dewart,  who  in  this  was  supported  by  W.  F. 
Maclean  and  the  Toronto  World,  waived  these  arrangements  aside, 
contended  that  Nickel  was  obtained,  shipped  and  taken  to  Germany 
by  the  Deutschland,  and  asked:  "Where  did  it  come  from?"  Obvi- 
viously,  it  might  have  been  bought  and  stored  before  the  War  but 
even  this  could  not  be  proven!  It  was  an  issue  in  both  these  bye- 
elections  but  was  not  taken  very  seriously  by  the  people.  Mr. 
McPherson  had  pointed  out  on  Jan.  16  that:  "The  British  Govern- 
ment are  opposed  to  the  prohibition  of  Nickel  export  from  Canada 
and  have  entered  into  an  arrangement,  whereby  Great  Britain  and 
her  Allies  and  the  Companies  engaged  in  making  munitions  for  them 
in  the  United  States  will  continue  to  receive  supplies  of  the  metal." 
On  the  other  hand  Mr.  Dewart  in  the  Legislature  on  Mar.  1,  declared 
that  the  International  Nickel  Co.,  which  handled  the  bulk  of  Cana- 
dian nickel  for  smelting  in  New  Jersey  and  owned  the  Canadian 
Copper  Co.,  was,  or  had  been,  tied  up  body  and  soul  with  the  notori- 
ous H.  R.  Merton  Co.  of  London  and  the  Metal  Trust  of  Germany. 
It  might  have  been  added  that  since  the  War  the  Mertons  had 
effected  a  belated  re-organization  of  their  concern  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  British  authorities;  at  the  same  time  it  was  not  denied  that 
the  Mertons  had  been,  and  still  were,  Sales  Agents  for  the  Inter- 
national Nickel  in  Europe.  The  World  on  Apr.  12  quoted  a  U.S. 
Federal  Trade  Commission  report  as  to  the  Merton  family  interests 
in  London,  Frankfort  and  the  United  States  and  its  statement  that 
through  the  Mertons  and  banks,  holding  companies,  affiliations 
with  syndicates  and  cartels,  interlocking  directorates,  joint-share 
holdings,  and  other  means  of  inter-relation,  "a  world-wide  ramifi- 
cation had  taken  place  in  the  metal  trade"  before  the  War.  This 
journal  added  a  very  definite  charge:  "The  International  Nickel 


42 


658  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Co.  is  undoubtedly  controlled  by  the  Merton  groups  or  alliances. 
The  partial  report  of  stockholders  shows  that  54,409  preferred  and 
307,486  common  shares  are  held  in  trust  for  undisclosed  principals. 
The  stock  is  voted  by  Messrs.  Converse,  De  Lamar,  Monell,  Thomp- 
son and  Wood." 

Another  and  later  charge  made  by  The  World  (Sept.  28)  was 
that  the  Minerals  Separation  North-American  Corporation,  which 
was  trying  to  hold  up  the  operation  of  Northern  Ontario  mines 
and  prevent  their  using  a  process  of  ore  treatment,  called  "Flota- 
tion," and  which  the  Corporation  had  patented  at  Ottawa  from 
original  German  patents,  was  an  agent  of  Beer  Sondheimer  &  Co., 
a  New  York  firm  and,  for  a  time,  on  the  British  black-list  as  a  member 
of  the  same  Merton  Metal  Trust.  On  the  other  hand  the  Minerals 
Separation  Co.,  through  their  Toronto  representatives,  Ridoul  £ 
Maybee,  submitted  proofs  of  loyalty  and  British- American  associa- 
tion, in  a  statement  on  Oct.  3  which  also  declared  that  all  they  wanted 
was  a  reasonable  royalty  on  their  own  patents.  The  Northern 
Ontario  Mining  interests  claimed  that  Minerals  Separation  was 
alien-owned  or  controlled;  that  it  was  too  grasping  in  its  exaction 
of  royalties;  and  that  it  claimed  other  flotation  processes  to  be  in- 
fringements. German  control  of  this  concern  was  denied,  but 
admitted  as  to  a  pre-war  period  (1913),  by  President  John  Ballot. 

Meanwhile  the  question  of  taxing  Nickel  and  other  mining  prop- 
erties became  prominent.  For  some  years  the  International  Nickel 
Co.  had  been  paying  a  flat  rate  of  $40,000  a  year  in  Provincial 
taxation,  while  its  refining  was  done  in  New  Jersey  and  that  of  the 
British  concern,  the  Mond  Nickel  Co.  was  done  in  Wales.  In  the 
Legislature  (Feb.  21)  H.  H.  Dewart  moved  that  "in  view  of  the 
vital  part  which  Nickel  plays  in  modern  warfare  and  of  its  great 
economic  value,  the  refining  of  all  Nickel  mined  in  this  Province 
should  be  carried  on  wholly  within  the  British  Empire,  and  so  far 
as  practicable,  wholly  within  the  Province;  and  as  a  step  towards 
the  Government  control  of  the  Nickel  industry  this  Province  should 
own  and  operate  a  refining  plant  in  which  all  the  Nickel  matte 
mined  in  this  Province  should  be  refined."  A  Government  amend- 
ment expressing  satisfaction  with  the  Government  policy  and 
promising  legislation  along  the  lines  of  the  Nickel  Commission's 
Report  was  carried  by  59  to  26.  Mr.  Dewart  denounced  all  Govern- 
ments concerned  for  not  taking  in  1910-11  steps  to  prevent  Nickel 
going  to  Germany  and  alleged  that  the  Ontario  Government  had  on 
Dec.  13,  1916,  granted  236)^  acres  of  land  to  the  Canadian  Copper 
Co.  in  Blezard  Township;  interjected  into  the  debate  was  Mr. 
McGarry's  statement  that  "immediately  after  the  outbreak  of  war 
the  International  Nickje'l  Co.,  through  its  President,  who  visited 
Ottawa,  offered  to  turn  over  to  the  Dominion  Government  the  sole 
control  of  the  Nickel  output  of  their  concern  and  that  a  proper 
arrangement  was  made,  and  still  existed,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
British  Government."  The  Nickel  Commission  of  1915  (G.  T. 
Galloway,  Dr.  W.  G.  Miller  and  McGregor  Young,  K.C.)  reported 
to  the  Government  in  March,  1917,  and  undertook  to  answer  two 
vital  questions:  (1)  Could  Nickel  be  economically  refined  in  Ontario? 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS          659 

and  (2)  were  the  Nickel  deposits  of  Ontario  of  such  a  character  that 
this  Province  could  compete  successfully  as  a  Nickel  producer  with 
any  other  country?  Both  questions  were  answered  in  the  affirma- 
tive; it  was  added  that  the  International  Nickel  and  Mond  people 
had  asked  no  Government  help  in  their  experimental  stages  and 
deserved  their  success;  the  present  method  of  mining  taxation  was 
declared  to  be  just  and  equitable  and  changes  to  be  a  matter  of  rate 
and  not  principle;  the  total  common  stock  dividends  paid  by  the 
International  Nickel  Co.,  1910-16,  were  given  as  $30,942,238.  The 
following  statement  as  to  new  enterprises  for  refining  Nickel  was 
made: 

One  large  plant  is  now  being  constructed  by  the  International  Nickel  Co.  of 
Canada,  Ltd.,  at  Port  Colborne.  The  Company  has  obtained  a  site  of  400  acres  on 
which  2,000  men  are  now  at  work,  and  is  erecting  a  plant  whose  initial  output  will  be 
on  the  basis  of  15,000,000  Ibs.  of  Nickel  per  annum,  and  provision  is  made  for  doubling 
or  quadrupling  this  capacity.  The  matter  to  be  refined  here  will  come  from  the 
smelters  of  the  Canadian  Copper  Co.  at  Copper  Cliff,  and  for  the  treatment  of  which 
there  will  be  required  bituminous  coal,  coke,  fuel  oil,  nitre-cake,  and  other  chemicals 
and  materials,  estimated  at  100,000  tons  annually.  The  plant  is  expected  to  be  in 
operation  and  turning  out  refined  Nickel  in  the  autumn  of  the  present  year.  The 
second  refinery  is  that  of  the  British  American  Nickel  Corporation,  Ltd.,  a  company 
controlled  and  largely  financed  by  the  British  Government,  which  has  purchased  the 
large  Murray  mine,  the  Whistle,  and  other  deposits  in  the  Sudbury  region.  This 
refinery  will  probably  be  erected  at  the  Murray  mine,  which  is  about  three  miles  from 
Sudbury.  The  refining  process  employed  will  be  the  electrolytic,  otherwise  known 
as  the  Hybinette  process,  from  the  name  of  the  inventor  who  uses  it  in  the  Norwegian 
works.  This  plant  will  have  a  capacity  at  the  beginning  of  5,000  tons  of  nickel  per 
annum. 

In  the  Legislature  amendments  to  the  Mining  Tax  Act  were 
passed  increasing  the  tax  on  profits  from  3%  to  5%  in  the  case  of 
Nickel  and  nickel-copper  mines  with  a  progressive  increase  in  each 
case  where  the  profits  exceeded  $5,000,000.  In  other  mines  the  rate 
remained  at  3%  up  to  $1,000,000  profits,  after  which  the  nickel 
and  nickel-copper  schedule  applied.  The  allowance  to  be  made  for 
depreciation  of  plant,  etc.,  was  increased  to  15%  and  one  was  made 
for  Imperial  and  Dominion  taxes  on  profits.  In  ascertaining  the 
profits  of  a  nickel  or  nickel-copper  mine  the  Mine  Assessor  was 
to  take  the  market  value  of  the  finished  product  of  the  mine,  to 
deduct  from  it  the  cost  of  marketing  and  the  cost  of  the  different 
processes  by  which  the  metal  had  been  treated,  to  make  all  statutory 
deductions  and  allowances.  The  balance  would  be  the  annual 
profits  on  the  year's  output.  Where  the  product  was  sold  at  the 
pit's  mouth,  the  Mine  Assessor  could  fix  the  profits  as  at  present 
provided.  Where  refining  took  place  in  England  and  there  was  an 
Imperial  tax  imposed  upon  the  profits,  this  was  allowed  for.  Under 
this  legislation,  which  was  retroactive  for  2  years,  the  Government 
expected  to  get  $1,500,000  iri  additional  taxes  for  the  years  1915-16 
though  Mr.  Dewart  claimed  that  double  that  amount  ought  to  be 
exacted,  A  debate  on  this  measure  (introduced  by  Hon.  G.  H. 
Ferguson  on  Mar.  28)  took  place  on  Apr.  2  in  which  Mr.  Rowell 
estimated  the  profits  of  the  International  Nickel  at  $24,095,573 
in  1912-16  and  wanted  Ihe  tax  to  go  back  to  1912  and  to  increase 
5%  for  each  $5,000,000  of  profit  in  excess  of  the  first  $5,000,000. 


660  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Premier  explained  the  difficulty  of  taxing  profits  made  in 
another  country  and  of  assessing  ore  values  at  the  pit's  mouth, 
quoted  the  Commission's  recommendation  that  the  Tax  should  not 
exceed  5%  in  order  not  to  discourage  capital,  and  alleged  that  it 
would  cost  $100,000,000  to  acquire  control  of  the  Nickel  industry 
—as  had  been  suggested.  On  Apr.  4  Mr.  Ferguson  dealt  at  length 
with  the  history  of  the  question  and  declared  that  "in  the  future 
every  bit  of  Crown  land  leased  or  sold  would  be  subject  to  a  require- 
ment that  the  mineral  should  be  refined  in  Ontario."  The  Bill 
passed  in  due  course  and  The  World  returned  to  its  charge  as  to 
Canadian  Nickel  reaching  Germany,  with  the  statement  on  Apr.  12 
that  "the  United  States  exported  Nickel  in  1915  to  Germany,  of 
1,036,242  Ibs.;  Norway,  31,158  Ibs.;  Sweden,  367,696  Ibs.;  Mexico, 
1,779  Ibs.  To  the  last  three  countries  the  United  States  exported 
no  Nickel  up  to  and  including  1914.  In  1916  much  larger  shipments 
than  in  1915  went  to  these  countries,  on  its  way,  no  doubt,  to  Ger- 
many." On  Nov.  1,  following,  a  cheque  was  received  by  the  Govern- 
ment from  the  Canadian  Copper  Co.  for  $1,366,892 — covering  the 
completed  two  years'  taxation  under  the  new  Act.  Neither  of  the 
new  refining  concerns  was  in  operation  at  the  close  of  the  year. 

The  Session  of  the  Legislature  which  passed  this  Nickel  measure 
was  an  important  one  in  many  respects.  It  was  opened  on  Feb. 
13  by  Sir  John  Hendrie,  Lieut. -Governor,  with  a  Speech  from  the 
Throne,  in  which  he  referred  to  the  progress  of  the  War  and  added : 
"As  Canadians  we  glory  in  the  achievements,  the  valour  and  the 
patriotism  of  the  men  who  have  gone  and  are  still  going  from  this 
country  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Empire,  while  we  recognize  that 
we  are  under  a  heavy  and  lasting  obligation  alike  to  them  and  to 
their  dependants."  Economy  was  urged  and  continued  generosity 
in  giving  to  the  Red  Cross  and  Patriotic  Funds — the  Government 
proposing  to  grant  $1,000,000  to  the  latter  and  to  double  the  capacity 
of  the  Ontario  Military  Hospital  at  Orpington.  His  Honour  de- 
scribed the  operations  of  the  Ontario  Temperance  Act  of  1916  as 
highly  beneficial;  declared  that  the  Hydro-Electric  Commission 
was  "proceeding  as  rapidly  as  is  practicable  with  the  necessary 
works  for  the  utilization  for  power  purposes  of  all  the  water  that 
the  Province  is  entitled  to  divert  above  the  Falls  of  Niagara";  out- 
lined certain  promised  legislation.  The  Address  was  moved  on 
Feb.  15  by  Dr.  Wm.  Jaques  of  Haldimand  and  Alex.  Ferguson  of 
South  Simcoe.  After  a  Nickel  amendment  was  voted  down  it  passed 
without  further  division  on  Feb.  21.  On  the  26th  the  C.N.R. 
and  Hydro-Electric  affair  was  debated  on  an  Opposition  motion 
of  T.  Marshall  and  Sam.  Carter,  protesting  against  the  plans  of  the 
C.N.R.  or  its  subsidiary  lines  for  a  railway  running  from  Toronto 
via  Hamilton  to  Niagara  Falls,  on  these  grounds:  "(1)  That  the  said 
route  has  been  surveyed  by  the  Hydro-Electric  Power  Commission 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Act,  and  the  municipalities  concerned, 
with  but  one  exception  have  voted  by  large  majorities  in  favour 
of  the  construction  of  the  said  road  by  the  Commission  under  the 
provisions  of  the  said  Act;  (2)  that  the  whole  question  of  the  future 
of  the  C.N.R.  and  its  subsidiary  roads  and  of  the  public  ownership 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS          661 

thereof,  and  of  other  railways  is  now  under  investigation  and  con- 
sideration by  a  Commission  appointed  by  the  Government  of 
Canada,"  The  Government  carried,  without  division,  an  amend- 
ment endorsing  this  protest  and  re-affirming  its  objection  to  any 
] dominion  control  over  Provincial  electric  railways. 

On  Mar.  8  all  parties  agreed  to  a  long  and  patriotic  Resolution, 
proposed  by  Sir  Win.  Hearst  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Rowell,  which 
reiterated  Ontario's  belief  in  the  war-policy  of  Britain  and  her  Allies ; 
its  endorsation  of  continued  war  until  the  objects  of  the  Allies  were 
gained;  its  appreciation  of  the  splendid  services  of  Canadian  troops: 
"We  hereby  solemnly  pledge  ourselves  anew  to  assist  in  every  way 
in  our  power  in  the  struggle  for  freedom,  alike  by  increasing  our 
fighting  strength  and  military  resources,  by  conserving  our  energies 
as  a  people  and  by  exercising  industry,  thrift  and  economy."  The 
Leaders  spoke  with  earnest  force  and  were  supported  by  S.  Ducharme, 
the  French-Canadian  member  for  North  Essex.  On  Mar.  5  the 
Opposition,  through  W.  Proudfoot  and  S.  Carter,  moved  a  declara- 
tion that  the  Patronage  system  was  inimical  to  the  Public  service 
and  that  the  people  demanded  a  non-partisan  Civil  Service  Commis- 
sion with  ample  powers,  all  appointments  to  be  by  merit  and  all 
supplies  purchased  in  open  competition.  A  Government  amendment 
declared  that  high  standards  of  merit  and  efficiency  had  developed 
under  the  present  system,  that  a  great  many  Civil  Servants  could 
not  properly  come  under  a  Commission  which  in  time  of  war  would 
be  inopportune  and  unduly  expensive,  that  with  necessary  exceptions, 
supplies  now  were  subject  to  public  tender.  It  was  carried  on 
division.  Sam.  Carter  and  John  Grieve  (Liberals)  moved  a  Reso- 
lution on  Mar.  19,  declaring  that  official  action  as  to  the  Feeble- 
minded was  urgently  needed;  a  Conservative  amendment  dealt 
with  the  good  work  now  being  done  and  approved  the  better  provi- 
sion in  this  respect  which  was  steadily  being  developed.  The  follow- 
ing Opposition  motion  (J.  C.  Elliott  and  H.  H.  Dewart)  was  rejected 
by  a  party  vote  of  54  to  25:  "That  in  view  of  the  present  high  cost 
of  living  and  the  increasing  burden  upon  the  working  classes  and 
those  in  receipt  of  limited  incomes,  due  to  the  high  cost  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  this  House  condemns  the  abandonment  by  the 
Government  of  the  investigation  and  prosecution  of  the  illegal 
combines  formed  to  limit  competition  and  to  enhance  prices." 
Action  along  these  lines  was  urged.  A  non-political  and  unanimous 
Resolution  (H.  H.  Dewart  and  G.  H.  Gooderham)  was  approved  on 
Mar.  30,  congratulating  the  Russian  Douma  upon  "the  establish- 
ment of  free  institutions  and  responsible  government  in  Russia." 

This  declaration  followed:  "We  hail  this  triumph,  accompanied 
as  it  is  by  the  abolition  of  all  social,  religious  and  national  restrictions 
and  the  adoption  of  the  principle  of  universal  suffrage,  as  one  of 
the  greatest  landmarks  in  human  progress."  On  Apr.  5  a  Select 
Committee,  composed  of  the  Premier,  Hon.  R.  A.  Pyne,  Hon.  I.  B. 
Lucas,  N.  W.  Rowell  and  H.  H.  Dewart,  was  appointed  to  co-operate 
with  the  Parliament  of  Canada  in  celebrating  the  50th  anniversary 
of  Confederation;  Messrs.  Proudfoot  and  Carter  moved  on  the  same 
day  a  censure  of  the  Government  for  its  issue  of  licenses  to  Race- 


662  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

tracks  and  urged  the  prompt  suppression  of  organized,  corporate 
race-track  gambling  but  the  House  declared  in  amendment  that  it 
approved  a  declaration  by  the  Government  that  it  would  do  every- 
t  hing  possible  to  suppress  this  evil.  An  Opposition  proposal  to  have  a 
practical  farmer  appointed  to  succeed  the  Premier,  who  was  acting 
as  Minister  of  Agriculture  and  was  re-organizing  his  Department, 
with  President  G.  C.  Creelrnan  of  the  Agricultural  College  at  Guelph 
as  Commissioner,  was  voted  down  on  Mar.  13  by  45  to  19  votes; 
the  Bi-lingual  question  was  dealt  with  in  Government  Bills  passed 
to  (1)  relieve  the  Commission  in  charge  of  the  Ottawa  Separate 
Schools  from  financial  obligations  for  carrying  out  the  work  of  the 
Separate  School  Board  and  (2)  authorizing  the  appointment  of 
another  Commission  if  necessary;  extensive  powers  were  conferred 
upon  the  Ontario  License  Board  to  deal  with  liquor  advertising  and 
the  solicitation  of  orders  within  the  Province.  Following  an  agree- 
ment between  Government  and  Opposition  a  Bill  was  passed  suspend- 
ing the  law  which  required  the  holding  of  bye-elections  within 
three  months  after  a  vacancy  occurred. 

Other  legislation  of  the  Session  included  (1)  authorization  of  a 
Loan  of  $8,000,000  to  meet  capital  liability  including  expenditures 
by  Government  Commissions,  etc.,  and  of  a  Loan  of  $17,000,000  to 
take  up  Ontario  Government  stock  outstanding  in  England  and 
due  in  1946-47-65;  (2)  amendment  of  the  Amusement  Taxes  by 
providing  for  a  commission  to  proprietors  of  amusement  houses 
for  collection  and  the  grant  of  allowance  for  unused  tickets  under 
certain  conditions;  (3)  authorizing  the  Governor-in-Council  to  fix 
the  current  rate  of  interest  payable  on  municipal  securities  held 
or  purchased  by  the  Provincial  Treasurer;  (4)  making  all  lands, 
patented  as  mining  lands,  subject  to  the  treatment  and  refining  of 
all  ores  or  minerals  in  Canada;  (5)  setting  aside  lands  for  exclusive 
settlement  by  returned  soldiers  and  sailors  with  power  to  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  formation  of  farm  colonies  and  industrial  dep6ts  for 
intended  settlers;  (6)  authorizing  the  appointment  of  a  Commissioner 
of  Agriculture  to  advise  the  Minister;  (7)  increasing  the  amount 
which  could  be  borrowed  by  municipalities  for  tile-drainage  pur- 
poses from  $50,000  to  $100,000  and  the  limit  of  investment  by  the 
Province  in  such  debentures  from  $500,000  to  $1,000,000;  (8)  arrang- 
ing for  the  appointment  of  a  Provincial  Forester  and  the  revision 
of  regulations  for  the  prevention  of  Forest  fires;  (9)  regulating  the 
close  season  for  game  and  fisheries  in  accordance  with  Treaty  arrange- 
ments with  the  United  States;  (10)  a  Bulk  Sales  Act — so  long  urged 
by  Hon.  W.  D.  McPherson — requiring  the  purchaser  of  such  stock 
to  procure  a  statement  as  to  the  creditors  of  the  vendor  who  in 
default  of  a  waiver  from  the  creditors  of  claims  upon  the  purchase 
money,  must  pay  the  money  to  trustee  for  distribution;  (11)  making 
the  Assets  of  persons  dying  on  active  service  exempt  from  certain 
fees;  (12)  recognizing  a  special  method  of  insurance  in  Departmental 
stores  of  mixed  business  character;  (13)  providing  for  compensation 
in  the  case  of  employees  in  the  Northern  Ontario  Development 
Branch  under  the  Act  and  also  amending  this  Compensation  Act 
so  as  to  provide  for  medical  aid,  for  the  adoption  of  a  system  of 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS          663 

merit-rating,  for  the  placing  of  executive  officers  of  corporations 
upon  the  same  footing  as  individual  employers,  for  the  increase 
of  compensation  to  children  from  $5  to  $10  on  the  death  of  the 
workman's  widow,  for  the  payment  of  compensation  to  invalid 
children  over  16,  and  to  adopted  children,  for  the  extension  of 
time  in  which  assessments  must  be  paid,  for  additional  penalty  in 
default  as  to  reporting  accidents  and  for  the  addition  of  miners' 
phthisis  to  the  list  of  industrial  diseases;  (14)  creating  a  Bureau  of 
Municipal  Affairs  to  help  Municipal  Councils  by  advice  and  publica- 
tion of  Bulletins,  extending  municipal  powers  as  to  Patriotic  grants 
and  insurance  of  dependants  and  penalizing  illegitimate  use  of 
Telephone  messages;  (15)  giving  cities,  towns  and  villages  the  right 
to  regulate  and  control  the  survey  and  sub-division  of  land  not 
only  within  their  boundaries,  but,  in  the  case  of  a  city,  of  land 
within  five  miles,  and  in  the  case  of  a  town  or  a  village  within  three 
miles  of  its  boundaries,  and  to  carry  out  town-planning  operations; 
(16)  amending  Assessment  conditions,  regulating  travelling  and 
motor  vehicles,  placing  dental  and  medical  inspection  of  public- 
school  pupils  in  cities  with  200,000  population,  under  the  local  Boards 
of  Realty. 

An  important  issue  of  the  Session  was  the  e'xtension"*of  'the 
electoral  franchise  for  the  Assembly  to  Women  and,  under  the 
Voters'  List  Act  (Mr.  Lucas),  to  soldiers  on  service,  providing,  also, 
that  the  age  qualification  should  not  apply,  so  that  a  soldier  who 
had  enlisted  in  Ontario  could  be  entered  on  the  voters'  list  at  the 
place  at  which  he  enlisted  and  vote  there  whether  he  had  or  had 
not  attained  the  full  age  of  21  years.  It  provided  that  a  foreign- 
born  woman  must  produce  evidence  of  naturalization  under  the 
Dominion  Act  of  1914,  or  a  certificate  of  the  County  Judge  showing 
that  she  possessed  the  qualifications  for  naturalization — irrespective 
of  the  naturalization  of  her  husband.  For  the  purpose  of  preparing 
lists,  a  Board  of  Registration  consisting  of  the  County  Judges  and 
other  local  legal  officers  was  constituted  for  every  county  or  dis- 
trict and  this  Board  was  to  have  general  oversight  of  the  Registrars 
in  making  up  the  lists.  The  question  had  been  first  raised  during 
the  Session  in  the  Address  debate  when  an  Opposition  Resolution 
proposing  immediate  enfranchisement  of  Women  was  ruled  out  of 
order  as  the  matter  was  already  on  the  Order  paper.  On  Feb.  15 
J.  W.  Johnson  (Cons.)  moved  the  2nd  reading  of  two  Bills  with 
this  object  in  view,  and  W.  McDonald  and  J.  C.  Elliott  tabled 
two  more  for  the  Opposition.  All  these  members  had  been  advo- 
cates of  the  policy  for  years,  and  the  Government  now  endorsed 
Mr.  Johnson's  Bill  which  passed  in  due  course.  On  Feb.  27  Sir  W. 
H.  Hearst  declared  that  the  War  had  changed  this  as  it  had  so 
many  other  issues  and  that: 

Having  taken  women  into  partnership  with  us  in  our  tremendous  task,  upon  the 
success  of  which  the  continuance  of  the  British  Empire  and  the  freedom  of  the  world 
depend,  can  we  rightly  and  justly  deny  her  a  share  in  the  Government  of  the  country, 
a  right  to  have  a  say  about  the  making  of  the  laws  she  is  so  heroically  helping  to  defend? 
Can  we  refuse  her  a  full  share  in  all  the  rights  of  the  civilization  that  to-day  is  depend- 
ing so  much  on  her  worth  and  work?  I  think  not.  We  have  asked  her  to  take, 
and  she  has  taken,  a  prominent  part  in  all  our  patriotic  campaigns,  and  displayed 


064  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

her  executive  ability,  her  judgment,  her  sound  common  sense  and  business  ability. 
When  the  War  is  over  and  the  victory  won  can  we  deny  the  women,  who  are  doing 
so  much  to  bring  about  that  victory,  a  larger  say  in  public  affairs,  and  a  right,  by  their 
vote  as  well  as  their  influence,  to  determine  what  our  policy  shall  be  with  referemr 
to  our  returned  soldiers  and  other  like  problems?  1  think  not. 

Mr.  Rowell,  in  following,  gave  the  support  of  the  Opposition  and 
pointed  to  the  increasing  need  for  an  educated  and  responsible 
democracy;  at  the  same  time  he  claimed  a  large  degree  of  Liberal 
credit  for  the  final  success  of  this  movement.  Later  on  he  intro- 
duced a  Bill  giving  women  the  right  to  sit  in  the  Legislature — as 
in]  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta — but  the  Premier  stated  (Mar.  7) 
that  this  was  not  necessary  or  desirable  at  this  juncture  and  that 
there  was  no  demand  for  it.  The  2nd  reading  was  defeated  on 
division.  According  to  the  1911  Census  there  were  802,136  males 
and  742,221  females  over  20  years  in  Ontario  so  that  the  legislation 
doubled  the  electorate  and,  during  war- time,  gave  a  possible  majority 
to  the  women.  Incidents  of  the  Session  included  the  presentation 
of  a  Bust  of  Nelson  to  the  House  on  Apr.  4  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alfred 
Hall  on  behalf  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Sailors'  Society  and  the 
late  Lord  Strathcona,  and  a  discussion  over  the  expenditures  upon 
the  furniture,  fittings  and  maintenance  of  Government  House, 
totalling  for  the  past  year  $67,480,  with  the  declaration  of  W.  Mc- 
Donald (Lib.)  on  Apr.  3  that  the  cost  of  this  building  had  increased 
to  $1,008,104  or  175%  over  the  original  estimate. 

Prohibition  was  still  an  issue  during  this  year,  though  the  public 
mind  was  pretty  well  made  up  as  to  the  principle  and  only  details 
and  additional  restrictions  remained  for  discussion.  The  Ontario 
section  of  the  Dominion  Alliance  fought  liquor  advertisements  in 
the  press  and  supported  the  enforcement  of  the  law  in  every  way 
open  to  them;  cigarettes  were  aimed  at  as  a  second  enemy  trench 
and  preparations  were  made  for  the  Referendum  of  the  future  on 
the  maintenance  of  Prohibition.  Unified  leadership  of  the  Tem- 
perance force  was  put  into  the  hands  of  a  Committee  of  the  Alliance 
—Rev.  Dr.  J.  G.  Shearer,  Rev.  L.  Minehan,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  Albert 
Moore,  R.  J.  Fleming,  A.  O.  Hogg,  Jos.  Oliver,  F.  S.  Spence  and 
Chas.  E.  Steele.  An  Ontario  Alliance  Convention  in  Toronto  on 
Mar.  6-9  passed  a  series  of  Resolutions  aimed  at  the  sterner  restric- 
tion of  liquor  sales  by  prohibiting  delivery  from  distilleries,  breweries, 
warehouses  or  agencies  in  Ontario;  placing  the  appointment  of 
Inspectors  in  the  hands  of  the  License  Commission;  checking  the 
sale  of  medicated  wines  and  patent  medicines  and  prohibiting  adver- 
tisements of  liquor  on  bill-boards  or  in  newspapers  or  solicitation 
of  orders  through  the  mails,  telegraph,  telephone  or  otherwise; 
the  teaching  of  scientific  temperance  as  obligatory  in  schools.  On 
Sept.  15  Mr.  Rowell  stated  that:  "Thousands  of  wives  and  children 
are  better  clothed,  better  fed,  and  know  more  of  the  real  meaning  of 
'home'  to-day  than  they  ever  knew  before.  Crime  has  been  sub- 
stantially reduced;  the  efficiency  and  earning  power  of  the  workers 
have  been  materially  increased;  business  has  been  stimulated  rather 
than  depressed."  In  October  The  Pioneer  published  a  great  number 
of  newspaper  comments  dealing  with  the  moral  and  general  success 
of  the  legislation;  on  Dec.  24  Sir  Wm.  Hearst  issued  the  state- 


ONTARIO:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS          665 

merit  that  "fifteen  months'  experience  of  the  Ontario  Temperance 
Act  has  established  beyond  doubt  that  Prohibition,  to  the  extent  of 
Provincial  jurisdiction,  is  a  success  and  adds  much  to  the  financial 
strength  of  the  Province,  as  well  as  to  the  comfort  and  happiness 
of  its  people.*' 

Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  formation  on  Apr.  15  of  the 
Greater  Toronto  Labour  Party  with  James  Richards  as  President 
and  an  address  from  W.  R.  Rollo,  Hamilton;  a  Convention  of  the 
Ontario  Labour  Education  Association,  at  London  with  G.  L. 
Myland,  Peterborough,  elected  President  and  Resolutions  declaring 
for  confiscation  of  75%  of  all  war  profits  in  Canada  from  the  out- 
break of  the  War  and  nationalization  of  all  industries  connected 
with  the  production  of  war  material,  all  cold  storage  plants  and  all 
Banks  and  railways  including  the  C.P.R. ;  a  statement  to  the  Toronto 
Labour  Council  by  Mrs.  Hector  Prenter  (Aug.  16)  of  the  Freedom 
League — a  Pacifist  organization — defining  its  object  as  the  security 
of  citizens  against  the  encroachments  of  military  or  other  authorities 
"who  shall  seek  to  compel  them  to  follow  any  course  of  action  which 
may  be  repulsive  to  their  sentiments  of  justice  and  brotherhood, 
or  to  their  economic,  moral  or  religious  principles";  the  strike  of 
the  Toronto  Street  Railway  men  on  July  11  for  an  increase  of  10 
cents  an  hour  and  adoption  of  the  closed-shop  principle,  the  Com- 
pany's offer  of  2  cents  as  a  war  bonus  and  the  refusal  to  employ 
none  but  Union  men,  the  men's  refusal  of  arbitration  and  settle- 
ment on  the  13th  at  an  average  increase  of  6  cents — Messrs.  Mc- 
Garry,  McPherson  and  Ferguson  of  the  Provincial  Government 
having  greatly  aided  the  negotiations.  Other  incidents  were  as 
follows : 

Jan.  1.  The  vital  statistics  for  Ontario  in  1916  showed  an  estimated  population 
of  2,776,885  divided  as  follows:  Cities  3<>'72%;  towns  5'76%;  rural  municipalities 
57-62%. 

May  10.  Announcement  made  that  Hart  House,  associated  with  the  University 
of  Toronto,  was  to  be  available  for  the  work  of  the  Military  Hospitals  Com- 
mission and  thus  enable  it  to  carry  on  the  work  of  re-education  with  greater  effect. 

Nov.  13-17.  An  unpleasant  trial  took  place  in  Kingston  on  these  dates — un- 
pleasant because  it  aroused  religious  prejudices  and  was  based  upon  the  charges  of 
a  woman  against  her  own  religious  Order  and  spiritual  Chief.  Sister  Mary  Basil, 
an  inmate  of  the  House  of  Providence  at  Kingston  for  29  years  and  latterly  at  the 
Orphanage  of  the  Order  in  St.  Mary's-on-the-Lake,  accused  the  Archbishop  of  King- 
ston (Dr.  Spratt),  the  Mother-General  of  the  House  of  Providence,  Dr.  Daniel  Phelan 
of  Kingston  and  certain  Sisters  of  the  House  with  abduction  and  an  attempt. to 
carry  her  by  force  to  an  Asylum  in  Quebec;  she  demanded  $20,000  damages  because 
of  age,  penniless  condition  and  inability  to  return  to  the  Order.  It  is  impossible  here 
to  go  into  the  details  of  the  trial  before  Mr.  Justice  Britton;  the  fact  of  an  attempted 
removal  of  the  woman  was  not  denied  but  the  Archbishop  denied  all  knowledge  of, 
or  responsibility  for,  the  alleged  act.  All  kinds  of  questions  were  involved— the 
degree  of  authority  permissible  in  such  institutions,  the  duty  of  oversight  resting  in 
the  Archbishop  or  otherwise,  the  measure  of  discipline  which  might  be  maintained, 
the  incompatibility  of  temper,  and  peculiarities  of  conduct,  and  degrees  of  insanity, 
charged  against  Sister  Mary  Basil,  the  strict  legality  of  the  action  by  the  institution 
aside  from  its  necessity.  Much  depended,  too,  upon  the  personal  characters  of  those 
involved  and  nothing  was  alleged  against  the  officials  of  the  institution  except  in 
statements  of  the  plaintiff  whose  temperament  and  health  and  personal  qualities 
were,  of  course,  involved.  The  broad  question  of  attempted  legal  abduction  was 
decided  in  favour  of  the  plaintiff  and  she  was  awarded  a  verdict  of  $20,000  against 
the  Archbishop  and  $4,000  against  Dr.  Phelan.  The  case  was  appealed  on  the  ground 


666  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

that  Archbishop  Spratt  was  only  responsible  as  head  of  a  Corporation  Sole,  An 
alleged  verbatim  report  of  the  trial  was  published  and  circulated  by  the  Orange  Order. 

Nov.  23.  At  the  16th  annual  Convention  of  Ontario  Women's  Institutes,  one 
Resolution  declared  in  favour  of  the  extension  of  women's  sphere  of  labour  with  equal 
pay  for  equal  work,  and  petitioned  the  Government  to  take  action  in  order  that 
"none  of  our  children  be  unfed,  underfed,  or  ill-fed!" 

Dec.  20.  Conclusion  of  an  agreement  announced  by  Hon.  G.  Howard  Ferguson, 
Minister  of  Lands,  Forests  and  Mines,  between  the  Government  and  Mundy  &  Stewart 
of  Toronto,  as  to  the  Kapuskasing  River  Pulp  and  Timber  limit,  under  which  1,740 
sq.  miles  of  land  were  to  be  cleared;  a  $1,000,000  Pulp  and  Paper  plant  established, 
employing  200  hands;  a  market  created  for  the  produce  raised  by  returned  soldiers 
on  New  Ontario  farms;  an  estimated  $4,500,000  of  additional  revenue  received  by 
the  Province. 

Dec.  81.  The  total  number  of  Fires  in  Ontario  during  1917  was  9,601,  the  losses 
$10,365,539,  the  Insurance  loss  $7,897,447. 

Dec.  31.  The  balance  sheet  of  the  Toronto  Hydro-Electric  System  for  1917 
showed  a  gross  income  of  $2,049,382,  a  cost  for  current  and  expense  of  operation 
totalling  $1,294,022,  a  surplus  of  $755,360  with  an  Interest,  depreciation  and  sinking 
fund  of  $720,892  charged  against  the  Surplus.  The  Assets  totalled  $10,317,530 
including  Lands,  Transmission,  Transformer,  Distribution  and  Equipment  systems 
and  the  Liabilities  $10,241,711,  The  Honour  Roll  of  this  Company  showed  11  men 
killed,  16  wounded  or  prisoners,  7  honourably  discharged  and  132  on  active  service. 

Dec.  31.  Bulletin  No.  10  of  the  Ontario  Bureau  of  Industries,  issued  in  1917, 
showed  in  the  preceding  year  a  population  of  2,580,252;  municipal  Assets  of  $1,974,- 
625,085;  municipal  taxes  of  $32,478,226;  School  taxes  of  $13,119,530. 

Dec.  31.    Government  Appointments  of  the  year  were  as  follows: 

Provincial  Forester E.  J.  Zavitz Toronto. 

Registrar  of  Deeds — Peel P.  J.  Jackson Meadowvale. 

Registrar  of  Deeds — Waterloo Oscar  S.  Eby Waterloo. 

Assistant  Commissioner  of  Agriculture . .  W.  R.  Reek,  B.S  A Charlottetown. 


Police  Magistrate John  Goodwin Welland. 

Police  Magistrate James  E.  Willis    Whitby. 

Police  Magistrate Jesse  Bradford Lindsay 

Police  Magistrate Geo.  A.  Jordan Lindsav 

Registrar  of  Deeds — Haliburton John  E.  Swinburne .  . .  Fort  William. 

Sheriff  of  Essex  County Chas.  N.  Anderson .  .  .  Leamington 

Registrar  of  Surrogate  Court W.  A.  Hollinrake Brantford. 

Dec*  31.     Elections  as  head  of  some  prominent  Ontario  organizations  were  as 
follows: 

Ontario  Branch,  Dominion  Alliance Charles  E.  Steele Toronto. 

Ontario  Good  Roads  Association C.  R.  Wheelock Orangeville. 

Ontario  W.C.T.U Mrs.  E.  A.  Stevens .  .  .Toronto. 

Ontario  Commercial  Travellers'  Association J.  H.  Grant London. 

Argonaut  Rowing  Club .John  J.  Armstrong Toronto. 

Independent  Telephone  Association F.  S.  Scott Brussels. 

Ontario  Football  Association S.  Clarke Toronto. 

Ontario  Amateur  Lacrosse  Association E.  P.  Lancaster Havelock. 

Association  of  Ontario  Land  Surveyors J.  J.  MacKay Hamilton. 

Central  Conservative  Association J.  R.  L.  Starr.  K.C.  .  .  .Toronto. 

Royal  Canadian  Yacht  Club Com.  W.  C.  Brent. . .  .Toronto. 

Ontario  Dental  Association Dr.  J.  L.  Simpson .  . .  .Trenton. 

Masonic  Grand  Lodge  of  Ontario W.  H.  Wardrope,  K.C.  Hamilton. 

Institute  of  Chartered  Accounts T.  Watson  Sime Toronto. 

Ontario  Hockey  Association J.  F.  Paxton Whitby. 

Grand  Orange  Lodge,  Ontario  East O.  W.  Landon Lansdowne. 

Grand  Orange  Lodge,  Ontario  West H.  C.  Hocken Toronto. 

The  University  of  Toronto;  Other  Institutions. 

The  Provincial  University  carried  on  its  work  under  some  difficulty  during  1917. 
The  revenues  of  the  year  (June  30)  were  $862,608,  the  expenditures  $946,447  and  a 
special  grant  was  given  by  the  Legislature  to  meet  the  deficit.  The  students  numbered 
3,246,  divided  as  follows:  Arts,  1,389;  Medicine,  546;  Applied  Science,  196;  Education, 
397;  Forestry,  10;  Social  Service,  287;  Summer  Session,  355;  Graduate  Courses,  80. 
Of  these  students  1,736  were  men  and  1,510  women;  the  degrees  conferred  totalled 
572,  including  M.B.  100;  B.A.  225;  M.A.27;  B.A.Sc.,  50;  D.D.S.  72;  B.S.A.,  33;  and 
Phm.  B.  28.  As  to  the  War  the  C.O.T.C.  sent  to  England  for  Commissions  259 
men,  as  R.F.C.Cadets  54,  and  for  the  R.N.A.S.  21;  the  Varsity  Magazine  Supplement 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO;  OTHER  INSTITUTIONS       667 

continued  its  yearly  Honour  Boll  and  record  of  war  services,  showing  to  Dec.  13,  1917. 
a  total  of  two  V.C.  winners,  11  recipients  of  the  C.M.G.,  2  of  the  C,B.,  48  of  the 
D.S.O.,  and  6  of  the  D.S.C.,  100  of  the  M.C.,  57  of  various  British  and  Foreign 
Honours,  and  172  mentioned  in  Despatches.  During  the  year  the  important  and 
effective  University  (No.  4)  General  Hospital  was  brought  from  the  East  to  England 
and  Col.  J.  A.  Roberts,  C.B.,  M.D.,  was  succeeded  (owing  to  ill-health)  in  the  command 
by  Col.  W.  B.  Hendry.  The  University  continued  to  hold  its  place  in  public  and 
war- work  during  the  year.  It  joined  with  McGill  University,  and  followed  the 
example  of  Manitoba,  in  establishing  a  six  years'  Medical  course  in  place  of  five  and 
was  accused  by  Queen's  of  Kingston  with  following  the  American  rather  than  British 
practice.  A  statement  was  issued  on  Feb.  17  in  reply  to  some  critics  who  claimed 
that  students  would  be  better  employed  at  war- work  and  that  the  University  might 
very  well  be  closed.  It  was  pointed  out  that:  "From  the  beginning  and  constantly 
ever  since,  the  issues  of  the  War  have  been  laid  before  the  students  in  a  great  variety 
of  ways,  and  at  the  same  time  urgent  pressure  has  been  brought  to  bear  upon  them 
to  perform  their  duty  to  the  country.  Out  of  a  total  of  3,300  graduates  and  under- 
graduates who  have  enlisted,  more  than  1,600  have  been  in  attendance  during  the 
period  of  the  War."  No  money,  it  was  added,  would  be  saved  to  the  country  if  the 
University  were  closed :  "  The  revenue  from  fees  would  be  lost  but  the  expenses  would 
not  be  proportionately  decreased.  If  closed  it  would  still  be  necessary  to  retain 
most  of  the  administrative  staff,  maintain,  repair  and  heat  the  buildings,  and  keep 
the  grounds  in  order." 

On  May  2  President  R.  A.  Falconer  conferred  Medical  degrees  upon  30  graduates 
and  on  the  18th  presided  at  a  Convocation  which  conferred  the  degree  of  Hon.  LL.D, 
upon  Sir  John  Hendrie,  Lieut.-Governor  and  that  of  D.Sc.  upon  Lieut.-Col.  G.  G. 
Nasmith,  C.M.G.,  whose  research  work  had  won  him  distinction  at  the  Front.  En- 
listments were  stated  at  4,000  and  those  fallen  in  action  at  231.  In  September  it 
was  announced  that  all  the  male  students  of  the  University,  in  attendance  for  the 
Session  of  1917-18,  would  be  required  to  take  some  form  of  military  or  physical  train- 
ing. At  the  same  time,  with  Conscription  coming,  the  C.O.T.C.  became  a  still  more 
popular  institution.  Men  in  this  Corps  were  ranked  as  privates,  took  training  in 
Canada,  and  then  were  drafted  to  England  to  train  as  officers  attached  to  Imperial 
units.  Speaking  on  Oct.  5  in  Toronto  Sir  Robert  Falconer — who  had  been  Knighted 
a  few  months  before — declared  that  boys  of  18  should  be  sent  to  the  University  and 
at  20  would  be  fitted  by  military  and  other  training  for  active  service;  that  "all  medical 
students  should  be  exempt  from  Conscription,  and  that  the  Faculties  should  become 
Medical  Corps,  which  could  be  drawn  upon  to  meet  the  crisis  that  was  coming  in  hand- 
ling men  who  return  disabled  from  the  War";  that  "of  Canadian  Universities  there 
were  6,000  undergraduates  at  present  on  active  service,  or  60%  of  the  whole  of  the 
undergraduates  of  the  Dominion."  The  University  Hospital  Supply  Association 
reported  for  the  year  receipts  of  $87,837  and  disbursements  of  $73,054,  with  32,919 
articles  made  by  members  since  March,  ^915. 

As  to  associated  institutions  Victoria  College  reported  in  April,  1917,  426  gradu- 
ates and  students  on  active  service  (of  whom  74  had  been  in  Theological  courses) 
and  conferred  (Apr.  2)  the  D.D.  degree  upon  Rev.  Daniel  Norman,  B.A.,  Missionary 
in  Japan,  and  Rev.  J.  P.  Wilson,  B.A.,  of  Peterborough,  and  passed  18  graduates  in 
Theology;  Chancellor  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  P.  Bowles,  in  reporting  the  24th  student  from 
this  institution  dead  at  the  Front,  confessed  that  the  College  had  always  been  "a 
centre  of  Pacifist  teachings."  He  added :  "  We  were  drenched  in  that  kind  of  philosophy 
but  I  think  the  College  can  be  congratulated  on  the  way  it  has  adjusted  itself."  St. 
Michael's  College  in  reply  to  some  unfair  criticisms,  stated  through  its  Superior 
the  Rev.  Father  H.  Carr  (Mar.  21)  that  171  of  its  students  were  Overseas  with  only 
166  of  a  total  present  enrolment  and  that  7  priests  of  the  College  staff— all  there 
were  of  military  age — had  volunteered;  Knox  College  at  its  Convocation  of  Apr.  10 
gave  an  Hon.  D.D.  to  Rev.  James  W.  Mitchell,  Missionary  to  the  Indians,  and  Rev. 
Chong  Ching-Ki,  Secretary  of  the  Chinese  Continuation  Committee,  13  graduates 
received  diplomas  and  the  B.D.  degree  was  conferred  on  6  other  graduates;  Wy  cliff  e 
College  held  a  Convocation  on  Apr.  11  and  conferred  its  Hon.  D.D.  upon  Archbishop 
S.  P.  Matheson  of  Winnipeg,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  J.  F.  Sweeny,  Toronto,  and  Bishop 
Edward  C.  Acheson  of  Connecticut,  Principal  T.  R.  O'Meara  announced  13  graduates 
into  the  Anglican  ministry  with  only  44  students  compared  with  110  in  1916 — the 
enlistment  of  11  out  of  the  44  with  a  total  of  81  on  active  service;  Trinity  College 
showed  a  record  of  298  enlistments  with  21  deaths  on  service  and  a  roll  of  Honour 


668  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

which  included  2  Knighthoods,  10  other  Orders.  13  winners  of  the  D.S.O.  and  SI  of 
the  M.C.,  etc.;  McMaster  University  had  an  enrolment  of  205  of  whom  65  were 
women  and  its  affiliated  institution,  Brandon  College,  had  68  students  with  its  Princi- 
pal, Rev.  Dr.  Whidden,  returned  to  Parliament  in  the  Elections;  Ottawa  University 
had  a  registration  of  691  students.  Western  University,  London,  through  a  Delega- 
tion, headed  by  Sir  Adam  Beck,  President,  E.  E.  Braithwaite  and  Philip  Pocock, 
asked  the  Ontario  Government  to  increase  its  yearly  grant  from  $50,000  to  $75,000; 
this  was  finally  done.  In  the  autumn  2  new  Professors  were  added  to  the  Staff — A. 
A.  Livingston,  B.A.,  PH.D.,  in  Romance  Languages,  and  W.  Sherwood  Dix,  M.A.,  PH.D., 
in  Classics;  6  more  students  went  on  Active  Service,  while  70  men  were  in  the 
C.O.T.C.;  the  graduates  in  1917  were  2  as  M.A.,  7  as  B.A.  and  13  as  M.D.  Affili- 
ated with  this  University  was  Huron  College — a  federation  of  the  Church  of  England 
Theological  Colleges  of  Canada. 

Queen's  University,  Kingston,  ranked  next  to  Toronto  amongst  the  educational 
institutions  of  Ontario.  In  October  the  Rev.  Dr.  D.  M.  Gordon  was  finally  relieved 
on  account  of  ill-health,  after  15  years  of  strenuous  service,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  Bruce 
Taylor  of  Montreal  was  appointed  Principal  and  Vice-Chancellor.  Early  in  the  year 
this  University  announced  its  disagreement  with  Toronto  and  McGill  as  to  adding 
another  year  to  the  Medical  course  because  (1)  the  proposed  pre-medical  year  could 
not  be  taken  to  advantage  in  Ontario  schools;  (2)  the  Queen's  B.A.  course  of  7  years 
would  be  seriously  interefered  with;  (3)  it  would  add  greatly  to  the  expense  of  the 
course;  (4)  it  would  militate  against  the  supply  of  trained  men  for  Army  purposes. 
An  Overseas  Record,  published  by  the  University,  showed  1,027  graduates,  alumni, 
members  of  staff,  and  students,  on  active  service  Overseas,  to  1st  June,  1917.  Of 
these  41  had  been  killed  in  action,  9  died  of  wounds,  75  were  wounded,  while  the  Honours 
won  had  totalled  45  of  which  24  were  M.C.  winners  with  30  others  mentioned  in  Des- 
patches. The  valuable  series  of  Bulletins  in  History  and  Economics  issued  by  this 
University  was  added  to  in  1917  by  the  following:  The  Royal  Disallowance  in  Massa- 
chusetts by  A.  G.  Dorland;  The  Language  Issue  in  Canada  by  Prof.  O.  D.  Skelton; 
The  Neutralization  of  States  by  F.  W.  Baumgartner.  During  1917  the  Arts  Building, 
of  Queen's  as  well  as  Grant  Hall,  was  handed  over  to  the  Military  Hospitals  Com- 
mission for  its  returned  men.  Albert  College,  Belleville  (Methodist)  had  its  central 
building  destroyed  by  fire  in  May  and  later  on  the  City  Council  purchased  25  acres 
of  ground  in  the  western  part  of  the  city  for  $28,000  and  gave  this  to  the  College  on 
condition  that  buildings  should  be  erected  to  cost  not  less  than  $200,000.  This  was 
to  be  done  at  the  close  of  the  War  and,  meanwhile,  an  endowment  of  $100,000  long 
sought  by  Principal  E.  N.  Baker  was  finally  obtained.  It  was  stated  in  June  that 
220  students  had  gone  Overseas  and  10  girls  as  nurses.  Upper  Canada  College, 
Toronto,  though  only  a  preparatory  school,  had  a  remarkable  war  record.  In  October 
it  stood  at  950  on  service  with  107  deaths  in  action,  74  Honours  and  47  mentioned  in 
despatches.  In  July  H.  W.  Auden,  B.A. ,  was  succeeded,  after  14  years'  service,  as 
Principal  by  Major  Wm.  Lawson  Grant,  M.A.,  son  of  the  late  Principal  of  Queen's 
and,  himself,  formerly  Professor  of  History  at  that  institution  and,  latterly,  at  the 
Front  with  the  59th  Battalion.  His  installation  on  Dec.  18  was  marked  by  an  address 
of  unusual  diction  and  character  with  high  appreciation  of  the  place  which  a  great 
public  school  should  hold  in  Canadian  evolution  and  education. 

Agriculture  and  Production;  the  United  Farmers. 

There  was  a  decreased  area  of  Ontario  under  wheat  in  1917  and  a  decreased  pro- 
duction with,  however,  greatly  increased  values;  an  enlarged  acreage  and  production 
in  oats  and  barley  and  potatoes  and  a  decrease  in  rye,  buckwheat  and  corn;  a  decrease 
in  the  holdings  of  horses  and  swine  and  a  slight  increase  in  sheep  and  cattle.  The 
horses  on  July  1,  1917,  totalled  765,873  in  number,  the  cattle  2,827,609,  the  sheep 
956,986,  the  swine  1,664,639,  the  poultry  of  all  sorts  13,606,292.  The  value  of  all 
Live-stock  in  hand  on  July  1,  1916,  was  $263,869,539,  according  to  Provincial  statis- 
tics and  by  Federal  statistics  was  $295,545,000  and,  in  1917,  $296,914,000;  the  value 
of  those  sold  or  slaughtered  in  1916  was  Provincially  stated  at  $99,159,081.  The 
Provincial  figures  of  value  for  the  Field  crops  of  1916  were  $223,748,948;  the  Federal 
figures  for  1917  totalled  $284,176,300.  The  Provincial  figures  for  1916  showed  a 
total  value  for  Ontario  farmlands  of  $794,676,886,  for  buildings  $357,313,850,  for 
Implements  $98,020,295 — for  all,  including  Live-stock,  $1,513,880,550  or  an  increase 
since  1914  of  $33,000,000.  The  details  of  1917  production  were  as  follows: 


ONTARIO  MINES  IN  1917;  SUDBURY,  COBALT,  AND  PORCUPINE    669 


Ontario  Field  Crops*  Area 
Acres 

Fall  Wheat 656.500 

Spring  Wheat 113,000 

AU  Wheat 769,500 

Oats 2,687,000 

Barley. . .                    361,000 

Rye 68,000 

Peas 126,000 

Beans 36,000 

Buckwheat 162,000 

Mixed  Grains 295,000 

Flax 4,000 

Corn  for  Husking 160,000 

Potatoes 142,000 

Turnips,  Mangolds,  etc 94,000 


Hay  and  Clover 2,998,000 

Fodder  Corn 265,000 

Sugar  Beets 14,000 

Alfalfa. . .  52,000 


Yield 

Total       Average 

per  Acre 

Yield           Price 

Bush. 

Bush,      per  Bush. 

21-50 

14,114,800     $2.09 

19-50 

2,203,500       2.08 

21-25 

16,318,300       2.09 

36-50 

98,075,500       0.72 

31-00 

11,191,000       1.16 

17-75 

1,207,000        1.64 

16-75 

2,110,500       3.21 

11-75 

423,000       6  .  79 

18-75 

3,037,500       1.37 

37-75 

11,136,300        1.12 

13-00 

52.000       3  .  70 

37-25 

5,960,000       1.72 

133-67 

18,981,000       1.00 

340  '  93 

32,047,000       0.35 

Tons 

Tons      per  Ton 

1-70 

5,097,000     10.26 

7  54 

1,998,000       5.00 

8-40 

117,000       6.75 

2  74 

142,500     10.08 

Total 
Value 

$29,499,900 

4,583,300 

34,083,200 

70,614,400 

12,981,600 

1,979,500 

6,774,700 

2,872,200 

4,161,400 

12,472,700 

192,400 

10,251,200 

18,981,000 

11,216,000 


52.295,000 

9,990,000 

793,800 

1,436,000 


The  United  Farmers  of  Ontario  was  an  important  organization  in  1917  with  400 
local  clubs  and  15,000  members  and  a  steady  growth  since  its  organization  in  1914. 
R.  H.  Halbert,  Melancthon,  was  President,  and  J.  J.  Morrison,  Toronto,  the  energetic 
Secretary-Treasurer,  with  E.  C.  Drury,  Barrie,  and  W.  C.  Good,  Paris,  as  Vice- 
Presidents.  The  3rd  annual  Convention  was  held  in  Toronto  Mar.  7-8  with  450 
Delegates  present,  and  it  adopted,  in  the  main,  the  platform  of  the  National  Council 
of  Agriculture  as  to  tariffs,  taxation,  etc.  It  approved  a  direct  tax  on  unimproved 
land  values;  a  graduated  tax  on  Incomes  over  $4,000;  nationalization  of  railway,  tele- 
graph and  express  companies;  the  Initiative  and  Referendum,  publicity  in  campaign 
funds,  abolition  of  patronage  system  and  Federal  franchise  for  women.  The  only 
hitch  was  in  the  Reciprocity  matter  as  to  which  a  compromise  Resolution  declared 
approval  of  the  freer  trade  and  Reciprocity  clauses  subject  to  a  Government  Refer- 
endum on  the  latter  subject.  Another  Resolution  referred  to  pending  changes  in 
Empire  relations  and  asked  also  for  a  Referendum  on  that  issue.  Other  motions  asked 
the  Government  (1)  to  give  Independent  Telephones  long-distance  connections  and 
(2)  urged  it  to  obtain  the  entry  of  apples  to  the  British  market  on  the  same  scale 
as  oranges  and  lemons;  (3)  condemned  titles  as  undemocratic  but  in  language  hardly 
suited  to  serious  discussion.  Addresses  were  delivered  by  John  Kennedy,  T.  A. 
Crerar,  R.  McKenzie,  C.  Rice-Jones  and  H.  W.  Wood  of  the  Western  organizations. 
The  United  Farmers  Co-operative  Co.  Ltd.,  announced  earnings  of  $11,884  and 
expenditures  of  $7,868;  at  the  end  of  1917  the  turn-over  on  business  had  been  $1,000,- 
000;  R.  W.  E.  Burnaby,  Jefferson,  was  elected  President  and  J.  J.  Morrison,  Secretary. 
The  4th  Convention  of  the  U.F.O.  was  held  on  Dec.  19-21  with  a  speech  from  President 
Halbert  in  which  he  declared  that:  "Government  by  the  people  is  a  myth.  The 
real  rulers  of  Canada  are  the  knighted  heads  of  combines.  Financial,  manufacturing 
and  food  distributing  interests  are  organized,  and  the  individual  farmer,  standing 
alone,  has  no  chance  against  them.  Farmers  possess,  but  do  not  control,  the  biggest 
business  asset  in  Canada." 

Ontario  Mines  in  1917;  Cobalt  and  Porcupine. 

The  year  1917  was  a  good  year  for  Sudbury  and  its  Nickel  mines  and  Cobalt  with 
its  Silver  production,  but  a  poor  one  for  Porcupine  and  its  Gold  development.  Nickel 
production  commenced  in  the  two  latter  camps,  also,  but  the  output  of  the  world 
still  centred  at  Sudbury  with  the  almost  completed  plants  of  the  International 
Nickel  Co.  at  Port  Colborne  and  the  British  American  Nickel  Corporation  near 
Sudbury  promising  refining  operations  sufficient  for  the  supply  of  the  whole  British 
Empire.  The  total  value  of  Nickel  produced  at  Sudbury  to  the  end  of  1916  was 
$89,128,164 — all  refined  in  New  Jersey  or  Overseas  in  Wales.  The  ore  raised  by  the 
Canadian  Copper  Co. — subsidiary  of  the  International  Nickel — was  1,227,187  tons 
in  1916;  that  of  the  Mond  Nickel  Co.  was  311,079  tons — the  quantities  smelted  were 
respectively  1,167,070  tons  and  354,619  tons.  The  Murray  Mines  of  the  B.  A.  Nicke! 
Corporation — controlled  by  the  British  Government — in  the  diamond  drilling  already 
done  showed  a  large  body  of  ore,  the  extent  of  which  was  not  fully  determined,  but 

*  Federal  Census  and  Statistics  Office. 


670  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

it  was  stated  in  August,  1917,  that  a  layer  80  feet  thick,  rich  in  nickel  and  copper 
ore,  had  been  discovered  by  which  the  expected  output  of  11,000,000  tons  would  be 
increased  by  5,000,000  tons  annually.  The  following  official  statistics  show  the 
growth  of  this  industry  to  the  end  of  1916: 

Schedule  1912  1913  1914  1915  1916 

Ore  raised Tons  737,656        784,697     1,000,364     1,339,322     1,572,804 

Ore  smelted 725,065        823,403        947,053     1,272,283     1,546,215 

Bessemer  matte  produced. .  „  41,925  47,150  46,396  67,703  80,010 
Nickel  contents  of  matte. . .  22,421  24,838  22,759  34,039  41,299 

Copper  contents  of  matte..  „  11,116  12,938  14,448  19,608  22,430 
Value  of  Nickel  in  matte...  $4,722,040  $5,237,477  $5,108,997$17,019,500$20,649,279 
Value  of  Copper  in  matte..  $1,581,062  $1,839,438  $2,080,034  $3,921,600  $8,299,051 

Wages  paid $2,357,889  $3,291,956  $3,131,520  $3,581,639  $4,920,720 

Men  employed 2,850  3,512  3,464       4,178  4,730 

The  value  of  Gold  production  in  the  Province  during  1916,  nearly  all  in  Porcupine  and 
its  vicinity,  was  $10,399,377 — representing  10  producing  mines  of  which  the  chief 
was  Hollinger  with  $5,073,401  of  a  product  and  dividends  of  $3,126,000,  and  the 
Dome  with  $2,153,819  and  $800,000  respectively.  The  extraction  per  ton  ran  from 
$8.42  for  the  Hollinger  Co.,  $11.27  for  the  Porcupine  Crown  and  $17.85  for  Tough- 
Oakes;  the  total  product  for  Ontario  since  1910  was  $31,156,156.  Other  areas  in 
Northern  Ontario — illustrated  by  the  Tough-Oakes  mine — were  coming  into  operation 
during  1916  and  included  Munro,  Long  Lake  and  Kirkland.  In  1917,  however,  the 
growing  cost  of  everything  associated  with  gold,  such  as  labour,  materials,  machinery, 
food,  supplies,  transportation,  while  its  commodity  value  remained  the  same,  had  an 
effect  upon  production  and  the  payment  of  dividends.  Developments  of  deep  drilling 
in  the  Mclntyre,  Hollinger,  Porcupine  Crown  and  Dome  mines  showed  excellent 
results;  the  Newray  property  had  spectacular  features  of  progress,  was  acquired  by 
the  Crown  Reserve  interests  of  Cobalt  and  promised  good  production;  the  Kirk- 
land  Lake  district  was  active  with  the  Teck-Hughes  mine  as  a  new  producer;  a  notable 
find  of  gold  was  made  in  Richard  Township  and  acquired  by  the  Mining  Corporation 
of  Canada  and  another  took  place  in  the  Lightning  River  district — north-east  of 
Kirkland  Lake.  The  estimated  total  output  for  1917  was  430,000  ounces  worth 
$8,468,589  with  dividends  of  $1,768,542  or  a  slight  reduction  from  1916.  It  was 
stated  on  October  18  by  a  Toronto  Globe  correspondent  that,  drawing  a  line  around 
the  five  chief  mines  of  the  Porcupine:  "The  amount  of  gold  so  far  determined  within, 
or  in  close  proximity  to  that  circle,  amounts  to,  approximately,  $80,000,000 — some- 
thing like  $50,000,000  of  which  is  in  ore  reserves.  In  fact,  at  these  five  mines  the 
ore  reserves  are  growing  at  the  rate  of  about  $1,000,000  per  month  in  excess  of  pro- 
duction." A  conservative  estimate  by  Sir  Edmund  Walker  of  the  Bank  of  Commerce 
put  this  total  at  $50,000,000.  In  milling  capacity  distinct  progress  was  made  from 
an  approximate  daily  tonnage  of  4,190  in  1916  to  6,200  in  1917.  Conditions  in  cost, 
in  labour  shortage  and  inefficiency,  etc.,  caused  a  suspension  of  Hollinger  dividends, 
a  cutting  of  Dome  disbursements  in  hah*  and  other  reductions,  but  the  greatness  of 
original  resources  remained  and  the  Hollinger-Acme  properties  alone  were  said  by 
The  Northern  Miner  of  Colbalt  to  have  ore  reserves  (estimated)  of  $81,000,000.  The 
later  annual  reports  of  these  Companies  showed  a  partly-developed  reserve  of  $34,- 
000,000. 

The  Cobalt  Silver  region  also  showed  less  production  for  reasons  largely  the 
same  but  an  increased  value  owing  to  higher  prices  for  the  metal  itself.  The  total 
production,  up  to  the  close  of  1916,  was  255,322,279  ounces  valued  at  $135,829,548; 
other  elements  of  Cobalt  ore  such  as  arsenic,  cobalt  and  nickel  had  netted  considerable 
returns.  The  production  showed  a  total  for  1917,  approximately,  of 
$16,000,000  in  value,  or  an  increase  of  nearly  4  millions  with  net  profits  of  about 
twice  that  figure — the  average  price  of  silver  being  81  cents  per  ounce  compared  with 
65  cents  in  1916  and  49  cents  in  1915.  The  shipments  of  the  Mining  Corporation 
(4,000,000  ounces)  in  1917  were  said  to  exceed  those  of  any  silver  property  in  the 
Empire  and  the  Nipissing  came  second  to  it  with  an  increase  in  values  from  $2,735,000 
to  $3,350,000.  Coniagas  paid  three  quarterly  dividends  of  a  total  12>£%  but  con- 
served its  last  one  in  the  year  and  had  a  production  of  1,200,000  ounces  with  a  pur- 
chase also  of  the  Ankerite  gold  claims  in  the  Porcupine  and  a  record  of  $8,000,000 
paid  in  dividends  since  1907.  The  Peterson  Lake  Co.  won  a  lawsuit  which  confirmed 
its  ownership  of  certain  rights  and  enabled  a  probable  recovery  of  4  to  5  million 
ounces  of  silver.  The  Cobalt  dividends  of  the  year  increased  to  approximately 
$5,450,000  or  a  total  payment  of  $80,000,000  since  the  camp  started.  There  were 


ONTARIO  MINES  IN  1917;  SUDBURY,  COBALT,  AND  PORCUPINE    671 


28  producing  mines  at  the  beginning  of  1917;  the  shipments  of  that  year  included 
5,100,000  ounces  from  the  Mining  Corporation,  3,800,000  from  the  Nipissing,  2,300,000 
from  Kerr  Lake,  1,300,000  from  Coniagas,  1,200,000  from  the  O'Brien,  1,000,000 
each  from  McKinley-Darragh  and  the  Miller  Lake-O'Brien  of  Gowganda;  some  of 
these  mines  were  seriously  affected  in  latter  years  by  the  legal  holding-up  of  pro- 
duction through  an  oil-flotation  process  at  the  instance  of  its  original  German-Ameri- 
can owners.  According  to  T.  W.  Gibson,  Deputy  Minister  of  Mines,  in  Ontario, 
this  process  of  flotation  for  the  concentration  of  low  grade  ores  was  one  of  the  most 
important  developments  of  modern  metallurgy.  It  had  been  found  adapted  to  the 
treatment  of  the  heaps  of  tailings  accumulated  round  the  mines  of  Cobalt,  as  well 
as  to  leaner  wall  and  mine  rock,  and  its  effect  in  prolonging  the  life  of  the  silver- 
mining  industry  there  would  undoubtedly  be  considerable:  "Material  incapable  of 
being  treated  by  ordinary  gravity  methods  was  susceptible  to  the  flotation  process, 
and  what  was  formerly  waste  became  a  source  of  profit."  Meanwhile,  the  steady 
growth  of  Ontario  Mineral  production,  as  a  whole,  had  increased  from  $4,705,673  in 
1891  to  $5,235,003  in  1896,  or  11%;  to  $11,831,086  in  1901,  or  125%;  to  $22,388,383 
in  1906  or  89%;  to  $41,976,797  in  1911  or  87%;  to  $65,303,822  in  1916  or  55%.  In 
the  latter  year  there  were  11,249  employees  with  wages  of  $11,492,669.  The  Statis- 
tics of  production  in  1917  were  as  follows: 

Mineral  Production                                     Quantity  1917  Value  1917 
METALLIC: 

Gold ounces  420,000  $  8,698,831 

Silver "  19,479.807  16,193,293 

Copper Ibs.  542,878  119,407 

Copper,  in  matte tons  21,197  7,842,890 

Nickel,  in  matte 41,887  20,943,500 

Iron  ore,  exported 136,343  483,690 

Pig  iron 49,485  1,016,699 

Cobalt  (metallic) Ibs  396,395  589,290 

Cobalt  oxide 418,703  533,489 

Molybdenite,  concentrates 80,614  108,501 

Lead 1,772,512  172,601 

Sundries 140,482 

Metallic  Totals $56,842,673 

NON-METALLIC: 

Arsenic,  white,  grey,  etc ..Ibs.  5,183,145  $608.483 

Brick,  fancy  and  pressed M.  35,203  462,357 

Brick,  common "  74,129  769,340 

Tile,  drain "  13,421  468,886 

Tile,  hollow  blocks "  3,931  301,528 

Cement,  Portland bbls.  2,063,231  2,934,271 

Graphite,  refined tons  3,173  210,018 

Gypsum,  crushed,  etc. . . '. "  48,656  128,828 

Iron  pyrites "  257,369  1,066  575 

Lime .  .bush.  1,179,062  269,461 

Natural  gas M.  cu.  ft.  20,025,727  3,182,154 

Petroleum,  crude Imp.  gal.  7,104,700  475,000 

Quartz tons.  174,155  382,993 

Salt "  138,528  1,095,866 

Sand  and  gravel cu.  yds.  1,142,481  427,303 

Sewer  Pipe 205,810 

Stone,  building,  trap,  etc 749,160 

Talc,  crude  and  ground tons  16,076  179,554 

Sundries 299,682 

Total,  non-metallic. . .  $14,217,269 

Total,  metallic 56,842,673 

Grand  total $71,059,942 

The  total  value  of  all  metals  produced  in  Ontario  up  to  the  end  of  1917  was  $466,000,- 
000.  During  1916-17  the  demand  for  metals  had  been  immensely  enhanced  by  the 
War  and  munition  requirements  but  production  held  down  to  some  extent  by  the 
cost  of  supplies  and  scarcity  of  labour.  Molybdenite  was  a  new  production  com- 
mencing in  1915  with  $14,099  worth  of  ore,  in  1916  $26,393  and  in  1917  $108,000. 
As  a  steel-hardening  substance  which  formerly  came  from  Germany  its  existence  was 
a  matter  of  interest.  At  the  beginning  of  1917  there  were  8  iron  blast  furnaces  oper- 
ated in  Ontario  and  the  local  ore  smelted  in  the  previous  year  was  215,366  tons  and 
the  Foreign  ore  1.056,810  tons;  a  pig-iron  production  of  $9,739,704  and  a  total  value 
of  steel  produced,  $12,847,309.  The  general  production  of  Ontario  up  to  1917  was 
officially  stated  as  follows; 


672  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Ontario  All  Canada 

Farm  Products $    350,000,000  $    865,000,000 

Minerals 52,000,000  128,500,000 

Timber 50,000,000  200,000,000 

Manufactures 700,000,000  1,300,000,000 


Totals $1,152,000,000  $2,493.500,000 

This  Province  during  the  year  had  a  conspicuous 
- anc^  combative  place  in  the  controversies  of  the  Domin- 
ment;  Edu-  on;  ^s  Provincial  conditions  were  quiet,  orderly, 
cation;  Pro-  progressive.  Sir  Lomer  Gouin  stood  by  his  chief  in 
duction.  the  Federal  arena  but  with  a  minimum  of  political 

friction  and  party  feeling  in  Provincial  affairs;  his 
own  majority  was  so  large  and  so  continuous  since  taking  the 
Premiership  in  1905  that  he  had  little  cause  to  worry.  The  standing  in 
the  House  of  Assembly  on  June  1,  1917,  showed  73  Liberals,  6  Con- 
servatives and  2  vacancies;  at  dissolution  in  1916  the  numbers  had 
stood  58  to  16  with  7  vacancies.  His  personal  view,  in  a  general 
sense,  of  inter-Provincial  relationship  was  expressed  at  a  Bonne 
Entente  banquet  in  Toronto  on  Jan.  8:  "Mutual  respect  is  absolutely 
essential  to  our  national  perpetuation.  There  must  be  a  spirit  of 
tolerance  for  religion,  origin  and  tongue;  and  respect  for  the  ideas 
and  ambitions  of  our  neighbours.  We  are  destined  by  Providence, 
whether  we  like  it  or  not,  to  live  together.  Why  not  live  happily 
Why  should  we  not  bend  every  energy  to  weld  together  in  the  nation 
the  splendid  elements  we  have?  "  Sir  Lomer  led  in  the  acceptance  of 
National  Service  and  the  signing  of  the  cards  at  Quebec ;  he  agreed 
with  Sir  W.  Laurier  in  opposing  an  extension  of  the  Parliamentary 
term  at  Ottawa,  and  the  enactment  of  Conscription  without  a 
definite  decision  by  the  people  in  a  General  Election  or  by  a  Referen- 
dum; he  maintained  in  the  two  or  three  speeches  he  made  during  the 
Elections  that  the  people  of  Quebec  would  loyally  abide  by  any 
decision  expressed  through  a  clear  majority  of  the  national  vote. 
During  the  three  years  of  War  his  Government's  record  was  as  follows : 

1.  Gift  to  England  of  1,000,000  Ibs.  of  Cheese $      623,898 

2.  Contributions  to  War  Funds 82,047 

3.  Contribution  to  Canadian  Patriotic  Fund 1,000,000 

4.  Subscription  to  Victory  Loan 1,000,000 

The  Province,  as  a  whole,  contributed  to  various  War  Funds  and 
objects — through  the  Municipal  Council  of  Montreal  $545,815,  with 
$1,000,000  vote  proposed  in  1917  for  the  Canadian  Patriotic  Fund; 
through  the  Quebec  Municipal  Council  $199,444,  and  by  a  Provin- 
cial collection  for  the  British  Red  Cross  $233,000;  through  general 
contributions  to  the  Patriotic  Fund  an  estimated  total  of  $10,000,000 
to  the  end  of  1917;  through  the  press  of  Montreal  a  collection  of 
$43,000  (in  1914)  to  aid  a  French-Canadian  Parish  Hospital  in  Paris; 
through  the  Belgian  Relief  Commission  a  collection  of  $177,984  to 
Mar.  20,  1917;  through  various  organizations  large  sums  for  various 
French  War  charities— estimated  in  the  one  conducted  by  Lady 
Gouin  and  Mme.  Chase  Casgrain  at  30,000,000  francs  or  about 
$1,500,000;  many  shipments  of  supplies  by,  for  instance,  the  Help 
for  France  Committee  of  Mme.  R.  Thibaudeau,  Quebec,  with 
2,725  cases  of  clothes.*  Sir  P.  E.  Le  Blanc,  Lieut. -Governor  of  the 

*From  a  Summary  compiled  by  Lieut.-Ool.  P.  Pelletier,  Agent-General  for  Quebec 
in  London. 


QUEBEC  IN  1917;  GOVERNMENT,  EDUCATION,  PRODUCTION  673 

Province,  with  two  sons  at  the  Front,  did  earnest  War  service  in  his 
speeches — notably  on  July  2  when  he  made  this  patriotic  utterance 
at  Montreal:  "Our  army,  product  of  our  national  courage,  is  sup- 
ported by  the  enthusiasm  and  pride  of  the  whole  Canadian  nation. 
It  is  marked  by  valour,  skill  and  energy  and  our  history  will  contain 
no  brighter  pages  than  those  which  record  the  military  achievements 
of  the  gallant  youths  who  have  freely  offered  their  services  when 
they  felt  that  they  were  needed  by  their  country.  Patriotism  has 
been  strengthened  by  their  example,  so  that  the  call  of  duty  has 
been  heard  by  all  who  are  not  blind  to  the  present  position  of  Canada." 
Early  in  the  year  (Mar.  12)  an  appeal  was  issued  by  him  to  all 
the  Mayors  of  the  Province  on  behalf  of  the  Patriotic  Fund  and 
Red  Cross  "to  vote  a  sum  which  will  prove  your  everlasting  patri- 
otism." It  was  not  his  fault  or  that  of  the  Government  if  the 
Province,  outside  of  Montreal,  took  $17,000,000  of  the  Victory  Loan 
in  November  instead  of  the  $35,000,000  aimed  at;  it  probably  was 
due,  in  the  main,  to  lack  of  ready  money  amongst  the  habitants  and 
it  was  a  condition  shared  in  by  other  parts  of  Canada — notably 
New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia  and  British  Columbia;  Montreal 
exceeded  its  objective  and  topped  even  Toronto.  The  War  gardens 
of  Montreal  were  a  distinct  success  in  1917  due  to  the  efforts  of  the 
Montreal  Cultivation  Committee,  the  Khaki  League  and  the  Rotary 
Club;  the  Provincial  Government  during  the  year  decided  to  call 
new  Townships  by  the  names  of  battles  shared  in  by  Canadians, 
such  as  Ypres,  Courcelette,  Festubert,  etc.  The  Conservative 
Opposition  did  not  say  much  about  war  conditions  at  this  time 
and  their  general  attitude  was  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Arthur  Sauve,  Opposition  Leader,  declared  at  a  St.  Rose 
anti-Conscription  meeting  that  he  had  come  in  the  interests  of 
liberty:  " I  cannot  share  the  views  of  those  who  say  that  the  interests 
of  the  Empire  are  superior  to  those  of  the  Dominion;  I  am  against 
Conscription  as  being  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  a  life-time  and 
am  sure  that  if  the  measure  is  submitted  to  the  people  it  will  be 
shown  conclusively  that  opposition  does  not  come  entifely  from 
Quebec  and  that  the  majority  of  the  people  are  against  the  Bill." 
In  the  Legislature  on  Dec.  19  he  made  an  explicit  statement: 

The  Federal  Government  did  not  prepare  the  Province  of  Quebec  properly  to 
accept  Conscription.  There  was  no  organization.  Furthermore,  certain  English 
newspapers  from  the  West  have  never  stopped  insulting  and  provoking  this  Prov- 
ince, and  suggesting  the  Conscription  Act  as  a  way  to  reduce  and  control  Quebec. 
In  the  other  Provinces  the  Government  succeeded  in  controlling  all  the  newspapers 
for  its  support.  In  Quebec  it  was  quite  the  contrary.  Too  many  politicians  have 
used  Conscription  as  a  means  to  get  elected  and  it  is  unfortunate  that  its  significance 
has  been  misrepresented  and  misused.  The  leaders  deserve  the  whole  blame  and 
not  the  people.  At  all  events  a  new  trend  of  thought  is  necessary  for  the  entire 
country  together  with  a  more  national  system  of  education  and  a  civic  spirit  more 
adequate  to  our  position  as  citizens  of  Canada  and  as  British  subjects.  \Above  all, 
let  us  be  National  Canadians  instead  of  Provincial  Canadians.  Our  Canadianism 
must  comprehend  all  the  duties  appertaining  to  a  great  economic  country,  forming 
part  of  the  British  Empire  and  loyal  to  the  King,  who  is  entitled  to  the  allegiance 
of  all  his  subjects.  Canada  must  preserve  the  traditions  of  the  tAvo^'great  races  who 
have  laboured  side  by  side  to  develop  the  country. 

As  Minister  of  Agriculture  the  Hon.  J.  E.  Caron  issued  an  ex- 
cellent Report  of  his  Department  for  the  year  of  June  30,  1917; 

43 


674 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


He  congratulated  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  under  the  charge  of  G.  E. 
Marquis,  upon  its  good  work  in  compiling  Provincial  statistics; 
described  the  sowing  in  1916  of  the  greatest  crop  in  Quebec's  history 
— an  increase,  for  instance,  in  wheat  acreage  of  nearly  400%  and  of 
potatoes  80% — and  the  difficulty  in  getting  sufficient  seed  until  the 
aid  of  the  Federal  Minister  was  obtained;  regretted  the  result  of 
bad  weather  through  which  the  crop  was  a  failure  in  comparison 
with  expectations  and  previous  production;  stated  that  the  Agri- 
cultural schools  and  colleges — St.  Anne,  Oka,  Macdonald  and  the 
Dairy,  Veterinary  and  Household  Science  institutions — had  a  suc- 
cessful year  with  2,305  students  and  509  diplomas  issued;  dealt 
with  the  86  Agricultural  societies,  representing  25,113  members, 
and  736  Farmers'  Clubs  with  72,137  members,  as  having  a  revenue 
of  $201,555,  payments  from  the  Government  of  $122,169  and  a 
Loan  of  $26,320  without  interest,  and  declared  that  "this  is  an 
exceedingly  powerful  organization  which,  when  set  in  motion  for 
a  good  cause  and  putting  forth  its  maximum  amount  of  energy, 
may  create  an  irresistible  advance  along  the  road  to  progress." 
In  conclusion  he  referred  to  the  great  need  of  the  Allies  for  food, 
feared  a  coming  depletion  of  Canadian  live  animals,  urged  prepara- 
tion so  as  to  bear  with  the  United  States  the  burden  of  the  call,  and 
stated  that  he  was  doing  his  utmost  to  encourage  stock-breeding 
and  that  sheep-raising,  in  particular,  had  increased  33%  since  1911; 
declared  that  Agriculture  had  been  promoted  and  that  "the  number 
of  lady-farmers' clubs"  had  increased;  stated  that  more  than  30 
parishes  had  benefited  by  the  short  courses  in  Agriculture,  while 
the  number  of  demonstration  fields  for  the  cultivation  of  clover, 
Indian  corn  and  root  plants  had  increased  considerably;  said  that 
school  gardens  and  school  exhibitions  were  multiplied  and  encouraged 
wherever  the  School  Boards  and  teachers  were  willing  to  help; 
declared  that  Arboriculture  received  a  large  share  of  attention, 
with  75,000  young  trees  planted  since  last  spring;  stated  that  the 
construction  and  equipment  of  Dairy-product  factories  had  been 
greatly  improved  and  100  of  the  poorer  class  of  factories  closed  up; 
announced  that  the  total  amount  expended  by  his  Department 
during  the  fiscal  year  was  $604,342,  apart  from  the  Federal  subsidy 
of  $243,212.  It  may  be  added  that  the  Federal  grant  for  Agri- 
cultural Education  totalled  $243,212  in  1916-17  and  $271,113  in 
1917-18  and  that  the  Dairy  industry  of  1916  showed  an  increase 
in  the  production  of  cheese  and  a  decrease  in  butter  with  a  consider- 
able advance  in  values— totalling  for  the  two  $21,899,401.  The 
1917  field  crops  (Federal  statistics)  were  as  follows: 


Quebec  Field  Crops 
Spring  Wheat 

Area 
Acres 
277,400 

Yield 
per  Acre 
Bush. 
14'00 

Total 
Yield 
Bush. 
3,883,600 

Average 
Price 
per  Bush. 
$2.46 

Total 
Value 
$  9,553,700 

Oats  

1,492,700 

21-75 

32,466,200 

0.92 

29,868,900 

Barley 

165,600 

18  50 

3,063,600 

1.58 

4,840,500 

Rye  and  Flax 

28,150 

423,000 

827,300 

Peas.         , 

66,457 

12  00 

797,500 

4.51 

3,596,700 

Beans 

55,157 

IS'OO 

827,400 

7.77 

6,428,900 

Buckwheat 

163,577 

16*50 

2,699,000 

1.73 

4,667,300 

Mixed  Grains         

122,819 

21-25 

2,609,900 

1.33 

3,471,200 

Corn  for  Huskius? 

74,339 

24-25 

1,802,700 

2.25 

4,056,000 

Potatoes  
Turnips,  Mangolds,  etc.  .  . 

Hay  and  Clover 

226,917 
70,192 

2,961,983 

80-00 
224-51 
Tons 
1'71 

18,158,000 
15,759,000 
Tons 
5,065,000 

1.38 
0.59 
Per  Ton 
9.58 

25,058,000 
9,298,000 

48,523,000 

Fodder  Corn  .  . 

69,030 

8'50 

586,800 

5.00 

2,934,000 

QUEBEC  IN  1917:  GOVERNMENT,  EDUCATION,  PRODUCTION   675 

M.  Caron  during  the  year  opposed  Conscription,  indirectly,  and  on 
behalf  of  the  farmers  of  his  Province.  In  a  letter  to  the  Agricultural 
Committee  of  the  Montreal  Chamber  of  Commerce  (Apr.  5)  the 
Minister  stated  that  agricultural  credits  and  propaganda  and  model 
farms  were  considerable  aids  to  Agriculture  but  the  over-ruling 
question  at  the  present  time  was  the  lack  of  labour:  "Even  with 
very  favourable  climatic  conditions  I  predict  a  smaller  crop  next 
autumn.  A  good  number  of  our  farmers  in  all  parts  of  the  country 
have  enrolled  or  are  working  in  munition  plants.  If  our  farmers 
are  attracted  to  the  army  or  to  manufacturing  establishments, 
we  can  expect  a  diminution  of  agricultural  production,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  prepare  to  meet  it.  There  is  only  one  remedy  to 
apply,  and  that  is  to  do  as  in  England,  and  have  enrolment  for 
agricultural  purposes."  This  was  in  reply  to  a  Report  from  the 
Committee  which  reviewed  the  reduced  crops,  the  diminution  of 
labour  supplies,  the  small  salaries  and  profits  for  farmers'  sons, 
and  described  the  insufficient  technical  knowledge  of  farmers  with 
their  inability  to  borrow  money  at  low  rates  or  to  pay  even  6%  when 
agricultural  returns  only  averaged  3%.  The  Committee  urged  the 
Government  to  assist  Agriculture  by  (1)  establishment  of  a  system 
of  agricultural  credits  which  would  enable  farmers  to  overcome  the 
insufficiency  of  manual  labour  and  to  increase  production  by  thorough 
use  of  the  most  modern  farming  machinery;  (2)  the  establishment 
at  Montreal  of  an  agricultural  propaganda  which  would  inform  the 
farmers,  recruit  manual  labour  for  them,  distribute  far  and  wide 
information  concerning  the  needs,  possibilities  and  profits  of  agri- 
culture, and  diffuse  samples,  exhibits  and  pamphlets;  (3)  the  organi- 
zation in  each  county  •  of  a  small  model  farm  cultivated  by  the  young 
people  of  the  community  who  would  thus  get  practical  knowledge. 
At  Sherbrooke  on  Aug.  29  the  Minister  declared  that  Canada  had 
done  her  utmost  in  food  production  for  the  troops  and  announced 
that  this  year's  crops  would  be  equal  to  the  average  in  spite  of 
adverse  weather  conditions.  He  advocated  the  conscription  of  men 
for  agriculture  as  being  absolutely  necessary  owing  to  the  shortage 
of  farm  labour.  M.  Caron  had  an  article  along  these  lines  in  a 
booklet  issued  by  Le  Devoir,  entitled  The  Case  Against  Conscription, 
and  to  which  Mr.  Bourassa  and  Hon.  S.  A.  Fisher  also  contributed. 
The  Roads  administration  of  Hon.  J.  A.  Tessier  continued  during 
1917  to  bring  good  results.  The  Report  of  this  Minister  for  June 
30  showed  that  since  1912,  when  the  Good  Roads  Act  came  into 
force,  361  municipalities  had  come  under  its  operation  with  52 
others  authorized  and  all  formalities  underway;  that  between  1907 
and  1911  the  number  of  municipalities  maintaining  their  own 
roads  was  206,  in  1914,  440,  and  in  1917,  541;  that  during  the  fiscal 
year,  1917,  71  miles  of  macadam  road  were  made  through  the  De- 
partment's aid  and  direction  with  78  miles  of  gravelling;  that  the 
total  length  of  Provincial  or  Municipal  roads,  macadamized  or 
gravelled,  was  2,238  miles.  M.  Tessier  expressed  pride  in  this  record 
and,  rightly  so,  in  the  excellence  of  the  Quebec  main  highways  and 
their  facilities  for  motorists  as  well  as  farmers;  year  by  year  the 
Good  Roads  Convention  endorsed  this  view.  T.  B,  Michaud, 


676  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Deputy  Minister  of  Roads,  explained  the  Quebec  system  as  follows 
to  the  Canadian  Municipal  Journal  (July):  "The  Government 
asked  from  the  municipalities  a  contribution  of  $1,000  per  mile 
and  the  contribution  was  readily  granted ;  as  regards  local  roads  the 
Government  offered  to  pay  50%  of  the  amount  expended  for  maca- 
dam or  gravelled  roads  and  those  who  didn't  believe  in  long-term 
payments  accepted  the  offer;  the  Government  offered  money  at 
two,  and  then  at  three,  per  cent.,  without  sinking  fund;  the  demands 
have  not  ceased  to  pour  in  and  with  such  a  continuity  that,  in  five 
years,  the  joint  action  of  the  people  and  the  Government  have  given 
to  the  Province  over  300  miles  of  trunk  roads,  nearly  2,000  miles 
of  improved  roads,  and  done  away,  to  a  large  extent,  with  statute 
labour." 

This  Minister,  as  Mayor  of  Three  Rivers,  welcomed  the  Bonne 
Entente  visitors  of  1917.  He  expressed  the  belief  (May  20)  that: 
"Quebec  will  do  her  full  share  in  any  sacrifice  which  may  be 
needed  to  keep  Canada  in  her  place  among  the  nations.  She  will 
aid  all  she  can  in  removing  the  misunderstandings  which  are  paralyz- 
ing national  strength.  I  am  convinced  that  having  seen  a  part  of 
Quebec  the  Ontario  delegates,  especially,  will  return  determined  to 
accept  a  full  measure  of  national  aspirations  in  the  French  race." 
The  Provincial  Secretary  (Hon.  J.  L.  Decarie)  reported  (June  30, 
1917)  Fees  received  of  $33,395  with  281  joint  stock  companies 
granted  letters-patent  and  capitalized  at  $15,952,600:  the  number 
of  patients  cared  for  in  the  Hospitals  for  Insane,  were  2,422  males 
and  2,359  females,  the  admissions  to  the  Reformatory  schools  were 
517  boys  and  141  girls  and  the  children  admitted  to  Industrial 
schools  478  boys  and  370  girls,  with  a  total  of  1,506  in  9  of  these 
institutions;  the  special  grants  awarded  to  school  municipalities 
for  establishment  of  rural  academies  for  boys  totalled  $72,000  and 
for  building  new  schools  in  poor  districts  $102,328.  To  this  Minister 
the  Council  of  Arts  and  Manufactures  reported  as  to  the  12  schools 
of  an  industrial  character  which  were  under  their  control — with 
49  classes,  2,840  pupils  and  an  average  attendance  of  1,491;  the 
School  for  Higher  Commercial  Studies,  Montreal,  had  46  students, 
the  Montreal  Technical  Institute  and  4  others  in  different  centres 
had  557  students  registered.  Under  this  Department  also  was 
the  Bureau  of  Statistics  and  its  Statistical  Year  J5oofc,  edited  by  G.  E. 
Marquis,  gave  a  valuable  summary  of  Quebec's  progress  from  year 
to  year.  The  following  statement  as  compiled  from  its  1917  pages 
indicated  general  conditions  in  the  previous  year: 

Sundry  Particulars.  Total  Production: 

Area  (sq.  miles). .  .  706,834             Field  Crops $102,937,000 

Population  (number) . .  2,309,427             Live-Stock 119,230,000 

Number  of  Hospitals 54             Dairy 22,875,336 

Philanthropic  Institutions. . .  109            Minerals 13,287,024 

Total  of  Persons  Relieved. .  59.837             Forest 27,500,492 

Exports $279,039,923              Fisheries 2,076,851 

Imports 180,356,089             Manufactures  (1915) 387,900,585 

To  M.  De*carie,  though  not  in  the  same  sense  as  in  other  Provinces 
where  Education  was  administered  by  a  responsible  Minister, 
there  were  submitted  the  Reports  of  the  Department  of  Public 
Instruction  with  its  Catholic  and  Protestant  Committees  which  were 


QUEBEC  IN  1917:  GOVERNMENT,  EDUCATION,  PRODUCTION    677 


in  charge  of  their  respective  interests,  with  Hon.  C.  F.  D&lage  as 
Superintendent  of  the  whole  and  French  and  English  Secretaries 
of  the  Department  to  act  for  their  respective  denominational  Com- 
mittees. The  Superintendent's  Report  for  June  30  dealt  with  the 
death  of  M.  Boucher  de  la  Bruere,  so  long  Superintendent;  with 
the  continued  progress  of  the  schools,  the  greater  efficiency  of  the 
teachers,  the  high  percentage  of  school  attendance  and  need  for 
more  boys'  schools  with  male  teachers;  with  the  campaign  meetings 
of  these  Catholic  and  Protestant  Committees  to  promote  public 
interest  in  Education,  and  the  existence  of  1,319  Catholic  and  352 
Protestant  School  municipalities  in  1916,  with  the  addition  of  20 
new  ones  in  1917;  with  the  elaborate  separate  publications — Finan- 
cial Statement,  General  Statistics,  School  Corporations — issued  by 
the  Bureau  of  Statistics;  with  the  expenditure  of  $2,258,638  upon 
school-houses  during  the  year  and  an  amalgamation  of  the  School 
Commissions  of  Montreal  on  July  1,  1918,  by  Act  of  the  Legislature. 
The  official  statistics  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1916,  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows: 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC  Nur 
SCHOOLS                 < 
Sch 
Elementary  Schools    5 
Model  Schools  
Academies 

nber  Male   F< 
>f       Teach-  1 
ools       ers 
,292         174 
680          824 
308      1,080 
13            45 

21          704 
1          353 

3            41 
5            18 
68      
9           43 
54          109 

smale 
'each-      Boys 
ers 
6,395    102,804 
2,462      57,296 
2,337      35,970 
138            183 

7  fiftfi 

Girls 

110,842 
51,179 
47,257 
977 

Average  Average 
Total    Attend-  Attend- 
Pupils       ance     ance;  % 
213,646    166,383       77  '88 
108,475      90,087       83  '05 
83,227      72,608       87  '24 
1,160        1,160     100  00 

7,696        6,602       85  '78 
2,599        2,599     100  '00 

465           465     100-00 
1,328         1,054       79-37 
3,318        2,290       69  02 
2,722        1,517       55  73 
3,588        1,795       50  03 

Normal  Schools.  .  .  . 
Roman        Catholic 
Classical  Colleges 
University 

19 
95 

'  '68 

"7 

1,715 

211 
1,328 

'  2,722 
3,314 

884 
254 

"274 

Schools  for  the  Deaf, 
Dumb  and  Blind. 
Technical  Schools.. 
Dress-cutting  Schools 
Schools  of  Arts,  etc. 
Night  Schools  

Totals 6,454      3,391    11,521    213,239    214,985    428,224    346,560       80'93 

PROTESTANT  SCHOOLS 


Elementary  Schools 
Model  Schools  
Academies  
Normal  School  
Universities  
School  for  the  Deaf, 
Dumb  and  Blind. 
Night  Schools  

716 
58 
41 

1 
2 

1 
15 

65 
14 
106 
7 
231 

'  '  '48 

1,407 
175 
307 
6 

6 

20,837 
2,614 
5,904 
8 
1,035 

35 

1,930 

20,808 
2,802 
6,134 
189 
161 

37 

41,645 
5,416 
12,038 
197 
1,196 

72 
1,930 

62,494 

Diploma 
Model 
Schools 

142 
49 
2,153 

832 

30,854 
3,976 
9,456 
197 
1,196 

72 
966 

74  09 
73.  41 

78-55 

100-00 
100-00 

50  05 
74  76 

Total 
of 
Teach- 
ers 

455 
185 
6,528 
1,889 

Totals  . 

834 
>man 

471 
Cath- 

1,901 

With- 
out 
Diplo- 
mas 

55 
49 
497 
325 

32,363 

With 
Diplo- 
mas 

100 
136 
6,031 
1,564 

30,131 

Ele- 
mentary 
School 
Diplomas 

72 
5 
3,700 
626 

46,717 

For 
Acad- 
emies 

186 
82 
178 
106 

Teachers 

Male  Teachers  in  R< 
olic  Schools  

Male     Teachers     in 
Schools 

Protestant 

Female  Teachers  in  Roman  Cath- 
olic Schools. 

Female    Teachers   in 
Schools  .            .    . 

Protestant 

Totals.. 

926 

8.131 

4.403 

3.176 

552 

9,057 

Professors  and  female  lay  teachers  teaching  in  the  Universities,  the  Normal 

Schools,  the  Colleges  and  special  schools 

Members  of  Clergy  in  Colleges  and  other  schools 

Brothers , 

Nuns 

Grand  Total  of  Teachers. . . 


17,284 


678  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  cost  of  Education  to  the  Province  was  met  by  Municipal  tax- 
ation of  $5,645,913  in  1916-17;  by  monthly  fees  of  $347,922  and  the 
contributions  of  independent  subsidized  schools  totalling  $3,687,369; 
by  Government  grants  paid  by  the  Department  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion, $1,482,589;  by  Government  payments  from  Fire  Departments 
totalling  $400,248,  or  a  general  total  of  $11,564,042.  On  Apr.  25 
C.  J.  Magnan,  Catholic  Inspector-General,  recommended  to  his 
Committee,  after  study  of  various  conditions,  the  following  points 
bearing  on  efficiency  of  instruction:  (a)  A  more  effective  carrying 
out  of  the  course  of  study;  (b)  more  attention  to  be  devoted  to  very 
small  children;  (c)  more  competency  on  the  part  of  both  male  and 
female  teachers  and  more  permanency  of  teachers  in  the  same 
school;  (d)  a  reduction  in  the  maximum  of  pupils  for  each  class; 
(e)  an  increase  of  the  number  of  schools  under  the  direction  of 
male  teachers;  (f)  the  professional  efficiency  of  male  and  female 
teachers;  (g)  the  establishment  of  a  certificate  of  study  as  a  reward 
for  work  on  the  part  of  teachers  and  pupils  and  as  a  powerful  means 
of  encouraging  the  pupils  to  pursue  their  studies  beyond  the  allotted 
12  or  13  years.  The  Provincial  Board  of  Health  reported  to  M. 
De*carie  for  1916  as  to  contagious  diseases,  Laboratories,  sewerage, 
cemeteries,  sanitary  matters,  Tuberculosis,  protection  of  food, 
hygiene  of  dwellings,  infantile  mortality,  etc.;  the  deaths  in  13  years 
up  to  1915  were  given  as  including  10,601  from  cancer,  16,910 
from  heart  disease,  4,067  from  liver  troubles  and  7,880  from  Bright's 
disease;  the  total  for  1915  from  all  causes  was  19,588. 

The  Hon.  L.  A.  Taschereau,  Minister  of  Public  Works  and  Labour, 
in  his  Report  for  June  30,  1917,  dealt  with  various  repairs  and  im- 
provements and  stated  the  receipts  of  his  Department  at  $11,290 
and  expenditures  at  $730,182;  showed  a  total  of  $2,410,300  Fire 
insurance  carried  for  the  Government;  provided  a  statement  as  to 
2,005  miles  of  subsidized  Quebec  railways  with  past  Government 
grants  of  $10,803,230,  payments  to  date  of  $8,510,824,  1,455  miles 
constructed  and  $2,287,802  of  the  grants  as  lapsed,  or  otherwise 
disposed  of — the  total  Railway  mileage  of  the  Province  being  4,441 
of  which  229  miles  were  Electric;  indicated,  through  reports  of  vari- 
ous officials,  that  the  number  of  Factory  Inspectors  was  insufficient 
to  safeguard  the  interests  of  women,  children  and  men  generally, 
and  dealt  with  the  difficulties  of  handling  the  child-work  problem, 
etc.  In  this  connection  Louis  Guyon,  Chief  Inspector,  urged  that 
occupational  diseases  amongst  workmen  be  treated  in  the  same 
way  as  accidents  and  referred  to  the  50  powder  mills  between  Hull 
and  Three  Rivers  and  the  facility  with  which  outsiders  were  able 
to  illegally  obtain  dynamite;  414  industrial  accidents  were  reported 
for  the  year — the  greater  number  caused  by  workmen  falling  asleep ; 
the  Provincial  Employment  Bureau  had  4,993  persons  applying  for 
work  and  10,234  asked  for  by  employers;  the  building  of  iron  bridges, 
the  Prevention  of  Fires  Act,  inspection  of  hotels  and  stationary 
engineers,  the  Fair- Wages  Act,  etc.,  were  under  this  Department. 
M.  Taschereau,  during  the  year,  took  some  interest  in  Federal  politics. 
He  told  the  Montreal  Reform  Club  on  Apr.  28  that:  "The  War, 
which  should  have  had  the  effect  of  binding  all  Canadians  closely 


QUEBEC  IN  1917:  GOVERNMENT,  EDUCATION,  PRODUCTION   079 

together,  has,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  been  the  cause  of  the  bitterest 
attacks  on  the  Province  of  Quebec.  And  yet,  the  best  elements  in 
both  Ontario  and  Quebec  realize  the  necessity  of  a  good  understand- 
ing and  of  co-operation."  He  protested  against  the  idea  of  an  Im- 
perial Parliament.  Canada's  interests  could  not  be  well  looked  after 
by  a  few  representatives  in  a  very  large  body.  Canada  must  not 
allow  her  autonomy  to  be  interfered  with.  He  also  objected  to 
any  action  by  the  English  Parliament  "which  would  prolong  the 
life  of  the  dying  Conservative  Government  in  this  country."  Though 
not  taking  any  active  part  in  the  Elections  he  was  opposed  to  Con- 
scription for  reasons  stated  in  a  Quebec  interview  on  Aug.  24: 

(1)  The  Canadian  people  are  against  Conscription  as  those  prove  who  oppose 
the  Referendum  proposed  by  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  because  they  believe  a  free  vote 
would  defeat  it. 

(2)  Conscription  was  presented  to  Parliament  after  Sir  Robert  Borden  had 
promised  repeatedly  that  there  would  not  be  Conscription.     It  was  a  crime  thus  to 
deceive  the   people,  who  had  placed  confidence  in  the  promises  of   Sir  Robert  and 
who  cannot  be  sure  that  only  100,000  men  will  be  called. 

(3)  Canada  has  done  her  part  up  to  the  present  in  men  and  money.      'It  is 
true  that  we  must  not  abandon  our  men  at  the  Front,  but  the  United  States,  which 
has  12  times  our  population  and  20  times  our  wealth,  ought  to  be  able  to  take  care 
of  a  great  part  of  the  line  which  the  Canadian  soldiers  hold.' 

(4)  The  present  Dominion  Government  has  so  bungled  the  system  of  voluntary 
enlistment,  intentionally  or  not,  that  it  has  succeeded  in  stopping  it. 

The  Hon.  Jules  Allard,  Minister  of  Lands  and  Forests,  reported 
a  total  area  of  7,554,211  acres  as  subdivided  into  available  lots  on 
June  30,  1917,  with  256,477  acres  sold  during  that  year;  the  revenues 
from  woods  and  forests  as  $1,568,157  and  from  other  sources  $181,371 
with  payments  for  fire  protection,  surveys,  forestry  service,  etc., 
of  $361,000;  the  Pulp  industry  as  very  prosperous  with  a  production 
of  448,938  tons  of  mechanical  pulp  and  237,666  tons  of  chemical 
pulp  and  the  export  of  786,879  cords  of  pulp- wood.  The  Minister 
strongly  regretted  the  folly  of  selling  this  raw  material  and  stated 
that:  "Instead  of  depriving  ourselves  of  our  wood  with  little  profit, 
we  should  use  it  to  supply  our  own  mills  and,  instead  of  getting  an 
average  value  of  $7.40  per  cord,  we  should,  by  transforming  the 
wood  into  mechanical  pulp,  obtain  a  value  of  from  $20,00  to  $40.00 
per  ton;  if  transformed  into  chemical  pulp  the  prices  would  vary 
between  $40.00  and  $90.00;  if  made  into  news-print  paper  they  would 
run  from  $40.00  to  $60.00  per  ton."  He  pointed  out  that  the  1910 
regulation  prohibiting  the  export  of  wood  cut  on  timber  limits  had 
resulted  in  an  increased  home  consumption  from  342,755  cords  in 
1910  to  924,272  cords  in  1917 — with  the  erection  and  enlargement 
of  many  mills  and  the  making  of  much  money.  A  reference  was 
made  to  the  "immense  territories  of  Labrador,  Ungava  and  the 
North  Shore,  so  rich  in  pulp  wood  and  so  poor  in  large  timber"  and 
which  would  acquire  great  values.  This  condition  induced  a  policy 
of  leasing  new  limits  and  on  Aug.  21  877  sq.  miles  were  leased  for 
a  total  of  $415,615.  The  average  of  $480  a  mile  compared  with 
$111  in  1900.  The  cut  of  saw-logs  reported  for  1916  was  1,265,- 
524,481  feet,  B.M.,  worth  $27,500,000.  Re-forestation  was  largely 
pursued  and  the  demand  for  tree-plants  was  so  great  as  to  cause  a 


«80  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIKW 

statement  from  the  Minister  that  the  yield  of  the  Government 
nurseries  would  have  to  be  increased  by  2J/2  million  plants  a  year 
— for  private  pulp  and  timber  lands,  for  mill  owners,  the  establish- 
ment of  parks  and  for  trees  along  the  highways. 

The  Department  of  Colonization,  Mines  and  Fisheries  was  an 
important  one  and  the  Hon.  Honord  Mercier  reported  to  June  30 
the  expenditure  of  $254,000  upon  Colonization  roads  with  work 
done  on  798  miles  and  the  building  or  repair  of  bridges  with  an 
aggregate  length  of  12,728  feet;  the  steady  progress  of  colonization  in 
the  Abitibi  region  with  3,466  settlers  and  246  carloads  of  household 
effects  sent  in ;  the  arrival  of  immigrants  into  the  Province  totalling 
12,435  at  national  ports  and  via  New  York  or  from  across  the  Line. 
To  this  Minister  T.  C.  Denis,  Superintendent  of  Mines,  reported  a 
prosperous  mining  year  to  June  30,  1917.     In  the  12  months  of  1916 
the  Mineral  production  totalled  $13,287,024  or  an  increase  of  15% 
with    marked    stimulation     in    asbestos,   chrome-iron,   magnesite, 
copper  ores  and  molybdenite;  with  also  a  great  advance  in  prices 
— crude    asbestos,  worth  $275  per  ton  on  an  average,  before  the 
War,  rising  to  an  average  of  $423  in  1916,  and  chrome  iron  which, 
on  the  New  York  market,  was  quoted  at  $14  per  ton  in  1914,  rising 
to  $45  in  1916.     It  may  be  added  that  on  8th  March  the  Lieut.  - 
Governor-in-Council  ordered  the  levying  of  a  2%  royalty  on  Asbes- 
tos produced  in  Quebec  after  the  1st  of  April,  in  accordance  with 
1909  legislation,  and  that  on  27th  April  a  delegation  of  operators 
asked  the  Government  to  impose  the  royalty  on  gross  instead  of 
net  values,  after  deducting  the  cost  of  working.     This  was  granted. 
The  chief  items  of  1916  production  were  Asbestos  totalling  $5,000,000, 
copper   ore    $1,250,000,    and    structural    materials,    $5,000,000 — of 
which  Cement  ran  to  over  $2,500,000.     The  new  mining  claims 
staked  were  465   and  the  revenue  from  miners'   certificates,  etc., 
was  $30,739.     For  this  fiscal  year  the  Department  received  from 
Fisheries  and  Game  a  total  revenue  of  $154,732 — the  largest  on 
record.     The  Fisheries  yield  of  the  Province  in  1915-16  was  $2,076,- 
851.     An  important  Fisheries  case  was  dealt  with  in  the  Quebec- 
Court  of  Appeals  in  Feb.  7,  under  the  presidency  of  Sir  H.  Archam- 
bault,  when  a  decision  was  delivered,  with  Mr.  Justice  Cross  dis- 
senting, which  ruled  that  the  Quebec  Government  had  exclusive 
control  over  tidal  waters  in  the  Province  and  that  license  holders, 
under  Quebec  grant,  could  not  be  hampered  in  their  rights  by  license- 
holders  under  Federal  grant.     The  decision  was  appealed  to  the 
Privy  Council. 

The  Hon.  W.  G.  Mitchell,  K.C.,  as  Provincial  Treasurer,  had  an 
ever-buoyant  revenue  and  surplus  in  1917.  In  1914  his  surplus 
was  $908,650,  in  1915  it  was  $1,267,668,  in  1916  $369,294,  in  the 
year  of  June  30,  1917,  it  was  $593,940,  with  a  revenue  of  $10,441,113 
and  expenditures  of  $9,847,173.  The  Funded  Debt  at  this  latter 
date  was  $37,817,938— an  increase  of  $13,000,000  over  1914.  The 
Receipts  included  Federal  subsidies  of  $2,027,990,  Lands  and  Forest 
revenues  of  $1,753,624,  hotel  and  shop  licenses  of  $1,326,093,  taxes 
on  commercial  corporations  $1,101,670,  duties  on  successions 
$1,741,262,  taxes  on  transfers  of  bonds  and  shares  and  on  motors 


QUEBEC  IN  1917:  GOVERNMENT,  EDUCATION,  PRODUCTION    681 

$572,315.  The  Expenditures  included  interest  on  Debt,  etc., 
$1,956,056,  administration  of  Justice  $671,915,  Legislation  $458,142, 
Public  instruction  $1,578,361,  Public  Works  $817,275,  Agriculture 
$502,700,  Roads  $391,147,  Charities,  Asylums  and  other  institutions 
$923,618,  Canadian  Patriotic  Fund  subscription  $375,000.  ,  There 
was  a  capital  expenditure  of  $1,646,177  under  the  Good  Roads  Act 
and  $1,148,000  on  the  St.  Maurice  River  Waters'  Storage.  The 
estimates  for  1917-18  were  $9,560,164  of  Receipts  and  $9,504,845 
Expenditures.  Mr.  Mitchell  took  an  active  part  in  Federal  politics 
during  the  year  and  strongly  supported  Sir  W.  Laurier.  Some 
of  his  reasons  he  stated  to  the  Montreal  Reform  Club  on  June  25 
in  supporting  the  Resolution  of  R.  C.  Smith,  K.C.,  which  approved, 
"without  reserve,  the  constitutional  and  patriotic  attitude  of  Sir 
Wilfrid  Laurier  in  asserting  the  determination  of  Canada  to  continue 
to  give  to  the  Allies  all  her  resources,  but  wishing  at  the  same  time 
to  remain  faithful  to  democratic  principles  and  to  preserve  national 
unity."  The  Conscription  law,  he  thought,  could  have  been  properly 
called  "a  law  to  amend  the  law  on  elections"  as  presented  by  Robert 
Rogers.  "  One  had  only  to  hear  the  Prime  Minister  appealing  to 
sentiment,  alone,  to  feel  the  absolute  weakness  and  unfitness  of 
Sir  Robert  Borden  to  be  the  leader  of  a  party.  .  .  .  The  Bill 
contained  many  traps;  it  signified  big  fat  jobs  for  certain  people 
while  the  working  classes  would  be  sent  to  the  Front.  As  to  the 
French-Canadian :  *  How  can  we  ask  him  to  go  and  fight  for  England 
when  in  the  next  Province  he  knows  he  is  hated,  despised  and  de- 
tested? '  At  Drummondville  on  July  29  he  declared  the  Act  to 
have  been  introduced  not  to  win  the  War  but  to  win  the  Elections 
and  "to  set  the  English  of  Ontario  against  the  French  of  Quebec 
and  the  French  of  Quebec  against  the  English  of  Ontario."  It 
was  not  necessary:  "A  system  which  allows  us  to  get  420,000  men, 
voluntarily,  is  good  for  another  hundred  thousand."  He  accom- 
panied Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  on  his  Western  election  tour  and  spoke 
at  Winnipeg,  Regina,  Calgary  and  Vancouver. 

Of  Quebec  Commissions,  it  may  be  added,  that  of  Public  Utilities 
— F.  W.  Hibbard,  K.C.,  Sir  G.  Garneau  and  F.  C.  Laberge — reported 
as  to  complaints  fyled  and  orders  made,  upon  the  position  of  the 
Quebec  North  Shore  Turnpike  Trust,  the  work  of  the  Provincial 
Fire  Inspector  and  the  Railway  companies.  Between  July  1,  1914, 
and  Apr.  1,  1916,  the  Commission  had  34  sittings.  The  Quebec 
Streams  Commission  (Hon.  S.  N.  Parent,  K.C.,  W.  I.  Bishop,  C.E., 
and  Ernest  Belanger,  C.E.)  in  its  5th  annual  Report  dealt  with 
various  Rivers — public  works,  sanitation  safeguards,  reservoirs,  dams, 
currents  and  flow,  drainage  areas,  snowfall,  water  available,  gauge 
readings — and  their  protection  and  use  throughout  the  Province. 
In  Temperance  matters  Quebec  progressed  steadily  on  the  path 
to  Prohibition.  The  Church,  originally,  had  inclined  toward  a 
policy  of  stern  regulation;  in  1916-17  it  supported  legislation  looking 
to  absolute  abolition  of  the  traffic — with  Archbishop  Roy  of  Quebec, 
Bishops  Chalifoux  of  Sherbrooke,  Cloutier  of  Three  Rivers,  Bernard 
of  St.  Hyacinthe,  Blais  of  Rimouski  and  Forbes  of  Joliette  openly 
in  favour  of  the  policy.  Largely-signed  petitions  were  presented 


682  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

to  the  Government  and,  even  as  it  was,  J.  H.  Roberts,  Secretary 
of  the  Prohibition  Committee,  was  able  to  report  in  April  that  84% 
of  the  municipalities  were  under  local  prohibition.  During  the 
1916  Session  of  the  Legislature  amendments  had  passed  by  which 
hotels  and  restaurant  licenses  in  Montreal  were  to  be  reduced  from 
350  to  300  on  May  1, 1917,  and  in  the  city  of  Quebec  from  50  to  40; 
while  retail  liquor  shop  licenses  (commonly  known  as  "licensed 
groceries")  in  Montreal  were  to  be  reduced  from  520  to  350  and  in 
the  city  of  Quebec  from  100  to  75.  Limitations  were  also  to  be 
placed  upon  the  number  of  licenses  in  certain  other  cities  and  several 
towns.  These  changes  were  duly  carried  out  and  on  May  1,  1918, 
the  bar  as  an  institution  was  to  disappear  from  the  life  of  the  Pro- 
vince, and  no  hotel  or  restaurant  keeper,  licensed  to  sell  intoxicating 
liquors,  would  be  permitted  to  keep  or  have  a  bar — and  so  with  the 
"licensed  grocery."  On  Oct.  4,  as  the  result  of  a  long  campaign 
and  the  permission  of  the  Dominion  Government,  Quebec  City 
voted  on  the  Scott  or  Canadian  Temperance  Act;  8,000  voters 
had  signed  the  original  Petition  and  the  struggle  was  an  energetic 
one.  Chief  Justice  Sir  F.  X.  Lemieux  was  the  leader,  backed  by 
Mr.  Justice  E.  Lafontaine  of  Montreal  and  Hon.  M.  A.  Galipeault, 
aided  by  the  influence  of  sermons  from  Mgr.  P.  E.  Roy  and  the 
advocacy  of  V Action  Catholique,  the  Church  organ;  opposed  to 
these  were  Mr.  Justice  Chas.  Langelier  and  Armand  Lavergne, 
the  Federated  Unions  of  Quebec  and  LeVis,  and  many  public  men 
who  did  not  think  that  the  issue  was  important  in  view  of  current  and 
severe  restrictions.  The  Act  was  approved  by  a  majority  and 
put  into  operation  on  Dec.  15. 

In  accordance  with  the  custom  inaugurated  in  1916  the  Session 
of  the  Legislature  was  held  at  the  close  of  the  year — though  instead 
of  ending  in  December  it  only  commenced  then  and  its  proceedings, 
therefore,  belong  mainly  to  the  annals  of  1918.  Reference  may  be 
made,  however,  to  its  opening  on  Dec.  4  by  Sir  P.  E.  Le  Blanc  with 
a  Speech  from  the  Throne  which  urged  increased  farm  production; 
announced  the  beginning  of  a  new  highway  between  Three  Rivers 
and  Grand  M£re  and  the  approaching  completion  of  the  St.  Maurice 
and  St.  Francis  Water-storage  projects;  stated  that  excellent  re- 
sults had  been  obtained  from  the  Provincial  nursery  of  forest  trees 
at  Berthier,  from  which,  during  the  year,  500,000  young  trees  had 
been  distributed — mostly  to  regions  swept  by  fire  and  unfit  for 
cultivation;  mentioned  the  activity  of  colonization  in  Abitibi  and 
the  Metapedia  Valley  and  arrangements  for  establishing  a  Technical 
School  at  Three  Rivers.  The  Address  was  moved  by  A.  Beaudry, 
Vercheres,  and  W.  R.  Oliver,  Brome;  in  the  Council  by  Hon.  P.  J. 
Paradis  and  Hon.  W.  F.  Vilas — new  members.  Arthur  Sauve", 
Conservative  leader  in  the  House,  urged  (Dec.  5)  a  Commission  to 
study  economic  questions,  the  organization  of  an  Agricultural  fund 
to  aid  poor  farmers,  free  lands  and  subsidies  for  colonists,  organiza- 
tion of  co-operative  societies  in  all  parts  of  the  Province,  reform  of 
teaching  methods,  a  moratorium  for  the  workmen,  cheap  electric 
power  in  the  rural  districts,  strict  inspection  of  moving  pictures, 
reform  of  the  Legislative  Council,  a  fixed  date  for  Elections  and 


HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  QUEBEC:  LAVAL  AND  McGiLL       083 

proportional  representation.  Sir  Lomer  Gouin  stated  in  his  speech 
on  the  Address,  which  passed  without  division,  that  "we  have  de- 
cided to  give  free  land  grants  to  returned  soldiers,  because  we  want 
to  recognize  the  devotion  of  these  brave  men  who  have  been  fighting 
in  defence  of  our  most  sacred  rights."  At  the  close  of  the  year  an 
Order-in-Council  was  passed  protesting  against  a  Federal  Order 
which  required  all  Provincial,  municipal  and  private  flotations  to 
be  first  approved  by  the  Federal  authorities;  it  informed  the 
Government  of  Canada  that  the  Quebec  Government  considered  the 
regulations  as  "illegal,  unconstitutional  and  nowise  binding  upon 
the  Province."  A  motion  was  shortly  afterwards  tabled  by  J.  N. 
Francceur,  which  was  not  dealt  with  until  the  next  year  but  evoked 
much  preliminary  discussion.  It  declared  that  "the  Province  of 
Quebec  would  be  disposed  to  accept  the  rupture  of  the  Federation 
pact  of  1867  if,  in  the  opinion  of  the  other  Provinces,  it  is  believed 
that  the  said  Province  is  an  obstacle  to  the  Union  and  to  the  progress 
and  development  of  Canada." 

Other  incidents  of  the  year  included  the  appointments  of  W.  F. 
Vilas,  P.  J.  Paradis  and  N.  Perodeau  to  the  Legislative  Council, 
E.  E.  Duckworth  as  Provincial  Superintendent  of  Insurance,  and 
the  following  King's  Counsel;  A.  Laurie,  Quebec;  Louis  Tache, 
Rimouski;  J.  A.  Dubeau,  Joliette;  Wilfrid  Laliberte,  Victoria ville ; 
Louis  Morin,  St.  Joseph;  J.  L.  St.  Jacques,  Edgar  N.  Armstrong, 
W.  F.  Chipman,  Antonio  Perreault  and  Wilfrid  A.  Hanfield,  Mon- 
treal. J.  F.  Daniel  for  Montcalm  and  W.  E.  Oliver  for  Brome  were 
elected  by  acclamation  on  Nov.  12  as  supporters  of  the  Gouin 
Government;  H.  J.  Kavanagh,  K.C.,  was  elected  Batonnier  of  the 
Montreal  Bar.  The  Report  of  Ernest  Myrand,  F.R.S.C.,  Librarian 
of  the  Quebec  Legislature  in  1917,  showed  109,270  volumes  and 
27,371  pamphlets  in  his  Library;  on  Dec.  13  Mr.  Justice  Allard  at 
Montreal  confirmed  in  the  Supreme  Court  the  dissolution  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Montreal  on  Nov.  15,  1913,  of  a  marriage  contracted 
by  Emilien  Berthelet  with  a  first  cousin  of  his  deceased  wife  without 
a  dispensation;  the  famous  He'be'rt  marriage  case  came  up  again  in 
an  action  asking  the  Superior  Court  to  declare  the  marriage  of 
Eugene  Hubert  and  M.  E.  Clouatre,  solemnized  July  14,  1908,  by 
the  Rev.  W.  Timberlake,  a  Protestant  minister,  a  valid  and  binding 
marriage,  to  declare  a  child  born  of  that  marriage  legitimate,  and 
to  declare  null  and  void  a  judgment  rendered  by  Archbishop  Bruche'si 
Nov.  12,  1909,  nullifying  the  marriage  under  the  Ne  Temere  decree. 
The  following  were  elected  heads  of  some  of  Quebec's  public  organiza- 
tions in  1917: 

Association  of  Accountants.  .  .  .F.  W:  Sharp Montreal. 

Pomological  and  Fruit-Growing  Society Prof.  W.  Lochead Ste.  Anne. 

Provincial  Anti-Liquor  League Robt.  Neville,  Jr Montreal. 

St.  Jean  Baptiste  Society Victor  Morin Montreal. 

Protestant  Women  Teachers  of  Quebec. ......  .Isabel  E.  Brittain,  M.A Montreal. 

Grand  Lodge,  A.F.  &  A.M W.  W.  Williamson Montreal. 

Provincial  Association  of  Protestant  Teachers.  .C.  A.  Adams Granby. 

Quebec  Society  for  Protection  of  Plants Prof.  W.  Lochead Ste.  Anne. 

Higher  Education  in  Quebec.  Laval  University  was  a  much- 
discussed  institution  in  1917  by  large  numbers  of  people  who,  unfortunately,  knew 
little  about  its  secure  and  effective  place  in  the  French  educational  system — its  olden 


684  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

establishment  at  Quebec  and  the  more  modern  one  at  Montreal.  The  former  had 
93  learned  Professors  and  teachers  in  1917  and  great  stores  of  additional  learning  in 
its  valuable  Library;  the  latter  had  265  Professors  and  teachers;  the  students  num- 
bered 378  at  Quebec  and  1,974  in  Montreal;  the  graduates  of  the  year  from  Laval, 
as  a  whole,  totalled  417  in  Theology,  Law,  Medicine,  Dental  Surgery,  Veterinary 
Medicine,  Arts,  Letters,  Science,  Forestry,  Architecture,  Engineering,  etc.  The 
affiliated  institutions  had  48  graduates  and  the  Government  subsidy  was  $105,000. 
Recruiting,  toward  the  end  of  the  year,  was  excellent  at  Laval  and  the  services  of 
its  General  Hospital  in  France  were  well  known.  McGill  University,  the  chief  Eng- 
lish institution  of  the  Province,  had  205  Professors,  898  students  and  272  graduates 
— in  Law,  Medicine,  Science,  Dental  Surgery,  Arts,  Music  and  Architecture,  with 
Government  grants  of  $32,000,  receipts  of  $1,017,856,  expenses  of  $1,039,137,  endow- 
ments of  $8,957,969,  and  volumes  in  its  Library  totalling  198,200.  The  affiliated 
Macdonald  College  had  344  students,  of  whom  77  were  in  the  School  of  Agriculture, 
159  in  that  for  Teachers,  and  108  in  that  of  Household  Science— and  of  these  78 
were  men  and  266  women.  During  the  year  McGill  raised  its  4th  Unit  for  active 
service — a  draft  of  siege  artillery;  the  Department  of  Metallurgy,  through  Dr.  A. 
Stansfield  and  Dr.  H.  T.  Barnes,  contributed  by  experiments  and  new  processes  most 
useful  service  to  the  war  authorities  in  nickel  and  magnesium  discoveries  and  in  test- 
ing various  new  inventions.  Speaking  at  the  Convocation  of  May  11  Sir  Wm. 
Peterson  referred  to  the  closer  relations  established  between  British  and  French 
Universities  by  the  War  and  declared  that:  'Of  German  universities  we  have  had 
enough  and  more  than  enough.  No  right-thinking  English-speaking  student  will 
want  to  see  the  inside  of  a  German  university  for  generations  to  come.'  On  this 
occasion  the  depletion  of  students  by  the  War  showed  in  the  Faculty  of  Arts,  where 
out  of  130  entering  in  1913  only  54  had  graduated,  with  52  on  active  service;  while 
in  Applied  Science  583  students  had  become  186;  and  so  in  Medicine  with  110  under- 
graduates at  the  Front.  McGill  lost  a  prominent  supporter  during  the  year  in  the 
death  of  Capt.  Perceval  Molson,  B.A.,  M.C.,  and  on  October  1  Sir  W.  Peterson  told 
the  students  that  "no  less  than  70,000  men  have  been  supplied  for  the  British  Army 
by  the  54  Universities  of  the  Empire  and  of  these  McGill  has  sent  2,500."  The  enrol- 
ment at  the  close  of  the  year  was  320  in  Arts;  164  in  Applied  Science;  30  in  Law  and 
343  in  Medicine.  Up  to  May  149  McGill  students  had  been  killed  in  action.  At 
the  Convocation  of  May  11  the  degree  of  Hon.  LL.D.  was  conferred  upon  the  fol- 
lowing: Sir  Cecil  Spring-Rice,  G.C.M.G.,  Washington;  Sir  John  Kennedy,  C.E.,  Mon- 
treal; H.  S.  Pritchett,  President  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation,  New  York;  Dr.  W. 
H.  Ellis  of  Toronto  University;  Prof.  James  Cappon  of  Queen's,  John  J.  Carty  of 
New  York  and  Hon.  F.  Carter-Cotton,  Vancouver.  In  connection  with  the  death 
of  Chancellor  Sir  W.  C.  Macdonald  of  McGill  some  very  large  bequests  were  an- 
nounced as  follows: 

McGill  University  for  Macdon-  Faculty    of    Law    Travelling 

aid  College $1,000,000           Scholarship $  20,000 

McGill  University   Faculty   of  Montreal  General  Hospital...  500,000 

Medicine .       500,000  Montreal  Maternity  Hospital.  100,000 

McGill  Conservatory  of  Music.       300,000  The  Crematorium 100,000 

The  University  of  Bishop's  College,  Lennoxville,  had  13  Professors  in  1917,  50  stu- 
dents and  16  graduates;  its  Government  grant  was  $3,500,  receipts  $36,016,  expenses 
$37,792  and  endowments  $221,727.  At  Convocation  on  June  22  the  degree  of  Hon. 
D.C.L.  was  conferred  upon  Sir  P.  E.  Le  Blanc,  Lieut.-Governor;  Dr.  Hollis  Godfrey, 
President  Philadelphia  Drexel  Institute;  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Ottawa  (Dr.  J.  C.  Roper); 
the  Bishop-elect  of  British  Honduras  (Rev.  E.  A.  Dunn,  M.A.).  Five  degrees  of  M.A. 
and  6  of  B. A.  were  conferred  and  there  were  98  students,  or  staff  members,  on  active  ser- 
vice, while  15  had  been  killed  inaction.  Lieut.  Elton  Scott,  B.A.,  (3rd  son  of  Rev.  Canon 
F.  G.  Scott,  C.M.G.,  D.C.L.),  was  chosen  Rhodes  Scholar  for  1917.  Other  educational 
matters  included  the  celebration  by  the  Presbyterian  College  of  Montreal  of  its  50th 
anniversary  on  October  2  and  the  conferring  of  the  Hon.  D.D.  degree  upon  Principal 
E.  I.  Rexford  of  the  Montreal  Diocesan  College,  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Cruikshank,  Mon- 
treal, Pastors  Jean  de  Visme  of  Paris  and  Kennedy  Anet  of  Brussels,  Prof.  G.  Luzzi 
of  Florence  and  1 1  Alumni  of  the  college  as  follows :  Rev.  J.  R.  MacLeod,  Montreal . 
Rev.  George  Whillans,  B.D.,  North  Georgetown:  Rev.  Samual  Rondeau,  B.A.,  Mon- 
treal; Rev.  F.  H.  Larkin,  B.A.,  Seaforth;  Rev.  J.  C.  Robertson,  M.A.,  B.D.,  Montreal. 
C.  S.  Fosbery,  Headmaster  of  Lower  Canada  College,  drew  attention  on 
December  19  to  the  honours  wron  last  session  at  the  Royal  Military  College 


NOVA  SCOTIA;  LEGISLATION,  WAR  SERVICE,  PROGRESS      685 

this    School    secured    the    first    two    places    and    nine    passes   with   six 
itrances    to  McGill.     He  added  that  the  School  had  over  200  Old  Boys  at  the 
>nt,  of  whom  15  had  laid  down  their  lives,  while  8  had  received  the  Military  Cross. 
Montreal  Congregational  College  on  December  14  conferred  an  Hon.  D.D.  upon 
;v.  D.L.Ritchie  of  Nottingham  Technical  College,  England  and  Stanstead  College  in 
Tune  stated  that  325  students  were  in  attendance  who  were  largely  of  High  School  age. 

Nova  Scotia:  The  Government  of  Nova  Scotia  was,  in  1917, 
War  Service-  Pres*ded  over  by  Hon.  G.  H.  Murray  who  had  served 
Material  as  ^s  Premier  for  31  years  and  also  through  7  general 

Progress.  elections.  The  War  was  vital  to  Nova  Scotia  during 
this  year  and  Mr.  Murray  devoted  much  attention 
to  forwarding  production  and  to  supplementing  various  Funds  and 
other  war-work.  As  he  said  in  a  Halifax  speech  on  Jan.  5:  "We 
have  learned  in  this  War  that  man  for  man  the  German  is  not  equal 
to  the  British  or  the  French  soldier.  •  Their  strength  is  only  in  their 
organization.  ...  So  far  as  the  Government,  the  Legislature 
and  the  people  of  Nova  Scotia  are  concerned,  they  are  helping  the 
Federal  Government  of  Canada  in  all  that  they  can  do  to  bring 
victory  to  the  Empire."  The  Government  aided  production  by 
encouraging  the  purchase  of  agricultural  machinery  and  authorized 
cities,  towns  and  municipalities  to  contribute  to  the  Patriotic  arid 
other  Funds;  Mr.  Murray,  on  May  6,  opened  the  Halifax  Patriotic 
Fund  campaign  for  $250,000  and  described  the  occasion  as  a  Vimy 
Ridge  for  local  civilians ;  a  Commission  was  appointed  by  the  Govern- 
ment (May  29)  to  aid  Ship-building  and  the  Federal  authorities  on 
Sept.  5  appointed  a  Provincial  Commission  for  Food  Control  in 
Nova  Scotia  composed  of  the  following  members: 

I.  C.  Stewart  (Chairman) .  . .  Halifax.  Mrs.  P.  J.  McManus Halifax. 

Mrs.  MacCallum  Grant Halifax.  Ralph  H.  Eisner Halifax. 

G.  S.  Campbell Halifax.  J.  Fred.  Fraser Halifax. 

C.  J.  Burchell,  K.C Halifax.  G.  Fred.  Pearson Halifax. 

Hon.  J.  A.  Chisholm Halifax.  Dr.  W.  H.  Hattie Halifax. 

Principal  M.  Gumming Truro.  A.  E.  Jones Halifax. 

E.  L.  Macdonald Halifax.  Dr.  A.  H.  Mackay Halifax. 

W.  R.  Powell Halifax.  H.  R.  Silver Halifax. 

Jxidge  W.  Cox Halifax.  J.  T.  Wilson, Halifax. 

Miss  Carmichael New  Glasgow.      Miss  Jennie  A.  Fraser Halifax. 

Mrs.  Wm.  Dennis Halifax.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ritchie Halifax. 

A.  S.  Barnstead Halifax. 

The  Education  Department  instructed  teachers  and  pupils  to 
respond  to  the  National  Service  and  Agricultural  calls  of  the  year, 
allowed  the  schools  to  rank  on  the  Municipal  School  Fund  for  pupils 
absent  on  farm-work  and  such  pupils  received  a  certificate  entitling 
them  to  pass  into  the  next  highest  grade  in  the  school ;  official  circulars 
were  issued  as  to  the  matter  of  work,  the  Food  service  pledge,  the 
Victory  Loan,  the  question  of  a  Soldiers'  memorial,  the  preserva- 
tion of  records  and  Honour  Rolls;  through  the  Schools  $5,282  was 
collected  for  Belgian  and  French  relief  funds;  Dr.  A.  H.  MacKay, 
Superintendent,  in  his  call  for  celebration  of  Empire  Day  told  the 
Teachers  of  the  Province  that  "in  stimulating  thrift  on  every  hand, 
and  in  the  production  of  food,  we  will  be  doing  what  may  be  very 
shortly,  if  not  already,  work  as  important  for  the  winning  of  the  War 
as  the  making  of  shells,  the  building  of  ships  and  charging  with  the 
rifle  and  bayonet."  The  Provincial  Red  Cross  Committee,  under 


686  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Mrs.  Wm.  Dennis,  President,  and  Mrs.  F.  H.  Sexton,  General 
Superintendent,  did  remarkably  good  work  during  the  year — in 
soldiers'  comforts,  hospital  supplies,  organization  of  workers,  welcome 
and  entertainment  of  returned  soldiers;  the  Patriotic  Fund  sub- 
scription in  Halifax  not  only  reached  its  objective  of  $250,000  in 
May  but  collected  $300,000— with  $40,000  each  from  the  Bank 
of  Nova  Scotia  and  City  of  Halifax  and  a  similar  sum  from  F.  B. 
McCurdy,  M.P.,  and  8  others  who  gave  $5,000  each.  During  the 
year  Mr.  Murray  was  approached  from  Ottawa  upon  the  questions 
of  Conscription  and  Union  Government  but  could  not  see  his  way 
to  join  actively  in  the  movement,  though,  finally,  he  approved  the 
re-organization  of  the  Borden  Government  and  endorsed  the  entrance 
of  A.  K.  Maclean,  K.C. — who  was  supposed  to  be  his  own  successor 
should  he  decide  to  go  to  Ottawa.  In  an  official  statement  on  Oct. 
24  he  said:  "I  have  long  held  the  opinion  that  a  Union  or  National 
Government,  organized  and  carried  out  on  lines  alike  fair  and 
honourable  to  both  of  the  great  parties  in  this  country,  had  very 
much  to  commend  it.  While  in  Ottawa  recently  I  was  asked  by 
Sir  Robert  Borden  to  join  the  Government  about  to  be  formed, 
but  while  I  expressed  my  general  sympathy  with  the  movement  I 
pointed  out  to  him  the  difficulties  which  I  personally  felt."  On 
Nov.  28  the  Government  appointed  a  Commission  to  inquire  into 
and  report  upon  the  best  means  for  obtaining  increased  agricultural 
production  as  follows:  D.  A.  Cameron,  K.C.  (Chairman)  Sydney; 
William  Chisholm,  K.C.,  Antigonish;  Harry  H.  Wickshire,  K.C., 
Kentville;  W.  L.  Hall,  K.C.,  Liverpool;  Henry  T.  D'Entremont, 
East  Pubnico;  and  Melville  Cumming,  Truro. 

The  1st  Session  of  the  13th  Legislature  was  opened  on  Feb.  22 
by  MacCallum  Grant,  Lieut. -Governor,  with  a  speech  from  the 
Throne  which  referred  to  the  departure  of  the  Duke  of  Connaught 
and  the  coming  of  a  new  Governor-General;  to  the  World-war  as 
testing  and  intensifying  the  unity  of  the  Empire,  as  having  an  hon- 
ourable and  heroic  place  for  the  sons  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  as  proving 
that  while  "a  peace-loving  people  such  as  ours  naturally  desire  to 
see  the  end  of  a  war  so  full  of  horror,  yet  here,  as  in  other  parts  of 
the  Empire,  there  is  a  firm  resolve  not  to  sheathe  the  sword  until 
the  high  purposes  for  which  it  was  drawn  by  Great  Britain  have  been 
achieved";  to  the  sacrifices  made  in  helping  war  funds  and  the  hope 
that  such  contributions  would  continue  and  increase;  to  the  general 
prosperity  of  the  Province  in  coal  and  steel  industries,  in  agriculture 
and  fisheries ;  to  the  Labour  shortage  and  special  difficulties  of  coal 
mining  in  that  respect  and  the  troubles  of  lumbermen  owing  to 
inadequate  transport  facilities;  to  promised  measures  connected 
"with  the  care,  education,  re-trainitig  and  settlement  of  the  returned 
soldier"  and  the  transfer  of  a  new  building  at  the  General  Hospital 
to  the  Militia  Department  for  soldiers  suffering  from  infectious 
diseases — besides  an  extension  at  the  Kentville  Sanatorium  for  soldiers 
affected  with  Tuberculosis;  to  the  general  revival  of  ship-building 
and  the  completion  of  the  Lennox  Passage  Bridge,  "the  largest  and 
heaviest  type  of  highway  bridge  ever  constructed  in  the  Province," 
connecting  Isle  Madame  with  the  mainland,  and  furnishing  the 


NOVA  SCOTIA;  LEGISLATION,  WAR  SERVICE,  PROGRESS      687 

people  of  Richmond  County  with  transportation  facilities  long  de- 
sired. The  Address  was  moved  by  R.  H.  Graham  of  Pictou  and 
J.  C.  Bourinot  of  Inverness;  Robert  Irwin,  member  since  1906, 
was  elected  Speaker;  in  succession  to  C.  E.  Tanner,  K.C.,  defeated 
in  the  1916  Elections,  Wm.  Lorimer  Hall,  B.A.,  LL.B.,  K.C.,  member 
since  1910,  was  elected  Leader  of  the  Conservative  Opposition. 
The  Address  passed  without  division. 

The  most  important  Bill  of  the  Session  was  that  intended  to 
encourage  Ship-building  which  proposed  (1)  to  appoint  a  Commission 
composed  of  five  members  to  investigate  facilities  in  the  Province 
for  this  industry  and  (2)  authorized  the  Government  to  borrow 
$2,000,000  for  encouraging  it.  In  explaining  the  measure  Mr. 
Premier  Murray  stated,  upon  the  2nd  reading,  that  for  many  years 
it  had  been  the  ambition  of  the  people  of  Nova  Scotia  to  take  part 
in  the  construction  of  steel  ships.  He  had  no  doubt  this  ambition 
was  the  natural  outcome  of  the  fact  that  in  the  days  of  wooden 
ships,  those  from  Nova  Scotia  were  to  be  found  in  all  the  great 
ocean  ports  of  the  world  and  were  manned  by  Nova  Scotia  officers 
and  crews:  "The  change  from  sail  to  steam  was  a  very  disturbing 
factor  in  the  history  of  this  Province,  and  seriously  interfered  with 
the  natural  avocation  of  our  people ;  for  a  number  of  years  no  serious 
effort  has  been  made  by  the  people  of  the  Province  to  become  owners 
of  steel  ships."  Now  the  War  had  made  a  new  policy  possible. 
As  to  the  Commission  it  would  be  composed  of  the  best  men  available, 
would  be  non-political  and  would  endeavour  to  interest  the  Federal 
Government  in  the  establishment  of  a  ship-yard  or  ship-yards  in 
which  the  people  of  the  Province  would  have  a  direct  interest. 
The  Opposition  supported  the  appointment  of  a  Commission  but 
opposed  its  being  given  powers — under  an  Order-in-Council — to  act 
as  an  incorporation  and  conduct  the  expenditure  of  $2,000,000. 
As  Mr.  Hall  put  it  on  May  4:  "The  expenditure  under  the  Act  might 
mean  a  Government-owned  plant,  a  system  of  subsidies,  a  bonus, 
or  it  might  mean  the  purchase  of  ships.  The  House  should  be  given 
an  opportunity  to  pass  upon  the  expenditure  before  it  was  made  and 
if  the  Commission's  report  was  in  favour  of  proceeding  with  the 
scheme  members  could  be  called  together."  He  moved  that  nine 
different  clauses  be  struck  out  but,  after  explanations  by  the 
Premier  and  Hon.  R.  M.  MacGregor,  the  measure  passed  the  House 
by  a  straight  party  vote.  On  May  28  the  Commission  was  appointed 
as  follows:  Dougald  MacGillivray  (Chairman)  Halifax;  C.  F.  Mc- 
Isaac,  K.C.,  Antigonish;  David  E.  North,  Hantsport;  Archibald 
MacKenzie,  River  John;  Fenwick  L.  Kelly,  North  Sydney;  Murray 
MacNeill,  Secretary.  Investigation  was  the  first  duty  of  the  Com- 
mission; thereafter  it  could  be  turned  into  a  corporation  with  very 
wide  powers.  These  included  the  construction,  purchase  or  lease 
of  ships;  the  establishment,  equipment,  etc.,  of  plants;  the  making 
of  wood,  steel  or  iron  ships ;  effecting  contracts  for  such  undertakings 
or  promoting  companies  in  this  respect;  acquiring  real  and  personal 
property  or  debentures,  bonds  and  other  securities;  making  any  kind 
of  approved  financial  and  co-operative  arrangements;  the  acquisition 
of  such  ships,  vessels  and  ferries  as  niight  be  necessary;  the  issue, 
subject  to  Order-in-Council,  of  alljisual  securities. 


688  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Other  legislation  included  consolidation  and  amendment  of  the 
Act  to  establish  a  Court  for  dealing  with  Juvenile  delinquents  and 
authorizing  the  Government  to  appoint  a  Superintendent  and 
Asst. -Superintendent  of  Neglected  Children;  the  creation  of  a 
Provincial  Highway  Board  of  3  members  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Government  for  the  purpose  of  co-operating  with  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment in  the  expenditure  of  any  moneys  voted  for  extending  national 
highway  facilities,  for  the  compilation  of  statistics  and  information, 
for  the  investigation  of  methods  of  road  construction,  for  the  con- 
sideration and  oversight  of  all  problems  and  matters  connected  with 
Provincial  roads;  an  Act  reforming  and  re-arranging  the  adminis- 
tration and  construction  of  Bridges  and  another  to  amend  and 
consolidate  the  Succession  Duty  Act ;  a  Land  Tax  Act,  under  which 
every  occupant  of  500  acres  and  upwards  within  the  Province  was 
to  pay  a  tax  of  one  per  cent,  on  the  value  of  lands  with,  also,  full 
details  as  to  method  of  assessment  and  collection;  a  revision  of 
conditions  affecting  the  Provincial  Tuberculosis  Sanatorium,  which 
was  to  be  called  the  Nova  Scotia  Sanatorium,  under  extension  and 
re-modelled  administration — so,  also,  with  regard  to  the  Victoria 
General  Hospital;  an  Act  authorizing  municipalities  to  establish 
and  operate  yards  for  the  storage  and  sale  of  fuel  and  another  to 
appoint  a  Board  of  Investigation  to  inquire  into  and  report  upon 
the  economic  and  other  conditions  affecting  the  Coal  industry  of 
the  Province;  a  measure  granting  $3,000  to  be  expended  by  the 
Secretary  for  Agriculture  in  assisting  the  purchase  of  power-ditching 
machines  and  other  power  machinery,  and  one  granting  $20,000  to 
encourage  the  erection  and  operation  of  modern  roller-process  mills 
and  one  or  more  creameries  with,  also,  the  purchase  of  dairying 
machinery  for  the  Agriculture  College. 

A  popular  measure  was  that  under  which  the  taxing  of  corpor- 
ations was  advanced  by  compelling  Companies  with  a  paid-up 
capital  of  $30,000  or  more,  and  operating  gas  or  electricity  for  light- 
ing, heating,  power  or  street  railway  purposes,  or  for  furnishing 
telephone  services,  to  pay  a  tax  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  Com- 
pany's gross  income — in  addition  to  any  existing  taxation ;  the  Pro- 
vincial Sterling  Loans  Refunding  Act  authorized  the  purchase  of 
existing  Nova  Scotia  stock  and  debentures,  payable  in  London, 
and  the  borrowing  of  necessary  sums  with  which  to  take  them  up, 
and  another  Act  authorized  a  special  Loan  of  $92,000;  the  N.S. 
Farmers'  Association  Act  was  amended  and  consolidated  and  the 
Companies'  Act  was  amended  to  place  the  word  "reduced"  after 
its  name  whenever  a  concern  should  reduce  its  capital;  the  Coal 
Regulations,  Education,  Mines,  Pharmacy  and  Public  Health  Acts 
were  amended  in  certain  details  and  a  grant  of  $20,000  was  authorized 
for  the  encouragement  of  Dairying;  the  Motor  Vehicle  Act  was 
largely  amended  along  lines  protective  of  the  public  and  for  the 
registration  of  chauffeurs — with  15  miles  an  hour  as  the  limit  of 
speed  on  public  highways  or  8  miles  in  traversing  a  bridge,  steep 
descent  or  crossing-intersection,  and  fees  ranging,  according  to  the 
horse-power,  from  $10  to  $50  and  $4.00  for  a  motor-cycle;  the 
Workmen's  Compensation  Act  was,  amended  in  many  details  with 


NOVA  SCOTIA:  LEGISLATION,  WAR  SERVICE,  PROGRESS      689 

compensation  placed  at  not  less  than  $5.00  per  week  and  made 
payable  also  to  an  invalid  child  without  regard  to  its  age  and  so 
long  as  the  Board  might  think  the  workman  would  have  contributed 
to  its  support  had  he  lived;  the  Compulsory  School  Attendance 
Act  was  amended  to  strengthen  its  application  to  children  of  16 
and  that  affecting  Moving  Picture  Theatres  was  amended  to  impose 
a  tax  of  from  one  to  two  cents  on  admission  fees. 

In  connection  with  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Act  J.  C.  Tory 
(Lib.)  moved  an  amendment  providing  that  the  Act  should  be 
made  compulsory  all  over  the  Province,  and  therefore  to  apply  to 
the  Dominion  Coal  Co.  and  the  Dominion  Steel  Co,,  which  had 
been  exempt  under  the  "contracting  out"  clause  which  recognized 
the  Relief  Societies  of  those  Companies  as  effective  protection. 
It  was  voted  down  by  17  to  13 — the  Premier  preferring  that  the 
Companies  should  come  voluntarily  under  the  Act.  The  question 
of  Woman's  Suffrage  came  up  early  in  March  when  each  member 
received  a  circular  from  the  Local  Council  of  Women  declaring 
that  "the  right  of  suffrage  should  be  extended  to  all  women  in  the 
Province,  under  the  same  conditions  as  those  now  required  for 
men";  and  urging  the  duty  and  propriety  of  extending  to  the  women 
of  Nova  Scotia  the  same  recognition  of  their  right  to  full  citizenship 
and  service  as  had  been  accorded  to  the  women  of  Manitoba,  Alberta, 
Saskatchewan  and  British  Columbia,  and  was  in  contemplation 
for  the  women  of  Ontario.  A  Bill  was  introduced  by  R.  H.  Graham 
(Lib.)  who  on  the  2nd  reading  (Mar.  21)  declared  that  there  was  no 
reason  why  women  should  vote  at  Municipal  elections  and  not  at 
all  others;  all  past  arguments  on  this  behalf  could  be  much  more 
strongly  presented  since  the  part  taken  by  women  in  war-work  had 
developed;  at  the  same  time  "those  who  would  look  for  great  re- 
sults, as  well  as  those  who  had  fears  for  the  effect  it  might  have 
on  women,  would  be  disappointed."  In  conclusion  he  declared 
that "  it  was  not  necessary  at  this  stage  of  the  world's  history  to  answer 
the  argument  that  might  is  right  and  that  only  those  able  to  enforce 
laws  should  make  them."  This  Bill  had  twice  been  before  the 
House  and  twice  had  been  defeated,  but  "old  ideas  and  old  dynasties 
were  crumbling."  The  speech  was  listened  to  in  silence  and,  without 
debate,  the  BUI  went  to  Committee.  On  the  3rd  reading  (Apr.  23) 
despite  Mr.  Premier  Murray's  statement  that,  though  he  was  opposed 
to  it,  Woman's  Suffrage  in  Nova  Scotia  was  inevitable,  the  Bill 
was  defeated  by  12  to  8  votes.  The  Legislature  adjourned  on  May 
9— after  making  Women  eligible  for  admission  as  barristers  and 
solicitors. 

An  important  Labour  matter  of  the  year  was  the  discussion  as 
to  Union  between  the  Provincial  Workmen's  Association,  repre- 
senting the  chief  Miners'  organizations  of  the  Province  with  its 
5,000  members,  and  the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America.  The 
P.W.A.  as  it  was  called,  had  long  maintained  its  independence  but 
as  the  result  of  a  Federal  Commission  sitting  at  Sydney,  and  inquiring 
into  troubled  conditions,  with  Judge  J.  A.  Chisholm  as  Chairman 
and  through  the  special  exertions  of  John  T.  Joy  of  Halifax,  a  member 
of  the  Commission,  conferences  were  held  in  April  and  a  final  amalga- 


44 


690  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

mation  effected  and  duly  ratified.  The  Unions  had  recently  been 
at  serious  issue  with  each  other  and  much  unrest  had  resulted 
between  them  and  with  the  Dominion  Coal  Co.  Temperance 
matters  were  under  considerable  discussion.  The  N.S.  Temperance 
Act  was  upheld  in  March  through  a  stated  case  submitted  to  the 
Provincial  Supreme  Court,  and  by  virtue  of  this  decision  it  was 
declared  that  the  Legislature  had  power  to  annul  liquor  licenses 
without  paying  compensation,  that  all  licenses  had  been  cancelled 
by  the  Temperance  Act  of  1916,  that  the  Act  was  in  force  in  the 
city  and  county  of  Halifax,  and  that  brewers  resident  in  the  Province 
could  sell  in  Nova  Scotia;  the  N.S.  Temperance  Alliance,  at  its 
meeting  of  Mar.  29th,  received  a  Report  from  its  Secretary,  Rev. 
H.  R.  Grant,  declaring  that  "although  Prohibition  has  not  had  a 
fair  trial  in  Halifax,  owing  to  the  negligence  of  the  City  Council 
in  refusing,  until  recently,  to  appoint  an  Inspector,  it  has  done 
immeasurable  good."  Mr.  Grant  stated  that  the  Murray  Govern- 
ment, in  appointing  Deputy  Inspectors  to  enforce  the  Act  in  Cape 
Breton,  had,  also,  done  much  good.  A  number  of  amendments  to 
the  Temperance  Act  were  asked  by  the  Alliance  and  pressed  upon 
the  Government  as  follows: 

(1)  Drinking  on  trains,  cars  and  in  public  places  to  be  prohibited; 

(2)  Constables  and  other  peace  officers  to  have  the  right  to  search,  without  war- 
rant, the  person,  valise  or  vehicle  of  peddlars  or  others  suspected  of  selling  liquor; 

(3)  The  finding  of  liquor  on  premises  searched  to  be  prima  facie  evidence  of 
violation  of  the  Act; 

(4)  Greater  restrictions  upon  druggists,  chemists,  vendors  and  physicians  in 
the  keeping  and  sale  of  liquor. 

(5)  Inspectors  to  be  empowered  to  examine  records  of  Express  companies  and 
other  carriers. 

(6)  For  violation  of  the  Act  the  penalty  to  be  from  $100  to  $200  fine,  or  im- 
prisonment without  fine  for  three  to  four  months. 

The  Government  introduced  and  passed  a  Bill  along  these  lines 
but  the  Legislative  Council  proposed  some  amendments  which  the 
House  would  not  accept  and  the  legislation  was  held  up.  Mean- 
while, Mr.  Grant  had  reported  to  his  Alliance  that  in  Halifax  the 
arrests  for  drunkenness  in  the  first  six  months  under  Prohibition 
had  been  reduced  from 803  to  441,  that  in  Sydney,*  North  Sydney,  and 
Sydney  Mines,  the  officers  of  the  law  were  handicapped  in  many  ways  by 
imperfections  in  the  Act ;  that  in  Glace  Bay,  New  Waterf ord,  Reserve 
and  other  places  there  was  no  proper  enforcement — the  fault  lying 
with  the  Councils  and  the  Government  Deputy  Inspectors. 

Education  in  the  Province  continued  with  few  variations  and 
was  described  in  the  Report  of  the  Superintendent  of  Education 
(Dr.  A.  H.  MacKay)  for  July  31,  1917,  as  "in  many  respects  most 
satisfactory."  He  explained  the  steady  advance  in  Provincial  aid 
— grants  designed  not  so  much  as  contributions  to  the  support 
of  schools  as  to  encourage  the  employment  of  the  higher  class  of 
teachers  who  were  essential  for  good  results.  These  grants  were 
originally  $60,  $90  and  $120  per  annum  for  third,  second  and  first 
class  teachers,  respectively,  no  higher  grant  being  given,  and  no 

*'Letter  published  in  The  Pioneer,  Toronto,  Dec.  7,  1917. 


NOVA  SCOTIA:  LEGISLATION,  WAR  SERVICE,  PROGRESS      691 


Provincial  grant  at  all  if  the  teacher  was  employed  in  a  County 
Academy.  In  1908  every  restriction  had  been  swept  away,  and  to 
the  old  grants  were  added  the  grants  of  $150,  $180  and  $210  for  the 
higher  and  most  desired  classes:  "The  $167,500  of  30  years  ago 
became  $190,000  in  1902,  and  last  year  reached  over  a  quarter  of  a 
million  dollars— exactly  $260,156.  And  to  this  we  must  add  $13,636 
as  annuities  to  retiring  teachers."  The  Superintendent  urged 
attention  to  the  Feeble-Minded  problem  and  to  the  provision  of 
Medical  and  Dental  inspectors  in  rural  as  well  as  urban  centres. 
He  also  asked  for  greater  fair  play  to  teachers  in  the  matter  of 
salaries:  "Our  higher  classes  of  trained  teachers  find  that  salaries 
are  not  increasing  so  fast  as  the  cost  of  living ;  and  are  being  attracted 
to  the  Western  provinces  where  trained  teachers  are  at  a  premium." 
The  3rd  Report  of  the  School-book  Bureau  stated  that  216,415 
books  had  been  distributed  in  the  year.  The  general  statistics 
were  as  follows: 


School  Sections 1,803 

Sections  without  School 67 

Number  of  Teachers 3,045 

Normal  Trained  Teachers 1,728 

Total  Male  Teachers 198 

Total  Female  Teachers 2,847 

New  Teachers 575 

Teachers: 

Service  1  year  or  under 913 

Service  1  to  10  years 1,677 

Service  10  to  30  years,  or  over  455 
Pupils  on  Register; 

1st  Quarter 97,530 

2nd  Quarter 102,411 

3rd  Quarter 104,731 

4th  Quarter 108,824 


Schools  in  Operation 2,856 

Total  Pupils  in  Common  School 

Grades 99,944 

Total    Pupils    in    High    School 

Grades 9,088 

Total  Pupils  in  Public  Schools  109,032 
Total  Pupils  In  Technical  Schools  2 , 949 
Total  Attendance  in  all  Schools  111,981 

School  Property  Sections $4,294,751 

Provincial    Aid — General    Edu- 
cation       375,050 

Provincial  Aid — Technical  Edu- 
cation         57,233 

Municipal  School  Fund 163,535 

Sectional  School  Assessment...  1,157,906 
Total  of  all  Contributions 1,753,725 


As  to  Government  Departments  the  Commissioner  of  Public 
Works  and  Mines  (Hon.  E.  H.  Armstrong)  received  a  Report  for 
the  year  of  Sept.  30,  1916,  which  showed  $532,494  as  expended 
upon  roads  and  the  larger  bridges  with  difficulties  indicated  by  the 
fact  of  a  rural  population  of  17  per  mile  of  public  highway;  from 
the  Factories'  Inspector,  stating  563  accidents  during  the  year, 
urging  that  1st  Aid  remedies  be  available  in  all  factories,  stating  the 
need  for  making  fire-drill  compulsory,  dealing  with  the  increasing 
prevalence  of  child  labour,  declaring  that  employers  and  workmen 
should  be  more  careful  and  exact  about  matters  of  ventilation, 
sanitation,  cleanliness,  etc.,  describing  Foundries  as  slow  to  protect 
their  employees  as  to  ventilation,  light  and  heat;  from  the  Water 
Power  Commission  reviewing  its  work  in  selecting  locations  for 
gauging  stations,  precipitation  stations  and  subjects  for  investi- 
gation which  included  the  obtaining  of  stream-flow  records,  study 
>f  power  resources  and  water-supply,  and  outlining  methods  and 

Abilities  of  development,  records  of  precipitation  and  evaporation. 
Minister  himself  submitted  a  report  upon  the  operation  of  the 
Town-Planning  Act  with  analyses  of  the  method  and  the  conditions 
under  which  Municipalities  could  act.  To  the  Hon.  O.  T.  Daniels, 
Attorney-General,  the  Superintendent  of  Neglected  Children  re- 
ported the  general  objects  of  his  Department  to  be  the  aid  and 
organization  of  Children's  Aid  Societies,  the  inspection  of  institutions, 
caring  for  children,  the  finding  of  foster  homes  for  children,  their 


692  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

protection  from  cruelty,  rescue  from  friendless  and  destitute  con- 
ditions, safeguarding  them  against  becoming  incorrigible,  criminal, 
destitute  or  dependant  with  the  over-charge  of  reformatory  institu- 
tions, foster  homes,  Juvenile  Courts;  Mr.  Daniels  submitted  his  own 
Report  for  the  Crown  Lands  Department  with  receipts  of  $20,922 
and  payments  of  $7,301. 

The  Hon.  George  H.  Murray  as  Premier  had  charge  of  many 
interests.  As  Provincial  Treasurer  his  revenues  for  the  year  of 
Sept.  30,  1916,  totalled  $2,165,338  compared  with  estimates  of 
$2,052,091;  his  expenditures  of  $2,132,134  compared  with  estimates 
of  $2,208,676— leaving  a  surplus  of  $33,203.  Principal  M.  Gumming, 
of  the  N.S.  College  of  Agriculture  and  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
reported  that  the  War  had  affected  the  farmers  but  slightly  and 
dealt  with  all  the  varied  conditions  of  production,  agricultural 
education  and  the  Federal  grant  of  $74,859  for  1916-17;  Govern- 
ment instructors,  directors,  district  representatives  in  Agriculture, 
the  general  instruction  of  the  farmer  and  demonstrations  in  dairying, 
bee-keeping,  and  poultry  raising,  soils,  the  entomological  inquiries, 
fruit-growing  conditions,  etc.  The  record  of  263  Agricultural 
Societies  with  10,523  members,  and  grants  of  $15,000  a  year,  and  the 
progress  of  the  splendid  Apple  product  with  an  increase  in  10  years 
of  505,465  trees  or  10,000  arces  of  orchard  were  reported.  To  the 
Premier  reported  the  Deputy  Provincial  Secretary,  F.  F.  Mathers, 
as  to  $146,192  received  from  fees  against  Companies,  Game  and 
Marriage  licenses,  1,713  registered  motors  and  387  additional 
chauffeurs ;  with  statistics  of  Towns  and  Municipalities  which  showed, 
for  the  City  of  Halifax,  6,882  ratepayers,  Assessments  of  $3,517,493, 
receipts  of  $83,671,  expenditures  of  $65,474,  assets  of  $100,570 
and  liabilities  of  $49,216.  The  Provincial  Health  Officer,  Dr.  W.  H. 
Hattie,  submitted  a  statement  that  while  some  progress  had  been 
made  in  checking  communicable  diseases  yet  "our  death  rate  from 
pulmonary  tuberculosis  is  double  that  of  Ontario  and  five  times 
that  of  Saskatchewan,  our  infantile  mortality  rate  is  double  that 
of  New  Zealand  and  considerably  greater  than  that  of  the  cities 
of  London  and  New  York.  Such  facts  should  surely  cause  us 
grave  concern.  Tuberculosis  not  only  robs  us  of  a  large  number 
of  those  who  might  be  useful  citizens,  but  it  imposes  upon  us  a  fin- 
ancial loss  which  might  reasonably  be  computed  at  more  than  $3,000,- 
000  a  year."  The  Inspector  of  Rural  Telephones  (A.  S.  MacMillan) 
reported  124  Companies  operating  under  the  Act,  and  increase  of 
cost  in  wire  alone  of  150%  in  2  years,  a  pole-line  mileage  of  242 
miles  and  2,103  telephones  installed. 

A.  S.  Barnstead,  Secretary  of  Industries  and  Immigration* 
stated  that  in  1916  963  copies  of  an  Industrial  Handbook  had  been 
distributed  and  other  literature,  that  10  loans  had  been  granted  to 
farmers,  under  the  Act,  for  $16,500,  of  which  the  Government 
guaranteed  7,064,  that  29  vessels  were  under  construction  with  a 
net  tonnage  of  5,274,  that  Nova  Scotia  had  to  date  (Dec.  31, 1916)  con- 
tributed $2,354,199  to  Patriotic  causes;  the  Agent-General  in  London 
(John  Howard)  reported  to  Mr.  Murray  that  his  chief  duties  lay 
in  looking  afterNova  Scotian  war  interests  in  England  and  France 


NOVA  SCOTIA:  LEGISLATION,  WAR  SERVICE,  PROGRESS       693 

and  detailed  much  information  on  this  subject;  the  Provincial 
Game  Commissioner  stated  that  1,208  moose  had  been  killed  in  the 
year  and  that  fur-farmers  held  932  foxes  in  captivity;  the  Deputy 
Registrar-General  showed  a  total  of  12,770  births  in  1915-16,  3,726 
marriages  and  8,052  deaths — of  the  latter  921  were  from  tuber- 
culosis and  685  from  pneumonia;  the  Inspector-in-Chief  (J.  A. 
Knight)  under  the  Temperance  Act,  declared  that  the  Federal 
measure  prohibiting  shipment  of  liquor  into  Provinces  having 
Prohibitory  laws  had  "proved  entirely  unworkable"  in  Nova 
Scotia  because  of  the  lack  of  enforcement  provisions;  the  Board  of 
Commissioners  of  Public  Utilities  showed  for  the  year  of  Dec. 
31,  1916,  nine  applications  to  issue  securities  for  $14,198,350  and 
the  approval  of  $8,948,350  of  this  amount — including  $6,000,000 
of  the  latter  total  for  the  N.S.  Tramways  and  Power  Co. — and 
stated  that  224  public  utilities  were  reporting  to  the  Board;  the 
Returned  Soldiers'  Employment  Committee  (Hon.  R.  M.  Mac- 
Gregor,  Chairman)  described  its  work  to  the  Premier  on  Mar.  31, 
1917,  with  786  men  returned,  8  under  vocational  training,  369 
under  employment,  353  not  yet  discharged  and  34  unemployed; 
a  Report  on  Feeble-Minded  in  the  Province  described  the  1911 
Census  returns  of  644  as  far  below  the  actual  figures  and  urged 
Government  provision  and  an  institution  for  these  unfortunates. 
Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  winning  of  the  D.S.O.  by  Major 
J.  L.  Ralston,  M.L.A.  for  Cumberland;  the  political  scandal  caused 
in  Halifax  by  Senator  Wm.  Roche  refusing  on  May  11  to  subscribe 
to  the  Patriotic  Fund  because  he  thought  England  should  not  have 
gone  into  the  War,  a  controversy  with  the  well-known  citizens 
who  called  on  him  and  a  remittance  of  $100  received  next  day; 
the  appointment  of  John  M.  Geldert  and  Wm.  W.  Walsh  of  Halifax 
as  King's  Counsel;  the  launching  on  July  9  by  the  N.S.  Steel  and 
Coal  Co.  of  the  first  steel  steamer  built  in  the  Province — 2,870 
tons  and  11  knots  speed — with  two  others  under  construction;  the 
request  to  the  Public  Utilities  Commission  by  the  N.S.  Tramways 
and  Power  Co.  for  the  right  to  increase  their  capital  stock  to  $10,000,- 
000  in  order  to  provide  for  the  improvement  and  extension  of  its 
Street  Railway  service.  The  following  heads  of  leading  public- 
bodies  were  elected  in  1917: 

Nova  Scotia  Institute  of  Science Prof.  D.  F.    Harris,  M.D...  .Halifax. 

Nova  Scotia  Historical  Society Dr.  David  Allison Halifax. 

Nova  Scotia  Temperance  Alliance Rev.  Canon  Vernon Halifax. 

Nova  Scotia  Boy  Scouts S.  M.  Brookfleld Halifax. 

Provincial  Dairymen's  Association D.  W.  Murray Scotsburn. 

Nova  Scotia  Fruit-Growers'  Association Prof.  W.  S.  Blair KentviUe. 

Nova  Scotia  Farmers'  Association Wm.  Murray Union  Cent. 

Maritime  Shipowners'  Association Wm.  Dun* Lunenburg. 

Provincial  Barristers'  Association W.   A.  Henry,  K.C Halifax. 

Anti-Tuberculosis  League M.  E.  Keefe Halifax. 

Royal  Arch  Masons  of  Nova  Scotia J.  R.  Bennett Halifax. 

Grand  True  Blue  Lodge J.  K.  Brown Sydney. 

Nova  Scotia  Medical  Society Dr.  J.  W.  Smith,  M.L.A Liverpool. 

Commercial  Club  of  Halifax A.  H,  Munshull Halifax. 

Nova  Scotia  Sons  of  Temperance J.  E.  Hills Halifax. 

As  to  the  production  of  Nova  Scotia  the  annual  statement  of  the 
Halifax  Chronicle  put  it  at  $149,509,203  for  1917  and  this  included 
$23,600,000  for  coal;  $5,000,000  for  coke  and  by-products;  $250,000 


694 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


from  Gold  and  other  minerals;  $1,250,000  from  gypsum,  limestone, 
etc.;  $450,000  from  building  material  and  clay  products;  $20,000,000 
from  iron  and  steel  products;  $10,092,000  from  fisheries;  $47,750,000 
from  manufactures,  ships  and  freights;  $36,117,203  from  products 
of  the  farm;  $4,500,000  from  products  of  the  forest;  $500,000  from 
game  and  furs.  The  Halifax  Herald  estimate  in  this  connection 
was  $154,885,200.  Halifax,  despite  its  disaster,  had  much  prosperity 
with  exports  of  $142,000,000,  imports  of  $10,000,000,  manufactured 
products  of  $22,000,000,  Bank  clearings  of  $152,000,000,  Civic 
Assessment  of  $38,000,000  and  a  shipping  tonnage  of  $17,100,000. 
Its  rapid  re-building  and  reconstruction  also  brought  a  lot  of  money 
into  circulation.  Steel  ship-building  commenced  a  development, 
with  the  N.S.  Steel  and  Coal  Co.,  under  Colonel  Cantley,  as  the 
pioneer,  which  was  to  expand  greatly  in  the  next  year;  in  May  51 
wooden  ships  of  16,316  tons  were  under  construction  and  the  total 
in  steel  and  wood  for  the  Province  in  1917  was  70  vessels  of  20,000 
tons  costing  $2,500,000  with  13,000  tons  more  under  construction; 
the  total  colliery  production  of  Nova  Scotia  declined  from  6,195,000 
tons  in  1916  to  5,735,000  tons  in  1917—500,000  tons  being  in  the 
Dominion  Coal  Co.  output — with  shortage  of  labour,  increased 
wages,  high  cost  of  materials  and  transport,  as  some  of  the  causes; 
the  Lunenburg  fishing  fleet  had  the  biggest  year  on  record  with  95 
vessels  and  a  catch  of  256,215  quintals  compared  with  106  vessels  in 
1916  and  a  catch  of  218,060  quintals;  the  N.S.  Steel  and  Coal  Co. 
of  New  Glasgow  in  June  resumed  its  dividend  of  5%  on  the  common 
stock,  decided  on  a  new  issue  of  $5,000,000  and  announced  the  re- 
tirement of  Col.  Thomas  Cantley  from  the  Presidency  to  become 
Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  and  the  appointment  of  F.  H. 
Crockard  of  the  Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  and  Rd.  Co.,  Birmingham, 
Ala.,  to  succeed  him;  the  report  of  the  Dominion  Steel  Corporation 
showed  net  earnings  in  1917  (Mar.  31)  of  $12,967,874  compared  with 
$3,571,059  in  1915.  The  agricultural  production  of  the  year  was 
fairly  good  though  there  was  a  decrease  of  4,000  in  the  266,488 
cattle,  worth  $14,391,000,  in  the  Province,  a  very  slight  decrease 
in  the  49,850  swine,  valued  at  $1,433,000,  while  64,193  horses  worth 
$7,141,000  and  200,979  sheep  worth  $1,809,000  (Federal  statistics) 
were  about  the  same.  The  total  product  of  field  crops  was  as 
follows : 


Nova  Scotia  Field  Crops 

Spring  Wheat  
Oats                     

Area 
Acres 
.  .       16,200 
.  .     123.000 

Yield 
per  Acre 
Bush. 
15  75 
29  '25 

Total 
Yield 
Bush. 
255,150 
3,597,800 

Average 
Price 
Bush. 
$2.34 
0.92 

Total 
Value 
$    597,000 
3,310,000 

Barley                              

4,800 

24  '  75 

118,800 

1.34 

159,200 

Rye  and.  "Peas 

470 

29  '  25 

6,900 

18,200 

Beans                       .         

1  ,000 

17'75 

17,750 

7.95 

141,100 

Buckwheat                         

10,900 

21  '00 

228,900 

1.14 

261.000 

4,000 

24-00 

96,000 

1.24 

119,000 

Potatoes                      

.  .       41,000 

174-94 

7,173,000 

0.92 

6,599,000 

Turnips,  Mangolds,  etc  
Hay  and  Clover  

9,100 
.  .     542,000 

350  93 
Tons 
1   65 

3,193,000 
Tons 
894,000 

0.47 
per  Ton 
11.83 

1,501,000 
10,580,000 

Higher  Education  in  Nova  Scotia,  of  Government  insti- 
tutions the  Normal  School  reported  for  1917  263  students  enrolled  and  a  successful 
year  in  the  associated  Rural  Science  Schools  for  teacher-training;  the  N.S.  Agricul- 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS  695 

tural   College,   through   Melville   Gumming,   B.A.,   B.S.A.,   Principal,  announced  63 
students  enrolled  of  whom  42  were  from  Nova  Scotia,  14  from  New  Brunswick  and 

5  from  P.  E.  Island,  with  12  diplomas  granted  and  111  regular  students  on  its  Roll 
of  Honour — including  5  members  of  the  staff.     The  N.  S.  Technical  College,  through 
Principal  F.  H.  Sexton,  reported  a  reduced  staff  and  attendance  and  work  owing  to 
war-calls;  and  a  registration  of  6  in  Engineering  classes — with  62  students  on  active 
service;    students  in  the  correspondence  study  department  numbering  32,  students 
in  the  School  of  Navigation  with  a  total  attendance  varying  from  93  to  385  and  67 
graduates  in  the  year;    a  considerable  development  of    vocational  education  for 
returned  soldiers  under  Mr.  Sexton's  direction  with  courses  in  drafting,  mechanics 
and  mechanism,  practical  mathematics,  manufacturing  process,  electric  work,  gaso- 
line engines,  machine-shop  practice,  heating,  ventilating,  janitor's  work,  water  sup- 
ply, tool-making,  machine  shops.     Nine  degree-conferring  Colleges  of  Nova  Scotia 
had  a  total  staff  of  164  in  1917  with  students  numbering  826. 

The  University  of  King's  College,  Windsor,  had  a  staff  of  11  with  58  students, 
31  graduates  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  T.  S.  Boyle  as  President;  Dalhousie  University, 
Halifax,  had  72  of  a  staff  with  283  students,  48  graduates  and  Dr.  A.  Stanley  Mac- 
Kenzie  as  President;  the  Presbyterian  College,  Halifax,  had  5  of  a  staff,  15  students, 

6  graduates  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  MacKinnon  as  President;   the  Acadia  University, 
Wolfville,  had  23  of  a  staff,  126  students,  22  graduates  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  G.  B.  Cutten 
as  President;   the  University  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  at  Antigonish,  had  17  of  a  staff, 
88  students,  20  graduates  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  H.  P.  MacPherson  as  President;    the 
College  of  Ste.  Anne  at  Church  Point  had  21  of  a  staff,  50  students,  2  graduates  and 
the  Rev.  A.  Brand  as  President;   the  Holy  Heart  Seminary,  Halifax,  had  a  staff  of 
8  and  50  students,  while  St.  Mary's  College  had  3  teachers  and  21  students  and  the 
Royal  Naval  College  of  Canada — also  at  Halifax — had  35  students  and  Capt.  E.  H. 
Martin,  R.N.,  as  President.     Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  effort  of  King's  Col- 
lege to  raise  $100,000  with  a  Committee  led  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Boyle  and  Hon.  R.  E. 
Harris,  J.  Walter  Allison  as  Treasurer  and  Rev.  Canon  Vernon  as  Secretary,  and  a 
partial  campaign  netting  $35,000  up  to  the  close  of  the  year;   the  grant  by  the 
Convocation  on  May   10   of  the   Hon.    degree   of   D.D.    upon   Very  Rev.   Scovil 
Neales,  M.A.,  Dean  of  Fredericton;  Very  Rev.  C.  S.  Quainton,  M.A.,  Dean  of  Colum- 
bia, with  an  Hon.  degree  of  D.C.L.  upon  Matthew  Wilson,  K.C.,  Chatham,  Ont., 
W.  W.  Blackall,  B.A.,  St.  John's,  Nfld.,    His  Honour  Judge  Armstrong,  St.  John; 
the  award  of  a  Rhodes  scholarship  to  Donald  G.  MacGregor  of  Dalhousie  University, 
and  the  gift  of  $25,000  to  the  same  institution  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  G.  S.  Campbell,  of 
Halifax;  the  award  of  an  M.C.  to  Rev.  Miles  Tompkins,  Professor  of   Chemistry  at 
St.  Francis  Xavier  and  a  Chaplain  at  the  Front,  with  the  conferring  of  an  Hon.  LL.D. 
(May  15)  upon  D.  H.  McDougall  of  the  Dominion  Steel  Co.,  Sydney,  M.  J.  Butler, 
C.M.G.,  Montreal,    Neil  Macneil,  Boston,  and  Mgr.  Arthur  S.  Barnes,  Oxford;   the 
winning  of  a  Rhodes  Scholarship  by  Lieut.  Norman  McLeod  Rogers  of  Acadia  Univer- 
sity and  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Frank  Wheelock  to  be  Professor  of  Engineering  and 
Dean  in  its  Department  of  Applied  Sciences. 

At  the  beginning  of  1917  for  a  variety  of  reasons 
New  Brims-  the  Conservative  Government,  which  under  J.  D. 
wick:  Govern-  Ha  j  K  Fiemming  and  G.  j.  Clarke  had  been 
merit  Changes  •  .  i  •  •  *  i 

and  General  m  Power  since  1908,  was  showing  signs  of  weakness 
Elections.  and  unpopularity,  despite  the  fact  of  only  two  Liberals 
being  in  the  House  and  the  absence  of  any  real  leader- 
ship in  that  Party.  The  health  of  Mr.  Premier  Clarke  had  not  been 
good  for  a  year  or  more  and  on  Feb.  1  his  resignation  was  announced 
followed  on  the  26th  by  his  death — a  kindly,  industrious  and  person- 
ally popular  leader  in  conditions  of  admitted  political  difficulty.  His 
successor  was  Hon.  James  A.  Murray,  M.L.A.  since  1908  and  member 
of  the  Government  since  1911,  and  the  new  Cabinet  was  sworn  in 
at  once  as  follows :  Mr.  Murray,  Premier  and  Minister  of  Agriculture ; 
Hon.  J.  B.  M.  Baxter,  K.C.,  Attorney-General;  Hon.  D.  V.  Landry, 
Provincial  Secretary  and  Treasurer;  Hon.  B.  Frank  Smith,  Minister 


006  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  Public  Works;  Hon.  A.  R.  Slipp,  Minister  of  Lands  and  Mines; 
Hon.  H.  I.  Taylor,  M.D.,  and  Hon.  A.  P.  Culligan,  Ministers  without 
Portfolio.  The  only  changes  were  the  calling  in  of  Mr.  Slipp  and 
the  appointment  of  Messrs.  Taylor  and  Culligan.  Preparations 
were  at  once  made  for  the  General  Election — four  Sessions  of  the 
Legislature  having  been  held,  and  certain  minor  appointments, 
also,  were  made:  Prof.  J.  W.  Mitchell  as  Superintendent  of  Live- 
stock and  Dairying  and  G.  A.  Hutchison,  Judge  of  Probates  in 
Kent,  H.  Lester  Smith  in  Albert  and  R.  B.  Hanson  in  York.  On 
Mar.  12  James  P.  Byrne,  G.  H.  V.  Belyea,  James  Friel  and  Richard 
B.  Hanson  were  made  King's  Counsel. 

On  Feb.  3  the  Legislature  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Premier 
Murray  issued  a  Manifesto  to  the  Electors  asking  for  a  man- 
date in  view  of  his  new  appointment  and  because  of  the  existence 
of  a  number  of  vacancies  in  the  House,  the  coming  of  Prohibition 
into  force  on  May  1,  the  necessity  of  completing  the  St.  John  Valley 
Railway  and  the  proposal  to  provide  a  comprehensive  plan  for 
Soldier  Settlements.  He  recalled  the  reforms  in  financial  adminis- 
tration which  followed  the  accession  to  office  of  Mr.  Hazen  in  1908 
and  the  constructive  legislation  of  the  past  8  years  which  included 
reduced  school-book  prices;  pensions  to  teachers  on  retiring  after 
35  years'  service — the  first  of  the  kind  in  Canada;  organization  of 
the  Public  Utilities  Commission  and  its  protective  work.  He  stated 
that  during  "the  last  8  years  the  old  Administration  was  in  power, 
1901  to  1908  inclusive,  there  were  returned  to  the  Crown  Land 
Office,  cut  in  the  public  domain,  1,025  million  superficial  feet  of 
lumber,  In  the  8  years  since  then,  1909  to  1916  inclusive,  there 
were  returned  in  the  same  way  2,152  million  superficial  feet"- 
the  difference  involving  revenue  returns  of  $250,000  a  year  additional. 

As  to  ordinary  bridges — which,  Mr.  Murray  said,  were  in  a 
nearly  ruinous  condition  when  taken  over  in  1908  and  with  a  feeling 
then  that  they  could  not  be  maintained  out  of  revenue — the  Con- 
servative Government  had  since  spent  upon  them  $1,380,586  out 
of  current  revenues;  it  also  had  "built  great  modern  steel  bridges, 
by  public  tender,  at  the  lowest  cost,  wherever  the  need  for  such 
structures  had  been  shown  to  exist,  by  adding  to  the  bonded  debt  of 
the  Province  an  amount  in  excess  of  two  million  dollars";  Good 
Roads  were  an  essential  of  prosperity,  something  had  been  done  and 
much  more  would  be  done  as  proposed  by  the  Minister  of  Public 
Works ;  the  Department  of  Agriculture  had  been  organized  and  placed 
upon  a  well  considered  and  efficient  basis,  much  work  had  been 
undertaken,  based  upon  agricultural  education  and  two  agricultural 
schools  had  been  established  in  the  Province ;  the  work  of  the  Depart- 
ment had  been  emphasized  and  broadened  by  the  introduction  of 
modern  methods  and  the  employment  of  experts  as  members  of  the 
staff;  for  demonstration  purposes,  machinery  had  been  purchased 
and  with  the  sympathetic  co-operation  of  agriculturists  throughout 
the  country  the  Government  had  been  able  to  place  agriculture  upon 
a  basis  which  had  proven  most  satisfactory;  an  accurate  and 
detailed  examination  of  Forest  resources  and  the  classification  of 
lands  according  to  their  nature  of  soil,  as  well  as  their  forest  pro- 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS    697 

duction,  had  been  carried  out,  and,  the  policy  of  the  Government  would 
be  to  set  aside  such  portions  of  the  public  domain  as  were  suited 
wholly  for  lumber  purposes  and  extensive  areas  of  land,  not  now 
available,  which  were  found  to  be  suitable  for  farming.  Advanced 
legislation  as  to  Colonization  after  the  War  was  promised  and  the 
immediate  completion  of  the  Valley  Railway  from  Centreville  to 
Westfield  with  running  rights  over  the  C.P.R.  to  St.  John  and  con- 
nection at  Andover  with  the  National  Transcontinental;  the  Work- 
men's Compensation  Act  would  be  further  improved  along  the 
lines  of  Ontario  and  Nova  Scotia  Acts;  technical  schools  were 
promised  together  with  utilization  of  water  powers  along  lines  of 
electric  lighting  and  cheap  industrial  power;  credit  was  taken  for 
the  Prohibition  Act  of  1916  as  "the  strongest  and  most  efficient 
measure  in  Canada  "and  enforcement  pledged;  the  increased  Debt 
was  described  as  a  sign  of  progress,  a  necessity  of  development  and 
the  credit  of  the  Province  as  higher  than  ever.  As  to  the  rest,  he 
appealed  for  vindication: 

I  would  also  ask  you  to  compare  the  policy  of  the  present  Administration  as 
carried  on  in  the  past  and  as  proposed  for  the  future,  with  that  of  our  opponents,  who, 
without  a  recognized  leader,  have  not  placed  before  the  people  of  the  Province  any 
well-defined  policy  for  adoption,  should  they  regain  the  reins  of  power.  In  their 
extremity  and  inability  to  define  a  policy  that  will  appeal  to  the  people,  they  have 
resorted  to  the  most  violent  and  pronounced  criticism,  charging  against  individual 
members  of  the  Government  almost  every  crime  that  could  be  conceived.  They 
have,  during  the  last  few  years,  indulged  in  a  campaign  of  vilification  and  abuse. 
To  such  an  extent  has  this  been  done,  that  thinking  people  throughout  the  Province 
realize  that  men  holding  public  office  are  not  necessarily  dishonest  and  dishonourable 
and  have  come  to  understand  that  public  life  is  public  service,  and  that  men  honestly 
attempting  to  discharge  their  responsibilities  should  not  be  subjected  to  public  abuse 
and  violent  accusations. 

On  Feb.  5  Hon.  F.  B.  Smith  issued  an  elaborate  statement  to 
the  Electors  regarding  past  policy  and  proposed  plans  of  the  Public 
Works  Department — especially  as  to  better  roads  and  highways. 
He  pointed  out  the  great  changes  in  this  respect  and  stated  that 
improved  highways  had  brought  in  a  revenue  which  in  1917  would 
total  $50,000;  based  upon  this  he  proposed  to  borrow  $500,000  on 
bonds  of  a  serial  character  with  principal  and  interest  to  be  retired 
in  15  years.  The  Fund  thus  raised  would  be  "used  for  the  purchase 
of  improved  machinery  and  for  the  building  of  gravel  roads,  for 
ditching  and  draining,  and  the  installation  of  concrete  and  arch 
culverts  throughout  the  Province."  An  Inspector  of  Highways 
would  be  appointed  in  each  municipality  and  be  responsible  to  the 
Minister,  a  reformed  system  of  road  construction  adopted,  modern 
equipment  used  and  a  system  of  motor-patrolmen  formed  to  ensure 
careful  maintenance  of  the  roads.  To  build  and  build  well  was  to 
be  his  policy.  The  Premier  followed  with  speeches  in  which  he 
charged  the  Opposition,  though  under  new  leadership,  with  bringing 
back  into  the  Legislature,  or  trying  to  do  so,  the  men  of  days  before 
1908  who  were  subject  to  the  alleged  political  discredit  of  that  time 
— Robinson,  Legere,  Veniot,  Tweeddale,  Ryan,  Jones,  Sweeney, 
Burgess,  etc.  This  and  the  record  of  the  pre-1908  Government  were 


698  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

made  issues  of  the  campaign  though,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  three- 
fourths  of  the  Opposition  candidates  were  absolutely  new  men. 
The  Government  devoted  time  and  space  to  the  record  of  the  Premier 
as  Minister  of  Agriculture  and  the  steady  work  of  that  Department 
along  progressive  lines;  the  prosperity  of  the  people  in  farming, 
mining  and  industry  was  made  much  of;  the  Prohibition  Act  was 
supported  and  the  Opposition  Referendum  policy  of  1916  described 
as  an  excuse,  evasion  and  cause  for  delay,  while  it  was  claimed  that 
Messrs.  Dugal  and  Pelletier,  the  only  Opposition  members,  had 
absented  themselves  from  the  House  when  Prohibition  was  voted 
upon;  personalities  were  practiced  on  both  sides  and  those  of  the 
Government  speakers  were  devoted  chiefly — apart  from  attacks  on 
the  old  Government  of  1908— to  E.  S.  Carter  and  P.  J.  Veniot,  the 
organizers  of  Provincial  Liberalism  in  recent  years ;  the  statement  was 
made  and  figures  given  to  show  that  the  Stumpage  dues,  1884-1907, 
under  Liberal  rule  had  totalled  for  24  years  $2,672,709  or  $111,363 
per  year,  while  a  similar  amount  of  $2,752,758  had  been  collected 
in  8  years  of  Conservative  rule — or  $344,005  a  year;  Labour-helping 
amendments  to  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Act  were  promised 
and  Hon.  Mr.  Baxter  expressed  pride  in  his  recent  appointment  of 
a  Commission  composed  of  F.  J.  G.  Knowlton  (Chairman),  L.  W. 
Simms  and  J.  B.  Cudlip,  manufacturers,  and  J.  L.  Sugrue  and  T.  W. 
Daley,  Labour  leaders,  to  inquire  as  to  further  improvements;  it 
was  alleged  that  the  old  Government  had  expended  in  1899-1907 
$1,885,829,  or  a  yearly  average  of  $209,536,  upon  Education  and  the 
Conservative  Government  in  1908-16  a  total  of  $2,462,968,  or  an 
average  of  $273,683;  the  charge  was  made  by  G.  B.  Jones,  ex-M.L.A. 
for  King's,  that  E.  S.  Carter  had  accepted  a  "rake-off"  of  $4  a  thou- 
sand on  lumber  supplied  for  wharf  construction,  and  the  charge 
was  backed  by  an  affidavit  from  an  employee  of  the  contractor — 
which  Mr.  Carter  not  only  denied  but  produced  also  the  emphatic 
denial  of  the  contractor.  Meantime  there  was  little  outside  or 
Federal  aid  in  the  campaign  and  though  Mr.  Murray  spoke  at  a 
number  of  meetings  in  the  Province — Hampton,  Westfield,  Green- 
wich, Hampton  a  second  time,  Moncton,  Newcastle,  St.  John, 
Sussex — there  was  no  prolonged  campaign  throughout  the  Province 
by  either  Leader.  The  Ministers,  leaders  and  candidates  stayed 
largely  in  their  own  constituencies. 

Meanwhile  the  Liberal  Opposition  had  been  putting  up  a  great 
fight.  During  the  past  year  and  following  the  retirement  of  Hon. 
C.  W.  Robinson  from  the  leadership,  it  had  been  in  commission 
with  W.  E.  Foster,  a  popular  and  well-known  St.  John  merchant, 
as  Chairman  of  a  Committee  in  charge  of  Party  affairs.  Mr.  Foster 
had  run  for  St.  John  in  1912,  though  unsuccessfully;  he  had  been 
for  some  years  President  of  the  St.  John  Board  of  Trade  and  the 
Arboriculture  Society;  in  the  middle  of  February,  1917,  with  the 
battle  called  by  the  Premier  he  had,  finally,  accepted  the  leadership 
after  F.  B.  Carvell,  K.C.,  M.P.,  under  Mr.  Foster's  insistence,  had 
been  offered  the  position  and  declined  it.  Mr.  Foster  took  up  the 
issue  at  once,  was  nominated  in  St.  John  to  oppose  the  Attorney- 
General,  Hon.  J.  B.  M.  Baxter,  and  issued  a  Manifesto  explaining 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS  699 

his  position,  denouncing  the  Government  for  its  sins  of  omission 
and  commission,  and  declaring  that  he  would,  "if  successful,  carry 
on  the  business  of  New  Brunswick  with  care  and  devotion  to  business 
principles,  and  would  associate  himself  with  men  of  known  probity 
and  ability."  He  declared  that  his  political  career  dated  only  as 
far  back  as  1911,  and  that  he  had  never  been  a  partisan  in  politics. 
"This  Province,"  he  added,  "needs  business  men  more  than  poli- 
ticians. We  must  have  less  partisanship  if  we  want  improvement. 
If  the  electors  are  satisfied  that  the  affairs  of  the  Province  have  been 
efficiently  carried  on  since  1912;  if  they  believe  that  there  was  no 
reason  for  the  appointment  of  two  Royal  Commissions,  and  that 
no  reliance  should  be  placed  in  their  reports  and  findings,  then  they 
should  support  the  Murray  Government."  This  was  the  chief 
issue  of  the  contest  so  far  as  the  Opposition  could  make  it  so — and 
they  did  it  very  effectively.  The  charges  against  ex-Premier  J.  K. 
Flemming*  as  to  mis-appropriation  of  public  moneys  for  Election 
purposes;  the  Report  of  the  ensuing  Royal  Commission  which  indi- 
cated loose  conditions  and  corruption  in  lumber  contracts  and  the 
Valley  Railway  matter,  but  cleared  Mr.  Flemming  of  direct  personal 
contact  with  the  issue;  his  retirement  from  the  Premiership  and 
recent  nomination  as  a  Conservative  candidate  for  the  Federal 
House,  were  again  threshed  out,  though,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
situation  had  greatly  damaged  the  Government's  popularity  before 
the  elections  began.  In  his  Manifesto  Mr.  Foster  deprecated  the 
St.  John  Valley  Railway  policy  as  involving  relations  to  the  C.P.R. 
of  a  subsidiary,  instead  of  competitive,  character  through  making 
Westfield  its  junction  with  the  C.P.R.  instead  of  running  into  St. 
John;  claimed  that  the  Public  Debt  had  been  increased  from  about 
$5,000,000  in  1908  to  about  $17,000,000  in  1917,  with  only  the 
unfinished  Valley  Railway  to  show  for  it;  proposed  to  place  the 
management  of  Crown  Lands  in  the  hands  of  a  non-partisan  Com- 
mission and  to  take  the  administration  and  construction  of  Highways 
out  of  politics — where,  it  was  charged,  political  favourites  pocketed 
a  large  proportion  of  the  annual  appropriation ;  undertook  to  straighten 
out  the  alleged  financial  tangle  and  extend  the  Valley  Railway, 
as  originally  intended,  to  Grand  Falls.  In  the  main,  the  platform 
was  that  adopted  by  the  Liberal  Convention  of  Jan.  15,  1916,f 
including  the  Crown  Lands  and  Highway  policies  as  above  stated, 
a  promise  to  amend  the  electoral  laws  so  as  to  promote  simplicity 
and  prevent  corruption,  pledges  of  a  careful  investigation  of  the 
financial  situation  and  alleged  mismanagement,  and  to  assist  the 
farmers,  extend  Education  and  promote  immigration. 

In  the  charges  against  the  Government  the  Opposition  were 
helped  by  the  appearance  of  J.  K.  Flemming  at  two  Conservative 
meetings,  while  the  Government  tried  to  prove  that  Mr.  Foster  and 
his  friends  were  in  close  touch  with  Hon.  Wm.  Pugsley,  M.P.,  a 
one-time  Provincial  Liberal  leader,  and  others  at  Ottawa.  In  their 
campaign  the  Opposition  claimed  that  the  Dugal  charges  and  in- 

*  See  preceding  volumes  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review  under  New  Brunswick 
affairs. 

t  See  pages  621-2,  The  Canadian  Annual  Reiicw  for  1916. 


700 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


vestigations  of  1916  had  forced  the  retirement  of  one  Premier,  while 
more  recent  irregularities  had  impelled  two  Conservative  members 
of  the  Legislature  to  retire;  that  alleged  but  uninvestigated  charges 
of  Government  collections  from  liquor  License-holders  in  St.  John 
were  true;  that  J.  K.  Finder,  M.L.A.,  had  received  $100,000  subsidy 
from  the  Dominion  and  Province  to  build  the  Southampton  Railway 
with  only  about  half  that  amount  expended  on  the  road;  that  the 
Farm  Settlement  Board  policy  for  assisting  settlers  and  purchasers 
of  abandoned  farms  had  been  turned  into  a  political  patronage 
department;  that  H.  F.  McLeod,  a  former  Provincial  Secretary,  in 
an  effort  to  obtain  money  from  ex-Premier  Flemming  for  a  political 
fight  in  York,  dictated  a  letter  in  which  he  stated  the  Government 
had  received  $100,000  from  one  builder  of  a  railway  section  and 
other  amounts  totalling  $237,000  for  Party  funds ;  that  this  and  more 
had  been  available  for  the  Elections  of  1912.  There  were  compli- 
cations in  the  Prohibition  matter.  Mr.  Foster  promised  that  he 
would  not  interfere  with  the  Act  as  passed  by  the  Government  but 
the  latter 's  supporters  pointed  to  the  Liberal  platform  of  1916  which 
declared  that  a  Prohibition  Act  would  be  passed  by  them  subject  to 
a  Referendum  and,  if  favourable,  to  enforcement  by  proclamation 
one  year  afterwards.  The  situation  was  met  in  part  by  candidates 
of  both  parties  being  asked  by  the  Temperance  interests  to  accept 
pledges  as  follows:  "(1)  Will  you,  if  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
support  the  present  Prohibitory  law  as  it  now  stands  upon  the 
Statute  book?  (2)  Will  you  oppose  any  amendment  intended,  or 
likely  to  weaken  the  Act  or  render  it  ineffective  or  hinder  its  becoming 
operative  on  May  1, 1917?  (3)  Will  you  use  your  influence  and  vote 
to  secure  the  proper  enforcement  of  the  law?"  By  Feb.  20  the 
Premier,  W.  E.  Foster,  C.  W.  Robinson,  Hon.  J.  B.  M.  Baxter, 
Hon.  A.  R.  Slipp,  Hon.  B.  Frank  Smith,  E.  S.  Carter,  J.  F.  Tweeddale 
and  Robert  Murray  had  signed,  with  others,  to  a  total  of  31  Conser- 
vatives and  23  Liberals.  On  Feb.  24  the  Election  returns  showed 
a  contest  in  every  constituency,  96  candidates  in  the  field,  and 
results  close — with,  however,  a  cutting  of  individual  Government 
majorities  and  large  personal  Liberal  majorities.  The  figures  showed 
21  for  the  Government  and  23  Opposition  with  Gloucester  deferred 
until  the  26th;  if  its  4  members  were  elected  to  support  the  Govern- 
ment there  would  be  a  small  majority.  But  it  went  the  other  way  and 
chose  Peter  J.  Veniot  and  three  other  Liberals — giving  the  Opposition 
a  majority  of  6  in  a  full  House.  The  details  were  as  follows: 


Counties       Candidate  Elected    Politics  Vote 

Albert Lewis  Smith Cons.  984 

John  L.  Peck 967 

Carleton Hon.  B.  Frank  Smith .  2,797 

W.  S.  Sutton 2,789 

G.  L.  White 2,739 

Charlotte . . .  Hon.  H.  I.  Taylor,  M.D.  2,555 

S.  D.  Guptill 2,454 

R.  W.  Grimmer 2,489 

Harry  W.  Smith 2,451 

Gloucester .  .  J.  P.  Byrne L  b.  3,652 

P.  J.  Veniot 3,648 

S.  Leger 3,647 

J.  G.  Robichaud 3,578 

Kent A.  A.  Dysart 2,356 

P.  P.  Melanson 2,350 

A.  J.  Bordage 2,325 


Candidate  Defeated    Politics  Vote 

W.  J.  Carnwath Lib.  911 

S.  S.  Ryan 903 

W.  F.  Jones 2,051 

G.  W.  Upham 2,047 

A.  McCain 2,052 

W.  F.  Todd 1,914 

Burton  Hill ,942 

H.R.Lawrence ,924 

Joseph  Gaskill ,877 

F.  C.  B.  Young Cons.  ,717 

J.  B.  Hachey ,706 

M.  J.  Robichaud ,647 

A.  P.  Robichaud ,639 

G.  A.  Hutchinson ,886 

Hon.  Dr.  D.  V.  Landry.       '  ,883 

F.O.Richard '  ,845 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS    701 


Counties 
King's 

Madawaska 

Northum- 
berland 

Queen's 

Restigouche 

St.  John 

(County) 

St.  John . . . 
(City) 

Sunbury.  •  • 

Westmore- 
land.... 


Moncton 
City... 
York:. 


Candidate  Elected    Politics 

Geo.  B.  Jones Cons. 

Hon.  J.  A.  Murray. . . 

H.  V.  Dickson 

L.  A.  Dugal Lib. 

J.  E.  Michaud 

J.  P.  Burchill 

Robert  Murray 

F.  G.  McGrath,  M.D..  . 

David  V.  Allain 

George  H.  King 

Dr.  J.  E.  Hetherington. 

.Wm.  Currie 

Arthur  LeBlanc 

Hon.  J.  B.  M.  Baxter.  Cons. 

T.  B.  Carson 

J.  R.  Campbell 

L.  P.  D.  Tilley 

F.  L.  Potts 

W.  F.  Roberts,  M.D...  .    L  b. 

,  D.  W.  Mersereau 

R.  B.  Smith 

E.  A.  Smith 

Fred.  Magee 

F.  J.  Sweeney 

C.  M.  Leger 

Hon.  C.  W.  Robinson. 


Vote      Candidate  Defeated 


Politics 
Lib. 


.W.  O.  Crocket,  M.D.  . .  Cons. 

S.  B.  Hunter 

Jas.  K.  Pinder 

John  A.  Young 

Victoria J.  R.  Burgess Lib. 

J.  F.  Tweeddale 


2,378  F.  E.  Sharpe 

2,342  Dr.  G.  N.  Pearson 

2,280  E.  S.  Carter 

1,805  C.  L.  Cyr Cons. 

1,792  J.  T.  Clair 

2,453  L.  Doyle 

2,350  J.  L.  Stewart 

2,304  F.  D.  Swim 

2,182  J.  A.  Gallant 

1,199  Hon.  A.  R.  Slipp 

1,169  Alfred  West 

1,708  D.  A.  Stewart 

1,699  Hon.  Arthur  Culligan. . 

1,141  W.  E.  Foster Lib 

1,083  A.  F.  Bentley 

3,695  P.  Grannan Cons. 

3,633  W.  E.  Scully Lib. 

3,547  W.  H.  Barnaby. . . 
3,543  J.  A.  Sinclair 

689  P.  Glasier Cons. 

685  G.  Perley 

3,585  A.  J.  Trites 

3,583  F.  B.  Black 

3,491  D.  G.  Mahoney .  .  . 

3,487  A.  J.  Legere 

1,388  Dr.  O.  B.  Price. . . . 


3,376  E.  Burtt Lib.  2,818 

3,363  A.  J.  Hughes 2,551 

3,343  W.  P.  Lawson 2,457 

3,170  A.  B.  Kitchen 2,417 

1,371  A.  E.  Kupkey Cons.  902 

1,365  J.  L.  White "  902 


Vote 

1,936 
1,888 
1,826 
682 
662 
1,732 
1,688 
1,629 
1,397 
1,147 
1,143 
1,513 
1,496 
1,000 
966 
3,483 
3,431 
3,397 
3,236 
600 
598 
2,981 
2,980 
2,919 
2,868 
1,248 


W.  E.  Foster  was  defeated  in  St.  John  and  E.  S.  Carter  in  King's; 
so  were  D.  V.  Landry,  A.  R.  Slipp  and  A.  P.  Culligan  of  the  Govern- 
ment. The  wiping  out  of  such  an  immense  majority  as  Mr.  Murray 
had  in  the  Legislature  was  a  matter  of  much  interest  and  inquiry  as 
to  causes  and  effects.  The  personal  and  admitted  prestige  of  Mr. 
Foster  had  something  to  do  with  it;  the  organizing  work  of  Messrs. 
Carter  and  Veniot  had  its  influence;  the  dislike  by  Intercolonial 
Railway  workmen  of  strict  management  and  Federal  cutting  of 
patronage  and  politics  in  the  I.C.R.,  with  charges  against  Mr. 
Gutelius,  General  Manager,  of  appointing  too  many  Americans, 
had  an  effect — notably  in  Moncton;  the  alleged  use  of  anti-Con- 
scriptionist  arguments  by  some  of  the  candidates  with  the  impli- 
cation that  the  return  of  the  Government  would  aid  Conscription — 
direct  charges  as  to  this  being  made  by  Dr.  O.  B.  Price  in  Andover, 
A.  P.  Culligan  in  Restigouche,  Senator  Bourque  in  Kent,  had  influence, 
the  public  dislike  of  continued  corruption  talk  with  some  obvious 
flame  to  the  smoke  was  a  factor;  the  election  of  Liberals  with  such 
Acadian  antecedents  and  names  as  Veniot,  S.  Leger,  Robichaud, 
Bourdage,  Melanson,  Dugal,  Michaud,  Allain,  Le  Blanc,  C.  M.  Leger 
and,  especially ,  the  results  in  Westmoreland,  Madawaska,  Restigouche 
and  Gloucester  indicated  that  the  French-Canadian  or  Acadian 
vote  had  gone  strongly  for  the  Opposition.  The  Federal  leaders 
kept  entirely  out  of  lie  contest ;  except  perhaps  for  inspiration  and 
guidance  by  Mr.  Carvell  and  many  of  the  Liberal  candidates  were 
not  in  the  field  until  Nomination  day;  Messrs.  C.  W.  Robinson  and 
F.  J.  Sweeney  of  the  old-time  Liberal  Government  were  elected. 
As  to  the  Acadian  issue  the  Fredericton  Gleaner  went  so  far  as  to 
charge  that  the  results  in  18  out  of  27  Liberals  seats  were  due  to 
this  vote.  It  may  be  noted  that  whether  the  constituency  had  one, 


702  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

two,  three  or  four  seats,  each  elector  had  as  many  votes  as  there  were 
seats. 

Whatever  the  exact  causes  a  new  and  clean  sweep  in  politics 
and  government  had  become  inevitable.  A  meeting  of  the  Opposi- 
tion members  was  held  on  Mar.  7  and  Mr.  Foster  unanimously 
re-affirmed  Leader  of  the  Party  with  arrangements  made  for  a  new 
seat;  at  the  same  date  E.  S.  Carter,  organizer  and  Press  agent  in 
the  Elections,  told  the  St.  John  Standard  that  "the  Provincial 
Government  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  question  of  Con- 
scription as  that  matter  is  entirely  for  consideration  by  the  Domin- 
ion Government."  It  was  said  by  the  Government  press  that  C.  W. 
Robinson,  P.  J.  Veniot,  E.  S.  Carter  and  F.  B.  Carvell,  M.P.,  were  all 
in  line  for  the  Premiership  but  this  did  not  appear  in  the 
Conference.  The  seat  decided  upon  for  Mr.  Foster  was  Victoria 
where  James  Burgess  retired  in  his  favour.  Meantime,  the  Murray 
Government  held  office  and  did  so  until  Mar.  29,  despite  some 
Opposition  press  protests;  on  that  date  it  was  announced  that  all 
arrears  of  business  had  been  cleared  up,  including  the  afterwards- 
discussed  award  of  a  contract  for  erection  of  the  Perry  Point  bridge 
in  King's  County.  Mr.  Foster  was  called  upon  to  form  a  Govern- 
ment (Mar.  30)  and  took  some  days  to  settle  the  various  claims  and 
adjust  conditions — with  the  generous  aid  of  Hon.  C.  W.  Robinson, 
the  Prime  Minister  of  1908  days.  On  Apr.  4  the  new  Government 
was  announced  and  sworn  in  as  follows: 

Prime  Minister  and  President  of  the  Council ....  Hon.  Walter  Edward  Foster. 

Attorney-General Hon.  James  P.  Byrne,  K.C. 

Minister  of  Lands  &  Mines Hon.  Ernest  Albert  Smith,  D.D.S. 

Provincial  Secretary-Treasurer Hon.  Robert  Murray,  K.C. 

Minister  of  Public  Works Hon.  Peter  John  Veniot. 

Minister  of  Agriculture Hon.  John  Fletcher  Tweeddale. 

Minister  Without  Portfolio Hon.  Clifford  Wm.  Robinson,  K.C. 

Minister  Without  Portfolio Hon.  Louis  Auguste  Dugal. 

Minister  Without  Portfolio Hon.  Wm.  Francis  Roberts,  M.D. 

It  was  emphatically  a  new  Cabinet;  Mr.  Foster  and  two  others  had 
never  sat  in  the  Legislature,  only  Mr.  Robinson  had  ever  had  Cabinet 
experience,  Mr.  Dugal  was  the  only  one  who  had  sat  in  the  last 
House.  All  the  Ministers  were  re-elected  by  acclamation  and  E.  S. 
Carter  became  General  Secretary  to  the  Premier.  The  first  actions 
of  the  Government  included  a  cancellation  of  the  contract  for  con- 
structing the  Perry  Point  bridge;  the  dismissal  of  High  Sheriff  J.  R. 
Tompkins  of  Carleton  and  the  appointment  of  A.  R.  Foster;  the 
appointment,  upon  recommendation  of  the  Dominion  Alliance,  of 
the  Rev.  Wm.  D.  Wilson  as  Chief  Inspector  under  the  Prohibition 
Act;  the  appointment  of  Lieut. -Col.  J.  L.  McAvity  as  A.D.C.  to  the 
Lieut.-Governor,  of  Myles  B.  Dixon,  K.C.,  to  be  Clerk  of  the  Execu- 
tive Council  and  of  W.  R.  Reek  to  be  Deputy  Minister  of  Agri- 
culture in  place  of  J.  B.  Daggett  resigned;  the  removal  of  Geo. 
Gilbert  as  Judge  of  Probates  in  Gloucester  and  appointment  of 
J.  L.  Ryan ;  appointment  of  a  large  Increased  Production  Committee 
which  chose  an  Executive  Committee  composed  of  E.  A.  Schofield, 
St.  John,  A.  E.  Trites,  Salisbury,  G.  E.  Fisher,  Chatham,  W.  W. 
Boyce,  Fredericton,  Charles  Shaw,  Hartland,  B.  R.  Violette,  St. 
Leonards,  to  act  with  Hon.  J.  F.  Tweeddale  and  W.  R.  Reek,  Deputy 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS  703 

Minister  of  Agriculture.  The  Legislature  was  at  once  called  and 
opened  on  May  10  by  His  Honour  Josiah  Wood  with  a  Speech  from 
the  Throne  which  referred  to  the  retirement  of  the  Duke  and  Duch- 
ess of  Connaught  and  the  coming  of  a  new  Governor-General  and 
expressed  regret  for  the  death  of  the  Hon.  G.  J.  Clarke,  the  late 
Premier;  welcomed  the  coming  of  the  United  States  into  the  War 
and  declared  that  "  the  valour  and  courage  displayed  by  our  Canadian 
soldiers  on  the  many  battlefields  of  France  and  Flanders,  in  which 
they  have  been  engaged,  and  in  which  the  soldiers  of  our  own  Pro- 
vince have  borne  such  a  conspicuous  part,  have  been  such  as  to 
make  our  breasts  swell  with  pride  and  admiration";  urged  the  people 
to  respond  more  and  more  generously  to  appeals  for  War  Funds  and 
indicated  Government  assistance  for  returned  soldiers  in  arrange- 
ments for  a  Tuberculosis  Sanatorium  and  Convalescent  Hospital; 
congratulated  the  farmers  upon  an  abundant  crop  and  urged  increased 
production;  stated  as  to  the  St.  John  Valley  Railway  that  "the  con- 
struction will  be  continued  as  speedily  as  possible  in  order  that  it 
may  be  taken  over  and  operated  by  the  Department  of  Railways  of 
Canada  at  an  early  date,  and  that  a  Commissioner  has  been  appointed 
to  enquire  into  the  affairs  of  the  Saint  John  and  Quebec  Railway 
Co.";  intimated  that  a  firm  of  Chartered  Accountants  of  the  highest 
reputation  had  been  engaged  to  make  a  thorough  audit  of  the 
Finances;  announced  that  the  Prohibition  Act  had  come  into  oper- 
ation on  May  1  in  certain  Counties;  stated  that  the  question  of 
permanent  roads  had  received  attention,  a  competent  Engineer 
engaged  and  survey  arranged  for  with  a  view  to  establishing, 
promptly,  a  comprehensive  system ;  promised  various  items  of  legis- 
lation. 

Wm.  Currie,  Restigouche,  was  elected  Speaker  and  the  Address 
was  moved  by  D.  W.  Mersereau  of  Sunbury,  and  A.  T.  Le  Blanc, 
Restigouche.  An  incident  of  Mr.  Mersereau's  speech  was  a  slighting 
reference  to  Royalty  which  the  Opposition  Leader  met  with  a 
"God  Save  the  King"  comment  and  cheers  from  a  part  of  the 
members.*  J.  B.  M.  Baxter  moved  an  Opposition  amendment  on 
May  15  declaring  that  "in  view  of  the  large  number  of  appointments 
which  have  been  made  to  the  Public  Service,  by  the  present  Adminis- 
tration, we  desire  to  express  our  regret  that  the  claims  of  returned 
soldiers,  who  have  seen  actual  service  at  the  Front,  do  not  appear  to 
have  received  that  consideration  which  their  services  merit."  It 
was  defeated  by  25  to  19  after  which  the  Address  passed  without 
division;  the  Opposition  press  doing  its  best  to  arouse  dissatisfaction 
in  this  matter.  On  June  6-8  Conscription  was  debated  upon  a 
Resolution  by  F.  L.  Potts  and  Lewis  Smith  of  the  Opposition, 
declaring  that  the  Legislature  "places  itself  on  record  as  approving 
of  the  policy  of  securing  men  for  Canada's  fighting  forces  by  Selective 
Draft  at  once ;  and  of  such  war  measures  as  may  be  deemed  necessary 
for  the  control  of  food  supplies  and  prices,  and  such  measures  of 
taxation  as  may  be  deemed  to  be  in  the  best  interest  of  Canada  for 

*  The  Official  Revised  Report  did  not  contain  this  reference  in  Mr.  Mersereau's 
speech,  but  it  did  contain  the  quotation  and  criticisms  in  those  of  Hon.  J.  A.  Murray 
and  F.  L.  Potts. 


704  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  prosecution  of  this  great  war."  Mr.  Premier  Foster  and  L.  A. 
Dugal  proposed  approval  of  the  latter  part  of  the  motion  but  stated 
as  to  the  first  that  "the  question  of  raising  the  said  forces  is  a  matter 
purely  under  the  jurisdiction  and  control  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment and  Parliament,  who  are  now  endeavouring,  by  series  of 
conferences,  to  arrive  at  a  satisfactory  solution  thereof;  therefore 
it  would  be  inadvisable  at  this  time  to  interfere"  and  added  that 
the  country  at  large  would  support  "any  conclusion  mutually 
agreed  upon  by  the  Leaders  of  the  respective  Parties."  J.  B.  M. 
Baxter  and  L.  P.  D.  Tilley,  Conservatives,  moved  a  further  amend- 
ment much  along  the  lines  of  the  original  motion.  Finally,  a  com- 
promise was  effected  on  motion  of  the  Premier  and  Hon.  J.  A. 
Murray  and  carried  unanimously  as  follows:  "That  in  the  opinion 
of  this  House  the  people  of  New  Brunswick  will  loyally  support 
any  measures  for  the  augmentation  of  our  military  strength,  which 
the  exigencies  of  the  time  may  render  necessary,  and  that  it  is  highly 
desirable  that  any  such  measures  should  be  the  product  of  mutual 
co-operation  by  the  leaders  of  political  thought  in  this  Dominion." 
At  this  time  a  technical  question  came  up  as  to  the  legality  of 
the  election  of  Hon.  R.  Murray  and  A.  A.  Dysart — the  former 
holding  the  post  of  Master  in  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  latter  that 
of  Parish  Court  Commissioner.  J.  B.  M.  Baxter  brought  up  the 
matter  on  May  30,  declared  the  seats  technically  vacant  and  pro- 
posed that  the  matter  be  referred  to  the  Supreme  Court ;  the  Attorney- 
General  (Hon.  J.  P.  Byrne)  disagreed  with  this  conclusion  on  the 
ground  that  any  remuneration  received  was  in  fees;  on  June  20 
Messrs.  Baxter  and  J.  A.  Murray  moved,  for  the  Opposition,  that 
the  matter  be  referred  to  a  Committee;  the  Premier  and  Mr.  Byrne 
moved  in  amendment,  and  carried  it  on  division,  a  declaration  that 
the  subject  was  technical  and  of  no  injury  to  the  House  and  that 
no  useful  purpose  would  be  served  by  further  action.  Meanwhile, 
the  question  of  finances  had  been  a  considerable  issue  in  the  Elec- 
tions and  Hon.  D.  V.  Landry,  Treasurer,  under  date  of  Mar.  15, 
1917,  and  after  the  Elections,  issued  the  Public  Accounts  statement 
for  the  year  of  Oct.  31,  1916.  The  direct  Provincial  liabilities  were 
given  as  $10,800,646  in  Provincial  Stock  and  Debentures;  the  in- 
direct ones  consisted  of  $6,263,000  of  Guaranteed  securities,  of 
which  the  St.  John  &  Quebec  Railway  was  responsible  for  $4,250,000. 
He  showed  the  total  ordinary  revenue  and  expenditure  during  the 
period  of  Conservative  rule  as  having  only  increased  from  $1,259,826 
of  revenue  and  $1,255,381  of  expenditure  in  1909  to  $1,580,419 
and  $1,568,342  respectively  in  1916.  As  soon  as  the  new  Govern- 
ment took  office  Price  Waterhouse  &  Co.  of  Montreal  were  instructed 
to  examine  the  books  and  accounts  of  the  Province  and  they  duly 
reported  on  June  11  deprecating  certain  methods,  suggesting  other 
modes  of  accounting,  re-adjusting  some  items  in  the  accounts  and 
providing  a  revised  balance  sheet  after  making  the  St.  John  & 
Quebec  Railway  bonds  a  direct  liability.  The  total  Liabilities  of 
the  Province,  therefore,  became  $16,262,793  as  on  Oct.  31,  1916; 
similarly  the  Assets  were  made  to  include  the  Railway  assets  and  to 
total  $16,262,793.  The  current  assets  were  stated  at  $838,514  and 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS  705 

the  current  liabilities  at  the  same  figure  with  a  stated  deficit  under 
the  new  system  of  $706,833  on  Oct.  31,  1916— instead  of  $12,000 
surplus  as  given  by  Mr.  Landry.  On  June  7  Hon.  C.  W.  Robinson 
had  delivered  his  Budget  Speech  in  which  he  stated  the  figures  on 
Mar.  31,  1917,  to  be  as  follows:* 

Capital  Debt $16,339,639.13 

Current  Debt 763,321.73 


Total $17,102,960.86 

Required  to  complete  Valley  Railway,  Gagetown  to  Westfield 1,000,000.00 

Required  to  complete  permanent  Bridges 550,000.00 

Contingent  liability  on  Bonds  guaranteed 2,013,000.00 

Total $20,665,960.86 

The  Bonded  debt  in  1908  was  placed  at  $5,834,533  and  in  1916  at 
$9,109,059.  The  Treasurer  estimated  the  ordinary  revenue  for 
Oct.  31,  1917,  at  $1,564,365,  and  the  expenditures — inclusive  of 
interest  on  the  Railway  bonds — at  $1,959,441.  Messrs.  J.  A. 
Murray  and  Baxter  replied  at  length  for  the  late  Government  and 
handled  a  great  mass  of  figures  to  prove  the  late  Treasurer  correct 
in  methods  and  facts ;  Mr.  Murray  also  reviewed  the  general  situation 
and  declared  that  the  new  Government  could  not  evade  responsibility 
for  the  dismissal  of  hundreds  of  competent  officials  from  the 
Public  Service,  for  appointments  made  without  any  arrangements 
as  to  remuneration,  for  the  increase  in  the  number  of  members  of 
the  Government  and  consequent  added  cost  to  the  Province,  for 
increased  expenditure  on  steam  navigation  and  for  the  proposed 
addition  to  the  Public  Debt  for  permanent  bridges  and  the  build- 
ing of  highways.  All  these  and  many  other  things  were  a  part  of 
the  financial  requirements  of  the  Province  and  his  Government  had 
attended  to  them  properly.  At  the  close  of  the  year  W.  A.  Londoun, 
Auditor-General,  published  the  figures  for  the  year  ending  Oct.  31, 
1917,  which  showed  an  ordinary  revenue  of  $1,572,818  and  ordinary 
expenditures  of  $1,988,267,  or  a  deficit  of  $416,000;  capital  and  other 
special  expenditure  beyond  this  ordinary  total  was  $1,677,021 — 
including  $851,922  upon  bridges,  roads,  etc.  A  non-partisan  matter 
was  the  passage  on  June  22  of  a  Resolution,  moved  by  Hon.  Mr. 
Baxter  (Cons.)  and  Fred.  Magee  (Lib.)  and  passed  unanimously, 
which  declared  that: 

Whereas,  the  growth  and  development  of  the  Western  Provinces  of  Canada  have 
been  much  greater  in  the  past  than  that  of  the  Maritime  Provinces,  and  are  likely  to 
be  still  greater  after  the  War;  and  Whereas,  the  representation  of  the  Maritime 
Provinces  in  the  Dominion  Parliament  is  not  likely  to  increase,  and  possibly  may  be 
decreased  if  the  population  of  such  Provinces  shall  not  increase  proportionately  to 
that  of  Canada  as  a  whole;  and  Whereas,  it  is  becoming  more  and  more  important 
that  there  shall  be  unity  of  aim  and  action  among  the  representatives  of  the  Maritime 
Provinces  in  the  Dominion  Parliament  so  that  the  said  Provinces  may  obtain  from 
the  development  of  Canada  such  advantages  in  commerce  and  transportation  as  will 
give  them  a  fair  share  in  the  benefits  accruing  from  the  development  of  our  country; 
and  Whereas,  the  assembling  together  of  representative  men  of  the  Maritime  Prov- 
inces in  the  transaction  of  public  business  would  tend  to  promote  community  of  aim, 
unity  of  action  and  a  wider  understanding  of  the  needs  of  these  communities;  There- 
fore Resolved,  that  this  House  would  favourably  regard  any  action  which  the  Govern- 
ment may  be  disposed  to  take  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  the  Provinces 

*  Confirmed  in  the  Price- Waterhouse  Report. 
45 


706  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  Nova  Scotia  and  Prince  Edward  Island  or  either  of  them  would  be  willing  to  con- 
sider the  question  of  Legislative  Union  of  the  Maritime  Provinces. 

Legislation  of  the  Session  included  the  creation  of  the  post  of  Deputy 
Attorney-General;  an  Act  for  the  repair,  etc.,  of  roads  and  bridges 
and  public  works  under  public  tender  and  with  the  persons  to  whom 
the  expenditure  of  moneys  was  entrusted  having  the  right  to  a  rate 
of  10%  of  the  sum  or  to  receive  specified  remuneration  from  the 
Minister;  a  measure  authorizing  the  Government  to  borrow  $500,000 
to  be  expended  on  Permanent  Bridges — the  income  from  the  Motor 
Vehicle  Tax  to  be  used  for  payment  of  interest — and  another  Loan  of 
$700,000  authorized  for  the  same  purpose ;  authorization  of  a  Govern- 
ment Loan  of  $2,190,000  in  order  to  refund  N.B.  Government 
stock  held  in  London,  and  $4,250,000  to  be  obtained  elsewhere 
than  London;  an  Act  compelling  Licenses  of  Crown  Lands  and 
exporters  of  pulp-wood  to  furnish  details  yearly  of  the  lumber  cut 
and  wood  exported;  the  imposition  of  a  tax  on  wild-lands  from  1 
to  2  cents  an  acre  and  for  better  enforcement  of  Succession  duties 
against  evasion;  an  addition  to  the  General  Mining  Act,  providing 
certain  rights-of-way  for  roads  or  railways  connecting  with  a  mining 
property  under  specific  conditions;  amendments  to  the  Motor 
Vehicles  Act  providing  for  dimming  headlights,  for  an  age  limit 
of  18  years  for  chauffeurs,  changing  the  owner's  annual  fee  to  60 
cents  for  every  100  Ibs.  weight  of  motor  cars,  charging  motor  cycles 
$3.00  each  and  motor  trucks,  etc.,  $10  up  to  2  tons  and  over  that 
$5.00  for  each  additional  ton  or  fraction  thereof;  an  Act  consolidating 
and  amending  the  Marriage  Act — enforcing  the  publication  of 
banns  and  ceremony  by  a  recognized  Church  minister;  amendments 
of  numerous  character  to  the  Game  Act  and  for  the  protection  of 
sheep  from  dogs;  validating,  under  an  Act  to  confirm  Canadian 
Patriotic  Fund  assessments,  the  imposition  upon  certain  counties, 
cities  and  towns  of  sums  which  for  1917  totalled  $518,087;  an  Act 
to  facilitate  drainage  of  farm  lands  and  another  authorizing  cities, 
towns  and  municipalities  to  purchase  food  and  other  necessities  for 
the  inhabitants  during  the  War;  provision  for  the  earlier  closing 
of  shops;  amendments  to  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Act  limiting 
the  total  in  case  of  death  to  $1,500  as  a  minimum  and  $2,500  as  a 
maximum,  setting  the  sum  for  total  or  partial  incapacity  at  $6  to  $16 
per  week  or  75%  of  weekly  average  wages  during  previous  12  months 
or  for  lesser  period  of  actual  employment,  and  giving  the  Supreme 
Court  Judges  power  to  issue  orders  for  such  payments;  enlarging 
the  powers  of  the  Commission  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  workings 
of  the  Ontario  and  Nova  Scotia  Compensation  Acts;  a  measure 
regulating  and  re-arranging  the  grants  and  management  of  Public 
Hospitals;  an  Act  respecting  shorthand  reporting  in  certain  Courts 
and  another  respecting  Executions  on  judgments  in  certain  Courts. 
An  important  measure  was  that  amending  the  Prohibition  Act 
which  had  gone  into  operation  on  May  1.  It  strengthened  the  Act 
in  certain  details  but  the  clause  bringing  into  force  the  Doherty 
Act  (Federal)  under  which  the  importation  of  liquor  for  private 
purposes  would  have  been  stopped  was  dropped  by  the  Government ; 
one  provision  was  that  a  magistrate  might,  instead  of  ordering  seized 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS  707 

liquor  to  be  destroyed,  have  it  sent  to  a  Hospital ;  another  permitted 
beer  shops  to  keep  open  until  11.30  instead  of  ten  as  in  the  original 
Act.  The  Act  as  to  the  St.  John  &  Quebec  Railway  Co.  empowered 
the  Government  to  extend  time  for  the  completion  of  the  Gagetown- 
Westfield  section  and  to  act  in  respect  to  Dominion  subsidies  and 
agreements;  to  reduce  the  Directors  to  three  and  to  issue  bonds  up 
to  $1,000,000  for  further  construction  of  the  Railway;  to  place 
(definite  instruction)  moneys  received  from  the  Government  of 
Canada  as  subsidies  or  from  the  Prudential  Trust  Co.  on  account 
of  the  old  Company,  in  a  Sinking  Fund;  to  take  over  satisfactory 
highways  built  by  the  Company  or  in  course  of  construction;  to* 
expropriate  and  pay  for  lands  for  right-of-way  and  to  cancel  any 
existing  contracts  for  building  the  Railway,  with  compensation; 
to  enter  into  agreement  with  the  Dominion  Government  in  respect 
to  any  moneys  still  held  from  former  arrangements.  A  second 
Act  authorized  the  Government  to  take  rails  from  the  Northern 
N.B.  &  Seabord  Railway  for  use  on  the  St.  John  line  and  to  arrange 
for  compensation  either  by  agreement  or  by  arbitration.  As  to 
this  situation  Hon.  W.  E.  Foster  stated  in  the  House  on  June  20 
that  work  now  under  contract  would  cost  in  round  figures  $1,000,000: 
"Against  this  the  Company  should  have  available  $168,884  subsidy 
due  on  the  Gagetown-Centreville  section,  $256,000  subsidy  due  on 
the  Gagetown-Westfield  section,  and  $519,000  in  the  hands  of  the 
Prudential  Trust  Company,  or  a  total  of  $943,885."  Another  measure 
ratified  the  sale  of  the  property,  franchise,  etc.,  of  the  St.  John 
Railway  Co. — an  electric  public  utility  in  that  city — to  the  New 
Brunswick  Power  Co.,  and  some  financial  criticism  touched  the 
fact  that  a  1st  mortgage  5%  bond  issue  of  the  former  Company  was 
eliminated  and  in  lieu  of  their  lien  upon  the  whole  property  of  the 
Company  the  bond-holders  were  provided  with  Dominion  Govern- 
ment 5%  bonds  held  in  trust  and  just  sufficient  to  cover  interest 
and  retire  the  issue  at  maturity.  Woman's  Suffrage,  as  in  Nova 
Scotia,  met  with  defeat.  A  Bill  was  presented  by  Hon.  Dr.  W.  F. 
Roberts  (Lib.)  (May  29)  with  the  statement  that  it  was  the  final 
outcome  of  years  of  effort  on  the  part  of  the  ladies  of  New  Brunswick 
and  was  promoted  by  the  W.C.T.U.,  the  King's  Daughters  and 
other  women's  organizations,  and  that  it  would  give  women  equal 
suffrage  with  men.  On  June  20,  after  long  discussion  in  Committee, 
it  was  defeated  by  25  to  14  with  Hon.  Mr.  Veniot  as  the  leading 
opponent  backed  by  Messrs.  Tweeddale,  Dugal,  and  Smith  of  the 
Government;  it  was  voted  for  by  Messrs.  J.  A.  Murray,  Baxter  and 
Smith  of  the  late  Government  and  by  the  Premier,  Hon.  R. 
Murray  and  Hon.  J.  P.  Byrne  of  the  existing  Government.  The 
House  was  prorogued  on  June  22. 

Following  this,  on  June  28,  the  important  post  of  Lieut.-Governor 
was  vacated  through  the  term  of  Hon.  Josiah  Wood  having  expired, 
and  Gilbert  W.  Ganong,  M.P.  for  Charlotte  in  1900-1908  was 
appointed.  His  Honour  died  on  Oct.  31  and  he  was  succeeded  (Nov. 
6)  by  the  Hon.  Wm.  Pugsley,  K.C.,  D.C.L.,  M.P.  since  1907,  formerly 
Premier  of  the  Province  and  Dominion  Minister  of  Public  Works. 
He  was  the  first  prominent  Liberal  appointee  of  the  new  Union 


708  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Government;  at  the  same  time  Hon.  J.  D.  Hazen,  Minister  of  Marine 
and  Fisheries,  became  Chief  Justice  in  succession  to  Sir  Ezekiel 
McLeod.  The  new  post  of  Deputy  Attorney-General  under  the 
Foster  Government  was  filled  by  T.  Carleton  Allen,  K.C.,  of  St. 
John;  M.  V.  Paddock  was  appointed  Provincial  Analyst.  In 
September  the  Premier  asked  the  Returned  Soldiers'  Aid  Commission 
to  suggest  a  war  veteran  for  a  vacancy  on  the  Board  of  Motion 
Picture  Censors  and  Fred.  Hyatt  was  recommended  and  appointed. 
An  incident  at  the  close  of  the  year  was  the  application  of  L.  R. 
Ross,  President  of  the  N.B.  Power  Co.,  Ltd.,  to  the  Public  Utilities 
Commission  for  permission  to  increase  rates  in  its  Street  railway, 
electric  and  gas  services.  Higher  prices  for  everything  was  given 
as  the  reason  and  Mr.  Ross,  on  Dec.  3,  stated  that  "the  Company 
used  20,000  tons  of  coal  per  year  and  that  it  had  concluded  to  buy 
new  cars  but  found  that  while  they  cost  $4,000  in  1914  they  would 
now  cost  the  prohibitive  figure  of  $12,000."  So  with  wages  which 
must  be  advanced:  "Further  money  is  required  for  the  proper  de- 
velopment of  our  system;  we  have  plans  by  spending  approximately 
$2,000,000  to  then  reduce  the  rate  on  electricity.  A  further  $120,000 
would  rebuild  the  present  gas  plant  or  it  would  take  $420,000  to 
construct  a  new  plant  on  a  new  site.  Either  of  these  things  would 
immediately  give  cheaper  gas.  The  programme  of  the  street  rail- 
way part  of  our  system  means  an  expenditure  of  over  $300,000  spread 
over  three  years  and  this  would  result  then  in  a  better  service." 
Advertisements  were  put  in  the  press  and  every  effort  made  to  obtain 
public  support  but  in  the  end  the  application  was  withdrawn — 
Dec.  27. 

A  political  issue  of  recent  years  involving  some  of  the  Conservative 
politicians  and,  notably,  ex-Premier  J.  K.  Flemming,  in  their  asso- 
ciation with  the  Valley  Railway  construction,  its  contracts  and  con- 
tributions to  party  funds,  or  gifts  to  promoting  interests,  was  all 
threshed  out  again  before  a  Commission  composed  of  J.  M.  Stevens, 
K.C.  It  was  appointed  by  the  new  Foster  Government  to  inquire 
into  conditions  surrounding  the  Railway's  independent  career  and 
final  taking  over  by  the  late  Government.  During  June,  July  and 
August  a  number  of  prominent  men  testified.  G.  Howard  Lindsay, 
Managing  Director  of  the  Nova  Scotia  Construction  Co.,  in  charge 
of  some  of  the  Railway  work,  swore  on  June  19  that  "no  person 
connected  with  the  late  Government,  directly  or  indirectly,  had  ever 
asked  either  him  or  his  Company  to  contribute  one  dollar  to  any 
alleged  campaign  fund."  W.  B.  Tennant  was  his  Agent  and  partner 
on  a  profit  basis  in  New  Brunswick  and  was  instrumental  in  getting 
and  keeping  contracts;  to  him  he  admitted  paying  $20,000  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1917,  and  $100,000  on  May  9,  1916.  Another  person  trying 
to  secure  contracts  was  Thos.  Nagle  with  whom  Kennedy  and  Mc- 
Donald were  concerned.  Witnesses  as  to  certain  phases  of  the  com- 
plicated tangle  of  contracts  and  wire-pulling  included  men  of  busi- 
ness reputation  such  as  Richard  O'Leary,  F.  W.  Sumner,  W.  S. 
Fisher,  J.  D.  Palmer  and  other  Directors  of  the  late  St.  John  &  Quebec 
Railway  Co.  They  knew  nothing  of  the  alleged  graft.  Alex. 
Macdonald,  one  of  the  contractors,  swore  on  Aug.  4,  that  F.  B.  Car- 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS  709 

veil,  K.C.,  was  aware  of  an  engagement  by  Kennedy  &  Macdonald 
to  pay  $20,000  for  the  purpose  of  securing  their  sub-contract,  and 
that  he,  personally,  dictated  an  agreement  making  Thomas  Nagle 
a  partner  in  the  concern;  Mr.  Carvell  stated  that  he  had  given  cer- 
tain legal  advice  and  no  more.  He  was  now  appearing  for  the 
Government  in  the  case,  while  M.  G.  Teed,  K.C.,  represented  the 
N.S.  Construction  Co.,  and  R.  B.  Hanson,  K.C.,  appeared  for  the 
former  Directors.  W.  S.  Fisher,  a  man  of  high  standing,  stated 
that  he  had  resigned  his  Directorship  because  he  did  not  believe 
in  new  contracts  and  construction  during  the  war.  As  to  the  rest 
the  Government  "gave  the  Company  Directors  a  very  free  hand 
and  did  not  interfere  in  any  way."  Like  his  colleagues  he  had  not 
known  of  any  payments  to  W.  B.  Tennant  and  did  not  know 
why  such  moneys  should  have  been  paid  to  him  or  anyone  else. 
L.  B.  Smith  and  E.  L.  Merrithew,  contractors,  swore  on  Aug.  15 
that  "no  political  influence  had  been  used  in  their  behalf,  that  they 
had  made  no  contributions  to  campaign  funds  and  had  given  no 
consideration  to  anyone  in  connection  with  their  sub-contract  or 
the  prices  they  received  for  it."  Other  evidence  seemed  to  show 
that  Thos.  Nagle  had  received  $20,000  from  somewhere. 

W.  B.  Tennant  testified  on  Aug.  17  as  to  the  $120,000  paid  to 
him  and  two  days  before  this  P.  F.  Blanchet,  Chartered  Accountant, 
on  behalf  of  the  Commissioner,  wrote  that  he  had  examined  Mr. 
Tennant's  bank-books  and  cheques  and  accounts  and  found  all  of 
this  money  largely  accounted  for  in  personal  matters  with  $8,000 
of  political  subscriptions.  The  Commission  then  adjourned  and 
on  the  20th  Mr.  Tennant  wrote  to  the  press  summarizing  the  evi- 
dence brought  out  by  the  Inquiry  as  follows:  "  (1)  The  arrangements 
between  the  N.S.  Construction  Co.  and  myself  were  purely  of  a 
business  nature ;  (2)  no  undue  political  influence  was  used  in  securing 
the  contract;  (3)  no  member  of  the  Government  or  Valley  Railway 
Director  knew  of  existing  arrangements  between  the  Company  and 
myself."  Then  from  another  source  came  a  startling  statement 
by  A.  R.  Gould,  an  American,  and  former  President  of  the  St.  John 
&  Quebec  Railway — in  certain  arbitration  proceedings  before  Justice 
H.  A.  McKeown  which  arose  from  Mr.  Gould's  claim  for  compen- 
sation as  a  result  of  the  late  Government's  action  in  taking  the 
Railway  out  of  his  hands.  The  session  of  Aug.  16  was  dealing  with 
the  circumstances  under  which  Mr.  Gould  had  continued  the  work 
of  construction  after  his  financial  backers  had  failed  to  float  2nd 
mortgage  bonds  to  the  extent  of  $10,000  per  mile.  Mr.  Gould 
testified  that  Hon.  J.  K.  Flemming,  then  Premier,  in  private  con- 
versation, had  assured  him  that  he  desired  the  witness  to  go  on  with 
the  work,  and  told  him  how  it  could  be  arranged  without  the  sale 
of  the  bonds.  The  testimony  then  showed  how  it  was  financed 
through  the  Prudential  Trust  Co.  of  Montreal,  until  the  Legislature 
had  met  and  agreed  that  the  Province  would  guarantee  the  bonds  in 
order  to  make  them  saleable.  At  this  point  Mr.  Carvell  asked: 
"Did  you  pay  anything  to  Mr.  Flemming  for  the  contract?"  With 
considerable  reluctance,  and  at  first  only  indirectly,  Mr.  Gould 
made  the  admission  that  he  had  agreed  to  pay  Mr.  Flemming  the 


710  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

sum  of  $100,000  and  that  he  had  paid  more  than  $75,000  to  the 
then  Premier  personally  and  the  balance  at  his  direction.  The 
money  was,  he  said,  taken  out  of  an  advance  of  $350,000  made  by 
the  Prudential  Trust  Co.  of  Montreal — the  payment  to  Mr.  Flemming 
being  in  the  spring  of  1912  prior  to  the  Provincial  Elections.  W.  B. 
Tennant  then  swore  that  $20,000  of  the  money  received  by  him  from 
the  N.S.  Construction  Co.  went  for  political  purposes. 

Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  statement  of  Dr.  B.  M.  Mullin 
on  Jan.  4,  that:  "The  St.  John  River  from  its  mouth  to  its  source 
is  a  big  sewer  so  far  as  New  Brunswick  is  concerned;  sewage,  refuse 
and  garbage  are  thrown  indiscriminately  into  the  river  and  the 
public  health  continues  to  suffer."  The  Social  Service  Council 
(Mar.  28)  urged  the  establishment  of  a  Maritime  Provinces  home  for 
Feeble-minded  children  and  appointed  a  Committee  to  collect  infor- 
mation and  suggest  working  plans;  the  N.B.  Temperance  Alliance 
met  at  Fredericton  on  Apr.  5  and  announced  energetic  steps  for  the 
repeal  of  the  Scott  Act  in  various  counties,  in  favour  of  the  new 
Provincial  Act,  with  arrangements  for  the  enforcement  of  Prohibition ; 
on  May  1st  50  retail  dealers,  6  hotel  bars,  12  wholesale  dealers  and  3 
breweries  discontinued  local  business  in  St.  John  and  the  new  Act 
came  into  operation  with  the  sale  of  liquor  absolutely  prohibited 
except  that  licensed  dealers,  under  very  stringent  regulations,  could 
sell  it  for  medicinal  and  sacramental  purposes.  In  an  interview  in 
the  Halifax  Herald  (Oct.  27)  Rev.  W.  D.  Wilson,  Chief  Inspector, 
explained  some  of  his  large  powers  and  stated  that:  "The  law  permits 
the  use  of  liquors  in  private  houses,  providing  the  householder  can 
get  it  there — and  the  Chief  Inspector  consents."  Various  organi- 
zations elected  their  chiefs  as  follows : 

Royal  Kennebecasis  Yacht  Club Comr.  F.  P.  Starr St.  John. 

Barristers'  Society  of  New  Brunswick W.  A.  Ewing,  K.C St.  John. 

New  Brunswick  Tourist  Association J.  E.  Secord St.  John. 

New  Brunswick  Retail  Merchants'  Association.  .A.  O.  Skinner St.  John. 

Grand  Lodge,  A.P.  &  A.M D.  C.  Clark St.  John. 

Masonic  Arch  Chapter Jasper  J.  Daly St.  John. 

New  Brunswick  Medical  Society F.  H.  Wetmore,   M.D Hampton . 

Sons  of  Temperance .James  Falconer N.  Castle. 

I.O.G.T.  of  New  Brunswick E.  N.  Stockford St.  John. 

United  Baptist  Women's  Missionary  Union Mrs.  David  Hutchinson..  .St.  John. 

Natural  History  Society James  A.  Estey St.  John. 

Grand  Orange  Lodge  of  New  Brunswick — Ladies' 

Association Mrs.  J.  A.  McAvity St.  John. 

Grand  Orange  Lodge  of  New  Brunswick E.  H.  Clarkson Stanley. 

New   Brunswick   Branch:     Canadian    Red    Cross 

Society Mayor  R.  T.  Hayes St.  John. 

Association  for  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis J.  A.  Likely St.  John. 

New  Brunswick  Fruit  Growers'  Association R.  A.  Philhnore Burton. 

In  connection  with  the  Foster  Government  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  no  active  part  was  taken  by  its  members  in  favour  of  Unionism 
at  Ottawa;  Mr.  Foster  was  widely  stated  to  be  in  favour  of  Union 
and  as  Mr.  Carvell  was  so  large  a  figure  in  New  Brunswick  politics 
and  so  influential  in  the  events  leading  up  to  success  at  the  Pro- 
vincial polls,  it  was  natural  that  they  should  stand  together;  the 
Hon.  C.  W.  Robinson,  however,  supported  Mr.  Copp  in  Westmore- 
land and  he  was  anti-Union;  Hon.  P.  J.  Veniot  was  said  to  be  opposed 
to  it  while  E.  S.  Carter,  an  influential  politician,  was  reported  favour- 
able. There  was  no  doubt  as  to  where  The  Telegraph  stood  in  the 
matter  as  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Foster  and  Union  Governments. 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS  711 

Meantime,  the  annual  Report  of  the  new  Minister  of  Lands  and 
Mines  (Hon.  E.  A.  Smith)  was  being  prepared  for  the  year  of  Oct. 
31,  1917,  and  it  gave  the  net  revenue  as  $544,191  compared  with 
$540,386  in  1916— the  stumpage  dues  being,  respectively,  $352,087 
and  $354,042.  Dr.  Smith  stated  that  the  first  question  he  had 
taken  up  was  the  obtaining  of  accurate  reports  as  to  lumber  cut  on 
Crown  Lands  and  that  his  predecessor  had  commenced  to  grapple 
with  the  problem.  Scaling  methods  were  said  to  be  antiquated 
and  a  reform  necessary,  the  regulated  size  of  spruce  logs  was  reduced ; 
in  order  to  meet  the  increased  trouble  of  trespassers  on  pulp-lands, 
owing  to  higher  values,  the  new  Minister  gave  orders  that  all  green 
pulpwood  cut  outside  of  the  first  ten  acres  be  subjected  to  a  stump- 
age  of  $3.75  per  cord,  and  burnt  wood  $1  per  cord,  with  payment 
to  be  exacted  by  the  Department.  When  it  was  shown  that  the 
settler  had  complied  in  every  way  with  homesteading  rules,  then 
75%  of  the  stumpage  collected  would  be  returned  to  him.  The 
Forest  Survey  was  good  and  would  be  retained,  Forest  administration 
was  removed  to  a  very  large  extent  out  of  politics  and  the  money 
($100,000)  needed  for  maintenance,  he  raised  by  taxes  from  wild 
lands  of  about  $30,000,  by  one-half  cent  per  acre  on  licensed  Crown 
Lands  ($30,000)  and  a  grant  by  Government  of  $40,000;  the  resident 
game  license  was  reduced  from  $3.00  to  $2.00  with  50%  more  licenses 
taken  out  in  the  year  and  20%  less  of  non-resident  licenses;  the 
chief  Coal  concern,  the  Minto  Coal  Co.,  mined  162,205  tons  as 
against  118,498  tons  in  1916;  the  Great  Lake  Coal  Co.  made  con- 
tinued progress  in  development,  as  did  other  concerns;  gypsum  was 
produced  and  natural  gas  maintained  its  production  in  Albert 
County  with  the  N.  B.  Gas  and  Oilfields  Co.  of  Moncton  as  the 
chief  producer — the  iron,  antimony,  tungsten,  and  copper  mines 
were  still  out  of  commission.  The  grants  of  Crown  Lands  in  1917 
were  12,168  acres;  861,000  acres  were  surveyed  during  the  year 
and  new  Timber  regulations  were  issued  and  in  force  on  Aug.  1. 

The  Hon.  D.  V.  Landry's  last  Report  as  Provincial  Secretary 
included  the  statement  of  the  Provincial  Hospital  to  Oct.  31,  1916, 
dealing  with  625  patients  in  hand,  832  under  treatment  during  the 
year  and  420  Insane  in  confinement  for  the  whole  Province;  the  cost 
of  maintenance  in  the  Hospital  was  $94,385  or  $147.25  per  patient. 
To  this  Minister  the  Provincial  Board  of  Health  reported  through 
Dr.  B.  M.  Mullin,  Secretary,  that  the  year  was  satisfactory  except 
as  to  the  contamination  of  the  River  St.  John;  so  with  the  Factory 
Inspector  for  the  year  of  Jan.  1, 1917,  who  stated  that  all  manufactur- 
ing plants,  with  very  few  exceptions,  had  been  operated  to  their 
full  capacity  and  in  many  cases  it  was  necessary  to  work  overtime 
while  others  had  to  continue  for  the  24  hours  with  two  shifts.  Mr. 
Kenney  declared  that  better  protection  of  machinery  was  needed 
and  that  owners  left  the  oversight  of  these  matters  too  much  to 
foremen;  that  manufacturers  remained  negligent  in  reporting 
accidents  which  totalled  81  for  the  year;  that  steam  boilers  were 
rigorously  inspected  with  no  explosions  in  the  year  though  he 
recommended  that  a  statute  should  define  what  constituted  a  strong 
and  desirable  boiler;  that  sanitation  and  ventilation,  though  im- 


712  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

proving  slowly,  showed  lots  of  room  for  betterment;  that  child 
labour  continued,  with  improvements  noted,  though  in  his  opinion 
"the  employment  of  children  cannot  be  eradicated  entirely  while 
there  are  parents  who  are  anxious  to  have  their  children  employed 
and  employers  who  desire  cheap  help."  Portable  mills  had  been 
found  a  difficulty  and  the  inspection  carried  on  as  well  as  possible, 
and  hotels  were  reported  as  dilatory  in  the  matter  of  fire-guards. 
The  Jordan  Universal  Sanatorium  for  Tuberculosis  reported  23 
patients. 

The  new  Minister  of  Agriculture,  Hon.  J.  F.  Tweeddale,  reported 
a  continuance  of  active  agricultural  work  and  production.  A  Greater 
Production  Conference  at  Fredericton  on  May  4  was  addressed  by 
Mr.  Foster,  L.  P.  D.  Tilley,  M.L.A.,  and  Prof.  J.  W.  Robertson  and 
a  Committee  was  formed,  with  E.  A.  Schofield  as  Chairman,  to 
further  food  conservation ;  according  to  the  new  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture (W.  R.  Reek)  the  season  was  not  a  good  one  but  the  Department 
had  distributed  seed  to  1,500  farmers  with  returns  of  $25,000  and 
good  results  in  production — though  potatoes  were  a  disappointment; 
Labour  was  reported  by  Mr.  Reek  to  be  increasingly  scarce,  many 
leaving  the  farms  for  war  and  other  causes  when  there  were,  already, 
too  few  available  for  work — women,  however,  were  helping  greatly; 
Agricultural  schools  had  few  pupils  but  District  representatives  of 
the  Department  were  being  appointed  to  increase  the  interest  of 
boys  and  girls  in  agricultural  work;  the  Agricultural  Aid  appropria- 
tion from  Ottawa  was  $59,209  in  1916-17  and  $64,110  for  1917-18; 
a  Sheep  campaign  was  carried  on  in  the  autumn  of  1917  with  $9,286 
spent  in  improving  and  promoting  production  of  this  live-stock; 
Boys'  Pig  Clubs,  modelled  on  a  Kentucky  pattern,  were  organized 
to  encourage  the  raising  of  hogs  and  Boys  and  Girls'  Poultry  Clubs 
were  also  formed;  apples  and  small  fruits  had  a  bad  weather  year 
but  the  Department  maintained  13  Illustration  Orchards  and  did  all 
that  was  possible,  with  good  work  by  the  Fruit  Growers'  Associa- 
tion and  a  continued  campaign  against  the  Brown-tail  Moth  pest; 
Women's  Institutes  numbered  94  with  2,600  members  and  short 
courses  in  Home  Economics  under  the  Department's  auspices,  also 
102  summer  meetings  held  throughout  the  Province  to  interest 
women  in  house-work  and  farm  progress.  The  5th  annual  Con- 
vention at  Moncton  on  Oct.  1-3,  with  175  present,  passed  Resolu- 
tions asking  for  regulation  of  milk  prices,  for  a  woman  on  the  Pro- 
vincial Board  of  Moving  Picture  Censors,  for  medical  inspection  of 
schools,  for  women  to  be  allowed  election  to  rural  school-boards. 
The  Provincial  figures  as  to  production  in  1917  were  as  follows: 
Oats,  190,914  acres,  4,470,453  bushels  and  estimated  value  $4,470,453; 
wheat,  15,331'  acres,  231,860  bushels  worth  $602,836;  turnips, 
9,079  acres,  3,818,167  bushels  worth  $954,541;  potatoes  50,406 
acres,  5,631,393  bushels  worth  $6,143,849 — a  considerable  reduction 
in  Oats  and  Potatoes.  Federal  figures  of  Live-stock  in  1917  showed 
65,169  horses  valued  at  $8,244,000;  189,677  cattle,  $9,848,000; 
103,877  sheep  worth  $1,039,000  and  69,269  swine  worth  $1,853,000 
— a  reduction  in  numbers  and  increase  of  nearly  $5,000,000  in  value. 
The  result  of  increased  productive  effort  was  not  wholly  satisfactory 


MAJ.-GEN.  W.  G.  GWATKIN,  C.B., 
Chief  of  Staff,  Department  of  Militia  and  Defence,  Ottawa,  1917. 


• 


NEW  BRUNSWICK:  GOVERNMENT  CHANGES  AND  ELECTIONS  713 

but  hay,  root-crops,  and  small  fruits  did  well.     The  Federal  figures 
of  Provincial  field  crops  were  as  follows: 

Yield  Total     Average 

Field  Crops                            Area    Per  Acre  Yield       Price  Total 

Acres       Bush.  Bush.       Bush.  Value 

Spring  Wheat 16,000     12  '00  192,000     $2 . 25  $    432,000 

Oats 190,000     22  •  50  4,275,000       0 . 94  4,018,500 

Buckwheat 57,000     1950  1,111,500       1.13  1,256,000 

Barley,  Peas,  Beans  and  Mixed  Grain        3,340     67,830     140,100 

Potatoes 46,000149-80  6,891,000        1.13  7,787,000 

Turnips,  Mangolds,  etc 7,700  300'54  2,314,000       0.61  1,412,000 

Tons  Tons      Per  Ton 

Hay  and  Clover 568.000        1  -60  909,000     10.29  9,354,000 

In  other  lines  of  production  it  may  be  said  that  the  value~of<«New 
Brunswick  minerals  in  1915  was  $916,000  and  in  1916  $500,000; 
that  the  output  of  its  Industries  was  estimated  in  1917  at  $40,000,000 
and  its  Factory  pay-roll  at  $14,000,000  a  year;  that  the  industrial 
production  of  St.  John  was  25%  in  the  past  5-year  period;  that  its 
Fisheries  production  averaged  $24,000,000 — chiefly  salmon,  cod, 
sardines  and  halibut.  Ship-building  showed  marked  signs  of  de- 
velopment and  in  April,  1917,  40  wooden  ships  were  under  con- 
struction and  yards  were  once  more  busy  at  Parrsboro,  Meteghan, 
Weymouth,  Liverpool,  etc.;  H.  C.  Schofield  stated  in  the  St.  John 
press  on  June  29  that  Grant  &  Home  had  been  awarded  the  contract 
for  building  two  large  wooden  ships  for  the  Imperial  Munitions 
Board.  St.  John  took  the  highest  position  in  1917  as  Canada's 
winter  port,  with  exports  and  imports  of  $206,087,220  compared  with 
131  millions  in  1916  and  30  millions  four  years  before  that.  As  to 
the  War  all  Governments  were  the  same.  The  Clarke  Ministry 
in  January  fixed  $524,790  as  the  Patriotic  Fund  assessment  upon 
N.B.  Municipalities  for  1917  and  succeeding  Governments  approved; 
the  Attorney-General,  Hon.  J.  B.  M.  Baxter,  stated  on  Jan.  31  at 
Fredericton  that  "the  genius  of  Britain  had  preserved  to  us  our 
liberty  and  it  was  for  our  people  to  think  out  the  best  ways  of  doing 
their  bit  in  this  crisis  of  the  Empire's  history";  the  Legislature 
under  the  Foster  Government  supported  increased  military  strength 
and  party  co-operation.  Mr.  Premier  Foster,  in  April,  heard  of  the 
wounding  of  his  nephew  Lieut.  Fred.  Foster;  Lieut.  P.  J.  Veniot, 
son  of  the  prospective  Minister  of  Public  Works,  after  seeing  service 
in  France,  resigned  his  later  Commission  .in  the  165th  French- 
Acadian  Battalion,  for  reasons  not  announced;  E.  S.  Carter  had  a 
son  (Lieut.  A.  N.  Carter)  at  the  Front  and  Lieut.  Ralph  Murray, 
son  of  the  Conservative  leader,  was  wounded  early  in  the  year. 
The  3rd  anniversary  of  the  War  was  marked  on  Aug.  4  by  addresses 
at  a  St.  John  meeting  from  Lieut. -Governor  G.  W.  Ganong,  Mr. 
Foster  and  Mr.  Baxter — the  Premier  moving  a  Resolution  which 
expressed  "inflexible  determination  to  continue  to  a  victorious  end 
the  struggle  in  maintenance  of  those  ideals  of  Liberty  and  Justice 
which  are  the  common  and  sacred  cause  of  the  Allies";  the  Provincial 
Red  Cross  Society  reported  on  July  4  a  six  months'  shipment  of 
585  boxes  containing  18,831  pairs  of  socks,  13,422  articles  for  Hos- 
pital wear,  etc.,  and  the  annual  meeting  on  Nov.  15  received  the 
resignation  of  Lady  Tilley  as  Treasurer  with  regret  but  with  her  re- 
tention of  the  post  of  Organizing  President  and  representative  to  the 


714  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Central  Council;  on  Sept.  6  the  Lieut.-Governor,  C.  B.  Allan,  J.  H. 
Frink,  R.  E.  Armstrong,  A.  O.  Skinner  and  others  aided  in  establishing 
a  Food  Control  Committee;  a  Greater  Production  Committee  was 
organized  on  May  4  with  the  object  of  obtaining  work  by  school 
children  in  gardens  and  farms,  granting  prizes  for  increased  farm 
production,  obtaining  the  co-operation  of  the  Educational  Depart- 
ment and  School  teachers,  initiating  Church  services  and  lectures 
and  getting  vacant  lots  planted;  in  October  it  was  stated  that 
during  2  years  New  Brunswick  had  given  nearly  15  Battalions,  or 
15,084  men  to  the  War. 

Education  in  NeW  Brunswick.  The  school  system  of  this  Prov- 
ince was  in  the  hands  of  W.  S.  Carter,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  Chief  Superintendent  of  Education, 
and,  as  with  Dr.  MacKay  in  Nova  Scotia,  he  had  no  Minister  of  Education  to  control 
him  or  his  policy.  In  his  1916  Report  Dr.  Carter  mentioned  the  recent  regulation 
of  Nova  Scotia  permitting  the  employment  in  that  Province  under  certain  conditions, 
of  qualified  New  Brunswick  teachers  and  urged  reciprocity:  "I  see  no  good  reason 
why  this  should  not  be  done;  on  the  border  of  this  Province  nearest  Nova  Scotia 
there  are  demands  for  the  teachers  of  both  provinces.  Clergymen  and  others  mov- 
ing from  one  Province  to  the  other  and  having  teachers  as  members  of  their  families 
are  placed  at  a  disadvantage  by  this  lack  of  reciprocity.  The  supply  of  qualified 
French  teachers  of  the  higher  classes  is  greater  than  the  demand  in  Nova  Scotia. 
It  is  much  below  the  demand  here,  and  we  need  the  services  of  some  of  them."  His 
Report  for  1917  stated  that  the  supply  of  teachers  was  not  equal  to  the  demand  and 
that  the  Normal  School  attendance  had  dropped  owing  to  war-calls  from  372  in  1916 
to  369  early  in  1917  and  330  in  September.  Dr.  Carter  pointed  out  that  teachers 
on  entering  the  Normal  School  promised  to  pay  the  Province  $20  if  they  left  the  ser- 
vice before  serving  3  years  as  teachers;  but  that  from  various  causes,  these  refunds 
were  seldom  made  and  he  urged  an  increase  to  $100  with  security  against  default. 
The  Pensions  paid  in  the  year  of  Oct.  31,  1917,  totalled  $8,393  with  71  recipients; 
the  total  of  employees  in  the  Educational  service,  who  were  on  active  service  on 
June  30,  numbered  182  with  57  casualties;  a  Committee  had  been  appointed  to 
report  on  Technical  Education,  but  the  Superintendent  considered  the  matter  too 
expensive  without  Federal  assistance;  he  reported  much  aid  by  the  schools  in  in- 
creased farm  and  garden  production.  Dr.  Carter  described  a  personal  visit  to  the 
schools  of  the  West,  where  the  intense  interest  in  education  and  the  energy  with 
which  its  problems  were  handled,  greatly  impressed  him,  with  free  text-books  as  the 
chief  subject  of  inquiry.  He  reported  that:  "Free  readers  are  supplied  in  all  the 
Provinces  west  of  Ontario.  Free  materials  in  some  and  free  arithmetics,  agriculture 
texts,  atlases  and  libraries  in  others;  Montreal  spends  $3,000  in  supplying  free  ma- 
terial and  texts  in  Literature;  Ontario  supplies  handbooks  in  each  subject  to  each 
teacher.  Toronto,  Hamilton  and  I  think  Ottawa,  supply  free  texts  to  all  pupils; 
British  Columbia  is  the  only  Province  which  supplies  free  texts  throughout."  As 
illustrating  the  way  the  West  took  teachers  from  the  East  he  stated  that  in  Saskat- 
chewan during  1906-16,  4,235  had  been  engaged  from  the  Maritime  Provinces,  On- 
tario and  Manitoba — New  Brunswick  221.  He  urged  that  free  text-books  be  sup- 
plied by  school  districts  till  after  the  War — with  the  Western  books  utilized,  and 
recommended  parish  School  Boards  instead  of  District,  county  fund  to  be  60  cents 
instead  of  30  cents  per  head  of  population,  and  that  all  property,  wherever  situate, 
be  taxed  for  the  support  of  schools.  Manual  Training  Departments  throughout  the 
Province  numbered  21  and  those  of  Domestic  Science  14,  while  107  Home  Efficiency 
Clubs  were  organized  to  help  in  war-work  and  food  conservation;  the  N.B.  School 
for  the  Deaf  had  30  pupils  and  there  were  several  successful  consolidated  schools. 
The  following  were  the  statistics  for  June  30,  1917: 

1st  Term  2nd  Term 

Number  of  Schools 2,021  1,981 

Number  of  Teachers 2,166  2,129 

Number  of  Pupils 65,193          64.776 

Total  number  of  different  pupils  in  attendance  during  the  Year. .  71,981 

Proportion  of  population  at  school 1  in  5  •  39    1  in  5  •  43 

Number  of  Boys 31,535          32,025 

Number  of  Girls 33,658          32,751 

Average  number  of  pupils  daily  present 48,956         45,380 

Provincial  Grants     for     Schools  (Oct.  31,  1917) $282,635 


POSITION  OF  PRINCE  EDWARD  ISLAND  IN  1917  715 

The  University  of  New  Brunswick  reported  for  1915-17  an  enrolment  of  95  with 
19  graduates.  The  students  included  57  in  Arts  (27  women)  22  in  Engineering  and 
12  in  Forestry.  Of  the  graduates  15  received  the  B.A.  degree,  2  the  M.A.,  and  2 
the  M.Sc.;  the  Hon.  degree  of  LL.D.  was  given  Dr.  W.  W.  White,  M.A.,  of  St.  John, 
and  Lieut.-Col.  Murray  Maclaren,  M.D.,  of  the  Overseas  forces;  that  of  Hon.  M.Sc. 
was  given  to  A.  Gordon  Leavitt  of  St.  John.  The  enlistments  of  the  year  were  20 
and  the  fatal  casualties  to  date  were  22,  with  16  graduates  or  students  winning 
Honours.  Donations  were  recefved  from  Lieut.  P.  P.  Loggie,  R.F.C.,  and  Mrs. 
W.  T.  Whitehead,  Fredericton,  while  Dr.  A.  P.  Crocket  of  St.  John  established  a 
Scholarship  in  honour  of  his  father.  Military  drill  was  made  compulsory  and  the 
Legislature  gave  a  special  grant  of  $850.89  to  meet  the  deficit  of  1915-16.  Chancellor 
C.  C.  Jones  feared  that  a  deficit  would  continue  until  the  War  was  over.  Mount 
Allison  University  at  Sackville  had  its  Convocation  on  May  22,  with  12  graduates 
as  B.A.,  1  as  Mus.B.,  5  as  M.A.  The  Hon.  degree  of  LL.D.  was  granted  to  W.  J. 
Gage,  Toronto,  and  Hon.  John  A.  Robinson,  St.  John's,  Nfld.,  and  that  of  D.C.L. 
to  S.  M.  Brookfield,  Halifax.  Mount  Allison  Ladies'  College  received  a  new  Principal 
— Rev.  Hamilton  Wigle,  B.A., — and  its  registration  of  pupils  was  311.  The  Univer- 
sity attendance  as  a  whole  was  much  reduced  owing  to  enlistments  which  totalled 
70%  in  1915-16— most  of  pupils  in  1916-17  were  below  the  age,  but  24  of  them 
joined  the  army  by  the  end  of  the  year  with  a  total  in  all  war-years  of  410.  In  its 
list  there  were  2  brigadier-generals,  4  colonels,  16  majors,  52  captains  and  70  lieuten- 
ants. The  University  of  St.  Joseph  at  its  commencement  exercises  on  June  14  had 
Bishop  Le  Blanc  in  the  chair  with  addresses  from  Senator  Bourque  and  Hon.  J.  B. 
M.  Baxter,  K.C.,  and  10  recipients  of  M.A.,  B.A.,  and  B.L.  degrees  with  a  number  of 
graduates  in  special  courses.  It  may  be  added  that  Dr.  W.  S.  Carter  was  elected 
President  of  the  Dominion  Educational  Association  at  its  meeting  in  Ottawa  on 
Feb.  1-2— the  Vice-President  being  Hon.  Cyrille  F.  Delage,  Quebec,  and  R.  H.  Cow- 
ley,  Toronto,  and  the  Secretary,  Dr.  J.  H.  Putnam.  Toronto. 

Prince  Edward  Island  in  1917.  This  Province,  with  its  popula- 
tion of  a  little  over  100,000  and  its  Government  system  upon  the  same  basis  as  Prov- 
inces of  2,000,000,  had  political  conditions  of  a  distinctively  strenuous  type  in  1917. 
Its  people  were  largely  of  Scotch  and  French-Acadian  origin,  nearly  half  and  half, 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  with  a  pretty  close  political  division  in  its  Legislature. 
This  body  met  on  Mar.  15  in  the  2nd  Session  of  its  38th  General  Assembly;  its 
Speaker  was  the  Hon.  John  Martin  and  the  Hon.  J.  A.  Mathieson,  K.C.,  had  been  a 
Conservative  Premier  since  Dec.  2,  1911,  with  J.  H.  Bell,  K.C.,  as  the  Liberal  leader 
since  1915;  the  majority  was  three  without  the  Speaker,  but  J.  A.  Dewar  (Cons.) 
was  uncertain  and  during  the  1917  Session  voted  mostly  against  the  Government. 
The  Speech  from  the  Throne  was  read  by  Lieut.-Governor  A.  C.  Macdonald,  who 
referred  to  the  departure  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Connaught  and  "the  undaunted 
courage  with  which  the  resources  of  the  Empire  are  being  marshalled  for  victory 
against  the  foes  of  freedom  and  justice";  dealt  with  the  excellent  work  of  the  Develop- 
ment Commission  organized  in  1916  for  the  planning  of  means  to  meet  after- war 
problems  and  promised  a  measure  to  open  up  unused  lands  for  soldier  settlement; 
described  Education  as  becoming  more  popular  with  larger  grants  and  improved 
equipment,  despite  the  enlistment  of  many  experienced  teachers;  mentioned  the 
prosperity  of  Agriculture  and  the  increasing  success  of  Education  along  this  line  in 
the  Prince  of  Wales  College  and  the  Public  Schools;  described  the  Province  as  pros- 
perous in  farming,  fisheries,  trade  and  revenues.  The  Address  was  moved  by  A.  J. 
MacNevin  and  A.  A.  McDonald  and,  after  a  debate  lasting  till  Mar.  27,  it  passed 
without  division.  An  Opposition  amendment  to  the  War  and  Health  Tax  (Mar.  30) 
proposals  declared  that  in  view  of  the  current  re-valuation  of  the  farm-lands  of  the 
Province  and  consequent  increase  of  revenue,  because  of  the  rigid  economy  which 
should  prevail  in  Government  matters  and  because  of  the  fact  that  a  war  gratuity 
of  $10  had  been  given  to  some  of  the  soldiers  on  leaving,  therefore  the  Government 
should  grant  that  sum  to  all  soldiers  on  service — if  funds  were  not  sufficient  then 
debentures  should  be  issued  for  the  shortage.  It  was  ruled  out  of  order  by  the 
Speaker  as  were  other  amendments  and  the  ruling  was  supported  by  a  majority  of 
15  to  13  in  each  case.  The  3rd  reading  of  this  Bill  was  13  to  12. 

In  connection  with  certain  charges  made  by  G.  E.  Hughes  (Lib.)  as  to  officials 
in  the  Provincial  Hospital  at  Falconwood  a  Special  Committee  was  appointed  com- 
posed of  A.  P.  Prowse,  R.  J.  McLellan,  A.  J.  MacNevin,  J.  H.  Bell,  K.C.,  and  A.  C. 


716  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Saunders,  to  inquire  into  and  report  upon  the  charges.  The  Committee  divided  on 
political  grounds  and  submitted  a  majority  and  minority  report — the  former  declar- 
ing the  management  of  the  institution  excellent  and  the  charges  against  an  official 
name  Byrne  unfounded,  the  latter  declaring  the  Hospital  management  to  be  clearly 
guilty  of  persecuting  a  cripple  named  Murphy  whose  legs  had  been  amputated,  and 
reviewed  other  sordid  evidence  in  most  unpleasant  detail.  The  House  accepted  the 
majority  report  by  16  to  13.  The  sums  voted  on  April  11  for  the  Public  service 
included  $27,955  for  administration  of  Justice,  $18,100  for  Agriculture,  $174,055  for 
Education,  $65,320  for  the  Falcon  wood  Insane  and  Tubercular  Hospital  and  Infirm- 
ary, and  $46,000  for  Interest,  $38,000  for  roads  and  bridges— a  total,  with  certain 
minor  items,  of  $480,118.  A  Liberal  vote  of  censure  (Messrs.  Bell  and  Hughes) 
was  proposed  (April  23)  against  the  Government  for  making  alleged  unauthorized 
expenditures  and  incomplete  statements  to  the  Auditor;  a  Government  amendment 
eulogized  the  Audit  system  and  condemned  the  Opposition  Leader  for  not  attending 
the  Public  Accounts  Committee  meetings;  the  latter  was  carried  by  14  to  12.  On 
April  26  a  Special  Committee  in  this  connection  reported  the  Public  liabilities  on 
Dec.  3,  1915,  at  $1,088,786  and  in  1916  at  $1,062,151.  It  may  be  added  that  the 
Receipts  on  Dec.  31,  1916,  were  $513,906,  including  $372,181  of  Federal  subsidy,  and 
the  Expenditures  $513,183.  The  question  of  Fuel  shortage  and  the  development  of 
Peat  bogs  was  discussed  on  April  13  and  a  technical  expert  to  look  into  the  matter 
unanimously  appointed  on  the  23rd.  A  Prohibition  Commission  proposal  was 
carried  on  a  3rd  reading  by  14  to  12. 

The  legislation  of  the  Session  included  a  measure  authorizing  the  extension  of 
date  of  payment  in  Provincial  debentures  and  advancing  the  interest  from  4%  to 
5%  payable  half-yearly;  continuing  for  another  year  the  Act  to  levy  a  War  and 
Health  tax  and  levying,  also,  a  tax  of  $1.50  for  every  $100  of  Income  derived  from 
the  sale  of  Foxes  kept  in  captivity,  with  elaborate  details  as  to  collection  and  penal- 
ties; authorizing  a  Government  Bill  to  assist  in  development  of  vacant  lands 
and  to  help  returned  soldiers  by  settling  them  therein  whenever  willing,  with  due 
compensation  and  consideration  for  the  owners  and  an  appeal  to  the  County  Court, 
with  power,  also,  to  issue  debentures  not  exceeding  $20,000  for  this  purpose.  The 
Opposition  strongly  opposed  this  Bill  on  the  ground  that  the  expropriation  principle 
was  unsound  and  dangerous  to  the  farmers;  that  it  would  cost  $1,000  to  establish 
a  ready-made  farm  for  a  soldier,  that  3,000  men  had  enlisted  from  the  Island,  and  that 
the  expense  of  providing  for  even  one-third  of  these  (if  they  could  be  prevailed  upon 
to  accept  the  offer)  would  be  too  great  a  burden  for  the  Province;  that  as  the  Con- 
servative member,  J.  A.  Dewar,  declared,  "You  could  not  drive  the  soldiers  with  a 
bayonet  on  to  unused  lands";  that  the  scheme  was  socialistic  and  too  indefinite. 
Another  Bill  created  a  Board  of  Commissioners,  for  the  better  enforcement  of  the 
laws  relating  to  the  Prohibition  of  intoxicating  liquors,  with  power  of  control  over 
licenses  and  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  Inspectors,  constables,  etc. — expenses  but 
no  remuneration  to  be  paid  the  Commissioners;  an  Act  was  passed  to  consolidate 
and  amend  the  various  Prohibition  Acts — the  object  of  various  amendments  being 
to  strengthen  the  administration  and  enforcement  of  the  law;  so  with  a  measure 
dealing  with  the  powers  of  stipendiary  magistrates  and  County  Court  Judges  and 
another  respecting  the  office  of  Judge  of  Probate  of  Wills;  another  Act  empowering 
the  Governor-in-Council,  under  the  Motor  Vehicles  Act,  to  make  regulations  and 
impose  penalties  and  forfeitures  in  order  to  further  restrict  the  use  of  the  public 
highways  by  motor  vehicles;  the  Statutes  were  amended  to  give  a  vote  at  school 
meetings  and  eligibility  to  act  as  Trustees  to  any  married  woman  or  widow  with 
one  or  more  children  of  school  age. 

An  Act  was  passed  to  incorporate  the  P.  E.  Island  Development  Commission — 
composed  of  F.  R.  Heartz,  Nelson  Rattenbury,  J.  O.  Hyndman,  J.  D.  Stewart,  W. 
F.  Tidmarsh  and  others,  with  power  to  consider  and  report  upon  present  advance- 
ment of  the  Province  and  also  in  after- war  conditions;  another  Act  reconstituted 
and  incorporated  St.  Dunstan's  College  as  a  University.  It  may  be  added  that  the 
Government  was  severely  criticized  during  the  Session  for  not  controlling  more 
thoroughly  the  exploitation  of  the  Fox  industry  in  recent  years  where  Companies 
had  capitalized  foxes  at  fantastic  figures — in  some  cases  at  30  times  the  intrinsic 
value  of  the  animals.  Of  nine  members  of  the  Executive,  at  least  eight,  it  was  charged, 
were  Presidents  of  Fox  companies.  On  June  13  Sir  W.  W.  Sullivan,  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Province,  resigned  after  28  years'  service  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Mathieson 
after  a  Premiership  of  six  years.  The  Hon.  Aubin  Edmond  Arsenault,  a  French- 


POSITION  OF  PBINCE  EDWAKD  ISLAND  IN  1917  717 

Acadian  and  son  of  the  late  Senator  J.  O.  Arsenault,  Minister  without  Portfolio  since 
1911,  acceded  to  the  post.  On  July  1  the  new  Premier  issued  a  Confederation  mes- 
sage to  the  people  full  of  patriotic  thought  and  appeal  to  war-duty.  Two  bye-elec- 
tions followed  and  the  Conservatives  were  elected — the  Premier  defeating  Dr.  Delaney 
(Lib.)  by  684  to  585  in  the  3rd  District  of  Prince's  and  J.  D.  Stewart  winning  the 
late  Premier's  seat  in  the  5th  King's  by  353  to  266  over  W.  W.  Jenkins  (Lib.).  The 
House,  therefore,  remained  17  Government  and  13  Opposition.  In  2nd  King's  on 
Nov.  7th  Dr.  R.  J.  MacDonald  (Cons.)  defeated  J.  P.  Mclntyre  (Lib.)  by  362  to 
357  and  won  a  seat  which  gave  the  new  Government  6  majority.  The  new  Govern- 
ment and  the  late  one  were  composed  as  follows: 

Position  Mathieson  Government        Arsenault  Government 

Premier  and  Attorney  General.  .Hon.  J.  A.  Mathieson Hon.  A.  E.  Arsenault. 

President  of  Executive  Council Hon.  A.  E.  Arsenault. 

Commissioner  of  Public  Works.. Hon.  J.  A.  McNeill Hon.  J.  A.  McNeill. 

Provincial  Secretary-Treasurer 
and  Commissioner  of  Agricul- 
ture  Hon.  Murdoch  McKinnon.  .Hon.  Murdoch  McKinnon. 

Minister  without  Portfolio .  .      .Hon.  W.  S.  Stewart. Hon.  Charles  Dalton. 


Minister  without  Portfolio  .  . 
Minister  without  Portfolio .  . 
Minister  without  Portfolio .  . 
Minister  without  Portfolio .  . 


Hon.  J.  A.  McDonald Hon.  Murdoch  Kennedy. 

,Hon.  John  McLean Hon.  S.  R.  Jenkins. 

,  Hon.  Charles  Dalton Hon.  H.  D.  MacEwen. 

,  Hon.  A.  E.  Arsenault Hon.  Leonard  Wood. 


As  to  the  War  the  Island's  contribution  of  men  enlisted  was  2,600  for  Overseas  up 
to  April,  1917,  and  400  for  special  duty,  with  an  equal  number  of  Island  men  enlisted 
in  other  Provinces — as  estimated  by  Mr.  Premier  Mathieson;  contributions  to  the 
various  War  Funds,  both  Government  and  public,  totalled  $431,730;  the  contribu- 
tion of  Government  House  as  a  Convalescent  House  for  Soldiers  and  the  gift  of  a 
Charles  Dalton  Sanatorium  for  75  returned  men  suffering  from  Tuberculosis.  Pro- 
hibition remained  a  difficult  problem  in  1917  with  considerable  drunkenness  prevail- 
ing and  a  juror  on  Jan.  16  in  the  Supreme  Court  was  actually  guilty  of  the  offence. 
This  Jury  on  Jan.  9  reported  that  the  law  was  not  properly  enforced  and  recom- 
mended that  the  importation  of  liquor  into  the  Province  be  prohibited.  Under  the 
succeeding  legislation  a  Prohibition  Commission  was  appointed  (June  21)  composed 
of  Rev.  Messrs.  R.  G.  Fulton,  A.  J.  McLeod,  James  McDougall,  M.  J.  Smith,  J.  J. 
MacDonald,  D.  P.  Croken — all  denominations  represented.  The  P.  E.  Island  De- 
velopment Commission  reported  during  the  year  through  F.  R.  Heartz,  President, 
a  series  of  recommendations  as  to  Agriculture,  Education,  Fisheries,  transportation, 
cold  storage,  new  industries,  immigration,  resources  and  products,  Peat  deposits  and 
other  matters  incident  to  this  Inquiry;  the  Education  Department  through  H.  H. 
Shaw,  Chief  Superintendent,  reported  for  Dec.  31,  1916,  476  schools,  595  teachers, 
18,362  pupils  enrolled  and  a  total  expenditure  by  Government  and  Districts  of  $244,- 
572  during  the  year.  The  Island  was  prosperous  in  1916  and  again  in  1917  with 
progressive  improvement  in  the  Sheep  industry,  dairy  herds,  beef  cattle  and  pure- 
bred hogs;  the  Fox  industry  was  got  upon  a  stable  basis  with  the  Fur  Sales  Board 
reporting  in  August  1,180  skins  selling  at  prices  which  ran  from  $945  each  to  $250 
and  constituted  85%  of  a  business  once  capitalized  at  $28,000,000;  the  completion 
of  the  Car  Ferry  Service  in  October  by  means  of  improved  docks  and  a  steamship 
system  which  ran  via  Port  Borden  and  Cape  Tormentine,  virtually  connected  P.  E. 
Island  with  the  mainland  by  rail,  and  established  a  daily  freight,  passenger,  mail 
and  express  service.  The  Live-stock  of  the  Island  totalled  38,948  Horses  in  1917 
valued  at  $3,408,000;  101,002  Cattle  worth '$4,998,000;  88,797  Sheep  worth  $1,245,- 
000,  and  35,236  Swine  worth  $947,000— an  increase  in  horses  and  sheep  only  with  a 
general  advance  in  prices.  The  Federal  appropriation  for  Agricultural  Education  was 
$30,443  in  1916-17  and  $31,749  in  1917-18.  The  Agricultural  production  of  the 
year  (Federal  figures)  was  as  follows: 

Yield  Total     Average 

Field  Crops  Area    per  Acre        Yield       Price          Total 

Acres      Bush.  Bush,  per  Bush.      Value 

Spring  Wheat 36,000     14  •  50          522,000     $2 .09       $1,091,000 

Oats...  201,000     32-25       6,482,300       0.80         5,185,800 

Mixed  Grains 7,800     38'25          298,400       0.98  292,400 

Barley,  Peas  and  Buckwheat 6,060     71  "50  173,090       5.40  219,800 

Potatoes 35,000  175 '00  6,125,000       0.75  4,594,000 

Turnips,  Mangolds,  etc 8,100  505 "39  4,094,000       0.31  1.269,000 

Tons  Tons       per  Ton 

Hay  land  Clover 197,000       1  •  55  305,400     12 . 67  3,860,000 


THE  WESTERN  PROVINCES  OF  CANADA 

Manitoba:  Sir  James  Aikins,  Lieut.-Governor,  took  an  active 

Legislation1*'  Par^  Curing  1917  m  public  affairs  and  made  a  number 
Agriculture  °^  speeches  notable  for  clear  thinking  and  careful 
and  data.  To  the  Agricultural  organizations  of  Manitoba 

Education  on  Feb.  14  he  stated  that  "as  it  is  the  people's  privi- 
lege to  govern  themselves,  it  is  the  people's  duty  to  de- 
fend themselves,  and,  for  this,  military  training  should  form  part  of 
the  education  of  every  boy  and  girl " ;  declared  that "  speculators  hold- 
ing vacant  lands  should  be  compelled  to  cultivate  them  or  dispose  of 
them  at  resaonable  terms";  stated  that  "many  causes,  after  the 
War,  will  combine  to  multiply  farm  produce,  but  prices  will  be  lower 
in  all  countries  and  you  must  lower  the  cost  of  production";  declared 
that  "there  should  be  compulsory  farming  education  in  the  schools 
and  that  after  the  War  simple  living  and  economy  would  be  im- 
perative as  Canada  will  be  pitched  into  a  vortex  of  nations  struggling 
desperately  to  recover  themselves  while  Germany,  disappointed 
in  extorting  vast  indemnities  to  pay  her  debts,  will  endeavour  by 
lower-priced  production  and  transportation  to  make  us  pay  her 
way."  The  gist  of  this  and  other  addresses  was  that  an  after-the- 
war  War  must  be  fought  and  won  with  the  weapon  of  thrift.  To  a 
Provincial  Teachers'  gathering  on  Apr.  11  His  Honour  urged  as  of 
primary  import  the  teaching  of  religion  in  schools,  the  inculcation 
of  self-discipline,  training  in  the  science  of  things  and  the  roots  of 
knowledge,  devotion  to  duty  by  teachers,  Pensions  given  by  the 
State.  During  a  visit  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  early  in  May  Sir 
James  was  formally  welcomed  by  both  Houses  of  the  Legislature 
and  the  British  National  Anthem  sung  at  a  State  luncheon;  he  opened, 
on  July  6,  a  Returned  Soldiers'  Rest-House  situated  near  Winnipeg. 
The  War  and  its  support  was  a  never-failing  subject  of  earnest 
speech  *on  many  occasions. 

The  Hon.  T.  C.  .Norris  as  Prime  Minister,  in  speech  and  policy 
and  legislation,  expressed  similar  feelings.  Speaking  in  Winnipeg 
on  Jan.  4  he  declared  that  there  were  a  number  of  people  opposed 
to  the  statesmen  of  the  nations  who  had  decided  that  the  right 
thing  to  do  was,  and  is,  to  fight:  "  We  have  gentlemen  in  Canada  who 
think  they  know  better.  These  people  should  have  been  interned 
a  year  ago.  .  .  .  The  struggle  is  not  a  quarrel  between  two 
nations.  It  is  the  most  terrific  struggle  between  two  great  ideals 
that  has  ever  been  fought  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Where  shall 
we  be  if  Britain  is  defeated?"  Speaking  in  the  Legislature  on 
Jan  16  the  Premier  stated  that  three  members  were  on  active  service: 
"The  oldest  son  of  the  Leader  of  the  Opposition  has  declared  that 
he  must  go  and  Mr.  Pre*fontaine  has  told  him  to  do  his  duty;  the 
Provincial  Treasurer  (Mr.  Brown)  has  one  son  at  the  Front  and 
another  ready  to  go,  while  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  (Mr.  Winkler) 
has  his  only  son  in  the  trenches."  Mr.  Norris  visited  St.  Paul, 

[718] 


MANITOBA:  GOVERNMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND  EDUCATION    719 

Minnesota,  on  Feb.  5,  and  received  honours  similar  to  those  accorded 
Sir  James  Aikins  at  Springfield;  to  the  Army  and  Navy  Veterans 
(Feb.  18)  he  denounced  seditious  utterances  and  deprecatory  re- 
marks about  returned  soldiers  and  declared,  as  a  whole,  for  equal 
Pensions  to  men  and  officers;  in  response  to  an  invitation  to  help 
in  the  stimulation  of  patriotism  and  registration  he  spoke  at  a 
mass-meeting  in  New  Orleans,  La.,  on  June  4  and  also  to  the  local 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  With  Mayor  F.  H.  Davidson  of  Winnipeg  he 
had  motored  from  Winnipeg  (May  18)  by  way  of  the  famous  Jeffer- 
son Highway  and,  all  along  this  route  of  260  cities,  towns  and  villages 
to  New  Orleans,  they  had  been  met  by  delegations,  crowds,  streets 
decorated  with  British  flags  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  singing  by 
children  of  God  Save  the  King  or  The  Maple  Leaf  and  calls  for  war 
speeches.  Through  Minnesota  and  Iowa,  Texas  and  Oklahoma 
and  Louisiana,  this  was  the  reception  and  in  one  day  the 
Manitoba  Premier  had  made  11  speeches.  A  typical  statement 
which  never  failed  to  evoke  loud  cheers  was  the  following:  "This 
fight  is  a  fight  to  a  finish  between  democracy,  as  we  know  it  under 
the  Union  Jack  and  under  Old  Glory,  and  autocracy,  as  the  German 
Kaiser  knows  it.  It  has  got  to  be  settled,  and  it  will  be  cheaper, 
in  blood  and  in  money,  to  settle  it  now  and  forever  in  Flanders." 

Thousands  of  Union  Jacks  and  Canadian  flags  were  carried  by 
the  party  and  eagerly  accepted  all  along  the  route.  Another  side 
of  the  trip  was  specified  by  Mr.  Norris  to  the  Kiwanis  Club  in  Winni- 
peg on  June  26:  "Travelling  from  Winnipeg  to  New  Orleans  by 
automobile  on  an  Inter-national  highway,  on  a  time  schedule,  and 
arriving  not  60  seconds  out,  is  to  my  mind  a  demonstration  of  what 
automobiles  may  do  towards  making  new  channels  for  trade  and 
commerce  between  Canada  and  the  United  States."  He  added  that 
100  addresses  had  been  delivered  to  at  least  100,000  people.  In 
his  Dominion  Day  message  to  the  Province  the  Premier  declared  that 
this  was  a  time  for  "hard-headed,  honest  stock-taking"  as  to  the 
measure  of  duty  and  responsibility  which  was  assumed  at  Con- 
federation and  more  fully  accepted  in  this  great  War;  on  Aug.  14 
he  issued  a  call  for  men  to  help  in  the  harvest  fields,  declared  that 
farmers  had  done  their  full  duty  in  planting  up  to  the  limit  of  capac- 
ity, stated  the  Allied  need  to  be  great  and  the  duty  of  citizens  every- 
where obvious.  In  an  address  on  Sept.  19  he  spoke  of  Manitoba's 
great  natural  wealth — the  yearly  revenue  of  $1,000,000  from  lumber, 
of  $750,000  from  Fisheries,  of  $2,000,000  from  Furs,  of  $226,000,000 
and  more  from  Agriculture,  of  $46,000,000  from  Cattle;  predicted 
great  pulp  mills  in  the  near  future  and  the  development  of  water- 
powers;  declared  that  "the  mineral  wealth  of  the  Province  in  gold, 
silver,  copper  and  iron  is  the  greatest  on  the  continent,  that  within 
100  miles  of  Winnipeg  there  is  quartz  being  produced  with  a  very 
high  richness  of  gold  and  that  3,000  tons  of  copper  ore  have  already 
been  taken  out  of  the  mines  north  of  The  Pas  with  a  return  of  $100 
a  ton  at  the  Trail,  B.C.,  smelters."  He  made  an  earnest  appeal 
on  Nov.  21  to  Manitoba  farmers  to  raise  as  many  hogs  as  possible 
with  high  prices  assured  for  some  time  to  come — with  immediate 
action  ensuring  also  that  Manitoba's  pork  product  would  be  trebled 


720  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

or  quadrupled  in  1918.  There  were  some  changes  in  the  Norris 
Government  during  the  year,  resulting  from  the  retirement  of  Hon. 
A.  B.  Hudson,  K.C.,  as  Attorney-General.  Mr.  Hudson's  health 
had  not  been  good,  he  had  been  associated  closely  with  the  Union 
Government  negotiations,  he  was  supposed  to  have  personally 
favoured  a  Western  Liberal  party  distinct  from  all  others.  Follow- 
ing these  events  he  took  advantage  of  the  situation  to  retire  on 
Nov.  10  as  it  was  understood  he  had  wanted  to  do  for  some  time. 
J.  B.  Hugg,  K.C.,  of  Winnipeg,  E.  A.  McPherson  of  Portage  La 
Prairie,  S.  E.  Clements  of  Brandon  had  been  suggested  for  the  post 
but  on  the  above  date  the  Hon.  T.  H.  Johnson  was  transferred  from 
the  Ministry  of  Public  Works  to  the  post  of  Attorney- General  and 
Minister  of  Telegraphs  and  Telephones,  while  George  Allison  Grier- 
son,  M.L.A.  for  Minnedosa  since  1914,  was  appointed  Minister  of 
Public  Works.  The  latter  was  re-elected  on  Nov.  30.  At  a  bye- 
election  in  Roblin,  caused  by  the  resignation  of  F.  Y.  Newton 
(Cons.)  who  was  mixed  up  in  a  Roads  scandal  of  1914  and  1916, 
the  seat  was  carried  by  W.  J.  Westwood,  (Ind.-Lib.)  over  I.  L.  Mitchell 
(Govt.-Lib.). 

Of  the  Ministers  other  than  the  Premier  Mr.  Johnson  was  the 
most  notable  in  his  advocacy  of  Conscription  and  Union  Govern- 
ment; he  acted  as  Prime  Minister  during  the  absence  of  Mr.  Norris 
in  May- June;  to  4,000  citizens  in  Winnipeg  on  June  4  he  "voiced 
the  unanimous  co-operation  of  the  Manitoba  Government  with 
Sir  Robert  Borden"  in  his  Conscription  effort;  after  his  return  from 
a  Highway  Convention  in  the  United  States  he  reported  on  June 
14  the  greatest  interest  there  in  Canada's  war-effort  and  policy. 
His  Department  reported  through  S.  C.  Oxton,  Deputy  Minister, 
for  the  year  of  Nov.  30,  1917,  that  the  Agricultural  College  Inquiry 
and  that  into  the  new  Parliament  Buildings  were  at  last  closed; 
that  the  tenders  for  completion  of  the  latter  work  were  opened  on 
Feb.  12  and  the  general  contract  awarded  to  J.  McDiarmid  Co. 
Ltd.,  for  $1,783,868;  that  separate  contracts  were  awarded  for 
Electrical  work,  heating  and  ventilation,  plumbing,  internal  stone- 
work and  the  steel  work  of  the  Dome  structure  at  a  price  not  speci- 
fied— the  first  four  items  totalling  $356,488 ;  that  construction  of  the 
new  Law  Courts  and  the  new  Central  Power  House  for  various 
public  buildings  was  steadily  progressing;  that  during  the  year  a 
change  in  methods  of  purchasing  supplies  had  been  initiated  by  the 
creation  of  a  Purchasing  Department  which,  also,  was  being  utilized 
by  the  other  Departments  and  which  provided  "a  carefully  thought- 
out  system  of  requisitioning, .  securing  of  competitive  quotations, 
and  ordering  of  various  commodities  required";  that  the  Fair 
Wage  Board,  of  which  Mr.  Oxton  was  Chairman,  had  been  compelled 
to  meet  a  building  men's  strike  by  a  new  and  elaborate  schedule  of 
wages.  Many  other  reports  were  presented  to  this  Minister.  The 
Good  Roads  Board  found  that  unsettled  war  and  land  and  labour 
conditions  kept  municipalities  from  doing  very  much  in  necessary 
money  by-laws  but  during  the  1917  season  73  contracts  were 
approved.  A  system  of  Provincial  Highways  under  Government 
control  was  under  consideration;  work  was  started  on  improvement 


MANITOBA:  GOVERNMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND  EDUCATION   721 

of  the  Portage  Highway  at  a  cost  of  $165,000  for  27  miles— the 
municipality's  share  being  $55,000;  the  total  amount  expended  on 
all  roads  by  the  municipalities  in  1917  was  $297,834  and  on  bridges 
$169, 111,  and  by  the  Government  $143,048  and  $77,948  respectively; 
the  earth  roads  constructed  were  174  miles  in  length  and  the  gravel 
roads  90  miles,  while  the  bridges  numbered  230.  Under  the  Fac- 
tories Act  the  Department  of  Public  Works,  through  its  Bureau 
of  Labour,  had  1,478  inspections  made,  1,369  safety  orders  issued 
and  157  orders  as  to  sanitation,  with  48  others  affecting  children; 
under  the  Shops  Regulation  Act,  744  inspections  were  made  and 
766  orders  issued;  539  industrial  accidents  were  reported  in  1917  and, 
under  other  Acts,  4,168  steam  boilers  were  inspected  with  1,906 
inspections  of  freight  and  passenger  elevators;  8,546  public  buildings 
were  inspected  and  6,277  orders  issued.  There  were  125  Trade 
Unions  in  the  Province  and  6,203  members  compared  with  8,009 
on  Jan.  1,  1914 — before  the  War.  The  Brandon  Hospital  for  Insane 
reported  1,921  admissions  and  90  discharges,  with  565  patients 
under  treatment  on  Nov.  30,  1917;  the  Selkirk  Hospital  had  662 
under  treatment,  the  Portage  Home  for  Incurables  and  Old  Folks 
Home  had  334  inmates  on  Nov.  30. 

The  Hon.  Edward  Brown,  as  Provincial  Treasurer,  made  his 
Budget  Speech  on  Feb.  14  and  declared  that  "in  spite  of  disturbing 
elements  on  account  of  the  War  and  of  the  partial  failure  of  our 
1916  wheat  crop  on  account  of  rust,  the  affairs  of  the  Province  are 
in  a  satisfactory  condition.     Business  in  all  lines  is  being  conducted 
on  a  sounder  basis  than  ever  before;  we  have  more  money  in  the 
Banks,  representing  the  savings  of  the  people,  than  at  any  time  in 
our  history;  the  credit  of  the  Province  has  reached  new  high  levels." 
The  financial  condition  of  Manitoba  had  been  bad,  he  said,  when 
the  Norris  Government  took  office:  "We  found  an  overdraft  on 
current  account  and  unpaid  bills  exceeding  $1,000,000.     The  Pro- 
vincial lands,  which  had  hitherto  been  a  large  source  of  revenue, 
had    almost    disappeared.     Every    branch    of    the    Public    service 
was    inefficient    and    required    re-organization.     Serious    overhead 
charges,  on  account  of  interest  on  funded  debt  arising  out  of  the 
construction  of  Provincial  buildings,  completed  and  in  the  course 
of  completion,  had  been  created."     The  controllable  portion  of  a 
total  expenditure  of  $6,157,381   was  only  $2,292,078.     The  total 
Assets  of  the  Province  on  Nov.  30,  1916,  were  $66,576,712,  the  total 
liabilities  $33,277,893;  the  Revenues  were  $5,982,432,  the  expendi- 
tures  $6,157,381   and   deferred   receipts,   due  but  not  paid,   from 
Succession  duties,  etc.,  were  $1,072,228;  the  cash  in  hand  totalled 
$3,145,190.     The  estimates  for  1917  totalled  $6,665,704  of  Revenue 
and   $6,785,152   of   Expenditure   with   estimated   capital   expenses 
(Parliament  Buildings,   etc.)   of  $1,061,000.     The  total  figures  of 
production   (Farm  and  Dairy)  in  1915  were  $261,239,868  and  in 
1916  $226,511,161.     He  concluded  his  speech  with  a  War  reference: 
"We  are  under  no  misapprehension  as  to  what  we  are  fighting  for. 
We  are  part  of  the  British  Empire,  and  we  never  have  been  prouder 
of  that  fact  than  we  are  to-day.     When  the  Empire  is  at  war  Canada 
is  at  war.     Further,  we  are  fighting  for  our  own  firesides  just  as. 


722  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

truly  as  if  ^  the  insolent  German  aggressor  was  hammering  at  our 
own  doors."  A  possible  direct  tax-levy,  based  upon  assessments 
of  real  property,  was  hinted  at  and  the  story  told  of  Manitoba's  initia- 
tive action  in  the  mobilizing  of  Provincial  securities  in  London — 
endorsed  by  Winnipeg  and  Saskatchewan  and  approved  by  J.  P. 
Morgan  &  Co. — for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  British  Exchequer. 
The  coming  of  the  United  States  into  the  War  made  this  and  other 
proposals  unnecessary  upon  a  large  scale,  but  in  1917  the  bonded 
indebtedness  of  Manitoba  was  reduced  by  $440,000  profit  on  a 
partial  conversion. 

Supplementary  estimates  of  $2,041,000  were  presented  by  Mr. 
Brown  on  the  26th;  the  chief  Opposition  criticism  was  as  to  the  in- 
crease of  expenditures  and  liabilities  when  a  decrease  had  been  pledged 
during  the  Elections.  For  the  year  ending  Nov.  30,  1917,*  the 
deficit  was  $184,000  compared  with  $175,000  in  1916  and  no  new 
methods  of  war  taxation  were  resorted  to;  the  Assets  had  increased 
$4,500,000  to  a  total  of  $70,000,000  and  the  Liabilities  included 
$18,000,000  of  revenue-producing  Debt  and  $14,000,000  of  non- 
productive Debt — an  increase  in  the  year  of  $2,000,000;  the  Court 
actions,  Official  Inquiries  and  Commissions  had  compelled  a  refund 
of  $1,441,550  on  account  of  various  Roblin  Government  contracts 
and  a  saving  of  $246,300  on  the  Power  House  and  Law  Courts — 
less  $309,300  as  the  costs  of  all  investigations;  the  actual  Revenue 
was  $6,348,000  with  unpaid  sums  of  $1,133,745,  the  Expenditures 
were  $6,532,175,  the  cash  balance  on  Assets'  account  was  $3,863,487. 
To  Mr.  Brown  was  submitted  (May  1)  the  Report  of  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Insurance  (A.  E.  Ham)  showing  on  Dec.  1,  1916,  that 
53  licensed  Insurance  companies  were  doing  business  and  of  these 
28  had  total  Premiums  of  $514,966  and  Losses  of  $356,737  with 
$23,466,368  of  new  business  and  amount  at  Risk,  Dec.  31,  1916, 
of  $81,153,464 ;  while  144  registered  outside  Companies  had  Premiums 
in  the  Province  of  $7,200,565  and  losses  of  $2,973,926.  The  Fire 
losses  of  1917  totalled  $1,362,156— including  102  barns  and  other 
farm  buildings. 

As  to  other  Departments  the  Premier  was  Provincial  Lands 
Commissioner  and  dealt  in  his  Report  with  collections  from  Land 
sales,  etc.,  of  $162,339  in  1917,  with  deferred  payments  of  $2,321,000 
and  48,060  acres  available  for  sale ;  as  Railway  Commissioner  he 
dealt  with  4,463  miles  of  Railway  in  the  Province  and  reported 
progress  on  the  Hudson  Bay  Railway  with  track  laid  for  332  out  of 
425  miles  and  grading  completed  to  Port  Nelson;  Mr.  Norris  also 
pointed  out  that  the  recent  C.N.R.  legislation  at  Ottawa  might 
result  in  the  Province  being  relieved  of  an  indirect  liability  of  $25,- 
502,873  represented  by  1,863  miles  of  railway.  The  Hon.  J.  W. 
Armstrong,  Provincial  Secretary,  had  a  revenue  of  $41,093  in  1916, 
granted  163  Company  letters-patent  involving  $27,651,000  of  capital, 
and l|issued  667  commissions.  As  Municipal  Commissioner  the 
statistics  for  1917  were  submitted  by  his  Deputy,  E.  M.  Wood, 
and  showed  160  municipalities,  a  total  Provincial  population  of 
500,748,  55,656  resident  farmers,  an  area  of  21,268,608  acres  of  which 

*  Statements  by  Hon.  Mr.  Brown  in  Legislature  on  Feb.  4  and  Feb.  13,  1918. 


MANITOBA:  GOVERNMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND  EDUCATION   723 

17,490,088  acres  were  taxable,  a  Land  assessment  of  $504,761,748 
of  which  $253,667,790  covered  property  in  Winnipeg,  Municipal 
taxes  of  $11,373,801  of  which  $4,312,352  were  in  Winnipeg,  and  a 
debenture  Debt  of  $57,625,311  with  Winnipeg  standing  for  $40,- 
553,679.  Other  official  Reports  of  the  year  included  the  statement 
of  17,393  automobiles  having  been  licensed  in  1917  or  6,000  more 
than  in  the  previous  year;  showed  136  Grain  Elevators  in  the  Govern- 
ment system,  located  at  109  different  points  and  operated  at  a  loss 
of  $5,296  for  the  year  after  payment  of  $49,322  interest  had  been 
met  on  Bqnds;  the  Chief  Inspector  under  the  Temperance  Act 
reported  473  convictions  in  1917  and  the  collection  of  $85,762  in 
fines  with  many  infractions  of  the  Act  in  Winnipeg.  It  had  been 
found  that  the  Act  permitted  a  brewery  to  deliver  beer  direct  when 
purchased  from  someone  outside  the  Province ;  the  number  of  export 
liquor  warehouses  had  increased  to  52,  of  which  40  were  in  Winni- 
peg, and  they  supplied  much  liquor  to  Saskatchewan,  Alberta  and 
British  Columbia — all  of  which  Provinces  had  closed  them  up 
locally;  the  Commission  houses  ceased  business  on  May  8  by  virtue 
of  current  legislation. 

There  were  several  Commissions  appointed  during  the  year. 
The  Manitoba  Government  Commission  to  administer  the  Mothers' 
Allowance  Act,  and  of  which  George  Fisher,  Winnipeg,  was  Chairman, 
showed  in  its  first  Report  for  June  30,  1917,  that  129  mothers  were 
under  an  allowance  of  $31,982  with  28  applications  refused,  and  that 
514  children  were  dependant  upon  those  approved.  The  Returned 
Soldiers'  Committee,  with  F.  O.  Fowler  as  Chairman,  reported  that 
positions  had  been  found  for  1,922  returned  men  in  1916  and  1917, 
many  disputes  and  claims  adjusted  and  much  support  given  to  the 
Military  Hospitals  Commission — with  the  co-operation  of  220  other 
Committees  in  Military  District  10;  a  Public  Welfare  Commission 
was  appointed  on  Oct.  5,  composed  of  Hon.  T.  H.  Johnson,  D.  B. 
Harkness,  H.  J.  Symington,  K.C.,  Mrs.  W.  L.  Copeland,  Mrs.  Ethel 
Johns,  Robt.  Forke,  A.  T.  Mathers,  M.D.,  J.  M.  Thompson  and 
W.  J.  Fulton,  to  inquire  into  and  report  upon  all  matters  and  things 
respecting  the  establishment,  control,  financing  and  management  of, 
or  otherwise  relating  to,  Public  Institutions  of  the  Province  such 
as  Hospitals  for  the  Insane,  the  Home  for  Inciirables,  the  Gaols 
and  all  charitable  or  benevolent  institutions  or  organizations — the 
Report  to  cover  conditions  of  Provincial  aid,  co-operation  amongst 
the  institutions,  etc.  An  Advisory  Council,  under  the  Hotel  Act, 
was  appointed  (June  26)  composed  of  J.  N.  MacLean,  J.  M.  Scott 
and  G.  Harvey  of  Winnipeg,  W.  J.  Wilson,  Norwood,  and  S.  S. 
Simpson,  Brandon.  Another  Commission  was  that  appointed  to 
investigate  the  operation  of  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Act, 
composed  of  W.  S.  Fallis  (Chairman),  A.  R.  D.  Paterson  (Insurance 
interests)  Comptroller  A.  W.  Puttee  (Labour) ;  a  Law  Enforcement 
Board  also  was  appointed,  made  up  of  R.  M.  Noble,  D.  W.  Mc- 
Kerchar  and  J.  N.  MacLean — all  of  Winnipeg;  still  another  was  a 
Board  to  Revise  the  Equalized  Assessment  of  Provincial  Munici- 
palities, with  Robt.  Forke,  Pipestone,  Geo.  Metcalfe  and  Robt. 
Young  of  Winnipeg  as  members.  Other  official  appointments  of 
the  year  were  as  follows: 


724  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

King's  Counsel Wm.  H.  Curie Winnipeg. 

Acting  Deputy  Minister  of  Agriculture James  H.  Evans Winnipeg. 

Member  of  Appeal  Board Mrs.  Edna  M.  Nash Winnipeg. 

Member  of  the  Treasury  Board Hon.  T.  C.  Norris Winnipeg. 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Board Peter  Whimster Winnipeg. 

Assistant  Deputy  Minister  of  Education J.  Frank  Greenway Winnipeg. 

Director  Manitoba  Agricultural  College Mrs.  Sarah  Emma  Leslie.  .Melita. 

Supervisor  of  School  Attendance Ed.  H.  Dewart Winnipeg. 

Secretary  of  Compensation  Board Nicholas  Fletcher Winnipeg. 

Statistician  to  Compensation  Board Wm.  H.  Harvey Winnipeg. 

Provincial  Inspector  of  Legal  Offices Geoffrey  H.  Walker Winnipeg. 

Provincial  Live-Stock  Commissioner Wm.  W.  Fraser Winnipeg. 

Administrator  of  Succession  Duties  Act Geo.  A.  Metcalfe Winnipeg. 

Auditor  of  Disbursements W.  J.  Logan Winnipeg. 

Member  of  the  Advisory  Board — Education  De- 
partment  Mrs.  Mary  Stockwin Holland. 

Superintendent  of  Mortgage  Department:    Farm  « 

Loans  Association David  Howatson Winnipeg. 

Provincial  Purchasing  Agent E.  A.  Gilroy Winnipeg. 

King's  Printer Philip  Purcell Winnipeg. 

Commissioner,  Workmen's  Compensation  Act Herbert  G.  Wilson Winnipeg. 

Member  of  Fair  Wage  Board Walter  Owens Winnipeg. 

Member  of  Fair  Wage  Board J.  W.  Morley Winnipeg. 

Dairy  Commissioner L.  A.  Gibson Winnipeg. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  was  the  centre  of  production 
and,  at  times  in  this  year,  of  discussion,  with  the  Manitoba  College  of 
Agriculture  as  a  political  pivot  of  past  years.  The  Report  for  Nov. 
30,  1916 — the  latest  available — of  the  Minister,  Hon.  Valentine 
Winkler,  dealt  with  the  work  of  divisions  or  sections  directing 
Dairy  interests,  cattle-branding,  co-operative  wool  industry,  milk- 
testing,  Weeds,  immigration,  Farm  demonstrations  and  the  reports 
of  the  Provincial  Apiarist,  Chief  Game  Guardian,  Financial  state- 
ments of  Hospitals,  etc.  During  1917  the  Department  (in  June 
and  July)  prevented  many  thousands  of  unfinished  cattle  from 
going  south  by  advancing  money  to  farmers  to  purchase  the  stockers 
and  a  large  number  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity.  The 
Federal  Department  aided  by  giving  free  transportation  back  to 
the  farms  and  during  1916  and  1917,  over  63,000  head  had  thus 
been  saved  to  the  farms  of  the  Western  Provinces.  About  60% 
of  the  wool  grown  in  Manitoba,  or  a  total  of  168,048  Ibs.,  was  sold 
in  1917  at  an  average  of  58  cents  compared  with  32  cents  in  1916 
and  20)4  cents  in  1915,  under  the  Government's  co-operative  wool- 
marketing  plan.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  Provincial  and  Federal 
Departments  a  Conference  in  Winnipeg  was  held  on  Nov.  29  with 
representatives  present  of  the  Departments,  the  Agricultural  Soci- 
eties, Grain  Growers,  Live-stock  and  Dairy  Associations,  Home 
Economic  Societies  and  Boys'  and  Girls'  Clubs,  with  the  Agri- 
cultural and  daily  press  also  represented.  After  speeches  from 
President  J.  B.  Reynolds  of  the  College,  W.  I.  Smale,  J.  H.  Evans, 
Mrs.  E.  Cora  Hind,  George  Batho,  W.  W.  Fraser,  Prof.  G.  W.  Wood 
and  others,  resolutions  were  passed  pledging  all  possible  effort 
to  increase  production,  declaring  this  to  be  "the  paramount  obli- 
gation of  Canada,"  asking  public  bodies  in  cities,  towns  and  villages 
to  help  in  enabling  residents  to  raise  and  feed  pigs  and  other  live- 
stock, describing  hog  production  as  a  great  essential  and  urging 
the  Provincial  Department  to  conduct  an  active  propaganda. 
President  Reynolds,  in  his  speech,  stated  a  total  decrease  in  Manitoba 
Live-stock,  1914-1917,  of  1,039,000  head  and  the  normal  meat 
consumption  per  capita  of  certain  countries  as  follows:  Australia 
260  Ibs.  per  year,  United  States  170  Ibs.,  Canada  140  Ibs.,  United 


MANITOBA:  GOVEENMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND  EDUCATION    725 

Kingdom  120  Ibs.,  Germany  115  Ibs.  As  to  Dairy  production 
Commissioner  L.  A.  Gibson  reported  to  the  Minister  for  1917  that 
creamery  butter  totalled  7,526,356  Ibs.  valued  at  $2,897,647, 
or  an  increase  in  price  from  26  cents  in  1914  to  38  cents  and  that 
the  total  value  of  creamery  and  dairy  butter,  cheese,  milk  and  cream 
in  1917  was  $5,895,631 — an  increase  of  $1,400,000  in  the  year. 
It  may  be  stated  here  that  the  Agricultural  statistics  for  1917  ex- 
ceeded those  of  1916  by  $80,000,000  and  were  as  follows: 


42,689,061   busl 
63,372,832 
26,014,948 
552,309 
1,296,317 
58,999 
7,293,655 
2,730,666 
227,094      to 
136,732 
Dairy  Products 
413,811  Hor 
649,991  Cat 
128,943  She< 
400,914  Pigs 
129,716  Tur 
63,313  Gee 
1,676,965  Chi< 
93,186  Due 
1,000,000  Ibs. 

lels  Wheat         a 
Oats 
Barley 
Flax 
Rye 
Peas 
Potatoes 
Roots 
is     Hay 
Feed  Corn 

t  $     2.05    . 

$  87  512  575 

.65  
1.17  
3.15  
1  .  25  .  . 

41,192,340 
30,437,489 
1,739,773 
1,620396 

3  .  00  .  . 

176,997 

.80  

.    .          5,834,924 

80 

2  184  532 

15.00  

3,406,410 

15.00.  .  .  . 

2,050,980 

.  .  .  .          5,895,631 


ses             head  a 
ble 

3P 

per  Ib. 

keys 

36 

;kens 
ks 
Honey  per  Ib. 

t  $150.00.  . 
75.00  
16.00.  . 
.15  
.30  
.25  

.    .        62,071,650 
.    .        48,749,325 
.    .          2,063,088 
.    .        10,824,678 
.    .              389,148 
118,711 

.28  
.25    . 

1,878,200 
139,779 

.19.. 

190,000 

Total $308,476,626 

The  total  summer  farm  help  was  16,345  with  average  wages  of  $42 
to  $47  per  month  while  Harvest  help  totalled  36,891  with  average 
wages  of  $59  to  $74;  farm  domestics  numbered  5,117  in  the  Pro- 
vinces during  1917  with  wages  of  $20  to  $24;  the  land  prepared  for 
the  1917  crop  was  2,913,603  acres  and  the  price  of  cultivated  land 
ran  from  $27  to  $31.  The  Department,  through  the  work  of  the 
Agricultural  College,  found  at  this  time  that  in  25  townships  of  the 
Province  there  were  9,000,000  of  the  gopher  pest,  averaging  a  de- 
struction or  loss  of  $2,250,000  a  year  in  the  grain  fields;  to  the 
Department,  also,  came  reports  of  the  Home  Economics  Societies 
which  dealt  fully  with  their  patriotic  work,  food  preparation  in  the 
homes,  nursing,  dress-making,  etc.,  and  showed  98  societies  in  1917 
with  3,950  members,  receipts  of  $34,465  and  the  raising  of  $20,000 
for  war  purposes  in  1917  and  $14,980  in  1916.  Mr.  Winkler  at 
the  beginning  of  the  year  addressed  a  Message  to  the  Canada  journal 
in  London,  declaring  that,  as  to  Manitoba,  "our  efforts  are  organized, 
and  have  become  a  part  of  the  daily  life  of  a  people  welded  together 
in  a  quiet,  stern  determination  to  meet  every  call  to  the  uttermost 
of  their  resources.  ...  If  there  is  any  message  that  Manitoba 
can  send  to  the  Mother  Country  at  this  time,  it  is  one  of  cheerful 
assurance  that  the  people  of  the  Province  will  continue  to  do  their 
'bit*  and  will  not  count  the  cost."  This  Minister  was  somewhat 
keenly  attacked  by  the  Opposition  press  during  the  year.  The 
Telegram  on  Mar.  31,  for  instance,  declared  that  negotiations  were 
going  on  with  T.  A.  Crerar  to  become  Minister  of  Agriculture. 
There  had  been  friction  for  some  time  between  the  management 
of  the  Manitoba  Agricultural  College  and  Mr.  Winkler  and  it  was 

*  Provincial  Treasurer's  1918  Budget  Speech. 


726       .         THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

alleged  that  the  Minister  had  over-ruled  the  Advisory  Board,  dis- 
agreed with  the  Teaching  faculty,  and  made  regulations  which 
curtailed  the  efficiency  of  College  work.  The  Grain  Growers'  Guide 
openly  criticized  him  on  Mar.  28  and  declared  that:  "The  Minister 
of  Agriculture  is  not  an  agricultural  expert  and  is  not  in  touch  with 
the  work  of  the  Agricultural  College.  Neither  has  he  in  his  De- 
partment experts  capable  of  judging  the  work  of  the  Agricultural 
College.  But  the  complaint  against  the  Department  does  not  end 
with  the  College.  It  extends  into  almost  every  branch  of  the 
Departmental  work  and  it  would  appear  that  the  Department 
is  not  well  organized."  The  personal  dismissal  by  the  Minister 
of  Prof.  F.  S.  Jacobs  at  this  time  was  one  cause  of  trouble  and  there 
were  several  others.  The  Farmers'  Advocate  and  Winnipeg  Free 
Press  joined  in  the  attack  but  nothing  more  serious  developed. 

Meantime  the  College,  under  President  J.  B.  Reynolds,  had  an 
excellent  year  and  was  doing  good  work  in  (1)  class-room  teaching 
of  all  subjects  belonging  directly  to  Agriculture  and  Home  Econ- 
omics, and  other  subjects  such  as  English,  Chemistry,  Botany, 
Bacteriology,  Physics,  and  Engineering;  (2)  practice  in  cooking, 
sewing,  house-planning,  planning  meals,  testing  and  judging  grains, 
identifying  and  mounting  weeds  and  grasses,  judging  live-stock, 
feeding  and  judging  poultry,  butter-making,  concrete-work,  operat- 
ing steam  and  gas  engines,  carpentering  and  blacksmithing,  testing 
and  analyzing  soils  and  foods;  (3)  through  a  Library  well-furnished 
with  text-books  and  reference  books  on  all  the  subjects  taught. 
The  enrolment  of  1917  was  350  in  Long  Courses  and  a  similar  number 
in  Short  Courses  and  the  general  work  was  divided  into  (1)  Agri- 
culture, (2)  Home  Economics,  and  (3)  Extension  Service.  Under 
the  Act  the  governing  body  was  a  Board  of  10  Directors  with  the 
Minister  an  ex-officio  member  and  full  powers  as  to  regulations  and 
appointments  provided  that  "such  by-laws,  rules  and  regulations 
shall  have  no  force  or  effect  without  the  approval  of  the  Minister 
of  Agriculture  and  Immigration."  The  3-year  course  in  Agri- 
culture included  agricultural  engineering,  animal,  dairy  and  field 
husbandry,  horticulture,  entomology,  physics,  botany,  chemistry, 
biology,  mathematics,  veterinary  science,  bacteriology,  rural  soci- 
ology, mathematics,  veterinary  science,  bacteriology,  rural  sociology ; 
the  Home  Economics  section  covered  in  a  5-year  course  chemistry, 
English,  household  art,  science  and  construction,  poultry,  dairy- 
ing, physical  culture,  history,  biology,  landscape  gardening,  and 
included  all  kinds  of  requirements  for  managing  a  home  and  con- 
ducting its  daily  routine  of  foods,  clothes,  etc.,  with,  in  the  5th 
year,  University  subjects  of  instruction;  the  Extension  Service  dealt 
with  the  work  of  Agricultural  Societies  and  the  practical  work  of 
the  farm  with  short  courses  covering  matters  which  coiild  be  studied 
at  home.  In  1917  the  Department,  with  College  co-operation, 
issued  a  large  number  of  Bulletins  or  pamphlets  dealing  with  many 
phases  of  agricultural  life,  education  and  work.  The  Extension 
publications  of  the  College  were  termed  the  Manitoba  Farmers' 
Library,  and  a  large  number  of  monographs  were  issued. 


MANITOBA:  GOVERNMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND  EDUCATION   727 


The  task  of  the  Minister  of  Education  in  Manitoba,  withfits 
racial  problem  and  religious  differences,  was  not  an  easy  one.  The 
Report  of  the  Hon.  R.  S.  Thornton,  LL.D.,  for  June  30,  1917,  was  an 
elaborate  production  and  showed  clear  progress ;  in  it  Robert  Fletcher, 
Deputy  Minister,  gave  full  statistics  of  varied  conditions.  During 
the  year  the  public,  elementary  and  secondary  schools  of  the  Pro- 
vince enrolled  the  names  of  106,588  pupils,  or  19*4%  of  the  whole 
population;  100,294  or  94'1%  of  these  were  registered  in  the  various 
grades  of  the  elementary  schools  and  6,294  or  5 '9%  in  the  high 
schools.  The  proportion  of  male  and  female  teachers  in  elementary 
and  secondary  schools  was  about  the  same  as  in  1916  with,  however, 
one  in  six  of  the  teachers  men,  or  17' 5%.  In  1917,  61%  of  the 
teachers  had  permanent  certificates,  34%,  3rd  class  and  4%,  interim. 
During  this  year  it  was  decided  that  no  permanent  license  should 
hereafter  be  granted  except  to  a  British  subject  by  birth  or  naturali- 
zation ;  increased  and  widening  influences  were  brought Jto  bear  upon 
the  average  Trustee's  indifference,  the  average  ratepayer's  ignorance, 
and  the  absence  of  proper  sanitary  care;  the  co-operation  of  the 
Provincial  Board  of  Health  was  encouraged  and  the  playground 
as  a  factor  was  utilized;  the  total  Government  expenditure  for  the 
year  of  Nov.  30,  1916,  was  $1,072,816  compared  with  $295,221  in 
1905;  the  average  daily  attendance  in  the  year  of  June  30,  1917, 
was  69,209  or  64'93%  of  the  enrolment  compared  with  34,947  or 
54'5%  in  1906.  Other  statistics  of  1916  and  1917  were  as  follows: 

Particulars  1915-16  1916-17 

School  Population ..  118,703  130,275 

No.  of  Pupils  Enrolled 103,796  106,588 

No.  in  Elementary  Grades , 97,100  100,294 

Average  daily  Attendance 66,561  69,209 

No.  of  School  Districts 1,835  1,896 

No.  of  School  Buildings 1,597  1,626 

No.  of  School  Departments 2,888  3,043 

No.  of  Intermediate  Schools 67  72 

No.  of  High  Schools 20  23 

No.  of  Collegiate  Institutes / 10  9 

Teachers  with  Collegiate  Certificates 104  121 

No.  holding  1st  Class  Certificates 260  244 

No.  holding  2nd  Class  Certificates 1,611  1,439 

3rd  Class  Professional  Certificates 889  1,028 

No.  holding  Interim  Certificates 82  140 

Teachers'  Salaries $2,195,226       $2,314,005 

As  to  Teachers'  salaries  the  highest  paid  in  1900  was  $1,800,  in 
1915-16-17  $3,500;  the  average  in  1900  was  $449.37  and  in  1917 
$751.00.  The  total  Educational  receipts  from  all  sources  was 
$5,720,742  and  Expenditures  $5,333,301 ;  the  Assets  were  $15,242,391 
and  Liabilities  $10,573,851.  As  to  the  Bi-lingual  problem  the 
Inspectors  reported  occasionally  and  Ira  Stratton,  Special  School 
Organizer,  made  this  interesting  statement:  "In  the  matter  of 
teaching  there  is  now  a  better  understanding  on  the  part  of  non- 
English  parents.  At  one  time  they  thought  it  an  impossibility 
for  purely  English-speaking  teachers  to  be  successful  with  classes 
of  beginners.  The  fallacy  of  this  idea  is  being  recognized  even  by 
the  people  themselves  who  are  finding  out  that  the  children  trained 
by  such  teachers  learn  to  speak  the  English  language  so  correctly 
and  so  fluently  as  to  be  under  no  handicap  in  after  life  anywhere 
in  Canada."  To  this  subject  Hon.  Dr.  Thornton  referred  in  the 
House  on  Jan.  17  and  stated  that  no  more  Bi-lingual  teaching  cer- 


728  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

tificates  would  be  issued.  Present  holders  had  been  granted  per- 
mits to  teach  on  them  for  three  years  when  they  would  be  invited 
to  qualify  for  regular  certificates,  and,  the  Minister  added:  "excep- 
tional facilities  are  being  offered  to  non-English  students  for 
equipping  themselves  as  public  school  teachers."  At  the  same  time 
the  admission  of  students  to  the  Normal  Schools  was  made  contin- 
gent upon  passing  the  entrance  examinations  in  English  where, 
formerly,  it  was  allowable  to  substitute  French  or  German  grammar 
and  composition  for  English.  The  Brandon  Normal  School  had 
an  enrolment  of  59  in  1917  of  whom  56  were  women,  that  of  Winnipeg 
73  with  65  women;  the  Boys'  and  Girls'  Clubs  numbered  115  central 
ones  with  800  branches  and  15,000  members;  the  Manitoba  School 
for  the  Deaf  had  176  pupils  in  attendance,  the  Industrial  Training 
School  an  average  of  75  boys;  the  Juvenile  Court,  under  F.  J.  Billi- 
arde's  care  as  Superintendent,  continued  a  good  work  which  with 
the  Children's  Aid  Society  and  those  of  St.  Adelarde  and  the  Dauphin 
had  controlled  17,810  children  since  1908.  There  were  72  consolidated 
schools  in  Provincial  operation.  The  33rd  annual  Report  of  the 
Provincial  Librarian  (J.  P.  Robertson)  showed  60,000  volumes  of 
special  and  useful  character. 

Dr.  Thornton,  in  his  address  to  the  Legislature  on  Jan.  17, 
reviewed  the  excellent  record  of  his  Department  in  the  last  two 
years ;  on  Feb.  20  he  introduced  a  measure  re-modelling  the  Univer- 
sity of  Manitoba  and  making  it  to  some  extent  a  Provincial  insti- 
tution. As  usual  with  this  Department  he  made  Empire  Day  a 
great  occasion  for  the  children  and  issued  a  handsome  booklet 
reviewing  and  emphasizing  its  significance.  On  Mar.  6  the  Minister, 
and  President  J.  B.  Reynolds,  addressed  a  School  Trustees'  Con- 
vention with  400  present.  The  former  urged  High  School  help  on 
the  farms  and  stated  that  in  future  "all  teachers  will  be  compelled 
to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  His  Majesty  the  King."  Up  to 
the  present  conditions  had  made  this  impossible.  On  Apr.  10  he 
addressed  a  Convention  of  the  Manitoba  Educational  Association 
at  Winnipeg  with  1,400  teachers  in  attendance;  the  Lieut. -Governor, 
Sir  J.  A.  M.  Aikins,  spoke  on  the  llth  and  urged  a  Pension  scheme; 
Resolutions  were  passed  supporting  the  further  teaching  of  Canadian 
history  and  the  adequate  celebration  of  Empire  Day.  Prof.  T. 
W.  Clark,  Winnipeg,  was  elected  President.  In  respect  to  Military 
Training  in  the  schools,  Manitoba  was  the  only  Province  which  had 
refused  to  accept  the  Strathcona  Trust  agreement  as  to  training  of  Pub- 
lic School  boys  and  the  formation  of  Cadet  Corps;  according  to  Col. 
E.  A.  C.  Hosmer  (June  7)  it  was  to  avoid  trouble  with  the  alien 
element.  The  High  and  Public  School  teachers  of  the  Red  River 
Valley  met  at  Emerson  on  Nov.  14  and  were  told  by  the  Minister 
of  Education  that  100  schools,  the  greater  number  of  them  with 
teachers'  residences,  had  been  erected  among  people  of  alien  extrac- 
tion during  the  last  few  years  and  that  about  4,500  children  who 
had  not  been  to  school  previously  were  now  provided  with  schools 
and  teachers:  "The  residence  plan  is  proving  a  great  factor  in 
overcoming  the  scarcity  of  English-speaking  teachers  in  foreign- 
speaking  districts." 


MANITOBA:  GOVERNMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND  EDUCATION   729 

The  2nd  Session  of  the  15th  Legislature  was  opened  on  Jan.  11 
by  Sir  James  Aikins,  the  new  Lieut. -Governor,  with  references  to 
the  retirement  of  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Connaught,  the  appointment 
of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  and  the  prosperity  prevailing  throughout 
the  Province;  with  emphatic  reference  to  the  need  "of  thrift  and 
economy,  of  avoiding  wastefulness  in  anything  and  everything  that 
can  be  turned  to  good  uses,  of  constant  thought  and  effort  to  increase 
production  from  farm  and  factory";  with  praise  for  the  economic 
and  moral  benefit  of  the  Prohibition  law  and  appreciation  of  a  public 
opinion  which  ensured  its  enforcement;  with  eulogy  of  the  men  who 
had  voluntarily  enlisted,  of  the  services  of  the  troops,  of  the  generous 
gifts  of  the  people;  with  promises  of  legislation  establishing  a  sys- 
tem of  rural  credits  and  making  other  changes  in  the  laws.  On  the 
15th  the  Address  was  moved  by  S.  E.  Clements,  Brandon,  and  W. 
H.  Sims,  Swan  River;  the  election  of  John  Morrison  (Lib.)  as 
member  for  Rupert's  Land  had  already  been  announced;  Albert 
Pr£fontaine  was  Leader  of  a  Conservative  Opposition  of  five — less 
one  when  F.  Y.  Newton  resigned  on  Feb.  22.  The  address  was 
passed  on  the  25th  after  R.  A.  Rigg  and  F.  J.  Dixon,  Socialist  and 
Pacifist  members,  had  caused  much  dissatisfaction  by  their  speeches. 
In  the  House  on  Jan.  17  Mr.  Dixon  stated  that  armament  rings, 
dukes,  knights,  newspaper  men  and  Protective  tariffs  had  caused 
the  War;  that  Germany  created  its  army  because  Russia  had  one; 
that  "the  War  did  not  involve  the  principles  of  freedom  and  liberty 
to  the  extent  some  people  believed  and  bore  all  the  ear-marks  of  a 
struggle  for  power  and  the  possible  setting  up  of  a  Russian  militar- 
ism." The  Winnipeg  Telegram  reviewed  the  speech  as  a  whole 
(Jan.  19)  as  follows:  "He  objects  to  our  manner  of  carrying  on  the 
the  War;  to  graft  in  war  matters;  to  the  objects  for  which  the 
Allies  are  fighting;  to  war  being  carried  on  at  all;  and  he  believes 
he  can  be  of  more  use  in  the  cause  of  'liberty  and  justice*  here  than 
at  the  Front."  The  result  of  this  and  preceding  utterances  and 
vigorous  opposition  to  National  Service — though  he  had  two  brothers 
at  the  Front — was  a  strong  movement  of  popular  protest.  The 
Army  and  Navy  Veterans  held  a  meeting  on  Jan.  20  and  urged  his 
expulsion  and  that  of  Rigg  from  the  House ;  a  Petition  was  circulated 
and  largely  signed  asking  for  retirement  and  the  voluntary  applica- 
tion to  themselves  of  the  principle  of  Recall,  which  they  were  trying 
to  include  in  the  Initiative  and  Referendum  Act,  and  which  would 
compel  a  member  to  resign  upon  request  of  a  certain  number  of  his 
electors.  On  the  22nd  Mr.  Rigg  endorsed  his  colleague  and  de- 
clared that  "National  Service  was  primarily  intended  to  intensify 
the  slavery  of  Labour  and  to  increase  Labour's  exploitation"; 
denied  that  solicitude  for  Belgium  was  the  prime  cause  of  Britain's 
entry  into  the  War  and  also  the  disinterestedness  of  Russia's  mo- 
tives ;  declared  that  British  navalism  was  as  much  provocative  of  war 
as  German  militarism.  "The  basic  cause  of  the  War  was  economic 
antagonism."  T.  D.  Ferley,  a  Ruthenian,  A.  J.  Lobb  (Lib.),  and 
other  members,  denounced  these  views  and  on  the  25th  D.  A.  Ross 
declared  that  he  would  not  sit  on  Committees  with  men  who,  "like 
Judas  of  old,  are  betraying  their  countrymen  and  assisting  the 


730  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Germans."  Resolutions  of  protest  were  passed  by  the  Board  of 
Trade  and  Ministerial  Association  and  a  mass-meeting  on  Jan.  30 
demanded  their  retirement.  In  the  House,  again,  on  Mar.  8, 
Messrs.  Dixon  and  Rigg  opposed  the  following  Resolution  moved 
by  the  Premier  and  seconded  by  the  Opposition  Leader: 

That  the  Legislature  of  Manitoba,  recognizing  the  gravity  of  the  times  and  the 
urgent  need  for  a  victorious  ending  of  the  War,  as  affording  the  only  means  to  a  just 
and  enduring  peace,  holds  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  heartily  to  assist  to  this  end  to  the 
extent  of  their  power;  and  declares  its  conviction  that  the  obligation  rests  upon  each 
citizen  to  respond  to  the  demands  which  may  be  made  upon  him  by  the  authorities 
entrusted  by  the  people  with  the  responsibility  with  regard  both  to  his  personal 
services  and  to  his  financial  resources,  and  believes  that  in  this  crisis  in  our  history 
no  personal,  sectional,  or  party  views  should  obscure  the  great  issue. 

They  were  the  only  supporters  of  an  amendment  demanding 
immediate  conscription  of  wealth  and  Government  ownership  of 
industries  and  they  also  voted  against  the  Resolution  itself.  Mr. 
Rigg  ran  for  the  Commons  during  the  General  Elections  as  a  Labour 
candidate  with  a  policy  enunciated  on  Nov.  11  as  follows:  "I  regard 
human  life  as  the  supremely  sacred  thing  and  believe  that  if  the 
State  had  adopted  the  policy  of  the  conscription  of  money,  industry 
and  natural  resources  there  would  be  absolutely  no  necessity  for  the 
passing  and  enforcing  of  any  scheme  to  conscript  men."  He  was 
defeated  by  6,000  majority.  Meanwhile  a  number  of  important 
Bills  were  passed  by  the  Legislature — the  chief,  perhaps,  being  the 
co-related  Farm  Loans  Act  and  the  Rural  Credits  Act.  The  former, 
presented  by  Hon.  Edward  Brown,  provided  for  long-term  mortgage 
loans  under  an  amortization  re-payment  plan;  the  latter,  sponsored 
by  G.  W.  Prout,  provided  a  crop-payment  short-term  production 
credit  system.  The  Farm  Loans  Act  arranged  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Manitoba  Farm  Loans  Association,  to  be  managed  by  a 
Board  of  five  members.  This  Board  would  receive  applications  for 
loans,  and  issue  shares,  certificates  and  stocks  or  bonds  of  the  Asso- 
ciation; the  capital  stock  was  to  be  $1,000,000,  divided  into  200,000 
shares  of  $5  each  and  only  borrowers  for  farm  purposes  were  entitled 
to  hold  stock;  prospective  borrowers  must  subscribe  for  stock  to 
the  extent  of  five  per  cent,  of  the  amount  of  money  desired  as  a  loan. 
The  loans  were  to  be  used  exclusively  for  agricultural  purposes  or 
to  retire  existing  mortgages  and  the  Government  subscribed  50  per 
cent,  of  the  the  stock  of  the  Association  which,  it  was  assumed,  could 
secure  money  by  selling  bonds  guaranteed  by  the  Government. 
The  money  was  to  be  loaned  at  cost  plus  expense  of  handling  which, 
it  was  hoped,  would  mean  loans  to  farmers  at  about  6  per  cent. ;  the 
full  amount  of  the  loan  to  be  repaid  in  30  years  by  a  small  annual 
payment  which  would  include  principal  and  interest.  The  Short- 
term  Credits  Bill  provided  that  farmers  could  organize  Rural  Credit 
Societies  with  each  member  putting  up  a  certain  sum;  the  Govern- 
ment contributing  twice  the  amount  of  the  total  voted  by  the  Society 
and  the  municipality,  within  which  the  Society  was  formed,  sub- 
scribing the  same  amount  as  the  Society  itself.  Hence,  if  a  Society 
furnished  $5,000  of  its  members'  money,  the  municipality  would 
furnish  another  $5,000  and  the  Government  $10,000;  this  would 


MANITOBA:  GOVERNMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND  EDUCATION   731 

form  the  margin  for  a  credit  of  ten  times  the  amount  at  a  chartered 
Bank.  Loan  applications  were  to  be  passed  upon  by  a  Board  of  nine — 
three  appointed  by  the  Society,  three  by  the  municipality,  and  three 
by  the  Government.  This  Board  would  guarantee  the  loan  and 
back  the  farmer's  note  for  the  amount  as  a  credit  at  the  Bank.  The 
loan  was  a  first  charge  upon  the  crop  and  upon  the  farmer's  stock, 
buildings  and  equipment,  but  the  real  and  basic  security  was  the 
farmer's  ability  to  produce.  The  Societies  were  to  be  subject  to  an 
Agricultural  supervisor,  appointed  by  the  Government. 

The  Legislature  also  re-enacted  an  Act  permitting  municipalities 
to  borrow  up  to  $30,000  each  for  supplying  seed-grain  to  farmers, 
through  a  $500,000  Provincial  Government  overdraft,  the  money  to 
be  repaid  by  Nov.  30,  with  the  Seed  Grain  Act  amended,  to  make 
Seed  thus  supplied  the  first  charge  upon  the  land.  The  Manitoba 
Grain  Elevators  Act  was  amended  to  place  control  under  the 
Premier  instead  of  the  Minister  of  Public  Works  and  a  policy  of 
selling  Elevators,  where  the  Government  owned  two  or  more  at  any 
one  point,  was  incorporated.  The  old  Agricultural  Societies'  Act 
was  repealed  and  a  new  Act  passed  which  provided  that  the  Societies 
must  engage  in  certain  Exhibition  and  competitive  activities  before 
acquiring  a  Provincial  grant;  the  grants  were  to  be  standardized 
upon  a  basis  of  membership  and  prize-moneys  granted  at  the  ex- 
hibitions. An  Act  was  passed  providing  for  the  establishment  of 
Demonstration  farms  of  320  acres  each,  and  the  old  system  of  40- 
acre  Demonstration  farms  was  abandoned.  Another  Act  of  interest 
to  farmers  and  corporations  provided  for  Provincial  insurance,  De- 
partmental supervision  over  Hail  insurance,  and  standardized  Hail 
insurance  policies.  The  Game  Prohibition  Act  was  improved  and  a 
Bill  passed  for  the  protection  of  insectivorous  birds,  nests  and  eggs; 
another  Act  provided  for  the  protection  of  sheep  against  dogs, 
legalized  the  killing  of  vicious  dogs  and  provided  damages  against 
the  owners;  an  Act  respecting  Agents  abolished  commission  houses 
through  which  liquor  was  ordered  for  consumption  within  the 
Province;  a  Board  was  constituted  to  administer  the  morality 
provisions  of  the  Criminal  Code,  the  Temperance,  and  certain  other 
Acts.  As  a  matter  of  municipal  legislation  Women  were  made  eligible 
for  all  municipal  offices ;  provision  was  made  for  the  appointment  of 
a  Board  to  revise  Assessments  and  a  consolidated  Winnipeg  Act  was 
introduced  for  consideration  and  action  at  the  next  Session;  Brandon 
was  permitted  to  appoint  a  Board  of  Assessment  valuation  and  Fort 
Garry  and  St.  Vital  allowed  to  adopt  the  Single-tax  system;  a  special 
Act  validated  the  St.  Peter's  Reserve  settlement — a  long-standing 
dispute  between  purchasers  of  lands  in  the  old  Reserve  and  in  two 
Municipalities ;  a  payment  of  $50,000  to  the  town  of  The  Pas  was  auth- 
orized, much  against  the  wishes  of  that  municipality,  in  "  full  settle- 
ment" of  all  claims  arising  out  of  the  extension  of  Manitoba's 
boundaries  and  by  it  The  Pas  was  made  responsible  for  its  share  in 
the  Public  Debt  of  the  old  Province;  the  Patriotic  Levy  Act,  under 
which,  by  a  voluntary  tax  of  1J^  mills  on  the  dollar,  $1,500,000  had 
been  raised,  was  amended  to  increase  the  rate  to  2  mills  and  the 
expected  receipts  to  $2,000,000  for  Patriotic  Fund  and  Red  Cross. 


732  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Charity  Act  was  variously  amended  with  a  view  to  co-ordination 
and  a  Commission  of  Inquiry  created;  another  Act  provided  for  a 
School  for  Feeble-minded  and  the  Lunacy  Act  was  amended  to  deal 
with  mild  cases  of  insanity  in  soldiers,  to  protect  the  estates  of  insane 
persons,  to  provide  for  a  Psychopathic  Hospital  at  Winnipeg  and  to 
grant  $50,000  to  be  used,  with  a  similar  Federal  grant,  for  a  new 
Tubercular  unit  at  the  Ninette  Sanatorium. 

A  Resolution  was  passed  on  Mar.  5,  moved  by  Hon.  T.  C.  Norris 
and  Hon.  A.  B.  Hudson,  reviewing  previous  resolutions  asking 
that  Federal  administration  of  the  School  Lands  of  the  Province, 
with  funds  already  received  from  Land  sales,  be  handed  over  to  the 
Province;  declaring  that  such  securities  were  worth  5%  instead  of 
the  3%  now  paid  by  the  Federal  authorities  and  that  deferred  and 
overdue  payments  in  principal  and  interest  on  these  lands  was 
large,  with  interest  alone  totalling  $463,178;  stating  that  only 
$30,000  of  principal  had  as  yet  been  paid  over  from  realized  sales; 
quoting  utterances  of  Hon.  W.  S.  Fielding  and  Sir  W.  Laurier,  and 
the  passage  of  a  Bill  in  1898  authorizing  payment  of  $300,000  which 
the  Senate  had  rejected;  urging  that  ''the  Manitoba  School  Lands 
remaining  unsold  be  at  once  transferred  to  the  Province,  and  in 
future  be  administered  and  controlled  by  this  Province,"  asking  that 
the  Province  be  allowed  to  assume  the  collection  of  unpaid  principal 
and  interest  on  lands  already  sold  and  that  all  moneys,  principal, 
interest,  or  revenues  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Dominion  Government 
derived  from  such  School  Lands  be  forthwith  transferred  to  the 
Government  of  the  Province. 

As  a  result  of  deliberation,  by  a  Joint  Committee  of  the  House, 
Election  Act  amendments  provided  a  $25,000  limit  on  Party  Funds 
and  a  $500  limit  on  a  candidate's  expenses  at  elections,  for  a  measure 
of  proxy  registration,  for  the  casting  of  votes  by  railwaymen  and 
travellers  prior  to  election  day,  for  a  half  holiday  on  election  days 
and  for  party  organization  with  candidates'  returns  to  show  sources 
of  campaign  funds  and  total  expenses  in  connection  with  the  election. 
Another  Bill  expedited  the  decision  of  constitutional  and  Provincial 
questions  by  referring  them  to  the  Court  of  Appeal  or  any  Judge 
thereof,  without  certain  formalities,  and  a  measure  was  enacted 
clothing  the  Exchequer  and  Supreme  Courts  of  Canada  with  power 
to  adjudicate  upon  disputes  arising  between  the  Province  and  the 
Dominion.  Other  Acts  authorized  payment  to  sub-contractors  in 
a  case  where  the  Government  contractor  had  become  bankrupt; 
permitted  Companies  under  Provincial  charity  to  do  business  outside 
the  Province  on  an  equality  with  Companies  under  license;  brought 
railways,  with  some  restrictions,  under  the  Corporations'  Taxation 
Act  with  an  expected  revenue  of  $300,000;  granted  J.  D.  McArthur 
and  others  a  charter  under  the  name  of  the  Central  Canada  Railroad 
and  Power  Co.,  to  build  a  railway  from  Winnipeg  or  St.  Boniface  to 
the  northern  limits  of  the  Province  subject,  in  details,  to  the  Govern- 
ment's approval;  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  Board  of  em- 
ployers and  employees  to  devise  regulations  for  the  protection  of 
workmen  on  buildings  or  excavations;  enacted  that  no  person  under 
the  age  of  16  years  be  employed  in  any  'shop  without  furnishing  a 


MANITOBA:  GOVERNMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND  EDUCATION    733 

certificate  or  some  other  evidence  of  age  to  the  employer;  incorpor- 
ated the  Roman  Catholic  Archiepiscopal  Corporation  of  Winnipeg 
and  vested  certain  properties  in  the  Salvation  Army  Canada  West 
Corporation;  provided  for  new  Provincial  borrowings  of  $3,250,000 
and  established  penalties  for  carelessness  or  infraction  of  laws  re- 
lating to  Fires;  made  compulsory  the  examination  and  licensing 
of  electrical  contractors  and  journeymen.  Most  of  these  Acts  were 
introduced  and  passed,  with  80  or  more  minor  measures,  in  the 
last  three  weeks  of  the  Session. 

The  Opposition  was  too  small  to  be  a  serious  inconvenience  to 
the  Government  but  they  objected,  and  a  part  of  the  Conservative 
press,  also,  to  phases  of  the  Prohibition  policy  as  being  wrong  in 
principle  and  interfering  more  and  more  dangerously  with  personal 
liberty;  criticized  the  large  sums  paid  to  Liberal  lawyers  in  con- 
nection with  the  various  Parliament  Buildings  and  other  Commissions 
—notably  $24,000  to  J.  B.  Coyne,  K.C.,  R.  W.  Craig,  K.C.,  and  R.  A. 
Bonnar,  K.C.;  fought  Mr.  Winkler's  Agricultural  administration 
with  vigour  and  also  the  McArthur  railway  legislation  as  providing 
competitive  powers  in  electric  lighting,  etc.,  to  those  of  Winnipeg's 
vested  interests;  successfully  defeated  Hon.  J.  W.  Armstrong's 
proposal  to  provide  a  literacy  test  for  municipal  candidates;  de- 
nounced alleged  favouritism  in  the  Government  contracts  given  to 
the  J.  McDiarmid  Co.;  criticized  the  Government's  dismissals 
and  appointments  to  office;  asked  a  host  of  official  questions  as  to 
all  kinds  of  matters,  relevant  and  irrelevant,  and  were  refused  in 
some  cases  and  answered  in  others.  The  Opposition  divided  the 
House  on  the  2nd  reading  of  the  University  Bill — 28  to  4 — and 
upon  various  Returns  asked  for  and  refused.  On  Feb.  6,  by  Govern- 
ment motion,  a  Select  Committee,  composed  of  J.  W.  Wilton,  E.  A. 
McPherson,  G.  T.  Armstrong,  A.  J.  Lobb,  W.  B.  Findlater,  Jos. 
Hamelin  and  Jacques  Parent,  was  appointed  to  inquire  into  com- 
plaints about  Drainage  operations,  contracts,  taxation,  etc.  The 
House  was  prorogued  on  Mar.  9. 

Meanwhile,  the  third  year  of  scandal  and  investigation  as  to 
the  construction  of  certain  Public  buildings  under  the  Roblin  Govern- 
ment was  terminated.  The  A.  C.  Gait  Commission  into  the  Agri- 
cultural College  construction  was  still  sitting  from  1916  and,  on 
Jan.  9,  a  charge  was  made  by  Hugh  Phillips,  K.C.,  Government 
Counsel,  that  a  cheque  for  $70,000,  given  to  Kelly  &  Sons,  the 
notorious  Contractors,  on  Aug.  31,  1911,  and  signed  by  Hon.  Robert 
Rogers  as  Acting  Provincial  Treasurer,  was  largely  in  excess  of  the 
sum  then  due  to  the  Kellys;  on  the  10th  he  introduced  alleged  in- 
stances in  which  Thos.  Kelly  had  made  100%  by  sub-letting  con- 
tracts; R.  A.  C.  Manning,  a  legal  witness,  on  the  16th  refused  to 
answer  questions  relating  to  the  purchase  of  certain  lands  which, 
he  said,  did  not  form  part  of  the  Agricultural  College  site  and  in 
which  the  Government  of  Manitoba  were  not  interested  in  any  way 
whatsoever.  On  Jan.  31  an  interim  Report  by  Mr.  Justice  Gait 
was  submitted  to  the  Legislature  in  which  he  dealt  with  Carter- 
Halls- Aldinger  and  their  10  contracts,  stated  that  these  contractors 
had  refunded  $13,066,  that  there  was  general  laxity  in  the  Public 


734  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Works  Department  under  Mr.  Rogers,  and  that  the  Carter  Com- 
pany had  their  contract  price  upon  one  occasion  increased  $8,700 
and  then  gave  $7,000  to  the  Conservative  Party  funds;  that  the 
Agricultural  College  building  estimate  of  cost  was  $957,000  and  the 
actual  cost  $2,361,841.  The  Inquiry  then  continued  and,  on  May 
25,  the  Commissioner  issued  a  further  interim  Report  dealing  with 
the  Kelly  contracts  re  Agricultural  College  and  stating  the  following 
conclusion: 

I  find  that  the  Crown  has  established  fraudulent  overcharges  in  respect  of  con- 
tracts with  the  Government,  made  by  Thomas  Kelly  &  Sons,  amounting  in  all  to 
the  sum  of  $302,789,  made  up  as  follows: 

(a)  In  respect  to  the  Dormitory  and  Auditorium  Building $202,435 

(b)  In  respect  of  the  Engineering  Building 24,191 

!c)  In  respect  of  the  Chemistry  Bxiilding 33,233 
d)  In  respect  to  the  Horticultural  Building 33,924 
e)  In  respect  of  the  Dairy  and  Science  Building 9,003 


Total $302,786 

He  stated  that  the  Roblin  Government  had  in  September,  1910, 
bought  461  acres  at  $350  per  acre  as  a  site  for  the  College  and  that 
at  "about  the  same  time  the  Hon.  Robert  Rogers,  then  Minister 
of  Public  Works  for  the  Province,  selected  about  43  acres  for  himself, 
but  instructed  the  conveyance  of  it  to  be  taken  in  the  name  of 
R.  A.  C.  Manning.  Shortly  afterwards,  and  before  the  site  of  the 
College  was  made  known  to  the  public,  a  large  amount  of  other 
lands  adjoining  the  College,  or  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  were  pur- 
chased and  placed  in  the  name  of  Mr.  Manning,  amounting  in  all 
to  about  1,240  acres,  but  the  average  cost  of  these  lands  was  only 
$179  per  acre.  The  Hon.  J.  H.  Howden  and  the  Hon.  G.  R.  Cold- 
well,  then  Ministers  of  the  Crown,  took  interests  in  these  lands." 
The  Commissioner  found  also  that  "a  fraudulent  conspiracy''  was 
entered  into  by  Robert  Rogers  and  Thomas  Kelly  to  "provide 
moneys  for  the  Conservative  campaign  Fund  and  to  provide  Thomas 
Kelly  with  funds  out  of  the  Provincial  Treasury,  over  and  above 
what  he  might  legitimately  earn."  He  made  no  finding  as  to  the 
complicity  or  otherwise  of  other  Ministers  in  the  alleged  conspiracy. 
On  the  same  day  the  Appraisal  Board,  appointed  on  Mar.  22,  1917, 
under  order  of  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  and  composed  of  S.  C. 
Oxton  for  the  Attorney-General;  Henry  J.  Burt  of  Chicago,  struc- 
tural engineer,  for  Thomas,  Lawrence  and  Charles  Kelly,  Defendants; 
and  R.  H.  Macdonald  of  Montreal,  architect,  acting  as  umpire; 
reported  its  findings,  or  rather  the  decision  of  the  "umpire."  It 
summarized  the  facts  as  to  the  new  Parliament  Buildings  and  gave 
$1,207,351  as  the  net  overcharge  of  the  Kelly  firm  in  construction 
of  the  Parliament  Buildings  with  3  years'  interest  also  due  on  July 
1st  totalling  $181,000.  This  replaced  the  civil  action  proposed  by 
the  Government  but  the  Kellys  claimed  that  the  total  amount 
paid  the  Contractors  was  $1,680,956  which  was  admitted  as  correct, 
that  the  value  of  work  done  was  $1,304,724 — also  admitted — and 
the  overcharge  only  $376,231.  The  other  items  charged  were 
alleged  to  be  irrelevant  and  illegally  included.  Meanwhile,  on  Aug. 
23,  Thos.  Kelly  was  released  from  prison,  on  parole,  upon  the  ground 
of  ill-health,  after  serving  nine  months  of  a  2J^  year  term.  The 


MANITOBA:  GOVERNMENT,  AGRICULTURE  AND  EDUCATION   735 

Minister  of  Justice  at  Ottawa  on  Apr.  30  stated  that  the  reasons 
then  submitted  to  him  were  "advanced  age,  very  bad  state  of  health, 
large  family,  two  of  his  sons  at  the  Front,  expressed  willingness  to 
make  restitution,  and  imprisonment  in  connection  with  the  offences, 
continually,  since  October  1915." 

The  Gait  Commission  resumed  its  Inquiry  in  October  as  to  the 
Agricultural  College  and  meantime,  on  June  25,  Sir  Rodmond  Roblin 
former  Premier  of  Manitoba;  George  R.  Coldwell,  former  Minister 
of  Education,  and  James  H.  Howden,  former  Attorney-General, 
all  of  whom  had  been  for  nearly  two  years  under  criminal  changes 
in  connection  with  the  Parliament  Buildings'  scandal,  were  dis- 
charged by  Mr.  Justice  J.  E.  P.  Prendergast.  The  reason  given  was 
evidence  that  Sir  Rodmond  and  one  of  the  others  were  in  a  serious 
state  of  health.  Early  in  the  year,  also,  the  Emerson  Roads'  scandal 
of  1914  was  disposed  of  by  the  Commissioner,  George  Paterson, 
County  Court  Judge,  who  found  on  Feb.  20  that  Dr.  D.  H.  Mc- 
Fadden,  former  M.L.A.  for  Emerson,  connived  at  frauds  in  con- 
nection with  paysheets;  that  F.  Y.  Newton,  present  M.L.A.  for 
Roblin,  personally  profited  to  the  extent  of  $300  and  was  an  un- 
truthful witness;  that  there  were  extensive  frauds  for  campaign 
fund  purposes  and  that  Dr.  R.  M.  Simpson  was  paid  $55,000  out  of 
the  Treasury  without  "value  received."  Mr.  Newton  resigned  his 
seat  and  was  succeeded  by  Arthur  Rivers  Boivin  (Cons.).  A 
charge  was  brought  up  on  Feb.  21  by  O.  S.  Guilbault,  a  former 
Parliament  Buildings'  Engineer,  against  the  Norris  Government 
and  he  stated  that  in  the  current  work  on  this  structure  two  or 
three  profits  had  been  paid  in  purchase  of  certain  materials;  that 
the  Government  would  have  saved  $50,000  paid  in  commissions 
had  the  work  been  done  by  day  labour;  that  it  was  paying  too  high 
prices  and  was  charging  work  to  wrong  accounts,  etc.  McDiarmid 
&  Co.,  contractors,  denied  everything  and  the  Public  Accounts 
Committee  proceeded  at  once  to  investigate,  called  witnesses,  heard 
Mr.  McDiarmid  and  Guilbault  himself,  and  on  Feb.  27  found  the 
charges  to  be  "without  the  slighest  foundation  in  fact"  while  Guil- 
bault made  a  partial  apology  for  having  made  them.  The  Legis- 
lature accepted  the  Report  on  Mar.  5  by  28  to  4.  On  the  same  day 
the  McDiarmids  were  awarded  contracts  totalling  $2,098,417  to 
complete  the  structure. 

As  to  the  War  Manitoba  did  nobly  in  this  as  in  previous  years. 
Mr.  Prdfontaine,  Opposition  Leader,  stated  in  the  House  on  Jan. 
19  that  the  Legislature  was  deeply  interested  in  a  personal  sense  and 
that  Mr.  Speaker  had  lost  one  son  at  the  Front;  that  Hon.  Edward 
Brown  had  two  sons  in  khaki;  that  Hon.  Val.  Winkler,  E.  A.  August, 
D.  A.  Ross,  G.  J.  H.  Malcolm,  W.  L.  Parrish  and  he,  himself,  each 
had  one  son  at  the  Front;  that  Col.  G.  Clingan  and  Capt.  A.  W. 
Myles  were  Overseas,  with  Capt.  J.  W.  Wilton  waiting  to  go.  The 
Province  during  1917  collected  $230,196  for  the  Red  Cross  while 
the  Patriotic  Fund  contributions  up  to  the  beginning  of  1917  totalled 
$2,077,998  with  6,444  receiving  allowances  from  this  independent 
Provincial  Fund;  a  gift  of  $2,791  was  collected  in  January  by  the 
school  children  for  "the  boys  and  girls  of  our  brave  British  sailors 


736  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

killed  in  discharge  of  their  duty";  the  Norris  Government  gave  the 
old  Agricultural  College  Building  to  the  Military  Hospitals  Com- 
mission and  invested  $600,000  in  the  1st  Victory  Loan  and  $500,000 
in  the  2nd;  a  Provincial  Food  Control  Committee  was  appointed  on 
Aug.  17  composed  of  W.  R.  Allan  (Chairman),  President  J.  B. 
Reynolds  of  the  Agricultural  College,  R.  Fletcher,  Prof.  T.  J.  Harri- 
son, J.  H.  Evans,  G.  F.  Chipman,  R.  C.  Renders,  Mrs.  R.  F.  Me  Wil- 
liams, and  others;  the  Food  economy  pledge  was  largely  signed 
in  Winnipeg;  the  Government  from  its  Patriotic  Tax  levies  on 
municipalities  obtained  about  $4,000,000  for  the  Patriotic  Fund; 
the  Manitoba  Red  Cross  Society  reported  on  Oct.  31  for  3  years  of 
cash  receipts  remitted  to  head  office,  $419,476;  for  cash  to  British 
Red  Cross  (1915)  $15,000;  cash  to  French  Red  Cross,  $12,503; 
cash  for  hospital  beds  $11,250;  supplies  furnished,  $199,569;  cash 
on  hand  and  in  bank,  $12,244,  or  a  total  of  $670,044.  G.  F.  Gait 
was  re-elected  President. 

Farmers  took  Victory  bonds  in  October  along  lines  illustrated  by 
the  Swan  River  Valley  where  A.  J.  Cotton  took  $20,000  and  five 
members  of  the  Caverly  family  $46,000;  of  the  Cameron  High- 
landers, Winnipeg,  it  was  stated  that  52  men  won  Honours  in  battle, 
while  the  90th  Regiment,  or  Little  Black  Devils,  won  33  Honours  up 
to  October,  1916,  and  boasted  a  V.C.  and  Maj.-Gen.  L.  J.  Lipsett 
in  its  ranks  of  fame;  the  annual  meeting  (June  27)  of  the  Institute 
of  Chartered  Accountants  of  Manitoba  decided  that  during  the 
continuance  of  the  War  students  should  not  be  admitted  to  the 
examinations  of  the  Institute  who  were  eligible  in  point  of  age  and 
physical  fitness  for  military  service,  and  who  had  no  one  financially 
dependant  on  them;  it  was  stated  in  the  Winnipeg  press  of  July  7 
that  140  local  medical  men  were  on  active  service  out  of  300  in  the 
city  in  1914;  a  Winnipeg  mass-meeting  on  Aug.  5  heard  Sir  J.  A.  M. 
Aikins  and  Mr.  Norris  speak  and  recorded  "inflexible  determination 
to  see  the  War  to  victory."  Other  incidents  of  the  year  included  a 
Convention  on  Feb.  5-7  of  165  Russian  priests  and  farmers  who 
passed  Resolutions  of  satisfaction  with  their  improved  conditions, 
of  regret  at  "the  hypocrisy  of  Bishop  Budka  and  the  so-called 
Ukrainian  press  and  its  sympathy  with  the  Teutonic  expansive 
political  agents,"  of  hope  that  the  military  authorities  would  permit 
the  enlistment  of  Canadian  Slavs  born  in  Galicia,  who  were  of  the 
Russian  orthodox  faith,  and  the  claim  that  there  were  in  Canada 
about  75,000  Austrian  Slavs  who  were  loyal  to  Russia  although  born 
in  Austria.  The  1st  Conference  of  Boy  Scouts  of  Manitoba  on  Feb. 
14-15,  held  round-table  discussions  of  varied  themes  and  heard  ad- 
dresses by  the  Lieut. -Governor,  Mr.  Norris,  C.  W.  Rowley;  a  notable 
address  by  Vere  C.  Brown  of  the  Bank  of  Commerce  (Feb.  13) 
urged  a  gradual  change  from  the  credit  system  to  cash  methods  by 
discriminating  in  retail  prices  between  cash  and  credit  purchasers; 
there  was  published  on  Mar.  1  a  correspondence  which  had  passed 
in  December,  1916,  between  the  Federal  Government,  through 
Hon.  C.  J.  Doherty,  and  that  of  Manitoba  through  Hon.  A.  B.  Hud- 
son, concerning  Provincial  legislation  which  modified  the  provisions 
determining  the  number  of  jurors  to  be  summoned  and  to  con- 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  MANITOBA  AND  OTHER  COLLEGES     737 

stitute  a  panel,  with  the  claim  of  the  Minister  of  Justice  (Jan.  31) 
that  this  legislation  "was  capable  of  an  application  which  might 
prejudice  the  fair  trial  of  criminal  causes"  and  the  counter-claim 
of  Manitoba  that  Ottawa  was  trying  to  coerce  the  Province  to 
change  its  law.  The  Social  Health  Congress  of  Nov.  25  passed 
Resolutions  protesting  against  "the  large  and  increasing  number  of 
export  liquor  warehouses  in  the  Province  and  against  the  weakness 
of  the  Act  in  not  setting  a  definite  limit  to  the  amount  to  be  law- 
fully kept"  and  urged  the  creation  of  a  Federal  Department  of 
Social  re-construction  to  control  (1)  the  educational  activities  of 
the  Provinces  under  a  Dominion  Board  of  Education;  (£)  their 
health  activities  under  a  Dominion  Board  of  Health  and  (3)  to  estab- 
lish a  Federal  Bureau  of  Child  Welfare.  The  winning  by  S.  Larcombe 
of  Birtle  of  the  championship  for  the  best  half  bushel  of  wheat 
exhibited  at  the  International  Soils  Products  Exposition,  Peoria, 
111.,  was  an  event  of  interest.  The  following  were  the  elected  heads 
of  the  chief  Provincial  organizations  during  1917: 

Grand  Lodge,  A.O.U.W.,  Winnipeg Johnson  Douglass Neepawa. 

Winnipeg  Industrial  Bureau W.  R.  Ingram Winnipeg. 

Manitoba  Curling  Association T.  H.  Verner Winnipeg. 

Manitoba  Amateur  Athletic  Union John  O'Hare Winnipeg. 

Manitoba  Golf  Association F.  L.  Patton Winnipeg. 

Institute  of  Chartered  Accountants John  Parton Winnipeg. 

Winnipeg  Grain  Exchange J.  C.  Gage Winnipeg. 

Le  Canada  Club Dr.  Leon  Benoit Winnipeg. 

Winnipeg  Teachers'  Association J.  C.  Pincock Winnipeg. 

Manitoba  Bar  Association Isaac  Campbell,  K.C Winnipeg. 

Provincial  Grand  Orange  Lodge John  Eaton Winnipeg. 

Manitoba  Trustees  Association Wm.  Iverach Isabella. 

The  University  of  Manitoba  and  Other  Colleges. 

Established  in  1877  and  with  7  Colleges  affiliated  with  it  in  1917— St.  Boniface  (Cath- 
olic), St.  John's  (Anglican),  Manitoba  (Presbyterian),  Wesley  (Methodist),  Mani- 
toba Medical,  Manitoba  Law  School  and  Manitoba  Agricultural  College-^the  Univer- 
sity of  Manitoba  reached  an  important  stage  in  its  history  during  this  year.  Its 
Staff  in  February  included  53  Professors,  assistants,  lecturers  and  demonstrators, 
teaching  22  subjects;  its  revenue  derived  from  Fees  was  $26,371  in  1916,  from  Do- 
minion Land  grant  $37,000,  and  from  the  Provincial  Government  grant  $107,347;  its 
expenses  were  $176,224.  On  Jan.  3  the  University  Council  dealt  with  a  Report  of  the 
Committee  on  Re-organization  and  by  Resolution  asked  the  Government  to  effect  a 
complete  reconstruction  by  means  of  legislation  and  along  the  lines  of  Provincial 
control;  on  the  4th,  by  18  to  16,  a  long-discussed  issue  was  disposed  of  and  the  exist- 
ing two-language  standard  of  entrance — any  two  of  Latin,  German  and  French — 
established;  on  Jan.  16  the  Rev.  David  Christie,  R.  Fletcher  and  Rev.  W.  Bertal  Hee- 
ney  were  re-appointed  to  the  Council,  together  with  J.  J.  Brown  of  Pilot  Mound  and 
Mrs.  R.  F.  McWilliams  of  Winnipeg.  To  the  Legislature  on  Feb.  20  the  Hon.  Dr. 
Thornton  submitted  his  Bill  for  remodelling  the  constitution  of  the  University.  It 
provided  that  a  Board  of  Governors  with  nine  members  should  be  created  and  ap- 
pointed by  the  Government  to  manage  all  the  business  and  financial  affairs  of  the 
University — including  buildings,  fees,  property,  and  university  lands,  and  with  the 
final  decision  on  all  matters  of  academic  policy;  it  created  a  University  Council  with 
27  members  as  compared  with  the  old  Board  of  72  and  with  general  charge  of  the 
academic  work  and  courses;  representation  of  Denominational  Colleges  was  retained 
upon  this  Council  though  not  upon  the  Board  of  Governors.  In  his  speech  the  Min- 
ister reviewed  the  history  and  difficulties  of  the  institution,  quoted  the  Government 
grants  as  increasing  from  $40,000  in  1912  to  $115,825  in  1916  and  declared  that  the 
University  had  thus  become  dependant  upon  the  Government  for  its  existence; 
observed  that  "if  the  University  is  to  develop  further  the  Legislature  must  become 
responsible  for  further  and  larger  grants,  and  it  does  not  appear  to  the  Government 
that  such  an  expenditure  of  public  money  should  be  made  except  by  a  body  directly 
responsible  to  the  Government  and  the  Legislature  and  so  to  the  people  of  the  Prov- 


738  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

ince."  The  new  Act  established  such  a  body,  which,  through  a  draft  copy  of  the 
Bill,  the  University  (Feb.  12)  had  decided  to  accept.  As  the  Minister  pointed  out 
in  his  speech,  the  authority  of  the  Board  of  Governors  was  "final  and  complete  both 
as  regards  educational  policy  and  business  administration."  The  system,  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  resembled  that  of  the  Universities  of  British  Columbia,  Alberta,  Saskatche- 
wan and  Toronto;  but  the  President  and  Chancellor  were  not  to  be  Governors. 
Capt.  J.  W.  Wilton  on  the  26th  opposed  the  Bill  because  it  did  not  provide  for  a  com- 
plete Provincial  University  and  because  special  representation  was  given  to  special 
interests,  with  four  denominations — Presbyterian,  Methodist,  Anglican  and  Roman 
Catholic — represented  and  no  others.  St.  Boniface  College  also  objected  to  parts 
of  the  legislation  and  would  not  stay  in  the  University  system  unless  its  students 
of  the  Latin-Philosophy  courses  could  follow  in  St.  Boniface  College  a  special  curri- 
culum framed  by  the  authorities  of  St.  Boniface  and  approved  by  the  Council  of  the 
University.  These  and  other  difficulties  were  met  and  in  due  course  the  Bill  passed 
and  the  University,  for  the  first  time  in  its  history,  came  metaphorically  from  a  back- 
street  and  took  its  place  as  a  great  Provincial  institution.  The  Government  on  May 
18  announced  the  Archbishop  of  Rupert's  Land  as  being  re-appointed  Chancellor  for 
three  years — an  honour  to  which  Dr.  Matheson  was  well  entitled — and  the  members 
of  the  new  Board  of  Governors — for  three,  two  or  one  year;  a  little  later  the  Univer- 
sity Council  was  constituted  and  in  its  membership  represented  the  Government 
(6),  the  Manitoba  Agricultural  College  (2),  the  Medical  College  (1),  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  (1),  the  Faculty  of  the  University  (4),  the  four  affiliated 
denominational  Colleges  (2  each)  and  the  graduates  (4  elected): 

BOARD  OP  GOVERNORS 

Isaac  Pitblado,  M. A.,  K.C (Chairman) Winnipeg. 

John  A.  Machray,  M.A..  K.C.,  .  (Vice-Chairman) Winnipeg. 

R   T.  Riley Winnipeg.  Henry  H.  Chown,  M.D Winnipeg. 

John  R.  Little Brandon.  James  McKenty.  M.D Winnipeg. 

Sir  Augustus  Nanton Winnipeg.  A.  J.  Cotton Swan  River. 

William  Iverach Isabella. 

UNIVERSITY  COUNCIL 

Most  Rev.  Dr.  S.  P.  Matheson,  (Chairman)     Rev.  John  L.  Brown. 
President  James  A.  MacLean,  PH.D.,  LL.D.       Alexander  McLeod. 

F.  W.  Clark,  B.A.,  PH.D.  R.  W.  Craig,  B.A.,  K.C. 
R.  O.  Jolliffe,  B.A.,  PH.D.                                        D.  M.  Duncan,  M.A. 

W.  F.  Osborne,  M.A.  Daniel  Mclntyre.  M.A.,  LL.D. 

Matthew  A.  Parker,  B.SC.  W.  J.  Spence,  B.A. 

J.  B.  Reynolds,  M.A.  Rev.  Gregory  Fere,  s.j. 

G.  A.  Sproule,  B.A.  Rev.  Joseph  Blain,  s.j. 

E.  S.  Popham,  M.A.,  M.D.  Very  Rev.  G.  F.  Coombes,  M.A. 

D.  H.  McCalman,  B.A.,  M.D.  Rev.  E.  A.  Wharton  Gill,  M.A. 

Robert  Fletcher,  B.A.  Rev.  A.  B.  Baird,  M.A.,  D.D. 

Mrs.  R.  F.  McWilliams,  M.A.  Rev.  David  Christie,  M.A.,  D.D. 

William  A.  Mclntyre,  B.A.,  LL.D.  Rev.  J.  H.  Riddell,  B.A.,  D.D. 

Frank  H.  Schofleld,  M.A.  Rev.  A.  Stewart,  D.D. 

The  students  at  the  close  of  1917  numberecf  360  in  Arts,  45  in  Engineering,  173  in 
Medicine,  1  in  Architecture,  14  in  Pharmacy,  82  in  Law,  46  in  Agriculture,  19  in 
Home  Economics  and  180  in  Evening  Courses  with  12  in  special  subjects — 932  in  all. 
Under  the  new  Act  provision  was  made  for  the  education  of  women  equally  with  men 
and  women  were  to  be  eligible  for  any  appointment  in  connection  with  the  University, 
including  appointment  or  election  to  the  Board  of  Governors  or  the  Council.  The 
new  Act  was  to  come  into  force  after  Graduation  Day  on  May  11  and  meanwhile, 
on  Mar.  23,  the  Faculty  sent  a  message  of  congratulation  to  the  revolutionary  rulers 
of  Russia  on  the  "emancipation"  of  the  people;  Capt.  W.  Burton  Hurd,  B.A.,  had 
already  been  chosen  Rhodes  Scholar  for  the  year.  At  Convocation  (May  11)  the 
Chancellor  stated  that  1,100  University  men  were  under  arms  for  the  King;  the  Hon. 
Dr.  Thornton  declared  that  "the  University  of  Manitoba  should  occupy  a  great  and 
important  place  in  the  life  of  this  Province" — in  pure  science,,  in  applied  science,  in 
the  ethical  spirit  of  the  nation.  Succeeding  incidents  included  the  re-appointment  of 
the  Staff  as  a  whole — with  the  omission  of  Prof.  W.  Brydone-Jack,  who  had  given 
evidence  in  the  Parliament  Buildings  scandal,  and  a  few  others;  a  Resolution  of  the 
Board  of  Governors  on  July  4  declared  that  "until  further  order  no  unmarried  male 
student  who  has  attained  the  age  of  20  years  will  be  permitted  either  to  attend  lec- 
tures or  to  take  the  examinations  of  the  University,  unless  he  furnishes  satisfactory 
reasons  why  he  has  not  enlisted  for  active  service";  an  extension  for  another  year 
of  the  University's  option  in  the  Tuxedo  site  and  a  request  (July  11)  from  prominent 


RECORD  OF  THE  GRAIN  GROWERS  OF  MANITOBA          739 

representatives  of  Winnipeg  business  that  a  University  Chair  of  Commerce  be  created ; 
a  special  Convocation  on  Dec.  6  to  confer  the  degree  of  M.D.  on  28  graduates,  all  of 
whom  were  in  uniform. 

Wesley  College  held  its  Convocation  on  Feb.  13  and  the  Principal,  Rev.  Dr. 
Eber  Crummy,  announced  that  330  men  were  on  the  Honour  Roll  of  whom  20  had 
died  for  the  cause;  he  declared  that  "there  has  never  been  in  any  previous  war  so 
truly  spiritual  an  attitude  as  is  now  shown  in  the  spirit  of  the  Allies  and  through 
which  the  ethical  standards  of  education  are  confirmed."  The  Hon.  degree  of  D.D. 
was  conferred  (Apr.  10)  on  the  Rev.  John  McLean  and  the  diploma  of  B.D.  on  5 
graduates.  In  August  the  new  Principal,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Riddell,  took  charge  with 
Rev.  Dr.  A.  Stewart  as  Dean  of  the  Theological  Faculty,  Dr.  W.  T.  Allison,  Dean  of 
the  Faculty  of  Arts,  and  D.  C.  Harvey,  B.A.,  as  Professor  of  History.  On  June  11 
it  was  announced  that  the  Methodist  Conference  had  undertaken  to  clear  up  the  last 
3-years'  deficit  of  $30,000— Winnipeg  to  give  $12,000,  the  rest  of  Manitoba  $12,000 
and  Saskatchewan  $6,000.  Meantime  the  controversy  over  the  dismissal  of  Rev. 
Dr.  S.  G.  Bland  and  Rev.  A.  J.  Irwin  in  1916  had  raged  throughout  this  year.  It 
was  due  partly  to  the  deficit  and  retrenchment  in  reducing  the  Staff,  and  partly  to  the 
extreme  views  of  Dr.  Bland  in  regard  to  social,  political  and  religious  problems.  Upon 
the  latter  point  the  two  Professors  challenged  the  action  of  the  College  Board  and 
carried  the  matter  to  the  public  in  a  series  of  letters  and  speeches  and  to  the  Meth- 
odist Conference  which,  after  studying  the  matter  thoroughly  (June  11-12),  reported 
that  financial  reasons  were  the  cause  of  the  action,  but  suggested  that  the  matter  be 
reviewed  again.  On  June  8  the  Saskatchewan  Methodist  Conference  had  also  asked 
the  Board  to  reconsider  the  dismissal;  the  Grain  Growers'  Guide  (June  13)  declared  that 
Dr.  Bland  suffered  because  he  was  "a  democrat  to  the  hilt";  the  Toronto  World 
described  him  as  "a  great  and  good  man,"  the  greatest  orator  in  the  West  and  the 
feared  foe  of  the  corporations.  On  Sept.  20  the  College  Board  went  over  the  whole 
subject  and  decided  not  to  re-instate  the  two  Professors;  an  appeal  was  carried  to 
the  Court  of  Appeal  of  the  Methodist  Church,  in  Toronto,  which  decided  on  Dec. 
29  that  the  College  Board  "acted  within  its  power  under  the  charter  of  the  College, 
yet  the  summary  dismissal  of  Professors  Bland  and  Irwin  at  the  time  at  which  it 
was  done  was  not  in  harmony  with  the  usage  and  law  of  the  Church."  The  annual 
Convocation  of  Brandon  College  (Baptist)  on  May  8  showed  two-thirds  of  the  grad- 
uating class  at  the  Front  and  five  degrees  conferred;  Bonds  of  $100,000  at  6%  were 
issued  in  August  to  consolidate  the  floating  debt  of  the  College.  At  Manitoba  Col- 
lege on  April  4  the  Hon.  degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  on  Rev.  W.  A.  McLean  of 
Winnipeg  and  7  graduates  were  given  their  diplomas. 

The  Grain  Growers  of  Manitoba.    This  was  a  remarkable 

body  from  several  points  of  view.  It  was,  perhaps,  the  most  successful  of  the  early 
movements  in  the  Canadian  West  which  sought  to  bring  the  farmers  out  of  chaotic 
individualism  into  a  condition  of  commercial,  social,  economic,  and  sometimes  political 
combination.  Started  at  Virden  on  Jan.  7,  1903,  it  had  in  1916  thousands  of  members, 
a  revenue  of  $6,190  and  contributions  to  War  Relief,  etc.,  of  $23,382.  The  annual 
Convention  was  held  at  Brandon  on  Jan.  10-12  with  R.  C.  Renders  in  the  Chair  and 
a  Directors'  Report  which  dealt  with  various  elements  of  work  and  advocacy  such 
as  cheaper  money  or  Farm  credits,  Co-operative  grain-grading  and  Elevator  policy, 
the  retirement  of  R.  McKenzie,  Secretary  for  years,  to  go  to  the  Council  of  Agri- 
culture, the  accepted  Farmers'  platform  of  the  latter  body.  Mr.  Renders  was  also 
Acting-Secretary  and  reported  as  to  good  work  done  by  the  Association  in  distributing 
seed  grain  and  urged  (1)  increase  of  members  and  financial  returns,  (2)  more  help 
from  central  to  branch  organizations,  (3)  a  brief  period  of  special  training  for  local 
Secretaries.  In  his  Presidential  address  Mr.  Renders  described  this  as  a  time  for 
self-sacrifice  and  war-help,  advocated  the  national  registration  of  wealth  and  man- 
power, and  a  National  Government,  stated  the  Patriotic  contributions  of  the  Manitoba 
farmers  at  $30,000,  denounced  the  High  Cost  of  Living  and  blamed  "a  false  system 
of  land  tenure"  as  primarily  responsible,  with  the  modern  adaptations  of  "taking 
a  part  of  the  cost  of  maintenance  out  of  the  wage-earners  and  demanding  unduly 
enhanced  profits  from  the  consumer."  The  1st  Resolution  passed  was  as  follows: 

Whereas  the  British  Empire  and  her  Allies  are  engaged  in  a  life  and  death  struggle 
m  which  we  believe  the  interests  of  civilization  are  at  stake;  and  whereas  the  Canadian 
Government,  in  order  that  Canada  might  render  more  effective  service  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  War,  has  undertaken  to  make  a  census  of  the  man-power  of  the  Dominion 


740  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

with  the  expressed  view  of  organizing  it  to  the  highest  possible  point  of  efficiency;  there- 
fore, be  it  resolved  that  this  Convention  endorses  the  action  of  the  Government  in  this 
regard:  but  while  endorsing  it  it  desires  to  urge  in  the  strongest  possible  terms  an  ab- 
horrence of  private  profiteering  on  the  part  of  those  engaged  in  the  manufacture  or 
furnishing  of  war  supplies  of  any  kind  and  also  urges  that  a  census  of  the  wealth  of 
Canada  should  be  immediately  taken  with  the  view  to  imposing  upon  it  the  full  share 
of  the  burden  it  should  bear  in  this  time  of  national  sacrifice.  And  further  that  these 
resources  can  only  be  organized  to  their  full  efficiency  by  a  National  Government  in 
which  the  interests  of  political  parties  shall  be  made  entirely  subservient  to  the  interests 
of  the  State. 

Other  Resolutions  were  as  follows:  (1)  approving  the  platform  of  the  Council  of 
Agriculture  (1916)  and  sending  it  to  the  Locals  for  final  action;  (2)  instructing  the 
Executive  to  petition  the  British  Government  for  protection  of  Canadian  soldiers 
from  intoxicating  liquors;  (3)  asking  the  Dominion  Government  "to  establish  a 
Permanent  Survey  Board  and  to  give  farmers  adequate  representation  thereon"; 
(4)  commending  the  Provincial  Government  for  granting  the  franchise  to  women, 
compulsory  education  and  efforts  toward  the  abolition  of  the  liquor  traffic;  (5)  approv- 
ing free  grants  of  land  and  public  aid  to  returned  soldiers  but  objecting  to  the  grant 
of  Scrip  that  might  be  used  for  speculative  purposes  as  detrimental  to  settlement  in 
the  newer  communities;  (6)  asking  the  Government  to  prohibit  advertisements  of 
alcoholic  liquors  through  the  mails;  (7)  protesting  strongly  against  enlistment  of  boys 
under  18  years  of  age  because  they  had  not  attained  the  fixity  of  character  to  resist 
temptation,  because  it  was  the  policy  of  the  British  Government  not  to  allow  any 
such  boys  to  go  to  the  Front  under  19  years,  and  because  they  were  needed  at  home 
for  farm  production  purposes;  (8)  urging  the  appointment  of  returned  soldiers  to 
Civil  Service  positions,  etc.,  under  a  non-party  plan  of  Provincial  and  Federal  appoint- 
ment; (9)  approving  of  equalized  pensions  for  all  our  soldiers  who  have  served  and 
are  entitled  to  it  without  respect  to  rank  or  position  in  the  army;  (10)  urging  that 
homestead  lands  be  withdrawn  from  entry  by  foreigners  till  the  soldiers  have  returned, 
so  that  the  best  lands  may  be  available  for  them.  A  Resolution  was  endorsed  as 
to  principle  and  sent  to  the  Executive,  declaring  that  "through  enlistment  of  men  for 
war  service  there  was  shortage  of  help  for  farm  work  with  numbers  of  farmers  unable 
to  procure  help  even  in  the  winter  months;  that  National  and  Imperial  interests 
demanded  that  production  should  be  maintained  at  its  highest  possible  level  with 
all  means  available  used  to  organize  the  Labour  supply."  Another  Resolution 
approved  the  union  of  the  commercial  organizations  of  the  Grain  Growers  in  the 
different  provinces.  An  ensuing  meeting  was  addressed  by  T.  A.  Crerar,  F.  J.  Dixon, 
M.L.A.,  and  Rev.  Dr.  S.  G.  Bland,  to  hear  the  first  public  Western  arguments  in  favour 
of  the  Council  of  Agriculture  platform.  As  the  Grain  Growers'  Guide  put  it  "they 
certainly  cleared  the  air  of  any  protection  dust  and  anyone  who  could  not  think  straight 
on  the  Tariff  after  they  got  through  ought  to  be  laid  away  in  the  vaults  of  the  Toronto 
News  or  Montreal  Star."  The  Women's  Branch  endorsed  the  Homestead  law  changes 
under  which  the  wife  had  to  approve  of  any  sale  of  the  property  and  also  the  Intestacy 
Act  under  which  a  wife,  upon  the  death  of  her  husband,  would  get  all  of  his  estate 
up  to  $2,500  and  a  third  of  the  remainder,  and  other  amendments  of  Acts  such  as 
making  parents  equal,  with  equal  guardianship  of  children,  the  right  to  hold  municipal 
office  and  the  right  of  the  illegitimate  mother  to  inherit  from  her  child.  R.  C.  Renders 
was  re-elected  President  of  the  Association,  J.  S.  Wood,  Oakville,  and  Mrs.  A.  Tooth, 
Eli,  Vice-Presidents,  with  the  following  Directors: 

Andrew  Graham Pomeroy.  O.  A.  Jones Whitewater. 

Geo.  Gordon Oak  Lake.  F.  H.  Weineke Stony  Mtn. 

Peter  Wright Mirtle.  W.  Lathwell Winnipeg. 

P.  D.  McArthur Longburn.  W.  J.  Ford Benito. 

Win.  Mime Keyes.  F.  Simpson Shoal  Lake. 

R.  J.  Avison Gilbert  Plains.  F.  C.  Buckland, Otterburne. 

Of  other  Agricultural  Associations  the  Dairymen's  Association  met  in  Winnipeg 
on  Feb.  15-16  with  150  present  and  R.  L.  Race  of  Brandon  in  the  chair.  The  Con- 
vention was  addressed  on  Good  Roads  by  Hon.  T.  H.  Johnson  and  A.  McGillivray, 
Highway  Commissioner,  and  by  others  on  technical  subjects  and  Resolutions  were 
passed  declaring  that  (1)  Oleomargarine  should  be  barred  from  Canada,  (2)  that  cream 
be  pasteurized  as  a  means  of  producing  a  higher  grade  of  butter,  (3)  that  the  work  of 
Creamery  Inspectors  should  be  continued.  The  Manitoba  Horticultural  and  Forestry 
Association  met  on  Feb.  16  and  urged  the  Provincial  Government  to  give  a  grant  for 
the  investigation  of  native  plants  of  supposed  value.  The  Farmers'  week  in  Winnipeg 
—the  third  in  February — brought  an  Agricultural  Societies'  Convention  of  200  with 


MANITOBA  AS  A  MINERAL  PROVINCE  IN  1917  741 

A.  D.  McConnell,  Chairman,  and  a  dozen  organizations  represented.  All  kinds  of 
useful  topics  were  discussed  with  a  meeting  also  at  the  Agricultural  College.  On 
Sept.  1  the  Manitoba  Grain  Growers'  Grain  Co.  Ltd.  and  the  Alberta  Farmers'  Co- 
Operative  Elevator  Co.  became  the  United  Grain  Growers  Ltd.,  with  32,000  share- 
holders, $3,000,000  of  Assets  and  300  county  and  other  Elevators.  The  following 
Presidents  were  elected  of  some  Provincial  organizations : 

Manitoba  Horse  Breeders'  Association John  Scharf Hartney. 

Manitoba  Cattle  Breeders'  Association Walter  Cummings Winnipeg. 

Manitoba  Sheep  Breeders'  Association George  Gordon Oak  Lake. 

Manitoba  Swine  Breeders'  Association Andrew  Graham Pomeroy, 

Manitoba  as  a  Mineral  Province.   The  promises  and  pros- 

pects  of  the  past  three  years  continued  to  develop  in  1917.  Northern  Manitoba,  with 
its  178,000  square  miles  added  to  the  Province  in  1912  and  its  hundreds  of  miles  of 
frontage  on  Hudson  Bay,  was  the  seat  of  continuous  discoveries  in  mineral  resources, 
in  valuable  timber  and  pulp-wood,  in  lakes  and  rivers  stocked  with  fish,  in  vast  tracks 
of  fertile  soil.  J.  A.  Campbell,  the  Government's  Commissioner  for  this  region,  issued 
a  valuable  Report  in  November,  1917,  which  described  the  Flin  Flon  Lake  region  as 
a  great  property  then  under  development  with  certain  preliminary  work  proving 
3,000,000  tons  of  sulphide  ore  worth,  at  the  normal  price  of  copper,  $30,000,000;  the 
work  of  the  Mandy  Mining  Co. — a  subsidiary  of  the  Tenopah  concern  of  Philadelphia 
— at  Schist  Lake  with  its  first  shipment  of  commercial  ore  from  Manitoba — 4,000 
tons  hauled  40  miles  over  the  snow  for  shipment  to  a  smelter  1,200  miles  away — and 
the  proving  up  of  100,000  tons  of  copper  and  zinc  mixture  with,  also,  gold  and  silver 
values  of  $5.00  per  ton;  the  prospecting  and  development  work  of  the  Wekusko  Lake 
gold-mining  region  with  shipment  by  the  Northern  Manitoba  Mining  &  Develop- 
ment Co.  of  57,000  Ibs.  of  gold-bearing  quartz  to  a  Trail,  B.C.,  smelter  and  returns 
of  $2,323  in  gold  or  an  average  of  $81.53  per  ton.  Several  mining  roads  were  under 
construction  during  the  year  and  Mr.  Campbell  reported  in  May,  1917,  that: 

The  whole  mining  district,  north  of  The  Pas,  is  and  has  been  for  some  considerable 
time,  attracting  very  general  attention  among  mining  men  both  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  Many  of  the  best-known  and  most  capable  men  in  connection  with  the 
mining  business  have  personally  investigated  or  sent  their  representatives  into  this 
territory.  Further  discoveries  have  been  made  and  claims  staked  in  other  parts  of  the 
above  mentioned  mineral  areas,  between  Athapapuskow  and  Herb  Lake,  but  no  develop- 
ment work  has  yet  been  done  thereon.  Also  in  different  parts  of  the  northern  territory 
outside  this  area  'finds'  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  at  Indian  Lake,  Piquitona, 
Kettle  Rapids,  Cross  Lake  and  other  places.  Just  what  these  will  amount  to  remains 
to  be  seen.  But  anyone  who  is  at  all  familiar  with  the  rock  formation  of  this  territory 
and  who  knows  about  discoveries  which  have  already  been  made  feels  quite  confident 
that  this  great  country  contains  vast  wealth  in  its  mineral  resources  which  are  only 
waiting  to  be  developed.  The  need  of  the  country,  however,  is  prospectors.  Compared 
with  other  mineral  districts  which  have  been  exploited,  the  discoveries  already  made 
have  been  marvellous  when  it  is  considered  how  few  people  have  been  engaged  in  real 
prospecting  work. 

J.  B.  Tyrell,  C.E.,  the  Toronto  Mining  Expert,  told  the  Winnipeg  Free  Press  on  Feb. 
10  that  a  great  need  of  the  moment  was  to  "develop  the  mining  lands  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  whole  Province,  both  directly  and  indirectly;  directly,  by  obtaining 
dividends  from  the  mines  and  metals  for  use  in  production  and  manufactures;  in- 
directly, by  supplying  the  mines,  and  the  population  which  will  there  collect,  with 
food,  machinery  and  supplies.  That  cannot  be  done  without  making  investment  in 
mines.  It  is  only  a  few  years  ago  that  the  Hinterland  of  Ontario  was  developed  with 
regard  to  mining,  and  you  have  a  greater  Hinterland  for  mining  in  Manitoba  than 
Ontario  ever  had."  Another  evidence  of  conditions  and  resources  was  the  interest 
of  Dr.  Milton  Hersey  and  his  Montreal  associates  in  these  prospects  and  their  assay 
within  a  year  of  1,200  samples  of  Manitoba  ore.  To  the  Free  Press  of  June  2,  Veldemer 
Melsted,  Manager  for  this  Company,  stated  that  the  most  valuable  of  their  assays 
"touched  $30,000  a  ton,  while  single  specimens  ranged  as  high  as  $100,000  a  ton"; 
that  if  such  samples  as  had  come  from  Rice  Lake  were  brought  from  an  American 
Western  State  there  would  be  a  camp  of  10,000  on  the  spot  long  before  this;  that  the 
future  of  Northern  Manitoba  was  beyond  prophecy  with  gold,  silver,  nickel,  copper, 
platinum,  molybdenite  and  asbestos  amongst  the  valuable  minerals  whose  presence 
was  established — "though  the  whole  field  was,  mineralogically  speaking,  an  unexplored 
country";  that  "practically,  wherever  a  prospector  has  gone  into  this  belt  he  has 
found  minerals,  and  that  if  no  more  discoveries  were  made  the  Flin  Flon  and  Schist 


742  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Lake  would  alone  ensure  the  great  mineral  development  of  the  Province;  that  the 
Flin  Flon  from  the  surface  appears  to  be  one  of  the  biggest  copper  deposits  in  the 
world,  and  Schist  Lake,  while  very  much  smaller,  has  even  a  higher  percentage  of 
metal  in  the  ore." 

The  chief  points  of  interest,  as  yet,  during  this  year  were  the  McCafferty  lode, 
to  the  extreme  north  of  the  staked  area,  the  Nemo,  Trapper,  Centre  Star,  Bingo,  Le 
Roi  and  Ballard  claims  and,  of  course,  the  Herb  or  Wekusko  district,  the  Kiski- 
Wekusko  claims,  the  Moose-Horn  mine,  the  Rex  group  and  the  Elizabeth-Dauphin 
group.  Before  the  Canadian  Manufacturers'  Convention  in  Winnipeg  on  June  13 
Prof.  R.  F.  Ruttan  of  McGill,  a  member  of  the  Federal  Research  Council,  described 
the  efforts  to  find  some  means  of  utilizing  lignite  coal  in  which  Manitoba  had  become 
aware  of  large  resources:  "We  have  recommended  the  Government  to  work  those 
lignite  mines  under  a  process  which  will  make  the  finished  product  equivalent  in 
thermal  value  to  anthracite  coal,  and  enable  it  to  sell  at  a  price  that  will  be  about 
two-thirds  the  price  of  anthracite."  He  declared  that  $400,000  was  necessary  to 
work  out  the  scheme  and  T.  R.  Deacon  of  Winnipeg  responded  with  the  remark  that 
if  the  basis  was  sound  the  money  could  be  obtained  any  afternoon  in  Winnipeg. 
F.  H.  Kitto,  D.L.S.,  of  the  Interior  Department,  Ottawa,  told  a  Winnipeg  meeting  on 
June  19  as  to  the  district  north  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  of  The  Pas  and  Norway  House, 
that  "no  one  knew  how  really  wonderful  the  country  was."  He  believed  that  within 
a  few  years  the  Hudson  Bay  Railway  would  be  carrying  minerals  out  of  the  country 
in  far  greater  tonnage  than  railways  had  ever  carried  grain  from  the  southern  portion 
of  the  Province."  J.  M.  Wanless  of  The  Pas  told  the  Winnipeg  Telegram  (June  30) 
that  in  the  Flin  Flon  and  Schist  regions  "the  quantity  of  ore  proved  up  by  current 
operations  has  an  aggregate  value  of  $100,000,000."  At  this  time  the  mining  people 
of  the  continent  had  begun  to  take  an  interest  in  these  reports,  and  every  train  north- 
bound during  June,  July  and  August,  carried  a  number  of  mining  men  from  New 
York,  Boston,  Chicago  and  other  United  States  centres,  while  every  train  from  The 
Pas  had  men  going  south  to  obtain  funds  with  which  to  engage  in  the  mining  indus- 
try. On  Aug.  25  it  was  reported  that  a  discovery  of  free  milling  molybdenum  ore 
had  been  made  about  75  miles  east  of  Winnipeg  and  samples  were  placed  on  exhibi- 
tion. The  original  discovery  had  been  made  some  years  before  by  Wm.  Gordon,  but 
the  mineral  then  had  no  specific  value  and  it  lay  dormant  until  now  Gordon  revived 
and  confirmed  it  in  view  of  current  needs. 

Saskatchewan:  The  Hon.  W.  M.  Martin,  in  his  first  year  of  office, 
Government,  ^ad  to  carry  hjs  Party  through  a  general  election 
andPolittes  an(^  to  meet  difficulties  of  which  Union  Government 
complications  were  by  no  means  the  least.  It  was 
a  prosperous  year  for  the  Province  with  the  enormous  production 
and  agricultural  values  of  $609,000,000;  it  was  a  war-year  which 
he  met  in  the  spirit  of  his  New  Year's  greeting  on  Jan.  1,  1917 
— "Every  effort  must  be  put  forth  by  every  man  and  woman 
in  our  Province  to  the  end  that  our  future  share  in  the  great  struggle 
may  be  well  and  faithfully  performed";  it  was  essentially  a  poli- 
tical year  with  the  opening  event  an  auspicious  one  for  his  party 
—the  Interim  Report  of  the  Wetmore  Commission  and  the  after- 
wards final  Report  clearing  the  preceding  Scott  Government,  in 
the  main,  of  corruption  charges  laid  in  1915-16.*  This  Royal  Com- 
mission reported  (1)  under  date  of  Dec.  23,  1916,  and  (2)  on  July 
6,  1917;  it  had  Counsel  for  the  Government  and  for  J.  E.  Bradshaw, 
M.L.A.,  who,  originally,  urged  the  charges  upon  the  Legislature; 
it  had  Auditors  in  constant  attendance,  examined  136  witnesses, 
received  335  exhibits  for  fyling,  had  9,000  road  and  bridge  vouchers 
audited,  heard  16,000  pages  of  evidence  and  cost  about  $90,000. 
Composed  of  Hon.  E.  L.  Wetmore,  Chief  Justice,  H.  G.  Smith  of 

*  For  details  see1 1916  volume  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review. 


SASKATCHEWAN:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS  743 

Regina,  and  G.  D.  Mackie,  C.E.,  of  Moose  Jaw,  it  had  been  appointed 
on  Mar.  7,  1916,  and  after  9  months'  inquiry  its  first  Report  showed 
the  fact  of  extensive  road-frauds  in  the  Public  Works  Department, 
the  collusion  of  some  members  of  the  Legislature  and  the  incapacity 
or  worse  of  members  of  the  Highway  Board,  but  it  relieved  the 
Government  or  any  of  its  members  of  knowledge  as  to  these  frauds 
or  participation  in  any  electoral  corruption  as  a  result  of  them. 
It  left  the  Hon.  Walter  Scott,  in  his  days  of  ill-health  and  retirement, 
free  from  any  worse  fault  than  the  defalcation  of  some  trusted 
employees  in  a  Government  Department;  it  left  Mr.  Martin  in  a 
better  condition  to  carry  on  his  Government  beneath  clearer  skies. 
W.  B.  Willoughby  and  J.  E.  Bradshaw  of  the  Opposition  had 
fully  believed  (1)  that  the  Government  itself  was  involved  in  these 
frauds  in  much  the  same  manner  as  the  Roblin  Government  had 
been  involved  in  the  Parliament  Buildings  graft  at  Winnipeg,  and 
(2)  that  the  frauds  were  carried  on  for  the  purpose  of  providing 
a  campaign  fund  for  the  Liberals  with  the  proceeds  devoted  to  that 
purpose.  Hence  their  keen  fight  in  the  Legislature  and  the  in- 
portance  of  the  findings  of  this  Commission.  Early  in  1917  the 
Legislature,  by  special  Act,  confined  the  Commission  in  future 
inquiries  to  specific  charges,  except  in  the  case  of  the  Saskatoon 
Bridge,  and  Mr.  Bradshaw  intimated  a  little  later  that  he  had  no 
new  particulars  to  advance  or  charges  to  make.  The  final  Report 
declared  (1)  as  to  the  Saskatoon  Bridge  charges  that  "the  three 
expert  witnesses  examined  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  Bridge  was 
constructed,  generally,  according  to  the  contract,  plans  and  speci- 
fications," that  the  structure  was  a  good  one  and  that  the  Govern- 
ment received  full  value  for  the  money  expended — in  which  the 
Commissioners  concurred;  (2)  as  to  Brown  highway  frauds  the 
Commission  stated  that  there  was  no  evidence  of  their  being  initiated 
for,  or  used  for,  the  purpose  of  political  corruption ;  (3)  it  censured 
A.  J.  Macpherson  as  Chairman  of  the  Highways  Board  for  holding 
stock  in  one  of  its  contracting  companies  but  found  that  neither 
the  Government  nor  his  colleagues  knew  of  this  fact;  (4)  it  was 
intimated  that  the  Deputy  Treasurer  and  certain  other  Depart- 
mental officers,  in  departing  from  Government  regulations,  had 
rendered  the  frauds  of  Brown,  Devline  and  Simpson  possible;  (5) 
it  was  pointed  out  that  the  Government  already  had  taken  steps 
to  institute  improved  methods  of  accounting,  not  only  in  the  High- 
ways but  in  all  Departments  of  the  public  service,  and  at  the  last 
Session  of  the  Legislature,  following  a  searching  Departmental 
investigation,  and  also  a  survey  of  the  systems  in  vogue  by  Price, 
Waterhouse  &  Co.,  an  entirely  new  system  of  Departmental  account- 
ing was  instituted  and  put  into  operation.  Meantime  the  Brown- 
Elwood  Commission  (1916)  had  disposed  of  the  charges  as  to  corrupt 
relations  of  the  Scott  Government  with  the  Liquor  interests — Mr. 
Scott  being,  in  fact,  a  pioneer  in  Western  Prohibition  legislation. 
Another  Commission  passed  away  when  the  Legislature,  at  the  close 
of  the  year  (Dec.  6)  on  suggestion  of  the  Opposition  Leader,  proposed 
the  reference  of  anything  which  might  come  up  under  the  Haultain 
Commission  of  1916  to  the  Standing  Committee  on  Public  Accounts. 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Meantime,  Mr.  Premier  Martin  had  been  carrying  many  Bills 
through  the  Legislature  and  making  speeches  in  different  parts  of 
the  Province.  At  Estevan  on  Mar.  12  he  made  a  strong  impression 
and  the  local  Mercury  declared  that  "the  Premier  bears  the  stamp 
of  the  leader  of  men;  and  a  brain  which  can  shape  thoughts  as  fast 
as  his  tongue  can  utter  them  must  indeed  be  big  enough  and  active 
enough  to  grasp  all  the  problems  that  are  likely  to  confront  the 
people  of  Saskatchewan."  There  were  two  Legislative  Sessions 
in  1917  with  the  Election  between.  The  6th  Session  of  the  3rd 
Legislature  was  opened  on  Jan.  25  by  Lieut. -Governor  R.  S.  Lake, 
with  a  Speech  from  the  Throne  which  expressed  regret  at  the  ill- 
health  which  had  compelled  the  Hon.  Walter  Scott  to  resign  the 
Premiership  after  11  years  of  able  service,  and  referred  to  the  change 
in  the  Governor-Generalship;  declared  that  in  the  great  War-struggle 
Canada  had  striven  to  the  full  extent  of  her  powers  to  bear  her  part 
and  that  "throughout  the  whole  British  Empire,  as  well  as  -among 
the  Allied  nations,  there  is  a  grim  determination  to  carry  on  the 
contest  until  victory  is  positively  assured  for  the  permanent  estab- 
lishment and  maintenance  of  those  ideals  and  principles  which  in 
the  first  instance  induced  the  Allies  to  resort  to  arms";  approved 
the  National  Service  proposals  of  the  Federal  Government,  described 
the  peace-time  settlement  of  the  soldier  as  a  vital  problem  and 
hoped  for  an  arrangement  by  which  many  would  settle  on  Saskat- 
chewan Crown  lands;  stated  that  the  Patriotic  Tax  levy  on  the 
municipalities  had  met,  on  the  whole,  with  a  hearty  response — 
$815,000  received  and  $185,000  still  due;  regretted  the  crop  losses 
of  1916  from  rust  and  hail  which  ran  into  millions  and  made  a  re- 
organization of  municipal  Hail  Insurance  necessary;  mentioned  the 
holding  back  of  the  1913  law  as  to  Farm  Loans  at  low  rates  because  of 
the  high  values  of  money  and  promised  a  new  measure  dealing  with 
the  problem;  intimated  measures  improving  the  Workmen's  Com- 
pensation Act;  enacted  some  of  the  reforms  urged  by  the  Better 
Schools  movement  and  put  into  law  the  decision  of  the  Liquor 
Referendum;  expressed  satisfaction  as  to  the  Royal  Commission 
Reports  and  stated  that  "as  a  result  of  these  investigations,  no 
Member  of  my  Government  has  been  found  guilty  of  any  improper 
conduct,  but  on  the  contrary  the  effect  of  the  inquiries  has  been  to 
vindicate  the  honour  and  integrity  of  every  Minister  of  the  Crown." 

Robert  Menzies  Mitchell,  M.D.,  member  of  the  House  since  1908, 
was  elected  Speaker  and  certain  resignations  resulting  from  the 
above  Commissions  and  the  issues  involved  were  announced— 
E.  H.  Devline,  J.  A.  Sheppard  and  H.  C.  Pierce.  The  election  of 
Mr;  Martin  for  Regina  was  intimated  and  the  new  Premier  accord- 
ingly took  his  seat.  The  Address  was  moved  by  W.  H.  Paulson 
and  G.  A.  Scott — the  latter  declaring  that  while  it  was  necessary 
for  Saskatchewan  to  send  men  to  the  War,  the  paramount  duty  of 
its  people  was  to  raise  grain  for  the  Allies  and  troops ;  he  also  regretted 
that  11,000  teachers  had  been  in  the  Provincial  schools  during  the 
past  10  years  with  only  a  maximum  of  4,500  at  any  one  time.  The 
Address  was  unanimously  passed  on  Jan.  30  after  Mr.  Martin  had 
made  his  first  speech  as  Premier  and  W.  B.  Willoughby,  Opposition 


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SASKATCHEWAN:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS  745 

Leader,  had  claimed  that  Hon.  A.  P.  McNab  had  not  been  cleared 
by  the  Brown-Elwood  report  and  that  Gerhard  Ens  and  J.  F.  Bole 
should  not  be  continued  in  the  public  service.  The  1st  division  of 
the  Session  was  on  the  Government's  proposal  to  relieve  Rev. 
M.  L.  Leitch  of  technical  disqualification  for  having,  in  ignorance 
of  the  law,  received  $160  for  certain  road- work  while  sitting  in  the 
Legislature.  The  vote  was  30  to  3  in  his  favour  with  Mr.  Willoughby, 
F.  C.  Tate  and  other  Oppositionists  in  the  affirmative.  Incidents 
of  the  Session  included  a  statement  by  the  Premier  in  reply  to 
questions  (Feb.  2)  that  information  had  reached  his  Department 
(Education)  of  the  use  of  reading  books  in  the  Ruthenian  language 
and  instructions  had  at  once  been  issued  as  to  this  being  contrary 
to  the  law  and  involving  a  forfeiture  of  the  school-grant;  the  refusal 
by  the  House  (33  to  6  on  Feb.  8)  of  an  elaborate  return  asked  for 
by  Wm.  Davidson  and  D.  J.  Wylie  dealing  with  the  Telephone 
system;  the  passage,  after  debate,  on  Feb.  8-11  of  a  Government 
motion  expressing  the  thanks  of  the  House  to  Judges  Brown  and 
Elwood  for  executing  their  Commission  and  adopting  those  portions 
of  the  Report  in  which  the  finding  was  unanimous  while  regretting 
that  such  was  not  the  case  in  three  of  the  matters  submitted;  the 
unanimous  passage  of  a  Resolution,  moved  by  Mr.  Premier  Martin 
and  Hon.  W.  F.  A.  Turgeon,  Attorney-General,  that  C.  H.  Caw- 
thorpe,  member  for  Biggar,  "having  been  found  guilty  by  the 
Brown-Elwood  Royal  Commission  of  having  accepted  a  bribe  to 
influence  him  in  his  conduct  concerning  a  matter  under  consideration 
by  this  House,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  Legislative  Assembly 
Act,  be  expelled  from  this  House;  and  that  his  Seat  in  this  House 
be,  and  is  hereby,  declared  vacant";  the  Opposition  proposal  on 
Feb.  12  that  a  rebate  of  all  Provincial  duties  and  taxes  be  made  on 
Soldiers'  estates  and  the  Government  acceptance  of  this,  together 
with  the  addition  of  administration  fees  for  immediate  relatives 
or  dependants;  the  statement  by  Hon.  W.  R.  Motherwell  on  Feb. 
13  that  in  1912-16  a  total  of  542  students  had  attended  the  Agri- 
cultural College  at  Saskatoon  and  in  1909-16  the  students  attending 
the  University  (including  the  above)  were  2,089. 

On  Feb.  14  the  Opposition,  through  Messrs.  Wylie  and  Brad- 
shaw  moved  an  expression  of  regret  at  war  conditions  having  com- 
pelled the  Dominion  Government  to  ask  the  Provincial  Government 
to  take  over  the  duties  of  the  Royal  North  West  Mounted  Police 
and  urged  that  "immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  peace,  the 
Dominion  Government  be  requested  to  allow  the  R.N.W.M.P.  to 
resume  the  full  powers  and  duties  heretofore  carried  on  by  them." 
A  Government  amendment  to  this  was  carried  by  28  to  5  expressing 
the  same  regret  but  changing  the  latter  terms  to  "the  hope  that 
upon  the  conclusion  of  peace  the  Government  of  Saskatchewan  will, 
if  it  should  then  be  deemed  advisable  in  the  interests  of  the  admin- 
istration of  justice,  approach  the  Dominion  Government  with  a  view 
to  renewing  the  agreement  between  the  two  Governments  which 
has  been  suspended."  Both  parties  were  now  preparing  for  an 
Election  and  on  Feb.  16  Messrs.  Willoughby  and  Bradshaw  moved 
for  legislation  along  lines  intended  to  give  the  absent  soldier  a  maxi- 


746  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

mum  of  voting  power.  The  Resolution  (1)  is  given  below,  and  the 
Government  amendment  (2)  outlined  the  policy  which  was  approved 
by  28  to  3  and  afterwards  enacted  into  law: 

Opposition  Proposal: — That  in  the  opinion  of  this  House  provision  should  be 
made  at  the  present  Session  that  any  British  subject,  whether  male  or  female,  of 
the  age  of  21  years  or  upwards,  serving  as  a  soldier,  chaplain,  surgeon  or  nurse,  or 
in  any  other  capacity  in  the  Expeditionary  Forces  of  Canada,  or  in  any  corps  attached 
thereto;  or  in  any  such  like  service  in  the  Imperial  Army  of  His  Majesty  ,x  absent 
from  Canada  at  the  time  of  the  next  General  Election  for  this  Assembly,  who,  within 
six  months  immediately  preceding  the  date  when  he  or  she  was  appointed  or  enlisted 
in  such  forces,  or  joined  such  corps  or  service,  has  been  resident  in  any  Electoral 
Division  in  Saskatchewan  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  30  days,  shall  be  entitled  to 
a  vote  at  the  next  General  Election  for  this  Assembly,  notwithstanding  such  absence 
from  Canada,  and  that  suitable  provision  should  be  made  for  the  taking  of  the  votes 
of  such  persons. 

Government  Policy: — This  House  is  of  the  opinion  that  provision  should  be  made 
at  the  present  Session  whereby  all  persons  who  at  the  time  of  the  next  General  Election 
for  this  Assembly  are  serving  in  any  capacity  in  the  Expeditionary  Forces  of  Canada 
or  in  any  Branch  of  His  Majesty's  Imperial  Forces  in  Great  Britain,  France  or  Belgium, 
and  who  for  a  period  of  at  least  three  months  immediately  prior  to  the  date  when 
each  such  person  joined  or  became  attached  in  any  way  to  any  of  the  said  forces 
were  residents  in  Saskatchewan,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  the  next  General  Election 
for  this  Assembly.  And  further  this  House  is  of  the  opinion  that  provision  should 
be  made  to  provide  the  aforesaid  members  of  the  Expeditionary  Forces  of  Canada 
with  representation  in  this  House  and  that  one  or  more  seats  be  provided  in  this 
House  for  Members  to  be  elected  by  the  members  of  the  said  Forces  exclusively. 

On  Feb.  22  a  Resolution  passed  unanimously  urging  the  Govern- 
ment to  continue  to  press  upon  Ottawa  the  necessity  of  transferring 
to  the  Province  control  of  its  Public  Lands;  the  religious  and  edu- 
cational diversities,  of  the  Province  were  shown  by  the  incorporation 
of  the  Mennonite  Union  Waisenamt,  Ruthenian  Sisters  of  Immacu- 
late Conception,  and  Les  Religieuses  de  Jesus-Marie;  a  unanimous 
motion  (Mar.  2)  renewed  past  declarations  in  favour  of  a  Federal 
transfer  to  the  Province  of  control  over  its  School  endowment 
Funds;  the  Opposition  proposal  of  Mar.  2  that  "the  entire  Public 
Telephone  Service  of  the  Province  be  placed  under  Government 
management  and  control,  and  to  this  end  that  all  telephone  systems 
not  now  owned  by  the  Government  be  acquired  on  an  equitable 
basis"  was  defeated  by  a  party  vote  of  28  to  5;  the  Opposition 
desired  that  any  rules  and  regulations  under  the  Act  giving  repre- 
sentation to  the  Overseas  Forces  should  be  under  jurisdiction  of  the 
House  and  not  the  Governor-in-Council,  but  this  was  defeated  by 
33  to  6;  in  the  matter  of  restricting  the  Wetmore  Commission's 
inquiries  as  moved  by  Messrs.  Turgeon  and  J.  A.  Calder  on  Mar.  9, 
the  Opposition  expressed  dissent  (Lieut. -Col.  J.  E.  Bradshaw  having 
returned  on  leave)  by  24  to  6.  The  Government's  Bill  to  prohibit 
the  keeping  of  liquor  within  the  Province  for  export  was  countered 
by  a  Resolution  proposed  by  Mr.  Willoughby  and  F.  C.  Tate  (Feb. 
28)  which  declared  that  "this  House  approves  the  immediate  pass- 
ing of  a  law  making  it  illegal  to  consume  or  have  for  consumption 
as  a  beverage  in  the  Province  any  intoxicating  liquor  save  for  medi- 
cinal purposes,  subject  to  strict  regulation,"  and  was  defeated  by 
30  to  6. 


SASKATCHEWAN:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS  747 

The  legislation  of  the  Session  included  amendments  to  the 
Saskatchewan  Temperance  Act,  under  which  sections  relating  to 
Government  liquor  stores  were  eliminated;  the  sale  of  liquor  after 
May  1,  1917,  confined  to  drug-stores  or,  where  there  was  no  drug- 
gist, to  a  physician's  limited  prescription;  prohibition  of  liquor- 
drinking  anywhere  except  in  a  private  house  was  enacted  and  com- 
mission-house business,  with  the  right  to  canvass,  solicit  or  receive 
orders,  was  forbidden;  wholesale  druggists,  however,  were  permitted 
to  sell  liquor,  keeping  exact  records,  to  physicians  and  retail  drug- 
gists, to  hospitals,  dentists,  educational  institutions  for  scientific 
purposes,  manufacturers  for  use  in  mechanical  arts  and  for  manu- 
facturing, preserving  and  other  purposes,  and  to  religious  bodies 
for  sacramental  purposes.  Mr.  Turgeon,  Attorney-General,  had 
the  interesting  view  in  this  connection  that  (1)  the  Privy  Council 
had  shown  that  no  Province  could  prohibit  importations;  that  as 
neither  Dominion  nor  Provincial  law  could  add  to  or  subtract  from 
the  other's  powers,  therefore  the  Doherty  Act  was  of  no  avail;  that 
in  the  case  of  a  Dominion  and  a  Provincial  law  upon  the  same 
matter  clashing  the  Dominion  law  would  supersede  the  other  and 
the  Dominion  Temperance  or  Scott  Act  could  be  carried  to  super- 
sede a  Provincial  Prohibitory  measure  and  thereby  cancel  any  pro- 
hibition of  consumption.  Another  measure  abolished  Liquor  ware- 
houses and  declared  that  "no  person  shall  expose  or  keep  liquor  in 
Saskatchewan  for  export  to  other  Provinces  or  to  foreign  countries  " — 
with  the  exception  of  brewers  and  distillers,  licensed  by  the  Dominion 
Government,  and  wholesale  druggists  under  Provincial  permit  and 
in  the  course  of  their  business;  the  Seed,  Grain  and  Fodder  Relief 
Act  gave  the  Government  power,  under  a  memorandum  from  the 
Registrar  of  Land  Titles,  to  release  lands  either  in  whole  or  in  part 
from  liens  or  claims  under  the  Act;  the  Saskatchewan  Returned 
Soldiers'  Employment  Commission  was  incorporated  for  the  pur- 
pose of  (1)  making  an  industrial  and  commercial  survey  of  sources 
of  employment,  (2)  arranging  for  the  placing  of  returned  soldiers 
in  positions,  (3)  soliciting  and  distributing  funds  for  these  purposes, 
and  (4)  taking  over  the  work  of  the  Saskatchewan  division  of  the 
Military  Hospitals  Commission;  the  Juvenile  Courts  Act  was 
passed  under  which  there  was  to  be  a  Juvenile  Court  in  every  city 
and  town  in  the  Province  with  power  to  the  Government  for  the 
establishment  in  any  rural  section,  or  village,  and  to  compel  the 
provision  in  all  municipalities  of  a  Detention  home  satisfactory  to 
the  Attorney-General;  the  Patriotic  Revenues  Act  was  amended 
to  raise  the  Tax  from  1  to  1J^  mills  on  the  dollar  on  all  rateable 
property  with  provision,  also,  for  interest  on  unpaid  sums  at  8% 
and  the  imposition  of  a  poll-tax  of  $2.00  on  every  male  person  of  21 
years  or  over. 

Under  the  Dental  Profession  Act  amendments  the  examination 
of  all  candidates  was  transferred  to  the  University  of  Saskatchewan, 
restrictions  upon  personal  advertising  of  qualifications  were  removed, 
the  University  was  given  control  over  the  matriculation  and  the 
Dental  College  over  periods  to  be  articled  and  curriculum  prescribed, 
while  British  certificates  were  accepted  in  lieu  of  matriculation; 


748  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

under  an  Act  respecting  Saskatchewan  Registered  Nurses  an  in- 
corporated association  was  created  with  a  Council  of  Management 
composed  of  5  elected  from  the  Association  and  2  from  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  and  a  set  of  rules  for  training  and  regis- 
tration and  practice  established;  an  Act  was  passed  to  permit  Gov- 
ernment aid  to  the  Saskatchewan  Anti-Tuberculosis  League  up  to 
$150,000  for  the  completion  of  their  Sanatorium  at  Fort  Qu'Appelle; 
the  Election  Act  was  largely  amended  in  details  with  the  expressed 
intention  of  improving  the  conditions  of  voting  and  safeguarding  the 
polls;  the  School  Act  was  amended  so  that  every  woman  who  was 
the  wife  of  a  duly  qualified  ratepayer  was  given  the  same  rights 
and  privileges  with  respect  to  school  matters  as  her  husband  and 
to  provide  for  consolidated  school,  districts  of  more  than  50  miles 
area  in  certain  cases,  to  prohibit  the  use  of  Debenture  moneys  for 
any  but  the  specified  purpose,  to  compel  every  rural  school  district 
with  12  children  of  7  to  14  years  resident  to  keep  a  school  open  190 
teaching  days,  to  enforce  a  penalty  of  $10  for  using  an  unauthorized 
text-book;  a  School  Attendance  Act  was  passed,  operative  May  1, 
and  providing  for  attendance  officers  reporting  monthly  to  the  De- 
partment with  a  Chief  officer  at  Regina  and  penalties  for  all  who 
broke  the  law  or  allowed  it  to  be  broken — parents,  teachers,  etc. — 
as  to  children  from  7  to  14;  a  new  Highways  Act  was  passed  con- 
solidating most  of  the  provisions  of  the  old  one  but  abolishing  the 
Board  of  Commissioners  and  placing  administration  in  the  hands  of 
a  Department  of  the  public  service;  the  Treasury  Department  Act 
was  also  consolidated  and  amended  so  as  to  improve  the  Account- 
ing System,  establish  a  Contingent  account  not  to  exceed  $10,000  and 
limit  all  expenditures  to  lawful  sums,  or  those  voted  by  the  Legisla- 
ture. 

The  Saskatchewan  Co-Operative  Creameries,  Ltd.,  was  incor- 
porated with  a  view  to  amalgamation  of  existing  creameries  and 
constructing,  equipping,  maintaining  and  operating  them,  and 
others,  together  with  cheese  factories  and  cold-storage  plants — the 
capital  to  be  $500,000,  the  maximum  holding  to  be  50  shares  of  $20 
stock  or  1,000  shares  of  $1.00  stock,  the  creation  of  a  Board  of  3 
members,  one  selected  by  the  Minister  of  Agriculture,  one  by  the 
Directors,  and  one  by  the  Company  amalgamating,  to  appraise  and 
take  over  each  new  concern.  For  cold  storage  purposes  the  Govern- 
ment would  lend  75  per  cent,  of  the  money  required  to  construct 
and  .equip  warehouses.  These  loans  were  to  be  repayable  in  20 
years  at  6  per  cent,  interest,  but  the  aggregate  amount  of  such  loans 
was  not  to  exceed  $75,000.  On  such  terms  and  conditions  as  were 
agreed  upon  loans  could  be  made  by  the  Government  to  the  Com- 
pany up  to  75  per  cent,  of  the  estimated  cost  of  acquiring,  construct- 
ing, extending  or  remodelling  a  creamery,  cheese  factory  or  other 
necessary  buildings.  The  Provincial  Treasurer,  also,  was  empowered 
to  guarantee  the  repayment  of  loans  which  the  Company  might 
make  for  authorized  purposes  from  any  person,  bank  or  corporation — 
the  Government  to  be  secured  from  loss  in  a  manner  to  be  approved. 
A  strongly  co-operative  feature  was  the  provision  that  after  payment 
of  a  dividend  at  the  discretion  of  the  Directors,  but  not  to  exceed 


SASKATCHEWAN:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS  749 

10  per  cent.,  a  sum  not  exceeding  50  per  cent,  of  any  surplus  was  to 
be  distributed  on  a  patronage  basis,  each  patron  receiving  a  sum 
proportionate  to  the  value  of  the  raw  material  supplied  by  him. 
The  balance  of  the  surplus  was  to  go  to  a  reserve  fund.  Municipal 
Acts  were  amended  to  give  married  women  a  vote  and  the  right  of 
election  to  office  in  cities,  towns,  villages  and  rural  municipalities; 
cities  were  allowed  to  unite  with  surrounding  municipalities  for 
specific  construction  of  public  works;  further  measures  of  protec- 
tion were  enacted  for  soldiers'  property  which  was  exempted  from 
taxation  up  to  a  certain  point  during  the  War;  it  was  enacted  that 
candidates  in  villages  must  be  British  subjects.  Curious  clauses  in 
the  Rural  Municipality  Act  affected  farmers  and  their  wives  and 
declared  that  if  the  husband's  taxes  were  not  paid,  he  was  not 
eligible  for  nomination  to  office,  but  that  his  wife,  who  was  not  a 
taxpayer,  was  not  subject  to  that  disqualification.  Widows  and 
others  who  were  not  wives  of  farmers  had  the  municipal  franchise 
on  the  same  basis  as  men. 

In  this  connection  one  man,  one  vote,  was  enacted.  A  new 
Municipal  Hail  Insurance  Act  was  similar  in  the  main  to  the  old 
one  as  to  a  system  of  mutual  insurance  under  which  rural  municip- 
alities could  co-operate  to  tax  each  other  to  provide  compensation 
for  hail  losses  but  it  changed  the  governing  body,  created  and  in- 
corporated a  Hail  Insurance  Association  composed  of  representa- 
tives of  the  municipalities  coming  into  the  scheme  with  9  Directors 
— 3  in  office  for  three  years,  3  for  two  years  and  1  for  one  year. 
This  Board  was  given  considerable  power  in  arranging  the  indemnity, 
rates  and  permits  of  withdrawal — much  along  the  lines  of  the  Sas- 
katchewan Co-Opera tive  Elevator  Co.  An  Act  as  to  municipal 
assistance  in  emergencies  from  Hail  destruction  was  passed  in  order 
to  give  the  139  rural  municipalities  in  which  By-laws  were  in  force 
under  the  Hail  Insurance  Acts  of  1912  and  1915,  an  opportunity  to 
combine  in  assisting  the  owners  of  crops  within  their  boundaries 
which  were  injured  or  destroyed  by  hail  in  1916;  amendments  of 
detail  were  made  in  the  Saskatchewan  Insurance  Act,  the  Prairie 
and  Forest  Fires  Act,  the  Hospital  Act,  the  Local  Government  Act 
and  the  Statute  Law.  In  the  latter  case  it  was  enacted  that  no 
execution  could  be  levied  against  the  land  or  goods  of  a  volunteer 
or  reservist  during  the  War  or  for  six  months  afterwards.  This 
period  was  extended  to  one  year  after  the  War.  Further,  the 
expression  *  volunteer'  or  *  reservist'  was  held  to  include  the  wife, 
but  would  in  future  include  a  widowed  mother  as  well.  The  volun- 
teer was  not  allowed  to  make  any  contract  or  agreement  relinquish- 
ing his  rights  under  this  Act.  Provision  was  also  made  by  enact- 
ment whereby  any  two  or  more  rural  municipalities  might  co-oper- 
ate with  any  number  of  urban  municipalities  in  providing  a  Union 
Hospital  under  municipal  control.  Another  matter  was  the  grant 
of  $250,000  to  provide  for  the  purchase  and  sale  of  live-stock  to 
farmers  in  order  to  encourage  the  Live-stock  industry,  and  the  voting 
of  $60,000  to  assist  in  the  establishment  of  Homes  for  neglected 
children.  The  Soldiers'  Votes  Act  provided  that  all  soldiers  in  the 
Province  at  the  time  of  election  could  vote  in  the  constituencies  in 


750  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

which  they  formerly  resided,  but  that  in  respect  to  soldiers  Overseas 
at  the  time  of  the  Election  three  constituencies  at  large  would  be 
created  with  one  member  of  the  Legislature  to  be  elected  by  those 
soldiers  who  were  in  England,  and  two  members  by  those  who  were 
in  France  and  Belgium.  The  qualification  for  a  candidate  was  six 
,  months'  service  Overseas. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  measure  of  the  Session  was  the 
Farm  Loans  Act  which  proposed  to  create,  practically,  a  Govern- 
ment Loan  Company ;  its  functions  were  exactly  the  same  as  private 
concerns,  but  in  approving  or  rejecting  loans,  in  providing  for 
record-keeping,  in  settling  the  form  of  mortgage  or  other  evidence 
of  security,  and  in  defining  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  Commis- 
sioner, in  all  acts  done  and  regulations  made,  it  was  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  Government.  Its  constitution  was  a  Board  of  three 
members,  one  of  whom  was  Commissioner  or  Managing  Director, 
with  salary,  and  the  other  two  paid  a  per  diem  allowance  and  travel- 
ling expenses  when  on  the  Board's  business  with  all  legal  instru- 
ments, transfers,  securities,  etc.,  to  be  countersigned  by  one  of  the 
Board  besides  the  Commissioner;  the  Loans  were  to  be  first  mort- 
gages, of  not  more  than  50  per  cent,  of  the  Board's  valuation  of  the 
property  offered  as  security,  and  to  be  for  a  term  of  30  years,  repay- 
able in  equal  annual  instalments  of  principal  and  interest;  the  pro- 
ceeds were  to  be  applied  on  permanent  improvements,  or  for  pro- 
ductive purposes,  or  to  pay  off  liabilities  incurred  for  such  purposes, 
or,  if  specially  authorized  by  the  Board,  to  purchase  land  for  agri- 
cultural purposes;  should  a  borrower  fail  to  so  apply  the  proceeds 
.  of  his  loan,  or  should  he  allow  his  property  to  depreciate  so  as  to 
prejudice  the  Board's  security,  the  whole  or  a  portion  of  the  unpaid 
balance  could  be  declared  due  and  payable  immediately,  and  the 
Boa.rd  have  the  same  rights  as  the  holder  of  a  mortgage  in  arrears. 
The  working  capital  for  the  scheme  provided  for  the  raising,  upon 
the  credit  of  the  Province,  of  a  sum  not  to  exceed  $5,000,000  dollars, 
in*  the  same  way  as  other  Provincial  loans — the  money  to  be  ad- 
vanced to  the  Board,  on  terms  and  conditions  to  be  approved  by 
the  Government  and  the  securities  so  issued  by  the  Provincial 
Treasurer  to  never  exceed  the  amount  of  the  mortgage  issued  by  the 
Board;  at  the  start  the  Treasurer  was  given  power  to  advance 
needed  sums  to  the  Board  until  necessary  Provincial  securities  had 
been  sold;  as  to  Interest  the  rate  to  be  charged  by  the  Board  on 
its  loans  was  to  be  sufficient,  but  no  more  than  that,  to  pay  the 
interest  on,  and  the  cost  of  raising  the  money  to  be  advanced  by 
the  Board  and  the  expense  of  conducting  its  business.  Mr.  Dunning 
officially  expressed  the  hope  that  the  rate  would  not  exceed  6j/£% 
compared  with  the  8%  prevalent  in  the  money  market. 

Following  the  Session  (April  30)  the  Farm  Loans  Board  was 
constituted  with  the  following  members:  J.  H.  Grayson,  Moose 
Jaw;  J.  O.  Hettle,  Saskatoon,  and  Colin  Eraser  of  Regina  as  Chief 
Commissioner.  They  were  all  well-known  financial  men  and  Mr. 
Dunning  announced  on  April  25  that  no  Loans  would  be  considered 
until  after  the  Elections.  It  may  be  added  that  on  Sept.  18  follow- 
ing Mr.  Dunning,  as  Provincial  Treasurer,  announced  the  issue  of 


SASKATCHEWAN:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS  751 

10-year  Saskatchewan  Greater  Production  Loan  bonds  in  denomina- 
tions of  $20,  $100,  $500  and  $1,000,  bearing  interest  at  5%  per 
annum,  payable  half-yearly,  and  redeemable  at  par  at  any  time 
upon  the  giving  of  three  months'  notice.  The  object  was  to  raise 
money  within  the  Province  to  provide  the  funds  for  this  Board  and 
applications  from  farmers  had,  already,  been  received  to  a  total  of 
$2,500,000.  A  big  advertising  and  newspaper  campaign  was  at 
once  initiated  along  lines  of  (1)  the  investment  opportunity  which 
this  class  of  security  presented,  and  (2)  the  means  of  performing  a 
patriotic  duty  to  the  Province  and  through  it  to  the  Dominion  and 
the  Empire.  The  press  and  prominent  business  men  were  almost  a 
unit  in  praising  the  plan  and  policy — including  such  a  Conservative 
journal  as  the  Moose  Jaw  News.  By  the  close  of  the  year  $800,000 
had  been  subscribed  and  the  applications  had  risen  to  $6,000,000. 

Incidents  of  the  Session  included  the  declaration  of  F.  C.  Tate 
(Cons.)  on  Feb.  1  that  rural  qualification  for  office  should  include 
a  working  knowledge  of  the  English  language  and  the  Hon.  J.  A. 
Calder's  reply  that  in  that  case  "a  very  large  section  of  the  foreign- 
speaking  population  of  the  Province  would  be  disfranchised  because 
in  some  places  a  large  proportion  of  the  adult  population  were  not 
able  to  speak  the  English  language" — though  they  were  British 
subjects;  the  united  effort  made  by  Liberal  members  of  the  House 
following  the  Premier's  motion  re  the  Brown-Elwood  Commission 
to  obtain  from  Col.  Bradshaw  an  apology  for  making  charges  which 
had  been  proven  false  and  the  declaration  by  Opposition  speakers 
that  charges  which  compelled  the  resignation  of  two  members, 
the  expulsion  of  another,  the  public  reading  of  a  fourth  out  of  his 
Party  by  the  Premier,  and  the  gaoling  of  several  officials,  were  more 
than  justified;  the  claim  of  W.  B.  Willoughby  that  he  had  originally 
opposed  the  1913  Rural  Credits  Act  and  urged  the  New  Zealand 
system  which  Mr.  Dunning  and  the  Government  now,  in  1917, 
had  adopted.  The  Public  Accounts  submitted  to  the  House  by 
Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning,  Provincial  Treasurer,  on  Feb.  9,  showed  a 
total  Revenue  of  $5,631,910  in  1917  and  (Apr.  30)  an  Expenditure 
of  $5,529,610  or  a  surplus  of  $102,300  with  $379,011  brought  over 
from  1915-16.  The  chief  Receipts  for  Apr.  30,  1917,  were  the 
Dominion  Subsidies  of  $1,983,721;  Succession  duties  of  $69,996; 
and  Land  Titles'  fees  $415,314;  Law  stamps,  $203,450  and  Sheriff's 
fees  $303,900;  Motor  license  fees  of  $251,502  and  Corporation  tax 
$188,752  with  Railway  taxation  of  $115,461;  Liquor  Stores  System 
$415,000.  The  proceeds  of  Loans  were  $3,285,313.  As  to  Ex- 
penditures the  chief  items  were  Public  Debt  interest,  etc.,  $1,156,927; 
Public  Works  $540,775,  Public  improvements  $254,877,  and  Public 
Works'  Advance,  $262,451;  Education  $978,359  and  Agriculture 
$220,202;  Public  Health  $205,496.  The  Telephone  Department 
had  Assets  of  $6,856,615  and  Liabilities  of  $371*,983;  the  Income, 
1916-17,  was  $908,697,  the  Expenditures  the  same,  and  the  cash 
receipts  $1,663,186.  The  Assets  of  the  Province  (Apr.  30,  1917) 
were  $46,812,955,  including  $8,107,500  as  Dominion  Debt  Allowance, 
$10,526,616  as  Dominion  School  Lands  Trust  Account;  Public 
buildings  and  lands,  Improvements  and  Telephone  System  $22,277,- 


752  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

211;  Co-Operative  Elevator  mortgages  $1,718,079.  In  addition 
to  these  sums  there  was  an  estimated  7,270,416  acres  of  unsold 
school  lands  held  in  trust  by  the  Dominion  and  said  to  be  worth 
$40,000,000.  The  Liabilities  were  Debentures  totalling  $25,439,185 
bearing  interest  ranging  from  4,  4 J/£  to  5  per  cent,  with  a  few  mis- 
cellaneous sums.  The  Legislature  was  prorogued  on  Mar.  10. 
Mr.  Dunning's  Budget  speech  was  delivered  in  the  new  Legislature 
on  Dec.  13.  He  stated  that  expenditures  and  demands  were  in- 
creasing and  sources  of  revenue  decreasing  and  quoted  the  arrears 
of  the  School  Lands  trust  fund  as  $3,800,000  in  principal  and  interest; 
pointed  to  the  $22,000,000  lent  the  Dominion  Government  in  Victory 
Bonds  by  farmers  who  4  years  before  owed  mortgage  Companies 
$65,000,000;  reported  the  Cash  deficit  for  Apr.  30,  1917,  as  $199,698. 
Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  1st  annual  meeting  of  the 
Saskatchewan  Hail  Insurance  Association  at  Regina  (May  30) 
with  D.  J.  Sykes,  Swift  Current  as  Chairman,  the  receipt  of  the 
4th  Report  of  the  Hail  Commission — J.  E.  Paynter  (Chairman), 
E.  G.  Hingley  and  A.  E.  Wilson — showing  for  the  year  of  Feb.  28, 
1917,  a  revenue  of  $1,524,138  with  $544,825  brought  forward  as 
balance  and  expenditures  of  $1,524,138  less  $2,498  surplus  carried 
forward;  heavy  losses  from  Hail  storms  late  in  1916  as  totalling 
$3,650,743  for  the  year,  of  which  40%  or  $1,460,296  had  been  paid 
out  of  the  above  total  of  expenditures;  a  discussion  arising  out  of 
Mr.  Paynter's  appointment  of  his  son  to  a  remunerative  position 
through  dismissal  of  another  official  and  the  election  of  a  Board  of 
Directors  for  the  Association,  made  up  of  E.  G.  Hingley,  Regina; 
A.  E.  Wilson,  Indian  Head;  D.  J.  Sykes,  Swift  Current;  C.  M. 
Hamilton,  McTaggart;  Murdo  Cameron,  Saskatoon;  J.  W.  Cairns, 
Carnduff;  C.  E.  Long,  Battleford;  J.  J.  Lamb,  Ogema;  J.  R.  Near, 
Flaxcombe — with  the  omission  of  Mr.  Paynter  from  the  Board 
and  election  of  Mr.  Wilson  as  President  and  Mr.  Hingley  as  General 
Manager.  The  Commission,  it  may  be  added,  was  a  Government 
body  based,  under  recent  legislation,  upon  the  Association  and  the 
new  Board  superseded  that  of  three  over  which  Mr.  Paynter  had 
presided.  Other  incidents  included  a  request  of  the  Regina  Board 
of  Trade  to  Hon.  J.  A.  Calder,  by  a  deputation  on  Mar.  13,  for  a 
Freight  Expert  to  look  after  and  explain  freight  classification  and 
the  Minister's  reply  that  one  such  official  for  the  three  Western 
Provinces  should  be  sufficient;  a  statement  by  Dr.  M.  M.  Seymour, 
Commissioner  of  Public  Health,  that  typhoid  fever  cases  had  been 
reduced  in  the  Province  from  1,100  in  1913  to  225  in  1916  and  the 
general  claim  that  the  Health  laws  of  this  Province  were  the  best 
in  Canada;  the  fact  that  there  were  in  1917  over  18,000  motor  cars 
in  the  Province,  the  demand  for  improved  roads  and  the  Govern- 
ment's legislation  giving  80%  of  motor  license  fees  for  that  purpose ; 
the  winning  by  Seager  Wheeler  of  Rosthern  at  the  International 
Dry  Farming  Congress,  Peoria,  111.  (Sept.  25)  of  six  first  prizes 
which  placed  Saskatchewan  near  the  top  of  States  and  Provinces 
and  Mr.  Wheeler  again  in  a  proud  position;  the  publication  of  1916 
Census  returns  showing  a  population  of  647,835  for  the  Province — 
363,787  males  and  284,048  females— or  a  total  of  SI' 55%  increase 


SASKATCHEWAN:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS  753 

over  1911.  The  elections  to  the  Presidency,  etc.,  of  the  chief  Pro- 
vincial organizations  in  1917  were  as  follows: 

Saskatchewan  Association  of  Architects R.  G.  Bunyard. .  Moose  Jaw 

Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  I.O.O.F P.  J.  Walsh Moose  Jaw! 

British  Citizenship  League F.  S.  J.  Ivay Moose  Jaw. 

Grand  Encampment,  I.O.O.F Dr.  E.  D.  Washington Wolseley. 

Provincial  Equal  Franchise  Board Mrs.  F.  A.  Lawton Yorkton. 

Saskatchewan  Credit  Men's  Trust  Association. J.  L.  Hilton Moose  Jaw. 

Provincial  Motor  League Sheriff  Calder Saskatoon. 

Provincial  Nurses'  Association Miss  Jean  Brown    ....        Regina 

I.O.D.E.  of  Saskatchewan Mrs.  W.  Melville  Martin.  .Regina. 

Saskatchewan  Horse  Breeders'  Association ....  Alex.  Mutch Lumsden. 

Saskatchewan  Cattle  Breeders'  Association. . .  .W.  C.  Sutherland Saskatoon. 

Saskatchewan  Sheep  Breeders'  Association . . .  .  H.  Follett Duval. 

Saskatchewan  Swine  Breeders'  Association.  . .  .A.  B.  Potter Langbank. 

Saskatchewan  Poultry  Association W.  W.  Ashley Saskatoon. 

Regina  Patriotic  Fund  Association R.  M.  Gemmel Regina. 

Americans  continued  to  come  into  Saskatchewan  during  the  year 
and  1,527  settlers  in  June  brought  with  them  effects  and  wealth 
estimated  at  $539,679;  official  statements  were  issued  to  the  effect 
that  28,660  auto  plates  had  been  issued  in  6  months  up  to  July  31 
compared  with  15,975  in  Manitoba  and  about  18,000  in  Alberta; 
the  Convention  of  the  Motor  leagues  of  the  four  Western  Provinces 
met  at  Regina  on  Dec.  11-12  and  dealt  with  the  need  for  better 
roads,  details  of  the  projected  highway  from  Vancouver  to  Winnipeg 
and  heard  what  had  been  done  along  that  line  in  the  various  Pro- 
vinces, and  what  should  be  done,  from  Hon.  S.  J.  Latta  and  others 
—the  Saskatchewan  League  having  4,000  members  and  aiming  at 
40,000;  the  sudden  death  at  Prince  Albert  on  Dec.  25  of  Lieut.-Col. 
J.  E.  Bradshaw,  CX-M.L.A.,  was  widely  deplored;  an  address  by 
Joseph  Megas,  Chairman  of  a  Ruthenian  Convention  at  Saskatoon, 
on  Dec.  28,  representing,  it  was  said,  400,000  settlers  in  Western 
Canada,  attracted  much  attention  from  his  appeal  to  aid  the  Ruthen- 
ian-English  higher  education  of  an  Institute  in  Saskatoon  having 
71  students  and  needing  $100,000  for  development — his  report 
of  their  desire  to  act  "as  Canadians  always  true  to  our  new  land  of 
adoption  and  loyal  to  the  British  Empire"  and  to  support  a  Ukrain- 
ian republic  as  a  federated  part  of  a  future  Russia.  Much  attention 
was  given  to  the  Harrison  Gas  Producer — converting  straw  into  gas 
— for  which  Prof.  R.  D.  McLaurin  of  Saskatchewan  University  re- 
signed his  position  in  order  to  manage  it  as  a  commercial  proposition 
which  involved  the  handling  of  20,000,000  tons  of  straw  in  the 
Province  every  year  as  the  equivalent  of  140,000  million  cubic  feet  of 
gas  worth  $220,000,000  a  year  as  power  or  $245,000,000  as  gasoline. 
In  October  Saskatchewan's  Tuberculosis  Sanatorium  was  opened 
atfFort^Qu'Appelle  with  a  building  costingn$300,000  and  intended  to 
accommodate  200  patients — a  result  of  the  Provincial  League  of 
which  Sheriff  A.  B.  Cook  was  President  in  1913-17. 

The  chief  appointments  of  the  year,  not  elsewhere  mentioned, 
included  Arthur  Wilson,  Regina,  as  Director  of  Public  Accommoda- 
tion; W.  O.  Lott,  Regina,  as  Deputy  Provincial  Auditor;  Mary  C. 
Hiltz,  Regina,  as  Director  of  Household  Science;  Wm.  W.  Amos, 
M.D., ^Regina,  as  Deputy  Provincial  Secretary;  P.  J.  Collison  and 
T.  C.  Goldsmith  of  Regina,  and  C.  O'Sullivan  of  Prince  Albert  as 
Inspectors  of  the  new  Provincial  Police;  Dr.  W.  A.  Thomson,  Regina, 

48 


754  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Dr.  D.  W.  Graham,  Swift  Current,  Dr.  H.  A.  Stewart,  Saskatoon, 
and  R.  G.  Chasmar,  v.s.,  Hanley,  to  the  Council  of  Public  Health; 
F.  M.  Logan  as  Provincial  Dairy  Commissioner  in  succession  to 
W.  A.  Wilson  who  retired  to  become  General  Manager  of  the  Co- 
Operative  Creameries  Ltd.  It  may  be  added  that  on  Feb.  7  the 
Saskatchewan  Live-stock  Board  was  constituted,  with  Robt.  Sinton, 
Regina,  as  Hon.  President;  W.  C.  Sutherland,  Saskatoon,  as  Presi- 
dent, and  Alex.  Mutch,  Lumsden,  as  Vice-President;  P.  F.  Bredt, 
Regina,  as  Sec.-Treas.  and  the  following  other  members  of  the 
Board:  R.  W.  Caswell,  W.  W.  Ashley,  Dean  Rutherford,  and  Prof. 

A.  M.  Shaw,  Saskatoon;  M.  W.  Sharon  and  F.  A.  Auld,  Regina; 

B.  H.  Thomson,  Boharm;  R.  Follett,  Duval;  E.  E.  Paynton,  Big- 
stick  Lake;  A.  B.  Potter,  Langbank;  C.  V.  Tomecko,  Lipton;  E.  S. 
Clinch,  M.L.A.,  Shellbach.     In  connection  with  the  re-organization 
of  the  Highways'  administration  under  the  recent  Act  Hon.  J.  A. 
Calder^on^Apr.  2,  became  Minister  of  Highways  and  Hon.  G.  A. 
BehVforthe  time  being,  Acting  Minister;  H.  S.  Carpenter  of  Regina 
was  appointed  Deputy  Minister  and  G.  A.  Palmer  Acting  Deputy 
Minister.    On  Apr.  5  Messrs.  Calder  and  Bell  were  appointed  members 
of  the  Treasury  Board.     On  Jan.   1,   1917,  the  announcement  of 
appointments  as  K.C.  had  been  given  out  as  follows: 

R.  R.  Earle Regina.  G.  P.  Blair Regina . 

W.  W.  Livingstone Battleford.  T.  D.  Brown Regina. 

F.  W.  Halliday Prince  Albert.  D.  J.  Thorn Regina. 

G.  D.  McPhee Yorkton.  H.  E.  Sampson Regina. 

H.  N.  Morphy Weyburn.  J.  A.  Cross Regina. 

E.  J.  Campbell Estevan.  A.  R.  Tingley Regina. 

W.  E.  Knowles,  M.P Moose  Jaw.  A.  L.  Gordon Regina. 

A.  W.  Routledge Davidson.  G.  H.  Barr Regina. 

Avery  Casey Regina. 

In  the  administration  of  Departments  that  of  Agriculture, 
under  Hon.  W.  R.  Motherwell,  was  of  most  import  to  the  greatest 
number  of  people.  Late  in  1916  and  early  in  the  next  year  the 
Minister  joined  with  other  Western  Ministers,  the  Western 
Bankers'  Association  and  the  Federal  Government  in  trying  to  check 
the  wholesale  export  of  young,  immature  cattle  or  stockers  to  the 
United  States — totalling  at  the  Winnipeg  yards  for  three  months 
at  the  close  of  1915  and  1916  respectively  26,132  and  12,945  head. 
Not  only  was  this  process  checked  but  the  cattle  were  brought  back 
from  Winnipeg  at  the  rate  of  3,524  and  15,216  respectively.  The 
Co-Operative  work  of  the  Province  came  under  this  Department 
with  W.  W.  Thomson  in  charge  and  at  the  beginning  of  1917,  309 
reporting  Societies  had  9,444  shareholders,  $92,940  of  paid-up 
capital,  $295,012  of  Assets,  $232,938  of  Liabilities,  handled  $1,984,545 
of  supplies  with  a  turn-over  of  $2,122,832  and  a  net  profit  of  $54,076. 
On  Gopher  Day,  when  school  children  competed  in  the  destruction 
of  these  farm  pests,  980  schools  destroyed  514,140  gophers  or  524 
per  school — the  saving  of  grain  being  estimated  at  $385,000.  During 
this  summer  the  Department  arranged  for  Better  Farming  trains 
running  over  the  G.T.P.  and  the  C.P.R.,  with  a  total  attendance  of 
19,329  people  and  much  useful  instruction  given.  Mr.  Motherwell 
helped  in  the  Food  Control  organization,  rejoiced  as  a  Free-trader 
over  the jTariff ^adjustments  in  wheat,  etc.,  opposed,  personally, 


SASKATCHEWAN:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS  755 

the  Union  Government  movement,  and  supported  Sir  W.  Laurier. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  promoting  Hog  production  and  on  Nov. 
27  stated  that  his  Department  was  supplying  stock  to  the  farmers, 
sending  speakers  and  lecturers  throughout  the  Province  and  distri- 
buting bulletins  and  literature;  substantial  aid,  also,  was  rendered 
the  farmer  in  the  supply  of  seed  grain.  The  Department  furnished 
quantities  of  North  Dakota  rye  to  the  farmers  as  being  specially 
valuable  feed  for  dairymen  and  creameries  in  dry  seasons  and  aided 
the  Farmers'  excursions  to  the  College  of  Agriculture  at  Saskatoon 
which,  on  July  9-14,  included  2,200  persons.  The  Big  Game  season 
of  1917  showed  2,261  resident  licenses  issued  and  1,806  moose,  elk, 
deer  and  caribou  killed. 

As  to  this  Department  it  may  further  be  noted  that  the  land 
area  of  Saskatchewan  at  this  time  was  152,840,000  acres;  that  the 
area  under  homesteads,  pre-emption,  scrip  and  special  grants  was 
26,910,000  acres;  that  under  Railway  grants  were  15,177,063  acres 
and  Hudson  Bay  Co.  3,941,800;  that  under  irrigation  leases, 
timber  and  grazing  leases  were  3,804,200  acres  while  Forest  reserves 
and  parks  took  6,195,700  acres  with  sundry  other  areas  specified 
and  4,900,000  acres  ready  for  entry.  The  immigrant  arrivals, 
1906-16,  totalled  325,230  and  the  storage  capacity  of  Grain  Elevators 
in  1916  was  52,943,000  bushels — 710  stations,  1  warehouse  and 
1,782  Elevators  with  two  Interior  Elevators  at  Moose  Jaw  and 
Saskatoon,  and  a  movement  in  1917  for  one  at  Regina.  The  De- 
partment believed  in  advertising  and  its  tribute  in  the  press  to 
the  work  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  at  Saskatoon  was  deserved. 
W.  J.  Rutherford,  Dean  of  the  College,  drew  attention,  also,  to  the 
fact  that  its  5  months'  Extension  Course  included  English,  arithmetic, 
field  and  animal  husbandry,  dairying,  poultry,  motors  and  im- 
plements, blacksmithing  and  carpentry,  horticulture,  veterinary 
and  elementary  science;  the  Department  claimed  that  it  was  the 
first  in  Canada  to  pass  legislation  enabling  farmers  to  buy  meat- 
producing  live-stock  on  credit  terms  so  that  any  Saskatchewan 
farmer  in  good  standing,  or  a  member  of  any  recognized  agricultural 
association  could  buy  live-stock  from  the  Government  of  Saskatche- 
wan to  the  extent  of  $1,000 — 25%  of  the  price  to  be  paid  in  cash 
and  settlement  for  the  balance  by  lien  note  with  interest  at  6%  per 
annum;  there  were  18  co-operative  creameries  controlled  by  the 
Dairy  Branch  and  the  Live-stock,  Co-Operative,  Game,  Weeds  and 
Statistics  Branches  did  varied  and  continuous  service — as  did 
the  Bureau  of  Labour;  there  was  a  co-operative  marketing  system 
for  live-stock,  milk  and  cream,  wool  and  poultry.  The  estimated 
(Provincial)  value  of  field  crops  and  wool,  furs,  poultry  and  animals 
exported  in  1917 — the  revenue  of  the  farmers— was  $229,599,124. 
The  total  value  of  all  products  to  the  producer  was  as  follows:* 


Product,  1917 
Wheat  

Yield 
per  Acre 
41'2 

Price 
$1.95 

Value  to 
Producer 
$229,966,900 

Oats  

27  '2 

.62 

76,392,400 

Barley 

21   0 

1.00 

14,067,900 

Flax  

62 

2.60 

12,247,600 

Rye.  . 

21   0 

1.70 

1,900,600 

Mixed  Grains  

32  '0 

1.25 

1,580,000 

Potatoes  

1330 

.85 

7.659,000 

*Provincial  official  statistics. 


756  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Yield  Value  to 

Product,  1917                                                       per  Acre        Price  Producer 

Boots 155'5       $0.91  $1,572,000 

Hay,  Fodder tons         1  '4         10. 12  3,740,000 

Butter,  Milk,  Cream,  Ice  Cream 8,600,000 

Game — Furs 1,750,000 

Garden  Products 1,250,000 

Poultry  and  Products 4,465,525 

Sundries 20'8         25.40  969,800 

Value  to 

Live-Stock                                                                             Numbers  Producer 

Horses,  Mules 888,673  $142,187,680 

Cows 354,403  35,440,300 

Cattle .    856,687  52,401,220 

Sheep 127.892  1,918,380 

Swine 573,938  11,478,760 

Total  value  of  Live-stock .  .  $243,426,340 

Total  value  of  Products $609,588,065 

Speaking  as  to  this,  on  Nov.  20,  Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning  said:  "This 
year  the  total  production  in  the  Province  of  Saskatchewan,  with 
a  population  of  700,000  is  $400,000,000,  the  production  per  capita 
possibly  not  being  equalled  anywhere  else  in  the  world."  He 
estimated  the  clear  profit  to  the  people  at  one-eighth,  $50,000,000; 
if  the  larger  figures  given  above  were  worked  out  at  his  one-eighth 
figure  the  total — excluding  Live-stock — would  be  $77,000,000. 
The  Hon.  George  Langley,  Minister  of  Municipal  Affairs,  reported 
for  the  fiscal  year  1917  that  municipal  prosperity  had  increased, 
that  there  had  been  a  general  clearing  of  debts,  an  increasing  number 
of  substantial  surpluses,  an  evident  tendency  toward  economy  and 
avoidance  of  borrowing.  J.  N.  Bayne,  Deputy  Minister,  stated 
that  the  Department  had  arranged  with  Prof.  R.  M.  Haig  of  Colum- 
bia University,  New  York,  to  make  a  general  survey  of  the  incidence 
of  taxation  in  urban  municipalities  and  report  thereon;  reviewed 
the  legislation  of  the  past  Session  along  municipal  lines  and  com- 
pared the  3,921  school  districts  in  the  Province  on  Apr.  30,  the 
7  cities,  74  towns,  310  villages  and  298  rural  municipalities  with  the 
896  school  districts  of  1905  and  its  82  cities,  towns  and  villages  and 
2  rural  municipalities;  described  the  latest  statistics  of  the  seven 
cities  as  showing  a  total  population  of  112,389,  Assessment  of 
$160,685,782,  Taxes  levied  $4,773,988  and  Debenture  Debt  $30,565,- 
894.  As  Minister  of  Telephones  Hon.  G.  A.  Bell  submitted  from 
D.  C.  McNab,  his  Deputy,  a  statement  (Apr.  30,  1917)  showing 
the  construction  of  the  year  as  40  new  toll  offices,  55  new  exchanges, 
612  long-distance  pole  miles  and  924  wire  miles;  the  Government 
System  totalled  18,669  stations,  4,274  long-distance  pole  miles  and 
18,833  similar  wire  miles;  the  rural  independent  systems  showed 
23,502  pole  miles,  70,375  wire  miles  and  23,813  stations.  On  Sept. 
27  the  Minister  received  the  Executive  of  the  Association  of  Rural 
Municipalities  and  presented  40  Resolutions  which  nearly  all 
called  for  changes  in  the  laws.  The  Report  for  Apr.  30,  1917,  of 
the  Provincial  Secretary — Hon.  W.  F.  A.  Turgeon,  also  Attorney- 
General — showed  the  issue  of  238  certificates,  the  making  of  3,243 
Government  appointments  in  the  year  and  issue  of  32,428  licenses. 
The  appointments  included  249  Notaries  Public,  2,679  Commis- 
sioners for  Oaths,  236  Justices  of  the  Peace,  etc.;  the  Licenses  in- 
cluded the  following:  Marriage  4,707,  auctioneers  487,  peddlars  184, 


SASKATCHEWAN:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS  757 

motorcycles  270  and  148  renewed,  chauffeurs  801  and  577  renewed, 
garage  443,  livery  1,088,  Motors  23,152,  moving  pictures  133. 
The  revenue  was  $694,868. 

The  Hon.  J.  A.  Calder  as  Minister  of  Railways  had  a  record  for 
his  Department  of  633  miles  constructed  in  1912 — when  he  was 
appointed  to  this  office— 897  miles  in  1913,  438  miles  in  1914,  238 
miles  in  1915  but  very  little  in  1916  and  1917.  This  construction 
had  meant  much  to  Provincial  development,  to  farmers  in  the  mar- 
keting of  their  crops,  to  the  Province  in  promoting  settlement  and 
production;  incidentally,  it  involved  between  1912  and  1916  the 
building  of  hundreds  of  dep6ts,  landing  platforms,  elevators,  ware- 
houses, freight  sheds  and  stock-yards.  As  to  Highways  the  Minister 
on  Apr.  19  told  the  Regina  Leader  that  in  the  four-year  period, 
1912-15,  the  expenditures  from  Revenue  were:  Roads,  $996,337; 
Bridges,  $607,370;  other  services  $747,292,  a  total  of  $2,351,000, 
or  an  average  per  year  out  of  revenue  of  $587,750;  that  from  Capital 
in  1912-15  the  expenditures  were:  Roads  $4,409,629;  Bridges  $914,928 
—a  total  of  $5,224,553  or  an  average  per  year  of  $1,306,138.  The 
total  expenditure  for  10  years  in  this  connection  was  $5,528,289 
from  Income  and  $5,224,553  from  Capital.  Mr.  Calder  declared 
that  in  time  the  rural  municipalities  should  take  over  the  construc- 
tion of  all  roads  and  bridges  and  meanwhile  begin  to  do  so  gradually. 
Some  classes  of  the  work  they  could  now  do  to  the  best  advantage: 
"It  has  been  stated  that  a  political  party  in  power,  having  to  do 
with  large  expenditures  in  constituencies,  is  in  a  good  political 
position.  In  my  opinion  that  position  does  that  party  a  great  deal 
more  harm  than  good."  The  work  of  the  Local  Government  Board 
was  largely  along  lines  of  Municipal  financing  and  in  1914  the  amount 
of  Debentures  authorized  for  cities,  towns,  villages,  schools,  tele- 
phones and  municipal  purposes  was  $7,329,793,  in  1915  $2,808,513, 
in  1916  $3,244,844.  In  January  S.  P.  Grosch,  B.A.,  succeeded 
A.  J.  McPherson  as  Chairman  of  the  Board,  J.  R.  Bunn  remained 
a  member,  and  J.  N.  Bayne  became  an  Acting  Commissioner. 
Late  in  1917  the  Board  issued  a  statement  that:  "Having  in  view 
the  circumstances  created  by  the  War,  and  their  influence  on  the 
security  market,  the  Board  has  consistently  directed  its  efforts 
toward  reducing  to  a  minimum  the  borrowings  of  local  authorities. 
A  larger  amount  of  Telephone  debentures  has  been  authorized  during 
this  year  than  in  any  previous  year,  391  companies  having  been 
given  permission  to  make  extensions  or  construct  new  lines  at  a 
total  approximate  cost  of  $3,000,000.  This  seems  a  large  amount 
but  it  has  been  felt  that  the  extension  and  improvement  of  Tele- 
phone accommodation  in  the  rural  districts  would  be  of  material 
assistance  in  the  campaign  for  greater  production." 

Mr.  Martin  as  Premier  had  followed  Mr.  Scott  in  assuming  charge 
of  Education  and  he,  also,  followed  him  in  close  attention  to  the 
development  of  the  Provincial  system.  In  January,  1917,  there  was 
a  decided  increase  in  attendance  at  the  Normal  Schools  with  655 
compared  to  542  in  1916— 1st  Class  64,  2nd  Class  240,  3rd  Class 
351.  At  the  close  of  this  year  it  was  found  that  there  were  3,670 
school  districts  with  schools  in  operation,  about  4,000  teachers 


758  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

fully  qualified  in  charge  of  these  schools  but  changing  so  frequently 
as  to  make  exact  numbers  uncertain  because  of  the  permanent 
teachers  being  so  often  in  charge  for  only  a  short  interval.  Up  to 
December  745  of  provisional  permits  had  been  issued  in  the  year 
and  8  schools  had  been  closed  for  want  of  teachers;  Normal  School 
Sessions  had  been  held  at  9  different  centres  of  the  Province  and  the 
school  children  had  raised  for  Belgian  Relief  a  total  of  $67,058  and 
for  the  Patriotic  Fund  $26,422.  On  Dec.  14  the  Premier  told  the 
Legislature  about  the  operation  of  the  new  Attendance  Act:  "Last 
year  we  had  an  examination  made  of  1,450  rural  schools  in  the  older 
settled  parts  of  the  Province  and  the  school  attendance  amounted 
to  68%,  an  excellent  average  in  those  schools.  In  September  of 
this  year  we  had  practically  the  same  1,450  schools  checked  up  and 
we  find  instead  of  68%  one  of  76%.  We  found  from  the  School 
census  returns  that  there  was  a  total  of  60,723  pupils  residing  in  the 
rural  and  village  school  districts  over  7  and  under  14  years  of  age. 
The  total  number  of  these  pupils  reported  to  have  been  irregular 
in  attendance  or  in  non-attendance  was  14,043.  Courteous  letters 
were  sent  from  the  Department  to  the  parents  of  these  14,043 
children  and  the  teachers  were  asked  to  make  a  report.  The  result 
has  been  very  gratifying.  Out  of  that  total  only  5,510  parents 
had  to  be  sent  what  is  called  the  "five-day  warning"  or  final  notice 
that  unless  the  law  is  observed  action  will  be  taken.  On  this  final 
notice  all  reported  to  the  schools  except  935."  Action  was  taken  as 
to  these  latter  with  good  effect  and  Mr.  Martin  noted  that  22%  of 
the  irregular  attendance  was  due  to  illness.  The  number  who 
wrote  on  examinations  in  1916  was  6,837  and  in  1917  6,928.  It 
may  be  added  from  other  official  sources  that  the  total  number  of 
teachers  in  1915  was  2,240  and,  in  1916,  2,724  with  1,222  of  the  former 
and  911  of  the  latter  trained  in  Saskatchewan.  The  Interim  cer- 
tificates in  1916  were  733,  3rd  class  895,  Permanent  certificates 
299,  Sundries  13  and  Provisional  783.  It  may  be  added  that  the 
Legislative  Library  at  Regina  was  small  (20,000)  but  valuable — 
John  Hawkes,  Librarian,  drawing  attention  in  1917  to  its  possession 
of  Sir  John  Macdonald's  political  scrap-books. 

As  to  the  War  the  excellent  work  of  the  Military  Hospitals  Com- 
mission, with  Major  James  McAra  as  Quartermaster  and  Pur- 
chasing Agent  at  Regina,  and  Major  E.  J.  Ashton,  D.S.O.,  in  com- 
mand— with  Hospitals  at  Moose  Jaw  and  Regina  and  a  Vocational 
Home  at  Saskatoon — was  transferred  in  April,  following  legislation 
passed  at  Regina,  to  the  Returned  Soldiers'  Employment  Com- 
mission which  met  on  Apr.  25  and  elected  Mr.  Justice  E.  L.  Elwood, 
Chairman.  His  Executive  was  composed  of  Dr.  W.  D.  Cowan 
and  J.  W.  Smith,  Regina;  R.  H.  Chadwick,  A.  B.  E.  Stevens  and 
J.  A.  Maharg,  Moose  Jaw;  Mayor  A.  M.  Young,  Dr.  W.  C.  Murray 
and  J.  D.  Wallace,  Saskatoon;  Hon.  R.  M.  Mitchell,  Weyburn; 
D.  J.  Wylie,  Maple  Creek;  William  Knox,  Prince  Albert;  Malcolm 
Henderson,  North  Battleford;  Levi  Beck,  Yorkton  and  John  Law, 
Swift  Current.  This  body  took  over  400  Welcome  and  Aid  leagues 
throughout  the  Province;  found  841  returned  men  to  deal  with,  of 
whom  334  were  pensioners,  424  under  employment  and  none  un- 


SASKATCHEWAN:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  POLITICS  759 

employed,  155  in  hospitals  of  whom  58  were  tubercular,  101  taking 
vocational  training,  etc.  The  Regina  Red  Cross  Society  under 
Mrs.  T.  B.  Patton,  President,  reported  $17,132  raised  in  the  11 
months  ending  Sept.  30  and  the  Provincial  body,  meeting  on  Nov. 
9,  with  140  members  present,  reported  total  receipts  for  the  year 
of  $435,129  and  collections  on  "Our  Day"  as  over  $80,000  while 
France's  Day  brought  $23,000.  The  President  (His  Honour  the 
Lieut.-Governor)  stated  that  "the  Province  last  year  contributed 
one-quarter  of  the  entire  cash  contributions  to  the  Canadian  Red 
Cross  Society  and  the  largest  per  capita  cash  contribution  of  any 
Province  in  the  Dominion."  There  were  1,700  members  in  Moose 
Jaw  alone,  333  branches  in  the  Province  and  1,096  cases  of  supplies 
shipped.  Mr.  Lake  was  re-elected  President  and  Mrs.  W.  A.  Graham, 
File  Hills,  with  H.  L.  Pope,  Moose  Jaw,  yice-Presidents,  P.  H.  Gor- 
don, Regina,  Hon.  Secretary.  The  Provincial  Branch  of  the  Cana- 
dian Patriotic  League  met  on  June  29  at  Regina  and  the  Report  to 
May  31  showed  91  branches  organized  in  the  year  with  a  total  of 
399,  $720,000  received  as  a  Government  contribution  and  $235,290 
in  popular  contributions.  Out  of  $877,689  collected  from  the 
public  since  1914  the  large  sum  of  $122,617  was  given  by  the  Civil 
Service.  His  Honour  R.  S.  Lake  was  re-elected  Hon.  President,  Major 
A.  B.  Perry,  C.M.G.,  President  and  Dr.  W.  C.  Murray,  Vice-President, 
with  T.  M.  Bee,  Secretary,  and  Hon.  G.  A.  Bell,  Treasurer.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  year  preparations  were  made  for  a  new  call  of  $1,000,- 
000.  In  1917  this  amount  had  been  fully  collected  with  disburse- 
ments of  $80,000  a  month;  on  Nov.  27  the  Committee  explained 
the  distinction  between  its  Fund  and  the  Patriotic  Revenues  Act 
—the  latter  being  designed  for  supplementing  the  general  revenue 
of  the  Province,  in  order  that  the  Government  in  its  discretion 
might  grant  assistance  to  the  cause  of  Great  Britain  and  her  Allies." 
It  was,  therefore,  the  duty  of  the  people  to  continue  their  support 
to  the  Patriotic  Fund. 

The  indirect  War  disaster  at  Halifax  brought  $25,000  from  the 
Saskatchewan  Government  and  Mr.  Premier  Martin,  in  the  House 
on  Dec.  11,  stated  that  "  the  Government  itself  would  act  as  a  Central 
Committee  with  the  Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning  as  Trustee  for  all  Pro- 
vincial funds  collected  for  this  purpose."  Meanwhile,  on  Aug.  21 
a  Provincial  Food  Control  Committee  was  organized  at  Regina 
with  representatives  of  all  interests  present  and  ex-Governor  G.  W. 
Brown  as  Chairman,  F.  Hedley  Auld,  Hon.  Secretary.  A  Sub- 
Committee  on  Food  supplies  and  Prices  was  appointed — G.  W. 
Brown,  J.  B.  Musselman  and  W.  C.  Paynter.  On  Sept.  5  the 
General  Committee  urged  upon  the  Dominion  Food  Controller  that 
(1)  the  price  of  flour  at  the  mill  be  fixed  in  direct  relationship  to 
economical  supply;  (2)  that  the  price  of  wheat  be  definitely  fixed 
for  the  whole  of  the  present  year's  crop;  (3)  that  a  standard  weight 
for  a  loaf  of  bread  be  set  for  Canada  and  that  the  price  of  bread  be 
regulated ;  (4)  that  no  prohibition  of  the  sale  and  use  of  canned  fruits 
should  apply  to  Saskatchewan  and  that  the  order  prohibiting  the 
sale  of  canned  vegetables  should  be  abrogated  so  far  as  this  Pro- 
vince was  concerned;  (5)  that  full  investigation  be  made  into  the 


760  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

causes  of  the  present  undue  inflation  of  food  prices;  (6)  that  the 
Committee  greatly  deplored  the  continued  wasteful  consumption 
of  grain  in  the  manufacture  of  alcoholic  liquors.  It  was  also  stated 
publicly  at  this  time  that  certain  interests  were  refusing  to  sell  to 
Co-operative  organizations  and  thereby  keeping  up  prices ;  on  Oct. 
11  the  Food  Council  passed  a  Resolution  urging  that  "regulations 
be  issued  imposing  severe  penalties  upon  any  Canadian  manufacturer 
or  jobber  who  refuses  to  sell  food  products  of  any  kind  to  any  Cana- 
dian wholesale  or  retail  Co-operative  concern,  respectively,  on  as 
favourable  terms  as  they  regularly  sell  such  products."  W.  W. 
Thomson  was  appointed  to  gather  further  information.  The  Sas- 
katchewan G.W.V.A.  met  in  Regina  on  Nov.  2  and  were  addressed 
by  the  Premier.  They  promulgated  a  series  of  demands  including 
(1)  collection  of  Funds  for  soldiers'  dependants  by  taxation  rather 
than  voluntary  gifts;  (2)  the  counting  of  time  spent  on  active  ser- 
vice as  residence  in  home-steading;  (3)  amending  the  Moratorium 
Act  to  protect  the  goods  and  chattels  as  well  as  land  of  a  volunteer 
or  reservist;  (4)  a  contribution  by  the  Provincial  Government  of 
$10,000  to  the  purposes  of  the  Association;  (5)  asking  the  Dominion 
and  Provincial  Governments  to  dismiss  all  employees  of  alien  birth 
who  were  not  naturalized;  (6)  urging  support  for  the  Union  Govern- 
ment and,  finally,  this  Resolution: 

t 

That  men  in  France  and  those  whose  disability  is  due  to  service,  until  their 
cases  have  finally  been  adjusted  by  the  Board  of  Pension  Commissioners,  should 
remain  on  pay  under  the  present  arrangement.  That  the  Government  be  requested 
to  examine  into  the  circumstances  of  such  cases  among  the  Forces  and  return  to 
their  former  duties  those  men  remaining  in  Canada  or  England  who  are  unfitted  for 
active  service  at  the  battlefront,  unless  employed  at  special  work  for  which  they 
are  peculiarly  fitted.  Further,  that  those  of  this  class  who  remain  at  present  employed 
at  other  than  combative  services  be  sent  to  the  Front.  That  representation  be  made 
to  the  authorities  so  that  all  officers  who  refuse  to  revert  in  order  to  go  to  the  Front, 
be  returned  to  Canada,  so  that  they  may  be  affected  by  the  terms  of  the  Military 
Service  Act,  1917,  in  common  with  all  of  Canada's  citizens. 

Major  James  McAra,  Regina,  was  elected  President,  Harris  Turner, 
M.L.A.,  Saskatoon,  and  D.  Hart,  Swift  Current,  Vice-Presidents,  and 
Grant  McNeil,  Moose  Jaw,  Secretary.  The  Victory  Loan  drive 
of  December  netted  $21,752,250  for  Saskatchewan,  with  $12,000,000 
as  the  allotment.  It  was  notable  for  a  speech  on  Nov.  20  by  Hon. 
C.  A.  Dunning  in  which  he  appealed  to  the  farmers,  in  particular, 
to  support  the  Loan  to  the  limit.  "The  economic  situation  is  now 
such  that  not  one  bushel  of  wheat  can  be  purchased  by  Great  Britain 
and  her  Allies,  here,  unless  Canada  extends  the  necessary  credit.  The 
War  has  been  the  economic  salvation  of  Saskatchewan.  At  its 
outbreak  men  viewed  the  situation  with  alarm,  but  the  Province 
and  its  people  are  more  prosperous  than  ever  before.  The  War 
has  brought  ruin  and  desolation  to  all  the  countries  engaged  in  the 
War;  it  has  brought  money  to  you  and  me."  The  Saskatchewan 
Boy  Scouts  Association  in  1917  showed  2,000  scouts  and  warrant 
officers  with  96  troops  and  G.  H.  Barr,  K.C.,  Regina,  re-elected 
President.  To  the  Belgian  Relief  Fund  it  was  stated  by  the  Premier 
on  Dec.  10  that  the  Schools  of  Saskatchewan  contributed  $30,000 
more  than  the  children  of  any  other  Province;  a  Regina  Leader's 


ENTRANCE  HALL  OF  THE  NEW  PARLIAMENT  BUILDINGS,  OTTAWA. 


SASKATCHEWAN  ELECTIONS:  NEW  LEQISLATUBE  MEETS      761 

Fund  on  May  1  had  reached  $24,267.  As  to  the  general  war  situa- 
tion Mr.  Premier  Martin  on  Aug.  4  was  explicit:  "War  is  a  new 
experience  for  Canada.  Prior  to  August  1914  there  was  no  military 
organization  in  Canada  worthy  of  the  name.  But  when  the  clarion 
call  went  forth  for  men  to  fight  for  freedom  and  justice,  Canada  was 
not  found  wanting.  The  Dominion  responded  to  the  call  of  the 
Empire  and  our  men  went  forth  from  every  section  to  do  battle  for 
right.  The  War  to-day  is  a  stupendous  undertaking.  .  .  .  But 
with  it  all  there  is  a  silver  lining.  We  know  that  the  British  Empire 
to-day  is  more  of  a  unit  than  ever  before.  There  is  a  greater  unity 
within  the  Empire  by  reason  of  the  War  than  we  could  have  hoped 
for  in  25  or  50  years  of  ordinary  history  and  Canada  has  done  her 
share  nobly  in  this  gigantic  struggle."  Notable  casualties  of  the 
year  were  Lieut. -Col.  T.  E.  Perrett  (Principal  of  Regina  Normal 
School)  wounded;  Lieut.  W.  M.  Scanlon  of  the  Regina  Leader  t 
killed,  and  Lieut.  J.  C.  Smith  (Provincial  Live-stock  Commissioner) 
also  killed. 

The  Temperance  issue  had  some  ups  and  downs  during  the  year. 
Its  March  legislation  was  along  lines  of  closer  restriction  and  a 
Saskatchewan  Sunday  School  Convention  at  Regina  on  Mar.  22 
expressed  regret  at  the  Dominion  Government  failing  to  realize  the 
extent  to  which  the  people  of  the  Dominion  were  prepared  to  go 
in  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of  Temperance  legislation;  urged 
a  Dominion  Prohibition  measure  and  expressed  appreciation  of  the 
final  closing  of  Government  liquor  stores  in  Saskatchewan  and  the 
abolition  of  the  export  and  commission  houses.  The  vote  under 
the  Provincial  Referendum  of  Dec.  11, 1916,  as  published  in  January, 
showed  95,249  votes  in  favour  of  doing  away  with  the  Government 
sale  of  liquor,  23,666  against  abolition  and  4,005  spoiled  ballots. 
On  July  14  Mr.  Justice  H.  W.  Newlands  declared  the  Provincial 
Act  prohibiting  the  export  of  liquor  from  the  Province  as  ultra 
vires — the  Hudson  Bay  Co.  being  charged  with  the  shipment  of 
liquor  outside  the  Province.  The  wisdom  of  the  Attorney-General 
in  making  this  a  special  Act  instead  of  involving  the  whole  legis- 
lation in  danger  was  thus  confirmed.  The  Regina  Leader  urged  the 
Dominion  Government  (July  16)  to  enact  a  law  making  it  an  offence 
to  carry  liquor  into  any  Province  which  prohibited  the  sale  of  such 
liquor  and  not  to  await  Provincial  legislation  making  it  a  crime  for 
a  man  to  have  or  consume  liquor  in  his  own  house — to  which,  it 
was  claimed,  the  Temperance  people  were  unanimously  opposed. 
Legislation  to  meet  the  situation  was  passed  at  the  December  Ses- 
sion of  the  Legislature. 

Saskatchewan  The  two  Parties  had,  meanwhile,  been  preparing 
General  Elec-  for  the  Elections  which  were  imperative  under  the 
Session81  five-year  term — unless  legally  extended,  as  was  done 
of  New  f°r  one  vear  m  Ontario  and  at  Ottawa.  The  Martin 

Legislature.     Government  was  an  extension  of  one  which,  for  11 
years,  under  the  Hon.  Walter  Scott,  had  administered 
affairs  with  a  great  material  growth  and  much  expansion  in  directions 
such  as  Education.      During  these  years  the  Liberal  Government 


762  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

claimed  to  have:  (1)  Established  the  Provincial  University  and  Agri- 
cultural College  and  a  system  of  secondary  schools ;  (2)  launched  the 
"Better  Schools  Movement"  and  arranged  for  a  thorough  Survey  to 
be  made  of  the  whole  educational  system,  created  Juvenile  Courts  and 
granted  the  franchise  to  Women ;  (3)  taken  progressive  and  consistent 
action  in  dealing  with  the  Liquor  problem  and  enacted  laws  and 
regulations  affecting  the  health  and  protection  of  workmen;  (4) 
created  the  Saskatchewan  Co-Operative  Elevator  Co.  and  inaugu- 
rated a  Provincial- wide  telephone  system;  (5)  adopted  and  carried 
out  a  Railway  policy  that  had  resulted  in  a  more  rapid  development 
in  Saskatchewan  than  in  any  part  other  of  Canada;  (6)  provided 
Government  assistance  for  the  construction  of  main  highways  lead- 
ing to  market  towns  and  distributed  the  revenue  from  automobile 
licenses  to  rural  municipalities  to  assist  in  the  maintenance  of  main- 
roads;  (7)  inaugurated  a  system  of  co-operative  Hail  insurance, 
controlled  by  municipalities  which  voluntarily  adopted  the  policy 
and  enacted  laws  to  regulate  and  control  the  sale  of  Farm  machinery ; 
(8)  adopted  various  measures  to  protect  the  property  and  interests 
of  all  soldiers  who  had  enlisted  for  Overseas  and  to  provide  for  their 
dependants  left  behind;  (9)  made  provision  for  a  Provincial  system 
of  loaning  money  on  long  terms,  and  at  cost,  upon  the  security  of 
farm  mortgages;  (10)  established  a  Bureau  of  Public  Health  with 
activities  which  made  Saskatchewan  one  of  the  healthiest  Provinces 
in  Canada — provided  also  for  Municipal  Union  Hospitals.  The 
scandals  and  troubles  of  1916  and  its  Royal  Commissions  had  largely 
passed  away  in  political  effect  through  the  re-organization  and  the 
appointment  of  the  Martin  Government;  while  the  skilled  hand  of 
Hon.  J.  A.  Calder  remained  as  a  factor  in  moulding  and  managing 
public  opinion.  Women  were  at  once  given  a  vote  by  the  new 
Martin  Government  and  the  Temperance  legislation  strengthened, 
while  Free  wheat,  though  a  Dominion  matter,  was  made  a  popular 
issue — and  eventually  granted.  The  returned  soldiers  were  skil- 
fully dealt  with  by  protective  legislation  and  given  three  members 
in  the  Elections  under  special  Act.  The  handling  of  this  question 
and  that  of  Education  had  been  done  with  a  minimum  *of  friction, 
so  far  as  the  large  alien-enemy  or  foreign  vote  was  concerned. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  the  holding  of  a  Provincial  Liberal 
Convention  at  Moose  Jaw  on  Mar.  28-9 — the  first  since  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Provinces  in  1905.  About  800  Delegates  were  in 
attendance:  C.  M.  Hamilton,  Yellow  Grass,  was  elected  Chairman, 
Mrs.  G.  B.  Cleveland,  Saskatoon,  Vice-Chairman ;  a  Resolution 
Committee  of  72  was  carefully  constituted,  with  one-half  women,  and 
G.  A.  Maybee  of  Moose  Jaw  as  Chairman;  S.  J.  Latta,  M.L.A.,  was 
chosen  Secretary  of  the  Convention  and  Conservative  press  repre- 
sentatives were  excluded.  The  earlier  motions  approved  were 
personal — (1)  declaring  confidence  in  Sir  W.  Laurier  as  "the  true 
exponent  of  the  aims  and  principles  of  Liberalism";  (2)  pledging 
support  to  the  Martin  Government  and  belief  in  its  power  to  con- 
tinue "the  splendid  record  of  past  achievement";  (3)  paying  tribute, 
amidst  hearty  cheers,  to  Hon.  Walter  Scott  and  his  eleven  years 
of  work  for  Saskatchewan  and  Western  Canada.  Varied  tributes 


SASKATCHEWAN  ELECTIONS:  NEW  LEGISLATURE  MEETS    763 

and  frequent  cheers  were  accorded  to  Mr.  Scott  during  the  Con- 
vention with  many  wishes  for  his  full  recovery  in  health.  A  special 
Resolution  of  thanks  for  services  to  Provincial  Liberalism  was  accorded 
to  Mr.  Calder  and  Hon.  G.  Langley  paid  tribute  to  his  renunciation 
of  the  Premiership  in  1916.  Another  Resolution  expressed  adherence 
to  those  Liberal  principles  which  had  been  "the  guiding  light  in 
Saskatchewan's  political  history"  and  it  was  decided  to  constitute 
a  Provincial  Liberal  Committee  in  charge  of  political  organization 
which,  later  on,  was  done  with  Hon.  J.  A.  Calder  as  Chairman, 
J.  F.  Cairns,  Saskatoon,  as  Vice-Chairman,  and  C.  F.  McLellan, 
Regina,  as  Secretary.  Mr.  Premier  Martin  in  his  speeches  took  high 
ground  as  to  Educational  and  racial  conditions:  "Let  me  say  right 
here  that  any  man  who  at  this  critical  time  attempts  to  raise  religious 
discord  or  racial  questions  in  this  country,  is  not  a  true  friend  of 
Saskatchewan,  Canada,  or  the  British  Empire.  ...  I  have  no 
sympathy  with  people  who  get  up  on  public  platforms  and  say  we 
should  disfranchise  men — whom  they  call  aliens — men  who  have 
been  enfranchised  in  the  years  past."  He  added  that  it  was  "the 
duty  of  the  state  and  the  citizens  of  this  Province  to  see  that  every 
child  in  this  Province  gets  an  efficient  knowledge  of  the  English 
language."  If  the  present  law  was  carried  out:  "It  will  in  the  end 
create  a  condition  of  affairs  where  everyone  will  properly  under- 
stand the  English  language."  In  another  speech  he  declared  it 
"important  that  the  Province  should  be  assured  of  being  a  British 
Province  in  years  to  come."  The  tariff  should,  he  added,  fo£  changed 
"for  reciprocity,  for  free  wheat,  for  free  agricultural  implements, 
for  free  entry  to  this  country  of  everything  which  enters  into  the 
production  of  grain.  Then,  too,  there  should  also  be  an  increase 
in  the  British  preference,  with  a  view,  ultimately,  to  free  trade  with 
Great  Britain."  The  following  Resolutions  were  reported  to  the 
Convention  by  its  Committee  and  approved  as  the  Party  platform 
in  the  coming  Elections : 

1.  EDUCATION:   (a)  The  continued  improvement  of  our  educational  system  with 
the  object  of  assuring  to  our  children  efficient  elementary  education,  special  care 
being  taken  that  by  strict  administration  of  the  school  law  and  regulations  every  child 
obtains  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  English  language;    (6)  The  creation  of  condi- 
tions that  will  have  an  ever  increasing  influence  in  improving  the  efficiency  of  all 
teachers  and  in  making  the  teaching  profession  more  permanent;    (c)  The  adoption 
of  such  measures  as  are  necessary  to  guarantee  that  a  larger  proportion  of  our  rural 
children  will  be  able  to  secure  in  suitable  schools  nearer  their  homes  the  advantages 
of  a  high  school  education  which  should  be  more  closely  related  to  our  rural  life. 

2.  SOLDIERS:   The  adoption  of  whatever  measures  necessary  to  enable  our  sol- 
diers upon  their  return  to  Saskatchewan  to  once  more  take  an  independent  place  in 
our  civil  life;  the  resources  of  the  Province  and  the  activities  of  every  branch  of  the 
Public  Service  should  be  utilized  to  bring  about  this  end  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

PUBLIC  HEALTH:  (a)  An  extension  of  the  activities  of  the  Public  Health  Bureau 
and  the  Municipal  Department  with  a  view  to  further  relieving  the  conditions  that 
prevail  in  our  more  distant  and  sparsely  settled  communities,  respecting  medical 
attendance,  hospital  accommodation  and  nurses;  (6)  The  adoption  of  a  plan  whereby 
the  health  of  all  school  children  will  be  kept  constantly  under  review  by  the  teacher 
who  shall  be  trained  for  this  purpose,  the  plan  to  be  such  as  to  secure  the  sympathetic 
co-operation  of  all  parents,  physicians  and  teachers. 

3.  EMPLOYMENT  FOR  GIRLS  AND  WOMEN:    The  enactment  of  such  laws  and 
such  amendments  to  existing  laws  as  will  provide  adequately  for  (a)  the  health  and 


764  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

comfort  of  all  girls  and  women  employed  in  offices,  stores,  warehouses  and  factories; 
(6)  regulating  the  hours  of  employment  and  for  the  fixing  of  a  minimum  wage  for 
all  such  employees. 

4.  MOTHERS'  PENSIONS:  The  inauguration  of  a  system  of  pensions  for  mothers 
who  for  any  cause  are  left  without  sufficient  means  to  support  and  educate  their 
children. 

5.  VACANT  LANDS:   Owing  to  the  continued  failure  of  the  Federal  immigration 
policy  to  secure  appreciable  results  in  the  settlement  of  our  vacant  lands,  other  than 
homesteads,  we  believe  the  time  is  ripe  when  the  Province  should  inaugurate  a  Land 
Settlement  scheme  with  the  object  of  placing  experienced  farmers  with  families  on 
vacant  lands  now  owned  by  speculators.     For  this  purpose  the  Government  should 
obtain  an  inventory  of  all  such  lands,  indicating  their  location,  ownership,  character, 
value  and  other  necessary  information;   to  provide  for  the  settlement  of  these  lands, 
the  Province  should  from  time  to  time  purchase  them  as  required  for  actual  settle- 
ment purposes  and,  with  the  necessary  safeguards,  resell  the  lands  as  purchased  to 
bona  fide  settlers  on  long  time  payments  at  a  low  rate  of  interest. 

6.  FARM  MACHINERY:   As  the  present  high  price  of  farm  machinery  is  a  large 
factor  in  the  cost  of  production  and  as  the  price  to  the  Saskatchewan  farmer  is  higher 
than  in  many  other  countries  for  similar  machinery,  we  believe  that  steps  should  be 
taken  by  the  Provincial  Government  to  inquire  into  this  problem  in  order  that  know- 
ledge may  be  obtained  of  the  different  factors   which  constitute  the  price,  and  the 
means,  if  any,  whereby  reduction  may  be  effected;    this  inquiry  should  embrace  a 
study  of  the  cost  of  manufacture,  the  effect  of  the  Tariff,  the  cost  of  transportation, 
distribution  and  collection  and  all  other  matters  which  enter  into  the  question. 

7.  BRANCH  RAILWAYS:   The  construction  of  branch  railways  through  all  settle- 
ments urgently  in  need  of  transportation  facilities;   while  realizing  that  the  war  has 
undoubtedly  delayed  the  building  of  Branch  lines,  still  the  solution  of  this  problem 
is  so  vital  to  thousands  of  our  farming  population  that  we  believe  if  the  railways 
required  cannot  be  secured  when  peace  is  declared  by  the  aid  of  bond  and  guarantees 
or  other  assistance,  the  Province  itself  should  undertake  the  construction  of  these  lines. 

8.  ROADS:  A  continuation  of  the  policy  of  Provincial  assistance  in  the  construc- 
tion of  main  roads  leading  to  market  towns,  the  program  of  work  to  be  submitted  to 
the  local  Councils  for  approval  and  the  work  itself  to  be  undertaken  by  municipalities 
in  all  cases  where  they  have  the  necessary  organization  and  equipment  to  do  the  work 
efficiently  and  economically. 

9.  TELEPHONES:    (a)  The  early  extension  of  the  Provincial  Telephone  system 
to  all  urban  communities  thereby  encouraging  the  more  rapid  development  of  rural 
systems  and  at  the  same  time  increasing  the  usefulness  of  the  entire  Telephone  sys- 
tem to  all  subscribers;    (6)  a  further  expression  of  the  educational  work  recently 
inaugurated  by  the  Telephone  Department  to  assist  local  companies  to  maintain 
and  operate  their  rural  systems  at  the  lowest  cost  and  with  the  greatest  degree  of 
efficiency. 

10.  LIVE-STOCK  AND  DAIRY  INDUSTRY:    (a)  We  approve  of  the  action  of   the 
Saskatchewan  Government  in  appointing  a  Commission  to   inquire  into  the  various 
problems  relating  to  the  marketing  of  live-stock  and  dairy  products.     Means  should 
be  provided,  with  financial  assistance  of  the  Government,  if  necessary,    to    secure 
greater  returns  for  the  purchaser,  to  improve  shipping,  marketing  and  storing  facilities; 
(6)  further  development  of  the  dairying  industry  by  encouraging  the  establishment 
of  additional  creameries,  particularly  in  outlying  settlements  that  are  suitable  for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  a  large  number  of  farmers  to  increase  their  dairy  herds  and  by 
assisting  all  creameries  to  operate  their  plants  and  market  their  product  at  the  lowest 
possible  cost. 

11.  ELECTION  LAW:   We  believe  that  every  effort  should  be  made  by  legislation 
and  by  the  enforcement  of  strict  party  discipline  to  stamp  out  everything  of  a  cor- 
rupt nature  in  connection  with  the  public  life  of  this  Province;  with  this  end  in  view 
we  believe  that  among  other  requirements  provision  should  be  made  for  the  curtailing 
of  expenses  of  elections  and  for  requiring  fullest  possible  publicity  respecting  the 
source  and  amount  of  all  contributions  for  organization  and  election  purposes.     We 
believe  further  that  our  laws  respecting  protested  elections  should  be  so  amended  as 
to  provide  for  speedy  trials  and  that  all  such  trials  should  be  proceeded  with  regard- 
less as  to  whether  or  not  any  candidate  admits  irregularities  or  offences. 


SASKATCHEWAN  ELECTIONS  :  NEW  LEGISLATURE  MEETS     765 

Though  not  many  women  were  present  they  took  an  active  part 
in  proceedings  and  Mrs.  Cleveland,  in  particular,  spoke  upon  the 
Federal  franchise  motion  with  much  effect;  they  carried  a  special 
Resolution  of  unqualified  appreciation  to  Hon.  Mr.  Scott  and  his 
colleagues  for  anti-liquor  legislation  and  early  support  of  the 
Provincial  women's  franchise.  Resolutions  were  passed  by  the 
Convention  asking  for  a  Federal  Prohibition  law  and  another  approv- 
ing the  Hudson  Bay  Railway  and  a  Government  line  of  steamers 
running  from  the  Bay  to  Great  Britain ;  a  banquet  on  the  29th  evoked 
rousing  speeches  form  the  Premier  and  Mr.  Calder,  Messrs.  G.  W. 
Brown,  W.  R.  Motherwell,  G.  Langley  and  C.  A.  Dunning,  J.  G. 
Turriff,  M.P.,  J.  G.  Gardiner,  M.L.A.;  a  gift  of  a  bouquet  was  made 
to  Mrs.  Martin  with  congratulation  on  her  I.O.D.E.  work.  Mean- 
time, a  series  of  Resolutions  affecting  the  relations  of  the  Province 
and  the  Dominion  were  presented  by  Mr.  Dunning  as  a  Saskatchewan 
Bill  of  Rights  and  unanimously  approved — except  that  Mr.  Turriff 
thought  War-time  not  the  season  to  embarrass  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment with  complicated  demands: 

1.  TARIFF  AND  MARKETS:    Free  access  for  the  grain  produce  of  Saskatchewan 
to  the  markets  of  the  U.S.A.,  and  all  other  countries  willing  to  grant  such  free  entry; 
the  admission  into  Canada,  free  of  all  custom  duty,  of  farm  machinery  and  all  things 
essential  to  the  raising  of  grain  and  live-stock  products;   a  general  lowering  of  the 
customs  duty  on  all  necessities  of  life;  the  immediate  reduction  of  the  custom  duties 
on  all  goods  imported  from  Great  Britain  to  one-half  of  the  rates  charged  under  the 
general  tariff  and  a  policy  of  gradual  reduction,  with  a  view  to  the  elimination  of  all 
trade  restrictions  within  the  Empire,  and  new  outlets  for  our  farm  produce. 

2.  NATURAL  RESOURCES:    The  transfer  to  the  Province  of  the  public  domain 
and  natural  resources  within  borders,  with  a  view  to  the  control  and  development 
of  the  same  for  the  benefit  of  the  Province  and  its  people. 

3.  SCHOOL  LANDS:  Transfer  to  the  Province  of  all  school  lands  and  of  the  School 
Endowment  Fund,  which  up  to  the  present,  under  Federal  control,  have  produced 
scarcely  more  than  one-half  of  the  revenue  for  school  purposes  that  could  easily  be 
obtained  under  Provincial  management. 

4.  BANKING  FACILITIES:    Such  changes  in  the  banking  system  of    Canada  as 
will  permit  of  the  establishment  of  local  agricultural  banks  in  close  touch  with  local 
conditions  and  the  needs  of  the  farming  industry. 

5.  C.P.R.   EXEMPTIONS:    The  removal  of  the  exemption  from  taxation  now 
enjoyed  by  the  C.P.R. 

6.  CONTROL  OF  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC:    Such  changes  as  may  be  necessary  in  the 
B.N.A.  Act  to  place  within  the  absolute  control  of  the  Province  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  manufacture  and  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors,  including  the  importation 
of  such  liquors  into  the  Province. 

Following  this  event  the  Hon.  W.  M.  Martin  toured  the  Province 
for  the  Government  during  a  period  of  nearly  two  months,  while 
his  Ministers  were  going  through  their  constituencies  and  the  Opposi- 
tion was  doing  its  part.  The  Educational  and  Language  questions 
were  conspicuous — the  Conservatives  charging  the  Government 
with  catering  to  aliens  and  race  interests  in  policy,  legislation  and 
speech.  Mr.  Martin  and  his  supporters  countered  with  denials  and 
denunciation  of  the  Opposition  for  arousing  racial  and  religious 
strife  in  war-time.  Speaking  at  Wolseley  (May  17)  Mr.  Martin 
stated  the  Public  Debt  at  $36.81  per  head  compared  with  $53.24 
in  Manitoba,  $44.55  in  Alberta  and  $45.73  in  British  Columbia; 


766  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

moreover,  $8,000,000  of  it  was  invested  in  public  buildings;  $7,000,000 
in  public  improvements,  such  as  roads,  and  about  $6,000,000  in 
the  Telephone  system  with  $1,900,000  invested  in  the  Co-Operative 
Elevator  system  and  a  little  over  $600,000  in  Patriotic  aids.  The 
Premier  was  nominated  for  Regina  on  May  28  and  in  his  speech 
criticized  General  Embury  for  running  in  this  city  when  he  could 
have  had  one  of  the  three  seats  allotted  to  the  soldiers;  deprecated 
the  Opposition  attitude  of  describing  the  Government  as  "a  seething 
mass  of  corruption";  declared  that  he  had  recently  addressed  50 
meetings  and  did  not  believe  that  the  people  would  accept  such  wild 
statements  without  proof.  At  Yorkton  on  the  30th  Mr.  Martin 
took  up  the  charge  of  disfranchising  the  soldiers  by  giving  them 
certain  seats  and  quoted  the  London  Daily  Mail  as  approving  the 
system;  he  was  at  Abernethy  on  June  1  and  on  the  2nd  the  Legis- 
lature was  dissolved  with  nominations  on  June  19  and  polling  on 
the  26th.  At  the  same  time  the  Premier  issued  a  Manifesto  which 
reviewed  the  policy  of  the  past  12  years,  as  already  indicated,  and 
described  his  future  policy  along  the  lines  of  the  March  Convention. 
On  the  4th  the  campaign  was  in  full  swing  with  Mr.  Martin  at 
Borden,  Mr.  Calder  at  Invermay,  Mr.  Turgeon  at  Imperial  and  Mr. 
Dunning  at  Avonlea.  Mr.  Calder  declared  that  the  Bradshaw 
charges,  with  all  the  noise  and  shouting  of  the  past  year,  were  en- 
gineered from  Ottawa  by  Hon.  R.  Rogers.  As  to  the  soldiers'  vote 
he  claimed  this:  "There  is  not  a  soldier  at  home  or  abroad  who  will 
not  have  the  right  to  vote.  Of  the  30  or  40  thousand  soldiers  who 
enlisted  the  majority  were  Liberals,  just  as  the  great  majority  of  the 
people  in  the  Province  are  Liberals.  Mr.  Willoughby  talks  about 
our  being  afraid  of  the  soldier  vote.  Why  should  we  be?  What 
we  are  afraid  of  is  the  political  officers  and  their  manipulation  of  the 
vote.  The  Liberals  of  Saskatchewan  are  pictured  as  disloyal  be- 
cause they  did  not  follow  the  example  of  British  Columbia.  But 
what  about  New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia,  Manitoba,  Quebec? 
General  elections  have  been  held  in  all  these  Provinces  and  not  one 
of  them  made  provision  for  taking  the  soldiers'  vote  overseas." 
He  described  this  as  a  Farmers'  Government  and  Liberalism  as 
stronger  than  ever.  Mr.  Dunning  dealt  with  the  corruption  charges: 
"There  is  one  thing  to  be  proud  of  and  that  is  that  there  is  not 
one  blot  against  any  member  of  either  the  Scott  or  the 
Martin  Governments.  After  a  more  searching  examination  than 
has  ever  been  conducted  by  any  Province  in  Canada  the  members  of 
the  Government  passed  through  the  ordeal  with  not  a  stain  on  their 
character."  Mr.  Calder  spoke  at  many  places  in  the  campaign— 
Saltcoats,  Regina,  and  Yorkton  latterly — and  on  June  12  told  the 
Regina  Leader  that  after  spending  two  weeks  in  constant  speaking 
he  expected  almost  a  clean  sweep  for  Liberalism  and  declared  that 
"though  Premier  of  the  Province  for  less  than  a  year  Hon.  Mr. 
Martin  in  that  short  space  of  time  has  made  a  marked  impression 
on  the  public  mind."  Meetings  followed  for  Mr.  Calder  at  Forrest, 
Hazelcliffe,  Bangor  and  Melville  and  for  the  other  Ministers  at  var- 
ous  points.  In  Regina  on  June  15  Mr.  Martin  addressed  a  big 
Liberal  rally  and  was  supported  by  Mrs.  G.  B.  Cleveland  who  said 


SASKATCHEWAN  ELECTIONS:  NEW  LEGISLATURE  MEETS     767 

some  clever  things,  such  as  that  "the  history  of  human  freedom  is 
the  history  of  Liberal  principles";  in  his  speech  the  Premier  said 
that  the  Civil  Service  should  be  handled  by  an  independent  Com- 
mission and  "Party  patronage  eliminated  root  and  branch."  As 
to  the  War: 

It  has  been  said  that  I  am  opposed  to  Conscription.  Let  me  say  right  here  and 
now  that  I  am  in  favour  of  Conscription.  If  I  were  in  the  Ottawa  House  to-day  I 
would  support  a  measure  of  Selective  Conscription.  I  am  also  in  favour  of  immediate 
steps  being  taken  to  force  accumulated  wealth  to  contribute  effectively  to  the  cost 
of  the  War  and  I  believe  that  all  our  agricultural,  industrial,  transportation  and 
natural  resources  should  Be  organized  forthwith  so  as  to  ensure  the  greatest  possible 
assistance  to  the  Empire  in  the  War  and  to  reduce  the  cost  of  living  to  the  Canadian 
people. 

Meantime,  the  Conservative  press  had  been  deserting  the  Opposi- 
tion and,  in  fact,  all  but  one  paper  went  over  to  the  Government. 
The  most  notable  were  the  Regina  Post  and  the  Saskatoon  Star, 
under  the  same  control,  and  with  identical  articles  upon  important 
occasions.  On  June  16  these  journals  came  out  with  special  Editor- 
ials, in  two  pages  of  leaded  type,  stating  that  the  Martin  Government 
should  be  sustained — on  the  ground  of  experience,  the  calibre  of  the 
men  composing  it,  the  progressiveness  of  its  policy  and  its  devotion 
to  the  interests  of  the  farmers:  "The  Government  has  done  some 
things  well,  some  things  ill,  but  for  the  most  part  the  things  it  has 
done  well  are  the  really  essential  things,  the  things  upon  which  the 
real  interests  of  the  Province  depend.  It  has  studied  closely  and 
with  remarkable  success  the  problems  confronting  the  farmers  of 
the  Province,  and  has,  in  most  instances,  improved  their  position 
considerably.  Consider,  for  instance,  the  Elevator  scheme,  the 
Co-operative  creameries,  the  Co-operative  purchasing  and  selling 
organizations,  the  assistance  rendered  the  Live-stock  industries, 
the  matter  of  long-term  Rural  Credits,  Hail  insurance,  the  suppres- 
sion of  Weeds,  Gophers  and  other  pests,  provision  of  Farm  labour, 
poultry  marketing,  wool-marketing,  all  the  hundred  and  one  activi- 
ties of  the  Department  of  Agriculture."  Mr.  Willoughby,  the 
Opposition  leader,  was  said  to  have  shown  excellent  judgment,  a 
clear  command  of  Provincial  issues  in  past  years,  elements  of 
progress  in  leadership — but  he  could  afford  to  wait  another  five  years ! 
As  to  the  Ministers  the  Star  said:  "Mr.  Calder's  capacity  for  govern- 
mental administration  is  the  admiration  of  everyone  in  the  Govern- 
ment or  connected  with  it,  and  the  admiration,  too,  of  those  of  his 
political  opponents  who  are  in  sufficiently  close  touch  with  the  work- 
ings of  the  Government  to  appreciate  it.  .  .  .  Mr.  Motherwell 
has  made  an  excellent  Minister  of  Agriculture.  His  Department 
has  been  the  most  efficient  of  the  Government  service,  and  his  own 
counsels  in  matters  of  importance  have  been,  we  believe,  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  farmers.  Another  source  of  real  strength  to  the  Govern- 
ment is  Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning,  a  man  who  takes  his  responsibilities 
seriously,  to  whom  public  service  is  the  chief  aim.  A  business  man 
and  a  farmer,  he  is  thoroughly  capable  of  handling  the  problems  of 
government;  Hon.  George  Langley  is  another  source  of  strength 
insofar  as  his  ideas  are  those  of  the  great  bulk  of  the  population  of 


768  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  ^  Province.    He  is  progressive,  and    entirely    unhampered    by 
tradition." 

Of  the  language  issue  it  was  stated  that  the  trouble  lay  in  the 
earlier  policy  of  the  Government — not  in  its  later  or  present  attitude: 
"  The  Government  did  not  insist  upon  rigid  adherence  to  the  School 
Act.  It  did  not  make  sure  that  sufficient  inspection  was  given  the 
schools  to  insure  no  departure  from  the  law.  It  consented  to  an 
interpretation  of  the  School  Act  with  regard  to  the  teaching  of  lan- 
guages, other  than  English,  in  the  last  hour  of  the  school  day,  which 
encouraged  the  employment  of  teachers  who  would  be  able  to  teach 
the  Foreign  languages.'*  As  to  the  future  "the  common  school  and 
the  common  language  are  essential."  The  other  chief  point  against 
the  Government,  it  thought,  was  the  maladministration  of  roads; 
the  $6,000,000  voted  were  not  enough,  were  not  properly  voted,  were 
not,  in  certain  cases,  properly  expended.  The  Bradshaw  charges 
and  investigations  were  justifiable  but  on  the  other  hand  "there  is 
good  ground  for  the  Government's  claim  that  it  tracked  down  and 
punished  everyone  who  was  shown  to  be  guilty  of  wrong-doing." 
As  to  Finances  some  extravagance  had  been  shown  but  the  Pro- 
vince's financial  standing  remained  excellent.  The  editorial  con- 
cluded with  the  hope  that  Mr.  Willoughby,  Donald  Maclean  in 
Saskatoon,  James  Balfour — a  Liberal  who  had  gone  over — F.  C. 
Tate,  J.  E.  Bradshaw  and  10  other  Conservatives  would  be  elected 
together  with  all  the  members  of  the  Government  and  9  other  lead- 
ing Liberals — notably  Dr.  R.  M.  Mitchell,  S.  J.  Latta  and  G.  A. 
Scott.  As  Election  day  drew  on  the  Liberals  had  some  strong 
advertisements  in  the  press  declaring,  for  instance,  that  the  "  Liberal 
Party  is  the  People's  Party,  representing  the  producers  and  working 
classes,  while  the  Conservative  party  is  the  Party  of  the  Big  Interests, 
representing  the  wealth  of  Canada" — that  one  stood  for  Free-trade 
and  the  other  for  Protection.  The  following  double-leaded  declara- 
tion appeared  in  The  Leader  of  June  21:  "Whatsoever  things  are 
false,  whatsoever  things  are  unjust,  whatsoever  things  are 
dishonest,  whatsoever  things  are  hateful;  whatsoever  things 
are  malicious;  if  there  be  any  vice,  if  there  be  any  in- 
famy, all  these  things  we  now  know  are  blended  in  the  Con- 
servative party."  On  the  25th  it  was  alleged  in  this  paper,  under 
big  headings,  that  "a  vote  for  the  Conservative  candidate  is  a  vote 
for  the  Ross  rifle  and  for  the  Big  Interests  who  were  responsible  for 
the  using  of  the  rifle  when  condemned  at  the  Front  by  General 
Alderson  and  the  boys  of  the  1st  Contingent."  Editorially  on 
June  9  the  Leader,  as  the  chief  Liberal  organ,  presented  these  four 
questions  as  the  issue  of  the  campaign: 

1.  The  settlement  of  our  vacant  lands. 

2.  The  carrying  out  of  a  policy  whereby  all  farmers  can  secure  the  funds  they 
require  on  satisfactory  terms. 

3.  The  relieving  of  our  producers  from  unjust  and  burdensome  tariff  taxation 
and  extortionate  prices  for  all  needed  articles  on  the  farm. 

4.  The  removal  of  all  restrictions  now  preventing  free  access  by  our  farmers 
into  the  markets  of  the  world,  and  particularly  our  nearest  and  natural    market  to 
the  south. 


SASKATCHEWAN  ELECTIONS:  NEW  LEGISLATURE  MEETS     769 

The  few  Conservative  members  in  the  Legislature — Willoughby, 
Tate,  Wylie,  Bradshaw  and  Davidson,  began  the  struggle  in  March, 
though  there  had  been  a  Provincial  Conservative  Convention 
at  Regina  on  Jan.  18.  With  local  leaders  throughout  the 
Province  the  members  held  three  meetings  to  draft  a  party 
platform  and  formulate  a  policy;  candidates  were  nominated  and 
legislation  developed,  or  opposed,  so  as  to  bring  out  the  Party  ideas. 
Brig.-Gen.  J.  F.  L.  Embury,  K.C.  (Conservative  candidate  in  1912), 
was  nominated  in  Regina  on  May  8  and  a  Resolution  unanimously 
passed  by  the  Convention  on  the  language  issue.  It  declared  that: 
(1)  No  person  should  teach,  or  be  taught,  any  language  except 
English  in  any  public,  separate  or  private  primary  school  in  Sas- 
katchewan up  to  the  6th  grade;  (2)  no  person  should  be  permitted 
to  teach  in  any  public,  separate  or  private  school  in  Saskatchewan 
who  cannot  speak  the  English  language  fluently;  (3)  all  text  books 
should  be  in  the  English  language  and  no  unauthorized  text  books 
should  be  permitted  to  be  used;  (4)  no  person  should  be  permitted 
to  teach  who  has  not  been  duly  qualified  by  a  Normal  School  and 
holds  a  teacher's  certificate."  A  little  before  this  General  Embury 
had  written  home  as  to  the  soldiers'  vote  a  letter  which  was  pub- 
lished on  May  11  and  declared  that:  "There  should  be  no  politics 
in  the  army,  and  this  Act  is  calculated  to  introduce  them  in  such  a 
way  as  to  affect  all  ranks.  No  responsible  officer  who  had  ever 
commanded  a  body  of  men  would  support  such  legislation."  On 
May  25  Mr.  Willoughby  commenced  a  Provincial  tour  which  in- 
cluded 15  centres  and  wound  up  at  Regina  on  June  8.  Meanwhile 
the  Conservative  platform,  promulgated  at  a  final  Conference  on 
Apr.  25,  had  been  circulated  everywhere  as  the  Party  pledges  of 
performance  if  returned  to  power: 

1.  PUBLIC  DOMAIN.     The  immediate  renewal  of  the  negotiations  for  the  transfer 
to  Saskatchewan  of  the  Provincial  lands  and  natural  resources  at  present  controlled 
by  the  Dominion  Government  on  the  basis  of  the  terms  put  forward  by  Premier 
Haul  tain  prior  to  1905. 

2.  FARM  LOANS.     That  the  Farm  Loans  Commission  be  furnished  as  needed 
with  the  necessary  funds  to  exercise  the  powers  given  to  it,  in  addition  to  the  making 
of  loans  by  buying  and  selling  land  to  settlers  for  agricultural  purposes  under  the 
parent  New  Zealand  system.      More  urgent  than  farm  loans  is  the  need  of  providing 
better  facilities  for  granting  short  date  loans  and  we  pledge  ourselves  to  find  a  solu- 
tion of  this  problem. 

3.  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC.     The  complete  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic  of  the  Prov- 
ince by  making  the  consumption  of  intoxicating  liquor  as  a  beverage  an  offence  against 
the  law. 

4.  GOOD  ROADS.    The  creation  of  a  Good  Roads  Commission,  whose  members 
shall  be  answerable  to  the  Legislature  only — the  Commission  to  have  general  juris- 
diction over  the  building  and  maintenance  of  all  roads  and  bridge  construction,  but 
the  initiation  of  all  roadwork  to  be  undertaken  by  the  municipalities  affected  who 
also  will  retain  control  of  the  expenditures. 

5.  SCHOOLS.     That  prompt  changes  be  made  in  the  law  respecting  schools  and 
education  and  in  the  regulations  respecting  text  books  and  the  qualifications  of  teachers 
as  will  provide  in  every  school  in  Saskatchewan  whether  public  or  separate,  private 
or  parochial,  adequate  and  efficient    instruction  in  reading,  writing  and  speaking 
the  English  language. 

6.  EDUCATION.     While  unwilling  to  make  Education  a  purely  party  matter,  we 
deplore  the  inefficiency  of  the  present  school  system  and  hold  the  Government  respon- 


770  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

sible  therefor.  We  suggest  immediate  amendment  in  legislation  and  administration 
along  the  following,  among  other  lines,  having  in  view  more  particularly  our  rural 
schools;  pensions  for  teachers;  minimum  salaries  for  teachers  graded  according  to 
qualifications  and  experience;  the  erection  of  school  residences  for  teachers;  simpli- 
fication of  the  curriculum,  laying  more  stress  on  the  essentials;  the  compulsory 
teaching  of  civics  and  practical  patriotism  and  of  the  elementary  rules  of  sanitation, 
hygiene  and  personal  cleanliness;  extending  to  rural  schools  facilities  for  secondary 
education,  and  to  the  urban  schools  facilities  for  technical  training;  public  boarding 
schools  and  the  making  of  the  school  a  community  centre;  a  large  increase  in  the 
number  of  inspectors;  the  consolidation  of  school  districts  and  abolishing  the  office 
of  school  district  inspector. 

7.  HAIL  INSURANCE.    The  institution  of  a  Hail  Insurance  system  which  shall 
be  voluntary  for  all  residents  and  positive,  the  deficit  in  any  abnormal  year  being 
borrowed  from  the  general  revenues  of  the  Province. 

8.  WOMEN.    The  enactment  of  legislation  for  the  bettering  of  the  social  and 
economic  conditions  of  women  and  for  the  elimination  of  those  legislative  handicaps 
under  which  they  are  placed  by  reason  of  their  sex;   the  principle  of  equal  pay  for 
equal  work  between  men  and  women;  a  minimum  wage  for  all  women  wage-earners, 
regardless  of  occupation;    pensions  for  all  mothers  who  through  need  or  other  dis- 
ability are  unable  to  bring  up  their  families;   the  establishment  of  a  detention  home 
for  girls  and  the  passing  of  more  humane  laws  dealing  with  the  arrest  and  detention 
of  women  prisoners,  financial  assistance  to  qualified  maternity  and  general  nurses 
working  in  the  sparsely  settled  districts  of  the  Province;    the  enforcement  of  rules 
respecting  the  hygienic  condition  under  which  women  work. 

9.  LIVE-STOCK.     The    active    encouragement    of    co-operatively-owned     mills, 
abattoirs,  packing  plants  and  cold  storage  warehouses  by  loans  and  such  other  steps 
as  may  seem  advisable. 

10.  RETURNED  SOLDIERS.     The  granting  of  supplementary  pensions  to  the  de- 
pendant mothers  and  widows  of  members  of  the  C.E.F.,  who  have  given  their  lives 
for  their  country  and  who  resided  in  this  Province  before  enlistment,  payments  to 
be  continued  while  such  beneficiaries  retain  their  domicile  in  Saskatchewan. 

11.  INDUSTRIAL  RESEARCH.     The  appropriation  of  a  sufficient  sum  to  create  and 
maintain  a  branch  of  Industrial  Research  in  connection  with  the  University  of  Sas- 
katchewan. 

12.  CIVIL  SERVICE.     With  the  idea  of  establishing  an  efficient  and  permanent 
Civil  Service,  all  appointments  thereto  to  be  based  on  a  system  of  competitive  exam- 
inations under  the  administration  of  a  Civil  Service  Commission,  preference  being 
given  to  returned  soldiers,  all  Government  supplies  and  contracts  to  be  let  by  tender 
and  the  appointment  of  a  purchasing  agent  to  be  immediately  made  with  control 
of  the  buying  of  supplies. 

13.  TELEPHONES.    That  the  entire  public  Telephone  service  of  the  Province  be 
placed  under  Government  management  and  control  and  that  all  the  telephone  sys- 
tems not  now  owned  by  the  Government  be  acquired  on  an  equitable  basis. 

14.  REFERENDUM.     Such  measure  of  direct  legislation  as  can  be  constitutionally 
enacted  and  carried  out. 

15.  R.N.W.M.P.     The  return  of  the  R.N.W.M.P.  to  the  performance  of  the 
work  in  which  they  were  long  engaged,  when  the  special  task  in  which  they  are  now 
employed  shall  have  terminated  after  the  War. 

16.  GAOL  FARMS.    The  extension  of  the  gaol  farm  system  and  the  establishment 
of  a  Prisons  Board  to  have  authority  over  all  gaols  and  lock-ups  in  the  Province  and 
power  to  extend  the  parole  system. 

17.  GRAND  JURIES.     The  establishment  of  a  Grand  Jury  system  with  wide  powers 
of  investigation  into  all  matters  of  civil  administration  and  in  the  enforcement  of 
law  and  order. 

18.  RAILWAYS.     All  future  railway  legislation  to  be  drawn  with  a  view  to  the 
nationalization  of  the  railway  systems  of  Canada. 

19.  ELECTION  REFORM.    The  compulsory  publication  of  the  names  of  all  those 
contributing  to  party  campaign  funds  and  the  amounts  of  their  contributions.      The? 
simplification  of  the  law  respecting  disputed  elections. 


SASKATCHEWAN  ELECTIONS:  NEW  LEGISLATURE  MEETS    771 


The  Government  was  condemned  for  its  Soldiers'  Vote 
though  no  alternative  was  suggested,  for  building  alleged  political 
railways,  for  extravagance  in  a  Public  Debt  increase  of  $18,000,000 
in  five  years,  for  political  jobbery,  graft  and  corruption,  for  political 
appointments  throughout  the  Province.  It  was  claimed  by  Liberals 
that  no  woman  had  a  hand  in  drafting  the  above  policy  while  several 
score  had  helped  in  that  of  the  Government.  D.  J.  Wylie  spoke  in 
Regina  on  June  4  with  much  violence  of  language  and  the  interesting 
final  statement  that  the  Regina  Leader  had  received  $1,400,000 
from  the  Government  since  1905 — presumably  for  public  printing. 
Mr.  Willoughby  in  his  Regina  speech  of  June  11  had  the  aid  of  D.  D. 
Ellis,  G.M.  of  the  Provincial  Orange  Order,  and  of  Mrs.  Newcombe 
of  Saskatoon;  Donald  Maclean  of  Saskatoon  proved  a  useful  aid 
in  the  campaign,  while  the  Daily  News  of  Moose  Jaw  tried  to  make 
up  for  the  six  daily  papers  which  had  passed  over  to  the  Government. 
Much  was  made  by  the  Conservatives  of  the  non-report  of  the 
Haultain  Commission  and  the  Opposition  evidence  put  before  it 
was  proclaimed  as  so  unanswerable  that  the  Government  could 
make  no  defence  and  as  the  Commission  had  not  been  called  together 
to  hear  the  Government  side,  there  was  no  easy  reply.  The  language 
issue  was  a  vital  one — both  in  its  appeal  to  the  Foreign  vote  against 
the  Conservatives  and  to  the  so-called  British  vote  against  the 
Liberals.  While  the  Liberal  Convention  was  being  held  at  Moose 
Jaw  (Mar.  28)  a  National  British  Citizenship  League  had  been 
formed  with  this  platform: 

(1)  Firm  and  steadfast  allegiance  to  the  King,  flag,  constitution  and  laws  of 
the  British  Empire  and  of  Canada  as  an  integral  part  thereof. 

(2)  The  protection  of  British  rights  against  the  encroachments  upon  the  same 
by  aggressive  aliens. 

(3)  To  insist  upon  compulsory  education  in  the  English  language  as  the  only 
authorized  language  in  all  primary  schools. 

(4)  To  make  the  franchise  more  stringent  and  difficult  to  obtain,  the  qualifica- 
tions to  be  established  by  examination  before  a  Judge  in  open  Court. 

The  promoters  of  this  movement  were  behind  the  Opposition;  so 
were  many  who  resented  the  pointed  appeal  issued  by  German- 
Canadians  in  1916  for  union  in  politics  and  education.  Under  such 
conditions  it  was  natural  for  the  support  of  the  Germans  and  Aus- 
trians,  who  were  being  attacked,  and  of  French-Canadians,  led 
by  Hon.  W.  F.  A.  Turgeon  and  devoted  to  Sir  W.  Laurier,  to  be 
expected  by  the  Government.  With  the  30,000  soldiers  in  Europe 
removed  as  the  considerable  factor,  which  they  would  have  been 
had  their  votes  been  scattered  over  constituencies  where  only 
100,000  votes  were  polled  at  the  last  Election,  the  Opposition  did 
not  have  much  chance.  At  the  same  time  the  Liberals  claimed  that 
instead  of  being  entitled,  as  claimed,  to  20  representatives  the 
soldiers  being  only  30,000  in  a  population  of  600,000,  were  entitled 
to  three  members,  which  they  were  given.  A  Conservative  soldier's 
view  was  presented  in  an  unsigned  circular  which  stated  that  the 
Government  plan  meant  that  the  votes  of  30,000  soldiers  would 
be  withdrawn  from  their  regular  constituencies  and  thereby  leave 
the  selection  of  members  of  the  Legislature  to  those  who  had  not 


772  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

volunteered  for  active  service  and  to  men  of  alien  or  enemy  birth 
and  sympathies:  "For,  by  withholding  from  the  soldiers  the  right 
to  vote  in  their  home  constituencies,  the  Government  hands  over 
the  absolute  control  of  the  destinies  of  this  Province  to  men  of 
alien  or  enemy  birth  and  sympathies.  There  were,  altogether* 
59  seats  in  the  House  for  approximately  600,000  inhabitants  which 
gave  an  average  of  something  over  10,000  inhabitants  for  each 
seat  and  in  these  there  were  about  2,400  voters  each.  On  this  basis 
there  should  be  at  least  11  representatives  for  the  30,000  soldiers." 
To  the  Government  argument  that  soldiers  should  be  represented 
by  soldiers  he  declared  that  the  men  who  volunteered  for  service 
were  citizens — though  better  than  the  average  and  if  they  had 
not  been  "hived"  would  have  neutralized  the  Alien  vote.  The 
chief  reply  to  this  was  (1)  that  most  of  the  men  Overseas  were  Liberals 
any  way  and  would  have  voted  so  if  in  the  country.  As  to  Educa- 
tion Donald  Maclean  claimed  on  June  20  that  "Austrian  text  books 
printed  in  Vienna  were  unquestionably  in  use  in  the  Ruthenian 
schools  of  the  Province";  Conservative  speakers  and  advertise- 
ments declared  that  School  attendance  was  the  worst  in  any  Cana- 
dian Province  and  58'7%  compared  with  81  '46%  in  British  Columbia. 
The  taking  of  the  Overseas  vote  was  a  complicated  matter.  Both 
parties  at  home  had  agreed  upon  a  pamphlet  of  instructions  and 
John  A.  Reid,  Agent-General  for  Alberta  in  London,  and  a  highly- 
respected  Western  man,  was  appointed  Returning  Officer;  instruc- 
tions were  published  in  The  Times  and  Canada  and  each  soldier  had 
to  swear  that  he  was  on  active  service  in  Britain,  France  or  Belgium 
and  that  "for  three  months  immediately  prior  to  the  date  when  he 
joined  or  became  attached  to  the  Forces  he  resided  in  Saskatchewan." 
Nominations  closed  on  Sept.  4  with  9  received  for  the  soldiers  in 
France  and  Belgium  and  5  for  those  in  Britain — amongst  the  former 
being  Harris  Turner  of  Saskatoon,  a  discharged  soldier  of  the  Prin- 
cess Pats,  who  was  totally  blind  from  shell-shock.  No  politics 
were  specified,  the  polling  was  to  take  place  on  Oct.  3-13  and  the 
votes  be  counted  on  Oct.  22  at  the  Returning  Officer's  London 
office.  The  candidates  were  as  follows  and,  as  a  matter  of  con- 
venience, the  vote  eventually  received  is  attached  in  the  List — 
the  total  vote  being  small  and  the  successful  candidates  Lieut. -Col. 
J.  A.  Cross,  D.S.O.,  of  Regina,  Pte.  Harris  Turner  of  Saskatoon,  and 
Capt.  F.  B.  Bagshaw,  Regina: 

1.  FRANCE  AND  BELGIUM 

Name  Service  Occupation      Home  Address     Votes 

(At  home) 
Capt.  Fred.  B.  Bagshaw ....  5th  Battalion Barrister Regina 


Pte.  K.B.Crawford, B.A.LL.B. llth  F.A Student Saskatoon 

Spr.  John  A.  Gibson 7th  Battalion Journalist Regina 

Lieut.  Alfred  W.  Haigh Engineers Engineer Moose  Jaw . 

Sgt.  Wm.  E.  Reade 46th  Battalion Clerk Moose  Jaw . 

Lieut.-Col.  Alex.  Ross,  o.s.o.28th  Battalion Barrister Regina 

Major  Robt  H.  Smith C.A.M.C Physician Moose  Jaw . 

Pte.  Harris  Turner P.P.C.L.I Editor Saskatoon . . 

Sgt.-Major  Wm.  H.  Wilson .  Employment  Co Prince  Albert . 

II.  GREAT  BRITAIN 

Sgt.  Sam.  Barraclough Ordnance  Corps ....  Accountant ....  Saskatoon 

Lieut.-Col.  J.  A.  Cross,  D.S.O.  .  15th  Reserve  Batt. .  Barrister Regina 

Sgt.  Arthur  W.  Eaton 128th  Battalion ....  Farmer Moose  Jaw .  .  . 

Capt.  D.C.  Lochead,  OX-M.L.  A.C.A.M.C Physician Gull  Lake 

Capt.  Alfred  J.  Manville 15th  Reserve  Batt.  .Farmer Prince  Albert. 


1,791 
798 
379 
216 
577 
978 
365 

2.938 
233 


273 
2,698 
504 
214 
691 


SASKATCHEWAN  ELECTIONS:  NEW  LEGISLATURE  MEETS     773 

Meanwhile,  the  issue  had  been  long-settled  in  Saskatchewan  itself 
and  this  explained,  no  doubt,  the  smallness  of  the  soldier  vote. 
The  parties  at  home  were  trying  to  hold,  in  one  case,  or  not  to 
antagonize  too  strongly,  in  the  other,  a  large  foreign  vote;  the 
Farmers,  closely  organized  as  Grain  Growers'  Associations,  etc., 
were  sure  of  their  strength  and  pretty  generally  were  for  the  Govern- 
ment which  had  given  them  much  good  legislation ;  the  Non-Partisan 
League  appealed,  however,  as  an  American  and  independent  organi- 
zation to  American  farmers,  of  whom  there  were  many,  and  was  not 
very  friendly  with  the  Grain  Growers;  there  was  no  Reciprocity 
issue  as  in  1912  and  the  Conservatives,  therefore,  had  a  better 
chance  with  the  farmers ;  the  Soldiers'  vote  at  home  and  abroad  was 
expected  to  go  largely  Conservative  on  the  Education  and  Alien 
issues  and  the  alleged  injury  of  not  allowing  those  at  the  Front  to 
vote  at  the  same  time  and  for  candidates  in  their  home  constituen- 
cies; the  Woman  vote  was  an  unknown  element  which  refused  to 
take  sides  and  every  effort  was  made  by  both  parties  to  win  it — with 
the  advantage  to  the  Government  which  had  given  women  the  vote. 
On  June  19  122  candidates  were  nominated  in  Saskatchewan;  the 
Liberals  had  55  of  whom  Lieut.  MacBeth  Malcolm,  a  returned 
soldier,  was  elected  by  acclamation  for  Hanley;  the  Conservatives 
had  53,  and  the  Non-Partisan  League  8,  of  whom  one  was  a  woman 
and  another  D.  J.  Sykes*  who  was  returned  by  acclamation  in  Swift 
Current — Mr.  Scott's  old  seat;  and  6  Independents  including 
Labour.  The  Liberals  had  35  farmers  running  and  the  Opposition 
32  while  all  the  Non-Partisans,  except  Mrs.  S.  V.  Haight  who  was 
a  farmer's  wife,  with  4  of  the  Independents,  were  farmers — 79  out 
of  122.  On  June  26  the  result  was  as  follows: 

Liberal  Conservative  Member  Poli-    Ma- 

Constituency  Candidate  Candidate  Elected  tics    jority 

Arm  River. .  .G.  A.  Scott J.  H.  Middaugh.  .G.  A.  Scott Lib.        421 

Biggar G.  H.  Harris W.  C.  Dunbar G.  H.  Harris 487 


Battlefords.  .  .  A.  D.  Pickel  ........  A.  E.  Craig  ......  A.  D.  Pickel 

Bengough  ____  T.  E.  Gamble  .......  W.  W.  Davidson  .T.  E.  Gamble  ...... 

Cannington  .  .  J.  D.  Stewart  .......  W.  G.  Connor.  .  .  .  J.  D.  Stewart  ...... 

Cut  Knife  .  .  .Wm.  Dodds  .........  S.  F.  Graham  ____  Wm.  Dodds  ........ 

Canora  ......  A.  Hennanson  .......  Jas.  Fennel  ......  A.  Hermanson  ..... 

Cypress  ......  Isaac  Stirling  ........  J.   B.   Swanson.  .  .  Isaac  Stirling  ....... 

Cumberland.  .  D.  A.  Hall  .  .  .  .  Not  available  ____  D.  A.  Hall 


Estevan  ......  Hon.  G.  A.  Bell  .....  Jos.  Hill  .........  Hon.  G.  A.  Bell  ____ 

Elrose  .......  Hon.  A.  P.  McNab  .  .F.  H.  Forgie  .....  Hon.  A.  P.  McNab. 

Francis  ......  W.  G.  Robinson  .....  F.  W.  James  .....  W.  G.  Robinson  ____ 

Hanley  ......  MacBeth  Malcolm  ...................  MacBeth  Malcolm.  . 

Humboldt  ----  Hon.W.  F.  A.TurgeonA.  D.  Mclntosh.  .Hon.  W.  F.A.Turgeon 

Happy  Land  .  Stephen  Morrey  .....  W.  Steer  .........  Stephen  Morrey  ..... 

He  a  la  Crosse.J.  O.  Nolin  .........  Not  available  ____  J.  O.  Nolin  .......... 

JackFishLake  D.  M.  Finlayson  .....  D.  Anderson  .....  D.  M.  Finlayson  ..... 

Kindersley.  .  .Hon.W.R.Motherwell  E.  G.  Walker  ____  Hon.WiR.Motherwell 

Kinistino  .....  J.  R.  Taylor  ........  W.  M.  Sproule.  .  .  J.  R.  Taylor  ........ 

Kerrobert  ----  J.  Albert  Dowd  ......  A.  E.  Nosses  .....  J.  A.  Dowd  ......... 

Lumsden  .....  W.  J.  Vancise  .......  F.  C.  Tate  .......  W.  J.  Vancise  ....... 

Last  Mount'n  S.  J.  Latta  .........  J.  J.  Cameron  ____  S.  J.  Latta  .......... 

Lloydminster  R.  J.  Gordon  ........  J.  A  Hill  ........  R.  J.  Gordon  ........     "  v        412 

Moose     Jaw 

,  City  .......  W.  G.  Ross  .........  W.B.Willoughby   W.  B.  Willoughby.  .  .  .Cons.       293 

Moose     Jaw 

County  ----  Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning.  J.  E.  Chisholm.  .  .Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning.  Lib.      1,501 

Morse  .......  Rev.  M.  L.  Leitch.  .  .  H.  E.  Houze  .....  Rev.  M.  L.  Leitch.  .  .      "  128 

Moosomin  ____  J.  C.  Goodman  ......  John  Salkeld  .....  John  Salkeld  ........  Cons.       219 

Moose  Moun- 

tain .......  R.  A.  Magee  ........  W.  Elliott  .......  R.  A.  Magee  ........  Lib.         109 

Milestone  ----  B.  Larson  ...........  Jas.  Balfour  ......  B.  Larson  ...........     "  213 

*  Mr.  Sykas  was  nominated  by  three  different  Conventions  —  Non-Partisan,  Con- 
servative and  Liberal. 


18 
883 
747 
142 
1,757 
259 

640 
295 
633 

Accl. 

1,290 

1,412 
195 
129 
257 

1,347 
145 
184 
813 


774  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Liberal                    Conservative                Member            Poll-  Ma- 
Constituency          Candidate                    Candidate                    Elected              tics  jority 

Melfort G.  B.  Johnston J.  A.  McDonald.  .G.  B.  Johnston Lib.  653 

Maple  Creek.  A.  John  Colquhoun. . D.  J.  Wylie A.  J.  Colquhoun "  285 

North  Qu'Ap- 

pelle J.  G.  Gardiner G.  W.  Balfour J.  G.  Gardiner "  581 

Notukeu Geo.  Spence A.  Marcotte Geo.  Spence "  315 

Pipestone R.  J.  Phin R.  L.  Kidd R.  J.  Phin •  182 

Prince  Albert. Chas.  McDonald J.  E.  Bradshaw. . .  Chas.  McDonald . .          '  1,017 

Pelly M.  O.  Ramsland R.  J.  M.  Parker.  .M.  O.  Ramsland '  1,015 

Pheasant  HillsJ.  A.  Smith Dr.  Arnold J.  A.  Smith '  ,  1,318 

Redberry .  . .  .Hon.  G.  Langley .  .  .  .John  McKeen. . .  .Hon.  G.  Langley.  ...  1,117 

Regina  City.  .Hon.  W.  M.  Martin  .J.  F.  L.  Embury.. Hon.  W.  M.  Martin  .      '  856 

Rosetown J.  A.  Wilson W.  T.  Badger W.  T.  Badger Cons.  71 

Rosthern W.  B.  Bashford Geo.  Braden W.  B.  Bashford Lib.  1,342 

Saltcoats Hon.  J.  A.  Calder H.  Leppington Hon.  J.  A.  Calder ...     '"  1,604 

Saskatoon 

City P.  E.  MacKenzie Donald  Maclean. .  Donald  Maclean Cons.  697 

Saskatoon 

County. . .  .Murdo  Cameron R.  A.  Locke Murdo  Cameron Lib.  584 

Swift  Current.D.  J.  Sykes D.  J.  Sykes N.P.  Accl. 

Shellbrook .  . .  E.  S.  Clinch B.  Homer E.  S.  Clinch Lib.  1,262 

Souris R.  Forsythe W.  O.  Fraser W.  O.  Fraser Cons.  441 

South  Qu'Ap- 

pelle Jos.  Glenn Jos.  Glenn 344 

Tisdale H.  E.  Jones Robt.  McLean . . .  H.  E.  Jones Lib.  80 

Turtleford A.  B.  Gemmel Hugh  Lockhardt. .  A.  B.  Gemmel 568 

Touchwood. . .  J.  M.  Parker J.  E.  Jobson J.  M.  Parker "  1,326 

Thunder  Crk.A.  Beaudreau A.  D.  Gallagher.  .A.  D.  Gallagher Cons.  206 

Vonda James  Hogan D.  McKellar James  Hogan Lib.  1,734 

Wadena J.  A.  McMillan W.  T.  Potts J.  A.  McMillan §1  810 

Weyburn Hon.  R.  M.  Mitchell. O.  S.  Mitchell. . . . Hon.  R.  M.  Mitchell.     "  799 

Wilkie Reuben  Martin Tim  Curtin Reuben  Martin 778 

Wynyard .  . . .  W.  H.  Paulson John  Venn W.  H.  Paulson 1,145 

Willow  BunchA.  J.  Hindle James  Lambe A.  J.  Hindle "  1,361 

Yorkton T.  H.  Garry J.  A.  M.  Patrick.  .T.  H.  Garry 1,601 

Only  the  Liberal  and  Conservative  candidates  are  given  above  as 
Mr.  Sykes  was  the  only  Independent  who  seriously  interfered  with 
the  Party  vote.*  The  result  was  a  Government  sweep  with  51 
Liberals,  7  Conservatives  and  1  Independent  and,  with  the  3  soldier 
members  the  total  was  62.  The  notable  Opposition  defeats  were 
F.  C.  Tate,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  E.  Bradshaw  and  D.  J.  Wylie— veterans 
of  many  victories — and  James  Balfour,  K.C.,  who  ran  in  Milestone 
as  an  Independent;  other  well-known  Conservatives  defeated  were 
W.  W.  Davidson,  Dr.  Win.  Elliott,  General  Embury  who  lost  to  the 
Premier  in  Regina  by  a  large  majority,  J.  A.  M.  Patrick,  K.C.  The 
election  of  Donald  Maclean  in  Saskatoon  was  a  satisfactory  detail 
in  a  disastrous  record  where  even  Mr.  Willoughby  came  near  defeat 
with  a  divided  vote  against  him,  while  16  Conservative  candidates 
lost  their  deposits.  The  Opposition  claimed  that  14  of  these  con- 
stituencies were  controlled  by  the  foreign  vote  and  that  the  size  of 
the  Liberal  majority  could  be  gauged  by  the  size  of  this  vote.  The 
Liberal  plurality  in  the  Province  over  Conservative  and  Independent 
votes  combined  was  23,180.;  the  Conservatives  claimed  that  had  the 
soldier  vote  been  distributed  over  the  constituencies  with  a  possible 
30%  of  it  given  to  the  Liberals  the  Government  plurality  would 
have  been  10,000  or  about  the  voting  strength  of  the  foreign-born 
women  who  exercised  the  vote  for  the  first  tine  and  were  said  to  have 
gone  Liberal.  On  the  other  hand  the  Liberals  were  able  to  say  that 
the  Liberal  vote,  which  in  1905  was  17,785,  increased  to  105,571 
in  1917;  while  the  Conservative  vote,  which  in  1905  was  16,274, 
only  reached  69,720  in  1917.  On  June  27  Mr.  Premier  Martin 

*  The  names  of  these  candidates  were  R.  Mitchell,  E.  R.  Powell,  N.  McVean, 
J.  J.  Cameron,  W.  G.  Baker,  E.  W.  Granger,  J.  F.  Wilke,  W.  S.  Simpson,  John  McLeod, 
T.  A.  Campbell,  Mrs.  S.  E.  Haight,  A.  M.  Eddy,  D.  Railton,  J.  Burns,  D.  J.  Haight. 


SASKATCHEWAN  ELECTIONS:  NEW  LEGISLATURE  MEETS      775 

issued  a  Message  of  appreciation  and  thanks  and  an  appeal  for 
continued  effort: 

The  fires  of  bitterness  and  animosity  which  have  been  stoked  up  during  the 
campaign  will  soon  die  out.  They  will  be  forgotten.  The  average  citizen,  however, 
does  not,  and  cannot,  forget  the  record  of  the  Government's  progressive  and  bene- 
ficial legislation,  and  it  says  much  for  the  commonsense  and  unerring  instinct  of  our 
people  that,  in  spite  of  all  the  frenzied  appeals  made  to  them,  their  acceptance  of 
our  record  of  the  past,  and  of  our  aims  for  the  future,  has  been  hearty  and  complete. 
We  must,  therefore,  persist  in  the  programme  which  we  have  laid  down  to  obtain  all 
those  great  measures  of  reform  upon  which  the  aspirations  and  hopes  of  the  Liberal 
party  are  fixed.  ...  I  have  only  one  thing  to  say  upon  the  result  of  the  election 
which  is  controversial,  and  it  is  this:  In  the  days  to  come  we  must  not  relax  the  fight 
for  Saskatchewan's  Bill  of  Rights  as  formulated  by  the  Liberal  party,  to  assist  in 
large  measure  our  producers  and  consumers.  The  people  by  their  verdict  have 
again  signified  in  a  very  definite  manner  that  relief  is  necessary  from  Conservative 
policies  of  high  tariffs,  restricted  markets,  etc.  The  fight  must  be  one  to  a  finish. 

Dr.  Wm.  Elliott  (Cons.)  of  Wolseley  issued  an  address  to  the  Wolseley 
electors,  stating  that  three  English  polls,  named,  had  given  him  71% 
of  votes  polled  and  3  foreign  polls  88%  to  his  opponent.  He  claimed 
the  result  as  due  to  "unscrupulous  politicians  who  misled  them  into 
the  belief  that  a  vote  for  me  was  a  vote  for  the  conscription  of  their 
sons  to  fight  against  their  Fatherland  and  that  a  vote  for  me  would 
mean  that  their  lands  in  this  country  would  be  taken  and  given  to 
returned  soldiers."  The  Liberal  press  responded  to  such  state- 
ments with  the  declaration — when  the  figures  became  available  in 
October — that  not  only  was  the  Martin  Government  sustained  at 
the  polls  by  the  largest  vote  ever  recorded  in  the  Province,  but  by 
one  of  the  largest  popular  majorities  ever  accorded  a  Government 
in  this  Dominion — the  Liberals  polling  17,988  more  votes  in  1917 
than  were  cast  for  all  parties  and  candidates  put  together  in  1912; 
and  that  all  eight  Ministers  were  re-elected  with  aggregate  majorities 
totalling  7,550,  or  an  average  majority  of  945,  whereas  the  Con- 
servative leader  only  secured  293  majority  in  a  three-cornered 
fight.  It  was  pointed  out  that  in  Moose  Jaw,  Estevan,  Kindersley, 
Elrose  and  Regina  the  "foreign"  vote  could  have  been  eliminated 
and  a  large  Liberal  majority  left.  Following  the  Elections  varied  minor 
events  occurred  which  have  been  elsewhere  specified  but  one  not 
recorded  was  the  statement  of  Hon.  W.  M.  Martin  before  the  Regina 
Canadian  Club  on  Oct.  2  that  the  values  of  the  wheat,  oats,  barley 
and  flax  crop  of  1911,  1913,  1915  and  1917  were  as  follows:  $107,776,- 
522;  $116,438,909;  $236,611,049;  $361,008,840.  On  Oct.  22  it  was 
announced  that  W.  B.  Willoughby,  K.C.,  Conservative  Leader  in 
the  Legislature  since  1912  had  resigned  and  been  appointed  to  the 
Senate  of  Canada.  Two  days  before  there  had  been  a  Cabinet 
re-organization  owing  to  Mr.  Calder's  retirement  to  join  the  Union 
Government  at  Ottawa  and  Hon.  W.  M.  Martin  became  President 
of  the  Council  and  member  of  the  Treasury  Board,  as  well  as  Min- 
ister of  Education;  Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning,  Minister  of  Railways  as 
well  as  Treasurer,  and  Samuel  John  Latta,  member  since  1912,  Minister 
of  Highways.  A  Saskatchewan  Labour  Party  was  organized  at 
Regina  on  Nov.  9  with  James  Sommerville,  Moose  Jaw,  as  President 
and  Resolutions  passed  which  (1)  condemned  the  War-times  Elec- 
tion Act  as  unfair  to  the  loyal  women  citizens  of  Canada  who  were 


776  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

excluded  and  unfair  to  the  electorate  because  of  the  way  in  which 
it  was  left  wide  open  for  unscrupulous  agents  of  the  Government  in 
power  to  manipulate  the  soldiers'  vote ;  (2)  urged  the  amalgamation 
with  its  Party  of  all  existing  Labour  bodies  in  the  Province;  (3) 
declared  itself  in  favour  of  a  Government  in  Canada  "that  will 
organize  the  entire  resources  of  the  Dominion,  eliminating  all  pri- 
vate profit  on  industry  and  administrate  our  industrial  activities 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  War  and  the  protection  of  the  people 
as  a  whole";  (4)  demanded  Labour  representation  in  Parliament  and 
(5)  asked  that  the  Returned  soldiers  of  Canada  be  given  pensions 
on  the  basis  of  equality  to  all  and  abolition  of  the  present  difference 
between  commissioned  and  non-commissioned  ranks. 

The  1st  Session  of  the  4th  Legislature  was  opened  by  His  Hon- 
our R.  S.  Lake  at  Regina  on  Nov.  13  with  a  Speech  from  the  Throne 
which  declared  that  "Great  Britain  and  her  Allies  still  stood  firm 
in  their  determination  to  continue  the  war-struggle  until  tyranny 
was  crushed  and  humanity  liberated";  regretted  that  the  crop  of 
1917  had  not  been  greater  but  pointed  out  that  it  was  excellent  in 
quality  and  price  and  had  only  been  exceeded  on  two  occasions; 
urged  public  thrift  and  ever-increased  production;  mentioned  the 
appointment  of  Dr.  Foght,  an  eminent  American  authority,  to  survey 
the  Provincial  elementary  School  system  and  his  Report  which 
would  shortly  be  published;  described  the  beneficial  effect  of  the 
Farm  Loans  Act  as  already  visible  and  promised  legislation  dealing 
with  Provincial  revenue  and  taxes,  a  Mothers'  pension  system, 
various  amendments  to  existing  Acts.  R.  M.  Mitchell,  M.D.,  Speaker 
of  the  lately  dissolved  House,  was  elected  again  unanimously; 
Donald  Maclean  of  Saskatoon  was  chosen  at  an  Opposition  Caucus 
(Nov.  14)  as  Leader  in  place  of  Senator  Willoughby;  Pte.  Harris 
Turner  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Maclean  amid  general  cheers  and  thus 
proved  to  be  a  Conservative;  the  Address  was  moved  by  J.  A.  Mac- 
Millan,jWadena,  and  T.  E.  Gamble,  Bengough,  with  a  very  short 
debatejshared  in  by  the  two  leaders,  Mr.  Turner  and  D.  J.  Sykes 
—who  stated  that  despite  his  triplicate  of  nominations  he  was  Liberal ; 
T.  H.  Garry,  Yorkton,  was  appointed  Chief  Whip  of  the  Liberal 
party.  The  legislation  of  the  Session  included  a  Supplementary 
Revenue  Act  levying  a  tax  of  one  cent  per  acre  upon  every  owner 
or  occupant  of  land  in  the  Province;  an  Act  replacing  the  Patriotic 
Tax  by  a  measure  which  levied  annually  a  special  rate  or  tax  equal 
to  two  mills  in  the  dollar  on  all  rateable  property  in  a  municipality 
— for  the  support  of  Patriotic  and  relief  funds,  the  civic  re-habilita- 
tion  of  soldiers  and  after- war  reconstruction;  a  Wild  Lands  Tax 
of  one  per  cent,  of  assessed  value — subject  to  specific  exemptions 
and  including  the  appointment  of  a  Provisional  Tax  Commissioner; 
provision  for  the  taxation  of  persons  owning,  controlling,  holding 
or  operating,  Timber  areas  to  the  extent  of  one  cent  for  every  acre 
of  such  timber  area  or  berth  with  a  minimum  tax  of  $25.00;  the  im- 
position of  an  annual  Tax  of  $1,000  upon  every  brewer,  distiller, 
compounder  or  other  person  licensed  by  the  Dominion  Government 
to  manufacture  or  compound  liquors  or  keep  a  stock  of  liquors  for 
export  to  other  Provinces  or  Foreign  countries;  the  passage  of  an 


SASKATCHEWAN  ELECTIONS:  NEW  LEGISLATURE  MEETS     777 

Act  respecting  Mines  which  revised  the  regulations  as  to  operation, 
management,  inspection,  registration  of  employees,  precautions 
for  safety,  reports  and  official  returns,  authorized  the  Minister  in 
charge  to  close  up  any  mine  in  which  the  Act  was  evaded  or  dis- 
obeyed and  covered  the  power  and  functions  of  Mine  officials  and 
the  penalties  to  be  imposed — with  an  elaborate  set  of  general  rules; 
a  measure  for  the  protection  of  Neglected  and  Dependant  Children 
which  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  Provincial  Superintendent 
to  encourage  and  control  Children's  Aid  Societies  and  assist  in  their 
establishment,  to  provide  Children's  Shelters  and  obtain  the  appoint- 
ment of  Probation  Officers  by  municipalities,  to  apprehend  and 
safeguard  such  children,  to  supervise  their  maintenance  and  select 
foster  homes  for  them,  to  do  many  other  things  along  the  line  of 
helpfulness  and  of  judicious  penalties  and  care  for  Juvenile  offenders 
An  amendment  to  the  Saskatchewan  Loans  Act  gave  the  Govern- 
ment power  to  issue  from  time  to  time  securities  sufficient  in  amount 
to  provide  for  re-payment  purposes,  despite  any  increase  of  the 
Public  Debt  which  would  ensue.  The  Succession  Duties  Act  was 
amended  in  varied  detail  and  the  Corporations  Act  changed  to  more 
accurately  define  a  Trust  Company  and  the  meaning  of  Gross  Pre- 
miums, to  impose  a  Tax  of  1%  on  such  Premiums  received  from 
Saskatchewan  business,  to  tax  registered  Land  Companies  40  cents 
for  every  $1,000  of  business  done  in  the  Province  and  Loan  Companies 
the  same  on  the  funds  under  investment  in  the  preceding  year. 
The  Land  and  Title  Act  was  an  elaborate  affair  of  89  pages  in  the 
Statutes  of  1917  and  it  divided  Saskatchewan  into  10  registration 
districts  with  power  to  the  Government  of  increasing  the  number 
and  to  establish  Land  Titles  Offices;  provided  for  a  Master  and 
Deputy  Master  of  Titles,  a  Chief  Surveyor  and  a  Registrar  in  each 
District;  defined  the  rules  and  methods  as  to  registration  of  all  land 
and  property,  the  law  as  to  title  and  certificates,  mortgages  and 
leases,  transfers  and  sales,  legal  actions,  ownership  and  tenancy. 
The  Act  respecting  Trust  Companies  was  also  an  elaborate  legal 
instrument  with  incorporation,  stock  regulations,  books,  contracts, 
trusts,  liabilities,  powers,  investments,  penalties,  etc.,  defined  or 
amended;  the  Medical  Profession  Act  was  amended  to  broaden 
the  entry  of  practitioners  under  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons and  their  regulations,  to  make  6  months  of  each  year  for  5 
years  the  legal  term  of  study  in  Medicine,  Surgery,  etc.,  to  give  the 
Medical  Council  power  to  issue  special  permits  of  practice  apart 
from  the  qualifications  required  by  the  Act;  the  Farm  Implement 
Act  compelled  all  vendors  of  large  implements  in  the  Province 
to  fyle  particulars  of  their  implements  on  the  1st  of  February  in 
each  year  with  the  Minister  of  Agriculture — retail  prices,  horse- 
power required,  terms  of  cash  or  credit  and  rates  of  interest,  and  pro- 
vided contract  forms  for  sale  with  details  of  agreement;  the  city, 
town  and  municipal  Acts,  the  Volunteers'  Relief  and  other  measures 
were  amended  to  still  further  protect  and  aid  the  returned  or  absent 
soldier;  a  special  Act  regularized  the  practice  of  drugless  healing, 
or  Chiropractic,  and  prescribed  a  University  course  and  examination. 
The  Mothers  Act  authorized  support  or  partial  support  for  any 


778  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

mother  who  was  a  widow  and  unable,  through  poverty,  to  take 
proper  care  of  her  child  or  children,  and  permitted  the  Attorney- 
General  to  order  the  municipality,  in  cases  of  one  year's  residence 
by  the  women  therein,  to  pay  a  sum  not  to  exceed  $3.00  per  week 
for  each  child;  a  Reclamation  Lands'  Act  tried  to  cope  with  drainage 
difficulties  due  to  the  divided  jurisdiction  between  the  Dominion  and 
Province  as  to  unalienated  public  lands  within  the  Province ;  another 
measure  dealt  elaborately  and  in  detail  with  town  planning  and 
rural  development;  the  People's  Insurance  Co.,  Le  College  Catho- 
lique  de  Gravelbourg,  the  Catholic  College  of  Regina,  were  incor- 
porated. The  Temperance  Act  was  amended  with  stringent 
details  for  enforcement;  License  fees  were  increased  on  Theatres 
and  Cinematographs;  municipalities  were  authorized  to  borrow 
money  for  Seed-grain  distribution;  a  new  Hotel  Act  authorized 
municipalities  to  assist  Hotels  in  case  of  need. 

On  Nov.  27  the  Legislature  debated  plans  for  increasing  Hog 
production  and  Mr.  Motherwell  promised  an  effective  Departmental 
campaign  to  provide  hogs — as  in  the  last  few  years  it  had  helped 
with  cattle  and  sheep — with  purchase,  credit  and  shipment  all  to 
be  arranged.  In  introducing  his  Public  Revenues  Tax  (Dec.  3) 
Hon.  C.  A.  Dunning  made  an  important  statement:  "Our  people 
may  as  well  get  accustomed  to  the  idea  that  direct  taxation  for 
Provincial  purposes  has  come  to  Saskatchewan  and  I  believe  has 
come  to  stay" — though  for  the  present  it  was  only  required  for 
patriotic  purposes.  The  Legislature  adjourned  on  Dec.  14  after 
Harris  Turner  had  moved  a  Resolution  calling  upon  the  Govern- 
ment to  replace  men  "in  the  Civil  Service  capable  of  combatant 
military  service  by  those  not  so  competent  to  take  their  places  in 
the  fighting  ranks."  The  Premier  and  other  Ministers  defended 
the  Civil  Service  for  its  enlistments  and  contributions  (226  men  had 
enlisted  up  to  October)  but  admitted  that  exemptions  had  been  re- 
quested for  a  number  of  necessary  men.  He  asked  the  House  in  an 
amendment  to  approve  the  Government's  action  and  this  was 
carried  with  Mr.  Harris  as  the  only  dissentient. 

The  Grain  Growers  and  Non-Partisan  League. 

The  Grain  Growers'  Association  of  Saskatchewan  continued  to  progress  in  1917  with  a 
representative  in  the  Ministry,  a  Provincial  Government  policy  directed  in  many  ways 
to  the  carrying  out  of  its  proposals,  a  place  in  the  war-work  and  Union  Government 
and  Federal  elections  of  the  year.  Its  District  Conventions — notably  No.  8  at 
Regina,  No.  9  at  York,  and  No.  4,  also  held  at  Regina;  No.  6  at  Saskatoon,  No.  1 
at  Moose  Jaw,  and  No.  10  at  Humboldt — met  and  discussed  conditions  and  passed 
Resolutions  of  which  many  were  welded  together  and  approved  at  the  Provincial 
Convention.  The  1917  Convention  for  the  Province  met  at  Moose  Jaw  on  Feb. 
13-16  with  1,800  Delegates  present  and  300  women  members  holding  their  separate 
Convention.  J.  A.  Maharg  presided  and  the  most  important  business  was  the  accept- 
ance of  an  offer  from  the  Saskatchewan  Co-Operative  Elevator  Co.  to  take  over  the 
Trading  Department  of  the  Association — which  for  two  or  three  years  had  been 
thought  by  many  to  detract  from  the  educational  features  and  objects  of  the  Associa- 
tion; it  also  found  difficulty  in  building  up  a  large  business  on  small  capital.  Other 
matters  were  the  unanimous  endorsation  of  the  Farmers'  Platform  of  the  Council  of 
Agriculture;  a  declaration  of  President  Maharg  in  his  annual  address  against  any 
centralized  government  of  the  Empire  in  the  form  of  a  Parliament;  criticisms  of  J. 
B.  Musselman,  Secretary,  for  certain  comments  as  to  race  problems  and  a  general 
opinion  that  racial  and  sectarian  issues  should  be  excluded  by  the  Association;  the 


THE  GRAIN  GROWERS  AND  NON-PARTISAN  LEAGUE        779 

statement  that  C.  E.  Flatt  of  Tantallon,  a  Director  of  the  Association,  had  been 
appointed  by  the  Minister  of  Education  to  help  in  revising  the  Provincial  course  of 
School  studies;  the  decision  of  the  Executive,  which  was  confirmed,  not  to  join  their 
Elevator  Company  with  the  similar  business  concerns  of  Manitoba  and  Alberta, 
which  would  have  made  Winnipeg  the  centre  for  the  marketing,  terminal  warehousing 
and  exporting  of  grain  for  the  whole  West.  The  Secretary's  report  indicated  strained 
relations  between  the  Grain  Growers'  Grain  Co.  of  Winnipeg  and  the  Saskatchewan 
leaders .  The  Executive  in  this  report  stated  that  the  1 9 1 6  Patriotic  acre  plan  had  contri- 
buted 3,200,000  pounds  of  the  best  Saskatchewan  flour  put  up  in  40,000  bags,  each 
bearing  the  emblem  of  the  Association  in  colours,  and  containing  80  pounds  of  flour 
which  were  shipped  to  the  Imperial  Government — the  estimate  of  total  contributions 
to  Patriotic  objects  to  date  being  $200,000  in  value,  with  2,300  reported  enlistments, 
and  an  estimated  total  of  5,000.  The  paid-up  membership  was  27,347  and  the  busi- 
ness handled  by  the  Trading  Department  was  $1,089,000  with  net  earnings  of  $15,389 
and  a  capital  of  $48,235  built  up  out  of  surplus  earnings.  Mr.  Maharg  was  re-elected 
President  and  A.  G.  Hawkes,  Vice-President,  while  Mr.  Musselman  remained  Secre- 
tary; Hon.  George  Langley  retired  as  Director-at-Large  and  Thomas  Sales  of  Lang- 
ham  with  the  following  were  elected:  J.  B.  Musselman,  Regina,  Mrs.  J.  McNaughtan, 
Piche,  John  Evans,  Nutana,  and  H.  C.  Fleming,  Tate.  The  chief  Resolutions  passed, 
with  a  number  of  others  left  to  the  Board,  were  as  follows: 

1.  Endorsing  the  Government's  Educational  Survey  of  the  Province  and  urging 
that  the  Civil  Service  be  removed  from  control  of  Party  politicians. 

2.  Favouring  compulsory  Education  and  English  as  the  language  of  Instruction 
in  Public  Schools. 

3.  Urging  that  executions  be  registered  against  land  only  and  that  the  land  be  so 
described  as  to  make  clear  the  execution  debtor  and  declaring  that  a  judgment  debtor 
should  be  allowed  to  retain  160  bushels  of  seed  grain  and  a  sufficient  portion  of  the  crop 
to  sufficiently  provide  for  his  family  for  12  months  instead  of  6  months  as  at  present. 

4.  Favouring  a  Dominion  direct  tax  on  all  land  values,  and  a  graduated  income 
tax  on  all  earnings,  sufficient  to  cover  all  the  cost  of  the  War  to  take  the  place  of  Patriotic 
Fund  and  other  collections. 

5.  Endorsing  the  work  and  objects  of  the  Single  Tax  Association. 

6.  Urging  the  Dominion  authorities  to  provide  a  Laboratory  for  inquiry  into  the 
Swamp  fever  which  had  carried  off  many  farm  animals — especially  horses. 

7.  Impressing  upon  the  Dominion  Government  the  absolute  necessity  of  main- 
taining control  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Railway,  also  of  the  water-front  at  the  terminal  and 
their  operation  as  public  utilities;    urging  also   that  after  the  War  the  services  of  the 
R.N.W.M.P.  be  continued. 

8.  Approving  the  payment  of  pensions  to  all  disabled  soldiers  and  that  such  pen- 
sions be  in  proportion  to  the  disability,  irrespective  of  rank,  and  asking  that  provision 
be  made  by  the  Government  for  the  support  of  dependants  of  soldiers,  killed  on  service, 
until  such  time  as  the  regular  Pension  Fund  is  made  available. 

9.  Urging  the  Provincial  Government  to  accord  the  right  for  rural  telephone  com- 
panies to  have  the  use  of  the  long-distance  lines  and  failing  this,  that  liberty  be  given 
to  string  a  line  connecting  up  adjoining  rural  systems. 

10.  Asking  for  municipalities  a  fair  share  of  motor-car  license  revenue,  suggesting 
the  formation  of  a  Government  Teachers'  Bureau  and  restriction  of  the  sale  of  Ether 
— used  by  foreign  settlers  as  an  intoxicant. 

11.  Asking  for  legislation  designating  a  Chattel  mortgage  as  a  Live-stock  Lien  and 
simplification  of  registration;    protesting  as  to  the  yearly  losses  from  grain  classed  as 
"no  grade"  and  asking  for  a  Board  of  Appeal  for  re-inspection. 

12.  Requesting  the  Dominion    Government    to  make  provision  for  supplying  seed- 
grain  to  farmers  who  had  suffered  from  hail  and  rust,  with  applications  to  be  brought 
before  a  Municipal  Council  and  ratified  before  acceptance,  with  payments  extended 
to  two  years. 

13.  Declaring  the  gasoline  quality  in  Saskatchewan  as  unsatisfactory  and  asking 
for  Provincial  legislation  creating  standards  and  appointing  Inspectors  to  control  the 
sale  of  gasoline,  kerosene,  fuel  and  machine  oils;   the  official  standards  and  guaranteed 
analyses  to  be  stamped  on  each  barrel;   that  Inspectors  be  given  power  to  enforce  the 
giving  of  correct  weights  where  sold  by  the  gallon. 

14.  Urging  that  the  Dominion  Government,  in  order  to  remedy  the  shortage  of 
labour,  should  (1)  accept  4  months  instead  of  6  months  in  each  year  as  residence  for 
homesteaders — subject  to  certain  qualifications;  (2)  consent  that  men  who  had  enlisted 
but  were  yet  in  the  Dominion  be  released  for  service  more  freely  during  seed  time  and 
harvest  and  not  deprived  of  their  military  pay  after  one  month;    (3)  take  active  steps 
at  once  to  allay  all  suspicious  fear  of  Conscription  that  intending  workers  may  not  be 
deterred  from  coming  in  from  the  United  States. 

15.  Declaring  for  reciprocal  demurrage  rates  on  Railways,  asking  for  completion  of 
certain  branch  lines,  urging  greater  protection  to  farmers  from  defective  cattle-guards 
and  carelessness  and  for  48  hours  to  load  cars  of  grain  instead  of  24. 

16.  Declaring  that  no  applications  for  homesteads  should  be  received  from  alien 
enemies  till  after  all  the  Canadian  soldiers  have  opportunity  to  return  to  Canada. 

17.  Favouring  legislation  to  qualify  and  protect  practitioners  of  Chiropractic  as  a 
Science  and  to  place  them  under  public  rules  and  regulations. 

During  the  year  some  important  occurrences  included  the  Federal  settlement  of  the 
price  of  wheat  through  its  Board  of  Grain  Supervisors  and  the  support  given  to  fixed 


780  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

prices  by  the  Saskatchewan  Association  whose  Executive  reported  at  the  close  of  the 
year  that  "practically  every  organization  outside  of  those  which  held  membership 
in  the  Council  of  Agriculture  requested  the  Board  not  to  fix  the  price  of  wheat,  but 
to  set  a  maximum  and  a  minimum  price,  with  a  wide  margin  between,  their  purpose 
beyond  all  doubt  being  to  leave  full  opportunity  for  those  skilled  in  the  business  to 
buy  the  farmers'  wheat  as  near  the  lowest  price  as  possible  and  to  sell  the  same  to 
the  Allies'  buyer  as  near  the  maximum  as  possible."  The  appointment  of  H.  H. 
McKinney  as  Superintendent  of  Organization  was  an  important  step  and  to  this 
Department  the  Co-Operative  Elevator  Co.  voted  $5,000,  while  a  Legal  Bureau  was 
established  and  found  effective;  Trading  activities  continued  and  increased  although 
a  portion  of  the  duties  of  this  Department  were  transferred  to  the  Elevator  Company 
—the  business  for  1917  being  $1,643,000  with  a  4-years'  total  of  $4,000,000  and  a 
present  capital  of  $85,000.  The  Women's  Section  of  the  Association  met  at  the 
same  time  and  place,  with  Mrs.  J.  McNaughtan  presiding  and  addresses  from  Mrs. 
S.  V.  Haight,  Mrs.  Irene  Parlby  of  the  Alberta  organization,  Hon.  Geo.  Langley  as 
to  Hail  Insurance,  T.  A.  Crerar  of  Winnipeg.  Mrs.  J.  McNaughtan  was  re-elected 
President  and  Mrs.  S.  V.  Haight  Vice-President,  of  the  Women's  Grain  Growers' 
Association,  as  it  now  had  become.  The  objects  of  the  Non-Partisan  League  were 
debated  at  length  and  the  following  Resolutions  passed: 

1.  Demanding  that  medical  certificates  of  health  be  required  by  both  sexes  before 
a  marriage  license  be  issued. 

2.  Asking  for  Woman's  Franchise  and  urging  means  for  obtaining  more  efficient 
help  for  farm-women  and  by  municipalities  for  acquiring  District  riurses. 

3.  Urging  the  compulsory  and  proper  fencing  of  school  grounds  and  condemning  the 
Hudson  Bay  Co.  for  shipping  liquor  out  of  the  Province. 

4.  Declaring  that  there  was  a  lamentable  lack  of  medical  aid  and  nursing  facilities 
in  rural  districts,  with  great  difficulty  experienced  in  overcoming  the  situation,  and  urging 
a  Provincial  Government  investigation  and  report. 

5.  Stating  the  loss  to  the  nation  incurred  by  the  sale  of  eggs  and  poultry  of  an  in- 
ferior quality  to  be  many  millions  of  dollars  and  asking  for  Dominion  legislation  requir- 
ing the  sale  of  eggs  and  poultry  on  a  quality  basis. 

6.  Asking  the  Extension  Department  of  the  University  to  loan  rural  districts  pocket 
libraries,  material  for  debates,  outlines  for  studies  and  lantern  slides. 

7.  Urging  municipal  franchise  to  wives  and  daughters  of  ratepayers,  the  granting 
of  homesteads  to  women,  the  enforcement  of  medical  examinations  in  schools  and  attend- 
ance of  a  teacher  at  noon-hour. 

8.  Supporting  the  organization  of  co-operative  bakeries  and  laundries. 

The  Co-Operative  Elevator  Co.  continued  its  record  of  prosperity.  Between 
1911  and  1917  49,900,000  bushels  of  Saskatchewan  grain  had  passed  through  its  hands 
and  the  Bulletin  of  the  International  Institute  of  Agriculture  declared  that  there 
was  nothing  in  the  world  like  this  and  the  other  two  Western  organizations — with 
the  handling  of  a  total  of  90,000.000  bushels  of  grain  or  a  third  of  Canada's  market 
production,  with  assets  of  $8,000,000  and  48,000  shareholders.  The  annual  meeting 
of  the  Association  was  held  at  Regina  on  Nov.  21-2  with  277  Delegates  present  and 
J.  A.  Maharg,  M.P.,  in  the  chair.  On  the  year's  operations  of  the  Company  a  net 
profit  of  $350,752  was  shown,  a  cash  dividend  of  8  per  cent,  was  declared — totalling 
$70,945,  and  the  authorized  capital  increased  to  $3,500,000.  The  Directors'  report 
showed  that  over  34,538,637  bushels  of  grain  had  been  handled  through  258  elevators, 
and  2,198,912  over  the  platform,  during  the  year.  The  Construction  Department 
had  built  37  elevators  and  four  others  were  purchased;  there  were  302  locals  organ- 
ized with  19,317  shareholders,  holding  an  aggregate  of  55,567  shares;  the  retiring 
Directors,  J.  A.  Maharg,  President,  Hon.  Geo.  Langley,  M.L.A.,  Vice-President,  and 
John  Evans,  Director,  were  re-elected  by  acclamation;  a  feature  of  the  meeting  was 
the  presentation  of  an  illuminated  address  to  Hon.  Chas.  A.  Dunning,  former  Manager 
of  the  Company,  and  now  Provincial  Treasurer.  Incidents  of  the  meeting  were  the 
statement  of  a  Roll  of  Honour  with  496  shareholders  and  44  employees,  with  38  men 
killed  in  action;  and  the  publication  of  the  Co-Operative  News  with  22,000  circulation 
and  Association  plans  for  the  erection  of  a  Terminal  Elevator  at  Port  Arthur.  On 
Jan.  3-5  the  117  Agricultural  Societies  of  Saskatchewan  met  in  Convention  at  the 
University,  Saskatoon,  as  did  those  interested  in  Live-stock  and  Dairying  on  Jan. 
9-13;  every  kind  of  topic  along  these  various  lines  was  discussed  and  addresses  given 
by  specialists  on  different  subjects;  an  important  Resolution  was  passed  by  the 
Sheep-Breeders  stating  that  as  "Canada  is  an  immense  consumer  of  woollen  goods 
which  are  not  at  present,  but  are  capable  of  being  produced  in  this  country,  and  as 
the  embryonic  industry  of  sheep-raising  is  showing  signs  of  expansion  and  growth 
which  bid  fair  to  develop  into  a  great  national  industry" — therefore  the  Dominion 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  SASKATCHEWAN  781 

Government  should  not  allow  an  embargo  on  the  free  marketing  of  wool.  The  fol- 
lowing presiding  officers  besides  those  mentioned  were  elected  in  1917: 

Saskatchewan  Horse  Breeders'  Association Alex.  Mutch Lumsden. 

Saskatchewan  Cattle  Breeders'  Association Hon.  W.  C.  Sutherland.. .  .Saskatoon. 

Saskatchewan  Sheep  Breeders'  Association H.  H.  Follett Duval. 

Saskatchewan  Swine  Breeders'  Association A.  B.  Potter Langbank. 

Saskatchewan  Poultry  Breeders'  Association W.  W.  Ashley Saskatoon. 

Saskatchewan  Dairymen's  Association L.  C.  Wirtz Wadena. 

The  Saskatchewan  Livestock  Board W.  C.  Sutherland Saskatoon. 

School  Garden  Association  of  Saskatchewan A.  Kennedy,  M.A Weyburn. 

Meanwhile  the  Farmers'  Non- Partisan  League  had  been  making  steady  progress 
in  Saskatchewan.  Originating  in  North  Dakota  in  1915  it  had,  in  a  short  time, 
gained  65,000  members  there,  elected  the  Governor  and  secured  control  of  the  Legis- 
lature; in  1916  S.  E.  Haight,  one  of  the  promoters,  came  over  to  Canada,  made  his 
headquarters  at  Swift  Current  and  preached  unceasingly  the  Dakota  platform — 
which  by  that  time  had  extended  into  other  Western  States  and  also  Alberta. 
The  membership  scheme  was  unique  with  a  Saskatchewan  Fee  of  $15.00  out  of  which 
the  organizer  was  entitled  to  a  commission  of  $4-  and  the  balance  went  into  the  cen- 
tral fund.  One  of  the  demands  upon  this  Fund  was  made  by  a  small  four-page  weekly 
newspaper  called  The  Non-partisan  Leader,  published  in  Swift  Current  as  the  official 
organ  of  the  League.  Every  farmer  could  be  a  member  and  also  an  organizer,  and 
thus  earn  $4.00  for  each  new  member  he  obtained.  In  April,  1917,  there  were  3,000 
members  in  Saskatchewan  and  the  organization  contested  7  seats  in  the  Provincial 
Elections  and  elected  D.  J.  Sykes  by  acclamation.  S.  E.  Haight  was  President, 
while  the  President  in  the  United  States,  A.  W.  Townley,  stumped  North  Dakota 
against  the  Liberty  Loan  and  opposed  any  farmers'  subscription  in  support  of  the 
War— in  the  Loan  case  the  call  was  for  $10,500,000  and  the  response  was  $2,500,000. 
The  platform  in  the  States  and  Canada  was  practically  the  same  and  these  were  the 
main  points: 

1.  Nationalization  of  banking  and  credit  systems,  railroads,  telegraphs,  telephones 
and  steamship  lines  (registered  in  Canada) ,  and  all  other  means  of  public  transportation 
and  communication. 

2.  Nationalization  of  all  industries  organized  on  a  national  scale,  and  in  which 
competition  had  virtually  ceased  to  exist. 

3.  The  extension  of  the  public  domain  to  include  all  coal  mines,  water  powers  and 
forests. 

4.  A  Federal  Direct  Legislation  Act,  including  the  recall  and  equal  and  unrestricted 
suffrage  for  both  men  and  women. 

5.  A  graduated  inheritance  tax  law ;  a  graduated  income  tax  law;  the  enactment  of  a 
national  compulsory  Insurance  law  covering  accident,  illness,  old  age  and  death. 

6.  The  free  administration  of  justice;    the  abolition  of  the  Canadian  Senate  and 
no  Court  to  be  legally  competent  to  declare  as  unconstitutional  any  Act  of  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Canada. 

The  Regina  Leader,  the  Grain  Growers  and  others  resented  the  incoming  of  an  organi- 
zation such  as  this:  the  assumption  that  administration  of  justice  in  Canada  was 
not  free,  that  its  Senate  was  useless  or  injurious,  and  that  its  appeal  to  the  Imperial 
Privy  Council  must  be  abolished,  were  significant. 

The   Public   Schools  in  Saskatchewan.  on  Mar.  ist 

the  Report  of  the  Hon.  W.  M.  Martin,  K.C.,  as  Minister  of  Education  was  issued 
for  Dec.  31,  1916,  with  a  statement  by  R.  F.  Blackjpck,  Acting  Deputy 
Minister,  as  to  the  growing  cost  of  education  and  the  fact  that:  "The  time  has  almost 
arrived  when  a  greater  proportion  of  the  cost  must  be  raised  by  a  general  rate  on  all 
assessable  property  in  the  Province.  At  any  rate  lands  not  at  present  included  in 
any  school  district  should  bear  a  portion  of  the  cost  of  education."  As  to  Teachers,  an 
adequate  supply  was  a  still  more  serious  problem:  "During  the  year  we  granted 
regular  certificates  to  1,566  new  teachers,  1,116  of  whom  were  trained  in  our  Normal 
Schools,  while  450  were  granted  standing  on  the  strength  of  training  obtained  else- 
where." Though  only  4,279  teachers  were  required  5,677  were  registered  as  having 
taught  in  1917.  The  War,  with  the  men,  and  marriage  with  the  women,  were  the 
twin  difficulties:  "The  numerous  changes  of  teachers,  the  short-term  schools  and 
the  irregular  attendance  in  our  country  districts  explain  the  backward  condition  of 
the  children  in  many  of  our  rural  schools."  There  was  also  a  decline  in  those  coming 
from  other  Provinces  from  66%  to  25%.  It  was  declared  a  regrettable  fact  that 
thousands  of  boys  and  girls  were  growing  up  in  the  Province  who  had  never  got  be- 
yond Grade  IV  and  stated  that  unless  action  was  taken  at  once  the  present  genera- 


782  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

tion  of  boys  and  girls  would  in  a  few  years  be  thrown  on  the  world  poorly  equipped 
for  their  life's  tasks.  The  distribution  of  free  text-books  had  been  most  beneficial 
with  73,688  issued  during  the  year  or  an  increase  of  5,700;  tribute  was  paid  to  T.  E. 
Perrett,  of  the  Provincial  Normal  School  and  A.  H.  Ball,  Deputy  Minister,  for  joining 
the  colours;  the  Better  Schools  movement  of  1915  was  described  as  making  great 
progress  and  the  Report  of  Dr.  Foght  of  Washington  as  to  future  reforms  was  looked 
forward  to  as  important.  The  general  statistics  of  1916  were  as  follows: 

Number  of  School  Districts  in  Existence 3,878 

School  Districts  having  Schools  in  Operation 3,608 

Number  of  Departments  in  Operation 4,279 

Number  of  Pupils  Enrolled 125,590 

Average  attendance  of  Pupils 69,455 

Number  of  Pupils  enrolled  in: 

Rural  Schools,  74,387;    Village  Schools,  19,518; 

Town  schools,  15,174;  City  Schools,  16,511 125,590 

Average  attendance  of  pupils  in: 

Rural  Schools,  39,785;    Village  Schools,  10,486; 

Town  Schools,  8,997;  City  Schools,  10,187 69,455 

Teachers  employed  during  the  Year: 

Male,  1,490;  Female,  4,187 5,677 

School  debentures  Authorized $  559,260 .00 

School  debentures  Registered 649,300 .00 

Amount  expended  on  Sites  and  Buildings 1,105,764.55 

Amount  expended  for  Teachers'  Salaries 2,956,665.77 

Amount  expended  for  all  Purposes 10,353,219.58 

The  Saskatchewan  School  Teachers'  Association  met  at  Regina  on  Apr.  10-11  with 
1,200  Delegates,  Miss  Christina  MacGregor  in  the  chair,  and  the  delivery  of  a  most 
patriotic  speech;  it  was  announced  that  231  teachers  had  enlisted;  an  elaborate 
Address  on  conditions  and  progress  was  given  by  Mr.  Premier  Martin.  An  address 
by  Dr.  Sandiford  of  Toronto  University  attracted  attention  with  the  fundamental 
statements  that  in  1917  20,000  Canadian  children  of  school-age  received  no  formal 
schooling  at  all;  that  another  20,000  attended  schools  which  were  open  for  20  days 
or  less  each  year;  that  Canadian  education,  in  general,  was  too  uniform  with 
carpenters  and  mechanics  trained  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  the  lawyer 
and  the  preacher."  J.  F.  Bryant  spoke  on  Educational  Reform  and  dealt  with  the 
Foreign  issue  through  a  variety  of  statistics  showing  that  the  total  foreign  population 
in  1911  was  162,610  and  that  of  these  35,482  or  22  ^  per  cent,  came  from  Austria- 
Hungary,  8,300  or  16 '69  per  cent,  from  Germany;  that  the  foreign-born  males  in 
the  Province  of  all  ages  were  96,781  and  those  of  foreign  extraction  over  21  years  of 
age  65,345;  that  of  the  total  number  of  foreign-born  males  over  21  years  of  age  33,518 
or51'29  per  cent,  were  naturalized  and  31, 827  foreign-born  males  over  21  years  of  age 
were  not  naturalized.  His  comments  on  this  condition  reflected  upon  the  Govern- 
ment and  were  not  acceptable,  so  that  it  was  unanimously  decided  not  to  publish 
this  speech  in  the  Proceedings.  To  these  comments  the  Premier  also  took  strong 
exception  and  at  Moose  Jaw  on  May  7  dealt  with  the  subject  at  length  and  stated, 
finally,  that  out  of  4,000  schools  only  28  gave  the  Department  any  serious  language 
difficulty.  Meanwhile  H.  H.  Smith  of  Saskatoon  had  been  elected  President  and 
J.  T.  M.  Anderson,  M.A.,  President  of  the  School  Inspectors'  Association,  which  was 
meeting  at  the  same  time.  In  connection  with  the  Confederation  Anniversary  a 
handsome  pamphlet  was  issued  by  the  Minister  giving  an  historical  account  of  the 
Province  and  its  educational  progress.  On  June  16th  Mr.  Martin  appointed  a  Pro- 
vincial Council  on  re-education  of  soldiers  to  act  with  the  Military  Hospitals  Com- 
mission as  follows:  Dr.  W.  C.  Murray  and  Dean  W.  J.  Rutherford,  Saskatoon;  William 
Grayson,  Moose  Jaw;  F.  C.  Baker,  Prince  Albert;  Peter  McAra  and  T.  M.  Molloy, 
Regina.  Dr.  Foght,  after  investigating  the  Provincial  system,  under  instruction 
from  the  Minister,  summarized  his  opinions  at  Regina  on  Oct.  24  in  a  statement  that 
the  strongly  centralized  system  of  Saskatchewan  Education  had  been  of  great  prelimin- 
ary service  but  that  now  the  people  were  getting  the  worst  of  their  investment  of  8% 
millions  a  year  for  these  reasons: 

(1)  People  have  failed  to  use  the  schools  as  fully  and  liberally  as  they  should  have 
done;  (2)  the  system  of  organization  and  administration  prevailing  in  rural  districts 
is  no  longer  adequate;  (3)  abnormal  opportunities  in  other  occupations  have  made  it 
difficult  to  train  and  keep  in  the  profession  an  adequate  number  of  well-prepared  teachers ; 
(4)  the  courses  of  study  do  not  in  all  respects  meet  the  demands  of  a  democratic  people 
in  a  igreat  agricultural  country;  (5)  the  schools  in  their  internal  organizations  are  planned 
less  for  the  normal  child  than  for  the  exceptional  child;  (6)  the  system  of  examinations 


THE  UNIVERSITY  AND  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  SASKATCHEWAN  783 

is  a  questionable  form  of  the  average  pupil's  ability,  maturity  and  fitness  for  advance- 
ment; (7)  bodily  health  and  hygienic  conditions,  which  are  essential  to  effective  study, 
have  received  very  little  attention. 

Incidents  of  the  year  included  the  able  addresses  of  Principal  Norman  F.  Black 
(Regina)  before  the  Educational  Association,  in  Regina  on  several  occasions,  and  at 
Rouleau  and  other  places;  the  fact  of  the  Graton  Separate  School  Board,  Regina, 
losing  in  April  its  claim  to  a  portion  of  the  1916  levy  on  corporation  lands,  assessed 
for  school  purposes  in  the  city  of  Regina  and  the  judicial  finding  that  notices  as  to  the 
proportion  claimed,  etc.,  were  not  sent  in  time;  and  the  amendment  to  the  Schools 
Assessment  Act  in  December  providing  that  in  future  School  taxes  from  all  Companies 
must  be  divided  by  ratio  of  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  District  irrespective  of  the 
religious  belief  of  the  stockholders. 

The  University  and  Higher  Education  in  Saskat- 
chewan .  The  annual  Convocation  was  held  on  May  3  at  Saskatoon  with  an  able 
address  by  President  W.  C.  Murray,  reviewing  the  year's  work,  in  which  he  declared 
that  "it  took  the  University  3  years,  from  1910  to  1913,  to  complete  its  first  group  of 
buildings  and  nearly  as  long  to  complete  the  new  Students'  residence,  Qu'Appelle 
Hall,  which  furnished  more  accommodation  than  expected";  that  the  Department 
of  Education  had  asked  the  University  to  assist  in  a  Summer  School  in  Agriculture 
and  Science  for  the  benefit  of  teachers,  and  so  successful  had  the  course  been  that  a 
strong  request  had  come  for  enlargement  so  as  to  include  University  degree  work; 
that  new  duties  had  been  placed  upon  the  University  by  the  Legislature  in  respect  to 
Dental  examinations  and  licenses  and  the  registration  of  Nurses;  that  the  Extension 
Department  was  doing  splendid  work,  with  the  Grain  Growers  taking  up  studies  along 
associated  lines — in  economics,  history  and  literature,  as  well  as  in  topics  more  closely 
connected  with  Agriculture,  in  debates,  illustrated  lectures  and  reading  circles  with 
library  facilities;  that  Industrial  and  Scientific  Research  was  a  great  issue  of  the  day 
with  the  University  doing  something  and  fitted  to  do  more;  that  attendance,  owing 
to  the  War,  was  only  291,  with  Arts  and  Engineering  branches  especially  affected, 
while  5  members  of  the  Staff  had  enlisted  in  the  past  year;  that  the  University  was 
co-operating  in  the  re-education  of  returned  soldiers  in  steam  engineering,  in  the  gas 
tractor  and  motor  mechanics  courses,  and  that  this  work  was  growing  rapidly — with 
about  150  returned  soldiers  now  asking  for  re-education.  Finally,  he  added:  "The 
University  reflects  the  life  of  the  Province.  Within  its  borders  are  many  peoples 
differing  in  customs,  ideas,  history  and  hopes.  .  .  .  It  is  a  pleasure  to  report  that  the 
students  have  never  been  conscious  of  racial  animosities;  as  they  have  lived  and 
worked  together,  they  have  come  to  appreciate  each  other  better."  The  graduates 
of  this  occasion  numbered  in  the  degree  of  B.A.,  35;  in  B.Sc.,  1;  in  B.S.A.,  5;  in 
LL.B.,  9;  in  M.A.,  6. 

Regina  College  was  the  chief  Methodist  institution  of  the  Province  and  1916-17 
was  its  most  successful  year.  On  June  4  its  annual  meeting  with  President  E.  W. 
Stapleford  in  the  chair  showed  21  teachers  on  the  staff,  106  boys  and  young  men  as 
students,  with  84  on  active  service,  and  308  girls,  or  a  total  increase  of  100%.  Dr. 
Stapleford  and  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  (Hon.  J.  T.  Brown)  stated  in  then-  report 
"that  the  doors  of  Regina  College  were  open  wide  to  all,  not  one-half  of  the  students 
being  Methodists,  and  others  coming  from  Presbyterian,  Anglican,  Baptist,  Catholic 
and  Lutheran  homes."  The  Conservatory  of  Music  was  flourishing  with  240  stu- 
dents; 49  young  women  were  studying  Household  Science  with  a  dress-making  de- 
partment added;  there  was  also  a  special  course  for  farmers  in  business,  book-keeping 
and  agriculture;  annual  expenditures  of  $64,165  and  revenues  of  $53,772  with  the 
deficit  made  up  by  personal  contributions,  and  a  Debt  of  $212,447.  On  Oct.  29  Mr. 
Justice  Brown  presided  at  a  Banquet  of  150  and  described  the  College  as  growing 
rapidly  while  Mr.  Premier  Martin  paid  tribute  to  its  excellent  courses  and  dealt  with 
Education  in  general — describing  a  recent  tour  of  the  foreign  settlements  and  schools 
with  the  Union  Jack  flying  at  each  school  and  no  sign  of  any  non-English  books; 
President  Murray  and  Judge  J.  W.  Hannon  also  spoke.  By  the  close  of  the  year 
accommodation  was  lacking  for  all  the  students  in  attendance. 


784  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Alberta:  Gov-  At  the  beginning  of  1917  Dr.  R.  G.  Brett,  Lieut. 
Legislation  Governor,  addressed  the  people  of  his  Province,  with 
and  General  a  background  of  prosperity,  increased  production 
Progress.  and  population  during  the  past  year,  in  a  Message 
which  rang  with  confidence  and  War  determination: 
"We  hear  the  enemy  is  proposing  negotiations  to  discuss  peace,  but 
we  think  that  those  who  fight,  and  those  who  stand  ready,  with 
all  those  who  know  the  priceless  value  of  the  sacrifices  which  have 
been  made,  will  agree  with  me,  when  I  say,  that  so  long  as  that 
wicked,  misshapen  and  horrible  thing,  conceived  of  evil  and  brought 
forth  in  Germany — military  domination — which  has  so  terribly 
cursed  suffering  humanity,  continues,  there  can  be  no  abiding  peace." 
He  reviewed  the  call  for  men,  the  call  for  money,  the  call  for  pro- 
duction, the  need  for  saving,  and  believed  that  the  great  West 
would  fittingly  respond.  The  Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton,  in  his  seventh 
year  as  Premier  of  Alberta,  though  of  a  retiring  personality,  became 
one  of  the  Western  figures  of  Dominion  politics  and  his  astute 
handling  of  difficult  questions  brought  him  a  third  victory  at  the 
Provincial  polls  and  a  seat  in  "the  Dominion  Cabinet.  As  Minister 
of  Railways  and  Telephones  he  presided  over  a  most  important 
section  of  Provincial  development — the  Railways  of  which  the  total 
mileage  on  Dec.  31,  1916,  was  4,566  divided  into  C.P.R.  with  1,920 
miles,  C.N  R.  1,250,  G.T.P.  707,  Edmonton,  Dunvegan  and  British 
Columbia  417,  Alberta  and  Great  Waterways  223,  and  Central 
Canada  Railway  49  miles.  During  1916  the  increase  was  143  miles 
compared  with  91  miles  in  Manitoba,  24  in  Saskatchewan  and  54 
in  British  Columbia.  The  Guarantees  in  force  at  this  date  were  for 
2,656  miles  of  which  1,707  miles,  or  74%  were  in  operation.  Federal 
figures  gave  the  total  Provincial  liability  in  this  respect  (1916)  at 
$58,736,750. 

As  to  Telephones  W.  J.  Harmer,  Deputy  Minister,  reported 
that  it  was  impossible  to  undertake  the  construction  of  any  new 
rural  lines,  exchange  or  long  distance  lines,  owing  to  the  inability 
of  manufacturers  to  guarantee  deliveries  of  material  in  sufficient 
quantities  within  the  necessary  specified  time,  or  at  a  price  that  would 
warrant  or  justify  the  Department  in  undertaking  any  new  extensions 
to  the  System:  "All  wire  manufacturing  plants  are  taxed  to  their 
utmost  capacity  in  turning  out  munitions  of  war  which  were  and  must 
still  be  considered  of  the  first  importance.  Hard-drawn  copper 
wire  is  not  obtainable  at  any  price,  iron  wire  has  more  than  doubled 
in  price  and  is  still  advancing,  while  the  limited  output  is  of  most 
inferior  quality.  In  addition  to  the  almost  prohibitory  conditions, 
already  stated,  the  scarcity  of  labour  and,  particularly,  experienced 
telephone  construction  men,  would  in  all  probability  prevent  the 
successful  completion  of  even  a  limited  construction  programme." 
This,  of  course,  was  a  general  condition  and  applied  to  all  the  Pro- 
vinces in  different  degrees.  To  the  long-distance  farmers  of  the 
West,  however,  it  meant  privation  and  the  demand  for  extension  in 
Alberta  ,,was  considerable.  During  the  year,  Mr.  Harmer  added: 
"The  Department  has  been  connecting  Farmers'  Mutual  Lines  with 
our  switchboards,  irrespective  of  the  class  of  lines  constructed  and  in 


THE  HON.  CHARLES  STEWART,  M.L.A., 
Appointed  Prime  Minister  of  Alberta,  1917. 


ALBERTA:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  PROGRESS     785 

each  and  every  case  they  are  given  unlimited  interchange  service 
with  all  other  rural  and  exchange  subscribers  connected  through  the 
same  switchboard."  The  Telephonic  area  of  Alberta  at  this  time 
was  80,000  sq.  miles  with  612  district  communities  securing  telephone 
service  under  the  Government  system  which  was  in  operation  and 
which  claimed  to  have  the  lowest  rates  of  any  similar  system  any- 
where: 

Particulars                                                         Residence  Business  Rural 

Up  to     100  Subscribers  (Magneto) $15.00  $24.00  $15.00 

Up  to     500  Subscribers  (Magneto) 18 . 00           28 . 00  18 . 00 

Up  to  1000  Subscribers  (Central  Energy) 21 .00           36.00  18.00 

Up  to  5000  Subscribers  (Automatic) 24.00           42  00  20  00 

Over     5000  Subscribers  (Automatic) 24 . 00          48 . 00  20 . 00 

The  Exchanges  had  37,567  subscribers'  stations— 18,003  local, 
10,977  rural  and  8,279  others,  with  159  connecting  farm-line  stations 
and  149  toll  stations — the  Rural  line  system  comprising  32,444  wire 
miles  and  9,620  pole  miles  with  service  to  10,977  subscribers.  The 
gross  earnings  of  the  year  were  12' 14%  on  investment  and  the 
surplus  earnings  $70,710;  the  revenue  was  $1,112,920  and  the 
net  earnings  $519,171;  the  capitalization  of  the  Operating  plant 
was  $9,166,154.  As  to  Railways  in  1917  the  progress  was  con- 
siderable, despite  difficulties.  During  the  Session  the  Minister 
presented  Railway  legisation  authorizing  (1)  an  extension  of  time 
for  construction  of  the  Athabasca  Valley  Railway  from  one  to  three 
years — projected  to  run  from  Busby  on  the  E.D.  &  B.C.  to 
Holmes  Crossing  on  the  south  side  of  the  Athabasca  River,  almost 
directly  opposite  Fort  Assiniboine,  and  through  a  well-settled 
agricultural  country;  (2)  the  Central  Canada  Railway  Co.  to  con- 
struct certain  extensions  and  to  increase  its  capital  stock  by  the  sum 
of  $7,500,000,  bringing  it  to  $10,000,000,  so  as  to  run  from  Waterhole 
in  a  general  westerly  direction  to  the  boundary,  a  distance  of  60 
miles,  and  through  a  country  which  was  being  taken  up  by  settlers; 
(3)  allowing  a  second  extension  from  Peace  River  in  a  northerly 
direction  parallel  to  the  Hay  River  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
Province — -a  distance  of  286  miles;  (4)  authorizing  a  third  extension 
for  75  miles  from  or  near  High  Prairie  on  the  E.D.  &  B.C.  in  a 
southerly  direction  to,  or  near,  Snipe  Lake  and  thence  in  a  westerly 
direction  to  the  6th  principal  meridian,  in  a  country  adapted  to 
farming  with,  also,  timber  limits  of  about  two  billion  feet.  On  Mar. 
8  it  was  stated  by  R.  H.  Douglas,  Provincial  Engineer,  that  rapid 
progress  was  being  made  in  the  construction  of  the  Alberta  & 
Great  Waterways  Railway:  "Steel  is  now  laid  to  Mile  240,  within 
50  miles  of  Fort  McMurray,  and  most  of  the  intervening  mileage 
will  be  laid  by  the  middle  of  April  when  the  line  will  reach  the  Clear- 
water  River  by  which  merchandise  can  be  freighted  to  McMurray." 
The  contractors  had  commenced  the  laying  of  steel  from  Mile  202 
on  Dec.  17,  1916,  and,  under  all  circumstances,  excellent  progress 
had  been  made. 

As  to  this  S.  C.  Ells,  B.A.,  B.SC.,  of  the  Dominion  Field  Survey, 
stated  on  Feb.  5  that  there  was  great  mineral  wealth  in  this  region 
— deposits  of  bituminous  or  asphaltic  sand  covering  an  area  of  not 
less  than  750  sq.  miles;  deposits  of  higher  grade  clay,  serviceable 

50 


786  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

for  pottery  and  brick  and  tile  manufacture;  oil  resources  already 
under  exploitation  with,  also,  a  prospect  of  tremendous  salt  deposits 
being  opened  up  in  the  immediate  future.  This  bituminous  sand 
was  of  special  importance  to  Edmonton  with  which  the  Railway 
would  bring  the  city  in  touch  and  it  comprised  three  types  of  surfacing 
— sheet  asphalt,  bithulic  and  bituminous  concrete.  Mr.  Ells  de- 
clared that  commercial  extraction  of  the  McMurray  deposits  was 
quite  possible.  On  Oct.  29  J.  D.  McArthur  announced  that  the 
Edmonton  &  Dunvegan  Line  was  progressing  steadily  and  that 
motive  power  to  handle  the  North  country  grain  would  be  available 
by  the  end  of  the  year;  a  number  of  engines  had  been  secured  from 
his  Hudson  Bay  Railway,  on  which  construction  work  had  been 
stopped,  and  these,  with  additional  rolling  stock  from  other  lines, 
would  afford  the  facilities  required  to  get  the  output  of  the  Peace 
River  and  other  northern  districts  to  the  markets  of  the  world; 
ballasting  and  steel  work  on  both  the  A.  &  G.W.  and  the  E.D.  & 
B.C.  were  carried  on  from  time  to  time  with  bridges  under  construc- 
tion and  an  improved  service  between  Edmonton  and  Peace  River. 
A  matter  of  great  public  interest,  with  which  the  Premier  was 
associated  as  a  matter  of  policy  was  the  retirement  of  the  Royal 
North- West  Mounted  Police  from  all  Civil  duties  after  43  years  of 
continuous  service  throughout  the  West  in  both  military  and  civil 
work.  The  action  of  the  Dominion  Government  in  announcing 
the  withdrawal  of  the  Police  in  this  respect  and  its  re-organization 
as  a  purely  military  body  had  not  been  unopposed;  the  Government 
of  Saskatchewan  had  protested  and  that  of  Alberta  had  requested 
two  months'  extension  from  Jan.  1;  the  Presidents  of  many  Live- 
stock and  Agricultural  associations  in  Alberta  had  petitioned  against 
the  step  and  described  the  R.N.W.M.P.  as  essential  to  the  enforce- 
ment of  criminal  law  and  as  widely  respected  for  its  probity  and 
fearlessness.  Meanwhile  the  work  of  organizing  a  Provincial  force 
was  under  way  and  on  Feb.  5  Mr.  Premier  Sifton  announced  that 
the  Alberta  Provincial  Police  Force  had  been  established  by  Order- 
in-Council  and  would  be  administered  by  a  Commission  composed 
of  Major  P.  C.  Primrose,  Police  Magistrate  of  Edmonton;  Lieut.- 
Col.  G.  Edward  Sanders,  P.M.  of  Calgary,  and  A.  G.  Browning, 
Deputy  Attorney-General:  "This  Commission  will  be  in  entire  and 
absolute  control  of  the  law  enforcement  in  the  Province.  No 
member  of  the  Government  nor  any  member  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly,  will  take  any  part  in  recommending  the  appointment  of 
anybody  to  the  Force,  or  the  appointment  of  any  official  of  any  kind. 
The  Superintendent  of  the  Force  will,  consequently,  be  appointed 
by  the  Commission,  and  all  his  subordinates.  Major  Primrose 
will  be  Chairman  of  the  Board,  and  Mr.  Browning  Secretary."  On 
Mar.  1  96  men  of  the  authorized  150  were  sworn  in  under  Supt. 
A.  E.  C.  McDonell — a  power  in  Mounted  Police  work  of  many  years 
throughout  the  West  and  the  Yukon  with  the  current  rank  of  Major 
and  high  reputation  as  a  veteran  of  the  1885  Rebellion.  It  was 
estimated  that  the  new  Force  would  cost  $250,000  a  year;  four 
veterans  of  the  R.N.W.M.P.  were  appointed  Inspectors  and  the 
uniform  decided  on  included  a  blue  tunic  and  stetson  hat — similar 


ALBERTA:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  PROGRESS      787 

to  the  Natal,  South  Africa,  Police;  the  Force  was  to  be  a  foot  force 
but  must  know  how  to  ride  and  in  some  sections  would  be  mounted; 
W.  C.  Bryan  of  Macleod,  an  ex-Mounted  Police  man,  was,  in  Decem- 
ber, appointed  Deputy  Superintendent. 

As  Provincial  Treasurer  the  Hon.  C.  R.  Mitchell  presented  the 
Public  Accounts  to  the  Legislature  on  Jan.  16  with  details  of  Revenue 
and  Expenditures  for  the  year  of  Dec.  31,  1916.  The  former  totalled 
$5,281,694  and  included  a  Dominion  Subsidy  of  $1,589,075  and 
Telephone  income  of  $1,052,720;  the  latter  totalled  $6,018,894  or 
a  deficit  of  $737,199  and  included  $945,033  expended  on  Public 
Debt,  $597,434  on  Public  Works,  $1,070,836  on  Education,  $348,346 
on  Agriculture,  $1,011,901  upon  Telephones.  The  net  Public 
Debt  was  stated  at  $28,632,009;  the  Federal  grant  for  Agricultural 
Education  was  $61,747  in  1916-17  and  $66,965  for  1917-18;  the  total 
Bank  balance  on  Dec.  31,  1916,  was  $678,597  and  the  arrears  due 
on  wild  lands  and  other  taxes  totalled  $621,121.  As  to  the  net 
Debt  it  was  explained  by  the  Department  that  of  the  total  about 
$16,000,000  represented  the  amount  upon  which  interest  charges 
had  to  be  paid;  the  other  part  of  the  Debt  represented  interest- 
paying  bonds  or  projects.  The  Assets  of  the  Province,  including 
public  buildings,  bridges,  loans,  advances  to  school  districts  and 
unsold  lands  of  7,236,925  acres  worth  $84,588,074,  totalled  $125,- 
801,515.  Mr.  Mitchell  delivered  his  Budget  speech  on  Mar.  6 
and  stated  that  if  arrears  had  been  paid  there  would  be  no  deficit; 
for  1917  he  estimated  the  Income  at  $6,908,875  and  the  Expenditure 
at  $6,681,535  or  a  surplus  of  $227,340.  Against  the  $28,000,000 
Debt  he  placed  revenue-producing  Assets  of  $28,910,061,  Assets 
made  up  of  public  buildings,  etc.,  totalling  $13,315,849  and  deferred 
Assets  or  unsold  School  Lands  valued  at  $84,448,979,  or  a  total  of 
over  $126,000,000 — with  unlimited  assets  in  productive  resources. 
In  closing  the  Treasurer  made  this  suggestion: 

The  Federal  Government  imposed  a  duty  on  imported  machinery  sufficiently 
high  to  prevent  the  American-made  goods  competing  with  Canadian  goods.  This 
duty,  of  course,  has  to  be  paid  by  the  farmer.  It  seems  to  me,  during  the  War,  when 
the  implement  manufactories  are  engaged  in  making  munitions,  that  the  high  tariff 
on  farm  machinery  should  be,  temporarily  at  least,  withdrawn.  If  this  were  done 
the  manufacturer  could  devote  all  his  time  to  the  making  of  munitions  with  no  loss 
to  himself,  while  the  farmer,  by  being  able  to  buy  his  manufactured  goods  cheaper, 
could  apply  the  saving  to  heavier  production.  In  this  way  all  would  be  benefited. 

Edward  Michener,  the  Opposition  Leader,  criticized  a  Treasurer 
with  so  many  Assets  for  not  eliminating  his  liabilities  altogether; 
expressed  doubt  as  to  the  Telephone  system  being  a  revenue-pro- 
ducing utility;  pointed  out  that  British  Columbia,  though  a  difficult 
country  geographically,  had  a  Debt  $5,000,000  less  than  that  of 
Alberta  and  a  Sinking  Fund  of  $2,000,000  compared  with  $368,190 
for  this  Province.  He  argued  that  when  the  Railway  guarantees 
authorized  were  taken  into  account  there  was  a  Provincial  indebted- 
ness of  $90,000,000  which  meant  a  debt  of  $900  for  every  farmer  of 
the  Province.  If  they  only  included  the  Guarantees  that  had  been 
executed  it  would  mean  $750.  He  claimed  that  the  Debt  was  not 
a  reasonable  one  for  the  Province  and  yet  the  Government  was  going 


788  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

to  borrow  an  additional  $2,500,000!  Mr.  Premier  Sifton  in  reply 
declared  that  the  Telephone  system  was  not  only  paying  mainten- 
ance and  a  portion  of  the  interest  charges  on  the  bonds,  but  had  a 
surplus  of  some  $40,000  and  that  in  the  case  of  British  Columbia, 
that  Province  did  not  own  its  Telephones  and  its  Debt  of  $20,000,000 
was  not  paying  interest  on  investment  as  was  a  similar  debt  in  Alberta 
of  about  $16,000,000.  It  may  be  added  that  the  estimates  and  sup- 
plementaries  passed  by  the  House  on  Mar.  22  totalled  $8,734,624 
charged  to  Income  and  $2,676,911  charged  to  Capital;  at  the  same 
time  a  Bill  was  passed  authorizing  a  Loan  of  2j/£  million  for  Provin- 
cial purposes.  On  Aug.  18  $1,000,000  of  these  bonds  were  sold 
to  a  Toronto  syndicate — 5%  for  5  years.  To  this  Minister  was 
addressed  the  Insurance  Report  as  prepared  by  Supt.  W.  V.  Newson 
and  his  Deputy,  R.  L.  Nicolson,  and  showing  on  Dec.  31,  1916, 
33  Insurance  companies  registered  as  Provincial  or  Foreign,  and 
139  under  Dominion  licensed  bodies.  There  was  a  German  Mutual 
Fire  Co.  at  Wetaskiwin  and  a  German-American  Insurance  Co. 
at  Calgary.  In  Fire  Insurance  the  outside  Companies  had  $2,170,146 
of  Premiums  in  the  year  and  $1,042,492  of  losses;  the  Life  concerns 
$2,534,174  of  Premiums  and  $19,867,272  of  new  Insurance  written; 
the  total  Hail  premiums  were  $1,237,349  and  expenses  or  losses 
$1,381,721;  automobiles,  accidents,  sickness,  guarantees,  employers' 
liability,  plate-glass,  live-stock,  burglary,  tornado,  steam-boilers, 
explosion,  sprinkler's  leaking,  were  all  subject  to  Insurance  but  the 
business  was  small;  Fraternal  Societies  from  outside — Canadian  or 
United  States — did  a  considerable  business  in  Alberta  with  8,552 
members,  a  total  amount  at  Risk  of  $12,046,422,  and  benefits  paid 
during  the  year  of  $104,998. 

The  Hon.  Charles  Stewart,  as  Minister  of  Public  Works,  issued 
an  elaborate  and  illustrated  Report  for  the  year  1916  which  stated, 
through  L.  C.  Charlesworth,  Deputy  Minister,  that  "the  scarcity 
of  labour  and  the  high  cost  of  material,  due  doubtless  to  the  War, 
has  increased  the  cost  of  all  work,  but  every  effort  has  been  put 
forth  to  carry  on  the  work  with  economy."  He  added  that  the 
matter  involving  the  largest  expenditure,  and  which,  from  its  nature 
was  of  greatest  importance  to  the  largest  number  of  people  of  the 
Province,  was  the  Highways  Branch  covering  roads  and  bridges 
and  ferries.  Owing  to  the  greatly  increased  cost  of  steel  structures 
it  had  been  considered  in  the  public  interest  to  limit  such  work, 
while  high  prices  continued,  to  as  small  a  number  as  possible.  The 
largest  steel  bridge  during  1916  was  that  over  the  Red  Deer  River 
at  Hagen's  Crossing,  west  of  Olds.  It  consisted  of  three  125-foot 
spans  on  concrete  piers  and  abutments,  two  50-feet  timber  truss 
spans,  and  180  feet  of  pile  trestle:  "The  work  on  roads  was  carried 
out  along  the  same  lines  as  in  previous  years,  but  serious  difficulties 
were  met  with  in  parts  of  the  Province  owing  to  wet  weather  and  the 
great  depth  of  water  in  the  sloughs.  This  condition,  of  course, 
led  to  the  consideration  of  drainage,  and  the  Drainage  Act  passed 
at  the  last  Session  of  the  Legislature  will  doubtless,  in  the  near 
future,  be  taken  advantage  of  in  many  parts  of  the  country."  He 
dealt  with  the  Architectural  Surveys,  Mines  and  Steam  Boiler 


ALBERTA:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  PROGRESS      789 

branches.  The  Mining  production  of  1916  was  4,648,604  tons  of 
coal  or  1J4  millions  above  1915,  the  number  of  coal  mines  279  with  2 
copper  mines,  the  average  number  of  employees  was  5,536.  In 
this  connection  something  may  be  said  of  Mineral  conditions  during 
the  year  and  one  point  was  the  large  home  consumption  of  Pro- 
vincial coal — 2,866,670  tons  in  1916;  another  was  the  great  resources 
available  and  a  third  the  Labour  troubles  which  had  persistently 
hampered  development  right  through  the  three  War  years.  Part 
of  the  above  production  was  bituminous,  2,335,259  tons,  and  the 
rest  was  Lignite  with  the  exception  of  140,544  tons  of  anthracite 
from  Banff.  In  July  it  was  announced  from  Calgary  that  large 
deposits  of  manganese  dioxide,  extremely  valuable  as  an  iron  toughen- 
ing material  and  in  great  demand  for  war  munition  purposes,  had 
been  found  in  the  Cypress  Hills  of  south-east  Alberta;  that  800,000 
tons,  worth  approximately  $54,400,000,  had  been  blocked  out  by 
ordinary  post  hole  augers  in  a  few  months  and  its  product  sold  to 
the  British  War  Office.  It  was  stated  that  J.  F.  Reilly,  the  Engineer 
in  charge,  represented  Hersey  and  other  Montreal  interests.  Another 
story  from  Edmonton  in  August  was  that  large  Nickel  deposits 
had  been  found  by  H.  V  Dardier,  a  Vickers-Maxim  engineer,  and 
20  other  men,  in  the  Fond-du-Lac  district — 2,800  miles  north  of 
that  city. 

There  also  was  steady  development  in  the  Oil  industry.  The 
Viking  district  supplied  Edmonton  with  ample  natural  gas  and  in 
the  Calgary  oil  district  there  were  9  producing  wells  in  August, 
1917;  there  also  was  a  considerable  gasoline  output  with  the  South- 
ern Alberta  Refining  Co.  paying  a  10%  dividend;  New  York  capital- 
ists during  the  year  went  into  the  Athabasca  district  with  a  view  to 
its  immense  new  resources  taking  the  place  of  the  depleted  American 
wells;  in  the  Commons  on  June  14  Hon.  Frank  Oliver  asked  for  a 
bounty  on  Alberta  oil  as  was  given  in  Ontario  and  Sir  Geo.  Foster 
promised  consideration;  the  proven  Calgary  oil-fields  were  put  at 
12,000  acres;  J.  J.  Rutledge  of  Peace  River  told  the  Bulletin  (Oct. 
29)  that  Peace  River  Oil  Co.  samples,  which  he  showed,  stood 
140  feet  in  the  well  and  poured  in  as  fast  it  as  was  baled  out — with 
a  quality  of  50%  lubricant  and  50%  illuminating;  Lord  Rhondda's 
agent  in  that  region  (W.  J.  George)  who  also  was  in  Edmonton  at 
this  time,  expressed  absolute  faith  in  the  oil  prospects  of  Northern 
Alberta — as  did  J.  D.  Me  Arthur  upon  many  occasions.  The 
activities  of  Hon.  Duncan  Marshall  as  Minister  of  Agriculture 
continued  during  this  year.  His  Report  for  Dec.  31,  1916,  described 
a  successful  year  for  the  farmers  with  the  average  yield  of  wheat  as 
28  bushels  per  acre  compared  with  20*16  bushels  in  an  11-year 
period,  45  bushels  of  oats  against  36'99,  and  30  bushels  of  barley 
compared  with  26'60  in  the  11  years.  H.  A.  Craig,  Deputy  Minister, 
dealt  with  various  branches  of  1916  work  or  development  and  the 
Provincial  Schools  of  Agriculture  which  had  been  such  a  successful 
branch  of  Mr.  Marshall's  policy  and  gave  the  following  facts :  Clares- 
holm,  100  students  for  1917  with  W.  J.  Stephen,  B.A.,  B.S.A.,  as 
Principal,  and  12  other  instructors;  Olds  with  134  pupils,  W.  J. 
Elliott,  B.S.A.,  as  Principal  and  13  others  on  the  Staff;  Vermilion 


790  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

with  71  students,  F.  S.  Grisdale,  B.S.A.,  Principal,  and  9  others  on 
the  Staff.  The  War  had  made  a  difference  in  the  attendance,  many 
of  these  pupils  were  girls,  others,  no  doubt,  were  taken  by  the  volun- 
tary call  of  1917  or  the  Conscription  law  of  a  later  period.  Reports 
were  given  from  the  Provincial  Veterinarian,  Live-stock  and  Dairy 
Commissioners,  Superintendents  of  Fairs  and  Institutes,  Women's 
Institutes,  and  Seed  and  Weed  Branch,  the  Poultry  Superintendent 
and  by  other  officials  as  to  Brands,  Game,  Fires,  Sanitation,  Pro- 
vincial Laboratory,  Public  Health,  Publicity  and  Crop  Statistics. 
Vital  statistics  showed  13,331  births  in  1916,  4,230  marriages,  and 
4,058  deaths. 

Federal  statistics  showed  that  between  1911  and  1916  the  number 
of  farm  holdings  in  Alberta  increased  from  61,496,  with  an  acreage 
of  17,751,899  to  67,977  holdings  with  an  acreage  of  23,062,767, 
and  that  23,062,767  acres  or  14'24  per  cent,  was  occupied  as  farm 
land  out  of  a  total  of  97,000,000  acres  estimated  as  being  available 
for  crop  production.  The  total  acreage  planted  to  field  crops  in 
1916  was  5,505,872  acres,  as  compared  with  3,378,362  acres  in  1911, 
being  an  increase  of  2,127,510  acres  or  more  than  62*9%  in  five  years. 
The  total  value  of  these  field  crops  in  1915  was  $95,586,907  compared 
with  a  total  value  of  $18,015,274  for  the  crops  of  1910  and  the  aver- 
age value  of  crops  per  farm  in  1915  was  $1,400  as  compared  with 
$277  in  1910.  During  these  six  years,  in  the  number  of  horses  and 
mules,  there  was  an  increase  of  227,035  or  55'8%;  in  cattle  of 
420,365  or56'8%;  in  sheep  159,028  or  119%,  and  in  Swine  366,043 
or  153-9%. 

Meanwhile  farm  values  were  greatly  increasing — around  Edmon- 
ton the  Bulletin  estimated  the  increase  at  50%  on  Nov.  12;  the  total 
value  of  Agricultural  products  in  1916  was  estimated  at  $174,000,000 
and  of  Live-stock  at  $118,000,000 — by  the  Provincial  Statistician. 
The  Minister  of  Agriculture  aimed  at  increasing  production  and 
assisting  Live-stock.  On  Feb.  14,  1917,  Mr.  Marshall  said  at  Cal- 
gary: "The  Government  is  prepared  to  assist  the  stocking  of  Alberta 
with  the  best  stock,  to  encourage  the  formation  of  neighbourhood 
Associations  of  five  men  who  will  back  each  other's  notes  to  the 
extent  of  $500  each  and  secure  further  backing  to  that  amount  from 
the  Government,  the  money  to  be  expended  in  live-stock  but  no 
more  than  $500  for  any  one  man."  On  Mar.  15  the  Minister  told 
the  Legislature  that  4  more  Agricultural  Schools  would  be  built — 
one  of  them  at  once:  "Our  experience  in  connection  with  these 
schools  has  been  that  80%  of  the  boys  come  from  within  a  radius 
of  75  miles.  If  it  had  not  been  for  war  conditions  our  three  Schools 
would  have  been  crowded  out  last  year."  At  the  close  of  the  year 
Mr.  Marshall  took  up  the  increase  of  Hog  production  and  announced 
the  sale  of  breeding  animals  to  farmers  at  cost  with  600  immediately 
available.  The  total  Agricultural  product  of  Alberta  in  1917  was 
nearly  $89,871,154  in  excess  of  1916  and  the  values  of  Live- 
stock $19,230,298  in  excess.  The  Provincial  official  figures  were  as 
follows : 


ALBERTA:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  PROGRESS      791 


ESTIMATED  YIELDS  AND  VALUES 
Yield 


Crops 

Acreage 

Bushels  per  Acre 

Price 

Revenue 

Spring  Wheat  

2,845,647 

52,644,469 

18^ 

$2 

.00 

$105,288,938 

Winter  Wheat  

51,693 

1,214,785 

23  Y-i 

2 

00 

2,429,570 

Oats  

2,537,883 

84,384,610 

331A 

.60 

50,630,766 

Barley  

472,112 

10,504,492 

22  y± 

1 

00 

10,504,492 

Flax  

139,827 

1,115,572 

8k' 

?, 

50 

2,888,920 

Rye  

30,883 

787,516 

25H 

1 

.50 

1,181,274 

Other  Grain  Crops  

49,114 

393,912 

18 

1 

00 

393,912 

Hay  (Tons)  

492,522 

493,522 

1 

10 

.00 

4,925,220 

Potatoes  

48,917 

7,337,550 

150 

60 

4,402,530 

Turnips  

5,746 

1,149,200 

200 

.50 

574,600 

Carrots  

5,199 

1,039,800 

200 

50 

519,900 

Animals  slaughtered  and  sold. 

45,000,000 

Dairy  Products  

25,000,000 

Wool  clip  (2,086,633  Ibs.)  

1,181,682 

Game  and  furs  

2,000,000 

Horticultural  

175,000 

Poultry  and  product  

3,500,000 

Total  acres  (grain)  6,127,159,  1917— Total  Value $260,596,804 

INCREASE   AND  VALUE  OP  LIVE-STOCK 

Number  Price  Value 

Horses 718,317  $100       $  71,831,700 

Swine 730,237  15  10,953,555 

Sheep 276,966  8  2,215,328 

Dairy  Cows 325,861  60  19,551,660 

Calves 363,583  M)  3,635,830 

Steers 187,538  40  7,501,520 

Other  Cattle 616,671  30  18,500,130 

Bulls 41,861  75  3,139,575 

Total,   1917 $137,329,298 

The  Hon.  Wilfrid  Gariepy  as  Minister  of  Municipal  Affairs 
dealt  in  his  annual  Report  with  the  changes  of  condition  in  the 
fluctuating  and  far-flung  municipal  population.  He  had  in  John 
Perrie  an  efficient  Deputy  Minister  and  his  analysis  of  the  situation 
stated  that  "for  many  of  our  smaller  urban  organizations  the  year 
1916  was  a  time  of  adjustment — a  time  during  which  they  were 
reducing  their  expenditure  in  every  possible  way,  levying  as  high 
a  rate  of  taxation  as  they  could,  and  striving  to  clean  up  their  liabil- 
ities." In  this  they  were  largely  successful  but,  in  some,  the  adjust- 
ment process  continued  through  1917.  One  trouble  was  general- 
abnormal  assessments  of  land  which  had  accompanied  the  original 
inflated  values  in  real  estate  and  had  left  a  legacy  of  arrears  in  taxes 
and  other  financial  problems:  "With  the  reduction  of  assessed 
values  has  come  a  widening  of  the  basis  of  taxation.  This  is 
evidently  the  result  of  a  desire  to  place  the  municipal  burden  as 
directly  as  possible  on  the  shoulders  of  all  who  benefit  by  the  ex- 
istence of  the  municipality.  .  .  .  While  the  changes  in  taxation 
may  seem  drastic,  they  may  be  necessary,  in  order  to  bring  about 
satisfactory  financial  conditions."  Mr.  Perrie  pointed  out  that  the 
operation  of  each  city  under  separate  charter  made  uniformity  of 
legislation  and  unity  of  interests  impossible  and  urged  a  special 
City  Act;  he  reviewed  the  municipal  legislation  of  1917  and  especially 
the  change  of  Local  Districts  into  corporate  bodies  with  power  to 
constitute  much-needed  Hospital  districts ;  he  stated  that  there  were 
few  municipalities  erected  in  the  year  and  no  towns  or  cities  and 
described  the  Hail  insurance  legislation  as  changing  the  tax  from  a 
flat  rate  on  all  assessable  lands  to  a  flat  rate  of  5c.  per  acre  on  the 
assessable  lands  and  an  additional  rate  on  all  lands  under  crop, 


792  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

sufficient,  together,  to  pay  the  Hail  losses  for  the  year,  administra- 
tion expenses,  and  all  unpaid  Hail  losses  for  the  previous  year. 
There  were  at  the  close  of  1917  6  Cities,  49  towns,  109  villages,  88 
rural  municipalities  and  80  local  improvement  districts ;  the  total  of 
municipal  taxation  was  $434,731,520  and  the  average  rate  (rural) 
was  6*62  mills  on  the  dollar  and  (local)  6' 13  cents  per  acre,  in  rural 
school  districts  it  was  10  cents  per  acre;  the  total  cash  received  from 
municipal  taxation  was  $929,265.  Mr.  Gariepy  took  a  great  interest 
in  the  non-completion  of  the  Oliver-St.  Paul  de  Metis  section  of  the 
C.N.R.  running  through  his  constituency  and  the  discontent  as  to 
conditions  in  a  wide  district  which  he  represented.  Speaking  in 
the  House  on  Feb.  12  the  Minister  blamed  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment for  the  delay  as  they  had  lent  the  C.N.R.  large  sums  of  money 
and  not  insisted  upon  such  branches  as  this  being  completed.  Part 
of  the  money  to  do  it  was  actually  in  a  Bank  and  there  was  "no 
question  that  it  was  a  splendid  country;  no  question  about  its 
ability  to  produce ;  and  no  doubt  that  if  the  people  had  the  opportun- 
ity they  would  be  sending  farm  produce  in  large  quantities  to  mar- 
ket." The  C.N.R.  claimed  that  labour  difficulties  were  the  chief 
obstacle  and  that  they  had  50  miles  of  steel  and  ties  waiting  resump- 
tion of  work. 

As  Attorney-General,  Hon.  C.  W.  Cross  was  not  much  concerned 
with  Reports  but  he  did  issue  a  handsome  volume,  as  to  Dependant 
and  Delinquent  Children,  every  year.  During  1917  this  Branch  of 
his  Department  cared  for  905  such  children  and  A.  M.  McDonald, 
Superintendent,  expressed  strong  views  as  to  the  illegitimate  ones, 
numbering  89,  with  personal  approval  of  the  Norway  system  in 
which,  with  the  Mother's  permission,  the  child  took  its  Father's 
name  and  inherited  a  claim  to  his  maintenance  and  a  proportion 
of  his  estate.  Of  many  moral  delinquents  in  Alberta,  dealt  with 
in  the  Report,  the  child's  father  was  Overseas  and  the  child  beyond 
the  mother's  control  with  ages  running  from  7  to  16;  in  19  cases  the 
child  had  seen  crime  committed  in  Moving  Pictures  and  during  the 
year  1,500  children  appeared  before  the  80  Juvenile  Court  Com- 
missioners of  the  Province.  The  Provincial  Secretary  (Hon.  A.  J. 
McLean)  published  his  Report  for  1916  in  March,  1917,  and  showed 
taxes  or  receipts  of  $536,889  or  an  increase  of  $137,000,  collected 
from  corporations,  railways,  motor  vehicles,  theatres  and  theatre 
patrons,  licenses,  etc.,  with  the  incorporation  of  201  Companies 
capitalized  at  $17,386,000  and  19  certificates  issued  to  extra-Provin- 
cial companies,  tip  to  July  31,  1917,  the  Department  issued  17,700 
motor-car  licenses  compared  with  9,703  in  the  whole  of  1916. 

The  5th  Session  of  the  3rd  Legislature  was  opened  by  Lieut. - 
Governor  R.  G.  Brett  on  Feb.  6th  with  a  Speech  from  the  Throne 
which  referred  to  the  change  in  the  Governor-Generalship  and  to 
the  12  members  of  the  Assembly  who  had  enlisted  for  active  service; 
declared  that  "My  Government  feels  that  Legislative  recognition 
is  due  to  the  many  soldiers  who  have  gone  abroad  in  defence  of  the 
Empire  and,  while  recognizing  the  practical  impossibility,  in  face  of 
a  general  election  before  the  conclusion  of  the  War,  of  taking  their 
votes  in  the  ordinary  way  for  practically  all  the  thousands  of  polling 


ALBERTA:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  PROGRESS     793 

divisions  of  Alberta  upon  one  day,  has  decided  as  a  special  recogni- 
tion to  create  by  legislation  two  constituencies  at  large  for  the 
Province  of  Alberta,  of  which  the  members  will  be  elected  solely  by 
the  votes  of  the  soldiers  of  Alberta  abroad,  with  ample  time  to  be 
fixed  by  returning  officers  for  nomination  and  election,  and  under  the 
sole  supervision  of  the  soldiers  themselves";  stated  that  the  War 
was  bringing  the  people  and  the  Government  closer  together  in  a 
co-operation  needed  to  strengthen  the  Government  in  its  greater 
responsibilities  and  in  making  firm  the  foundation  of  the  Province 
so  that  "it  will  sustain  the  immense  structure  that,  with  careful 
building,  is  bound  to  develop  out  of  the  great  wealth  of  natural 
resources,  mines,  fisheries,  immense  agricultural  possibilities  and  the 
countless  immigrants  looking  for  new  fields  of  enterprise  after  the 
Declaration  of  Peace";  observed  on  behalf  of  the  Government  that 
"the  railway  and  telephone  development,  already  great,  will  be 
continued;  the  building  of  trunk  roads,  already  so  successful,  will 
receive  greater  attention;  the  Agricultural  Schools,  which  have  re- 
ceived unstinted  praise  from  high  authorities,  will  require  to  be 
increased  in  numbers;  the  Technical  Institute  for  Vocational  Train- 
ing, already  started  on  an  expensive  scale,  largely  as  an  immediate 
assistance  in  the  training  of  soldiers  in  new  means  of  livelihood, 
must  be  continued  not  only  for  that  purpose  but  as  an  integral  part 
of  the  Provincial  Educational  system;  the  assistance  already  so 
generously  given  returned  soldiers  and  the  dependants  of  those 
still  at  war  must  be  continued  till  all  have  found  remunerative 
employment."  So  with  provision  for  additional  Hospital  accom- 
modation for  settlers,  long-time  Loans  on  Farm  property,  short- 
term  Loans  on  co-operative  principles.  The  Address  was  moved 
by  H.  W.  McKenney  and  J.  A.  McColl — the  latter  making  the 
important  statement:  "That  the  rates  of  interest  at  present  charged 
farmers  for  loans  are  eight,  ten  and  sometimes  12%;  that  beef 
cattle  are  on  the  decrease  all  over  the  Dominion  due  to  the  fact 
that  farmers  are  compelled  to  sell  their  young  breeding  stock  because 
unable  to  get  lines  of  credit  from  the  Banking  institutions."  Mr. 
McKenney  stated  as  to  the  Premier's  Railway  policy  that  "the 
linking  up  of  the  great  waterways  of  the  North  with  the  railway 
systems  to  the  South  is  one  of  the  greatest  things  that  has  ever 
been  done  in  this  country." 

Mr.  Michener,  as  Opposition  Leader,  in  his  criticisms  took  up 
much  of  the  ground  he  had  covered  in  the  Budget  debate,  claimed 
that  he  had  long  been  advocating  a  system  of  rural  credits,  favoured 
appointment  of  a  Board  to  supervise  Hotels  with  either  women 
upon  it,  or  men  approved  by  women's  organizations,  declared  that 
the  Government  had  brought  the  soldiers  into  politics,  without 
giving  them  adequate  representation.  He  suggested  that  the  Wild 
Lands  Tax  be  applied  to  rural  Hospital  purposes.  Mr.  Premier 
Sifton  replied  at  length  and  analyzed  the  Opposition  policy.  As 
to  obtaining  control  of  Provincial  resources  he  declared  that  "until 
the  people  of  these  Prairie  Provinces  have  sufficient  representation 
in  the  Federal  House  they  will  not  receive  justice  from  any  Dom- 
inion Government."  A.  F.  Ewing  (Cons.)  followed  the  Premier 


794  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  Lucien  Beaudreau  (Lib.)  endorsed  Conscription,  defended 
Quebec,  and  supported  a  two-year  extension  of  the  Legislature  and, 
though  representing  a  French  and  German  constituency,  favoured 
direct  taxation  for  the  Patriotic  Fund.  The  Hon.  C.  R.  Mitchell 
denounced  Mr.  Michener  for  his  continued  statement  that  the 
Province  owed  indirect  Railway  liabilities  of  59  millions  and  a 
direct  Debt  of  29  millions,  and  declared  that  from  the  former  sum 
should  be  deducted  $15,000,000  of  Railway  bonds  authorized,  but 
not  issued  and  not  guaranteed,  by  the  Province.  He  pointed  out 
that  the  Government  had  been  generous  to  Education  to  which 
the  grants  had  gone  up  from  $317,411  in  1910  to  $505,163  in  1916, 
or  a  total  of  $3,298,305  in  7  years,  and  described  the  railway  mileage 
at  the  close  of  1916  as  follows:  C.N.R.,  778  steel,  248  grade;  G.T.P., 
259  steel;  E.D.  &  B.C.,  407  steel,  54  grade;  Central  Canada,  49 
steel;  A.  &  G.W.,  212  steel,  78  grade;  total,  1,706  steel,  380  grade." 
As  to  an  Opposition  charge  that  a  sum  of  $535,000  in  connection 
with  certain  Loans  had  disappeared  Mr.  Mitchell  stated  that  the 
exact  amount  was  $543,774  made  up  of  $334,994  interest  paid  on 
loans,  and  $208,780  underwriting  charges,  both  amounts  being  paid 
in  London,  where  the  Loan  for  the  Railway  Company  was  placed  on 
the  market:  "The  bonds  had  not  been  sold  for  two  years  after 
issue  but  in  the  meantime  the  Railway  Company  negotiated  two 
other  loans,  the  interest  on  which  had  to  be  paid  when  the  sale  of 
the  issue  was  effected."  Mr.  Michener  returned  to  this  subject  on 
Mar.  29  and  declared  that  "the  Guarantee  Act  did  not  permit 
payment  of  interest  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  principal  sale  of  the 
bonds  for  advances  made  to  the  Company.  The  money  was  to  be 
paid  out  on  progress  estimates  of  work  done  so  that  the  $334,934 
could  not  be  accounted  for  in  this  way."  Neither  were  the  bonds 
sold  at  89%,  as  stated,  but  at  91  J/£— a  difference  of  $115,000,  with  a 
consequent  shortage  of  $448,000  on  the  sale  of  the  Canadian  Northern 
Western  Railway  bonds  of  £1,320,000  sterling.  He  demanded  a 
Commission.  The  Premier  in  reply  said  that  the  matter  lay  be- 
tween the  Trust  Companies  and  the  Banks,  that  the  Government 
had  not  handled  the  money,  that  the  Provincial  Treasurer  had  been 
mistaken  in  the  original  price  which  was  91  %  and  the  public  price 
93  which  would  leave  a  difference  necessary  for  the  brokers,  etc. 
He  pointed  out  that  the  Opposition  Leader  had  made  no  concrete 
charge  against  anyone,  that  there  was  nothing  to  investigate  and 
read  a  cable  from  Lazard  Bros.,  London,  saying  that  Mr.  Michener  and 
his  informant  had  confused  two  separate  bond  issues.  The  Premier 
absolutely  refused  a  Commission  and  the  record  of  the  Resolution 
and  Amendment  was,  in  the  main,  as  follows: 

1.  RESOLUTION  (Mr.  Michener) :   1 .  That  the  Minister  of  Railways  has  improperly 
permitted  the  payment  out  to  Railway  interests  from  the  proceeds  of  guaranteed 
bonds  large  sums  of  money  on  false  and  fraudulent  estimates. 

2.  That  no  proper  supervision  has  been  exercised  by  the  Minister  of  Railways 
nor  by  any  Member  or  official  of  the  Government  to  ensure  that  the  entire  proceeds 
of  sales  of   bond  issues  are  paid  into  a  Chartered  Bank  according  to  law,  and  as  a 
result  of  such  negligence  large  sums  of  money  which  by  law  should  have  been  used 
in  railway  construction  have  been  diverted  to  private  interests. 


ALBERTA:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  PROGRFSS      795 

8.  That  as  a  result  of  misleading  and  incorrect  statements  conveyed  to  this 
House  by  the  Minister  of  Railways,  this  House  was  induced  to  authorize  guarantee 
of  bonds  to  the  Railways  controlled  by  J.  D.  Me  Arthur  and  his  associates  covering 
over  900  miles  in  all,  to  an  amount  exceeding  the  actual  cost  of  such  Railways  by  more 
than  $5,000  per  mile. 

II.  AMENDMENT  (Mr.  Sifton) :  1.  The  procedure  followed  in  the  payment  of  estim- 
ates by  the  Railway  Department  of  the  Alberta  Government  on  Railway  construc- 
tion, assisted  by  Government  guarantees  is  an  absolute  safeguard  to  the  mortgage 
security  of  the  Province. 

2.  The  careful  supervision  along  the  lines  of  this  procedure  exercised  by  the 
Government  has  resulted  in  the  economical  construction  of  over  1,760  miles  of  guar- 
anteed railway  lines  in  the  Province  that  would  not  otherwise  have  been  built. 

3.  The  assistance  so  given  by  the  Government  to  guaranteed  lines  has  largely 
forced  the  construction  of  other  lines  of  railway  in  the  Province  showing  a  result 
within  the  last  seven  years  of  3,000  miles  of  new  railway  at  an  approximate  expendi- 
ture within  the  Province  of  over  $50,000,000. 

4.  In  every  matter  connected  with  the  guaranteeing  or  construction  of  said 
Railways  of  interest  to  this  House,  the  Government  has  at  all  times  given  the  fullest, 
the  frankest  and  most  reliable  information,  and  this  House  has  acted  upon  the  in- 
formation, given  with  the  fullest  confidence  that  their  action  would  result  in  increased 
railway  production,  and  increased  prosperity  for  the  people  of  Alberta. 

Meanwhile  many  speeches  were  made  on  the  Address  and,  on 
Feb.  27,  after  three  weeks  of  a  debate,  evidently  prolonged  on  account 
of  coming  Elections,  the  Opposition  moved  an  amendment  (G. 
Hoadley  and  A.  Patterson)  expressing  regret  that  "the  Government 
has  not  seen  fit  to  investigate  before  a  Royal  Commission  the  serious 
charges  made  in  the  House  in  its  Session  of  1916  against  the  Attorney- 
General  and  the  Minister  of  Railways  and  Telephones,  thereby 
violating  an  essential  principle  of  Parliamentary  Government,*' 
which  was  defeated  by  26  to  12  and  the  Address  then  passed  unani- 
mously. During  the  ensuing  Session  the  Opposition  put  itself  on 
record  in  a  series  of  Resolutions  which  were  amended  or  defeated  as 
follows : 

1.  Opposition  Resolution,  defeated  by  24  to  12:  That,  inasmuch  as  the  Telephone 
System  of  the  Province  of  Alberta  is,  through  mismanagement  and  waste  in  con- 
struction, much  over-capitalized,  and  as  a  result  has  been  run  at  a  loss  to  the  Province 
of  approximately  $2,000,000,  and  because  of  the  fact  that  the  Government  has  failed 
to  give  this  Legislature  accurate  information,  and  has  destroyed  documents  involv- 
ing the  expenditure  of  millions  of  dollars  without  first  having  obtained  permission 
from  the  Legislative  Assembly  to  destroy  such  documents:  Therefore,  in  the  opinion 
of  this  House  a  competent  Commission  should  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  making 
an  independent  audit  and  an  examination  of  the  assets  of  the  Telephone  Department 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  actual  value  thereof. 

1.  Government  Amendment,  carried  by  24  to  12:  That  as  the  Telephone  Company 
has  by  careful  management  and  economy  in  construction  earned  a  surplus  to  Dec.  31, 
1916,  of  $394,094,  as  shown  by  the  Public  Accounts;  has  regularly  submitted  to  the 
Legislature  full  and  complete  annual  reports  and  also  all  additional  accurate  informa- 
tion asked  for  and  has  permanently  retained  all  essential  records:    Therefore,  this 
Legislature  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  accounting  routines  of  the  Alberta  Government 
Telephone  System,  which  conform  in  general  principle  to  the  standard  uniform  sys- 
tem of  telephone  accounts,  are  well  adapted  to  and  consistent  with  the  present  needs 
of  the  System,  and  having  consideration  for  the  high  class  of  construction,  the  extent 
of  the  area  covered,  the  class  of  country  and  the  sparsity  of  population,  that  construc- 
tion has  been  so  economically  carried  out  as  to  permit  of  the  people  of  Alberta  en- 
joying an  extensive  service  of  the  highest  quality  and  at  lower  rates  than  any  similar 
system  now  in  operation. 

2.  Opposition  Resolution,  defeated  by  24  to  12:  That  every  person  serving  in  the 
military  forces  of  Great  Britain  or  her  Allies  in  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  France,  Bel- 


796  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

gium,  or  in  any  part  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  outside  of  the  Province  of  Alberta, 
raised  for  service  in  the  present  war,  who  at  the  time  of  enlistment  was  a  resident 
of  the  Province  of  Alberta,  or  who  resided  in  the  Province  of  Alberta  for  six  months 
immediately  preceding  the  date  on  which  he  or  she  left  the  Province  for  the  purpose 
of  being  appointed  to,  or  enlisting  in,  or  joining  such  forces,  shall,  notwithstanding 
their  absence  from  the  electoral  district  or  from  the  Province  of  Alberta,  be  entitled 
to  vote  in  the  electoral  district  in  which  he  or  she  was  last  so  resident  in  the  next 
general  election  of  the  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Province  of  Alberta. 
For  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  this  provision,  according  to  the  true  intent 
and  meaning  thereof,  this  Act  shall  be  read  as  one  with  The  Alberta  Elections  Act. 

3.  Opposition  Resolution,  defeated  by  34  to  12:  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  House 
the  abolition  of  political  patronage  is  in  the  interest  of  the  people,  and  that  all  ap- 
pointments to  the  public  service  and  all  promotions  therein  should  be  placed  under 
the  control  of  an  independent  Public  Service  Commission. 

3.  Government  Amendment,  carried  by  24-  to  12:  Appointments  and  promotions 
in  the  Civil  Service  of  the  Province  of  Alberta  should  continue  to  be  based  solely 
upon  qualification  and  merit,  and  permanently  maintained  independent  of  political 
party  influences.  And  this  House  further  recommends  to  the  Government  that  a 
standardization  and  classification  of  Civil  Service  be  made  with  a  provision  for  deduc- 
tion of  pay  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  retiring  allowance. 

3.  Opposition  Amendment  to  Amendment,  defeated  by  23  to  13:  That  in  the  opinion 
of  this  House  the  abolition  of  political  patronage  in  both  Provincial  and  Federal 
affairs  is  in  the  interest  of  the  people  and  that  appointments  to  the  Public  Service 
and  promotions  therein  should  be  placed  under  the  control  of  independent  Public 
Service  Commissioners. 

4.  Opposition  Resolution,  defeated  by  26  to  12:  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  House 
The  Wild  Lands  Tax  Act  should  be  amended  to  provide  that  the  Revenue  derived 
therefrom  shall  be  applied  in  the  -establishment  and  maintenance  of  a  system  of 
Free  Hospitals  for  the  Rural  Districts  of  the  Province. 

In  answer  to  questions  during  the  Session  Hon.  J.  R.  Boyle 
stated  that  the  Government  controlled  an  English  School  for  Foreign- 
ers at  Vegreville  which  in  1912-16  cost  $42,362  and  was  for  the  train- 
ing of  young  men  who  had  been  in  the  Province  for  two  years  and 
wanted  an  education  in  English;  Hon.  Mr.  Sifton  stated  that  35 
miles  were  graded  on  the  Lacombe  &  Blindman  Valley  Railway 
to  date  with  Government  payments  of  $128,647  and  a  default  in 
interest  under  which  the  Province  had  so  far  paid  $20,517;  Hon. 
Mr.  Gariepy  stated  that  up  to  Feb.  1,  1917,  $203,774  had  been  col- 
lected under  the  Wild  Lands  Tax  with  $681,402  levied  and  8,090,934 
acres  assessed.  Incidents  of  the  Session  included  the  Opposition 
criticism  of  the  Government  preparations  for  an  Election  in  war- 
time and  obvious  willingness  to  extend  the  time  of  the  Legislature 
as  opposed  to  their  tendency  in  1916  to  favour  an  Election;  the 
statement  by  Hon.  Mr.  Marshall  that  there  would  be  no  difficulty 
in  getting  2,500  men  from  the  United  States  for  seeding  work  at 
$40  or  $50  a  month;  the  remark  of  the  Minister  of  Education  on  Mar. 
21  that  "the  four  Western  Provinces  were  working  together  on  a 
new  set  of  books  which  would  incorporate  the  deeds  of  the  Canadian 
and  Empire  heroes  during  the  present  war,  and  that  a  recent  deputa- 
tion from  the  Daughters  of  the  Empire  in  regard  to  patriotic  litera- 
ture in  the  schools  was  surprised  to  learn  that  the  rural  school 
libraries  were  better  supplied  than  the  list  sent  to  them  for  consider- 
ation. There  was  a  good  deal  of  important  Government  legislation 
during  the  Session.  The  most  important  was  the  Alberta  Farm 
Loan  Act  which  provided  for  the  Government  loan  of  money  on 


ALBERTA:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  PROGRESS     797 

1st  mortgages  of  farm  lands  in  the  Province  up  to  40%  of  their 
appraised  value,  calculated  on  the  basis  of  value  and  productiveness 
when  the  improvements  in  respect  of  which  the  loan  was  desired 
had  been  made;  the  maximum  amount  loaned  to  any  one  person 
fixed  at  $5,000  and  the  borrower  to  be  actually  engaged  in,  or  in- 
tending to  be  engaged  in,  agriculture,  stock-raising  or  dairying,  and 
to  satisfy  the  Board  that  he  had  experience  and  ability  to  carry  on 
the  same  successfully;  the  rate  of  interest  charged  on  loans  to  be 
sufficient  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  money  raised  for  loan  purposes 
by  the  sale  of  Government  bonds  or  other  securities  and  the  costs 
of  raising  the  money  and  the  expense  of  conducting  the  business  of 
the  Board;  every  mortgage  to  be  for  30  years  but  after  the  expira- 
tion of  five  years  from  the  date  of  mortgage  the  mortgagor  to  have 
the  privilege  of  paying,  on  any  interest  day  and  on  account  of  the 
mortgage,  the  sum  of  $25  or  any  multiple  of  $25 ;  the  general  manage- 
ment of  the  affairs  of  the  Board  to  be  in  the  hands  of  a  Commissioner 
of  Farm  Loans  who  would  devote  all  his  time  to  the  performance  of 
the  duties  of  his  office.  The  sum  of  $10,000  was  appropriated  to 
put  the  Board  in  operation. 

The  Alberta  Co-Operative  Credit  Act  made  provision  whereby 
from  30  to  100  persons  carrying  on  farming,  ranching,  stock  raising, 
dairying  or  other  like  operations,  or  agreeing  to  carry  on  such  pur- 
suits within  one  year,  inside  a  radius  of  30  miles  from  the  location 
chosen  as  the  chief  place  of  business,  could  organize  a  Society  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  short-term  loans  for  its  members  upon  the 
individual  security  of  the  borrower,  backed  by  the  credit  of  the 
Society,  and  the  lender  be  guaranteed  against  loss  by  the  Province 
to  an  amount  equal  to  one-half  the  capital  stock  of  the  Society  and 
by  one  or  more  municipalities  for  an  equal  amount.  It  was  the 
duty  of  the  Director  to  arrange  with  any  chartered  bank,  financial 
corporation,  firm  or  person,  for  loans  to  the  members  of  the  Society 
for  (a)  the  purchase  of  seed,  feed  and  other  farm  supplies;  (b)  the 

Eurchase  of  implements  and  machinery;  (c)  the  purchase  of  cows, 
orses,  sheep  and  other  live-stock;  (d)  the  payment  of  the  cost  of 
preparing  for  cultivation  and  of  carrying  on  the  season's  operations. 
Borrowers  were  to  repay  all  loans  not  later  than  the  31st  of  January 
next  after  receiving  the  same — except  in  a  case  where  the  loan  was 
granted  for  purposes  not  fully  productive  within  one  year.  The 
rate  of  interest  in  every  case  to  be  that  agreed  upon  between  the 
Society  and  the  lender,  and  out  of  the  interest  an  amount  sufficient 
to  cover  the  cost  of  administration  and  a  reserve  fund  was  to  be  paid 
to  the  Society  by  the  lender  as  soon  as  the  loan  and  interest  had 
been  paid.  A  Live-Stock  Encouragement  Act  provided  that  any 
five  or  more  persons  engaged  in  practical  farming  in  the  Province 
could  jointly  apply  to  the  Live-Stock  Commissioner  for  a  loan  not 
to  exceed  $500  each  for  the  purpose  of  buying  cows  and  heifers. 
The  five  or  more  signing  the  application  were  to  constitute  an 
association.  An  immense  number  of  details  were  given  and  the 
Commissioner  stood  in  the  position  of  a  mortgagor  to  the  Associa- 
tion and  its  members. 


798  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  Liquor  Act  was  largely  amended  so  that  dentists  and  veter- 
inary surgeons  were  to  fyle  monthly  statements,  chemists  and  drug- 
gists to  have  and  sell  for  medicinal  purposes  only  combinations  of 
alcohol,  as  to  which  the  formula  was  approved  by  the  Govern- 
ment; the  quantity  of  liquor  to  be  kept  in  a  private  house  was  limited 
to  1  quart  spirituous  and  2  gallons  malt,  liquor  warehouses  for  export 
sale  were  abolished;  persons  beyond  the  express  radius  were  per- 
mitted to  carry  home  the  legal  quantity  of  liquor,  canvassing  or 
soliciting  orders  were  abolished;  full  permission  for  entry  into 
private  houses  for  search  was  given.  The  Alberta  Provincial  Police 
Act  constituted  this  force  with  the  usual  Police  duties  and  special 
authority  as  to  liquor  violations  or  supposed  infraction  of  the  law; 
a  Reclamation  Act  was  prepared  with  the  approval  of  and  by  arrange- 
ment with  the  Dominion  Government  and  provided  for  the  drainage 
and  reclamation  of  unpatented  lands  under  four  different  schemes; 
the  Dower  Act  gave  a  wife  a  life  interest  in  the  share  of  her  husband 
in  the  homestead  and  "homestead"  was  interpreted  to  mean  "the 
land  on  which  the  house  occupied  by  the  owner  thereof  as  his  resi- 
dence is  situated,  consisting  of  not  more  than  one  quarter  section," 
or  in  a  city,  town  or  village  "the  land,  consisting  of  not  more  than 
four  lots  as  shown  on  a  duly  registered  plan"  and  no  sale,  mortgage 
or  transfer  was  legal  after  May  1  without  the  consent  in  writing  of 
the  wife;  under  the  Seed  Grain  Act  the  Provincial  Treasurer  or 
Minister  of  Agriculture  was  authorized  to  advance  moneys  up  to 
$75,000,  in  total,  to  "owners  or  occupiers  of  patented  lands  or  to 
the  wives  or  other  representatives  of  such  persons  who  were  on 
active  military  or  naval  service."  The  Seed  Grain  Act,  in  respect 
to  Dominion  loans  in  1915,  modified  in  some  measure  the  security 
granted  by  that  Act;  Wolf  bounties  were  increased,  the  Stallion 
Enrolment  Act  amended  in  various  important  directions,  the  War 
Veterans  were  incorporated,  the  Government  was  authorized  to 
borrow  $2,500,000  for  public  purposes. 

In  respect  to  the  1916  loss  of  $262,000  by  the  Hail  Insurance 
Board  the  Government  was  authorized  to  guarantee  the  payment 
of  the  Board's  liability  in  the  matter;  a  special  Act  authorized  the 
public  to  purchase  Provincial  Savings  Certificates  of  $10,  $100  and 
$1,000  at  par,  payable  on  demand  and  bearing  5%  interest;  the 
Factories  Act  was  a  long  and  elaborate  measure  providing  in  many 
details  for  the  life,  health  and  well-being  of  employees  in  factories, 
shops,  offices  and  public  buildings,  with  male  and  female  Inspectors, 
defined  wages  and  hours  of  labour,  in  many  cases  stringent  sanitary 
clauses,  etc. ;  the  School  Ordinance  was  amended  as  to  Consolidated 
School  districts  and  conditions;  the  Rural  Municipality  Act  was 
amended  to  extend  office  of  Councillors  from  one  to  two  years  and 
to  assist  residents  of  isolated  communities  in  the  much-mooted 
physician  question ;  Local  Improvement  Districts  were  incorporated 
and  given  power  to  vote  grants  to  a  medical  man ;  the  Patriotic  Tax 
Act  made  provision  for  any  urban  or  rural  municipality  or  local 
improvement  district  to  levy  a  tax  for  the  Canadian  Patriotic  Fund 
of  Alberta — the  rate  of  taxation  to  be  levied  for  this  purpose  not 
being  limited;  the  Municipal  Co-Operative  Hail  Insurance  Act 


ALBERTA:  GOVERNMENT,  LEGISLATION  AND  PROGRESS      799 

was  amended  so  that  the  system  of  taxation  for  Hail  purposes  was 
changed  from  a  flat  rate  on  assessment  lands  to  a  flat  rate  of 
five  cents  per  acre,  to  pay  all  hail  losses  for  the  year,  administration 
expenses  and  unpaid  awards  of  former  years ;  the  Rural  Municipality 
and  the  Local  Improvement  Acts  were  enlarged  to  permit  of  help 
in  the  essential  matter  of  rural  Hospitals  or  physicians.  Under 
other  Acts  British  qualified  physicians  were  allowed  special  terms 
of  registration  and  municipalities  were  allowed  to  assist  well-kept 
hotels.  Incidents  of  the  Session  included  the  various  amendments 
to  municipal  and  hospital  acts  which  enabled  the  Government  and 
the  people  to  start  a  seriously  needed  system  of  rural  hospitals. 
Apart  from  the  Hospitals  in  Edmonton  and  Calgary  there  were 
already  17  north  of  and  including  Red  Deer — Lacombe,  Wetaskiwin, 
Vegreville,  Pakan,  Lamont,  Grouard,  Camrose,  Grande  Prairie, 
Peace  River,  Stettler,  etc. — but  they  did  not  meet  the  emergent 
conditions  of  vast  spaces;  the  legal  status  of  women  was  greatly 
advanced  and  it  may  be  said  that  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  man, 
politically,  were  equally  bestowed  on  women  and  what  men  could 
do  in  business,  such  as  the  right  to  enjoy,  hold  and  administer 
property,  a  woman  could  also  do;  a  pamphlet  was  issued  by  the 
Government  providing  a  useful  summary  of  the  Session's  work; 
Mr.  Mitchell  fathered  the  Farm  Loans  Act  in  the  House,  Mr.  Mar- 
shall handled  several  important  Agricultural  Bills;  Mr.  Gariepy 
dealt  with  complex  and  useful  municipal  affairs  in  varied  changes  of 
the  law.  The  House  was  prorogued  on  Apr.  5. 

Prohibition  was  a  prominent  issue  of  the  year  as  it  was  every- 
where. In  February  the  Chief  Inspector  made  public  the  result 
of  six  months'  operation  of  the  Liquor  Act  (July  1  to  Dec.  31,  1916) 
in  which  the  arrests  for  drunkenness  in  the  6  chief  cities  of  the 
Province  were  155  compared  with  1,159  in  1915,  while  various  petty 
offences  had  greatly  decreased.  At  the  Convention  of  the  Temper- 
ance and  Moral  League,  Edmonton,  Feb.  14-15,  there  were  some 
criticisms  as  to  enforcement  which  Rev.  W.  F.  Gold,  Chief  Inspector, 
promptly  met;  the  main  difficulty  was  for  the  hotels  to  maintain 
themselves  and,  after  a  vigorous  speech  from  G.  Hilton,  Calgary, 
representing  the  Provincial  Commercial  Travellers,  a  Petition  was 
almost  unanimously  signed  and,  with  the  support  of  many  other 
organizations,  was  presented  to  the  Government  on  Feb.  22.  It 
urged  the  appointment  of  a  Commissioner  to  inquire  into,  regulate 
and  improve  conditions  of  hotel  accommodation  wherever  necessary. 
Resolutions  were  passed  at  this  meeting  (1)  urging  Federal  Pro- 
hibition as  a  war  measure ;  (2)  asking  for  a  Commission  to  administer 
the  Act,  (3)  requesting  clearing-up  amendments  to  the  law  and  an 
Act  dealing  with  and  prohibiting  gambling.  Rev.  A.  W.  Coone, 
Secretary,  and  Mrs.  Louise  McKinney,  urged  the  creation  of  Vigil- 
ance Committees  to  see  to  the  law  enforcement  and  the  former 
carried  a  Resolution  pledging  support  for  public  office  only  to  those 
who  favoured  the  League's  opinions.  Another  Resolution  submitted 
details  for  legislation  as  to  Venereal  diseases  and  the  Convention 
as  a  body  visited  a  picture  play  called  Damaged  Goods  and  by  80 
to  17  urged  its  presentation  throughout  the  Province;  after  this  it 


800  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

changed  its  name  to  the  Social  Service  League.  Legislation  during 
the  Session  met  some  of  the  difficulties  raised  as  to  poor  Hotels. 
On  Mar.  25  over  1,000  persons  waited  upon  the  Premier — headed 
by  Bishop  Gray  and  Mrs.  Nellie  McClung  with  a  later  delegation 
from  the  Northjled  by  G.  P.  Smith.  M.L.A. — and  urged  that  the 
quantity  of  liquor  allowed  on  private  premises  be  limited  to  1  quart 
of  spirits  and  2  gallons  of  malt  and,  in  succeeding  legislation,  this 
was  done.  For  the  year  of  operation  ending  July  1  it  was  stated 
by  the  Government  that  crime  had  greatly  decreased — in  Calgary 
58%,  in  Edmonton  78%, — while  vagrancy  had  almost  disappeared 
and  there  were  5,151  convictions  for  all  offences  in  the  Province 
against  a  previous  4-year  average  of  12,706.  Bishops,  clergy, 
Banks  and  commercial  men  testified  as  to  the  good  general  influence 
of  Prohibition. 

As  to  the  War  Alberta  did  its  full  share.  The  Red  Cross  dona- 
tions of  the  year  were  $107,724  and  its  total  Canadian  Patriotic 
Fund  contributions  were  $1,834,245  up  to  Dec.  31,  1917— though 
in  this  matter  and  owing  to  its  large  proportion  of  enlistments 
the  Fund  advances  to  the  Province  were  $3,040,960;  various  foreign- 
ers, Allied  or  enemy,  objected  to  the  Federal  disfranchisement  Act 
and  various  meetings  were  held  which  had  an  influence  upon  con- 
tributions to  both  these  objects.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  Alberta 
Branch  of  the  Red  Cross  on  Nov.  30,  with  R.  B.  Bennett,  K.C., 
in  the  chair,  was  held,  with  many  representative  speakers,  and  it  was 
reported  that  "the  number  of  branches  had  increased  by  41,  being 
now  144,  that  the  number  of  life  members  was  562,  active  members 
5,096,  and  associate  members  1,620;  that  the  Society  worked  through 
700  towns,  villages  and  districts  in  the  Province" — with  total 
collections  of  $356,818  in  1917  or  $140,000  more  than  in  1916.  In 
the  Patriotic  Fund  collections  Camrose  led  every  rural  district  with 
$22,000  in  the  fiscal  year  or  double  its  call;  on  Sept.  28  the  North 
Alberta  Patriotic  Fund,  led  by  G.  P.  Smith,  M.L.A.,  of  Camrose, 
declared  by  resolution  that  (1)  in  view  of  the  inequalities  and  un- 
fairness of  voluntary  subscription,  (2)  because  of  the  coming  enforce- 
ment of  Conscription  as  a  Federal  duty  involving  the  obligation  of 
supporting  dependants,  and  (3)  because  of  the  effect  of  the  War- 
times Franchise  Act  on  foreign  settlers,  the  Dominion  Government 
should  take  over  this  burden  from  the  people;  in  September  the 
women  of  the  Peace  River  region  undertook  a  campaign  to  help 
purchase  Red  Cross  ambulances  for  a  Fund  initiated  at  Edmonton. 
As  to  Victory  Bonds  Pat.  Burns,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Calgary, 
not  only  gave  $250  a  month  to  the  Patriotic  Fund  but  helped  the 
Victory  Loan  sales  with  great  vigour — giving  a  banquet  himself  to 
400  men  and  women  workers,  while  the  Province  as  a  whole  pur- 
chased $16,513,156  worth;  Alberta  gave  generously  to  the  relief  of 
Halifax  and,  in  connection  with  conservation  of  food,  A.  C.  Ruther- 
ford, D.C.L.,  and  ex-Premier,  addressed  an  appeal  as  Director  of 
National  Service  (Jan.  12,  1917)  urging  economy,  enlistment  and 
ever-increasing  production.  Of  personal  incidents  Lieut.  J.  Emmet 
Stauffer,  M.L.A.,  and  Deputy  Speaker,  was  killed  in  action  during 
April;  Pte.  J.  D.  Cowell,  son  of  J.  R.  Cowell,  Clerk  of  the  Legis- 


ALBERTA  ELECTIONS;  THE  NEW  STEWART  GOVERNMENT    801 

iture,  was  wounded  and  granted  a  D.C.M.;  Lieut.  P.  E.  Guay, 
Private  Secretary  to  Hon.  W.  Gariepy,  won  an  M.C.;  the  following 
12  members  of  the  Legislature  were  said  to  be  at  the  Front  or  on 
the  way  when  it  met  in  February : 

Lieut.-Col.  J.  S.  Stewart.  Lieut.  J    E    Stauffer 

Major  O.  S.  Pingle.  Pte.  George  McDonald. 

Lieut.  G.  E.  LeRoy-Hudson.  Major  R.  B.  Eaton 

Lieut.  F.  E.  Walker.  Capt.  R.  E.  Campbell. 

Major  J.  R.  Lowery.  Lieut.  J.  G.  Turgeon. 

Lieut.-Col.  Nelson  Spencer.  Lieut.  A.  S.  Shandro. 

Alberta  Gen-  The  Conservatives  did  not  want  an  Election  in 
TrheNewtl0nS'1917 — circumstances  were  against  them  anyway  and 
Stewart  tnev  claimed  that  during  the  War  there  was  no  occasion 

Government,  to  appeal  to  the  people  as  the  Opposition  would  support 
the  Government  in  all  War  and  reasonable  policies. 
The  events  of  the  immediate  past,  such  as  the  A.  &  G.  W.  charges, 
had  been  more  or  less  forgotten  by  the  public ;  with  unusual  strength 
of  mind  Mr.  Premier  Sifton  had  refused  Commissions  in  respect  to 
several  inquiries  demanded  by  the  Opposition;  the  legislation  of 
the  Government  was  voluminous  and,  upon  the  whole,  popular, 
and  the  farmers,  generally,  were  inclined  to  support  the  Liberals 
who,  also,  had  always  made  the  most  of  Reciprocity  and  Free  trade 
issues  in  their  Provincial  contests.  It  was  claimed  for  the  Ruther- 
ford and  Sifton  Governments  that  they  had  broken  the  C.P.R. 
monopoly  in  Alberta  by  bringing  in  the  C.N.R.  and  G.T.P.;  brought 
action  against,  fined  and  broken  up  the  Lumber  combine;  investi- 
gated the  "beef  trust"  in  Alberta  and  destroyed  the  Telephone 
monopoly ;  that  they  were  the  first  to  introduce  Government  owner- 
ship and  construction  of  Telephones  in  the  Dominion;  that  they  had 
fixed  an  eight-hour  day  in  coal  mines  and  raised  the  age  limit  for 
boy  employees  from  12  to  16  years,  put  free  readers  in  the  schools 
and  passed  a  Truancy  and  Compulsory  School  Attendance  Act; 
that  they  passed  The  Co-Operative  Elevator  Act,  the  Co-Operative 
Associations  Act,  the  Farm  Machinery  Act  and  the  Direct  Legis- 
lation Act,  the  Unearned  Increment  Tax  Act,  the  Timber  Area  Tax 
Act  and  the  Wild  Lands  Tax  Act;  that  the  Sifton  Government  was 
the  first  to  assist  the  Mother  Country  with  supplies  when  war  broke 
out  and  had  sent  quickly  500,000  bushels  of  oats  and  5,000  sacks  of 
flour  for  Belgian  relief;  that  they  had  submitted  the  Liquor  Act 
Referendum — carried  by  a  majority  of  20,786 — and  it  was  the  first 
Province  to  pass  and  enforce  a  Children's  Protection  Act;  that 
they  protected  workmen  by  passing  the  Workmen's  Lien  Act  and 
the  Threshers'  Lien  Act  and  the  interests  of  the  poor  man  by  passing 
various  special  Acts;  that  by  their  railway  policy  they  had  opened 
up  the  great  North  lands  to  settlement  and  were  the  first  to  place 
women  on  an  absolute  equality  with  men;  that  they  protected  the 
soldier  and  those  dependant  on  him  by  passing  the  Soldiers'  Relief 
Act,  and  had  given  special  encouragement  to  the  farmers  by  large 
grants  for  agricultural  purposes,  by  excellent  agricultural  courses, 
by  their  demonstration  trains  and  by  the  Farm  Loans  Act,  the  Co- 
Operative  Credit  Act  and  the  Act  to  Encourage  the  Raising  of  Stock; 
that  they  gave  the  women  of  Alberta  greater  rights  and  more  secure 


802  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

protection  than  any  other  Province  of  the  Dominion;  that  they 
proved  their  well-known  adherence  to  Temperance  by  passing 
amendments  to  the  Liquor  Act  which  made  it  far  more  definite  and 
effective;  that  they  enacted  the  simplest  and  best  Drainage  legislation 
in  Canada  and  that  they  had  passed  the  Factory  Act  and  the  Muni- 
cipal Hospitals  Act — said  to  be  two  of  the  most  advanced,  humane, 
social  laws  in  the  history  of  any  Legislature. 

The  Government  arranged,  when  the  Elections  were  still  only 
pending,  to  elect  by  special  Act  of  the  Legislature  the  12  members 
overseas — one  was  afterwards  killed  in  action — and  much  legislation 
asked  for  by  the  U.F.A.  and  Women's  organizations  was  granted 
at  the  same  Session — including  the  Suffrage  for  a  large  number  of 
women  already  greatly  pleased  with  Alberta's  Prohibition  policy; 
the  bare  possibility  of  Conscription  and  the  known  opposition  of 
Sir  W.  Laurier  to  it  was  enough  to  influence  largely  the  foreign- 
naturalized  vote  of  the  Province;  Railways  and  Telephones  had 
always  been  a  strong  part  of  the  Government's  platform — while  the 
Hon.  C.  W.  Cross  was  an  astute  political  manager  and  organizer 
in  Alberta,  as  was  Mr.  Calder  in  Saskatchewan,  and  Mr.  Gariepy 
was  the  leader  of  the  French-Canadian  population.  The  writs 
were  issued  for  nominations  on  May  31  and  polling  on  June  7; 
John  A.  Reid,  Agent-General  in  London,  was  appointed  Returning 
Officer  Overseas  and  John  D.  Hunt  for  such  members  of  the  Military 
and  Naval  Services  as  might  still  be  in  the  Province  and  whose  votes 
would  be  counted  in  their  home  constituencies;  in  11  out  of  the  58 
ridings  the  members  Overseas  were  elected  by  legislation — 6  Lib- 
erals and  5  Conservatives;  Elections  in  the  Athabasca  and  Peace 
River  districts  were  deferred.  Mr.  Sifton  at  once  started  upon 
a  speaking  tour  which  was  opened  at  Calgary  on  May  16  and,  at 
Edmonton  on  the  17th,  he  pointed  out  that  in  a  7  years'  adminis- 
tration the  population  of  the  Province  had  doubled;  the  production 
of  the  coal  mines  more  than  doubled;  the  agricultural  products 
increased  sevenfold,  from  22,000,000  bushels  to  160,000,000  of 
varied  nature;  Telephones  had  increased  more  than  four-fold 
and  the  Railways  three-fold;  the  Opposition,  he  declared,  had  insinu- 
ated that  the  Government  of  the  country  had  not  done  everything 
that  should  have  been  done  as  to  railways,  but  the  fact  that  there 
were  1,505  miles  of  railway  in  the  Province  seven  years  ago  and  4,560 
miles  now,  was  evidence  that  something  had  been  done.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  over  a  mile  a  day  had  been  built  during  seven  years. 
The  Opposition  were  constantly  charging  extravagance  and  urging 
economy,  he  added,  yet  whenever  a  question  of  new  roads,  new 
bridges,  more  hospitals,  new  public  buildings,  etc.,  came  up  they 
always  wanted  more  and  still  more.  Mrs.  Nellie  McClung  also 
spoke  at  these  two  gatherings  and  was  advertised  to  do  so  at  all  the 
Premier's  meetings.  Her  chief  item  of  policy  was  gratitude:  "It 
is  up  to  the  women  to  do  something  for  people  who  have  given  us 
the  vote." 

Mr.  Sifton  spoke  at  High  River  on  May  22  and  there,  as  at 
some  other  places  during  the  campaign,  occurred  a  sort  of  riot  over 
the  question  as  to  why  he  had  refused  soldiers  the  voting  power  of 


ALBERTA  ELECTIONS;  THE  NEW  STEWART  GOVERNMENT    803 

civilians  and  did  not  disfranchise  enemy  aliens — his  obvious  answer 
being  that  no  matter  what  else  happened  there  would  be  13  soldier 
members  in  the  next  House.  At  Wetaskiwin  (June  2)  Mr.  Sifton 
said  he  had  spoken  in  15  constituencies  and  had  come  here  to  find 
the  chief  issue  a  question  of  Ministers'  travelling  expenses:  "They 
do  not  tell  the  people  that  of  the  forty  or  fifty  million  dollars  expended 
during  the  last  seven  years  not  one  dollar  has  been  shown  to  have 
been  misspent.  Nor  do  they  charge  that  this  travelling  was  not 
done  on  public  business  for  the  Province.  ...  I  may  say  that 
the  very  reason  why  I  made  an  increase  in  the  Cabinet  personnel 
some  years  ago  was  to  see  that  the  Ministers  would  not  be  constantly 
tied  down  to  their  desks  in  Edmonton,  but  would  be  free  for  a  part 
of  the  time  to  get  out  over  the  Province  and  see  at  first  hand  what 
were  the  needs  of  every  constituency.  And  I  will  further  say  that 
as  long  as  I  remain  in  office  I  intend  to  encourage  the  travelling  of 
the  Ministers  so  that  they  may  keep  in  closest  touch  with  these 
needs."  Much  was  made  by  the  Opposition  of  War-time  elections 
and  W.  M.  Davidson,  Liberal  candidate  in  Calgary,  replied  (June  2) 
that:  "Since  the  outbreak  of  the  War  there  have  been  elections  in 
all  the  Provinces  of  Canada  except  Saskatchewan,  which  will  have 
one  soon,  and  Ontario,  which  had  one  six  weeks  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  War.  There  have  been  electrons  in  most  of  the  States  of 
Australia,  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia,  South  Africa  and  New 
Zealand.*'  Mrs.  Davidson  of  Calgary  followed  Mrs.  McClung  in 
speaking  during  the  campaign  at  several  places;  all  the  Ministers 
spoke  at  various  points  and  E.  H.  Kiley,  a  former  opponent  of  Mr. 
Sifton,  helped  him  in  the  fight;  the  Peace  River  deferred  contest 
for  June  28  touched  a  huge  riding.  W.  A.  Rae,  the  Liberal  candidate, 
was  aided  by  Hon.  J.  R.  Boyle,  Hon.  W.  Gariepy  and  Hon.  C. 
Stewart.  The  Government  itself  issued  a  rather  unusual  Manifesto 
— an  elaborate  statement  of  what  the  Departments  separately, 
and  the  Government  as  a  whole,  had  done  for  the  people.  It  may 
be  briefly  summarized: 

1.  The  Department  of  Public  Works  since  1905  had  spent  $8,000,000  on  roads, 
bridges  and  ferries,  rapidly  and  without  direct  taxation,  in  face  of  great  difficulties 
for  gravel  and  building  material — with,  also,  an  ideal  of  a  great  trunk  road  through 
the  Province. 

2.  The  Department  of  Agriculture  had  no  superior  in  Canada  for  educational 
ideals,  for  promotion  of  mixed  farming,  for  building  up  the  Province,  for  its  success 
with  Schools  of  Agriculture  and  Demonstration  Farms,  for  its  Dairy  Branch  and 
help  to  what  were  now  14,000  Dairy  farmers,  for  Fairs  and  Women's  Institutes,  and 
Poultry,  and  the  treatment  of  seeds  and  weeds. 

3.  The  Department  of  Municipal  Affairs  was  said  to  have  led  Canada  in  organiza- 
tion, in  leadership  of  municipalities  and  civic  interests  and  promotion  of  local  self- 
government,  in  assisting  school  districts  and  efficient  taxation  of  scattered  settlements 
for  essential  purposes. 

4.  The  Provincial  Secretary  had  administered  the  gaols  and  asylums  with  judi- 
cial care  and  on  humanitarian  principles;   the  Railway  development  was  outlined  at 
length  and  the  Sifton  Government  in  7  years  was  said  to  be  responsible  for  56%  of  a 
large  mileage;    the  rapid  Telephone  development  was  reviewed  at  length. 

5.  The  Department  of  Education  had  handled  a  difficult  situation  with  a  mini- 
mum of  friction  and  a  maximum  of  result,  had  improved  rural  schools,  established 
Summer  schools,  established  school  libraries,  facilitated  sales  of  school  bonds,  pro- 
moted patriotism,  formed  excellent  Normal  Schools,  aided  technical  education,  an<J 
established  a  great  University  and  College  of  Agriculture. 


804  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

6.  The  legislation  for  Women  was  reviewed  and  19  important  Acts  in  the  interest 
of  the  Farmer  dealt  with;  a  review  of  legislation  since  the  last  election  showed  30 
measures  of  legislation  which  were  described  as  important  and  progressive. 

Edward  Michener  had  been  Leader  of  the  Opposition  since  his 
election  to  the  House  in  1913  and  the  majority  had  been  38  against 
18.  He  had  shrewd  and  constructive  politicians  to  oppose  and  a 
Premier  who  did  not  say  much  but  never  feared  to  fight  vigorously 
when  he  thought  it  necessary.  Mr.  Michener's  great  appeal  in  the 
Election  was  this*:  " I  denounce  the  effort  of  the  Sif ton  Government 
to  hive  the  soldier  vote  as  a  deliberate  plot  to  give  greater  weight  to 
the  vote  of  the  alien-enemy  electorate  of  this  Province."  He  claimed 
that  34,659  fighting  men  and  nurses  at  the  Front  had  been  practi- 
cally hived  into  two  seats  arbitrarily  created  by  the  Legislature 
and  that  this  left  the  Province  at  the  mercy  of  alien  enemies  or  other 
foreign-naturalized  voters.  In  George  Hoadley  of  Okotoks,  T.  M.  M. 
Tweedie  and  Dr.  T.  H.  Blow  of  Calgary  he  had  strong  supporters 
and  Mr.  Hoadley  in  speaking  of  the  11  soldiers  to  be  elected  by 
Act  of  the  Legislature  stated  on  May  29  that  one  of  them,  J.  G. 
Turgeon  (Lib.),  had  never  been  out  of  Alberta  and  was  living  in 
Edmonton  and  that  A.  S.  Shandro  (Lib.)  had  not  been  Overseas 
and  was  now  out  of  uniform.  ,  Early  in  May  Mr.  Michener  and  Dr. 
Blow  had  visited  Bow  Valley,  Medicine  Hat,  Lethbridge,  Taber, 
Cardston  and  the  towns  along  the  south  line,  including  Granum, 
High  River,  etc.,  and  held  conferences  with  the  local  party  chiefs; 
at  Calgary  on  May  18  Mr.  Tweedie  gave  a  keynote  to  the  Con- 
servative platform — backed  by  the  Calgary  Herald:  "When  our 
British  men  are  being  taken  for  the  Front  is  it  possible  to  say  that 
we  cannot  regulate  the  vote  of  aliens  left  behind?  When  our  sons 
are  being  taken  for  war  I  believe  we  should  comb  out  everyone  of 
these  alien  enemy  voters  and  take  the  franchise  from  them."  Dr. 
Blow,  on  May  25,  in  his  candidacy  at  Calgary,  stated  that  the  actual 
cost  of  950  miles  of  the  McArthur  railways  in  the  North  was  per 
mile  $11,915;  the  Provincial  guarantee  was  $20,000  per  mile  and  that 
he  had  repeatedly  asked  for  vouchers  and  an  investigation;  S.  B. 
Hillocks  spoke  in  a  number  of  ridings  and  a  strike  among  the  Govern- 
ment Telephone  operators  in  Calgary  on  closed  shop  and  recognition 
of  union  principle  was  expected  to  hurt  the  Government  but  it  was 
settled  in  a  few  days.  As  to  Provincial  control  of  Natural  Resources 
the  Opposition  Leader,  at  Macleod  (May  30),  made  a  plausible  but 
indirect  reference  to  two  Conservative  Governments  working  to- 
gether: "If  returned  to  power  we  can  ask  Sir  Robert  Borden  to 
implement  his  promise.  Unlike  Premier  Sifton  we  will  make  a 
reasonable  request  for  the  control  of  the  natural  resources.  It  is 
a  matter  of  negotiation  only."  They  could  then  keep  down  taxes. 
At  Olds  on  June  2  he  submitted  his  platform: 

I  appeal  to  the  electors  of  Alberta  to  turn  from  power  a  Government  that  (1) 
juggles  with  the  soldiers'  vote  for  political  advantage;  that  (2)  springs  an  election 
during  this  great  crisis  to  get  a  snap  verdict  a  year  before  its  term  of  office  expires; 
that  (3)  has  plunged  the  Province  in  seven  years  into  a  debt  of  over  $30,000,000 
without  any  adequate  provision  for  its  repayment;  that  (4)  imposes  all  kinds  of 

*  Edmonton,  Mar.  24, 


ALBERTA  ELECTIONS;  THE  NEW  STEWART  GOVERNMENT      805 

special  taxes  upon  the  people  and  by  extravagances  of  a  political  nature  will  make 
it  necessary  to  impose  a  direct  tax  upon  all  farm  lands  owned  in  the  Province;  that 
(5)  refuses  to  give  investigation  into  specific  charges  of  corruption  against  Ministers 
of  the  Crown,  namely,  C.  W.  Cross,  Attorney-General,  and  Arthur  L.  Sifton,  Premier 
of  Alberta,  and  Minister  of  Railways;  that  (6)  has  impaired  the  credit  of  the  Province 
by  an  indirect  liability  in  connection  with  Railway  guarantees  to  the  extent  of  $60,- 
000,000;  that  (7)  has  handed  out  favours  to  railway  corporations  and  financial 
interests  by  reason  of  which  millions  of  dollars  have  been  made  by  private  interests 
at  the  public  expense;  that  (8)  lends  itself  to  the  methods  of  machine  politics  by  using 
the  public  services  and  the  civil  servants  for  partisan  advantage — thereby  causing 
inefficiency  and  wastage  in  connection  with  all  Departments  of  the  public  service; 
that  (9)  attempts  to  corrupt  the  electorate  of  the  Province  through  a  system  of  party 
patronage  and  turns  a  deaf  ear  to  Civil  Service  Reform  as  advocated  by  the  Opposition. 

On  Nomination  day  there  were  contests  in  43  constituencies  with 
two  seats  where  the  Liberals  let  Independents  oppose  the  Conserva- 
tive candidates  and  one  month  was  allowed  for  the  nomination  of 
two  soldiers'  representatives  from  Overseas.  In  Calgary  the  soldier- 
alien  problem  was  the  chief  issue  and  one  night  12  meetings  were 
held  with  Mr.  Tweedie  and  Mrs.  McClung  as  stalwart  but  divergent 
fighters.  The  Herald  of  this  city  had  done  excellent  work  for  the 
Conservatives  and  on  June  6  summarized  the  reasons  for  voting 
in  favour  of  the  Opposition  as  follows: 

A  vote  for  these  candidates  means  a  vote  for  a  square  deal  for  the  soldiers  over- 
seas and  for  placing  the  enemy  country  citizen  in  his  proper  place  as  regards  the 
franchise  until  after  the  War; 

For  the  abolition  of  autocratic  methods  of  government  and  administration  at 
Edmonton  and  the  speedy  acquisition  of  our  natural  resources,  taken  from  us  with 
the  acquiescence  of  Premier  Sifton  and  his  party; 

For  long-needed  and  denied  improvements  in  the  rural  districts  in  the  shape  of 
better  roads,  whereby  the  farmer  will  be  able  to  do  business  more  easily  in  the  cities 
and  the  cost  of  living  will  be  materially  reduced; 

For  a  quick  finish  to  the  Sifton  system  of  using  the  credit  of  the  Province  to  aid 
the  Premier's  railway  friends  in  amassing  great  wealth;  and  for  many  more  reforms 
and  improvements  which  are  absolutely  necessary  if  Alberta  is  to  come  through  the 
trying  after-war  period  with  credit  to  itself  and  honour  to  its  people. 

There  were  21  candidates  of  the  soldiers  and  nurses  Overseas  for 
the  two  seats,  they  nominated  their  own  candidates  under  Mr. 
Reid's  experienced  supervision,  the  writs  were  issued  on  the  same 
day  as  in  Alberta  and  the  Election  advertised  in  the  London  Times 
and  Canada.  The  candidates  were  as  follows  with  the  recorded 
electoral  vote  after  each  candidate's  name:  Lieut.-Col.  P.  E.  Bowen, 
882;  Lieut.-Col.  J.  K.  Cornwall,  ex-M.L.A.,  2,331;  Lieut.-Col.  W.  H. 
Hewgill,  1,744;  Lieut.-Col.  A.  M.  Jarvis,  C.M.G.,  425;  Lieut.-Col. 
J.  W.  H.  McKinery,  918;  Lieut.-Col.  A.  E.  Myatt,  186;  Lieut.-Col. 
Lionel  F.  Page,  D.S.O.,  1,782;  Capt.  Lionel  Asquith,  423;  Capt. 
A.  M.  Calderon,  438;  Capt.  W.  D.  Ferris,  474;  Capt.  D.  W.  Gray, 
374;  Capt.  Robert  Pearson,  4,286;  Major  James  Walker,  1,109; 
Lieut.  Roberta  C.  MacAdams,  4,023;  Lieut.  Chas.  H.  Taylor,  519; 
Sergt.-Major  H.  L.  Bateson,  221;  Actg.  Staff  Sergt.  C.  M. 
Camroux,  97;  Qtr.-Sergt.  T.  A.  P.  Frost,  1,145;  Sergt.  A.  Joyce, 
180;  Pte.  G.  E.  Harper,  3,328;  Pte.  Herbert  F.  Stow,  716.  Voting 
was  settled  for  Aug.  16-28  and  the  votes  were  counted  by  the  Agent- 
General.  Unlike  Saskatchewan  the  number  voting  was  large — 
with  25,601  all  told.  The  notable  point  in  it  was  the  election  of 


806 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


two  non-combatants,  Miss  R.  C.  MacAdams,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  W.  J. 
Hanna  of  Ontario,  a  nurse  at  the  Orpington  Hospital,  and  in  1911 
an  organizer  of  Women's  Institutes  in  Alberta  and  Capt.  Robert 
Pearson,  who,  after  being  wounded  at  the  Front  had  taken  service 
with  the  Y.M.C.A.  forces.  The  Elections  on  June  7  resulted  as 
follows: 

Liberal                 Conservative                Member           Poll-  Ma- 
Constituency            Candidate                 Candidate                   Elected             tics    jority 

Athabasca Hon.  A.  G.  MacKay .  A.  F.  Fugi . .      ....  Hon.  A.  G.  MacKayLib.  361 

Acadia J.  A.  McColl Gordon  Jonah J.  A.  McColl "  613 

Alexandra J.  R.  Lowery J.  R.  Lowery Cons.  Accl. 

Beaver  River. .  .Hon.  W.  Gariepy. . .  A.  E.  Gray Hon.  W.  Gariepy. .  Lib.  498 

Bow  Valley Hon.  C.  R.  Mitchell.E.  F.  Purcell Hon.  C.  R.Mitchell     "  169 

Calgary  Centre. A.  Ross  (Lab.) T.  M.  M.  Tweedie. A.  Ross Lab.  55 

Calgary  North.  .W.  M.  Davidson. . .  .8.  B.  Hillocks W.  M.  Davidson .  .  Lib.  466 

Calgary  South.. J.  McNeil  (Ind.-Lib.Dr.  T.  H.  Blow Dr.  T.  H.  Blow Cons.  1,026 

Camrose G.  P.  Smith F.  P.  Lavton G.  P.  Smith Lib.  1,054 

Cardston Martin  Woolf W.  G.  Smith Martin  Woolf "  220 

Claresholm Wm.  Moffatt 

L.C.McKinney(Ind.) Mrs.L.C.McKinney  Ind.  169 

Clear-water Dr.  J.  E.  State R.  M.  Frith Dr.  J.  E.  State Lib.  84 

Cochrane Hon.  C.  W.  Fisher.. H.  E.  G.  H.  Schole- 

fleld Hon.  C.  W.  Fisher.     "  161 

Coronation H.  S.  Northwood. . .  W.  W.  Wilson W.  W.  Wilson Cons.  207 

Didsbury H.  B.  Aikins W.  L.  Tolton H.  B.  Aikins Lib.  148 

Edmonton  West  W.  T.  Henry A.  F.  E  wing A.  F.  Ewing Cons.  892 

Edmonton  East.Fred.  Duncan Jas.  Ramsey Jas.  Ramsey 

Edmonton SouthR.  B.  Douglas H.  H.  Crawford.  .  .H.  H.  Crawford.  . . 

Edson Hon.  C.  W.  Cross..  .J.  R.  Mclntosh.. .  .Hon.  C.  W.  Cross..  Lib.  661 

Gleichen J.  P.  McArthur Fred.  Davis Fred.  Davis Cons.  50 

Grouard J.  L.  Cote Eugene  Gravel J.  L.  Cot<§ Lib.  403 

High  River D.  H.  Riley Dr.  G.  D.  Stanley. Dr.  G.  D.  Stanley . Cons.  38 

Hand  Hills R.  B.  Eaton R.  B.  Eaton Lib.  Accl. 

Innisfail D.  Morkeberg T.  W.  Archer D.  Morkeberg 139 

Lacombe W.  F.  Puffer A.  Gilmour A.  Gilmour Cons.  90 

Lac  Ste.  Anne. . R.  E.  Barker G.  R.  Barker G.  R.  Barker 

Leduc S.  G.  Tobin G.  Currie S.  G.  Tobin Lib.  1,097 

Lethbridge City Dr.  J.  S.  Stewart. . Dr.  J.  S.  Stewart. . Cons.  Accl. 

Little  Bow J.  McNaughton H.  Thomas  (Ind.)  .  J.  McNaughton . . .  Lib.  572 

Macleod Geo.  Skelding R.  Patterson Geo.  Skelding 

Medicine  Hat N.  Spencer N.  Spencer Cons.  Accl. 

Nanton J.  M.  Glendenning  .  J.  T.  Cooper 

J.  Weir  (Ind.) Jas.  Weir Ind.  24 

Okotoks A.  Mclntosh Geo.  Hoadley Geo.  Hoadley Cons.  251 

Olds Hon.  D.  Marshall. .. G.  H.  Cloakley. . .  .Hon.  D.  Marshall  .  Lib.  289 

Peace  River W.  A.  Rae D.  H.  Minchin W.  A.  Rae 1,282 

Pembina G.  Macdonald G.  Macdonald Accl. 

Pincher  Creek.  .T.  Hammond J.  H.  W.  S.Kemmis  J.  H.  W.  S.  KemmisCons. 

Ponoka Dr.  W.  A.  Campbell.C.  O.  Cunningham. C.  O.  Cunningham. 

Redcliff C.  S.  Pingle C.  S.  Pingle Lib.  Accl. 

Red  Deer R.  B.  Welliver E.  Michener E.  Michener Cons.  23 

Ribstone J.  G.  Turgeon J.  G.  Turgeon Lib.  Accl. 

Rocky  Mount'n R.  E.  Campbell .  . .  R.  E.  Campbell .  . .  Cons. 

St.  Albert L.  Boudreau H.  L.  Landry L.  Boudreau Lib.  353 

St.  Paul Hon.  P.  E.  Lessard .  Jas.  Brady Hon.  P.  E.  Lessard.     ' 

Sedgewick Hon.  C.  Stewart J.  R.  Lavell Hon.  C.  Stewart. . .  686 

Stettler E.  H.  Prudden Geo.  McMorris E.  H.  Prudden 

Stony  Plain F.  A.  Smith F.  W.  Lundy F.  W.  Lundy Cons. 

Sturgeon. Hon.  J.  R.  Boyle.  .  .J.  Sutherland Hon.  J.  R.  Boyle...  Lib. 

Taber Hon.  A.  J.  McLean  .  Thos.  O.  King Hon.  A.  J.  McLean     ' 

Vegreville J.  S.  McCallum M.  R.  Gordon J.  S.  McCallum.  . . 

Vermilion Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton. .  .  J.  B.  Burch Hon.  A.  L.  Sifton. . 

Victoria F.  A.  Walker F.  A.  Walker "  Accl. 

Wainwright G.  E.  L.  Hudson .  .  G.  E.  L.  Hudson .  .  Cons. 

Warner F.  S.  Lefflngwell.  .  .H.  J.  Tennant F.  S.  Lefflngwell. . .  Lib. 

Wetaskiwin .  . . .  H.  J.  Montgomery. .  R.  M.  Angus H.  J.  Montgomery.     ' 

Whitford A.  S.  Shandro A.  S.  Shandro Accl. 

A  notable  election  was  that  of  Mrs.  Louise  C.  McKinney,  President 
of  the  W.C.T.U.  and  a  Non-Partisan  who  left  her  resignation  in 
the  hands  of  the  League  to  be  used  for  purposes  of  "recall"  if  she 
ever  differed  from  them  or  her  electors — or  some  of  them!  The 
defeat  of  T.  M.  M.  Tweedie  and  S.  B.  Hillocks  in  Calgary — the  former 
by  Alex.  Ross,  President  of  the  local  Trades  and  Labour  Council — 
was  a  shock  to  the  Conservatives,  though  they  carried  the  three 


ALBERTA  ELECTIONS;  THE  NEW  STEWART  GOVERNMENT     807* 

seats  in  Edmonton  by  large  majorities;  all  the  Ministers  were  re- 
elected — Mr.  Gariepy  getting  600  majority,  Mr.  Cross  over  600, 
Mr.  Stewart  over  600,  Mr.  McLean  800  and  the  others  all  over  200 
—large  majorities  for  Alberta;  Mr.  Michener  in  Red  Deer  got  in  by 
only  23  and  the  two  Parties  stood  very  much  as  before;  Liberals 
34,  Conservatives  19  and  three  Independents  who,  in  the  main,  would 
support  the  Government  policies  as  developed  up  to  this  time. 
The  later  election  in  Peace  River  was  a  fight  between  W.  A.  Rae 
(Lib.),  D.  H.  Minchin  (Cons.)  and  L.  H.  Adair  (Ind.).  Hon.  Mr. 
Marshall  helped  the  Government  candidate  and  he  was  eventually 
elected  by  1,282 — the  largest  majority  in  the  Elections — with  S.  J. 
Tobin  and  G.  P.  Smith  running  him  close;  the  other  deferred  seat 
was  Athabasca  where  Hon.  A.  G.  MacKay  (Lib.)  won  by  361  major- 
ity over  A.  F.  Fugl  (Cons.).  Sixteen  Conservatives  and  Independ- 
ents in  all  lost  their  deposits.  Following  the  Elections  came  the 
Conscription  discussion  and  then  the  Union  Government  problem 
in  which  Mr.  Premier  Sifton  took  great  interest.  He  would  have 
preferred  one  with  a  Liberal  or  non-political  chief;  in  the  end  when 
developments  showed  that  there  was  a  reasonable  chance  of  the 
Borden  Government  being  returned  in  an  Election  followed  by 
deepened  political  animosities  and  divisions,  a  party  enforcement 
of  Conscription  and  a  probable  continuance  of  Party  government 
with  its  War-time  evils  he  joined  the  other  Liberals  who  patriotically 
combined  to  avert  what  they  all  considered  dangerous.  Upon  his 
resignation  of  the  Premiership  the  Lieut.-Governor  called  upon  the 
Hon.  Charles  Stewart,  Minister  of  Public  Works,  (Oct.  13)  to  form 
a  Government.  Mr.  Stewart  had  been  a  successful  farmer  and  a 
successful  politician,  a  member  of  the  House  since  1909  and  of  the 
Ministry  since  1913.  He  offered  Hon.  A.  G.  MacKay,  K.C.,  his  own 
Department  but  it  was  understood  that  the  latter  declined  and  on 
Oct.  16  the  new  Ministry  was  sworn  in  as  follows  with  George  P. 
Smith  of  Camrose — a  member  of  the  House  since  1909 — as  the 
only  new  Minister: 

Premier,  President  of  the  Council,  Minister  of  Rail- 
ways and  Telephones ' Hon.  Charles  Stewart. 

Minister  of  Public  Works Hon.  Archibald  J.  McLean. 

Minister  of  Education Hon.  John  Robert  Boyle,  K.C. 

Attorney-General Hon.  Charles  Wilson  Cross,  K.O. 

Provincial  Treasurer Hon.  Charles  R.  Mitchell,  K.C. 

Minister  of  Municipal  Affairs Hon.  Wilfrid  Gariepy,  B.A.,  B.C.L. 

Provincial  Secretary Hon.  George  P.  Smith. 

Mr.  Smith  in  his  by-election  was  opposed  by  James  Miner  of  the 
Non-Partisan  League  and,  after  a  stiff  fight,  won  on  Nov.  9  by  over 
1,000  majority.  In  Vermilion  vacated  by  Hon.  Mr.  Sifton  A.  W. 
Ebbets  was  elected  by  acclamation  on  Nov.  12.  Following  this 
change  in  the  Government  Mr.  Michener  retired,  also,  from  his 
task  to  accept  a  seat  in  the  Senate  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  the 
question  of  his  successor  was  undecided  with  strong  efforts  being 
made  to  persuade  R.  B.  Bennett,  K.C.,  ex-M.p.,  and  an  old-time 
Alberta  leader  to  take  the  position;  Dr.  T.  H.  Blow,  M.L.A.,  of  Cal- 
gary and  others  were  mentioned  and  the  Calgary  Herald  (Cons.) 
on  Dec.  20  suggested  a  Provincial  Union  Government:  "Why  should 
Alberta  not  be  the  first  Province  in  Canada  in  this  direction  as  it 


808  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

has  been  in  others?  We  have  fought  Provincial  elections  for  years 
on  old-fashioned  party  lines,  knowing  all  the  time  that  they  did 
not  logically  apply  to  the  questions  before  us  and  that  what  we 
wanted  was  a  business  Government  devoted  to  the  great  work  of 
construction  and  untrammelled  by  the  false  obligations  and  limi- 
tations of  partisan  politics."  Another  incident  of  this  period 
included  Resolutions  by  the  Alberta  Food  Control  Committee 
(Sept.  12)  asking: 

(1)  That  the  Dominion  Inland  Trade  Commission  should  be  permanently  con- 
stituted to  advise  our  statesmen  and  people  on  the  proper  distribution  and  to    main- 
tain proper  relations  between  producers,  manufacturers,  distributors,  and  consumers, 
in  a  manner  similar  to  the  operation  of  the  Railway  Commission. 

(2)  That  the  Food  Controller  make  urgent  representations  to  the  Dominion 
Government  for  the  reduction  of  the  import  duties,  and  for  the  abandonment  of  duties, 
on  foods  other  than  luxuries  grown  in  this  continent. 

(3)  That  a  Board  of  Inquiry  be  held  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  the  maximum 
production  of  fish  in  Alberta,  by  the  use  of  more  intensive  methods,  and  to  increase 
local  storage  facilities  for  fish  in  the  Province. 

(4)  That  the  Food  Controller  should  make  urgent  representations  to  the  Do- 
minion Government  for  reduction  of  the  import  duties  on  farm  tractors  and  farm 
implements,  in  order  that  agricultural  production  be  increased. 

(5)  That  the  Dominion  Government  afford  better  Veterinary  facilities  to  the 
producers  of  live-stock  in  the  Province. 

The  United  Farmers  Of  Alberta.  This  organization  main- 
tained the  same  strong  influence  in  Alberta  affairs  as  did  the  Grain  Growers  of  the 
neighbouring  Provinces,  and  many  of  its  wishes  were  crystallized  in  law  during  this 
and  preceding  Sessions  of  the  Legislature;  an  illustration  of  this  influence  being  seen 
in  the  submission  by  Hon.  C.  R.  Mitchell  of  the  Rural  Credits  Bill  to  the  U.  F.  A. 
before  it  had  been  presented  to  the  Assembly.  The  9th  Annual  Convention  (1917) 
was  held  at  Edmonton  on  Jan.  22-25  with  H.  W.  Wood  in  the  Chair  and  a  formal 
welcome  from  the  Lieut.-Governor,  the  Agricultural  Department  and  the  University. 
The  address  of  the  President  dealt  with  the  progress  of  the  Society  and  the  holding 
of  joint  meetings  between  25  members  of  the  Council  of  Agriculture  (a  Dominion 
Farmers'  body)  and  25  representatives  of  the  commercial,  financial  and  other  inter- 
ests of  the  Province;  expressed  pleasure  at  the  amalgamation  of  the  Grain  Growers' 
Grain  Co.,  the  Saskatchewan  Co-Operative  Elevator  Co.,  and  Alberta  Co-Operative 
Elevator  Co.  as  a  step  in  the  mobilization  and  co-operation  of  the  West;  referred  to 
the  progress  and  new  responsibilities  of  the  United  Farm  Women  of  Alberta  in  their 
organization  and  described  the  U.  F.  A.  Sunday  (also  celebrated  in  Saskatchewan 
as  a  Grain  Growers'  Day)  and  defined  its  objects  as  measuring  "the  aims  and  objects 
of  our  organization  by  the  standard  of  Christianity,  as  well  as  investigating  the 
ability  of  the  Church  to  help  us  in  our  upward  struggle";  stated  that  after  the  War 
new  civic  dangers  would  come  and  the  people  be  "appealed  to  in  the  name  of  patriot- 
ism to  adopt  a  policy  that  will  be  dangerous  to  our  own  best  interests" — Imperialism 
or  militarism.  His  hope  was  for  "a  greater  Canada  and  a  freer  people."  The 
Directors'  report  advised  a  revision  of  the  constitution,  admission  of  the  President 
of  the  U.F.W.A.  to  the  Executive  and  3  other  members  of  the  Women's  Association 
to  the  Board  of  Directors;  P.  P.  Woodbridge,  General  Secretary,  stated  that  in  the 
past  year  the  membership  had  increased  2,300  and  the  Women's  organization  600 — 
the  total  membership  being  about  16,000  while  the  men  had  600  Local  branches  and 
the  women  about  50;  he  defined  in  elaborate  phrase  the  rights  of  the  common  people 
as  the  fundamental  object  of  the  Association — democracy  vs.  privilege;  the  Live- 
stock Committee  reported  that  in  2*4  years  it  had  handled  $2,134,723  worth  of  stock 
and  was  now  affiliated  with  the  Western  Canadian  Live-stock  Union.  Addresses 
were  given  by  J.  A.  Maharg  from  Saskatchewan,  W.  Sanford  Evans,  Ottawa,  Hon. 
C.  R.  Mitchell,  Provincial  Treasurer,  T.  A.  Crerar,  Winnipeg,  and  at  the  annual 
banquet  President  Wood,  Hon.  W.  Gariepy,  President  H.  M.  Tory,  Dr.  R.  Magill, 
Lieut.  Clifford  Reilly  and  many  others  spoke.  R.  McKenzie  stated  that  the  farmers 
were  being  organized  from  coast  to  coast  as  "the  common  people  against  the  Big 
interests."  The  Resolutions  passed  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 


POLICY  OF  THE  UNITED  FARMERS  OF  ALBERTA  809 

1.  Asking  the  Dominion  Government  to  take  steps  to  remedy  a  situation  whereby 
the  farmers  were  suffering  severe  financial  loss  through  shortage  of  cars  and  locomotives 
on  the  C.N.R.  and  approving  the  amalgamation  of  the  Alberta  and  Manitoba  Co-Opera- 
tive  organizations. 

2.  Endorsing  the  maintenance  of  Hospital  Elevators  for  the  treating  and  mixing 
of  lower  grades  of  grain,  and  approving  the  Farmers'  Political  platform  of  the  Council 
of  Agriculture. 

3.  Condemning  gratuitous  giving  to  Patriotic  Funds  and  urging  general  taxation 
as  more  equitable,  with  municipal  power  to  collect  such  taxes  as  being  best  system. 

4.  Endorsing  standard  Hail  insurance  politics  and  referring  the  larger  question  of 
a  general  scheme  to  the  Executive  to  work  out  with  the  rural  municipalities. 

5.  Requesting  the  Provincial  Government  "to  amend  the  Machinery  Act  to  pre- 
vent the  forced  collection  of  machinery  notes  before  Dec.  1  of  the  year  in  which  such 
notes  are  made,"  and  asking  for  a  bounty  on  Coyotes  killed  during  the  breeding  season 
of  sheep. 

6.  Demanding  reciprocal  demurrage  laws — affecting  the  Railways  as  well  as  the 
shippers  and  declaring  that  the  suppression  of  the  Liquor  traffic  was  not  proceeding 
satisfactorily  and  urging  better  enforcement,  while  asking  the  Dominion  Government  to 
prohibit  the  manufacture  in  Canada  or  the  import  into  Canada  of  all  liquors,  with  a 
Referendum  to  be  taken  after  the  War. 

7.  Asking  the  Dominion  Government  to  require  by  law  the  composition  of  manu- 
factured stock  foods  to  be  definitely  stated  by  the  vendor  and  declaring  that  "the  full- 
est service  due  Western  Canada  from  the  present  Railway  Commission  has  not  been 
forthcoming  and  suggesting  that  another  Commission  be  instituted  for  the  special  service 
of  the  Western  public. 

8.  Favouring  the  raising  of  the  Patriotic  Fund  by  a  system  of  Federal  taxation  which 
will  ensure  that  every  resident  of  Canada  be  compelled  to  pay  his  fair  share,  and  endorsing 
the  principle  of  Farmers'  Mutual  Fire  Insurance. 

9.  Requesting  legislation  under  which  the  issue  of  writs  or  seizure  of  property  after 
judgment  against  a  debtor  would  be  delayed  until  the  expiration  of  the  period  in  which 
appeal  could  be  made  to  a  higher  Court  and  asking  for  Engineers'  certificates  for  opera- 
ting steam  tractors  and  the  authorizing  of  municipal  drainage  of  water  from  public 
highways  by  the  most  natural  course. 

10.  Requesting  a  Provincial  law  for  compulsory  distribution  of  poison  as  a  solution 
of  the  gopher  problem  and  asking  for   improvement  in  the  Parcel  Post  so  as  better  to 
compete  with  the  Express  companies. 

11.  Requesting  the  Dominion  Government  to  operate  Coal  mines  pending  the 
settlement  of  a  dispute  and  that  the  manufacture  of  denatured  alcohol  be  free  of  internal 
revenue  tax  and  adopting  by  standing  vote  a  reference  to  the  vital  needs  of  the  Grande 
Prairie  and  Peace  River  regions  for  an  outlet  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 

12.  Asking  for  retention  of  the  splendid  R.N.W.M.P.  to  administer  Criminal  law 
and  protect  the  property  and  personal  rights  of  rural  populations  and  expressing  appre- 
ciation of  the  War  work  of  the  Y.M.C.A. 

H.  W.  Wood  was  unanimously  re-elected  President  and  D.  W.  Warner,  Clover 
Bar,  Hon.  President.  The  latter  in  describing  this  meeting  as  the  best  ever  held, 
replied  to  certain  Winnipeg  criticisms  of  the  organization  as  not  being  very  war- 
enthusiastic  by  saying  (Feb.  5)  that  Alberta  farmers  were  as  much  interested  as 
other  people  in  the  War  but  "they  felt  that  their  organization  was  not  a  military 
one  and  consequently  made  little  display  of  then*  feelings."  As  the  President's 
speeches  only  dealt  with  agricultural  problems  and  after-war  conditions  this  was, 
apparently,  an  accurate  analysis.  The  Vice-Presidents  elected  were  W.  D.  Trego, 
Gleichen,  James  Weir,  Parkland,  James  Wood,  Wainwright  and  S.  S.  Dunham, 
Lethbridge.  E.  J.  Fream,  Calgary,  was  re-elected  Secretary  and  the  Directors  for 
1917  were  as  follows: 

A.  A.  Hall Crossfleld.  James  Miner Bawlf. 

A.  Rafn Bon  Accord.  Walter  Parlby Alix. 

J.  E.  Blore Craigmyle.  G.  D.  Sloane Cayley. 

Henry  Spencer Edgerton.  A.  J.  Donahue Foremost. 

P.  Baker Ponoka.  A.  W.  Hamilton Lethbridge. 

General  interest  was  taken  in  the  Women's  Auxiliary  or  U.F.W.A.  Mrs.  Walter 
Parlby  presided  and  amongst  the  subjects  of  consideration  were  the  current  problems 
to  be  discussed  by  Women's  Clubs — such  as  Canada,  Child  problems,  home  economics, 
immigration  and  immigrants,  delinquent  children,  divorce  laws,  franchise  of  all 
kinds.  In  her  address  Mrs.  Parlby  reviewed  local  conditions,  the  advance  of  women's 
legal  rights  and  the  fact  that  membership  would  have  been  larger  but  for  the  war- 
work  so  many  women  were  doing,  and  was  followed  by  Mrs.  MacNaughtan  of  the 
Saskatchewan  organization,  Mrs.  Nellie  McClung,  Mrs.  L.  McKinney  of  the  W.C.T.U., 
G.  F.  Chipman  of  Winnipeg,  Mrs.  Chester  Gainer,  Alberta's  first  female  lawyer. 
Miss  Jeanne  R.  Reid,  Calgary,  was  elected  Hon.  President,  Mrs.  Parlby  re-elected 
President  and  Mrs.  Zella  C.  Spencer,  Edgerton,  Vice-President.  The  Delegates 
numbered  250  and  passed  several  Resolutions: 

1.  Urging  that  rural  medical  inspection  be  made  obligatory  in  schools  in  order  to 
relieve  rural  ailments  in  children — not  contagious  but  health-impairing. 


810  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

2.  Asking  legislation  for  the  compulsory  segregation  of  the  feeble-minded,  both 
Juvenile  and  adult  and  protesting  against  the  Hudson  Bay  Co,  being  able  to  open  estab- 
lishments at  Lloydminster  and  to  sell  liquor  in  both  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta — the 
town  lying  across  the  border  line  of  the  Provinces. 

3.  Declaring  that  "the  private  ownership  of  factories  for  the  making  of  munitions 
of  war  and  the  enormous  profits  derived  therefrom  is  liable  to  prove  a  direct  incentive 
to  war  and  that  the  making  of  profit  from  the  slaughter  of  human  beings  is  abhorrent  to 
the  sense  of  this  meeting;  therefore,  at  the  conclusion  of  peace  the  Governments  of  the 
world  should  be  urged  by  every  responsible  organization  in  the  civilized  countries  to 
seriously  consider  the  advisability  of  the  nationalization  of  all  works  for  the  manufacture 
of  war  armaments. 

Meanwhile  the  Non-Partisan  League  had  been  making  progress  in  Alberta  and, 
of  its  total  Saskatchewan  membership,  placed  at  5,000,  probably  one-half  were  in  this 
Province.  It  developed  considerable  influence  in  the  Provincial  Elections  of  Sas- 
katchewan and  in  Alberta  elected  two  candidates,  Mrs.  McKinney  and  James 
Weir,  to  the  Legislature.  The  Alberta  Federation  of  Labour  met  at  Edmonton  on 
Jan.  16  and  objected  to  Patriotic  Fund  subscriptions  as  a  form  of  charity  and  asked 
for  a  Dominion  Act  "guaranteeing  soldiers'  dependants  the  fullest  measure  of  security 
in  the  means  of  life."  They  passed  other  Resolutions  in  favour  of  the  two-platoon 
system  for  fire  fighters  in  Alberta  cities,  and  against  the  licensing  of  barber  shops; 
against  subscriptions  to  Tobacco  funds  for  the  soldiers  and  in  favour  of  the  appointing 
of  a  Government  Commission  to  inquire  into  the  printing  of  school  text-books  and  school 
readers;  in  favour  of  the  issuing  of  school  supplies  and  school  text-books  free  by  the 
Government  and  of  payment  for  coal  produced  by  the  Miners  on  the  run-of-mine 
basis.  They  also  asked  for  a  Provincial  Bureau  of  Labour. 

By  this  time  the  Grain  Growers'  Grain  Co.,  Ltd.,  into  which  the  Alberta  Farmers' 
Co-Operative  Elevator  Co.  had  entered,  had  become  one  of  the  largest  co-operative 
concerns  in  the  world  with  333  grain  elevators,  200  flour  warehouses,  184  coal  sheds, 
2  terminal  elevators,  2  implement  warehouses,  a  large  timber  mill  and  general  agency 
in  British  Columbia,  and  a  timber  tract  to  supply  lumber  to  the  Company's  share- 
holders and  to  other  farmers  in  Western  Canada.  It  had,  according  to  the  first  pub- 
lished statement  of  Aug.  31,  1917,  over  35,000  shareholders  and  Assets  of  $6,000,000 
and  a  total  turnover  in  the  year  of  $100,000,000.  The  paid-up  capital  was  $1,825,000 
and  the  reserve  profit-and-loss  account  $1,659,000.  There  were  nearly  1,000  employees 
in  the  Company's  offices,  warehouses,  elevators  and  live-stock  departments,  and  all 
this  growth  represented  only  11  years'  effort.  The  Alberta  Company  itself  showed 
assets  of  $2,554,790  with  a  profit-and-loss  account  amounting  to  $362,502;  the  sub- 
scribed capital  amounted  to  $1,291,620  and  the  paid-up  capital  to  $563,689;  it  had 
145  Locals  in  the  Province  and  each  Local  was  entitled  to  2  Delegates  at  the  annual 
meeting,  or  a  total  representation  of  290.  The  annual  gathering  of  the  Alberta  con- 
cern met  at  Calgary  on  Nov.  21  with  all  Locals  represented  and  285  Delegates  present; 
received  the  above  report  of  Aug.  31st  and  accepted  the  amalgamation  with  Winni- 
peg; found  its  own  business  growing  greatly  with  the  Co-Operative  department 
handling  2,691  car-loads  in  the  year  with  a  turnover  of  $1,519,984  or  double  that  of 
the  previous  year — and  the  Live-stock  department  handling  1,242  cars  as  against 
628;  the  profits  were  $236,502  and  a  dividend  of  8%  was  declared.  In  October  the 
United  Grain  Growers  commenced  the  erection  of  a  35,000-bushel  grain  elevator  in 
Edmonton,  the  material  for  which  was  already  on  the  ground;  the  site  was  furnished 
by  the  C.P.R.  on  their  industrial  spur  adjacent  to  the  Edmonton  Milling  Co.  F.  M. 
Black  of  Edmonton  resigned  from  the  Public  Utilities  Board  and  went  to  Winnipeg 
on  Dec.  1  as  Treasurer  of  the  federated  organization. 

Incidents  of  the  year  along  these  lines  were  the  increasing  production  of  creamery 
butter,  with  Alberta  as  the  third  Province  in  the  Dominion— 8,500,000  Ibs.  in  1916; 
increasing  reports  from  the  far  North  of  fertile  farm-lands  and  the  production  of 
Indian  Corn,  turnips,  mangels,  carrots  and  sugar  beets,  with  the  Fort  Vermilion  region 
as  specially  notable;  the  fact  of  20,000  acres  being  under  cultivation  in  the  Pouc6 
Couple  district  with  1,000  homesteads  and  a  visit  to  Edmonton  of  Sheridan  Lawrence 
(Fort  Vermilion) — a  prosperous  farmer  and  trader  who  went  North  32  years  before, 
driving  an  ox- team  from  Calgary  at  the  age  of  16;  the  heavy  hail  storms  of  1916  by 
which  Alberta  lost  $1,000,000  and  the  succeeding  storm  of  Aug.  23,  1917,  by  which 
the  crops  on  96,000  acres  in  S.  Alberta  were  wiped  out;  the  Census  figures  from  Ottawa 
which  showed  the  Provincial  population  on  June  1,  1916,  as  496,528 — an  increase  in 
five  years  of  222,000.  They  also  asked  for  a  Provincial  Bureau  of  Labour.  The 
following  heads  of  public  organizations  were  elected  in  1917: 


EDUCATION:  THE  UNIVERSITIES  AND  COLLEGES  OF  ALBERTA  811 

Provincial  Cattle  Breeders' Association Angus  McDonnell Raig. 

Local  Council  of  Women Mrs.  R.  H.  Knight Edmonton. 

Rural  Municipalities  Association J.  H.  Lamb Youngstown. 

Provincial  Sheep  Breeders'  Association A.  B.  Campbell Edmonton. 

Alberta  Swine  Breeders'  Association D.  W.  Warner Clover  Hill. 

Federated  W.C.T.U Mrs.  Roy  Cook Edmonton. 

Alberta  Social  Service  League Mrs.  J.  S.  Virtue 

Board  of  Trade F  M.  Black Calgary. 

Alberta  Motor  League W.  F.  W.  Lent Edmonton. 

Grand  Lodge:  Alberta  I.O.O.F T.  A.  Parker . .  Winfield. 

Provincial  Orange  Grand  Lodge Robt.  White Calgary. 

Alberta  Shorthorn  Breeders 'Association Senator  Talbot. . .          .  .Lacombe. 


Alberta  Angus  Breeders'  Association  
United  Farmers'  Wool  Growers'  Association 
Alberta  Horse  Breeders'  Association  

G.  H.  Hutton  
E.  L.  Richardson..  . 
....  David  Torburn  . 

.  .  .  Lacombe. 
.  .  .  Calgary. 

Alberta  Hereford  Breeders'  Association  .  . 

.  .  Simon  Downie  .  . 

.  .  Carstairs. 

Education:  The  University  and  Colleges  of  Alberta. 

In  Educational  matters  the  Minister  was  Hon.  J.  R.  Boyle,  who  held  strong  views, 
personally,  as  to  English  teaching  in  the  schools  and  had  various  complications  of  a 
bi-lingual  and  racial  character  to  overcome.  His  policy  however  was  frankly  stated 
and  the  conditions  not  as  bad  as  was  sometimes  claimed  by  opponents.  The  statistics 
of  the  Department  for  1915,  the  latest  report  available,*  showed  2,478  school  dis- 
tricts of  which  2,138  were  in  operation,  3,082  class-rooms  and  a  total  enrolment  of 
97,286  compared  with  746  districts  and  570  in  operation,  760  class-rooms  and  28,784 
enrolments  in  1906,  when  the  Province  began  its  separate  development.  Of  the  school 
population  there  were  13,619  rural  in  1905  and  10,635  urban  with  51,207  rural  schools 
in  1915  and  46,079  urban.  Mr.  Boyle  was  strongly  in  favour  of  consolidated  schools 
and  speaking  in  the  Legislature  Mar.  15, 1917,  he  said:  "I  am  of  opinion  that  the  con- 
solidated Schools  which  will  bring  a  secondary  education  to  the  children  of  the  farm, 
and  the  Schools  of  Agriculture,  which  will  fit  the  children  of  the  farm  for  the  work 
of  the  farm  will  result,  in  time,  in  making  the  most  complete  system  of  education 
for  the  rural  parts  of  the  Province  that  is  to  be  found  anywhere  in  Canada."  As  to 
Provincial  expenditures  on  Education  he  made  some  comparisons:  Ontario  $3,000,000, 
or  40  cents  per  head  of  its  population;  Manitoba  with  455,000  people  gave  $1,575,- 
000  for  Education,  Saskatchewan  with  492,000  population  contributed  $1,620,000; 
Alberta  with  374,000  people  contributed  $1,070,836  to  Education  and  $600,000  in 
School  grants.  He  stated  that  in  1916  17  Consolidated  Schools  had  been  created 
with  a  total  of  28  in  all  and  added  that  120  new  school  districts  had  been  established 
in  1916  and  77  new  school  buildings  erected  and  that  school  debentures  totalling 
$121,275  had  been  sold  through  the  Department.  Discussing  the  supply  of  teachers 
he  said  that  it  had  been  greatly  affected,  not  only  by  the  enlistment  of  the  teachers 
themselves  but  by  the  students  of  the  High  Schools  and  Colleges  going  to  the  Front. 
In  1916  there  were  trained  in  the  Normal  Schools  428  against  601  in  1915.  The  teachers 
from  outside  Provinces  in  1916  were  276  against  327  in  1915,  while  they  had  only 
received  16  from  England  in  1916  against  105  in  1913.  At  this  moment  400  teachers 
were  needed  but  he  did  not  expect  to  get  them.  As  to  the  rest  the  Minister  stated 
that  in  1916  2,213  districts  operated  schools  and  144  conveyed  children  to  adjoining 
districts;  2,325  buildings  were  used  and  3,406  class-rooms;  3,881  teachers  were 
employed  and  569  permits  issued  with  465  teachers  on  permit  at  one  time.  In  the 
School  of  Technology  there  were  354  students  with  160  returned  soldiers  being  re- 
trained. At  the  Convention  of  the  Alberta  Educational  Association  early  in  April, 
Mr.  Boyle  made  the  interesting  statement  that  the  1,400  teachers  before  him  were 
not  doing  their  duty  in  educating  the  people  to  believe  in  Education  and  that  the 
public,  as  a  whole,  did  not  believe  that  it  pays  to  be  educated.  In  Calgary  on  May 
4  the  Minister  stated  that  a  large  number  of  Soldiers'  wives  who  had  formerly  been 
teachers  were  coming  back  into  the  profession  and  that  a  fine  body  of  highly-qualified 
Normal-trained  teachers  were  coming  from  across  the  border,  with  most  of  them  in 
possession  of  considerable  rural  school  experience:  "A  brief  course  in  British  and 
Canadian  history,  Canadian  civics,  the  geography  of  the  British  Empire  and  school 
laws  and  regulations  of  Alberta,  was  all  that  these  teachers  required."  To  complete 
requirements  Mr.  Boyle  proposed  to  have  rural  schools  supplied  during  the  summer 
by  granting  permits  to  students  of  the  University  of  Alberta  in  the  first  instance, 

*  Some  Provincial  Reports  are  hard  to  obtain  and  neither  the  Legislative  nor 
Public  Library  in  Toronto  had  the  1916  issue  w^hen  the  writer  found  in  August,  1917,  that 
his  copy  had  not  arrived ;  it  was  then  too  late  to  even  telegraph  a  request  for  one. 


812  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

and  when  this  source  of  supply  failed,  to  students  from  the  Universities  of  the  oth< 
Provinces.  On  Sept.  10  the  appointment  was  announced  of  John  T.  Ross,  B.A., 
Chief  Inspector  of  Schools  as  Deputy  Minister  of  Education  in  succession  to  D.  S. 
Mackenzie  who  had  accepted  the  post  of  Bursar  of  Alberta  University. 

Meantime  the  University  of  Alberta,  under  Dr.  H.  M.  Tory,  President,  progressed 
as  far  as  the  War  would  permit.  During  the  annual  meeting  of  the  United  Farmers 
about  800  Delegates  visited  the  institution  and  inspected  the  work  being  done  by  the 
University  and  its  Agricultural  Section;  they  were  shown  demonstrations  of  all 
kinds,  analyses  of  soils,  foodstuffs,  infected  plants,  etc.,  and  put  in  touch  with  all  the 
wonders  of  a  Chemical  and  laboratory  scientific  teaching  of  much  practical  value. 
A.  E.  Howes,  Dean  of  Agriculture,  spoke  to  them  of  the  difference  between  the  sys- 
tem of  Alberta  with  its  Department  of  Agriculture  in  the  University  and  outside  Schools 
of  Agriculture  feeding  it  with  high-class  students  and  the  other  Western  Provinces 
with  their  complete  Colleges  of  Agriculture  associated  with  the  Universities  but 
independent  in  management.  In  President  Tory's  annual  address  covering  1916  he 
stated  that: 

About  50  per  cent,  of  our  staff,  as  it  stood  at  the  beginning  of  the  War,  have  enlisted 
for  active  service:  a  state  of  affairs  honourable  to  the  men  themselves  as  well  as  to  the 
University.  Our  students  and  graduates  have  an  equally  honourable  record.  The 
number  who  have  enlisted  is  more  than  50  per  cent,  of  the  student  body,  including 
women,  as  it  stood  at  the  beginning  of  the  War,  or  about  three-quarters  of  the  registered 
men  students.  The  vast  majority  went  directly  from  the  University  classes  as  we  have 
only  a  small  number  of  graduates,  and  but  four  graduating  classes.  In  addition  to 
sending  men  to  the  five  University  Companies  raised  from  McGill  the  four  Western 
Universities,  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan,  Alberta  and  British  Columbia,  offered  the  Militia 
Department  a  Battalion  of  Infantry  and  a  Field  Ambulance  officered  by  University 
men.  The  battalion  was  authorized  under  the  name  of  the  196th  Western  Universities 
Battalion.  During  the  year  all  the  anti-typhoid  vaccine  used  in  the  Province  for  the 
inoculation  of  the  troops  raised  in  Military  District  No.  13  was  manufactured  in  our 
bacteriological  laboratory  and  distributed  free  for  the  Dominion  Government.  The 
University  is  now  performing  this  function  for  all  the  four  Western  Provinces.  It  is 
with  deep  sorrow  that  we  record  the  fact  that  of  those  who  have  enlisted  26  have  already 
fallen  on  the  field  of  battle. 

The  registration  at  the  beginning  of  1917  was  as  follows:  Graduate  students,  26;  4th 
year,  40;  3rd  year,  74;  2nd  year,  104;  1st  year,  174;  a  total  of  418.  Of  these  361 
were  men  and  57  women.  As  distributed  in  the  various  Faculties  the  numbers 
were  as  follows:  Arts  and  Science,  209;  Applied  Science,  40;  Law,  50;  Medicine,  42; 
Agriculture,  12;  Double  courses,  B.A.,  M.D.,  1;  B.A.,  LL.B.,  3;  B.A.,  B.Sc.,  1; 
Pharmacy,  16;  Accountancy,  15.  The  figures  showed  that  79  per  cent,  of  the  student 
body  was  of  British  origin  and  21  per  cent,  of  foreign  birth.  Of  the  latter  14  per  cent, 
were  from  the  United  States.  The  work  of  the  Faculty  of  Agriculture  was  growing 
rapidly  with  new  Laboratories  for  Agronomy  and  Soils  in  operation.  In  Live-stock 
there  were  the  beginnings  of  a  good  herd  in  both  Holstein  and  Jersey  breeds.  The 
Pharmaceutical  Association  of  the  Province  had  equipped  a  modern  laboratory  at 
the  University.  The  report  of  the  Department  of  Extension  showed  232  lectures 
given  in  125  communities  and  in  162  centres  with  a  total  attendance  of  25,258  people. 
As  to  Finance  the  Revenue  was  $275,584  of  which  the  Government  grant  was  $259,000. 
The  affiliated  institutions  included  Alberta  College  (Methodist)  with  Hon.  H.  C. 
Taylor  as  Chairman  and  Rev.  D.  E.  Thomas,  B.A.,  B.D.,  Acting  Principal,  in  succes- 
sion to  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Riddell,  and  a  College  building  in  the  University  grounds 
which  cost  $200,000.  It  was  decided  during  the  year  to  amalgamate  the  Southern 
and  Northern  branches  of  the  College — the  latter  having  1,108  students  in  1917 
The  other  affiliation  was  Robertson  College  (Presbyterian)  with  J.  A.  McDougall  as 
Chairman  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Millar,  M.A.,  D.D.,  as  Acting  Principal.  Associated  prepara- 
tory schools  of  the  University  were  the  Western  Canada  College,  Calgary;  Alberta 
College  and  Robertson  College  as  above;  Westward  Ho!  College,  Edmonton;  Mount 
Royal  College,  Calgary;  The  University  School,  Calgary;  Llanarthney  School  for 
Girls,  Edmonton. 

British  The  first,  and  indeed  the  last,  full  year  of  Govern- 

GoTOmmaent  ment  for  ^  Hon*  H*  C*  Brewster  was  a  difficult  and 
and  Politics-  rather  stirring  one.  He  had  to  clean  up  an  unpleasant 
Legislature  '  situation  of  corrupt  politics — some  of  which  was 
and  on  his  own  side;  to  deal  with  problems  of  greatly 

Production.  involved  and  straightened  finance;  to  meet  the  mess 
of  Pacific  Great  Eastern  construction  and  contracts;  to  be  drawn 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  813 

into  the  whirl  of  Dominion  politics  through  the  Union  Government 
movement.  A  by-no-means  small  complication  was  that  caused  by 
the  doubts  of  validity  in  the  lengthening  of  the  tenure  of  the  1916 
Legislature  by  a  special  Act  of  the  Bowser  Government  because  of 
technical  doubts  cast  upon  whether  the  legal  term  ended  on  Mar. 
15,  Mar.  30,  or  June  1.  The  Act  had  passed  by  a  party  vote  and 
Mr.  Brewster,  the  then  Opposition  Leader,  issued  a  writ  against  Mr. 
Bowser  and  made  the  matter  an  Election  issue  with  much  said  as 
to  the  invalidity  of  the  legislation  passed  after  the  above  dates. 
As  Premier,  Mr.  Brewster,  in  1917,  wanted  to  dispose  of  the  subject 
though  he  did  not  continue  his  action  in  the  Courts.  Legislation 
followed  validating  the  last  Acts  of  the  1916  Legislature  which 
included  such  important  matters  as  Prohibition,  Workmen's  Com- 
pensation, and  Woman's  Suffrage,  and  an  appeal  was  made  to  the 
Imperial  Government  which,  in  return,  referred  the  matter  for 
report  to  Ottawa  and  there  it  was  given  a  kind  of  quietus  from  the 
Minister  of  Justice  (Mr.  Doherty). 

To  a  Deputation  on  Mar.  22  which  waited  on  him  for  the  Hope- 
Princeton  highway,  in  the  Interior,  the  Premier  said:  "We  are  in 
the  position  of  trying  to  stretch  a  revenue  of1  $6,500,000  for  this 
year  to  cover  desirable  expenditure  of  $10,800,000" — incidentally  it 
was  stated  at  this  time  in  the  Island  Motorist  that  $13,348,000  had 
been  expended  on  Vancouver  Island  roads  in  ten  years.  Addressing 
a  Conservation  League,  on  June  2,  Mr.  Brewster  declared  that  lack 
of  care  and  thought  caused  the  Province  a  loss  of  many  millions 
yearly  and  he  pleaded  also  for  a  nation-wide  reform  in  the  basic 
methods  of  sanitation  so  as  to  ensure  the  health  of  the  people  and 
strengthen  the  physique  of  children.  He  welcomed  Mr.  Premier 
Massey  and  Sir  Joseph  Ward  of  New  Zealand  to  Canada  on  June 
7  and  in  August  was  present  at  the  Winnipeg  Liberal  convention 
which  caused  so  much  discussion  and  at  which  he  was  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  opposition  to  extreme  views,  either  for  or  against  Union 
Government  and  Conscription.  This  attitude  he  maintained  in 
Vancouver  on  Aug.  13  when  he  approved  the  compromises  of  the 
meeting  and  at  the  same  time  eulogized  F.  C.  Wade,  K.C.,  who 
wanted  no  compromise,  for  his  eloquent  presentation  of  Liberal 
doctrines  to  the  Resolution  Committee.  In  replying  to  a  Resolution 
passed  by  a  War  meeting  on  Aug.  12  urging  immediate  enforcement 
of  Conscription  he  wrote  a  letter  which  neither  accepted  nor  con- 
demned the  proposal  but  excused  conscientious  viewpoints  of 
difference.  With  Messrs.  T.  D.  Pattullo  and  John  Oliver  of  the 
Government  and  a  large  party  of  others,  Mr.  Brewster  left  Victoria 
on  Aug.  29  for  the  Northern  Interior  with  a  view  to  investigating 
the  great  agricultural  areas  of  the  Peace  River  Section  towards 
which  much  attention  was  being  directed  and  into  which  settlers 
were  steadily  going.  The  trip  was  expected  to  take  about  three 
weeks.  Thence  he  went  to  Regina  to  discuss,  late  in  September, 
the  political  Union  situation  at  Ottawa  with  Mr.  Calder  and  others; 
Mr.  Pattullo  and  Mr.  Oliver  went  to  Creston,  B.  C.,  where  they 
represented  the  Government  at  the  International  Immigration 
Conference  on  Sept.  28.  The  Premier  and  Mr.  Pattullo  were  at 


814  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Edmonton  on  the  26th  where  the  former  was  entertained  at  a 
luncheon  and  had  much  to  say  of  the  grain  and  gold  of  the  Peace 
River  region  in  British  Columbia.  After  a  brief  stay  in  Regina  he 
returned  to  Victoria  and  told  the  Press  that  railway  communica- 
tion with  the  Coast  was  essential  or  the  great  Peace  River  region 
in  British  Columbia  would  overflow,  in  its  coming  development, 
East  along  Alberta  lines.  On  October  4  Mr.  Brewster  left  for  Ottawa 
and  even  opposing  papers,  such  as  the  Victoria  Colonist  (Oct.  5) 
urged  his  claims  to  a  place  in  the  new  Government  as  one  who  was 
specially  familiar  with  shipping  questions  and  Coast  conditions 
besides  having  "a  clean  political  record  and  upright  character." 
There  was  no  attempt  to  conceal  the  fact  that  he  had  been 
"approached"  by  Sir  Robert  Borden  but  as  yet,  he  said,  there  had 
been  no  conference  on  the  subject.  To  Ottawa,  the  Premier  was 
accompanied  by  Hon.  Mr.  Farris.  On  Oct.  30  he  returned  to  Vic- 
toria and  it  was  said  that  much  depended  upon  his  ability  to  carry 
his  colleagues  with  him  in  the  matter  of  Unionism — but  with  strong 
doubts  as  to  Messrs.  King,  Pattullo,  Oliver  and  Farris  transferring 
their  Laurier  allegiance.  Eventually,  these  Ministers  remained 
aloof  from  the  whole  matter  and  took  little  part  in  the  Elections 
though  their  position  was  pretty  well  understood,  while  Mr.  Burrell 
remained  the  representative  of  the  Province  in  the  Union  Govern- 
ment. On  Nov.  20  Mr.  Brewster,  as  Premier,  presented  an  Address 
to  H.E.  The  Duke  of  Devonshire,  in  his  visit  to  the  Province  and 
one  clause  defined  the  Government's  War  attitude:  "Recognizing 
that  the  principles  of  justice  and  freedom  upon  which  our  Empire 
is  founded  are  at  stake,  we  are  at  one  with  the  heart  of  the  Empire 
in  this  great  conflict  and  are  determined  that  no  sacrifices,  however 
great,  will  evoke  from  us  murmuring,  repining,  or  evasion  of  duty." 
Meantime  certain  changes  had  occurred  in  the  Cabinet.  As  a 
result  of  the  death  of  Hon.  Ralph  Smith  which  occurred  on  Feb. 
12  to  the  regret  of  all  who  appreciated  a  rugged,  active,  earnest, 
political  career  and  personality,  Mr.  Brewster  took  over  the  Port- 
folio and  was  sworn  in  on  Feb.  15.*  Following  the  resignation  of 
the  Attorney-General,  Hon.  M.  A.  Macdonald  (May  14)  as  a  result 
of  Findings  by  the  Vancouver  1916  Bye-election  Commission,  John 
Wallace  de  Beque  Farris,  B.A.,  LL.B.,  a  1916  member  of  the  House 
from  Vancouver,  was  on  May  14  appointed  President  of  the  Execu- 
tive Council,  and  on  May  23,  Attorney-General  and  Minister  of 
Labour.  His  wife,  who  was  an  active  publicist  and  war-worker, 
and  a  University  graduate,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  the  University 
of  British  Columbia  during  the  year.  The  new  Minister  was  re- 
elected  by  acclamation  on  June  5.  The  Premier  held  the  Ministry 
of  Finance  until  June  llth,  when  he  resigned  and  John  Hart, 
M.L.A.  for  Victoria  since  1916  was  appointed  to  the  post.  There 
was  a  bye-election  with  Dr.  Ernest  Hall,  a  well-known  Liberal, 
running  as  an  Independent  and  the  Minister  won  on  June  22  by 
153  majority.  Incidentally  there  were  important  changes  in 
many  of  the  Departments.  Lieut.-Cokmel  E.  F.  Gunther,  for  six 

*This  seat  at  Vancouver  remained  vacant  until  the  close  of  the  year  when  Mrs. 
Ralph  Smith  stood  as  a  candidate  and  was  elected  early  in  1918, 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  815 

years  Superintendent  of  Insurance;  Ernest  McGaffey  for  years 
Secretary  and  head  of  the  Provincial  Bureau  of  Information ;  George 
H.  Dawson,  for  five  years  Surveyor-General  of  the  Province;  all  re- 
tired during  the  year  as  did  William  Manson,  ex-M.L.A.,  Chairman 
of  the  Agricultural  Credits  Commission  and  R.  M.  Winslow,  Pro- 
vincial Horticulturist;  H.  B.  MacMillan,  Chief  Forester,  Department 
of  Lands  and  F.  C.  Gamble,  Chief  Railway  Engineer;  William  Allison, 
Auditor-General,  upon  the  elimination  of  that  office,  and  Robert 
Ren  wick,  Deputy  Minister  of  Lands;  J.  P.  McLeod,  Deputy  Attorney 
General  and  W.  E.  McTaggart,  Prairie  Fruit  Markets  Commissioner. 
Some  of  these  gentlemen  retired  for  political  reasons  and  others 
for  personal  causes.  The  more  important  appointments  of  the 
year  were  as  follows:  Deputy- Attorney-General,  A.  M.  Johnson; 
Deputy  Minister  of  Lands,  George  R.  Naden;  Deputy  Minister  of 
Labour,  a  new  office,  James  D.  McNiven,  the  Labour  leader  of 
Vancouver;  Prairie  Fruit  Markets  Commissioner,  James  A.  Grant; 
Superintendent  Agricultural  Credits  Commission,  W.  Maxwell 
Smith;  Superintendent  of  Insurance,  H.  G.  Garrett;  Provincial 
Surveyor-General,  Joshua  Edler  Umbach;  Acting  Agent-General 
in  London,  Hon.  John  Herbert  Turner,  ex-Premier  of  the  Province 
and  holder  of  the  position  for  many  years  before  Sir  R.  McBride  took 
it.  Other  miscellaneous  appointments  were: 

Assistant  Comptroller-General Herbert  N.  Wright Victoria. 

Auditor  of  Disbursements Henry  N.  Howard Victoria. 

Provincial  Inspector  of  Factories Robert  J.  Stewart Revelstoke. 

Provincial  Chief  Forester Martin  A.  Grainger Victoria. 

Gold  Commissioner John  H.  McMullen Queen  Charlotte. 

King's  Counsel Hon.  M.  A.  Macdonald Vancouver. 

King's  Counsel Hon.  J.  W.  de  B.  Farris.  .Vancouver. 

Chief  Inspector  of  Indian  Agencies W.  E.  Ditchburn Victoria. 

Public  Works'  Chief  Engineer A.  E.  Foreman Victoria 

Police  Magistrate Dr.  Mark  S.  Wade Kamloops. 

Registrar-General  of  Titles John  C.  Gwynn New  Westminster. 

Police  Magistrate George  Jay Oak  Bay. 

Police  Magistrate William  A.  W.  Hames Courtenay. 

Police  Magistrate Joseph  Shaw Cumberland. 

Judge  of  Juvenile  Court Helen  G.  MacGill Vancouver. 

Acting  Provincial  Horticulturist M.  S.  Middleton Victoria. 

There  were  a  number  of  important  Commissions  or  Boards  created 
in  1917.  The  largest  matter  put  under  independent  control  was 
that  of  the  Land  Settlement  Board  (July  26)  with  W.  Maxwell 
Smith,  of  the  Agricultural  Credits  Board  which  it  superseded,  as 
Chairman  and  Duncan  Munro  of  Terrace,  Melbourne  H.  Nelems, 
Burnaby,  John  A.  Macdonald,  Nanaimo,  and  Charles  R.  Ward, 
Cranbrook,  as  members;  the  British  Columbia  Taxation  Board 
was  another  and  composed  of  Prof.  Robert  M.  Haig,  J.  B.  Mc- 
Killigan  (Chairman)  and  Aid.  W.  G.  Cameron  of  Victoria  with 
Thomas  Kidd,  a  farmer  of  Steveston;  a  Royal  Commission  to  in- 
vestigate and  report  upon  conditions,  regulations,  etc.,  of  the  Salmon 
Fisheries  in  Northern  British  Columbia  with  W.  Sanford  Evans, 
Ottawa  (Chairman),  H.  B.  Thomson,  ex-M.L.A.,  Victoria  and  F.  T. 
James,  Toronto,  as  members;  the  Workmen's  Compensation 
Board  for  administration  of  that  Act  composed  of  Parker  Williams, 
M.L.A.,  a  well-known  socialist,  E.  S.  H.  Winn  of  Rossland  (Chairman) 
and  Hugh  B.  Gilmour,  Vancouver.  In  replacing  and  changing  the 
old  financial  system  an  Act  of  the  new  Legislature  created  the 


816  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

office  of  Comptroller-General  with  important  duties  and  a  con- 
siderable staff.  Alex.  Naismith  Mouat  was  appointed  with  Herbert 
N.  Wright,  Victoria,  Assistant  Comptroller  and  Henry  N.  Howard 
as  Auditor  of  Disbursements.  Under  the  new  Mineral  Survey  Act 
G.  A.  Clothier  of  Prince  Rupert  was  appointed  Resident  Engineer 
of  No.  1  District;  J.  D.  Galloway  of  No.  II  District;  R.  W.  Thomson, 
Kamloops,of  No.  Ill;  P.  B.  Freeland,  Grand  Forks,  of  No.  IV;  G.  N. 
Langley,  Revelstoke,  of  No.  V;  W.  M.  Brewer  of  Nanaimo,  No.  VI. 

Of  the  Ministers  during  the  year  little  can  be  said  here.  They 
had  much  to  do  in  handling  a  new  Legislature  and  new  Cabinet 
duties  in  traversing  a  country  of  mountains  and  valleys  and  sea- 
coasts  and  becoming  more  acquainted  with  its  vast  resources — 
Hon.  John  Oliver  with  Agriculture,  Irrigation  requirements,  horti- 
cultural needs,  Fruit  interests,  trade  with  the  Western  Provinces; 
Hon.  T.  D.  Pattullo  with  the  vast  intricacies  of  the  Land  problem, 
the  Forest  surveys  and  timber  limits,  timber  preservation  and 
lumber  shipments  and  manufacture  and  export;  Hon.  J.  H.  King  with 
the  complicated  question  of  Public  Works  in  a  country  of  great 
distances,  mountain  railways  and  pioneer  needs,  every  kind  of  call 
from  isolated  towns  and  communities,  or  coast  cities  and  Harbours 
and  coast  transportation;  Hon.  William  Sloan  with  the  innumerable 
and  big  mining  interests  and  mineral  resources  of  the  country,  the 
questions  of  smelting  and  new  discoveries  and  general  development 
and  inspection  of  great  and  scattered  mines  and  mineral  areas; 
Mr.  Brewster,  and  then  Mr.  Hart,  with  problems  of  finance  far  greater, 
comparatively  to  population  and  territory,  than  in  any  other  part 
of  the  Dominion  and  enlarged  at  this  time  by  War  conditions, 
complications  of  past  speculative  prosperity,  excessive  railway  build- 
ing and  obligations  and  the  careless  management  of  great  expendi- 
tures; Hon.  Mr.  Farris  and  Hon.  J.  D.  McLean  with  Departments 
which  did  not  so  closely  touch  public  interests  except  when  the 
Attorney- General  handled  sensational  election,  political,  or  consti- 
tutional incidents.  Before  passing  from  this  subject  to  the  legis- 
lation of  the  year  it  may  be  stated  that  Hon.  J.  A.  Macdonald,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  was  appointed  to  be  Administrator 
of  the  Province  in  the  absence  for  different  periods  of  the  Lieut.- 
Governor,  from  Jan.  9  to  Feb.  25  and  from  Dec.  10  to  Jan.  10,  1918. 

The  1st  Session  of  the  14th  Legislature  of  British  Columbia 
was  opened  on  Mar.  1st  at  Victoria  by  the  Lieut. -Governor  (F.  S. 
Barnard)  with  a  Speech  from  the  Throne  in  which  His  Honour 
referred  to  the  change  in  the  Governor-Generalship  and  described 
victory  in  the  War  for  "freedom  and  justice"  as  indefinite  in  time 
but  assured  in  fact;  stated  that  a  Bill  would  be  presented  authorizing 
the  use  of  the  old  Court  House  site  in  Vancouver  by  the  people  of 
that  City  as  an  open  space  and  upon  which  to  erect  suitable  memorials 
to  the  gallant  men  of  British  Columbia  who  had  fallen  or  might 
yet  fall  in  the  conflict;  expressed  the  willing  co-operation  of  his 
Government  in  all  "practical  proposals  so  that  returned  Canadian 
soldiers  who  have  volunteered  their  services  freely  in  defence  of 
the  Empire  may  find  adequate  provision  for  taking  their  honoured 
place  in.the  citizenship  of  their  country  on  their  return  to  civil  life"; 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  817 

described  business  conditions  as  improved,  a  recovery  from  severe 
depression  under  way,  and  a  thorough  audit  of  Government  finances 
as  being  prepared;  stated  that  agricultural  conditions  were  still 
very  unsatisfactory  and  continued  importation  of  necessary  pro- 
ducts a  drain  upon  financial  resources,  with  immigration  and  settle- 
ment as  the  only  apparent  solution;  promised  legislative  improve- 
ments in  the  Agricultural  Act,  and  encouragement  to  Immigration; 
indicated  legislative  aid  to  systematic  prospecting  of  mineral  regions 
and  the  provision  of  additional  smelting  facilities;  noted  a  "marked 
increase  in  the  demand  for  timber  in  various  branches  of  manufac- 
ture, including  wood-pulp"  and  hoped  for  development  in  wooden 
ships;  regretted  that  "the  policy  of  aiding  the  construction  of  rail- 
ways by  means  of  Provincial  guarantees  of  bonds  had  resulted  in 
the  Province  having  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  large  sums  of 
money  on  interest  account"  and  stated  that  "a  thorough  inquiry 
would  be  made  into  all  matters  relating  to  the  construction  of  the 
Pacific  Great  Eastern  Railway" ;  intimated  that  the  Estimates  would 
provide  for  continuing  the  development  of  the  former  Songhees 
Indian  Reserve,  and  for  assisting  in  the  construction  of  a  bridge 
across  Victoria  Harbour  as  a  necessary  part  of  such  development 
work;  promised  a  Civil  Service  Bill,  a  measure  providing  for  the 
equal  guardianship  of  children,  a  Women's  Suffrage  Bill  and  one 
providing  fortnightly  payment  of  wages  in  certain  industries. 

His  Honour  described  the  financial  situation  as  difficult,  the 
most  expert  advice  and  new  taxation  as  necessary,  a  judicious, 
courageous  and  capable  administration  as  essential  and  concluded 
with  the  curious  statement,  which  aroused  inquiry  and  comment 
in  the  House,  that  out  of  this  world-conflict  "the  all-surviving 
principle  of  human-brotherhood  revives  and  takes  on  new  form  and 
fresh  vitality."  John  Walter  Weart  was  unanimously  elected  Speaker 
and  a  little  later  John  Keen,  Deputy  Speaker,  and  J.  W.  de  B. 
Farris,  as  Chairman  of  Ways  and  Means — all  new  members  elected 
in  1916.  The  Address  was  moved  by  H.  C.  Hart,  Victoria,  and 
John  Keen,  Kaslo,  but  before  this  was  done  Resolutions  were  passed 
(1)  expressing  condolence  with  Mrs.  Ralph  Smith  on  the  death  of 
the  Minister  of  Finance,  and  (2)  declaring  that  if  it  should  appear 
that  any  one  was  elected  to  the  House  or  endeavoured  so  to  be  by 
bribery  or  corrupt  practices  "this  House  will  proceed  with  utmost 
severity  against  such  person  or  persons  as  are  convicted  of  these 
offences."  The  speeches  of  the  mover  and  seconder  of  the  Address 
were  largely  devoted  to  denunciation  of  the  late  Government's 
railway  and  other  policies  and  the  Hon.  H.  C.  Brews ter,  Premier, 
and  Hon.  W.  J.  Bowser,  K.C.,  Leader  of  the  Opposition  took  up  much 
time  in  attack  and  defence  on  the  same  subject,  while  the  Opposition 
also  devoted  many  days  to  Hon.  M.  A.  Macdonald,  Attorney- 
General,  to  his  1916  election  in  Vancouver,  and  to  other  charges 
against  the  Liberals  of  an  election  character.*  A  host  of  questions 
were  asked  the  Government  and  some  answered;  others  not.  After 
three  weeks'  debate  the  Address  passed  without  division  on  Mar.  21. 
Meanwhile,  on  Mar.  9,  Hon.  John  Oliver,  Minister  of  Railways, 
moved  this  Resolution: 

*  See  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW  of  1916  under  British  Columbia,, 
52 


818  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

That  a  Select  Committee,  consisting  of  eight  Members  of  this  House  be  appointed 
to  inquire  into  all  matters  directly  or  indirectly  relating  to  the  construction  of  the 
Pacific  Great  Eastern  Railway  Co.,  including  the  relations  existing  between  that 
Company  and  the  firm  of  Foley,  Welch  &  Stewart,  and  between  the  said  Railway 
company  and  Mr.  P.  Welch,  contractor,  and  between  Mr.  P.  Welch,  contractor,  and 
any  sub-contractors  or  stationmen  performing  work  or  supplying  materials  under 
the  contract  existing  between  P.  Welch  and  the  Railway  company;  and  also  into 
relations  existing  between  the  Railway  company  and  any  other  person,  firm  or  cor- 
poration; and  also  into  the  relations  existing  between  Mr.  P.  Welch,  contractor, 
and  any  other  person,  firm  or  corporation  in  connection  with  the  supply  of  labour 
or  materials  in  connection  with  the  construction  of  the  railway. 

The  Committee  was  given  power  to  examine  under  oath  and  in- 
structed to  report  from  time  to  time.  The  Opposition  moved  (W. 
H.  Hay  ward  and  R.  H.  Pooley)  in  amendment  that  a  Royal  Commis- 
sion be  appointed  composed  of  one  of  the  Supreme  Court  Judges 
and  two  Railway  engineers  of  national  reputation  instead  of  a  Select 
Committee;  after  several  days'  debate  the  Conservative  amend- 
ment was  lost  by  29  to  10  and  the  original  motion  carried.  The 
Committee  was  as  follows:  J.  W.  de  B.  Farris,  H.  C.  Hall,  G.  S. 
Hanes,  F.  W.  Anderson,  J.  M.  Yorston,  W.  R.  Ross,  K.C.,  L.  W. 
Shatford  and  R.  H.  Pooley — the  last  three  Conservatives.  An 
interim  report  of  this  Committee  on  Apr.  16  stated  that  D'Arcy 
Tate,  K.C.,  Vice-President  of  the  P.  G.  E.  Railway  had  refused  to 
answer  questions  and  that  the  Committee  needed  further  powers; 
the  Government  at  once  introduced  a  Resolution  giving  the  powers 
asked  for  and  applying  them  to  others  than  Mr.  Scott,  by  name; 
after  several  Opposition  amendments  the  motion  was  carried  by 
28  to  12.  On  Apr.  18  it  was  further  reported  that  Mr.  Tate  and 
others  would  not  reply  to  some  additional  questions  and  that  Mr. 
Tate  had  left  town.  The  House  issued  a  warrant  to  bring  Mr. 
Tate  before  the  Bar  and  a  Subpoena  to  R.  D.  Thomas,  Secretary- 
Treasurer  of  the  Company,  to  answer  certain  questions  before  the 
House.  Mr.  Thomas  appeared  on  Apr.  18  but  refused  to  answer 
questions  as  to  names  and  amounts  of  money  said  to  have  been 
given  by  Mr.  Tate  for  Conservative  campaign  funds  and  discussed 
between  the  two  officials  of  the  railway.  He  was  ordered  into 
custody.  On  Apr.  25  the  Committee  reported  that  E.  F.  White, 
Vancouver,  had  failed  to  produce  certain  private  Ledgers  of  P. 
Welch  of  the  Railway  and  that  Hon.  W.  J.  Bowser  had  declined  to 
answer  questions  about  campaign  funds.  Mr.  White  was  ordered 
before  the  House  and  on  May  1  the  Committee  finally  reported  at 
length  as  to  the  construction  of  the  Pacific  Great  Eastern  Railway 
from  Vancouver  to  Fort  George;  detailed  the  original  arrangement 
and  expenditures  and  narrated  its  alleged  relations  with  the  Bowser 
Government;  stated  that  D'Arcy  Tate,  as  his  Commission  for  secur- 
ing the  charter  and  guarantees  from  the  Province  and  a  traffic 
arrangement  with  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  was  to  receive  one- 
quarter  of  the  capital  stock  of  the  Company — composed  of  Foley, 
Welch  and  Stewart,  J.  W.  Stewart  and  himself— valued  at  $6,250,- 
000  with  $500,000  in  cash;  said  that  Mr.  Tate  "undertook  out 
of  this  sum  to  provide  incidental  expenses,  including  such 
campaign  funds  for  the  Conservative  party  as  might  be  necessary 
for  the  purpose,  and  in  due  course  the  said  stock  was  issued  and 
delivered  to  Mr.  Tate,  and  the  $500,000  was  also  received  by  him.' 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  819 

The  Committee  found  that  the  contract  between  the  Company 
and  Foley,  Welch  and  Stewart  as  contractors  was  an  improper  one 
and  indicated  that  the  prices  so  fixed  were  excessive;  that  the  late 
Government  had  exercised  no  proper  supervision  over  the  work 
which  it  was  paying  for  with  trust  funds  and  that  the  Government 
Engineer's  inspections  had  been  very  casual ;  that  there  were  specific 
and  detailed  over-payments  to  the  contractors  of  $5,704,316;  that 
the  bonds  of  the  Company  guaranteed  by  the  Government  were 
sold  to  the  amount  of  $20,160,000  for  $18,314,825,  deposited  by  the 
Minister  of  Finance  in  a  Bank  with  payments  to  the  Company  in  a 
way  which  was  "illegal  and  improper";  that  the  bond  of  the  con- 
tractors for  $250,000  had  been  allowed  to  lapse  and  that  the  latter 
had  defaulted  in  interest  to  a  total  of  $1,053,827  with  similar  pay- 
ments of  $1,000,000  a  year  facing  the  Province;  that  the  Province 
"has  no  security  for  its  bonded  guarantee  against  the  terminals  of 
the  Company  or  against  the  lands  held  in  the  name  of  the  Develop- 
ment Company,  or  against  the  assets  of  the  Equipment  Company"; 
that  the  contention  of  P.  Welch  as  to  the  contractors'  losing  money 
to  the  extent  of  $5,170,577  was  not  sustained  and  that  large  profits 
had  been  made  from  the  sale  of  townsites;  that  the  1916  legislation 
of  the  Bowser  Government  proposing  a  further  advance  to  the 
contractors  of  $6,000,000  had  been  made  without  any  attempt  to 
obtain  guarantees  for  over-payments  and  that  A.  H.  B.  MacGowan, 
then  an  M.L.A.,  was  in  1914-15  a  sub-contractor  and  received 
$9,000  from  the  Company  without  being  a  real  partner  in  the  con- 
cern or  giving  any  consideration  for  the  money  received;  that 
investigations  had  been  hampered  by  the  "precipitate  departure" 
of  certain  gentlemen  to  the  United  States  and  the  refusals  of  Mr. 
Welch  and  Mr.  Bowser  to  assist  the  Committee.  On  May  4  a 
warrant  was  issued  for  Mr.  Welch  while  Messrs.  W.  R.  Ross  and 
J.  H.  Schofield  (Conservatives)  moved  a  Resolution  in  the  Legisla- 
ture that  R.  D.  Thomas  be  discharged  from  custody  of  the  House 
which  was  negatived  on  the  7th  without  division.  On  May  19 
these  members  moved  that  27  days'  detention  be  considered  as 
sufficient  punishment,  but  Hon.  Mr.  Oliver's  brief  amendment  that 
"R.  D.  Thomas  be  discharged  from  custody"  was  accepted.  G.  S. 
Hanes  (Lib.)  then  moved  that  Mr.  Bowser,  Opposition  Leader,  be 
compelled  to  personally  appear  at  the  Bar  of  the  House  or  to  rise 
in  his  seat  and  answer  certain  questions  previously  refused;  a 
debate  arose  but  was  not  resumed  and  nothing  further  was  done  in 
the  matter.  On  May  10  Donald  McLeod  was  subpcened  to  appear 
at  the  Bar  of  the  House  but  paid  no  attention  to  the  matter.  J.  S. 
Cowper  (Lib.)  on  May  15  tried  to  have  included  in  the  Act  relating 
to  the  Vancouver  Bye-Election  Inquiry  a  clause  requiring  investiga- 
tion and  report  as  to  alleged  past  contributions  by  the  Pacific  Great 
Eastern  and  its  contractors  in  aid  of  M.  A.  Macdonald  (Lib.)  now 
Attorney-General,  but  was  ruled  out  of  Order  by  the  Speaker.  A 
motion  by  G.  S.  Hanes  and  W.  D.  Willison  (Liberals)  (May  19) 
that  the  entire  property  and  assets  of  this  Railway  be  taken  over 
by  the  Government  and  action  brought  against  the  contractors,  was 
ruled  out  as  was  another  proposing  to  appoint  a  Royal  Commission 


820  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  Inquiry  into  all  the  payments  to  Foley,  Welch  and  Stewart  and 
into  other  matters  associated  with  them.  Following  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  House  a  statement  of  Claims  against  the  P.G.E.  Rail- 
way Co.,  its  shareholders,  Directors,  etc.,  was  prepared  for  a  Su- 
preme Court  action  initiated  by  the  Government;  on  Aug.  17  Mr. 
Bowser  asked  what  payments  had  been  made  by  the  Brewster  Gov- 
ernment on  account  of  Guarantees  for  the  Pacific  Great  Eastern 
bonds  and  was  told  that  $1,085,290  had  been  issued  on  estimates 
approved  by  the  Railway  Department. 

On  Mar.  27  Hon.  Dr.  J.  D.  McLean,  Provincial  Secretary, 
moved  for  an  Inquiry  into  Election  allegations  contained  in  a  Petition 
from  John  Mclnnis  of  Prince  George  and  Mr.  Bowser  raised  a 
point  of  order  as  to  time  limit,  the  Speaker  ruled  the  proposal  in 
order  and  was  supported  by  27  to  7;  particulars  as  to  the  Govern- 
ment Colony  Farm  were  given  the  House  on  Mar.  30  by  Dr.  McLean 
and  showed  an  expenditure  on  Buildings  of  $207,286  and  other 
items  totalling  $108,121;  the  same  Minister  stated  that  the  total 
of  the  late  Government  grants  to  the  King  Edward  Sanatorium  at 
Tranquille  was  $312,837  in  1906-17.  The  Minister  of  Agriculture 
(Hon.  John  Oliver)  stated  Apr.  12  that  the  Agricultural  Credits 
Commission  had  received  1,355  applications  to  date,  totalling 
$2,751,590  and  that  the  number  granted  was  375,  amounting  to 
$783,000,  with  $299,651  paid  in  cash  and  $948,240  still  available. 
On  May  7,  C.  F.  Nelson  and  K.  C.  Macdonald  moved  and  carried 
a  Resolution  as  to  the  inconvenience  and  loss  of  settlers  along  the 
transport  routes  of  inland  railways  and  rivers  because  of  failure  in 
Transportation  companies  to  meet  their  requirements;  the  Premier 
moved  on  May  16  for  the  appointment,  through  legislation  to  follow, 
of  a  Royal  Commission  to  inquire  into  alleged  frauds  in  the  taking 
of  the  Overseas  vote  in  the  B.C.  Prohibition  referendum  of  1916 
and  this  was  carried  by  30  to  9  votes;  on  May  19  a  Resolution  was 
passed  (F.  A.  Pauline  and  Hugh  Stewart)  declaring  that  the  Federal 
Government  should  take  steps  to  prevent  high  prices  ensuing  from 
speculation  in  articles  of  food.  The  House  then  adjourned  until 
Aug.  14,  when  it  received  an  elaborate  Report  as  to  the  overseas 
Prohibition  vote  from  its  Commissioners — D.  Whiteside,  M.L.A. 
(Chairman),  F.  A.  Pauline,  M.L.A.,  and  C.  F.  Nelson,  M.L.A.  These 
gentlemen  were  all  Liberals  and  concluded  with  the  statement  that 
it  "is  practically  impossible  now  to  say  what  the  result  of  the  polling 
between  Sept.  14  and  Dec.  31  actually  was,  but  taking  the  8,488 
votes  dealt  with  by  Mr.  Helmore  into  consideration,  your  Commis- 
sioners think  that  a  total  of  4,697  votes  should  be  rejected."  A 
Resolution  moved  by  R.  H.  Pooley  and  J.  H.  Schofield  (Aug.  17) 
declaring  that  "in  the  opinion  of  this  House,  the  whole  resources  of 
the  Dominion,  man-power  and  wealth,  be  pledged  to  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  War,  and  gives  its  unqualified  support  to  the  principle 
of  Selective  Conscription  so  as  to  ensure  the  country's  maximum 
effort"  was  ruled  out  of  order.  The  House  was  then  prorogued  with 
a  Speech  from  His  Honour  noting  and  reiterating  the  regret  of  the 
House  at  Sir  R.  McBride's  death  and  referring  to  various  matters 
of  legislative  action  during  the  Session. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  821 

Liberal  or  Government  incidents  of  the  Session  included  the 
declaration  of  Hon.  Dr.  J.  H.  King  on  May  1st  that  Dr.  J.  W.  Mc- 
Intosh  and  J.  S.  Cowper,  elected  in  1916  as  Liberals,  were  no  longer 
members  of  that  Party  and  the  refusal  of  both  members  to  either 
leave  the  party  or  join  the  Opposition;  the  plea  of  F.  A.  Pauline, 
Victoria,  on  Mar.  8  for  Government  support  to  the  Steel  industry 
during  which  he  spoke  of  20,000,000  tons  of  the  best  hematite  ore 
as  being  within  100  miles  of  the  House  of  Assembly  and  declared 
that  a  portion  of  the  $35,000,000  spent  by  the  late  Government 
on  building  roads  would  have  done  much  for  the  iron  and  steel 
industry  and  the  ship-building  so  greatly  needed;  the  statement  of 
Hon.  T.  D.  Pattullo,  Minister  of  Lands,  on  Mar.  19,  that  the  brother- 
hood of  man  referred  to  in  the  Speech  from  the  Throne  was  illustrated 
recently  in  Russia  and  that  he  disagreed  with  the  principle  of  the 
Patriotic  Fund  and  believed  that  the  National  Government  should 
take  care  of  the  soldiers  and  the  soldiers'  dependants  from  the  time 
of  enlistment  until  the  men  were  returned  to  civil  life;  a  speech  by 
Hon.  William  Sloan,  Minister  of  Mines  (Mar.  21),  in  which,  as  a  prac- 
tical mining  man,  he  desired  a  higher  duty  on  the  imports  of  fuel 
oil  with  the  declaration  that  he  preferred  British  Columbia  coal  to 
California  oil,  that  there  were  60,000,000  tons  of  iron  ore  within  the 
Province  which  the  Department  would  investigate,  that  he  proposed 
to  remove  the  reserve  on  Mineral  resources  in  Strathcona  Park  and 
re-open  the  rights  of  squatters  on  the  E.  &  N.  Railway  to  coal 
rights ;  the  declaration  of  Hon.  Mr.  Oliver  on  Mar.  9  that  in  order  to 
save  Foley,  Welch  and  Stewart  from  bankruptcy  the  late  Govern- 
ment had  nearly  bankrupted  the  Province  and  that  the  then  Attorney 
General,  in  collusion  with  the  members  of  that  firm,  entered  into  an 
agreement  to  pay  over  moneys  in  defiance  of  the  Statute  law  of  the 
Province;  a  formal  Royal  assent  to  the  Provincial  Franchise  amend- 
ments, giving  the  women  a  vote  (Apr.  5 j  which  was  made  the  occasion 
of  a  ceremony  with  bouquets  of  flowers  at  various  seats  and  crowds 
of  ladies  in  the  gallery. 

Hon.  Dr.  King  in  the  House  on  May  1  expressed  hostility  to 
the  late  Government's  Ship-building  policy  and  did  not  think  it 
advisable  to  grant  continued  Provincial  aid  during  war-time  unless 
the  Dominion  Government  took  effective  action,  while  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Oliver,  on  May  2,  intimated  that  this  was  purely  a  Dominion 
matter.  This  latter  Minister  was  bothered  by  the  Opposition 
as  to  the  dismissal  of  William  Morrison  and  other  Conservative 
officials  and  on  May  3  replied  with  emphasis:  "My  position  is  that 
no  Liberal  has  had  a  look  in  during  the  14  years.  I  would  not  put 
any  but  good  Liberals  in  office  until  something  like  an  even  balance 
is  obtained."  This  Minister's  Bill  was  an  important  effort  to  re- 
organize a  much-muddled  system  with  conditions  due,  in  part,  to 
transportation  and  geographical  complications.  Mr.  Pattullo,  on 
May  9,  described  it  as  "the  most  important  piece  of  legislation  ever 
presented  to  any  Legislature  of  this  or  any  other  Province"  and 
declared  that  the  policy  and  the  Act  involved  a  future  expenditure 
of  millions. 

In  respect  to  the  creation  of  a  Department  of  Labour  Mr.  Premier 
Brewster  declared  that  it  would  prepare  to  avoid  the  waste  of  energy 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

in  men  seeking  labour  after  the  war,  would  provide  a  means  of 
bringing  employers  and  employees  together  with  a  minimum  of 
friction,  would  alleviate  the  evils  of  employment  agencies — especially 
for  railway  men — and  would  afford  a  basis  for  the  proper  study  and 
application  of  the  Labour  experiences  of  the  world.  In  connection 
with  the  Public  Inquiries  Act  the  Premier  insisted  on  May  19  that: 
"The  people  shall  have  a  final  house-cleaning  so  that  suspicion  shall 
exist  no  longer  and  this  Bill  has  been  made  very  wide  so  that  investi- 
gations can  take  in  railway  corporations  or  other  bodies."  On  the 
Conservative  side  Hon.  W.  J.  Bowser,  ex-Premier,  fought  the  Govern- 
ment as  vigorously  as  they  and  other  supporters  criticized  him — 
and  that  is  saying  much.  He  accepted  the  principle  that  political 
patronage  should  be  abolished  but  did  not  believe  that  the  Liberal 
Bill  would  effect  that  end  or  the  Liberals  carry  it  out  in  practice 
and,  as  to  Prof.  Adam  Shortt's  much  eulogized  part  in  preparing  the 
measure,  he  deprecated  excessive  praise  of  a  gentlemen  whom  he 
described  as  a  follower  of  Mill,  Spencer,  Ricardo  and  even  Karl 
Marx;  he  approved  Woman  Suffrage  and  reminded  the  House  that 
his  Government  had  given  a  Referendum  on  the  question  while 
he,  also,  paid  special  tribute  to  the  speeches  made  by  women  in 
presenting  their  claims  during  the  past  few  years;  he  doubted  the 
wisdom  of  giving  the  Minister  of  Public  Works  so  much  power  as 
was  done  in  the  Highway  Act — alleging  that  he  would  be  supreme 
in  his  Department  and  could  act  without  recourse  to  his  colleagues 
in  the  utilization  of  large  areas  of  Crown  lands;  so  with  the  alleged 
excessive  powers  given  the  Minister  of  Railways — powers  which  in 
the  Federal  system  were  in  the  hands  of  a  non-political  Commission 
but  would  in  the  Province  enable  the  Minister  to  wipe  out  a  Railway 
at  the  stroke  of  his  pen ;  criticized  the  Taxation  Bills  as  bearing  too 
heavily  on  the  farmer  and  small  wage-earners  and  as  not  eliminating 
the  evils  of  land  speculation — the  alleged  increased  tax  on  farm  lands 
being  100%  and  on  speculative  wild  lands  25%;  described  Mr. 
Sloan's  Smelting  legislation  as  void  of  any  practical  force  or  effective 
action.  Other  voluminous  criticisms  made  by  him  during  the 
Session  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

1.  Promises  of  economy  and  retrenchment  had  not  been  adhered  to,  a  pledge  of 
purity  in  elections  was  not  made  good,  and  a  sworn  statement  by  the  Hon.  M.  A. 
Macdonald  indicated  that  large  sums  of  money  had  been  received  from  corporations. 

2.  Patronage  continued  and  though  Royal  Commissions  were  denounced  on  the 
hustings  in  the  Elections,  yet  the  Government  had  appointed  several  of  them. 

3.  Government  Members  had  denounced  Orders-in-Council  yet  since  taking 
office  they  had  been  more  numerous  than  ever. 

4.  The  Government  had  tied  up  the  Pacific  Great  Eastern  in  litigation,  increased 
the  cost  of  administration  of  Public  Works  and  enacted  unjustifiable  increases  in 
taxes  imposed,  as  well  as  by  a  surtax  and  poll-tax. 

5.  Refusal  to  continue  the  Ship-building  policy  and  an  improper  administration 
of  the  Workmen's  Compensation  Act. 

6.  Dilatoriness  in  the  administration  of  the  Land  Settlement  Act  and  selection 
of  the  Board  with  a  view  not  to  efficiency  but  to  the  demands  of  followers. 

Other  incidents  included  the  Press  announcement  of  Mar.  29 
that  the  Government  intended  to  dismiss  Sir  Richard  McBride, 
lately  Conservative  Premier,  and  present  Agent-General  in  London, 
followed  by  a  severe  denouncement  of  Sir  Richard  by  A.  M.  Manson 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  823 

(Liberal)  on  May  2,  and  the  Premier's  remark  that  conditions  were 
•uncertain:  the  known  illness  of  Sir  Richard  early  in  this  year,  the 
statement  in  the  Legislature  by  the  Premier  on  May  20  that  he  had 
resigned  his  post  on  account  of  ill-health  and  was  returning  home; 
the  death  of  this  distinguished  "Native  Son"  of  his  Province  on 
August  6,  and  many  sincere  personal  tributes  as  well  as 
those  of  press  and  Legislature  to  a  man  of  innate  geniality  whose 
optimism  of  thought  and  policy  were  instructive.  Dr.  J.  W. 
Mclntosh  of  Vancouver  was  read  out  of  the  Liberal  party  during 
the  Session  and  his  statement  on  Mar.  15,  with  Dr.  Fisher  of  Yale 
as  the  authority,  that  the  loss  through  preventable  sickness  and  death 
in  the  United  States,  if  converted  into  money  value,  was  annually 
two  billions  and  in  Canada  $160,000,000  while,  on  the  same  basis 
it  would  be  $8,000,000  in  British  Columbia,  was  interesting;  the 
announcement  was  made  on  May  26  that  this  Member  had  offered 
his  services  as  a  Medical  man  to  the  war  authorities  at  his  own 
expense  so  far  as  reaching  England  was  concerned.  Early  in  the 
year  F.  C.  Wade,  K.C.,  of  Vancouver,  was  mentioned  as  a  possible 
appointee  to  the  Agent-Generalship  in  London.  The  Legislation 
of  this  Session  was  most  important  as  to  intention  and  effort  though 
the  Government  and  most  of  the  members  were  quite  inexperienced. 

Agriculture  was  a  first  call  on  the  Government's  activities  and  the 
Agricultural  Act  was  amended  so  as  to  give  a  per  capita  grant  to 
Farmers'  Institutes  and  place  Women's  Institutions  upon  the  same 
status,  to  form  District  institutions  and  appoint  an  Advisory  Board, 
etc.  The  Land  Settlement  and  Development  Act  was  intended  to 
promote  settlement  and  production  and  provide  for  (1)  the  appoint- 
ment by-  the  Government  of  a  Board  to  consist  of  five  members; 
(2)  to  arrange  the  payment  of  moneys  required  for  the  purposes  of 
the  Board,  out  of  the  funds  of  the  Province ;  (3)  to  make  agricultural 
loans  to  farmers  and  their  co-operative  associations  for  settlement 
and  land  development  purposes  at  long-dated  periods  of  either  25, 
20  or  15  years  with  short-dated  loans  for  periods  of  not  less  than 
three  years  and  not  to  exceed  ten  years.  This  Land  Settlement 
Board  was  given  power,  with  the  sanction  of  the  Government,  to 
take  over  from  the  Crown  and  to  purchase  from  or  obtain  by  exchange 
with  private  owners,  lands  within  the  Province  for  Agricultural 
purposes  and  to  improve  and  develop  such  lands  for  any  land  settle- 
ment purposes  with  provision  for  co-operative  land  settlement 
and  special  concessions  to  returned  soldiers.  The  Contagious 
Diseases  (Animals)  Act  was  intended  to  ensure  to  the  Public  a  pure 
milk  supply;  the  Egg  Marks  Act  was  for  adequate  inspection  of  this 
product  and  the  Brand  Act  amendments  reviewed  and  revised  con- 
ditions along  the  lines  of  registration,  inspection  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Board  of  Brand  Commissioners  with  a  Recorder  of  Brands; 
the  Sheep  Protection  Act  was  designed  to  protect  sheep  from  the 
ravages  of  dogs  and  to  have  the  latter  properly  tagged  and  licensed 
and  kept  under  proper  supervision  of  the  owner.  The  appropriations 
of  the  Legislature  for  Agriculture  iu  the  year  ending  Mar.  31,  1918 
was  $207,970;  those  of  the  Dominion  Government  were  $63,732. 

A  new  act  was  passed  as  to  Auditing  the  Public  Accounts  and  it 
provided  for  a  Treasury  Board  within  the  Government  and  the 


824  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

appointment  of  a  Comptroller-General  and  Auditors  of  varied 
duties  and  adduced  careful  rules  and  minute  details  for  the  guardian- 
ship of  public  moneys;  a  Civil  Service  Act  was  designed  to  put  all 
employees  of  the  Government  (except  Private  Secretaries  of  Min- 
isters) under  a  Civil  Service  Commission  composed  of  one  Commis- 
sioner appointed  by  the  Government,  but  only  removable  by  the 
Lieut. -Governor  upon  Address  of  the  Assembly — salary  $5,000  a 
year — and  duties  covering  examinations,  investigations,  violations 
of  the  Act,  reports  to  Government,  with  detailed  instructions  as  to 
the  application  of  the  law ;  amendments  were  made  to  the  Companies' 
Act  so  that  (1)  no  unlicensed  or  unregistered  extra-Provincial  Com- 
pany could  maintain  an  action  in  Court  or  (2)  acquire  or  hold  land 
or  register  titles  in  the  Province;  amendments  to  the  Trust  Com- 
panies' Act  re-defined  the  application  of  the  name  and  made  certain 
changes  to  meet  the  legal  complications  of  the  Dominion  Trust 
Company  collapse;  in  connection  with  a  previous  Act  to  aid  the 
Complex  Ore  Process  concern  it  was  enacted  that  the  entire  net 
profits  after  paying  80  per  cent,  dividends  should  be  applied  to 
payment  of  the  principal  and  interest  of  its  guaranteed  securities; 
the  Supreme  Court  Act  was  amended  and  the  Dentistry  Act  so  as 
to  permit  the  organization  of  a  College  of  Dental  Surgeons  for  the 
Province  with  power  to  control  licenses  and  examinations  and  issue 
certificates  of  practice;  the  Drainage  and  Dyking  Act  was  amended 
in  many  important  directions  as  was  that  concerning  Dyking  Assess- 
ments. 

In  connection  with  certain  charges  made  under  the  Provincial 
Elections  Act  as  to  an  election  in  Fort  George  district  on  Sept.  14, 
1916,  and  affecting  the  election  of  the  Hon.  W.  R.  Ross,  then  Min- 
ister of  Lands,  a  special  Act  was  passed  appointing  Hon.  F.  McBain 
Young,  County  Court  Judge  of  Atlin  as  Commissioner  to  inquire 
into  the  matters  involved;  a  similar  Act  was  passed  as  to  the  Van- 
couver Bye-election  of  February  26,  1916,  with  the  appointment  of 
three  Judges — Hon.  W.  A.  Galliher,  Appeal  Court,  Hon.  D.  Murphy 
and  Hon.  W.  A.  Macdonald,  Supreme  Court — to  make  full  and  com- 
plete investigation.  During  the  2nd  reading  of  this  Act  Mr.  Oliver 
objected  to  the  following  words  used  by  J.  S.  Cowper,  a  dissentient 
Liberal,  in  making  his  charges:  "That  the  sum  of  $25,000  was 
placed  in  a  safe  in  the  Hotel  Vancouver  by  or  on  behalf  of  the  Can- 
adian Northern  on  the  night  of  the  13th  September  last,  and  that 
the  same  money  was  received  or  taken  away  the  next  morning  by  a 
person  who  was  a  Liberal  candidate  at  the  bye-election  of  Feb.  26, 
1916,  and  also  at  the  general  election  of  Sept.  14  last."  He  demanded 
that  these  words  be  struck  out  by  the  House,  but  was  negatived  by 
36  to  2.  The  Municipal  Election  Act  was  amended  to  prevent  the 
improper  acquisition  of  property,  etc.,  in  order  to  enable  a  person 
to  vote  and  the  Provincial  Elections  Act  was  revised  to  apply  to 
females  as  well  as  males  and  to  give  women  the  right  of  election 
to  the  Legislature  as  well  as  to  vote.  Amendments  to  the  Forest 
Relief  Act  aimed  to  continue  existing  provisions  up  to  the  next 
annual  renewal  date  of  licenses  when  all  arrears  would  become  sub- 
ject to  a  Government  demand  and  in  cases  where  a  shortage  of  avail- 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  825 

able  timber  was  retarding  local  saw-making  industries  that  such 
arrears  of  rental  accruing  under  specified  conditions  would  have  to 
be  paid  or  the  license  absolutely  expire  at  the  end  of  six  months  from 
notice  and  not  be  renewable.  An  Act  relating  to  the  Guardianship 
and  Custody  of  Infants  was  amended  to  give  equal  and  joint  rights 
to  husband  and  wife,  living  together,  as  to  their  children  and  equal 
rights,  as  agreed  upon,  under  other  conditions;  amendments  were 
made  to  the  Highway  Act  to  enable  the  Government  to  discontinue 
or  close  any  public  highway  not  considered  necessary  to  the  public 
interest  and  to  take  possession  of  such  lands  for  the  use  of  the  owner 
or  for  Government  use;  the  Public  Inquiries  Act  was  amended  to 
permit  the  Government  to  appoint  a  Royal  Commission  of  Inquiry 
at  any  time  it  deemed  necessary  and  into  any  question  affecting 
legislation  or  elections,  public  buildings  or  contracts,  and  corpora- 
tions in  the  exercise  of  public  influence  as  to  franchises,  etc.;  a  De- 
partment of  Labour  was  created  with  a  Minister,  Deputy  Minister 
and  with  powers  which  covered  the  administration  of  all  British 
Columbia  laws  affecting  labour  and  authorized  it  to  treat  with  Labour 
and  its  employees,  to  improve  conditions  and  modify  friction,  to 
study  laws  and  practices  and  apply  the  information;  the  Land  Regis- 
try Act  was  elaborately  revised  as  was  the  Forest  Act — the  latter 
dealing  with  Crown  lands  and  timber  licenses  and  contracts  and 
taxation. 

A  new  Act  was  approved  under  which  the  old  Court  House  site 
in  Vancouver  was  conveyed  to  the  City  of  Vancouver  under  a  99- 
year  lease  for  use  as  a  Public  Park  and  the  erection  of  Soldier  or 
War  memorials;  in  the  same  way  a  part  of  the  former  Songhees 
Reserve  was  transferred  to  the  City  of  Victoria  as  a  Public  Park 
and  pleasure-ground;  the  B.C.  Loan  Act  authorized  the  Govern- 
ment to  borrow  $2,000,000  for  the  purpose  of  the  Land  Settlement 
Act  and  was  amended  to  provide  for  a  Sinking  Fund.  A  new  meas- 
sure  provided  for  a  Mineral  Survey  of  the  Province  and  for  the  de- 
velopment of  its  Mineral  resources  as  well  as  for  the  aid  of  prospectors 
and  miners  and  the  protection  of  wage-earners  and  investors.  To 
carry  on  the  Survey  the  Province  was  divided  into  Districts  with  a 
qualified  Mining  Engineer  in  charge  of  the  work,  records  and  reports 
to  the  Government  in  each  District;  prospectors  and  miners  were  to 
be  aided  by  this  official  in  every  practicable  form  including  the 
examining  and  forwarding  of  samples  to  the  Minister  of  Mines, 
while  $100,000  was  allotted  to  the  preliminary  working  of  the  Act; 
as  to  investors  the  Resident  Engineer  was  to  forward  copies  of  all 
documents  and  data  as  to  new  Companies,  their  shares  and  projects 
to  the  Minister.  Amendments  to  the  Coal  and  Petroleum  Act  gave 
the  Minister  of  Mines  power  in  the  opening  of  lands  for  entry,  the 
prospecting  or  acquisition  for  coal,  petroleum  or  natural  gas,  and 
the  cancellation  of  preceding  reservation;  another  Act  empowered 
the  same  Minister  to  inquire  as  to  mineral  resources,  etc.,  in  any 
district  and,  if  satisfied  of  the  desirability,  to  acquire  sites  and  to 
construct,  maintain  and  operate  one  or  more  public  sampling  works, 
concentrating  plants,  custom  smelters  or  refineries,  etc.,  together 
with  such  yards,  buildings,  wharves,  roads  and  tramways  as  the 


826  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Minister  might  deem  expedient — full  power  also  was  given  as  to 
regulating  charges  and  fees  and  the  Minister  was  authorized  to 
establish  a  Department  of  Ore  Purchasing  and  through  it  to  pur- 
chase ore  outright  or  make  advances  upon  assigned  ores.  A  large 
number  of  amendments  were  made  to  the  Municipal  Act  and  the 
Local  Improvement  Act,  while  an  amendment  to  the  Pharmacy  Act 
required  full  details  as  to  every  sale  of  a  hypodermic  syringe;  the 
B.C.  Prohibition  Act  was  put  into  operation  as  on  Oct.  1,  1917, 
and  three  Commissioners  were  appointed  by  Act  to  investigate  the 
Overseas  1916  vote  on  the  subject. 

Municipalities  were  allowed  to  adopt  the  Proportional  representa- 
tion system  in  local  elections  and  the  B.C.  Railway  Act  was  amended 
so  that  no  Company  could  operate  a  Railway  within  the  Province 
except  by  the  written  consent  of  the  Minister  and  subject  to  Govern- 
ment conditions;  the  Dolly  Varden  Mines  Company,  an  extra- 
Provincial  concern,  was  authorized  to  build  and  operate  a  railway 
for  a  considerable  distance  in  the  Cassiar  District  of  the  Interior; 
the  Public  Schools  Act  was  amended  to  permit  of  closing  schools 
where  the  average  attendance  fell  below  8,  or  6  in  the  assisted  schools, 
and  granting  one-half  the  cost  of  conveyance  for  certain  consolidated 
schools;  the  Soldiers'  Homestead  Act  was  repealed  and  a  new  Act 
provided  details  under  which  volunteers  and  reservists  could  pur- 
chase lands;  another  Act  undertook  to  validate  the  Statutes  of 
1916  which  were  supposed  to  be  in  a  precarious  legal  condition  and 
the  Succession  Act  was  increased,  largely,  in  its  taxes  on  estates; 
the  Taxation  Act  was  amended  to  increase  the  rates  on  real  estate 
and  on  wild  land,  coal  and  timber  lands,  personal  property  and  in- 
come ;  a  Tax  on  places  of  amusement  was  provided  for  with  the  usual 
variations  on  the  value  of  the  ticket,  running  from  1  cent  to  50  cents, 
with  exemptions  which  included  religious  and  semi-religious  bodies, 
agricultural  fairs  and  exhibitions,  exhibitions  of  paintings  and  all 
patriotic  or  charitable  affairs — the  Moving  Pictures'  Censor  being 
charged  with  enforcing  the  Act.  A  Permanent  Board  of  Taxation 
(3  members)  was  created  to  study  and  investigate  the  existing  sys- 
tem of  Provincial  taxation  and  taxation  laws,  to  analyze  the  reports 
of  Tax  Commissions  elsewhere,  to  deal  with  Assessed  districts  and 
the  question  of  changing  assessments  or  the  more  equitable  applica- 
tion of  taxes  to  property  or  rural  conditions,  etc.,  and  report  to  the 
Minister  of  Finance  who  could  then  call  upon  the  Commission  to 
prepare  a  draft  Tax  Act;  another  Act  applied  a  yearly  Poll-tax  of 
$5.00  to  every  male  person  from  the  2nd  of  January  in  each  year, 
with  specified  exceptions,  and  a  penalty  of  doubling  the  tax  for  non- 
payment; certain  tax  sales  of  lands  in  new  Western  districts  were 
validated  and  the  semi-monthly  payment  of  wages  was  enacted  and 
applied  to  all  the  larger  industries.  The  War  Relief  Act  was  amended 
so  that  during  the  War  and  for  six  months  afterwards  no  legal  action 
could  be  brought  in  a  Provincial  Court  against  British  Columbians 
on  active  service,  their  families,  dependants,  trustees,  executors,  etc. ; 
the  Vancouver  Incorporation  Act  was  amended  giving  soldiers'  wives 
the  right  to  vote  on  their  husbands'  property  and  to  deal  with  many 
questions  of  finance  and  assessment  of  taxes. 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  827 

In  the  vital  matter  of  resources  British  Columbia  had  much 
trouble  during  1917  with  its  Salmon  and  other  Fisheries.  The  total 
product  of  the  year  ending  Mar.  31,  1916,  was  $14,500,000  or  a  gain 
of  $3,000,000  over  1915  and  of  this  the  salmon  marketed  in  the 
Province  represented  $10,726,818.  There  was  a  declaration  by 
W.  D.  Burdis,  Secretary  of  the  B.  C.  Canners  Association  (Oct.  21), 
that  if  conditions  were  not  soon  improved  the  Sockeye  salmon 
industry  on  the  Fraser  River  and  Puget  Sound  would  become  extinct 
and  that  the  1917  Pack  would  be  only  25%  of  the  1913  total;  it 
appeared  that  conservation  was  impossible  without  United  States 
co-operation  and  that  this  was  made  difficult  of  arrangement 
owing  to  large  Seattle  and  other  Pacific  coast  interests;  it  was 
obvious  that  the  Halibut  fisheries  were  rapidly  becoming  depleted 
just  as  the  demand  and  prices  were  increasing.  The  international 
aspect  of  the  Fisheries  was  troublesome  and  Senator  Chamberlain 
of  Oregon,  for  instance,  tried  to  get  Congress  to  hold  up  imports 
of  Fish  into  the  United  States.  In  October,  J.  Maddox,  of  Tacoma, 
was  appointed  by  the  U.S.  Food  Controller  and  J.  P.  Babcock  by 
the  Canadian  Controller  to  arrange  conferences  in  British  Columbia 
and  Washington  to  see  if  some  protective  agreement  could  not  be 
reached.  This  was  not  successful  and  on  Nov.  30  Mr.  Babcock, 
who  was  Assistant  Commissioner  of  Fisheries  at  Victoria,  stated  in 
Ottawa  that:  "The  failure  of  the  United  States  authorities  to  join 
Canada  in  the  adoption  of  measures  to  insure  the  seeding  of  the 
spawn  beds  in  the  lean  years  has  entailed  a  loss  to  American  Fishery 
interests  in  excess  of  $29,000,000.  The  failure  of  the  salmon  to  run 
as  abundantly  in  1917  as  in  former  years  entailed  a  loss  to  the 
fishermen  and  canners  of  British  Columbia  of  over  $8,000,000. 
while  the  loss  to  the  fishermen  and  canners  of  the  United  States 
exceeded  $19,500,000."  The  hearings  of  the  B.C.  Fishermen's 
Commission  brought  out  much  information  including  the  statement 
that  $10,369,798  was  invested  in  the  industry  and  18,435  persons 
employed  in  it;  that  77,000,000  fry  of  salmon  had  been  distributed 
to  Provincial  breeding  centres;  that  the  pack  of  sock-eyes  in  British 
Columbia  waters  in  1913  was  732,000  and  was  expected  to  show  a 
further  continuous  decline  in  1917;  that,  according  to  H.  O.  Bell- 
Irving,  the  Canning  pioneer  of  Vancouver" (Aug.  6),  "This  salmon 
business  for  the  last  20  years  has  been  absolutely  smothered  in 
politics."  The  total  1917  run,  however,  turned  out  to  be  the  largest 
ever  handled  and  reached  the  unexpected  total  of  1,600,000  cases  or 
562,000  more  than  in  1916. 

The  Lumber  industry  started  in  1917  with  an  increase  from  the 
past  year  of  $6,000,000  in  value  and  with  great  activity  all  through 
the  Province;  new  mills  came  into  operation  and  old  ones  were 
working  to  capacity  to  meet  a  demand  greater  than  the  supply; 
the  saw-mill  and  shingle  industry  continued  to  develop  at  Eburne, 
Port  Moody,  Fraser  Mills  and  other  points  with  lack  of  labour  as 
the  only  drawback;  R.  H.  Campbell,  Director  of  Forestry,  Ottawa, 
reported  officially  in  May  that  "British  Columbia  has  400,000,000,000 
feet  of  commercial  timber  within  its  boundaries — half  of  the  entire 
resources  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  with  the  saw-timber,  material 


828  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

suitable  for  pulpwood,  firewood,  poles,  etc.,  not  included."  The 
estimated  Lumber  cut  for  1916  was  35  millions  in  value  compared 
with  29,000,000  in  1915.  James  Whalen  of  Port  Arthur,  during 
1917,  organized  the  Whalen  Pulp  and  Paper  Co.,  Ltd.,  with  himself 
as  President,  a  capital  of  $13,600,000,  British  Columbia  leases  of 
155,000  acres  with  6,000,000,000  feet  of  timber  as  the  estimated  re- 
sources and  including  absorption  of  the  B.C.  Sulphite  Fibre  Co.,  Ltd., 
of  Mill  Creek;  The  Empire  Pulp  and  Paper  Mills,  Ltd.,  of  Swanson 
Bay,  and  The  Colonial  Lumber  and  Paper  Mills  Ltd.,  of  Quatsino 
Sound.  The  output  of  logs  for  the  first  9  months  of  1917  was 
1,072,000,000  feet  or  300,000,000  more  than  in  1916;  the  estimate  for 
the  year  was  1,500,000,000  feet  compared  with  1,280  million  feet 
in  1916.  Agricultural  difficulties  of  the  year  were  considerable — 
chiefly  lack  of  labour — and  many  matters  were  taken  to  the  Govern- 
ment including  the  depredations  of  dogs  in  the  sheep  industry  and 
the  raking  of  the  Province  by  United  States  agents  for  breeding 
cattle;  the  un-enforcement  of  Noxious  Weed  regulations  by  Pro- 
vincial Police  and  the  need  of  a  Government  supply  of  well-boring 
outfits  at  the  expense  of  the  farmers ;  the  establishment  of  Agricultural 
Labour  bureaux  by  the  local  co-operation  of  the  farmers;  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  fruit  growers  under  the  War-necessary  British  embargo 
on  apples.  Incidents  included  the  application  for  loans  under  the 
Agricultural  Credits  Act  of  the  Bowser  Government,  up  to  the  begin- 
ning of  1917  totalling  $2,500,000  and  a  Fur  crop  during  the  year  of 
$1,500,000  in  value;  the  organization  of  the  United  Farmers  of  British 
Columbia  at  a  meeting  in  Victoria  on  Feb.  16  with  200  Delegates 
present  and  addresses  from  W.  D.  Trego  and  R.  McKenzie  of  the 
Prairie  organizations,  the  election  of  C.  G.  Palmer,  Duncan,  as 
President  and  approval  of  the  following  platform: 

1.  To  constitute  a  medium  through  which  farmers  in  membership  may  act, 
unitedly,  where  their  common  interests  are  concerned.     To  effect  united  action  and 
resistance  when  taxation  unfairly  affects  farmers'  interests. 

2.  To  study  and  teach  economic  legislation  independent  from  all  existing  parties. 

3.  To  study  and  teach  the  principles  of  co-operation  and  to  promote  the  estab- 
lishment of  co-operative  societies.    • 

4.  To  further  the  interests  of  farmers  and  ranchers  in  all  branches  of  agriculture; 
to  promote  the  best  methods  of  farming  business;   to  seek  enlargement  and  increase 
of  our  markets;    to  gather  market  information;    to  obtain  by  united  efforts  profit- 
able and  equitable  prices  for  farm  produce  and  to  secure  the  best  and  cheapest  trans- 
portation. 

5.  To  promote  social  intercourse,  a  higher  standard  of  community  life  and  the 
study  of  economic  and  social  questions  bearing  on  our  interests  as  farmers  and  citizens. 

,i 

The  value  of  agricultural  production  in  1916  was  $32,182,915 
and  it  was  about  the  same  in  1917  with  the  following  as  the  Live- 
stock of  the  latter  year— Horses,  55,124  valued  at  $6,505,000; 
Cattle,  240,343  valued  at  $17,485,000;  Sheep  43,858  worth  $603,000 
and  Swine  37,688  worth  $791,000 — with  a  large  increase  in  cattle. 
As  to  Mines  the  increased  product  of  1916  over  the  previous  year 
was,  according  to  the  Premier  in  July,  1917,  44%  or  $12,842,000  in 
value,  the  total  production  up  to  and  including  that  of  1916,  $558,- 
000,000.  The  production  in  1916,  alone,  was  $42,290,462  in  value. 
In  each  of  the  chief  products  (except  gold)  there  had  been  a  large 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  829 

increase  in  quality  as  well  as  values — notably  in  lead,  copper  and  zinc. 
From  the  production  of  the  first  three  months  of  1917  the  Premier 
estimated  a  total  of  $50,000,000  for  the  whole  year — this,  of  course, 
depending  upon  labour  and  the  absence  of  strikes.  The  official 
estimate  of  Mr.  Sloan,  Minister  of  Mines*  showed  a  total  for  1917 
of  $37,182,570  or  a  decrease  of  12% — the  reasons  being  largely 
industrial  troubles,  reduced  metal  prices  toward  the  end  of  the  year, 
a  lessened  demand  for  lead  and  zinc  in  munitions,  and  economic 
conditions  which  handicapped  the  mining  of  gold.  Incidents  included 
the  acquisition  by  the  Granby  Consolidated  Mining  and  Smelting 
Co.,  in  August,  of  a  large  area  of  valuable  coal  lands  between  Lady- 
smith  and  Nanaimo  at  an  outlay  of  $750,000 — the  development  of 
which  would  require  several  hundred  men  and  the  establishment 
of  a  new  mining  centre ;  the  erection  of  wharves  and  shipping  facilities 
at  tidewater  calling  for  an  additional  outlay  of  $500,000;  the  erection 
of  a  modern  coke  manufacturing  plant  at  the  Anyox  properties  to 
cost  $1,500,000.  There  was  the  statement  of  E.  A.  Haggan  of  the 
Mining  and  Engineering  Journal  that  "three  of  the  largest  copper 
mines  and  three  of  the  largest  smelters  in  the  British  Empire  are 
located  in  British  Columbia."  Investigations  at  this  time,  with 
details  made  public  by  the  Vancouver  Sun  on  May  29,  estimated 
the  probable  and  possible  ore  of  13  iron  properties  on  Vancouver 
and  Texada  Islands  at  12,880,000  tons;  the  opening  in  July  of  the 
great  smelter  of  the  Lady  smith  Smelting  Corporation,  Ltd.,  on 
Vancouver  Island  was  in  important  event  with  700  tons  of  ore 
treated  daily  as  a  beginning;  the  development  of  the  electric  thermic 
furnaces  for  pig-iron  promised  to  remove  the  greatest  difficulties  in 
an  iron  production  which  was  found  to  be  large;  the  five  years  of 
1912-16  increase  in  all  minerals  being  $56,000,000  in  value.  For 
the  calendar  year  1917  the  mining  dividends  were  $3,164,550. 

Of  industrial  activity  there  was  much  evidence  in  1917.  In 
August,  the  ship-building  programme  represented  $27,000,000,  with 
large  works  of  a  Government,  civic  or  general  character  under  con- 
struction estimated,  by  the  Vancouver  Province  (Aug.  25),  at  $56,- 
000,000;  War  orders  since  1915  were  stated  to  be  responsible  for 
an  increase  to  600  industrial  plants  or  33  per  cent,  in  two  years  and 
including  ship-building,  shingle  mills,  aeroplanes,  steel  factories,  war 
equipment  plants;  there  were  dozens  of  new  companies  and  new 
plants  of  a  miscellaneous  character  throughout  the  Province  and 
Vancouver  itself  was  recovering  from  its  deep  depression  of  1914  in 
an  environment  of  construction  and  as  a  central  situation  for  ship- 
ping, lumbering  and  mining;  the  Automobiles  in  use  during  1917 
numbered  11,856,  compared  with  9,396  in  1916.  In  ship-building 
the  Wallace  yards  on  Jan.  20  launched  Vancouver's  first  ship  in  a 
new  merchant  fleet  and  there  was  hope  that  the  tremendous  decline 
in  20  years  of  lumber  business  with  Australia  would  be  checked  and 
business  once  more  revived;  to  this  end  the  Government  was  urged 
to  take  up  the  shipping  policy  of  the  late  administration;  on  May 
16  the  first  steel  cargo  vessel  built  in  the  Province  was  launched  by 
a  Japanese  concern — the  Kishimoto  Steamship  Company,  and  by 

*  Published  in  January,  1918. 


830  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

June  the  Imperial  Munitions  Board  had  put  coast  matters  in  the 
hands  of  R.  P.  Butchart  and  made  contracts  for  construction  of 
ships  at  Victoria,  Vancouver,  New  Westminster  and  Coquitlam — 
21  vessels  at  least.  Vancouver  and  other  interests  waited  on  the 
Government  and  urged  on  June  8  a  carrying  out  of  the  Bowser 
policy  of  Provincial  wooden  ship  construction,  but  were  not  given 
much  satisfaction;  it  was  claimed  that,  properly  aided,  British 
Columbia  could  build  1,000  wooden  ships  and  that  there  was  no 
question  of  huge  supplies  of  iron  for  the  other  style  of  construction. 
The  total  under  construction  at  this  time,  however,  was  large 
compared  with  $50,000  worth  in  the  whole  of  1916.  By  the  close 
of  the  year  such  concerns  as  the  Cannon  Lumber  Industry  Co.  had 
organized  for  this  industry  in  Vancouver  Island  as  did  the  Founda- 
tion Company,  a  United  States  concern  with  big  Allied  contracts, 
and  Yarrows,  Ltd.,  at  Esquimalt,  with  a  total  new  work  contracted 
for,  and  apart  from  the  $27,000,000  of  the  Munitions  Board  contract, 
of  $13,500,000  at  Vancouver,  $8,500,000  at  Victoria  and  $4,000,000 
elsewhere  in  the  Province.  Labour  interests  made  many  demands 
upon  the  Government  during  the  year  and  one  Delegation  on  Mar. 
12  asked  for: 

The  establishment  of  a  Provincial  Department  of  Labour  and  electoral  reforms 
Proportional  representation  and  the  grouping  of  constituencies;  amendments  to  the 
Provincial  Election  Act  to  provide  for  the  use  of  the  franchise  to  all  voters  whether 
resident  in  the  constituency  in  which  they  are  registered  or  not;  to  provide  for  at 
least  two  months  to  elapse  between  the  dissolution  of  Parliament  and  Elections  with 
a  special  Court  of  Revision  to  be  held  on  the  first  day  of  the  second  month  following 
dissolution;  an  amendment  to  abolish  the  present  system  of  election  deposits  and 
new  Mining  regulations  with  a  strict  enforcement  of  the  Mines'  Regulation  Acts;  the 
removal  of  all  officials  who  prove  incompetent  and  for  the  election  of  Mine  Inspectors  by 
the  organized  unions  of  the  Province;  an  Act  to  provide  for  a  minimum  wage  of  $3.50 
per  day  for  all  adult  workers  underground  and  for  the  entry  of  Union  officials  to  Com- 
pany property  to  collect  dues  and  transact  legitimate  business  such  as  organizing, 
etc.;  making  it  incumbent  on  all  corporations  to  provide  adequate  medical  and  hos- 
pital treatment  and  first  aid  appliances;  an  Act  to  provide  that  all  wages  be  paid 
at  least  every  two  weeks,  in  currency,  and  that  at  no  time  shall  more  than  six  days' 
wages  be  kept  in  hand;  the  8-hour-day  and  a  week  of  44  hours  in  all  industrial  opera- 
tions and  the  eight-hour  bank  to  bank;  protest  against  any  attempt  to  re-impose 
the  poll-tax  and  against  the  exemption  of  church  property  from  taxation. 

The  general  condition  of  British  Columbia  was  well  indicated  in 
the  Budget  Speech  of  Mr.  Premier  Brewster  on  Apr.  23,  pointing  out 
that  the  Government's  first  duties  upon  taking  office  in  Nov.  29, 
1916  were  preliminary  and  that  its  policy  in  finance  was  to  emulate 
the  system  of  a  well-conducted  business  or  corporation.  He  stated 
that  he  had  immediately  engaged  Price,  Waterhouse  &  Co.  to  inquire 
into  and  report  upon  the  financial  condition  of  the  Province  and 
this  document  he  reviewed  during  his  speech — premising  that  the 
system  of  taxation,  generally,  was  unsatisfactory  and  that  a  per- 
manent Taxation  Commission  would  be  recommended  to  Parlia- 
ment. He  first  stated  the  "cold  facts  and  figures"  as  presented  by 
the  Public  Accounts  of  Mar.  31,  1916,  which  showed  an  excess  of 
Liabilities  over  Assets  of  $14,782,616  compared  with  an  excess  of 
Assets  over  Liabilities  in  1911  of  $1,407,694.  The  cash  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Treasury  on  Apr.  1,  1911,  was  $8,474,287,  and  on 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  831 

Mar.  31,  1916,  $720,121,  showing  a  reduction  of  $7,754,166.  while 
the  net  bonded  indebtedness  of  1916  was  $9,404,868  and  the  total 
expended  in  excess  of  revenue  during  the  5  years  (1911-16)  was 
$17,159,035.  The  Premier  added  that:  "If  we  take  the  receipts 
and  expenditures  as  shown  by  the  Public  Accounts  for  the  fiscal 
years  ending  June  30,  1906,  and  Mar.  31,  1916,  and  compare  the 
two,  we  will  find  that  while  the  revenues  of  the  Province  increased 
by  106  per  cenL  between  those  years,  the  expenditures  increased 
by  325  per  cent."  During  the  first  months  of  the  fiscal  year  begin- 
ning Mar.  31,  and  still  under  the  Bowser  Government,  the  Province, 
he  said,  ran  a  further  $2,000,000  in  debt  with  also,  current  and  ac- 
crued liabilities  of  $1,063,985  (not  then  shown  on  the  books)  but 
which  the  new  Government  had  paid  within  two  months;  arrears 
of  taxes  on  Sept.  30,  1916,  were  $2,749,091  and  unpaid  1916  taxes 
$1,262,990.  Mr.  Brewster,  in  the  Provincial  balance  sheet  for  the 
year  of  Mar.  31,  1917,  placed  the  total  Receipts  at  $6,291,693  com- 
pared with  $7,964,496  in  1915-16  and  Expenditures  at  $10,422,206 
in  1916-17  as  against  the  total  in  1915-16  of  $12,174,251.  For  the 
year  ending  Mar.  31,  1918,  he  estimated  the  Revenues  at  $9,868,325 
and  the  Expenditure  at  $8,768,579.  The  total  Funded  Debt  as  on 
Mar.  31,  current,  was  stated  at  $23,153,146  with  $3,375,237  of  a 
Sinking  Fund  to  deduct;  Bond  guarantees  issued  chiefly  on  railway 
account  totalled  $73,782,078  authorized  and  $63,193,532  executed — 
of  these  guarantees  $47,975,000  applied  to  the  Canadian  Northern 
Pacific  and  $20,160,000  on  the  Pacific  Great  Eastern.  Proposals 
were  naturally  outlined  for  new  taxes  and  these  totalled  a  probable 
$4,000,000  of  revenue — including  also  a  surtax  on  existing  sources 
of  revenue  and  it  was  announced  that  Public  Works'  expenditure 
would  be  cut  by  40  per  cent.  The  Hon.  John  Oliver  spoke  at  some 
length  (Apr.  30)  and  made  two  comments  which  attracted  contro- 
versy. One  was  that  "but  for  the  great  crops  on  the  Prairies  and 
the  business  they  made  for  the  C.N.P.  the  Province  would  have 
found  it  difficult  to  raise  enough  money  to  pay  its  obligations"; 
the  other  was  that  the  Moratorium  had  not  aided  the  men  Overseas 
but  that  "there  were  a  number  of  men  disgracing  the  King's  uniform 
in  the  Province  to-day  who  got  into  those  uniforms  to  escape  pay- 
ment of  their  just  debts."  It  may  be  added  that  Mr.  Brewster  in 
his  Budget  remarks  put  the  total  production  of  the  Province  in  1916, 
and  including  Forests,  Mines,  Fisheries,  and  Agriculture,  at  $124- 
625,377  compared  with  $123,792,887  in  1915;  that  the  imports  of 
Agricultural  products  into  the  Province  were  $17,199,162  or  over 
one-half  of  the  local  production  of  $32,000,000.  The  Agricultural 
product  of  1917  was  $37,661,850,  that  of  Mines  was  a  similar  amount, 
that  of  the  Forests  $48,913,115 — an  increase  of  38  per  cent,  and  that 
of  Fisheries  was  $15,311,954  or  40  per  cent,  of  the  Dominion  figures 
— making  the  comparative  total  for  the  year  $139,069  489. 

The  Prohibition  issue  was  bitterly  contested  in  1917.  The 
Referendum  of  late  in  1916  showed  within  the  Province  36,490 
civilians  for  Prohibition  and  27,217  against  it;  of  the  soldiers  at 
home  3,353  were  for  and  3,622  against;  of  the  soldiers  Overseas 
2,061  were  favourable  and  5,263  against— the  latter  voting  going 


832  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

on  until  Dec.  31,  1916,  when  the  20,000  soldiers  Overseas  were  found 
to  have  given  a  majority  of  7,500  against  Prohibition  and  thus 
defeated  it.  It  was  around  this  vote  that  the  controversy  raged 
and  the  Prohibitionists  brought  every  kind  of  artillery  to  bear  upon 
the  voting  methods  and  conditions  and  charged  illegality  of  action 
coupled  with  many  irregularities.  For  months  Delegations,  pro 
and  con,  waited  upon  the  Government  and  a  counting  of  the  votes 
proceeded  slowly,  directed  by  Sir  R.  McBride  in  England;  proceed- 
ings were  persistently  denounced  when  the  vote  was  seen  to  be  nega- 
tive and  then  it  was  stopped  because  of  some  1,500  votes  particu- 
larly in  dispute;  the  calling  in  by  the  Government  and  the  Agent- 
General  of  Sir  John  Simon,  as  an  eminent  Counsel,  to  decide  the 
issue  and  his  declaration  that  the  votes  should  be  counted;  the 
possibility  of  the  result  being  changed  developed  as  the  re- 
sumed voting  continued,  and,  finally,  the  favourable  total 
of  5,802  was  overturned.  It  was  a  difficult  situation  for  Mr.  Brew- 
ster. The  number  of  votes  polled  against  Prohibition  was  officially 
recorded  as  43,588.  The  number  of  votes  which  returned  the 
Brewster  Government  to  power  was  slightly  over  41,000.  A  per- 
sonal factor  entering  into  the  question  was  in  the  support  given  by 
Sir  Charles  Hibbert  Tupper  to  anti-Prohibition  movements.  He, 
probably,  more  than  any  other  one  personal  factor  in  the  election 
of  1916,  was  responsible  for  the  downfall  of  the  Bowser  party  and 
the  return  of  a  new  Liberal  Government  at  Victoria.  His  view  (May 
9)  was  the  Constitutional  point  that  after  the  Referendum  was 
defeated  by  the  votes  of  the  men  at  the  front,  the  decision  should 
be  respected  until  such  time  as  the  imputations  and  allegations  of 
the  Prohibitionists,  regarding  crooked  work  in  connection  with  the 
taking  of  the  vote  had  been  established  by  a  thorough,  non-political 
investigation.  On  the  other  hand  Mr.  Brewster  and  the  Liberals  of 
British  Columbia  had  openly  favoured  Temperance  legislation  for  a 
long  time  and  a  majority  of  the  people  were  probably  in  favour  of  it. 
Interjected  into  the  controversy  and  meeting  the  attitude 
taken  above  was  the  appointment  of  a  Royal  Commission  by  statute 
and  its  Report,  presented  to  the  Legislature  on  August  14,  declaring 
that  out  of  the  8,505  votes  cast  abroad  after  Sept  14,  1916,  4,697 
should  be  rejected  on  account  of  irregularities.  This  was  based 
largely  upon  the  evidence  of  E.  A.  Helmore,  a  chartered  accountant 
appointed,  previously,  by  the  Provincial  Government  to  investigate 
the  situation.  During  the  long  conflict  of  argument  A.  E.  Tulk  of 
Vancouver  was  the  anti-prohibition  exponent;  Jonathan  Rogers 
was  the  Prohibition  leader.  In  the  end  the  Government  chose 
Prohibition  and  passed  an  Act,  accordingly,  which  came  into  opera- 
tion on  Oct.  1.  W.  C.  Findlay  of  Vancouver  was  appointed  to 
take  charge  of  the  administration  of  the  law  and  the  chief  clauses 
were  as  follows: 

I  Liquor  of  any  kind  containing  over  2^  per  cent,  proof  spirit  could  only  be 
obtained  by  purchase  from  the  Government  vendors,  druggists  or  physicians  and 
then  only  on  the  prescription  of  a  duly  qualified  Physician,  or  by  importing  it  from 
outside  of  the  Province. 

II.  Liquor  could  only  be  kept  by  occupants  of  private  dwelling  houses,  but  with 
no  limitations  as  to  quantity;  by  Government  vendors  also  unlimited  as  to  quantity; 


BRITISH  COLUMBIA:  GOVERNMENT,  POLITICS  AND  PRODUCTION  833 

by  Druggists  limited  to  five  gallons,  doctors  to  two  quarts,  dentists  to  one  pint  and 
veterinary  surgeons  to  one  gallon;  and  by  wholesale  liquor  dealers  in  unlimited  quan- 
tity, only  for  export  outside  of  the  Province  and  for  legitimate  mechanical  use,  limited 
to  two  gallons. 

III.  A  citizen  could  serve  liquor  to  friends  and  guests  only  within  his  private 
dwelling,  or  in  an  apartment  suite  occupied  by  a  bona  fide  family. 

IV.  A  citizen  could  not  serve  liquor  to  friends  anywhere  outside  of  his  own  dwell- 
ing— not  even  on  his  lawn,  nor  could  he  carry  liquor  on  his  person,  except  it  was 
obtained  in  a  legal  manner  and  being  taken  home,  or  carry  liquor  in  his  motor  car, 
yacht  or  any  vehicle  on  any  public  highway,  or  serve  liquor  to  his  friends  for.  consid- 
eration, barter  or  exchange  of  any  kind. 

Much  might  be  written  about  the  Pacific  Great  Eastern  Railway 
but  nearly  all  that  is  historically  essential  has  been  mentioned.  The 
Select  Committee  in  its  Inquiry  had  J.  W.  de  B.  Farris  as  Chairman, 
The  P.G.E.  Counsel  was  H.  A.  Maclean,  K.C.;  for  Patrick  Welch, 
E.  P.  Davis,  K.C.,  acted;  and  S.  S.  Taylor,  K.C.,  for  the  Provincial 
Minister  of  Railways.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  D'Arcy  Tate, 
Vice-President,  gave  considerable  evidence  and  much  data  before 
leaving  the  stand  (Mar.  19-22);  that  the  financial  trouble  was 
somewhat  due  (1)  to  the  Dominion  Government  not  giving  the 
usual  Federal  subsidy  to  this  Provincial  line  and  (2)  the  failure  to 
sell  townsites  upon  which  they  had  expended  $2,000,000  and  ex- 
pected to  realize  $10,000,000;  that  P.  Welch,  the  contractor,  pro- 
duced a  large  amount  of  detailed  information  and  claimed  that  if 
prices  were  larger  than  on  the  C.N.P.  and  G.T.P.  so  also  costs 
were  higher  with  the  P.G.E.  and  alleged,  with  long  and  detailed  and 
several  days'  evidence,  that  the  Line  was  built  economically  and 
honestly;  F.  C.  Gamble,  Government  Engineer,  said  that  he  had  a 
free  hand  in  estimating  P.G.E.  requirements  and  that  Sir  R.  McBride 
was  nominally  in  control,  and  not  the  Hon.  T.  WT.  Taylor  who  then 
was  Minister  of  Railways;  on  Apr.  12  Mr.  Tate  contended  as  to  the 
$500,000  paid  to  him  that  as  the  money  was  paid  by  the  contractors 
and  not  by  the  Railway  and  was  subject  to  an  agreement  made 
antecedent  to  the  formation  of  the  P.G.E.  Company  it  was  his 
own  personal  money  and  the  Committee  had  not  rights  of  inquiry 
into  this  campaign  fund  contribution  which  he  might  have  given 
to  the  Conservative  party.  On  Apr.  20  the  P.G.E.  officials,  through 
E.  P.  Davies,  K.C.,  made  a  statement,  that  if  released  from  any 
damage  claims  or  other  contemplated  action  by  the  Government, 
they  would  be  prepared  to  turn  over  to  the  Government  all  of  their 
holdings  in  the  P.G.E.  Company,  the  P.G.E.  Equipment  Co.  and 
the  P.G.E.  Development  Co.  They  were  also,  in  this  event,  ready 
to  complete  the  construction  of  the  Railway  line  at  actual  cost, 
under  Government  management  and  supervision,  the  Government 
to  take  care  of  the  financing  of  the  project.  The  Report  of  the 
Committee  was  presented  to  the  House  on  May  1  and  declared 
(1)  that  the  original  contract  was  illegally  awarded  to  Foley,  Welch 
and  Stewart;  that  (2)  two  of  the  Directors,  E.  F.  White  and  F.  Wilson, 
appeared  to  have  drawn  salaries  of  $5,000  a  year  each  and  at  the 
same  time  profited  by  sub-contracts  without  giving  any  apparent 
values;  that  (3)  P.  Welch  made  a  profit  on  5  millions  on  the  work 
and  that  the  road  remained  incompleted  and  would  require  another 
13  million  dollars  to  finish;  that  (4)  A.  H.  B.  MacGowan,  a  former 

§8 


834  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

member  of  the  Legislature,  had  a  sub-contract  for  which  he  gave 
no  consideration,  in  time  or  money,  though  he  had  received  payments 
from  the  Company.  On  May  11  the  Government  of  British  Colum- 
bia fyled  a  writ  against  the  Pacific  Great  Eastern,  its  subsidiaries 
and  officials  and  Directors,  for  an  accounting  of  the  sums  realized 
from  the  sale  of  guaranteed  bonds  and  for  many  other  things,  in- 
cluding the  return  of  $7,500,000  said  to  have  been  wrongfully  taken 
from  their  funds.  An  Audit  of  the  books  of  the  P.G.E.  by  Marwick 
and  Co.  of  Vancouver  was  made  public  on  Aug.  14  and  found  that 
out  of  a  gross  profit  of  $4,081,000  which  Mr.  Welch  received  he 
re-invested  the  whole  in  the  Company  itself  together  with  $147,400 
of  his  own  money. 

As  to  the  war  British  Columbia  appointed  a  Provincial  Food 
Conservation  Committee  on  Sept.  4  with  President  F.  F.  Wesbrook, 
of  the  B.C.  University  as  Chairman;  at  the  beginning  of  1917  it 
was  stated  that  938  officers  and  25,622  men  had  enlisted  in  this 
Province;  the  collections  for  a  Vancouver  branch  Military  Hospital 
brought  $20,000  and  also  1,000  books  for  its  Library  obtained  by 
the  local  Rotary  Club;  a  Great  War  Dance  and  Carnival  was  held 
at  Vancouver,  May,  2-5,  and  was  expected  to  realize  $100,000  for 
various  war  funds;  the  Provincial  Returned  Soldiers  Commission 
had  dealt  with  1919  cases  by  June  30  and  a  Conference  of  the  Advis- 
ory Council  of  Research  was  held  in  Victoria  on  July  31  with  much 
important  discussion;  all  through  the  Province  on  Aug.  4-5  Resolu- 
tions were  passed  declaring  "inflexible  determination"  to  carry  on 
the  struggle;  1,500  G.W.V.A.  passed  a  Resolution  at  Vancouver 
on  August  19  protesting  against  the  Conscription  attitude  of  Western 
Liberals  at  the  Winnipeg  Convention;  on  Aug.  28  Esquimalt  had 
a  War  Shrine  unveiled  by  Major-Gen.  R.  G.  E.  Leckie,  C.M.G.,  in 
honour  of  local  heroes  of  the  conflict;  the  statement  was  published 
that  the  Vancouver  Red  Cross  Society,  of  which  Sir  C.  H.  Tupper 
was  President,  had  in  three  years  of  war-existence  (July  5,  1917) 
received  $950,000  in  cash  and  contributions;  a  later  announcement 
was  that  four  gentlemen  in  Victoria  had  given  $3,000  each  toward 
a  $45,000  local  Fund  which  was  in  process  of  collection  and  that  this 
Branch  had  147  auxiliaries  at  work  with  a  total  of  $142,000  collected 
during  the  year  of  Aug.  31 ;  the  statement  was  made  by  Lieut. -Col. 
J.  W.  Warden,  D.S.O.,  in  a  letter,  that  besides  the  43,000  men  sent 
by  British  Columbia  to  the  Front  up  to  date  thousands  had  left  for 
England  and  enlisted  on  the  outbreak  of  war — he  put  the  total  at 
20,000;  Land  Settlement  plans  and  proposals  for  returned  soldiers 
were  presented  to  the  Cabinet  by  the  G.W.V.A.  on  Oct.  13  and 
legislation  promised  in  some  respects;  in  connection  with  the  Victory 
Bond  appeal  in  November  Mr.  Premier  Brewster  made  the  public 
declaration  that  he  was  buying  bonds  because  "it  is  my  duty  to  my 
family,  my  duty  to  Canada,  my  duty  to  the  Empire";  R.  G.Duggan, 
President  of  the  Victoria  G.W.V.A.  was  dismissed  by  Hon.  Mr. 
Pattullo  from  the  Lands  Department  late  in  November  because  of 
his  participation  in  the  election  of  Dr.  Tolmie  as  a  Dominion  Union- 
ist candidate — an  action  which  created  much  controversy. 


CANADIAN  OBITUARY,  1917 


Name  Particulars 

Allard,  O.M.I.,  Rev.  Father 

Joachim  Albert Former    Vicar-General    of    St. 

Boniface    and    Pioneer    Mis- 
sionary   

D.D.,    Rev.    Well-known  Presbyterian  Min- 

ister  

President,  S.  F.  McKinnon  Co. . 


A.maron,    M.A., 

Dr.  Calvin  E 

Alexander,  James  Mackenzie 


Borden,  K.C.M.O.,  LL.D.,  The 
Hon.  Sir  Frederick  Wm . . 

Bowlby,  M.A.,  K.C.,  Ward 
Hamilton 

Barber,  CX-M.L.A.,  John  Roaf 

Blakemore,  William 

Blake,  Mrs.  Edw'd  (Cronyn) 

Bate,  Sir  Henry  Newell. . . . 

Brigden,  Frederick 

Bright,  John 


Baird,  OX-M.L.A.,  Hon.  Geo. 

Thomas 

Broughall,  M.A.,  D.D.,  Rev. 

Abraham  James 

Bell,       M.D.,       F.R.B.,       F.G.8., 

F.R.S.C.,  LI..D.,  Robert.. .  . 
Baker,  K.C.,  George  William 


Minister  of  Militia,  1896-1911 . . 
Oldest    Crown    Attorney    and 

Clerk  of  the  Peace  in  Ontario 
Politician  and  Manufacturer . . 
Engineer,  Journalist,  Publicist 
Widow  of  the  Liberal  Leader. . 
Well-known  Business  man. . . . 
President  of  Brigden's  Limited, 

and  a  pioneer  Engraver 

Dominion    Commissioner    of 

Livestock. . . 


Beanlands,      Rev 

Arthur  John 

Brock,  William  Rees. 


Bowell,  K.C.M.O.,  ex-M.p.,  Sir 
Mackenzie 

Bradshaw,  Lieut.-Col.  John 
Ernest 

Blewett,  KC.,  Francis  Rich- 
ard  

Carscallen,   M.L.A.,  Thomas 

George 

Cardin,  Louis  Pierre  Paul. . 

Corby,  Senator  Harry 

Casgrain.  K.C.,  F.K.S.C.,  ex- 
M.p.,  Philippe  Baby 

Connell,  ex-M.L.A.,  Hon.  H. 
A 

Cimon,  ex-M.r.,  Hon.  Ernest 


Senator  of  Canada  since  1895 . . 

Rector  of  St.  Stephen's  Church, 
Toronto,  for  50  years 

Eminent     Canadian     Geologist 

and  Scientist 

ex-Police  Magistrate  of  Winni- 
peg   

Canon  17  years  Rector,  Christ  Church 
Cathedral,  Victoria 

Founder  of  the  W.  R.  Brock 
Company,  Ltd.,  and  a  Direc- 
tor of  many  institutions 


ex-Prime  Minister  of  Canada . . 

ex-Mayor  of  Prince  Albert,  and 
its  Member  in  the  Saskatche- 
wan Legislature 

Well-known  Barrister . . 


Croft,  Henry 

Codd,  B.A.,  Alfred  E. 


Campbell,  D.H.O.,  ex-M.p., 
Lieut.-Col.  Glen  Lyon. . . 

Carman,  M.A.,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Rev.  Albert 

Creighton,  CX-M.L.A.,  David. 


Cowan,  K.C.,  ex-M.p.,  Man- 
Ion  K 

Davis,  Hon.  Thomas  Os- 
borne 

D'Avignon,  John  Eugene. . . 

Douglas,  Charles  Stanford  . 

Davison,  B.A.,  M.D.,  John  L. 


ex-Mayor  of  Napanee 

Former  member  of  Quebec 
Legislature 

Represented  West  Hastings  in 
the  Commons  from  1888-1901 

ex-President  of  Quebec  Literary 
and  Historical  Society 

One-time  member  of  the  New 
Brunswick  Government 

Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Quebec  for  21  years 

Mining  Engineer  and  Prominent 
Citizen 

Professor  of  Latin  in  Queen's 
University 

Member  of  Manitoba  Legisla- 
ture, 1902-18 

General  Superintendent  (Emer- 
itus) of  the  Methodist  Church 
in  Canada 

Assistant  Receiver-General  and 
one-time  Managing-Director 
of  The  Empire 

For  many  years  General  Counsel 
to  the  G.T.R 

Member  of  the  Canadian  Senate 
for  13  years 

Sheriff  of  Essex  County 

ex-Mayor  of  Vancouver,  M.L.A., 
Manitoba  1883-9 

Editor  of  Canada  Lancet 

[835] 


Place  of  Death       Date 


Winnipeg Jan.    10 

Montreal Mar.  15 

Toronto Sept.  19 


Canning Jan.     6 

Kitchener Jan.  8 

Georgetown Mar.  3 

Victoria Mar.  4 

Toronto Apr.  2 

Ottawa Apr.  6 

Toronto Apr.   16 

Ottawa Apr.  19 

Andover Apr.  21 

Toronto June  10 

Rathwell June  17 

Keewatin  Beach Sept.    1 

England Sept.  25 

Toronto Nov.    1 

Belleville Dec.  10 

Prince  Albert Dec.  25 

Toronto tMay  10 

Napanee Mar.  15 

Montreal Apr.     9 

Honolulu Apr.   23 

Quebec May  23 

Woodstock May  28 

Quebec July  17 

Esquimalt July  28 

Kingston Oct.     5 

France Oct.   21 

Toronto Nov.    3 

Toronto Nov.    7 

Toronto Oct.    28 

Prince  Albert Jan.   23 

Windsor Mar.    5 

Vancouver Apr.   15 

Napanee Apr .  20 


836  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Name  Particulars  Place  of  Death       Date 


cide Achigan June  22 

Dickson,  K.C.,  Joseph  Howe.    Clerk  of  the  Executive  Council 

of  New  Brunswick Fredericton June  27 

Dupuis,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.C.,    Professor  of  Mathematics  and 

Nathan  Fellows Dean  of  Practical  Science  at 

Queen's  University,  Kingston.    Long  Beach July  20 

Drake,  M.D.,  Fred'k  Phlneas.    Eminent  Medical  Man London Oct.     6 

De  Martigny,  M.D.,  Adelstan    Prominent  Medical  Man Montreal Nov.  14 

Emard,  K.C.,  Joseph  Ulric..    ex- Alderman    of    the    City    of 

Montreal Montreal Mar.  30 

Fraser,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Hugh  W. .    Well-known  PresbyterianOlergy- 

man Calgary June    8 

Fletcher,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  John.    Professor  of  Latin  at  Toronto 

University Toronto July  15 

Farncomb,  M.A.,  Rev.  Canon 

John Well-known  Clergyman Newcastle Sept.    8 

Fisher,  Alson  Alexander. . .  .    County  Judge  of  Renfrew Toronto Sept.  28 

Gelkle,    M.D.,    LL.D.,    D.C.L.,  Founder  and   Dean  of  Trinity 

Walter  Bayne Medical  School Toronto Jan.   12 

Grout,  Rev.  Canon  George  Well-known    Anglican    Clergy- 

W.  G man Kingston Feb.  14 

Gray,  Lieut.-Col.  John Well-known  Militia  Officer Toronto Feb.  13 

Gamey,  M.P.P.,  Robert  Ros-  Member  for  Manitoulin  in  the 

well Ontario  Legislature Toronto Mar.  19 

Greenshields.  LL.D.,  Edward  Director,  Bank  of  Montreal,  and 

Black Governor  of  McGill  Univer- 
sity   Montreal Apr.  22 

Gregg,  Charles  A Editorial  Staff  of  The  Colonist . .  Victoria Apr.  28 

Gilman,    K.C.,    M.A.,    LL  D.,  Eminent  Lawyer  and   Legisla- 

Hon.  Francis  Edward . . .        tive  Councillor  of  Quebec Westmount May  24 

Girdwood,  M.D.,  F.C.S.,  F.R.-  Professor  of  Chemistry  for  many 

B.C.,  Gilbert  Prout years  at  McGill  University. .  Montreal Oct.     2 

Graham,  Hon.  Sir  Wallace. .  Chief  Justice  of  Nova  Scotia. . .  Halifax Oct.   12 

Hugonard,  O.M.I.,  Rev.  Jos-    Catholic  Missionary  to  the  In- 

eph dians Fort  Qu'Appelle. . . .  Feb.  11 

Hough,  M.A.,  M.D.,  Henry. .    Well-known  Journalist  and 

Business  man Toronto Feb.  25 

Holt.  Philip Junior  Judge  of  Huron  County 

since  1902 Goderich Apr.  1? 

Hiscott,    ex-M.L.A.,    Major    Represented  Lincoln  County  for    Near  St.  Catharines.May  26 

James 4  years 

Hubert,  C.M.O.,  R.C.A.,  Louis    ex-President,    Royal    Canadian 
Philippe Academy;   Knight  of  the  Le- 
gion of  Honour  and  St.  Greg- 
ory the  Great Westmount June  15 

Home,  John  William Moving  Picture  Board  of  Cen- 
sors     Winnipeg Oct.   24 

Hendry,  William For  2  years  Manager  of  the 

Mutual  Life  of  Canada Kitchener Nov.  21 

Higgins,    ex-M.L.A.,    David    One-time  Editor  of  Victoria  Col- 

William onist  and  Speaker  of  the  B.C. 

Legislature Victoria Nov.  3( 

Hobson,  Joseph Noted  Civil  Engineer  and  the 

Builder  of  the  Victoria  Bridge, 

Montreal  St.  Glair  Tunnel. .    Hamilton Dec.  li 

Hanington,   K.C.,   Augustus 

H Prominent  Barrister St.  John Nov.  25 

Jeffers,  J.  Frith Veteran  Educationist  and  Audi- 
tor         Toronto Feb.  24 

Jones,  K.C.M.G.,  Hon  Sir  Ly-    President  of  the  Massey-Harris 

man  Melvin Co.  and  Member  of  the  Senate    Toronto Apr.  11 

Johnson,  B.  A.,  PH.D.,  George   Professor  of  Latin,  Toronto  Uni- 

Wesley versity Toronto May    < 

Kennedy,  Monslgneur  Ed-    14  Years  Parish  Priest  in  Truro, 

ward N.S Halifax Apr.  14 

Kirkpatrick,  George  Brom-    ex-Director  of  Surveys  for  On- 

ley tario Toronto Aug.    i 

Kerr-Lawson,  Mrs.  Jessie . .    Well-known    writer    and    poet 
iinder  pen  name  of  "Hugh 

Airlie" Toronto July  3( 

King,    Isabel    Grace    Mac-    Widow  of  John  King,  K.C.,  and 

kenzie Daughter    of   William    Lyon 

Mackenzie Ottawa Dec.  1* 

Loughrin,  ex-M.L.A.,  John. .    Former  Judge  of  Nipissing  Dis- 
trict     Mattawa Jan,     : 


CANADIAN  OBITUARY,  1917 


837 


Name 
jeitch,  Hon.  James 


lieiser,  Simon 

jugrin,  Charles  Henry 


ex- 


Granger, K.C.,  LL.D 
it.  L.  A.,  Hon.  Louis 
slme 

liafontaine,  Uric 

^eSueur,  B.A.,  LL.D.,  F.R.B.C 
William  Dawson.. 


McCulloch,  Hugh 

vlcFadden,  Moses 

McDougall,  D.D.,  Rev.  John 

Chantler 

vtcKim,  Anson 

vlcOlelan,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  ex- 
M.L.A.,  Hon.  Abner  Reid. 

McLeod,  John  Peter. . . 


McKay,  George  Forest .... 
McCormick.ThomasPalmer 
McMillan,  Thomas  Henry  . 

McBride,  K.C.,  LL.D.,  K.C.- 
M.O.,  Sir  Richard 

McFee,  Alexander 

vIcLeod,  F-R.S.C.,  F.B.A.B., 
Clement  Henry 

MacKav,    M.D.,   WiUiam 
Morrison 

Macleod,  D.D.,  Rev.  Duncan 
Darroch 

vlacDougall,  Hartland  St. 
Glair 

VlacLaren,  CX-M.P.,  Alex- 
ander Ferguson 

Macdonald,  Sir  William 
Christopher 

Macdonell,  Mrs.  Pauline 
Rosalie  De  La  Haye 

Mackenzie,  Margaret  Merry 
Lady 

Mortimer,  Charles  Herbert. 

Morrison,  K.C.,  Alf  d  Gidney 

Murphy,  ex-M.L.A.,  Denis.. 

Morrison,  M.L.A.,  John  Gillis 

Mills,  D.D.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Rt. 

Rev.  William  Lennox 

Moore,  John  Thomas . . . 


Monk,     ex-M.L.A.,     George 
William. . . 

Murdoch,  William 

Morrison,  Duncan 

Murray,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.C., 
John  Clark 

Morgan,  J.  Burtt 

Mason,  Elizabeth  Cooper .  . 

31dright,  M.D.,  WiUiam. . . 

3'Connor,  J.P.,  Mathew 

Jwens,  ex-M.L.A.,  Hon.  Wm. 
3rr,  Dr.  J.  Orlando. . . 


Particulars 

Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Ontario 

ex-President,  Victoria  Board  of 
Trade 

Many  years  Editor  of  Victoria 
Colonist 

ex-Judge  of  the  Superior  Court 
of  Quebec  and  Attorney-Gen- 
eral, 1879-82 

Judge  of  the  Court  of  Sessions . 

Well-known  Canadian  Author; 

Secretary.  Post  Office  Depart- 
ment, 1888-1902 

Prominent  Manufacturer 

District  Judge  of  Algoma 

Pioneer  Methodist  Missionary . . 

Well-known  Montreal  citizen 
and  head  of  A.  McKim,  Ltd . 

Former  Lieut.-Governor  of  New 
Brunswick  and  Senator  of 
Canada 

ex-Deputy  Attorney-General  of 
British  Columbia 

Nova  Scotia  Ship-builder 

Prominent  Manufacturer 

Founder  of  Western  Bank  of 
Canada 

Premier  of  British  Columbia  for 
12  years;  latterly  Agent- 
General  in  London 

ex-President,  Board  of  Trade. . 

Vice-Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Ap- 
plied Science,  McGill 

Doyen  of  Medical  Profession  of 
the  West 

Prominent  Presbyterian  Clergy- 
man   

ex-President,  Montreal  Stock 
Exchange 

Eminent   manufacturer  and 
head  of  MacLaren  Imperial 
Cheese  Co.,  Ltd 

Chancellor  of  McGill  Univer- 
sity, famous  Philanthropist 
and  millionaire  Manufacturer. 


Wife  of  Sir  Wm.  Mackenzie. . . 

Well-known  Trade  Publisher . . . 

Crown  Prosecutor 

A  Commissioner  of  the  T.&N.O. 
Well-known  Politician 

Anglican  Bishop  of  Ontario .... 

Founder  of  Moore  Park,  To- 
ronto, and  first  ex-M.L.A.  in 
Alberta 

Vice-President,  Canada  Per- 
manent Corporation 

City  Engineer  of  St.  John 

County  Court  Judge  of  Prince 
Edward  County 

Professor  Emeritus  of  Mental 
and  Moral  Philosophy,  Mc- 
Gill University 

President  of  Dominion  Under- 
writers' Association 

Wife  of  Brig.-Gen.  Hon.  James 
Mason . .  


Place  of  Death       Date 

Toronto Feb.     7 

Vancouver May  12 

Victoria..  ..June  14 


St.  Hilatre Aug.  18 

Montreal Aug.  25 

Ottawa Sept.  23 

Gait Jan.     8 

Sault  Ste.  Marie. . .  .Jan.   10 

Calgary Jan.    15 

Coteau  Junction. . .  .Jan.   25 

Moncton Jan.   30 

Victoria. .         Jan.   31 

New  Glasgow Mar.  13 

London Mar.  31 

Oshawa May    5 


England Aug.     6 

Montreal Sept.  28 

Montreal Dec.  26 

Edmonton Feb.  25 

Barrie ,  Mar.    9 

Montreal Apr.  10 

Toronto Apr.   19 

Montreal June    9 

Toronto Sept.  25 

Toronto Nov.  29 

Toronto Feb.   11 

Halifax Feb.   13 

Ottawa Mar.  10 

Halifax ...Apr.     8 

Kingston May    4 

Toronto June    5 

South  March Aug.  18 

St.  John Oct.     8 

Picton Nov.  17 

Montreal Nov.  20 

Victoria Nov.  27 

Toronto Dec.  21 


ex-Chairman,  Provincial  Board 
of  Health..  


Chicago Jan.     4 

Toronto Mar.  24 

Senator  of  Canada Montreal June    8 

For  14  years  Manager  of  the 

Canadian  National  Exhibition    Toronto Aug.  22 


Patterson,  Robert  Lawrence 
?aton,  ex-M.L.A.,  Robert. . . 


Well-known  Business  man 

Postmaster  of  Barrie  for  14  years 


Toronto Apr.  21 

Barrie June  21 


838  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Name  Particulars  Place  of  Death        Date 

Robb    K.C.,  James County  Judge  for  Norfolk  from 

1890-1914 Toronto Feb.  14 

Richards,  GX-M.L.A.,  John.. .    ex-Commissioner  of  Agriculture 
in  P.E.  Island  and  Leader  of 

the  Opposition Los  Angeles Mar.    8 

Renaud,     Rev.     Canon    J. 

Frederick Rector  of  St.  Thomas  Church. .    Montreal Apr.  13 

Robertson,  Thomas President,  Monetary  Times,  and 

Pioneer  Manufacturer Toronto Apr.  19 

Rogers,  Edwin  Robert Ontario    Inspector    of    Public 

Charities Toronto Apr.  20 

Robinson,     C.E.,     Franklin    Deputy     Minister    of    Public 

Joseph. , Works,   1905-10,  Regina Toronto May  26 

Richard,     LL.B.,     CX-M.L.A.,    One-time    Solicitor-General    of 

Hon.  Ambrose  D New  Brunswick Dorchester Sept.  15 

Ryrie,  Harry Prominent   Business   man   and 

Social  Worker Toronto Sept.  16 

Richardson,    ex-n.p.,    Mat- 
thew Kendal Flesherton Nov.    5 

Ritchie,  K.C.,  W.  B.  A ex-President   of  the   N.S.    Bar 

Association Vancouver Dec.  25 

Smith,  Rev.  Wm.  Wye Well-known     Poet,     Journalist 

and  Preacher Burford Jan.     0 

Stocks,  John Member  of  the  Alberta  Public 

Utilities  Commission Edmonton Feb.    9 

Smith,  M.L.A.,  ex-M.p.,  Hon.    Minister  of  Finance  for  British 

Ralph Columbia Victoria Feb,  12 

Spence,  Francis  Stephens. . .    Municipal  Expert  and  Prohibi- 
tion Leader Toronto Mar.    8 

Scholfleld,  George  Percival.    General  Manager  and  Director 

of  the  Standard  Bank New  York Mar.    8 

Smith,  Dr.  Alfred  D Professor  of  Classics  in  Univer- 
sity of  Mount  Allison Sackville Mar.  28 

Stewart,    CX-M.L.A.,    Albert 

John  Henry New  Brunswick  Politician Bathurst Apr.  3( 

Stewart,  George  Alexander.    Eminent  Railway  Engineer ....     Shoal  Bay. May  1J 

Stevens,  James Prominent  Ingersoll  Citizen. . . .    Muskoka June  22 

Spiers,  David ex-Mayor  of  Gait Gait July    ! 

Schultz,  Samuel  Davies. . . .    County  Court  Judge North  Vancouver. .  .Aug.  25 

Smith,  i.s.o.,  A.D.C.,  Colonel    Sergeant-at-Arms   of  House  of 

Henry  Robert Commons Kingston Sept.  20 

Sykes,    PH.D.,    Frederick         President  of  Connecticut  Wo- 

Henry man's  College Cambridge,  Mass. . .  Oct.  1 

Smith,    K.C.,    LL.D.,    D.C.L.,    Professor  of  Commercial  Law, 
Robert  Cooper McGill  University;    ex-Presi- 
dent, Montreal  Bar. Montreal Sept.  2: 

Sproule,    M.D.,    M.P.,    Hon.    Speaker  of  the  House  of  Corn- 
Thomas  Simpson mons  and  Grand  Master  of 

the  Orange  Order Markdale Nov.  1C 

Shaw,  ex-M.L.  A.,  John ex-Mayor  of  Toronto Toronto Nov.  27 

Tait,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  The  Hon.   ex-Chief  Justice  of  the  Superior 

Sir  Melbourne  McTaggart       Court  of  Quebec Montreal Feb.  1( 

Taber,  Charles  W.  C Former  Member  of  the  Yukon 

Legislature Dawson,  Y.T Feb.  2 

Taylor,  Sir  Thomas  Ward-   Former  Chief  Justice  of  Mani- 

law toba Hamilton Mar.    ^ 

Trenholme,  Thos.  Anderson   Well-known  Business  man Montreal Apr.  i 

Torrington,     MUS.D.,    Fred-   Dean  of  the  Musical  Profession 

erick  Herbert in  Toronto Toronto Nov.  It 

Turner,  M.L.C.,  Hon. Richard   Prominent   Business   man   and 

Financier Quebec Dec.  2. 

Tolton,  Edwin Member  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, 1901-1906 Clifford Dec.  1. 

Woodsworth,  D.D.,  Rev.  Jas.    Superintendent     of    Methodist 

Missions  for  Western  Canada.  Winnipeg Jan.  2< 

Woodsworth,  Rev.  Richard   Founder  of  Christian  Steward- 
Watson ship  work  in  Methodist  Church  Toronto Mar.  11 

White,  James Oxford  County  Clerk,  1880-1907  Woodstock May  2< 

Wright,  E.  J Deputy    Provincial    Secretary, 

Saskatchewan Regina May  V 

Walker,     M.D.,     Lieut.-Col.    Well-known  Physician  and  Citi- 

Thomas  Dyson zen  of  St.  John,  N.B Boston July  2 

Wilson,  D.D.,  Rev.  William 

Frederick Prominent  Methodist  Clergyman  Toronto Apr. 

Wood,  Samuel  Thomas ....    For  many  years  on  the  Editorial 

staff  of  The  C*lobe,  Toronto.  .  Toronto Nov. 

Wilcox,  M.P.,  Oliver  James.    Late  Chief  Whip  for  the  Con- 
servative Party Essex Dec. 


Supplement 

Canadian  Finances,  Resources, 
Business 

Annual  Reports  and  Addresses 


THE  RT.  HON.  THE  LORD  SHAUGHNESSY,  K.C.V.O. 
President  and  Chairman  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 


LORD  SHAUGHNESSY'S  NOTABLE  ADDRESS 

AT  THE 
ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  SHAREHOLDERS 

CANADIAN  PACIFIC  RAILWAY* 


Compared  with  the  returns  for  the  calendar  year 
Address  by  1916  the  Thirty-seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Direc- 
Lord  tors  now  before  you  for  consideration  and  approval 

Shaughnessy,  shows  an  increase  in  gross  revenue  from  transportation 
K.C.V.O.,  of  $12,660,000,  but  this  amount  was  more  than 
Chairman  a^sorbe^  by  tne  working  expenses,  which  increased 
of  the  G.P.R.  $16,590,000,  so  that  the  net  income  from  transpor- 
tation in  1917  was  less  by  $3,930,000  than  it  was 
in  the  previous  calendar  year.  Notwithstanding 
the  larger  volume  of  traffic  in  1917,  it  will  be  gathered  from 
the  statistics  incorporated  in  the  Report  that  there  was 
a  substantial  decrease  in  traffic  train  mileage  and  loaded  car 
mileage,  indicating  still  further  improvement  in  operating  efficiency. 
In  normal  times  this  should  be  reflected  in  the  working  expenses, 
but  its  effect  was  minimized  by  the  higher  scale  of  wages  and  the 
enhanced  cost  of  fuel  and  other  materials  required  for  the  mainten- 
ance and  operation  of  the  Railway  that  prevailed  during  the  year 
and  that  added  $15,250,000  to  the  operating  expenses.  These 
conditions  were  not  exceptional  in  the  case  of  your  Company,  but 
applied  in  a  proportionate  degree  to  all  the  other  Canadian  carriers. 
In  view  of  the  abnormal  and  constantly  increasing  cost  of  rail- 
way operation,  the  Board  of  Railway  Commissioners,  after  due 
deliberation,  authorized  an  increase  of  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent,  in 
specified  zones  in  the  tariff  of  charges  for  the  carriage  of  passengers 
and  freight.  This  concession  to  the  Railway  Companies  to  assist 
them  in  meeting,  in  part,  the  increased  cost  of  transportation  ser- 
vices that  they  are  providing  is  very  moderate  indeed  when  compared 
with  the  increased  prices  due  to  similar  causes  which  the  public 
has  to  pay  for  all  other  commodities.  It  was  clear  that  without 
higher  rates  many  of  the  Railway  Companies  would  be  compelled 
to  face  large  deficits,  and  so  far  as  it  applied  to  these  lines,  some  of 
them  being  wards  of  the  Government,  the  order  of  the  Board  appeared 
to  arouse  little  objection  or  criticism.  But  certain  trade  bodies 
and  others  appealed  to  the  Dominion  Government  for  the  dis- 
allowance of  the  Order  of  the  Board  of  Railway  Commissioners 
on  the  ground  that  the  additional  revenue  resulting  from  the  higher 
rates  would,  in  the  case  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company, 
have  the  effect  of  supplementing  that  Company's  substantial  surplus 

•This  much-discussed  Address  was  delivered  at  Montreal  on  May  1st,  1918. 

[841] 


842  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

income  after  the  payment  of  fixed  charges  and  dividends.  To  enable 
the  weaker  Companies  to  reap  the  benefit  of  the  higher  rates,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  meet  the  objections  that  had  been  urged  to  the 
participation  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  in  like  benefits,  the  Govern- 
ment decided  to  permit  the  advance  in  rates  for  the  carriage  of 
traffic  authorized  by  the  Board  of  Railway  Commissioners  to  become 
effective  March  15,  1918,  but  concurrent  with  this  decision  there 
was  an  Order  of  the  Governor-General  in  Council  under  the  War 
Measures  Act,  substantially  as  follows : — 

1.  The  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company,  hereinafter  called  "The  Company," 
shall  pay  to  the  Government  of  Canada  the  following  special  taxes : 

1st. — One  half  of  its  net  earnings  from  railway  operations  in  excess  of  seven  per 
cent,  on  its  Common  Stock  (after  paying  fixed  charges,  appropriation  for  Pension 
Fund,  and  dividends  on  Preferred  Stock). 

2nd. — Income  tax  on  the  Company's  special  income  (inclusive  of  all  the  Com- 
pany's income,  except  earnings  from  railway  operations),  under  the  provisions  of 
The  Income  War  Tax  Act,  1917,  or  any  amendment  thereof  hereafter  enacted. 

Provided  that  the  total  amount  to  be  paid  each  year  by  the  Company  shall  not 
be  less  than — 

(1)  The  Company's  net  earnings  in  such  year  from  railway  operations,  and 
from  special  income  as  defined  above,  in  excess  of  10%  on  its  Common  Stock  (after 
paying  fixed  charges,  appropriation  for  Pension  Fund  and  dividends  on  Preferred 
Stock),  up  to  $7,000,000,  or 

(2)  The  amount  by  which  its  net  earnings  from  railway  operations  exceed  the 
net  earnings  from  railway  operations  for  the  fiscal  year  ended  December  31st,  1917, 
due  to  the  increase  in  freight  and  passenger  rates  granted  by  the  Order  of  the  Board 
of  Railway  Commissioners,  dated  26th  December,  1917. 

3.  Payment  in  full  of  special  taxes  under  this  order  shall  in  respect  of  earnings 
from  and  after  January  1st,  1918,  relieve  the  Company  of  liability  under  the  Business 
Profits  War  Tax  Act,  1916,  and  any  other  Dominion  Act  of  like  nature  hereafter 
enacted,  and  (save  as  hereinbefore  provided)  under  the  Income  War  Tax  Act,  1917. 

4.  This  Order  shall  be  deemed  to  have  come  into  force  and  effect  on  the  first 
day  of  January,  1918,  and  to  continue  in  force  and  effect  during  the  present  war, 
and  until  further  ordered. 

Briefly  stated,  this  Order-in-Council  not  only  deprives  your 
Company  of  any  improved  revenue  that  might  result  from  the 
higher  tariff,  but  imposes  upon  it  a  measure  of  taxation  discrimina- 
tory in  character,  and  therefore  your  Company  might  with  propriety 
question  its  fairness  or  justification.  A  state  of  war,  with  its  enor- 
mous demands  upon  the  National  Treasury,  and  other  financial 
burdens  brought  upon  the  country  by  an  unfortunate  railway  policy, 
coupled  with  the  thriving  condition  of  your  Company's  affairs, 
were  in  all  probability  taken  as  furnishing  reasonable  warrant  for 
the  Government's  action.  Since  the  outbreak  of  war  your  Company 
has  deemed  it  a  duty  to  render  to  Canada  and  the  Allies  all  the  prac- 
tical and  financial  assistance  in  its  power,  and  while  it  is  not  possible 
with  constantly  changing  conditions  to  form  at  this  time  even  an 
approximate  estimate  of  the  tax,  the  amount,  whatever  it  may  be, 
will  be  paid  without  protest  or  embarrassment  to  your  finances. 
It  must  not  be  assumed  that  in  the  adoption  of  this  measure  the 
Government  was  actuated  by  any  spirit  of  hostility  to  the  Company. 
On  the  contrary,  it  may  be  stated  without  reservation  that  at  no 
other  time  has  your  Company  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  support 
of  Parliament,  the  Government  and  the  people  to  a  greater  extent 
than  at  present.  Nor  should  the  Government's  action  be  assumed 


LORD  SHAUGHNESSY  ON  THE  RAILWAY  SITUATION          843 

to  forecast  a  policy  in  the  future  that  might  jeopardize  investments 
in  Canadian  Government,  Municipal  or  Corporation  Securities. 

What  is  commonly  called  "Canada's  Railway  Problem"  has, 
for  some  months  past,  occupied  a  place  in  the  attention  of  the 
Canadian  people  second  only  to  the  affairs  of  war,  and  expedients 
designed  to  lighten  the  burden  imposed  on  the  Public  Treasury 
by  the  railway  situation  have  been  considered  and  discussed  by 
the  Public  and  the  Press.  Not  unnaturally  your  Company  has, 
by  reason  of  its  outstanding  position  in  the  business  affairs  of  the 
country,  been  brought  into  the  discussion.  It  was  evident  that 
some  of  the  writers  and  speakers  who  took  part  had  but  imperfect 
information  or  were  guided  by  traditional  misconception  when 
dealing  with  the  affairs  of  your  Company.  Although  more  than 
90%  of  its  securities  are  owned  abroad,  your  Company  is  essentially 
Canadian  in  its  inception,  progress  and  aspirations,  and  therefore 
the  Directors  feel  that  it  is  not  out  of  place  at  this  time  to  give  you, 
for  the  information  of  the  Canadian  public  as  well  as  the  investors 
in  the  property,  a  brief  review  of  some  salient  features  of  the  Com- 
pany's financial  policy  and  progress  leading  up  to  its  present  stable 
position. 

Under  the  terms  of  the  contract  of  October  21,  1880,  between 
the  Government  of  Canada  and  the  Syndicate  acting  for  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  Company  in  anticipation  of  the  Charter,  the  Govern- 
ment undertook  to  give,  by  way  of  subsidy,  to  assist  the  Company 
in  carrying  its  enterprise  to  successful  completion,  certain  sections 
of  railway  between  Lake  Superior  and  Winnipeg  and  between  Savonas 
and  Port  Moody  in  British  Columbia  then  in  process  of  construction 
under  Government  auspices,  $25,000,000  in  cash  and  25,000,000 
acres  of  land  suitable  for  settlement.  After  work  had  been  in  progress 
for  two  or  three  years  it  was  found  that  the  cost  was  substantially 
in  excess  of  the  estimates,  and  the  Company  applied  to  the  Govern- 
ment for  further  temporary  aid  by  way  of  loans.  When,  in  1885, 
the  repayment  of  the  loans  was  being  arranged,  the  Government 
decided  to  accept  in  part  payment  a  return  of  6,700,000  acres  of 
the  Land  Grant  in  place  of  $10,000,000  in  cash;  in  effect,  therefore, 
the  subsidy  consisted  of  $35,000,000  in  money,  18,300,000  acres  of 
land,  and  the  sections  of  railway  in  process  of  construction  by  the 
Government  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made.  At  the 
outset  the  Company  had  expected  to  raise  the  requisite  funds  for 
the  execution  of  the  work  by  sales  in  the  English  market  of  Capital 
Stock  and  of  Bonds  secured  by  the  Land  Grant,  thus  keeping  the 
railway  property  free  from  bonded  debt,  but  it  soon  became  manifest 
that  this  was  impossible,  and,  therefore,  Parliament  was  asked  to 
authorize  and  did  authorize  the  issue  of  $35,000,000  5%  First 
Mortgage  Bonds  and  $65,000,000  Ordinary  Share  Capital.  Despite 
a  determined  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Directors  to  give  confidence 
to  investors  by  depositing  in  cash  with  the  Government  of  Canada  an 
amount  sufficient  to  meet  a  Government  guarantee  of  dividend 
at  the  rate  of  3%  per  annum  on  the  Common  Stock  for  ten  years, 
unfriendly  influences  at  home  and  abroad  were  so  prejudicial  in 
the  English,  American  and  Continental  markets  that  the  original 


844  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

$65,000,000  only  yielded  to  the  treasury  of  the  Company  an  average 
of  somewhat  less  than  46%  of  its  face  value.  The  unwillingness  of 
investors  to  pay  a  higher  figure  for  the  Stock  in  those  early  days 
need  not  be  considered  extraordinary,  however,  when  we  learn  that 
as  late  as  1895,  when  the  railway  had  been  completed  and  in  opera- 
tion for  more  than  nine  years,  the  Stock  was  offered  in  the  market 
at  as  low  as  33%,  with  but  few  takers. 

In  1885  the  President  of  the  Company,  now  Lord  Mount  Stephen, 
induced  Baring  Brothers  to  find  purchasers  for  the  $35,000,000 
First  Mortgage  Bonds,  and  by  this  means  the  Company  was  enabled 
to  repay  the  loans  from  Government  and  to  meet  its  floating  debt. 
It  was  evident  that  the  main  line  described  in  the  Agreement, 
serving  as  it  did  thousands  of  miles  of  territory  almost  uninhabited, 
could  not  be  kept  going  unless  it  was  brought  into  touch  with  the 
more  important  commercial  centres  of  Eastern  Canada  and  was 
provided  with  branch  lines  and  connections  that  would  contribute 
traffic  to  its  rails,  and,  therefore,  arrangements  were  made  to  reach 
Montreal,  Ottawa,  Toronto,  and  at  later  stages  Quebec,  Hamilton, 
the  more  important  manufacturing  towns  in  Ontario  and  Quebec, 
and  the  Winter  port  at  St.  John,  N.B.,  and  connections  were  estab- 
lished at  various  points  along  the  frontier  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  with  railway  systems  in  the  United  States.  These  extensions, 
feeders  and  connections  were  obtained  by  agreements  with  a  number 
of  Canadian  Companies  for  the  acquisition  or  lease  of  their  properties, 
the  consideration  in  most  cases  being  a  guarantee  of  interest  on  their 
securities  by  way  of  rental,  and  in  other  cases  the  Company's  credit 
was  utilized  for  the  construction  of  new  lines.  In  circumstances 
when  the  interchange  of  traffic  was  a  matter  of  prime  importance, 
the  connecting  lines  in  Canada  were  only  built  to  the  International 
Boundary  after  the  Company  had  taken  the  requisite  steps  to  ensure 
the  observance  of  traffic  agreements  by  the  railway  lines  on  the  other 
side  of  the  International  Boundary. 

Inevitably  this  policy  would  lead  to  a  variety  of  securities  in 
the  shape  of  Bonds  assumed  by  the  Company  with  reference  to 
acquired  properties  or  created  and  issued  to  furnish  money  for 
construction  of  new  lines,  each  series  secured  by  a  mortgage  on  the 
particular  property  to  which  it  applied.  In  order  to  avoid  this 
undesirable  situation  the  Company  decided,  with  the  consent  of 
Parliament,  to  utilize  Consolidated  Debenture  Stock  for  the  pur- 
chase or  conversion  of  existing  Bonds,  and  to  provide  funds  for 
building  or  acquiring  such  additional  mileage  as  might  appear  to 
be  required  from  time  to  time  for  the  advantage  of  the  country  and 
the  Company.  This  Consolidated  Debenture  Stock  is  perpetual 
and  irredeemable,  differing  from  a  mortgage  bond  in  that  it  gives 
no  right  of  foreclosure  in  the  event  of  default.  The  holders  have 
a  first  claim  on  the  revenues  of  the  Company  for  their  semi-annual 
dividends  after  the  working  expenses  and  taxes  or  fines  have  been 
paid,  and  the  contract  demands  of  existing  bond-holders  have  been 
satisfied.  If  by  any  chance  the  Company  failed  to  pay,  within  a 
fixed  period,  the  dividend  accrued  on  the  Consolidated  Debenture 
Stock  the  holders  of  that  Stock  would  become  the  Shareholders  of 


LORD  SHAUGHNESSY  ON  THE  RAILWAY  SITUATION          845 

the  Company  and  would  control  its  affairs  until  the  default  was 
made  good,  when  the  property  would  automatically  pass  back  to 
the  Preference  and  Ordinary  Shareholders.  In  the  early  period 
of  its  history  the  Company  was  beset  by  many  difficulties  and  dis- 
appointments, but  on  the  whole  its  progress  was  not  unsatisfactory. 
In  1899  the  Company  had  7,000  miles  of  railway;  its  gross  earnings 
were  $29,200,000  and  after  the  payment  of  working  expenses  there 
were  net  earnings  of  $12,200,000;  the  funded  debt  secured  by  Mort- 
gage Bonds  was  $47,200,000;  Debenture  Stock  had  been  sold  to  the 
amount  of  $54,237,000,  and  the  annual  fixed  interest  charges  were 
$6,800,000;  while  in  1916  the  operated  system  comprised  13,000 
miles,  with  net  earnings  of  $50,000,000  and  an  increase  of  only 
$3,500,000  in  the  annual  interest  charges. 

After  1899  the  Company's  traffic  commenced  to  show  considerable 
growth  and  the  necessity  for  more  rolling  stock  equipment  and  for 
traffic  facilities  and  improvements  of  every  possible  description 
became  imperative.  Year  by  year  with  the  great  expansion  of  busi- 
ness throughout  the  country  the  demand  for  adequate  facilities 
became  more  pressing,  and  the  records  show  that  in  the  years  1902- 
1914  inclusive,  the  Company  expended  for  second  tracks,  reduction 
of  gradients,  terminals,  freight  yards  and  facilities,  work  shops, 
machinery,  and  improvements  of  every  character  chargeable  to 
Capital,  $206,300,000,  and  for  cars,  locomotives  and  other  equip- 
ment $130,000,000.  To  meet  this  expenditure  of  $336,300,000 
Debenture  Stock  could  not  legally  be  utilized  and  Preference  Stock 
could  be  issued  and  sold  only  in  limited  amounts.  In  these  circum- 
stances the  Directors  decided  to  ask  the  Ordinary  Shareholders 
of  the  Company  to  provide  funds  as  these  were  required  from  time 
to  time  by  taking  further  allotments  of  Common  Stock.  In  the 
thirteen  years  mentioned  the  Shareholders  were  offered  and  accepted 
$195,000,000  of  Common  Stock  for  which  they  paid  $262,100,000. 
Out  of  this,  $33,750,000  of  Canadian  Pacific  First  Mortgage  Bonds 
were  paid  off  and  retired,  and  $26,200,000  was  used  to  pay  the 
cost  of  railway  lines  acquired  or  constructed  and  of  additional 
steamships  with  reference  to  which  no  Bonds  or  Debentures  were 
sold.  The  remaining  amount,  $202,150,000,  was  supplemented 
by  the  sale  of  Preference  Stock  and  Equipment  Notes  that  brought 
in  $56,500,000,  making  a  total  of  $258,650,000  to  apply  against 
expenditures  of  $336,300,000.  The  further  sum  necessary,  namely, 
$77,650,000,  was  provided  from  the  surplus  revenue  of  the  Company. 
Thus  the  Company  was  put  in  a  position  to  deal  efficiently  and  econ- 
omically with  a  large  and  ever-increasing  volume  of  traffic,  and  at 
the  same  time  was  able  to  reduce  its  bonded  debt,  the  requisite 
money  being  provided  by  the  owners  of  the  property  who  were 
willing  to  venture  their  money  on  Canada's  present  and  future 
stability.  They  were  encouraged  by  the  annual  accounts  of  the 
Company  which,  year  by  year,  showed  most  gratifying  results 
and  gave  ample  warrant  for  every  statement  made  by  the  Directors. 

Notwithstanding  the  low  price  at  which  it  was  necessary  to  sell 
the  original  $65,000,000  of  Common  Stock,  as  already  explained, 
the  entire  $260,000,000  of  this  Stock  outstanding  has  yielded  to 


846  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  Treasury  in  cash  an  average  of  $112  for  each  $100  of  Stock, 
and  if  the  additional  amount  supplied  for  capital  expenditure  from 
the  surplus  belonging  to  the  Shareholders  be  taken  into  account, 
the  Shareholders  paid  an  average  of  $143  for  each  $100  of  Stock 
that  they  hold.  In  1916  the  railway  system  operated  directly 
by  the  Company  and  included  in  the  traffic  returns  had  reached 
13,000  miles,  or  6,000  miles  more  than  in  1899,  but  the  bonded  debt 
had  been  decreased  from  $47,200,000  to  $3,650,000  and  the  Con- 
solidated Debenture  Stock  outstanding  was  more  by  $122,000,000. 
The  net  revenue  from  operation  had  grown  from  $12,200,000  to 
$50,000,000  in  round  figures,  while  the  annual  fixed  charges  were 
only  $3,500,000  more  than  in  1899.  In  1916  the  amount  available 
for  distribution  to  Ordinary  Shareholders  after  providing  for  fixed 
charges,  dividend  on  Preference  Stock,  appropriations  for  Pension 
Fund,  and  other  purposes,  was  about  $34,000,000,  or  over  13% 
on  the  Common  Stock.  Of  this,  7%  was  paid  to  the  Shareholders 
and  the  balance  added  to  the  surplus.  In  1917  the  mileage  operated 
had  increased  to  13,400  miles,  but  the  net  earnings  were  less  by 
$3,930,000  although  the  gross  income  was  larger  by  $12,660,000, 
the  shrinkage  being  due  to  the  additional  cost  of  labour,  fuel  and 
material  of  every  description. 

The  progress  of  the  Company  has,  indeed,  been  marvellous, 
and  it  might  readily  occur  to  the  casual  observer  that  advantageous 
terms  for  the  carriage  of  traffic  must  have  contributed  to  the  result. 
This  is  not  the  case.  A  reference  to  the  statistics  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  and  to  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  railway 
companies  will  show  that  the  average  rate  per  passenger  per  mile 
and  the  average  rate  per  ton  per  mile,  for  the  carriage  of  passengers 
and  freight  respectively,  received  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  were 
lower  than  those  received  by  any  combination  of  railways  South  of 
the  International  Boundary  constituting  a  through  route  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  But  it  may  be  asked  how  is  it  possible 
under  these  conditions  for  the  Canadian  Pacific  to  attain  such  results 
when  it  be  taken  into  account  that  the  rates  of  pay  to  employees 
in  every  branch  of  the  service  are  at  least  as  high  as,  and  the  cost 
of  its  rails,  fuel  and  other  material  required  for  the  maintenance 
and  operation  of  its  lines  is  higher  than  in  the  case  of  railway  lines 
in  corresponding  territory  in  the  United  States.  The  answer  is 
simple.  The  achievement  may  be  attributed  primarily  to  the 
policy  pursued  for  so  many  years  of  keeping  down  the  annual  fixed 
interest  charges  while  extending  its  rails  into  new  productive  terri- 
tory as  opportunity  offered,  and  improving  the  standard  and  effici- 
ency of  its  property  as  revenue  warranted ;  but  the  economies  natur- 
ally attending  the  long  haul  of  traffic  over  its  own  rails  to  its  own 
terminals  with  none  of  the  heavy  tolls  for  handling,  switching  and 
kindred  service  at  common  points  of  junction  that  other  companies 
are  required  to  bear,  the  opportunity  to  make  the  maximum  use 
of  its  own  equipment  with  the  consequent  saving  in  the  cost  of  car 
hire,  and  the  lesser  amount  required  for  general  and  traffic  expenses 
as  compared  with  any  combination  of  competing  lines  to  the 
South,  coupled  with  operating  economies  to  which  it  is  not  necessary 


LORD  SHAUGHNESSY  ON  THE  RAILWAY  SITUATION          847 

to  refer  in  detail,  were  factors  of  great  importance  that  are  now 
being  neutralized  by  insatiable  wage  demands  and  soaring  prices. 

Thus  far  we  have  been  dealing  only  with  the  creation,  operation 
and  financial  progress  of  the  Company's  rail  transportation  system, 
comprising  its  railways  in  Canada  and  in  the  State  of  Maine,  with 
such  accessories  as  lake  and  river  steamers,  grain  elevators,  parlor 
and  sleeping  cars,  etc.  In  the  annual  reports  of  the  Directors  to 
the  Shareholders  giving  the  results  of  the  Company's  operations 
only  the  revenue  from  these  sources  is  taken  into  account,  and 
after  proper  deductions  for  operating  expenses,  annual  interest 
charges  and  special  appropriations,  the  balance  is  available  for 
dividends.  As  already  stated,  it  has  been  the  practice  for  some 
years  to  distribute  to  the  Ordinary  Shareholders  an  annual  dividend 
on  a  7%  basis,  and  to  carry  the  remainder  to  surplus  account  for 
improvements  to  the  property  and  for  the  general  purposes  of  the 
Company.  But  besides  this  revenue  from  its  transportation  system 
the  Company  receives  a  substantial  annual  return  on  investments 
of  one  character  or  another  that  have  come  into  existence  during 
the  past  thirty-five  years.  The  Special  Income  from  these  invest- 
ments, exclusive  of  receipts  from  land  sales,  is  in  excess  of  $10,000,000 
per  annum,  out  of  which  the  Ordinary  Shareholders  have  been  re- 
ceiving a  further  annual  dividend  of  3%. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Company  it  was  the  practice  of  railway 
corporations  on  this  Continent  and  elsewhere  to  divest  themselves 
of  auxiliary  enterprises  not  essentially  connected  with  the  operation 
of  the  railway,  such  as  Express  Companies,  Telegraphs,  Terminal 
Warehouses,  etc.,  by  disposing  of  them  to  corporations  engaged 
in  these  several  kinds  of  business  activity,  or  to  individuals.  Too 
frequently,  through  one  channel  or  another,  those  intimately 
associated  with  the  railway  companies'  affairs  succeeded  in  acquiring 
for  themselves  most  valuable  and  productive  properties,  and  little 
criticism  would  have  been  aroused  if  the  Canadian  Pacific  had 
adopted  the  same  policy.  But  this  was  not  done.  All  of  these 
revenue-producing  attributes  were  reserved  and  developed  for  the 
advantage  and  benefit  of  the  Shareholders,  and  the  resulting  profit 
to  the  Company's  exchequer  is  very  substantial  indeed.  Every 
terminal  yard,  station  and  property  over  the  entire  system  belongs 
to  the  Company  itself,  and  was  acquired  or  created  with  money 
furnished  by  the  Shareholders,  the  aggregate  amount  reaching  very 
large  figures. 

Land  Grants  appertaining  to  lines  purchased  or  leased  in  per- 
petuity, coal  mines,  metal  mines,  smelters  and  other  assets  that  now 
play  such  an  important  part  in  the  Annual  Balance  Sheet  of  the 
Company,  might  also  have  been  coveted  and  acquired  by  what 
are  commonly  known  as  the  "  Insiders,"  had  any  such  spirit  inspired 
the  Board  of  Directors  from  time  to  time,  but  not  a  penny  was  per- 
mitted to  slip  through  such  a  channel.  Indeed,  it  might  be  said 
that  while  the  individual  credit  of  Directors  was  on  more  than  one 
occasion  asked  and  freely  granted  at  the  initial  stages  of  a  transaction, 
no  consideration  was  ever  given  excepting  the  refund  of  out-of- 
pocket  expenses  and  bank  interest;  nor  was  anything  more  expected. 


848  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

At  times,  and  more  particularly  during  the  busy  months  of  the 
Autumn,  there  was  considerable  difficulty  about  securing  sufficient 
ocean  space  on  steamers  sailing  from  Canadian  ports  for  the  export 
traffic  carried  on  the  Company's  lines,  and  to  remedy  this  the  Elder 
Dempster  Atlantic  Fleet,  comprising  fifteen  steamships,  was  pur- 
chased in  1902.  At  a  later  date  the  Canadian  Shareholders  of  the 
Allan  Line  Steamship  Company  opened  negotiations  for  the  sale 
to  the  Canadian  Pacific  of  all  the  share  capital  of  the  Allan  Company. 
The  transaction  was  carried  out  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  parties, 
and  for  several  years  the  business  was  conducted  under  the  Allan 
name  and  through  the  Allan  Agencies.  The  earnings  of  these 
steamship  lines  were  devoted  in  a  large  part  to  the  payment  of  the 
floating  debt  that  the  Company  had  assumed  at  the  time  of  the 
purchase,  and  the  construction  and  acquisition  of  additional  steam- 
ships. 

The  development  of  business  on  the  Pacific  Coast  of  Canada 
demanded  a  number  and  class  of  vessels  (and  a  consequent  invest- 
ment of  capital)  quite  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Navigation  Company 
that  was  performing  this  service  in  connection  with  the  railway, 
and  to  meet  this  requirement  the  Canadian  Pacific  decided  to  acquire 
the  steamers  then  performing  the  service,  at  a  price  acceptable  to 
the  owners.  This  having  been  done,  the  Company  proceeded  im- 
mediately to  enlarge  and  improve  the  Fleet  by  purchase  and  con- 
struction from  time  to  time  of  larger,  faster  and  more  modern 
ships  for  the  encouragement  and  care  of  the  business.  The  policy 
proved  satisfactory  and  remunerative.  This  Ocean  and  Coastal 
Steamship  property,  secured  by  a  comparatively  small  demand  on 
capital  account,  has  a  market  value  in  excess  of  $65,000,000  on  the 
basis  of  present  market  prices.  It  is  not  necessary  to  describe  in 
detail  the  manner  in  which  other  properties  and  assets  that  came  to 
the  Company  from  one  source  or  another,  but  mainly  through 
acquired  railways,  were  nursed  and  developed  to  a  profit-producing 
stage.  It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  they  belong  to  the  Shareholders 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  and  that  the  money  necessary  for  their 
acquisition  or  development  came  from  the  surplus  income  of  the 
Company  and,  therefore,  of  its  Shareholders. 

The  Company's  Land  Grant  is  a  source  of  serious  anxiety  to 
financial  doctrinaires  who  have  only  half  studied  the  subject.  They 
appear  to  have  forgotten,  or  to  have  never  known,  that  as  late  as 
1888  when  the  railway  had  been  in  operation  for  some  time,  the 
Dominion  Government  consented,  as  a  consideration  for  some 
concessions  under  the  Charter,  to  guarantee  the  interest  on  $15,000,- 
000  Land  Grant  Bonds,  but  would  in  no  circumstances  guarantee 
the  payment  of  the  principal,  which  would  have  given  the  security 
increased  market  value,  although  the  Bonds  had  fifty  years  to  run 
and  only  represented  a  value  of  about  75 c.  per  acre.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  at  that  time  the  Government  could  have  recovered  the 
whole  Land  Grant  at  the  price  per  acre  just  mentioned.  For  many 
years  this  Land  Grant  was  a  great  drag  on  the  Company.  Interest 
had  to  be  met  on  the  Land  Grant  Bonds  whose  proceeds  had  been 
devoted  to  the  purposes  of  the  railway,  and  although  considerable 


LORD  SHAUGHNESSY  ON  THE  RAILWAY  SITUATION          849 

sums  were  spent  on  an  immigration  propaganda  land  sales  were 
disappointing  and  unsatisfactory,  and  the  prices  yielded  the  Com- 
pany only  from  $1.50  to  $2.50  per  acre  after  the  selling  expenses 
had  been  paid.  It  was  not  until  1898  that  agricultural  lands  in 
Western  Canada  attracted  buyers  in  any  number,  and  even  in  that 
year,  when  348,000  acres  were  sold,  and  in  the  three  subsequent 
years  the  net  return  to  the  Company  was  only  about  $2.80  per  acre. 
These  prices  were  realized  from  sales  of  comparatively  small  parcels. 
The  value  placed  on  these  lands  in  large  areas  by  investors  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  at  the  end  of  1901  the  shares  of  the 
Canada  North  West  Land  Company  could  have  been  bought  in 
open  market  at  a  price  equivalent  to  $1.45  per  acre,  for  the  1,555,000 
acres  belonging  to  that  Company  at  the  time. 

Shortly  after  the  Canadian  Pacific  contract  was  made,  the 
Federal  Parliament  commenced  to  vote  grants  of  land  in  very 
large  areas  by  way  of  subsidy  for  the  construction  of  railway  lines 
in  Western  Canada  to  many  companies  incorporated  for  the  purpose. 
Most  of  these  companies  never  materialized,  but  it  was  necessary 
to  establish  reserves  from  which  their  selections  could  be  made, 
if  by  chance  they  came  into  being  while  the  subsidy  agreements 
were  in  force,  and  other  companies  (before  the  advent  of  the  Canadian 
Northern)  built  some  miles  of  railway,  secured  the  land  to  which 
they  were  entitled,  and  then  collapsed.  All  of  this  had  an  import- 
ant bearing  on  the  time  required  to  select  the  lands  earned  by  the 
construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific,  because  of  the  difficulty  about 
having  reserves  defined  in  districts  where  the  character  of  the  land 
would  meet  the  requirements  of  the  agreement;  and  to  satisfy 
the  last  3,000,000  acres  of  its  Grant  the  Company  consented  to  accept 
lands  along  the  line  West  of  Medicine  Hat  in  what  was  then  known 
as  the  "semi-arid"  district,  where  there  was  little  or  no  water, 
a  very  uncertain  rainfall  and  other  conditions  that  made  the  lands 
practically  valueless.  To  recover  this  tract  it  was  decided  to  adopt 
a  plan  of  irrigation,  and  an  expenditure  of  over  $15,000,000  was 
made  in  the  construction  of  the  requisite  works  and  ditches  in  the 
Eastern  and  Western  Blocks,  comprising  about  2,240,000  acres. 
Of  this  area,  that  was  not  previously  worth  five  cents  an  acre  for 
practical  purposes,  the  portions  that  can  be  served  by  the  ditches 
command  high  prices,  and  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  balance 
is  improved  in  value  by  reason  of  the  water  supply,  so  we  find  that 
in  1904  the  Company  was  willing  to  expend,  and  forthwith  proceeded 
to  expend,  with  a  view  to  making  useless  lands  productive  and  to 
encourage  the  settlement  of  territory  adjacent  to  its  railway,  a  sum 
of  money  in  excess  of  the  amount  that  it  would  have  been  willing 
to  accept  for  the  entire  Land  Grant  sixteen  years  before. 

Meanwhile  the  Company  year  by  year  made  every  effort  and  an 
expenditure  approximating  $17,000,000  in  the  encouragement  of 
immigration,  and  to  forward  the  sale  and  settlement  of  such  lands 
as  it  had  received.  A  most  important  factor  in  securing  settlers 
who  would  purchase  farms  was  the  construction  of  thousands  of 
miles  of  principal  and  branch  lines  not  contemplated  by  the  original 
Charter,  Indeed,  the  Canadian  Pacific  as  defined  in  that  Charter, 

54 


850  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

with  its  attendant  Land  Grant,  would  have  been  a  sorry  investment 
if  left  by  itself.  To  recapitulate,  14,000,000  acres  of  the  original 
Canadian  Pacific  Land  Grant  have  been  sold  to  date,  yielding  in 
round  figures  $94,000,000,  or  an  average  of  $6.72  per  acre,  but  against 
this  there  were  the  expenditures  during  thirty  years  for  immigration 
propaganda,  agencies,  commissions,  and  other  expenses  incident 
to  sales,  and  the  outlay  for  irrigation  works,  which  made  the  net 
return  to  the  Company  less  than  $5.00  per  acre.  Naturally,  the 
4,300,000  acres  that  remain  unsold  will  command  much  higher 
figures.  In  all  this  no  account  is  taken  of  the  vast  sums  spent  by 
the  Company  in  the  construction  of  branch  lines  to  open  up  the 
lands,  nor  of  the  tax  on  the  Company's  resources  during  the  period 
required  to  bring  to  a  productive  basis  these  branch  lines,  which 
at  the  outset  earned  neither  interest  nor,  in  most  cases,  operating 
expenses. 

With  the  exception  of  the  comparatively  small  advantage  given 
to  the  Shareholders  when,  in  1914,  they  were  offered  the  6%  Note 
Certificates  secured  by  outstanding  land  contracts,  all  of  the  net 
money  that  came  to  the  Company  from  the  sale  of  these  lands  was 
devoted  to  the  railway  property,  taking  the  place  of  that  much  capital 
and  reducing  the  Company's  annual  interest  charges  proportionately. 
The  exemption  from  taxes  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Land  Grant 
for  a  period  of  20  years  after  their  selection  has  been  a  source  of 
considerable  adverse  comment,  but  the  delay  in  selection  was 
largely  due  to  circumstances  already  explained,  over  which  the 
Company  had  no  control,  and  it  is  manifest  that  at  the  time  the 
Grant  was  made,  and  for  some  years  after,  no  one  could  have  afforded 
to  take  the  lands  as  a  free  gift  if  they  were  subject  to  taxation. 
When  the  lands  were  sold,  however,  the  purchaser  became  a  tax 
payer,  and  the  records  show  that  the  14,000,000  acres  thus  far  sold 
have  brought  to  the  Public  Treasury  in  taxes  an  amount  exceeding 
$20,000,000. 

The  Dominion  Railway  Act  in  force  in  1880,  when  the  contract 
was  made  for  the  construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway, 
authorized  a  return  of  Fifteen  Per  Cent,  on  the  capital  invested  by 
any  railway  company  in  its  enterprise  before  the  tariffs  for  the 
carriage  of  passengers  and  freight  could  be  scaled  down  by  the 
Government  authority  named  in  the  Statute,  but  in  the  contract 
with  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company,  confirmed  by  Act  of 
Parliament,  this  limit  was  reduced  to  Ten  Per  Cent,  per  annum. 
This  is  what  is  known  as  the  "Ten  Per  Cent.  Clause"  in  the  Com- 
pany's Charter.  Years  ago  this  Clause  became  ineffective  when 
the  Company  admitted  that  the  net  earnings  had  reached  Ten  Per 
Cent,  on  the  capital  invested,  and  its  Tariffs  came  under  the  control 
and  supervision  of  the  Board  of  Railway  Commissioners.  The 
suggestion  made  in  some  quarters  that  the  spirit  and  intent  of  this 
Clause  was  to  limit  the  Company's  dividends  to  Ten  Per  Cent,  is 
entirely  out  of  harmony  with  the  clear,  unquestionable  language 
of  the  instrument.  The  Clause  had  no  more  relation,  direct  or 
indirect,  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  dividends  than  it  had  to  the  divi- 
dends of  any  other  Railway  Company,  or  of  any  commercial  or 


LORD  SHAUGHNESSY  ON  THE  RAILWAY  SITUATION          851 

industrial  corporation.  The  Company  has  been  and  is  absolutely 
untrammelled  in  the  declaration  of  such  annual  dividends  as  the 
Directors  may  feel  justified  in  declaring  out  of  the  revenue,  and 
Seventeen  Per  Cent,  instead  of  Ten  Per  Cent,  per  annum  might 
properly  have  been  distributed  from  the  average  earnings  of  the 
railway  and  the  income  from  investments  and  extraneous  assets 
during  the  past  few  years,  had  the  Directors  not  been  convinced  that 
a  prudent  and  conservative  policy  was  in  the  best  interest  of  the 
property. 

The  total  capitalization  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Com- 
pany's transportation  system,  comprising  13,400  miles  of  railway 
in  Canada  operated  directly  by  the  Company,  with  the  rolling 
stock  equipment  and  steamboat  craft  on  inland  waters,  its  splendid 
terminal  stations  and  facilities,  and  other  accessories,  is  $623,000,000, 
but  this  amount  is  far  below  the  actual  cost  of  the  property,  which, 
excluding  the  cost  estimated  at  $31,000,000  of  the  sections  of  railway 
constructed  by  the  Government  and  handed  over  to  the  Company, 
is  carried  in  the  books  at  $687,000,000,  after  having  been  reduced 
by  $131,000,000  provided  from  surplus  earnings,  land  sales  and  other 
sources,  expended  on  the  property  and  written  off  without  being 
capitalized.  So  that,  based  upon  cost,  the  transportation  system 
represents  an  outlay  of  $818,000,000,  or  about  $61,000  per  mile, 
which  is  lower  than  the  average  cost  per  mile  of  the  other  principal 
Canadian  railways,  and  about  half  the  cost  per  mile  of  the  railway 
system  of  the  Grand  Trunk  in  Canada,  based  upon  its  outstanding 
capital.  In  addition  to  the  mileage  to  which  reference  is  made,  the 
Company  owns  or  controls  948  miles  of  railway  lines  in  Nova  Scotia, 
Quebec  and  British  Columbia  that  are  operated  separately  for 
economic  or  other  reasons,  but  their  affairs  have  no  reference  to  the 
figures  that  have  been  quoted.  The  great  benefits  resulting  from 
the  conservative  financial  policy  pursued  by  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Directorate  are  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  the  net  earn- 
ings per  mile  required  to  meet  the  annual  interest  charges  on  the 
Grand  Trunk,  Canadian  Northern,  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  and  National 
Transcontinental  railways,  would  suffice  to  cover  the  annual  interest 
charges,  dividend  on  the  Preference  Stock,  and  7%  dividend  on  the 
Common  stock  of  the  Canadian  Pacific. 

The  extraneous  investments  and  available  resources  belonging 
to  the  Shareholders  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  are  quite  distinct  from 
the  transportation  system  and  play  no  part  in  the  transportation 
accounts.  They  are  made  up  of  the  Ocean  and  Coastal  Steamship 
Lines,  investments  authorized  by  Parliament  in  shares  of  Railway 
Companies  outside  of  Canada,  made,  in  most  cases,  many  years 
ago  when  the  shares  that  now  command  high  prices  had  only  a 
nominal  market  value,  Government  Securities  and  Loans,  money 
set  aside  for  investment,  and  other  items,  amounting  in  the  aggre- 
gate to  $137,000,000,  and  available  resources  in  unsold  lands,  amounts 
payable  on  lands  already  sold,  coal  mining  and  other  properties, 
having  an  estimated  present  and  prospective  value  of  $116,000,000, 
after  providing  for  the  retirement  of  the  outstanding  Note  Certi- 
ficates. The  total  appraisement  of  these  items,  namely,  $253,000,- 


852  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

000,  is  substantially  below  the  market  value.  Large  as  is  the 
amount,  it  was  not  accumulated  by  speculation  or  risky  exploitation. 
Apart  from  the  temporary  loans  and  money  it  represents  the  accumu- 
lated worth  of  properties  and  resources  many  of  which  had  little 
or  no  value  when  they  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Company, 
but  were  developed  and  safe-guarded  until  they  became  profitable. 
Doubtless  such  development  in  its  conception  and  execution  had 
its  selfish  side,  but  no  one  familiar  with  the  details  of  Canada's 
progress  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  will  deny  that  every  work 
of  development  undertaken  by  the  Company,  quite  aside  from  its 
railway  enterprise  and  its  vigorous  immigration  policy,  has  given 
to  the  Country  a  return  infinitely  greater  than  any  received  by  the 
Company  or  its  Shareholders. 

Summarized  it  would  appear: — 

1.  That  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  as  originally  designed,  forms  but  a  small 
part  of  the  present  great  system  with  its  comprehensive  operating  traffic  and  business 
organization,  through  which  in  normal  times  thousands  of  people  are  brought  every 
year  to  and  through  Canada  from  all  portions  of  the  civilized  world,  thus  helping  to 
people  the  country  and  to  bring  her  vast  resources  under  general  notice. 

2.  That  the  cost  of  the  transportation  system  as  described  in  this  Memorandum 
was  $818,000,000  against  which  there  is  outstanding  capital  of  all  classes  amounting 
to  $623,000,000. 

3.  That  every  share  of  $100  Ordinary  Stock  in  the  hands  of  the  public  repre- 
sents the  payment  into  the  Company's  Treasury  of  $112  in  cash,  and  $31  from  surplus 
income,  or  a  total  of  $143. 

4.  That  it  has  been  the  Company's  policy  to  avoid  mortgage  debt  and  man- 
datory interest  charges  with  their  attendant  dangers. 

5.  That  lands  and  resources  capable  of  development,  belonging  to  the  original 
Company  or  that  came  into  its  possession  through  the  acquisition  of  other  railways, 
have  been  husbanded,  developed  and  utilized  so  successfully  and  advantageously 
that,  distinct  from  their  railway  transportation  system,  the  Shareholders  have  extran- 
eous assets  valued  on  a  moderate  basis  at  $253,000,000. 

6.  That  the  highest  dividend  paid  to  Shareholders  from  transportation  revenue, 
namely,  7%  per  annum,  is  only  equivalent  to  2j^%  per  annum  on  the  cost  of  the  rail- 
way system,  and  if  the  dividend  of  3%  from  Special  Income  be  added,  making  a 
total  of  10%  per  annum,  the  distribution  is  less  than  2^%  on  a  conservative  valua- 
tion of  the  Company's  total  assets. 

7.  That  the  average  rates  per  passenger  mile  and  per  ton  mile  for  the  carriage 
of  passengers  and  freight,  respectively,  received  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  were  lower 
than  those  received  for  the  same  services  by  any  combination  of  railway  lines  in  the 
United  States  constituting  a  through  route  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

8.  That  the  wages  paid  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  in  every  branch  of  its  service 
are  at  least  as  high  as,  and  the  cost  of  its  rails,  fuel  and  general  supplies  is  higher 
than  United  States  railway  companies  are  required  to  pay,  and  in  all  of  these  items 
the  increase  HI  both  Canada  and  the  United  States  has  been  abnormal  since  the 
outbreak  of  the  War. 

9.  That  the  Company's  successful  effort  to  keep  its  capitalization  substantially 
below  the  real  value  of  its  property  and  assets  deserves  the  commendation  of  the 
Canadian  people  and  should  not,  in  any  case,  be  made  a  pretext  for  penalizing  the 
Company  when  rates  for  the  carriage  of  traffic,  or  other  matters,  relating  to  genera 
railway  policy,  are  before  Parliament  or  Government  for  consideration  and  decision 

The  Shareholders  and  Directors  of  the  Company  have  always 
been  impressed  with  the  idea  that  the  interests  of  the  Company  are 
intimately  connected  with  those  of  the  Dominion,  and  no  effort  01 
expense  has  been  spared  to  help  in  promoting  the  development  o 
the  *whole 'country . 


THE  CENTENARY  OF  A  GREAT  CANADIAN  BANK 

ANNUAL  ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS* 
OF 

THE  BANK  OF  MONTREAL 


Annual  Ad-  On  the  third  of  November,  1917,  the  Bank  of  Mont- 
dress  by  Sir  real  completed  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
Sr  V!rChnt  0Penm£  °f  its  doors  for  business.  I  feel  warranted  in 
Bart Pres-  stating  that  never  during  this  long  period  was  its  pres- 
ident of  the  tige  higher,  its  business  in  sounder  or  more  elastic  con- 
Bank,  dition  and  its  earning  power  greater  than  I  believe  them 
to  be  to-day.  I  am  glad  to  believe  also  that  it  has  never 
enjoyed  a  wider  measure  of  public  confidence.  Since  our  last  Annual 
Meeting,  by  the  death  of  Mr.  E.  B.  Greenshields,  Sir  William  Mac- 
donald  and  the  Honourable  Robert  Mackay,  the  Bank,  I  regret  to  say, 
has  lost  three  of  its  oldest  Directors.  All  of  these  gentlemen  gave 
much  of  their  time  and  valued  services  in  the  Bank's  interests  and 
their  loss  is  deeply  felt.  Mr.  Baumgarten,  who  had  not  attended 
the  meetings  of  the  Board  since  the  outbreak  of  war,  in  July  last 
tendered  his  resignation,  which  was  accepted.  The  vacancies  thus 
caused  were  filled  by  the  election  of  Messrs.  H.  W.  Beauclerk, 
G.  B.  Fraser,  Colonel  Henry  Cockshutt  and  Mr.  J.  H.  Ashdown, 
thus  completing  the  complement  of  fourteen  Directors  called  for 
under  our  by-laws.  In  consequence  of  the  Bank's  large  and  in- 
creasing business  in  the  Province  of  Ontario  and  in  the  West,  your 
Directors  thought  it  in  the  best  interests  of  the  Shareholders  to  bring 
to  their  councils  two  gentlemen  resident  outside  of  Montreal — 
Colonel  Cockshutt,  of  Brantford,  Ontario,  and  Mr.  Ashdown,  of 
Winnipeg,  Manitoba,  both  of  whom,  from  their  wide  experience 
in  their  districts  and  knowledge  of  affairs  generally,  will,  I  feel 
sure,  prove  valuable  additions  to  the  Board.  Approval  of  your 
Directors'  action  in  having  donated  to  the  Patriotic  and  Red  Cross 
Funds  the  sum  of  $73,500  is  asked  and,  I  feel  sure,  will  readily  be 
given.  The  total  Assets  of  $403,000,000  are  the  largest  in  the 
Bank's  history. 

The  year,  like  the  preceding  one,  has  not  been  free  from  difficulties 
and  anxieties,  but  we  have  been  successful  in  avoiding  large  losses 
and  are  in  a  position  to  meet  the  legitimate  demands  of  all  com- 
mercial needs  in  addition  to  doing  even  more  than  our  full  share 
in  financing  both  the  Imperial  and  our  own  Government's  require- 
ments. In  this  connection,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  that 
the  Banks  of  Canada  have  recently  loaned  the  Imperial  Government 

*  For  preceding  Annual  Addresses  and  Reports  and  an  Historical  record  of  the  bank 
see  other  volumes  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review,  1910-16.  Annual  Meeting  dealt 
with  here  was  on  Dec.  3rd,  1917. 

[853] 


854  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

$100,000,000  to  assist  in  the  purchase  of  the  North-west  wheat  crop, 
and  they  are  carrying  further  loans  of  $160,000,000  in  connection 
with  the  purchase  of  munitions.  The  advances  to  the  Dominion 
Government  for  war  purposes  now  aggregate  $147,450,000.  The 
patriotic  response  of  the  Banks  and  our  people  to  the  demands  of 
the  Imperial  and  Canadian  Governments  for  funds  to  enable  them 
to  carryf  on,  and  the  adaptability  of  the  Canadian  banking  system 
in  meeting  the  ever-growing  strain  of  war  finance,  are  matters  of 
gratification.  That  we  shall  continue  our  efforts  to  the  utmost 
limit  of  our  resources,  always  having  in  mind  our  liability  to  de- 
positors, there  can  be  no  question. 

Business  conditions  in  Canada  continue  buoyant.  There  is  no 
recession  in  the  great  wave  of  industrial  and  commercial  activity 
of  the  past  few  years  and  trade  in  all  lines,  including  what  are  gener- 
ally known  as  luxuries,  is  highly  prosperous.  There  is  little  or 
no  movement  in  Real  Estate  and  building  operations  are  restricted. 
Labour  is  fully  employed  at  high  wages  and  there  continues  to  be 
a  deficiency  in  the  supply.  In  the  ten-year  period  1905  to  1915, 
the  amount  of  capital  employed  in  manufacturing  industries  in 
Canada  increased  from  $846,585,000  to  $1,994,103,000  or  by  135%, 
while  the  value  of  the  products  of  these  establishments  rose  from 
$718,352,000  to  $1,407,000,000,  a  gain  of  96%.  The  output  of 
munition  plants  has  doubtless  been  a  factor,  though  it  is  obvious 
that  the  industries  of  Canada  are  steadily  enlarging  the  volume  of 
their  business  and  finding  new  markets.  Bank  loans  have  been 
augmented  in  consequence  of  the  high  prices  paid  for  all  merchandise. 
These  high  prices  are  the  cause  of  some  uneasiness  to  merchants 
carrying  large  stocks,  and  while  I  would  counsel  prudence,  it  is  not 
apparent  to  me  how  there  can  be  any  material  reduction  in  the  cost 
of  commodities  in  the  near  future. 

The  large  expenditures  by  our  own  Government  in  providing 
munitions  and  foodstuffs  for  Great  Britain  and  our  Allies,  supple- 
mented by  the  Mother  Country's  expenditures  and  the  unexpectedly 
large  orders  which  have  recently  been  placed  in  Canada  by  the 
United  States  Government,  all  point  to  a  continuance  of  prosperity 
and  high  prices,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  prosperity 
we  are  enjoying  is  in  a  large  measure  due  to  the  abnormal  disburse- 
ments in  Canada  in  connection  with  the  war,  and  may,  therefore, 
prove  transitory.  The  funds  which  make  possible  these  expendi- 
tures are  largely  obtained  from  British  and  Canadian  Government 
borrowing  and  constitute  an  obligation  which  one  day  must  be 
provided  for.  What  will  happen  if  these  expenditures  are  curtailed, 
or  when  peace  is  declared,  no  one  can  foretell.  Personally,  lam 
hopeful  of  prosperous  business  conditions  being  continued  for  some 
time  during  the  readjustment  period  after  the  war.  In  this  con- 
nection, the  desirability  of  the  extension  of  Canadian  trade  in  all 
directions  during  the  period  of  post-bellum  reconstruction,  either 
through  Commercial  Intelligence  Agents  acting  directly  for  the 
Government,  or  a  Board  approved  by  the  Government,  should  not 
be  lost  sight  of. 


THE  BANK  OF  MONTREAL — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS     855 

Since  I  last  addressed  you,  the  scourge  of  war  has  continued 
with  unabated  violence.  The  number  of  belligerents  has  increased; 
fortunately  they  are  all  accessions  to  the  side  of  the  Allies.  The 
entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  conflict,  though  tardy,  is  whole- 
souled,  and  with  their  enormous  resources  in  men  and  money, 
which  are  being  given  generously  and  unhesitatingly  to  the  Al- 
lies cannot  but  be  an  important  factor  in  bringing  the  war  to  a  speedy 
and  successful  conclusion.  No  one  can  tell  how  long  the  war  will  last. 
The  imperative  need,  therefore,  for  efficiency  and  increased  pro- 
duction, together  with  economies  in  all  public  and  private  expendi- 
ture, is  obvious  and  cannot  be  repeated  too  often  or  urged  too 
strongly. 

The  unbounded  prosperity  of  Canada,  to  which  I  referred  a 
year  ago,  is  fully  reflected  by  the  abnormal  trade  figures.  In  the 
seven  months  to  October  31  last,  the  aggregate  value  of  imports 
and  exports  was  $1,586,616,000,  or  $273,000,000  more  than  in  the 
corresponding  period  of  the  preceding  year.  Eliminating  the  item 
of  coin  and  bullion,  as  well  as  that  of  foreign  produce  in  transit 
through  Canada,  our  foreign  trade  was  $1,550,000,000  for  the  period 
as  compared  with  $1,084,000,000  last  year,  an  increase  of  fifty  per 
cent.  In  point  of  value  our  trade  has  never  been  so  great  as  now, 
and  in  point  of  volume  has  never  been  exceeded.  We  are  sending 
abroad  more  of  agricultural  products,  both  of  animals  and  the  soil; 
but  the  striking  factor  in  exports  continues  to  be  manufactures, 
of  which  we  shipped  in  the  seven  months  to  the  value  of  $420,380,000, 
as  against  $219,450,000  in  the  like  period  a  year  ago.  It  is  well  to 
remember,  however,  that  nearly  one-half  of  this  export  trade  con- 
sists of  munitions  of  war,  and  is,  therefore,  to  that  extent  unstable. 
I  may  further  point  out  that  the  balance  of  trade  continues  favour- 
able. Imports  of  merchandise  during  the  seven  months  amounted 
to  $628,100,000,  and  exports  of  domestic  products  to  $921,957,000, 
giving  a  favourable  balance  of  nearly  $300,000,000. 

A  continuance  of  this  progress  depends  in  great  degree  on  in- 
creased immigration  of  a  satisfactory  class.  While  no  large  influx 
can  be  expected  under  existing  conditions,  all  the  avenues  from 
Great  Britain  and  Europe  being  closed,  the  Government  returns 
indicate  that  Canada  is  still  attracting  from  the  United  States  a 
very  considerable  number  of  desirable  settlers,  no  fewer  than  33,134 
having  crossed  into  the  North-west  during  the  first  ten  months  of 
the  year,  being  double  the  number  of  last  year.  Indications  point 
to  a  continuance  of  this  immigration  and  to  a  largely  increased 
demand  for  farm  lands.  The  results  of  the  harvest  have  been  on 
the  whole  satisfactory,  the  yield  being  about  equal  to  that  of  last  year. 
Wheat,  the  most  valuable  of  our  grain  crops,  produced  250,000,000 
bushels,  of  which  one-half  was  grown  in  the  Province  of  Saskat- 
chewan, while  the  yield  of  oats,  barley  and  rye  was  substantially 
larger  than  in  1916.  The  high  prices  prevailing  for  all  farm  pro- 
ducts have  enabled  many  farmers  to  reduce,  where  they  have  not 
paid  off  mortgages,  and  to  become  depositors  instead  of  borrowers. 
In  money  value  at  present  market  prices,  the  season's  grain  crops 
will  exceed  ^900,000,000,  conservatively  estimated.  The  exportable 


856  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

surplus  of  wheat,  or  its  equivalent  in  flour  will  reach  150,000,000 
bushels,  an  item  of  importance  when  the  requirements  of  Great 
Britain  and  her  allies  are  considered.  The  dairying  industry  has 
been  well  sustained,  the  production  of  cheese,  butter  and  milk 
having  been  marketed  at  unprecedentedly  high  prices  throughout 
the  season. 

The  railway  situation  is  a  matter  of  some  concern  in  its  bearing 
upon  the  trade  as  well  as  the  credit  of  Canada.  While  the  gross 
earnings  of  the  roads  have,  with  few  exceptions,  shown  gains 
from  week  to  week,  the  greatly  increased  cost  of  operation,  due  to 
higher  wages  and  materials,  has  caused  a  diminution  in  net  earnings 
and  here,  as  in  the  United  States,  the  railways  have  sought  authority 
to  raise  rates  so  as  to  meet  in  part  at  least  the  augmented  charges. 
The  whole  commerce  and  prosperity  of  the  people  are  so  intimately 
dependent  upon  efficient  railway  service  that  this  request  appears 
reasonable  and  should,  in  my  opinion,  receive  a  sympathetic  response. 
The  two  newer  transcontinental  roads  have  been  unable  to  meet 
their  obligations,  for  reasons  with  which  you  are  familiar,  and  the 
Government  has  decided  to  take  over  the  operation  of  the  Canadian 
Northern,  with  its  attendant  obligations,  and  a  similar  procedure 
in  respect  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  has  been  under  discussion. 
The  immediate  burden  thus  imposed  on  the  country  is  considerable, 
but  we  must  hope  that  with  the  restoration  of  normal  conditions 
and  a  revival  of  immigration  on  a  large  scale,  the  situation  will 
improve  materially. 

In  Great  Britain  trade  is  good  and  the  banking  situation  is 
sound,  in  spite  of  the  large  amounts  being  invested  in  War  Loans. 
The  outstanding  event  of  the  year  as  affecting  financial  London 
has  been  the  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  war  on  the  side  of 
the  Allies,  whereby  large  sums  are  being  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
Great  Britain  and  her  Allies  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  foodstuffs 
and  raw  materials,  as  well  as  munitions  in  the  United  States.  These 
purchases,  it  is  believed,  will  have  a  direct  favourable  bearing  on 
the  American  exchange  situation  and  afford  relief,  if  not  a  solution, 
of  a  long  unsolved  and  difficult  problem.  Another  important 
event  has  been  the  unqualified  success  of  the  Great  War  Loan,  a 
sum  of  no  less  than  two  thousand  million  pounds  sterling  having 
been  subscribed,  of  which  nearly  one-half  was  fresh  money.  General 
trade  in  the  United  States,  as  in  Canada,  is  active  and  prosperous. 
Large  crops  and  high  prices  have  undoubtedly  created  an  enormous 
buying  power  throughout  the  West  and  South,  and  stocks  of  com- 
modities, as  a  rule,  in  first  hands,  are  light.  The  situation  in  regard 
to  labour  is  not  satisfactory  and  it  is  not  probable  that  conditions 
in  that  respect  will  improve  while  the  great  demand  for  help  remains 
unsatisfied. 

The  net  public  debt  of  Canada  has  assumed  large  proportions, 
now  amounting  to  $948,000,000,  exclusive  of  guarantees,  and  is 
growing  at  the  rate  of  $1,000,000  daily.  Large  as  these  figures 
are,  they  must  continue  to  grow  while  the  war  endures,  and  some 
concern  is  being  shown  as  to  how  they  are  to  be  provided  for.  The 
recent  Victory  Loan,  so  splendidly  taken  up  by  all  classes  of  the 


THE  BANK  OF  MONTREAL — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS      857 

people,  should  suffice,  with  the  surplus  on  consolidated  revenue 
account,  to  meet  the  financial  requirements  of  the  Government 
until  well  on  to  the  end  of  next  year,  before  which  time  many  things 
may  happen.  What  is  now  imperatively  required  is  that  no  unwise 
expenditures  be  made,  no  new  financial  obligations  undertaken, 
and  that  the  burden  of  taxation  be  distributed  equitably.  Whether 
our  debt  is  to  be  included  in  a  huge  Allied  funding  operation,  or  we 
provide  for  it  by  funding  our  own  liabilities,  is  a  matter  that  need 
not  concern  us  at  the  moment.  Our  country  is  one  of  the  most 
productive  in  the  world.  Our  gold  holdings  per  capita  almost 
equal  those  of  the  United  States.  Our  natural  resources  are  un- 
bounded and  our  credit  is  irreproachable.  There  are  no  doubt 
difficulties  and  anxieties  ahead  which  we  shall  still  have  to  face, 
but  I  think  we  may  look  forward  with  confidence  to  providing 
without  undue  strain  for  the  burden  of  our  patriotic  endeavour. 

Address  by  Sir  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen:— I  feel  it  a  great 
Tavllor  D  C?L  Priy^ege  to  present  to-day  for  your  approval  the  cen- 
General  '  "'tenary  balance  sheet  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal.  Co- 
Manager  of  incident  with  this  anniversary  our  President,  Sir 
the  Bank  Vincent  Meredith,  has  completed  fifty  years  of  uninter- 
rupted service  in  this  Bank,  and  it  is  fitting  that  we  should 
extend  to  both  our  heartiest  congratulations.  As  the  President 
has  dealt  with  the  banking  and  financial  situation  in  general  terms, 
my  preliminary  remarks  will  be  confined  to  specific  incidents  and 
influences  bearing  upon  the  business  of  your  Bank. 

Above  all  other  events  the  entry  of  the  United  States  of  America 
into  the  war  stands  paramount  and  bears  upon  the  Canadian  econ- 
omic and  banking  position  with  a  force  the  effect  of  which  is  only 
now  commencing  to  be  felt.  Shortly  after  the  outbreak  of  war, 
Wall  Street,  as  everyone  knows,  took  the  place  of  the  London 
market  for  our  country's  public  loans,  and  continued  in  that  place 
until  a  few  months  ago.  Now  the  influx  of  American  capital  is 
scanty,  the  inflow  of  borrowed  money  from  the  United  States — 
which  we  had  come  to  look  upon  as  a  matter  of  course — is  suspended, 
it  may  be  until  the  end  of  the  war;  and  Canada  is  "on  her  own." 
In  other  words,  little  money  is  coming  into  Canada  except  in  pay- 
ment of  exports,  and,  therefore,  for  the  first  time  since  Confederation 
the  Dominion  is  cast  upon  her  own  financial  resources.  By  some 
this  will  be  regarded  too  seriously,  by  others  not  seriously  enough. 
Actually,  the  stoppage  will  have  far-reaching  consequences.  On 
the  one  hand  industrial  development  will  be  checked,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  inability  to  borrow  may  prove  a  blessing  in  dis- 
guise, once  we  have  adjusted  our  affairs  to  the  changed  conditions. 
It  is  surely  well  for  us  to  learn  to  do  without  financial  assistance, 
especially  as  the  country  at  large  already  has  a  debt  abroad  the  in- 
terest on  which  runs  into  the  great  sum  of  about  $500,000  per  day. 
So  long  as  the  stream  of  money  flowing  into  the  country  was  unin- 
terrupted, it  was  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  our  people  to  see 
the  necessity  for  economy.  Personal  extravagance  is  still  conspicu- 
ous in  many  directions,  but  presently  economy  will  become  general 
— from  high  motives,  we  hope;  if  not,  then  from  stern  necessity. 


858  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

It  is  true  that  the  development  of  Canada  could  never  have 
reached  its  present  stage  but  for  moneys  borrowed  abroad,  and, 
therefore,  Canada  is  grateful,  first,  to  Great  Britain,  and  secondly, 
to  the  United  States  for  the  help  they  have  thus  contributed  to  the 
remarkable  progress  which  our  country  has  made,  particularly 
during  the  past  twenty  years.  It  is,  however,  equally  true  that 
our  misuse  of  borrowed  money  is  in  great  measure  responsible  for 
some  of  the  chief  evils  that  have  come  upon  us.  I  refer  especially 
to  the  inflation  which  before  the  war  started  the  increase  in  the  cost 
of  living,  and  to  the  creation  of  debt  unrepresented  by  productive 
investment.  Now  that  the  inflow  of  money  is  suspended,  we  must 
pull  ourselves  together,  practice  economy,  till  the  soil,  produce  to 
a  greater  extent  the  manufactured  foods  we  require  for  our  own  use, 
until  in  the  fullness  of  time  we  emerge  a  wiser  and  a  better  people 
in  a  sounder  economic  position.  Having  learned  our  lesson,  this 
is  clearly  no  time  for  us  to  brood  over  the  errors  of  the  past  score  of 
years,  but  rather  to  take  stock  of  our  resources  and  with  stout  hearts 
to  set  about  the  work  of  conservation  and  rehabilitation. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  Armageddon,  England  admittedly 
made  mistakes  that  would  have  demoralized  any  other  nation. 
These  mistakes  have  been  corrected,  until  to-day  the  British  Empire 
has  an  army  in  the  field  whose  equal  in  combined  morale,  size,  equip- 
ment, organization,  tenacity  of  purpose  and  fighting  qualities,  the 
world  has  never  known.  Canada  has  played  no  inconspicuous 
part  in  this  re-creation,  and  we  shall  be  equally  successful  in  recover- 
ing our  economic  balance.  We  are  the  fortunate  possessors  of  a 
splendid,  healthful  and  beautiful  country,  abounding  in  natural 
wealth;  and,  what  is  equally  important,  we  can  properly  claim  to 
be  a  virile,  industrious,  and  ambitious  people.  It  now  becomes  my 
duty  to  explain  to  you  the  effect  of  the  situation  upon  our  business 
in  London  and  New  York,  and  also  the  chief  changes  in  the  balance 
sheet. 

In  London,  where  we  continue  to  employ  important  balances 
at  call,  the  interest  returns  have  been  continuously  favourable, 
though  our  profits  at  this  point  have  been  diminished  by  a  burden 
of  taxation  that  may  increase.  Our  Waterloo  Place  Branch,  which 
has  been  of  such  invaluable  assistance  to  our  overseas  soldiers  and 
their  relatives,  has  become  inadequate  for  the  business  offered,  and 
we  have  been  compelled  to  established  another  branch  office  in  the 
West  End,  chiefly  for  the  convenience  of  our  military  clientele. 
Suitable  quarters  have  been  secured  at  Cockspur  Street,  Trafalgar 
Square,  and  will  be  maintained  until  the  war  ceases  and  our  Canadian 
troops  are  withdrawn  from  Europe.  During  the  past  twelve  months 
rates  in  New  York  for  call  money  have  covered  a  fairly  wide  range. 
The  average  interest  rate  was  3*24%  as  compared  with  2'30%  for 
the  previous  twelve  months.  The  existing  demand  for  money  has 
a  favourable  influence  on  our  earning  power  in  that  market,  but, 
as  in  London,  we  must  pay  tribute  by  way  of  taxation  on  a  rising 
scale.  As  indicated  elsewhere,  the  immediate  need  of  the  United 
States  Government  for  money  to  carry  on  the  war  now  precludes 
Canadian  borrowers  from  financing  their  requirements  in  that 


THE  BANK  OF  MONTREAL — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS      859 

country.  In  the  early  part  of  the  year  it  was  otherwise,  and  during 
the  twelve  months  under  review  sales  of  Canadian  securities  in  the 
United  States  were  $152,000,000,  compared  with  $153,000,000  for 
the  previous  year.  The  former  amount  includes  the  $100,000,000 
Dominion  Government  loan  floated  in  July  last  on  terms  which 
then  seemed  high,  but  have  at  no  time  since  been  obtainable.  Of 
this  money  $20,000,000  was  required  for  refunding  purposes.  It 
is  indicative  of  Canada's  preferential  standing  in  the  American  market 
that  during  the  past  six  months  no  other  foreign  Government  has 
floated  a  public  loan  in  the  United  States. 

For  the  first  time  in  many  years,  the  automatic  flow  of  funds 
between  Canada  and  the  United  States  recently  became  hampered 
by  the  dollar  exchange  situation  that  arose  in  consequence  of  the 
prohibition  of  exports  of  gold  by  the  United  States.  As  New  York 
is  the  international  clearing  house  of  Canada  on  this  Continent, 
the  free  movement  of  gold  is  essential  to  stabilize  exchange.  Fortu- 
nately the  American  Government  were  quick  to  recognize  the  logic 
of  the  arguments  the  Canadian  Bankers'  Association  were  able 
to  present  to  them  and  the  disadvantages  to  free  trading  that  would 
follow  unless  this  condition  was  rectified,  and  promptly  relieved  the 
situation  by  modifying  their  embargo  on  gold  shipments  in  favour 
of  Canada.  Due  partly  to  this  wise  action,  exchange  has  since 
become  normal,  obviating  the  necessity  of  gold  importations. 

In  times  like  these,  when  the  fate  of  Empires  is  at  stake,  full 
satisfaction  from  monetary  profits  alone  is  impossible.  As,  however, 
the  business  of  the  nation  must  proceed,  and  the  strength  of  financial 
institutions  be  maintained  in  order  that  the  war  be  more  quickly 
won,  it  has  doubtless  gratified  you  to  learn  that  the  Bank  made 
substantial  profits  during  the  past  year.  The  abnormal  prosperity 
of  the  community  as  a  result  of  the  production  of  war  supplies 
still  continues,  helped  materially  by  munition  orders  from  the  United 
States;  but  the  profits  thereon  are  smaller,  and  we  know  that  Great 
Britain's  ability  to  buy  from  us  is  limited  by  our  ability  to  finance 
her  purchases.  Our  wheat  output  is  the  outstanding  exception. 
The  balance  of  trade  in  Canada's  favour  created  by  munition  exports 
is  opportune  and  adds  permanently  to  our  national  wealth,  but 
as  the  available  resources  of  Canada  are  not  such  as  we  can  rely 
upon  to  provide  peace  exports  in  full  substitution,  we  should  stand 
prepared  to  meet  the  declension  in  trade  which  must  start  when 
the  war  is  over.  Before  the  war  is  ended  Canada  may  have  to 
cope  with  inability  or  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  potential  pur- 
chasers to  provide  payment  for  our  surplus  productions.  Moreover, 
on  the  conclusion  of  peace  our  merchants  and  manufacturers  may 
be  confronted  both  by  diminished  demand  and  falling  markets. 

For  these  reasons  good  banking  profits  are  needed.  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  state  that  there  has  never  been  a  time  in  Canada  when 
banking  credits,  in  my  opinion,  required  such  careful  consideration. 
It  is  impossible  to  gauge  the  business  future,  and,  therefore,  what 
seems  like  sound  banking  business  to-day  may,  under  post-war 
conditions,  easily  develop  into  lock-up  or  doubtful  loans.  Thanks 
mainly  to  the  soundness  of  our  banking  system  and  to  the  healthy 


860  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

condition  of  our  Banks,  Canada  can  still  hold  up  her  financial  head. 
Our  own  Bank's  ratio  of  quick  assets  to  liabilities  is  75%%  compared 
with  75%  a  year  ago  and  64%  the  preceding  year.  We  have  heard 
it  remarked  by  certain  friends  that  the  Canadian  Banks  are  too 
strong,  and  your  own  Bank  particularly  so,  but  permit  me  to  express 
my  clear  conviction  that  the  sheet  anchor  of  our  Canadian  national 
ship  is  the  Canadian  Banks  and  that  the  anchor  must  be  strong  to 
hold  against  wind  and  tide.  The  Banks  have  kept  strong  in  an 
endeavour  to  prevent  currency  inflation,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
they  have  made  war  advances  to  the  Canadian  and  Imperial  Govern- 
ments to  an  amount  that  would  have  been  regarded  as  impossible 
three  years  ago.  Such  advances  are  naturally  included  among 
liquid  assets.  The  loans  made  by  the  Banks  to  the  Canadian  and 
Imperial  Governments  have  enabled  the  business  of  the  country 
to  be  carried  on  to  an  extent  otherwise  impracticable. 

The  great  London  Clearing  Banks  have  increased  their  holding 
of  Government  securities  from  12%  of  their  deposits  before  the 
war  to  about  40%  at  present.  This  compares  with  a  trifling  pre- 
war percentage  and  a  present  percentage  of  20%  held  by  Canadian 
Banks.  As  Canada  has  no  bill  market  or  other  market  for  these  securit- 
ies, our  percentage  compares  favourably  with  theirs.  Canadian  Banks 
can  rediscount  only  with  our  Government,  and  such  operations 
involve  inflation  of  currency.  For  your  information,  I  may  state 
that  22%  of  the  liquid  resources  of  this  Bank  are  represented  by 
British  and  Canadian  Government  securities.  Those  of  us  who  are 
responsible  to  you  trust  that  you  are  satisfied  with  our  judgment 
as  to  the  percentage  of  liquid  strength  that  we  consider  essential 
in  these  times.  Of  one  thing  you  may  be  sure,  our  strength  is  not 
at  the  expense  of  our  commercial  business,  which  we  are  always 
ready  to  extend  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  Bank's  customers. 

After  the  conclusion  of  business  the  Shareholders  re-elected  the 
Board  of  Directors  as  follows:  D.  Forbes  Angus,  R.  B.  Angus, 
J.  H.  Ashdown,  H.  W.  Beauclerk,  Colonel  Henry  Cockshutt,  H.  R. 
Drummond,  G.  B.  Fraser,  Sir  Charles  Gordon,  K.B.E.,  C.  R.  Hosmer, 
Harold  Kennedy,  Wm.  McMaster,  Sir  Vincent  Meredith,  Bart., 
Major  Herbert  Molson,  M.C.,  Lord  Shaughnessy,  K.C.V.O.,  and  at 
a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Directors,  Sir  Vincent  Meredith,  Bart., 
was  re-elected  President,  and  Sir  Charles  Gordon,  K.B.E.,  Vice- 
President. 


THE  CENTENARY  OF  A  GREAT  CANADIAN  BANK  861 


GENERAL  STATEMENT 

OF 
THE  BANK  OF  MONTREAL 

The  General  Statement  of  the  position  of  the  Bank  on  October 
31,  1917,  was  read,  as  follows: 

LIABILITIES 

Capital  Stock $16,000,000 .00 

Rest $16,000,000.00 

Balance  of  Profits  carried  forward 1,664,893.08 


$17,664,893.08 

Unclaimed  Dividends 3,640. 50 

Quarterly  Dividend,  payable  1st  December, 

1917 $400,000.00 

Bonus  of  1%  payable  1st  December,  1917. .     160,000.00 

560,000.00 

18,228,533.58 

34,228,533.58 

Notes  of  the  Bank  in  circulation $29,308,086.00 

Balance  due  to  Dominion  Government 13,638,962.36 

Deposits  not  bearing  interest 71,114,641.55 

Deposits  bearing  interest,  including  interest  accrued  to 

date  of  statement 246,041,786.81 

Deposits  made  by  and  Balances  due  to  other  Banks  in 

Canada 4,147,482.91 

Balances  due  to  Banks  and  Banking  Correspondents  else- 
where than  in  Canada 496,621 .28 

Bills  Payable 1,024,346.75 

365,771,927.66 

Acceptances  under  Letters  of  Credit 3,335,499 .58 

Liabilities  not  included  in  the  foregoing   644,275.82 


$403,980,236.64 


ASSETS 

Gold  and  Silver  coin  current $20,592,891 .86 

Dominion  Notes 30,760,233.25 

Deposits  in  the  Central  Gold  Reserves 14,500,000.00 

Balances  due  by  Banks  and  Banking  Cor-  $16,629,089.91 
respondents  elsewhere  than  in  Canada 


Call  and  Short  (not  exceeding  thirty  days) 
Loans  in  Great  Britain  and  United 


States  100,610,214.54 

1 17,239,304 . 45 

Dominion    and    Provincial    Government    Securities    not 
exceeding  market  value 28,573,322 . 12 

Railway  and  other  Bonds,  Debentures  and  Stocks  not 

exceeding  market  value 12,571,625.43 

Canadian  Municipal  Securities,  and  British,  Foreign  and 

Colonial  Public  Securities  other  than  Canadian 33,455,254.64 

Notes  of  other  Banks 1,494,676.00 

Cheques  on  other  Banks 17,111,090.06 

$276,298,397.81 

Current  Loans  and  Discounts  in  Canada  (less  rebate  of 

interest) 97,607,404.98 

Loans  to  Cities,  Towns,  Municipalities  and  School  Dis- 
tricts  11,415,383.61 

Current  Loans  and  Discounts  elsewhere  than  in  Canada 

(less  rebate  of  interest) 10,045,811 .81 

Overdue  debts,  estimated  loss  provided  for 371,629.30 

119,440,229.70 

Bank  Premises  at  not  more  than  cost  (less  amounts  written  off) 4,000,000.00 

Liabilities  of  Customers  under  Letters  of  Credit  (as  per  Contra) 3,335,499.58 

Deposit  with  the  Minister  for  the  purposes  of  the  Circulation  Fund. . .          790,000.00 

Other  Assets  not  included  in  the  foregoing 116, 109. 5o 

$403.980.236.64 

VINCENT  MEREDITH,  FREDERICK  WILLIAMS-TAYLOR, 

President.  General  Manager. 


862  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


THE  CENTENARY  OF  THE  BANK  OF  MONTREAL 
1817-1917 

Had  the  thoughts  and  interests  of  Canadians  not  been  so  con- 
centrated upon  War  conditions  and  world-issues  during  1917, 
no  other  national  event  would  have  received  more  attention  and 
caused  more  comment  than  the  celebration  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal 
Centenary.  This  century  of  financial  record  meant  more  to  Canada 
than  the  mere  existence  or  development  of  an  institution  for  the 
making  of  money  out  of  money.  It  meant  that  during  one  hundred 
years  the  Bank  of  Montreal  had  worked  into  the  very  warp  and 
woof  of  the  business,  finances  and  development  of  one  great  Province; 
that  it  had  obtained  and  held  a  large  place  in  the  social  and  public 
life  of  Montreal  as  it  grew  from  a  small  town  to  a  metropolis ;  that  it 
had  grown  with  the  life  of  Canada  until  it  became  a  Bank  for  bankers 
elsewhere  than  Quebec  Province,  for  big  business  or  projects  in  the 
early  stages  of  Upper  Canadian  development  such  as  the  Wei- 
land  Canal,  for  various  Government  operations  of  a  national 
character:  that  it  finally  became  a  financial  pivot  upon  which 
the  national  enterprises  of  a  wider  Canada  turned — as  in  its 
historical  and  important  place  in  the  construction  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  and,  therefore,  in  the  creation  of  a  united  Canada. 

In  these  later  days  of  large  Canadian  corporations  and  other 
great  banks  of  a  big  business  period,  beside  which  the  institutions 
of  the  past  seem  trivial  to  the  superficial  eye,  it  still  holds  the  premier 
banking  position  in  many  respects — with  its  field  of  financial  opera- 
tions a  wide  Dominion  and  great  centres  such  as  London  and  New 
York.  The  Bank  of  Montreal  has  the  distinction  of  being  the 
greatest  single  banking  institution  upon  the  Continent  of  America, 
the  first  to  transact  banking  business  in  Canada,  and  to  have  been 
50  years  old,  as  well  as  the  chief  Bank  of  British  America,  when  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  was  born  in  1867. 

Early  in  1817  a  number  of  prominent  men  in  what  was  then 
the  small  town  of  Montreal  had  met,  discussed,  and  organized  an 
Association  for  the  carrying  on  of  a  Banking  business  in  the  Province 
of  Lower  Canada.  The  Stock-book  was  opened  on  June  23  and  by 
Sept.  20  the  last  of  the  5,000  shares,  of  £50  each,  were  subscribed. 
Meanwhile,  on  Aug.  17,  the  first  general  meeting  of  shareholders 
took  place  and  the  following  were  elected  Directors:  John  Gray, 
John  Forsyth,  George  Garden,  George  Moffatt,  Horatio  Gates, 
Thomas  A.  Turner,  F.  W.  Ermatinger,  John  McTavish,  Austin 
Cuvillier,  James  Leslie,  Hiram  Nichols,  George  Platt  and  Zabdiel 
Thayer.  Of  these  men  Messrs.  Moffatt,  Cuvillier,  Forsyth,  Leslie 
and  Gates  were  afterwards  eminent  in  the  public  life  of  the  com- 
munity; all  were  well  known  and  respected  in  business  circles. 
The  Bank  opened  for  business  on  Nov.  3,  1817,  in  premises  on 
St.  Paul  Street,  Montreal,  with  a  paid-up  capital  of  £87,500,  in 
the  Halifax  currency  of  the  day,  or  $350,000.  The  first  Articles 
of  Association  and  the  early  documents  in  the  Bank's  history  indi- 


IST  BANK  OF  MONTREAL  BUILDING,  1817. 


THE  BANK  OF  MONTREAL  BUILDING  (IN  CENTRE),  1917. 

THE  CENTENARY  OF  THE  BANK  OF  MONTREAL. 


THE  CENTENARY  OF  A  GREAT  CANADIAN  BANK 


863 


cate  the  use  of  the  name  "Montreal  Bank"  and  it  was  not  until 
1826  that  the  modern  designation  came  into  continuous  use.  The 
history*  of  the  Bank  from  that  time  onward  was  a  part  of  the  his- 
tory of  Canada  in  its  financial,  commercial  and  general  life 
and  the  names  of  the  successive  greater  officials  of  the  Bank  eloquent- 
ly prove  this  fact:f 

PRESIDENTS 


1817— JOHN  GRAY. 
1820 — SAMUEL  GERRARD. 
1826 — HON.  HORATIO  GATES. 
1826 — HON.  JOHN  MOLSON. 
1834— HON.  PETER  McGiLL. 
1860 — THOMAS  B.  ANDERSON. 
1869— EDWIN  H.  KING. 


1817— THOMAS  A.  TURNER. 
1818 — GEORGE  GARDEN. 
1819 — CHARLES  BANCROFT. 
1819 — GEORGE  GARDEN. 
1822— THOMAS  THAIR. 
1825 — HON.  JOHN  FORSYTE. 
1826— JOHN  FLEMING. 
1830— HON.  PETER  McGiLL. 
1834 — HON.  JOSEPH  MASSON. 
1847 — THOMAS  B.  ANDERSON. 


1817 — ROBERT  GRIFFIN. 
1827 — BENJAMIN  HOLMES. 


1873 — DAVID  TORRANCE. 

1876— LORD  MOUNT  STEPHEN. 

1881— CHARLES  F.  SMITHERS. 

1887 — LORD  STRATHCONA  AND  MOUNT 

ROYAL. 

1910 — RICHARD  B.  ANGUS. 
1913 — SIR  H.  VINCENT  MEREDITH,  BART. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS 

1860 — JOHN  REDPATH. 

1869— HON.  THOMAS  RYAN. 

1873 — GEORGE  STEPHEN. 

1876— GEORGE  W.  CAMPBELL. 

1882 — LORD  STRATHCONA  AND  MOUNT 

ROYAL. 

1887 — HON.  SIR  G.  A.  DRUMMOND,K.C.M.G. 
1905 — SIR  EDWARD  S.  CLOUSTON,  BART. 
1912 — SIR  H.  VINCENT  MEREDITH,  BART. 
1916 — SIR  CHARLES  B.  GORDON,  K.C.B.E. 

CASHIERS 

1846 — ALEXANDER  SIMPSON. 
1855 — DAVID  DAVIDSON. 


1862 — DAVID  DAVIDSON. 
1863— EDWIN  H.  KING. 
1869— RICHARD  B.  ANGUS. 
1879 — CHARLES  F.  SMITHERS. 


GENERAL  MANAGERS. 

1881 — WENTWORTH  J.  BUCHANAN. 
1890— SIR  EDWARD  S.  CLOUSTON,  BART. 
1911 — SIR  H.  VINCENT  MEREDITH,  BART. 
1913 — Sir  FREDERICK  WILLIAMS-TAYLOR. 


The  Assets  of  the  Bank  grew  slowly  until  they  totalled  $6,444,928 
in  1850;  $12,413,922  in  1860;  $29,605,627  in  1870;  $44,661,681  in 
1880;  $46,166,448  in  1890;  $78,852,197  in  1900;  $234,438,318  in 
1910;  $386,806,887  in  1917.  The  Bank  had  grown  with  the  country 
and  its  work  was  undoubtedly  a  national  one  in  the  best  sense  of 
that  much-abused  word.  From  Confederation  onwards  the  progress 
of  the  institution  was  especially  marked  and  the  following  table 
in  this  respect  speaks  for  itself: 


Period 

50  years,  1867 .  . 
60  years,  1877  .  . 
70  years,  1887  .  . 
80  years,  1897 .  . 
90  years,  1907 .  . 
100  years,  1917. 


Circulation 


Deposits 


Discounts     Total  Assets 


$   988,286 
3,275,508 
5,204,072 
4,563,386 
12,500,549 
21,891,437 

$11,198,831 
16,018,575 
17,324,382 
40,024,750 
126,138,157 
324,144,279 

$  906,079 
30,827,510 
27,468,802 
36,725,725 
136,063,168 
109,906,303 

$19,787,499 
38,625,238 
42,674,905 
64,095,486 
165,234,768 
386,806,887 

The  celebration  of  the  Centenary  was  very  quietly  carried  out 
though  the  comments  of  the  press  of  Canada  spoke  sincerely  as  to 
the  place  held  by  the  institution  in  public  thought.  A  beautifully  - 

*See  History  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal,  written  by  J.  Castell  Hopkins  for  The  Can- 

Annual  Review  Supplement  of  1910. 
JTitles  are  specified  as  afterwards  received  in  order  to  make  the  table  clearer. 


864  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

published  booklet  was  issued  dealing  with  the  historical  position  of 
the  Bank  and  referring,  incidentally,  to  the  picturesque  location 
of  its  Head  Office  in  the  heart  of  Montreal  on  a  spot  glorified  by 
some  of  the  most  romantic  events  in  the  foundation  of  the  city 
and  where,  by  its  very  situation,  the  building  called  attention 
to  the  place  of  the  institution  in  the  making  of  Canada.  Its  fine 
Corinthian  fagade,  darkened  by  smoke  and  stained  by  the  weather, 
still  faces  Place  d'Armes,  in  the  centre  of  which  rises  Hubert's 
heroic  figure  of  Maisonneuve,  founder  of  Montreal.  Opposite,  on 
the  southern  side  of  the  Square,  is  Notre  Dame,  greatest  in  capacity 
of  the  churches  of  the  Dominion  and  one  of  the  oldest  in  its  foundation. 
Here,  in  this  parish  church,  Dollard  and  his  companions  paid  their 
vows  before  going  to  meet  death  at  the  Longue  Sault.  Adjoining 
the  Church  is  the  ancient  and  picturesque  wall  which  shelters  the 
headquarters  of  the  Seminary  of  St.  Sulpice.  Within  the  limits 
of  the  Square,  Maisonneuve  is  said  to  have  fought  his  most  terrible 
battle  with  the  Iroquois,  and  to  have  killed  the  chief  with  his  own 
hands.  Tablets  on  the  commercial  buildings  around  commemorate 
the  deeds  of  the  pioneers,  and  state,  for  instance,  that  here  lived 
La  Mothe  Cadillac,  the  founder  of  Detroit,  and  there  Daniel  de 
Gre*solon,  Sieur  Dulhut,  who  explored  the  Upper  Mississippi  and 
gave  his  name  to  the  City  of  Duluth.  In  the  wall  of  this  Bank 
building  the  following  Tablet  was  placed  in  honour  of  an  historic 
event : 

1817  1917 

THIS   TABLET   WAS   ERECTED    TO 

COMMEMORATE   THE   CENTENARY 

OF   THE 

BANK    OF    MONTREAL 

THE  OLDEST  BANKING  INSTITUTION  IN 
BRITISH  NORTH  AMERICA,  FOUNDED 
NOVEMBER  3RD,  1817.  INCORPORATED 
BY  ROYAL  CHARTER  JULY  2ND,  1822. 
THIS  BUILDING  WAS  ERECTED  IN  1847 
THE  FIRST  TO  STAND  ON  THIS  GROUND. 
REMODELLED  AND  EXTENDED  TO  CRAIG  ST.,  1905. 

1817 

FIRST   PRESIDENT,   JOHN    GRAY. 
FIRST   CASHIER,    ROBERT   GRIFFIN. 

1917 

FOURTEENTH  PRESIDENT, 
SIR  VINCENT  MEREDITH,  BART. 

EIGHTH  GENERAL  MANAGER 
SIR  FREDERICK  WILLIAMS-TAYLOR. 


HENRY  V.  FRANKLIN  JONES, 
Assistant  General  Manager,  Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce. 


WAR  CONDITIONS  AND  FINANCE  IN  CANADA,  1917 

ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS* 
OF 

THE  CANADIAN  BANK  OF  COMMERCE 


We  are  crossing  the  meridian  into  the  second  half- 
Sir  John  Aird  centurv  °*  t^le  Bank's  existence  and,  pausing  to  look 
General  '  back,  we  may  well  feel  satisfaction  in  what  has  been 
Manager  of  accomplished  in  a  comparatively  short  period  of  time, 
the  Bank.  While  we  hold  second  place  only  among  the  Canadian 
banks  in  the  matter  of  "Total  Assets,"  we  may  point 
to  our  premier  position  as  regards  "Current  Loans  and  Discounts 
in  Canada"  as  an  indication  of  the  importance  of  the  share  taken 
by  this  Bank  in  the  task  of  providing  for  the  financial  requirements 
of  the  mercantile  community,  and  of  carrying  on  the  daily  business 
of  the  country.  In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  by 
the  year  1912  the  current  loans  and  discounts  in  Canada  of  this 
Bank  were  three  times  as  great  as  those  of  all  the  Canadian  banks 
in  the  year  in  which  it  was  founded.  We  had  hoped  on  this  anniver- 
sary to  announce  the  increase  of  the  Rest  to  an  amount  equal  to 
the  paid-up  capital  of  the  Bank,  and  this  doubtless  would  have  been 
accomplished  had  it  not  been  for  the  war.  We  have  deemed  it 
wise  to  follow  a  specially  cautious  and  conservative  policy  and  to 
provide  during  the  war  even  more  thoroughly  than  usual  for  any 
element  of  doubt  in  the  loans  and  securities  of  the  Bank.  The 
increasingly  keen  competition  in  business  has  resulted  in  the  banks 
being  called  upon  to  perform  far  greater  services  for  smaller  remun- 
eration, so  that  the  increase  in  the  volume  of  their  business  is  out 
of  proportion  to  the  increase  in  their  profits.  Naturally  an  increased 
volume  of  business  means  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  provision 
to  be  made  for  doubtful  items,  while  the  profits  do  not  provide  in  a 
corresponding  measure  for  the  relative  appropriations.  Whenever 
there  is  offered  a  new  issue  of  government  securities  yielding  a 
higher  rate  of  interest,  the  market  for  existing  securities  is  depressed 
to  a  corresponding  extent  and  this  entails  a  writing  down  of  all 
securities  on  hand.  Doubtless  when  the  war  is  over  this  downward 
movement  will  cease  and  securities  will  tend  to  appreciate  in  value, 
so  that  much  of  this  may  be  recovered. 

After  a  review  of  the  Bank's  General  Statement,  the  General 
Manager  proceeded :  The  members  of  the  staff  number  3,633,  includ- 
ing 280  messengers  and  367  janitors;  the  total,  after  the  withdrawal  of 

*  For  History  of  this  Bank,  see  1910  Supplement  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review 
and  succeeding  Volumes  for  yearly  Addresses  and  Reports.  This  51st  Annual  Meeting 
of  the  Bank  was  held  on  Jan.  8,  1918. 

[865] 
55 


866  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  men  called  up  under  the  Military  Service  Act,  will  still  be  some- 
what larger  than  a  year  ago.  The  increase  is,  however,  entirely  in 
untrained  women  clerks,  the  number  of  women  being  now  1,121,  an 
increase  of  about  400.  On  the  other  hand,  the  number  of  male 
officers  has  decreased  by  128,  in  spite  of  the  addition  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  inexperienced  lads  under  the  age  of  twenty.  Having  regard 
to  the  continued  growth  of  our  business  and  to  the  decrease  in  gen- 
eral efficiency  caused  by  the  changes  in  personnel,  the  burden  laid 
on  our  men  and  women  grows  heavier  with  each  succeeding  month. 
It  was  therefore  particularly  gratifying  to  us  that  the  results  of  the 
year's  business  were  such  as  to  justify  a  more  than  usually  gener- 
ous percentage  bonus  to  all  the  members  of  the  staff.  Of  our 
officers,  1,422  have  now  taken  up  arms,  or  75  per  cent,  of  our  present 
male  staff,  exclusive  of  messengers.  We  know  that  we  have  sup- 
plied our  full  quota,  but  we  are  making  efforts  to  release  every  man 
physically  fit  who  is  called  up  under  the  Military  Service  Act  and 
who  can  possibly  be  replaced,  and  are  asking  exemption  for  only  a 
few  officers,  the  length  and  the  character  of  whose  training  are  such 
that  they  cannot  be  replaced.  With  grief  mingled  with  pride,  we 
record  a  total  loss  of  153  men  killed  in  action,  69  of  whom  have 
made  the  great  sacrifice  during  the  past  year.  No  fewer  than  255 
have  been  wounded,  many  seriously,  7  are  missing,  and  16  are 
undergoing  the  hardships  of  the  enemy's  prison  camps.  During 
the  year  the  Canadian  banks  have  been  called  upon  to  make  large 
advances  to  the  Dominion  Government  to  provide  for  expenditures 
in  connection  with  the  war,  and  have  also  made  advances  to  the 
Imperial  Government  for  the  purchase  of  our  wheat  crop,  in  addi- 
tion to  those  already  current  for  the  purchase  of  munitions  in  Can- 
ada. In  all  this  financing  the  B.ank  has  taken  its  full  share,  assisting 
the  Government  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  to  the  best  of  its 
ability.  As  an  item  of  interest  in  this  connection  we  may  mention 
that  our  customers  have  during  the  year  executed  munition  orders 
for  a  total  of  over  84  millions  of  dollars. 

The  outstanding  success  of  the  Victory  Loan  was  a  striking 
tribute  to  the  energy  and  patriotism  of  the  organization  which 
undertook  to  place  the  loan  in  the  hands  of  the  public,  and  the 
Finance  Minister  is  again  to  be  congratulated  on  the  result  of  his 
endeavours  to  obtain  within  Canada  as  large  a  proportion  as  possi- 
ble of  the  funds  required  to  carry  on  the  war.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
last  Imperial  War  Loan  the  banks  were  not  called  upon  to  subscribe 
directly,  as  this  would  have  meant  a  locking  up  of  their  funds  in  a 
permanent  investment,  and  would  also  have  tended  to  inflation,  as 
a  result  of  the  additional  credit  thereby  created.  Instead  of  this 
they  undertook  to  make  advances  to  small  subscribers  with  fixed 
incomes  so  as  to  enable  them  to  take  a  larger  amount  of  the  loan 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  possible.  The  encouragement  thus 
given  to  the  habit  of  saving  throughout  the  community  is  of  the 
greatest  national  importance.  The  total  amount  of  subscriptions  to 
the  loan  appears  to  have  reached  $417,000,000,  from  about  807,000 
subscribers,  a  financial  accomplishment  of  the  first  magnitude. 
The  subscriptions  received  through  the  branches  of  this  Bank 
amounted  to  about  $80,000,000  from  over  116,000  subscribers. 


CANADIAN  BANK  OF  COMMERCE — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  867 

After  the  United  States  came  into  the  war  the  shipments  of 
gold  from  Great  Britain  to  that  country  ceased,  and  a  slight  adverse 
movement  set  in;  in  order,  therefore,  to  conserve  its  holdings  and 
to  prevent  gold  from  reaching  the  enemy,  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment placed  an  embargo  on  exports  of  the  metal.  Upon  representa- 
tions being  made  at  Washington,  however,  through  the  Canadian 
Bankers'  Association,  as  to  the  unfairness  of  enforcing  the  embargo 
against  us,  the  release  to  Canada  of  a  certain  amount  of  gold  was 
arranged  for.  While  this  will,  doubtless,  aid  in  the  stabilizing  of 
the  exchange  between  the  two  countries,  we  feel  that  it  is  important 
that  the  underlying  gold  reserves  of  Canada  should  be  increased 
to  correspond  with  the  great  increase  in  the  liabilities  of  the  Canadian 
banks  resulting  from  war  activities.  To  this  end  we  consider  that 
our  endeavours  should  be  directed,  and  we  believe  also  that  the 
Government  of  Canada  should  place  an  embargo  on  the  export  of 
gold  produced  in  Canada,  and  see  that  it  is  made  available  for  this 
purpose. 

Probably  few  people  realize  how  essential  to  modern  business  is 
prompt  and  reliable  railway  service,  or  how  the  lack  of  such  service 
invariably  means  high  prices  to  the  consumer.  No  modern  business 
could  continue  in  operation  were  the  transportation  facilities  of  the 
country  suddenly  to  be  suspended.  A  full  consideration  of  the  relation 
between  delays  in  transportation  and  increased  cost  to  the  consumer 
is  out  of  place  here,  but  it  may  confidently  be  asserted  that  prompt- 
ness and  regularity  of  service  are  of  more  importance  to  business 
men  and  to  the  general  public  than  low  freight  rates.  Unfortun- 
ately of  late  years  Government  efforts  have  been  directed  almost 
entirely  to  the  reduction  of  the  latter,  while  ignoring  altogether  the 
greater  importance  of  the  former.  The  general  increase  in  freight 
rates  recently  granted  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  Fortunately 
for  the  public  interest,  one  of  the  great  Canadian  railway  systems 
has  not  been  dependent  entirely  upon  its  income  from  transporta- 
tion, or  the  problem  here  would  have  become  more  acute.  The 
cost  of  operation,  that  is,  of  labour,  materials  and  supplies,  has 
risen  enormously  in  recent  years,  without  a  corresponding  increase 
in  the  revenue  from  transportation.  It  is  not  always  borne  in  mind 
that  the  development  of  Canada,  and  its  subsequent  increase  in 
wealth  and  population,  would  not  have  been  possible  without  the 
construction  of  the  railroads,  and  that  the  large  number  of  people 
who  have  invested  in  railroad  securities  have,  therefore,  performed 
a  public  service  of  the  highest  importance.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  motives  which  prompted  the  investment,  this  service  still 
calls  for  some  measure  of  recognition. 

And  now  a  few  words  as  to  the  future.  Up  to  the  present  the 
high  cost  of  living,  of  which  we  hear  so  much,  has  borne  heavily  on 
comparatively  few.  The  great  majority  of  Canadians  who  are  not 
serving  in  the  armed  forces  of  the  Empire  are  now  employed  at  high 
wages  in  war  industries.  They  have  more  to  spend  than  they  ever 
had  before,  and  many  are  spending  it.  They  scorn  carefulness  and 
the  small  economies  that  must  perforce  be  practiced  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  less  favoured  countries.  But  there  will  come  a  time  when 


868  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

high  taxation  and  uncertainty  as  to  the  future  will  make  men  hesi- 
tate to  embark  on  new  enterprises,  when  there  will  be  double  the 
number  of  applicants  for  half  the  number  of  jobs  and  when  food 
will  be  still  more  scarce  than  it  is  at  present.  Only  then  shall  we 
realize  the  full  effects  of  the  high  cost  of  living.  How  shall  we 
prepare  for  that  day?  The  great  need  of  the  world  will  then  be 
abundance  of  food,  at  reasonable  prices,  and  if  we  in  Canada  by 
stimulating  production,  transportation  and  distribution,  are  able  to 
supply  the  nations  in  abundance,  we  shall  not  only  have  laid  broad 
and  deep  the  foundations  of  prosperity  for  ourselves,  but  shall  have 
earned  the  gratitude  of  the  nations.  We  shall  have  found  a  way  to 
utilize  the  services  of  the  unemployed  and  to  lower  as  far  as  possible 
the  high  cost  of  living.  The  machinery  for  accomplishing  this  can- 
not be  created  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  and  we  must  equip  our- 
selves beforehand  to  cope  with  the  changed  conditions  which  will 
prevail  after  the  war.  We  must  so  co-ordinate  the  productive  forces 
of  the  nation  that  there  will  be,  as  it  were,  the  nucleus  of  an  organiza- 
tion already  prepared  to  utilize  the  labour  of  the  unemployed  in  the 
production  of  food,  and  in  its  distribution  and  transportation  to  the 
great  markets  abroad.  The  period  of  strain  immediately  following 
the  war  will  pass  away  in  time  and  normal  conditions  will  again 
prevail.  In  order  that  this  trade  should  be  permanently  successful 
under  these  normal  conditions,  it  must  be  organized  from  the  be- 
ginning with  a  view  to  efficiency  and  placed  on  a  sound  economic 
basis.  When  we  consider  what  difficulties  have  been  overcome  in 
order  to  transport  fresh  meat  from  Australia,  New  Zealand  and  the 
Argentine  through  the  tropical  zone  to  the  markets  of  Europe,  we 
cannot  but  believe  that  the  less  serious  difficulties  confronting  Can- 
ada can  be  successfully  solved.  We  have  millions  of  acres  of  pro- 
ductive land,  we  expect  to  have  an  abundance  of  labour,  but  we 
require  organization  and  leadership. 


Address  by  We  meet  again  with  the  shadow  of  the  great  war 

Sir  Edmund  affecting  everything  we  say  or  do.  We  are  nearer  the 
Walker,  C.V.  end  than  we  were  a  year  ago,  but  only  because  a  year 
LLD  GpL  '*  kas  passed;  in  other  ways  there  is  no  sign  of  the  end. 
dent  of  the*'  Although  the  war  is  in  its  fourth  year,  it  is  still  full  oi 
Bank.  surprises  ;  indeed,  the  year  has  been  one  of  many  and  swift 

changes.  The  submarine  menace,  so  ominous  at  one  time, 
is  still  very  serious,  "held  but  not  yet  mastered,"  as  Sir  Eric  Geddes 
lately  said.  However,  we  no  longer  doubt  our  ability  to  cope  with 
it,  partly  by  a  lessening  in  the  number  of  ships  lost  and  partly  by 
vastly  increased  ship-building.  The  collapse  in  Russia  and  the  set- 
back in  Italy  have  altered  the  aspect  on  the  Western  front  from  one 
in  which  victory  seemed  near  to  one  in  which  it  may  perhaps  be 
necessary  to  wait  for  the  new  armies  of  the  great  republic,  before 
the  war  can  be  pressed  to  its  final  stage.  Unless  Russia  comes  back 
into  the  fighting  line,  we  have  to  meet  the  armies  of  the  enemy  thus 
released,  but  we  are  not  afraid  of  the  enemy  ever  again  breaking 
through  the  Western  front,  and  by  next  spring  not  only  will  there 
be  a  great  accession  of  strength  from  the  United  States  for  fighting 


CANADIAN  BANK  OF  COMMERCE — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  869 

on  land,  but  the  building  of  aircraft  and  the  training  of  armies  of 
airmen  will  vastly  alter  the  character  of  the  struggle.  Our  greatest 
danger  is  lest  we  should  falter,  because  victory  is  less  easy  to  attain 
than  we  thought. 

In  considering  our  industrial  affairs  we  find  that,  disregarding 
as  usual  shipments  of  gold  and  bullion,  our  exports  for  the  fiscal 
year  ending  31st  March  last,  were  $314,706,654  in  excess  of  our 
imports,  and  for  the  following  six  months  ending  30th  September, 
the  excess  was  $237,574,462,  making  for  the  eighteen  months  a 
surplus  of  $552,281,116  in  the  value  of  our  exports.     The  gain  in 
exports  for  the  fiscal  year  was  $399,911,030,  while  the  increase  in 
imports  was  $334,292,650.     We  therefore  improved  the  results  of 
our  foreign  trade  by  $65,618,380  as  compared  with  the  year  preced- 
ing.    The  figures  for  the  broken  period  indicate  an  increase  on  a 
much  larger  scales.     Of  the  improvement  during  the  fiscal  year,  over 
350  millions  is  due  to  agriculture  and  to  manufactures,  the  total 
increase  from  the  mine,  the  forest,  the  fisheries,  and  animals  and 
their  products  being  less  than  50  millions.     The  exports  of  manu- 
factures amounted  to  487  millions,  an  increase  of  237  millions  over 
those  of  the  preceding  year.     There  is  an  increase  in  exports  and 
imports  under  almost  every  heading,  but  the  only  very  noticeable 
item  is  that  of  $149,930,000  for  military  stores,  munitions  of  war, 
etc.,  "imported  and  remaining  the  property  of  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment."    In  this  there  is  an  increase  of  $111,296,000  over  the 
corresponding  figures  for  1916.     These  imports,  mainly  necessary  to 
complete  munitions  being  made  in  Canada,  do  not  affect  this  coun- 
try in  a  financial  way.     Coal  cost  us  $11,500,000  more,  sugar  $10,- 
800,000  more,  and  provisions,  much  of  which  was  doubtless  exported 
again,  $17,500,000  more.     Of  the  various  forms  in  which  iron,  cop- 
per and  other  metals  are  used  as  raw  materials,  ranging  from  the 
ore  to  beams,  tubes,  wiring,  etc.,  we  imported  about  $42,000,000 
more  than  in  1916.     These  partially  manufactured  articles  come 
under  a  great  variety  of  headings,  but  they  are  all,  or  almost  all, 
forms  that  we  should  eventually  make  in  Canada.     I  regret  to  say 
that  articles  of  luxury  still  show  rather  too  prominently  in  the  list 
of  imports,  and  there  is  not  much  evidence  of  restraint  on  the  part 
of  Canadians  in  the  purchase  of  unnecessary  things.     A  surplus  of 
550  millions  in  our  foreign  trade  for  the  18  months  ending  September 
last  leaves,  even  after  interest  on  foreign  indebtedness  has  been 
paid,  a  sum  of  money  unheard  of  in  the  past,  and  to  this  is  to  be 
added  the  results  of  the  crops  since  marketed  or  still  to  be  marketed 
at  prices  hitherto  unequalled,  as  well  as  the  results  of  other  products 
of  our  industry.     The  field  crops  of  Canada  for  1917  are  valued  at 
$1,089,000,000.     All  of  this  vast  wealth  is,  however,  needed  for  the 
conduct  of  the  war,  and  the  problem  of  the  hour  is  how  to  apply  it 
to  that  purpose,  wherever  it  is  not  needed  for  some  other  equally 
urgent  purpose. 

Great  Britain,  by  shipments  from  various  parts  of  the  world 
through  Canada  to  the  United  States,  has  sent  to  that  country  over 
a  billion  dollars  in  gold,  but  the  time  has  now  come  when  she  must 
have  credit  for  practically  all  her  purchases,  and  obviously  our  own 


870  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Government  must  have  similar  credit,  except  to  the  extent  to  which 
the  cost  of  the  war  is  paid  by  taxation.  The  extent  to  which  we  can 
supply  money  to  our  own  government  for  its  share  in  the  cost  of 
the  war  and  also  supply  money  to  Great  Britain  for  munitions  of 
all  kinds,  including  the  agricultural  and  pastoral  products  of  Canada 
bought  by  Great  Britain,  depends  on  how  far  we  are  willing  to  avoid 
spending  money  on  anything  unnecessary  to  reasonable  well-being, 
and  clearly  such  an  effort  we  have  not  made.  Capital  is  not,  how- 
ever, in  any  large  measure,  being  fixed  in  betterments,  either  by 
individuals,  municipalities,  or  provincial  and  Dominion  governments, 
and  thoughtful  people,  at  least,  are  spending  less,  and  realize  that 
we  are  engaged  in  the  struggle  of  the  ages.  Now  that  the  United 
States  has  entered  the  war  there  is  no  market  for  our  securities  out- 
side our  own  borders,  and  therefore  we  are  being  put  to  a  greater 
test  of  our  economic  powers  than  ever  before.  If  provinces  or  muni- 
cipalities have  securities  to  sell  they  must  be  sold  at  home.  In  the 
year  ending  31st  March,  1917,  we  bought  goods  to  the  value  of  865 
millions  abroad  and  of  these  678  millions  came  from  the  United 
States.  As  we  sold  that  country  only  290  millions  we  had  to  find 
388  millions  in  money  or  securities.  We  can  now  sell  securities 
nowhere  but  at  home,  and  our  export  and  import  business  is  done 
almost  entirely  with  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  We 
export  to  Great  Britain  enough  more  than  we  import  to  cover  our 
shortage  with  the  United  States,  and  a  large  sum  besides.  There- 
fore it  is  clear  that  in  respect  of  what  we  owe  the  United  States  that 
country  must  lend  to  Great  Britain  a  sum  corresponding  to  our 
sales  to  the  latter  country,  if  we  are  to  continue  to  trade  with  the 
United  States.  Since  the  United  States  has  entered  the  war,  how- 
ever, large  orders  for  war  supplies  for  their  use  have  been  placed  in 
Canada,  and  it  is  too  early  to  tell  how  these  will  affect  our  trade 
balance  with  that  country.  It  should  not  be  hard  to  understand 
from  these  figures  how  vitally  important  it  is  that  we  should  not 
buy  outside  Canada  a  dollar's  worth  of  merchandise  that  is  not 
absolutely  required  for  our  most  pressing  national  purpose,  which 
is  to  win  the  war. 

The  success  of  the  Finance  Minister  in  his  share  of  the  financing 
of  the  war  has  been  so  signal  and  its  latest  phase  is  so  well  known 
to  you,  that  I  repeat  certain  details  now  only  for  the  information 
of  our  foreign  shareholders  and  correspondents.  In  January  the 
issue  of.  War  Savings  Certificates  began  and  thus  far  over  195,000 
have  been  sold,  amounting  to  twelve  million  dollars.  The  import- 
ance of  these  certificates,  which  are  issued  in  denominations  of  $10 
$25,  $50  and  $100,  is  not  so  much  the  amount  thus  secured  as  the 
opportunity  they  offer  to  almost  every  individual  to  save  and  to 
take  some  share  in  the  nation's  financing.  In  March  the  third 
Canadian  war  loan  was  brought  out.  The  amount  to  be  issued  was 
$150,000,000,  the  loan  being  for  twenty  years  with  5  per  cent, 
interest,  and  the  price  96.  The  net  subscriptions,  after  deducting 
conversions  and  the  subscriptions  of  the  banks,  amounted  to  $182,- 
000,000.  There  were  over  40,000  subscribers,  as  against  25,000  for 
the  first  and  30,000  for  the  second  loan,  the  total  thus  far  secured 


CANADIAN  BANK  OP  COMMERCE — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  871 

being  $350,000,000.  As  no  unusual  effort  was  made,  the  results 
were  very  gratifying.  In  August  the  Minister  secured  in  New 
York,  by  two-year  5  per  cent,  notes,  $100,000,000,  of  which  20 
millions  were  used  to  retire  the  balance  of  a  loan  obtained  in  1915. 
In  November  the  fourth  Canadian  war  loan  was  offered.  At  that 
time  we  had  before  us  the  fact  that  while  the  Finance  Minister  had 
readily  obtained  from  the  Canadian  people  what  he  had  asked  for, 
they  had  subscribed  to  the  third  loan  in  the  proportion  of  only 
about  one  in  every  two  hundred. 

Having  this  in  mind,  the  Finance  Minister  created  an  organiza- 
tion calculated  to  show  what  the  Canadian  people  could  do.  An 
extraordinary  body  of  bond-dealers,  bankers  and  other  business 
men,  aided  by  the  3,000  branches  of  the  banks,  in  a  comparatively 
short  campaign  secured  subscriptions  for  417  millions  of  dollars  from 
807,000  people.  If  to  these  we  add  the  195,000  purchasers  of  War 
Savings  Certificates  and  disregard  the  duplication  of  names,  we  find 
that  about  one  in  eight  of  our  people  have  responded  to  the  call. 
The  Minister  had  offered  a  loan  of  $150,000,000,  repayable  in  5,  10 
or  20  years  with  5J/£  per  cent,  interest,  issued  at  par  with  a  slight 
advantage  in  interest  to  the  subscriber  in  making  his  payments. 
He  had  stated  that  subscriptions  in  excess  of  150  millions  would  be 
accepted  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  the  hope  was  that  250  or  300  mil- 
lions would  be  secured.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  such  a  figure  as  400 
millions  was  not  deemed  to  be  within  the  realm  of  possibility.  The 
actual  disbursements  of  Canada  for  the  war  to  30th  November 
amounted  to  $685,000,000.  To  this  must  be  added  outstanding 
expenses  and  estimates  for  the  balance  of  the  year  to  cover  require- 
ments here,  in  Great  Britain  and  in  the  field  of  war.  These,  care- 
fully computed,  indicate  that  at  the  end  of  the  year  the  cost  of  the 
war  to  Canada  was  about  $760,000,000.  It  is  well  known  that,  in 
addition  to  the  task  of  finding  money  for  such  vast  expenditure,  the 
Finance  Minister  has  been  called  upon  to  aid  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment to  provide  for  a  large  part  of  the  cost  of  munitions,  etc.,  pur- 
chased in  Canada.  In  addition  to  advances  to  the  Imperial  Muni- 
tions Board  of  380  millions,  as  much  as  32  millions  was  lent  for  the 
purchase  of  cheese,  15  millions  for  agricultural  products,  and  about 
as  much  more  for  other  items.  Against  this  there  are  offsets  in 
connection  with  the  upkeep  of  our  troops  and  with  other  matters, 
but  the  final  result  at  the  moment  leaves  Great  Britain  considerably 
in  debt  to  the  Canadian  Government. 

A  comparison  of  the  figures  of  the  chartered  banks  as  in  July, 
1914,  and  in  October  last  is  very  impressive.  The  total  liabilities 
have  grown  from  $1,323,252,000  to  $1,995,488,000,  an  increase  of 
$672,236,000,  the  growth  in  deposits  being  $589,837,000  and  in  note 
circulation  $95,037,000.  As  against  this,  loans  have  increased  $128,- 
544,000,  securities  $320,742,000,  cash  $70,572,000,  exchanges  with 
other  banks  $50,911,000,  balances  due  by  foreign  banks  $20,429,000, 
and  deposits  against  excess  circulation  $76,370,000.  The  addition 
to  loans  and  securities  of  $450,000,000,  and  that  large  part  of  the 
remaining  loans  which  has  taken  the  place  of  ordinary  industrial 
loans  before  the  war,  represent  the  financial  aid  rendered  by  the 


872  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

banks  to  the  carrying  on  of  the  war,  but  the  banks  have  now  to 
face  the  loss  in  deposits  which  will  be  caused  by  the  payments  to 
be  made  for  the  Victory  Loan.  This  will  in  any  event  mean  some- 
thing between  three  and  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars  by  next 
May.  It  is  true  that  the  money  in  the  end  will  return  to  the  banks 
in  one  form  or  another,  but  not  necessarily  to  the  same  banks  and 
not  in  the  same  form.  The  loss  of  savings  deposits,  built  up  over  a 
series  of  years  and  now  transferred  permanently  into  a  new  form  of 
saving  in  which  the  banks  have  no  part,  is  being  borne  cheerfully 
because  the  reason  for  it  is  imperative,  but  it  would  be  foolish  not 
to  recognize  what  a  serious  and  difficult  operation  the  great  war 
loan  is  to  the  banks.  The  banks  still  hold  the  Imperial  obligations 
for  munitions  amounting  to  one  hundred  million  dollars  referred  to 
a  year  ago,  and  during  the  past  year  they  have  made  loans  to  the 
Dominion  Government  more  or  less  connected  with  aid  to  the  Im- 
perial Government.  In  January  they  bought  Canadian  Treasury 
bills  for  50  millions  maturing  early  in  1918,  in  July  and  August  70 
millions  of  three  and  five  months'  bills,  and  in  October  75  millions 
maturing  in  1919.  It  will  be  observed  that  all  of  these  loans  except 
the  last  have  been  or  will  be  shortly  repaid.  The  sales  of  Canadian 
securities  for  the  calendar  year  1917  show  a  much  larger  total  than 
ever  before,  but  the  issues,  other  than  those  of  the  Dominion  Gov- 
ernment, are  naturally  very  small.  As  usual  we  supply  the  following 
details  from  the  annual  estimate  of  the  Dominion  Securities  Cor- 
poration : — 

In  United  In  Great 

Securities  Total  Sold  In  Canada  States  Britain 

Government...  $693,420,279  $551,180,279  $142,240,000 

Municipal 25,219,103  19,387,738  5,831,365        

Railway 22,566,666  200,000  17,500,000  $4,866,666 

Public  Service  Corporation.  15,425,000  1,825,000  13,600,000       

Miscellaneous .  .  16,110,800  8,370,800  7,740,000       


Total $772,741,848       $580,963,817       $186,911,365       $4,866.666 

That  580  millions  of  securities  could  be  placed  in  Canada  in  one 
year,  in  addition  to  the  aid  given  by  the  banks  to  the  manufacture 
of  munitions,  is  very  surprising,  but  we  must  remember  that  it  was 
still  necessary  to  obtain  190  millions  from  outside  during  the  year 
and  that  not  only  are  these  avenues  now  completely  closed,  but  if 
we  hope  to  continue  the  making  of  all  kinds  of  war  products  as 
actively  as  heretofore,  we  must  find  at  home  much  larger  sums  in 
1918  than  in  1917  for  investment  in  war  securities.  Even  if  the 
sale  of  the  relative  securities  were  possible,  all  expenditures,  except 
for  the  war,  must  be  restrained,  and  this  is  abundant  reason  for  the 
recent  order-in-council  under  which  new  issues  in  Canada  of  the 
securities  of  any  province,  colonial  or  foreign  government,  munici- 
pality, corporation  or  incorporated  company,  may  be  sold  only  with 
the  approval  of  the  Minister  of  Finance.  The  totals  of  the  twenty- 
five  clearing  houses  reflect  the  increased  volume  of  almost  all  pro- 
ducts and  the  higher  prices  prevailing.  In  every  clearing  house 
there  is  an  increase  as  compared  with  1916.  The  total  amounts  to 
$12,554,204,000  as  compared  with  $10,557,060,000  for  the  previous 
year,  a  growth  of  18' 92  per  cent.  The  total  for  the  eight  clearing  houses 
in  existence  in  1901  was  $1,871,061,000,  so  that  in  sixteen  years  the 


CANADIAN  BANK  OP  COMMERCE — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  873 

figures  have  grown  571  per  cent.  We  also  subjoin  as  usual  the  build- 
ing permits  of  the  four  chief  cities  of  Canada  for  1913,  the  year 
previous  to  the  outbreak  of  war,  for  1916,  and  for  the  year  just  ended: 

1913  1916  1917 

Montreal $27,032,000  $5,334,000  $4,387,000 

Toronto 27,038,000  9,882,000  7, 163,000 

Vancouver 10,423,000  2,412,000  768,000 

Winnipeg 18,621,000  2,507,000  2,212,000 

We  have  found  it  rather  more  difficult  than  usual  to  obtain 
statistics  regarding  the  quantity  and  the  value  of  the  various  kinds 
of  war  supplies  made  in  Canada,  but  as  heretofore  such  figures  as 
we  are  able  to  give  are  highly  illustrative  of  the  importance  of  this 
work,  both  as  a  part  of  our  contribution  to  the  war  and  as  the  main 
basis  of  our  prosperity  at  the  moment.  There  is  a  reduction  in  the 
output  of  many  kinds  of  shells,  fuses  and  cartridge  cases,  as  pur- 
chases are  being  restricted  to  certain  sizes.  On  the  other  hand, 
however,  there  is  an  important  development  in  the  building  of  steel 
and  wooden  ships  and  of  aeroplane  engines,  and  also  of  aeroplanes 
of  a  certain  type.  With  these  exceptions  there  is  a  large  decrease 
in  purchases  by  Great  Britain,  due  doubtless  to  the  inability  of 
Canada  to  grant  the  necessary  credits.  It  is  therefore  most  gratify- 
ing to  know  that  the  Chairman  of  the  Imperial  Munitions  Board 
has  made  arrangements  with  the  Ordnance  Department  of  the  United 
States  to  use,  until  next  midsummer,  such  surplus  facilities  existing 
here  for  the  production  of  munitions  as  will  help  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  that  country.  Canada  is  producing  gun  ammunition, 
including  propellants,  high  explosives,  fuses  and  cartridge  cases  in 
550  factories  situated  from  St.  John  in  the  east  to  Victoria  in  the 
west.  In  addition  to  contracts  given  to  private  corporations,  the 
Imperial  Munitions  Board  has  developed  government  factories  for 
the  loading  of  fuses,  for  the  production  of  powder  and  high  explo- 
sives, for  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  and  nitric  acids  and  acetone, 
and  of  steel  and  forgings,  and  for  the  construction  of  aeroplanes. 
On  these  plants  the  sum  of  $13,500,000  has  been  expended  for  ac- 
count of  the  Imperial  Government.  The  Board  has  also  contracted 
for  the  building  of  a  large  number  of  the  latest  type  of  high-power 
aeroplane  engines  for  the  use  of  fighting  planes  at  the  front.  This 
engine  represents  the  highest  type  of  workmanship  of  any  engine 
that  has  been  produced,  and  we  may  well  be  proud  that  such  a  young 
and  inexperienced  country  as  Canada  is  able  to  undertake  the  work. 
Even  more  important  from  the  industrial  point  of  view  is  the  fact 
that  there  are  now  under  contract  in  Canada  for  the  Imperial  and 
the  Norwegian  Governments,  steel  and  wooden  ships  aggregating 
in  value  over  $90,000,000.  Up  to  December,  forty-four  steel  and 
forty-six  wooden  steamships  had  been  ordered.  The  steel  ships 
range  from  1,800  to  8,800  tons  dead-weight,  with  a  total  carrying 
capacity  of  213,600  tons,  and  the  wooden  ships  have  an  individual 
carrying  capacity  of  2,500  tons  dead -weight,  with  a  total  of  115,000 
tons.  In  addition  to  this  twenty-two  steel  vessels,  of  3,500  tons 
dead- weight  capacity  each,  have  been  ordered  on  Norwegian  account, 
a  total  of  77,000  tons.  This  makes  a  grand  total  of  one  hundred 
and  twelve  ships  with  405,600  tons  capacity.  The  steel  ships  are 


874  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

being  built  at  New  Glasgow,  Montreal,  Toronto,  Welland,  Midland, 
Collingwood,  Port  Arthur,  Vancouver,  North  Vancouver  and  Bridge- 
burg.  The  wooden  ships  are  being  built  at  Liverpool,  St.  John,  Isle 
of  Orleans,  C6te  St.  Paul,  Quebec,  Three  Rivers,  Toronto,  Fort 
William,  Coquitlam,  New  Westminster,  Vancouver,  North  Van- 
couver, and  Victoria. 

As  a  consequence  of  the  work  of  the  Imperial  Munitions  Board, 
Canada  is  for  the  first  time  producing  refined  spelter  (zinc)  and 
refined  copper,  and  there  is  an  important  increase  in  the  output  of 
refined  lead.  The  natural  result  of  refining  our  spelter  and  copper 
is  the  local  production  of  brass,  and  this  again  enables  many  articles 
made  of  brass  to  be  produced  from  our  own  metal.  The  value  of 
the  orders  thus  placed  by  the  Board  exceeds  $1,000,000,000  and  the 
actual  disbursements  to  date  are  almost  $800,000,000.  The  number 
of  complete  shells  thus  far  produced  is  49  millions.  The  purchases 
made  under  the  authority  of  the  War  Purchasing  Commission  for 
account  of  the  Department  of  Militia,  of  the  Department  of  Justice 
for  interned  aliens,  and  of  the  Department  of  the  Naval  Service, 
have  been  smaller  as  a  whole  than  last  year,  although  the  purchases 
for  the  last-mentioned  department  have  been  larger  owing  to  the 
increase  in  naval  work  at  Halifax.  We  have  been  able  to  secure 
some  interesting  figures  covering  a  part  of  the  activities  of  the 
various  departments.  They  are  as  follows: 

Department  of  Militia: 

Arsenals,  supplies  for  manufacture  of  ammunition,  etc $1,500,000 

Clothing 5,000,000 

Dental  Supplies 120,000 

Fish  for  C.E.F.  in  England 300,000 

Mechanical  Transport  Supplies 300,000 

Medical  Supplies 500,000 

Provisions,  including  food,  fuel  and  forage 7,500,000 

Railway  Construction  Equipment 270,000 

Stoves  and  Miscellaneous 2,500,000 


$17,990,000 

Department  of  Justice:   Internment  Operations 700,000 

Department  of  Naval  Service 2,500,000 

These  departments  also  have  appropriations  which  do  not  come 
under  the  control  of  the  War  Purchasing  Commission.  The  public 
will  be  interested  to  learn  that  the  Navy  and  Army  Canteen  Board 
of  London,  through  which  the  various  canteens  of  all  the  British 
forces  are  mainly  supplied,  sent  a  representative  to  Canada  to  secure 
assortments  of  Canadian  products  for  sale  in  the  canteens.  The 
products  selected  were:  canned  meats,  canned  salmon  and  other 
fish,  condensed  and  evaporated  milk,  biscuits,  chocolate,  candies, 
preserved  fruits,  jams,  evaporated  fruits,  etc.  About  a  year  ago 
the  War  Purchasing  Commission  secured  samples  of  fish  such  as 
cod,  haddock,  pollack,  etc.,  for  the  Board  of  Trade  in  London.  This 
resulted  in  their  placing  in  Canada  large  contracts  for  fish.  We  are 
also  able  to  afford  approximate  figures  for  purchases  made  on  account 
of  the  British  War  Office  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company, 
as  follows: 

Foodstuffs ' $14,000,000 

Merchandise  of  Iron  and  Steel 700,000 

Sugar 8,000,000 

Forestry  and  Railway  Equipment 2,000,000 

Other  Articles 1.000.000 

Total...  $25,700,000 


CANADIAN  BANK  OF  COMMERCE — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  875 

The  purchases  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  down  to  De- 
cember cover  about  110,000  tons  of  hay,  35  million  bushels  of  oats, 
and  275,000  tons  of  flour,  requiring  about  14  million  bushels  of  wheat. 
The  total  value  of  these  purchases  is  about  $48,000,000.  We  have 
made  an  attempt  also  to  follow  the  purchases  of  such  ordinary 
articles  as  wheat,  cheese  and  meats.  It  is  understood  that  the  pur- 
chases in  Canada  by  the  Wheat  Export  Company  of  wheat  and 
oats  from  this  year's  crop  will  reach  350  million  dollars  in  value, 
and  that  there  have  been  shipped  cheese  valued  at  between  30  and 
40  million  dollars  and  a  large  supply  of  meats,  partly  the  product  of 
Canada,  and  partly  from  animals  bred  in  the  United  States,  but 
cured  here.  The  published  returns  are  not  easy  to  follow  but  we 
appear  to  have  exported,  during  the  year  ending  March,  1917,  live 
animals,  including  horses,  to  the  value  of  15  millions  and  meats  to 
the  value  of  over  60  millions;  against  this  we  have  apparently  im- 
ported meats  to  the  value  of  about  25  millions.  For  the  six  months 
ending  September  the  totals  of  both  imports  and  exports,  measured 
only  by  value,  are  on  a  basis  50  per  cent  higher  than  for  the  previous 
year.  These  figures  show  some  of  the  activities  of  the  Canadian 
people  in  the  way  of  production,  but  the  need  is  greater,  in  some 
directions  much  greater,  than  ever  before.  The  outpouring  of  sup- 
plies of  all  kinds,  from  wheat  to  shells,  must  go  on,  but  the  most 
crying  needs  are  for  sea-going  ships,  aircraft  and  those  forms  of  food 
which  are  more  necessary  than  others  to  sustain  life  in  its  fullest 
vigour  and  without  a  sufficient  supply  of  which  the  allied  nations 
are  threatened  with  starvation.  The  supply  of  wheat  is  vital,  and 
the  losses  of  shipping  add  enormously  to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
supplies  from  the  southern  half  of  the  world.  At  the  same  time 
the  scarcity  of  labour  makes  the  life  of  the  North  American  farmer 
so  difficult  that  he  needs  all  our  sympathy,  and  should  have  all  the 
assistance  which  the  city  worker  or  student  can  give  him  in  summer 
time. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  foods  for  the  soldier  is  bacon.  He  can 
apparently  do  more  fighting  on  it  than  on  anything  else.  In  the 
United  States,  when  necessary,  breeding  stock  and  help  in  other 
forms  is  being  supplied  to  farmers  to  ensure  the  largest  possible 
production  of  bacon,  and  associations  of  breeders  have  been  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  distributing  well-bred  stock.  This  is  being  done 
by  men  who  realize  that  if  we  fail  in  producing  greater  quantities 
of  bacon  than  ever  before,  we  shall  fail  in  our  duty  to  the  soldiers. 
In  this  country  we  have  been  occupied  in  an  effort  to  place  the  blame 
for  the  high  price  of  an  article,  which,  beyond  any  doubt,  we  ought 
not  to  consume  in  large  quantities  just  now,  and  we  have  apparently 
forgotten  that  the  price  has  gone  up  mainly  because  bacon  is  vital 
to  carrying  on  the  war  and  that  if  we  do  anything  to  lessen  the 
efforts  of  the  producers,  the  price  will  certainly  be  much  higher  next 
year  than  it  is  now.  In  England  well-to-do  people  are  standing  in 
line  for  their  food  supplies,  and  they,  at  least,  are  learning  that  the 
talk  of  famine  is  not  a  story  to  frighten  children  with,  but  a  terrible 
possibility.  The  harvests  have  not  been  plentiful  and  the  danger 
is  as  real  as  the  menace  of  the  submarines.  We  ask  the  farmer,  in 


876  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

spite  of  the  great  difficulties  which  confront  him,  to  produce  to  the 
last  ounce,  but  how  can  we  make  our  city  people  save  food,  remem- 
bering that  every  ounce  saved  will  provide  food  elsewhere  for  those 
who  without  it  must  starve? 

We  are  living  in  a  time  of  social  unrest  affecting  greater  areas 
of  disturbance  than  the  world  has  ever  known.  We  are  experiencing 
this  unrest  at  a  time  of  which  it  may  be  said,  that  those  who  live  in 
our  part  of  the  world  were  never  so  easily  able  to  obtain  employment 
suited  to  their  varied  capacities,  never  so  highly  paid,  so  far  as  those 
are  concerned  who  aid  in  the  production  of  goods  for  sale,  never  so 
prosperous,  using  the  word  in  a  material  sense.  The  price  of  every- 
thing, however,  was  almost  never  so  high,  and  the  purchasing  power 
of  the  dollar  has  declined  so  much  and  so  rapidly  that  people  with  a 
more  or  less  fixed  income  suffer  keenly,  while  those  who  earn  more 
money  than  they  could  have  conceived  possible  a  few  years  ago, 
are  disappointed  and  apparently  surprised  to  find  that  everything 
else  has  advanced  in  price  in  proportion  to  their  high  wages.  Out 
of  this  turmoil  has  come  a  bitterness  towards  all  who  by  any  stretch 
of  fancy,  can  be  held  responsible  for  existing  conditions,  a  bitter- 
ness often  without  any  real  basis,  and  which  is  accompanied  by 
explosions  of  wrath  directed  at  whatever  happens  to  be  the  nearest 
object  of  criticism,  but,  if  continued,  and  kept  at  fever  heat  as  it 
has  been  of  late,  promises  ill  for  our  country  after  the  war.  I  am 
aware  that  I  shall  be  accused  of  defending  Capital  and  what  are 
called  the  Big  Interests,  but  there  must  be  many  readers  of  the  annual 
addresses  made  by  the  officers  of  this  Bank  who  will  believe  that 
we  try  as  faithfully  as  we  are  able,  to  portray  conditions  as  they 
exist.  Nothing  in  the  end  is  to  be  gained  by  blaming  the  Premier 
or  the  Food  Controller,  the  provision  dealer  or  the  farmer,  for  high 
prices  which  are  not  merely  a  result  of  the  war,  but  a  result  of  war 
requirements  so  peremptory  that  the  question  of  cost  almost  dis- 
appears. The  conditions  arising  out  of  the  war  are  at  the  bottom 
of  most  of  our  troubles,  and  what  is  necessary  is  not  only  fair  deal- 
ing on  the  part  of  those  who  supply  the  wants  of  the  people,  but 
patience,  and  some  remnant  of  belief  in  our  fellow-men,  on  the  part 
of  those  who  feel  the  pinch  and  who,  perhaps  naturally,  would  like 
to  punish  somebody.  If  dealers  have  combined  to  put  up  prices, 
let  them  be  punished,  but  apparently  we  are  complaining  because 
dealers,  in  buying  from  producers,  did  not  combine  to  lower  prices 
or  to  keep  them  down.  The  needs  of  the  war  are,  however,  so  great 
that  no  combination  can  control  prices  either  in  one  way  or  the  other. 

We  have  to  face  new  and  probably  very  difficult  conditions  after 
the  war.  If  we  are  filled  with  animosity  and  distrust  in  our  attempts 
to  adjust  our  differences,  the  result  will  be  a  sorry  one;  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  with  the  experience  we  shall  gain  in  many  ways  by  the 
war,  we  co-ordinate  the  forces  of  industry  we  possess  so  as  to  present 
a  united  and  efficient  front,  we  may  hope  to  enjoy  in  the  fullest 
degree  the  peace  and  liberty  for  which  our  boys  are  fighting,  together 
with  greater  prosperity  than  we  have  ever  known.  To  accomplish 
this  there  are  at  least  three  elements  which  must  be  present.  In 
our  leaders  of  industry  we  must  have  enterprise  and  skill,  and  we 


CANADIAN  BANK  OF  COMMERCE — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  877 

must  have  plant  and  capital  on  a  scale  adequate  to  compete  with 
other  nations.  Only  the  profits  made  and  the  experience  gained 
during  the  war  can  render  this  possible.  We  must  have  technical 
knowledge  of  how  to  solve  every  difficulty,  physical,  chemical,  or 
whatever  it  may  be,  that  confronts  the  manufacturer,  and  some 
steps  are  being  taken  towards  that  end.  More,  however,  than  any- 
thing else,  we  must  have  such  relations  between  the  employer  and 
the  employed  as  will  cause  the  employed  to  do  heartily  each  day  a 
full  measure  of  his  best  work.  The  last  is  the  great  difficulty  to  be 
overcome,  and  the  element  about  which  there  is  unfortunately  the 
most  doubt.  This  is  said  with  no  intention  whatever  of  appor- 
tioning blame.  One  would  suppose  that  there  must  be  faults  on 
both  sides.  The  fact  remains  that  if  we  are  to  compete  successfully 
with  other  nations  we  must  recover  the  older  condition  when  men 
were  proud  of  the  shop  they  worked  in  and  of  its  product.  It  may 
only  be  a  material  question,  but  it  may  be  a  psychological  one. 
Have  employers  and  employed  struggled  with  each  other  until  the 
only  natural  feeling  is  antipathy,  or  can  each  be  made  to  feel  that 
he  is  so  necessary  to  the  other  that  not  to  work  together  at  their 
best  is  folly,  apart  from  the  economic  crime  involved? 

Those  of  the  Directors  retiring  by  rotation  were  re-elected,  with 
the  Board  composed  as  follows: 

SIR  EDMUND  WALKER,  c.v.o.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.      -    -    President. 

Z.  A.  LASH,  ESQ.,  K.C.,  LL.D.         Vice-President. 

JOHN  HOSKIN,  ESQ.,  K.C.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.  WM.  FARWELL,  ESQ.,  D.C.L. 

SIR  JOSEPH  FLAVELLE,  BART.,  LL.D.  A.  C.  FLUMERFELT,  ESQ. 

A.  KINGMAN,  ESQ.  HON.  GEO.  G.  FOSTER,  K.C. 

HON.  W.  C.  EDWARDS.  CHAS.  COLBY,  ESQ.,  M.A.,  PH.D. 

E.  R.  WOOD,  ESQ.  G.  W.  ALLAN,  ESQ.,  K.C.,  M.P. 

ROBERT  STUART,  ESQ.  H.  J.  FULLER,  ESQ. 

SIR  JOHN  MORISON  GIBSON,  K.C.M.G.,  F.  P.  JONES,  ESQ. 

K.C.,  LL.D.  H.  C.  Cox,  ESQ. 

G.  F.  GALT,  ESQ.  C.  N.  CANDEE,  ESQ. 


878 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


GENERAL  STATEMENT 
OF 

THE  CANADIAN  BANK  OF  COMMERCE 


30TH  NOVEMBER,   1917 

LIABILITIES 

Notes  of  the  Bank  in  Circulation $  23,995,244.68 

Deposits  not  bearing  interest $  86,458,403.02 

Deposits  bearing  interest,  including  interest  accrued 

to  date 189,967,251.39 

276,425,654.41 

Balances  due  to  other  Banks  in  Canada 580,958.01 

Balances  due  to  Banks  and  Banking  Correspondents  elsewhere  than  in 

Canada 7,295,110.40 

Bills  Payable 120,857 .29 

Acceptances  under  Letters  of  Credit 5,597,665. 13 

S314.015.489. 92 

Dividends  Unpaid 2,668 .20 

Dividend  No.  123  and  bonus,  payable  1st  December 525,000.00 

Capital  Paid  up $15,000,000.00 

Rest  Account 13,500,000 .00 

Balance  of  Profits  as  per  Profit  and  Loss  Account. . .         1,332,074.52 

29,832,074.52 

$344,375,232.64 

ASSETS 

Gold  and  Silver  Coin  Current $  22,697,336.96 

Dominion  Notes 21,954,910.25 

Deposit  in  the  Central  Gold  Reserves 10,000,000.00 

$  54,652,247.21 

Notes  of  other  Banks $     2,004,762 .00 

Cheques  on  other  Banks 11,930,875.21 

Balances  due  by  Banks  and  Banking  Correspondents 

elsewhere  than  in  Canada 8,496,103.99 

22,431,741.20 

Dominion  and  Provincial  Government  Securities,  not  exceeding  mar- 
ket value 27,596,420.22 

British,  Foreign  and  Colonial  Public  Securities  and  Canadian  Muni- 
cipal Securities 22,095,133.29 

Railway   and   other  Bonds,    Debentures   and   Stocks,   not   exceeding 

market  value 6,192,461 .60 

Call  and  Short  Loans  (not  exceeding  30  days)  in  Canada  on  Bonds, 

Debentures  and  Stocks 13,460,862.62 

Call  and  Short  Loans  (not  exceeding  30  days)  elsewhere  than  in  Canada       20,076,903. 18 
Deposit  with  the  Minister  of  Finance  for  the  purposes  of  the  Circulation 

Fund 831,173.35 

Other  Current  Loans  and  Discounts  in  Canada  (less  rebate  of  interest)     149,822,028.44 
Other  Current  Loans  and  Discounts  elsewhere  than  in  Canada  (less 

rebate  of  interest) 14,846,130.56 

Liabilities  of  Customers  under  Letters  of  Credit,  as  per  contra 5,597,665.13 

Overdue  Debts  (estimated  loss  provided  for) 237,796.39 

Real  Estate  other  than  Bank  Premises  (including  the 
unsold  balance  of  former  premises  of  the  Eastern 

Townships  Bank) $     1,236,999.52 

Less  mortgage  assumed 100,000 .00 

1,136,999.52 

Mortgages  on  Real  Estate  sold  by  the  Bank 196,005 .81 

Bank  Premises  at  cost,  less  amounts  written  off. . . .   $     5,390,075.44 
Less  mortgage  assumed  on  property  purchased.  300,000.00 

5,090,075.44 

Other  Assets  not  included  in  the  foregoing 111,588.68 

$344,375,232.64 


B.  E.  WALKER, 

President 


JOHN  AIRD, 

General  Manager. 


CANADA  IN  WAR  TIME:  THE  WEST  INDIES 

ANNUAL  ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS* 
OF 

THE  ROYAL  BANK  OF  CANADA 


Address  by  The  Balance  Sheet  submitted  to-day  evinces  a  year 

General m'  °*  remarkable  growth.  The  total  assets  of  the  Bank  are 
Manager  of  over  $335,000,000,  nearly  double  their  amount  at  the  be- 
the  Bank.  ginning  of  the  war.  The  increase  during  the  past  year 
was  no  less  than  $82,000,000.  Of  this  in  crease,  the  Quebec 
Bank,  which  was  absorbed  on  January  2,  1917,  contributed  approxi- 
mately $22,000,000.  Total  deposits  amounted  to  $252,987,382.81, 
the  increase  for  the  year  being  $52,759,787.23.  As  I  pointed  out 
last  year,  a  very  satisfactory  feature  is  the  absence  of  large  or  un- 
usual deposits  of  a  temporary  nature.  A  remarkable  expansion  has 
taken  place  in  our  circulation,  as  in  that  of  other  banks.  Outstand- 
ing notes  now  exceed  our  paid  up  capital  by  $15,247,651.49.  To 
cover  this  excess,  $16,000,000  has  been  deposited  in  the  Central  Gold 
Reserve.  Current  loans  show  a  substantial  increase,  due  to  the 
active  trade  conditions  and  increased  prices  of  all  commodities. 

The  liquid  position  of  the  Bank  is  satisfactory,  our  liquid  assets 
being  53*9%  of  liabilities  to  the  public.  The  assistance  rendered  to 
the  Government  in  financing  the  war  is  indicated  by  an  increase  of 
$28,867,279.29  in  Government  securities.  Net  profits  for  the  year 
were  18'03%  on  capital,  as  compared  with  17*87%  last  year — or 
8'82%  on  combined  capital  and  reserve,  as  compared  with  8*66% 
last  year.  The  Reserve  Fund  has  been  increased  to  $14,000,000  by 
the  addition  of  $911,700  premium  on  new  stock  allotted  to  Quebec 
Bank  shareholders,  and  $528,300  from  Profit  and  Loss  Account.  It 
is  satisfactory  to  report  that  all  the  Bank's  securities  have  been 
written  down  to  the  present  market  value. 

In  this  time  of  great  expansion,  it  is  manifestly  our  first  duty  to 
keep  the  Bank  in  a  strong  and  liquid  position,  especially  as  regards 
cash,  in  order  to  be  fully  prepared  for  any  contingency  which  may 
arise.  The  uncertainty  as  to  conditions  which  will  obtain  after  the 
war  is  very  great,  and  we  must  be  fully  prepared  for  any  eventuality. 
I  desire  particularly  to  direct  your  attention  to  the  splendid  work 
of  the  staff  of  the  bank  during  the  past  year.  When  we  speak  of 
"the  staff"  nowadays,  we  mean  a  very  different  aggregation  from 
that  of  the  days  before  the  war,  and  when  we  ask  ourselves  what 
actually  constitutes  the  staff  to-day,  we  find  ample  scope  for  reflec- 
tion. Unconsciously,  we  think  first  of  those  who  are  away  fighting 

*  Preceding  Annual  Addresses  and  Reports  with  an  Historical  record  of  the  Bank 
may  be  consulted  in  volumes  1910-16.  The  Annual  Meeting  dealt  with  here  was  on 
Jan.  10th,  1918. 

[879] 


880  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

our  battles,  and  those  who  have  lost  their  lives  in  the  defence  of 
liberty  and  of  our  country,  and  to  whom  we  pay  our  highest  tribute. 
There  is  between  us  a  bond  of  such  strength  that  we  feel  it  can  never 
be  dissolved.  Over  1,000  of  our  men  have  enlisted  voluntarily  since 
the  beginning  of  the  war.  Of  these,  89  have  been  killed  or  have 
died  of  wounds,  and  30  have  been  discharged  as  unfit  for  further 
military  service.  Nineteen  of  the  latter  have  again  taken  up  their 
duties  in  the  Bank.  To  those  who,  through  unavoidable  causes,  have 
not  been  privileged  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  great  struggle,  and 
who  are  carrying  on  at  home,  in  the  face  of  many  difficulties,  we 
also  desire  to  pay  tribute.  The  large  number  cf  enlistments  has 
rendered  the  satisfactory  operation  of  the  Bank's  business  increas- 
ingly difficult,  as  the  places  of  enlisted  men  have  been  filled  by  more 
or  less  inexperienced  clerks.  We  are  doing  the  best  we  can  under 
the  circumstances,  and  it  is  our  intention  not  to  apply  for  a  greater 
number  of  exemptions  from  military  service  than  we  feel  to  be 
absolutely  necessary. 

Address  by  Last  year  I  drew  your  attention  to  the  large  increase 

si!HH?trbprt  •  in  the  assets  of  the  Bank  during the  year  1916>  namely, 
dentof  the8*  $55,000,000,  which  constituted  an  unprecedented 
Bank.  record.  This  year  I  am  pleased  to  say  the  increase  is 

$82,000,000.  It  should  be  explained,  however,  that 
$20,000,000  of  this  was  due  to  the  acquisition  of  the  Quebec  Bank, 
and  a  further  portion  is  of  a  temporary  character.  The  experience 
of  the  past  year  has  fully  demonstrated  the  correctness  of  the  value 
which  was  placed  on  the  assets  of  the  Quebec  Bank. 

The  year  brought  no  cessation  of  the  remarkable  prosperity 
enjoyed  by  Canada  since  the  beginning  of  the  war.  While  munition 
orders  fell  off  perceptibly,  manufacturing  activity  was  largely  directed 
to  ship-building.  The  demand  for  foodstuffs  and  war  commodities 
continued  to  the  extent  of  the  country's  ability  to  finance  payments 
for  same.  Labour  is  now  scarce  and  in  some  cases,  inefficient,  and 
wages  steadily  ascending.  Following  the  action  of  the  United  States 
Government,  the  Canadian  Government  fixed  the  price  of  the  1917 
wheat  crop  at  $2.21  per  bushel  for  No.  1  Northern  at  Fort  William. 
This  was  the  equivalent  of  the  price  fixed  in  the  United  States.  At 
this  price  Great  Britain  purchased  150,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  and 
also  20,000,000  bushels  of  oats,  approximating  $350,000,000,  and  to 
assist  in  paying  for  same  $100,000,000  was  borrowed  for  two  years 
from  the  Canadian  banks.  The  estimated  wheat  remaining  in  the 
country  of  50,000,000  to  60,000,000  bushels  will  be  required  for 
domestic  milling  and  seeding  purposes.  The  sale  of  this  large 
amount  of  cereals  at  phenomenal  prices  means  riches  to  the  farmers 
and  a  very  substantial  increase  in  bank  deposits. 

Last  year  I  submitted  a  statement  showing  the  prices  of  many 
commodities  at  the  close  of  1916.  Much  higher  prices  were  recorded 
during  the  past  year,  but  some  of  these  relapsed  with  the  United  States 
Government's  introduction  of  their  fixed  price  policy.  As  Canada 
imports  largely  from  the  United  States,  we  are  directly  affected  by 
this  policy,  which  should  be  more  favourably  received  by  trading 


THE  ROYAL  BANK  OF  CANADA — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  881 

interests,  because  of  its  tendency  to  stabilize  the  markets  arid  reduce 
the  cost  of  doing  business,  were  it  not  for  the  embargo  placed  on  the 
exportation  of  all  raw  materials  without  a  license  except  for  the 
production  of  munitions  and  war  supplies.  Wide-spread  injury  will 
result  in  this  country  if  the  prohibition  be  strictly  enforced,  especially 
in  regard  to  coal.  While  we  cannot  complain,  as  we  have  similarly 
prohibited  exports,  it  is  hoped  our  Government  will  be  able  to 
arrange  to  secure  outside  such  commodities  for  our  general  require- 
ments as  are  inadequately  produced  in  this  country.  The  Canadian 
Government  have,  so  far,  fixed  the  price  of  wheat  and  newsprint 
only.  In  fixing  maximum  prices,  consideration  must  be  given  to 
the  necessity  of  stimulating  production. 

With  a  view  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  war,  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  are  making  another  important  de- 
parture in  taking  steps  to  bring  about  a  gradual  curtailment  in  the 
production  of  articles  regarded  as  non-essential,  and  diverting  the 
activities  of  factories,  wherever  possible,  to  the  manufacture  of  war 
commodities.  This  may  appear  to  be  a  drastic  proceeding,  but 
heavy  sacrifices  are  necessary  in  order  to  win  the  war.  The  manu- 
facture and  importation  of  non-essential  products  into  this  country 
should  be  prohibited  by  the  Government.  So  long  as  the  war  lasts, 
essential  products  will  be  in  continued  demand  by  the  Allied  Gov- 
ernments. We  know  that  the  end  of  the  war  does  not  seem  to  be 
near,  and  manufacturers  should  take  advantage  of  this  opportunity 
to  speed  up  their  plants  to  full  capacity.  The  recent  Order-in- 
Council  prohibiting  the  sale  of  new  issues  without  a  permit  from  the 
Minister  of  Finance,  is  a  wise  measure.  The  Government  should 
go  further  and  prohibit  the  investment  of  Canadian  money  in  foreign 
countries,  as  it  is  highly  important  that  the  resources  of  the  country 
should  be  conserved  to  produce  the  maximum  of  war-time  efficiency. 
The  income  tax  imposed  last  year,  which  becomes  effective  on  the 
first  of  June  this  year,  is  a  fair  and  proper  tax  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  it  should  not  be  objected  to  in  its  application.  It  will 
reach  everyone  who  can  afford  to  contribute.  The  business  profits 
tax,  however,  is  unduly  onerous  and  repressive.  It  has  had  the 
effect  of  antagonizing  capital  and  restricting  production.  While  we 
believe  the  Government's  assumption  of  the  powers  mentioned  is 
essential  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  are  in  duty  bound  to 
give  our  full  support,  the  extent  to  which  the  domestic  life  and  liber- 
ties of  the  people  are  thus  affected  is  a  serious  matter.  Dictatorial 
powers  once  assumed  are  usually  reluctantly  relinquished,  and  if  we 
could  not  trust  the  Government  to  annul  them  when  the  present 
purpose  has  been  served,  great  evil  would  result. 

We  were  greatly  shocked  at  the  recent  frightful  disaster  in  Hali- 
fax, and  sympathize  deeply  with  those  who  are  afflicted  by  the  loss 
of  life,  and  with  the  maimed  and  suffering.  This  Bank  will  never 
waver  in  its  attachment  to  the  city  of  Halifax,  where  it  was  founded 
in  1869,  and  in  which  city  the  Head  Office  was  located  for  thirty-one 
years.  About  one-third  of  our  shareholders  reside  in  Nova  Scotia, 
and  the  foundation  of  the  Bank's  success  was  laid  by  my  eminent 
predecessor,  the  late  T.  E.  Kenny,  and  his  associates  hi  the  direction 

56 


882  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  its  affairs.  The  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  war  was  the 
most  momentous  event  of  the  past  year.  Her  adhesion  to  the  cause 
of  the  Allies  spells  ultimate  victory,  although  some  time  will  elapse 
before  she  can  be  prepared  to  strike  with  full  force.  The  war  drags 
on,  and  the  general  feeling  is  that  it  will  be  considerably  prolonged, 
but  our  stern  task  must  be  pursued  to  a  successful  end  at  whatever 
cost.  We  may  depend  upon  it  that  still  greater  sacrifices  will  be 
necessary  and  that  very  heavy  taxation  must  be  entailed. 

Address  by  The  excellent  Statement  which  we  have  the  pleasure 

Vic^-Pr^ldent0^  su^m^^nS  to-day  reflects  the  prosperity  of  the 
andMan'g  country,  which  has  been  in  evidence  since  the  war 
Director  of  began.  The  subjoined  Statement  shows  that  this  has 
the  Bank.  become  even  more  marked  during  the  past  year.*  While 
it  is  our  opportunity  and  privilege  to  profit  by  this 
prosperity,  it  cannot  but  detract  from  our  satisfaction  to  realize  that 
it  is  due  to  the  abnormal  circumstance  of  the  war,  and  that  we  are 
prospering  at  the  expense  of  the  Mother  Country,  which  is  the  chief 
purchaser  of  our  products.  To  the  extent  that  our  Government  is 
assessing  excess  profits  and  assisting  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war, 
we  are  affording  relief  to  Great  Britain,  but  we  should  aim  to  pre- 
vent the  making  of  large  profits  out  of  the  war  and  to  protect,  her 
from  profiteering.  It  is  unfortunate  that  our  prosperity  lacks  uni- 
formity, as  evidenced  by  a  severe  decline  in  the  prices  of  securities, 
which  has  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  minimum  values  on  the 
Stock  Exchanges,  while  the  prices  of  commodities  are  the  highest 
ever  experienced.  This  anomalous  situation  is  due  to  the  absorp- 
tion of  liquid  capital  by  the  Government  in  order  to  carry  on  the 
war.  As  the  standard  industrials  are  very  prosperous,  however,  the 
recovery  of  values  is  only  a  question  of  time. 

The  growing  appreciation  of  the  people  for  Government  war 
bonds  as  an  investment  is  the  most  gratifying  feature  of  the  year. 
The  recent  campaign  advocating  economy  and  investment  in  Gov- 
ernment bonds,  will  be  productive  of  the  greatest  possible  benefit  to 
the  country  as  a  whole,  and  the  habit  of  saving  and  investment,  once 
formed,  will  persist  and  reward  the  individual.  During  the  past 
year  the  Dominion  Government  floated  two  domestic  loans — one'in 
March  for  $150,000,000,  which  was  $100,000,000  over-subscribed, 
and  another  in  December  last  for  $150,000,000,  which  was  $260,- 
000,000  over-subscribed.  In  the  first  instance  the  Government 
allotted  only  the  amount  offered — $150,000,000,  but  in  the  last  case, 

1916  1917  Increase 

*STATEMENT. — Value  qf  Field  Crops 

(December  31) $  886,495,000  $  1,089,687,000  $  203,192,000 

Bank  Clearings  (December  31) 10,557,188,000      12,552,822,000        1,995,634,000 

Note  Circulation  (November  30) ...  148,198,000  196,136,000  47,938,000 

Chartered  Banks — Deposits  (Novem- 
ber 30) 1,521,349,000  1,813,643,000  292,294,000 

Chartered  Banks — Current  Loans 

(November  30) 927,399,000  1,010,028,000  82.629.00C 

Exports  —  Merchandise  (November 

30)  12  months 1,073,506,000  1,575,233,000  501.727.00C 

Imports  —  Merchandise  (November 

30)  12  months 744,292,000  1,011,400,000  267.108.00C 

Customs  Receipts 136,159,000  168,266,000  32.107.00C 


THE  ROYAL  BANK  OF  CANADA — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  883 

they  have  accepted  applications  for  $390,000,000.  This  sum  is 
expected  to  provide  for  the  Government's  necessities  until  next 
autumn.  In  addition,  the  Government  floated  in  the  United  States 
in  August  last,  a  loan  of  $100,000,000  payable  in  two  years. 

The  Canadian  Banks  made  temporary  advances  to  the  Govern- 
ment during  the  year  in  anticipation  of  the  emission  of  these  loans, 
and  also  a  loan  of  $75,000,000  in  November  last,  having  two  years 
to  run.  They  also  granted  to  Great  Britain  in  November  a  credit 
of  $100,000,000  payable  in  two  years,  to  assist  her  in  the  purchase 
of  our  cereals.  When  this  latter  credit  is  fully  availed  of,  the  obliga- 
tions of  Great  Britain  will  amount  to  $200,000,000,  of  which  $100,- 
000,000  matures  during  the  current  year.  These  advances  were 
made  by  the  banks  on  a  basis  pro  rota  to  paid-up  capital.  While 
the  Canadian  banks  have  played  a  prominent  part  in  financing  the 
war,  it  is  gratifying  to  find  that  the  extent  to  which  Canada  and 
Great  Britain  are  publicly  indebted  to  them  at  the  moment  represents 
only  20%  of  their  deposits,  and  will  shortly  be  reduced  to  15%;  also 
that  despite  the  outstanding  direct  loans  to  these  Governments 
aggregating  $325,000,000  and  the  domestic  loans  floated  by  the 
Dominion  Government  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  which  aggre- 
gate $350,000,000  (not  including  the  last  loan  of  $390,000,000)  prac- 
tically all  of  which  came  out  of  the  banks,  the  Canadian  deposits 
of  these  banks  on  the  30th  of  November  last  were  $654,000,000 
greater  than  in  July,  1914. 

The  total  deposits  of  the  banks  on  the  30th  of  November  last 
were  $1,813,000,000,  the  increase  for  the  year  being  $292,000,000, 
of  which  $172,000,000  represented  savings  deposits.  The  total  cur- 
rent loans  amounted  to  $1,010,000,000,  being  an  increase  of  $82,- 
000,000.  Circulation  increased  $48,000,000.  The  liquidity  of  the 
banks  has  been  kept  unimpaired  in  spite  of  the  huge  Government 
loans  effected.  This  is  due  to  the  expenditure  of  the  proceeds 
within  the  country.  Speaking  for  the  Royal  Bank,  there  never  was 
a  time  when  we  were  freer  from  doubtful  debts  than  at  present. 
Recoveries  have  been  made  to  a  remarkable  extent  in  connection 
with  advances  of  which  ultimate  repayment  was  regarded  as  doubt- 
ful three  years  ago.  This  is  probably  the  experience  not  only  of  all 
the  banks,  but  of  merchants  and  manufacturers  generally.  Liquida- 
tion has  been  very  thorough,  except  in  connection  with  advances 
depending  upon  the  security  of  real  estate;  but  with  the  improved 
financial  condition  of  the  farmers,  and  the  engagement  of  Provincial 
Governments  in  Western  Canada  in  the  loaning  business,  interest 
and  principal  payments  under  farm  mortgages  all  over  the  West 
have  been  well  taken  care  of,  and  in  a  great  many  cases  maturing 
loans  have  been  paid  in  full.  Generally  speaking,  the  country 
districts  are  prosperous,  and  farm  lands  are  in  good  demand.  The 
situation  in  the  cities  has  improved,  as  evidenced  by  the  greater 
demand  for  and  increased  rentals  of  residences.  City  vacant  lots 
show  no  improvement.  The  British  Government  recently  appointed 
a  Committee,  with  the  following  terms  of  reference : 

"To  consider,  and  report  whether  the  normal  arrangements 

for  the  provision  of  the  financial  facilities  of  trade,  by  means  of 


884  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

existing  banking  and  other  financial  institutions  will  be  adequate 
to  meet  the  needs  of  British  industry,  during  the  period  imme-  , 
diately  following  the  termination  of  the  war,  and,  if  not,  by  what 
emergency  arrangement  they  should  be  supplemented,  regard 
being  had  in  particular  to  the  special  assistance  which  may  be 
necessary : — 
(a)  To  facilitate  the  conversion  of  works   and  factories  now 

engaged  upon  war  work  to  normal  production. 
(6)  To  meet  the  exceptional  demands  for  raw  materials  arising 

from  the  depletion  of  stocks. 

As  conditions  in  Canada  are  somewhat  parallel,  and  serious  diffi- 
culties will  confront  us  at  the  close  of  the  war,  it  is  our  duty  to 
endeavour  to  devise  safeguards  against  them.  The  conversion  of 
factories  will  involve  increased  capital  outlay,  and  a  period  of  un- 
productiveness must  intervene.  Present  values  of  raw  materials  will 
probably  not  decrease,  in  view  of  the  world  demand,  and  the  neces- 
sity for  re-stocking  will  add  to  the  financial  strain.  Many  men  will 
be  thrown  out  of  employment,  and  discharged  soldiers  will  be  return- 
ing. In  addition,  there  will  probably  be  a  large  immigration  to 
this  country.  We  cannot  foresee  all  the  difficulties  of  finance  that 
are  likely  to  beset  us.  In  my  opinion,  the  question  of  providing 
supplementary  banking  facilities  in  this  country  is  very  important 
and  should  receive  the  consideration  of  the  Government  and  the 
banks.  If  we  had  a  bank  of  rediscount  patterned  somewhat  after 
the  Federal  Reserve  Bank  in  the  United  States,  it  would  render 
legitimately  available  millions  of  assets  in  the  form  of  high-grade 
commercial  paper,  now  lying  dormant  in  the  portfolios  of  the  banks, 
and  thereby  greatly  increase  our  financial  resources.  I  think  the 
Government  should  appoint  a  committee  of  experts  to  investigate 
the  suggestion.  I  cannot  close  without  a  tribute  of  praise  to  Sir 
Thomas  White,  the  Minister  of  Finance.  The  prosperity  we  are 
enjoying  is  due  in  great  measure  to  his  discovery  and  exploitation 
of  the  latent  resources  of  the  country,  as  exemplified  by  his  repeated 
and  increasingly  successful  offers  of  Government  securities,  culmin- 
ating in  the  last  huge  domestic  loan,  and  the  profitable  employment 
of  these  resources  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 

BRITISH  WEST  INDIES. 

Jamaica. — For  the  third  year  in  succession  Jamaica  has  been 
visited  by  a  disastrous  hurricane,  resulting  in  a  complete  loss  of  the 
unharvested  banana  crop  and  serious  damage  to  other  cultivation 
over  the  larger  portion  of  the  Island.  As  the  hurricane  of  1917 
occurred  five  weeks  later  than  the  year  before,  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  the  crop  had  already  been  shipped.  An  appreciable  de- 
velopment has  taken  place  in  the  sugar  industry.  An  up-to-date 
factory  of  10,000  tons  capacity  is  in  course  of  erection,  and  several 
of  the  existing  plants  have  been  improved  and  enlarged.  The  move- 
ment to  increase  the  cultivation  of  cane  is  to  be  commended  as 
furnishing  a  crop  less  susceptible  than  bananas  to  unfavourable 
climatic  conditions,  from  which  the  Island  has  repeatedly  suffered. 
Exports  for  the  year  ended  December,  1916,  amounted  to  £2,821,234, 


THE  ROYAL  BANK  OF  CANADA — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  885 

an  increase  of  approximately  £600,000  over  the  preceding  year. 
Considering  the  almost  total  loss  of  the  banana  crop  of  1916,  these 
are  satisfactory  figures.  Imports  amounted  to  £3,107,104,  as  com- 
pared with  £2,327,458  during  the  preceding  year.  A  percentage  of 
7'5  was  received  from  Canada,  32'4  from  the  United  Kingdom,  and 
57'4  from  the  United  States.  Of  the  exports,  13'7%  went  to  Can- 
ada, 43;4%  to  the  United  Kingdom,  32'7%  to  the  United  States. 
The  principal  item  in  exports  to  Canada  is  sugar,  which  finds  its 
natural  market  here  on  account  of  the  benefits  extended  by  the 
Canadian  tariff  under  the  British  Preference  Act,  and  the  Canadian- 
West  Indian  Reciprocity  Agreement.  It  is  hoped  that  at  no  distant 
date  Jamaica  may  become  a  party  to  the  latter  agreement,  of  which 
she  has  so  far  enjoyed  the  benefit  without  reciprocating.  Should 
she  do  so,  we  believe  that  direct  steamship  communication  with 
Canada  would  be  resumed,  resulting  in  a  large  increase  in  trade 
between  the  two  countries. 

Trinidad. — Conditions  in  Trinidad  continue  satisfactory.  The 
export  of  cocoa,  the  most  important  product,  exceeded  that  of  any 
previous  year,  amounting  to  not  less  than  68,000,000  Ibs.  for  the  ten 
months  ended  October,  1917,  as  against  a  previous  high  record  of 
63,500,000  Ibs.  for  the  full  year.  Prices,  while  somewhat  lower  than 
for  1916,  were  very  good.  Conditions  indicate  that  the  present 
year's  crop  will  be  about  two  months  late.  European  quotations 
are  high,  but  local  prices  will  be  somewhat  lower  than  last  year,  due 
to  difficulties  of  transportation  and  high  rates  of  freight  and  insur- 
ance. Sugar  planters  continue  to  enjoy  unusual  prosperity.  The 
present  crop  will  likely  be  20%  short  of  last  year's,  owing  principally 
to  the  froghopper  pest.  A  favourable  development  is  the  increase 
in  the  number  and  production  of  independent  cane  farmers.  Asphalt 
has  been  shipped  to  about  the  same  extent  as  last  year.  Shipments 
of  oil  for  the  ten  months  ended  October  31  amounted  to  27,513,000 
gallons,  about  the  same  as  for  the  corresponding  period  of  1916. 

Barbados. — Barbados  continues  to  enjoy  very  prosperous  con- 
ditions, due  to  good  returns  from  the  sugar  industry.  The  crop  of 
1917  was  considerably  less  than  that  of  the  previous  year,  amount- 
ing to  only  72,000  tons,  but  prices  were  somewhat  better,  and  plant- 
ers realized  large  profits.  Manufacturing  facilities  have  improved 
considerably.  The  Island  has  long  since  reached  its  maximum  of 
agricultural  production.  A  new  branch  was  opened  at  Speightstown 
during  the  year. 

St.  Kitts  and  Antigua. — St.  Kitts  and  Antigua,  being  principally 
sugar-producing  Islands,  have  benefited  accordingly.  Cotton  is 
rapidly  becoming  an  important  crop  in  the  northern  group  of  Islands. 
The  present  season's  production  of  all  the  Islands  has  been  purchased 
outright  by  the  British  Admiralty  at  a  very  satisfactory  price. 

Dominica. — Dominica  has  not  benefited  to  the  same  extent  as 
other  West  Indies,  as  prices  for  limes,  the  principal  article  of  export, 
are  not  so  good  as  formerly.  Better  methods  of  marketing  would, 
no  doubt,  improve  the  position  of  this  industry. 

Bahamas. — The  sponge  industry  of  the  Bahamas  continues  satis- 
factory, and  prices  for  sisal  are  still  high.  The  tourist  trade  during 


886  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

the  past  season  proved  very  disappointing,  largely  on  account  of 
apprehension  created  by  the  lighting  restrictions  which  it  was  con- 
sidered advisable  to  impose.  On  May  15  we  completed  the  pur- 
chase of  the  assets  of  the  Bank  of  Nassau,  which  had  been  in  liquida- 
tion for  some  months. 

NeviSy  Montserrat  and  Tobago. — New  branches  were  opened  dur- 
ing the  year  at  Nevis,  Montserrat  and  Tobago.  No  banking  facil- 
ities had  previously  existed  at  any  of  these  points,  and  their  develop- 
ment was  naturally  retarded  on  that  account.  We  believe  that 
business  conditions  will  be  materially  improved  by  the  assistance  we 
shall  be  able  to  render. 

BRITISH  GUIANA. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  present  crop  of  sugar  will  amount  to 
115,000  tons,  approximately  the  same  as  in  1916.  The  yield  per 
acre  will  likely  be  somewhat  lower  on  account  of  unfavourable 
weather  conditions.  In  individual  cases  a  marked  improvement  is 
shown  in  manufacturing  facilities,  but  in  many  instances  the  factories 
and  methods  are  not  up  to  date  and  cannot  hope  to  compete  success- 
fully under  normal  conditions  with  the  excellent  modern  plants  in 
general  use  elsewhere.  We  are  pleased  to  note  that  in  some  districts 
efforts  are  being  made  to  encourage  the  production  of  cane  by  inde- 
pendent farmers.  This  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  and  should 
go  a  long  way  towards  improving  unsatisfactory  labour  conditions. 
The  production  of  rice  for  the  year  ended  September  30,  1917,  was 
approximately  500,000  bags  of  177  pounds  net.  The  acreage  under 
cultivation  this  year  has  increased  somewhat,  but  the  yield  per  acre 
is  expected  to  be  lower.  The  total  crop  is  estimated  at  over  500,000 
bags.  The  production  of  balata  was  larger  than  usual,  and  prices 
were  good.  Raw  gold  was  exported  to  the  value  of  $505,103,  as 
compared  with  $599,080  in  the  previous  year.  Exports  of  diamonds 
were  valued  at  $155,837,  against  $83,380  in  1916.  A  recent  develop- 
ment of  great  potential  importance  is  the  discovery  of  bauxite  (from 
which  aluminum  is  manufactured)  on  a  large  scale.  A  number  of 
concessions  have  been  granted  for  the  recovery  of  this  product,  but 
on  account  of  the  importance  and  value  of  the  deposits,  which  was 
not  previously  recognized,  no  further  concessions  are  being  granted 
for  the  present.  We  are  informed  that  these  are  the  only  import- 
ant deposits  of  bauxite  so  far  discovered  anywhere  in  the  British 
Empire.  It  is  hoped  that  the  development  of  the  industry  will  be 
taken  in  hand  energetically  later  on  for  the  benefit  of  the  Empire. 
In  addition  to  ordinary  and  war  expenses,  the  Government  are  ex- 
pending large  sums  of  money  on  permanent  sea  defence.  Import- 
ant development  schemes  are  under  consideration,  including  the 
dredging  of  the  bar  at  Georgetown  Harbour,  and  a  railway  to  the 
interior,  eventually  reaching  the  Amazon  at  Manaos .  It  is  hoped  that 
some  progress  may  be  made  with  these  schemes  after  the  war.  We 
believe  that,  if  carried  out,  they  will  result  in  the  development  of 
the  Port  of  Georgetown  to  a  great  commercial  centre.  The  matter 
is  of  deep  interest  to  Canada,  as,  under  such  conditions,  Georgetown 
would  furnish  the  most  favourable  possible  gateway  for  trade  with 


THE  ROYAL  BANK  OF  CANADA — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  887 

South  America.  The  expenses  of  administering  the  government  of 
the  colony  are  very  high  in  proportion  to  population,  and  it  would 
apparently  not  be  prudent  for  them  to  attempt  to  furnish  from  their 
own  resources  or  credit  the  funds  required  to  carry  out  these  projects. 
We  believe  the  matter  is  sufficiently  important  to  receive  attention 
from  a  broad  Imperial  standpoint. 

BRITISH  HONDURAS. 

Business  conditions  in  British  Honduras  have  improved  materially 
owing  to  the  present  demand  and  high  prices  for  mahogany,  which 
is  being  exported  in  large  quantities  for  the  use  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment. Agricultural  development  in  this  colony  has  been  very 
much  neglected.  There  appear  to  be  first-class  opportunities  in 
this  respect,  large  tracts  of  suitable  land  being  available  at  low 
prices. 

CUBA. 

The  sugar  crop  for  1916-17  was  slightly  over  3,000,000  tons,  a 
few  thousand  tons  more  than  the  quantity  produced  during  1915-16. 
The  Production  fell  considerably  short  of  early  estimates  on  account 
of  the  low  percentage  of  sugar  recovered  from  the  cane,  and  damage 
caused  in  certain  sections  by  the  revolution  which  broke  out  in 
February  and  was  not  entirely  suppressed  until  May.     Oriente  and 
Camaguey  Provinces  were  principally  affected,  a  number  of  mills  in 
these  districts  having  made  only  a  small  proportion  of  their  estim- 
ated output.     While  weather  conditions  have  not  been  entirely 
favourable,  plantings  have  been  largely  increased,  and  several  new 
mills  will  grind  their  first  full  crop  this  season.     Predictions  are 
heard  of  a  labour  shortage  and  difficulties  in  railroad  transportation, 
but  on  the  whole  prospects  are  distinctly  favourable  to  a  record  crop. 
Estimates  vary  -from  3,000,000  to  3,600,000  tons.     Probably  not 
less  than  3,250,000  tons  will  be  harvested.     A  price  of  $4.60  per 
cwt.,  f.o.b.  Cuban  ports,  has  been  agreed  upon  by  the  International 
Sugar  Commission  and  the  Cuban  Planters'  Association  for  about 
75%  of  the  present  crop.     The  estimated  average  price  of  the  pre- 
ceding crop  is  $4.40.     It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  price  now 
fixed  will  afford  a  satisfactory  profit  to  first-class  properties.     It 
should  be  stated,  however,  that  the  margin  is  by  no  means  as  large 
as  might  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  estates  realized  satisfactory 
profits  from  prices  existing  prior  to  the  war,  as  cost  of  production 
has  been  largely  increased.     The  higher  price  now  being  received  is 
not  proportionately  greater  than  that  obtainable  for  nearly  all  other 
staple  articles  of  food — rather  the  reverse.     On  account  of  the  scar- 
city of  tonnage,  the  movement  of  the  crop  will  doubtless  be  spread 
over  a  longer  period  than  usual. 

The  depression  brought  by  the  war  to  the  tobacco  trade  has 
caused  many  small  farmers  to  replace  their  cultivation  by  sugar 
cane.  Prices  for  tobacco  have  steadily  improved  during  the  past 
year,  and  the  prospects  for  the  present  crop  are  considered  good. 

The  cattle  industry  continues  to  prosper.  Prices  have  advanced 
in  sympathy  with  world-wide  conditions,  and  favourable  climatic 


888  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

conditions  and  the  large  amount  of  undeveloped  land  offer  a  good 
field  for  further  expansion. 

Exports  for  1916-17  aggregated  $337,000,000,  as  against  $302,- 
000,000  for  the  previous  year.  Imports  amounted  to  $261,000,000, 
as  against  $172,000,000  in  1915-16.  The  balance  of  trade  in  favour 
of  Cuba  was,  therefore,  $76,000,000,  as  compared  with  $130,000,000 
in  the  previous  year.  In  view  of  present  war  conditions,  it  is  fitting 
to  recall  that  on  April  7,  1917,  Cuba  declared  a  state  of  war  existing 
with  Germany,  and  on  December  12  extended  the  declaration  to 
Austria-Hungary. 

PORTO  Rico. 

Total  exports  for  1917  were  $80,970,000,  compared  with  $66,- 
731,000  in  the  preceding  year.  The  principal  items  were: — 

Sugar $54,000,000 

Tobacco 11,700,000 

Coffee 5,900,000 

Fruit 2,500,000 

Imports  were  $53,545,000,  against  $38,951,000  in  1916,  the 
balance  of  trade  in  favour  of  the  island  being  $27,425,000,  as  com- 
pared with  $27,780,000  in  the  preceding  year.  The  production  of 
sugar  amounted  to  503,000  short  tons,  against  483,000  in  the  pre- 
ceding year.  The  average  price  of  sugar  exported  was  $110.47, 
c.i.f .  New  York,  per  short  ton,  as  against  $107.79  the  preceding  year. 
The  present  crop  is  estimated  to  produce  500,000  short  tons  or  about 
the  same  as  last  year,  the  Island  having  practically  reached  the 
limit  of  its  production. 

The  coffee  industry  continues  depressed  owing,  principally,  to 
the  loss  of  European  markets.  Practically  the  total  output  is  now 
taken  by  Cuba.  Exports  last  year  amounted  to  39,615,000  Ibs., 
against  32,144,000  Ibs.  in  1916,  and  51,125,000  Ibs.  for  the  last 
normal  crop  in  1915. 

The  acreage  under  tobacco  has  been  largely  increased.  The  crop 
to  be  harvested  between  March  and  June  next  is  expected  to  prove 
the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  Island,  and  good  prices  are  looked  for. 

Conditions  in  the  fruit  industry  are  not  altogether  satisfactory, 
prices  being  only  fair  and  shipping  facilities  inadequate. 

The  political  status  of  the  country  underwent  a  great  change  in 
March  last,  when  American  citizenship  and  self-government  in 
respect  to  local  affairs  were  extended  to  Porto  Ricans  through  the 
passage  of  the  Jones  Bill  by  the  United  States  Congress.  At  the 
first  general  election,  held  on  July  1st,  the  people  voted  in  favour  of 
prohibition,  which  will  go  into  effect  in  March  next. 

DOMINICAN  REPUBLIC. 

Political  disturbances  in  this  republic  have  entirely  ceased  since 
the  occupation  of  the  country  over  a  year  ago  by  an  American 
Military  Government  composed  of  United  States  Naval  Officers. 
The  foreign  trade  of  the  country  has  largely  increased,  imports  for 
the  six  months  from  January  to  June,  1917,  amounting  to  $8,000,000, 
as  compared  with  $11,600,000  for  the  preceding  twelve  months. 


THE  ROYAL  BANK  OF  CANADA — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  889 

Exports  for  the  six  months  ending  June,  1917,  amounted  to  $16,- 
400,000  against  $21,500,000  for  the  full  year  ending  December  31, 
1916,  and  $15,000,000  for  1915.  The  principal  items  of  export  are 
sugar  and  cocoa,  which  amounted  to  $11,300,000  and  $3,300,000, 
respectively,  for  the  six  months  ending  June,  1917. 

The  tobacco  industry  is  becoming  increasingly  important. 

A  branch  was  opened  during  the  year  at  Puerto  Plata. 

COSTA  RICA. 

The  total  exports  of  Costa  Rica  for  the  year  ending  November 
30  are  estimated  at  approximately  $8,000,000  as  compared  with 
$11,000,000  for  the  calendar  year  1916.  The  principal  items  of 
export  were  bananas,  estimated  at  $2,700,000,  and  coffee,  at  $2,800,- 
000.  The  falling  off  in  exports  is  almost  entirely  in  these  products, 
and  is  mainly  due  to  the  curtailment  of  shipping  facilities.  Imports 
are  estimated  at  $5,600,000,  a  decrease  of  about  $1,000,000  from 
the  previous  year.  The  substantial  balance  of  trade  in  favour  of 
the  country  will  be  noted. 

VENEZUELA. 

During  the  past  year  branches  were  opened  at  Maracaibo,  Ciudad 
Bolivar  and  Puerto  Cabello.  Our  branch  at  Caracas  was  established 
shortly  before  the  end  of  our  previous  fiscal  year.  Business  in  gen- 
eral has  been  good  throughout  the  republic.  The  latest  figures 
obtainable  are  for  1916.  Exports  were  $22,600,000,  as  compared 
with  $23,300,000  in  1915.  Imports  were  $20,600,000,  as  compared 
with  $13,400,000  in  1915.  The  volume  in  each  case  was  practically 
the  same  as  in  the  preceding  year,  the  increase  in  imports  being 
represented  principally  by  increased  cost.  Transportation  diffi- 
culties willjlikely  cause  a  falling  off  in  both  imports  and  exports 
during  the  present  year.  The  chief  exports  during  1916  were  as 
follows : 

Coffee 1,117,897  cwt.  valued  at  $10,514,690 

Cocoa 334,018     "  4,239,132 

Hides,  Skins  and  Sole  Leather 98,092     "  2,464,083 

Raw  Gold 1,470,000 

The  coming  coffee  crop  promises  to  be  somewhat  less  than  that 
of  1917.  About  one-third  of  last  year's  crop  is  still  unshipped,  and 
as  all  the  principal  coffee-producing  countries  have  large  stocks  on 
hand,  the  prospects  of  the  industry  are  not  particularly  bright.  The 
cocoa  industry  has  also  been  adversely  affected  by  lack  of  shipping 
facilities.  The  cattle  industry  is  prosperous,  large  shipments  of 
frozen  meat  having  been  made  during  the  past  year  to  England, 
France  and  Italy.  A  further  increase  in  the  volume  of  this  business 
is  anticipated.  On  account  of  the  large  areas  of  available  land  suit- 
able for  grazing,  the  outlook  for  this  business  is  quite  favourable. 

During  the  last  few  years  the  production  of  corn  has  been  greatly 
increased,  with  the  result  that  the  country  had  a  surplus  for  export 
last  year.  Shipments  were  made  principally  to  the  United  States. 

While  some  inconvenience  will,  no  doubt,  be  suffered  by  districts 
depending  largely  upon  the  profitable  marketing  of  the  coffee  and 
cocoa  crops,  business  conditions  on  the  whole  are  sound,  and  mer- 


890  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

chants  generally  are  in  a  position  to  stand  a  period  of  slack  trade. 
The  financial  position  of  the  Government  is  exceptionally  strong. 

The  following  were  elected  as  directors  of  the  Bank: — 

SIB  HERBERT  S.  HOLT,  K.B.  HUGH  PATON.  SIR  MORTIMER  B.  DAVIS,  K.B. 

E.  L.  PEASE.  WM.  ROBERTSON.  G.  H.  DUGGAN. 

E.  F.  B.  JOHNSTON,  K.C.  A.  J.  BROWN,  K.C.  C.  C.  BLACKADAR. 

JAS.  REDMOND.  W.  J.  SHEPPARD.  JOHN  T.  Ross. 

G.  R.  CROWE.  C.  S.  WILCOX.  R.  MAcD.  PATERSON. 

D.  K.  ELLIOTT,  A.  E.  DYMENT.  G.  G.  STUART,  K.C. 

HON.  W.  H.  THORNE.  C.  E.  NEILL. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Board  Sir  Herbert  Holt  was 
re-elected  President,  Mr.  E.  L.  Pease,  Vice-President  and  Managing 
Director,  and  Mr.  E.  F.  B.  Johnston,  E.G.,  2nd  Vice-President. 

GENERAL  STATEMENT 
THE  ROYAL  BANK  OF  CANADA 

30TH    NOVEMBEK,    1917 

LIABILITIES 

To  THE  PUBLIC: 

Deposits  not  bearing  interest $  70,498,667.26 

Deposits  bearing  interest,  including  interest  accrued  to  date  of  Statement  182,488,715.55 


Total  Deposits $252,978,382.81 

Notes  of  the  Bank  in  Circulation 28,159,351.49 

Balance  due  to  Dominion  Government 14,582,659 .38 

Balances  due  to  other  Banks  in  Canada 364,787 .53 

Balances  due  to  Banks   and  Banking   Correspondents  in  the  United 

Kingdom  and  Foreign  Countries 5,801,808.96 

Bills  Payable 297,494.63 

Acceptances  under  Letters  of  Credit 5,510,310 .96 


Total $307,703,795.76 

To  THE  SHAREHOLDERS: 

Capital  Stock  Paid  in $  12,911,700.00 

Reserve  Fund 14,000,000.00 

Balance  of  Profits  carried  forward ; 564,264.53 

Dividend  No.  121  (at  12%  per  annum)  payable  Dec.  1st,  1917..  387,351.00 

Dividends  Unclaimed 7,075.23 


Total $335,574,186.52 

ASSETS 

Current  Com $  16,079,830.91 

Dominion  Notes 18,284,444.75 

Deposit  in  the  Central  Gold  Reserves 16,000,000.00 

Deposit  with  the  Minister  for  the  purposes  of  the  Circulation  Fund. .  645,585.00 

Notes  of  other  Banks 5,308,203.91 

Cheques  on  other  Banks 15,283,364.45 

Balances  due  by  other  Banks  in  Canada .' . . .  229,868 . 41 

Balances  due  by  Banks  and  Banking  Correspondents  elsewhere  than  in 

Canada 10,704,338.84 

Dominion  and  Provincial  Government  Securities,  not  exceeding  market 

value 22,322,197.31 

Canadian  Municipal  Securities  and  British,  Foreign  and  Colonial  Public 

Securities  other  than  Canadian,  not  exceeding  market  value 21,586,545.77 

Railway  and  other  Bonds,  Debentures  and  Stocks,  not  exceeding  mar- 
ket value 12,777,503 .85 

Call  Loans  in  Canada,  on  Bonds,  Debentures  and  Stocks 12,040,687.27 

Call  and  Short  (not  exceeding  thirty  days)  Loans  elsewhere  than  in 

Canada 14,574,136.32 

$165,836,706.79 

Other  Current  Loans  and  Discounts  in  Canada  (less  rebate  of  interest) .    102.358,027 . 10 
Other  Current  Loans  and  Discounts  elsewhere  than  in  Canada   (less 

rebate  of  interest) 53,764,037.92 

Overdue  Debts  (estimated  loss  provided  for) 490,064.82 

Real  Estate  other  than  Bank  Premises 1,114,552.61 

Bank  Premises  at  not  more  than  cost,  less  amounts  written  off 6,371,329.36 

Liabilities  of  Customers  under  Letters  of  Credit,  as  per  contra 5,510,310.96 

Other  Assets  not  included  in  the  foregoing 129,156.96 

Total..  .    $335,574,186.52 


DANIEL  CHARLES  MACAROW, 
General  Manager,  The  Merchants  Bank  of  Canada,  Montreal, 


(AN 


FINANCIAL  CONDITIONS  IN  CANADA,  1917 

ANNUAL  REPORTS  AND  ADDRESSES* 
OF 

THE  MERCHANTS  BANK  OF  CANADA 


The  fifty-fifth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Shareholders  of  the 
Merchants  Bank  of  Canada  was  held  on  June  5,  1918,  in  the  Bank 
at  Montreal.  The  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  twelve  o'clock  noon. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  John  Patterson,  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  K.  W. 
Blackwell,  in  the  absence  of  the  President  (Sir  H.  Montagu  Allan), 
was  asked  to  take  the  chair.  Mr.  J.  M.  Kilbourn  was  appointed 
Secretary  of  the  meeting.  Mr.  K.  W.  Blackwell  presented  the  Annual 
Report  as  on  the  30th  April,  1918,  the  last  day  of  the  Bank's  fiscal  year, 
accompanied  by  a  statement  of  the  Profits  covering  the  same  period. 

Address  by  You  will  observe,  with  satisfaction,  I  doubt  not, 

wenTvtee-k"  ^a^  the  profits  as  a  result  of  the  year's  operations 
President "  amount  to  $1,236,680.96,  being  an  increase  over  last  year 
of  the  Bank,  of  $116,372.12.  Subscriptions  by  the  Bank  clientele 
throughout  the  country  to  that  important  piece  of 
national  financing,  known  as  the  Victory  Loan,  amounted  to  no 
less  a  sum  than  $25,000,000,  distributed  amongst  fifty-three  thou- 
sand depositors.  Notwithstanding  the  heavy  consequent  with- 
drawals, our  deposits  have  grown  about  $20,000,000,  or  roughly, 
21%.  Our  commercial  advances  have  correspondingly  increased, 
thus  enabling  us,  while  maintaining  a  proper  measure  of  liquid 
strength,  to  materially  improve  our  earning  power.  The  whole 
position  as  reflected  by  the  Balance  Sheet  will  be  viewed,  I  am  sure, 
with  feelings  of  entire  satisfaction.  There  has  been  no  activity 
during  the  course  of  the  year  in  branch  extensions,  owing  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  staff  situation.  Indeed,  we  are,  in  all  the  circum- 
stances, doing  well  to  keep  pace  with  the  development  of  our  business 
under  the  difficulties  by  which  we  are  surrounded  in  this  respect. 

The  figures  in  the  statement  you  will  observe  indicate  a  satis- 
factory increase  in  the  profits.  You  will  notice  the  deposits  on 
the  Liability  side  of  the  account  show  a  gratifying  increase  and 
concurrently  loans  and  other  items  on  the  Asset  side  a  very  sub- 
stantial and  proportionate  growth.  We  are  pleased  to  say  that  all 
the  legitimate  requirements  of  our  clients — naturally  upon  a  larger 
scale  owing  to  the  high  cost  of  labour  and  all  commodities — have 
been  given  the  fullest  measure  of  consideration,  and  on  the  whole 
well  taken  care  of  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  to  the  satisfaction 

*  For  History  of  the  Bank,  see  The  Canadian  Annual  Review  Supplement  in  1910; 
for  a  further  Historical  record,  see  the  1915  Supplement;  and  for  preceding  Annual 
Report  and  Addresses,  the  1916  Supplement 

[891] 


892  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

of  all  concerned.  Having  regard  to  the  abnormal  period  through 
which  we  are  passing,  and  the  uncertainties  which  the  future  un- 
deniably holds,  you  will  observe  that  an  amount  of  $400,000  has 
been  set  aside  and  placed  to  the  credit  of  "Contingent  Account" 
— a  step  which  I  venture  to  think  you  will  agree,  is  prudent  and  proper 
under  the  circumstances. 

With  regard  to  the  future,  we  have  all  read  articles  in  the  papers 
and  magazines  by  many  eminent  financiers,  and  profound  thinkers, 
giving  their  forecasts  of  the  conditions  that  will  prevail  after  the 
war.  I  will  not  venture  to  make  any  forecast,  but  I  feel  sure  that 
we  shall  be  able  to  continue  to  use  the  funds  of  your  Institution 
in  safe  and  useful  channels,  not  only  while  the  war  lasts,  but  also 
after  it  is  over,  provided  the  Chartered  Banks  continue  to  receive 
that  measure  of  fair  treatment  which  will  enable  them  to  maintain 
their  present  status  of  strength  and  efficiency.  This  country  is 
under  a  great  strain  as  we  all  know.  Men,  money,  crops  and  am- 
munition are  demanded  of  us  to  the  utmost  limit  of  our  capacity, 
and  let  us  hope  the  strain  will  not  go  beyond  the  point  of  safety, 
as  disorganization  would  follow,  and  defeat  our  aim  to  keep  Canada 
well  organized,  productive  and  solvent,  and  in  good  shape  to  help 
to  win  the  war. 

There  is  another  matter  I  wish  to  speak  of  very  briefly.  It  is 
a  question  I  know  you  all  take  a  deep  interest  in.  I  refer  to  the 
subject  of  Vested  Interests.  Some  strange  doctrines  have  recently 
taken  possession  of  the  minds  of  many  people  on  this  subject.  It 
is  a  phase  of  the  war  excitement.  I  am  enthusiastic  on  the  subject 
of  fair  play  towards  Vested  Interests.  You  and  I,  gentlemen,  as 
bankers,  and  Bank  shareholders,  are  the  natural  guardians  of  Vested 
Interests.  We  must  argue  against  and  oppose  the  mischievous 
propaganda  of  unthinking  and  illogical  people.  They  will  tell 
you  that  this  is  a  socialistic  age  and  complain  that  banks  and  large 
capitalists  are  banded  together  to  keep  on  amassing  wealth  to  the 
detriment  of  the  conditions  of  the  general  community.  We  may 
answer  this  ill  saying  most  truthfully  that  Banks  themselves  are 
absolutely  socialistic  in  their  methods.  They  accept  money  from  those 
who  have  it,  and  lend  it  to  those  who  need  it  and  can  use  it  safely. 

The  great  resources  of  any  large  bank  belong  mainly  to  its 
depositors,  its  own  capital  being,  comparatively  speaking,  quite 
insignificant,  nor  do  its  depositors  belong  to  any  one  particular 
class.  It  is  a  careful  trustee  of  millions  of  dollars  belonging  to  all 
classes.  In  our  case,  for  example,  the  large  total  of  our  deposits 
and  current  accounts  belong  to  so  many  thousands  of  individuals 
that  the  average  holding  is  only  about  $500.  Surely  such  deposi- 
tors are  not  capitalists !  Therefore,  it  would  be  most  unfair  to  accuse 
us  of  being  prejudiced  in  favor  of  great  capitalists.  The  cost  of 
the  war  is  being  paid  for  out  of  the  savings  of  past  years,  and  is 
now  in  some  countries  nearly  approaching  the  limit  of  exhaustion, 
and  the  question  of  how  interest  charges  are  to  be  met  engages 
the  deepest  attention  of  all  classes.  Here  again  the  treatment  of 
Vested  Interests  must  be  carefully  guarded  against  unwise  and  wan- 
ton action;  when  we  hear  people  talk  about  the  conscription  of  wealth 


MERCHANTS  BANK  OF  CANADA — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  893 

and  levy  on  capital  in  a  vague  and  indefinite  way,  we  realize  that 
this  might  be  pushed  to  a  limit  that  would  break  down  the  whole 
financial  fabric. 

There  are  some  radicals  who,  not  satisfied  with  taxation,  desire 
to  go  further  and  conscript  not  only  income  and  profit,  but  also 
capital,  I  would  ask  them  what  the  nation  would  gain  by  it?  Only 
a  small  proportion  of  a  man's  or  a  company's  means  are  in  cash. 
If  they  took  away  a  certain  proportion  of  his  stocks  and  bonds, 
what  would  the  Government  do  with  them?  Keep  them?  No, 
the  Government  wants  cash.  They  could  not  sell  them  for  there 
would  no  be  purchasers,  because  unsettlement  and  chaos  would 
prevail.  Again  if  they  conscript  a  certain  portion  of  a  man's  real 
estate,  farm  or  factory,  how  can  the  proceeds  of  such  conscription 
be  converted  into  cash,  or  into  any  form  that  will  be  of  tangible 
use  to  the  Government?  No,  a  fair  and  well  considered  system 
of  taxation  is  the  proper  course  to  be  adopted.  The  man  of  small 
means  must  be  treated  with  moderation,  and  the  man  who  is  rich 
and  the  corporations  that  are  making  money  must  pay  proportion- 
ately. Neither  Companies  nor  individuals  would  object  to  paying 
substantial  taxes  if  they  are  allowed  to  make  reasonable  earnings. 

It  must  be  conceded  that  in  order  to  realize  substantial  receipts 
from  taxation,  there  must  be  substantial  earnings;  all  values  are 
based  on  earnings  and  with  poor  earnings,  values  would  soon  fade 
away,  and  our  whole  system  of  credit  and  finance  would  go  to  pieces. 
Vested  interests  are  also  threatened  from  another  quarter.  We, 
in  this  young  country,  must  guard  them  against  the  free  trader. 
I  am  not  going  into  politics  here,  but  the  fact  cannot  be  overlooked 
that  amongst  the  agricultural  community  there  are  many  who  are 
favourable  to  taking  down  the  tariff  bars,  in  order  to  cheapen  articles 
that  enter  into  their  own  daily  use,  without  thinking  of  the  con- 
sequences, they  don't  seem  to  realize  that  if  they  disturb  the  present 
equilibrium  of  tax  distribution,  a  greater  share  of  the  taxation 
must  undoubtedly  fall  upon  their  own  shoulders.  We  must  appeal 
to  the  general  public  and  the  farmer  for  fair  treatment  of  the  Vested 
Interests,  and  finally  we  must  appeal  to  the  legislator  for  fair  treat- 
ment also;  his  duty  is  to  study  proposed  new  laws  most  critically 
before  voting  for  them,  and  he  must  not  forget  that  a  law  which 
has  a  destructive  tendency  while  it  may  create  momentary  notor- 
iety and  popularity  for  its  promoters,  is  sure  to  incite  radicals  and 
extremists  to  apply  the  axe  more  and  more  till  the  whole  body  politic 
is  in  danger. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  testify  to  the  fine  spirit  and  loyalty  of 
our  management  and  staff.  They  are  doing  splendidly  in  spite  of 
the  difficulties  under  which  they  are  working.  Our  field  of  opera- 
tions in  very  large,  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
and  there  are  many  other  banks  in  the  field,  besides  ourselves,  some 
of  them  being  very  great  and  powerful  institutions,  with  enormous 
capital  and  highly  efficient  management  and  organization.  So  it 
is  a  comfort  to  feel  that  we  have  a  good  staff,  and  that  they  are  right 
on  the  job. 


894  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

In  seconding  the  adoption  of  the  Report,  Mr.  Thomas  Long 
then  said:  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  be  invited  to  second  the 
adoption  of  the  Annual  Report,  which  has  been  presented  by  the 
Vice-President.  I  am  sure  that  as  stock-holders  we  are  all  pleased 
and  delighted  to  see  the  substantial  growth  that  has  taken  place 
within  the  past  few  years  in  the  volume  of  business  transacted  by 
this  Bank.  That  this  progress  is  still  continuing  is  apparent  by 
the  report  we  have  just  heard,  so  that  we  may  look  forward  to  the 
future  with  both  hope  and  confidence. 

Address  by  It  was  hoped,  when  we  met  a  year  ago,  that  before 

Managing-11'  we  came  together  again  the  great  war  would  be  draw- 
Directorof  ing  to  a  close.  In  this  expectation  the  world  has 
the  Bank.  been  disappointed.  Certainly  these  are  anxious  days. 
Meanwhile,  the  affairs  of  your  bank  continue  to  pros- 
per, stimulated  by  favourable  economic  conditions  certainly,  but 
also  because  a  hard-working  and  reasonably  efficient  organiza- 
tion, notwithstanding  seriously  increasing  staff  difficulties,  has  known 
how  to  turn  the  situation  to  the  best  account.  In  this  your  capable 
General  Manager  has  been  the  mainspring.  Notwithstanding 
possessing  a  staff,  male  and  female,  animated  by  great  enthusiasm, 
owing  to  its  serious  depletion,  the  work,  which  is  the  work  of  the 
country,  is  greatly  hampered  and  hindered  with,  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  the  prospect  of  great  and  greater  difficulties  in  this  respect 
ahead.  In  our  Dominion  there  is  no  more  important  part  of  the 
civil  arm  than  the  chartered  banks.  I  say  it  without  the  possibility 
of  the  statement  being  gainsaid  that  the  chartered  banks  of  Canada 
have  been  a  pile-driving  influence  from  Confederation  on — not- 
withstanding some  setbacks  to  themselves — in  the  development  of 
Canada's  material  resources  in  every  field  of  enterprise.  No  in- 
formed economist  would  attempt  to  deny  that  assertion.  The 
banks  of  Canada,  year  by  year,  have  played  a  great  6le  herein  and 
never  greater  than  since  the  great  war  broke  out,  /hen  competent 
well  organized  financial  machinery  was  almost  the  breath  of  life 
of  the  nation — the  life-line !  Why  am  I  at  this  meeting  making  this 
statement?  Because  it  is  too  often  forgotten  when  it  should  ever 
be  remembered.  It  has  been  charged  that  banking  profits  have 
been  excessive.  The  proprietary  of  the  banks,  a  large  part  female, 
have  never  been  made  aware  of  this  in  any  convincing  way.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  return  to  the  investor,  even  at  present  prices, 
can  reckon  on  6%,  hardly  more.  No  doubt  the  6%  is  pretty  sure. 
The  business  of  banking  cannot  be  carried  on  without  some  measure 
of  risk.  The  profits  of  the  banks  must  provide  for  losses,  which  are 
as  inevitable  as  the  sparks  fly  upward,  and  the  bank  that  "lays  out" 
to  make  absolutely  no  losses  will  make  no  profits  and  will  sooner  or 
later  succumb  to  dry-rot.  And  so  a  proper  and  reasonable  enter- 
prise is  the  irreducible  minimum  in  the  operating  of  our  great  banking 
institutions. 

The  chartered  banks  of  this  country  are  working  to-day  for  the 
civil  and  military  interest  under  the  highest  pressure.  Nevertheless, 
I  greatly  regret  to  state  a  further  depletion  of  its  trained  staff  is 


MERCHANTS  BANK  OF  CANADA— ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  895 

pending.  The  function  of  the  banks  extends  to  taking  care  of  the 
savings  of  the  people  and  also  their  current  funds  and  their  safe 
and  profitable  use.  This  heavy  and  weighty  responsibility  demands 
highly  developed  organization.  The  best  interests  of  the  country 
cannot  be  served  by  inadequacy  or  slackness  herein.  Banking  is  not 
a  profession — it  is  a  science.  It  is  also  a  highly  specialized  service. 
There  are  many  departments.  To  allow  the  working  machinery 
of  the  banks  to  run  down  under  present  and  prospective  conditions 
would  be  a  policy  of  supreme  folly  and  unwisdom  in  my  view.  It 
would  be  like  throwing  a  hammer  into  the  revolving  wheels  of  the 
country's  industries.  Political  sagacity  could  scarcely  recede  further 
than  to  withhold  from  the  banks  the  necessary  protection  to  insure 
them  against  confusion  and  disruption  of  their  carefully  adjusted 
and  balanced  organizations,  never  forgetting  that  the  banks  are 
continually  engaged  forwarding  and  promoting  war  work,  as  well 
as  in  advancing  and  facilitating  the  general  commerce  and  trade  of 
the  Dominion,  with  its  increasing  swing  and  growing  stride.  Our 
native  industries  must  never  be  forgotten  or  suffer  neglect,  especially 
in  view  of  after-war  problems  looming  larger  and  larger  in  our 
Canadian  horoscope.  There  can  be  no  higher  or  better  states- 
manship than  to  protect  the  chartered  banks  in  their  responsible 
and  weighty  work  for  the  Dominion,  equally  against  the  time  to 
come.  Any  other  policy  I  believe  to  be  reactionary,  serving  to 
keep  heavily  taxed  executives  busy  working  out  problems  inadequate- 
ly, under  most  arduous  conditions  to  the  great  hindering  of  the 
solid  interest  of  the  country  at  a  time  too  when  the  banks  will  need 
to  be  worked  to  the  last  notch  of  efficiency. 

We  all  realize  how  the  country  is  growing  in  material  wealth. 
In  every  direction  it  is  expanding  by  leaps  and  bounds,  economically. 
In  agriculture,  in  manufacturing,  in  mining  and  the  fisheries,  in 
lumber  and  yet  others — all  have  contributed  their  quota  toward 
making  Canada  rich  and  great.  All  these  great  sources  of  wealth 
have  vast  interlocking  interests  with  the  banks  and  in  increasing 
measure.  But  while  the  multitude  and  volume  of  the  transactions 
is  daily  growing,  the  view  would  seem  to  be  entertained  that  fewer, 
not  more,  trained  assistants  are  needed  to  handle  the  increasing 
flood.  Fifty  per  cent.,  or  over  650  men,  of  the  Merchants  Bank  have 
already  taken  up  arms  in  the  great  war,  and  other  banks  have  con- 
tributed in  no  less  proportion,  and,  alas,  all  have  suffered  heavily. 
The  chartered  banks  in  Canada  have  given  in  man-power  equal  to 
ten  regiments  of  one  thousand  each  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 
May  we  respectfully  urge  on  those  in  authority  that  the  banks 
besides  being  charged  with  the  public's  savings  and  securities  of 
every  kind  and  description  are  also  dispensers  of  credit  in  many 
forms.  In  all  these  grave  and  weighty  responsibilities,  experienced 
and  trained  judgment  are  a  sine  qua  non.  Bank  branches  cannot 
be  managed  with  a  rubber  stamp.  Let  us  trust  the  authorities 
will  reconsider  and  leave  us  to  struggle  on  with  our  already  depleted 
and  crippled  organizations,  for  surely  only  along  this  line  lies  the 
path  of  prudence  and  safety. 


896  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

Before  sitting  down  I  should  like  to  say  a  word  on  an  important 
matter  affecting  the  banks  generally,  namely,  on  the  subject  of 
the  establishment  of  a  bank  rediscount  in  Canada,  the  suggestion 
of  Mr.  Pease,  the  able  President  of  the  Canadian  Bankers'  Associ- 
ation. I  should  like  to  state  that  we  are  entirely  in  accord  with 
his  proposal.  Its  establishment  would  make  available  tens  of 
millions  of  negotiable  securities,  at  present  locked  up  in  the  strong 
boxes  of  banking  institutions.  The  need  for  such  rediscounting 
facilities  is  not  presently  felt,  but  we  cannot  tell  when  it  may  be, 
and  this  country  is  behind  the  times  in  not  having  all  the  organization 
machinery  and  equipment  ready  at  hand  for  instant  operation. 
This  bank  would  gladly  participate.  One  last  word.  I  believe 
Canada's  hour  has  struck.  A  great  future  looms  before  her.  But 
we  must  keep  her  wheels  moving  and  her  financial  machinery  intact 
to  avail  ourselves  of  what  opportunity  will  offer  and  destiny  provide. 
(Applause). 

Address  by  The  whole  situation  has  been  so  comprehensively 

D.  C.  Maca-  COVered  in  the  brief  yet  lucid  comments  of  the  Vice- 
Manager  of  President  and  Managing  Director  that  there  is  really 
the  Bank.  very  little  left  for  me  to  add,  beyond  repeating  the 
hope  and  belief  that  the  statement  which  has  just 
been  presented  to  you,  reflecting,  as  it  does,  this  Bank's  full  share 
in  the  country's  prosperity  and  development,  will  be  regarded  by 
you  with  satisfaction.  During  the  year  our  assets  have  grown 
notably — now  having  reached  the  imposing  total  of  $140,000,000, 
being  an  increase  of  approximately  $20,000,000  or  nearly  16^% •  In 
this  connection  I  might  pertinently  say  that  ample  provision  has 
been  made  for  any  doubtful  matters,  and  our  Bond  Holdings  have 
been  written  down  to  present  market  quotations. 

You  may,  therefore,  entertain  the  very  comfortable  assurance  that 
the  whole  asset  column  represents  a  minimum  of  dollar-for-dollar 
in  the  way  of  actual  values.  Despite  heavy  withdrawals  of  a  special 
nature,  referred  to  elsewhere,  you  will  perceive  that  our  deposits 
show  the  very  substantial  growth  of  $19,500,000,  or  21%  over 
last  year's  figures,  and  our  commercial  discounts,  with  consequent 
increase  in  earning  power,  have  also  grown  apace.  Profits  show, 
notwithstanding  ever-mounting  operating  costs,  a  substantial  in- 
crease, and,  withal,  a  satisfactory  measure  of  liquidity  has  been 
maintained. 

The  times  through  which  we  are  passing  are,  indeed,  anxious 
and  exacting,  and  the  future  unquestionably  holds  many  serious 
problems,  upon  the  wise  solution  of  which  far-reaching  issues  will 
depend.  But  the  potentialities  of  this  great  country  are  well  nigh 
boundless,  and  if  these  potentialities  continue  to  be  developed  along 
sound  and  business-like  lines,  as  we  have  no  doubt  they  will  be, 
the  future  may,  I  am  sure,  be  regarded  without  undue  apprehension. 
Economists  will  tell  you  that  the  stability  and  wealth  of  a  country 
such  as  ours  lies  largely  in  the  measure  and  value  of  the  exportable 
surplus  of  our  products.  Judged  by  this  true  standard  and  in  the 
light  of  past  achievements,  which,  even  allowing  for  abnormal 


MERCHANTS  BANK  OF  CANADA — ADDRESSES  AND  REPORTS  897 

actors,  have  been  upon  a  plane  of  steady  and  practically  uninterrupt- 
ed progression  in  recent  years,  notably  the  last  few,  one  would  require 
:o  be  a  pessimist,  indeed,  to  regard  our  future  otherwise  than  with 
reelings  of  well-grounded  confidence.  In  this  connection  it  is  re- 
issuring  to  note  there  is  thus  far  every  indication  that  this  year's 
production,  in  practically  all  essential  directions,  will  be  upon  a  sub- 
stantially enlarged  scale.  Let  us  bend  every  effort  and  extend  every 
possible  facility  to  the  end  that  actual  results  in  their  realization 
nay  be  in  line  with  present  promise.  That  consideration  has  had 
its  influence,  I  may  say,  upon  our  general  policy. 

During  the  course  of  the  past  year,  accompanied  by  a  number 
Df  the  Directors,  I  have  visited  the  various  Provinces,  and  we  have 
bad  the  benefit  and  pleasure  of  meeting  personally,  in  conference, 
all  of  our  Managers  and  principal  officials.  With  their  loyalty  and 
enthusiasm  we  were  deeply  impressed,  and  I  am  not  going  too  far 
in  expressing  the  conviction  that  in  your  local  Managers  throughout 
the  country  practically  one  hundred  per  cent  efficiency  is  represented. 
The  members  of  our  staff  have,  indeed,  in  full  measure,  taken  their 
place  amongst  the  gallant  manhood  of  this  country,  who,  by  their 
deeds  at  the  front,  have  established  a  record  for  self-sacrificing 
i heroism,  immeasurably  enriching  the  golden  annals  of  this  death 
struggle  for  the  preservation  of  the  basic  principles  upon  which  true 
'Christianity  and  Civilization  must  rest.  To  those  of  the  staff  who 
thave  gone  overseas  we  pay  every  tribute  of  admiration  and  respect, 
and  to  those,  who  for  one  cause  or  another  are  debarred  from  parti- 
cipation in  the  war  in  a  military  sense,  we  must  also  extend — and 
do  so  with  the  fullest  cordiality — our  acknowledgment  and  sincere 
appreciation  for  the  manner  in  which  they  are  doing  their  part  in 
fulfilling  the  heavy  additional  duties  and  responsibilities  thrust 
upon  them — cheerfully  and  efficiently.  (Applause.) 

The  Directors  were  re-elected  as  follows:  Sir  H.  Montagu  Allan 
and  Messrs.  K.  W.  Blackwell,  Thomas  Long,  F.  Orr  Lewis,  Andrew 
A.  Allan,  Lt.-Col.  C.  C.  Ballantyne,  A.  J.  Dawes,  F.  Howard  Wilson, 
Farquhar  Robertson,  Geo.  L.  Cains,  Alfred  B.  Evans,  E.  F.  Hebden, 
T.  Ahearn  and  Lt.-Col.  Jas.  R.  Moodie.  At  a  subsequent  special 
meeting  of  the  Directors,  Sir  H.  Montagu  Allan  was  re-elected 
President,  and  Mr.  K.  W.  Blackwell,  Vice-President. 


57 


898 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


STATEMENT  OF  LIABILITIES  AND  ASSETS 
OF 

THE  MERCHANTS  BANK  OF  CANADA 

AS  ON  APRIL  30,  1918 


LIABILITIES 

1.  To  THE  SHAKEHOLDEKS:                                                         1918  1917 

Capital  Stock  paid  in $     7,000,000.00  $     7,000,000.00 

Rest  or  Reserve  Fund 7,000,000.00  7,000,000.00 

Dividends  declared  and  unpaid 176,900.00  178,365.00 

Balance  of  Profits  as  per  Profit  and  Loss  Account 

submitted  herewith 437,973.92  421,292.96 

$  14,614,873.92  $  14,599,657.96 

2.  To  THE  PUBLIC: 

Notes  of  the  Bank  in  Circulation $  12,327,168.00  $     9,483,468  00 

Deposits  not  bearing  interest * 34,886,747.83  27,101,587.86 

Deposits  bearing  interest  (including  interest  accrued 

to  date  of  statement) 75,946,985.48  65,000,484  42 

Balances  due  to  other  Banks  in  Canada 1,400,941.75  628,863.08 

Balances  due  to  Banks  and  banking  Correspondents 

in  the  United  Kingdom  and  foreign  countries 1,161,976.79  3,904,690.72 

Bills  payable 

Acceptances  under  Letters  of  Credit 598,851.20  411,806.78 

Liabilities  not  included  in  the  foregoing 

$140,937,544.97  $121,130,558.82 
ASSETS 

Current  Coin $     4,890,061.36  $     4,766,438.82 

Deposit  in  the  Central  Gold  Reserves 6,000,000.00  3,500,000.00 

Dominion  Notes 5,912,092.50  7,650,790.50 

Notes  of  other  Banks 893,076.00  793,367.00 

Cheques  on  other  Banks 5,311,786.12  5,674,828.67 

Balances  due  by  other  Banks  in  Canada 4,704.37  2,635.33 

Balances  due  by  Banks  and  Banking  Correspondents 

in  the   United    Kingdom 82,580.53  61,225.79 

Balances  due  by  Banks  and  Banking  Correspondents 

elsewhere  than  in  Canada  and  the  United  Kingdom         1,357,843.03  2,413,100.10 
Dominion  and  Provincial  Government  securities,  not 

exceeding  market  value 5,435,464 . 66  3,862,507 . 19 

Railway  and  other  Bonds,   Debentures  and  Stocks, 

not  exceeding  market  value 4,060,204.70  3,964,251 .24 

Canadian  Municipal  Securities,  and  British,  Foreign 

and  Colonial  Public  Securities  other  than  Canadian.       14,589,065.54  11,263,196.20 
Call  Loans  in   Canada  on  Bonds,    Debentures  and 

Stocks 5,223,953.88  4,627,863.57 

Call  loans  elsewhere  than  in  Canada 3,906,648.93  3,461,420.47 

$  57,667,481.62  $  52,041,624.88 

Current  Loans  and  Discounts'  in  Canada  (less  Rebate 

of  Interest) 76,194,016. 15  62,737,958.74 

Current  Loans  and  Discounts  elsewhere  than  in  Can- 
ada (less  Rebate  of  Interest) 339,987.29  377,582.42 

Liabilities  of  customers  under  Letters  of  Credit  as 

per  contra 598,851.20  411,806.78 

Real  Estate  other  than  Bank  Premises 312,928. 11  294,197.07 

Overdue  debts,  estimated  loss  provided  for 272,226.60  149,039.68 

Bank  Premises,  at  not  more  than  cost,  less  amounts 

written  off 4,886,438.98  4,617,400.23 

Deposit  with  the  Minister  for  the  purposes  of  the 

Circulation  Fund 355,000.00  375,000.00 

Other  Assets  not  included  in  the  foregoing 310,615.02  125,949.02 

$140,937,544.97  $121,130,558.82 


K.  w.  BLACKWELL; 

Vice-President. 


E.  F.  HEBDEN, 

Managing  Director 


D.  C.  MACAROW, 

General  Manager. 


A  GREAT  INSURANCE  CORPORATION  OF  CANADA 

REPORTS*  AND  PROGRESS 

OF 
THE  SUN  LIFE  ASSURANCE  COMPANY 


Directors'  In  Presentmg  their  Forty-seventh  Annual  State- 

Report  for  ment  ft  is  a  pleasure  to  your  directors  to  report  that 
1917  the  operations  of  the  Company  continue  to  expand 

with  ever-increasing  rapidity,  while  the  testing  of 
another  year  of  war  has  but  served  to  emphasize  its  financial 
strength.  New  policies  to  the  number  of  22,895,  assuring 
$47,811,567.48  were  issued  and  paid  for.  This  is  an  increase  of 
$5,039,270.67  over  the  highest  previous  record  in  the  history  of  the 
Company.  The  total  assurance  in  force  is  now  $311,870,945.71,  a 
net  increase  of  $30,436,245.77  after  deducting  cancellations  from  all 
causes.  It  is  a  remarkable  and  gratifying  fact,  testifying  to  the 
popularity  of  the  Company  and  the  satisfaction  of  its  policyholders, 
that  this  increase  is  equal  to  63*7  per  cent,  of  the  amount  issued 
during  the  year. 

The  income  for  the  year  amounted  to  $19,288,997.68,  an  increase 
of  $789,866.06,  notwithstanding  the  large  reduction  in  annuity 
premiums  due  to  the  existing  conditions  in  Great  Britain.  The 
sum  of  $8,840,245.42  was  paid  to  policyholders  and  their  bene- 
ficiaries in  death  claims,  endowments,  profits,  etc.  This  is  larger  by 
$1,262,228.55  than  the  amount  for  the  preceding  year,  due  in  great 
measure  to  claims  resulting  from  the  war.  Notwithstanding  the 
heavy  extra  mortality  it  is  particularly  pleasing  to  note  that  the 
total  claims  by  death  were  slightly  under  eighty  per  cent,  of  the 
sum  predicted  by  the  mortality  tables.  Our  usual  rate  has  been 
about  sixty  per  cent. 

The  loss  of  our  gallant  men  who  on  the  battle-fields  of  Europe 
have  added  glory  to  the  name  of  Canada,  has  been  a  misfortune  too 
great  and  too  tragic  to  be  measured;  yet  it  is  a  source  of  satisfaction 
that  the  wives,  children  and  other  dependants  of  many  of  them  are 
being  aided  in  their  time  of  trouble  by  the  proceeds  of  policies  in 
this  Company  to  an  aggregate  exceeding  $1,700,000.  The  assets 
now  amount  to  $90,160,174.24,  an  addition  of  $7,211,178.18.  The 
sum  of  $1,560,389.04  has  been  distributed  to  the  policyholders  as 
profits,  and  there  still  remains  an  undivided  net  surplus  over  all 
liabilities  and  capital  stock  of  $8,550,761.64  after  providing  for  a 
considerable  shrinkage  in  the  market  value  of  securities,  and  taking 
account  of  the  increased  reserves  on  policies  payable  in  silver  cur- 
rencies  due  to  the  enhanced  value  of  that  metal. 

*  Preceding  Annual  Reports  with  an  Historical  record  of  the  Company  may  be 
consulted  in  preceding  issues  of  The  Canadian  Annual  Review. 
64  [899] 


900  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

The  distribution  of  profits  for  the  coming  year  has  engaged  our 
most  careful  consideration.  Life  companies  everywhere  are  being 
tested  as  they  never  before  were.  Few  indeed  four  years  ago  would 
have  believed  it  possible  that  in  this  stage  of  such  a  war  the  business 
would  be  in  its  present  prosperous  position.  But  what  of  the  future? 
The  duration  of  the  war,  future  war  mortality,  future  financial  con- 
ditions, are  all  unknown.  Your  directors  believe  that  under  these 
circumstances  it  is  the  duty  of  all  life  offices  to  be  conservative,  and 
to  prepare  for  contingencies  by  retaining  until  conditions  become 
normal  a  portion  of  the  profits  they  would  otherwise  pay  out.  This 
is  a  war  measure  which  we  are  sure  our  policyholders  will  approve. 
The  reduction  in  profit  payments  to  the  individual  will  be  but  slight, 
and  if  later  this  precaution  shall  be  found  to  have  been  unnecessary, 
a  special  or  extra  bonus  will  then  be  given. 

At  the  inception  of  the  war,  your  Directors  decided  to  place  the 
financial  resources  of  the  Company  as  far  as  possible  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Governments  of  the  Dominion  and  the  Mother  Country,  and 
to  a  less  extent  of  our  Allies.  It  is  a  matter  of  patriotic  pride  that 
the  Company  has  thus  been  able  to  take  the  leadership  in  subscrib- 
ing to  all  the  Canadian  Government  domestic  loans,  besides  pur- 
chasing large  amounts  of  issues  of  other  parts  of  the  Empire. 

This  Annual  Meeting  is  unique,  in  that  it  is  the  first  to  be  held 
in  the  Company's  new  Head  Office  building.  The  growth  of  the 
business  has  made  the  increased  office  accommodation  a  pressing 
necessity,  while  the  improvement  in  working  conditions  will  add  to 
the  efficiency  of  the  staff.  Mr.  H.  Warren  K.  Hale  having  accepted 
the  position  of  Comptroller  of  the  Company,  resigned  his  director- 
ship. Mr.  John  W.  Ross  has  been  appointed  to  the  vacant  seat. 

T.  B.  MACAULAY,        S.  H.  EWING,  FREDERICK  G.  COPE, 

President.        Vice-President.  Secretary. 

P  ,  The  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Shareholders  and  Policy- 

thf  Annual      holders  of  the  Company  was  held  on  March  5,  1918, 
Meeting  in  the  new  Head  Office  Building,  Dominion  Square, 

Montreal.  The  President,  Mr.  T.  B.  Macaulay, 
occupied  the  chair.  The  President,  in  moving  the  adoption  of 
the  Directors'  Report  for  the  year  1917,  emphasized  the  remark- 
able progress  made  during  the  past  year,  and  welcomed  his 
hearers  to  the  new  home  of  the  Company,  which  was  designed 
not  merely  to  meet  the  present  requirements  ot  the  business, 
but  to  provide  for  the  great  expansion  which  the  future  un- 
questionably has  in  store,  for  the  land  owned  by  the  Company 
in  the  rear  and  at  the  side  of  the  new  building  will  permit  of  large 
extensions  when  these  become  necessary.  He  also  pointed  out  with 
pride  that  the  amount  of  Assets  held  for  the  Policyholders,  together 
with  payments  made  to  Policyholders  since  organization,  exceeded 
by  $5,893,264  the  total  premium  receipts  for  the  entire  period.  The 
motion  was  seconded  by  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  S.  H.  Ewing,  who 
briefly  reviewed  the  Company's  history,  comparing  the  struggles  and 
vicissitudes  of  the  early  days,  forty-five  years  ago,  and  the  position 
of  power  and  security  now  attained. 


THE  SUN  LIFE  ASSURANCE  Co.:  PROGRESS  AND  REPORTS    901 

The  retiring  Directors  were  unanimously  re-elected  and  are  con- 
stituted as  follows: 

T.  B.  MACAULAY,  F.I.A.,  F.A.S.,  President  and  Managing  Director. 

S.  H.  EWING         -       Vice-President. 

W.  M.  BIEKS.  CHARLES  R.  HOSMEK. 

HON.  RAOUL  DANDURAND.  ABNER  KINGMAN. 

J.  REDPATH  DOUGALL.  H.  R.  MACAULAY,  M.D. 

GEORGE  E.  DRUMMOND.  JOHN  McKERoow. 

SIR  HERBERT  S.  HOLT.  JOHN  W.  Ross. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  COMPANY 

Actuary:  Secretary: 

ARTHUR  B.  WOOD,  F.I.A.,  F.A.S.  FREDERICK  G.  COPE. 

Treasurer:  General  Manager  of  Agencies:  Comptroller: 

E.  A.  MACNUTT.  JAMES  C.  TORY.  H.  WARREN  K.  HALE. 

Consulting  Medical  Referee:  Medical  Officer: 

W.  F.  HAMILTON,  M.D.  C.  C.  BIRCHARD,  M.B. 

Asst.  Secretary:  Supt.  of  Foreign  Agencies:        Supt.  of  Home  Agencies: 

C.  S.  V.  BRANCH.  W.  A.  HIGINBOTHAM.  JAMES  W.  SIMPSON. 

ASSETS  OF  THE  COMPANY 

(The  market  values  given  are  those  fixed  by  the  Dominion  Government  Insurance 
Department). 

Bonds — Government,  Municipal,  Railway  Gas,  Electric 

and  other  bonds: 

Par  Value $68,148,219.09 

Ledger  Value. ..  52,620,209.90 

Market  Value 52,337,844.11 

Carried  out  at  Market  Value $52,337,844.11 

Stocks — Preferred  and  Guaranteed  Stocks: 

Par  Value $10,167,393.75 

Ledger  Value 8,434,753.98 

Market  Value 7,890,896.81 

Carried  out  at  Market  Value 7,890,896.81 

Other  Stocks: 

Par  Value $  2,256,900.00 

Ledger  Value 1,535,457.60 

Market  Value 1,488,080.00 

Carried  out  at  Market  Value 1,488,080.00 

Loans  on  Real  Estate,  first  mortgage 8,150,048.86 

Real  Estate,  including  Company's  buildings 4,227,604 .74 

Loans  on  Company's  policies  (secured  by  reserves  on  same) 11,693,446.94 

Loans  on  bonds  and  stocks 944,881 .70 

Cash  in  banks  and  on  hand 387,225.74 

Outstanding  premiums  (less  cost  of  collection) $  1,310,603.50 

Deferred  premiums  (less  cost  of  collection) 493,632.55  ^^  ^ 

(These  items  are  secured  by  reserves  included  hi  liabilities). 

Interest  due  (largely  since  paid) 258,253.00 

Interest  accrued 964,161 .92 

Rents  due  and  accrued 13,494.37 

Net  Assets...  .$90,160,174.24 


902  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

LIABILITIES  OF  THE  COMPANY 

Reserves  on  Life  Policies  according  to  the  British  Offices 

OM.  (5)  Table  with  3*4  per  cent,  interest  on  policies 

issued  prior  to  December  31st,  1902,  and  3  per  cent. 

on  policies  issued  since  that  date  (Federal  Life  policies 

3H  per  cent.) $64,514,414. 17 

Reserves  on  Annuities  according  to  the  British  Offices 

Select  Annuity  Tables  with  3%  per  cent,  interest. . .      13,596,565.21 

$78,110,979.38 

Less  Reserves  on  policies  re-assured 191,354.00 

$77,919,625.38 

Death  Claims  reported  but  not  proved,  or  awaiting  discharge 966,368.56 

Extra  Reserve  for  unreported  death  claims 230,000 .00 

Present  value  of  Death  Claims  payable  by  instalments 534,524.88 

Matured  Endowments  awaiting  discharge 213,155.64 

Annuity  Claims  awaiting  discharge 112,157.89 

Dividends  to  policyholders  declared,  but  not  yet  due,  or  awaiting  dis- 
charge   357,307.60 

Profits  allotted  to  Deferred  Dividend  Policies,  Issued  on  or  after  Janu- 
ary 1st,   1911 90,933.28 

Accumulated  Credits  on  compound  interest  policies 39,211.43 

Premiums  paid  in  advance 50,507 .21 

Sinking  Fund  deposited  for  maturing  debentures,  etc 220,265.62 

Commissions,  medical  fees,  taxes,  etc.,  due  or  accrued 350,672.40 

Shareholders'  account,  including  dividends  due  1st  January,  1918 105,971.80 

Sundry  Liabilities 68,710.91 

Total  Liabilities $81,259,412.60 

Cash  Surplus  to  policyholders  by  the  Company's  standard,  as  above. .       8,900,761.64 

Capital  subscribed,  $1,000,000;  paid  up $      350,000.00 

Net  Surplus  over  all  Liabilities  and  capital  stock 8,550,761.64 

Net  Surplus  over  all  Liabilities,  except  capital  stock..   $  8,900,761.64 

$90,160,174.24 

The  net  Surplus  over  all  Liabilities  and  capital  stock  according  to  the 
Dominion  Government  Standard  is $9,603,113.41 


a  n 


THE  HOME  BANK  OF  CANADA;  HEAD  OFFICE  BUILDING,  TORONTO. 


A  PROSPEROUS  CANADIAN  INSTITUTION 

REPORT   AND   ADDRESSES 
OF 

THE   HOME   BANK   OF   CANADA 


The  Thirteenth  Annual  General  Meeting  of  the  shareholders  of 
the  Home  Bank  of  Canada  was  held  at  the  Head  Office  of  the  Bank, 
8  King  Street  West,  Toronto,  on  Tuesday,  the  25th  day  of  June, 
1918,  at  12  o'clock  noon.  Among  those  present  were: 

R.  P.  GOUGH.  J.  P.  M.  STEWAKT.  J.  C.  MOOR. 

JOHN  DUNN.  W.  J.  GREEN.  R.  L.  ARCHAMBAULT. 

C.  M.  GRIPTON.  WM.  CROCKER.  J.  O'LEART. 

C.  A.  BARNARD,   K.C.  BRIG.-GEN  HON.JAS.MASON.  J.  O.  PATERSON. 

J.  COOPER  MASON.  JAMES  MATTHEWS.  HON.  A.  C.  MACDONELL,  K.C. 

O.  G.  SMITH.  THOS.  LONG.  A.  M.  STEWART. 

M.  J.  HANEY,  C.E.  C.  E.  P.  McWiLLiAMs.  A.  WILLIS. 

THOS.  NIHAN.  CHAS.  PENDRICH.  H.  J.  DAL^R. 

M.  W.  GREEN.  DR.  T.  C.  TRIGGER.  J.  J.  SEITZ. 

A.  McCABE.  J.  B.  O'HIGGINS.  F.  E.  ANNETT. 

DR.  J.  A.  TODD.  W.  H.  PARTRIDGE.  A.  J.  PATTISON. 

J.  H.  FRANCIS.  FRANK  P.  LEE.  S.  CASEY  WOOD. 

F.  E.  LUKE.  WM.  BACON.  G.  W.   S.  SHIPMAN. 

JESSE  ASHBRIDGE.  L.  V.  DUSSEAU.  Jos.  HAYES. 

Moved  by  Mr.  W.  Crocker,  seconded  by  Mr.  C.  M.  Gripton, 
that  the  President,  Mr.  M.  J.  Haney,  take  the  chair,  and  that  the 
Acting  General  Manager,  Mr.  J.  Cooper  Mason,  do  act  as  Secretary. 
Carried.  The  Secretary  then  read  the  Notice  calling  the  Meeting. 
Moved  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Moor,  seconded  by  Mr.  W.  Crocker,  that  the 
Minutes  of  the  last  Annual  General  Meeting  be  taken  as  read.  Carried. 
The  Secretary  then  read  the  Report  of  the  Directors,  as  follows: — 

The  Directors  of  the  Bank  beg  to  submit  to  the  Shareholders 
the  Thirteenth  Annual  Report  for  the  year  ending  the  31st  May, 
1918,  accompanied  by  a  Statement  of  the  Bank's  affairs  and  the  re- 
sults of  the  operations  for  the  year.  The  report  of  the  affairs  of 
the  Bank  at  the  close  of  its  fiscal  year  may  be  considered  as  satis- 
factory, showing,  as  it  does,  a  substantial  growth  during  the  past 
twelve  months.  Following  the  conservative  policy  adopted  by  a 
number  of  the  Banks,  a  sum  has  been  transferred  from  the  net 
profits  to  provide  for  temporary  contingencies  consequent  upon 
the  prolongation  of  the  war.  The  net  profits,  after  making  provision 
for  bad  and  doubtful  debts,  rebate  of  interest  on  unmatured  bills 
under  discount,  cost  of  management,  etc.,  amount  to  $228,963.19. 
This  added  to  $140,238.68,  brought  forward  from  last  year,  together 
with  premium  on  new  stock  $208.54,  makes  the  sum  total  of  $369,- 
410.41,  which  has  been  appropriated  as  follows: — 

Four  quarterly  dividends  at  the  rate  of  5  %  per  annum $  97,362 . 40 

Government  War  Tax  on  Note  Circulation 19,316 .90 

Reserved  for  Depreciation  of  Securities  and  for  Contingencies 90,000 . 00 

Written  off  Bank  Premises  Account 10,000 . 00 

Donation  to  Patriotic  Fund 2,000 . 00 

Balance  carried  forward 150,731 . 11 

Total  $369,410.41 

[903] 


904 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


During  the  year  one  new  branch  was  established  at  Vancouver, 
B.C.  The  Hon.  T.  A.  Crerar,  having  accepted  a  Portfolio  in  the 
Dominion  Cabinet,  resigned  from  the  Board  of  Directors,  and  the 
vacancy  thus  caused  has  been  filled  by  the  election  of  Mr.  S,  Casey 
Wood.  The  usual  inspection  of  the  Head  Office  and  the  branches 
has  been  made,  and  the  Auditor  appointed  by  the  Shareholders, 
Mr.  S.  H.  Jones,  has  completed  his  investigation  and  has  attached 
his  certificate  to  the  statement  now  submitted.  The  Secretary  then 
read  the  Annual  Report  and  Statement  for  the  Year  ending  31st 
May,  1918: 

PROFIT  AND  LOSS  ACCOUNT. 
CE. 

Balance  of  Profit  and  Loss  Account,  31st  May,  1917 $140,238 . 68 

Net  Profits  for  the  year  after  deducting  charges  of  management,  interest 
due  depositors,  payment  of  all  Provincial  and  Municipal  taxes,  and 
rebate  of  interest  on  unmatured  bills 228,963 . 19 


CAPITAL  PROFIT  ACCOUNT 
Premium  on  Capital  Stock  received  during  the  year 


Which  has  been  appropriated  as  follows:  — 

DR. 

Dividend  No.  43.  quarterly,  at  the  rate  of  5 
Dividend  No.  44,  quarterly,  at  the  rate  of  5 


$369,201.87 

208  .  54 
$369,410.41 


per  annum.  . 
per  annum  .  . 


$24,338.31 
24,339  .  69 
24,342.17 
24,342.23 


Dividend  No.  45,  quarterly,  at  the  rate  of  5%  per  annum.  . 
Dividend  No.  46,  quarterly,  at  the  rate  of  5%  per  annum.  . 

-  $  97.362.40 

Government  War  Tax  on  Note  Circulation  ..........................  19,316  .  90 

Reserved  for  Depreciation  of  Securities  and  for  Contingencies  ..........  90,000  .  00 

Written  off  Bank  Premises  Account  .................................  10,000  .  00 

Donation  to  Patriotic  Fund  ........................................  2,000  .  00 

Balance  carried  forward  ............................................  150,731  .  11 

$369,410.41 
GENERAL  STATEMENT,  31st  MAY,  1918 

LIABILITIES 

To  THE  PUBLIC  — 

Notes  of  the  Bank  in  circulation..  ................................  $  1,758,180.00 

Deposits  not  bearing  interest  .............  ........................  4,143,264  .  31 

Deposits  bearing  interest,  includinginterest  accrued  to  date  of  statement    11,539,486  .  62 

Deposits  by  and  balances  due  to  Dominion  Government  .............  3,151,326.54 

Balances  due  to  other  Banks  in  Canada  ...........................  1,589  .  54 

Balances  due  to  Banks  and  Banking  Correspondents  elsewhere  than  in 

Canada  and  the  United  Kingdom  .............................  654,434  .  65 

Acceptances  under  letters  of  credit  ................................  3,087.50 

$21,251,369.16 

To  THE  SHAREHOLDERS  — 
Capital  (subscribed,  $2,000,000)  paid  up  ..............  $1.947,430.98 

Rest  Account  ......................................        300,000  .  00 

Dividends  unclaimed  ................................  1,900.20 

Dividend  No.  46  (quarterly),  being  at  the  rate  of  5%  per 

annum,  payable  June  1st,  1918  ...................          24,342  .  23 

Balance  of  Profit  and  Loss  Account  ..................        150,731  .  11 

-  2,424,404.52 

$23,675,773.68 

ASSETS 

Gold  and  other  current  coin  ____  .............  $    123,454.89 

Dominion  Government  Notes  ........................     3,129,010  .  50 

-  $  3,252,465.39 

Deposit  with  the  Minister  of  Finance  as  security  for  note  circulation.  105,000.00 

Notes  of  other  Banks  ............................................  192,862  .86 

Cheques  on  other  Banks  .........................................  524,118.52 

Balances  due  by  other  Banks  in  Canada  ..........................  1  12,259  .  18 

Due  from  Banks  and  Banking  Correspondents  in  the  United  Kingdom  31,325.37 
Balances  due  by  Banks  and  Banking  Correspondents  elsewhere  than  in 

Canada  and  the  United  Kingdom.  .  .  .  .-  ........................  716,525  .52 


THE  HOME  BANB;  OF  CANADA  —  REPORTS  AND  ADDRESSES  905 

Dominion  and  Provincial  Government  Securities  not  exceeding  market 

value  .........................  «i  1540  211  8Q 

Canadian  Municipal  Securities,  and  British,'  Foreign  'and'  Colonial'  Pub- 

lic Securities,  other  than  Canadian  ..........  2  T>7  332  01 

Railway  and  other  Bonds,  Debentures  and  Stocks,  not  exceeding  market 

value  .........................................  923  172   17 

Call  and  Short  (not  exceeding  30  days)  Loans  in  Canada  on  Bonds  De- 

bentures and  Stocks  .....................................  '.  .  .  .          939,909  91 

$11  073  182  82 
Other  Current  Loans  and  Discounts  in  Canada    less 

rebate  of  interest  ..............................  $11,307,680.47 

Other  Loans  and  Discounts  elsewhere  than  in  Canada.  29,226  26 

Loans  to  cities,  towns,  municipalities  and  school  districts          147*720  55 
Liabilities  of  customers  under  letters  of  credit,  as  per 
_      contra.  .  ......................................  3,087.50 

Overdue  debts  .....................................  34,782  .41 

Real  Estate  other  than  Bank  Premises  ..............  74,995  37 

Mortgages  on  Real  Estate  sold  by  the  Bank  ........  77  112  13 

Bank  Premises,  at  not  more  than  cost,  less  amounts 

written  off  ..................................  871  393  52 

Other  assets  not  included  under  the  foregoing  ........  56,592  .  65 

-     12,602,590.86 

Total  .....................................................  $23,675,773  .  68 

M.  J.  HANEY,  J.  COOPER  MASON, 

President.  Acting  Gen.  Manager. 

In  moving  the  adoption  of  the  Annual  Report  for 
M   JHaney       e  past  year'  wcn  *s  presented  for  your  considera- 


President  tion  to-day,  it  is  in  order  briefly  to  review  the  general 
of  the  Bank  conditions  which  are  influencing  our  national  econ- 
omics and  therefore  have  a  material  bearing  upon 
the  figures  of  our  Report.  Development  and  production, 
in  Canada,  are  being  prosecuted  at  present  under  the  handicap  of 
a  scarcity  of  labour.  This  condition  exists  throughout  Canada,  but 
is  more  serious  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts,  where  men  are 
being  drawn  for  both  the  land  and  sea  forces,  than  it  is  in  the  inland 
sections,  where  recruits  for  the  land  forces  only  are  being  secured 
in  large  numbers.  Economists  hold  that  an  adequate  supply  of 
labour  is  the  first  essential  in  the  development  of  any  nation,  and  this 
problem  therefore  requires  the  immediate  and  earnest  attention  of 
every  patriotic  Canadian.  One  marked  advance  towards  remedial 
measures  is  the  entrance  of  women  into  many  of  the  departments  of 
business  and  industry  formerly  discharged  exclusively  by  men.  It 
would  have  been  impossible  for  the  banks,  for  instance,  to  contribute 
so  large  a  proportion  of  their  young  men  to  the  military  forces,  and 
continue  to  extend  the  detail  of  banking  accommodation  to  the 
public,  if  young  women  had  not  proved  capable  of  taking  up  the 
duties  of  the  absentees.  They  have  done  as  well  as  any  body  of 
intelligent  boys  and  men  untrained  to  banking  routine  would  have 
done  in  the  same  circumstances. 

The  farmer  is  attempting  to  solve  the  problem  created  by  the 
absence  of  the  hired  man,  by  working  overtime  himself.  The 
reports  received  by  this  institution  regarding  farming  conditions 
indicate  another  prosperous  year,  so  that,  even  with  the  scarcity 
of  labour,  we  can  depend  upon  our  farmers  doing  double  service, 
and  reaping  satisfactory  results  from  their  crops.  A  great  responsi- 
bility rests  upon  our  industrial  organization  for  the  development  of 
our  natural  resources  of  forest  and  mine.  Activities  in  this  direction 
must  do  more  than  meet  present  necessities.  Not  only  must  the 


906  THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 

demands  for  home  consumption  be  filled,  but  plans  should  now  be 
laid  for  the  period  of  reconstruction  that  will  follow,  in  every  country, 
at  the  close  of  this  destructive  war.  It  is  now  that  our  manufacturers 
should  be  preparing  for  business  after  the  war — to  increase  our 
trade  with  other  countries,  and  stabilize  our  trade  balance  by 
manufacturing  the  highest  products  from  our  abundant  natural 
resources.  The  success  of  our  three  transcontinental  railways  in 
Canada  depends  on  the  rapid  development  of  our  national  resources 
by  the  most  practical  and  vigorous  methods. 

The  war  has  turned  the  attention  of  all  peoples  to  the  necessity 
for  maintaining  an  efficient  merchant  marine.  Canada  should 
have  under  its  own  flag  shipping  available  to  convey  its  exports 
direct  to  foreign  markets.  We  have  made  a  right  step  in  this 
direction  in  Canada,  and  steel  ship-building  is  being  vigorously 
undertaken  in  Halifax,  the  shipyards  on  our  lakes  are  operating 
to  capacity,  while  in  British  Columbia  operations  are  being  carried 
on  to  a  promising  extent.  The  general  conditions  in  British  Colum- 
bia have  greatly  improved  during  the  past  year.  The  timber  busi- 
ness is  increasing,  and  the  great  opportunities  for  the  manufacture 
of  pulp  are  being  developed  by  a  few  energetic  firms. 

Our  slogan  should  be  first  a  UNITED  CANADA  —  the  fullest 
development  of  all  our  natural  resources  with  absolute  co-ordination 
between  the  financier,  the  farmer,  the  fisherman,  the  miner,  the 
lumberman,  the  manufacturer,  and  the  transportation  system,  to 
provide  the  necessary  capital,  labour,  energy  and  management  for 
war  requirements,  to  the  extent  of  our  ability,  and  place  this  country 
in  a  position  to  meet  its  obligations  during  and  after  the  war. 

The  Hon.  T.  A.  Crerar  having  accepted  the  Portfolio  of  Minister 
of  Agriculture  in  the  Dominion  Cabinet,  retired  from  the  Board. 
Mr.  S.  Casey  Wood  has  been  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
Mr.  Crerar 's  retirement,  thus  completing  the  complement  of  nine 
Directors  called  for  under  our  By-laws.  The  success  of  every  insti- 
tution is  due  to  the  loyalty  and  ability  of  its  staff  under  a  proper 
head,  and  I  wish  to  say  as  a  whole  we  have  had  a  most  loyal  and 
industrious  staff,  who,  under  the  careful  and  able  supervision  of  the 
Acting  General  Manager,  Colonel  Mason,  have  produced  the  satis- 
factory results  presented  in  this  statement. 

On  the  motion  of  the  President,  seconded  by  Mr.  R.  P.  Gough, 
Vice-President,  the  Report  was  duly  adopted. 

COMMENTS  OF  THE  ACTING  GENERAL  MANAGER 

The  Thirteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bank  shows  it  to  be  in 
a  strong  position.  Our  actual  cash  position  is  the  strongest  we  have 
ever  occupied,  and  our  liquid  assets  represent  52*10%  of  our  total 
liabilities  to  the  public.  Notwithstanding  the  heavy  withdrawals 
for  investment  in  Government  and  other  attractive  securities,  a 
very  substantial  increase  is  shown  in  the  deposits.  Our  deposits 
by  the  public,  exclusive  of  deposits  and  balances  due  to  the  Dominion 
Government,  amount  to  $12,680,000,  an  increase  of  over  six  million 
dollars,  or  64*12%  in  the  past  three  years.  The  net  earnings  for 


THE  HOME  BANK  OF  CANADA — REPORTS  AND  ADDRESSES   907 

the  year  were  larger  than  last  year,  being  about  10*18%  of  the 
Paid-Up  Capital  and  Rest. 

The  Staff  situation,  due  to  the  large  number  of  enlistments, 
is  a  serious  one,  but  all  are  working  together,  early  and  late,  giving 
faithful  war  service.  Since  1914  the  volume  of  business  has  increased 
at  least  50%.  The  total  number  of  employees  on  the  staff  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  was — Men,  254 ;  Girls,  15 ;  Total,  269.  At  the 
present  time— Men,  165 ;  Girls,  102;  Total,  267.  The  girls  who  have 
been  taken  into  the  service  for  the  most  part  have  given  very  good 
satisfaction,  and  are  being  employed  as  tellers  in  some  of  our  smaller 
branches. 

Mr.  Thomas  Long  and  Mr.  C.  M.  Grip  ton  both  spoke  briefly, 
expressing  the  satisfaction  of  the  Shareholders  and  complimenting 
the  management  upon  the  Statement  presented.  It  was  then  moved 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Long  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Frank  P.  Lee  that  the 
thanks  of  the  Shareholders  are  due  and  are  hereby  tendered  to  the 
President,  Vice-President  and  Directors  for  their  careful  attention 
to  the  affairs  of  the  Bank.  Carried.  Moved  by  Dr.  J.  A.  Todd, 
seconded  by  Mr.  J.  B.  O'Higgins,  that  the  thanks  of  the  Shareholders 
be  tendered  to  the  Acting  General  Manager  and  the  other  officers 
of  the  Bank  for  the  efficient  manner  in  which  they  have  respectively 
discharged  their  duties  during  the  past  year.  Carried. 

Moved  by  Mr.  L.  V.  Dusseau,  seconded  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Green, 
that  Mr.  Sydney  H.  Jones  be  re-appointed  Auditor  of  the  Bank  for 
the  ensuing  year.  Carried.  The  following  Directors  were  then 
elected  for  the  ensuing  year:  Messrs.  C.  A.  Barnard,  K.C.,  H.  J. 
Daly,  R.  P.  Gough,  M.  J.  Haney,c.E.,  John  Kennedy,  Hon.  A.  Claude 
Macdonell,  K.C.,  Brig.-Gen.  the  Hon.  James  Mason,  J.  Ambrose 
O'Brien,  S.  Casey  Wood. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  new  Board  of  Directors  held  immediately 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  General  Meeting,  Mr.  M.  J.  Haney, 
C.E.,  was  re-elected  President,  Mr.  R.  P.  Gough,  Vice-President,  and 
Brig.-General  the  Hon.  James  Mason,  Honorary  President,  of  the 
Bank.  Lieut.-Colonel  J.  Cooper  Mason,  D.S.O.,  was  also  appointed 
General  Manager. 


THE    BATTLE   CREEK    SANITARIUM 

Francis   Grierson,   the    Famous    English 

Litterateur  and   World  Traveller, 

Visits  This  Great  Institution 


For  many  years,  during  my  travels  in  Europe,  I  had  heard  of 
the  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium.  In  Germany  I  was  often  asked  if  I 
had  ever  visited  the  famous  institution  and  at  all  the  leading  health 
resorts  in  England  and  Scotland  I  was  asked  the  same  question. 

One  day,  at  Carlsbad,  an  eminent  Russian  scientist  said  to  me : — 
"America  has  given  the  world  two  ideas  that  will  never  die — the 
Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  Battle  Creek  Idea."  I  became 
deeply  interested  and  decided  I  would  some  day  visit  the  Sanitarium 
and  see,  hear  and  experience  for  myself. 

On  my  arrival  I  was  struck  by  three  things — the  beauty  of 
Battle  Creek,  the  size  of  the  Sanitarium  Buildings,  and  the  superb 
appearance  of  the  trees  and  lawns  surrounding  the  buildings  on  all 
sides.  The  Battle  Creek  Idea  is  the  most  vital  and  biological 
ever  put  into  practical  form.  It  did  not  take  me  long  to  realize  this. 
In  Europe  I  saw  failure  resulting  from  the  fact  that  some  one  tried 
to  establish  a  practical,  working  institution  with  nothing  to  work 
on  but  notions  and  fads. 

BATTLE  CREEK  NOT  A  FAD. 

The  Sanitarium  has  passed  from  theory  to  realization,  from  the 
local  idea  to  universal  application.  It  is  no  longer  in  the  pioneer 
period.  As  I  have  just  pointed  out,  it  is  known  to  the  remotest 
limits  of  civilization.  Here  guests  are  not  treated  sentimentally, 
but  scientifically.  Here  there  is  no  place  for  guess  work  and  make- 
believe.  There  is  no  dallying  with  whims  and  vagaries. 

Every  University  in  England  and  America  has  its  simple-life 
enthusiasts  here.  In  the  dining  room,  I  was  introduced  to  a  young 
Russian  who  told  me  more  about  present-day  life  in  Russia  than  I 
ever  knew.  One  evening  I  was  surprised  to  meet  some  acquaintances 
from  Florence,  Italy,  and  while  I  was  talking  with  them,  some  friends 
came  up  whom  I  had  known  in  Paris. 

The  climate  is  remarkably  equable,  and  the  position  of  the 
town,  one  thousand  feet  above  Lake  Michigan,  in  the  centre  of  the 
stage,  at  the  top  of  the  great  mound  which  forms  the  State,  insures 
pure,  cool  lake  breezes  from  all  sides — from  Lake  Michigan  on  the 
West,  Lake  Huron  on  the  East  and  Lake  Superior  on  the  North. 
Summer  heat  is  less  here  than  on  the  lake  shore,  because  the  town 
is  on  a  greater  elevation  and  during  hot  spells  it  is  even  cooler  in 
Battle  Creek  than  it  is  at  the  northern  resorts. 

[908] 


THE  BATTLE  CREEK  SANITARIUM  909 

"It  is  cool  in  Michigan,"  is  a  phrase  that  draws  tens  of  thousands 
of  people  to  this  part  of  the  United  States  from  Texas  and  other 
southern  States,  every  summer  season.  There  are  two  hundred 
small  lakes  in  the  vicinity  of  Battle  Creek  and  several  thousand 
in  the  State,  and  the  beauty  of  the  walks  and  the  public  roads,  can 
hardly  be  adequately  described. 

The  beautiful  maples,  elms,  lindens  and  catalpas  which  line  the 
streets  and  fill  the  numerous  lovely  parks,  are  the  home  of  hundreds 
of  big  black  and  grey  fox  squirrels,  which  scamper  about  the  trees 
and  play  with  children  in  the  parks. 

THE  MEDICAL  STAFF. 

The  Battle  Creek  Idea  embodies  all  the  most  improved  and 
most  scientific  methods  of  combating  disease.  There  are  no  violent 
heroic  measures,  no  empirical  formulas,  no  secret  methods  employed. 
The  system  is  simply  a  rational  plan  of  leading  the  individual  out 
of  suffering  and  inefficiency  into  health,  comfort  and  useful  activity. 

The  medical  corps  of  the  Sanitarium  comprises  more  than  thirty 
physicians  and  from  three  to  four  hundred  nurses  and  attendants, 
the  number  varying  with  the  season  of  the  year.  The  leading 
physicians  of  the  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium  have  been  connected  with 
the  institution  for  ten  to  forty  years  and  all  of  them  have  been 
especially  trained  for  the  work  in  the  best  medical  institutions  of 
this  country  and  Europe. 

The  most  popular  breakfast  foods  originated  here.  Toasted 
cereal  flakes  are  a  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium  idea  which  has  won 
favour  throughout  the  world. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  ever  increasing  appreciation  of  the 
work  of  the  institution  on  the  part  of  the  medical  profession.  This 
is  clearly  shown  in  the  fact  that  the  family  of  patients  always  in- 
cludes many  physicians  and  from  inquiry  I  learned  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  patients  are  referred  here  by  their  family  physicians. 

In  looking  over  the  annual  report  I  found  that  among  thousands 
of  others  admitted  last  year  as  patients  there  were  one  hundred 
and  fifty-six  attorneys;  one  hundred  and  eight  bankers;  ten  judges; 
three  hundred  and  thirty -six  students;  twenty-one  publishers; 
one  hundred  and  eighty-one  teachers;  four  senators;  seven  editors; 
twenty-eight  presidents;  two  hundred  and  twenty  nurses,  and  two 
hundred  and  eighteen  physicians. 

Provision  is  made  for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  poor,  as  well  as 
for  those  who  are  able  to  pay.  The  case  of  the  poorest  sufferer 
receives  the  same  painstaking,  careful  investigation  as  that  of  the 
wealthiest  patient. 


Newfoundland 

The  Norway  of  the  New  World 

A  Land  of  Surpassing  Beauty  and 
of  Rare  Interest  for  the  Traveller 

FOR  the  photographer,  the  artist  and  the  lover  of 
the  beautiful  in  Nature  its  attractions  cannot   be 
exaggerated,  Its  dependency,  LABRADOR,  exceeds  in 
its   picturesque    natural    panoramas   the  much-praised 
Fiords  of  Norway. 

The  Sportsman's  Paradise 

Abounding  in  game  of  the  finest  in  fin,  fur  and  feather. 
Lordly  caribou  in  countless  herds.  Rivers  teeming  with 
salmon.  Lakes  filled  with  trout.  Forests  alive  with  birds 
and  furry  creatures.  All  sport  free  except  caribou  hunt- 
ing, which  requires  a  license  fee  of  $50  (£10),  and  salmon 
fishing,  which  involves  a  rod  tax  of  $10  (£2). 

Forest,  Mine  and  Farmland  Wealth 

Splendid  opportunities  to  acquire  lands  for  Farming, 
Mining,  Lumbering,  and  Pulp  and  Paper  Making  on 
reasonable  terms,  with  generous  concessions  from  the 
Government  of  Newfoundland  in  the  way  of  free  entry 
for  all  machinery  and  equipments  requisite  in  establishing 
new  industries. 

COPPER  and  IRON  MINES  in  active  operation. 

SAW  MIUA  cutting  extensively  of  lumber  for  export. 

Two  of  the  world's  largest  PAPER  Miu,s  recently 
established. 


For  Information  respecting  Sport,  apply  to  Mr.  J.  G.  Stone, 
Minister  of  Marine  and  Fisheries,  St.  John's,  Newfoundland; 
Respecting  Lands,  to  Hon.  J.  A.  Clift,  Minister  of  Agriculture 
and  Mines,  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  and  otherwise  to 
HON.  W.  W.  HALFYARD,  Colonial  Secretary,  St.  John's,  N.F. 

[910] 


NORTHERN  ONTARIO 


THE  Great  Clay  Belt  of  Northern  Ontario 
extends  westerly  from  the  inter-provin- 
cial boundary  between  Quebec  and  On- 
tario for  over  400   miles — varying  in  depth, 
north  and  south,  from  25  to  100  miles   and 
more.     It  is  safe  to  say  that  from  65  to  75 
per  cent,  of  this  vast  expanse  is  good   farm 
land.     The  soil  is  rich  and  deep  and  produces 
in  abundance  practically  all    crops  grown  in 
Older  Ontario. 

RAILROADS — A  settler  can  ride  from  the 
big  cities  of  Ontario  or  the  West  in  a  Pullman 
if  he  wishes  almost  to  his  own  door.  This  is 
something  new  in  pioneer  life.  Note  that  this 
fertile  land  is  one  degree  south  of  Winnipeg. 
The  climate  is  ideal  for  perfect  health;  warm 
in  summer,  cold  and  invigorating  in  winter. 

The  land  is  well  watered  with  lakes  and 
rivers  and  covered  with  merchantable  timber. 

For  information  re  Land  Settlement 
Scheme  for  Returned  Soldiers  and  Sailors 
communicate  with  Lieut.-Col.  Robert  Innes, 
Parliament  Buildings,  Toronto. 

Our  literature  descriptive  of  this  great 
country  may  be  had  free  by  applying  to 


G.  H.  FERGUSON, 

Minister  of  Lands,  Forests 
and  Mines. 


H.  A.  MACDONELL, 

Director  of  Colonization, 
Parliament  Buildings, 

Toronto,  Ontario 


[911] 


From  Tuesday,  June  18,  1918 

CENTRAL  TRUST  CO.  of  NEW  YORK 

ESTABLISHED  1875 

UNION  TRUST  COMPANY  of  NEW  YORK 

ESTABLISHED  1864 

will  be  known  as 


TRUST  COMPANY 


OF  NEW  YORK 


Capital,  Surplus  and  Undivided  Profits,  $29,000,000 
Deposits  $220,000,000 

Until  the  alterations  now  being  made  at  No.  80  Broadway  are  completed, 
the  business  heretofore  transacted  by  the  Central  Trust  Company  will  continue 
to  be  carried  on  at  No.  54  Wall  Street  and  the  business  heretofore  transacted 
by  the  Union  Trust  Company  will  continue  to  be  carried  on  at  No.  80  Broad- 
way. The  business  at  both  offices,  however,  after  the  effective  date  of  the 
merger  will  be  transacted  by  the  Central  Union  Trust  Company  of  New  York, 
and  new  business  of  any  kind  may  be  taken  up  at  either  office. 

The  entire  personnel  of  both  companies  will  be  retained  and  the  company 
will  be  fully  equipped  to  handle  financial  business  of  every  kind  consistent 
with  conservative  banking. 

JAMES  N.  WALLACE 
President  and  Chairman  of  Board  of  Trustees 

EDWIN  G.  MERRILL 
V ice-President  and  Vice-Chairman  of  Board  of  Trustees 


VICE-PRESIDENTS 


G.  W.  DAVISON 
J.  Y.  G.  WALKER 


F.  J.  FULLER 
B.  A.  MORTON 


F.  B.  SMIDT 
F.  J.  LEARY 


E.  F.  HYDE       H.  M.  POPHAM 
J.  V.  B.  THAYBR   D.  OLCOTT,  2d 

M.  FERGUSON,   Vice- President  &*  Secretary 

H.  M.  MYRICK,   Treasurer 

CHAS.  P.  STALLKNBCHT,  T.  W.  HARTSHORNE,  W.  H.  LUDLUM,  Asst.  Treas. 

Asst.  Secy.  Asst.  Secy.        S.  H.  TALLMAN,  Asst.  Treas. 

O.  L.  COLES,  Asst.  Secy.  E.  P.  ROGERS,  Asst.  Secy.      D.  A.  Rows,  Asst.  Treas. 

GEO.  J.  CORBBTT,  Asst.  Secy. 


PLAZA  BRANCH 

Fifth  Avenue  and  60th  St. 

W.  MCMASTER  MILLS, 

Vice-Prest. 
ERNEST  H.  COOK, 

Asst.  Treas. 
F.  W.  FIRTH,  Asst.  Mgr. 


WALTER  P.  BLISS 
JAMES  C.  BRADY 
JAMBS  BROWN 
GEO.  W.  DAVISON 
JOHNSTON  DEFOREST 
RICHARD  DBLAFIELD 
CLARENCE  DILLON 
HENRY  EVANS 
FREDERICK  DB  P.  FOSTER 
ADRIAN  ISELIN 


42ND  ST.  BRANCH 


FIFTH  AVENUE  BRANCH 

Madison  Ave.  and  48nd  St.     88th  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue 
C.  W.  PARSON, 

Asst.   Treas. 
W.  C.  FAY    Asst.  Mgr. 


C.  R.  BERRIBN,  Vice-Prest. 
HENRY  C.  HOLT, 

Asst.  Treas. 
R.  N.  MCENANY, 

Asst.  Treas. 

BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 

JAMBS  N.  JARVIB 
AUGUSTUS  D.  JUILLIARD 
AUGUSTUS  W.  KELLBY 
CHARLES  LANIBR 
V.  EVBRIT  MACY 
EDWIN  G.  MERRILL 
WILLIAM  H.  NICHOLS,  JR. 
DUDLEY  OLCOTT 
DUDLEY  OLCOTT,  2d 


W.  EMLEN  ROOSEVELT 
JACOB  H.  SCHIFP 
FREDERICK  STRAUSS 
EDWIN  THORNB 
CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT 
J.  Y.  G.  WALKER 
JAMES  N.  WALLACE 
FRANCIS  M.  WELD 
M.  ORME  WILSON 
WILLIAM  WOODWARD 


[912] 


NOVA  SCOTIA  STEELS  COAL  COMPANV 

LIMITED 
Manufacturers  of 

"SCOTIA" 

High  Grade  Basic  Open  Hearth  Steel 
Products 

PLATES 

CAR   AXLES 

TIE    PLATES 

LIGHT     RAILS 

LOCOMOTIVE    AXLES 

AGRICULTURAL    SHAPES 

ANGLE   AND    SPLICE    BARS 

TRACK    SPIKES    AND    BOLTS 

SQUARE    TWISTED    REINFORCING   BARS 

MERCHANT  BARS,  ROUNDS,  SQUARES,  FLATS 

Fluid  Compressed  Steel  Forcings 

General  Sales  Office 
WINDSOR  HOTEL  Head  Office 

Montreal  New  Glasgow 

Que.  Nova  Scotia 


THE  EASTERN  CAR  Co. 

LIMITED 
Manufacturers  of 

RAILWAY  CARS 

OF  ALL  SIZES  and  DESIGNS,  MINING  CARS,  STRUCTURAL  WORK 

Head  Office 

INEW  GLASGOW 

NOVA  SCOTIA 

58  [913] 


The 

National  Park  Bank 

of  New  York 

Organized  1856 


Capital  $    5,000,000.00 

Surplus  and  Undivided  Profits     -       17,000,000.00 
Deposits  (May  10, 1918)     -        -     194,000,000.00 

PRESIDENT 
RICHARD  DELAFIELD 

VICE-PRESIDENTS 

GILBERT  G.  THORNE  MAURICE  H.  EWER 

JOHN  C.  VAN  CLEAF  GEORGE  H.  KRETZ 

WILLIAM  O.  JONES  SYLVESTER  W.  LABROT 

CASHIER 
ERNEST  V.  CONNOLLY 

ASSISTANT  CASHIERS 

WILLIAM  A.  MAIN  WILLIAM  E.  DOUGLAS 

FREDERICK  O.  FOXCROFT  HENRY  L.  SPARKS 

J.  EDWIN  PROVINE  BYRON  P.  ROBBINS 

DIRECTORS 

STUYVESANT  FISH  RICHARD  H.  WILLIAMS 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER  THOMAS  F.  VIETOR 

EDWARD  C.  HOYT  JOHN  G.  MILBURN 

W.  ROCKHILL  POTTS  WILLIAM  VINCENT  ASTOR 

RICHARD  DELAFIELD  JOSEPH  D.  OLIVER 

FRANCIS  R.  APPLETON  ROBERT  P.  PERKINS 

CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT  JOHN  JAY  PIERREPONT 

GILBERT  G.  THORNE  LEWIS  CASS  LEDYARD,  JR. 

HORACE  C.  STEBBINS  JOHN  C.  VAN  CLEAF 
SYLVESTER  W.  LABROT 


[914] 


r-  Vr  7         ^    Wgj#T^*^ 

The  -writing  on  the  "Wall 

In  your  plan  of  life  have  you  made  certain  of  a 
continuous  and  assured  income  if  you  live  to  old  age? 

Perhaps  you  have  never  clearly  and  definitely 
faced  the  question. 

It  is  certain  to  become  a  real  one  in  time.    Face  it  now. 

Some  day  the  writing  on  the  wall  may  strike  you  with  a 
sudden  realization  of  its  truth  and  importance. 

When  that  time  comes  will  you  be  insurable? 

You  do  not  know. 

But  if  you  are  in  good  health  you  can  place  insurance  on 
your  life  at  once. 

Total  and  Permanent  Disability  no  longer  constitute  the 
same  menace  to  your  future  if  you  have  the  Confederation 
Life's  new  Disability  Clause  in  your  policy.  In  case  of  dis- 
ability your  premiums  cease,  you  receive  an  income  for  life, 
and  the  amount  of  the  policy  is  paid  to  your  heirs  at  your 
death. 

A  Confederation  Life  representative  will  gladly  send  you 
the  necessary  data  to  enable  you  to  decide  at  once  what 
plan  best  meets  your  requirements. 

CONFEDERATION  LIFE 

ASSOCIATION 

201 


[915] 


THE 


William  and  Beaver  Streets 
NEW  YORK 

Organized 


1853 


Member  of  the  Federal  Reserve  System  and 
New  York  Clearing  House. 


CAPITAL,  SURPLUS  AND  PROFITS,  $11,000,000 
NET  DEPOSITS,  $110,000,000 


OFFICERS 

WILLIAM  A.  NASH  -  -  Chairman 
WALTER  E.  FREW  -  -  President 

FREDERICK  T.  MARTIN,  7 ice-President 
HENRY  A.  PATTEN  -  Vice-President 
DUNHAM  B.  SHERER,  V ice-President 
EDWARD  S.  MALMAR  -  -  Cashier 
WM.  E.  WILLIAMS  -  Assistant  Cashier 
JOHN  S.  WHEELAN,  Assistant  Cashier 
RICHARD  D.  BROWN,  Assistant  Cashier 
FREDERICK  K.LISTER,  Assistant  Cashier 

DIRECTORS 


WILLIAM  A.  NASH 
WALTER  E.  FREW 
DAVID  BINGHAM 
CLARENCE  H.  KELSEY 
WM.  RHINELANDER  STEWART 
WILLIAM  H.  NICHOLS 
HENRY  SHAEFER 


CHARLES  W.  McCUTCHEN 
ANDREW  MILLS 
PHILIP  LEHMAN 
HENRY  B.VAUGHAN 
ROBERT  A.  DRYSDALE 
J.  LOUS  SCHAEFER 
DAVID  M.  MORRISON 


Forty  Branches  Located  in 
New  York  City 


[916] 


CANADIAN  GENERAL  ELECTRIC  CO 


LIMITED 

Capital  Paid  Up  -  $10.000.000.00 
Surplus      -    -    -    -  $  4.466.293.00 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 

Electrical  Apparatus  and  Supplies  for  Railway,  Light 
and  Power  Purposes 


GENERAL    OFFICES:    KING    AND    SIMCOE    STREETS,    TORONTO 


Factories : 
PETERBORO,  ONT.  -  TORONTO.  ONT. 


Tungsten  and  Carbon  Lamp  Works: 
TORONTO.  ONT.  PETERBORO.  ONT.  MONTREAL.  QUE. 


CANADIAN  ALLIS  CHALMERS, 

LIMITED 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 

Locomotives,    Structural    Steel,    Contractors'    and    Power 

Plant  Equipment,  Mining,  Crushing,  Hydraulic 

and  Milling  Machinery 


GENERAL    OFFICES:    KING    AND    SIMCOE    STREETS,    TORONTO 


Factories: 

TORONTO,  ONT.  BRIDGEBURG,  ONT. 

MONTREAL,  QUE.  STRATFORD,  ONT. 


Architectural  Bronze  and  Iron  Works: 
TORONTO 

[917] 


THE 


HANOVER 

NATIONAL 

BANK 
OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


Capital       $3,000,000 
Surlusandproiits  17,000.000 


FF1CERS 


WILLIAM   WOODWARD 


HAYWARD    FERRY 


SAMUEL  WOOLVERTON 


JOSEPH    BYRNE 


CHARLES  H.   HAMPTON 


HENRY   P.-TURNSI 


WILLIAM   E.   CABLE.  JR. 


NIEMANN 


1    DONALD 


GEORGE  E.  LEWIS 


f-OREIGN    DEPARTMEN 
WILLIAM   H.   SUYDAM,  , 


ROBERT  NEILLEY. 


Cor.  Nassau  &  Pine  Streets 


Whom  will  You  Appoint 
as  Your  Executor? 


The  ultimate  fate  of  the  fortune  you  have  struggled 
to  acquire  will  partly  depend  upon  the  wisdom  you 
exhibit  in  the  selection  of  your  Executor.  A  friend,  no 
matter  how  astute,  can  scarcely  be  expected  to  give 
your  affairs  his  undivided  attention,  whereas  by  ap- 
pointing this  Corporation  as  your  Executor,  your  Estate 
will  have  experienced,  capable  and  constantly  attentive 
experts  to  manage  its  affairs,  with  no  greater  cost  for 
administration. 

Consultation  Solicited.  Call  or  Write. 

THE 

TORONTO  GENERAL  TRUSTS 
CORPORATION 

HON.  FEATHERSTON   OSLER.  K.C..  D.C.L..  President 

A.  D.  LANGMUIR.  General  Manager  W.  G.  WATSON.  Asat.  Gen.  Mgr. 

T.  J.  MAGUIRE.  Secretary 

Capital  Paid-Up $1,500,000.00 

Reserve  Fund 1,950,000.00 

Assets  Under  Administration   -    -    83,286.782.69 

HEAD  OFFICE     -  -     85  BAY  ST.,  TORONTO 

BRANCHES:    OTTAWA.    WINNIPEG.    SASKATOON.    VANCOUVER 


[919] 


BANFF  SPRINGS  HOTEL 


In  the  Heart  of  a  Grander  Switzerland— 


CANADIAN  PACIFIC  ROCKIES 


— Summer  resort  of  discriminating  holiday- 
makers.  The  outdoor  life — golf,  tennis,  motor- 
ing roads,  pony  riding  on  the  mountain  trails, 
hiking,  climbing — the  open-air  sulphur  pools, 
the  roomy  restfulness  of 
the  big  hotel  with  its 
excellent  ballroom  and 
orchestra,  its  splendid 
cuisine  and  service — 
combine  to  give  Banff  its 
tone.  Moderate  rates. 


For  information  apply  to 
C.  E.  E.  USSHER 

Passenger  Traffic  Manager 


CANADIAN  PACIFIC 
RAILWAY 

Montreal,  Que. 


[920] 


ANADIAN  NORTHERN  RAILWAY 


Mount  Edith  Cavell,  11,033  ft.,  a  Rocky  Mountain  memorial  to  the  heroic  British 
Red  Cross  Nurse — seen  from  the  Canadian  Northern  Railway 

Yellowhead  Pass  Transcontinental  Route 

Quebec  to  Vancouver  and  Victoria,  B.  C. 
Convenient  Train  Service.    All  modern  equipment. 

For  through  tickets  and  information  apply  to  General  Passenger  Department. 

MONTREAL,  QUE.  TORONTO,  ONT.  WINNIPEG,  MAN. 


HIGH  GRADE 
RUBBER  GOODS 


Made  in  Canada 


Belting  Rubber  Hose 

For  all  purposes  £Qr 

Packings  Water 

Valves  Suction 

Tubing  Steam 

Motor  Tires  Air  Drills 

Tiling  Fire  Protection 

Mats  and  Matting  Acids 

Moulded  Goods  Pneumatic  Tools 

Etc.  Etc. 


Sole  manufacturers  of  "Maltese  Cross"   Brand  Rubbers 

The  best-fitting,  best-wearing  and  most  stylish  rubber  footwear  on  the  market. 


GUTTA  PERCHA  &  RUBBER,  LIMITED 

Head  Offices:  47  Yonge  Street,  Toronto 

Branches  at  Halifax,  Montreal,  Ottawa,  Fort  William,  Winnipeg,  Regina 
Saskatoon,  Edmonton,  Calgary,  Lethbridge,  Vancouver,  Victoria. 


Melbourne,  Sydney  and  Perth,  Australia. 


[922] 


ir»vo  of  Canada's  treading  Insurance  Companies* 

(A  World-wide  Business  Transacted) 

Western  Assurance  Company 

Incorporated  A.D.  1851 

FIRE,  MARINE,  INLAND  TRANSPORTATION, 
AUTOMOBILE  AND  EXPLOSION  INSURANCE 

ASSETS  exceed      -      -  -  $6,000,000 

CAPITAL  (authorized)  -  5,000,000 

(subscribed)  -  2,500,000 

(paid-up)     -  -  2,500,000 

Bosses  paid  to  policy-holders  since   organization   of    the   Company   in    1851, 

over  $71,000,000 


iritish  America  Assurance  Company 

Established  in  the  reign  of  King  William  IV.,  A.D.  1833 

FIRE,  MARINE,  INLAND  TRANSPORTATION, 
AUTOMOBILE  AND  HAIL  INSURANCE 

ASSETS  exceed     -      -  -  $3,500,000 

CAPITAL  (authorized)  -  3,000,000 

(subscribed)  -  1,400,000 

(paid-up)      -  -  1,400,000 

osses    paid    to   policy-holders   since   organization  of  the    Company  in  1833, 

over  $43,000,000 


BOARD  OF  DIRECTORS 

W.  B.  MEIKLE,  President  and  General  D.  B.  HANNA 

Manager  JOHN  HOSKIN,  K.C.,  I/L.D. 

SIR  JOHN  AIRD  Z.  A.  LASH,  K.C.,  U,.D. 

ROBERT  BICKERDIKE  (Montreal)  GEO.  A.  MORROW,  O.B.E. 

ALFRED  COOPER  (London,  Eng.)  I/r.-CoL.  THE  HON.  FREDERIC  NICHOLAS 

H.  C.  Cox  BRIG.-GEN.  SIR  HENRY  PBU.ATT.  C.V.O. 

E.  HAY  E.  R.  WOOD 


BOARD  AT  LONDON,  ENG. 

RT.  HON.  SIR  JOHN  H.  KENNAWAY,  BART.,  C.B.,  Chairman. 
SIR  ERNEST  CABLE.  ALFRED  COOPER.  SIR  CHARLES  JOHNSTON.  BART. 


OFFICES  14   Cornhill,   B.C. 

HBAD   OFMPICBS  TORONTO,   CANADA 

British  America  Assurance  Co.          Western  Assurance  Co. 
Cor.  Front  and  Scott  Sts.  Cor.  Wellington  and  Scott  Sts. 

[923] 


Canada  Permanent  Mortgage  Corporation 

Established  1855 = 

HEAD  OFFICE— TORONTO  STREET,  TORONTO 

Branch  Offices — Winnipeg,  Man.;  Vancouver,  B.C.; 
St.  John,  N.B.;  Edmonton,  Alta.;  Regina,  Sask. 

President — W.  G.  Gooderham 

First  Vice-President — W.  D.  Matthews  Second  Vice-President — R.  S.  Hudson 

Joint  General  Managers — R.  S.  Hudson,  John  Massey 

Assistant  General  Manager — George  H.  Smith 

Paid-up  Capital $  6,000,000.00 

Reserve  Fund  (Earned) 5,250,000.00 

Investments 31,557,661.82 

DEPOSITS 
The  Corporation  is  a  Legal  Depository  for  Trust  Funds 

Every  facility  is  afforded  Depositors. 

Deposits  may  be  made  and  withdrawn  by  mail  with  perfect  convenience. 

Deposits  of  one  dollar  and  upwards  are  welcomed. 

Interest  at  Three  and  One-Half  Per  Cent. 

per  annum  is  credited  and  compounded  twice  a  year. 

DEBENTURES 

For  sums  of  one  hundred  dollars  and  upwards  we  issue  Debentures  bearing  a  special 
rate  of  interest  for  which  coupons  payable  half-yearly  are  attached.  They  may  be 
made  payable  in  one  or  more  years,  as  desired.  They  are  a 

LEGAL  INVESTMENT  FOR  TRUST  FUNDS 


MAKE  A  RECORD 

OF 

YOUR  SECURITIES 

For  the  convenience  of  those  desiring  to  make  a 
record  of  their  securities,  we  have  prepared  a  con- 
venient form  for  entering  the  name  of  the  security, 
date  of  purchase,  amount,  purchase  price,  annual 
income,  time  of  interest  or  dividend  payment, 
time  of  maturity,  etc.  Indispensable  for  security 
holders. 

A  copy  of  the  Security  Record  Form  will  be 
gladly  sent  on  request. 

A.  E.  AMES  &  CO. 

"  T=o^o^?ZGc,^?^°L 

74  BROADWAY          -        -         NEW  YORK 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


List  of  Name-Tables  in  Text  too  long  to  Index  Individually 


i-AGE 

Agricultural     Council    of    Canada, 

Members  of 381 

Australian  Military  Honours  List.  .  176 
Australian  Union  Government, 

Members  of 170 

Aviators  of  Distinction,  Canadian. .  542 
Bank  Appointments,  Canadian  ....  410 
Battalion  Commanders  in  France, 

Canadian 523 

Bishop's  College,  Lennoxville,  Hon. 

Degrees  of 684 

Brigade   Commanders   in    England, 

Canadian 515 

British  Aristocracy  Killed  in  Action, 

Members  of 151 

British  Commons,  Members  in  Army     151 
Canadian  Clubs,  Presidents  and  Sec- 
retaries of 464 

Canadian  Families  with  4  or  more 

Representatives  at  the  Front 549 

Casualties,  Canadian 544-52 

Conscription,  Board  of  Selection 349 

Conscription  Registrars 350 

Dominion  Royal  Commission,  Mem- 
bers of 198 

Elections,  Dominion,  Presiding  Offi- 
cers of 633 

Empire  Club  of  Canada,  Speakers  at.  461-2 
Farmers'  Organizations,  Presidents  of  646 
French-Canadian  Contributors  to 

War  Funds 474 

French-Canadian     Families     repre- 
sented at  the  Front 473 

German  Spies  and  Plotters  in  U.S.A.  268-9 
Government    Appointments,    Cana- 
dian    323-4 

Gram  Growers  of  Manitoba,  Direc- 
tors of 740 

Grain  Supervisors,  Board  of 376 

Honours,  Canadian  Military 544-52 

International  Joint  Commission, 

Membership  of 357 

Irish  National  Convention,  Members 

of 166-7 

Judicial  Appointments,  Canadian..  324 
King's  Counsel  Appointments  in 

Quebec 683 

Liberal   Editors    Supporting    Union 

Government 634 

Liberals  Supporting  Union  Govern- 
ment      603 

Manitoba  Official  Appointments  . . .  724 
Manitoba  Organizations,  Heads  of 

Chief 737 

Military     Hospitals,     Commanding 

Officers  of 516 

Military  Representatives,  Canadian.  351-2 
Military  Service  Council,  Members  of  349 


New  Brunswick  Government,  Ap- 
pointments by 702 

New  Brunswick  Liberal  Government, 
Members  of 702 

New  Brunswick  Organizations, 
Heads  of 710 

Newfoundland,  Union  Government 
of 188 

Nova  Scotia  Food  Commission, 
Members  of 685 

Nova  Scotia  Organizations,  Heads  of    693 

Ontario  Educational  Association, 
Officials  of 655-6 

Ontario  Government  Appointments.     666 

Ontario  Organizations,  Presidents  of    666 

Parliamentary  Debates,  Introducers 
of 328-9 

P.E.I.  Government,  New 717 

§uebec  Organizations,  Heads  of 683 
ailway   National    Defence,    Com- 
mittees of 396 

Resources,  Committee  re  Imperial . .     199 

Rotary  Clubs  in  Canada,  Presidents 
of 463 

Round  Table  Memorandum,  Signa- 
tories of 201 

Royal      Military     College,     Distin- 
guished War  Graduates  of. 550 

Saskatchewan,  K.C.  Appointments  in     754 

Saskatchewan  Live-stock  Board 754 

Saskatchewan  Organizations,  Heads 
of 753 

Saskatchewan  Returned  Soldiers' 
Employment  Commission 758 

Senate  Appointments,  Canadian . . .     323 

Soldier  Candidates  in  Dominion 
Elections 637 

University  of  Manitoba,  Council  and 
Board  of  Governors 738 

Union  Government,  Members  of . . .     584 

United  States  War  Commissions . . .     236 

Vimy  Ridge,  Canadian  Officers  Killed 
at 526 

Vimy  Ridge,  Canadian  Brigade 
Commanders  at 523 

War  Appointments  in  England,  Can- 
adian   515 

Women  Advocates  of  Women  Suf- 
frage   434 

Women's  Organizations  in  Canada, 
Presidents  of 435 

Women  Unionist  Campaign,  Speak- 
ers in 632 

Wool  Commission,  Canadian  Mem- 
bers of 378 

Y.M.C..A,  Canadian,  Presidents  of.     456 

Young  Canadians  of  Well-known 
Families  on  Active  Service 545-8 


Abbott,  Dr.  A.  H.,  610,  646. 

Abbott,  Dr.  Lyman,  252. 

Abercorn,  Duke  and  Duch- 
ess of,  284. 

Aberdeen,  Lord,  467. 

Aberdeen,  Lady,  427 

Abich,  R.  A.  M.,  438. 

Acheson,  Bishop  E.  C.,  667. 

Achim,  H.,  487. 

Ackerman,  Carl  W.,  46,  48, 
62. 


Acworth,  Wm.  M.,  397,  400, 
405. 

Adair,  L.  H.,  807. 

Adami,  Lt.-Col.  J.  G.,  513. 

Adams,  Thomas,  326. 

Adams,  F.  D.,  470. 

Adamson,  Mrs.  Agar,  461. 

Addams,  Jane,  275,  277,  433. 

Addison,    Rt.    Hon.    Chris- 
topher, 133,  143,  208. 

Aga  Khan,  196. 
[925] 


Aikins,  Sir  James  A.  M., 
467,  718,  728,  729,  736. 

Ainey,  Joseph,  632. 

Aird,  Sir  John,  402,  408,  458. 

Aitken,  Sir  W.  Max,  511. 
(See  Beaverbrook.) 

Albert,  Dr.  H.  F.,  216,  256, 

OKQ 

Albert,  H.  M.  King,  52,  432, 

461. 
Alderson,  General,  768. 


926 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Alexander,  James,  378. 
Alexander,  Prince,  94,  121. 
Alexieff,  General,  72,  78. 
Alexandra,     H.M.     Queen, 

462,  467. 

Alfieri,  General,  90. 
Alice,  H.R.H.  Princess,  67 


Allain,  David  V.,  701. 
Allan,  Alex.,  626-7. 
Allan,  C.  B.,  459. 
Allan,  G.  B.,  714. 
Allan,  G.  W.,  611. 
Allan,  H.  A.,  511. 
Allan,  J.  A.,  5,  81. 
Allan,  J.  D.,  602. 
Allan,  K.C.,  G.  W.,  643 
Allan,  W.  R.,  458,  736. 
Allan,  Mrs.  W.  R.,  458. 
Allard,  Hon.  Jules,  679,  683. 
Allen,  Sir  James,  184. 
Allenby,  Gen.  Sir  E.  H.  H., 

148,  150,  189,  195. 
Allen,  T.  Carleton,  708. 
Allen,  W.  T.,  656-7. 
Allison,  J.  Walter,  695. 
Allison,  Dr.  W.  T.,  739. 
Allison,  Wm.,  815. 
Almond,  Rev.  J.  M.;  315. 
Alphonso  XIII,  88,  101. 
Alvensleben,  Alvo  Von,  259, 

269. 

Amery,  Mrs.  L.  S.,  517. 
Ames,  A.  E.,  300,  567,  582. 
Ames,  Sir  Herbert  B.,  282, 

302,    451,    452,  464,        3, 

607,  608,  636,  642. 
Amos,  Wm,  W..  753. 
Ampthill,  Lord,  147. 
Anderson,  J.  R.,  537. 
Anderson,  J.  T.  M.,  782. 
Anderson,  F.  W.,  818. 
Anderson,  Capt.  T.  A.,  268. 
Andrew,  Corp.  L.  W.,  186. 
Andrews.  Major  G.  W.,  613, 

636,  643. 

Angell,  Norman,  140. 
Angers,  Lady,  631. 
Angus,  Mrs.  D.  Forbes,  459. 
Angus,  W.  F.,  452. 
Aoki,  Lieut.-General,  110. 
Aquero,  Dr.  Aristides,  47. 
Archambault,  Sir  H.,  680. 
Archer,  Wm.,  36. 
Arkell,  H.  S.,  379. 
Armour,  Mrs.  Donald,  517. 
Armstrong,  Hon.  E.  H.,  691. 
Armstrong,  Mrs.  Geo.,  632. 
Armstrong,  G.  T.,  733. 
Armstrong,  Mrs.  H.  E.,  430. 
Armstrong,  Col.  J.  A.,  511. 
Armstrong,  J.  E.,  392,  401, 

489,  580. 

Armstrong,  Judge,  695. 
Armstrong,  J.  W.,  612,  722, 

733. 

Armstrong,  R.  E.,  714. 
Armstrong,  S.  A.,  532. 
Armstrong,  W.  H.,  324,  392, 

424. 
Arsenault,  Hon.  A.  E.,  607, 

717. 
Arsenault,    Senator    J.    O., 

717. 
Arthurs,  Lieut.-Col.  James, 

489. 

Ashdown,  J.  H.,  457,  577. 
Ashe,  F.  W.,  453. 
Ashton,  Col.  E.  C.,  315. 
Ashton,  Major  E.  J.,  758. 
Asquith,  Rt.  Hon.  H.  H.,  30, 

128,    133,    134,    161,    168, 

199,  228. 

Asquith,  Capt.  L.,  805. 
Asselin,  Major,  511. 
Atherton,  Dr.  W.  H.,  560. 
Athlone,  Earl  of,  135. 


Atholstan,  Lord,    476,    622, 

459. 

Atkins,  H.  P.,  626. 
Auden,  H.  W.,  668. 
Auden,  Mrs.  H.  W.,  426. 
Audreychine,  G.,  267. 
August,  E.  A.,  577,  735. 
Auld,  F.  Hedley,  759. 
Aylesworth,  Sir  A.  B.,  619-20 

Babcock,  J.  P.,  827. 
Bacmeister,  N.  W.,  51. 
Baden-Powell,  Sir  R.,  431. 
Baer,   J.   M.,   273. 
Baillie,  F.  W.,  386,  542,  543. 
Bain,  J.  W.,  K.C.,  448-9,  450. 
Baker,  Principal  E.  N.,  668. 
Baker,  J.  H.,  51. 
Baker,  Hon.  Newton  Diehl, 

225,   235,   236,   237,    238, 

239,  240,  249,  250. 
Baker,  F.  C.,  782. 
Baldwin,  N.  K.,  623. 
Balfour,  Lord,   199. 
Balfour,  Rt.  Hon.  A.  J.,  32, 

58.  120,  206,  212,  213,  227, 

228,   230,    231,    273,   287, 

359,  360,  458,  464. 
Balfour.    James,    456,    768, 

774. 

Ball,  Capt.  Albert,  159. 
Ball,  Alfred,  540. 
Ballantyne,  Hon.  C.  C.,  348, 

584,   585,   586,   592,    607, 

608,   609,    614,   623,    642. 
Ballantyne,  H.,  457. 
Ballot,  John,  658. 
Banks,  Wm.,  Jr.,  567. 
Baptie,  Sir  Wm.,  515. 
Barnard,  G.  H.,  K.C.,  323. 
Barnard,  Hon.  F.  S.f  816,817. 
Barnes,  Mgr.  A.  S.,  695. 
Barnes,  Dr.  H.  T.,  684. 
Barnes,  Geo.  H.,  M.P.,  133, 

134,  137,  139. 
Barnstead,  A.  S.,  692. 
Baroda,  Gaikwar  of,  191. 
Barr,  G.  H.,  378,  581.  760. 
Barrette,  J.  A.,  345. 
Barrow,  Sir  Edmund,  196. 
Barthelme,  Dr.  George,  259. 
Barton.  A.  S.,  459. 
Baruch,  Bernard  M.,  236. 
Basil,  Sister  Mary,  665. 
Bateson,  Major  H.  L.,  805. 
Batho,  Geo.,  724. 
Bauld,  Major  Stanley,  635. 
Baumgarten,  F.  W.,  668. 
Baxter,  Hon.  J.  B.  M.,  606, 

695,   698,    700,    703,    704, 

705,  713,  715. 
Bayne,  J.  A.,  756,  757. 
Beardmore,  Mrs.  F.  N.,  459. 
Beaubien,  Hon.  C.  P.,  476, 

485,  492. 
Beaubien,  Mme.  C.  P.,  631. 
Beaudreau,  Lucien,  754. 
Beaudry,  A.,  682. 
Beaulieu,    Lord    Montagu 

of,  539. 
Beaverbrook,  Lord,  133, 511, 

622. 

Beazley,  Hon.  R.  G.,  469. 
Beck,  Sir  Adam,  562,  580, 

605,    636,    650,    651,   668, 
Beck,  James  M.,  215,  252, 

274,  464. 

Beck,  Sir  Meiring,  181. 
Beddoe,  W.  A.,  187,  379. 
Bee,  T.  M.,  759. 
Beer,  G.  Frank,  282,  365. 
Begin,   Cardinal,   412,   505, 

506. 

Beique,  Hon.  F.  L.,  502,  596. 
Beland,  Hon.  H.  S,  637. 
Belanger,  Ernest,  681. 


Belcourt,  Senator  N,  A.,  499, 

533. 

Beliveau,  Archbishop,  501. 
Bell,  C.  N.,  577. 
Bell,  Sir  Francis,  185. 
Bell,   Lieut.-Col.   F.   McK.. 

469. 

Bell.  F.  H.,  469. 
Bell,  G.  A.,  626. 
Bell,  Hon.  G.  A.,  754,  756, 

759. 

Bell,  Irving,  H.  O.,  617.  827. 
Bell,  J.  H.,  715,  716. 
Bell,  J.  P.,  567. 
Belson,    Lieut.-Col.    B.    H., 

310. 

Belyea,  G.  H.  V.,  696. 
Benedict  XV,  41, 50, 92, 104, 
111,    112,    113,    114,   115, 
116,  117,  123. 
Bennett,  Arnold,  167. 
Bennett,  Hon.  J.  R.,  189. 
Bennett,   R.   B.,    M.P.,   303, 

304,  372,  533,  614,  807. 
Bennett,  W.  H.,  323. 
Benson,  A.  L.,  277. 
Benson,  G.  F..  404. 
Benson,  Admiral  W.  S.,  32, 

33,  241. 

Berchtold,  Count,  30. 
Berkman,  Alex.,  77,  277. 
Bernard,  Bishop,  681. 
Bernard,  Joseph,  609. 
Bernhardi,  Gen.  Von,  258. 
Bernhardt,  Mme.  Sarah,  301. 
Bernier,  Capt.  J.  E.,  316. 
Bernstorflf,  Count  Von,  30, 
64.  82,  105,  106,  118,  129, 
165,    214,    215,    216,    256, 
258,    259,    260,    268,    269, 

273,  275. 

Besant,  Mrs.,  193,  194. 
Best,  W.  L.,  423. 
Berthelet  Emilien,  683. 
Berthelet,  General.  95. 
Bethmann  -  Hollweg,     Herr 
Von,   30,   34,   36,   39,   52, 
107,  113,  155,  216. 
Bettinger,  Cardinal,  112. 
Beveridge,  Thos.,  625. 
Bhownagree,  Sir  M.,  462. 
Biggar,  Col.  J.  Lyons,  315. 
Biggar,  O.  M.,  349. 
Biggar,  W.  H.,  K.C.,  406. 
Bihar,  Chief  of,  190. 
Bikaner,  H.H.  the  Mahara- 
jah of,  190,  195,  208,  210, 
288. 

Bingham,  J.,  443. 
Birdwhistle,  Lieut.-Col.  R. 

J.,  465. 

Birdwood,  General,  173. 
Birge,  H.  C.,  567. 
Birks,     Lieut.-Col.     Gerald 

W.,  455,  457. 
Birks,  W.  M.,  452,  544. 
Bishop,  Chas.  W.,  455. 
Bishop,  Hon.  R.  K.,  188. 
Bishop,  Major  Wm.  Avery, 

454,  540,  541. 
Bishop,  W.  S.,  681. 
Bissing,  General  Von,  50,  51, 

52. 

Bitzer,  Aid.  A.  L.,  436. 
Black,  Col.  F.  B.,  530. 
Black,  Miss  Mary,  654. 
Black,  F.  M.,  810. 
Black,  Principal  N.  F.,  783. 
Blackall,  W  W.,  695. 
Blacklock,  R.  F.,  781. 
Blain,  Hugh,  441,  567. 
Blain,  Richard,  323. 
Blais,  Bishop,  681. 
Blanchot,  P.  F.,  709. 
Bland,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  G.,  559, 
565,  612,  613,  739,  740. 


INDEX  TO  NAMES 


927 


Blandford,  Hon.  S.  D.,  188. 
Slatchford,  Robert,  160. 
Slaylock,     Lieut.-Col.     H., 

453. 
Bliss,    General    Tasker    H., 

32,  239. 
Blondin,    Col.    P.    E.t    306, 

1318,   337,    359,   466,   471, 
480,  485,  488,  491-2,  607, 
609,  623. 
i  Blondin,  Mme.  P.  E.,  631. 
Blount,  A.  E.,  593. 
Blow,  Dr.  T.  H.,  804,  807. 
Boardman,  Mabel,  251. 
Boehm,  Capt.,  260,  268. 
Boivin,  Arthur  R.,  735. 
Boivin.  G.  H.,  487,  637. 
j  Bolduc,  Hon.  Joseph,  360. 
ft  Bole,  J.  F.,  745. 
,v  Bolo,  Pasha,  82,  83, 129,  256, 

260,268,  269,  274. 
*  Bone.  J.  R.,  567. 
Bonnar,  R.  A.,  733. 
Bopp,  Franz,  256,  257,  268. 
Borden,  H.  P.,  316. 
Borden,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  R.  L., 
40,  173,  195,  200,  206,  208, 
210,   284-8,      289,     290-2, 
304,  309,  313-15,  319-22, 
328,  329,    331,    333,    335, 
336,    338-40,      342,     347, 
350,  357,    360,   378,    394, 

401,  418-19,     421,     426, 
433,   434,   437,   448,  464, 
465,   467,   468,   472,  476, 
477,   481,   485,   488,  490, 
493-5,  497,  498,  506,  510, 
511,  513,  526,  530-3,  553, 
555-93.    603-9,    616-8, 
620-7,     631-35,    636,    643, 
681,    804,   814. 

Borgemeister,  P.  A.,  259. 
Borghjerg  (Danish  journal- 
ist), 139. 

Boriani,  General,  90. 
Bostock,  Hon.  H.,  334,  346, 

402,  565,  570,  582. 
Botha,    General,    178,    180, 

181,   182,  288. 
Bouillas,  Ignacio,  106. 
Bdulay,  H.,  487. 
Boulay,  H.,  M.P.,  503. 
Boulton,    Miss    Constance, 

428. 
Bourassa,  Henri,  471, 477-82, 

491,    496,    498,    504,    555. 

601,    608-11,       618,    624, 

642. 

Bourdage,  A.  I..  701. 
Bourque,  Senator,  701,  715. 
Bourinot,  J.  C.,  687. 
Bourne,  Cardinal,  410,  411. 
Bourgue,  T.  J.,  323,  489. 
Bowell,  Sir  Mackenzie.  466, 
Bowen,    Lieut.-Col.    P.    E., 

805. 

Bowles,  Rev.  Dr.  R.  P.,  667. 
Bowman,  C.  M.,  582,  656, 

657. 

Bowness,  A.  H.,  325. 
Bowser,    Hon.    W.    J.,    617, 

817,  818,  819,  820,  822. 
Boyce,  W.  W.,  702. 
Boyd,  Leslie  H.,  377,  424. 
Boy-Ed,  Captain,  256,  265. 
Boyer,  Gustave,  488,  489. 
Boyle,  Hon.  J.  R.,  626,  803, 

811. 

Boyle,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  S.,  695. 
Bradbury,  G.  H.,  323. 
Bradshaw,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  E., 

742,   743,   745,    746,    751, 

753,  756,  774,  968. 
Braithwaite,    President    E. 

E.,  668. 
Brand,  Rev.  A.,  695. 


Branting,  M.,  138. 
Bratiano,  M.,  94. 
Braun,  Marcus,  259,  274. 
Brazier,  Richard,  267. 
Bredt,  P.  F.,  754. 
Brentnell,  F.  E.,  458. 
Breshkovskaya,Catherine,7l 
Brewer,  W.  M.,  816. 
Brett,  Lieut.-Gov.  Dr.  R.  G., 

784. 
Brewster,  Hon.  H.  C.,  572-3, 

582-3,     716.     812-7,    821, 

829-34. 

Briand,  M.,  30,  81,  82. 
Bridges,  Major-Gen.  G.  T. 

M.,  230,  357. 
Brierley,  J.  S.,  608. 
Brincken,  Von,  268. 
Bristol,  Edmund,  611. 
Britten,  F.  A.,  273. 
Britton,  Mr.  Justice,  665. 
Britton,  Lieut.-Col.  Russell, 

527. 

Brodie,  A.  B.,  448. 
Bronson,  Hon.  E.  H.,  602. 
Brooke,  Lord,  511. 
Brookfleld,  S.  M.,  715. 
Brown,  Hon.  Edward,  339, 

456,    577,    581,    612,    718, 

721,  722,  730,  735. 
Brown,  E.  B.,  602. 
Brown,  Gerald  H.,  466. 
Brown,  G.  W.,  759,  765. 
Brown,  Hon.  J.  T.,  783. 
Brown,  Miss  Gordon,  518. 
Brown,  Dr.  John,  455. 
Brown,  J.  J.,  737. 
Brown,  Mrs.  McLaren,  517. 
Brown,  Vere  C.,  736. 
Browning,  A.  G.,  786. 
Bruce,    Lieut.-Col.    H.    A., 

M.D.,  291,  515. 
Bruce,  Mrs.  John,  425,  426. 
Bruchesi,   Archbishop,   303, 

359,    505,    506,   507,    508, 

683, 

Bru^re,  Boucher  de  la,  677. 
Brue"re,  R.  W.,  266. 
Brunniere,  H.  J.,  464. 
Brusilofl,  Gen.  Alexis,  68,  72, 

73,  78,  94,  121. 
Bryan,   Lieut.-Col.    C.,  453. 
Bryan,  W.  J.,  30,  217,  224, 

226,  227,  265,  275. 
Bryce,  Dr.  George,  470. 
Bryan,  W.  C.,  787. 
Bryant,  J.  P.,  782. 
Bryce,  James,  Lord,  228. 
Brydone-Jack,     Prof.     W., 

738. 

Buchanan,  Hon.  D.,  275. 
Buchanan,  Sir  George,  72. 
Buchanan,  W.  A.,  333,  614. 
Buckmaster,  Lord,  134. 
Budge,  D.  A.,  457. 
Budka,  Bishop,  736. 
Bullock,  T.  H.,  606. 
Bulman,  W.  J.,  394. 
Billow,  Prince  Von,  85,  91, 

149,  256. 

Bunker,  C.  D.,  268. 
Bunn,  J.  R.,  757. 
Burdis,  W.  D.,  827. 
Bureau,  Hon.  Jacques,  487, 

637. 

Burgess,  C.  H.,  300. 
Burgess,  James,  702. 
Burke,  W.  E.,  458. 
Burnaby,  R.  W.  L.,  669. 
Burns,  Patrick,  602. 
Burian,  Count,  91. 
Burleson,   Hon.   A.   S.,  235, 

267. 

Burnett,  Mrs.  Wm.,  431. 
Burns,    Col.   James,    M.L.A., 

176. 


Burns,  Pat.,  284. 

Burrell,   Hon.  Martin,  362, 

371,   373,    378,    584,    615, 

618,   637,   814. 
Burstall,  Maj.-Gen.   H.  E., 

519,  523,  530. 
Burt,  Henry  J.,  734. 
Butchart,   R.  P.,  324,   389, 

830. 

Butler,  M.  J.,  695. 
Butler,  Rev.  Dr.  N.  M.,  164. 
Buxton,  Lord,  179,  183. 
Byng,  Lieut.-Gen.  Sir  Julian, 

148,    149,    519,    520,    523, 

529. 
Byrne,    Hon.   Jas.    P.,    696, 

702,  704,  707. 

Cabrera  Luiz,  106. 
Cadorna,  Count  Luigi,  30, 

31,  88,  90.  91. 
Cahan,  C.  H.,  609. 
Cahan,  Lt.  J.  D.,  635. 
Caine,  Hall,  160. 
Cains,  Mrs.  G.  L.,  459. 
Caillaux,  Joseph,  81,  82,  83, 

129,  256. 

Cairns,  J.  F.,  763. 
Cairns,  J.  W.,  752. 
Calder,  Hon.  J.  A.,  438,  565, 

569,  575,  578-86,  602,  612, 

615,  616,    618,    626,    637, 

642,    751,    752,    754,    757, 

762-7,  775,   802,    813. 
Calderon,  Capt.  A.  M.,  805. 
Gamble,  C.,  453. 
Cambridge,     Marquess    of, 

135. 

Cameron,  Aid.  W.  B.,  815. 
Cameron,  D.  A.,  686. 
Cameron,  Sir  Douglas,  560. 
Cameron.  Lt.-Col.  I.  H.,  315, 

533. 

Cameron,  Murdo,  752. 
Cameron,    Capt.    the    Rev. 

W.  A.,  416,  457. 
Campbell,    Mrs.    Colin    H., 

426,  427. 

Campbell,  G.  S.,  695. 
Campbell,  Mrs.  G.  S.,  695. 
Campbell,  Isaac,  611,  612. 
Campbell,  J.  A.,  741. 
Campbell,  Staff-Sergt.  R.  H., 

827. 

Camroux,  C.  M.,  805. 
Cane,  J.  G.,  656. 
Cannon,  J.  D.,  276. 
Cannon,  Lucien,  M.L.A.,  478, 

483,  484,  485,  624. 
Canterbury,  Archbishop  of, 

29,  160. 

Cantley,  Colonel,  386-8,  393. 
Capelle,  Admiral  R.,  268. 
Cappon,  Prof.  James,  684. 
Capps,  Rear- Admiral  W.  L., 

244,  245. 

Carey,  D.  A.,  423,  632. 
Carisbrooke,    Marquess    of, 

135. 

Carmichael,  Lord,  193. 
Carnegie,  Andrew,  275. 
Carnegie,  Colonel  D.,  385. 
Caron,  Hon.  J.  E.,  673,  675. 
Carpenter,  Henry,  465. 
Carpenter,  H.  S.,  754. 
Carr,  Rev.  Father  H.,  667. 
Carranza,  General,  105,  106. 
Carrick,    J.    J..    315. 
Carruthers,    Lieut.-Col.    G. 

F.,  304. 

Carruthers,  James,  459,  544. 
Carson,    Sir    Edward,    128, 

133,  156,  321,  460,  519. 
Carson,  J.  M.,  350. 
Carson,  Maj.-Gen.  John  W., 

509,  510. 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Carson,  W.  O.,  654. 

Carter-Cotton,  Hon.  F.,  684. 

Carter,  E.  S.,  698,  700,  701, 
702,  710. 

Carter,  Saml.,  604,  660-1. 

Carter,  Dr.  W.  S.,  714,  715. 

Carty,  John  J.,  684. 

Cams,  Paul,  259. 

Carvell,  Hon.  F.  B.,  291, 
313,  331,  344,  402,  468, 
562,  569,  578,  581-4,  591, 
592,  603-7,  637,  698,  701, 
702,  708,  709,  710. 

Casement,  Roger,  256. 

Casey,  Archbishop,  410,  412. 

Casgrain,  Mme.  Chase,  672. 

Casgrain,  Mme.  J.  P.  B.,  632 

Casgrain,  Senator  J.  P.  B., 
596. 

Cassels,  G.  C.,  453. 

Caswell,  Rev.  W.  B.,  513. 

Catt,  Mrs.  Carrie  C.,  433. 

Cavendish,  Lady  Maud,  282. 

Cavendish,  Lady  Blanche, 
282. 

Caverhill,  Geo.,  404 

Cawthorpe,  C.  H.,  745. 

Cecil,  Lord  Robert,  52,  128, 
202. 

Chabot,  Dr.  J.  L.,  488,  494. 

Chadwick,  Fl.-Comm.  A.  J., 
542. 

Chair,  Rear-Admiral  Sir 
Dudley  de,  361. 

Chalifoux,  Bishop,  681. 

Chamberlain,  Rt.  Hon.  Aus- 
ten, 133,  196,  208. 

Chamberlin,  E.  J.,  Presi- 
dent G.T.R.  404,  405,406. 

Chamberlain,  Senator,  262. 

Chambrun,  Marquis  de,  231. 

Chandra,  Ram,  268. 

Chapin,  Rufus,  464. 

Chaplin,  R.  H.,  267. 

Chapman,  E.  R.,  350. 

Charlebois,  Dr.,  501. 

Charlesworth,  L.  C.,  788. 

Charlton,  Mrs.  E.,  435. 

Charlton,  W.  A.,  596. 

Chasmar,  R.  G.,  754. 

Chass6,  Aime,  609. 

Chassd,  Madame,  608. 

Chauvel,  Maj.-Gen.  H.  G., 
176. 

Chelmsford,  Lord,  191,  193, 
195. 

Cheradame,  Andre",  55. 

Chevrier,  H.,  625. 

Child,  General,  514. 

Chinda,  Viscount,  109. 

Ching-Ki,  Rev.  Chong,  667. 

Chipman,  G.  F.,  736,  809. 

Chisceries,  F.  M.  Von.  80. 

Chisholm,  Judge  J.  A.,  689. 

Chisholm,  Wm.,  686. 

Choate,  Joseph  H.,  225,  228, 
231,  253. 

Chocheprat,  Vice-Adm.,  231. 

Choquette,  Rev.  Father, 
492, 

Chown,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  D.,  466, 
513,  629. 

Christian  X,  King,  96. 

Christie,  Rev.  David,  737. 

Chrysler,  F.  H.,  602. 

Chudenitz,  Count  Czernin 
Von,  63. 

Church,  Mayor  T.  L.,  359, 
452,  454,  534,  541,  564. 

Churchill,  Rt.  Hon.  Win- 
ston, 133,  152,  153. 

Clam-Martinnic,  Count,  63. 

Clapp,  Senator  M.  E.,  218 

Clark,  Champ,  273,  275. 

Clark,  J.  Murray,  439,  461, 
470. 


Clark,    Mrs.    Murray,    425, 

426. 

Clark,  J.  T.,  567. 
Clark,  Dr.  Michael,  330, 495, 

561,    564,    569,   570,    573, 

614,  626. 

Clark,  Prof.  T.  W.,  728. 
Clarke,  Sir  Edward,  160. 
Clarke,  Hon.  G.  I.,  695,  703. 
Clarkson,  G.  B.,  236,  448. 
Clemenceau,     Georges,     33, 

84,  85. 

Clements,  S.  E.,  720,  729. 
Cleveland,  Mrs.  G.  B..  762, 

765,  766. 

Clingan,  Col.  G.,  735. 
Clothier,  G.  A.,  816. 
Clouatie,  M.  E.,  683. 
Cloutier,  Bishop,  681. 
Clute,  Hon.  R.  C.,  503. 
Coaker,  W.  F.,  187. 
Coats,  R.  H.,  321,  342  390. 
Cochran,  W.  Bourke,  165. 
Cochrane,  Hon.  Frank,  303, 

322,  334.  584,  643. 
Cockburn,  Major  R.  C.,  538. 
Cockburn,  R.  C.,  636. 
Cockshutt,  H.,  567. 
Cockshutt,  W.  F.,  443. 
Cody,     Ven.     Archdeacon, 

356,    611,    629,   655. 
Coffin,  Howard  E.,  236,  249. 
Cohalan,  Justice  D.  F.,  165. 
Cohalan,   Dr.   Daniel,    165, 

168,  274. 
Coke,  Vice- Admiral  Sir  C., 

459. 

Colby,  Bainbridge,  32. 
Colby,  Prof.  C.  W.,  201. 
Coldwell,  Hon.  G.  R.,  734, 

735. 

Cole,  Arthur,  459. 
Coleman,  Fred.,  420. 
Coleman,  Vincent  P.,  467. 
Colleshaw,  Fl.-Lt.  R.,  541. 
Collison,  P.  J.,  753. 
Colmer,  J.  G.,  C.M.O.,  517. 
Colquhoun,  A.  H.  U.,  653. 
Conant,  G.  D.,  602. 
Connaught,     H.R.H.     The 

Duke  of,  96,   284-6,  301, 

451,  462,  467,  686. 
Connaught,     H.R.H.     The 

Duchess  of,  284,  285,  286, 

519. 
Connaught,    Prince    Arthur 

of,  301. 
Connolly,  Hon.  J.  D.,  203, 

464. 

Connolly,  Hon.  J.  D.,  177. 
Constantine.  King,    30,   93, 

94,  121. 

Cook,  Rt.  Hon.J.  Hume,  169. 
Cook,  W.  R.,  457. 
Cooke,  Pte.  Thomas,  186. 
Cook,  Sheriff  A.  B.,  753. 
Coombes,  Dean  G.  F.,   458. 
Coombs,  F.  J.,  461. 
Coombes,  Mrs.  G.  F.,  465. 
Cooper,  Major  R.  C.,  637. 
Cooper,  W.  A.,  365. 
Copeland,  Mrs.  W.  L.,  723. 
Copp,  A.  B.,  345,  606. 
Coppley,  G.  C.,  454,  567. 
Corey,  Herbert,  46,  48. 
Cornwall,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  K., 

805. 

Cote,  J.  L.,  626. 
Cotton,  A.  J.,  736. 
Counsell,  J.  L.,  582. 
Courtenay,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  D., 

533. 

Courtney,  J.  M.,  465. 
Cowan,  Dr.  W.  D.,  637. 
Cowdray,  Lord,  158. 
Cowley,  R.  H.,  715. 


Cowper,  J.  S.,  628,  819,  821' 

Coyne,  J.  B.,  577,  612,  733. 
Coyne,  J.  H.,  538. 
Craig,  H.  A.,  789. 
Craig,  R.  W.,  613,  733. 
Crange,  Freidrich,  37. 
Crease,  Lindley,  578. 
Creel,  George,  237,  254. 
Creelman,    Dr.    G.  C.,  645 

655,  662. 
Creelman,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  J., 

636. 

Crerar,  Mrs.  P.  D.,  592. 
Crerar,    Hon.    T.    A.,    379. 

571-2,     575,     577-9,    581, 

584,    592,       612-5,    625-8, 

631,   669,   725,    740,  780, 

808. 

Crewe,  Sir  Charles,  179. 
Crocket,  Dr.  A.  P.,  715. 
Croft,  Mrs.  Henry,  427. 
Croken,  Rev.  D.  P.,  717. 
Cronholm,  P.,  98,  107. 
Cronyn,  Hume,  582. 
Crosby,  Adam  B.,  323. 
Crosby,  Oscar  T.,  32. 
Croft,  Brig.-Gen.  Page,  147. 
Crooks,  Will,  129,  160. 
Cross,  Hon.  C.  W.,  570,  571, 

576,    614,    626,    627,   680, 

802,    805,   807. 
Crothers,  Hon.  T.  W.,  421, 

440,  585. 
Crow,  J.  H.,  604. 
Crowe,  S.  J.,  617. 
Crowder,  Major-Gen.  E.  H., 

239. 

Crowe,  Harry  J.,  210. 
Crozier,    Major-Gen.    Wm., 

238,  239. 

Cruise,  Robt.,  637. 
Crummy,    Rev.    Dr.    Eber, 

739. 

Cudlip,  J.  B.,  698. 
Cullen,  Rev.  Dr.  G.  B.,  305. 
Cullinan,  Hon.  A.  P.,  690, 

701. 
Cummings,    Melville,    686, 

695. 
Cummings,  Mrs.  Willough- 

by,  D.C.L.,  428. 
Cummings,  Walter,  741. 
Cummins,    Senator    A.    B., 

218. 

Cunliffe,  Lord,  230. 
Cunningham,  J.  A.,  617. 
Currie,  General  Sir  Arthur, 

314,    348,    349,    456,    510, 

519,    520,    521,    523,   529, 

530,  568,  623,  636. 
Currie,  Col.  J.  A.,  439,  647, 

656. 

Currie,  Wm.,  703. 
Curry,  Senator  N.,  386. 
Curtis,  Lionel,  200,  201. 
Curzon,  Lord,  128,  158,  200, 

206,  457. 

Cutten,  Rev.  Dr.  G.  B.,  695. 
Czarina  of  Russia,  67. 

Dabo,  Dr.  Leon,  54. 
Dafoe,  J.  W.,  565 
Daley,  F.  W.,  698. 
Dallolio,  General,  90. 
Daly-Gingras,  Major  L.  J., 

Dalziel,  Sir  Henry,  147. 
D' Amour,  L'Abbe,  560. 
Dana,  Prof.  H.  W.  L.,  276. 
Dandurand,  W.  H.,  452. 
Dandurand,   Hon.   R.,  466, 

492,  596. 
Daniel,  J.  F.,  683. 
Daniel,  Hon.  J.  W.,  533. 
Daniels,  Hon.  O.  T.,  691. 


INDEX  TO  NAMES 


929 


Daniels,  Hon.  Josephus,  235, 

236,  240,  241,  250. 
D'Annunzio,  Gabrielle,  89. 
Dardier,  H.  V.,  789. 
Darling,  Lieut.-Col.  C.  W., 

356. 

Daudet,  Leon,  83. 
David,  L.  A.,  M.L.A.,  494. 
Davidson,  Sir  Charles,  326. 
Davidson,  Lady,  190. 
Davidson,  Mrs.,  803. 
Davidson,  Major  T.  H.,  719. 
Davidson,  Wm.,  745. 
Davidson,  W.  M.,  803. 
Davidson,  W.  W.,  774. 
Davidson,  Sir  W.  E.,  187. 
Davis,  Hon.  E.  J.f  348. 
Davis,  E.  P.,  578,  581,  833. 
Davis,  F.,  M.L.A.,  615. 
Davison,  H.  P.,  236,  251. 
Dawson,  Geo.  H.,  815. 
Dayal,  Har.,  257. 
Deacon,  T.  R.,  742. 
Deakin,  Hon.  Alfred,  177. 
Decarie,    Hon.    J.    L.,    492, 

562,  623,  676. 
de  Chair,  Rear-Admiral  Sir 

Dudley,  230. 
De  Jardin,  A.,  461. 
D^lage,  Hon.  C.  F.,  677,  715. 
Delaney,  Dr.,  717. 
Delcass<§,  M.,  30,  64. 
Delamater,  J.,  456. 
Demers,  Joseph,   M.P.,  486, 

494. 

Domers  Capt.  L.  A.,  469. 
Denis,  T.  C.,  680. 
Denison,   Colonel   Geo.   T., 

438,  439,  462,  567. 
Denman,  W.  H.,  244. 
Dennis,  Colonel  J.  S.,  354. 
Dennis,  Mrs.  Wm.,  432,  686. 
D'Entremont,  H.  T.,  686. 
de  Pencier,  Bishop,  415. 
Derby,    Earl   of,    160,    208, 

465,  511. 

Dernberg,  Dr.,  257,  269. 
Deroche,  Colonel.  A.  P.,  315. 
Descarries,  J.  A.,  328. 
Devonport,  Lord,  121,  131, 

133,  137,  145,  146,  362. 
Deventer,  J.  L.  Van,  Major- 
Gen.,  179,  180. 
Devline,  E.  H.,  744. 
Devlin,  E.  P.,  344,  623. 
Devonshire,  H.E.  The  Duke 

of,  282,  285,  301,  315,  327, 

335,   356,   451,   452,   453, 

454,   458,   464,   465,   466, 

729,  814. 
Devonshire,    H.E.     The 

Duchess  of,  282,  284,  427, 

453,  458. 

Devoy,  John,  165,  274. 
Dewart,    Hartley    H.,    338, 

458,   600,    601,    602,    619, 

656,  657,  658,  659,  661. 
Diaz,  General.  Armando,  90. 
Diaz,  President,  428. 
Dillon,  John,  161.  g 
Dinnick,  Lieut.-Col.  W.  S., 

306,  454. 

Dinnick,  W.  S.,  452. 
Dixon,  F.  J.,  381,  417,  418, 

419,  625,  729,  730,  740. 
Dixon,  Prof.  W.  M.,  155. 
Doan,  R.  W.,  655. 
Dobson,  Rev.  Hugh.  460. 
Docker,  F.  D.,  C.B.,  212. 
Dodds,  Brig.-Gen.  W.  O.  H., 

515. 
Doherty,   Hon.   C.  J.,  204, 

322,   330,   334,   346,   584, 

585,   607,  608,   609,     623, 

642,  736. 

Doherty,  T.  K.,  370. 
59 


Doig,  D.,  409. 
Donly,  H.  B.,  567,  582. 
Donovan,  A.  E.,  656. 
Dor6,  P.  J.,  609. 
Dorland,  A.  G.,  668. 
Doughty,  Lieut.-Col.  A.  G., 

511. 

Douglas,  G.  H.,  394. 
Douglas,  R.  H.,  785. 
Doull,  Bishop  A.  J.  ,629. 
Draper,   Lieut.-Col.   D.   C., 


Draper,  P.  M.,  418,  422,  423. 
Drayton,  Sir  H.  L.,  327,  397, 

399,  405,  562,  652. 
Drummond.    Mrs.  A.,  459. 
Drummond,  A.  T.,  L.L.D.,  211 
Drummond,  Sir  Eric,  230. 
Drummond,  Rev.  L.,  412. 
Drummond,  Mrs.  H.,  435. 
Drummond.    H.     R.,     452, 

455. 
Drummond,  Lady,  453,  517, 

518. 

Drury,  E.  C.,  604,  669. 
Drysdale,  Mr.  Justice,  469. 
Dubail,  General,  83. 
Ducharme,  S.,  661. 
Duckworth,  E.  E.,  683. 
Duff,  Gen.  Sir  B.,  195. 
Duff,  Mr.  Justice  L.  P.,  349, 

351,  352,  580,  625,  656. 
Dugal,  L.  A..  698.  699,  701, 

704,  707. 

Duggan,  Mrs.  E.  H.,  544. 
Duggan,  G.  H.,  316,. 
Duke,  Rt.  Hon.  C.  T.,  167, 

168. 

Dumba,  Dr.,  30,  256,  265. 
Dumont-Laviolette,    Major 

Lambert,  M.C.,  474. 
Duncannon,  Lord,  147. 
Dunham,  S.  S.,  809. 
Dunlop,  Alex.,  625. 
Dunn,  Rev.  E.  A.,  684. 
Dunning,  Hon.  C.  A.,  459, 

575,   579,    616,    750,    751. 

756,  759,  765-7,  775,  778, 

780. 

Dunning,  H.  W.,  409. 
Dunwoodie,  J.  M.,  537. 
Dussault,  E.  F.,  638. 
Duval,  M.,  82. 
Duverger,  Mme.  H.,  631. 
Dyment,  A.  E.,  603. 
Dysart,  A.  A.,  704. 

Eastman,  Max,  275,  276. 
Eaton,  Sir  John  C.,  457,  458, 

459,  468,   569. 
Eaton,  R.  Y.,  365. 
Ebbets,  A.  W.,  807. 
Eckhardt,     Herr   Von.,   98, 

106,    107,   214,   256,   258, 

260. 

Edwards,  J.  W.,  333,  489. 
Edward    VII,    H.M.    King, 

358. 
Edwards-Leckie,  Maj.-Gen. 

R.  G.,  C.M.Q.,  315. 
Edwards,  Maj.  J.  P.,  460. 
Edwards,    Senator    W.    C., 

326,  466. 

Ekers,  H.  A.,  404. 
Eliot,  Dr.  C.  W.,  164,  411. 
Elizabeth,  H.M.  Queen,  432. 
Elkin,  S.  L.,  606. 
Elliott,  Howard,  248. 
Elliott,  J.  C.,  433,  656,  661, 

663. 

Elliott,  Dr.  Wm.,  774,  775. 
Elliott,  J.  G.,  567. 
Ellis,  J.  F.,  394. 
Ellis,  D.  D.,  771. 
Ells,  S.  C.,  785. 
Elson,  J.  M.,  567. 


Ellis,  J.  N.,  617. 
Ellis,  P.  W.,  649. 
Ellis,  Dr.  W.  H.,  684. 
Elwood,  Hon.    E.    L.,    758. 

766,  774,  769. 
Emard,    Bishop   of   Valley- 

neld,  505. 
Embury,  Brig.-Gen.  J.  F.  L., 

766,  769.  774. 

Emerson,  Hon.  C.  H.,  188. 
England,  Dr.  Grace  R.,  632. 
Englehart,  J.  L.,  648. 
Ens,  Gerhard,  745. 
Erzberger,  Mathias,  39,  41, 

92,  112,  113,  116. 
Esmonde,  J.  T.,  M.P.,  160. 
Estabrooks,  T.  H.,  606. 
Ethier,  J.  A.  C.,  487,  637. 
Euler,  W.  D.,  436. 
Evans,  Geo.  E.,  458. 
Evans,  John,  384,  779,  780. 
Bvans,  J.  H.,  724,  736. 
Evans,Lieut.-Col.Kelly,560. 
Evans,  W.  Sanford,  324, 363, 

465,  808,  815. 
Ewing,  W.  A.,  K.C.,  350. 

Fages,  Brig.-Gen.  A.  O.,  491. 
Fairbairn,  Mrs.  R.  D.,  427. 
Falconer,  Sir.  R  A.,  591,  655, 

667. 

Falconer,  Lady,  431. 
Falkenhayn,  Marshal    Von, 

64. 
Fall,    Fl.-Lieut.    J.    S.    T., 

542. 

JFallis,  W.  S.,  723. 
Fallen,    Bishop,    204,    412. 

501,  623,  630. 
Faringdon,  Lord,  212. 
Farmer,  S.  J.,  625. 
Farrell,  J.  A.,  277. 
Farrington,  F.  ,246. 
Farris,  Hon.  J.  W.  deB.,  583, 

602,    628,   814,    816,   817, 

818,  833. 
Farris,  Mrs.  J.  W.  deB.,  435. 

814. 
Farthing,  Bishop  J.  C.,  415, 

629. 

Faulkner,  Hon.  G.  E.,  607. 
Fay,  Lieut.  Robert,  259. 
Fearman,  Geo.  D.,  465. 
Fennell,  M.  P.,  458,  459. 
Ferdinand,  Czar,  64. 
Ferguson,  Alex.,  660. 
Ferguson,  Hon.  G.  H.,  647, 

653,  659,  666. 
Ferley,  T.  D.,  719. 
Ferres,  James,  465. 
Ferris,  Capt.  W.  D.,  805. 
Ficke,  H.  S.,  259. 
Field,  Marshall,  254. 
Fielding,  Hon.  W.  S.,  583, 

591,  625,  607,  637,  732. 
Findlater,  W.  B.,  733. 
Findlay,  W.  C.,  832. 
Findley,  Thoa.,  386,  582. 
Fischer,  A.  K.,  259. 
Fischer,  J.  H.,  323. 
Fischer,  Andrew,  197. 
Fisher,  Hon.  C.  W.,  615. 
Fisher,  George,  723. 
Fisher,  G.  E.,  702. 
Fisher,  Rt.  Hon.  Hayes.  147. 
Fisher,  Fl.  Comm.  P.  S.,  542. 
Fisher,  Hon.  S.  A.,  583,  596, 

622,  623. 

Fisher,  W.  S.,  314,  708,  709. 
Fisher,  Dr.,  823. 
Fitzgerald,  J.  J.,  23. 
Fizpatrick.   Sir   C.,  357. 
Flatt,  C.  E.,  779. 
Flavelle,  Sir  J.  W.,  145,  201, 

385.   386,   387,   420,   421. 

444-50,  562,  618,  622. 


930 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Fleck,  A.  W.,  602. 
Fleming,  R.  J.f  651,  664. 
Fleming,  H.  C.,  779. 
Flemming,  J.  K.,  695,  699, 

700,  708,  709,  710. 
Fletcher,  Robert,  727,  736. 
Fletcher-Vane,  Sir  F.,  162. 
Flint,  Thos.  B.,  328. 
Flood,  E.  H.  S.,  211. 
Flumerfelt,  Hon.  A.  C.,  386, 

560,  578. 

Foch,  General,  31,  86,  88, 
120. 

Foerster,  Prof.,  41. 

Foley,  Bishop,  168. 

Forbes,  Bishop,  681. 

Ford,  Henry,  271,  272. 

Ford,  W.  J.,  625. 

Forgie,  G.,  544. 

Forke,  Robt.,  723. 

Fosbery,  C.  S.,  684. 

Foster,  A.  deW.,  326. 

Foster,  Sir  Geo.  E.,  285,  304, 
321,  330,  349,  354,  355, 
357,  358,  359,  373,  374, 
379,  389,  466,  470,  569, 
580,  584,  585,  604,  643, 
789. 

Foster,  G.  G.,  323,  544. 

Foster,  W.  E.,  698,  699,  700, 

701,  702,    704,    710,    712, 
713. 

Fotheringham,   Lieut.-Col. 

J.  T.,  533. 
Fouget,  Emil,  267. 
Fowke,  F.  L.,  602. 
Fowke,   Lieut.-Gen.    Sir   G. 

H.,  148. 

Fowler,  Frank  O.,  577,  723, 
Fowler,  G.  W.,  323. 
Fox,   E.   O.,   363,   445,   448, 

449. 

Fuehr,  Karl,  256. 
Fram,  Capt.,  467. 
Frame,  J.  F.,  615. 
Francoeur,  J.  N.,  683. 
Francq,  Gus.,  423. 
Fraser,  Dr.  Alex.,  647. 
Frasor,  A.  C.,  612. 
Fraser,  A.  M.,  463. 
Fraser,  Colin,  750. 
Fraser,  Evan,  603. 
Fraser,  Sir  Frederick,  607. 
Fraser,  W.  W.,  724. 
Frazier,  Gov.  L.  J.,  276. 
Fream,  E.  J.,  809. 
Freeland,  P.  B.,  814,816. 
French,  F.-M.,  Sir  John,  30, 

313. 
Freyberg,  Brig.-Gen.  B.  C., 

Frickleton,  Samuel,  186. 
Friedrich,  Archduke,  30. 
Friel,  James,  696. 
Frink,  J.  H.,  714. 
Frost,  Qtr.-Sgt.  T.  A.  P.,  805. 
Fugl,  A.  F.,  807. 
Fulton,  Rev.  R.  G.,  717. 
Fulton,  W.  J.,  723. 
Fyfe,  Hamilton,  454. 

Gadski,  Mme.,  268. 
Gage,  J.  C.,  375. 
Gage,  W.  J.,  531,  715. 
Gagne,  Horace  J.,  476,  660. 
Gainer,  Mrs.  Chester,  809. 
Galbraith,  D.  H.,  632. 
Galipeault,  Hon.  M.  A.,  682. 
Galloway,  G.  T.,  658. 
Gait,  Hon.  A.  C.,  318,  319, 

320. 

Gait,  G.  F.,  325,  453,  736. 
Gait,  John,  578. 
Gait,  Mr.  Justice,  733. 
Galliher,  Hon.  W.  A.,  824. 
Gallinger.  Senator  J.  H.,  440. 


Galloway,  J.  D.,  816. 
Gamble,  F.  C.,  815,  833. 
Gamble,  T.  E.,  776 
Ganong,  Gilbert  W.,  707. 
Garceau,  Napoleon,  474. 
Gardiner,  J.  G.,  765. 
Garfleld,  Dr.  Henry  A.,  236, 

247. 
Gariepy,  Hon.  W.,  583,  614, 

626,    801,   802,    803,    808. 
Garland,  W.  F.,  325. 
Garneau,  Sir  J.  G.,  474,  476, 

681. 

Garrett,  Garet,  24. 
Garret,  H.  G.,  815. 
Garry,  T.  H.,  776. 
Gartshore,  Lieut.-Col.  W. 

M.,  582. 
Gasparri,  Cardinal,  113,  116, 

117. 

Gaughofer,  Dr.  Ludwig,  50. 
Gauthier,  Bishop,  476,  501, 

505. 

Gauthier,  L.  J.,  486,  637. 
Gear,  W.  I.,  324,  389. 
Geary,  Major  G.  R.,  561. 
Geddes,  Auckland  C.,    133, 

135. 
Geddes,  Sir  Eric,    133,  156, 

157,  159. 

Geldert,  John  M.,  693. 
Genest,  S.  N.,  502,  503. 
George,  Rt.  Hon.  D.  Lloyd, 

21,  27-33,  70,  128-33,  143, 

148,  155,  160,  161-8,   172, 

199,  200,  204-10,  229,  255, 

2S6,    288,    289,    321,    420, 

467,  513,  519. 
George,     H.M.     King,     96, 

111,    121,    131,    135,    136, 

190,    191,    197,    210,    234, 

285,    286,    292,    301,    315, 

329,    333,    425,    430,    432, 

454,   460,    467,    468,    513, 

523,  579. 

George,  W.  J.,  789. 
Gerard,  J.  W.,  27,  43,  51,  52, 

59,118,214,216,258,262, 

265,  357,  464. 

Gerlach,  Mgr.  Von,  92,  256. 
German,  W.  M.,  M.P.,  335, 

344,  557,  603,  643. 
Gerstenberg,  C.  W.,  24. 
Gibbons,  Cardinal,  164,  253, 

275,  410. 

Gibbon,  J.  Murray,  452. 
Gibbons,  J.  J.,  452. 
Gibbons,  G.  S.,  632. 
Gibbons,  J.  S.,  621. 
Gibbs,  Philip,  175,  527. 
Gibson,  Sir  John,  350. 
Gibson,  Hugh,  461. 
Gibson,  T.  W.,  671. 
Gifford,  W.  S.,  236,  243. 
Gignac,  J.  H.,  394. 
Gillen,  A.  E.,  396,  406. 
Gilmartin,  Bishop,  168. 
Gilmour,  Hugh  B.,  815. 
Gioletti,    Signer,      91,     92, 

129. 
Gladstone,  Rt.  Hon.  W.  E., 

161. 

Glasier,  Bruce,  136. 
Glockling,  Wm.,  423. 
Godfrey,  E.  H.,  370. 
Godfrey,  Dr.  Forbes,  656. 
Godfrey,  Hollis,  236,  684. 
Godfrey.   J.    M.,    306,    315, 

348,  476,  560,  567-8,  635. 
Godfrey,  Mrs.  J.  M.,  433. 
Godin,  Eugene,  K.C.,  350. 
Goethals,  Major-Gen.  G.  W. 

244. 

Gokhale.  G.  K.,  194. 
Gold,  Edward,  632. 
Goldie,  A.  R.,  582. 


Goldsmith,  T.  C.,  753. 
Golitzin,  Prince,  118. 
Goltz,  Horst  Von  der,  259. 
Goltz,  Marshal  Von  der,  41. 
Gompers,   Samuel,  71,  236, 

245,   246,   247,   301,   356, 

417,  422. 

Good,  W.  C.,  669. 
Gooderham,  Col.  A.  E.,  282, 

567. 
Gooderham,  Mrs.  A.  E.,  425. 

426,  568,  631. 

Gooderham,  G.  H..  648,  661. 
Goodwin,  Col.  T.  H.,  151. 
Goor,  Maurice,  461. 
Gore,  Senator  T.  P.,  272. 
Gordon,  Sir  C.  B.,  212,  356. 
Gordon,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  W.,  51, 

416,  457,  464-5,  556,  630, 

635. 
Gordon,    Rev.   Dr.   D.   M., 

630,  668. 

Gordon,  George,  741. 
Gordon,  P.  H.,  759. 
Gordon,  William,  742. 
Goschen,    Hon.   W.   H.   N., 

212. 

Gosnell,  R.  E.,  466. 
Gough,  Gen.  Sir  H.,  148. 
Gouin,  Sir  Lomer,  361  ',471, 

493,    562,    569,    583,    596, 

600,  618,  622-3.  672,  683. 
Gouin,  Lady.  672. 
Gould,  A.  R.,  709. 
Gould,  B.  A.,  560,  567. 
Gourko,  General,  73,  78. 
Gow,  Lieut.-Col.  W.,  510. 
Graham,  Andrew,  577,  741. 
Graham,   Hon.   G.   P.,  314, 

330,    401,   466,    561,   567, 

569,  582,  583,  596,  619. 
Graham,  John,  M.L.A.,  577. 
Graham,  R.  H.,  687,689. 
Graham,  Dr.  D.  W.,  754. 
Graham,  Mrs.  W.  A.,  759. 
Grainger,  M.  A.,  815. 
Grande,  Julian,  100. 
Grant,  Mrs.  (Halifax),  426. 
Grant,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  S.,  630. 
Grant,  Gordon,  628. 
Grant,  Rev.  H.  R.,  690. 
Grant,     Lt.-Gov.     MacCal- 

lum,  686. 

Grant,  Jas.  A.,  815. 
Grant,  Major  W.  L.,  668. 
Gray,  Principal  R.  A.,  650. 
Gray,  Capt.  D.  W.,  805. 
Grayson,  J.  H.,  750. 
Grayson,  Wm.,782. 
Green,  Ernest,  327. 
Gregory,  J.  Fraser,  606.  • 
Gregory,  Hon.  T.  W.,  235. 

236. 

Gregory,  W.  D.,  620. 
Grey,   Earl,   210,  228.  285, 

467,  530. 
Grey  of  Fallodon,  Viscount, 

30,  147. 

Grierson,  Geo.  Allison,  720. 
Griesbach,   Major-Gen.   W. 

A.,  614,  626. 
Grieve,  John,  661. 
Griffith,  Arthur,  162. 
Grimes,  George,  189. 
Gronna,  Senator  A.  J.,  218, 

220,  272. 

Gross,  Mayor  D.,  436. 
Grosch,  S.  P.,  757. 
Groulx,  Abbe,  507. 
Guay,  Lieut.  P.  E..  801, 
Guchkoff,  Gen.  A.  J.,  69. 
Guerin,  Dr.  J.  J.,  623. 
Guffln,  Admiral,  264. 
Guillemet,  General,  86; 
Guilbault,  O.  S..  735. 
Gundy,  J.  H.,  300. 


INDEX  TO  NAMES 


031 


Gundy,  W.  P.,  325. 
Gunther,   Lieut.-Col.   E.   P. 

814. 

Gustav  V,  of  Sweden,  96. 
Guthrie,    Hugh,    M.P.,    344, 

567,  569,  581,  582. 
Guthrie,  P.  A.,  356. 
Guynemer,  Capt.,  86,  540. 
Guy  on,  Louis,  678. 
Gwalior,  Maharajah,  of,  190. 
Gwatkin,  Gen.  W.  G.,  349, 

516. 

G  winner,  Arthur  Von,  214. 
Gwynn,  S.  L.,  M.P.,  160. 

Haakon  VII,  of  Norway,  96. 
Hadcock  H.  R.,  457. 
Haeckel,  Prof.  Ernst,  37. 
Haesler,  Gen.  Von,  30. 
Haggart,  Judge,  352. 
Haggan,  E.  A.,  829. 
Haig,  F.-M.  Sir  Douglas,  31, 

148,    176,    180,    186,    287, 

313,    521,    526,    528,    572. 

815. 

Haig,  Prof.  R.  M.,  756, 815. 
Haight,  Mrs.  S.  V.,  780,  773. 
Haining,  A.  L.,  350. 
Halbert,  R.  H.,  383,  669. 
Haldane,  Lord,  147. 
Hale,  Wm.  Bayard,  260,  274. 
Hall,   Rev.  Dr.  Alfred,  458, 

459,  460,   664. 
Hall,  Dr.  Ernest,  617,  814. 
Hall,  H.  C.,  818. 
Hall,  Wm.  Lorimer,  686,687. 
Hallam,  Fl.-Comm.  T.   D., 

541. 

Hallstrom,  Per,  98. 
Ham,  A.  E.,  722. 
Hamelin,  Joseph,  733. 
Hamilton,  C.  M.,  572,  752, 

762. 

Hamilton,  Lord  George,  195. 
Hamilton,  Lady  Mary,  284. 
Hamilton,  Mrs.  L.  A.,  568, 

631. 

Hamilton,  W.  R.,  443. 
Hammond,  H.  G.,  465. 
Hanes,  G.  S.,  818-9. 
Haney,  M.  J.,  410. 
Hanna,  D.  B.,  396. 
Hanna,    Hon.   W.    J.,    354, 

362-9,      379,      422,      442, 

443,  444. 

Hanna,  Mrs.  W.  J.,  806. 
Hanson,  Charles  A.,  519. 
Hanson,  R.  B.,  606,  709. 
Harkness,  D.  B.,  723. 
Harris,  Hon.  R.  E.,  695. 
Harrison,  Prof.  T.  J.,  736. 
Harvey,  G.,  723. 
Harcourt,  Lord,  287. 
Harden,  Maximilien,  42. 
Hardenburg,     Count     Von, 

267. 

Harding,  R.  R.,  645. 
Hardinge,  Lord,  193,  196. 
Hard  wick,    Senator  T.   W., 

272. 

Hardy,  A.  C.,  621. 
Harman,  W.  J.,  784. 
Harper,  Prof.  S.  N.,  70. 
Harper,  Pte.  G.  E.,  805. 
Harrington  Mrs.  H.  C.,  560. 
Harris,  Sir  C.  A.,  187. 
Harris,  Rear-Adm.  F.  R.,  245. 
Harris,  Lloyd,  386,  394,  582, 

604. 

Harris,  Paul  P.,  462. 
Harris,  R.  C.,  392. 
Harris,  Hon.  R.  E.,  468. 
Harrison,  Austin  128. 
Harrison,  Fairfax,  248. 
Harrison,  Judge  J.  W.,  783. 
Harrison,  Capt.  J.  W.,  468. 


Hart,  Prof.  A.  Bushnell,  271. 
Hart,  H.  C.,  816,  817. 
Hart,  D.,  760. 
Hart,  W.  T.,  456. 
Hartmann,    Cardinal,    112, 

411. 

Harvey,  D.  C.,  739. 
Harvey,  Col.  George,  164. 
Harvey,  W.  H.,  394. 
Haslam,  J.  H.,  573,  616. 
Hatton,  Arthur,  396. 
Haultain,  Sir  F.  W.  T.,  580. 
Hawkes,  John,  758. 
Hawkes,  A.  G.,  779. 
Hay,  A.  C.,  536. 
Hayes,  R.  T.,  459,  606. 
Hayward,  W.  H.,  818. 
Haywood,  W.  D.,  265,  266, 

267. 
Hazen,    Hon.    J.    Douglas, 

203,    208,    286,    321,    322, 

356,    384,    388,    389,    465, 

466,  695,  708. 
Healy,  Tim,  511. 
Hearst,  Lady,  646. 
Hearst,    Sir    William,    201, 

273,    274,    303,    359,    465, 

467,  502,    564,    568,    569, 
591,    604,    611,    644,    646, 
648,   650,    656,    659,   661, 
663,  664. 

Hearst,  W.  R.,  253,  269. 
Heartz,  F.  R.,  716,  717. 
Hebert,  Eugene,  683. 
Hebert,   Z.,  404. 
Hedin,  Sven,  98. 
Heeney,  Rev.  W.  B.,  737. 
Heflin,  Hon.  J.  T.,  273. 
Helfferich,   Dr.,  40,  41,  45, 

154. 

Helmer,  Dr.  Gilbert,  62. 
Helmore,  E.  A.,  820,  832. 
Henders,    R.    C.,    381,   616, 

625,  736,  739,  740. 
Henderson,  Arthur,  79,  129, 

133,    136,    137,    139,    140, 

206. 
Henderson,  Major-Gen.  Sir 

David,    159. 

Henderson,  G.  F.,  448,  449. 
Henderson,  Lt.-Col.  H.,  466. 
Henderson,  Stuart,  628. 
Hendrie,  Sir  John,  452,  458, 

645,  660,  667. 
Hendrie,  Lady,  646. 
Hendrie,  Lt.-Col.  Wm.  B., 

637,  667. 
Hendry,   Lieut.-Col.   J.   A., 

310. 

Hengsler,  Louis,  268. 
Henry,  Princess,  67. 
Henry,  W.  A.,  469. 
Hensley,  G.  W.,  469. 
Herrman,  R.,  269. 
Hersey,  Dr.  Milton,  741. 
Hertling,  Count  Von,  34,  39, 

40,  41. 
Hertzog,  Gen.  J.  B.  M.,  179, 

180,  181,  182. 
Herve,  Gustave,  83. 
Hervey,  Gerald,  541. 
Hervey,  P.  C.  D.,  541. 
Hesse,  Grand  Duke  of,  67. 
Hettle,  J.  O.,  750. 
Hewgill,  Lt.-Col.  W.  H.,  805. 
Hexamer,  Dr.  C.  A.,  270. 
Heyklng,  Edmund  V.,  37. 
Heynen,  Carl,  259. 
Hibbard,  Lieut.-Col.  F.  W., 

476,  681. 
Hill,  G.  F.,  59. 
Hillis,  Rev.  Dr.  Dwight,  54. 
Hillocks,  S.  B.,  806. 
Hillquit,  Morris,  273.  276. 
Hiltz,  Mary  C.,  753. 
Hincks,  Dr.  W.  H.,  560. 


Hind,  Mrs.  E.  Cora,  724. 
Hindenburg,    Marshal  Von, 

38 

Hingley,  E.  G.,  752. 
Hinton,  W.  P.,  406. 
Hintze,  Admiral  Von,  256. 
Hjarne,  Harold,  98. 
Hoadley,  George,  804. 
Hoare,    Brig.-Gen.    C.    G., 

543. 

Hobbs,  Fl.-Lieut.  B.  D.,  541. 
Hobson,  Robert,  386. 
Hocken,  H.  C.,  483,  611,  656. 
Hodge,  John,  M.P.,  133. 
Hodgens,  W.  S.,  301. 
Hodgins,  Hon.  F.  E.,  655. 
Hodgins,  Maj.-Gen.  W.  E., 

315. 

Hodgetts,  Col.  C.  A.,  453. 
Hodgson,  Mrs.  W.  C.,  459. 
Hoffmeister  Gen.  Von,  80. 
Hoffman,  Gen.  Von,  80,  99, 

256,  258. 

Hogg,  A.  O.,  664. 
Holden,  Sir  Edward,  45. 
Holden,  Hale,  248. 
Holland,  Sir  Thomas,  191. 
Holman,  Hon.  W.  A.,   176, 

177,  178,  203,  462,  464. 
Holmes,    Rev.    J.     Haynes, 

225. 

Holmes  R.,  327. 
Holt,  G.  V.,  409. 
Holt,  Sir  H.  S.,  544. 
Holt,  Sir  Herbert,  452. 
Hooper,  T.  H.,  458. 
Hoover,  H.  C.,  52,  53,  229, 

242,    243,    264,    354,    362, 

363,  364. 

Hopkins,  J.  Castell,  458. 
Home,   General   Sir   H.   S., 

148,  523,  526. 

Horsey,  Mrs.  Hayden,  517. 
Hose,  Capt.  W.  469. 
Hoskins,  Leut.-Gen.  A.   E., 

179. 

Hosmer,  Col.  E.  A.  C.,  728. 
Hotzendorff,    Marshal  Von, 

30. 

House,  Col.  E.  M.,  32,  216. 
Houston,  Hon.  D.  F.,  235, 

236. 

Howard,  Sir  Francis,  134. 
Howard,  Henry  M.,  816. 
Howard,  John,  692. 
Howard,  T.  P.,  394. 
Howden  Hon.  J.  H.,    734, 

735. 

Howes,  A.  E.,  812. 
Howse,    Surg.-Gen.    N.    B., 

176. 

Hoyle,  Hon.  H.  C.,  177,  178. 
Hudson,   Hon.   A.   B.,   565, 

570,   575,   576,    579,   582, 

612,  720,  732,  736. 
Hudson,  R.  S.,  567. 
Huehne,  Baron  von,  50. 
Huerta,  President,  105. 
Hugg,  J.  B.,  720. 
Hughes,  Charles  E.,  223. 
Hughes,  Major-Gen.  G.  B., 

515. 

Hughes,  G.  E.,  515,  716. 
Hughes,  J.  L.,  462. 
Hughes,  Laura,  422. 
Hughes,    Brig.-General    St. 

Pierre,  511. 
Hughes  Sir  Sam,  302,  313, 

314,    337,    465,    466,    526, 

539,  554. 
Hughes,  Rt.   Hon.  W.   M., 

118, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 

174,  285,  593. 
Hulme,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  H.  D., 

511. 
Humbert,  Senator,  82. 


932 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Hume,  Prof.  J.  G.,  655. 
Humphreys,  J.  R.,  653. 
Hunt,  A.  B.,  623. 
Hunt,  John  D.,  802. 
Hunter,  Chief  Justice,  578. 
Hunter,  J.  B.,  466. 
Hurd,  Richard  M.,  253,  265. 
Hurd,  Capt.  W.  B.,  728. 
Hurley,  E.  N.,  244,  245,  246. 
Hutchings,  E.  F.,  352. 
Hutchins,  Sir  Philip  P.,  462. 
Hutchison,  G.  A.,  696. 
Hutton,  Principal  M.,  462, 

655. 

Hyatt,  Fred.,  708. 
Hyderabad,  Nizam  of,  191. 
Hylan,  J.  F.,  273. 
Hyndman,  J.  O.,  716. 

Igel,    Wolf   von,    165,    216, 

256,  257,  259,  268. 
Ignatieff,  Count,  68. 
Inglis,  Wm.,  286. 
Ingram,  W.  R.,  394. 
Innes-Ker,     Lord    Alastair, 

539. 

Innes-Taylor,  Mrs.,  432. 
Innes,  W.  C.  C.,  538. 
Inwood,  F.  G.,  604. 
Ireland,  Archbishop,  164. 
Irish,  M.  H.,  M.L.A.,  315. 
Irvine,  Rev.  Wm.,  419,  602, 

628. 

Irwin,  Rev.  A.  J.,  739. 
Irwin,  Robt.,  687. 
Ishii,  Viscount,  108,  109. 

Jackson,  Rt.  Hon.  F.  H.,212. 
Jackson,  M.  B.,  M.L.A.,  578. 
Jacobs,  Prof.  F.  S.,  726. 
Jacobs,  Rabbi  S.,  630. 
Jacobs,  S.  W.,  623. 
Jacques,  Dr.  Wm.  660. 
Jaffray,  Hon.  Robt.,  602. 
Jagow,    Herr   Von,   30,    36, 

256,  260. 

James,  F.  T.,  324,  815. 
Jameson,  Clarence,  335,  466. 
Jarvis,    ^Emilius,   348,   458, 

459,  460,  538. 
Jarvis,    Lieut.-Col.    A.    M., 

805. 

Jellicoe,  Sir  John,  153,  286. 
Jellicoe,  Lady,  459. 
Jellicoe,  Admiral,  452. 
Jenkins,  W.  W.,  717. 
Joffre,    Marshal,    30,     120, 

227,    230-2,   273,   358. 
Johns,  Mrs.  Ethel,  723. 
Johnson,  A.  M.,  815. 
Johnson,  J.  W.,  433,  663. 
Johnson,  Philips,  316. 
Johnson,   Hon.  T.   H.,  340, 

571,   573,    612,    720,    723, 

740. 

Johnston.  E.  F.  B.,  583. 
Johnston,  Mrs.  E.  F.  B.  426. 
Jones,  Chancellor  C.  C.,  715. 
Jones,  Clifford,  615. 
Jones,  Mrs.  Franklin,  517. 
Jones,  F.  R.,  460. 
Jones,  G.  B.,  698. 
Jones,  H.  V.  F.,  402.  409. 
Jones,    Surg.-Gen.    G.    Car- 

leton,  515. 

Jones,  Kennedy,  145,  363. 
Jones,  W.  F., 
Jordan,    David,   Starr,  275, 

276. 

Joy,  John  T.,  689. 
Joyce,  Sergt.  C.  M.,  805. 

Kahn,  Julius,  270. 
Kahn,  Otto  H.5  270. 
Kaledines,  General,  76. 
Kaltschmidt,  A.  O.t  260,  269. 


Kamenefl,  M.,  74,  80. 
Kaneko,  Viscount,  108. 
Karl,  Archduke,  60,  63. 
Kato,  Maoshi,  107. 
Kauffman,  H.  C.,  268. 
Kavanagh,  H.  J.,  683. 
Kavanagh,  J.,  421. 
Keasbey,  Prof.  L.  M.,  276. 
Keefer,  F.  H.,  K.C.,  369. 
Keen,  John,  817. 
Keenleyside,  E.  W.,  456. 
Keller,  Dr.  A.  K.,  259. 
Kelley,  H.  G.,  301,  396,  406. 
Kelly,  Charles,  734. 
Kelly,  Fenwick  L.,  687. 
Kelly,  Hon.  H.  T.,  502,  652. 
Kelly,  Lawrence,  734. 
Kelly   &   Sons,   Thos.,   319, 

733,  734. 

Kelly,  Thomas,  734. 
Kemmis-Betty,  Col.  H.,  509, 
Kenyon-Slaney,  Capt.  R.  O. 

R.,  A.D.C.,  284. 
Kenyon,  Senator  W.  S.,  218. 
Kemp,  Sir  Edward,  Minister 

of  Militia,  287,  291,  302, 

306,    309,    310,    315,    325, 

352,    355,    452,    453,    493, 

495,    510,    526,    529,    533, 

535,    541,    584,    585. 
Kennedy,  Sir  John,  669,  684. 
Kerensky,  A.  V.,  66,  69,  70, 

71,  72,  73.  74,  75,  76,  121. 

124,. 

Kerr,  F.  W.,  300,  615. 
Kidman,  John,  519. 
Kidner,  T.  B.,  532. 
Kiggell,  Lieut.-Gen.   Sir  L. 

E.,  148. 
King,  Hon.  J.  H.,  628,  814, 

816. 

King,  Senator  W.  H.,  272. 
King,  Hon.  W.  L.  M.,  583, 

619,  620. 

Kingham,  Joshua,  617. 
Kingsmill,  Admiral,  539. 
Kingsley,  E.  T.,  420. 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  199,  212, 

511,  635. 

Kirby,  Senator  W.  F.,  218. 
Kirchwey,  G.  W.,  275. 
Kirkpatrick,  G.  R.  F.,  409. 
Kirkpatrick,  Lady,  517. 
Kitchen,   Claude,  220,  273, 

275. 
Kitchener,  F.-M.  Lord,   30, 

33. 

Kitto,  F.  H.,  742. 
KjeUeu,  Prof.,  98. 
Klaus,  Maximilien,  106. 
Klinck,  L.  S.,  560. 
Kluck,  General  Von,  30. 
Klumph,  A.  O.,  462. 
Knight,  Fl.-Capt.  A.  G.,  541. 
Knight,  N.  F.  R.,  537. 
Knowles,  C.  O.,  316. 
Knowles,  W.  E.,  354,  574. 
Knowlton,  F.  J.  G.,  698. 
Koenig,  Paul,  259. 
Koerber,  Dr.  Von,  60. 
Kolb,  Fritz,  268. 
Korniloff,   General,   68,    71, 

73,  76,  78,  124. 
Kruttschmidt,  J.,  248. 
Krylenko,  Ensign,  76,  80. 
Kiihlmann,  Dr.  Richard  Von 

40,  41,  80,  85,  256. 
Kuhn,  Karl  A.,  37. 
Kuhn,  Major-Gen.  J.  E.,  47, 

270. 
Kyte,  G.  W.,  443. 

Labatt,   Lieut.-Col.   R.   H., 

534. 

Laberge,  F.  C.,  681. 
Lacaze,  Admiral,  82. 


Lacroix,  Genl.  de,  27,  43. 
La  Follette,  Senator,  R.  M., 
.218,    220,   222,    253,    256 

272,  273. 

Lafontaine,  Hon.  E.,  682. 
Lafortune,  D.  A.,  488. 
Lafortune,  Paul,  497. 
Laird,  H.  W.,  323. 
Lake,  R.  S.,  459,  744. 
Lake,  Lieut.-Gov.  R.  S.,  776. 

759. 

Lamar,  David,  275. 
Lamb,  J.  J.,  752. 
Lamedoc,  Capt.,  467. 
LanctOt,  Capt.  Gustave,  511 
Lanctot,  Judge,  497. 
Lanctot,  Roch.,  488,  495. 
Landis,  Mr.  Justice,  268. 
Landry,  Senator  A.  C.  P., 

489,  494. 

Landry,    Hon.   D.   V.,   695, 

701,  704,  711. 
Lane,  Hon.  F.  K.,  235,  236, 

247. 

Lane,  George,  614. 
Lane,  Senator  H.,  218,  220. 
Lang,  J.  H.,  455. 
Lange,  F.  W.  T.,  29. 
Langley,    Hon.    Geo.,    374, 

571,    602,    626,    756,    763, 

765,   779,    780. 
Langley,  G.  N.,  816. 
Langelier,  Hon.  Chas.,  682. 
Langlois,  Godefroi,  633. 
Langstaff,  Mrs.  Elliott,  355, 

425. 
Lansdowne,  Lord,  41,   132, 

133,  166,  203,  467. 
Lansing,  Hon.  Robert,    109, 

115,    214,    215,    216,    217, 

235,  260. 

Lapointe,  L.  A.,  637. 
Laporte,  H.,  325. 
Larcombe,  S.,  737. 
Larkin,  James,  162. 
Larkin,  P.  C.,  582. 
Lash,  Z.  A.,  200,  562. 
Latta,  Hon.  S.  J.,  626,  753, 

762,    768,    775. 
Latulippe,  Bishop,  501. 
Laughton,  J.  H.,  538. 
Lauder.  Harry,  301. 
Laurier,    Sir    Wilfrid,    285, 

320,    328,    330,    333,    338, 

339,    344,    345,    3J6,    347, 

355,    358,    360,    402,    412, 

467.    471,    472,    484,    489, 

490,  493,   494,    495,    498. 
553,    554,    553,    556,    561, 
562,    566,    567,    569,    580, 
582,    591,    593,    594,    595, 
596,    597,   598,    599,    600, 
601,    602,    605,    608,    609, 
611,    613,    616,    618,    619, 
620,    621,    622,    623,    624, 
626,    627,    630,    632,    633, 
634,    635,    637,    643,    672, 
732,   762,  771,  802. 

Lavergne,  Lieut.-Col.  Ar- 
mand,  478,  480.  481,  486, 
493,  624,  682. 

Lavoie,  N.,  409. 

Law,  Rt.  Hon.  A.  Bonar, 
128,  141,  142,  166,  172, 
206,  207,  233,  511. 

Law,  Commander  F.  C.,  458. 

Law,  Rev.  Prof.  Robert,  630. 

Lawrence,  Calvin,  423. 

Leavitt,  A.  Gordon,  715. 

Le  Blanc,  Arthur,  701. 

Le  Blanc,  A.  T.,  703. 

Le  Blanc,  Bishop,  715. 

Le  Blanc,  E.  A.,  412. 

Le  Blanc,  Sir  P.  E.,  474, 
672,  682,  684. 

Leckie,  Sub.-Lt.  R.,  541. 


INDEX  TO  NAMES 


933 


Leckie,  Major-General  R.  G. 

E.,  834. 

Lee,  Sir  Arthur,  147. 
Lee,  Gordon,  265. 
Leedy,  J.  W.,  614,  632. 
Leger,  C.  M.,  701. 
Leger,  Major  J.  A.,  635. 
Leger,  S.,  701. 
Legere,  A.  J.,  697. 
Leisk,  Jas.  R.,  183. 
Leitch,  Rev.  M.  L.,  745. 
Lemberg,  Archbishop  of  ,411. 
Le  Messurier,  Henry,  189. 
Lemieux,  Sir  F.  X.,  682. 
Lemieux,     Hon.    Rodolphe, 

401,    466,    470,    562,    596, 

609,  619,  621,  622. 
Lemieux,  Lieut.  R.,  492. 
Lenine,  Nikolai,  66,  71,  72, 

73,  74,  75,  76,  77,  129,  256. 
Lennie,  R.  S.,  350. 
Leonard,  Lieut.-Col.  R.  W., 

560,  568. 

Leopold,  Prince,  38,  80. 
L'Esperance,  Senator  D.  O., 

323,  459,  489. 
Lessard,  General  F.  L.,  306, 

318,  480,  491,  508. 
Letourneau,    Lieut.    P.    E., 

492. 

Letourneau,  S.,  492,  562. 
Lever,  A.  F.,  235. 
Lewis,  John,  655. 
Lewis,  Senator  J.  H.,  214. 
Lewis,  Lansing,  544. 
Leymarie,  Admiral,  82. 
Liebknecht,  Dr.  Karl,  42. 
Lighthall,  G.  R.,  544. 
Lighthall,  W.  D.,  348,  444, 

535,  608. 

Likely,  J.  A.,  459. 
Limerick,  Bishop  of,  168. 
Linden,  T.  C.  van  der,  98. 
Lindsey,  G.  G.  S.,  565,  603. 
Lindsey,  Mrs.  G.  G.  S.,  435. 
Lindsay,  G.  Howard,  708. 
Lipsett,  Gen.  L.  J.,  456,  519, 

523,  736. 

Little,  Frank,  266. 
Liverpool,  Earl  of,  467. 
Livingston,  A.  A.,  668. 
Li- Yuan-Hung,    President, 

110. 

Lloyd,  Dr.  Wm.,  187. 
Lobb,  A.  J.,  729,  733. 
Lochner,  L.  P.,  276. 
Logan,  F.  M.,  754. 
Loggie,  Lieut.  P.  P.,  715. 
Logie,   Major-Gen.    W.    A., 

309,  310,  534. 
Logue,  Cardinal,  168,  169. 
Long,  C.  E.,  752. 
Long,  Rt.  Hon.  Walter,  202, 

206,   208,   210,   286,   289, 

379,  467. 

Lonsdale,  Sir  John,  166. 
Loomis,  E.  E.,  403. 
Lotbiniere,   Capt.  Joly   de, 

511. 

Lott,  W.  O.,  753. 
Loudon,  Meyer,  222. 
Loudoun,  W.  A.,  705. 
Lougheed,  Sir  J.  A.,  322,  324, 

466,   531,   584,   585,    637. 
Low,  Col.  R.  S.,  542. 
Lucas,  Hon.  Isaac  B.,  605, 

647,  649,  650,  661. 
Ludendorfl,    Marshal     von, 

38. 
Luttow-Vorbeck,  Col.  von,, 

179. 
Luxburg,    Count    von,    97, 

103,  104,  256,  258. 
Luxembourg,  Madam,  58. 
Lvofl,  Prince  G.  E.,  69,  70, 

72,  119. 


Lyautey,  M.,  30,  82,  86. 
Lyon,  J.  W.,  610. 
Lyon,    Stewart,    286,    348, 
349,  523,  530,  602. 

McAdoo,  Hon.  W.  G.,  235, 

249,    279,    280,    354. 
McAra,  Major  James,  637, 

758,  760. 

McAra,  Peter,  459,  578,  782. 
Me  Arthur,  J.  D.,  732,  786, 

789. 

McArthur,  Peter,  340. 
McAvity,  Geo.,  606. 
McAvity,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  L., 

356. 

McBain,  Hon.  F.,  824. 
McBeth,  Andrew,  632. 
McBride,  Sir  R.,  815,  820, 

822,  823,  832,  833. 
McCall,  Archibald,  394. 
McCarthy,  D.  L.,  652. 
McCarthy,  J.  O.,  604. 
McCarthy,  Hon.  M.  S.,  324. 
McCarton,  Patrick,  165. 
McClung,  Mrs.  Nellie,  384, 

435,    802,    803,   805,   809. 
McClure,  S.  S.,  84. 
McCoig,  A.  B.,  445,  603,  643. 
McConnell,  J.  W.,  452,  457. 
McCormick,  Major  Carson 

V.,  538,  636. 

McCormick,  Vance  C.,  32. 
McCraney,  G.  E.,  333,  334, 

392,  562,  569,  576. 
McCrea,  F.  N.,  623. 
McCue,  H.  P.,  392,  393. 
McCuish,  R.  G.,  615. 
McCullough,  Lieut.-Col.  C. 

R.,  465,  567,  568. 
McCullough,  Dr.  J.  W.  S., 

649. 

McCulloch,  R.  O.,  386. 
McCumber,  Senator(U.S.  A.) 

156. 
McCurdy,  F.  B.,  M.P.,  469, 

510,  533,  637,  686. 
McDade,  Michael,  606. 
McDiarmid,  F.  A.,  617. 
McDonald,  A.  A.,  715,  716. 
McDonald,  Bishop,  412. 
McDonald,    Lieut.-Col.    H. 

F.,  510. 

McDonald,  H.  Y.,  615. 
McDonald,  L.  T.,  581. 
McDonald.  Wm.,  433,  663, 

664. 
McDonell,  Supt.  A.  E.  C., 

786. 
McDougald,    Mrs.    A.    W., 

426. 

McDougall,  D.  H.,  695. 
McDougall,  Rev.  James,717. 
McDougall,  J.  A.,  812. 
McDowell,  Robinson,  464. 
McEwing,  James,  620. 
McEvoy,  J.  M.,  538. 
McFadden,  Dr.  D.  H.,  735. 
McGaflery,  Ernest,  815. 
McGarry,  Hon.  T.  W.,  564, 

605,  646,  647,  658. 
McGeer,  G.  C.,  623. 
McGillivray,  A.  ,740. 
McGillivray,  Lieut.-Col.  D., 

533. 

McGowen,  James,  378. 
McGrath,  Sir  P.  T.,  189. 
McGuinness,  Joseph,  162. 
Mcllreith,  R.  T.,  469. 
Mclnnes,   Hon.  W.  W.  B., 

627,  628. 

Mclnnis,  John,  820. 
Mclntosh,  J.  I.,  567. 
Mclntosh,  J.  W.,  821,  823. 
Mclntyre,  J.  P.,  717. 
Melsaac,  C.  F.,  687. 


McKay,   Hon.   A.   G.,   574. 

576,  601,  626,  627. 
McKendrick,    Col.    W.    G., 

635. 
McKenzie,  D.  D.,  392.  401. 

402,  443,  580. 
McKenzie.  F.  A.,  162,  163, 

520. 
McKenzie,  R.,  375,  616,  625. 

669,  739,  828. 
McKepwn,  Hon.  H.  A.,  709. 
McKellar,  Hugh,  374. 
McKerchar,  D.  W.,  723 
McKilligan,  J.  B.,  815. 


McKinery/Lieut.-Col.  J.  W. 

H.,  805. 

McLaren,  Rev.  E.  D.,  578. 
McLaren,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  I.. 

603,  636. 

McLaughlin,  R.  J.,  582,  602. 
McLaurin,  Prof.  R.  D.,  753. 
McLean,  E.  H.,  483. 
McLean,  Major-Gen.  H.  H.. 

315,  606. 

McLean,  Hon.  J.  D.,  816. 
McLean,  Rev.  John,  739 
McLean,  Rev.  J.  R.,  458. 
McLean,  W.  A.,  648. 
McLean,  Rev.  W.  A.,  739. 
McLellan,  R.  J.,  715. 
McLellan,  C.  F.,  763. 
McLennan.  Prof.  J.  C.,  212, 

470. 

McLennan,  Hon.  J.  S.,  466. 
McLeod,  Rev.  A.  J.,  717. 
McLeod,    Sir   Ezekiel,   319, 

560,  708. 

McLeod,  Donald,  819. 
McLeod,  J.  H.,  815. 
McLeod,  H.  F.,  700. 
McLimont,  Mrs.,  426. 
McMartin,  John,  637. 
McMaster,  A.  R.,  623. 
McMeans,  Lendrum,  323. 
McMechan,  Prof.  A.,  578. 
McNab,    Hon.   A.    P.,   616, 

626,  745. 

McNally,  Bishop,  412. 
McNaught,  W.  K.,  650. 
McNaughtan,  Mrs.  J.,  429. 
McNaughtan,  Mrs.  J.,  779, 

780. 
McNeil,    Archbishop,     113, 

303,    410,    411,    412,    413, 

501,   504,    560. 
McNeil,  Grant,  760. 
McNiven,  Jas.  D.,  815. 
McPherson,  E.  A.,  720,  733. 
McPherson,    Hon.    W.    D., 

534,   564.   568.    605.    647, 

649,  656,  657,  661,  665. 
McPherson,  A.  J..  757. 
McPhillips,  L.  G.,  578. 
McRae,     Brig.-Gen.     Alex- 
ander D..  509,  510. 
McTaggart,  W.  C.,  815. 
McVety,    J.  H.,    417,    418, 

419,  617,  632. 
McWilliams,    Mrs.    R.    F., 

736.  737. 

MacAdams,  Lieut.  R.C.,805. 
Mac  Adams,    Miss    R.     C., 

M.L.A.,  434,  805,  806. 
Macallum,  Prof.  A.  B.,  466, 

470. 
Macaulay,  T.  B.,  210,  211, 

369. 

MacCracken,  Dr.  H.  N.,  262. 
Macdiarmid.    Hon.    F.    G.. 

648. 

Macdonald,  Alex.,  708. 
Macdonald,  Lieut.-Gov.   A. 

C..  715. 


934 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Macdonald,  Chas.,  628. 
Macdonald,  Major-Gen.  D. 

A.,  315. 

Macdonald,  Dr.  D.  B.,  602. 
Macdonald,  K.  C.,  820. 
Macdonald,  E.  M.,  330,  344, 

386,    389.    466.    582,    583, 

624. 
Macdonald,  Dr.  J.  A.,  433, 

815. 
Macdonald.  Hon.  J.  A.,  816, 

817. 

Macdonald,  John  A.,  815. 
Macdonald,    Hon.    M.    A., 

628,    814,    819,    824. 
Macdonald,     Ramsay,     22, 

129,  138,  140,  256,  421. 
Macdonald,  R.  H.,  734. 
Macdonald,  Dr.  R.  J.,  717. 
Macdonell,    Major-Gen.    A. 

C.,  323,  519. 
Macdonell,  Bishop,  501. 
MacDougall,  Major-Gen.  J. 

C.,  C.M.G.,  315. 
MacGill,  Mrs.  J.  H.,  435. 
MacGillivray,  Donald,  409, 

687. 
MacGowan,  A.  H.  B.,  819, 

833. 

MacGregor,  Donald  G.,  695. 
MacGregor,    Hon.    R.    M., 

625,  687,  693. 

MacGregor,  Christina,  782. 
Machado,  J.  A.,  95,  455. 
Maclnnes,  Beverley  S.,  453. 
Maclnnes,  Lieut.-Col.  C.  S., 

310. 

MacKay,  Dr.  A.  H.,  685, 690. 
MacKay,  Hon.  A.  G.,  807. 
MacKay,  D.  N.  E.,  443. 
MacKenzie,  Archibald,  687. 
MacKenzie,  Col.  A.  E.  G., 

D.B.O.,  530. 

MacKenzie,  D.  S.,  811,  812. 
Mackenzie,  Lady,  426. 
MacKenzie,  Dr.  A.  Stanley, 

463,  695. 

Mackenzie,  Prof.  M.  A.,  653. 

Mackenzie,  Mann  &  Co.,  402 

Lackenzie,    Sir   Win.,    396, 

401,    402,    403,    495,    556, 

650,  651. 

Mackie,  G.  D.,  743. 
Mackie,  J.  M.,  300. 
MacKinney,  Mrs.  Louise, 

M.L.A.,  434. 
MacKinnon,    Rev.    Dr.    C., 

695. 

Mackinnon,  Donald,  172. 
MacLachlan,  Ethel,  435. 
Maclaren,  Lieut-.Col.  Mur- 
ray, 715. 

Maclean,  H.  A.,  833. 
Maclean,  W.  F.,   M.P.,  401. 
Maclean,  Hon.  A.  K.,  M.P., 

297,    334,    344,    389,    443, 

468,    562,    565,    569,    583, 

584,  585,  591,  607,  686. 
Maclean,  Hon.  A.  R.,  443. 
Maclean,  Donald,  768,  771, 

776. 

MacLean,  J.  N.,  723. 
Maclean,  W.   F.,   556,  643, 

657. 

Macleay,  Sir  Joseph,  156. 
Macmillan,  J.  A.,  776. 
MacMillan,  Crystal,  433. 
MacMillan,  H.  B.,  815. 
MacNaughton,  Prof.  John, 

623. 

MacNaughton,  Mrs.,  809. 
MacNeill,   Prof.  John,   161, 

162,  457,  513. 
MacNeill,  Murray,  687. 
MacNeil,  Neil,  695. 
MacNevin,  A.  J.,  715. 


MacNutt,  Thos.,  344. 
MacPhail,    Capt.    Andrew, 

M.D.,  464,  516. 
Macpherson,  A.  J.,  743. 
MacPherson,    Rev.    Dr.    H. 

P.,  695. 

Macpherson,  K.  C.,  537. 
Macrae,  H.  H.,  458. 
Maden,  George  R.,  815. 
Madera,  President,  105. 
Maddox,  J.,  827. 
Magill,  Dr.  Robt.,  377,  808. 
Magnan,  C.  J.,  678. 
Magnes,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  L.,  276 
Magrath,  Chas.  A.,  363,  392, 

393. 
Maharg,  J.  A.,  375,  382,  571, 

616,    625,    637,    778,    779, 

780,  808. 

Maille,  L.  O.,  624. 
Malan,  Hon.  F.  S.,  178,  182. 
Malcolm,  Ian,  M.P.,  230. 
Malcolm,  G.  J.  H.,  735. 
Malcolm,   Lieut.   MacBeth, 

773. 
Malcolm.  Lieut.  M.,  M.L.A., 

578. 

Malines,  Archbishop  of,  411. 
Malvy,  M.,  82,  83. 
Maniulov,   67. 
Mann,  Sir  Donald,  401,  402, 

403,  650. 

Mann,  Jas.  R.,  273. 
Manning,  V.  H.,  248. 
Manning,  R.  A.  C.,  733,  734. 
Mannix,     Archbishop,     23, 

171,  173. 

Manson,  William,  815. 
Marde.Maj.-Gen.  P.C.,  240. 
Marcil,  Hon.  C.,  389,  534. 
Marcile,  J.  E.,  488. 
Marconi,  157. 
Maringer,  G.,  54. 
Markiewicz,  Countess,  162, 

163. 

Marlborough,  Duke  of,  530. 
Marlatt,  Com.   C.  G.,  458, 

459. 
Marlow,    Col.    F.    W.,    533, 

534' 

Marlow,  Julia,  453. 
Marquis,  G.  E.,  674,  676. 
Marsh,  W.  H.,  394. 
Marshall,      Hon.      Duncan, 

614,  789,  807. 
Marshall,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Ord, 

462. 
Marshall,  Lieut.-Col.  N.  G. 

L.,  282,  453,  454. 
Marshall,  T.,  660. 
Marshall,     Lieut.-Gen.     Sir 

W.  R.,   148. 
Marshall,    Vice -President, 

275. 
Marsil,  Tancrede,  481,  493, 

624,  638. 

Martel,  Arthur,  422. 
Martel,  Gideon,  495. 
Martin,  Ed.,  577. 
Martin,  Capt.  E.  H.,  695. 
Martin,  Rev.  Father,  492. 
Martin,  D.  Franklin,  236. 
Martin,  Hon.  John,  715. 
Martin,  Joseph,  628. 
Martin,  Kirwan,  604. 
Martin,  Mederic,  358,  488. 
Martin,  Mrs.  Melville,  425, 

427,  765. 
Martin,  Mayor  P.  T.,  468, 

607,   622,   623. 
Martin,  Robt.,  615. 
Martin,  V.  C.,  463. 
Martin,   Hon.  W.  M.,  459, 

571,    574,    579,    582,    616, 

742,  743,  744,  745,  757-65, 

775,  781,  782. 


Mary,    H.M.    Queen,     197, 

288,    425,    432,    454,    467, 

516. 

Marx,  Karl,  822. 
Mason,  Brig.-Gen.  the  Hon. 

James,  282,  307,  313,  338, 

346,  355,  453,  533. 
Mason,    Lieut.-Col.    P.    L., 

310. 
Mason,  Congressman  W.  E., 

273. 

Massey,  Chester  D.,  457. 
Massey-Harris  Co.,  457. 
Massey,    Rt.    Hon.   W.    F., 

184,    185,    186,    202,    203, 

206,  208,  430,  464. 
Massey,  Premier,  813. 
Massingham,  H.  W.,  129. 
Mathers,  A.  T.,  723. 
Mathers,    Chief  Justice    T. 

G.,  435,  465,  578. 
Matheson,    Archbishop, 

414,  415,  630,  667,  738. 
Mathieson,  Hon.  J.  A.,  560, 

715,  717. 

Mathieu,  Archbishop,  569. 
Matthews,  T.  F.,  449. 
Maude,  General  Sir  Stanley, 

124,    148,    149,    150,    151. 
Maurer,  J.  D.,  276. 
Maurice,  General  F.  D.,  29, 

148,   156,  204. 
Mavor,  Prof.  James,  363. 
Maxim,  Hudson,   157. 
Maybee,  G.  A.,  762. 
Mayberry,  T.  R.,  604. 
May  rand,  Oswald,  489. 
Means,  Gaston,  269. 
Mechlenburg,  Dr.,  256. 
Megata,  Baron,  108. 
Megas,  Joseph,  753. 
Mehta,  Sir  P.,  194. 
Meighen,  Hon.  Arthur,  314, 

330,    331,    332,    346,    379, 

464,    562,    583,    584,    585, 

612,    613,    615,    618,    625, 

626,  642. 
Meighen.    Col.    F.    S..    403, 

535. 

Melanson,  P.  P.,  701. 
Melish,  Rev.  J.  H.,  271. 
Mellowes,  Liam,  165. 
Melsted,  Veldemer,  741. 
Menocal,  President,  195. 
Merchant.  F.  W.,  655. 
Mercier,  Cardinal,  50,  112. 

410. 

Mercier,  Hon.  Honore,  680. 
Meredith,  Sir  Vincent,  556. 
Meredith,  Lady,  459. 
Meredith,  Sir  Wm.,  503,  652. 
Merriman,  Rt.  Hon.  J.  X., 

182. 

Merrithew,  E.  L.,  709. 
Merritt,  Col.  W.  Hamilton, 

541,  543,  544. 
Mersereau,  D.  W.,  703. 
Meston,  Sir  James  S.,  206, 

208.  210. 

Metcalfe,  George,  723. 
Mewburn,  Maj.-Gen.  S.  C., 

309,    310,    315,    352,    584, 

585,  603-4,  614,  625,  631. 
Meyer,  Dr.,  58. 
Meyer,  Sir  William,  192. 
Michael,  Grand  Duke,  69. 
Michaelis,    Dr.   George,   34, 

40,  112,  116. 
Michaud,  Pius,  402. 
Michaud,  T.  B.,  675. 
Michener,  Edward,  584,  787, 

804,  807. 

Middlebro,  W.  S.,  M.F.,  533. 
Middleton,  Mr.  Justice,  435. 
Midleton,  Lady,  288. 
Midleton,  Lord,  166,  288. 


INDEX  TO  NAMES 


935 


Mignault,  Mme.  P.  B.,  631. 
Mikel,  W.  CM  568. 
Milford-Haven.     Marchion- 
ess of,  135. 
Miliukoff,   Prof.   P.   N.,  68, 

69,  71,  73. 
Mill,  822. 

Mille,  Constantin,  258. 
Millar,  Rev.  J.  M.,  812. 
Miller,  Dr.  W.  G.,  658. 
Miller,  W.  R.,  404,  455. 
Milner,   Lord,   30,   79,    128, 

200,  206,  287,  622. 
Minehan,  Rev.  F.,  412,  664. 
Miner,  James,  808. 
Mitchell,  Hon.  C.  R.,  573, 

787,  808. 
Mitchell,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  H., 

530. 
Mitchel,   Mayor  J.   P.     (of 

New  York),  164,  231,  263, 

273,  274. 

Mitchell,  Prof.  J.  W.,  696. 
Mitchell,  Rev.  Jas.  W.,  667. 
Mitchell,  Dr.  R.  M.,  744,  768. 

776. 
Mitchell,  Hon.  W.  G.,  596, 

602,  622,  680,  681. 
Modjeski,  Ralph,  316. 
Moffett,  Cleveland,  262. 
Mollard,  A.,  54. 
Molloy,  T.  M.,  782. 
Molson,  F.  W.,  404. 
Molson,  Capt.  Perceval.  684, 
Moltke,  Marshal  Von,  30. 
Moncheur,  Baron,  50,  51. 
Mond,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Alfred 

L.,  208. 

Mondou,  A.  A.,  489. 
Montagu,   Rt.   Hon.  E.   S., 

133,  193,  194,  195, 
Montagu  of  Beaulieu,  Lord, 

147,  430,  464. 
Montague,    Major     F.    F., 

510. 
Montpetit,   Prof.   Edouard, 

475,  508. 

Montserrat,  W.  L.,  316. 
Moon,  Lieut.  R.  V.,  186. 
Moore,  W.  H.t  400. 
Moore,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  A.,  629, 

664. 

Morden,  Mrs.  Grant,  517. 
Morel,  E.  D.,  138. 
Morin,  Victor,  282. 
Morgan,  J.  P.,  254. 
Morgan  &  Co.,  J.  P.,  354, 

722. 

Morgan,  Junius  S.,  254. 
Moritz-Esterhazy.Count,  62. 
Morley,  Lord,  35. 
Morner,  Biger,  98. 
Morris,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Edward 

187,    189,   206,    208,    210, 

467. 

Morris,  James,  609. 
Morris,  P.  H.,  451. 
Morrison,  Brig.-Gen.  E.  W. 

B.,  530. 

Morrison,  J.  J.,  669. 
Morrison,  John,  729. 
Morrison,  Wm.,  821. 
Morrow,  Geo.  A.,  542. 
Motherwell,    Hon.    W.    R., 

576,    602,    626,    745,    754, 

767,  778. 

Motono,  Viscount,  110,  202. 
Mott,  Dr.  John  R.,  251,  455, 

464. 

Mouat,  A.  N.,  816. 
Mountbatten,  Prince  Louis 

of,  135. 
Mouravieff-Apostal,  M.  V., 

462. 

Mowat,  H.  M.,  582,  603. 
Muck,  Dr.  Karl,  277. 


Mulcahey,  A.  H.,  542. 
Mulholland,  Col.  R.  A.,  603. 
Mulk,  Root.,  602. 
Mullin,  Dr.  B.  M.,  710,  711. 
Mulloy,   Lieut.-Col.   L.   W. 

A.,  560. 
Mulock,  Fl.-Comm.  R.  H., 

541. 
Mulock,  Sir  Wm.,  560,  580, 

452. 

Mulvey,  Dr.  V.  C.,  537. 
Munro,  General  Sir  Charles, 

195. 

Munro,  Duncan,  815. 
Munson,  J.  H.,  458. 
Murphy,  Hon.  Charles,  466, 

583,  600,  619,  620,  824. 
Murphy,  Lieut.  George,  492. 
Murray,  Gen.  Sir  A.,  30,  148, 
Murray,  Hon.  G.  H.,  562, 

569,   581,   583,    607,   685, 

686,  687,  692. 
Murray,    Hon.    James    A., 

606,    695,    697,   700,    703, 

704,  705,  707. 
Murray,  J.  C.,  535. 
Murray,  Hon.  R.,  700,  704. 
Murray,  Dr.  W.  C.,  759,  782, 

783. 
Musselman,  J.  B.,  298,  397, 

759,  778,  779. 
Mussey,  Prof.  D.  A.,  271. 
Mutch,  Alex.,  754. 
Myatt,  Lt.-Col.  A.  E.,  805. 
Myland  G.  L.,  665. 
Myles,  Capt.  A.  W.,  755. 
Myrand,  Ernest,  683. 
Mysore,  Maharajah  of,  191. 

Nagle,  Thomas,  708,  709. 
Nanton,  Sir  Augustus,  458, 

578. 
Nasmith,  Lieut.-Col.  G.  G., 

151,  443,  667. 
Naylqr,  Joseph,  418. 
Neales,    Very    Rev.    Scovil, 

695. 

Near,  J.  R.,  752. 
Nearing,  Scott,  271,  277. 
Neelands,  T.  D.,  465. 
Neely,  D.  B.,  M.P.,  334,  573. 
Nefl,  Fritz,  269. 
Neill,  C.  E.,  409. 
Nelems,  M.  H.,  815. 
Nelson,  C.  F.,  820. 
Nesbitt,  E.  W.,  590. 
Newcombe,  E.  L.,  349,  351. 
Newlands,  Hon.  H.,  W.  761. 
Newnham,  Sub.-Lieut.  J.  A., 

629. 

Newson,  Supt.  W.  V.,  788. 
Newton,  F.  Y.,  720,  729, 

735. 

Neymarck,  Alfred,  25. 
Nicholas,  Grand  Duke,  30, 

67,  68. 

Nicholas  of  Montenegro,  30. 
Nicholas  II  of  Russia,   20, 

29,  38,  66,  67,  68,  69,  79, 

93,  108,  119. 
Nicholls,  Hon.  Frederic,  323, 

386. 

Nicholls,  E.  H.,  350. 
Nichols,  M.  E.,  327. 
Nicholson,  C.  B.,  423. 
Nicholson,  R.  L.,  788. 
Nickle,  W.  F.,  M.P.,  302. 
Nietzsche,  Freidrich,  37. 
Nivelle,  General,  30,  31,  82, 

86,  120. 

Nixon,  Sir  John,  195. 
Nobel,  Miss  Isabel,  429. 
Noble,  J.  H.  B.,  212. 
Noble,  R.  M.,  723. 
Nolan,  Rev.  Father,  413. 
Norsworthy,  J.  C.,  567. 


Northey,  General,  179. 
Norton,  Congressman  P.  D., 

273. 

Norcross,  J.  W.,  389. 
Norman,  Rev.  Daniel,  667 
Norris,  Senator  G.  W..  218, 

220. 
Norris,  Hon.  T.  C.,  303,  320 

571-7,     611,    613,   718-22, 

732,  736. 

North,  David  E.,  687. 
Northcliffe,  Lord,  121,  133, 

148,    159,    160,    164,    227 

233,    234,    245,    256,    354, 

356,    357,    455,    460,    464. 

469,  622. 

Northrup.  W.  N.,  637 
Nourse,  C.  G.  K.,  409. 
Nungesser,  Lieut.,  86. 
Nunn,  W.  C.,  623. 

O'Beirne,  W.  M.,  567 
O'Brien,  Bishop,  501. 
O'Brien,  Wm.,  166,  167 
O'Connor,  T.  P.,  54,  57. 
O'Connor,  W.  F.,  440,  441 

442,  444,  446,  448,  643. 
Odium,   Brig.-Gen.    V.    W 

457. 

O'Donoghue,  J.  G.,  423. 
O'Donohgue,    Lieut.-Col., 

518. 

O'Dwyer,  Sir  R.  F.,  191. 
O'Gorman.    Senator  J.    A., 

218. 

O'Gorman,  Rev.  J.  J.,  413. 
O'Hagan,  Dr.  Thomas,  358. 
O'Leary,  J.  A.,  165,  260,  269, 

274,  275. 
O'Leary,  Lieut.-Col.  R.,  560, 

708. 
Oliver,    Hon.    Frank,    314, 

330,   333,   335,   338,    521, 

570,    571,   576,   614,    626 

627,  789. 

Oliver,  Hon.  John,  813. 
Oliver,  Joseph,  664. 
Oliver,  W.  R.,  682,  683. 
O'Meara.   Principal   T.    R., 

667. 

O'Neill,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  B.,  413. 
Orlando,  Vittoria,  31,  90. 
Ormsby,  Mrs.  A.  B.,  631. 
Osborne,  Lieut.-Col.  Henri 

C.,  315. 

Osborne,  Prof.  W.  F.,  581. 
Osier,  Sir  E.  B.,   452,  492. 

563. 

Osier,  Glyn,  350. 
O'Sullivan,  C.,  753. 
Oxley,  M.  N.,  520. 
Oxton,  S.  C.,  720,  734. 

Paderewski,  M.,  453. 
Paddock,  M.  V.,  708. 
Paes,  Dr.  S.,  95. 
Page,  Hon.  W.  H.,  229. 
Pakenham,  Wm.,  655. 
Palmer,  C.  G.,  828. 
Palmer,  Frederick,  142,  152, 

254. 

Palmer,  G.  A.,  754. 
Palmer,  J.  D.,  708. 
Paillot,  E.,  54. 
Painleve,  M.,  31,  82,  83,  *  5, 
Paish,  Sir  George,  397. 
Panneton,  P.,  508. 
Papen,   Captain   Von,   2  >6, 

259,    260,    265,    268,    269. 
Papineau,  L.  J.,  488. 
Papineau,  Major  Talbot,  474. 
Paquet,  Dr.  E.,  486,  488. 
Paradis,  Hon.  P.  J.,  682. 
Pardee,  Hon.  F.  F.,  531,  533, 

561,   562,    565,   569,    582. 

583,  596,  603. 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Pardo,  President,  104. 

Pardoe,  Avern,  647. 

Parent,  Jaques,  733. 

Parent,  Hon.  S.  N.,  681. 

Parker,  Alton  B.,  164,  225. 

Parker,  W.  R.  P.,  568. 

Parkin,  Dr.  G.  R.,  464. 

Parlby,  Mrs.  Irene,  429,  780 

Parlby,  Mrs.  Walter,  809. 

Parrish,  W.  L.,  735. 

Parsons,  S.  R.,  394,  560. 

Pashitch,  M.,  56. 

Passelecq,  Fernand,  49. 

Patenaude,  Hon.  E.  L.,  318 
485,  494. 

Paterson,  A.  R.  D.,  723. 

Paterson,  George,  735. 

Paterson,  J.  A.,  602. 

Patiala,  Maharajah  of,  190. 

Patricia,  H.R.H.  the  Prin- 
cess, 285,  453. 

Patrick,  J.  A.  M.f  774. 

Patten,  Prof.  Simon  N.,  271. 

Patton,  Win.  T.  B.,  759. 

Patton,  T.  D.,  457. 

Pattullo,  Hon.  T.  D.,  573, 
628,   813-6,   821,  834. 

Pauline,  F.  A.,  820. 

Paulson,  W.  H.,  744. 

Payelle,  Geo.,  54. 

Paynter,  J.  E.,  752. 

Paynter,  W.  C.,  759. 

Peabody,  G.  F.,  275. 

Peabody,  T.  S.,  247. 

Pearson,  G.  Fred,  469. 

Pearson,  Capt.  H.  A.,  457. 

Pearson,  Capt.  R.,  805, 806. 

Pease,  E.  L.,  408. 

Pearce,  Senator  G.  F.,  172. 

Pecanha,  Senor  N.,  104. 

Pellatt,  Lady,  431. 

Pelletier,  Hon.  L.  P.,  476. 

Pelletier,  Lieut.-Col.  P.,  672. 

Pelletier,  Mrs.  Wm.  P.,  517. 

Penfleld,  F.  C.,  62,  221. 

Pepper,  C.  G.,  422. 

Percy,  Lord  Eustace,  230. 
Perley,  Lady,  284,  517. 

Perley,  Hon.  Sir  George  H., 
197,    208,    284,    286,    314, 
509,   510,    511,   515,   517, 
529,  533,  584, 
Perodeau,  N.,  683. 
Perreault,  O.  S.,  476. 
Perrault,  Prof.,  508. 
Perrett,   Liuet.-Col.    T.    E., 

761. 

Perris,  G.  H.,  43,  46. 
Perry,    Major   A.    B.,    459, 

759. 

Perry,  C.  R.,  464. 
Pershing,    Major-General, 

121,  150,  238,  240. 
Petain,  General,  31,  82,  85, 

86,  120. 

Peter,  King  of  Serbia,  30. 
Peters,  F.  W.,  424. 
Peterson,  C.  W.,  392. 
Peterson,  Sir  Wm.,  348,  684. 
Pethebridge,  Brig.-Gen.  Sir 

S.  A.,  176. 

Pettypiece,  H.  J.,  582. 
Phelan,  Dr.  Daniel,  665. 
Phelan,  W.  J.  463. 
Philippi,  F.,  37. 
Phillips,  Hugh,  733. 
Phillips,  Sir  Lionel,  134. 
Phillips,  Percival,  525. 
Phillipps-Wolley,  Sir  C.,  459. 
Pichon,  M.,  33,  84. 
Pidgeon.  Rev.  E.  Leslie,  462, 

464,  578. 

Pierce,  H.  C.,  744. 
Pinchot,    Amos,    271,    275, 

277. 
Finder,  J.  K.,  700. 


Pitblado,  Isaac,  577,  612. 
Flatten,  J.  W.,  403. 
Planta,  A.  E.,  323. 
Plewman,  W.  R.,  514. 
Plewes,  J.  W.,  603. 
Plumer,    General    Sir    Her- 
bert, 148,  176. 
Plummer,  J.  H.,  511. 
Plumptre,  Mrs.  H.  P.,  430 

453,  457,  592. 
Plunkett,  Count,  162. 
Plunkett,  Sir  H.,  168. 
Pocock,  Philip,  668. 
Poincare,  President,  81,  87 
Poirier,  Hon.  Pascal,  489. 
Polivanaff,  General,  67. 
Pollock,  Sir  Frederick,  20. 
Ponsonby,  129. 
Pooley,  R.  H.,  818,  820. 
Pope,  His  Holiness  the,  480, 
Pope,  H.  L.,  759. 
Potts,  F.  L.,  703. 
Powell,  W.  R.,  469. 
Power,  Capt.  C.  G.,  623. 
Pr^fontaine,     Albert,     718, 

729,  735. 
Prendergast,   Justice   J.    E 

P.,  735. 
Prenter,  Mrs.  Hector,  433, 

632,  665. 

Preston,  T.  H.,  567. 
Preston,  W.  T.  R.,  633,  634, 

635. 

Price,  Dr.  O.  B.,  701. 
Price,  Saml.,  649. 
Prieth,  Benedict,  269. 
Primrose,  Major  P.  C.,  786. 
Primrose,    Rt.    Hon.    Neil, 

511. 

Pringle,  R.  H.  C.,  323,  325. 
Prior,  Col.  E.  G.,  530. 
Pritchett,  H.  S.,  684. 
Prothero,  Rt.  Hon.  E.,  208, 

378. 

Protopopoff,  M.,  67,  68,  94. 
Proudfoot,  P.,  625. 
Proudfoot,  W.,  625,  656,  661. 
Prout,  G.  W.,  730. 
Prowse,  A.  P.,  715. 
Prud'homme,  H.,  461. 
Ptmirin,  Archbishop,  67. 
Puffer,  W.  F.,  626. 
Pugsley,Hon.Wm.,320,  330, 

333,    344,    389,    401,    433, 

466,   583,    606,    699,    707. 
Purney,  Lieut.-Col.  W.  P., 

537,  633. 
Putnam,  Geo.  Haven,  252, 

260,  464. 

Putnam,  J.  H.,  653. 
Putnam,  Dr.  J.  H.,  715. 
Puttee,  A.  W.,  723. 
Pyne,  Hon.  Dr.  R.  A.,  502, 

653,  654,  655,  661. 

Quainton,  Very  Rev.  C.  S., 
695. 

Race,  R.  L.,  740. 
Radislavoff,  M.,  65. 
Rae,  W.  A.,  626,  803,  807. 
Rainville,  J.   H.,   M.P.,  328, 

358.  486,  508,  608. 
Ralston,  Major  J.  L.,  M.L.A., 

635,  693. 

Ramanones,  Count,  100. 
Ramsey,  Col.  W.  C.  P.,  521. 
Randal,  Helen,  432. 
Raney,  W.  E.,  602. 
Rankin,  Miss,  220,  273. 
Rankin,  Dr.,  619. 
Rannard,  C.  F.,  348. 

lappard,  Prof.  W.  E.,  100. 

iasputin,  Gregory,  66-8. 
Rathenau,  Walter,  258. 
Rathone,  John  R.,  605. 


Rattenbury,  Nelson,  716. 
Rautenfels,  Baron,  97,  256. 
Rawlinson,  Gen.  Sir  H.,  148. 
Raymond,  Major  W.  H.  K., 

M.P.,  160. 
Rea,  Samuel,  248. 
Reading,  Viscount,  227,  234, 

464. 
Recklinghausen,  Baron  Von, 

165,  259. 

Redfern,  C.  L.,  459. 
Redfleld,  Hon.  Wm.  C.,  235, 

236. 

Redman,  Major  D.  Lee,  636. 
Redmond,  John,  162-8,  519. 
Redmond,  Major  Lee,  614. 
Redmond,  Major  Wm.,  162. 
Reed,  Senator  J.  A.,  272. 
Reek,  W.  R.,  702.  712. 
Reid,  Hon.  J.  D.,  222,  466, 

582,    584,    585,    605. 
Reid,  Miss  Jeanne  R.,  809. 
Reid,  John  A.,  802. 
Reilly,  Capt.  C.  B.,  572. 
Reilly,  Lieut.  Clifford,  808. 
Reilly,  J.  F.,  789. 
Reiswitz,   Baron  Von,   259, 

268. 

Renwick,  Robert,  815. 
Repington,   Col.   E.  P.,  27, 

142. 
Revel,  Vice-Admiral  P.  T.  di 

118. 

Reyden,  Sir  Thomas,  234. 
Reynolds,   J.   B.,   724,   726, 

728,  736. 

Rhodes,  Cecil,  180. 
Rhodes,    Hon.   E.   N.,    328, 

360,  592. 
Rhondda,    Lord,    121,    133, 

137,    146,    229,    362,    366. 

628,  789. 
Ribot,  Alexandre,  82,  83,  84, 

85. 

Rice-Jones,  C.,  669. 
Richards,  James,  665. 
Richardson,  Henry  W.,  323. 
Richardson,    Bishop   J.    A., 

415,  629. 
Richthofen,  Baron  Von,  120, 

159. 

Rickard,  Edgar,  53. 
Ricker,  A.  W.,  276. 
Riddell,  Principal  J.  H.,  739. 
Riddell,  W.  A.,  648. 
Riddell,   Hon.   W.   R.,   356, 

435,    538,    647. 
Riddell,  Mrs.  W.  R.,  426. 
Riddell,  Dr.  J.  H.,  812. 
Ridder,  Herman,  259,  274. 
Ridout  &  Maybee,  658. 
Rigg,  R.  A.,  303,  417,  418, 

422,  625,    632,    729,    730. 
Riley,  E.  H.,  803. 
Rintelen,    Franz   Von,   259, 

269,  275. 

Ritchie,  Rev.  D.  L.,  685. 
Ritter,  Dr.  Paul,  99,  216,  217 
Rivers-Bulkeley,  Mrs.,  454. 
Robb,  James  A.,  402,  623. 
Robb,  W.  D.,  406. 
Roberts,   Major  C.   G.    D., 

511. 

Roberts,  Geo.  H.,  133,  139. 
Roberts,  Col.  J.  A.,  667. 
Roberts,  J.  H.,  682. 
Roberts,   Hon.   Dr.   W.   F., 

702,  707. 
Robertson,  Hon.  G.  D.,  323, 

423,  584,  585. 
Robertson,  J.  P.,  728. 
Robertson,  Dr.  J.  W.,  361, 

369,  712. 
Robertson,  General  Sir  Win., 

27,  28,  31,  88,  142,  287. 
Robichaud,  J.  G.,  701. 


INDEX  TO  NAMES 


937 


Robidoux,  F.  J.,   M.P.,  474, 

489,  606. 

Robinette,  T.  C.,  611. 
Robinson,  C.  W.,  696,  697, 

700,  701,  702,  710. 
Robinson,  James,  537. 
Robinson,    Hon.    John    A., 

715. 

Robinson,  Capt.  W.,  159. 
Roblin,  Sir  Rodmond,  733, 

735,  743. 

Robson,  Mrs.  Chas.,  573. 
Robson,  H.  A.,  569. 
Robson,  H.  T.f  376. 
Robson,  Wm.  T.,  210. 
Roche,  Rev.  Nicholas,  413. 
Roche,  Hon.  W.  J.,  321,  323, 

327,    334,    335,    584,    693. 
Roden,  Thos.,  394,  470. 
Rodier,  Mme.  L.  P.,  631. 
Rodzianko,  M.,  68. 
Rogers,  Lieut.  N.  McL.,  695. 
Rogers,    Hon.   Robert,   208, 

286,    318,    319,    320,    466, 

562,    571,    576,    578,    618, 

626,    681,    733,    734,    766. 
Rogers,  Jonathan,  832. 
Rollo,  Walter  R.,  632,  665. 
Roosevelt,    Theodore,     164, 

215,    223,    224,    225,    239, 

240,  254,  301. 
Root,  Elihu,  21,  72,  79,  121, 

215,  225,  226,  253,  271. 
Roper,  Bishop  J.  C.,  684. 
Rose,  Mr.  Justice  Hugh,  365. 
Rosebery,  Lord,  161. 
Rosenwald,  Julius,  236. 
Rosner,  Karl.  59, 
Ross,  Alex.,  806. 
Ross,  D.  A.,  577,  729,  735. 
Ross,  D.  C.,  M.P.,  533. 
Ross,  D.  H.,  379. 
Ross,  D.  R.,  604. 
Ross,  J.  Allan,  454. 
Ross,  John  T.,  812. 
Ross,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  G.,  509. 
Ross,  Senator  J.  H.,  533. 
Ross,  J.  W.,  457. 
Ross,  Lieut.  J.  K.  L..  459, 

534. 

Ross,  L.  R.,  708. 
Ross,  W.  G.,  356,  452,  458, 

459,    460,    818,    819,    824. 
Ross.  Mrs.  W.  G.,  459. 
Ross,  Duncan  C.,  643. 
Rothermere,  Lord,  158,  511. 
Rothflsher,  C.,  267. 
Rowell,    N.    W.,    201,    204, 

303,   337,    357,   387,   432, 

451,    464,    467,    502,    541, 

558,  562-9,   581-5,    591-2, 

603-5,  611.  635,  644,  646, 

655-9,  661,  664. 
Rowley,  C.  W.,  736. 
Roy,  Archbishop,  681. 
Roy,  Prof.  Ferdinand,  474, 

475,  508. 

Roy,  Mr.  Justice,  481. 
Roy,  Mgr.  P.  E.,  682. 
Ruddick,  J.  A.,  378,  380. 
Rudolph,  F.  G.,  469. 
Rump,  Pastor  J.,  37. 
Rundle,  W.  E.,  363. 
Russell,  C.  E.,  277. 
Russell,    Mr.    Justice,    460, 

560. 

Ruszky,  General,  73,  78, 120. 
Rutherford,  Dean  W.  J.,  782 
Rutherford,  R.,  211. 
Rutherford,  Wm.,  608. 
Ruttan,   Brig.-Gen.    H.    N., 

458. 

Ruttan,  Dr.  R.  F.,  470,  742. 
Rutledge,  J.  J.,  789. 
Ryan,  Bishop,  501. 
Ryan,  J.  D.,  251. 


Ryerson,  Surg.-Gen.  G.  Ster- 
ling, 315. 
Ryle,  Bishop,  467. 
Ryrie,  Harry,  457. 
Ryan,  S.  S.,  697. 

Salaberry,  Mme  H.  de,  631. 
Sales,  Thos.  779. 
Salmon,  Prof.  A.  V.,  462. 
Salmond,  Maj.-Gen.  J.  M., 

159. 
Sanders,  Lieut.-Col.  G.  E., 

786. 

Sanford,  Mrs.  W.  E.,  646. 
Sandiford,  Professor,  782. 
Sarrail,  General,  30,  83,  86, 

93. 

Sato,  Aimaro,  108. 
Saunders,  A.  C.,  716. 
Sauve,  Arthur,  642,  673,  682. 
Savage,  Mrs.  M.  S.,  431. 
Savard,  E.,  643. 
Sazonoff,  M.,  68. 
Scammell,  E.  H.,  532. 
Scanlon,  Lieut.  W.  M.,  761. 
Schack,  A.  H.  Von,  268. 
Schaffner,  F.  L.,  323. 
Scharff,  John,  741. 
Schiedemann,  P.,  139,  218. 
Schmidt,  Hugo,  259,  268. 
Schmidt,  Karl,  269. 
Schofleld,  Bishop  C.  D.,  629. 
Schofleld,  E.  A.,  702,  712. 
Schofleld,  H.  C.,  713. 
Schofleld,  J.  H.,  819,  820. 
Schreiner,  W.  P.,  197. 
Schulthess,  President,  99. 
Schwartz,  Hans,  268. 
Scollard,  Bishop,  501. 
Scott,  Lieut.  Elton,  684. 
Scott,    Rev.   Canon   F.    G., 

306,  684. 

Scott,  G.  A.,  626,  744,  768. 
Scott,  Issac,  656. 
Scott,  J.  M.,  723. 
Scott,  Hon.  Walter,  586,  743 

744,    762,    763,    765. 
Scott,  W.  B.,  535. 
Seddon,  J.  A.,  129. 
Seeley,  General  J.  E.  B.,  519, 

530. 

Seggie,  J.,535. 
Self,  T.  W.,  483. 
Senkler,  J.  H.,617. 
Sequin,  P.  A.,  487. 
Sevigny,  Hon.  Albert,  318, 

466,    481-5,    488,    584-6, 

607-9,  623. 
Sewell,  Fane,  560. 
Sexton,  F.  H.,  470,  695. 
Sexton,  Mrs.  F.  H.,  686. 
Seydler,  Dr.  Von,  63. 
Shanahan,  J.  J.,  537,  538. 
Shandro,  A.  S.,  804. 
Sharpe,    Maj.-Gen.    H.    G., 

OQO 

Sharpe,  Hon.  W.  H.,  466. 
Sharpies,  Lieut.-Col.  J.  J., 

532. 

Shatford,  L.  W.,  818. 
Shatford,   Rev.   A.   P.,  635. 
Shatford,  L.  W.,  323. 
Shaughnessy,      Lord,      301, 

303,    361,    396,    402,    452, 

457,  468, 484,  531, 556, 569. 
Shaughnessy.Capt.  the  Hon. 

A.  J.,518. 

Shaw,  Dr.  Anna,  253. 
Shaw,  Charles,  702. 
Shaw,  H.  B.,  409. 
Shaw,  H.  H.,  717. 
Shaw,  W.  H.,  564. 
Shead,  Sir  Samuel,  288. 
Shearer,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  G.,  664. 
Sheehan,  D.D.,  M.  P.,  160. 
Sheppard,  J.  A.,  744. 


Sherman,  C.  W.,  386. 
Sherman,  Senator  L.  G.,  272. 
Sherwood,    Col.    Sir    Percy, 

466,  469,  518. 
Shepherd,  W.  G.  M..  463. 
Shortt,  Mrs.  Adam,  428. 
Short,  James,  615. 
Sibert,    Maj.-Gen.    W.    L.. 

240. 
Sifton,  Hon.  A.  L.,  565,  573, 

575,    579,    581,    582,    584, 

585,  614, 626, 637,  784, 786, 

801-5,  807. 
Sifton,  Sir  Clifford,  318,  326, 

438,    464,    556,    569,    570, 

576-8.  595,  601.  618,  622. 
Silver,  H.  R.,  469. 
Simard,  Rev.  H.  A.,  492. 
Simms,  L.  W.,  698. 
Simonds,  F.  H.,  27,  30,  43. 
Simpson,  D.  B.,  582. 
Simpson,   James,   417,   418, 

419,   420,   422. 
Simpson,  Sir  James  H.,  212. 
Simpson,  Dr.  R.  M.,  735. 
Simpson,  S.  S.,  723. 
Sims,  Lieut.-Col.  F  .M.,  633. 
Sims,  Lieut.-Col.  R.  Manley, 

511. 

Sims,  W.  H.,  729. 
Sims,  Admiral  W.  S.,   154, 

229,  241. 

Sinclair,  J.  H.,  333,  344,  389. 
Singh,  Bhagwan,  269. 
Singh,  Jodh,  257. 
Sinha,     Sir    Satyendra    P., 

194,    195,    206,    208,    210. 
Sinnott,     Archbishop,    410, 

411,  412. 

Sinovieff,  M.,  74. 
Sinton,  Robt.,  581,  754. 
Sinton,  Mrs.  Robert,  430. 
Sissons,  Prof.  C.  B.,  655. 
Skelton,  A.  C.,  409. 
Skelton,   Prof.   O.   D.,   655, 

668. 

Skinner,  A.  O.,  606,  714. 
Slack,  E.  F.,  316. 
Slipp,  Hon.  A.  R.,  695,  700, 

Sloan,'   Hon.   William,   816 

821,  829. 

Slow,  Pte.  H.  F.,  805. 
Smale,  W.  I.,  724. 
Small,  J.  T.,  453. 
Smallfleld,  W.  E.,  602. 
Smart,  Col.  C.  A.,  465. 
Smartt,  Sir  Thos.,  180. 
Smith,  Alfred  H'.,  396,  397, 

398.  404. 

Smith,  A.  L.,  615. 
Smith,  Hon.  B.  Frank,  695, 

700,  707. 

Smith,  Sir  D.  W.,  647. 
Smith,  Rev.  E.  A.,  581. 
Smith,  Hon.  Ernest  Albert, 

702,  711. 

Smith,  E.  Norman,  557. 
Smith,   Rev.   E.   Tennyson, 

512. 

Smith,  Sir  F.E.,  205,  511. 
Smith,  Hon.  G.  P.,  626,  627, 

807. 

Smith,  Mrs.  Geo.  H.,  426. 
Smith,  H.  G.,  742. 
Smith,  H.  H.,  782. 
Smith,  H.  Lester,  696. 
Smith,  Dr.  H.  R.,  456. 
Smith,  Lieut.  J.  C.,  761. 
Smith,  Lewis,  703. 
Smith,  L.  B.,  709. 
Smith,  Rev.  M.  J.,  717. 
Smith,  Mrs.  Rolph,  434,  463, 

632,  817. 
Smith,  R.  C.,  681. 
Smith,  W.  L.,  340,  383,  620. 


938 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Smith,  W.  Maxwell,  815. 
Smith-Dorrien,  Sir  H.,  30. 
Smuts,   General  J.   C.,    29, 

31,  160,  178,  179,  182,  183, 

197,   203,    206,   207,   208, 

210.  287,  288, 
Snowden,  Philip,  M.P.,  129, 

136,  138. 

Scares,  Signor,  95. 
Somerville,  James,  775. 
Sommerville,  Norman,  461. 
Sonnino,  Baron,  88,  90. 
Sophia,  ex-Queen,  93. 
Sothern,  E.  H.,  453. 
Soukhomlinoff,  General,  67, 

68,  80,  256. 
Spahn,  Madam,  58. 
Spahn,  Dr.  Peter,  68,  218. 
Spargo,  John,  277. 
Spence,  Mrs.  H.  D.,  426. 
Spence,  S.  F.,  664. 
Spencer,  Sir  W.  B.,  177. 
Spencer,  Mrs.  Zella  C.,  809. 
Spender-Clay,  Capt.  H.  H., 

230. 
Spratt,     Archbishop,     501, 

665. 
Spring-Rice,  Sir  Cecil,  213, 

228,   354,   357,    361,   684. 
Squier,  Brig.-Gen.  Geo.  O., 

000. 

Stackpoole,  F.  J.,  617. 
Stafford,  H.  E.,  537. 
Stanley,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Albert 

H.,  208. 

Stanley,  W.  W.,  350. 
Stansfleld,  Dr.  A.,  684. 
Stapleford,    Principal,    581. 

783. 

Starr,  Lieut.-Col.  C.  L.,  533. 
Starr,  J.  R.  L.,  591. 
Statten,  Taylor,  457. 
Staunton,    Senator    Lynch, 

323,  591. 

Steele,  Chas.  E.,  664. 
Steele,    Dr.    Michael,    330, 

335. 
Steele,  Maj.-Gen.  Sir  S.  B., 

513,  635. 

Stefansson,  V.,  316. 
Steffen,  Gustaf,  98. 
Stevens,  Mrs.  E.  A.,  631. 
Stevens,  H.  H.,  617. 
Stevens,  J.  M.,  708. 
Stevenson,  A.  H.,  535. 
Stewart,  Rev.  Dr.  A.,  739. 
Stewart,  Hon.  Charles,  615, 

788,  803,  807. 
Stewart,  H.  A.,  325. 
Stewart,  Dr.  H.  A.,  754. 
Stewart,  J.  D.,  716,  717. 
Stewart.   Brig.-Gen.  J.   W., 

521,  818. 

Stewart,  J.  T.,  603,  632. 
St.  John,  Vincent,  266. 
Stockhammer,  Baron,  92. 
Stone,  Senator  W.  J.,    217, 

218,  220,  272,  275. 
Storehouse,  E.  H.,  443. 
Strathcona,  Lady,  517. 
Strathy,  Mrs.  Henry  S.,  454, 

462. 

Stratton,  Ira,  727. 
Straus,  Oscar  S.,  215. 
Straussenberg,  Marshal  Arz 

Von,  119. 

Stresemann,  Dr.,  51,  154. 
Studholme,  Allan,  433. 
Stuenner,  Dr.  Harry,  57,  67. 
Stumm,  Dr.  Von,  216. 
Stupart,  Sir  Fred.,  461. 
Sturdee,  Col.  E.  T.,  459. 
Sugano,  Major-General,  108 
Sugrue,  J.  L.,  698. 
Sullivan,  Sir  W.  W.,  717. 
Sumner,  F.  W.,  708. 


Sun  Yat  Sen,  President,  110. 
Sutherland,  D.,  M.P.,  292, 

433,  533. 
Sutherland,    Brig.-Gen.    D. 

M.,  603,  636. 
Sutherland,  Mr.  Justice  R. 

F.,  503,  652. 
Sutherland,  W.  C.,  754. 
Swain,  Prof.  G.  F.,  399. 
Sweeney,  F.  J.,  697,  701. 
Sweeny,  Bishop  J.  F.,  415, 

630,  667. 

Sweny,  Col.  G.  A.,  282.  453. 
Swift,  Inspector  Thomas, 

501,  503. 
Swinton,    Col.    E.    D.,    152, 

234. 

Sykes,  Rev.  Charles  A.,  437. 
Sykes,  D.  J.,  752,  773,  776. 
Sykes,  Gen.  Sir  Percy,  150. 
Symington,  H.  J.,  612,  723. 

Tafel,  Colonel,  125. 

Taft.  W.  H.,  153,  164,  225, 

254    275 

Taillo'n,  Sir  Louis,  492. 
Takeshita,    Vice-Admiral, 

108. 

Tanner,  Chas.  E.,  323,  687. 
Tarbell,  Ida  M.,  253. 
Tardieu,  Andr6,  27,  85,  87. 
Tarnowski,  Count,  222. 
Tarte,  L.  J.,  491,  608. 
Tarte,  Mme.  L.  J.,  631. 
Taschereau,  Hon.  L.  A.,  678, 

679. 
Tate,  F.  C.,  745,  746,  751, 

768,  774. 
Tate,  D'Arcy,  818,  833. 
Tauscher,  Hans,  256,  268. 
Taussig,  Prof.  F.  W.,  279. 
Taylor,     Rear- Admiral     D. 

W.,  249. 

Taylor,  Hon.  C.  H.,  812. 
Taylor,  Lieut.  C.  H.,  805. 
Taylor,    Lieut-.Col.    J.    D., 

323,  466. 

Taylor,  Hon.  H.  I.,  696. 
Taylor,  Rev.  Dr.  R.  B.,  668. 
Taylor,  Hon.  S.  W.,  833. 
Taylor,  S.  S.,  833. 
Taylor,  W.  J.,  567. 
Teed,  M.  G.,  709. 
Tellier,  Hon.  Louis,  319. 
Tennant,  W.  B.,  708,  709. 
Tennyson,  Lord,  530. 
Tereschenko,  M.,  69,  70. 
Tessier,  Hon.  J.  A.,  675. 
Thacker,  Brig.-Gen.  P.  E., 

509,  510. 

Thayer  W.  Roscoe,  252. 
Thibaudeau,  Mme.  R.,  672. 
Thorn,  D.  B.,  581. 
Thomas,  Albert,  79. 
Thomas,  R.  D.,  818-9. 
Thompson,  Lieut.-Col.  A.  T. 

532,  533,  633. 
Thompson,  Chris.  W.,  458. 
Thompson,    Senator   F.   P. 

533. 

Thompson,  J.  M.,  723. 
Thompson,  Miss  M.,  435. 
Thompson,  Nicol,  578,  617 
Thompson,  Col.  R.  M.,  253 
Thompson,  W.  H.,  273,  276 
Thomson,  Dr.  W.  A.,  753. 
Thompson,  R.  W.,  816. 
Thomson,  E.  W.,  554. 
Thomson,  H.  B.,  324,  367 

815. 

Thomson,  W.  W.,  754. 
Thornton,  Rev.  Father,  635 
Thornton,  Hon.  Dr.  R.  S. 

612,  727,  728,  737. 
Tidmarsh,  W.  F.,  716. 
Tildsley.  Dr.  J.  L.,  262. 


Tilley,  Lady,  713. 

Tilley,  L.  P.  D.,  704,  707, 

712. 

Tilley,  W.  N.,  325,  448. 
Tillman,  Senator,  262. 
Timberlake,  Rev.  W.,  683. 
Tippett,  S.  C.,  537. 
Tirpitz,  Admiral  Von,  30. 
Tisza,  Count,  30,  61,  62. 
Tobin,  S.  G.,  626. 
Tobin,  S.  J.,  807. 
Todd,  Major  J.  L.,  535. 
Todd,  S.  E.,  369. 
Todd,  Walter,  327. 
Tolmie,  Dr.  Simon  F.,  617. 

834. 

Tompkins,  Rev.  Miles,  695. 
Tooth,  Mrs.  A.,  429,  740. 
Torrington,  Mrs.  F.  H.,  427. 
Tory,  Dr.  H.  M.,  455,  456. 

808. 

Tory,  J.  C.,  689. 
Touche,  Sir  George,  288. 
Townley,  A.  C.,  384. 
Townley,  A.  W.,  781. 
Trego,  W.  D.,  809,  828. 
Tree,  Sir  Herbert  B.,  453. 
Treitschke,  H.  Von,  37. 
Tr^mandan,  A.  H.  de,  474. 
Tremblay,  Lieut.-Col.  T.  L., 

474. 

Trenholm,  C.  W.,  459. 
Trenholm,  Mrs.  C.  W.,  459. 
Trepofl,  General,  118. 
Trites,  A.  E.,  702. 
Trotter,  H.  A.,  211. 
Trotzky,  Leon,  66,  74,   75, 

76,  77,  80,  256. 
Truax,  R.  E.,  643. 
Trueman,  W.  H.,  351,  577. 
Tudor,  F.  G.,  23,  169,  171, 

174. 

Tulk,  A.  E.,  832. 
Tupper,  Sir  C.  H.,  337,  348, 

453,   465,   581,   611,    617, 

618,    832,    834. 
Tupper,  W.  J.,  612,  613, 
Turgeon,    Hon.    W.    F.    A., 

626,    745,    746,    747,    756, 

766,  771. 

Turgeon,  J.  G.,  804. 
Turley,  Sergt.  W.  E.,  636. 
Turner,  Pte.  Harris,  M.L.A., 

637,    760,    776. 
Turner,  Major-Gen.   Sir  R. 

E.  W.,  314,  349,  509,  510, 

513,  514,  520,  635, 
Turner,  Hon.  J.  H.,  815. 
Turrifl,  J.  G.,  M.P.,  335,  375- 

392,    514,    557,    565,    572, 

578,  581,  583,  765. 
Tustin,  P.  B.,  443. 
Tweeddale,  J.  F.,  697,  700, 

702,  707,  712. 
Tweedie,  T.  M.  M.,  614,  804, 

805,  806. 
Tyrell,  J.  B.,  741. 

Ukita,  Dr.  Kazutami,  108. 
Umbach,  J.  E.,  815. 

Vail,  Theodore,  N.,  253. 
Valera    Prof.     Edward     de 

162,  163,  168. 

Vance,  Rev.  Principal,  578. 
Van  Horn,  Wernher,  259. 
Van  Koughnet,  Mrs.  Arthur, 

432. 

Van  Wart,  Mrs.  G.  C.,  427. 
Vardaman,    Senator  J.    K., 

218,  220,  272. 

Vaughan.  Rev.  Father,  116. 
Veer,  J.  C.  Van  der,  99. 
Veniot,  Hon.  Peter  J.,  625, 

697,    698,    700,    701,    702, 

707,  710. 


INDEX  TO  NAMES 


Venizelos,  M.,  93,  94. 
Vernon,  Rev.  Canon,  695. 
Verville,  Alphonse,  M.P.,  417, 

420,  487,  632,  642. 
Viereck,  Geo.  Sylvester,  259, 

272,  274. 
Villard,    Mrs.    Henry,    275, 

276. 

Villas,  Hon.  W.  F.,  682,  683. 
Violette,  B.  R.,  702. 
Viviani,  Ren£,  30,  82,   120, 

230,  231,  232,  358,  359. 
Vosse,  Lieutenant,  159. 

Wade,  P.  C.,  576,  618,  813, 

823. 

Wagner,  Karl,  37. 
Wakefleld,  Sir  Charles,  288. 
Walcott,  F.  C.,  357. 
Waldron,  Gordon,  382,  448, 

620,  621. 
Wales,  H.R.R.  The  Prince  of, 

210,  454,  511. 
Walker,   Sir  Edmund,  201, 

357,  454,  464,  670. 
Walker,  J.  Bruce,  531. 
Walker,  Major  James,  805. 
Wallace,  Major  J.  H.,  457. 
Walsh,  Wm.  W.,  693. 
Wanless,  J.  M.,  742. 
Warburton,  G.  A.,  457.  610. 
Ward,  Charles  R.,  815. 
Ward,  Henry,  655. 
Ward,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Joseph 

G.,  184,  185,  186,  208,  464. 
Ward,  Lady,  187. 
Ward,  Sir  Joseph,  813. 
Ward,  R.  S.,  632. 
Ward,  Col.  W.  R.,  509. 
Warden,  J.  W.,  834. 
Wardle,  G.  J.,  133,  136,  137. 
Wardleworth,  T.  H.,  394. 
Warner,  Clarance  M.,  358. 
Warner,  D.  W.,  809. 
Warren,  Mrs.  H.  D.,  432. 
Waterous,  L.  M.,  582. 
Watson,  Major-Gen.  David, 

519,  523. 

Watson,  Miss  Mary  W.,  365. 
Watson,    Senator    R.,    466, 

625. 

Watson,  Tom,  266,  271. 
Watt,  Mrs.  G.  C.,  427. 
Watters,  J.  C.,  417,  418,  420, 

421,  422,  423,  628,  632. 
Waugh,  R.  D.,  577. 
Weart,  Hon.  J.  W.,  623,  817. 
Weaver,   Major-Gen.   Eras- 

nus,  M.,  239. 

Wedderburn,  Sir  Wm.,  193. 
Wehde,  A.  H.,  260,  268. 
Weichel,  W.  G.,  437. 
Weinberg,  O.,  58. 
Weir,  James,  627,  628,  809, 

810. 

Weir,  Mr.  Justice,  435. 
Weismann,  Herr,  273. 
Wekerle,  Dr.  Alex.,  62,  63. 
Welch,  P.,  818,  819,  833,  834. 
Wells,  H.  G.,  129,  135,  157. 
Wemyss,  Admiral  Sir  Ross- 

lyn,  153. 

Westarp,  Count  F.  Von,  218. 
Westbrook,  F.  F.,  834. 
Westwood,  W.  J.,  720. 
Wetmore,  Hon.  E.  L.,  742. 


,  General,  31. 

Whalen,  John,  275. 

Whalen,  James,  828. 

Wheeler,  Seager,  752. 

Wheelock,  Sr.  Frank,  695. 

Whelan,  Rev.  Father,  413. 

Whidden,  Dr.  H.  B.,  613 

Whidden,  Rev.  Dr.  H.  P., 
643,  668. 

White,  Arthur  F.,  542. 

White,  Arthur  V.,  391. 

White,  Rev.  G.  E.,  57. 

White,  E.  F.,  818,  833. 

White,  Capt.  Holt,  511. 

White,  Col.  J.  B.,  521. 

White,  Richard  S.,  323. 

White,  Sir  Thomas,  284, 
292-302,  314,  315,  334, 
354,  359,  387-9,  392, 
400-2,  406,  408,  443, 
451,  584,  585,  621,  626. 

White,  Brig.-Gen.  W.  A., 
229,  307,  354. 

White,  W.  W.,  715. 

Whitehead,  W.  T.,  715. 

Whiting,  Rev.  R.,  463. 

Whitman,  Governor,  232. 

Whiteside,  D.,  820. 

Wickham,  Lieut.  H.  J.,  458. 

Wickwire,  Harry  H.,  686. 

Wigle,  Rev.  Hamilton,  715. 

Wigmore,  R.  W.,  443,  606. 

Wilder,  R.  P.,  455. 

Wilhelm  II,  20,  34-41,  43, 
64,  65,  91,  93,  233,  257, 
258,  261,  263. 

Willard,  Daniel,  236, 

Williams,  Lieut.-Col.  C.  G., 
458,  459. 

Williams,  D.,  604. 

Williams,  Bishop  David,  415 
629. 

Williams,  Major  E.  F.,  468. 

Williams,  Sir  George,  455. 

Williams,  Parker,  815. 

Williams,  John  Skelton,  278. 

Williams,  Bishop  L.  W.,  629. 

Williams,  R.  J.,  409. 

Williams-Taylor,  Sir  F.,  409, 
455,  457. 

Williams-Taylor,  Lady,  459. 

Willison,  Walter  A.,  530. 

Willison,  Sir  John,  610. 

Willison,  Lady,  460. 

Willison,  W.  D.,  819. 

Willoughby,  766,  767,  768, 

Willoughby,  W.  B.,  323,  584, 
743,  744,  745,  751,  771, 
774,  775. 

Wilson,  Arthur,  753. 

Wilson,  A.  E.,  380,  752. 

Wilson,  C.  C.  L.,  582. 

Wilson,  Major-Gen.  E.  W., 
358,  535. 

Wilson,  G.  C.,  328. 

Wilson,  F.,  833. 

Wilson,  Sir  H.  H.,  31. 

Wilson,  Senator  J.  W.,  596. 

Wilson,  Rev.  J.  P.,  667. 

Wilson,  President  Woodrow, 
21,  31,  79,  87,  96,  104, 
110-11,  115,  117-21,  131, 
165,  213-8,  220-26,  230-39, 
242,  243,  246,  252,  253, 
277,  279,  314,  354,  467, 
468,  480. 


Wilson,  Matthew,  695. 
Wilson,  Lieut.-Col.  R.,  533. 
Wilson,  Hon.  W.  B.,  235. 
Wilson,  Rev.  W.  D.,  710 
Wilson,  W.  J.,  723. 
Wilton,   Capt.   J.   W.,   733, 

735,  738. 
Winkler,     Hon.     Valentine, 

718,    724,    725,    735,    612. 
Wimborne,  Lord,  518. 
Wiun,  E.  S.  H.,  815. 
Winstone,  J.,  422. 
Winslow,  R.  M.,  815. 
Wise,  Frank,  560,  567,  583, 

595. 

Wood,  E.  M.,  722. 
Wood,  Mrs.  E.  M.,  453. 
Wood,     E.     R.,     293,     457, 

452. 

Wood,  G.  Herbert,  455. 
Wood,  Prof.  G.  W.,  724. 
Wood,  Henry,  27. 
Wood,  H.  W.,  377,  382,  578, 

579,    613,    615,    627,    669, 

808,  809. 
Wood,    Hon.    Josiah,    703, 

707. 

Wood,  J.  S.,  625,  740. 
Wood,  Mrs.  J.  S.,  429. 
Wood,  James,  809. 
Wood,  Fl.-Lt.  M.  C.,  542. 
Wood,  Lieut.-Col.  Wm.,  511. 
Wood,  Prof.  W.  H.,  271. 
Wood,  Wm.  R.,  583. 
Woods,  J.  H.,  300,  615. 
Woods,  J.  W.,  461. 
Woodbridge,  P.  P.,  808. 
Woolf,  Martin,  626. 
Workman,  Mark,  386,  389. 
Workman,    Lieut.-Col.    the 

Rev.  W.  T.,  413. 
Works,  Senator  J.  D.,  218. 
Worrell,    Archbishop,    348, 

414,  560. 

Worth,  Lieut.  W.  G.,  379. 
Wrench,  J.  Evelyn,  460. 
Wright,  George,  365. 
Wright,  Gordon,  538. 
Wright,  H.  N.,  816. 
Wright,  Wm.,  M.P.,  433. 
Wrong,  Prof.  G.  M.,  655. 
Wylie,  D.  J.,  745,  771,  774. 

Yapp,  Sir  Arthur,  146,  457 
Yarmolinsky,  Abraham,  74. 
Yates,  Geo.  W.,  593. 
York,    The   Archbishop   of, 

288. 

Yorston,  J.  M.,  818. 
Yoshihito,  Emperor,  108. 
Young,  A.  J.,  619,  620. 
Young,  Mrs.  Ella  Flagg,  262. 
Young,  McGregor,  658. 
Young,  Robt.,  723. 
Youngman,  Elmer  H.,  356. 

Zaimis,  M.,  94. 
Zeller,  Dr.  Krum,  106. 
Zenneck,     Prof.    Jonathan, 

O  CQ 

Zeppelin,  Count,  119. 
Zimmerman,  Dr.  A.,  30,  40, 

103,    105,    106,    214,    218, 

256,  258,  260. 
Zubaran,  Rafael,  106. 
Zwiedenek,  Baroness,  216. 


INDEX  OF  AFFAIRS 


Abitibi  Power  &  Paper  Co., 

325. 

Aero  Club  of  Canada,  543-4. 
Aerial  League  of  the  British 

Empire,  334,  544. 
Aerial    Reprisals    Question, 

British,  160. 

Africa,  Statistics  of  all  Brit- 
ish Possessions  in,  180. 
Agricultural    Conditions    in 

Canada,  370,  384. 
Agricultural   Conference   in 

Winnipeg,  724-5. 
Agricultural  College,  Saska- 
toon, 745. 
Agricultural    Conditions    in 

Canada,  370-384. 
Alberta — 
.Agricultural  Conditions  in, 

790-1,  794,  797. 
Associations,  Presidents  o  , 

811. 

Budget  Speech  in,  787-8. 
Conservative    Policy    in, 

804-5. 

Education  in,  811. 
Farm  Loan  Act  and  Other 

Legislation  in.  797. 
Finances  of,  787-8,  798. 
General  Elections  in,  801- 

808. 

Government  Railway  Pol- 
icy, 794-5. 

Labour  Troubles  in,  789. 
Legislation  in,  798. 
Liberal  Policy  in,  801-4. 
Minerals  in,  789. 
Municipal  Conditions  in, 

791-2. 

New  Parliament  in,  806-7. 
New  Stewart  Government 

in,  807. 

Oil  Industry  in,  789. 
Patriotic  Contributions  of . 

800. 
Political      Irritation      in, 

437. 

Prohibition  in,  799,  800. 
Provincial  Police  Act  in, 

796,  798. 
Railway  Policy  of,  784-5, 

793-5. 
Schools     of    Agriculture, 

789. 
Soldier's   Vote     In,    802, 

805. 
Telephone     Services     of, 

784-5,  795-6,  797-9. 
United  Farmers  of,  808-9. 
University  of,  812. 
Vital  Statistics  of,  790. 
War  Action  of,  784,  800. 
Alberta  and   Great  Water- 
ways Ry.,  784-5. 
Alberta  College,  668. 
Alberta    Co-operative    Ele- 
vator Co.,  381. 
Aliens  in  Canada:    Hostile 

Influence  of,  423, 435-9. 
Allied  War  Conference,  33. 
Allied  Conferences  in  Wash- 
ington, 357. 

Allied  Governments'  Reply 
to  President  Wilson,  213. 


Alsace  -  Lorraine  —  French 
Determination  to  Recover, 
84-5. 

American  Commission  to 
Russia,  79. 

American  Defence  Society, 
265. 

American  Federation  of  La- 
bour, 422. 

American  Mission  to  Eng- 
land, 32-33. 

American  Red  Cross,  Activ- 
ities of,  251. 

American  Rights  League, 
260. 

American  Truth  Society, 
O'Leary  and,  260,  274. 

American  Women,  War  Act- 
ivities of,  253. 

American  Y.M.C.A.,  251-2. 

Anti-Conscription  League  of 
Quebec,  495. 

Anti-Conscription  League  of 
Vancouver,  419. 

Appointments,    Canadian 
Government,  323. 

Arabs,  German  Influence  on, 
257. 

Argentina,  Conditions  in, 
101-3. 

Argentina,  Luxburg  Negoti- 
ations in,  102-3. 

Armenia,  Massacres  in,  57, 
58,  70. 

Army  Corps,  British  Auxil- 
iary (Women),  425. 

Army  Medical  Service,  Can- 
adian, 533. 

Armies  of  the  War,  27. 

Armies,  Strength  of  German, 
43,  44. 

Army  and  Navy  Veterans, 
Incorporation  of,  334. 

Armistice  Negotiations,  Rus- 
sian, 77-8. 

Armours  of  Chicago,  Profits 
of,  445-6. 

Armoured  Cars,  British,  151. 

Associated  Kin  of  the  C.E.F. 
538. 

Athabasca  Valley  Railway, 
785. 

Atholston,  Lord,  Attempt  to 
Blow  up  Residence  of, 
496-8. 

Australia — 

Army  Casualties  of,  172, 

177. 

Conscription  in,  20,  173. 
Financial  Affairs  in,  177. 
At  the  Front,  175-6-7. 
General  Elections  in,  169, 

178. 

German    Plots    and    In- 
fluence in,  174. 
Government*  Boards  and 

Soldiers  of,  530. 
Irish-Catholic      Influence 

in,  173. 

Labor  Situation  in,  174-5. 
Union     Government     in, 

169,  170-2. 

War  Loans  and  Patriotic 
Funds  in,  176-7. 

[940] 


Australia — 
And    the    Imperial    War 

Conference,  169. 
Australian  Visitors  to  Can- 
ada, 177. 
Austria  and  the  War,  20,  60- 

1,  63,  439. 

Aviation,  Progress  of  157-8, 
542-4. 

Bacon,  British  Purchases  of, 
448. 

Bagdad,  Capture  by  British 
of,  28,  149,  150. 

Bank  Act,  Canadian, Amend- 
ed, 298. 

Banks,   Assistance  to   Gov- 
ernment of,  286. 

Banks,   Canadian  Branches 
of,  354. 

Bank  of  England,  302. 

Bank  Loans  to  Farmers  sim- 
plified, 373. 

Bank  of  Montreal,  Centen- 
ary of  the,  409. 

Bank      Staff      Enlistments, 
Canadian,  409. 

Bank   Statistics,    Canadian, 
407. 

Banks  and  the  War,   Can- 
adian, 407-410. 

Bankers'     Association    and 
War  Finance,  299. 

Bankers'   Association,   Can- 
adian, 409. 

Battles  of  the  Year,   Can- 
adian, 522.  530. 

Battle  Front  held  by  Can- 
adians, 522-523. 

Belgian   Relief  Commission 
American,  52,  53. 

Belgian    Relief    and    Other 
Funds,  461. 

Belgium,    Condition   of,  19, 
49,  52. 

Belgium  and  Germany,  36. 

Belgium,  German  Condition 
for  Withdrawal,  52. 

Bessarabia,  Struggles  in,  79. 

Bellevue  Spur,  Battle  of,  529 

Bi-lingualism  in  Essex,  501. 

Bi-lingual     Question,     R.C. 
Church  and,  504. 

Bi-lingual     Question,     the 
Canadian,  499-503. 

Bi-lingual  Question,  Ontario 
and,  500. 

Bishop's  College,  University 
of,  684. 

Black  List,  American,  254. 

Bohemia    Demands    Czech 
Independence,  63. 

Bond  Dealers  and  War  Fin- 
ance, 299. 

Bonne  Entente,  La,  476,  499, 
676,  505. 

Bonnet  Rouge,  La,  82-3. 

Boloism  in  France,  81. 

Bolivia  and  the  War,  101. 

Bolsheviki,  Russian,  23,  72-8 

Boundary    Waters    Treaty, 
U.S.,  652. 

Boy  Scouts,  Canadian,  334-6, 
465-6. 


INDEX  OF  AFFAIRS 


941 


Brandon  College,  Manitoba, 

739. 

Brazil  and  the  War,  101-104. 
Bread,  increase  in  Cost  of, 

442. 

Brest-Ltovsk,  Peace  Confer- 
ence at,  80. 
British     American     Nickel 

Corporation,  British  Con- 
trol of  669. 
British  Army,  148-149. 
British  Citizenship  League's 

Platform,  77 1. 
British  Columbia: 

Brewster    Government, 
Policy    in,    812-4,    816, 
821. 

Budget  Speech  in,  830-1. 

Changes  in  Government 
of,  814. 

Conservative  Policy  in, 
822 

Fort  George  Election  Case 
in,  820,  824,  835. 

Legislation  of,  823-6. 

Pacific  Great  Eastern  Af- 
fairs in,  818-20,  833-4, 
835. 

Prohibition  Issue  and  the 
1916  Elections,  820, 
831-3. 

Resources  and  Production 
of,  827-9. 

Royal  Commission  and 
Govt.  Appointments  in, 
815-6. 

War  Incidents  and  Work 

in,  820,  830-1,  834. 
British    Empire,    Order    of, 

212. 
British  Empire,  War  Forces 

of,  204. 
British  Empire,  War  Funds 

Raised  by,  205. 
British  Empire  War  Notes, 

210-11. 
British  and  Foreign  Sailors' 

Society,  459-60. 
British  Labour  Party,  War 

Aims  of,  138. 
British  Medical  Corps,  151 
British  Policy  Towards  Rus- 
sia, 79. 

British  Red  Cross,  454-5,  541 
British  Sailors'  Relief,  425. 
British  Soldiers,  Individual 

Valour  of,  151. 
British  Trade  Corporation, 

212. 

British    War    Funds,    Can- 
adian Gifts  to,  454,  465. 
British  War  Machine,  The, 

151. 
British  War  Office  Purchases 

in  Canada,  449. 
British  Wheat  Export  Co., 

354. 
Budget   Speech,    Dominion, 

294,  295,  296. 

Bulgaria,  War  Policy  of,  64. 
Bulletin,     The     Edmonton, 

quoted,     355,     438,     571, 

576,    586. 

Butter  and  Cheese  in  Can- 
ada, 372. 

Campaigns  in  1917,  26. 
Canada — 

Anthracite  Coal  Imported 
by,  441. 

Aliens  in,  435-9. 

Banking  Business  in,  407- 
10. 

Bread  Problem  in,  442. 

Coalition  Sentiment  in, 
559. 

And  the  Empire,  294. 


Canada — 

Food  Prices  in,  442, 434-51 . 

Financial  Policy  of,  286. 

Foreign-born  Population 
of,  435-6. 

I.W.W.  and  German  In- 
fluence in,  304,423-4. 

Labour  Disputes  in,  423-4. 

Non-combatant  Services 
of,  521-2. 

Oleomargarine  in,  444. 

Orangeism  in,  473. 

Railway  Conditions  in, 
398. 

Railway  Corps  and  La- 
bour Battalions  of,  521, 
522. 

Railway  Nationalization 
in,  397-9. 

Report  on  Cold  Storage  in, 

Retirement  of  Hon.  Rob- 
ert Rogers  in,  318-320 

Statistics  of,  467. 

Sugar  in,  441. 

War  Transportation  Is- 
sues in,  395-407. 

And  the  War,  282-470, 
509-551. 

Welcomes   United   States 

into  War,  355. 
Canada,  Le,  623,  642. 
Canadian  Aeroplanes,  Ltd., 

543. 
Canadian  Army  Corps,  519, 

521,  539. 
Canadian      Army      Dental 

Corps,  511. 
Canadian     Army     Medical 

Corps,  515,  521. 
Canadian  Aviation,  539-544. 
Canadian  Bankers'  Associa- 
tion, 408. 

Canadian    Bank    of    Com- 
merce, 409. 

Canadian  Bible  S9ciety,  416. 
Canadian  Casualties  at  Vimy 

Ridge,  526. 
Canadian  Chaplain  Service 

Abroad.  416. 
Canadian    Clubs    and    the 

War,  282,  360,  464-5,  517, 

519,   539,   559,   570,   591, 

600. 
Canadian  Clubs,  Women's, 

430. 
Canadian  Copper  Co.,  657-9, 

669. 

Canadian  Council  of  Agri- 
culture, 373,  381,  616. 
Canadian    5th    Division   in 

England,  515. 

Canadian  Federation  of  La- 
bour, 422. 
Canadian  Forces  in  France, 

519-522. 
Canadian       Manufacturers' 

Association,  581. 
Canadian   National  Ladies' 

Guild  for  Sailors,  460. 
C.N.R.,  Hamilton  and  the, 

660. 
C.N.R.,  Sir  T.  White  and, 

400-402. 
Canadian  Northern- Western 

Railway,  794. 
Canadian  Northern  Ry.,  292 

298,  403-4,  421,  578,  591, 
601,    618,    650,    722.    784, 
785,   792,    794. 

Canadian   Pacific   Railway, 

299,  402,    403,    424.    784. 
Canadian    Patriotic    Fund, 

433,  451-2,  706. 
Canadian  Press,  The,  Ltd., 
Telegraphic  Service  of  ,3 1 6 . 


Canadian  Railway  Associa, 
tion  for  National  Defence- 
395. 

Canadian  Red  Cross,  425, 
451-4,  517,518. 

Canadian  War  Archives  So- 
ciety in  England,  511. 

Canadian  War  Records  Of- 
fice hi  England,  511. 

Canadian  Cavalry  in  the 
War,  529. 

Canadian  Win  -  the  -  War 
League,  349. 

Casualties,  German  War,  43. 

Casualties,  War,  26. 

Catholic  Club  of  Winnipeg, 
411, 

Catholic  Register  (Toronto), 
quoted,  438. 

Caucasus,  Republic  in,  79. 

Central  Canada  Ry.  &  Pow- 
er Co.,  732,  754. 

Cheese,  British  Purchases  of 
Canadian,  299,  378. 

Chile,  German  Influence  in 
103. 

Chile  and  the  War,  101. 

China  Declare^  War  on 
Teutonic  Powers,  110. 

China,  German  Influence  in, 
20,  108,  257-8. 

China,  Increasing  Prestige 
of,  19,  110. 

Chinese  Immigration  Bill, 
Ottawa,  334. 

Christian  Guardian,  The, 
513,  628. 

Chronology  of  the  War,  117- 
126. 

Churches  in  the  Election, 
628-632. 

Church  of  England,  Union 
Government  and,  629- 
630. 

Church  of  England  and  the 
War,  414-5. 

Church  Union  Movement, 
415. 

Citizens'  Union  Committee, 
Election  Advertisements 
of,  610. 

Civic  Improvement  League, 
326. 

Civil  Service  and  the  War, 
Canadian,  327. 

Coal,  Canada's  Supply,  391. 

Coalition.Conservatives  and, 
570-5. 

Coalition,  Messrs.  Borden 
and  Laurier  Discuss,  561-3 

Cold  Storage  Conditions  in 
Canada,  445. 

Colonies,  African,  19. 

Colonist,  Victoria,  520,  585, 
632. 

Commission,  Alberta,  Police 
Force,  786. 

Committee,  Canadian  Cabi- 
net, 451. 

Commission  on  Conserva- 
tion, 326. 

Commission,  Dominion 
Newsprint,  325. 

Commission,  Dominions 
Royal,  197. 

Commissions,  Canadian 
Government,  324. 

Commission,  National  Ser- 
vice, 531. 

Commission,  re  Steel  Ship- 
building, 324. 

Commission  to  the  United 
States,  Proposed  Cana- 
dian, 358,  361. 

Committee,  War  Recon- 
struction, 134. 


942 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Confederation,  50th  Anni- 
versary of  Canadian,  509. 

Conscription  in  Australia, 20. 

Conscription,  Baptist  Atti- 
tude Towards,  416. 

Conscription  Bill  Presented 
to  House,  564. 

Conscription,  Board  of  Sel- 
ection for,  349. 

Conscription  in  Canada,  An- 
nouncement of,  491. 

Conscription ,  Canadian 
Opinion  of,  347-8. 

Conscription,  Canadian  Op- 
position to,  338,  340,  344. 

Conscription,  Sir  Arthur 
Currie  on,  520,  521. 

Conscription  Denounced  by 
Cardinal  B6gin,  506. 

Conscription  Denounced  by 
Sir  W.  Laurier,  598-9.  " 

Conscription,  Medical  Bds. 
for,  350. 

Conscription,  Miners  and, 
419. 

Conscription,  National  Op- 
inion of,  347-8. 

Conscription  Question  in 
Parliament,  335,  336,  337, 
338,  339,  340-3. 

Conscription  in  Quebec,  Op- 
position to,  478-9,  480. 

Conscription,  Quebec  in  Par- 
liament Opposes,  494. 

Conscription  Registration  in 
Canada,  350,  351. 

Conscription,  Supporters  of, 
337-40,  343. 

Conscription,  Opponents  of, 
343-5. 

Conscription  Vote  in  Com- 
mons, 345. 

Conscriptionist  -Liberals 
Meet  in  Toronto,  582. 

Conservation  Commission, 
Canadian,  326. 

Conservatives  Endorse  Sir 
Robert  Borden,  580-1. 

Consultations  between  Can- 
ada and  United  States, 
354. 

Co-operation  between  Can- 
ada and  England,  Finan- 
cial, 299. 

Co-operative  Credit  Act  in 
Alberta,  797. 

Cossacks,  Republic  of  Don, 
79. 

Costa  Rica  and  the  War,  101. 

Coulotte,  Canadian  Fight 
Around,  527. 

Courland,  Position  of,  19,  79. 

Croix,  La,  Advocates  Seces- 
sion of  Quebec,  507. 

Cuba  Declares  War  on  Ger- 
many, 105. 

Cuba  and  the  War,  101. 

Danish  Society  for  the  Study 

of  the  War,  43. 
Daughters   of  the   Empire, 

Imperial  Order,  324,  425, 

426,  427,  444. 
Daughters  of  the  Empire  in 

Alberta,  796. 
Davies  Company,  The,  446, 

447,  448,  449,  450. 
Denmark,  Conditions  in,  95. 
Dental  Services,   Canadian, 

322. 
Devoir,   Le,    444,   445,   472, 

473,    477,    478,    485,    506, 

624. 
Dominion  Alliance — Ontario 

Section,  664. 
Dominion  Coal  Co.,  689. 


Dominions      Consulted    by 
by    British    Government, 


2>00. 


Dominion  Day  Message  of 
Hon.  T.  C.  Norris,  719. 

Dominion  Educational  Asso- 
ciation, 715. 

Dominion  Election  Returns, 
638-641. 

Dominion  Steel  Co.,  689. 

Dominion  Wholesale  Gro- 
cers' Guild,  441. 

Dominions  Royal  Commis- 
sion, 197,  198,  199. 

Donnacona  Paper  Co.,  325. 

Douma  and  the  Russian 
Revolution,  69,  70,  71,  74. 

Drayton-Acworth  Railway 
Report,  405. 

Dutch  Commission  to  the 
United  States,  99. 

Dynamite  Outrage  on  Lor 
Atholstan's        Residence, 
497. 

Economize,  Canadians  urged 
to,  294. 

Ecuador  and  the  War,  101. 

Eddy  Co.,  E.  B.,  325. 

Edmonton,     Dunvegan,     & 
B.C.   Ry.,  784,   785,  786, 
794. 
pt  and  the  War,  20. 

'on  Address  of  Hon.  F. 
B.  Carvell,  606. 

Election  Address  —  Liberal 
Leader's,  597,  598,  599. 

Election  Manifesto  of  Hon. 
J.  A.  Calder,  615,  616. 

Election  Platform  of  Major 
G.  W.  Andrews,  636. 

Election  Tour  of  Sir  R. 
Borden,  590-592. 

Electric  Power  in  Canada, 
393. 

Electrical  Development  Co., 
650. 

Elevator  Strike,  Northern 
Ontario,  424. 

Emigration  Committee, 
British,  530 

Empire  Club  of  Canada, 
461,  462,  541,  558. 

Empire  Land  Settlement, 
530. 

Empire  Parliamentary  Asso- 
ciation, 287. 

Empire  Press  Union,  289. 

Employment  of  Returned 
Soldiers  in  Canada,  316. 

England  Attacked  by  H. 
Bourassa,  480. 

England,  Bank  of,  302. 

Enlistments  from  Canadian 
Banks,  409. 

Enlistment,  Canadian  Stat- 
istics of,  307-11,  350 

Excess  Profits  Tax,  Cana- 
dian, 329. 

Exchange,  Canadian  and 
American,  302. 

Exemptions,  Local  Tribun- 
als for,  350. 

Extension  of  Parliament, 
579. 

Farm  Labour,  Increase  in 
Cost  of,  372. 

Farm  Loan  Act,  Manitoba, 
730. 

Farm  Loans  Act  in  Saskat- 
chewan, 750. 

Farmers  Aid  in  War.  Cana- 
dian, 372. 

Farmers,  Bank  Loan  to, 
373. 


Farm  Property,  Value  of, 
380. 

Farm  Women  of  Alberta, 
United,  429. 

Farmers  and  the  War,  380, 
381,  382,  383. 

Field  Crop  Statistics.  Cana- 
dian, 371. 

Finance,  Canadian,  292,  302. 

Financial  Policy  of  Allies,28. 

Finances,  United  States, 
278,  281. 

Finance  and  War,  23,  25. 

Finance,  War,  and  Bankers' 
Associations,  299. 

Finland,  Germanized  In- 
dependence of,  70,  79. 

Food  Conservation  Com- 
mittee, 366. 

Food  Conservation,  Official 
Efforts  to  Promote,  366, 
367,  368,  369. 

Food  Control,  Canadian, 
365,  366,  367,  368,  369. 

Food  Control  Board  of  New 
foundland,  189. 

Food  Control  Committee, 
N.B.,  714. 

Food  Prices  in  Canada, 
Great  Britain,  and  United 
States,  439,  440. 

Food,  World  Shortage  of, 
29,  361-369. 

Food  Supply  in  Germany, 
46-9. 

Forest  Fires,  Losses  by,  326. 

Forestry  Battalions  in  Bri- 
tain, Canadian,  519 

Fox  Industry  in  P.E.I.,  716- 
717. 

France,  Premier  of  Canada 
in,  286,  287,  288,  289. 

Franchise  and  Voters  of 
Enemy  origin,  437. 

France,  American  Red  Cross 
Aid  in,  87. 

France,  Man  Power  in,  85. 

France,  May-June,  Pacific- 
ism in,  20. 

France,  Plots  of  Bolo  Pasha 
and  Caillaux  in,  82-3. 

France,  Refuses  to  Recog- 
nize Bolsheviki,  84. 

France,  Treachery  in,  81. 

France,  War  Conditions  of, 
81-7. 

Free  Press,  Ottawa,  557. 

Free  Press,  Winnipeg,  474, 
477,  556,  558,  565,  570, 
576,  578,  586,  613. 

Free  Wheat  between  Canada 
and  United  States,  375,376. 

French-Canadian  Contribu- 
tions to  Patriotic  Funds, 
473,  474. 

French-Canadians,  Critical 
Attitude  towards  France 
of,  473. 

French-Canadians  Denounce 
Conscription,  493-9. 

French-Canadians  and  the 
Empire,  477. 

French-Canadians,  Histori- 
cal Summary  of,  471. 

French  -  Canadians  Mis- 
understood by  Other  Can- 
adians, 473. 

French-Canadians  Misled  by 
Demagogues,  498. 

French  Territory  Occupied 
by  Germany,  53. 

French  Commission  to 
United  States  and  Canada 
358-361. 

French-Canadians  and  the 
War,  471-499. 


INDEX  OF  AFFAIRS 


943 


Fuel    Resources,    Can;,dian, 

392 
Fuel     Control,      Cam  dian, 

366,  367,  392,  393,  306. 
Furness-Withers    Stearishlp 

Co.,  469. 

Gazette,  The,  Montreal,  457, 

506. 
German    Agitation   in    Kit- 

chiner,  Ont.,  436. 
German  Africa.  Conquest  of, 

180. 
German  -  African    Colonies, 

Future  Control  of,  202. 
German- American  Alliance, 

275. 

German  Atrocities,  49-60. 
German    Books    on     War, 

37. 
German-Canadian  Union  of 

Saskatchewan,  437. 
German    Conception  of 

World  Morality,  36. 
German-controlled    Popula- 
tions, 55. 
Germans,     Destruction     of 

Art  Treasures  by,  60. 
Germany,  Egotism  of,  36. 
German  Influence,  Ubiquity 

of,  438,  439. 
German  Spys,  personnel  and 

Centres  of  Action  of,  255, 

256,  257. 
Germany : 

Alleged  Discontent  in, 
42. 

Autocratic  Rule  in,  58. 

Commemoration  Medals 
in,  59. 

Finances  of,  44,  45,  46. 

Food  Supply  in,  46-9. 

General  Policy  of,  34-42. 

Industrial  Decline  in,  46. 

The  Kaiser  and,  34,  35. 

Man-power  of,  19. 

Obtains  Foodstuffs  from 
Scandinavia  and  Hol- 
land, 97. 

Retail  Food  Prices  in,  439. 

Supposed  Progress  of  De- 
mocracy in,  41. 

Unrestricted  Submarine 
Warfare  of,  215 

War  Successes  of,  20. 

Women  Workers  in,  425. 
Girl    Guide    Movement    in 

Canada,  431. 
Globe,    The    Toronto,    264, 

328-9,  347,  450,  555-7,  562, 

567,  576,  579,  586,  612. 
Government   Changes,    Do- 
minion, 318. 
Governor-General's  Tour  of 

Canada,  282-4. 
Grain   Growers  Association, 

Saskatchewan,  778-9. 
Grain  Growers  of  Canada, 

373,  375. 
Grain  Growers'  Guide,  377, 

420,  438,  571,  577,   726. 
Grain  Growers'   Grain  Co., 

578. 
Grain  Growers  of  Manitoba, 

739-741. 
Grain  Growers  and  the  Price 

of  Wheat,  373-6. 
Grain  Supervision  Board  of 

Canada,  376-7. 
Grand  Trunk  Railway,  Gen- 
eral   Condition    of,    404, 

405,    406,    407. 
Grand   Trunk   Pacific   Ry., 

784,  794. 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  Govt. 

Loan  to,  298. 


Great  War  Veterans'  Asso- 
ciation of  Canada,  536-7. 
Greek  Church  of  Russia,  66. 
Greece  and  the  War,  93-94. 
Great  Britain: 

Army  Record  of,  17,  127, 
142,  148-9,  150-1. 

Aviation  Record  of,  158-9. 

Blockade  Policy  of,  147-8. 

Canadian  Financial  Ar- 
rangements with,  299. 

Committees  and  Commis- 
sions of,  134-5. 

Economic  Changes  in,  143, 
145-147. 

Financial  Position  of,  140, 
141,  142. 

Increase  of  Prices  in,  440. 

Labour  Action  in,   136-8. 

Lloyd  George  Govern- 
ment in,  128-9,  133. 

Mercantile  Marine  of,  153. 

Munition  Production  in, 
143-4. 

Naval  Services  of,  127, 
152,  153,  513. 

Temperance  Question  in, 
127,  130. 

Pacifist  Movement  in,  129. 

Purchase  of  Supplies  in, 
144. 

Shipping  Statistics  of,  130, 

Socialism  in,  129. 
Submarine   Menace  and, 

130. 
Varied  War  Achievements 

of,  127. 

V.A.D.  Helpers  in.  518. 
War  Office  Contracts  of, 

144. 

Women  Suffrage  in,  147. 
Work  of  Women  in,  146-7, 

425. 

Greater    Production    Com- 
mittee, 714. 
Guardian,    The   Manchester, 

509. 
Guatemala  and  the  War,  101 

Hail  Insurance  Board  in 
Alberta,  798. 

Haiti  and  the  War,  101. 

Halifax  Disaster,  Contribu- 
tions for  Relief,  468-9. 

Halifax  Disaster  and  the 
War,  317,  467-9. 

Harris  Abattoir,  Toronto, 
448. 

Herald,  Montreal,  642. 

Highway,  Vancouver  to  Win- 
nipeg, projected,  753. 

Hindu  National  Congress, 
193,  194. 

Holland,  Army  of,  99. 

Holland,  Fear  of  German 
Invasion  in,  98. 

Holland,  Foodstuffs  Sent  to 
Germany  by,  97. 

Holland,  Imports  and  Ex- 
ports, of,  98-99. 

Home  Defence  Force,  Op- 
position to,  309-10. 

Home  Economics  Associa- 
tion, 429. 

Home-makers'  Clubs,  429. 

Home  Rule  in  India,  Move- 
ment for,  194. 

Honduras  and  the  War,  101 

Honours  Won  by  Major  W. 
A.  Bishop,  540-1. 

Hospitals  and  Clearing  Sta- 
tions. Canadian,  510,515 
516. 

Hudson  Bay  Railway,  742 
786. 


Hudson   Bay   Co.   and   the 

Liquor  Trade,  761. 
Hydro-Electric  Commission, 

Work   of,   644,    650,    651, 

652,  660. 

Immigration,  Canadian  Sta- 
tistics of,  321. 

Imo,  in  Halifax  Disaster, 
467,  469. 

Imperialism,  Sir  George  Per- 
ley  and,  509. 

Imperial  Conference,  511. 

Imperial  Co-operation,  Spe- 
cific Plans  for,  200. 

Imperial  Incidents,  211-12. 

Imperial  Mineral  Resources 
Bureau,  212. 

Imperial  Munitions  Board, 
299,  415-20,  438,  445, 
542. 

Imperial  Natural  Resources 
Committee,  199. 

Imperial  Union  of  Teachers, 
462. 

Imperial  War  Cabinet,  Na- 
tural Evolution  of,  206. 

Imperial  War  Cabinet,  Reso- 
lutions of,  207-10. 

Imperial  War  Conference, 
Sessions  of,  287,  290. 

Imperial  War  Graves  Com- 
mission, 511. 

Income  T**    fifl3»   — 

Income  War  Tax,  Canadian, 


IncEa?  Cotton  Goods  Ques- 
tion in,  196. 

India,  Defence  Force  Bill  of, 
195. 

Indian  Forces,  Military  Op- 
erations of,  195. 

India- 
German  Plots  in,  257. 
Home  Rule  in,  195. 
Industries  of,  196. 
Man-power  Board  of,  195. 
And  the  Mesopotamia  Re- 
port, 195. 

Moslem  League  of,  194. 
Munitions  Board  of,  191. 
National  Congress  of,  194. 
Sedition  in,  19-20. 
Troops  on  All  Fronts  of, 

195. 
Undercurrents  of  Thought 

in,  192,  193,  194. 
And  the  War,  190-196. 

Indian    National    Congress, 
194 

Indian     Representation     at 
War  Conference,  195. 

Increased  Production  Com- 
mittee, 702. 

Industry,     Canadian    War, 
391 

Industrial  Prosperity  in  Can- 
ada, 386-390. 

Industrial  Research  and  the 
War,  469-470. 

Industry  in  the  War,  Can- 
adian, 385-395. 

Intercolonial  Railway,  406, 
701. 

International  Joint  Commis- 
sion, 357. 

International   Lumber   Co., 
357. 

International     Nickel     Co., 
657-9,  668. 

International  Typographical 
Union,  304. 

Ireland,  German  Money  and 
Machinations  in,  161. 

Ireland,   Home  Rule  Ques- 
tion   in,  161-8. 


944 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVffiW 


Ireland,  Improvements  in, 
Needed,  161. 

Ireland,  Production  of  Food- 
stuffs in,  161. 

Ireland,  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  in,  168-9. 

Ireland,  Schemes  of  Von 
Bernstorff  in,  165. 

Ireland,  Sinn  Feinism  in, 
161-3. 

Ireland,  Troops  at  the  Front 
of,  160. 

Irish-Canadian  Rangers  in 
Ireland,  518. 

Irish  Fellowship  Club  of 
Chicago,  165. 

Irish  Home  Rule,  204. 

Irish  Home  Rule,  U.S. 
Opinions  of,  164*5. 

Irish  Parliamentary  Party, 
Manifesto  of,  164. 

Italy,  August  Offensive  in,  88 

Italian  Army,  Disastrous 
Retreat  of,  89,  90,  91. 

Italy,  Conditions  in,  91-92. 

Italy,  Difficulties  in,  87-92. 

Italy,  German  Spies  and  In- 
trigue in,  20,  91-2. 

Italy,  Malign  Influence  of 
Gioletti  in,  91. 

Italy  and  the  War,  20.  88-9. 

I.W.W.  (Independent  Work- 
ers of  the  World)  Plots  of, 
23.  265-6,  417,  439. 

Japan,  dominance  in  China 
of,  108. 

Japan,  German  Propaganda 
in,  108. 

Japan,  Naval  Aid  in  the 
War  of,  107. 

Japan,  and  the  War,  107-1 10 

Japanese,  Loans  to  Allied 
Governments,  107. 

Jefferson  Highway,  U.S., 
Canadian  Receptions  on, 
719. 

Jerusalem,  Capture  by  Brit- 
ish of,  28. 

Jews,  Emancipation  in  Rus- 
sia of,  71. 

Jewish  Council  of  Women, 
432. 

Journal,  Le,  82. 

Journal-Press,  Ottawa,  450, 
585. 

Jubilee  of  Confederation  and 
the  War,  466-7. 

Kaiser  and  Czar,  Corres- 
pondence of,  38. 

King's  Daughters  and  Sons, 
431-2. 

Kitchener  and  Its  German 
Residents,  436. 

Knights  of  Columbus  and 
the  War,  413. 

Knox  College,  Toronto,  667. 

Labour  Battalions  Overseas, 

521. 

Labour  and  the  C.N.R.,  792. 
Labour    Congress    Opposes 

Conscription,  303-4. 
Labour  Council,  Halifax,  420 
Labour    Department,  Can- 
adian, 440. 
Labour  Disputes  in  Canada, 

423-4. 
Labour  and  the   Elections, 

632. 

Labour,  Farm — Cost  of,  372. 
Labour    Federation,     B.C., 

421. 
Labour,      Internationalized, 

22. 


Labour  Leaders  Supporting 
Conscription,  423. 

Labour  Market  in  Canada, 
441. 

Labour  and  National  Ser- 
vice Registration,  418. 

Labour  Party  in  Canada,632 
775. 

Labour,  Position  in  Britain 
of,  156-8. 

Labour  Party,  Greater  To- 
ronto, 665. 

Labour  Troubles  in  Alberta, 
789. 

Labour  Unionism  in  Canada, 
416-24,  775-6. 

Labour  and  the  War,  Can- 
adian, 416-424. 

L' Action  Catholique,  Quebec, 
506-7. 

Language  Issue  in  Saskat- 
chewan, 769. 

La  Presse,  Montreal,  491. 

Laval  University  Students, 
492,  508. 

Laval  University  and  Hos- 
pital Unit  No.  6,  474,  683, 

Laval  University  Battalion 
and  Col.  Blondin,  493. 

Leader,  The  Regina,  438, 
555,  571,  578,  586,  771. 

League  of  the  Empire,  462. 

L'Evenement,  Quebec,  481, 
491,  642. 

Lee-Enfleld  Rifle,  291,  313-4. 

Liberal  Campaign  in  Can- 
ada, 618-628. 

Liberals  and  the  Canadian 
Press,  618. 

Liberal  Editors  of  Ontario 
favour  Coalition,  566. 

Liberal  Monthly,  555,  558. 

Liberals,  Ontario,  Confer- 
ence of,  566. 

Liberal  Opposition  Appeal 
to  the  Soldiers,  634-5. 

Liberal  Policy  in  Laurier 
Campaign,  593-602. 

Liberal-Unionists'  Appeal  to 
Soldiers,  634. 

Liberals  at  Western  Con- 
vention, 574-6. 

Liberals  who  Opposed  Con- 
scription, 494. 

L'Ideal  Catholique,  507. 

Ligue  Patriotique  des  Inter- 
ets,  Canadiens,  493. 

Lindsay  Arsenal,  438. 

Lithuania,  German  Con- 
quest of,  19,  79. 

Live-stock  Situation  in  Can- 
ada, 373,  379. 

Longshoreman's  Union, 
Halifax,  420-421. 

Loretto  Abbey,  283. 

Lower  Canada  College,  684, 
685. 

Lutheran  Evangelical  Con- 
ference, 416. 

Luxuries,  Importation  of  294 

Luxburg  Despatches,  97, 
102-3. 

McGill  University,  361,  667, 

684. 
McGill     University,     Mac- 

donald  Bequests  to,  684. 
McMaster  University,  668. 
Manitoba — 

Agricultural  Progress   of, 

724-6. 
Bi-lingual     Problem     in, 

727-8. 

Conservative  Criticism  of 
Government  in,  733. 


Mani  :oba — 

Edication  in,  727-8. 

Er  erson    Roads    Scandal 

in,  735. 
Financial    Conditions    of, 

T21-2. 

G  jvernment    and    Coali- 
tion Views,  579. 
Land  Statistics  of,  722-3 
Legislation  in,  730,  731-2. 
Lignite  Coal  in,  742. 
Mineral  Wealth  of,  741-2. 
Natural  Wealth  of,  719. 
Parliament          Buildings' 
Scandal  in,  733,  734,735 
Provincial  Red  Cross  of, 

453,  735-6. 
Public  Affairs  of,  718. 
Seditious  Views  in,  729. 
Timber  and  Pulpwood  of. 

741. 
Workmen's  Compensation 

Act  in,  723. 

Women  Eligible  for  Muni- 
cipal Office,  731. 

Manitoba  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, 318,  724,  725,  726, 
733,  734,  735. 

Manitoba  Advisory  Council 
(Hotel  Act),  723. 

Manitoba  Agricultural  Sta- 
tistics, 725. 

Manitoba  Boy  Scouts'  Con- 
ference, 736. 

Manitoba  Grain  Growers' 
Co.,  Profits  of,  381. 

Manitoba  Home  Economics 
Societies,  725. 

Manitoba  Military  Hospitals 
Commission,  723. 

Manitoba,  Mothers'  Allow- 
ance Act  in,  723. 

Manitoba  Public  Welfare 
Commission,  723. 

Manitoba  Returned  Sol- 
diers' Committee,  723. 

Manitoba  Rural  Credits  Act, 
729-30. 

Manitoba  Trade  Unions,  721 

Manitoba  University,  728, 
737-9. 

Manitoba,  War  Support  of. 
730.  735-6,  720. 

Manifesto  of  Sir  R.  L. 
Borden,  588-590. 

Man-power  Available  in 
Canada,  338-9. 

Manufacturers'  Convention, 
Winnipeg,  393,  394,  395. 

Matthews-Blackwell  Co.449. 

Meats  Purchased  in  Canada 
for  British  Army,  448. 

Mecca,  Arabian  Occupation 
of,  28. 

Medical  Conscription  Board, 
Canadian,  350 

Medical  Institutions  Abroad, 
Canadian,  322. 

Men  Overseas,  Canadian, 
286. 

Memorandum,  Round  Table 
201. 

Merton  Co.,  H.  R.,  657. 

Mesopotamia,  British  Vic- 
tories in,  149. 

Methodist  Church  and  Un- 
ion Government,  628-9. 

Methodist  Church  and  the 
War,  413,  414. 

Methodist  Conference,  B.C., 
560. 

Mexico,  Conditions  in,  105-7 

Mexico,  German  Plots  and 
Influence  in  ,106-7,  258. 

Militia  Act,  Canadian, 
558. 


INDEX  OF  AFFAIRS 


945 


Military  Appointments, 
Canadian,  315. 

Military  Convalescent  Hos- 
pitals, 531. 

Military  Hospitals  Commis- 
sion, 531,  532,  533,  534. 

Military  Hospitals  Commis- 
sion, Saskatchewan,  747. 

Military  Officials  in  England, 
Canadian,  509. 

Military  Service  Act  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  Hier- 
archy, 506. 

Military  Service  Act,  292, 
304,  329,  417,  423,  498, 
565,  586,  600. 

Military  Service  Council, 
Canadian,  349. 

Military  Uniforms,  Can- 
adian Regulations  re,  312. 

Military  Voters'  Act,  330-4, 
578,  633. 

Miners  of  Nova  Scotia  and 
U.S.A.  Amalgamate,  689. 

Mineral  Resources,  Imperial 
Bureau  of,  212. 

Miners,  Canadian  Strikes  of, 
423-4. 

Minerals  Separation,  North- 
American,  Corporation, 
658. 

Mining  Tax  Act  of  Ontario, 
659. 

Mittel-europa,  Kaiser  es- 
tablishes, 20. 

Mohammedans  and  the  Ab- 
ortive Holy  War,  64. 

Mond  Nickel  Co.,  658-9,  669 

Mont  Blanc  and  Halifax  Dis- 
aster, 467,  469. 

Montreal  City  Council  Op- 
poses Conscription,  493. 

Montreal  Congregational 
College,  685. 

Montreal  Labour  Council, 
473. 

Montreal  Patriotic  Fund,427. 

Montreal  Trades  and  Labour 
Council,  303. 

Moral  Condition  of  Can- 
adian Troops,  512-4. 

Morocco,  German  Influence 
in,  258. 

Moslem  League  of  all  India, 
194. 

Mothers'  Support  Act  in 
Saskatchewan,  777-8. 

Motor  League's  Convention, 
753. 

Motherland  and  Dominions, 
Comparative  Casualties  of 
205. 

Munitions  in  Canada,  385-7. 

Military  Voters'  Act,  Can- 
adian, 330,  331,  332,  333, 
334,  578. 

National  Congress  of  India, 

194. 
National  Convention,  Irish, 

165-8. 
National  Council  of  Women, 

Canadian,  427-8. 
National  Ladies'   Guild  for 

Sailors,  432. 
National    Party    (New)    of 

England,  147. 
National  Security  League  in 

U.S.,  253. 
National   Service  Board   of 

Canada,    303,    428,    531. 

551,  601. 

National    Service    Registra- 
tion, 418. 
National     Transcontinental 

Railway,  407. 
60 


National  Unity  Convention, 

Montreal,  476. 
National  Unity  Convention, 

Toronto,  560. 

National   War   Loan,    Can- 
adian, 291,  412. 
Nationalism      in      Quebec; 

Bourassa-Lavergne    Atti- 
tude, 477-482. 
Nationalist  Pledge  re  Con- 
scription, 623-4. 
Naval  Brigade,  Boys,  460. 
Naval  Service  Dept.,  Can- 
adian, 539. 
Navy    League    of    Canada, 

458-9. 

Neutrals  and  the  War,  Euro- 
pean, 101. 
New  Brunswick — 

Acadian   Political   In- 
fluence in,  701. 

Agricultural  Conditions  in 
712. 

Battalions  at  the  Front, 
714. 

B.  Frank  Smith's   State- 
ment to  Electors,  697. 

Causes    of    Conservative 
.  Defeat  in  Elections,  701 

Conscription  Issue  in,  703, 
704. 

Educational     Affairs     in, 
714-15. 

Election  Returns  in,  700-1 

Farm   Settlement   Board, 
in,  700. 

Finances  of,  704,  705,  706. 

General  Mining  Act,  706. 

Graft  and  the  St.  J.  &  Q. 
Ry.,  708-9. 

Issues    of    the    Election 
Campaign,  696-700. 

Lands  and  Mines  Report, 
711. 

Legislative  Union  and,  705 

Power  Company,  707-8. 

Production  in  1917,  712-3. 

Prohibition    Question   in, 
700,  703,  706,  707,  710. 

Public  Utilities  Commis- 
sion, 708. 

Ship-building  in,  713. 

St.  John  &  Quebec  Ry., 
703,  704,  707,  708,     * 

Unionism  and  the  Foster 
Government  in,  710. 

W.  E.  Foster's  Manifesto 
to  Electors,  698-9. 

Woman  Suffrage  Question 

in,  707. 
Newfoundland: 

Fishermen's  Party  in,  187. 

Prices  of  Commodities  in, 
188. 

Prohibition   Enforced   in, 
188. 

Recognized  as  a  Domin- 
ion, 187. 

Recruiting  and  Casualty 
Statistics,  189. 

Shipping    Committee    of 
Cabinet  in,  188. 

Union     Government     of, 
187-8. 

And  the  War,  187-190. 
Newfoundland  High  Cost  of 

Living   Commission,    188. 
News,    Toronto,    474,    502, 

556,    562,    567,    576,    585, 

612. 
Newman      Hall,      Toronto, 

412. 

Newspapers,  Bribing  by  Ger- 
mans of,  255. 
Newspapers    Controlled    by 

Germans  in  U.S.,  258. 


Newsprint  Commission,  Do- 
minion, 325. 

Newsprint  Situation  in  Can- 
ada, 325. 

New  Zealand,  Old  Age  Pen- 
sions in,  184-5. 

New    Zealand,    Coal    Mine 
Strike,  in,  185. 

New  Zealand,  Conscription 
in,  184. 

New  Zealand,  Finances  of, 
184. 

New  Zealand,  National  Effi- 
ciency Board  of,  185. 

New  Zealand  Recognized  as 
a  Dominion,  187. 

New  Zealand,  Troops  of  at 
Western  Front,  185,  186. 

Nicaragua,  and  the  War,  101 

Nickel     Commission's     Re- 
port, 658. 

Nickel  Legislation,  Ontario, 
659,  660. 

Nickel,  Issue  of  in  Ontario, 
657,  669,  670. 

Non-Partisan  League  in  Al- 
berta, 810. 

North- West  Mounted  Police 
Re-organization  of,  312. 

Norway  and  the  War,  95. 

Nova  Scotia: 

Agricultural  Progress   in, 

692. 
Agricultural    College    of, 

688. 
Construction    Co.    708-9, 

710. 
Educational     Affairs     in, 

690-1. 

Field  Crops  of,  694. 
Finances  of,  692. 
Food    Control    Commis- 
sion, 685. 
Higher  Education  in,  694, 

695. 

Highway  Board,  688. 
Patriotic  Fund,  686. 
Production  of,  693-4. 
Public  Affairs  of,  685. 
Red  Cross  Committee  of, 

685-6. 

Ship-building  in,  687. 
Shipping  Commission,  687 
Temperance  Question  in, 

689. 
War  Response  in,  685. 

Northern  Ontario  Aid  Act. 
647. 

Officers,  Disposition  of  Un- 
attached Canadian,  514. 
Oleomargarine    Admitted, 

367,  740. 
Ontario — 

Agricultural  College,  644. 

Agriculture   and   Produc- 
tion, 645,  668-9. 

Alliance  Convention,  To- 
ronto, 664. 

Educational     Affairs     in, 
653,  654,  655. 

Educational    Association, 
655. 

Electric  Question  in,  652-3 

Equal  Franchise  Associa- 
tion, 434. 

Finances  of,  647,  662. 

General     Production     in, 
672. 

Good  Roads  Association, 
531,  648. 

Government  and  Russian 
Revolution,  661. 

Highways,  648. 

Hydro-Radial      (Electric) 
Scheme  in,  650. 


946 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Ontario — 

Labour    Educational    As- 
sociation, 419. 
Legislation  in,  655. 
Medical    Report    of   Mr. 

Justice  Hodgins,  655. 
Production  of  Minerals  in, 

669,  671-2. 
Public    Library    System, 

654. 

Soldiers    and    the    Fran- 
chise, 663. 

Temperance  Act,  665. 
Women's  Citizenship  As- 
sociation, 434,  631. 
Women    and    the    Fran- 
chise, 434,  644,  663,  664. 
Women's  Liberal  Associa- 
tion, 433. 

Orange  Order  in  Canada,  482 
Orange  Lodges  in  Canada, 

484. 
Orders-in-Council,  Canadian 

317. 

Ottawa  University,  668. 
Ottawa     Separate     Schools 

Board,  502. 

Overseas  Club,  460,  519. 
Overseas  Minister  of  Militia, 
510. 

Pacificism,  English  Advo- 
cates of,  203. 

Packers'  Profits,  451,  593. 

Panama  and  the  War,  101. 

Parliament,  Chief  Debates 
in  Canadian,  328. 

Parliament,  Chief  Legisla- 
tion of  Canadian,  329. 

Parliament  and  the  War, 
Canadian,  327-335. 

Patrie,  La,  Montreal,  491. 

Patriotic  Fund  Campaign, 
Ontario,  282. 

Patronage  List  Abolished, 
Political,  593. 

Patriotic  Military  Societies, 
465-6. 

Passports,  Canadian,  312. 

Payment  of  Overseas  Troops 
512. 

Peace  Discussions  in  Ger- 
many, 39-40. 

Peace  Proposals  by  the  Pope 
116-7. 

Peace  Proposals  and  Presi- 
dent Wilson's  Reply  to  the 
Pope,  115. 

Peace  Society  of  New  York, 
215. 

Peace  Terms  of  Allied  Pow- 
ers, 133. 

Peace  and  War  Issuesi  Do- 
minions and,  200. 

"Peace  Without  Victory," 
215. 

Peat  Bogs  hi  Canada,  392. 

P.E.  Island  Agricultural  Sta- 
tistics in,  717. 

P.E.  Island  Development 
Commission,  715,  716,  717 

P.E.  Island  Public  Affairs 
and  Finances  of,  715,  717 

P.E.  Island  and  the  War 
717. 

Pensions  and  Claims  Board 
Canadian,  535. 

Pensions  Commissioners 
Board  of,  534. 

People's  Council  of  America 
276. 

Persia,  British  War  Activ- 
ities in,  150. 

Persia  and  the  War,  20. 
Peru  Breaks  with  Germany 
104. 


Peru  and  the  War,  101. 

Plots,  German,  20,  23,  264-5. 

Poland,  Right  of  Independ- 
ence in,  70. 

Doland,  Russian,  19,  79. 

Dolice    Force    Commission, 
Alberta,  786. 

Pope,  Peace  Proposals  of  the 
111-117. 

Pope  and  the  War,  The,  112 
113,  114,  115. 

Portugal,  German  Influences 
in,  257. 

Portugal  and  the  War,  95. 

°ost,  The,  Regina,  767. 

Power     Development     Co., 
Ltd.,  326. 

Presbyterian     Church    and 
Conscription,  415-6. 

Presse,  La,  623,  642. 

Prices  in  Canada,  Increase 
of,  440. 

Prison  Farm  at  Burwash,644. 

Prisoners  in  Germany,  Can- 
adian, 514. 

Prisoners  of  War  Relief,  425. 

Production  of  Canada,  384-5 

Products,  Canadian  Exports 
of,  293,  370. 

Production  and  the  War,  19. 

Prohibition  in  Canada,  334. 

Prohibition  Convention,  On- 
tario, 512. 

Prohibition    Commission  in 
P.E.I.,  716-7. 

Prohibition  Issue  in  Saskat- 
chewan, 769. 

Prohibition     Issue     in    the 
West,  769,  778,  799,  800. 

Prohibition  in  Ontario,  644. 

Protestant  Publicity  League, 
Canadian,  483. 

Providence  Journal,  The,  De- 
tective Work  of,  264-5. 

Province,      The     Vancouver, 
quoted,  428. 

Provincial    Workmen's    As- 
sociation of  N.S.,  422. 

Prudential     Trust     Co.     of 
Montreal,  707,  709,  710. 

Public  Debts  of  the  War,  25. 

Pulp   and   Paper   Industry, 
Canadian,  390. 

Quebec: 

Absence  of  Military  Or- 
ganization in,  472. 

Agricultural  Progress  in, 
674-5. 

Anti-Conscription  Demon- 
strations and  Attitude 
in,  484,  493,  496,  623-4 

Applications  for  Exemp- 
tions in,  499. 

Bi-lingualism  Officially 
Dealt  with  in,  503. 

Blondin-Lessard  Recruit- 
ing Effort  of,  492. 

Bourassa  and  his  Nation- 
alist following  in,  471. 

Bridge.Completion  of  ,316 

City  Council  Opposes 
Conscription,  493. 

Combination  against  Con- 
scription and  Imperial- 
ism, 486. 

Commission  of  Public 
Utilities,  681. 

Conditions  in,  in  1917 
672-685. 

Conscription  in,  493-499 
672. 

Contributions  to  War 
Funds,  672-3. 

Dorchester  Bye-election 
in,  483,  484,  485,_486. 


Education  in,  677-8. 

Finances  of,  680-1. 

Fisheries  of,  680. 

Speeches     in     Commons, 
486-488. 

Garrison  Club,  481. 

Good  Roads  Act,  675. 

Heb^rt     Marriage     Case, 
683. 

Highways  of,  675,  676. 

Local  Prohibition  in,  681-2 

Mineral  Production  of  680 

And  Ontario,  Mutual  Crit- 
icism of,  475. 

Pacificism  of  and  its  Caus- 
es, 472. 

Political  Issue  in,  618. 

Politics  and  the  War,  482- 
491. 

Railways     and     Railway 
Mileage  in,  678. 

Registration  in,  498. 

Roman   Catholic   Church 
and  the  War,  503-8. 

Statistics  of,  676. 

Streams  Commission,  681. 

University   Students   and 
the  War,  475. 

uebec's  War  Record,  473. 

ueen   Mary's   Needlework 

Guild,  432. 
Queen's  University  and  the 

War,  517,  668. 

Railways  of  Canada,  Finan- 
cial Particulars  of,  407. 

Railway  Commission  and 
Its  Report,  397-9. 

Railway  Companies,  War 
Action  of,  521. 

Railway  and  Forestry  Corps, 
Canadian,  510. 

Railway  Policy,  Canadian 
Government's,  401-2,  406. 

Railway  Report,  the  Dray- 
ton-Acworth,  397-8,  405. 

Railway  Statistics,  Cana- 
dian, 395. 

Rapprochement  Between 
Canada  and  United  States 
355,  356,  357. 

Recruiting  in  Canada  and 
United  States  Compared, 
305-6. 

Recruiting  hi  Ontario  Ac- 
cording to  Religious  Affili- 
ations, 412-3. 

Recruiting  in  Quebec,  Dis- 
appointing Results  of, 
491-2. 

Recruiting  System  in  Can- 
ada, 311. 

Red  Cross,  Donations  Re- 
ceived by  Canadian,  453. 

Red  Cross,  London  Commit- 
tee of  Canadian,  453. 

Red  Cross  Society  of  Can- 
ada, 282,  453,  514,  713, 
759. 

Regina  College,  783. 

Registration  in  Canada,  303, 
304. 

Regulation  17,  Schools  not 
Conforming  with,  503. 

Reichstag,  Peace  Resolution 
of,  July  19,  1917,  111-2. 

Relief  Fund,  Imperial  In- 
dian, 191. 

Religious  Conditions  in  Rus- 
sia, 71. 

Republic  Proposed  by  Mar- 
sil,  Canadian,  481. 

Reserve  Battalions  in  Eng- 
land, Canadian,  306,  511. 

Returned  Soldiers'  Aid  Com- 
mission, N.B.,  708. 


INDEX  OF  AFFAIRS 


947 


Returned  Soldiers,  Canadian 
Association  of,  536. 

Returned  Soldiers'  Commit- 
tee, Canadian,  533. 

Returned  Soldiers,  Confer- 
ence of,  531. 

Returned  Soldiers'  Employ- 
ment Commission,  Sas- 
katchewan, 747,  758. 

Rhodes  Trust,  Cecil,  212. 

Rifles,  Canadian  Manufac- 
ture of,  313. 

Roman  Catholic  Army  Huts 
at  the  Front,  413. 

Roman  Catholic  Church, 
Irish  Attitude,  168-9. 

Roman  Catholic  Church  in 
Quebec,  503-508. 

Roman  Catholic  Church  and 
the  War,  410-11. 

Roman  Catholic  Separate 
School  Board,  Ottawa, 
502-3. 

Ross  Rifle,  The,  313-4. 

Rotary  Clubs,  Number  and 
Objects  of,  301,  462-4,  559. 

Roumania,  Oilfields  of,  94. 

Roumania,  Tricked  by  Bul- 
garia, 64-5. 

Roumania  and  the  War,  19, 
57,  62,  94-5. 

Round  Table  Groups  of  Can- 
ada, 201. 

Royal  Canadian  Naval  Vol- 
unteer Reserve,  459. 

Royal  Colonial  Institute, 
193,  509. 

Royal  Commission  re  the 
O'Connor  Report,  448-50. 

Royal  Flying  Corps,  Can- 
adians in,  539,  543. 

Royal  Naval  Air  Service, 
539. 

Royal  Naval  Institutes,  460. 

Royal  Newfoundland  Regi- 
ment, 189. 

Royal  North- West  Mounted 
Police,  786. 

Rural  Conditions  and  Prob- 
lems, 326. 

Rural  Municipalities  Asso- 
ciation of  Saskatchewan, 
756. 


American  Commission  in, 
79. 

Bolshevik!  Captured,  Gov- 
ernment of,  75. 

British  Policy  Towards,  79 

Conditions  in,  19,  20,  29. 

Council  of  Workmen  and 
Soldiers  in,  71. 

Douma  and  the  Revolu- 
tion in,  69,  70,  71. 

Ethnographic  Groups  in, 

Exorbitant  Demands  of 
Labour  in,  71. 

Financial  Difficulties  of, 
78-9. 

German  Spies  and  Propa- 
ganda in,  68. 

In  Peace  Conference  at 
Brest-Litovsk,  80-1. 

Policy  of  British  Govern- 
ment Towards,  79. 

Position  of  Czar  in,  67. 

Provisional  Government 
of,  70,  71,  73. 

Redguards  in,  75-6. 

Religious  Conditions  in,71 . 

Revolution,  Anarchy,  and 
Socialism  in,  65-81. 

Under  the  Czars,  66. 
Russian  Soldiers,  Fraterniz- 
ing with  Germans  of,  71. 


Ruthenian  School  Books  in 
Saskatchewan,  745. 

Salvation    Army    Canada 

Corporation,  733. 
Saskatchewan : 

Absent  Soldier  Vote,  771-2 

Agriculture  Department 
of,  754-756. 

Anti-Tuberculosis  League 
748. 

Budget  and  Finances  of, 
751-2. 

College  of  Agriculture, 
755. 

Control  of  Public  Lands 
in,  746. 

Conservative  Convention 
and  Policy  in,  769. 

Conservative  Platform  in, 
769-770. 

Co-operative  Elevator 
System  of,  766. 

Co-operative  Elevator  Co. 
381,  778,  780. 

Educational  Issue  in,  758, 
762. 

Elections,  Conservative 
Press  Deserts  Opposi- 
tion, 767. 

Elections  in,  768-778. 

Elections,  Premier's  Atti- 
tude Toward  Conscrip- 
tion, 767. 

Elections,  The  Language 
Issue  in,  768. 

Equal  Franchise  League, 
433-34. 

Farm  Loans  Act  in,  750. 

Financial  Affairs  of,  756-7. 

Food  Control  Organiza- 
tion, 754. 

Foreign  Population,  Sta- 
tistics of,  782. 

Foreign  Vote  said  to  have 
gone  to  Liberals,  774-5. 

Gas  from  Straw  Proposi- 
tion, 753. 

General  Elections  in,  761- 
74. 

Grain  Growers'  Associa- 
tion in  Politics,  377, 
773,  778-9. 

Grain  Growers'  League, 
778. 

Grain  Elevators,  Capacity 
in,  755. 

Greater  Production  Loan 
Bonds,  751. 

G.W.V.A.  Demands,  760. 

Hail  Insurance  Associa- 
tion, 752. 

Haultain  Commission 
Fails  to  Report,  771. 

Health  Laws  of,  752. 

Higher  Education  in,  783. 

Highways  Re-organiza- 
tion in,  754,  757. 

Late  Scott  Government 
in,  766. 

Legislation  of,  749,  776-8. 

Legislation  re  Soldiers, 
etc.,  749. 

Liberal  Committee,  763. 

Liberal  Bill  of  Rights  Sub- 
mitted to  Ottawa,  765. 

Liberal  Convention  at 
Moose  Jaw,  762. 

Liberal  Government : 
Claims  of,  762. 

Liberal  and  Labour  Party 
Condemnation  of  War- 
Times  Election  Act, 
775-6. 

Live  Stock  Board,  754. 

Live  Stock  in,  755-6. 


Saskatchewan: 

Local  Government  Board 

in,  757. 

Martin  Government  Pol- 
icy in,  761,  766. 
Military   Hospitals  Com- 
mission, 758. 
Municipal  Hail  Insurance 

in,  744,  749. 
Municipal   Prosperity  of, 

756. 
New  Opposition     Leader 

in,  776. 

Non-Partisan  League  In- 
fluence, 773,  781. 
Party   Platform,   Liberal, 

763-5. 

Political  Irritation  in,  437. 
Population  of,  752-3. 
Premier's    Manifesto    in, 

766,. 
Prohibition  Movement  in, 

746-7,  761-2,  765. 
Products,  Increasing  Value 

of,  775. 

Railway  Mileage  of,  757. 
Royal  Northwest  Mount- 
ed Police  Changes,  745. 
Ruthenian-English     Edu- 
cation, 753. 

Rural  Credits  Act,  751. 
School   System   Surveyed 
by  Dr.  Foght,  776,782-3 
Soldiers'  Votes  Act  in,  749. 
Soldiers'    Vote   Policy   of 
Government,  766,  769, 
771. 
Telephone    Statistics    of, 

756. 

Tuberculosis  Sanatorium, 
Fort    Qu'Appelle,    753. 
University  of,  747,  783. 
War  Policy  of,  759-60. 
Wetmore  Commission  and 

Other  Reports  in,  742. 
Woman  Vote  in,  773. 
Saturday  Night,  Toronto,  448 
Scandinavia,    Closer   Union 

of,  95. 
Scandinavia,  German  Spies 

and  Agents  in,  96. 
Scandinavia,  Economic  Situ- 
ation of,  97. 

School-books,  German  Man- 
ipulation of,  255. 
Secession    of   Quebec   from 
Dominion  Advocated,  507 
Secours     Nationale     Collec- 
tions, 425. 
Seeadler,     Destruction     by, 

154. 

Seed     Requirements,     Can- 
adian, 379. 

Senate,  Canadian,  Appoint- 
ments to,  323. 
Separation  Allowances,  312, 

535. 
Separate  Schools  in  Ontario 

and  Manitoba,  500. 
Separate  Schools  and  Regu- 
lation No.  17,  501-2. 
Serbia,    Conditions    in,    20, 

55-6. 
Serbian   Prisoners   of  War, 

55-6. 

Services  Abroad,  Co-ordina- 
tion of  Canadian,  515. 
Settlers,  American,  Coming 
to  Saskatchewan,  753,  755. 
Ship-building,Canadian,  388, 

389,  390. 
Siberia,  Hostility  to  Bolshe- 

viki  of,  79. 

Sinn  Fein,  Policy  of,  231, 478. 
Social    Service    Council    of 
N.B.,  710. 


948 


THE  CANADIAN  ANNUAL  REVIEW 


Social  Service  League,  800. 

Socialism,  British,  French 
and  German,  22. 

Socialism,  J.  C.  Walters  and, 
420-1. 

Socialism,  Internationalized, 
in  Russia,  22. 

Soldiers'  Aid  Commission, 
Ontario,  649. 

Soldiers  and  the  Elections, 
633-637. 

Soldiers'  Grave  Committee, 
Prince  of  Wales',  210. 

Soldiers'  Organizations,  Can- 
adian, 535-539. 

Soldiers,  Returned,  530-539. 

Soleil,  Le,  Quebec,  491,  586, 
642. 

Sondheimer,  Beer  &  Co.,  658 

Sons  of  Liberty  League, 
Quebec,  495. 

Southampton  Railway,  N.B. 
700. 

South  Africa.  Enlistments 
in,  178. 

South  Africa,  General  Smuts 
and,  182-3. 

South  Africa,  Native  Labour 
Volunteers,  178. 

South  Africa,  Politics  in,  180, 
181. 

South  Africa,  Republican 
Propaganda  in,  181-2. 

South  Africa  and  the  War, 
174,  178-80. 

South  African  Troops,  Ex- 
ploits on  Western  Front 
of,  180. 

South  African  Troops,  Op- 
erations in  Africa  of,  178-9 

South  America,  German 
Plots  in,  20. 

South  America,  Products  of, 
101. 

South  America,  Influence  of 
German  Life  in,  102. 

South  America  and  the  War, 
101. 

South  American  Relations 
to  United  States,  102. 

Spain,  German  Influence  in, 
257. 

Spain,  Internal  Dissensions 
of,  100. 

Speakers'  Patriotic  League 
of  Canada,  282. 

St.  Joseph's  College,  283. 

St.  Michael's  College,  To- 
ronto, 667. 

Staff,  Inter-Allied  General, 
31. 

Star,  Montreal,  480,  497, 
509,  585. 

Star,  The,  Saskatoon,  585, 
767. 

Star,  The  Toronto  Daily, 
quoted,  428,  483,  557-9, 
567,  576,  578,  642. 

Steel  Ship-building  in  Can- 
ada, 324. 

Stewart  Government  in  Al- 
berta, 775. 

Stockholm  Conference,  138, 
139,  140. 

Stockholm  Socialist  and  pro- 
German  Conference,  129. 

Submarines,  23,  39,  154-7. 

Sugar  Crop  of  the  World, 
440. 

Sugar,  Supply  of,  in  Can- 
ada, 440-1. 

Sun,  Vancouver,  quoted,  435, 
578. 

Supreme  War  Council,  31. 

Sweden,  American  Indigna- 
tion with,  98. 


Sweden,    German   Influence 

in,  98. 

Sweden,  Hostile  Action  To- 
ward Britain  of,  96. 
Sweden,     Influence    of    Its 

German  Queen  in,  96. 
Sweden    and    the    Luxburg 

Despatches,  97. 
Sweden  and  the  War,  95. 
Swedish  Government  Aids  in 

German  Plots,  97-8. 
Swift  &  Co.,  Chicago,  Profits 

of,  446. 
Switzerland   and   the   War, 

99-100. 

Tanks,  Effectiveness  of,  152. 

Tax  Legislation,  Canadian, 
256-7,  329. 

Telegraph,  The,  (St.  John, 
N.B.),  710. 

Telegram,  The,  Toronto,  474, 
478. 

Telegram,  Winnipeg,  450, 
556,  576,  729. 

Texas  Aviation  Camp,  543. 

Thrift  and  Resources  Com- 
mittee of  Toronto,  432. 

Times,  The  Moose  Jaw,  586. 

Timiskaming  &  Northern 
Ontario  Railway  Co.,  648. 

Toronto,  Aeroplane  Gifts  of, 
544. 

Toronto  Hydro-Electric  Sys- 
tem, 666. 

Toronto,  University  of,  282, 
666-7. 

Toronto  Weekly  Sun,  620- 
21. 

Trades  and  Labour  Con- 
gress, 304,  418-9,  421-2. 

Trade  Statistics,  Canada 
and  United  States,  355. 

Trade  Relations  of  Canada 
and  France,  320. 

Trained  Nurses,  Canadian 
Association  of,  432. 

Transport,  Overseas,  322. 

Tribunals,  Exemption  Ser- 
vice, 350. 

Tribune,  N.Y.,  Proposes 
Military  Alliance  with 
Entente  Powers,  217. 

Trinity  College,  Toronto, 
667-8. 

Tuberculosis  Sanatorium  in 
N.B.,  703. 

Turkey,  Control  of,  by  Ger- 
many, 63,  64. 

Ukraine  Becomes  a  Repub- 
lic, 79. 

Union  Government  in  Can- 
ada, 437,  586. 

Union  Government,  Coali- 
tion at  first  a  Liberal  Pro- 
paganda, 556. 

Union  Government,  Laurier 
Refuses  to  Join,  562-3, 

Union  Government,  Mem- 
bers of,  584. 

Union  Government  Policy, 
587-8. 

Union  Government,  Popular 
Movement  Towards,  553- 
560. 

Unionist  Campaign  in  Can- 
ada, 602-618. 

Unionist  Campaign,  Eastern 
Provinces  and  Quebec,  602, 
612. 

Unionist  Campaign,  The 
Western  Provinces,  612, 
618. 

Unionist  Party  Publicity 
Committee,  610. 


United  Farmers  of  Alberta, 

377,  808-9. 

United   Farmers'   Co-opera- 
tive Co.,  Ltd.,  669. 
United  Farmers  of  Ontario, 

382-3,  669. 
United  Grain  Growers,  Ltd., 

741. 
United  States — 

Ah' en  Property  in,  254. 

Appropriations  of,  for  War 
Purposes,  241. 

"Armed  Neutrality"  pol- 
icy of,  217. 

Aviation  Fields  and  Train- 
ing in,  249,  250. 

British  and  Canadian  Re- 
cruiting in,  229. 

Censorship  Board  in,  254. 

Coal  Problem  of  247-8. 

Credits  Granted  to  the 
Allies  by,  229. 

Enemy-owned  Patents 
and  Copyrights  in,  254. 

Entry  into  the  War  of, 
219,  220,  221,  222. 

Expansion  of  Industry  in, 
279. 

Federal  Council  of  War 
and  Relief  Associations 
in,  252. 

Finances  of,  278-9,  280-1. 

Food  Conservation  and 
Mr.  Hoover's  Policy  in, 
242-3. 

German  Plots  and  Propa- 
ganda in,  254-270. 

German  Press  in,  261. 

Grain  Production  of,  243. 

And  Great  Britain,  229. 

Irish-American  and  Ger- 
mans Coalesce  in,  258. 

And  the  I.W.W.,  245-247. 
267. 

Joins  Allied  Naval  Coun- 
cil, 241. 

Labour  Conditions  in,  245, 
246,  247. 

Man-power  Statistics  of, 
237. 

Natural  Resources  of,  278. 

Navy,  Strength  of,  when 
Hostilities  Began,  240-1 

Official  Organizations  for 
War  Aid  in,  236. 

Organizations  of  Farm 
Labour  in,  253. 

Pacifists  and  Peace  Or- 
ganizations in,  270-9. 

Pacifists  and  pro-Germans 
in,  226-7. 

Permanent  British  War 
Mission  to,  229,  233. 

Public  Information,  Com- 
mittee of,  254. 

Pre-belligerent  Attitude 
of,  213-220. 

Railway  Troubles  and 
Complications  in,  248-9. 

Registration  Statistics  of, 
238. 

Selective  Draft  Bill  Be- 
comes Law  in,  237. 

Shipping  Problem  of,  243, 
244,  245. 

Teutonized  Education  in, 
261-2. 

Trade  of,  228,  278. 

Visits  of  Foreign  Missions 
to,  230-232. 

War  Department  of,  238- 
240. 

War  Legislation  of,  241. 
Unity  in  War  Action,  32-33. 
University    Students,    Can- 
adian, 475. 


INDEX  OF  AFFAIRS 


949 


Utilities,    State    Ownership 

of,  22. 

Upper  Canada  College,  668. 
Uruguay  and  the  War,  101, 

104. 

Vancouver  Longshoreman's 
Strike,  424. 

Vancouver  Trades  and  La- 
bour Council,  303. 

Victoria  College,  Toronto, 
667. 

Victoria  League  of  London, 
426. 

Victoria  Park  Commission, 
650. 

Victorian  Order  of  Nurses, 
432. 

Victory  Loan,  The  Second, 
300-1. 

Vimy  Eidge,  Canadians  in 
Command  at,  523-525. 

Vimy  Ridge  Battle,  Statis- 
tics, of,  530. 

Voluntaryism  vs.  Conscrip- 
tion, 303. 

Voters  in  Canada,  Number 
of,  637. 

War    Cabinet    Committees, 

Canadian,  586. 
War  Cabinet,  Imperial,  206, 

287-290. 
War,  Chronology  of  the,  117, 

126. 

War  Conferences,  31-32. 
War     Contingent     Associa- 
tion, London,  517. 
War  Council,  Entente,  30. 
War  Finance  and  Finances, 

299. 
War,    Inter-Allied    General 

Staff,  31. 

War  Loans  of  Canada,  302. 
War  Measures  Act,  Orders- 

in-Council  Under,  317. 
War,    Population    Engaged 

in,  18. 
War    Profits,    Taxation    of, 

593. 


War  Purchasing  Commis- 
sion, 325,  588,  593. 

War  Resolution  at  Western 
Convention,  574. 

War,  Resources  of  Countries 
Engaged  in,  19. 

War  Statistics,  18,  19. 

War,  Summary  of,  17-30. 

War,  Supreme  Council,  31. 

War,  Territory  Under  En- 
tente Control,  30. 

War-Times  Franchise  Act, 
421-2,  434,  437,  579,  581, 
597. 

War  Veterans  and  the  Elec- 
tions, 636. 

War  Work  in  England,  Can- 
adian, 509,  510,  511,  512. 

Wesley  College  of  Manitoba, 
739. 

Western  Convention,  Sir  W. 
Laurier  and,  576. 

Western  Convention,  Lib- 
erals in  a,  570-5. 

Western  University,  Lon- 
don, 668. 

Wheat  Export  Company, 
408. 

Wheat,  Requirements  in, 
361-2,  365,  370,  373-4. 

Windsor,  New  Family  Name 
for  Royal  House,  135. 

Winnipeg  Grain  Exchange, 
374. 

Winnipeg  Liberals  in  the 
Western  Convention,  577. 

Win-the-War  Movement, 
349,  560,  567-8,  578,  581. 

Witley  Parish  Church,  Eng- 
land, 519. 

Women  Admitted  to  Legal 
Profession  in  N.S.,  689. 

Women  and  the  Union  Gov- 
ernment, 581,  630,  631, 
632. 

Women,  Legislation  as  to, 
798. 

Women's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union,  430. 

W.C.T.U.  and  the  War,  512. 


Woman's  Committee  of  Na- 
tional Defence  in  U.S.,  253 

Women  on  Farms,  Organiza- 
tions of,  428-9. 

Women's  Gram  Growers' 
Association,  Saskatche- 
wan, 780. 

Women's  Institute  Conven- 
tion, Ontario,  666. 

Women's  Institutes  in  N.B., 
712. 

Woman's  Peace  Party,  To- 
ronto, 433. 

Women,  Provincial  Confer- 
ence of,  in  Toronto,  646. 

Women's  Public  Organiza- 
tions, War  Work  of,  252, 
429-30,  432-3,  444,  631. 

Women,  Social  and  Econ- 
omic Condition  of,  769. 

Woman  Suffrage  in  Canada, 
291,  434,  438. 

Woman's  Suffrage  in  Nova 
Scotia,  689. 

Women's  War  Work  in  Eng- 
land, Canadian,  517-8. 

Women  of  the  West  and 
Coalition,  578. 

Women  Workers  in  Canada, 
425. 

Women  and  the  War,  Can- 
adian, 425-435. 

Workmen's  Compensation 
Act,  N.S.,  689. 

Workmen,  Influence  of  So- 
cialism on,  21. 

World,  The  Toronto,  and  the 
Nickel  Question,  556,  657, 
658,  659,  660. 

Wool  Commission,  Can- 
adian, 378. 

Woolwich  Arsenal,  143. 

Wycliffe  College,  Toronto, 
667. 

Y.M.C.A.,  455-8. 

Y.M.C.A.  Overseas,  425. 

Young  Liberal  Club,  Que- 
bec, 493. 

Young  Women's  Christian 
Association,  431. 


BINDING  :::T.  MAY  141§74 


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