1906 - Hamilton Street Railway versus TheUnion - Part 3

 

“ If there is any truth in the story told by the Spectator, that a petition for a strike is being circulated among the street railway men by some of the younger employees, it indicates an unwisdom the mass of the men would do well to cure; if it is pure fiction, it is of a poor kind. “

Hamilton Times.  August.    1906

The Street Railway Company and the union representing the three lines  men negotiating seriously. It was clearly understood that if any failures to agree on the wages and scheduling matters, an arbitration board would be formed to address such issues. A Times editorial discouraged any attempts to work outside of the established procedures would not be helpful:

“The fact of that, efforts by anybody, among the men or outside, to foment trouble are deserving of condemnation. We do not credit that any such movement would find support among the men. They have nothing to gain and much to lose by such a course. And their conduct throughout the trouble does not justify the public in accepting such a story as told without the most convincing evidence. We look for the negotiations proceeding to a satisfactory close, and any influence interposed to prevent that desirable consumption is to be deprecated.” 

:The negotiations between the Street Railway Company and its men have reached the item of increase in wages, and as the company does not feel willing to grant the level increase of four cents an hour all round, as sought by the men, it is probable that the decision will be left to a citizen board of arbitrators. That should be satisfactory all round. The agreements with the other lines will be taken up, and if there should be hitches, arbitration will be resorted in those also. This may not suit extremists, but it is a reasonable plan and one well-calculated to secure substantial justice.
As was usual in the dance between the union and management, rumours about the successes or failures of the negotiators changed on seemingly a daily basis.

At a late Friday meeting, it seemed that an informal agreement had been reached to avoid a strike, the following day, one day before the Labor Day holiday, things had changed:

“All danger of a strike on the city street railway and two suburban lines was over yesterday, when officers  of the union and officials of the company signed papers agreeing to leave the matters in dispute to arbitration and to abide by the decision.

“Trouble, with the probable tie up of traffic for the holiday, was only prevented by a personal appeal from President John Theaker, of Division 107, to his men at the mass meeting on Saturday night and the company’s action in granting the men’s desire to sign the papers before four o’clock yesterday morning.

“The situation became very grave on Sunday evening, when it looked, for a time, as though negotiations might be over

“The company’s failure to make a proposition and the fact that practically no progress had been made beyond reaching a settlement as to the mode of arbitration, put the men in rather a bad mood when they buckled down to business after midnight on Saturday. As the officers predicted, there was a hot discussion, and as the meeting drew to a close, many of the men arose and clamoured for a vote on a strike. It was plainly evident from the general feeling that it would have carried had it been put. The company’s failure to make them an offer seemed to be the last straw and a strike looked inevitable.”

One of the outside negotiators was charged with keeping the general public fully informed via interviews with the press:

‘In the event of failure to agree,’ said one of the officers (Magnus Sinclair), ‘the matter will be left to arbitration, providing the company will accept our terms of having disinterested citizens act, and will appoint their representative within a reasonable time. Of course, we don’t want to leave the matter to arbitration and have it dragging for a long period. If that is not acceptable, there will be a meeting of the men, and you know what that means,’ he asses significantly.”

The Times editors kept their encouragements with both sides in the dispute to come to a peaceful conclusion :

“The negotiations between the Street Railway Company and its men go on, and there is no good reason why they should not fruitful of good results. In these matters, neither side can hope to have all its own way, but, if reason prevails, a good understanding will be brought about.’

The union’s designated spokesman continued to speak in positive terms:

“When Mr. Magnus Sinclair, of Toronto, the Canadian representative of the Association, was spoken to about the outlook, he seemed hopeful :

“ ‘I think the men will get all they are asking,’ he said,

“When pressed for an explanation of this cheerful view, he referred to the statement attributed to Mr. Green in a recent interview that there would be no difficulty about the settlement of hours or wages.

“ ‘ If the Company does not stick to that,’ he said, ‘then it is swallowing itself and has been deceiving the public and the men.’

“At present, the extra men report three times a day at the various shifts, in the morning at 10:30 and at 5 o’clock. If they no work, the union asks that they receive twenty-five cents every time they report. This would mean about $4.50 for men who got no work and reported directly.

 

Although the management of the Cataract Company had made a firm commitment to address and present a wage and scheduling package at an agreed upon time, that time arrived and was past without any such position being made. That along was seen as arrogant, incensing many of the hardliners on the union side. 

 

“Tonight is the regular night for the meeting of the union men, and that a strike will be called unless the committee has a favourable proposition to lay before the men is a foregone conclusion, judging from the general feeling and expressions of opinion among the men.

“Prominent members of the union, who have been instrumental in the negotiations so far in persuading the men to avoid trouble, are quoted today as saying that it will be impossible to hold the men back, and that no attempt will be made to.”

Although, finally, it seemed that while no wage or scheduling package was ready to present to the union, at least the names three man negotiation team had been decided upon.

Again Magnus Sinclair in speaking to press, spoke in hopeful terms”

“ ‘Unless the arbitration proceedings take a decided turn one way or the other, I have advised the men not to give out anything for publication until the verdict is in,’ was his reply this morning when asked if there was anything new.

“ ‘ I think the men can settle the matter themselves now, with the instructions they have,’ he added when questioned as to his intentions of returning to Hamilton

“Then men have been so dissatisfied for such a long time with the wages they have been receiving that it was almost impossible to hold them back.’

 

In a Times editorial Saturday September 8 1906, it was said that while it was lamentable that, because of a sudden medical issue, the man chosen by management to represent their interests had to resign, all was not lost:

“It is not likely that the unfortunate illness of the company’s arbitrator will cause more than a brief delay in reaching agreement,’ 

The union felt that that there was no need for a lengthy delay in replacing the man management had chosen. As that person was hospitalized, someone else should be nominated in short order, rather Jan wait for a recovery. Union President Theaker claimed that if the union’s representative had been forced to resign, a replacement would have been nominated within a few hours

 

Finally, management named their man, the clerk of the Wentworth County, Joseph Jardine. 

“There will be no delay now and it is expected that in two weeks the Board’s decision will be given. The new wage scale will date from August 24^th, the time the old agreement expired.”

As the arbitration proceedings were concluded in terms of hearing evidence, the Times published the following on September 25 1906:

“The hearing of evidence in the arbitration proceedings between the Cataract Power Co. and the employees of its electric limes over hours and wages was concluded yesterday afternoon and an award will likely be made on Thursday or Friday 

“The arbitration proceedings were only decided on after a strike had been narrowly averted . The first session was held on Friday, Sept. 14, and since them, the arbitrators have had about nine meetings. The cost of the proceedings, it is expected, will amount to over $500. Each side pays its arbitrator’s expenses, and half the cost of the mutual arbitrator. 

 

 

1906 - Hamilton Street Railway Strike Versus The Union Part 2

 

 

“As a last resort the committee representing the union has forwarded to Traction Manager Green a communication suggesting arbitration, and the officers are authority for the statement that this is the last move the men intend making in the negotiations with the company. No reply had been received early this afternoon. The agreement expires tomorrow, and unless a settlement is reached before then, the men on the three roads will be called out on Saturday morning, with the probable result of a complete tie-up in the traffic on the two suburban and the city lines.”

Times August 23 1906

The likelihood that there would be a strike involving the Cataract company and the workers on its three transit lines seemed to change almost on an hourly basis. For the company there seemed to be a rock solid commitment to the position that it would not negotiate with the union which claimed to represent the approximately transit worker. Instead the company wanted to have three separate deals, one with each of the lines.

As for the union, a large number of the drivers, particularly the younger men, were fed up with the company’s approach and wanted a strike immediately. Older drivers and union leadership, both local and international negotiators preferred a more cautious approach, contending that both sides should continue communications. If a complete breakdown of negotiations occurred, arbitration should be the next step.

Both sides of the dispute continued to present their positions through letters which were published in the local press. For example, the Company argued that it could increase salaries because it was losing money in the transit side of its operations: 

“The men smile at Mr. Green’s statement that the Cataract Company is not in the railway business. They point out that the company was reorganized sometime ago as the Hamilton Cataract Power, Light and Traction Co., and say they have ample proof that it owns the street railway. The claim that has frequently been made that the street railway is not making money is another idea that is looked at doubtfully by the employees. Representatives of the company have on different occasions stated that they felt like giving the men more money, but for the heavy burdens imposed by the city. The employees argue that because the company has a bad bargain with the city is no reason why money should be held back from them “

A mass meeting of transit workers was scheduled to start at midnight, Saturday August 25, 1906”

 

“A mass meeting of the employees will be held at the Trades and Labor Hall at midnight, when the facts will be laid before them and a vote taken. Unless some proposition is received from the company before then, a decision to strike will probably be unanimous. 

“ ‘Does that mean that the men will be called out in the morning?’ Mr. Sinclair was asked,

“ ‘No, there will be no strike in the morning, but there may be in the afternoon. The men may be asked to run their cars to the barns then,’

The following account of the meeting was published in the editions of the Times which hit the streets later that day :

“The threatened strike of the employees of the Hamilton Street Railway, the Radial line and the Hamilton and Dundas Electric Railway, will not take place before Tuesday morning at any rate as a result of a decision reached this morning by the union men’s general committee not to call another general meeting until Monday night

“Practically no progress has been made since yesterday towards a compromise, and although the union has conceded points, the company has remained  firm in its determination to stand by its original position. If anything, both sides are further apart than ever and indications still point to the men being forced to bring the thing to an issue by walking out.

“There was a general feeling after the statements issued yesterday that the union men at the mass meeting last night would in event of not receiving a proposition from Traction Manager Green, unanimously vote to strike on the three lines today or tomorrow. 

“After being in session from midnight until 3:30 this morning, a decision was reached, after a vote had been taken, to make one more attempt to effect a settlement with the company and the Canadian representative of the Amalgamated Association says that this was done on the advice of wiser heads, many of the men urging that no further concessions be made and the matter brought to an issue by an order to strike today or tomorrow.

“President John Theaker, of the local union, presided and over two hundred members of the union, comprising employees of the three lines, attended and took a lively interest in the discussion. The majority of the men during the early part of the meeting were overwhelmingly in favour of making the company show its hand, but older members.

 

Following Monday August 27 1906

“Some concession on the part of the company this afternoon is, the men say, the only thing that can avert a strike of the employees of the street railway, the Hamilton & Dundas and Radial lines. It is almost certain now that the men will vote at the mass meeting at midnight in favour of a strike, and that traffic on the street railway and the two suburban lines will be tied up before tomorrow night. 

A lot of speculation about the continued, if briefly paused march to a strike was rise among Hamiltonians during Sunday August 27, 1905. However, no one seemed to know what was going on between the contending parties;

“A rumour on Saturday that a compromise had been reached received an authoritative denial from both the company and union representatives.

A new element entered into the matter when Hamilton Mayor Biggar  made quiet moves to bring in soldiers from non-Hamilton militia units to aid local police should a strike be called and violence ensued.

Speaking to the press about the possibility of soldiers being brought into Hamilton, , a key union negotiator, Sinclair said :

“If it is true, it is a surprise to street railway men and organized labor generally that the mayor should hasten to interview the military authorities. I only hope for the mayor’s sake that it is not true. We don’t want to strike, because the company wants us to. We don’t want to play into its hands if we can help it,’ he added.” 

It was also understood that the Cataract company was bringing in strike breakers, housing them in secret east Hamilton locations: 

“As evidence of the company’s determination to stick to its position was shown on Saturday when non-union men who were brought here from outside, it is said, were put on the Radial cars with the union men to learn how to run them. Mr. Sinclair admitted that this was so.

“ ‘But we appealed to them to take them off,’ he said, ‘and Mr. Green ordered it done right there.’

“It is said that strike breakers are quartered in the east, and that the intention is to use them only on suburban lines.

The union also was adamant that from all three lines should be represented by one union”

“Green says the companies are operated under one management and for the sake of economy,’ added Mr. Sinclair. ‘We say we operate our organization from one office and central point for the sake of unity, and fraternity, and that, in doing so, we harmonize the interests of the men. It is also fair to say it harmonizes the interests of the company. The company will not concede to us the right to have our organization operated from one central office, but they want to divide us into factions.’

The following was published in the Hamilton Times of Monday August 28, 1906:

    “The street railway situation is unchanged there being no indication of the parties getting together to negotiate, and if there occurs nothing to lead the men to change their minds, they will quit the cars tomorrow unless their demands are granted. This would be greatly to be regretted, the more so as the issues, so far as they affect wages, hours and condition of labor are such as should easily be disposed of in a reasonable conference between the parties interested.

An editorial in that edition of the Times called for the issues between union and management to be resolved without any strike action: 

“Let both parties pause before causing trouble . The people don’t care a cent about Sinclair, or whether he gets glory out of the matter or not. They don’t care about the Company’s feelings or whether they are hurt or gratified. They do care that the men as Railway employees should be fairly treated and well paid, and that the cars should be regularly operated.”

Ultimately both sides in the matter wanted widespread public support. However as shown by this brief item, the Hamilton Street Railway was by far the most unpopular:

From the Woodstock Sentinel-Review

“The employees of the Hamilton Street Railway are threatening to strike. If the company give no better treatment to their employees than they give the travelling public, there is evidently good reason for the men striking and they will no doubt have the sympathy of the best-thinking people of Hamilton.’

(To be continued)  

(To be continued) 

1906 - Hamilton Street Railway vs. The Union Part 1

 

 

“Present indications are that the citizens of Hamilton will have the privilege of walking, without the alternative of riding, on the trolley cars, after Thursday night of this week. Unless one side or the other recedes from the stand taken there will be a tie up of electric car traffic on the Hamilton Street Railway, the Hamilton Radial Railway and the Hamilton & Dundas Railway on Friday morning.”

“We May All Have to Walk After Thursday Night Next : Street Railway Employees Meet and Decide to Stand Fast to Terms They Have Asked : Company Refuses to Treat With Any But Hamilton Street Railway Employees : Representative M. Sinclair of Amalgamated Association Trying to Settle.”

Hamilton Times. August 30 1906.

 

It was a dispute that was long-brewing but was intensified by recent changes in the relationship between the two parties.

The management of the Hamilton Street Railway had little regard for the union representing the conductors and other employees of the company 

The union leadership and the rank and file had constant issues with the company, notably concerning pay and scheduling. 

In the summer of 1906, the dispute widened. 

The Hamilton Cataract Power, Light & Traction Company owned the Hamilton Street Railway, the Hamilton and Dundas Electric Railway and the Hamilton Radial Railway. 

The employees of the Hamilton and Dundas Electric Railway had recently joined the Hamilton Street Railway union. 

The relatively new Hamilton Radial Electric Railway which ran from the Hamilton downtown core across the Beach Strip had only recently been put into operation Its drivers and conductors were part of the union. 

The company treated the employees of each system differently although ostensibly the work being done was exactly the same. This was shown by the fact that a driver would be on one system one day, and then the very next day be scheduled on a different system. 

However, the company insisted on there being three different contracts with each line, each having different pay scales and rules re scheduling.

 “One of the local officers put it this way this morning : ‘We are all employed by one company. The same man makes up our time and the same man pays us all. We work on the Hamilton Street Railway today; tomorrow we are shifted over to the Radial; next day we may be on the H. & D. We go where we are sent and ask no questions. Only last week, even as late as yesterday, Hamilton Street Railway crews have been working on the Radial”

Management admitted that indeed drivers were moved around, but argued that it was done out of necessity in order to meet demands for service. 

The company took a very hard line that each of the three lines was separate, and employees when working for one of the lines would have to be paid according to terms of that contract. A pay scale being exactly the same for all three lines would not be allowed.

The union strongly disagreed with the following statement regarding the Hamilton Radial Railway and the Hamilton and Dundas Railway made by the traction manager, Mr. C. K, Green: 

‘We do and we will pay them the same as we pay the street railway men,’ said Mr. Green, ‘but we will deal with them independently. We are prepared to deal with our Street Railway employees at any time, as we have done in the past. We are also prepared at any time to deal with our H. & D men and our Radial men, and to use them fairly in the matter of wages and hours.”

 

Traction Manager Green also said that the union had only recently sought to bring drivers from the Hamilton and Dundas line into the union for the purpose of ‘making trouble. 

The relationship between management and the union was already bitter and subsequent events would only make that relationship even more toxic.

An immediate issue which brought the problems being management and union to the boiling point related to the need for service for the huge number of employees working for the recently opened Hamilton branch of the International Harvester Company. 

Street cars heading to the plant at the start of working day would be completely full. Indeed extra cars would have to be put in service. Later in the afternoon the situation was reversed. The company made money when the cars were full, but when they returned to the sheds empty in the morning, or were brought to the plant in the afternoon, the company made no money. Paying overtime to drivers to accommodate such a situation was not an option the company relished, preferring to just pull drivers from the other lines.

Relationship between the union and the Street Railway management got so bad that in person meetings were no longer being scheduled.

As shown in the Times of August 22 1906, a different way of communicating was instituted : 

“No progress has been made yet towards a settlement between the Cataract Power Company and its employees on the Hamilton Street Railway, the Hamilton Radial Railway and the Hamilton & Dundas Railway, which promise to result in a tie-up by the end of the week. However, the employees’ committee has not given up hope, and having failed to get a conference with the company’s representatives, has decided to try what can be done by letter. This afternoon a communication will be drawn up and sent to Mr. C. K. Green, traction manager, setting forth the employees’ position upon the points in dispute.”

So began, on August 22, 1906, a series of letters between the parties in the dispute, letters which were shared for publication  with all of the three Hamilton daily newspapers.

 For example, the following from Traction Manager Green:

“John Theaker, President Division 107, Amalgamated Street Railway Employees’ Association:

“Dear Sir, Having reference to the disagreement between the Hamilton Street Railway Company and the employees of the company, I desire to say, and you must be aware, that there has been no want of inclination on the part of the company to meet your committee and to enter on negotiations for a renewal of the agreement. In fact, there have been several meetings already and it seems that the chief obstacle to getting down to real business is the employees of the Street Railway want to insist on regulating the terms of employment of the employees of the Radial and Dundas Railway Companies as well as their own. This cannot be agreed to, for various reasons which I need not now explain and it may as well be so understood now as later on.”

In the issue of the Times for August 22 1906, an editorial on the matter and advice for Hamiltonians was given:

“The deadlock between the Cataract Power Company and its employees of the Street Railway, the Radial and the Dundas line continues, and unless there is an early giving way, so as to render agreement possible, it is possible that citizens will be put to more or less inconvenience by the interruption of service. In anticipation of such a contingency, it would be well for those interested to so arrange their affairs as to provide against serious disappointment and loss. We are still hopeful that good sense will prevail and that an amicable settlement will be made, but it is the part of prudence to be prepared. Delay has reached the danger point, and a day or two will decide.”

 

(To be continued)

 

1906 Tornado

 1906 Hurricane Tornado 

“If there is anything closer to cyclone or tornado without being the real thing, then the vicious storm of wind, rain and electrics that visited Hamilton yesterday, the people of this city do not want it to come this way. The example of yesterday was a little more than enough for them. There was never anything like it before in the memory of the oldest inhabitant, and that the like may never be seen again is the earnest prayer of both old and young.”

Hamilton Spectator June 9 1906

It was approaching midnight on Thursday June 7, 1906 when the residents of the City of Hamilton experienced competing air currents. Cold winds battled hot winds for mastery of the air.

Overnight the hot temperatures came to solely dominate, and Hamiltonians beginning their day anticipated that it would be a scorcher.

That was a correct assumption as by mid-afternoon, the readings at the big on street thermometer at Parke and Parke’s drug store were well over 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

To the west, particularly over the table lands of Ancaster Township, dark threatening storm clouds began to gather:

“For a long time it appeared to be nothing more serious than the ordinary summer afternoon exhibition common to a sultry day 

“Then there came a change. It gathered into a dirty-coloured mass which quickly changed into an inky black, and out of the black background often and ever more rapidly flashed the lightning.”

Spectator

As described in the Times, the deteriorating weather conditions were only too obvious to most citizens:

“The storm came from almost due west, and gave plenty of warning of its coming in the forms of black clouds, rumblings of thunder and gusts of wind that showed in ominous looking swirls in the sky. These symptoms probably were the salvation of some, for they warned people away from small boats.

When the storm was getting close to the city about 3 p.m., many noted that it was moving very quickly, a wild, mad rush:

“ To plagiarize and alter slightly a well-known poem. Down came the storm and smote amain the city in its strength. Wind, rain and lightning all came together, and in much less time than it takes to tell of it. A few fitful gusts, a few mighty drops and the tempest swooped down. Almost in an instant, the air was thick with rain, and the tempest breath was like a devouring blast, wrecking all things which no mighty strength could move.” (Spec)

The Times reporter was also challenged to describe the impact of the storm’s arrival :

“For terrific violence and downright wickedness of its every aspect, the storm of June 8 1906 will be long remembered. It drove timid women into the fancied security of darkened rooms, and made strong men wonder what was coming next. 

“It spread destruction in its path and left mothers and children without a roof over their heads. Lightning played with incessant leap and flash for minutes at a time – minutes that seemed five times as long – thunder rolled near and far; rain fell not in showers, but in sheets going through the air almost like a river from west to east, and the wind hissed, and moaned, and roared and shrieked.”

The noise caused by the storm was terrifying:

“There was a perfect bedlam of noise from the streets. The wind made a music all its own. The roar of the tempest was continuous and deafening and was broken only by the nearby crashings which told of chimneys, plate glass windows, trees, roofs and other things going down in the general destruction.

“There was no withstanding the blast. Where it struck with a full, fair blow, something had to give. Mighty trees in the parks and avenues, that had stood the storms, winter and summer, of many years, bowed their heads to the destroying element. If they stood too firmly in their strength, they were uprooted; if they yielded a little, their great branches were torn and twisted and flung from them out onto the roadways, over against nearby dwellings and across electric wires, bringing poles down with them in the general destruction.” ( Spec )

The storm hit Hamilton at an in opportune time for each of the city’s three daily newspapers: 

“With its up-to-date the Times suffered no inconvenience through the storm, but both the Spectator and the Herald were hit. The storm came on just about press time, when these papers had only part of their issue printed, and the lightning put the power out of business.

“The Spectator was probably the worse off , but the Times press ran merrily, and the people of Hamilton had all the news from a reliable source. The newsboys made a harvest by advancing the price of the paper.

“Later in the afternoon, the Herald completed its edition, and the Spectator was delivered to customers late at night.” (Times) 

Ladies were given attention in the Times report : 

“There was trouble in several of the large uptown stores, caused by the excessive heat and excitement attendant upon breaking glass and other effects of the storm. In some of the stores, women fainted and had to be taken care of until the storm was over, and then sent home in hacks.

“The scene at the race track is almost beyond description. Being ladies’ day, there was a large crowd of the fair sex present, many being accompanied by children and without escorts.

“Just as the storm broke out, the horses were parading for the second race. The next instant there was great excitement. As the storm grew in violence, the excitement in the grandstand became intense. 

“Children and women cried aloud, and many, fearing the stand would collapse, ran out into the open. Others crowded into the barroom, where everything possible was done to calm them. 

“The rain blew through the stand in sheets. When the storm was at its height, it was impossible to see inside the fence of the running track.”

There was some concern about how the passenger steamships connecting Hamilton and Toronto were impacted by the storm:

“ ‘It was a very picturesque storm,’ said the Modjeska’s good-natured captain, ‘but it did not bother us at all. The lake was rough, the wind very strong and the lightning vivid, but the Modjeska kept right along as if all were sunshine. The same may be said of the Macassa.’

“The Turbinia made her trips just as fast as ever, and just as if there had been no storm.”

On Hamilton’s, waterfront, the storm caused serious damage to the boathouses. Both Weir’s and Bastien’s boathouses were badly impacted structurally by the storm with both Mr. Weir and  Mr. H. L. Bastien himself receiving serious injuries. At one point, it was estimated that there were 30 boats adrift in the bay having been blown from their moorings. 

It was along the Heights from the cemetery past the Desjardins Cut that the storm was seen and felt dramatically:

“The people who were on the heights yesterday afternoon had a genuine taste at what a Texas cyclone is. The heights, particularly near the high level bridge, was the scene of the wildest disorder, and the fury of the storm seemed to concentrate there. The heights have always been feared for the violence of wind storms, because to the west of it is the whole survey of the Dundas Marsh. The storm broke on the heights with terrific force. People living in the city, where the wind was broken by the trees and buildings thought that the violence of the storm had reached the limit, but on the heights it was far worse. The wind held waves of rain that it carried along, drenching everything in its path. Telegraph and telephone poles were snapped off like matches.” (Spec) 

 

“The storm of yesterday afternoon was one of unusual violence and it swept over a vast extent of country, causing damage which, in the aggregate, will amount to a considerable sum.

“From various parts of the province came reports of buildings more or less wrecked, roofs blown off, chimneys destroyed and trees and fences demolished.

“In this city, much damage was inflicted but happily, in most instances, the individual losses were not serious.in a few cases, however, extensive damage was inflicted. All over the city, the shade trees suffered and the streets were littered with branches and fallen trees. Much glass was broken, some of the stores being heavy losers by the accidents and by the deluge of drifting rain that accompanied the storm. In many homes, great terror was caused by the violence of the wind and the sudden darkness that fell upon the city. Fortunately, however, there are no fatalities to report, and even the money loss caused is trivial compared to what most people counted on during the outburst.

“We escaped well; let us be thankful.”

(Times editorial)

 

1906 - Corporal Briggs’ Sad End

 

To be horribly mangled beneath

 the wheels of a train when within a few hundred yards of his home, which he was hurrying to reach so that he might get to work on time, was the terrible fate Corporal E. W. Briggs, of Dundas met this morning when his life was crushed out by the Michigan Central special returning from Windsor.”

Hamilton Times. May 25 1908

 

“The news of the accident spread rapidly through the cars and cast a shadow of gloom where mirth and pleasure had reigned a few minutes before at the prospect of being home once more.”

 

Witnessed by Private Gordon McNair, a Times press room employee, Corporal Briggs jumped from the train which was proceeding at approximately twenty miles an hour. The soldier landed on his feet, but immediately lost his balance, and slipped forward under the wheels of the train. 

 

Private McNair quickly signalled for the train to stop. Corporal Briggs’ legs were almost severed off and he was only breathing faintly when the two doctors on board the train reached him. They determined that they could do nothing for the young man and Briggs, just 20 years old, died.

 

The young soldier had decided to leap from the train as he wanted to get to his place of employment Webber’s hardware store as soon as possible.

 

“ ‘A peculiar coincidence was that he came to me just the other day and asked me to loan him my plaid until he had a picture taken. He remarked that it might be the last chance he would ever have to be photographed in uniform.’

 

The horrible accident happened on Friday May 25, and by Sunday May 27, extensive preparations had been completed for one of the largest funerals in the history of Dundas:

“ ‘The muffled drum’s sad roll has beat, 

     The soldier’s last tattoo.’

“With full military honours and services impressive in their simplicity, yes remains of Corporal Edwin W. Briggs, Co. G., Ninety-First Highlanders, were laid at rest yesterday afternoon in Grove Cemetery, Dundas.

“It was one of the largest funerals in the Valley City’s history, over three thousand people gathering along the route of the procession, and at the grave to pay a last tribute of respect to the dead soldier and show their sympathy for the bereaved parents. The scene as the soldiers, with heavy Highland tread, followed the remains of their departed comrade to the cemetery and at the grave, when the buglers sounded Last Post, was most pathetic.”

“Last Post for Corp. E. Briggs”

Hamilton Times May 28 1906

The funeral itself was began at the Briggs family home on Hope street from which the casket was carried by hearse to St. James’ church which was packed for the service.

The procession from the church to graveyard was solemn and impressive:

“With drums muffled and to the sad dirge of the pipes, the Highlanders marched with arms reversed to Grove Cemetery. At the entrance, the casket was removed from the hearse and six of the soldiers carried it on their shoulders to the grave. 

“ The seven as the funeral procession marched slowly up the winding hill was most picturesque and impressive.

“At the close of the services, the buglers sounded the first part of the general salute, and Last Post, while three volleys were fired over the grave by the firing party surrounding it.”

Although still a young man, just twenty years old, at the time of the fatal accident, Corporal Briggs was a very popular figure in Dundas and a much-esteemed colleague of the members of the 91^st Highlanders.

 

 

 

1906 - Billy Sherring

 Bobby Kerr Reception

 

Ever since the news of his Olympic victory had been received in Hamilton, Billy Sherring’s friends and supporters had been preparing to give him a warm welcome home.

On May 1 1906, at the Olympic Games in Athens Greece, the leader in the marathon entered the stadium wearing a fedora and a shirt from his hometown Hamilton St. Patrick’s Athletic Club. The excitement was so high that Crown Prince George ran out to track, applauding as he accompanied Sherring on the last lap.

Will Sherring returned by sea, arriving in New York on May 19. Two days later, the city of Montreal honoured with a massive reception followed by a similar celebration in Toronto.

Of course, the City of Hamilton would outdo them both in celebrating a native son who brought so much renown to his home community.

 

 

On May 23 1906, as recounted in the Times, Sherring’s return trip from Athens was completed as the steamer Modjeska entered Hamilton harbour :

“With Will Sherring, the hero of Athens, on the hurricane deck, surrounded by admiring friends and a number of members of Hamilton City Council, the majestic Modjeska, steamed into the James street slip last night at 8 o’clock.

“Thousands of citizens were on the dock and the surrounding hill tops to greet the world’s champion runner, and notwithstanding the cordial reception received at stopping points of his triumphal tour from New York to this city, the Marathon winner must have felt there is no place like home.”₁

“

¹ “Champion Sherring Welcomed Home to His Native City.”

Hamilton Times May 23 1906

 

Preparations for Sherring’s return had been made and announced in the press. Hamiltonians knew when and where to go to welcome their fellow citizen home.

 

The Times prepared a Times Sherring Special to be issued at 4:30. It contained the latest news about Sherring and the details about the evening’s demonstration in his honor:

“A supplement, Sherring’s picture in red and green, the St. Patrick’s colours will be given away with paper.”

Citizens were Roger to “get a copy from the newsboys, or at the Times office, to send away to friends.”

The special edition carried an editorial under the headline ‘The Marathon Victory’ :

“After winning the Marathon race, receiving the victor’s olive wreath and historic kid, the kisses of amorous feminine admirers and the gifts of Athenian athletics, Sherring has skillfully dodged the many offers of marriage with which temptresses sought to beguile him, and has returned to his native country.

“Athens was all very picturesque, the Greek lassies were bewitching, and the flattery of royalty and the mob could not be but tempting, but, after all, Athens is not Home; it has no Gore Park, no such striking architecture as is displayed in our better bourse and the latest palatial market structure, no bold escarpment along its south, no land locked bay to trot around for morning exercise, no such brainy mayor or aldermen as ours, and no girls fit to class with Hamilton girls.”

 

As the time of Sherring’s arrival neared, a Times reporter noted that: he 

“Nearly everyone wore red and green ribbons, or carried a Sherring cane. At seven o’clock, an hour before the steamer was due, crowds flocked north on James street, and half an hour later, an immense crowd was assembled from the bridge to the bay, along. Guise street and on the property of the Hamilton Steamship Company. ¹

 On time as usual the big steamer progressed through the canal from Lake Ontario into the bay:

“When the Modjeska’s hoarse whistle sounded its approach, thousands of eyes were fixed on the steamer, and when it reached the wharf, thousands of voices welcomed the hero. Part of the Thirteenth bugle band was aboard, and did its share in the welcome. Sherring stood on the hurricane deck, his face wreathed in smiles.”¹

 

As soon as the man of the hour and his supporters got off the big boat, a procession began 

: “ A squad of police led the way, and then followed the Thirteenth bugle band, the champion’s carriage, the aldermen, athletic clubs, the three 

bands of the Ninety-First, the 44^th band, the Veteran Firemen and other organizations. As the procession moved off, the Thirteenth struck Home Sweet Home.”

 

“The city was in gala attire to welcome its hero, and Sherring’s trip to Victoria Park truly a triumphal march. Houses and stores were lighted and gaily decorated. Flags and bunting were abundantly used.

“When Sherring finally stepped on the platform, Victoria Park was a sea of humanity. Hundreds of Roman candles were lighted and a big searchlight operated from the corner of Margaret and King street swept the park.”

 

Although no one got seriously injured, there were several occasions when people were dangerously crushed in the mayhem. So great was the tumult that none of speakers could be widely heard. In the interests of safety, the police requested that the ceremony be cut short and the park be cleared.