I - ·--------~---~·-- 1 1~[1800156848 ~1l 1~ 1~ 1l1H~l1 1 1 ]4im~1 1 L I ! THE CROWSNEST PASS DURING THE DEPRESSION; ' A SOCIOEONOMIC HISTORY OF SOUTHEASTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1918-1939 by William Alexander Sloan '- ! LOCAL FC 3845 C76 866 THE CROWSNEST PASS DURING THE DEPRESSION; A SOCIOECONOMIC HISTORY OF SOUTHEASTERN BRITISH COLUJYIBIA, 1918-1939 by WILLI.AM .ALEXANDER SLOAN B.A., Notre Drone University of Nelson, 1966 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of History We accept this thesis as conforming 'to the required standard ©WILLI.AM ALEX.ANDER SLOAN, 1968 UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA August 1968 SELKIRK COLLEGE LIBRARY CASTLEGAR, BC . .3 ABSTRACT Supervisor: Dr. B.egine.ld H.:o Roy The decade of the ttthirties" had profound effects on the economic e.nd socie.l structure of Canada. Considerable research has exposed the trauma of the vast majority, but historians have tended to apply the general trends affecting the larger political or geographical areas to particular locales or economic units. The Crowsnest Pass area of Southeastern :C.:r·i tish Columbia has been treated in such a. manner. The three-year slump in trade postdating the First World War was ended in most of Canada with a return to relative prosperity by 19?3. But in many areas the much-heralded prosperity was superficial at best. Throughout the decade, coal and steam as sources of energy were gradually replaced by oil and other easily transported fuels. The railways which had played an integ- ral role in pre-war prosperity were in constant difficulty after the war. A number of costly strikes waged by the United Nine Workers of America in face of wage cuts and periodic "lay-offs" further reduced coal orders. The entrance of a superior Alberta domestic coal into tbe market curtailed an outlet formerly filled by British Columbia steam coal. Demands of the Nova Scotia miners for a subsidy that would allow competition with Pennsylvania coal for central Canadian markets brought a r.,::.talis.tory tariff by the United States government on Crowsnest I' ass coa.l sUpTJlying the -ii·i- -iv.American mid-west maxkets • The combined result of the afore- .mentioned fe,ctors -prostrated the only ms.jor industry of the Crowsnest Pass th:roughout the two decades prior to the Second World War. Economic stagnation of the r·egion led to •J:Jidespread unemployment. Instruments for relief of the unem-oloyrjd had not been created in the decade before 1929. Charity was la.rgely 1n the he.nds of benevolent societies who were often limited by a. le.ck of resources. :Cy the time the more in-rense effects of world11-ride depression afflicted the area, residents were hardened to declining economic conditions. Social trauma which sccom:pe:nied the disastrous economic recession, in wreaking severe hardships on the indigent, caused major adjustments in their thinking. Repercussions Pere felt in almost every aspect of human relationships and endeavor, a.s the character of churches, schools, clubs, politica.1 parties, hospitals and fraternal societies were forced to undergo changes. The attitudes of pgrents and families underi-ient major adjustments as the sbili ty to properly clothe, feed and educate the·ir child- ren was endangered. Many who had been accustomed to the security of regular incomes and savings for retirement were forced to live on a mere subsistence with no hope for the future. Pressure of public opinion on the government brought action only to satisfy minimum political expedients. Because tbe entire region was £C::conorn.ically stagn~mt the dole would not suffice. Only a long-range retraining program could have eased the situation. As the standard of living generally rose in Canada during the last half of the decade the state of residents in the Crows- -vnest Ps.ss correspondingly worsened. Dissent was p:ronmlgeted through radicei unions, unemployed associations e,nd local poli tica1 parties. The demands of' the residents were not treated seriously by 1936 because of the reletive prosperity of the rest of Canada.. The la.ck of response to the plight of this coal mining region and the accompa~nying stigma that enveloped the indigents' parasitic condition quelled all their initiative. It was not until the lHrge-scale armament build-up in 1939 Eind the resulting increased coal orders for the Crowsnest mines tha.t a :premium was placed on mine labour a~d the relief roles were reduced. TABLL OF· CONTENTS Page ABSsrBACT ....... ·• • ........................... • .... • • .... 19' • • • • • • • iii LIST OF TiillLES • • • • ..... • • • • • .... • • ..... • • • • ... • ..... • ..... •. • vi 1 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS •••••••••••••••••••••"••••••••••• ix Chapter BASES OP THg REGION •*,.••••••••••••••• 1 II. HARDSHl? A.ND ADJUST.fli..ENT •••••••••••e••••••••••• 15 III. PROTRACTIVE RECOVERY •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 43 IV .• GOVEENMEl~T AID TO TEE I..:ESTITUTE • • • • • •• • • •. • • • • 59 v. THE •PASS" MilaERs; AT HOME AND AT 'WOF.K •••••••• 73 VI. INSTITUTIONS IN TRE REG!ON •••••••••••••••••••• 96 VII. POLITICS IN THE "PASS" •••••••••••••••••••••••• 108 VIII. LEI3UEE TIME ACTIVITIES ••••••••••••••••••••••• 121 BIBLIOGRAPHY •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 133 APPENDIX •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 145 I. ECONOMI~ -vi- LIST OF TAEL2S Table I• Report of Vi tel Ste.t1st1es fer British Columbia ·~··••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 146 II., The Population of the F'ern.ie District ••• ., •. • • 147 III. .Area and :population of East Kootenay ••••• ., • • • 14? IV.. Average if:ontnly and .Annual '.l'emp.er&.tures of Pernie :for 1916-19.54 in Degrees f'ah:renhf3i t .. 148 The F:rost Free Per1cd of F'ern1e$ Michel SP.d Newgate ••••••~••••••••••••••••••••••••• 148 Average li'J.::>nthly and J\.mtual .:Prec1:pi ts.ti on for the Years Shown, in Inehas, :of Newge.te, Elko an"'! Femi.e ••• • •• ., •• • ••••• • • •. • •• •. • • • "' 149 v. VI. VII. Extreme Temperature and Average Sne~fal.l of Ne-wgate, Elko and Fern1e for the Yea:rs am Inches • • • • 149 Et.hnie Distribution of .Popnlation 1n Fe:rniet East Kootena.y Region and British Colum1:>1a •• 150 Shownt in Degrees Falu:'enhei t VIII. IX. rJationa11t;r of r~'?!'lployees in the Coal Industry of' British Co1umb1a •••••••••••••••••••••••• 150 :x. Projects Ct!U'Tied Out by the Department of lfationsJ. Defence fer the Departir:ent of r.,~bour• 1932-1936 ••• •••• •• •• • •• •••••••. •••• l.51 Numbers H~oa1v1ng D1rect :r~elief from 1930-1940 in British Columbia •••••••••••••••••••••••• 1,54 XII. D1str1but1on of Costs of iielief •••••••••••••• 15; XIII. Single Eomeless Men Receiving Rel1ef 'through Government Camps and Projeets in Br1t1sh Columbia 9 2932-1940 •••••••••••••••••••••••• l,56 XI. :YJV. T1el1ef and Pub11e '~orks Expend.1 tu:res in Fernle District for Fiscal Years 1929-1939, in Doll2rs •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• -vii- 15? •Viii- Table Page Annual Payrolls 1n the Coal Industry 1n British Columbia, 1927-1940• in Dollars • •ll!. XVI. XVI!. XVIII. :xrx. xx.. XXI. :XXII. 157 Comparison of Output and. Per Cap1 ta Production of Coal. between East Kootenay District and. British Columbia, 1910-1940 •••••••••••••••• 158 Number of Days worked and Output in Tons per Men of East Kootenay Mines~ 1926-1940 •••••• 159 ?·Jumbe.r of Total Men and Men :r..mployed Unde:rgroUDi in East Kootenay and 1~1 ti sh Columbia Coal Mines 1920•1940 •••••••••••••• 160 Coal a~ Coke Production of East Kootenay Mines~ 1898...1940, 1n Tons •••••••••••••••••• 161 Cotl Sal.es of East Kootenay Mines to the United states and Canada 1 1929•1940, in-Long Tons ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 162 Average Weekly Wages f'or All .Adult Male I~nrployees and Those in the Coal. and Lumber Industries in Br1t1sh Columbia, 1920-1940 •• 163 Estimated Value of P:roduet1on of the Lumber1ng I:ndustry, 1nclud1ng Loading .and 1'"'re1ght in British Columbia, in Thousands of Dollars, 1929-1939 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• XXII!. 164 Value of l?:roduction of Gold, S1J.ver, Copper, Lesd and Z.i:n.e in East Kootena:r D1strlet, 1920-1939 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 16.,5 Y...XIV. Mine Dis.asters in the Fernie District, 1902-1938 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 166 xxv. Number of Pupils ln Schools and .Average Daily AtterAance in Fer-l'lie, 1928-1940 ••••••• • •• •. 166 XXVI,. Revenue Derived from the Sal.e of Firearms Licences, and Game Tag.s, 1929-1939, in Fe:rnie, 1n Dollars ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 167 XXVII. XX.VIII. XXI.X. Bevenue Derived 'from the Fur •rrade, Fines, and Sale of Fur L1eenoes 1n British Columbia, 1929-1939. in Dollars •••••••••••• 167 Arrears of Taxes in Ferni.e• 1925-1939, in Dollars ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 168 Sales of Liquor, inc1ud1ng Beer in Fernie and Michel, 1928-19391 in Dol.lars •••••••••• 168 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Map Page I. Southern Half of British Columbia •••••••••••••••• 169 Il. The Crowsnest Pa.as District •••••••••••••••••••••• 170 -ix- CB.APTER I 'CO~iOMIC Bl113ES OF THE EEGION l:n the traditional. industrial countries -population and industry tends to concentrate around. natur.e.l resources or within ready access of t.ranspo: tation :routese Eowever in Canadai the largest coal reserves are locatecl in isolated areas 9 far :from the ir..dust.rial center of the ri..atione In the Hest, vast quantities of coal did not become available ·until the transcontinental :railways and the opening of the prairies provided a. ma.rltet. J~s a consequence of the geological. location of the coal deposits and the :relatively recent availability of the principal. :reserves 9 inrl.ustrial development in Canada was forced to resort to other sources of energy.; The st .. Lawrence lowlands in the industrial heart of Canada had to rely on the Appalachian coal f'iel:is of the United States to fill 1ts requirements.. Shipping of coal. from Nova Scotia arrl Cape Breton Island, and from the Ne stern Provinces could be underta.lten only under serious competitive hand.icaps. 1 The vast deposits of coal in the Crowsnest Pass area of British Col1unbia lay in the she.dew of this geographic dis ... lw. T., Easterbrook em Hugh G• .J,. .Aitken 0 Canad.1gn Econo:m1e liistory 1 Tor~, Macmillan Co.~ 296?, PPa 52:3-524. advantage 2..n:l ditl not become economicalJ.y i.m:poxtant until the last decade of the nineteenth eerrtu_y-y when :U.seovery of ore 110dies t<:is.s made in the Hest Kootene;;. .Attention was then coal. for smelters a!.l:Cl :red.u.otio:n furnaeesll> '!:he history of the development of' the Crowsnest Pass area ot· British Col1Jmbia corresponded. irl ·th the f'ul.t'illme:nt of this essentie.1 service by the construction of the C:rcr1,<1anest BraY1ch of t.he Canadian Pacific ha.il.tffay 1:n J..898 and the Great No:rthe::t::n Beil.way from Gatewayt · f~ontana 1.n 1902" 2 a.r..d innustrial tycoon, into the directorship of tbe Crow's Nest Pass Coal Compan;ir in 1sm13 am. the conrpletion of his rai1:road into the Ame:rie:Bn rfidt'eBt in the ;fol.lowing year, the Crowsnest J?a.ss coalfields became ind.elibly linked to a l.arge metrulurgieal an.ri ra11rooo market~ Industry in weste:rn coa1fields as the st. Lal."Z'ence lewlands industrial. eomp1e:x was on t-he PeMsyl vania coalfields. 4 As coal market.s mushroomed in r0sponse to fuel demands of the numerous smel te:rsS in the Paci fie North~:rest and southern 2:r. Ao Rickard, "A History of Coal Mining in Britiah Columbia, ;i1 The . [flne:r, Jul.y t 1942• p~ 29. ·- 31b1a.. 4 see Table xx. 5aaroJ.d A.. lnn1s 11 •'!he Kootella.Y Regiotu after the Crowsnest Pass Raill'.:ay 1 u Settlement gi the Forest am r4'!nins;:; Frontiers, Tor. t Macmillan Co., 1936, PP• 282-2S3. f:·Xi ti sh Coltunbia, a. J:!Umber of accessible coal seams were opened in the Crowsnest Pass. The original coal. seams in the valley o.f Coal Creek vrere supplemented j.n 1898 by development of res- erves at Michal Creekll twenty-=two miles no:rthf 6 m1d in 1901. by the opening o:f mines nea:r the intez»sect:icn of Mon·issey Creek 'Ni th 1":> the Elk Ri vert ten miles to the south. I J?.rospe:ri ty of th£~ co:mmuni ties T-1hich grew a.round the mine sites was -$1"Dost. oompl.etel.y :reliant on the ,state of the coal. ir. .d.ustry, with t.h-:~ exception o::f l'"e:rnie, whose d1 versi ty of' cormnexc:lal inter-ests attracted the residents of the sm.e.lle:r 4:e500 peop1B resit:led in the communitY111 The Hichel collieries developed into the f!H'.>;:rt p:roduct1 ire in the flJ?ass~8 and the pr0= sperity of the totim di:reotly paralleled that o:f the mines; a 6Twenty mir1ers from Cape Breton Isl.and began stockpiling coal at Coal Creek in 1897 a.l thou~J1 the CaDBrl1a11 Pacii'ic Bail.way (hereafter referred to as C:?R) did not reach Fernie until 1898 and Coal Creek, five miles away 9 until 1899. ?The b'ernie coal oo.;sin 1 s o. peru:' sha.u.ed valley w1 th its narrow portion to the north. It has a'length of about 34 miles, a maximum. width in the vicinity of Fernie o~ 12 miles and covers an area of ap:prox.imately 2JO square miles, a.ll.,of which is underlain by coal. l~ros1on in these fields has· reGulted in providing access to the seams at the va1ley level, thus not only faci1.1tatit1l'S mining operations but pro ... Viding conditions fox railway communica.M.on ~?i th the sl te of operations. Description in Canada, f~eoort of ·the Bozal Commisslon on Coa1 2 1q46. 19479 P• 4~. 8~3iehe1 coal had most desirable coking qual.ities, we.s easily a.ceessi b1e a...m central.ly located. t'i ve 'hun'i:red. 9 The fate of the toi'm of r•1ol'Tissey1D which grew aroun.'l. the Cro1,;;' s Hest Pass Company mines opened in 1901, ·'mas not so ities :flourished. However, expansion of the community level- 1ed off in 1903 aT.i.t 1904 whet~ dangerous ~outbtrn~tsn of gas11 killed a number of men and it was found that the coal in the .are.a was r;o longer s11i table :for the t'W-O hundred forty coke ovens which had reeen.tly been oo·mpl.eteda 12 By 1910 I1orrisse;v mines were abandoned by the Company and the community soon A similar fate awaited the community of Hos.mer, eight ;:niles north of l1ernie 8 which hEd evolved a:roum the Canadian Pa.cifio Bail.way mines opened in 1906@ -'I'h.e mines at Hosmer 9 A la.te:r com.muni ty 11 Natal., grew immediately to the east e..:ri..d the t"tro ·were uri..i ted as a siTIF1ie eomm:uni ty, r•iichel-Matal. J" J. Denholmfl Unpub1i.shed Eeseei.rch ifot9s con(}e:rnine; Fel"nie History; compiled from Newsnattsrrs, victoria, Nbl.ic 11.rchivas of Brt ti. sh Col.umbia• n. d. , P• 87. lO'bio communities were reoogri..ized at the time; i~Morrissey located at the aon:f'luenee of t.he creek is ·what had :\>!1nes~i been eommonl.y referred to as f~rrissey, and ~carbonadott, l.ocated about one-half mil.e up the creek. Fe::rn1e Historical Assoeiatio:n (hereafter refer.red to as FHA) 9 Baektrae.king with Fern1e Historical Association, Lethbridge~ Alta., Lethbridge Herald 1 l.967, P• 6 S• 11 ~0t.J.tb\u'sts~ were eir blasts caused by the sudden com:pres... sion of air ·whct?.n a pillar hanging wall gave ~Y under pressure o:ften releasiri..g methane and other deadly gases. •Bumps" were caused by a sudden collapse of a :rigid stratum overlying the coal after its removal. Rickard 9 .Q...12!.., ei t. 11 PP• 28- 30. 12nA~ op. cit •• Pe 41. gu.aran.teed a eaal. supply for the Ca.~:lien Paci fie smelter at Trail l'rhich h&-0, been :paralyzed by .repeated strikes a~.,ainst with Canadian Pacific to supply e. superior qu.ali ty of ooal to that :o:ron:uc.ed a.t Hosme:r in 1914'$ the commu:ni ty of :nes..rl;r A company town not held in the h.a.."lds of the f'ass Coal Company T;-Jhich pros:pered :ln t.be fil"3t century was the community of Corb1nep Crow~ s qu;~r·te:r :Nest of the Pounded in 1908 by the :ra:il:roaii magna.te of Spokane $t Do Co Corbin, who had consolid""' ated a n:um.be.r of branch lines into the railway network known of steam coal. for American markets a:nd as a source oi domest1e coal in Canad.a and t.he United States. A :fire in the m.est p:ro- ductive ares of the mine reduced its value ~n.side:rably in 19l:h 1 4 but production continued until. 19.35 ·when a major strike, caused at least part1a11y by conditions brought on by di:minishin.g markets and profits, rcsul.ted in its closure and a.band.o:nment., The :Elk=Fl.athead area. experienced a. remarkahle period o:f growth which climaxed a.bout 1920 when a popul.ation of ove1" 6 11 000 'lt~as r$ached. 1 5 Tbe eo:mmu.ni t.y used as the 'barometer of 13~., 'P• 59. 1l:~John Fa.hey, InJ.and 'E;mpire.1 D. c, Corbin and. Spgk2n!h Seatt1e 9 Univ. of Wash. Press 5 1965, ~· 222. l5see Tabl.e II. -6succass of the district was F'ernie., The Coal Company obviously cons1d.ered that all ~')f its oper~::itions in British Colmnbia ·wov.ld center on this picturesque ci t:y s1 tuated on a ·wide shel.:f site a.nd except for coke ma.nu:faetured within it; confines shack ti::n~Y:.,_ :So"~:sver, cd'tex the fire of J..908 it rose into a very subst~ant:.ieJ. we1l-constn1cted com.muni ty-16 with imposing sewer system. L$,belled. by the £ern1e Free Press es ?i ttsburgh cf the West~?" ~thi~ t.he city had survived. t1ro devastating fires and several crippling strikes, to beeome a stable com- mu.ni ty of over 4sooo1 7 with a highly diversified commercial establishment and a vigorous social. climate. Th~ communities in the Cro11.-rsnest Pass i:ni tia.lly "t:;ere tied neither sooia1.1y no:r comm:e:rciaD.y ·with the ',,lest Coe.st. 18. All roads and t:rail.s into the area had their origins in the 1.6After the fire Of 1908. a city by-law rsqu.ired B.11 build= ings ·within a ten S·~:ua.re block area to be of fire-proof construction. Inte:rviow with i"'.1.r• Dan Cheste~* a former e:m:ployee of' the Crow's l>Jest l?a.ss Coa.1 Company (hereafter referred to as the CNP Coal co.) and resident of Coal CTeek 2.nd Fern1-e for most of the present century. l?see Table Irr. lf\Je Eug,hes., A Bistor~ of :Min1n.v: in the ·""'.a.st Koo~er£i District qf British Columbia., Edmone 9 unpubo Me A. Thesis• uriJ:v. of' P.J.ta. 9 1944. :P• 26. -? ... United. Gt['!l.tes, and. the southe:rn inter~1.or of B-ri ti sh Columbia. ineJ.:udoo. eastern Oregonr> 1;a.;:::ihingtonS1 1'1estern gontana and I-d.ahofj l 9 'I'he rail eonnect~1.on via th{;, Great l:Jorthern li.r&:ed c1.in0rl to ties tJ.i th the provinea.s to the east, -particu.1.i?:rly goods :from the Prairie P:rovinees to the i~J?assi~ had been intro- on empty oo:xears coming west to return ~;qi th cocl and ores from th.•3 Kootene,yso 22 Geo,gra-yh1o ties i>r:'.t th .~1be:rta11: ~,,nd partieu.l- 20 il.dvertl. semen.ts in t.h1$ Fe:r:nie Free Press ( heresfter refett>S>.d to as ~) reg1ila::rly inclUrl:ed Tates e. .nd economy f ~res on the Great 1\!o:rthern to U. s. poin'ts. '"'>":! .::..J.""Annual. Deba.t-e between Fernie High SC.hool .and. Kal.1spel1 High School.. Local. and General.,~ FFg, Uov. 18, 1938, P• 5. 22on Feb.., l, 1.897, rates on grai:n9 fl.our, hay 9 ete.. shipped in ce..:rlots ·~"le:r-e reduced f'rom 10 to 30 cents pe:r tn1"""'ldredweight to twe:r1ty-on;p. .Kootenay :;.-oints. Rates on butter, cheese and e~~ were reduced 'by amounts :from 15 to 65 cents per hundred= wej.g.-htei Blanket rates t'1'ere given to a11. Kootena:v r.:'°ints on dre15sed poultry, meats~ hogs, packed and :frozen fish and packing: rwuse products., Innis 11 on. cit., p. 3080 arly Calgary and Lethbridge thus were more realistic than those ·with the West Coast or even with interior cities_, and a vigorous interprovinci.a;L trade developed between the districts. Industry in the East Kootenay area was confined to coal mining s~ lumbering during the first two decades of this cen- tury, the latter being mainl.y dependent on the fortunes or the former. The period of railway construction and opening of the coal mines was paralleled by feverish activity in the lumber industry. Lumber initially was desired for camps to house con~ struction workers, to p:r·ovide railway ties and bridges, station houses and :rolling stock. With the completion.of the railway, sa11Illills in the ~Pass" further accelerated output to provide mine props, and facilities for coal handling. 2 3 The ·towns which grew around the mines 11-rere largely of wood frame con- struction, with the exception of Fernie which after 1908 was of stone and brick. In addition, the completion of the Crows- nest branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway provided a transportation link with the Prairie Provinces which were entering a prolific period or expansion and whose lack of timber re- sources necessitated large-scale imports from out of the prov24 ince.-,- rr.iuch of which was supplied by the East Kootenay area. Sa1'v'l!111ls ~·rere located in the Cedar Valley near Fernie 9 at West Fer11ie, at Lumberton near Cranbrook and in the Kootenay Valley 231n 1903 there were 24 sawmills employing 1 9 800 men in operation in the East Kootenays. ~., P• 307. 24w. 11. r1ercer, wGrowth of Ghost Toims, n Bo:ral Cemmission on Forestrz, 191~4, P• 12 and Harold A. Inn.is, f°iThe Lumber Trade i:n Cari..ada, ~,..Essays in Canadian Economic History, Tor., Univ. of Tor., 1905 9 P• 245. -9at Wardner~ Wal.do and Jaffray. Tie cai'Ilps in the Bull River d:ra.inage 9 at CaneJ. l<"'lfl.ts in the Upper :Kootenay Valley and at YeJ1k, west of Cranbrook su:pp11Hd the Canadia.n Pacific with .-:.i:: railroad timber.,£:...; The cities of t·'e:rnie i::-t.n·7 C:ranbrook evolved as "business centers for ths logg:inp: camps ·which dotted th:s ar :a.. ntaple corilmoditiest s.ecomoc1ation" ente:rtainment facilities'.!' and tre.rc= spo:rtation J..ir..ks wer2 :routed. through these two cormnuni ties. 26 The enii of lumbering in the East Kootenay area was ef= fected. by the large-soal.e logging snd numerous f1::res which afflicted tbe area. 9 combined with the loss of human resou:roes to the .t'i:rst ·\·.Jcrld Fax. Particula:rly serious were the many fires which had repeatedly devastated 1arge aTeas of the coun= try 5 mining the so11 to the state where vast tr&cts were totally m1p:roduetive. 27 furthf-~more the decade i,1bich ended in 1914 witnessed the virtual end of: the agricultural frontier arid. its attendant demand for lumbero A.fte:r 1914 the frontier moved north into the Peaee :rd. var .country ii'Thich had abundant of the East Kootenays returned from the ,,Jar they found the lumber industry was almoat at a standst1llo £-Ia.'YJy of the lum= be:r workers moved north into the Upper Columbia B.ive::r drainage and we)."e absorbed into newly deve1crping forest industries. 25.tviercers op. cit. 9 passim. 26Eil ton Young, Early Days of Logrz:i:ru:;: on the Crow, l'lo P•, n. pub., .Ju.l.y 7, 1964, P• 25. 2'7Merc.er 9 on.. ei t., PPe 2:0-21. A f~w obtained employment in the expanding :netel1u:rg1ca1 industry at '£:-rail and Kimberlf3Y but a co:nsid.ereble number were unable to obtain :reguJ.2r employment and were forced to join the ranks of une..vuployed which swelled w'i th the re-absorption of' First Wor1d N'ar veteranso 28 .ll.griculture as a l.ivel.ihood did not become a foree in the Crowsnest :Pass. The cB. m.ate of thi.;; region,, though rel.at= ively mode:rate was a.dvers'-:ly affected by the high a1titude; 29 '"'O in combination with poor soil. condi t ... an:..t the cold wintersY ions31 limited agriculture to a minimum. B.estri<:.ted by the of mi:niri.g~ the sha110't•;r 0 stony soil reqi.dred fertilization as well as careful t111agee Grass was abund.ant on the 'few un- timbered meadows and small-scale ranch1Dg was possible where other crops could not he ral sed. A 'few sm.al.l. f a:rms and ranohes grew on the few a:rable benches alon,~ the Elk Rivero The advent of aa_~:ieu.ltural associations in the ~twentiesn influenced a great improvement in. the star..dards of agricul.~ tu.re._ pa:rtie\Uaxl.y in the vicinity of Fernie end Elko, but 28Iblda 9 PP• 2J.-23. 29.Altitudes .ranged .from 2 9 450 to ) 9 100 feet in the J.ower valley :and nearby mountains ranged from 7e000 to 9 1 000 feet. Denholm, eu. cit., P• 4. 30winter sets in during i~ovember and continues until. March; temperatures ral'l...ge from freezing level to about zero and as low as forty degreAs below zero. ~A:vera.ge snowi'"s.11,ff FFP, Jen. 22e 1932 9 P• l and •sn01,rfall 153 1nehes,ff m,, Jan. 1 9 19351 Po 11:1 3lnrit1sh Co.lumbia 11 Department of Lands and Fo:re~ts, ~The Brown Podosolie Zone 9 " second Resources Con:fereneef! 1949 9 P• 17. -11geog:ra:phical. cofld.1 tions hindered a sizabl.e influx to tJ1e land. By 1918 the economy of the Crowsnest Pass had reached a prosperous pl. 85. 36Jnnis, ~~ttlement and th~ frontiers, p. 289. ";'13- 1/v \i,/L ma:rket fo.r the first time in' the es.rly ~twentiesi; and dis- placed a smal.1 portion of' the market}? The Fordney-MeCumbe:r tari:r:r3B together ~nth th,':! use of' California. oil. as fuel by locomotives of the Great ~~orthern Railway put 2.n end to a proritable outlet39 in the United Btatest the mainstay cf' C:rowsnest Pass coa.l :markets., In addition to ~'resting away the railway markets of ·the Paeif'ic Northwest fl the swi teh from coal-:fueled steam po11rer to oil and hydro-electric. power eooed a large portion of the metallurgical 1oc1ust::r.ial market of area._. 40 Simultaneous to the decline in coal o::cders and the te:r-minatio:n of logging activity in the ment was experienced. hl · ~tPass~~, a decrease in emnloy- Immediatel.y fo1l.or11ing the em of the oesJ. 1921 1928 J.929 1930 from Alberta: 221,758 244,928 269,023 British Columbia, Department of Nines, Ammal. Bepgrt of tb&, Hinister of Mines, {hereafter re:fer-£ed to as ARMieff}, .!2.J.2, l9Jlt P• AJ22 and UJZ, l9.38t no G9e - 38samu.el. Eliot Morison, 11.be Qa;:i'ord History of the American :Peonl.e, N. x...., O::d'oru Uni"V. :P:ress 1 1965, p .. 923. 39Mr~ Neill, .M. Po, Comox-Al'bexni 1 ~Tariffs eut off Fernie Ma.rkets~u in Canada, Parliement 9 House of Co.mmons, O:fficial. l!ePO:rt of Debates, May 9, 1933, P• 4766e 40inn1s, Settlement and the Frontiers, pp.. 3049 315-31?. z.nA post-war high of 1 1 7?4 men e.Elployed in East Kootenay coal mines in 1921 declined t-o 1 1 538 in 1922 and except during the 1924 labour strife, a.ve:r:::-iged about 1 9 400 until 1928 when a slig.ttit increase was experienced d:ue to s bursit of speeu1ati ve activity ln base meta1s with attendant coal demands ~or sme1ting. Figures of employment are not .always accurate since in slaek times .mi.ners worked only one or two days :per week. see Table XVIII :and Inn1s, Sett1.ement and the Frontiers, P• 3].6. -14- agement relations and increased i3oe1sJ. aid to indigent citizens i?Je.s expexieneed. By the mid ~twe:ntiesw; many of the Ul'leroployed ents full e:mploymentll seasonal f'luctuHtion:3 of me_rkets resulted The depress!Lon i\lltich et'flicted th<:f. crowsnest Pass i.n 19JO ·was i120t a markedly different experience f'or the 7.t'esidents than t:he recession which had been t~Jring pl.ace in the e..rea. $t nee the First tfor1d Haro .Miners had experi r)nced a dra.stic cut in wages in .19241 a~ had suf'fered pe:riodic reductions thereafter. 2 :Production. had decreased to th8 state where seldom experienced even at reduced wages. ~'f:hen th•::: severe depression p;reoip1 tated by ths; wall. Street v;orash'• caused a deva.stati~~ eco.nomie recession in western Canada, t.he degree of retrenchment in the Crowsnest Pass was less dr.e.stic since the economy of the area was already at a low ebb.3 'Neve:rthe1ess 9 the ·winter of 1929-1930 t·ies a critical period fo:r many unemployed people since the instruments of distributing relieT had not yet been createde At Coal Creek nearly fou:r· hundred men t-?ere permanently dismissed in the autumn of 1929 and the balance were i:'\t"Ork1ng half-time or as little lsee Table XXIe 2Bri t1sb. Columbia, Department o.f Labour, .ARY..iL, l.222 1 19JO, P• Lt/. 3us1tua:tion Discussed.~ FFP., Febo J.4, 19J0g p,, le -16as two days per week.4 A crucial situation developed when the limited c~arities were unable to aocomodate the growing relief d.ema:nds5 an:l the burden of providing rel :ie:f and arrang- ing public wo:rks fell on the municipality of Fernie. Employ- ment on city-owned water system impre-vements was a:pportioned among the 1:nd1gent and permits to cut ~.nd transport wood :from the park were 1ssued. 6 The unemployed •ere thw~rted ill :attempts to obtain tree coal :from the Crow's Nest Coal Company, but 10:rere a:tlowed the same privileges as the miners who obtained coal at less ths.n retail CGst.? Resolutions by Fern1e City Council dema.n'iing i.mtnediate ~id :for the unemployed outside the city limits were successful to the extent that highway improvement projects were undertaken, but sfter a month•s d.uretion these were suspended due to .a. lack of fUms. 8 4 .. send More 'Ielegra.ms, 8 FFf 1 May 2, l9JO, P• l. 5rn 1929 the Fernie branch of' the Canadian Legion donated $407.85 :for groceries, beds and meals for the needy; s400.69 wa.s s:Pent on relief· projects for the unemployed and of this, $200 was donated by City Council while ~273.15 we.s given te other ehari ties. 41t:t<'ern1e Legion Activities,*' FfP, Dec. 12 1 1929, P• 6. The r.ad.ies Benevolent soeiety, one of the leading ehari table organizations., provided funds fo:r only seven families during the fall of' 192911 "City Council t-ifeeting," ibid. Figures trom other ~:nevolent organizations were not -published by the Fl"Pt but because the two quoted were the only regularly reported donors to the unemployed their contributions would undoubtedly represent the bulk of voluntary relief • . 6By March 1930, th1rt7 pem1 ts hed been issu.ecl for cutting wood in the park. "*City Council Meeting," m,, Na.r. 7, 1930, P• l. 7•Me.yor Makes statement,• PFPt Oct. 10 9 1930 9 p. 1. 8 Tbe articles "Tom Uphill Gets Busy,• .Ef:E, Feb. 14, 1930 9 P• 4 1 11Boad Work Underway,• Feb. 21. 9 1930 9 P• 1, '*C1-ty Council Meeting-," 1bid., and· cal Creek Notes,• £!,E, Ff8• Mar. 28, l9JO, P• 8 portray the extent of the public works. Residents of th-e commm:U ty of Michel-lfataJ.. were slmil... 2'..1'1.y af:f'ected by declining markets. Although some min.e:rs were only employed one or t'wo days per "?;ileelr and exr;erienced severe h.a.rdshipsg there "W--ere no large-seal~ dismissals of the magnitude that af'fl.icted Coal Creek al'l..d~ by exten,sion 9 Fe:rn1e. 9 reeovery • l.,etained a proportionately le.rger me.rket than that .of the Coal .Creek col1i ery, and the com.mum ty bene:fi ted a.eeord= Simil.ax to I'4iehel-Nata'l, Corbin if.Jes completely depend.- idents of thH cor.mnunity enjoyed the most strible conditions in the C:rm-,,snest ?ass durillks; the eia:r1y years of th'a depression~ The Corbin Coal. ar..d COke Comp~.l'.lY Limi tea.11 relied mainly on the steam eoal mal'ket, which was reasonsb1y constant and their mines became noted for the largest. pe1~ ea.pi ta production of e..:ny field in the "t~ast Kootenays.,. 12 It was :not unt-11 coal-cut... ting machinery anrl le.rge 1.s.bour saving steam .shovels were 9 ,~Hiehel. ana. Natal l<~otess!ii .EEE.~ Oct. 17 11 1930. P1:11 4o See also Table XIX. 10The Corbin Coal. and Coke company owned a11 property 1n the t.ownsite until a few months before t.he strike of 1935 when houses we:re sold to tbose wilo desired them. ll1n l.929, a reorganization of the company changed the r.iame to Corbin Collieries Ltd. a.Local. and G·enera.J. 1 tt fFP,. Dee. 6 9 J. 9 29' '!'.ht .50 12:rn 191.8 the :rate of output for each man Ullderground was 2 11 066 tons for a 291 day year. Highest camp!:.'"xative output in Coal Creek mines was l., 355 tons in 1941 s..na. at !Uehel, 1 1 544 tons in 19420 The· 9-0al ~t Corbin was el.ose i;o th'"' surface and eoa~-cutting machinery eould be used. Hughes, 01'· e1tot p. 91. ....18introdueecl that union opp.os1tion displ.ayed by a ma3o:r strike forced o1osure of the mines in 1935. 1 3 of :regist:r~t1on of unem:pl.oyed ·was ir.rtroduced which nut into the han"!.s of the city co.nerete evidance of ths dilemma 2".n.d. an instrument to extract aid from the ;:rrov:tncial ;end t'edeTs,1 governments.,14 In addition, the munieip~.J.ity established e. JoceJ. and ·required ninety d;ay• s residence bef'oTe l"el.ief coul{1 be obtained.- 2 5 ~.J..l'.l'.'.!ree:r ~-ilnicipal .relief' works 1.·:rere undartak.en d:uring the of 1930 but very :little was e.etually aecomp11shed since nsai nt.aining public works at the expense of the unemployed.ct A i'ew men inte:ntional1y ste,ged ~!sloTtMl.Oit©Sll? in order to extend the projects as 1.ong as poss1blel6 which resu1ted !n their cessation except fo:r 1im1ted·wood-cutt1.ng opera.tions.l? The terttlina.tion of la.rge~see.le harvesti.ng o!)e:rati.ons 1n the Prairie Provinces was one of the most deepl.y f'elt f'or.ces ~hich wa~ affected the employment sit.'l~ation in l.9JD. The scheme first organized in 1921 under the aus~ices of the British Col.umbia Government Em::pl()yme:nt Service. Railways granted 1 Yrbld. 1.tv"Ci.ty Council. Meeting~fl FFP 9 Aug. 8, 1930 1 P• 1. l.5Ib1d. ~ Sept. 59 19301> Po 1. 16 Ib1d•, .Ang. 22 9 1.930, P• l• l ? 3 B.el1et' Work Commenced,'~ FFP, Oct. 24, 19:30, 'P• l. and c:aunemployed Problems," FfP, ~1ov. 28, 1930, P• 1..• -19... reduced rates during a limited period, antl .men and women were the Employment Services of" the JUbe:rta. i:::!~d~ 23.All projects were to be w-ithin the conditions as set down by the Fair Wages a.rd Eight Eou:r Day Aet, 19.30. O.nly good,s and ma.teri.a1s o:f Canadian manufactu:re 1·rere to be used am -20- channels. Belie:f outlays had eroded appro:ri.rnt!?tely ri:fty -per= 'P.1!1€ Program Adopted," FFP, Sept. 25t 1931 9 P• 1. 4 2 «Eatepayers to Deeide,~ ~~~, July 24 1 1931~ P• l. 43.At the tim,;; the clt.y had 122 part ti.me miners o;n the payroll one day a week and 90 ¥1rorking :fou:r days a week. . PtU'lda..mentally the program we.s designed to raise thej ea.rnings of a.11 wages and at the s.e.me time permit the une:m:ployed a conp.aTable income.. nesidents would a.lso be allowed to 1,:;;oTk :for overdue fdJ. thei:r wages • ..,...... The effect of financial aid from sJ.l levels of relief r-O'ld to raise the residents 19 sta.n:::-Js:rd of rtving to a subsistence level. As the unemployed situation eased durin;;:~ the: s1;:ri ru:.- of inc:reesin1?:;ly hot and a.ry .sm.d indirectly J:aised a serious socia.J.. problem in Fe:cnie~ As the humidity fell forest .fi:ras at various time3 threatened to wipe out Y5orrissey ~ Ced.al."' Valley $:Od Corbin, antl a majo:r con:fl.agration reduced much of the Koo'tenay River valley to bl;.:lckened stumps. 4 5 U:n1ike the years of p:rospe1~1 ty when Forest service of'i'icials had great dif':ficulty obtainin6 .'fire fighters~ htm.d= reds of men moved 1nto the Crowsnest Pass to seek emplo:;;nne:nt.. The ir£lux continued to such an extent that Fernie City Council was forced to take steps to ensure th:?t the feared "hobo jun- were instxucted to inspect the l:·apio.ly congregating transients residents. miners on flshortfi time and unemployed, up to the level of (5.'.30 every two weeks. Oct. 161 1931• P• 5., ~Loeal. and General. n FFP, 44P.u.blic works ~--ere to l."'e ea?Tied on 1rrespeot1ve of i\-reather and days could not be bru1ked or loanedo Uner::q:iloye~l members of the city fire bri~~e were to be given two days' irork a ~-eek to ensure that they v,ould not be forced into relief camps and thus endanger the city with 111-t-rained rec:ru.1 ts. ~·c:t ty Counei1 Meeting~ff ~- Oct. 2~ 1931 9 P• 4. 45'ff1J'.'he Fire Situetio:n 9 ° Fl<"'Ps .Aug. 2l., 1931, P• 1. SELKIRK COLLEGE LIBRARY CASTLEGAR, BG/ ;·,j~ ;-1 (~I -26~~ fo:r typhoid :fever and otber communi eabl e diseases., -~· Within a short time it became obvious to the destitute transients that available jobs f'ie._::htin.g fi:res -would easily "'be filled by the large nµmber of 1ocal unemployed) and ~1th the comin~ of f'eil.J.. :re.ins to da.mpe:n the fire.s the irl'ho'bo ju:ng1r~~ ·'1.1sappeared. the major resJJOnsj_bil..1 ty fo:r the u:r1employed occured i:n 19:31 when public works camps were created in British Columbia. The willingness of the federal government to provide me:te:rie.l aid to o:perete tho ca.i.-nps was bi.::i.sic to the int:ror.luct1on of the pro- the rrn1nicipc.W.i t.ies,, Their task of providing for the marTi ed unc;:mployed bari. .k:rupted their resou:?:~ces aTJfl :r~sul ted in the neg1.ect of the single Ui..'"1.em:pl.oyed. 4 7 Thus the relief caritps were founded in o:rder t..o :p:i.."ovi.dc :means for the single dest'.I. t.ute men.48 il'he mush.rooming reliaf program put j_nto motion by the an1'1ouncement of the federal Unemployment eJ::td Fa.rm Belief Act of' 1931 'Wens set back by a request in October for the ;:irovinces to reduce the rate of relief erpendi tu:res ,as much as ::;1ossib1eo It was suggested that through :rotation of available pu.blic 46uFernie Will R,,-::ve Jungle,S9 !.f.E.t Aug.• 14'8 l9JJ.fl P• l.. 4"?ttci ty Council Meetin.st"' fl£.• May 8t 1931 1 P• lo 48Fi-ve camps were in ope:r:ation in the Cro1>:rsnest. Pass 1ntermi ttently throughout the depression; two near the provincial boundary at. Crows.nest and one each at McG1ra.ds, Elko. Loon Lake and Fo!"t Steele. B.egistra.tio:n in the ~l'aesn area had reached 1,350 men by m.1d-&9ptember, 19.310 See Tab1e x and ifJ.e; 350 Have Registered., tt FFPi! SeptCJ 11 9 1931, P• lo -27public works the relief monies be spread thinner so that 20,000 to 1,5,000 indigents not provided fo:r under the present l~9 budget could be employed in thE: winteJ:. months. · · 0 To comply with this request it ·wa.s decided in l''ernie that work for all city relief employees would be reduced to two da.ys per week commencing December 31, 193lo.50 Eo1mver the critical state of e.ffairs in the diEtrict permitted no large-scale reduction in relief payments.51 The mines at Coal Creek ·were at their lowest point during 193212 The number of days worked was half that of the ten year average a.nd the number of :men had now dropped to slightly over - 49ttDominion Says Go Easy," FFP, Oct. 28, 1931 9 P• 1. 50rn Fernie the City Council was forced to cut salaries. "Council. CUts Salaries,w .£.:£1:, Nov. 6, 1931 1 P:t> 1. 51 Because of the high expenditures :felt by the province in the splL?'.lg 9f 1932t in mid-summer the British CoJ.umbia Minister of Public lt-iorks, Mr. Bruhn• announced the halving of the num... bers of men receiving assistance in the provincial camps. "CUtting Down Camps,ff E,EE., July 29, 1932, P• 1. It had been decided earlier to expel all non-residents and instructions went out ordering some 2,000 transients out of the province. ffNot for British Columbia Alone,n £1.'E,, June 24, 1932 9 p. 7. This action led to a relief board created jointly under federal and provincial auspices, and the transfer of all single homeless m.0n from the cities to camps where they would be cared for at dominion expense. Under the plan the dominion took over several provincial. relief ca."!l:ps which were utilized solely to accomodate single homeless men whose relief simultaneously was terminated in the cities. The federal government bore the cost of i'ood, clothing and maintenance while the expense of administration and provision of ce,rnps and equipment was borne by the pr·ovinee. British Col.umbia 9 Department of Labour, "Relief Aet, 2932,n op. eit., 123'3:t P• G2J. 52 At Michel 159 days were worked in 1932; the ten year average was 209.4 days per yea:r; see Table XVII. -28- half' those employed in 1929.53 :For many of the contract min- ers the scarcity of shirts was not a great handicap since if they had a rea.sonablzr productive n:race~54 and an industrious partnei" they could ear:;:i in excess of ten dollars a day. But contra.ct mining had its negative e-rtects in that a few very proi'icient miners could fill the companyss orders consequently fewer were given eoploy.ment. The average ·weekly wage in the British Columbia coal mining industry had fallen nearly ten dollars from an all-time high in 1920 and because most miners' wages were at best based. on one or two shif'ts, the ·weekly rate at Coal Creek amounted to only five or ten dollars per week.55 .For the first time the people of Fernie were on the verge of sta.rvation, and during- the summer months of 1932 a large number 0f children were wlthout shoes5 6 and clothes and were generally malnourished. The. status of orphaned children., in- valids and the lnfirm bordered on the tragic as they felt the e~fects of the depression and the governments' failure to .53rn Coal Creeks 76 days were ·worked; the ten year average was 148. J per year. The numbe:i:·s employed dropped from 729 in 1929 to 345 in 19.32• See Table XVIII • .54"Face 11 or Hplaeett, w. J. Cousins, A History of the Crow's .Nest Pass, Edmon. unpub. M. A. Thesis 9 Univ. of Alta., 1952, P• 108. 5.5The wage in 1920 1\J'as (~37.64 per week; in 19.32 it was $28.04$ or $5.61 per day. See Table XXI. 56Approximat·ely 455 pairs of shoes were provided children in schools of the city and surrounding dist-rict. Hr. w. B.. Wilson, uresident of the GNP Coal Co. initiated the~ fund and donated, °Co:mmunicationt ff FFPs $500 Of the total $T?4 collected. Dec. 16, 1932. P• 1. --- -29as;s."'1lm.e their x·esponsibility.57 1\ me-eting of the 'Union of LritLsh Col.u:m.bia ;'uni.ci:pa.lities :oet 1:n Vi:ineouver :ln ~July eA'i dollars pt:r month .. B.11d nursin;: mothe:rs should. be a11o~,rec1 :;;m a.ddi tion;:il stiper..d of declined j :faith i:n tbe ·:::1cYwers of go·,1erpJnent to alleviate their slt;uatlon co:rrespond.ingly plu1'!1meted.. In August the federal goverrunent 8.J:n1.ounced that :rel.isf to old s,ge pensioners '!J>TOuld be reduced 'by o:ne-thi:rd 91 appending flJl earlier :reduction of ten b:i;·ought to the boiling point when it -;.~as lea:cned that an 5?Pe:rmiss1on to solicit sl.ms in the street was not granted. a cripple ....11,t the sanH~ meet.ing a sixteen yea:t.' oJ..d orphan was refus~l work. ~city Co11!lcil fleeting$~ PFP, J'Ulle 5~ 1931 9 P• l. .A provincial government agent informed th8 cl. ty they will not pay 010 per mor1th to a,n invalid fifteen year ol.d ·whose paretlts were on direct relief~ Ibid • ., Sept. 9~ 1932. P• lo .5811twlll .Ask for I>::.:.ore Relief, n ll.E.• July 15, 19J2., P~ 1.. 59'.I'he maximw.u :re.te of ~45 was cut to 't1l40 dnTing the summer oruy; the approximate amount of :relief fo:r a married man without a :family was reduced to 5~2,5. Aug. 12, 19J2, Po le ~. nRegarding Pensions; ff :Al1Jie:rta city was r:rovld:tng bUs t:r·e. ns-po:r-ta.tion for t:ranaients a numbe:r of' u:nl.icenced :orairie autos travelled. under f:rae pe:rmi ts t.o the province. 60 This ;1,:;;;:::: the oul::mina'.tion of a situ.at.ion ,,;hi.ch had been a.voided since the gT".:'at sho::tages of p:rai:rie ba::r"Veste:rs a.fte:r the turn of the centiJry led tb.e gov- peak of the depressio:n in 1931 2Jld 1932 m-:ridinn; the rods 111 had had terned so look the": ot.her 1·;ay in the f 9.11 as demand for in empty box-cmrs ut1d cou:td get J.nto very little mischief'. Goi~-; back eas-t, they rode the g:rail1 trl':"d:n.s on 'td1ieh there was nothing to st-eai. 1~61 .At a. :meetin£; in Calgary of the 0"11 tieians o:f' the :four western provinees attend.ad by Nayor Douglas a.nd Thomm.s Uph.111 gove:r-r.m,;::nt b...ad no power to order men into c&:mps ·with the understanding that if they did not stay arul v~ork they ;;1i'OUld. 'be refused relief. At the s2Jne tlme he a:n!"..ottneed tbRt travelling on. trains by txsnsients would be stopped on September 30, 193260British Columbia• Department of the Attoxney-Gene:ralt from NeJ.son British Columbia Provincial Police to Commissioner. n C.orrasrpondenee, art .. 332!>' 'Nov.. 2 9 1932 ~1.etter 61.James H. Gray, ~1 e Winter- Years t e De-pression on t e P.rail"ies,. Tor., ~aemil.1.a.:n Coe, 19v t P• 144• 62~ic1ty Council Meeting.~ FfP 1 Sept. 9, 1932, Po l. 62 -31The restriction against entering British Columbia was eir-eumvented tero.pora:ril.y in the ~tPassi;j by the transients by drop}:>ing off the trains a mile or so east of the boundary then walking or catching a ride a~xos.s. 6 .3 fi.any of thB men affected by the restraints were B.ri ti sh Col.umbi a re;:si.dents who he.d. gone to the pra..iries ill search ef harvest work and after a. publ1o outcry on their beb.al.f, enforcement of the restriction was .. 64 e&.sea.. 'l'he situation f'o:r sin.gle unemployed :residents of Femia was cri t1eal. As th<:~ last element to be dea-1 t 1.-&i th unde:r the relief system, they 'Were left te devise thei.:r o"m means of working one or two days in the mines o:r on public works, maey loaded a packbe.ard e:m hiked into th'3 mounte.ins which c1:reled the communities and spent their time 1:n crudely fpshioned shel• ters. sustaining themselves by hunting, t'1sh1ng am picking berries. The exeurs1or...s came to represent a way of life to some of the young men and 1Viihen observed in retrospect ·were the fUl.f'illment of a utopim"l e:xistenc.e. 65 The men generf.l:.J.l.y hs.d an easier time then. the. \;·romen throughout the o.epression. Tb:e women were relegated to the dreary li:fe of' attempting to fashion a 11v1ng with very meager 6.3z,r1tish Col.umbia, J;..;epa:rtment of the A.ttorney-Genera1 0 to Commissioner, H.C.MoP. 1 Vancouver.tt Correspondencet a.rt. 262 9 Oct. 3o l9J29 ~Lett.er 64tt.Perm1ssion Asked that 'I'ransients *Ride the Rods••" FF.P 9 0-et. 1411 1932. 'P· 1. 651nterview with Mr. Dan Chester. resources. Their days were sµent in such activities Ets patch- suon ms buying new clothes o:r going to a the.atre or resta.m-- ant. 66 Ma::rriage rates in the province as a ·who1e dropped con- side:rabJ.y during the dep:ression6 7 'b'Ut !n the C:rowsne:st Pass decline. This was pa:rtial.ly due to the a.vailab111 ty of sev- eral eonrpany. houses fo:r a very small sum of money; they ,,,:;ere g:radu.aJ.ly being abandoned by indigent miners 1eavinfc to 1.ook fo:r ·work ~d a :few others h.;:-;d been boarded up since the pro.spe:rous p:re-·w.ar years. 68 The Coal Cottrpany was uni.isual.ly compassionate to the ·which gave them about two tons of ooa1. sol.d thei:r 11 s to loca.l bnsinesses. 6 9 Single men most often Unemployed ;.;;ere a1lo1i-s :1 n the than fou:r years were given tr,9.nsport1::1tion to B:ritish ter:-citory, t~h!.le those \i.;l'.lo hreil been :ne;t1.~:ralized we:re sent to thei:r home ei:n:rntr:l.es7.5 at tha expense of' the :fedel'.'al ,governm.ent., Imperial. Oil. Company ~"1nounced thet they would build a new plant?6 end ;;>Ji thin a month two bakeries were <:rpened. 17 How- ever th~ eiosu.1--e of a bra..~ch of the Scott Fruit Company78 was followed immediately by the ar>Jlouncement by the .Cxo11:1' s 'Nest Trading Company that they we.l"e redueing thei:r department store s1zet ~)Due to depressed conditions the keeping op8n of theae deps.:rtments is not waTranted. ed.- Op-era.tioD; costs mu.st be lessen- We are atter.rptini;". to do so by disposinz of "~30 1 000.00 worth of merchandise •• ,,. .• 11 79 With these commercial setbacks '74•Fernie Jobless Protest,~ fFP, Aug. 27, 193?, P• l. ?5·rhree :families tota111ng nineteen residents requested deportation in December 1932. ~. Dee. 23, 1932 1 P• i. f,1$N'o Belief Without 1,,;o!"k,tt ?6ttimperial 011 Spend $14,ooo,n FTP, July 15, 1932» P• i. T7<*Addit1onal Locals,n FFPit Jul.y.22 a:nd Aug. ;, 1932 9 P• 8. 78Ib1d. 1 Oct. 14, 19321 P• l. ? 9 ttcrow 9 s ~Jest 'r1'"'adin.g Compa.ny- 9 ~ ?FP, Oet. 7 9 1932, P• s. ancl the a.nnoune;ement of fUrther reduet1ons in city admin1stra- m , ~i ng o f e_,_;p_oy(;Jes. 9 80 any f eet t\ol'J&"i?1g on(:: day a, ·week. Halt of the eity of Farrd.e ...... wa.s on relief. o and the d:rain o:n :m:g£..J.cipa.l furils wa.s beyond meeting 1·d. thout adG.i tional aid11t 1 'i:he dominion government G\ntlOUnced a new arra:ns;ement in November .whereby the outlay fer f'ood, clothing ant!. general mainte:nance of single homeless unemployed men ·would be :reduced and the excess outlay 'il·rould be ·borne by the pI-ovinee~ In eases where the administrative boe.rd believed that a man was net suited to esmp life he was looked a:fte:r by a relief OI'G$mliz82 ation which woW..d provide a like amount. The effect of the 8oRelief em::,;loyees were reduced to two days~ 1t1ork per week. ill reductions in wages came into eft'eet October 1 and were as folloi>.JSt pa:r month: eleotrieian, from '$190 to ~\150; engineer, fro!!! ~a?.5 to $150; engineer trowleman~ from ·'i~l.17 to 'f)) 100; city cl.erl! 1 f::rom ~~160 to :~150; heal·th o:ft'ice.r,. 0';50 to $35; .fi:re chief., from ~1..52 to :f!\1J5; truck dri ve:r, fro'° $95 to ~80. ~city Council Meeting," FF?, Oct. ?t 1932. p9 l. 8 l~·~·er-nie Unable to Gtve Belief to Residents, ff D!11X Prov. 9 Oct. 14, 1932 9 P• lJ. 82 A man U!!'1sui ted to camp lif'e reeei ved 20 cents per day for food and an ad.di tional 20 cents f:or sbel.ter. Bri t1sh Col,.mbia, .Department of the Atto:rney-Genera.1» ~Meeting of the Privy · council,~ ll~ttorney-Gene:ra,l 1 s Papers. art. 3?4, Nov. 4, 19J2. new :relief scHle was to shift more of the relief bu:rde:n onto Official statements by the federal goverr:!lle:nt that they would ~eet the cost of one-thi'l"'d of direct relief were misleading in that t:.h12y sp-ent one ..·third of a ne·w maximum which was ~::::pp:r-eciably 1 · ~ Ed. -i owanoe •. 84 below the o l.n- re_ieI The annou.ncemen·t of a. reduction in thi::; relief' sea.le was met by a st;:rea.m of abuse h:i. the Crowsnest Pass 111 '.!l!Uch of which the :ru.linp; Conse:rve~t:1:ve par-ty 9 the Ei:n.ister of 'irade and Com:o.e:rce~ r:1r,. H. H.,. Stevens.,. Stevens met the unemployed in Dee• ember8 5 and. promised to press for a mo:r·e favourable f'inanoie,l a:rr,,.,:ngement... Re used the axgi..nuents that the more severe ciim... a.tic cor..di tions than tht7 Coast ::reqi:dred additional clothin..~. shelter and food and as a semi ... is:olated lnter'lor industris.l city, Fen:i.ie had higher commodity pr.ices than moTe de.nse1y popu.lat;ed areas., 86 The provincial administration was per- 8 3·n'le new allowance llfa.s {~9 for the fi:rst 8ni.:;lt, tJ •. 50 for the 1 ., 5"'u for eacn. chiJ_d mwex· :"'"I ' 'h second a.nd :;;;2. .: ..i.o ·.;:. e previous sehedule for a man and his deper.ident wife was: food :~17, shelter :~.;;9 5. water ;)l •. ,50i fo:r a toteJ. of -;130.. Ibiq. t art •. 360, · ?lov. 25. 1932. $!.,1. .:~. "t t'.ne same 'time . . ..... ....... -cne . ., t..ne (':lom 1-" 1-W-o:n governmern;;. announcQU crea- . 8 tion of nlium~.n lnta:rest Boncis which woul.d. be sold by the Chambers of Commerce a.t ~~1 each and 1 t :was hoped, woul.d aJ.leviate some of the fina.ncia1 strain on the ~verri...ment. est Eonds•'lll ibid., art. 331, ~~ov. 14~ 1932. f!'Bttman Inter- 86The Femi~ unemployed presented. :numerous suggestions to sillgle men living a.t home should. :receive the same amount o:f relief as those described as homeless; the second adult 1n the family shou1d get the Sf.'>Ee allowimprove the relief system: 811ee as the first; 1!:.en should reee1 ve cash instead of' .:relief" "sc..ript'" on the '?tores; and the camp system of re11ef shou1d -31suaded. b;'.r ths~ Fe:enie and District Un.employed Associ&,tion that an a.f.1.d.1 tione.1 to eztend over the winte:r oy :ref'usi!l.P'. to do any except sbsolJ·t this juncture, over '(56,ooo per month to csi.:re !'OT tbe iu1employed. 88 A :ms..:::d.mum of JOO f.21!111ies ·we:re only -other 8ign.i1'icant source of relief assist~::mee duri1~; the Pass Coal. Company ·1!'1oul.cl eease ope:rs.tions st Cca.1 Creek and sinee men were being treated. i!!'.>n the same level111 as '1'+eonviets 1~ or ~eha.t~cel sl.aves~. "J;lo Belief kith.out Work:: :t'"'F:P, Dee. 23, 19321 P• 1. 87S"l'F1ve Dollars e. Month Gr.e.nted, Loca:l a.net Generalt ir~ FFP, Dec. 30" 1932t P• 5• be renlsced 88see 'fable XIV• 89irtE.el.ief Discussed:p" FFP 0 F·eb. 24~ l.9:3.'.3ii :P• i. 90th:io:n a.ss1.miinfl' 1""3SUOns1b11i ty thrs governmen.t immedis:tely :restored the fiv~ dolls.rs :in e.ssis·tance -p-reYiously tem.:Lnated in the s~rln~.. n,~~vernm.ent 't,Ji11 Hel."P.t ~~ FF.P, ~P~ ? ~ 1933, P• 1. o·wi n;rr to tb.0:; co:nt:Lnued depT·esslon e.nd generally deoreas:i.ng; c.lA:miStnd for cogJ. it was decided to abe.ndon operations at Coe.J_ Creek Collier;y· '.i.n la.te l 9J2.. .£\ll materials and. equipment t-?ere recovered from .NuJllbers One e:nd Two South min~~s !Clnd. perm91 anent se,p..le were e:reote-d in .early JFmU$ry 1933. rruring ea:rly 1933 only two mines 'Nere opera.ted.; rJu:m.ber 'Three m~_ne to close the opere.tion &.nd materials 1·;ere :r:-emoved and the mine contem:uls.ted. of' su.sten9_nce in the city presented a most se:riou.:3 munieipal crisis. bonded debt stood at ~502,,500. «i1 tb the undoubted 1 drastic ~ffect shutdown of the mines would have on civic rev... enue and provision for the -payment of municipal debts, the possibility of default in interest payments threatened om.in- were also in sev.ere jeopardy.,92 The investment of th.::: Comp-any was eons1derebl.e 9 estim- ated conservatively i:nc.lud:tn.g m1ne plant, equipment, five miles of sta~..deJ.>d railway, rolling stock and buildings, at about two million dollars. Assuming a depreciation of fifty percent the Company's physical assets amounted to a:ppro.ximately one .million dollars. The magnitude of tbeir investment alone made it exped- 91 Br!,xish 1 Columbia, Department of !11!inA:s 9 ABPil4i 2 12).J, 1934 9 PP• A3YJ-A340• 9~•The Swol'd. Descend.s,~ .fl!:, Max. 31, 1933, P• l. ient that the Company .shutdo'Wn operations only as a last i~ee- . ort. the circ:umstanees . 1 oss in . . "' .j o.i.:ni:;; "' . operE!.t:J.Qns .. aI"'t· e:r sus ....i:.a..ini ng serious ·i::.ue o..i..;:> Coal Creek Mines regret the necessity is forced upon us to close .... ., The circu.m.stance,9 le.adi.ng trp to this unpleasant eondi ti on may be ref'er::t·ed to as tollo-ws; ( l) A steady deprsei,fa·".;io:n in f-uel orders through the Norld wide dep:res ... sion that is affecting Canada a.nd othe:r nation$. (2) A develo1x<1ant o·f .Alberta g.eJs a'.rea:a that. a:-re disp:I-acing coal as :fuel and the instB.lla:tion of oil fuel by t:rans>porta.tinn com.pr:mio:,:~ that a fe-r;.J Jf':e:rs ago toQk :from 300,000 to 600tOQO tons of coal. per year from Coal ~reek and ~iehe1 mines5*•• On~ of the cont:ri outing causes of the x-ailroads... [?:-educing order~ ma,y be assign.ed to the im:posi tion of" increased duties.., • .- [o~ coaJ. going to the States which 1·ire.s put into fo:ree a.s a countervailing duty on Gan;;rlii:~n'l e~rts. The applica::ion of tl"lis duty reduced the nu.aber of employees at Coa.J. Cz-eek to the. extent of three hundred. 9 111 ad.di tion· to decreasi?:1g the :,,rorking time f'o:r. the :reducerl number of empl.oyeesa The federal go-rrerrunent, to ald in the seeu.ring of greater mid Ca:nad.a markets, ha This useful help will net aid the Compa.ny to operate more than Michel mi.ne on suf'f'icient time to give the employees a desi:rable living wage.. •ro help mi t1gate the t:rying si tuatJ.on that has been brought about by circumstances beyond th:'? Compan,,v's control, the Company is con.... sideri.ng 'Che question. of turning over to ths employees cast out of ·wo1$:~ blocks of till.able land 1J.nder some speeia1 ~::.<.T:rangement. 3 ''.!'he operBting. nolicy of the Company for the three yea.J;"S preceding the shutdown had been to allot seventy-five per4ent of' the coal 01~dera to Michel coll1eries94 and t-wenty-f'ive per- 9JnFernie Coa1 !•tines to be C1osed on Friday, n f'$11.f Prov., Mare 28j l933$ P• 1$ 94Due to 11Jichel' s higher quality 9 l.owe:r ash residue and more easily :retrievable coal. cent to Coal G:i"'eek,. The to ta.l tonnage of thG combined output •"'\!::: 340~000 in 1932 9 7 _,. hence the mines at Coal Creak had. p:to~iueed approximately .100 5 000 t;o:ns in each of the pr;:;:vious two yea:rs belm~ lODtOOO tons :1.n l93J the shar2holde:rs voted to cease operatio:rmQ> ~oe The collapse of l'e:r:nie ra s onJ.y industry c.culd not r.n.::Q1iated by possible absorption i:ntc ·weektt ~ljichel colJiery since Vichel colliery -would tbe:cefo:r'e fi11 e11 of' the orders di ve:rted fl."Ofil Coal Creek itii thout incr-easj_ng the n.urnbe:!'s emo,... ployed.-" 0 ing a highly developed system of public utilit.ie~:;, a...l'l airf'iel.d, lfiany of the residents had sizeable investments in their homes 9 their only remaining- 1'!1ater1al possas'-::ion, a.net were unwillinz to aband.o:n the city. 1n1tiaJ. attempts to obtain orders were unsuccessful as pressure applied to the Canad.i.e..:n Pacific Lail way was warded 9 6 wrernie ~lines to be Closed on Friday, g Da11y Prov. t Naro 28, 1933, P• 1. 97tne offieial .s.ssess.ment figures of al.most ~2t 700;000, with imp:i:-ovements alone being $1~873.596 is an il'ldieation of the substantial eonstruct1on of' the eity. nshutdown Order stunning Bloi~ to Fe:rnie Residents.tt Ra11y Prov.• Maro JO. 19331 P• 1. off by the ra.ill';:ay' s a.rgU-?Jler.1.ts that the Crow's 1-~est Pass Com= pany had been owned by the Great Northern, a competitor 5 to whom it had supplied coal.. Ca.nG:.dian Pacific argued that the:y tirely dependent u-pon their marltet 5 and if the reilway turned to Coal Creek fo1"' o:rd.e:rs a similar affliction would descend on Coleman. 98 t However tr:.rough the combined efforts of the Crow·s lJest Pf'J..SS Cos..1 Company, the Fe1"!1ie :Sos.rd of· T'r;S'.de, Tom Uphill Car:adian Pacific to place orders at ·she Coal. C!'eek mines bring... ing total orders to at10ut 125&000 tons. Emplo~ent W01.lld be cree,ted for approximntely three hur.idred m.en work1tl.g half 'time or one hundred fifty Tmrking f'ull time. 99 A camp:::1ig;n ·Eas con""' 6.ucted in the House of Commons to encourage a perrrument market iu i:he Ee~st foi:· C:r·o·Esnest coe.1 11 e.niL rasu.lted in 2 subvention equtvalent to '.tl.10 per ton on e.11 coal shipped. 1$200 m.:lles or to The publicity gbre:n the appe:ren.t shutdo1\1n of' -the mines sure upon gov.-err:ment at all levels. Assumption of the une.mploy- :Che pressure of public opinion di:reeted against the Coal. Company and Ce.nadia:11 ?s.ci:fic led to a re·11erseJ. of their o:riglnal. ·stance 99Hcoal filines at F'ernie ;;·yill be Operated Az!!'.a1n 11 ~t gaily ~· ~ Jm1e 20.,, 1933, p.. } .. 1.00lliHon. Stevens Replies,.~· ££Z., Jttne 9 ~ 1933, P• 1. -42- run re-opening of t.b.e mines. fiesidents of' the district H1l be:nefitted from increased government aid,-°"' but more import- antly they f'elt e renewed confidence in the bel.!ef' that concern was felt for their plight. lOlci ty Council reduced li£~ht an.cl 1\IateY" rates to five cents ·per kilowatt bour with a miriinn.un charge of 50 cents monthly fer light am (·lo 00 monthly for ·water. m.tE.ke Over Swimming Pool1c n F'F:P 1 A?e 21,. 1933t P• l+ CRAFTER III PROTRACTIVE RECOVb"'RY The shutdown of Coal. Creek mines in the spring of 1933 marked the lowest point employment reached during the de-pressio:n years as ceseat1on or the last remaining 1.mustry signified the complete economic col1apse of the Crowsneet Pass. From this absolute low in the fortunes of the area ea..~e a gradual decrease in the number of relief recipients. If the shutdow??. marked the turning point in the 'fortunes of the area it was hardly noticeable in the months immediately postdating it. Fernie felt some respite from the clutches of the depression when the: prov1nee assumed c.ontral. of relief r>QYments during the mine elosure ar.d the city m~...a.ged:. to lighten the load on the shou.lders of the local unemployed. But news ths..t the fu11 cost of.unemployment relief for single homeless men after beptember 1. 1933 would again be borne on a three.. way basist the mun1o1pe..lity assuming an eq_u.al shsxe with the higher levels of government. nullified the effsots of any economic reeovary. 1 'the re-assumption of relief expenditures opened the possibility that Fern1e 1 hard p:ressed to meet interest payments on past debts 1 would be placed in the hands of l•uunieipalit1es to Pay Sh.are Rel.let' for Singl.e Dest:itute." FFP* Sept. 8, 19331 P• 1. -44a eomm1ss1oner. 2 Discontent arose among the unemployed. of the d1stT1ct during the summer of 1933 when authorities revoked the f'ive do1ls.r borius which hed been created to aid the tiPass" area in the ftght ef!.,ainst the rising cost of living and seasonal hard- ship. A short work stoppage wa.s held on public works projects . and "l the principal. support came from the wives of relief workers.,., A delegation from the Fernis and Distriot Unemployed Aseoo1ation carried resolutions from local organizat1ons4 to table the needs of the district before the g.oveT~..me:nt in V1ctor1a.5 The status of many of the original applicants to the province for assistance had altered cor..siderably by late 1933. The federal govert.mlent had reduced their contribution to relief 6 expe:ndltures and a new registration of unemployed was proposed 2nFern1e ma.y be Placed Under Commiss1onersh1p,• Da111 ptov., Dec. 15, 19331 P• 8. >women actively picketed and were very strong in their denu.n~ eiation of the relief all.Gl\1$,n-ces, but when the "necessity" o'£ a new football. field which was underway as a public works project drew a fe1-r men back to work the back of ths strike was broken• {>'!Unemployed strike,"* F:ff 1 June JOt 1933, P• l e.rR! ttLocal and General. st FFP, Jul.y 14, 193Jt P• 5• 4Notabl.e was the resolution of the F'ernle Branch of the Canadian Legion which advocated monetary revision, a six hour day and shorter work week, a.bol.ishment of piece work and overtime., establishment of en age for leaving school, national insurance and a retirement age. •Legion Resolution,~ !flt Aug. 18, 1933. · P• l. 5nnelegat1on to Victoria 9 it F'FP, Aug. 18 1 1933. p .. 1. 6Notifi.cat1on.was received by the province on August i. 1933 tha,t eontri buttons to unemployment relief on a percentage basis would cease and.. be replaced by a specified monthly sum. 'l'he grant would correspond to the dominion's estimt:tte of a reasonable expenditure and because f'ederal authorities b~l1eved out• lays to be exhorbitant, a eonsideral1le ou.t-baak was expected. The previous arrang~ment ';lt"here:by each level of government con- to eliminate anyone no 1cm.ger deserving government assist-· a.nee. The new relief 11st was endorsed by the government larg- e17 at the ir..sistenee of a public led by the business estab- 11.sh:m.ent and the permanent employees, the taxpaying segment of Mining and smel.ting ~omparJ7 of Trail, represented a large p0r- t1on of voters in h1s foll.owing observations: of the situation: Work b:y the unempl.oy-ed is extrem.e1;y expensive. Now it is unbelievable tha.t most of the men in these camps are slackers. I believe the.t most of them would return 1~ork fox· the value 1'eeeived 1 but unfortunately there 1s no w~y in the pJ'.'.'eaent c1rcumstancee to protect such men f'rom the pro~essior~l slackers until a plsn 1s in ~orce to pay for work done. I believe good resu1ts could be 0btained it the;re could be segregation of those wi.111.ng to werk. I t tiiis coW.d be done, a.PA. these men g1"1en better quarters and e;.rub and li.v1ng ccndi tions. I think that we ii-OUld then find that these men, who realized that the expense of' the:tr.k&ep was being carried by those who did. work. w:ottld give a. good aeeount. for the mon~y spent on them, I would not hesitate to give the slacker ea!n.ps a. very poor fa.re. 7 · Ea.sic. to the decision to rereg1ster the unenrol.oyed was the 1nereas1ri.g debt being ineurred. by al.1 leve1$ of government. Premier :r. D. Pattullo • s announcement on iIere single men and. 7 1 162 were in federal road camps. •:s. c. Relief' for Thous- ands to end August 1st,• De.ill ;P,rov., Dee.. 28 11 19349 P• I. - 9Ib1de 10Tax collections in the city for 193.3 were ~31,157 which was just over 56 percent of the tax levy which totalled $55,593.82. Thi".! eolleetion was about four percent less than at the same. time a year earlier. '*Additional Locals," !at .Aug. 3t 1934, P• 8 and ttR.eoommends Government Comm1ss1oner,• .fl!:• Dec. 28 1 1934t P• 1. · 11In addition to recommending a commissioner, the city had continued its drastic expense cutting. !nsura.nce e:xpend1tures on the sehools• fire hal.1 1 city hall, and power house were -47A delegation led by ?i:ayor Douglas met "'i th ?rernitr;r Pat- tullo in December 1934 to discuss :relief problems and the poss1bil1ty of' eppointing a. commissioner to handle the affairs ot v. Fisher 11 Assistant t~linister of' Finance,. was appointed Commissioner and_ J. c. Connick, city clerk at Fernie, the city.12 J. was appointed Deputy Commissioner on January 18, 1935. Upon his appo1ntment and investigation of the city's traumatic state which was characterized by the drop in assessed value 0of' taxabl.e nro1'erty by one-third• cash receipts from taxes 'l::y onehalf' of the amounts asses.sed, Q;nd the curtailment of 3overl'li?l.ent $1:'&.1.:rts, l''i.,6.er· deel~eci. that the on.ly reasi ble pollcy was one of *'pay as you gon • 1 3 Little im.provemen.t in the status of the unemployed of the Crowsnest Pass was felt du:rin.g the winter of 1934-1935· B.eliet' instruments which had progl:"essively improved since 1933 provided a larger subsistenee allowance to more unemployed then any representing a gross saving estimeted at $656.70 in three yee.rs. ':I'hs fi:re t::ruok dr1 ver was also laid off and. the chief took ever his duties at a :reduced salary o'f ;,125 f'rom his p-:revious ~#155 monthl.y. -"City Cuts Do1£m_ In.surance,n FFP, At>• 20 1 1934, P• l and •council CU.ts Fire Depertment,n fil, July 6, 1934, P• l. slashed~ 121tFer:nie Plans Refunding Loan, $;1 Qail:Y :r:-·rov. 9 D~e. 18, 1.934. p. 9. lJwMay Work to Pay Taxes," FFP. Ma~ 3, 1935, P• 1. In order to- straigl1ten out the affairs of the e1 ty the c0r:::missioner authorized the cancellation of' $)41.000 in outstanding bonds which were held 1.n the municipal sinking funds. The gross debt o:f ~t5J8tOOO was reduced to %1:97 1 000 by cancelling; the city bond.s held in the sinking fUnd. Another :~82t459 1n the sir.king fu:nd in other securities further reduced the overe11 debt to approxima.tely ~~117,coo. "Government Cancel.s Bonds Issued. by Fernie, ff Daily Prov.• .Jan. :.h 1936, p. 18. -48singl.e previous w1nter.l4 A winter bonus allowance of five dollars wae granted in January and tha maximW!! outlay wh1oh had previously been reduced waa restored. to sixty d.ollsrs.15 A wood··cutting camp was again established at Hosmer. The 16 and "'}lans were made electr1c1 ty rate ws.s reduced 1n Fernie to have the unemployed work out taxes. Chari table orgeni z- ations 1n the wpasstt were able to maintain active relie~ 1110rk• Notable was the Imperia.1 order of the Daughters e~ the Empire which donated books to the Legion Library. confitures t.o the nurses• home and the hospital.• gave prizes to high :ranking students in Coc.:1 Creek, Holy Family- and Central. Sehoo1s 1 pro- vided a sizeable sum 'for the P..l.e:x:a:hdra Sol.ar1um 9 and gave relief to undernourished babies and school ohildren.17 .Al.l basic industries exee:pt coal mining improved during 1935,. The provincial industrial. payroll sh.ot~ed a slight 1n- creese over the previous year and a. sizable one over 1933. 1 8 Wa.ge rates continued an upward trend as the average weekly industrial salary- increased over fifty cents. 1 9 Winter always wreaked hardship on the indigent residents of the ttPass• although eond1 tions were progressively im:proving. 14see Table XIV• ' ..,"Bequests Grantedt {-t .m,. Jooj. ll, 1935 1 P• 1. 1~ l6rt was reduced from ten to eight cents per kilowatt hour. "City Commissioner Keeps Busy," FF?, May 3, 193.5 9 p. 1. l ?ttIODE Annual Report,." l'.Z.ft Feb. 22, 19 35, P• l. 18Br1t1sh Columbia, Department of Labour, on. cit., 19J?t P• K?'. l9see Table XXI. -49Bel1ef coa1 was provided by the province and the Coal Company ma.de available four teams of horses to del1ver the f'Uel to the homes of unemployed.2o Charitable organizations maintained a high standard of service to the eommumty and supplemented an over-worked bUt cont1nua11y impro?ing prov1nc1al e.genc,-. Improvement was evidenced in the dee1s1on of the Rotary Christmas Cheer Committee, organized in 193:3 to s:upply relief through. public subscription during the :festive season*' to vest its energies 1n some permanent fUture organi~ation. 21 'fhe coal industry did not share in the improved 1ndu.s- trial scene em experienced a negligible production increase during 1936• As industrial act1v1t:r increased 1n other looal- ities and money again began to flow~ the standard of living rose and prices beeame increasingly prohibitive to the large numbers of unemployed on relief in the ttPass•. Consequently the most significant activity 1n the city of Fernle during the year was agit~t1on t0 obtain a higher relief a11owance.22 Complaints were sent to Premier Pat.tullo asking for the spreoial eonsid.ereti.on similar to previous years regard.in,,.· an e:rtra allowance for clothing, fuel end food 2 '.3 and. the usual 20._.seen and Heard•" FFP, Sept. 27 1 1935 1 P• 8. The quantity for each :recipient was regulated by the size of the house and family. ttLOcal and G-eneral., • FEPt Sept. 25. 1936, P• 5• 21chr1stma.s 1935 saw the committee send out t"our hu:nd.red thirty turkeys end forty orders of merchs.ndise to single unemployed men. "'Rotary Y.mas Cheer Committee, ft Ff;,,P., Dec. 2? • 1935, P• 5. 22~Tom Uphill on Ba.~pa.ge.d FFP, Nov. 6, 1936~ P• 1. 23*commun1cetion.• FFP, Jan. l?, 1936, P• 4. -50complaints were hel'R:rd. against the local relief authorities and the system of public works in winter. 24 In January two hundred fifty unemployed staged a protest parade. The Ronourab1e F. MePherson, Minister of Labour, visited Fernie and rectified some of' the abuses tempors.rily. 2 5 In the spring the unem:ployed again vigorously protested goverl.'lment action in 1ntroduei:ng a ten-hour work day at twenty-five cents per hour in their work camps, which contravened British Columbia minimum wage end hours of work laws. 26 British Columbia•·s relief situation eased during 1935 1 particularly in unorganized territories Vi..rhere the average mon- thly ntJ.mber·of married relief recipients was reduced by four- teen pereent. 27 Al.though the decrease in the numbers on re11et 1n the who1e p:rov1nee amounted to six percent, the si tua.t1on in muniei pali ties show,ed li ttJ.e improvement; a sl.ight decrease in the numbers of married unemployed was offset by a disp:ro}'}rtionate increase ·in eost.28 The unempl.oyment situation continued to improve during 1936; the deoreaee in the average monthly rn.m1ber of relie:f rec- ipients was over ten percent while the reduction 1n unorgsnized 24GFernie Asks Pattullo for Better Stands.rd o.t Relief CondDai1y KfOJ•t Nov. 14, 1935, P• 7• i t1ons.~ 25ttUnemployed Communication.• FFf, Jen. Jl. 19)6, P• 4. 2n""Commun1eation," FF£ 1 .:rune 12, l9J6e P• B. 27s1nce 19J:3 there was a. drop o:f 16. 5 pe?'cent in the average monthly number of relief recipients in the proVinee. British Columbia, Department of' Labour. op. cit. t 19)~• P• K84. · 28 Ib1d• territories was al.most double the eight percent shown in mun- 1c1pal.1ties. 29 .A great deal of optimism was generated among the oppressed in the early weeks of 1936 by Premier Pattullo's announced intention to institute a medical oare p1an. The proposal. for e contributory system was directed to the needs of wage earners. Pu.b11e opinion led 'by the m:sss of the unem- ployed opposed the pl.an and ·when the Legislative Assemb1y failed to give it the required support·• it was shelved.JO Conditions eontinued to improve in the provinc.& dtlr1ng early 193?; the numbers employed in each industry ware the highest s1nee 192931 and relief totals throughout the winter were '!lri. thin a few persons of being the lowest sinee 1931• The continued su.ecess of the retraining JJ1rog:ra.ms led to a redef'inof re11ef assistance under three classif'icationst ition u.n- employment aid• agricultural. aid and re11et 1 and assistance to unemployables. The steadily increasing employment rate was also exemplified by the federal government's snnouneement in August that the monthly grant f'or rel1e~ was being further redueed • .32 As the outlook in the country brightened the cost of 29,;tbid., 12Jp, P• TBJ. 'I'his program remained in effect unt1l 1939 when a new agreement :replaced the grarrt-1n-a1d 9 the dominion paying forty percent of the outlay to residents and fifty to transients. In Viarch 1939 9 the province took responsibility :for al.l un.employa.bles paying eighty percent of cost for municipal cases and total. cost f'or provincial. cases in munic1'!;}alit1es. Ibid., 1942• 'P• Gl.19. JOsee chap. IV. 31.•B. c. Ftel1ef is Growing Less,.- FFP.i Aug. 20, 1937, p, l.. J2•cuta B. c. Bel.ief Grant ~$30.000,• FFP• .A:u.g. 20,_ l.937, P• l.. -52living rose. The la.bour department's family budget of staple foods. fUel., light and rent was over two doll.ara above the l9J3 f'igure whl.ch was the low point during the depression. J'.3 However a rising st~nd.a.rd of living over the remainder of the country rendered the situation in Fern1e more crit1ca1 because the industria1 and thus the wage-earning segments of the POP- ul.ation were still. dorm.ant. As residents of the Crowsnest Pass becam~ more distraught, a corresponding lack of understanding grew in the relatively prosperous remainder of the province. In the early "thirties~ when the depression was gen- eral S·"'.im.e idea of problems in an economieally stagnant aommuni ty were recognized,. since most residents were able to identify the plight of irii.igents with their O\il,"D serious problems. by 1937 when conditions had 11l!Proved over most BU.t of the province, very l.1tt1e S)"'lllpathy was given to the Crowsnest Pass. Complaints against the in&;dequate relief allowances in face of a rap.idly- rising standard of living reached. a el1max in .April 1937 when the .Fe:rnie and District Unemployed Assoc- iation organized a. strike, picketed the publicly owned buildings 1n the communit~, and demanded& ..... an increase in relief al1owanees e.t least commensurate with the constan.t rise in the cost of l.1ving, • •• and th& 1nst1 tut1on or [a] work and wages program to give us a rew days extra work.,to meet othe:!:' household neceesi ties a:nd.. req_u.iremsnts. ~ Failure to recognize the unique p~ob1ems of the ~Paesfl led to labour department•s: b'udget in. October 1929 was :~21.96; 1n3JThe lmen the m:a.3or1 ty of men a.greed to the tirom1ses but the wom~n as a block refUs.ed to accept the cd'fers. The1r . refusal reflected the serious domestic crises affecting mothers in the district.37 Dissent was more pronounced 1n the spring s.nd summer of 1938 as the government began to clese the relief project camps and as :re1ief loans to the municipalities were. curtailed. A mass migration of' s1n.gle unemployed men was made to Vaneouver J.5t;M:ay Postpone Fern1e Strike," Raf.ll Prov., Ap. 12• 1937, P.• 3. 36 j;:bid· 37 11 lfe:rnie Relief Workers Hold Demonstration .. " Daill Prov. 9 June 12, 19)?, P• J. -54und.er pred..ominant communist 1eadersh1p, 3B rea.ch1np'.;· six thousand by f'Ja.y e.nd. eventue.1.ly end1ng in violence and a riot during News that the prov1nc1s.1 government had rescinded a ten percent special. allowsnce 1n re:cogn1 t1on of severe c11me.tin conditions was met 't><"'i th loud dis.approval tn the tt:Pass~~. Wea.- the:r conditions in the area had not mellowed, the winter snow was on the g.,rourtd e.rrl temperatures were tb:irty degrees below freezing. A group three hundred strong marched on the govern- ment buildings where protests w·ere met by the reply that con- side::·\0.tion vrouJ.d be given to pa.ym.ent of an allowanee to ma.rried unemployed with fam111.es. Y:>oard of Trade off1c1a1s p:roc1aimed that if the new relief regu1at1ons were enforeed a ttnope1es@ f1r.zncial situation wo~d re~ulttt and Fernie ~it>u1d hGVe to re- vert to the status of 511 unorga?lized terrt tory. 39 The Rcnaour• iitble F • .McPherson• M.inister of' Public Works, was told when he visited Fernie to investigate the complaints, that e1ghty-f'1ve percent of the taxes eol.l2cted l'le:re utilized to meet relief charges arJ.d w:tth the new agreement requiring- Fer:nie to meet more of the relief load, an add1t1onal. f'i'fteen to eighteen thousand dol.lars a year woul.d be n.aeded. This sum would re- q_uire one hundred :fifteen percent of present local taxes "rhich were a.l:ready much higher than the tax rate per ea.pita 1.n the 38strikes ware led b'y the communist inspired National UneiJlploy:ed. Workers• Associ,ation and the Relie:f Project Workers' Union. Me.rga.ret A. omsb7 1 Er1 tisb Col.umbiai A. pistorz. Van.• Evergreen. Press, 1958, P• lU;.tJ. 39ttRel.1ef' :Pl.an Forces Fern1e to the t-?al.l,~ Daj.1¥ Prov,., Ap. 6, 1938, P• 22. -55province general.ly. A committee from the unemployed met the minister and were ad:vtsed that it was the intention of the government to open & camp in the near tuture to provide part- time work• and. that government grants in aid of the unem:plo7ed reereation rooms end th~ unemployed ahoe repair shop would be eons.ider&d.. 40 Despj.te the continued 1.arge... scale unemp1oyment in the a?ass~ there were 1ndicat1ens that the depression had eased. 'I'he first tax sal.e in several. years was held in Ferme during September 19 )8. The sales had been postponed during t.he worst days of the depression after a great deal of pressure had been exerted by residents on the government. 41 Al.thoUgh approxim- ately one hund.red. were adversely affected., relief for single unemployed men was disco:n.tinued Ju1y i. 1.9J&. 42 Rel.1ef admin- 1stratorg terminated wood-outt1ng and hsul.1ng projacts which .b:ad. been in operation for f1ve yee.rs.43 Provincial suthorities oheck1ng on underpaid employees in Eme small eommu.nity in the ~?assri in 1938 ·had found that over a dezen empl.oyers were p~~yin.g less than the m1n1mum wage. A yea:r:: later :reli.ef investigators again visited the ~Pa.sstt 44 and came away ""'"'i th the impression that the Fe:rnie residents -w-ere 4-0waon. McPherson vi.sits Fernie,.- FFPt Ap. 29t 1.938.- P• 1. 41 1"iLittl.e Interest in Land Tax Sale,t* l]Z~ Sept. 30. 1938t P• 4. 42 "To Lase Relief' Ju1y l9fi Dailz P.rov •• June 15. 1938. P• 30. 4 Yttp:,.rbitre.ry Methods,* FFP, Oct. 7, 1938, F• 1. 44ttr.o.e.al and General.," FFP, Mar. 25,. 1938, P• 5• -56too lenient and sympathetic toward the unemployed who were getting "t'at• on r~lief and satisfied w1 th the1r pa.ras1 tic concU. t- 1on. The statement was met with a 1dents. bitt~r denuneia.tion by res- Several indigents had beeome sat1sf1ed with relief' assistance am showed little 1ne-entive to become self-sufficient but there was also a considerable lack of understanding of the situation by prov1nc.1e.1. authorities. 45 ths relief system definiteiy existed. Ine:quities 1n A not&ble examp1e wa~ the ei;S-e of a I"'ernie man discovered in 1939 to have been ob- taining relief since 1934 while having & considerable sum of .money in the bank. drawing interest. 46 The economy of the province. generally was 'becoming increas1ngl.y stable• al.though unsettled conclit1ons in Europe e-.nd the Far East combined with ex:eeptional.ly dry summers 1n 1938 e..nd 1939 caused a 0onsiderable recession 1n the lumber ind.ustry. 'l~he :paradoxical eondi t1on of ·the Cro'itrsnest Pass compared with the province generally was exposed in a brief' formulated in 1939. Endorsed by the Fe.:rnie Branch of the Canadian Legion, the Fernie Board of Trade, and the Fern:1e 1ocal of thi!Ol"k~ citing exe.mples of" Fernie residents who h.s,d journeyed to Vancouver Iala.nd. onl.y to end up on rel.iaf and that there were si:x:men waiting for every new job avail.able in the metallurgical industry 1.n th~ 'Province. '*Co:.mmunication,et lff:P 9 Jan. 27, 19)9, P• 4. 4/0 He was fined four hundred dolle,rs w1 th the option of eight month's i!llprisonment. l939t P• 1. •chisell.ers s~nteneed," !fl:, Ap. 28, -57Columbia. It outlined the depressed condition of the ooal min- ing industry despite the value a.s an all-purpose cos1 of the highest quality on the continent: "The ~tu.rdv eity of Femia was built on coal mining, employment reaching its peak in 1911 when i,760 men were en.gag.ad in the mines. Layof~s ••• reduced the number of miners to 156 now working at Coal Creek. J.'ne dwellings in the vicinity of the mines are being gred.uell.y dismantled.... Some 1 1 550 persons in Fern1e d1striet are now dependent on relief and 140 more are on subsistence a.lloJ¥~oes -p:rov1ded by th~ 5"'0Ve:rnment f1eld wel.fare serir1ces. Wt At another cont"erence of unemployed held at Cranbrook in June, proposal.a were made to increase the be.sic scale of relier and to begin a work and wages program which would abolish the last vesti,;;es of the relief' system. 48 By the spring of 1939 indications that the eeomony of the J?rairie Prov1.nces hsd strengthened considerably were denoted by the va.eant tourist ea.m:ps in the- ttPass~.. During the depths of the depression an endless stream or trat'f-ia moved ere climate. The mining industry t'inal.ly began to show signs of recovery 1n the summer of 1939. Increased demands on the coa.l ind- ustry ea.me as a result 0f the la:tge-soal.e armament build-up in the late "thirties". sources of fuel were in short suppl.y neeessi ta.ting a re-invigorated coa1 industry. A..11 announcement by the Crow•s Nest Pass Coa1 1:,;.ompsny that twelve miners front Fernie. former1y employed at Coal Creek and on relief'•. would 4 7 tt•r-om Uphill Talks at Nelson~ ti m. Nar. 10' 1.9:39 P• s. 48 ttcranbrook Con:ference,n FF?, June 9, 1939, P• 1. I be hired at filche1 Colliery, marked the largest sueh hiring of unemployed men since the depression began, and indicated that orders for- coal from the ttpas.s • were: again. being m.sda. 49 By 1941 production 1n the mines had topped one million tons for the first t1me since 1913 and the names on the company :payrol.l numbered over one thousand for the :first. time since 19)2.so 4 9ffLecal and G&neral.,tt Table i::VII. 5°see Table XVIII. m• Jttl;r 14" 1939, P• 5 $'.nd also see GOVERNMf~NT AID T-0 THE DE5'TI '!'UTE Basie to the persistence of severe conditions 1n the province and the country in the early depression was the fail- ure of government to assume eontrol. of the economy or responsibility for the destitute. by e. Canada traditiona1ly was governed strict :free-enterprise system and e~onom1e guidelines were eonsidered. a tl!'&n.sgresidon of' e.uthori t.y. At the begin- ning of the depression goverri.ments were concerned with weathering the recession end were gu.1ded by policies of immediate political. expediency. Consequently no eo-ord.1.tlated or care- fu1ly planned relief policy was set up and although vast sums of' money were al.lotted. as o.olldit1ons deteriorated, adequate control over their expenditures by the provinces and hundreds of municipalities was 1m:poss1ble. Typical of the problems en:- countered in alloc~tion of public funds were the relief camps in Erit1sh Columbia.. Ear1y in the s~er of 1931 the governments in V1Gtor1a am Ottawa had moved in conjunction to set up public works eamps to house the tremendous influx of ind.iv1duals ~oho were draining tne resources of the urban centers. A total of t'WO huhdred thirty-seven camps capable o~ acccmodeting over 18 1 000 men were erected, equipped and administered by. the pro~ince -59- ·-60with one-ha.l.f' the total cash out.lay supplied by the dominion. 1 The men in the eam.ps were provided with food• shelter, hosp1tal. and medical requirements• necessary elothing, and a eash allowanoe. 2 An extensive program of' road work was under- t.a..ll:::en am a special. arrangement was made with two transcontin- ental. railways to provide free transportation to the work camps. During the winter months when work was suspended, some camps were closed and the balance sustained the oceu.pants with d1reet relief. Closure of the ewnps an.d shrinking prov1no1al. coffers left a num.ber of unemployed-with no means of SU.stenance. some of them became resttve andinthe winter of 1932 con- verged on Victoria in a hu:nger march.J stories of' patronage4 · and corrupt administration of fUnds combined with the pablie- lBritish Colttmb1at Department of Labour 1 AR~L, 1911• 1932• P• E5l• 2nur1ng prepa.rs.tion of the camps a provisional system was set up whereby men would work an eight-hour, five and one-ha1f day week and receive 35 cents per hour 1f' supporting dependents and 25 cents per hour if not. less $1 per day for food and shelter. ttwork Camp e.t Crowsne st , 1f FFP, Jul.y 31, 19 :31, P• 4. The bas1c rate was later fixed at '1;2 per day for e. forty-eight hour week and was graduated for more highly skilled occupa.tions; 85 eents per day was deducted. for board and accomodation. In November 1931, the prov1no.e was unable to continue the existent rates and thereafter $7.50 per :month was given in return for twen.tyt six-hour days and the camps were restricted to single men. British Columbia., Department of the Attorney-C::.enera1, '*Workers Demand Better Condi t1ons, n Attorney-General's P&~rs, art. 151t Ap. 2, 1932• 3The demands included: t'hree meals a d.a.y and. no work or $4 a da.y 9 three days a week, no discrimination. and all to be sent back to the camps f'rom which they came. Ibid..,· · 4~Letter from H. G. Perry to T. D. Pattull.o. har. 27, ci t.ed in Ormsby, gp. cit. , P• 447. 19331 " -61atlon ot' the reactionary Kidd Commission Report5 ter.ded to aceentuate an already tense situation. Partly as a consequence of the unrest but principally- because of' provincial final'l.cial difficulties the federal government assumed the entire cost of' relief to s1ng1;1; homeless persons in urban centers on November i . 19)2. The situation in the province continued to deter1or- ate, however, since many who had struggled along on their own efforts through the preceding years found themselves at the end of their resources end were compelled to aoply for public assistance. Although the federal government bore the whole f1nsneial responsibility for maintenance of' the British Colum- bia relief ce.mps, the province adm1nlstared end allocated funds. Appointments from the unemployed to administrative posi t1ons end a.warding of' ccntra. cts to sup-p1y the eanrps rl th essentials were matters of contention among the public and accusations flowed freely. 6 In ord.er to ea.1m fears of mis:al- location of publ1e fUnds end adm.inistrati ve appointments, administration of the relief camps was turned over to the Department of' National De~enee7 on May lt 1933. 8 Under the D.M.D. single homeless unemployed men entered the camµs after proving that they were fit for manual l.abour,. free from comrounicabl.e disease, and 11iere '3r1t1sh subjects, 51b1d., p. 448. 6"Letter from R. B. Bennett to s. 1"'. Tolmie 11 ff 'I'olm1e Papers, van•• U.B.C., Oat. 28, 19?q, p. 3. 7Herea.:fter referred to as D.N.D. 8James Eayrs, In Detenee of Canada; from ~he Great War ta the Great Depression, Tor•• Univ. of' Tor. Press. 19b7., P• 126. -62al.though the le_tter stipulations were :not always rigidly enf'or- ced. 9 Persons found unacceptable to the D.N.D. remained the respons1b1i1ty or the previnee or munia1pal1ty. Tha men aecept- ed were placed on the nearest project to the place o~ applic- ation in wh1eh there was a. vaesnc7: t111 Acocmod_at1on 9 clothing~ f'ood and med1eal ca.re were provided in kind and an allowance not exceeding twenty eents per diem" was provided. "Eight hours per day will be worked; SUr.days and statutory holidays will be observed; Saturday afternoons will be used for recreation•••• 610 Medical, dental a!'td optical facilities were pro- vided b;r local practitioners retained on a cont:r1:-1ot bas1s f'or services rendered at the site.11 '!'he physica1 state of' the CBlEPS was comparatively good in relation to m.E.ny of' the logging• railroad and. min-1l'lg camps. However, investig.ators did not realize that the lives of ord• inery bush workers were rendered tolerable by the progpect of eQrtling a large sum of money and returning to Mor~ civilized areas to spend 1t. Although ttthe men in••• the camp [ihils in Kamloopiil I attended the Central. Ci t:y lJGray 9 op. cit., PP• 146-147. 14:Br1tish Columbia• Department of the Attorney•Genera.1 9 "Letter from Relief Camp Investigator to the Attorney-General," Correspondence, arts. 255& 256, June 21. 1932. Nissicn where meals were issued. There is a lot of k1ck1ng there moatiy among foreigners a.nd Scotch.men. I also noticed that there 1s a little d1seri.m1nat1on at the Mission. The f&l.l.ows who appear to be civil and try to look as 1f they appreciated the hand outs they received seem to get the best deal. Known fieds get pretty poor pickings. T'ha dif'fere:nce is very not1ceabl.a. While in Vancouver I distributed leat"lets condemning Cooper's garbage relief'. I was right outside the relief office on Cemb1e street. At least aeventy-f'tve percent.of the people getting relief refused th(~ 1eaflets and quite a few told me I was crazy. I was also out selling the Un.9nlozed W9r}fer. ! took out fifty copies and had. a hard. time getting rid of them. Japs, Finns and Swedes would [oui] bUt some of the peopl.e I offered them to woul.d start an ar~ent and perhaps want to fight •••• ~Upon returning to Nelson I fitld] !'he Moscow News and The Worke~. published in Toronto, are not getting as good sa:Les as they used to. The Western Worker. printed in San Francisco. seems to be most popula.r.15 Large-scale se.gregation of single men on publ1e works .projects e.t subs1stenee wages prepared the ground f'or th.e establishment or radical organization on the seeds 0£ discontent.16 'rhe -ci.--orkers' organizations had strong ties w:t th the Communist ?arty which led to the eomp11a:t1on of a..n o:f'f1o1al. black11st of union organizers, although in some camps unof'f1c1al working arral'lgements developed with camp foremen. The union's dual. role, first a.s idealistic propagandists and agi taters ogainst. the existing economic and social system generally antagonized the administration. 15Ibid.. : . ~ Their practical role was largely successful. fh ,.;1/.cvu~u.. {'.,hAlJt('; If c:(6-<·->~'·~--?~-tf._:t. 16Es.rly in the depression the Single Unemp1oyed Workers• Association was fo:rmed and this 1ed to a co-ordinating Central Council of Unemployed Organizations in 1931; the Couno11•s leading branch w-as the National Unemployed leforkers• Azsociation which was in turn connected with the ~'li·orke:rs' Unity League. Pa.u.1 Phillips, No Power Greater: A Century of Labor 1p. British \.;.olumb1a 9 V~, British Goiumbia Feder~tion of Labor & Boag Foundation, 1967, P• 105. In 1936 the Belief Camp Workers Union was reorganized into the Re11ef Project Workers' Union. ~bid., P• 118. -65in demanding better eond1t1ons, aiding recognition of' cami:> oomm1ttees, and later under the D.N.n.•s administration, in relt:cring rigid d1scip11ne. 1 7 An. informer on the radical activ1 ties 1n the ca.n:rps on the Lower f!lfa1nland had these observations: I heard a. lot of disgruntled talk about the t\Jational Unempl.07ed Workers' Asaoc1at1on. The ideas of the Independent Labor Party seemed to be most favored.... Quite a lot of er1 ticism is directed against leaders of the *N. u. w. A. tt • • • • Ihese men are always :fairly well dressed, able to buy the odd beer, d.o a lot of talking a...~t.tnd 61 Cordova, wt are never in front 1f any trouble 1.s brewing, and this is noticed and. discussed around the camp f1res in the Jungles, especially among English speaking peopl.e. Outside of the Russians, Swedes and P'1nns ,_ end o.f eours~, th~~ a.gi ta.tors, there 1s very little Red talk heard •••• 1~ .Eas1eal.l.y the cause of' increased radieal. activity during the depression was 1n the f'eilure of the economie !!?ystem to f'un- etion smoothly. The common man eou.1.d se~ an ever-w1dsn1ng gu1t between his status and that of the proprietors of industry. Economic disparity opened the doors.for the seed.a of' discontent, but the failure of the traditional. labour unions to provide some tom ot organizatior.J. fitted ta the needs of the relief camp workers further opened them to tht'"~ communist organizers. The camp occupants su~fered most severely from boredom and loneliness:. In most of' the camps there were no recreat:- ional facilities and. the individuals had no resources, although a small proportion of the relief funds was allocated to recre- ation t"acil.1t1es at"ter 1935. Instances of magazines and news- 17Bel1ef camp organizations of any kind were prohibited by the DND, but in many. local. adm:i:n1stre.ttors allowed committees to present abuses. lS.Br1t1sh Columbia.. f)epa.rtment of the Attorney-General, "Letter from Camp Investi·g~t..()T to the .e,.ttor.nev-Genera1," Correspondenc.e, arts. 255 & 256,, J'ilne ·211c 1932~ -66p~pers supplied by eharitabls organiUltions were common. Some of the more :resourcefUl. indiv1.duals turned to such artistic pUrst:l.1 ts as wood-ca.rvin.:s and charcoal drawing wh11e others spent long hours debating eurrent world prob1ems using ideas borrowed frt:llm the few books which were donated. But the great majority whiled away their time story•te111ng, playing Gards 9 darts and pre.ctical jokes. In a conmnmciat1on reeei ved by the Fe:rn1e F'ree Press camp workers·reveal.ed. some of their interegts: Would anyone be kind enough to forward any of the old records as the boys out in relief camp have an old gramophone of whieh the spring is goin.1?.: :rus.ty for. want of' something to do. .An ol.d radio would be verY' aceepta.ble. 1n fact anything to cause a little amusement and while away the hours. Working out 1.n the caip is of a very sl.ow and du11 nature wit~ no recompense •••• 9 The relief camps of' the Crowsnest Pass generated c.omparati vely little discontent. One disruption oceured 1.n 19)4. when. a.bout ei.ghty- men walked out of the Broley camµ at Crowsnest objec-t1ng tc the tood preparation and q_uality, but offieial.s were not und.ul.y harsh: and the men were quartered in adjacent ca:mps throughout the district. 20 As the depression ling- ered on and the future of the indigents showed no signs of brightening, discontent among the relief camp workers 1:noreased. The tense situation reached a -peek in 1935 with the announcement b;y Prime Minister Bennett that the camp workers would be deprived of their vote 1:n the coming eleot1on.21 ln April a 19ncommunication.a FFP, Dec. 4, 1931, P• 4. 20•Loeal and General. 9 ff FFP, Peb. 2 1 19)4, P• 5• 2l•:a. c. Communists and socialists Unite for Erd'ra.nchise- ment, '* B. c. Wor]lers• News,_ Jan. 18, 1935.- P• 4. -67r::umber of interior camp workers converged on the ci t'.y of Van- oouver on a ttwork and wagestt strike and demanded the right to vote and reeognit1on of the eam-p committees. A ela.sh with Vancouver i:mlice was not enough to induce Ottawa to enter neg- oti.B.tions and. out of desperation the unsuoeessftll on-to-Ottawa March was begun on June 3, 19 :l5• The change 1n government which brought Mackenzie King to power in the same year simttl.ta.neously rendered -political.ly posa1 ble the pub11o denouncement. of a relier!~ camp system which was increasir..gly drawing the ire of -public opinion. A relief camp comm.1ttee set up by the new government, while generally vindicating the adm1n1st~ation of the camps, Teoommended that they- be replaeed by *work and wa&;es'-' camps. The new seb.eme adopted_ by the dominion a.rd &im1n1stered by the federal. Department of Labour este.b11shed relief ·workers in railway 1 t"arm and :forestry earnps, marking the end of the unem.plo;t'1nBnt relief' camps. Operation of publ1e work camps ·by the Department of National Defence ceased .June JO. 1936 and the:; Department of Labour arranged with the"'" Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Bail.- waya to carry out maintenance work to pro'1"1de som9.· employment for thH men being di.se!t.arged... .Approximately 2,500 ment about ha1f on forestry development axi..d the ba.18.nce on public iiio:rks projects 9 were -provided work and accomodation., 22 22The m.en were pe1d JO cents per h-0ur for eight hours; 70 cents per day wets deducted tor board and shA-1 ter. A portion of the earnings was withheld as a pe:rt'o:rm..anee bond and. returned fo11owing termination at the rate of $4 per week until it was fUl.ly refur.ded. British Columbia• Department of Labour• op. cit,. 1916, P• T83. -68In 1935 a youth training program was introduced by the provincial. gover?Jment in an attempt to cultivate initiative• Earl.isr in th~ de- partieularly among the young unemployed. pression: the provit'le1el. government had aided would-be miners to build aceess trai1s to prospeetive mining areas but disoovered that an 1n~rd1nate sum of money was being spent to build beautiful trails te unprofitable and often non-existent claims. Under the 1935 scheme all. details of elalms, the stages of dev- elopmen.t and assay results were submitted and evaluated to ob- t.ein a possible grant of fifty percent of the total cost o'f' eonstruction. 2 3 In ~ay l.935 a sizeable sum was allotted by the Labour Department to the Forest Branch for the employment o:f young single men. with the objeet e>f fitting them for employment in the forest industry. J.he Labour Department selected the men.. preference beiri.g given to those between twenty-one and twentyfive who had 'been residents of the province for ten years and possessed at least partial hi.sh school education. Training was given in the construction of buildin. 1.s, roads, trails f'...nd 0 bridges, and 1nstruetion i.n the fundamentals o:f forest protect- ion, cruisin~;. scaling, mapping and surveying. 24 Announcement 2)u'll:r1ng 1935 there were eight hundred nine individuals who received grubstakes to enable prospeeting for minerals and to placer-mine. Ibid., 1215, p. K84. 24The Labour Department allotted $90.000 ta the program which permitted. employment of 380 men until thliii end of September at a rate of $1.15 per day, less 75 cents for room, netting them $15 to ~20 monthly with an add1t1or.al ~10. al.lows.nee for the season. work ~as divided into three ela$sif1cations: Forest Sxpt:?riment Stat.ion ~·tork 9 Forest Trail Improvement and Forest Rer~:ar P...ssistants. -69of the project was received with great en·\':rrusiasm by the people. of thn- Crot'\"snest Pass and optimistic predictions were me.de of' the future :P9ssibilities of the scheme. Al.though the plan ope- erated throughout. the remainder of the decade and reached a peak pa.rt.ic1pa.tion of five hundred men in twenty-eight c.amps during 1938 1 the overall suoees!l was lim.1 ted by a leek. of' f'und.s and s failure of many of the Han.gers. Assistant Bangers and Patrolmen to co-operate out of fear of losing their positions to younger men. 2 5 Nevertheless a few men were pla.ced in the offices of Be.ngers as assistants, and. a number of others were given constructive esea.pe from the relief' lines during the The toreet and mir..ing plan in Br1 ti sh Columbia wa.s expan- ded later 1.n the y;:;ar into a joint Do:m:inion-l?ro'\."'ineia.l. Youth 'f-ra1n1ng Progra;m~ on a fifty percent she.re ba.sis for projeets submitted by th~ pTovin.ces end approved by the dominion. Un- thirty of any race, relig"ion or polit1ca1 belief were eligible. Al.lowances corres·,·icridins to the provincial. outl~vs were prov1ded, w1 th th":. exception that the federal scheme .allowed trav- e111ng expenses to reoeive instruction sway from home, eompensat1on for accidents, plus all equipment and. materitls. Fer.nie was one of four areas of British Columbia, in Khich mining was o~fered. After eompleting the mine training, those who qual.- 2.50ut of nine hundred thirty me.n applying, :five hundred nine were enro1led in 1935; one hundred eleven men obtained emp1o:r.ment at the eild. of the course. :fifteen le:ft on their own accord and the balance were laid o:ff at the end of the projeets. •says Pl.an a Suceess.u m_, Nov. 22. 1935, P• 1. -70if1ed were given a f'urther three month course in field methods incl.uding lode and pl.acer }>::ospecting and exploration under a. qualified engineer. 26 In addition to the mining instruction whieh vrf;;'.s very successful.t cmurses in home, economies and car- pentry were well attended in the "Pass" area.'Z? Ihe ability of' the women 1n the "Passtt communities to surv1ve the depression l';'"SB attested to by their fortt tude in organizing projects sim1lar to the ma1e versions. In late 1938 s. group of unemployed women from F'ernie met to organize a..."1 educational and. oecups1tiona1. training group which was to be a jointly sponsored doainion-prov1nciaJ. plan. 28 On December 31, 1936 a plan came into effect to aid destitute farmers to re-establish on productive land. Grants were su:pplisd for transportation, clearance of new land. and prov- ision of farm. s:toek 9 lumber and impl.ements. A supplementary scheme ta resettle m1ners 1n the mete.life:rous mining areas of' the pro"itince was significant to the Crowsnest Pass areB.. Row• ever the refusal. to compensate miners for their p:roperty,. particula.rly in the ~7ernie a.re.a where a con.s:iderable sum had been spent in improvements led to the plan's fail Ure in the ·-t:r-isssw. 29 26Trainaes received SO cents a day and board plus 50 cents a day bonus at its ooncl.usion 1f a certificate of profie.ieney was won. Canada, Department of La,bour, Re~iew of the Domin1on~Prov­ inci@l Youth Train1ns Program for the r·1soal Year ending March 111 1232, 1939t P• J,. 27'•communicat1on, fl. FFP, Dec. 16. 1938, p. 8. 28 11 Notiee•" FFP, Nov. 18, 1938, P• 1. 29A tota1 of' 156 persons were transferred from Fernie Qistrict to other parts of the province during 1936 and 193? at a east of ~.4.077.37. Thirty-seven were sent to other prov1nces or over- seas. 3 193 Persons Transferred t'rom Fernie in Two Years,*' FFP, Nov. 19t 1937. P• l. -71PY'emier Pa.ttullo' s proposc.1 for a contributory system of health insurance in 1936 ar;::eared to initiate a new soci~l consciousness in the public of the pi~ov:tnce. hedical. ca.re '.Jy the chos:en ~r;ysician or surgeon, free hospital care, the services of diagp.ostic laborator.1. es, and n·2cessary drugs and. medicines were some of the benefits under the prcposed. system which was to be fin.anced by ·contric-utions from employees and employers. 30 'l'he ·plan was not designed to aid tho unemp1oyed w.b::> direly needed it, but was oriented tow$Xds the wage ea.rr1ing portion of· society which w·as capable of pro"11ding for its o-w-n medical needs. !ii.hen the Lcg1s1at1ve .Assembl.y failed to give the requ- ired sup"POrt and public opinion l'ias r...ot particularly favourable toward the plan, it was pe.rmanently shelved. i~ailurc of th;;: ho.spi ta.1 insursn,ce scheme typified govern- ment, attem:pts to aid the victims Of the depression. The most responsive of e1~cted m.embers did not feel public opinion would approve large-sca1e measures to aid. the desti tu.te, although some social. consciousness h~.d been stirred. The m.inimum assist- ance provided accomplished very little 5>.titl large segments of the population -were retained on a subsistence level which, due to l&ck of employment in unskilled trades and opporturii ty far technical training, caused Ill<'.'tllY to lose all initiative. The few retraining schemes for Ull$mploy~dt plagued by shortages of'. 30The employee ps1d two percent of his wa~es 'l'•i th a minimum contribution of 35 a.rii. a maximum of 70 cents· :per week;•. the., employer paid one :percent tor the insur~ empl.oyees with a minimum of 20 end & max1mum of 35 cents per week. ?>ritish Columbia.,. """ep~rtment; of' Labour, op. fit. 1 l93S, 1:1. K8o -12funda and maladministration, did not place many trainees in viab1e amp1oyment. Although the d1ssemi~tion of pub11c funds to the destitute du:rinS the depression set a precedent in the extent of aid. provided 9 considerable improvement was needed in their s.lloeation to ensure'tne1r maximum. utilization. CHAP"f'ER V THE up.ASS" MINERS; AT HOME ANT.J AT wOBK Around the life of the miner centered the structure and eharaoter of the society in the Crowsnest Pass. In the early days the miner retained a high degree of' self respeet9' and as an integ:.t"al cog in the: indu.strial wheel, was: well aware of' his worth. ;.. estern steam coal mining fields were mod.els of eff'ie- ient operation at the turn of the century; the latest or equipment and techniques were utilized ar.ict. <hough working conditions ware poor, the 'Orospeet of high earnings offset their infl.uenee. The eompany-o~-ned communities were compar• ati ve1y well constructed s..nd off'ered good acccmodation. During and immediately following the First World 111ar, optimum prosperity 1,ras reached when un:l.ons by numerous strikes int'lu- enced management to raise wages to a standard second to none and to improve working conditions considerably. In the ~1 twenties•1 ~ ·the :mine workers of the rtpass" exper- ienced a les:sening of union vitality as a decline in coal orders forced lay-offs snd wage raductio:aJ;i., the ~twenties'' The r.::::cession in also saw mining as en occupation hold a grad- ually diminishing stature. Many workers were forced to seek other enroloyment and we.ges were no longer superlat1 VEh Improvement in accomodation had not kept pa,ce wl th the times and was a contentious issue. -73- -74It had been the practice parti.cul.arly 1n the coal. mining areas of' the West for the companies to build houses and rent them to the miners. C1osed to...ns were a peoulia.r character- 1 st1c oi' the West and arose as a. result of control by the mine operators of al.l land in th~ vicinity of the pithead. Even in areas wbere housing was made available on other than a lease- hoJ.d basis; uncertainty of emp1oyment and low earnings tl'.!lnd.ed to deter pure.base of bomee. It was the policy of some operat- ors in the etpasstt to control the men thr<>UP.',h ownership of their l.i.ving quarters. In some ot the camps men were employed only if they lived in co~pany-owned dwellings. and stores, hotels and serv1ee utilities including schools and hospitals were e1 ther operated by the eompa.ny: or under licence from 1 t.. The feeling of insecurity 8l:flOD.g the tenant-employees that their lives were dominated in every respect led many oper,,0;;tors who ree.11zed. the strength of the sentiment to ca.lm. resent,ment by selling company houses to employees e.t reasoni:::ble rates.. How- ever the sales were often made under severe legal co:nd.1 ti on$ sueh as a clause a11ow1tl$5 the eomp8D7 to resume possession w-ithout compensation if meetings were held 1n a miner's res- idence. A common complaint that town util.1t1es such as light- 1.ng• sewage d1sposa1 end water supply were arranged a.t the will of the company rather tf\..en through municipal organizations we.a no·t al.ways justified but &I1 aura of d.om1nat1on d.1.d prevail. :Houses in mining camps usually were stereotyped rows of box-11ke structures that exhibited little creative imagination• although a 'few were spa~ious,. solid an..'1 modern in their time. 'l'he rel0.ti"1el.7 poor reputat1on of hous1?tB: in mining camps was -75enhanced little by conditions in the Crowsnest Pass during the depression period. A notable exception was the eity of' Fe.rnie where a number of large, well constructed homes o-wned by people in service and professional occupations gra.oed an att:?-aet- 1ve community, but the m.ejo:rit7 of the employees of' the ooal. eompeny were not inhabitants of the privately owned restdenoes. Miners f'or various afo:rement.ioned reasons preferred the oompany• s houses which they leased. Exteriors of the houses in the mining communities admittedly- were seldom attractive and usually were dirty end unpainted. This was a consequence of' the airborne coal dust wh1eh rendered maintenance or the exter• 1or impossible. In sharp eontrast however. were the interiors. Energy whiah would ht,ve been wested on external beaut1f1ea.t1.on with few exceptions was turned to maintaining immaeu1ate internal conditions. Du.ring the "th1rt1es 111 homes 1n the Crowsnest communities generally deteriorated, whether o'!ffled by ths eomps.n.y or privately. '!'he Corbin strike 1n 1935 was partly due to neglect ' of company-owned. houses and the refusal to renovate them. Iiesidents of Fern1e who 01raed their ho~es were barely able to meet tax demands e.Dd maintenance of properties ceased complet- ely. Hesidents of the t't?ass~ towns re\leived utilities from the companies and because the latter were in poor financial straits, payment of bills wa.s a neeessi ty-. Consequently ma.ey of the unem.plo;ved ceased using electricity, refrained from usin.i;; baths &..nd. a few were forced t.o completely suspend usage -76o:f wa.te.r facili ties. 1 Rome owners and leasers were sim1lar1y unable to continue yearly maintenance ani yropert1es d.eterior- ated rapidly from neg1ect. The li~e o~ the miner in the ~Pass" district varied only slightly between the co~i!'Jlunities in which he lived. A majority of the miners employed at Coal Creek Colliery either lived in the company-owned and operated town of Coal Creek, or tr~ve1led on its Jlorrissey, Fern1e and t1.1chel Railway froll;\ Farnie. the principal service center in the a.rea. The tota.-ns1 te of: Michel- Natal, twenty-five miles north of Fern1e 9 and al.l living qua.rters, stores, hotels and service facilities were similarly owned or leased from the Crow's Nest Pass Coal Company. Res- idents of the town of Corbin were in ever~ respect dependent on the fortunes of the Corbin Coa.l and Coke Company. 2 t"iost of' the ::ii.1ners in the Crawsnest region were employed underground except at Corbin where the ff Big Showin,gtt was mined by an op.en pit st.:.Jii:\!!l shovel operation. Work at. the "facen as a full f1ed.ged miner sr~aged less than one-third ot: the men employed.3 '!he majority of employees *~re engaged in providing and :mainta.ining the tr&nsportation syst<.;;m and in cleaning, s1z- 1.A.l.l ut111t1es were rented from. and in applicable cases. rents also payed to the company. Sanitation and water cost $1 per month ~or each house and SO cents per month for each shack. F'or houses with baths an add1 t1onal $1 per month was charged. Electr1o1ty pe~ sixteen cand.1.e power 1.ight cost 50 cants per month. Rouse rentals were approxi..n'lately $.10 to '~15 per menth. contrf!ct between Et1tisp. Colymb1a M1nera• Assoc1e.t1qn,of Coal Creek and. QNP Co~l Co., 1231, n. P•t n. pub •• n.. d •• P• 9. 2see chap. II, n. 11. 1' "td a, .ti eport o f the Roya1 c ...n.;ana · ommission on Coal, 1946 . ·, 19'"+'7 t p. 295. -7?ing and shipping the coa1 at the eurf'aee.4 Working conditions a,t the fff8ce" were determined by the method of coal extraetion ~i11ch in turn depended partly on local. custom but pr1ne1pally on underground conditions. 'The older system of •room-s.nd-pil- tar• mining engaged two or three-men groups working ind.apend- ently of other teams but ~ito were highl.y dependent -0n each Pace. efficiency, safety o~ working pra~tiees and earn- other. 1ngs5 were largely determined. by the individuals on the teem. who thus developed a strong sense of independence and self reliance. A high degreie of teamwork was also essential. in the more m.Odern and highly mechanized longwa11 mining, but insti!uid of two or three RH::;n 9 as mar...y as thirty '!f'ere engaged on each team. Meehan1zation where physical eond.itions permitted made possible h1gb.e:r wages6 :for lighter work but al.so required substitutia.n of the old pioneer individualism with a high degree of dis- cipline; the work of' an entire shif't cou1d be disrupted by the ab.sence of a few key- men. Mechanized longwal.l techniques were utilized. more extensively in the Michel colliery than in Coal Creek where the room-and.-pil.lar methods p:r~vailed. Owing to the high out'fl.ow of inrle:mm.able gas e..nd many tragic aceidents in the mines of the Crowsnest distri.ot, satetypraotiees were extremely itnportant to all miners. The ocottps,t- 1 ~Tbld • .5'n.J1 thin the general. wage structure they.•• deter.mine how much they earn, for they are paid according to the to.nnage they load out.~ Ibid. 6Most longwa.11 mining ls also done on a contract basis. l.b\d.. · -78ion.al. hazard or coaJ. miners was higher than that of any other oeeupation of sim.1.le.r size and nsture~ and more than three times that o~ a.11 Canadian ma1es aged twenty to sixty-four.7 The rate of acoid.enta1 death among coal. miners in l r1 ti sh Col- umbia was the highest in Canada in the yea.rs 1931-1941 9 and because of the higher outt'low of' gas in the Orowsnest area than in other m1n1ng d!str1ets 1 accidents were common. Thus safety procedures were r1~,,1dl.y tt-pbeld and bees.me an integral part Of the industry 1n the district. Of ·the soeii:::-1 aspects of life in the "Pass", the aetivities of the East Kootenay Mina Safety Assoc1at1cn were undertaken with an inherent seriousness akin to no other sooial organization. 'I'he bas1oal.ly serious n.P.ture of' th~ society was mellowed by the social milieu in which its primary ecttvity was held. Beginning in 1921 S!.nl"l:Ual competitions took plaee, originally to deal with accident victims but the aims were goon equally directed to the more fundamental. need for accident prevent1on.8 It was discovered that the majority of eecid- ents in mines ~as due to inadvertent carelessness and it became the purpose of' mine sa.fety associations to make a.11 mine workers conscious of the value of sa:te methods. Ee.oh year demonstra- t1ons and c.ompeti tions were held_ in first e!d e.pµ11ee.t1on, sa:tety methods and mine rescue work. Most of those taking part 11iere coal and. metalliferous miners although a few were 7rp1d•t P• 296. 8.&r1 ti sh dolumb1a, Department of Mines, ftlUne Safety Assoc- iations, ff ARMM, 1931, 1932, P• A191. -79men from quarries and logging camps. In most of the compet1t- 1ons, a number of young people from school age up.participated in a junior event which subsequently evolved into the Ju~..ior Mine Safety Competition.9 In 1919 a Board of Examiners for coal mine officials was established a.nd in the same year certificates for exhjbit1ng eompetency as coal miners were also introduced and became virtual licences for underground mine workers. The miner had to satisfy the boa.rd as to physical fitness, experience in min1ng, and a general working knowledge of the English language.IO Over the years Coal Creek Colliery was most affected by. **bumps;i o~ "outbursts". 11 During 1931 tl'iree serious •bumps" oeeuredt2 one of sufficient violence to be felt at Fernie, nearly six miles from the .area. No lives were lost but large areas of the mine were rendered unworkable for weeks 1 3 and mueh of the track was torn ·11p. Although miners were becoming coti.seious of many new sat'9The total taking part in all competitions in 1931 was eight hundred. Ibid. lOrn 1938, one hundred twenty~three ea..l'ldidates wrote the examination and one hundred thirteen were success:fUl. "Board of Examiners,"~., P• G22. llsee cha.p. I, n. 11. Ho.lea were often bored in the "face" which conceivably would allow the gas to be released less violently. 12In an attempt to gain more information,. the Department of Mines installed a seismogr 6 ph in the colliery in 1932 which would provide some warning and record of impending earth movements. lJThe expense and hazardous conditions brought on by the ffbump" had a beexing on the decision o~ the CNP Coal. Co. to cease operations at Coal Creek in 1933· -80ety devices s.lld procedures. the incidence of accidents beyolld. human precautionary measures was still very high. In e week- end explosion at Michel Col.11ery in Ju1y 1938, three maintenance workers were killed when a lighteniw:~ bolt wets conveyed. to a gas poeket at the mine •face'* by the metal coal car rails. It was a twist of fate that many more were not killed as a shift of sixty-eight had worked the explosion area dur1ng the week.14 A few weeks later a cave-in at Coal Creek seriously injured a workman in Number One East Mine; 1t preceded a severe _.bump" by three weeks which took the lives of three miners· em injured a dozen more who were .caught under the :falling roo:r. 1 5 The following description was given by survivors: They [feJ. t as though theii had fallen from a height t landing heavily on their f eGt and then ~eri} whirled about dizzily. All••• su~fered. grave diseomfo rt from sutfoe~ticn from coal dust-laden atmosphere.I 6 The minei unions, 1.ike the mine safe.ty organizations, were a most important aspect of the coal. miner's life. All com:pany employees were el1g1 ble to join and from the members were selected the officers and committees to meet and discuss w1 th the com:par.d.es oomi tions and welfare of the enrplo7ees. The unions in the ttpa,sstt h&d a. long history and were an important aspect of commUl'lity life. 'Ihe mine union as a vital force had been introd.uoed into the Crowsnest Pass as an instrument to ensure sP.f e working 14"Three Killed at Michelttt Ell• July a. 1938, P• 1. 15uAocident Fatal to Three,~ FFP, Sept. 23, 1938, P• 1. l6•Brave fi!en to the Rescuettt FFP, Sept. 30t 1938t P• 1. conditions in the mines after an explosion in 1902 which hs4 clalmed one hundred twenty-eight lives. Organized labour gradually became an institution in the lite of the ffPass" r:1iner, not ori:..ly to guarant-ee a reaeona'tlB staniiard of living, but also as a collective force t,..o ensure safe working conditions in a..~ extremely hazardous occupation. to ensure o1der miners e.r,,_1. disabled men of work they oould perform ~hieh avoided their l::--,,1.ng discarded when their usefulness as. labourers had ended• a.nd to obtain speci::tl. consideretions for abnorme1 conlitions under the; contract system of mining. 1'he reoo:rd of' we.ge advancement dur1~ the fi.rst twenty years of this century pa.ral.J.eled unpreeedented. p:rosti-er1 ty in the co~l industry. 1 7 The average industrial wage for ~11 maJ.e employees in Er1t1sh Columbia was al.most six do1la.rs less than that o'f the coal. industry in 1920. Declins of the coal markets during the "tt-rentiea" saw the unions greduelly 1ose strength and by t:he time of the "Great DEn::rress1on; organization had reverted to small loce.l agreements. 'the ~Pass'' area was Q'.t'ga..."'lizet.ntia.te with Z9nr!t1sh Columbia, Department of Le.bour, op. ,cit., 1236,, P• K6?. 30Log&n, lac. o1 t. Hereaf'ter ret'"erred to as the BC!>'lA., -86the new union, combined to 1nfllienee miners to vote down the affiliation &t a general. meeting.~ Ag1tat1on eased 1n Coal. Creek at"ter repudis.tion of' the M. w. u. c. but 1 t 1ne:rea.sed 1n many other eente:rs ln the Crows- nest. A strike was cell.ed in Coleman in March 1932 1 and an attempt was made to extend the stoppage throughout the distl:1.ct w:1th opti.mi~tic hopes b;r the union leaders that workers across the country woul.d sts.ge a gene:T.al strike 1n support of the min• era. 32 ':rhe newly organized 'Ullion was short of' strike :funds which led to reject1on of the stop-page by a number of destitu.te miners and near riots between the disagreeing fa.ctlons.3'.3 The five-month strike was eventually broken with the aid of a con- tingent of R.c.m.P. ot't"ieers and the mines reopened on the basis of the previous agreement with the exeeptio11 that known rad1Ca1s wou1d not be reh1red..J4 Several leaders were 3a1led wh1eh hgi_stened the rapidly- widening split between moderate and radical un.ioniats.~5 and the determination of the radicals hardened in the face of reactionary orga.nizat1ons formed to .3l!n a rre:ferendum 1n 1929 requ1r1ng a t't!io.... thirds majeri ty• 334 voted in favour of joining the r~1mc. 259 against. out of' a total. of i,350 e1ig1b-le. _.Vote Against New Union.n FFP 1 July 5t 1929• P• 4. J2ttJ?ass Miners o:n Strike,• FFJ? 9 Flar. 25, 19J2. P• l and ffBeJ.1evue Men Strike•"' fFP., ·.A:p.. J, 1932, · P• l. 33~stri.ke Troub1e at Bellevue,'* FF?• Ma.y 6 1 1932t P• l and '* '.Phe Col.eman M:1ne Trouble,'* F.FPt May 20,. 1932 1 P• 1. 1 34~Ra.d.1ca1s Adm.it Defeat," FfP, I.J'luence in ruc.hel than in Coal er-eek beeause ef the; l.atter's fear of' .9.lltagonizing a. management sympathetic. to the idea of ceasing opE:ra.t1ons comp1etely. By 1934 the radical union 1.eaders had succeeded 1n attractin:s a portion of miners awe:y from: the :e. c. M.A. A strike was called in May based on the demands that elnployees col1ect their own dues,J9 al.1 work ava.11.abl.e be di v1ded with un.employed miners who had been suspended,. al1d working c.oooi tions ·oe improved. A major1 ty J6"Klu K1ux Klsn,rt [FP, Se?t• )O, 1932, P• 8. J? A large boulevard w1 th roc.keries and lighted. with a huge neon sign reed1ng •Tim Buek Boulevara.u was constructed in 1934 and eventually ~as dismantled when the communist city counoil was defeated in 19.37• ~Tim Buck Boul.evard. 1 Famed street .1n Elair:ttrore will soon be Memor~,u FFP, Sept .. 17 1 1937, :p. 1 .. :38"' 1rhe Government a.t Blairm.o:re,tt £'.ff,, Feb. 22 9 1935. 'P• 4. 39M.anagement dedu.eted dues from wages in th~ ~eheok•off@ system. and. consequently onl.y aeeep.tabl-~ organizations received the funds. -88of the miners failed to support the M.w.u.c. al'ld a return to worl! was suceessful1y agreed upon without incident under term.s of the old oontract•40 The relatively tranquil settlement of this Niebel strike was ominous in the face of forthcoming events. Typiea.1 or the labour unrest during the *thirtiestt was the 1935 strike whieh spelled. the end of a 3 Passtt communit7. Tha tolt.""?l of Corbin,nee.r the 1nterprov1nc1al. boundary end fourteen miles up a mountain pass from the ma.in rail e<.nd highway arteries_, had been founded by n. c. Corbin of" Spo>kane, a rail- way magnate ar..d fi~nciert in 1908. pany town; houses 1 stores~ Corbin grew as e. coal eom- school, hospi ta1 9 tr.ensport.ation services and Utilities41 were exelusively company-o~~~. Houses were bu1l t 1,n the trad1 t1ona.l min.ins town pe.ttern with eithGr a standard one or two storey frame and the stores were leased to the opera.tor. 42 One doctor was retained ·and provided with: lodging by the company to serve the miners who entered. into agreements on a monthly basis; payments were deducted from their wages and transferred to the physician• .Although the com11unity was completely dominated by com- 40nrit1sh Co1umb1a, Department of Labour. op, e1t., 19}4'• p. L69 and tttUchel Miners Return to Work• l'f F'?F, June l, 1934, .P• 1. 41.Al.l. utilities were reasoru:abl.e compared to other nPassn towns. Between 1931 and 1934. water was ~1.50 p~r month, and e1eo.tr1c lights 50 eents per month per forty watt bulb. Use of' the company wash hou.S"e cost ea.ch miner $1 per •onth snd garbage disposal was provided for 50 eents per month. 42There was no evidence of price-fixing. Person.al inter... v1ew w1-th Mrs. P. Ba.ratelli • resident of Corbin f'rom 1911 · to the present time. -89pany ?Olicy. conditions were generally good43 and employment was relatively higher than 1n other areas of th~ ttPassft du...."M..ng the depression until 1935. due to a constant mgrket for the pa.rticula..r type of steam coal mined in the ar-ea. 44 Corbi.n miners had be•.:::n less aft'eeted by th,,;; general retrenchment of' wages in the 1ate 4 twent1es1'; the 1 s::ilation of the town and h1gher cost of living because of -poor t1"ansportat1on facilities necessitated. higher compensatory wages.45 - F'ew employees were a"ctively ccmplaintive until 1933 when a. combination of factors led to a strike which drew attention to several. seeming abuses. In that year, a steam shovel wa.s introduced in the open-p1 t mine wh1ch replaced a. number of men •. A level W8.s sealed off due to ~an uncontroll.9.ble fire and another ru.led as unprofitable at depression rates. The problems were given voice by an extremely voe.al Mine Worker's Union of can- - 46 The lea.dirtg voices or the M.w.u.c. visited Corbin and a.a.a. 4Jrn 1929 at the time of the openi~~ of a road into the tolt\!D. 1 Corbin boasted fifty cars. ffCorbin Road Open Ea.turday," FFP, Aug. 9, 1929, P• 1. By 1935 the.re were one hundred ten., valued at $-130,000 and al though no figUres are avail.able to compare other m.ininr~ to,ms, the comm.unity was ri;:.1a.tively quite prosperous. "Corbin Situation,« .EE.f., Ap. 26 9 1935 9 P• 8. Wages ranged from a minimum $4.50 per day und..ergrou.nd to a maximum $6, except for contract miners who were known to earn $10 per day• .As;reement between Corbin Colli~.r1es Ltd. and porbi.n Niner '.s Asso.c_iet1on, Effective AP. 1 11 ,1231, Term.ins.tins Mar. 31, 1232 9 Calgary, West Printin~ Co., n. d, 44The coal at Corbin was good quality steam coal. close to the surf ace s.o that la,-.r: ge staam sh<.ntels could be used together idth other coal-cutting machinery. Hughes, on. cit.• P• 91. 45B:ri ti sh Columbia., Department of' Labour·, "Coal r~1ners Corbin, Ti ?l?• c:i t. , 19 31+. P• L64. 46The HWUC was joined in 1929. FFP, Mar. 18, 1932, P• 1. "Red Element Meets Defeat, 0 -90• the surrounding districts and urged a militant stand on all demands, solicited funds from other mining communities, a?ld generally agitated against the existing system. Mr. Uph111, M.L.A. and member of the Independent Labour Party supported the strikers,47 urging that the miners refrain from violence. The d1stuxbance was quelled when the compa.?lT agreed to carry on development and maintenance which required mitJ.ers a.t underground levels. 48 Later in 1933 two underground levels were closed for a period of thirty days. During the periodic lay-offs due to lack of demand throughout the year, the company's treatment of the employees was fair and payment of housing, water, light and coal bills we.s not rigidly enforced. 4-9 In 1934 the com- pany attempted to enact a wage reduction of four percent but was thwarted by a one-day work stoppage.SO Recurring rumours that operations were to be concentrated a.t the "Big Show1ng"5l and that lay-offs were inmi'lnent ci:r-culated through the small community and maintained a dangerous emotional pitch. 'i'he situation reached a climax in January 1935, when a minor dispute5 2 developed into a major disagreement based on .4?"coeJ. Miners~ Corbin,rt FFP, Jan. 20, 1935, p. 1. ·4.s,1Corbin Trouble Adjusted, .. fil, Aug. 25, 193}, :p. 1. 49ttTwo Coal r~11nes at Corbin Close, H ~' July 21, 1933, p. 1. 50British Columbia, Department of La.bour, loc. cit. 51.A ter1J1 used for the ope.n-111 t operation. 52The reason given was failure to remain on the job until the end of the shift, although the victim countercharged discrim:i.nation in that five other men hed accompanied him. -91demands for improved housing and working cond.1t1ons53 and the resul.ting stoppage forned Canadian Pa.e1:fic. to cancel orders constituting sixty ~rcent of the total. p:roductlon.54 The eancel.lation caused mar~gement to lose a11 confi.denoe in en economically feasible settlement and to terminate negotiations. Sporadic 11:orking of the ifBig saowingtt ~as a.llo\1ie..1 throughout the winter to suppl.7 schools and homes but with the e.nnouncement in N.arch that the. compl.1".ny ~;roUld begin fUll-scale operat• ions to fill outstanding eoal orders• the union took a militant sts:nd. When elaetr1ci ty was 1ta thhel.d from the 1\;o:rkers' homes.55 etr..d Pro·.d.ncial. Pol.ice were sucoessfully reeru1 ted for protect- ion of strike breakers, the stage was set for a J!le.jor conf'ront• ation. The presence o'f seventy-seven Provincial. Pel.ice56 and approximately four hund.red miners57 walking t"rom B1airmore in aid of the miners prepared. the climate for strife. 3 A riot 53.British Columbia• Department of the Ji:ttorney-General 9 Report of the Constable of Corbin Detachment of' 3r1t1sh Co1um- b1a Prov1nc1a.1 Police to the Attorney-Ge:nere.1' s Department 1 *' Correspondence, Jan. 26, 1935• 54 J?ri ti sh ColU1llb1a., Depart:: ,:;nt of Lacbour, o;p. cit. 2 1935, P• K63. 5.5;:;r1tish Columbia• Department of the Attorney-General, PCorbin strike, Letter from th~ Const~ble of Corbin Detachment of British Columbia Provineial .Police t:o th~ Commissioner," Corre:gpor.dence, Mar. 25, 1935. 56Eritis.h Columbia, Department of the Atto:rne;r-Genera1 11 •Radiogram to the Commissioner from the Officer in Charge of 'B' Division.~ ibid., Ap. 20, 1935· 57 A Msy l celebration in Blairmore was proposed to orgaJ'liZe a march of 5,000 persons to a.id. the Corbin miners. Br1t1sh Colu..~bia, D~partment of Labour• op. oiy•a 193~, p. K65. A total. of· l,?OO marchers were prepared t,;:, h1ke :from Calgary and 400 Bl.a.i:rmore miners were stop}'ed. by poliee at the inte:rprov1nc1al bound.n.37. "'Corbin Situation, P.fP 9 Ap.· 26, 1935, P• 8. {'j •92ensued58 in which one strike 'breaker wes killed and over forty people in ju.red; .59 tl"e;enty-two miners were convicted with sentences rangin.g up to six monthst imprlsonm.ent.60 :Mining oper- etions pe:rmenently ceased and relief was refused to former rss1dents61 when they attempted to establish residence in other comm.unities in the ttpa,s:::;tt• A number were transported to Va.n- couver. Ns.naimo and New Westminster by boxaar at the expense ot the p1"'0vinoe62 am the remainder deserted the stagnant commun- ity to filter into other industries throughout the district. Labour unrest declined considerably tn the 11tPass 6 after 58 The fol.lowing acecunt is given by an officer of the British Colu.m.bia Irrov1nc1al Pol1cei "' ••• as far as I can ascertain and from. our Ot<•n ob..~er,;ration I don•t think thst the driver of the traetor t\TB.s hit until the crowd was praatiea.11;.v disJ;>ersed. The tractor stopped about five or six yards before getting to the crowd, lowered the blade el.ose to the ground so as no person could get under it then proceeded toward the crowd. I tried to get the ors~ to allow the tractor to pass but they refused. When the tract.or wa3 within two Y.f'rds of thPtr the orot-.rd mede a rush!> attacked. ttH.:7 men on the tractor as well. es thirty Of our men. 1/;omen threw pepper in their eyes a.n:l the men u,sed clubs a.ri..d rocks. I consider if the tre.ctor brad stopped that all o't them v;ould. h.$Ve been unmereifttlly beaten to death and thr.'ir o:nly salvation was to get away from the crow s,s soon as possib:te. 'l'he tractor lvas only tra.velli:ng- about +-.hree-quarter miles per hour, being in low p;ea.r a.t the time.... As far as I can make out t:t:e driver was s<:;,ruck by B rockt stun..vied a.:nd momentarily fl0ored just as the crowd was di :3persingt but all the others were badly beater.. up Wr'en the rush was ms.de on the tractor.• Rri tish Celumbia, Depertm,ent of. the Attorney-General., e$Report of the Of'f"icer in Ch.e:rge of 1t13t Division to the />ttorney-General11 s Departm.ent,n Correspond"'l:nCe1: Ap. 24t 1935• 59Many of the inlured were women. It was suggested with sou.nd, basis by police officers that women were placed in th~ forefront of 'f;ieket lines• a tactic used in previous strikes at Blairmore and. E:atevan. Ibid. - -93the Corbin strike and in 1936 the miners returned to the ... w. • marking the and of the violent obstructionism ehar- u.~ acter1st1e of the M. w.u.c. •s reign. A stoppage fer ree-ogn1t- ion or the u. M. w. and 1.mproveme.nts in wages and working cond- itions was amicably settled in 193? with favourable grants to the miners. 6:; Return to an internatione.1 union and attendant vast financh;i:.l resow:-ces 1ndirectly intimidated. the company and an early agreement was reaehed.64 Another strike by the U.M.w. in 1938 served to extract general wage increases ran.gill@.; from seven to ten percent. The short stoppage and pay increase indicated a ma:r-ked eeonom.1e improvement in the eeal industry and a returrt. to a high degt"e& of union solida:r-it;y.65 A s1gnif"1eant ela\&s& in light or ensu- ing events woul.d terminate the contract in the event of a n 8 t1onal emergency• Emphasis on the M.w.u.c. as the ffv1l.la.in* 1s most often suggested as the ba.s1 s o'f mucb of the trouble d:ur1ng the early "th1rt1eaff 1n the Crowsnest Pass and evidence supports this interpretation. However the years of major work stoppages cl.so coincide l'i-1. th a period. in which the economy of the district was most unhealthy and workers were the eh1ef sufferers of the malady. Crows.nest miners' trustration and d1si1l.us1or:nnent was 6J:Pay increases were from·r1tty to seventy cents per day with an average 1nerease of twenty•five eents per eight-hour shift end uni.on reeogni t1on. "CIO Union Recognized 1 " D!f!!ll Prov., AP• 211 1937t P• 1. 64e Avert F'ernie Mining Strtke," Daily Prov., Ap. 13 1 1937 9 P• 14. 65'*M:1ne:r·s Get Increase," FFP 9 Dee. 16, 1938· 1 P• 8. -94typified 1n the Corb1n strike. The d.1seo:1t.ent ezperlenced during the "th1rtiesd under the leadership of the M.w.u.c. would have 'been equaJ.ly disruptive to th·a stetus quo regard- less of the label attached to the union organizat1on and. other voices d1sa:pproving. of eondition.s in the mini:r..g camps woul.d have been branded likewise as communistic and. t~asonotts~ i lthough the issues ·with :·rhich the miners of the Crows- nest were concerned varied cons1derab'ly over the decedat a number of complaints repeatedly appe~red. Du.ring the entire two decades after the First World war, the unions were f'1ghti:ng: a "hold the 11tte~ policy in f~ce of a general economic recession but pa.rticulax-ly of a declining coal. industry. Failure to ad.ju.st to cha.nging oconom1e conditions. and continua.t.ion of unrealistic dem.sr..d.s led ts large-scale le.y-otfs a:nd. embittered the mi.n.ers toward tha trad.1t1ontl ind.ustri:tl lll""dons which refused to organi~e thi'.f unemployed who were pr1ncipsl1y t'ormer miners. The avowed cawnunist unions thus ga1nad con- side:rable influence 8l!!ong an element of society who could see no othe:r sincere e'.K:J.)~ss1on of' concern for their ;;light. Although the mine unions ~"ere believed to be integral to the livelihood of' Crows:nest Pass miners -prier to the ttthir~1es", their strength at various times during the depression was nonexistent. Wage l.evels wer~ undoubtedly rs1s~ to a relati. V'sly hil?'Jl sta·te in the lgte "twenties" and they were un:r,;:;a.J.istiG ·when recessions 1.n e.e~l Y.n~:'l:'kets oecured. Union organizations Yere unbending 1.n their maintenance of existing wage le-v-els. Instead of wage.s undergoing a rele.t1 ve dee11ne in slaek times t ~ few m1ners vere retain.ed on contract. workillg:' long hours -95and earning high wages to fi11 coe1 orders while large numbers were laid off. It was a characteristic of the depression in Canada that wages were maintained for a few while the vastly reduced ma.rkets were compensf:.ted for by the dismissal of the surplus labour. Consequently as the standard of living declined during the tttb.irties" due to large-sea.le economic retrenchments and unemployment, the few who were still employed experienced comparatively easier 11v1ns conditions. Coal mining as a way of life underwent a marked transit• ion by the end of the depression. Skilled workers were unwil- ling to venture to employment in mines of alternative areas whose future was cloudy, and their marked ls.ek of confidence displayed throughout the depression was partly due to the lack or opportunity to utilize their only highly developed skills. The self-esteem of individuals skilled in the trade gradually lessened as the reputation of' the coal miner rrrent 'from a res• pected o~cupation with high remuneration and integral value to society to a. state where the industry was considered by most individuals by the late ttthirties" to be a livelihood, parasitic in nature_, that would disappear without ·public support. INSTITUTIONS IN THE REGION l'he unique eharS11cter Gf the Crowsnest Pass communities was principal.ly attribu~ to the nature of their.livel1i'tcod. The eeal mining iM.ustry and its particular companies e:ir:erted no less an 1n1'1uenoe on the growth ol" the institutions (Jf ehureh, hospital. and schoo1. Dependence was basic because facilities and property were owned by the company in all com- munities e::.rcept Fern1e. Financial. fortunes hinged on the econ- omic prosperity- of the compa..n.y and indirectly it influenced the peli.eies of' the i:nstitutions. the dPass~ Similarl;r the: .institutions 1n reflected the eommun1t7•s ne9ds and aspirations e.n:l in this wa..y developed particular pecu1ia.rit:tes• several eeoles1astioa1 bodies entered the crowsnest Pass district a.t the beginning of the railway period and, as in al1 pioneer communities, they went th:ro'U[t)l d1.fftcult times provid- ing for the spiritual. welfare of' the residents,. Boman Cath- and the S~vation Army were all founded in F·ernie before l.900. ilthough miners were not known for their piety, 1 the religious institutions became an integral. element in the social lif'e of the communities. 1 Ferni~ the 1,iest~. Responsibility for forging a strong link wes described by an early cleric as the .,SOdom of FE!A 1 on. cit., P• 73• -96- -97-. between church end. community lay with men of the stature or the Reverend. B'.ugh Grant. His Tuesday evening gatherings which were attended by in:livi.dtta.ls from a.11 denominations, am his colouri"Ul background as the ;on of a logger who had. "shantied•2 along the Ottawa. Valley. brought the people into close aommun1ee.t1on with th,~ ch't1rch and 1 ts teachings. Dttt1ng the years of eompa.rat1va prosper1 ty pr1or to the decade of' the "twenties", the policies of ehurehes 1.argel7 reflected the viewl'Qints of' the community leaders who were 1nelined to look with di.sdatn on persons without 1~ork in a;; land of' opportun1 ty. After the rsCH!isslon or 1920 mEu.1y Canad- 1e'.f were 1nad.equate, the 'bUrden for their welfare fell on the shoul.deTs of' ehari table itJ.sti tutions. In the ·~a.rly yea.rs of ment in the relief of the ttnempJ.oyede Aeconrpanyinq: the real- izat1on that the swelling numbers of' d.estit..UtQ citizens were not :responsible for their personfd plight we,s an inare~..?.tngJ..y critiea.1 attitude by the church toward the economic system. At the Synod of the Dioeets:e of Kootena.y in 1931,. government relief ee..mps were advoc~ted which would be ff"i t. 4'· . The l:"ta.tional moderator of' a. Ca.na.d.1an church asgerted the J.'.)C)sition of his rel1g1ous organization whi.le visiting F'ernie i:n l.93411\ 111.ustrating elee.r1y the very f'ar-reaehing eh.s>.nge Of' think1n..~ which ~ome of the religious bed1es ha,d. e:rper1eneed. t... Th:e church.•• must stand for a greater old. e:.ge pension foJ~ cont:r1 butory unemployment insurance••• ·for a minim.um we..e;e s.nd the and an earlier period to reoei ve 1 enforcement of' the la'!i'.T•• • ~4J that it is mad~ 1m'DOss1.ble [!or ar..yo~ work for a mere pi ttanee, [toi:J starvation wagea •••• 50 However this was not to say that all religious bodies in the Gro-wsnest ?ass. were turning to a. more hUma.nistie view of li:fe-. Some still m..i2lintained that the nntion•s ills woUld be eased bya nba.ck t;o the Bible~s, movementi 11 the outstar~ing; need. of the hour 1s th..ei.t o!"' a great religious re\i'i val. ti. 6 In addition to broad phiJ.osophical. stands on ind..irect 4Br1t1sh Columbia, Department of the Attorna:y•Genere.l, ~Resolutions of the ;:,xi ti sh Columb1s:. Conference of the Uni t.ed Church or Cane.de.• Hay 13-19, 193lt" ibid.• , art. 155· .5ttnr,. R. Grant's Message•w FFP .. July 27, 1934, P• 8. 6ttchurch' s Moves to n.el1eve Depression,. tt F£:P 11 J~,m. 30, 19:31, p-. i . -99alleviation of the depression, the churches took an Eiictive interest 1.n direct immediate ass1 -1tance to peop1e in need. Fae111t1es were provided for recreation and for social. intercourse.? Berulir..g mater1a:.ls and eloth~s were collected. and sent to the destitute.a funds were raised to provide basic sustens..nce for the indigent, 9 and equipment ws.s donHted to hor!pitals and schools.10 In addition to :providing eharit1es., recreat1on81 faoili ties and caring :ror the bs.sie spiri tua1 ai1.d inspirgt1onal needs of their parishioners, one reiigicus body al.so provided a vital community service 1n the ut1on. ro·rm Of an educational 1nst1t- An eight-room school and e:udi torium -was established. by the Rome.n Cathol1e church in 1929 e.tld although it was vital to the educational. needs of the community, a difficu.l.t and 1.arge1y unsuccessfU.l struggle was e9T'!"ied on to obtain funds throughout the '*th1rtiestt. In 1933 the Roly Family School announced ~hat it would close should the mun1c1pa1ity refuse its demand for a per ca,-pi ta grant and for the remov~J. of taxes levied by the munic1pal'.lt7 on tl~ie sehoo1 and its grounds. The school rec- eived no tax monies and was supported by person~ who also paid taxes for public sc.hools 1 alt:r.tough a:pproximately ~10,000 would. be required ~.nual.ly from the te.:::l;)ayers of the district to '7ncathol1cs Plan Hal.l at Nata.l., 71 ,m. M:ar·. 11 9 1938, 'P• l. s~communieation 1 ff FF?t Nov. lB, 1938, P• 4. 9"Loca.1 and General. H Uft Dae. 29, 1938, P• 5. 10"Un1ted Church Meeting, et m,, Feb. 4. 19:;8, P• l. -100- rep1aoe it.11 Its continued existence saved F'e:rnie from a serious educationeJ. crisis as the numbers of students remaimng in school increased greatly during the "th1rt1esff. Al though the pow1at1on of' the KJ?ass" tOl'!,'IlS steadily d.&-creased after 1.920• the remaining families were more st.able and settled than earlier 1nlw;b1ta.nts. Many residents brought th:elr wives and children :from Es.stern Canad.a or Europe and new 1mm.1grants brought their :f'am111es result1n~ in a:n increased number of school age children to eecomoda.te. 1 2 By 1922 enrol1- ment at Fernie Central. Sohool necessitated implementation of a doub1e shi:ft system. whleh sclved overcroW.ing of classrooms but resulted in an overworked. and undermanned teaching staff• The s1tua.ti$n was eased when tha provincial government decided to amend. the ?ubl.1c School.s Act limiting a class to thirtJ'~1ve pup11s1 3 and by the addition of a four-room extension to Fernie Central School. Overcrowding was further alleviatcCJ in 1929 'by the oonstru.ction of' the Holy Fam1.l;r School in Fern1e and a twE:lVe-ro0m stone school in Michel-Natal. The new fae111 ties kept pace with normal st.Udent e.ttendance 'l..U:itil the m1d•depress1on era when an increai:.dng num.ber of young people, who in eerlier ;yea.rs would have sought employment at fourteen or fifteen, rem.eined to complete hi~Jl sehool. ll@fc1ty Council Meeting,tl !f:P 1 Feb. 19. 1932, P• l. l2pernie Central. Schooi i"1a.S the lergest in the tt.Passn with approxi.taately seven hundred students. 'I'he:re wcere schools in .Michel-t·Jatal., .E"..nd one end tll:-o room buildings at Elko• Morrissey t Coal. Creek, Roam.er* Corbin and. Crowsnest. Denholm• on. cit.• PT'• 96.. 97. l3ttsehool E·oe.rd Meeting,fi FFP, F'eb. i5, 1929 9 P• 1. -101The provincial governnt.t:nt em.end.ed the '.Pu.b1.1c Schools Act and. 111 the eompul sory starting age waia chaDged :from seven to s1:x:.""" · The resultant strain on existing f'acili ties led_ to construction of e four-year Ju.nlor high school 1n Fernie in 1936• Improvement in the volume of tax collections and other municipal revenues enabled the construction of a new teehr"1cs.l school in 19311-.5 which provided e.dequa,te faoili ties for the duration of the decade. Consolidation of school facil.1 ties during the vttwent1es• end nth1rt1esw« te>ok place in Fer-n1e aril 1'1iehel-Natal. prine1pally as the: result of the d.eclir..e of the sme.ller towns e:.nd. tha consequent movement of the heads of f amilies to more stable employmertt. Secondly, the trend to greater eentre.11zation or schoo-1 fa.e11it1es w-as initiated b;r the desire to reduce costs and -was rendered possible by improved transportation services.Th©; teaching staff in the sc:hools of the C-rotvsnest I~·ss ware ~ictimg of the austere ~inancial policies dnrir..g the depression. In s-ddi tion to th€':: doubling of cl.ass.room loe.dsl6 some of tha most drastic sa.l.a:ry cuts felt bJ,i• any loeali ty 1n Bxi t1sh Columbia took place. in the ttpaes'' .1? · lirlon.g with a fif- J.4~.rr.1.e starting age changed in 1936• t'l'Com-pulsory School A.ge Changed f'rom Seven to Six 1n B. c.,• lfFP,_ AP• l?, 1936• l'• l. 15«Fe:rn1e City FiM.!l4es,•• FFP, Jan. 22t: 19:3?" P• l. l6ttsehool Notes.~ FP?, Sept. 4. 1931t p. 8. l?,*Loee.1 and General.it !:fZ, June 17, 1932,. P• 5., -102- another ten percentl8 to the municipality in aid of the u.nemployed.19 By 1933 ratepayers in l~ichel-Natal had reduced the salary cuts from twenty-five to seventeen and one-half percent.20 Children of the unemployed constituted a serious problem for the school ad.mini strators. Early in the decade a pla.n for providing textbooks for ths indigent children was adopted and was augmented later by provisions for clothing and optical e.ids.21 In 1933 the president of the Crow• s Nest Pass Coal Company began a fUnd to provide shoes for children o~ the destitute which prompted the provincial government to promise that all indigent children would have clothing and school supplies. 22 ·The indigent status of many psxents and the inability of' school boards to raise sufficient tax monies rendered provision of textbooks impossible, obliging pupils to copy necessary notes er..d information from them.23 Despite the hardships schooJ: children endured during the depression, s number of annual social highlights brightened their outlook. Intersehool athletic competitions throughout the '*Pass" were common and Fernie Righ School competed athlet ... ically e.nd academically against other British Columbia towns 18ttc1 ty Council Meeting, tt m,, Oct. 7, 1932, P• 1. 19Ibid., Nov. 4, 1932. 20 nschoo1 Notes,ff FFP, Nov. 17, 1933, P• 5. 21 '*School Board Meeting," FF'P, Sept. 29, 1933, p. 1. 220 Gove:r:ri..ment to Buy Shoes for Fernie •rots, tt Da11.:r Prov. t Sept~ 6, 1933t P• l. 2 3ttschool Board !Vleeting,tt Sept. 29, 1933, 'P• 1. m, -103- and aeross the 1nterprovincial and 1nternationa1 boundar1es.24 One sueh highlight was the annual debate against Kalispell High School at which questions of contemporery importance we!"e deliberated. A ty·0ical exarrrpl.e perti:r:ent to the ttme was the topic of 19J8a •Resolved that the United c::tates shou1d ma1n- tain its present policy of isola,tion in international affairs". Academically the difficu1t times did not appear to harm the achievement of the di.strict• s high school "l;~hich rated near the top in the province,. pe:rticularly in the gcienees. 25 Whereas school facili ti.ea were overcrowded on tht.~ eve of the "Gres.t Depression", hosp1ta1 buildings and. equtpment were in e relet1 vely goorl state.. An extension com:rleted. to the F"ern1e General Hospital s.fforded the city and surrounding dis- trict edeq_uata aecomodation e:nd modern e(luipm~nt.26 A sms11 eompar.tY•owned. clinic and or..e d.octor in the co!!ln'!ttni ty of Corbin., and a. stmila.T building in !f..ichel-Nata.l. served the ne,2ds of +;he eit1zens although a larger and better equipped fact11ty was built in 1936.27 24'1 Local and General, 11 FF'P 9 Nov. 18 9 1938, n .. 8. 25In 1931 9 Fern1e High School atte.incd the highest collective grade twelve average in the prov1nee irt a.lgebrs;. B.nd chemistry and the second highest in geometry. J.bi¥•t Aug. 28. 1931. P• 5. 26A rli.:$W kitchen, operatings aru,asthetie. dining and 1sol.s.t1.on rooms, and six ad.d.1tiona1 beds were provided a.lo'l'.llil!; with the latest equipm.ent 0 °riosp1ta.l. Extension,.~ fFP, Aug .. 16, 1929, P• l. 27Previous to 1925 the doctors of Fern1e owned ~11 equipment and buildings 1 and provided servic.es throug..Yi an agreement w1 th. the miners• union, similar to that in operation 1n ~1chel-Natal. e.nd Corbin throughout th* depression. The provi.ncial and municipal governments ea.ch -pro"t"ided a thi-rd of th~ tot.a.l 015.000 outlay for the institution. ~Local and General.,w FFP, Nov. 131 1936, ,,. 5. In 1925, the P'ernie Eosi::~ite.l. Hoard i·,s.d been formed to teire over the edm1.nistr9.t1on of the oommunity•s medical needs and f'acil~- ties from the doctors vmO had :i;>l'.'eviously operated under an acs-reement tti th the Crow• s Nest Pe.ss Coal Company erid the miners' u:r..ion. 28 The hospi ta1 operated on the basis of a loc.GJ.1 agreement whereby miners paid a f1xed yearly sum'.?.9 to lnsure tb<:rnselves and their dependents. Patients from the municipality not em:ployed by the Com-pany were '!'!'.:;qui :'·~d to pay seventy cent;o; per dayJO a.nd in s, 1932 agreement, all r~s1dents wer~ fti ven the opportunity of joirling the insu:rGinee scheme. :31 Membe:rship carried free publie ward scoomodation. access to extra charge for a private room end on@-half the usual fee for X-rays 1':--ere levied.. The Fern1e Eospi tu Board fU.lfil.led social 1.nstanees of cam.pe1gns to aid seriously 111 members of the insurs.ncH:l schem~ were common. 32 The adequate loael hos.pi tal 28:rn 1930 an agreement fixed a sum of z'1(;2?. 50 a. year !"or each miner and his family, gua.rantee1ng tull medicsl attention and hospi ta.1 :faeili ties. H.espi tsl.s in !>51ehe1-Natal @!:rid Corbin had 11ke agreements. ,.Interest1ng Meetil'lR: 11 "* £!!• !·1ay 16~ 19JO, p. 1. - 29Ib1d. JO~c1 ty Council Meeting," .m_, .July 1?, 19 Jl, P• 1. 31An energ~t1e can:rpaign wa.s we.~ed t-0 include all residents 1n the sehem.e at. &.n annua1 ex-pendi ture of "tlO ner person. ;'E.os];)tts.1 Fees Now Due,et .fll:, July 29. 1932 9 P• 1· and nMayor Do~glas at Nelson," FFP, Sept. 15, 1933, P• 1. 32A notable e;::s.mple saw the Hiche1-Nata.l I,rmi t. e. membe:x-~ s ~rife e. six months• recuperative period in a dry cl.lma,te after a se:r1ous lU.ng disease. •t.octl P-nd General.~~ l.ff.t Ati• 1, 1938, "P• 5• -105... scheme was th.a prin.cips.1 reason for the :rr:,;:iUr.1ietion of' Premier P0ttullo•s ?roposal fo""' a universal insur.emce pl.en in 1937.'.''3 ThAo hospitals in the district eX1'e1:•ienc.ed ;s:reve eo.onom1.c problems throu_~nout the decede due to the ls;rge number of indigents r€'lquiring care. .A.1 though governments spent large . sums to suppcrt the institutions in the di.strict, wage reductions were- necessary-, and wben requestrni to accept a twenty-five percent reduction in 1932, th~ staff agreed~ In ~he spring of 19:33, Pernie doctors ,;irp-rroe.ch~d City Cou,.."lcil with requests for were le ·wtnFS unpaid bills totalling three hundred dollars per mouth. JS ihe city in turn e.:pproa.ohed the .federn.l e:oveJ.·.nment as part of a delegeticm :from the Cene.dian Medical A.ssociat1on.: istration of ad.di ti.cnsl. assistance to the desti t:ute lay within the juri sd1.ct1·on. of the pr<.·rv1noe• 36 Intet:r..reU. to the di.lemma faced 'by the mur..iei µal hcH.llY)i tal.s in the province and ?e.:'ti culerJ.y in the Crowsnest Pas A~ we..m the loss of" revenue from tne sale of liquo:r- which 111 the past he.d been turned. over to the muntci pa1i ties. Th.e onset d' ):')roh1 bi t1on. s.nd the con.sequ~nt drastic deeline in liquor sales considerably r-e.du.ced mu.n'.ic1-Pa1 revenues while th111; prov1no1.a1 government 3:3.c. plebiscite on i'remier .Pattullo•s proposed hotipita.1 insurance sebeme was rejected by Fel'1'.l.1e resident,-; who voted 1,672 against to 1,087 in favour. ~?lebisc1te hesults.•t f'Fr• July 2t 1937 t -r .. 1.. Also see ehe:p. IV, n. 30. 34t1Hosn1ta1 Needs Your Su-pport,tt l!:f 51 Jan.. ?, 1934 11 P• 1. 35"C'1ty Coune1.1 °fl'"~et1.ru:r 9 ~ FFP, Mar. 1?, 193'..h n .. 1 .. 36u.Medica1 Aid for Unemployed,'* ~' Oct. 13 9 1933t p .. 4. -106- provided no eounterbalaneing compensation. Failure of the provincial. authorities to aid hospitals in the depths of the depression thrust the burden of pro'lf1.d.ing edditionttl revenue into the hands or private citizens: and charitable organi.zations. aesidents Of the city and Sl:l.rroundi:ng district donated preserves 1 :fresh vegetab1es 1 el.oth1ng• l.s.rge quantities or coal• butter, eggs,37 earpetsJ8 s.nd an operating table.39 A local hospital sweepstake was organized in eontra- vent1on of provincial. regttlations.40 and the twenty-t"1ve y-ear ol.d. ambulance w-as replaced by pub11e subscription in the mid.depression years.41 Largely as a consequence Of the energy- of Fernie and district citizens in organizi.n.g sports days, fund drives and collecting staple donatiens.42 the Fernie General Hospital. encountered less f1nanc1.a.1 dif'ficUlty as the deeade progressed. The effect of the d.epres~ion on the institutions of' the district was to establish m.uc.h closer contact ·with individual. eitizen.s. Churches were :forced to make a genuine effort to understand the trauma f.>nd provide some form of relief' :for the indigent. E:dueational f'ao111ties ll!atured during th~ ttth1rt1estt 3'7nn:osp1ta1 Shower ... FF:P 1 Nov. 18• 1938. P• 4, tlLocal and General," ,m. l?~·ov. ll,-W37, P• 5 and ibid., Ap. 221 1938 .. J8Ib\d..; AUg. 28. 19:36, P• 1. 39~•• Dee. 2?, 1935. 40I'b1d •• May 25, 1934. P• 41I'b1$! •• N'ov. 18, l9J8. 5. -10?- s.s many destitute who were eonfU.sed by the complexities of the depress-ion attempted to learn more about the world er infl.ueneed their children to aequ.ire opt1mWil knowledge. Hospitals whieh h~ been a. barely- ad~quate service dominated by tha com• panies eruae.u.ntier publ.i.e control and in s"Pite of the pressurea and hardships or the "thirti:es"'; grew into a st.a.b1e service. oommun1 ty CHAPTER VII The most striking feature of the political activity- in the Crow-snest Pass was a.n early am f'a.i thfu1 e!ihe:rence to s-031al1st theory. ·th~ Tb1s left-lt;"ing ter.iten.cy was extdlpl1fied in career or Thomas Uph.111 1 the represent~.tive for nearly one- ha.l.t centuTY in the ~gislative Assembly and a 1ollg-time eivie administrator. Mr. Uphillt as the Labo\U' member tor Fernie, represented. a. certain disillutd.onment with the f'orm of highl.y eompeti t1ve dsmooreutF prevalent in Cs-..r.ta.da.. The dis111us1on- ment manifested in the switch to Labour representation paralleled the gradual economic retrenchment in the area. with its atter~ant social. diSl'."tlption and hard.ship. A reeession and the accomnanying turn to a more 1.;oeial.ized aT'der came to the Crows~ nest Pass in 1920• whe:t>eas i.n Brit1sh Columbia gene:ral.lYt the effect of the ~Great Depressiontt awakened a social eonse1ousneas whieh did not f1l"ld expression until 1933.1 P...s the most o.btrus1ve pol.itieal '.figure in the uPass" over the last ha1t-eantury 1 Uphi1l was the Independent Labour member of' the provincisl. leg1sl.a.ture f'rom 1920 to 1960. Born near Bristol• England 1n 1874 he lived most of h:ts earl7 years lone exception was J atiaes Hurst Eawthornthwa.i te who rer)resented Nanaimo as a Labour member.at the beginning of the century. ....1091n the coal. mining areas of Wa1es. mines at the age of fourteen. U-ph111 began w-{)r'k in the Later, after serving in the :Boer war '!:'1?here he was awarded the King's and Queen's Meda.ls end a:cq_uired. a less desirable d1st1netion; he bee.de active in the labour movement which was pulsing the area snd held an executive position for s.averal years. Re decided in 19063 to emigrate to Canad.a where he gained employment in the CosU. Creek. mines. Continued active participation in the l~bour u~...1.on :movement led to his election to the position of seeretaTl'• During the First wor1d -War he served as ian al.de:rm:$.l:'.'l. for two terms Md then was elected Mayor in 1915, 1916 and 1917, was def'ested.. in 1918, 8.nd then was re-elected by aeo1emat1on in 1919. Defeated as a union-sn1p:ported prov1neial Conservii.t1ve candidate it) 1.915, Mr. Uphill was not to be denied in l.920 when he wr:1s e1eeted as an Independent Labour member 1?:t the provincial. legislature fer rerr~e" a position he i"i1l.ed for forty yea.rs through eleven eonsecutive e1ections. Pictured td,·: el.y as a man o'f 11ve1y good humour ~ 01" rinn-eonform1at. outspoken., and sometimes blurit l'lr~ture. Uphil.1 l;ni!.s known by his e'lectorate as e. very practieal a:nd commonsense ma.n; one who. was be11evecl to be most eapabl.e of under- staF.d.1ng the needs of a large mining popUlation within the ? ~~~e ws~ ~()qui tt.ed in a court 1uu·ttal. for sanding war news home to F:nf;.,l.and.t1 •neath St11l Sal.ts i:~'it of Tom U-phill,n Daill Pro1•• Feb. 191 l962t P• 7• JffThe Gift of La.ughte:r,tt Vj.gt, Dail.z T1m.e.!t Aug. 18, 1960. 'P• 5· -110- on statements reflect a. deep seated *homespun*' ph11osoph7. the prob1em of the world depression he onee stated.: ttthe wor1d ~ads more men 'tcllo can te11 whether a ~heelb~..r:row 1s u:ps1de do~'11·; on par11amentt Bial'l-1" Of' US "the.t 's the trouble wt th toe> these d&7St we•re afraid Of good Olean fun. We all take ourselves t()o seriously. wr..y 1t i<;'"Ould:::*t mc:rtter a bit if none of us ~·as here tomorrow, the:re•s othe:r-s, and. better, to carry on; and rega...""ding his oonst1 tuents-. Let• s have plenty of it. for a. ha:ppy-, milk is to a baby. . t1 content ed.· ~ . on"'• ffbeer 1s to a miner 11ke 4 A1 though Uphill w&s an ind i vidus,llst uner:cumber'Erl by a party ea.ucue., phi.losopb1eally he was 1nelined. toward the lett. A statement at the height of the second World Hell" reflee-tad disenchantment with the status quo ar,d the bent of his poli t1.ce.1. leaningen ff the dictators se..3" democracy had failed. Demoera.e7 has not failed. It has never been tr1ed~.s He fought for larger pensiong, 1.m~roved sta.ndarde of living £or the workers,. particularly eoa1 miners, ehsmpioned the 11beral1zat1en of divorce lews end legei.J..12:.ation. of hospital sweep.. stakes, $.nd eritieized government eontrol of liq_t.1or outlets. hhen tht'.!! p:rov1nt!1al government «viewed r;-ri th al.arm~ the rising divo:ree rate in British Columbia which ';;Aas the highest in c·an- ad.a and one of the leading in ?'lorth America• and thitS Attorney;;,. General suggested that "aomething should be done to tighten up divoree laws" 1 U"p.h111 replied: "widen them not tighten them. 41'Uph111,u Mr!Jre~•• Map:ez1n{t• JtP• 15, 1950, p.,. ;6. 51111e:. -111- If you don't widen them - - and I give you fair ·warning - it means tree love, right in this provineen. He then remarked to the House that Members of Parliament were usually elderly and no longer interested 1n the romance and excitement ot swapping psrtners. brings on this 9 "Age ••• 1s a great leveller, it's age holier-than-thou talk•'*.6 Mr. Uphill was resµected greatly in the Crowsnest Pass. Ris record of years as their representative stand higher th.s.n wo7·Cs as an indicator of this regard. He we_g knoiizn and. a-opree- 1ated. most for his -practice.l sens1b1.lity in times of crisis, particul8..rJ.Y during the rtthirties". The depression Period was one of grec:-,t instab1li ty in the Crowsnest as numerous strikes t marches and protest parades threatened to cripple the hun~e~ regio11. i\t times the ex-tremists e.morlt! the unemployed and mine worKer8 threatened violence end revolt against the status quo. ·Mr. Unhill, as a m21n who had worked years as a. miner and earned a.a little as thirty cents per ds.y as a young man in the United Kingdom, understood th~ problems and commanded the respect of the unemployed miners where conventional politic1e..ns had no bases of corm:r.unication.,, rr,ost notably duri.ng the He wa.s abl.e to forstall the re.d1ca.ls 1935 Corbin strike when w::arly five hundred synrpathize:rs marchi.ng to aid. the strikers were convin- ced that or1lv violence would result 1n a. severe re&cction. I'he depression period 11 as one of Br1 ti sh Co1umbi~ ~rA~t insta,b1li t.y ill politics 9 set the clim:;te for a pletform which in earlier t'mes h&d found expression in various progressive 6r id ~· -112parties e.nd in 1933 would manifest itself in a new political party. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation,7 a movement organized in Calgary in 1932, proposed to establish a soc1a.1ist government by democratic means. The Party began to organize in British Columbia in the spring of 1933 and before the end of ~ - the summer h&.d nominated candidates in forty-six of the forty- . seven ridings. 'l'he lone exception was Fernie where ru-. Uphill was the Independent Labour ca!1didat.e. In the 1933 election in British Columbia, a revamped Liberal party led by T., Dut'ferin J?attullo stole much of the new party's thunder by espousing a platform Of extension Of government services and in Pattullo's ~'"Oras, "practiea1 idealism" against ttvisionary social1sm**8 whereby the government would begin a program of economic planning by the neTdy formed Economic Council. The sweep to the left was manifested in the eleetion results which gave an overwhelming vin·:::~)ry to the left-wing parties.9 ;.he Liberals had been very active in the Crowsnest Pass before the election and much ground.work was laid for the ca~..d.1date, Mayer harry Douglas, in an effort to unseat Mr. Uphill. Mayor Douglas ran on a platform to eliminate unemployment 7The Co-operative Commonweal th Federation came to be kn.Ot't"D. as the GCF. 8 Edith Dobie, HParty History in British Columbia, 1903• 1933~n Pacific Northwest Qua:rterlzt 27:164, (Ap. 1936). 9out of a total 47 seats the Liberals won 34; CCF took 7; Tolmie Conservatives 1; Independent Non-Partisan (Bowser's followers), 2; Independents 2; and Labour 1. In the popular vote, out Of a total 357,534, the Libers1s nolled 159.131; the CCF, 120;.l.85; Il'ldependent:s"·1011;896. · ~· _J through h1ghwa:y eon.qtruction. reform of municipal financing, &l'ld freedom to cross party- lines on i.s::sues. 10 Sim11Drity of policy $.?t.1 the obvious asnenda..~ey of the c.c.F. over th~ Indepen.dent La.bottr P~rty led to pressure by the c.c.F. to have Oph11l run under the1r tioket,,but th1s we.s repudiated largely at his personal. 1:rud.stenee due to a desire to maintain his ind.epende'nee,, unencumbered by the ctiscip11nes of a party eauctts. Th5 1937 provineial election in Fernie riding was a lively contest. Hatty w. Colgan, a Vancouver la:c~yer,. we.s: ~.eked to stem. for the Liberal partyl2 and he 'tfa.ged ~..n er.iR.l.rgettc. es.m:- paign against the well-entrenched old cam1'aigner from Ferme, who reoei ved endorsat.1.on :f':rom tb.e C ~ G.. I'" .. t the local miners' unions at Michel and Coal Creek• snd the unemployed assoeia:t1ons of Port Steele and Jaff'ray._13 Liberal support came frottt the professior& people €1il'ld.. eurpri singly~ f:rcll!. the ranks of' the unem.ploJ'ed 1n the district. Many were frightened by- Colgan•s statement tr.st "the plUilll.s»l.4 would 'be tenaineted in Fernie 1r sequently Uphill'ls majortty 1n the election relative to that of 19 33 WflS cut in €-J..1 polls except two in Fel:'!'.ie., lO*'Meyor Douglas Liberal Choiee, ~ FFF, Sept. 29. 1933, P• 1. ll.crotal. vote, less one poll• wa..s 2 9 839; DoUglas polled 1$245, Uphill, lt.584. ttThomas Uphl.11 Elected by Large Majorit~,~ itFJ?._ l~ov. J, l9l3t 'P• l• 12~w. J. Colgan Chosen.tt t''f'?t May 7, 1937 9 P• 1. 13('qUph1119 s Plank.~ fF~·, May 28$ 1937, P• 1. "; ir-E(esming; tme.mpl.o;rment :relief. Daily prov., May 8, 193?. P• 1. "Fernie to !rose Plwns:~"' Although 11ttl.e improvement was experienced. in the economy ·of the :E'enU.e ere.a 1 the popularity of' ·Tom Uphill did not We1lle. In 1.946 v.hen F-ernie el.eeted its first mayor after ele- ven years under the administration of a provincial commissioner the honour went to 1'h'c Uphill. Be continued to represent the East Kootenay riding 1n the provincial legislature unt11 1960 i':.'hen he retired after forty years service in the l,egislat1ve Assemb1;v. Civic pol1t1cs was extremely hectic thl:'oughout the depression, ani because of their proximity to the unemployment problem. the immediate pressure on muniei'9e.l 1eaders was greater t:l.a.1 funds et'ter the exhaustion of loetl ta:;; coll!~:ld his Vancouver Center constituency. uosit1on on the f1r. Stevens was elected by acolam- rep:rGsented. the :riding as a Conservgtive until his 1 6~Eonourable Bennett At F'ernie, n FFP• Aug. 30t l.929t P• 1 and ~Bennett Beeept1on,." FFP, AU$. 3Q,19 29, P• 4. l7w2ossib'.tli ties of B. c. Great says ~ir. R. E. Eennett," Daill Colonist. 2-ept. 5, 1929t P• J. -. r-, .J...'-'Sohn r.1unro, lnte:rv1e-w with H. H., 3tevens 9 no. 9-. June 14 9 1966, P• 28. _j --117- split with the Prime Minister over the Price-Spreads Commission. In the period from 1930 to 1935, the Conservative Party \ fail-ed to aid the unemployed effectively to improve their sta~tll'-' -Bes.. ·rhe position of the leader of the Party was r,::vealed to the uestitute e..:reas of the country and the stage at the same time was set for the 1935 election result when the recommendations of the Price-Spreads Commission, headed by Stevens, advising supervision of business practices and repression qf unfair methods, wes repudiated. Under pressure for statements he h8.d made regarding CanadieJl business, Stevens resigned aTJd formed a new party. The Reconstruction Party did not advocat.e a great economic. and social upheaval but proposed e. somewhat vague program of' fair war;ss, restraint of U!'l..f'air competition, limited public works, and the adjustment qf the system of tax collection.19 Workers were impressed more by the courage of Stevens, few hs.vin,g forgotten his eff'orts to re"'.'open the mines after the shutdov1rn in 1933 and hi~: the Conser-vattve Pa:r-ty. 20 outspoken opnosi ti on to the leader of Stevens' program contained reforms which were advocated by the left-wing poli ti eel theo'rists ·with- out the lare;e-scale social upheaval suggested by the redic2l parties. He thus w·as able to obtein th(~ votes of not only the unemployed but also was sunported by meny of the business and 19carl 1r;ittke, A History of Canadas Tor. 1 McL.elland and Stewart, 1941, P~ 399. 20'*It is said by Maclean•s magazine thst if' Harry Stevens could run in every constituency in Canada there would be few other cand.idrc<.tes elected .. n •Edi toria.l Notes t tt ~t Aug. 9, l935t P• 4. -118profesS"ionsl peoplE'~ in the eonst1 tue.ncy -who generally oprosed. r:a,st constituency we~s exhibited by s. meet in;::: in '"he Grar.£1 Theetre at the e:lose of a spes.kin~ tour. The crowd was so great that the overflow had t.o be aco.omod~ted i.n the acljaoent Victoria Hall to whom he coWI!.uniceted via a loud speaker. totally won their sentiment by sti3.tiri..g: Ee ¥'fI believe this d.epres- sion has been felt mo:':"e acutely in Fernit:~ and di";trict than any place in Canadan.21 The ca.w.paig::n for the Kooten~y Zast ridin,r; in 1935 wa.s one of the most bitterly contested in the history of tbe area. A loca.l resident had been. selected ortginaJJ__ ,. by the :ii:ast Koot• eney Liberal As-:;;oeie.tion to contest the E~ll:~Ction, but he - was repl.s,eed l':;y the former I.ieute"P.ant-Gove:rr10Y.' of Eri ttsh Columbia •-"ho h1-,,d retired to :2~ngl$1'ldg. the Ron-oure.ble H. T-i:., Bruce. 22 The e1itry of Social Credit and c.C.F'. car.didates to contest the riding heightened su.spieions of' a co11.spira.cy to split the vote23 e,ncl provo1c.ed the Pressnt follcn~ir.g sts.tem.ent from a very partial Hf;ree itAs the 1rord hss gone out from st. Je.mes :~treet that a. B. ~3tevens is to be. be8.ten p,.t any cost it is quite conceiv21ttPacked House Greets Harry. tt· !£.!:, .l'.ug. 16, 1935, µ. l. 22me:ra were accusations to th~ effect that the- mansge-ment of Consolidated Mining a.r1Q. ainalt.in.g Company of IS:imherley put pres- sure on their employees to support f"..r. :oruce. Shou.J.d l<):~l'esentat1on f'rom the Crowsnest Pass on the natlonal. scene duri:n..~ the ~ ti'tirtiestt s:ppears on the sur:fa.ee to contradict the soeie:J..1stie tendenc1'2s prevalent provincially. The support given to R. B. Bennett's government in the person of B. H. Bte•ens in the 1930 el.ection was a. question of' the lesser of' t~'O evils. The Mf!ick~r.A.Zie King government ha.d sho~"?l fl! res.etion- e:ry bent in the late !ttttwenties«, paxticularly in des.lings with the 1Tovs. Scotian m.1ners whose 11velihood waa closely rel.a1-ted and of' s.'bid.1ng interest to the •Pa:sstt miners. 26 King' a u.nfav- 24~Pol1 ties Warming Up," B'FP, Sept. 27, 1935, 1'• 1. 25Bruoe po.l.led 3,339; Stevens, 3~904; Bryard :~;verson, CCF, 1 1 553; and Ernest w. Sjodin,. Social. Credit, 1..-262. Total. votes polled were l.0.-177 out of' 12,708 !"egistered voters. uuonou.rab1e Stevens N:.ajor1 ty 565," PFP, Oct. is. 1935, P• l.. 26E• 1 the - -120- ourable attitude to the miners. complemented by B~nnett•s campaign based on federal responsibility for unemployment convinced the electorate of Kootenay East to support the Conservative Party. CHAPTER VIII l.EIBUBE TIME ACTIVITIES During the first forty years of this century economie and soc1a1 act1v1ty in the Crowanest Pass converged on .Fernle, its ls:re;est and most vigorous o1ty. Pern.ie was the center of·a burgeoning lumber industry, bm1t on millions of tons of' eoal end optimistic of' becoming the eenter G>f 0111 e..nd. -phosphate in1.ustr1es. 2 A remarkable degree of soe1e1 activity a.coom-panied the growth of this ~beom 6 city as clubs, frfllterr& societies. hotels, schools, churches~ pol.1tical psrties:,. orga,nized a.thlet- ics, theatre and vei.Udev11l.e nourished. Prior to the F1rst werld War a brewery, br1ek :ta.etory, winery, macaroni factory, school, "POWer station, a hospital, opera hm:~ee, Post office., American consulate, :five churches am el.even hotels of forty rooms ea.eh were eonneeted by twenty miles &f streets and sidewalks.J Ledges included the Masons, 1 011 he.d been first discovered in the Fl~thead .area., south of F'e:r:n1e, at the turn of ths eentury a.nd r@p!r~ated efforts were made to recover it. rtDrill for Oil in the Flathead,"' FF'Pt Oct. 4• 1929, P• 3 and see R. A. Pric.a, fl&the1'ild Mau Are~,. British Colw1fb1a ~nd Ji1bertr>t 1966 11 P• 135• 2In the la.te fftw.entieslli the Consolidated fUni:ng s.nd sm.e1 ting Con:rpa..ny ex·;;iored pbes:ph~te de?osi ts in the Rockies- near Fernie v.'1.th a view to flevel.oping them. ~will Soon Commence.ii FF:P 1 Ym;r .31 1 l.9J9 1 P• 1 and British Columbia, A¥~™• 1931, 1932• P• Al.41. 3FRA. op. ei t. t P• 75. -121- 1_,ep~rtm.ent of Mines._ -122Independent Order o:f Odd Fellows, Knights of Columbus, Eagles• Foresters, Owls, Woodmen, Rebekahs, Eastern Star, Orangemen and the Independent Order or Good Templars. Numerous clubs of which the most notable were the Five Hulldred Club, a Benevolent Society, Race Track Association• Dancing Assembly, and Civilian Rifle Association involved themselves in charities, provided recreation and became social. assemblies. 'I'he thriving eomm.unity of Coal Creek kept paee with the develo-pment of Fernie and a Library and Athletic Club, high calibre soccer and hockey teams, a male voice choir. outdoor skating rink p.,nd three churches provided outlets for the residents. The district had not lost its exciting frontier personages and on weekends the numerous hotels, ga.l!lbling halls and other ttelip jointsff flourished. "Bootlegging" prospered during the early railroad. days, remained in existence throughout the pre-war period, and by the time prohibition was proclaimed, if not the most highly respected profession~ it was a communitywide accepted occupation. Justice was severe but practical, as illustrated in the .January 1912 Fernie Free Press: 11 The chain gang did some effective ·work on the side walks during the thaw, removing humps from the straight and narrowff. l\.n added related how police removed six men from boxcars: ~five quip being found fit, were put to work on the streets. but the sixth, being crippled and of no use, was ordered to leave town."4 Fernie was lo~..g the center for the lumber workers,5 and 5see chap. I concerning lumbering in the Crowsnest Pass. -123hotels as well as gambling end dance halls were 8b1e to exist largely on: their patron.a.ge. The end of large-scale lumbering an:l the general. recession experienced by th~ coa:l. 1nd.ustey fore• told the end of this entertainment. the d"Pass~r In the early ~twent1estt experienced a oonsiderable. mellowing in the tempo o'f aet1 rt ty al though !'..Ot to the extent of the province generall.7 wh1eh was influenced by prohibitionist tend.eneies. Aasim.11- etion of' the frontier labourer rrom the isoleted. camps into settled communities, accompanied by aceeptance of ~oe1a.l responsibili t1es, ended the wild revelry which ha.d been oharaeter- 1.stic of' the early years of the eentury. Ind1eat1ve of the tra:nsform:Bt1on wes the order 1.n 1930 b;y the Fexnie Council instructing the Chief' of' Pol.ice to close the gambling halls ope:rat1ng in the cit;r. 6 .:.\1 th<>UP.":.h the economic. s.1 tuat.1on d1d not suggest 1 t 1 a .per• iod of soeiel stabil.ity pre~1ou.s1:r absent in the '*Pa.sstt was exh1b1ted d:u.ring the '*twenties*. A eu,ltu.re.i 1e.vel. was main- tained through a Tha:atre. Guild, musiesl. fest1v&ls, and. ethnic an:l cultural societies. In athletics; the status e:ttait14..A over the first twenty years of the cen:ur;r when the distriet was :recognized na.tional.1.7 as a laorosset b!llsebal.1 1 basketball"' soeeer and hockey power was embellished by a. broadening of interest to ree:reati.on of e less vigorous na:.ture. This was ma.n.1-f'ested in the establishment of a golf' and c.cuntry club and. curling rink. As the e.conomic p$.ralysis slowed industrial. e,ct1vity in -124- reaching changes. A community eeonoml.ca.lly secure enoUgh to ><:>naet an Anti-LoE!!.:fers Le.w in 1918 underwent 1•-.:nne.:rkable a.a.just- ments in thir..Jt:ing throughout the late fftwent1es~ and ~thirties• 9 whev. very little pra.jUdiee was d.ireete.d tcnm:rd the un~mployed. '.fhe illegal liquor trade t a1 though eeonomi aa11J" motiva.ted, illustrated the socili milieu as the l,ciSt vestige or- a stormy yi.oneer period of' rugged 1tldiv1dttsl.iam• running~ The end of' the ftrum business in Ert tish Columbia marked the close of' a di.st1no.t phase 1n the history of' the prov1nee. The days of the 11tWh1.ske7 Sixestt,7 the sGoial.ly accepted and 1nde>penden:t1y weal- thy "bootleggers'*• vau.dev1lle-type .,.g!.rly0 sho'ks 1 twenty-:rour hour gambl.ing halls and. large-sea.le "P¢Y-•Offs to poliee of'f'1cers wh1eh aeaompan1ed th€ 1l11cit liquor trade eeaa.ed with the repeal of prohibition. Hi th the except :1 on of the 1111c1 t 11q:uor trade ritbd. 1 ts e.ttenda.nt busin-ess 11 the life in the Crowsnest PatHi ws.s similar ta that in other eontemr>orary oommuni ties. ?r1or to the depre!!I- a1on the greater flow of revenue from spectator sports allowed organi~ed. social.. clut~s. athlet1e associations and leagues to devotd of & regullar ineoma and talented unemployed athletes moved to other mining eamps in the KootenaY"s 1 8 spectator sports ?McLaughlin Bu.1eks bees.use of th~;;ir size. speed and durability became known as *'fiJhtskey Sixes... F. ~;. Arlderson, 1Jle Rum £h!AAe;:s, Cg..J.~ar.y. P:ront1ers Unlimited, D. d., 'P• 33. 8 ine mining towns of Kimberley and !rail rose to world promi~nee 1n amateur sport in the late ttthirt1estt by winning; ~+orld c.h&.mpionships. declined drastically. Interprovincial and intercity com.petit- ion ceased and field spo::-ts were played solely at the local level. Service clubs which ln the past had sponsored ~sports increasingly promoted gala bolid.fi1' f'estivit:ies to solicit funds for needy institutions:, service fae1l1t1.!,::;s and indigent ind.ividuals. in the communi ey • The largely destitute ?Opttlat1on in the crowsnest Pass gravitated toward the more sedentary recreational outlets. AV®.1lab111 ty of money for sports eq_uip.ment wi:u!! partially resrionsibl.e, but a more drastic f"actor t.aas th~ poor nutrition of the u.nem:plo;red. A lack of ini t1eti ve a..l'ld e.n i.ndol.;;:nt outlook have been chara.cter1$t1es of chronically malnourished. peoµle .and the f a1lu:re of Canada ts unempl.oyed t:o exh.i bit the incl in- ation to im-pro\fe th~ir status during ,~Jr1 postda:t:ir.g the d.epres- gion was largely attr1butable to this factor.9 Facilities in the district to meet the needs of ~he large i.nd.igent population developed principally a.t the instig8'tion 9T'he impairment depi::duct1on nd D1s~r1but1o:n o Food 9 1946, p,. 1311: while the behaviour or pa.op €f in. ad:ve.need sem1-stal"Vat1on is ~,h...'U'aeter1zed tr.r· !!lu.ggish 1ntellectua1 prooasses, decreased abil1t1ee t«~ eoooen:tratei and dre:m:aJ:;1e ineepa.eities for sus• tained .mental. efforts.. {!hey develoE) •• • a tendency to daydream, becom~ restless ·and irr1 table ~n4} some bea.e>:me sullen e.l'ld obstinate •••.• • F'. G. Benedict, BJ;Ylla,n, V1ta.l,.tz an.ii [1f':f&cienc uni Prol.o · · ed :Hestricted Di.6.t• Carnegie In:ilti tute~ ¥.'ash. ,. D. c. , l 9 and :::-:. aunt1ngton, ~J-nsp;r1nss 6f' ,91.v111:;ation• John Wiley and Sons,. N'. l•t 1945 as cited Norman w. De.3Ros1er, Attaok on Ste.rva.tl9n, ·:_;est-port, Conn. i T'he .Avi Pub. Co. , Ine. , .. 1961; P• 7• in opened early in the depression and we:re. furnished wtth d.a.11~ and weekly newspspapers$ and the proeeedings of the Souse of Comro.cna.1° Whist drives and dances were held weekly and the destitute were admitted at :reduced prices. ;,:hi le membership in the Golf ru:JrJ. Country Club was impossible, admisBion p::rtces !"or the un.em:ployed to festivities sponsored by the various serv!.et~ elubs ~"e:re ·reduced and !"ees f'or curling were ·. ·rork~d out in exchange tor memberahip. 11 A yearly ~1cn1c gponsored by- the Unemploy-ed. .Association in conjunction with the miners• un1cn was held in the c1 ty park to l':rhioh the Coal Company pro"l,rided a sp~11e1al. train for Coal CreEi'k rs-sidents. In Coal Creek the. L.1brar;r and. A:thlt>!t1e Club provided rea.d.1ni~ and recreation f'eie.111 t1es 9 an.d. 'f:teelt-e?'l.d soc1s.1s am. danees. r.f'he Gram 'fhel?.tre buildin,ry 1n Fernie waa used a.s a. socio1 a:nd meeting room for the Unemployed Association and the Ce..nadi&l'l Legi,on G>pe.ned th!J';i.r club end librsr;r to the indigent. Miohel-Nata.1 had ex}:)erienoed a ma.jor rejuvenation of' companyowned facilities in thi::t late ~twenties" which th~e:-tre, a. remodel.led d,e.nce hall includ,~d iaf'.•d new hotel. reation fe.cili ties there war~ not B") E?.Xtt~nsiv0 e new Afuthough. reeas thoA!e of Pe:rru.e and Coal. Creek, the;r were less in de.mruld due to the higher rate of employment thrQughout the depression. Ethnic soeieties er.iriehed the eul. tu.re of t;he "Pa.st:• f'rom. the e.t"rliest mining ds.ys,. and. throu.ghout the deprp;ssion l1.vel1 lOnunemployed Reading RGom 1 tt FFF• Mar. 2), l934t P~ 4. llroid. •· Je..n. llv 1.935~ P• l. and oolourft1l nationtl caleb:retions provided an escepe from a somber existenee. 'Beginning with the ;1!!11'1 celebre.t1ons aecom- panying st. P~.9..s u.ndarteken as OPi"!T!illtors zmd. ri;:fpairmen recruited from the distrie.t don~ted their services. There ~eri? at leer.st e dozen w::a.s typified by ~big bands" 3U.Ch as Glen Grey* .s Casa Lom.a Orchestra. tilld by voc?l1.11st:s led by Ke.ta Smith arA'l Lily Pons. -128George Fergusont B. K. s·endwel1 1 \d1llson Woodside, Watson Kirkconnell and Frar.k Ur.tderhil.114 discussed the more serious o"f wor1d events and cond.it1ons. t~otion pictures were a very special treat 9 but were seldam enjoyed by ths indigent population. were sust.ained. in Fernte throughout the However two theatres ,.thirties~ alon.g 11,'1.th a "?layhouse. · l t was a momentous oeca.sion when the i:fata.l Opera H.ous''=i: initiated their "talking"" pictures in Jam1ary, 1930 bjr providing special buses from Mi.chel a.nd. staging e. pa:rade bet.- 1 ween the twin eom.munities. 5 Loea.1 ems.teur stage productions which had reached an unprecedented. w.iceess with uFact-s and Figures'" in 1929 eontinued w1 th vigor to -pre.sent such ,appropriate and well-presented stage ~lays as "Be e..n Optim1sttt which wa~ well received 1n 1931.16 City bands '.·;-"'re also popular end shoWed exoeptions.1 talent dur1nR,; the ~thirt1esfl!• part1eu.la.rly the Fernie Band and Chor$l Socie.ty who won every eligible award in 1936.1? A d.iqti.net paradox: of the depression "trP-ga.ted 'l!lli1en unrealistic hard-line ws.ge demands and refusal to organize the unemployed weakened their position and rendered them ine:rfectuai. Char1ta.b1e organizations d1st- ributed ri::.lief to a subsistence level but also placed the unemployed in the pos1t1on of permanent welfare :recipients with little hope for the future. As the depression worsened, the -131- worke:rs sought solutions from the gave:rnment but were disillusioned bees.use government at all leve1s was not inclined to set eeonom1·c guidelines or sponsor retraining program.s •. 'I'his dis• inclina-.tion came partly as a result of a tradition of nonintervention and eJ.so because of th!.t l'll.f;,gni tude of the un.employ- ment problem.. Accustomed to a. regular income and its accompanying luxuries, large segtnents of' the population were reduced to a destitute level and were forced to subsist on bare necessities. Ti.me previously spent in employment was a bu.rd.en and 1ma.s passed without monetary expenditure in pursuits which taxed pre11iousl7 untapped reserves of' imagination. People used to the seeurity of' a job r.:.nd hope for the rutu.re became completely a1m1ess w1 th no prospect of' saving money or of security in their old age. Children were rea.%'ed with the understanding that their future d.epended wholly (}n their personal abilities and imagination. !nd1v1du.a1 perseverance- and ab111. t.y to survive ~-ere tel\xed. to. the utmost t but paral.lel.ing the increased self.... interest ·w-as an awakening of a social. cons.eiousnessheretofore not experienced in Canada.. Coming as a result of" the desire of th1:S destitute for a greater share of the '*s-poilsac, soeial ~easures in the pub11e interest at the same time grew out of a fea.r by the 'business establishment and other influent.isl people of the nountry- that their soe1al sta.tuses and personal. materiel ·wealth were being thrB.etaned. The menace of' a revoltuic:n 1n Cans.da was never before so acute ~s during the depression, and it was felt by -132many that the destitute would have nothing to lose by a social revolt which could result in the complete fall of the establishment. By gran~ing minimum demands for social legislation to the poorer segments of society, pressure fo:r reform of existing institutions was eased and the majority appeased, while the wealth and status of the in:fluential were minutely affected. BIBLI OGEA:l?HY I1heses 1 3:.r...gl1sht H. E. Eoo o.mic Devel.o ent o ~rthern Tor. t unpub. M.A. Thes1St Un1v. of' 'for. t Albert • 933• Ronald.,. of the socia1 i. t Movement 1tt. ~.;;..;;~........eo.,.·;;.;::l:...um ......b.,.,~~.................-........• van.. unpu'b,. M,. A. Thes s. ot B.c., s. L., .4 Historx: £t tb!t..£1Abroo;tt L2'-$tri:::J~ip, Ee..st i ..AAteooz• van., ura:pub. M.A. a.sis, Univ. of !3., c. • 19~9. '11"ir:UPP1 W1lbur 1 J. Richs.l'd llumphre:r:• :a. FI, Stty;ens and the Ant.eceumnts of tJ~e fe65mst;;:uct1on, ?e.:r,ty, 1930•35· Kingston, unpub.. 1'! • .A.• Thes1st Qtteen•s Univ.• 1961.. Misee1laneou.s Menu.script Materials Br1 ti sh Col1mibia., Department of the Attorne;r-Genera1. Attorney-Genera1's Papers, 1929•1939· Viet., Fubl.ie Archives of British Columbia. __""""'!'.....,., Corres-po?ld.enee, 1929-1939. Viet., Public Archives of British Co1umb1a. Notes eonearniruz: F'e Pattullo Papers. ~>Tiet. t e Public Archives of Bri ti.sh Columbia• Exhibit 88, Drawer 4. stainsby, c. v. The Coal !ii n1 Ind.ust 1n the crow• s Nest PifSS. Van•• "IJ.!lpU • E.sa.. 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A,.. 11',ertrte Nap 1il;re~ 1 Eastern B:al.,f' • Alberta fc.nd Dr1 ti sh ;.,;olumJ?~Jl• Ott., Canada~ Department of Mines and 'rechnlea.l SU...'f""Veys, 1962. ( Geolog1osl survey of' Canada, Paper 61-24.} ---~-· f'lathB~~ 'M,iti A;ea1 1?ritish Qolymbis. ruid Alberta. Ot:t., Ca:rJada., Depe:rtment of" Mines sn1.i TechTi..ice.1 aurve:rs-. 1966. ( Geolog;1e,a;~. survey of C~nad.a, Memo 336.} British Columb1e or Easouree OJ1een s ~ rin.ter, Bri ish Industri.Gil Develo"Pl1tent 9 '.!'rs.de am Ec. onomics c,J,nd Sta.tist:ies.} -139- Collections of Source Materisls Agreement between Corbin Collieries Ltd. and Corbin Miner's .Assoeiation, Ef'feative April 1, ·1231, Term.ine.tirur; March 31, 12..2.i• Calgary; West Printing Co., n.d. Associated Boards of TTade o~ Eastern British Columbia. :Minu"tes of Executive Meetings and Proceediru<:s of the lst45th A.z'l..nual Conventions •••• Trail, The Associated Boards of Trade of Eastern British Columbia, 1899-1945. • Submissions to the Royal Commission on Dominion• ___Pr_o_v-1ncial Rele.tions •••• n.p., n.'})ub., 1938. Contract between British Columbia Miners' Association and the Crow.is Nest Pass Coal Company, 19 3*.• n. p. , n. pub., n.d. Ta.riff Fernie, British Columbia. Financial .Statements for the Years end.i~ December 31, 1215:1966. n.p., n.pub., 1916-1967. United Mine Workers of America, District 18. Passed b Snecial District Convention••• Cal.gary 9 he Association, 19 1. Books Bennett, William. Builders of' British Colu.mbi::;i.• Van., ·Broadway Printers, 1937. Clark, s. D. The .social Development of Canada. Tor., Univ. of' Tor. Press, 1942. Desrosier, Norman w. Atta.ck on Starvation. Westport, Conn., Avi Pub. Co. Inc., 1961 Easterbrook:, i:J. -r .. and Aitken, Hugh G. J. Cc:i.na.dian Economic Histor;z. Tor., Macmillan co., 1967. Eayrs, James. In Def'ence of Canada; from. the Great War to the Great Depression.. lor., Univ. of l'or. r'ress, 2967. 1 Fahey, John Edws.rd. Inland Empire, D. Seattle, Univ. of Wash. Press, o. Corbj.n and S'Dokane. i965. Fernie Historical Association. Backtra.ckino- with Fernie li1stor1cal Association. Lethbridge, Lethbridge Herald, 196?. . Gilman, c. P. Unemplo;ymenti Canada's Problem. Ott., The ,A;r~ and Navy Veterans in Canada, 1935· -140- Graham, Clara. Fur and. Gold in the Koote?'.lE!;rs. Van. 9 \.Jr1g1ey Pr1nting Co. Ltd.• i9'45. Gras. James H. T e liinter Years the Depression on the Prairies. 'Tor., Maemilltan Co.• 19 J • Howa.y 9 Frederic William. ffThe Crow•s Nest Pass and Ni~ola Coal Fields."' Erita,.ah Colu:nb1a, from the -s:arlier&t Iimes to the ?resent.t sehole:field, E. o. s. and Howa..v. F. w. 9 Van., s. J. cia.rke Pub. co • ., 1914, vol. 2. --~-· British Columbia, the £1ak1ae;. o.f a Ryerson Press, i92B. Prov1nee. Tor., ____.,..., ed. L?bour in: C&nadia.n-American Relations: The Historz of' Labour J.ntere.c~.1,2!!• Tor. t Kyerson. Press, 1§37. rs. Me to Yesterday. Cranbrook, B.c., Cranbrook Courter Press 9 i9,5. Kay, D. 2.:nd r-lacdone.ld., D. A. Co e LiveTsed.(t;e$ !1.onald., Hecol ections of the tton to Ottawa fl'rek~. Lake Cow'ichan, B.c., n.pub., 19 5• Logan, E. !1. T'hSii fI.istor;v pf I'rade Union Or~P~tz~.t1on t-n Can;. da.. Chic.• , Ul'l1v. of Chic .. Pres@, 1928. - - - - - · Trade Unions in Canada. Tor. , ~~acmillan Co. , 1948. McNaughtt Kenneth. A Prophet in PolJtio~t a BioP:rsJ?h..L of J. f3. i:doodswo:-:th. Tor., Univ. of Tor. Press .. 19t1'.-..... l k .. ;;... 'll hcq_uarrie, Eeath. Tp.e Conservct-i ve Partz. Tor., Mc-Lellanii. G:~m ::~te'ti~art Ltd., i965. Morison, Samuel Eliot. The Oxf.42.!'4.. Histor;y of the ,:m£2rie8:-11 Psoule. H. Y.. , Oxford Univ. Press, 1965. -141Morley• Alan. Vancouver: Mitchell Press,. i961. From Flilltol+m. to, 1~etroP011s. van., Ormsby, Margaret ls...- British ColgbJ.as Evergreen ?ress, 195~. §;..H1storz. Van. 1 ___.._!!"'•· ttT. IJUf'ferin Pattullo and the Little New Dea.l." ~~olit1es of Tl1seontent, Tor., Univ. of 1'or. Press, 1967. TCook, En:maay, Brown, Craig end Berger, Carl, eds., Cened1an H1stor1c~l Readi?l."iSe) Phillips, Pa.t1:l. No Power Greater• A Centu:rz of Le.bo:r in Pri tisp '°'olumbia. Ven.• British Columbia, Fe deratlon" of LabOr a1'.ld· Boa.g f'ou:nda.tion. 196?. 1 Ramsey, Druee. Ghost '10lltb$ of British Qolwnb1a. Press 111 1963:· • Van.~ Mi tehel.l Of Of Safarie.n, A. s. The Cariadian Econom. in t e Grea.t De ression. 'I'or., Univ. of Tor. ress, 1959. Roc1.c1s1'1 9 ?. ev • .\rn:'t.rew.. Qenada ts Untov.chables. Van.. , Clarke al1d Stu.art Co., 1932• ----------• Go~ in th~ Jµn.~1es. Van., Clarke ~r.itl P-tuert, 1931. E. Winch wi ttke 1 G<:<.X·l. i~- History o,f Canacl,g. Tor,.., McLellH,~d e>Dd Stel!rart, 1941. Periodicals :~:dith. l'l:Pa:rty History in Eritish Columbia, 1903-1933.tt .?ae:ific North West 9u;Brterly, 27tl53-166. April 1936. Dobie, Green, George. ~:;om? Pioneera of .Light and Power.~ t:\ri ti.sh ~ClU!f!1Jia !~isto;ricsl Cl.Ua]:'t§'TT,Z 9 Ztl45-162, July 193B. Grundy, Paul F. ~'Ihe Coal Cleaning Pl8tnt of' Michel British Columbia..~.. '!':ransactions of th~ Can~ ia:n Insti tu.tes of N1ning e.n.:'i }1etP...11m·a, )rt 5~, 19§4. "' Rl.ed.un, John. tt'th:ey '!'C?,.Ught Me Treason. n ftaele@§ BagaZ1ne t Oct~-Nov. 194?. Hopkins. J. Cestell, ed. TP.e Canadi2.n Annue.l B.ev1ew o:f Public J;-ft'a1rs 1 l.901-l,938. Tor. 9 ·rhe Canadian Bevi.ew Co. Ltd., 1902-1939. Ignatieff 1 A. "Condi ti.ons and Occ.u:rrenaes in the Ce;r"Pdie~n Coal f.!iv.ing Indu<:;try. •*' Canadian Mining Journal, vol. 72, {Oct. 1951.} Jacobs• E. "The COalfields of Crow•s Nest Pass, British Columbia.• fl! The Ensineerina: Mae;azlne. 1904. Nesbitt. James. "'Uphill .• n: Ma.cleans Mee;azine, Ap. 15, 1950, n. 56. Pitt, Dal.e L. ttwnat Mining has .Gone for British Colmnbia.• Washington Historical 11ua.rter;i.;r 1 23: 94-109, Al). 1932. Prang, Margaret. ttThe Origins of Public .i:'.iroa.d.oasting in Canada."' Gar.lfJ.dian H1grtop1eal HevlfJJilrt 46:1-31,. fi.ar. 1965. Ricke.rd., T. A. "A E1stor;y of' Coal Mining in British Columbia." The Miner 1 15: 28- 30, July 1942. Smith• H. B. ttBritish Co1umbia"s J?attullo and th~ Sirois Report." Country Gtt&d.et 601· 3, Mar. 1941. Stra,ohan, Eobert. ~coal l'11ning in Prl ti eh Columbia.!'# Transactions of 'the Ce.na'1.ian Inst1 tut.es of' Nini~ .. n '.i'ie te:.1)-~lri.:r.y, 2 : 71, 192 3. Mining Methods in the ;:;rows:oest Coeilf'ield. tt of the Ce.nadi.an Inst1 tutes of Min1nrr ;:;;nd Kh1ttaker,, W. c. nThe 11:lk R1ver Colliery.,'* Western 14ineI 1 18:LH-45t Feb. 19t~5. Ne't\ispapers CanadieYi Le.bor .)efend. er, Tor., f>'gy 1930-Aug. 1933• Viet., Public Archives of Frit1sh Columbia, Hicrofil!n no" l.586;f;;a;y 1930-Aug. 1933• Canadian Miner• Calgary, Oet. 12, 1931-Ap. 24, 1933· Viet.• Pub11e Archives of British Columbia, Mierotilm no. 157lt Oct. 12, 19)1-Ap. 24, 193:3• Tbe Daily Colonist. Viet•• 1929-1940. Tb~ Dailz: Province. Van., 1920-1940. The Fernift Fx'ee frees. 1900-1940. Labar 1hfdef• Winnipeg, Ap. 19:35-May 1935• Viet., Public Are ves of British Columbia, M1c.rcf1l.m no. 15771' Ap. 19'.35May l9J5• Labor Review. Viet., Ap. 1932-Sept. 1932. Viet., PUbl1e Archives o:f British Columbia• M1cro:film no. 15701 Ap. 19:32Sept. 19)2. k{abGr Sxatesman. Van., Nov. 22.- 1929-neo. 19Ln. Viet., ?ublie 1,.ren1ves of British Columbia, M.1erof1lm no. 965t llov. 22, 1929-Deo. 1942. L~'bor 'Truth. Van., Ma.;y 19)4-Nov. 19:39. Viet., Pub11c .Archives of Br1 ti sh Columbia, Microfilm no. l560t r~ay 1934-Nov. 1939· UnentRlofed Worksi• Van. 1 Feb. 7 1 1931-June 17 1 19-;2. V1et., Pub 1o Arehfves ~f British Columbia., Microfilm no. 1566: Feb. 7., l9Jl-June 17. 1932. The Vattgouyer Sun. 1929-1940. The Victoria Daill Times. 1929-1940. Anderson. FrarJt w. The B:µm Bumi.er~. Cal.gary, F'rontiers Unl.1mited 1 1966. (Frontier Book No. 11.} :Front1e;: Guid~ to the_Eo.mant1c Crow's Nest Pass;. Calgary. Frontiers Unlim1 ted; 196 3. (Frontier Book f;ro. 5. ) 1ia:r7'1St T. R. ]he Economic Aspects of the Crowsnest Pass Rates A.5reement. Viet.-• Puhl.le Arehi ves of British Columbia,_ n.d. PERSONAL INTEEVIEWS Baratellit Mrs. Paris. Interview ~1th the writer. Jan. 2, 1968. Chester, Mr. Dan. Interview ·with the writer • .ran. 3t 1968. Dwark1n 1 Mr. Lew. Interview with the writer • .ran. 3., 1968. -144Mangan• Miss Loretta. Interview ~1.th the writer. Jan. Z &. 3t 1968. J. A. Interview with Mr. C11fton Coo1idge about H. B. Stevens. Jul.y 28 1 1966. Munro• --------• Interviews with the Honourable H. E. Stevens. by lo-July 2s. 1966, no.• s 1-l.:3. - - - - • I.nterv1ew w1 tb the R.erverem F-rancis Stevens. July 14 1 19ge;. Hr1t1sh Columbia• Department o:f Land.a• Forests and water Resources, Surveys and Mapping Branch. Cr@lb~kt Elko am F;t.atbead fypograph1ca1 bps. Viet., Queens Printer, 196J. APPENDIX TABLE I Report of Vital Statistics for British Columb~, !929-1939· Year Pop 1 n. Births Deaths Marriages 1929 659,000 1 676,000 €394,2632 704,0001 712,000 725,000 735,000 750,000 751,000 761,000 774,000 10,378 10,867 10,404 10,577 10,013 10,616 10,987 11,186 13,033 13,812 13,176 6,761 6,759 6,447 6,166 6,236 6,393 6,927 7,254 7,981 7,455 7,626 4,758 3,880 3,644 4,698 4,821 5,020 5,465 6,232 6,158 7,897 Year Illegit. Births Rate Nat. Iner. / 1000 Pop. Inf. Mort. I 1000 Live Births 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 273 263 288 348 350 346 320 377 435 510 501 6.04 6.60 6.17 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 5.77 ·4.72 4.73 4.29 4.46 4.40 6.59 6.• 27 5,195 Divorces ·55.4 51.7 49.4· 46.7 45.8 43.4 45.9 43.9 55:~3 lpopulation in 1929-30, 1932-39 is estimated by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics as cited in the Report of Vital Statistics. 2Population is exact in 19Jl, a census year. 3Attributed to an abnormal number of deaths of Indian babes under one year. 4rnfant mortality rate calculation discontinued. ~ivorce act in force I/fay :_, 1935· Source: British Columbia, Provincial Board of Health, Report of Vital Statistics, 1929-1939, Victoria, King's Printer, 1930-1940. -14·6- -l47TABLE II The Population of the Fernie District. Town or District 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 '"Fernie l,640 3,416 !}~Jt~J 2,732 2,545 Elk-Flatheadl 4,8)-4 . 4,016 4,812 6,074 476 1 Th1a iB the whole area cast of the Elk River and.north ot :forty-b.inC! dog;tges latitUdG. Known as Ferm~ Di:jt'.t'iot until l9ll, it was cnQll.sod to the presGnt d1striQt ~ name for the 1921 census. In 1901, Fernie District was probably Michel only. Sourcoi Ca~da, The Dominion Bureau.of Statistics, Th~ Dominion Census, Ottawa, King's Printer, 190!-1941. TABLE III Area and Population of East Kootenay. Year E. Koot. Pop. 1921 2 19Jl3 1941 lsource: 2 sourcc: 3source1 Fernie Pop. 4,Y+J 2,732 2,545 Bri tlsh Co1umbi~., }I.qnual of J?:rovincir.J~ Information, Victoria, King's Pril::iier; -1929, p. 55. Br1 ti sh Colu.;:n.bi~, M~:r.tual of Prov5.ncit:a.1 Information, Victoria, King 0 s Printer,· i9-29. C~:n~d~, The Dominion Bureau o~ Statistics, The S!'."'"'renth & Eighth Domi:nion Census, Ottawa., Kllig• s Priiitc~, i::r3i & -1941. -148T.ABLE IV Average Monthly and Annual Temperatures of Fern1e for 1916-1954 in Degrees .t<'ahrenhei t. l"eO. 1•1ar. Apr. i•1ay June July 17 20 .30 41 50 56 62 Aug. Sept. Uct. :Nov. Dec. r ~ear. 20 40 42 29 51 4 Sourcei c. c. Kelley & P. ~. Sprout, British Columbia, 60 Department of .Agriculture, Soil Survey .. of_.the . Upper Kootenay & Elk Valleys, Ottawa, Cloutier, 1956, Report #5, appendix. T.ABLE V The Frost Free Period of Fern1e, Michel and Newgate. Elevation (ft.) Years on record Average last spring frost . Earliest last spring frost Latest last spring frost Average first fall frost Earliest first fall frost Latest first fall frost Ayerage frost free period Source: Fernie Michel Newgate 3305 33 3800 2800 32 June 1 Hay 4 July 12 Sept. 7 July 19 Oct. 7 98 days 4 June 19 Ju.."1.e 4 July 4 .Aug. 19 J.:.ug. 4 Aug., 29 60 days June 3 May 4 July 4 Sept. 4 July 27 Oct. 13 93 days c. C. Kelley & P. No Sprout, British Columbia~ Department of Agriculture, Soil Survey of the £pper Kootenay & Elk Valleys, Ottawa, Cloutier, 1956, p. 93. -l49TABLE VI Aver§.ge Monthly and Ann.ual Precipitation for the Years Shown, in Inches, of Newgate, Elko and Fernie. Station Yea.rs on Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. I1ay June 1.44 l.'08 2.36 1 .. 20 4.84 3.77 0;97 1.31 3. 39 0.7,6 1.26 2.37 l.r-21 1.62 2.60 .1.64 o.88 Aug. Sept Oct. Nov. Dec. :tear o.86 0.89 1.33 1.56 1.60 2.56 1.12 1.28 1.68 13.81 20.10 Record Newgate Elko ;Fernie 1918-54 1924-54 1916-.54 Newgate Elko Fern1e Source: 1.82 1.53 1.95 4.11 4.24 5.66 July 2.73 1.43 2.90 1.56 39.60 c. C. Kelley & P. N. Sprout, British Columbia, Department of 1..griculture, Soil survey of th~ !!E.J2er Kootenay & Elk Valle~s, Ottawa, Clout~er, 1956, Report #5, P• 94. TABLE VII Extreme Temperature and Avere.ge S::..1.owfall of Newgate, Elko and Fernie for the Years Shown, in D~grees Fahrenheit and. Inches. Station Newgate Record Years on 'i'ew.pera"CU:re High Low l918-53 103 -4-0 15<16-53 97 -40' 4l .. 2 L;.9.9 131. 3 Ellro Fernie · Source: c., c .. Kelley & ?. N.. Sprout, B:..~i·c1sa Columbia, Department o:e i.griculture, SoiJ. su::cvey of the Kootenay & Elk Valleys, Ottawa, Cloutier, 1956, Report #5, p. 15. £.r'~)er r -150- TABLE VIII Ethnic Distribution of Population in Fernie, East Kootenay Region and British Columbiao Nationality English Irish Scotch Other Brit. French Austrian Belgian Czech-Slov. Dutch Finnish German Hebrew Hungarian Italian Polish Roumanian Russian Scandinavian Ukrainian Other Europ. Chin.-J'~p. Other Asiat. Indian-Esk. Unspecified Total Source: Fernle E. Koot. B. C. 897 7,463 ,,. 272,501 430 3,657 .373 721 195 58 54 52 9 124 71,612 125,038 10,772 15,02.3 3,891 1,597 2,759 6,234 6,858 16,986 2,743 1, .313 12,254 4,599 1,163 io,398 38,854 2,538 4,990 49,344 1,607 24,599 1,544 694,263 2,001 247 78 875 146 165 631 20 5 85 ll 15· 511 162 2.0 32 10 10 25 7 2 2:. 7:32 92 1,718 809 189 209 1,851 163 262 473 JO 383 19 ,.,, 22, 500 Ca.."'lada, Dominio:r,;, Bureau of St_atistics, The Seventh Dominion Census, Ottawa, King's Printer, Bulletin 22. 1931, 'I'.ABLE IX Nationality of Employees in the Coal Industry of Briti~h Columbia.. Country of Origin Males Canada & Nl'Tf'lnd. 648 1377 42 Gt. Brit. & Ire. u. s • .Australia Belgium Franc~ Italy 8 6 284 / F~ma.les 4 l -l)l- Males Country of Origin Germany & Austria Cent. Europ. & Balkans Scandinavian Russia & Poland Other Europ. Countries China Hindustan Japan Al.1 Others Sources Females 25 248 34 164 4 125 -. 29 Brit1sh Columbia, Department o~ Labour, A.:-:i.~ual li£J?ort of Minister of Labour, Victoria, King*s Printer, 1934, p. L23. · T.ABLE X Projects Carried Out by the Department of National Defence for the Department of Labour, 1932-1936. Man-days Relief to June JO, 19.36 Location Type of Work Yahk Intermed. Land. Field InteTmed. Land. Field Inte~med.. Land. Field Inte~med9 ~and. Field Intermed. Land. Field Rifle Range Dist. H~ Qo, M. D. 11, Ad.ministration 73, 5~-2 64,858 62,569 J0,901 70,093 2,961 Highway Construction 300,933 Highway Construction 316,523 Highway Constru.ction 229,025 Highway Construction Higtl-;·my Construction Highway Construction 45,007 150,265 93,070 Highway Construction 108,816 Kitchener Salmo Princeton Hope Cranbrook Victoria 32,886 Hope end, Hope- Princeton High. Princ~ton end, HopePrinceton High. Vancouver Island West Coast Road Kingsgate, Eastport, Yahk Crow's Nest, Michel Kimberley-Wasa Long Beach, Nelson. F+aser' s Landing -152- Location • Man-days Relief to June 30, 1936 Type of Work Goatfell, CrestonHighway Construction Goatfell Nelway, NelwayNelson Highway Construction r. China Creek-CastlegarTrail Highway Construction Shoreacres-Ne1sonCastlegar Hlghw-a.y Construction Highway Construction Rockcreek-Tadana1 Sheepcreek-RosslandCascade Highway Construction Yahk-Kootenay Grp. H. Q. High. Const. Long Beach-West Koot. Grp. H. Q. High. Const. Niskolinth Forest Forestry Reserve2 Highway Construction Rosedale-Hope Agassiz-Harrison Mills Highway Construction Work Point, Rodd Hill & Heal's Rifle Range Ri:fle Ra.i"'lge Ft. McCauley, Esqu1m. Highway Construction Boston Bar, Hope-Bar Hope Grp. H. Q. High. Const. Grp. H. Q. High. Const. Princeton Grp~ H. Q. High. Const. Sooke Hu:::J.ic1pal 11.irport Cranbrook B:iz)1way Construction Merritt-Princeton Eighway Construction Tra11-Fruitvale2 Balfour-Kaslo:.. Ne1;-r Benver2 Highway Construction Highway Construction Mount Oldf1eld2 Grpo H. Qo High. Const. Spence's Bridge Spence's Bridge-Herritt Highway Construction Spence's Bridge-Lytton Highway Construction Spence's BridgeHighway Construction Cache Creek Salmon A..i.--m. Grpo H. Q~ Eigh. Const. Salmon .P.w."""1D.-So:.:":.;:e::1to Rig'.:lW'aY COY.iStrtiction Salmon-.Arrn.-Sic.c.:::a.ous Highway Construction Ne1•1gate-Roosville Cutoff East Th't.1.rlow Island.2 Revel.sto:'.::e Revelstoke NorthBig Bend Revelstoke-Sicamous Highway Construction Fo::-estry Grp. H. Q. High. Const. E~3hway Construction Highway Construction / 129,149 . 56,414 58, 8.35 67,144 65,379 2,863 10,195 12,26.5 192,381 268,457 52,231 329,888 18,299 15,830 5,896 4,964 51,363 19,040 144,236 59,366 65,130 13,024 58 ,8.34 196,649 56,751 9,672 165,684 128,392 -153Type of Work Location Point Grey Boston Bar Point Grey White Rock Alder grove Ender Harbour Half Moon Bay.3 Highway Construction ·Intermed. Lana. Field Grp. H. Q. High. Const. Highway Construction Highway Construction~ Highway Construction H1ght-tay Construction Warehouse Boston Bar Highway Construction Tag hum Highway Construction Aldrige Kamloops Grp. Ho Q. High. Const. North Thompson River Highway Construction Dead Man Creek-Kaml.oops Highway Construction Grp. H. Q. High. Const. Kelowna Highway Construction Oyama Highway Construction Nahum Highway Construction Nara.mata Blair Rifle Range North Vancouver Highway Construction Yahk Highway Construction Kitchener Rock Creek· Intermed. Land. Field Highway Construction Canal Flats Intermed. Land. Field Oliver Lytton2, MidT/{t3.Y Inter.nied. Land. Field Intermed. Land. Field Pendleton Sq,ua.mish Man-days Relief to June 30, 1936 120,967 77,540 13,039 . 254,571 40,745 175,525 _52,766 248 45,527 51,051 1,976 17,543 64,292 5,l72 44,479 59,838. 8,264 55,083 31, 377 35,183 23,206 48,206 30,507 .3,665 15,907 lTadana should read Tadanac 2Projects contemplated but not started by March 31, 1936 • .3End.er should read. Per..d.er Source: Canada, Department of Na.tion;.:J. De:fencc, Final gs:oort on th~ Un'S:m:Ql.£~:: :~:.::_C:.£1'lemefOrthe ,$;?..Te of 82;£.GJ.-e? }l,_o_pel£.i?S Y·~:n .:::dr~p.is·~ered by the Df.:J"°?.J?t.!2:inent of N:;i..\:;i onal Def'ence 19 32-19 36, Ottawa, 193'?, I, Appendices 4, P• 99 & 13, PPQ 119-2.3, as ci-"c0d by 5498 l:./CWO Go M. LeFresne, ~he ROY§:l unpublished Honours B. A. Thesis, Royal Military College of Canad~, 1962, pp. 204-11. ~:=...~enters·, -154TABLE XI Numbers Receiving Direct Relief from 1930-1940 in British Columbia. Year Mon. Families Single Total 5,166 14,214 19,380 36,065 106,550 30,587 17,007 27,749 15,749 22,963 15,592 16,207 11,663 15,493 7,053 10,043 8,612 12,976 9,766 128,858 19301 Fam. Head 1931 2 1932 1933 Sept. Har .. 1_934 Sept. Ma.r. 1935 Mar. 1936 Mar. 1937 Sept. Har. Sept. Sept. Sept. 1938 I1ar. Sept. 1939 Maro Sept. 19?,l-O Mar. s_ept. 17,716 15,906 24,969 18,562 22,930 16, 213 20,913 16~289 20,493 14,793 17,579 9,875 15, 369 ll,723 17;162 11,630. 14,986 6,371 r Depend. 18,"Z.79 82,SJQ 88, 370 115,725 ?8,812 102,082 76,827 94,238 66,932 82,772 43,110 70,799 53,199 77,875 12,502 7,135 51,226 6.5,479 28,12.5 lNum.bers receiving relief date from Sept. 22, l930 to Apr. 30, 193l. 2Nurr:.bers rec~lving relief date from May 1, 193l to Apr. 30, 1932. -Sourco: British Columbia~ Department of Labour, Ann1lal o-"' i-'"'e "•7'' --.·1 s·l-o")"' o..c- T hou,... J.. ~~.::..:_~~~~. ---~. ia~o-1-940 L) , B"'na..,...t ;:;,,_~ .!~ Victoria• King~s Printer. 193l-l94l. -l55T.ll.BLE XII Distribution of Costs of Relief. Relief to Municipal Districts Direct Re.lief Re1ief' Work ,,,... Date Fed. Prov. Mun. Fed. Prov. Mun. Sept. 22, 1930 l/3 l/3 1/2 1/3 l/3 l/3 3/10 1/3 1/3 J./3 1/5 1/3 1/4 1/4 1/2 l/2 1/J 1/3 1/4 1/4 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/4 1/4 · 1/4 1/4 1/2 1/2 Jen. 2, 1931 June 26, 193~1 July 8, 1931 Sept. 16, 1931 1932 19333 Aug. 1, 19344 Nov. 30, 193~ Apr. 1, 1939 l/J l./4 1/4 1/4 3/5 4/5 4/5 1/2 1/2 1/4 1/4 1/4 2/5 1/5 1/5 Relief to Unorganized Districts Relief Work Direct Relief" Date Fed. ?rov. Fed. Prov. 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 l/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 Sept. 22, 1930 Jan. 2, 1931 Apr. 1, 1939 lTempora.ry scheme for diyect relief cases only until scheme worked out by all 1evels of government. 2For residenta only, ret.:.~oactive to June 19, 1931. Prov. & fed. gov'ts. each pa1d l/2 cost of feeding transients. 3Trans1ents now administered on a 1/3 basis retroactive to June l, 1933, instead of 1/2 fed.-1/2 prov. basis as pre-June. 4Percentage basis of fe&. aid to provinces ended; fed. assistance received was in form of a monthly grant-in-aid of $115,000; all monies administered by provinces. Most of relief now given in return for work. 5New ag::reements provided that fed. gov't. pay 2/5 of actual e:x:per..ditures for residents and 1/2 for transients. Prov. gov't. continued paying 4/5 of cost for municipal residents & full costs for transients residing within municipal limits. Sources: British Colu.mbi~, Department of Labour? Annual B.0,Fort of~l1e IVf:7_::1tst:er of Labom;- 1930-1939, Victoria, King~s Printer, 1931-1940. Fernie Free Press, Fernie{ B. c., 1930-1939· -1.56TABLE XIII -Single Homeless Hen Receiving Relief through Government Camps and Projects in British Columbia, 1932-1940. Type 19.32 Jan. July 19.33 Jan. July 6,741 6,141 2,7251 Camps Nat. Def. Cemps Hosp. Camps Forest. Camps Nat. For. Projects For. Dev. & Pub. Wrks-. Proj. Camps Pub. Wrks. Projects Pla.c. Min. Camps Relief Organ. Urban Centres 1935 386 413 Jan. Jan. July .July 215 7,869 7,760 2,4.32 6,469 2,922 19.36 1937 1938 1939 l940 Jan. July Jan. July 196 196 162 177 183 102 162 127 166 114 Jan. Jan. Jan. July July July ,.- 369 ·-4092 4573 - 474 - 571 34 275 425 2·:. 019 2,1106 1,392 331 16 -100 1533 - Farm Place. Hostels 19.34 2 1,651 2,252 1 23 906 697 - 2,181 1,499 "5~ 114 213 209:5 ~ 175 249 l,195 10,299 5, 7.39 1Prov1nc1al from 1933 onwaxd. 2c1assified as a ca.mp·f-row Ju~0j 19.35 onward. Jc1assified as Training camps July 1936. , 4c1assified as Farm Improvemer{G & Employment Plan. 5ciass1f1ed as Farm Placement & Improvement Project. 6Figare for Forestry Development projects only. Sourcei British Colum.bia1:1 De:p 8 .rtment of Labour, .A.J.muS1_ Rep~Tt of tJ.~1i:n::;_sto:;:- of Labour, Victoria, King's Printer, ·1933-1941. -l57T.ABLE XIV Relief a....'1.d Publi~ Works Expenditures in Fernie District for Fiscal Years 1929-1939, in Dollars. Year Tot. Une:mp. Relief Tot. Pub. Direct Worlcs Relier • 194,069.30 229,796.33 lJ6,4La.95 134,050.70 82,560.95 192,591.66 235,198.79 228,902.30 225,119.57 206,778.39 1929-30 1930-31 1931-32 l932-J3 1933-Y+ 1934-35 1935-36 1936-37 1937-38 1938-39 2,260.95 87,566.43 107' 273. 62 117,409.12 114,712.25 92,846.98 British Columbia, Department of Public Works, Source: .Annual Report of the Minister of Publj_c Works, 1929-1939, Victoria, K1ng'.s Printer, 1930-191}0. T.ABLE xv Jl..nnual Payrolls in 'che Coal Industry in British Columbia, 1927-1940, 1n Dollars. Year No. of· Firms 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 Sourcei 27 26 28 26 25 27 23 Total P§.yroll 7,502~946Q9:3 7,438,948.90 6' 508' 572. 7 3 5,666,528068 4,671,819.52 ·3, 684, 582 .. 37 2,862,277.99 Year l'Jo., ot: F.irms_· 19;~:: 25 24 :.935 27 27 23 :..935 l937 1938 26 24 1939 1940 Total Payroll 3!1298,911.30 3,0649399.10 J~l+l6,428. 00 3,?:.6,206.00 3,339,646.oo 3,687,824.00 3,811,341.00 British Columbia, DepaTtnent of L~bour, Annus.l Revert of the M:!.:t1iste:z- o:t La::iour, Victoria, King's Printer, 1935, p. Ll2, & 1940, p. ES. r -158TABLE XVI Comparison of Ou~put and Per Capita Production of Coal between East Kootenay District and British Columbia, 1910-1940. Year 191.0 1915 1920 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 19.33 1934 · 1935 Area E.K. :B.C. E .. K. B.C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.. C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.. C. E.K. 1936 B.C. E.K. 1937 E.K. B.C. B.C. 1938 1939 1940 E.K. B. C. E.K. B.C. E.K. B.C. Source: Gross Tons per Year 1,365,119 3, 139' 23.5 8 .52, 572 1,972,580 847,389 2,696,774 854,480 2,444,292 848,448 2,330,036 907,519 2,453,827 1,001,523 2,526,702 886,706 2,251,252 689,230 1,887 ,130 661,426 1,707,590 587 ,87.5 1,534,975 477,677 1,264,746 627,619 2,347,090 407,llO 1,187,968 470,606 1,34-6,741 459,136 1, 41+4·' 687 434,068 l,309,428 561,958 1,477,872 976,518 1,667,827 Men at Prod'ing Mines 3,111 7,758 1,748 4,978 1,582 6,349 1,466 5,443 1,431 5,322 1,494 5,225 1,621 5' .334 1,503 5,028 1,252 4,61+5 l,2ll 4,082 1?001 3,608 698 3~094 751.~ 2,893 819. 2,9?1 606 2,8:.4 628 3,i53 693 2,962 7Jl 2,976 731 ·~2' 87 L,t. Tons per Man 439 404 488 596 Hen Under- Tons per Und.ergr'nd ground ,,.. •Man 2,374 5,903 1,183 575 532 721 5:34 798 64.3 864 639 881 620 876 673 886 662 794 612 740 556 727 577 781 584 915 564 1,139 657 663 554 1,025 668 972 632 972 675 1,044 682 1,412 766 .),69.5 536 1,062 425 4,191 582 989 449 3,828 962 592 437 3,757 607 1,033 - 460 3,646 617 1,15.3 473 3,814 589 1,116 447 311675 550 931 406 3,380 546 909 419 2,957 587 752 425 2,628 684 522 408 2,241 832 .551 465 2,050 614 497. 399 2,145 776 459 478 2,015 462 731 458 2,286 626 467 442 2,088 768 538 496 2,l67 1,062 550 .580 2,175 British Columbia~ Department of Hines, Annual Re:2ort of the Niniste:r of Mines, .cited in J. Hughes, A History of Mining in the East Kootena;y: District of British Colmnbia, u...'l'J..pub11shed M. A. Thesis, Univ. of Alta., 1944. -159TABLE XVII Number of Days Worked and Output in Tons per Man of East Kootenay Mines, 1926-1940. Coal Creel-c Year J.926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 Michel Corbin Per Man Per Days Per Man Per Under- Man Wrkd Under- Man ground ground Days Per Man.Per Wrkd Under- Man ground 741 810 820 666 590 436 362 485 789 724 790 919 826 915 l,059 Source: 891 536 205 594 250~ 899 606 282 757 812 518 -217 700 444 155 330 118 738 269 76 760 376 90 930 614 150 1,140 564 147 l,007 603 165 1,104 713 174 1,020 622 171 968 680 158 1,079 789 181 l,507 592 248 l,976 585 248~ 1,131 540 247 l,572 585 214~ 1,295 503 178 1,088 539 167 1,196 565 159 1,131 684 202 1,149 818 232 1,363 799 211 53 834 240 737 226 627 230 793 244 l,136 276 Days Wrkd 878 244 735 289 928 278i 881 261 847 238 928 225 l,013 250 858 189 983 267 36 15 British Columbia, Department of Mines, .Annual Report of the Mip.ister OI~ ltU;!,~_§., cited in J. Hughes, A Histor;z. of Minlng in the East Kootenay District of British Columbia, unpublished M. A. Thesis, Univ. of Alta., 19~4. -160- T.ABLE XVIII Number of Total Men and Men Employed Underground in East Kootenay and. British Columbia Coal Mines 1920-1940. C. Crk. Year Michel Corbin East Koot. Und.. Tot. Und.. Tot. Und.. Tot. Und. Tot. ,,.- Brit. Col. • Und. Tot. 648 1921 702 1922 641 1923 575 1924 430 1925 549 338 581 909 41.5 720 812 360 613 759 336 .593 573 301 410 760 362 382 76 90 62 47 66 '78 152 . 1,062 14.5 l,207 113 1,063 82 965 104 . 797 124 989 1,582 1,774 1,434 1,147 1,466 J.,538 4,191 4,722 4,712 4,342 3,894 3,828 1926 494 1927 .519 1928 564 1929 565 1930 356 682 408 708 399 763 475 728 421 474 379 60 135 962 115 177 1,033 114 193 1,153 130 191 1,116 196 252 931 1,431 1,494 l,621 l,503 1,252 3,757 .5,322 3,646 5,225 3,814 5,339 3,675 5,028 3,389 4,645 909 l,2ll 752 1,001 698 522 551 754 614. 819 2,957 4,082 2,628 3,608 2,241 .3,094 2,050 2,893 2,145 2,971 1920 8L~9 1931 359 475 1932 256 345 1933 111 143 1934 116 149 1935 120 154 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 335 282 222 256 308 614 609 665 584 .526 459 215 379 214 302 189 357 179 388 186 116 152 343 454 121 ...J..)0 34l 472 128 4:49 339 .523 113 152 42.5 579 117 157 433 574 sourcei ~,. 277 277 253 248 277 459 462 467 538 550 606 628 693 731 731 2 9 015 211286 2,088 2~167 2,175 B:::-:ltish. Col'Uillbia, Department of Nines, A-111.nual £1,c;:eort of the HJ.ni ster 0f Mines i......1.220-1240, Victoria, King~s Printer, 1921-1941. 6,349 6,885 6,644 6,149 5,418 5,443 2,814 3,153 2,962 2,976 2,874 -161- TABLE XIX Coal and Coke Production of East Kootenay Mines, 1898-1940, in Tons 1 • Coal Creek Coal Coke 1898 1899 1900 9, 3Jli· 102,610 196, 8 37 29,658 1902 238,776 1901 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 322,245 215; 776 345,901 425,493 426,793 522,783 441,003 379,968 622,564 206,556 696,844 825,185 577,299 .511,904 569,131 1917 19l8 1919 402,463 1921 413,523 1920 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 19.32 1933 1934 19.35 1936 1937. 1938 1939 1940 32311561 306,291 431,783 65,915 111,683 78)490 84., ,)2J. 118,.551 123,593 93,171 88,775 102,322 117,268 78,420 28,519 148,924 157,905 li+J,460 147,129 128,020 75,187 85,730 13,494 2l0,262 156'.i'708 92,879 53,874 91,604 9,966 113~853 23.51347 235,256 309,505 273,497 . 28,850 J5,0ll 32s; 346 2lsi985 28,042 28,263 11,840 24L:-~ll9 127,125 206,LH2 172si868 261~,592 216,668 2.58,429 147,805 321,535 363, 795 103, 375 123,963 101,065 123,989 79,747 151,014 67' 931 46,022 67,792 59,4.34 41,400 37,768 37 ,137 17!}705 5,444 347g871 328, 332 458,583 652i1555 62,544 69,020 5L~, 312 265,262 247?515 21.+,305 206:;i59l 22,178 24,168 30,366 . 4,111 60,824 126,851 81,718 122,263 72,788 74,312 78,350 43,573 356,696 35911547 . 31.;,2,143 -- 95,685 124,705 58,919 30,615 46,335 58,435 52,726 39, 385 Jl0,258 105,736 29,347 64,818 95,239 25,641 70,030 68,469 56,406 93,292 112,101 378,961 111,265 ,- 114,384 253,862 216,224 201,104 278,124 3901)462 457,581 Coal - 412,185 292,027 86,879 91,645 Coke 96,214 117,766 131,176 106,174 353,728. 278,JOl l'r;~1 464,133' ,.1' o--· .)4 3ooli 420,706 462,733 .376,304 Coal 361 291 ' 0 { ,..;_ 433,836 98~025 Corbin Michel Year 48,266 27,688 68,812 118,599 130,117 179,243 168,259 213,412 257,203 280,691 217,212 243,988 9,973 43~209 48,751 51,205 59,788 lcoal 1s weighed in long tons; coke in short tons. Source: British Columbia, Department of Mines, Annual Report of the Minister of Mi}'.l?S, cited in J. Hughes, A Ristory~of Mining in the East Kootena~ Distris_:c of British Coluiilbia, unpub. M. A. Thesis, Univ. of .Alta., 1944, PP• 142-14 3. -162T.ABLE XX Coal Sales of East Kooter.ay Hines to the United S'tates and Canad.a, 1929-1940, in Long Tonso Hichel Coal Creek u. s. Year Canad.a 1920 58' 546 .3.38 ,,1+66 49,535 320,410 so,680 i91,566 1921 1922 1923 113, 316 284, 264 1924 40,124 4.3,643 1925 159,641 223,209 1926 112,948 174,684 1927 102,814 239,502 1928 176,275 220,075 1929 110,984 212,838 Total· Canada 71~, 354 70 ~i'l.30 144,484. 369,945 35,932 133,889 169,821 Lj,4, 000 102,453 146,453 272, 246 33,896 149,289 397,580 115,483 85,488 83,767 7,897 93, 38.5 397,012 J82,850 287,632 342,316 396, 350 323,822 2.34,894 258,332 258,724 283,582 263,446 1,233 574 1937 19.38 19.39 63,0L1-2 59,675 71, 3TO 68,163 69,611 20,615 29,250 33,068 Jl,'-, 500 30,930 83~657 .88, 9:25 1 • '' -::.3 i- 0 ~<;"7'_,I 102:1663 100,541 266,218 302,535 21+7 ,948 225,201 315,095 236,127 258,906 258,724 283,582 263,446 195,780 184,775 1930 102,-312 55,478 157,790 195,780 1931 77,389 27' 354 104,743 184,775 61,633 11,394 73.,027 179Sll.30 1932 50,666 192,627 4,366 1933 46,300 88,549 234,025 79,270 9,279 1934 1935 1936 Total U. So 179,130 131 722 192,758 234,747 1,737 9,315 267,955 12,900 238,101 9,950 26~890 311,850 257,898 341,985 Corbin u. s. Total Year Canad.a u. s. 72,176 70,746 142:i922 59,826 z::--;. L· .-,7 J..JSI tO 1930 l58,84l 21,274 180,115 15,669 234,556 16,271 241,634 14,091 184,401 13,531 205,315 61,665 1935 69,4l9 1936 83,940 32 '·93 ll6,4JJ 193? 1927 1928 127,.691 19,908 147,639 1938 1929 100,177 18,81? 119,5561 1939 8,940 Year Canada 1920 1921 1922 1811794 4l;i032 1923 1924 1925 1926 39,432 7,997 35,655 J,249 19,134 lL,:.,055 36,671 24,994 4?,44-4 2l,975 l93l 218,887 1932 225,363 43,652 1933 170, 310 22,383 1934 191,.794 739 Total. 9,679 !) J....~ ._ lrncludes 562 tons of coal sold to other countries. Source: British Columbia, Department of Mines, ~al Report of the 11inister of Mi:'les i Victoria, King's Printer, -1940. -l63TABLE XXI Average Weekly Wages for All f-i.dult Nale Employees and Those in the Coal and Lumber Industries in British Columbia, 1920-1940. 1-ill .Ad. Nale Coal Lumber Employees $ Industry Industry ,,... $· 31.51 27.62 27.29 28.05 28. 39 37.64 32.83 33.96 36.96 35.73 32.47 24.70 25.29 25.92 26.15 192~ 27 .. s21 27.99 28.29 28.96 29.20 30.52 30.06 29.79 30.50 30.18 25.40 25.56 25.93 26.53 26.54 1930 19.31 1932 1933 1934 28.64 26017 23.62 22. 30 23.57 29.03 28.40 28 .. 04 26 .. 80 28.11 25069 21.09 18 .. 73 1935 1936 1937 1938 24.09 26.36 26.64 26.70 26.80 28.11 28.49 28.75 27.46 28.20 29.39 28.04 Year 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1939 1940 $ 18.00 21.32 22 .. 41 24.83 26.81 26.59 27.14 28.83 lThe Hours of Work Act came into effect in 1925 and the Male Minimum Wage Act in late 1925. Consideration must be given that between 1924 a.J.'.'l..d. 1925 there was a general lowering of the hours of work in ma;.~y indust~ies9 in some cases where workers were being paid an hourly rate this led to a reduction in the weekly wage. , Source: British Columbia, Department of Labour, Annual !lepo:rt of the Hi::;.;;~;:- of Labou:ri'. 1920-1940, Victoria, King 1 s Printer, 1921-1941. -164TABLE XXII Estimated Value of Production of the Lumbering Industry, including Loading and Freight in British Columbia, in Thousands of Dollars, 1929-19.39. Product 1929 Lumber 50,140 Pulp & Paper 14-,400 Shingles 8,300 Boxes 2,437 Doors Piles, Posts, Mine Props 5,500 Cordwd., Fee. Posts, Mine Tie ·1,734 Railway Ties 2,116 Wood-using Industries 2,100 2,400 Laths & Misc. Log Exports 4,124 Pulp Wd. Export 50 Xmas Trees Total 93,301 1930 19.31 19.32 1933 19.34 .32,773 16,738 13,349 15.,457 20' 337 16,520 13,508 11,156.,..... l0,852 12, 373 4,161 2,805 2,721 4,500 4,375 1,100 2,287 1,632 1,315 l,Jl3 4,726 2,453 772 450 487 l,596 1,253 1,405 1,044 1,576 502 1,850 250 1,335 485 2,387 1,500 2,492 42 i,350 1,500 2, 370 -43 1,014 1,125 1,730 28 1,200 1,000 2,228 55 1,320 1,100 1,931 46 69,737 4411447 35,157 39,155 45,461 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 Aver. 1 Lumber 24,094 Pulp & Paper 12,414 Shingles 8,750 Boxes 1,720 Doors l,69J Piles, Posts, Mine Props 810 Cordwd., Fee. Posts, Nine Tie 1,453 Railway Ties 764 Wood-using Indust:;:-ies l,-300 Laths & Misc. 1,100 Log Exports 2,820 ~lp Wd. Export 23 Xmas Trees Total 56,941 36,160 14,950 7,800 1,629 2,718 40,638 17,214 6,875 2!>1122 2,971 l,434 2,346 1,615 1,556 l,665 1,489 623 1,459 560 1,455 l,495 360 1,511 640 l:i350 1!)200 l:;400 1,300 3,238 11 1,500 l,400 3,782 5 72,010 80,872 67,122 1,500 1,400 J,852 11 141 88,221 1,432 1,263 2,709 26 14 59,912 Product 2,64-6 50, 379 28,626 16,191 13,625 8,560 6,875 5,742 1,712 1~964 2,039 1,353 947 737 36,296 11~11 0 00 /,,. 560 1 Average is over the years 1930-1939. Source: British Columbia, Department of Lands, Renort of the Forest Branch~ 1222-1222' Victoria, King's Printer, 1930-1940. -l65TABLE JOCTII V8 lue of Production of Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead and Zinc in East Kootena_y District, 1920-1939· Year Placer Gold $ Lode Gold $ 1920 1921 1922 3,500 3,600 J,000 20 1923 2,000 5,200 1924 1925 l926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 4,489 721 ·2,499 391 4,733 119 83 3,079 14,841 ooo~s 336 631 754 24,804 28,208 19,824 Source: 2,274 2,779 2,999 341 2,173 3,082 238 1,313 17 41 Lead OOO's $ r Zinc ooo•s $ 2,006 1,583 2,796 1,948 3,022 2,511 2,919 5,677 11,769 3,957 17,898 17,043 14,231 lJ,412 14,697 7,274 12,330 9,467 8,196 9,251 8,774 3,107 8,329 8,286 5,217 4,581 5,984 7,239 4,353 10,535 14,101 20,715 13,584 11,820 6,906 7,718 lJ,048 8,228 7,001 1,991 1,256 1,400 1,882 -~ $ 9 3,266 2,682 248 37? Copper 1,812 2,290 19,14-4 19,474 $ 398 6,636 19,452 15,173 510 9,333 11,866 Silver 3,190 3,711 3,484 3,230 6,673 5,312 6,421 British Col1.-'.."'llbia,, Department of Mines, .A11nua.l .. Jleport of th~ Ninister o:f Hines~ cited in 3. Hughes, .A History of Mining in the East Koot- enay .District of British Columbia, unpublished · M. A. Thesis, Univ. of Alta., 194'4, P• 139. -166TABLE XXIV Mine Disasters ln the Fernie District, 1902-1938. Deaths & Inj. is Date Type Tow--n May 22, 1902 Explosion Outburst Outburst Explosion Explosion E:tploslon Blowout Explosion Bump Explosion Coal Creek Morrissey Morrissey Michel Michel Oct. 14, 1903 Nov. 18, 1904 Jan. 8, 1904 Aug. 8, 1916· Apr. 5, 1917 Aug. .30' 1928 Apr. 13, 1929 Sept. 20, 1938 July 5, 1938 Source: Coal Creek Coal Creek Coal Creek Coal Creek Michel 128 dead. 4 dead. ,,... 14 dead. 7 dead. 12 dead. dead. ~ dead. 10 injured. 3 dead. 3 dead. Fernie Historical Association, Backtrackin~ with Fernie Historical Association, Lethbr1dge, Lethbridge Herald, l9b7, P• 35. Nunfoer of Pupils in Schools and Average Daily Attendance in Fernie, 1928-1940. Year No. o-t: Pupils Aver. Daily Attendance No. in Grade No. in Sr. Matric. XII 1928-29 1929-30 1930-Jl 1931-.32 1932-3.? 19 33-;,,:_;. 19J4-35 1935-;,0 1936-J? 1937-38 19.38-39 1939-40 ·Source: 823 813 831 rt·o .ro I.Jr) 00 Cl 7290 7L~ 771.,22 786 ?L}O,, 37 7b.·8 / -·-O 0..L 686 685 652 67L'r 648 620 619 6,.,-. ,-,~ 65". .,,.,-.-u ~, ~ 634036 607' o )··) 609,,,24 594.,56 577.,92 573.80 10 9 6 19 JO 27 19 Jl.i20 JO 11 11 32 8 British Columbia, SupeTintendent of Education, .Annual Ro~ort of t~_J>ublic Schools, 1928-l940, Victoria, Kingis Printer, 1929-1941. -167. TABLE XXVI Revenue Derived from the Sale of Firearms Licences, and Game Tags, 1929-1939, in Fernie, in Dollars. Year .Amount Year .Amount 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 2,642.50 2, 8:37. 50 2,662.50 3,164.25 2,875.50 3,425.75 1935 1936 1937 1938 2, 396. Z-5 Source: 1939 2,360.75 1,921.00 2,291.00 2,118.75 British Columbia, Department of the AttorneyGeneral, Re ort of the Provincial Game Commissioner, 1929-1939, Victoria, King's Printer, 1930-19 o. TABLE XXVII Revenue Derived from the Fur Tra,de, Fines, and Sale of Fur Licences in British Columbia, 1929-1939, in Dollars. Year Fines 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 9,008.00 9,572.75 8,645.00 5,493.50 3,531.00 5,227.82 4,399.50 3,965.00 5,332.50 5,729.50 .4,776.50 Source: Fur Trade Licences & Fees 142,028.22 147,660.00 137' 233. 31 141,269.55 135,876.94 149,955.11 148,689.64 157' 647. 30 177,771.33 192,024.07 193,170.53 British Columbia, Department of the AttorneyGeneral, Report of the Provincial Game Commissioner, 1929-1939, Victoria,.King•s Printer, 1930-1940. -168Arrears of Taxes in Fernie, 1925-1939 1 in Dollars. Ye~r 1~ount Year 1925 1926 1927 20,72.3 21,928 20,74J 1930 1931. 1929 20,431 1928 Soux·ca: 24,971 1932 1933 1934 fl.mount Year Amount 18,079 1935 1936 26,924 27,?97 2.),423 19t872 25,9J.O 32,755 29,537 1937 1938 1939 22,092 18,507 British Columbia, Depertme:nt of Nuni.cipal !:ffairs, Annual. B:enortof the Min1$!ter of Munici'Pa.1 Affairs, 1925-1939, Victor1a 9 King'f s Printer, 1926-1940. TABLE :;cax Sales of Liquor, including Beer in Fernie and Michel., 1928-1939 9 in Do1lars: .. Fernie Year 1928-29 1929-3-0 1930-31 1931=32 1932=)3 193.3-34 1934-35 1935.... 36 1936-37 19:37-38 1938.... 39 Source: Net Profit Michel Year Net Profit 1928-29 1929-30 1930-31 27,li.14.oo 2'7 9 l.J.45. l.O 23,111.21 _;~. 19 _,;' ~1 ... "'"' 1932~3 1933-Jli. 1934-:35 1935=36 1936... 3? 1937... 38 1938-39 British Columbi&.,. .Ll,:ruor Control 19s-31?. 59 lJ,2.53al8 11,066e6J 13~987.48 12t967. Jl 17~710.53 1e,2e7.s1 18 ,638 .. 46 ~:oardt Ile·ort of the Licuor Control Board l Victoria, Kingis Printer, 1929-19~00 Annual ( l ~ {F1 f • Canddion Tac.ific Ry. • Great Not""fhern Ry. Sc.ale: 100 miles +o 1 ;nc..h MAPI ~ Sourc..e: Canada, 'Re.pol'+ cl +he 'Royal Comm1s.s1on on Coal, 1q4b 1 OH-c:iwa, K1n~ $ -Pr•ntes 1947, mdp10. 1 -110- Sc.ale.: Jbrniles +o 1 ;nc..h • Canadlan '"Pac..1.fk Ry. @9 Coal-beann~ Strdia ... Gr-eat Northern Ry. ~ ~fertl Bnf1sh Colum-bld 'Ry . .-+Morrisse.r, w111e&M•c..hel Ry. MAPIT. Sov..-c.e:· Canada, De.parfme.nf J IY)1ne<:>1 Coal Fie.ids oF : Bnft.:>h Col um bid, Otlawa, fu:wern01ent ?r1nhn9 BtJreav, 1q1£, d1aqrG1rn r. Educational l:nstitutions Attended, ~ith Dates of F:nter1ng and Leav1 ngs JC/6 3 to /fi.66 I ___ to _ __ _ _ _ to _ __ Degrees, Diplomas, Etc. 1 Award$d, with natee and Nam.ea or Institutions• 'B, /-}. Publications a