In the west is P. L. Naismith, who in 1900 was manager of the A. R. & I. Co., and is now manager of the important department devoted to the expansion of the country’s natural resources. Allan Cameron, now general superintendent of the Natural Resources branch, joined the company in 1883 as a clerk in the freight department at Winnipeg, and afterwards was promoted to the office of assistant general freight agent at Vancouver. After spending four years in the company’s service in China, he was transferred to London, England, and moved to New York city, holding in both places the position of general freight agent. From this position in 1903 he was transferred to Calgary where he became general superintendent of lands, department of Natural Resources. In this department is also Norman Rankin, who has been with the company for years and has high literary ability. W. H. D’Arcy has been general claims agent at Winnipeg since the memory of man, and Chas. Temple has recently been promoted to chief of motive power and rolling stock at Montreal. Frank Peters joined the C.P.R. staff in 1881 in the cashier’s office at Winnipeg. The next year he was agent at Brandon and afterwards freight agent at Port Arthur and Winnipeg and after being stationed in the Kootenay became assistant to Vice-president Whyte at Winnipeg, and is now general superintendent of the B. C. division. Alfred Price was operator and clerk in the general offices of the Credit Valley in 1879; after being superintendent on various divisions he is now general manager of eastern lines at Montreal—and a mighty good one too, for it is said of him that there is no better railroader in North America. Another expert, Charlie Murphy, fills a similar position on Western lines. Then there are general superintendent John Scully of North Bay, Horace Grout, of Toronto, Ken Savage of Montreal, H. P. Timmerman, now Industrial Commissioner with Graham Curtis as his assistant, and Jack McKay of Saskatoon.
Tom Walklate has been buying lumber and ties for the C.P.R. since 1885, and is still buying them but not at the old prices. Chris. Kyle, who was locomotive foreman in ’89 and afterwards master mechanic, is now supervisor of apprentices with headquarters at Montreal. Bob Miller started railroading in 1873 and was station agent at Windsor street station for ten years, and is now passenger train master there. No one knows when Ed. Whelan, at the Windsor Street Station started selling tickets, and his namesake Thomas at the gate has a voice like Caruso, while John Cullin, who looks after the offices, is still to the fore.
In the passenger department are such indefatigable workers as Charlie Ussher, who since 1886 has been in the fold. From a comparatively minor position he has steadily risen until now he is passenger traffic manager, and also has charge of the chain of hotels of the entire system, and spends the rest of his time either in his office or on the train. Charlie McPherson, whom his friends call Cluny, came to the C.P.R. from the Rock Island in 1886, and has been stationed at Montreal, Boston, St. John, Toronto, and is now at Winnipeg, where he is assistant passenger traffic manager. He is a Chatham, Ontario, boy, but wandered into foreign fields at an early age. Then there is Charlie Foster, assistant passenger traffic manager at Montreal. When I first met him in 1891 he was a junior clerk at St. John, N.B. He has during those thirty intervening years risen from the ranks, and he is one of that kind of fellows whose future is not behind him.
Others who have risen from the ranks are W. H. Snell and Col. Walter Maughan, of Montreal; Harry Brodie, of Vancouver; Geo. Walton, of Winnipeg; W. B. Howard, and N. R. DesBrisay, of St. John, N.B.; Dave Kennedy, of every place; Dan Steele, high muck-a-muck at Sherbrooke; Billy Fulton at Toronto; Billy Grant an old timer of the old timers at Hamilton; George McGlade, of Brockville; “Burroughs, of Belleville;” Billy McIlroy, now stationed at Detroit; J. B. Way, at the Canadian Soo; Joe Carter at Nelson; Charlie Philps, of St. John, N.B.; and the company’s representatives in the United States—Fred Perry in New York; Tommy Wall at Chicago; E. L. Sheehan, at St. Louis; Mike Malone, at Cincinnati; A. A. Polhamus at Los Angeles; Fred Nason at San Francisco; Teddy Chesbrough at Atlanta, A. G. Albertson, at Minneapolis, L. R. Hart at Boston, G. B. Burpee at Cleveland, R. C. Clayton at Philadelphia, Clarence Williams at Pittsburg, B. E. Smeed at St. Paul, Fred Sturdee at Seattle, D. C. O’Keefe at Tacoma, E. L. Cardie at Spokane, C. E. Phelps at Washington, and George Walton at Buffalo, all of whom have been with the company for years and upheld the interests of the C.P.R. in the land of the Stars and Stripes.
Geo. C. Wells, whose word is always accepted in railway conferences, began as a clerk in the passenger department in Montreal in ’92, and now he is still at work as assistant to the passenger traffic manager.
George Hodge came into the vineyard in 1890 as a clerk in the passenger department, and steadily rose officially until now he is assistant to the vice-president. Fred Hopkins came to work earlier than George—in ’82—in the passenger department and rose to be assistant general passenger agent. Emile Hebert’s connection with the company dates away back in the ’80’s. To him is assigned the duty of looking after French-Canadian patrons, and he does it so successfully that many of his compatriots imagine that he is the president of the C.P.R. and believe that Ambroise Lalonde, another veteran, is general manager.
Good old Alexander Calder, of Winnipeg, has been associated with the company ever since its birth, and is still doing business at the same old stand. His son Arthur has been with the company for very many years, and now fills a position on the executive staff.
Charles Buell is of the ’95 product, and after a quarter of a century’s service is now staff registrar and secretary of the pension department. “They” say that Charlie knows the age, sex and previous condition of servitude of every blessed one of the 100,000 employes of the C.P.R.
Billy Dockrill, Harry Ibbotson, Jimmy McKenna, and Walter Brett are veteran travelling passenger agents still on deck. R. J. Smith, for years with the company, is now chief ticket agent at Montreal; Fred C. Lydon, who came as a boy, is city ticket agent at Montreal. Geo. Beer and Billy Corbett are well known figures in the Toronto office. Billy Jackson, outside ticket agent at Clinton, is said to be the oldest ticket agent in Canada. W. H. C. Mackay, St. John, N.B., and Jerry Chipman, Halifax, and Arthur Shaw, of Montreal, have been with the company for goodness knows how long. Tom Riddell has been in the claims department since a boy, and is still there.
The present chief engineer, John M. Fairbairn, started in 1892 as topographer on the Soo Road, and quickly rose in position until in 1918 he reached the top of the department. P. B. Motley came as a draughtsman in the same department in the same year, and is now engineer of bridges. And of the others—their name is legion, Angus McMurchy, of Toronto, is perhaps the oldest solicitor of the company, and is still in harness.
H. W. Sweeney was an office boy in the treasurer’s department in ’86, and after being clerk, cashier, paymaster he was appointed local treasurer at Winnipeg in 1908, and still fills that position most efficiently.
Billy Cooper, who is now the head of the sleeping car department, commenced work as a clerk in the general superintendent’s office in Montreal in ’91. He has able assistants in the other old-timers, Bert Mathews, of Winnipeg, and Frank Tingley, of Vancouver, Sid Wertheim, of Toronto, and Jimmy Downs, of Montreal, who can get more lower berths for passengers than any other person—and these are all veterans.
E. N. Bender entered railway work in 1880 as secretary to the general storekeeper of the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway, now a part of the C.P.R. system. In 1902 he succeeded A. C. Henry as general purchasing agent, and has with him a capable staff, many of whom are old-timers.
James Manson (Jim) began railroading with C.P.R. in 1882, then rose to be superintendent, and after experience in Winnipeg and Toronto was transferred to Montreal, where he is assistant to Vice-President Grant Hall. His duties are manifold, and as varied, and he is a fixture for life in smoothing over the rough edges of his fellow-workers.
Harry Oswald is an old-timer, dating away back, and from a subordinate position is now assistant secretary, and secretary of no fewer than eighty-one subsidiary companies.
Teddy Moore came when he was in the bloom of youth which he still retains, and has charge of the insurance of the company which reaches up to the millions.
George Jackson, after many years of service, is now auditor of claims, and Allyn Seymour rose from a minor position to be general tourist agent.
Amongst the old-time conductors still shouting “all aboard” are Davy Bell, Ed. Chapman, Aaron Burt, Jack Johnson, George Wood, Charles Clendenning, Ab. and Dick Harshaw—now promoted to superintendencies, Billy Hassard, W. Goodfellow, Dan Cameron, Frank McLean, now at the gate of the Union Station Toronto, Sandy Younger, Howard Moore, the brothers Ed. and Duncan Park, Oscar Westover, Joe Legros, Wm. Reilly, Morley Munro, A. Houle, John Sheldon, on the Boston run, Steve Yates, Bob Clarke, Mac Beaton, Wm. Campbell, A. Conrtney, O. Brushey, Dan Carmichael, Bob Young, James McWilliam, Ed. McCreary, George Henderson, Joe Lappin and Frank Norman.
Amongst the oldest drivers were James Fisher, who ran an engine from Montreal to the end of the line in B.C., in the early days (one trip only); Harry Floyd, who had the Prince of Wales as his companion on the run over the Trenton division, his Royal Highness saving Harry the trouble of blowing the whistle; Dick Christopher, Ed. Tout, and Tom Leonard, a brother of J. W.; Wm. Wilson, John McInnerary, Wm. Johnston, James Mahoney, and John Douglas. Alfred Stewart is now assistant superintendent on the Atlantic division. Roadmaster Gus Erickson, who has risen from the ranks, told the scientific world of Europe, through my writings, why the mountains of the Canadian Rockies wore haloes, and John Riordon (Jerry) is still on his job.
A valued old-timer is Ike McKay, who has been with the company for a score or more of years.
In the publicity department in the early days were such men as Ed. Sandys, Roy Somerville, Molyneaux St. John, Harry Charlton, Wilfred Crighton, and now the presiding genius is John Murray Gibbon, who is also an author of considerable note, and he has surrounded himself with a capable staff. During all the years some of the best descriptive writers in the world have written up the C.P.R. until, with its newspaper advertising, and handsomely printed booklets, its name is known everywhere.
Chief Chamberlain was with the company years ago, and after being chief of police in Vancouver returned. Men in his department include Col. MacLeod, of Winnipeg; J. P. Burns, J. Cadieux and Inspectors Spragge and McGorman, of Vancouver; Neliher, at Calgary; Ashman, at Winnipeg; Chesser, at Moose Jaw; MacFarlane, at North Bay; Morse, at Toronto; Catlow, at St. John, N.B.; and Logan, at Montreal—all veterans.
Notable among the officers of the Canadian Pacific Ocean Services are Wm. T. Payne, manager for Japan and China, who has resided for many years in Yokohama, and has received high honors from the Imperial Japanese Government. Charlie Benjamin joined the traffic department in St. Louis, Mo., and rose to be passenger traffic manager of the C.P.O.S. Weldy Annable, who started in the Ottawa ticket office, transferred to Montreal, and after a term as general baggage agent was promoted to his present position as general passenger agent. Percy Sutherland is general passenger agent in Hongkong, a son of J. N. Sutherland, general freight agent at St. John, N.B., and Toronto for many years. Billy Ballantyne is the capable and popular assistant general passenger agent at Montreal, and Willie Webber, who welcomes the coming and speeds the parting traveller at the gangway of the Atlantic steamers, smooths away their troubles and spreads that gospel of service which is the motto of the C.P.R. W. T. Marlow, now at the head of the Ocean Services freight department, and Dick Clancy is another popular old-timer among the veterans. The former started in Toronto in the early days and served for many years in the Far East before reaching his present position.
The baggage department, over which Joe Apps, a veteran of the veterans, presides, with assistants like W. E. Allison and T. W. McGuire, of Montreal, and Joe Sparks, of Winnipeg, and amongst other workers Mrs. Tracey, who has been in the department for years, is an important one. Last year the total pieces of baggage handled numbered 6,353,308; bicycles, 13,317; dogs, 21,494; baby carriages, 27,905—all sensible babies travel by the C.P.R.;—coupes, 3,475; and cans of milk, 2,831,858. Space forbids mention of the number of cases of hard liquor carried into the arid districts lying between the Ottawa River and the summit of the Rocky Mountains, but—.
It can be readily understood that it is utterly impossible to mention a tithe of the names of the thousands of C.P.R. men whose long service entitles them to recognition, but instances of many will demonstrate that C.P.R. men remained with the company for long periods, irrespective entirely of their walk in life. Many joined when the company was formed; others came in as the lines on which they worked were absorbed, and there are over 1,000 employees on the pension roll, and some of the veterans of the early ’80’s are still at their accustomed posts. I am sorry I can’t recall them all.
Amongst those who have retired from the service but who are still in the land of the living, are many grand old veterans: Mr. H. J. Cambie, who did most valuable work in British Columbia from the earliest days of the company, and while not now on active service acts in an advisory capacity. W. R. Baker, C.V.O., was with the Canada Central at Ottawa in 1873, and afterwards with the C.P.R., and then general manager of the Manitoba & Northwestern for several years until it became part of the C.P.R. system when he was appointed executive agent at Winnipeg and, in 1905 he became secretary of the company and resigned in 1917, being succeeded by everybody’s friend, Ernest Alexander, who had graduated from the president’s office, and still efficiently fills the position of official scribe of the company. Arthur Piers, who in 1870 was with the Great Western of Canada, in ’82 came to the C.P.R. as assistant to the general manager when the main offices of the company were on Place d’Armes Square, and his office staff consisted of himself and the office boy. In 1891 he was appointed superintendent of the company’s trans-pacific steamships, and afterwards general manager of all their steamship interests until his retirement in 1913, on account of ill health. He is now residing on England, and is just as much a C.P.R. man as ever. His son, Arthur, keeps up the family traditions of loyalty and efficiency at his office at Windsor Street Station. My old friend, Mel Duff, started in 1891 as the office boy above referred to, and is now the very capable manager of the Great Lakes steamers. W. R. Callaway, still as young as he used to be, is now with the Soo line. William Downie lives at one of my several birthplaces, Whitby, Ont. General Superintendent J. T. Arundel has taken to farming at Oakville, Ont. Harry Charlton is now the efficient publicity manager of the Grand Trunk at Montreal. Hayter Reed and his charming wife, who are living at St. Andrews, left their indelible impress on the entire C.P.R. hotels system. Frank Brady is now one of the bosses on the Canadian National system. James Fullerton, the capable ship’s husband at Vancouver, and Sam Buchanan who filled a similar position for the Great Lakes Steamship service in 1891, are enjoying the luxury of a rest, and Reggie Graves, of the Place Viger Hotel, is now managing two hotels at Iroquois Falls for the Abitibi Paper and Pulp Company. Davy Brown, the evergreen old boy of Vancouver, whose genial welcoming handclasp is just as warm as it was thirty years ago, is still very much alive, and W. F. Salsbury, for many years local treasurer at Vancouver, has recently retired.
Fred Gutelius, as good an operating man as ever lived, came from Heinz’s lines in British Columbia, and when general superintendent in Montreal was induced by the Hon. Frank Cochrane to take charge of the Intercolonial, which he vainly endeavoured to run on business principles, and resigned in disgust at his dismal failure for political influence was too great to overcome. He is now vice-president of the D. & H., with headquarters at Albany, N.Y., where his duties are not interfered with by every ward-heeler. Hugh Lumsdun, an old civil engineer who came to the company in 1884, and after twenty years’ service resigned to accept the chief engineership of the National Transcontinental. He is now living in retirement at Orillia, Ont. N. S. Dunlop, who made the entire line from St. John to Vancouver a road of roses, still resides at Westmount. James A. Sheffield was superintendent of sleeping, dining and parlor cars and hotels from 1882 to 1902 when he resigned on account of ill health. Wm. Cross in 1882 was assistant mechanical superintendent in Montreal, and became master mechanic. In 1887 he was transferred to the western division and was promoted to the office of assistant to Vice-President Whyte, in 1904, and after a quarter of a century’s service was pensioned. Billy Grant, now Col. William A. Grant, was private secretary to Sir William Van Horne for many years.
H. H. Vaughan, who was superintendent of motive power and assistant to the vice-president for many years, retired to become head of an industrial corporation. Col. George Burns, of the audit department, resigned to be of service to his country during the war.
Driver Harry Mills is now Minister of Mines in the Ontario Government, and Andy Ingram, who was in the baggage department, is chairman of the Ontario Railway Board. Frank McLean was at the gate at the Toronto terminals. A great character was Peter Stephen, who joined the merry throng in 1880, and after years of service at Smith’s Falls was pensioned in 1915. Conductor Billy Brown of the West, resigned to become general superintendent of the C.N.R., and Ab. Chapman, of Ottawa, was presented with a gold watch on his retirement after fifty years’ service. D. M. Telford was local treasurer at Winnipeg three years ago, and is now living in retirement. Harry O’Connor, of Winnipeg, commenced with construction, and ended as fire commissioner. W. D. Evanson, of the audit department, is now Comptroller of Winnipeg, and Jimmy Morrison, who for years was in the passenger department is general passenger agent of the C.N.R. John Morrow, right-of-way agent, retired some years ago.
Fred T. Griffin entered the company’s service in 1883 as a clerk in the land department, and seven years later succeeded L. A. Hamilton as land commissioner on the retirement of that gentleman who had initiated a generous policy and it was both his and his successor’s boast that the company had never evicted a settler, but had allowed many who had left the country for various reasons to return and re-occupy their farms as if nothing had ever happened. Mr. Griffin retired in 1917. H. L. Penny entered the audit department in 1881 as a clerk, and became general auditor in 1889. After thirty-three years arduous service he resigned in 1914 on account of ill health. George L. Wetmore was another old-timer, commencing his duties as foreman of construction in 1883. He became divisional engineer at several points on the north shore and St. John, N.B., and was pensioned in 1915. Geo. H. Shaw was with Robt. Kerr in Winnipeg for many years, and resigned to go with the C.N.R. W. B. Bulling, who ranks amongst the pioneers of the C.P.R., resigned some years ago and lives in Montreal. Sid Howard is another old-timer who quit railroading to enter commercial life. Ben Grier and Geo. L. Courtney were prominent in railway and steamship circles in Victoria, B.C., but both retired, and Ben is, or was, president of the local Board of Trade. John Corbett, who looked after the export freight for the C.P.R. in Montreal, resigned some years ago and is now living in Philadelphia. Eddie Fitzgerald, who when a lad was a messenger in the House of Commons, a coveted position in those days, became assistant chief purchasing agent of the company and on resigning became vice-chairman of the board of the Hudson’s Bay Company with headquarters at Winnipeg.
Amongst other prominent men connected with the C. P. R. were E. H. McHenry and W. F. Tye and John Sullivan, now of Winnipeg, where he was elected an alderman, and amongst the real original first ones was J. M. Egan, the general superintendent of the road of Winnipeg, who left to accept the presidency of the Central of Georgia Railway and the Seaboard Line, and is now farming not far from St. Louis, Mo.
Ed. James is another old-timer. He joined the C.P.R. in its earliest days, and from a telegraph operator rose until he became general superintendent, and afterwards accepted the general managership of the Canadian Northern, from which he resigned and is now living in Vancouver.
Col. E. W. P. Ramsay, who made a high record during the war, having been mentioned in despatches and honoured with a C.M.G., was an apprentice in the mechanical department in his youth and afterwards engineer of construction of Eastern lines—the building of the Lake Ontario shore line being one of his achievements. Charles W. Monserrat in 1889 was a draughtsman and later a bridge engineer. He had charge of the construction of the Quebec bridge, having left the service in 1910.
John Persse is a prosperous business man of Winnipeg, and W. O. Somers, of the traffic department, W. J. Ross, bridge builder, now of Port Arthur; of superintendents James Murray, Fred Jones, C. W. Milestone, Tom Kilpatrick, W. A. Perry, J. A. Cameron, C. J. Ambridge and G. D. Henderson; of old conductors Joe Fahey, Leary, Billy Fogg, Larose, Billy Chester, now a prominent figure in labor circles, and Billy Brown, now general superintendent in the C.N.R.; of engineers, Ash, Kennedy, J. Brownlee, Armstrong, H. Phipps, Carey, also Bob Willoughby, Tom Carter, Frank Nelson, Mark Baker and Dunham, whose terms of service range from twenty-five to forty years. Doctors Good and Jones, Blanchard, Brett, now Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta; and Andrew Mackenzie, car service agent, is now of the Dominion Coal Company.
There are many men whom death has called, bright lights in the early days of the C.P.R., and amongst them Judge Clarke, of Cobourg, was one of the ornaments of the Canadian bar. His legal acumen was of the greatest service to the company. Another historic personage was Mr. Henry Beatty, father of the president, who designed and built the original vessels for the Great Lakes. From this nucleus has grown the splendid fleet of ocean, lake, and river steamers, which in itself would entitle the company to front rank among the outstanding transportation systems of the world. He was associated with the company until his death in 1914. Other outstanding figures are T. A. McKinnon, George Olds and Lucius Tuttle, of the traffic department. Harry Abbott, of Vancouver, did invaluable work in construction days in the mountains of British Columbia, and Richard Marpole, of the same city, who started with the construction of the road in Algoma in 1882, after many years’ arduous and efficient labors in the mountains of B.C., became the chief executive officer on the Canadian Pacific Coast. Mr. Marpole had a wonderful grasp in railway matters and died in June, 1920, deeply regretted.
W. Sutherland Taylor’s connection with railways commenced in 1868 when he was secretary of construction on the Toronto, Grey & Bruce road, and afterwards treasurer of that company. When the T., G. & B. was absorbed by the C.P.R. he became its treasurer and retired in 1908 when he was succeeded by another old-timer, Mr. H. E. Suckling, who is still actively and efficiently serving the company. Mr. Sutherland Taylor and I were old cronies, and we frequently used to indulge in reminiscences. One of his memories was that when a lad he was going down the Rhine and fell in with a very nice Danish family of father, mother and several children. To him they appeared to belong to that highly respectable class which consists of fairly well-to-do old families. He became intimate with them, and when a little later he met them again in Berlin their friendship was renewed and he was invited to lunch at their hotel. During the luncheon one of the boys, Master George, misbehaved himself and received a gentle cuff on the ear and was dismissed from the table. Years after Mr. Taylor discovered that the head of the friendly family had ascended the throne of Denmark and was none other than King Christian IX., and that of his youthful companions, the eldest daughter had been married to the Prince of Wales and had become Queen Alexandra of Britain, and her sister, Princess Dagmar was the Empress of Russia, and the others were afterwards King Frederick VIII., of Denmark and His Royal Highness Prince Wilhelm of Denmark, and George had occupied the throne of Greece, that Princess Lyra of Denmark had married the Duke of Cumberland, and Prince Vladimar of Denmark was wedded to Princess Marie of Orleans. Never before has a wandering young Canadian boy unconsciously got into so much of the white light which beateth about the throne.
Sir William Whyte came to the C.P.R. in its early days, and after filling several important positions in the east, went to Winnipeg, where he was Vice-President, in which position he exerted a wide influence throughout the west.
Then there was Robert Kerr, who as a boy was connected with the old Northern Railway of Toronto, and in 1884 entered the service of the C.P.R., with headquarters at Winnipeg and afterwards at Montreal, filling the position of passenger traffic manager. He was the son of Capt. Kerr, an old steamboat man of Toronto, who was in command of the favoriteMaple Leaf, which plied on Lake Ontario, and with whom I sailed as a non-paying passenger many a time. Robert Kerr served with great distinction during the civil war, fighting for the North. Mr. James W. Leonard, who passed away in April, 1919, was another old-timer who is not forgotten. In his youth he was connected with the old Midland Railway of Canada, and afterwards with the Credit Valley, and in 1880, when it was absorbed by the C.P.R., he became a superintendent and afterwards general manager of the road. Mr. Charles Drinkwater was secretary of the railway in 1881, and in 1908 rose to be assistant to the president. In his youth Mr. Drinkwater was secretary to Sir John Macdonald, and gained an insight into parliamentary matters that were of great assistance to him and to the company in matters of legislation in Ottawa.
A. C. Henry, who succeeded Mr. Shaughnessy as purchasing agent, was with the company from its beginning, and died at a comparatively early age, and when he died there was general regret for he was highly esteemed.
One of the oldest employees of the company was Charles Spencer, who in 1864 was a conductor on the Brockville & Ottawa, and naturally was taken over by the C.P.R. when that road was purchased by the company. He was for years on the Montreal-Ottawa run, and was a great favourite with the travelling public. It was not until 1913 that he was pensioned, and he died at a ripe old age five years later. He was father of Charles and H. B. Spencer, two men who were closely connected with the C.P.R. Charlie became general superintendent and resigned in 1905 to accept a higher position in the Canadian Northern, and died some years ago, but Harry, who commenced work with the Canada Central (now C.P.R.) in 1870, as telegraph operator and assistant agent at Ottawa, is still on duty as superintendent in his native city. W. J. Singleton was another of the early workers, being agent at Ottawa, in 1882, and afterwards superintendent until 1909, passing away early in 1911.
E. J. Duchesney, who did wonderful work at the time of the Frank disaster; Molyneux St. John, of the publicity department, an accomplished writer, was assigned to become editor of the WinnipegFree Press, and afterwards was appointed Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod at Ottawa.
P. A. Peterson was chief engineer in 1881, with John Canadian as chief clerk, who composed nearly the whole staff, and in 1903 was consulting engineer, and left the service the same year. The names of Major Rogers, who found the Rogers Pass, General Rosser, who was the last Southern officer to accept the inevitable, J. S. Schwitzer and A. B. Stickney, who was chief engineer in the West in the early days, are still remembered, although they have been laid at rest for many years. E. V. Skinner, who represented the company in New York city from 1887 to 1908, was a very prominent figure, and Horace Colvin, who was the company’s representative in Boston from 1887 to 1903, has also passed away. Another prominent figure was Archer Baker, who was an accountant on the Brockville & Ottawa road in 1870, and after several promotions was stationed at London, England, and was European manager of the company until his death in 1910. Alex Notman was a well-known figure and represented the company at several points. He was best known in Toronto, and when he died the company lost an energetic official. Then there were A. R. G. Heward, who was with President Van Horne for many years; Fred Tiffin, who was the company’s first freight agent at Toronto, and resigned to join the I.C.R. forces, he being succeeded by J. N. Sutherland, who has also passed away. The memory of J. Francis Lee, of Chicago; Con Sheehy, of Detroit; and Tom Harvey, of the Soo, Michigan, all of whom have gone to their last rest will not soon be forgotten, neither will Fred Gauthier, of Winnipeg, who, commencing as a freight clerk in ’82, became assistant purchasing agent in 1900, and died in 1919. Albert Dana was another one who commenced as general storekeeper in Montreal in 1881, and in ’86 entered the purchasing department in which he reached a high position and died recently. Jack Taylor came from a family of railway men, and began work as a train despatcher in Ottawa in 1878. In 1911 he was made general superintendent on several western divisions. General Superintendent R. R. Jameson, John Niblock and J. A. McLellan are gone.
Dr. Girdwood was the first chief surgeon and retired in 1902. Among the medical men on his staff scattered along the lines of the C.P.R. were Dr. Pringle, who for many years did excellent service on the north shore of Lake Superior, and Dr. McKid, of Calgary; Dr. Orton, M.P., and Dr. Brett, now Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta, and still in the land of the living, and Dr. Kerr, who afterwards was a prominent physician in Washington, D.C.
An old-timer was W. H. Kelson, who was general storekeeper from 1882 to 1904, and Jimmy Callaghan, who was with the company from 1886 to his death in 1912, and L. A. Genest, general storekeeper at Winnipeg, have departed this life. Geo. W. Henry was in the treasurer’s department for many years. His father was one of the officers who guarded Napoleon during his captivity at Elba.
Bob Morris, the general baggage agent at Montreal, Joe Heffernan, of Guelph; Joe Milward, of the freight department, who was killed in a bicycle accident at Boston, were connected with the Company for years.
George Duncan, of Ottawa, who came with the company when a boy, represented the C.P.R. at Ottawa for many years until his death. We all remember Major Lydon, who formed the famed Highland Cadets, and who still insisted on working after being pensioned.
Memory also recalls Wm. Harder, of Winnipeg; John H. McTavish, the first land commissioner, and Alex. Begg, his assistant, W. Skead, and R. G. Barnwell, of the tie department, J. D. Farrell, now president of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Co., and Dan O’Leary, who constructed bridges, Supt. Con. Shields and Wm. Brown, brother of Davy, John Niblock and J. R. Cameron, T. J. Lynskey, the first one, Al. Percival and Jack Landers, old-time conductors, and of engineer Dick Smith, Allan McNab, one of the pioneer locomotive engineers of the mountains, Jim Brownlee and Jim Stewart, who ran old “69.”
Conductor Harry Hall, after many years of conducting trains, became the representative of the labor interests at Ottawa. Peter Stewart passed away after many years of service, and so did Dad Clarke, who switched at the Toronto terminals. Another Dad Clarke—its wonderful how long they were affectionately called “Dad”—was for a long time in the purchasing department and died as the result of an accident at Ottawa several years ago.
Conductors James Ferris, John Forrester, A. St. Germain and Ed. Barnes, all veterans, have passed away.
And who can ever forget Charlie Panzer, the roadmaster; old Gideon Swain, who bossed the Winnipeg station for years; Hampton, of the Windsor Station, who used words as big as the side of a house, and that dear old friend of everybody—Constable Richards, now guarding the pearly gates in the other world?
The King has recognized the valuable service of many C.P.R. directors and officials by giving honors to Lord Mount Stephen, Lord Strathcona, Lord Shaughnessy, Sir William Van Horne, Sir Thomas Tait, who did splendid railway work in Australia; Sir George Bury, for his work in Russia; Sir George McLaren Brown, of London, England, for what he did during the late war; Sir Arthur Harris, Sir William Whyte, Sir Augustus Nanton, and Sir James Aikins, of Winnipeg; Sir E. B. Osler and Sir John Eaton, the merchant prince of Toronto; Sir Vincent Meredith and Sir Herbert Holt, of Montreal; and for many years an official of the company has been and still is Sir Gilbert Johnson, who bears the Nova Scotian baronetcy. W. R. Baker was given a C.V.O. by King George, and deserved higher honours for his services during royal visits to Canada.
The Dominion Express Company has been managed since its inception by W. S. Stout, of Toronto, the president, being ably assisted by T. E. McDonnell, the general manager, and W. H. Burr, the traffic manager. The names of Billy Walsh, of Toronto, now passed away; V. G. R. Vickers, who has retired to enter commercial life; Goodwin Ford, of Winnipeg, and Jack Murray, of Toronto, will long be remembered. The first president was Sir George Kirkpatrick.
With the telegraph branch of the C.P.R. the name of Mr. Charles R. Hosmer will be long identified, for he was the head and front of the undertaking at its inception. He is a director of the company besides being incidentally a capitalist. Long associated with him was James Kent, who inaugurated a press service and press bulletin for the passenger trains in the West. After thirty years in harness he retired in 1916, and was succeeded by John McMillan, who has been with the company since 1883, and worked his way up from a junior in the construction of telegraphs to the topmost position. The wires of the C.P.R. reach every part of the civilized world, besides several countries that are apparently not entirely civilized. Bill (W.J.) Camp, his assistant, was a C.P.R. electrician in 1886, and there are Geo. H. Ferguson and many others in this branch of the C.P.R. who have been with it for many years. B. S. Jenkins and John Tait and Jack Stronach were old Winnipeg workers. William Marshall is now assistant manager at that city, but he has only been with the company since 1886, and other veterans are Jim Wilson, and Ed. Grindrod, the first superintendent and inspector in B.C., who did good service during the floods in the mountains some years ago.
SOUVENIR OF THE DRIVING OF THE LAST SPIKE ON THE C.P.R.—THE FIRST C.P.R. LOCOMOTIVE—THE FIRST LOCOMOTIVE IN TORONTO.
SOUVENIR OF THE DRIVING OF THE LAST SPIKE ON THE C.P.R.—THE FIRST C.P.R. LOCOMOTIVE—THE FIRST LOCOMOTIVE IN TORONTO.
The first through train to cross the continent in Canada left Montreal on June 28th, 1886, and reached the western terminus, Port Moody, right on the dot on July 4th. It was a momentous event, for it was the beginning of a service that has revolutionized the travel of the world. At the send-off, the immense throng at the old Dalhousie Station was an enthusiastic one, and would have been more so, but Col. Stevenson’s battery was a little late in arriving to fire a parting salute, and time, tide and the C.P.R. flyers wait for no one. There were only two sleepers attached and they were comfortably filled. The only newspaper man aboard was myself, and I had written up the trip from Montreal to Winnipeg in advance, and sent it by mail—for I had been on the road frequently—only adding the names of the more prominent passengers by wire from Ottawa. When the papers reached us on the north shore of Lake Superior, Mr. Dewey, the superintendent of the postal service of Canada, who was on board, was astonished at the length and accuracy of my report, and wondered how and when I had written it, and as I did not enlighten him, except to say that he had seen me writing on the train, his mystification remained with him until his death. The trip was a glorious one, and the reception all along the line was like a royal progress. The people of fire-stricken Vancouver came over to Port Moody in great numbers by the oldYosemiteto welcome us. There was no public reception at Vancouver, for there wasn’t any place to hold one, the original city having been almost totally consumed by fire just previous to our arrival. The flames had destroyed almost everything, but the courage and hope and faith of the pioneers who bravely struggled against the blighting effects of the calamity, and they did this successfully, as can be seen to-day in the magnificent city which has arisen through the splendid results of their indomitable energy and unceasing labors which made Vancouver what it is.
I have travelled on many a “first train” since then, but none of more importance than the first Imperial Limited which left Montreal for Vancouver on the evening of June 18, 1899. The train was the acme of comfort for the transcontinental traveller. In order that an opportunity might be given of judging of its equipment, I invited a number of Montreal and Quebec newspapermen to make the run as far as the Federal capital on a special car attached to the new train. Fred Cook was then the dean of the Press Gallery, and Parliament being in session, I sent him a wire telling him of the party, and asking him to meet us at the Central Station when the train arrived at midnight. Fred has the reputation of being able to organize a symposium or birthday party in quick time, but on this occasion he did more than I reckoned. He can also crack a joke or take one with the best. I heard the story later of what happened from his colleague, Frank McNamara, who has been for some years in newspaper work on the Pacific coast. Showing my telegram to McNamara, Cook said, “Frank, we have to do this reception in the best style. Will you join?” McNamara said, “What is the proposal?” “Well,” was the answer, “I will get Jimmy Ellis (the Mayor) to come down to the station and present the keys of the city to George and the press men, and we will also have a fine band of music to welcome the guests, and to speed the Imperial Limited on its initial trip.” “Bah,” snorted McNamara, “where are you going to get a band at that hour?” “There has been a band tooting around the streets of Ottawa for the past week, and for a fiver I am sure they will come out,” was the reply. It was a band of the genuine German variety of five pieces. McNamara fell in with the suggestion, and both hied themselves off to Billy Clements’ hotel on Besserer Street, where the sons of the Fatherland were staying.
They saw the leader, who at first demurred at the suggestion, fearing trouble with the police. When Cook told him that the Mayor was to be there and that he would guarantee that everything would be all right, the Germans consented for a ten-spot to be at the station with their instruments. And so at midnight on that eventful occasion, the first Imperial Limited rolled into the Central Station at Ottawa. The special car with the press party stopped in the yards owing to the length of the train, and we had to walk up the cinder path until we reached the platform. There, at the end of the platform, were those five confounded Germans blowing away for all they were worth “The Watch on the Rhine.” A procession was formed and, headed by the band, now playing “Rule Brittania” (was it a premonition?) with the mayor on my right and the ex-mayor on my left, and thirty newspaper men following two by two, we started up Sparks Street to the Parliament Buildings in which a brass band played for the first time in history. It was one of the funniest of my many varied experiences. Guests in the old Russell House, awakened from their slumbers, stuck their heads out of the windows and gazed in wonderment; the bobbies at the street corners, seeing the mayor in the party, stood and grinned; citizens on the streets enquired, “What’s up?” Swinging up Sparks and Metcalfe Streets, and then across Wellington street and up the centre walk, still headed by the sons of the Fatherland, we marched into the Parliament Buildings. Of the joyous time we had for the next hour or two I say nothing, but next morning there appeared in the newspapers all over the world an account of the arrival of this wonderful train at Ottawa; of the civic reception, and of the triumphal procession through the streets led by the band of the “Governor-General’s Foot Guards.”
The world believed that Ottawa had stood still to let the Imperial Limited pass through.
Walking down Notre Dame Street one morning in the summer of ’92 I met Sir William Van Horne, who enquired about the Maritime Provinces, where I was then doing missionary work for the C.P.R. I told him that it was a pleasant country to roam around in—especially in the summer time—but that until more energy was developed in public utilities, increased prosperity could not be expected. The Provinces needed a great developing agency like the C.P.R., instead of the Government-owned road, and until such a developing factor was secured the same old conditions would prevail. I also told him that while the practical politicians of both parties were strong advocates of Government control of the I.C.R. for the peculiar advantages and influences it afforded the political bosses, I didn’t believe the great mass of the people were of the same mind, but would gladly hail the advent of the C.P.R. He said, “Well, go down and buy it.” He didn’t give me any money, but I did try, and found that nearly three-fourths of the newspapers there favored a change. All went well, with the powerful aid of the TorontoGlobeand other Western newspapers, but in ’94 Sir John Thompson, then Premier of the Dominion, declared that if the control of the I.C.R. was transferred to the C.P.R. or any other private corporation, he would resign. That ended it, and the Maritime Provinces remained somnolent until other developing factors and more capital infused life into them, and years after gave them the prosperity that would have been theirs a quarter of a century sooner.
John Riordan was an old and efficient roadmaster of the C.P.R. western lines, and he ever had an eye to the company’s interests. One day, a navvy was taken ill with cramps, and there being no medical man within hailing distance, and no proper remedies, John seized a sizzling hot mince pie and clapped it on the suffering man’s stomach. He quickly recovered, and when John reported the matter, he was quizzingly asked what he had done with the pie, and he naively said: “Shure, sor, I put it back on the shelf.”
John was a thoroughly loyal employee, and when there was a strike on, he wired his brother, then on strike at Deloraine, in an effort to bring him back to the ranks.